The Optical Gigabit Ethernet project demonstrates how metropolitan network operators can take advantage of multi-wavelength Dense Wave Division Multiplexing (DWDM), Gigabit Ethernet and broadband switching technologies to create new revenue-generating services.

Sponsored by network service providers British Telecom, France Telecom and Williams Communications, this TM Forum Catalyst project shows how tiered services are enabled through the availability of instrumentation in a new network infrastructure combined with service level agreement (SLA) reporting and quality of service (QoS) service billing.

The combined set of products and services being delivered in the Optical GigE Catalyst project creates a compelling solution that addresses the need of optical service providers and the services for which their subscribers are clamoring.  Benefits of the Optical GigE solution include:

• Integrated solution from the network to the back office, utilizing hardware MIB’s (management information bases) to provide network data
• Improvement in the flexibility and granularity of services and pricing plans for the service provider’s customers including proactive service recommendations
• Maximization of carrier’s existing optical infrastructure including immense improvements in data carrying capacity, management and efficiency
• Custom SLA management of Optical GigE networks with commensurate billing credits and adjustments based upon QoS
• Scalable bandwidth that is incrementally billable giving subscribers the flexibility to fluctuate the amount of bandwidth they need without incurring the long delays of upgrading to higher bandwidth
• Stronger competitive advantage with powerful service creation and service assurance capabilities at both the service provider and subscriber levels
• Reduction in provisioning times from weeks and months down to days and hours