Lucent brings end to LambdaRouter

After long touting its MEMS(micro-electro-mechanical-system)-based optical cross connect, the LambdaRouter, Lucent Technologies is ending development of the product, which never gained much traction in the market. The move is reflective of market conditions and will involve around 100 employees. Those employees did receive severance pay.

“We notified the employees earlier this month,” said a Lucent spokesman. The employees are included in the 7000 cuts announced in July.

“This is a part of the ongoing restructuring of the company and is based on the changes in the market and changes in our customers' plans,” the spokesman said.

Lucent intends to continue experimenting with the all-optical and MEMS technologies in its laboratories, even though the LambdaRouter product will no longer be developed. The ramifications of this decision should be minor. To date, Lucent only had managed to win contracts for the switch from two service providers, Global Crossing and Japan Telecom.

Lucent was in discussions with other providers regarding testing as well, according to the spokesman. “We have been meeting with [the customers and potential customers] to determine the best ways to support them or transition them to other products,” he said. Lucent obviously will steer providers toward OEO switches instead.

But Lucent isn’t alone in its pain; big competitors have already gone through the same. Nortel Networks ceased development for its optical cross-connect earlier this year, the OPTera Connect PX, for which it paid more than $1 billion to acquire Xros.

And long before the Nortel shut down, Cisco Systems expensively exited the all-optical cross-connect business, when it ceased development of its Wavelength Router in April 2001, citing market conditions.

Now others in the market, such as startups like Calient, likely will try to pick up whatever crumbs may be left. Other optical switch makers such as Ciena, Corvis and Tellium will probably try to pick up where Lucent left off as well.