FlexLight Raises $17 Million for Gigabit PONs

FlexLight Networks, a start-up based in Atlanta, Georgia and Kfar Saba, Israel, secured $17 million in third round funding for its development of a Gigabit Passive Optical Networking (GPON) solution for the last mile. FlexLight's Optimate suite of GPON products is currently in trials and deployment with large service provider customers around the world. The products, which are based on the new ITU-T GPON standards known as G.984.x, deliver Ethernet and TDM access solutions for Fiber To The Building (FTTB) networks. The new funding round included outside investment from St. Paul Venture Capital, Accel Partners and Applied Materials Ventures, in addition to continued investment support from existing investors, Concord Ventures and Coral Ventures.
http://www.flexlight-networks.com

• In February 2003, FlexLight Networks introduced its GPON solution compliant with the ITU's recently approved standards for GPON (Recommendations G.984.1 and G.984.2). The FlexLight Optimate product accepts and carries Fast Ethernet (10/100 Mbps) and T1/E1 circuits from each customer location over the FlexLight PON access network in their native format. It also supports VLAN switching.
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  In January 2003, the ITU announced an agreement on two new standards for Gigabit-capable Passive Optical Networks (G-PONs). Both standards cover symmetrical and asymmetrical (upstream/downstream) systems. ITU Recommendation G.984.1 describes the general characteristics of a gigabit-capable PON system such as architecture, bit rates, reach, signal transfer delay, split ratio protection and security. ITU Recommendation G.984.2 describes a flexible optical fiber access network capable of supporting the bandwidth requirements of business and residential services. It covers systems with nominal line rates of 1.25 Gbps and 2.5 Gbps in the downstream (Central Office to customer) direction and 155 Mbps, 622 Mbps, 1.5 Gbps and 2.5 Gbps in the upstream (customer to Central Office) direction. This represents approximately twice the capability of the previous release of the standards (G.983.4 and G.983.5).
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  FlexLight is headed by Gary Lee, who was the President and COO of Home Wireless Networks, a startup based in Atlanta and Cambridge, UK. The company was founded by Oren Marmur, who previously was group manager for system engineering of optical and advanced networks at ECI Telecom.
  

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MathStar Secures $6 Million for its Field Programmable Object Arrays

MathStar, a start-up based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, secured $6 million in new funding for its Field Programmable Object Array (FPOAs), which are positioned as an alternative to 130nm ASICs and conventional FPGAs. The new funding will be used to manufacture and market a family of FPOA chips that are both faster (2 -- 20 times faster) and less costly than conventional FPGAs from Xilinx and Altera. As part of the terms of the offering, investors in the $6 million funding round may invest an additional $3.75 million as MathStar achieves certain near-term milestones. MathStar shareholders include institutional, venture and individual investors. MathStar has raised $40 million to date.
http://www.mathstar.com

• In June 2003, MathStar revealed architectural details of its new Field-Programmable Object Arrays (FPOAs). The new devices would give design teams flexible field re-programmability with deterministic 1GHz clock performance and attractive unit cost. To simplify the design process, cycle-accurate C-based functional models are directly mapped into the FPOA architecture. MathStar will target applications domains using customized mixes of object types, on-chip memory resources, and high-performance I/O. Initial target applications will include extreme DSP and wire speed packet processing and aggregation applications in 10 Gbps networking and storage equipment markets.
  

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Ericsson awarded US$500 million by T-Mobile USA

T-Mobile USA awarded a contract valued at up to $500 million to Ericsson to expand and upgrade its wireless network to support customer growth and demand for GPRS and higher-speed EDGE data services. Ericsson will deploy GSM, GPRS, and EDGE 1900 MHz network radio access equipment and associated services in two new markets: Western Virginia and certain uncovered areas of New England, where T-Mobile's footprint is expanding. Additionally, Ericsson will upgrade and expand T-Mobile USA's core network infrastructure, radio access equipment and associated services in 18 markets in which Ericsson equipment is already installed.

http://www.ericsson.com

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Silicon Developers Test ADSL2 Interoperability

The DSL Forum completed its second multi-vendor ADSL2 "plugfest" interoperability event conducted at the end of June in conjunction with the University of New Hampshire's InterOperability Laboratory (UNH-IOL) in Durham, NH. Ten ADSL2 chipset developers performed three basic physical layer tests, defined in the DSL Forum's internal "Proposed Draft 013 - Interoperability Test Plan for ADSL2 Plugfests" (PD-013). ADSL2 (also known as ITU Recommendation G.992.3) provides numerous improvements over existing ADSL standards including line diagnostics, power management, power cutback, reduced framing and online configuration. ADSL2 expands the bandwidth to approximately 2 MHz and increases achievable data rates to more than 20 Mbps. The ten silicon companies participating in the event were Analog Devices, Aware, Broadcom, Catena Networks, Centillium Communications, Infineon Technologies, GlobespanVirata, Realtek Semiconductor, Samsung Electronics and Texas Instruments. A third plugfest for ADSL2 chipsets is scheduled for the week of August 4, 2003, followed by a plugfest open to all ADSL2 system vendors -- DSLAM, CPE, testing equipment, and chipset developers are all expected to participate -- to test extensions to the ADSL2, including ADSL2plus and the Reach Extended ADSL2 standard the week of August 11, 2003, both at the UNH-IOL. Registration information is online.
http://www.iol.unh.edu/consortiums/adsl/grouptest/aug03gtp.html

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GlobespanVirata to Acquire Intersil's Wireless Group for $365M

GlobespanVirata agreed to acquire Intersil's Wireless Networking Product Group for $365 million in cash and common stock. Intersil's Wireless Networking Product Group focuses on the WLAN semiconductor market. GlobespanVirata is a developer of DSL chipsets. The companies cited the synergies of their respective product lines in home networking, consumer electronic networking and wireless data segments. GlobespanVirata said WLAN capabilities are becoming integral to DSL CPE designs.
http://www.globespanvirata.com
http://www.intersil.com

• Intersil's Wireless Networking Product Group has over 300 employees and is based in Florida. The group has its origins in Harris Corporation.
  

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Charter Orders 100,000 Motorola Broadband Media Centers with Moxi

Charter Communications has ordered 100,000 units of the new Motorola Broadband Media Centers (BMCs) powered by Digeo's Moxi Service. Motorola said the announcement marks the first widescale deployment by a cable operator of a digital cable media center with advanced features such as dual-tuner "watch and record" personal video recording (PVR), high-definition television (HDTV), and a progressive-scan DVD player. Charter is planning for commercial rollout in the Rochester, Minnesota area during Q4 of 2003. The Rochester market currently serves 55,000 households.

The BMC platform with the Moxi Service is part of Motorola's "connected home" strategy. The BMC enables consumers to store, manage and share all types of media (television programming, movies, music, photos, games, etc.) throughout their home. MSOs can use the BMC to offer features such as dual-tuner PVR, HDTV, DVD, video-on-demand (VOD) and pay-per-view (PPV) through an integrated gateway with one consistent interface.
http://www.motorola.com
http://www.digeo.com

• Paul G. Allen founded Digeo in 1999. In the spring of 2002, Moxi merged with Digeo to provide advanced media center platforms and iTV services. The Digeo iTV service, a set of eight interactive channels that are now available to over 700,000 Charter customers nationwide, offers on-demand weather updates, sports statistics, news stories, games and more.

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CWA Urges SEC to Delay Chunghwa Telecom's Planned US Listing

The Communications Workers of America (CWA) issued a public statement urging the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to delay action on the registration statement submitted by Chunghwa Telecom, the incumbent telecom operator in Taiwan. Chunghwa Telecom's largest shareholder, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications of the Republic of China (Taiwan), is seeking to privatize a large percentage of the shares it currently holds. The Communications Workers of America noted reports of intense political conflict over this offering, including a dispute with the Chunghwa Telecom Workers Union over the restructuring. The Chunghwa Telecom Workers Union has sought the support of international labor unions over the proposed privatization. The Communications Workers of America represents over 700,000 workers in the U.S. and Canada.
http://www.cwa-union.org

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Hong Kong Broadband Network Deploys Nortel's Succession

Hong Kong Broadband Network Ltd. is using Nortel Networks' Succession VoIP solution for delivery of new multimedia and packet voice service bundles, including special packages of fixed-line, IDD (International Direct Dial) and broadband Internet services for Hong Kong residential customers. Nortel Networks describes the project as one of the largest VoIP networks in the world. Hong Kong Broadband Network is currently serving over 120,000 subscribers with packet-based telephony services. Nortel Networks solution for Hong Kong Broadband Network also includes the Nortel Networks Passport Packet Voice Gateway (PVG).
http://www.nortelnetworks.com
http://www.hkbn.net

• Hong Kong Broadband Network Ltd. Is a subsidiary of City Telecom (HK) Ltd.
  

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Malaysian University Deploys 10GigE Backbone with Cisco

Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), one of Malaysia's top universities, is deploying a 10GigE backbone using Cisco Systems' equipment. The network serves 86,000 students and 8,000 staff in a main campus in Shah Alam and 14 branch campuses nationwide. The installation includes Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series switches with 1-port 10 Gigabit Ethernet modules and the Supervisor Engine 720 processor. A total of 5.5 Tbps of switching capacity is delivered through the Catalyst 6500 Series switches. The university's data center server farms are also equipped with the Cisco Content Switch Module, which provides content-aware server load balancing for intelligent and fast Web caching. Also in the network are Cisco Catalyst 4500 Series modular switches and Cisco Catalyst 2950 Series and Catalyst 3550 Series stackable switches. Financial terms were not disclosed.
http://www.cisco.com

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Covad Tops 453,000 DSL Lines

Covad added over 36,000 net DSL lines in Q2, giving it a total of more than 453,000 lines, a 9% increase over Q1 2003. Net customer disconnections, or churn, averaged approximately 3.4% in the second quarter compared to approximately 3.3% in Q1. The company said the results demonstrate that it is able to execute on its business plan. Full financial results are expected in late July or early August.
http://www.covad.com

• In June 2003, Covad Communications announced a deal to acquire approximately 23,000 out-of-region business DSL customer from Qwest for $3.75 million in cash.
  

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China Netcom Selects Salira's Optical Access

China Netcom Corporation will deploy Salira Optical Network Systems' optical access platforms in Beijing and in Changsha City (Hunan province) to deliver advanced voice, video and data services to business customers in a variety of Fiber-to-the-Premises (FTTP) deployments. More specifically, China Network will use the Salira 2000 Platform to connect customers to existing SDH rings in order to deliver traditional E1 TDM services. China Netcom will also use the optical network for Layer Two Tunneling Protocol (L2TP) for VPN services, Video-on-Demand (VOD) and VoIP. Salira's passive optical network (PON) architecture provides a 1:16 split.
http://www.salira.com

• In October 2002, China's Ministry of Information Industry (MII) certified the Salira platform for commercial deployment. The company has sales offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing and Shenzhen.
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  Salira's Ethernet Passive Optical Network (EPON) platform for Fiber-to-the-Business (FTTB) features support for IP-centric broadband services as well as native-mode TDM services that are delivered over dedicated bandwidth. The ASIC driven platform allocates upstream and downstream bandwidth across the PON based on pre-defined class of service parameters at the port level, thereby enabling uniquely-defined SLAs for individual customers. TDM traffic is delivered transparently without any protocol encapsulation, conversion or translation. Salira's product portfolio will include the Salira 2500, a high port density optical line terminal, and the Salira 2300, a multi-customer, optical network unit (ONU). Each 2500 supports up to 14 optical line cards or PON circuits. Each optical line card supported 16 Salira 2300s that can be located at up to 20 kilometers from the central office on the same PON. The Salira 2300 is configured with eight fixed 10/100 Mbps Fast Ethernet ports and two bays for modular plug-ins. One plug-in is configured with eight 10/100 Mbps Fast Ethernet ports, and another contains four T1/E1 ports. The Salira 2300 could be used to support multiple customers from the same PON termination.
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  Investors in Salira include Mobius (formerly Softbank) Venture Capital, Sofinnova Ventures, Pac Rim Venture Partners and Manitou Ventures.
  

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Convergys Signs First Contract in China

Convergys announced its first contract in China. China Unicom Guangdong, the second largest wireless carrier in the country, has licensed the Convergys Activation Manager. Convergys will integrate its provisioning module with China Unicom Guangdong's incumbent billing platform and support convergent service offerings across 17 different network element types in multiple cities throughout the province. Financial terms were not disclosed.
http://www.convergys.com

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Verizon Introduces Another Unlimited Usage Calling Plan

Verizon introduced another unlimited usage local plus long distance calling plan, this time aimed at small business in Virginia and Maryland. The package also provides additional discounts for DSL.
http://www.verizon.com

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Argonne National Lab Deploys Force10's 10GigE

Argonne National Laboratory has deployed Force10 Networks' E-Series switch/routers to connect to the TeraGrid, the world's largest supercomputing grid, sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The NSF TeraGrid project will initially use a dedicated 40 Gbps wide area "backplane" to connect computers, storage facilities, visualization systems and applications at Argonne and other TeraGrid sites. Clusters connecting to the grid use 10-Gigabit Ethernet interconnections between Gigabit Ethernet-attached Linux servers. Other members of the grid using Force10 equipment include the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA), the San Diego Supercomputing Center (SDSC), and the Center for Advanced Computing Research (CACR) at the California Institute of Technology.
http://www.force10networks.com
http://www.teragrid.org

• Force10 Networks' 10 Gbps Ethernet switch/router supports up to 336 ports of Gigabit Ethernet or 28 ports of 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GigE) per chassis. Six custom ASICs deliver non-blocking, line-rate forwarding across all ports, even with access control lists (ACLs) or QoS applied. Force10's software delivers full functionality L2 switching and L3 routing. The company initially is offering two models: the full-size E1200 featuring 14 line-card slots, 1.2 Tbps non-blocking switch fabric, 40 Gbps bandwidth per line-card slot, redundant route processor modules (RPMs), redundant switch fabric modules (SFMs), redundant power and hot-swap of all key components; and the half-sized E600, which uses the same cards.
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  Force10 Networks has raised $209 million in funding, including $41 million in February 2003.
  

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DirecTV US Adds 181,000 Subscribers in Q2, ARPU at $61

DirecTV U.S. added 633,000 gross subscribers in Q2, and after accounting for churn, 181,000 net subscribers, giving it a total of 11.56 million total subscribers. Hughes said the monthly ARPU at DIRECTV U.S. increased by $2.80 to nearly $61. Increased sales of set-top boxes at HNS, were partially offset by higher DIRECTV Latin America costs and further devaluations in 2003 to several Latin American currencies. In its quarterly financial statement, Hughes noted that DIRECTV U.S. achieved revenue growth of over 16% in Q2 to reach $1.8 billion and more than doubled its operating profit before depreciation and amortization to an all-time record of $325 million in the quarter.


Additionally, as of June 30, 2003, DIRECWAY had approximately 166,000 residential and SOHO subscribers in North America compared to 123,000 one year ago.


In March 2003, DIRECTV Latin America filed a Chapter 11 petition in order to address the company's financial and operational challenges. The DIRECTV service in Latin America lost 35,000 net subscribers in Q2, ending the quarter with approximately 1,493,000, down 10.5% from a year earlier.
http://www.hughes.com

• In Q1 2003, DIRECTV added 701,000 gross subscribers and 275,000 net subscribers.
  

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net.com Posts Eighth Consecutive Quarter of Revenue Growth

net.com reported quarterly revenue of $34.1 million, compared to $27.2 million for the same period last year, an increase of 25%, and $33.8 million in the prior quarter. Net income for the quarter was $1.6 million, or $0.07 per share. The company increased its cash position by $4.2 million during the period, ending the first quarter with cash balances and investments of $98.8 million. The period marked the eight consecutive quarter of revenue growth for net.com. The company said government sales were strong, especially in defense, across the federal systems integrators, and NATO. It also noted increased buying interest from incumbent and interexchange carriers both in the US and Europe, as they move forward with deploying broadband networks that focus on profitability and increased service parameters.
http://www.net.com

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