Vivace Networks looks as if it may indeed have a large carrier customer and, apparently, it may have a new interim CEO, Light Reading has learned.

Sources close to Vivace say that NTT Communications Corp. has been testing Vivace's switches for the past several months and has now starting buying its gear. As Light Reading reported on Tuesday, several observers were speculating that Vivace had finally won a big contract (see Vivace's Vying for Customers). Potential Vivace customers making the rumor mill to date have included WorldCom Inc. (OTC: WCOEQ) and BellSouth Corp. (NYSE: BLS).

Vivace is known to be in several carrier trials at the moment, and one industry analyst recently spotted a Vivace switch within Sprint Corp.'s (NYSE: FON) labs.

It's no wonder that executives from Vivace Networks didn't return press calls on Tuesday (or Wednesday, for that matter). Evidently a recent management shakeup left some folks clearing their desks.

According to two sources close to Vivace, the company's board of directors has pushed out founder and CEO Ken Koenig. A new CEO hasn't yet been named, but Dominic Orr, the former president and CEO of Alteon WebSystems, has taken the reins for the time being, the sources say.

Orr definitely has a role within Vivace, because he is listed with a phone number there on the switchboard. But he didn't return calls to his voice mail at Vivace on Wednesday morning.

This story will be updated pending word from Vivace's management or board members.

— Phil Harvey, Senior Editor, Light Reading