LuminentOIC Inc. and Fiberxon Inc., both wholly owned subsidiaries of MRV Communications (www.mrv.com), now will be branded under the name Source Photonics (www.sourcephotonics.com). The name change reflects the operation of the two companies as a combined business under a unified management team since MRV closed its acquisition of Fiberxon on July 1, 2007. While the transition is being completed, all LuminentOIC and Fiberxon product lines and customer engagements will continue to be supported without disruption, says the company. Going forward, all new product introductions will be made under the new Source Photonics brand.
XO Communications (www.xo.com) will light two new fiber strands on its nationwide, 18,000-route-mile optical network fiber network, adding 800 Gbits/sec of capacity in core nodes, which will deliver an additional eighty 10-Gbit/sec channels on major coast-to-coast routes. The carrier says the new capacity is part of the multimillion dollar network investment and marketing initiatives it began last year to stay ahead of the growing demand for its inter-city network transport services. XO has contracted with Infinera Corp. (www.infinera.com) to implement the new capacity upgrade using the Infinera DTN system.
Cox Communications (www.cox.com), the third-largest cable company in the U.S., has selected Infinera Corp.’s Digital Optical Network for its national transport network. The 12,000-mile Cox national build extends from coast to coast and is designed to enable Cox to offer leading-edge services, including voice, video, data, and wireless to residential and business customers.
AT&T Inc. (www.att.com) has announced plans to invest approximately $350 million and $250 million over the next several years to upgrade its fiber network, further broadband deployment, and deliver Internet-based technologies to customers in North Carolina and South Carolina, respectively. The infrastructure will support AT&T’s U-verse service, a 100% IP-based television service.
The Georgia Aquarium has chosen to construct a dark fiber network into telx’s (www.telx.com) Carrier Hotel at 56 Marietta Street in Atlanta, GA. The new network build enables interconnections to Southern Light Rail (SLR), which provides access to the National Lambda Rail research and education network. The Aquarium will collocate its core interconnection equipment with telx, which will manage the crossconnects that interconnect the aquarium’s dark fiber network to an array of providers.
Molex Inc. (www.molex.com) has completed its acquisition of Phoenix, AZ-based Polymicro Technologies LLC, manufacturer of silica capillary tubing and specialty optical fibers, optical fiber and capillary assemblies, discrete micro components, and quartz optical fiber ferrules. Molex says the acquisition is not financially material to its results. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Xtera Communications (www.xtera.com) has closed on a $52 million private placement co-lead by existing investors New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and ARCH Venture Partners and by new investor Wellcome Trust of London. Wellcome Trust took down approximately 50% of the offering. Xtera Communications is a privately held optical networking and services company. Over the last year, Xtera has expanded both its customer base and its product portfolio; the company says it has successfully deployed its all-Raman technology throughout Europe, the Middle East, Asia, South America, and North America.
Network processor company Bay Microsystems Inc. (www.baymicro systems.com) has closed a $16 million round of capital funding, led by new institutional investors Quicksilver Ventures and W Capital. Existing institutional investors, including Selby Venture Partners, Needham Capital, Pacifica Fund, Glenbrook Capital, Crossbridge Partners, and Franklin Park Investment Partners also participated in the round. Bay Microsystems says it will direct the proceeds toward enhancing operations and continuing its global expansion.
Inphi Corp. (www.inphi-corp.com) has established the first of its Global Centers for Design Innovation in the heart of the Silicon Valley. The Silicon Valley Design Center, which will be managed by Ali Wehbi, is intended to expand the depth of technical resources Inphi applies in designing integrated circuits for processing data in communication and computing systems. Inphi expects the facility will employ nearly 100 technologists within five years. Recruiting efforts for immediate openings are underway.
Hibernia Atlantic (www.hiberniaatlantic.com) will deploy a branching unit off its existing northern cable, giving Iceland direct connectivity to North America, Ireland, London, Amsterdam, and the rest of continental Europe. The new cable link will provide connectivity to Iceland at 192 × 10-Gigabit Ethernet (10-GbE) wavelengths. This allows for communications traffic from Iceland to go either east or west, with direct access to 42 cities and 52 network points of presence and the ability to steer traffic around major metropolitan areas and bypass traditional backhaul routes. Hibernia Atlantic projects the system will become fully operational for customer traffic in the fall of 2008.
AboveNet Communications UK Ltd. (www.above.net) has expanded its Metro-Wave service, which provides customers private wavelengths between strategically placed hubs in and around London. AboveNet will use Nortel’s Optical Metro 5000 series equipment to extend connectivity to a new hub in Slough. As a result, AboveNet says its Metro-Wave footprint now will span from the Docklands in the east through the city, out to Heathrow and Slough in the west.
On Telecoms Greece (www.ontelecoms.com), the second largest carrier in the region, has selected Zhone Technologies Inc.’s (www.zhone.com) WDM optical transport gear to extend the capacity and reliability of its IP network. According to Zhone, On Telecoms Greece is one of the first operators to deploy a pure-packet, all-fiber network. This approach greatly increases network efficiencies, enabling On Telecoms to offer highly competitive, bundled triple-play while eliminating bottlenecks to its serving area, a region that extends to 80% of the businesses and residences in the Attica province, Zhone adds.
PT Comunicações (www.telecom.pt), the fixed communications division of Portugal Telecom, has deployed ADVA Optical Networking’s (www.advaoptical.com) Fiber Service Platform (FSP) 3000 and FSP Network Manager in new metro deployments throughout Portugal’s major cities. According to the companies, the new deployments enable PT Comunicações to ease traffic congestion and relieve fiber exhaust in the metro core as it continues to roll out new bandwidth-intensive business and residential services to a wider market.
Xtera Communications has purchased the U.K. fixed-line enterprise service and first line maintenance organizations from AlanDick UK (www.alandick.com), part of the AlanDick Group of companies, for an undisclosed amount. AlanDick UK provides services and products on a global basis to satisfy the communication network infrastructure needs of cellular, broadcast, radar/surveillance, and enterprise markets. Xtera says this acquisition accelerates its expansion into the global communication service market, widens its customer base, and provides an immediate revenue boost. The acquisition will be managed and operated as an independent company called Traxe Global Services Ltd.
Intune Networks (www.intunenetworks.com) has raised $17.75 million from a consortium of international investors, including Amadeus Capital Partners, Balderton Capital (formerly known as Benchmark Capital Europe), and Spark Capital. Intune says the funds will be used to commercialize its tunable technology for the telecommunications market. New products are expected next year.
SEACOM Ltd. has awarded the SEA Cable System supply contract to Tyco Telecommunications (www.tycotelecom.com). The 13,000-km project will involve the construction of an undersea fiber-optic network providing high-capacity bandwidth connectivity between South Africa, Madagascar, Mozambique, Tanzania, Kenya, India, the Middle East, and Europe. SEACOM says it will complement communication carriers of South and East Africa through the sale of wholesale international capacity to global networks eastward through India and westward through the Mediterranean. SEACOM, a privately funded submarine fiber-optic cable system, intends to launch services the first half of 2009.
RED-C Optical Networks Ltd. (www.red-c.com) and Fabrinet (www.fabrinet.com) have announced the execution of a strategic supply agreement, according to which RED-C has selected Fabrinet as its contract manufacturing partner for full turnkey production services. RED-C’s production site at Fabrinet is expected to be fully operational by the beginning of 2008. The site is designated for high-volume production and will be gradually expanded as per RED-C needs.
Following a deal with H2O Networks (www.h2o-networks.uk.net), the University of Aberdeen expects to have a new high-bandwidth Internet network in place by the start of this autumn’s term. H2O Networks says its Fibre Optical Cable Underground Sewer System will provide the University of Aberdeen with a high-capacity link for the next 10 years, enabling students to access the Internet in their bedrooms in university halls of residence, improving the overall student living experience, and widening the choice of studying options available to students, say H2O Networks representatives.
Sterlite Optical Technologies Ltd. (www.sterliteoptical.com) says it has received a contract from Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL; www.bsnl.co.in) for manufacture and supply of high-fiber-count ribbon fiber-optic cables. These cables will be installed in BNSL’s Pan-India Optical Fiber Access Network (OAN). The contract is valued at Rs 380 million and supplies will be completed within the next 6 months, says Sterlite.
Sycamore Networks Inc. (www.syca morenet.com) has opened a research and development center in Shanghai’s Caohejing Hi-Tech Park. The Sycamore Networks (Shanghai) Co. Ltd. Research and Development Center, which currently employs more than 30 networking engineers, will focus on advanced features for existing products as well as new product development, including products that support intelligent multiservice switching, ASON control plane technology, and advanced IP/Ethernet interworking, say company representatives.
Cortina Systems (www.cortina-systems.com) has announced the opening of offices in Hong Kong and Korea. Cortina says the new offices will expand its ability to provide local sales, technical support, and professional services for customers in the Asia-Pacific region.Pannaway Technologies Inc. (www.pannaway.com) has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the access division of TelStrat International (www.telstrat.com). The division features TelStrat’s Inteleflex broadband loop carrier (BLC) platform, designed to enable telecommunications providers to bridge today’s circuit-switched and emerging packet-based networks to deliver converged voice, video, and data communication and entertainment services. TelStrat is also recognized as the first company in North America to deploy next-generation 2.4 GPON-based FTTH from a full-service broadband loop carrier platform, according to Pannaway.
PacketFront (www.packetfront.com), provider of open-access broadband networking, has announced that its U.S. subsidiary, PacketFront Inc., has completed its acquisition of DynamicCity (www.dynamiccity.com), the operational force behind the UTOPIA initiative. The company says it will integrate DynamicCity’s operations in North America over the next several months, with the Utah office emerging as the primary operations center and the new Denver location serving as the management and sales office.