Freedom of choice

A new digital subscriber line access multiplexer and software from Pulsecom gives service providers a new way to handle DSL users who want to connect to more than one network.

Users install Pulsecom's Dynamic Connect software on their PCs. By pointing and clicking, they can change their network connection-from a corporate network to one or more Internet service providers, for example.

Currently the software works with Pulsecom modems, but in the future, it will be compatible with any G.Lite modem, said Sassan Babaie, Pulsecom's vice president of marketing. Service providers also must use Pulsecom's DSLAM. But because the offering is based on Internet Engineering Task Force standards, including point-to-point protocol over Ethernet, other manufacturers could develop interoperable products, said Babaie.

"Service selection may become a regulatory requirement so that the company that owns the copper doesn't become the de facto ISP," said John Freeman, principal analyst for Current Analysis.

Service providers wishing to support service selection have used a gateway router, such as Red Back's subscriber management system, installed on the network side of the DSLAM. Because it eliminates the need for that gateway, Pulsecom's offering will be attractive to smaller ISPs and competitive local exchange carriers, said Freeman.

But gateway routers will continue to appeal to larger service providers because those gateways can provide aggregation for DSLAMs from different vendors and are not DSL-centric, he said.