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Metconnex decides to shut down

Oct. 1, 2006

Despite a hefty round of financing early this year—$8.1 million in venture capital raised in January—and the general consensus that the optical telecom market is returning to profitability, ROADM provider Metconnex reportedly has closed its doors.

LFW Staff

OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA – Despite a hefty round of financing early this year—$8.1 million in venture capital raised in January—and the general consensus that the optical telecom market is returning to profitability, ROADM provider Metconnex reportedly has closed its doors. According to news reports (The Ottawa Citizen, Sept. 23, 2006), the four-year-old firm’s decision to exit the business comes as a surprise, given that demand for optical networking components is higher than it has been in five years. Some analysts believe that Metconnex is the victim of too much competition in what is a fairly specialized market niche—reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexers—where the loss of a single contract can be devastating (see Light Reading, Sept. 21, 2006). In addition, the company has been dealing with patent litigation brought against it by JDSU last year. Calls to the company for comment were not returned.

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LFW Staff

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