Here is some more info for you to munch on below. You really should not be in a volatile stock like CSCC if you are going to crap your pants on every little downdraft!
WESTFORD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 16, 1996--
Purchase of CBX 500 ATM Switches will result in first worldwide
deployment of carrier-class OC-12c/STM-4, 622Mbps ATM
In a move to increase the capacity of its nationwide Frame Relay
network, LDDS WorldCom (NASDAQ:WCOM.O), one of the largest U.S.-based
telecommunications companies, will purchase 27 CBX 500 Asynchronous
Transfer Mode (ATM) Switches from Cascade Communications Corp.
(NASDAQ:CSCC.O), the companies announced today. LDDS WorldCom will be
using the Cascade switches to establish a 622Mbps ATM backbone for
its existing Frame Relay traffic. In addition, the CBX 500 switches
enable LDDS WorldCom to further expand their native ATM offerings.
Key factors in the LDDS WorldCom selection of the CBX 500 were
the performance and architecture of the CBX 500, the high performance
and bandwidth of the OC-12c modules, and high port density of the
DS3/E3 (eight port) and OC-3c/STM-1 (four port) I/O modules. Another
factor in the LDDS WorldCom selection of the CBX 500 is its
capability to easily provision end-to-end services across the Frame
Relay/ATM network, saving set-up time and costs.
"We are delighted that our carrier-class CBX 500 ATM switches
have been chosen by telecommunications leader LDDS WorldCom," said
Robert Machlin, vice president of marketing at Cascade Communications
Corp. "In this bandwidth-hungry market, along with high-performance
ATM services, the CBX 500 will add the backbone capacity to scale
their existing network to deliver new services."
In implementing the CBX 500s, LDDS WorldCom is the first
interexchange carrier to offer carrier-class OC-12c, 622Mbps speeds.
Cascade designed the CBX 500 with OC-12c/STM-4 support from the
outset, making the introduction of this capability the simple
insertion of a linecard into the high capacity switch. (See attached
sidebar for additional information on OC-12c/STM-4, 622Mbps ATM.)
"Today, OC-12c speeds can accommodate the massive growth of
networks in general, spurred in part by the explosive growth of
Internet access," said Russ Ray, vice president of engineering at
LDDS WorldCom. "The Cascade OC-12c module allows us to tap into this
bandwidth easily and quickly.
"Currently, LDDS WorldCom has a large network of Cascade B-STDX
9000 Frame Relay switches in its network. Those switches, together
with the MFS Communications and UUNet Cascade switches, will result
in our having hundreds of B-STDX switches following completion of the
previously announced WorldCom/MFS merger. The CBX 500 and its OC-12c
support allows us to scale both the Frame Relay and ATM networks and
add capacity for native ATM services," added Ray.
The OC-12c card supports the Cascade Quad-Plane architecture,
providing dedicated buffering for each of the four Quality of Service
(QoS) classes defined by the ATM Forum. The card also supports fully
standards-compliant Automatic Protection Switching (APS), which
guarantees I/O module card and network availability in case of line
failures.
"Cascade recognized and responded to customer requirements for
High Speed Frame Relay during the development of their B-STDX 9000
architecture," said Robert Bentley, manager of data engineering at
LDDS WorldCom. "It is exciting that Cascade continues that trend by
scaling Frame and cell transport on the CBX 500. There are few major
areas that a carrier must focus on when delivering data services in a
competitive environment. Those include the ability to deliver
flexible, reliable, cost-effective services for the customer, the
ability to efficiently trunk a large switch network, and the ability
to rapidly provision end-to-end services across the Frame/ATM
transport. Cascade provides those abilities with the B-STDX/CBX
architecture while helping LDDS WorldCom retain its diverse vendor
philosophy, since the CBX will also carry native ATM services. Those
combinations will keep LDDS WorldCom well-positioned with its ability
to offer best-of-class data services."
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About Cascade Communications Corp.
Cascade Communications Corp. (NASDAQ:CSCC.O) is at the forefront
of broadband data communications with its family of scalable,
carrier-class Frame Relay, ATM and Remote Access switching products.
Used by public carriers and Internet service providers worldwide,
Cascade products are forming the foundation of the public network
infrastructure for global communications. Cascade is headquartered
in Westford, Massachusetts, USA, with offices throughout the
Americas, Europe and Asia/Pacific.
About LDDS WorldCom
WorldCom, Inc. is one of the largest long distance
telecommunications companies in the United States, offering domestic
and international voice, data and video products and services to
business customers, other carriers and the residential market. The
company operates a nationwide digital fiber-optic network and has
worldwide network capacity. The common shares of WorldCom, Inc.
trade on the NASDAQ Stock Market National Market under the symbol
WCOM.
-0-
Sidebar: Cascade delivers carrier-class 622Mbps ATM for network
service provider wide area networks
Cascade Communications Corp. today gives network service
providers a major performance boost by shipping the industry's first
carrier-class OC-12c/STM-4 (622Mbps) processor module, one of the
highest industry-standard speeds available today for Asynchronous
Transfer Mode (ATM). The Cascade OC-12c/STM-4 I/O processor module
is a 622Mbps network interface card for the CBX 500, the Cascade
carrier-class ATM switch. The CBX 500 has 16 slots and is capable of
supporting 14 OC-12c/STM-4 ports per switch, providing the enormous
bandwidth that's becoming necessary to keep pace with booming network
and Internet growth.
First among the carrier-class features of the new OC-12c/STM-4
procesor module is Automatic Protection Switching (APS) support. APS
is a link-level protection feature derived from the industry standard
for SONET transmission technology. Cascade APS support includes both
Intra- and Inter-card protection to guarantee availability in case of
line failures and/or card failures, thus greatly minimizing the
threat of customer traffic loss. In Intra- card protection, APS
protects against the loss of a transmission facility (i.e., fiber
cut) and automatically switches traffic from the active port to
standby port on the same card. With Inter-card switching, protection
coverage is extended to cover against switched linecard failures,
since traffic is automatically switched between active and standby
ports resident on adjacent cards. The Cascade OC-12c/STM-4 processor
module brings the features needed for network service provider ATM
backbone equipment.
The OC-12c/STM-4 processor module also implements the Cascade
Quad-Plane buffering architecture, which guarantees Quality of
Service (QoS) for ATM traffic in network service provider wide area
networks. The architecture provides independent resource and paths
for efficiently transporting voice, video, and data traffic through
the network with support for 16,000 simultaneous connections
transiting the OC-12c/STM-4 module. The OC-12/STM-4 I/O processor
module also offers standard Cascade ATM features, including
end-to-end Permanent Virtual Circuit (PVC) establishment, auto-PVC
reroute on failure, and Switched Virtual Circuit support (UNI 3.0 and
3.1). It is now shipping and lists at $30,000.
--30--mp/bos*
CONTACT: Lucia Graziano
Cascade Communications Corp.
508-692-2600
lgraziano@casc.com
or
Gil Broyles
LDDS WorldCom
918-590-5752
gil.broyles@wcom.com
KEYWORD: MASSACHUSETTS
INDUSTRY KEYWORD: COMED COMPUTERS/ELECTRONICS PRODUCT
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800-225-2030; SF 415-986-4422 or 800-227-0845; LA 310-820-9473
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