CORK, Ireland, October 10 /PRNewswire/ --

Firecomms Ltd., a leading compound semiconductor company that develops high-speed light sources in visible range wavelengths, today announced that its RCLED-based 650 nm Fast Ethernet FOT (fiber optic transceiver) is the light source chosen by Netopia for its next-generation high-performance MiAVo residential gateway to deliver bandwidth-intensive, QoS-reliant services such as IPTV, video and VoIP over plastic optical fiber (POF).

Firecomms' fully integrated transceiver RCLED-based 650 nm FOT and highly-sensitive receiver FOT have been designed into the POF port on the new MiAVo VDSL2 service provider gateway. Based on Firecomms' proprietary technology for Resonant Cavity LEDs, the Fast Ethernet FOT operates at 100 Mbps for 100 meters, making it optimal for high-speed home, office, and industrial networks.

"With its lower bit error rates and longer reach, Firecomms' FOT enables customers to take advantage of the inherent benefits of POF in emerging IPTV applications," says Firecomms CEO Declan O'Mahoney. "Its flexibility and ease of installation, makes POF a cost-effective alternative over traditional networks."

"By leveraging Firecomms' new Fast Ethernet FOT, Netopia is able to broaden its portfolio to deliver IPTV, video, voice and data over POF with the highest quality of service and the lowest cost of deployment," says Ken Haase, vice president of product management at Netopia. "We're excited to showcase not only the MiAVo with the integrated Firecomms transceiver, but also an example of how plastic optical fiber changes the rules for premises wiring."

Firecomms leads the development of devices to drive POF, a low-cost optical alternative to copper cabling. Due to its ease of use, large core tolerances, and low costs, POF is enjoying a huge growth in a wide range of applications. Created for consumer, industrial, and automotive applications in which plastic fiber can be used more easily and at lower cost than copper or glass fiber, POF is now used in millions of small area networks, such as those in use in many car models, and is rapidly gaining ground in home network and point-to-point interconnection. The POF market is estimated to be worth over US$1 billion per year by the end of 2008.

Customers interested in seeing the MiAVo VDSL2 gateway with the integrated Firecomms transceiver should visit Netopia at Broadband World Forum, in booth number 518.

About Firecomms Ltd.

Firecomms, a compound semiconductor company based in Ireland, develops visible light sources and sensors that light the way for next-generation consumer devices, automotive and home networks, and medical equipment. These devices provide the groundwork that will revolutionize optical data communications for small area networks, such as in-car networks and home networks.

Additional information about Firecomms is available at www.firecomms.com.

About Netopia

Netopia, Inc. (Nasdaq: NTPA) deliverrs broadband service assuranc solutions through high-performance broadband customer premises equipment and carrier-class remote device management and support software. Netopia's broadband gateways feature advanced technology, high reliability, and remote manageability to assure delivery of triple-play and IPTV services. Netopia's service assurance software platforms empower carriers, service providers, and enterprises with remote device management, centralized support, and value-added services to speed deployment of innovative new broadband applications across home and business networks. Netopia has established strategic distribution relationships with leading carriers and broadband service providers, including AT&T, BellSouth, Covad Communications, eircom, Swisscom, and Verizon.

Netopia is headquartered in Emeryville, California. Further information about Netopia can be obtained via phone at +1-510-420-7400, fax at +1-510-420-7601, or on the Web at www.netopia.com.

Web site: http://www.netopia.com Web site: http://www.firecomms.com

Rene Williams of Firecomms Ltd., +1-949-360-7770, rene@firecomms.com