ADTRAN unveils its top of the line access concentrator built for the networks of the future.

by Alex Goldman ISP-Planet Managing Editor [March 23, 2006]

Huntsville, Ala.-based ADTRAN has announced a modular aggregator designed to be placed at the core of high speed networks such as metro Ethernet, cable, fiber, and DSL. The new product is the top of the Total Access product line and is called the Total Access 5000.

Eric Vallone, director of product management for ADTRAN's carrier network divison, notes the product is the latest in ADTRAN's Total Access product line. He says that ADTRAN builds modular products, allowing each purchaser to buy at the price point and chassis size that's right for them.

Previous products in the Total Access product line have been smaller, aimed at builders of remote terminals and other needs. "Now, in 2006, service providers need to deliver high revenue services like IPTV, and consolidate the network to reduce revenue costs."

Mike Martin, product manager for the Total Access 5000 (pictured at right), says the core of the network is changing. "Now, instead of an ATM core, there's an Ethernet core, an IP network. We're pushing the boundary of how much broadband a service provider can deliver, especially with fiber to the node (FTTN)."

Martin and Vallone says that the product can support 504 voice and DSL subscribers on a single chassis, or 320 DSL only subscribers. In a 7 foot bay, you could fit four chassis, with integrated splitter. Martin says that competitors claim higher densities but fail to integrate the splitters. "Nobody deploys DSLAMs in one bay and the splitters in a bay next to it," says Martin.

Backplane smackdown
One area in which some U.S. manufacturers have, historically, lagged the international competition is in backplane speed. Martin says that's no longer an issue:

"Backplane speed is an over-marketed term, used in competitive comparisons. We can deliver about 400 Gbps on the backplane. The IP network we wanted in telecom years ago is finally a reality. We now have a platform that scales over time to meet the demands of service providers."

Pricing and availability
As to price, if you have to ask, you want a cheaper product in the Total Access (TA) product line, of which there are many. The TA 5000 is available now.

ADTRAN also provides Total Access Services (TAS) to help a service provider assemble, wire, and test (AWT) the network, and to engineer the appropriate enclosures for equipment deployed outdoors.

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