Full-service menu: Alcatel, Integral Access unveil broadband platforms

Taking advantage of the exploding broadband access market, Alcatel and Integral Access plan to introduce end-to-end platforms this week that address service providers' needs to stand out through service differentiation.

On the DSL side, Alcatel will roll out the OneStream broadband access server, which allows ISPs, competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs) and incumbent LECs (ILECs) to offer more than just an Internet connection. In addition to the physical capacity to scale up to 20 Gb/s and support 80,000 DSL sessions at one time, OneStream lets service providers offer multiple virtual private networks, manage their services from a central location and differentiate between classes of service using service management software.

Although Redback Networks has a stronghold on the DSL access equipment market, the company doesn't offer an end-to-end solution, said David Yedwab, executive vice president for The Eastern Management Group. "Certainly it gives Alcatel a temporary advantage over what's available in the market, understanding that changes can happen," he said. Redback and Alcatel products aggregate broadband; the major difference is scalability, he added.

With the pent-up demand in the high-speed access market, service providers must scale to large volumes and have a good management scheme to manage their subscribers, said Mitchell Strobin, vice president of product marketing for the internetworking division of Alcatel. OneStream will allow service providers to do both, he said.

Today, DSL is just a technology being used for Internet connection, Strobin said. "That's an OK business, but it doesn't differentiate services for service providers. They need to figure out a way to stand out."

OneStream also can configure services for dial-up and DSL users in one box, simplifying the service provider's point of presence, said Bill Krogfoss, director of product management for broadband access for Alcatel.

On the IP side, Integral Access also hopes to take advantage of the need for service differentiation with its PurePacket platform. PurePacket allows carriers to deliver a mix of IP services, including voice over IP, voice over DSL, broadband data and traditional voice services over a single line.

"It enables services right down to the level of customer care," said Dave Gunning, vice president of marketing for Integral Access.

PurePacket passes legacy voice over IP. Alternatively, it can pass IP voice over legacy switches. In either case, PurePacket integrates the packet world with the circuit-switched world from the customer premises to the core, Gunning said. The platform incorporates central office equipment, customer premises equipment and an operations systems management system.

PurePacket also is designed with a migration path from circuit to packet, Gunning said. "We see ourselves as providing the key building block for building next generation networks."