SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Lantern Communications, Inc. (www.lanterncom.com), developer of advanced optical packet ring solutions for operators of Metropolitan Area Networks (MAN), demonstrated its continuing support and leadership of the industry’s Resilient Packet Ring (RPR) initiatives with the announcement two Lantern executives will serve as officers of the newly created Resilient Packet Ring Alliance (RPRA). Additionally, Lantern announced its sponsorship of the RPRA chairman and of the IEEE 802.17 RPR Working Group vice-chairman.

RPR is an emerging optical packet ring technology and architecture for metropolitan area networks. The RPR MAC is being standardized within the IEEE 802.17 RPR Working Group (www.ieee802.org/17) and defines the method by which multiple packet add-drop devices connecting over a common optical ring share bandwidth in a fair and deterministic manner. Over 160 people representing over 80 organizations participated in the 802.17 Working Group’s first plenary meeting convened March 12-15, 2001.

"RPR-based solutions have enormous potential for next generation networks," says Robert Love, RPRA chairman and IEEE 802.17 vice-chairman. "I am committed to leading the RPR Alliance and helping to lead the IEEE 802.17 RPR Working Group in a vendor neutral way to produce the best RPR standard for our primary customers, the carriers. The 802.17 Working Group has established an aggressive schedule. I am applying my twenty years of standards-making and networking experience to build consensus amongst the participants and to have a final standard in place by the spring of 2003.”

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