Infinera(www.infinera.com) has acquired Little Optics for its expertise in planar lightwave circuits. Infinera plans to use the assets for further development of its Digital Optical Networking architecture.
The Physical Link Layer Working Group of the Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF; www.oif.org) will evaluate “alternative” modulation formats to help the ITU Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) develop a 10-km interface specification for 40-Gbit/sec transmission. The working group hopes to recommend a single modulation format to the ITU-T by this time next year.
Fujitsu Network Communications Inc. (http://us.fujitsu.com/telecom) says that its product-agnostic Network Life Cycle Services are available to members of Internet2, a consortium of educational institutions and government agencies, through a reseller agreement with Internet2 FiberCo (www.internet2.edu/fiberco).
MRV Communications Inc.(www.mrv.com) has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Fiberxon Inc. (www.fiberxon.com), a supplier of transceivers for metro, access, and PON applications. MRV will pay approximately $131 million in a combination of cash and stock. MRV intends to combine Fiberxon with Luminent(www.luminentoic.com), its wholly owned subsidiary, with plans to launch a Luminent IPO in the future. Luminent is a global supplier of transceivers for the FTTP and metro markets.
Avo Photonics(www.avophotonics.com), a specialist in optical and RF packaging, recently expanded its volume production manufacturing operations. The company significantly upgraded its manufacturing equipment to better satisfy high-volume, critical alignment requirements for optical assemblies. Avo Photonics also has increased its number of operators and technicians, as well as more than doubled its Class 1000 cleanroom manufacturing space.
Access/On Multimedia, which operates a 1,200-mi fiber-optic network for 13 rural LECs (RLECs) serving customers across North Carolina, has deployed the Traverse Multiservice Transport Switch fromTurin Networks Inc.(www.turinnetworks.com) to upgrade its overall capacity and enable new services such as Ethernet and IP video.
Alcatel-Lucent (www.alcatel-lucent.com) has successfully deployed a multiservice transport network for T-Mobile Czech Republic, a mobile operator in the Czech Republic. The deployment is part of the operator’s IP network transformation plan to transport mobile broadband traffic over a single infrastructure and cost-effectively backhaul legacy and new data services. Alcatel-Lucent is providing its data-aware Optical Multi-Service Node and 1678 Metro Core Connect systems.
@Home, with 1.8 million subscribers in the Netherlands, is delivering its @Work brand of high-speed business-to-business services over a Cisco Systems (www.cisco.com) IP Next-Generation Network. @Home says it will bring fiber connections directly to business premises to deliver up to 1-Gbit/sec connections with advanced quality-of-service capabilities to support data, telephony, multimedia services, and Internet access using Cisco Ethernet Fiber-to-the-Business (E-FTTB) equipment. @Home is deploying Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series Switches equipped with Supervisor Engine 32 and Supervisor Engine 720 in its aggregation network.
EPON systems vendor Alloptic Inc.(www.alloptic.com) has won a contract from 2Connect, a service provider in Bahrain. The company has also inked a deal with Business Communications Service, WLL, under which it will provide sales, design, implementation, and support services for Alloptic network offerings in the GCC region.
French Internet service provider Ecritelhas selected the Ekinops (www.ekinops.net) optical transport platform for deployment in its fiber-optic network in the Paris area. The Ekinops equipment includes the PM1008 that uses TDM to aggregate and transport up to eight channels of Gigabit Ethernet or GFC traffic over a single OC-192/STM-64 10-Gbit/sec wavelength.
Rostelecom (www.rostelecom.ru/en), Russia’s national long-distance telecom operator, has launched a high-speed digital line between Skovorodino, Aldan, and Yakutsk. The new line was introduced due to the growing demand for telecom services from both residential customers and businesses of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). The line, which stretches 1,035 km from Skovorodino (in the Amur region) to Yakutsk through the towns of Tynda and Aldan, was constructed using SDH digital equipment.
Alcatel-Lucent has signed a series of contracts withGlobacom, Nigeria’s second national operator, to deploy nationwide fixed and mobile networks as well as next-generation IP/MPLS and optical network equipment. The project will enable Globacom to support the delivery of voice, Internet access, and broadband multimedia services. The overall value of the new contracts amounts to $600 million. Alcatel-Lucent will deploy a new DWDM network that will increase the capacity and extend the reach of Globacom’s existing infrastructure. Crossing more than 40 cities in Nigeria, the new network will be the African continent’s largest DWDM backbone.
Global Crossinghas been awarded a contract to help Belgacom International Carrier Services(Belgacom ICS) consolidate and upgrade its pan-European network. Global Crossing will support the consolidation of Belgacom ICS’s existing infrastructure in continental Europe and the UK through the provision of network infrastructure, creating the foundation for a 40-Gbit/sec capable European backbone. Global Crossing will provide 3,000 km of dark fiber and associated colocation space connecting 36 major points of presence in the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, France, and Germany, as well as wavelengths on routes that are geographically dispersed from Belgacom ICS’s network. Global Crossing will also take charge of decommissioning existing optical transmission equipment and manage the installation of Siemens’ (www.siemens.com) 40-Gbit/sec compatible Surpass 7500 optical add/drop multiplexers (OADMs).
Xtera Communications (www.xtera.com), supplier of all-Raman optical transport systems, says that Faroese Telecom (www.ft.fo) has selected Xtera to supply and deploy the transmission equipment for the SHEFA-2 submarine cable system, which provides connectivity between the Faroe Islands, Shetland, Orkney, and Scotland. The network will include a high-capacity segment capable of transmitting 190 Gbits/sec per fiber pair over 389 km without the use of submerged repeaters or remote optically pumped amplifiers (ROPAs). Faroese Telecom is the incumbent telecom operator of the Faroe Islands.
Korea Telecom (www.koreatelecom.com) has launched a new deployment of DWDM PON technology from Novera Optics (www.noveraoptics.com) with advanced operation, administration, and maintenance (OAM) features. The new deployment will support Korea Telecom’s broadband subscribers and increase the total number of Novera-supported Korea Telecom lines to more than 100,000, say Novera Optics representatives. Novera Optics’ DWDM transport technologies are being deployed by Korea Telecom for Internet and data services through Novera’s SpeedLIGHT platform.
UTStarcom Inc. (www.utstarcom.com) has received a three-year contract through its partnership with AKSH Optifibre Ltd.to deploy its RollingStream end-to-end IPTV offering with Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd.(MTNL) in India. The contract represents the first commercial IPTV deployment in India and AKSH Optifibre Ltd. is the first company to launch IPTV in India. AKSH offers fiber and cable technologies and its main product is an FTTH offering. All MTNL broadband subscribers in Delhi and Mumbai are anticipated to have access to the service, which launched in December 2006.
Global manufacturing services provider Fabrinet(www.fabrinet.com) has announced that its latest factory, completed in November 2005, is near capacity and that it held a foundation-laying ceremony for a new factory in its Pinehurst campus manufacturing complex near Bangkok, Thailand, in late January. The new facility of approximately 300,000 sq. ft will accommodate demand for the company’s optical components, module manufacturing, and system assembly services as well as anticipated growth in capital equipment, automotive, and medical markets. Scheduled for completion in late 2007, the new building will raise Fabrinet’s global manufacturing capacity to more than 1 million sq. ft.Ericsson(www.ericsson.com) has acquired Santa Clara, CA-based Entrisphere(www.entrisphere.com), a developer of GPON equipment. Financial terms were not disclosed.
AT&T Inc. (www.att.com) has broken ground on a fiber-based technology infrastructure that it says will deliver high-quality services, superior reliability, and significant data capacity to future tenants of the DuPage National Technology Park. The technology initiative is the result of a preferred provider agreement with the AT&T Business Smart Moves program and CenterPoint Properties, which is developing and marketing the 800-acre business park. The facility is located in West Chicago and owned by the DuPage Airport Authority.