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| GTE Begins Market Trials of SuperLine Access System to Provide Bundled Voice and Data Services for Residences and Small Businesses |
Innovative Solution Delivers Additional Voice Lines Over
Existing Copper Wiring, Reducing Upgrade Costs and Deployment Time
ATLANTA, June 8 /PRNewswire/ -- AG Communication Systems, a subsidiary of
Lucent Technologies, announced today that GTE Network Services, the incumbent
local exchange carrier unit of GTE Corporation (NYSE: GTE), has launched a
field trial and plans to conduct additional market trials of the SuperLine(TM)
Access System in July in two states.
SuperLine, jointly developed by AG Communication Systems and Paradyne
Corporation, will be used by GTE in the market trials to offer service bundles
of up to three telephone lines (including lifeline POTS service) and Internet
data over existing copper phone lines to its residential and
small-office/home-office (SOHO) customers.
"Keeping up with the soaring demand for additional phone lines is a
significant challenge," said Barry Paulson, vice president of operations
planning and support at GTE. "SuperLine offers us an immediate way to solve
these challenges by filling the gaps where deploying new copper pairs or other
loop access technologies is too costly or severely limits the ability to
achieve dial-up speeds of 56 Kbps."
"Every day that service providers delay putting SuperLine in their
networks is a lost revenue and cost reduction opportunity," said Mark Emery,
vice president and general manager of AG Communication Systems' New Ventures
Group. "With SuperLine, service providers can quickly and easily expand their
revenues and market coverage by addressing customer demands for multiple lines
and higher data speeds."
The SuperLine solution consists of two major elements: the SuperLine
Access Shelf manufactured by AG Communication Systems and the SuperLine
Integrated Access Device (IAD) manufactured by Paradyne Corporation. The
SuperLine Access Shelf resides in a service provider's central office or at a
remote digital loop carrier's (DLC) location. The SuperLine IAD -- a piece of
equipment the size of a regular modem -- is located in a customer's home or
office.
SuperLine utilizes standards-based digital links to deliver the additional
voice lines from a central office switch, and standards-based data connections
at the central office and customer premises. SuperLine can be fully populated
in standard binder groups because it uses Tripleplay(TM) technology from
Paradyne and is compatible with existing network services, including POTS,
ISDN, ADSL, T1 and legacy data circuits.
Unlike existing solutions for digitally adding lines to an existing copper
wire, SuperLine is customer-installable, so service providers do not need to
send technicians to each home or office to install the SuperLine IAD. This
attribute significantly reduces costs and allows service providers to quickly
get the new phone lines into service for increased customer satisfaction.
At the home or small office, the consumer simply plugs the SuperLine IAD
into a conventional power outlet and any existing phone jack. The additional
phone lines are accessed through standard modular jacks on the SuperLine IAD
and support enhanced voice services such as call forwarding, caller ID, call
waiting and distinctive ringing.
On the derived lines, SuperLine supports the maximum-allowable speeds of
V.90 56 Kbps analog modems using AG Communication Systems' SuperSpeed(TM)
technology. Even higher-speed Ethernet data, up to half a megabit per second
on normal loops, can be accessed by using the built-in Ethernet data port.
The SuperLine Access System being trialed by GTE is also available from
Lucent Technologies.
About GTE
With 1998 revenues of more than $25 billion, GTE is a leading
telecommunications provider with one of the industry's broadest arrays of
products and services. In the United States, GTE provides local service in 28
states and wireless service in 17 states; as well as nationwide long-distance,
directory and internetworking services ranging from dial-up Internet access
for residential and small-business consumers to Web-based applications for
Fortune 500 companies. Outside the United States, the company serves
customers on five continents. Additional information about GTE can be found
at http://www.gte.com.
About Paradyne
Headquartered in Largo, Fla., Paradyne is a leading innovator, developer
and manufacturer of broadband network access products and technology. The
company is recognized as a market leader in Digital Subscriber Line, T1 and
Service Level Management products. Paradyne markets its award-winning
Hotwire(R) DSL and FrameSaver(R) Service Level Management systems to Network
Service Providers (NSPs) and business customers. Paradyne also licenses
ETC2(TM), Tripleplay(TM) technology and intellectual property incorporated in
the V.90 standard. For more information, visit Paradyne's web site at
http://www.paradyne.com.
About AG Communication Systems
AG Communication Systems, a subsidiary of Lucent Technologies, is a
leading developer and manufacturer of advanced communication products and
services, including switching, access, video, wireless and intelligent network
products. AG Communication Systems' GTD-5(R) digital switching systems serve
more than 17 million business, government and residential subscribers. Annual
revenues for the fiscal year ended September 1998 were approximately
$450 million. Additional information is available on the company's web site
at http://www.agcs.com.
All products and brand names are trademarks or registered trademarks of
their respective owners. SuperLine and SuperSpeed are trademarks of
AG Communication Systems. Tripleplay is a trademark of Paradyne Corporation.
GTD-5 is a registered trademark used under license from GTE Corporation.
SOURCE AG Communication Systems
back to topRelated links:
CONTACT:
Michael Mitchell of AG Communication Systems,
623-581-4198, mitchelm@agcs.com; Phil Bode, 713-629-3550,
phil_bode@edelman.com, or Reba Reid, 713-623-2666,
rreid@edelman.com, both of Paradyne Corporation; or Bill Kula of
GTE, 972-507-6924, william.kula@hq.gte.com
NOTE TO EDITORS: Visit the companies' virtual press rooms at
http://www.agcs.com/pressrm/ or
http://www.paradyne.com/news_n_events/press_room for product
images and additional information.
