Metro-Optix selects Agere

(Telephony) Metro-Optix, makers of the CityStream bandwidth management platform, today revealed it has signed a multiyear agreement with Agere Systems for integrated circuits and other optical components.

By using Agere’s system-on-a-chip (SoC) products, including OC-48 add/drop multiplexer SoC, SuperMapper integrated framer/mapper/multiplexer SoC, ATM SoC, and custom ASICs, optical transponders and transceivers, the equipment maker is able to guarantee CityStream’s small footprint, said Dana Hartgraves, vice president of marketing for Metro-Optix.

“Agere had the technology we needed,” Hartgraves said. “Their components are highly integrated.”

While the value of the deal was not revealed, Metro-Optix is a “major customer” for Agere, according to Hartgraves.

“This is a solid partnership with a large supplier,” she said. “Until recently, components were hard to get. Now that we are beginning to ramp up for full shipping, it’s important to have this relationship.”

The contract could be good news for the otherwise downtrodden Agere, formerly the microelectronics division of Lucent Technologies. Despite news that investment firm Morgan Stanley had bought shares in the company, Agere’s stock price dropped below its offering price of $6 last week.

As of 11:05 a.m. EDT, shares of Agere (AGRa) were trading at 5.20, up .15 or 2.97%.