Lucent launches multiservice access platform

Stuart Corner
Sunday, 23 October 2005 16:55

Business IT - Technology

Lucent Technologies has joined the ranks of vendors offering a multimedia access platform, the successor the simpler DSLAM and a platform which can support deliver of a huge range of IP based services using a variety of transmission media.

Lucent claims its MSAP "enables service providers to profitably deliver high-bandwidth video/IPTV, VoIP and multimedia services on a mass market scale". The platform is designed to support DSL services, fibre to the home or premise (FTTx), and WiMAX wireless broadband in a single frame. It is based on the Advanced Telecommunications Computing Architecture (AdvancedTCA) standard.

According to Lucent, it complements Lucent's IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) technology and its current broadband access portfolio by "offering an all-IP access infrastructure that can leverage the service control, provisioning and quality of service (QoS)-assurance capabilities of Lucent's IMS architecture...[making] it easier for service providers to introduce multimedia or 'blended lifestyle' services that combine voice, video and data capabilities, and deliver them to consumers or business customers anytime, anywhere with guaranteed end-to-end QoS."

The platform will enable operators to support "the greatest variety of access methods in the industry," including ADSL2+, VDSL2, IEEE 802.3ah ethernetpassiveoptical networking (EPON), ITU-T gigabit PON (GPON) at varying upstream and downstream line rates, point-to-point ethernet and WiMAX capabilities (based on the IEEE's 802.16e standard).
 
The product will be available for customer trials in the first half of calendar year 2006, with a broader introduction in mid 2006. More information at http://www.lucent.com/LucentMAP.