MetaSwitch Enters RUS Trial at Yukon Telephone.
By Metaswitch on Jun 23, 2003 8:00:00 AM
MetaSwitch VP3500 Is Poised for Expanded Presence in Rural Operator Market.
ALAMEDA, Calif.-(BUSINESS WIRE)-June 23, 2003-MetaSwitch, the leading provider of broadband Class 5 switching solutions, today announced that the MetaSwitch VP3500 Next Generation Class 5 Switch is being used in a Rural Utilities Service (RUS) field trial by Yukon Telephone, the incumbent provider for the rural Alaskan communities of Whittier, Tanana and Ruby.
Upon successful completion of the trial, MetaSwitch will be placed on the RUS approved vendor list as early as fourth quarter of this year. This will allow rural service providers to deploy the MetaSwitch VP3500 in their RUS funded deployment and broadband initiatives.
"MetaSwitch is committed to the rural operator market," said Andy Randall, MetaSwitch General Manager. "We currently have MetaSwitch VP3500 deployments with rural service providers across the country. RUS approval will allow many other carriers to migrate to next generation architecture and services with MetaSwitch."
Yukon Telephone is deploying the VP3500 in its Whittier Central Office as a first step towards an all-IP network. Yukon selected MetaSwitch after undergoing a six-month technical evaluation by Reeve Engineering to determine that the MetaSwitch VP3500 is suitable for deployment in Alaska. The trial at Yukon is currently underway with live subscribers being served by the VP3500 following RUS approved guidelines.
For over 50 years, the Rural Utilities Service has been promoting universal service in rural America through targeted lending and technical advice. RUS, a service of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), provides long-term financing that enables rural service providers to purchase approved, tested and certified telecommunications equipment for the improvement and expansion of telecommunications service in rural areas.
"The RUS stamp of approval is what many rural carriers are looking for when selecting new switching equipment," said Brent Wilson, Principal Analyst at Current Analysis. "MetaSwitch's unique ability to offer both voice over packet and legacy POTS services from the same switch, combined with RUS approval, will make the VP3500 even more attractive for forward-thinking service providers."
The MetaSwitch VP3500 is the leading broadband-enabled Next Generation Class 5 Switch in North America, with over 30 deployments, and support for GR-303, VoATM and VoIP as well as advanced Web-based subscriber services. Service providers are able to simultaneously serve customers in multiple calling areas with over 80 Class 5 features and services. The MetaSwitch VP3500 is easy to deploy and scales from 400 to over 250,000 subscribers in a single rack.
About MetaSwitch
MetaSwitch, a division of privately held Data Connection, is the result of 21 years of experience supplying leading-edge technology to the telecommunications industry. Data Connection's track record of consistent profitability ensures long-term commitment to product development and customer support. The widely deployed MetaSwitch VP3500 Next Generation Class 5 Switch offers service providers an immediate solution for broadband (VoIP and/or VoATM) and POTS service and a future-proof "softswitch" architecture for enhanced applications.
MetaSwitch has offices in Alameda, CA, Dallas, TX and Reston, VA in the US and London, Chester and Edinburgh in the UK.
For more information, see www.\b metaswitch\b0 .com.
Data Connection and MetaSwitch are trademarks of Data Connection Limited and Data Connection Corporation. Brands and products referenced herein are the trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.