Expanding bandwidth via optical networking
Atlanta Business Chronicle - by Sonny Lufrano
Two Atlanta-based optical networking companies hope to become key players in the bandwidth game. As major telecommunications carriers like BellSouth Corp., EarthLink Inc. and Qwest Communications International Inc. search for ways to ease the bandwidth bottleneck, Movaz Networks and Luxcore want to provide the technology necessary to help data flow over the Internet like water.
Optics is the use of light to transmit data. The problem with the current optical network is one of convergence. When bits and bytes jump on the optical network, in the form of an optical signal, they are free to move around as fast as the optical network can carry them. When those same bits and bytes are ready to exit the optical network and be routed to a PC, they must be converted into an electronic signal, be assigned a destination, then be converted back into an optical signal. Both Movaz Networks and Luxcore believe they have created switching technology that alleviates the need for optical signals to be converted to electronic signals.
Engineers by trade
Movaz Networks is the newest kid on the block. Bijan Khosravi, the former head of Siara Networks, started the company in June 2000. Khosravi refers to the team of engineers recruited from around the world as "the best in the business."
"We merged Siara Networks with Redback Networks in 1997 in a $4.3 billion transaction," Khosravi said. "We know how to create a company and execute a business plan. Right now, we have 180 employees; 160 of those are engineers with an average of 10 years' experience in the industry and 40 of our engineers are Ph.D.s. We have the top talent and a portfolio of products that will change everything."
While he declined to go into detail about his suite of products, Khosravi said Movaz's optical cross connect will help telecom companies increase bandwidth capacity by as much as 200 times without increasing costs. According to Khosravi, six large telecommunications companies already are committed to using Movaz's technology.
The company, which raised an initial $30 million in venture funding from Worldview Technology Partners and Menlo Ventures, plans to raise another $20 million to $30 million in July. Khosravi said his portfolio of products will be on the market by mid-year, and he expects Movaz to see revenue by year end.
Luxcore
Luxcore officials declined to be interviewed for this story.
Founded in July 1999, the Atlanta-based company initially received $10 million in venture funding from Metropolis Venture Partners and Delta Asset Management. The company has grown from 16 employees to 108 in little more than 18 months.
Luxcore, like Movaz, believes its all-optical internetworking systems will allow data to move on and off the optical highway without having to slow down to be converted into an electronic signal. The company would not disclose its client list but stated it already has signed up a few large networking companies to use its technology, which it plans to roll out in the third quarter of this year.
A Luxcore spokesman did issue the following statement via e-mail: "Luxcore is not building a second-generation product but a third-generation product and we believe our product line will render obsolete second-generation products. There are critical elements to manage within all optical networks and we believe our researchers are leaders in the field of optical physics."
Asked to define the difference between a second-generation product and a third-generation product, Luxcore officials declined to comment.
Economic controls
In the end, the slowdown in the economy might put a chink in the armor of any company hoping to raise another big round of funding to complete research and development.
Rajen Sheth, a managing partner with Infiniti Ventures LLC, believes the venture market for optical networking companies will be a lot trickier in the future.
"What we're seeing is the large telecom companies' stocks are getting battered," Sheth said. "Some are more than 50 percent off their highs. These companies are not going to be able to pay the hardware-makers, the Ciscos, the Lucents and the Nortels, as much for their hardware. And because those hardware companies are, in many cases, funding the smaller start-ups like Luxcore, it's not going to be as easy to raise money."
Sonny Lufrano is a contributing writer for Atlanta Business Chronicle. Reach him at atlantatechbiz@bizjournals.com.
Latest News |
