Sonus Networks Reports Q4 Revenue of $12.7 Million

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

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

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

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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

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Shoreline Secures $10.75 Million for its IP-PBXs

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

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AOMEMS Announces New 8 X 8 Optical Broadcast Switch

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

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Cisco Supplies Converged Network to Canadian City

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

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Telia's Viking Network transmits Polish TV to USA

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

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RAD and Axerra Work Toward TDM over IP

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

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Neralink Networks Develops Ethernet over SONET/SDH System

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

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MetaSwitch Converges Telco and Cable VoIP for Rural Incumbent

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

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Cox Installs SupportSoft to Remotely Diagnose Customer Broadband Trouble

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

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GlobespanVirata Supports 16 Mbps ADSL Rates

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

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UK Opens 5 GHz Spectrum for WLAN Use

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

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Digital Teleport Expects Multiple Bids for its Regional Fiber Network

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

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

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

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



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



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

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Court Orders Verizon to Disclose File Swapper's Identity

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

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WilTel Provides SBC with Optical Capacity for National Network

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

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



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



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

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