The collaboration will benefit Sorrento's customers by adding fully reconfigurable optical add/drop functionality to Sorrento's DWDM GigaMux system, which has 2000 nodes deployed worldwide. This functionality will enable Sorrento's customers to make more effective use of their existing, as well as new, optical networks and to dramatically lower their ongoing provisioning costs. As part of the collaboration, Sorrento is also developing the capability to monitor the performance of individual channels down to the level of specific protocols. The capability to monitor individual channels at the SONET/SDH or Gigabit Ethernet protocol level will provide Sorrento's customers the tools necessary to ensure that service level agreements (SLAs) are maintained.

The collaboration combines Sorrento Network's in-depth optical networking system engineering expertise with Xtellus' core competency of dynamic optical components. As the key enabling platform for this new functionality, Xtellus will supply a Programmable Wavelength Selector that can cost-effectively support the selection of any individual channel or any set of channels on a DWDM fiber in a metro optical network.

Subrata Datta, CTO of Sorrento Networks, commented, "It is clear that the market is ready to take the next step in optical networking. This next generation of WDM transport equipment will provide more intelligence and better visibility within customers' optical network designs. The development with Xtellus will enable us to complement our existing platforms with new features that will make these networks much more flexible while reducing the total cost of ownership at the same time."

Sam Suh, CTO of Xtellus, commented. "We are excited to be working with Sorrento who has the vision to use Xtellus' programmable wavelength selection technology for various applications including reconfigurability and monitoring."

About Sorrento Networks
Sorrento Networks, headquartered in San Diego, CA, makes optical networking equipment for carriers and enterprises worldwide. Sorrento's products help customers increase profitability by improving transport efficiency and expanding the addressable market of their fiber networks. Sorrento's customer base and market focus includes cable TV operators, telecom carriers, and service providers. Sorrento's products are also used for storage area networking (SAN) and enterprise private networking. Additional customer, product, and financial information about Sorrento Networks can be found at www.sorrentonet.com or by contacting Paul Zalloua, email: pzalloua@sorrentonet.com.