Ciena Posts Revenue of $433 Million, Trims Q2 Outlook

Ciena reported revenue of $433.3 million for its Q1 of fiscal 2011, representing a 4% sequential increase from fiscal fourth quarter 2010 revenue of $417.6 million. Ciena's net loss (GAAP) for the quarter was $(79.1) million, or $(0.84) per common share, which compares to a GAAP net loss of $(53.3) million, or $(0.58) per common share, for the fiscal first quarter of 2010. The fiscal first quarter 2011 included $24.2 million in acquisition and integration-related costs associated with Ciena's acquisition of assets of the Metro Ethernet Networks (MEN) business of Nortel.


"As we approach the one year mark of our combination with the Nortel MEN business, we have successfully accomplished our major integration milestones and are now operating from a single, unified foundation from which to maximize the operating leverage in the business," said Gary Smith, president and CEO of Ciena. "We continue to be encouraged by strong end user demand and recent customer awards that validate our technology and solutions and leave us well positioned for growth. In the short term, however, we are mindful of the effects of our back office integration activity, which -- while extremely well-executed -- resulted in some revenue acceleration into the first quarter and minor ERP-related supply chain constraints at the beginning of our second quarter," said Smith. "Accordingly, we expect fiscal second quarter 2011 revenue to be in the range of $415 million to $435 million and adjusted gross margin to be in the low 40s range."http://www.ciena.com

Read More

comScore: U.S. Mobile Market Snapshot

Smartphone penetration is rising rapidly in the U.S. market, according to newly released data from the comScore MobiLens service. A total of 65.8 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones during the three months ending in January 2011, up 8 percent from the preceding three-month period. Google Android captured the #1 ranking among smartphone platforms for the first time in January with 31.2 percent market share. RIM ranked second with 30.4 percent market share, followed by Apple with 24.7 percent. Microsoft (8.0 percent) and Palm (3.2 percent) rounded out the top five.



The study surveyed more than 30,000 U.S. mobile subscribers and found Samsung to be the top handset manufacturer overall with 24.9 percent market share. Google Android took the lead among smartphone platforms with 31.2 percent market share, after two short months in second place.



For the three month average period ending in January, 234 million Americans ages 13 and older used mobile devices.



In January, 68.1 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers used text messaging on their mobile device, while browsers were used by 37.0 percent of subscribers (up 0.8 percentage points). Subscribers who used downloaded applications comprised 35.3 percent of the mobile audience, representing an increase of 1.6 percentage points. Accessing of social networking sites or blogs increased 1.1 percentage points, representing 25.3 percent of mobile subscribers. Playing games represented 23.7 percent of the mobile audience, while listening to music represented 16.5 percent (up 1.1 percentage points). http://www.comscore.com

Read More

Xilinx Offer 100G OTN Kit, Road Map to 400G

Xilinx introduced its Virtex-6 HXT FPGA Optical Transport Network (OTN) Targeted Design Platform for supporting faster market implementation of 100G line cards and demonstrating the key technology for a smooth path to the development of future 400G line cards.



System architects can use the OTN platform to demonstrate and evaluate the flexibility, high-end performance and integration capabilities of Xilinx FPGAs for 100G OTN applications. They can later smoothly migrate their designs to the Virtex-7 HT FPGA family to evolve to 400G line card applications.



Virtex-6 HXT FPGAs offer a combination of 6.6 Gbps GTX transceivers and 11.18 Gbps GTH transceivers to enable next-generation packet and transport, switch fabric, video switching and imaging equipment. The devices are built on 40nm process using third-generation Xilinx ASMBL architecture and offer 15 percent higher performance and 50 percent lower power consumption as compared with competitive 40nm FPGA offerings. The devices operate on a 1.0v core voltage with an available 0.9v low-power option.



Built with four to sixteen 28 Gbps transceivers complying with OIF CEI-28G, the Optical Internetworking Forum's Common Electrical I/O specification for 28 Gbps, Virtex-7 HT devices are designed to interface to next generation CFP2 and QSFP2 optical modules that will be used in next generation 100 - 400G system line cards. The devices also have up to seventy-two 13.1 Gbps transceivers and can offer up to 2.8 Tbps full duplex throughput. http://www.xilinx.com/v6otn

Read More

NSN Teams with Skorpios on Silicon Photonics R&S

Skorpios Technologies, a start-up based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, has signed Nokia Siemens Networks as a strategic development partner.



Skorpios Technologies has developed an advanced Composite Semiconductor on Insulator Technology promising lower cost, reduced size, and decreased power dissipation compared to traditional technology approaches. The technology allows the generation, detection and modulation of light to be monolithically integrated with high-speed electronic circuits in a standard CMOS-compatible process known as Composite-Semiconductor on Insulator (C-SOI)



"We are thrilled to have Nokia Siemens Networks as a development partner," said Stephen Krasulick, President and CEO of Skorpios Technologies. "The execution of this agreement represents a significant milestone for Skorpios Technologies and validates the compelling advantages of our technology."

"Skorpios' technology is ideally suited for our innovative applications," said Alexander Niepel, Head of Business Development for Optical Networks at Nokia Siemens Networks. "After serious investigation, we're convinced that Skorpios Technologies has a unique approach that will make optical networking available at a scale never before imagined."



http://www.skorpiosinc.com http://www.nsn.com

• Skorpoios was founded in July 2009 by and is funded by Cottonwood Technology Fund and Sun Mountain Capital.

Read More

Applied Micro Sees Inflection Point in OTN Market

Applied Micro Circuits Corp. has shipped 1 million 10G Optical Transport Network (OTN) ports and the company believes the technology has reached an inflection point for the industry. Shipments of AppliedMicro System-on-Chip ports to manufacturers of optical switch and routing equipment has risen by more than 50 percent over the last two years.



"OTN market adoption has reached a critical tipping point since it was first proposed a decade ago as a replacement for SONET/SDH technology in long-haul networks," said Francesco Caggioni, Senior Director of Strategic Marketing for AppliedMicro. "We see the trend accelerating as all of our Tier-1 customers anticipate further OTN deployments to transport the exploding volume of Internet traffic over cost-effective, high-speed optical networks. We've seen our market share increase as carriers and network system manufacturers transform the Internet infrastructure to accommodate the ever-growing demand for datacenter, enterprise, video and mobile traffic."



AppliedMicro is one of the early pioneers of OTN and first started shipping ports for this market in 2004 with its Rubicon family of products. Since then, AppliedMicro's Yahara, Pemaquid, PQx and the recently introduced 100Gbps OTN transponder and muxponder solutions have provided Tier-1 customers with increased levels of integration for the continued expansion of network capacity and switching speeds.
http://www.apm.com

• In December 2010, AppliedMicro introduced a 100G Muxponder (multiplexing transponder) solution for Optical Transport Networks (OTN) featuring an integrated framer/mapper PHY and the company's "SoftSilicon" flexibility . The 100G Muxponder can multiplex any combination of 10G and 40G client signals into a 100G OTN signal (OTU4).



• In November, AppliedMicro introduced a family of 100 Gbps optical network processors for the Packet-Optical Transport System (P-OTS) and IP-over-DWDM transport markets. Leveraging SoftSilicon programmable technology developed by TPack, the new devices support the recently-adopted 100GE (IEEE ) and OTU4 (ITU-T) interface standards. The first two new devices in the family, TPOT414 and TPOT424, are 100G transponders for metro/core OTN and packet networks. The devices interface directly to CFP or MSA-168 type optical modules for standalone transponder applications or for line cards in larger systems. AppliedMicro said its SoftSilicon technology enables the same device to be configured to run as an 100GE-OTU4 transponder or as an OTU4-OTU4 transponder. The soft approach also enables flexibility as specs are updated.
  
  
• Earlier in 2010, AppliedMicro acquired TPACK A/S, a developer of programmable chip solutions for packet transport networks, for $32 million in cash plus up to $5 million in cash earn-outs depending on performance milestones over the next eighteen months. TPACK, which is based in Copenhagen, Denmark, developed a "SOFTSILICON" solution implemented in Altera FPGA devices. The SOFTSILICON products are used in 10, 40 and 100 Gbps OTN switching and routing network equipment.

Read More

PMC-Sierra Pushes Ahead with 10G-EPON in 40nm

PMC-Sierra expanded its FTTH portfolio with a new line of 10G-EPON OLT devices in 40nm featuring traffic management, packet processing, on-chip redundancy and advanced optical diagnostic capabilities built-in. PMC-Sierra also introduced three new EPON devices for low-cost, low-power ONUs.



PMC-Sierra's 10G-EPON OLT family, which complies with IEEE 802.3av specifications and China carrier specifications for both asymmetric and symmetric 10G-EPON modes, feature an in-band Optical Time Domain Reflectometer (OTDR) and Upstream Signal Analyzer for in-service diagnostics. On-chip fiber Automatic Protection Switching (APS) enables a rapid switch-over in cases of failure in the optical distribution network (ODN). Four versions with asymmetric, symmetric and traffic management options.



Key Features of PMC-Sierra's 10G-EPON Solutions

• Integrated Traffic Manager, packet processor


• Integrated in‐band OTDR


• Embedded synchronization – 1588, ToD, SyncE


• On‐chip PON and CNI redundancy


• Software compatible to EPON OLT


• 700MHz dual‐core ARM11 processor


• ONU Power Save Control


• Process: 40nm


• 27x27mm Package

For the EPON ONU, PMC-Sierra is introducing three PAS6500 devices - the PAS6502 System-on-Chip (SoC) for data and voice-over-IP (VoIP) Single-Family Units (SFUs), the PAS6500 SoC for data SFUs, and the PAS6501 SoC for Multiple Dwelling Units (MDUs). The PAS6500 devices are the first to integrate an EPON OAFE consisting of a burst mode laser driver, a limiting amplifier and a receiver control processor. By connecting to an on-board Bi-directional Optical Sub Assembly (BoSA) instead of an optical transceiver, the PAS6500 solutions reduce the cost, size and power of the ONU, while adding improved diagnostic capabilities.



PMC-Sierra's PAS6500 family integrates a programmable networking engine that provides enhanced Quality of Service (QoS), complying with China Telecom specification version 2.1, including IPv6 protocol support. The company said its power saving algorithms can reduce ONU power consumption by up to 80 percent.



The high level of integration, which also includes a VoIP processor, helps OEMs to significantly reduce the cost of ONU equipment. All three devices feature PMC-Sierra's field-proven GigaPASS architecture.



PMC-Sierra noted that it already has 15 million PON devices deployed worldwide. The company's product line already includes EPON and GPON and future support for XG‐PON is on the road map.
http://www.pmc-sierra.com

Read More

Huawei Introduces Next-Gen Metro and Core OTN Systems

Huawei introduced its OSN8800 T Series next-generation metro and core Optical Transport Network system for the North American market.



This new transport system integrates WDM/OTN transmission, ROADM, T-bit switch, ASON/GMPLS, 40G/100G, and OAM capabilities. The OSN8800 T Series achieves 40G/100G transport and offers full-service cross-connect capabilities that support ODUk (Optical Data Unit), wavelength and packet switching, offering more flexibility and efficiency in wavelength utilization. By employing OTN switching capacity from 640G up to 6.4T, the OSN8800 T Series provides advanced maintenance functionality and fast service provisioning similar to SONET.


http://www.huawei.com

Read More

Huawei Eyes Optical Burst Switching

Huawei announced an Optical Burst Transport Network (OBTN) prototype.



Huawei said its OBTN all-optical switching technology will enable the convergence of Layer 0 (optical layer), Layer 1 (electrical physical layer) and Layer 2 (link layer), marking an important step toward all-optical networking.
The idea is to attach optical control labels to each optical packet, thereby enabling sub-wavelength add/drop is realized based on all-optical processing. Huawei OBTN platform will be compatible with current WDM wavelength-switching networks. Product launch dates have not been specified.



"The OBTN prototype is a significant milestone in the progress towards the all optical network. Huawei views strategic investment in advanced transport technologies as a key foundation to solve its customer's challenges as networks scale in bandwidth and transition to packet centric topologies," said Changtian Cai, President of Huawei Transport Network.http://www.huawei.com

Read More

Oclaro Announces 40G PM-QPSK Coherent Transponder

Oclaro introduced its third generation 40G PM-QPSK transponder featuring an integrated modulator, receiver and the industry's first single-chip ASIC solution for enabling coherent detection.



Oclaro said PM-QPSK modulation, coupled with coherent detection and digital signal processing, provides a cost-effective way for optical signals to reach longer distances with compensation for large amounts of optical impairments such as chromatic dispersion and polarization mode dispersion. The solution also provides a stepping stone to future 100G networks that will be based entirely on coherent detection.



Oclaro also announced the sampling of a new coherent receiver and 40G PM-QPSK modulator that enable customers to build their own coherent-based transponders or line cards for delivering higher performance and longer reach in the fiber optic network. http://www.oclaro.com

Read More

Altera Shows 100G Enhanced Forward Error Correction

Altera introduced enhanced forward error correction (EFEC) IP cores optimized for its high performance Stratix IV and Stratix V series FPGAs and specifically designed for 100G applications such as metro and long-haul optical transport networks (OTN).



The ulti-dimensional IP cores were developed by Altera's Newfoundland Technology Centre (formerly Avalon Microelectronics).



"With the combined forecast of the 10G, 40G, and 100G transceiver and transponder market expected to grow to over $2 billion worldwide in 2014, we are well positioned to provide high-performance flexible silicon platforms with customizable IP," said Don Faria, senior vice president, Altera Communication and Broadcast Business Division. "Being the first to deliver an integrated, single source 100G solution allows us to ramp-up quickly to meet market demand for the next-generation optical networks."
http://www.altera.com

Read More

Vitesse Debuts OTN Mappers with 1588v2 and ITU Y.1731 Packet Timing

Vitesse Semiconductor introduced a multi-port 10 Gigabit Ethernet (GE) Optical Transport Network (OTN) mapper family (VSC8492 and VSC8494) that supports both IEEE 1588v2 and Y.1731 time stamping. This enables timing, synchronization and real time performance monitoring over a packet transport network.



The new mappers enable 10GE Universal PHY Interfaces (UPI), including 10GE LAN/WAN, SAN, SONET/SDH and OTN. When used in conjunction with Vitesse's pin-compatible 10G Ethernet and OTN PHY devices, the VSC8492 and VSC8494 enable Carrier Ethernet Switch Router (CESR) and Packet Optical Transport Platform (POTP) vendors to add OTN interfaces to their equipment.



The VSC8492 and VSC8494 mappers include embedded Forward Error Correction (eFEC) support. XFI/SFI ports on both line and client side allow the mappers to be used with XFP and SFP+ optical components, and with the redundancy of the XFI/SFI ports, the mappers support both 1+1 and 1:1 protection switching. Use of XFI/SFI provides a range of options for 10G backplane support, including 10GBASE-KR. The mapper family also supports several timing options for Synchronous Ethernet implementations.



"In past generations of transport mappers, SONET/SDH/OTN and Ethernet have followed two independent evolutionary paths," said Andy Ebert, product marketing manager at Vitesse. "We have designed this OTN mapper family to be as flexible as possible, in part by giving it the ability to support protection-switching, time stamping, and performance monitoring services of modern Carrier Ethernet networks."

General availability is set for Q2.http://www.vitesse.com

Read More

Luxtera Debuts is CMOS Optical Engine

Luxtera announced a strategic transition from the Active Optical Cable (AOC) business to the semiconductor component business model. The company is introducing its first optical engine chipset supporting InfiniBand, Ethernet, SAS and Fibre Channel connectivity. Luxtera's optical engine chip-set consist of a CMOS opto-electronic transceiver chip and a companion photonic power source. It supports four fully-integrated 14 Gbps opto-electronic transceiver channels on a single CMOS chip.



Luxtera's LUX2020A optical engine will be incorporated into the AOC product family recently purchased by Molex Incorporated as part of Luxtera's transition to a fabless semiconductor chip-sets supplier business model.



Luxtera will start sampling its new optical engine in Q2 of this year.http://www.luxtera.com

Read More

Broadcom Implements MACsec in latest Quad 10GbE SFP+ PHY

Broadcom's latest 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) physical layer (PHY) transceiver includes support for the IEEE 802.1AE media access controller (MAC) security standard (known as MACsec) – a specification designed to safeguard connectionless data security, integrity and confidentiality for independent MAC protocols traveling between PC users and network servers and printers.



The new Broadcom BCM84756 40nm CMOS Quad SFI-XFI10GbE transceiver is the industry's first SFP+PHY supporting short reach (SR), long reach (LR), long reach over multi-mode fiber (LRM), and copper with full 802.1AE MACsec functionality.



Broadcom said its BCM84756 10GbE SFP-XFI transceiver with MACsec support is compliant with the IEEE 801.1AE standard. It is targeted for 10GbE links in data center and enterprise systems that carry high bandwidth traffic (such as financial information, engineering designs and scientific data), and require MACsec data integrity.



Unlike the Internet Protocol security (IPsec) standard that secures only IP data at the Ethernet level, the MACsec protocol effectively secures any type of data over Ethernet with the objective of authenticating the origin of data while protecting its integrity and confidentiality.
http://www.broadcom.com

Read More