Corvis Completes Broadwing Field Trials

First all-optical switch deployed commercially.

by Roy Mark
of dc.internet.com
[October 9, 2000]

Corvis Corp.'s (NASDAQ:CORV) field trials on Broadwing Communications Services, Inc.'s, network are complete with the two companies planning to deploy an all-optical switch, marking the first time that a carrier will install an all-optical, multi-terabit switch for commercial use in a nationwide network.

Last December, Broadwing agreed to buy $200 million worth of products and services over a two-year period from Corvis pending the successful completion of the field trials.

"The deployment of the first all-optical switch in a commercial network is a major milestone in this industry," said Dr. David Huber, president and CEO of Corvis. "For years, the industry has talked about the promise of all-optical switching products, but Corvis is the first to deliver. All-optical technology has been our focus since the company was founded, and we're very excited about the future of this technology and the impact it will have on the industry."

Terabit technology that's small and fast
The Corvis all-optical switch solves one of the key operational issues for today's carriers. Corvis delivers 2.4 terabit capacity management in a fraction of the footprint required in competitors' commercially available switches as well as other proposed switching solutions.

The all-optical switch also enables service providers to switch network traffic without having to undergo unnecessary and expensive optical-to-electrical and electrical-to-optical conversions, as with all other switching equipment commercially available in the industry.

Transmitting and switching traffic entirely in the optical form as wavelengths of light results in higher performance and reliability for carriers, while significantly reducing the capital and operational costs associated with today's electrical/optical hybrid switching technology. The Corvis all-optical switch is a key network element to enable point and click provisioning of wave services.

"Corvis' delivery of the industry's first all-optical switch to Broadwing is a defining moment in our industry," said Rick Ellenberger, president and CEO of Broadwing Inc. "The integration of the Corvis all-optical switch into the world's first all-optical network, now being deployed by Broadwing, will enable us to deliver the killer platform that makes possible new applications and services for our customers."

Bring the telecosm
The unprecedented growth in data-intensive applications such as Internet access, e-mail, e-commerce, streaming video, web-hosting, and mission critical business applications has placed increased demand on carriers' networks. Service providers are meeting this demand by designing their networks for multi-terabit capacity.

"Delivery of all-optical switching is a tremendous breakthrough in this industry and will provide the catalyst for service providers to begin deployment of next-generation Internet and application services," said Andrew McCormick, senior analyst at Aberdeen Group. "Corvis has established an important benchmark in all-optical networking. It is well ahead of the expected timetable for commercial deployment of these systems."

Corvis products and services deliver all-optical network intelligence and mesh network capability. This allows communication service providers to realize a significant gain in network capacity using existing fiber in the field and improve their competitiveness by delivering new and existing services and applications more rapidly, while significantly reducing the overall capital and operational cost of building and maintaining their network.

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