San Jose, Calif.-, Jan 20th, 2003 - Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) today announced that JAPAN TELECOM Co., Ltd., ("JAPAN TELECOM"), is deploying a next-generation MPLS-based service called mpls ASSOCIO powered by the Cisco 12000 Series Routers and Cisco MPLS IOS software. Enabling a rich set of MPLS core and edge features, this new offering significantly expands market opportunity for MPLS-based services across Japan and allows for greater internetworking capabilities for service providers.
Japan Telecom's MPLS based Internet Exchange (IX) service provides a flexible approach through a variety of Layer 2 and Layer 3 services, over the same network infrastructure, and is now able to offer an innovative new peering service utilizing a broadband capable 10 Gigabit (Gbps) MPLS backbone. The mpls ASSOCIO (http://www.associo.jp) can dynamically modify bandwidth allocations on a per service provider basis. The service satisfies the increasing bandwidth and connectivity demands meeting broadband service and applications at any time and from anywhere.
"Cisco is the best networking partner to deliver advanced MPLS Carrier Supporting Carrier (CsC) solutions with Security, Accounting and Traffic Engineering capability fully integrated, thus ensuring that our customers can deploy new IX service whenever and wherever required," said Ted Toshihiko Katagi, Exective Director, Head of Enterprise Business Unit of Japan Telecom.
With over150 MPLS-based service infrastructure solutions deployed worldwide, Cisco offers the most feature rich and industry proven MPLS networking solutions. "We are excited to be working with Japan Telecom and applaud their vision in developing this innovative new ASSOCIO service," said Tony Bates, vice president and general manager, High End Routing business unit at Cisco Systems. "We are particularly excited about the role the 12000 Series plays in powering this new service while providing a foundation for future services."
The MPLS-IX architecture approach is a clearly innovative as it provides media-independent true any-to-any geographically distributed peering or a virtual backbone based on MPLS LSP (Label Switched Path) for service providers. Comparing with current costly physical circuit based peering service connection, service provider will be able to have flexible peering to other service providers or content holders in parallel with seamlessly migrating its evolution of broadband Internet where costs do not escalate as each new peering/site is virtually managed. Japan Telecom and Cisco are contributing to the Next-Generation IX consortium (http://www.distix.net/index.html.en), a project in Japan to architect a Next-Generation Internet Exchange.
For more information on Cisco IOS MPLS please visit http://www.cisco.com/go/mpls. For more information on Cisco 12000 Series Router please visit (www.cisco.com/go/12000)
