Nortel And Trapeze Team On Wireless NetworksNortel And Trapeze Team On Wireless Networks

Telecom equipment maker Nortel Networks Corp. has teamed up with Trapeze Networks Inc., a provider of wireless local-area network systems, to collectively develop a portfolio of products for voice, multimedia, and data applications.

The partnership between the two companies is focused on bringing an end-to-end wireless LAN product portfolio to customers, says Atul Bhatnagar, VP and general manager of enterprise data networks at Nortel. "The outcome is a complete and compelling mobility solution for enterprises with all the security pieces, all the management pieces, and all the networking infrastructure pieces in place," he says.

Nortel's background in security and network infrastructure and Trapeze's expertise in wireless LAN mobility systems will help deliver mobile apps and services to a broader spectrum of customers, says Bhatnagar. Nortel has been working with Trapeze since January to co-develop wireless LAN capabilities that will be part of Nortel's WLAN 2300 Series product portfolio, which will be available to customers sometime in May or June of this year.

The WLAN 2300 Series includes a multimode access point, a set of wireless LAN security switches, and a wireless LAN software-management system. It's compatible with mobile devices such as wireless LAN handsets, PDAs, BlackBerries, IP phones, and handheld PCs, among others, and can support anywhere from a few to thousands of access points across multiple networks, according to Nortel.

Nortel says the WLAN 2300 Series is its next-generation product portfolio that builds on the product layers that the company has developed over the years. "The market is shifting," Bhatnagar says. "It's no longer just about speeds and feeds, but it's about visibility and control, manageability and scalability, as well as integration of multimedia applications."