Nortel steps in as E/O Networks distributor, minority shareholder

Canadian telecommunications provider Northern Telecom (Nortel; Mississauga, Ontario, Canada) recently signed a marketing and distribution agreement with E/O Networks (EON, Hayward, CA). EON is a privately backed start-up company that manufactures fiberoptic telecommunications equipment for the low-density market. Nortel will be marketing the EON FDS-1, a fiberoptic distribution system that incorporates optical network units and a host digital terminal; the product was released for field trials in May 1995. Nortel also will provide technical support for the product. As part of the agreement, the company has assumed a minority share of EON, and Nortel vice president Wayne Fathergill has taken a position on the EON board of directors.