TeraConnect Delivers 120 Gigabit Per Second Interconnect Modules; Evaluations Underway at Networking and Computing OEMs.

Business Editors & High-Tech Writers

NASHUA, N.H.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 6, 2001

TeraConnect, Inc., a technology leader in optical components, announced today that it is shipping its T48 Terminator Series(TM) optical interconnect modules to data networking and computing equipment OEMs. With 48 channels and 2.5 Gbps per channel, the T48 is the highest density optical interconnect module available in the market today.

The T48 uses TeraConnect's proprietary two-dimensional opto-electronic (2DOE) technology. This unique processing technology allows TeraConnect to provide high-density vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) based transmitters and Galium Arsenide detector-based receivers in a miniature package. The T48 eliminates throughput bottlenecks in data communications and telecommunications while dramatically reducing power consumption, circuit board space, and cost.

2DOE Enables Advanced Functionality, Cost Reductions

BAE Systems is one company who has purchased the evaluation package. "With the huge load of input data generated by our systems, an enormous amount of bandwidth is required to move data between and among the data sources and the processing elements," states BAE Systems' Program Manager Jon Ciemiewicz. "The TeraConnect T48 provides the only viable solution to this problem, while meeting our requirements for reliability and robust operation."

Other companies that are evaluating TeraConnect's T48 include major suppliers of routers, optical switches and high performance computing systems. In these applications, the T48 is used to connect high-speed line cards to the switching fabrics, connecting stages of multi-stage switches, and to connect different types of equipment within a central office or Internet data center.

Pricing and Availability

The T48 modules use TeraConnect's 2DOE technology to leverage large arrays of active optical devices that are directly hybridized to high-speed silicon germanium ASICs. This improves signal integrity, supporting higher signal density and lower manufacturing costs than other solutions. "The T48 will sell for less than $1,200 in production volumes, making it the lowest cost fiber optic interconnect module in terms of dollars per gigabit per second," said John Langevin, TeraConnect's Vice President of Marketing.

TeraConnect is providing a turn key evaluation kit that makes it easy for companies to evaluate the T48. The kit includes everything required to test and characterize the link, including T48 transmit and receive modules, evaluation boards, fiber optic cables, a user's test guide, and product documentation. The evaluation kits and T48 units are available for immediate delivery. TeraConnect is also taking orders for prototype quantities of its T-48 2DOE interconnects. For more information about package options and pricing, contact Jon Mann at 925/524-7700.

About TeraConnect

Launched in the fourth quarter of 2000, Nashua, New Hampshire- based TeraConnect is the leading provider of high-performance, two-dimensional opto-electronic (2DOE) components for the high-speed router, server and telecommunications infrastructure markets. Based on core technology developed at BAE Systems (formerly Sanders, a Lockheed Martin Company), TeraConnect devices eliminate the bottlenecks that currently limit data transmission between digital platforms, enabling greater throughput in advanced communications and computing equipment. TeraConnect was initially funded with $40 million from Goldman Sachs, Kodiak Venture Partners and Spectrum Equity Investors. For more information, visit http://www.teraconnect.com.