Three years after exiting the DSL business, Nortel Networks has partnered with access vendors Calix, ECI Telecom and KEYMILE to deliver end-to-end, “ultrabroadband” solutions to service providers. The networking equipment giant also expects to forge relationships to bring “a variety of video processing engines and in-home networking devices” into its portfolio.
Through the new initiative, those products will be combined with Nortel Networks’ VoIP, multimedia services, optical networking and wide area networking data solutions.
“We’re thinking in terms of an end-to-end perspective, coming at it from our strength which is the packetization of the core” to deliver “ultrabroadband – [which entails] transfer rates of at least 10-20mbps, connectivity flexibility around copper or FTTP, and service and control intelligence around ensuring quality of service to deploy very rich applications like triple play with video,” says Walt Megura, general manager of broadband networks at Nortel.
Through its relationship with Nortel, Calix will provide multiservice broadband loop carriers supporting voice, data and video services over fiber and copper access infrastructure to both small and medium business and residential subscribers for North American markets. The Calix C7 includes the functionality of traditional DSLAMs and NGDLCs, as well as FTTP network elements.
KEYMILE will provide multiservice network access UMUX for markets using European standards. The product encompasses both NGDLC and DSLAM capabilities over SDH/ATM and gigabit Ethernet networks, and can be located in the central office, outside plant and business premises. UMUX enables network operators to migrate their existing telephony networks into converged IP solutions, all from a single box, covering copper and fiber, broadband and narrowband applications.
ECI Telecom, meanwhile, will provide a platform delivering multiple flavors of DSL; FTTP; and aggregation platforms for central office DSLAM, optical line termination and remote terminal applications. ECI is the supplier for DSL solutions for Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago Limited (TSTT) and Cable & Wireless Cayman Islands. Nortel announced today the two customers.
TSTT has selected Nortel to converge its existing networks and build a single, high-capacity, next generation infrastructure based on IP technology. The new voice over IP network, expected to be in service in late spring 2004, will position TSTT to accelerate delivery of DSL and other advanced broadband voice, data and multimedia services to businesses and consumers in Trinidad and Tobago, according to the companies. Customers will eventually be able to personalize and customize applications like video calling, unified messaging, electronic document sharing and other collaborative tools.
Nortel’s Megura says the company is moving back into access now to respond the opportunity in access due to the “competitive pressure service providers are under in terms of their topline,” which is pushing them to develop new revenue streams and new service sets. “If you’re going to develop those service sets you need new infrastructure,” he says.
“What we’ve done previously [with DSL] vs. what we’ve done today are two different things,” he adds, noting that “ultrabroadband” transmission rates are far higher than the rates DSL was delivering three or more years ago.
According to Yankee Group, capital spending in the U.S. broadband access market over the next four to five years is expected to reach approximately $5 billion annually.
Megura would not provide details on the sales strategy of the new partners, such as whether they would do joint sales calls or whether Nortel sales reps would simply resell the products of its new partners.
