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Chuga-Chuga Choo Choo
By Mark Evans | September 19, 2006
Maybe Nortel should carve out a competitive niche by focusing its efforts on serving the railway industry. Last month, it signed a deal with an Algerian Railway involving GSM-R technology; and today it unveiled a GSM-R contract with India’s Indian Railway to improve safety and efficiency in Uttar Pradesh - site of one of the most important and business rail arteries. The wireless network will provide service along a 751-km, 90-station line connecting the major Uttar Pradesh industrial and business centers of Ghaziabad and Mugalsarai. It will be used to connect train conductors, on-board crew, train dispatchers, station personnel and other operations groups, such as those responsible for attaching and separating rail cars at station yards. Perhaps the focus on railways is part of Nortel CEO Mike Zafirovski’s master plan. Rather than trying to be all things to all people, Nortel has perhaps suddenly realized there is a more lucrative future by focusing on a few things…such as railways. Of course, the railway market isn’t big enough to support even a slimmed down Nortel but it makes for a nice slogan: “Nortel: The World’s Railway Telecom Supplier”.
Update: Orion Securities analyst Duncan Stewart estimates the Indian Railways contract is worth $7.5-million based on a $10,000 per kilometer formula. However, he believes the potential market to provide the railway with GSM-R technology is worth $500-million over the next five years given the railway has an astounding 108,706 kilometers of track. Stewart estimates the Chinese’s GSM-R market could also be worth $500-million over the same period of time. Maybe Nortel is onto something after all.
Topics: Wireless |