Dark Fiber

Optelian (News - Alert) this week at SUPERCOMM will unveil a new card that enables service providers to put eight 1gigE connections over a single wavelength. In addition to allowing service providers to squeeze more bandwidth out of existing connections, the MPX-81-EX gigabit Ethernet muxponder supports Ethernet LAN, WAN, E-LAN and E-Line services. The muxponder also can serve as an Ethernet switch with provider bridge VLAN capability.

Dave Mills, Optelian’s vice president of sales, told TMCnet in an interview that the muxsponder marks his company’s first move into Ethernet switching.

The product has eight gigabit Ethernet client ports, and two 10 gigabit Ethernet line LAN/WAN ports. Client ports use SFP transceivers, and line ports use XFP transceivers, enabling connectivity to CWDM and DWDM systems. Mills adds that the dual XFP interfaces on the line allow for physical layer protection switching, which is a differentiator versus some similar products on the market. He adds that the card also allows for multiple LAN bridging.

The MPX-81-EX gigabit Ethernet muxponder is slated for availability this year. Pricing was not provided, but Mills says Optelian is traditionally lower cost than its competitors and adds that its solutions boast low power consumption.

On a separate note, Mills says Optelian expects to release news about a major new WDWM customer in short order.