MRV achieves RUS acceptance for OptiSwitch product line

NOVEMBER 16, 2009 -- MRV Communications Inc. says its OptiSwitch 900 demarcation series (OS900) and OptiSwitch 9000 aggregation series (OS9000) have qualified for technical acceptance based upon the standards of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Utilities Service (RUS). MRV offers a full line of packet-optical transport (P-OTS), Carrier Ethernet, 40G networking, and out-of-band networking products.

RUS oversees a multibillion dollar budget designed to encourage the availability of telecommunication services in rural or underserved areas. This RUS endorsement means that rural independent telephone operating companies (IOCs) will qualify for a subsidization of their fiber-optic transport roll-outs if they deploy MRV's OptiSwitch devices. To be technically certified, equipment must meet the USDA Rural Development's standards for a variety of hazards including corrosion, weather, fire, earthquake, and vandalism.

MRV's OS900 demarcation and OS9000 aggregation families are compact Carrier Ethernet switching platforms. The OS900 demarcation series enables premium Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF) manageable Ethernet services with traffic management that gives carriers the ability to differentiate their service portfolio and maintain strict service-level agreements (SLAs) in the last mile. With comprehensive operations, administration, and maintenance functions (OAM), the OS900 series can provide network fault and performance management at the network demarcation point to reduce operating expenses by up to 75% in some cases, claims the manufacturer. This reduction of opex is achieved through embedded multilayer diagnostic tools from the physical layer such as optical and electrical cable faults, power fault (dying gasp IEEE802.3ah), turn-up throughput tests with integrated RFC2544, and per-service layer OAM (IEEE 802.1ag/ITU-T Y.1731 and IP-SLA) to measure connectivity and performance (latency, jitter, and loss) over Layer 2 and Layer 3 VPNs.

The OS9000 aggregation series offers a range of aggregation models for first- and second-mile fiber-optic infrastructure. The equipment also includes optical modularity with WDM technology integration to address fiber-optimized transport for business and residential services in first- and second-mile provider networks.

"With the Broadband Initiatives Program enacted earlier this year allocating $2.5 billion to be awarded to build broadband infrastructure in rural areas, RUS acceptance is more important than ever," says Noam Lotan, chief executive officer of MRV Communications. "This RUS acceptance certifies our entire first-mile Carrier Ethernet solution and I am thrilled to see that MRV is able to be a part of this critical initiative."


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