Binghamton, NY - Electronic Links International, Inc. today announces that the United States Patent office has granted to the company founder two patents in the field of Plastic Optical Fiber. The first patent titled: EMI SHIELD FOR OPTICAL CONNECTOR, identified with the number US 7,367,719 has 22 claims. It covers features such as shielding, alignment, heat sink for Rosa and Tosa, etc. When mated with a connector cable assembly, the connector system has one of the best data rates in the industry.

The second patent titled: IEEE 1394 TO COAXIAL ADAPTER, identified with the number US 7,380,044 has 9 claims. It is for an adapter that is able to transport digital data using a 1394 platform. The media used is the existing coax wire already installed in the homes. The adapter also has a plastic optical connector where the media to transport data is the Plastic Optical Fiber.

Both patents are for application of systems for the automotive, avionics, home networking, medical, and industrial markets. These patents should help in the proliferation of usage of the plastic optical fiber as a link to transport data effectively and be competitive.

Both patents are also pending in Asia and in Europe.

Cork, Ireland - Firecomms, a provider of high-speed Plastic Optical Fiber components, today announces the compatibility of its OptoLock® Fast Ethernet optical transceiver with the Ethernet PHY integrated in Broadcom’s BCM7405 IP set-top box (STB) system-on-a-chip (SoC) solution. Firecomms will demonstrate its OptoLock technology at this week’s IPTV World Forum on Firecomms booth #95 in London’s Olympia Grand Hall.

An easy-to-use housing for instant termination of bare Plastic Optical Fiber (POF), OptoLock will enable the quick and easy connection of POF directly to the STB in home networks. The inclusion of OptoLock POF ports directly into the set-top box enables operators and homeowners to quickly lay ultra-thin POF cable.

“This announcement is a significant milestone in our efforts to enable integration of our OptoLock transceivers across set-top box platforms,” says John Lambkin, Firecomms’ chief technology officer. “Operators recognize the benefits POF brings to reducing installation time and complexity. Integration of POF ports directly into the set-top box enables reductions in bill of material costs as compared to external network adapters."

“With an integrated PHY capable of driving both copper and optical ports, our collaborated solution enables deployment efficiencies that allow set-top box manufacturers, service providers and consumers in Europe to quickly realize the benefits of home networking,” said Aidan O’Rourke, Broadcom’s Senior Director of Product Marketing. “Broadcom is pleased to work with Firecomms to meet the requirements of Europe’s connected digital home and enable an enhanced consumer entertainment experience.”

This year's OFC/NFOEC Conference and Exhibition held March 24-27 at the San Diego Convention Center had a total attendance of 9,300 down from about 11,000 in 2008. This is to be expected with the economy the way that it is. Despite the lower attendance, the POF Applications Center had a brisk flow of interested attendees.

In addition to the "POF Applications Center', POFTO organized:

• POF Standards Workshop
  Monday, March 23rd
  
  
• POF Symposium @ OFC/NFOEC 2009
  Tuesday, March 24th

Presentations of both these events are available to POFTO members in the Member Resources section.

The 2009 POF Directory was also available to POFTO exhibitors for distribution to key contacts. Hardcopies of the 2009 Edition are now available for purchase here. Please find information about listing and advertising in the 2010 Edition here.

Furthermore, POFTO has arranged for a 20'x50' booth for the 2010 show which will be held in the same location March 23-26, 2010. POFTO members may register for exhibit space here.

Cork, Ireland - March 30, 2009 - Firecomms, an Ireland-based provider of high-speed Plastic Optical Fiber (POF) components, has been nominated for the Irish Technology Leaders Silicon Valley Award 2009. One of seven finalists, Firecomms has been chosen for its pioneering development of high-speed optical components, including Optolock®, that drive IPTV home networks and in-car multimedia entertainment systems.

The Irish Technology Leadership Group (ITLG), in partnership with Ireland’s The Irish Times newspaper, will present the award at Stanford University on April 14th. Ireland’s Trade Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister (Tánaiste), the Hon. Mary Coughlan T.D., will deliver the keynote address at the awards ceremony.

“Firecomms is honored to be included among this prestigious group of technology innovators,” says Declan O’Mahoney, Firecomms’ CEO. “With strong roots in research and development, we strive to develop products like OptoLock that will be recognized for innovation, while providing substantial advantages in applications like home networking and automotive networks."

“Firecomms is representative of the high-tech semiconductor technology that is emerging from Ireland and gaining a position on the world stage,” says John Hartnett, ITLG chairman. “This innovative company is exactly the type that ITLG chooses to recognize with this award.”

Taipei Taiwan – COMOSS has just announced a new product – the Gigabit POF switch. With 1 Giga POF, 1 Giga SFP and 8 fast Ethernet OPTOLOCK. Not only is this a new fast Ethernet POF product but now COMOSS can offer Gigabit POF solutions to the customer. With an excellent R&D experience, COMOSS has developed a full series of POF products. Now, COMOSS can provide customers with even more POF product solutions. Please contact our sales people for detail spec and test data. sales@comoss.com.tw

COMOSS will demonstrate whole POF products in OFC San Diego 24-26 March 2009. Please visit COMOSS website for more information of POF products: http://www.comoss.com/news.htm Optolock™ is a trademark of Firecomms.

Download PDF Data Sheet for the GAPSW Series Switch

FiberFin will now be stocking DiMoto’s entire product range consisting of POF Media Converters, POF Switches, POF USB Adapters and POF PCI Cards. DiMoto’s products will also be available through FiberFin’s online store.

Ethernet over Plastic Optic Fiber is a simple, secure and high performance local area networking solution which is ideal for installations where the ability to install alongside power, terminate in seconds and route inconspicuously significantly reduces deployment costs. The technology is also widely deployed where electrical noise, ground potential variations or lightning is of concern.

"DiMoto is delighted to announce the partnership with FiberFin. The team at FiberFin has over 44 years of combined experience in the plastic optic fiber market and is well positioned to provide a high level of sales support." said Michael Stevens, Commercial Director for DiMoto. "We are confident that the combination of our high quality and reliable line of products and FiberFin’s in-depth support will provide the confidence necessary for US businesses to explore the benefits of POF."

"The partnership with DiMoto strengthens our POF hardware solutions portfolio with quality and innovative products that have a strong synergy with our other product lines," said Paul Mulligan, managing director of FiberFin inc "we expect to see strong interest from our existing customer base in the industrial and process control sectors. DiMoto is a clear leader in the market."

The 2009 CIP Networks Conference & 13th Annual Meeting of ODVA was Held in Orlando, Florida, the week of February 22-26, 2009. This conference is for the automation industry, attended by executives, marketing professionals, and technical experts from around the world. The conference features technical, marketing, and training sessions and was attended by more than 100 members.

A number of pieces presented at the conference are available in the ODVA 2009 Library. These include a Report on the Affairs of the Corporation Presentation, by Katherine Voss and Rich Harwell, ODVA, (in which POF is highlighted on page 23) as well as both a paper and presentation by Bob Lounsbury of Rockwell Automation on "Polymer Optical Fiber for EtherNet/IP Networks".

The EtherNet/IP Chapter 8 Volume 2 ed. 1.6 was published as of November 2008 and has included 1mm POF fiber in two classes of numerical apertures: 0.5NA and 0.3NA. This standard also includes the connectorless transceivers like the Optolock ® and the AVAGO clip style. These are bare cable retaining mechanisms that hold the fiber jacket. This is very big news for the POF industrial community. The connectorless transceiver will be used inside the cabinet (IP-20). This will be welcome news for installers for the ease of routing a bare cable (no connectors), no patch cords, no predetermined lengths, and for the final installation into the transceivers. This installation lets the installer just finish the bare cable using a disposable razor cutter like the FiberFin® model and then simply insert the finished cable into the end of the transceiver and lock it in. It really is that simple! Designers will like it since this is one of the most cost-effective ways to interconnect and has one of the lowest costs of ownership.

The new release, Chapter 8 Volume 2 Ed. 1.7, which should be passed in April, will have two 1mm POF connectors: the SCRJ, which is an IP-20 connector, and the IP-67 SCRJ variant 1 shell. This SC-RJ version has a sealed variant 1 shell that is compliant to the IEC standard. These two connectors will cover the industrial needs very well, as the SCRJ, which was founded by Reichle & De-Massari (R&M), is a very robust connector but still fits the small form factor for duplex connectors.