Nortel this week said it will resell customer premises Ethernet termination equipment from ANDA Networks.
The ANDA gear will help Nortel broaden the Ethernet VPN portfolio offered through its Metro Ethernet Networks division. 

Nortel is selling this division to raise cash to invest in other, more strategic areas for the company. 

ANDA's EtherReach products to be offered through Nortel's MEN unit are targeted at smaller customer access sites with fiber or copper infrastructures. The products support between one and four access ports and complement Nortel's existing Metro Ethernet Services Unit 1800/1850/1860/1880 offerings for larger enterprises, which support between 12 and 24 access ports, the company says.

Citing data from Infonetics Research, Nortel says business spending on Ethernet services will generate $17 billion in revenue during 2008 for service providers globally, from less than $2.5 billion in 2004. It will eclipse IP MPLS VPN service revenue this year, Nortel says, again citing Infonetics.

Nortel says service providers can bundle the ANDA products with its Carrier Ethernet portfolio - which has more than 100 customers globally – or its Optical Ethernet portfolio, which has over 10,000 units deployed.

Nortel is undergoing a wrenching restructuring amid disappointing results and a tough economy. The company recently said it would lay off 1,300 additional employees, and discharged its CTO and three other executives