Reston, Virginia and Petach-Tikva, Israel – November 10, 2003 – Civcom Inc.(http://www.civcom.com), a pioneer in the development and manufacturing of solid-state optical switching technologies, and XLight Photonics Inc., a leader in the market for widely tunable transponders, announced today that they have completed their merger transaction which was first unveiled at SUPERCOMM. The merger also includes the closing of an additional round of financial investment from the companies’ original venture capital investors.

Civcom, the developer of the industry’s first ultra-fast solid-state optical switch using its patented Solid Free Space (SFS™) technology, and XLight, who released the world’s first and smallest widely tunable 10 Gbps 300-pin MSA compliant transponder, have combined forces to focus on dynamic opto-electronic components and sub-systems. In contrast to traditional active and passive components, dynamic components are an emerging class of devices that allow customers to upgrade, migrate, and enhance their networks quickly, reliably and economically. Civcom’s optical switches and transponders fill this niche by providing communications, test and measurement, and military customers increased flexibility through cost-effective solutions.

The company’s products have been consolidated under three separate product lines. Civcom’s Free-X™ family of all-optical switches supports high-performance optically switched networks, DWDM transport solutions, network monitoring, and test and measurement equipment. Civcom’s Free-Light family of tunable transponders supports cost-effective inventory management as well as dynamic provisioning, burst switching and next generation protection and restoration applications. Civcom’s Custom Dynamic Solutions deliver innovative opto-electronic designs and products ranging from components, to modules to sub-systems.

The combined company has already made significant progress on streamlining the operations of both companies in an effort to reduce costs, improve efficiencies, and increase customer responsiveness. The companies have consolidated into a single facility in Israel that includes corporate headquarters, research and development labs, engineering, operations and manufacturing. The companies’ global marketing efforts have also been combined to service its worldwide customer base for switches, transponders, and custom dynamic solutions.
Since the merger was announced, Civcom’s Free-Light™ FL-TT-10G 10 Gbps 300pin MSA widely tunable transponder received the NFOEC Lightwave Attendees’ Choice Award in the “Subsystems” category at the 2003 NFOEC show in Orlando, Florida. The company also recently released a new web site (www.civcom.com) that includes more details on the company’s combined product lines and market presence.
“The world is a different place now than when we launched Civcom and XLight several years ago. Instead of technology for technology’s sake, today’s focus is on providing products and solutions that improve performance and reduce costs, both from a CAPEX and OPEX perspective. Civcom is committed to help its customers do just that, by offering increased flexibility through dynamic solutions” said David Mendlovic, Civcom’s founder and CEO.
“We are very pleased with the combined offering that Civcom and XLight bring to the market. Not only are their products, technologies, and management capabilities complementary, but the operational synergies and strengthened financial position ensure that Civcom will be a player in the optical market for many years to come,” stated Avi Domoshevizki, General Partner with Concord Ventures and an investor in the company.
The company will retain the Civcom name and Delaware incorporation, though the XLight moniker has been added to the company’s new logo. Civcom will continue to maintain its U.S. headquarters in Reston, Virginia.
Civcom will be demonstrating its optical switches and widely tunable transponders at several industry trade shows in the coming months, including OFC 2004 in the Los Angeles Convention Center February 24-26, 2004. Please visit the company’s booth or web site to see how Civcom is enabling “Flexibility through Dynamic Solutions”.