WDM component offers flexibility >BY Denise Pappalardo, East Coast Bureau Chief

Wave division multiplexing has yet to make its way into every carrier's network, but vendors are already developing more flexible ways for service providers to upgrade their systems.

LightPath Technologies, a small Albuquerque, N.M.-based glass lens manufacturer, developed Gradium, a new technology that will let carriers support multiple optical waves on a single device.

There are several different component approaches to doing WDM, said John Ryan, principal at Ryan Hankin and Kent, a San Francisco-based consultancy. The most common approaches include a Bragg fiber grating and a Dragone fiber filter, each named for its inventor, he said.

The existing technologies are limited by the number of wavelengths they can handle effectively, Ryan said. "Depending on which technology is being used, a reasonable amount of rigidity may make it extremely difficult, awkward and costly to change from a two-channel to an 18-channel device," he said. LightPath's technology is slated to offer a level of flexibility and cost less.

While other WDM technologies developed by Lucent Technologies, Pirelli and Ciena Corp. also support and separate wavelengths, LightPath claims its Gradium technology separates wavelengths simply, providing carriers with a smoother transmission over their fiber optic lines, said Leslie Danzinger, chairman at LightPath.

LightPath will initially strike up OEM agreements and deals with system integrators as its first customers for Gradium. The OEM vendors and systems integrators would then sell their WDM solutions to the carrier market.

Although LightPath develops component-level products, it plans on making WDM systems available to the market, most likely through an agreement with another company. "The WDM market's true requirements will be satisfied with two-, four- and eight-channel devices," according to market research gathered by LightPath, Danzinger said.

The company plans to target cable television providers, competitive access providers, local exchange carriers and large campus network providers, unlike its peripheral competitors that are going after the long-haul carriers.

The company is testing its Gradium WDM components at the University of Texas in Austin. LightPath is expected to roll out a two- and four-channel WDM device within the next six months. The new line of products promises to be priced substantially lower than competitors, according to company officials, but pricing is not yet available.