Nistica announces partnerships with NTT Electronics, Cyan

Wavelength-selective switch (WSS) vendor Nistica, a Fujikura subsidiary (see “Fujikura to acquire WSS vendor Nistica”), has signed a pair of development deals. One, with NTT Electronics (NEL), will target twin WSS products for route-and-select architectures. The second, with packet-optical transport systems vendor Cyan, is a joint development agreement to build high-capacity line cards that provide multi-degree reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexing (ROADM) capabilities.

The first agreement will see Nistica, NEL, and Fujikura jointly development multiple twin WSS modules optimized for 100-Gbps channels and future superchannel formats. Fujikura Fiber Optics Vietnam, Fujikura’s manufacturing subsidiary, will produce the modules once design and development are completed.

“NEL has commercialized optical and electronics components based on key innovations from NTT. Innovation should emerge when different technologies are harmonized. I am expecting that this collaboration will expand the product portfolio of NEL before long,” said Dr. Hiroshi Yoshimura, president and CEO, NTT Electronics.

“Joint development efforts that bring together diverse skills are critical in meeting customer needs,” added Takamasa Kato, chairman of Nistica’s board of directors and Fujikura executive vice president. “Fujikura’s established manufacturing systems will ease the flow of these high-end optical modules into the market in record time.”

Meanwhile, Nistica also will combine its WSS with an intelligent optical layer to deliver to Cyan single-slot integrated line cards that provide two-, four-, or eight-degree connectivity. Fabrinet (NYSE: FN) will supply printed circuit board assemblies, while Fujikura Fiber Optics Vietnam will again assemble the line cards.

“The combination of our unified control plane, our recently announced 100G coherent transponders, and this expanded multi-degree ROADM architecture will accelerate the bandwidth virtualization trends we are witnessing in software-defined networks,” said Michael Hatfield, Cyan’s president.

“Nistica is committed to improving operational efficiency via our cost-optimized optical solutions. We are excited to offer Cyan double the capacity in a single slot,” remarked Ashish Vengsarkar, Nistica CEO. “Line cards allow us to fully utilize our in-house capabilities while leveraging synergies from Fujikura’s optical portfolio of products and Fabrinet’s proven abilities in delivering high volume printed circuit board assemblies.”

For more information on wavelength-selective switches and suppliers, visit the Lightwave Buyer’s Guide.