Lucent's new PacketStar (PSAX) 1000, the latest product in the company's multiservice media gateway line, is designed to provide converged services in a device priced at $15,000, and also lower recurring backhaul costs for traditional as well as wireless ISPs.

by Wayne Kawamoto [October 29, 2001]

Lucent Technologies' new PacketStar (PSAX) 1000 Multiservice Media Gateway is designed to be a high-density, low cost, broadband multiservice switch that's targeted at service providers that want carrier-grade reliability and redundancy, as well as the multi-networking capabilities that are often found in higher-end core or edge switching platforms. According to Lucent, its PacketStar (PSAX) 1000 offers these features in an affordable ($15,000) device with a small footprint.

The 2 RU (rack unit) high PacketStar (PSAX) 1000 is targeted towards service providers who are looking to penetrate the multi-tenant unit (MTU) market—which is expected to grow to $6.6 billion this year—and the wireless backhaul market.

According to Lucent, its PacketStar (PSAX) 1000 will let service providers offer enterprise customers service intelligent, managed network services such as IP virtual private networks (VPNs) as well as managed voice, native ATM and frame relay services.

The should allow mobile operators to save on recurring facilities costs by concentrating private-line T-1 and E-1 facilities into a single high speed or IMA (Inverse Multiplexing over ATM) facility over an ATM link, which, according to Lucent, has the potential to save as much as 47 percent in overall operations costs.

Lucent says that the high-performance, carrier-grade features and compact footprint of the PacketStar (PSAX) 1000 make it ideal for mobile operators that are trying to reduce recurring expenses on their T-1/E-1 and T-3/E-3 wireless backhaul costs and who are upgrading their 2.5G and 3G next-generation wireless networks. The PacketStar (PSAX) 1000 is designed to improve backhaul efficiencies over traditional circuit-switched backhaul techniques, as well as increase long-haul T-1/T-3 network capacity.

"The PacketStar (PSAX) 1000 is an exciting new addition to Lucent's multiservice media gateway line because it offers unsurpassed value to our wireless and wire-line customers, enabling them to significantly reduce operations costs and offer high margin, managed services today." said Gary Monetti, area vice president of marketing for Access Technologies in Lucent Technologies' Integrated Network Solutions business unit.

He adds, "ISPs are demanding many of the features found in higher-end core or edge switching platforms such as carrier-grade reliability and redundancy as well as a host of multi-networking capabilities—access concentration, voice processing, voice over Digital Subscriber Line (VoDSL), and IP services—in the industry's smallest, most affordable footprint."

Availability and pricing
The PacketStar (PSAX) 1000 is available now to customers and is priced at $15,000.

The PacketStar (PSAX) 1000 is the third product in Lucent's PacketStar PSAX family, which includes the PacketStar (PSAX) 1250 and 2300.

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