Calix (Petaluma, CA) will acquire Optical Solutions (Minneapolis), provider of GPON equipment and arguably the most successful of the PON system startups. Details of the acquisition, including the value of the transaction and expected closing dates, were not released at press time. The acquisition complements Calix’s broadband loop-carrier product line and positions it to respond to the RBOCs’ upcoming GPON RFP.
For an FTTP deployment to 100 buildings in Florianopolis, Brazil, CSM Telecom (Florianopolis) placed an initial order with Amedia Networks (Eatontown, NJ) for the company’s QoStream PG1000 premises gateways and AS5000 aggregation switches, along with its QoStream director network management system.
Sumitomo Electric Lightwave (Research Triangle Park, NC) installed its FutureFLEX air blown fiber infrastructure for the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission’s expansion of the Lewiston (NY)-Queenston (Ontario) Bridge, a major commercial border crossing between the United States and Canada. The 10,000-ft fiber blow linked the bridge to border control plazas in Lewiston and Queenston.
Intelsat (Washington, DC), provider of satellite communications services, chose the ECI Telecom (Petah Tikva, Israel) XDM multiservice transport platform for an optical network based on the platform’s ability to converge WDM, SONET/SDH, and Ethernet services. Also, ECI Telecom signed a $59-million agreement with government-owned utilityInstituto Costarricense de Electricidad (San Jose, Costa Rica) to provide an advanced backbone network based on the same platform to enable telecom traffic routing throughout Costa Rica.
ADVA Optical Networking (Munich, Germany) signed an agreement to acquire all material assets of Covaro Networks(Richardson, TX), provider of Ethernet platforms, through a combination of shares and cash. The acquisition is set to close next month.
Xtera (Allen, TX) announced that FLAG Telecom (London), provider of international wholesale network transport and communications services, is purchasing additional Xtera Nu-Wave multireach DWDM equipment to respond to a “500% increase” in orders for wavelength capacity on the FLAG Atlantic-1 (FA-1) optical submarine cable.
The Mid-Atlantic Broadband Cooperative (Danville, VA) and Development Authority of the North subhead (Watertown, NY) deployed a packet optical platform from Nortel Networks (Ottawa, Ontario) to extend broadband services to rural communities in southern Virginia and northern New York, respectively.
Hitachi Telecom (Norcross, GA) announced that its AMN1220 GPON FTTP platform will be deployed in Bandon, OR. The city accepted a proposal from ComSpanUSA (Roseburg, OR) in association with its development partner, Ledcor Technical Services (Vancouver, British Columbia), last August 2005 to design, build, and operate an FTTP network in Bandon and the surrounding area. Hitachi’s GPON platform was selected to deliver triple play data, video, and voice services. With installation set for this month, the system will reach over 2,500 homes and businesses.
Facilities-based CLEC REI Communications (Bartow, FL) selected the Pannaway Technologies (Portsmouth, NH) Service Convergence Network platform to deliver VoIP, bidirectional high-speed Internet, and digital TV services to about 200,000 residents of central Florida.
Under terms of a strategic distribution agreement, KGP Telecommunications (Faribault, MN) selected the ADC (Minneapolis) OmniReach product line as its premium FTTX offering for its Network Sales business unit. Also, Arvig Communication Systems (Perham, MN) installed ADC’s OmniReach fiber access terminals to simplify installation, maintenance, and management of two FTTX network deployments in west central Minnesota.
CyOptics (Lehigh Valley, PA) announced the closing of its $27-million Series F funding round with a $3-million investment from Birchmere Ventures, which joined prior investors JVP, Sprout Group, TowerBrook Capital Partners, and Eurofund. CyOptics says the round financed its recent acquisition and integration of TriQuint Semiconductor’s (Hillsboro, OR) optoelectronics division.
Telecom Ottawa (Ottawa, Ontario) launched a suite of SONET, WDM, and storage-extension services enabled by the Ciena (Linthicum, MD) Online metro multiservice DWDM transport platform. The services are designed to provide Canadian government agencies as well as enterprises and carriers with 10-Gigabit Ethernet connectivity throughout the Ottawa metropolitan region.
Tennessee municipal utilities Morristown Utility Commission (Morristown, TN) and Bristol Tennessee Essential Services (Bristol, TN) chose Alcatel (Paris) to provide an FTTH platform to bring broadband access services to the utilities’ customers. Platforms selected include Alcatel’s 7340 FTTU PON system, along with its 1692 Metrospan Edge CWDM system and 7700 OmniSwitch Gigabit Ethernet switch.
Zhone Technologies’ (Oakland) eLuminant products were acquired by Communications Test Design (West Chester, PA). Products in the acquisition include Zhone’s eLuminant ISC-303 digital loop carrier, VISTA access SONET ADM, and RC-28D and FD-6 multiplexers. Zhone received $9 million in exchange for the inventory, equipment, intellectual property, and liabilities associated with the products.
Wave7 Optics (Alpharetta, Georgia) announced the first customers for its Trident7 optical access platform. CLEC Falcon Broadband (Colorado Springs, CO) will deploy the platform in a triple play FTTP network connecting 22,500 homes in the Colorado Springs area. Public utility Pulaski Electric System (Pulaski, TN) also selected the platform for an FTTP network connecting homes and businesses in Giles County, TN.
Fiberxon (Santa Clara, CA) and Teknovus (Petaluma, CA) formed a strategic partnership to interface Teknovus’ TK37xx family of EPON chips with Fiberxon’s GEPON OLT and ONU transceivers.
Ericsson (Stockholm) reached an agreement to acquire significant parts of Marconi’s (London) telecommunications business. The purchased assets represent about 75% of Marconi’s turnover, including that company’s businesses for optical networking, broadband and fixed radio access networks, softswitches, and data networking equipment and services. Ericsson also will acquire the Marconi trademark, associated brand names, and intellectual property. After the acquisition, Marconi will be renamed telent plc, with business focused on providing services to telecom and enterprise customers.
Alight Technologies (Copenhagen) reached a definitive agreement to acquire the Infineon Technologies (Munich, Germany) 1300-nm GaInNAs VCSEL platform. The transaction includes Infineon’s manufacturing equipment and IPR as well as its 1300-nm wafers.
Kenya Data Networks (Nairobi) commissioned Siemens (Munich, Germany) to implement a 1,140-km fiber-optic network by the end of 2006. Once installed, the network, based on Siemens’ Surpass hiT MSPP, will enable broadband services throughout the subhead. The backbone network will connect landlocked African nations, including Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi to the planned East African undersea cable.
Following its acquisition by Goldman Sachs Capital Partners in July, the former Pirelli Cables & Systems (Milan, Italy) has been renamed Prysmian Cables & Systems. The company says it will continue to operate and develop its core business in the telecom and energy cable sectors.
Tyco Telecommunications (Morristown, NJ) launched its Seahorse Asia-Pacific marine maintenance service. Concurrently, the company announced a long-term contract with Asia Netcom (Hong Kong) to provide marine maintenance and essential repairs via the Seahorse service for the entire East Asia Crossingcable system. The subsea system touches Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, the Philippines, and Korea.
Softbank Group subsidiary Japan Telecom (Tokyo) upgraded its DWDM platform, based on the Cisco Systems (San Jose) ONS 15454.
Lambda OpticalSystems (Reston, VA) received a $2-million strategic investment from technology firms Itochu (Tokyo) and Itochu Techno-Science (Tokyo). Lambda also announced a strategic partnership agreement with the firms for Japanese sales, marketing, distribution, and systems integration rights to its LambdaNode and LambdaCreate optical switching products.
Engana (Sydney, Australia), provider of wavelength-selective-switch modules for use in ROADM applications, closed its $6-million series B financing round. The round was led by new investor Starfish Ventures, together with previous investors Technology Venture Partners, DB Capital Partners (via its Ericsson-Deutsche Technology Fund), Intel Capital, and private investors.