Alcatel-Lucent (www.alcatel-lucent.com) signed an agreement to acquire substantially all assets, including all intellectual property, of Canadian metro WDM networking supplier Tropic Networks Inc. The integration of Tropic Networks’ intellectual property, namely the Wavelength Tracker, enhances the competitiveness of Alcatel-Lucent’s optical product portfolio and gives operators the benefit of cost-effectively upgrading their networks according to the latest innovations in optical transmission, say Alcatel-Lucent representatives. This transaction builds upon a collaboration that the two companies established in July 2004.
Optium Corp. (www.optium.com), a supplier of optical subsystems, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Kailight Photonics Inc., provider of 40-Gbit/sec optical transmission products, for approximately $35 million in cash. Kailight’s family of optical modules includes 300-pin 40-Gbit/sec transceivers addressing line- and client-side applications. Optium says the acquisition will build on its existing suite of optical transport products, including wavelength-agile DWDM, SONET, and 10-Gigabit Ethernet transceivers and subsystems; 10-Gbit/sec pluggable transceivers; cable TV trunking and distribution subsystems; and its wavelength-selective switch (WSS). In addition, Optium claims the Kailight acquisition will enable it to provide full line cards of all variations for 40-Gbit/sec applications.
Avago Technologies (www.avagotech.com) and Infineon Technologies AG (www.infineon.com) have entered into a definitive agreement under which Avago will acquire Infineon’s polymer optical fiber (POF) business, based in Regensburg, Germany. The two companies say that Infineon’s POF business is the leader in the market for automotive multimedia infotainment networks and transceivers for safety systems. This business unit also provides transmitters and receivers for transportation switching and home broadband services. All research and development, marketing, and manufacturing employees of Infineon’s POF group are expected to become Avago employees and will continue to be located at the present Regensburg facility.
AboveNet Inc. (www.abovenet.com) says it has acquired IRUs in, or service agreements for, 60 building access fiber connections held by AT&T in Los Angeles and Chicago as well as 180 building access fiber connections held by Verizon in New York, Washington/Baltimore, and Philadelphia. AboveNet acquired these assets in competitive bid processes that AT&T and Verizon separately conducted to divest certain assets pursuant to consent decrees issued by the U.S. Department of Justice in connection with the mergers of SBC and AT&T, and Verizon and MCI, respectively.
The operating subsidiary of Level3 Communications Inc. (www.level3.com) has purchased certain assets from AT&T Corp. that were ordered divested as a result of the merger between AT&T and SBC Communications Inc. The assets consist of IRUs for dark fiber connections to more than 200 buildings and more than 1,600 metro fiber route-miles in six of the 11 markets where AT&T was required to divest certain assets. Level3 will acquire fiber assets in Detroit, Hartford, Kansas City, Milwaukee, San Francisco, and St. Louis. Level3 will retain intermediate splice rights, which will enable it to add new buildings to the acquired assets.
OpVista (www.opvista.com) has completed a core network capacity upgrade for Cox Communications throughout the service provider’s Connecticut and Rhode Island networks. Started in the middle of 2006, the network upgrade features OpVista’s recently announced AnyWave Optical Network architecture and products, giving Cox Communications a single DWDM platform scalable to 800 Gbits to support new 10-Gigabit Ethernet services.
Star Telephone, an IOC based in southeastern North Carolina, has selected Ciena Corp.’s (www.ciena.com) CN 4200 FlexSelect Advanced Services Platform for its core network infrastructure upgrade. Star is transitioning its legacy SONET network to a next-generation, service-enabled architecture to better support the delivery of high-bandwidth services, including metro Ethernet, wireless, high-speed data, and IPTV.
FPL FiberNet, a subsidiary of FPL Group, has selected Infinera’s (www.infinera.com) DTN for its regional optical network to bring the benefits of digital optical networking to the growing Florida market, a key connection point between the North American market and the Caribbean and Latin American markets. FPL FiberNet delivers broadband services to IXCs, wireless carriers, international telecom companies, ISPs, and large enterprises. The company has more than 2,500 route-miles of high-count fiber with connectivity to central offices, customer PoPs, carrier hotels, and all international cable landing stations in South Florida.
CyOptics Inc. (www.cyoptics.com) has announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire Apogee Photonics (www.apogeephotonics.com), a supplier of laser sources for the 10- and 40-Gbit/sec markets. Terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.
Adesta LLC (www.adestagroup.com), a systems integrator and project management company for communication networks and security systems, has been awarded contracts from the Maryland Broadband Cooperative (www.mbdc.us) valued at more than $8 million to design and build the first 140 miles of an open-access telecommunications infrastructure in the state’s rural communities. Adesta’s turnkey operations will consist of design and construction of the fiber-optic network with 144 to 288 strands of dedicated fiber backbone. Adesta will provide and install an open-access SONET system, with an OC-192 backbone and smaller connections at lateral endpoints across segments of the network. These endpoints will connect to universities, industrial parks, and other points of interest, including business development and technology centers.
Ledcor Technical Services (LTS) and ComSpan-Bandon Networks have selected Hitachi Telecom (USA) Inc.’s (www.hitachitelecom.com) AMN1220 GPON platform to extend a fiber network that is now operating in Bandon, OR, into the town of Coquille, about 17 miles inland from Bandon. Construction is scheduled for completion in the third quarter. Coquille and Bandon are being connected by fiber-optic cable, which will carry a video feed from the headend, located in Bandon, to Coquille. LTS and ComSpan-Bandon Networks will offer video, high-speed Internet, and voice services.
Corning Cable Systems LLC (www.corning.com/cablesystems) is providing its Evolant Advantage Optical Solution for the Lake Las Vegas fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) deployment. Located 17 miles from the Las Vegas Strip, Lake Las Vegas is a 3,600-acre development of residential homes, hotels, and championship golf courses. The development is expected to reach 10,000 units when the build-out is complete.
Connexion Technologies (www.cnxntech.com) has been tapped to build fiber-optic networks for three new properties: Highlands at Walnut Creek, a mountain community in western North Carolina (Highlands Mountain Properties); The Park Condos, an upscale mid-rise residential project in Charlotte, NC (Verna and Associates); and The Point Orlando Resort, a Mediterranean-style high rise in Orlando, FL (Seymour International). The fiber-optic amenity company says it continues to sign additional contracts with national developers at a steady rate.
Santur Corp. (www.santurcorp.com), manufacturer of widely tunable transmitters for the telecommunications industry, has entered into a strategic long-term supply agreement with StrataLight (www.stratalight.com), provider of 40-Gbit/sec next-generation optical transponders and subsystems. Santur will supply its patented DFB array technology, which it says enables the fabrication of broadly tunable sources at the same performance and reliability as fixed DFB lasers.
Xponent Photonics (www.xponentinc.com), manufacturer of surface-mount photonic components, has secured $23 million in a Series 3 funding round led by American River Ventures, which is making its first investment in the company. Xponent’s existing investors, including Arcturus Capital, Eastward Capital, El Dorado Ventures, HOYA Holdings, Samsung, US Venture Partners, and Walden International also participated in the funding. According Xponent president and chief executive officer Jeffrey S. Rittichier, the new funding will enable the company to accelerate market penetration of surface-mount photonics beyond the FTTX market. He confirms that the company is sampling optical components to the datacom, cable TV, and consumer markets.
Bratislava-Orange Slovensko, a subsidiary of France Telecom (www.francetelecom.com), has announced plans to build a dense national network of optical connections to households in Slovakia. Orange believes the deployment will give it a few years’ head start on its competition. The carrier will invest approximately 1 billion SKK (€32 million) and cover almost 200,000 households by the end of the year. The optical connections will provide Internet services at speeds of tens of megabits per second and will support digital television, video- and audio-on-demand, telephony, and other services. Orange says it will deploy optical connections in 10 Slovak cities.
Magyar Telekom, a member of the Deutsche Telekom Group, has signed a multiyear frame contract with Kapsch, a communications service supplier for carriers and service providers, for the supply of Transmode (www.transmode.com) TM-Series CWDM systems. Magyar Telekom says it is using the Transmode TM-Series to extend its existing fiber infrastructure in metro networks, optimize the aggregation of data traffic in access networks, enable flexible access to high-speed leased-line networks, and provide a cost-effective alternative to dark fiber provisioning. The first deployments under the contract are now live.
T-Com (www.t-com.de), the broadband/landline division of Deutsche Telekom, Germany’s incumbent carrier, has selected ADVA Optical Networking’s (www.advaoptical.com) Fiber Service Platform (FSP) 3000 for the expansion of its optical metro and regional networks. In cooperation with ADVA and partner Siemens Communications (www.siemens.com), T-Com signed a multiyear contract for the implementation of WDM-based transmission technology in its next-generation metro and regional networks. The FSP 3000 platform’s flexibility and ability to handle multiple network interface protocols at data rates ranging from 8 Mbits/sec up to 40 Gbits/sec was reportedly a deciding factor for T-Com.
Vtesse Networks (www.vtesse.com), a U.K. supplier of converged optical network services, is implementing BTI Photonic Systems’ (www.btiphotonics.com) optical networking platform, Netstender, to extend the capacity and reach of its backbone network to support one of the UK’s largest financial institutions. Vtesse is leveraging BTI’s technology to deliver Gigabit Ethernet connectivity to major financial sites across a 10-Gbit Ethernet private line backbone. BTI’s platform will interconnect networks between Leeds, York, Middleborough, and Newcastle.
Following the commissioning of a transoceanic submarine cable upgrade, Azea Networks (www.azea.net) has secured a Series D funding round of more than $20 million led by TVM Capital and supported by its existing investors. Azea already is backed by top-tier venture capital investors from both the US and the UK, including Accel Partners, Atlas Venture, and Quester. The company reveals that new investor TVM Capital of Munich, Germany, and Boston, MA, has led this additional funding round to provide working capital for further technical and business development and to take the company to profitability.
Enablence Technologies Inc. (www.enablence.com) has agreed to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Albis Optoelectronics AG (www.albisopto.com). The Swiss supplier of photodiodes will continue to supply products to the datacom and FTTH markets as a wholly owned subsidiary of Enablence.
Photop Technologies (www.photoptech.com) and Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics (WNLO) will jointly establish a lab for photonics technologies with applications in fiber-optic communications, lasers, and optoelectronics.
ZTE Corp. (www.zte.com.cn/) has won a contract from MTN, Africa’s largest mobile carrier, for a Rwandan transmission project to build both the Rwandan backbone network and the first metropolitan network in the capital, Kigali. The backbone network project will connect Rwanda’s capital with the Ugandan border, where it will interface with the Uganda MTN network to provide an international fiber-optic gateway. ZTE will use its ZXMP S330 SDH transmission equipment in building the backbone and metro networks.
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd., one of Asia’s largest international stock exchanges, has upgraded the speed and reliability of its backbone network infrastructure serving derivatives markets with high-bandwidth optical DWDM technology from Nortel (www.nortel.com). Nortel will provide its Optical Metro 5200 DWDM platform.Finisar Corp. (www.finisar.com) has agreed to acquire Wilmington, MA-based AZNA LLC for $19.7 million and South Plainfield, NJ-based Kodeos Communications Inc. for $7 million. The AZNA acquisition will provide Finisar with chirp-managed directly modulated lasers (CMLs), which enable longer-reach optical transmitters at a lower cost and with less complexity than those based on externally modulated lasers. Kodeos’ optical duobinary (ODB) and maximum likelihood sequence estimator (MLSE)-based technologies, meanwhile, will give Finisar the 10-Gbit 300-pin MSA transponder product line it is lacking. The acquisitions also bolster the company’s expertise in tunable modules.
March 26, 2007 marked the first meeting of theSerial Short-Reach 40-Gbit/sec Transponder (SSR-40) Working Group (www.ssr40.com), established to address the industry’s need to provide a cost-effective 40-Gbit/sec serial transponder for short-reach applications. Members includeInphi, Kailight Photonics, Picometrix, Sanmina-SCI, SHF Communication Technologies AG, and Sierra Monolithics.