Lucent Technologies has announced a new multi-service access switch with reportedly twice the port density of the nearest competing product, plus universal port capability to help carriers support the growth of new residential and business access technologies and services.
The new APX 8000 Multiservice Access Switch helps ISPs and other carriers capitalise on fast-growing markets for dial access, voice or fax over the Internet and VPNs. The APX 8000 also makes it easy for ISPs to resell or lease ports to other ISPs - a practice known as port wholesaling.
New NavisAccess 5.0 network management software, also introduced, gives network operators for the first time a business-level view of their networks, helping them manage the services they provide to their customers, not just the devices in the network.
"The APX 8000 is a next-generation access switch from the industry leader in Internet access and Internet Telephony," says Curt Sanford, president, InterNetworking Systems at Lucent Technologies.
"With the new universal port capabilities and NavisAccess 5.0, the APX 8000 is the ideal switch for large ISPs and carriers faced with growing demand for dial-up Internet access and for anyone who plans to offer value-added services such as VOIP, fax-over IP, VPNs and port wholesaling over multi-service networks."
The combined market for carrier-type dial-up Internet access and VOIP systems was $3.7 billion in 1999, according to the International Data Corporation, which expects the market to grow to $6.7 billion by 2003.
At a maximum of 2 688 ports per shelf, the APX 8000 delivers what Lucent claims is the industry`s highest port density - double that of its leading competitor. In addition, the system is designed to support a future three-fold increase in capacity to 8 000 ports per shelf.
Complementing the high port density of the APX 8000 is a carrier-class hardware design that eliminates any single point of failure. The APX 8000 architecture includes support for full redundancy and hot-swappable cards.
The APX 8000 is suited for a variety of high-density applications including Internet access wholesaling, VPN tunnel aggregation, Internet Call Diversion and as a VOIP Trunking Gateway - the latter two in conjunction with the Lucent Technologies` Softswitch. Together with the Lucent Softswitch, the APX 8000 provides a complete solution that allows a next-generation carrier to cost-effectively handle toll and tandem voice traffic.
In addition, the APX 8000 shares many modules with the MAX TNT, giving MAX TNT users maximum investment protection and flexibility in migrating to the higher capacity, more fault-tolerant APX 8000 chassis.
The APX 8000 is fully compliant with NEBS Level 3 specifications, a quality and reliability standard important to carriers.
The APX 8000, NavisAccess 5.0 and TAOS 8.0 are available immediately worldwide. APX 8000 pricing ranges from $200 to $400 per port depending on configuration.
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