Integral Access Lowers Bar to Broadband

Integral Access Inc. (www.integralaccess.com) believes it has found a way to meet carrier needs for higher capacity network access solutions to accommodate delivery of integrated broadband services during a time of severe restrictions on capital spending.

The Chelmsford, Mass.-based access network systems supplier this week introduced a new broadband version of its IAD (integrated access device) that supports 4.5mbps access over the combined throughput of three T1 lines using IP and MPLS (multi-protocol label switching) technology. The system is designed to allow service providers to dynamically mix the flow of voice and data services in accord with customer use, with total voice capacity reaching to the equivalent of 48 DS0 lines, said Ed Harper, senior product manager for Integrated Access.

"Prior to this, our PurePacketOUTBurst SB system supported delivery of integrated services over just a single DS1 (1.5mbps) line," Harper said. "Now we combine the capacity of three DS1s to create a single logical connection that doubles the voice line capacity of our 1.5 mbps IADs while adding substantial bandwidth for delivery of data. This represents a much lower cost alternative to carriers' customers than the option of jumping to the next available tier in the TDM hierarchy, which would be a DS3 line at 45 mbps."

By offering three DS1s that act logically like a single IP-based multiservice link carriers will be giving customers a much more attractive high bandwidth option at an overall system premium of 20 percent over the cost of the single-line IAD, Harper added. "The system gives carriers' customers a more affordable way to go to the next level of bandwidth beyond DS1 while minimizing the amount of cap ex on the carrier side," he said.

Both the 1x and 3xT1 IADs work with the Integral Access "PurePacketNode," which is installed at the SP's central office or other local point of presence to establish an IP-based packet flow between the edge and customers' premises. The node unit serves both as a data router and an access gateway in either a circuit-switched or a soft switch-based voice environment and can also be used to function as a digital cross connect, a digital loop carrier termination point or a DSLAM (DSL access multiplexer) with various modifications, Harper said.

MPLS technology allows the carrier to make connectionless networks act like connection-oriented legacy systems, he added. The platform enables service providers to guarantee QoS for latency sensitive voice calls and video transmissions, dynamically allocate bandwidth between voice, video and data applications and to bill for multiple classes of service.

At the premises end, the IAD serves to translate signals into native protocols accommodating whatever the legacy terminal environment might be at any given customer's facilities. "We don't require replacement of customer premises equipment, which we believe is essential to moving the market in the direction of packet-based integrated services," Harper said. Existing customers like Time Warner Telecommunications, Inc. (www.twtelecom.com) won't have to change out their CO gear to implement the new 4.5mbps IAD option, he added.

"The features promised by the (4.5mbps IAD) position us to satisfy the advanced application requirements of our larger customers while enabling us to create and deliver new cost-effective integrated IP voice and broadband data services," said Mike Rouleau, senior vice president marketing and business development at Time Warner Telecom. "We look forward to testing these features soon."

Time Warner Telecom recently announced it would deploy the single T1 version of the Integral Access PurePacket system throughout the 40 or so markets it serves. "The PurePacket platform enables us to support all our current voice and data services on one access network, while its packet-based architecture reclaims unutilized network resources that can generate new revenue," Rouleau noted.

Time Warner is by far the largest customer for the Integral Access platform, but the vendor has been steadily picking up smaller carriers as it waits out the long evaluation processes at major ILECs and other potential carrier customers.

For example, Plattsburgh, N.Y.-based Chazy & Westport Telephone Corp.'s Westelcom (www.westelcom.com) division, which was created to support the company's expansion into new territories as a CLEC, is deploying the Integral Access system in SDSL (synchronous DSL) mode to create integrated multi-line voice and data services for business and residential customers in northern New York. Other customers include two Minnesota carriers, HickoryTech (www.hickorytech.com) and Jaguar Communications Inc. (www.jagcom.net), and Evansville, Ind.-based OneStar Communications, Inc. (www.onestarcom.com).

"Major ILECs are kicking the tires," Harper said. "Everybody is interested in solutions that result in cap ex and operational savings, and everybody is trying to figure out how they can distinguish their services to stand out from the pack of competitors."

The 3xT1 upgrade module for existing single-T1 versions of the PurePacket IAD costs less than $1,400, the company said. Base pricing for the single-T1 IAD is less than $1,900.

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