AT&T selects Siemens' SURPASS® hiT 7500 optical transport solution for testing on high-capacity routes in its network

November 17, 2003

2 Min Read

BEDMINSTER, N.J. -- AT&T took another step toward its vision of an all-optical network as it signed a contractual agreement to begin testing a Siemens next-generation optical transport solution for use on high-capacity routes in its network. AT&T Labs and AT&T network engineers are working with Siemens personnel to assess the Siemens SURPASS® hiT 7500 operation with already-installed intelligent optical switches and other network elements before the unit's planned deployment in AT&T's network in the first half of 2004.

"AT&T aims to evolve to one global network using Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) on an optical backbone because our enterprise customers demand constraint-free capacity growth to meet their business needs," said Hossein Eslambolchi, AT&T chief technical officer and president of AT&T Labs. "We selected the Siemens platform because we believe it will meet our need for a fully-automated solution that gives us a flexible transport architecture with the agility and scalability required to meet the dynamic requirements of our customers."

"This will be the first Siemens deployment in the AT&T transport network, and we are pleased that AT&T is recognizing Siemens as a technology leader in advanced optical transport solutions," said George C. Nolen, president and CEO of Siemens Information and Communication Networks, Inc. "Siemens' next-generation optical solutions represent the best technology available to carriers today as carriers strive to deliver the finest service at the lowest possible operating cost," Nolen continued.

Harald Braun, president of the Carrier Networks division of Siemens Information and Communication Networks, Inc., pointed out that the Siemens group of companies work with telecom service providers worldwide. "It is a real honor to be measured against AT&T's architectural, engineering, operational, and reliability standards, since they represent advanced thinking and are among the most demanding in the industry," Braun noted.

The Siemens SURPASS hiT 7500 solution, when fully tested and installed, will bring additional leading-edge capabilities to AT&T's transport network, helping the carrier evolve beyond optical networking toward its long-range goal of an AT&T Photonic Network in which information flows as pure particles of light with no need to convert to electrons. The platform offers full-channel optical add/drop multiplexer capabilities, enabling remote configuration of a path without the need to touch the network while staying all-optical through multiple add/drop nodes, all of which yields lower costs. The Siemens system also features transponders that are tunable over the full 80 channels of light, resulting in quicker wavelength provisioning for customers because there is no need to custom order "colors" of light, and less inventory of transponders means lower costs.

Siemens AG

AT&T Corp.

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