At biz.yahoo.com :
Monday November 17, 2:52 pm Eastern Time
Company Press Release
SOURCE: Westell Technologies, Inc.
GTE Communications Corp Selects Westell for ADSL Deployment
Southern California Customers First to Use Westell's
ADSL Systems, as GTE Rolls Out Commercial ADSL
Service
AURORA, Ill., Nov. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Westell Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq:
WSTL - news) today announced that GTE Communications Corp. has
selected Westell equipment for its commercial deployment of Asymmetrical
Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) systems, following a highly successful trial in
California. The two companies signed a multi-year contract for the use of
Westell's ADSL equipment and new technologies for the GTE commercial
ADSL service roll out. GTE will market the ADSL service as ADSL
OnSite(TM) and will initially focus on key markets where demand for ADSL
is expected to be the highest.
''We are very pleased to be associated with GTE a leading U.S.-based carrier
that is now set to commercially deploy ADSL services in key markets
nationwide,'' stated J. Nelson, President of Westell, Inc. ''As more and more
customers begin to use ADSL OnSite, consumer excitement and demand for
more and more applications will grow. The ubiquitous nature of this
technology and the competitive advantage for both businesses and individuals
will become evident and continue to spur demand.'' GTE Communications
Corporation is the competitive local exchange carrier business unit of GTE
Corp. (NYSE: GTE - news) that has signed a contract with Westell to supply
the equipment for the commercial deployment of ADSL services in key
markets throughout the United States.
Initially targeting the commercial real estate market for ADSL deployment,
GTE begins its roll out by deploying Westell ADSL systems in approximately
1,000 residential units at the Mariners Village apartment complex in Marina
Del Rey, California. Real estate professionals will use ADSL service to their
competitive advantage, as residents will be able to tap into the high-speed
bandwidth capabilities of ADSL Mariners Village real estate developer Doug
Ring said, ''By enabling people to work more efficiently and productively
from home as compared to a traditional office, ADSL will revolutionize the
way condominium and apartment dwellers think about using technology to
stay ahead in business.'' With the success of this initial deployment, Ring
intends to quickly equip more of his properties with ADSL.
With Westell's rate-adaptive DSL, customers will be able to transmit data
downstream to their computers at speeds ranging from 680 kbps to 1.5 Mbps
and upstream to the Internet at 256 and 384 kbps, respectively. In
comparison, a consumer could use the Rate Adaptive Digital Subscriber Line
(RADSL) system to download a large, one-minute video clip (equivalent to a
10 MB file) in under one minute -- almost 50 times faster than that of a
standard 28.8 kbps modem and five times faster than T1. And because ADSL
operates as a dedicated connection to the Internet, no dial-up connections are
required and users have the benefit of having a continuous or ''always
connected'' link to the Internet. Mariners Village residents now enjoy the
convenience of not having to purchase a separate data line; both high-speed
Internet access and the telephone (POTS) could be used on one phone line.
Some of the applications already in use include downloading large files,
tracking e-mail, Web site revision, volume-intensive research, playing
Internet games, TV series research, exchanging large files with clients,
remotely downloading from PC to laptop, keeping track of the stock market,
e-mail chat rooms, multimedia and all the advantages that come with
working from your own home.
''Westell is one of the leaders in the development of DSL technologies, and the
rate adaptive modem that we've been testing in Mariners Village has
absolutely met customer expectations for high-speed capabilities,'' stated
Flynn Nogueira, Director-Data Services for GTE Communications Corp.
GTE's commercial deployment of ADSL service, ADSL OnSite, is viewed as
among the first of many commercial deployments soon to come among major
carriers based in the United States and abroad. The initial deployment at
Mariners Village is one of many efforts Westell currently has underway with
GTE. ''The demand for greater bandwidth is growing rapidly and the telcos
are relying on companies like Westell for real, tested and proven ADSL
products that can be deployed today,'' stated Marc Zionts, Westell, Inc. Senior
Vice President, DSL System Sales. ''Our ADSL systems are appropriate for
in-home use and specifically designed for high-speed data transfer. Westell
continues to drive its ADSL solutions toward interoperability and standards
compliance, while lowering the cost for its customers.''
Westell Technologies is a holding company for Westell Inc., Conference Plus
Inc. and Westell WorldWide Services Inc. Westell Inc. is a leading worldwide
innovator and manufacturer of xDSL systems and telecommunications
access products, with corporate headquarters in Aurora, Illinois. Westell's
xDSL products are currently in use or trial by multiple customers
world-wide, including Ameritech, Bell Atlantic, Bell Canada, BT, GTE, MCI,
Quebec Telephone, SBC, Saskatchewan Telephone, Telecom Italia, US West
and leading Internet service providers. In addition to developing and
manufacturing xDSL and non-DSL data and telecommunications products,
Westell Inc. has established technology relationships with leading
telecommunication, software, computing and semi-conductor companies
such as Atlantech Technologies, ATML, DSC Communications, GlobeSpan,
Lucent Technologies, Microsoft, Motorola and others.
Conference Plus Inc., is a multi-point telecommunications service bureau
specializing in audio teleconferencing, multi-point video conferencing,
broadcast fax, and multimedia teleconference services. Westell WorldWide
Services Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Westell Technologies, provides
engineering, installation and network management services to leading
network providers as well as turn-key equipment and service solutions to
enterprise customers and service providers. Additional information can be
obtained by visiting Westell's Web site at westell.com.
SOURCE: Westell Technologies, Inc. |
