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To: J Fieb who wrote (1652)	11/23/1999 3:34:00 PM
From: Douglas Nordgren	Respond to of 4808

J, Perhaps it would be prudent to distinguish between Internet2 (the initiatives) and next-gen all-optical networks (the commercial deployments). BTW, did someone mention Lambdas? Lucent router sets the stage for all-optical nets eet.com By Nicolas Mokhoff EE Times (11/19/99, 3:49 p.m. EDT) MURRAY HILL, N.J. ? The age of optics appears closer with Lucent Technologies' recent introduction of what it calls the industry's first high-capacity, all-optical router. The LambdaRouter, based on technology from Lucent's Bell Labs, is a series of microscopic mirrors that instantly direct and route optical signals from fiber to fiber in a network, eliminating the need to first convert them to electrical form. Lucent said that this will save service providers up to 25 percent in operational costs and enable them to direct network traffic 16 times faster than electrical switches. PSINet (Herndon, Va.), an Internet service provider, has selected the router for its global Internet Protocol (IP) network. When the router is deployed, the company will become the first network operator to carry frame relay traffic at OC-192 (10-Gbit/second) speeds over a core optical network: a 400 percent increase over today's standard 2.5-Gbit/s transmission rates. PSINet also will try out Lucent's next-generation WaveStar OLS-400G dense wave-division multiplexing optical networking system. The company claims that the WaveStar 400G is the first DWDM system to transport information over as many as 80 wavelengths, or colors, of light, on a single fiber. Each single-fiber wavelength supports speeds of up to 10 Gbits/s. Gerry Butters, president of Lucent's Optical Networking Group, said, "In the 21st century, all-optical networks will deliver vast amounts of information, literally at the speed of light, unimpeded by the bottlenecks of conventional transport systems." Arun Netravali, named president of Bell Labs last month, made seven predictions for communications in the next millennium at Lucent's Media Day this past week. Netravali predicted that bandwidth will become too cheap to meter, billing systems will be dramatically simpler and service, not bandwidth, will become the key factor in charging customers. Service will be more important because the cost of transporting a bit over an optical network is now declining by half every nine months. The LambdaRouter is based on Bell Labs' MicroStar technology, in which an array of tiny micromechanical mirrors is positioned so that each mirror is illuminated by a single wavelength. The mirrors are tilted so that an individual wavelength can be passed to any of 256 input and output fibers. All 256 mirrors are fabricated on less than one square inch of silicon. This compact switching fabric provides a switching density more than 32 times greater than electronic fabrics today. And with no optical-electrical-optical conversion, the LambdaRouter switch fabric will provide a reduction in power consumption 100 times greater than electronic fabric solutions. MicroStar was first demonstrated at last month's Telecom '99 show in Geneva, and Lucent plans to bring it to market within 15 months. The LambdaRouter, which will offer more than 10 terabits/s of total switching capacity, will be available in December 2000. The WaveStar LambdaRouter is the centerpiece of Lucent's vision of the all-optical network. Over the last several months, the company has introduced a series of optical products for nearly every part of the network ? from long-distance and local metropolitan areas to undersea and business campuses. Bell Labs has garnered more than 2,000 patents in optical technology alone. With more than 5,000 systems installed worldwide, Lucent has the largest share ? 29 percent ? of the $2.2 billion global DWDM optical equipment market, according to KMI Corp., a Newport, R.I.-based market research firm.

To: J Fieb who wrote (1652)	11/23/1999 8:31:00 PM
From: Joe Wagner	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 4808

Thanks J.Fieb for the articles. I read Harmonic (HLIT) also, and appreciate the good information you posted there. A while ago on the Ancor thread, I posted my prediction that maybe one day there would be wireless video cameras transmitting video and this might boost storage requirements at Data Centers that would hold your videos for you. Looks like we are getting closer to that possibility. My investment in Nextel is looking very good right now for becoming the leader in wireless connections to the internet (its is the only big carrier with the radio capability that can transmit IP Packets for continuous connection to the internet, without going thru a switch). "Kyocera is known in the industry for its innovative products. The company, for example, manufactured a cell phone that is equipped to transmit streaming video." Notice it emphasizes "transmit video," and not the receive. Message 12073705 November 23, 1999 Tech Center Nextel Plans to Buy Handsets From Japanese Firm Kyocera By NICOLE HARRIS Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL Nextel Communications Inc. said Japanese manufacturer Kyocera Corp. has tentatively agreed to provide the phone company with a new generation of wireless handsets. The move marks the first time Nextel will get phones from a manufacturer other than Motorola Inc., its longtime partner and sole technology provider. Motorola, Schaumburg, Ill., holds the licenses for the iDEN, or "integrated digital enhanced network" technology that Nextel uses to provide its wireless service. Motorola also owns a 15% stake in Nextel. Nextel said the handsets are expected to be available by late 2000. Terms weren't disclosed, but a similar contract for Motorola is valued at more than $1 billion annually. Motorola was down $4.375 to $120.75 at the 4 p.m. Monday New York Stock Exchange close. Nextel was up 31.25 to $98.625 at 4 p.m. in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. Nextel executives were quick to point out Monday that the decision to look for an additional supplier was not a snub of Motorola. Motorola "has done a terrific job ... in terms of development, feature functionality and pricing but it's in our best interest to have additional sourcing of handsets," said Tim Donahue, Nextel's chief executive. Mr. Donahue said a handset contract with Kyocera should help Nextel meet its "ever increasing demand" for cell phone service. Nextel's national service blends traditional cell phones with a distinctive "walkie-talkie" feature. The Reston, Va., company has a loyal following of business customers who rack up hefty monthly bills. During the third quarter, Nextel added 458,000 subscribers in the U.S., bringing its domestic total to about four million. Kyocera is known in the industry for its innovative products. The company, for example, manufactured a cell phone that is equipped to transmit streaming video. For the year ended March 31, Kyocera had consolidated annual sales of $6.1 billion and net income of $239 million. Nextel and Kyocera have a memorandum of understanding, a first step toward a binding contract. Kyocera now has to license the technology from Motorola. Peter Aloumanis, Motorola's director of U.S. customer operations for iDEN subscribers, said Motorola is already in discussions with Kyocera. Motorola and Kyocera negotiated a similar licensing agreement in 1996 for wireless phones for Iridium LLC, the satellite-phone service. When Motorola signed its initial contract with Nextel in 1995, the telecommunications-equipment concern said it would assist Nextel in finding additional suppliers for the iDEN technology. Mr. Aloumanis said that had been difficult since competing manufacturers weren't sure if Nextel's service would draw enough customers to merit more than one supplier. "Nextel was able to show significant growth this year," he said. "They're not the stepchild anymore, they're primetime."