MAIDENHEAD (U.K.),  May 8.

Trend Communications has announced MiniCheck, MC2+, a new low-cost tester for quick and easy ADSL, ADSL2, ADSL2+ and RE-ADSL2 testing.

Trend announced a new low-cost tester with multi-technology capabilities earlier this spring. The tester, MC2+, increases the productivity of our customers when installing and maintaining ADSL, ADSL2, ADSL2+ and RE-ADSL2 technologies.

Small and Efficient

The MC2+ is a small hand-held tester designed to efficiently troubleshoot and maintain equipment on ADSL, ADSL2, ADSL2+ and RE-ADSL2 lines.

All the recent ITU-T and ANSI standards for ADSL, ADSL2, ADSL2+ and RE-ADSL2 are supported, so one tester is enough to verify all the layers of any ADSL network, automatically, in one single test.

Stand-Alone or Hosted

The tester can operate in two modes, stand-alone and hosted.

In stand-alone mode the tester automatically performs a sequence of tests to verify the ADSL connection.

In hosted mode the MC2+ operates connected to a PC and provides quantitative information on the connection.

Quick and Easy to Use

The user can create, store and retrieve up to 10 testing configurations.

The MC2+ will automatically choose
a configuration to match the network under test, saving precious setup time.

The Ideal Field Tool

This light and portable tester can be both battery and mains powered, giving the field technicians the flexibility they need when testing in different situations.

Thanks to the low cost of MC2+ our customers can purchase it in large volumes to provide each field engineer with a tester of his own and forget about sharing testers.

Learn more about MC2+:

• Announcement letter
• Brochure
• Multimedia
• Product page

LONDON (U.K.),  May 5.

Trend's new family of optical testers is designed for the new age of optical communications.

Trend has announced its new family of optical testers, featuring Optical Loss Test Set, Optical Attenuator and Optical Power Meter.

These easy-to-operate testers have a very long battery life and a rugged design, with their field-replaceable optical connectors protected by snap-on covers.

Optical Loss Test Set

Trend's Optical Loss Test Set is used by field technicians all over the world to identify optical fibre and characterize the loss in optical communications networks.

This handy test set enables the user to simultaneously configure all the testers participating in the measurement, and it has a large memory capacity to store results.

Optical Attenuator

The Optical Attenuator features precise configurable attenuation to optical links in the range of 2 to 60 dB.

Optical Attenuator is used for link simulation and optical margin testing, and it's the perfect companion for any optical network tester.

Both Optical Loss Test Set and Optical Attenuator include free remote control software.

Optical Power Meter

Trend's Optical Power Meter measures power and loss in optical links, and it is used worldwide by both field technicians and laboratory personnel.

The tester includes an InGaAs receiver with exceptional accuracy.

More information: 

Optical Attenuator

Optical Loss Test Set

Optical Power Meter

UNTERSCHLEIßHEIM (Germany),  May 9. Trend has been actively present at many events around the world.

During the past months, Trend Communications has been actively participating in many events around the world.

TechniExpo 2005

In November we were at TechniExpo 2005, Madrid, to meet our new and existing customers.

Trend's full product line was on show, with special emphasis on our solutions for Gigabit Ethernet and Next Generation SDH / Ethernet over SDH testing.

Trend’s International Marketing Manager, José M. Caballero, also gave a talk on Metro Ethernet roll-out.

CeBIT 2006

In March we were at CeBIT 2006 in Hanover, showcasing our new products for TriplePlay, ADSL, ADSL2, ADSL2+, RE-ADSL and optical communications (WDM).

This year, CeBIT, the World's largest IT trade fair, celebrated its 20th anniversary, and it was a real success: there were more than 450 000 visitors.

Trend was among the 6 000+ exhibitors that participated in the event, and we were pleased to take this opportunity to meet our existing customers and build new business relationships.

Convergence India 2006

Right after CeBIT Trend participated in the 14th Convergence India exhibition, held March 21 to 23 in New Delhi, India.

IIR Conference, Vienna

On April 24th we headed to Vienna, Austria, to take part in the IIR Telecoms & Technology conference on Next Generation SDH Packet Transition.

We gave a presentation on how to manage Ethernet services over the NG-SDH platform.

Technology Lectures in the Netherlands and Belgium

On April 25th we travelled to the Netherlands, and to Belgium the following day, to give a lecture on Quality-of-Service Verification of Metro Ethernet.

Seminars in Germany

During spring 2006 we have also organized several seminars in Germany about xDSL, ISDN and Gigabit Ethernet.

More to Come...

We are always on the road and actively present in many countries, so, do check out the Events section at our press centre regularly, to see where you can meet us.

More information:

• Triple Play Architectures (PDF)
• Triple Play Formats and Protocols (PDF)
• Carrier Ethernet Management (PDF)
• Trend's Seminars in Germany (in German)

BARCELONA (Spain),  May 2.

The financial and technological cycle of the telecoms industry is forcing manufacturers, carriers, operators and standards organizations to move towards a new type of network that reduces costs while still offering new services based on Ethernet.

Standards and industry bodies are working to achieve a Carrier Class Ethernet Service that meets customer requirements and makes a best-effort technology suitable for transporting voice, video and data.

Ethernet is efficient enough for many applications, because of the statistical multiplexing gain, but it has difficulties in controlling performance parameters. An important goal of next-generation packet technologies is to be able to ensure a specific Quality of Service (QoS)over packet-switched networks.

Next-Generation SDH seems to be the logical option for incumbent carriers, to migrate their existing optical network to a multiservice one. Ethernet is in an early stage of development for efficient optical transport, while SDH has a massive installed base.

A new generation of SDH nodes, known as Multiservice Provisioning Platform (MSPP), is offering a comprehensive combination of data packet and Time-Division Multiplexing (TDM) interfaces, optical physical layers, often based on C/DWDM, and a number of new functionalities to efficiently support TDM and packet traffic.

Ethernet can use the most remarkable features of SDH, including resiliency, reliability, scalability, built-in protection, management and rerouting.

As Ethernet is a solution suitable for many types of environments, it will inevitably be implemented in the near future. However, if what is needed is a guaranteed, tailored service with advanced controlling functions, the answer is Carrier Class, which supports Ethernet with QoS and Service-Level Agreements (SLA).

When Ethernet is extended beyond Local Area Networks (LAN), several solutions can be used. Which one to use depends on the requirements of the network, customer demand, installed base, whether there is any optical infrastructure, and if so, how much capacity does it have.

Financial issues cannot be ignored, either. The initial investment, the capital expenditure needed for network roll-out must be studied in detail. These factors are so significant that they are often more important than technical details when it comes to choosing the right solution for our business.

Read more.

PARIS (France),  May 9.

Trend's International Workshops turned out to be so popular that we decided to continue them throughout 2006.

In 2005 Trend organised a series of International Workshops about Next Generation SDH/SONET, Gigabit Ethernet and TriplePlay.

These workshops have become so popular that we have decided to continue organising them this year as well.

What Are These Workshops?

Trend's International Workshops are one-day sessions held in various countries around the world, and each workshop consists of two parts: an expert-lead technology training conference and a practical hands-on session.

Where Will They Be Held?

This year, we have already been to Amsterdam, Tunis and Paris, and we received very positive feedback on both occasions. "Thank you very much for the excellent presentation you gave to my customers. I 'm confident this high level of support will help develop our business in my area.", Sihem Haouala from Tunisie Test Et Mesure (TTM) commented.

Our next stop will be India (Delhi and Mumbai) and from there we will head to Madrid. Keep an eye on our press centre or contact us to know when you can find us in your city.

How Can I Participate?

If you would like to know more about Trend's workshops and their contents, check out the following information:

• Brochure
• Press Release

To participate as a delegate or organize a workshop in your country, contact us.