MARTINSRIED/MUNICH, Germany and MAHWAH, N.J., June 28, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- ADVA Optical Networking and partner TGC Global today announced that the United Nations Federal Credit Union (UNFCU) has leveraged TGC Global professional services in deploying ADVA's Fiber Service Platform (FSP) 2000. The solution provides scalable, high-speed Ethernet services among four metropolitan New York sites and will support both Ethernet services and Fiber Channel storage applications to a disaster recovery facility in New Jersey. After thorough analysis together with TGC Global, UNFCU selected the cost-effective flexibility of ADVA's Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) technology. ADVA and TGC Global were able to meet very challenging deployment milestones and launch the new network without disruption of service to UNFCU's 230 end users.
UNFCU provides a broad array of financial products and services to meet the unique needs of the staff of the United Nations, its affiliated agencies, their families and retirees globally. With assets of more than $1.9 billion, it is the 26th largest of approximately 10,000 credit unions in the United States. Until the new network was implemented, UNFCU's headquarters and two branches were linked by point-to-point, 1.44Mbit/s T1 connections. The new service improves application performance for users and speeds daily data backups. Users experienced poor application performance and long delays for daily data backups.
"ADVA and TGC Global presented a compelling alternative to legacy TDM (Time Division Multiplexing) services by deploying fiber to each of the facilities and then converging data, voice, and storage applications via WDM technology. The long-term economics favored the fiber/WDM solution, and it offered not only unprecedented secure performance for today but also tremendous operational flexibility for tomorrow," said Robert Fallon, Vice President Information Technology for UNFCU. "The biggest challenge was meeting our schedule. Fiber was deployed and lit between two of the sites within 90 days of the contract signing last summer, and all four sites were live by the middle of February. ADVA and TGC Global hit every milestone."
ADVA's FSP 2000 supports Private Branch Exchange (PBX) to PBX communications over transparent wavelengths and Gigabit Ethernet data applications among UNFCU's four metro New York sites. Later this year, UNFCU will launch a new remote data center in New Jersey, and the FSP 2000 will be used to transport Gigabit Ethernet and Fibre Channel applications to strengthen the credit union's business continuity strategy.
"Financial institutions have been among the most eager adopters of our WDM solutions from the start, and we are pleased that we were able to collaborate with TGC Global to meet UNFCU's challenge," said Brian P. McCann, Chief Marketing & Strategy Officer at ADVA Optical Networking. "The FSP 2000 delivers superior performance and flexibility at an attractive total cost of ownership. It will enable UNFCU to seamlessly add new sites and protocols without disruption, as business needs dictate."
The ADVA FSP 2000 is a Coarse/Dense WDM (C/DWDM) system specifically designed for enterprises requiring a flexible, cost-effective system to multiplex and transport data, storage, voice and video applications between 8Mbit/s and 10Gbit/s. Enterprise customers use the FSP 2000 to expand the reach and density of their network applications. With parallel use of WDM and TDM technology, up to 512 applications can be transported over one single fiber pair. More information about the FSP 2000 and key applications can be found on ADVA's web site, www.advaoptical.com.
ABOUT UNFCU
UNFCU is a cooperative, financial institution with more than US $1.9 billion in assets, which has served the financial needs of the United Nations community since 1947. UNFCU offers a wide array of products and services to its members who currently number more than 65,000 in 210 countries and territories around the world. Membership is open to staff of the UN, affiliated agencies, retirees and their families. UNFCU is headquartered in New York City and has liaison offices in Geneva, Switzerland, Vienna, Austria and Nairobi, Kenya.
The National Association of Federal Credit Unions (NAFCU) named UNFCU the 2003 Federal Credit Union of the Year based on its performance, innovative products, outstanding member service and community outreach. UNFCU also received the CUNA Mutual Group and CUNA Lending Council 2003 Credit Union Excellence in Mortgage Lending Award in the large asset category and NAFCU's 2004 Innovation Showcase Award. More information is available on the UNFCU Website at www.unfcu.org.
ABOUT TGC GLOBAL
TGC Global Inc. is a premier business consulting and technology services firm focused on achieving business results for its customers through the application of state-of-the-art technology solutions. Today, trusted and highly-skilled TGC consultants partner with Global 2000 Organizations in the areas of education, finance, government, healthcare, and retail to leverage existing and new infrastructures, and maximize return on investment. Founded in 1999, TGC Global Inc. is headquartered in New York City with global support capabilities through its offices in Europe, Asia, Africa, and North America. For more information visit us at www.tgc-global.com.
ABOUT ADVA OPTICAL NETWORKING
ADVA Optical Networking (FSE:ADV) is a leading global provider of optical networking solutions for rapid and cost-effective provisioning of high-speed data, storage, voice, and video services in the metropolitan area. ADVA's carrier-class Fiber Service Platform (FSP) product portfolio is explicitly designed to enhance services, simplify networks, and reduce the total cost of ownership. ADVA's solutions have been deployed at over 80 carriers and several thousand enterprises worldwide. ADVA's products are sold through an international network of blue-chip distribution partners in addition to its own direct sales force.
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