January 2001 Meeting

Introducing LightPointe Communications

The Optical Society of San Diego and this evening's host, Brian Catanzaro, are pleased to present Bryan Willson, LightPointe Communications, Inc.

Abstract:   LightPointe Communications, Inc. (www.lightpointe.com) is the world's leading provider of hybrid laser/microwave systems that enable businesses in metropolitan areas to quickly and cost-effectively connect to fiber-optic infrastructure. Our free-space optical networking products are platform independent, reliable and in use in 23 countries. As the leader in the emerging multi-billion dollar market for wireless optical communications solutions that bridge the last-mile gap between fiber backbones and metro businesses, we work with a variety of customers including:

The core technology of LightPointe Communication's interconnectivity solutions is based on wireless optical laser communications. The current generation of point-to-point products supports data rates up to 1.25 Gbps (in advanced beta test) using the short wavelength infrared spectral range in the 850 nm atmospheric window. This technology is protocol-transparent in order to be able to transport commonly used telecommunications, data communications and multimedia protocols.

During the meeting, I will provide an overview of Lightpointe, the market opportunity, problems and products. Additionally, time permitting, atmosperic information will be presented.

Speaker:  Bryan Willson is a Senior Principal Engineer with LightPointe Communications engaged in electro-optical research and design activity in the area of free-space optical networking. He holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from UCSD (1994) and an MS in Electrical Engineering from SDSU (2000). His other areas of interest include efficient algorithms for image and signal processing in FPGA's.

 

Review of the January 2001 Meeting

"Introducing LightPointe Communications"
by Cathal OScolai

The elegant setting of Giovanni's all-you-can-eat pizza restaurant was the venue for the first OSSD meeting of 2001. Our affable host for the evening, Brian Catanzaro of Optical Access, chaired a lively and productive session, with a large audience turning out for the presentation "LightPointe Communications company overview and an Introduction to Free-Space Optics" by Bryan Willson, Senior Principal Engineer with LightPointe Communications.

Bryan Willson's informative presentation gave a company overview of LightPointe Communications, a leading provider of optical communications products, and an introduction to the exciting growth area of Free-Space Optical Communications. LightPointe's mission is to provide broadband free-space optical networking solutions to metro/access carriers to solve access bottlenecks in the local loop.

Bryan described how the data service provider market is partitioned into traditional InterExchange Carriers (IXCs), Next Generation IXCs, Incumbent and Competitive Local Exchange Carriers, Metro Carriers and Onsite Service Providers. The explosion in network traffic has driven the need for broadband data delivery, but with so few buildings actually on the national fiber network (<5%) and the cost of trenching fiber being so prohibitively expensive (up to $250K per link in a metropolitan area), there is a recognized need for a cost-effective technological solution that can reach the 76% of mid-size business located within a mile of the fiber route, and provide the high data rates these businesses require.

The LightPointe solution is to provide free-space optical (FSO) transceiver systems that can be rapidly deployed at a fraction of the cost in time and capital of trenching fiber. With no FCC regulations or license fees, FSO systems represent a fast and scaleable solution. Coupled with LightPointe's unlicensed microwave radios for increased availability under foggy conditions, a network with high reliability can be constructed at speeds of up to 1 Gigabit and higher.

Bryan then talked about the physics of Free-Space Transmission, which in the case of LightPointe products, use Infra-Red VCSEL lasers at 850nm and 1550nm. Bryan described how the issues of power, attenuation through the atmosphere, and beam divergence all contribute to the formulation of a link budget that is used in planning the network. Fog is the main impediment to FSO transmission, and careful planning combined with local weather information is required to estimate the reliability of each particular link. In areas where heavy fog can cause significant outages, a hybrid laser/microwave strategy is used.

There were many questions from the audience throughout the presentation, reflecting the high level of interest in the technology and the company. Bryan concluded the talk by showing several applications and case studies of deployed systems. For the textually challenged among us, there were plenty of photographs and color diagrams illustrating both the products and the network configurations. A series of lively and stimulating discussions continued long after the conclusion of the talk!

Our thanks to Bryan Willson for a very interesting presentation, and to Brian Catanzaro and Jim Menders for a great evening. For more information on LightPointe products and Free-Space Optical Technology, visit www.lightpointe.com.