Update

To enable aggregation and convergence of data and voice services over its networks, wholesale carrier WilTel Communications (Tulsa, OK) deployed Corrigent Systems’ (San Jose, CA) CM-100 Packet ADM (add/drop multiplexer).

Yipes Enterprise Services (San Francisco, CA) selected Zhone Technologies’ (Oakland, CA) GigaMux 50 CWDM platform to provide globally managed Ethernet service delivery.

As the principal owner of the ARCOS undersea fiber-optic network, Columbus Communications’ (Bridgeton, Barbados) subsidiary New World Network (Barbados) signed a multiyear contract to establish a point of presence at Terremark Worldwide’s (Miami, FL) NAP of the Americas, a carrier-neutral Internet exchange point providing managed collocation services.

Cisco Systems (San Jose, CA) announced several deployments of its hardware release 5.0 for its ONS 15454 and ONS 15600 optical networking platforms. Switch and Data (Tampa, FL) deployed the ONS 15600 Multiservice Switching Provisioning Platform (MSPP) to integrate its New York City-based metro core and edge data center facilities. Also, for an infrastructure expansion along a 347-mi corridor in central and northern Illinois, wholesale transport provider Norlight Telecommunications (Brookfield, WI) employed the ONS 15454 MSPP to enable metro services, as well as the ONS 15454 Multiservice Transport Platform (MSTP) for intelligent DWDM capabilities. Finally, Wisconsin Independent Network (WIN-Eau Claire, WI) used Cisco’s resilient packet ring (RPR) technology to support video distribution over Gigabit Ethernet, as well as for a statewide network initiative. The provider implemented RPR on Cisco’s ML-Series cards in the ONS 15454 MSPP, for increased network efficiency. WIN also upgraded its network by installing Cisco’s reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexer (ROADM) platform for the ONS 15454 MSTP.

The Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF-Fremont, CA) ratified a technical implementation agreement updating the group’s multisource agreement (MSA) for integratable tunable laser assemblies (ITLAs). The updated MSA details a communication protocol, electrical interface, power supply, optical specifications, and a mechanical interface for use in telecommunications equipment operating in the C or L bands. The MSA focuses on standardization of a CW laser subassembly for integration into both standard-sized and SFF transponders.

Tropic Networks (Ottawa, ON, Canada), a developer of metro-regional DWDM systems, has proposed “spinning out” its high-technology assets and business into a new company to be renamed Tropic Networks (“NewCo”). After transferring its technology assets to NewCo, the company says it will refocus its business in the oil and gas sector and raise capital to finance the acquisition of a TSX-listed public company, Chamaelo Exploration Ltd. (Calgary, AB, Canada), and another private company, Tournament Energy Ltd. (Calgary), pursuant to a plan of a stated arrangement. The shuffling is expected to net Tropic CDN$9.4 million for NewCo’s use.

Redfern Integrated Optics (RIO-Santa Clara, CA), a developer of high-performance optical transmitters for telecommunications and data transmission markets, secured an additional $2.2 million from GE Capital Equity Investments and Jolimont Ventures, bringing the company’s total amount of funding raised to $8.4 million.

Internet service provider Salsgiver Inc. (Freeport, PA) purchased Amedia Networks’ (Eatontown, NJ) PG1000 premises gateways and AS5000 aggregation switches to support a FTTP service build-out in the Allegheny Valley region of western Pennsylvania. The provider says its initial deployment will focus on schools and small businesses, with residential households expected to follow.

The Fiber Optic Association (FOA-Fallbrook, CA) launched a free online database of FOA-certified technicians available worldwide for installation and consulting on fiber-optic jobs, as well as employment. End users can search the database for fiber-optic installers, contractors, or consultants by specialties including telecom, CATV, LAN, security, etc. Both listings and searches on the database are free.

Nayna Networks (Santa Clara, CA) entered into a definitive agreement to acquire privately held Abundance Networks (Shelton, CT). Founded in 2002, Abundance is a supplier of TDM/Ethernet over SONET/SDH optical access platforms in India, with regional sales and R&D offices in Mumbai.

Consolidated Edison Inc. (Con Edison-New York) signed an agreement to sell 100% of its wholly owned subsidiary, Consolidated Edison Communications Holding Company Inc., (CEC) to RCN Corp. (Princeton, NJ), for approximately $32 million in cash. CEC operates a fiber-optic network providing managed data transport, local and long-distance voice, and Internet services to Fortune 500 corporations, carriers, and small/medium businesses, as well as to a variety of Internet, cable, wireless, and video companies.

For its converged national IP backbone, Comcast (Philadelphia, PA) selected Nortel’s (Ottawa, ON, Canada) DWDM platform, including the company’s Common Photonic Layer (CPL) and Optical Multiservice Edge (OME) 6500 systems, as well as a full suite of implementation, integration, and support services. Separately, Telefónica International Wholesale Services (Buenos Aires) says it doubled its fiber-optic network capacity throughout Latin America by implementing Nortel’s (Ottawa, ON, Canada) Optical Long Haul 1600 DWDM and Optical Cross Connect DX optical switch platforms. Telefónica says the expansion of its SAM-1 fiber ring creates an advanced network linking the countries in the Americas including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Guatemala, Peru, Puerto Rico, and the U.S., with Europe. Also, cable operator Unity Media GmbH (Frankfurt, Germany) deployed Nortel’s Optical Metro 5000 platform to support deployment of 10-Gigabit Ethernet “triple play” services.

Avago Technologies (San Jose, CA), created as a result of the acquisition of Agilent Technologies’ (Palo Alto, CA) semiconductor products group by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) and Silver Lake Partners in a $2.66 billion transaction announced in August 2005, has initiated operations as the one of the world’s largest privately held independent semiconductor companies, providing a range of analog, mixed-signal, and optoelectronic components and subsystems.

Farmers Telephone Cooperative (FTC-Kingstree, SC), a telecommunications company serving more than 60,000 customers within a 3,000-sq.-mi coverage area in South Carolina, selected Extreme Networks (Santa Clara, CA) to provide network infrastructure for “triple-play” services delivery. In the deployment, Extreme supplied metro Ethernet equipment including its BlackDiamond 10-Gbit modular switching platform for 17 FTC central offices, to enable aggregation of thousands of ADSL connections from customer premises locations, while supporting future television applications based on MPEG-4-AVC technology.

British Telecom (BT-London) concluded negotiations and signed contracts with four of the preferred suppliers for its £10 billion next-generation 21st Century Network (21CN) project. Contracts were signed with Ciena (Linthicum, MD), Huawei (Shenzhen, China), Lucent (Murray Hill, NJ), and Siemens (Munich, Germany). BT expects to conclude negotiations with the remaining four preferred suppliers early in 2006.

Rostelecom (Moscow), Russia’s national telecommunications operator, placed a major order with Lynx Photonic Networks (Calabasas Hills, CA), a provider of photonic switching platforms and subsystems. Under terms of a sales agreement, in the event of link failures, Lynx is to provide the operator with guaranteed protection of its critical DWDM backbone capabilities, to ensure timely network recovery.

The Center for Telecommunications Value-Chain Research at the University of Dublin’s Trinity College (Dublin) purchased three “intelligent optical switches” from Glimmerglass (Hayward, CA) to power optical connections within the college’s telecommunications network.

ECI Telecom (Petah Tikva, Israel) was selected to expand the internal communications network of Beijing Subway (Beijing), the state-owned subway system serving the greater Beijing area, in anticipation of a surge in commuter traffic during the 2008 Olympic Games. ECI’s XDM MSPP was chosen to expand the network’s video monitoring and surveillance capabilities. The network expansion will span 47 stations across an area of 100 km. Additional deployments are expected to follow in other Chinese cities.

Askey Computer (Taiwan) selected BroadLight’s (Mountain View, CA) BL2000 system-on-chip to develop CPE products for deployment within the Asian and North American markets for gigabit passive optical networks (GPONs).

China Telecom (Beijing) adopted Cisco’s (San Jose, CA) CRS-1 carrier routing system to integrate the core network nodes of the carrier’s ChinaNet Internet Protocol (IP) service network. According to the carrier, traffic processed by the CRS-1 platform crosses a previously deployed, multi-router structure, with core nodes in the cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Tianjin, Xi’an, Chengdu, Wuhan, and Nanjin. The carrier says the platform significantly enhances the network’s capacity and management efficiency. China Telecom says its ChinaNet service currently has more than 21 million broadband subscribers, accounting for more than half of China’s bandwidth for Internet services.

An industry group dedicated to the continued success and expansion of technology based on all IEEE 802 Ethernet standards, the Ethernet Alliance, has been formed. The group aims to serve as an industry resource, helping member companies increase acceptance and reduce time-to-market of Ethernet products by supporting the advance of existing and emerging Ethernet technologies. Founding members of the Ethernet Alliance include 3Com, ADC, Agere Systems, AMCC, Aquantia, Broadcom, Force10 Networks, Foundry Networks, Intel, Lawrence Berkeley Labs, Pioneer Corp., Quake Technologies, Samsung, Sun Microsystems, Tehuti Networks, Tyco Electronics, The University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory (UNH-IOL), and Xilinx. More information about the alliance can be found at www.ethernetalliance.org.

MCI (Ashburn, VA) teamed with Xtera Communications (Allen, TX), Mintera (Lowell, MA), and Juniper Networks (Sunnyvale, CA) in transmitting 40-Gbit/sec bandwidth over 3,040 km of field fiber in MCI’s Dallas metro area network. The technology field trial, which was conducted in October and November of last year, carried 74 channels of 10-Gbit/sec traffic and 2 channels of 40-Gbit/sec traffic over 38 individual 80-km spans of standard singlemode fiber around the Dallas metro area, using the Xtera all-Raman DWDM system, Mintera’s long-reach OC-768 transponders, and Juniper’s T640 IP routers with OC-768 short reach interfaces. The companies say the trial demonstrates the availability of next-generation technology for supporting high-bandwidth IP traffic demands over ultralong-haul distances on existing fiber infrastructure.