Tellabs this week unveiled a Metro Ethernet aggregation switch designed to extend services closer to end users.

The Tellabs 7300 Metro Ethernet switching line enables operators to deliver Carrier Ethernet services for business Ethernet access, infrastructure projects such as DSLAM aggregation and wireless backhaul applications, the company says. The first product in the line, the 2RU 7345 Ethernet Aggregation Switch, includes:

 Aggregation of up to 48 10/100/1000Mbps optical or electrical interfaces into 10Gigabit Ethernet uplinks.
 Temperature-hardening for deployment in uncontrolled environments.
 A redundant architecture for delivery of highly available services: redundant port interfaces, power supplies and control plane processors.
 An Ethernet feature set that supports traditional switched Ethernet applications and emerging connection-oriented applications.

Tellabs says the 7300 line complements its existing Carrier Ethernet offerings, such as the 7100 Optical Transport System and the 8800 Multiservice Router. It will go up against Alcatel-Lucent's 7450 Ethernet Services Switch and Ericsson's Redback SM 480, among others.

The 7345 Ethernet Aggregation Switch will be available in the first quarter of 2009. Pricing was not disclosed.