FTTH Council Encouraged by Supreme Court Decision to Review Issue

The U.S. Supreme Court has decided to review a case between the FCC and the Missouri Municipal League concerning the rights of municipalities to deploy their own FTTH networks. The Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) Council, an industry advocacy group, said it was encouraged by the Supreme Court's willingness to hear the case, as three courts have ruled in favor of municipal broadband while one has ruled against it. The FTTH Council believes municipalities should play a key role in a national broadband strategy. As of September 2002, municipalities accounted for one quarter of all U.S. FTTH networks, according to the group.
http://www.ftthcouncil.org

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Lucent Supplies ATM Access to Germany's E-Plus

E-Plus, Germany's third largest wireless carrier, awarded a multimillion contract to Lucent Technologies to supply data networking equipment and services to manage and consolidate voice and data traffic from the operator's 3G UMTS network. Lucent's PacketStar 1000, 1250, 2300 and 4500 Multiservice Media Gateways will be use to provision and aggregate traffic onto an ATM network.
http://www.lucent.com/packetstar

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Dutch Hospital Deploys SpectraLink's WiFi Telephones

The Medical Center Leeuwarden in the Netherlands has deployed SpectraLink's newly released NetLink e340 and NetLink i640 Wireless Telephones to run over its network of Cisco Aironet Wi-Fi access points. SoectraLink's NetLink Wireless telephones have been seamlessly integrated with the hospital's Cisco CallManager IP telephony application. SpectraLink Voice Priority, a QoS mechanism, is employed on the wireless LAN to ensure voice quality.
http://www.spectralink.com

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New Edge Networks Achieves EBITDA Breakeven Point

Privately-held New Edge Networks announced it achieved for the first time positive earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, or EBITDA, a key financial target. The company expects to begin producing surplus cash flow in July 2003.
http://www.newedgenetworks.com

• In April 2003, New Edge Networks announced a strategy to acquire additional broadband carriers and data networking providers as a means of adding to its cash flow growth. The company placed classified ads in various telecommunications trade magazines and posted messages on Internet bulletin boards soliciting interest among communications companies that could add customers, network traffic, product set, or geographic reach. New Edge Networks primarily provides data and broadband services to business customers.

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Verio Rolls out IPv6 Service

In conjunction with NTT Communications' extension of IPv6 service worldwide, Verio began offering pre-commercial IPv6 service in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles and Washington D.C. NTT Communications and Verio envision IPv4/IPv6 dual stack service delivery on the NTT/VERIO Global IP Network during the companies' commercial launch scheduled for Q4 2003. Verio noted that the Department of Defense has decided to implement IPv6 to facilitate integration of the essential elements of its Global Information Grid, including sensors, weapons, platforms, information and people.
http://www.verio.com/access/ipv6.cfm

• Verio is a subsidiary of NTT Communications.

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TI Unveils Two Digital Media Processors

Texas Instruments unveiled two new digital media processors tailored for the video and imaging market, specifically video over IP, video-on-demand (VOD), multi-channel digital video recording applications and high-quality video encoding and decoding solutions. Target applications for the digital media processors include IP-based video recorders, set-top boxes, security surveillance and network cameras. The processors are capable of performing up to four simultaneous MPEG-2 main-profile-at-main-level video decodes at full D1 resolution in real time. They also offer support for broadcast-quality Windows Media 9 encode and decode technology, as well as MPEG-4 AVC (H.264) decode.
http://www.ti.com

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Equant and China Netcom Implement IP VPNs

Equant and China Netcom have implemented an IP VPN with converged data and voice in China for APL, one of the world's largest container transportation companies. The cross-carrier IP VPN for APL includes 24 sites in China, eight of which are voice-activated. In addition to APL, Equant currently serves more than 100 customers with 500 connections in China. APL was one of the first customers to select Equant IP VPN service in China after Equant and China Netcom announced a strategic partnership in 2001. The Equant-CNC network is identical in features, including resiliency, with the standard Equant network topology. This allows the customer to have the same visibility into its network in China as it does for all its IP VPN locations around the world.


Altogether, APL currently has 113 sites in 30 countries with Equant IP VPN connections. A total of 33 sites also have Equant Voice for IP VPN, and five locations have Equant IP Telephony for desktop-to-desktop calling.
http://www.equant.com
http://www.cnc.net.cn

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Procket Networks Partners with Technica on Government Sales

Procket Networks signed a sales and systems integration partnership with Technica Corporation, an IT systems integrator for military, security and civilian government agencies. The agreement covers Procket's PRO/8000 High-Availability Routers. Technica's core competencies include large-scale network and security program planning, deployment of high-speed global networks, optical networking, information assurance, and performance/compliance testing.
http://www.technicacorp.com

• In April 2003, Procket Networks, a start-up based in Milpitas, California, announced commercial availability of its PRO/8801 router, its first product in a series. The Procket platforms are based on a customized chipset that includes a fully programmable 40 Gbps network processor and a Terabit Switch Engine. The scalable chipset can be used in platforms that range from 80 Gbps to 960 Gbps. The first PRO/8801 router features 80 Gbps of total capacity and can support up to 40 high speed interfaces in a chassis that takes up 1/8 of a rack. The PRO/8812 router, which will ship later this quarter, features 960 Gbps of total capacity and a forwarding rate of 1.2 billion packets per second. The routers support OC-3c, OC-12c, OC-48c, OC-192c, Gigabit Ethernet and 10 Gigabit Ethernet interfaces. All Procket routers use common line cards and media adapters, and the company estimates that its systems offer a reduction in power consumption and floor space of up to 50%. Pricing for the PRO/8801 starts at US$65,000, while the PRO/8812 starts at US$237,000.

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KT Expands Nationwide Network with Riverstone

KT (formerly Korea Telecom) will deploy additional RS 8600 routers to expand the capacity and service capabilities of its nationwide Ethernet network. Last year, KT deployed Riverstone's RS 38000 routers in its metropolitan core to provide Gigabit Ethernet capacity and uplinks to its backbone routers. Riverstone's RS routers are also deployed in the access network. Financial terms were not disclosed. KT is engaged in a multiphase project called "Ntopia" linking residential users in Korea's large-scale apartment complexes. KT had more than 5 million subscribers at the end of January, representing 48% of the Korean broadband market.
http://www.riverstonenet.com

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Verizon to Speed Deployment of Juniper's E-Series Edge Routers

Verizon awarded a multi-year contract to Juniper Networks for its E-series edge routers.
The equipment will be used to consolidate a wide range of IP-based services in a single platform over a variety of media including leased line, Frame Relay, ATM, DSL, Ethernet and wireless. The first phase of the new deployment will support Verizon's "Enterprise Advance" initiative, which is aimed at Fortune 1000 corporations, government, finance, education and healthcare entities. Using the Juniper edge routers, Verizon will be able to deliver value-added services such as secure VPNs, MPLS, DSL aggregation, commercial wireless hot spots (WiFi) and Transparent LAN Service (TLS). Financial terms were not disclosed.
http://www.juniper.net

• In November 2002, Verizon launched a new "Enterprise Advance" initiative to deliver long distance data services to large enterprises and government agencies. Verizon said its Enterprise Advance initiative will create a network with national reach. The new enterprise services arsenal will include transparent LAN, fast packet and IP services, optical networking and voice switching enhancements. The service will be based on an optical and IP backbone providing "any-to-any" transmission. Verizon initially is targeting business and government customers in the Northeast's I-95 corridor, reaching from Boston to Virginia. Verizon will then build out its IP backbone to further connect its national service territory in locations such as Dallas, Los Angeles, Seattle and Tampa. Verizon's Enterprise Advance eventually will extend to 56 key US markets.

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Fabric Networks Introduces Non-Blocking Switch for Fabric Clusters

Fabric Networks, a start-up based in Westborough, Massachusetts, introduced a 32-port non-blocking switch for InfiniBand-based fabric computing. Fabric Networks' switch supports 10 Gbps full duplex throughput per port and 320 Gbps throughput per chassis.
http://www.FabricNetworks.com

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RIAA Begins Tracking P2P Networks for Copyright Violators

In a press statement, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) announced that is beginning to gather evidence and prepare lawsuits against individual computer users who are "illegally offering to 'share' substantial amounts of copyrighted music over peer-to-peer networks." Beginning on 26-June-2003, RIAA will use software to scan the public directories available to any user of a peer-to-peer network. When copyrighted music files are available, the RIAA software will download some of the infringing files, along with the date and time it accessed the files. The RIAA then plans serve a subpoena on the ISP requesting the name and address of the individual it has identified. The RIAA said it expects to use the data it collects as the basis for filing what could ultimately be thousands of lawsuits charging individual peer-to-peer music distributors with copyright infringement. The RIAA noted that the major music companies have made vast catalogues of music available to dozens of legitimate downloading services over the past year.
http://www.riaa.com

• The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) recently won its legal case forcing Verizon Communications to disclose the identity of a subscriber whom it believed was in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

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Seaway Debuts 5 Gbps Network Content Processor

Seaway Networks, a start-up based in Ottawa, Canada, introduced a Network Content Processor (NCP that delivers 5 Gbps (full duplex) of layer 4-7 processing. Seaway's silicon architecture manages up to 2 million simultaneous TCP connections, enabling multiple advanced services at multi-gigabit rates. The device is specialized for data path processing but also provides layer 5-7 processing, including content searching, examination, modification, and replication. Seaway also incorporates advanced stream management and switching features to maximize processing efficiency, minimize memory and bandwidth usage, and enable multiple simultaneous applications.
http://www.seawaynetworks.com

• Seaway Networks is headed by Kit Fung, who previously was Vice-President of Research and Development at Nortel Networks for the Passport Multi-Service Switch product line. Seaway's technical team also includes David Lapp, who formerly led Nortel Networks' research on DiffServ/IP-CoS, security, and content networking.
• 
  
  Seaway has raised CDN$23 million in venture funding since its founding in 2001. Investors include VenGrowth Capital Partners, JK&B Capital, NovaCap and VentureCoaches.

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Fujitsu Introduces 10 Gbps Ethernet Switch Chip

Fujitsu Microelectronics America introduced a 10 Gbps Ethernet switch chip developed for layer 2 functions in high-performance servers and advanced storage systems. The new chip incorporates twelve 10 Gbps Ethernet ports along with high-speed buffer memories and high-speed I/O macros. Aggregate total bandwidth is 240 Gbps. A XAUI SERDES interface and 10 Gbps Ethernet MAC are provided. Development of the device was partially funded by Japan's New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), a government agency. Fujitsu predicts its chip will help reduce the per-port price of 10 GigE switches to approximately $200, from current levels of about $20,000. The chip, which is currently sampling, is fabricated using Fujitsu's 0.11-micron process. Prices start at US $750 each in 10,000-unit quantities.
http://www.fma.fujitsu.com

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California Research Network Deploys Multiple 10 GigE Wavelengths

The California Research and Education Network (CalREN) is deploying multi-tiered, statewide 10 Gigabit Ethernet (GigE) long-haul backbone using dark fiber it has acquired. CalREN is an end-to-end Cisco IP and Optical network. Equipment deployed includes the Cisco ONS 15540 Extended Services Platforms and the Cisco ONS 15530 Multiservice Aggregation Platforms, which use DWDM and provide 10 Gigabit Ethernet LAN PHY transport from the campus edge to the backbone. The IP component is powered by the Cisco 12000 Series routers delivering non-blocking 10 GigE core routing performance. Additionally, the Cisco ONS 15808 Extended Long-Haul DWDM systems are used for 10 GigE LAN PHY transport across the backbone. Each network span has up to 400 Gbps capacity. Deployment is currently underway and completion is anticipated by the end of summer. CalREN is operated by the Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in California (CENIC).
http://www.cenic.org

• In July 2002, Level 3 Communications signed agreements to provide both metropolitan and inter-city dark fiber to CENIC, a non-profit corporation founded by California's public and private universities. Specifically, Level 3 will provide metro fiber in San Diego, San Francisco and San Jose as well as inter-city fiber linking those cities with Sacramento, San Luis Obispo and Los Angeles. The multi-million-dollar agreements have a 20-year term.

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Qwest Reaches 1 Million Long Distance Customers

Qwest Communications has signed up its one millionth long distance voice customer. Qwest is offering unlimited, direct dialed domestic long- distance service for $20 per month for the first 12 months to residential customers.
http://www.qwest.com

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CSG Systems Teams with HP to Support Prepaid Solutions

CSG Systems will offer an integration point between its CSG Kenan Prepaid billing platform and the HP OpenCall Service Controller. The integration paves the way for open, standards-based prepaid billing for advanced voice networks using standard protocols for exchanging data. The HP OpenCall Service Controller resides within a service provider's circuit-switched network to provide call processing for intelligent network services running in SS7. It feeds transaction-based information to the CSG Kenan Prepaid billing engine using standards specifically designed for 2G, 2.5G and 3G networks (Parlay). The companies noted an increasing trend amongst service providers around the world to adopt the prepaid services model. The CSG Kenan Prepaid platform supports both voice and data prepaid services.
http://www.csgsystems.com

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Vonage: Wall Street Sees the VoIP Challenge to Residential Phone

In the past two weeks, Banc of America and Merrill Lynch have both alerted investors that North America's residential telephone market faces potentially dramatic changes from VoIP challengers in the months ahead. New "virtual phone services," served over the Internet using SIP and low-cost telephone-to-Ethernet adapters, are now on the radar screens of the investment community because they could add to the wireless substitution trend and further erode the RBOC's residential phone business. VoIP cable services are seen as the largest threat. Both reports also cite Vonage and its broadband telephony service as a leader in a wave of independent "virtual service providers" that could take up any telephony voids left by cable.
http://www.vonage.com

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