AT&T picks Siemens for first all-optical switch

Pending further lab tests, AT&T has selected Siemens to supply the carrier’s first all-optical switch. If it holds up in the lab, AT&T will begin deploying Siemens’ SURPASS hiT 7500 across its long-haul and ultralong-haul networks in the second quarter of 2004, said AT&T CTO Hossein Eslambolchi, who couldn’t predict how many switches would be deployed or when deployment might be complete.

"We’ve been testing other [vendors’] technologies that we haven’t announced, but we’ve been focusing more around this Siemens technology because when we look at the [request for proposals], it was very clear that over 95% of the feature functionality we needed was being delivered through the Siemens product," Eslambolchi said. "Other products were meeting maybe 70% to 75% of the requirements."

Though AT&T often uses more than one vendor for critical applications to avoid "putting all our eggs in one basket," Eslambolchi said, a second vendor will not necessarily be picked to complement the Siemens gear.

"I will not go with a second vendor if I don’t have to," he said. "We already have multiple long-haul vendors in our network: Lucent, NEC. The more technologies you deploy, it makes life operationally difficult. You have to develop different interfaces."

All-optical switches will allow AT&T to shoot photons longer distances without regeneration or transference through add/drop multiplexers, which could eliminate the need for a lot of costly electronic equipment. Eslambolchi also hopes the equipment will help shorten provisioning times.