JDSU Optical Modulators Prove Dependable Amidst Bandwidth Explosion

Milpitas, Calif. – JDSU (NASDAQ: JDSU and TSX: JDU) today announced that its optical modulator products have surpassed twelve billion hours of operation in the field with a 4.2 Failure in Time (FIT) reliability rate. Optical modulators are one of the key components within Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) networks that enable internet transmissions.

As the global adoption of bandwidth-hungry applications such as YouTube and iTunes push increased traffic and higher data rates over DWDM networks, reliable optical modulators that can handle higher loads without failure have become increasingly important to network equipment manufacturers (NEMs) and their service provider customers to ensure quality of service. JDSU has hundreds of thousands of modulators deployed in DWDM networks across the world.

NEMs typically require optical products to have FIT rates of approximately 250, with one FIT equaling one failure per billion hours of operation.

“The FIT rate for JDSU modulators is about two orders of magnitude better than typical industry requirements, which is quite impressive,” said Stephen Montgomery, president for the APAC region of ElectroniCast Consultants, a firm that specializes in forecasts for the fiber optics market. “The focus on quality and reliability that JDSU has built into its operational processes is a big reason for this success, and reliable modulator products will become even more important as the industry moves to faster data rates and more complicated modulation formats.”

According to a market forecast by ElectroniCast, the next five years will include technology advances and lower-cost solutions for optical modulators in response to the need for more affordable optical links closer to the end user. Modulators used in 40 gigabits per second (G) links for faster network speeds are expected to demonstrate dramatic growth. ElectroniCast also expects North America to take the lead in the deployment of even faster 100G links.

“Over the past decade, the internet has become an essential utility that dramatically impacts the way businesses and consumers operate – and innovative applications for the internet and its pipeline have only just begun to materialize, ” said Alex Schoenfelder, vice president and general manager in the Optical Communications business segment at JDSU. “JDSU modulators are a critical part of DWDM network infrastructures that are evolving to support increasing bandwidth requirements.”

Optical modulators encode information onto optical transmissions by converting electronic data signals to optical pulses. JDSU develops and manufactures both modulators and tunable lasers, the two key components within tunable transponders, as part of its vertical integration strategy.