It's a Small (Business) World

Vendors Showcase IADs with the Small-Business Customer in Mind

As small and mid-sized businesses have become the hottest commodity in the end-user market, service providers are looking for ways to provide more services on a single network at a lower cost per port. Several IAD vendors are offering up new products for the customer premises or central office (CO). The claims behind these products are that they can assist CLECs and other competitive providers in bringing bundled voice, video, data and Internet services to end users while increasing the bottom line and reducing the length of time it takes to pay off the equipment.

Much of the hype at SUPERCOMM in Atlanta centered on new developments that allow for the provision of voice over digital subscriber line (VoDSL) technology (See "Voice Takes DSL Center Stage at SUPERCOMM,"). But there were also a host of IADs that allow service providers to concentrate on voice calls, Internet access, data services and, in some cases, video. In addition, there were associated network management functions that allowed carriers to improve and track their networks' quality of service (QoS) and help in the creation and enforcement of service level agreements (SLAs.)

What follows is an alphabetical guide to the SUPERCOMM debuts of new-and-improved IADs, planned future developments and trials of the technology with service providers.

Total Access 750

ADTRAN Inc., Huntsville, Ala., showed its Total Access 750, a customer premises device that provides 24 voice lines, a V.35 port, fractional T1 DSX-1 interface to connect private branch exchanges (PBXs), and modules that allow for service delivery via integrated services digital network (ISDN), frame relay and digital data system (DDS). The box is 3.5 inches wide, 8. 5 inches high and 11 inches deep. It can be mounted on the wall or in standard racks. The carrier-class product is ideal for CLECs that are interested in serving small and mid-sized business customers, says Michael Costanza, product manager for ADTRAN's narrowband access products. The 750 is a modular product that only has four circuits per card, so not all customers with services going through the box are affected if a circuit goes down. In addition, the 750 comes with scaled-down options so it can be plugged in and ready to operate within minutes, he notes. The Total Access 750 is listed at $2,545, which Costanza says is about 35 percent to 45 percent less than similar products.

RBOX 4000 Multi-Service Aggregator

Advanced Switching Communications Inc. (ASC), Vienna, Va., spotlighted its new RBOX 4000 Multi-Service Aggregator, which will be available in September. The RBOX 4000 is designed for use by service providers seeking to integrate voice, data and video services in high-density points of presence (POPs). The 18-slot RBOX 4000 works in conjunction with the smaller, single-card RBOX 1000, 1240 and 2000. These single-card models can operate on a stand-alone basis, or as line cards in the RBOX 4000. Fourteen slots in the RBOX 4000 can support up to 336 T1/E1 ports or 56 T3/E3 ports. The remaining four slots support up to 16 T3/E3 or OC-3 ports. The RBOX 4000 offers traffic-engineering features to support SLAs, and has a "plug-and-play" default asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) virtual path cross-connect configuration for ease of use. ASC expects the starting price of the basic RBOX 4000 to be less than $11,000.

SuperLine Access System

AG Communication Systems, a Phoenix-based subsidiary of Lucent Technologies Inc., Murray Hill, N.J. and Paradyne Corp., Largo, Fla., announced that incumbent telco GTE Network Services, Irving, Texas, expected to begin market trials of the SuperLine Access System this month. GTE plans to use the SuperLine system to offer residential and small-business customers up to three telephone lines, including lifeline service and Internet data over existing copper wires.

AG and Paradyne jointly developed SuperLine. AG created the SuperLine Access Shelf, a box that resides in either the service provider's CO or a remote digital loop carrier (DLC) location. Paradyne developed the customer premises equipment (CPE) called SuperLine IAD, which is about the size of a conventional modem. The SuperLine IAD is designed to be installed by the customer, requiring users to simply plug the device into a standard phone jack and power outlet. The device also supports enhanced features such as caller ID, call waiting, call forwarding and distinctive ringing. The SuperLine system uses Tripleplay technology developed by Paradyne, which expands copper-loop capacity to carry additional premium-quality phone lines plus an Ethernet or packet-based data channel. Costs for the SuperLine system range from $100 per line to $600 per line, based on configuration and volume discounts.

DG200 Data Gateway

Alcatel USA, Plano, Texas, announced its plans to develop a series of new products designed to integrate data services directly into the company's existing digital cross-connect systems. The new DG200 Data Gateway will add frame relay and ATM capability to narrowband cross-connects. The DG200 is a single-card frame relay switch that can be used in Alcatel's DEXCS digital cross-connect. The DG200 will plug directly into the same high-density shelf that supports DS-1 and DS-3 interfaces. Alcatel says that a major CLEC, which it declined to name, now is testing the DG200's interoperability with existing frame relay and ATM switches. Future additions to series are expected to support services such as inverse multiplexing over ATM, circuit emulation and Internet protocol (IP).

PurePacket

Integral Access Inc., Chelmsford, Mass., launched its PurePacket network access family of products at SUPERCOMM. Pure-Packet is a proprietary combination of customer premises devices, carrier equipment and network-management capabilities, according to David Gunning, Integral's vice president of marketing. For the customer premises is OUTburst, a variety of devices that can be used to feed voice and data applications from the end user to the network core using DSL or leased lines. OUTburst solutions vary from equipment for multiple dwelling units (MDUs) and home offices to small and mid-sized enterprises. On the carrier side is the Pure-PacketNode (PPN), which can be deployed at the CO, POP, in collocation facilities or at larger MDUs. The PPN is a service aggregation device that supports a wide range of interfaces from plain old telephone service (POTS), DSL and ISDN to OC-12 and gigabit Ethernet. The PPN can support up to 2,000 voice lines in a single node. Also included in the PurePacket family is a network management system (NMS), which can run the network from any web-enabled workstation. The NMS allows providers to configure remote equipment, provision service, create and monitor SLAs and view network performance.

Copper-Linc

Integrated Network Corp. (INC), Bridgewater, N.J., showed off Copper-Linc, its line of multiservice products. Copper-Linc comprises three classes of resource modules. The service module supports service-related offerings such as POTS, DDS, symmetrical DSL (SDSL) and ISDN. Transport modules support transmission lines such as T1, T3 and OC-3. Protocol modules support higher-level transport methods, such as IP, Ethernet, ATM and frame relay. All the modules are controlled by the Shelf Management Unit (SMU), through which providers can use INC's PC-based graphical user interface (GUI) software to configure the system and provision services. The SMU also allows Copper-Linc to support digital cross-connects and circuit grooming among the resource modules to optimize bandwidth allocation.

At SUPERCOMM, INC announced that Vitts Networks, a Manchester, N.H.-based CLEC, completed an initial trial using Copper-Linc. The first phase of the trial included lab tests of SDSL line cards, the Copper-Linc Turbo CPE and GUI system management software.

PacketPath Interface Cards

The Montreal-based Access Network Systems Group of Marconi Communications debuted two new PacketPath interface cards for its OSIRIS optical multiplexer. The cards enable access providers to transport time-division multiplexing (TDM) voice, IP and local area network (LAN) traffic on the same fiber optic synchronous optical network (SONET) ring. The PacketPath Fractional Ethernet Access Card allows for direct Ethernet connectivity. The Ethernet card gives providers four LAN ports and can be used as a router port extension, saving the provider from having to perform IP configurations on each attached device. In addition, providers can use the Ethernet card to compile statistics on bandwidth usage and bill their customers for the exact amount of bandwidth used. The PacketPath ATM Concentrator Card provides direct connectivity to an ATM backbone or router through an OC-3 interface.

Phone Data exchange

Praxon Inc., Campbell, Calif., introduced new features to its Phone Data exchange (PDX), a piece of CPE designed to integrate voice, data networking, messaging and Internet access for small and mid-sized business, as well as remote offices. Ideal for CLECs and their customers is the new T1 module that has 24 channels for circuit-based voice and data over frame relay. The list price of the T1 module is $3,000, says Tom Williams, Praxon's president and CEO. Praxon also debuted a 32-port voice module, which doubles the capacity of the PDX box. The list price for the 32-port module is $6,000. When fully functional, this version can cost as little as $250 per user, Williams adds.

Praxon also released version 1.2 of its Integrated Communications Operation System (ICOS). The ICOS is a slick, easy-to-use interface that allows for unified messaging between e-mail and voice mail systems, and can support dialing and call management from the desktop computer.

AccessDirector

Premisys Communications Inc., Fremont, Calif., is trying to make life easier for CLECs wanting to offer SLAs to customers. "As the CLEC market matures, they have to grant SLAs to their larger customers, but they're stuck with the dilemma of how to prove they're offering what they promised," says Jim Diestel, strategic marketing planner for Premisys. To assist CLECs with SLAs, the company announced that it has developed AccessDirector, an element management system (EMS) that will allow providers to monitor, configure and test all elements of Premisys' integrated access products. The AccessDirector will consolidate the separate management systems that have been used for Premisys' narrowband and broadband products. Currently, AccessDirector is a Unix-based system with a GUI. Eventually, the EMS will allow network management from any location using Windows-based systems or Unix-based Sun UltraSPARC workstations running Solaris software. The software, which is available now, starts at $5,000, Diestel says.

Integrator

Sonoma Systems, Marina del Rey, Calif., debuted its new IAD called the Integrator. Expected to be available this month, the Integrator allows providers such as CLECs and Internet service providers (ISPs) to provide voice, high-speed data, transparent LAN and video services over ATM facilities. The IAD also lets providers use the included software to select the amount of bandwidth customers are allotted, from a single T1 or E1 connection up to four T1/EI inverse multiplexing over ATM (IMA) ports. The Integrator, which will retail for $7,500, also includes the SonomaView Quick Start Wizard. The Wizard allows the Integrator essentially to configure itself so providers quickly can deploy their offerings, says John Mazzaferro, Sonoma's vice president of corporate marketing.

EdgeLink 300

Telco Systems, the network access solutions division of World Access Inc., showed the latest version of its EdgeLink 300, which is expected to be released this quarter. The EdgeLink 300 is a customer premises device that is aimed at CLECs offering voice, Internet, intranet and data services to smaller businesses. With the upcoming version of EdgeLink, providers will be able to support two T1s providing 48 voice channels, twice the number of voice lines in the same amount of rack space as the previous version. In addition to supporting the migration from circuit-switched services to future packet-based services, the box is easily upgradable through web-based downloads, says Kay Roatch, Telco Systems' business development and marketing manager. Pricing for the two T1 option is listed at $6,995. Telco Systems also debuted two other versions of its EdgeLink 300: an international one that supports E1 or dual E1 connections, and a voice-only model that will allow users add data capacity at a later date through a software upgrade.

StarDAX

Telect Inc., Liberty Lake, Wash., debuted the StarDAX, a family of products that incorporates a digital cross-connect and an integrated multiple access platform. The StarDAX consists of a chassis, system manager card, a power module and pairs of application and interface cards. The application modules of the StarDAX can support T1 to T3 links, 56/64 kilobits per second (kbps) data transmission, 48kbps to 2.048 megabits per second (mbps) high-speed synchronous data processing, as well as high-bit rate (HDSL) and SDSL. The StarDAX is available in four- and 11-slot models. The four-slot design is just 5.25 inches tall and manages 32 T1s, while the 11-slot model can handle up to 88 T1s in just 10.5 inches of vertical rack space. The StarDAX's network management capabilities include intuitive VT100 terminal interfaces for direct or remote connectivity via an internal modem or TELNET.

Telect is aiming the StarDAX at a variety of providers, including incumbent telcos, CLECs, ISPs, wireless carriers and enterprise networks.

Multiservice T1 Integrator and Multiservice xchange

VINA Technologies Inc., Fremont, Calif., was showing its established customer premises devices, the Multiservice T1 Integrator and Multiservice xchange. The T1 Integrator enables end users to combine voice, data and Internet traffic over a single T1 line, while xchange sets the stage for bringing ATM services to the customer premises. At SUPERCOMM, however, VINA announced a new customer--Birch Telecom Inc., a Kansas City, Mo.-based CLEC. Birch is using VINA's T1 Integrator for business customers in the Kansas City metropolitan area. Later this year, Birch expects to expand the offering into other markets where it competes with San Antonio-based Southwestern Bell.

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