Nortel Telephony Customer Prism Takes on $19 Million of SONET, DWDM Gear

N/Ac. subsidiary Prism Communication Services Inc. (New York) has inked a contract worth $19 million with <%=company%> (Brampton, ON) to provide next-generation optical networking equipment. Prism plans to deploy Nortel Networks' OPTeraLH backbone system with 32 wavelength Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) carrying Internet traffic between Prism business centers in Chicago, Cleveland, New York City, Washington D.C., and Atlanta.

Prism's network already uses Nortel's Internet Telephony solutions to serve residential and business customers, based on an October 1999 $460 million contract. Prism has also selected Nortel's S/DMS TransportNode OC-48 equipment for tributary access to the network. The optical portfolio Prism selected enables scalability to terabit speeds.

Prism's network currently uses Nortel Networks' switching platform (DMS-500) and 1- Meg Modem technology over standard copper telephone wires, based on the October 1999 contract. Prism's flagship brand RED provides high-speed connectivity for customers to access the Internet at speeds up to 1.3 Mbps. This technology allows simultaneous voice and data transmission over the same copper loop with no signal interference.

Edited by Kristin Keiser