Marconi solution lowers operating costs at the Access Hub

Marconi, a global provider of advanced communications solutions, unveiled a key part of its complete access solution at CeBIT. The solution will cut costs for service providers, particularly those targeting newly deregulated markets.

The Access Hub, in a single shelf, combines the aggregation capabilities of older DSLAMs (digital subscriber line access multiplexers), together with routing, switching and service management functionality. This dramatically reduces the amount of costly space - as well as spares - needed by network operators wishing to access unbundled local loop exchanges.

The Access Hub is a core part of Marconi`s vision of connecting people anywhere and anytime. It can bring together up to 512 broadband copper xDSL lines per as well as being a wireless or fibre aggregation point - or hub - making it one of the highest density and flexible access solutions on the market. From this hub, a service provider can also deploy copper, fibre or wireless to smaller distribution nodes, then onwards to the customer.

Richard Bayley, Vice President of Global Marketing for Marconi`s access division, said: "The Access Hub is compact and supremely flexible, providing operators with a wide variety of solutions based on common modular building blocks. For example, it can be used to support IP services in one location, xDSL service delivery in another and for broadband service authentication for specific users in yet another. It offers intelligent integrated functionality, from aggregation, switching and routing through to gateway functionality and the management of quality of service." Richard Bayley, vice president of marketing for Marconi Access, said: "The Access Hub is compact and supremely flexible and provides a wide variety of possible solutions for operators by using the same modular building blocks. For example, it can be used to support IP services in one location, xDSL service delivery in another and for broadband service authentication for specific users in yet another. Its unique capability is its intelligent integrated functionality, from aggregation, switching and routing to management and Quality of Service capabilities."

To aggregate and concentrate traffic streams, Access Hub includes, in one chassis, ATM (asynchronous transfer mode) switching and routing and IP protocol intelligence. This gives it significant advantages over conventional DSLAMs that do not have these capabilities and require separate expensive IP Routers and Remote Access Servers.

"As core carrier networks are rapidly becoming more packet-centric with enormous amounts of available bandwidth, there is a need to push more and more intelligence deeper into the access network in order to handle the increasing range of services offered. Our new Access Hub is a multi-service delivery platform that can be deployed at strategic places in an Access network to suit all of the business needs of today`s network operators," Bayley said.

Marconi Communications South Africa (MCSA) employs around 850 people, with its network division and headquarters at Midrand and a manufacturing division at Springs. Empowerment group African Renaissance Holdings (ARH) holds 25% of the MCSA equity.

Marconi plc is a global communications and IT company with around 55,000 employees world-wide. Marconi has research and development facilities in 19 countries, manufacturing operations in 16 countries, and serves customers in over 100 countries. It supplies advanced communications solutions and the key technologies and services for the Internet. Marconi plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange and Nasdaq under the symbol MONI.