ATLANTA -- All Optical Networks, Inc. (AON), today announced the availability of its MetroScout (TM) metro-access multiplexer, delivering native protocol and bit-rate transparency up to an unprecedented 10 Gbps per channel. Designed from AON's patent-pending Wavelength Shift Multiplexing (WSM (TM)) technology, this all-optical 4-channel multiplexer directly interoperates with 1310 nm legacy equipment, the predominant wavelength of the installed base. The benefit of MetroScout's transparency means using only a single interface card for all protocol and bit-rate combinations. The simplicity and transparency offered by the MetroScout gives service providers the versatility to offer unprecedented service choices to customers at substantially reduced deployment and operating costs. In the metro-access environment - the fiber span between the optical edge of the customer premise and the metro core - the ability for service providers to quickly and economically respond to an unpredictable demand for bandwidth with a dynamic mix of bit-rates and service protocols is crucial. MetroScout addresses this need head on. "In metro-access networks, service providers have billions invested in existing infrastructures and they will not simply discard them," said Ralph Bennett, president and chief executive officer, All Optical Networks. "MetroScout obviates the need for wholesale equipment upgrades, cost-effectively paving the way to an all-optical future and enabling service providers to make money along the way." All Optical Networks Inc. (AON) For more information on Supercomm 2002, please visit: Supercomm Special