FINISAR DEVELOPS METRO DWDM FOR FIBRE CHANNEL, GIGABIT ETHERNET
Finisar, a developer of gigabit rate optical link extenders, components and network analyzers, announced a DWDM-based aggregation system for extending Fibre Channel SANs and Gigabit Ethernet LANs across metropolitan fiber networks. Finisar's Opticity 3000 initially will support 8 full-duplex gigabit channels on a fiber ring, with a planned increase to 32 channels in the first half of next year and 128 channels by the second half. Unlike other DWDM platforms that are designed to be protocol independent, Finisar's system will offer protocol specific capabilities for Fibre Channel and later Gigabit Ethernet. These added capabilities include network monitoring, link integrity monitoring, digital retiming to reduce jitter and distance buffering. Finisar's Opticity 3000 will also use both optical and digital multiplexing in order to support for multiple channels per wavelength. The system will be available as a rack mounted chassis supporting a mix of Fibre Channel or Gigabit Ethernet link modules. It could be configured point-to-point with segments up to 40 km or in a ring of up to 120 km in circumference. Storage Networks, a start-up building massive data facilities or "StoragePOPs" in major US cities, is evaluating the Opticity 3000 for providing scalable Fibre Channel connections to its customers. Finisar, which is based in Mountain View, California, currently offers single channel optical link extenders for Fibre Channel and Gigabit Ethernet. The company expects to file SEC papers shortly for a planned initial public offering (IPO).  Contact: Patrick Wong, pwong@finisar.com
http://www.finisar.com
Finisar, August 30, 1999

SEA-ME-WE 3 ENTERS SERVICE -- WORLD'S LONGEST SUBMARINE CABLE
Sea-Me-We 3, the world's longest submarine cable network at nearly 40,000 km, entered commercial service along segments linking Singapore to southern China, Australia and Europe, transiting via India and the Middle East. Spurs to Japan and China (Shanghai) will enter service in September and November 1999, respectively.  The Sea-Me-We 3 system links 33 countries on 4 continents using two fiber pairs. Eight channel WDM on each of the fiber pairs carries 2.5 Gbps traffic, yielding an aggregate capacity of the 40 Gbps for the undersea network. Sea-Me-We 3 has 39 landing points along the route. France Telecom and China Telecom are co-chairs of the consortium's Managing Committee. http://www.francetelecom.fr/vanglais/actualite/actu.htm
France Telecom, August 27, 1999

RESEARCHERS BREAK 512-BIT RSA KEY ENCRYPTION
An international team of cryptographic researchers successfully factored the two prime numbers used to generate a single 512-bit RSA key. The feat was accomplished as part of the ongoing RSA Factoring Challenge competition. RSA said factoring the 512- binary-bit key, equivalent to 155 decimal digits, took the team a total elapsed time of 5.2 months, not including nine weeks needed for preliminary computations, and was accomplished using 292 individual computers located at 11 different sites in The Netherlands, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Australia and the US. RSA now recommends using 768-bit keys as the minimum for achieving reliable security. http://www.rsa.com/pressbox/html/990826.html
RSA Data Security, August 26, 1999

AT&T WIRELESS INCREASES PURCHASES FROM LUCENT AND NORTEL
AT&T signed letters of intent to install new wireless equipment provided by Lucent Technologies and Nortel Networks in its North American networks. The deals signal the start of a multi-vendor program for AT& Wireless. Ericsson had been the largest wireless infrastructure provider to AT&T Wireless. The company said its multi-vendor strategy using Ericsson, Nortel and Lucent would allow it to save $900 million over 4 years. http://www.att.com/press/item/0,1193,629,00.html
AT&T, August 27, 1999

EARTHLINK SELECTS CABLETRON'S GIG ETHERNET FOR DATA CENTER
Earthlink, a Tier 1 ISP, selected Cabletron's SmartSwitch 8000/8600 Router, SmartSwitch 9000 and SPECTRUM Enterprise Manager. The new SSR Gigabit Ethernet switches provide increased carrying capacity for Earthlink's core services such as email, USENet News, domain farm and e-commerce solutions. Financial terms were not disclosed. http://www.cabletron.com/ournews/1999/aug/8-27.html
Cabletron, August 27, 1999

SPRINT DEPLOYS GDC'S MPEG2/ATM FOR DISTANCE EDUCATION NETWORK
Sprint is building an MPEG2/ATM distance education and interactive video conferencing network from its training facilities in Kansas City and Atlanta to eight regional sites. The network uses General DataComm's GDC's Multimedia Multipoint Server [MMS] for providing service management, multipoint bridging, scheduling and Web access. GDC's APEX multiservice ATM switches will link the eight regional sites over the Sprint network. http://www.gdc.com
GDC, August 30, 1999

SWISSCOM: ISDN CHANNELS RISE 22% IN 6 MONTHS
Swisscom said its number of ISDN channels in service increased 22.3% to 1.12 million since the end of 1998. The company currently has 200,000 Internet customers, making it the largest ISP in Switzerland. The company plans to offer a free Internet access service. Swisscom's six-month revenue increased 2.1% to $3.387 billion over the same period last year. The company noted strong gains in mobile communications (+37.9%), an 8.9% decrease in voice revenue, a 0.9% decline in data revenue and a 26.5% increase in international operations. http://www.swisscom.com
Swisscom, August 27, 1999

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