Voice over DSL Reporting Sept. 13
"Ecstasy" at VoDSL vendors as customers sign up and deliveries begin
- Picus spends $22M with Nokia and Coppercom
- Tollbridge sells 10,000 lines of DSL/Voice gateways and CPE -- delivering now.
- Jetstream and Accesslan receive $10M order
- Accelerated inks CTC for $8M
There is joy in Santa Clara (Coppercom), Sunnyvale (Tollbridge), Los Gatos (Jetstream), Moorpark (Accelerated) & San Jose (Accesslan), as
paying customer sign up for VoDSL. Fittingly, George Hawley's Nokia/Diamond Lane made the first sale, because he is a key visionary of the technology. Details on the other sales are being released in the next 48 hours
at the N + I show in Atlanta. Over 50 providers are in active trials, about to make commitments. DSL Prime spoke with Rand Kennedy of Rhythms, still choosing a vendor for a wide deployment within four months. They
already are doing some VOIP for customers, but are in final tests of Jetstream and others for the nationwide rollout of VoDSL. Rhythms' Catherine Hapka told us "Voice is here. It works. We're doing it."
Picus signs for $300M voice and DSL from Nokia
A company on a mission Peter Cousins of Picus told DSL Prime about his company's goals. "We're proud to be pioneers, because we
know what new technology enables. We've already opened Clarent gateways for VOIP in New York, Madrid, Milan, and Lugano, Switzerland. We'll bundle multiple lines of local voice, 500 minutes of long distance and
384/128K DSL for around $100. 27 COs in Hampton Roads open in October, and we expect to be in 160 cities by 2001. Nokia isn't just providing equipment, but also the expertise to install and manage our growth.The
deciding factor was field experience." Vendor financing also helped, as in many deals today. (DSL Prime reported last week that Lucent has committed over $3B in customer finance.) Ambitious plans, and we wish them
luck. IP or ATM for Voice over DSL?
The answer is "Yes!" - both have a place VoDSL nows has first sales, and every DSL provider is committed to it, with most in
advanced tests. This reporter called home from Supercomm over a VoDSL circuit, and has spoken to several vendors over VoDSL lines, and everything sounds fine. Coppercom and Jetstream use ATM, a proven reliable
technology at the heart of most DSL and many telephony networks. But Tollbridge uses IP, thought by many to be the wave of the future, and promising great flexibility. IP usually adds some overhead, and the reliability
is dependent upon the quality of the network, but it runs nearly everywhere, whether over cable lines, wireless or over DSL/ATM. While the public internet does not support high quality Voice over IP, the private DSL
networks are under tighter control. Jim Grady of Tollbridge and Martin Taylor of Coppercom, two of the hottest startups in technology, explain the advantages of their approach, in articles that will appear in the print
edition of DSL Prime in next month, and are here. Comments welcome. Lucent Talks!
Announces all-in-one Pathstar IP switch for Voice over DSL
At a cost of less than $100 per subscriber
(Lucent estimate), Pathstar is designed to provide every major function for a local exchange, including IP Voice, DSL connectivity, all essential telephone switch functions, and routing both to the switched telephone
network and an IP data network. For not much more than the equipment needed to connect to a switch, Lucent is offering a package that includes the switch as well. Lucent claims a savings of $100 per subscriber, but
costs are notoriously difficult to compare in this field, with little public discussion of prices and many different configurations for the equipment. A large market 5ESS can be costed at $60 per sub, and many of the
Pathstar’s added functions may not be necessary for the particular customer or installation. Especially with Lucent, the ongoing costs, including software maintenance, must be included. Designed
for IP, Pathstar can connect to anything that can transport IP - including Copper Mountain or Ascend equipment, carrying IP over ATM or Frame Relay. The Pathstar announcement is Lucent's powerful endorsement of Voice
over DSL, but has some limits.
Pathstar is a greenfield switch, aimed at new deployments, but Jim Grady of Tollbridge pointed out that interfacing with the massive base of Class 5 switches will be
the main market for many years. Coppercom, Jetstream, and Tollbridge equipment offer extraordinary efficiency, locating at the DSL providers' POPs and connecting an entire
metropolitan area to a single Class 5 switch, the kind that will continue to dominate the voice market for many years to come. The flexibility gained by using IP has a price, Kevin
Walsh of Accelerated Networks told DSL Prime. "There are so many layers of protocol running voice over IP over ATM over DSL that the efficiency becomes debatable. The reality is that
IP performs no useful function and consumes bandwidth." (DSL Prime is working on an article on IP or ATM for Voice over DSL for the print edition.)
"Until we see this as real, it's difficult to figure out where it fits and where it doesn't," David Frankel of Jetstream pointed
out. Jim Grady added, "Brand name is important, but good products are even more important." Pathstar should be generally available in Q4 and clearly must be considered
by any new CLEC, the market initially targeted. But Lucent has grander plans. The 7R/E switch for larger networks (over 15,000 subscribers) is on the way at a similar aggressive
price. One 7R/E configuration, the Access Server, is designed to integrate with existing switches. Pathstar's architecture, built around the Inferno operating system, should be
highly scalable and extensible. An integrated DSLAM for Pathstar is promised on the Lucent website, but not yet available, and they are already testing with other equipment,
including Alcatel DSLAMs (at an RBOC). Some smart small companies were first out the gate for VoDSL, but Lucent intends to become a player. 8/9/99 Is one-box better?
Pathstar attributes its cost effectiveness to providing so many functions in a single box. Kevin Walsh of Accelerated pointed out another advantage of that approach. “Telcos want
one source of supply and place to call with a problem, which is a major advantage of our product line as well.” But many customers will prefer the “best of breed” for their particular
needs. The practical reality is that most of the market for many years will be for equipment that fits into an existing network, or as Susan Lider pointed out on behalf of Coppercom,
“Class 5 Switches aren't going away anytime soon.” ATM vs. IP for Voice?
Not a simple question, nor one to be answered in a paragraph. Everyone accepts the increasing role of IP, but most telephone networks being designed in 1999 run ATM and
other technologies. Again and again I’ve heard engineers say “IP is great, but ATM works today, and the proven quality of service means we know we will get our product to market.”
You don’t need to work with standards still being defined, parts and reference designs are off the shelf, the textbooks have already been written.
But IP will be everywhere, of course, and that allows expanded applications. E-Commerce is this year’s buzzword, and Voice-IP enables a merchant’s call center to
push a picture of the item being discussed while talking on the phone. The phone can take many forms, including a microphone on a multimedia PC. While IP adds extra overhead,
that’s mostly a problem on the public internet; most of the deployments of Voice over DSL are on a well controlled system that has more than enough bandwidth for voice as needed. Lucent’s business strategy
Lucent is making a major move to IP, and this is one part of it. They are offering essentially the same equipment to the cable telephony market, and presumably will lead
AT&T’s vendor list. Lucent gains advantages of scale by selling similar equipment into several markets, but clearly leaves an opening for the more focused DSL-centric
companies to compete. Smaller switchmakers as well are challenging Lucent, and Pathstar is also a reply to them. Lucent market power and the sales tools they possess
should not be underestimated. Dennis Allen, VP of Network Telephone, one of the first Pathstar customers, told DSL Prime “They're building and financing the network, which is
a key part of the business.” There willingness to finance the customer is also important to JATO, a rapidly expanding regional DSL provider. Smaller customers like these have
traditionally not been the Lucent market, but Lucent is now they are clearly seeking to reach out to even the small ISP or CLEC. Lucent’s 7R/E is for larger systems
Pathstar is being marketed for systems of 15,000 or fewer subscribers; the 7R/E larger systems, including the typical telco CO. The “R” in the product name stands for
“revolutionary” - it more a data switch than a circuit switch. Lucent is being cautious in the promotion for the 7R/E, not wanting to induce customers to postpone switch purchases
until it is ready, but the near future transition is very clear. The “E” in the name is for “evolutionary”, emphasizing the second configuration of the switch, as an add-on product
to the 5ESS. That configuration will more directly compete with the Redbacks and Jetstreams of the world.
But Pathstar has room to grow
Pathstar’s core is built around Inferno, an operating system that represents the best of
Bell Labs’ thirty years of experience designing software. While the larger world is still learning to cope with Unix (including Unix descendent Windows NT), Bell Labs left Unix
behind years ago. One key advantage of Inferno is design for scalability, and it should make for a very clean growth path as more advanced chips inevitably come to market.
Within a few years, Pathstar technology could easily scale to the largest systems; Lucent will have to make a marketing decision about which line to feature. IBM years ago faced a
similar decision with the System 38, in many ways more sophisticated than the 370s which were the main line. They left the System 38 as a weak sister, and for a decade IBM
mainframe sales were hobbled by the less advanced technology. The 7R/E may prove its’ own power as it comes to market, but the Pathstar line gives Lucent a clear alternative.
Here’s the press release:
LUCENT TECHNOLOGIES TO DELIVER FEATURE-RICH VOICE OVER DSL WITH PATHSTAR(tm) ACCESS SERVER Network Telephone Signs Agreement to Deploy PathStar and Copper Mountain
Equipment Across Nine States in the Southeast FOR RELEASE WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 4, 1999 MURRAY HILL, N.J. - Lucent Technologies (NYSE LU) announced today that it will
extend its revolutionary PathStar(tm) family of products to deliver the industry's most feature-rich, end-to-end packet solution for Voice over DSL (Digital Subscriber Line).
Lucent's PathStar offer will enable new and expanding competitive service providers to more cost-effectively offer integrated voice, data and high-speed Internet access over DSL
to their small-and medium-sized business and residential customers. > The new solution will combine the PathStar portfolio of IP-based, multi-service central
office products with Lucent's MultiDSL(tm) Access Concentrators, as well as with Copper Mountain Networks' (NASDAQ CMTN) CopperEdge ®(tm) DSL Concentrators, and
packet-based Integrated Access Devices. Lucent's ATM and frame-based MultiDSL access concentrators were acquired through the company's recent merger with Ascend.
> Network Telephone, a Competitive Local Exchange Carrier (CLEC) based in Pensacola, Fla, will deploy Lucent's PathStar Access Server(tm) with Copper Mountain's CopperEdge
DSL Concentrators and CopperRocket(tm) Integrated Access Devices to provide voice, data and high-speed Internet access over DSL to their business customers in nine states across the Southeast USA.
> "Our customers want one-stop shopping for their voice and data needs," said Ray Russenberger, CEO of Network Telephone. "Lucent's PathStar solution gives us a
competitive edge by enabling us to deliver the telephony services our customers demand, over the packet infrastructure we need to offer innovative, high-value, IP-based services.
We believe this Voice over DSL solution will provide us a cutting-edge multi-service network." > The PathStar solution, available in fourth quarter this year, will enable service providers
to deliver eight or more telephony subscriber lines and high-speed data services over a single unbundled local loop.
> "The regulatory and competitive landscape is driving CLECs to offer both voice and data services," said Claudia Bacco, director, DSL Products, TeleChoice. "The PathStar
solution offers an option for entering this integrated services marketplace with lower costs than traditional infrastructure options."
> "Our customers need an integrated, multi-service solution that they can deploy quickly and cost-effectively to provide revenue-generating services," said Harry Carr, VP and
COO, InterNetworking Systems, Lucent. > "This solution delivers the combined cost savings of the PathStar and DSL, while
enabling service providers to offer feature-rich telephony and differentiated enhanced services." > > The PathStar Solution
> The PathStar family-the PathStar Access Server and the Business Service Exchange-is designed to enable new service providers, such as > CLECs, Internet Service
Providers (ISPs) and IP Telephony Service Providers, as well as established carriers entering new markets to offer low-cost, innovative voice and data services over IP or IP/ATM packet networks.
> By integrating the DSLAM aggregation, edge router, and "Class 5" or local telephony system functions in a single packet-based element, PathStar significantly lowers the
complexity and reduces cost by nearly $100 per subscriber versus the combined GR-303 Gateway and Class 5 Circuit Switch alternatives, based on estimated average sales prices.
> The PathStar products deliver essential telephony features such as Caller ID, Call Waiting, Voice Messaging and E911, while simultaneously providing IP-based services
such as Internet access and Virtual Private Networking. > Earlier stories Covad and GST announce VoDSL as product
For the last two months, everyone has been rushing to announce plans for voice over DSL, all dreaming of the $45B small business market in which the Bells have had little
competition. Covad and GST, a large west coast phone company, tested over 200,000 phone calls before making the announcement. Customer equipment could be a modified
Flowpoint router, with four voice ports. Jetstream, which has been testing with Covad since October, might provide the CPX-1000 voice gateway interface to the switch. These were
the earliest to market, but Covad is also testing Coppercom for the interface and several customer premise devices. Rhythms is testing a similar configuration with Jetstream,
Cisco, & MCI in New York, and spokesman Chris Hardman told DSL Prime that they will have a very wide rollout when they are ready to announce. Tollbridge, the third VoDSL
player, told DSL Prime they are also in advanced testing, having logged over 100,000 calls. Because they use IP rather than ATM, they appeal to certain ISPs, and they promised several announcements in the near future.
A senior industry source, however, told DSL Prime to expect many announcements (from all companies), trials, and some deployment in 1999, but limited subscriber growth before 2000 7/26/99.
Voice over DSL - reports from the field
Last week, we reported that Covad signed a large voice CLEC and tested 200,000 telephone calls. They are using Voice over DSL equipment from Coppercom & Jetstream.
Greg Wetzel & Tom Hecht talked with DSL Prime about their experiences - on a Voice over DSL phone call. Later this month, they plan to have three dozen live testers, but first
they've been working in the lab. Essentially, the VoDSL boxes appear to the switch like a DLC, so they were able to use traditional test equipment. The test call generator was used
to confirm call completion and time to dialtone, while other equipment monitored the time frames and other parameters on the GR303 connection. They tested both Lucent and
Nortel switches, which comprise the vast majority of the installed base in North America. Close to one thousand functions had to be tested for the planned services. Each box can
handle about thousand calls simultaneously. They have also tested analog modems (a problem with some telco equipment), which worked just fine.
They were very happy with how few problems developed. The key work needed is operational, such as OSS interfaces with voice CLEC partners for provisioning and
troubleshooting. They also need to plan for a large, nationwide deployment, requiring first rate instruction manuals and packaging. The goal is to deliver the same service and
functionality as existing voice calls; they plan to deliver that quality selectively this year and in volume next year.
DSL Prime also spoke with Jim Grady of Tollbridge, the third major player in VoDSL.
They are also far along in their work, using a slightly different technology (IP rather than ATM), and had recently done dozens of demonstrations and tests. The call was over a
regular circuit - they'll install VoDSL when they move into larger offices in a few weeks. They just added Ramp as a manufacturer of CPE, having previously signed Netopia and Copper Mountain. 8/2/99 Voice over DSL from Tollbridge, Coppercom & Jetstream; should telcos quake?
At Supercomm, Voice over DSL will move from a great concept to a great demonstration – with a promise of substantial deployment in the next few months. Because DSL allows a
single copper pair to carry 8-24 lines, it's a great way for telephone companies to compete in the $30-50 billion market for small and medium business telephony – the bread and
butter of the incumbent telcos. Meanwhile, everyone offering DSL plans to add voice to increase revenue. Three tightly focused, venture funded companies have beat the larger
competitors to market, and will be reporting on actual field trials. All are committed to delivering excellent voice quality and all the calling features of conventional telephony.
Voice is translated into packets at the customer premises, then separated out through a voice gateway device that connects to standard telephone switches. Tollbridge was the
first to announce field tested compatibility with standard GR303 connections (at Bell South & ISG) while Coppercom also supports TR008 to fit into the networks of incumbent
carriers, including U.S. West (which is testing Coppercom equipment). Jetstream's emphasis on the central connection has made them a favorite partner of many equipment
suppliers, while Tollbridge has just announced an alliance with Copper Mountain, a leading independent DSLAM vendor. We're waiting for more proof in the field, but they're starting to roll. Supercomm Aftershocks for Voice Over DSL.
DSL led Supercomm, and Voice led DSL. Coppercom held its coming out party 72 stories above Atlanta, and Jetstream and Tollbridge are if anything flying higher. It worked fine on
the show floor - I called home from two booths on the floor, although it's sure to have some practical difficulties in early field installs. Almost every other vendor of equipment rushed to
align with at least one of the three; some, like Netopia, are working with all three. One of the world's largest internet companies briefed me on their alliances with Coppercom and
Jetstream. I replied with what I meant as a joke, "Why not Tollbridge, too?", as though everyone deals with all three. and the answer, totally serious, was "We're meeting with
them tomorrow." Rhythms, Covad, ICG, and US West are doing early tests. Some differences are already emerging. Jetstream and Coppercom are counting on the proven
reliability of ATM, while Tollbridge is designing around the broader market for IP. Loring Wirbel superbly explains the technical challenges in depth in this week's Electronic
Engineering Times, which also has a feature from Martin Taylor of Coppercom. http//www.dslprime.com/News_Articles/a/Voice_over_DSL/voice_over_dsl.html
We’re very excited about Voice over DSL, and have spoken with Jetstream, Tollbridge, Coppercom, Flowpoint, and Accesslan. db |
Jetstream
'Sundi' Sundaresh, President, told DSL Prime he was particularly proud of the technical features that would ensure superior
voice quality using Jetstream equipment. He also pointed out that Jetstream’s voice gateway at the DSL provider’s concentration point should be very cost-effective. They interface to the telephone network
using the standard GR303, which allows them to offers essentially all enhanced telephone features. Several equipment manufacturers have told DSL Prime they are building strong relationships with Jetstream
products.
Here’s the official announcement for Supercomm
Jetstream to Demonstrate its Leadership in Voice over DSL at SuperComm '99. Company Increases its Momentum with Numerous
Partner, Product, Customer and Corporate Announcements
Los Gatos, CA, May 26, 1999--Jetstream Communications, the leader in integrated broadband access solutions for local
telecommunications networks, is planning a number of announcements over the coming weeks that will solidify its role as the first choice for Voice over DSL (VoDSL) technology. Jetstream's VoDSL
solution enables CLECs, IXCs and other Integrated Communications Providers (ICPs) to deliver multi-line local telephone services and high-speed data over DSL-based access technology.
In
addition to new members in its VoDSL Partner Program (see related press announcement dated May 24), Jetstream will also announce significant product enhancements, new customers and important
corporate news in the days leading up to SuperComm '99. At the conference, which begins June 7th in Atlanta, Jetstream will showcase its industry leading VoDSL solution in its booth (#1059), as
well as in the booths of many partners.
Jetstream announcements will include:
* More Partners - To be successful, VoDSL services will require Customer Premise Equipment (CPE) devices
that enable ICPs to meet the wide variability in voice and data service requirements of the small business and high-end residential markets. Therefore, Jetstream will announce a number of
partners that have licensed its technology to be compatible with Jetstream's VoDSL solution.
In addition, Jetstream will announce a number of interoperability and joint marketing partnerships
with the industry's leading DSL access multiplexer (DSLAM) manufacturers that should accelerate the ICP deployment of VoDSL. These announcements will demonstrate how Jetstream is living up to
its theme for the upcoming SuperComm event , "Your Partner in Voice over DSL."
* Product Enhancements - Jetstream will announce several product enhancements that strengthen its
recognition as the technology leader in VoDSL. The announcements will also demonstrate Jetstream's commitment to providing ICPs with the most reliable, flexible, scalable and manageable VoDSL
solution.
* New Customers - Several leading ICPs will announce bundled voice and data service based on Jetstream VoDSL, demonstrating Jetstream's position as the leading supplier of VoDSL
equipment.
* Corporate News - Jetstream will make several significant company announcements that reinforce its reputation as the true leader in VoDSL.
About Jetstream VoDSL
Jetstream's
VoDSL broadband access solution enables ICPs to deliver multi-line local telephone service and high-speed data services over packet-based DSL access networks. It consists of three components.
The first, the CPX-1000, is a large-scale voice gateway that resides in a carrier's regional switching center and serves as a bridge between a Class 5 voice switch and a DSL access network. The
second component is a family of integrated access devices (IADs) provided by Jetstream and its partner companies. IADs connect to a DSL line at subscriber premises and deliver 16 or more
telephone lines and continuous high-speed Internet or remote LAN access. The last component, Jet-EMS, is a carrier-class element management system enabling rapid deployments of large scale VoDSL
networks.
About Jetstream Communications
Jetstream Communications Inc., the leader in Voice over DSL solutions, develops, manufactures, and markets broadband access products for next
generation local telecommunications networks. Jetstream's products are rapidly becoming the standard for integrated voice and data service delivery to the small business and high-end residential
communications markets. Based in Los Gatos, California, Jetstream is a privately held, venture-backed company led by a seasoned management team consisting of veterans from both the
telecommunications and data communications industries. Investors include Mohr, Davidow Ventures, Crosspoint Venture Partners, Mayfield Fund and Canaan Partners.Jetstream Announces Voice Over DSL
Partner Program to Promote Broadband Access Solutions to Small Business Market
Program Accelerates Interoperability of Telecom Equipment Among Leading VoDSL Solution Partners
Los Gatos, CA,
May 24, 1999 -- Jetstream Communications introduced today the VoDSL Partner Program as part of its effort to engage telecom industry equipment leaders for joint marketing of Voice over DSL
(VoDSL) solutions. The program was created to launch Jetstream's VoDSL broadband access solutions for CLECs, IXCs, and other integrated communications providers (ICPs). Jetstream's Voice over
DSL solution provides multi-line local telephone service and continuous high-speed networking for small businesses and high-end residential customers over a single copper pair DSL connection.
The Jetstream VoDSL Partner Program includes many leading providers of DSL access solutions, such as DSL access multiplexer (DSLAM) manufacturer Nokia, and customer premise equipment
manufacturers FlowPoint and Ramp Networks (see related release). In addition, Jetstream will be announcing several more high profile partners in the coming weeks that have joined forces with
Jetstream to rapidly extend the reach of Voice over DSL.
"We're attracting some of the industry's biggest players to our Voice over DSL partner program. Our partnerships are going to
advance carriers' ability to penetrate the under-served small business market with a wide choice of equipment and solution choices," said S. 'Sundi' Sundaresh, President and CEO of
Jetstream. "The strength of our early partners in advanced DSL technology is a testament to the program's potential, which will quickly address the voice and data needs of small business
customers."
About Jetstream VoDSL
Jetstream's VoDSL broadband access solution enables carriers to deliver multi-line local telephone service and high-speed data over packet-based DSL
access networks. It consists of three components. The first is the CPX-1000 large-scale voice gateway that resides in a carrier's regional switching center, serving as a bridge between a Class
5 voice switch and a DSL access network. The second component is a family of integrated access devices (IADs) from Jetstream and its partner companies. IADs connect to a DSL line at subscriber
premises and deliver up to 16 or more telephone lines and continuous high-speed Internet or remote LAN access. The last component, Jet-EMS, is a CORBA-based element management system enabling
rapid implementation of large scale VoDSL deployments.
"Jetstream's Voice over DSL technology combined with our ability to make affordable and easy-to-use Internet access products will
take us one step closer to redefining the way small businesses receive telephone and Internet service," said Patty Burke, vice president of marketing for Ramp Networks. "We're excited
to be a part of this growing communications market and look forward to working with Jetstream to seize the opportunities ahead."
Jetstream's VoDSL Partner Program is comprised of two
distinct areas -- VoDSL Business Partners and VoDSL Marketing Partners. Business partners include OEM distributors of Jetstream's VoDSL equipment as well as IAD manufacturers licensed to develop
customer premise equipment compatible with Jetstream's VoDSL voice gateway. VoDSL Marketing Partners include telecom equipment manufacturers that provide complementary components to Jetstream's
broadband access solution.
"Jetstream Voice over DSL technology combined with our ability to make affordable and easy-to-use access products will take us one step closer to
revolutionizing the way small businesses receive telephone and Internet service," said Patty Burke, vice president of marketing for Ramp Networks. "We're excited to be a part of this
fast-growth communications market and look forward to working with Jetstream to seize the opportunities ahead."
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Tollbridge was the first to announce complete GR303 compatibility tested with switches from Lucent and Nortel. This press release describes their work quite well. TOLLBRIDGE TECHNOLOGIES AND COPPER MOUNTAIN NETWORKS FORM TECHNOLOGY AND MARKETING PARTNERSHIP Two Companies Partner to Deliver Toll-Quality Multiline Voice-over-DSL Solutions to Existing and Prospective CLEC CustomersSunnyvale and Palo Alto, Calif., June
1, 1999-TollBridge Technologies and Copper Mountain Networks (NASDAQ CMTN) announced today a technology and marketing partnership for delivering IP-based multiline voice over Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)
broadband access. The two companies have tested the interoperability of their respective product families to ensure that the integrated solution delivers toll-quality voice in the local loop. The companies
are marketing the joint solution to their respective customer bases voice and data Competitive Local Exchange Companies (CLECs) seeking LEC bypass strategies for attracting small and mid-sized business
subscribers.
In addition, TollBridge is licensing its TollVoice™ technology to Copper Mountain for integration into Customer Premise Equipment (CPE). TollBridge and Copper
Mountain are working together to develop reference-standard CPE designs to license to Copper Mountain's CopperCompatible™ partners to accelerate the broader availability of CPE products that
interoperate with the TollBridge-Copper Mountain solution.
"Copper Mountain's DSL platform has been deployed in the largest data CLEC broadband access networks nationwide,"
said Jim Grady, TollBridge vice president of marketing. "By partnering with TollBridge, Copper Mountain offers its customers a way to improve the return on their DSL infrastructure investment by
offering voice services to small businesses over DSL access lines. Small businesses currently have no competitive alternative to the LEC for voice service today, and pay the highest prices of any voice
customer. These businesses represent a $46 billion opportunity for voice services."
"Now that our customers have built out their nationwide DSL networks, they are ready to add
advanced services to the dedicated data services currently delivered through the Copper Mountain platform," said John Reister, director of product marketing at Copper Mountain. "The TollBridge
solution naturally interoperates with the Copper Mountain products to enable our data CLEC customers to partner with voice CLECs to offer toll-quality voice services to their subscribers, to aid our
customers in reducing customer churn, and increasing potential revenue per DSL. In a market as competitive as the local loop, the carriers that are first to deliver value-added, bundled services should have
a strong advantage." Packet-Based End-to-End The TollBridge-Copper Mountain voice-over-DSL solution provides new operational efficiencies for voice in the local loop because it is
IP packet-based from end-to-end. TollBridge's TollVoice architecture packs samples from multiple voice calls into a single IP packet and transmits voice along with end-user data traffic
over the broadband DSL link. Unlike the H.323 protocol, the TollVoice multiline-per-packet solution ensures the most efficient use of network resources. TollVoice prioritizes voice over data to ensure the
bandwidth is available to provide toll quality.
To deliver full-featured voice, the TollBridge system uses only the voice coding standards and rates supported by the Class 5 digital
telephony switch. Taking advantage of the ample bandwidth available through DSL, the TollBridge solution supports full-rate 64 kbps and 32 kbps voice. Today, TollBridge can support up to 24 lines of voice on
a single DSL copper pair.
As part of the partnership agreement, TollBridge and Copper Mountain are developing ways to increase the efficiency of the network to support even more voice
traffic per DSL link.
At the customer premise, the TollBridge TB50 CPE interfaces to the Copper Mountain CopperRocket™ DSL CPE, or any other CPE that is certified by Copper
Mountain as CopperCompatible. To date more than a dozen CPE devices-including the TollBridge products-have been certified. Copper Mountain initiated the CopperCompatible interoperability program to ensure
service providers and DSL users could have multiple competitive sources for innovative, compatible CPE. Through this program, other CPE vendors can benefit from the TollVoice technology licensed by
Copper Mountain.
When individual data streams reach Copper Mountain CopperEdge™ Multi-Service DSL concentrators at the local CO, the CopperEdge grooms and aggregates the traffic
into a single data stream and delivers it over high-speed links to the data CLEC's regional data center. There, the voice traffic is passed on to the TollBridge TB200 Local Exchange Gateway at the voice
CLEC's regional Point-of-Presence (POP). The TB200 unpacks the voice channels, converts them back into circuits, and passes the voice calls on to the Class 5 switch using the BellCore GR-303 protocol.
"Because ICG already has a nationwide DSL network with NorthPoint Communications and Copper Mountain DSL equipment, we are currently testing a TollBridge-Copper Mountain configuration
in our lab that would integrate a voice data solution without making substantial operational changes to our network," said Jon Lowry, senior director of ISP Markets at ICG Communications (NASDAQ ICGX).
"Such an integrated voice/data solution over SDSL could become a very cost effective method of delivering toll-quality voice services to new customers which ICG might not otherwise serve."
"NorthPoint designed its network with cutting-edge technology in anticipation of supporting additional business-critical applications like voice services," said John Stormer, vice president of
marketing at NorthPoint Communications (NASDAQ NPNT). "We are excited about solutions like these that will allow our customers to offer high-quality voice and data over our advanced DSL network."
About TollBridge Technologies
Founded in March 1998 and located in Sunnyvale, Calif., TollBridge Technologies is the leading developer of IP-based multiline voice solutions targeted at Competitive
Local Exchange Carriers (CLECs). The company's solutions change the economics of delivering voice services to small business customers by allowing voice CLECs that own Class 5 switches to use broadband
access technologies, such as DSL, to bypass the incumbent local exchange carrier (ILEC) and deliver toll-quality voice and integrated data services. |
Coppercom’s Jennifer Stagnaro emphasized their approach was very versatile. They do GR303 connections, which are standard for competitive voice carriers, as well as
TR008, which is used primarily by the incumbents. US West is testing their equipment. |
Accesslan, which supplies DSL equipment, has built a series of alliances to provide tested, compatible equipment for Voice over DSL. |
Flowpoint, whose routers have earned a reputation for ease of use, is offering a new model with voice features built in. |
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