Broadwing Corp. (www.broadwing.com) has selected Infinera’s (www.infinera.com) Digital Transport Networking (DTN) optical system, based on photonic integrated circuits (PICs), to enhance its optical network. In a related announcement, Infinera is licensing key Corvis intellectual property, including Raman amplification, and will take over manufacturing and maintenance support for Broadwing’s existing CorWave network, with members of the Corvis engineering, manufacturing, and support team becoming Infinera employees.
Applied Micro Circuits Corp. (AMCC-www.amcc.com) has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Quake Technologies (www.quaketech.com) for approximately $69 million in cash, net of the estimated cash and receivables that AMCC expects to assume. Quake is a privately held fabless semiconductor company based in Ottawa that has had considerable success developing 10-Gbit Ethernet PHY technology for enterprise and data center applications.
Time Warner Telecom (www.twtelecom.com), provider of managed voice and data networking for business customers, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Xspedius Communications, a metro fiber-based provider of integrated communications services, primarily to enterprise businesses. Per the agreement, Time Warner Telecom will pay total consideration of $531.5 million, consisting of $212.5 million in cash and $319 million in shares of Time Warner Telecom’s Class A common stock. The company will assume no debt in the acquisition.
Optical Communications Products (OCP-www.ocp-inc.com) has agreed to acquire Taiwanese FTTH component supplier GigaComm Corp. for approximately $20 million. GigaComm is the leading supplier of FTTH components in the Japanese market and counts among its customers Mitsubishi Electric Company. Acquiring GigaComm is part of OCP’s strategy to expand its product offerings, bring focus to its efforts in Asia, and extend the company globally.
XO Communications (www.xo.com) is now carrying customer traffic on major segments of its new, wholly owned next-generation nationwide long-haul intercity fiber-optic network. As announced earlier this year, XO is upgrading its long-haul network by deploying the Infinera DTN optical system. The upgrade will allow XO to more than double network capacity and enable the carrier to offer a broader range of higher-speed data transport services to content providers, enterprises, and service providers.
Big Pipe(www.bigpipeinc.com), provider of data networking and Internet services to North American businesses, has purchased an OC-192-based U.S. network backbone service from Broadwing Communications (www.broadwing.com). The 10-Gbit/sec dedicated bandwidth provided by the upgrade will increase Big Pipe’s capacity on three key routes: Seattle to San Jose, CA; San Jose to Chicago; and Ashburn, VA, to New York.
Fibertech Networks(www.fibertech.com), a metropolitan transport provider operating fiber-optic networks in 20 mid-size U.S. cities throughout the Northeast, has deployed Turin Networks’ (www.turinnetworks.com) Traverse platform to integrate Ethernet switching capabilities into its network and expand bandwidth capacity. Fibertech has deployed Traverse nodes throughout its Connecticut and upstate New York markets.
FDN Communications (www.fdn.com), a 250,000-line CLEC based in Florida, is deploying the C7 multiservice access platform (MSAP) from Calix (www.calix.com) to help transform its network in the face of a changing regulatory environment and accelerating consumer expectations. FDN Communications initially will deploy the Calix C7 in its 170 central office collocations.
Enablence(www.enablence.com), which is developing transceiver technology for FTTH applications, has closed $11.3 million (Cdn) in second-round funding and announced a reverse takeover in which the company will be acquired, but end up with a listing on Toronto’s TSX Venture Exchange under the name Enablence Technologies Inc. The company also has lined up partners that will enable it to ramp manufacturing of its products.
Telecom Engineering (www.telecomengineering.com) has been awarded the supply, engineering, installation, provisioning, and ongoing 24×7 technical support contract for a multinode CWDM network for Central Transport Group LLC in Minnesota. The network will use MRV Communications’ (www.mrv.com) Fiber Driver transponder products and TIP eight-channel CWDM multiplexers capable of 10-Gbit/sec OC-192 rates over 100-km single- or dual-fiber strands.
Wireless Facilities Inc. (WFI-www.wfinet.com), the nation’s largest independent RF network and wireless engineering company, has selected and deployed ClearMesh Networks’ (www.clearmesh.com) wireless optical mesh equipment to build a high-capacity wireless mesh network for the San Diego Westfield UTC shopping center. Powered by the ClearMesh Metro Grid, WFI’s new wireless network supports more than 155 shops, 25 eateries, a cinema, and an ice-skating rink. The Metro Grid wireless optical mesh approach is based on interference-free wireless technology and operates in a license-free spectrum as an alternative to fiber access distribution.
United Telephone Mutual Aid Corp. has chosen Allied Telesis’ (www.alliedtelesis.com) IP triple-play portfolio for providing services to its 12,000 customers in northeast North Dakota. The carrier will use the iMAP integrated Multiservice Access Platform, iMG intelligent Multiservice Gateways, and Layer 3 switches from Allied Telesis (formerly Allied Telesyn) to deliver a full spectrum of IP-based voice, video, and data services.
Time Warner Inc. (www.timewarner.com) and Comcast Corp. (www.comcast.com) have completed the acquisition of substantially all of Adelphia Communications Corp.’s assets. Time Warner and Comcast announced an agreement to acquire the bankrupt multiple systems operator (MSO) in April 2005.
Alpha Technologies (www.alpha.com) has announced the commissioning of the first phase of a 267-kW solar power plant for the City of Loma Linda, CA. The company also will provide backup powering products for the city’s FTTH initiative, designing DC plants and inverter solutions for both headend and point-of-presence (PoP) sites. Later this year, Alpha’s indoor fiber power equipment will be used throughout the network.
Global Crossing (www.globalcrossing.com) has won a one-year contract to provide Brazilian carrier Transit Telecom (www.transitbrasil.com.br) with IP transit and colocation services. Transit Telecom, which offers services to residential and corporate customers, will use the Global Crossing facilities to expand its current telecom infrastructure to meet the company’s accelerated growth, especially with the increase of its network in Brazil. Transit Telecom also will enhance the services provided to its broadband IP and voice-over-IP (VoIP) customers.
EPON/GEPON system provider Alloptic (www.alloptic.com) has signed a reseller agreement with value-added partner Datagrama Comunicaciones of Costa Rica as part of its continuing expansion into the Latin American region. Datagrama Comunicaciones serves Central America in the telecommunications, data communications, and security markets.
euNetworks (www.eunetworks.com), the European division of Global Voice Group, has launched Europe’s highest-capacity fiber-optic network, combining long-haul (country-to-country/city-to-city) with last-mile (inner-city) fiber. The massive fiber capacity enables euNetworks to offer “private fiber networks” delivering dedicated, secure, unmetered fiber strands to customers and providing virtually unlimited bandwidth at a flat rate. To complement its existing metro fiber networks, euNetworks also announced the successful acquisition of Viatel Holding’s long-haul network and the completion of €35 million in funding through a convertible bond.
Sanef Telecoms, a business unit of motorway company Sanef Group and a regional telecommunications operator, has deployed
Ethernet equipment provider Pandatel AG (www.pandatel.com) has announced the completion of operations consolidation in Germany. The company closed two out of its three sites and merged operations with the headquarters, now located in Hanover.
Eurocabel-1 LLC (www.eurocabel-1.ru/), which specializes in the manufacture of optical cables for communication systems, has announced that effective this past July 1, its main production of singlemode optical fiber cables will feature OFS’ (www.ofsoptics.com) AllWave Zero Water Peak (ZWP) G.652.D fiber. Eurocabel-1 LLC is a Russian company whose optical cables are designed for application within the communication lines of the Russian Federation Unified communications network as well as other operating companies belonging to other ministries and institutions.
Irish broadband provider Broighter(www.broighter.com) has selected Transmode (www.transmode.com) to supply metro WDM technology for its Dublin-based metro network upgrade. The upgraded metro network uses the Transmode TS-1100 to provide a CWDM overlay network on the existing infrastructure to provide service flexibility and future proofing for the network.
Net Insight (www.netinsight.net) has received an order from a European broadcaster to update its video and data transport between several cities. Currently, the customer leases a number of services from several service providers, but now it will be able to manage and operate its own fiber-based network, resulting in more efficient transport between its production locations, say Net Insight representatives.
Fujitsu Ltd. (www.fujitsu.com) will open a European business support center in Amsterdam, Netherlands, for its optical components products, including 300-pin multisource agreement (MSA) transponders, 10-Gbit small-form-factor pluggable (XFP) and small-form-factor pluggable (SFP) MSA transceivers, optical transceivers for PONs, lithium niobate external modulators, and a variable chromatic dispersion compensator. Fujitsu also is creating a new sales support organization in Singapore to handle the Asian market.
SingTel (www.singtel.com) has begun trials of FTTH and residential metro Ethernet technology in two selected condominiums in Singapore. The technologies will allow SingTel to offer customers ultrafast broadband speeds of up to 80 Mbits/sec for voice, video, and data services.Alcatel (www.alcatel.com) is providing the equipment and associated support, while2Wire (www.2wire.com) is providing the customer premises equipment. The trials feature six months of free unlimited high-speed Internet access for residents of the 80-unit Leonie Hills Residences and the 756-unit Gardens at Bishan Condominiums.
LuminentOIC (www.luminentoic.com), a wholly owned subsidiary of MRV Communications (www.mrv.com), and Huagong Tech Company Ltd. (HG Tech) have mutually agreed to terminate the agreement under which Luminent was to acquireHG Genuine Opto, a subsidiary of HG Tech. The termination is based on current market valuations of comparable companies and further due diligence. Both parties have expressed the hope that they will find mutually agreeable terms in the future.
Korea Telecom has selected the Samsung FTTH portfolio, based on Teknovus’ (www.teknovus.com) GEPON chipsets, for major deployment throughout Korea. KT is building a nationwide broadband network that will deliver premium-grade triple-play services.
Korea Telecom also has ordered additional DWDM access transport technologies from Novera Optics (www.noveraoptics.com) to support about 20,000 broadband subscribers. The deployment brings the carrier’s total number of Novera-supported lines to approximately 100,000. With its point-to-point, bidirectional optical links through a single feeder fiber, the DWDM system provides an easy upgrade path, symmetrical downstream and upstream bandwidth, and multiprotocol transparency for FTTH and fiber-to-the-curb (FTTC) applications, according to Novera Optics.Verizon (www.verizon.com) has tapped Alcatel (www.alcatel.com), Motorola(www. motorola.com), and Tellabs (www.tellabs.com) to supply GPON equipment to upgrade its FTTP network. Later this year, Verizon will begin deploying the Alcatel equipment first, to be followed by Motorola and Tellabs. Initially, Verizon says, the new equipment will be capable of increasing broadband speeds by up to four times downstream to the customer’s home and by up to eight times upstream back to the Internet on Verizon’s FTTP network.
Alcatel’s (www.alcatel.com) Maersk Defender cable ship has begun laying a regional submarine cable network for Kodiak Kenai Cable Company-a subsidiary of the Alaskan Old Harbor Native Corp.-in Seward, AK. The turnkey deployment of the 900-km Kodiak Kenai Fiber Link (KKFL) will provide the first fiber-optic connection from Anchorage and Seward to communities on the Kenai Peninsula and Kodiak Island, serving the communications requirements of approximately 60,000 citizens, plus the Alaska Aerospace Development Corp. Launch Complex on Kodiak Island.