ALAMEDA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 23, 1998--
Leading Service Providers Conduct Field Trials of
First Commercially Available Carrier-Grade Solution to
Relieve Internet Congestion and Manage Costs
Ascend Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASND), a leader in wide area
networking (WAN) and Intelligent Networking (IN) solutions for
providers and users of the next-generation public network, today
announced immediate general availability of the Ascend SS7 Gateway
(ASG). Built on software and hardware gained through Ascend's
recently-completed acquisition of Stratus Computer, the ASG is the
first commercially available, standards-based SS7 gateway product. The
ASG, currently in field trials with a number of network service
providers (NSPs) including, Texas-based Thrifty Call, includes an
Internet Call Diversion application running on a fault-tolerant
platform with full Signaling System 7 (SS7) capabilities, and is
designed for installation at telecommunications company central
offices.
The ASG solves a critical problem faced by carriers today: the
congestion of voice circuits that results from massive growth in
dial-up Internet calls. By enabling remote access equipment to
communicate with carriers' SS7 networks, the ASG supports redirection
of resource-consuming Internet traffic from the Public Switched
Telephone Network (PSTN) directly onto data networks. This
breakthrough capability enables service providers to end Internet busy
signals, cut the cost of providing dial-up connections and free-up
PSTN circuits to carry voice traffic. The ASG works with Ascend's
market-leading MAX TNT WAN access switch to provide the industry's
only end-to-end solution for transparently routing calls between voice
and data networks.
Leading Carriers Launch Field Trials
In addition to Thrifty Call, a number of other innovative service
providers around the world are currently conducting field trials of
the combined ASG and MAX TNT solution. As a result, these service
providers are positioned to achieve more reliable, cost-saving
Internet connectivity today while setting the stage for future
revenue-generating services.
"We are extremely satisfied with Ascend's SS7-enabled gateway.
Ascend has the industry's leading platform and is providing a complete
end-to-end solution to effectively deal with Internet congestion on
the PSTN. Beyond that, we look forward to building upon our strategic
relationship with Ascend and believe their SS7-enabled approach puts
us in a great position to begin building a next-generation public
network for enhanced Intelligent Network services," said Bob Walsh,
chief information officer at Thrifty Call.
Affirms Ascend's Leadership in Integrating the PSTN and Data
Networks
"Leveraging an open, Intelligent Network-enabled and
fault-tolerant base that meets central office standards is another
step forward in implementing Ascend's MultiVoice strategy," said Bruce
Sachs, executive vice president and general manager of the Carrier
Signaling and Management Business Unit at Ascend. "Ascend is
delivering the only field-trial tested and deployed solution available
today, which opens up new opportunities for service providers who seek
to win customers, increase reliability and control costs."
"Service providers have lacked real options for seamlessly and
reliably integrating SS7 Intelligent Networks with high-bandwidth data
networks," said Lisa Alloca, senior analyst at Renaissance Worldwide,
Inc. "Ascend continues to gain momentum by delivering real-world
products that give service providers a pragmatic approach for offering
converged voice and data services at an affordable cost."
Ascend SS7 Gateway Benefits and Features
The ASG works with Ascend's MAX TNT WAN access switches to
alleviate congestion on voice networks by diverting data calls from
more expensive class 5 switches. This not only improves service
quality and lowers infrastructure costs for service providers, it also
provides the critical link between SS7 and data networks necessary to
deliver value-added services interchangeably over either network.
"Continuing growth in Internet traffic has resulted in service
quality challenges and spiraling costs to upgrade the PSTN
infrastructure, and finding solutions to the problem is critical.
Ascend is supporting the type of standards-based and Bellcore generic
requirements-based approaches that carriers absolutely require.
Standards and generic requirements are essential to prevent
interoperability problems from undermining the goal of
cost-effectively offloading Internet traffic from the PSTN," said Jack
Zatz, senior director of Bellcore's Network Performance Solutions and
chairperson of the Internet Traffic Engineering Solutions Forum
(ITESF).
Benefits of the ASG include:
-- Integrated end-to-end solution builds on market-leading
technology. Because the ASG integrates with the MAX TNT
carrier-class WAN access switch, service providers benefit from a
proven solution from a long-standing marketshare leader. Ascend
has been recognized as the market leader for the first half of
1998 in the following markets: total worldwide remote access
server (RAS) concentrator revenue and ports shipped
(International Data Corp.); RAS concentrator end user revenue,
manufacturer revenue and port shipments (In-Stat); total remote
access concentration, service provider remote access
concentration, and asynchronous port shipments (Dell'Oro Group);
and access concentrator factory revenue (Dataquest). In addition
to first-half figures, Ascend has recently been recognized as the
leader for all of 1998 in remote access concentrator revenue
(Frost & Sullivan).
-- Standards compliance enables interoperability with remote access
equipment. Support for emerging and established Bellcore generic
requirements, and ANSI and ITU standards assures an open
interface between the PSTN and data networks. Future compliance
with specifications recommended by the Technical Advisory Council
(TAC) industry group and the Bellcore Internet Traffic
Engineering Solutions Forum (ITESF) will allow ASG to interface
with remote access concentrators provided by other vendors.
-- Built-in reliability and serviceability assure uninterrupted
service. All major components of the fault-tolerant hardware
platform, including processors, disks and power supplies, are
fully duplicated to assure uninterrupted operation even in the
event of a component failure. Replacement components can be
plugged in without affecting service in any way. Furthermore, the
ASG monitors and diagnoses its own operation, automatically
alerting the Ascend Technical Assistance Center (ATAC) at the
first sign of a potential problem.
-- Versatile SS7 capabilities simplify voice and data network
integration. The ASG employs industry-standard SS7 signaling to
set up and tear down calls, a prerequisite for transparently
routing calls between voice and data networks. It features a
widely-deployed protocol stack that supports multiple variations
of SS7 used in carrier networks internationally.
-- Carrier-grade solution enables smooth deployment. The ASG
platform meets Network Equipment Building System (NEBS), European
Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) and other standard
specifications for computer equipment in central office and
switching environments worldwide. It is an open hardware and
software system using industry standard PCI I/O and the HP-UX
operating system. This open system, multipurpose architecture
supports deployment of additional applications and services on
the same platform.
-- Complements Ascend's MultiVoice architecture. The ASG is a
building block in Ascend's MultiVoice, a comprehensive
architecture for delivering voice and fax over IP, ATM, and Frame
Relay networks. (See "Ascend Delivers on Promise of Converged
Voice and Data Networks with Integration of Recently Acquired
Carrier Signaling Technology.") Future applications of the ASG
will enable it to use standards-based SS7 carrier signaling to
direct voice traffic to a MultiVoice network. As a result,
customers will be able to leverage their investment in the ASG to
provide voice across data networks transparently.
Pricing and Availability
The ASG is available immediately. A 50,000 port configuration has
a list price of $1,186,000 (U.S.), or $24/port; it includes a Model
418 fault-tolerant Ascend SS7 platform with SS7 links and an Internet
Call Diversion software license. A 100,000 port configuration has a
list price of $1,792,000 (U.S.), or $18/port; it includes a Model 428
fault-tolerant Ascend SS7 platform with 1GB memory, SS7 links and an
Internet Call Diversion software license. Additional connectivity can
be provided by adding PCI-based I/O controllers.
Customers outside the U.S. should contact their local Ascend
representative or reseller for pricing and availability information. |
