For Immediate Release
SilkRoad Introduces Industry's First Convergent Optical Transport System
For CATV/Telco Market
SRSC™-based product provides extreme broadband solution converging voice,
video, and IP data bi-directionally on single wavelength of light for
transport on fiber optic networks
SAN DIEGO, July 29, 1999 - SilkRoad, Inc., an innovative optical networking
technology company, today announced the introduction of its PathFinder
2000™ optical transceiver product line for CATV/Telco service providers
using existing and future fiber and Hybrid Fiber Coax (HFC) networks.
The SilkRoad PathFinder 2000 product line is the industry's first and only
solution designed to simultaneously transport multiple digital and analog,
video, data, or voice signals, bi-directionally, on the same wavelength.
This product line will provide significant capability for companies seeking
to aggregate multiple broadband services, including telephone, Internet,
and CATV transmissions on a single transmission line.
The greatest benefit of the Pathfinder 2000 product line is its
cost-effective flexibility. PathFinder allows communications service
providers to upgrade today's infrastructure while supporting a migration
path for greater bandwidth, new interactive services, and the expansion of
digital channels. PathFinder's extended span lengths, before amplification,
make it possible to minimize capital expenditure by centralizing the
expensive equipment of a headend operation and eliminate duplicate
equipment at hub offices.
"PathFinder offers service operators a compelling price performance benefit
over current technologies. Additionally, it offers the flexibility for
expansion into new cable services, from telephone to IP to data," said
Kevin C. Doria, SilkRoad President and CEO. "This SRSC™-based product
provides a unique approach for increasing bandwidth and performance on
fiber optic networks used in the CATV/Telco markets."
The entry-level product in the PathFinder 2000 product line is the
PathFinder 2200™ optical transceiver, providing up to 4 separate frequency
bands of information on a single-wavelength. The PathFinder 2400™ provides
up to 8 frequency bands of information, and the PathFinder 2600™ provides
up to 16 frequency bands of information.
Each frequency band on the optical spectrum is capable of transporting and
receiving either up to 1.5 GHz of RF signal, a standard or non-standard
digital electrical spectrum of up to 650 MHz, or a SONET OC-3 or OC-12
signal. This gives the CATV network architect maximum flexibility as well
as scalability to designs systems for today that will have the capacity to
support new voice, video and data services as they come on stream in the
future.
The PathFinder 2000 product line also provides maximum flexibility in the
return path signal architecture, by employing bi-directional optical
transmission on the same wavelength of light. The product line will include
the PathFinder RPA 2020™, a return path aggregator that will allow as many
as 20 return path signals to be placed onto one Frequency Band. The
PathFinder Cross Connect 2040™ add-on module connects signals from multiple
rings in one Network Element, creating a cost-effective way for multiple
access and metropolitan loops to run concurrently.
One of the limitations of the currently available technology is the limited
span lengths that can be achieved. Current analog systems have span lengths
around 50 km. Digital systems achieve greater span length, but at a higher
cost, and either signal type requires additional fiber strands or multiple
wavelengths in the case of a DWDM system. PathFinder addresses these
challenges by offering a longer span length, higher quality performance,
and mixed signal broadcasting on a single wavelength.
"The exploding demand for Internet and other data services has created a
traffic jam on the nation's telecommunication network. This has created a
huge opportunity for CATV operators to use their inherently larger HFC
"pipe" to deliver these services to their customers," said Herb Stover,
SilkRoad Director of Sales. "Most cable systems must be upgraded at
significant cost in order to carry these high volume interactive signals.
SilkRoad's Pathfinder products will speed up this process by offering a new
solution, at much lower cost to install and maintain."
The PathFinder 2000 product line is currently in field testing with
customers and is expected to be commercially available in the first quarter
of 2000. Pricing is not yet established, but will be competitive and
significantly less than current digital Supertrunk alternatives. The
consolidation of complementary central office headend equipment makes
Pathfinder-based systems very attractive in terms of overall system network
costs.
The PathFinder™ 2000 has been developed using SilkRoad's Refractive
Synchronization Communication (SRSC™) technology, which was first
introduced during the company's worldwide technology launch on Wall Street
in New York City on November 3, 1998. SRSC™, based on new applications of
well-established principles of optical physics, allows a properly modulated
single-wavelength laser beam to carry multiple electronic signals in a
bi-directional format. As a result, SRSC™ based systems provide significant
benefits for network accessibility and the transport of high speed, high
volume, voice, video and data communications beyond those achieved through
conventional multiple-wavelength technologies. The economical pricing of a
SRSC™-based system makes true extreme broadband communications available to
the converging communications market. |
