Madge Networks NV, which slashed its workforce by 700 and ditched its asynchronous transfer mode ambitions earlier this year, is reviving the name of Lannet Data Communications Ltd, the Tel Aviv, Israeli-based Ethernet company it acquired back in 1995 (CI No 2,688). Madge will hive off its Ethernet products division into an autonomous subsidiary under the Lannet name in a move which seems to suggest that the company believes the brand name of a company it acquired so long ago is stronger than its own. According to Robert Madge, chairman of Madge Networks: By re-launching the company, we can realize all the value inherent in the Lannet brand. The company described the re-launch as a natural consequence of the corporate reorganization. Lannet will focus on linking Ethernet networks to switching technology and implementing high-speed Gigabit Ethernet, ATM and multilayer networks. It will be based in Tel Aviv and headed up by Shmil Levy as chief executive officer, with Robert Madge as chairman of the board. Lannet also announced a new technology alliance with NEC Corp, under which Lannet will resell NEC’s NETNEX 8775 ATM backbone switches under the brand name Meritage 1000. In return, NEC America will resell Lannet’s Ethernet switches and Ethernet-to-ATM switches in North America. It also announced a new line of backbone switches, the Meritage 1400, which integrate multilayer Gigabit Ethernet switching with ATM in the same chassis, and provides fault-tolerant capabilities.
