Optical transport player is shutting down

Phil Harvey, Editor-in-Chief

August 31, 2006

1 Min Read
White Rock Got Rocked

2:10 PM –- From The Philter's Fat Lady file, Allen, Texas-based White Rock Networks Inc. is about to shut its doors as the company searches for a buyer. Here's an email sent around this morning by WRN management:

The Board of White Rock Networks decided today to furlough all but a skeleton staff of its U.S. employee team and suspend virtually all operations while it waits to see if its search for an acquirer can be quickly concluded. If not, White Rock will proceed to sell its key assets and wind the company down permanently.

"It gives me and our team no pleasure whatsoever to reach this juncture after nearly seven years of working hard to establish White Rock as one of the long term successful participants in the Metro Optical systems market place," said Lonnie Martin, Founder and CEO of White Rock. "Fundamentally, the Telecom Depression, and all of its residue, took too big and too long a toll on younger entrants like us, and at the end of the day we could not look our investors in the eye a sixth time and convince them that millions more in equity would make our future dramatically better."

White Rock's still-unique architectural approach of a lego-block-like optical transport product family established new bars for price/performance, compactness, low power consumption, and ease of use. Its products are now deployed in the networks of more than 130 U.S.-based ILECs, CLECs, CATVs, wireless, and institutional customers.

Limited Tier 1 TAC support will be provided between the hours of 9A and 5P CDT Monday through Friday excluding holidays until further notice. Our TAC number is 866-WHT-ROCK (866-948-7625).

— Phil Harvey, News Editor, Light Reading

About the Author(s)

Phil Harvey

Editor-in-Chief, Light Reading

Phil Harvey has been a Light Reading writer and editor for more than 18 years combined. He began his second tour as the site's chief editor in April 2020.

His interest in speed and scale means he often covers optical networking and the foundational technologies powering the modern Internet.

Harvey covered networking, Internet infrastructure and dot-com mania in the late 90s for Silicon Valley magazines like UPSIDE and Red Herring before joining Light Reading (for the first time) in late 2000.

After moving to the Republic of Texas, Harvey spent eight years as a contributing tech writer for D CEO magazine, producing columns about tech advances in everything from supercomputing to cellphone recycling.

Harvey is an avid photographer and camera collector – if you accept that compulsive shopping and "collecting" are the same.

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