Nortel Notches VOIP Deal

Network gear maker Nortel has won a deal to provide voice-over Internet protocol equipment to a South Korean service provider Dacom Corp.

A spokeswoman for Toronto-based Nortel declined to reveal the value of the deal, which flowed through Nortel’s Korean distributor ITIAN Corp.

The project will allow Dacom to offer customers simplified communications, enhanced mobility and increased productivity.

It’s not the first time the companies have worked together. In 2001, Nortel built Dacom’s optical fiber SONET backbone network and supplied a dense wavelength division multiplexing optical metro backbone network. In 2002, Nortel Networks implemented major upgrades to both of these networks.

The contract win comes as the network equipment sector seems to be gaining some traction. Cisco Systems yesterday beat its Wall Street’s first quarter estimates, largely on the strength of orders from services providers and government agencies.

Cisco CEO John Chambers expressed cautious optimism that the market was rebounding. Industry watchers however said it will take several quarters of good results from more than one telecom equipment maker to definitively say growth has returned.