Paris, June 17, 2002 – Alcatel (Paris: CGEP.PA and NYSE: ALA), the world leader in optical networking, today announced the commercial availability of the “4xAny” feature on the 1696 Metro Span, Alcatel’s carrier-class and low-cost Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) system for metropolitan applications. A state-of-the-art interface, the “4xAny” is a unique service concentrator that enables the grooming of many different services into one standard SDH/SONET signal. This ability allows operators and service providers to efficiently deliver a mix of advanced services – such as Digital Video (DV), Internet Protocol (IP), ESCON/FICON, Fiber Channel (a key service for Storage Area Networks), Fast Ethernetand Gigabit Ethernet– while drastically reducing the cost per single service transported.
Thanks to Alcatel’s 4xAny feature, any combination of up to four different services is transparently transported to the customers’ premises over a single 2.5Gbit/s SDH/SONET channel. This unique interface not only allows for bandwidth optimization, but also ensures services are transmitted with the maximum level of security, reliability and quality guarantees. The use of an industry standard SDH/SONET frame provides enhanced fault localization and network client protection capabilities while ensuring compatibility with existing DWDM and SDH/SONET networks. This enables
service providers to generate new revenues from their existing infrastructure, while at the same time protecting their previous investments.
“The 4xAny feature answers operators’ needs for a fast, efficient and carrier-grade means to optimize their network resources and it supports the significant amount of diversified services crossing everyday transport networks,” stated Jean-Marie Vansteenkiste, president of Alcatel’s terrestrial networks activities.
Alcatel’s 4xAny feature leads the way in creating new business opportunities in the terrestrial transmission market, especially in the emerging Storage Area Network (SAN) application segment. SAN interconnections over wide area networks enable service providers and corporations to respond to their customers’ needs for networking capability and multi-protocol data connections across local storage networks. By using the Alcatel 1696 Metro Span and its unique “4xAny” feature, SAN networks can be more cost effectively interconnected across metropolitan and backbone networks without affecting system performance or data integrity. While traditional SAN interconnections have been limited to about 100 km, Alcatel’s 1696 Metro Span and the 4xAny feature will allow carriers to transport their data in a secure manner over longer distances than ever before.
About Alcatel’s 1696 Metro Span
The Alcatel 1696 Metro Span, the heart of Alcatel’s Metro solution, targets the transmission needs of metropolitan and enterprise DWDM applications, encompassing maximum flexibility for deployment in a variety of environments. The system delivers flexible features that can adjust and grow to meet the continuing demand for greater network capacity from customers. Thanks to the modular concept of adding and dropping optical signals, its capacity can be increased in service up to 32 wavelengths and can handle large amounts of traffic at transmission speeds up to 10 Gbit/s. The Alcatel 1696 Metro Span is fully transparent, accommodating multiple kinds of protocols and services (SDH, SONET, IP,ATM, Gigabit Ethernet, ESCON, etc.) and supports operators’ service needs with class of service differentiation and optical path quality assurance. The system has the ability to concentrate different kinds of data signals into one standard optical pathway using its unique “any-rate”data concentrator, providing efficient delivery of low bit-rate bandwidth services, such as digital video, by maximizing optical capacity, without any trafficinterruption. With the Alcatel 1696 Metro Span, operators can begin deploying the first module of the Metro solution to offer new kinds of services and reduce cost of network infrastructure today.
About Alcatel
According to leading telecom market research firm RHK, Alcatel was the 2001 world leader in global optical transport – encompassing terrestrial and submarine applications – with 17% market share, in terrestrial optical transport with 14.2% market share and in submarine optical transport with 41% market share, an unprecedented achievement in the telecom industry. Alcatel’s optics business comprises optical components, optical fibers, SDH/SONET and DWDM systems, cross-connects, microwave radio links, network intelligence, and services for both terrestrial and submarine applications.
Alcatel designs, develops and builds innovative and competitive communications networks, enabling carriers, service providers and enterprises to deliver any type of content, such as voice, data and multimedia, to any type of consumer, anywhere in the world. Relying on its leading and comprehensive products and solutions portfolio, stretching from end-to-end optical infrastructures, fixed and mobile networks to broadband access, Alcatel's customers can focus on optimizing their service offerings and revenue streams. With sales of EURO 25 billion in 2001 and 99,000 employees, Alcatel operates in more than 130 countries. For more information, visit Alcatel on the Internet: http://www.alcatel.com.
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