Wellfleet Communications was an

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...

router company founded in 1986 by Paul Severino, Bill Seifert, Steven Willis and David Rowe based in

Bedford, Massachusetts Bedford is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population of Bedford was 14,383 at the time of the 2020 United States Census. History ''The following compilation comes from Ellen Abrams (1999) based on information ...

, and later

Billerica, Massachusetts Billerica (, ) is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 42,119 according to the 2020 census. It takes its name from the town of Billericay in Essex, England. History In the early 1630s, a Praying Indian ...

. In an attempt to more effectively compete with

Cisco Cisco Systems, Inc., commonly known as Cisco, is an American-based multinational digital communications technology conglomerate corporation headquartered in San Jose, California. Cisco develops, manufactures, and sells networking hardware, ...

Systems, its chief rival, it merged in October, 1994 with

SynOptics SynOptics Communications was a Santa Clara, California-based early computer network equipment vendor from 1985 until 1994. SynOptics popularized the concept of the modular Ethernet hub and high-speed Ethernet networking over copper twisted-pair a ...

Communications of

Santa Clara, California Santa Clara (; Spanish for " Saint Clare") is a city in Santa Clara County, California. The city's population was 127,647 at the 2020 census, making it the eighth-most populous city in the Bay Area. Located in the southern Bay Area, the cit ...

to form

Bay Networks Bay Networks was a network hardware vendor formed through the merger of Santa Clara, California based SynOptics Communications and Billerica, Massachusetts based Wellfleet Communications on July 6, 1994. SynOptics was an important early innovato ...

in a deal worth

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

2.7B. Bay Networks would in turn be acquired by

Nortel Nortel Networks Corporation (Nortel), formerly Northern Telecom Limited, was a Canadian multinational telecommunications and data networking equipment manufacturer headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in Montreal, Quebec, ...

in June, 1998 for

9.1B. Wellfleet was ranked the fastest-growing company in the United States by

Fortune Fortune may refer to: General * Fortuna or Fortune, the Roman goddess of luck * Luck * Wealth * Fortune, a prediction made in fortune-telling * Fortune, in a fortune cookie Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''The Fortune'' (1931 film) ...

Magazine in both 1992 and 1993. Wellfleet sold routers. Wellfleet also emphasized on support of the up-and-coming

Internet Protocol The Internet Protocol (IP) is the network layer communications protocol in the Internet protocol suite for relaying datagrams across network boundaries. Its routing function enables internetworking, and essentially establishes the Internet. IP h ...

. In 1991, Cisco led the global multi-protocol router market with a 51% share, whereas Wellfleet was third with only 9% market share. By 1993, Wellfleet had grown to a 14% market share, second only to Cisco's 50%. Wellfleet concluded the best way to gain strategic positioning over Cisco would be to merge with hub manufacturer

. By combining these technologies, the joined companies could provide their customers with common product interfaces and network management tools. The resulting merged company,

(named as such because Wellfleet was based in Boston, Massachusetts and SynOptics in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, two classic bay cities).

References

External links

Wellfleet co-founder Seifert now driving new business at Avaya

Defunct networking companies Networking companies of the United States Nortel Companies based in Billerica, Massachusetts Defunct companies based in Massachusetts Companies based in Bedford, Massachusetts

References

Further reading

External links