NEC and WaveSplitter Announce Joint Sales & Marketing Agreement
for Active Fiber-Optic Components and Modules
FREMONT, CA-December 18, 2001 - NEC Corporation (NASDAQ:NIPNY)
(FTSE:6701q.1) (TSE: 6701) and WaveSplitter Technologies, Inc.,
a worldwide supplier of innovative fiber-optic components for DWDM
systems, announced today a joint sales and marketing initiative
for active fiber-optic components and modules. As a part of this
agreement, WaveSplitter will market and sell the NEC active product
portfolio including optical transponders, optical transmitters/receivers,
and Passive Optical Network (PON) transceivers in the United States
and Canada.
In addition, NEC USA, Inc., a subsidiary of NEC Corporation, is
creating a U.S. Fiber Optics Devices Division Subsidiary Company,
NEC FiberOptech, Inc., to be able to work collaboratively with WaveSplitter
and provide additional engineering support to the North American
market. NEC FiberOptech, Inc., located in Cupertino, California,
was established on October 31st, 2001 and recently started its operations.
Mr. Yoshitaka Morimoto has been appointed President and CEO of NEC
FiberOptech, Inc.
"We believe WaveSplitter is the best company to partner with
for active fiber-optic products sales in North America and Canada
since we have been impressed by their strong company infrastructure,
particularly in sales and marketing, and their commitment to customers,"
said Keiichi Takahashi, General Manager of the Fiber Optic Devices
Division at NEC Corporation. "We believe the combination of
NEC's state-of-the-art active products with WaveSplitter's strong
customer relationships and knowledge of the industry will be a winning
combination and will help us expand our presence in the North American
market."
"WaveSplitter is excited to be working closely with technology
leader NEC with its strong product breadth and quality manufacturing,"
said Bill Diamond, President and CEO of WaveSplitter. "We recognize
synergies between NEC's world-class active devices and WaveSplitter's
advanced planar lightguide circuit technology and hybrid integration
capabilities. The addition of active components and modules to our
diverse product portfolio will allow us to meet customers' demand
for innovative active and passive solutions."
The range of NEC products include optical transponders, optical
transmitter and receivers, and PON transceivers. Optical transponders
are available at both 2.5 Gb/s and 10 Gb/s in several standard MSA
packages with power consumption lower than competitive offerings.
The optical transmitter and receivers are available for SONET and
SDH application with data rate from 155 Mb/s to 2.5 Gb/s covering
short to long reach distances. This wide range of products has a
detachable fiber interface and is designed to be used in solder
reflow manufacturing processes, greatly reducing the labor content
in board level manufacturing. PON transceivers are offered for 155
Mb/s to 622 Mb/s for the optical network unit (ONU).
Availability
This wide range of products is in volume manufacturing today and
immediately available.
About NEC Corporation
NEC Corporation (NASDAQ: NIPNY) (FTSE: 6701q.l) is a leading provider
of Internet solutions, dedicated to meeting the specialized needs
of its customers in the key computer, network and electron device
fields through its three market-focused in-house companies: NEC
Solutions, NEC Networks and NEC Electron Devices. NEC Corporation,
with its in-house companies, employs more than 150,000 people worldwide
and saw net sales of 5,409 billion Yen (approx. US$43 billion) in
fiscal year 2000-2001. For further information, please visit the
NEC home page at: http://www.nec.com
About WaveSplitter Technologies, Inc.
WaveSplitter Technologies, Inc. develops, manufactures and markets
reliable, highly-scalable, cost-effective components and modules
for advanced long-haul and metropolitan area optical networks. WaveSplitter's
high-performance fused fiber, planar lightguide circuit, and micro-optic
technology platforms increase network bandwidth capabilities and
offer a unique combination of low signal loss and modular expandability
at an economic value. WaveSplitter was founded in 1996 and is headquartered
in Fremont, California.
NEC and the NEC logo are trademarks of NEC Corporation. WaveSplitter
and the WaveSplitter logo are trademarks of WaveSplitter Technologies,
Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
For more information, reporters can contact:
For more information from NEC,
press and analysts only:
Akiko Shikimori
NEC Corporation
Corporate Communications Division
Phone: 81-3-3798-6511
a-shikimori@ay.jp.nec.com
Lourdes Cogswell-Wojtecki
NEC USA
Corporate Communications Division
Phone: 631-753-7045
lwojtecki@necusa.com
Kazuko Andersen
NEC USA
Corporate Communications Division
Phone: 212-326-2502
kazuko.andersen@necusa.com
For more information from WaveSplitter Technologies, Inc.,
press and analysts only:
Lisa Blair
WaveSplitter Technologies, Inc.
Phone: 510-651-7800 x 243
Fax: 510-580-1395
E-mail: lisa_blair@wavesplitter.com
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