[September 21, 2004] Acterna, Telcordia Speed Deployment of Advanced Broadband Services GERMANTOWN, Md. --(Business Wire)-- Sept. 21, 2004 -- As U.S. Exceeds Ten Million DSL Subscribers, Carriers Look to Offer IP-based "Triple Play" Services for Consumers Acterna, the largest provider of test and network management solutions to telecommunications network operators, and Telcordia Technologies, Inc., a leading global provider of telecommunications software and services for IP, wireline, wireless, and cable markets, today announced a joint solution to speed worldwide deployment of digital subscriber line (DSL) and meet the service demands of consumers and small businesses. Acterna and Telcordia have developed an open, standards-based, test solution for DSL and other elements of the "triple play" package of services, including voice and video. This initiative comes at a critical period of growth for the U.S. DSL market. The number of DSL subscribers grew 24% in the second half of 2003 to reach more than 9.5 million subscribers by end of 2003 (source: FCC Wireline Competition Bureau, June 2004) and the DSL Forum recently reported that number grew to 10.6 million by the end of March 2004. Worldwide, DSL has seen significant growth and has reached 70% market penetration in countries such as Korea and Japan. "We are seamlessly supporting the rollout of new broadband services through open, modular solutions that provide the service assurance and provisioning that these advanced offerings require," stated Zach Gilstein, group vice president for Service Assurance and Work Force Management Solutions, Telcordia. "Teaming with Acterna further demonstrates the success of our Elementive approach to develop creative solutions through partnership with other providers. This solution will enable installation pretest or maintenance testing on a fully flowthrough basis, leading to significant cost savings in the test and provisioning work centers." As broadband penetration and competition among service providers increases, carriers seek to offer a full range of voice, video and data services to customers. Emerging technologies such as digital broadcasting and voice-over-IP (VoIP) have both shown significant growth and are expected to be key components of future broadband service packages. Acterna and Telcordia are supporting the next evolution of broadband that will enable carriers to offer on-demand video, VoIP, and data throughout the home. "Our companies share a common customer philosophy in developing solutions that anticipate their needs, address specific market opportunities and maximize legacy investments," said Helmut Berg, president of Acterna's Telecom Division. "Our combined solution offers carriers the means to rollout new broadband services to deliver voice, video and data that are unified by Internet Protocol (IP). The key differentiator for today's carriers is how fast and how efficiently they can bundle packages and deliver new services. Together with Telcordia, we are focused on turnkey solutions that enable next-generation offerings to maximize carriers' revenue opportunities." The joint solution is a high-performance Web and XML-based, intelligent test platform designed to support multi-vendor and multi-protocol networks to help carriers accelerate the addition of new broadband services. Automated provisioning validation and automated fault isolation quickly fix network problems to ensure quality of service and reliability of data delivery. Specifically, the solution matches Telcordia's feature-rich Integrated Testing & Analysis System (INTAS) with Acterna's patented DSL Test Head (QT-200) technology and Quality Test Management System (QMS Test OS). Consistent with Telcordia's Elementive approach, the open architecture enables interoperability and flexibility with the industry's leading DSL equipment and empowers provider delivery networks. About Telcordia Technologies, Inc. Telcordia Technologies, Inc. is a leading global provider of telecommunications software and services for IP, wireline, wireless, and cable. By delivering on its Elementive strategy of providing flexible, standards-based solutions that optimize complex network and business support systems, Telcordia enables customers to aggressively reduce costs and grow revenues. Telcordia, a subsidiary of Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), is headquartered in Piscataway, NJ, with offices throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Central and Latin America. (www.telcordia.com) About Acterna Acterna is the world's largest provider of communications test solutions for telecommunications and cable network operators. A trusted communications test partner for more than eight decades, Acterna offers an unmatched portfolio of award-winning instruments, systems, software and services that help its customers reduce network costs while improving performance and reliability. Headquartered in Germantown, Maryland, USA - with European and Asia-Pacific operations based in Eningen, Germany and Hong Kong - Acterna serves nearly every major communications service provider and equipment manufacturer around the world through a skilled sales and support organization in 31 countries. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]