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DAILY NEWS AND INFORMATION FOR THE GLOBAL GRID COMMUNITY / SEPTEMBER 8, 2003: VOL. 2 NO. 36

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Breaking News - Networking:

White Rock Adds Tunable ITU-Grid Optics To VLX2020 SONET

White Rock Networks, a provider of next-generation optical transport systems for metro networks, announced the addition of affordable, widely tunable, DWDM, ITU-grid OC- 192 optics support to its VLX2020 OC-48/192 SONET product family. Carriers can now stock a single OC-192 ITU-optics card type rather than as many as 88 as they might do today. Widely tunable optics are not new, they have been used in optical test-equipment and a few DWDM systems for several years. What is new is making them affordable for broad metro deployment in order to future-proof a network while saving on inventory carrying costs.

Unlike many traditional systems, White Rock's VLX2020 modular "building-block" architecture was designed from the outset to support tunable optics allowing it to rapidly take advantage of new technology and to offer widely tunable optics in the same price range as older single-wavelength ITU-grid optics. As a result, widely tunable optics can now be deployed in every ITU-grid system in the field rather than just being used for sparing applications.

"White Rock is all about saving carriers money -- both CAPEX and OPEX," said Lonnie Martin, founder and CEO of White Rock Networks. "Widely tunable optics enable our customers to carry dramatically less optics inventory, plus they 'future proof' a network; once installed, our SONET ADM will work in any future C-band DWDM application under software control at comparable prices to today's fixed frequency ITU-optics. All carriers we have discussed this new capability with have responded extremely favorably to it," he added.

The VLX2020's widely tunable, ITU-grid, DWDM OC-192 optics are tunable across the full C-band at 50 GHz wavelength spacing as defined in ITU G.692 and are available in both Long Reach and Ultra Long Reach versions. Wavelengths can be software provisioned while the VLX2020 is in or out-of-service via its graphical user interfaces, or via TL-1.

The widely tunable ITU-grid OC-192 optics can be added to any existing VLX2020 system and will be generally available in September.

The VLX2020 is NEBS Level 3 certified and its reduced footprint helps trim the costs carriers now pay to lease space in central offices, while its lower power consumption reduces carriers' energy expenses. The system allows carriers to support a wide range of services from OC-192 to DS1. The VLX2020 is the industry's smallest, smartest OC-48/192 SONET ADM and the first product to make OC-192 truly affordable in the metro network.

White Rock Networks will be exhibiting at NFOEC 2003 in Orlando, Fla., Sept. 8-10, in Booth #1101. The VLX2020 OC-48/192 SONET ADM is a Lightwave magazine "Attendees' Choice Award Nominee" for SYSTEMS products featured at the show.

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