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North American equipment vendors can remain competitive globally, even if this section of the globe falls behind in broadband penetration, but they will be forced to make some difficult decisions, Nortel President and CEO William Owens said this week.

"We are a multinational company, and there are thousands of people working for us in China and Europe," he said. "A multinational company has a growth structure that we must sustain, and we will do what we have to do to be competitive. It could be of economic benefit to [U.S. and Canadian] governments if it happens here, and we would be stronger. But we will stay strong."

One option, he said, is to outsource research and development as Nortel and many others have outsourced manufacturing.

"A lot can be done in India, where the wages with benefits are $70,000 versus $170,000 here, and the work is done well," Owens said. "I would not be happy doing that, but we have to be able to compete against some of the new entries, like Huawei and ZTE."

Owens would also like to see the U.S. and Canadian governments work harder at helping the telecommunications industry fight unfair competition in the global marketplace, such as government subsidies of manufacturers.

"We should be unafraid, that if there is unfair competition in the world, for that to be fodder for our governments with the WTO [World Trade Organization], just has it has been for the steel, lumber or airplane industries," Owens said.

There is still ample time to address the competitive issues, he added. "In the long term, if there isn't a visionary buildout in the U.S., we will suffer significantly," he said.