Tucson Medical Center (TMC), Southern Arizona’s largest hospital, has chosen the Canobeam DT-130 wireless optical Gigabit Ethernet data-transmission system from Canon U.S.A. Inc.(www.canon.com) to serve its campus network. The system uses a line-of-sight beam of infrared light to transmit high-bandwidth data wirelessly via free-space optics (FSO) technology.
API Nanotronics Corp.(www.apinanotronics.com), a supplier of electronic components to the defense and communications sectors, has acquired all of the assets of NanoOpto Corp., a nanotechnology company specializing in processes for next-generation optical components. The transaction includes all of NanoOpto’s intellectual property related to the design and high-volume fabrication of nano-optic devices for optical components as well as equipment at its ISO 9001:2000 registered nanofabrication facility in Somerset, NJ.
Network Equipment Technologies Inc.(NET; www.net.com), provider of multiservice network exchange equipment for government and enterprise customers, and Bay Microsystems Inc. (www.baymicrosystems.com), developer of high-speed programmable packet processor chipsets, have expanded their relationship to include joint development of high-speed, multiservice platforms using 40G networking processing technology.
Qwest Communications International Inc. (www.qwest.com) has announced ultralong-haul upgrades to its nationwide fiber-optic network that quadruple broadband capacity for customers and triple geographic availability of ultrahigh-speed services, claim Qwest representatives. When combined with Qwest’s metro Ethernet or private line services, the upgrade provides an end-to-end connection scalable from 1 to 40 Gbits/sec, says the carrier.
MRV Communications Inc. (www.mrv.com) closed its previously announced acquisition of Fiberxon Inc., effective July 1, 2007-despite the fact that Fiberxon management has so far failed to deliver audited financial statements for 2004-2006. MRV could be delisted from NASDAQ if it can’t deliver the audits within 75 days of the closing date.
Alcatel-Lucent (www.alcatel-lucent.com) has signed a contract with Libyan Post Telecommunications & Information Technology Company (LPTIC) to supply a nationwide fiber-optic backbone network that will serve all of Libya. The contract is valued at more than €90 million. The backbone will link all major cities with more than 4,400 km of fiber.
euNetworks(www.eunetworks.com) has reached a five-year agreement with German Internet service provider Aixit GmbH. euNetworks says it will deploy a fully redundant private fiber network over which Aixit will provide a range of ISP and broadband services to its expanding customer base in Germany.
Ciena Corp. (www.ciena.com) announced that the JANET national research and education network (NREN) in the U.K. has successfully delivered its first 40-Gbit/sec service using the new 40-Gbit/sec capabilities of Ciena’s CoreStream Agility Optical Transport System. According to Ciena, JANET is the first NREN in Europe to deploy a true 40-Gbit/sec signal across a single optical wavelength to carry live production traffic between sites.
Ericsson (www.ericsson.com) and the Cyprus Telecommunications Authority (CYTA) have signed a contract for an FTTH network based on Ericsson’s GPON system. The contract includes delivery of central office optical equipment and devices for the homes (including the EDA1200 and EDA1500), passive infrastructure such as fiber systems and cables, and various services. In addition to the GPON, the pilot project also includes a point-to-point network using Ericsson’s switches and customer premises equipment.
ECI Telecom Ltd. (www.ecitele.com) has entered into a definitive merger agreement for the company to be acquired by affiliates of the Swarth Group, an investment vehicle controlled by Shaul Shani, and certain funds that have appointed Ashmore Investment Management Ltd. as their investment manager in a transaction valued at approximately $1.2 billion. ECI shareholders will receive $10 per share in cash at closing, representing a premium of approximately 22% over ECI’s average closing share price during the 30 trading days ended June 15, 2007. Under the terms of the agreement, ECI could actively solicit alternative proposals from third parties until July 31, 2007. As of press time, no such proposals had been announced.
Corning Inc. has announced plans to expand its optical fiber manufacturing facility in China. Company representatives say the decision is based on continued growth in the China optical fiber market. The expansion of Corning’s Shanghai optical fiber manufacturing facility will begin immediately and is expected to be completed in 2009.
Hong Kong, South Korea, and Japan are the world leaders in the percentage of homes that receive broadband communications services over direct fiber-optic connections, according to a new global ranking of FTTH market penetration issued jointly by the FTTH Councils of Asia-Pacific, Europe, and North America. According to this first official ranking of FTTH deployments in the world’s economies, 21.2% of homes in Hong Kong are wired with FTTH, followed by South Korea at 19.6%, and Japan at 16.3%. Scandinavian countries occupy the next three positions, with Sweden having 7.2% of its households connected to FTTH, Denmark at 2.9%, and Norway at 2.5%. Taiwan, Italy, People’s Republic of China, the Netherlands, and the United States round out the top 11 economies, with FTTH penetration rates between 1.4% and 1% of households. Only economies with penetration of 1% or more were included in the ranking.
Sumitomo Electric Networks Inc. (www.sei-networks.com) has signed a contract for investment in Wuhan Yangtze Optical Technology Co. Ltd. (YOTC; www.totc.com.cn), manufacturer of FTTH communication equipment in Wuhan City of Hubei Province, People’s Republic of China. Sumitomo Electric Networks will invest 25 million Chinese yuan for an approximately 18.9% stake in YOTC, and the YOTC board will have two members from Sumitomo Electric Networks. The two companies will collaborate in expanding sales of GEPON products in the Chinese market.
Alcatel-Lucent has signed a contract with Hanaro Telecomof Korea to support the latter’s network expansion. Alcatel-Lucent says its optical networking equipment will increase Hanaro Telecom’s network capacity, which will allow the carrier to accommodate subscriber growth and the increased bandwidth requirements driven by the “hanaTV” video-on-demand and “hanafos” high-speed data services. The project is scheduled for completion in 3Q07.
Fujitsu Ltd. (www.fujitsu.com) has signed a contract for the upgrade of the Japan-U.S. Cable Network,a submarine fiber-optic cable system, with a consortium of seven telecommunications carriers, including AT&T Corp, KDDI Corp., NTT Communications Corp., Qwest Communications International Inc., Reach Global Networks Ltd, Softbank Telecom Corp., and Verizon Business. Fujitsu’s FLASHWAVE S650 submarine line terminal equipment will be implemented at three landing points each in Japan and the U.S. The new equipment will more than double the network’s original design capacity of 640 Gbits/sec to beyond 1.28 Tbits/sec. The contract will see the equipment installed in Morro Bay and Manchester, CA, and Makaha, HI, in the U.S. and the Mie, Chiba, and Ibaraki prefectures in Japan.Corning Inc. (www.corning.com) has announced the development of a new optical fiber-based technology that resists bend-induced losses. The fiber will be aimed initially at FTTH applications. Corning’s new trademarked “nanostructures” optical fiber design enables cabled fiber to be bent around very tight corners with virtually no signal loss, which will enable carriers to economically offer high-speed Internet, voice, and HDTV services to virtually all commercial and residential (apartment and condominium) buildings, Corning says.
The Lonestar Education and Research Network (LEARN) has deployed the ADVA Optical Networking (www.advaoptical.com) Fiber Service Platform (FSP) 3000RE as part of its ongoing expansion to 14 cities and 25 colleges and universities across Texas. LEARN, a nonprofit collaboration of the institutions linked by the network, has deployed an architecture that supports advanced network services for research, education, health care, and economic development.
Planar lightwave circuit (PLC) vendors NEL, Hitachi Cable, Gemfire, Fitel, NEC,and NeoPhotonics have announced the addition of a new option within the multisource agreement (MSA) for thermally stabilized array waveguide grating (AWG) modules for a small-form-factor package configuration (www.awgmsa.com). This small-form-factor module provides a footprint approximately one-third smaller than the original AWG MSA, first published in December 2002, depending on the configuration, say MSA members. These standardized AWGs provide multiplexing and demultiplexing for DWDM optical equipment through a common interface, allowing equipment manufacturers a choice among several compatible suppliers, simultaneously reducing lead times and cost, say the companies.