EXFO Electro-Optical Engineering Inc. (Quebec City) has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Burleigh Instruments Inc. (Fishers, NY) for $325 million in EXFO stock and $40 million in cash. The acquisition of Burleigh, supplier of DWDM wavelength measurement instruments and precision positioning equipment, will enable EXFO to accelerate the growth of its Industrial and Scientific Division. EXFO also expects the acquisition to expand the capabilities of its automated test systems, as it will now be able to offer precision alignment, in addition to testing during the assembly and packaging of optical components.
Valdor Fiber Optics Inc. (Vancouver) will acquire 100% of the issued and outstanding shares of GC Technologies Ltd. (GCT-San Jose) for $47.8 million, payable in cash and stock, in addition to 9.725 million shares of Valdor common stock. Valdor has begun to implement its patented Impact Mount technology into GCT's component lines, technologies, and products, including 100- and 200-GHz 4-, 8-, 16-, 20-, and 40-channel DWDMs, couplers, and attenuators. GCT also supplies a full line of OC-3 and OC-12 transmitters and receivers.
The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA-Arlington, VA) has published a new procedure and three specifications. The former is Fiber Optic Test Procedure-197, "Differential Group Delay Measurement of Singlemode Components and Devices by the Differential Phase Shift Method." The procedure measures the polarization-sensitive differential group delay of one- or two-port singlemode-fiber components over the 1- to 1.7-micron wavelength range. The specifications include "Generic Specification for Optical Fiber Splices," TIA-6090000, which describes the general method to classify splice types, evaluate mechanical and optical performance, and establish the quality assessment provisions for optical-fiber splices. "Sectional Specification for Conventional, Permanent, Optical Fiber Splices" provides test parameters, suggested attribute values, and data reporting requirements for the test procedures identified in the generic specification and specified in the detail specification. Finally, "Blank Detail Specification for Conventional, Permanent, Optical Fiber Splices" provides the format and instructions for writing a detail specification for a conventional splice of a specific classification where design, performance, and ongoing quality requirements are specified.
IBM Microelectronics (East Fishkill, NY) and Kymata Ltd. (Livingston, Scotland) have announced a multiyear agreement to produce optical chips for high-speed networks. IBM is licensing its siliconoxynitrade (SiON) technology to Kymata, which will enable Kymata to develop new chip designs for itself and IBM. The companies plan to develop tunable optical products such as modules and filters.
Corning Inc. (Corning, NY) and Cisco Systems (San Jose) have entered into a strategic alliance to deliver IP optical solutions to their service-provider customers. Per the nonexclusive agreement, Corning and Cisco will form teams to develop pre-engineered optical solutions consistent with customer requirements, including Cisco's core products and Corning's full line of optical products, such as LEAF and MetroCor optical fiber and the company's photonic products. In addition, Corning will supply optical amplifiers to Cisco.
Lantern Communications Inc. (San Jose) and Global Crossing (Hamilton, NY) have agreed to a technical collaboration that will help Lantern introduce Gigabit Ethernet into metropolitan area networks. The companies will seek to jointly beta test Lantern's initial Metro Packet Switch product line, which is based on Lantern's Resilient Optical Packet Ring technology. Trials are scheduled to begin in the second quarter of 2001.
Next-generation Internet service provider Cogent Communications Inc. (Washington, DC) has reached a transit agreement with Metromedia Fiber Network Inc. (MFN-White Plains, NY), whereby MFN will interconnect and exchange traffic and provide collocation services for Cogent. Through the agreement, Cogent will gain access to MFN's global IP Internet infrastructure through MFN's subsidiary, AboveNet Communications. Cogent expects the agreement will complement its own nationwide optical-fiber network and enable it to deliver Internet traffic to locations not served directly by Cogent. In addition, GiantLoop Network Inc. (Waltham, MA), provider of enterprise optical-networking services, will lease dark fiber from MFN. The agreement, valued at more than $100 million, will allow GiantLoop to take advantage of MFN's experience in metropolitan-based fiber deployment. GiantLoop also hopes to accelerate its international expansion and support its multinational Global 250 customer base.
Anritsu Corp. (Richardson, TX) and SAN Valley Systems (Campbell, CA) have teamed to provide end-to-end networking solutions for integrating Fibre Channel-based SAN data and enterprise LAN data over high-speed optical MAN/WAN links up to OC-48 speed. The new capability provides a single SAN and LAN networking solution that shares one OC-48 link, which lowers costs and reduces the amount of networking equipment required, according to the companies. The solution will incorporate SAN Valley's SL1000 IP-SAN Gateway and Anritsu's flagship MultiFlow 5000 switch family.
Sycamore Networks Inc. (Chelmsford, MA) has won a multiyear, $40-million contract from Vodafone Ltd. (London) to supply its intelligent optical switching and transport products and services. Per the agreement, Sycamore will provide SN 16000 intelligent optical-core switch, SN 3000 optical access switch, SN 8000 intelligent optical transport platform, and SILVX optical network-management system, all for deployment within Vodafone's U.K. network.
Looking Glass Networks Inc. (Oak Brook, IL) will deploy several hundred thousand kilometers of Corning Inc.'s (Corning, NY) MetroCor fiber throughout its broadband fiber-optic networks in 10 U.S. metropolitan areas. With this contract, Looking Glass has secured all of its fiber requirements for its initial 10-city build-out. A second phase is in the works for an additional 10- to 15-city build-out, with Corning Cable Systems providing the fiber for that project.
RIFOCS Corp. (Camarillo, CA), manufacturer of fiber-optic test instruments and cable assemblies, has merged its operations with Datacom-Textron (Everett, WA), manufacturer of test equipment for copper-based local area networks. The merger is designed to address the convergence of fiber-optic and copper media in communications networks.
Aerie Networks (Denver) has signed an agreement with Nortel Networks (Ontario) worth an estimated $1 billion over four years to supply optical Internet solutions and services for its 20,000-mi nationwide broadband network. Aerie will use Nortel's OPTera product line in the network, which, when completed, is expected to be the largest optical-fiber network in North America.
Applied Micro Circuits Corp. (AMCC-San Diego) will provide a high-performance silicon solution set for Alcatel's (Paris) new carrier-class core router 7770 RCP. AMCC's Ganges, Indus, and Rhine ICs and its clock and data recovery and multiplexer/ demultiplexer devices will enable Alcatel to build multiple line cards on one device family, supporting OC-3, -12, -48, and -192 rates. The companies expect their joint development partnership will enhance the design and development of channelized framer solutions and provide a robust platform for Alcatel's carrier-class router devices.
Pan-European telecommunications company Interoute Telecommunications (London) has selected Ciena Corp. (Linthicum, MD) to provide intelligent optical transport systems. Ciena's MulitWave Sentry 4000 systems will be deployed on sections of Interoute's current voice and data network, now undergoing expansion. According to Ciena, initial installments of its intelligent optical systems in the Interoute network provide up to 40 times more network capacity for links in Germany, the U.K., and the Netherlands. Interoute's first deployments are carrying live network traffic, and additional links are expected to be turned up over the next few months.
Driven by fiber-optic equipment from Fujitsu Network Communications Inc. (Richardson, TX), South Dakota Network LLC (Sioux Falls, SD) is now offering advanced telecommunications to customers in northwest South Dakota through a 600-mi fiber-optic network. The extension for South Dakota Network, a consortium of independent telephone companies throughout the state, uses 15 of Fujitsu's FLASH600 ADX multiplexers. Fujitsu's FLASH600 ADX equipment is also being used by service provider Horizon Chillicothe Telephone (Chillicothe, OH) in its recently introduced Horizon View, a service that gives subscribers telephone, television, and Internet access over a single telephone line. The service uses a fiber backbone network along with VDSL technology.
Yipes Communications Inc. (San Francisco) will provide high-speed, managed optical-network services to Communications and Power Industries Inc. (CPI-Palo Alto, CA), a manufacturer of vacuum electron devices. CPI will now deploy the Yipes 4-Mbit/sec optical connection, which is burstable to 10 Mbits/sec.
Cable Design Technologies (CDT-Pittsburgh) has won an initial $5-million fiber-optic order with "a major telephone operating company" for its singlemode fiber-optic cable used in the local loop. The identity of the customer has not been disclosed due to expected follow-on orders of comparable size.
Stratos Lightwave Inc. (Chicago) has 80 new design wins for its high-density optical transceivers based on the LC fiber-optic interface. Cisco, Alcatel, Nortel, and Lucent are some of the companies that have selected Stratos LC transceivers for systems in the local-area-network, storage-area-network, metropolitan, and telecommunications markets.
EPIK Communications Inc. (Orlando, FL) has lit an additional 1,100 mi of its optical-fiber network, expanding its lit footprint to 1,500 mi in the southeastern United States, stretching from Miami to Atlanta. EPIK's lit footprint delivers OC-192 capacity using DWDM technology. It is a carrier's carrier, providing dark fiber and high-bandwidth fiber-optic capacity to CLECs, ISPs, and long-distance companies. The company has also begun to establish a national footprint through fiber swaps in Louisiana, Texas, Colorado, Indiana, Illinois, California, Oregon, Washington, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Michigan, and Canada.
Aura Networks Inc. (formerly Lancast Inc.-Nashua, NH) has secured $16 million in growth funding from Sierra Ventures to support its new strategic initiative to deliver metro-access optical Ethernet solutions to service providers. According to the company, the metro-access provisioning solution, called Stealth IP, harnesses the combined power of Ethernet and fiber optics to link service providers to the customer premises.
Optical-component supplier Optical CrossLinks Inc. (formerly Polymer Photonics Inc.-Kennett Square, PA) has closed a multimillion-dollar capital seed round, which included funding from a Lehigh Valley, PA-based group of telecommunications and other professions, led by Chad Paul and John Englesson. Other investors include Essex Investment Management Co., and individuals within the investment banking and equity market communities.
ADC Ventures (Minneapolis) has led a $35-million funding round in Cinta Corp., a startup focused on developing carrier-class switches that integrate optical switching, transport capabilities, and network management in a single system. Other investors include Corning, Enron Broadband Services, Comdisco Ventures, Sequoia Capital, and Battery Ventures.
Symmorphix Inc. (Sunnyvale, CA) has received approximately $25 million in its first round of venture-capital financing, led by Crescendo Ventures and Battery Ventures. Symmorphix will use the funds to support the design, development, and manufacture of Amplifying Planar Integrated Components for all-optical networks.
Picolight Inc. (Boulder, CO) has raised $38.9 million in its third and largest round of funding. The proceeds will enable Picolight to further ramp manufacturing of the company's vertical-cavity laser-based, 1- to 30-Gbit/sec fiber-optic components, accelerate and expand research, and develop and supplement marketing. The round was led by Pequot Private Equity Fund III L.P. and included investments from Cisco, Corning, Bank America Ventures, and Charles River Ventures.
Vivace Networks (San Jose), developer of optical service-provisioning platforms, has completed its third round of venture financing for $83 million. Meritech Capital led the round, which included returning investors Foundation Capital, Sutter Hill Ventures, and Redpoint Ventures. First-time investors J.P. Morgan Investments and Putnam Investments also participated. Vivace will use the capital to expand its engineering team and accelerate the delivery of its family of high-performance Multiprotocol Label Switching networking solutions.
Cierra Photonics Inc. (Santa Rosa, CA), specialist in wafer-scale integration technology for fiber-optic components, has received $40 million in Series B equity financing from a group of investors led by Worldview Technology Partners. The funding will be used to expand the company's manufacturing capabilities and accelerate product development. Cierra Photonics is developing a series of optical components derived from wafer-scale integration, relying initially on its newly developed Advanced Energetic Deposition process.
Terremark Worldwide Inc. (Miami), provider of Internet and telecommunications infrastructure and services, has secured $109 million in partnership equity and construction financing to complete its project, Technology Center of the Americas, a telecommunications hotel and network-access point, currently under construction in Miami. Ocean Bank, with participation from International Bank of Miami, TotalBank, and TransAtlantic Bank, will provide $61 million in construction financing. Terremark secured $48 million in equity partnership from Barrow Street Capital, Lubert-Adler Management, and Calor Development Ltd.
In its second round of funding, optical-networking subsystem company Blaze Network Products Inc. (Dublin, CA) has secured $40 million from both financial and strategic investors. Completion of this round raises the company's total equity to more than $55 million. Blaze will use the funding to expand manufacturing capability in its new 30,000-square-foot facility in Dublin, CA.
Pluris Inc. (Cupertino, CA), developer of Internet core routers, has secured $100 million in its fourth round of funding. Led by New York-based private equity-management fund Sands Brothers & Co., the additional financing brings Pluris's total to $167 million. Pluris intends to use the funds to continue product development and build a worldwide sales and support base in anticipation of commercial shipments of its Teraplex 20 router this quarter.
AsiaTwo parallel high-capacity optical networks from Marconi Communications plc (Pittsburgh) will be installed north to south across Malaysia, which has committed to DWDM optical technology to meet its growing Internet demands. The two new national networks are being set up by Telekom Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), which has placed orders worth more than $10 million with Marconi for a comprehensive package of equipment, installation, training, commissioning, and ongoing technical support.
The joint alliance of C-COR.net (State College, PA) and Ericsson (Rome) has been awarded, through competitive bidding, a contract to implement a broadband network for the city of Zhuhai, China. C-COR.net will be the equipment supplier for the project, while Ericsson will serve as the project's prime contractor and systems integrator. The project will encompass an estimated one million homes passed.
South AmericaLucent Technologies' (Murray Hill, NJ) Optical Fiber Solutions business has opened its first optical-fiber cable-manufacturing facility in Latin America. The new facility will become part of Lucent's business campus in Sao Paulo, Brazil, which already includes a wireless-equipment manufacturing plant and the Lucent Training and Advanced Technology Center. The facility will produce a variety of products, including TrueWave long-haul fiber cable and AllWave metropolitan fiber cable.
EuropeGN Nettest (Copenhagen) has acquired Optran Technologies S.A. (Creteil Cedex, France), specialist in high-speed data transmission. The acquisition will expand GN Nettest's all-optical broadband network activities to include testing and analysis of the raw data streams sent over optical networks at speeds of 10 Gbits/sec. In addition, GN Nettest has received an order from Deutsche Telekom (Bonn, Germany) for a comprehensive optical-fiber monitoring system. The contract includes the delivery and installation of seven Remote Fiber Test (RFT) systems for automated monitoring of the Deutsche Telekom network. With the help of the RFT system, faults arising in the optical-fiber cable can be located, failure times minimized, and quality of the network maintained at a high standard, according to the company.
Torch Telecom (Wakefield, UK) has selected ADVA Optical Networking's (Martinsried/ Munich, Germany) CityLIGHT products for deployment in its fiber-optic networks. ADVA's CityLIGHT platform for enterprise and metro-access solutions will enable Torch Telecom to provide services for LAN applications, including point-to-point links, collocation, ATM tail circuits, disaster recovery, VPNs, bulk data transfer, metro data services, telehousing, and high-speed Internet links.
Global TeleSystems Inc. (GTS-London) will sell its 50% stake in FLAG Atlantic Ltd. to FLAG Telecom (Bermuda), while retaining ownership over certain infrastructure, including a transatlantic fiber pair. FLAG Atlantic Ltd. is a 50/50 joint venture set up between GTS and FLAG Telecom to build FLAG Atlantic-1 (FA-1), a subsea fiber network connecting the United States and Europe. Per the agreement, which is valued at $175 million, GTS will receive $135 million in cash from FLAG Telecom as well as infrastructure and subsea capacity valued at $40 million in avoided future costs.
360networks (Vancouver) has opened its $52-million cable landing station in Southport, UK. The facility features around-the-clock network monitoring and enough standby generators to power a small town. One of four landing stations for 360atlantic, an $850-million transatlantic fiber-optic cable under development by 360networks, the Southport landing will be the main gateway for international data traffic between North America and Europe.
Lucent Technologies (Murray Hill, NJ) and ZAO Company TransTeleCom (Moscow) have announced completion of the next stage of TransTeleCom's optical transport network, which is being built alongside the more than 37,000 km of the Russian Federal Railway System. The network will allow TransTeleCom to provide transit transport services to both Russian and international carriers. Lucent has provided its Synchronous Digital Hierarchy transmission systems as well as more than 4,000 km of PowerGuide all-dielectric, self-supporting, aerial fiber-optic cable.
Sharp-eyed readers may have noticed the MEMS at the heart of Lucent Technologies' WaveStar LambdaRouter was one of the primary elements in the collage at the start of our November 2000 Special Reports entitled "Switching for Optical Networks." Lucent has asked us to clarify to our readers that the use of this image does not imply an endorsement of the article that immediately followed nor of any of the articles included in the Special Reports section not written by Lucent.