NORCROSS, Ga., April 20 -- Light Management Group Inc., developer of new applications in optical and light technologies, announced that it has signed a letter of intent with France Telecom to test Light Management Group's acousto-optic switch. France Telecom -- one of the largest telecommunications companies in the world -- has a network of about 34.1 million telephone lines, including 3.6 million ISDN channels connected to homes and businesses.
    Light Management Group's unique technology employs sound waves to manipulate light waves. LMG's acousto-optic switch operates at a speed of less than 5 microseconds, representing a 1000-fold advantage over current MEMS technology, the company said. Light Management Group's switch, which can transform optical signals from one input channel to over 1000 output channels, contains no moving parts and has performed over one trillion cycles entirely free of maintenance.
    "We look forward with great anticipation to the validation of our technologies through the scientific findings that will be derived from this testing with France Telecom," said Barrington L. Simon, chairman and CEO of Light Management Group Inc.