Mangrove Announces Piranha 600EX Pseudowire Transport Hub for 3G Wireless and Broadband Network Migration

New MetroMPLSTM family member combines TDM, ATM, Ethernet/IP and Optical technologies to provide the first integrated solution for migration of broadband services and the 3G RAN

WALLINGFORD, CT-June 2, 2005 - Mangrove Systems, the industry leader in pseudowire access, aggregation and transport, announces Piranha 600EX, the first integrated platform designed specifically for wireless and wireline operators to address the challenge of migrating between TDM, ATM and Ethernet/IP access networks.

Mangrove's MetroMPLS platforms enable wireless and wireline service providers to bridge the gap between today's incumbent technologies and the converged MPLS network of the future. The Piranha 600EX provides native support for high density, protected ATM IMA, PPP, Frame Relay and Ethernet service aggregation, in addition to pseudowire encapsulation, a dynamic MPLS control plane and multi-wavelength optical transport. Mangrove's solution provides end-to-end service management, along with the grooming, aggregation and optimization required for the access and metro infrastructure.

"Mobile wireless network operators face a complex migration challenge as they evolve from the second generation TDM access network through ATM to an Ethernet/IP based network all in the space of 5 years", said Keith Mumford, Executive Director Product Management and Marketing of Mangrove Systems. "During the same timeframe, bandwidth requirements will increase by a factor of 5 or more, yet the need to support existing applications will remain. Mangrove's solution is uniquely positioned to accommodate this migration by enabling three generations of technology to co-exist within a single, integrated radio access network."

"In the wireline community, broadband operators are facing a similar migration challenge, beginning to cap investment in ATM based DSLAMs and moving the customer base to Ethernet based DSL or PON equipment", said Jonathan Reeves, President and CEO of Mangrove Systems. "This migration is being driven by the need to deliver cost effective triple play solutions to a rapidly expanding customer base, but many Ethernet based DSL or PON systems lacks the robust QoS that ATM provided. The Piranha 600 and 600EX platforms provide powerful flow classification and QoS capabilities required for mixing video, voice and data applications in the same aggregation network."

The Piranha 600 platforms offer a number of technical innovations that position them for the unique challenges of broadband infrastructure migration. For example, the universal line card interfaces on the Piranha 600 and 600EX are configurable to offer TDM, ATM IMA or HDLC processing for Frame Relay, Ethernet and PPP under software control. Previous approaches have required individual line cards and a different control and management plane for each technology.

Mangrove's unique ATM IMA over MPLS pseudowire approach enables the wireless operator to deploy converged ATM access in support of 3GPP Release 99 and Release 4 without investing in legacy ATM core switching equipment. This re-use of the same MPLS technology present within the mobile core network provides a viable alternative to "islands of ATM" access and greatly simplifies the transition to the next-generation Ethernet and IP infrastructure specified by the 3GPP for the Release 5 and Release 6 IP UTRAN.

The Piranha 600 and 600EX are the first products in their class to offer dynamic pseudowire signaling with robust per flow traffic management, enabling Mangrove's customers to rapidly provision subscriber services over a shared infrastructure. The Piranha family, with its combined packet and circuit capability efficiently aggregates multi-service customer traffic over multiple transport networks, including SONET/SDH, Gigabit Ethernet and multi-wavelength fiber infrastructures. Packet layer multiplexing together with next generation SONET/SDH transport technology enables network operators to implement intelligent, efficient packet transport over a cost-optimized transmission network.

The Piranha 600 product family has been honored by SUPERCOMM as recipient of the top SUPERQuest award in the Optical Networking category for 2005. Mangrove will demonstrate its MetroMPLS solution at SUPERCOMM 2005, Booth #42046 and are featured in the 10 Hottest Technologies Pavilion, Booth #82015-T. SUPERCOMM, which is produced and managed by the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA), will be held at McCormick Place in Chicago, June 6 - 9.

About Mangrove Systems
Founded in 2002 by one of the industry's most experienced technology leadership teams, Mangrove is the industry leader in Pseudowire Access, Aggregation and Transport. Mangrove MetroMPLS(tm) platforms bridge the gap between TDM-based access and metro networks and the MPLS core. MetroMPLS platforms combine pseudowire, ATM, Ethernet and data-over-SONET/SDH technologies to integrate with existing networks and provide an elegant migration to a converged MPLS infrastructure. Mangrove is located in Wallingford, CT. For more information visit www.mangrovesystems.com

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