Juniper Networks last week launched a backbone router with eight 10Gbps circuits, which it claims is capable of routing data four times faster than its predecessors.

The M160 is the third model in the family of Juniper routers and is designed to be an internet backbone machine, aimed at the telco and ISP markets. The M160 supports eight 10 Gbps STM 64/OC 192c interfaces.

Carey Gray, analyst at Butler Group, said the offering would also benefit users by "giving them a second source of kit in the market by providing competition for Cisco".

Tony Morrish, EMEA director at Juniper, said: "Last year 10 gigabits would have been overkill. But the amount of fibre available this year has grown dramatically as enterprises roll out IP infrastructures."

Each STM 64/OC 192c interface connects to a clear channel 10Gbps circuit offering a throughput of 160Gbps and a forwarding rate of 160Mbps.

The router also supports SDH/Sonet, Gigabit Ethernet, ATM and channelised OC 12 to DS 3 interfaces.

Networking giant Cisco has announced that it has a similar product in the pipeline but has not yet confirmed a release date.

Gray said that the launch gave Juniper a good head start over Cisco.

"Juniper might be able to weaken Cisco's monopoly with the possibility of knocking five per cent off its rival's market share," he said.

Dutch communication company KPNQwest said last week it will take delivery of the M160 this week to deploy it in 15 European cities, including London, Amsterdam, Paris and Frankfurt.

Other companies which will deploy the router include Cable & Wireless and the National Centre for Science Information Systems which claims to be a Cisco-free company.

The router costs $125,000 (£78,125) but will cost three times that amount with custom configurations for service providers.