Telecom Valley rebound
Third deal for Turin Networks of Petaluma puts company in expansion mode
From left, Turin Networks employees Prakash Siva, Mats Lund, Scott Pradels and Dirk Brandis look over their 10-gigabyte ethernet card at the company's Petaluma facility. Turin has sealed a five-year contract for a nationwide fiber-optic network upgrade.
JEFF KAN LEE / The Press DemocratPublished: Wednesday, September 27, 2006 at 3:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, September 27, 2006 at 2:17 a.m.
In another sign of Telecom Valley's rebound, Petaluma optical equipment maker Turin Networks on Tuesday announced a five-year deal to supply technology to a Texas company upgrading its nationwide fiber optic network.
The deal with Broadwing Communications is Turin's most significant "in terms of initial scope," said Henry Wasik, chief executive of Turin.
"It's a national deployment," he said. "They're rolling it out to all the major metropolitan areas."
Financial terms were not disclosed. The deal will help Turin expand its 150-employee work force by 10 to 15 percent over the next year, Wasik said.
The telecom industry has emerged from a three-year slump, driven by demand for Internet phone, TV and data service, he said.
"This year we're seeing a dramatic acceleration," Wasik said.
Broadwing selected Turin's multi-service transport switch to upgrade its 20,000-mile optical network, which delivers voice, video and high-speed data to 40 large U.S. cities.
Broadwing, an Austin, Texas-based company that reported $879 million in sales last year, serves businesses, government agencies and telecom carriers including AOL and SEKO Worldwide.
Turin's technology will help Broadwing deliver new services over the Internet quickly and efficiently, the company said.
It's the third such deal for Turin since the beginning of summer. In July, Fibertech Networks picked Turin's technology for the Rochester, N.Y., company's fiber optic network in 20 midsize cities in the Northeast United States.
Turin's platform also was selected by RCN Business Solutions, a Herndon, Va., company that provides voice, video and Internet service in six metropolitan markets, including San Francisco, Boston, New York and Chicago.
The privately held Turin doesn't disclose earnings or revenues. It has about 100 employees in Petaluma and 50 at other offices.
The company expects to add engineers, customer representatives and other positions in Petaluma, Wasik said. Turin's manufacturing is outsourced to a company in Fremont.
Turin was founded in 1999 by investors, including Telecom Valley pioneers John Webley and Don Green, who launched Petaluma's Advanced Fibre Communications in 1992. AFC was acquired by Illinois-based Tellabs in 2004.
Demand for networking equipment started to pick up in 2004 and has been growing ever since, Wasik said. Turin now has about 200 customers, mostly in North America.
Other Telecom Valley startups Calix, Teknovus, Dilithium and Caymas also are benefiting from the improved market for wireless and wireline services.
On Tuesday, Turin announced that William Zerella has been named chief financial officer. Zerella was finance chief at tech companies Infinera, Calient Networks and Logictier before joining Turin.
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