Harmonic Intros Narrowcast Transport

COLOGNE, Germany -- Harmonic Inc. (Nasdaq: HLIT) today introduced the GIGALight(tm) GTA 9100 Digital Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) transmission system to cost-effectively increase the scalability and capacity of IP-based narrowcast networks. The system can transmit up to 40 wavelengths per fiber over long distances, with each wavelength delivering 10 Gigabits per second (Gbps). The GTA 9100 is optimized for video-over-IP transport to yield greater flexibility in the design, implementation and expansion of networks as they are readied for the next wave of on-demand service deployments. GIGALight-which is fully integrated with Harmonic's industry-leading Narrowcast Services Gateway(tm) IP-enabled edgeQAM device-is now managed by NMX Digital Service Manager(tm) to make Harmonic's award-winning narrowcast transport and distribution solution even more compelling.

As competition between broadband service providers continues to intensify, new services are being rolled-out to fulfill the promise of a comprehensive video, voice and data triple play. The broad deployment and adoption of video-on-demand is expected to substantially increase bandwidth consumption at all levels of the network. Bandwidth requirements will be further multiplied as high definition television becomes pervasive, making pay-as-you-grow network expansion-such as that enabled by GIGALight-essential to an operator's long-term success.

"Raw capacity is certainly important for the next wave of on-demand service deployments, however, network flexibility and manageability are equally crucial considerations," said Fernando Amendola, Transport Solutions Product Marketing Manager at Harmonic Inc. "The GTA 9100 efficiently carries high volumes of IP narrowcast traffic over long distances, without the cost and complexity associated with SONET/SDH, ATM and other similar networking technologies. One- and two- way versions of the system can be deployed to optimize the network architecture according to the bandwidth characteristics of the service portfolio. In addition, integration with Harmonic's NMX Digital Service Manager allows an operator to monitor and manage the entire narrowcast service environment as a single entity, including headend, IP-based video transport and edgeQAM systems."

The GIGALight GTA 9100 builds on Harmonic's wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) technology and expertise base-established through nearly a decade of innovation in both digital and analog WDM transport for the forward and return paths-to increase capacity in two ways. First, the new GTA 9100 scales to 40 wavelengths, 25 percent more than the existing GTR 9000. Second, each wavelength provides a full 10 Gbps of bandwidth, representing at least 20 percent more capacity than the commonly used SONET/SDH-based approach. As a result, cable operators can support more service groups as well as deliver more targeted capacity to each service group. With aggregate bandwidth of 400 Gbps, the GTA 9100 could simultaneously transport nearly 120,000 DVD-quality on-demand video streams from a centralized video server farm to the network's edge.

Housed in a compact single rack unit (RU) package, the GTA 9100 multiplexes up to ten 1-Gbps streams-via any combination of CAT-5 and fiber interfaces-into 10 Gbps of downstream capacity. Both the new GTA 9100 and existing GTR 9000 systems can be deployed within the same network, allowing operators to preserve their existing investment in the 1-Gbps systems, as they expand their network reach and capacity. To complement the scalable DWDM transmission system Harmonic offers the GIGALight HOA 9023, a 1-RU high powered optical amplifier, to further extend the reach of the transport infrastructure and support a variety of redundancy topologies.

The entire Harmonic-based on-demand infrastructure-from the headend servers through the Narrowcast Services Gateways located at the network's edge-can be managed and monitored as a single entity by Harmonic's NMX Digital Service Manager. NMX gives operators a unique real-time view of network and system level usage and performance that can be used to redirect capacity where it is needed most.

In a separate release:

COLOGNE, Germany -- Harmonic Inc. (Nasdaq: HLIT) today announced a Commercial Services Solution that permits cable operators to leverage their existing infrastructure to provision high-speed network access services to business, government and education. Based on Coarse Wavelength Division Multiplexing (CWDM) technology, Harmonic's solution makes it feasible and practical to deliver commercial-grade Internet access and Virtual Private Network (VPN) services-with speeds of 100 Megabits per second (Mbps)-over the same fibre that distributes residential broadcast and on-demand television. This secure solution enables an important new line of business for the operator while minimizing its cost of ownership by eliminating active solution elements between the operator's facility and the customer's site.

Today, cable networks can span vast distances and reach millions of subscribers. In the course of delivering residential services, these networks also pass thousands of businesses, schools and government facilities that require very high-speed data communications. Commercial Services represent a significant market that has been challenging for operators to access due to the bandwidth requirements and complexity of taking fibre to the business.

"As operators bring the video, voice and data triple play to consumers, there is a growing interest in using the same network to deliver high-speed data services to business customers," said Sunil Frida, Solution Manager for Commercial Services at Harmonic Inc. "During the past few years, Harmonic has worked with operators around the world to introduce commercial services and, in doing so, has gained essential insights into the associated business and operational models. This understanding combined with our video transport leadership has yielded a more cost-effective and easy to operate CWDM-based solution that delivers approximately 70 times the capacity of a T1 service to each commercial customer, without affecting the scope and quality of residential services."

Harmonic Inc.