Ericsson Unveils Plans for Next Generation Optical Networking - ERION Optical Cross Connect - Company Business and Marketing

Cambridge Telcom Report, Oct 4, 1999

Ericsson Monday announced plans to introduce an optical cross-connect along with several improvements to take the company into the next generation of optical networking. The work builds on core strengths of the ERION product family in the areas of metro and data centric applications. The new features will make it possible to route, manage and provision wavelengths to allow flexible, reliable channeling of massive amounts of data locally, thus creating new revenue opportunities for service providers.

The introduction of the ERION Optical Cross Connect next year further adds to the new ERION release including a reconfigurable OADM (Optical Add-Drop Multiplexer), dynamic wavelength routing, wavelength protection/reuse/conversion, full SONET support, low cost amplifier-free metro configurations and end-to-end optical circuit network management.

"DWDM has been opening up the bandwidth floodgates over long haul routes, and now the pressure is on the Metro Area Network spurred on by a demand for broadband services," said Tsviatko Ganev, General Manager, Photonic Systems at Ericsson. "These new features, rolled out in the ERION system, will make it possible to turn this `fire hose' into a finely tuned sprinkler system, irrigating the metro area with flexibly provisioned, high bandwidth and managed wavelength services."

The ERION FlexingBus now offers ring protection in the optical layer and the ability to connect rings in mesh or hub configurations. The optical cross-connect, integrated in OADMs or stand-alone, will enable limitless combinations of interconnections between ring, bus and point-to-point networks. This development will mark the end of reliance on SONET DCS/multiplexers to bridge isolated DWDM islands and the start of true optical networking from Metro Access to Long-Distance.

Ericsson is the leading provider in the new telecoms world, with communications solutions that combine telecom and datacom technologies with freedom of mobility for the user. With more than 100,000 employees in 140 countries, Ericsson simplifies communications for its customers - network operators, service providers, enterprises and consumers. FMI: http://www.ericsson.se.