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By Meghan Fuller
Originally Published: June 5, 2001
By: Lightwave
Technology
For three days at the Optical Fiber Communications (OFC
2001) conference in Anaheim, CA, a steady stream of people
crowded around the booths sponsored by free-space optical
(FSO) equipment manufacturers. That such companies should be
popular at OFC is not entirely surprising-according to a
recent study from Washington, DC-based Strategis Group,
global FSO equipment revenues will jump from less than $100
million in 2000 to approximately $2 billion by 2005, a
1,900% increase. Market researcher Allied Business
Intelligence (Oyster Bay, NY) puts global FSO transceiver
revenue at more than $4 billion by 2005. A key factor
driving the market's growth is its evolution to higher
speeds and carrier-class reliability.
"A major shift is underway in the free-space optical
market," asserts Andy Fuertes, vice president of
communications technologies at Allied Business Intelligence.
"While these technologies were used for years in niche
applications, they are ready for the delivery of broadband
capabilities in mainstream carrier networks."
FSO networks carry high-speed data through the air on beams
of light transmitted by highly focused lasers, located on
rooftops or in building windows and linked by line of sight.
Once regarded as a backup solution for traditional fiber
networks, an interim solution for emergency situations or
special events, or simply a niche application for
connectivity where fiber deployment isn't feasible, FSO
technology is becoming increasingly attractive to carriers.
According to Allied Business Intelligence, carrier/ access
applications will exceed all other FSO segments by 2005,
when it will account for more than 70% of the market.
Faced with healthy competition from emerging carriers that
can offer Internet Protocol services with higher bandwidth,
incumbent carriers have to "fight back," says Stephen
Patrick, technical director at Hampton Hills, UK-based FSO
vendor CableFree Solutions Ltd. One way they are fighting
back is through the deployment of FSO equipment.
"There was a recent figure out of the States that a DSL
which costs the end customer $40 per month to rent, in fact,
costs $80 per month to maintain by a competitive carrier,"
he says. "The bandwidth itself, even for a DSL connection,
is not a way to make money. The money is in the services,
and that's the argument for the future: If you can offer
highly differentiated services, you are saving the customer
a huge amount of money, because they don't need to hire an
IT manager. For the service provider, that's a huge
value-add."
Options, options
For all its potential advantages, FSO technology has
historically had its share of obstacles, which must be
overcome before widespread carrier adoption is possible.
Issues such as the attenuation effects caused by inclement
weather, distance limitations, and the need for an
uninterrupted line of sight between FSO transceivers have
raised reliability questions in the past. There is no
shortage of players in the market, however, with each
touting its own proprietary (and therefore closely guarded)
solution to the reliability problem, leaving carriers with a
myriad of options.
LightPointe Communications, which officially unveiled its
carrier-class "Flight" product line at OFC, overcomes the
reliability issue using a backup hybrid optical/microwave
link. Its solution will fit within any carrier network
protocol or topology, claims the company, including mesh,
point-to-point, ring, and point-to-multipoint. According to
the company, the devices are targeted at the metro
environment, but carriers have also used them in the metro
core, as a last-mile solution, a supplement to
radio-frequency (RF) wireless LMDS, and a means to complete
SONET/SDH rings.
Optical Access Inc. (Denver) has also recently introduced
its carrier-class Optical Access Mesh, which features a
built-in RF wireless backup system to mitigate potential
downtime caused by weather or building sway. It supports
Fast Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet speeds and includes
switching and routing technology that enables bandwidth
distribution and provisioning for IP networks, claims the
company. Among its current customers are service providers
Tellaire Corp. (Dallas) and Broadband Highway (Los Angeles).
Optical Access is a technology investment partner with MRV
Communications Inc. (Chatsworth, CA). A new FSO player with
a similar connection to MRV is Optical Crossing (Glen dale,
CA), which unveiled its Opti Bridge 2500 single-channel FSO
transceiver at OFC. The transceiver provides 2.5-Gbit/sec
links over distances as long as 2 km. Its proprietary
auto-alignment subsystem corrects for both slow building
sway and weather conditions. The company claims the system
can tolerate atmospheric attenuation of 20 dB over 1 km
without a reduction in data rate.
AirFiber's ATM-based OptiMesh product targets
facilities-based carriers looking to extend the reach of
their existing fiber networks. It may be used in redundant
mesh or multiple point-to-point configurations and features
shorter links for improved availability. Eight service
providers are currently in trials with the OptiMesh.
CableFree Solutions Ltd. has deployed and is currently
deploying FSO systems to carriers in the Middle East, the
Far East, Africa, Western and Eastern Europe, and the United
States. Its products are designed with a "fade margin" that
takes into account the worst-case scenario for a given
system's location. While the company is reluctant to divulge
the exact nature of the fade margin, representatives assert
that the technology is reliable enough to cut through fog in
London and sandstorms in the Middle East. CableFree's
solution is upgradable from 2 to 622 Mbits/sec through 1.5
Gbits/sec.
A relative newcomer to the scene, British Columbia-based
fSONA recently unveiled its carrier-grade SONAbeam product,
which transmits at speeds ranging from 155 Mbits/sec to 1.25
Gbits/sec and may be configured in numerous topologies,
including point-to-point, inter-LAN, and as an extension to
existing SONET/SDH rings; fSONA employs a radio-based
wireless backup to ward against downtime.
TeraBeam Corp. (San Diego) has chosen an entirely different
business plan, opting to act as service provider for its own
line of FSO equipment. Targeting enterprise users, TeraBeam
recently announced the first commercial customers using its
IP network: the Four Seasons Olympic Hotel; Avenue A,
digital media advertising agency; Simpson Investment Co.;
and a law firm, Preston Gates and Ellis, LLP-all based in
Seattle, where fog is a notorious problem. TeraBeam's
solution employs a built-in tracking device and an
off-the-shelf router to route around possible equipment
failures. TeraBeam will soon begin work on another FSO
network in Denver, with similar networks to follow in four
undisclosed cities before the end of the year.
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