When LM Ericsson (Nasdaq: ERIC) or Nokia's (NYSE: NOK) joint venture Nokia Siemens install a telecom network somewhere in the world, chances are pretty good that at least some of the hardware comes from Tellabs (Nasdaq: TLAB). These days, when everyone and his grandmother are planning either 3G or 4G networks depending on location, selling that hardware is a pretty sweet business.

In the second quarter, Tellabs saw sales rising 10% year over year to $423 million while non-GAAP earnings more than doubled from $0.08 per share to $0.17 per share. The "usual suspects," AT&T (NYSE: T) and Verizon (NYSE: VZ), provided the largest chunks of the quarter's business, working through Tellabs partners such as Ericsson and Nokia Siemens. Tellabs is a connection point where service providers and equipment installers come together, gathered around Tellabs' hardware.

When asked about "clarity" on the opportunity to ship more equipment to AT&T, CEO Rob Pullen said there was none, and Tellabs is "out there every day fighting for our business" in hard-nosed competition with larger rivals such as Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO) and Juniper Networks (Nasdaq: JNPR). But the market opportunity is enormous as the Verizons and AT&Ts of the world spend generously to maintain their existing networks and then spend again to build the next generation of services. According to market analyst firm IDATE, the global telecom infrastructure spend was $227 billion in 2009 -- and that was a bad year with brighter prospects ahead.

Tellabs' stock is on an upswing after a couple of tough months. Do you expect the rise to continue on rising capital expenses for large telecoms, or will the rally sputter and die? Head over to CAPS and cast your vote accordingly.