Net.com is bringing quality of service and other new capabilities to DSL with a SCREAM.
Through release 3 its SCREAM service creation platform, net.com now offers a capability called QServ that enables tiered IP QoS guarantees to be delivered across a non-IP aware ATM access infrastructure, or “plain old DSL,” as the company refers to it; uses only a single ATM virtual circuit provisioned to the customer premises; and allows for cost-effective delivery of new broadband services without radical changes to the existing provisioning equipment and methodology, says Steve Shaw, director of industry relations at the company.
QServ and release 3 of SCREAM are being unveiled this week at SUPERCOMM. SCREAM is a box that sits behind the DSLAM in a central office.
QServ’s quality of service capabilities are based on the TR-059 specification out The DSL Form. Shaw says the spec was written and developed by Bell Canada, BellSouth, SBC Communications and Verizon, which began work on it about two years ago in an effort to upgrade DSL networks at minimal cost to support QoS. “A lot of stuff coming out of forums is driven by vendors, but this is clearly outlined by carriers, who want to leverage their investments in DSL and combat the cable threat and introduce new revenue-generating services,” says Shaw.
TR-059 discusses three components, Shaw explains. It says a remote gateway/next-generation modem manages QoS. That links into a policy manager, which is software that tracks what services and selected, makes sure that information is supported by the network infrastructure and is sent to the billing system. And it says a next-generation broadband remote access server will manage the amount of bandwidth each subscriber receives.
At SUPERCOMM, net.com is staging a TR-059 demonstration with Bridgewater and 2Wire. Net.com is also in trials with at least one service provider.
“We’re doing some work with Bezeq [of Israel], and they are in the process of being privatized and see tremendous threat from cablecos and satellite companies, so they want to add interactive TV and a walled garden ala AOL,” says Shaw, explaining the company is now in trials with net.com. “Bezeq had been talked into doing different ATM PVCs for each service they wanted to provide, but they realized each DSL modem could only support one PVC. And their internal switching infrastructure would require an investment of $10 per month per VC.”
Net.com told Bezeq it could instead offer a variety services to a home over one PVC but with multiple PPP addresses, one for each service time, says Shaw. That would give Bezeq the ability to provide on-demand 3mbps for a person wanting to watch TV and when the TV is turned off the bandwidth becomes available to others in the home, he says, adding in this scenario based on net.com technology the carrier can use the same DSL modems and incur no additional switching costs.
