Lightwave articles from December 2004

Lightwave archives from December 2004

MPLS boosts Ethernet's capability.(Applications)(Multiprotocol Label Switching)
December 1, 2004... Enterprise LANs are almost exclusively based on Ethernet technology. So for carriers looking to enhance their wider-area infrastructure, it's a logical next step to extend the technology's flexibility and simplicity into their metro and...

Japanese fiber to premises deployments worth watching.(Technology)
December 1, 2004... Japan represents the largest--and to date most successful--wide-scale fiber to the home (FTTH) deployment in the world. According to Hiroshi Ishikawa, president and CEO of NTT Advanced Technology, the R&D arm of NTT East and West, 50% of...

Long-haul cable market to continue its hibernation.(Industry)
December 1, 2004... While the access and premises markets should continue to thaw in 2005, vendors and forecasters expect winter temperatures will remain in place over the long-haul (LH) cabling landscape next year--and probably even longer. No major new...

AboveNet.(North America)(planning to extend its network)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... AboveNet's (New York City) new Open Optics Initiative will extend its network via lit fiber links to major enterprises and buildings in each of its major markets, creating direct connectivity to top carrier hotels, data centers, and...

SBC Communications (San Antonio, TX) announced a five-year $1.7-billion primary supplier agreement with Alcatel (Paris) to provide network equipment and video systems integration services for Project Lightspeed.(Compagnie Financiere Alcatel)
December 1, 2004... SBC Communications (San Antonio, TX) announced a five-year $1.7-billion primary supplier agreement with Alcatel (Paris) to provide network equipment and video systems integration services for Project Lightspeed, the SBC initiative to drive...

Meanwhile, Motorola (Schaumburg, IL) and Verizon (New York City) signed a multiyear contract for Motorola to provide video-network infrastructure and video consumer premises equipment related to Verizon's launch of video services on the company's new.(Verizon Communications Inc.)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Meanwhile, Motorola (Schaumburg, IL) and Verizon (New York City) signed a multiyear contract for Motorola to provide video-network infrastructure and video consumer premises equipment related to Verizon's launch of video services on the...

The Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) Council and Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) updated their list of "U.S. Optical Fiber Communities," with the total rising to 217 communities in 37 states.(North America)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... The Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) Council and Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) updated their list of "U.S. Optical Fiber Communities," with the total rising to 217 communities in 37 states. Prepared by Render, Vanderslice & Associates...

Communication Technology Services (CTS--Marlborough, MA) received a contract from the Utah Telecommunications Open Infrastructure Agency (UTOPIA) to provide fiber to the home customer premises network deployment.(North America)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Communication Technology Services (CTS--Marlborough, MA) received a contract from the Utah Telecommunications Open Infrastructure Agency (UTOPIA) to provide fiber to the home customer premises network deployment. UTOPIA is a consortium of 14...

Digicel.(plan for a license to build a submarine fiber-optic-cable carrier facility in Jamaica)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Digicel (Kingston, Jamaica), a Caribbean mobile telecommunications provider, submitted an application for a license to build, own, and operate a submarine fiber-optic-cable carrier facility in Jamaica. The cable will run from Kingston, Jamaica,...

Douglas Electric, a nonprofit electricity coop in Douglas County, OR, deployed LightningEdge Ethernet access equipment from World Wide Packets (Orlando, FL).(Douglas Electric Cooperative Inc.)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Douglas Electric, a nonprofit electricity coop in Douglas County, OR, deployed LightningEdge Ethernet access equipment from World Wide Packets (Orlando, FL). Douglas Electric offers business class IP services to almost 20 towns and...

)Fiber Optic Communities of the United States (FOCUS), a nonprofit organization, debuted in October at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, with the goal of educating consumers on the benefits of optical access networks.(North America)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Fiber Optic Communities of the United States (FOCUS), a nonprofit organization, debuted in October at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, with the goal of educating consumers on the benefits of optical access networks. FOCUS also...

International Telecommunications Union.(Europe)(verification of jitter measuring equipment)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... The Jitter Working Party of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Study Group 4 agreed in principle to the draft of ITU-T O.172 Appendix VII, "Method for Verification of Measurement Result Accuracy and Intrinsic Fixed Error." O.172...

FlexLight Networks.(Europe)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... FlexLight Networks (Atlanta), developer of GPON equipment, received formal certification to import its optical access equipment into Russia for use over the country's national telecommunications network.

International network service provider PacketExchange is the first United Kingdom carrier to deploy the ADMA (Munich, Germany, and Mahwah, NJ) Fiber Service Platform (FSP) 1500 system.(Europe)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... International network service provider PacketExchange is the first United Kingdom carrier to deploy the ADMA (Munich, Germany, and Mahwah, NJ) Fiber Service Platform (FSP) 1500 system. PacketExchange has recently deployed four FSP 1500 systems...

Tyco International (Pembroke, Bermuda) agreed to sell its Tyco Global Network (TGN) to Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd, (VSNL--Mumbai, India), a telephone and Internet services provider, for $130 million.(Hotpick)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Tyco International (Pembroke, Bermuda) agreed to sell its Tyco Global Network (TGN) to Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd, (VSNL--Mumbai, India), a telephone and Internet services provider, for $130 million. The TGN is an undersea fiber-optic...

A consortium of U.K. companies and universities plans to develop a next generation free-space optics (FSO) communications platform.(Europe)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... A consortium of U.K. companies and universities plans to develop a next generation free-space optics (FSO) communications platform. The project, valued at over 720,000 [pounds sterling] and dubbed "ALFONSO," will combine advances in...

Hitachi (Tokyo) and NEC (Tokyo) established a joint venture company, ALAXALA Networks (Kawasaki-city, Japan), which will specialize in backbone routers/switches for networks of telecommunications carriers.(Asia)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Hitachi (Tokyo) and NEC (Tokyo) established a joint venture company, ALAXALA Networks (Kawasaki-city, Japan), which will specialize in backbone routers/switches for networks of telecommunications carriers, government/public sectors, and large...

UTStarcom (Alameda, CA) announced a pair of deals in China.(China Mobile Ltd., Softbank BB Corp.)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... UTStarcom (Alameda, CA) announced a pair of deals in China. China Mobile will use UTStarcom's NetRing multiservice optical transport equipment in Tianjin in northeastern China. UTStarcom will deploy nearly 200 NetRing nodes to expand China...

LX4 ready to help drive 10-GbE market.(update)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Despite the fact that the 10GBase-LX4 was ratified as part of the IEEE 10-Gigabit Ethernet (10-GbE) standard more than three years ago, it has been challenging for optical suppliers to provide cost-effective products capable of meeting the...

Is that all there?(Editorial)(fiber optics industry at Executive Forum)(Editorial)
December 1, 2004... Lightwave will join with the Optical Society of America to present the Executive Forum at next year's combined OFC/NFOEC event in Anaheim March 6-11. (The forum will be March 6-7, if you want to save the date.) So I was on a conference call the...

Photonic layer systems address connectivity issues.(Technology)
December 1, 2004... As the momentum behind network convergence grows, interoperability among networking equipment and increased flexibility within the transport layer become more critical than ever. Traditionally, voice-, video-, and data-service delivery required...

FIS training specialist.(fiber optic systems)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Q When troubleshooting fiber optic systems, I spend a lot of time inspecting connector endfaces. What can you suggest to speed things along? For one thing, use a microscope with sufficient magnification. Although 100X may be OK or...

Next generation SONET/SDH stays the course.(Tech Trends)
December 1, 2004... Since its emergence several years ago, the so-called "next generation" SONET/SDH market has continued to evolve from something much like legacy SONET/SDH equipment to a piece of equipment now known as the multiservice provisioning platform...

IEC discusses effect of deployment on PMD.(polarization-mode dispersion, International Electrotechnical Commission)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Polarization-mode dispersion (PMD) is a statistical phenomenon whose value can change with time, temperature, wavelength, and deployment conditions. For that reason, standards bodies have chosen to specify PMD in a statistical manner by using...

Riser-rated LSZH indoor/outdoor cable.(new product from Draka Comteq USA Inc.)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... For network applications involving a high concentration of people and equipment, the riser-rated (OFNR) indoor/outdoor cable improves flammability and safety performance in low-smoke zero-halogen (LSZH). OFNR standards compliance means the...

High-density MT cable assemblies.(new product from Molex Inc.)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... With the high-density MT cable assemblies, it's possible to create multiple space-saving options on the front panel by making configurations up to 72 fibers, while reducing installation time. By using the 72-fiber MT ferrule with MTP connectors...

FTTH 144-fiber management cabinet.(Fiber To The Home, new product from Office Furnishings and Systems Inc.)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... The TriBox fiber management cabinet provides an alternative to large and unsightly outside plant optical splitter and fiber management systems for PONs. Measuring 2 ft long by 1 ft high and deep, if is specifically designed for FTTH deployments...

ECI Telecom 'repurposes' Raman amplification.(Product Profile)
December 1, 2004... In areas like the Philippines, an archipelago of 7,107 islands, fiber-optic transmission can be a very costly and complicated endeavor. Geography often prevents the deployment of inline amplifiers and regenerator huts needed to bridge the gap...

FTTX CO services bundle.(central office)(new product from ADC Fiber Optics Corp.)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... The FTTX Service Pack is a bundle of professional services that helps carriers determine whether their central offices (COs) are FTTX-ready. If not ready, the service pack's readiness assessment assesses what modifications are needed to ensure...

Video inspection fiberscope probe.(Test Equipment)(new product 'SpecVision ILS' from Krell Technologies Inc.)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... For applications requiring demanding visual inspection, the handheld SpecVision ILS is designed with ultra-long working distance optics and uses interchangeable adapters to view connectors residing in bulkheads and polishing fixtures. Its...

Fully integrated SONET/SDH analyzer.(Test Equipment)(new product from EXFO Electro Optical Engineering Inc.)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... For field, central office, and lab testing applications, the FTB-8100 analyzer combines in a single platform advanced DS-n/PDH, SONET/SDH, and next generation SONET/SDH test functions, including generic framing procedure and virtual...

G.984-compliant PMD GPON-ONU transceiver.(Subsystems)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... The DTG-1031 G.984-compliant GPON-ONU transceiver can reach 2.5Gbit/sec downstream and 1.25-Gbit/ sec (burst mode) upstream transmissions. It comes in a standard 2x9 package and is designed to operate at the optical-network-unit (ONU) side,...

Integrated plug 'n play.(Subsystems)(new product from Oplink Communications Inc.)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... The NET-Ready all-in-one plug-and-play subsystem integrates various hardware and software functionalities into a standard user-friendly interface. Featuring a 1-RU 19- or 23-inch rack-mount chassis, the open platform architecture supports a...

FTTH triple-play media gateway.(Fibre To The Home)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... For ILECs, utilities, and municipalities, the EdgeGate CPE GW-482 FTTH triple-play media gateway supports various combinations of zero, two, or four analog voice lines and up to 16 10/ 100Base-TX Ethernet ports. The optical uplink can be...

Municipals, incumbents battle over fiber to home.(Applications)
December 1, 2004... Long before Verizon, municipalities and municipally owned utilities were at the forefront of the fiber to the home (FTTH) movement. While advances in FTTH technology have been key enablers of this trend, mastering the technology has been the...

There's little passive about Rwanda's optical initiative.(Case By Case)(Terracom)(Editorial)
December 1, 2004... Well-connected entrepreneur and philanthropist Greg Wylar was traveling through the central African nation of Rwanda when he came to a not-so-surprising conclusion. "I saw lots of people talking about putting in what we would consider in...

The light side.
December 1, 2004... "My wife says her company's developed fiberoptic sensors that can tell who's being good or bad in real time, and it's not just for kids!"

Tinkering works well for FTTXcellence Award winner.(Industry)(George Bell, Verizon Communications Inc.)
December 1, 2004... George Bell has been with Verizon Communications (New York City) for about 35 years. While he currently serves as senior staff consultant, fiber to the premises (FTTP)--and thus is one of the primary forces in Verizon's current FTTP effort--he...

10GBase-LRM and XFP win 10-GbE enterprise battles.(Analyst Corner)(gigabit ethernet)
December 1, 2004... The move by IT managers to upgrade their LANs promises to be a revenue bonanza for component vendors. Data rates are set to increase by a factor of 10, with the largest opportunity for component suppliers being 10-Gbit/sec transceivers on...

Award recognizes optical access excellence.(Verizon Communications Inc.)
December 1, 2004... As mentioned in the accompanying article, the FTTXcellence Award recognizes an individual's contribution to the deployment of optical access technology in North America. Though choosing someone from Verizon may appear an obvious choice for the...

Optical groundwire shifts to Asia, emerging markets.(Market Watch)
December 1, 2004... Worldwide demand for optical ground wire (OPGW) remains strong and is expected to grow at a 2% CAGR from 2004 through 2008. According to a recent study from KMI Research (Providence), much stronger growth rates and opportunities exist in the...

Private-line service demand increases, while prices fall.(Market Watch)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Despite increasing enterprise demand for bandwidth, the private-line service market will see revenue decline by the end of this year, contends a new report from Insight Research (Boonton, NJ). The sector's revenue decline is a consequence of...

Telecom-carrier capex on the rise.(Market Watch)(capital expenditures)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... For the first time since the dot-com crash in 2000, telecom- and data-network service providers around the world are increasing their capital expenditures--particularly on next-generation technologies like packet voice and IP/MPLS routers,...