BTI OKs JDSU SFPs

OTTAWA -- BTI Photonic Systems, a leading global supplier of metro edge systems for the build out of new broadband services, today announced that it has selected JDS Uniphase as the first Small Form Factor Pluggables (SFPs) vendor to pass BTI's Carrier Ready SFP Qualification Program for its optical Netstender platform. BTI developed the SFP qualification program to meet its customers' demands for guaranteed quality and performance levels.

BTI is at the forefront of SFP technology adoption to enable faster broadband-service deployment. SFPs enable a wide range of interface and reach types in addition to providing simplified sparing at the network edge. BTI's Netstender supports SFP's to provide expanded flexibility for any combination of Coarse Wavelength Division Multiplexing (CWDM), DWDM and hybrid system architectures. "Our customers expect certain performance metrics in managing their networks," said Dr. Paul Vella, Vice President Optical Engineering, BTI Photonic Systems. "Even with the MSA standards coming online, we found marked differences between vendor offerings that can create significant deployment and usability challenges in a carrier class system. Our qualification program provides customers with the level of quality and design guarantees they require and allows them to exploit the many advantages of SFPs as the market matures and continues to standardize."

Through an extensive testing process of over 100 SFP types, BTI has determined that not all SFP vendors deliver the quality and performance levels required for use in carrier-grade systems. JDS Uniphase was the first vendor to pass a rigorous qualification process to meet BTI's carrier ready criteria. "JDS Uniphase has demonstrated a broad portfolio of pluggable optics which meets our wide range of interface and reach requirements at the network edge. They have also shown their willingness to work with BTI and address issues that are critical for deployment in our carrier customers' environments," added Dr. Paul Vella.

"With volume delivery of CWDM SFPs now a reality, and DWDM finally starting to hit first samples and runs, we are seeing the industry starting to line up," said Michael Ricci, vice president of JDS Uniphase's Component and Modules Product Group. "Many equipment vendors have adopted a wait and see approach at the network core, but with BTI we see that SFPs are critical for flexibility and multi-vendor interoperability at the metro edge." Using SFPs, BTI can implement wavelength conversion in networks requiring upgrades that are only achievable through a change in wavelength.

BTI Photonics Inc.

JDS Uniphase Corp.