OFS Introduces TrueWave Medium and Long Haul Ocean Fiber

OFS introduced a new fiber for use in submarine cables engineered for long and medium haul ocean repeatered systems utilizing advanced modulation formats, e.g., RZ-DPSK, in dense wave division multiplexing (DWDM) systems.


The new TrueWave HD ocean fiber offers a large negative dispersion value of -14 ps/nm-km, taking advantage of the fact that newer modulation formats allow for larger values of accumulated dispersion without deleterious non-linear effects.


Non-linearity performance and lower span loss is optimized when the fiber is used in combination with the large positive dispersion and large effective area of a non dispersion-shifted fiber (such as OFS' AllWave ZWP Ocean Fiber or UltraWave SLA Ocean Fiber). In this configuration, TrueWave HD fiber can provide superior performance in a cost effective solution that is second only to slope-matched systems.
http://www.ofsoptics.com

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Cisco Connects umi and TelePresence Platforms

Cisco is enabling businesses to connect with consumers via full interoperability between Cisco umi and the Cisco TelePresence portfolio for businesses. Cisco is also announcing an expansion of its umi product line with a range of options, from free HD desktop video to high-quality immersive telepresence experiences on an HDTV. Cisco umi is a consumer product that delivers a high-quality, immersive video calling experience that goes beyond just seeing the people you talk to. The company is now adding:

• Cisco umi Connect, a free HD calling client for PC and Macs (currently in trials);



• Cisco umi 720, a new product that delivers an immersive telepresence experience with lower broadband requirements, which will be available at $399;



• Cisco umi 1080, the original breakthrough telepresence offering for the home now available at a reduced price of $499.



• The service fee for Cisco umi 1080 and 720 is now $99.00 a year, or $9.95 a month. There is no service fee for umi Connect for PC and Mac.

umi 1080 and 720 include an HD camera, a console and a remote. The new Cisco umi 720 requires less bandwidth, 1.5 mbps upload and download speeds which are readily available across most of the U.S. Both versions of Cisco umi intelligently adapt to the quality of the broadband in the home.


umi also offers HD recording and sharing on FaceBook, Flipshare and You Tube. In the case of a missed call consumers can leave video messages for one another. Both recorded videos and messages can be retrieved from a PC, Mac or smart phone. In addition, with Cisco umi telepresence, users can also place and receive video calls from anyone with a computer (PC or Mac), webcam and umi Connect or Google Video Chat.


Cisco noted that umi is in field trials with service providers in Europe, Latin America and Asia.
http://www.cisco.com

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Facebook to Offer Movie Streaming

Facebook will begin streaming full-length Hollywood movies on its site beginning with "The Dark Knight" from Warner Bros., which will cost $3 in Facebook credits to rent for a 48-hour period.
http://www.facebook.com

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Sprint and T-Mobile Consider Possible Merger

Deutsche Telekom and Sprint are reportedly in talks over a possible combination of Sprint + T-Mobile USA, according to various media reports. Such a deal would have approximately 84 million mobile users but be running GSM and CDMA. A spokesman for Deutsche Telekom said T-Mobile USA is in a flexbile negotiating position as it has several options to explore.
http://www.sprint.com
http://www.telekom.de

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Napatech Announces 40GE Adapter for Network Monitoring

Napatech introduced a 40 Gbps Ethernet adapter for network monitoring and analysis. The adapter provides a single QSFP-based 40 GbE port and can be used for both packet capture and transmission.



Napatech focuses exclusively on the needs of network appliance vendors for full packet capture and transmission with zero packet loss.



Intelligent features are provided in the NT40E2-1 for frame decoding, intelligent flow detection and distribution to up to 32 CPU cores, which can off-load and accelerate the performance of network appliances. Nanosecond precision time-stamping and time synchronization are also provided for highly accurate latency measurements.

http://www.napatech.com

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NetLogic Showcases 10G/40G/100G Ethernet PHY/SerDes

NetLogic Microsystems is showcasing its portfolio of high-performance 10-100 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) PHY/SerDes devices, including:

• Quad-channel 10G PHY devices with SFP+ SR and direct-attached copper


• 40G PHY devices with QSFP+ 40G optical modules


• Quad-channel 10G PHY/SerDes devices with EDC (10GBASE-LRM)


• 10GbE devices for backplane applications (10GBASE-KR)


• 40GbE/100GbE applications with MLD interfaces.

NetLogic Microsystems' portfolio of devices supports 10Gbps SFI-to-XFI, SFI-to-XAUI and RXAUI, nPPI to nAUI, 10GBASE-KR and KR4 to XFI, XAUI and RXAUI, and XLAUI and CAUI to MLD.

NetLogic's electronic dispersion compensation (EDC) engine has proven interoperability with several SFP+ modules for 10GBASE-LRM applications and utilizes a combination of analog and digital techniques to provide substantial margin with the standard IEEE pre-cursor, post-cursor and symmetric pulses, along with the dynamic stressor conditions.

In addition, NetLogic Microsystems will be demonstrating its PHY/SerDes devices for backplane applications. The demonstration will showcase an advanced capability to drive over one meter of standard FR4 backplanes at rates of 10Gbps and 40Gbps. These devices also integrate a state-of-the-art low-power EDC engine targeted at the 10GBASE-KR and KR4 standards.http://www.netlogicmicro.com

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Ralink Enters VDSL Market with 100Mbps Home Gateway Solution

Ralink Technology Corporation made its entry into the VDSL market with the introduction of a VDSL2/ADSL2+ processor. It supports the VDSL2 30a profile with up to 100 Mbps upstream/downstream throughput, and that enables ADSL fallback for backward compatibility. The chip includes a 32-bit MIPS 34Kc CPU and a VDSL Discrete Multi-Tone (DMT) engine. It provides data rates of up to 100 Mbps symmetrically to support high-performance broadband gateway applications.

http://www.ralinktech.com

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Mindspeed Releases 10G-EPON Burst-Mode Receiver Chipset

Mindspeed Technologies announced commercial availability of its 10 Gigabit Ethernet Passive Optical Network (10G-EPON) burst-mode receiver chipset.



Mindspeed's 10G burst mode dual-rate transimpedance amplifier (TIA) and burst mode multi-rate limiting amplifier work together provide a solution for 10G-EPON Optical Line Terminals (OLTs) while being backward-compatible with existing GEPON designs.



The M02138 TIA device features dynamic rate selection with fast response times in burst-mode 10Gbps and 1Gbps operation. It also includes burst-mode photocurrent monitoring with a combination of accuracy and output settling time that exceeds OLT requirements. The device is optimized for 10.3Gbps/1.25Gbps performance and can be assembled in a cost-effective standard 5-pin or 6-pin receiver or bi-directional optical subassembly (ROSA/BOSA).



The TIA's companion, the M02142, is a high-performance, feature-rich 11.3 Gbps limiting amplifier that includes integrated fast loss of signal (LOS) detection and is well suited for 10G-EPON burst-mode applications. The compact, low-power device provides input sensitivity of 3 millivolt peak-to-peak (mVpp) at full data rate and, with its wide input dynamic range, can also accept up to 1.6 Volts peak-to-peak (Vpp) differential input voltage. Fast output settling time and dynamic rate selection are supported for 10G-EPON OLT applications.



Mindspeed is collaborating with Cyoptics to create a receiver module for customers using its burst-mode TIA.http://www.mindspeed.com

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Orange Business Signs GDF Suez for Managed Services

Orange Business Services announced a six-year deal with GDF SUEZ, a French energy group and the world's second-largest energy company, for the management of its information system. The partnership not only includes standard facilities management such as hosting, infrastructure operation and running ERP applications, but also covers setting up a shared engineering team in charge of developing the Group's solutions to match the needs of its business units as closely as possible. Financial terms were not disclosed.



Additionally, Orange Business Services will provide the necessary hosting for GDF SUEZ and its development via a new green data center currently being built in Normandy. The new site meets the Group's two objectives in the fields of sustainable development and energy savings, in part due to its innovative ventilation system, known as "free cooling", developed by R&D teams at Orange.http://www.orange-business.com

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Avago: Optical Innovations Drive Data Center, Storage, Telecom

Avago Technologies introduced a number of optical innovations at this week's the 2011 Optical Fiber Conference (OFC), including::

• Sampling availability of its small-footprint MiniPOD embedded parallel optical transmitters and receivers that enable bandwidth of up to 120 Gigabits per second (Gbps). The embedded parallel optics allow fiber optic interfaces to be located close to an ASIC or FPGA. Applications could include next-generation supercomputers, high-performance routers, switches and other data center equipment enabling cloud computing, server virtualization and video-on-demand. The Avago MicroPOD embedded parallel optics are the world's smallest 120-Gbps optical transmitters and receivers. They offer 12 transmit or receive channels at up to 10.3125 Gbps while consuming only 125 mW per channel.



• Announcement of the world's first QSFP+ 40G-iSR4 pluggable parallel optic transceiver module for 40 Gigabit Ethernet applications and high-density 10 Gigabit applications, along with a demonstration of the technology using new Top-of-Rack (ToR) data center switches from leading manufacturers.



• Demonstration of the world's first multi-Gigabit consumer optical interconnect. In a joint collaboration with VIA Labs and DisplayLink, Avago is demonstrating the world's first multi-gigabit consumer optical interconnect. This demonstration shows High-Definition (HD) video streaming through a USB 3.0 Active Optical Cable.



• Demonstration of a 25-Gbps vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) integrated into an SFP+ platform interoperating with the latest Avago 40-nm Serial/Deserializer (SerDes) core. Avago Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) integrate the SerDes cores, increasing the bandwidth of data communication for servers, routers and other networking, computing and storage applications. Avago recently announced demonstration of its first 28-nm SerDes core with industry-first 30-Gbps performance.

http://www.avagotech.com

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Menara Offers Tunable XFP and XENPAK Modules with Integrated OTN

Menara Networks announced general availability of its full C-band Tunable OTN XFP and OTN XENPAK with integrated G.709 OTN framing and forward error correction.



The Full C-band 50GHz Tunable OTN XFP and OTN XENPAK transceivers offer complete high performance optical networking functions including integrated ITU-T G.709 OTU-2 framing, OTN alarms and performance monitoring processing, Forward Error Correction for OSNR gain, automatic receiver threshold adaptation based on Forward Error Correction feedback and SBS suppression for ultra long reach systems. Additionally Menara OTN transceivers offer system and line loopbacks as well as an integrated 231 pattern generator and checker for rapid, automated in-field testing or troubleshooting, thus greatly simplifying the provisioning and turn-up of DWDM capacity.

http://www.menaranet.com

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OFS and Furukawa Launch 100 Gbps Coherent Tunable Laser

Furukawa Electric Co. and OFS announced a high-output narrow-linewidth full-band tunable laser for ultra-high bit rate 100-Gbps digital coherent transmission. The full-band tunable laser provides superior performance as a signal light source and/or a local light source for digital coherent communication systems. Furukawa Electric has begun shipping commercial samples.



http://www.furukawa.co.jp/englishhttp://www.ofsoptics.com

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Opnext's 40GBASE-LR4 QSFP+ Transceiver Spans 10km of SMF

Opnext introduced a quad small form factor pluggable plus (QSFP+) transceiver module that uses single mode optics to transmit 40GbE traffic over a distance of 10km. The 40GbE QSFP+ module extends an existing 40G family of products offered by Opnext, including the 40GBASE-LR4 module in the larger CFP form factor which is seeing initial deployments in customer systems now and has recently been announced as production released. 40GBASE-LR4 technology offers OEMs a lower cost, longer reach alternative to traditional 40G Sonet/SDH client interfaces and makes 40G deployments even more economically viable in high speed switches and edge routers.



"As QSFP+ emerges as the standard for 40GbE, adapting the technology to longer reach single mode applications enables our customers to increase their network speed, realize higher port density and lower overall power consumption," said Rich Zoccolillo, President of Opnext's pluggables business unit. "With the QSFP+ 40GBASE-LR4 transceiver module, Opnext is building on its existing leadership in high speed, single mode transceivers and optical integration."



Opnext has also developed a next generation 40G differential phase-shift keying (DPSK) MSA module designed for metro, regional and long/ultra long haul optical transmission applications.
The Opnext OTM-440S is a complement to the existing OTM-440 module, currently in volume production. It is compatible with 50GHz ROADM technologies and, combined with tunable dispersion compensators (TDCs), can be readily deployed in DWDM networks engineered for 10G non-return-to-zero (NRZ) modulation formats. With its smaller form factor and lower power consumption, the Opnext OTM-440S is ideal for applications requiring high port density.http://www.opnext.com

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Semtech Ships First 100G MUX/DEMUX chipset

Semtech has begun shipping a 100Gbps gearbox chipset for 100Gbps CFP MSA applications. The CFP (100G Form-factor Pluggable) transceiver MSA (Multi-Source Agreement) defines a hot-pluggable optical transceiver form-factor for 100Gbps, high-speed Ethernet applications for data and telecommunication networks. Semtech's Theta SR SMI10021 multiplexer (MUX) and SMI10031 demultiplexer (DEMUX) gearbox ICs provide bandwidth of up to 113Gbps to support 100GbE and the Optical Transport Network (OTN) systems.http://www.semtech.com

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NeoPhotonics Develops Coherent Receiver with Polarizing Beam Splitter

NeoPhotonics introduced an Integrated Coherent Receiver (ICR) for 40 and 100 Gbps DWDM transmission systems that incorporates an integrated polarizing beam splitter (PBS), eliminating the need to place a PBS externally.



The NeoPhotonics ICR is designed to provide advanced demodulation to analyze the state-of-polarization and optical phase of a phase-modulated signal relative to an externally supplied optical reference signal, enabling recovery of the phase-polarization constellation of 100 Gbps Dual Polarization Quadrature Phase Shift Keyed (DP-DQPSK) format signals.



"Key benefits of the NeoPhotonics ICR with an integrated PBS include that it allows customers to eliminate an external beam splitter from line cards and simplifies fiber routing," said Tim Jenks, Chairman and CEO of NeoPhotonics. "By using our photonic integration technology, we are able to integrate the PBS without changing the ICR form factor, streamlining the design-in process for our
http://www.neophotonics.com

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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

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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

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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

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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.

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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.

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