Sources close to Mahi Networks Inc. say the company is preparing to make two key announcements on Monday June 14.

The first: Mahi has sold some gear to MCI Inc. (Nasdaq: WCOEQ, MCWEQ) and has live traffic running on its box.

The second: Mahi is acquiring the assets of Photuris, the allegedly extinct vendor that built multiservice transport platforms (MSTPs) from scratch with integrated ROADM-based optical transport and full Sonet ADMs on a card.

One facet of that acquisition might be that Mahi itself is getting more funding from its investors, according to one source. It's not clear how much funding Mahi is raising nor whether the financing includes any new investors.

In the MCI deal, two sources close to Mahi and a third source -- a vendor with knowledge of MCI's purchasing decisions -- concur that Mahi has sold some gear to MCI, though the extent of the deployment is not yet known. The first deployment of Mahi's equipment in MCI's network, the one carrying live traffic, is thought to be in Chicago.

Sometime last year, sources say, MCI began working on a project to acquire an optical switch for their core transport network, known internally as "The Humpty DACS." That RFP asked for a switch that can manage 48,000 STS-1s (1,024 OC48 ports) and has multiprotocol support, a feature that Mahi claims.

WorldCom, MCI's former self, was an investor in Mahi.

The Photuris assets are another kettle of fish. The Metro DWDM vendor's remains have been subject to speculation following the company's apparent closure in March (see Photuris Is Finished, Photuris & SBC: The Inside Story, and Who Will Buy Photuris Remains?).

As ever, specifics are sketchy on the details of the deal. But several former Photuris employees have contacted Light Reading to say that the company has restarted, with the intent of selling its technology and moving some key employees. This suggestion appears to be confirmed by the absence of any court records of Photuris filing for bankuptcy, as might have been expected if the company were shutting down.

One thing is for sure: Multiple sources have verified that Photuris employees and contractors began working away in Photuris's Piscataway, N.J., offices not long after the company was reported closed.

One source close to the situation says that former Photuris employees who are now doing contract work for the company are receiving employment offers from Mahi.

Several former Photuris engineers, when contacted by Light Reading on Friday, said they were under strict instructions not to talk and referred calls to the company's chief operating officer, Bill Gartner. Gartner didn't return calls or emails from Light Reading.

— Phil Harvey, News Editor, Light Reading