MetaSwitch And Woodwind Communications Conduct First Interoperability Tests Of ATM Forum BLES Specification

MetaSwitch And Woodwind Communications Conduct First Interoperability Tests Of ATM Forum BLES Specification 

ALAMEDA, Calif. & GERMANTOWN, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 2, 2000--Standards Compliant Broadband Products Offer Service Providers Flexible Solutions For Deploying Broadband Services.

MetaSwitch (tm) and Woodwind Communications today announced they are the first companies to complete successful bilateral interoperability testing of the approved ATM Forum Broadband Loop Emulation Service (BLES) specification.

 By deploying the standards-compliant MetaSwitch VP3000 integrated Broadband Voice Platform in the Central Office (CO) and the Woodwind Clarinet integrated access device (IAD) in the customer premise, service providers can now deliver voice over broadband services including both voice over Asynchronous Transfer Mode (VoATM) and voice over Digital Subscriber line (VoDSL) solutions to their enterprise customers.

 The ATM Forum's Broadband Loop Emulation Service (BLES) specification enable several channels of voice, voice band data and fax traffic over a broadband subscriber line connection such as xDSL. It uses AAL2 (ATM adaptation layer 2) for narrowband services to provide an efficient transport mechanism between the customer premise and the PSTN. With compliance and interoperability between the two products, the two companies offer a highly flexible solution that will give service providers a competitive edge through the ability to easily deploy services to the customer premise over existing copper loop. Further, by supporting the ATM Forum's standards-based approach, the MetaSwitch-Woodwind solution offers service providers a more cost-effective and scalable solution.

 The MetaSwitch VP3000 is an integrated Broadband Voice Platform, combining broadband voice and Class 5 switch functions in a high density, carrier class system. It offers service providers an immediate solution to their VoDSL switching requirements and a future-proof Softswitch-based architecture, with a clear upgrade path to VoIP and other broadband voice services, including wireless.

 Woodwind's Clarinet Integrated Access Device (IAD) - the first "Soft IAD" - is a software driven customer-located network edge platform that distributes intelligence and services from the central office to the customer location. It offers software-based CLASS and Centrex features, software configurable access interfaces and a software migration path, which enables Service Providers to easily and cost-effectively offer new services to their customers without the costly and cumbersome provisioning and deployment associated with other IADs.

 The combination of the MetaSwitch VP3000 and Clarinet Soft IADs in a broadband network allows service providers to deliver a broad range of integrated voice and data services, in particular VoDSL and VoATM, to small and medium-sized business customers over existing subscriber line infrastructure.

 "This is the first serious interoperability testing that has been conducted since the approval of the ATM Forum BLES specification in July," said John Palombo, Vice President of MetaSwitch Development. "And the great thing is that we've been able to run the testing solely by reference to the published specification. Neither of us did any specific development activity to get through the tests. We just shipped systems, and tested - and it worked. We are extremely pleased to add Woodwind Communications to our list of interoperability partners."

 "With the launch of the Soft IAD concept and its first implementation in the Clarinet, Woodwind demonstrated its commitment to leading the industry with highly flexible standards-based customer premise access devices. Our early completion of interoperability testing of the ATM Forum's critical BLES standard further demonstrates our commitment to giving service providers the solutions they need to deliver their customers cost-effective and reliable next generation services," said Parag Sheth, Vice President of Marketing for Woodwind.

 About MetaSwitch and Data Connection

MetaSwitch was formed by Data Connection (DCL) to build best-of-breed solutions for Voice-over-DSL and other broadband voice requirements, based on the unrivaled software and hardware experience, expertise and technology that Data Connection has built up over nearly twenty profitable years supplying the most demanding Service Provider and equipment vendor customers.

MetaSwitch builds on the powerful foundation created by Data Connection, pulling together its massive ongoing investment in the technology required to build converged network solutions (ATM, SS7, MPLS, MGCP/H.248, SIP...), and new revenue-generating services (directory, unified messaging, data/audio/video conferencing). The MetaSwitch support and customer management infrastructure taps right into the deep reservoir of professionalism and experience Data Connection has developed by helping its large strategic customers deliver successful products and services.

MetaSwitch and Data Connection have offices in Alameda (California), Reston (Virginia), and Enfield (North London), Chester and Edinburgh in the UK. For information, email contact@metaswitch.com, call 510 748 8230, or visit www.\b metaswitch\b0 .com.

 About Woodwind Communications

 Based on the 270 High Technology Corridor, Woodwind Communications is focused on delivering "intelligent" Soft integrated access devices (Soft IADs) that host unique capabilities such as software configurable access interfaces, "toll-quality" voice and a variety of software driven CLASS 5 and Centrex features for the Voice over Broadband (VoB) market. Woodwind's family of Soft IADs enables service providers to easily deploy VoB services to small and medium-sized businesses without the costly and cumbersome provisioning associated with other customer premise equipment (CPE). Woodwind's unprecedented deployment ease and superior ability to interoperate with multiple vendor equipment (DSLAMs, Voice Gateways, ATM switches) and multiple infrastructure technologies (ATM, Frame Relay, IP) protect the service provider from technology obsolescence while maximizing their access to the broadest possible market. Additional information on Woodwind Communications is available at www.woodwindcom.com.

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