Ultrahigh speed multi-gigabit wireless laser communication system with fully integrated high-speed microwave radio backup
Summary:
BMDO funded LightPointe Communications Inc. (LightPointe; San Diego, CA), to develop a free-space optical (FSO) communication system using a laser transmitter operating at a wavelength of 1550nm with a microwave radio frequency backup system for higher reliability. The company not only successfully designed and tested such a system, but also proved that a technique using multiple laser beams provided desired reliability; this in turn freed the microwave radio frequency backup for use as an out-of-band management system. LightPointe filed for a patent on this laser/RF hybrid system, has patented other similar technologies, and today sells a line of FSO products.
Technology Description:
LightPointe’s patented technology uses a combination of adaptive power control techniques, active tracking systems, spatial diversity for both transmitters and receiving lenses, microwave radio frequency out-of-band management, higher powered lasers operating at 1550nm wavelength, and protocol-independent physical-layer (layer one) equipment. For carrier-grade reliability (one bad bit out of every ten billion carried) at a data transfer rate of OC-48 (2.5Gb/s) through dry air, one kilometer is the current maximum distance between LightPointe transceivers. If an active tracking system is employed, that range might be doubled. A newer version currently undergoing “beta testing” will transmit four separate wavelengths that could provide either four OC-48 signals or the capacity of one OC-192 (10 Gb/s).
LightPointe’s solution to problems of scintillation (atmospheric turbulence) and Mie scattering (dense fog) is an approach called “spatial diversity”. A transceiver actually houses three laser transmitters separated by approximately 200mm. By sending three beams simultaneously, it is highly probable that at least one will get through unperturbed. Likewise, the use of multiple, spatially separated, large-aperture receiving lenses also reduces problems associated with scintillation.
MDA Origins:
In 1998, BMDO awarded a Phase I SBIR contract to Eagle Optoelectronics for design and testing of an adaptive, high performance wireless multiwavelength, hybrid terrestrial laser communication network that would provide safe operation at 1550nm wavelength. The principal investigator for this contract was Dr. Heinz Willebrand, who founded LightPointe Communications Inc. late in that year. In 1999, BMDO awarded a Phase I SBIR contract to LightPointe for a digital radio backup system for multi-Gb/s terrestrial laser communication links, with a digital radio interface capable of operating at up to 155Mb/s. In 2000, BMDO awarded to LightPointe a Phase II SBIR contract that combined the efforts and results of the two previously submitted Phase I proposals.
Spinoff Applications:
FSO communication is already useful as both a substitute for and a supplement to fiber-optic links. In either case, deployment of FSO is a cost- and time-effective approach that has the additional advantage of redeployment flexibility (or no permanent fixed infrastructure). FSO equipment can be positioned on rooftops or inside buildings next to windows; because FSO equipment operates at above 300GHz frequencies, it requires no licensing in the U.S.
Fiber-optic substitute applications may include:
•bypassing local-loop systems;
•interconnecting local-area network segments that are housed in buildings separated by public streets or other properties;
•carrying cellular telephone traffic from antennas to the public switched telephone network.
Fiber-optic supplemental applications may include:
•deploying FSO as part of Metropolitan Area Networks (MANs);
•providing redundancy within MANs and even Wide-Area Networks in which an FSO link provides backup to an existing fiber-optic link;
•enabling a company to provide service to a customer within a few days while a more permanent fiber-optic infrastructure is laid or repaired.
There are some FSO applications that would be impossible for fiber optics such as ship-to-port or dirigible-to-station communications, or terrestrial point-to-point communications where laying cable is prohibited for regulatory or political reasons.
The military application of FSO technology is twofold: security and survivability on the battlefield. FSO communication is impossible to intercept without corrupting the signal, so it is the most secure form of communication available. Furthermore, since fiber-optic cable is a fixed target but FSO is relatively more mobile, FSO equipment has a battlefield survival edge over cable. The “spin back in” to BMDO and other U.S. armed service organizations may therefore eventually be significant. LightPointe equipment operating at 850nm wavelength is already in operation at an installation at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois. Other U.S. and European military organizations have queried the company about availability of products and services.
For the long-term outlook, the significant commercial application for FSO will be supplying local-loop connectivity to the residential market in a technology environment that promises to become increasingly all optical, with electro-optic conversion taking place only at the customer premises. This is a marketplace dominated today by co-axial cable and copper phone lines, limited to roughly 3 Mb/s.
Commercialization:
LightPointe is not the only U.S. provider of FSO equipment, but it does have a product line, a product development plan, customers, partners for field testing, adequate funding, a multinational presence, and a reasonably strong intellectual property position with multiple patents. A direct descendant of BMDO SBIR-sponsored technology is now commercially available for beta trials. This is a 2.5Gb/s capacity FlightSpectrum™ product operating with multibeams and RF out-of-band management at the 1550nm wavelength over a distance of up to 1000 meters. The company anticipates the general release of this product in the first quarter of 2002.
The current Flight™ product line features three models (FlightLite™, FlightPath™, and FlightSpectrum) and two networking tools (FlightManager™ and FlightNavigator™) that enable LightPointe to meet customer demands for communication equipment directly and also indirectly through service providers (who have their own networks and customers). The capacity offered ranges from 10Mb/s up to 1.25Gb/s, operating at 850nm wavelength and lower power. The company is beginning to introduce the higher powered 1550nm wavelength lasers. All of these products operate at layer one and accommodate any protocol, connect to existing network equipment, and require no licensing. Costs vary depending upon transmitter power and management software, but the range runs anywhere from $5,000 to $50,000 per pair of transceiver units. The company is aggressively pricing its FlightLite 1550 product, providing 155Mb/s over a distance of up to 500 meters, for $8000. This compares favorably with the cost of laying fiber-optic cable, which in U.S. metropolitan areas can run between $100,000 to $200,000 per kilometer.
Of the work directly funded by BMDO regarding the use of a RF backup hybrid system, LightPointe has one patent pending.
In the year 2000, Lightpointe obtained more than $1 million in revenue from the sale of FSO products and services. For the year 2001, it anticipates a much higher total revenue figure, but below $10 million. Existing customers include Rockefeller Group Telecommunications Services, Inc.; The Smithsonian Institution; Barclays Bank; Dain Rauscher; and New School University. The company also has established working relationships with more than one dozen carriers located in 31 nations for the purpose of field- and beta- testing new equipment and obtaining lifecycle information on existing equipment.
In September 2000, LightPointe received $12 million in venture capital funding from Sevin Rosen Funds, Ampersand Ventures, and Telecom Partners. In January 2001, LightPointe obtained $6.5 additional working capital and debt financing from Silicon Valley Bank and GATX Ventures Inc. Later in 2001, first-round venture capital firms, Cisco Systems, Inc., and Corning Innovation Ventures invested an additional $33 million.
In general, LightPointe intends to capture a significant share of the international FSO market by emphasizing its ability to meet different customer needs. It can provide a range of capacity and price accordingly; it can supply service quickly (within days); and because its equipment requires no permanent infrastructure, the company can enter into leasing arrangements with service providers. LightPointe’s business strategy relies heavily on the continuing evolution of telecommunications to all-optical configurations (avoiding or eliminating electro-optic conversion).
Company Profile:
LightPointe was founded in the autumn of 1998 by Dr. Heinz Willebrand, currently its chief technology officer, who began his research into FSO systems while employed at Eagle Optoelectronics. President and CEO John Griffin, with 30 years of experience with companies such as ADC and US West, joined the company in 2001. In 2000, LightPointe moved its San Diego headquarters to a new location in the city, a 27,000-square-foot building that will also serve as a manufacturing facility for North American customers. Currently, however, a majority of the manufacturing is done at a subsidiary (LightPointe Europe, GmbH) located in Dresden, Germany, at a 30,000-square-foot facility. The company also maintains a development laboratory called the Advanced Networking Lab in Boulder, Colorado. LightPointe currently employs approximately 90 to 100 full-time-equivalent people.
Contact Information:
Jeff Bean
Director, Corporate Communications
LightPointe Communications Inc.
10140 Barnes Canyon Road
San Diego, CA 92121
Tel: (858) 643-5200
Fax: (858) 643-5201
email: jbean@lightpointe.com
web: www.lightpointe.com
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