Chomping at the terabit

Qwest to deploy Avici's terabit switch router Avici Systems may have finally earned its day in the sun. Last week, the company added Qwest Communications to the short list of service providers slated to deploy its Terabit Switch Router (see box).

Qwest did not disclose the deal's value, but revealed it would use the TSR as part of its all-optical IP network initiative. This year, Qwest will install the TSR in four cities as part of a field trial, which both companies expect to last several months. Following the trial, Qwest plans to deploy the TSR throughout its production network in 2001.

"The platform will allow us to collapse multiple networks - ATM, frame relay, voice - into one core IP network," said a Qwest spokeswoman. "It will give us increased efficiency and lower costs, benefits that we can pass onto our customers."

Williams Communications and Enron Communications plan to test and deploy the TSR, which can support up to 3.2 Tb/s, or 40 OC-48s. Combined, the two deals are worth more than $45 million, said Esmeralda Swartz, product marketing manager for Avici.

AT&T is conducting field trials with the TSR but has not committed to buy it, Swartz said. "Things have been quiet from us for a while. This [contract] is just another example of why we're successful," she said, comparing Avici's wins to other players in the terabit space (see story on page 58).

Avici needed a major customer win such as Qwest to gain credibility in the core routing marketplace. "The system has been on the market for a long time now but has yet to establish a strong foothold in a market without many direct competitors," said Chris Nicoll, vice president for Current Analysis, in a report.

The market has slowly accepted the idea of terabit routers, Swartz said. Based on the growth in Internet traffic and optical transport, carriers realize that they need scalability and capability. "Terabit routers are key enablers for optical interoperability and bandwidth provisioning. They provide intelligence to the optical transport layer," she said. "The advances of optical systems require these types of routers to take advantage of capacity."