• BrightLink investors include Sprout Group, Draper Fisher Jurvetson and Menlo Ventures.

LIVE DATA TRAFFIC SWITCHED BY MEMS-BASED OPTICAL SWITCH
An optical switch based on micro-electromechanical subsystem (MEMS) is now routing live traffic in an unmanned central office in Oakland, California as part of the National Transparent Optical Network Consortium (NTONC) test bed.  The switch was developed by Optical Micro Machines Inc (OMM), a start-up based in San Diego.  The OMM optical switches use micro-mirrors that are fabricated on silicon chips using a conventional VLSI CMOS process.  The devices deployed in on-off, 1x2, 1xN or Non-Blocking cross-connect configurations.  Optical Micro Machines currently supplies 4x4 and 8x8 optical switch modules and plans to provide devices that are scaleable to 32x32 by the end of the year.  http://www.omminc.com/news-worldsfirstforopticalswitching.html
OMM, March 24, 2000

• Earlier this month, OMM named Conrad Burke to the position of senior vice president of marketing and sales and Chris Lepiane as its vice president of sales.  Burke formerly served as director of marketing for the optical components business unit of Lucent Technologies' Microelectronics group.  Lepiane previously held the position of director of sales for Lucent's optoelectronics and integrated circuit products in North America.
  
• OMM's optical switching modules have been selected by Siemens' Information and Communications Networks Group for use in their TransXpress Optical Service Node crossconnect.
  
• In December, OMM received $22 million in financing from Atlas Ventures, Rho Management, Sevin Rosen and Bessemer Venture Partners.
  
• The  National Transparent Optical Network Consortium (NTONC) is the West Coast leg of the federally funded SuperNet project.  Corporate participants include Nortel Networks, GST Telecom, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Sprint.  http://www.ntonc.org/

IPVERSE DELIVERS ITS MULTIPROTOCOL SOFTSWITCH
ipVerse, a start-up based in Sunnyvale, California announced the general availability of its ControlSwitch, a software-based switch that leverages XML scripting and open APIs to provide fast provisioning of new voice and data services.  ipVerse's first product, the ACX 1000, provides augmented tandem services, offloading voice and data traffic from traditional Class switches and  thereby allowing service providers to cap the growth of their Class switches.  The ACX 1000 also supports deployment of ISDN-PRI leased line services in markets where Class 5 switches are not available.  The ControlSwitch’s multi-protocol call control system also provides transparent traffic exchange within or between service provider networks. Protocol support includes SS7, MGCP, H.323, IPDC, SIP and ISDN-PRI signaling systems.  For fault tolerance, ipVerse’s software architecture distributes processing load to secondary devices when needed.  http://www.ipverse.com
ipVerse, March 27, 2000 

• Last week, ipVerse announced the formation of the Open Softswitch Alliance (OSA), an industry group that will promote open, interoperable next-generation network solutions.  Participants in the group include Copper Mountain Networks, Tellabs, AccessLan Communications, Convergent Networks, General Bandwidth, Iperia, Shoreline Communications, TollBridge Technologies, Trillium Digital Systems, Vertical Networks and VocalData.  
  
• ipVerse is led by Art Klein,  a former co-founder of Assured Access Technology (acquired by Alcatel) and previously, VP of worldwide sales at Alantec (acquired by FORE Systems).  Other members of the ipVerse management team include Paul Singh, previously CEO and co-founder of Internetware; Gursharan Sidhu, the primary architect and co-inventor of various products and patented technologies related to the AppleTalk Network System, the Macintosh file system, and desktop publishing; and Vijay Nadkarni, previously a senior manager at 3Com/U.S. Robotics.

360NETWORKS DEPLOYS MARCONI'S ASX-4000 SWITCHES
360networks (formerly known as Worldwide Fiber, Inc.) has deployed  Marconi Communications' ASX-4000 ATM switches in the North American portion of its fiber optic network.  The switches are already fully operational and supporting OC-48 links.  Financial terms were not disclosed.
http://www.fore.com
Marconi Communications, March 24, 2000

WINSTAR WINS $100 MILLION FEDERAL GOVERNMENT CONTRACT
WinStar Communications was awarded a major contract for broadband wireless service by the Federal government's General Services Administration (GSA).  The contract, which has a potential value of $100 million over eight years, covers data and local switched voice services, as well as dedicated transmission services to government users in Cincinnati, OH.  The company said it is the first broadband wireless service provider to win such an award.  http://www.winstar.com/press/2000/Templ.asp?fileid=0324001
WinStar, March 26, 2000

CRONUS ANNOUNCES OEM AGREEMENT WITH LUCENT COVERING SIGNALLING TRANSLATION
Cronus Communications signed an OEM agreement with Lucent Technologies covering the resale of its Cronus SignalPath 230 middleware platform alongside the Lucent 5ESS central office switch.  The Cronus Communications SignalPath 230 translates many international signalling protocols.   http://www.cronuscom.com/
Cronus Communications, March 23, 2000

INTERSIL NOTES GROWING SALES FOR ITS WIRELESS LAN CHIP SETS
Intersil Holding Corporation is supplying its PRISM WLAN chip set to 3Com for use in the new 3Com AirConnect 11 Mbps Wireless LAN solution.  Intersil's silicon complies with the IEEE 802.11b High Rate standard for wireless LAN connections at up to 11 Mbps.  Intersil also recently announced that Compaq had selected its silicon for a wireless LAN solution.  The company said it now has 100 product design wins for its PRISM chipset.  http://www.intersil.com/
Intersil, March 24, 2000

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