Legra Systems Unveils WLAN Switch, Raises $8.5 M

Legra Systems, a start-up based in Burlington, Massachusetts, unveiled a stackable, WLAN switching architecture featuring an extensible Wireless Operating System, a "Smart Radio" technology, and upgradeable security. Legra said its platform supports tens of radios and hundreds of users per switch, enabling a WLAN to scale in step with a large enterprise.Legra also announced the closure of $8.5 million in a Series A round of financing. Investors include Kodiak Venture Partners and Genesis Partners. http://www.legra.com/Legra Systems was co-founded...

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New Fraud Charges Against Enron Broadband Services Execs

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed an amended complaint charging five additional former executives of Enron Broadband Services (EBS) with fraud and personally reaping more than $150 million in unlawful profits. Among the false statements identified by the SEC was the claim that the Enron Intelligent Network (EIN) contained built-in intelligence - a software control layer called the "Broadband Operating System" (BOS) - that allowed it to perform more sophisticated applications than other networks. The SEC alleges that the BOS and...

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IBM Creates Electrically-controlled, Single-molecule Light Emitter

IBM has created an electrically-controlled, single-molecule light emitter using carbon nanotubes. Researchers at IBM engineered a carbon nanotube to be "ambipolar", so they could simultaneously inject negative charges (electrons) from a source electrode and positive charges (holes) from a drain electrode into a single carbon nanotube. When the electrons and holes meet in the nanotube, they neutralize each other and generate light. The researchers detected light with a wavelength of 1.5 micrometers, which is used in optical communications. The...

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Staccato Raises $7.5 Million for Ultra-wideband

Staccato Communications (formerly Discrete Time Communications), a start-up based in San Diego, raised $7.5 million in Series A funding for its development of Ultra-wideband (UWB) technology. The company has completed a silicon prototype of a new architecture for UWB that is both compliant with the FCC's regulations and enables high bit-rate UWB in CMOS for the first time. Investors include Bay Partners, Charles River Ventures, and Allegis Capital. http://www.staccatocommunications.comStaccato Communications (DTC) was formed in early 2002 by...

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Telecommunications Association Predicts Uptick in Enterprise Networking

The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) is predicting an uptick in spending on enterprise voice and data equipment for 2003 with the growth-rate approaching a "high single-digit" rate over 2002. Key trends supporting the more optimistic outlook include the growing acceptance of IP in call centers and corporate PBXs, an increased need to manage Internet-based customer communications, new applications and products supporting new business processes, and hope of an improved business climate. Some major findings from the TIA's 2003 Telecommunications...

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ITU Approves Two Fiber Standards

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) approved two new performance measurement standards aimed at making it easier for service providers to deploy Sealed Fibre Optics and Passive node elements. The global standards provide performance specifications for sealed optical closures in outside plant.ITU-T Rec. L.51 contains a summary of parameters that are relevant for the performance of optical nodes. It describes environmental classes and installation conditions, as well as circuit separation and transient losses during network maintenance...

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