Agility Announces Industry's First High-Power, Widely Tunable Laser for Agile Optical Networks

Source: Agility Communications

Patented, 4-Milliwatt Laser Rapidly Tunes to 100 ITU Channels, Enabling Communications Providers to Efficiently Increase Network Capacity by Dynamically Provisioning Bandwidth

Santa Barbara, CA. Agility Communications™, Inc., a pioneer of next-generation optical networking components, today announced the Agility 3040, the first high-power, widely tunable laser for the optical networking industry. Developed for Dense Wavelength Division Multiplex (DWDM) networks, the powerful 4-mw Agility 3040 lasers tune to more than 100 ITU (International Telecommunications Union) channels in fiber optic networks in less than 10 milliseconds. With Agility s 3040 lasers, communications companies can dynamically manage optical networks, providing bandwidth on demand to millions of Internet users while dramatically reducing network complexity and cost. Agility has delivered its 3040 High-Power, Widely Tunable Laser to select customers. General availability and pricing to follow in the first quarter of 2001.

The indium phosphide laser chip is manufactured in a world-class wafer fab located at Agility s corporate headquarters in Santa Barbara, CA. The wafer fab has Class 100 clean rooms and capacity to ramp to one million lasers per year. Packaging of the laser chip occurs in Allentown, PA, where Agility has a fully-automated, high-volume manufacturing facility.

"Network Photonics is developing the third generation of all-optical DWDM networks designed for competitive metro service providers. The tunable laser is critical to providing non-blocking cross-connect capabilities in all-optical networks, and Agility s widely tunable laser is the ideal technology to provide the complete solution to our customers," said Steve Georgis, president and CEO of Network Photonics, Inc. "We are thrilled to be working with Agility to develop a breakthrough system that will create new revenue opportunities for service providers while reducing costs."

"Tunable lasers are an important advancement in optical networking technology," said Mark Thomas, director of optical networks for Mahi Networks. "Utilizing this leading-edge technology allows us to bring tremendous advantages to our customers, such as significantly reducing their inventory and operating costs. Tunable lasers also allow us to add new feature sets at the optical layer, giving our customers faster provisioning times, more flexible networks, and further cost reductions. We are pleased to be working with Agility Communications, as they share our complete commitment to customer satisfaction and to improving the way broadband services are delivered worldwide."

"We forecast the rapidly growing laser market to reach nearly $1 billion by 2003 as demand for realtime bandwidth dictates more agile optical networks. The key to success for companies entering the widely tunable laser market is to develop reliable, high-capacity manufacturing facilities that can deliver product to keep pace with the seemingly insatiable demand from communications companies," said Tom Hausken, PhD, senior analyst, Strategies Unlimited. "With its experienced management team, breakthrough laser technology, and automated manufacturing facilities, Agility is well-positioned to lead this fast-growing market."

Bandwidth Demands Dictate Laser Technology Evolution

Historically, fiber optic networks were static and designed only to accommodate long-distance networks using lasers that were fixed on a given channel. As bandwidth requirements increased, components providers created tunable lasers that could tune across 20 to 30 channels. These narrowly tunable lasers are primarily being deployed to reduce the complexity of planning and inventory control to better accommodate changing network demands. However, the space requirements, complexity, and the cost of the multiple laser solution make change and growth of large networks difficult and costly. The industry now requires a powerful laser that can support long distances and more than five times the channels than are currently available from narrowly tunable lasers.

The Industry s First High-Power, Widely Tunable Laser

Agility s 3040 High-Power, Widely Tunable Laser is an industry first. It provides 4 mw of optical output power, four times higher power than what is currently available in the marketplace today, to any of 100 available network channels dynamically managing wavelength provisioning in less than 10 milliseconds. With these combined capabilities, the powerful 3040 laser gives communications companies far greater bandwidth flexibility than what is currently available with fixed wavelength or narrowly tunable lasers. Based on 25 patents, Agility s breakthrough 3040 laser will enable communications providers to:

- provision wavelength and bandwidth four times the distance of currently available 1-mw lasers

- significantly increase network capacity by enabling the user to select one of 100 available channels dynamically. Now under-utilized channels in a network can be used to relieve those channels that have no additional capacity;

- reduce the size and cost of replacement laser inventories by enabling a single laser to support all channels rather than requiring unique lasers to support each channel; and

- streamline the planning process for network growth by enabling communications companies to add any channel to the network infrastructure - knowing it can be used to enhance capacity through dynamic switching.

Technology Features

- The 3040 includes the Agility SGDBR laser (in a high-reliability, hermetically sealed package), a digital controller, and firmware. An external wavelength locker can be integrated for wavelength stabilization under internal firmware control.

- The laser provides 4 mw of optical output power, supporting the entire "C" band of 1525 nm to 1565 nm with 50-GHz spacing.

- The Agility laser features self-contained laser temperature and wavelength control to provide reliable tuning for 20 years.

- The laser supports all key optical standards including IP over glass, SONET, SDH, and ATM. With industry-standard amplifiers, it can be used to support long-haul and ultra-long haul market requirements.

"With an incredibly qualified team, significant manufacturing advancements, and a wealth of intellectual property within our new laser, Agility is uniquely poised to support a new generation of extremely agile networks," said Ron Nelson, president and CEO of Agility. "We re delighted with initial customer reaction to our new brand of high-power, widely tunable lasers and feel confident that our automated manufacturing facilities can easily scale to produce more than a million high quality lasers per year to support this growth industry."

About Network Photonics

Headquartered in Boulder, Colo., and with facilities in Santa Rosa, Calif., Network Photonics is developing the third-generation of all-optical dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) transport networks designed for competitive metropolitan area service providers. Its optical network solutions are based on its patent-pending CrossWave™ technology, which enables high-performance DWDM networks without resorting to expensive optical-to-electronic-to-optical conversion. For additional information about Network Photonics, call (303) 440-7887 ext.119 or visit Network Photonics on the World Wide Web at www.networkphotonics.com.

About Mahi Networks

Mahi Networks, Inc. designs, develops, and markets next generation intelligent optical networking solutions. Led by a team of experts from today s foremost telecommunications equipment suppliers, and backed by some of the industry s top-tier investors, Mahi Networks provides telecommunications companies with intelligent, scalable, cost-effective solutions that allow both established and emerging carriers to secure and maintain leadership positions in their markets, and to successfully bring their networks into the future. For additional information about Mahi Networks, visit www.mahinetworks.com.

About Agility Communications, Inc.

Agility Communications, Inc., is pioneering breakthrough optical networking infrastructure solutions that dramatically reduce the costs and complexity of supporting agile networks. Developed for Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexed (DWDM) networks, Agility s first products, high-power, widely tunable lasers, will help communications providers to increase network capacity, maximize existing network resources, streamline the planning process for network growth, and dynamically provision bandwidth. Industry analysts from RHK expect the global optical networking industry to top $41 billion by 2003. Founded by a team of optical networking veterans in Oct. 1998, Agility is headquartered in Santa Barbara, California and has manufacturing facilities in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Agility investors include Amerindo Investment Advisors, Berkeley International Capital Ltd., Comdisco Ventures, Dell Ventures, Hammer Capital Management, Inc., Milton Chang, Meritech Capital Partners, Morgenthaler Ventures, Mustang Ventures, U.S. Venture Partners, and Worldview Technology Partners. For more information about Agility solutions visit, http://www.agilitycom.com, send email to info@agilitycom.com or call 805-690-1700.

Agility Communications and the Agility logo are trademarks of Agility Communications, Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other company and product names mentioned are the trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.

Contact: Trainer Public Relations Heidi Groshelle Tel: 415/563-1893 heidi@trainerpr.com