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K.C. NEEL
The future is fiber, says Tony Werner.
"This is an exciting time to be leading in technology development, and the Aurora Networks team is poised at the forefront of optical and fiber innovation," says Werner, the former AT&T Broadband CTO who was named CEO of Aurora earlier this month.
"The need for increased bandwidth is fueling the growth of the network construction market, and network providers are continually searching for faster, more efficient and technically superior solutions," he says. Aurora Networks is conducting trials with several MSOs and should have a contract signed with an unnamed operator for product deployment by year's end, according to Werner.
Aurora Networks designs and develops optical transport systems designed to boost the bandwidth of two-way broadband networks that handle converged voice, video and data applications and services. The company announced in June that it had received $10 million in series-A funding from Battery Ventures.
Aurora is counting on the idea that fiber- optic technology will continue to go deeper into cable operators' networks until, at some point, there is fiber all the way to customers' homes, Werner says.
"We want to be a leading provider and innovator of next-generation optical networks," Werner says. "We don't want to be in set-top boxes. We don't want to deal with RF traps or drops. We want to focus solely on optics. Over time, communications systems will be comprised of nothing but optics, and ubiquitous optics to the home will be the norm. That's going to take a while, but it will happen."
"Every year the cost of optics goes down, and the fiber goes deeper," he says. "There are increased benefits, reduced costs and increased reliability. As the fiber goes deeper, new products will be developed, and the cost-effectiveness of the networks will come down."
Werner says Aurora's products may be about 10% more expensive than traditional cable network architectures, but the payback is quicker because of lower maintenance costs, increased bandwidth capacity and improved reliability.
Werner chose to try being an entrepreneur rather than take a job at another corporate entity. Qwest Communications' new digital media unit is said to have tried wooing Werner.
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