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To: JEFF K who wrote (42901)	7/15/1999 10:05:00 AM
From: BillyG	Respond to of 50808

Lucent DWDM wireless link. Each new high-speed data link is a digital video opportunity........... techweb.com Lucent Launches DWDM Metro Net Technology (07/14/99, 6:22 p.m. ET) By Margie Semilof, Computer Reseller News An optical-networking technology for metropolitan applications launched by Lucent Technologies Wednesday may not render other high-speed, data-transmission techniques as roadkill. But it may fit the bill for short-distance communications if the price is right. Lucent unveiled its WaveStar OpticAir system, which uses DWDM to boost network capacity from point-to-point through the air as opposed to over fiber-optic cable. The technology, when it becomes available next March, initially will give customers the ability to ship data at about 2.4 gigabits-per-second. Using beams of light through the air is useful because it can go where fiber cannot go, for example, in cities where it is hard to lay new cable. Another case might be to transmit data between buildings that are separated by a river. Lucent would not give any pricing for the system but agreed that it costs about $100,000 to install fiber in a building. Its economic feasibility will be key to whether customers will buy the systems, analysts said. The applications for this type of high-speed transmission might be broadcast TV, data transfers between banks or even transmission between gigabit Ethernet LANs, said Kathy Szelag, vice president of marketing at Lucent's Optical Network group. But, analysts said, unless Lucent can solve certain engineering rules that come with all "free-space infrared" systems, the technology itself is not really a breakthrough. The receivers, which are placed on top of a building or in a window, must be line of sight, as in any infrared system. Also, the signals are at the mercy of atmospheric conditions, said Tom Nolle, president of CIMI, a Vorhees, N.J-based consulting company. "Will they use some form of wavelength agility or spread spectrum optics to deal with that, or will they continue to use the same vulnerabilities?" Nolle said. "If they don't do something to address atmospheric interference, the whole concept of DWDM is moot because the risk of putting a lot of traffic here would be unacceptable." Lucent executives said no amount of fog will shut the systems down. Their ability to transmit at 1.5 microns means light travels further and better, they said. "We can travelabout twice as far as you can see," said Frank Galuppo, product manager for the WaveStar OpticAir System. In poor conditions, the system also will "throttle" down, and if it shuts down due to poor conditions, it automatically reconfigures itself. The technology has a range of about 5 kilometers. The use of DWDM in a metropolitan application has a lot of interest because it is immune to FCC license restrictions, Nolle said. Also, optical wavelengths are more focused vs. microwaves, so there is less interference from cross-talk. Other analysts said the technology is not for everyone, but if you cannot get fiber out to a site, it could be an option. "The breakthrough is they are using DWDM, with some added technologies," said Ken Kelly, senior analyst at Dataquest, San Jose, Calif. "It gives them another tool to fit in their networking box."