Marconi Unveils SDH, MLS

LONDON and PITTSBURGH -- Marconi (MONI) today launched its next generation of synchronous digital hierarchy (SDH) products, branded Series 4, designed to offer service providers immediate improvements in core and metropolitan networks, as well as a flexible evolution path towards integrated optical networking. The new generation of products, which have been designed to be more cost-efficient than previous generations of the product, strengthens Marconi's leading position in the optical networks market. Marconi is the European market leader in Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) and has the largest installed base of SDH equipment in the world. SDH is used in telecommunications networks throughout the ETSI-standard region, covering Europe, Asia Pacific, South America, the Middle East and Africa. Marconi's new SDH product range includes Add/Drop Multiplexers (ADMs) and cross connects (XCs) that protect customer investments while recognising the growing importance of data services. The range includes the Series 4 SMA, the MSH2K and the MSH64C which are available immediately and the SMA16-64 which will be available next year. "SDH is Marconi's key technology market and it remains the technology of choice of major operators as they migrate towards data-centric networking," says Stefan Kindt, Marconi's voice president of marketing and project management for Optical Networks. "Our new products form strategic stepping- stones towards multi-service networking for our customers, whilst underpinning Marconi's strong market position." In a separate release: Marconi (MONI) today announced details of its development plans for a new multi-layer switch (MLS) for optical networks. The MLS is a unique, next-generation architecture that combines electrical and optical switching, and integrates optical transport, on a single platform. Development work is advancing at Marconi's research and development laboratories at Backnang, Germany and Genoa, Italy. The new multi-layer switch will be launched next year. "As the largest SDH vendor in Europe, Marconi is in the driver's seat with the automated MLS," said Stephane Penzo, analyst at telecommunication industry researcher RHK. "Leveraging its existing optical and data products, the company's ASTN-based architecture enables carriers to optimize capex/opex risks in their core networks. Competitors have not yet shown such a node that smoothly and cost-effectively merges STM-granularity with photonic switching in a common rack." The MLS integrates the different transport and switching layers into a single network element. It combines electrical and optical switching and incorporates the WDM transport layer into one unit with a single control plane. This reduces the cost of floor space and power consumption and the need for surplus equipment, management and interoperability testing. The intelligent control plane and advanced grooming capability improve network utilisation, whilst the combination of long-haul and ultra long-haul optical transmission with optical switching reduces significantly the amount of costly electrical regeneration required in the network. High levels of scalability and flexibility allow adaptation to any traffic needs. Marconi plc