Great find, Denis. Thanks for posting. I copied this over to the optics board on the gidlertech site. I received a question concerning whose FSO systems GX might have used in restoring Merrill in NJ after the attack. My reply follows:
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First, let me say that when 9-11 struck businesses in NY and NJ <and elsewhere, as well> were absolutely fabulous to one another in making space available for those who were displaced. Up until about a week ago one of our people was still in the process of fitting out large parcels of office space in one of our banking clients towers uptown for a major trading firm who was displaced out of the World Financial Center (across from WTC). And the trading firm happens to be one of the bank's largest competitors. So, it's not clear to me that ML was at one of its own sites, or possibly using a "loaner" space until the World Financial Center reopens.
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Whose infrared FOS did they use? I don't know, and the question occurred to me as well. What I can tell you is that the FSO unit that Terabeam might use for this type of application might not be one of its own manufacture.
About two years ago GX stated that they would use LU's WaaveStar OpticAir line of sight unit for disaster recovery and transitional purposes in getting customers up and running, in advance of having their fiber loops installed. I don't think that that went anywhere, though.
But later on LU cut a deal with Terabeam, as you know, and a part of that deal had to do with using the OpticAir unit in Terabeam's own backbone between their urban hubs and clusters. At this point, however, I'm not even sure that LU is still supporting the OpticAir unit. Can someone elucidate on this point?
In any event, the entire incestuous affair between LU and GX is spelled out in the following release. Sorry I couldn't shed more light on the matter.
FAC
lucent.com
Lucent Technologies announces breakthrough optical networking system that delivers high-speed data networking through the air
FOR RELEASE WEDNESDAY JULY 14, 1999
MURRAY HILL, N.J. -- Using beams of light to transmit information directly through the air, a breakthrough optical networking system from Lucent Technologies (NYSE: LU) will dramatically boost the capacity of local data networks and extend the reach of today's high-capacity fiber-optic systems.
Lucent's new WaveStar™ OpticAir™ system will use state-of-the-art lasers, amplifiers and receivers that can be placed on rooftops or in office windows to transmit voice, data or video traffic from point to point through the air. Designed by Bell Labs, the WaveStar OpticAir system will use dense wave division multiplexing (DWDM) technology to increase network capacity in metropolitan areas and campus environments where cost, geography or other constraints may make fiber connections impractical.
Global Crossing will be first to test the system -- conducting field trials by December.
The first system to use DWDM technology directly through the air, Lucent's WaveStar OpticAir system eventually will enable business customers and service providers to transmit up to 10 gigabits (billion bits) per second (Gb/s) of information between locations. That's 65 times more information than with today's radio frequencies.
"Lucent is committed to providing our customers with cutting-edge metro optical networking solutions -- bringing photons not only to the desktop, but to rooftops, windows and ships at sea," said Gerry Butters, president of Lucent's Optical Networking Group. "By adding this breakthrough technology to our industry-leading portfolio, Lucent soon will be able to provide the power of fiber-optics just about anywhere -- with or without the fiber."
Capable of handling any form of network traffic (voice, data, video, etc.), DWDM allows carriers to increase capacity by simultaneously transmitting different wavelengths -- or colors -- of light, each carrying distinct streams of information.
Unparalleled bandwidth will break through local bottlenecks, open new markets
"Once again, Lucent is extending the bandwidth-expanding power of photons to local networks," said Wally Dawson, Senior Vice President at Global Crossing Development Ltd. "If our testing of the product meets expectations, it could offer a breakthrough method to help our global customers bypass local bottlenecks and offer leading-edge services. Based on projections, no one else is even approaching the amount of bandwidth that Lucent will bring to this exciting new market."
Potential applications for the WaveStar OpticAir system include transmitting data between high-rise office buildings, enabling naval ships to share huge amounts of information while in port, and establishing temporary, high-capacity data links for special events.
"This high-capacity technology will give Lucent another optical solution to complement our fiber-based systems and our broadband-wireless-access offerings," said Butters. "We set out to bring the power of photons to network environments where deploying fiber is just not practical. And WaveStar OpticAir fits that niche."
In certain applications, the WaveStar OpticAir system could be used in conjunction with Lucent's SYSTIMAX® Structured Connectivity Solution (SCS) to provide enterprise customers with ultra-reliable, high-speed data networks in campus and business environments. SYSTIMAX SCS is Lucent's industry-leading in-building wiring solution.
New system is environmentally safe, highly reliable, modular in design
Unlike the tiny, high-density streams of light emitted by laser pointers, Lucent's WaveStar OpticAir system will use "expanded-beam" lasers that meet all applicable environmental safety requirements.
Like other open-air transmission systems -- such as wireless -- the WaveStar OpticAir system will meet industry standards for performance and reliability.
Implementing WaveStar OpticAir requires no spectrum licenses, and the system is easily upgradeable. Its modular design will enable carriers to grow their networks as capacity requirements rise, and open interfaces supporting equipment from a variety of vendors will help carriers protect the investment of their embedded infrastructures.
Lucent is bringing this product from concept to market in just 18 months. The first release of Lucent's WaveStar OpticAir system, supporting one wavelength at speeds up to 2.5 Gb/s, is expected to be commercially available by March 2000. A four-wavelength system with a maximum capacity of 10 Gb/s for distances up to five kilometers is expected to be commercially available in the summer of 2000.
lding on Bell Labs' optical networking leadership
With more than 2,400 systems installed worldwide, Lucent is the global leader in DWDM technology. According to KMI Corp., a leading market research firm, Lucent has the largest share -- 29 percent -- of the $2.2 billion global DWDM equipment market.
The WaveStar OpticAir system will use patent-pending technology. Bell Labs, which has garnered more than 2,000 patents in optical technology alone, has been designing networks for 75 years -- yet the pace of Bell Labs innovation has never been faster. In 1993, Lucent's TrueWave® fiber was the first fiber specifically designed for high-capacity DWDM networks. In 1998, Lucent was first to market with an 80-channel DWDM system, which can transmit up to 400 Gb/s of information over a single fiber. For more information about Lucent's Optical Networking Group, please visit its Web site at lucent-optical.com.
Lucent Technologies designs, builds and delivers a wide range of public and private networks, communications systems and software, data networking systems, business telephone systems and microelectronics components. Bell Laboratories is the research and development arm of the company. For more information about Lucent Technologies, visit its Web site at lucent.com.
e to Editors: Lucent is hosting a media conference call concerning this announcement.
Wednesday, July 14, at 12 Noon Eastern Time.
Inside the U.S., Dial-in Number: 800-288-8960
Outside the U.S., Dial-in Number: 612-332-1214
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For more information, reporters may contact:
Mary Ward
Lucent Technologies
908-582-7658 -- office
908-565-1716 -- cell phone
Email:maryward@lucent.com
Frank Briamonte
Lucent Technologies
908-559-5692 -- office
800-607-9849 -- pager
Email:fbriamonte@lucent.com |
