Alcatel Works With CommWorks

Telecommunications giant Alcatel and network equipment maker CommWorks Wednesday morning announced a partnerhip to deliver a ready-made IP-based access offering to service providers.

by Colin C. Haley of internetnews.com [November 7, 2002]

Under the pact, Alcatel will sell CommWorks' Total Control 1000 dial-IP/media gateways as part of its next generation network (NGN) portfolio. Media gateways link circuit-switched telephonenetworks and packet-switched IP networks to carry voice, and data traffic.

Its the latest partnership for CommWorks, a Rolling Meadow, Ill., subsidiary of 3Com, which has had inked non-exclusive deals with industry heavy-hitters Lucent, Motorola, Nortel, Samsung and Seimens, among others.

"Each opportunity will be evaluated on its own merits to determine if partnering with Alcatel, other vendors, or going it alone gives us the best chance to win business," said CommWorks spokesman Steven M. Ostrowski.

The Alcatel arrangement is expected to generate millions of dollars in revenues in 2002, Ostrowski said. A portion will come from Turk Telecom. The service provider is deployingan IP-based dial access and voice-over-IP (VoIP) network in Turkey.

In addition to handling traffic more efficiently, Turk Telecom can offer click-to-call, Internet call waiting, virtual second line and call forwarding services. Giving customers the option to sign-on for new paid services is key to the long-term health of carriers. Furthermore, overhauling the system is also expected to save money for data transport, maintenance and operations.

For Paris-based Alcatel, the agreement enhances its NGN portfolio, which is aimed at both business and residential customers and also includes services such as virtual private networks (VPNs).

Ludwig De Maeyer, president of Alcatel voice network activities, said his company chose to partner with CommWorks because of the quality of its "remote access server portfolio and its strong knowledge of a carrier's Internet access service needs and requirements."

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