ADSL Modems: Alcatel and Efficient Networks Sign Strategic Agreement to Jointly Develop and Market Universal Serial Bus ADSL Modems - Company Business and Marketing

EDGE, On & About AT&T, Feb 22, 1999

Alcatel, the worldwide market leader in ADSL equipment, and Efficient Networks, Inc., a leading provider of Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) modems, Wednesday announced a joint development and marketing agreement. As part of the agreement, both companies are working together to develop next generation, standards-based Universal Serial Bus (USB) ADSL modems.

Under the terms of the co-operation agreement, Alcatel and Efficient will combine engineering resources to develop advanced ADSL modems optimized for ease-of-use and consumer installation. As a result of their development activities over the last 6 months, Efficient Networks and Alcatel are now nearing completion of a new family of Universal Serial Bus ADSL modems. Additional products will include modems compatible with the forthcoming G.lite G.992.2 splitterless specification. All products will be compatible with Alcatel's 1000 ASAM ADSL Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer (DSLAM), today's market-leading ADSL Central Office equipment. "With this agreement, Alcatel and Efficient Networks are addressing the challenge facing incumbent carriers, ISPs and CLECs to offer cost-effective, manageable ADSL services to businesses and consumers worldwide," said Mark Floyd, president and CEO of Efficient Networks. "As Efficient and Alcatel extend ADSL interoperability, service providers and subscribers derive substantial benefits in a variety of ways. Our joint development efforts will yield consumer-friendly ADSL modems in early 1999 that set new standards for ease of installation and usability." "Alcatel's extensive ADSL know-how and Efficient Networks' proven skills in developing user-friendly, reliable modems create a synergy for developing consumer modems that interoperate seamlessly with our ADSL 1000 ASAM system," said Martin De Prycker, vice-president and general manager of Alcatel's Internet Access and ADSL activities. "ADSL service providers can be assured that our reliable and interoperable equipment can be rapidly deployed, and returns on investment can be easily achieved." Joint USB Development In their joint product development program, both companies are providing lead expertise in hardware technology, as well as systems integration. Efficient's CPE software and client operating system drivers are being implemented as part of the new product being developed. Alcatel is contributing its expertise in ADSL silicon and software to the development effort. Alcatel will also provide interoperability testing and verification of the new modems as they are developed. The forthcoming USB ADSL modems will support data encapsulation methods including Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) over ATM, Ethernet over ATM, and IP over ATM. Technology Background Today Alcatel holds over 40 percent of the world market, making it the world leader in ADSL technology. Alcatel had delivered and installed its ADSL equipment at the American operators Ameritech, BellSouth, Pacific Bell, and Southwestern Bell, Singapore Telecom, Telia in Sweden, British Telecom, Belgacom, Telefonica in Spain, France Telecom, Telecom Italia, and P.T. Telecom of Indonesia. Furthermore, Alcatel has successfully installed ADSL networks in China, Korea, Japan and Denmark. Efficient Network's comprehensive line of SpeedStream cell-based DSL CPE includes Ethernet-attached external modems, Universal Serial Bus-attached external modems, and internal add-in modems and adapters. This broad line is interoperable with the industry's leading Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer (DSLAM) and Digital Loop Carrier (DLC) equipment vendors, and provides a range of CPE solutions for service providers, ISPs, PC OEMs and integrators. To minimize training and support calls, Efficient's ADSL products have been designed to be easy to configure and manage. Hardware installation requires no jumper or DIP switch setting, and a set of easy-to-use software tools provide network operators with simple, Windows-based graphical interfaces for creation of standard service profiles. A world leader in telecommunications systems and equipment, as well as related cables and components activities, Alcatel operates in over 130 countries. Alcatel provides solutions and services to operators, service providers, enterprises and consumers, from backbone networks to user terminals. Efficient Networks, Inc. is a premier supplier of DSL customer premises equipment (CPE) to the worldwide data and telecommunications markets. The company's SpeedStream product line includes a suite of internal and external modems all designed for simple, rapid installation. As a recognized DSL market leader, Efficient Networks is a member of the ATM Forum, the ADSL Forum and the Universal ADSL Working Group. With headquarters in Dallas, Efficient Networks also has offices in Amsterdam, Chicago, northern California and Virginia. For more information, see Efficient's World Wide Web home page at www.efficient.com.