NBN a boon for network equipment

Juniper Networks claims to have been ‘fairly vocal’ in its efforts, and has made a submission on what it believes to be an ‘optimal architecture’.

This would be designed with IPv6 in mind from day one, according to Shaun Page, vice president A/NZ for Juniper.

“We’re making ourselves heard,” Page told iTNews.

“NBN is going to be a good thing for all equipment vendors. We watch with intent as [the debate] plays out.”

Juniper Networks already claims to have 90 percent of Australia’s broadband remote access market routing through Unisphere equipment.

However, it does not expect this level of penetration to give the company an advantage in securing additional equipment purchase deals if NBN goes ahead.

“The [NBN] architecture will likely be built very differently from the way DSL networks have been architected in the past,” said Page.

Exact calculation of the network cost and the identity of the eventual operator will also govern potential equipment sales opportunities.

“Telstra has a much larger equipment and installed base – so you could argue they don’t need to invest as much, whereas others will have to build out more,” said Page.

“People are still getting their heads around what’s required.”

Page said that Juniper’s strategy in the networking market is to consolidate functionality made via recent acquisitions into its existing product lines.

More long-term, the company also wants to standardise its portfolio on its own Juniper operating system, JunOS.

“Our vision is very much JunOS-centric,” Page said.

“We expect customers to transition to JunOS over time as they see the benefits of running a single operating system across their network infrastructure.”

The company said it will not rewrite the OS for existing product lines. Products such as the NetScreen 5400 will retain the Screen OS.