“What a difference a year makes,” said Janet Davidson, President of Lucent’s Integrated Network Solutions, speaking at the UBS communications conference in New York. 2002 was characterized by large CAPEX cuts, whereas 2003 “has been about a return to stability and even some growth.” Davidson predicts the overall market will be relatively flat in 2004, except for several pockets of high growth. These include metro optical (next gen SONET/SDH and DWDM), circuit-to-packet migration, and an upgrade of broadband access equipment to faster DSL speeds.
Davidson said service providers continue to demand a gradual migration of their embedded networks, rather than overlay builds. She believes the regulatory environment in the U.S. “remains difficult” as considerable uncertainty remains about how access services will be regulated. With CAPEX budgets “pretty much cut-to-the bone,” carriers are focusing their spending on improving OPEX efficiency.
As for Lucent’s data portfolio, Davidson said the company would leverage its relationship with Juniper Networks for new products. Lucent will be MPLS-enabling the installed base of CBX multiservice switches. It has also introduced IP versions of its Stinger DSLAM series and is putting considerable investment into its packet telephony solutions.
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