22 May 2003 Kista, Sweden--Wavium AB, a provider of intelligent optical network solutions, has announced that its optical crossconnect equipment has been chosen by the Swedish contract research institute Acreo.
Acreo will in close collaboration with the optical communications community design, build and operate a Testbed for Broadband Communication, a national-scale project to provide next generation communication services to end customers.
"We are very pleased to be selected by Acreo who is building a state-of-the-art optical network. Optical crossconnects handling whole wavelengths will play an essential role in any advanced optical network - the contract is just one of the indicators of that", said Mikael Hedlöf, CEO of Wavium.
"This frame agreement is the first step towards a more pronounced collaboration with Acreo. Not only will it lead to additional sales of optical crossconnect equipment, but we also expect mutual benefits from engaging in common development activities"
The "Testbed for Broadband Communication" is supported by the Swedish government through VINNOVA, the Swedish Agency for Innovation Systems. One of the main objectives of the testbed will be to deliver a diversity of services to customers requiring broadband capacity.
Examples of such services are video-conferencing and video-distribution, IP-TV, IP-telephony, telemedicine applications, distance working and education, storage area networking, video-on-demand etc.
The idea is to demonstrate and realise service and technology transparency and compatibility of a large-scale reconfigurable optical network based on services, equipment and technologies from different manufacturers and service providers.
"In order to test and demonstrate a new class of speed-sensitive and bandwidth consuming services, we simply need a leading edge optical network of our own. This in turn will help to further attract service and equipment providers as well as other research institutions to be part of the project", said Magnus Breidne, VP of Acreo and Project Manager of the testbed.
"Wavium's crossconnect equipment will be an important part of our optical network because of the ability to interconnect different types of equipment as well as the possibility to dynamically configure service-transparent connections end-to-end through the network. I have very high expectations of their equipment", complemented Breidne.
Acreo
Acreo is a Swedish research institute working with contract research and development to help customers develop the advanced products of tomorrow. Acreo provides innovative microelectronics and optics solutions that contribute to growth and profitability.
Its areas of technological expertise are: Integrated Circuit Desig; Microelectronic Process Technologies; Optical Components and Systems; Interconnect and Packaging Technologies; Robust Electronics; Sensor Technologies; Visual Interfaces; and SME Services.
Acreo refines research into viable products by carrying out contract research and development projects, as well as small-scale production. Acreo employs around 200 highly qualified scientists, engineers and support personnel.
Further information about Acreo and the testbed can be found at www.acreo.se
Wavium
Wavium provides network solutions based on intelligent optical crossconnects. By switching whole wavelengths of light we enable telecom operators to substantially improve the utilization of their existing network resources.
Wavium optical crossconnects embrace applications ranging from dark fibre and wavelength services in metro environments to enhancing congested telecm and datacom networks by offloading legacy equipment. Our unique solutions have proved to be very cost-effective. Industry's lowest optical port cost and our sophisticated management system keep both investment costs and operational expenses at a minimum.
Learn more at www.wavium.com