Alcatel Expands its Speed Touch ADSL Modem Portfolio
BusinessWire, 06/6/2000 12:05
ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 6, 2000--
New products at SuperComm 2000, including wireless and voice over ADSL modems, reinforce Alcatel's ADSL modem leadership Alcatel (NYSE:ALA), the world's most successful provider of ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) equipment, announces a series of product enhancements and innovations to its Speed Touch(TM) portfolio of advanced ADSL modems being demonstrated in Alcatel's booth No. 6039 at SuperComm 2000 in Atlanta.
The new Alcatel Speed Touch Wireless is an ADSL modem that enables users to connect PCs, game consoles and other appliances instantly and seamlessly on high-speed Internet access from anywhere in the house -without a physical cable. The number of PCs the modem supports is limited only by the available ADSL bandwidth. The Speed Touch Wireless ADSL modem uses wireless Ethernet technology to enable easy 'home networking' since the network topologies and concepts remain the same as in the currently wired networks.
The interface is based on the widely available wireless standard IEEE 802.11b so the Speed Touch Wireless ADSL modem can connect to a wide range of wireless devices.
"The idea for this product results from our undisputed experience with DSL deployment and extended research on next generation Internet use and lifestyle," said Marc Hermans, vice president and general manager of Alcatel's ADSL customer premises equipment (CPE) activities.
The Speed Touch Wireless will be available in the third quarter of 2000, with mass production by end of this year. Since a wireless solution also has tremendous benefits for small offices, a version specifically designed for the business environment will be available early in 2001.
The second innovation being demonstrated at SuperComm, is the Alcatel Speed Touch IAD (Integrated Access Device), announced in March and available in July. The Speed Touch IAD combines four voice ports with an Ethernet port for high-speed Internet access or data connectivity. Service providers can now offer up to four additional voice lines, on top of the regular telephony service available in any ADSL configuration. The derived voice ports can be used simultaneously with the data connections and regular telephone service -- all over a single pair of copper wires.
The Alcatel Speed Touch IAD enables service providers to offer small enterprises both Internet access through the IAD's Ethernet ports/routing capabilities and phone services by connecting the enterprise's telephone system to the derived voice lines.
"The availability of Voice over DSL (VoADSL) represents a remarkable benefit to service providers and consumers," said Hermans. "Today multiple phones in a house share a single phone line. VoADSL and the Speed Touch IAD open the door for a dedicated line and phone number for each phone in the house, all without installing additional copper pair wiring to the end-user's premises." About Alcatel's Speed Touch ADSL modem:
The Alcatel Speed Touch product line offers a wide range of interoperable ADSL CPE products: -- The simple-to-install, easy-to-use Alcatel Speed Touch USB for the residential market -- The Alcatel Speed Touch Home, high-performance Ethernet modem that is platform and operating system independent -- The Alcatel Speed Touch Pro modem for residential "power" users,professionals and businesses, now including an integral hub model -- The Alcatel Speed Touch Wireless, the wireless home networking solution for multiple appliances to share ADSL Internet access -- The Alcatel Speed Touch PC (Network Interface Card) - the Internal ADSL modem -- The Alcatel Speed Touch IAD, offering multi-line voice in addition to data and "lifeline" telephone service over a single copper pair. In a recent report, market research firm Cahners In-Stat indicated that Alcatel led the ADSL CPE market with 24% market-share of the total amount of ADSL modems shipped worldwide in 1999.
Alcatel continuously enhances its DSL CPE offering not only in products but also in services such as end-user support and order handling, fulfilment services, distribution and retail. Alcatel's new ADSL end-user Web site at www.alcateldsl.com, for example, is designed to inform and answer questions from anyone interested in ADSL, in a straightforward, interesting style.
An ADSL connection delivers broadband and conventional data, plus voice telephony services, over a single ordinary telephone line. ADSL technology enables data speeds of up to eight Mbit/s downstream over a standard copper pair. Users can make phone calls -- either through the PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) or over ADSL -- while simultaneously accessing the Internet at high speed. ADSL-enabled broadband services are offered at speeds from a few hundred kbit/s to multiple Mbit/s.
About Alcatel - Alcatel builds next generation networks, delivering integrated end-to-end voice and data networking solutions to established and new carriers, as well as enterprises and consumers worldwide. With 120,000 employees and sales of EURO 23 billion in 1999, Alcatel operates in more than 130 countries. For more information, visit Alcatel on the Internet:
alcatel.com |
