Lucent softens U S West Wireless net

U S West Wireless announced last week that it has become the first wireless operator to deploy a new, less expensive method of code division multiple access soft handoff from Lucent Technologies.

The carrier is using Lucent's PathStar AC 120, a 1.2 Gb/s asynchronous transfer mode access concentrator, to handle handoff of wireless signals and SS7 data between the mobile switching centers (MSCs) in its CDMA network. The system, which is being used between Denver and Colorado Springs, Colo., allows a seamless handoff for callers crossing MSC boundaries.

The AC 120 is an alternative to using dedicated point-to-point links between MSCs, said Joe Hannan, engineering director for U S West Wireless. "Using ATM between markets basically makes our network fabric more efficient," he said. The carrier also plans to use the AC 120 in its Minneapolis, Seattle and Portland, Ore., markets.

The AC 120 is an alternative to Lucent's Globeview 2000 for carriers using ATM for soft handoff, said Tim Sullivan, member of technical staff at Lucent's Bell Laboratories. The AC 120 is smaller and less expensive, but it does not provide automatic protection switching, the redundancy feature that Globeview offers, he said.

The AC 120 was developed by Yurie Systems, which Lucent acquired earlier this year.

U S West plans to migrate its systems to Lucent's MX 1000, an ATM product that does offer redundancy, when it becomes available, Sullivan added.

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