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Network modernizationis a worldwide phenom-enon, with operatorslooking beyond theirown borders for equip-

ment solutions—albeit with a wary eye. These operators want assurance that theequipment will work as required, andthat they will get the support they need

in planning, deploying and maintainingthat infrastructure.

 To meet those needs, Tellabs works with local partners around the world.Based in the network operator’s ownregion—often in the same country—these partners help Tellabs ensure thatcustomers get the support they need in atimely and professional manner.

 Tellabs has worked with some of its local partners for years. Recently,however, the company created thePartnerPlus Program with the goal of 

enhancing those relationships, help-ing establish new ones and ultimately enhance the customer’s experience withthe partner organizations.

“PartnerPlus aligns Tellabs resourcesand support to leverage the local partner’s

strategic value to the partnership and toour network operator clients,” said JoeShilgalis, vice president of channel part-ners for Tellabs.

  Tellabs chooses partners selectively,looking for companies that have a strongunderstanding of telecom technology 

and strong relationships with local net- work operators.

“We look for a company that has atechnical sales team and is willing to pro-

 vide pre- and post-sale technical services,”Shilgalis said. “They also should have aportfolio of complementary services tohelp provide an end-to-end solution forthe network operator. We don’t flood amarket with partners.”

Instead, Tellabs partners are treated asextensions of the company’s sales and sup-port team and are provided with a range

of resources to help them in that role. Two partners that recently worked

 with Tellabs to win and execute key proj-ects are Switzerland-based Miracom andSTG, which has offices in four Central

 American countries and engineers in a

fifth. Both companies illustrate how thePartnerPlus program works and what itcan help partners achieve.

Founded in 1988, Miracom has a strongtrack record in managing infrastruc-ture deployment projects on behalf of 

network operator clients.“We have installed millions of dollars

of equipment without a single delay thatcaused us to pay a penalty and withoutever failing to meet a customer’s specifi-cations for capacity or functionality,” saidHans Peter Naegeli, CEO.

 Miracom has handled multiple projectsfor one major European network opera-tor, which recently enlisted Miracom’shelp with a deployment aimed at increas-ing the capacity of the transport network.

 That network, for the operator’s wireless

GSM service, had seen traffic boom as aresult of customers’ heavy use of hand-held devices.

One reason why that operator oftenuses Miracom for such projects, ratherthan handling it internally, is that “we’re

 Think Globally, Act Locally  Tellabs’ PartnerPlus program provides local expertise

and support for operators worldwide.BY JOAN ENGEBRETSON

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faster,” Naegeli said. Miracom oftenadvises the operator about new technolo-gy and is sometimes asked to recommendequipment for a particular project.

 Miracom has worked with Tellabs on

other deployments and recommend-ed the Tellabs ® 8600 Managed EdgeSystem for the wireless transport net-

 work upgrade for a variety of technicaland business reasons. One consideration

 was the product’s ability to support ATM,helping to preserve the operator’s invest-ment in that technology.

 Miracom also found Tellabs more flex-ible than other suppliers in meeting theoperator’s business requirements. Forexample, Miracom and Tellabs were ableto devise a pricing approach based on

total cost of ownership in order to meetcustomers’ contractual needs.

 Miracom and Tellabs also have estab-lished partner relationships with eachother at various levels and functionalareas of the two organizations.

“We have a handful of contacts at Tellabs who make our work possible,”Naegeli said.

  At least once every three years, all  Miracom employees who work with

 Tellabs visit Tellabs’ facility in Finland, where the company’s regional supportstaff is based. Besides providing theopportunity for technical training, thisapproach also gives both companies’employees valuable face time.

“They can exchange experiences andget updated on who is responsible for whaton each side,” Naegeli said. “We wantto make sure that people who trouble-shoot know each other and one another’slevel of education so that when they aretroubleshooting, they can start with intel-

ligent questions because they have an ideaof what the other side is capable of.”

 Miracom also has found value inthe Web-based portal that Tellabs pro-

 vides exclusively for partners. Miracom’sstaff uses it to stay abreast of newproduct announcements, includingcompetitive information.

“We like to see how Tellabs views themarket situations and players,” Naegelisaid. “It’s very important for us.”

 This kind of information is helpfulfor generating additional business fromcustomers such as the aforementionedEuropean operator.

“We know from Tellabs what’s hap-

pening in other markets,” Naegeli said.“They help us recognize trends. We try to think of issues ahead of our customersso that by the time they start to think about a problem, we have a solution.”

STG, founded in 1989, serves sev-eral regional network operators inCentral America.

“They feel confident asking STG forsupport knowing that we are a strategic

 Tellabs partner and their experience willbe similar,” said Jorge Escobedo, STG’spresident. “We add the value of havinglocal people. Competitors mostly haveone regional office in Central America orperhaps Mexico or Colombia. Customersare very confident asking us about newprojects because of the knowledge wehave, not only on equipment, but on thecustomer’s network.”

STG first worked with Tellabs in 1994,and over the years the partnership hasgrown to where Tellabs now representsabout 60% of STG’s business.

One of STG’s key customers is aregional operator that has acquired sev-

eral other operators. STG and Tellabsbegan to work with the operator after thepartners hosted a technical seminar about

 Tellabs products tailored for a company that the operator later acquired.

Recently, the operator sought STG’sadvice when it was searching for a solu-tion to transport all of its mobile traffic.STG suggested the carrier considerupgrading its existing network based onSDH to Tellabs’ ROADM technology.

“They needed to have a huge differen-tiator because they had competition and

 were the newcomers in the market,” said Juan David Alvarado, account managerfor STG.

Decision-makers liked the fact thatROADM technology enables them toupgrade bandwidth between individualnodes on a ring. Network operatorscan accommodate growth only whereneeded, rather than having to upgradean entire ring. The customer also wasplanning a video launch. Based oninformation from experts at Tellabs andthe experiences of other Tellabs cus-tomers, STG recommended ROADMbecause it minimizes and often elimi-nates the need for regeneration to

support video delivery. This critical information prompt-

ed the operator to enlist STG’s and Tellabs’ help to construct two separatenetworks, including one spanning sev-eral countries.

 Tellabs resources, including an onlinepartner portal, were helpful duringthe deployment process and for ongo-ing support.

“We use the portal to get detailedtechnical and configuration information

 we need to support our customers,” said

Santiago Munoz, product and commer-cial manager for STG. “The portal alsohas a subset of features the customerscan use. We show them how to use it andthey can get the information they needdirectly from the portal.”

 Thanks to close coordination betweenthe partners, the projects were completedon schedule and the networks are work-ing well for the customer. The partnersare working on other new opportunities

 with that customer and others, includinga possible geographic expansion.

 Miracom and STG are just two outof 70 partners that help support Tellabs’global operations.

“Network operators are looking forthe expertise that Tellabs has developedin serving their counterparts around the

 world,” Shilgalis said. “The PartnerPlusprogram provides an excellent platformfor bringing that expertise to our cus-tomers using a trusted local partner asthe conduit.”

 ATM: GSM: ROADM:

SDH: