Anova Technologies, CEO and Founder, Michael Persico sat down with Stephanie Hammer late in 2012 to discuss microwaves for her book “Architects of Electronic Trading; Technology Leaders Who Are Shaping Today’s Financial Markets,” which released last month. Ms Hammer’s book examines and highlights technology leaders in the financial industry, offering readers a glimpse into coming trends and innovations.

Mr. Persico’s interview with Ms Hammer is detailed in the chapter “Microwaves in Trading: Conquering Resistance.” It serves as a wireless primer whereby readers will gain insights into the physics of radio frequencies, as well as an overview of their usage in the financial industry. Further details include: how microwaves work, certain deployment obstacles, development drivers, and most importantly, game changing innovations.

When asked, “What’s next in microwave?” Mr. Persico touched on the Anova RFConnect laser upgrade, officially launched Q1 of 2013.

We feel strongly that the integration of free space optics with millimeter waves will put wireless transmissions on par with fiber-optic cable in terms of availability – and continue to surpass it in terms of speed. Free space optics entails the use of lasers to transmit data in free space, or air. Anova and its joint venture partner, which owns over 30 patents on this technology, commercialized this out of a decade-long project for the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD). We intend to deploy this technology both in the metro area and over the long haul to optimize the entire route from Chicago to New York. This is highly notable as it is the first new technology to be developed in the RF space in decades. The real benefit here is that this equipment, by virtue of its interwoven signals will increase the current availability of wireless networks from 95 percent to 99.99 percent. (Excerpted with permission of the publisher, Wiley, from Architects of Electronic Trading: Technology Leaders Who Are Shaping Today’s Financial Markets by Stephanie Hammer, June 2013.)

Availability, or uptime, has quickly become a major concern in the wireless sphere. As speeds converge across providers, it will ultimately become the true differentiator. RFConnect’s availability is projected to be 99.99% over a 10KM link. This equates to a total downtime of less than one day per year, versus competitors’ downtimes of 888 to 2976 hours per year (37 to 124 days per year) over the same paths. “Availability issues can cause staggering financial losses, as well as missed opportunities,” Mr. Persico stated. “Particularly painful is when you miss an open, or worse, a leading economic indicator because your RF system is down. Most of the providers today are claiming 95% or better for their uptime SLA, but in reality those networks are likely operating in the 85% uptime range if you remove their trading hour carve-outs and use recent microclimate weather data. However, FSO alters that disappointing reality permanently by now giving firms an availability that is akin to fiber through the air.”

Mr. Persico was honored to share insights in “The Architects of Electronic Trading.” He also participated in the book’s panel “Technology Trends that Matter,” that was held in Chicago in early June. When asked about her interview with Mr. Persico, Ms. Hammer responded, “I make the case in my book that tech leaders excel at communicating the business value of technology. Mike Persico does just that. A gifted teacher, he explains the relevance of microwaves for latency-sensitive market participants in approachable terms. What’s more, his take on enhancing availability of microwaves with laser optics gives readers important perspective on the future of microwaves in the trading space.”

About Anova Technologies: Anova Technologies is the preeminent fiber and wireless exchange connectivity provider, exclusively focused on electronic and algorithmic trading clients. With a dedicated team of engineers and physicists, Anova invented today’s millimeter wave design and deployment standards for trading networks. A champion of self-disruption, Anova continues to push the boundaries of technology for the financial markets, most recently upgrading its RFConnect to a hybrid laser millimeter wave network. Anova’s proprietary networks span all major exchanges throughout the US, Canada, Europe, and South America.

Contacts

Anova Technologies
Denise Heitz
Marketing Consultant
312.540.9594 xt 103
[email protected]
www.anova-tech.com