SAN JOSE, Calif. - December 17, 1997 - Covad Communications, based in Santa Clara, Calif., has selected ISDN Digital Subscriber Line (IDSL) technology from Cisco Systems for delivery of its new IDSL-based service, TeleSpeed 144 (SM). Covad is installing the Cisco 90i IDSL Channel Unit in San Francisco Bay Area central offices (COs), enabling the delivery of TeleSpeed 144. Covad's Telespeed service is available to 400,000 homes and businesses in the San Francisco Bay Area today.
TeleSpeed 144 will connect employees who work at home to the corporate local-area network (LAN) at speeds up to 144 kilobits per second (kbps) over ordinary copper telephone lines. Covad is the first provider of an IDSL service that enables Fortune 1000 corporations to significantly reduce ISDN access costs for employees who telecommute full-time, part-time or after hours.
The Cisco 90i Delivers a Win for Everyone
"Covad chose Cisco Systems as its primary supplier for several key reasons," said John Rugo, vice president of operations for Covad. "First, Cisco's robust IDSL technology allows Covad to overcome the distance limitations of Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) technology and offer Telespeed 144 service to 100 percent of a corporation's telecommuters in the areas Covad serves. Second, Cisco's end-to-end approach to networking greatly simplifies deployment of our service, reducing our time to market-a critical competitive advantage. With Cisco equipment in our backbone, at the CO and at many of our target customer locations, we can also centralize management and reduce support costs."
The Cisco 90i is the industry's most cost-effective digital access solution. As a channel unit for D4 DSL frame multiplexers, service providers can simply add the Cisco 90i to existing D4 channel banks in the CO, optimizing existing spare capacity. The Cisco 90i also enables service providers to leverage existing ISDN Basic Rate Interface (BRI) loop technology, optical fiber and copper infrastructure. As a result, the Cisco 90i provides the lowest capital and operational cost solution for large-scale digital access.
High-density ports further reduce Covad's cost per subscriber and maximize space in the CO. The Cisco 90i supports data speeds up to 144 kbps. As many as 96 IDSL ports can be supported on a single D4 multiplexer with a single T1 Frame Relay uplink.
Saving Time, Saving Money
Many employees are continuously connected to the corporate network, which can result in bills of up to $2,000 per month per telecommuting employee. Covad IDSL services will be billed at a flat rate starting at less than $100 per month for a faster connection than ISDN currently provides.
"High-speed connection for a low flat rate is a tremendous win for corporate telecommuters and remote access users," said Yinpo Wong, manager of Cisco's own Enterprise Network Services department. "xDSL services enhance existing access solutions, providing cost-effective new alternatives."
End-to-End Solution
"Cisco offers the industry's first end-to-end IDSL solution," said Kevin Kennedy, vice president and general manager of the Network-to-User business unit at Cisco. "Covad has recognized the need for cost-effective access in the corporate telecommute market. We're very enthusiastic about teaming with Covad to deliver these exciting new services, because customers will experience significant reductions in dial-up access costs while boosting employee productivity."
"Cisco is now working with us to develop carrier-class, automated management systems for monitoring and provisioning large-scale, end-to-end services," said Rugo. "They provide us with the support that a rapidly growing company like Covad requires." In addition to Cisco 90i channel units, Covad uses the Cisco BPX. Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) switch for consolidating and switching traffic to each customer's corporate site. The BPX's advanced traffic and class-of-service management features and Tag Switching capabilities enable Covad to maximize bandwidth utilization for all traffic types, further reducing costs. As demand increases for Covad's services, the BPX cost-effectively scales to handle high traffic volumes with outstanding performance. The Cisco 90i IDSL Channel Units and the Cisco BPX ATM switch provide an end-to-end solution that extends from Cisco routing equipment at the customer site through the access and switching networks.
About Covad Communications
Covad Communications is the first digital communications company focusing on corporations and Internet service providers that require greater bandwidth and better support to meet the needs of their internal and external customers. Information is available at www.covad.com.
Cisco Systems
Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) is theworldwide leader in networking for the Internet. athttp://www.cisco.com.
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