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WESTELL TECHNOLOGIES INC - 10-Q - MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATION(Edgar Glimpses Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Overview The following discussion should be read together with the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements and the related Notes thereto and other financial information appearing elsewhere in this Form 10-Q. All references herein to the term "fiscal year" shall mean a year ended March 31 of the year specified. The Company commenced operations in 1980 as a provider of telecommunications network transmission products that enable advanced telecommunications services over copper telephone wires. Until fiscal 1994, the Company derived substantially all of its revenues from its Outside Plant Systems ("OSPlant Systems" or "OSP") products, particularly the sale of Network Interface Unit ("NIU") products and related products. The Company introduced its first Customer Networking Solutions ("CNS") products in fiscal 1993. The Company has also provided audio teleconferencing services since fiscal 1989 through its Conference Plus, Inc. subsidiary. The Company realizes the majority of its revenues from the North American market. On March 17, 2011, the Company entered into a definitive agreement to sell certain assets and transfer certain liabilities of the CNS segment to NETGEAR, Inc. ("NETGEAR"). This transaction closed on April 15, 2011. As part of the asset sale, most of the CNS segment's customer relationships, contracts and employees were transferred to NETGEAR. The Company retained one major CNS customer relationship and contract, and also retained the Homecloud product development program. As of July 18, 2011, the Company had $14.1 million of non-cancellable orders from this customer and expects to complete shipment of product under this contract by December 31, 2011. The Company also retained within its CNS division the Homecloud product development program. The Homecloud product family which is under development consists of ultra-high-speed applications-capable gateways and other applications-capable devices for the home network, plus associated software for home networking devices, plus Web-based services, to enable the delivery of new services into the home networking environment. In the OSP segment, the Company designs, distributes, markets and services a broad range of carrier-class digital transmission, remote monitoring, power distribution, next-generation outdoor equipment cabinets and service provider demarcation products. The Company's OSP products offer next-generation outdoor cabinets, enclosures, power distribution panels, flexible edge connectors (with respect to fiber, Ethernet and coax), remote monitoring solutions, DS1 and DS3 transmission plugs, and carrier grade Ethernet solutions. These solutions are optimized for wireline backhaul of cellular traffic, service delivery to business enterprise and smart grid applications. The Company's OSP segment also provides a value-added Customized Systems Integration ("CSI") service, offering its customers a single source for complete turnkey solutions, reducing the time-to-market and expenses incurred through third-party contractors and eliminating the need to design, assemble and test on the job site. Target OSP customers include wireline service providers, wireless service providers, multiple systems operators ("MSOs"), integrated carriers, utility providers and original equipment manufacturers ("OEMs") worldwide (all known as "service providers"). The power distribution and remote monitoring products are designed and provided through the Company's Noran Tel subsidiary located in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. Conference Plus, Inc. ("ConferencePlus" or "CP"), founded in 1988, is a full-service audio, web and video conferencing company that manages and hosts specific software and applications supporting its conferencing and meeting services. ConferencePlus is a 100% owned subsidiary of the Company and manages its conferencing and meeting services through its main operations center in Schaumburg, Illinois, and a facility in Dublin, Ireland. ConferencePlus allows multiple individuals, organizations and/or businesses to conduct conference calls using a combination of audio, web and video collaboration and presentations. ConferencePlus offers conference call services that can include a blend of audio, graphics, spreadsheets and other documents that can be carried over and archived on the Internet to enhance the traditional audio conference call. By enabling the sharing of this blend of information, ConferencePlus can help organizations increase productivity and save money by reducing travel time and costs, and making it easier for people in remote locations to work together. Conferencing and meeting service technologies also allow organizations and individuals to collect and disseminate information faster, more accurately and without the associated costs of face-to-face meetings. These technologies also help companies communicate and collaborate effectively in the face of health and safety threats and other impediments to travel and formal gatherings. 15 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table of Contents The prices for the products within each market group vary based upon volume, customer specifications and other criteria, and are subject to change due to competition among telecommunications manufacturers and service providers. The Company's customer base for its products is highly concentrated and comprised primarily of major U.S. telecommunications service providers ("telephone companies"), independent domestic local exchange carriers and public telephone administrations located outside the U.S. Due to the stringent quality specifications of its customers and the regulated environment in which its customers operate, the Company must undergo lengthy approval and procurement processes prior to selling its products. Accordingly, the Company must make significant up front investments in product and market development prior to actual commencement of sales of new products. To remain competitive, the Company must continue to invest in new product development and invest in targeted sales and marketing efforts to launch new product lines. Failure to increase revenues from new products, whether due to lack of market acceptance, competition, technological change or otherwise, could have a material adverse effect on the Company's business and results of operations. The Company expects to continue to evaluate new product opportunities and engage in extensive research and development activities. In view of the Company's current reliance on the telecommunications market for revenues and the unpredictability of orders and pricing pressures, the Company believes that period-to-period comparisons of its financial results are not necessarily meaningful and should not be relied upon as an indication of future performance. In the CNS segment, the Company is focusing on the Homecloud product development program as well as fulfilling its contractual obligations in the retained CNS customer relationship and contract. The under development Homecloud product family provides a new suite of services, beyond voice + video + data, into the home, for a variety of applications, including enhanced security; media and information management, sharing and delivery; home control; and network management. The Company is considering the sale of Homecloud products to its traditional service provider customer base as well as through new partnerships with online cloud-based service providers, and to consumers via various retail and online retail channel partners. The OSP segment has introduced products and services that focus on customer diversification and has changed from being a provider centered on service to Regional Bell Operating Companies into a provider with new sales channels including independent operating companies ("IOCs"), wireless service providers, MSOs, utility providers and OEMs worldwide. The Company continues to invest in new product areas to compliment the cellular backhaul and smart grid applications. |