SUNNYVALE, Calif., March 27, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- A new report by independent analyst firm Heavy Reading names photonic integration the technology that is best positioned to enable network operators to scale their networks to accommodate bandwidth growth while driving down unit costs.
The report also identifies Infinera (Nasdaq:INFN) as "undisputed leader" in the field of photonic integration with a lead it calls "astounding" and estimates at four years over the rest of the optical networking industry.
Researched and written by Heavy Reading analyst Sterling Perrin, the report, entitled Photonic Integration and the Future of Optical Networking, examines optical system vendors' efforts to reduce cost per bit transported across networks by increasing data rate per wavelength from 10 Gigabits/second (Gb/s) to 40 Gb/s and 100 Gb/s and concludes that such efforts are unlikely to produce cost benefits on the scale required by network operators. Specifically, Perrin concludes: "Advancements in photonic integration are the best way that the optical industry will be able to scale to meet future bandwidth requirements while similarly reducing the cost per bit..(W)e see photonic integration playing a critical role across the network - from the core to the access."
The report examines a wide range of companies developing and producing photonic integrated circuits (PICs) and concludes that Infinera is on the leading-edge of a major wave of photonic integrated circuit development expected over the next 10 years. The report notes that Infinera has leveraged its PIC technology to create a digital optical networking system that delivers network-level innovations including integrated bandwidth management with sub-lambda granularity, digital protection and restoration, rapid end-to-end provisioning with a GMPLS control plane, and 100 Gb/s of capacity per line card.
"Infinera has made historic contributions to the field of photonic integration and has attained a four-year lead on the rest of the industry," commented analyst Perrin. "Now that there is a growing recognition of the importance of photonic integration for the future of the optical industry, we expect other players at both the system and component levels to move aggressively to develop their own photonic integrated circuits."
"The industry is increasingly recognizing that photonic integration is the key to the future of optical networking," commented Infinera CEO Jagdeep Singh. He added: "Infinera believes that photonic integration is the only technology that can enable networks to scale while simultaneously delivering improvements in density, power consumption, cost-performance, and reliability."
On February 22nd, Infinera unveiled its roadmap for the future development of photonic integration, which anticipates doubling the capacity per PIC every three years. Infinera anticipates that its next commercial PIC will have a capacity of 400 Gb/s or four times the capacity of its current PIC. Infinera's current PICs, which began shipping in 2004, have achieved more than 50 million cumulative hours of operation in live networks with zero failures.
The Heavy Reading report Photonic Integration and the Future of Optical Networking, can be purchased at www.heavyreading.com.
About Infinera
Infinera provides Digital Optical Networking systems to telecommunications carriers worldwide. Infinera's systems are unique in their use of a breakthrough semiconductor technology: the Photonic Integrated Circuit (PIC). Infinera's systems and PIC technology are designed to provide optical networks with simpler and more flexible engineering and operations, faster time-to-service, and the ability to rapidly deliver differentiated services without reengineering their optical infrastructure. For more information, please visit www.infinera.com.
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This press release contains certain forward-looking statements based on current expectations, forecasts and assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements are based on information available to Infinera as of the date hereof; and actual results could differ materially from those stated or implied, due to risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding Infinera's expectations, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future, such as the benefits and capabilities of our products and the Digital Optical Network's architecture, that Infinera is on the leading-edge of a major wave of photonic integrated circuit development expected over the next 10 years, that increasing data rate per wavelength is unlikely to produce cost benefits on the scale required by network operators, that Infinera has leveraged its PIC technology to create a system that delivers network-level innovations including integrated bandwidth management with sub-lambda granularity, digital protection and restoration, network management with an end-to-end GMPLS control plane, and 100 Gb/s of capacity per line card, that photonic integration is the key to the future of optical networking, that photonic integration is the only technology that can enable networks to scale while simultaneously delivering improvements in density, power consumption, cost-performance, and reliability, that the capacity of the PIC could double every three years, and that in the field of photonic integration it has a lead four years over the rest of the optical networking industry. Such forward-looking statements can be identified by forward-looking words such as "anticipated," "believed," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "should," "will," and "would" or similar words. The risks and uncertainties that could cause our results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements include aggressive business tactics by our competitors, our dependence on a single product, our ability to protect our intellectual property, claims by others that we infringe their intellectual property, our manufacturing process is very complex, product performance problems we may encounter, our dependence on sole or limited source suppliers, our ability to respond to rapid technological changes, our ability to maintain effective internal controls, the ability of our contract manufacturers to perform as we expect, a new technology being developed that replaces the PIC as the dominant technology in optical networks, general political, economic and market conditions and events, including war, conflict or acts of terrorism; and other risks and uncertainties described more fully in our annual report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 19, 2008, our public announcements and other documents filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission. These statements are based on information available to us as of the date hereof and we disclaim any obligation to update the forward-looking statements included in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.