Co-starring roles: Multiple vendors winning major places in Qwest's network, services rollout

Last week's news that Qwest forged new relationships with Hughes Network Systems and Northern Telecom was hardly without precedent. Qwest had already revealed that it would deploy Nortel's Transport Node OC-192 technology and use equipment from Cisco Systems to build a "Cisco-powered network."

It is the norm to create a network from various vendors' equipment, but many networks have developed in that fashion because advances in equipment and technology have required specific vendors to deliver certain capabilities. While Qwest could build a network with one predominant vendor and a small group of secondary vendors, the company thus far has chosen to give a small troupe of vendors major roles in the production of its network.

The spate of new deals enables Qwest to deploy Nortel's DMS-250 switches and ServiceBuilder Advanced Intelligent Network service creation platform and Hughes' Radiant multiservice edge switches. Qwest will use Nortel's switches and AIN platform to provision services such as virtual private networks and prepaid calling card programs. Hughes' equipment will also deliver frame relay and asynchronous transfer mode capability within Qwest's network.

"It's interesting that they're using all those different platforms," said Tom Jenkins, broadband analyst for TeleChoice, adding that how Qwest uses and integrates the platforms should be watched closely.

The grand plan for Qwest's network will continue to evolve as vendors refine and introduce new features germane to Qwest's goals, said Dana Filip, Qwest's network engineering vice president. But Qwest has clear plans for the equipment it has selected thus far.

Nortel equipment is providing the backbone capacity for Qwest's network, Filip explained. "They're creating the bandwidth on which we're leveraging other equipment," she said.

The selection of Nortel's DMS-250 switches and AIN platform was a natural extension of Nortel's presence at the network's core, although the DMS-250 is a circuit switch and Qwest's focus is on Internet protocol-based service delivery. The combination of port density and features capability that the Nortel switch delivers aren't available in IP switches today, Filip said. "The circuit switch is part of the first step into the market," she said.

"There is some possibility that, as routing components become more capable, they could replace the traditional circuit-switched architecture we have today."

For the foreseeable future, however, the network's foundation will be a circuit-switched architecture delivering IP-based traffic. Cisco's equipment is expected to play a key role in the delivery of such traffic.

"Cisco is being used to support IP service delivery," Filip said. "Cisco's [role] is going to grow as we deliver more high-speed Internet services."

Cisco's GSR 7315 router is the best match in the industry for Qwest's developing data strategy, and that data strategy also brought Hughes into the picture. Qwest's interest in Hughes is for high-end frame relay and ATM services, but the extent of Hughes' initial involvement is not yet set in stone. Other frame relay/ATM vendors may enter the picture for lower-end frame and ATM service delivery, Filip said.

The structure of Qwest's network will be vital for capturing carrier customers, Jenkins said. "Maybe [Qwest] can offer the advanced features and functionality that a single-platform carrier needs," he said.

Qwest will continue to evaluate new vendors and existing suppliers as its network and services grow, Filip said.

"We'd like to position Qwest to be the low-cost service provider," she said. "We're looking for vendors to play multiple roles [in the network] so we can leverage them across customers and services."

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