JULY 17, 2007 -- Calient Networks (search for Calient), provider of carrier-class fiber optic cross-connect systems, has announced the availability of its latest environmentally friendly product, a RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) Directive compliant DiamondWave FiberConnect.
Calient says it has a long history of fostering environment responsibility, from reducing energy consumption to new ideas on reducing CO2 emissions. Its latest offering reduces lead and other hazardous substances below standards set by the European Union.
"We strongly believe that we have a corporate responsibility to the communities we live and work in and to the world at large to establish safe, healthy, and economically sustainable products," contends Kevin Welsh, CEO of Calient Networks. "We are very proud of our engineer's efforts and success in developing a RoHS-compliant FiberConnect."
According to Calient Networks, the DiamondWave FiberConnect is an intelligent fiber-optic cross-connect system (FOCS) that revolutionizes the way service providers manage their fiber-optic cables and services. The product offers any carrier deploying large amounts of new fiber--from FTTX to video and wireless backhaul to data center and metro fiber rollouts--cost savings, reduced electrical consumption, and a significant contribution to reduced greenhouse gas emissions. Calient says the FiberConnect also streamlines and centralizes network operations by enabling:
• Rapid, remote test and installation verification of fiber for new services, in 1/10th the normal time;
• Certification of construction, separating fiber construction from service provisioning;
• Automated fiber records management and real-time inventory;
• Optical layer protection and/or restoration;
• Automated network testing;
• Lights-out, remote site operation;
• Instant fiber reconfiguration; and
• Automated optical power monitoring and alarming.
The telecommunications industry has established numerous initiatives to foster positive environmental positions and products; from the GeSI (Global e-Sustainability Initiative) to the ETNO (European Telecommunications Network Operators) association. Calient says it has been a consistent leader, offering low energy consuming product and creative options for reducing greenhouse emissions.
"Our most recent product, the DiamondWave FiberConnect, consumes less than a quarter of a watt per fiber connection," reports John Bowers, CTO and vice president of marketing and business development for Calient. "That is less than 150 watts for a 640- fiber termination fiber-optic cross-connect system or less than 1 W/Tbit/sec fully loaded."
According to figures compiled by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, total worldwide energy consumption of data center servers has doubled from 2000 to 2005 to 123 billion kilowatt hours (Total Telecom Magazine, May 2007).
"Carriers are setting aggressive goals to reduce their electrical consumption per unit of data, and Calient is helping make this a reality," adds Welsh.
Potentially of even greater significance, says Calient, is its position on reducing greenhouse emissions. The FiberConnect allows operators to provision and troubleshoot fiber network problems remotely and with its any fiber-to-any-fiber cross-connect capability can directly resolve many failures. This capability takes thousands of trucks and their crews off the road instead of merely making the truck less polluting, note Calient representatives. When a field visit is required, such as a repair of a fiber cut, Calient's FiberConnect is able to isolate the location and precisely dispatch the team, reducing "windshield" time searching for the cable break.
Another non-trivial contribution the FiberConnect makes is reducing the release of cleaning chemicals into the environment, says the company. Every time a fiber cable has to be disconnected and re-connected it must be cleaned; this happens thousands of times over the deployed life of a fiber. The FiberConnect makes and remakes fiber connections with mirrors; no cleaning is required other than with initial installation.
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