Phyworks milestone signals FTTH success
By announcing shipment of its ten-millionth chip, transceiver and components company Phyworks (Bristol, England), whose products cover 1 to 10 Gbit/s data rates for fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) applications, signals the success of the FTTH market in terms of the growing number of deployments. “Phyworks’ shipping of 10 million units is a clear indicator of growth in the global FTTH market, which we predict will continue to ramp at an accelerated pace in the years ahead,” said Jag Bolaria, senior analyst at The Linley Group. “What’s also interesting is Phyworks’ 10 G[bit] technology, for both optical and copper networks, a technology area we believe is set to have a significant impact on future networking infrastructure.”
Aspen Optics aims to replace FTTH with FTEH
Fiber connectivity products provider Aspen Optics (Hong Kong) is speeding up its expansion in international markets to realize fiber-to-every-home, or FTEH. “Currently, Aspen Optics is serving many global telecom operators and system integrators directly from Hong Kong, and has distribution networks in the USA, Middle East, Africa, and Asia-Pacific. By 2010, in all developed countries and major cities in the world, we can expect all new properties construction will follow the standard of having FTEH,” said David Whitney, managing director of Aspen Optics.
Infinera receives four-diamond rating
Optical communications network provider Infinera (Sunnyvale, CA) won an RFQ at Deutsche Telekom (DT) for its pan-European network, which spans almost 9000 km and links Germany with most major European markets. Infinera’s DTN network also received a four-diamond rating in Broadband Gear Report’s 2008 Diamond Technology Reviews, an award that recognizes innovative product achievements in the broadband sector. “Our expected Q2 results and the recently announced DT win demonstrate that Infinera continues to win in the DWDM marketplace,” said Jagdeep Singh, president and CEO of Infinera. “We believe this is because we offer the world’s best optical solutions and because we provide the only viable path with which customers can scale their networks to meet bandwidth growth needs into the next decade.”
Components company sees more funds
MergeOptics (Berlin, Germany), a supplier of fiber-optic components and subsystems for data rates of 10 Gbit/s and beyond, raised $8.5 million in its fourth round of financing led by KTB along with existing investors Earlybird, Target Partners, and DVC. Established in 2000, MergeOptics has shipped more than 75,000 modules to network equipment manufacturers worldwide. The investment will be used to finance MergeOptics’ growth, finance the market introduction of additional product lines for 40 and 100 Gbit/s, and finance the expansion into the U.S. market. Its newest office was opened in Milpitas, CA.
Lumera modulators pass Telcordia
Communications component manufacturer Lumera (Bothell, WA) successfully completed Telcordia standard reliability testing of its packaged polymer-based electro-optic modulators. News of the result caused its stock to soar 38% when it was announced. Lumera said that achieving positive test results for its modulators demonstrates the viability of its electro-optic polymer technology for component fabrication. Lumera is now in a position to share reliability test results with potential customers and business partners and is encouraged with ongoing customer discussions and particularly with the possibilities arising in the proposed merger with GigOptix, said Raluca Dinu, VP of Lumera’s Electro-Optics Business Unit.
For more business news visit www.optoelectronicsreport.com.
Also in the news . . .
Optical networking company Tellabs (Naperville, IL) filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Fujitsu Limited and Fujitsu Network Communications in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, asserting that Fujitsu infringes Tellabs’ U.S. Patent 7,369,772 related to reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexing systems and components. . . . Reflex Photonics (Mountain View, CA), a developer of high-speed optical connectivity solutions for semiconductor packaging and data transfer applications, will partner with MergeOptics to develop and market joint solutions that address the growing demand for high-speed parallel optical interconnects in enterprise communication and networking environments. . . . Sterlite Technologies (Pune, India) won two major contracts with Indian telecom giant BSNL for fiber-optic cable and copper telecom cable worth $26.7 million; the first contract is for ribbon fiber-optic cables, which BSNL will install in about 900 city sites across the country in the rapidly growing FTTx (fiber-to-the-home/premises/node) applications sector.