SAN JOSE, Calif., Feb. 13, 2006 -- JDSU announced that the US Navy selected its communications test platforms, the Fireberd 8000 and FST 2310, in a bid for a bit-error-rate (BER) test system. The contract was awarded to JDSU by the Naval Inventory Control Point and is valued at more than $8 million over the next five years. JDSU said it will provide the Navy and the US Marines with measurement and analysis for a variety of communication circuits, including satellite and tactical links. The test systems will include JDSU's Testpad 2000 user interface module, the Fireberd 8000 and the FST 2310; they will perform measurements such as BER testing on circuits for asynchronous/synchronous serial datacom, T1 (including ISDN primary rate interface, or PRI), DS3 and OC-3 SONET. These units will be used to maintain communication links in, for example, ship-to-shore and tactical communications. JDSU also announced this week that it has signed an agreement with SyntheSys Research to collaborate on providing physical layer optical testing using SyntheSys' BERTScope bit-error-rate-test products. The companies have signed a "channel" agreement that covers Europe, Asia-Pacific (excluding Japan), Canada and targeted accounts in the US, providing equipment manufacturers with access to products for physical layer optical test, measurement and automated technology for jitter, BERT, stressed eye sensitivity, SONET/SDH transport and optical parametrics. The portfolio will be exhibited by both companies at OFC/NFOEC 2006, to be held March 5-10 in Anaheim, Calif. The combined JDSU/SyntheSys Research system includes JDSU OPTX10 reference generators, which have been tested for interoperability with the SyntheSys BERTScope S and the new BERTScope CR HS clock recovery instrument. The combination creates a system for optical receiver testing up to 10.71 Gb/s and enables design engineers to measure IEEE 802.3ae stressed receiver sensitivity, jitter and test for compliance with greater insight into device characterization at BER of 10-12, JDSU said. Also included in the portfolio is the JDSU ONT-506/512, which performs SONET/SDH, New SONET/SDH, OTN, Ethernet BERT and jitter testing at the physical layer, and the JDSU multiple-application platform for optical signal conditioning. John Peeler, executive vice president of JDSU's Test and Measurement group, said the product will enable customers to "deal with one company for testing at the photonic through the protocol level for jitter testing, for both components and systems." For more information, visit: www.jdsu.com