Consistency is key Lucent offers a common feature set for wireline and wireless power systems >BY STEPHANIA H. DAVIS, Associate Editor-News

With carriers getting involved in everything from wireless to Internet access, deploying a power system that accommodates all the applications involved has become a special challenge.

Lucent Technologies is targeting both wireline and wireless markets with its Galaxy family of power systems. The product line includes 48 and 24 VDC models, some with fanless cooling systems and others with space-saving battery packs. The first of the systems will hit the market this month, and the rest will debut throughout 1997.

Operators can control the Galaxy family of products remotely, enabling them to make adjustments without having to send a technician out on a service call. This will become increasingly important as non-traditional applications, including wireless, proliferate.

Increasingly, carriers will be doing less switching from central offices and more from shacks in cornfields and office building basements, said Mike Model, a Lucent systems engineer.

"People will buy as much power as they need, and the smaller the systems are, the better," he said. "They take up less floor space, they are easier to install and there are labor savings.

The idea that less is more seems to be the trend not only in the United States but in developing countries in Asia and Africa, where the terrain doesn't allow for, or even require, large COs to wire a small village.

"What makes the Galaxy line stand out is that we are spanning a wide range of applications," said Paige Protman, product marketing manager for Lucent. "For a carrier, that reduces the amount of training required, maintenance and the number of spare parts.

The Galaxy Power System 4848 is completely front-accessible, has modular plug-and-play components and provides customized control and monitoring. The Galaxy Power System 2400 series features a "top hat" consisting of a controller and rectifier that can sit above a battery stack.