Enventis Telecom Deploys Cisco ONS 15600 Multiservice Switches for New Metro Ethernet Rollout Carrier Class Switch Simplifies Bandwidth Management in the Metro Core, Realizes Immediate Cost Benefits

SAN JOSE, Calif., March 15, 2004 - Cisco Systems, Inc. today announced that Enventis Telecom has deployed multiple Cisco ONS 15600 Multiservice Switches for their new metro Ethernet network offering. The Cisco ONS 15600 Multiservice Switching Platform (MSSP) allows Enventis Telecom to seamlessly integrate their metro core and metro edge networks, while reducing initial capital costs and reoccurring operational costs.

In order to consolidate and streamline their core sites, Enventis inserted the Cisco ONS 15600 MSSP into their Point of Presence (PoP) sites and redeployed their existing Cisco ONS 15454 Multiservice Provisioning Platforms (MSPPs) out to the network edge. Enventis was able to bring their cost-per-port down substantially, decrease their time to provision new circuits and customers while realizing an increased return on their investment. Because a single shelf of the Cisco ONS 15600 offers 128 OC-48 ports or 6144 non-blocking STS-1 per shelf, Enventis is now able to turn up new services more rapidly and economically than in the past. Since November of 2003, the company has added six additional customers to their already healthy base.

"The Cisco ONS 15600 is a huge technology leap in the industry with respect to density and performance," said Walt Prahl, chief operating officer of Enventis Telecom. "Besides the fact that it's truly carrier-class, we chose it for many reasons, including the ability to pay as we grow. The operational and capital reductions we are realizing by using the Cisco ONS 15600 are very attractive."

The Cisco ONS 15600 is interoperable with our existing Cisco ONS 15454 UPSR architecture and it also gives us 16 rings of completely interoperable ONS 15454 two-fiber BLSR rings too," added Ed Proetz, senior system engineer with Enventis. "Now I can redeploy my Cisco ONS 15454s closer to my customers."

The Cisco ONS 15600 also alleviates Enventis' space constraints in the central offices. Due to the interoperability of the Cisco ONS 15454 and Cisco ONS 15600, Enventis was able to move four existing 15454s from the central office to the network edge and insert a 15600 instead, thus reducing space consumption and power usage by three-quarters. "Now, I can continue to grow our network and add more customers without growing my central office footprint," says Proetz.

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