Verizon Builds 10 Gbps SONET Service for Medical Group

UMass Memorial Health Care, the largest health care system serving central Massachusetts, awarded a seven-year, $9.6 million contract to Verizon to provide a managed SONET service that will allow medical specialists to collaborate in the diagnosis and care of patients throughout the region. The 10 Gbps service will transport critical patient history and diagnostic data to the academic medical center from three campuses, four community hospitals and several additional care facilities. http://www.verizon....

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MCI Opens VPN Network Gateway to Public IP Networks

Representing the second phase of its Secure Interworking Gateway (SIG) strategy, MCI announced the deployment of a VPN Network Gateway that enables corporate customers to bridge their private data networks with public IP networks. MCI said the new platform gives its customers a means to derive more life and functionality from their existing Frame, Private IP and IP VPN networks. The VPN Network Gateway allows companies to use multiple technologies for dedicated connections and local loop access on a site-by-site basis. As a network-based solution,...

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TowerStream Adds Wireless POP on Top of Empire State Building

TowerStream, a fixed wireless ISP, has added a new PoP at the top of the Empire State Building in NYC. The latest addition to the company's network, which includes the MetLife Building and 32 6th Avenue, allows for increased wireless to businesses within a ten-mile radius of Manhattan. As an active member of the WiMAX Forum, TowerStream said it is likely deploy WiMAX Forum Certified products once they enter the market next year. http://www.towerstream.c...

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BellSouth Pledges Uninterrupted Service to Wholesale Customers

BellSouth announced that there would be no disruption of service if current rules on wholesale leasing of its unbundled network elements (UNEs) are vacated next month. Specifically, BellSouth pledged to take no unilateral action to disconnect service to its wholesale customers as a result of the recent order of the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals, which is due to go into effect on June 16. http://www.bellsouth....

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Cingular Selects Lucent for Trial 3G HSDPA Network in Atlanta

Lucent Technologies will deploy a 3G UMTS trial network in the Atlanta market for Cingular Wireless. The UMTS network will operate in Cingular Wireless' 1900 MHz spectrum, and will include testing of High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA), a technology that will ultimately support data speeds of up to 14.4 Mbps according to the company. The network also will be designed to support VoIP in the future. Lucent's UMTS solution can support HSDPA with a software-only upgrade to its existing equipment. Lucent will also supply its Merlin U520 UMTS...

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Pedestal Networks Appoints VP of Marketing

Pedestal Networks has appointed Corey Geiger as vice president of marketing. Prior to joining Pedestal, Geiger held several executive positions at Advanced Fibre Communications, including vice president of product management and marketing. At AFC, Geiger also served as vice president of operations, and vice president of global customer and professional services. Previously, Geiger held senior director positions in sales and marketing at DSC Communications (since acquired by Alcatel). He also held technical and marketing positions in the US and...

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OFC and NFOEC to Combine into One Event

The Optical Fiber Communication Conference and Exposition (OFC) and the National Fiber Optic Engineers Conference (NFOEC) will combine into a single event now scheduled for March 6-11, 2005 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California. The stand-alone NFOEC meeting, originally planned for September 12-16 in Anaheim, California, will not be held. Telcordia Technologies has turned over assets and management of its NFOEC event to OFC. http://www.ofcconference.orghttp://www.telcordia....

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Net Insight Provides OC-48/STM-16 Module for Triple Play

Net Insight announced the availability of a 2-port OC-48/STM-16 X-ADM switching mulitplexer module for its Nimbra transport platform. The Nimbra platform combines next-gen SDH/SONET transport, Ethernet and specific video and legacy interfaces for multi-service networks. The new module will allow for interconnection of up to seven double-rings in its Nimbra One multi-service switch. Net Insight's solution is aimed at carriers delivering triple-play services. http://www.netinsight....

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ALLTEL Selects ADTRAN DSLAMs

ALLTEL has selected ADTRAN's Total Access HDX, Total Access 1200 and Total Access 1100 platforms for central office, remote terminal and outside plant locations. Specifically, ALLTEL will deploy the Total Access HDX in central office and larger remote terminal locations. In addition, the Total Access 1200 Series of Mini-DSLAMs will be deployed in smaller central offices and remote locations. The environmentally hardened Total Access 1100 OSP DSLAMs are being deployed by ALLTEL in outside plant locations. Financial terms were not disclosed. ht...

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China Netcom's Liaoning Communication Selects Redback

China Netcom's Liaoning Communication Corporation is deploying Redback Networks' SmartEdge 800 Service Gateway systems to provide business and consumer broadband access and services in the northeastern Chinese province. In the implemented configuration, Redback's SmartEdge Service Gateway systems will simultaneously manage consumer broadband and business IP services on a single, unified "converged edge" platform. Financial terms were not disclosed. The Redback Service Gateway platforms integrate the B-RAS functionality of Redback's SMS family...

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Spirent Adds ADSL2 Diagnostic Module

Spirent Communications unveiled an ADSL2 module for its REACT Diagnostic OSS, which helps service providers improve DSL service activation, monitor performance, and better isolate service problems from the central office to the home. The new technology is offered with Spirent's service assurance solution -- REACT diagnostic software and CopperMax testhead series. http://www.spirentcom....

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ALLTEL Selects Calix for Central Office DSLAMs

ALLTEL has selected the Calix C7 ultra-broadband loop carrier (UBLC) for deployment in select central office DSLAM applications. Calix equipment is already deployed in ALLTEL's outside network. Financial terms were not disclosed. Operating as a DSLAM, the Calix C7 supports up to 480 DSL interfaces in a compact 8RU enclosure. With integrated POTS splitters, the Calix C7 is able to support voice on every line and, with integrated IGMP functionality, enabling the platform to support video services. In central office applications, the Calix C7 is able...

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Comcast Confirms Plans for Residential VoIP

At its annual meeting of shareholders, Comcast confirmed plans to offer residential VoIP services across its entire cable system by 2006, pending a successful market acceptance in the three VoIP rollouts it currently has underway -- Philadelphia, Indianapolis and Springfield (MA). The company expects 50% of its cable plant to be VoIP ready by year-end 2004 and to have 95% of its cable plant VoIP ready by year-end 2005. Comcast CEO Brian Roberts said the company's vision is to provide a fully integrated triple-play service in which telephony is...

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Charter's First All-Digital Network Deploys nCUBE

Charter Communications is using nCUBE's all digital advertising system and on-demand platform for its all-digital network in Long Beach, California. Charter activated its all-digital network in January. The service includes the two key elements that define an all-digital system -- a digital advertising system, provided by nCUBE, and a digital compression system, provided by Harmonic, which encodes the program line-up. http://www.ncube....

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360networks to sell Canadian assets to Bell Canada, CallNet

360networks will sell its Canadian assets, primarily Group Telecom, to Bell Canada for US$205 million in cash. Bell will also purchase selected northern U.S. interconnection assets and related liabilities. 360networks said it would use the cash to pay off its debt. Following the closing of the deal, 360networks will focus on its US operations, which include a long-haul network footprint with metro access rings and a regional network across the Western U.S. with unique reach into rural markets. Bell Canada intends to retain 360networks' facilities...

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Comcast and T-Mobile Open Outdoor Wi-Fi Hotspot

Comcast and T-Mobile USA are opening an outdoor Wi-Fi hotspot at Philadelphia's historic Headhouse Square Plaza. The companies will offer free, public access for the first six months. The deployment is T-Mobile's first outdoor hotspot. T-Mobile's U.S. hotspot network now covers more than 4,600 locations. http://www.t-mobile.c...

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