Acterna Teams Up for Testing

VENICE, Italy -- Acterna, the largest provider of test and network management solutions to telecommunications network operators, and Teradyne (NYSE:TER), a leader in broadband service assurance solutions, today announced they are working together to provide broadband test solutions for the world’s leading telephone companies. The parties have recently shared product information with the goal of developing an integrated product offering to customers. The shared technical specifications relate to Acterna’s patented technology in its DSL Test Head (QT-200) and scalable architecture of its Quality Test Management System (QMS Test OS & EMS) and Teradyne’s industry leading Loop Diagnostic Unit (LDU 100TM). Prototypes will be shown at Broadband World Forum Europe 2004 in Venice, Italy (September 20th – 23rd) at both companies’ booths.

The Acterna DSL Test Solution covers the end-to-end delivery chain and segments faults from the customer premise equipment into the DSL network (DSLAM, ATM backbone, BAS, Radius Servers) and up to the ISPs. The Acterna QT-200 enables more efficient customer call management and operations and maintenance for network operators. The LDU 100 is Teradyne’s core DSP measurement head for the Celerity and 4TELTM test systems and provides a common platform to support voice and DSL. The LDU 100 has been successfully deployed across Teradyne’s installed base of some 140 million lines in support of voice and DSL copper loop testing.

“We are working with Teradyne to provide comprehensive DSL service assurance solutions to maximize performance, flexibility and cost-effectiveness,” said Helmut Berg, president of Acterna’s Telecommunications Division. “The objective of this collaboration is to provide solutions that enable service providers to beat the competition by quickly delivering the advanced new services of the coveted service ‘triple play’ more cost-effectively in an intensely competitive market.”

In a separate release:

GERMANTOWN, Md. -- Acterna, the largest provider of test and network management solutions to telecommunications network operators, and Telcordia Technologies, Inc., a leading global provider of telecommunications software and services for IP, wireline, wireless, and cable markets, today announced a joint solution to speed worldwide deployment of digital subscriber line (DSL) and meet the service demands of consumers and small businesses. Acterna and Telcordia have developed an open, standards-based, test solution for DSL and other elements of the “triple play” package of services, including voice and video.

This initiative comes at a critical period of growth for the U.S. DSL market. The number of DSL subscribers grew 24% in the second half of 2003 to reach more than 9.5 million subscribers by end of 2003 (source: FCC Wireline Competition Bureau, June 2004) and the DSL Forum recently reported that number grew to 10.6 million by the end of March 2004. Worldwide, DSL has seen significant growth and has reached 70% market penetration in countries such as Korea and Japan.

“We are seamlessly supporting the rollout of new broadband services through open, modular solutions that provide the service assurance and provisioning that these advanced offerings require,” stated Zach Gilstein, group vice president for Service Assurance and Work Force Management Solutions, Telcordia. “Teaming with Acterna further demonstrates the success of our Elementive approach to develop creative solutions through partnership with other providers. This solution will enable installation pretest or maintenance testing on a fully flowthrough basis, leading to significant cost savings in the test and provisioning work centers.”