Ericsson WDM offers unique safety and a gateway to future services

Ericsson WDM offers unique safety and a gateway to future services Ericsson has launched the industry's first WDM solution with ring protection. Offering full safety in networks is essential when handling the fast-growing Internet traffic, with IP services being fired down optic fibers at the speed of light - or some 200,000 kilometers per second inside the optic fiber. At the recent Asian launch of this new Ericsson WDM (Wavelength Division Multiplexing) safety feature, Bo Landin, Senior Vice President at Ericsson, said "WDM is like adding 'more lanes' on a motorway, to handle the growing opportunities presented by services like IP. With more fast growing datacom traffic, operators also need better safety measures." Many of today's fixed transport networks handle 2.5 Gbps of traffic through a single microscopic fiber (the size of 8 micrometers). This translates at 2.5 Gbps into some 35,000 simultaneous calls over a single fiber. By installing a 32-channel WDM system, that same fiber can handle 32 times that amount - more than a million simultaneous calls. This latest safety feature of Ericsson's Optical Networking (ERION ) platform is called the FlexingBus (see below). Protection of traffic is a key characteristic of this new solution. This is vital, considering the dangers of fiber cuts from street digging. Beneath the streets of every major city, millions of calls - perhaps billions of dollars' worth of banking transactions - are at a risk hence the need to fully protect traffic. This ERION solution also represents true convergence between datacoms and telecoms because it handles a multiple of different types of traffic, based on IP, ATM and other protocols. It can also handle a wide range of possible upcoming services like broadcast TV or e-commerce. For this reason, the solution is opening doors to the vast potential that will be offered by multi- service networks. The solution is attractive for both established operators and those starting up new networks. For operators, WDM can significantly reduce the cost of building networks, as well as dramatically lower the costs of transporting bandwidth-hungry services. Telefonica, BT and Finland's Sonera are three major European operators that have chosen Ericsson's WDM solution. Ericsson's wide range of access and transport solutions has the capacity required for the bandwidth revolution. Over 100 operators of wireline networks in more than 80 countries use transport networks from Ericsson. Furthermore, the company has supplied its MINI-LINK wireless transport solutions to operators of wireless and wireline networks in more than 100 countries. Ericsson is the leading provider in the new telecoms world, with communications solutions that combine telecom and datacom technologies with freedom of mobility for the user. With more than 100,000 employees in 140 countries, Ericsson simplifies communications for its customers - network operators, service providers, enterprises and consumers - the world over. Please visit Ericsson's Press Room at: http://www.ericsson.se/pressroom FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT Ulf Silvergran, Director Product Development, WDM Ericsson Business Unit Transmission Solutions Phone: +46 8 7196671, +46 70 575 7114 Chris Moseley, Communications Manager , Transport & WDM Ericsson Business Unit Transmission Solutions Phone: +44 1403 277 156, +44 410 365 30 Johan Wiklund, Ericsson Corporate Communications Phone: +46 70 560 0134; E-mail: johan.wiklund@lme.ericsson.se Additional Information WDM technology uses multiple wavelengths, or 'colors', of light fired down a single fiber to transport services. With WDM technology each wavelength remains a separate channel. These are then multiplied to carry an array of more services at the same time. Ericsson's latest solution, ERION Networker currently offers 32-channels. In relation to the current mix of legacy technologies, Ericsson's new solution offers a simple and cost-effective approach to building networks. It's also the building block for a series of self-protecting optical rings. Different traffic types move between multiple layers of rings using gateways. For operators, this layered approach creates networks that are easy to understand, operate and maintain. The addition of the FlexingBus safety feature means that within each fiber ring one segment can be deactivated, turning the ring into a 'bus'. This solves the problem of recirculating traffic. The location of the inactive ring segment can be shifted around the ring, to create different bus configurations - hence the name FlexingBus. With this concept, Ericsson simplifies network architecture by creating a hierarchy of self-protecting optical network rings, where traffic is re-routed in less than 20 milliseconds.