Multi-Vendor Metro Ethernet Services Demo Planned for SuperComm

The Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF) will host a multi-vendor interoperability demonstration of carrier-grade metro Ethernet services at the upcoming SUPERCOMM exhibition in Atlanta. The interoperability demo consists of 22 company specific access (aggregation) networks interconnected via a 10G Ethernet switched core. The 22 equipment suppliers will demonstrate E-Line (Ethernet Line) and E-LAN (Ethernet LAN) services, which were recently defined by the Metro Ethernet Forum. The interoperable E-Line and E-LAN services will carry webcam video at a committed...

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Ericsson Wins DSL Expansion Contract in China

Jiangxi Nanchang Telecom, part of China Telecom, awarded an extension contract to Ericsson to further the rollout of its DSL network in Nanchang, capital city of Jiangxi province. The ADSL lines will be delivered using Ericsson's new ultra-compact Ethernet DSLAM. The solution enables standard ADSL lines to be offered economically at smaller sites (starting from eight subscribers) as well as medium to large sites (up to thousands of subscribers). Ethernet, instead of ATM, is used in the second mile network. http://www.ericsson....

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SBC Cites Growth Opportunities in DSL, Long Distance

SBC is growing increasingly optimistic, according to William Daley, president of SBC Communications, as the company becomes more confident in weathering the telecom storm and executing its business plan. Daley, who spoke at the Banc of America "Media, Telecommunications, and Media" conference in New York, said the thinking at SBC is changing from "survival mode" to "growing the business." In what its expects to be a fiercely competitive industry, SBC intends to become the top telecom service provider in the US. Daley highlighted financial disciple...

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Tropic Launches its Reconfigurable Optical Add/Drop Multiplexer

Tropic Networks, a start-up based in Ottawa, Canada, has added reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexer (R-OADM) capabilities to its TRX-24000 metro DWDM platform. The new capability gives service providers any-wavelength-at-any-node reconfigurability with zero service disruption. Tropic said its Open Photonic Layer approach to metro-regional optical networking enables interworking with the existing installed equipment base. In addition to R-OADM capability, the Tropic platform features a Wavelength Tracker technology and the ability to transparently...

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Spirent and Sheer Networks Collaborate on Network Management Solutions

Spirent Communications and Sheer Networks announced a strategic agreement under which the companies will deliver an integrated solution for managing ATM, DSL and IP-VPN services. The solution will combine Sheer's BOS (Broadband Operating Supervisor) with Spirent's Perform operations support system (OSS) for performance management. Sheer's BOS (Broadband Operating Supervisor) manages communication between network elements and enables service providers to activate new services, detect faults, and reconcile inventories. Spirent's Perform reaches...

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Sonus Builds Wireless VoIP Testbed for TU Berlin

Sonus Networks is providing its packet voice infrastructure solutions to the Technische Universitaet Berlin (TU Berlin) for deployment in the University's "Beyond 3G" Testbed and Serviceware Framework. The German government support project will include the participation of Deutsche Telekom AG, T-Mobile, T-Systems, Fraunhofer Institut FOKUS and the Technical University of Dresden. Sonus is providing its SMARRT Wireless solution, including its GSX9000 Open Services Switch, the Insignus Softswitch and Sonus Insight Management System. http://www.sonusnet.com...

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Cisco Expands its Network Security Offerings

Cisco Systems announced 14 security solutions and services. These include:Cisco IOS AutoSecure -- a command-line-interface (CLI) based feature that provides "one touch" router lockdown, disabling non-essential operating system processes, enforcing secure access, and enabling secure forwarding featuresCisco Security Device Manager (SDM) version 1.0 -- wizards for configuring firewall and IP Security (IPSec) VPN services on Cisco 830 to 3700 series access routers CiscoWorks Security Information Management Solution (SIMS) version 3.1 -- security...

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NTT America Secures Multi-Year Contract from Juniper

Juniper Networks will house its primary network equipment at Verio's state-of-the-art data center in San Jose, California. Financial terms of the multiyear contract were not disclosed. NTT's data centers provide bandwidth, power, Internet connectivity, secure facilities, redundancy, as well as networking and facility service level guarantees. http://www.nttamerica.com http://www.juniper.netIn February 2003, NTT Communications announced the deployment of Juniper's T-Series platform in its NTT/Verio global IP network covering Asia, North America...

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Telecom Italia Implements Granite's DSL flow-through provisioning

Telecom Italia has completed an enterprise-wide roll-out of a DSL flow-through provisioning system based on Granite Systems' Xng software. Granite's Service Resource Management software has been incorporated in the carrier's next generation OSS. Telecom Italia has received up to 14,000 new DSL service orders per day. The carrier had over 950,000 DSL subscribers at the end of 2002 and a compound annual growth rate of 60%. Telecom Italia's DSL service is delivered through Alcatel's ASAM's and Marconi DSLAMs with Cisco 6400 broadband aggregators....

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Lumentis Supplies Optical Backbone for City Carrier in Australia

Lumentis, a start-up based in Stockholm, has supplied its optical transport platform to Uecomm, a specialized fiber broadband carrier in Australia. The unamplified Lumentis metro equipment is being used to provide transport for high-end enterprise services such as real-time, SAN backup of data. Financial terms were not disclosed. http://www.lumentis.seIn March 2003, Lumentis AB introduced a compact, single-slot 10 Gbps transponder for its metro optical networking platform. The 10 Gbps Transponder offers performance monitoring and Forward Error...

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Lucent Announces Optical Contract with China's Zhejian Telecom

Lucent Technologies will supply a wide range of optical equipment including its LambdaUnite MultiService Switch (MSS), the WaveStar TDM 10G, the Metropolis ADM MultiService Mux (compact shelf) and related network management systems to Zhejiang Telecom, a subsidiary of China Telecom. The equipment will be used to bring Ethernet services to the carrier's existing SDH networks. Financial terms were not disclosed. http://www.lucent....

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IDT and ITXC Terminate Merger Discussions

Previously announced discussions concerning a possible combination of IDT Corporation and ITXC have been terminated. No agreement was reached. http://www.idttelecom.comOn 10-April-2003, IDT publicly announced a proposal to acquire ITXC Corp. in a stock-for-stock transaction that would provide a 15% premium to the stockholders of ITXC, based on the closing price of ITXC's stock on the previous day. ITXC rejected the offer. The companies subsequently agreed to discussio...

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Veraz Announces Global Carrier-to-Carrier VoIP and TDM Peering Solution

Veraz Networks introduced a Global Carrier-to-Carrier Peering (GCP) solution that enables wholesale carriers to exchange traffic with regional carriers using any flavor of VoIP or TDM signaling. The GCP solution uses the ControlSwitch's Routing Engine to route calls between the PSTN, softswitch-based packet and legacy H323 networks seamlessly and without using the limited routing capabilities of most gatekeepers. For instance, the Veraz platform enables the exchange of traffic from H.323-to-H.323, H.323-to-SS7, H.323-to-PRI, SIP-to-SIP, SIP-to-H.323,...

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BellSouth Plans DSL Price Cuts, Sees Bundling as Key Trend

BellSouth will continue to look to bundles to make its services "stickier," said Ron Dykes, CFO of BellSouth, speaking at Banc of America's "Media, Telecommunications, and Media" conference in New York. Consumer average revenue per user (ARPU) now stands at $61 for packages combining local access, long distance voice and DSL. BellSouth plans to "stimulate" the DSL market with price cuts in specific markets and for customers choosing service bundles. BellSouth it would be nice to add video to the bundles, but it has no plans to become a video...

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BT to Deploy Nortel Networks OPTera Connect HDX Optical Switches

BT will deploy Nortel Networks OPTera Connect HDX optical switches to upgrade its pan-European optical network. The switch will be deployed at key hub nodes in Paris and Frankfurt by mid-year. Nortel Networks said the installation marks one of the first European deployments of its OPTera Connect HDX optical switch. Nortel has been a supplier for BT's pan-European transport network since 1998. The network already uses OPTera Connect DX, OPTera Long Haul 1600 Optical Line System, and OPTera metro equipment. http://www.nortelnetworks.com http://www.bt.comNortel...

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