June 7, 2005 Chicago, IL -- ECI Telecom has announced the addition of Reconfigurable Optical Add/Drop Multiplexer (ROADM) capabilities to its XDM MSPP/MSTP platform. Additions to the platform include pluggable ROADMs and a wavelength selective switch (WSS) with built-in amplifiers, as well as a wavelength blocker, according to the company. The company says its XDM ROADM options economically provide carriers with wavelength provisioning flexibility, while enabling a comprehensive optical platform.
The company says its "pluggable ROADM" platform entails just one more installation step alongside the installation of the transponder and corresponding drop fiber interconnect, and can reduce initial ROADM deployment costs by more than 50%. The company says the patent-pending ROADM platform eliminates the need to re-align levels with the addition or removal of wavelengths.
According to the company, integrating WSS-based ROADM technology into the platform optimizes it for regional and metro applications. The company says its XDM WSS ROADM platform will support up to eight "colorless" add/drop ports, and features built-in metro optical amplifiers. The company says its advanced WSS technology provides access to all wavelengths at every port, thus paving the way for flexible, fully managed multi-ring and full mesh networks.
The company says the platform's built-in metro optical amplifiers reduce the complexity and lower the cost of ROADM nodes. An amplifier option is also available for regional applications. For carrier networks requiring support for up to 40 channels, the company is also offering a wavelength blocker that is optimized for managing HUB sites.
The company says the pluggable ROADM option has already seen several deployments, while the WSS and wavelength blocker options are set for trials within three months.
"ECI continues to develop and deliver new functionality to a very stable and proven XDM platform," concludes Eran Dariel, executive vice president and general manager of ECI's optical division. "By introducing a wide range of advanced ROADM options, this paves the way for the growth of reconfigurable DWDM networks."
The ROADM platform is on display at the company's booth #58015 at Supercomm 2005.