| Alcatel 7750 Cracking FT's Core |
| Written by Dave Burstein |
|
Dramatic cost savings from Iliad's all-IP network enable profitably offering a 30 euro triple play, the best France Telecom has some of the best technical people in the world and a reputation for innovation. They are about to stream the French Open tennis tournament in 3D, one of the first live 3D events. They've planned a conversion to full IP for years, and now the budget was found. The network upgrades should allow FT to handle just about any likely level of traffic without congestion problems, so they will not require throttling. The Alcatel router was originally built by Basil Alwan's company, TiMetra, which is proving to be the finest acquisition Alcatel has made. The VC's decided to cash out for $150M after the boom, knowing the unit was great but not wanting to take the risk financing the slow distribution process. Basil came along, and so far has survived the politics and risen close to the top of Alcatel. Several years ago, as the 7700 etc. started taking share, Mike Volpi outlined to me Cisco's plan to fight back. Put the CRS-1 into a smaller box, label it an edge router, and have the fastest "edge router" on the market. Volpi left Cisco for Joost soon after, and they never released the CRS-1 edge box. I believe they have instead chosen to discount the CRS-1 proper in the most competitive accounts. France's 30 Euro triple play is the best deal in the Western world, and I think currently outclasses anything in Asia as well. Part of that is the willingness of Xavier to take risks; he just turned on 3M hotspots across the country, using the WiFi routers he's given to customers. Can Jules Genakowski bring a similar offering to the U.S., where it now costs twice as much? The TV side has to cost more, because Hollywood takes almost $20 off the top, but otherwise there's no reason Comcast or Verizon can't match French prices. The buck stops with you know, Jules.
|
deal in the Western world. 4M customers have switched to Iliad/Free, so it's no surprise France Telecom has chosen to also go all-IP. The surprise is the choice of the Alcatel 7750, originally marketed as an edge router with high reliability, rather than the usual "big iron" from Cisco or Juniper. Alcatel is France's national champion and guaranteed a close look at FT, but Alcatel routers are also gaining share around the world. Similarly, Ericsson is pushing their Redback gear many places that would have called for a "core router." Both are due for upgrades soon, which means they will match the "big iron" of Cisco's recent past.
