Alcatel (Dallas, TX) will provided equipment to implement the first-ever jointly developed sonet

Alcatel (Dallas, TX) will provided equipment to implement the first-ever jointly developed sonet 4-fiber bidirectional line switch ring between at&t (Morristown, NJ) and at&t Canada (Vancouver, BC) Long Distance Services. The ring serves Calgary and Edmonton, AB; Ontario; Vancouver; and points in between in western Canada; and key population centers, including Seattle, Everett, and Spokane, WA. Alcatel provided its Optinex solution, which includes its 1610 OA long-haul wdm systems, 1648 SM add/drop multiplexers, and 1320 NM network management system. The ring stretches 3200 km, comprises 14 add/drop multiplexed traffic nodes, and currently carries traffic payloads up to 622 Mbits/sec.