A source at Hitachi Communications Technologies America (Hitachi-CTA) has confirmed that the company has trimmed staff in its Santa Clara, CA, office associated with its Salira EPON and DOCSIS EPON (DePON) product lines. The source would not disclose how many people were affected.
Hitachi-CTA has decided to suspend further development of the existing Salira systems in favor of creating a next-generation platform designed to meet new requirements articulated by such cable multiple systems operators (MSOs) as Comcast and Time Warner Cable, according to the source. That development may leverage expertise in Hitachi facilities in Shanghai, Japan, and Norcross, GA, the source said.
Despite the cutbacks, Hitachi-CTA will continue to sell and service the existing Salira EPON and DePON products, the source added.
Hitachi acquired Salira Optical Network Systems in April 2005. The company was headquartered in Santa Clara and had research facilities in Shanghai. Under the Hitachi ownership, Salira expanded its offerings from EPON to include the cable MSO targeted DePON line (see “Salira intros DOCSIS over EPON unit”) and, most recently, 10G EPON (see “Hitachi Communication Technologies America unveils 10GEPON”).