New Fujitsu Products Fill High-Capacity Needs of Interexchange, Local Carriers.

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 8, 1999--

Versatile OC-192 Cross-Connect Matrix and DWDM System for

600 km Transmission Without Regeneration Debut at Supercomm

Fujitsu Network Communications, Inc., introduced today two products that are an ideal match for the high-capacity needs of long-distance carriers: industry-leading any-port-to-any-port connectivity in an OC-192 (10 gigabits per second) system, and dense wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) that doubles the unregenerated transmission distance over fiber.

Fujitsu unveiled the products at the 1999 Supercomm conference and trade show, where they can be seen at the Fujitsu booth, No. 5621.

The cross-connect capability in Fujitsu's FLASH(TM)-192 SONET add/drop multiplexer gives service providers a 768-by-768 TSA/TSI (time slot assignment/time slot interchange) matrix, providing maximum flexibility for traffic routing in a 10 gigabits per second (Gbps) system. The large matrix is more than twice the size of competing OC-192 matrices available today. Optimized for use with the newer non-zero dispersion-shifted fiber (NZ-DSF) type, Fujitsu's FLASHWAVE(TM) 320G WDM system allows carriers to transmit 320 Gbps capacity up to 600 kilometers (km) without signal regeneration - the longest distance of any commercially available WDM system providing this much capacity. The distance limit over conventional single-mode fiber is 320 km without regeneration. Fujitsu is demonstrating the FLASHWAVE 320G system at Supercomm using Corning(R) LEAF(R) single-mode NZ-DSF fiber.

"The 768-by-768 TSA/TSI matrix frees carriers from concerns about adding and dropping signals, and truly gives them any-port-to-any-port connectivity," said Ron Martin, executive vice president of planning and development for Fujitsu Network Communications. "The FLASH-192 system can now function as a mini-digital cross-connect solution, increasing the efficiency of existing network elements."

Because of the non-blocking architecture of the 768-by-768 matrix (see the accompanying Technical Close-Up for more details), any port can be mapped to any other port, for maximum operational flexibility. The size of the matrix also makes it easy for carriers to use the system for "hairpinning," or turning certain traffic around (into and then out of the same node). This means such traffic does not have to travel around the ring only to return to the original node, preserving bandwidth on the ring.

The FLASH-192 system supports a four-fiber bidirectional line switched ring (BLSR) architecture for maximum protection against multiple fiber failures around the ring - a particularly valuable capability for long-distance and highly dense metropolitan or interoffice network applications. Fujitsu rounds out the FLASH-192 system's full survivability options with support for two-fiber BLSR and UPSR (unidirectional path switched ring) architectures.

Other features of the FLASH-192 system include forward error correction (FEC) for an improved bit error rate; transparent transport of line overhead, allowing for overbuilds of lower-rate rings; and OC-3 (155 megabits per second), OC-12 (622 Mbps), and OC-48 (2.5 Gbps) tributaries. The tributary interfaces can be mixed and matched with appropriate plug-in units to flexibly support all network configurations. In addition, Fujitsu supports integrated (subtending) ring functionality via all tributary types. For example, the FLASH-192 system can integrate nodes from a lower-rate (OC-3, OC-12, or OC-48) ring via the optical tributary shelf interfaces. This eliminates the need for separate tributary network elements, saving both cost and space.

The combination of Fujitsu's FLASH-192 and FLASHWAVE products provides unparalleled capacity for long-haul network applications.

FLASHWAVE 320G

The FLASHWAVE 320G system (see the accompanying Technical Close-Up) provides up to 32 channels of OC-192 and/or OC-48 (2.5 Gbps) for a maximum bandwidth capacity of 320 Gbps, or enough bandwidth to transmit more than four million simultaneous telephone calls.

At Supercomm, Fujitsu is demonstrating the FLASHWAVE 320G system's ability to transmit the full 320 Gbps capacity over unregenerated distances of up to 600 km on NZ-DSF fiber. To achieve distances beyond 600 km without incurring the full cost of typical regeneration methods, the FLASHWAVE 320G system uses a low-cost, high-density OC-192 regenerator. Fujitsu's design allows eight OC-192 or 16 OC-48 regenerators, or a combination, to be used in one shelf.

Fujitsu is also demonstrating OC-192 tunable lasers at Supercomm. Such lasers allow carriers to provision a narrowband optic card to support any of the FLASHWAVE 320G system's 32 wavelengths. This means carriers can eliminate the expense of having to buy and stock 32 cards - one for each wavelength. Instead, just one card is needed as a spare for all 32 wavelengths.

The FLASHWAVE 320G system now supports transponder functionality to enable carriers to transmit almost any optical signal point-to-point, so they can use the system with any manufacturer's transmission equipment. With a transponder-based WDM system, carriers can shed interoperability concerns when using WDM with SONET or non-SONET equipment. The optical-to-electrical-to-optical conversion that takes place within a transponder translates wideband optics into narrowband optics, so most any input can be output as a WDM channel.

The transponders also expand the bit rates supported by the FLASHWAVE 320G system. Along with OC-48 and OC-192, transponders allow support for OC-3, OC-12, and asynchronous channels.

Fujitsu's FLASHWAVE 320G system, and the 40G (40 Gbps) configuration version, have been available with integrated narrowband optics. The 40G configuration is a low-cost, unidirectional solution for short- and long-haul applications. It supports up to 16 channels of OC-48 for a total capacity of 40 Gbps. Carriers can upgrade in service from the 40G configuration to the 320 Gbps capacity.

"While the integrated narrowband optics is an ideal lower-cost approach when using WDM as a link between Fujitsu equipment, the availability of transponders broadens the options for carriers," said Steve Clendening, senior director of photonic products. "In the local exchange network, a majority of all multiplexers in use are Fujitsu multiplexers. That isn't the case in the long-distance market, and our transponder-based WDM system now means that any carrier can get massive bandwidth, a total of 320 gigabits per second, whether they are connecting Fujitsu multiplexers or other suppliers' equipment."

The FLASHWAVE family also includes a metropolitan version, the FLASHWAVE Metro, which is Fujitsu's minimum-cost WDM solution for local exchange carriers. The bidirectional system is capable of transmitting four OC-48 channels in each direction (4-by-4) over a single fiber, and can be upgraded in service to eight channels in each direction (8-by-8) - for a maximum possible capacity of 40 Gbps on a single fiber (20 Gbps in each direction).

Fujitsu has seen ready market acceptance of its FLASH-192 and FLASHWAVE systems, selling several such systems to competitive local exchange carriers and winning certification of the systems for purchase by long-distance and local exchange carriers. Among the publicly announced customers for the FLASH-192 system have been Hyperion Communications in the U.S. and Optus Communications in Australia.

Fujitsu Network Communications, Inc., designs and manufactures fiber-optic transmission and broadband switching platforms, develops software that allows customers to perform in-service management and monitoring of the network, and provides network design, installation, and maintenance services. Its customers include local exchange carriers, interexchange carriers, competitive access providers, and cable TV operators, as well as large private networks in North America. Fujitsu Network Communications is part of Fujitsu Limited (TSE:6702), a $43.3 billion leading provider of comprehensive information technology and networking solutions for the global marketplace. Product information is available by calling 800-777-FAST. Its World Wide Web site is www.fnc.fujitsu.com.

FLASH(TM) and FLASHWAVE(TM) are trademarks of Fujitsu Network Communications, Inc. Corning(R) and LEAF(R) are registered trademarks of Corning Incorporated.

Technical Close-Up:

FLASH(tm)-192 System and 768-by-768 Cross-Connect Matrix

The FLASH-192 system is Fujitsu's advanced SONET add/drop multiplexer for high-capacity transport systems in interoffice and interexchange carrier networks. The system operates at 10 Gbps (OC-192) to handle the equivalent of more than 129,000 simultaneous telephone calls over a single fiber pair.

The FLASH-192 system combines the functionality of a fiber-optic terminal, digital multiplexer, and digital cross-connect into a single network node. Its new routing capability gives service providers a 768-by-768 TSA/TSI (time slot assignment/time slot interchange) matrix, more than twice the size of competing OC-192 matrices available today. This large matrix provides maximum cross-connect flexibility, allowing carriers to route and groom individual STS channels within the 10 Gbps system.

The FLASH-192 system's 768-by-768 cross-connect matrix is unique in the industry for both its size and flexibility. No other OC-192 product supports a switching matrix of this density on an STS-1 basis. A 768-by-768 cross-connect matrix supports 768 STS channels into a node and 768 STS channels out of the same node, enabling carriers to drop a full 20 Gbps of bandwidth capacity. In comparison, a 192-by-192 matrix supports 192 STS channels into a node and 192 STS channels out of the node. This means a 768-by-768 matrix can interconnect four times more STS channels than a 192-by-192 matrix.

The 768-by-768 matrix supports non-blocking connectivity to the high-speed OC-192 ports, as well as hairpinning among the lower-rate optical tributaries. The ability to groom signals internal to the FLASH-192 system can provide substantial cost and space savings. For example, instead of having multiple partially-filled OC-192 digital cross-connect ports, carriers can groom and fill selected OC-192 ports, increasing port efficiency and reducing external DCS (digital cross-connect system) interconnect requirements.

The 20 Gbps drop capability of the 768-by-768 cross-connect matrix allows the FLASH-192 system to provide full interconnect support up to a four-fiber bidirectional line-switched ring (BLSR) architecture. Four-fiber BLSR uses four fibers between each node on the ring to ensure maximum bandwidth in a fully-survivable configuration. Two fibers carry working traffic, while the other two are for backup or "protection." In the event of a damage to the primary fibers, the working traffic is automatically rerouted over the backup fibers.

Technical Close-Up:

FLASHWAVE(TM) 320G WDM System and NZ-DSF Fiber

Fujitsu's FLASHWAVE 320G wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) system allows service providers to achieve maximum end-to-end throughput over their existing fiber networks for long-distance and metropolitan applications. The FLASHWAVE 320G system, Fujitsu's long-haul dense WDM solution, supports up to 32 channels of OC-192, OC-48, OC-12, OC-3, asynchronous signals, or a combination to provide a maximum total capacity of 320 gigabits per second (Gbps) over a single fiber. The system uses ITU-compliant wavelength spacing of 100 GHz (0.8 nm).

The FLASHWAVE 320G system supports conventional single-mode fiber (SMF) and the newer non-zero dispersion shifted fiber (NZ-DSF). Over SMF fiber, the system transmits the full 320 Gbps capacity up to 320 kilometers (km) without signal regeneration. This distance is extended to 600 km over NZ-DSF fiber, representing the combined maximum bandwidth and distance provided by any commercially available WDM system today.

NZ-DSF fiber suppresses a non-linear effect known as four wave mixing (FWM), which limits multi-channel transmission on dispersion-shifted fiber that has its zero dispersion in the erbium-doped fiber amplifier bandwidth range (typically about 30 nm in the 1530 to 1560 nm range). When multiple signals are sent over the same fiber at different wavelengths, the sidebands, or harmonics, of the signals combine to form unwanted additional signals. This effect is enhanced by phase-matching of the signal with amplified spontaneous emission noise frequencies in the zero dispersion region.

While the zero dispersion for conventional SMF fiber is at 1310 nm, optically-amplified dense WDM systems used for OC-192 transmission operate in the 1550 nm wavelength spectrum. In the 1550 nm region, the dispersion value for SMF fiber is high (about 17 picoseconds/nm km), so high amounts of dispersion compensation are required to transmit OC-192 signals over long distances. The dispersion tolerance of an OC-192 signal is only a fraction of an externally-modulated OC-48 dispersion tolerance, which is in the range of 10,000 ps/nm.

NZ-DSF fiber is designed for dense WDM operation in the 1550 nm region. It allows higher optical powers while minimizing non-linear effects, such as FWM. The dispersion coefficient of NZ-DSF fiber in this wavelength region is about 2 to 6 ps/nm km. This fiber type allows per-channel input powers limited by FWM to be increased, therefore enabling greater transmission distances.