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Summarized by Vickie Speek
LDS Billionaire David Huber's Firm, Corvis, Posts Revenue for First Time
COLUMBIA, MARYLAND -- Corvis, the optical networking company, has
finally made its first commercial shipment of equipment, marking the
company's first real revenues.
Corvis went public last summer with no sales, in what could be called
the best example in the industry of a company benefitting from the
hype surrounding optical technology.
Despite its lack of sales, however, Corvis at one point reached a
market capitalization comparable to the venerable General Motors.
There are skeptics, however - many have speculated about the
company's real worth.
Corvis is known for releasing few details about its technology, and
has gotten into a patent-infringement spat with fellow
optical-systems provider Ciena. Corvis' chief executive, David Huber,
an LDS Church member and the richest Mormon in the world, was a
founder of Ciena.
Corvis shipped its gear last week to Broadwing Communications, which
tested andreportedly purchased $200 million worth of equipment. Qwest
Communications International and Williams Communications are
continuing to test Corvis equipment.
Corvis claims its networking technology is the first true all-optical
switch, which can switch data traffic without converting it from
light. Executives say that allows data to move faster and to use
technology to regenerate, or "boost," a signal over long distances,
meaning less gear and lower costs for carriers.
Many analysts believe the market for optical-based networking
equipment will reach more than $15 billion by 2003 in North America
alone. Others gunning for the same market niche include Sycamore
Networks, Cisco Systems, Nortel Networks, and Lucent Technologies.
Source:
Corvis reaches milestone: revenues
CNET 9Oct00 B2
By Corey Grice and Ben Heskett: Staff Writers, CNET News.com
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