NEWS
INA Technologies and Advanced
Fibre Communications Announce Global Agreement
AFC and VINA to Target CLECs With End-to-End GR-303 Multiservice
Solution
LAS VEGAS, ALTS, Nov. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- VINA Technologies and Advanced Fibre
Communications®, Inc. (AFC)(Nasdaq: AFCI - news) today announced a global agreement under
which the companies will jointly market a multiservice solution based on VINA's Multiservice T1
Integrator® and AFC's UMC 1000® access platform.
The combined solution integrates voice and data traffic onto a single T1 line, enabling small and
mid-sized businesses to optimize bandwidth use while reducing equipment and telecommunications
service costs. The product also offers significant benefits to telco service providers in the form of
reduced network provisioning, maintenance and management costs.
The solution integrates VINA's Multiservice T1 Integrator in a seamless architecture with AFC's
flagship product, the UMC 1000 3rd Generation Digital Loop Carrier™. This solution, the result of
joint development work by VINA and AFC, will enable the T1 Integrator and the UMC 1000 to
function as a single, integrated voice and data access system in the local loop.
An Integrated Access Device (IAD), VINA's Multiservice T1 Integrator provides customers with a
cost-effective, flexible solution for providing both voice and data services over a single T1. The
UMC 1000's integrated 1/0 cross-connect capabilities and GR-303 switch interface allow grooming
of data and voice services at the central office.
Utilizing the UMC 1000's GR-303 switch interface as a concentration point for multiple IADs takes
full advantage of GR-303's voice traffic concentration abilities, resulting in significant cost savings for
the customer by reducing the network resources, switch ports, and central office equipment.
''This solution is ideal for both us and our small to mid-sized business customers,'' said Graham
Powers, senior vice president of engineering and technology at Time Warner Telecom, a
Competitive Local Exchange Carrier (CLEC) providing integrated telecommunications services to
business customers in 19 U.S. cities. ''It will reduce costs for our customers because it eliminates the
need for multiple access lines and multiple voice and data products while simultaneously delivering
faster data transfer rates and Internet access. Further, our customers can quickly and easily adjust
the mix of voice and data lines delivered over the T1 line to meet their changing business needs. The
added benefit is that it lowers our network costs, is simple to deploy, and better utilizes our existing
infrastructure, thereby increasing the return on our investment in the network.''
''This agreement with VINA gives us a terrific solution for our fast growing CLEC business. Our
customers can not only provide cost-effective solutions from the UMC 1000 platform, but they now
have the added advantage of the additional data services offered from the VINA Multiservice T1
Integrator,'' said Troy Conley, vice president of CLEC sales for AFC. ''The AFC/VINA solution
will enhance the competitiveness of service providers by enabling them to cost-effectively maximize
the number of revenue-generating voice and data services while minimizing the amount of copper
required.''
''The scalability and the compact size of the UMC 1000 make it an ideal fit for CLEC applications.
This, in addition to AFC's leadership in the independent telco market, are key assets AFC brings to
the agreement,'' said Bill Waters, vice president of sales, VINA Technologies. ''We look forward to
working with AFC's sales team to jointly sell and market this multiservice solution.''
About the Multiservice T1 Integrator
About the size of a pizza box, VINA's Multiservice T1 Integrator resides at the customer premises
and combines voice, video, data and Internet traffic onto a T1 line. It combines the voice
functionality of routing local and long distance calls with the data networking functionality of an
IP/IPX router, channel/data service unit (CSU/DSU), Internet firewall and remote access server for
secure telecommuting via IPSec-based Virtual Private Networking (VPN). Instead of requiring
separate equipment, the product combines all this functionality in a single unit that is remotely
managed by the service provider.
About the UMC 1000
The world's first third-generation digital loop carrier, the UMC 1000, delivers unprecedented
bandwidth, transport and service options from a single local-loop access platform. It features 6.2
Gbps of system bandwidth including a 100 Mbps Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) bus, an 800
Mbps cell bus and a 5.3 Gbps high-speed serial bus. The unique three-bus architecture allows the
UMC 1000 to simultaneously interwork with TDM, frame relay, ATM and SONET network
architectures.
About AFC
AFC is a leading manufacturer of telecommunications systems for the ''local loop'' between
telephone service users and public telephone network systems worldwide. AFC has pioneered a
single platform that supports any network, any transport, and any service. AFC's flagship product,
the UMC 1000 3rd Generation Digital Loop Carrier, provides any service from POTS to xDSL
over copper, fiber, and wireless transport media. Additional information about AFC can be found on
the web at fibre.com.
About VINA Technologies
Founded in 1996, VINA Technologies bridges the gap between the worlds of telecommunications
and data communications by delivering multiservice integration at the network edge. Marketed to
service providers and distributors, VINA's customer premises solutions enable service providers to
cost-effectively deliver integrated voice, data and Internet services to small to mid-sized businesses
and branch offices (10 to 200 employees). Available since 1997, the company's multiservice
product family offers compact, economical devices that represent an industry first, integrating voice,
video, data and Internet traffic onto a single local loop. VINA Technologies is located at 42709
Lawrence Place, Fremont, Calif. 94538; Telephone: 888-774-VINA; vina-tech.com
www.vina-tech.com.
NOTE: Multiservice T1 Integrator is a registered trademark of VINA Technologies. 3GDLC, Any
Network. Any Transport. Any Service., 3rd Generation DLC, and Third Generation Digital Loop
Carrier are trademarks and Advanced Fibre Communications, Universal Modular Carrier, AFC, the
AFC Logo, and UMC 1000 are registered trademarks of Advanced Fibre Communications, Inc.
All other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
AFC Cautionary Language:
Except for historical information contained in this press release, the foregoing contains forward
looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from the
results predicted. The potential risks and uncertainties include, among others, that the combined
solution will not provide the benefits described above, and that the alliance may not have a positive
impact on AFC's financial results. More information about potential risk factors which could affect
AFC's financial results is included in AFC's Form 10-K, which is on file with the Securities and
Exchange Commission.
SOURCE: Advanced Fibre Communications, Inc.
Hraka |
