Lucent Technologies Announces
QIP Broadband Services

New software lets service providers and enterprises manage IP addresses, track user profiles, offer Class of Service, and more.

by Wayne Kawamoto
[December 29, 1999]

Lucent Technologies recently announced its QIP Broadband Services, a software solution that lets ISPs and other communications service providers—cable operators, CLECs, interexchange carriers, and telephone companies—more efficiently administer and track Internet Protocol (IP) addresses.

QIP Broadband Services is an IP address management platform for assigning and tracking subscribers' IP addresses. The solution combines Lucent's high-performance, carrier class-quality Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server with an integrated management suite that lets network administrators match and track a subscriber's user profile with IP address information. The solution also includes features that let service providers deliver specified Class of Service (CoS) to their subscribers.

The QIP Broadband Services product suite offers tools that let subscribers automatically register with their service operator and immediately access the Internet, while receiving the appropriate CoS features. As an example, when using a feature called Subscriber Registration, subscribers identify themselves to their provider when they access the Web. Once the access is made, the DHCP server assigns an IP address to the subscriber that enables the cable provider to track useful information such as profile, IP address usage, and billing.

"As service providers, such as cable operators and CLECs, try to address the explosion of new subscribers, managing the IP infrastructure becomes critical," said Joe D'Andrea, vice president and general manager for Lucent's IP Services Product Group. "QIP Broadband Services is a next-generation address management tool that will enable service providers to bring faster, more reliable service to their subscribers."

QIP Broadband Services is available now; pricing ranges from $3 per IP address in 1,000-user configurations down to $0.25 per address in 1 million-user configurations. Lucent's DHCP Server and DNS Server are $3,000 and $250,000, respectively.

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