Astral Point Extends Its Digital Cross-Connect Solutions By Delivering STS-1 Transmultiplexer Module; New Capability Provides Low Cost Grooming for Voice Switches.

Business/Technology Editors

CHELMSFORD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 25, 2001

Astral Point Communications, Inc. said today it is now shipping a second interface module for its ON 5000 Optical Services Node that can further reduce the cost of deploying and provisioning voice services by local service providers. The new STS-1 Transmultiplexer module complements Astral Point's 3/1/0 switching capability announced in August 2000, which gives carriers an alternative to the traditional large, centralized digital cross-connect systems (DCS) by distributing this functionality throughout the network.

"Voice and leased-line services continue to dominate the service providers' revenue streams. That forces them to balance the continued support of these services using credible technology with the desire to support growth in packet-based service revenues. Astral Point's Transmultiplexer represents an excellent response to this service provider balancing act, and a strong product for consideration by both incumbent and emerging carriers," Tom Nolle, president of CIMI, Corp., a leading telecommunications consulting firm, stated.

As part of the ON 5000's distributed DCS capability, the new STS-1 module provides a cost-effective solution for aggregating voice circuits across a network to a Class 5 voice switch within a carrier's central office (CO). The STS-1 module converts signals from the DS1 format widely used to carry end-customer voice circuits to the Virtual Tributary-1.5 (VT-1.5) format used by today's market leading voice switches. The STS-1 module will allow customers to switch and groom voice traffic from numerous T1 leased lines in multiple locations onto a single STS-1 interface for Class 5 voice switches within a CO.

Flexible, High-Capacity Unit

The STS-1 module is a four port card that can be installed into an ON 5000 chassis. A single ON 5000 node can support up to 80 STS-1 or 120 DS3/1/0 interfaces. The ON 5000 can switch and groom individual voice circuits at DS0, DS1, VT-1.5 and DS3 granularities, offering a very flexible solution for local carriers.

"The ease with which carriers can economically deploy and manage revenue-generating voice services has become a critical focus for technology innovators like Astral Point. Today's networks rely on centralized DCS systems that are very expensive and difficult to scale," said Bill Mitchell, Astral Point co-founder and vice president of marketing.

"Today's announcement reinforces that strategy by extending our distributed DCS capabilities on the ON 5000 supporting direct connectivity to a Class 5 voice switch," Mitchell said. "Astral Point's ON 5000 can provide savings up to 60% in a typical DCS deployment through lower cost per port, eliminating backhaul and moving test access to the edge of the network," he said.

The ON 5000 Optical Services Node, recently chosen as product-of-the-year by Internet Telephony magazine, streamlines voice and leased-line services and substantially reduces costs for metro optical network service providers. Significant cost savings are made possible by a combination of network element consolidation, DWDM transport, network management and one-touch network provisioning capabilities. One of its unique features is its ability to digitally cross connect down to DS0 voice circuits, a major benefit to carriers that must support traditional telephony traffic.

About Astral Point

Privately held Astral Point Communications, Inc., of Chelmsford, MA, is pioneering the development of equipment to manage optical bandwidth for new types of services in the metro optical network sector. Its ON 5000 Optical Services Node and Galaxy Distributed Control Plane(TM) software combine to maximize the use of optical power and simplify service deployments and upgrades. The company's ONset Optical Network Management System (ONset ONMS) enables service providers to add circuits in minutes from a single console and provide centralized network management. Additional information can be found on the Astral Point web site at www.astralpoint.com