4/1/2008 -- Late last month, Juniper Networks struck again, announcing new hardware and software features designed to bolster its support for mobile backhaul networks.

The announcement was a shot, more or less, across Cisco Systems Inc.'s bow, in that Cisco has also made a lot f noise about its own fixed mobile convergence, next-gen IP/MPLS, RAN aggregation and access offerings -- as well as its service exchange framework for mobile solutions.

The bad news, from Cisco's perspective, is that Juniper announced what amounts to a fairly credible mobile backhaul stack.

Specifically, Juniper unveiled the new BX 7000 Multi-Access Gateway for cell sites, M-series circuit emulation interfaces for aggregation sites, enhancements to JUNOScope, and new zero-touch deployment capabilities, the sum total of which should ship by the fourth quarter of this year.

Analysts see the announcement as a very big deal for Juniper.

"[T]he new solution addresses three critical network challenges facing mobile operators as they build out their networks to support emerging broadband services," said Glen Hunt, a principal analyst for carrier infrastructure with consultancy Current Analysis. "The new BX 7000 Multi-Access Gateway addresses cell site aggregation for the transport of all generations of mobile traffic over Ethernet. The new M-series Circuit Emulation Physical Interface Cards provide aggregation site support to enable operators to scale their access networks to better support significant increases in T1/E1 traffic driven by applications such as CDMA-ED-DO services. In addition, new JUNOScope enhancements provide end-to-end management and the capability to offer zero-touch deployments."

Juniper's new announcements help flesh out its end-to-end mobile infrastructure stack, Hunt continued.

"The BX7000 enables Juniper to address cell site aggregation and to provide a bridge between current services and IP-based services by supporting TDM and ATM pseudowire, ATM-IMA, MPLS and GRE," he continued. "With the growth in mobile backhaul infrastructures, Juniper needed to offer a more complete solution or miss a significant revenue opportunity as operators build out their backhaul networks to support high bandwidth services."

For this reason, according to Hunt, Juniper's announcement will have a significant impact in the mobile backhaul space.

"Juniper has garnered a strong presence in mobile core and aggregation sites, which it is poised to leverage with its solution," he said. "[O]perators can now leverage a fully integrated end-to-end solution from a Tier 1 vendor that offers management efficiencies, the scale needed to address emerging bandwidth needs, and the preservation of existing 2G/3G assets."

Not that Juniper's announcement is all doom and gloom for competitors such as Cisco, Hunt conceded.

"Cisco should highlight its portfolio offering for mobile operators, which includes fixed mobile convergence, extensive next-generation IP/MPLS, RAN aggregation and access, and its service exchange framework for mobile solutions," he said. "Cisco should also show how it can leverage and optimize current mobile infrastructures while evolving toward an all-IP model." --Stephen Swoyer