Businesses can now add up to 100Mbps of data to existing voice-grade wiring and more than triple service reach up to 365 meters

HUNTSVILLE, Ala.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 4, 2012-- ADTRAN^®, Inc., (NASDAQ:ADTN), a leading provider of cloud connectivity, enterprise communications and virtual mobility solutions, today announced the introduction of ActivReach™, the industry’s first Ethernet technology to support all grades of wiring, extend service reach over three times beyond the limits of standard Ethernet and deliver high-speed voice, data and Power over Ethernet (PoE) all from a single device. The initial application for ActivReach is in ADTRAN’s new NetVanta^® 1535P Gigabit Ethernet switch which enables businesses and service providers maximum flexibility in designing networks across long distances of CAT3, CAT5 and CAT6 cable. This industry-breakthrough capability allows millions of businesses around the world to easily utilize their existing voice-grade wiring infrastructure to access IP-based voice, hosted services, cloud-based unified communications (UC), and deliver data networking speeds at 100Mbps while transitioning their business towards a Gigabit future.

Many older office buildings, schools, retail stores, hotels, hospitals and distribution facilities rely solely on CAT3 or voice-grade cabling infrastructure for their legacy phone systems. However, voice-grade cable is unsuitable for traditional Ethernet, limiting businesses’ ability to take advantage of the latest IP voice and data network capabilities. Traditionally, businesses have been forced to run new cable to enable Voice over IP (VoIP) and cutting-edge UC services. However, with new cabling upgrade costs running at hundreds of dollars per drop, this option becomes cost-prohibitive for many of these companies.

“Our business customers that reside in these older buildings have told us time and time again that re-cabling costs are a significant barrier in their ability to adopt our hosted service offerings. Despite the overall total cost-of-ownership benefits that VoIP can offer them, they back away from the service because the initial investment is just too much,” said Mark Stappenbeck, senior manager of business development for Windstream-Allworx. “ADTRAN’s ActivReach-enabled NetVanta 1535P Gigabit Ethernet switch delivers 100 Mbps over existing cable plant infrastructure, allowing us to offer flawless voice quality without impacting the existing data network. All of our customers can finally take advantage of the complete set of benefits that our hosted VoIP and UC services can offer.”

ActivReach is an ideal solution for a broad variety of industries and verticals, including hospitality. The Best Western Rivertree Inn in Clarkston, Wash., for example, recently completed a hotel expansion which resulted in different communications infrastructure and service capabilities throughout the hotel property—the old wing was only equipped with legacy voice-grade copper while the new wing had CAT3-grade cabling. The innovative design of ADTRAN’s NetVanta 1535P utilizes standard 10/100/1000Base-T Ethernet or ActivReach for extended power and connectivity in a variety of cabling environments. This design accommodated and blended the two disparate infrastructures to provide the hotel with a complete solution for flexible data connectivity up to 100Mbps.

“Until recently, we were not able to provide all of the data services that our guests have come to expect from the hotel industry. We needed to provide a consistent guest experience, regardless of which room they were in, and we were unable to do that before,” said Ella Dilling, owner, Best Western Rivertree Inn. “ADTRAN’s ActivReach technology has enabled us to offer high-speed data access across the entire property, while lowering our overall operating expenses for the hotel because we were able to avoid the costly installation of new cable.”

“The NetVanta 1535P with ActivReach is currently the only solution that can realistically provide a path for a Gigabit future while removing the traditional limitations of existing voice-grade wiring,” said Patrick Price, product manager for ADTRAN’s Ethernet Switching product line. “With ActivReach, businesses—regardless of their location, cabling infrastructure or IT budget—will now be able to leverage a cost-effective solution for both voice and desktop connectivity in a way they have not been able to do before.”

The NetVanta 1535P has 24 copper ports and 4 fiber ports for uplinks and stacking. Each copper port can be configured for speeds of 10/100 Mbps in ActivReach mode at distances up to 365 meters (1,200 ft) or standard IEEE 10/100/1000Base-T Ethernet at distances up to 100 meters (328 ft). Therefore, infrastructure upgrades can be performed incrementally and the same switch port previously configured for ActivReach can be transitioned to Gigabit networking speeds once new cabling is put in place, maximizing total cost of ownership. List price for the NetVanta 1535P is $4,695 with availability starting in early October 2012. To learn more, please visit www.adtran.com/activreach.

About ADTRAN

ADTRAN, Inc. is a leading global provider of networking and communications equipment. ADTRAN’s products enable voice, data, video and Internet communications across a variety of network infrastructures. ADTRAN solutions are currently in use by service providers, private enterprises, government organizations, and millions of individual users worldwide. For more information, please visit www.adtran.com.

Source: ADTRAN, Inc.

Connect2 Communications, Inc. for ADTRAN, Inc.
Ashley Baster, 919-435-9112
ashley@connect2comm.com