FREE-SPACE FLAP

Perhaps we should be flattered to have made your March 10 issue cover with the quote, “In a starvation contest, the fat man wins” (Brett Helm, ex-CEO of AirFiber, on why Terabeam will be the last to tank in the free-space optics realm). While I agree we could be the last in this space left standing, I do not agree with the premise of this article (March 10, page 14).

Unfortunately, the free-space optics sector is no different from other sectors of the telecom industry in that we are not immune to a “rationalization” in the number of market participants. The carrier trials the article mentioned are having the intended effect: determining the sector's winners and losers.

Since this article was written, another FSO company, Holoplex, announced it is closing its doors. But many of your readers have also likely read about new Terabeam contracts with China's fifth largest telecom carrier, China Railcom, and with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to provide links for a backup dial-tone project for our nation's capital.

As you said, “Helm may be just trying to scorch the earth for his former rivals.” We believe your readers will continue to see successes from the best providers of FSO systems.
Daniel R. Hesse
Chairman, President and CEO
Terabeam

After reading your article I felt compelled to respond to some of the statements made by the former CEO of AirFiber on the free-space optics industry. AirFiber's demise was only partially attributable to the freeze in carrier spending; the primary cause was a flawed product and a questionable business strategy.

AirFiber's FSO product had severe limitations in power, range and network functionality. The initial products were designed only for meshed ATM networks and — due to their low-powered lasers and frail receiver — could only work at distances less than 200 meters. They could not adequately address metro Ethernet, gigabit campus networking or mobile network backhaul applications where flexible architectures and protocol independence are key.

The comments regarding the FSO industry are misleading and of particular concern to vendors such as fSONA, which has met with success in both carrier and enterprise market sectors. We have seen deployments that range from enterprise LAN bridges to backbones for FSO-enabled broadband 802.11 wireless networks. The industry is a nascent one, and gaining carrier acceptance of new products and technologies is always a long process. The key is listening to the real need of users and assisting customers with both applications and business cases.

In the networking business, no network element is a stand-alone component. Savvy network planners and telecom equipment suppliers such as Alcatel know how to compensate for the challenges of atmospheric attenuation and reap the benefits of low-cost, high-bandwidth, license-free wireless transmission. fSONA continues to increase sales and gain traction in its target markets. To say the industry is doomed before it has even taken off is absurd. The FSO sector is alive and thriving. Just watch.
Theresa Carbonneau
President and CEO
fSONA Communications