SBC Extends Contract for AFC's AdvancedVoice and UniversalDSL

SBC Communications awarded a five-year contract extension to AFC for supplying its AdvancedVoice and UniversalDSL solutions. The two solutions leverage AFC's AccessMAX integrated multiservice access platforms (IMAPs), outside plant cabinets, and network management systems. AFC has been a supplier of broadband access solutions to SBC since 1997. Financial terms of the new agreement were not disclosed. http://www.afc.com

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RAD Introduces Ethernet NTU

RAD Data Communications introduced a customer-located, remotely managed Ethernet Network Termination Unit (E-NTU) for the North American market. The new ETX-102 provides a demarcation point between customer premises equipment and the operator's network, permitting end-to-end control of Ethernet services in the fiber-based Ethernet First Mile. RAD said its Ethernet NTU is designed to meet the IEEE's 802.3ah standard, enabling service providers to offer QoS and traffic management solutions for small and medium-sized organizations. The unit supports incremental Ethernet access rates up to 100 Mbps. It also supports enhanced Layer 2 management features for service differentiation. http://www.radusa.com

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Sprint Carries Live Traffic over 40 Gbps IP Trunk

Sprint began carrying live Internet traffic over a 40 Gbps link between its facilities in San Jose and Stockton, California. The elevated speed was achieved in a technology trial using the new Cisco Carrier Routing System, StrataLight OC-768c optical transport and Ciena DWDM equipment. http://www.sprint.comLast month, MCI demonstrated a similar 40 Gbps IP trunk at an event hosted at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California by Cisco Systems as part of the product launch for its new core router..

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France Telecom R&D Deploys Aperto BWA Pilot

France Telecom R&D has launched a pilot broadband wireless access network in France using Aperto Networks' 802.16-class 3.5 GHz licensed frequency PacketWave systems. PacketWave is currently used for Wi-Fi backhaul, for high-speed Internet access, and direct broadband access to customers. It will then expand to provide broadband access for schools, local government, small and medium enterprises in this western region of France. http://www.apertonet.com

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WiMAX Forum Seeks Global Regulatory Harmony

The WiMAX Forum has established a Regulatory Working Group (RWG) with the aim of ensuring the availability and global harmonization of "WiMAX friendly" spectrum worldwide. The group will lobby for the uniform adoption of specific frequency bands for Broadband Wireless Access (BWA). Additionally, the RWG will work with regulators to develop flexible and technology neutral regulatory frameworks, allowing usage models to evolve as the BWA market matures and enabling service providers to deploy the most appropriate solutions for their markets.



Initially, the WiMAX Forum believes global harmonization for broadband wireless access can be achieved in the following spectrum bands:

• License-Exempt 5 GHz: Because license-exempt spectrum is free to use, this band is a key to enabling grassroots deployments in underserved, low population density rural and remote markets. The WiMAX Forum will commit additional resources -- notably in Europe -- to promote wider release of this band in a harmonized and timely manner.



• Licensed 3.5 GHz: In these bands, the focus of the WiMAX Forum will be to minimize unnecessary technical and regulatory requirements that might constrain BWA usage models and overall market development.



• Licensed 2.5 GHz: Though already allocated in the U.S., Mexico, Brazil and some Southeast Asian countries, the WiMAX Forum is participating in ongoing global efforts to make this band available in other countries on a technology neutral basis.

In addition to these efforts, the WiMAX Forum will work with world standards and regulatory bodies to advance the allocation of licensed and license-exempt spectrum in lower frequency bands. The propagation of radio waves is better at lower frequencies, such as the 700 MHz frequency range which is expected to become available as television stations transition from analog to digital broadcasting. In the U.S., the FCC is considering both licensed and license-exempt allocations in this band. http://www.WiMAXForum.org

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Nationwide Builds Core Optical Network with Cisco ONS 15454

Nationwide, a provider of diversified insurance and financial services to customers across the U.S.. has built a core optical network at its Columbus, OH. headquarters based on Cisco ONS 15454 Multiservice Transport Platforms (MSTPs). The company estimates that it has reduced costs associated with adding certain new network connections up to 75% from previous methods, and has reduced the time required from an average of 90 days down to just 14. Nationwide selected SBC, the service provider for Nationwide's Columbus campus, to design, deploy, and manage this DWDM network. Financial terms were not disclosed. http://www.cisco.comhttp://www.nationwide.com

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Vendors to Demo VoIP over MPLS

The MPLS & Frame Relay Alliance and its member companies will begin interoperability testing next week at the University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory (UNH-IOL). The results of the hot-stage event will be showcased as part of the Alliance's SUPERDemo at SUPERCOMM in Chicago, June 22-24. The event marks the first time that the MPLS & FR Alliance joins forces with the Multiservice Switching Forum (MSF) to publicly demonstrate how guaranteed voice quality can be offered over a resilient and verifiable MPLS network.



The event will test VoIP streams running over a QoS-enabled, hierarchical Virtual Private LAN Service (H-VPLS) across a resilient MPLS core network. During the event, new MPLS features such as LSP Ping and TraceRoute will be tested for the first time. Testing these features is critical as it helps simplify data plane failure detection and isolation processes during MPLS network operations.



"Testing Voice over IP traffic running over a hierarchical VPLS network is a big challenge, and very exciting for the industry," said Ananda Sen Gupta of Agilent Technologies, MPLS & Frame Relay Alliance Interoperability Committee chair and Board Member. "This will prove that enterprises can use Metro MPLS networks to have VoIP connectivity across an MPLS WAN. It is also important to test LSP Ping and TraceRoute, as these features enhance the Service Provider's toolkit, to pinpoint any faults that may occur in the data plane."http://www.mplsforum.org/

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Fujitsu Enhances FLASHWAVE 4500 MSPP with VCAT, GFP

Fujitsu Network Communications is enhancing its FLASHWAVE 4500 Multiservice Provisioning Platform (MSPP) with new capabilities for transporting Ethernet services efficiently across a SONET-based infrastructure. These new service transport capabilities include support for Virtual Concatenation (VCAT) and Generic Framing Procedure (GFP) to enable efficient transport of 10 Mbps, 100 Mbps and Gigabit Ethernet services. Support for Four Fiber - Bidirectional Line Switched Ring (4F-BLSR) applications at an OC-192 rate provides additional capacity and a highly robust protection option for service providers.



The VCAT capability enables a full line rate Gigabit Ethernet circuit to be mapped efficiently into 21 STS-1 timeslots of 51.8 Mbps each. Fujitsu said competing platforms without the VCAT capability would map the same circuit into 12 timeslots (an STS-12c) by rate-limiting it to 622 Mbps, or 24 timeslots (an STS-24c) that consume 1.244 Gbps of bandwidth, when only 1.08 Gbps is needed.



VCAT further improves efficiency because timeslots do not need to be contiguous, providing the flexibility for adding high-speed data circuits to busy networks that have experienced a high degree of churn. For example, a full wire speed Gigabit Ethernet circuit previously requiring 24 STS timeslots in one group (an STS-24c) can now be mapped into seven groups of three STS timeslots (an STS-3c-7v) -- no matter where the spare bandwidth resides.



Generic Framing Procedure (GFP), which has emerged as an industry standard for the encapsulation of data protocols, helps service providers create flexible Ethernet service offerings. Additionally, GFP provides increased robustness for Ethernet services by providing fault information, including Client Signal Failure (CSF) notifications, through its management overhead.



Fujitsu has also added Ethernet alarming and Performance Monitoring (PM) abilities, enabling FLASHWAVE 4500 nodes to monitor the status of LAN and WAN links and determine if user-selectable PM thresholds have been reached. In the event of unacceptable performance or complete Loss of Signal (LOS), the system can generate an alert or alarm similar to a SONET Alarm Indication Signal (AIS) to notify the carrier and end customer (as desired). Finally, the addition of OC-192 4F-BLSR capabilities on the FLASHWAVE 4500 platform allows carriers to build high capacity ring networks that can survive multiple simultaneous fiber cuts. http://www.fujitsu.com/us/telecom

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New Edge Networks Hires Former AT&T Exec

New Edge Networks announced the appointment of Ray Solnik to the newly created position of chief development officer, reporting to Dan Moffat, president and CEO of the company. Before joining New Edge Networks, Solnik was vice president for consumer strategic marketing for AT&T in Morristown, NJ. He also was vice president of market development for AT&T's consumer integrated service group, and president of AT&T Worldnet Internet Service. Prior to AT&T, Solnik held senior executive positions in business development and strategy for NorthPoint Communications and SBC Communications in California. http://www.newedgenetworks.com

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Voiceglow Offers Linux-Based Virtual VoIP PBX

Voiceglo, a VoIP communications company, introduced its Voiceglo Internet PBX that converts wireless routers into virtual PBXs. Voiceglo said its Internet PBX integrates with any Wi-Fi router and can be used with cordless phone systems, analog phone systems, digital phone systems and Wi-Fi- capable PC's. The solution, which ties into Voiceglo's VoIP service, provides the ability to manage 2 - 10 lines in small homes and businesses and up to 254 lines (per Wi-Fi router) in larger scale PBX deployments. The system also features virtual call management, which might allow a company's Hong Kong office to handle the New York office's calls during off-hours in the United States. http://www.voiceglo.comhttp://www.glophone.com

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First Avenue and WindChannel Pursue Licensed/Unlicensed Model

First Avenue Networks, which holds an extensive licensed spectrum across the U.S., and WindChannel Communications, a Raleigh-based provider of high-speed wireless Internet connectivity, announced plans for a hybrid network combining licensed and unlicensed access.
WindChannel Communications is leasing spectrum from First Avenue Networks to build out its hybrid networks in six markets throughout North Carolina and South Carolina. WindChannel is using the licensed spectrum for multiple applications, such as aggregating pops and providing building-to- building connectivity for metro customers, enterprise connectivity, customer access and backhaul.



Specifically, WindChannel utilizes a hybrid of networking infrastructure and wireless and wireline technologies, including fiber, 5.8 GHz unlicensed spectrum, emerging 802.16 WiMax equipment and First Avenue Networks' 39 GHz licensed spectrum. Financial terms were not disclosed. http://www.firstavenet.com/http://www.windchannel.com/

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Broadcom Introduces Integrated Wi-Fi Router Chip

Broadcom announced an integrated Wi-Fi router solution that combines high-performance 54g wireless LAN routing, Fast Ethernet switching, accelerated VPN security, and a MIPS instruction set processor into a single system-on-a-chip (SoC). Routers and gateways based on the new processor could include a variety of security features to ensure strong data protection over wired or wireless connections. The new Broadcom chip provides built-in support for Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA), and upgradeability to support the forthcoming WPA2 and IEEE 802.11i specifications. The chip also features the on-chip VPN co- processor core of Broadcom's Sentry5 family, providing hardware-based acceleration of encryption and authentication on virtual private networks and freeing the MIPS32 processor for other tasks. http://www.broadcom.com

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Time Warner Telecom Asks FCC for VoIP Certainty

Time Warner Telecom is asking the FCC to ensure that incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) are not able to exploit their market power in the business market to limit the ability of competitors to provide more efficient and innovative IP network connections and IP services to businesses across the country. At issue is Time Warner Telecom's objection to the petition filed by SBC that these services should not be subject to tariff because they are available at low entry barriers and face fierce competition the Internet offers. Time Warner Telecom contends that SBC and other incumbents control the end user connections that serve the vast majority of the nation's businesses, giving it tremendous market power.



In its filing, Time Warner Telecom encourages the FCC to focus on the following goals:

• Regulation should be technology neutral regarding voice telecommunications services provided to end users, including IP-based voice services.



• The FCC should focus on regulating companies with market power and ensuring that all voice providers are responsible for maintaining social policy goals.



• Legacy monopoly regulation should not be applied to any non-dominant carrier, regardless of the technology used to provide the services.



• All voice services that provide the functionality of basic telephone service are appropriately placed in Title II of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, where the FCC has the ability to forbear from
  unnecessary regulations while minimizing the risks of successful legal challenge to the Commission's regulations and the associated uncertainty

Time Warner Telecom contends that these goals can only be achieved if the FCC does the following:

Classifies the broadband transmission inputs used to transmit VoIP "applications" as telecommunications services and requires that the loops and transport used to transmit VoIP and other IP applications to business customers are offered by ILECs under tariff on just, reasonable and nondiscriminatory rates, terms and conditions until an ILEC is deemed 'non-dominant' in a particular market.

Classifies as "telecommunications services" those IP voice "applications"/services (generally speaking, those that utilize NANP numbers and provide two-way voice service) that provide the functionalities that Congress intended would be subject to the social policy requirements in the Act and, to the extent possible, eliminates major differences between rules applicable to competing VoIP and circuit-switched voice services.

http://www.twtelecom.com

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Verizon Boosts DSL Upstream Speed

Verizon is tripling the upstream connection speed of its DSL service to 384 kbps from 128 Kbps. The maximum download connection speed of the service is up to 1.5 Mbps. The price remains unchanged -- $29.95 a month when purchased as part of a package of local and long-distance calling services or $34.95 a month for stand-alone DSL service. http://www.verizon.com

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New Global Telecom Deploys Kagoor's Session Border Controller

New Global Telecom (NGT), a U.S. based provider of outsourced switching and network operations services, has deployed Kagoor Networks' VoiceFlow 1000 Session Border Controller. NGT is using the platform's NAT (Network Address Translator) application to provide Hosted NAT Traversal, which is helping to expedite the delivery of VoIP to residential end-users through NGT's service provider customers. Hosted NAT traversal permits VoIP calls to securely travel across the Internet and through the NAT device on the customer site. Financial terms were not disclosed.



NGT's outsourced wholesale IP services suite -- 6DegreesIP -- offers a turnkey solution for service providers seeking entry into the VoIP marketplace. 6DegreesIP includes Hosted IP PBX and Class 5 feature services, end-customer support, network and facilities management, back office support as well as local and long-distance origination/termination in hundreds of U.S. cities. http://www.kagoor.comhttp://www.ngt.com

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