Ireland telecommunications is in the spotlight due to the launch of the Exemplar Network. The launch is currently limited to a testbed in the Dublin area but is planned for a phased nationwide roll-out by 2013.
The Irish government has invested €5 million in the development of the network and expects to invest another €5 million before the network is done. This is on top of the large but undisclosed sum given to InTune Networks, a network vendor whose technology is showcased in the Exemplar Network.
InTune is developing ultra-fast broadband communications technologies that are to be showcased in the Exemplar Network. The technology is rumored to be a new type of WDM laser coupled with Ethernet switching and OTN to offer transport and switching in the same unit. The product, the iVX8000, is positioned to solve the Metro-Network bandwidth bottlenecks and offer a dynamic provisioning mechanism to respond to ever-changing metropolitan demands.
It seems as though we’ve heard this story before. The telecom vendor sector is littered with carcasses of companies who have tried to approach the WDM/Ethernet layers with a new technology. The most recent one being Matisse Networks of California whose implementation of Optical Burst Switching promised but never really delivered.
Let’s hope the luck of the Irish is on InTune’s Side.
