Louie - $300 is even a bit low for Source Com, but then again it's not just any DSLAM either. Since there is a high level of interest - I hope this answers a few questions.
Enjoy, JW@KSC
" When ADSL is deployed in bulk volume to residential areas beyond 18,000 feet--its distance limit--carriers will need solutions that bring DSL support to the local loop, said Kieran Taylor, broadband consultant at TeleChoice Inc. "Pulsecom has identified a key obstacle to ADSL deployment," he said.
In general, DSLAM devices will allow carriers to concentrate their ADSL traffic onto a single network using a device that will offer cost and management benefits, he said.
Alcatel Telecom, Northern Telecom and Sourcecom have introduced their
versions of DSLAM to the market.
Sourcecom bets its money on BANC
DSL multiplexer mixes and matches for efficiency
Chris Bucholtz, West Coast Bureau Chief
While cable TV companies, satellite services and telephone carriers all planned to be quick off the block in the race for a widespread,
affordable broadband service, the costs to build and provide modems,
set-top boxes and other new technologies has been a hurdle that few have been able to clear.
That frustration isn't all bad. It has allowed carriers to give vendors of cable modems, digital subscriber line and other broadband
technologies a distinct goal to shoot for: Lower the price point.
One California company thinks it has the solution for carriers.
Sourcecom, based in Westlake Village, today introduced the BANC 6000 DSL access multiplexer (DSLAM), a low-cost networking device intended to provide carriers with an economical system to deploy large-scale
DSL-based public broadband access networks.
This integrated approach is "likely to play a role in helping service
providers that are eager to deploy broadband services," said Kieran
Taylor, an analyst with Verona, N.J.-based TeleChoice Inc. "I know it's a cliche, but this really is a first."
The DSLAM replaces the Ethernet and asynchronous transfer mode switches used in DSL trials with a specialized product for providing frame- and cell-based broadband access services.
"We looked at routers, Ethernet switches, [wide area network] switches, ATM multiplexers--you name it," said Christopher J. Rust, broadband product manager for Sourcecom. "While a lot of vendors are trying to make their old devices learn a new trick to accommodate DSL, we decided to attack the business situation and design something specifically for the broadband market, using just the parts of the technology needed to get the job done."
That approach allowed Sourcecom to mix and match features from several
broadband networking products into a single platform without incurring
the cost and size penalties of using traditional devices.
While the BANC capitalizes on simplified hardware, "the real magic is in the software," said Dave Passmore, president of Decisys Inc., Herndon, Va. "Sourcecom has focused on creating a tight routing software and tight router code. That allowed them to do more with less memory."
The Decisys software also supports both discrete multitone and
carrierless amplitude/phase modulation (CAP) line codes, giving service providers a solution that will be useful regardless of which modulation scheme gains wide acceptance.
"The BANC is line code-independent," said Taylor. "That's a nice feature for carriers that haven't made up their minds about which software to use. They can put a DSL system in place, and if the need to switch from DMT to CAP or vice versa arises, they can do it."
The BANC can replace Ethernet termination, the Ethernet switch and the
router needed for frame-based traffic over high-bit-rate DSL, and it
eliminates the need for cell termination and the associated ATM switch
or multiplexer for cell-based models.
The device can connect to traditional ATM switches and Ipsilon-compliant IP switches without requiring stand-alone routers, another cost savings to carriers.
"Rather than taking switches and routers and adapting them to the
central office, the BANC is specifically focused on decoupling DSL modem equipment at the central office from the networking functions," Passmore said. "It isn't trying to be all things to all people, and that cuts down on costs."
The system is scalable and can accommodate 1024 subscriber sites by
using 33 BANCs arranged in a star topology. The same arrangement can
support as many as 65,356 uniquely addressable subscribers.
The result of this specialization and simplification is a price
point--less than $500 per household--that could make DSL deployment a
reality.
Initially, Nortel's DSLAM device will support QAM ADSL cards, but as
Gary Bolton, Nortel's senior manager for ADSL business, noted, the
multiplexer will also support DMT cards. " |
