APLION OFFERS DISTRIBUTED CONTENT AWARENESS SWITCHING FOR ACCESS ROUTERS
Aplion Networks, a start-up based in Edison, New Jersey, introduced a hardware/software solution for providing distributed content awareness switching at the edge of Service Provider networks. Aplion will introduce a content aware customer premise device that provides the functionality of content management integrated with the functions of a router, CSU/DSU, VPN manager, policy manager, firewall, plus service measurement to the packet level.  The product, which will be compatible with major broadband access methods, including T1, xDSL and wireless, is aimed at small-to-medium sized enterprises.  Aplion said its Virtuoso Soloist product would offer the power of a Layer 7 enterprise switch at a fraction of the cost.  The box will be driven from the Network Provider side by a service creation and management platform for enabling VPNs, controlled Internet access, application leasing or other premium network services.  Aplion’s service platform will use Java and XML.  http://www.aplion.com/
Aplion Networks, August 18, 2000

• Aplion Networks is led by John Holobinko, who previously co-founded American Lightwave Systems, which was acquired by ADC Telecommunications.  The company was co-founded by Dr. B. Gopinath (formerly Professor of computer engineering at Rutgers and a researcher at Bellcore and Bell Labs) and Dave Kurshan (formerly head of strategic systems engineering at Bell Labs).  Aplion maintains development facilities in both New Jersey and New Delhi, India. The company has over 100 employees, of which 70 are engineers.

ISHONI TUNES GATEWAY-ON-A-CHIP FOR VOICE-OVER BROADBAND INTEROPERABILITY
ishoni Networks, a start-up based in Santa Clara, California, introduced a Gateway-on-a-Chip designed for customer premise broadband access devices.  The device will be will be interoperable with the Voice-over Broadband protocols of CopperCom, Jetstream Communications and TollBridge Technology.  ishoni’s Broadband Engine chip integrates a separate processor for data and control, DSP for Voice processing and Encryption for VPN, along with commonly required interfaces to external physical chips such as xDSL, Cable and Wireless modem chips, Ethernet, USB, SLIC/SLAC, DRAM and Flash Memory.  The device allows the use of various real-time operating systems and open APIs. Ishoni said it plans to achieve PHY, DSLAM and VoDSL interoperability with the respective leaders in each DSL technology segment. http://www.ishoni.com
Ishoni, August 2000

• Last month, ishoni named William Lee as its new President and CEO, replacing co-founder Prakash Bhalerao, who continues as the company’s Chairman.  . Lee most recently was a founder and CEO of Palo Alto-based Transcendata, a fiber-optic, physical-layer company.  Lee previously was Vice President of Sun's Network Computing Group, where he worked on Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, ATM and ISDN products.
  
• The company said the name “ishoni” loosely translates to ”convergence”.

SICON VIDEO CORPORATION TARGETS DIGITAL AUDIO/ VIDEO ASICs
SiCon Video Corporation, a recent spin-off of Leitech Technology Corporation, named Ed Hacker as its president.  Hacker was a founding member of Tundra Semiconductor in Ottawa.  SiCon Video will target ASIC solutions for high-quality digital video and audio in the broadcasting, telecommunications, cable and Internet industries  The company is based in Richmond Hill, Ontario and will incorporate SiliCon Construction AB, a Swedish ASIC design house that Leitech acquired in February 1998.  http://www.leitch.com/
Leitech, August 18, 2000

SHARES OF WJ COMMUNICATIONS DOUBLE IN IPO
Shares of WJ Communications (Nasdaq: WJCI), a supplier of radio frequency products (formerly known as Watkins-Johnson), doubled in price on their first day of public trading, closing up Friday at 32.25.  In addition to radio frequency design, WJ has core technology expertise in gallium arsenide, or GaAs, semiconductor and thin-film substrates.  WJ also produces oscillators that are used for OC-48 and OC-192 systems, and is working on oscillators for OC-768.  The company is based in Palo Alto, California.  http://www.wj.com
August 18, 2000

PROTODEL DEVELOPS LOW LOSS, ALL-FIBRE COMPONENTS
ProtoDel, a start-up based in the UK, received new funding from MTI, a venture capital group, to further development of its All-Fibre technology.  ProtoDel said the basis of its all-fibre technology is in optimizing direct access to the evanescent field of the propagating wave.  The company has developed a high surface quality production method to access the evanescent field in most commonly used single mode and polarization preserving optical fibers.  ProtoDel’s optical product line includes polarizers, depolarizers, attenuators and switches.  http://www.protodel.com/
ProtoDel, August 2000