For Immediate Release
1200 G Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20005 202/628-6380 202/393-5453 (fax)	Contact: John Bernhards Director of Public Relations Phone: 202/434-8850 E-mail: jbernhards@atis.org

Protection Against Network Harm is Focus of New Technical Requirements for SHDSL, HDSL2 and HDSL4 Modems Released by Standards Committee T1

December 17, 2001, Washington, D.C. - Accredited Standards Committee T1 (Committee T1), sponsored by the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS), announced the release of Technical Requirements for SHDSL, HDSL2, and HDSL4 modems, for purposes of protection against harm to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN).

The Technical Requirements, developed by Committee T1's Technical Subcommittee T1E1 are entitled, "SHDSL, HDSL2, HDSL4 Digital Subscriber Line Terminal Equipment to Prevent Harm to the Telephone Network - T1.TRQ.6-2001." The Technical Requirements are intended for use by equipment manufacturers, testing laboratories and carriers to design, test and connect these types of DSL equipment to the network.

Committee T1 recently submitted T1.TRQ.6-2001 to the Administrative Council for Terminal Attachments (ACTA), for adoption and publication as technical criteria for customer premises equipment. ACTA is the council for Part 68 certification requirements and administration formed earlier this year, following the FCC's decision to privatize its Part 68 responsibilities. A 30-day public notice of intent by ACTA to adopt T1.TRQ.6-2001 was released December 7 and made available on the ACTA web site at www.part68.org.

Upon adoption by the ACTA, compliance of relevant terminal equipment with Committee T1's T1.TRQ.6-2001 and other applicable technical criteria will qualify such equipment for connection to the PSTN. As mandated by the FCC in its December 2000 Report and Order directing the establishment of ACTA, manufacturers are required to ensure that terminal equipment meets relevant technical criteria adopted by ACTA before introducing products in the marketplace.

"The anticipated acceptance and publication of these Technical Requirements in less than four months proves that the FCC's decision to privatize the Part 68 technical requirements and establish ACTA was very forward looking," said T1E1 Chairman Ed Eckert of Catena Networks. "The waiver process previously used by the Commission to assess and register new terminal equipment technologies typically took between ten and 20 months. Committee T1's flexible procedures and timely due process have yielded a model process for developing future technical requirements for new terminal equipment technologies seeking permission to connect to the network."

T1.TRQ.6-2001 was developed by Committee T1's Working Group T1E1.4 Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) Access, in cooperation and joint-session with the Telecommunications Industry Association's (TIA) Engineering Subcommittee TR41.9 Technical Regulatory Considerations. The members of Working Group T1E1.4 develop technical standards and reports for many DSL technologies including ADSL, ISDN, HDSL, HDSL2, HDSL4, SHDSL RADSL and VDSL as well as Spectrum Management upon which TRQ.6 was based.

The document is available from the ATIS online Document Center at www.atis.org.

About Standards Committee T1

Standards Committee T1 develops American National Standards, technical reports, and technical requirements for telecommunications services, network interconnection, interoperability, and performance. Committee T1 provides technical input to the United States Department of State supporting U.S. participation in international standards bodies. Committee T1 is a founding member of the Global Standards Collaboration (GSC) group of regional standards development organizations and works closely with the FCC on network reliability issues. Committee T1 is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). More information is available via the Committee T1 Web site at www.t1.org.

About ATIS

The Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS) is a member company organization that is the leader for standards and operating procedures for the telecommunications industry. More than 1,500 experts from over 400 telecommunications companies participate in ATIS' 19 committees, forums, and Incubator Solutions programs, where work focus includes network interconnection standards, number portability, improved data transmission, wireless communications, Internet telephony, toll-free access, and order and billing issues. For more information, visit the ATIS web site www.atis.org.

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