FSO firm folds

AirFiber, the San Diego-based free space optics firm which once had lured funding from high-profile vendors such as Qualcomm and Nortel Networks, has laid off all of its 60 employees and closed its doors.

AirFiber CEO Brett Helm told the San Diego Tribune that the ongoing telecom industry decline and the related lack of carrier spending were the most significant factors in the company’s demise.

It’s also evidence of a financial squeeze hitting the FSO market particularly hard. AirFiber competitor Terabeam announced just last month that it was laying off 100 employees after experiencing previous rounds of lay-offs last year.

While AirFiber accomplished much in the way improving the reliability of a line-of-sight technology whose signal could be greatly hampered by fog, it and other FSO firms also have faced increasing competition from Wi-fi technology vendors and high-frequency broadband wireless developers such as Loea. These companies have usurped some of the LAN fiber replacement opportunities for which FSO had been positioned.

AirFiber’s most recent carrier deal was a project last November with European carrier Colt Telecom to help broadcast the MTV Europe Video Music Awards.

There was no response to an e-mail sent to the company’s contact address. Its remaining assets are reportedly being positioned for sale.