Published in Interface Tech News
MERRIMACK, N.H. ‹ As part of its work in miniaturizing switching components, Xanoptix has unveiled a collaborative effort with Camarillo, Calif.-based Vitesse Semiconductor to introduce a small 100+ Gbps optical-in, optical-out switch.
Xanoptix, which has based its business on parallel optical interconnections for the telecom and datacom markets, is increasing the density of available components for switching circuit boards, according to Harald Hamster, the company's vice president of marketing and business development.
In the space taken up by a 12-fiber interconnect, Hamster said, the new device, combining Xanoptix's XTM-1 optical transceiver and Vitesse's VSC838 36x36 crosspoint switch, can fit a 72-fiber interconnect.
At present, Hamster said, the hardware can only handle multi-mode fiber traffic, but the company is looking beyond this current limitation.
"We will certainly expand our offerings into other wavelength regimes," Hamster said.
The new device is entering beta testing and is expected to be available in early 2002, Hamster said. The companies demonstrated the combination product at the National Fiber Optic Engineers Conference in Baltimore in early July.
Hamster called the demo a success, and said he got good response from potential buyers. "It shows we have a very real product and you can do real things," he said.
While the combination may work well, the marketing will still be carried out by both companies independently, Hamster said, though there may be some co-marketing.
The next step for Xanoptix is to carry the structure underlying the XTM-1 over to different optical wavelengths and longer-reaching systems.
Analyst Galen Schreck of Forrester Research is skeptical of the possibilities for Gigabit Ethernet. "We're still in the beginning phases," he said. "Once we get our protocols and applications lined up we'll be needing more high-bandwidth connections."
He expects the larger market to develop over the course of the next two to three years, though he is unsure whether Ethernet will maintain its dominance ‹ citing newcomers like InfiniBand, which will have some compliant components shipping in early 2002.
Schreck also said power and space constraints on switches aren't at a critical stage right now. "I don't see it being a widespread problem just yet," he said.
Friday, September 14, 2001
Thursday, September 13, 2001
Blasts shake community’s peace of mind
Published in the Current
Radios and televisions in Scarborough and Cape Elizabeth were tuned to the same stations Tuesday morning. Even Burger King employees had the news on, rather than the energetic music that gets them through their shifts.
Aside from that, there was an unearthly silence. After-school activities were cancelled, government buildings around the country were closed, and even the Maine Mall in South Portland shut its doors. But perhaps the strangest view in Maine was overhead.
“It’s weird seeing no planes,” said Kim Mathieu of Scarborough.
Before the planes were grounded by the Federal Aviation Administration, two of the alleged terrorists flew on a U.S. Airways flight from Portland International Jetport to Boston, where
they boarded cross-country flights which were later hijacked, the Associated Press reported Wednesday.
Judy Hill of Maple Street in Scarborough works at the Oak Hill Dry Cleaners. One of her customers Tuesday dropped off his wife’s United Airlines flight attendant uniforms. She was safe
on the ground in Georgia. Everyone, who came in Hill said, was struck by
the tragedy.
“You just see their faces and the hurt,” Hill said.
She was stunned to hear the news just before 9 a.m. Tuesday morning.
“I just had to take a deep breath and say a prayer,” she said. “I don’t know how those people are really going to get over this. It’s horrible.”
She was impressed by the efforts of rescue personnel in New York, and said President Bush faces a big challenge.
“I think President Bush has got a hard evening ahead of him,” she said.
Mathieu, whose brother is in New York, was concerned about what Bush and other leaders might decide.
“I don’t want to see anything crazy happen,” she said.
Her husband Tony echoed her concern, adding that the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C. could lead to further terrorism.
“It makes me wonder how many people this is going to set off,” he said.
One person set off by the tragedy was Tim, who wore a Scarborough School Department uniform shirt but would not give his last name.
“We’ve been fighting these son-of-a-guns for years,” he said, insisting that the terrorism was the work of international agents bent on taking away Americans’ privately owned weapons.
“The United Nations is responsible for this whole thing,” he said.
Esther MacDuffie of Berry Road in Scarborough was more reserved.
“It’s very difficult to get an opinion because it’s so horrifying,” she said. Her son lives in New York and she hadn’t heard from him yet, because the phone lines were jammed.
She was concerned about security procedures, especially at airports.
“I feel as if somebody somewhere slipped up,” MacDuffie said.
A woman who asked to be identified only as Pamela was concerned less about what had happened than with what would.
“I’ll be interested to know what they do about it,” she said. “It’s a very very very bad day. Nothing
feels the same.”
The initial reaction was for people to check in with loved ones, even if there was no chance
they had been in danger.
“I’ve gotten like 400 calls from my mom,” Pamela said. She works in Scarborough and her mother lives in Windham.
Beyond news of the events themselves, the television news footage was stunning and disturbing
to people.
“I haven’t seen it yet, and I’m not sure I want to,” Pamela said.
Hill had seen the pictures in the morning before coming to work, but said she was near tears all
day.
“I couldn’t watch it again tonight,” she said.
Tuesday night Cornerstone Baptist Church in Scarborough held a prayer service in the aftermath
of the tragedy. About 100 people attended, according to church officials, who noted the
church will be holding evening services Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, beginning with
a prayer session at 6:30 p.m. and a service starting at 7 p.m.
A blood drive was held Wednesday at the Maine Blood Center on Professional Drive in
Scarborough. At press time, 325 people had turned out to donate blood, according to Diane
Richard at the blood center.
Food had been donated by several local residents and businesses, she said.
Radios and televisions in Scarborough and Cape Elizabeth were tuned to the same stations Tuesday morning. Even Burger King employees had the news on, rather than the energetic music that gets them through their shifts.
Aside from that, there was an unearthly silence. After-school activities were cancelled, government buildings around the country were closed, and even the Maine Mall in South Portland shut its doors. But perhaps the strangest view in Maine was overhead.
“It’s weird seeing no planes,” said Kim Mathieu of Scarborough.
Before the planes were grounded by the Federal Aviation Administration, two of the alleged terrorists flew on a U.S. Airways flight from Portland International Jetport to Boston, where
they boarded cross-country flights which were later hijacked, the Associated Press reported Wednesday.
Judy Hill of Maple Street in Scarborough works at the Oak Hill Dry Cleaners. One of her customers Tuesday dropped off his wife’s United Airlines flight attendant uniforms. She was safe
on the ground in Georgia. Everyone, who came in Hill said, was struck by
the tragedy.
“You just see their faces and the hurt,” Hill said.
She was stunned to hear the news just before 9 a.m. Tuesday morning.
“I just had to take a deep breath and say a prayer,” she said. “I don’t know how those people are really going to get over this. It’s horrible.”
She was impressed by the efforts of rescue personnel in New York, and said President Bush faces a big challenge.
“I think President Bush has got a hard evening ahead of him,” she said.
Mathieu, whose brother is in New York, was concerned about what Bush and other leaders might decide.
“I don’t want to see anything crazy happen,” she said.
Her husband Tony echoed her concern, adding that the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C. could lead to further terrorism.
“It makes me wonder how many people this is going to set off,” he said.
One person set off by the tragedy was Tim, who wore a Scarborough School Department uniform shirt but would not give his last name.
“We’ve been fighting these son-of-a-guns for years,” he said, insisting that the terrorism was the work of international agents bent on taking away Americans’ privately owned weapons.
“The United Nations is responsible for this whole thing,” he said.
Esther MacDuffie of Berry Road in Scarborough was more reserved.
“It’s very difficult to get an opinion because it’s so horrifying,” she said. Her son lives in New York and she hadn’t heard from him yet, because the phone lines were jammed.
She was concerned about security procedures, especially at airports.
“I feel as if somebody somewhere slipped up,” MacDuffie said.
A woman who asked to be identified only as Pamela was concerned less about what had happened than with what would.
“I’ll be interested to know what they do about it,” she said. “It’s a very very very bad day. Nothing
feels the same.”
The initial reaction was for people to check in with loved ones, even if there was no chance
they had been in danger.
“I’ve gotten like 400 calls from my mom,” Pamela said. She works in Scarborough and her mother lives in Windham.
Beyond news of the events themselves, the television news footage was stunning and disturbing
to people.
“I haven’t seen it yet, and I’m not sure I want to,” Pamela said.
Hill had seen the pictures in the morning before coming to work, but said she was near tears all
day.
“I couldn’t watch it again tonight,” she said.
Tuesday night Cornerstone Baptist Church in Scarborough held a prayer service in the aftermath
of the tragedy. About 100 people attended, according to church officials, who noted the
church will be holding evening services Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, beginning with
a prayer session at 6:30 p.m. and a service starting at 7 p.m.
A blood drive was held Wednesday at the Maine Blood Center on Professional Drive in
Scarborough. At press time, 325 people had turned out to donate blood, according to Diane
Richard at the blood center.
Food had been donated by several local residents and businesses, she said.
Scarborough invites YMCA to consider building pool
Published in the Current
The town of Scarborough is talking to the YMCA about the possibility of building a pool next to the proposed community center on the old drive-in property near town hall.
Town Manager Ron Owens confirmed that he is meeting this week with the Portland-based Cumberland County YMCA.
Owens said there is demand for a pool, from both members of the community and the schools, but the Town Council decided not to include it in the tax-payer funded proposal for the drive-in property.
That $5.7 million proposal includes a teen center, senior center and gym and is going before voters on the Nov. 6 ballot.
“We felt that was too much to ask of the taxpayer,” to also fund a pool, Owens said. Instead, he is looking for a partnership with another agency to bring a pool to Scarborough.
“That’s where a Y would be instrumental,” Owens said.
The YMCA is not the only possibility, Owens said, mentioning the Boys and Girls Clubs as a possible alternative, but said the Y is the organization being talked about the most.
“That’s the first agency that we’ve approached,” Owens said.
Owens said a pool plan could involve the Town Council offering the Y land adjacent to the
proposed town center building.
There is space remaining that could fit a 50-meter pool, he said.
“For that to occur, we need some other agency to work with,” Owens said.
In return for the land, Owens said, the town would require the partner agency to allow some
level of access to the pool by town residents.
He hesitated to go into further specifics, saying talks are only just beginning between the Y and the town.
Scarborough resident Stephen Ives, executive director of the Northern York County YMCA in
Biddeford, said the town’s current plan for a community center leaves room for improvement.
“It’s a minimal facility. It’s a teen center, senior center and a gym,” Ives said. He said the Y could add a swimming pool and other services Ys traditionally offer, including childcare, afterschool
programs, sports, and recreation and fitness equipment.
The specifics of a Y in Scarborough would depend on the results of a study to determine the
town’s needs.
“A Y is supposed to be a response to the needs of its community,” Ives said.
One of the people working with Ives is fellow Scarborough resident, Gary O’Donnell.
“We’re still very much in the beginning stages,” O’Donnell said.
He is putting together a group of local residents to gauge community demand for services a Y could offer, and to evaluate the fundraising support the effort could garner.
O’Donnell is looking for people with energy and time to devote to the project, who reflect the diversity of town residents.
“Scarborough is a very diverse community of interests and needs,” O’Donnell said.
He has an idea of who might be a good person to join. “Someone who is passionate and retired
would be great,” O’Donnell said.
He also is concerned about how much building maintenance could cost taxpayers. A non-profit
agency, he said, would have to fund ongoing costs from donations, rather than taxes.
“There’s a wonderful opportunity to look for charitable and town partnerships,” O’Donnell said.
Ives said a Y in Scarborough would likely be a branch of the Cumberland County YMCA, which operates a swimming pool as part of its facility in Portland.
Sharing a recreation facility between the YMCA and the town of Scarborough is not without
precedent elsewhere in the country, Ives said, though it isn’t a common relationship for a municipality to enter into.
“Ys partner with everybody,” Ives said. “Ys are very attuned to collaboration.”
The national YMCA organization will get involved, through the local Y, to help O’Donnell and others study how well Scarborough could support a Y, and whether a Y would meet Scarborough’s needs. The study could take six months to a year, Ives said.
Without a solid base of willing participants and interested people, the Y won’t come.
“It really depends on the volunteers and the support from the community,” Ives said.
Scarborough residents will see a referendum for the community center on November’s ballot, but it will not include any reference to the proposed Y, Owens said.
The referendum will discuss the cost of preparing the site, building the community center, parking, a pond, picnic space and ball fields.
Any future referendum for the pool would depend on the level of the town’s involvement in the project, Owens said.
A referendum is not necessary for the Town Council to allow the Y or another organization to build on the drive-in property, Owens said.
In the end, he said, both the Cumberland County YMCA board and the Scarborough Town
Council will have to approve beginning negotiations between the two groups, as well as any
agreements reached.
The town of Scarborough is talking to the YMCA about the possibility of building a pool next to the proposed community center on the old drive-in property near town hall.
Town Manager Ron Owens confirmed that he is meeting this week with the Portland-based Cumberland County YMCA.
Owens said there is demand for a pool, from both members of the community and the schools, but the Town Council decided not to include it in the tax-payer funded proposal for the drive-in property.
That $5.7 million proposal includes a teen center, senior center and gym and is going before voters on the Nov. 6 ballot.
“We felt that was too much to ask of the taxpayer,” to also fund a pool, Owens said. Instead, he is looking for a partnership with another agency to bring a pool to Scarborough.
“That’s where a Y would be instrumental,” Owens said.
The YMCA is not the only possibility, Owens said, mentioning the Boys and Girls Clubs as a possible alternative, but said the Y is the organization being talked about the most.
“That’s the first agency that we’ve approached,” Owens said.
Owens said a pool plan could involve the Town Council offering the Y land adjacent to the
proposed town center building.
There is space remaining that could fit a 50-meter pool, he said.
“For that to occur, we need some other agency to work with,” Owens said.
In return for the land, Owens said, the town would require the partner agency to allow some
level of access to the pool by town residents.
He hesitated to go into further specifics, saying talks are only just beginning between the Y and the town.
Scarborough resident Stephen Ives, executive director of the Northern York County YMCA in
Biddeford, said the town’s current plan for a community center leaves room for improvement.
“It’s a minimal facility. It’s a teen center, senior center and a gym,” Ives said. He said the Y could add a swimming pool and other services Ys traditionally offer, including childcare, afterschool
programs, sports, and recreation and fitness equipment.
The specifics of a Y in Scarborough would depend on the results of a study to determine the
town’s needs.
“A Y is supposed to be a response to the needs of its community,” Ives said.
One of the people working with Ives is fellow Scarborough resident, Gary O’Donnell.
“We’re still very much in the beginning stages,” O’Donnell said.
He is putting together a group of local residents to gauge community demand for services a Y could offer, and to evaluate the fundraising support the effort could garner.
O’Donnell is looking for people with energy and time to devote to the project, who reflect the diversity of town residents.
“Scarborough is a very diverse community of interests and needs,” O’Donnell said.
He has an idea of who might be a good person to join. “Someone who is passionate and retired
would be great,” O’Donnell said.
He also is concerned about how much building maintenance could cost taxpayers. A non-profit
agency, he said, would have to fund ongoing costs from donations, rather than taxes.
“There’s a wonderful opportunity to look for charitable and town partnerships,” O’Donnell said.
Ives said a Y in Scarborough would likely be a branch of the Cumberland County YMCA, which operates a swimming pool as part of its facility in Portland.
Sharing a recreation facility between the YMCA and the town of Scarborough is not without
precedent elsewhere in the country, Ives said, though it isn’t a common relationship for a municipality to enter into.
“Ys partner with everybody,” Ives said. “Ys are very attuned to collaboration.”
The national YMCA organization will get involved, through the local Y, to help O’Donnell and others study how well Scarborough could support a Y, and whether a Y would meet Scarborough’s needs. The study could take six months to a year, Ives said.
Without a solid base of willing participants and interested people, the Y won’t come.
“It really depends on the volunteers and the support from the community,” Ives said.
Scarborough residents will see a referendum for the community center on November’s ballot, but it will not include any reference to the proposed Y, Owens said.
The referendum will discuss the cost of preparing the site, building the community center, parking, a pond, picnic space and ball fields.
Any future referendum for the pool would depend on the level of the town’s involvement in the project, Owens said.
A referendum is not necessary for the Town Council to allow the Y or another organization to build on the drive-in property, Owens said.
In the end, he said, both the Cumberland County YMCA board and the Scarborough Town
Council will have to approve beginning negotiations between the two groups, as well as any
agreements reached.
Cape Elizabeth greenbelt plan moves forward
Published in the Current
The Cape Elizabeth Town Council unanimously accepted the spirit of the proposed Greenbelt Plan for trails throughout the town, while not formally accepting the specific priority recommendations made in the report from the town's Conservation Commission.
In its regularly scheduled September meeting, the council also approved a proposal to develop a master plan for the Gull Crest property.
The Greenbelt Plan proposed a network of trails throughout Cape Elizabeth, linking neighborhoods to each other and to the town center. Some of the trails already exist either formally on state and town land, or informally on private land, said commission chair Dan Chase. Others, Chase said, would have to be built.
In the public comment section of the meeting, several residents spoke in favor of the proposal.
Ogden Williams, a teacher and resident of Cape Elizabeth, suggested further development of the Gull Crest property, and volunteered to help do so next summer.
Mary Beth Richardson of Valley Road near Maxwell's Farm said the informal trails in that area get year-round use.
"Having a formal [trail] system would be wonderful," she said.
A resident of Sweetser Road said she liked the informal trails and wants a formal network, but was concerned about unanticipated uses of the trails, such as all-terrain three- and four-wheelers.
Tim Robinson of Shore Road was present to speak for his family, which owns some of the property on which private trails exist. He said he has found people coming to the trails from other communities and even other states. He was concerned with overuse of trails once they became publicly available.
Peter Mullen of Two Lights Road opposed the plan, which tentatively locates a trail abutting his property. He was concerned about privacy and public foot traffic near his home.
Other residents spoke about the opportunities for the town's student-athletes, with possibilities for both cross-country running and skiing trails becoming available for meets and practices. At present, the schools have to send their teams to other locations for practice and competition.
The council was also concerned about privacy issues and reiterated the Conservation Commission's promise not to locate trails on private land without express permission from the landowners.
Councilor Carol Fritz said she liked the proposal's principles of property rights, respect for wetlands and vegetation.
Councilor Henry Berry said he was concerned that the proposal was too dedicated to the construction of a trail system, with its stipulation that opposition to specific trails shouldn't stop the effort to construct the entire system.
"Certain opposition to a particular trail might well lead to abandonment of a trail," Berry said.
The council voted approval of the vision and goals statements, as well as the guidelines for possible trail expansions. It excluded from approval the priorities for expansion and recommended additional projects.
The next item on the agenda was a proposal from OEST Associates of South Portland to draft a master trail plan for the Gull Crest property between the schools and the transfer station. It was approved unanimously.
In other business, the town abated personal property taxes in the amount of $57.36 owed by the former Shear Madness business. It was deemed too expensive to collect the money, and the person owing the taxes was not present or able to pay.
The council noted that its next two monthly meetings will be held Wednesday nights because of national holidays. The October meeting will be on Wednesday, Oct. 10. The November meeting will be Wednesday, Nov. 14.
The Cape Elizabeth Town Council unanimously accepted the spirit of the proposed Greenbelt Plan for trails throughout the town, while not formally accepting the specific priority recommendations made in the report from the town's Conservation Commission.
In its regularly scheduled September meeting, the council also approved a proposal to develop a master plan for the Gull Crest property.
The Greenbelt Plan proposed a network of trails throughout Cape Elizabeth, linking neighborhoods to each other and to the town center. Some of the trails already exist either formally on state and town land, or informally on private land, said commission chair Dan Chase. Others, Chase said, would have to be built.
In the public comment section of the meeting, several residents spoke in favor of the proposal.
Ogden Williams, a teacher and resident of Cape Elizabeth, suggested further development of the Gull Crest property, and volunteered to help do so next summer.
Mary Beth Richardson of Valley Road near Maxwell's Farm said the informal trails in that area get year-round use.
"Having a formal [trail] system would be wonderful," she said.
A resident of Sweetser Road said she liked the informal trails and wants a formal network, but was concerned about unanticipated uses of the trails, such as all-terrain three- and four-wheelers.
Tim Robinson of Shore Road was present to speak for his family, which owns some of the property on which private trails exist. He said he has found people coming to the trails from other communities and even other states. He was concerned with overuse of trails once they became publicly available.
Peter Mullen of Two Lights Road opposed the plan, which tentatively locates a trail abutting his property. He was concerned about privacy and public foot traffic near his home.
Other residents spoke about the opportunities for the town's student-athletes, with possibilities for both cross-country running and skiing trails becoming available for meets and practices. At present, the schools have to send their teams to other locations for practice and competition.
The council was also concerned about privacy issues and reiterated the Conservation Commission's promise not to locate trails on private land without express permission from the landowners.
Councilor Carol Fritz said she liked the proposal's principles of property rights, respect for wetlands and vegetation.
Councilor Henry Berry said he was concerned that the proposal was too dedicated to the construction of a trail system, with its stipulation that opposition to specific trails shouldn't stop the effort to construct the entire system.
"Certain opposition to a particular trail might well lead to abandonment of a trail," Berry said.
The council voted approval of the vision and goals statements, as well as the guidelines for possible trail expansions. It excluded from approval the priorities for expansion and recommended additional projects.
The next item on the agenda was a proposal from OEST Associates of South Portland to draft a master trail plan for the Gull Crest property between the schools and the transfer station. It was approved unanimously.
In other business, the town abated personal property taxes in the amount of $57.36 owed by the former Shear Madness business. It was deemed too expensive to collect the money, and the person owing the taxes was not present or able to pay.
The council noted that its next two monthly meetings will be held Wednesday nights because of national holidays. The October meeting will be on Wednesday, Oct. 10. The November meeting will be Wednesday, Nov. 14.
Friday, September 7, 2001
Sonus refines market approach
Published in Interface Tech News
WESTFORD, Mass. ‹ Sonus Networks continued to broaden its partnership with companies in the packet-switched voice sector in early August by adding seven new companies to its roster, which includes nearly 150 companies providing add-ons to Sonus' hardware.
Sonus provides hardware and basic software for switching voice traffic on packet networks, allowing phone and data carriers to handle all of their traffic over one network, rather than two parallel ones, as is done presently.
Company CEO Steve Nill said Sonus puts together hardware and software and a basic set of applications for voice switching, and allows other companies to build additional applications, permitting clients to buy products and services that have already been tested together.
Mindy Hiebert, a senior analyst at the Boston-based Yankee Group noted that most of the company's announcements this year have been about companies testing Sonus products or working to build on them. With so much testing and so little roll-out, Hiebert said she is guarded about the company's future.
Sonus is changing its technical focus, Hiebert said. "The product that they have right now is very focused on (class 4) Internet offload," she said. "They're trying to migrate it to class 5."
Such a major change in technology, Hiebert said, makes her cautious. "I haven't seen them demonstrate the (technical) acumen to do what they're trying to do," she said. "(Carriers) want a viable solution in their network that they know is going to hold out. They can't afford any network outages."
Nill said the company and its partners are targeting the multibillion-dollar worldwide circuit switch market. He wants to see RBOCs, large CLECs, and "next-generation carriers" like Global Crossing and Qwest using Sonus products.
In April, Japan's Fusion Communications began using Sonus products. Fusion subscribers now number 510,000 customers in 17 Japanese cities. BellSouth has said it will use Sonus products to migrate traffic off its voice networks.
The company had second-quarter revenues up 27 percent from the first quarter this year, while spending 30 cents per share as compared with 51 cents per share in the first quarter. Sonus is expecting $200 million in revenue this year, Nill said.
"We're just not seeing and not hearing what their capabilities are moving forward," Hiebert said, adding there haven't been enough large-scale deployments of Sonus products to prove they can do what they say.
Nill remained confident in the potential of the company's products and services. "We're bringing client-server to voice," he said.
WESTFORD, Mass. ‹ Sonus Networks continued to broaden its partnership with companies in the packet-switched voice sector in early August by adding seven new companies to its roster, which includes nearly 150 companies providing add-ons to Sonus' hardware.
Sonus provides hardware and basic software for switching voice traffic on packet networks, allowing phone and data carriers to handle all of their traffic over one network, rather than two parallel ones, as is done presently.
Company CEO Steve Nill said Sonus puts together hardware and software and a basic set of applications for voice switching, and allows other companies to build additional applications, permitting clients to buy products and services that have already been tested together.
Mindy Hiebert, a senior analyst at the Boston-based Yankee Group noted that most of the company's announcements this year have been about companies testing Sonus products or working to build on them. With so much testing and so little roll-out, Hiebert said she is guarded about the company's future.
Sonus is changing its technical focus, Hiebert said. "The product that they have right now is very focused on (class 4) Internet offload," she said. "They're trying to migrate it to class 5."
Such a major change in technology, Hiebert said, makes her cautious. "I haven't seen them demonstrate the (technical) acumen to do what they're trying to do," she said. "(Carriers) want a viable solution in their network that they know is going to hold out. They can't afford any network outages."
Nill said the company and its partners are targeting the multibillion-dollar worldwide circuit switch market. He wants to see RBOCs, large CLECs, and "next-generation carriers" like Global Crossing and Qwest using Sonus products.
In April, Japan's Fusion Communications began using Sonus products. Fusion subscribers now number 510,000 customers in 17 Japanese cities. BellSouth has said it will use Sonus products to migrate traffic off its voice networks.
The company had second-quarter revenues up 27 percent from the first quarter this year, while spending 30 cents per share as compared with 51 cents per share in the first quarter. Sonus is expecting $200 million in revenue this year, Nill said.
"We're just not seeing and not hearing what their capabilities are moving forward," Hiebert said, adding there haven't been enough large-scale deployments of Sonus products to prove they can do what they say.
Nill remained confident in the potential of the company's products and services. "We're bringing client-server to voice," he said.
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