Salira Launches Itself

Salira Optical Network Systems Inc. launched today with the goal of addressing the need for carriers to provide affordable, high-speed access to the Internet.

Salira official's said the company's next-generation systems combine Ethernet with optics to deliver "breakthroughs in carrier equipment efficiency and affordability." To do this, Salira's systems will combine "the simplicity and popularity of Ethernet with the power of optics to provide the first carrier-class, IP/Ethernet optical solution for high-speed Internet access."

"By extending Passive Optical Networks (PONs) to Gigabit Ethernet, the Salira system fills a need for carriers to deliver cost-effective and fast Internet access," said Marian Stasney, senior analyst at the Yankee Group, in a Salira statement. "The Salira solution goes beyond the standard EPON offering by adding intelligence at both the customer and service provider ends, enabling flexible and customizable SLA reporting at each node."

Salira's fiber-fast access products are expected to dramatically reduce equipment costs to less than $500 per user, while the point-to-multipoint architecture will ensure equipment scalability for carrier networks. In addition, Salira's systems will provide maximum flexibility by enabling carriers to easily provision new, personalized value-added voice, video and data services. The products are expected to be in customer trials with carriers by the second-half of this year, company officials said.

Unlike current offerings, Salira said it is designing a system from the ground up to accommodate IP/Ethernet, the format in which virtually all data traffic originates. The Salira technical team has already developed a number of IP/Ethernet patent-pending technologies that will comprise its new system.

Salira's proprietary hardware is integrated with value-added, software-based services to meet key carrier-class requirements, such as guaranteed Quality of Service (QoS), first-class security for Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), enforceable Service Level Agreements (SLAs), and Multi-Protocol Transport.

While Salira said its hybrid technology makes its system equally suitable for business and residential customers, initial deployments of the solution are targeted at the business market, where there is an abundance of fiber available and the need for fiber-fast access is most critical.

Founded in July 2000, Salira received its initial funding in September 2000 in a Series A round led by Vertex Management Partners.