Fiber is Basis of Info Highway

Table of Contents
Title Page1
Table of contents2
Article Review…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..3-4
Companies Review....................................................................................................................................5-7
Works Cited8

The article “Fiber is Basis of Info Highway”; written by: Mathew Ingram for the Globe and Mail; is about the race to cover the globe with fiber optic cable. The author talks about corporate buyouts and huge company mergers to compete in the fiber optic Industry. I found the article intriguing to read and understand why companies are competing in the field and the rate at which there competing. I’ll be going over some of the mergers and buyout in a bit as well as mentioning some of the big players in this fiber optic game. Every few days there seems to be a new fiber related deal going on. Just to note a few of the bigger ones; JDS Uniphase merged with E-Tek Dynamics in a $15 billion (US) deal. JDS is a product from a merger a year previous with JDS Fitel and Uniphase; is already one of the largest fiber-equipment companies, and well on its way to becoming what analysts call the Intel of fiber (referring to Intel’s dominance of the computer chip market). Nortel Networking is another company throwing large sums of money around in the fiber world, paying $3.2 billion (US) for Qtera Systems who’s technology boosts the carrying power of the fiber. Nortel’s competitors are also on the move as well. Cisco Systems, paid $7 billion (US) for an optical startup company called Cerent. Lucent Technologies paid $1 billion (US) for Nexabit, a company with no sales to date. Companies like Nortel and is larger cousins need to move fast because some of the industries smaller companies are pricing themselves out of range of the bigger companies. A small company called Sycamore Networks formally known as Redback Networks has a market value of $23 Billion (US), it has grown to the point where their making billion dollar accusations; like the $4.3 billion (US) purchase of Siera Corp. ; a fiber-equipment with no revenue. These companies are throwing major amounts of money around to be the leader in the industry. Another small company out of Canada that is trying to position itself at the forefront is Worldwide Fiber Inc. It is a privately held unit of a construction company called Ledcor Industries. Worldwide Fiber got a bit of attention when they convinced Microsoft’s Chief Financial Officer, Greg Maffei, to join them as CEO. This is huge for a virtually unknown company to pull in a senior executive from the world’s most valuable company. As you can see there is a lot of companies throwing around a lot of money to be the forerunner of the fiber optic industry. I think this is an industry that will keep growing only down fall I foresee is that once cable technology is advanced they will have to dig up and replace the old able with the new. As for now it looks like they keep finding ways to make the current cable last as long as possible buy advancing the technology that sends the information through the cable faster. If you want to build an information superhighway, you’ve got to have a road – and fiber, it seem, is the road-building material of choice.

JDS Uniphase JDS is still a thriving company in communications test and measurement, Communications and commercial optical products and advance optical technologies. The annual revenue for (FY10) was $1.36 billion (US). JDS also employees 4700 people in over 80 locations worldwide.
E-Tek Dynamics In January 2000 E-Tek merged with JDS Uniphase.
Intel Corporation Intel is still the king the processer and chip market, with AMD at a distant second. Intel’s main focus is on processors but they also develop chips for motherboards, video cards, flash drives and network interface controllers.
Microsoft
Microsoft develops, manufactures, licenses and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions. Its co-founder and CEO Bill Gates is in the top 5 of the world’s most wealthy people.
Nortel Networking
Nortel started in 1973 after purchasing 99% of Northeast Electronics Corp., Concord, NH. They continued to purchase companies throughout the 70’s and 80’s. The acquired companies ranged from telecommunications, electronics, marketing, cellular radio systems and fiber optics. Nortel bought and sold off assets into 2000 until they filed chapter 11 bankruptcies. As of 2010 they have sold off almost all of their overseas assets.
Cisco Systems Cisco designs and sells consumer electronics, networking, voice and communication technology. They have more than 70,000 employees worldwide and annual revenue of $40 billion (US) as of 2010.
Lucent Technologies Lucent is a French owned Technology company compose of what use to be AT&T Technology, which included Western Electric and Bell Labs. Lucent was spun off as its own identity in September of 1996.
Nexabit
Nexabit was bought by Lucent Technologies in 1999 in a $900 million (US) deal.
Sycamore Networks Sycamore Networks develops and markets intelligent optical switches, multiservice cross-connects, integrated access platforms, advance software and mobile broadband optimization. Formally known as Redback Networks, today they empower networks that serve millions of users and generate billions in service revenue.
Siera Corporation Purchased by Redback Networks (Sycamore Networks) in 1998.
Worldwide Fiber Inc. Worldwide Fiber is a part of Ledcor Industries, a contracting company out of Vancouver. Over the years it has developed in to its own Identity playing a major role in fiber optics. In 2000 it formed a contract with Tyco Industries to do all of Tyco’s underwater fiber optic cables.
Global Crossing Global crossing is a leading global IP solution provider, with the world’s first integrated global IP based network. Its core network delivers services to more than 700 cities in more than 70 countries and in 6 continents around the globe.
Qwest Communications Qwest is a strong provider of residential and business telecommunications in 14 western states. Qwest started installing fiber optics in 1996 along the southern pacific railroad. They merged with Union Pacific in 1997 and installed fiber optics along the Union Pacific Railroads. During that time they received a contract from MCI to lay there nationwide fiber optic for them as well.
Tyco International Tyco was only in the fiber optic industry for a short time, they had acquired the deep sea fiber optic unit from AT&T in early 2000 and contracted it out to Worldwide Fiber later that year. There primary business is security solutions, fire protection and flow control. (Ingram)

Works Cited
Ingram, Mathew. "Fiber is Basis of Info Highway." The Globe and Mail (2000): 4.