NEC Allies With WaveSplitter

FREMONT, Calif. -- NEC Corporation (Nasdaq: NIPNY; FTSE: 6701q.1; TSE: 6701) and WaveSplitter Technologies, Inc., a worldwide supplier of innovative fiber-optic components for DWDM systems, announced today a joint sales and marketing initiative for active fiber-optic components and modules. As a part of this agreement, WaveSplitter will market and sell the NEC active product portfolio including optical transponders, optical transmitters/receivers, and Passive Optical Network (PON) transceivers in the United States and Canada. In addition, NEC USA, Inc., a subsidiary of NEC Corporation, is creating a U.S. Fiber Optics Devices Division Subsidiary Company, NEC FiberOptech, Inc., to be able to work collaboratively with WaveSplitter and provide additional engineering support to the North American market. NEC FiberOptech, Inc., located in Cupertino, California, was established on October 31st, 2001 and recently started its operations. Mr. Yoshitaka Morimoto has been appointed President and CEO of NEC FiberOptech, Inc. "We believe WaveSplitter is the best company to partner with for active fiber-optic products sales in North America and Canada since we have been impressed by their strong company infrastructure, particularly in sales and marketing, and their commitment to customers," said Keiichi Takahashi, General Manager of the Fiber Optic Devices Division at NEC Corporation. "We believe the combination of NEC's state-of-the-art active products with WaveSplitter's strong customer relationships and knowledge of the industry will be a winning combination and will help us expand our presence in the North American market."In a separate release:NEC Corporation and NEC USA, Inc. today announced plans to expand their fiber optic devices businesses for telecommunications systems in North America, a strategy that will incorporate a newly formed marketing subsidiary and a marketing agreement with a leading fiber optic components and module provider. Under the expansion plan, NEC USA subsidiary NEC FiberOptech, Inc., created in October, will provide marketing research and technical support services for NEC fiber optical-related devices for telecommunications systems. NEC FiberOptech is located in Cupertino, Calif. NEC Corporation also has reached an agreement with WaveSplitter Technologies Inc., a leading fiber optic component and module provider based in Fremont, Calif., to market NEC's fiber optic devices in the United States and Canada through WaveSplitter's sales channels. These NEC fiber optical-related products include transmitters, receivers, and transceivers. The optical transmitters and receivers are available for SONET and SDH application with data rate from 155 Mb/s to 2.5 Gb/s covering short to long reach distances. This wide range of products has a detachable fiber interface and is designed to be used in solder reflow manufacturing processes, greatly reducing the labor content in board level manufacturing. The fiber optic transceivers are available at both 2.5 Gb/s and 10 Gb/s in several standard MSA packages with power consumption lower than competitive offerings. PON transceivers are offered for 155 Mb/s to 622 Mb/s for the optical network unit (ONU).NEC Corp. WaveSplitter Technologies Inc.