Bell Canada Positions for New Broadband Landscape

The telecom landscape in Canada is changing quickly and radically, said Michael J. Sabia, President and CEO of Bell Canada Enterprises, speaking at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia XII Conference. Sabia cited three fundamental forces that are reshaping the industry. First, customer preferences are evolving to demand new technological solutions and less complexity. Second, the level of competitive intensity is increasing. There will soon be genuine local competition as cable companies launch their VoIP services. Third, there is a major trend among enterprises to outsource their entire IT operations. For network providers, this raises the question of who controls the customer. Despite the new world of competition, Sabia believes there are many opportunities for telcos that are well positioned. Some highlights:

• In broadband, Bell Canada has about 43% share against the cable companies. Sabia argues that Bell Canada has been the most aggressive North American carrier in DSL. About 75% of the company's footprint is DSL eligible. The company has 1.3 million DSL customers. Its penetration rate is 13%, compared to 6.7% for SBC and 4.4% for Verizon. DSL is Bell Canada's local loop for the future. The next challenge is delivering more advanced services, such as security, music and other content. Bell Canada is partnering with Microsoft on new portal capabilities.



• Sabia described FTTH as a "daunting prospect" economically because "there is no Moore's law for fiber trenching." However, the fundamental direction over the long term is to push fiber deeper into the network.



• Bell Canada's satellite TV service has captured 1.3 million subscribers and continues to grow. The company has two dedicated satellites for its DBS offering. Satellite TV has also given Bell Canada expertise in the content arena. Ultimately, Sabia believes video will be the key for a "broadband home" bundling strategy.



• Bell Canada is ramping up a VDSL offering targeted at multi-dwellings units, which represent 40% of the population in Toronto alone. The VDSL connection will provide video service for up to three TVs from a single set-top box.



• Bell Canada recently completed a major VoIP contract with Nortel Networks and plans to introduce a hosted telephony service for enterprise customers. Bell Canada will initially target large enterprises, followed by VoIP services for smaller companies, and eventually for residential companies.



• Bell Canada's major focus will remain on "simplifying the customer experience." The major goal here is to sell more to the customer while providing a one-stop provisioning and billing interface. Bell Canada's consumer research indicates that 70% of consumers want a service bundle that combines all-distance voice, Internet and video services. Simplification is also expected to drive efficiency gains inside the company. Some 350 projects are underway to support the "one-stop" strategy.

http://www.bce.ca

• In September 2003, Bell Canada announced plans to invest CDN$200 million (approximately US$146 million) over three years in Nortel Networks' IP and multimedia messaging platforms to provide new services to its large enterprise customers. Bell Canada is pursuing a "One Network" approach to the development and delivery of services."
  http://www.convergedigest.com/Bandwidth/newnetworksarticle.asp?ID=8640

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BT to Offer Wholesale Access to Wi-Fi Hotspots

BT will offer wholesale access its to public wireless broadband network. BT Openzone will market the wholesale service to mobile operators, ISPs, fixed line operators and even "virtual mobile operators." The company plans to put BT Openzone Wi-Fi access points in many of the thousands of payphones across Britain.
http://www.bt.com

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SBC Trims Introductory DSL Pricing

SBC Communications trimmed its introductory DSL pricing by $3 per month. Pricing now begins at $26.95 per month for a one year commitment on basic DSL service (dynamic IP address) with a downlink speed of 384 kbps and 128 kbps uplink. Various other pricing tiers are offered.
http://www02.sbc.com/DSL_new/content_new/1,,18,00.html

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PanAmSat and JSAT Jointly Launch HDTV-Ready Satellite

PanAmSat and Japan's JSAT Corporation's jointly owned Galaxy XIII/Horizons-1 satellite was successfully launched into orbit by Sea Launch. The spacecraft, which will be located at 127 degrees west longitude, has 24 C-band and 24 Ku-band transponders covering the continental United States, Alaska and Hawaii. Galaxy XIII/Horizons-1 will operate under dual licenses, with the C-band payload licensed through the FCC in the U.S., and the Ku-band licensed through Japan's Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications. PanAmSat and JSAT will jointly develop and own the Galaxy XIII/Horizons-1 Ku-band payload, using the capacity to offer a variety of digital video, Internet and data services as well as to create new IP-based content distribution networks. PanAmSat will own, develop and market the C-band capacity separately.
http://www.panamsat.com
http://www.jsat.net/en/

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ST Announces Volume Shipments of VDSL Chips

STMicroelectronics has begun volume shipments of its ZipperWire DMT VDSL chipset to manufacturers of central office and customer premise equipment. ST expects the VDSL market to grow to 6 - 7 million lines deployed by 2005. The majority of VDSL deployments are expected to occur in Asia.
http://www.st.com

• In March 2003, STMicroelectronics introduced its "ZipperWire" DMT-VDSL chipset, claiming the ability to deliver an aggregate data rate in excess of 100 Mbps over short copper loops. ST's new ZipperWire chipset, which is designed for both central-office and customer-premises-equipment, integrates a complete Frequency Division Duplex DMT VDSL modem from the line to the ATM interface in just two chips. ZipperWire can be programmed for granular, symmetric and asymmetric data rates from 64kbps to 100Mbps in both directions with a reach of up to 4,500 feet. It supports all of the international VDSL-DMT standards (ITU-T, T1e1.4, ETSI) and is compliant with the 997, 998 and Flex frequency plans. STMicroelectronics also noted that its chipset provides spectral compatibility with ADSL, SDSL, ISDN and strong immunity to both bridged taps and radio frequency interference.



• To date, ST has shipped over 50 million ports of xDSL products.

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Level 3 Names Wholesale Ethernet Customer

Level 3 Communications is supplying its new wholesale Ethernet data networking service to InTechnology, a UK provider of data storage solutions and services. More specifically, InTechnology is using Level 3's (3)Flex Ethernet service to securely transport data between London, Paris, Amsterdam, Munich, Milan and Madrid. InTechnology recently acquired Allasso, one of Europe's leading specialist distributors of IT security products. InTechnology also purchases (3)Center Colocation services from Level 3. Financial terms were not disclosed.
http://www.Level3.com

• In September 2003, Level 3 Communications introduced an enhanced wide area Ethernet service for its U.S. and European networks. The new (3)Flex Ethernet service is based on Level 3's MPLS backbone and provides two classes of service (CoS) that can be managed per virtual connection as applications require. The two classes of service are: Optimized, which is a variable bit rate service that combines a committed information rate with the ability to burst up to twice that rate; and Enhanced, an unspecified bit rate service that allows the customer to burst up to full port speed. (3)Flex Ethernet provides scalability from DS-3 and 100BaseT to multiple Gigabit Ethernet interfaces. Customers can access the service via cross-connects, fiber extensions, metro Ethernet and SONET connections. Customers are billed on a usage basis and pricing is distance insensitive.

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Salira Names Former Nortel and Qwest Executive as CEO

Salira Optical Network Systems named Ross Bernard Lau as its new president and CEO. Prior to joining Salira, Lau was president and CEO of Qwest Asia. Before that, he was president and COO of Nortel Networks (Asia) Ltd.'s service provider solutions group. Earlier, Lau was instrumental in launching Nortel's carrier-class fiber optics business. Salira has its major operations in Santa Clara, California and Shanghai, China.
http://www.salira.com

• In September 2003, Salira announced a contract to supply a "triple-play" optical network solution to GuangZhou Pantong Information Broadband Network (Panyu Cable), which provides cable TV and associated services to the Panyu district of the city of GuangZhou, China. The Ethernet, passive optical network (EPON) architecture is expected to scale to reach 260,000 endpoints and deliver 80 channels of broadcast TV, video on-demand (VOD), VoIP and high-speed Internet access.



• In July 2003, Salira announced that China Netcom Corporation is deploying its optical access platforms in Beijing and in Changsha City (Hunan province) to deliver advanced voice, video and data services to business customers in a variety of Fiber-to-the-Premises (FTTP) deployments.



• In October 2002, China's Ministry of Information Industry (MII) certified the Salira platform for commercial deployment. The company has sales offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing and Shenzhen.

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Starbucks and T-Mobile Offer Digital Content to Wi-Fi Users

T-Mobile, HP and Starbucks will begin to offer an "enhanced digital entertainment experience" to Wi-Fi users at Starbucks coffeehouses. Throughout October, customers using a Wi-Fi enabled notebook computer while at select Starbucks locations can watch classic blues performances from legends like Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters, listen to an array of great blues tunes, and see videos of noteworthy musicians sharing how blues music and artists influenced them.


Starbucks is currently offering Wi-Fi at 2,600 locations across the U.S. The companies noted that usage of the T-Mobile HotSpot service continues to grow. The average connection is approximately 45 minutes in duration and more than 90% of T-Mobile HotSpot access occurs during the off-peak store hours.
http://www.starbucks.com

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SaskTel Selects Kasenna for Telco VOD

Canada's Saskatchewan Telecommunications (SaskTel) selected Kasenna's video delivery platform to power its new VOD service launched this week. SaskTel has been offering an IP broadcast TV service over its DSL network since last year. The new VOD service is available to subscribers in all 9 cities where SaskTel's television service is offered and is expected to grow to 50,000 subscribers by 2005.
Specifically, SaskTel is using Kasenna's MediaBase XMP software to manage, distribute and deliver video content for the new VOD portion of their triple-play service. Kasenna's software allows SaskTel to deploy servers in multiple locations while using a centralized interface to manage them seamlessly. SaskTel has deployed Sun servers running Kasenna MediaBase XMP video delivery software with Gigabit Ethernet delivering MPEG-2 video at 2.3 Mbps. Financial terms were not disclosed.
http://www.kasenna.com

• SaskTel is using Alcatel's iMagicTV software platform for delivering interactive television service to its DSL subscribers.

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Veraz Networks and NetCentrex Confirm SIP Interoperability

Veraz Networks and NetCentrex completed interoperability testing for their respective Contact Center and IP Centrex solutions. Specifically, the testing confirmed interoperability of the Veraz ControlSwitch and I-Gate media gateways with the NetCentrex Saga800 network-based contact center and IPCentrex hosted telephony solutions. SIP was the common protocol used for interoperability between the products from both companies.
http://www.veraznetworks.com
http://www.netcentrex.net

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XO Launches MPLS-based MultiTransport Networking Service

XO Communications launched a new MultiTransport Networking Service (MTNS) designed in the initial phase to enable legacy Frame Relay-to-Frame Relay and Ethernet-to-Ethernet wide-area-network connectivity.


The service is carried over XO's MPLS-enabled IP backbone using physically diverse OC-192 circuits. Future releases of MTNS will support Class-of-Service (CoS) capabilities allowing customers to set parameters that support the customization of traffic prioritization. The service will also enable the integration of legacy access methods with more advanced access methods. XO said the new MultiTransport Networking Service would provide customers with greater flexibility by enabling full interoperability between varying protocols.
http://www.xo.com/products/smallgrowing/data/mtns/index.html

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Verizon's Babbio Confrims FTTP Commitment

When asked "do you feel better about the telecom business today than you did a year ago?", Larry Babbio, Vice Chairman and President of Verizon Communications, replies with an unequivocal "yes" -- except on the regulatory front. Speaking at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia XII Conference, Babbio said traditional telecom services now represent 45% of Verizon's' overall revenues, compared to 52% in the first half of 2001. The revenue mix is shifting from POTS to new growth areas. Customers are continuing to adopt new technologies at a significant pace and Babbio believes there are significant growth opportunities for a whole range of new services, especially broadband and wireless. Verizon's challenge is to redesign its business around these new growth opportunities while remaining profitable. Some highlights of his presentation:

• Verizon has already moved aggressively to update its core infrastructure. The company has the necessary optical and data backbone capacity for significant traffic growth -- its next challenge is to upgrade the access portion of its network.



• Verizon is committed to a large-scale fiber-to-the-premise (FTTP) deployment. Verizon is negotiating with key industry partners and the RFP process will be completed this month. FTTP deployments will start next year. Babbio said Verizon is committed to reaching 60% of its consumer revenue base with a fiber solution within 5 years. Regarding content partners for the FTTP launch, Babbio said Verizon continues to study its options. No decision on a satellite TV partner or other content aggregator has yet been made.



• Verizon's wireline CAPEX budget for 2004 will be similar to 2003. Spending will shift to FTTP from other areas in the network.



• Verizon believes its has the most advanced wireless network in the U.S. and is moving ahead with 3G 1EV-DO upgrades. Babbio argues that the network is the platform for innovation and will be the key differentiator when mobile penetration rates reach saturation levels. Verizon Wireless in on-track to add 4.5 million customers this year. During the first month of Picture Phone service, customers sent over 1 million such messages. "Push-to-talk" service is selling ahead of expectations.



• Long distance and DSL services are both selling well. Verizon now has 14.6 million long distance customers and 2 million DSL lines. By the end of the year, 80% of Verizon lines will be DSL-eligible. Babbio acknowledged that Verizon's DSL deployments have lagged behind cable modems because they were late to market. He believes that DSL momentum is growing and that Verizon will be able to capture more than 50% of the new broadband adds in its region.



• Verizon's "Enterprise Advance" initiative is on track. The company has 32 enterprise services to date and signed contracts with 59 Fortune 500 firms. A nationwide network rollout is still underway.



• Babbio described the FCC's recent Triennial Review Order as a "huge disappointment" and said Verizon will continue to fight with every legal channel available.



• Verizon had 154,000 employees at the end of Q2 2003, down from 178,00 in Q4 2001



• Verizon's CAPEX / Revenue ratio for 2003 will be in the range of 17.6% to 18.7%, compared to 27.5% in 2001 and 19.4% in 2002.



• During the first half of the year, Verizon generated $3.6 billion in free cash flow, compared to $2.8 billion for the second half of last year



• Overall debt has been reduced from $57.8 billion in Q2 2002 to $48.1 billion in Q2 2003



• Verizon continues to have margins in the 40-42% range

http://www.verizon.com

• In September 2003, Greg Evans, Vice President of Service & Access Technology for Verizon Communications, confirmed that the FTTP RFP launched earlier this year has resulted in a short-list of three potential suppliers. The FTTP architecture is based on the international FSAN standard. The process has now entered a lab testing phase to verify critical requirements and Verizon Communications has entered into private negotiations with all three of the suppliers on the short list. Each of the RBOCs will establish separate contracts with suppliers although the architecture would remain common. Verizon's vendor(s) selection could occur by the end of this month. More on Verizon's FTTP project.
  http://www.convergedigest.com/DSL/lastmilearticle.asp?ID=8766
  

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Deutsche Telekom Credits DSL and Cost Cutting for Turn Around

Booming DSL growth is a major reason for the stabilization of Deutsche Telekom's fixed line business, said Kai-Uwe Ricke, CEO of Deutsche Telekom, speaking at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia XII Conference. A second reason for Deutsche Telekom's on-going turnaround is that the company has made significant progress in improving its overall efficiency, reducing its size, and cutting its debt. Ricke is confident that DT's net income will be positive for the full year 2003 -- the first time it has achieved this positive result since 2000. The company's overall debt has fallen from a high of EUR 64.3 billion to EUR 53.0 billion. Some highlights:

• Deutsche Telekom is number one in Europe for DSL. The company's T-Com division has over 3.7 million DSL subscribers. The company expects to reach 4.2 million DSL subscribers by the end of the year. Compared to the first half of 2002, DSL wholesale traffic revenues have increased by 40%, while DSL retail traffic revenues are up by 190%.



• T-Mobile USA continues to outperform its peers in the U.S. market for adding new users. The subscriber base has now passed 10 million. The company credited it reputation for value and innovation for its subscriber growth. Ricke also believes T-Mobile USA has achieved a cost-advantage over its competitors because it has one network, one billing platform, etc.

http://www.telekom.de

• In August 2003, Deutsche Telekom reported half-year 2003 revenues of EUR 27.2 billion, up by EUR 5.0 billion compared to last year. Net income also rose by EUR 5.0 billion to a positive EUR 1.1 billion.
• 
  
  In November 2002, Kai-Uwe Ricke was named as Deutsche Telekom's new CEO. Ricke previously served as chief operating officer of T-Mobile International.

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DIRECTV Selects Space Systems/Loral for 2 New Satellites

Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) received orders to proceed with the design and construction of two satellites: DIRECTV 8 and DIRECTV 9S. Aggregate revenue for the construction of the two satellites will be in excess of $220 million.


DIRECTV 8, to be delivered in the late first quarter of 2005, will provide national coverage from the 101 degrees West longitude orbital slot, DIRECTV's primary orbital slot. The satellite will carry 16 high-power transponders.


DIRECTV 9S, scheduled for delivery in the late second quarter of 2005, is designed to operate from orbital locations at 101 degrees West longitude or 119 degrees West longitude. As a back-up for DIRECTV's 4S and 7S satellites, it will be capable of providing up to 54 transponders for high-quality local and national digital video service broadcast into 27 beams. In an alternate configuration, the satellite will be capable of providing up to 44 transponders broadcast into 30 beams.
http://www.ssloral.com

• SS/L is currently building DIRECTV 7S, a high-power, spot-beam satellite scheduled for launch in mid to late first quarter of 2004.

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Cisco and Huawei Stay Litigation

Cisco Systems and Huawei agreed to stay the litigation that is currently pending in a district court in Texas. As part of the agreement, the two companies have agreed on a course of action that they expect -- upon full implementation and pending completion of an independent expert review process -- will lead to the end of the lawsuit.


Specifically, Huawei agreed to continue to abide by the terms of a Preliminary Injunction Order. To address Cisco's concerns, Huawei has voluntarily made changes to certain of its router and switch products. The parties have agreed on a process for reviewing these changes. All other terms of the agreement are confidential.
http://www.cisco.com
http://www.huawei.com

• In January 2003, 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 claimed 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.



• In March 2003, 3Com and Huawei Technologies said that they would form a joint venture based in Hong Kong with principal operations in Hangzhou, China. Huawei's contribution to the JV will include enterprise networking business assets, including LAN switches, routers, engineering, sales/marketing resources and personnel, and licenses to its related intellectual property. 3Com's contribution to the JV will include $160 million in cash, assets related to its operations in China and Japan, and licenses to its related intellectual property. The name of the joint venture will be 3Com-Huawei in English and Huawei-3Com in Chinese. 3Com said the JV would provide it with modular layer 2 and 3, 10/100/1000 MB switches. The JV and Huawei will also provide 3Com with a full line of enterprise routers.



• In June 2003, a U.S. District Court judge issued a preliminary injunction against Huawei Technologies.

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BellSouth's Ackerman Sees Growth in New Services

Although the process is gradual, four major and historic network transformations are underway at BellSouth, said Duane Ackerman, the company's president and CEO, speaking at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia XII Conference. These transformations include: narrowband-to-broadband; electrical-to-optical; circuit-to-packet; and overlay-to-shared. The major goal is to arrive at a more flexible infrastructure with quicker provisioning and rearrangement of services. BellSouth is focused on pushing fiber to the outer edge of the network. By the end of the year, fiber-to-the-curb will pass nearly one million homes in the company's territory. Since 1996, all new feeder cables have been fiber and, as a result, about 60% of DLCs are now fiber-fed. This means about 60% of BellSouth's DSL lines could support downstream rates of 5 Mbps and 80% could support 3 Mbps.


Ackerman said the FCC's recent Triennial Review Order will only prolong the legal fights and delay re-investment in facilities-based competition. The UNE-p section of the order is nothing new and BellSouth's current strategies address these challenges. BellSouth will need to run state-by-state campaigns to challenge market impairment claims by its competitors. Ackerman described fiber deployment is a long term proposition and that the FCC's current broadband policy "reduces visibility" for the foreseeable future. He hopes the fiber deployment issue will be clarified in upcoming FCC proceedings. Some other highlights of Ackerman's presentation include:

• During the first half of 2003, BellSouth lost on average 96,000 lines per month to UNE-p competitors in the consumer market and this negative trend is accelerating. For comparison, BellSouth lost an average of 37,000 consumer lines per month to UNE-p competitors in 2001 and an average of 87,000 lines in 2002. Service bundles are leading to increasing customer win-backs.



• The average monthly line loss for small business customers is now 3,000, down from 29,000 line losses per month in 2001, and 14,000 monthly line losses in 2002.



• Total LD consumer penetration across BellSouth is now at 20%.



• The company now has 1.2 million DSL subscribers, representing 50% year-over-year growth. BellSouth has launched tiered pricing models for its DSL based on access speeds. About 80% of new DSL customers choose the full-rate service



• The company's "Answers" bundles now have 2.1 million subscribers and ARPU of $62 per month.



• Service bundles reduce customer churn by 45%



• The recent agreement with DirecTV will add significant value to the BellSouth bundle



• Cingular Wireless continues to experience significant customer growth. Net additions for the first half of the year were 729,000 compared to 540,000 net adds for the second half of last year.



• BellSouth's net debt has been reduced from $15.9 billion in Q2 2002 to $11.3 billion in Q2 2003.

http://www.bellsouth.com

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IBM Unveils Thin-Silicon SiGe Bipolar Transistor

IBM demonstrated a "thin-silicon" SiGe bipolar transistor that promises a fourfold boost in performance or a fivefold reduction in power consumption in wireless devices compared to the state-of-the-art thin-silicon bipolar technology. IBM said its new chip design uses a revolutionary thin wafer that combines CMOS and SiGe bipolar technology. The company presented details of its new chip design at this week's 2003 Bipolar/BiCMOS Circuits and Technology Meeting.
http://www.ibm.com

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Comcast Sees Acceleration in Cable Modem Growth

Sales of cable modem services are accelerating, said Brian Roberts, President and CEO of Comcast, speaking at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia XII Conference. Comcast is on track to add 1.6 million cable modem customers this calendar year, which would give it a total of 5.2 million subscribers by year's end. New customer additions in July-August 2003 were up by 30% compared to the same period in 2002. Penetration rates are in the 12-13% range, leaving significant room for subscriber growth. Roberts said the revenue opportunity for cable modem service remains consistent in the $40+ range. Roberts expects the high-speed data platform will scale to much higher data rates of 50 Mbps or more over time, as broadband applications continue to improve.


Roberts also said Comcast is "more bullish than ever" regarding VoIP but is not yet ready to announce its plans. The big question is not whether Comcast can offer residential VoIP, but whether it can make money with the service. Comcast will continue to test the technology and the business model in 2004. Right now, Roberts sees the biggest business opportunity in continued gains for cable modem and VOD services.


Some other highlights of his presentation include:

• Comcast is intently focused on the market opportunity for VOD, which Roberts describes as a "fantastic product and superior to a Tivo-type solution"


• 
  
  As cable plant upgrades are completed, Comcast expects a 50% decline in its CAPEX budgets over the three year period from 2002 to 2005. According to projections, this will lead to a corresponding and significant increase in free cash flow over the same period.


• 
  
  Comcast's' overall debt has declined from $34.8 billion in November 2002 to $26.7 billion as of June 2003.

http://www.comcast.com

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Shaw Licenses Universal Studios Content for its VOD Offering

Shaw Communications, which provides cable TV services to approximately 2.9 million customers in Canada,entered into a long-term licensing agreement with Universal Studios Pay-Per-View (USPPV) to provide major Hollywood movies and other programming content for Shaw's Video-on-Demand (VOD) and Pay-Per-View (PPV) services. Universal Studios, which is part of Vivendi UNIVERSAL Entertainment (VUE), is now licensing and marketing its movies to pay-per-view and video-on-demand distributors worldwide.
http://www.shaw.ca/http://www.universalppv.net/

• In June 2003, Twentieth Century Fox signed a long-term agreement to provide movies and other programming content for Shaw's Video-on-Demand (VOD) and Pay-Per-View (PPV) services.

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Cablevision's Rainbow DBS to Introduce Nationwide HDTV Service

Rainbow DBS, the satellite service division of Cablevision Systems, is getting ready to launch an array of high-definition television (HDTV) programming to customers across the continental U.S. The new "VOOM" satellite service will eventually carry as many as 39 HDTV channels, as well as 88 channels in standard-definition format. VOOM will initially broadcast in MPEG-2, with an upgrade to MPEG-4 currently expected for the third quarter of 2004. Using MPEG-4, Rainbow DBS will be able to broadcast more than 200 channels, including at least 39 HDTV services. Rainbow DBS will also provide local digital over-the-air programming. Hardware for the VOOM service will include a satellite dish and a specially designed set-top receiver manufactured by Motorola, as well as a digital antenna for local broadcast signals. The Motorola set-top is upgradeable to MPEG-4. To date, rival U.S. satellite and cable services have offered no more than seven syndicated HDTV channels. The consumer launch is scheduled for 15-October-2003.
http://www.cablevision.com

• Cablevision's Rainbow DBS division is headed by Mickey Alpert, who has provided consulting services in the communications and entertainment industries since 1986. The Rainbow DBS senior management team also includes Bill Casamo, executive vice president, marketing and sales, who held a similar position at DIRECTV and also was vice president, sales for the Americas, for Thomson Consumer Electronics.

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Hawaii's Oceanic Cable Upgrades its Transport Network

Oceanic Time Warner Cable, which serves the state of Hawaii, has deployed a Scientific-Atlanta Prisma DT digital transport system to provide a variety of interconnect services for its cable TV and cable modem customers on the islands of Oahu, Maui and Hawaii. A fourth segment of the system is currently being installed on Kauai. The Scientific-Atlanta transport system will be used to deliver five major applications for Oceanic on the four islands via an undersea fiber optic cable network:

• Video on Demand -- at the master headend on Oahu, library servers are used to store all VOD content. This central master site downloads content updates to remote servers that are located close to customers on each island. Oceanic is using a variety of Scientific-Atlanta Explorer set-tops.


• 
  
  Cable modem service -- traffic is transported among the islands to the system's master headend on Oahu.


• 
  
  Off-air broadcast channels -- on each island, local off-air broadcast content is captured at the broadcasters' studios and transported to the Prisma DT network using the Prisma DTx service adapter.


• 
  
  High-speed data service for government -- existing networks on three islands have been interconnected over OC3 and OC48 rings.


• 
  
  Content delivery -- Oceanic is satellite downlinking its entire cable programming at its facilities on Oahu and using ASI to transport it on the Prisma DT system for delivery to customers.

http://www.scientificatlanta.com

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Extreme Networks All-in-One Wired And Wireless Switch

Extreme Networks introduced a unified wired and wireless, Layer 2/3 stackable Ethernet switch designed for companies that want to deploy a single, secure network architecture for both wired and wireless access. Extreme's new Summit 300-48 switch is a 48-port (plus four copper and mini-GBIC ports) Layer 2/3 WLAN switch with an expansion slot for future upgradeability and emerging mobile applications. The product provides extensive encryption and security services -- such as AES, WES and WPA -- to the wireless ports. List pricing is $6,995. Extreme Networks is also releasing wireless ports for simultaneous 802.11 a/b & g networking. The Altitude wireless port has a list price of $695.
http://www.extremenetworks.com

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Acme Packet Closes $15 Million for its Session Border Controllers

Acme Packet, a start-up based in Woburn, Massachusetts, raised $15 million in second round funding for its session border controllers for service providers. Acme Packet's Net-Net products solve the critical problems across IP network borders, including security, service assurance, revenue and profit assurance, and law enforcement. Current deployments include VoIP trunking network peering, hosted IP services for business and residential customers, and voice ASP services in the data center. The new funding round included Advanced Technology Ventures (ATV) along with initial backers Menlo Ventures and Canaan Partners. The company has raised $31 million to date.
http://www.acmepacket.com

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Taiwan's Chunghwa Telecom Upgrades GSM Network with Nortel

Taiwan's Chunghwa Telecom is deploying Nortel Networks' radio, core switching and intelligent network equipment to upgrade its GSM network for GPRS wireless voice and data services. The upgrade will improve radio frequency (RF) coverage, prepare for seamless 2G/3G interworking, and provide a platform for new revenue-generating services like Personalized-Ring Back Tone, Prepaid Short Message Service, and others. The deployments are covered under agreements signed in June and August 2003 and collectively estimated at US$64 million.
http://www.nortelnetworks.com

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Lucent Supplies ATM Infrastructure for KPN Mobile

Lucent Technologies was awarded a multimillion dollar contract to supply ATM infrastructure and software for KPN Mobile's 3G UMTS network. Specifically, Lucent will deploy its GX 550 Multiservice WAN Switch at six locations across the Netherlands to develop a high-speed backbone network that is able to support ATM, Frame Relay and IP traffic. KPN Mobile will manage the ATM network with the Lucent NavisCore Element Management System and NavisXtend Fault Server to provide centralized end-to-end provisioning. Financial terms were not disclosed.
http://www.lucent.com

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Marconi Wins $9M Contract from US Government for Core Switch Router

Marconi Corporation has been awarded a $9 million contract to supply additional BXR-48000 multiservice switch-routers to the U.S. Federal government. The contract also includes installation services. The new routers will be used in a different Federal Government network and by a different department than the currently deployed BXR-48000 multiservice switch-routers, which the US Department of Defense purchased for its ATM network last year. Marconi also said that the federal government is currently evaluating the platform's IP/MPLS capabilities.
http://www.marconi.com

• In September 2002, Marconi announced that the U.S. Department of Defense had purchased the BXR-48000 switch-router to transport data at up 10 Gbps using ATM. In January 2003, the U.S. Department of Defense became the first customer for Marconi's 10 Gbps (OC-192c/STM-64) ATM port card, which supports Type 1 encryption.


• 
  
  In July 2003, Marconi demonstrated the encryption of IP and ATM data at 10 Gbps rates on its BXR-48000 multiservice switch router. The company says that at present only ATM will support the encryption of IP packet and TDM traffic at 10 Gbps rates, while IP traffic over Ethernet is limited to encryption rates of 100 Mbps.

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EU Announces Major Investments in R&D

The European Union will commit one billion EURs for 236 R&D projects related to Information Society Technologies (IST). The R&R projects are aimed at extending today's Web, Internet and mobile communications technologies, transforming the delivery and performance of services and adding to their variety.


Erkki Liikanen, European Commissioner for Enterprise and the Information Society, said the R&D funding would help ensure Europe's competitiveness.


The EC has recently finalized selection of the 236 R&D projects out of 1,400 proposals that were received. Two specific areas of focus for the IST project include pervasive wireless access and new technologies for extending broadband to every home.
http://www.cordis.lu/ist/call1.htm

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Siemens Adds Wi-Fi Calling to its Corporate Unified Messaging App

Siemens Information and Communication Networks introduced version 2.0 of its HiPath CorporateConnect application that allows employees to use a single communications device, telephone number and voicemail box for corporate voice communications. The new version offers two new graphical user interface options that allow users to leverage Windows Pocket PC PDA devices or a standard Web browser to manage their real-time communications anywhere they have wireless access, including WiFi 802.11b/e hotspots. This includes placing and receiving calls over WiFi-enabled PDAs. Siemens said the new functionality is aimed at leveraging the emerging WiFi wireless networks in corporate environments as well as in the growing number of public WiFi access points. Users can also direct calls to reach them via an alternative telephone, including mobile phones, by entering that phone's number into the CorporateConnect client profile.
http://www.icn.siemens.com

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RAD Data Communications and ECI Announce Partnership

RAD Data Communications and ECI Telecom agreed to incorporate each other's equipment within their individual product portfolios. The first products to be paired are RAD's Multiservice Access Platform (MAP) and ECI's XDM converged optical platform, providing a solution for the metro access market. The companies said they have been collaborating for several years but have just recently formalized the agreement.
http://www.rad.com
http://www.ecitele.com

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AudioCodes Selects Motorola's Network Processor for Media Gateways

AudioCodes has selected the Motorola C-5e network processor to perform packet forwarding in the company's next-generation gateways, including its high-density VoIP gateways, Voice over ATM (VoATM) gateways, 3G gateways, and media servers. The processor's architecture comprises 16 fully-programmable RISC cores that can support any protocol, including ATM AAL-2/AAL-5, VoIP/Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP)/User Datagram Protocol (UDP), Packet-over-SONET/Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP), and MPLS. It also supports interworking between IP and ATM, such as switching within and between RTP and AAL-2 flows. The AudioCodes media gateway solutions range from media gateway blades within CompactPCI or PCI Mezzanine Card (PMC) form factors to complete high-availability media gateway platforms.
http://www.audiocodes.com
http://www.motorola.com

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Path 1 Supplies Video-over-IP Gateway for Japanese Broadcaster

Path 1 Network Technologies is supplying its video-over-IP gateways to a major Japanese broadcaster for use in a trial transmitting live video material between stations in different geographic locations within Japan using a best effort service optical line. Path 1's platform offers Gigabit Ethernet capability, enabling uncompressed SDI, as well as compressed DVB-ASI MPEG2 video feeds over Fast Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet network interfaces.
http://www.path1.com

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CinemaNow Introduces Television Interface to Internet VOD

CinemaNow is introducing a television interface that lets users of Microsoft's Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004 browse, purchase and watch movies on-demand by using their remote control and television set or PC display. Font sizes and page layouts have been optimized for viewing on a TV display from a distance, rather than on a PC monitor.
http://www.cinemanow.com

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Microsoft Unveils Windows XP Media Center 2004

Microsoft unveiled its Windows XP Media Center 2004 operating system and announced key digital content providers. Major PC manufacturers planning to offer Windows XP Media Center PCs include Dell, Sony, Gateway, HP, Toshiba and more than 40 other OEMs worldwide.


The key new capabilities of Windows XP Media Center 2004 include:

• the ability to connect the Media Center PC to a standard or widescreen TV or a high-resolution display, such as a plasma or projection TV, to create a dynamic home theater environment. This includes enhanced support for 16 x 9 displays.


• 
  
  support for adaptive de-interlacing and video scaling, enabling a sharper picture on high-resolution progressive scan displays


• 
  
  PVR capabilities to record live TV and radio


• 
  
  the ability to record TV shows on standard DVDs or Video CDs and play them back on virtually any set-top DVD player or PC


• 
  
  the ability to browse an online programming guide up to 14 days in advance, or to select category filters to display just the programming you want, such as sports, movies, news, music, or kids


• 
  
  better tools for viewing full-screen images of digital photographs on a monitor or TV screen


• 
  
  better tools for building a digital Media Library using Windows Media Player 9 Series


• 
  
  support for 5.1 surround sound in Windows Media Player 9


• 
  
  an Online Spotlight service that highlights downloadable content from Microsoft partners, including CinemaNow (1,200 movies on-demand), Movielink (new releases and classic films from the big Hollywood studios), MSN TV (news, weather and financial information), Napster (500,00 tracks of downloadable music), WildTangent (online gaming), Musicbrigade (an archive of music videos), and Live365 (an Internet Radio network with some 5,000 stations).

http://www.microsoft.com

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PMC Sierra Supplies Chips for Lucent's Metropolis DMX

Seven of PMC Sierra's metro ICs have been selected by Lucent Technologies for its Metropolis DMX system, which provides seamless integration and interworking capabilities for adding data services onto SONET/SDH networks. The products are now being deployed in network trials.
http://www.pmc-sierra.com/

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Level 3 Increases Network Capacity into Stockholm

Level 3 Communications is increasing its network capacity into Stockholm and expects to begin offering services in Copenhagen in October 2003. The Level 3 network serves 17 of the largest markets in Europe, as well as 66 markets across North America. In addition, the company operates metropolitan networks in 36 cities, including London, Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Berlin, Munich and Frankfurt. Level 3 also has network capacity on high-speed transatlantic cable systems.
http://www.level3.com

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West Ridge Networks Raises $8 Million in Seed Funding

West Ridge Networks, a start-up based in Littleton, Massachusetts, closed an $8 million Series A round of funding. The company is developing technology to enable large network service providers to improve the operational efficiency and service quality of their networks. Product plans have not been disclosed. Bay Partners and Advent International participated in the round.
http://www.westridgenetworks.com

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AT&T Launches Local High-Bandwidth Ethernet Services

AT&T introduced a local Ethernet service for connecting multiple branch offices in a VPN within a metropolitan area. AT&T Ethernet Switched Service-Metropolitan Area Network supports the transport of data, voice and video at speeds of 50 Mbps to 1 Gbps. It is a committed bandwidth service that also offers a "self-healing" option for resilient access to critical servers, data and applications. The service is supported by 24x7 proactive monitoring, network management reporting and SLAs. The service is available in 67 metropolitan areas, 90 cities and more than 6,400 office buildings on-net nationwide. Where necessary, the service will use multiple access suppliers to extend the reach of the footprint.



Franco Callocchia, AT&T's Ethernet Services Director, said AT&T continues to make strong investments in Ethernet both within its networks and as a customer interface.


In addition to AT&T Ethernet Switched Service-Metropolitan Area Network, AT&T offers:

• Ethernet Private Line Service - Metropolitan Area Network/Wide Area Network, which provides point-to-point Ethernet connectivity at speeds of 50 Mbps up to 1000 Mbps for both Metropolitan Area Networks and Wide Area Networks.


Managed Internet Service - Ethernet Access, which provides Ethernet access to AT&T's dedicated Internet access service -- Managed Internet Service -- at speeds of 2 Mbps to 100 Mbps and 100 Mbps to 1 Gbps.


• "Ultravailable" Managed OptEring Service, which provides optical access at Ethernet transport speeds of 10 Mbps, 100 Mbps, and 1 Gbps over fiber rings in 1 Mbps increments. This service leverages Resilient Packet Ring (RPR) and Generic Frame Procedure (GFP) technology and provides a scaleable, rapidly provisioned and highly reliable (up to 99.999%) means of supporting a business's extension of Ethernet capabilities into Metropolitan Area Networks and Wide Area Networks.



• ACCU-Ring Ethernet Service Channels, an access method for AT&T ACCU-Ring Network Access Service, a private SONET ring that provides businesses with dedicated high-speed access for consolidating traffic, including private line, switched and enhanced services, and all distance carrier traffic (voice, data and video). AT&T ACCU-Ring connects ring nodes at speeds from 50 Mbps to 1 Gbps.

http://www.att.com

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CapRock Teams Up with Eutelsat

CapRock Communications, a satellite communications provider for the drilling industry, will gain access to Eutelsat's SESAT satellite. Positioned at 36 degrees East, SESAT provides extensive widebeam and steerable coverage from the North Sea to India.
http://www.caprock.com
http://www.eutelsat.com

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Marvell Scales its System Controller for Networking Applications

Marvell introduced its Discovery III line-up of system controllers targeted at routers, switches and wireless base stations, as well as storage and laser printer applications. Keeping pace with the continuous improvement of processors, the new system controllers support the 200 MHz interface for next generation high performance PowerPC and MIPS CPUs. Marvell's new devices have received support from leading CPU vendors, such as IBM, Motorola, and PMC-Sierra. The Discovery III system controller integrates several I/O peripherals on-chip, including Gigabit Ethernet, PCI-X bridges, storage functions and DDR memory interface. The Discovery III is software compatible with the existing Marvell system controllers.
http://www.marvell.com

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HyperTransport Consortium's DirectPacket Spec Targets Chip-to-chip Traffic

The HyperTransport Technology Consortium released a new specification aimed at increasing the efficiency of packet-based chip-to-chip traffic. The new DirectPacket HyperTransport 1.1 specification provides four new capabilities: native packet handling for efficient transport of user packets through board-level systems, a robust retry protocol for high reliability server and communications systems, peer-to-peer routing for direct connection between I/O devices, and three new sets of Virtual Channels including 16 channels optimized for streaming traffic.


The new specification could be used in servers, storage systems and network equipment when integrating board-level systems to high speed, packet-based I/O technologies. The protocol uses 8 bytes of overhead for Write operations and 12 bytes of overhead for Read operations. In addition, the new peer-to-peer routing allows direct communication between HyperTransport-enabled devices without routing traffic through the attached host when PCI ordering is not required by the application.



HyperTransport is a universal chip-to-chip I/O connectivity technology that provides 12.8 Gigabyte/second bandwidth, frequency and width scalability. It also provides software compatibility with the legacy Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) and PCI-X I/O technologies.
http://www.hypertransport.org

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N2 Broadband and ICTV Create Web Services Interface for VOD Menuing

N2 Broadband and ICTV are developing a new Web Services interface for providing VOD menuing capabilities on N2 Broadband's OpenStream solution, which is a widely-deployed commercial VOD back-office solution. The new interface, which combines HeadendWare's support of standard Web technologies with N2 Broadband's open platform, allows cable system operators to bring to market new applications. For example, operators and programmers delivering VOD via OpenStream's "plug-and-play" environment could deploy headend-based menuing and merchandising that overcome the constraints of the digital set-top box. Using ICTV's HeadendWare support for audio and full-motion video and its access to web-based application logic, VOD providers could increase "take rates" and revenue through multimedia promotional elements, detailed information about on-demand titles, content reviews, and preference engines that help content "find" subscribers. N2 Broadband will offer the interface as an enhancement to the currently-deployed CORBA-based interface for OpenStream.
http://www.n2bb.com
http://www.ictv.com

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LightPoint Deploys Redback's SmartEdge 800 Router

LightPoint Communications, a service provider based in Portland, Oregon, has selected Redback Networks' SmartEdge 800 Router to build its broadband IP network, including aggregating customer data traffic and providing a reliable connection to Internet backbone carriers. LightPoint will utilize the SmartEdge Router to deliver IP services, such as hosting and network-based storage. The SmartEdge 800 can be partitioned into many separate virtual routers, each having it's own forwarding table and management console. Redback said this feature provides the scalability to support a large number of active subscribers, as well as the ability to effectively implement large-scale, low-cost network-based VPN solutions. Financial terms were not disclosed.
http://www.redback.com
http://www.lightpointcommunications.com

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DirecTV Increases its Guidance on Stronger than Expected Demand

DirecTV increased its full-year guidance to one million net subscriber additions in 2003, up from the prior guidance of approximately 900,000. The company cited its ongoing promotion with the NFL as well as solid churn management for the stronger than expected performance. DIRECTV U.S. expects to add about 320,000 net new owned and operated subscribers in the quarter. The company is also increasing its revenue guidance for the third quarter and full-year to approximately $1.93 billion and $7.6 billion, respectively, due to the higher demand for its NFL SUNDAY TICKET package, local channels and multiple set-top boxeshttp://www.DIRECTV.com

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UTStarcom Announces $47 Million in New Contracts in China

UTStarcomm announced a new contract with China Telecom valued at approximately $27 million to expand its IP-Based PAS (Personal Access System) in Zhejiang Province.


Separately, UTStarcomm signed a contract with China Netcom valued at approximately $20 million to expand its IP-based PAS platform in two cities in the province of Liaoning.
http://www.utstar.com/

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Quintum Releases Call Relay Session Border Controllers for Service Providers

Quintum Technologies launched a Session Border Controller designed for call relay requirements of service providers. Quintum's original Call Relay session border controller supports 16 simultaneous VoIP calls, and is software upgradeable to 32; its new Call Relay SP supports 120 simultaneous VoIP calls, and is software upgradeable to 672. The products allow VoIP endpoints such as gateways, IP phones, and IP soft phones which are behind a Network Address Translation (NAT) firewall, to communicate with VoIP endpoints on external IP networks.
http://www.quintum.com

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Intel Releases NetMerge Call Manager Beta Software

Intel began beta testing of a new NetMerge Call Manager software that runs on Intel processor-based servers to enable speech and advanced voice solutions for enterprise customers. The software provides a way integrate the Microsoft Speech Server with an enterprise's existing telephony network. The software uses advanced capabilities within Intel's telephony hardware to construct complex telephone services from the simpler programming elements that are presented to the application developer.



Intel also introduced Intel NetStructure Host Media Processing 1.1 software, which aims to reduce the cost and complexity of voice-enabling enterprise applications by eliminating the need for specialized telephony boards with digital signal processors. Developers could use the software to build IP media servers for interactive voice response services, voice mail, conferencing, fax servers and other telephony applications. The software is compliant with SIP, H.323 and H.450.2.
http://www.intel.com/pressroom

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Updated U.S. Optical Fiber Communities List Released

A total of 94 communities across the U.S. are currently providing FTTH broadband services to customers, according to an updated list released by the Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) Council and Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA). The groups cited Provo, Utah as an example of where FTTH is making in-roads as a municipal goal. In Provo, city officials are reviewing a plan to make FTTH services available to all of the city's 32,000 homes and businesses by the end of 2005. Provo recently completed a FTTH pilot program and is currently delivering voice, video and/or data services to approximately 1,100 homes.



The "U.S. Optical Fiber Communities" study listed 70 FTTH communities when it was last released in March 2003.
http://www.ftthcouncil.orghttp://www.tiaonline.org

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Disney Launches MovieBeam Service using Over the Air Datacasting

The Walt Disney Company launched its "MovieBeam" on-demand movie rental service using over-the-air datacasting transmission medium and PVR-style set-top boxes. The service, which is being launched initially in three U.S. market (Jacksonville, Florida; Salt Lake City, Utah; and Spokane, Washington), provides access to 100 movies stored in digital format on the set-top hard disk drive. Each week, about 10 new movies are transmitted via a digital wireless signal to the MovieBeam receiver's small indoor antenna, replacing 10 titles. The data transmissions take the form of secure data streams and are sent through the broadcast spectrum of television stations owned by ABC and National Datacast's network of PBS stations. MovieBeam will work whether or not a consumer has a cable or satellite television subscription. A telephone line is used to provide the uplink for movie rentals. There is no up-front equipment cost. There is a $6.99 per month equipment service fee and a per movie viewing fee of $3.99 for new releases or $2.49 for popular favorites.



The MovieBeam receiver is provided by Samsung Electronics. Retail channels supporting the launch include Best Buy, Circuit City, Sears, Huppin's Hi-Fi, Magnolia Audio Video, RC Willey, Sound Advice and Ultimate Electronics.


MovieBeam provides Disney with a relatively inexpensive way of controlling its own VOD service, comparing to buying or building its own wireline network. An article in The Wall Street Journal estimates it will cost $250,000 per market to equip a local TV station for datacasting. Future plans might include other forms of on-demand content.www.MovieBeam.com

• Disney's MovieBeam receiver, which is provided by Samsung, uses over-the-air datacasting to download content and a telephone link for the upstream connections. It also features a USB expansion port.



• In July 2003, Walt Disney Internet Group expanded the use of its proprietary DIG Motion video technology to the Movies.com and ABC.com sites. After a one-time activation process, DIG Motion technology automatically launches full-motion video clips, typically lasting one to three minutes, when a consumer visits a participating site. Video is pre-downloaded directly to users' computers so there is no buffering, streaming or waiting. The technology first debuted on ESPN.com in February 2003.



• Walt Disney Internet Group's DIG Motion video technology pushes Windows Media Encoder 9 Series content down to a viewer's PC several times daily. The video will play automatically when logging on to ABC.com, ESPN.com, or Movies.com.

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Ericsson to Resell Atreus Systems' Service Fulfillment OSS

Ericsson will market and sell Atreus Systems' "xAuthority" as the service fulfillment engine within its IP service solution worldwide. The Atreus platform unifies front-end, customer-facing self-service portals with the back office operational systems that execute flow-through provisioning, authentication, and activation across the network.
http://www.atreus-systems.com

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Verizon Wireless Launches 3G CDMA 1xEVDO Networks

Verizon Wireless is activating commercial service on its 3G 1xEVDO (1X evolution-data optimized) networks in Washington D.C. and San Diego. The new BroadbandAccess service provides mobile VPN connections with typical access speeds of 300-500 Kbps with bursts of up to 2.0 Mbps. BroadbandAccess service is available for a flat rate of $79.99 a month. Verizon Wireless is offering a wireless PC card manufactured by Sierra Wireless for $149, after a $100 rebate. In the future, Verizon Wireless plans to offer additional BroadbandAccess products, including cards, modems and handheld devices. CDMA 1xEVDO provides its own data protection and authentication security. Coverage in Washington D.C. includes the District of Columbia, the Reston and Alexandria, VA areas and the Rockville, MD area. In San Diego, CA, coverage extends from Oceanside south to National City and east to include Escondido, Poway and El Cajon.



The network in San Diego uses Nortel Networks' CDMA2000 1xEV-DO technology, and is powered exclusively by Nortel Networks CDMA core and access solutions.



Lucent Technologies supplied the equipment for the mobile data network in the Washington, D.C. area.
http://www.verizonwireless.com

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SingTel Witholds Bid for Pay TV License in Singapore

Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) has decided not to submit a tender for the second Subscription Television Service (Pay TV) license in Singapore. The company said that after careful evaluation of the framework of the license, it concluded that "there is no viable and sustainable business case for SingTel to make the significant investment required to enter the Pay TV market in the current environment." Among the factors cited for not pursuing the second Pay TV license from the government were the size of the Singapore market, the well-entrenched position of the dominant incumbent, the availability and access to media content and the infrastructure and equipment costs.


Instead of becoming a licensed Pay TV operator, SingTel remains keen to work with content providers to offer their video on-demand (VOD) programming in Singapore over its ADSL network. In 2001-2002, SingTel conducted an eight-month Interactive TV trial that provided participants with high-speed digital video programming as well as broadband Internet access. The company said it does not need a Pay TV license to provide video-on-demand and Interactive TV services.
http://www.singtel.com

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Swedish Start-ups Targets Mobile + Wi-Fi VPN Roaming

Aptilo Networks and ipUnplugged, both start-ups based in Sweden, announced a joint solution that enables automatic login at public hotspots for employees running a VPN client for GPRS, UMTS or CDMA services. Aptilo's technology manages the public hotspots and the public guests to the enterprises, while ipUnplugged's solution manages the corporate Mobile-VPN.
http://www.aptilo.com
http://www.ipunplugged.com

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Samsung Announces 4GB Flash Memory

Samsung Electronics announced the world first 4Gb NAND flash memory, following a growth curve that doubles its density every twelve months: 256Mb in 1999, 512Mb in 2000, 1Gb in 2001, 2Gb in 2002, and 4Gb in 2003. The company said that with the new higher density level, nonvolatile memory is now a viable choice for solid-state data storage, potentially replacing magnetic tapes and low-density hard disk drives. NAND flash will also target mobile applications, such as notebook PCs, tablet PCs, mobile handsets, MP3 players and PDAs.
http://www.samsungsemi.com

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Juniper Opens Technical Center in Bangalore

Juniper Networks opened a new technical center in Bangalore, India and announced the expansion of its Technical Certification Program to give Indian candidates local training and certification for a wider range of Juniper Networks qualifications. The company also plans to appoint a Juniper Networks certified training partner in India to extend the training and certification available to IP professionals.
http://www.juniper.net

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TIA Calls for Health Care Telecom Cabling Guidelines

The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) is considering developing guidelines for the health care industry relative to providing a universal, generic telecommunications infrastructure. Such guidelines would serve as a supplement to ANSI/TIA/EIA-568-B.1-2001 (Commercial Building Telecommunications Cabling Standard), which specifies a generic cabling systems so that commercial buildings can support multi-vendor and multi-service communications.


New health care telecom guidelines would enable the planning and installation of a structured cabling system for health care facilities. Installation of cabling systems during building construction or renovation is significantly less expensive and less disruptive than after the building is occupied. The guidelines would address both clinical and non-clinical applications, as well as public and enterprise networks. The systems that can be accommodated using structured cabling can include but are not limited to:

• Voice, Data and Video (closed circuit TV, security and broadcast)


• Mobile Applications Nurse Call, Patient Monitoring


• Tracking (professional, patient, asset)


• Diagnostic Imaging, Pharma Applications, Telemedicine


• Bioanalytical Systems, Life Safety, Lighting Control


• Master Clock


• Public Networks, etc.

TIA's TR-42 Engineering Committee on User Premises Telecommunications Infrastructure is inviting interested parties, including users, designers and integrators, to contribute to this proposed project development.
http://www.tiaonline.org/media/press_releases/index.cfm?parelease=03-117

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Emergent Networks Unveils Softswitch

Emergent Networks, a start-up based in Allen, Texas, introduced a vendor- and technology-agnostic switch call control and element management system that supports legacy as well as packet networks. The ENTICE (Emergent Networks Telecommunications Infrastructure Control Environment) bridges H.323, SIP, SS7, ISDN, IP, TDM, and other leading communications protocols. Emergent said its platform's open APIs allow extensive customization for applications such as voicemail, unified messaging, find me/follow me services, and others. Emergent offers the following "pre-packaged" solutions:

• ENTICE Softswitch, providing carrier-grade call control, translations, routing, and element provisioning for a network of H.323, SIP, or H.248-based network elements. An optional SS7 controller provides access to signaling networks worldwide;



• ENTICE Session Controller, allowing full access to communications flows (signaling, media, and media control) necessary to establish media sessions in a packet network;



• ENTICE Enhanced Services Platform, assuring the necessary features, scalability, and reliability necessary for enhanced services in a disparate, converged network. Custom call center solutions also supported;



• ENTICE Tandem Switch/International Gateway, enabling converged international switching (IP, TDM, or any combination) by combining ENTICE's routing, screening, and translation capabilities with Excel Switching's open, programmable hardware; and



• ENTICE Protocol Translator, supporting translation between protocols for all existing networks including SS7, ISDN, H.323, SIP, H.248, and CAS.

The company claims scalability up to 100K ports.
http://www.emergent-netsolutions.com

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Pirelli Supplies Undersea Cable linking Kuwait and Iran

Pirelli was awarded a contract for supplying submarine and land fiber optic cables as well as terminal transmission equipment for a network linking Kuwait City and Ganeveh in Iran. The network will use Pirelli cables with G654 fibers and initially operate at 2.5 Gbps. It will be DWDM upgradeable to 4 channels of 10 Gbps. The link will be complete by Q2 2004. Additional branches are also planned for Failakah (Kuwait) and the Kharg (Iran) islands and to an Iranian offshore oil platform. The cable system will be owned by the Ministry of Communications of Kuwait and the Telecommunications Company of Iran. The project is the first for Pirelli in the region.
http://www.pirelli.com

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Arianespace Launches 2 Communications Satellites

Arianespace successfully orbited two geostationary communications satellites: INSAT-3E for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), and e-BIRD for Eutelsat. The INSAT-3E satellite, which was built by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) in Bangalore, is equipped with 36 C-band and extended C-band transponders for telecommunications and TV transmission services for the Indian sub-continent. The e-BIRD satellite was built by Boeing Space Systems in El Segundo, California, and is equipped with 20 Ku-band transponders for providing high-speed IP links for Europe and Turkey. The mission's third payload, ESA's SMART-1 lunar probe, was successfully injected into an orbit that will take it to the Moon. The launch was carried out by a standard Ariane 5 "Generic" launcher from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.
http://www.arianespace.com

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Paradyne Promotes is 'Pizza Box' DSLAM

Paradyne Networks announced a five week promotion for its "pizza box" sized GranDSLAM 4200IP product. A starter kit is priced at $65 per port and includes a GranDSLAM 4200IP and five endpoints.
http://www.paradyne.com

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TeleSym Secures Funding for Wi-Fi Phones

TeleSym, a start-up based in Bellevue, Washington, raised $12.5 million in second round funding for its Wi-Fi phone software. The TeleSym software enables voice calling from mobile computers or PDAs on wireless networks. The company's SymPhone System adds cordless phone capability to every computer on a Wi-Fi network. The funding round was led by the Intel Communications Fund and Siemens Venture Capital, and includes new investor Thomas Weisel Venture Partners. Original investors Bay Partners and Northwest Venture Associates also participated.


The company claims that when calling between SymPhones across the open Internet and Wi-Fi (802.11) LANs, the fidelity is "near-CD-quality," with no perceived latency (delay).
http://www.telesym.com

• TeleSym is headed by Raju Gulabani, who previously served as a Product Unit Manager at Microsoft.

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RealNetworks Signs Two Asian Mobile Operators

RealNetworks will supply its Helix mobile technology to MobileOne Ltd. (M1) of Singapore and PT Indosat Multimedia Mobile (IM3) of Indonesia. The RealNetworks' Helix mobile technology is an open, multi-format mobile platform that enables operators to stream live and on-demand Internet audio and video content to mobile devices enabled with the RealOne Player or other multimedia-enabled applications. Financial terms were not disclosed.
http://www.realnetworks.comIn February, Hong Kong CSL became the first Asian operator to announce plans to stream mobile video services using RealNetworks' Helix technology.

In June, the Vodafone Group PLC, the world's largest group of mobile operators with a presence in 36 countries, announced it had chosen RealNetworks to provide mobile media delivery technology to power audio and video services for it's new Vodafone live!

In August, Sprint and RealNetworks announced the availability of RealOne mobile for Sprint PCS Vision customers.

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Nokia announces Corporate Restructuring

Nokia announced a corporate restructuring aimed at re-focusing its business "on convergence, new mobility markets and growth." The change follows the reorganization of Nokia Mobile Phones into nine business units in the spring of 2002. The new structure consists of four business groups, corporate-wide sales, marketing, logistics, manufacturing and technology units, as well as a corporate strategy, development and research unit. The four business groups are:

• Mobile Phones -- which offers a global range of mobile phones for large consumer segments. The group is headed by Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo.



• Multimedia -- which focuses on bringing mobile multimedia to consumers in the form of images, games, music and a range of other attractive content. The group is headed by Anssi Vanjoki.



• Networks -- which offers network technology and related services based on major wireless standards. The group is headed by Sari Baldauf.



• Enterprise Solutions -- which provides a range of terminals and mobile connectivity solutions based on end-to-end mobility architecture. A general manager for the group will be announced later.

The changes will be in effect as of January 1, 2004.
http://www.nokia.com

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Bookham Acquires Ignis Optics

Bookham Technology agreed to acquire Ignis Optics, a provider of small form-factor pluggable (SFP and XFP) single-mode optical transceivers, for $15.5 million in new stock. Ignis Optics is based in San Jose, California. Bookham said the acquisition would accelerate its move to provide a full XFP and SFP product set at multiple speeds and different reaches in order to address the majority of new datacom optics opportunities.
http://www.bookham.com
http://www.ignis-optics.com

• Earlier this month, Bookham announced plans to acquire New Focus.



• In July 2003, Bookham acquired the business of Cierra Photonics.



• In 2002, Bookham acquired the optical components businesses from Nortel Networks and Marconi.

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NEC Selects Ixia to Speed Development of its 10 Gigabit GlobalOpenEthernet

NEC is using Ixia's load modules and Linux Software Development Toolkit (SDK) to facilitate the research and development process of their next-generation 10 Gigabit Ethernet switch, which implements NEC's newly developed GlobalOpenEthernet (GOE) scheme. GOE aims to enhance Ethernet functionality by inserting VLAN-compatible forwarding tags in order to route packets to their destination. The Ixia test equipment has helped prove 80G full wire rate forwarding under the protocol. The architecture of the TXS series of Ixia Load Modules includes a CPU per port, running the Linux operating system, and provides the user with direct control over individual test ports.
http://www.ixiacom.com
http://www.nec.com/

• In June 2003, NEC unveiled its GlobalOpenEthernet technology aimed at optimizing carrier networks and wide-area enterprise networks based on Ethernet . The technology's key component is the extended use of the VLAN tag in the Ethernet header. NEC said the technique would accelerate failure recovery times and optimize packet forwarding paths. By aggregating the switching information to the VLAN tag, the forwarding of packets between switches would be accelerated.

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BellSouth Tests 2.3 GHz Fixed Wireless in North Carolina

America Connect and BellSouth are launching a trial of fixed wireless broadband service in two rural North Carolina counties using the 2.3 GHz WCS band. BellSouth holds WCS band licenses throughout the southeast. America Connect and BellSouth are performing this trial with the help of funding from the Rural Internet Access Authority, a state-created authority that is predominantly funded through a private grant from MCNC, a technology nonprofit located in the Research Triangle Park.
http://www.aconnect.nethttp://www.e-nc.org

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Verizon Calls on FCC to Clarify Broadband Policy

Verizon Communications issued another call on the FCC to clarify the broadband policy contained in its recently issued Triennial Review in order to reverse the "dramatic decline in capital investment in America's telecommunications infrastructure."


In a presentation to Cato Institute Policy Forum in Washington, D.C., Tom Tauke, Verizon's senior vice president for public policy & external affairs, said the FCC's order with respect to broadband makes clear that incumbent telcos are not required to lease piece parts of new fiber networks to competitors when the fiber is lit and connected to a single-family house in a market served by a provider that was never part of the Bell System, such as the former GTE. However, does the same no-unbundling-required rule apply in Bell company markets? What's the rule when the customers served live in an apartment building rather than detached housing? Tauke also believes the order is murky on the definition of a business: what's the rule when the customer is a dry cleaner or a drugstore? How about an insurance firm or office at a strip mall?


Verizon is also urging the FCC to clarify that broadband services will be regulated the same way no matter which company offers them, so "that competing broadband infrastructures will be on an equal footing."http://www.verizon.com

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Equant Supplies Global MPLS VPN to Esselte

Equant will provide a global VPN with 50 locations across four continents to Esselte, a leading global office supplies manufacturer. Under a five-year, multimillion dollar agreement, Equant will implement an MPLS-based IP VPN, replacing a Frame Relay network provided by AT&T. In addition, Equant will provide an IP dial solution for about 500 traveling users.
http://www.equant.com

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Tellabs Introduces IP/MPLS Managed Edge Platform

Tellabs introduced a new carrier-class, medium capacity (42 Gbps) "managed edge" platform designed to extend IP/MPLS from the edge of the core network to the local exchange or even to the customer premises. The new Tellabs 8600 system could be used by service providers to implement MPLS VPNs and Ethernet over MPLS, delivering application aware services such as intranet interconnectivity, extranet, business Internet access and corporate voice with QoS. It could also be used for aggregating broadband traffic from consumers and small office home office (SoHo) users. The modular platform leverages Tellabs' 8100 managed access system, which features GUI-based point-and-click service provisioning and management.


Network deployments of the new Tellabs 8600 system will begin in the first half of 2004. The product was developed at Tellabs' R&D facility in Finland.


Tellabs said this new platform, along with the Tellabs 8800 multi-service switch router (MSSR) from the recently acquired Vivace Networks, enable it to offer a complete data solution that integrates Layer 1 (transport), Layer 2 (switching) and Layer 3 (routing) capabilities.
http://www.tellabs.com

• Earlier this year, Tellabs acquired Vivace Networks, a start-up building multiservice edge switches, for $135 million in cash and employee stock options.



• The Tellabs 8800 (formerly Vivace Viva5100) is designed for delivering native Frame Relay, ATM, Ethernet and IP services. It scales to 320 Gbps of full-duplex switching in half of a 7 foot rack and a multi-chassis system could scale up to 256 customer ports at 10 Gbps. A single Universal Line Card accepts a flexible set of different Physical Line Modules spanning DS3 - OC-192/STM-64.

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Extreme Networks Confirms Sub 50 Millisecond Ethernet Failover Capability

Tests conducted by BT's research, technology and IT operations business, BT Exact, have confirmed that Extreme Networks' Ethernet Automatic Protection Switching (EAPS) version 2 technology delivers sub 50-millisecond failover on both copper and fiber interfaces. Extreme said its performance is on par with Automatic Protection System (APS) for SONET/SDH-type network infrastructures, and surpasses the performance of the commonly deployed Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) and the Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol (RSTP) running on a switched infrastructure. The tests conducted by BT Exact were meant to verify the EAPS capability to perform protection switching of Layer 2 traffic in less than 50ms for up to 100 protected VLANs (virtual LANs), with each VLAN carrying 1,000 traffic flows. The tests also verified that Layer 3 traffic using BGP routing performed protection switching in less than one (1) second with 100,000 BGP routes advertised and up to 10,000 traffic flows. Notably, no BGP sessions were dropped during any of the tests. Extreme Networks has posted the results on its web site.
http://www.extremenetworks.com

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CIENA Signs Reseller and Investment Deals with Luminous

Luminous Networks, a start-up based in Cupertino, California, announced a reseller agreement under which CIENA will market, sell and support its "PacketWave" optical transport products worldwide. Luminous' PacketWave E-Series is a low-cost multiservice transport platform for 1 Gbps or 2.5 Gbps metro rings. Like Luminous Networks' existing M-series (metro core) and C-Series (metro access) platforms, the PacketWave E500 leverages RPR layer 2 technology to integrate Ethernet and TDM services using ring architectures that are cheaper and more bandwidth-efficient than conventional SONET/SDH. The products are interoperable with CIENA's ONLINE Metro, ONLINE Edge, CoreDirector and the DN family of multiservice switches. Work is underway to integrate PacketWave into CIENA's ON-Center Management Suite.


Luminous began carrying live customer traffic in late 2000 and is currently installed in over 50 networks worldwide. The company has shipped over 40,000 ports and more than 1,200 PacketWave products to date. Its customer list includes MSOs in the US and the largest telecommunications carriers in China, including China Netcom.


Separately, Luminous Networks raised $25 million in series E funding led by CIENA and venture firm DCM-Doll Capital Management. The round was supported by investments from all the significant current investors including DynaFund Ventures, Vanguard Ventures, Morgan Stanley Venture Partners, Scientific-Atlanta, Inc. and Pyramid Technology Ventures. Luminous Networks had raised over $148 million in its four previous rounds of funding.
http://www.luminous.com
http://www.ciena.com

• Scientific-Atlanta and Luminous Networks offer a joint RPR solution targeted at cable operators. Scientific-Atlanta OEMs the Luminous platform and provides Asynchronous Serial Interface (ASI) and Intermediate Frequency (IF) video cards that plug into the metro optical access platform. This enables operators to centralize MPEG management, modulation and encryption functions for broadcast digital video applications at the headend. The ASI digital video broadcast (DVB) card, based on the ASI standard, supports the transport and interconnection of MPEG-2 transport streams. The Intermediate Frequency (IF) card provides transparent regional distribution of analog or digital video service over long distances.



• Luminous Networks was founded in June 1998. The company is led by Alex Naqvi, formerly VP and General Manager at Chips and Technologies.



• In September 2003, CIENA entered into a reseller agreement to market, sell and support Laurel Networks' flagship ST200 Service Edge Router, which will be integrated into CIENA's LightWorks ON-Center Management Suite. Laurel's ST200 Service Edge Router is designed for service provider IP/MPLS backbones. Separately, Laurel Networks closed a $20 million third round of funding, bringing total investment in the company to $102.3 million. The new participant in the third round is primary investor CIENA.



• In October 2002, CIENA made a strategic investment in WaveSmith Networks, a developer of multiservice data switches. In April 2003, CIENA agreed to acquire Wavesmith.

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Broadcom Realigns Its Businesses Into Four Groups

Broadcom announced a corporate reorganization into four strategic business groups. Previously, marketing and product development were conducted through six business units. The realignment is not expected to result in any reduction in companywide headcount. The new strategic business groups include:

• Enterprise Computing Group -- focused on large PC and server OEMs, storage system vendors and original design manufacturers (ODMs). Products from this Group include Fast Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet controllers for network interface cards (NICs) and LAN on motherboard (LOM) solutions for notebook and desktop computers and servers, server I/O chipsets, and forthcoming NAS and RAID storage solutions for enterprise environments. Headed by Thomas F. Lagatta.



• Networking Infrastructure Group -- focused on enterprise and small-to-medium-sized business networking system OEMs and ODMs. End products served by this Group include physical layer, switch, security, processor and optical solutions for Layer 2 to 7 switches, routers, SONET equipment, storage area network (SAN) switches, metro switches and routers, and security appliances. Headed by Dr. Ford G. Tamer.



• Mobile & Wireless Group -- focused on cellular phone OEMs and ODMs, Wi-Fi-based PC, client, access point, and consumer and business equipment OEMs and ODMs. Products include GSM/GPRS/Edge, 802.11, and Bluetooth solutions as well as IP phone solutions. Headed by Robert A. Rango.



• Broadband Communications Group -- focused on OEMs and ODMs in the satellite, cable, xDSL and fixed wireless broadband markets. Products include solutions for cable and DSL modems and gateways; digital cable and satellite set top boxes; digital TV; CMTSs and DSLAMs. Headed by Daniel A. Marotta.

http://www.broadcom.com

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ArrayComm Names New CEO

ArrayComm, a developer of broadband mobile and smart antenna technologies, appointed Sam Endy as President and CEO. He succeeds wireless industry pioneer Martin Cooper, who will continue to serve as ArrayComm's chairman of the board. Dr. Endy was previously Chief Operating Officer of ArrayComm and played an instrumental role in the technology and market development stages for ArrayComm's flagship products -- the iBurst Personal Broadband system and IntelliCell, ArrayComm's patented smart antenna array processing techniques. Previously, he served as VP of Operations at Sprint, where he was responsible for the activation and operation of Sprint's 20,000 mile U.S. fiber network, 42 switching centers, and initiation of international service.


Martin Cooper is credited with making the first public telephone call using a portable cellular phone. In April 1973, Cooper was general manager of Motorola's Communications Systems Division. That first call was placed to Cooper's rival at AT&T's Bell Labs from the streets of New York City.
http://www.arraycomm.com

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Acterna to Emerge from Chapter 11

Acterna received bankruptcy court approval for its plan of reorganization. The company plans to emerge from Chapter 11 status in the next ten days. The debt restructuring process took approximately 5 months.


Acterna plans to introduce 12 new products and enhancements over the next three months.
http://www.acterna.com

• In August 2003, Acterna filed a plan of reorganization with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York that would reduce its long term debt by $770 million, or 80%, and lower its annual cash interest expense by at least $45 million.

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Ohio's Bascom Mutual Builds Competitive Overlay FTTP Network

Bascom Mutual Telephone, an independent operating company, is deploying Optical Solutions' new FiberPath 500 system in the area surrounding the towns of Fostoria and Tiffin, Ohio. An "edge out" policy from the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio allows independent carriers such as Bascom Mutual to expand their territory via a competitive overbuild and offer broadband services in a neighboring area - all without forming a separate CLEC subsidiary. Financial terms were not disclosed.
http://www.opticalsolutions.com

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China Unicom Awards $230 Million in CDMA Contracts to Lucent

China Unicom awarded CDMA mobile network expansion contracts valued at more than $230 million to Lucent Technologies. As part of the initial stage of China Unicom's phase III expansion, Lucent will supply CDMA2000 equipment to China Unicom's subsidiaries in six provinces including Inner Mongolia, Liaoning, Shandong, Shanghai, Zhejiang, and Guangdong.
http://www.lucent.com
http://www.lucent.com.cn

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NTT Photonics Labs Announces KTN Crystal Breakthrough

NTT Photonics Laboratories reported a breakthrough in its efforts to develop better optical waveguides. Researchers at NTT have synthesized a KTN crystals that could be used in optical modulators and optical switches with a driving voltage one order of magnitude lower than that of conventional optical devices. KTN is a transparent optical crystal composed of potassium, tantalum, niobium, and oxygen.
http://www.ntt.co.jp/news/news03e/0309/030924.html

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DISH Network Reaches One Million Mark for Digital Video Recorders

The DISH Network has sold its 1 millionth digital video recorder (DVR). The DISH Player's DISH Video-On-Demand DVR service allows viewers to skip recorded TV commercials, record up to 100 hours of programming without videotape, pause live TV, perform slow-motion instant replays, and use four speeds of fast forward and fast reverse.
http://www.dishnetwork.com

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LightSand Introduces its FICON Extension Solution

LightSand, a start-up based in Milpitas, California announced a family of solutions for extending FICON over IP, SONET/SDH, or dedicated fiber without requiring SAN switches. FICON (FIbre CONnection) is IBM's preferred method of connecting its mainframe computers to storage devices such as the Enterprise Storage System (Shark). Native FICON is limited to 10 km. The cornerstone of LightSand's architecture is a product that extends traditional FICON links over distance using conventional IP. LightSand is also providing a SONET gateway. The two products can transport 290 MBytes/sec from one site to another across a single SONET link or DWDM wavelength.
http://www.lightsand.com

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Video Without Boundaries Shows Internet DVD/Set-top

A company called Video Without Boundaries introduced an Internet / DVD Player / Set-top Box designed to play a range of different media types on a TV. The MediaReady 4000 platform can play DVD/MPEG-1/MPEG-2/MPEG-4/MP3 content and has a hard disk drive, Ethernet 10/100BT wired and wireless connections, USB 2.0 and 1394 ports. The Linux platform could be used to download movies from the Internet. The platform was demonstrated to OEMs at this week's Computex show in Taipei, Taiwan.http://vwbinc.com

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Pedestal Networks Names ADC Executive as its New CEO

Pedestal Networks, a start-up based in Fremont, California, named Greg Daily as its new CEO, replacing Dan Kohn, general partner of Skymoon Ventures, who served as the interim CEO during Pedestal's two-year product development phase. Daily previously served as general manager of ADC's $200 million Loop Transport Products division. Pedestal Networks developed a universal broadband solution designed to eliminate technical and economic barriers for DSL deployments. The company's first product is expected to be unveiled shortly.
http://www.pedestalnetworks.com

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UTStarcom Signs $30M PAS Expansion Contract with China Telecom

UTStarcom announced a $30 million contract to supply its IP-based PAS (Personal Access System) for deployment in the city of Chengdu by China Telecom. Once the expansion is complete, PAS capacity in Chengdu City, with a population of 10 million people, will surpass 1.5 million. Since the initial launch of PAS in Sichuan Province in April 2002, more than 750,000 people have subscribed to receive basic service, while approximately 60,000 subscribers are also data users.
http://www.utstar.com/

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AudioCodes is Key Supplier to 3Com for Gateways and Media Servers

AudioCodes is supplying 3Com with gateways and media servers for the IP telephony enterprise market. Specifically, AudioCodes is supplying 3Com with three types of products: Digital Gateways;
Media Servers; and Analog Gateways.
http://www.audiocodes.com
http://www.3com.com

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EC's New Radio Spectrum Policy Group Sets Work Agenda

The European Commission's new Radio Spectrum Policy Group (RSPG) held its second meeting last week and agreed on a work program of relevant policy issues. On the agenda are issues resulting from the recent World Radiocommunication Conference, the secondary trading of rights to use radio spectrum, and the radio spectrum implications of the eventual EU switchover to digital broadcasting. The RSPG has also launched a public website.http://rspg.groups.eu.int

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European Commission Adopts Transition Plan for Digital Broadcasting

The European Commission adopted a plan for migrating to digital radio and television transmission, and ultimately switching off analog transmission, in a consumer-friendly fashion. The plan does not set a common date for mandatory digital transmission, instead calls on EU member states to provide incentives for consumers to migrate to digital television voluntarily. Member states are required to publish their switchover plans by the end of 2003. The EC is also opening debate on what to do with the resulting spectrum when analog broadcasting is ultimately shut off.http://europa.eu.int

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WSJ: Digital Cable Suffers Higher Churn Than Analog

Leading North American cable operators (MSOs) are experiencing higher churn rates for their digital cable offerings (5% per month) than for their legacy analog services (2.5% per month), according to The Wall Street Journal. Citing market figures from The Yankee Group, the article notes that the sign-up rate for digital cable service has slowed sharply since 2001, leading some analysts to conclude that the long-term migration to all-digital TV is stalling. A chief customer complaint is that the dozens of additional channels provided by digital service are not watched. Industry executives quoted in the article say the remedy for this problem is VOD.
http://www.wsj.com

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Salira Supplies Triple Play EPON for Chinese MSO

Salira Optical Network Systems is supplying a "triple-play" optical network solution to GuangZhou Pantong Information Broadband Network (Panyu Cable), which provides cable TV and associated services to the Panyu district of the city of GuangZhou, China. The Ethernet, passive optical network (EPON) architecture is expected to scale to reach 260,000 endpoints and deliver 80 channels of broadcast TV, video on-demand (VOD), VoIP and high-speed Internet access.


Panyu will be using Salira's 2500 optical line terminal, Salira 2300 multi-customer optical network unit and Salira Access Management (SAM) system, which combines service creation, subscriber management and EMS functionality. Salira's ASIC driven platform allocates upstream and downstream bandwidth across the PON based on pre-defined class of service parameters at the port level, thereby enabling uniquely-defined SLAs for individual customers. The Salira 2500 supports up to 14 optical line cards or PON circuits. Each optical line card can support 16 Salira 2300s that can be located at up to 20 kilometers from the central office on the same PON. The Salira 2300 is configured with eight fixed 10/100 Mbps Fast Ethernet ports and two bays for modular plug-ins. One plug-in is configured with eight 10/100 Mbps Fast Ethernet ports, and another contains four T1/E1 ports. The Salira 2300 could be used to support multiple customers from the same PON termination.


Initially, Panyu will be using an RF video overlay design in which a separate wavelength is used to carry all TV channels directly to the ONUs. Coax cable inside the buildings carries the video to each apartment and subscribers use conventional set-top boxes to decode channels. In a later phase, Panyu plans to implement an IPTV architecture with IP multicasting occurring in the optical network.
http://www.salira.com

• In July 2003, Salira announced that China Netcom Corporation is deploying its optical access platforms in Beijing and in Changsha City (Hunan province) to deliver advanced voice, video and data services to business customers in a variety of Fiber-to-the-Premises (FTTP) deployments. More specifically, China Network will use the Salira 2000 Platform to connect customers to existing SDH rings in order to deliver traditional E1 TDM services. China Netcom will also use the optical network for Layer Two Tunneling Protocol (L2TP) for VPN services, Video-on-Demand (VOD) and VoIP. Salira's passive optical network (PON) architecture provides a 1:16 split.



• In October 2002, China's Ministry of Information Industry (MII) certified the Salira platform for commercial deployment. The company has sales offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing and Shenzhen.

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SINA.com Sources Video Content from China Cable Company

China Cable and Communication, a cable network operator located 130 km south of Beijing, will provide web-based broadband interactive video to the SINA Group, which operates web sites serving the global Chinese audience. SINA's portals and web sites have more than 66 million registered users worldwide. There will be a monthly service fee for each channel of video content.
http://www.sina.com

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IPCC Names Industry Leaders to its Board of Directors

The International Packet Communications Consortium (IPCC), which is dedicated to the development of the market for all products, services, applications and solutions that utilize packet-based communications, elected its new Board of Directors:

• Michael Khalilian, IPCC Chairman; CTO, NTT/Caerus



• Matt Collier, IPCC Treasurer; Senior Vice President, Enhanced Services, Level 3 Communications



• Martine Lapierre, Chief Technology Officer/Vice President Mobile Communications Group, Alcatel



• Doug Wadkins, Senior Manager of Customer Solutions, Cisco Systems



• John Falzon, SAIC/Telcordia Technologies



• Taher Behbehani, Vice President, Business Development & Strategy, UTStarcom, Inc.



• Rubin Gruber, Founder & Chairman, Sonus Networks



• David Heard, president and CEO, Santera Systems



• Eric Burger, CTO, SnowShore Networks



• Peter Brisco, Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer, Convedia Corporation



• Hanafy Meleis, President & CEO, Trendium

http://www.packetcomm.org

• In August, the International Packet Communications Consortium (IPCC) published an informational report entitled, "Lawfully Authorized Surveillance for Softswitch-based networks."

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MPLS/Frame Relay Alliance Approves Voice Trunking over MPLS

The MPLS/Frame Relay Alliance has approved the I.366.2 Voice Trunking Format over MPLS Implementation Agreement (IA), which enables the transfer of compressed voice over a converged MPLS backbone using existing ATM Adaptation Layer 2 (AAL2) technology. Such voice trunking capabilities could be supported by carrier or Provider Edge (PE) routers, multi-service edge switches and dedicated gateway equipment.


Specifically, the I.366.2 Voice Trunking Format over MPLS Implementation Agreement defines MPLS transport of AAL2 Common Part Sublayer Packets (CPS-Packets). The AAL2 CPS packet handling described in ITU-T I.366.2 provides the required frame formats and procedures for carrying encoded voice, dialed digits, fax, signaling information and data. The I.336.2 mechanisms are currently used in ATM, VoDSL, and wireless telephony networks. These AAL2 mechanisms permit the suppression of transport of inactive voice channels, and additionally may use voice activity detection to take advantage of the statistical nature of voice. The use of these AAL2 mechanisms also permits the multiplexing of multiple low bit-rate channels over MPLS LSPs.


The MPLS/Frame Relay Alliance said the new IA provides an efficient means of transporting voice and
related traffic from integrated access devices and wireless telephony networks over MPLS.
http://www.mplsforum.org

• In August 2003, the MPLS/Frame Relay Alliance approved a new Time Division Multiplexing (TDM)-over-MPLS Implementation Agreement (IA) that enables the delivery of n* 64kps (DS0), T1, E1, E3, T3 or other such private line services over an MPLS network. The new IA may be applied in the design of carrier or Provider Edge (PE) routers, multi-service edge switches and dedicated gateway equipment. The emulation method defines how the PE will map, encapsulate and tunnel TDM private line traffic over MPLS LSPs. Specifically, it defines the emulation of TDM circuits over MPLS Label Switched Paths (LSPs) by using ATM AAL1 encapsulation.



• In July 2003, the MPLS/Frame Relay Alliance announced a new project to address FR/ATM service interworking as well as an increased focus on FR/ATM/Ethernet service interworking. These projects align with the results of a June MPLS/Frame Relay industry survey in which more than 200 service providers and vendors identified ATM/Frame Relay/Ethernet Service Interworking as the most important work area for the Alliance.

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Spirent Introduces Fibre Channel Storage Routing Tester

Spirent Communications introduced a storage routing tester for Fibre Channel networks. Spirent's Storage Routing Tester (SRT) is a software module that runs on the company's SmartBits Test System. The solution can simulate an entire network of up to 239 switches with a single Spirent Fibre Channel
module, enabling users to stress test SAN equipment.
http://www.spirentcom.com

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Alcatel Supplies DSL + Wi-Fi in Cambodia

Alcatel has supplied a DSL and Wi-Fi network to Cogetel, the leading ISP in Cambodia. For this project, Alcatel has delivered public WLAN "hot spots" covering prime locations in Phnom Penh, the country's capital. The hot-spots are connected through Cogetel's DSL lines over a multiprotocol network provided by Alcatel.
http://www.alcatel.com

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InfiniCon Secures $15 Million for its 10 Gbps Fabric Designs

InfiniCon Systems, a start-up based in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, secured an additional $15 million in series C funding for its shared I/O and switching solutions for next-generation server networks. InfiniCon's designs are based on the InfiniBand Architecture. InfiniCon's InfinIO 3000 Switch Series, which targets the requirements of scalable HPC and database clustering environments, packs thirty-two 10 Gbps InfiniBand ports into 1U of rack space. InfiniCon also features an InfiniBand switching "Ports on Demand (POD)" technology that lets users pay for InfiniBand fabrics as they scale them. InfiniCon's Series C funding raises the total investment in the company to $48 million. The funding round was led by Bay Partners and included investors from prior rounds - ARCH Venture Partners, W Capital Partners, and A.G. Edwards Capital - as well as new investors, including Chevron Technology Ventures LLC.
http://www.infinicon.com

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Pulse~LINK and Fujitsu Microelectronics Develop UWB Chips

Pulse~LINK, a start-up based in San Diego, and Fujitsu Microelectronics America will jointly develop a digital baseband processor for Ultra Wideband (UWB) WLAN applications using Fujitsu's 0.11-micron CMOS SoC ASIC technology. Pulse~LINK has demonstrated 400 Mbps UWB transmission and is developing an FCC-compliant solution with about a 100-meter range. Under the agreement, Fujitsu Microelectronics will provide design and manufacturing services for the digital baseband processor, one of two SoC ASICs that form Pulse~LINK's high-speed secure WLAN solution. Engineering samples are expected by the end of 2004.
http://www.pulselink.nethttp://www.fma.fujitsu.com/asic

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Marconi Introduces Next-Gen Multihaul WDM

Marconi introduced a new, scalable, WDM transmission platform that could serve metro, long-haul and ultra-long haul distances of up to 4,000 km. The Marconi "SmartPhotoniX Multihaul" platform leverages Marconi's SmartPhotoniX transmission technology, which uses dispersion-managed solutions. Marconi said the basic philosophy behind its new platform is to provide modular and flexible architecture with "plug and play" features that reduce the time taken to provision new services, such as lighting up additional wavelengths to satisfy bandwidth demand. Channel upgrades are carried out by inserting the appropriate transponders at the terminal nodes, without the need for manual intervention or re-configuration. The SmartPhotoniX Multihaul also integrates Marconi's SDH optical transmission expertise and includes optical bypass technologies for traffic passing straight through a node, eliminating the need for costly signal regeneration. The new multihaul platform has also been developed to inter-work seamlessly with Marconi's MSH2K optical Switch.
http://www.marconi.com

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