Major Upgrade Includes Plans for
Nationwide Deployment of Full Performance OC-192c
Ashburn, Va., March, 28, 2000. UUNET, a WorldCom company (NASDAQ:WCOM), today announced plans to upgrade its U.S. network to full, line-rate OC-192c, or 10 gigabits per second, speeds. The company today is activating OC-192c circuits with Multi Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) technology between three of the company's major hubs located in Chicago, New York, and Washington D.C. This major upgrade marks the first known deployment of OC-192c with MPLS in a true production environment.
Using Juniper Networks? new M160 Internet backbone routers, this upgrade will quadruple the company's current network speed of OC-48c and allows UUNET to carry commercial traffic at the highest Internet Protocol (IP) transmission speeds available today.
"OC-192c has arrived!" said Kevin Boyne, senior vice president of global network services at UUNET. "Business customers can now enjoy the benefits of full OC-192c transmission rates in the core of our network."
Deployment Details
UUNET plans to expand its rollout of OC-192c/STM-64 circuits running MPLS to include Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Sacramento in the third quarter of this year, with other major U.S. hubs to follow throughout 2000.
The company will continue to implement MPLS technology on these links to allow for sophisticated traffic engineering capabilities on a single integrated platform. MPLS addresses performance optimization of operational networks and allows UUNET to deliver high quality service to its customers.
"UUNET is an industry leader in deploying network technology that offers the most reliable and robust Internet transmissions over high-bandwidth connections," said Courtney Munroe, program director at IDC. "UUNET's OC-192c announcement conveys the fact that carriers can now provide the most advanced platform for customers who are pushing the bandwidth envelope."
The company recently completed activating OC-48/STM-16 links throughout Europe and the Americas. Plans for international deployment of OC-192c/STM-64 are currently under development.
Juniper Networks Equipment
For its OC-192c deployment, UUNET is using Juniper Network's new M160 routers, the first product to offer wire-rate OC-192c/STM-64 support cards, handling an aggregate bandwidth of 160 Gigabits per second (Gbps). The routers were tested in an initial beta environment and were selected and certified after UUNET's rigorous standards for scalability and reliability were satisfied.
"The combination of the industry's first full performance OC-192c/STM-64 interfaces and the advanced infrastructure of the UUNET network will enable their customers to keep pace with the Internet growth curve," noted Scott Kriens, chief executive officer and president of Juniper Networks. "We look forward to working with UUNET as they continue their OC-192c deployment plans."
