Solace Systems, which has developed a router for carriers that lets them deliver the IP-based traffic of corporate customers to the right place at the right time, has raised a whack of cash from a blue-chip list of investors. The group includes entrepreneur Terry Matthews, EdgeStone Capital Partners and Ontario Teachers' Pension Fund Private Capital. The Ottawa-based company did not, however, unveil how much money it had raised - citing competitive reasons. But one could speculate it was at least $20-million given this is a round focused on sales and marketing rather than R&D. The big money tends to pour in when customers and revenue are materializing. Solace believes it's only direct competitor is Cisco Systems, which makes one think Solace is perfectly positioned for a takeover offer from a Nortel or Alcatel.

Telco equipment vendors looking for good news will be buoyed to hear spending by European ILECs, CLECs and wireless service providers are expected to rise 9% this year, according to Infonetics Research. There will be aggressive spending on access aggregation equipment, IP/MPLS routers and voice equipment. While 9% may not seem like a big increase, it's large - relatively speaking - given the low-single digit growth and negative growth seen from 2001 to 2003. Infonetics said that European SPs are now spending 13% of revenue on capex, and this ratio will continue through 2005.

After launching cable telephony in Calgary in February, Shaw Communications is moving into Edmonton. By the end of the year, Shaw should have expanded into every major Western Canadian market. During a conference call earlier this month, CEO Jim Shaw made it clear the company wil stick to its $55 a month plan rather than drop prices to win market share. More details on the Edmonton launch later today.

As Neil Young kind of sang about Nortel "This week's the week, this week's the week, yeah, yeah", Nortel is supposed to report is fouth-quarter and 2004 results before the end of April, which only leaves it five business days. While most of the details have been released, these results should give analysts a much better handle on Nortel's sales momentum and gross margins. As much as Nortel is trying to put the accounting scandal behind it while restructuring senior management, there is still trouble on the near horizon: intense competition from traditional rivals such as Alcatel and Cisco, as well as low-cost Chinese suppliers such as ZTE Corp. and Huawei Technologies armed with billions in vendor financing.
It will also be interesting to see if Nortel holds an analyst call after declining to do so after the third-quarter results were released. With its accounting woes attracting investigations from the SEC, Ontario Securities Commission, Royal Canadian Mounted Police and FBI, Nortel is still holding its financial cards very close to its chest. If it goes ahead with a conference call, analysts may hear the facts and nothing but the facts - with little insightful "colour".