Sycamore moves into ultra long haul, announces service on KPNQwest's Nordic ring

July 30, 2001
July 30, 2001--Sycamore Networks (NASDAQ: SCMR), a provider of intelligent optical networking, announced that KPNQwest, a Pan-European Internet data communications and hosting company, successfully turned up services on a key route in the company's Nordic ring with Sycamore's enhanced SN 10000 high-capacity transport platform.

Sycamore Networks (NASDAQ: SCMR), a provider of intelligent optical networking, announced that KPNQwest, a Pan-European Internet data communications and hosting company, successfully turned up services on a key route in the company's Nordic ring with Sycamore's SN 10000 high-capacity transport platform. KPNQwest recently signed an agreement to supply NORDUnet, the Nordic, Central and Eastern European research network, with a mixed solution of IP Transit and Managed Broadband Services from the capacity created from the recently completed Nordic Ring.

"KPNQwest's Nordic Ring network was constructed and lit on time and on budget delivering macro-capacity bandwidth to users within Europe or between continents where access to available high-speed bandwidth is quickly becoming the driver for success," said Ray Walsh, senior vice president and CIO of KPNQwest.

KPNQwest's 4,500 km Nordic Ring is a self-healing OC-192/STM-64 fiber-optic ring that when fully lit will provide up to 100 Terabit/s of capacity across six Nordic cities with seamless connectivity to an additional 44 cities on the KPNQwest EuroRings and 150 cities on the Qwest North American fiber-optic network. The span will be used to offer up to 1.6 Terabit/s of capacity between two of the region's largest cities. With the installation of the SN 10000 into the Nordic Ring, KPNQwest is able to set new standards for service creation and scalability in terms of delivering high-speed IP services along the route.

By deploying the SN 10000 and leveraging its ability to deliver high capacity routes that span up to 4000 kilometers without the need for electrical regeneration, KPNQwest was able to build an innovative and more cost-effective network infrastructure rather would be possible with alternative technologies. With this segment now operational, KPNQwest will provide its full range of wholesale and retail connectivity, networking and hosting services across the Nordic Ring, including its IP VPN and IP Voice networking solutions for business.

Alex Henderson, an analyst with Salomon Smith Barney, said about the KPNQwest win: "They needed a win of this caliber. It could go a long way in getting them some momentum in the long-haul space, especially in this environment when no one is buying long haul."

Sycamore Networks' intelligent transport platforms allow service providers to reduce the capital and operation costs associated with deploying long-haul and ultra long-haul network routes by eliminating network elements and streamlining the deployment of new services. The SN 10000 platform offers a wide range of service interfaces, ranging from Gigabit Ethernet through STM-64c/OC-192c and has been architected to facilitate an upgrade to STM-256/OC-768 so that carriers can meet future customer requirements.

Sycamore Networks also announced enhanced features and functionality on the SN 10000 transport system that the company claims will enable it to deliver the lowest transport cost per DS-3 mile in the industry. Unique enhancements include a high-density OC-192/STM-64 service card with integrated Super Forward Error Correction (SuperFEC), purportedly the industry's first automated wave management capabilities for long-haul and ultra long-haul applications, and new flexible/unlimited all optical add/drop capabilities.

These new features enable carriers to dramatically reduce the time it takes to provision and turn up services as well as lower the initial capital and ongoing operational costs in deploying high capacity long-haul and ultra long-haul applications by eliminating regeneration. Delivered in a form factor that is one third the size of any competing system on the market today, the SN 10000 offers broad system scalability coupled with the ability to be deployed in the most challenging applications.

"Ultra long-haul transport routes are typically some of the most challenging and complex in a network and service providers are often forced to trade performance for distance," said Brian Van Steen, senior analyst at RHK. "By eliminating the complexity associated with installing and activating these routes, carriers could use the SN 10000 to maximize wave count and distance performance with a more cost effective and operationally efficient platform."

The SN 10000 sets a new benchmark for wave count and distance. This is enabled by a combination of new hard-optic features including a higher density OC-192/STM-64 interface card with integrated SuperFEC, a technique that corrects errors for longer signal integrity. With this card, the SN 10000 supports 64 OC-192/STM-64 waves in a single bay doubling the service density of the existing OC-192/STM-64 service card and providing a dramatic improvement in optical performance. Delivering 160 waves (1.6 terabits) of capacity at distances up to 2500 kilometers and 80 waves (800 gigabits) at 4000 kilometers, the SN 10000 offers the lowest transport cost per DS-3 mile by eliminating regeneration sites and lowers operational costs by using sophisticated soft-optics to simplify and reduce installation and turn-up time.

Minimizing the use of certain network elements like those required to provide signal regeneration and automating complex tasks like the wave turn-up process are ways carriers can maximize their return on investment. The SN 10000 is the first to support wave management capabilities on a high-capacity long-haul and ultra long-haul transport system, providing a level of optical layer automation unmatched in the industry. Wave management significantly lowers operational costs by reducing the time it takes to install, turn-up, add capacity, and optimize the optical performance of the system from days to minutes. Once the SN 10000 is up and running, carriers now have the capability to add or drop any wavelength, any time, anywhere along the route.

Leveraging SuperFEC, flexible/unlimited add/drop and wave management capabilities can eliminate the need for both costly signal regeneration and the need to pre-plan wavelengths at add/drop sites along the transport route. Combining these innovative technologies enables carriers to reduce their capital and operational costs by up to 80 percent in their transport network.

About KPNQwest:

KPNQwest (NASDAQ & ASE: KQIP) is a facilities-based, pan-European provider of data-centric services based on Internet Protocol (IP). For more information, visit www.kpnqwest.com.

About Sycamore Networks:

Sycamore Networks (NASDAQ: SCMR) develops and markets intelligent optical networking products that transport voice and data traffic over wavelengths of light. For more information, visit www.sycamorenet.com.

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