Alcatel Cuts Canadian Workforce
To address the continuing economic slowdown in the telecommunications networking industry, Alcatel Canada today announced an acceleration of its cost management initiatives in Canada. The initiatives are designed to gain efficiencies in Alcatel's overall Canadian operating budget, and include a reduction of approximately 400 positions or about 12 percent of the overall workforce.

Lucent Completes China Fiber Ventures to Corning
Lucent Technologies and Corning Inc. said they have completed the sale to Corning of Lucent's interests in two joint ventures in China: Lucent Technologies Shanghai Fiber Optic Co. Ltd. and Lucent Technologies Beijing Fiber Optic Cable Co., Ltd. (more)

Venture Capital News

German Firm IPAG Gains $4.4M in VC
IPAG, a German-based firm that develops high-speed communication components for the optical and wireless industries, said it has raised $4.4 million (EUR 4.5 million) in a second round of venture capital. Funding for the round came from Agite S.p.A and High Tech Private Equity.

The company said it would use the new money to further develop its product lines.

Product News

HP Continues 'Gig to the Desktop' Push
Seven new high-performance networking modules for its Procurve 9300m series target enterprise with increased per-port bandwidth and backbone throughput. (more)

Metrobility Intros New Fiber Connectivity Devices
Metrobility Optical Systems announced the release of the Delta Class "twister," described as a fiber optic connectivity device that offers customers a "markedly lower cost of ownership" for optical Ethernet media conversion and rate-adaption technology.

Metrobility has incorporated advanced troubleshooting features such as remote loopback, Link Loss Carry Forward, Link Loss Return, Far End Fault, and auto-recovery as well as convenient operational features such as automatic negotiation of full and half duplex modes and automatic crossover.

The Delta Class "twister" incorporates a sleek new look designed for today's contemporary office environments. The case, molded from engineered plastics, offers built-in cable management and protection, highly visible link and activity LEDs, and can mount easily to any office wall.

The feature-rich Delta Class "twister" is initially available for 100Mbps and 10/100Mbps copper-to-fiber conversion and is available in both multimode and singlemode models. Pricing ranges from $329 for copper-to-multimode fiber models to $2,199 for copper-to-singlemode fiber for extended distances to 100km. The company is currently accepting orders for the Delta Class models with shipments scheduled to begin in mid-October.

Oki Optical Unveils New Broadband Amp for 40 Gbps Networks
Oki Optical Components (OOC) has released a new 45 GHz Broadband Amplifier, in both module and die forms, for the 40 Gbps marketplace. The KGM8010 module and KGA8010 die are designed especially for OC-768-based fiber optic networks, delivering a flexible, multi-purpose amplifier and optical modulator driver that is compact and easy for customers to integrate into their 40 Gbps Metro, Intermediate and Long-haul network infrastructures.

The KGM8010, which is a general-purpose broadband amplifier with Bias-Tee integrated inside, provides a complete driver module package with a small form factor that offers a wide frequency range of 100 KHz to 45 GHz, low power dissipation and is easy to integrate into 40 Gbps optical networks. The device also features an adjustable output DC bias level and 2.4 mm input/output connectors. Applications for the KGM8010 include use as a baseband amplifier, optical modulator, and in high-speed test instruments.

The KGA8010 (die) is a broadband distributed amplifier that uses Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) and coplanar waveguide technologies. Applications for the KGA8010 include pre-amplifiers, baseband amplifiers, electro-absorption-modulator drivers and low noise amplifiers and gain amplifiers for millimeter wave band radio communication systems.

Engineering samples of Oki Optical Component's KGM8010 and KGA8010 are available now. Sample price is $7,500 each for the KGM8010 module and $900 each for the KGA8010 die.

Other News

ASIP Enters Advanced Optical Devices Market
ASIP Inc. said it is making its splash into the advanced optical devices market with a family of next-generation products, customer contracts and revenue, and a vision for the future of optical integration. ASIP's patented Asymmetric TwinGuide (ATG) technology is a highly scalable, low cost platform designed to simplify optical integration for subsystem developers designing equipment for the telecommunications and enterprise networking markets. ASIP has been shipping product samples since the first quarter of 2002 and has multiple customer contracts with companies developing the next-generation of small form-factor transceivers such as XFP, X2 and XPAK. In addition, ASIP said it recognized its first product revenues in the third quarter of 2002. All of ASIP's products are built on the ATG platform, enabling the company to offer its customers a wide variety of integrated products at higher performance-cost ratios and faster design cycles.

In addition to laser-based products at both 10Gb/s and 40Gb/s, ASIP is also developing very high-performance photodetectors. These laser and detector products will form the platform for even more advanced photonic "systems-on-a-chip" that include optical amplifiers, optical routing, and tunable sources.

LuxN Completes Telcordia OSMINE Services Process
LuxN, a provider of multi-service optical transport solutions for metropolitan service providers, said its WavSystem optical platform products have completed the Telcordia Technologies OSMINE Services process for the Telcordia TIRKS System. Having completed the OSMINE Services process for the TIRKS System, LuxN products can be used to support a full range of applications for service providers using the Telcordia TIRKS Operations Support System (OSS), officials said.

The OSMINE Services process helps enable network element compatibility and interoperability with Telcordia OSSs. The Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOCs) in the United States use the Telcordia TIRKS System, and require network elements to complete the OSMINE Services process before being deployed in their networks.