KT Selects Alcatel's 7670 Routing Service Platform

KT (Korea Telecom) selected Alcatel's 7670 Routing Service Platform (RSP) for its IP-enabled multiservice backbone. The Alcatel 7670 RSP will leverage the existing ATM switches in KT's network to deliver MPLS- and ATM-based premium data services. Additionally, KT can offer these services using a single network, allowing a smooth migration for their current ATM customers to adopt new MPLS-based services. Financial terms were not disclosed. http://www.alcatel.com

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GlobespanVirata Reports Revenue of $137 Million

GlobespanVirata reported Q4 revenue of $137 million, a 168% increase over Q4 2002 and a 39% sequential increase over Q3 2003. This marks the sixth consecutive quarter of revenue increases for the company. The figures include revenues for the wireless LAN business acquired in August 2003 from Intersil. Net loss and basic and diluted loss per share were ($10,912,000) and ($0.07), respectively. http://www.globespanvirata.com

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Nortel's Revenues Rise 25% Sequentially

Nortel Networks reported quarterly revenues of US$2.83 billion, up 25% over the preceding quarter and up 12% over Q4 2002. Nortel Networks reported net earnings in the fourth quarter of 2003 of US$499 million, or US$0.11 per common share on a diluted basis, compared to a net loss of US$168 million, or US$0.04 per common share, in the fourth quarter of 2002 and net earnings of US$185 million, or US$0.04 per common share on a diluted basis, in the third quarter of 2003.


Compared to the fourth quarter of 2002, Wireless Networks revenues increased 33%, Enterprise Networks revenues decreased 2%, Wireline Networks revenues increased 9% and Optical Networks revenues decreased 18%. Compared to the third quarter of 2003, Wireless Networks revenues increased 35%, Enterprise Networks revenues increased 10%, Wireline Networks revenues increased 26% and Optical Networks revenues increased 16%.


Compared to Q3 2003, sales in the U.S. increased by 38%, EMEA increased by 11%, Canada increased by 56% and other areas of the world decreased 2%.


Gross margin was 48% for the quarter.


Frank Dunn, president and chief executive officer, Nortel Networks, said 2003 truly marked a "turning point" for the company. As for 2004, while he expects overall capital spending by Nortel's customers to grow by a low single digit%age compared to 2003, Dunn predicts Nortel will grow faster than the market overall by leveraging its strengths in VoIP and wireless data. http://www.nortelnetworks.com

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Verizon Outlines 2004 Initiatives

Verizon Communications reiterated plans to reposition the company for growth in new services.
In a full day of analyst presentations, senior executives at Verizon Communications outlined its business plans for 2004. A webcast of the event is available online. Some highlights:


Domestic Telecom

Larry Babbio, president of Verizon's domestic wireline business, told analysts to look for continued customer gains in DSL and long-distance; improved share in enterprise markets; stability in wholesale markets; and continued improvement in Domestic Telecom's cost structure. Excluding pension and OPEB (other post-retirement employee benefit) costs, margins will be stable, Babbio said, with continued strong cash generation.


Regarding broadband, Babbio described plans to expand DSL availability and reiterated Verizon's target of passing 1 million homes with fiber optics. He also elaborated on technology plans to evolve Verizon's nationwide wireline network to packet-switching technology.


Regarding VoIP, Babbio confirmed that Verizon will launch a consumer VoIP service over its own DSL network beginning in Q2. By Q4, Verizon will also introduce a QoS-based voice-over-DSL service using a completely softswitched based network.


Babbio outlined cost-management strategies, such as the increased automation of internal processes, wider use of customer self-service through the Web and "touch-free" delivery of services to large customers.


Consumer and small-business plans call for a continued emphasis on product bundling and Babbio discussed rollout strategies for VoIP in all retail customer segments.


Verizon Wireless

Denny Strigl, president and CEO of Verizon Wireless, said the company is set to expand its BroadbandAccess service nationally beginning this year. This will provide wireless capabilities including video messaging, video and music content, multiplayer-gaming and broadband mobility at speeds of 300 to 500 kbps.


2004 Financial Outlook

• revenue growth percentage is expected to be in the low single digits



• free cash flow will continue to be used to reduce debt



• CAPEX is expected to be in the range of $12 billion to $13 billion in 2004, compared with $11.9 billion in 2003, with a higher%age of the spending this year allocated to growth areas.



• Wireline CAPEX will be essentially flat, ranging from $6.5 billion to $7.0 billion in 2004, including spending for the company's fiber optic and VoIP initiatives.



• Wireless CAPEX is expected to increase from $4.6 billion in 2003 to the $5.0 billion to $5.5 billion range in 2004, including investments for the deployment of EV-DO and supporting infrastructure.

ttp://www.verizon.com

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GlobalNet Targets Consumer VoIP / Broadband in Latin America

GlobalNet, one of the top ten U.S. service providers of outbound traffic to Latin America, launched its consumer voice-over-IP service, initially targeting broadband providers in Latin America. The company will work through joint marketing efforts and private labeling with ISPs. GlobalNet intends to offer its VoIP service directly to consumers in the United States through an E-Commerce initiative expected to roll out during the second quarter of 2004.


"We decided to initially refrain from introducing our product in US markets in part due to the fact that so many operators are jumping into the consumer VoIP business to compete with rivals such as Vonage, Net2Phone, 8x8, , and DeltaThree . Instead, we devised a strategy that involves targeting regions where competition has yet to gain a foothold, said Robert Thorell, Chief Operating Officer of GlobalNet. http://www.gbne.net

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SingTel Offers Hollywood a Digital Film Transport to Asia

Singapore Telecommunications Limited (SingTel) began offering an ATM-based service for distributing movies digitally from the United States to Asian countries and most other major cities in the world. SingTel estimates that digital media distribution could cut the average total cost per U.S. movie with 3,000 prints from $6 million to $42,000, saving Hollywood movie distributors more than $1 billion a year in duplication, transportation and other costs.


SingTel recently became the first carrier in the Asia Pacific region to facilitate the cross-border digital distribution of a newly released film. The new Hong Kong blockbuster movie, Infernal Affairs III, was digitally distributed directly from Hong Kong to the Shaw Lido Cineplex in Singapore using SingTel's ATM service. About 80GB video data were transmitted digitally between the two cities via SingTel's international optic fiber network, and delivered directly to the digital movie server at a local Cineplex. http://www.singtel.com

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AT&T Enters Residential Local Phone Markets in Seven States

AT&T began offering local phone service in seven states: Delaware, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia and parts of northern Nevada.


AT&T already provides residential local service to 4 million residential customers. With today's announcement, the company now offers local service in a total of 35 states. http://www.att.com

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Washington Post: Court Appears Critical of FCC Rule

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia appears likely to overturn the ruling last year by the FCC that gave state public utility commissions broad authority to regulate local telephone competition, according to The Washington Post. At a hearing this week, the judge overseeing the case appeared hostile to the FCC position, saying that its decision to hand-off its policy making responsibilities to the states appears to flout the intent of Congress in the Telecommunications Act of 1996. The judge reportedly was more sympathetic to the views Verizon Communications and other ILECs that a national policy is needed. http://www.washingtonpost.com

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NYT: New Conductor Guides Data Along the Fiber Optic Route

Researchers at Harvard University are developing a new class of optical nanowires as thin as 50 nanometers in diameter that could serve as flexible low-loss interfaces between optical fiber and other photonic devices, according to The New York Times. The diameters of the nanowires are smaller than the wavelengths of the transmitted light, creating an evanescent field such that the nanowires become the path around which the light waves flow. This enables light to hop from one nanowire to another -- a characteristic that could be used to make tiny multiplexers, demultiplexers and other devices like splitters. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/29/technology/circuits/29next.html

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Primus Surpasses One Billion International VoIP Minutes in 2003

PRIMUS Telecommunications carried more than one billion minutes of international voice traffic over the public Internet in 2003. The company believes it now carries more than four% of the estimated 24 billion total VOIP minutes worldwide. http://www.primustel.com

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NTT DoCoMo Tops 2 Million 3G Subscribers

NTT DoCoMo's 3G FOMA service surpassed the two million subscriber milestone. The service was first launched two years and four months ago.


The number of FOMA subscribers has doubled over the past four months, following the launch of handsets and expanded nationwide coverage and greater availability of service in indoor areas. http://www.nttdocomo.com

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Shanghai Cable Selects Cisco for Network Upgrade

Shanghai Cable Network Co., which serves more than 3.5 million cable homes, selected Cisco Systems for a major upgrade to its network. SCN selected Cisco 12000 Series routers for the core, Cisco ONS 15454s for optical transmission, and Cisco Catalyst 6509 and Catalyst 4507 switches for the aggregation layer. At the network edge, SCN selected the Cisco 10000 to aggregate Ethernet customers, and Cisco uBR10012 and 7246VXR cable modem termination systems (CMTS) to aggregate cable broadband traffic. In addition to cable TV, SCN plans to offer a suite of integrated next generation IP services including multimedia broadcasting, high-speed Internet access, digital television, videoconferencing, VoIP, VPNs, and long-distance education for both residential and commercial customers. Financial terms were not disclosed. http://www.cisco.com

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Personal Broadband Australia Secures Funding for Wireless Rollout

Personal Broadband Australia (PBBA) secured second round funding of AU$12m (US$9.4m) to enable continued rollout of its broadband wireless network along Australia's eastern seaboard. The new funding has been provided by existing Australian shareholder, Jim Cooney -- making the company majority Australian-owned. Additional shareholders include Mitsubishi Corporation Japan, Kyocera Corporation Japan, Mitsubishi Australia, and ArrayComm.


Personal Broadband Australia uses ArrayComm's iBurst broadband wireless technology. At present, PBBA has a network in Sydney covering more than 100 sq km in the inner metro areas; with a base station roll-out plan to more than triple the coverage over the next six months. http://www.pbba.com.auhttp://www.arraycomm.com

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Verizon Adds DIRECTV to Consumer Bundle

Verizon Communications marketing DIRECTV services to its customers in Rhode Island. A wider rollout to New England and the mid-Atlantic states is planned for the coming months.


Verizon said a consumer choosing a service bundle with its unlimited all-distance calling, Verizon Online DSL and DIRECTV, can save over $240 a year, compared with a cable competitor's comparable bundle of calling, Internet access and entertainment.


Customers can order all Verizon and DIRECTV services by making a single call to Verizon. By mid-year, when the companies interconnect billing systems, all the services will appear on the Verizon bill. Verizon currently offers integrating billing of local and long-distance calling, Internet access and, in most areas, wireless services via its ONE-BILL option. http://www.verizon.comle

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Procket Networks Enhances its Core Routing OS

Procket Networks released an operating system upgrade for its PRO/8801 and PRO/8812 routing platforms, offering new capabilities in system management, network security, and system availability. Procket said one of its main competitive differentiators is that its PRO/1 software enables each routing protocol to run independently, allowing memory protection for greater stability and uptime. Key feature additions in Procket's PRO/1 Modular Service Environment Release 2.3:

• support for Ethernet and Ethernet VLAN pseudo wires



• support for comprehensive IPv6 routing protocols, including static routing, OSPFv3, IS-IS for IPv6, BGP4 for IPv6, and RIPng



• a Fast-Reroute (FRR) enhancement



• Hardware support for Bidirectional PIM ("Bi-Dir PIM")



• BGP soft-reconfiguration inbound



• File commit candidate-configuration confirmed < minutes



• Encrypting Username Passwords

http://www.procket.com

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ARRIS Introduces DOCSIS 2.0-Based Telephony Modem

ARRIS introduced a DOCSIS 2.0-based and PacketCable 1.1-based Embedded Multimedia Terminal Adapter (E-MTA) that supports high-speed data access and 2 lines of VoIP telephony. The device integrates a lithium-Ion battery back-up that enables up to 20 hours of standby time in the event of a power outage. The ARRIS telephony modem will be available in April of 2004, but several MSOs are currently evaluating early production versions. http://www.arrisi.com

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