OCTOBER 3, 2006 -- Mintera Corporation has raised $10 million in venture capital financing, co-led by investors Polaris Venture Partners and RRE Ventures. Also participating in the round were existing investors Court Square Ventures, Star Ventures, and Portview Communications Partners. This financing brings the total amount raised by Mintera to more than $54 million.
Mintera develops and markets 40-Gbit/sec fiber-optic transport subsystems for metro-core, regional, long haul, and ultra long haul optical networks.
The company will use the financing to complete the commercial launch of its new, 40-Gbit/sec product platform, the MI 40000XS. This new platform, based on the emerging ATCA 300 standard, enables 40-Gbit/sec DWDM transport up to 2,500 km without regeneration and increases carrier capacity without the need to change existing infrastructure, explain company representatives. The MI 40000XS, which is already being integrated into partners' DWDM transport systems, is scheduled to begin shipping during the fourth quarter.
"Some years have passed since the bursting of the Internet bubble. Since then, the carriers have continued growing and have lit a lot of dark fiber," reports Bob Metcalfe, Polaris general partner and Mintera director. "Accelerating broadband deployment among telephone, television, mobile, and Internet carriers will require much more optical backbone capacity. Mintera is ready to help move the infrastructure up to 40 Gbits/sec, and the best news is that Mintera's 40-Gbit/sec upgrade fits in with existing fibers, optical amplifiers, and add-drop multiplexers and can be used alongside already deployed lower bit-rate transponders."
The funding marks a period of strong momentum for Mintera, say company representatives. Earlier this year, Mintera joined forces with Juniper Networks, Xtera Communications, and Verizon Business to transmit 40 Gbits/sec over 3,040 km of field fiber in the Verizon Business Dallas metro area network. This trial, carrying OC-768 traffic, highlighted Mintera's optical performance and also the modular approach of Mintera's portfolio, which allows partners to customize the line-side transmission format to the exact requirements of their platforms.
"Over the past year we've seen a renewed interest in and appreciation of the economic benefits of 40-Gbit/sec transport. Our investors recognize this as well and are confident in Mintera's ability to capitalize on this market opportunity," reports Mintera CEO Terry Unter. "The additional funding will enable the company to deliver on its value proposition. Mintera's recent successes with carriers are illustrations of the reality of 40-Gbit/sec transport and, as carriers look to upgrade their networks to support bandwidth-intensive multimedia applications, our new platform can increase network capacity of existing DWDM networks up to 16 times without replacing existing infrastructure."
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