China Telecom Selects Siemens for Optical Net in Gansu

China Telecom selected Siemens IC Networks to upgrade its optical network in Gansu province. Siemens will be supplying its new SURPASS hiT multi-service provisioning platform (MSPP), which will enable the carrier to offer data services based on Ethernet in the metro domain alongside traditional SDH-based voice services. The contract is the first for the Surpass hiT solution in China. Financial terms were not disclosed.
http://www.siemens.com

Read More

ADC Names Robert E. Switz As President and CEO

ADC named Robert E. "Bob" Switz as its new President and CEO, following the departure of Rick Roscitt, who has accepted the position of President and COO at MCI. Switz has served as ADC's Chief Financial Officer since 1994. Separately, John A. "Gus" Blanchard III was named as non-executive Chairman of the Board.
http://www.adc.com

Read More

Sony Pictures Digital Networks Adopts Portal for Content Billing

Sony Pictures Digital Networks will use Portal Software's platform as the underlying technology for pricing, billing, and subscriber and revenue management of its premium online services. In the past six months, Sony Pictures Digital Networks has launched two new subscription-based services, SoapCity Download and Screenblast.com's premium online creativity service.

• SoapCity Download provides current day, full-length, commercially uninterrupted episodes of "The Young and the Restless," "Days of our Lives," and "As the World Turns" to broadband users on a pay-per-episode or subscription basis.


• 
  
  Screenblast.com helps consumers create, enhance, and share their digital images, video and music. The recently introduced and enhanced Screenblast online creativity service makes it easier and more entertaining for consumers to share their "life moments" digitally.

Portal software will enable Sony to charge for online content using one-time, transaction-based, subscription, prepaid, and postpaid pricing models. Other Portal content customers include Reuters, Terra Lycos, AOL Time Warner, and Vivendi.
http://www.portal.com

Read More

UK's National Health Service to Deploy IP Bedside Devices

The National Health Service (NHS), which serves the healthcare needs of the UK, will adopt an IP communications solution implemented by Central Telecom (a leading systems integrator) and the Wandsworth Group (a healthcare communications specialist). The project features a bedside communication appliance that incorporates television, interactive movies, audio books, radio, telephone, messaging and high-speed Internet access functionality. Patients would be able to access Tele-Call, a touch-screen IP-based entertainment and information system. The Tele-Call system also has the ability to connect to the existing hospital IT network to provide clinical access at the bedside for electronic patient records, digital images and administrative information. The technology underlying the Tele-Call voice services is based on Mitel Networks Your Assistant, a PC-based communications management application. Deployment is anticipated at approximately 55 NHS Trust sites across the UK encompassing approximately 22,000 hospital beds. Financial terms were not disclosed.
http://www.mitel.com
http://www.centraltelecom.co.uk

• In March 2003, Central Telecom announced a £2 million deal to supply an IP communications systems for use at 24 NHS Trust sites and 11,300 beds across the UK.

Read More

Leucadia to Buy Out Remaining Interest in WilTel

Leucadia National Corporation announced a deal to acquire outstanding shares in WilTel Communications at a 13.3% premium to WilTel's stock price, based on the respective closing prices of the common stock of Leucadia ($37.56 per share) and WilTel ($14.06 per share) on 11-August-2003. At this exchange ratio, if all of the publicly held WilTel shares are acquired by Leucadia, the former public stockholders of WilTel would own approximately 15.8% of Leucadia. Leucadia currently holds a 47.4% interest in WilTel. Following the acquisition, WilTel would become a wholly owned subsidiary of Leucadia.
http://www.wiltelcommunications.com/

• In October 2002, Williams Communications emerged from Chapter 11 proceedings and changed its name back to WilTel Communications Group, a Nevada corporation. The company emerged with a new $375 million credit facility and no other substantial debt obligations other than those related to its headquarters building. Previous shares of WCG stock were cancelled. The company then issued 50,000,000 WilTel Communications shares for distribution, approximately 54% of which were issued for distribution to unsecured creditors and 44% of which were issued to Leucadia National Corporation, which invested $150 million in the company and purchased the claims of The Williams Companies for $180 million. Separately, the company announced that Howard Janzen has resigned as president, CEO and as a director.


• 
  
  In January 2003, WilTel announced a deal to supply SBC Communications with 10 Gbps OC-192c transport for building out its national IP network. WilTel described the contract as the largest in its history.


• 
  
  Leucadia National Corporation is a holding company engaged in a variety of businesses, including telecommunications (principally through its 47.4% interest in WilTel), banking and lending (principally through American Investment Bank, N.A.), manufacturing (through its Plastics Division), real estate activities, winery operations, development of a copper mine (through its 72.8% interest in MK Gold Company) and property and casualty reinsurance.

Read More

Turkey Telecom Selects NEC for DSL

Turkey Telecom Industries (TTI) selected NEC for DSL broadband infrastructure and services. The initial order is for 60,000 lines, with a further 200,000 in the near future. The equipment is being provided through Turkish-based systems integrator Meteksan. Financial terms were not disclosed. With this contract, NEC achieves a milestone of exports of five million DSL lines. The company is on track to reach the seven million line milestone by Q1 2004.
http://www.nec.com/global/prod/pro-cm.html

• NEC recently announced DSL wins with SingTel and Malaysia Telekom.


• 
  
  NEC's Multi-Service Access DSL platform is designed and developed by the company's Global DSL Broadband Design Centre in Melbourne, Australia.

Read More

Asia Netcom and NEC Team on IPv6 Multicast Video Streaming

Asia Netcom and NEC are launching an IPv6 multicast video streaming solution aimed at businesses and government agencies in Japan. The NEC solution is delivered over Asia Netcom's pan-Asian fiber infrastructure and features end-to-end IPv6 support, including network deployment, content delivery and service provisioning. According to NEC, IPv6 multicast video applications include:

• Video broadcast to multiple locations for corporate seminars, presentations, etc;


• 
  
  New service and product training to multiple office locations and franchisees;


• 
  
  Security monitoring of factories and branch offices in multiple sites across Japan; and
  
  Local information distribution and public announcements from government sources to locally set up kiosks across Japan.

The companies said that the use of IPv6 solves issues related to duplication of IPv4 private addresses which may occur in the expansion of a VPN network to many sites. NEC and Asia Netcom expect total sales of IPv6 solutions to reach JPY5 billion in three years in Asia, including Japan.
http://www.asianetcom.com
http://www.nec.com

• In July 2003, Asia Netcom launched a wholesale, VoIP-based voice transport and termination service. Asia Netcom's Carrier Voice service utilizes the company's extensive sub-sea and IP networks leveraging its capability to offer five classes of service over IP VPN. The company uses traffic policing and shaping to provide toll quality voice solutions with PSTN connectivity. Asia Netcom said it operates one of the largest Cisco Powered (Carrier Voice) networks in Asia Pacific.


• 
  
  In June 2003, Asia Netcom launched a new MPLS-based, corporate IP VPNs featuring five classes of service (CoS) combined with the option for usage-based pricing. The service provides city-to-city connectivity across the Asia Pacific region with additional connectivity available into mainland China and to major markets in the Americas and Europe. Asia Netcom's CoS offerings are defined by Service Level Agreement (SLA) parameters, including jitter, latency, packet loss and service availability. The company offers connection speeds from Nx64 Kbps to Gigabit Ethernet (1000 Mbps). Asia Netcom's core network backbone is being migrated to 2.5 Gbps trunks. A fully meshed MPLS-TE (multi-protocol label switching traffic engineered) native IP network enables both any-to-any and hub-and-spoke configurations.


• 
  
  Asia Netcom was officially launched on 11-March-2003.


• 
  
  Asia Netcom, a company organized by China Netcom (Hong Kong) on behalf of a consortium of investors that includes Newbridge Capital and Softbank Asia Infrastructure Fund, acquired substantially all of Asia Global Crossing's operating subsidiaries, excluding Pacific Crossing.

Read More

MCI Names Richard Roscitt as President and COO

MCI named Richard R. Roscitt as its president and chief operating officer, reporting to chairman and CEO Michael Capellas. Roscitt previously served as chairman and CEO of ADC, president of AT&T Business Services and president and CEO of AT&T Solutions. Roscitt will oversee MCI's core operating units and will be based in the company's corporate headquarters in Ashburn, Virginia.
http://www.mci.com

Read More

Netrake Adds Support for H.323 and SIP-T

Netrake, a start-up based in Plano, Texas has added H.323 and SIP-T support to its line of VoIP session controllers. Currently in trial deployments, Netrake is delivering H.323 to H.323 and H.323 to SIP inter-working as well as SIP-T mediation for a number of tier one carriers. Netrake supports all H.323 versions (v1, v2, and v3) as well as inter-working between them. Netrake also interoperates with the following vendor products: Avaya Definity, Nortel Meridian, Cisco CM, BTS, 2500, 2600, 3600, and AS5300 series.
http://www.netrake.com

• Netrake's nCite system provides VoIP session control such as multi-layer network translation, firewall traversal, quality of service mediation and session detail records.

Read More

SpectraLink Announces a Corporate Customer for its 802.11 Phones

Kaindl Flooring GmbH, a leading manufacturer of laminated flooring products, has deployed SpectraLink's NetLink Wireless telephones in its primary warehouse in Salzburg, Austria. The phones will work over the existing Cisco Aironet 802.11 WLAN in conjunction with a Cisco CallManager IP telephony application, which is tied to the company's existing Alcatel PBX.. IBM Global Services is installing the equipment.
http://www.spectralink.com

• SpectraLink has previously announced several hospital deployments of its WLAN phones.

Read More

BellSouth to Deploy Alcatel DSL in all Mississippi Central Offices

BellSouth will expand its deployment of Alcatel's DSL equipment to all its central offices in the state of Mississippi. Alcatel will supply the Alcatel 7300 Advanced Services Access Manager for the expansion. Financial terms were not disclosed.
http://www.alcatel.com

Read More

China Unicom Employs Terabeam's FSO to Expand City Network

China Unicom has purchased Terabeam's Free Space Optics (FSO) system for use in its network in Chongqing, China. Chongqing Unicom intends to use Terabeam's FSO systems to extend its network and to serve additional customers. Chongqing is the fourth largest metro area in China, after Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin. The city has complex terrain that is often difficult to trench with fiber. The FSO equipment uses an invisible, eye-safe beam of laser light through the air. Financial terms were not disclosed. China Unicom is one of the two leading cellular communications operators in the country.
http://www.terabeam.com

Read More

EZChip Releases IPv6 Code for its 10 Gbps Net Processor

EZChip Technologies released IPv6 routing sample code for its NP-1c 10-Gigabit network processor. The NP-1c integrates processing and classifying - the two main functions of network processing - on to a single chip. The IPv6 sample code runs at 10 Gbps. EZChip said that because IPv6 effectively quadruples the size of a router's lookup tables, it also quadruples the advantages enabled through its embedded classification architecture. Several equipment suppliers in Asia have selected EZChip's NP-1 for its IPv6 capabilities and are already running IPv6 on the chip.
http://www.ezchip.com

Read More

Ixia Names Former Alcatel Exec as New VP of Marketing

Ixia named Alan Amrod as is new VP of Marketing. Amrod had served as Vice President of Marketing for Alcatel's Enterprise business since 2000.
http://www.ixiacom.com

Read More

ITC^DeltaCom's Quarterly Revenues Increase for First Time since Q1 02

ITC^DeltaCom, a CLEC based in West Point, Georgia, reported Q2 revenues of $102.5 million, up 3.4% over Q1 -- this marks the first quarter-over-quarter growth since the first quarter of 2002. ITC^DeltaCom saw increased revenues generated by both retail customers and wholesale customers, and it improved cash flow from operations to $14.3 million in Q2 from $6.0 million in Q1 2003. During Q2, ITC^DeltaCom passed the 20,000 business customer mark and exceeded 11,000 consumer accounts for a new consumer service.
http://www.itcdeltacom.com

• In July 2003, ITC^DeltaCom and BTI Telecom Corp. agreed to merge in a transaction that will establish the combined company as the largest CLEC in the southeastern U.S. Entering into 2004, the combined company, which will retain the name ITC^DeltaCom, is expected to have a total revenue run-rate of approximately $630 to $660 million and an improved free cash flow positive position. The combined company will maintain branch offices in approximately 40 markets in the southern U.S. and will serve more than 50,000 customers. At the merger closing, Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe (Welsh Carson) will invest $35 million in the company. Welsh Carson currently is a significant stockholder in ITC^DeltaCom and a majority stockholder in BTI.


• 
  
  BTI Telecom is a privately-held company based in Raleigh, North Carolina. It owns and operates a network covering 4,400 route miles of lit fiber for extensive regional penetration, with 14 Lucent Technologies 5E 2000 digital local switches to serve local markets, as well as four network operations centers with Alcatel 600E digital long distance switches. BTI claims 32,000 customers.


• 
  
  ITC^DeltaCom is a public company based in West Point, Georgia. It operates 35 branch offices in nine states, and its 10-state fiber optic network of approximately 10,088 miles reaches approximately 188 POPs. ITC^DeltaCom claims 20,000 customers and reported 2002 revenues of $415 million.

Read More

New Edge Networks and DSL.net Enter Partnership

New Edge Networks and DSL.net reached a wholesale agreement allowing New Edge Networks to improve its network reach and offer business broadband connections in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions. The deal enables New Edge Networks to expand its new nationwide Frame Relay over DSL services. New Edge Networks gains access to business districts served with about 500 DSL.net telephone switching center locations concentrated throughout the mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions. Financial terms were not disclosed.
http://www.newedgenetworks.com
http://www.dsl.net

Read More

Net2Phone and Liberty Cablevision Cite Heavy Cable VoIP Usage

Net2Phone and Liberty Cablevision of Puerto Rico (LCV), which jointly rolled out a local + long distance VoIP service over LCV's HFC cable network earlier this year, said customers have been generating about 1,100 minutes of use per month, on average. The companies have carried one million minutes of cumulative talk time to date. Features include call waiting, caller ID, directory assistance, e911, unlimited local calling and either per-minute or flat-rate long distance.
http://www.net2phone.com
http://www.libertycablevision.com

Read More

China's Zhejiang Electric Power Utility Selects Juniper for IP Backbone

China's Zhejiang Provincial Electric Power Utility will use Juniper Networks' M-series routing platforms for a new IP backbone connecting its facilities across the province of Zhejiang. The company is Juniper's first utility customer in the People's Republic of China. Financial terms were not disclosed.
http://www.juniper.net

Read More

SIP Interoperability Testing Event

The thirteenth Session Initiation Protocol Interoperability Testing Event (SIPit) is scheduled for next week (18-Aug-03 to 22-Aug-03) in Ottawa, Canada. The event is being hosted by Mitel Networks. Organizers are expecting a record number of participating companies and over 70 product teams.
http://www.mitel.com/sipit/index.cfm

Read More