Occam Networks Seeks Cutting Edge
By Evan Blackwell
from the April 16, 2001 issue of Broadband Week
It's not your average, everyday telecom startup company that gets its name from the works of a 14th century philosopher.
With an eye to the principles set forth by William of Occam in his "Occam's Razor," two-year-old Occam Networks launched itself and its first line of networking products to the public on April 2. According to Russ Sharer, Occam's vice president of marketing, the Occam's Razor guideline that the simplest solution usually turns out to be the best is the company's core belief.
"We saw a need. It was the desire of service providers to bring broadband to as many people as possible," Sharer said. "ILECs need a platform they can deploy that can scale up, and do it in a cost effective way on one network."
Hence the creation of Occam's new Broadband Loop Carrier (BLCs) network gear. The product combines the functionality of a digital loop carrier (DLC), a digital subscriber line access multiplexer, a media gateway and a loop tester into one environmentally-hardened platform. The BLCs can support POTS, VoDSL, VoIP and data. Occam says the product provides up to 64Gbps of capacity and utilizes T-1, ATM or Gigabit ethernet as transport to the central office.
"We can use Gigabit ethernet as the backhaul technology," Sharer says. "The cost to deploy is less, and there significantly greater bandwidth."
Occam, which is based in Santa Barbara, Calif., seems to be pitching a dream solution for incumbent carriers. In particular, the company is preaching about the flexibility of the BLCs, a feature that should play well in the industry. The BLCs can interface with existing DLCs to add DSL functionality, thereby letting carriers transition from current network infrastructure to a new architecture while still utilizing their original investment.
Two independent telcos, Kansas-based Rural Telephone and Pennsylvania-based Armstrong Telephone Company, joined Occam's trial program for the BLCs last November. Both companies say they are overwhelmed by the success of the product.
"We've worked with other startups in the past, and Occam has seemed to be much more organized. When they say they're going to get something done, they do it," says Shane Broyles, a research and development coordinator at Rural Telephone. "When they arrived on scene to install their equipment, it was a two to three hour process. It really was very simple."
Simplicity and quick deployment are certainly traits that will appeal to carriers. Another attribute that could serve Occam well, especially in the independent telco market, is its willingness to tailor the BLCs toward specific needs of the carriers out in rural areas. Both Rural Telephone and Armstrong have become interesting case studies for Occam.
Rural Telephone and Armstrong had unique requests for the equipment in its remote COs. Rural needed Occam's box to compatible with its older AFC carriers. Armstrong's proprietary remote terminals forced the company to look for a solution that would allow it to migrate from a proprietary to a generic remote solution, capable of offering DSL services. In both cases, the customer said Occam delivered the right solution.
"They built a box to fit in our remote terminals, without having to deploy new locations," Broyles said. "We're now G.lite capable, and we wouldn't have been before without great expense."
Since the company was formed, Occam has generated around $41 million in private funding from an investor group that includes Norwest Venture Partners and The Anschutz Group. But the company claims that funding was just a start, and its BLCs have the ability to compete with Alcatel and AFC in the CO equipment space. They'll continue targeting the rural independent telcos, as well as other ILECs.
"They seem to have solved a need in the space they're after," says Claudia Bacco, an analyst with Telechoice. "What's been holding up the market in many cases for service providers has been finding a product that works with the equipment they already have and doesn't require a change out. That's why Occam's product could be really successful."
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