CHANTILLY, Va. and NEWARK, Calif. -- NEC Eluminant Technologies, Inc. (eLUMINANT) and VINA Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: VINA), today announced a joint marketing agreement to make the future benefits of passive optical networks (PON) a modern day reality for the small and medium-sized (SMB) business market. As part of the agreement, eLUMINANT will bundle its FiberSLAM optical network system with VINA’s multiservice broadband access solution, the Multiservice Xchange-400 (MX-400), to produce a single, cost effective customer premise platform for aggregating voice and data services using PON technology. The first deliverable from today’s joint marketing agreement is a co-developed prototype that will be previewed at NEC’s booth #4655 at the SUPERCOMM tradeshow in Atlanta. The prototype is expected to be in customer trials by the end of this year.The co-branded device will allow service providers to maximize their existing embedded base of fiber to cost-effectively and quickly serve the broadband bandwidth needs of SMB customers. The integrated solution alleviates the need for multiple network elements, allowing carriers to seamlessly migrate from TDM-based access technologies to ATM/IP-based infrastructures, thereby extending the life of embedded capital and legacy equipment."The combined capabilities of eLUMINANT and VINA solidify the once ‘futuristic’ optical architecture into a here-and-now solution for the network’s last mile. Small and medium-sized businesses will finally have a means of getting multiple levels of bandwidth that would normally tax the limits of copper infrastructures,” said Jim Holley, the senior vice president of marketing for eLUMINANT. “eLUMINANT’s technology and marketing agreement with VINA reflects our commitment to creating access products that incorporate optical technology with real world applications." NEC Eluminant Technologies Inc.Vina Technologies Inc.