Broad Daylight Leverages VoiceGenie's VoiceXML Gateway and Speech Recognition

Broad Daylight, a customer relationship management (CRM) software developer, announced a self-service application that uses speech recognition technology provided by VoiceGenie's VoiceXML Gateway. The application enables customer to use voice commands over the telephone for accessing information from a technical support database. New questions asked of the system that are not contained in the knowledge base are routed to a customer service representative and the answer is e-mailed or faxed to the original caller.
http://www.broaddaylight.com
http://www.voicegenie.com

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Ericsson Conducts IPv6 Over 3G UMTS/WCDMA Demo

Ericsson conducted a demonstration of seamless, emergency mobile communications that combined IPv6, 3G (UMTS/WCDMA) and WLANs. The emergency system, called Guardian Angel, provides seamlessly communications and data (heart rate and blood pressure) for medical staff as a patient travels by ambulance. The information is transmitted via GSM/GPRS or UMTS/WCDMA. Once the ambulance reaches the hospital, the system can automatically switch over to an indoor WLAN hot spot. Data flows can use separate network interfaces in parallel. The demonstration was a joint effort within the 6WINIT project consisting of University Hospital at Tubingen, University of Stuttgart Computing Center, University of Bremen, University College London and Ericsson. It took place at Ericsson's headquarters in Stockholm in the presence of invited EU-officials.
http://www.ericsson.com

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ITU Adopts Gigabit-capable Passive Optical Network (PON) Standards

The ITU reached agreement on two new standards for Gigabit-capable Passive Optical Networks (G-PONs). Both standards cover symmetrical and asymmetrical (upstream/downstream) systems. The new standards are:

• ITU Recommendation G.984.1, which describes the general characteristics of a gigabit-capable PON system such as architecture, bit rates, reach, signal transfer delay, split ratio protection and security.
• 
  ITU Recommendation G.984.2, which describes a flexible optical fiber access network capable of supporting the bandwidth requirements of business and residential services. It covers systems with nominal line rates of 1.25 Gbps and 2.5 Gbps in the downstream (Central Office to customer) direction and 155 Mbps, 622 Mbps, 1.5 Gbps and 2.5 Gbps in the upstream (customer to Central Office) direction. This represents approximately twice the capability of the previous release of the standards (G.983.4 and G.983.5).

http://www.itu.int/newsroom/press_releases/2003/04.html

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Alcatel Acquires VoIP Session Border Controller from Aravox

Alcatel has acquired a system from Aravox Technologies designed for carrier-to-carrier VoIP interconnect and for supporting IP PBXs. The Aravox session border controller, which is based on the IETF Midcom standard, makes real-time packet peering over IP secure. It also ensures QoS and high availability of network resources to the end-to-end communications it controls. Alcatel said it would offer the session border controller as part of its Alcatel 5020 Softswitch solutions. The acquisition was finalized in December 2002. Financial terms were not disclosed.
http://www.alcatel.com

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Qwest Offers its own UNE-P Proposal

Qwest Communications is proposing a new regulatory scheme that it says would help the industry shift from the UNE-P resale paradigm to facilities-based competition. The Qwest proposal would eliminate the unbundled switching requirement in areas where multiple CLECs have deployed their own switches. Where there are three or more CLEC switches within a geographic area known as a LATA, the switching requirement would be removed promptly. The Qwest proposal also establishes a role for state regulatory commissions to determine the transition timetable for eliminating unbundled switching as a UNE in all other remaining areas. In LATAs where there are fewer than three such CLEC switches, the state commissions, interpreting the guidelines established by the FCC, would look at additional factors to determine reasonable timetables to remove switching. The proposal has been filed with the FCC.
http://www.qwest.com

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FCC Reallocates Spectrum for New Wireless Services

The FCC reallocated 30 megahertz of spectrum from the 2 GHz Mobile Satellite Service (2 GHz MSS) to fixed and mobile services. The Commission also announced that it is seeking comment on potential uses of an additional 15 megahertz of spectrum previously identified for new wireless services and on increased flexibility in the Unlicensed Personal Communications Service (UPCS) band.
http://www.fcc.gov

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FCC Grants Terrestrial Flexibility for Mobile Satellite Services

Mobile satellite services in three frequency bands will be granted FCC permits to operate ancillary terrestrial components in their networks. Specifically, the mobile satellite operators will be able to use their existing spectrum for both satellite-provided connectivity and terrestrial or tower-based repeaters. They will not be permitted to use their spectrum to offer terrestrial-only services. The terrestrial component would serve only to augment the satellite signals in areas where coverage would otherwise be difficult, such as urban areas or to solve indoor coverage problems. The decision covers three spectrum bands: 2GHz, Big LEO and L-band. The FCC concluded that technically it would be more efficient, feasible and practical to permit MSS licensees to include a terrestrial component in their satellite systems to serve consumers than to award terrestrial rights in the band to third parties.
http://www.fcc.gov

• Companies that have been granted authorizations to operate mobile satellite services in the 2 GHz band include Boeing, Celstat America, Constellation Communications Holdings, Globalstar, ICO Services, Iridium, Mobile Communications Holdings, and TMI Communications.
• 
  The ruling was opposed by wireless carriers, including AT&T Wireless, Verizon Wireless and Cingular Wireless.

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WSJ: Sprint's Willam Esrey to Step Down

Sprint's Chairman and CEO William Esrey and Chief Operating Officer Ron LeMay plan to step down in a matter of days, according to The Wall Street Journal. Esrey is currently undergoing cancer treatment.
http://www.wsj.com

• Sprint declined to comment on media speculation regarding management succession. Its quarterly financial results are expected 05-February-2003.

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TNT Systems to Market dynamicsoft SIP Stack in North America

TNT Systems, a Petaluma, California-based developer of network protocol software, was selected as the exclusive North American reseller of the dynamicsoft SIP User Agent stack. TNT Systems will be distributing the SIP User Agent Version 6.0 software, one of the first stacks to be compliant with the recently ratified SIP RFC 3261.
http://www.dynamicsoft.com
http://www.tntss.com/

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TigerJet Implements 802.11b in Native / Host based Architecture

TigerJet announced an 802.11b solution that is implemented using the native / host based architecture for the MAC and base-band functions. The native / host based architecture leverages the host CPU and memory rather than requiring an embedded CPU like most that is dedicated to the 802.11b function. The company said its solution cuts the number of gates required by more than half and eliminates the CPU duplication. Both the 802.11b MAC and base-band have been implemented using less than 40K gates for each function. A CardBus form factor demonstration unit can be evaluated on a PC running Windows.
http://www.tjnet.com/

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GIGA STREAM Raises Euro 10 million for UMTS Broadband Switch

GIGA STREAM UMTS Technologies, a start-up based in Saarbruecken, Germany, raised € 10 million in second round funding for development of a broadband switch for 3G networks. The GIGA STREAM UMTS Navigation Switch is designed to enable seamless roaming between 2G (GPRS), 3G (UMTS) and WLAN networks. The platform combines core switching elements and multiple access technologies in a single cabinet. The new funding was led by PolyTechnos Venture Partners GmbH and included first round investors 3i and SWG.
http://www.giga-stream.de

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Acterna Adds Lawful Intercept and Intrusion Detection to Analyzer

Acterna has added lawful intercept and intrusion detection functionality to its DA-3600 Data Network Analyzer. The analyzer, which was designed for law enforcement, defense and security agencies, is capable of operating on Ethernet and Packet-over-SONET/SDH data networks and supports rates up to 2.5 Gbps. With the new capabilities, Acterna's DA-3600 is able to intercept and forward packet streams based on parameters defined by the user. It has the capacity to analyze up to 160K IP flows and delivers flexible filtering capabilities by IP addresses and keywords. These new capabilities allow the monitoring and interception of data traffic such as email, web and chat. More specifically, the analyzer can search and filter all traffic for keywords suspected to be associated with a threat to security. When a keyword is identified, the DA-3600 will automatically begin to monitor those users and forward their traffic to a collection device for forensic analysis.
http://www.acterna.com

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Marconi to Supply Broadband Payphones in Australia

Marconi announced a reseller agreement with WebPoint to distribute Web-enable payphones in Australia. The Marconi Neptune 800 is a fixed broadband gateway with touch screen technology. Potential installations will include hotels, train stations and sporting venues. The Australian reseller agreement follows BT's decision to rollout the world's largest network of interactive kiosks in the UK, where some 2,000 Web-enabled payphones will be installed by April.
http://www.marconi.com

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Australia's Optus Selects Lucent for Multiservice Switching and VoDSL

Optus, a national Australian service provider, has deployed Lucent's voice over DSL (VoDSL) technology, including its PacketStar 1250 Multiservice Media Gateway, Cellpipe integrated access devices, and Navis AQueView Element Management System. Financial terms were not disclosedhttp://www.lucent.com

• Lucent offers a range of PacketStar (PSAX) media gateways for deployments scaling from small hub locations to central offices. The Lucent PacketStar gateways enable any-service, any-channel flexibility for circuit emulation, Frame Relay and ATM in Nx64 blocks within the same T1/E1 line. The gateways also offer an Edge Router Module for multiservice interworking to IP and multiservice Layer 2 VPNs. The largest, 15-slot PSAX 4500 media gateway handles up to 120,000 DS0s in a seven foot rack. The PSAX 1250 media gateway is available in 10-slot or 14-slot models.

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BT Installs its First 80 Wi-Fi Hotspots

BT launched services from its first 80 Wi-Fi public hotspots across the UK. The hotspots are located in Hilton hotels, airports and motorway service stations. Agreements are in place for a further 40 locations. BT is also working on plans for Wi-Fi in railway stations and coffee shops. The company also has a roaming agreement with TeliaSonera for providing access to more than 500 HomeRun hotspots in Sweden, France, Italy, Denmark and the US.
http://www.bt.com

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8x8 Announces Unlimited Calling over SIP Phone Service

8x8 introduced an unlimited calling plan for its SIP-based broadband telephony service. Customers can choose a direct-dial phone number from any of the over 100 area codes offered by the service, and then use an 8x8-supplied telephony adapter to plug regular phones into a broadband connection (Ethernet). Unlimited calling is priced at $34.95/month (with a 12-month commitment) or $39.95/month (month-to-month). The new unlimited PSTN calling plan is in addition to two lower-priced service plans.
http://www.packet8.net

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Kansas City School District Moves to IP Convergence with Siemens

The Kansas City, Missouri School District has awarded a $15.8 million contract to the Enterprise Networks division of Siemens ICN to expand the existing communications infrastructure of 45 schools and add a telephone to every classroom. Siemens will install IP gateways, cabling and data infrastructure equipment based on its HiPath platform. The deployment includes 45 HiPath 3000 SMGs (survivable media gateways), which support conventional circuit-switched telephone services as a fall-back from their IP functionality.
http://www.siemensenterprise.com

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Canada Launches Agile Photonic Network Research Project

Researchers in Canada launched a five year project to develop an Agile All-Photonic Network (AAPN) based on an efficient, all-photonic switch. The project is funded by a $7 million grant from the government's Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). Partners in the project include five universities (McGill, University of Ottawa, University of Toronto, Queen's and McMaster), three federal research labs and seven private companies (Innovance Networks, Tropic Networks, JDS Uniphase, Bragg Photonics, Institut National d'Optique, ITF Optical Technologies and Adtek Photomask).
http://www.nserc.ca

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Connex Deploys Nortel Networks' Passport 20000 Core Switch

Connex, a mobile operator in Romania, has deployed Nortel Networks' Passport 20000 Multiservice Switches to support 2G wireless traffic while enabling a smooth migration to a 3G packetized infrastructure. The installation, which currently includes 3 switches, marks the first live European deployment of Passport 20000, which has also been deployed in other service provider networks. Connex has previously deployed Nortel Networks Succession softswitches and gateways and Passport 15000 Multiservice Switches. Financial terms were not disclosed.
http://www.connex.rohttp://www.nortelnetworks.com

• Nortel Networks' Passport 20000 is a multiservice core switch designed to scale to 160 Gbps in aggregate capacity. It is positioned to enable service providers to migrate their ATM networks toward IP/MPLS.



• Connex has 2.5 million GSM subscribers in Romania. Its principal shareholders are Telesystem International Wireless (TIW) and Vodafone.

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Broadband Sign-ups Reach 30,000 per Week in the UK

Take up of new broadband subscriptions has now risen to almost 30,000 per week in the UK, according to a new report from Oftel, the official telecom regulator in the UK. The nation currently has about 1.4 million broadband users.
http://www.oftel.gov.uk

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European Commission Presses Microsoft to Alter its .NET Passport system

Following discussion with the European Commission, Microsoft agreed to implement a comprehensive package of data protection measures in its existing .NET Passport system. The most important result of the changes is that users will get much more information and choice as to which data they want to provide and under which conditions these data will be processed by Microsoft or the participating websites. The EC said on-line authentication services need to respect the data protection principles laid down in the 1995 Data Protection Directive and national laws.http://europa.eu.int

• In August 2002, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission reached an agreement with Microsoft regarding security and privacy issues related to the .NET Passport system. The agreement called for the formalization, documentation and independent audit of Passport's security procedures.



• Microsoft claims more than 200 million accounts for NET Passport and over 3.5 billion authentications per month. http://www.passport.net

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European Commission Launches Investigation into France Telecom

The European Commission launched a formal investigation of the €9 billion in financial aid presented to France Telecom by the government of France. The European Commission said it wonders whether the French authorities are providing FT with funding that it could have obtained under normal market conditions. The formal investigation procedure will whether the State has acted like a private investor. The Commission also needs further proof from the French authorities that the return on the invested capital would have been acceptable to a private investor. The larger issue is whether the support measures are compatible with the proper functioning of the internal EU market.http://europa.eu.int

• On 05-December-2002, France Telecom announced a financial restructuring that includes €15 billion in new equity. The French government, which holds a 55% interest in the company, is providing € 9 billion of this amount.. Under the “15+15+15�? plan, France Telecom would also make operational improvements to increase free cash flow by €15 billion to reduce debt, and the company would reschedule €15 billion of debt.

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AT&T's David Dorman Urges Caution to FCC Policymakers

AT&T's Chairman, David Dorman, warned that landmark policy changes now being considered at the FCC could change the telecom landscape for decades. Dorman urged regulators to permit the current competitive environment to evolve into facilities competition rather than to take any steps that would lead to the re-monopolization of the Bell networks. Dorman predicted that inter-modal (wired, cable and wireless) competition will develop eventually but that it is not significant yet. He believes that some forms of wireless and satellite could become true last-mile alternatives. The UNE-P platform has enabled AT&T to offer competitive local services in ten states so far. Dorman said this real competition has led to more choices and lower prices. He said AT&T already has significant incentive to build its own local access networks as it currently pays $5 to $8 billion per year to the Bells for local access, but that AT&T could not go ahead with a major network expansion under the old paradigm of "build it and they will come." AT&T must establish a large customer base for local services first and then the new networks can be built. Dorman also expects technological advances such as better DSPs and non-line-of-sight wireless systems to play an important roll in the next 3 to 5 years.
http://www.att.com

• An archived webcast of AT&T Chairman & CEO, Dave Dorman speaking at The National Press Club is available online. http://npc.press.org/ http://www.connectlive.com/events/att/



• The CEO of BellSouth is scheduled to speak at The National Press Club in February.

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Russia's Rostelecom Deploys Long-haul Optical Backbone with Huawei

Rostelecom, Russia's largest national long-haul carrier, has deployed Huawei Technologies' 320G and 10G optical transmission equipment and T2000 network management system along a network route that stretches from Moscow to Samara, a transmission distance of 1,021 km. The project marks Huawei's first high-end optical contract in Russia.
http://www.huawei.com

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Cisco Opens Networking Academy in Afghanistan

Cisco Systems has partnered with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) to open the first Cisco Networking Academy at the University of Kabul in Afghanistan. Cisco will help train the Afghan teachers and provide the web-based curriculum and networking equipment for the Academy. The UNDP plans to use $500,000 provided by the European Commission to set up five new training centers; three in Kabul, one in Mazar-e-Sharif and one in Kandahar.
http://www.cisco.com

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Acterna Securities Trading Moves to OTC Board

Following its delisting by Nasdaq, Acterna's common stock will begin trading on the OTC Bulletin Board on 03-February-2003 under the symbol ACTR.
http://www.acterna.com

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Atheros Enables Multimode Wi-Fi in Top Notebook Brands

Atheros Communications said its multi-mode (2.4 and 5 GHz) WLAN solutions are now being built into new notebooks from HP, IBM, NEC and Toshiba - four of the world's top five PC vendors. Multimode supports both 802.11a and 802.11b wireless connectivity.
http://www.atheros.com

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Polycom Sells Network Access Product Line to Verilink

Polycom has sold its line of "NetEngine" integrated access devices (IADs) to Verlink for up to $3 million. The deal provides for $1 million in upfront cash an additional $250,000 upon the one-year anniversary of the closing and up to $1.75 million to be paid quarterly based upon 10% of the sales of NetEngine products. In addition, Verilink has agreed to purchase Polycom's NetEngine related inventories on an as-needed basis. The value of such inventory as of the closing date is approximately $1.9 million. Verilink said the newly acquired NetEngine IADs and Voice over broadband (VoB) products complement its own existing 2 Mbps and below WANsuite product line with no overlap.
http://www.verilink.com
http://www.polycom.com

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Foundry Networks Reports Revenue of $86.7 Million, Increased Profitability

Foundry Networks reported Q4 revenue of $86.7 million, compared to $76.6 million in the third quarter, and to $65.4 million in the same period last year. Foundry earned net income of $10.5 million or $0.08 per diluted share in the December 2002 quarter, compared with net income of $7.0 million or $0.06 per diluted share in the prior quarter, and a net loss of $10.7 million or ($0.09) per diluted share for the same period in 2001. Foundry Networks ended 2002 with net income of $22.5 million for the year -- its fourth consecutive year of profitability.
http://www.foundrynetworks.com

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BellSouth Files Lawsuits over “One Number�? Service Offering

BellSouth filed a lawsuit against Glenayre Technologies and Call Sciences alleging patent infringement of its call routing technology, commonly used for "one number service" offerings. The patent was granted to BellSouth in June 1998.
http://www.bellsouth.com

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Looking Glass Adds NetCracker Outside Plant Inventory to its OSS

Looking Glass Networks will use an outside plant inventory management system from Netcracker to track physical assets, such as fiber routes, conductor loops, cable bundles, slack loops, test taps, buffers, strands, splice units, splices, manholes, conduits and ducts. The system stores geospatial references for all locations and paths. It also integrates as a module into the existing NetCracker OSS solution.
http://www.netcracker.com
http://www.lglass.net

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OPNET Models Cisco Mobile IP Networks for Defense Networks

OPNET Technologies and Cisco Systems have developed a mobile IP model to enhance the military's communications and operations infrastructure. The mobile IP model predicts the scalability and performance of specific Cisco Mobile IP deployments in brigade, battalion, and division scenarios. Cisco Systems recently introduced the Cisco 3200 Series Mobile Access Router to support seamless connectivity for networks in motion. The software is available to OPNET's customers as part of OPNET's IT Guru, Modeler, and SP Guru products.
http://www.opnet.com

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Riverstone Introduces Loop Protection System

Riverstone introduced a Loop Protection System (LPS) designed to safeguard carrier networks from customer premise generated failures by creating a virtual demarcation point for the carrier. Riverstone's Loop Protection System inspects packets entering the carrier network to determine if they have already been sent to the corporate network. If the system finds that the same packets are being sent, rather than exposing the carrier network to a slowdown, the Loop Protection System isolates the interface to the corporate network. The system then periodically reconnects to the corporate network to detect if the loop has been removed.
http://www.riverstonenet.com

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CommWorks and Kagoor Partner on VoIP Security

CommWorks and Kagoor Networks completed interoperability testing between the CommWorks IP telephony system and Kagoor's VoiceFlow VoIP border control platform. The testing involved Kagoor's VoiceFlow 1000 VoIP demarcation functionality in both enterprise CPE and carrier network-hosted configurations and CommWorks equipment for IP telephony applications, including the Total Control 1000 Media Gateway and elements of the CommWorks Softswitch. Products were tested using both the H.323 communications protocol and Session Initiation Protocol (SIP). The CommWorks 4205 Protocol Mediator facilitated the completion of calls between H.323 and SIP networks. CommWorks and Kagoor Networks are working together to market the combined solution to service providers for delivering basic or enhanced voice to enterprise customers. The CommWorks media gateway would provide connectivity between the PSTN and IP networks. The CommWorks Softswitch would provide call control, signaling and application and service creation. Kagoor's VoiceFlow platform would reside at either the edge of the service provider's network or at the enterprise customer's premise, allowing IP phones to traverse NAT and firewall boundaries and access advanced calling features.
http://www.commworks.com
http://www.kagoor.com

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Sheppard Air Force Base to Deploy New Network with Avaya

Sheppard Air Force Base in Texas, the largest training facility for the U.S. Air Force, awarded a multi-million dollar contract to Avaya covering a new communications infrastructure for the facility, a four-year service and support agreement, and a three-year agreement that gives the base a technology migration plan. The Sheppard network uses the Avaya DEFINITY Enterprise Communications Server to serve more than 12,500 users. The system offers the Air Force MultiLevel Precedence and Preemption (MLPP) -- a feature that allows key personnel to override other system traffic in times of emergency. It also supports the range of protocols from ISDN and ATM to TDM and IP to allow for the migration to a converged network. Financial terms were not disclosed.
http://www.avaya.com

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BELNET Selects Alcatel 7770 for IP/MPLS Core

BELNET, the Belgian national research network for education, research and public communications services, will deploy the Alcatel 7770 Optical Broadband Exchange for its IP/MPLS core. The Alcatel 7770 OBX will also serve as the international gateway for BELNET'S nationwide network and will perform the peering to GÉANT, the European-wide research network sponsored by the EC. BELNET is currently supporting 340,000 users at 150 sites.
http://www.alcatel.com

• The Alcatel 7770 Optical Broadband Exchange (OBX), which replaces the existing 7770 Routing Core Platform (RCP), features an ASIC-driven distributed switching fabric and scales from 100 Gbps to 1.9 Tbps of line card capacity. The new 7770 OBX features a standard, half-height rack mountable chassis, compared to a proprietary form factor in the prior system. Various expansion line-card shelves can be located up to 100 meters away from the switching shelf and connected via optical cable. Alcatel is offering dual stack IPv4/IPv6 as well as tunneling support for IPv6 over IPv4. The 7770 OBX also uses a new generation of network processors on each line card.



• The Poznañ Supercomputing and Networking Center (PSNC) selected the Alcatel 7770 OBX (Optical Broadband Exchange) for its PIONIER 5,000-km network that will connect all academic optical metropolitan area networks in Poland. The Alcatel 7770 OBX also serves as the peering point for GÉANT.



• The GÉANT network has been in full production service since December 2001, replacing the previous TEN-155 network. Nine circuits at the core of the network operate at 10 Gbps, while eleven others run at 2.5 Gbps. http://www.dante.net

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Movaz Lands $14 Million Contract from Taiwan's Chunghwa Telecom

Chunghwa Telecom, the incumbent carrier in Taiwan, awarded a $14 million contract to Movaz Networks for equipment to build a nationwide optical infrastructure consisting of 21 metropolitan DWDM rings. Movaz was awarded the multi-phase project with deployments of several hundred RAYexpress OADMs and RAYextender line amplifiers in interconnected optical rings to transport Gigabit Ethernet and storage area networking services over DWDM wavelengths. Movaz is working on the project with Comtrend, a systems integrator in Taiwan, and Capahill Technologies, a technical sales consultancy that operates throughout Asia.
http://www.movaz.com

• Earlier this month, HiNet, the ISP division of Taiwan's Chunghwa Telecom, selected Juniper Networks M-series platform for the expansion of its backbone. HiNet is currently serving more than 1,600,000 ADSL subscribers, making it one of the world's top broadband providers.



• In September 2002, Chunghwa Telecom selected Nortel Networks' optical long haul solution, including its OPTera Long Haul 1600 DWDM and OPTera Connect DX optical switching platforms. Under the contract, which is valued at approximately US$20 million, Nortel Networks will build what is expected to be Taiwan 's first, island-wide, 10 Gbps optical DWDM backbone.



• Movaz Networks recently announced a multi-million dollar contract to supply its metro optical networking equipment to VIC TOKAI Inc, a network system integrator in Japan. Movaz has been selected by VIC TOKAI as the exclusive supplier for the expansion of its existing optical fiber network infrastructure between Tokyo and Nagoya.

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UTStarcom Announces $45 Million in New Contracts with Shaanxi China Telecom

UTStarcom signed an expansion contract valued in excess of $45 million with Shaanxi China Telecom covering the expansion and upgrade of existing IP-based PAS (Personal Access System) platforms in several cities in Shaanxi province. As of the end of 2002, the Shaanxi China Telecom network in the provincial capital of Xi'an had more than 400,000 subscribers on the PAS platform. UTStarcom said its PAS technology had gained more than seven and a half million Chinese customers as of December 2002, and now represents more than 60% of the country's market share for the sector. The platform is marketed as a low-cost investment option for wireless local telephone service that replaces antiquated fixed line systems. It also features a network architecture that can be integrated with 3G and broadband technologies.
http://www.utstar.com

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France Telecom Revenues increase 8.4% in 2002, 531K ADSL Lines Added in Q4

France Telecom revenues increased 8.4% in 2002 to EUR 46.6 billion. The company cited strong revenue growth from its international operations (up 24.9%) and its Wanadoo Internet and broadband operations (up 30.4%), but declines from its fixed-line, voice and data services. Some highlights:

• Wanadoo's active customer base reached 8.5 million at December 31, 2002, compared with 6 million a year earlier.



• Wanadoo tripled the number of broadband customers in Europe in one year, exceeding 1 million customers in France. In Q4, Wanadoo added 300,000 ADSL customers in France.



• For France Telecom as a whole, the number of consumer subscriptions for ADSL in France (including Wanadoo ADSL subscriptions) more than tripled to reach 1.359 million at December 31, 2002, up from 408,000 a year earlier. This growth rate accelerated sharply during Q4, when 521,000 new subscriptions were sold.



• Revenues from online services and Internet access were down 2.2% due to the ongoing decline of Minitel



• France Telecom's share of the fixed-line telephony market in France stabilized at 80.9% for local calls and 64.3% for long distance (at the beginning of the year there was an automatic transfer to competitors of local traffic from customers who opted for carrier preselection)



• Equant revenues contributed to France Telecom stood at EUR 2.8 billion at 31-December-2002, a decline of 5.5% compared to the previous year.

For 2003, France Telecom expects broadband will prove to be its source of growth, offsetting the measured decline in revenues from fixed-line telephony in France. A previously announced financial restructuring is underway.
http://www.francetelecom.com

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Verizon Reports Revenue Growth, Profitability and Wireless Strength

Citing continued strong sales of wireless, long-distance, DSL and bundled product offerings, Verizon Communications reported Q4 operating revenues of $17.2 billion, a 1.5% increase year-over-year. Reported earnings were $2.3 billion, or $0.83 per share. Nearly $1.2 billion in gains, primarily associated with $1.1 billion in tax benefits, were largely offset by after-tax charges totaling $1.1 billion, including $604 million primarily for pension and benefit costs related to prior force reductions, $292 million for costs related to the bankruptcy of Genuity, $129 million for merger transition costs, and $42 million in other items. Some other highlights:

• Free cash flow improved by $7.8 billion for the year, aided by improved cash from operations and by reductions in capital expenditures, which totaled $12.0 billion in 2002 compared to $17.4 billion in 2001.



• Verizon's telecom revenues were $10.0 billion in Q4, a 2.6% decrease compared to a year earlier. Wholesale services revenue represented the largest percentage decrease (down 7.6%) followed by business service revenue (down 6.9%), while consumer services revenue increased (up 2.0%).



• Data services revenues grew to more than $1.85 billion in the quarter, driven by data transport services that increased nearly 7% for the quarter compared to same period last year, and 9.2% for the full year. Annual data revenue reached nearly $7.3 billion.



• Verizon Wireless added 964,000 net customers in Q4, giving it a total of 32.5 million.



• In long distance voice, Verizon added 566,000 net customers in Q4, ending the year with 10.4 million customers.



• In DSL, Verizon added 148,000 net customers in Q4, ending the year with 1.79 million customers. A total of 62% of Verizon lines are now qualified for DSL. In Q4, Verizon deployed DSL to 250 remote terminals. The company said it would expand the remote terminal installations this year.
  Verizon said UNE-P competition was having a negative effect on its business. The number of UNE-P lines provided to competitors increased by 470,000 in Q4 to a total of 3,186,000. The majority of these lines are in Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey. Resale lines provided to competitors decreased slightly to 1,049,000.



• For 2002, Verizon's total debt was reduced by $10.2 billion to $54.1 billion, a 15.9% decrease.
  Verizon Wireless withdrew plans for an IPO


2003 Guidance, in brief, included the following:


• Revenue growth: 0 to 2%


• EPS: $2.70 to $2.80


• CAPEX (including software): $12.5 to $13.5 billion


• Net debt: $49 to $51 billion

http://www.verizon.com

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MPLS and Frame Relay Forums to Merge

The Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) Forum and the Frame Relay Forum (FRF) will merge. The combined organization will be known initially as the MPLS and Frame Relay Alliance. Andrew G. Malis, chairman and president of the MPLS Forum, said Frame Relay has enjoyed enormous success as an access protocol, and with the growth of MPLS in service provider core networks, the two have already demonstrated a natural synergy.
http://www.mplsforum.orghttp://www.frforum.com

• The MPLS Forum was formed in March 2000.



• The Frame Relay Forum was incorporated in May 1991.

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Topio Secures $10 Million for Disaster Recovery Solution

Topio, a start-up based in Santa Clara, California with R&D in Israel, raised $10 million in second round funding for its disaster recovery solutions. Topio's SANSafe enables system-wide consistent disaster recovery for heterogeneous SAN environments, storage subsystems, direct-attached storage, and storage virtualization schemes exploiting all networking environments, especially IP. The new funding came from Sigma Partners and Sequoia Capital. Topio's total funding to date is $13 million.
http://www.topio.com

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Australia's RBN Raises $11 Million for its WDM Equipment

RBN, a start-up based in San Francisco with R&D in Sydney, Australia, secured $11 million in series C funding for its carrier class optical transport and switching platforms for the outside plant. The company offers a WDM system that can be used in the central office, outside plant remote terminals and enterprise environments. Funding was provided by existing investors Allen & Buckeridge, Macquarie Technology Ventures, Optical Capital Group (OCG), Paecal Investments and Redfern Photonics. RBN has raised $40 million since its inception in February 1999.
http://www.rbni.com

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HelloSoft Raises $11 Million for Networking Protocol Layer Software

HelloSoft, a start-up based in San Jose, California, raised over $11 million in a Series A venture capital financing for its networking software solutions designed for networking OEMs and silicon vendors. HelloSoft licenses Physical Layer and Networking Protocol Layer software to companies developing 2.5G/3G Wireless, Wireless LAN, Voice-Over-Packet, Digital Subscriber Line and Bluetooth devices. The funding came from Venrock Associates, Sofinnova Ventures, Acer Technology Ventures, and JumpStartUp Venture Fund.
http://www.hellosoft.com

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Ixia Enhances Test Suite for L2/L3 VPNs, IPv6, MPLS Signaling and Multicast

Ixia added a number of routing protocols to its routing test suite, including support for IPv4 and IPv6 Routing (BGP, OSPF, ISIS, and RIP), MPLS Signaling protocols (LDP and RSVP-TE), L2 (Martini draft), VPLS (Lasserre draft), L3 (RFC 2547bis) VPNs, and Multicast protocols (IGMP, MLD, and PIM-SM). Ixia also highlighted its CPU-based traffic generation load modules, which feature a processor per port. These allow users to run multiple protocol emulations simultaneously on a single port. This unique feature enables the simulation of such intricate technologies as Layer 2 (L2) and Layer 3 (L3) VPNs.
http://www.ixiacom.com

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Gigabit Optics Launches Four Micro Devices for CWDM

Gigabit Optics, a start-up based in Sunnyvale, California, introduced four new products: Micro OADM, Micro OADM-1, Micro OADM-2 and 4-Channel CWDM Mux/Demux with express channel. The first product, the Micro OADM, is a compact single channel add or drop device for CWDM applications, which can be used for metro core, metro access and Enterprise CWDM systems. The Micro OADM-1 is a single channel add and drop device for CWDM applications, which enables add and drop capabilities of any single channel on a CWDM grid. The third product facilitates add and drop functionality on any two channels on a CWDM grid. The 4-Channel CWDM Mux/Demux is for OEMs who manufacture optical networking subsystems that want to monitor a channel, to upgrade a channel, or to further expand an existing system. Gigabit Optics' said its micro-optical platforms are achieved through the use of proprietary manufacturing technology.
http://www.gigabitoptics.com

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AT&T Launches Video Relay Service for Hearing Impaired

AT&T introduced a web-based service that enables deaf and hard of hearing people to communicate over the phone more easily by using American Sign Language (ASL). The AT&T Video Relay Service uses a webcam at the customer end to communicate with a nationally certified interpreter who relays the conversation over the phone in spoken language to the hearing party.
http://www.att.com/news/item/0,1847,11277,00.html

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AT&T Wireless Signs Wi-Fi Roaming with Wayport

AT&T Wireless signed a strategic Wi-Fi roaming agreement with Wayport, giving its subscribers access to hotspots in 475 hotels and 10 airports across the US. In addition to AT&T Wireless, Wayport's roaming partners include Boingo, iPass and GRIC.
http://www.wayport.net

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Brazil's Second Largest International Carrier Connects to ITXC

Intelig, Brazil's second largest international long distance carrier, began exchanging international voice traffic to and from Brazil over ITXC's global IP network. The international long distance wholesale business in Latin America is expected to grow from 1 billion minutes of use in 2001 to 15.4 billion minutes in 2007, according to a Frost & Sullivan study cited by ITXC.
http://www.itxc.com

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Alcatel Announces Reseller Deal with Axiom for DSL Management

Alcatel signed a three-year, global reseller agreement to sell, service and support Axiom's 5620 AXiOSS DSL Service Management (DSM) product globally. Axiom's platform covers three main functionalities: business process, inventory management and service activation. Alcatel said the agreement complements its existing "Alcatel Connected" partnerships in service assurance and billing.
http://www.alcatel.com
http://www.axiom-eu.com

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Marconi Adds Gigabit Ethernet Functionality to DSLAM

Marconi has added a Gigabit Ethernet (GigE) card and advanced IP capabilities to its Access Hub DSL platform. The functionality enables carriers to deliver VPN services to enterprises across their DSL networks. In addition, new services, such as a customized wholesale service with billing on a "per user" or "per call" basis can be developed. Marconi recently announced new multicasting and voice over DSL capabilities. Carriers deploying the Marconi Access Hub include Telecom Italia, Telkom South Africa and LDCOM.
http://www.marconi.com

• Marconi's Access Hub features a 32-line xDSL line card enabling up to 576 xDSL lines in a single shelf. The Access Hub, which supports up to 40 Gbps of bandwidth on the backplane, could also act as a wireless or fiber aggregation point.

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Foundry Networks Debuts Two Layer 2 Edge Switches

Foundry Networks introduced two new fixed-configuration Layer 2 edge switches for enterprise customers. These new switches offer 24 and 48 10/100 Ethernet ports along with two Gigabit Ethernet combo ports with integrated Gigabit copper or mini-GBIC slots for media expansion. The US list price is $2,195.
http://www.foundrynetworks.com

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Foundry Debuts 2nd Generation 10 GigE Interfaces, 36% Price Reduction Per Port

Foundry Networks introduced its second generation of 10 Gigabit Ethernet interface modules featuring double the density of its previous solution. The new two-port card uses Xenpak based hot-pluggable optical transceivers and is accompanied by a 36% price reduction per port. The new hot-pluggable optics include a choice of long reach for up to 10 kilometers and extended reach for up to 40 kilometers. Foundry Network said the modules could be used to deliver 40 Gbps trunks with cross module redundancy as well as full 20 Gbps local switching. For bandwidth intensive metropolitan area networks, Foundry builds in support for both Rapid STP (802.1w) and Metro Ring Protocol (MRP) protocols to offer SONET-like protection capabilities. The US list price for a two port 10 GigE Module without optics is $60,995. The US list price is $7,995 for the XENPAK-based long reach (LR) optic and $29,995 for the XENPAK-based extended reach (ER) optic.
http://www.foundrynetworks.com

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Sify Builds Tier-1 Backbone in India with Cisco

Sify, the largest network and e-Commerce company in India, and Cisco Systems declared Sify's IP backbone network infrastructure to be Tier 1 status, the first such designation in India, according to the companies. Sify has MPLS-enabled the network of Cisco GSRs for differentiated services, prioritizing voice, video or data transmission as required. The backbone reaches 54 POPs in India, representing an estimated 90% of the established PC base in the country.
http://www.sifycorp.com
http://www.cisco.com

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Deutsche Telekom Reports High Customer Growth for Mobiles and DSL

Deutsche Telekom released 2002 figures showing strong customer growth across all its major service segments. Some highlights:

• For 2002, the number of mobile customers served by Deutsche Telekom and its affiliates increased by more than 25% to almost 82 million. T-Mobile USA added more than one million subscribers in Q4 alone, giving it a total of 9.9 million.
• 
  As of 31-December-2002, Deutsche Telekom had sold over 3.1 million T-DSL lines, up by 41% or nearly a million subscribers in a year.
• 
  Demand for T-ISDN continued to grow. The number of channels in use in Germany increased from around 20.4 million to 22.4 million. In a corresponding development, the number of analogue lines in the German fixed network shrunk - primarily a reflection of the substitution effect and a trend that was also apparent in T-Com's Eastern European affiliates.
• 
  Deutsche Telekom's total number of telephone lines served (including ISDN channels) rose to 57.5 million, up from 56.9 million at the end of 2001.
• 
  The company's T-Online Internet service had 12.2 million users at the end of 2002, up from 10.7 a year earlier.

http://www.telekom.de

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China Netcom Selects Nortel Networks for National Optical Backbone

China Netcom selected Nortel Networks for a national optical transmission backbone. The contract covers the deployment of two long-haul optical rings. The first ring will link the cities of Shanghai, Nanjing, Hefei, Wuhan, Changsha, Guangzhou, Fuzhou and Hangzhou. The other ring is expected to connect the eastern cities of Shanghai, Nanjing, Wuhan, Xinyang, Jinan and Qingdao, and integrate with China Netcom's existing optical backbones in northern China. China Netcom will deploy Nortel Networks' 10Gbps OPTera Long Haul 1600 Optical Line System and OPTera Connect DX optical switch. In addition, China Netcom will deploy OPTera Connect HDX switches in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Wuhan. Financial terms were not disclosed.
http://www.nortelnetworks.com

• Nortel Networks noted that has announced more than 50 contracts for 10 Gbps and DWDM deployments in China.
• 
  Last year, China's State Council split up of China Telecom, China's largest fixed line operator with about 140 million subscribers, into two regional companies. China Netcom retained the assets in North China's Beijing and Tianjin municipalities, the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Hebei and Shanxi provinces, Northeast China's Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces, Central China's Henan Province and East China's Shandong Province. It also incorporated the facilities of China Jitong Network Communications Co Ltd.

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Defense Experts Investigate Collateral Damage from Microsoft Slammer Worm

The Washington Post reported that defense experts are investigating how last weekend's Microsoft "Slammer" worm managed to disrupt such vital services as ATM banking and the 911 emergency operations of two suburban police departments and at least 14 fire departments across the US and Canada. The article notes that Microsoft included the flawed code in some popular consumer products, including Office XP.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A53442-2003Jan28.html

• CNET reported that Microsoft was itself a victim of the Slammer worm, having failed to install the recommended security patches on its own servers. http://news.com.com/2100-1001-982305.html

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SBC Adds 245,000 DSL Accounts, but Loses 1.2 Million Access Lines in Q4

Citing a difficult environment marked by a struggling economy, a tough competitive market and an uneven regulatory landscape, SBC Communications reported Q4 revenues of $13.3 billion (including its Cingular Wireless share), down 5.3% from $14.0 billion in the year-ago period but up from the $12.8 billion in revenue reported for Q3 2002. For the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, 2002, SBC's reported earnings totaled $2.4 billion, or $0.71 per diluted share, compared with $1.2 billion, or $0.35 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of 2001. Total operating expenses declined 7.2% to $9.0 billion on a reported basis and 5.7% to $10.2 billion before special items and including proportionate results from Cingular. Some highlights from Q4:

• Added 245,000 DSL Internet subscribers, bringing its total to 2.2 million. DSL penetration is now above 10% for locations passed in California. SBC also noted a 50% decline in both acquisition and recurring costs for DSL since 2000.
• 
  Lost 1.2 million retail access lines, including 810,000 access lines provided to competitors under UNE-p rules. SBC now provides more than 5 million UNE-p lines. More than 90% of the new UNE-p lines were for consumers, and 46% of those were in California. More than 90% of the new UNE-p lines were for AT&T and WorldCom (MCI).
• 
  Wireline voice revenues for Q4 totaled $5.948 billion, down 9.0% from the year earlierOverall, data revenues (including e-services, integration and CPE sales) for Q4 totaled $2.382, down 3.4% from the year earlier. Data transport revenues grew 1.6% year-over-year and 1.7% sequentially.
• 
  Achieved 2.5% consumer retail line penetration within 19 business days after launching long-distance service in California. SBC ended the year with 6.1 million long-distance lines, a 25% increase from the end of 2001.
• 
  Cingular Wireless lost 121,000 subscribers in Q4, leaving it with a total of 21.9 million subscribers. Average revenue per user increased.
• 
  Reduced capital expenditures to $1.8 billion, down 42% from $3.1 billion in Q4 2001. For the full year, SBC reduced capital expenditures to $6.8 billion, a 39% decline from $11.2 billion in 2001
• 
  Reduced total debt, net of cash, by $4.7 billion during the quarter.
  

For its 2003 outlook, SBC noted the following trends and expectations:

• Continued negative access line trends, with long-distance entry in additional states and expansion of SBC's recently announced company-wide bundling initiative helping to slow the rate of decline as the year progresses.
• 
  Consistent long-distance growth, with entry in all remaining states
• 
  Solid DSL growth, with company-wide penetration of locations passed reaching 10% by the end of the year.
• 
  Modest growth in data transport revenues, limited by the weak economy and continued network cutbacks by wholesale customers
• 
  Capital expenditures of $5 billion - $6 billion, or 12 -14%, excluding Cingular Wireless. SBC said its CAPEX budget reflects "weak demand and the fact that current UNE-P prices do not allow a positive return on investment."
• 
  In addition, SBC has started to expense stock options.
  

http://www.sbc.com

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P-Com to Acquire Procera Networks

P-Com, a provider of point-to-point, spread spectrum, and point-to-multipoint broadband wireless products, announced plans to acquire privately held Procera Networks, which designs and builds Layer 7 switches that provide wire-speed routing, switching, flow metering and packet shaping. Procera's Layer 7 switch provides granular management of bandwidth and applications. The company is based in Sunnyvale, California. Financial terms were not disclosed. P-Com said microwave radio suppliers have traditionally handed off bandwidth management to specialized third party networking devices. With the Procera technology, P-Com's wireless solutions will be able to groom network traffic by prioritizing applications.
http://www.p-com.com
http://www.proceranetworks.com

• Earlier this month, P-Com and Telaxis mutually terminated their planned merger. The deal would have combined P-Com's point-to-point, spread spectrum, and point-to-multipoint broadband wireless products with Telaxis' FiberLeap products, which also provide wireless extensions for fiber networks.

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Nokia Confirms Readiness for CDMA2000 1xEV-DV Operator Trials in 2003

Nokia confirmed that it would ship a CDMA2000 chipset with DV modem functionality (IS-2000 Release C, also known as 1xEV-DV) for carrier field trials during the second half of 2003. The platform is aimed at CDMA operators upgrading their existing CDMA2000 1X (IS-2000 Release 0) networks. Nokia said it is currently in discussions with multiple CDMA stakeholders to cooperate in 1xEV-DV interoperability testing and field trials.
http://www.nokia.com

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Siemens Offers New SHDSL Business Gateway

Efficient Networks, a subsidiary of Siemens, introduced a small office gateway that combines an SHDSL modem, managed 8-port 10/100 Base-T switch, ICSA-certified firewall, VPN security appliance, integrated dial backup modem, and full featured router. The new SHDSL Business Gateway can operate in either 2-wire or 4-wire SHDSL mode, offering 30% increased reach over SDSL, as well as greater bandwidth -- 2.3 Mbps on a single copper pair (2-wire) and 4.6 Mbps using two copper pairs (4-wire). The gateway also includes autosense functionality facilitating a migration from 2-wire to 4-wire in a single device.
http://www.efficient.com

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Broadcom Sues Microtune Alleging Patent Infringement

Broadcom announced a lawsuit alleging that tuners, power amplifiers and Bluetooth products made by Texas-based Microtune infringe three Broadcom patents. Broadcom filed a separate lawsuit in July 2002 against Microtune alleging that solid-state RF tuner products made by Microtune infringe its patents.
http://www.broadcom.com

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EANTC Lab Certifies Alcatel 7770 IP/MPLS Router

The European Advanced Network Test Center (EANTC) in Berlin completed conformance testing according to ISO 9646 with the Alcatel 7770 IP/MPLS router for the signaling protocol RSVP-TE. The testing at EANTC was supported by Spirent Communications' Advanced Test Programs (ATP). Spirent's test suites, which were developed according to IETF RSVP-TE standard (RFC 3209) and according to the MPLS Forum draft standard, helped Alcatel achieve certification.
http://www.spirentcom.com
http://www.eantc.de

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Spirent and Juniper Team for Router-OSS Interoperability

Spirent Communications and Juniper Networks announced an interoperability alliance that matches Spirent's Perform performance-management and Sentry fault-management operations support systems (OSS) with Juniper Networks E-series routers for the network edge. The companies said their partnership addresses requirements from the market and Tier One service providers for a unified solution to support service rollout at the edge using Juniper Networks' E-1440 platform. The agreement supports carriers' migration to an ADM based architecture, and integration of their ADM access and MPLS IP core networks.
http://www.spirentcom.com

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Telica and VocalData Expand Alliance

VocalData and Telica completed interoperability testing between VocalData's IP telephony application server and Telica's Plexus 9000 switching platform. VocalData's VOISS platform allows carriers to deliver enhanced features and PBX capabilities. Telica's Plexus 9000 is a carrier-grade switch that includes elements of a softswitch-based solution, including a media gateway, media gateway controller and signaling gateway, to provide Class 4/5 switching for the PSTN as well as ATM and IP networks.
http://www.telica.com
http://www.vocaldata.com

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China Railcom Deploys Riverstone

Shanxi Railcom, a subsidiary of China Railcom, deployed Riverstone routers in three cities in Shanxi province: Taiyuan, Datong and Linfen. The Riverstone RS 8600 and RS 3000 routers are being used to groom raw bandwidth in China Railcom's nationwide CRNet backbone and deliver advanced VPN, voice and video services. Shanxi Railcom is also using Riverstone's ATM circuit extension technology in these metropolitan networks to connect its ATM access network with its fiber-rich CRNet backbone. China Railcom owns the network resources along China's railways.
http://www.riverstonenet.com

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Cisco Rolls Enhanced IP PBX for Mid-Sized Businesses

Cisco Systems launched an IP Communications program aimed at mid-market (50- to 1000-employee) companies. The program includes new features for the Cisco ICS 7750, which is an IP PBX that implements integrated voice gateway routing, call processing and business communications applications. The Cisco ICS 7750 now supports integrated Cisco Unity Unified Messaging 4.0, which enables users to manage their voicemail, e-mail and fax from a single device. The IP PBX also supports Cisco Customer Response Solution Software 3.0.
http://www.cisco.com

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Cisco Offers Automated QoS Solution for LANs and WANs

A new function has been added to Cisco IOS and the Cisco Catalyst Operating System to automate packet prioritization and delivery in LANs and WANs. The new AutoQoS feature is aimed at simplifying the implementation of IP QoS for the delivery of VoIP from the wiring closet, across large enterprise IP backbones, and for service-provider-managed services. AutoQoS automates critical elements of QoS deployment in classifying applications; generating policies; configuring; monitoring and reporting; and consistency. Cisco said the automated functionality would also increase network availability by reducing operator and configuration errors. CiscoWorks QoS Policy Manager is a centralized management tool that complements AutoQoS by using Cisco IOS Software and Cisco Catalyst OS QoS mechanisms to provide more information about the status of network operations by monitoring traffic.
http://www.cisco.com

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Half of Consumers Dissatisfied with Quality of Their Internet Service

In a study of 14,000 consumers' opinions of Internet service quality, the National Regulatory Research Institute (NRRI) found that half of all subscribers, regardless of connection type, complain about Internet service quality. Furthermore, satisfaction ratings for dialup connections may meet or exceed those for broadband. Survey respondents awarded their ISPs with an average letter grade of C+. Nearly half of those surveyed cited fewer service interruptions as a reason for switching providers. For those customers who would consider switching or definitely switch providers, the quality of Internet connections is the most frequently cited reason for a move. Other top motivators are faster data rates and lower prices. Less than 25 percent say the speed of their Internet connection meets their expectations.
http://www.nrri.ohio-state.edu

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Verizon Offers Flat-rate Local - Long Distance Calling

Verizon is offering residential customers the Veriations Freedom flat-rate plan of unlimited local and long-distance calling to all US states and territories and Canada, plus call-management features, such as voice mail, caller ID, call waiting. The plan will be available tomorrow in New Jersey and Pennsylvania at a price of $54.95. Veriations Freedom will be offered in New York, Massachusetts, Virginia and Florida in February. Customers can add DSL, dial-up Internet access and or wireless services at a discount.
http://www.verizon.com

• Verizon is the third largest provider of long-distance service in the United States.

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New Edge Networks Offers Layer 2 VPNs to Small Cities and Rural Areas

New Edge Networks began marketing Layer 2 VPN services over its 600 switch, national ATM network. Within New Edge Networks' coverage area, which includes more than 360 small and midsize cities in 29 states, the Layer 2 Private Network uses dedicated business-class DSL or T-1 connections. In locations outside this coverage area, New Edge Networks completes the Layer 2 Private Network using Frame Relay. New Edge Networks already offered Layer 3 VPNs.
http://www.newedgenetworks.com

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Cogent Offers 500 Kbps Fiber Service to Compete with DSL

Cogent Communications launched a 500 kbps, fiber-based Internet access service with a 99.99% reliability guarantee for $249 per month. Cogent is offering the "Fiber 500" service in 20 markets nationwide in the same buildings in which it provides its trademark service of 100 Mbps for $1,000 per month. Cogent-qualified office buildings typically contain 50 or more tenants, and are located in central business districts of large cities. Cogent said "it's tough to ask someone paying $300 per month for DSL bandwidth to jump to $1,000 per month for 100 Mbps, no matter how great of a deal that really is."http://www.cogentco.com

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SBC Expands Managed Services, Targets Medium Sized Businesses

SBC Communications launched a new managed services initiative to offer outsourced voice and data communications services to both large and medium sized companies. PremierSERV managed service solutions provide design, delivery and ongoing management of telecommunications services - including local, long distance, Internet, data transport, equipment and eServices - all with a single point of contact for network management. Equipment can be owned by SBC or the customer. PremierSERV solutions are available in the United States and internationally. Initial SBC PremierSERV options include ATM, Frame Relay, IP-VPN, Managed Remote Access Services, eServices, Video Services, Integrated Access Service, IP Telephony and Security Services. Later in the year, dedicated Internet access, Network-Based IP-VPN and optical services will be added.
http://www.sbc.com

• In November 2002, SBC Communications announced its national data transport strategy for delivering Frame Relay, ATM and Private Line services to business customers across the US. SBC's new standardized national data services will be introduced as the company gains regulatory approvals to enter specific markets. The company said that it anticipated completion of the national expansion phase of its data and IP network backbones by mid-2003, including a fully redundant OC-192 IP platform. SBC plans to serve customers in 50 of the nation's largest cities with a full range of data and IP services.
• 
  
  In December 2002, SBC Communications selected Cisco Systems' 12000 Series routers and MPLS technology for deployment in its new national 10 Gbps OC-192 backbone network.
• 
  
  SBC subsequently selected WilTel (formerly Williams) to provide 10 Gbps OC-192c transport for building out its national IP network.

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Supreme Court Rules Against FCC in NextWave Case

The US Supreme Court ruled that bankrupt NextWave does not have to forfeit wireless licenses that it had previously won at auction, despite the company's lack of payment. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) had tried to repossess the licenses. In a statement, FCC Chairman Michael Powell said that the FCC is in the process of examining all of the ramifications of the Court's decision and will faithfully implement the Court's mandate.
http://www.fcc.gov

• The decision ends five years of litigation over the licenses. NextWave said it would move as quickly as possible to complete its capital reorganization and put the spectrum into use.

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Sprint Debuts Layer 2 Services over IP

Sprint introduced three new services based on Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol Version 3 (L2TPv3): SprintLink Frame Relay, SprintLink Packet Private Line and SprintLink Virtual LAN Services. L2TPv3 supports IP encapsulation of numerous Layer 2 protocols and provides authenticated tunneling to allow Layer 2 traffic to securely traverse a native IP core. Sprint has implemented L2TPv3 across its entire IP network without having to re-engineer the network or change its architecture. The capability is supported in Cisco IOS. In the new Frame Relay service the packets ride over the SprintLink native IP core, versus a statically switched ATM network. Sprint said the service offers high reliability, consistent bursting up to full port speed and security equal to that of the legacy Frame Relay service. The SprintLink Packet Private Line is provisioned completely over Sprint-owned backbone facilities and seals a customer's data traffic within an L2TPv3 tunnel, securely "locking" the traffic between two ports. Because it uses the IP backbone, customers would not need to build out route diversity in their private line networks. Finally, the SprintLink Virtual LAN Services enables customers to connect disparate sites running the 802.1Q Ethernet VLAN protocol.
http://www.sprint.com

• Sprint was one of the first carriers to deploy Cisco 12000 Series routers into its IP backbone, launching the world's first OC-12 packet-over-SONET (POS) IP network.
• 
  
  In March 2002, Cisco Systems outlined its Unified VPN Suite, offering a new set of Layer 2 and Layer 3 VPN capabilities across its core and access product portfolio. Key features of Cisco's Unified VPN Suite included:

• 
  

  support
  for Any Transport over MPLS (AToM), to provide transport of Layer
  2 services across a MPLS core network. Cisco's AToM solution,
  which is based on the IETF ‘martini draft,' initially supports
  Ethernet over MPLS (EoMPLS), ATM AAL5, ATM Cell Relay, Frame
  Relay, PPP, and HDLC over MPLS. Packet over SONET (PoS) will be
  available later.
  
  



• 
  

  support
  for a new Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol version 3 (L2TPv3), which
  enables transport of Layer 2 access over native IP backbones.
  L2TPv3 is based on optimized extensions to the underlying L2TP
  standard and includes signaling enhancements, a new encapsulation
  header, and a protocol identifier to support the end-to-end
  transportation of multiple Layer 2 protocols
  
  

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Microsoft SQL Slammer Worm Disrupts Internet Traffic

A quickly spreading worm attacked Microsoft SQL servers beginning at 0530 GMT on Saturday, significantly disrupting Internet traffic. Although the "Slammer" worm did not carry a destructive payload and only attacked vulnerable Microsoft SQL servers, ISPs reported a dramatic increase in network traffic and associated problems with latency and packet loss. South Korea appeared to have been the hardest hit by the worm, where the networks of Korea Telecom, Hanaro and Dacoom were significantly degraded during the attack. Microsoft said servers running the latest Service Pack 3 for Sequel 2000 were unaffected. Microsoft advised administrators to install the latest patch immediately. Network equipment manufacturers, including Cisco Systems, posted technical advisories warning that the vulnerability potentially could affect other network systems that run on Microsoft operating systems with unpatched versions of SQL Server 2000. Such systems could include IP call managers, converged communications servers, email servers and broadband service managers.
http://www.cert.orghttp://www.cisco.com

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Key3Media Sells Voice-on-Net (VON) Conference Back to Pulver.com

Key3Media has sold its Voice on the Net (VON) conference events back to pulver.com. It originally purchased the industry event from pulver.com in September 2001. Financial terms were not disclosed.
http://www.key3media.com

• Spring 2003 VON will be taking place March 31st - April 3rd in San Jose. The conference focuses on the convergence of the telecom and Internet industries. http://pulver.com/von

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Level 3 Gains Court Approval for Acquisition of Genuity

A bankruptcy court approved Level 3 Communications' planned acquisition of Genuity. The deal is expected to close in February. In addition, Genuity announced plans to reduce its employee headcount by 700 to 800 from its current 2,300-person work force.
http://www.genuity.com
http://www.level3.com

• In November, Level 3 Communications agreed to acquire substantially all of Genuity's assets and operations for $242 million. The acquisition requires Genuity to file for Chapter 11 protection and then to gain the approval of the bankruptcy court. Other qualified bidders could have submitted better offers for the assets during the court process.

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Marconi Reports Slightly Lower Sales, Progress in its Restructuring

Marconi said that despite slightly lower sales revenues during the last fiscal quarter its key financial performance measures improved. Based on preliminary data, the company's core sales for the period ending 31-December-2002 were £456 million, a sequential decline of 5%. Marconi also noted continued progress and some delays in its ongoing financial restructuring, which it now anticipates will be implemented in April. Some other highlights:

• Marconi's 10 largest customers during the quarter were (alphabetical order): BellSouth, BT, Ericsson, Metro City Carriers, Telecom Italia, Telkom South Africa, UK Government, US Federal Government, Verizon and Vodafone Group. In aggregate, these customers accounted for 46% of core sales (previous quarter: ten largest customers equaled 48%). BT remains Marconi's largest customer and accounted for 19% of core sales in the quarter (same as previous quarter).
• 
  
  As of the end of December 2002, Marconi had just over 16,000 employees, down by approximately 3,000 since the end of September 2002. The company plans to eliminate a further 1,400 positions in the coming months. Once it has achieved its targeted cost structure, Marconi expects to employ around 14,000 people.

As of the end of December 2002, Marconi's net debt amounted to £2.8 billion, comprised of £3.9 billion of gross financial debt offset by £1.1 billion in cash.http://www.marconi.com

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STMicroelectronics Offers High-output Op Amps for xDSL

STMicroelectronics introduced a pair of wide-band operational amplifiers that have the high output current necessary for driving xDSL line interfaces and multiple video lines. The devices can be configured for differentially to drive signals in telecommunication systems using multiple carriers.
http://www.st.com

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Korea Telecom Tests ArrayComm's Wireless Broadband System

KT (Korea Telecom) completed the first phase of tests of ArrayCom's i-BURST broadband wireless system. ArrayComm uses spatial processing software and smart antennas to deliver data rates of up to 40 Mbps per cell, which could be shared between many simultaneous users at user data rates in excess of 1 Mbps in a fully loaded system. The South Korean field trials, which took place over several months, measured the system's data speed, range, scalability, capacity, and interoperability with Wi-Fi services. KT is planning a new wireless Internet business in the 2.3 GHz frequency band to complement its wireless LAN-based Nespot service. Technical achievements in the trials included proven, consistent individual data rates of 1 Mbps and 10 Mbps of total throughput in only 2.5 MHz of spectrum. KT and ArrayComm also showed seamless handoff between wireless LAN "Wi-Fi" coverage and wide area i-BURST coverage, as well as smooth interoperability with KT's Nespot VoIP commercial service. The next phase of testing will evaluate the i-BURST system's service capabilities using multiple cell sites in a dense urban environment.
http://www.arraycomm.com

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Cisco Systems to Acquire Okena for Network Security Software

Cisco Systems agreed to acquire Okena, a network security start-up based in Waltham, Massachusetts, for approximately $154 million in Cisco common stock. Okena's network security software provides threat protection for desktop and server computing systems by intercepting all operating system, file system, configuration, registry, and network requests, preventing malicious activity from occurring. The behavior-based security software aggregates and extends multiple endpoint security functions, such as Host-based Intrusion Detection (HIDS), distributed firewall, malicious code protection and operating system lockdown. The software is complementary to desktop anti-virus software. Cisco said the acquisition enhances its security portfolio of network-integrated solutions and appliances for Virtual Private Networks (VPN), firewalling, intrusion protection, and security management. Okena has 52 employees.
http://www.okena.com

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European Regulators Meet to Set EU Telecom Agenda for 2003

The European Regulators Group (ERG) met in Amsterdam last week to set the 2003 agenda for telecom legislation within the European Commission. Priority will be given to those issues related to the new regulatory framework that needs to be transposed into national laws by the end of July 2003. The ERG said the implementation of effective competition for local services is a clear priority. Other top items on the work agenda include:

• Termination tariffs for mobile traffic
• 
  
  International roaming policies for mobile service
• 
  
  Broadband access -- the ERG intends to carry out a comparison of the regulatory policies at the national level and decide whether a common perspective/practice/initiative would be necessary and possible..
• 
  
  Unbundling the local loop -- the ERG noted that while there has been improvement in the regulatory situation in EU member states, it needs to continue to monitor effective implementation of ULL and will react to any needs in the market place. Special attention will be drawn to the application of cost-orientation and the principle of non-discrimination in that respect.
• 
  
  Leased Lines or wholesale lines for competitive carriers -- prices and delivery times of leased lines, including interconnection leased lines, are recurrent issues at the EU level. The European Commission as well as Industry and Users associations, have focused a major part of their work on this area. During 2002, many regulators have adopted regulatory measures to ensure proper wholesale offers for leased lines, in some cases including interconnection of leased lines, in the reference interconnection offers. Service level agreements and penalties in case of delays in deliveries have also been adopted. ERG will monitor effective application of adopted measures and assess non-discrimination and cost-orientation.
• 
  
  Telecom accounting -- the ERG will examine the various accounting methods applied across Europe and develop a common policy if needed.
• 
  
  Universal service, network security and continuity of operations: -- Several cases across the EU have shown that continuity and security is of the utmost importance for consumers, as well as for competing operators. On a national level, different approaches exist to handle this issue. The European Commission has asked the ERG to analyze these different approaches and advise the Commission on a standard procedure to be applied in these circumstances.
• 
  
  Infrastructure Sharing and Spectrum Trading -- issues regarding network infrastructure and spectrum sharing amongst operators (notably for UMTS-networks).
• http://europa.eu.int

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Alcatel Optronics Launches SDH/SONET DWDM Receiver

Alcatel Optronics introduced a new SDH/ SONET DWDM 2R receiver for metro and long haul networks. The Alcatel 1926 SDH Rx 2R is a 2R (Re-amplification/Re-shaping) receiver that contains an in-house detector integrated with a preamplifier ASIC. It operates at rates from 100 Mbps to 2.7 Gbps and complies with the STM-16/OC-48 transmitter and receiver multi-source agreement.
http://www.alcatel.com

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Wind River and Motion Media Develop Internet Videophone

Wind River supplied its VxWorks real time operating system for an Internet videophone developed by UK-based Motion Media Technology. The companies said the new IP-based videophone has more processing power than a PC, and will initially support data rates of between 128 kbps and 2 Mbps, extending to 10 Mbps in the future. The processing power reduces the delays normally associated with compressing, transmitting and decompressing video and audio streams. Motion Media claims its device can set-up video calls in only ten seconds, taking less time than making a 384K ISDN call where the typical call set-up time is around 30 seconds. The videophone is compatible with other H.323-based videoconferencing equipment, multi-point conferencing systems and network hardware like gateways and gatekeepers.
http://www.windriver.com
http://www.motion-media.com/

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Mexico's Iusacell Launches CDMA2000 1X Voice/Data Service with Lucent

Grupo Iusacell launched the first CDMA2000 1X voice and data network in Mexico. Lucent Technologies delivered a CDMA2000 1X network upgrade that significantly increased the voice capacity of the network while enabling data access at speeds of up to 144 kbps. Lucent upgraded Iusacell's existing Lucent-supplied base stations with CDMA2000 1X channel cards and software, and also provided software upgrades for Iusacell's mobile switching centers. It also supplied its NavisRadius authentication, authorization and accounting server.
http://www.lucent.com
http://www.iusacell.com.mx/

• Grupo Iusacell is a subsidiary of Verizon Communications. In November 2002, Iusacell retained Morgan Stanley in an effort to restructure its existing debt.

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India's VSNL to Deploy Alcatel 1000 MM Switching Systems

Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd (VSNL), an Indian service provider, will deploy Alcatel 1000 MM switching systems and associated network management solutions. In the first phase, Alcatel's switching systems will be deployed in seven locations across the country, enabling 60,000 additional trunk lines, thereby doubling the existing capacity of its network. Financial terms were not disclosed.
http://www.alcatel.com

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PMC-Sierra Reports Q4 Revenue of $52.6 million, Cost Cuts

PMC-Sierra announced net revenues of $52.6 million and a pro forma net loss per share of $0.06 for the fourth quarter of 2002. Net revenues decreased 12% compared to $59.6 million recorded in the preceding quarter but increased 11% compared to Q4 2001. PMC-Sierra is undertaking a corporate restructuring that will reduce its employee headcount by 16%. The company had 1,099 employees at the end of 2002. PMC-Sierra said it planned to increase its investments in enterprise, storage, MIPS-based processors, and system-on-a-chip design capabilities.
http://www.pmc-sierra.com

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Agere Reports Flat Revenues and Flat Outlook for 2003

Agere Systems reported quarterly revenue of $436 million, down 2% compared with revenues of $445 million in the year-ago quarter and down from $491 million in the preceding quarter. The reported net loss for the December quarter was $146 million or $0.09 per share. Agere said its major restructuring efforts are either completed or well underway. The company has now completed the disposition of its optoelectronic components business. The outlook for the current quarter is also for flat revenues. For fiscal year 2003, the Agere expects revenues to be about $1.85 billion, consistent with the guidance provided in October.
http://www.agere.com

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Nortel Networks Says Business has Stabilized, Expensing of Stock Options to Begin

Nortel Networks said its overall revenues were up sequentially across all of its lines of business and geographic regions during Q4. The company said its fundamental business model has stabilized and that it ended the year with a cash balance of approximately US$4.1 billion. It expects to achieve pro forma profitability by Q2 2003. Nortel also expects to have 36,000 employees at the end of Q1 2003 and believes its series of staff reductions is nearing an end. Overall, Q4 revenues from continuing operations were US$2.52 billion, compared to US$3.46 billion in the same period in 2001. There was a net loss for Q4 of US$248 million, or US$0.06 per common share. As for its outlook in 2003, Nortel Networks expects the overall telecommunications equipment market to be down modestly compared to 2002. In addition, Nortel Network has adopted a policy of fair value accounting for stock options. As a result, all stock option grants in 2003 and beyond will be expensed over the stock option vesting period based on the fair value at the date the options are granted.
http://www.nortelnetworks.com

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Broadcom Reports Sixth Quarter of Revenue Growth

Broadcom reported its sixth consecutive quarter of revenue growth. Net revenue for Q4 2002 was $295.9 million, up 2.1% over the previous quarter and up 30.5% from Q4 2001. Net loss for the quarter (GAAP) was $1.76 billion, or $6.40 per share. Pro forma non-GAAP net loss for the fourth quarter of 2002 was $6.6 million, or $.02 per share. The GAAP results included a non-cash goodwill impairment charge of $1.24 billion. Broadcom also recorded restructuring charges of $87.8 million to cover the costs of reduction of facilities and employee severance arrangements.
http://www.broadcom.com

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Broadcom Announces Resignation of Nicholas as CEO

Dr. Henry T. Nicholas III resigned his positions as President and CEO of Broadcom. He agreed to serve out his current term as Co-Chairman of the Board of Directors. After more than a decade at Broadcom, Nicholas said he would take time off to attend to serious family matters. He also noted that Broadcom had weathered "the worst economic downturn in the history of our industry." Alan E. "Lanny" Ross, the company's current COO, will assume Nicholas' positions until a permanent replacement is named.

In addition, Broadcom named four new vice presidents to serve as general managers. The appointments include three vice presidents whose businesses address distinct market segments, plus a new vice president to lead the company's Broadband Communications Business Unit. The appointments are:

Client Server Networking Business Unit, Thomas F. Lagatta
Network Infrastructure Business Unit, Robert A. Rango
Switching and Security Business Unit, Ford G. Tamer
Broadband Communications Business Unit, Daniel A. Marottahttp://www.broadcom.com

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MFN Sells Single Phoenix Conduit to AGL Networks

Metromedia Fiber Network sold a single conduit in portions of its Phoenix, Arizona network to AGL Networks. A remaining conduit will stay under the ownership and operation of MFN and the company will continue it business of leasing dark fiber to enterprise and carrier customers. MFN said that despite the sale, it remains the only licensed dark fiber provider in the Phoenix area. Financial terms were not disclosed.
http://www.mfn.com

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MFN Sells its Operations in France and the Netherlands

Metromedia Fiber Network (MFN) has sold its operations in France and the Netherlands to management buyout teams, and its metropolitan fiber network in four Dutch cities to Global Voice Network Limited. MFN and its Dutch subsidiary will retain ownership of the IP network and continue to provide IP services to the management buy-out teams for resale to their customers, as well as to the Company's global customers with a presence in France and the Netherlands. Financial terms were not disclosed. As part of its ongoing European strategy, MFN will continue to operate its data centers in London, Frankfurt and Vienna, and its metropolitan area networks in London and Germany.
http://www.mfn.com

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Vonage Signs its 10,000th Digital Telephone Subscriber

Vonage, a provider of digital telephone service, signed on its 10,000th customer. Vonage said it has completed over seven million calls across its SIP network since launching the service ten months ago. The service connects standard telephones via a broadband connection. Several flat rate pricing plans are offered.
http://www.vonage.com

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3Com and Infineon Settle Ethernet-over-DSL Dispute

3Com and Infineon Technologies AG announced a settlement in their intellectual property dispute concerning Ethernet over DSL. Under the agreement, 3Com assigns rights to certain patents to Infineon in exchange for an undisclosed fee and a portion of future royalties earned through licensing the patents. Infineon's Packet-over-VDSL (PoVDSL) and 10BaseS chips incorporate the technology protected by these patents. Engineers from Savan, an Israeli start-up acquired by Infineon, were assisted by 3Com engineers when they developed the technology protected by these patents.
http://www.3com.com
http://www.infineon.com

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Nortel Networks and CIENA Reach Settlement

Nortel Networks and CIENA reached a settlement in the pending lawsuit originally brought by Nortel Networks in March 2000 against ONI Systems alleging patent infringement and misappropriation of trade secrets. Ciena subsequently acquired ONI. As part of the settlement, Nortel Networks grants CIENA a license under certain patents in exchange for a $25 million one-time payment. The companies further agreed not to sue each other for patent infringement for two years, during which time they will seek to negotiate a cross-license arrangement.
http://www.nortelnetworks.com
http://www.ciena.com

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BellSouth Passes 1 Million DSL Subscribers, But Reports 3.2% Access Line Loss in 2002

Citing weak demand for communications services, both in the United States and Latin America, BellSouth reported Q4 consolidated revenues (excluding Cingular Wireless) of $5.69 billion, compared to $6.21 billion in Q4 2001. The company's reported earnings per share were $0.32. Operating free cash flow (defined as cash flow from operations less capital expenditures) was $791 million in Q4. BellSouth said bankruptcies continued to affect retail and wholesale demand, as well as bad debt expense. Other negative factors included retail access line market share loss in the US, as well as currency devaluations in Argentina and Venezuela. Some other highlights of the report:

• Free cash flow generated through operations, a reduction in capital expenditures and asset sales enabled BellSouth to reduce its debt by 23.6% in 2002 to $14.9 billion, compared to $19.5 billion a year earlier.




• Capital expenditures for 2002 were $3.8 billion, a reduction of 36.9% compared to $6.0 billion in 2001.




• BellSouth added 97,000 DSL accounts in Q4, giving it a total of 1,021,000 broadband customers.




• As of 31-December-2002, BellSouth had 24.6 million access lines in service, a decline of 3.2% compared to a year earlier.




• UNE-P access lines served by competitors increased by 190,000 in Q4.




• In long distance, BellSouth continued to make gains. As of year-end, it was serving more than 1 million consumer and business long distance customers.




• BellSouth also announced it will expense stock options granted to employees after January 1, 2003

http://www.bellsouth.com

• In December 2002, Verizon Communications announced that it would expense of employee stock options granted on or after January 1, 2003.

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Microsoft to Acquire PlaceWare, a Web Conferencing Service Provider

Microsoft plans to acquire PlaceWare, a provider of Web conferencing services. The PlaceWare service is aimed at businesses wishing to conduct real-time, interactive presentations and meetings over the Internet. The service currently supports large-scale meetings with up to thousands of attendees. Financial terms were not disclosed. Microsoft said it intends to make PlaceWare a part of its new Real Time Collaboration Group, which will offer online business communication tools and services. The newly formed group will be led by Anoop Gupta, who has been part of Microsoft Research for five years and has recently been serving as Bill Gates' technical advisor.
http://www.microsoft.com
http://www.placeware.com

• PlaceWare got its start in 1990 at Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) initially as a multi-user game known as LambdaMOO. The technology later became the foundation for a collaborative computing system for the U.S. Department of Defense.

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AT&T Sees Continued LD Decline, No Turn Around Yet

AT&T said it has yet to see a turn around in overall corporate telecommunications spending and does not expect a significant improvement this year. The company reported Q4 2002 revenue of $9.3 billion, a decline of 8.6% from the year-ago quarter. There was a loss per diluted share from continuing operations of $0.79. AT&T attributed the revenue decline to continued pricing pressure in long distance voice services. Other negative factors included charges for its past investment in AT&T Latin America, special charges for layoffs, and a write-down of its DSL network due to the recent outsourcing agreement with Covad. These declines were partially offset by the disposition of AT&T Broadband and growth in local voice as well as data/IP and managed services. Some highlights of the report:

• Full-year 2002 revenue was $37.8 billion, a decline of 10.4% from the previous year. AT&T Business recorded Q4 revenue of $6.6 billion, down 3.0%. Long distance volume growth of 7% was offset by price declines, leading to an overall decline in long distance voice revenue of 10% in the quarter. Local voice revenue grew more than 25% in the quarter.




• AT&T said UNE-P remains an important means of reaching small business customers and now accounts for more than 15% of its total access lines. The company added more than 180,000 local access lines in Q4, for a total of 3.6 million business local access lines at year-end.




• Ten of AT&T's all-time highest traffic days for long distance voice occurred in 2002 (excluding the week of 11-September-2001).




• Data/IP/Managed services revenue, including customer premises equipment sales, grew about 3% in the quarter. Packet service revenues (Frame Relay, ATM and IP) increased 16% in Q4 compared to the same quarter in 2001 - this was led by roughly 20% growth in IP. Managed services felt the effect of weak IT spending and grew by 6% in the quarter. Managed hosting grew by more than 20% for the year. AT&T said it is seeing stabilized pricing trends in its data business, particularly with Frame Relay, where price increases held during the quarter.




• Earlier this week, AT&T crossed over the 1,000 Terabyte per day traffic threshold on its IP network




• AT&T Business expects a slower rate of revenue decline in 2003 compared to 2002.




• AT&T Consumer recorded Q4 revenue $2.7 billion, down 20% from a year ago. AT&T Consumer expects the 2003 rate of revenue decline to be slightly less than the decline in 2002.




• AT&T said it is hopeful that UNE-P will remain available as a vehicle to kick start local competition.




• AT&T expects capital expenditures for 2003 to be approximately $3.3 to $3.5 billion. CAPEX spending was $3.9 billion in 2002, down 31% compared to $5.6 billion in 2001.



Separately, AT&T offered to repurchase for cash up to $4.3 billion of debt (6.375% Notes due March 15, 2004 and 6.50% Notes due March 15, 2013).

A webcast of AT&T's quarterly conference call is archived online.
http://www.att.com/
• Earlier this month, AT&T announced $1.1 billion in special charges for Q4 2002 associated with its past investment in AT&T Latin America. The company also announced a pre-tax restructuring charge of approximately $240 million in its Q4 2002 financial results to cover the costs of approximately 3,500 planned employee separations.

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Cisco Files Lawsuit Against Huawei Technologies

Cisco Systems filed a lawsuit against Huawei Technologies and its subsidiaries Huawei America and FutureWei Technologies alleging unlawful copying of Cisco's intellectual property. In particular, the suit alleges that Huawei unlawfully copied and misappropriated Cisco's IOS software, including source code, copied Cisco documentation and other copyrighted materials, and infringed numerous Cisco patents. Cisco claims that Huawei's operating system contains a number of text strings, file names, and even bugs that are identical to those found in Cisco's IOS source code. The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. Cisco also served a cease and desist letter on Spot Distribution, a Huawei distributor located in the UK. A copy of the complaint is posted online.
http://www.cisco.com
http://www.huawei.com/

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Sonus Networks Reports Q4 Revenue of $12.7 Million

Sonus Networks reported quarterly revenue of $12.7 million compared with $38.9 million in the same period last year and $7.4 million in the prior quarter. Net loss for Q4 2002 was $12.8 million or $0.07 per share. Revenues for fiscal year 2002 were $62.6 million compared with $173.2 million for fiscal year 2001. The company cited progress in returning to business fundamentals in Q4.
http://www.sonusnet.com

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Tellabs Reports Q4 Sales Of $313 Million, Up 9%

Tellabs reported quarterly revenue of $313 million, up 9% sequentially. Including special charges, there was a net loss of $84.5 million or $0.21 per share for the quarter. Excluding these charges, Tellabs recorded a pro forma net loss of $10.2 million or $0.02 per share. The company said all of its product groups delivered higher sequential sales, with a record 37% of sales coming from international customers. Globally, new products accounted for 14% of sales, up from 9% in the previous quarter.
http://www.tellabs.com

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Lucent Reports $2 Billion in Q4 Revenue, Comments on Cisco Deal, Upcoming UNE Decision

Lucent reported quarterly revenues of $2.08 billion, a 9% sequential decline from the prior quarter and down from $3.58 billion in revenues in the year-ago quarter. The figure was in-line with previous guidance. The net loss for the quarter was $264 million or $0.11 per share. While not forecasting an improvement in the overall market, Lucent continues to expect an increase in its revenues to about $2.5 billion in the current quarter. The company has announced 20 new contracts over the past 3 months representing close to $1.5 billion in revenues.
http://www.lucent.com

• A webcast of Lucent's quarterly investor conference call is online. http://www.lucent.com/investor/conference/webcast



• The results represent Lucent's 11th consecutive quarterly loss.



• Lucent is planning for about a 20% year-over-year revenue decline for 2003, although it is targeting sequential improvements in its bottom line and a return to profitability by the end of fiscal 2003. The company anticipates having over $2 billion in cash at the end of fiscal 2003.



• Lucent expects to end fiscal 2003 with 35,000 employees.



• Regarding the recent decision to resell Cisco's equipment to mobile service providers, company CEO Patricia Russo said Lucent is not moving away from the data networking market. She said the partnership with Cisco was driven by the need to provide “a total integrated solution�? to its customers as they evolve their networks for packet services. She said Lucent continues to invest in developing new data networking equipment, notably an MPLS upgrade for its ATM switches. Russo also noted that Lucent is looking for an equipment partner for the IP core and remains “absolutely committed�? to the multiservice edge.



• Regarding an upcoming decision from the FCC on Unbundled Network Elements (UNEs), Russo said regulatory clarity would enable major service providers to better plan their capital expenditures. She said comments from Lucent's major service provider customers indicate that a “favorable�? FCC decision would lead them to increase their spending plans. However, Russo said Lucent had not factored the FCC's upcoming decision into its financial planning.

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Shoreline Secures $10.75 Million for its IP-PBXs

Shoreline Communications, a start-up based in Mountain View, California, secured an additional $10.75 million of financing for its enterprise-class IP PBX systems. The company, which has been shipping IP PBXs since October 1998, said "the VoIP market is clearly taking off and Shoreline is growing even faster than the market with a 70% revenue increase from Q1 to Q4 2002." Previous investors participated in this round, including Crosspoint Venture Partners, Lehman Brothers, Foundation Capital, JP Morgan and FocusVentures. In addition, Kathryn Gould, general partner at Foundation Capital, has joined Shoreline's Board of Directors.
http://www.goshoreline.com

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AOMEMS Announces New 8 X 8 Optical Broadcast Switch

Advanced Optical MEMS, a start-up based in Irvine, California, introduced an 8 x 8 opto-mechanical switch that can be configured as a broadcast switch, a crossconnect or a protection switch. Target applications include SANs, Video On Demand (VOD) and distributed data processing.
http://www.aomems.net

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Cisco Supplies Converged Network to Canadian City

The City of Mississauga in Ontario, Canada has deployed a converged voice-data network that is expected to deliver up to $700,000 in annual savings. The $3.3 million dollar network, which is described as the largest municipal IP telephony system in Canada, will feature 2,300 Cisco IP phones at more than 60 municipal buildings throughout the city. The transition to IP telephony, which began in June 2002, is scheduled to be complete by late spring 2003.
http://www.cisco.com

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Telia's Viking Network transmits Polish TV to USA

Telia International Carrier began carrying Polish TV programming across the Atlantic using its SDH network. The Polish broadcaster and its American affiliate chose the fiber solution over conventional satellite relay.
http://www.telia.se

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RAD and Axerra Work Toward TDM over IP

RAD Data Communications and Axerra Networks successfully tested RAD's IPmux-1 customer located TDM over IP Gateway and the AXN Multiservice IP Concentrator with Circuit Emulation Service over IP support. The demonstration included both fractional E1/T1 as well as unframed E1/T1 traffic, replicating the source clock originating at the Central Office. The joint solution would enable users to migrate legacy voice, video, and data traffic, as well as LAN, over large, complex Ethernet/IP networks.
http://www.axerranetworks.com
http://www.rad.com

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Neralink Networks Develops Ethernet over SONET/SDH System

Neralink Networks, a start-up based in Herzelia, Israel, introduced an Ethernet over SONET/SDH edge platform. The Neralink MSU-300 resizes SONET/SDH channels to more efficiently transport data, enabling carriers to support up to five times more traffic on their networks without stranded bandwidth or the added cost of an overlay network. The compact unit supports native Ethernet and E1/T1/J1 TDM services. Neralink Networks said it is negotiating its first $1.8 million OEM contract for the second half of 2003. The company is looking for two more OEM distributors.
http://www.neralink.com

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MetaSwitch Converges Telco and Cable VoIP for Rural Incumbent

New Knoxville Telephone, an incumbent service provider in rural Ohio, selected MetaSwitch's VP3500 Next Generation Class 5 Switch to provide local dial-tone services to subscribers of its Cable TV and CLEC subsidiaries. The Metaswitch switching platform will be used to natively terminate VoIP, VoATM and TDM calls originating on traditional telco and cable access networks. The MetaSwitch VP3500 platform integrates softswitch, media and signaling gateway components. In the telephony access network, legacy POTS is delivered via an AFC UMC1000 DLC, with broadband voice over DSL and T1 access lines using the ATM Forum Broadband Loop Emulation Service (BLES) standard. In the cable access network, subscribers are supported over a HFC network, using CableLabs' Network-based Call Signaling (NCS) for VoIP. Financial terms were not disclosed.
http://www.metaswitch.com

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Cox Installs SupportSoft to Remotely Diagnose Customer Broadband Trouble

Cox Communications has deployed SupportSoft's software to 1,200 of its customer service agents. The software enables Cox analysts to connect directly to a customer's computer with their permission and diagnose problems in real-time. The company claims a 90% resolution rate for assisted-service calls using SupportSoft technology.
http://www.support.com

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GlobespanVirata Supports 16 Mbps ADSL Rates

GlobespanVirata began sampling a new ADSL CPE chipset with G.Span extended rate and reach technology capable of 16 Mbps rates with 30% greater reach over existing high-speed ADSL solutions. GlobespanVirata said its new Argon III Plus chipset with G.Span addresses all existing worldwide standards and is fully upgradeable to the new ITU ADSL2 and ADSL+ standards.
http://www.globespanvirata.com

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UK Opens 5 GHz Spectrum for WLAN Use

The government of the UK will open more spectrum for unlicensed use in wireless hotspots. The deregulation will allow commercial network operators and other public and private users to set up Radio Local Area Networks (RLANs) to operate in parts of the 5 GHz radio spectrum. The changes will come into effect on 12-February-2003. A similar deregulation of the radio spectrum at 2.4 GHz was made in June 2002.
http://www.radio.gov.uk

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Digital Teleport Expects Multiple Bids for its Regional Fiber Network

Digital Teleport received bankruptcy court approval to proceed with an auction of its regional fiber network. Digital Teleport provides wholesale optical transport and Ethernet services in secondary and tertiary markets in the Midwest to national and regional carriers. The company has already received a definitive $38 million bid from CenturyTel, the eighth largest incumbent carrier in the US based on the number of access lines. Digital Teleport filed is Chapter 11 paper on 31-December-2001.
http://www.digitalteleport.com

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Birch Telecom and Ionex to Merge, $40 Million in New Funding

Birch Telecom and Ionex Telecom announced plans to merge, creating one of the largest CLECs in the southern and central US. Birch Telecom offers local and long-distance telephone service across 10 states. Ionex is a privately owned integrated communications provider serving small to medium-sized business customers in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri. The combined company will serve over 500,000 telephone lines, heavily concentrated in Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas, and generate $350 million in annual revenues. The new company will use the Birch Telecom name. As part of the deal, an investment group led by Gilbert Global Equity Partners, AEA Investors, Veronis Suhler Stevenson LLC and Texas Growth Fund -- the major backers of Ionex -- will provide over $40 million in equity funding.
http://www.ionex.com
http://www.birch.com

• In September-2002, Birch Telecom completed the reorganization of its debt and emerged from bankruptcy, just two months after filing for Chapter 11. Under the reorganization, bank lenders cut their debt in half to about $100 million and received 80% of the company's equity. Bondholders exchanged all their debt -- about $133 million -- for a 20% stake in the company.



• Birch Telecom was formed in 1997 as one of the first CLECs certified in the Midwest to provide competitive local phone service. Birch Telecom is led by co-founder Dave Scott, who previously was president of Kansas City FiberNet, a competitive local exchange carrier owned jointly by the country's two largest cable operators, TCI and Time Warner. Birch Telecom is based in Kansas City, Missouri.



• Ionex operates an ATM network that includes 97 co-locations in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas. The company is headed by Rick Pontin, who previously served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Broadwing Communications. Ionex was founded in 1999 and is based in Dallas, Texas.

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Court Orders Verizon to Disclose File Swapper's Identity

A federal court ordered that Verizon Online must disclose the identity of one of its Internet access customers whom the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) suspects of sharing copyrighted music files. Verizon said: "The court's decision has troubling ramifications for consumers, service providers and the growth of the Internet. It opens the door for anyone who makes a mere allegation of copyright infringement to gain complete access to private subscriber information without the due process protections afforded by the courts. This case will have a chilling effect on private communications, such as e-mail, surfing the Internet or the sending of files between private parties." An appeal is expected.
http://www.verizon.com

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WilTel Provides SBC with Optical Capacity for National Network

WilTel (formerly Williams Communications) will provide SBC Communications with 10 Gbps OC-192c transport for building out its national IP network. WilTel expects to activate the network within 75 days. WilTel, which recently emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, described the deal as the largest in its history. SBC's backbone IP network will be utilized for growth of its IP-based services such as business Internet access, SBC- Yahoo! DSL, SBC-Yahoo! Dial, Virtual Private Networking, Internet Data Centers, and Web Hosting.
http://www.wiltelcommunications.com

• In December 2002, SBC Communications selected Cisco Systems' 12000 Series routers and MPLS technology for deployment in its new national 10 Gbps OC-192 backbone network.



• In November 2002, SBC Communications announced its national data transport strategy for delivering Frame Relay, ATM and Private Line services to business customers across the US. SBC's new standardized national data services will be introduced as the company gains regulatory approvals to enter specific markets. The company said that it anticipated completion of the national expansion phase of its data and IP network backbones by mid-2003, including a fully redundant OC-192 IP platform. SBC plans to serve customers in 50 of the nation's largest cities with a full range of data and IP services.



• In October 2002, Williams Communications emerged from Chapter 11 proceedings and changed its name to WilTel Communications. Simultaneously, the company announced that Howard Janzen had resigned as CEO. He was replaced by Jeffrey K. Storey, previously the company's COO.

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