Bookham Acquires Cierra Photonics for Thin-Film Components

Bookham Technology will acquire the business and assets of Cierra Photonics, a developer of thin-film filters and other optical components. Cierra has developed an Advanced Energy Deposition (AED) technology, which is a specialized process for wafer-scale deposition that results in thin-film components that will have lower costs, higher yields and better optical performance than conventional components. The acquisition was valued at £2.25 million. Cierra Photonics is based in Santa Rosa, California and has approximately 39 employees. http://www.bookham.com...

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World Radiocommunication Conference Concludes

After four weeks of negotiations, the World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) concluded with a number of major decisions on the use of radio frequency spectrum globally. Key points include:WLANs -- the ITU agreed to allocate 455 MHz of unlicensed spectrum in the 5-GHz band for global WLAN use. Once the agreement achieves final plenary approval, 100 MHz of spectrum (5.150-5.250 GHz) will be allocated for indoor WLAN use, while an additional 355 MHz will be allocated for mixed indoor/outdoor use (5.250-5.350 GHz and 5.470-5.725 GHz). The international...

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NEC Completes World's Longest Single-Photon Transmission Over 100Km

NEC, the Telecommunications Advancement Organization of Japan (TAO) and the Japan Science and Technology Corporation completed a 100-km-long single-photon transmission using a quantum cryptography system over low cost optical fiber. The companies said their demonstration paves the wave for quantum cryptography transmissions in metropolitan optical networks. The system uses a low-noise photon receiver developed jointly by NEC and the Imai Quantum Computation Information Project, and a high performance transmitter developed by NEC and TAO. The...

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Bahrain's PTT Selects Ericsson for Packet Migration

Batelco, the public network operator in Bahrain, selected Ericsson for the migration of its fixed network to packet technology. The contract includes both Ericsson's ENGINE Multi-Service Network and Ethernet DSL Access solutions. Ericsson's ENGINE softswitch integrates voice and data traffic. Financial terms were not disclosed. http://www.ericsson.com/multiservicenetworksIn October 2002, Bahrain Telecommunications Co (Batelco), has selected the Cisco Metro Ethernet Switching portfolio to provide Gigabit Ethernet access over fiber connections...

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Comcast to Sell Its Stake in QVC to Liberty Media for $7.9 Billion

Comcast agreed to sell its stake in QVC, its on-air shopping channel, for approximately $7.9 billion to Liberty Media Corporation. The precise components of the consideration will be determined over the next several weeks subject to certain procedures set forth in a new stock purchase agreement entered into by the parties. Comcast said the cable business continues to be its primary focus and that the proceeds from the sale of QVC would boost its financial position and better enable it to invest for future growth. http://www.comcast.comIn 2002,...

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HP to Acquire Identity Mgt Software from Baltimore Technologies

HP agreed to acquire substantially all of the SelectAccess software assets of Baltimore Technologies, a UK-based developer of network security products, for £8.3 million in cash. The technology will become part of HP's Adaptive Management software portfolio, providing more secure user access to network services and enterprise resources. SelectAccess Web-based single sign-on for a seamless user experience across extranets, intranets and portals. http://www.hp.com http://www.baltimore.c...

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