Martinsried/Munich, Germany. March 18, 2004. ADVA Optical Networking (FSE: ADV), a leading global provider of optical networking solutions, today launched a new carrier-class native Ethernet access product. Ethernet is clearly the dominant local networking technology for enterprise networks and the most attractive target for new services offered by many carriers. ADVA's new FSP 150 is a family of low-cost, standards-based aggregation and demarcation units. Simple to integrate and offering compelling economics, this carrier-class Ethernet access solution enables profitable, mainstream roll-out of managed Ethernet-based services.
Enterprises increasingly rely on bandwidth-intensive Internet and intranet applications, and demand is intensifying for services such as local area network (LAN) extension, Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), and voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP). These applications today are served by multiple wide area network (WAN)/metropolitan area network (MAN) telecom services and technologies - principally Frame Relay, Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), metro Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM), and Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) private lines. As today's lowest-cost, highest-volume technology, however, Ethernet has rapidly emerged as the leading contender for WAN/MAN connectivity.
Enterprises ranging from small to large in size increasingly outsource their networking applications, but carriers have historically been reluctant to implement a mainstream roll-out of Ethernet due to the staggering initial and ongoing management costs and lack of standardization. Newly approved standards from the Metro Ethernet Forum ensure that enterprise buyers and carriers salespeople have a common language. Industry analyst Mark Lum estimates that Ethernet services will grow from 6% of the entire EUR 27 billion European business data services market in 2002 to 17% in 2005.
Developed specifically around the market's requirements for a standards-based Ethernet access transport system, ADVA's new FSP 150 is a carrier-class access solution offering remote management and monitoring, reliability and protection options, and flexible service provisioning. Mainstream roll-out is easily achievable because the system has been designed with the newest standards for simple integration, added either to existing networks or as a new overlay network. The FSP 150's compelling economics include low first-installed cost, low cost per customer, and low operational expense. It can start out in a simple point-to-point connection and smoothly migrate into a shared tree-and-branch, chain, or ring infrastructure. This variety of flexible access infrastructure applications enables carriers to deliver cost-efficient Ethernet E-Line and E-LAN services to their end-user enterprise customers.
Alan Davis, Head of Ethernet Services at BT, commented, "We are seeing a huge growth in demand for Ethernet services amongst our corporate customers. To best address this demand, low-cost transport products supporting 10/100 or Gigabit Ethernet are required for deployment in access networks. ADVA is the first vendor to offer such a solution around the new Ethernet First Mile standard with its FSP 150. We are really excited about this new product and believe it fits perfectly into BT's plans for continued roll-out of Ethernet services."
"The FSP 150 provides a third and strategically important piece to ADVA's Ethernet story - we now offer Ethernet services over WDM technology, SDH/SONET legacy networks, and now native Ethernet," stated Brian P. McCann, Chief Marketing & Strategy Officer. "We continue to drive down the cost of delivering new services and making local area and storage network applications a reality for growing numbers of enterprises. With our comprehensive FSP product portfolio, we offer customers best-of-breed technology with an unparalleled depth and breadth of features and price points."
ADVA's FSP 150 is a family of low-cost aggregation and demarcation units based on the latest IEEE 802.3ah standard. It supports frame-based, zero-overhead, in-band Operations, Administration, Maintenance and Provisioning (OAMP) capabilities and interoperability among Ethernet access devices, core routers, and switches connected over optical networks. The FSP 150 family's unique, hardware-based forwarding implementation enables carriers to ensure the security and privacy of customer traffic, even when transported on a common infrastructure. Each FSP 150 unit is designed to fulfill a specific function within a network operator's Ethernet access infrastructure. The building blocks provide demarcation at the customer premise, aggregation and protection.
More information about the FSP 150 and key applications can be found on ADVA's website at www.advaoptical.com.
ABOUT ADVA OPTICAL NETWORKING
ADVA Optical Networking is a leading global provider of optical networking solutions for rapid and cost-effective provisioning of high-speed data, storage, voice, and video services in the metropolitan area. ADVA's carrier-class Fiber Service Platform (FSP) product portfolio is explicitly designed to enhance services, simplify networks, and reduce the total cost of ownership. ADVA's solutions have been deployed at over 80 carriers and several thousand enterprises worldwide. ADVA's products are sold through an international network of blue-chip distribution partners in addition to its own direct sales force. For further information about ADVA, please visit our web site at www.advaoptical.com.