ADSP/MEGW news story....maybe this is why we are running?
INTELLIGENT NETWORK NEWS
November 24, 1999
SECTION: Vol. 9, No. 24
LENGTH: 613 words
HEADLINE: MORE POWER TO POINTS OF PRESENCE
BODY:
As in any system, everyone wants to know who holds the power.
Within the dynamic telecom infrastructure, telecom vendors are
elbowing one another to make their products indespensible for powering
telecom networks.
Cranbury, N.J.-based Ariel Corp. [ADSP] hopes it can give
carriers, from voice and data worlds, a way to trim hardware costs
and get new services to subscribers.
Ariel's service, Power POP, adds horsepower to points of
presence, moving service delivery closer to where users dial in.
By shifting network power to the POPs, a carrier can run
services on PowerPOP servers and avoid routing service requests
through a network operation center.
"ISPs', biggest problem tends to be supplying local dial-up
access," says George Dinsdale, president of MegaWorld [MEGW], a
Houston-based next-generation service provider that is testing Ariel's
PowerPOP service for the next six months.
"This works exactly the same as the class 4 and 5 switch, but is
less expensive. It integrates the technology, SS7, into a remote
access device."
More Alluring Than T1 Trunks
One of the benefits in working with MegaWorld is the carrier
provides power to the POP and lets ISPs take advantage of trunk
tariffs that are substantially more attractive than the T1 trunks they
are able to get under normal circumstances, says Dennis Schneider,
Ariel VP of marketing.
The average T1 uses in-band signaling, which relays what is
happening within voice channels.
"ISPs will be able to reduce operational costs drastically,"
says Nathan Guedalia, Ariel senior product manager. "Along with that
byproduct is enhanced performance."
Not only will MegaWorld slash operational costs, it plans to
turn competitors into customers when they seek local access.
"We're offering this as a full service that will allow ISPs to
reduce their total access costs," Dinsdale says. "This is the new
service, the melding, convergence of voice and data - we'll offer it
as a full solution on an outsourcing basis."
Where Are Those Savings?
The benefit for ISPs and fledgling competitive carriers is
getting access down to a lower price per month. For ISPs, whose
inbound trunks may comprise 15 percent to 20 percent of their total
monthly expenses - trimming those costs by a factor of 10 means
substantial savings.
Without PowerPOP, ISPs usually install fixed-function equipment
into each POP. Using this structure, when a subscriber makes a
request for service, the POP forwards the request to a network
operation center. The center then fulfills the request and sends it
back to the POP.
Ariel's PowerPOP allows ISPs to install intelligent PC-based
systems running on Windows NT Server or Linux as a general-purpose
platform for providing network services.
Running services on PowerPOP servers in PowerPOP architected
networks satisfies a subscriber request. These systems handle V.90-
compatible dial-up calls from modems, as well as ISDN clients via T1
and/or PRI interfaces. PowerPOP also provides distributed or mirrored
implementations of key network services, such as RADIUS
authentication, domain name services, Web caching and filtering.
In addition to targeting CLECs, Ariel hopes to attract ISPs,
which are morphing into competitive carriers.
"ISPs becoming CLECs is the obvious way for ISPs to evolve their
businesses," Schneider says.
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