“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to reform.”
– Mark Twain (1835–1910), writer and humorist
– Mark Twain (1835–1910), writer and humorist
Startup Ciena appeared on the optical transport scene prior to startup Cerent’s arrival during the 1990s. Ciena focused on introducing better DWDM technology in the long haul, while Cerent focused on bringing superior SONET technology to metropolitan networks. Both companies, without planning it, complemented each other, and they shared a common competitive threat – Nortel Networks.
Wavelength division multiplexing and multi-service provisioning platforms were relatively new systems technologies of the late 1990s. Ciena and Cerent, the bellweather startups that became synonymous with higher-capacity DWDM and next generation optical transport, respectively, only introduced their first products, the MultiWave Sentry, in April 1996, and the Cerent 454, in September 1998.
Both Ciena and Cerent’s timing was excellent. These startups took advantage of the confluence of the latest available technology meeting strong market demand at just the right time. Deregulation of the telecom market in 1996 boosted the entrance of new service providers building Greenfield networks and entrenched telecom operators spending to counter the competitive threats. The demand for more cost-effective equipment in both long-haul and metropolitan markets skyrocketed.
Ciena took on Nortel and Lucent in the long-haul, while Cerent dealt with Nortel Lucent, Alcatel, and Fujitsu in securing metropolitan optical transport business. These four legacy suppliers of SONET found it difficult to reform their approach to optical transport networks. Ciena’s optical regeneration approach, for example, decimated Nortel and Lucent’s OC-48 regenerator business and denied Nortel the ability to reap the benefits of high-margin OC-192 regenerator configurations of its pioneering 10 Gb/s S/DMS TransportNode product.
Both Ciena and Cerent’s timing was excellent. These startups took advantage of the confluence of the latest available technology meeting strong market demand at just the right time. Deregulation of the telecom market in 1996 boosted the entrance of new service providers building Greenfield networks and entrenched telecom operators spending to counter the competitive threats. The demand for more cost-effective equipment in both long-haul and metropolitan markets skyrocketed.
Ciena took on Nortel and Lucent in the long-haul, while Cerent dealt with Nortel Lucent, Alcatel, and Fujitsu in securing metropolitan optical transport business. These four legacy suppliers of SONET found it difficult to reform their approach to optical transport networks. Ciena’s optical regeneration approach, for example, decimated Nortel and Lucent’s OC-48 regenerator business and denied Nortel the ability to reap the benefits of high-margin OC-192 regenerator configurations of its pioneering 10 Gb/s S/DMS TransportNode product.
Cerent took on Nortel and many others living off their past successes in the metropolitan networks by introducing “supercharged SONET,” integrated bandwidth management (3/1 and 3/3 DACS capability), and a web-friendly user interface. Cerent’s any optical bit-rate capability and multi-service interfaces displaced most of the competing vendors’ OC-12 and OC-48 products – they all had to redesign their SONET products or face being shut out of the lucrative metro market.
Since the SONET majority couldn’t reform their optical platforms in the 1990s, two upstart startups led the telecom reformation.
Since the SONET majority couldn’t reform their optical platforms in the 1990s, two upstart startups led the telecom reformation.