It's D'lite-ful, it's upgradable, it's DSL

GVN Technologies introduced two access boxes last week that will let users upgrade from T-1 to digital subscriber line through card swapping. With the D'Lite 200 and 400, the Largo, Fla.-based vendor aims to lower service costs and make large-scale equipment replacement a thing of the past.

"Now people can just buy a T-1 line and plug into it," said Ed Wirth, vice president of business development for GVN.

The boxes integrate routing protocols, LAN and WAN interfaces and network management tools to support voice, data and LAN/Internet applications. Because the D'Lite 200 is for data applications, it has only four voice ports but can be used for many types of DSL. The 400 model accommodates up to 24 voice ports that can be mixed and matched in groups of eight, Wirth said. Embedded software can be upgraded remotely.

These products are the first to be rolled out by the nearly 1-year-old company and represent GVN's focus on integrated, manageable access. Several carriers have shown interest, said Wirth.

GVN's products will be attractive to competitive local exchange carriers that want to simplify network management while offering varying high-speed technologies, said Dan Estabrook, a product manager for Covad Communications. "Since we're a start-up with limited field techs, our ability to remotely access our network with products like those from GVN will be a key driver to our success," he said.

These quick-changing and remote abilities are a logical trend in DSL access, said TeleChoice President Danny Briere. "The big thing today is not having to roll a truck out," he said. "GVN isn't the first in this market space, but they're the furthest along."

Shipping will begin in June with general availability in August. D'Lite 200 models cost from $350 to $1299, while the 400 ranges from $2000 to $4000. The models will be demonstrated using several DSL types at Supercomm.