Jon bayless

As the demand for bandwidth increases and carriers look to extend the reach of transmission, Jon Bayless, chairman and CEO of Xtera Communications, spoke with Elizabeth Starr Miller about the company's S-Band eXpander, a dense wave division multiplexing subsystem designed to optimize efficiency in long-haul transport by using the S-Band.

How is Xtera addressing the optical equipment market?

The technology we are working on is to expand the bandwidth and the reach of optical transmission systems. We will provide subsystems that are sold into the existing system providers that will, in turn, sell [equipment] to the network operators. We have an OEM sales model of selling to the Sycamores, Cienas and Nortels of the world. Our first product will open the S-Band, which is an area that has not been available for transmission on fiber because of the lack of amplification, but we have amplifier technology for the S-Band. This provides 100% increase in the bandwidth over the fiber.

What is unique about your subsystem?

We're providing a whole S-Band subsystem, which will operate under the existing vendor's network management [system] so that the network operator doesn't see any difference in the equipment in terms of management. We're providing all that capability with an interface to the C-Band system so that the signaling channel and the network management system all stays the same; it just has additional capacity on it.

Why the S-Band?

The S-Band has transmission characteristics, which are favorable in some cables as compared to any other way of getting more bandwidth. For the most part, many network operators didn't realize that anything would be available in the S-Band, so they had not counted on the S-Band in terms of their network planning. There has been talk of opening up the L-Band, in which erbium-doped amplifiers can be made to work, but no one has talked about the S-Band.

Is using the S-Band more important in the metro or the long-haul?

I think it's across the board, but primarily amplification occurs in the long-haul, so that's where we're focused. Some of the single-mode fiber that has been installed is going to have a problem supporting L-Band, so there is basically nowhere for those guys to go except to the S-Band. This gives their fiber new life.

How do you see the subsystem market right now?

There is a shortage of capacity and capability, and we are opening the S-Band and providing the equipment vendors with a faster time to market with these products. What we are also seeing is that there is a shortage of components from our vendors, but we've been able to work closely with vendors who see opening up the S-Band as an opportunity to open up new markets for themselves.