August 19, 2004 Oxfordshire, UK -- Bookham Technology plc, provider of optical components, modules, and subsystems is set to show what it claims is its most extensive product portfolio ever--including the unveiling of its Intelligent Optical Platform series advanced subsystems--at next month's European Conference on Optical Communications (ECOC), to be held in Stockholm, Sweden, September 5-9, 2004.
Bookham will introduce its Intelligent Optical Platform series network-ready, rack-mount subsystem platform, a NEBS-compliant product supporting a variety of network applications. Designed to meet the growing demand for advanced, standalone subsystems from the telecommunications vendor market, the platform supports systems requiring low first costs without compromising future network capability, say company representatives. Bookham has already developed and is shipping this platform.
"Bookham's introduction of value-added subsystems will support customers looking not only to outsource manufacturing but also some of the optical design and engineering, providing more options for managing costs," explains Richard Mack, senior analyst at KMI Research (Providence, RI). "This is a trend we expect to see more of as many communications equipment manufacturers focus their businesses on software and services."
"Our commitment to commercialize innovative technologies to deliver differentiation in both cost effectiveness and performance for optical networks is clear," adds Steve Turley, Bookham's chief commercial officer. "Our strategy of delivering these benefits in customer-focused formats is also apparent through our alignment to industry standards in discrete devices, transceivers, and transponders. Our Intelligent Optical Platform raises this policy to a new level, enabling us to provide smart amplification and multiplexing as well as ROADM [reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexing] functionality at the subsystem level needed by our customer base."
Other highlights of the show will be differentiated products enabled by Bookham's strategy of vertical integration and technology investment:
• An avalanche photo diode (APD) with an integrated variable optical attenuator (VOA), which the company claims is the first product of its kind to offer this level of integration in an optical receiver;
• A wideband tunable transponder that is designed to reduce deployment costs and enhance network flexibility;
• An indium phosphide (InP) laser modulator optimized for 10-Gbit/sec transmission links that is substantially lower cost than alternative solutions on the market;
• XFP and SFP modules designed for SONET/SDH and 10-Gigabit Ethernet systems and targeted at enterprise applications as well as for both client and line-side interfaces on optical systems in carrier networks; and
• State-of-the-art 8 skip 0 and 10 skip 0 filters for efficient multiplexing and demultiplexing in banded architectures.
Visitors to the stand will also be able to participate in an interactive, streaming-video demonstration that highlights Bookham's range of solutions capability at both 2.5 and 10 Gbits/sec.
Bookham reports that it continues to focus on all aspects of cost reduction, including equipping and initiating manufacturing at its high-tech facility in Shenzhen, China, which was part of the New Focus acquisition in March 2004. It has already produced the first products for qualification.