Product details

Nortel Networks is a leading telecom equipment and service provider generating over US$20 billion in annual revenues with US$4.5 billion coming from the European operations. With the advent and increasing spread of Internet-based services, telecom equipment providers are moving to provide the underlying equipment to power internet-based services for customers. One way that the European operations of Nortel have chosen to move into the Internet arena is through a product called iPOP targeted at voice resellers and ISPs. iPOP presents an opportunity for ISPs to move into lucrative voice services or for voice resellers to move into data services. Nortel is now examining the way forward with the iPOP product. Because voice resellers and ISPs tend to be small to medium scale enterprises, Nortel has also provided a technical support and financial package along with the product to enable ISPs and voice resellers to adopt the product as a revenue enhancing measure and as an entry point into new Internet markets. The first market in Europe that Nortel entered with iPOP was the Dutch market. The questions that the company is grappling with are: (1) What should be Nortel Networks'' position for iPoP in the Netherlands and other European markets? What is the market size?; (2) What competitive response should Nortel Networks expect in the Dutch and other European markets? What should their counter move be?; and (3) What should be the future changes, if any, in the iPOP product? How should those changes be affected by developments in the regulatory environment, evolution of the market and the target customers? Are there other markets that can be tapped with the iPOP product? If so, how?