Canadian
Carriers Announce Wi-Fi Roaming Agreement
Bell
Mobility, Microcell Solutions (Fido), Rogers AT&T
Wireless and TELUS Mobility have entered into a roaming
agreement covering their respective public Wi-Fi hotspots
across Canada. Under the deal, all public commercial
hotspots operated by the carriers, and any other Canadian
operator or hotspot owner who meets the minimum
requirements and chooses to join the roaming alliance,
will be branded consistently with the common hotspot
identifier. The agreement will also simplify payment
options for customers who use Wi-Fi access at one of the
branded hotpots.
http://www.cwta.ca
01-Mar-04 |
 |
http://www.cwta.ca
Moscow City Telephone Network (MGTS) will deploy the Nokia D500 IP DSLAM and the Redback SmartEdge 400 and 800 Service Gateway platforms for its consumer broadband service throughout the Moscow capital area. Financial terms were not disclosed. http://www.redback.comhttp://www.nokia.com
Time Warner Cable, North America's second largest cable operator, has approved the Motorola Broadband Services Router (BSR) 64000 for deployment of DOCSIS 1.1-based IP services throughout its cable systems in the U.S. Time Warner will begin deploying the Motorola BSR 64000 with a fully redundant configuration in its San Diego network. This marks the first deployment of the Motorola BSR 64000 in a Time Warner Cable system. Financial terms were not disclosed. http://www.motorola.com
Sunday, February 29, 2004
Wi-Fi
Alcatel has added Wireless LAN products to its portfolio of enterprise LAN switches and IP-PBXs.
The new line-up includes OmniAccess 1200 Access Points and OmniAccess 4000 wireless LAN switches and appliances, which were developed to support voice over WLAN and other real-time applications and services. The products, which are now shipping, are 802.11i-ready for next generation wireless security support.
Alcatel is also introducing the Mobile IP Touch 300 and 600 wireless phones, which act as extensions of the Alcatel OmniPCX family of IP-PBXs to provide access to enterprise-class communication features and services. They utilize the IEEE 802.11b global standard to operate as client devices on wireless LANs,http://www.alcatel.com
Sunday, February 29, 2004
Wi-Fi
NEC America unveiled UNIVERGE, a pure-IP architecture and new product family to unify voice, video and data onto a single network. The UNIVERGE architecture will integrate VoIP, data and video networking solutions supported by NEC with services including network performance and security assessments, and network monitoring and management. The architecture will also support vertical market applications such as healthcare, education, hospitality, government, retail, legal, financial, manufacturing, call centers and entertainment.
The current release will include the SV7000 full-featured telephony server. The SIP- enabled, client server configuration supports the broadest range of telephones in the market, from wired to wireless, as well as proprietary and standards-based. A unique feature of this IP system is that an optional chassis can be added to expand the number of IP ports if needed.
NEC's wireless LAN solution, the UNIVERGE WL Series, announced in late 2003, is also part of the UNIVERGE portfolio. http://www.necam.com
AT&T has added accelerator software that increases the download speed of its consumer dial-up Internet service by up to 5x. The compression and caching technology, which is provided by Propel Software Corporation, compresses text and graphics. AT&T Worldnet Service is priced at $14.95 per month. http://www.att.net/features/accelerator
Sunday, February 29, 2004
Wi-Fi
Nortel Networks introduced a Wireless IP Telephony portfolio and an adaptive WLAN solution for supporting converged applications. The new IP Telephony over WLAN solution is based on the new Nortel Networks WLAN Security Switch 2270 and the WLAN Access Ports 2230 and 2231 and is complemented by the WLAN Handsets 2210 and 2211, WLAN IP Telephony Manager 2245 and WLAN Application Gateway 2246.
The WLAN Security Switch 2270 provides advanced radio frequency (RF) specific functions that enable the control and security of the wireless LAN infrastructure to support voice traffic. It also provides advanced security features, including unauthorized access point detection and containment.
The WLAN Handsets emulate Nortel Networks i2004 Internet Telephone and leverage the full feature set of the company's call servers. The also offer walkie-talkie capabilities.
Nortel Networks is also introducing a Wireless Mesh Architecture for wireless deployments in open areas or where no LAN infrastructure exists, such as warehouse and university campus environments. This solution replaces the wired backhaul or transit link with a wireless link, eliminating the need to install additional LAN cabling and other infrastructure to extend WLAN service beyond the reach of the existing LAN. http://www.nortelnetworks.com
Sunday, February 29, 2004
Mobile
UTStarcom will collaborate with Cisco Systems on IP technology for third-generation (3G) wireless networks. The companies are focusing on IP-based core networks and on products designed to furnish end users with increased bandwidth and full multimedia capability. The collaboration is aimed at telecom operators in China. The first UTStarcom field-trial network employing 3G will become operational in Beijing in the first quarter of 2004. http://www.utstar.comhttp://www.cisco.com
MCI introduced a Denial of Service (DoS) Service Level Agreement (SLA) to help its Internet customers better thwart and defend against Internet threats and attacks. The new SLA ensures that all MCI Internet customers will have immediate access to MCI's security staff to help them rapidly address and mitigate Internet attacks, providing the strongest network security protection available.
MCI guarantees its response to suspected DoS attacks within 15 minutes of a customer-generated trouble ticket through MCI Customer Support. MCI's Security team works hand-in-hand with customers to determine and implement the necessary steps to quickly mitigate the security threat.
MCI's DoS performance guarantee automatically extends its SLAs at no additional cost to customers. The new SLA is being applied across all MCI IP services including dedicated and remote Internet access, IP VPN Dedicated and Remote, and Internet Colocation, Shared and single-server Dedicated Hosting. http://www.mci.com
Allstream (formerly AT&T Canada) has selected Alcatel's next-generation IP service router for its national switched gigabit Ethernet network. The deployment will use the Alcatel 7750 multiservice router, which delivers enhanced Internet and virtual private network services with QoS for each customer. Financial terms were not disclosed. http://www.alcatel.com
Quarry Technologies, a start-up based in Burlington, Massachusetts, raised $18 million in D Series venture funding for its line of carrier-class security service routers. Quarry's iQ Security Service Routers enable carriers to offer billable network-based security services over their IP/MPLS networks to enterprise and consumer customers. Quarry's platform combines high-performance ASICs, network processors and proprietary algorithms for priority queuing, virtual routing and real-time statistics. Quarry's packet processing system provides wire speed traffic classification, policing, fine-grained queuing, dynamic firewall filtering, address translation and priority-sensitive traffic aggregation, thereby enabling the enforcement of application-specific Service Level Agreements (SLAs) to each customer. The platform, which is deployed at the edge of service providers networks, applies billable security services (i.e. firewall, virus scanning, DoS prevention, intrusion detection/prevention) to IP and MPLS VPNs subscribers. A customer self-management portal is provided. The platform is scalable to 1000's of VPNs, 10,000's subscribers, and 1,000,000's of firewall session and IP QoS flows.
Quarry said it has experienced 25% growth in the past six months. Announced customers include Dacom (Korea), InTouch (Netherlands), and StraitShot (USA).
Investors include 3i, Jerusalem Venture Partners, ARCH Venture Partners, Walden International. The company had raised $77 million in its prior rounds of funding. http://www.quarrytech.com
Sprint plans to eliminate the separate tracking stocks for its PCS and FON divisions, reflecting a decision to merge the once separate traditional phone and wireless services into a single operation. As a result, the PCS common stock will be eliminated and each share of PCS common stock will convert automatically into .50 shares of FON common stock on April 23, 2004.
Sprint said the move would facilitate its transformation into a company focused on the needs of two customer types -- business and consumer -- by removing barriers to its ability to target more effectively its customers with a full suite of integrated products and services. The integration is also expected to more closely align Sprint's capital structure with the company's evolving integrated operational focus in view of increased convergence of wireless and wireline offerings throughout the telecommunications industry.
Sprint created the tracking stocks in 1998 in connection with its acquisition of 100 percent ownership of Sprint PCS. Although Sprint created two tracking stocks, it has remained a single corporation with a single board of directors. Sprint said there are no regulatory approvals or other conditions that must be satisfied prior to the recombination becoming effective. http://www.sprint.com
VeriSign has filed a lawsuit in Federal Court in the Central District of California against the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) alleging that ICANN overstepped its contractual authority and improperly attempted to regulate VeriSign's business.
VeriSign asserts that ICANN has improperly attempted to become the de facto regulator of the domain name system and in doing so stifled the introduction of new services that benefit Internet users and promote the growth of the Internet. http://www.verisign.com
Thursday, February 26, 2004
The European Commission expects the market for Information Technology and Telecommunications (ICT) in Western Europe to grow by more than 3% in 2004, far outstripping the level of 0.8% in 2003. The worldwide ICT market is expected to grow by well in excess of four percentage points. According to the latest report by the European Information Technology Observatory (EITO), markets in France and Germany are still performing below the ICT average, while Spain is predicted to enjoy the strongest growth.
However, the report also cautions that constraints -- among them a weak economic recovery, budget restrictions, and a lack of skills and technology culture -- will inhibit ICT investment.
Besides current market analysis, EITO 2004 contains studies with special focus on convergence and the digital world, the consumer electronics market in Western Europe and the impacts of ICT on economic growth. EITO 2004 contains 352 pages of statistics, trends and information. The three parts of the yearbook present about 142 tables and 81 figures (price EUR 80). http://www.eito.com/index-eito.html
Chris Clark as chief executive officer, BT Wireless Broadband, replacing Dave Hughes who is becoming CTO of BT Retail. Clark joins BT Wireless Broadband from BT Global Services wholesale business, where for the past three years he has led the integration of the former European joint ventures' carrier businesses with the former Concert ICS. http://www.btplc.com
8x8 reduced its international rates for outbound calls from the U.S. to locations such as London, Paris and many other European cities to $0.02 per minute. Calls to Hong Kong, Japan and many other Asian cities are $0.02 to $0.03 per minute. 8x8 delivers its VoIP services over broadband connectionshttp://www.packet8.net
The Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) Council issued a call for Utah legislators to defeat Senate Bill 66, calling it "an impermeable barrier to true broadband deployment in Utah."
"This bill was clearly drafted to kill the Utopia and iProvo FTTH initiatives. The growing FTTH market in this country today has benefited greatly from the advances made, lessons learned, and price declines created by municipal FTTH deployments. Less than a year ago, Utah was considered a 'hot bed' for FTTH and one of the country's technology leaders. Should this bill pass, Utah will be relegated to the back of the communications pack, with the population likely destined to the limitations of legacy copper or other broadband-inadequate networks," said Leonard Ray, the FTTH Council's Vice President and Vice-Chairman of the Government Relations Committee.
The FTTH Council noted that municipalities accounted for 32% of all U.S. FTTH networks as of September. "I can say with high confidence that without municipal FTTH, this industry would not be as far along today as it is and it is absolutely critical that Utah does not enact legislation that effectively blocks municipal broadband networks," DeMauro continued. http://www.ftthcouncil.org
Sprint has expanded its international IP network to include Seoul, South Korea. Sprint has also acquired a Value-added Service Provider license for the provision of corporate IP and data services to the Korean market. The expansion follows the establishment of facilities in Taiwan and New Zealand last year.
Sprint's Asia-Pacific network reach includes Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia. Sprint currently has 1,100 points of presence in more than 100 countries around the world, with network expansion into India planned for 2004. http://www.sprintworldwide.com
The U.S. General Services Administration's Federal Technology Service (FTS) awarded a contract modification to SBC Global Services Inc., allowing it to compete for the first time for the long distance services of federal government agencies across the nation. Along with long distance voice and data services, SBC companies will now offer the federal government SBC PremierSERVsm Network Management Services. http://www.sbc.com
Nortel Networks announced that it was the first networking vendor to pass voice over IP (Internet Protocol) interoperability testing for the U.S. Defense Department's Joint Interoperability Test Command (JITC). Certification is required for all products that support voice, data or video communications connecting to the Defense Switched Network. The JITC-tested voice over IP solution from Nortel Networks includes: the Succession 1000M platform, the BayStack 460-24T-PWR Power over Ethernet Switch, the Contivity Secure IP Services Gateway, the Passport 8600 Routing Switch. http://www.nortelnetworks.com
NTT Communications is deploying a new inter-AS diagnostic system in its OCN Internet backbone service to monitor and diagnose anomalies in routing information between multiple ISPs. The system, which was developed by NTT Laboratories, is believed to be the first such automated inter-domain monitoring tool in use in a commercial Internet service.
NTT said that routing anomalies between "Autonomous Systems (AS)" until now could only be analyzed manually by network operators with specialized skills. It is difficult for network operators to constantly monitor huge volumes of routing information that change from moment to moment in order to discover dangerous anomalies at an early stage. There have been numerous incidents of malicious activity in this respect and the most significant Internet vulnerabilities are seen in the context of DNS and BGP.
NTT's ENCORE system places agents with monitoring and diagnostic capabilities at each ISP, integrates the information gathered by these Agents to infer routing information behavior, and analyzes the causes of anomalies. When an abnormality is detected through regular monitoring, the system diagnoses the anomaly and identifies the factors inhibiting communications. http://www.ntt.co.jp
Verizon reached tentative agreements with both the Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers on new, three-year contracts covering approximately 400 employees in 10 states. The employees work in a division called the National Buried Service Wire Group and are responsible for the location and placement of underground telecommunications facilities and equipment.
The new contracts, which run through March 2007, provide for a 12% general wage increase over the life of the contracts, with annual increases of 4%. Verizon noted improvements to several benefit packages and said a new element of the contracts states that covered employees in the group will have a streamlined process for applying for future Verizon job openings in construction, maintenance and installation functions. http://www.verizon.com
Siemens Information and Communication Mobile (Siemens mobile) introduced a fixed line MMS phone for the home market. The cordless phone combines a high-resolution color display and an integrated digital camera. Borrowing another mobile feature, the Siemens' Gigaset SL740/SLX740isdn offers picture CLIP to personalize a phone book with snapshots that can be associated with specific incoming callers. http://www.siemens.com
Wednesday, February 25, 2004
Mobile
SK Telecom, the largest mobile operator in Korea, introduced a photo-music-video (PMV) service at the 3GSM World Congress 2004 in Cannes, France that was developed jointly with Alcatel. The service enables users to produce and send personalized video content to mobile phones or an email address. The message combines digital photos with music and video they like, as well as text and desired effects. The service leverages the Alcatel Mobile Multimedia Service (MMS) platform.
SK Telecom launched trial PMV service in Korea in December 2003 and plans to launch the service commercially in April.
Alcatel said its Linux-based MMS platform, featuring three 2.4 GHz, dual-processor Intel Xeon processor-based rack-mounted servers, can process over 150 MMS messages per second -- the equivalent of over half a million MMS messages per hour. http://www.alcatel.com
Wednesday, February 25, 2004
Mobile
Vivo, the largest mobile operator in South America, selected Marconi for a network expansion that includes wireless access and SDH optical backbone equipment. Marconi is also providing antennae systems and network installation and commissioning. The network will improve Vivo's capability to carry its customer's mobile traffic over its own network, reducing its dependency on incumbent operators for the transportation of its customers' call traffic. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Vivo is a joint venture between Telefónica Móviles and Portugal Telecom with more than 20.5 million customers at the end of 2003, which represents 45% of the current Brazilian mobile market and the 56% of its areas of operations. It's cellular footprint covers 86 percent of the Brazilian territory and includes 19 Brazilian states and Federal districts. http://www.marconi.com
Congressman Joe Barton (R-TX) will replace William "Billy" Tauzin, (R-La) as the Chairman of the House Committee on Energy & Commerce, which oversees telecommunications related issues in the U.S. House of Representatives. In recent years, Tauzin has been an outspoken critic of the FCC and its decision to allow state commission to set rates for unbundled network element (UNE). In 2002, he sponsored the Tauzin-Dingell Broadband Legislation (H.R. 1542), which was widely seen as favoring the Regional Bell Operating Companies. The U.S. House of Representatives voted 273 to 157 to approve the legislation, but the U.S. Senate never acted on the bill and it was never signed into law. http://www.house.gov - Speaking at the USTA Telecom show in Las Vegas in October 2003, Congressman Joe Barton (R-Texas) predicted that Congress most likely will not consider any major new telecommunications legislation in 2004 due to the presidential election and other higher priority issues. Barton, who sits on the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce, said it is "obvious that we need to revisit the Telecom Act of 1996." Whereas many people anticipated that the Telecom Act would lead to extensive facilities-based competition, Barton said FCC policies had instead led to the mess of UNE-p. Barton suggested that we "may need a legislative fix" for other industry issues, such as the challenge of how to increase broadband penetration rates in the U.S. and what to do about the Universal Service Fund.
Frank Ianna, retired president of AT&T Network Services, was elected to AFC's board of directors. The election brings the number of AFC board members to seven. http://www.afc.com
Wednesday, February 25, 2004
Mobile
Sonim Technologies, a start-up based in San Mateo, California, has entered into a global strategic partnership Sony Ericsson focused on Push-to-Talk applications. Sonim and Sony Ericsson will collaborate to integrate Push-to-Talk capability in Sony Ericsson phones, based on the Push to talk over Cellular (PoC) standard.
The PoC specification aims to provide consumers and business users a seamless Push-to-Talk experience, and the ability to access the service with any enabled handset anywhere around the world. http://www.sonimtech.comhttp://www.SonyEricsson.com
Wednesday, February 25, 2004
Mobile
Sonim Technologies, a start-up based in San Mateo, California, announced $28 million in Series C financing for its Push-to-Talk technology for wireless networks. Sonim develops valued-enhanced applications for GPRS/EDGE/WCDMA and CDMA 2000 networks. Its Push-to-Talk solution is compliant with the recently announced Push to talk over Cellular (PoC) specification. The new funding cam from Accel Partners and from the existing investors, funds advised by Apax Partners, 3i Partners and BV Capital. http://www.sonimtech.com - Earlier this month, Sonim Technologies announced separate strategic partnerships with Samsung and with Sony Ericsson.
Ixia introduced a new virtual network interface card (VNIC) driver for its IxANVL protocol conformance testing software that enables testing over OC-48 and OC-192 Packet over SONET (POS) networks. The new VNIC driver expands the complete IxANVL solution to all high-speed network interfaces, including Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet and 10 Gigabit Ethernet, ATM, Sync Serial, Async Serial, T1/E1 and now high-speed POS. http://www.ixiacom.com
Wednesday, February 25, 2004
Mobile
Orange France will begin offering the BlackBerry wireless service over its GSM/GPRS network. BlackBerry from Orange France will provide mobile professionals with push-based access to their corporate email system via an advanced handheld, in addition to phone capabilities, Internet access and organizer. http://www.rim.com
Wednesday, February 25, 2004
Silicon
Elliptic Semiconductor has licensed its IPSec offload engine to Centillium Communications for use in its ADSL System-on-Chip (SoC) product family. Elliptic said the dramatic increase in speed of ADSL to 40 Mbps or more in countries such as Japan makes DSL the preferred method of Internet access for corporate email, extranets and remote access for mobile and/or home based employees. Increasingly businesses use either IPSec or SSL virtual private networks (VPNs) to conduct business with complete privacy over the increasingly hostile Internet.
Elliptic Semiconductor is based in Ottawa. http://www.ellipticsemi.com
The Telefónica Group of Spain reported steady growth in all of its major business lines and the general improvement of its financials. Revenues in Q4 2003 increased 9%, EBITDA 18.3% and operating income 41.6% compared to a year earlier. Some Telefónica Group operating highlights, as of 31-Dec-2003: - 99 million telephony customers, a 13% increase on end-2002.
- 52 million managed cellular customers, a 25.7% rise on last year, thanks mostly to strong commercial activity in all its areas of operation. In 2003, the cellular business became the largest contributor to Group EBITDA, with EUR 4.581.9 billion (36.4% of the total vs 32.7% in 2002).
- 2.7 million ADSL connections, up by 81.8% for the year. Of this total, 1.9 million are in Europe and the rest in Latin America.
- Spain represented 62% of the Group's 2003 revenues, compared to 59% for the prior year. Latin America's contribution to the company's revenues was down to 33.3% of the total, compared to 35.2% a year earlier.
- Net debt of Telefónica Group was EUR 19.235 billion, down from EUR 22.533 a year earlier
- CAPEX in 2003 totaled EUR 3.727 billion, a decrease of 1.6% from 2002
http://www.telefonica.es
Jupiter Telecommunications Co. Ltd. (J-COM Broadband), Japan's largest multiple system operator (MSO), has deployed a number of ARRIS Cadant C4 Cable Modem Termination Systems (CMTS). J-COM will use the platform to support the very high data rate services it is offering, as well as to ease their upgrade to high density DOCSIS 2.0 operations. Financial terms were not disclosed.
As of 31-Dec-2003, J-COM served 1,781,800 subscribing households in the Hokkaido, Kanto, Kansai, and Kyushu regions of Japan. J-COM Broadband's principal shareholders are Liberty Media Corporation, Sumitomo Corporation, Microsoft Corporation, Mitsui & Co., Ltd., and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. http://www.arrisi.comhttp://www.jcom.co.jp/corporate/english.html
China Network Communications Group (CNG) will deploy the Cisco 10000 Edge Services Router as part of its aggressive expansion of broadband services in the provinces of Shandong, Liaoning, and Hangzhou. Combined, the three provinces currently have over 1 million broadband subscribers. Broadband demand is expected to double over the next year. http://www.cisco.com
Marvell Technology Group posted record quarterly revenue of $243.3 million, representing an increase of 61% over the same period a year earlier and a 13% sequential increase from the preceding quarter. Net income (GAAP) was $19.8 million, or $0.14 per share (diluted). The period was Marvell's 25th consecutive quarter of revenue growth.
Marvell attributed its strong revenue growth largely to the continued adoption of its Gigabit, wireless and storage silicon products.
Additionally, Marvell's Board of Directors has approved a 2 for 1 stock split. http://www.marvell.com
NewSouth Communications and NuVox Communications, both privately-held Integrated Communications Providers (ICPs), agreed to merge into a single company. The combined enterprise would initially have approximately 36,000 business customers, 500,000 access lines in service, and annualized revenues exceeding $300 million.
NewSouth Communications serves business customers in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Louisiana. Its network consists of Cisco packet-based switches, Lucent AnyMedia 5ESS-2000 switches, and Siemens Information and Communications Networks EWSD digital switches.
NuVox Communications, which is based in St. Louis, provides integrated voice and data services using Nortel switches. It operates an LD network based on the Sonus Insignus platform. http://www.newsouth.comhttp://www.nuvox.com
Synopsys agreed to acquire Accelerant Networks, a privately held company providing a highly efficient technology for high-speed serial interfaces, for an undisclosed sum. Accelerant has developed 6.25 Gbps CMOS transceivers that enable up to a ten-fold increase in data rates on the installed copper backplanes and cable systems used in existing server, storage, enterprise and network transport applications. Synopsys said it intends to apply Accelerant's SERDES technology to offer multiple standards-based PHY cores such as PCI Express, Serial ATA (SATA), and emerging 6.25 to 10 Gbps backplane applications. http://www.synopsys.com/http://www.Accelerant.net
Tuesday, February 24, 2004
Mobile
Lucent Technologies and Cisco Systems announced a joint VoIP solution targeted at mobile service providers. The solution, which combines the Lucent Softswitch (LSS) and Cisco MGX 8000 Series Media Gateways, is part of Lucent's recently announced Accelerate VoIP portfolio. The company have demonstrated VoIP and VoATM calling using the joint solution. The calls -- completed in Lucent's Lisle, Illinois lab and in Cisco's San Jose lab -- were made using the H.248 Media Gateway Control Protocol, which allows a Softswitch, serving as the media gateway controller, to communicate with media gateways that are used to convert data from the format required for a circuit- switched network to that required for a packet-switched network. Calls between mobile phones, and from a mobile phone to the PSTN were successfully completed. http://www.lucent.comhttp://www.cisco.com - In January 2003, Lucent and Cisco Systems announced a partnership under which Lucent is integrating and reselling select Cisco packet data and media gateway products as part of Lucent's mobile networking product offering for the mobile service provider market. Later in 2003 the two companies expanded on their initial, global supply contract and signed a development to collaborate on accelerating the mobile operator market for VoIP.
Bell Canada has selected the Cisco 12000 Series routers to serve as the foundation platform for its single, converged IP/MPLS service delivery network. Bell Canada will converge Internet, ATM, Frame Relay, Ethernet and VPN services onto a common IP/MPLS core and edge network infrastructure. Financial terms were not disclosed. http://www.cisco.com
Voice Print International introduced a VoIP recording system designed to capture data regardless of an agent's physical location or mode of connection. The company said existing IP recording systems claim to be able to capture, store, and replay 100% of an organization's IP telephony interactions. However, these systems employ packet sniffing and/or trunk-tapping, and although both methods are effective to a certain extent, neither can actually achieve full-time VoIP recording once an IP SoftPhone is utilized. Voice Print's 'Follow Me!' solution overcomes the softphone limitation because regardless of an agent's location when connecting to their extension, the recording channel assigned to that particular agent will follow them -- logging and recording all telephone conversations both to and from that agent in a unified manner.
The Follow Me! solution is currently available and factory certified with Avaya Definity and S8700 platforms. http://www.VoicePrintOnline.com
Firetide, a start-up developing mesh technology for wireless instant networks, named Bo Larsson as CEO. Larsson most recently served as CEO of Emuzed, a developer of multimedia products and technologies. Previously, he was CEO and co-founder of Touchwave, a startup delivering distributed voice and data services and solutions using VoIP.
Firetide recently began shipping its HotPoint Wireless Mesh Router for enterprise applications. The products use advanced routing technologies and IEEE 802.11-compliant radios to "unwire" the Ethernet backhaul and provide portable Ethernet ports. Firetide is based in Los Gatos, California and Honolulu, Hawaii. http://www.firetide.com
Shareholders of both Conexant Systems and GlobespanVirata approved the merger between the firms. The deal is expected to close at the end of this month. http://www.conexant.com
ZTE Corporation, the second largest supplier of data- and telecommunications systems in China, selected Infineon Technologies' Resilient Packet Ring (RPR) silicon solution. ZTE will use Infineon's Frea PoS Framer/RPR MAC integrated circuit for metro and wide-area networking equipment. Financial terms were not disclosed. http://www.infineon.com/news
Tekelec agreed to acquire Taqua, a provider of next-generation Class 5 packet switching systems, for approximately $85 million cash, plus the assumption of Taqua's outstanding options. Taqua's Class 5 switching solution is optimized for the small switch service provider market. A small switch is defined as serving under 5,000 lines. Founded in 1998, Taqua began shipments of the iX7000 (formerly branded the OCX next-generation Class 5 packet switch in 2000. The platform incorporates softswitch, signaling and media gateway functionality on a single-card design. Taqua has shipped over 140 switches shipped to more than 85 customers, a variety of incumbent (ILEC) and competitive (CLEC) carriers across North America . The company added 40 customers in 2003. Tekelec described the acquisition as complementary to its existing product line, with little overlap of existing softswitch solutions. While Taqua has focused on small Class 5 switch migrations, Tekelec's Santera division has focused on Class 4, larger Class 5 and wireless softswitch solutions. Following the acquisition, Tekelec will maintain the Taqua facilities in Richardson, Texas. Together with its existing base, Tekelec will have more than 110 next-generation voice switching customers. http://www.tekelec.comhttp://www.taqua.com - In October 2003, Taqua introduced a new series of Class 5 switching system products designed for putting switching intelligence at the edge of the network while enabling an open architecture that can selectively deliver advanced applications to subscribers across any access medium. Taqua's design is to put softswitching functionality at central offices serving up to 80,000 subscribers as well as in remote-office locations serving 600 subscribers or less. This would provide flexibility in delivering advanced services when and where such capability is needed in the network. For remote office locations, Taqua's introduced the iX700, an intelligent line access gateway, based on its switch-on-a-card architecture. The iX700 can terminate 624 POTS or xDSL lines. It could be deployed in a remote-office or controlled environmental enclosure. It provides TDM or IP based trunking and can be configured with POTS, xDSL, DS1/E1 or IP interface cards. Signaling types supported include loop start, ground start, DTMF, MF, DP, GR-303, SFI, as well as SIP, SIP-T, NCS+DQoS, MGCP, and H.248. For central offices, Taqua's Open Compact Exchange has been renamed the iX7000 and enhanced with the addition of an IP card for delivering packet voice in addition to TDM. The iX7000 can be configured with POTS, DS1/E1, DS3/E3, OC-3/STM-1o, OC-12/STM-4o and IP interface cards. It also supports the same range of signaling types.
- In January 2003, Taqua secured over $20 million in new funding to support its next generation Class 5 switching system. The new funding brought total financing to over $140 million. The latest round was led by RRE Ventures, and also includes investments by Investcorp and Point Judith Capital Partners, as well as all of Taqua's existing investors: Bessemer Venture Partners, Columbia Capital and Court Square Ventures. In addition, Taqua also announced that Rich McGinn, a general partner at RRE Ventures, and former chairman and CEO, Lucent Technologies, and Alex Guira, partner, Investcorp, had joined its Board of Directors.
- In June 2002, Taqua named Charles Vogt as its new president and CEO. Vogt previously served as vice president of worldwide sales for Santera Systems. Prior to Santera, Vogt was vice president of worldwide sales and customer service at Accelerated Networks.
- In June 2003, Tekelec completed its merger with Santera Systems, which is based in Plano, Texas. Santera Systems offers an integrated voice and data switching platform for delivering Class 4/5 services, PRI offload, packet/cell switching and voice over broadband services. The SanterOne platform features both TDM and packet switching fabrics. Under the deal, Tekelec agreed to contribute $28 million in cash and its existing packet telephony business. Santera's current investors will contribute its assets and an additional $12 million in cash. Initially, the division will be 52% owned by Tekelec. Tekelec will also have the ability to increase its ownership percentage in the new subsidiary up to 62.5% and has the option to purchase the entire remaining interest from 01-July-2005 through 31-December-2007. The new business is called Santera, a Tekelec company.
Qwest Communications will begin offering a standalone DSL service starting 28-Feb-2004 regardless of whether they have a voice phone line with Qwest or not. Qwest is the first major telecommunications company to make this service available to customers. Customers can purchase Qwest Choice DSL Deluxe with MSN Premium without Qwest phone service for $49.99 per month. Customers who want to select an Internet service provider (ISP) other than MSN can purchase Qwest Choice DSL Deluxe without phone service for $33 and then select their ISP of choice (Qwest has more than 450 participating ISPs region-wide).
Qwest believes the service will be attractive for customers who have decided only to rely on their mobile phone but still need broadband connectivity. Qwest also said the stand-alone DSL would complement is forthcoming consumer VoIP service, which it hopes to launch across its 14-state territory by the end of 2004.
"Customers are telling us that they want greater flexibility when it comes to selecting communications services, which is why we decided to offer DSL with no phone service," said Richard C. Notebaert, Qwest chairman and CEO. http://www.qwest.com
Tuesday, February 24, 2004
Mobile
"The wireless industry is evolving from a web of independent networks into a single, integrated wireless network with multiple standards, and no single standard is sufficient anymore," said Intel President and COO Paul Otellini, in a keynote address at the 3GSM World Congress 2004 in Cannes, France. Otellini predicts that it will be a requirement for Wi-Fi, WiMAX and 3G to coexist in the future broadband wireless world.
Intel believes standards-based silicon would enable carriers and handset makers to lower costs and speed time-to-market in this new environment. Otellini sees the industry transitioning to modular communications infrastructure based on standards such as the Advanced Telecommunications and Computing Architecture (ATCA) specification and Intel processing technology.
Otellini used the occasion to unveil a new three-radio reference design for cell phones with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GSM/GPRS capability built-in, running Intel's latest applications processor and Intel StrataFlash memory. The phone supports multiple full-featured operating systems, plays MP3 music files with PC-quality sound, and includes a 1.3 mega pixel digital camera for pictures and video. Intel's reference design targets handset makers who want to provide cell phones capable of accessing Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or 2.5G networks.
Regarding WiMAX, Otellini predicted "inflection point" in the 2006-2008 timeframe similar to what happened with Wi-Fi over the past few years, and said WiMAX capability would be available in notebook computers by 2006, followed by handsets in 2007. http://www.intel.com
Intel agreed to promote and sell SBC Yahoo! DSL Business Edition and SBC Digital Services (DS1) through the Intel Product Dealer Channel, one of the largest value-added reseller programs in the U.S.. Intel product dealers are now authorized to sell SBC Yahoo! DSL Business Edition and SBC DS1 digital, point-to-point dedicated services in the SBC 13-state region. http://www.intel.com
AT&T will invest its cash flow in its global network to migrate customers toward expanded IP services faster than competitors, said company chairman and CEO David Dorman, speaking at an investor conference in New York. AT&T estimates it will generate more than $4.5 billion in cash flow, defined as EBITDA less capital expenditures, in 2004. This year, the company also intends to repurchase up to $3 billion in additional debt. Its net debt stood at about $9 billion at the end of 2003. William J. Hannigan, who recently joined the company as President of AT&T and head of AT&T Business, outlined the following strategic initiative for AT&T Business in 2004: - continue to expand its hosting business to support storage, customer relationship management and messaging, as well as open four Internet Data Centers in Frankfurt, Paris, Tokyo and London, bringing the total number of its IDCs to 25
- more than double its Wi-Fi footprint, which currently covers more than 2,900 hot spots in 22 countries
- build-out its business VoIP services
- extend its ability to integrate with other carriers' networks
- launch a new cybersecurity service to protect corporate networks
- introduce AT&T WebService Connect to enable businesses to share critical services and applications with partners and customers easily and securely
- introduce a network-based VPN service on its MPLS core IP network
- extend its global network management and monitoring capabilities to customers' infrastructure at their premise or their own data centers
John Polumbo, President of and CEO of AT&T Consumer, reiterated the company's focus on investing in a portfolio of emerging alternate access technologies and models aimed at "changing the game" so that AT&T can provide VoIP over its own platform. AT&T Consumer is testing or supporting a variety of alternatives to bypass the Bell access facilities. These options include broadband over electric power lines, municipal or regional network overbuilds, and renting alternative providers' copper lines. The company also announced plans for rolling out an " AT&T CallVantage" VOIP service to the 100 largest U.S. markets during the course of 2004. AT&T's residential VoIP offering will start to become available to customers next month. The service will provide unlimited local and long distance calling, very competitive rates on international calling, and a number of unique features. Cathy Martine, the company's Senior Vice President spearheading the VoIP initiative, expects to have more than 1 million business and consumer users across its portfolio of VoIP services by the end of 2005. http://www.att.com - In February 2004, AT&T launched a new $200 million-plus company wide brand and advertising program aimed at residential, business and government customers. The business advertising campaign profiles AT&T as "The World's Networking Company," asking its business and government customers: "Can Your Network Do This?" The business advertising campaign uses a "binary" theme to demonstrate how networking propels people, products and entire economies forward. The consumer advertising campaign positions AT&T as a major provider of bundled services, moving far beyond traditional voice long-distance service to include local, Internet, broadband, wireless and international calling.
- In January 2004, AT&T cited increasing pricing pressures and predicted declining overall revenues for 2004. The company reported Q4 2003 consolidated revenue of $8.1 billion, which included $5.9 billion from AT&T Business and $2.2 billion from AT&T Consumer. This represented a consolidated revenue decline of 12.8% versus Q4 2002, primarily due to continued declines in long distance (LD) voice revenue, partially offset by the continued success of AT&T Consumer's bundled local and LD offering, as well as growth in several key markets of AT&T Business. Net income from continuing operations was $340 million and earnings per diluted share were $0.43. Free cash flow was $0.7 billion for Q4. The company met its 2003 financial guidance.
Tuesday, February 24, 2004
Wi-Fi
Calypso Wireless has been granted a U.S. patent ( # 6,680,923) covering the seamless roaming of voice, video and data between Wide Area Network access points, such as cellular towers (GSM/GPRS/EDGE, CDMA, WCMDA etc.) and short-range Internet access points (such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, etc.).
The technology enables mobile users to seamlessly switch back and forward between cellular and wireless IP networks, without losing connectivity via the WLAN. It could also provide significant savings to carriers in additional frequency spectrum and infrastructure equipment by offloading capacity to the WLAN and IP networks.
Calypso Wireless said it is already in negotiations with a leading OEM manufacturer to license its ASNAP (Automatic Switching of Network Access Points) technology. The company is based in Miami Lakes, Florida. http://www.calypsowireless.com/
Lynx Photonic Networks introduced a unique programmable splitter that could be used for building remotely re-configurable passive optical networks (PONs). The Lynx programmable splitter system allows carriers to dynamically split an optical signal and route it to multiple paths. In today's passive splitter technology, the optical input is split into fixed, pre-determined proportions and cannot be changed. Lynx said its device lets carriers configure these ratios remotely from the central office and change them dynamically to meet varying application needs. Split ratios can be fine-tuned to a 1% resolution, and system configuration can be done remotely, without traffic disruption. The network operator can optimize their optical insertion loss budget by allocating less signal strength for shorter paths and more signal strength for drops that are further from the transmission point or last amplifier (the split ratio). This feature is known as "Programmable Signal Weighting".
The system comprises an array of up to eight 1x4 programmable splitters, with a variety of connector choices. The splitters are transparent to bitrate and protocol format within a given optical spectrum (O-band; C-band; L-band, etc.) and therefore could be used for any type of PON. http://www.lynx-networks.com/
Corning introduced today a new standard single-mode fiber that handles twice the launch power of other ITU-T G.652 fibers, addressing a key technical barrier facing Triple Play networks. Corning said its "MaxPower" technology increases the stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) threshold of the optical fiber by 3 dB. This doubles NexCor fiber's power-handling capability over other standard single-mode fibers.
SBS is a non-linear effect caused by high power levels that scatter transmitted light backward ("backscattering") and degrade the signal. Analog video transmission's demanding power requirements make a fiber's SBS threshold the defining limitation of networks delivering analog video to consumers today, such as PONs and CATV networks. For example, with twice the launch power enabled by NexCor fiber, a PON can double the number of subscribers served per splitter and extend its reach compared with other standard single-mode fibers. http://www.corning.com
Intel
introduced a 10 Gbps telecommunications-grade optical
transceiver capable of being tuned across the entire C
band. The new 10-Gbps Intel TXN13600 Tunable Optical
Transceiver uses thermal tuning and wavelength-locking
technology. Intel said the unique design of its
transceiver results in low power dissipation of 8 Watts
typical. It also integrates a variety of advanced
features, such as dynamic control of the receiver decision
threshold and unique SBS suppression that enables
optimization of link performance without affecting other
transmitter characteristics. The transceiver will be
available in production quantities in the second half of
2004 and is priced at $7,000.
http://www.intel.com
24-Feb-04 |
 |
http://www.intel.com
Navtel Communications, a supplier of network test equipment secured substantial financing from two of Canada's leading venture capital firms. Financial terms were not disclosed. Navtel said it will use the funding to develop cutting edge solutions for VoIP, 3G and GMPLS. As part of the funding arrangement Jim Glover (an Investment Director at BDC Venture Capital), Peter Seeligsohn (a General Partner at VenGrowth Capital Partners Inc.) and Joseph Sutherland (a former President of Navtel) have been elected to Navtel's Board of Directors. http://www.navtelcom.com/ - Earlier this month, Navtel Communications introduced a performance benchmarking application for VoIP control, data and transport planes. Navtel's InterWatch can be used by network equipment manufacturers or service providers to measuring the scalability of a next generation converged network based on IP/MPLS standards.
Monday, February 23, 2004
BayPackets named Bill Waters as its new Vice President of Global Sales. Waters previously served as the General Manager and Senior Vice President of Sales for Terayon's Telecom Carrier Solutions Group. Before Terayon, Waters was Senior Vice President of Sales and Business Development for Mainsail Networks, a provider of carrier class platforms, which was acquired by Terayon. http://www.baypackets.com
Santur will supply lasers for full C-Band widely tunable transponders, as well as other subsystems,
for Opnext's TRV family of 2.5 Gbps and 10 Gbps SERDES transceivers (transponders) with MUX/DMUX (SERDES) capabilities. Opnext's TRV series can be used in various network applications, such as DWDM systems, metro optical systems, and IP switches and routers. http://www.santurcorp.com
Monday, February 23, 2004
Mobile
At the 3GSM World Congress in Cannes, France, Cisco Systems introduced a new range of products designed to deliver seamless mobility and enhanced user experience from the cellular network to the public wireless local area network. The Cisco Mobile Exchange is a standards-based framework that links the radio access network to IP networks. The rollout includes: - a Multi-Processor WAN Application Module (MWAM) for the Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series switches and Cisco 7600 Series routers. Cisco MWAM enables mobile network operators worldwide to deploy, provision and manage value-added services at the network edge. Lucent, Motorola and Siemens have integrated Cisco MWAM into their mobile data solution offerings.
- the Cisco Persistent Storage Device (PSD), which is implemented as a single Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series or Cisco 7600 Series service module card, and is designed to provide local storage and controlled retrieval when connectivity to the mediation servers is lost.
- a public wireless LAN solution that also provides a comprehensive Extensible Authentication Protocol-Subscriber Identity Module (EAP-SIM) solution with gateway and security interfaces and an EAP-SIM supplicant supporting Windows XP/2000.
http://www.cisco.com
Motorola has entered into an OEM agreement to resell Sonus Networks' GSX9000 media gateway with the Motorola SoftSwitch (MSS), a next-generation switching platform for wireless carriers around the globe. A single GSX9000 chassis can support up to 22,176 simultaneous VoIP calls and up to 28,224 DS0s.
"The relationship we have forged with Motorola provides an important global sales and support channel for Sonus, and extends our reach into the wireless access market," said Hassan Ahmed, president and CEO, Sonus Networks. http://www.sonusnet.com
360networks will deploy Lucent Technologies' LambdaUnite MultiService Switch (MSS) to expand its North American optical network. The LambdaUnite MSS will allow 360networks to integrate its long haul mesh network with regional ring networks. The switch will also enable 360networks to expand new services such as Gigabit Ethernet, outside the major metropolitan areas without the need for an overlay network. Financial terms were not disclosed. http://www.lucent.comhttp://www.360.net
OFS announced a contract to supply its TrueWave REACH fiber to MCI. The deal marks the first North American commercial purchase of OFS' medium dispersion TrueWave REACH fiber. MCI chose OFS for both its next generation fiber and cable designs. Financial terms were not disclosed. http://www.ofsoptics.com
Mitsubishi Electric & Electronics introduced a 10Gb Ethernet physical layer (PHY) single chip transceiver integrated circuit (IC) capable of low power operation. The device is targeted at 10 Gbps XENPAK/X2/XPAK transceiver modules and the 10 Gbps XFP platform. http://www.mitsubishichips.com
Tiscali has selected the NetCentrex platform as part of its project to offer next-generation telephony to its ADSL users across Europe. Financial terms were not disclosed. http://www.netcentrex.nethttp://www.tiscali.com
Lucent Technologies will sell next generation metro optical networking solutions under its Metropolis brand based on technology from Movaz Networks. The Lucent-branded solutions will be integrated into Lucent's existing optical networking portfolio, including the Metropolis Enhanced Optical Networking (EON), a 32-channel metro DWDM system. Lucent's Navis Optical Management System will support the new solutions by reducing the complexities of the network, simplifying operations and service provisioning, and enhancing service quality. Lucent Worldwide Services (LWS) will support the solutions with network design, deployment and maintenance services.
"This relationship is another example of Lucent's willingness to team with others to strengthen our offers," said Ken Wirth, president, Optical Networking Group, Lucent Technologies. http://www.lucent.comhttp://www.movaz.comOver the past year, Lucent has announced technology partnerships or resale agreements with Juniper Networks (IP routing gear), Broadsoft (VoIP), Salira (EPONs), Sun Microsystems (converged voice/data solutions), McData (SANs) and Cisco Systems (packet data and media gateway products for mobile operators).
Broadwing Communications and Big Pipe (a division of Shaw Communications) signed a strategic agreement to extend their respective network and service markets. The reciprocal agreement provides for Broadwing to supply network services to Big Pipe in the U.S. and for Big Pipe to supply Broadwing with network services throughout Canada. http://www.broadwing.comhttp://www.bigpipeinc.com
Microsoft is launching a Coordinated Spam Reduction Initiative (CSRI) that includes technical specifications for the establishment of Caller ID for E-mail, said Bill Gates in a keynote address at the RSA Conference 2004 in San Francisco. Microsoft's "Caller ID for E-Mail" proposal aims to eliminate domain spoofing and increase the effectiveness of spam filters by verifying what domain a message came from -- much like how caller ID for telephones shows the phone number of the person calling. The proposal involves three steps to authenticate a sender:
1. E-mail senders, large or small, publish the IP addresses of their outbound e-mail servers in the Domain Name System (DNS) in a format described in the Caller ID for E-Mail specification.
2. Recipient e-mail systems examine each message to determine the purported responsible domain (i.e., the Internet domain that purports to have sent the message).
3. Recipient e-mail systems query the DNS for the list of outbound e-mail server IP addresses of the purported responsible domain. They then check whether the IP address from which the message was received is on that list. If no match is found, the message has most likely been spoofed.
In a pilot implementation of Caller ID for E-mail system, Microsoft's Hotmail will begin publishing outbound IP addresses today and will begin checking inbound addresses early this summer.
As outlined in its CSRI proposal, Microsoft supports the development of reasonable behavior policies for sending commercial e-mail, similar to the policies of behavior that organizations such as TRUSTe. Microsoft believes independent e-mail trust authorities (IETAs) should be established to certify and monitor high-volume e-mail senders for compliance with such policies. For small organizations that might be able to afford the services of IETAs, Microsoft proposes that noncertified organizations pay a few seconds in computer cycles instead of cash for each message sent. http://www.microsoft.com
"It has been nearly eight years since the passage of the 1996 Telecommunications Act," said Senator John McCain (R-AZ), "and in that time the telecommunications industry, the technology it relies on, and the services it offers have all changed dramatically." Speaking at a U.S. Senate Committee McCain urged a reexamination of the 96 Telecom Act, beginning with a look at VoIP. McCain acknowledged that "the emergence of VOIP has very little to do with the pages and pages of law written by lobbyists, or the thousands of regulations spawned by the Telecommunications Act. VOIP is borne out of advances in technology -- something that is nearly impossible to legislate."
"We must recognize that state and local governments have interests that must be preserved," observed Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) -- especially concerning Internet taxation. Alexander noted that states are already collecting more than $20 billion in taxes on telephone service and service providers annually, according to the Congressional Budget Office. In his state of Tennessee, the $361 million collected is more than 5% of its general revenues. In Texas, more than $1.2 billion is collected. "In light of the significance of these revenues to state and local government, as Congress and the FCC begin to consider how to handle these issues, I think that it is most important to raise a red flag on federalism at this time. In dealing with the growth and regulation of the telecommunications industry Congress has generally respected the tradition of strong state and local governments."
In his prepared testimony, FCC Commissioner Michael K. Powell said "restraining from regulating the economics of Internet applications has served us well. The creativity and innovation of the marketplace has been breathtaking and dynamic, bursting at the seams with entrepreneurial spirit. Consumers are enjoying more choices, better value, and more personalized products. There is little compelling evidence that heavy economic regulation of these vibrant services is warranted. I do, however, believe we must preserve and advance venerable social and security policies. Paramount among them are universal service, 911, law enforcement and disability rights. I recognize that IP services ride atop a physical layer that, in many parts of our country, is still expensive to build and maintain. I am committed to ensuring that the entire nation has access to affordable communications services, as more and more communications move to IP networks."
"VoIP is still in its infancy," said Jeffrey Citron, CEO of Vonage. He said Vonage's service is an "information service," like email, and urged lawmakers not to force the technology into rigid regulatory boxes. Citron also spoke against "a patchwork of 51 sets of regulations" that would result from state action.
"Advances in VoIP give Time Warner and other cable operators the ability to fulfill the vision of the 1996 Telecommunications Act by bringing true facilities-based competition in the marketplace," testified Glenn Britt, and I am Chairman and CEO of Time Warner Cable. The development of IP-based telephony services also gives the few cable operators that have not yet upgraded their systems another reason to do so. Time Warner's VoIP-based "Digital Phone" in Portland, Maine currently serves some 12,000 users. Time Warner Cable is the nation's second largest MSO, serving nearly 11 million video subscribers and over 3 million broadband subscribers in 27 states. Britt said the absence of a clear regulatory framework for VoIP poses a dilemma for Time Warner Cable. The company could assert that VoIP was an unregulated information service and risk challenges from state PUCs and incumbent telephone companies. Alternatively, Time Warner could abide by the regulations applicable to more traditional telephone services and risk becoming saddled with a legacy regime in which IP technologies and service offerings do not fit precisely and that, therefore, is inappropriate to the unique character of IP-based telephony. In the interests of rolling out our service in the smoothest possible manner, Time Warner decided to obtain state regulatory certification for our VoIP offerings and to comply with traditional telephony requirements while expressly reserving its right to revisit this issue when the FCC and Congress establish the appropriate regulatory structure for VoIP services.
"It is the incumbent local phone company alone that must provide service to all users, that remains price regulated, that must open its network to all competitors, and that shoulders the full responsibility of meeting state and federal regulatory obligations," testified Glen F. Post, III, CEO of CenturyTel. Post observed that VoIP service providers cannot deliver their services without utilizing and relying upon someone else's network. "Their ability to compete depends in large part on the network in which we have invested to make broadband connections available to rural America. They do not concern themselves with the capital-intensive task of building and maintaining a broadband-capable network that universally serves all customers. We cannot lose sight of this fact as we consider the effect that the regulatory treatment of VoIP will have on the continued availability of telecommunications service in all markets," he wrote in submitted testimony. Post argued that any discussion of VoIP must also consider the issues of universal service, intercarrier compensation, competition, public safety and customer service.
"State commissions want VoIP to succeed," testified Stan Wise, Commissioner with the Georgia Public Service Commission and President of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC). Numerous states have opened dockets or informal investigations to gather all the facts before deciding how to proceed on VoIP regulations. State commissioners also plan to play a pivotal role in ongoing dialogues about how to reform intercarrier compensation and universal service. Wise observed that the consensus among State commissioners, as indicated by their resolutions, is that public interest obligations of a service derive from the functional nature of that service -- not from the technology used to deliver it. "If a service originates and terminates on the PSTN, it is a telecommunications service. If a company controls bottleneck facilities for basic telecommunications services, neither VOIP nor any other technology should shield it from oversight."
"We are witnessing the most significant change in telecommunications since Alexander Graham Bell called out for Mr. Watson," testified Kevin Werbach, founder of the Supernova Group, a consulting group. Werbach said there are three kinds of policy obligations that potentially impact on VOIP: 1) economic regulation to ensure effective market competition; 2) Universal service policies designed to achieve social goals for availability of telecommunications itself; and 3) policies to support other social goals, such as law enforcement, access for people with disabilities, emergency services, local taxation, and consumer protection. http://www.senate.gov
The Blackfoot Telecommunications Group, an independent carrier serving western Montana and one county in central Idaho, has selected Occam Networks' BLC 6000 platform to deliver voice, video and high-speed data services to residential and business subscribers. Blackfoot will deploy the BLC 6000s over a three-year period as they evolve their existing SONET network to an all IP services transport network. Occam's BLC 6000 platform is a complete loop carrier system that uses Ethernet and IP as core transport and service protocols. Financial terms were not disclosed. http://www.occamnetworks.com
Sunday, February 22, 2004
Mobile
Siemens mobile said the market for mobile handsets and networks is recovering and growing again due to 3G rollouts. The company plans to introduce 30 new handsets this fiscal year, as well as the first fixed-line MMS phone. Siemens also outlined a longer term strategy that centers on the convergence of mobile and fixed-line network services, thus paving the way for a more unified and simpler use of communications tools. http://www.siemens.com
A new Voice on the Net (VON) Coalition has been formed by leading industry players to advance regulatory policies promoting VoIP in the United States. The coalition expressed concern that ongoing policy reviews could lead to new regulatory barriers that would slow VoIP adoption and delay the extraordinary benefits of VoIP.
The VON Coalition supports efforts to address a number of critical issues like the availability of 911 emergency services and law enforcement surveillance, but believes that these and other legitimate concerns can be addressed without imposing heavy regulation on VoIP. The Coalition also favors taking a new look at the Universal Service Fund to ensure its sustainability through a system of fair contributions from all providers of telephone number-based communications services. Likewise, the group favors an overhaul of the outmoded inter-carrier compensation regime, which it called "a hodgepodge of implicit subsidies."
Members of the coalition include AT&T, Callipso, Convedia, IceNet, iBasis, Intel, Intrado, ITXC, MCI, PointOne and Texas Instruments. http://www.vonplus.org
Sunday, February 22, 2004
Mobile
RADVISION introduced a video streaming solution that provides a seamless bridge between the RTSP (Real Time Streaming Protocol) devices and IP or 3G endpoints. RADVISION said its viaIP Multimedia Streaming Solution is scalable to serve any number of concurrent users and multiple streaming servers and network cameras, and features SNMP management and control tools. At the core of this new viaIP Multimedia Streaming Solution are the management systems, RTSP proxy, 3G-324M gateway, call control, and feature servers necessary to convert and direct one-way and multipoint video and multimedia content from RTSP sources to the 3G broadband cellular device. http://www.radvision.com
Lucent Technologies and Enterasys Networks announced a new partnership focused on networking security for enterprises. Lucent will resell Enterasys' newly launched Dynamic Intrusion Response Solution and has joined the Enterasys Secure Networks Certified Technology Partner Program as its founding member.
The Enterasys Dynamic Intrusion Response Solution provides organizations with an automated, closed-loop system for intrusion detection, network management and intrusion response. The solution integrates the capabilities of Enterasys' Dragon intrusion defense system (IDS), NetSight Atlas network management and the company's policy-based switching infrastructure.
Enterasys also kicked off a global awareness and demand generation campaign around Secure Networks. Together with this campaign, Enterasys unveiled a new corporate identity refocused on Secure Networks, including an updated logo and tagline, "Networks That Know". http://www.enterasys.com/http://www.lucent.com/enterasys
Primus Telecommunications Canada is using Telica's Plexus 9000 softswitch to enable VoIP services in multiple cities across Canada. The deployment supports Primus Canada's nationwide launch of TalkBroadband VoIP services. Financial terms were not disclosed. http://www.telica.comhttp://www.primustel.ca - In January 2004, PRIMUS Canada introduced a consumer VoIP service for broadband users in Canada. Customers can select from Toronto, Ottawa, Hamilton, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton local numbers. Operator services and 911 will not be offered at launch, however development is underway. The service is priced at $19.95 per month, 15% less on average than the basic service customers pay now for traditional residential phone service, according to the company.
Sunday, February 22, 2004
Mobile
The strategic alliance between Siemens Information and Communication Mobile Group (Siemens mobile) and Cisco Systems so far has resulted in 15 orders from carriers in Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa. Under the strategic alliance agreement, Siemens mobile and Cisco will collaborate on solution development, marketing and delivery of mobile communications solutions. Development plans include new mobile IP technologies for GPRS, UMTS (3G) and W-LAN networks, designed specifically to suit the requirements of businesses with mobile data services. Siemens serves as systems integrator. http://www.siemens.com
LSI Logic Corporation introduced a physical layer (PHY) memory interface ASIC core optimized for operation up to 667 Mbps for RLDRAM-II, FCRAM-II and Network DRAM-II memories. The core is the newest addition to the company's Gflx (0.11-micron) CoreWare portfolio, and supports cell-based ASICs and RapidChip Platform ASICs for fast system-on-a-chip (SoC) designs. The core is targeted for high-end switches, routers and server applications. http://www.lsilogic.com
Cisco Systems announced an "Intelligent Networked Manufacturing" strategy aimed at helping its industrial customers to link functional areas such as product development, production and customer service management. The Cisco Ethernet to the Factory solution encompasses wireless, security and voice applications for improved visibility, flexibility and productivity. Examples include Honeywell International, which has specified Cisco Catalyst switches as the networking support for its Experion Process Knowledge System, a single automation system for process, business and asset management. http://www.cisco.com
Ixia acquired privately held G3 NOVA Technology, a developer of VoIP test products, for $9.0 million in cash and common stock, plus possible future earnout payments. G3 NOVA is headquartered in Westlake Village, California, and also has a team of over 40 engineers based in Bucharest, Romania.
Based on the acquired technology, Ixia is introducing a new family of performance and conformance test tools focused on VoIP and Internet telephony. The IxVoice product can be used to measure the results and analyze the Quality of Voice (QoV) and Quality of Fax (QoF) from correlated calls over PSTN and IP while mixing and switching between various media streams such as voice, tones, data, and fax. The extensive test library of IxVoice is capable of addressing a wide range of test applications with the ability to emulate SIP, H.323, MGCP/MEGACO, SCCP (Cisco's Skinny protocol) signaling, and RTP media streaming protocols. IxVoice can automate the call flow, feature, and performance of voice networks using a multi-interface, multi-technology approach integrated inside an automated, scalable, and distributed framework. http://www.ixiacom.com
Packet Design introduced a route analysis system for Cisco's Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (EIGRP), which is used on more than half of all enterprise networks. The system gives network engineers a real-time layer 3 topology view of their networks.
Route Explorer/EIGRP Edition works by first discovering all EIGRP routers on the network and creating an end-to-end view of the topology. It then "listens" to the EIGRP protocol exchanges to learn when topology changes occur. By analyzing those exchanges and mapping the information onto the network topology, it can infer the root cause of any route change or other layer 3 event to the most likely set of routers and links. Finally the inference is validated and the source of the problem verified.
In addition to the EIGRP capability, Packet Design's Route Explorer supports OSPF (Open Shortest Path First), IS-IS (Intermediate System-Intermediate System) and BGP (Border Gateway Protocol). http://www.packetdesign.com
Laurel Networks has added L2TP Network Server (LNS) and VPLS (Virtual Private LAN Service) capabilities to its ST200 Service Edge Router. The L2TP Network Server in Laurel's newly released ShadeTree 3.0 service-enabling system software supports up to 128,000 broadband subscriber sessions. The LNS feature may be enabled on any card installed in the ST200 platform, with no special hardware required. The new VPLS support adds a point-to-multipoint (or bridged) Ethernet service (based on the IETF Lasserre-V Kompella draft) to existing point-to-point (pseudo-wire) Ethernet services. ShadeTree 3.0 takes advantage of the AnyService on AnyPort @ AnySpeed feature on Laurel's ST200 platform to enable VPLS on a variety of access networks including Ethernet, SONET, ATM or Frame Relay. In addition, ShadeTree 3.0 has added a run-time hitless software upgrade capability. The Laurel Instant Versioning (LIVE) feature leverages the modular ShadeTree software architecture to enable real-time patches of portions of live running code, without impacting system operation. Service providers can use the capability to install new diagnostics and implement unplanned updates on the running system without interruption.
http://www.laurelnetworks.com
Sunday, February 22, 2004
Mobile
Orange announced commercial trials of its 3G network in the UK and France. The company promises to launch full commercial 3G services to customers in France and the UK in the second half of 2004.
During 2003, Orange selected Alcatel, Nokia and Nortel as Orange partners in the deployment of 3G radio access network (RAN) technology infrastructure. Orange has been working with Alcatel and Nokia in the United Kingdom and Alcatel, Nokia and Nortel Networks in Francehttp://www.orange.com
E2O Communications demonstrated an error-free data transmission at a 10Gigabit Ethernet data rate on 320 meters of 62.5 micron multimode fiber using E2O's 1310 nm long wavelength VCSEL along with Scintera's electronics dispersion compensation (EDC) device. E2O's long wavelength VCSEL operates at a data rate of 10.3 Gbps and at an average power of greater than 1 mW from 0 to 70 degrees Celsius. The bit-error-rate (BER) of better than 1E-12 has been demonstrated across the multimode fiber link within the entire operation temperature range. http://www.e2oinc.comhttp://www.scinteranetworks.com
Covaro Networks, a start-up based in Richardson, Texas raised $25.3 million in Series B funding for its Ethernet services management system. Covaro develops products that address hybrid networks containing both Ethernet and traditional T1/T3 based services. Covaro's unique Etherjack functionality allows carriers (or enterprises) to transport and manage Ethernet services using traditional management methods to reduce turn-up, test and maintenance costs. The new funding round was lead by Centennial Ventures -- a new Covaro investor with offices in Denver, Colo., and Austin and Houston, Texas. Participation also came from existing investors CenterPoint Ventures, InterWest Partners and Sevin Rosen Funds. This comes in addition to first-round funding that netted the company $16.7 million. http://www.covaro.com
MCI selected CIENA and Siemens as key suppliers for a new Ultra Long Haul (ULH) DWDM optical network that will become the foundation by which all MCI services will be delivered. MCI is already carrying traffic on its first ULH network route deployment in the western U.S. and expects to complete its domestic network build-out over a three to five year period. Financial terms were not disclosed. CIENA confirmed that MCI will use its CoreStream platform for optical ULH backbone that leverages software-configurable wavelength switching. CoreStream's ultra long-haul capabilities eliminates costly electrical signal regenerations. It uses high-performance amplifiers with dynamic gain flattening for ULH applications, allowing un-regenerated signal propagation of 3,200 km and beyond. The automated wavelength switching will allow MCI to remotely provision wavelengths. The CoreStream platform provides both 25GHz and 50GHz channel spacing, allowing MCI to optimize its network for both capacity and distance all within the C-band. http://www.mci.comhttp://www.ciena.com - Earlier this month, MCI announced an expansion of its MPLS backbone using Cisco System's equipment. In the first stage of its network expansion, which is currently underway, MCI is working with Cisco on a multi-phased, edge-router deployment in 48 countries throughout North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia Pac. Specifically, MCI is deploying the Cisco 10000 Series Router as its IP/MPLS Edge Label Switch Router for its Private IP service platform. Completion is expected by year-end 2004. In the U.S. alone, MCI plans to extend its Private IP network two-fold. MCI's MPLS-based service now has the Cisco Powered Network designation.
- Also in February 2004, MCI awarded a multi-year Global Master Purchase Agreement to Movaz Networks covering the rapid deployment of its next generation optical transport solutions across its global network. Financial terms were not disclosed. MCI began field deployment of the Movaz RAY product suite in 2002 and is already carrying live traffic in major metropolitan regions for a variety of applications including carrier-to-carrier, enterprise and core infrastructure applications.
- In November 2003, Siemens announced that AT&T Labs was testing its next-generation optical transport solution for use on high-capacity routes in the AT&T network. The test marks the first Siemens deployment in the AT&T transport network. AT&T has expressed its intent to evolve to one global network using MPLS on an optical backbone. The Siemens SURPASS hiT 7500 offers full-channel optical add/drop multiplexer capabilities, enabling remote configuration of a path without the need to touch the network while staying all-optical through multiple add/drop nodes. The Siemens system also features transponders that are tunable over the full 80 channels of light, resulting in quicker wavelength provisioning.
AT&T and MCI reached an out-of-court resolution of all claims the two companies have had against each other, both before and after MCI filed Chapter 11 petitions in July 2002. The agreement includes resolution of AT&T's call routing claims against MCI and MCI's dismissal of its contempt of court motion against AT&T. No other terms of the agreement were disclosed. http://www.att.comhttp://www.mci.com - In September 2003, AT&T filed a lawsuit in federal district court against MCI/WorldCom and ONVOY seeking damages for, among other things, violations of the civil provisions of the federal Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) Act and other laws. AT&T accused MCI/WorldCom and ONVOY of orchestrating a scheme called the "Canadian Gateway Project," in which they worked with other telecommunications companies to reroute MCI customers' domestic phone calls through Canada to deceive and defraud AT&T into paying hefty termination fees for terminating calls to high-cost independent telephone companies in the U.S. AT&T said MCI/WorldCom should have properly kept the telephone traffic on its own network and been responsible for terminating access fees, if any, via intra-company transfers.
Alcatel launched a set of server-based unified communication software applications based on open standards, such as XML/SOAP, SIP and VXML. The Alcatel OmniTouch Unified Communication suite includes four applications: - My Messaging - A VXML-based unified messaging application handling non real-time communications with a single multi-media mailbox (voicemail, email and faxes). It enables remote access to email via phone with text-to-speech capabilities and the ability to print or broadcast email and fax by voice command. It also offers message notification filters.
- My Phone - An XML/SOAP-based real-time communications management tool that lets a person on the move transform any phone or multi-media PC into a business phone, complete with full telephony features such as conference calling, unified directory access and call log.
- My Assistant - A web and VXML-based "find-me-follow-me" call routing and permissions application that defines when, where and by whom a person is to be contacted and diverts non-urgent calls to voice mail. It screens and intelligently routes calls based on caller ID and time of day.
- MyTeamwork - A set of collaboration applications that facilitate conferencing and working together in real-time.
Alcatel also announced two new application phones: the Alcatel IP (Internet Protocol) Touch 4068 and Alcatel IP Touch 4038. http://www.alcatel.com
Thursday, February 19, 2004
Mobile
China Mobile awarded a contract valued at US$46 million to Nortel Networks to expand and optimize its GSM digital wireless network in Hebei province. When completed, the expansion is expected to increase Hebei Mobile's subscriber capacity by approximately 880,000. It is also expected to provide Hebei Mobile with a smooth migration path to 3G. http://www.nortelnetworks.com
Santur Corporation introduced smaller and lower cost versions of its widely tunable, DFB array-based laser products, which are designed into many transponders and linecards for both metro and long-haul DWDM systems. The products are capable of on-demand tunability across the C- or L-band at CW power levels up to 20 mW. Santur said its latest design is the size of a standard 12.7 x 30 mm butterfly package, enabling easier integration into the tight confines of today's transponders and line-cards. Nevertheless, it contains the same basic internal building-blocks as the earlier products that have already demonstrated compliance to GR-468-CORE reliability standards. Santur is based in Fremont, California. http://www.santurcorp.com
Thursday, February 19, 2004
Optical
Optical Communication Products announced the availability of its 40km and 80km OC-48/STM-16 small form pluggable (SFP) transceivers. They feature integrated optical isolators and digital diagnostics monitoring (DDM) to support long distance metropolitan area networking (MAN) applications. OCP's OC-48/STM-16 SFP transceivers are available to support short, intermediate and long reach applications at both 1310nm and 1550nm. The DFB lasers used in intermediate and long reach transceivers utilize an integrated optical isolator for stable transmitter operation under the varying back-reflection conditions that exist in installed cable plants. The modules are compliant with SONET/SDH OC-48/STM-16 standards. http://www.ocp-inc.com/
In a press statement, Free World Dialup (FWD) Founder Jeff Pulver said:
"By declaring Free World Dialup's end-to-end IP communications as an unregulated interstate information service, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has set the first critical brick of our broadband future, affirming its commitment to keep the Internet free from unnecessary regulation. .....
We will watch with interest how the impact of this classification evolves in the VoIP rulemaking process, and reaffirm our commitment to working with policymakers on these issues. In the meantime, we commend the FCC for keeping the future of the Internet where it belongs - in the hands of consumers."http://www.pulver.com
Thursday, February 19, 2004
Optical
ExceLight Communications, a U.S.-based unit of Sumitomo Electric, is showing a 40-km XFP transceiver for SONET OC-192 IR-2 applications at this week's OFC in Los Angeles. A companion transceiver for 10GBASE-ER is also available. The XFP models can operate up to 70 degrees C using Sumitomo's temperature-controlled 1550-nm EML TOSA and PIN-TIA ROSA. They also feature a newly developed mini thermoelectric cooler (TEC), which requires only 60% of the power used by a conventional TEC. Sumitomo is already shipping samples of these 40-km products, as well as 10-km versions. http://www.excelight.com
The pick-up in economic activity among broadband access suppliers is a result of the FCC's vote one year ago to approve a report and order in its Triennial Review of the Network Unbundling Rules proceeding, according to the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA). The FCC decision included significant relief from the unbundling rules for investment in last mile broadband access facilities. However, TIA observed that uncertainty remains from the ongoing court challenges to the order and pending reconsiderations.
Matthew J. Flanigan, president of the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA), said "As we predicted a year ago today, the broadband unbundling relief the commission provided is having a significant impact on investment in the telecommunications industry. Our member company suppliers began seeing increased orders for their broadband access equipment almost immediately after the vote, and it has picked up steam as service providers expand their networks and improve their offerings. The enormous momentum packet and IP communications have achieved also can be attributed in part to incentives to deploy next-generation infrastructure without the burdensome requirement of sharing those new facilities...."
"Without question, a regulatory framework that rewards investment in new and innovative technologies is critical as the United States tries to reverse the course of losing ground in the global race to build next-generation networks."http://www.tiaonline.org
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