Alcatel-Lucent may be in Verizon's sights for a new Ethernet contract, but it's far from a done deal as the ILEC is still also evaluating rival Juniper Networks.
A report emerged last week from analyst Simon Leopold of Morgan Keegan & Company that Alcatel-Lucent was the winner, but now he is saying that Verizon has not made a final decision on either company. What's more, Leopold no longer believes Verizon's proposed Ethernet contract is even worth $150 million.
However compelling a Verizon win could be for Alcatel-Lucent, the main thrust of Leopold's research note is to illustrate the progress the company has made in developing a sound Ethernet and edge routing strategy to challenge both Cisco and Juniper. "We still believe that Alcatel-Lucent represents a greater competitive threat to Juniper than most appreciate," he writes.
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