At Embarq: Adtran, AlcaLu, Calix, Ciena, Ericsson, MegaSys, Nortel, Tellabs, Others

Implications: 1.Both Calix and Ericsson’s Entrisphere have been Embarq’s broadband DLC standard suppliers. 2.Reports that Entrisphere is going to be displaced by Adtran appear to be accurate. 3.Embarq is going to completely reassess its DWDM product situation over the next six months.

Analysis: Deployment of Adtrans’s Total Access (TA) 5000 box will be a continuation of Embarq’s plans to extend the supplier’s footprint in its network. The Entrisphere solution seems to have been used for specialized purposes in particular regions of the telco. Apparently, it has not achieved much of an installed base there and Calix has been the preferred vendor. Entrisphere’s product does not a really have integrated transport functionality because it is an Ethernet box (but, of course, so is the new Adtran offering). The purchase of Entrisphere by Ericsson has evidently had no impact on Embarq’s decision. A couple of suppliers including RBN (an Embarq vendor) have partnered with Ericsson – so the telco is not unfamiliar with the Swedish manufacturer.

The Calix gear is fully compliant with SONET and there are people at Embarq who want to use it also as a transport box. However, it has been a struggle because the carrier’s processes and systems cannot handle it in that manner. Embarq has a very archaic, split up NOC arrangement. Such specialized NOCs create problems for multiuse products, such as from Calix, because they currently cannot be managed. This issue was more or less circumvented by using the Calix solution as just a DLC, allowing the carrier to isolate any difficulty. The frustrating aspect for Embarq is that available bandwidth does not get utilized.

There has also been the assumption that Occam (in the Embarq network now), Zhone (not in its network) and Tellabs are being considered as DLC vendors. With Tellabs, there is a built-in reluctance, even though it is a different part of the product line that Embarq has used in the past. The service provider has a bad taste in their mouths from their past experiences with both their DACS and DWDM – including the lack of cooperation from the supplier. But Tellabs is not necessarily completely out because the company still comes into Embarq and there are those in the organization that will still listen to its pitch. In addition, there is no apparent concern at the carrier regarding Nokia Ericsson potentially buying Tellabs.

Despite the desire to keep the number of vendors as well as node count down to a minimum, there has been a certain amount of internal pressure to consider Tellabs’ 7100 nano. The Alcatel-Lucent 1696 is showing signs of age and Embarq is not convinced that it is going to have legs going forward. Embarq has not bought any new 1696 boxes this year and has only been expanding channels on existing systems. Embarq is fully aware of the difficulty in working with such a broad legacy network. In being pretty flat on the 1696, it kills any leverage that the service provider has for either making changes or accelerating development schedules at the supplier. It also continues to look seriously at AlcaLu’s 1850.

It is also not inconceivable that Embarq could look over to Nortel as a second vendor for the CPL. Still, Nortel’s system is heavily dependent on its software – and Embarq does not use vendor software – it uses MegaSys on transport. Interestingly, MegaSys is more of a hindrance than help by slowing down projects. Every time there is a new program, with Embarq’s contract, the network management provider goes back to the vendors and demands payment for anything developed on their products. Even though some of the vendors argue that it is to MegaSys’ benefit to develop these interfaces, in that it can sell them in the open market, MegaSys counters that Embarq requires its suppliers to have its solutions – and the carrier backs up the software provider on that point.

Nortel appears to be making somewhat of a splash with PBT at Embarq – even though there are still concerns about scalability. The telco continues to have an MPLS effort going along, but perhaps some complications are being encountered – that they would like to simplify it a little bit.

Getting back to Adtran, despite the new version of OPTI-6100 still officially in FOA, Embarq is deploying a pile of it on exception because the fiber spur involved in the FOA has taken so long to be deployed. The delay has nothing to do with the platform.

Regarding Ciena, Embarq does have a need for the CN 4200 RS and its ROADM capability in some locations. Some people at Embarq are also anxious to get the upcoming multiport aggregated GigE functionality because it is still designing to OC-48 span lengths, terribly underutilizing their DWDM. Although it is not certain at all that the service provider would have all that much complication or distance problems with its spans, there are some individuals at the company that are still leery about having to redesign the networks from OC-48. At this point, Embarq is not exactly using many eight- and 16 channels DWDM systems and it has plenty of space. But once the Gig E and video starts pumping down the line, they are going to be eating up bandwidth pretty quickly. Embarq has just implemented the new version of the 4200 and is trying to figure out how it can upgrade everything without having to start off from square one again.

Concerning the big three Japanese optical networking vendors, Fujitsu, Hitachi and NEC, they are all pressing to get into the Embarq’s door. The telco has looked at the new Fujitsu god box and has found it to be interesting.

Finally, there is some pressure at the telephone company to release an RFP on an aggregated Ethernet transport solution – which is in essence a SONET box. Inexplicably, there are people without sufficient transport experience at Embarq who actually believe that SONET is completely interoperable (and big bucks can be saved by going to a new vendor) – even though this concept was considered dead years ago. There is still hope on the part of others at Embarq that a convincing argument can be made to stick with existing suppliers.