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Press Releases

Network Strategy Partners Study Shows Dramatic Cost Advantages
of New Ethernet/IP Loop Carrier Architectures for Deploying Voice, Video and Data Services

Report Shows Significantly Lower Capital Costs and Operating Expenses Compared to
Next-Gen DLC and SONET/ATM-based Architectures Across Various Mixed-service
Build-out Scenarios

BOSTON – Oct. 14, 2003 – Network Strategy Partners, management consultants to the network industry, today announced the release of a study that shows significant advantages of Ethernet/IP-based access network architectures in helping telecommunications carriers overcome barriers to healthy profit margins and deliver new bandwidth-intensive services to subscribers.

The study, called “The Economics of New Ethernet/IP Access Networks,” shows the total cost-of-ownership for New Ethernet/IP architectures was 62 percent and 29 percent lower than Next-Gen DLC and New SONET/ATM-based access network architectures respectively. Examining capital costs and operational expenses, the two largest components of total cost-of-ownership, the study compares the architectures across a three phased service roll-out scenario including different mixes of POTS, broadband data and advanced video services. The study covered four network sizes, serving small to large subscriber populations

“Architectures including Next-Gen DLC and New SONET/ATM are capable of supporting most bandwidth-intensive services but a New Ethernet/IP architecture using distributed intelligence can provide these services much more flexibly and at a dramatically lower total cost-of-ownership,” said Michael Kennedy, co-founder and managing partner at Network Strategy Partners. “Carriers considering this understand how critical it is to make investments in the right access network architecture because it means the difference between ongoing business success and continued unsustainable expenses.”

The capital cost advantage in the study was derived from the simplicity of Ethernet/IP–based loop carrier systems that result in both lower fixed and incremental costs, and is sustained across several remote terminal sizes and service mixes of POTS and varying amounts of data and video over DSL. The study also notes that more efficient use of feeder bandwidth contributes to the capital cost advantage of New Ethernet/IP, using 74 percent less feeder bandwidth per subscriber than Next-Gen DLC for video services and 61 percent and 67 percent less than Next-Gen DLC and New SONET/ATM respectively for voice services. The efficient use of bandwidth also reduces capital expenses by reducing both the size and number of transport ports in the access network.

The study shows primary sources of the New Ethernet/IP network operations cost advantages include lower service provisioning and configuration, field support and NOC support expenses. New Ethernet/IP eliminates per subscriber/per service/per ISP virtual circuit provisioning which eliminates most service provisioning and configuration expenses.

The entire study, which includes a detailed side-by-side analysis of the three architectures, was sponsored by Occam Networks Inc. and is available for download at the Network Strategy Partners (www.nspllc.com) and Occam Networks Web sites (www.occamnetworks.com).