Company News — EXFO Electro-Optical Engineering Inc.

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EXFO Introduces New FiberFinder'TM' for Identifying Live and Dark Fibers

When carrying out a network upgrade or characterizing an optical network, field technicians must first isolate the specific live fiber segment in patch panels or central offices that often contain high fiber counts. Pinpointing the right end-to-end connection can be a tricky proposition due to faulty labeling, poor record keeping, or large numbers of fibers and connectors. Disconnecting the wrong fiber, for example, can cause significant network downtime amounting to $160,000 per hour for a 16-channel wavelength-division multiplexed (WDM) system, while impacting thousands of customers.

EXFO's patented FiberFinder technology, including both the LFD-300 Live Fiber Detector and the TG-300 Tone Generator, represents an industry first by taking out the guesswork in fiber identification. Installed at the transmitter site, the TG-300, a non-intrusive clip-on device, adds a 0.1 dB signature to the live signal by applying a soft low-frequency modulation pressure to the fiber. If it's a live fiber, the signature will be detected by the LFD-300 at the other end in a matter of seconds, thus taking away the risk of disconnecting the wrong fiber.

"The introduction of our FiberFinder technology eliminates guesswork for field technicians who are often under time constraints to disconnect a particular fiber," said Etienne Gagnon, EXFO's Vice-President of Optical and Protocol Product Management. "Not only does this remove any possibility of costly network downtime, but it has little or no effect on a link's loss budget. This advantage is particularly important for large central offices and FTTx applications where the number of fibers at any given point is high and rapidly increasing. Disconnecting the wrong fiber is one of the most common causes of system outages but, once again, EXFO has come up with a highly innovative solution to help customers deliver the most advanced and trouble-free network services."

About EXFO

EXFO is a recognized test and measurement expert in the global telecommunications industry through the design and manufacture of advanced and innovative solutions as well as best-in-class customer support. The Telecom Division, which represents the company's main business activity, offers fully integrated and complete test solutions to network service providers, cable TV operators, telecom system vendors and component manufacturers in approximately 70 countries. EXFO is the global market leader for portable optical test solutions and a leading supplier of protocol and access test solutions to enable triple-play deployments over converged, IP networks. EXFO's PC/Windows-based modular FTB-200; FTB-400 and IQS-500 test platforms host a wide range of test solutions across optical, physical, data and network layers, while maximizing technology reuse across several market segments. The Life Sciences and Industrial Division, which leverages several core telecom technologies, offers value-added solutions in the life sciences and high-precision assembly sectors based on advanced spot-curing, fluorescence microscopy and nanopositioning solutions.

CONTACT INFORMATION
EXFO Electro-Optical Engineering Inc.
Vance Oliver
Manager of Investor Relations
(418) 683-0913, Ext. 3733
vance.oliver@exfo.com
www.EXFO.com

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