Lucent Technologies to Deliver Feature-Rich Voice Over DSL With PathStar Access Server - Company Business and Marketing

Cambridge Telcom Report, August 16, 1999

Lucent Technologies (NYSE: LU) will extend its revolutionary PathStar family of products to deliver the industry's most feature-rich, end-to-end packet solution for Voice over DSL (Digital Subscriber Line). Lucent's PathStar offer will enable new and expanding competitive service providers to more cost-effectively offer integrated voice, data and high-speed Internet access over DSL to their small-and medium-sized business and residential customers.

The new solution will combine the PathStar portfolio of IP-based, multi-service central office products with Lucent's MultiDSL Access Concentrators, as well as with Copper Mountain Networks' (NASDAQ: CMTN) CopperEdge DSL Concentrators, and packet-based Integrated Access Devices. Lucent's ATM and frame-based MultiDSL access concentrators were acquired through the company's recent merger with Ascend.

Network Telephone, a Competitive Local Exchange Carrier (CLEC) based in Pensacola, Florida, will deploy Lucent's PathStar Access Server with Copper Mountain's CopperEdge DSL Concentrators and CopperRocket Integrated Access Devices to provide voice, data and high-speed Internet access over DSL to their business customers in nine states across the Southeast USA.

"Our customers want one-stop shopping for their voice and data needs," said Ray Russenberger, CEO of Network Telephone. "Lucent's PathStar solution gives us a competitive edge by enabling us to deliver the telephony services our customers demand, over the packet infrastructure we need to offer innovative, high-value, IP-based services. We believe this Voice over DSL solution will provide us a cutting-edge multi-service network."

The PathStar solution, available in fourth quarter this year, will enable service providers to deliver eight or more telephony subscriber lines and high-speed data services over a single unbundled local loop.

"The regulatory and competitive landscape is driving CLECs to offer both voice and data services," said Claudia Bacco, director, DSL Products, TeleChoice. "The PathStar solution offers an option for entering this integrated services marketplace with lower costs than traditional infrastructure options."

"Our customers need an integrated, multi-service solution that they can deploy quickly and cost-effectively to provide revenue-generating services," said Harry Carr, VP and COO, InterNetworking Systems, Lucent. "This solution delivers the combined cost savings of the PathStar and DSL, while enabling service providers to offer feature-rich telephony and differentiated enhanced services."

The PathStar Solution The PathStar family--the PathStar Access Server and the Business Service Exchange--is designed to enable new service providers, such as CLECs, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and IP Telephony Service Providers, as well as established carriers entering new markets to offer low-cost, innovative voice and data services over IP or IP/ATM packet networks.

By integrating the DSLAM aggregation, edge router, and "Class 5" or local telephony system functions in a single packet-based element, PathStar significantly lowers the complexity and reduces cost by nearly $100 per subscriber versus the combined GR-303 Gateway and Class 5 Circuit Switch alternatives, based on estimated average sales prices.

The PathStar products deliver essential telephony features such as Caller ID, Call Waiting, Voice Messaging and E911, while simultaneously providing IP-based services such as Internet access and Virtual Private Networking.

Lucent Technologies, headquartered in Murray Hill, N.J., designs, builds and delivers a wide range of public and private networks, communications systems and software, data networking systems, business telephone systems and microelectronics components. Bell Laboratories is the research and development arm for the company. For more information on Lucent Technologies, visit the company's web site at http://www.lucent.com.