Verizon awards multiservice deal to Fujitsu

Fujitsu won a long-sought contract to provide Verizon Communications with next-generation add/drop multiplexers, core transport systems, aggregation systems and access systems, the company announced today.

The deal is the result of a request for proposals initiated by Verizon in October 2001. Fujitsu said Verizon is expected to name other vendors to fill the requirement but hasn’t yet. Nortel and Lucent also competed for the RFP, according to Fujitsu.

Fujitsu wouldn’t be specific about the financial value of the contract other than to say it would represent “hundreds of millions of dollars over the next three to five years.” The deal includes Fujitsu’s Flashwave 4500 core transport system, the 4300 aggregation system and the 4100 access system.

“It’s more than just your regular DS-1s and DS-3s,” said a Fujitsu spokesman of the next-generation gear. “You start to get into things like full line-rate gigabit Ethernet and digital video transport. Combining those functionalities into one product, you’re also getting the benefits of a simplified central office.”