Lucent Technologies Announces Record-Breaking 320-Channel Optical Networking System
Global Crossing Will Be First to Test the New System
Murray Hill, NJ. Lucent Technologies (NYSE: LU) today announced an upgrade to its flagship 80-channel optical networking system that will quadruple the number of wavelengths the system can handle to 320 and double its overall capacity.
Designed by Bell Labs, Lucent s new WaveStar(TM) OLS 800G is a 320-channel dense wave division multiplexing (DWDM) system with a maximum capacity of 800 gigabits per second (Gb/s). That s the equivalent of transmitting approximately 400 feature-length films each second.
The system, which will offer a record-breaking number of optical channels per fiber, will be commercially available in the first calendar quarter of 2001. In a separate press release issued today, Lucent announced that Global Crossing Ltd. (Nasdaq: GBLX) will be the first to test the system as part of its plans to build a next-generation optical network connecting more than 200 cities on five continents.
"Thanks to Bell Labs breakthroughs in photonics, today s backbone networks are moving at the speed of light - which soon will enable the world to communicate at the speed of thought," said Harry Bosco, group president of Lucent s Optical Networking Group.
Leading the way in DWDM technology
The WaveStar OLS 800G will be offered as an upgrade to Lucent s flagship WaveStar OLS 400G - an 80-channel DWDM system with a maximum capacity of 400 gigabits per second (Gb/s). DWDM is a technique that increases a fiber s capacity by increasing the number of wavelengths -- or channels -- running across a fiber. Lucent s new upgrade uses DWDM to provide up to 320 wavelengths, each transmitting information at a rate of 2.5 Gb/s. Additionally, the 320 wavelengths can be combined using a new wavelength-packing technology to provide a carrier with 80 channels, each transmitting information at a rate of 10 Gb/s.
"This upgrade to our 80-channel system once again demonstrates that no one knows optical networking better than Lucent," said Bosco. "Using state-of-the-art components, Lucent is leading the way in increasing the number of wavelengths operating on a single fiber." Lucent s current 80-channel system has been shipped to more than 40 customers. Six of them already are carrying live network traffic across the system.
About Lucent Technologies
Lucent s Bell Labs has garnered more than 2,000 patents in optical technology alone. According to Dell Oro Group, Lucent captured the largest market share -- 34 percent (or approximately $1.3 billion) -- of the $3.8 billion global DWDM equipment market in 1999. And with approximately 7,000 systems installed worldwide, Lucent is the global leader in deploying DWDM technology. For more information about Lucent s Optical Networking Group please visit its Web site at http://www.lucent-optical.com.
Lucent Technologies, headquartered in Murray Hill, N.J., USA, designs and delivers the systems, software, silicon and services for next-generation communications networks for service providers and enterprises. Backed by the research and development of Bell Labs, Lucent focuses on high-growth areas such as optical and wireless networks; Internet infrastructure; communications software; communications semiconductors and optoelectronics; Web-based enterprise solutions that link private and public networks; and professional network design and consulting services. For more information on Lucent Technologies, visit its Web site at http://www.lucent.com.
Contact:
Mary Ward, 908-582-7658, or cell, 908-565-1716, or maryward@lucent.com
or Frank Briamonte, 908-559-5692, or pager, 800-607-9849
or fbriamonte@lucent.com, both of Lucent Technologies
Mary Ward, 908-582-7658, or cell, 908-565-1716, or maryward@lucent.com
or Frank Briamonte, 908-559-5692, or pager, 800-607-9849
or fbriamonte@lucent.com,
both of Lucent Technologies
E-mail: fbriamonte@lucent.com
Web site: http://www.lucent.com
