Acterna Spews News at SupercommActerna Spews News at Supercomm

GERMANTOWN, Md. -- Acterna, the leader in test and management solutions for consumer and business broadband communications, is celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the Wavetek SAM Meter, the popular test meter line that has grown from an indispensable signal analysis tool in 1980 to an award-winning, robust digital services activation meter (DSAM) today, consistently ensuring reliable, efficient and accurate test and management to cable operators.

The tribute, which includes a timeline that chronicles the SAM’s evolution over the years and industry-first achievements, as well as other promotional presentations, will be on display at ANGA 2005, in Cologne from May 31- June 2, booth #J11, and at Acterna’s Opening Night Reception at SCTE’s Cable-Tec Expo in San Antonio, June 14 (and at Acterna booth #02081).

WaveTek Wandel Goltermann, which merged with TTC in 2000 to form Acterna, revolutionized cable-TV testing with the introduction of the Signal Analysis Meter, better known as the SAM, in 1980. The first SAM meter was recognized for setting the standard for all future cable test meters for its accuracy, reliability and ruggedness. From year to year, the SAM’s enhancements reflected the issues and technology concerns that defined each era of cable-TV development.

“The SAM meter was truly a revolutionary testing tool in the cable industry, and the bread-and-butter of Wavetek – a company and product we are proud to have associated with Acterna’s communications test heritage,” said Mike Richardson, director of North America Sales for Acterna’s Cable Network’s Division. “We are celebrating 25 years of excellence for a cable test instrument widely recognized for ensuring reliable, high-quality service.”

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GERMANTOWN, Md. and CHICAGO -- Acterna, the leader in test and management solutions for consumer and business broadband communications, today announced a comprehensive line of 40G communications test products for carriers and manufacturers dedicated to the delivery of efficient and reliable networks at the core. Designed for seamless operation in the lab as well as all stages of installation, maintenance and service verification, the Acterna ANT-40G and Acterna ONT line of products excel in the demanding, high bit-rate environments at the metro and long-haul levels – the core of the network. All products will be on display in Chicago this week at SuperComm 2005, booth 43021.

While 40G (OC-768), presently the fastest transmission rate for SONET and SDH networks, is still in the early adopter stage, core networks are supporting massive traffic increases resulting from widespread deployment of broadband access technologies. Network operators are also challenged by the need to reduce operating expenses while also adding new revenue generating services, some of which already require optical transport equipment that supports data rates higher than 10G.

“Consumer and business demand for broadband services have prompted operators to increase investment in technologies that expand the capacity of their networks,” said Bernhard Mueller, general manager for Acterna’s optical transport business unit. “While much of this recent investment has focused on the “last mile,” we believe capacity burdens created by broadband service demand will grow in the next 12-24 months, creating widespread focus on upgrading the core network at the 40G level and beyond. Today, Acterna has a set of solutions to help network operators successfully respond to this challenge.”

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GERMANTOWN, Md. and CHICAGO -- Acterna, the leader in test and management solutions for consumer and business broadband communications, today announced that it has further enhanced the triple-play capabilities of its scalable hand-held instrument, the HST-3000, by adding several new IP Video test features. The new features will be on display in Chicago this week at SuperComm 2005, booth 43021.

Designed to meet the depth and breadth of test applications required by residential and business service technicians, the HST-3000 is ideally suited for field use with powerful automation features that improve work force efficiency. Its IP Video and VoIP test suites support the planned deployments of packet-based voice and video service networks specially targeted at FTTx and video-over-DSL networks.

New features for the HST-3000 IP Video test suite include set-top box emulation for both broadcast video and video-on-demand (VOD), video quality of service (QoS) test functions for frequently experienced “interrupters” such as jitter and packet loss, extended detail for video and bandwidth troubleshooting analysis, and support for ADSL2+ over both ISDN and POTS.

“The HST-3000 has always provided the most advanced and cost-effective solution for the full set of test applications required by field technicians, and we are keeping pace with the industry by offering new IP Video features,” said Jerry Gentile, general manager for Acterna’s Telecommunications Field Services unit (TFS). “With the HST-3000’s highly field-configurable IP video and ADSL2+ test suite, Acterna continues to be well-prepared to meet the diverse needs of carriers worldwide.”

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GERMANTOWN, Md. and CHICAGO -- Acterna, the leader in test and management solutions for consumer and business broadband communications, today announced that it delivered multiple units of its VoIP-enabled HST-3000 handheld service tester to a Tier 1 carrier in Japan, the second-largest broadband service market in Asia. The HST-3000 VoIP module was the industry’s first hand-held field test tool for basic turn-up and troubleshooting of VoIP deployment. Its triple-play capabilities are the industry’s first specifically designed to meet the all-in-one test support needs of field technicians.

Because it is also designed to meet the full depth and breadth of test applications required by technicians responsible for access network service installation and maintenance, the HST-3000 is ideally suited for field use with powerful automation features that improve work force efficiency.

“Asia-Pacific service providers are beginning to offer truly innovative triple-play services to their markets, and Japan is ahead of the curve in introducing integrated IP services, particularly VoIP, to residential and business customers,” said Jerry Gentile, general manager for Acterna’s telecommunication field services (TFS). “The HST-3000 is the only field tester that enables the integrated testing of triple-play services, and we look forward to working one of Japan’s major carriers to ensure the reliability of its cutting-edge IP services.”

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GERMANTOWN, Md. and CHICAGO -- Acterna, the leader in test and management solutions for consumer and business broadband communications, today announced the addition of a handheld return loss meter, the Acterna ORL-55, to its industry-leading optical field instruments, the Smart optical handhelds. The ORL-55 and full range of SMART handhelds are being showcased in Chicago this week at SuperComm 2005, booth 43021.

More than 70,000 previous-generation units from Acterna’s optical handhelds platform are currently in the field, making it one of the most widely deployed handheld test instruments in the industry. Acterna’s Smart product line, offering the industry’s best performance in terms of accuracy, ease-of-use and durability includes power meters, optical attenuators, laser sources, loss test sets and return loss meters.

The new ORL-55 SMART Optical Return Loss Meter is a high-performance, easy-to-use instrument for the field as well as for lab and production. It allows customers to use two or three lasers as well as high precision fiber couplers to test reflected signals. The instrument supports three modes with its “one button” test feature: return loss meter, optical power/loss meter and laser source. Return loss is measured at up to three wavelengths simultaneously by using sophisticated digital signal processing. With its USB interface, the ORL-55 can be networked with other Acterna optical handheld instruments (such as the OLC-65, OLP-55, and OLS-55) to establish an optical measurement system for lab or production. The ORL-55 also has an internal memory that can store more than 1,000 results.

“As with all of our Smart optical handhelds, the ORL-55 helps maintain our aggressive strategy to provide the market with universal handheld tools for the entire network lifecycle – from the lab to the deployment and maintenance of optical networks and systems,” said Enzo di Luigi, general manager for Acterna’s Fiber Optics and Systems. “Optical return loss is a fundamental test process in the deployment of FTTx and PONs, and the ORL-55 is developed to be future-proof while meeting our customers’ requirements today.”

Acterna Corp.