ADVA OPTICAL NETWORKING ANNOUNCES ENHANCED FEATURES FOR FSP 500

Martinsried/Munich, Germany; Mahwah/New Jersey, USA. February 27, 2003. ADVA Optical Networking (FSE: ADV), a leading global provider of optical networking solutions, today announced a major release of three enhanced features for its Fiber Service Platform (FSP) 500 product platform. These new features include an ITU-compliant 8-channel Coarse Wavelength Division Multiplexing (CWDM) module, a 2.5Gbit/s service card, and a Single Fiber Working (SFW) solution. These features enable greater bandwidth capacity, support faster traffic speeds, and help carriers to generate higher revenues from their existing fiber infrastructure.

The ITU-compliant 8-channel CWDM module complements the existing 4-channel CWDM module for the FSP 500, further expanding bandwidth capacity by transporting an even greater number of wavelengths over a single fiber pair. When used in conjunction with colored service cards, the 8-channel CWDM module can deliver an aggregate capacity of up to 20Gbit/s.

The new 2.5Gbit/s card is a low-cost solution designed to transport SONET/SDH and clear channel STM16/OC-48 services. Customers are increasingly deploying these services in their metro access networks to support applications such as SONET/SDH extension and mobile network back-haul.

The SFW solution allows customers to address critical fiber exhaustion areas by combining the paths for transmitting and receiving traffic onto a single optical fiber, rather than a pair. This solution reduces the amount of fiber infrastructure required to initiate a service, allowing customers to recover half of their installed fiber and thus generate higher incremental revenues for the same basic services.

"These new features significantly differentiate FSP 500 as the leading managed fiber access solution in the market, offering carriers and service providers a best-of-breed, feature-rich platform with the most diverse range of services," remarked Brian P. McCann, Chief Marketing & Strategy Officer at ADVA Optical Networking. "This is the fourth major release since the product's introduction in 2000. We are furthermore able to deliver these new FSP 500 features while continuing to provide customers with the lowest total cost of ownership over the product life cycle."

Since its initial launch in 2000, approximately 10,000 FSP 500 units have been deployed, establishing a significant footprint at numerous carriers and service providers around the world and making it one of the most successful managed fiber access solutions available in the market. Leading carriers currently running traffic across their networks with FSP 500 products include BellSouth and British Telecom.

"We are seeing steady increases in bandwidth requirements by businesses and consumers, and the new features on ADVA's FSP 500 address service provider aggregation requirements for the growing number of points in their metro access networks," commented Michael Howard, principal analyst and co-founder at Infonetics Research. "The FSP 500 offers a solid network investment case, such that even the most cost sensitive service providers can use the FSP 500 to take advantage of the opportunity represented in rising bandwidth requirements."

The ADVA FSP 500 is a managed fiber access solution specifically designed for carriers and service providers who require a very cost-effective system for delivering high-speed data, storage, and voice applications. FSP 500 ensures that carriers and service providers can centrally manage their optical links through to the customer premise sites via its unique Sideband Management capability. It supports service speeds ranging from 1.5Mbit/s to 2.5Gbit/s over distances of up to 70 kilometers on singlemode fiber.

The new FSP 500 features are generally available for volume shipment today.

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ABOUT ADVA OPTICAL NETWORKING
ADVA Optical Networking is a leading global provider of optical networking solutions for rapid and cost-effective provisioning of high-speed data, storage, voice, and video services in the metropolitan area. ADVA's carrier-class portfolio is comprised of the Fiber Service Platform family of products - explicitly designed to ensure the lowest total cost of ownership. ADVA's solutions have been deployed at over 70 carriers and service providers (including PTTs, RBOCs, LECs, and IXCs) and more than 500 enterprises worldwide. ADVA's products are sold through an international network of blue-chip distribution partners in addition to its own direct sales force. Further information about ADVA Optical Networking: www.advaoptical.com.