Sprint,BellSouth,GTE,Telecom Finland,Swiss telecom,Intermedia praise GX550 & CBX500
Customers and Analysts Offer Positive Reaction to Ascend's
Announcement of the GX 550 and Multiservice Capability on the
CBX 500
ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 6, 1997--Ascend Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASND)
released reaction from industry analysts and carriers to its announcements made today of its GX 550, an
ATM switch that combines the scalability and capacity of a core switch with the intelligence, service
capability and cost-effectiveness of an edge switch, and the multiservice capabilities on its CBX 500
ATM Switch. Below are the reactions from industry analysts and carriers:
Juha Heinanen, Director of Technology, Telecom Finland
''The GX 550's rich set of resiliency features make it ideal for carrier environments where very high
availability is required. The switch's flexible hardware design allows easy mixing of interface options
from OC-3 to OC-48.
''We also are very impressed with the GX 550 traffic management capabilities such as per-VC queuing,
traffic shaping, intelligent packet discard, and very large cell buffers. These features make the GX 550 a
true next-generation ATM switch for the carrier market.''
Charles J. Ostrand III, Broadband Program Manager, Sprint, TP&I
''As we continue to expand our data network at Sprint, providing the level of availability of the voice
network is a critical goal for us. The GX 550 clearly demonstrates Ascend's understanding of this need as
well as its ability to deliver on it. The GX 550 expertly combines scalable capacity with the essential high
availability features required for the core of the Sprint network. Features such as Lossless fabric
switchover, Automatic Protection Switching on OC-48 interfaces and instantaneous connection rerouting
bear this out.
''Additionally, Ascend's Navis management system demonstrates a real understanding and desire to
interoperate with Sprint operational support systems to achieve the service consistency that Sprint
customers have come to expect.''
Bob Fulghum, Fast Packet Product Manager, BellSouth Telecommunications, Inc.
''BellSouth will use Ascend's Frame Relay modules for the CBX 500 to provide the necessary DS3
density needed for continued scaling of our data services offering.''
Mike Viren, Senior Vice President, Intermedia Communications, Inc.
''In order to remain competitive, Intermedia Communications must build a single network for transporting
voice, IP, frame and cell traffic. Ascend is the only vendor willing to deliver product that gives Intermedia
the ability to deliver a truly integrated solution that allows us to create a common switching network for
all of our transport needs. Ascend has given Intermedia the building blocks to make the New Public
Network vision a reality today.''
Volker Gebhardt, Director of INFNET, Swiss Telecom
''By combining scalable capacity with advanced networking features, Ascend's GX 550 is delivering the
most advanced core switch in the industry. In addition to moving information at higher and higher speeds, |
