|
MARCONI
LAUNCHES FIBER-TO-THE-HOME CHALLENGE TO DSL, CABLE MODEM
Marconi introduced a
fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) optical access solution that it claims is
simple, cost-effective and 5 to 10 times faster than DSL or cable
modems. Marconi's
Deep Fiber FTH architecture leverages its existing next-
generation digital loop carrier (NGDLC) platform, which is already
widely deployed. Central
office (CO) components include Marconi's DISC*S NGDLC, the DS1
voice feeder that provides an interface for Universal, INA, TR-08
and GR-303 modes of operation. Voice and data feeds entering the
CO are combined on Marconi's DISC*S MX Distribution Shelf (MDS),
each of which supports a total of 672 telephone lines and 896
simultaneous internet sessions.
Voice and data traffic from the MDS then feeds into
Marconi's Splitter WDM Frame (SWFX) for distribution over a
Passive Optical Network (PON) to a curbside Passive Optical
Splitter (POS). The
fiber connection is terminated in the home at a wall-mounted,
optical electrical converter (OEC) that accommodates multiple
telephone lines, a 10BaseT Ethernet connection, and multi-channel
CATV (community antenna television) and direct broadcast satellite
(DBS) video hookups. The
OEC includes a battery backup for essential services during power
failures. http://www.marconi.com
Marconi, June 5, 2000
ONEPATH
NETWORKS INTRODUCES FTTH PLATFORM
OnePath Networks, a start-up based in Princeton, New
Jersey, introduced a fiber-to-the-home platform supporting
dedicated data rates of up to 25 Mbps per home, as well as the
capacity to deliver more than 500 video channels simultaneously.
OnePath is pursuing a Passive Optical Network (PON) system
architecture that would allow the ability to add or drop services
dynamically. The
iPath platform is targeted at system operators for
multiple-dwelling unit (MDU) market segment.
OnePath (formerly known as Foxcom) has its R&D
operations in Jerusalem, Israel.
http://www.onepathnet.com
OnePath Networks, June 5, 2000
OPTICAL
SOLUTIONS NETS $66 MILLION FOR ITS FTTH ARCHITECTURE
Optical Solutions, a start-up based in Minneapolis,
Minnesota, secured $66.5 million in new venture financing to
support its rollout of optical access solutions for
fiber-to-the-home (FTTH). The
company's passive optical network (PON) architecture encompasses a
central office platform, which can be co-located with a switch or
integrated with a GR-303 interface.
Its home demarcation unit provides up to four telephone
lines per subscriber, up to 80 analog CATV channels plus digital
CATV, and high-speed data scalable in 64 Kbps increments up to 10
Mbps. Optical
Solutions says its system is designedfor future migration to a
digital baseband transport system that would allow individual
subscribers to have bandwidth of up to 155 Mbps.
Investors include The Sprout Group, Boston Millennia
Partners, Star Capital, Comdisco, Triumph Capital, Dain Rauscher
Wessels, St. Paul Venture Capital, Menlo Ventures, Coral Ventures
and Concord Ventures. http://www.opticalsolutions.com
/
Optical Solutions, June 5, 2000
ALIDIAN
AND GADZOOX ALLIANCE TARGETS METRO SAN WAVELENGTH SERVICES
Gadzoox Networks, a provider of Fibre Channel storage area
network equipment, formed a partnership with Alidian Networks, a
start-up developing a metropolitan optical network architecture
featuring a multiplexing technology that places packets, frames
and cells together on the same SONET-framed wavelength.
The alliance will match Alidian's Optical Service Network
and the Gadzoox Fibre Channel-to-Gigabit Ethernet router to enable
multiple SAN services to be transported on a single DWDM
wavelength and delivered to separate customer destinations.
Gadzoox's recently introduced Fibre Channel-to-Gigabit
Ethernet router enables Fibre Channel data to be converted to a
form which can be transported across the Gigabit Ethernet backbone
between SAN "islands."
Alidian's OSN system would accept multiple Fibre Channel
connections (as native Ethernet traffic) from a Gadzoox SAN, put
them all on a single wavelength, and deliver them to other Gadzoox
SANs -- while maintaining the QoS guarantees requirements of Fibre
Channel. Interoperability testing and customer trials are forecast
for Q3. Alidian also
announced a new interface for WD-ESCON connections conforming to
the IBM standard for connecting mainframes to one another or to
network devices.
http://www.alidian.com
http://www.gadzoox.com
Gadzoox, June 5, 2000
NEC
TO EXTENDS ITS OPTICAL PORTFOLIO FROM THE CORE TO THE EDGE
NEC America outlined plans to extend its Photonic
INTERNETworking portfolio to include edge network nodes and
customer access nodes. Last
week, NEC unveiled its core SpectralWave 160 DWDM platform with
the capacity to transport 160 OC-192 and OC-48 wavelengths.
The company said it would pursue an evolutionary approach
from the legacy systems in the case of a current carrier, and a
lowest-cost/highest-performance network in the case of a new
carrier. http://www.necpng.com/
NEC America, June 5, 2000
MARCONI
INTRODUCES ITS INTELLIGENT PACKET NETWORK SOFTSWITCH
Marconi introduced its intelligent packet networks (IPN)
solution for North America, featuring call-control software,
Quality of Service (QoS) assurance and billing functions.
The IPN solution includes an integrated unique media
firewall that guards against unwanted intrusion and polices voice,
data and video traffic to ensure the integrity of service
agreements. Marconi
said its softswitch call agents can process more than four million
busy hour call attempts (BHCA) in a rack.
The softswitch will integrated CosmoCall's Universe contact
center to support multimedia call-center services such as voice,
video and data conferencing, and e-commerce applications.
http://www.marconi.com/news_events/press_releases/current/4498.html
Marconi, June 5, 2000
SEDONA
INTRODUCES ITS INTELLIGENT EDGE PRODUCTS
Sedona Networks, a start-up based in Kanata, Canada,
unveiled an intelligent, multi-services edge platform that
performs traffic management, routing, IP address management,
gateway functions to public networks, dynamic SLA management,
subscriber provisioning, and accounting, authorization and
authentication (AAA) functions.
Sedona's product suite also includes an integrated access
device (IAD) that performs accounting, authorization and
authentication (AAA) functions on all traffic before it enters the
network, and handles bandwidth allocation, traffic routing, and
assigns multiple qualities of service to any service or bundle.
The products are currently in beta testing with 4 CLECs.
http://www.sedonanetworks.com
Sedona Networks, June 5, 2000
Sedona is led by Joseph
Elchakieh, who previously was President of Westell Canada.
In February, the company secured US$22 million from
HarbourVest Partners, North Bridge Venture
Partners, Atlas Venture, BDC and Ventures West.
CISCO
ACQUIRES HYNEX FOR ITS ATM INTELLIGENT ACCESS DEVICES
Cisco Systems will acquire HyNEX, a developer of ATM
intelligent access devices, for approximately $127 million in
stock. Cisco said
HyNEX's products complement its Cisco 3800 family of access
routers as a higher end network convergence product for customer
premises. HyNEX is
based in Shefayim, Israel and has 49 employees.
The deal is Cisco's
fourth acquisition in Israel.
http://www.hynex.com/
http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/146/pressroom/2000/jun00/corp_060500.htm
Cisco
Systems, June 5, 2000
ACCELERATED
NETWORKS NAMES SPRINT EXEC AS ITS NEW CTO
Accelerated
Networks named Edward Thurman as its new Chief Technology Officer
(CTO). Thurman
previously was responsible in charge of the Advanced Technology
Development Group responsible for design and implementation of
Sprint's Integrated On-demand Network (ION).
http://www.acceleratednetworks.com/
Accelerated Networks, June 5, 2000
IPCELL
AND ACCELERATED NETWORKS OFFER VOATM
IPCell
Technologies, a start-up developing softswitches, formed a
strategic relationship with Accelerated Networks to offer VoATM
solutions. The
partnership uses IPCell's OptiCall Call Agent to handle VoATM
calls was made through Accelerated's AN-30 Integrated Access
Device (IAD) using MGCP. http://www.ipcell.com
http://www.acceleratednetworks.com/
Ipcell, June 5, 2000
INTERSIL
ACQUIRE "NO WIRES NEEDED" FOR 802.11
WIRELESS LANS
Intersil, a
leading provider of silicon for wireless LANs, acquired No Wires
Needed B.V., a wireless systems developer based in The
Netherlands. No Wires
Needed developed a very small wireless-to-broadband "access
point" reference design that can be adapted for home gateway
products.It also offers an ARM-based medium access control (MAC)
that is IEEE 802.11b-compliant and can support up to 54 Mbps data
rates. Intersil
claims that over 50 systems companies have adopted its PRISM
wireless LAN chipset solution. The company predicts its will ship
the 1 millionth PRISM II 11Mbps WLAN chip set in July.
http://www.intersil.com/
Intersil, June 5, 2000
CALIENT
SHOWS ITS MEMS-BASED PHOTONIC SWITCHING SYSTEM
Calient Networks, a start-up
based in Sunnyvale, California, unveiled its DiamondWave 256
photonic switching system based on nanoscale SCREAM (Scalable
Control of a Rearrangeable and Extensible Array of Mirrors)
technology. The
lightpath switching system is designed to scale from 8 to 4096
ports, which would provide a theoretical maximum banded wavelength
switching capacity of 164,000 wavelengths in a 7' rack.
The mirror arrays offer full protocol and line speed
transparency. Calient
will also offer selective OEO support for bridging applications
such as SONET, IP, Fibre Channel and Gigabit Ethernet applications
on a test or termination basis.
It will also offer embedded routing and signaling support
for a future MPLS standard. http://www.calient.net/
Calient Networks, June 5, 2000
LASERCOMM
RAISES $38 MILLION FOR ITS CHROMATIC DISPERSION SOLUTION
LaserComm, a start-up based in Plano, Texas, raised $38
million in third round venture financing to support its
development of chromatic dispersion solutions. Chromatic
dispersion is the tendency of a light beam to spread out as it
travels through fiber, thereby degrading the signal. The company's
components and modules, which are designed for long-haul and
ultra-long haul DWDM, correct dispersion and dispersion slope
across the entire C-band. LaserComm has a major R&D
center in Tel Aviv, Israel. Investors
include Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Private Equity, Index Ventures,
CIBC, US Bancorp Piper Jaffray, Wit Soundview, ABS GE
Capital Giza, Cedar Fund, GE Equity, Gilde Investment Funds, Link
Technologies VC, SSM Ventures, and VantagePoint Venture Partners.
http://www.lasercomm-inc.com
LaserComm, June 5, 2000
AURORA
NETWORKS RAISES SEED FUNDING FOR OPTICAL TRANSPORT
Aurora Networks, a start-up based in Santa Clara,
California, raised $10 million in seed funding from Battery
Ventures to support its development of optical transport solutions
for Multiple System Operators (MSOs).
The company is led by Guy Sucharczuk, who previously was
with Harmonic Inc. and Silicon Valley Communications (acquired by
C-COR.net). http://www.aurora.com/
Aurora, June 5, 2000
|
