Advanced Optical MEMS Now Shipping Low-Cost 1x8 Optical Switch for Network Monitoring.

Business Editors/Health/Medical Writers/High-Tech Writers

IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 11, 2003

Advanced Optical MEMS Inc., (AOMEMS), a privately-held leading supplier of advanced optical switching modules and subsystems for the telecommunications industry, today launched the market's lowest priced 1x8 optical switch based on the latest opto-mechanical technology.

Michael Young, chief executive officer of the Irvine-based firm, said "The major hurdle for communications carriers who are looking for ways to move network signal traffic faster and more efficiently is the prohibitive costs of new fiber optic technology, including OOO (optical-optical-optical) switching that determines how data is routed at network nodes or intersections."

The new AOMEMS switch solves the problem, he said, by providing the high performance needed for optical network monitoring and measurement applications at prices that are as much as 60 percent lower than competitive products. It also features greater repeatability, lower insertion loss and reduced power consumption.

"This switch can operate over the full wavelength range of 1290 nanometers to 1610 nm, operate independent of signal transmission data rates and signal protocol, and latch in place, which means it will remain functional during electrical brown-outs or blackouts. It also can be built with multimode fibers to reduce costs even more," he said.

"Unlike other companies promoting unproven designs for the limited and overbuilt long-haul or transcontinental fiber optics networks," Young said, "we are producing switches for the fast-growing and potentially massive market known as 'the last mile' of the broadband journey between the long-haul networks and the homes and offices of metropolitan areas."

As one industry analyst put it: "With electronics becoming more and more complex, the telecommunications industry is looking to optical technology as the Holy Grail for high-speed communications."

Communications Industry Research experts expect the U.S. Metro core market, driven by the demand for advance optical switches to replace obsolete equipment, will reach $2.6 billion by 2006.

"We're in the right place at the right time," said Young.

Advanced Optical MEMS Inc. optical switching modules and subsystems enable communications equipment manufacturers to build the next generation of optical switching systems for the metropolitan and local access segments of the global communications network. Company headquarters are at 45 Parker, Suite B, Irvine, Calif. 92618. Phone: [phone]. Fax: [phone]. Web site: www.aomems.net.