White Rock Gains RUS Acceptance for SONET Products

White Rock Networks has gained RUS acceptance and RUS Buy American Status for its VLX2020 optical products from the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) Technical Standards Committee . The designation enables rural telecommunications service providers to obtain low-interest funds to deploy the VLX2020 for voice, data, and video applications over OC-3, OC-12, OC-48, and OC-192 survivable SONET networks. http://www.whiterocknetworks.c...

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Net2Phone to Provide VoIP for Vietnam ISP

State-owned Vietnam Datacommunications Company (VDC), the largest provider of data services in Vietnam, is providing Net2Phone's VoIP services to its corporate and residential customers throughout Vietnam. Net2Phone has partnered with VITC, a U.S.-based communications firm with operations in Asia, to secure relationships with top Vietnamese ISPs, including VDC. Financial terms were not disclosed. Net2Phone's hosted SIP platform provides partners with residential broadband telephony, calling cards, prefix dialing and enterprise services. http:...

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Global Crossing Signs Brazil's Largest Financial Extranet

Global Crossing was awarded a one-year contract to provide multimedia services to provide Rede de Telecomunicações para o Mercado (RTM), the largest financial extranet in Brazil. The contract covers international voice capacity through Global Crossing's Direct Dial Services (DDS). http://www.globalcrossing....

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USDA Offers $2.2 Billion in Loans for Rural Broadband

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service (RUS) will offer no less than $2.211 billion in loans for FY 2004 as part of its Rural Broadband Access Loan and Loan Guarantee program. The funding includes $2.051 billion for direct cost-of-money loans, $80 million for direct 4% loans, and $80 million for loan guarantees. The official notice was published in the Federal Register Online: : March 29, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 60). http://www.usda.gov/rus/telecom/index.htmhttp://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.h...

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Court Challenge to Cable Modem as "Information Service"

The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals declined to review a lower court's ruling that had overturned the FCC's classification of cable modem service as an "information service." The case originally arose regarding whether local municipalities could require cable operators to open their networks to other ISPs. In October 2003, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court vacated the FCC declaratory ruling that had classified cable modem service as an "information service without a separate offering of a telecommunications service." The FCC promptly appealed...

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Agilent Introduces SAN Tester for 4 Gbps FC

Agilent Technologies announced test capabilities for the 4 Gbps Fibre Channel standard. The Agilent 1733A SAN test module enables Fibre Channel traffic generation at wire speeds of 2 Gbps or 4 Gbps, with allowances for any combination of data, error, link, fabric control and fabric services test. It fits in the same Agilent platform as the company's existing 1 and 2 Gbps test modules. http://www.agilent....

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ADC Supplies FTTP in Florida

Home Town Cable Plus, an integrated service provider in Port St. Lucie, Florida is deploying ADC's OmniReach FTTP products to deliver voice, video, data, and Internet services to homes and businesses in its subscriber area. These services include POTS and long distance, 217 channels of switched digital video (SDV), gigabit Ethernet Internet service and enhanced home security service over the IP-based FTTP network. http://www.adc....

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Level 3 Acquires ICG's Wholesale Dial Access Business

Level 3 Communications has acquired the wholesale dial access business of ICG Communications for approximately $35 million in cash. The business unit provides dial-up Internet access to America Online, EarthLink, MSN, United Online and other leading ISPs. Level 3 plans to migrate a majority of ICG's customer traffic onto its own network infrastructure over the course of the next two quarters. http://www.level3....

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BT Selects Alcatel's IP-based Service Delivery Platform

BT awarded a EUR 30 million contract Alcatel for an service delivery platform that enables advanced IP services and supports existing Number Translation and Network based Call Centre services. The contract, which is part of BT's 21st Century Network (21CN) strategy, covers the Alcatel 8690 Open Services Platform (OSP). Alcatel is working with Sun Microsystems and Ulticom to supply the IT platforms and signaling software, respectively. The Alcatel 8690 OSP is part of Alcatel's Open Path to Enhanced Networking (OPEN) program for enhanced broadband...

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Spirent Adds VoIP Conformance Testing for IP Telephony

Spirent Communications rolled out a new bundle of Convergence Test & Measurement applications for the Abacus 5000 IP Telephony Test Migration System. The new features add SIP, H.323, MEGACO, MGCP, and SIGTRAN protocol conformance. Spirent's Abacus 5000 system provides a variety of test scenarios and unique capabilities, such as emulating a call agent (media gateway controller) and signaling gateway, the backbone of a VoIP network. By generating real voice and data traffic and Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP) packets, the Abacus 5000 with...

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SBC Offers Faster DSL -- 1.5 to 3 Mbps Downstream

SBC Communications launched higher speed consumer DSL tiers at up to twice the download speeds of its current flagship DSL offer.Residential customers, who qualify, can get speeds of 1.5 to 3 Mbps downstream and 384 Kbps upstream - for $36.99 a month if they also subscribe to SBC Total Connections, which includes local, long distance and wireless service. If ordered online or as part of a qualifying bundle of SBC services, residential and business customers can receive the higher speed SBC Yahoo! DSL for $39.99 a month. When purchased separately...

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QUALCOMM's Push-to-Talk Claims Set-up Latency Under 1sec

QUALCOMM announced that its QChat push-to-chat solution achieves a call set-up latency of less than one second. At the IIR Push-to-Talk World Summit, QUALCOMM demonstrated its QChat technology running over a CDMA2000 1xEV-DO network (Release 0 with QoS software enhancements). http://www.qualcomm....

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Malaysia Equips Teachers with Wi-Fi

Malaysia's Ministry of Education has equipped 35,000 teachers with notebook PCs using Intel Centrino technology in the first phase of a five-year technology integration plan that also includes enabling all schools with Wi-Fi. http://www.intel....

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Foundry Switches to Power "FlashMob" Supercomputer

Foundry Networks is supplying its Layer 2/3 Ethernet switches for FlashMob I, a supercomputer to be created on 03-April-2004 at the University of San Francisco by hundreds of volunteers using their ordinary laptop PCs. The "FlashMob" computer uses the combined processing power of all the donated laptops to work on a single problem. The Foundry FastIron 1500 Layer 2/3 switches will be interconnected via 10 Gigabit Ethernet to enable a very high-speed switch fabric. http://www.flashmobcomputing.orghttp://www.foundrynetworks....

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FCC Commissioners Call for Negotiated Settlement on UNE-p

All five of the FCC Commissioners have signed a letter urging the nation's telecommunications carriers and trade associations to begin a period of "good faith" commercial negotiations on UNE-p resale rates. FCC Commissioners are encouraging the parties to utilize all means at their disposal, including a third-party mediator, to maximize the success of this effort. To provide additional time for these negotiations, the FCC intends to petition the D.C. Circuit for a 45-day extension of the stay of its decision vacating its unbundling rules. ...

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FCC to Collect $273 Million in Fees, Spend $292 Million in Budget

The FCC expects to collect $272,958,000 in regulatory fees for Fiscal Year (FY) 2004. The fees collected to recover the regulatory costs associated with the Commission's enforcement, policy and rulemaking, user information, and international activities. As for its budget for the coming year, the FCC is requesting that Congress authorize spending authority of $292,958,00, requiring a direct appropriation of $20,000,000. This represents an increased spending level of $19,000,000 or 6.9% over the previous fiscal year. The increased spending includes...

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Intoto Raises $11 Million for Security

Intoto, a start-up based in Santa Clara, California raised $11 million in new funding for its integrated security, wireless and voice software platform aimed at network equipment manufacturers. Intoto said it has licensed its iGateway software solutions to over 100 networking and communication equipment vendors. The Intoto software, which runs on a number of embedded microprocessors, SoC communications processors and network processors and is compatible with all major OS/RTOSs, provides functionality such as firewall, VPN, intrusion protection...

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VON Keynote: ITXC Sees Unstoppable Momentum for VoIP

For the next two years, people will continue to purchase VoIP primarily for cost savings rather than for advanced feature sets, predicted Tom Evslin, Chairman and CEO of ITXC, in a keynote at the Spring VON conference in Santa Clara, California. To be really useful, advanced features require deployments at both ends of the call. Evslin figures that once penetration rates reach somewhere around 15% an inflection point will occur and people will start to buy VoIP in order to have the same advanced features as the early adopters. In the mean time,...

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PacketExchange Signs Tellabs for MPLS Backbone

PacketExchange, an independent global carrier with POPs in London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Paris, Dublin, New York, Washington, Palo Alto and Dallas, has chosen the Tellabs 8800 Series of Intelligent Multi-Service Routers (MSRs) to expand its MPLS backbone. The deployment will enhance PacketExchange's ability to deliver future-proof services with specific Service Level Agreements (SLAs). Financial terms were not disclosed. http://www.tellabs.comhttp://www.packetexchange....

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PacketLight to Focus on Storage Transport

PacketLight Networks, a developer of metro multi-service optical transport and access systems, announced plans to focus on the growing storage transport market. PacketLight offers a range of products for storage over DWDM and SONET/SDH, using the latest GFP/VCAT and FC-BB standards. The company's new product line offers high-speed storage services, such as Fibre Channel, FICON, and ESCON over large distances--without performance degradation--using SONET/SDH and DWDM. PacketLight also named Hezi Lapid as chairman of the board of directors. Lapid...

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Cogent Acquires Carrier1 Network Assets in Germany

Cogent Communications has acquired rights to the dark fiber and other network assets that were once part of Carrier1 International S.A., through a merger with Symposium Omega, Inc., which had raised $19.5 million from investors and acquired rights to this network. Symposium Omega acquired the network from GLH GmbH, a German company that purchased the assets directly from Carrier1 after Carrier1 filed for insolvency in Germany. As a result of the acquisition, Cogent will add 14 German markets to its pan-European network including, Berlin, Hamburg,...

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Microsoft Positions Windows CE for VoIP Phones

Microsoft announced new VoIP features for the upcoming release of Windows CE 5.0. Microsoft also announced a growing list of vendors that are delivering a wide variety of VoIP-based client devices and services -- such as desktop and wireless phones, IP set-top boxes, residential gateways and thin clients -- running the Windows CE operating system. Windows CE 5.0 is Microsoft's real-time embedded operating system designed for 32-bit smart, connected and small-footprint devices such as consumer electronics devices, gateways, industrial controllers,...

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Juniper Powers VPLS Between Hutchinson and KT

Hutchison Global Communications (HGC) and Korea Telecom (KT) are deploying Juniper Networks' M-series routing platforms to launch the world's first production inter-carrier Virtual Private LAN Service (VPLS) over Metro Ethernet between Hong Kong and Korea. The advanced VPN service, which will make its commercial debut in the first half of this year, harnesses the M-series VPLS capabilities based on the IETF draft standard draft-ietf-l2vpn-vpls-bgp-01.txt. Juniper Networks described the deployment as a global first for inter-city Metro Ethernet...

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Brix Launches Self-Service VoIP Quality Testing Site

Brix Networks has launched TestYourVoIP.com -- a free, self-service, VoIP quality testing portal that enables users to independently measure the quality of their VoIP connections via a quick, user-initiated test call.The site is powered by the Brix System VoIP performance management solution, which consists of distributed hardware test points, called Verifiers, that communicate with, and are managed by, the BrixWorx central-site software application. The system tests signaling quality (signaling path performance), delivery quality (media transport...

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Global Crossing Expands its VoIP Portfolio

Global Crossing announced three new enterprise VoIP services that delivered over its private MPLS network. The new offerings include:"VoIP Outbound": Global Crossing will accept enterprise outbound IP voice traffic for long distance and international long distance to more than 240 countries worldwide. The IP voice traffic will be transported across Global Crossing's private VoIP platform for off-net TDM completion via the local PSTN. The service will be available in the summer of 2004 in North America, with phased rollouts to other regions. "VoIP...

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Alcatel and Fujitsu Selected for Sea-Me-We 4 Cable

Alcatel and Fujitsu were chosen to build a new terabit capacity Sea-Me-We 4 submarine cable network, which will span nearly 20,000 km and link 14 countries from France to Singapore via Italy, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Thailand and Malaysia with 16 landing points. Sea-Me-We 4 will have more than 32 times the initial capacity of the previous Sea-Me-We 3 system, which entered service in 1997. http://www.alcatel....

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Broadvox Deploys Sylantro for Consumer/Business VoIP

Broadvox is using Sylantro Systems' hosted VoIP communications solution to address the consumer VoIP market and the business IP Centrex market through the same platform. Broadvox, which deployed hosted communications services for business users in 2002, launched residential services in three cities in the Midwest earlier this month. Nationwide deployment is planned for 87 major markets by the end of 2004. Broadvox is the first announced Sylantro customer to deploy the consumer offering. http://www.sylantro....

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Netrake Upgrades Session Controllers for Residential Services

Netrake has enhanced its existing nCite session controller platforms to allow carriers to securely offer residential VoIP services. The new features in Netrake's nCite session controller include its new Hosted Firewall/NAT Traversal and User Mobility service. With the Hosted Firewall/NAT Traversal service, carriers who already have the nCite session controller deployed for carrier-to-carrier peering can now offer residential VoIP services on the same platform. The Hosted FW/NAT service recognizes registered residential end devices and performs...

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VocalData Hits the 20,000 Residential VoIP Subscriber Mark

VocalData announced that its customers are now delivering residential VoIP to more than 20,000 subscribers using the VocalData application server. VocalData's residential VoIP customers include Panasonic in cooperation with NTT COMWARE in Japan, which offers residential VoIP services to cable TV subscribers; PRIMUS Telecommunications Canada, which is making residential VoIP available in Canada via any high-speed Internet access connection; wholesale providers like Kancharla and regional providers like US Sonet and Ceristar in the United States....

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Motorola to Acquire Quantum Bridge for FTTP

Motorola agreed to acquire Quantum Bridge Communications in an all cash transaction. Financial terms were not disclosed. Quantum Bridge is a supplier of FTTP solutions based in Andover, Massachusetts. Motorola said the acquisition complements its existing multiservice technologyhttp://www.motorola.comhttp://www.quantumbridge.comQuantum Bridge was founded in 1998 and is headed by company founder Anthony Zo...

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VON Keynote: Alcatel -- Migrating from VoIP to MMoIP

"We are at the dawn of the rich, media-connected world," said Vickie Yohie, Senior Vice President, Multimedia Services Delivery, Alcatel, speaking at the Spring VON conference in Santa Clara, California. But it is not just about VoIP, she said, as VoIP "is just one face of a larger market shift to user centric Multimedia over IP (MMoIP)" -- technology that is transforming the way enterprises and service providers communicate. Why MMoIP? Yohie argues "because we can" and "because there is genuine market enthusiasm to do so." Over the past few...

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VON Keynote: The FCC Enters the Year of VoIP

"If last year was the year of spectrum, this is the year of VoIP," said Robert Pepper, Chief of Policy Development at the FCC. In the first three months of this year, the FCC has issued an historic declaratory ruling on VoIP (the Pulver.com petition), initiated a Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement (CALEA) rulemaking proceeding on VoIP, and launched a far-ranging Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) concerning "Everything over IP" (EoIP). In addition to the Pulver.com petition (now resolved), there are also at least five other declaratory...

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VON Keynote: Jeff Pulver -- Nothing is Impossible

"It feels like 1999 all over again," said Jeff Pulver, describing what he said called a second coming of VoIP. Attendance at the Spring VON conference being held this week in Santa Clara, California is back to its pre-bubble days -- over 3,500 attendees are expected, including a majority of carriers. In his opening keynote address, Pulver observed that venture money is flowing back into VoIP start-ups again and there are even rumors that IPOs will be possible once again by early next year. The feelings of optimism can also be traced to the FCC's...

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Metaswitch and Wave7 Deliver VoIP over FTTP

Tennessee's Jackson Energy Authority (JEA) is partnering with Aeneas Internet & Telephone, the largest ISP in western part of the state, to offer voice services over FTTP to residential and business customers. Aeneas has selected MetaSwitch's VP3500 Next Generation Class 5 Switch for its VoIP services. JEA has chosen Wave7 Optics as its FTTP network vendor. http://www.metaswitch.comhttp://www.aeneas....

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VoicePulse Announces Plans for Encrypted Phone Service

VoicePulse, a broadband phone service provider, will use a telephone adapter from Sipura Technology to secure its customers' broadband phone calls using encryption. The encryption capability use technology built into the telephone adapter as well as modifications to VoicePulse's own softswitch, which was developed in house. VoicePulse said that unlike other consumer VoIP offerings to date, its service will protect customer phone calls by encrypting the portion that travels over the public Internet -- a frequent request by its residential consumers...

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SBC Teams with UPS to Launch Wi-Fi Service

SBC Communications plans to install its forthcoming "FreedomLink" Wi-Fi service in thousands of UPS store locations across the U.S.. The SBC Wi-Fi service will also be offered in domestic Mail Boxes Etc. stores, which are part of the UPS retail network. The deal is expected to bring the FreedomLink service to more than 1,500 The UPS Store and Mail Boxes Etc. locations by year-end, with installations continuing through 2005. Currently, there are approximately 3,300 The UPS Store locations, and the total U.S. network is projected to reach 5,000...

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Level 3 Announces Wholesale VoIP Deal with 8x8

Level 3 Communications, is supplying its wholesale VoIP services to 8x8. Specifically, 8x8 has purchased the (3)VoIP Local Inbound and (3)Voice Termination services from Level 3. 8x8 serves residential and business customers through a suite of offerings under the Packet8 and Packet8 Virtual Office brands that include broadband telephone service for residential customers, consumer videophones and virtual office PBX solutions for small businesses. (3)VoIP Local Inbound service, which rides Level 3's softswitch platform, enables VoIP service providers...

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iBasis DirectVoIP Service Simplifies VoIP Interconnections

iBasis introduced a service designed to simplify and accelerate carriers' implementation of direct VoIP interconnections to the iBasis global network for international voice service. The company said its new DirectVoIP service provides rapid interconnects with international VoIP deployments in a matter of days, in contrast to activation periods typically measured in weeks for interconnects to TDM telecommunication carriers. iBasis provides enhanced call signaling control using standards-based H.323 and SIP, allowing operability to multi-vendor...

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PointOne Selects Convedia's IP Media Servers

PointOne Telecommunications has deployed and standardized on Convedia's family of IP Media Servers. PointOne's pure VoIP network, which offers connections to 90 U.S. cities and several international markets, currently processes more than half a billion calls per month. Convedia's Media Servers are being used for PointOne's SIP-based Prepaid Calling Card Service and provide a comprehensive media processing platform for PointOne's other IP telephony enhanced services. Financial terms were not disclosed. Convedia media servers consolidate the functions...

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Telica Names More Softswitch Customers

Telica named four new customers for its next generation softswitching platforms:North Rock Communications -- a full-service fixed wireless CLEC that delivers a range of Internet, wireless, telecom and e-commerce products and services to both business and residential customers in Bermuda. North Rock also provides international long distance service to several other local carriers on the Island. Telica's platform supports both Class 5 local calling and Class 4 tandem trunking applications simultaneously. North Rock is Telica's 20th VoIP customer....

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Net2Phone and Quintum Join Forces for Enterprise Solutions

Net2Phone and Quintum agreed to jointly market Net2Phone's VoIP enterprise services with Quintum's Tenor VoIP MultiPath Switches and gateways. Under the multi-year agreement, Net2Phone and Quintum will integrate VoIP services with enterprise VoIP MultiPath Switches and market the solution as a bundled telephony offering. The bundle will include a configuration "wizard" that can be used with new models of Tenor VoIP equipment to simplify the user experience and allow customers to easily set their gateways to offer low-cost calling over the Net2Phone...

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Callipso Selects Sonus Networks for VoIP

Callipso is deploying Sonus Networks' Open Services Architecture (OSA) in its national network to deliver a range of VoIP services, including origination and termination, as well as SIP-based enhanced services. Specifically, Callipso is implementing Sonus' core trunking solutions including the GSX9000 Open Services Switch, the Insignus Softswitch and the Sonus Insight Management System. Callipso is currently deploying the Sonus infrastructure in five cities throughout the U.S. to enable a SS7 interconnection capability that will support nationwide...

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CloudShield Raises $20 Million for Open Platform

CloudShield Technologies, a start-up based in Sunnyvale, California raised $20 million in third round venture financing for its multigigabit, open network services platform. CloudShield's open network services platforms eliminate the reliance on fixed-function ASIC-based appliances for network application and services delivery. The company said network solution developers, systems integrators, and network operators could port existing applications from network appliances and develop new applications to secure, monitor, measure, and control network...

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VON Keynote: AT&T -- Services over IP (SoIP) Transforms the Network

The AT&T network is designed to drive innovation at a fast pace, said Hossein Eslambolchi, President of AT&T Global Networking Technology, in a keynote address at the Spring 2004 VON conference in Santa Clara, California. Eslambolchi kicked off his presentation with a "Top Ten" list of technology trends and predictions affecting his network: 1. IP is a PacMan and will eat everything in its path for the next 25 years 2. Broadband is becoming common, driving traffic onto the backbone 3. The Wireless Internet will be big -- look for 4G...

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VON Keynote: Siemens -- Moving to 2gIP

Kids take to instant messsaging by sheer intuition, teaching us that the "advanced" communications of today are merely the basics tools of tomorrow's workforce, said Bernd Kuhlin, President Enterprise Networks, Siemens ICN, in a keynote address at the Spring 2004 VON conference in Santa Clara, California. Kuhlin believes that the industry has emerged from the "Telecom Winter" to a Spring where service providers are realizing the economic value of upgrading their networks. Another hopeful sign of warmer weather, said Kuhlin, is the FCC's decision...

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IPCC Forms Working Groups

The International Packet Communications Consortium (IPCC) has formed the following working groups to further its 2004-2005 initiatives:The Service Provider Packet Interconnection Group: captures interconnection rules and procedures for public VoIP networks. This group will focus on the challenges of interconnecting VoIP islands nationally and globally.The Service Provider Application and Services Interoperability Group: liaises between service providers and other industry forums to accelerate the interoperability and conformance testing of multi-vendor...

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AT&T Launches its Consumer "CallVantage" VoIP

AT&T launched the first phase of its residential VoIP service at a price of $39.99 per month. The service, which initially is available in New Jersey, uses a telephony adapter connected to a broadband service. AT&T said consumers should be able to self install the service in under 10 minutes. AT&T is offering promotional pricing of $19.99 for the first six months of service. AT&T plans to introduce the service in the 100 top markets across the U.S. during the course of the year. AT&T CallVantage features list includes...

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MCI Trims Workforce, Cites Do-not Call Effect

MCI is reducing its workforce by approximately 4,000 employees as part of its ongoing cost reduction program. The majority of this reduction comes from closing three consumer call centers and reducing staffing in three others, in large part due to the effects of "Do Not Call" telemarketing laws. http://www.mci....

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Alcatel Bolsters IP Telephony R&D

Alcatel will reinforce its Research and Development (R&D) activities focused on IP telephony. The company announced plans to bolster its R&D teams by 100 employees in Europe - - 60 ofwhich will join the R&D teams at three French sites : Brest, Colombes and Illkirch. Alcatel will also create a software maintenance center in India. http://www.alcatel....

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Global IP Sound Releases VoIP Quality Enhancements

Global IP Sound released a new set of software modules for enhancing the audio quality of VoIP calls. The modules include functionality to add comfort noise during silence and automatically adjust audio levels. Global IP Sound's Voice Activity Detector (VAD) classifies every frame as active speech frame or non-active speech frame. Non-active frames are passed to the comfort noise encoder that encodes the parameters of the background noise. The Discontinuous Transmission (DTX) defines the packet size and packet interval for the background noise...

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Shanghai Metro Selects Lucent Optical

Shanghai Metro has selected Lucent Technologies' optical networking solutions for the second phase of its transmission network project involving Line 4 of the city public transit system. Lucent's optical solutions are already being used to link subway stations on one route of Shanghai's metropolitan subway system and to improve its multiservice network. Shanghai Posts and Telecommunications Equipment (PTIC), a Lucent Business Partner that has worked with Shanghai Metro and Lucent on the project for the transportation agency's Line 1 operation...

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BroadSoft Announces Ten New Service Provider Customers

Ten new service provider customers have chosen BroadSoft's BroadWorks network communications platform to support hosted VoIP services for the enterprise and residential broadband markets. The announced customers include: Broadvoice, Broadweave Networks, DRD Communications PLC (United Kingdom), Eureka Networks, Inflexion Communications, ISN Communications, RealConnect, Ultimate Medium Communications, XIPTEL and WorldxChange Communications (New Zealand). http://www.broadsoft....

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T-Com Selects Siemens/ADVA for Metro Optical

T-Com, the fixed network division of Deutsche Telekom, awarded Siemens Information and Communication Networks (ICN) a two-year, worldwide master contract to supply, install, and maintain optical transport equipment in metropolitan area networks. The metro optical transport project will use ADVA Optical Networking's DWD systems, including its Fiber Service Platform (FSP) 3000, along with the Siemens Telecommunications Network Management System (TNMS). Financial terms were not disclosed. http://www.siemens.com/networks/http://www.advaoptical....

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Level 3 Announces Two Residential VoIP Phone Services

Level 3 Communications introduced two wholesale, residential VoIP services for cable operators, ISPs, enhanced service providers, IXCs and others:(3)VoIP Enhanced Local Service is aimed at service providers who are seeking to offer residential voice services but prefer to operate their own switching infrastructure. It allows companies to develop voice services using Level 3 provided building blocks, including local phone numbers, interconnection with the traditional telephone network for local and long distance services, local number portability...

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Packet8 and FreeWorld Dialup Offer Unlimited Calling Between Users

8x8 and FreeWorld Dialup (FWD) have interconnected their VoIP networks and are now providing unlimited calling between the two services. The companies see the interconnection of VoIP networks as a trend that will continue. http://www.packet8....

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NEC Selects Kagoor for Global Session Border Control

NEC Corporation signed a global Value Added Reseller (VAR) agreement covering Kagoor Networks' Session Border Control solutions. Kagoor offers a scalable family of Session Border Controllers, including a high capacity, fault tolerant carrier grade model (VF-3000), a VoIP service provider or carrier edge model (VF-1000) and a CPE solution (VF-200). The VoiceFlow platforms deliver 5 essential VoIP applications: Network-hosted NAT traversal and VPN aggregation, network protection, carrier peering and enterprise border control. http://www.kagoor...

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Polycom Demos Integrated Voice/Video/Web SIP & H.323

Polycom is demonstrating integrated voice, video, and web applications across H.323 and SIP.T he technology demo uses a broad array of Polycom endpoints, software, and bridges -- recreating the enterprise challenge of connecting personal desktop and mobile systems with conference rooms and the network core. http://www.polycom....

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Legerity Integrates Line Testing in Packet Voice Interfaces

Legerity introduced its VoiceEdge architecture for integrating advanced line testing functionality into carrier-class packet voice equipment. Legerity's programmable VoicePort chips provide a functional line interface for short and medium loop applications. Key features include: high voltage switching regulator, self-test, line test capabilities, integrated ringing (up to 140-Vpk), worldwide software programmability, wide band mode, flexible signal generator with tone cadencing and integrated unbalanced ringing. Legerity's new architecture is...

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Peer1 and Pulver.com Launch VOIP Acceleration Project

Peer 1 Network and Pulver.com are launching a "VoIP Acceleration Project" that will subsidize new VOIP companies in their bandwidth and co-location needs. The companies said that would provide "provide a launching pad for VOIP entrepreneurs with the vision, but not necessarily the financial backing, to take VOIP to the masses."http://www.pulver.com/c...

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UTStarcom Announces $85.7 Million in China Netcom Contracts

UTStarcom has been awarded approximately $85.7 million with China Netcom Corporation (CNC) to expand and upgrade its IP-based PAS (Personal Access System) networks in Beijing and the Heilongjiang province. UTStarcom also announced that as a result of the strong demand for its PAS infrastructure and handsets, the company is guiding to slightly higher revenues, slight gross margin pressure, and reiterates GAAP EPS guidance for the first quarter of 2004. http://www.utstar....

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Precision I/O Raises $10 Million

Precision I/O, a start-up based in Palo Alto, California raised $10 million in venture funding to bring to market a new high-performance server I/O architecture based on Ethernet. The company said its architecture would "open up the server-to-network bottleneck that has plagued enterprises in their efforts to bring the benefits of high-speed networking to data-center and high-performance computing applications." Product introductions are expected in mid-2004. Lead investors are Advanced Technology Ventures (ATV), 3i, and Foundation Capital. ...

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Secure Video Processor Initiative Promotes Open Content Standard

NDS and STMicroelectronics announced the joint development of a content protection solution for consumer electronics that is compliant with the Secure Video Processor (SVP) initiative. The Secure Video Processor (SVP) logic could be embedded in a wide range of chips for CE devices including digital TVs, set-top boxes, digital video recorders (DVRs), portable players and other mobile devices. http://www.svp-cp.orghttp://www.nds....

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Convedia and Netrake Integrate Media Servers and Session Controllers

Convedia and Netrake announced a partnership agreement combining Convedia's carrier-class IP media processing platforms and Netrake's session controllers for VoIP interconnection. In the integrated Convedia/Netrake solution, the Netrake nCite system will seamlessly control Convedia media server products to provide adjunct transcoding of media streams with incompatible encoding, providing a scalable, carrier-class solution that encompasses both signaling and media mediation. Convedia media servers offer a range of media processing features, including...

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Priority Call Management Delivers Support for IP

Priority Call Management, a supplier of enhanced calling and messaging solutions, is extending full IP-support for its "ORYX" platform, which is widely installed in service provider networks globally to support enhanced calling and messaging applications such as call answering, IVR, unified messaging, personal one-number, and prepaid calling. The ORYX Messaging Application for VoIP extends an existing ORYX with SIP and H.323 capabilities. New services are provided by Priority Call's next generation Application Server that controls other network...

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World Wide Packets Selected in Virginia

World Wide Packets has been selected to supply its LightningEdge Ethernet access solution by the Lenowisco Planning District Commission, a central planning agency for three counties in southwestern Virginia. The municipal broadband initiative will provide business and residential services. Financial terms were not disclosed. http://www.worldwidepackets....

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California's Arrival Communications Deploys Metaswitch

Arrival Communications, a CLEC based in Bakersfield, California is deploying the MetaSwitch VP3500 Next Generation Class 5 Switch to deliver broadband voice service to business customers. The installation will complement Arrival's legacy Lucent VCDX Class 5 switching system in its existing markets, and also enable more flexible expansion into new markets. Arrival has over 12,000 subscriber lines serving small and medium-sized businesses in Tier 2 and 3 markets in California. Financial terms were not disclosed. http://www.metaswitch.comhttp:...

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MetaSwitch Expands VoIP Capabilities with SIP and IP Centrex

MetaSwitch announced a series of enhancements for its VP3500 Next Generation Class 5 Switch, including support for IP Centrex and Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) v2.0. Support for SIP extends the MetaSwitch VP3500's interoperability to a wider range of devices including SIP phones and SIP-based feature servers. MetaSwitch's SIP softswitch implementation provides back-to-back user agent (B2BUA) and registrar functionality integrated with an SS7 signaling gateway and media (trunk) gateway with ATM, IP and TDM interfaces. The MetaSwitch VP3500...

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Excel Switching and Mediaring Enter VoIP Partnership

Excel Switching Corp. announced successful interoperability lab tests between its PSTN to IP gateway and MediaRing's VoizBridge session controller. The joint solution enables carriers to expand their offerings of IP services such as VoIP wholesale (prepaid and postpaid), VoIP calling cards, enterprise VoIP and IP conferencing and fax. Both solutions seamlessly interoperate between H.323 and SIP, thereby protecting a carrier's investment in legacy equipment while allowing the carrier to expand into the burgeoning VoIP market. http://www.xl.co...

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Bush Comments on National Broadband Goal

In a campaign speech in New Mexico that was otherwise mainly focused on home ownership trends, President George Bush issued a call for affordable high-speed internet access to be available for all Americans by 2007: "This country needs a national goal for broadband technology, for the spread of broadband technology. We ought to have a universal, affordable access for broadband technology by the year 2007, and then we ought to make sure as soon as possible thereafter, consumers have got plenty of choices when it comes to purchasing the broadband...

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Azea Networks Develops Submarine Optical System

Azea Networks, a start-up based in London, unveiled an upgrade solution for undersea cable systems that are nearing the "glass ceiling" of their original design capacity limits. Cable systems deployed in the mid to late 1990s were designed for relatively low bandwidth -- typically between one and eight wavelengths at 2.5 Gbps per channel, yielding no more than 20 Gbps total capacity per fiber pair. Azea said that because these cables employ no electrical regeneration, in principle higher capacities could be achieved by using more sophisticated...

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FTTH Council Urges Federal Funding for Rural Broadband Loans

The FTTH Council is lobbying Congress to ensure full funding of a federal program providing broadband loans for rural communities. The loan program, administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service, was authorized by Congress in 2002 for a six-year period, but has been targeted for reduction by the Bush Administration. A similar industry effort last year was successful in forestalling cuts to the program in Congress' FY 2004 appropriations legislation. http://www.ftthcouncil....

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Verizon Response to S&P

Verizon Communications issued an immediate response to Standard & Poor's ratings announcement: "Despite the general industry issues cited by S&P, we do not believe this watch is warranted given our strong business results and progress with debt reduction. We have confidence in our business model, which continues to generate healthy cash flows, including $6.4 billion in free cash flow last year. We have already reduced total debt by more than $18 billion over the past two years," said Doreen Toben, Verizon CFO. http://www.verizon....

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Standard & Poor's Foresees Greater RBOC Risks

Citing changing wireline industry dynamics and lack of clarity regarding key regulatory and competitive issues for RBOCs, Standard & Poor's placed its long-term ratings for Verizon Communications on its CreditWatch list with negative implications. Verizon Network Funding Co. also was placed on CreditWatch with negative implications. On 17-Feb-2004, S&P placed SBC Communications and BellSouth on CreditWatch with negative implications, following the announcement that Cingular had agreed to acquire AT&T Wireless. These companies remain...

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Bharti and IBM Announce Telecom Partnership

Bharti Tele-Ventures Ltd., India's leading telecommunications conglomerate, and IBM India announced a long term on demand business transformation agreement targeting the telecom industry. The deal encompasses three components: an initiative to consolidate, transform and manage comprehensive Information Technology (IT) infrastructure and applications.the joint development and marketing of IT and telecommunications solutions and services for India.Bharti Tele-Ventures to be a preferred supplier of telecommunications services to IBM India.http:/...

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Sprint and Truckstop.net Sign Wi-Fi Deal

Sprint entered into a bilateral Wi-Fi roaming agreement with Truckstop.net covering more than 500 Truckstop.net wireless-enabled truck stops and travel plazas in the United States and Canada. The deal will also allow Truckstop.net service subscribers to connect to Wi-Fi ZONES compatible with Sprint service nationwide at many airports, convention centers, hotels, shopping malls and other public venues. http://www.sprint.comhttp://www.truckstop....

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Brooktrout to Acquire SnowShore for Media Server

Brooktrout will acquire SnowShore Networks, a start-up based in Chelmsford, Massachusetts for approximately $10 million in cash. SnowShore supplies a line of media server and media firewall products aimed at service provider applications. Snowshore's media servers are designed to integrate rich content from the Web and distributed network databases into voice services enabling the creation of converged enhanced services. Capabilities include network announcements, auto-attendant, voice messaging, pre-paid calling, integrated voice recognition,...

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Swedish Municipal Carrier Selects PacketFront

Mälarenergi Stadsnät AB, a council-owned power company in Västerås, Sweden has entered into a partnership with PacketFront to rollout FTTH connections. In 2000, Västerås was the first municipality in Sweden to form its own commercial company to build and operate an open urban network, and since then the company, Mälarenergi Stadsnät AB, has deregulated the broadband market. PacketFront's ASR 4000 broadband routers and its BECS control and provisioning system will be installed in all of Mälarenergi's new connections. Mälarenergi will eventually...

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DoD Selects Lucent to Rebuild Iraq's Communications

The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) awarded a two-year, $75 million contract to Lucent Technologies to rebuild, restore and modernize communications systems in Iraq. As the prime contractor, Lucent will work under the direction of the Program Management Office (PMO) of the Coalition Provisional Authority as part of the overall Iraq Infrastructure Reconstruction program. The contract has options that could extend it for five years. Lucent recently completed installation of 13 switching, optical and network management systems in and around Baghdad...

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Deloitte & Touche Sees Major Off-shoring Trend for Telecom Jobs

By 2008, five percent of the telecom industry's 5.5-million labor force, or 275,000 positions, will be off-shored to countries with lower labor costs, according to a survey 42 global telecommunications operators that was conducted by Deloitte & Touche's Research division. The survey included 10 of the world's top 20 operators on a revenue basis and the survey sample represents approximately 30% of total industry revenues - based on 2002 results. Although the off shoring trend in the telecom industry currently lags behind high tech and financial...

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Mirra Secures $8 Million for Personal Servers

Mirra, a start-up based in Mountain View, California secured $8 million in Series B funding for its digital content protection and management solutions for consumers. The company offers a Linux-powered personal server designed to provide hands-free, continuous backup, secure remote access and sharing from any Internet-connected PC. The new funding was led by Sequoia Capital and included existing investors Venture Strategy Partners and Sunrise Capital. In addition, Mirra announced the appointment of Jonathan M. Harris as vice president of sales....

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Irish Broadband Deploys 3.5 GHz System from Navini

Irish Broadband is using Navini Networks' Ripwave platform to deploy one of the first next generation, non-line-of-sight (NLOS) wide-area wireless broadband networks in the European Union at 3.5GHz. The rollout will begin by covering 100% of Dublin. http://www.navini.comhttp://www.irishbroadband...

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Alcatel and Intel Enter Alliance for WiMAX

Alcatel and Intel announced a strategic alliance for the definition, standardization, development, integration and marketing of WiMAX end-to-end solutions. This alliance will deliver solutions by the second half of 2005. http://www.alcatel.comhttp://www.intel.comEarlier this month, Intel and Siemens announced a partnership for the development of WiMAX base-station infrastructure equipment as well as end user subscriber station devices.Intel has previously announced plans to supply IEEE 802.16 compliant Wi-MAX silicon to Alvarion, Airspan Networks...

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Tekelec Names Chief Operating Officer

Tekelec appointed Lori Craven as Chief Operating Officer (COO). She will continue to support the company's Global Sales and Marketing Group as well as assume responsibilities for the Santera Next-Generation Switching Business Unit. David Heard has left Santera to pursue other interests. Craven joined Tekelec in January 2002 as the Vice President and General Manager of the Network Systems Division and has been leading Tekelec's Global Sales and Marketing Group since August 2003. She previously served with Lucent Technologies as Vice President,...

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AudioCodes Introduces Media Server for VoIP and VoATM

AudioCodes introduced a media server offers up to 2,016 low-bit-rate VoIP/VoATM channels of media processing. AudioCodes new IPmedia 3000 media server could be used to provide centralized announcements, conferencing, vocoding, IVR media transcoding, IP multicasting / IP forking, record & playback, Web-based playback and other media server functions. AudioCodes said its platform can address small to mid-density applications deployed in IP, ATM or mixed IP/ATM core networks. It also offers an optional optical PSTN interface. The IPmedia 3000...

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Ixia Enables Ethernet over SONET Testing with GFP

Ixia announced support for Generic Framing Procedure (GFP) on its OC-48c Packet over SONET (POS) interface test module. The new feature targets the testing of Metro Ethernet devices and services by generating and analyzing wire-speed Ethernet over SONET traffic for verification of transport networking equipment, multi-service provisioning platforms (MSPPs), and edge routers. GFP is the ITU-T G.7041 standard which defines a set of methods for framing different Layer 1 and Layer 2 data traffic types -- such as Ethernet, PPP, IP, Fibre Channel, ESCON,...

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Juniper Networks Secures GSA Contract

The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) has awarded a Multiple Award Schedule contract (GS-35F-0330J) to immixGroup covering Juniper Networks' products. The contract enables government agencies to more easily purchase Juniper's IP products, including the E- M- and T-series routing platforms. The immixGroup is a government business consulting firm. http://www.juniper....

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AT&T Names Kevin Crull to Head Wireless Initiatives

AT&T named Kevin Crull as senior vice president and general manager-wireless services. Prior to his appointment, Crull was senior vice president of marketing and sales at AT&T's consumer division. http://www.att....

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Connexion by Boeing Sets Pricing for In-Flight Internet

Connexion by Boeing announced pricing details for its in-flight Internet service, which scheduled to become commercially available this spring on certain airlines. The company is offering two initial pricing plans, which will vary depending on flight length: Flat Rate Pricing Option: (Unlimited access to the Internet) $29.95 for long-haul flights (more than six hours); $19.95 for medium-haul flights (between three and six hours); and $14.95 for flights less than three hours.Metered Pricing Option: 30-minute starter package for $9.95 with rates...

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ADC to Acquire the KRONE Group

ADC agreed to acquire the KRONE Group, a global supplier of copper- and fiber-based cabling products, from GenTek Inc.. The deal was valued at approximately $350 million, of which ADC will pay cash of approximately $291 million and assume certain defined liabilities consisting principally of KRONE's pension obligation for its German workforce. ADC said the KRONE acquisition makes "a perfect fit" with its new strategic initiative to become the leader in global network infrastructure solutions and services. The combined company is expected to...

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Visual Networks Introduces Application Performance Visibility

Visual Networks introduced a new "Visual UpTime Select" capability for verification of application delivery across both high-speed (OC-3) and international (E1) IP networks. Visual Networks' performance management system now provides real-time and historical network and application visibility across high- bandwidth networks employing mixed or homogeneous MPLS, private IP, Frame Relay and ATM circuits. Visual Networks said its Analysis Service Elements (ASEs) enable highly scalable data collection with local storage to eliminate the need for...

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ARRIS Achieves Interoperability with Nortel's Softswitch

Interoperability testing has been completed between ARRIS PacketCable and DOCSIS 1.1 qualified Cadant C4 CMTS and Touchstone MTAs and Nortel Networks' PacketCable qualified Succession Communication Server (CS) 2000 superclass softswitch series. The Cadant C4 CMTS and Touchstone MTAs provide customer premise termination for cable VoIP. Nortel Networks' softswitch and associated core products deliver the features and call control functionality. Together, the platforms could be used by cable operators for full-featured primary line residential phone...

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Dialpad Claims VoIP Service Profitability in Q4 2003

Dialpad Communications, a privately-held provider of VoIP-based services, announced that it reached profitability in Q4 2003 and was EBITDA positive for the six month period ending 31-December-2003. The company had originally anticipated attaining profitability by December 2004. Dialpad launched its Internet telephony service in 1999 and quickly grew to over 14 million users for its PC-based calling service. However, Dialpad filed for Chapter 11 protection in 2001, due to the decline in online advertising. The company then appointed Craig...

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Broadcom Ships "Good Neighbor" 802.11g Afterburner

Broadcom is shipping an enhancement technology that enables its 54g wireless LAN products to provide up to 40% greater throughput than typical standard 802.11g systems without impacting the performance of neighboring wireless LANs. Broadcom described its "Afterburner" technology as a "good neighbor" enhancement because it boosts wireless throughput without interference to other Wi-Fi networks and while remaining compliant with the 802.11g channel requirements limiting transmissions to a single wireless channel. In contrast, Broadcom said current...

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Holland's SURFnet Upgrades with Nortel, Avici, Telindus

SURFnet, the educational and research network organization in the Netherlands, selected Nortel Networks, Avici Systems and Telindus to build a hybrid optical and packet switching infrastructure. The deployment will use Nortel Networks' recently launched Optical Multiservice Edge 6500 and Avici Systems' Stackable Switch Routers (SSR). SURFnet plans to continue to evolve the network over a seven-year period with the most up-to-date features and products from Nortel Networks and Avici Systems. Telindus, a pan-European network integration specialist,...

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Verizon Offers Consumer Online Backup Service

Verizon Online introduced a new "My Storage Place" service for its residential broadband customers. Storage "lockers" are being offered in four sizes: 50 MB -- $4.95 per month100 MB -- $6.95 per month500 MB -- $9.95 per month1 GB -- $19.95 per monthVerizon Online is using BigVault Storage Technologies to manage its private, expandable storage and backup services. http://www.verizon....

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U.S. Supreme Court Rules that States Can Bar Municipal Telecom

The U.S. Supreme Court overturned a lower court ruling in a case of whether the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 can pre-empt state and local laws that expressly prohibit municipal bodies from offering telecommunications service. In 1997, the General Assembly of Missouri passed legislation that barred political subdivisions within the state from offering telecommunications services. The Missouri Municipal League then petitioned the FCC for an order declaring the state law unlawful and preempted by the federal Telecom Act. The FCC refused...

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QUALCOMM Shows MSN Mobile Services

QUALCOMM and Microsoft introduced MSN Mobile services enabled through QUALCOMM's BREW solution for CDMA phones. Mobile operators that deploy MSN Mobile services for BREW can enable users to access MSN Hotmail and MSN Messenger services using a range of CSMA handsets. Microsoft noted that there are currently more than 170 million active MSN Hotmail and 120 million MSN Messenger customers worldwide. http://www.qualcomm....

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Japan's KDDI Tops 1 Million ADSL Subscribers

Japan's KDDI has surpassed one million subscribers for its DION ADSL service. KDDI is offering a number of ADSL options, including a 40 Mbps service, a low-cost 1 Mbps service and a plan that bundles IP phone services. In November 2003, KDDI launched "Sesame BB," a broadband content program aimed at families. http://www.kddi.co...

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LSI Logic to Acquire Velio for $20 Million

LSI Logic will acquire Velio Communications, a start-up developing high-end networking silicon, for $20 million in cash. Velio supplies high-speed interconnect and switch fabric application specific standard products (ASSPs) to network systems companies. The product portfolio includes high-bandwidth data switch fabric, TDM STS-1 switch fabric and related SerDes devices, high-performance interconnect for SAN and engineering services. Velio is based in Palo Alto, California. LSI Logic also announced the acquisition of the assets of privately...

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