18 April 2003 Paris Lightwave -- Alcatel has announced enhancements to its 1660 SM optical multi-service system for added flexibility and scalability to address the convergence of voice-based and growing data services over a single platform. New upgrades quadruple the system's transport capacity from 2.5 to 10 Gbits/sec and further multiply bandwidth availability by integrating coarse wavelength division multiplexing (CWDM) technology.
The Alcatel 1660 SM, which is part of the company's next-generation SDH, data-aware Optical Multi-Service Node (OMSN) family, interworks with other Alcatel products for metro edge and core applications. The 1660 SM is an add/drop multiplexer and small crossconnect. Designed to scale in step with service demands, the upgraded Alcatel 1660 SM provides transport and integrated networking functions for data applications, including metro Ethernet and storage area networks (SANs). The company believes that support of CWDM functionality, together with the multi-protocol aggregation capabilities of its "4xAny" service concentrator (which enables the grooming of multiple services -- including Gigabit Ethernet, Fiber Channel, and ESCON/FICON -- into a single SDH or SONET standard signal), positions the 1660 SM to efficiently interconnect enterprise data centers in SAN extension applications. The integration of the Integrated Service Adapter (ISA) Packet Ring plug-in card enables operators to complement their metro Ethernet service offering, according to Alcatel.
"Today, our customers increasingly require superior node capacity, scalability, and robustness to support the cost-optimized transmission of hundreds of thousands of voice and broadband services," said Jean-Marie Vansteenkiste, president of Alcatel's optical networks activities. "The Alcatel 1660 SM applications-rich platform gives operators and service providers the tools to future-proof their networks, driving enhanced network operational efficiencies."