Fuji Xerox Co says it has entered into a deal with Alteon Networks Inc to jointly develop switches for gigabit Ethernet local area networks, according to the Nikkei Daily News. Fuji Xerox will market the switches – developed in Japan under the Alteon brand name – starting this summer. FujiXerox plans to sell the switches for around $17,000 each. It hopes the product will nearly double the sales of its LAN equipment division in fiscal 1998 to about $172m. NEC Corp earlier made a similar deal with the US firm. Unlike NEC, however, Fuji Xerox plans to buy a stake in Alteon. In a separate development, NEC says it is adopting technology from Cabletron Systems Inc to produce asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) communications equipment. In June, NEC will ship two types of ATM-compatible switches, which sort data according to destination. The Japanese electronics giant may also buy an equity interest in the US firm. NEC sold $78m worth of ATM-related products in fiscal 1996. Figures were calculated at a rate of 116 yen to the dollar.
