Marconi, Larscom Demo Legacy Solution

PITTSBURGH and MILPITAS, Calif. -- Responding to the demand for more bandwidth in the enterprise market, Marconi (MONI) and Larscom (Nasdaq: LARS) today announced they have successfully demonstrated a Multilink Frame Relay solution that helps service providers deliver that bandwidth in cost-effective increments that are easy and quick to deploy. With this solution, service providers can now offer enterprises incremental bandwidth services -- say, 6 Mbps (4xT1) -- for a fraction of the cost of a T3 (which can run 700% to 1,200% more than the cost of a T1 using either ATM or Frame Relay). The demonstration proved the effective interoperability of Marconi's ASX(TM) and TNX(TM) line of switch-routers equipped with channelized DS-3 Frame Relay line cards and the Larscom 6000, an IP- and Frame Relay-Aware Multilink Access device for the customer's premise. Marconi's channelized DS-3 Frame Relay cards allow service providers to provision the incremental bandwidth from their Points of Presence (POPs). Following the successful interoperability demonstration, the solution is now available for testing and quick deployment by service providers and other network operators. The demand for more bandwidth is being driven by an increasingly just-in-time economy where enterprises are leveraging the competitive advantages of applications such as Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), large file transfers and streaming media to improve employee productivity and maintain tight relationships with customers and suppliers through more sophisticated intranets and extranets. But broadband applications are competitive advantages only if they can be deployed as cost-effective and easy-to-manage services. "The high port density per square foot of rack space with Marconi's ASX and TNX line of switch-routers and Larscom's customer premise platform deliver cost-effective services that enterprises need and new revenue streams for service providers," said Tom Murray, vice president of marketing for Marconi's Broadband Routing and Switching group. "Marconi's and Larscom's Multilink Frame Relay solution gives service providers new options for extending the life and revenue-generating capabilities of their current Frame Relay networks, thereby addressing a growing market with incremental new investment." Larscom Inc. Marconi plc