Pat-- Now ASND needs two combine "boxes"(platforms) to performed similar functionality NN has been providing for more then year on one single 36170 platform.
They could not achived it on single platform,I guess, b/c it is very difficult to correct fundamental shortcommings.
T
April 19, 1999 07:06 AM
ALAMEDA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 19, 1999--
Rapid Provisioning of New Private Line and Voice Transport Services through the
Core; Williams Communications Already Deploying Dozens of Units
Ascend Communications, Inc. ASND , a leader in wide area networking (WAN) and
Intelligent Network (IN) solutions for providers and users of the next-generation public
network, today unveiled the GX 250(TM) Multiservice Extender for the market-leading
GX 550(TM) "Smart" Core ATM switch. Williams Communications, a unit of Williams
WMB , is deploying 70 GX 250s on its nationwide fiber-optic network in connection
with its private line and voice transport service offerings. The GX 250 enhances the GX
550 by adding private line and voice transport services, further building the multiservice
capability of the GX 550. Service providers can now further streamline and increase the
flexibility of their networks, perform rapid service provisioning, realize lower equipment
and operations costs, and offer multiple services (ATM, Frame Relay, IP/MPLS and
private line and voice transport). The GX 250 is another milestone in Ascend's strategy
and leadership position to build service providers' next-generation public networks.
The capabilities of the GX 250 help streamline a service provider's network architecture
by further integrating the switching/transmission network layer, eliminating requirements
for legacy transmission equipment and related network management demands. The
convergence of network layers increases scalability, flexibility, and reliability, while
reducing costs. Convergence also allows for differentiated classes of Quality of Service
(QoS) and Service Level Agreements (SLAs), enables support for Virtual Private
Networks (VPNs), and creates real bandwidth management rather than stranding
bandwidth.
"Service providers are currently competing for billions of dollars in private line services
every year," said Dennis Fiore, product marketing manager, Core Systems Division,
Ascend Communications. "The GX 250 will allow existing and new private line
buildouts to migrate onto the next-generation public network, further leveraging the
ATM core."
Streamlined Network Eases Management and Capital Costs
The carrier-class GX 250/GX 550 solution supports the convergence of the switching
and transmission networks by integrating Synchronous Optical Network (SONET)
Add-Drop Muxes (ADM) and Digital Cross-Connect Systems (DCS) capabilities. The
new GX 250 grooms, monitors, and tests DS3 private lines, which eliminates expensive
DCS equipment, and the GX 550 directly connects to Dense Wave Division
Multiplexers (DWDM) with its OC-48/STM-16 interface, eliminating the need for
costly SONET equipment.
The integration of SONET ADM and DCS capabilities reduces the number of required
network elements, reduces network complexity, lowers capital and operating costs, and
increases network reliability. The new GX 250/GX 550 solution also enables service
providers to better utilize their existing network infrastructure. The solution can co-exist
with legacy time division multiplexing (TDM) equipment, enabling service providers to
migrate traffic to alleviate congestion and improve reliability on their networks, while
preserving investments previously made in legacy TDM equipment.
"Ascend's vision of a single multiservice network enables us to offer all services from
one network, thereby simplifying our network and operations, and increasing the return
we realize on network investments," said Wayne Price, director of network architecture
at Williams Network. "Our deployed GX 550s are even more valuable to us now
because the GX 250 makes them multiservice-enabled, adding private line and voice
transport."
As a multiservice extender shelf co-located with the GX 550, the GX 250 is a logical
extension of Ascend's ATM core switch. The GX 250 increases the port density of the
GX 550 with a "port fan-out" architecture to up to 480 T3s, offering service providers a
high-density solution. The GX 250 also includes two independent half-shelves with six
slots configurable for DS1 (clear channel and channelized), DS3 (clear channel and
channelized) and OC-12 channelized service offerings, increasing the offerings
previously available on the GX 550. Initially, the GX 250 delivers clear channel DS3,
with the additional services available in the first half of 2000.
New Services Provisioned in Minutes
The new "point, click, done" rapid service provisioning capabilities of the GX 250 can
reduce provisioning of new services from as much as four weeks to just minutes. This
reduction allows service providers to quickly add new revenue-generating services for a
rapid return on investment, as well as to better serve their customer base by turning on
new services the same day an order is taken.
Services can be provisioned from one location with the GX 250/GX 550 solution with
an easy-to-use, point-and-click graphical user interface (GUI), instead of traversing
through multiple layers of DCS and SONET network elements. The ease of
provisioning is made possible by converged switching/transmission layers, the ability of
Ascend's Virtual Network Navigator (VNN) to automatically find the optimal path
through a network, and end-to-end management with Ascend's integrated Navis service
and network management platform.
Carrier-Class Availability
Service providers benefit from Ascend's industry-leading levels of availability and
reliability -- delivering "Five 9s," or 99.999 percent service up time. The availability
features on the GX 250 platform minimize interruption of services during failures. With
1:N redundancy, a single backup protects multiple provisionable service ports, and
Automatic Restore provides all backup systems with automatic switchover capabilities
in the event of a failure. The availability features of the GX 250 platform also include
Rapid Upgrade, which allows for system software upgrades to networks without service
outage, enabling new service features to be deployed more rapidly.
"Service providers like GST are demanding features such as 50 millisecond automatic
restore capabilities and the ability to connect directly to DWDM equipment at OC-48
speeds. Ascend offers these features today," said Steve Hensley, vice president of
Engineering, GST Telecommunications. "Ascend's GUI-based system provisioning also
offers a profound advantage over element management or command line interface,
which require the time-consuming provisioning of multiple network elements. This
dramatically decreases the complexity of networks and allows services to be turned up
and provisioned in minutes, instead of days or weeks."
Williams Network Deploying GX 250s Today
Williams Communications is currently deploying 70 GX 250s with existing Multiservice
GX 550 ATM "Smart" Core Switches in approximately 50 points-of-presence (POPs)
nationwide -- with more installations planned later this year. Williams Communications
will initially use the GX 250s primarily to increase its bandwidth wholesaling offerings on
the GX 550 platform.
"With Ascend's GX 250 Multiservice Extender, we are not only increasing our service
offerings with the addition of DS-3 private line services, but we can implement those
services almost immediately," said Price. "In a traditional network, we would need to
provision each piece of SONET and DCS equipment separately, creating weeks of
work to turn on new services. Because the Ascend solution incorporates SONET and
DCS functionality into one box and includes a point-click-done provisioning capability,
we can turn those weeks into minutes and offer new services to our customers almost
immediately."
With the addition of the GX 250s to its network, Williams Communications will have
incorporated each of Ascend's primary core switching platforms into its network,
including the GX 550, Multiservice CBX 500(TM) ATM Switches, and Multiservice
B-STDX 9000(TM) Frame Relay Switches. With Ascend's product line of
market-leading core switching products -- and Navis, Ascend's end-to-end service and
network management solution -- Williams Communications can offer all of its
broadband services from one network. The array of platforms from Ascend allows
Williams Communications flexibility based on the needs of individual customers and
individual POPs within its network.
A New Class of Service Provider
Ascend's focus on services, scalability, flexibility and reliability with the GX 250/GX
550 enables carriers to converge on a new type of service provider. Historically, service
providers were specialized, with clear service segmentation based on one or two service
offerings from each carrier. With the ability to offer multiple services on one network,
the line between traditional carriers is blurring and Interexchange Carriers (IXCs),
Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOCs), and Competitive Local Exchange
Carriers (CLECs) are migrating toward "Super Carrier" status as they offer a full range
of competing services.
Availability and Pricing
The GX 250 will be available in June 1999. The GX 250 is available for $7,000 per
DS3 channel. Customers outside the U.S. should contact their local Ascend
representative or reseller for pricing and availability information.
About Ascend Communications
Ascend Communications, Inc. ASND 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. For Investor Relations,
please call our communications hotline at 800-648-3059 or 760-704-4423 (outside the
US & Canada). Additional investor information can also be accessed on our Web site
at: ascend.com. Ascend is headquartered at One Ascend Plaza,
1701 Harbor Bay Parkway, Alameda, Calif. 94502; phone is 800/ASCEND4 and fax
is 510-814-2300.
In January 1999, the Company entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the
"Merger Agreement") with Lucent Technologies Inc. ("Lucent"), pursuant to which, each
outstanding share of Ascend common stock will be exchanged for 0.825 shares of
Lucent common stock and each outstanding option or warrant to purchase Ascend
common stock will be converted into an option or warrant to purchase Lucent common
stock (adjusted for the exchange ratio).
In February 1999, Lucent announced a two-for-one stock split, payable on April 1,
1999, to shareholders of record as of March 5, 1999. Under the terms of the Merger
Agreement, the exchange ratio will be adjusted for the effect of this stock split and any
similar changes in the capitalization of Lucent.
The foregoing statements may contain forward-looking statements that are based on
current expectations and involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ
materially from these expectations as a result of factors including, but not limited to, the
Company's success in developing, introducing or shipping new products, competition,
the mix of distribution channels employed, the Company's dependence on single or
limited source suppliers for certain components used in its products, risks inherent in
international sales, seasonality and general economic conditions. These and other factors
are discussed in Ascend's 10-K, 10-Q and other filings made periodically with the
Securities and Exchange Commission. |
