INSTANT VIEW: Nortel files for bankruptcy protection in U.S

TORONTO (Reuters) - Nortel Networks Corp, North America's biggest telephone equipment maker, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection with the U.S. bankruptcy court in Delaware on Wednesday.

COMMENTARY:

EAMON HOEY, TELECOMMUNICATIONS CONSULTANT AT TORONTO-BASED MANAGEMENT CONSULTING FIRM HOEY AND ASSOCIATES

"It's a sad day for Canada, in the sense that we've lost one of our icons."

"They failed to ask the fundamental questions: who are our customers today and who will be our customers tomorrow."

"The whole industry has been going through a severe restructuring that began in the mid 90s and Nortel is a casualty of that."

"It's not without some degree of criticism (for Nortel), they were not just caught in the downdraft."

BRENT BRACELIN, ANALYST AT PACIFIC CREST SECURITIES:

"Obviously it doesn't come as a big shock. This was telegraphed from the past three months," he said.