Light Reading Study Points to Carrier Capex Growth in 2004 NEW YORK, Dec. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Capital spending by major North American carriers continued to fall below historical norms in 2003 but appears poised to rebound in 2004, according to a new report from Light Reading Insider (http://www.lightreading.com/insider), a subscription research service of Light Reading (http://www.lightreading.com/). The report -- Capital Spending Outlook 2004 - analyzes the spending plans of the six largest service providers in North America and presents a detailed picture of how much those carriers spent in 2003 and how much they are likely to spend, and on what technologies, in 2004. Among the report's key findings: * Aggregate capital spending by the top six North American carriers grew in each of the first three quarters of 2003 and is expected to continue that growth in the fourth quarter. * Next-gen Sonet, efforts to drive fiber to the premises, IP/MPLS gear, and softswitching are likely to be the hottest growth areas for carrier capex in 2004. Details of the major investment initiatives of the top six North American wireline carriers are included in the report, alongside an analysis of which vendors and product segments are most likely to benefit. Public companies mentioned in this report include Advanced Fibre Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:AFCI), Alcatel SA (NYSE: ALA; Paris: CGEP:PA), AT&T Corp. (NYSE:T), BellSouth Corp. (NYSE:BLS), Ciena Corp. (NASDAQ:CIEN), Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO), Fujitsu Ltd. (OTC:FJTSY), Juniper Networks Inc. (NASDAQ:JNPR), Lucent Technologies Inc. (NYSE:LU), Nortel Networks Corp. (NYSE/Toronto: NT)), Qwest Communications International Inc. (NYSE:Q), SBC Communications Inc. (NYSE:SBC), Siemens AG (NYSE: SI; Frankfurt: SIE), Sprint Corp. (NYSE:FON), Sycamore Networks Inc. (NASDAQ:SCMR), Tellabs Inc. (Nasdaq: TLAB; Frankfurt: BTLA), and Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ). A separate report analyzing wireless carrier spending plans is now available from Unstrung Insider (http://www.unstrung.com/insider), a wireless research subscription service from Light Reading. This report analyzes the spending patterns of 10 major wireless operators from around the world. About Light Reading Light Reading launched in February 2000. Its Website, http://www.lightreading.com/, delivers free, timely, and entertaining in-depth analysis of optical networking developments and now has more than 850,000 monthly unique users. Profitable from its inception, Light Reading has rapidly gained a reputation as required reading for anybody associated with next-generation Internet technology. About Light Reading Insider Light Reading Insider is an electronic research service of Light Reading. It provides supplemental and time-sensitive analysis to investors and industry leaders tracking the latest developments in the telecommunications industry. Light Reading Insider costs $1,250 for a single-seat annual subscription. Individual reports may be purchased for $400. The Light Reading Insider site is http://www.lightreading.com/insider. Contact: Blythe Teed Marketing Manager Light Reading 212-925-0020 x106 DATASOURCE: Light Reading Insider CONTACT: Blythe Teed, Marketing Manager of Light Reading, +1-212-925-0020 ext. 106, Web site: http://www.lightreading.com/ http://www.lightreading.com/insider

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