Hot off the press

360networks (Vancouver, British Columbia) will be the preferred provider of North American and transatlantic broadband network services for GiantLoop Network Inc. (Waltham, MA). The network-services alliance enables GiantLoop to extend its managed optical services between major metropolitan areas in North America and Europe. The contract could be worth as much as $175 million over the next four years. 360networks has also made a small equity investment in GiantLoop. In addition, GiantLoop has entered into an enterprise optical-networking alliance with Nortel Networks (Ontario). Enterprise optical networking aggregates data and storage networking protocols over fiber-optic networks that span campus, metropolitan, and inner-city geographies.

Greenlee Textron (Rockford, IL) has agreed to acquire Tempo Research Corp. (Vista, CA) to expand its growing presence in the telecommunications test market. The deal also includes a product line of multifunction test sets recently acquired by Tempo from Tektronix Inc.

Williams Communications (Tulsa, OK) has teamed with Equinix Inc. (Mountain View, CA) to offer a variety of network services within IBX centers. Per the agreement, Williams will make several of its services, including metro private line, metro wave services, and a range of high bandwidth offerings available in Equinix IBX centers in the Washington, DC, Los Angeles, Silicon Valley, Chicago, and Dallas areas.

IMC Networks (Foothill Ranch, CA) has signed a distribution agreement with Graybar (St. Louis, Mo), whereby Graybar will distribute IMC Networks' media-conversion and optical-networking products. Graybar will carry IMC Networks' standalone copper-to-fiber media converters and a variety of intelligent media and singlemode-to-multimode conversion products, including Gigabit and 10/100 copper-to-fiber converters. Graybar will also distribute IMC's fiber-optic repeaters.

Intel Corp. (Santa Clara, CA) and Power X Neworks Inc. (Santa Clara, CA) have agreed to work together on the development of technology to easily connect Intel's network processor with Power X's intelligent switch fabric. The companies aim to achieve interoperability between the Intel IXP1200 Network Processor and the Power X Networks TeraChannel switch-fabric subsystem.

Analog Devices Inc. (Norwood, MA) and Tellium Inc. (Oceanport, NJ) have entered into an agreement to develop a series of advanced MEMS chips. The chips will be used in Tellium's MEMS-based switching fabric for use in its Aurora Full Spectrum all-optical switch.

Aerie Networks (Denver) has contracted Ericsson (Stockholm, Sweden) to provide fiber-optic cable for its 20,000-mi U.S. broadband network. The contract is valued in excess of $300 million over three years.

Verizon Communications (Linthicum, MD) has selected Lucent Technologies Inc.'s (Murray Hill, NJ) WaveStar TDM 2.5-Gbit optical carrier-level OC-48 solution for deployment in the metropolitan New York area, designated the 132 LATA. The deployment will also include Lucent's DDM-2000, OC-3, and OC-12 SONET multiplexers. Lucent's Worldwide Services organization will be responsible for the engineering and installation of the devices.

Cogent Communications (Washington, DC) has selected American Power Conversion's (APC-West Kingston, RI) AC uninterruptible power supplies and DC power solutions to ensure nonstop networking in its all-optical end-to-end IP network. Cogent will use APC's DC Series MX06, Smart-UPS, and Web/SNMP Management Card to help maintain system availability for Cogent's hub sites and network nodes and the equipment located within the multitenant buildings throughout the network.

Grande Communications Inc. (San Marcos, TX) will deploy Marconi plc's (Pittsburgh) Deep Fiber Hybrid-Fiber Coaxial (HFC) solution to as many as two million customers. The Deep Fiber HFC solution will extend the capacity and high-speed capabilities of fiber-optic cable to within several hundred feet of residential and business properties.

Metromedia Fiber Network Inc. (MFN-New York) has expanded its existing relationship with Cisco Systems Inc. (San Jose) to include Cisco's DWDM equipment in MFN's WaveChannel9 optical-network solution, starting with the Cisco Metro 1500 Series. Under this relationship, MFN's WaveChannel customers will be offered a choice in technology for their dedicated fiber-optic and DWDM networks.

Global Crossing Ltd. (Hamilton, Bermuda) will deploy Hitachi Telecom Inc.'s (Atlanta, GA) AMN 6100 ultra-long-haul DWDM system in their North American Crossing Network Overbuild. Deployment in more than 90 nodes throughout Global Crossing's North American network began this quarter.

CoreExpress (St. Louis) has selected Sycamore Networks' (Chelmsford, MA) SN 16000 intelligent optical switches to increase the reliability of its multi-ISP CoreExpress Extranet service. Per the agreement, Sycamore will also provide financing to CoreExpress for the purchase of Sycamore equipment to facilitate the deployment of the network.

Communications infrastructure provider FiberStreet Inc. (San Jose) has selected Zaffire Inc. (San Jose) as its primary supplier of optical-networking products and technologies. FiberStreet will deploy the Zaffire Z3000 DWDM optical-service platform early this year. The contract is worth an estimated $20 million over two years.

Dominion Telecom (Richmond, VA) and Level 3 Communications Inc. (Broomfield, CO) have completed a dark-fiber transaction whereby Dominion Telecom has the right to use multiple optical fibers on Level 3's network between Buffalo, Cleveland, Akron, Pittsburgh, and Northern Virginia. The 20-year agreement also includes options for additional fiber connecting Richmond, VA, to Raleigh, NC, and between Buffalo, Toronto, Montreal, and Albany. Collocation services are also included in the transaction.

Integrated communications provider GCI (Anchorage, AK) has completed a sale of fiber capacity in its long-haul fiber-optic network in a cash transaction valued at $19.5 million. The transaction was the consummation of a previously announced agreement and includes capacity within Alaska and between Alaska and the continental United States.

APA Optics Inc. (Blaine, MN) has re ceived new orders for its DWDM products from two existing customers. One order is for four 56-channel devices, while the other covers 20 8-channel DWDM units.

Horizon Photonics Inc., the wholly owned subsidiary of LightPath Technologies Inc. (Albuquerque, NM), has received a $13.7-million order for proprietary micro-optic assemblies from a manufacturer of telecommunications systems. The order calls for Horizon to deliver over $10 million in products during the first six months of this year.

Etec Inc. (Peabody, MA) has received multiple orders for its M/SteP automated MEMS test systems-both optical and inertial MEMS (accelerometer) systems. The orders, totaling close to $1.5 million, will ship this quarter.

Agilent Technologies Inc. (Palo Alto, CA) will add support for Ciena Corp.'s (Lithicum, MD) optical switching and routing protocol (OSRP) to its system for testing optical switching and routing functions. OSRP support will allow CIENA engineers to use the Agilent system to speed product development and verification, while service providers can use the system to troubleshoot and verify intelligent-optical-networking installations in the field and the lab.

The Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF-Fremont, CA) has adopted two very-short-reach OC-192 interface implementation agreements. The first specification, OIF-VSR-01.0 is titled "Very Short Reach OC-192 Interface Based on Parallel Optics," and the second specification, OIF-VSR-02.0, is titled "Serial OC-192 1310-nanometer Very Short Reach Interfaces."

Mitel Corp. (Ontario) has agreed to make an investment in Optenia (Ottawa), a new photonics company focused on reducing the cost of bandwidth distribution in optical networks. The size of the investment was not disclosed. Optenia, which made its debut on Jan. 15, 2001, is the result of an R&D collaboration between Mitel and the National Research Council of Canada.

The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA-Arlington, VA) has published a new standard, Fiber Optic Test Procedure-183, "Hydrogen Effects on Optical Fiber Cable," TIA/EIA-455-183. The test procedure is intended to provide a type of test that characterizes the effect on fiber attenuation due to hydrogen generated by the cable components only.

Wilmad-Labglass (Buena, NJ) is now manufacturing ferrules from both fused silica and borosilicate glasses for fiber-optic applications. The company is also cutting, grinding, drilling, and beveling parts for special connector applications.

Terawave Communications (Hayward, CA) has raised an additional $73 million in strategic financing, bringing its total to $133 million. The round included many previous investors as well as new investors ABB Inc., EDB Investments, KTB Network, Presidio Venture Partners, Samsung America Inc., Samsung Corp., and Shaw Ventures Inc.

Network Elements Inc. (Beaverton, OR) has closed a $77-million round of financing, which will be used to expand manufacturing capacity and further the company's optical-module development. Previous investor New Enterprise Associates led this round, which also included strategic investors Intel Communications Fund, Nortel Networks, Credit Suisse First Boston Private Equity, and Western Technology Investment. Original seed investor, Alloy Ventures, also participated.

Peregrine Semiconductor Corp. (San Diego) has raised a total of $37.5 million in its Series G preferred financing. Led by Morgenthaler Ventures, the round also included investments from CDIB Ventures, Global Alliance Venture Capital, and Intel Capital. Previous investors Patricof & Co., Wasserstein Adelson Ventures, Roser Ventures, and CSK Venture Capital also participated. The funding will be used to further develop the company's wireless and photonic devices and modules.

AXSUN Technologies (Billerica, MA) has closed a $111-million round of financing led by Oppenheimer Funds. New investors included Scudder Technology Innovation Fund, the Dreyfus Premier NexTech Fund, Agilent Technologies, Amerindo Investment Advisors, Analog Devices, Deutsche Banc Alex Brown, Wit Soundview, and others. AXSUN will use the funding to expand capacity and further develop its photonic subsystem products.

World Wide Packets (Spokane, WA) has completed its first round of outside financing, which yielded $44 million, bringing the company's total to more than $60 million. Led by Azure Capital Partners, the round also included investments from Rock Creek Capital, Corning Innovation Ventures, Millennium Technology Ventures LP, and Koch Ventures Inc. The company will use the funding to deliver its LightningEdge Ethernet to the Subscriber solutions and to expand national and international operations, sales, and marketing.

WaveSmith Networks (Acton, MA) has closed a venture debt financing round totaling $12 million from Comdisco Ventures, GATX Ventures, and Silicon Valley Bank, bringing the company's total funds raised to $23.5 million since its inception in July of 2000. The funding will enable WaveSmith to expand product development and continue recruitment for sales, marketing, engineering, and operations.

Everest Broadband Networks (Fort Lee, NJ) has completed its third round of financing at $50 million, led by Exelon Capital Partners. Everest seed shareholders Pequot Capital Management and SOFTBANK Venture Capital also participated.

Molecular OptoElectronics Corp. (MOEC - Watervliet, NY) has completed $20 million in second-round financing. Led by Lehman Brothers Venture Partners, the rounds also included commitments from Epoch Partners and first-round investor Intel Capital. The new funding will be used to expand MOEC's product manufacturing, research and development, sales and marketing, and customer, partner, and alliance efforts.

Electronics manufacturer Solectron Corp. (Milpitas, CA) has been selected by optical-switching and transport systems developer, Cinta Corp. (San Jose), as its full turnkey manufacturing house for upcoming products.

Lynx Photonic Networks (Woodland Hills, CA) has closed a $30-million mezzanine financing round. Van Wagoner Capital Management led the round, which also included the participation of new investors ADC Telecommunications Inc. and Enron Broadband Services. Previous investors Telesoft Partners and Infineon Ventures also contributed. The financing will fund the launch of the company's Photon.XX and the development of the Packet.XX all-optical-switch modules and subsystems.

Facilities-based network service provider AFN Communications (Tulsa, OK) has selected Clear's (Chicago) Clearview product suite to provide fault and performance management of its optical network. The network has an initial footprint of more than 7,000 route-mi, and AFN plans to scale Clearview to meet demand for new services as the network expands.

Optical-components manufacturer nLight Photonics (Seattle) has raised $44 million in its second round of funding, led by Menlo Ventures and Oak Investment Partners. Other investors include Mohr Davidow Ventures, Adams Capital Management, and Cedar Grove Investments. The funding will be used to expand the company's manufacturing facilities and accelerate the development of its pump-laser line.

Laurel Networks (Swickley, PA), developer of IP-based optical-edge routers, has secured $60 million in second-round financing, bringing its total funding to $77.3 million. Participants include New Enterprise Associates, Trinity Ventures, Worldview Technology Partners, WorldCom Venture Fund, Rein Capital, and CommVest.

Optical-networking-equipment manufacturer Seneca Networks (Rockville, MD) has secured an additional $25 million in venture financing from New Enterprise Associates, Sprout Group, Boulder Ventures, Kinetic Ventures, Vertex Technology Fund, New Venture Partners, and Optical Capital Group LLC.

Broadband telecommunications carrier, Aevia Inc. (Walnut Creek, CA) has certified Alidian Networks' (San Jose) Optical Service Network family of DWDM systems for interoperability with Layer 3 and 4 switching equipment from Extreme Networks and Foundry Networks. The certification follows Aevia's selection last September of the Alidian family as the optical backbone technology for its metropolitan-area network, which began operation in February in California.

Fujitsu Network Communications Inc. (Richardson, TX) will deploy its FLASHWAVE 320G DWDM system and FLASH 192 fiber-optic multiplexer on 360networks' (Vancouver) fiber-optic mesh network in Europe. The system will connect more than 20 cities in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Holland, and Denmark. Fujitsu Network Services will provide full equipment installation, turn-up, service, and support orders of approximately $50 million placed by 360networks in the third quarter of 2000.

Yipes Communications Inc. (San Francisco) has announced the final close of its C round of funding at $200 million, bringing the total equity raised to $291 million since the company's inception in July 1999. Among the more than 30 investors in the company are Norwest Venture Partners, New Enterprise Associates, the Sprout Group/DLJ, Charter Growth Capital, JP Morgan Partners, BancBoston Capital, and Intel Capital.

Gigabit Optics Corp. (Sunnyvale, CA) has completed a $6-million series A round of funding, led by equal investments from Ridgewood Capital and Walden International. The company designs and manufactures passive and active micro-optic subassemblies.

Corona Optical Systems Inc. (Lombard, IL) has received commitments for up to $6.9 million from Intel Capital and the Geometry Group. The funds will be used to expand the design and production of the company's high-speed optoelectronic components and subsystems.

Coree Networks Inc. (Tinton Falls, NJ), developer of core backbone switching systems, has raised $30 million in its first round of funding. Participants include Mayfield Fund, Sevin Rosen Fund, LightSpeed Ventures, and Hook Partners. Coree is a member of the Iris Group, a four-company group of optical-networking startups that also includes Metera Networks, Latus Lightworks, and Iris Labs.

Alcatel (Paris) and Turk Telecom (Antalya, Turkey) have signed a $30-million contract for the deployment of a high-speed DWDM transmission network and network-management solution in Turkey. Alcatel will provide its Optinex family of carrier-class transmission solutions, which are equipped with forward-error-correction technology. Alcatel has also signed a turnkey contract with Cable & Wireless (London), worth several hundred million dollars, to build Apollo, a transatlantic network. In addition to initial surveys, installation, design, and manufacturing, Alactel will also provide marine maintenance and comprehensive after-sales service. The network will be completed in the summer of 2002.

NetCologne (Cologne, Germany) has chosen Marconi (Pittsburgh) to extend its optical network beyond the Cologne city limits to cover four million potential new customers and provide 24-hour, onsite backup for the entire system. Per the agreement, Marconi will install arrays of its ONU 400, ONU 200, and ONU 32 optical-network units as well as network gateways and controllers. The contract, an extension to a long-standing frame agreement, is worth up to £6 million.

Deutsche Telekom AG (Bonn, Germany) has chosen 360networks (Vancouver, British Columbia) to provide multiple 2.5-Gbit/sec wavelengths throughout its North American network. Per the agreement, Deutsche Telekom will also be able to purchase dark-fiber infrastructure and equipment-maintenance services from 360networks on the same network for the next 20 years, as well as collocation and other related services. The contract value is estimated at $230 million.

Qusion Technologies (Princeton, NJ) has chosen Aixtron AG (Aachen, Germany) to provide the AIX 2400G3 MOCVD system for growth of laser materials and other modules for fiber-optic systems based on indium phosphide materials. In addition, Opto Speed (Mezzovico, Switzerland) has selected AIXTRON's AIX 2400G3 Planetary Reactor to increase its production capacity for indium phosphide-based lasers, detectors, and optoelectronic devices.

Agilent Technologies Inc. (Böblingen, Germany) will acquire Gefran Silicon Microsystem S.r.l. (Provaglio d'Iseo, Italy), a fiber-optic technology laboratory, for $55 million in cash. The laboratory will become part of Agilent's newly acquired Turin Technology Center (Turin, Italy), itself an operation within the Network Solutions Div. of Agilent's Semiconductor Product Group.

Nortel Networks (Ontario) has won a two-year $100-million contract to design and build an Internet Protocol optical backbone in the United Kingdom for 16k, the telecommunications subsidiary of Lattice Group plc (London). Per the agreement, Nortel will supply its 10-Gbit/sec DWDM optical systems, including the OPTera Long Haul 1600 optical-line product and OPTera Connect DX optical switch. Nortel will also supply 16k with a voice gateway, a network and services management system, and other equipment.

Lucent Technologies (Murray Hill, NJ) has signed a $15-million contract with China Telecom (Beijing) subsidiary Liaoning Telecom for its flagship WaveStar OLS 400G, an 80-channel DWDM system with a maximum capacity of 400 Gbits/sec. The equipment is scheduled for deployment by May of this year.

Nortel Networks (Ontario) has received multimillion-dollar contract awards from Qingdao Telecom and Hebei Telecom, regional operators of China Telecom (Beijing). Qingdao Telecom will deploy Nortel's optical Ethernet solution, which includes the Passport 8600 routing switch. Hebei Telecom will also deploy the Passport 8600 as a LAN switch for its 11-city dial-up network.

Juniper Networks Inc. (Sunnyvale, CA) and Lightscape Networks, the optical-networks division of ECI Telecom Ltd. (Petah Tikva, Israel), have jointly installed and tested an optical Internet Protocol network in China using Juniper's Internet backbone routers and ECI's DWDM systems. The network build-out is expected to accelerate Internet growth in China's Guangdong Province.

Marconi Communications plc (Pittsburgh), in conjunction with local partner Yukyung Telecom, has sold its second high-speed broadband optical-transmission system in Korea. Per the multimillion-dollar contract, Marconi will provide its MAS SDH transmission platform to Powercomm, a subsidiary of Korea Electric Power Corp. (Seoul, South Korea).

Hitachi Ltd. (Tokyo) will transfer its Fiber Optic Components Business Unit to OpNext Japan Inc. (Yokohama City, Japan), a subsidiary Hitachi established in September 2000 to strengthen its fiber-optic components business. Hitachi has also created OpNext Inc. to conduct its fiber-optic components business in the U.S.

NTT Communications (Tokyo) has selected a new L-band optical amplifier from Lucent Technologies (Murray Hill, NJ) for deployment in its optical-network system. The L-band amplifier was specifically designed by Bell Labs to maximize the bandwidth potential of NTT's dispersion-shifted fiber, according to the companies.

Lucent Technologies (Murray Hill, NJ) has received a $17.4-million contract to build an optical backbone network for the China Education and Research Net (CERNET-Beijing). Per the contract, Lucent will deploy its WaveStar OLS 80G DWDM system and WaveStar ADM 16/1 multiplexer into the network, commissioned by China's Ministry of Education.

Impsat Fiber Networks Inc. (Buenos Aires, Argentina) has chosen Corning Inc.'s (Corning, NY) LEAF fiber as the optical backbone for the next phase of its 2,000-km South American network. The network will connect Curitiba and Porto Alegre in Brazil with Paraná, Argentina, as well as points in Chile.

MetroRED Telecomunicações (Sao Paulo, Brazil) will deploy Ciena Corp.'s (Linthicum, MD) MultiWave CoreStream intelligent optical transport systems for its high-capacity network connecting Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. The deployment of Ciena's equipment will enable MetroRed to deliver network capacity that will scale to meet future bandwidth requirements.

"Industry Update" is compiled by Meghan Fuller, News Editor, [email protected].