It's all about the services! How many times have we heard that refrain in
the past six months? In the past year? I think everyone can agree that
with service provider revenues (from providing transport alone) flattening
or declining, it's the enhanced services that must generate the growth in
revenues. And on paper it makes sense. People will purchase more services
if they feel they will realize benefits. Oh, and it has to be affordable.
And customizable. But before we discuss the actual services, we need
equipment manufacturers to come up with a platform that will allow their
service provider customers to actually deploy those oft-referenced
services. But, the market's crowded, and before service providers get the
opportunity to differentiate themselves, it's these equipment vendors who
have to sell themselves as offering the right tool for the challenges
facing the carriers.
ACCORDION NETWORKS
One such company throwing their hat into the ring is Accordion
Networks. This privately funded, Fremont, CA-based equipment vendor
feels they have what it takes to do the job. To hear them describe it,
Accordion designs and supplies next-generation onsite broadband
multiservice activation platforms that are designed to enable carriers to
implement service intelligence at the edge of the network. And that's
where most folks agree the revenues will come from -- the intelligent
edge. According to Scott Heinlein of TeleChoice, Accordion's focus on
"service intelligence at the network edge for rapid activation of
advanced services and applications... is really what the service providers
need."
So What Is It?
Accordion's platform is called the OnsitePOP Broadband Multiservices
Activation Platform, and is made up of the following components:
Accordion Networks Onsite Service Gateway 6000 (OSG 6000)
The OSG 6000 is a service intelligent switch designed to reside in the
business campus POP, building POP, or Metro POP. The gateway aggregates
the functionality of a number of discrete devices, such as Layer 3+
switches, edge routers, Quality of Service (QoS) engines, and IP service
switches.
Accordion Networks Onsite Service Gateway 100 (OSG 100)
The OSG 100 is a compact tenant access device (TAD) that resides in
the business premise and combines high-speed data/IP and toll-quality
voice services over a single broadband connection. The Accordion Networks
OSG 100 gateway is designed to enable carriers to deliver affordable,
integrated services optimally by utilizing intelligent QoS management of
Layer 3+ user traffic.
Accordion Networks OnsiteEMS Element and Service Management System
Accordion's OnsiteEMS system enables remote activation,
personalization, and management of services via the OSG 6000 gateway and
the OSG 100 access device. It also enables service providers to extend
service activation, personalization, and monitoring functionality to
business end-users.
Pulling all of this together is Accordion's WarpRun technology. WarpRun
provides the link between the OSG 6000 and the OSG 100, delivering up to
26 Mbps symmetrical bandwidth over existing copper. (Over fiber, the
WarpRun technology can deliver 100 Mbps.)
The Proof Is In The Network
While Accordion tells me that they are in discussions with a number of
service providers, one company that's taking advantage of the OnsitePOP
platform is Advanced TelCom Group, Inc. (ATG), headquartered in Santa
Rosa, CA. ATG is a rapidly
growing facilities-based Integrated Communications Provider (ICP) that
focuses on the under-served, mid-sized markets across the United States.
ATG offers an integrated set of telecommunications products and services
including high-speed data and Internet services, local exchange, domestic
and international long distance, and other enhanced voice services
supported via digital networks including DSL technology. The result is
one-stop shopping, which allows ATG to become "the local Internet and
telephone company" of choice to its customers.
I had the opportunity to speak with ATG's co-founder and Chief
Technology Officer, Curt Wheeler, regarding ATG's relationship with
Accordion Networks. "Many vendors in the market are providing
technology, but it's what you do with the technology that really adds
value. Accordion Networks is heading in the right direction by moving
applications and services to the edge of the network where they can be
easily activated, personalized, and managed. I especially like their
concept of strong customer service and management. A focused customer
approach and rapid provisioning of voice and broadband services will
continue to be a strong differentiator for service providers like ATG as
the technology playing field continues to converge and level-off."
I asked Mr. Wheeler how the Accordion solution was helping ATG meet its
goals as a service provider, and what effect it will have on any future
network expansion. He responded, "Accordion's integrated voice and
broadband capabilities will allow us to quickly and cost-effectively
respond to our customer's current and future telecommunications needs in
the multi-tenant buildings that we serve."
Mr. Wheeler continued, "Based upon the outcome of our thorough and
strenuous testing of their product in our Lab, Accordion's product family
promises to give us an effective solution to meet the ever increasing
voice and broadband data needs of our customers."
The Accordion Networks solution is set to ship right around the time
this issue hits the street. Current pricing calls for the OSG 6000 to
start at $29,995; the OSG 100 to start at $2,995; and the Onsite EMS
software to start at $7,995 for base configurations.
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Convergence has found its way across the network. Not only
are networks of VoIP coming together, interoperating, and allowing an
unprecedented paradigm shift in telecommunications, but also our
location-based services are converging with our wireless services. All
this convergence...the word must be getting tired! How about this:
Converged networks and unified communications. That's better. Let's take a
look at what is going on in this newly unified space.
It seems like many ASPs and ISPs are trying to pack on the
value-added services these days. Just one short year ago, getting
broadband access was enough (for some of you, its still a long shot,
though), yet in areas with provider saturation the addition of media is
the message. Service providers are trying to offer it all, and they will
be in for a race, since many companies are already zeroing in on a huge
percentage of the market: enterprise communications.
This is especially the case with enterprise services. It
seems that the main thrust in communications technologies is in the
enterprise space. Ericsson, Sony, Microsoft, and many other big names, are
offering new communications services to enable the new economy. The shift
has occurred -- no longer are we interested only in the Web and the
Internet, but also in how we can leverage the power of a global network to
reach out not only to our branch offices, but also to worldwide customers
and contacts.
Time and money...it always comes back to this. I recently
attended Ericsson Enterprise's New York Media gathering and found that the
spirit of unified communications is strong with this company that many
still view only as a mobile phone manufacturer. Is anything they are
planning on doing groundbreaking? Yes and no.
The fundamental ideas that underline unified
communications were laid thousands of years ago when Grog first pointed to
the pictures he drew of the Mastodon he killed, then described the hunt in
both verbal and body language. Since that point, humans have tried to
recreate the person-to-person experience in a format that allows mass
transmission and distribution, and foreign location. What Ericsson, and
many others alike, are doing is just this, only they are making several
important steps towards realization of this: Mobile location; intelligent
communications routing; effective, quality service; and an efficient
communications infrastructure.
What is setting Ericsson ahead in this era is the
company's ability to provide these services. Ericsson is guaranteeing QoS,
high quality voice, and always-on services (the 3G panacea) all tailored
to enterprise users within the first two quarters of this year. GSM, 3G,
IP, etc... no matter, because Ericsson is dealing with an issue that many
are skirting: There are many protocols and many platforms and even more
devices, and to be truly scalable, an enterprise solution must deal with
this issue.
With offerings in the Wireless LAN area, new PDA/Mobile
Phone hardware, and several Bluetooth components, and a veritable
cornucopia of 3G/ Enterprise developments to roll out in the next few
months, Ericsson is setting precedents in the enterprise market. Keep an
eye out for them, as well as competitors Microsoft, Worldcom, and others
as we unify our home, premise, and mobile offices.
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