Press Releases

San Jose, Calif., January 27, 2003 – CALIENT Technologies, a leading global provider of intelligent photonic switching systems, announced today that Chunghwa Telecommunications, the national PTT of Taiwan, has completed its lab trial and is now moving to field trial with three CALIENT DiamondWave‘ PXC photonic switches in a GMPLS-enabled mesh network. This effort moves forward the carrier’s migration to a next-generation nationwide optical network, to lower the cost of transporting IP traffic and other services.

The DiamondWave PXC was selected in competitive bidding for Chunghwa’s multi-phase network trial, based on its ability to transparently switch both 2.5 and 10 Gbps traffic at the lowest cost per port. In addition, the CALIENT DiamondWave PXC has by far the lowest power consumption and highest port density. Such efficiency, along with network-wide provisioning software, greatly reduces a carrier’s operating expense over alternative OEO (optical-electrical-optical) switches.

Chunghwa chose CALIENT because the company has three years of experience with development, implementation and multi-vendor interoperability of the Generalized Multi-Protocol Label Switching (GMPLS) protocol suite. CALIENT’s product suite uniquely matches Chunghwa’s provisioning and network management requirements. Finally, the documented reliability of the switching platform in NEBS III certification and fault-free operation in category nine earthquake testing proved very compelling for Chunghwa’s nationwide facilities.

“Chunghwa Telecom has taken a more active role in the deployment of high-performance networks,” notes Yankee Group Asian Convergence Market Analyst Agatha Poon. “They are moving forward strategically in building advanced multiservice IP infrastructures, and are a perfect example of how entrenched incumbents in Asia are positioning to reap the benefits of next-generation optical networks, including cost savings and rapid service delivery.”

CAPEX and OPEX Savings
“We are pleased to have been selected by Chunghwa for this phase of its network migration, on the basis of the DiamondWave’s superior performance and winning economics,” stated Charles Corbalis, CEO and founder of CALIENT Technologies. “Our pursuit of photonic switching applications and network intelligence to improve both CAPEX and OPEX economics, along with bandwidth efficiency and network reliability, is paying off in expanded carrier engagement,” he said.

In the past year, CALIENT has been active across key Asian markets including Taiwan, China, Japan and Korea. In all engagements, GMPLS has become mandatory functionality for early phase testing and deployment. In particular, Asian carriers prefer the open optical network model, and value GMPLS for its multi-vendor provisioning and dynamic restoration capabilities.

Starting at configurations as small as 32x32, the DiamondWave PXC per-port list price is less than $5,000 regardless of transport rate, wavelength color or number of wavelengths. This is as much as 16 times below market pricing for equivalent transport rate dependent OEO switches.

The Networking OOO Switch
The DiamondWave PXC is a networking photonic switching system --commonly called an “OOO switch” --which provides transparent optical connections without electrical components or conversions. The 3D MEMS switch fabric is a fully non-blocking single-stage design, scalable to 256x256. This means that any of its input ports can be connected to any of its output ports, supporting more than 65,000 paths through the switch. Using GMPLS networking software, a network of DiamondWave PXCs provides end-to-end optical connection provisioning including a variety of class-of-service and protection options such as mesh re-routing. An integrated network management system, called the DiamondWave Manager, allows for point-and-click connection provisioning, network and switch configuration, and a suite of fault, event, security, software and inventory management tools.

About CALIENT Technologies
CALIENT Technologies is a leading provider of intelligent photonic switching systems and GMPLS networking software that help service providers reduce the cost of scaling their optical network infrastructure. CALIENT’s DiamondWave™ switching system and GMPLS-powered networking innovations provide a seamless migration path that is non-disruptive to legacy operations, highly cost-effective, and an enabler to revenue-generating optical services. CALIENT is shipping its DiamondWave PXC systems in configurations ranging from 32x32 to 256x256 to carrier networks worldwide. The company is headquartered in San Jose, California. Additional engineering and manufacturing operations are located in Santa Barbara, California, while MEMS design and fabrication operations are located in Ithaca, New York. For additional information about CALIENT, visit www.calient.net.

CALIENT Technologies, the CALIENT Technologies logo, and DiamondWave are trademarks of CALIENT Technologies, Inc.

About Chunghwa Telecom
Chunghwa Telecom (CHT) is the leading integrated telecom services provider in Taiwan, providing a complete range of fixed-line, wireless, and Internet data service offerings. The company is comprised of six subsidiary business groups, namely CHT Northern, CHT Central, CHT Southern, CHT Mobile Services, Data Communications, International Telecom, and two R&D and training units, Telecom Laboratories and Telecom Training Institute. Additionally, CHT maintains overseas offices in Silicon Valley, Bangkok and Hong Kong to support its international operations.

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