Lambda Opticalsystems, an optical network service provider, yesterday announced that it has secured $14 million in Series B funding from Sevin Rosen Funds and ComVentures, two venture firms with strong track records in the telecommunications sector. The funding follows $10 million in Series A capital awarded to the company in March 2003.
"This second round of funding reflects Lambda Opticalsystems' strong performance to date, in introducing the first all-optical networking solutions to the government and carrier markets. It also indicates the high level of confidence our investors have in our technology and management team's ability to deliver innovative solutions that meet market requirements," said Dr. John C.W. Taylor, Chairman, Lambda Opticalsystems.
Lambda Opticalsystems offers a family of optical networking products, including the LAMBDA CREATE software suite of integrated network management tools and the LAMBDA NODE all-optical switching family. The company's LAMBDA Optical Control Plane is designed to enable integrated visibility and management of the entire end-to-end network from a single dashboard or operation center.
Lambda Opticalsystems' reports that its key differentiator is its capability to deliver an all-optical network by integrating true optical switching with Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) technology. DWDM technology allows data from different sources (SONET, IP, ATM, and so on) to travel together at the same time on one optical fiber, with each signal on a separate wavelength - maximizing network speed and optimization. However, when the signal reaches a node in a traditional DWDM network, it must convert to an electric signal before switching and routing to its next location — a process that is time-consuming and requires expensive transponder equipment.
Lambda Opticalsystems combines DWDM technology with a capability to switch at the wavelength level. Signals do not have to convert from optical to electric and back to optical again at each node. Instead, all signal conversion and protocol-specific functions occur on the edge of the network, allowing core transmissions to be rapidly switched, routed, protected, and managed at the individual wavelength level — unobstructed by traditional switching technology. This capability enables customers to realize significant cost savings, as it reduces network capital requirements by up to 80 percent.
Additional benefits of Lambda Opticalsystems technology include, according to the company:
Protocol Independence — The core network is protocol and bit-rate independent, carrying each signal on its own wavelength and enabling cost-avoidances through the elimination of dedicated protocol conversion equipment.
Fixed Latency — The technology addresses the Federal market's requirement for non-variable delivery of critical data. It eliminates the random delays caused by signal processing at the nodes in traditional optical network topologies. Point-to-point delay is fixed, allowing the delivery of previously unattainable real-time, high-speed services throughout the network.
Transparency — Because Lambda Opticalsystems solutions are designed to operate in an overlay fashion across existing network configurations, network components provide genuine transparency without any disruption of existing signals.
Simplicity and Scalability — Network managers can plan, build, and manage new networks easily from one remote interface. For example, managers can provision new accounts or bring third-party access or long-distance equipment online rapidly and remove these services with the same ease. The solutions' scalability enables organizations to expand capacity without large capital expenses, addressing the carrier market's requirement to increase bandwidth and availability at the lowest possible cost
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