Alcatel Unveils Multiservice Media Gateway

March 12, 2002 -- (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) -- Alcatel (alcatel.com), a leader in voice, packet and mobile technologies, introduced on Monday the latest addition to its next generation network product portfolio, the Alcatel 7670 RSP Media Gateway.

The new Alcatel 7670 RSP Media Gateway, built on the Alcatel 7670 Routing Switch Platform, is designed for use in both public switched telephone networks and mobile networks, says the company. The product was developed in Ottawa and Vancouver at what used to be Newbridge Networks Corp., and will be manufactured at the former Newbridge headquarters in Ottawa. Alcatel acquired Newbridge in 2000 for $7.1 billion US in stock.

Alcatel says its NGN product suite is based on open standards to ensure that it meets the needs of interexchange carriers, incumbent local exchange carriers, competitive local exchange carriers and wireless networks. The 7670 RSP MG, says the company, is designed to allow carriers to evolve their infrastructure alongside their business, while maintaining the quality of voice service that accounts for the bulk of their revenues.

The product holds the potential to boost the sales of Alcatel’s other products designed to run alongside the gateway, an important consideration in an extremely competitive market.

"Incumbent telcos around the world have enormous voice service revenues and infrastructure investments to protect yet they are nearing a time when they must migrate to the next generation of voice technology based on packet networks," says Kevin Mitchell, directing analyst, Infonetics Research. "The 7670 RSP Media Gateway, offers these carriers an opportunity to start their migration at their own pace."

Alcatel says the 7670 works to ensure service continuity as companies evolve to next generation networks, protecting the quality and integrity of voice services during that evolution. By collapsing disparate networks into a unified infrastructure, says the company, the 7670 RSP MG can help operators reduce operating and capital costs. And standards-based interoperability with other equipment helps protect investments in existing infrastructure.

The product, says Alcatel, is already in trials with 15 customers.