Juniper, NSN tighten carrier ethernet cooperation

HELSINKI, FINLAND: Juniper Networks Inc and Nokia Siemens Networks will hone their offering of carrier ethernet technology to try to tap one of the remaining growth pockets in the shrinking telecom equipment market.

The companies said on Thursday they would both sell a joint offering comprised of Juniper's routers, Nokia Siemens' switches and network management system, starting in the second half.

The firms hope to benefit from its wider offering when battling with Cisco, Alcatel-Lucent and Ericsson in the $8 billion market for carrier ethernet equipment.

"While a number of markets have matured or stabilized, this is a growth market," said Bernd Schumacher, head of Broadband Connectivity Solutions at Nokia Siemens Networks.

The carrier ethernet market has grown 20 percent or more in recent years, but growth is expected to slow to around 5 percent in 2009, the companies said, quoting analysts forecasts.

The total telecom equipment market is expected to shrink in 2009.