Jim Duffy

Startup Seranoa Networks Inc. this month launched products designed to provide IP service providers with a less-expensive alternative to edge aggregation routers from Cisco Systems Inc., Juniper Networks Inc. and other equipment vendors.

Like their vendor and service provider members, even the telecom forums are not immune to industry consolidation.

The MPLS Forum and Frame Relay Forum plan to merge their organizations to coordinate activities and gain operational efficiencies. The planned merger will be announced Wednesday at the MPLS Forum's Technical and Interoperability Committee meetings in Santa Clara, Calif.

Riverstone Networks Inc.'s recent acquisition of startup Pipal Systems underscores the company's strategy to utilize MPLS as the technical underpinning of the metro Ethernet aggregation capability of its routers.

Lucent Technologies Inc. is lining up partnerships to fill in the gaps in its IP/Multi-protocol Label Switching portfolio after the recent cancellation of its multiservice core packet switch.

Lucent Technologies Inc. is forming partnerships to fill the gaps in its IP/MPLS portfolio following the recent cancellation of its multiservice core packet switch.

Nortel Networks Corp. this week named a 10-year company veteran to head up its enterprise division.

Nortel Networks Corp. this week named a 10-year company veteran to head up its enterprise division.