Improving on Best

Best Power has devised a sixth generation of its mid-range Ferrups ferroresonant uninterruptible power supply, outfitted with several new features.

The Necedah, Wis., company also is launching new versions of its Patriot and Fortress UPS lines.

The Ferrups was redesigned after Best Power evaluated many of the competitive pressures facing telecom customers after industry deregulation, said Nev Carmichael, vice president of global product management at Best Power.

New features include lower-power impedance, a simplified front panel user interface, roll casters, an external battery connector, hot-swappable batteries and a BestDock communications slot for adding systemwide management and communications capability.

"Management and connectivity needs were the two most frequent customer demands," said Carmichael.

In particular, the new user interface makes management easier from carrier power management teams that likely have fewer employees than they did a few years ago. Also hot-swappable capability for batteries saves time and money for these teams. In addition, cards can be plugged into the BestDock so that UPSs can communicate important management information.

Significantly, Best Power also changed the footprint of the Ferrups from a short, fat model to a taller and slimmer design that is better able to slide into the tight spaces.

The company christened its sixth generation release with a 5% price cut.

The new Patriot includes multiple outlets for better support of multiple systems, while the new Fortress generation is the first to be available in a rack-mount version.