Trio of companies demonstrate XPak, X2, and Xenpak 10-Gbit/sec serial multimode interoperability

12 November 2003 Albuquerque, NM Lightwave -- During the IEEE 802 Plenary Meetings this week, Infineon Technologies, MergeOptics, and Scintera Networks will demonstrate the interoperability of Electronic Dispersion Compensation (EDC)-enabled 10-Gbit/sec serial modules. Infineon's XPAK-with-EDC technology demonstration module, MergeOptics X2 module, and Intel's S-EDC XENPAK reference design module will interoperate over 300 meters of legacy multimode fiber.

"For 10-Gbit/sec technology to become widely deployed, it's imperative that all the elements in a network be able to talk to one another," explains Subodh Toprani, senior vice president and general manager, Wireline Communications Business Group, at Infineon Technologies North America. "This demonstration proves the feasibility of using EDC-enabled transceivers conforming to different MSAs within a network based on the existing low-bandwidth multimode fiber, showing that legacy networks can be readily and cost-effectively upgraded to next-generation capabilities."

"The 10-Gbit/sec market is rapidly growing," adds Dag Neumeuer, president and chief executive officer of MergeOptics. "This demonstration of interoperable EDC-enabled modules is a perfect example of a new generation of products where the latest advancements in optics and electronics offer more performance at dramatically lower cost. This will serve to accelerate the market's acceptance of 10-Gbit/sec modules."

Although the IEEE 802.3ae committee defined LX4 CWDM to operate over 300 meters of legacy multimode fiber in 2001, LX4 has not been commercially deployed because it is seen as too power consuming and too costly. This has prevented enterprise networks from upgrading their 1-Gbit/sec backbones to 10 Gbits/sec for use over the existing installed fiber. EDC has proven to be a more cost-effective solution than LX4 and can provide seamless migration from 1 Gbit/sec to 10 Gbits/sec over the legacy multimode fiber.