LightPointe Free-Space Optics gear selected for U.K. metropolitan carrier network

Aug. 14, 2002

August 14, 2002--LightPointe recently announced that its Flight Free-Space Optics gear is being deployed by Red Spectrum for a high-speed network in London.

LightPointe, a designer and manufacturer of carrier-class optical transmission equipment using Free-Space Optics (FSO) technology, recently announced that its Flight FSO gear is being deployed by Red Spectrum for a high-speed network in London.

Red Spectrum is building the optical network to provide Ethernet and Gigabit connectivity to London metropolitan businesses underserved by incumbent carriers. Red Spectrum has begun providing FSO services to an undisclosed number of customers and is growing its network where demand is greatest. An estimated 6% of buildings in Europe are connected to fiber-optic cable, leaving alternatives of copper-based facilities and radio frequency (RF), neither of which can deliver the price-per-bit performance of LightPointe FSO, claims the company.

David Jenkins, managing director of Red Spectrum, said his company's approach is based on economics that cannot be matched by incumbent carriers, providing fast connections in less than 48 hours that can be scaled for future business growth.

"Our unique business model leverages FSO to quickly deliver better communications services to a strong market segment at a lower cost than existing telecommunications operators," he contends. "True broadband requires changes in the infrastructure of the 'last mile.' The vast majority of existing access to optical networks is controlled by monopoly carriers with legacy networks and mindsets geared more toward protecting their turf first and inviting space of innovation second. That is, until now," he adds.

LightPointe offers products that provide bandwidth from 10 Mbits to 2.5 Gbits for both carrier and enterprise customers. The products are protocol independent and seamlessly integrate into existing optical fiber and mobile wireless networks, say company representatives. LightPointe has deployed more than 1,300 FSO systems in more than 30 countries.

"During 2002, free-space optics has provided a bright spot in telecommunications, with continued global growth and strong indications that it will play an increasingly expanding role in three network segments: wireline, wireless and enterprise," asserts Bettina Tratz-Ryan, senior analyst with Gartner Dataquest. "The number of carrier trials and deployments continue to increase, and with it, so has market adoption."

For more information about LightPointe (San Diego), visit the company's Web site at www.lightpointe.com.