SONET

TranSwitch to acquire Centillium in chipmaker match

Dan O'Shea — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 08:52:31 -0400

TranSwitch Corp., a semiconductor company that was known for SONET, but recently moved into passive optical networking, had agreed to acquire Centillium Communications, a fellow chip maker that was known primarily for DSL and VoIP products, but recently has been able to capitalize on the PON market. The $42.8 million cash deal also unites two companies that have more in common than recent PON moves; Light Reading reports that neither company has had a profitable year among the last eight years, and a story at EETimes described the firms as "somewhat struggling."

Still, TranSwitch said the combined company will aim for profitability by the first quarter of 2009. The buyout comes several months after Centillium sold its DSL chip business to Ikanos Communications, a move that it said at the time would allow it to focus on optical and VoIP efforts. Since then, Centillium has made progress in the PON market, having won an Ethernet PON deal with NTT. Meanwhile, TranSwitch's PON efforts have been focused on Gigabit PON.

For more:
- check out this coverage at Light Reading
- and this story at EETimes

Related articles:
Centillium sold its DSL business earlier this year for $12 million Centillium report
PON equipment revenue was up worldwide at the end of 2007 PON report

NSN announces multi-talented WDM platform

Dan O'Shea — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 23:41:24 -0400

It has been assumed for years that having fewer boxes in their networks is a high priority for carriers. Yet, that probably has not stopped them from deploying new, additional gear with additional capabilities if and when they felt they could not wait for a more integrated version. Nokia Siemens Networks just announced a wavelength division multiplexing platform capable of metro, regional, long-haul and ultra-long-haul transmission, dense WDM and coarse WDM and a multitude of other features. Will carriers go for such an integrated platform?

The most notable feature is ULH transmission, a capability for which carrier demand has been increasing, but one that usually is not packaged in the same platform as the other distance capabilities.

For more:
- check out this coverage at Light Reading Europe

Related articles:
WDM sales recently leapt past SONET WDM report
WDM vendor Xtera acquired Meriton earlier this year WDM report

Embarq on Ethernet track with Ciena gear

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 06:59:56 -0400

Independent telco Embarq is the latest telco to begin a migration from SONET to a converged Ethernet architecture. The carrier has been deploying Ciena's CN 4200 platform for the last six months, according to the vendor. Light Reading reports that Embarq sought a capacity boos, as well as a migration of traffic over Gigabit Ethernet services, and the Ciena deployment will reach throughout its network footprint. The converged Ethernet gear is not replacing legacy ATM equipment yet, but could allow for its exit from Embarq's network in the future. Carriers such as AT&T and BT have already been moving to converged Ethernet infrastructures, and both are working with Ciena to do it.

For more:
- read this story at Light Reading

Related articles:
Embarq - Top 10 Service Providers on the Cutting Edge Embarq report
Ciena recently reported a profit surge and strong 2008 forecast. Ciena report

ALSO NOTED: AT&T relaunches SMB site; ECI offers new SONET platform; and much more...

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 06:59:51 -0500

> AT&T has relaunched its Onward Small Business Web site with new capabilities. Article

> ECI announced entry into the packet optical with a new SONET-based product. Article