Wednesday June 24, 4:00 pm Eastern Time
Company Press Release
SOURCE: Pirelli Cables and Systems North America
Pirelli, Williams And Ascend Announce Successful Trials Of ATM
Optical Networking
COLUMBIA, S.C., June 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Pirelli Cables and Systems, Williams Network and Ascend
Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq: ASND - news) announce successful trials employing Pirelli's DWDM technology to
increase the capacity of fiber optic networks to carry multisource ATM traffic.
The combination of technologies from Ascend, the leading provider of wide area network (WAN) solutions for
network service providers, and Pirelli, the leading provider of optical solutions for network service providers,
promises a cost-effective and efficient solution to enhancing the quality and bandwidth capacity of current ATM data
networks.
''We have completed testing between the Ascend GX 550 and Pirelli OMDS in our Tulsa-based network
laboratories,'' Wayne Price, manager network development, Williams Network, said.
''Williams can directly connect the ATM switches into the optical network that will provide a lower cost, higher
reliability network architecture. We have a reputation as a technology innovator, and are now raising the bar again.''
Neal Stoker, director of marketing for PC&SNA's Telecom Systems Division, added, ''The successful demonstration
that Pirelli's T-31 OMDS 1632 system is transparent to ATM traffic opens the door to numerous possibilities for
customer cost-savings and shorter turn-up times.
''Optical multiplexing technology allows the customer to increase network capacity without the cost of adding fiber
and without the wait that installation of new fiber entails. Cost objectives for rack space, powering and fiber usage are
optimized. Ascend, Williams Network and Pirelli understand the needs of the networks of the future and have
combined to provide a future- proof bandwidth solution,'' he added.
Jeff Kiel, director of product marketing, Ascend Communications, Inc., said, ''New network architectures based on
connecting ATM directly to fiber will allow service providers such as Williams to build networks without the need for
costly and unnecessary legacy SONET equipment. This joint testing proves that these networks can be built in this
way today.''
Stoker explained that Pirelli's optical multiplexed carrier facility represents a more cost-effective solution than
conventional SONET. Pirelli's scaleable T31 OMDS 1632 system will interface directly to the optical ports of
Ascend's ATM core switch.
The laboratory trials proved interoperability compliance with error free (transparent) transmission of ATM traffic at
varying data rates (OC-3 to OC-48).
Pirelli introduced its T-31 OMDS 1632 system earlier this year as the highest capacity wavelength division
multiplexing system available for metropolitan applications.
The system features a 32-channel platform that can be upgraded incrementally from 2 to 32 channels as demand for
bandwidth dictates. Consequently, the OMDS 1632 gives a communications provider a system with low initial cost
that can be upgraded with a short turn-up time - typically less than two days - and without the high fixed costs and
service disruption normally associated with adding capacity. The system installs on Pirelli's market-proven T-31
platform.
The OMDS 1632 system also has the unique capability to drop/add up to four channels, a vital feature for
applications in which concentrated data streams need to be routed for high-volume users.
Williams (NYSE: WMB - news), through its subsidiaries, is the nation's largest- volume transporter of natural gas and
provides a full range of traditional and leading-edge energy and communications services. In addition to its national
wholesale multimedia network, its communications enterprises include nationwide single-source business
communications systems integration; international video satellite and fiber-optic transmission; multipoint video- and
audio-conferencing; satellite business applications; enhanced fax services; interactive technical training, on-demand
distance learning and Internet and telemarketing services. Company information is available at twc.com,
wilcom.com and willtales.com. Ascend Communications, Inc. develops, manufactures, sells
and services wide area networking solutions for telecommunications carriers, Internet service providers and corporate
customers worldwide. For more information about Ascend and its products, please visit the Ascend web site at
www.ascend.com, or send e-mail to info@ascend.com.
Pirelli Cables and Systems North America is headquartered in Columbia, S.C. With facilities in Lexington and
Abbeville, S.C., Colusa, Calif., Surrey, British Columbia, St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, and Prescott, Ontario, it
provides fiber optic cable and photonics equipment for the communications industry and energy transmission and
distribution cable for the utility and commercial building industries.
Pirelli Cables and Systems is a global manufacturer of communications and power cables and systems. With 15,000
employees, 51 plants, research and development centers in Italy, the United States, Canada, France, Great Britain
and Brazil, and total sales of more than $3.5 billion, Pirelli ranks among the world leaders. The company is
increasingly focusing its R&D and manufacturing resources and competencies on leading edge technologies, based on
optical fibers and photonics for communications networks and superconductivity for power transmission.
SOURCE: Pirelli Cables and Systems North America
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The Williams Companies Inc (NYSE:WMB - news) |
