December 7, 2005 Sunnyvale, CA -- Infinera has acquired Big Bear Networks' electronic dispersion compensation (EDC) technology and assets. Big Bear's EDC products already support the the Infinera DTN digital optical networking system; future versions the EDC products will be developed at Infinera and integrated into Infinera ASICs, according to a press release.
Infinera has sold the assets relating to dispersion compensation for multimode fiber transceivers, used primarily in enterprise networks, to another party. Infinera retains all the assets, including intellectual property, for electronic dispersion compensation for single-mode fiber networks, used primarily in telecommunications networks.
Based in Sunnyvale, CA, Big Bear Networks was a venture-backed startup focused on providing EDC products for optical networks. In a separate transaction, Finisar has purchased the transponder-level assets of Big Bear.
"We have been working with Big Bear for quite some time. We brought their technology in-house because it complements many of the features and functionality our ASIC team has developed," explains Dave Welch, Infinera's chief strategy officer. "In addition to developing the first large-scale photonic integrated circuits ever deployed in telecom networks, we have been aggressively developing silicon-based integrated circuits to fully exploit the space, power, and reliability benefits of increased integration offered by digital optical networking."
Dispersion compensation corrects for impairments in the optical signal caused by fiber imperfection or other irregularities. Big Bear Networks produced and marketed its electronic dispersion compensation solutions in IC form and in transponder form for both the carrier and enterprise markets.
"The Infinera DTN system is the top choice for carriers who are looking for the most economical way to deliver scalable and flexible bandwidth at many points on their network," concludes Jagdeep Singh, Infinera's CEO. "We made this acquisition because we saw an opportunity to enhance the features and cost-effectiveness we can offer our customers."