Oct 17 2007
JDSU today announced it has formed a strategic partnership with Mintera, a high bit-rate optical transport systems solutions leader, to provide a complete 40 gigabits per second (40G) solution set to the telecom industry. The partnership will offer optical network equipment manufacturers (NEMs) products that combine Mintera's Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) 40G transmission technology with JDSU's proven 40G-capable optical communications products and test and measurement solutions, while leveraging JDSU's manufacturing expertise and supply chain leadership.
JDSU and Mintera will join forces to create a go-to-market strategy that includes joint product development and manufacturing for new 40G solutions. Joint development will include a 40G DWDM transponder module that will be standardized according to 300 pin Multi Source Agreement (MSA) guidelines. The transponder will be available in the first half of calendar year 2008. Designed to convert signals from electrical to optical formats and back again as signals are added and dropped in 40G networks, the new transponder's nonproprietary MSA format will help drive a common industry platform and provide customers with the maximum flexibility to work with other solutions as they design 40G systems.
As the dramatic increase in voice, video and data traffic continues to strain network capacity, NEMs and service providers are turning to 40G solutions to bolster network backbone requirements. 40G solutions enable four times more data to travel over a single fiber compared to traditional 10G solutions, allowing service providers to expand and future-proof network capabilities with a more efficient and cost-effective approach.
"There is strong demand for 40G components, although the market is still in its early commercial phase," said Daryl Inniss, vice president and practice leader of Communications Components at Ovum RHK, a telecom market research firm. "A mature supply chain is needed for mass commercialization of 40G solutions and collaborations like these can help pave the way for widespread acceptance."
"Many suppliers offer pieces of a 40G solution. Through our alliance with Mintera, JDSU will be able to provide a complete 40G portfolio to the telecom industry," said David Gudmundson, president of Optical Communications at JDSU. "We chose to work with Mintera because we believe they have the most compelling technology roadmap for 40G and beyond."
"Our partnership with JDSU will provide customers with the assurance that they will receive the most comprehensive high bit-rate solutions backed by an industry-leading supply chain," said Terry Unter, president and CEO of Mintera.
Through the Mintera collaboration, JDSU will be positioned to offer its customers the widest range of optical solutions that are designed for 40G networks. In addition to the new Mintera transponder that will be released in the first half of calendar year 2008, JDSU optical components include ROADMs (Reconfigurable Optical Add/Drop Multiplexers) that direct network traffic and optical amplifiers that boost optical signals as they travel throughout the network. JDSU has been the leading developer and supplier of a broad portfolio of ROADM solutions to the telecom market since 2003. It also has more than 10 years of optical amplifier design expertise. JDSU also provides industry-leading test and measurement solutions to help service providers and manufacturers upgrade to 40G networks.
In addition to developing the 40G transponder with JDSU, Mintera will also incorporate its unique and patent-pending Adaptive-Differential Phase Shift Keying (ADPSK) technology into the transponder. ADPSK enables optimal transmission of 40G signals over 50 GHz channels in ROADM-enabled optical networks, a configuration commonly used in long haul and metro networks. ADPSK reduces signal degradation due to interference between channels, and it provides "spectral efficiency" that allows wavelengths to be packed closer together to carry more data over longer distances. This approach allows service providers to maximize their network capacities.