Next-Generation OC-3 Optical Multiplexer 

Wayne Kawamoto
Managing Editor, Clec-Planet

December 11, 2001 -- ADTRAN (NASDAQ:ADTN) announced the Total Access OPTI-3, the company's new OC-3 SONET multiplexer that delivers three DS3s in one-tenth the space of typical OC-3 multiplexers, and at less than one-half the price. This ratio may help providers meet the increasing demand for DS3, despite the reality of today's constrained capital budgets. The Total Access OPTI-3, ADTRAN's first stand-alone, carrier-class optical offering, is the latest addition to the company's cost-effective local loop access solutions.

"With tariffs that call for fiber delivery and reduced capital budgets, a simple, inexpensive solution for delivering DS3 service can open the door to significant revenue opportunities," said Steven Locke, ADTRAN's vice president of Carrier Networks marketing. "ADTRAN is known for hitting the market at just the right time with extremely competitive, highly engineered gear. We think Total Access OPTI-3 is the next in this series of successful launches - a solution that will significantly simplify and lower the cost of DS3 deployment for our carrier customers."

ADTRAN developed the Total Access OPTI-3 for providers who need an efficient means of deploying fiber-fed DS3s. Unlike large, expensive add/drop multiplexers, this product provides the industry's smallest, most affordable, SONET-compliant OC-3 multiplexer for DS3 transport and delivery. The low-cost, plug-and-play Total Access OPTI-3 can be used in terminal mode applications, where cost and size are the main issues or in DS3 extension applications, where capacity utilization, extended range, and capital expenses are the carriers' chief concerns.

According to the company, providers deploying DS3 from an OC-3 terminal in the past had to purchase large, expensive, fully-featured add/drop multiplexers, or inefficient single port DS3 products. Now, with Total Access OPTI-3, the provider may deploy a full OC-3 bandwidth of DS3s providing three DS3 ports, in a one-rack unit high space, greatly increasing network efficiency.

The Total Access OPTI-3 is a carrier-class, fully SONET GR-253 compliant system. Combined with management over the Data Communications Channel (DCC) and interoperability with industry-standard SONET multiplexers, these characteristics make the Total Access OPTI-3 easy to deploy and support in existing networks. Reliability is enhanced with optional redundancy featuring 1:1 protection of the optical and electrical components and 1+1 SONET Automatic Protection Switching. The entire system is backed by an industry-leading ten-year warranty.

The Total Access OPTI-3 is shipping now with list prices starting at approximately $6,000.