Equipment manufacturers with contracts to build personal communications services networks are more than rushed to get those systems up-they’re in an all-out run, said a business leader with a company interested in joining the race.
Artecon builds rackmounts and creates integrated workstations, in most cases through a partnership with Sun Microsystems Computer Co. and through contracts with the U.S. government.
But the Carlsbad, Calif., company is ready to branch out, and is eying the buildout activity of PCS operators.
Artecon believes it can provide a shortcut for manufacturers such as Motorola Inc. and Northern Telecom Ltd., which have signed large PCS equipment contracts that reportedly contain strict deadline penalties.
“We can help pull this thing together,” said Michael Harman, director of business development for Artecon’s new TeleCom Division.
For instance, Artecon can assemble parts such as modem racks, T-1 cards, servers, special Artecon PowerSphinx power converters, fans and other items into a rack; then add the manufacturer’s software.
“We can assemble the pieces and integrate them for the intelligent peripherals. We can source these things and do the project more cost efficiently,” Harman said.
Commercial, off-the-shelf parts would be used, meaning spare parts would be readily available and items would come with a warranty. Some items also would be hot-pluggable, meaning parts can be changed while the system is still running.
Artecon was founded in 1984 as a Unix systems integrator and has 43,000 square feet of manufacturing space. It reports annual revenue of about $70 million and has 150 employees. It has been an original equipment manufacturer partner with Sun for 12 years, and also is in a Silicon Graphics partnership.
