Article about Competition:
BW)(PARADYNE) Paradyne Revolutionizes High-Speed Access to Residential
and Small Business Markets With New Hotwire MVL System
Business Editors/Computer Writers
ComNet Booth No. 1038
WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 27, 1998--
-- Hotwire(tm) MVL(tm) System provides multiple PCs simultaneous
high-speed access while concurrently delivering standard
plain old telephone service (POTS) over existing wiring.
-- The new technology eliminates the costly dispatch of service
technicians with an innovative design that simply plugs
into existing phone jacks, just like a dial modem.
-- Compatibility with existing services in the same cable bundle,
allays telco concerns.
-- Low heat dissipation enables extremely high port density --
2,000 ports within the central office environment,
delivering the industry's lowest cost -- $299 per line.
-- Up to 8 Hotwire MVL Modems can simultaneously share high-speed
access and transfer files locally, sharing printers.
-- First customer shipments are scheduled for the end of
March 1998.
Paradyne, a pioneer and leader in digital network access, unveiled its newest product innovation -- the
Hotwire MVL (Multiple Virtual Line) System. The revolutionary product transforms regular copper wire
telephone lines and in-home wiring into a unified high-speed digital network with the simplicity and cost of a
dial modem. The announcement was made at a press conference Monday night at the Grand Hyatt in
Washington, D.C. in conjunction with the ComNet trade show. Virtually eliminating all the issues which
have bogged down mass market deployment of high-speed services, the new Hotwire MVL System
delivers services and applications such as remote corporate LAN access, video conferencing, Web surfing
and even personal Web hosting, with unprecedented levels of price, performance and functionality not
available with other products, without any disruption to the existing telephone service.
Based on Paradyne's patented MVL technology, the Hotwire MVL System was designed and optimized
for Network Service Providers (NSPs), Incumbent Local Exchange Carriers (ILECs), and the Competitive
Local Exchange Carriers (CLECs) to reach the mass market with new high-speed services quickly and
easily.
"The newest Hotwire products will fundamentally change the way new services are delivered to
residential and small business office users -- redefining market expectations on several fronts," said
Paradyne President and CEO Andrew May. "The Hotwire MVL System represents a quantum leap in
capabilities and an incredible reduction in costs over other products, allowing service providers to offer a
wide range of new and innovative services."
BEATING THE INDUSTRY'S TELCO DEPLOYMENT CHALLENGES
For years, the industry has struggled to meet the $500 per line price target for digital subscriber line
(DSL) product solutions. The new Hotwire MVL System significantly breaks this barrier with a design
based on low cost and readily available components, greatly reducing equipment pricing and dramatically
increasing the number of ports available in the telephone company central office. This translates into the
lowest per-line cost in the industry. With volume deployment pricing of $299 per line in 1998, the Hotwire
MVL System will accommodate over 2,000 ports per 7' cabinet and still meet stringent NEBS (National
Equipment and Building Standard) specifications for the central office environment.
Offering exceptional flexibility and investment protection, the Hotwire multiservices DSL Access
Multiplexers (DSLAMs) that currently deliver Paradyne's commercial grade Hotwire DSL-based services
can be used to provision the new mass market services. One DSLAM architecture in the central office
now delivers RADSL (rate adaptive DSL), SDSL (symmetric DSL), and MSDSL (multirate SDSL) based
services
-- plus the new Hotwire MVL based services -- the only DSLAM in the industry able to support this range.
The Hotwire MVL System's robust design further reduces installation and operational costs by
eliminating the need for service providers to roll trucks and send personnel to each home or office to install
POTS splitters, rewire the house, and condition the phone line. Known as a splitterless modem, the Hotwire
MVL Modem transforms the existing copper wire phone line into multiple virtual lines. Along with lifeline
voice services, up to 8 additional virtual lines are available to support a variety of high-speed digital services
simultaneously. This eliminates the need for additional phone lines.
"Eliminating the truck roll or dispatch of technicians was a key design requirement from the inception,"
said Frank Wiener, Vice President and General Manager of Paradyne's DSL Products Division. "This
meant that reliable performance had to go well beyond the local loop and throughout the house to the
existing phone jacks. The Hotwire MVL Modems go well beyond that requirement with a simple plug 'n
play, splitterless design that also introduces entirely new functionality."
In 1997, 56 Kbps dial modems promised twice the speed of the 28.8 modem. Now, the Hotwire MVL
System leverages the existing local phone lines, supporting 13 times a 56 Kbps modem and 26 times the
speed of a 28.8 modem -- with the added benefit of being able to make and receive phone calls while
surfing the net. With speeds of up to 768 Kbps, downstream and upstream, the Hotwire MVL System
achieves superior operation over both Carrier Serving Area (CSA) and the even more challenging Revised
Resistance Design (RRD) compliant local loops. The added feature of seamless rate adaption allows the
modems to be manually or automatically configured for any speed in increments of 64 Kbps ranging from
128 Kbps to 768 Kbps, assuring reliable operation over loops greater than 24,000 feet on 24 AWG wire
(which represents a market coverage of over 95 percent of the customers on non-loaded telephone lines).
The Hotwire MVL System is designed to virtually eliminate interference with existing services such as
POTS, Basic Rate ISDN, T1, E1, and the various xDSLs, making it a "network friendly" option for mass
market service deployment. This is achieved through its unique design which limits the use of
higher-frequency transmissions to the lower 10 percent of those used by full rate ADSL and at a transmit
power which is typically 1/16th or less than that of a full rate ADSL. The result is a dramatic improvement
in spectral compatibility and performance with specifications that fall well within those used by Basic Rate
ISDN.
"For mass market deployment of DSL systems, issues such as spectral compatibility, testing and loop
qualification are exacerbated," said Danny Briere, President of the analyst group, TeleChoice, Inc. "The
Hotwire MVL System helps ease these headaches for service providers with its cable-binder friendly
approach and integrated testing and loop qualification capabilities. "
RESIDENTIAL/SOHO FEATURES AND BENEFITS
Paradyne's Hotwire MVL products offer unsurpassed functionality by transforming a single telephone
line into Multiple Virtual Lines. For example, two or more Hotwire MVL Modems plugged into existing
phone jacks on a single telephone line can share access to an Internet service provider (ISP).
HOTWIRE MVL OFFERS LAN-LIKE CAPABILITIES
The Hotwire HomeLink feature leverages the Windows 95/98 print and file sharing application to
establish communications between Hotwire MVL Modems, similar to a Local Area Network (LAN)
allowing multiple PCs in the home and small office environment to share a printer or back up files. In
addition, the Hotwire MVL modems offer dynamic allocation of bandwidth for multiple and independent
data applications to operate simultaneously without interference to the existing POTS service. No
competitive offering has these unique capabilities.
Looking beyond high-speed Internet access, the Hotwire MVL System was designed to support low
speed services for applications such as home security monitoring and other less speed insensitive
applications. This capability and a variety of other service capabilities will be announced and activated over
time with future product additions to the Hotwire MVL product family.
According to an Impact Study by Virginia Brooks, managing director of the analyst firm Aberdeen
Group, Paradyne's multiservices access approach is important and provides the ability to match user
business needs and pocketbooks to the technology that best suits their requirements. Brooks states it also
leverages service providers' existing investments in Paradyne's DSL solutions, enabling them to expand
their range of offerings to best meet customer needs.
PRICING AND AVAILABILITY
An innovative shared-DSP product approach, low-power consumption and spectrally friendly attributes
of the Hotwire MVL modem, will enable it to achieve high port density and extremely attractive price points
of $299 per line during 1998 in volume, including the common equipment. Paradyne's new Hotwire MVL
System volume pricing of less than $299 per line, with no truck roll, should make it practical for NSPs to
offer these services in the targeted $40-$75 per month price range and possibly less. Service providers will
determine the costs for residential/SOHO services, which are projected to be competitively priced with
other high-speed access services. Hotwire MVL evaluation systems are shipping now, with the first
customer systems shipping at the end of March, 1998.
The company is participating in the newly formed Universal ADSL Working Group (the UAWG formed
by Microsoft, Intel, Compaq and telecom leaders) and the ADSL forum to address the issues of standards.
May believes the Hotwire MVL System is a viable solution given the challenges and costs associated with
realizing widespread deployment for consumers. Regardless of standards issues, Paradyne believes that the
Hotwire MVL System addresses the challenges facing the enormous market where standardization is much
less of an issue.
ABOUT PARADYNE
Hotwire and other Paradyne products are marketed through a worldwide network of distributors and
Value Added Resellers (VARs). For more information on Paradyne and its products or the award-winning
DSL Sourcebook - Plain Answers About Digital Subscriber Line Opportunities, call 1-800-PARADYNE in
the U.S., 1-813-530-8623 internationally, or visit Paradyne's Power Pages at paradyne.com .
Headquartered in Largo, Florida, Paradyne is a leading developer and provider of products and
technologies that facilitate high-speed access to networks worldwide for communications, computing and
information. Recognized as the market leader in T1 DSU/CSUs(a), Paradyne is one of the largest, privately
held manufacturers of network access products. Paradyne markets its award-winning analog products,
digital access products and an extensive array of frame relay and access multiplexers to Network Service
Providers (NSPs) Internet Service Providers (ISPs), Frame Relay Service Providers (FRSPs) and
commercial end users.
(a) Editors Note: Visit Paradyne's virtual pressroom at www.paradyne.com/news_n_events/press_room/.
Product availability and pricing subject to change without notification. IDC "Trends in the Digital Access
Equipment Arena Report 1996-2002"- November 1997 cites Paradyne as the market share leader.
Paradyne, Hotwire, and MVL are trademarks of Paradyne Corporation. Subsequent to its sale on August 1,
1996 from AT&T Corp. and Lucent Technologies, Inc., Paradyne is now an independently owned
company.
--30--lhs/mi*
CONTACT: Agency Press Contact:
Marianne Radwan
RadCom Strategic Marketing
561-988-5300
mradwan@gate.net
or
Paradyne Press Contact:
Debra Eisenberg
Paradyne Corporation
813-530-8207
deisenberg@paradyne.com
KEYWORD: FLORIDA DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
INDUSTRY KEYWORD: COMED COMPUTERS/ELECTRONICS TRADESHOW |
