Press Releases

Capella Photonics Launches Dynamically Reconfigurable Wavelength Routing Subsystems, Offering Unprecedented Operating Cost Savings and Increased Flexibility for Telecom Service Providers

San Jose, California - May 30, 2003 - Capella Photonics Inc., a leader in dynamically reconfigurable optical subsystems for use in add/drop multiplexers and optical cross connects, announced today the introduction of its 10 port WavePath series of highly integrated, wavelength routing subsystems targeting long haul, regional and metro optical networks.

The introduction of dynamic reconfigurability will enable service providers to drastically reduce operating expenses associated with planning and provisioning of DWDM networks by offering remote and dynamic reconfigurability as an alternative to today's traditional, rigid DWDM banded architectures. In addition, reconfigurability will significantly reduce inventory costs by eliminating the need for sparing wavelength-specific optical modules.

The Capella WavePath Family
The Capella WavePath family delivers the highest level of functional integration in the industry resulting in an extremely cost effective subsystem solution. WavePath, which operates at either 2.5 Gb/s or 10 Gb/s transmission rates, integrates seven typically discreet functions into a single module. Features include mux/demux, hitless wavelength reconfiguration, dynamic channel equalization (or arbitrary profile), channel power monitoring, wavelength blocking, wavelength connectivity verification, and flexible switching that allows any wavelength(s) to be distributed to any port. Capella is the only vendor to offer a 10 fiber port solution, i.e., one input, one express output, and 8 service ports. The service ports may be configured as either drop or add depending on the application.

"The WavePath subsystem addresses the critical priorities of telecommunications service providers," said Joseph Davis, President and CEO of Capella Photonics. "Those priorities include reducing the operating expenditures associated with the planning, provisioning, deploying, and maintaining of optical networks.

"With these priorities in mind, we are announcing the WavePath subsystem family. It removes the limitations associated with today's fixed, hard-wired DWDM networks, giving whole new levels of service provisioning efficiencies to service providers," Davis said.

Two members of the WavePath family were announced today. They are:

The WavePath 4500
The WavePath 4500, intended for metro optical networks, supports up to 45 channels in the C-band at 100 GHz spacing. It was designed from the ground up to address the stringent cost and form factor requirements associated with metro networks. The WavePath 4500 has an unprecedented form factor of 1.2" x 4.75" x 8.5". The high port count and substantial integration along with the low price point makes the 4500 by far the most cost effective solution in the industry for metro ROADM applications. It will be commercially available in the third quarter of this year for $10,000.

The WavePath 9000
The WavePath 9000, which was designed for long haul and regional applications, supports up to 90 channels in the C-band spaced at either 50 GHz or 100 GHz. The 9000 offers a high performance solution featuring a low insertion loss and a wide passband, both crucial specifications for long haul applications. Also available in the third quarter of this year, it will be priced at $25,000.

"We are announcing today an alternative to the traditional single input, single output wavelength blocker architectures which require a number of peripheral components and interconnections, driving up cost and complexity. Since our solution integrates seven discreet optical functions into a very small form factor, equipment vendors can design an overall system that is far simpler and much more cost effective", said Dino Tsalikis, Director of Business Development at Capella Photonics.

"One barrier to deployment of photonic switches is cost", said Daryl Inniss, Director of the Optical Component Program at RHK, Inc. "Capella's switch subsystems offer numerous integrated functions that translate to a lower cost solution, which is important to optical switch developers."

Capella has successfully completed seven customer trials in North America and Europe with its WavePath products.