German Regulator Opens Consultation on VoIP

Germany's Regulatory Authority for Telecommunications and Post (RegTP) has opened a public consultation on VoIP. The national regulator is seeking public input on a whole range of issues -- business models, the classification of VoIP under regulatory aspects, numbering, access and interconnection, market definition and possible market entry barriers. The subjects of universal service, customer protection, telecommunications privacy, data protection, emergency services, technical safeguards, the implementation of intercepts and directory enquiry...

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Tellabs Reports First Profit in Two Years

Tellabs reported quarterly revenue of $264 million, up 19% from $223 million in the first quarter of 2003. Tellabs earned 3 cents per share or $13 million in the first quarter of 2004. Excluding restructuring charges of $7 million, Tellabs' non-GAAP earnings were 5 cents per share or $20 million. Tellabs said stronger revenues, improved margins and lower expenses contributed to its first profitable quarter in two years. "Looking forward, we see continued strength in our core products while making significant progress with our broadband data products,...

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Verizon Announces New Framework for Wholesale Customers

Verizon Communications unveiled a new framework for commercial agreements with its wholesale customers, offering customized, three-year agreements, restructured pricing and a number of high-value services not required under existing, government-mandated UNE-p requirements. Verizon said its "Wholesale Advantage" plan offers a framework for reaching agreements on negotiated, commercially reasonable terms and ensures the continued availability of end-to-end wholesale services after a federal court order becomes effective this summer. The company is...

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SBC Applauds FCC Ruling on Internet Telephony Charges

SBC Communications applauded the FCC's ruling on access charges for calls carried over AT&T's IP backbone. SBC described AT&T's decision two years ago to stop paying access charges for calls that traveled -- if only for a brief distance -- over its IP backbone as an " illegal self-help scheme." SBC said it would begin the process of collecting access charges from AT&T and others who owe them. http://www.sbc....

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FCC Rules AT&T's Internet Telephony is Subject to Access Charges

The FCC ruled against AT&T in a case over whether telephone calls placed over the PSTN, converted to IP, transmitted over an IP backbone, and then terminated on the PSTN should be subject to access charges. The FCC found this type of phone-to-phone IP telephony "lacks the characteristics of an information service and bears the characteristics of a telecommunications service." Specifically, the FCC noted that...

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Salira Introduces Standards-based EPON

Salira Optical Network Systems announced a partnership with Teknovus to develop EPON systems that comply with the IEEE 802.3ah EPON standard. The EPON standard being developed by the IEEE 802.3ah task force is expected to be ratified by June 2004. The standard encompasses key technical elements needed to deploy broadband Ethernet services to business and residential users. Standards-based chipsets from Teknovus will be used for new Optical Line Cards (OLCs) and Optical Network Units (ONUs) that can be installed in the existing Salira 2000 Platform....

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Juniper Posts Revenues of $224.1M, up 43% Year-over-Year

Juniper Networks reported Q1 revenues of $224.1 million, compared with $157.2 million for the same period last year, an increase of 43%. GAAP net income for the first quarter was $33.5 million or $0.08 per share, compared with a GAAP net income of $3.7 million or $0.01 per share in the first quarter of 2003. NetScreen Technologies, which was acquired by Juniper Networks on 16-April-2004, had net revenues for the quarter of $93.5 million, compared with $58.3 million for the same period last year, an increase of 60%. GAAP net loss for the quarter...

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Nortel Receives PacketCable Media Gateway Controller Qualification Status

Nortel Networks' Succession Communication Server (CS) 2000 has received CableLabs' PacketCable Media Gateway Controller (MGC) qualification status. The softswitch was tested for compliance against the latest PacketCable Trunking Gateway Control Protocol (TGCP) and security specifications which define the core functional requirements of PacketCable 1.0 Media Gateway Controllers. This enables cable operators (MSOs) to use Trunk Gateway Control Protocol (TGCP) between Nortel Networks softswitches and PacketCable qualified media gateways. http://...

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Nortel Enhances its Optical Switching Portfolio

Nortel Networks unveiled key enhancements across its Optical Cross Connect HDX optical switching platform, including network intelligence capabilities at the transport layer that facilitate automated set-up of end-to-end service paths across an optical switching network. Specifically, the HDX platform supports flexible protection and restoration options -- including ring and mesh -- that are fully aligned with current SONET and SDH operational processes for Class of Service (CoS) differentiation that balances bandwidth efficiency and restoration...

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Qwest Offers Jitter Service Level Agreement (SLA)

Qwest Communications has begun offering a service level agreement (SLA) covering jitter across its network. Jitter measures the delay in streaming media and VoIP transmission over a broadband network. The less jitter the network has, the better the network performance and the customer's experience. Qwest guarantees that jitter levels will never exceed two milliseconds. Qwest is posting data online covering the real-time jitter levels on its network. http://stat.qwest.n...

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SBC Adds 446,000 DSL Lines in Q1, Loss of Local Lines

SBC Communications added 446,000 DSL lines and 2.6 million long distance lines in Q1, while consumer retail access lines declined by 305,000. Financially, SBC reported consolidated revenues for Q1 of $10.1 billion, compared with $10.1 billion in Q4 2003 and $10.4 billion Q1 2003. (SBC's consolidated revenues do not include revenues from Cingular Wireless. Earnings were $1.9 billion, or $0.59 per diluted share. This compares with earnings of $2.5 billion, or $0.74 per share, including a $0.32 per-share gain on the sale of SBC's stake in Cegetel...

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Intel Digital Home Fund Invests in Four Companies

Intel announced strategic investments in four start-ups developing technologies for the digital home:Digital 5 Inc., a provider of consumer electronics networking technology. The Lawrenceville, New Jersey-based company offers software that enables wireless and wired sharing of music and video content among networked consumer electronics devices.Staccato Communications Inc., an ultra-wideband (UWB) wireless solutions developer. The San Diego-based company is developing all-CMOS, single-chip UWB silicon to enable low-cost, high data rate wireless...

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Northrop Grumman Selected for $337M Homeland Security Network

Northrop Grumman was awarded a seven-year, $337 million task order in support of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to design, operate and maintain the department's classified network infrastructure for its headquarters and directorates nationwide. The network will streamline and modernize the classified data capabilities to facilitate collaboration within the Department of Homeland Security and with other federal agencies and organizations. As part of the task order award by General Services Administration Federal Technology Service under...

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Digital 5 Secures $8.4 Million for Home Networking

Digital 5, a start-up based in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, raised $8.4 million in new funding for its software technologies for connected consumer electronic devices. D5's software aims to enable new products for existing CE categories, such as DVD Players, televisions, and stereo systems, that allow consumers to enjoy their music, digital pictures, video, or premium content in the comfort of their various home entertainment locations. Digital 5's software powers a digital media adapter marketed by Netgear and current connected DVD players on...

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Lucent Selected by DARPA for Advanced Networking Projects

The U.S. Department of Defense has awarded Lucent Technologies two contracts valued at $26 million -- a contract worth $13.4 million for the second phase of the Coherent Communications Imaging and Targeting (CCIT) program, as well as a $12.5 million contract for the Integrated Router Interconnected Spectrally (IRIS) program. Under the CCIT contract awarded by DARPA, Lucent Technologies' Bell Labs and the New Jersey Nanotechnology Consortium (NJNC) will lead a team to research and develop new secure, high-speed and long-range laser-based communication...

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