Zarlink Semiconductor Inc. and Tollgrade Communications have announced the successful interoperability of a collaborative line test solution designed to help telecom carriers improve triple-play service reliability while reducing operating costs. This new solution follows a previous collaboration that linked Zarlink’s SLIC-based line test LineCare software solution with the Tollgrade service assurance platform.
Combining the embedded signaling and measurement capabilities of Zarlink’s VoiceEdge VE792 Next Generation Carrier Chipset (NGCC) with the test analysis and plain-language actionable results provided by Tollgrade’s recently introduced Stratum service assurance platform, the joint solution will allow voice access equipment manufacturers to easily integrate a highly interoperable solution with equivalent performance to a traditional test head. This feature will be available with the first release of Stratum, which is expected to be generally available by the end of the year.
With this new line test solution, carriers will be able to routinely and remotely monitor and test access lines to detect and repair issues before a customer experiences a problem. The remote functionality serves to shorten issue response time and reduce costly truck rolls, which can result in dramatically lower customer churn rates and operating expenses, according to the companies.
Tollgrade testing solutions, embedded in over 250 million access lines worldwide, support qualification, provisioning and service assurance processes for leading service providers.
