Intel Looks To Expand Reach In Telecom MarketIntel Looks To Expand Reach In Telecom Market

Leading chipmaker Intel has begun shipping the "building blocks" for reliable telecommunications servers, putting market leader Sun Microsystems squarely in its sights as it looks to expand its presence in the telecom market.

The new products are meant for use in telecom applications such as virtual private network services, handling voice-over-IP traffic, and unified messaging. They'll meet the strict Network Equipment Building Specification standards, meaning that they're rugged enough to survive extreme temperatures, fires, and earthquakes. A number of international regulations require that servers used for telecommunications meet high standards for durability.

The servers, consisting just of a Pentium III processor, motherboard, and case, will be sold directly to vendors such as Hewlett-Packard, which will add their own memory chips, hard drives, and cards as needed for different applications. The vendors will then sell them to the telcos.

"Intel's corporate strategy is based on scaling their technology into mission-critical IT environments," says Brooks Gray, a Technology Business Research analyst. "This is another way for Intel to prove that their technology can compete at a high level." Gray says the effort should prove beneficial for customers, who'll see more choices and shrinking price tags. "Any market that the Intel product has pushed into, you've seen price drops."