An early look at the new look

Craig Matsumoto, Editor-in-Chief, Light Reading

September 8, 2008

3 Min Read
Finisar vs JDSU

9:15 AM -- Finisar Corp. (Nasdaq: FNSR) and Optium Corp. have completed their merger, and today will mark the combined company's first quarterly earnings report. (See Finisar, Optium Close Deal and Finisar & Optium Challenge JDSU.)

The new Finisar is bigger than JDSU (Nasdaq: JDSU; Toronto: JDU) by revenues, but how close is it to being the next JDSU, so to speak? The new Finisar might have the edge in numbers, but I think JDSU wins on product breadth.

Here's a partial and highly unscientific comparison. It's not meant to be a comprehensive listing, just a swipe at some major categories.

Table 1: Opto Mano a Mano

Product Category

JDSU

Finisar
(pre-merger)

Optium

ROADMs

3 types!

Sort of. (Nistica partnership)

Yes (Engana)

SFP+

X

X

Fibre Channel

X

X

40G client-side

X

40G line-side

Partner w/Mintera

X

Tunable Transponders

X

X

X

VCSELs

X

X

Pump Lasers

X

Optical Amplifiers

X

No
(Genoa discontinued in 2005)

Superblade!

Oh yeah

Courtyard for Friday BBQs

Unknown

Yes.
Recently renovated, even

In Pennsylvania?

Source: Memory, best guesses





The difference is pretty easy to sum up. Finisar was a datacom transceiver company, and Optium started life doing 10-Gbit/s transponders, so it's no surprise to see they've got a concentrated expertise in those kinds of modules. JDSU, during the bubble, absorbed pretty much everything in telecom optics, so it's got presence in non-transceiver areas like amplifiers. Superblade is the Frankenstein creation out of that breadth, and JDSU will likely produce more products like it.

Reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexers (ROADMs) are an interesting intersection point. JDSU had developed some technologies of its own while watching certain competitors drop dead. (See Competition Kills Metconnex and Metconnex Sells to JDSU.) Finisar and Optium had both flagged ROADMs as a means of expansion and struck deals with startups to get in. (Does that Nistica partnership get affected by the merger, by the way?)

— Craig Matsumoto, West Coast Editor, Light Reading

About the Author(s)

Craig Matsumoto

Editor-in-Chief, Light Reading

Yes, THAT Craig Matsumoto – who used to be at Light Reading from 2002 until 2013 and then went away and did other stuff and now HE'S BACK! As Editor-in-Chief. Go Craig!!

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