Agilent Technologies' ADSL Handheld Testers to Help Speed Bell Atlantic DSL Rollout Throughout Service Region - Aglient Technologies' Service Installer and Service Verifier - Company Business and Marketing

Cambridge Telcom Report, Nov 15, 1999

Agilent Technologies, Inc., a diversified technology company formed from the realignment of Hewlett-Packard Company, Monday announced that its ADSL handheld service verification tools have been selected by Bell Atlantic to support the Regional Bell Operating Company's (RBOC) aggressive program for rollout of Bell Atlantic Infospeed DSL (digital subscriber line) high-speed data services to homes and small businesses. Bell Atlantic's installation and maintenance groups and central office technicians will use Agilent's Service Installer handhelds and the new Agilent Service Verifier, which was developed to meet Bell Atlantic's field requirements.

Earlier this year, Bell Atlantic announced its plan to equip more than 700 central offices with DSL technology by the end of 1999, enabling millions of customers in all of the company's 13 states and the District of Columbia to take advantage of digital, high-quality Internet connections. By the end of first quarter of 2000, the company says it plans to equip 1,000 central offices serving 21 million qualified lines.

Agilent's Service Installer and Service Verifier handhelds allow technicians to test the ability of home DSL modems to synchronize properly with their paired counterparts in central office facilities. Once proper connectivity has been confirmed, installers can use the test tools to verify upstream and downstream throughput data rates and to ensure that they meet minimum guaranteed line speeds.

The products provide "one-touch" measurement of margins -- the potential for additional throughput available over the line being tested -- and maximum capacity in both transmission directions. The Agilent Service Installer also provides line-troubleshooting capabilities such as detection of load coils that have not been removed from the line.

Both Agilent handhelds feature a modular design that enables service personnel to switch and test using different DSL chip sets to support different modem vendors and technologies. Modules accommodate both CAP and DMT chip set implementations and will support future chip sets for new technologies and standards such as G.Lite and Symmetric Digital Subscriber Line (SDSL). Software applications for both products can be upgraded via downloads from a PC or the Web, which speeds the distribution of new testing routines.

Agilent Technologies, Inc. is a diversified technology company, resulting from Hewlett-Packard Company's plan to strategically realign itself into two fully independent companies. With 43,000 employees serving customers in more than 120 countries, Agilent Technologies, as a subsidiary of HP, is a global leader in designing and manufacturing test, measurement and monitoring instruments, systems and solutions, and semiconductor and optical components. The company serves markets that include communications, electronics, life sciences and healthcare. The businesses comprising Agilent had net revenues of nearly $8 billion in fiscal year 1998. FMI: http://www.agilent.com.