SUPERCOMM — It might be bankrupt, but that’s not stopping Nortel Networks from having a big presence at SUPERCOMM this week in Chicago. Specifically, the insolvent vendor is putting renewed vigor into talking up its carrier VoIP and softswitch business, launching a slew of new products.
Nortel, which continues to rank as the No. 1 infrastructure vendor in the carrier VoIP market, seems to want to assuage service provider concerns as to the viability of its Carrier VoIP and Applications Solutions (CVAS) portfolio as it spins off its other units. Nortel’s carrier VoIP business (worth around $800 million) includes softswitches, media gateways and applications. It made several announcements at the show, along with conducting significant media outreach to spread the word.
In a push to reassure service providers, Nortel highlighted that it has shipped more than 115 million carrier VoIP and multimedia ports to more than 350 wireline and wireless carriers globally, and provides VoIP solutions to two thirds of IDC's worldwide listing of top 20 carriers by revenue. Indeed, the division remains a profit center for the company, employing 2,500 people.
Nonetheless, it’s widely expected that the carrier VoIP division will go up for auction. A Nortel operations executive told Canada's Financial Post late in the summer that the company is on the verge of receiving a "stalking horse" bid for the division, though nothing has yet come of that.
So why continue with new products? Nortel, as it goes about selling itself off in pieces, has been asking its suitors to maintain its employees and portfolios to ensure a seamless transfer of ownership for customers and workers alike. That was the case when it sold off its lucrative wireless assets to Ericsson, for $1.13 billion, and when Avaya Inc. won its bid for Nortel's enterprise business.
