Abstract

As telecommunications carriers seek to improve their cost structures for aggregating SONET rings in central offices, Multi - Service Core Aggregation Systems are emerging as a promising solution. A Multi-Service Core Aggregation System terminates and switches traffic between different vendor SONET add / drop multiplexers and multi - service provisioning platforms at various SONET rates (OC - 3, OC - 12 and oc - 48). It allows the carrier full visibility and management of these add / drop multiplexers and multi-service provisioning platforms though the Multi-Service Core Aggregation System as a SONET gateway network element. This paper describes the impact of the present method of operation on costs and provisioning time at Buckeye TeleSystem in Toledo, Ohio, discusses SONET ring aggregation as a solution that can reduce costs and improve provisioning times, and details the technical requirements for the solution. It also discusses the results of deploying a Multi - Service Core Aggregation System to provide SONET ring aggregation functionality for a Buckeye TeleSystem customer. Buckeye TeleSystem, a sister company to Buckeye CableSystem, operates more than 250 miles of fiber optic lines throughout the Northwest Ohio area for business telecommunications. Buckeye TeleSystem carries traffic over multi vendor SONET rings whose traffic is routed through in its central office by multi-service provisioning platforms or add/drop multiplexers.

© 2005 Optical Society of America