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EXFO launches first optical spectrum analyzer to cover all testing applications


QUEBEC CITY, CANADA, September 6, 2017 — EXFO Inc. (NASDAQ: EXFO, TSX: EXF), the network test, monitoring and analytics experts, today released the FTBx-5255 Optical Spectrum Analyzer (OSA) for field applications to meet the live network testing needs of telecom service providers, internet content providers and network equipment manufacturers all under pressure to deliver flawless services to a high-speed, data-hungry market.

Until now, service providers and internet content providers had no choice but to interrupt communications by shutting down networks or channels to measure the optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR) of 100G/200G/400G (Pol-Mux) signals, a key performance indicator of customers’ quality of service. With the launch of EXFO’s new OSA, service providers and data centers can stay live for in-service network testing of OSNR from 10G to 400G; O-band pluggables and L-band transceivers; and CWDM spectral analysis, among other applications. The capability to address all these OSA testing applications will also appeal to NEMs, in particular, the system verification and system testing groups.

“Customers have repeatedly expressed a need for a non-intrusive way of measuring OSNR on high-speed networks, to ensure they’re meeting customer expectations for quality of service,” said Stéphane Chabot, EXFO’s Vice President, Test and Measurement. “Our new portable optical spectrum analyzer equips service providers, internet content providers, and NEMs for testing live networks, saving them time and significantly reducing operating expenses while making troubleshooting faster and better. No one else can offer them the ability to address all OSA testing applications with a single module.”

The FTBx-5255 is available in EXFO’s FTB-2, FTB-2 Pro and FTB-4 Pro portable test platforms as well as in the LTB-8 platform for rackmount and lab applications.

About EXFO

EXFO develops smarter network test, monitoring and analytics solutions for the world’s leading communications service providers, network equipment manufacturers and webscale companies. Since 1985, we’ve worked side by side with our customers in the lab, field, data center, boardroom and beyond to pioneer essential technology and methods for each phase of the network lifecycle. Our portfolio of test orchestration and real-time 3D analytics solutions turns complex into simple and delivers business-critical insights from the network, service and subscriber dimensions. Most importantly, we help our customers flourish in a rapidly transforming industry where “good enough” testing, monitoring and analytics just aren’t good enough anymore—they never were for us, anyway. For more information, visit EXFO.com and follow us on the EXFO Blog.