Welcome Guest Login | Register | Site Map | | Make TelecomTiger my homepage     
Telecom News
Enterprise |  Policy & Regulation |  Mobiles & Tabs |  Corporate |  VAS |  People Movement  |  Technology  |  LTE
Corporate
Cisco to acquire Lightwire for $271m
TT Correspondent |  |  27 Feb 2012

Cisco Systems Inc, the world's largest networking-equipment maker, on Saturday said that it has agreed to buy Lightwire Inc for $271 million to add optical connectivity technology used in high-speed networks. 

 

Cisco will pay the sum in cash and retention-based incentives and the purchase of the Allentown, Pennsylvania-based company will probably be completed in the fiscal third quarter, Cisco said in a statement.

Silicon (CMOS) photonics technology is expected to play a significant role in the enablement of high-speed networks. With expertise in CMOS photonics and packaging design, Lightwire has made innovations in optical interconnects by integrating multiple high speed active and passive optical functions onto a small silicon chip. The smaller size, lower power consumption and scalability of Lightwire’s CMOS-based technology enable switches, routers and optical transport systems to have higher-density optical connectivity at a lower cost, allowing carriers to further reduce their operational and capital costs and offer new revenue-generating services.

“The acquisition of Lightwire will support our data center and service provider customers as they manage the continuing deluge of network traffic alongside tight capital and operating budgets,” said Surya Panditi, SVP, Cisco Service Provider Networking Group. “With the combined know-how from Cisco in silicon design and Lightwire in CMOS photonics, we will transform Cisco’s optical connectivity business to an integrated technology platform that supports our customers’ burgeoning need for cost-effective high-speed networks.”

“Acquiring Lightwire’s advanced technology exemplifies Cisco’s build, buy, and partner innovation model and supports our focus on driving market leadership in core networking, one of Cisco’s five strategic priorities,” said Ned Hooper, Cisco’s chief strategy officer. “The Lightwire acquisition builds on Cisco’s existing optical networking expertise and complements Cisco’s 2010 acquisition of CoreOptics, a designer of coherent digital signal-processing solutions and application-specific integrated circuits for high-speed optical networking applications.” 

Closely held Lightwire's technology would help Cisco's customers to meet growing demand for video, data and so-called cloud services. Chief Executive Officer John Chambers has eliminated jobs and exited businesses in a bid to reverse the slide that knocked 11 per cent off San Jose, California-based Cisco's share price last year. 

Cisco rose 0.2 per cent to $20.28 in early trading at 8:39 a.m. New York time.

    
Other Stories in this Section
 mail this article    print this article    Show and Post comment
27 Feb 2012(IST)  
Whitepaper
Maintain Business Continuity with Cisco ASR 9000 nV Technology
It is a virtual chassis solution where a pair of ASR 9000 routers acts as a single device by maintaining a single contr...read more
Simplify Your Network with Cisco ASR 9000 nV Technology
With the new Cisco Network Virtualization (nV) technology in the Cisco ASR 9000 Series Aggregation Services Routers, se...read more
Cisco Small Cell Solution: Reduce Costs, Improve Coverage
It is designed to address the challenge of mobile service coverage and to expand network capacity...read more