Scintera Networks Launches

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Scintera Networks, a Silicon Valley startup company, broke out of its stealth mode, today, to introduce itself and its ground-breaking Advanced Signal-Processing Platform(TM) (ASPP(TM)) which will enable very high-speed signal processing at 10 gigabits per second and beyond. Digital Signal Processing (DSP) has enabled significant advancements in communication and networking solutions. However, at higher speeds, traditional DSP solutions have not proved to be feasible. Scintera's High-speed ASPP(TM) enables the most cost-effective, lowest power silicon-based solutions for accelerating high-speed communication and networking system deployment.

Scintera is shipping initial products which incorporate the ASPP(TM) and are capable of compensating for dispersion and other impairments associated with transmitting 10Gbps over the installed legacy fiber infrastructure, thereby preserving the industry's massive investment while reducing costs by extending the distance over which data can reliably travel.

"Scintera's initial products have been well received by virtually all of the major transceiver and transponder module suppliers," said Abhijit Phanse, Scintera's CEO and President. "The ASPP(TM) silicon-based solutions enable the performance, power and price points required to energize the 10G Optical networking market."

Technology breakthrough

Scintera's team of seasoned technologists has developed the Advanced Signal-Processing Platform(TM) (ASPP(TM)), which is first being applied toward overcoming obstacles in high-speed optical networking. "A paradigm shift in signal processing architecture is required in order to achieve ultra low power consumption and significant processing performance at 10Gigabits per second," said Abhijit Shanbhag, chief systems architect. "To that end, Scintera has filed over 15 patents, which are critical to achieve this fundamental signal processing platform."

Seasoned executive team; solid funding

Scintera is managed by a team of experienced executives, with prior management positions in semiconductor and networking companies.

Abhijit Phanse, co-founder, president, and chief executive officer, spent about a decade at National Semiconductor leading the development of many communication ICs for high speed LAN and optical networking applications.

Dr. Abhijit Shanbhag, co-founder, vice-president, and chief systems architect, was recently with Qualcomm and Ericsson, and has over 10 years experience in advanced communication systems architectures and algorithms.

Steven Kubes, vice-president of marketing and sales, held that same position most recently at Altima Communications (acquired by Broadcom), and was director of strategic marketing for the LAN division of Level One (acquired by Intel).

Scintera is privately owned and was funded by two well-respected venture capital firms -- August Capital and Sevin Rosen funds.

In a separate release:

Scintera Networks introduced and announced availability today of its SCN5028 EDCE Metro single-chip Electronic Dispersion Compensation Engine(TM) (EDCE(TM)) device. The new device compensates for dispersion and other transmission impairments when transmitting data up to 11.1Gbps over installed Single Mode fiber infrastructure. Based on Scintera's Advanced Signal-Processing Platform(TM) ASPP(TM) technology, the SCN5028 EDCE Metro device replaces expensive alternatives that require significant and costly field deployment and servicing.

Scintera's SCN5028 EDCE device extends typical 70-kilometer connections to over 140 kilometers while making optical-network deployment plug-and-play. The device allows network equipment and transponder OEMs to significantly reduce overall system costs because of its ultra-small form factor and ultra-low power consumption.

"With the signal processing capabilities of the SCN5028, Optical Network equipment can now benefit from using lower cost components and improved performance gains, while enabling fully adaptive plug-and-play deployment over the legacy infrastructure," said Steven Kubes Vice President of Marketing and Sales at Scintera. "The ability to use the installed base when upgrading networks preserves investment in existing infrastructure and accelerates deployment."

"As companies relying on enterprise networking and Internet service providers in the metro space look to upgrade their equipment and increase transmission rates for next-generation applications, re-use of existing plant will be very important," said Rhondalee Donovan, director of research for wireline communications, Semico Research (Phoenix, AZ). "While the communications market is beginning to recover, based in part on the necessity to upgrade legacy equipment that has been in place since the 1990's, it's still a tough environment and OEMs will look for ways to maximize and sustain their investment in existing infrastructure."

Metro applications

Scintera's SCN5028 EDCE Metro device enables the use of low cost optical components and extends the reach on existing single-mode fiber connections by compensating for Chromatic and Polarization mode dispersions, and laser chirp and improving the Optical Signal to Noise Ratio (OSNR) sensitivity. The advanced blind-adaptive EDCE technology enables plug-and-play deployment, and offers a compelling alternative to expensive dispersion compensation fiber (DCF) and amplification equipment, which requires expensive field engineering and servicing. The SCN5028 performs high-speed signal processing up to 11.1Gbps line rate, and corrects a degraded signal, which is unusable, to enable error free data transmission.

The SCN5028 EDCE device requires no changes to protocols, no training sequence, and no transmission changes. It is fully blind adaptive, protocol agnostic, and complies with 10G Ethernet and OC192 SONET standard-based solutions. The SCN5028's small form factor fits seamlessly into existing transceiver modules, such as Xenpak, Xpak, X2, and XFP providing plug-and-play operation over existing legacy single-mode fiber installations.

Pricing and Availability

Scintera's SCN5028 EDCE metro device samples and evaluation boards are shipping now. The SCN5028A-EVAL evaluation board is priced at $4000. The SCN5028 is packaged in a 32 pin QFN and is priced at $495 per unit in 1,000 piece quantities.

Scintera Networks Inc.