MetaSwitch and Occam Networks Partner on All-Packet Access Network

MetaSwitch and Occam Networks announced the availability of a joint solution enabling the delivery of analog (POTS) telephone lines over a broadband access network. The partnership combines MetaSwitch's VP3500 Next Generation Class 5 Switch and the Occam Broadband Loop Carrier system, allowing carriers to converge their access networks without intermediate IP/TDM gateways. The MetaSwitch/Occam solution terminates traditional analog voice and DSL lines in the service providers' network, requiring no changes to the last-mile network or customer premises equipment. The solution also differs from a traditional digital loop carrier architecture in that it converges voice and data in the access network using the MGCP and RTP protocols for VoIP. The companies have completed interoperability testing and are starting trials with a number of service providers.
http://www.metaswitch.com
http://www.occamnetworks.com

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SBC Posts Growth in DSL and Long Distance

SBC Communications reported Q1 revenues of $10.3 billion, compared with $10.5 billion in the year-ago period. SBC reported earnings per diluted share of $0.74 before the cumulative effects of accounting changes and $1.50 after the cumulative effects of accounting changes. This compares with first-quarter 2002 results of earnings per diluted share of $0.48 before the effects of accounting changes. SBC said first-quarter results reflect robust growth in DSL and long-distance subscribers despite continued revenue pressure and access line loss due to the economic and competitive environments. Some highlights:

• Added 270,000 DSL subscribers, bringing its total to 2.5 million. Q1 represented its 5th consecutive quarter of sequential DSL subscriber growth and the largest quarterly subscriber gain so far. The addressable DSL footprint now covers 66% of SBC's consumer and small business lines. SBC expects DSL to be EBITDA positive on a total product basis in early 2004.
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  Added 1.5 million long-distance lines, bringing its total to 7.6 million. In the first three weeks of April, SBC added approximately 450,000 long-distance lines. In California, SBC now has a long-distance retail line penetration of 13% for the consumer segment and 10% overall.
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  SBC's interLATA revenues were up 38% compared to Q1 2002, because of the increased number of LD subscribers, especially in California, where average monthly revenues per line are more than 50% higher than in SBC's southwestern states.
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  Local voice revenues declined 9.2% year-over-year and 3.1% sequentially, reflecting declines in retail access lines. Total access lines declined by 405,000 in Q1, compared with a decline of 545,000 in Q4 2002 and a decline of 496,000 in Q1 2002. Retail access lines declined by 1.05 million, 70% of which were for consumers. SBC lost 770,000 retail access lines to UNE-P competitors, compared with a loss of 810,000 UNE-P lines in Q4 2002. At the end of Q1, SBC was serving 5.784 million UNE-P lines and 1.754 million UNE-L loops.
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  Data revenues for the quarter were $2.5 billion, up 3.7% from Q1 2002. High-capacity transport revenues increased 1.4% over Q4 2002. DSL/Internet revenues were up 12% over Q4.
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  CAPEX was $897 million, compared with $1.8 billion in both Q1 and Q4 2002.
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  Total debt, net of cash, was reduced by $3.1 billion during the quarter and by $11.3 billion, or 42%, from the end of Q1 2002. Total debt net of cash at the end of the first quarter was $15.4 billion.
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  Cingular Wireless added 189,000 net subscribers, giving it a total of 22.1 million.

http://www.sbc.com

• As of 31-March-03, SBC was serving 56.7 million total switched access lines.
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  Total minutes of use for Q1, including interstate, intrastate, and wireless switched access minutes of use, was 64.2 billion minutes, down 3.9% from the prior quarter.

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Sprint Rolls Out VoIP Evolution Strategy for PBX Family

Sprint announced a VoIP migration strategy for its Sprint-branded Coral PBX product line. VoIP enhancements enable the PBX to provide transparent voice networking to link multiple PBXs over managed IP networks regionally, nationally or internationally using the QSIG standard. The Coral system also provides IP telephony to the desktop and allows remote locations to connect to the main PBX using IP telephones. Sprint plans to introduce the Flex IP Softphone, which is a Microsoft Windows client software application that allows any desktop or laptop PC on the LAN or WAN to become an IP station terminal. The IP softphone integrates with Microsoft Outlook. Near year's end, Sprint expects to roll out a server-based Coral IP system with voice, data and video support, network connectivity to existing Coral systems, gateways to the PSTN and support for H.323, SIP, and MGCP IP protocols.
http://www.sprint.com

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Lucent's Chief Operating Officer Steps Down

Bob Holder, who has served as chief operating officer (COO) of Lucent since October 2001, will leave the company. As chief operating officer, Holder, 56, had responsibility for Lucent's major units -- Mobility Solutions, Integrated Network Solutions, Lucent Worldwide Services, Supply Chain Networks and Information Technology. His responsibilities will be assumed by Lucent's CEO, Patricia Russo.
http://www.lucent.com/

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FCC Sets New Rules for Satellite Broadband Services

The FCC adopted a new licensing process aimed at accelerating the rollout of satellite Internet services. The new rules create a queue for satellite applications whereby each application will be considered under the Commission's public interest standard in the order in which it is filed. The new framework also establishes different procedures for licensing nongeostationary-like satellite systems (NGSOs) and geostationary--like systems (GSOs). In order to discourage companies from speculating in the market by acquiring licenses and then holding them indefinitely, the FCC is including a requirement that licensees post a $5 million to $7.5 million bond within 30 days after receiving a license, payable upon revocation of the license for missing a milestone; a limit of five pending GSO applications and unbuilt GSO satellites and one pending NGSO application or unbuilt NGSO system in a particular frequency band; an attribution rule so that licensees cannot evade these limits; and additional implementation milestones and stronger enforcement of milestones. Finally, to prevent a "land rush," the Commission imposed a freeze on satellite applications (except for next-generation replacement satellites) effective immediately. The new rules do not apply to Direct Broadcast Satellite Service or the Digital Audio Radio Satellite Service.
http://www.fcc.gov

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FCC Launches Inquiry into Broadband over Power Line

The FCC is seeking public comment on using existing electrical power lines to provide Internet and broadband services to homes and offices. Broadband over Power Line (BPL) could be used by electric utility companies to deliver last mile Internet access as an alternative to DSL or cable modem. A new FCC inquiry seeks information, comment, and technical data on issues concerning Broadband over Power Line. In particular, the FCC is interested in two types of BPL: Access and In-House. Access BPL uses medium voltage (1,000 to 40,000 volts) power lines to bring Internet and other broadband applications to homes and offices. In-House BPL uses existing electric utility wiring to network computers and printers, as well as smart appliances, within a building. FCC Chairman Michael Powell said the commission is ready to amend policies to facilitate the development of new facilities-based platforms.
http://www.fcc.gov

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TelePacific Raises $30M to Expand, Explore Acquisitions

TelePacific Communications, a CLEC based in Los Angeles, received a $30 million equity investment led by affiliates of Investcorp, a global investment firm that is the company's largest shareholder. TelePacific is opening a new switching center in Orange County. The company is also exploring acquisitions possibilities as it enters new markets.
http://www.telepacific.com

• TelePacific provides broadband and telecommunications services to business customers in markets including Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland and Las Vegas.

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Qwest CEO Named to Presidential Advisory Committee

Richard C. Notebaert, Qwest chairman and CEO, has been appointed by President George W. Bush to serve as a member of the National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC). The CEO-only group of up to 30 telecommunications and technology industry executives advises the president and other White House leaders in meetings held several times annually.
http://www.qwest.com

• Former Qwest chairman and CEO Joseph P. Nacchio was named chairman of NSTAC in March 2002.
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  Nacchio resigned from Qwest in June 2002.

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AT&T Responds to S&P Rating Action

Standard & Poor's placed AT&T's "BBB+" long-term corporate credit on CreditWatch with negative implications, however it affirmed AT&T's short-term corporate credit and commercial paper ratings at A-2. In response, AT&T said it continues to take market share while growing key areas of its business during difficult times for the telecom industry. AT&T believes it has "one of the strongest balance sheets in the telecom industry, with net debt of $12 billion, net of $4.9 billion in cash."http://www.att.com

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Level 3 Maps Out Integration of Genuity's Network

Level 3 Communications reported quarterly revenue of $1.25 billion, up from $945 million in Q4 2002, primarily due to settlement revenue recognized in the quarter and the inclusion of results generated from the acquisition of Genuity. Net income for the quarter was $119 million, or $0.26 basic earnings per share and $0.22 diluted earnings per share, versus previously announced projections of a net loss of $0.65 basic loss per share. Included in net income was $326 million of revenue associated with customer terminations and settlements, of which $294 million relates to a non-cash settlement with XO Communications and a $70 million gain on the sale of the company's interest in its toll road operations. These two items contributed a net gain of $396 million, or $0.88 basic earnings per share. Some additional points:

• Level 3 generated positive operating cash flow for the first time.
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  The company noted progress in the integration of Genuity's operations, saying it had begun to close duplicative network capacity and facilities, combine network operating centers, and migrate customer traffic onto the Level 3 network. The Level 3 transport network will remain in place, augmented by 4,000 route fiber miles from Genuity. All of Genuity's IP traffic will be migrated onto the Level 3 backbone; major Genuity POPs will be reduced from 70 to 10; a substantial percentage of Genuity's modem ports will be mapped to the Level 3 softswitch platform; Genuity data centers will be reduced from 8 to 2; redundant metro access links will be eliminated as traffic moves onto local Level 3 fiber. Level 3 anticipates integration costs of $75 to $100 million, but anticipates significant costs saving once the network is integration is complete.
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  Level 3 has hired 1,400 Genuity employees, but will continue to evaluate its staffing needs.
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  CAPEX for property, plant and equipment was $25 million for Q1, including $3 million for information services and other businesses.
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  Based on current sales trends, the company said it is cautiously optimistic that it hit bottom in mid-year 2002.

http://www.level3.com

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Equant Awarded 5 Year Contract with Compania Argentina de Levaduras

Equant was awarded a five-year contract to expand its services to the Compania Argentina de Levaduras S.A. (CALSA), a Burns Philip Group company. The network will use Frame Relay to connect Burns Philip facilities in Argentina, Ecuador, Peru, Honduras, Costa Rica, Colombia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Guatemala and El Salvador. Equant also provides managed firewall, Internet dial remote access and professional services. Financial terms were not disclosed.
http://www.equant.com

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Alcatel and NetScreen Form Strategic Alliance

Alcatel has joined NetScreen's Global Security Alliance and in return NetScreen has joined the Alcatel Application Partner Program. Alcatel products submitted for testing with NetScreen solutions include: the Alcatel Omni switches, notably the OmniSwitch 8800, OmniSwitch 7000 and OmniSwitch 6600. NetScreen products submitted for testing under the Alcatel program include: NetScreen-500 systems, NetScreen-204, -208, -50, -25, -5XP, and -5XT appliances, and NetScreen Remote.
http://www.netscreen.com
http://www.alcatel.com

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McLeodUSA Reports Revenue of $225.9 million, Net Loss Improves

McLeodUSA, one of the nation's largest CLECs, reported quarterly revenue of $225.9 million, compared to $259.4 million in Q1 2002 and $230.0 million in Q4 2002. Reported net loss for the quarter was $84.1 million, compared to a net loss of $186.4 million for the same period last year. The company said the slightly lower quarterly revenue was due to efforts to eliminate unprofitable customers. Some highlights:

• McLeodUSA ended the quarter with $115.5 million of cash on hand. Total capital expenditures for the first quarter of 2003 were $14 million.
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  Gross margin in the first quarter of 2003 was $88.5 million or 39.2% of revenue, as compared to $93.2 million or 40.5% of revenue in the fourth quarter of 2002.
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  UNE-L platform mix increased to 56% versus 52% at the end of the prior quarter as the company continued to migrate customers on-switch in order to further reduce cost and streamline operations.
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  At the end of the quarter, McLeod's network consisted of 38 ATM switches, 46 voice switches, 567 collocations and 433 DSLAMs. It had 3,720 employees.

http://www.mcleodusa.com

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Earthlink Selects DQ's DSL Modems

Earthlink will deploy DQ's VisionNet ADSL Modems in its nationwide deployment of ADSL service. The VisionNet200ER is an ADSL to Ethernet bridge/router modem based on Conexant's ADSL chipset. Earthlink currently has 780,000 broadband subscribers served via DSL, cable and satellite.
http://www.dqusa.com
http://www.conexant.com

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Nokia Wideband Speech Coding Proposal Selected as CDMA2000 Standard

The 3GPP2 Alliance selected Nokia's proposal for standardizing a CDMA2000 wideband speech codec from a field of five such proposals. Nokia said the new Variable-Rate Multi-Mode Wideband speech codec (VMR-WB) offers superior wideband speech quality at data rates comparable to current narrowband speech codecs, resulting in highly intelligible and natural speech that represents a quantum leap over the quality of both today's wireless and wireline networks. The VMR-WB standard is not only fully compliant with the CDMA2000 rate-set II but is also interoperable with the AMR-WB standard selected by the 3GPP for use in GSM/WCDMA networkshttp://www.nokia.com

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Nortel Returns to Profitability, Revenues Decline 5% Sequentially

Nortel Networks reported quarterly revenues of US$2.40 billion, down sequentially by approximately 5%. Net earnings in Q1 2003 were US$54 million, or US$0.01 per common share, compared to a net loss of US$841 million, or US$0.26 per common share, in Q1 2002. Gross margin was 42.9% in the first quarter of 2003, up from 39.3% in Q4 2002. On a sequential quarterly basis, revenues declined 3% in the US, 9% in Canada, flat for EMEA, and down 16% elsewhere. The company continues to expect the overall telecommunications equipment market to be down modestly in 2003 compared to 2002.
http://www.nortelnetworks.com

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