Hughes ready for brave new SVC world Solution offers end-to-end frame relay over public lines

Hughes Network Systems released the 4.0 version of its StreamingIP and StreamingSNA software last week, declaring that it can deliver Internet protocol and Systems Network Architecture service on demand using frame relay switched virtual circuits.

Using its Radiant Director, IX multiservice platforms and RX access devices, HNS has put together a so-called dynamic switched internetworking solution. The solution is designed to let end users place data calls over public lines rather than establishing permanent virtual circuits (PVCs).

HNS started building the solution last November when it announced its new Radiant Director products, said Marilyn Daly, HNS marketing director. The Radiant Director stores routing addresses and uses them to direct data calls to their proper destinations.

In January, the company added frame relay capability to its IX family of asynchronous transfer mode switches and now, with an enhanced Radiant Director acting as a Next Hop Resolution Protocol server, has developed the capability to deliver end-to-end, frame relay SVCs.

The capability to provide SVCs will let carriers differentiate their services and reap incremental revenue, and it will serve as a new platform for Internet access, said Neil Snyder, access products director at HNS.

Even though end user equipment is available for SVCs, don't expect to see any real applications until the end of the year, said Liza Henderson, senior analyst at TeleChoice. The telcos won't have equipment in place to offer such services until then.

"There is not a single carrier today supporting frame relay SVC services," she said, adding that carriers will need not only SVC-compatible hardware but must develop per-use billing rates that take into account data factors such as number of packets sent rather than minutes of use.

Service providers will also need enhanced network management and troubleshooting capability. "There are a lot of hurdles for carriers," she said.

SVCs won't replace PVCs but will simply offer an alternative for users who don't constantly send data, said Henderson.

The HNS solution is designed to handle both PVCs and SVCs.