ITU Approves CWDM Specification

The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) approved a new specification designed to promote vendor interoperability by specifying transmitter/multiplexer characteristics at one end of a CWDM link and the demultiplexer/receiver at the other end. CWDM is seen as a cheaper and simpler alternative to DWDM. The specification complements the existing ITU-T G.694.2 Recommendation which defines a wavelength grid with 20 nm channel spacing which includes 18 wavelengths between 1271 nm and 1611 nm. CWDM solutions standardized in ITU-T G.695 can be...

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NGN Debate -- Convergence, Now or Never

Applications are the real drivers of network convergence, said Dave Passmore, Research Director, Burton Group, speaking at the Next Generation Networks conference in Boston. Passmore defined three flavors of convergence that are gaining market traction now: converged transport, converged phone systems, and converged applications. Convergence saves money -- but that's beyond the point, said Passmore, because there are compelling communication features embedded in Office 2003 and even in the widely-used Instant Messenger clients. The business...

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Glimmerglass and the University of Illinois Develop LambdaGrid Applications

Glimmerglass, a start-up based in Hayward, California, is working with the Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) on a new class of compute-intensive applications running on high-performance computers configured into grids that are interconnected with optical wavelengths. Glimmerglass is providing an optical switch with "Photonic Multicasting" capabilities. Glimmerglass said its technology enables "streaming computing" -- the streaming of information, whether high-resolution imagery or massive databases,...

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Nokia Shows First Dual Stack IPv4/IPv6 CDMA Handset

Nokia demonstrated a dual stack IPv4/IPv6 CDMA handset, describing it as the first such product in the world. Nokia is currently offering prototype IPv6 CDMA handsets to operators for testing purposes, and will be ready for commercial delivery of dual stack IPv4/IPv6 handsets during 2004. The introduction of dual stack IPv4/IPv6 devices is seen as essential for the seamless transition of current IPv4 based networks and devices to the upcoming IPv6 environment.Nokia said the benefits of an IPv6 handset, besides the obvious increase in address space...

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Nortel Networks, Koor Industries to Adjust Ownership in Israeli Operation

Nortel Networks and Koor Industries will reorganize their joint telecommunications activities in Israel. Under this reorganization, Nortel Networks will assume full ownership of Nortel Networks Israel (Sales and Marketing) Ltd., its joint venture with Koor Industries, by acquiring the remaining 28% ownership interest currently held directly and indirectly by Koor Industries. Nortel Networks Israel (Sales and Marketing) Ltd. is responsible for sales, marketing and support of Nortel Networks products in the Israeli market. The companies will continue...

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Cisco's Revenues and Profits Increase

Cisco Systems reported Q1 revenues of $5.1 billion, up 8.5% from the $4.7 billion reported in the previous quarter and 5.3% over the same period last year. Net income increased to $1.1 billion from $982 million in the prior quarter and $618 million one year ago. President and CEO John Chambers described the results as "a solid quarter of continued operational excellence and year-over-year growth. We saw strength across our core switching and routing businesses, as well as traction in our advanced technologies." Some highlights:Switching revenues...

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Spirent Releases Module for IPSec and SSL Testing

Spirent Communications released its SmartBits Security Module for IPSec and Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) performance testing. The module uses specialized encryption hardware to support stress rates in the 100s of IPSec tunnels per second, and supports DES, 3DES, and AES encryption algorithms, and HMAC-MD-5 and HMAC-SHA-1 authentication algorithms. The module tracks results over multiple sessions, showing how high connection rates and large amounts of encrypted traffic can impact networks across sessions. The security module runs on Spirent's SmartBits...

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UTStarcom and Panasonic for 3G Joint Venture in China

UTStarcom and Panasonic Mobile Communications formed a joint venture to design, develop and manufacture 3G systems. The new company, Universal Communications Technology Hangzhou (UCTH), will initially focus on WCDMA 3G radio access systems for the Chinese market. Other products from the Hang Zhou, China based company will include Base Transceiver Stations and Radio Network Controllers. In the future, UCTH plans to support TD-SCDMA technology and expand into other international markets. http://www.utstar....

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NGN -- The Broken VC Model

The venture capital (VC) model has never been as broken as it is now, said Dr. John McQuillan, co-Chairman of the NGN conference. The rates of return for venture funds used to be over 20% and yet for the past three years they have averaged a negative 25%. On top of this, there is a huge overhang in venture funds leftover from the peak years -- money that is still waiting to be committed or returned to investors. McQuillan said he still sees start-ups as playing a key role as innovators for the industry, but expects that many of the major advances...

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NGN -- Leaving the Bottom Behind

Bankruptcy-cleansed carriers may have shed their debt, but they are still burdened with operational costs that dominate network operations, said Doug Ashton, Managing Partner with Pythar Capital. He is optimistic that spending levels will rise for network equipment because remaining competitive requires both scale and new investment. He believes the RBOCs will continue to dominate the local loop, the IXCs will move increasingly to wireless, and the MSOs will retain their CATV share. Ashton also expects the RBOCs to adopt a store-and-play video...

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NGN Keynote -- The Wi-Fi Revolution

One size does not fit all in the public Wi-Fi market, said Gary Weis, President and CEO of Cometa Networks, speaking at NGN in Boston. He believes there will be many economic models for public Wi-Fi service, ranging from free sites to business-class access sites. Once VoIP and streaming media become common applications, Weiss expects there will be clear service differentiation between casual and business uses of the networks. Cometa, which is a wholesale Wi-Fi operator building a national network of hotspots, anticipates that the PWLAN market...

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BT Deploys Network Services from Level 3 for MPLS Expansion

BT is using Level 3 Communications' new (3)Hub Private Line and (3)Center Colocation services to expand its MPLS backbone in the Americas. Once all nodes are activated, BT will own and operate one of the largest native MPLS networks in the U.S. and one of the most extensive in the world.Level 3's (3)Hub Private Line is a "self-service" private line offering that enables customers to provision, upgrade and manage their own metropolitan and long-haul circuits on an as needed, pay-as-you-go basis. Level 3 provides (3)Hub Private Line service in 83...

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BT Activates Expanded MPLS Backbone in the Americas

BT has activated eight new MPLS nodes on its IP backbone serving the U.S., Canada and Mexico. A further seven node expansion is planned. New nodes are now operational in Washington DC, Miami, Houston, Detroit, Seattle, Denver, Toronto and Mexico City. In 2004-2005, BT will activate additional nodes in St. Louis, Tampa, Phoenix, Minneapolis, Cleveland, Cincinnati and Charlotte, bringing the total number to 23. In conjunction with the roll-out, BT will be hosting a series of MPLS workshops for customers in the new locations.BT's MPLS network serves...

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iBasis Reports 866 Million Minutes of Use in Q3

iBasis, a carrier of international IP telephony traffic, reported 866 million minutes of use in Q3, an increase of 29% from 670 million minutes carried in the third quarter of 2002, and 1% over the 854 million minutes in the second quarter of 2003. Average revenue per minute (ARPM) in Q3 increased to 5.1 cents per minute, compared to 4.6 cents per minute in the second quarter of 2003. The company added 29 new carrier customers in the quarter. The company said it achieved a significant increase in traffic to mobile phones, which are both higher-revenue...

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Avaya Develops IP Access Solutions for People with Sensory Impairments

Avaya announced two new solutions that enable people with sensory impairments to access advanced business communications over IP telephony networks. The products give users the capability to accurately and reliably transmit teletypewriter (TTY) signals over an IP network. TTYs -- also known as TDDs -- are assistive devices used by people who are deaf or hearing impaired to communicate over telephone systems. In addition, Avaya's solution allows TTY signals and voice to be intermixed on the same call -- a significant benefit for the large number...

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Birck to Step Down as CEO of Tellabs

Michael J. Birck announced plans to step down as CEO of Tellabs by April 2004. Birck was among the co-founders of Tellabs in 1975. He will continue in his role as chairman of the board. The company is searching for a replacement. http://www.tellabs....

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