Photuris Metro Box May Draw $40M

Is this NJ-based startup Born to Run? It's got a combo DWDM/Sonet ADM system that could leapfrog Ciena, Nortel

September 17, 2002

3 Min Read
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DALLAS -- NFOEC -- Photuris Inc. made a splash here with its initial product launch, announcing an integrated DWDM and Sonet/SDH add-drop multiplexer (ADM) with automated provisioning. The Piscataway, N.J.-based firm is also close to landing a $40 million Series C round of funding, company officials said (see Photuris Automates Optical Layer).

The Photuris lot are pitching its V32000 Optical Distribution system as a next-generation metropolitan networking box that can reduce carrier costs by simplifying provisioning in delivering both DWDM and Sonet/SDH services in one system.

Using the Photuris box, carriers can build an optical networking ring, using either DWDM or Sonet/SDH, that includes up to 16 nodes, each carrying up to 320Gbit/s of capacity. These nodes can add or drop up to 32 wavelengths on each 0C-192 channel. The product puts Photuris in the running against metro DWDM and Sonet suppliers such as Ciena Corp. (Nasdaq: CIEN) (through it's ONI acquisition), Nortel Networks Corp. (NYSE/Toronto: NT), Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO), and Fujitsu Ltd. (KLS: FUJI.KL).

Initial reviews from some observers indicate that Photuris has top-notch technology and the ears of some major carriers.

"They've really done their homework and put everything in their product that people were looking for." says Doug Green, principal of the Bradam Group consultancy. Green said that he knows of at least one major ILEC that is interested in the product, but he declined to name the potential customer.

The product has several provisioning features the company feels are attractive to carriers. For example, the box allows "in-service" addition of metro networking nodes, with automated provisioning. Some metro DWDM products require engineers to take down an entire metro ring and reengineer it before adding additional service nodes, say Photuris officials. In addition, the system can handle as many as 16 nodes on each ring, say officials, while other products can max out at 5-6 nodes.

Green says the product's integrated DWDM and Sonet technology, as well as its operational features and provisioning, put it ahead of most products on the market.

"Ciena is trying to integrate its K2 product with the ONI stuff, and these guys [Photuris] have it already," said Green. "It's pretty unique, there's not much like it on the market."

Ciena declined to comment for this article.

Photuris also appears to be taking a somewhat novel approach in that it builds its own line cards out of optical components, rather than buying subsystems from a supplier. Photuris officials say this enables them to build a more integrated system and provide software features that can automate the services deployed via the line card.

The only question now is whether Photuris has the staying power as a startup to make it into large carrier networks. In the current environment, it's challenging for startups to sell to large carriers. It's more likely that Photuris will need to find a large partner or look to be acquired.

Photuris officials say now that they've built the box, they are looking for a major systems partner to help them with support and distribution. The Photuris product has been in carrier trials for 9 months, according to the company.

"The large carriers do mention the issue of partnership," says Photuris founder Ashish M. Vengsarkar. "We don't expect to build everything that's required to sell and support ILECs, so we are in discussions with several large potential partners."

Photuris seems to have recently added the expertise to pull off such deals. This year it recruited Mike Pisterzi as CEO. Pisterzi was most recently CEO of AccessLAN, a company sold to Advanced Fibre Communications Inc. (AFC) (Nasdaq: AFCI) in March for $43 million (see AFC Goes Multiservice). --R. Scott Raynovich, Executive Editor, Light Reading http://www.lightreading.com

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