Lisbon, Portugal & Cork, Ireland--December 10, 2009--Portugal Telecom, Portugal's largest telecommunications provider, and Firecomms, a leading provider of Plastic Optical Fiber (POF) Ethernet transceivers for home networking applications, today announce trials of IPTV installations based on Firecomms' optical fiber networking (OptoLock®) technology.

Firecomms' OptoLock technology and Mitsubishi Rayon's new OPTOHOME™ Plastic Optical Fiber for home networking applications will form the backbone of the trials, which will include lab trials with technical analysis followed by field installations in test homes across Portugal. OptoLock-enabled IP set-top boxes provided by Cisco and home gateways provided by Thomson are key components in the trials. Other OptoLock-based products, including Homefibre multiport POF switches and NETGEAR media converters, are part of the trials.

"Portugal Telecom is focused on the delivery of high-quality and dependable IPTV installations. Therefore, we are keen to explore the merits of Plastic Optical Fiber and Firecomms' OptoLock technology," says Ashok Bhagubai, senior director at Portugal Telecom.

"We are pleased to see the first devices with integrated OptoLock ports being used in these trials," says Declan O'Mahoney, CEO of Firecomms. "Our experience with operators who have deployed POF has consistently shown extensive savings in installation times as well as an improved customer experience. This directly translates to reduced operational expenses for the operator."

OptoLock, a widely deployed plugless interface for Plastic Optical Fiber, enables a simple to use Fiber Optic link in consumer applications. Ideal for 100 Mb Ethernet applications with stringent quality of service requirements such as IPTV gateways, set-top boxes, Residential gateways and ONTs (Optical Networking Terminals), OptoLock significantly quickens and simplifies the connection of devices in communications and infotainment networks. The innovative design of OptoLock enables the fiber to be cut and terminated to the exact required length on site, allowing even the most novice consumer to quickly and easily terminate bare optical fiber.

Firecomms leads the development of devices to drive POF, a low-cost optical alternative to copper cabling. Due to its ease of use, large core tolerances, and low costs, POF is enjoying significant growth in a wide range of applications. Created for consumer, industrial, and automotive applications in which plastic fiber can be used more easily and at lower cost than copper or glass fiber, POF is now used in millions of small area networks, such as those in use in many car models, and is rapidly gaining ground in home network and point-to-point interconnection. According to market research by Information Gatekeepers, the POF market is estimated to be worth over $1 billion per year by the end of 2009. About Portugal Telecom Portugal Telecom ("PT") is a leading telecommunications provider with more than 65 million customers in 13 countries, namely in Brazil and Africa. In Portugal, where it retains a clear leading position, the company provides a full range of fixed and mobile telecommunication services, including voice, broadband and television, and covers all segments of the market: consumer, residential, SMEs, corporate and wholesale. Its international investments, which are focused on the mobile segment, account for more than 80% of its customer base and circa 50% of its revenues. It is seen as the Portuguese company which has the biggest national and international projection and has a diversified business portfolio where quality and innovation are decisive aspects, along side the most advanced international companies in this sector. Portugal Telecom is listed on the Euronext and New York Stock Exchange. Information may be accessed on the Reuters under the symbols PTC.LS and PT and on Bloomberg under the symbol PTC PL.

The objective of the "POF Selected Reprint Series" is to provide a low cost and up-to-date introduction into a specific area of "Plastic Optical Fibers". A major impediment to the development of the POF market has been the lack of awareness of POF components and subsystems by design engineers. Some of the typical questions being asked include:

• What components are available?
  
• Who makes the components?
  
• How are they used?
  
• What standards are available?
  
• What is the market for POF products?
  
• Who is using POF?

It is hoped that "POF Selected Reprint Series" will serve the purpose of providing information on POF components, design and application at a low cost. Information Gatekeepers, inc. has developed twenty-seven volumes covering a wide spectrum of subjects covering POF applications, technology, components, standards and others:

Click here to order any of these selected titles from Information Gatekepeers, Inc.

Cork, Ireland — November 23, 2009 — Firecomms is pleased to announce the successful completion of interoperability testing with OptoLock® products from its licensee Advanced Connectek Inc. (ACON) of Taiwan.

"As a result of this testing, Firecomms is very happy to recommend ACON as a trusted supplier of our OptoLock products,” says Niall Keegan, Firecomms general manager, Asia Pacific. “Network equipment developers now can approve and source OptoLock from multiple suppliers, broadening the base of supply for this increasingly popular product."

OptoLock, a widely deployed plugless interface for Plastic Optical Fiber (POF), enables a simple to use Fiber Optic link in consumer applications. Ideal for 100 Mb Ethernet applications with stringent quality of service requirements such as IPTV gateways, Set-Top Boxes, Residential Gateways and ONTs (Optical Networking Terminals), OptoLock significantly quickens and simplifies the connection of devices in communications and infotainment networks. The innovative design of OptoLock enables the fiber to be cut and terminated to the exact required length on site, allowing even the most novice consumer to quickly and easily terminate bare optical fiber.

"As a supplier of OptoLock products, ACON is happy to broaden its product category and is looking forward to taking part in the exciting world of POF," says Aaron Tung, Optical Communication Business Unit, ACON.

Firecomms leads the development of devices to drive POF, a low-cost optical alternative to copper cabling. Due to its ease of use, large core tolerances, and low costs, POF is enjoying significant growth in a wide range of applications. Created for consumer, industrial, and automotive applications in which plastic fiber can be used more easily and at lower cost than copper or glass fiber, POF is now used in millions of small area networks, such as those in use in many car models, and is rapidly gaining ground in home network and pointto- point interconnection. According to market research by Information Gatekeepers, the POF market is estimated to be worth over $1 billion per year by the end of 2009.

Cork, Ireland — November 19, 2009 — Firecomms is very pleased to announce that its Fiber Optic Transceiver technology, known as OptoLock®, has been employed by Sanwa Supply in the release of a new Plastic Optical Fiber kit for the Japanese market. A major supplier of computer peripherals and network equipment in Japan, Sanwa Supply will offer the new POF kit in PC and network retail shops throughout Japan, and at its on-line shop at www.sanwa.co.jp.

"Firecomm's OptoLock technology, which is employed in this kit from Sanwa Supply, enables users to quickly, simply and reliably connect their broadband devices within the home and office environments,” says Niall Keegan, Firecomms general manager, Asia Pacific. “This POF kit will let consumers enjoy the benefits of optical fiber straight out of the box."

OptoLock, a widely deployed plugless interface for Plastic Optical Fiber (POF), enables a simple to use Fiber Optic link in consumer applications. Ideal for 100 Mb Ethernet applications with stringent quality of service requirements such as IPTV gateways, Set-Top Boxes, Residential Gateways and ONTs (Optical Networking Terminals), OptoLock significantly quickens and simplifies the connection of devices in communications and infotainment networks. The innovative design of OptoLock enables the fiber to be cut and terminated to the exact required length on site, allowing even the most novice consumer to quickly and easily terminate bare optical fiber.

"Sanwa Supply is very pleased to offer this new POF kit to our customers in Japan," says Hiroyuki Hayashi, Sanwa Supply’s general manager of R&D. "With the increase in home and office devices requiring reliable, easy to connect, high-speed networks which are both immune to noise and aesthetically pleasing, we believe this kit will be a popular item among our customer base. For customers who require high-quality video distribution in their networks, POF is the ideal choice."

Firecomms leads the development of devices to drive POF, a low-cost optical alternative to copper cabling. Due to its ease of use, large core tolerances, and low costs, POF is enjoying significant growth in a wide range of applications. Created for consumer, industrial, and automotive applications in which plastic fiber can be used more easily and at lower cost than copper or glass fiber, POF is now used in millions of small area networks, such as those in use in many car models, and is rapidly gaining ground in home network and pointto- point interconnection. According to market research by Information Gatekeepers, the POF market is estimated to be worth over $1 billion per year by the end of 2009.

Katherine Bourzac of MIT's Technology Review writes in the latest issue of a process of wrapping solar cells around an optical fiber by which the dye-sensitized cells get a double boost from nanowires and optical fiber which could present a siginificant opportnity for POF. As Bourzac writes:

Dye-sensitized solar cells are flexible and cheap to make, but they tend to be inefficient at converting light into electricity. One way to boost the performance of any solar cell is to increase the surface area available to incoming light. So a group of researchers at Georgia Tech has made dye-sensitized solar cells with a much higher effective surface area by wrapping the cells around optical fibers. These fiber solar cells are six times more efficient than a zinc oxide solar cell with the same surface area, and if they can be built using cheap polymer fibers, they shouldn't be significantly more expensive to make.

The entire aticle can be found on the Technology Review website here:
Wrapping Solar Cells around an Optical Fiber

The MOST Cooperation - the organization through which the leading automotive multimedia network Media Oriented Systems Transport (MOST) is standardized - proudly announces that the newest Specification Rev. 3.0 is on its way to production. Various car makers have already started with first series projects implementing this latest MOST Technology. MOST150 enables the use of a higher bandwidth of 150 Mbps, an isochronous transport mechanism to support extensive video applications, and an embedded Ethernet channel for efficient transport of IP-based packet data. It succeeds in providing significant speed enhancements and breakthroughs while keeping costs down. The new Intelligent Network Interface Controller (INIC) architecture complies with Specification Rev. 3.0 and expands the audio/video capability for next generation automotive infotainment devices such as Head Units, Rear Seat Entertainment, Amplifiers, TV-Tuners and Video Displays.

With the first car makers committing to the MOST150 network in selected vehicles from 2011 on, the suppliers of MOST devices, tools, and software solutions are focusing on optimizing their MOST150 product portfolio to ease the implementation in future car models. Key targets are cost efficiency and low power consumption while meeting MOST compliance requirements. MOST solutions and tools are already available to enable successful infotainment implementations at the OEM and supplier level. The built-in signal routing and enhanced power management features are important building blocks for successful MOST system design.

The MOST Cooperation gladly reports the fast-growing acceptance of MOST Technology worldwide. Since the first MOST car model in 2001, 80 vehicle models have implemented the MOST infotainment backbone. Besides Europe, MOST Technology is gaining widespread popularity in Asia's automotive market. Its latest vehicle models are the Toyota Land Cruiser and the Lexus HS250h. Representing the practical application of infotainment technology in hybrid vehicles, MOST multimedia networks feature in the Toyota Crown Hybrid, Prius, and in the hybrid version of the new Lexus RX SUV and Lexus HS250h. In addition, the use of MOST Technology in the Toyota Prius shows that the multimedia network has also made inroads into the mass-produced models of the mid-range sector. The new premium sector Hyundai Equus also relies on MOST for data transmission within its all-round driver information system. The vehicles presented so far along with the Hyundai Genesis, Kia Mohave, Lexus IS, SsangYong Chairman, and the Toyota models Alphard, Crown, Estima, Mark X ZiO, and Vellfire, add up to a grand total of 14 models manufactured by Asian automakers with MOST built in.

Whereas MOST25 Technology - based on optical data transmission using optical fibers and under development for many years in Europe - has established itself in the Korean market, the Japanese market in particular prefers MOST50, the second generation of the multimedia standard. The most significant new feature of MOST50 is that it allows electrical implementations instead of using plastic optical fiber (POF). It enables data transmission over an unshielded twisted pair (UTP) of copper wires while meeting stringent automotive electromagnetic compatibility requirements.

Attendance at the conference topped 120 from 19 countries:

• - Australia: 34     
• - Japan: 13
• - Spain: 9
• - Germany: 8
• - Korea: 6
• - U.S.: 6
• - Others: 4

The attendees were from industry, universities, and research organizations:

• - Universities: 71
• - Companies: 39
• - Other: 10

Abang Annuar Ehsan from the Institute of Microengineering and Nanoelectronics, Malaysia (left) with speaker, Dr. Paul Polishuk of IGI Group and POFTO.