Teknovus EPON Chips Power World's First Triple-Play EPON Network; KDDI Japan Deploys EPON Network for Broadband Access

Business Wire, March 8, 2005

PETALUMA, Calif. -- Teknovus, the leading provider of semiconductors for broadband optical access networks, today announced that its TK3700-series Ethernet Passive Optical Network (EPON) chipset is being used in KDDI's Hikari-Plus Home Fiber To-The-Home (FTTH) service. KDDI, one of Japan's largest service providers, is using Teknovus-powered equipment to build a nation-wide network that will deliver premium-grade triple-play services -- voice, video, and data -- to residential customers.

Dr. Rex Naden, CEO of Teknovus, offered this assessment: "Japan is leading the world in deployment of FTTH. KDDI is the first example of a top-tier Japanese service provider using EPON to offer high-end voice, data, and video residential services that compete directly with cable-, DSL-, and satellite-based networks. We are honored that KDDI has recognized the unique price/performance value of the Teknovus EPON solution, and has specified the use of products containing our chips in their FTTH access network."

Mr. Shigeo Morita, Senior Manager of KDDI's Broadband Engineering Department, stated, "When we examined the architectural alternatives, it was clear that multi-service EPON was the only choice for our next-generation access network. To compete in the Japanese market we must provide ultra-high-quality services, including copper-grade VoIP, advanced video services, and QoS-aware data services. At the same time, an EPON system must compete on cost with other broadband platforms, such as DSL. After testing and researching our alternatives, it was clear that Teknovus has the best EPON chipset that meets our requirements and is ready for deployment."

Technology Advantage

Teknovus has shipped more than one million EPON ports to more than twenty original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in Asia, North America, and Europe, with sales on a dramatic, annual upward trend. "We have developed the only proven, fourth-generation EPON technology, with the most advanced features, the highest performance, and the lowest cost in the market," stated Dr. Lowell Lamb, Vice President of Marketing for Teknovus. "An EPON chipset must satisfy the high demands of the FTTH market, delivering multi-service capability at low cost, as well enabling easy and quick designs for the system manufacturers. The Teknovus TK3700-series EPON chipset meets these criteria."

Using the TK3700-series, typical prototype design cycles are running at four weeks for the single-chip, residential Optical Network Units (ONUs) and eight weeks for the central office Optical Line Terminals. Teknovus customers are putting operational systems into the laboratories of service providers less than three months after starting design. This streamlined design cycle has reduced the EPON system development time by more than 60 percent, when compared to designs based on older EPON technology.

About Teknovus

Teknovus develops and delivers the only proven EPON chipset for fast, easy-to-deploy, and low-cost triple-play (voice, data, video) broadband access via optical fiber networks. The Teknovus EPON chipset is fundamentally changing the way broadband access networks are designed and deployed, including their ability to improve transport capacity, optimize fiber infrastructure, provide management capability, integrate broad service functionality, and reduce the cost of optical access. To learn more about Teknovus, see www.teknovus.com.

About KDDI

KDDI is a diversified telecommunications operator formed by the merger of DDI, KDD and IDO in 2000, and is the only domestic company that provides both mobile communication services and broadband services in Japan. The number of subscribers to the fixed-line services is approximately nine million and the number of mobile-phone subscribers under the au and TuKa brands is over 22 million. At KDDI, aggressive improvement of the communication environment in preparation for the coming ubiquitous network society is underway, KDDI is aiming to become a "ubiquitous solution company" that provides high value-added solutions.