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The Warren Centre Engineering Building J13 Sydney University NSW 2006 T: (02) 9351 3752 F: (02) 9351 2012 E: warrenc@eng.usyd.edu.au |
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The Warren Centre Engineering Building J13 Sydney University NSW 2006 T: (02) 9351 3752 F: (02) 9351 2012 E: warrenc@eng.usyd.edu.au |
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| ISSUE 38, June 2004 |
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Australian photonics technology hits the ICT jackpot An historic export deal to resell technology for expanding the capacity of existing communications networks has been signed by a start-up Australian company with one of the world's largest communications technology suppliers. The five-year deal with Marconi Corporation plc was brokered by RBN Inc, a spinoff company from the Australian Photonics Co-operative Research Centre RBN has secured partners for its CWDM (coarse wavelength division multiplexing) technology, the RBNi GigaEdge 8200, in Europe, America and Asia, while retaining the intellectual property in Australian hands. The company’s administrative headquarters are now in California while its research centre remains based in Sydney where it employs 70 staff. RBN is
an innovative designer and developer of carrier class optical transport
and switching platforms for the access and metro markets. It develops cost
effective technology for use in offices, enterprises and telephone
exchanges, enabling carriers to offer lower cost broadband RBN was founded by Dr Richard Lauder, a Photonics CRC researcher from the University of Melbourne, and Ross Halgren who led the Sydney node of the CRC’s networking vehicle, Redcentre Pty Ltd. Halgren’s interest was a direct result of his involvement with The Warren Centre’s Photonics activities in the late 1990s. The
fledgling company was nurtured with help from the Commonwealth
Government's Technology Diffusion Program. Lauder and Halgren pooled their
ideas to develop a new product which addressed a key gap in the
metropolitan communications network market. In the process, says Dr Lauder, RBN received strong support from local venture capitalists Macquarie Technology Fund and Allen & Buckeridge and found further capital for expansion from partners in the United States, leading to the launch of international company RBN Inc in which Australians are majority shareholders. “We had great support from Australian venture capitalists, but there just wasn't enough to fund the rapid expansion we were planning, so we looked for a US partner,” Dr Lauder says. “The second challenge was to build market confidence in the ability of a small start-up like RBN to service the exacting needs of major telecommunications suppliers. The answer was found in partnership with major technology suppliers.” “Marconi is our largest partner so far, though we have four others and now cover all the main markets. The Marconi contract means we can give telecommunications carriers everything they need to get the most out of their existing networks,” he said. “Today the game is all about getting greater capacity out of existing networks at a lower cost, rather than putting in new networks. That's exactly what CWDM does, it complements existing technology. And it is very cost competitive,” Dr Lauder said. He said the world market for coarse wavelength technology was $US100 million in 2003, is estimated to be $US200 million this year, and expected to double again by 2006. The Australian technology is well positioned to capture a significant slice of that growth. At SUPERCOMM 2004 in Chicago on June 22nd, RBN launched its latest product offering, the RBNi GigaEdge 2330. The RBNi GigaEdge 2330 is a Multi Service Provisioning Platform (MSPP) designed to provide carriers the ability to offer Service on Demand. It is an aggregation device that uses the standards-based Generic Framing Procedure (GFP) to pack more services into each CWDM wavelength channel within the RBNi GigaEdge 8200. RBN’s latest product offering has already received industry recognition and has won the SUPERQuest Award for best new optical networking product at SUPERCOMM 2004. The development of the RBNi GigaEdge 2330 was supported by an AusIndustry Start Grant from the Australian Federal Government. Australian Photonics CRC CEO Professor Mark Sceats said the success of RBN would have to number among the largest ICT export deals done by an Australian-owned company. “The deal also highlights the value of embedding leading edge hardware and software together to build commercially viable technology products that have a good market life,” he said. |
The RBNi GigaEdge 8200
The RBNi GigaEdge 2330
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Nanotech Resource Book 2004 Innovation Lecture Handbook | ||
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22 July
2004
An international forum of sustainable
transport initiatives Click here for more information and to register. Email: ac21@usyd.edu.au
Difficulties with
the above, Venue: Sydney Convention Centre & various Sydney University venues Web: www.usyd.edu.au/ac21 Email: ac21@usyd.edu.au 21st & 22nd July 2004 Australian Energy & Utility Summit 2004 The future of Australia's energy and utility sector Venue: Sydney Convention Centre Click here for more information or Contact Anthony Sprange (02) 9922 5609Email: anthonys@acevents.com.au
"Disruptive Technologies - Risk and Reward" An ATSE workshop Email: Dr John Nutt, ATSE for more info. 23 & 24 September 2004 Engineers Australia - Engineering Leadership Conference 2004 Venue: Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre Click here for more information on the web or here to request info by Email 27 to 29 September 2004 CHEMECA 2004 Venue: Australian Technology Park, Sydney Click here for more information on the web or here to request info by Email 15 & 16 November 2004 ATSE 2004 Symposium - "Living Longer, Living Better" Venue: Adelaide Hilton Hotel see www.atse.org.au for more details Paula Williamson (03) 9347 0622 or paulaw@atse.org.au | ||
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