Westell Technologies, Inc., a leading provider of broadband access products, gateways and conferencing services, announced UltraLine ^TMII, a new family of advanced home networking routers for delivering IPTV and video to homes across the country.

Westell's new UltraLine II high-performance router line with enhanced software is designed to support secure, high-quality, multicast IP video delivery. In response to service providers' needs for flexible WAN access technology, Westell has developed three UltraLine II models, each supporting a different method of high-speed broadband delivery. Models include:

• UltraLine IIe - Ethernet WAN (for direct fiber connections)
• UltraLine IIb - Bonded ADSL WAN
• UltraLine IIv - VDSL WAN

All UltraLine II models give service providers a wide means of delivering connectivity to a consumer's broadband-enabled devices, including IP video set top boxes or digital recorders. In addition to an intelligent Ethernet switch, UltraLine II includes a digital coaxial connector. This allows any UltraLine II gateway to be connected directly to the consumer's existing in-home coaxial cabling for reliable delivery of 100Mbps+ of data and IP video with minimal cost or disruption to the customer's home. Each UltraLine II model also contains a best-in-class, 802.11g wireless access point to deliver wireless networking throughout the home.

In addition to offering a variety of easy-to-deploy WAN and LAN connectivity options, the UltraLine II provides advanced software and routing capabilities critical to the reliable delivery of high-quality video content over the broadband network. For example, the product line supports intelligent IGMP functions for efficient management of video streams, as well as an innovative combination of Quality of Service (QoS) features and configurations. These features are supported by a highly optimized architecture capable of routing the broadband network to the local network at speeds in excess of 80Mbps.

"The UltraLine II line permits service providers to offer a reliable, high performance means to deliver IP Video and other IP services throughout the home without new in-house wiring," said Scott Voegele, Product Line Director for Westell's Consumer Market segment in the Customer Networking Equipment (CNE) business. "We are very excited to offer service providers the opportunity to deliver lucrative video services with the confidence of deploying innovative technology developed by Westell," Voegele said.