Some excellent history on Telcordia and Tellium:
telcordia.com
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Our Place in Telecom History:
Multiwavelength Networks
Telcordia researchers first became involved in exploring WDM component technology while working at Bell Labs and other companies. They brought their expertise to our Navesink (NVC) and Morristown (MCC) laboratories. While experiments in point-to-point demonstrations had been conducted prior to 1985, MCC researchers were one of the first to investigate the use of WDM to facilitate optical networking. Interest in the new DFB and DBR lasers, coherent communications technology, and a wide range of optical devices, including new types of lasers and laser arrays was building and excitement was high.
In 1986 the first WDM experimental demonstration network, Lambdanet, was built to demonstrate how multiwavelength technology could enable network applications. Although the focus of this work was networking, in 1987-1988 it set point-to-point and distribution world records for the amount of information transmitted. Lambdanet transmitted through 57km of optical fiber using 18 closely spaced wavelengths at more than 2 Gbits/wavelength, with the same amount of information distributed to 16 other network nodes. Because the lasers and optical couple used in this experiment were not commercially available they were custom made.
Following these early networking demonstrations, groups worldwide began performing WDM "hero" experiments on links and across networks. At NVC, the device groups focused on novel laser and receiver array technology and the development of new devices, including Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting lasers (VCSELs). The groups in MCC focused more intently on networking issues and developed a wide variety of new architectures. Both groups helped lay the foundation for understanding the issues involved in multiwavelength networking as well as the impact of passive optical access network on fiber-to-the-curb, fiber-to-the-business and fiber-to-the-home.
In the 1990's, multiwavelength activity shifted to NVC, where the research group won a DARPA contract that combined research on component technology and networking issues. DARPA also sponsored an Optical Networks Technology Consortium comprised of what was then Bellcore and eight other organizations. Together they achieved many first and helped explore important aspects of multiwavelength networking. Concurrently, an ad-hoc team began exploring network control and operations issues. With the developments in fiber-based optical amplifiers and the combined efforts of DARPA, Bellcore and other laboratories worldwide the multiwavelength networking field became ready for prime time.
In 1993, MONET, a Consortium of five organizations led by Bellcore won a new DARPA contract to move the most advanced multiwavelength component technology out of the laboratory and into demonstration testbeds interconnected using in-ground fiber plant. While the industry moved quickly to exploit the huge available bandwidth for point-to-point links that had been established in the 1980s, the MONET Consortium focused on networking aspects. This research was expanded in the 1990s to include network control and management, operations and standards. In 1997, a group from the Optical Networking Department was spun off to establish the Tellium Corporation, which today manufactures state-of-the-art multiwavelength optical network elements.
Today, the Telcordia vibrant Optical Networking program is a world leader conducting research on multiwavelength network architectures, network planning tools, direct IP over WDM, integrated photonic network simulations, Next Generation Internet Technology and economic studies. Telcordia continues to assist in the formation of generic requirements and standards for this industry while also conducting leading edge research and providing consulting services for its customers.
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Tellium, as part of MONET, won the DARPA award. It's worth noting who's participating:
WASHINGTON, D.C., May 18, 1999 Tellium, Inc. announced today that it has successfully delivered, installed and participated in a senior-level U.S. Government demonstration of the world?s first high-performance fully reconfigurable optical ring network, commissioned by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
Tellium has delivered the latest multiwavelength optical network switching technology available to construct an optical ring network serving three sites in the Washington, D.C. area including the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) as well as DARPA. Tellium won the $2.5 million award, in competition with major suppliers, under the program called Multiwavelength Optical Networking Technology (MONET). MONET was established to define and demonstrate how best to achieve multiwavelength optical networking on a national scale that serves both commercial and government applications.
The demonstration of the high-performance technology took place at the Sheraton National Hotel from April 26 through April 29 and focused on the West Ring, Tellium?s portion of the project. Demonstrations of data and full motion video including secure High Definition Television (HDTV) were transmitted at high speeds of 2.5 GB/s. For MONET, Tellium provided three Aurora-32 optical cross connects, six dense wave division multiplexers (DWDM) and four line wavelength amplifiers. Tellium's Aurora-32 Intelligent Operating System delivers protection at the optical layer for complete network survivability. The company?s Optical-Unidirectional Path Switched Ring (O-UPSR) protocol delivers protection switching at speeds faster than 50 milliseconds. Telcordia provided the network management and system integration.
"We are honored to be participants in an effort that we believe will substantially change the way people communicate," said Mike Hodges, president and CEO of Tellium." What we have seen here is the launch of a new era in high-speed, high-performance communications that securely supports not only our national defense system, but has far-reaching commercial applications for the transmission of voice, data and video."
The MONET demonstration was part of an annual premier showcase event where new technologies and government-funded technology programs are showcased for review by the DoD and all government services. The partners in the MONET consortium include AT&T, Bell Atlantic, Telcordia Technologies, BellSouth, Lucent Technologies and SBC/TRI.
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Recent Tellium Milestones
* Tellium?s Aurora 32 optical switch was launched as the only working OXC successfully in service today in rings at MONET, the world?s first operating fiber optical network.
* Tellium announced availability of the highest capacity optical layer switch available in the industry, the new Aurora 512.
* In June, the Aurora 32 received the International Engineering Consortium 1999 InfoVision Award annually given to a product for innovation, uniqueness, market impact, customer benefit and value to society.
* At SUPERCOMM 99, Tellium announced a $250 million contract with its first commercial customer, Extant Communications. Extant and Tellium will be building the world?s first commercial network using optical layer switching as a key enabler to faster, more reliable services. Extant will begin deploying Tellium?s Aurora 32 in eight U.S. cities later this year and then will deploy the Aurora 512 in 2000.
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BTW, Sumitomo Electric is listed on Tellium's "hot links" under "commercial":
sei.co.jp |
