Italian CLEC Elitel Deploys Sylantro

Elitel, one of Italy's largest CLECs, will deploy Sylantro's platform for a hosted communications VoIP service that addresses both residential and business markets. Sylantro recently announced a new consumer broadband voice solution that allows service providers like Elitel to quickly enter the skyrocketing consumer market for VoIP services while simultaneously serving the business IP Centrex market. Elitel successfully deployed Sylantro's Futura broadband telephony product earlier this year. Financial terms were not disclosed. http://www.sylantro.com

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NextWave Announces Auction of Six PCS Licenses

NextWave has asked the bankruptcy court overseeing its reorganization for permission to auction the company's FCC license rights to six 10 MHz personal communications services licenses in the following markets: New York (NY) (C-3 block); Denver (CO), Portland (OR), Sarasota (FL), Tampa (FL), and Tulsa (OK). Subject to bankruptcy court approval, the auction is scheduled to take place on 08-July-2004.



Following the auction, NextWave's 65 million POP wireless footprint will be the sixth largest in the U.S. Concentrated primarily in the northeast, the footprint will include six of the top ten markets in the country: New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington-Baltimore, Detroit, and Los Angeles. http://www.nextwavetel.com/

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STMicroelectronics to Develops Chips for Windows Media 9

STMicroelectronics and Microsoft are working together to develop a series of new integrated circuit components for extending the reach of high-quality, secure Windows Media 9 Series content, in both standard and high definition, to a wide range of popular devices such as set-top boxes and DVD players. ST will supply these new components to consumer electronics manufacturer for use in set-top boxes, DVD players, digital video recorders (DVRs), Portable Media Centers, home-networking devices, etc. In addition to standard formats, the devices will includes the following audio and video technologies: Windows Media Audio 9, Windows Media Audio 9 Professional (which delivers 5.1 or even 7.1 channels of discrete digital surround sound at bit rates as low as 128 kbps, and supports 24-bit resolution and 96 kHz sample rates to deliver better-than-CD quality sound), and Windows Media Video 9 (including VC-9). http://www.st.com

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Centillium Launches FTTP Optical Access Solutions

Centillium Communications unveiled its full line of optical access solutions for the FTTP market. The portfolio is initially comprised of four product families:

• The COLT Optical Line Termination (OLT) family of mixed-signal EPON protocol processors for the CO. The processor solution combines a bridge, SerDes/burst mode CDR, CAM and MIPS CPU core into a single, SoC solution for OLT applications. COLT resides in a line card at the service provider's central office and directs the traffic to multiple ONUs.



• The Mustang Optical Network Unit (ONU) family of mixed-signal EPON protocol processors for CPE. Designed to operate at the customer premises, Centillium's first-generation optical CPE solution, the Mustang 100 is an integrated, mixed-signal protocol processor that offers a complementary set of features to Centillium's COLT processor or any other IEEE 802.3ah standards-compliant, third-party OLT processor. Mustang 100 includes a bridge, SerDes/CDR, SRAM and a MIPS CPU core into a single, SoC solution for ONU applications.



• The Unicorn Broadband Service Processor Family for home gateways. The family's first offering, Unicorn 100 combines a network processor, a DSP voice engine and IP Security with a host of physical interfaces to support VoIP, VPNs and even 802.11a/b/g wireless networking via an additional PCMCIA card.



• The Zeus Transceiver family, which is designed to control bi-directional burst-mode traffic on a fiber cable on both the CO and CPE sides in both EPON and BPON applications. Consisting of a transceiver chip on the CO side and a transceiver chip on the CPE side, the Zeus family complies with IEEE 802.3ah, ITU-T 983 and SFF-8472 specifications for optical transceivers.

Products are scheduled to begin sampling in Q3. http://www.centillium.com

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Vendors Issue 10 Gbps Miniature Device (XMD) MSA

Leading optical component suppliers released the common specifications for optical devices based on a 10 Gbps/s Miniature Device Multi-Source Agreement (XMD-MSA). The defined specifications are intended for optical devices capable of transmission over a distance of 20 km or more.



This Multi-Source Agreement (XMD-MSA) has been created to establish compatible sources of 10 Gbps Transmitter Optical Sub-Assembly (TOSA) and Receiver Optical Sub-Assembly (ROSA) devices embedded into the 10 Gbps XFP MSA module.



MSA members include Eudyna Devices, Mitsubishi Electric Corp., Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd., Opnext, and Sumitomo Electric Industries. http://www.eudyna.comhttp://global.mitsubishielectric.com

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HP Acquires Riverstone's Enterprise-Class Technology for $28 Million

Hewlett-Packard agreed to acquire Riverstone Networks' XGS enterprise technology platform and the associated software licenses for $28 million. The assets will become part of HP's ProCurve Networking Business unit. HP plans to use the technology to develop a new class of product designed to complement its ProCurve Adaptive EDGE Architecture. Riverstone retains their ownership of the operating system software. Both companies will independently develop the software for their respective products moving forward. Riverstone said the transaction is part of its previously announced strategic decision to refocus on the service provider market. http://www.hp.comhttp://www.riverstonet.com

• Riverstone Networks introduced an "Ethernet Edge Router" that combines the standard elements of a multiservice edge router - an IP/MPLS control plane, multiple interface types, and the ability to converge traffic over MPLS. The new ASIC-driven Riverstone 15008 Ethernet Edge Router employs a distributed and modular operating system architecture that allows the router to detect and restart errant protocols without affecting the rest of the system. The new platform forms the cornerstone of Riverstone's Ethernet product strategy.



• In April 2003, Riverstone Networks introduced a new line of 10 Gigabit Ethernet Layer 3 switches with wire-speed 10 Gigabit performance at less than $10,000 per port, including optics. Citing tests from The Tolly Group, Riverstone said the XGS switches provide wire-speed 10 Gigabit throughput across all packet sizes (64 to 1,518 bytes), with low jitter and latency. The XGS switches include a sixteen-slot chassis and an eight-slot chassis .

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Cisco Announces Intelligent Roadway

Cisco Systems introduced a set of networking technologies and services tailored to help government planners reduce traffic congestion, improve security, and lower operating costs. Cisco's IP-based solutions connect traffic management centers, toll collection and traveler applications into an integrated system. An intelligent network allows multiple transportation regions and agencies such as police, fire, and rescue teams, to share information and communicate in real time to alleviate traffic congestion and protect the traveler.



The Cisco solution integrates video surveillance, traffic sensors, traffic light control systems and variable message boards on a converged video and data network. It collects and distributes roadside data and video surveillance images to Traffic Management Centers and to travelers via Websites, pagers, cell phones and 511 services. Cisco named a list of state customers already deploying its solution. http://www.cisco.com/go/transportation

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Shanghai Telecom Selects Juniper's E-series Routers

Shanghai Telecommunications has selected Juniper Networks' E-series routing platform for the third phase in the expansion of its broadband network. This most recent deployment of the E-series in Shanghai Telecommunications' network will extend the geographical reach of broadband ADSL access in China's largest city. The deployment, which is being implemented now, also underpins a network capacity upgrade to meet growing demand for new value-added services including the Shanghai Online 2 multimedia service, also known as China VNet. Shanghai Online 2 offers video on demand, training and education content, gaming and music. Financial terms were not disclosed. http://www.juniper.net

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Nortel Networks Boosts its Edge Router (Shasta)

Nortel Networks introduced the third generation control and subscriber services modules for its Services Edge Router 5500 (formerly known as Shasta 5000 Broadband Services Node). The modules provide scalability and performance enhancements that enable broadband-optimized routing capabilities to be combined with broadband aggregation and IP services capabilities. These enhancements are scheduled for general availability in July 2004.



Services Edge Router 5500 is designed to increase the performance and scalability of the Shasta product line two-fold, doubling the number of VPNs supported and scaling to 64,000 subscribers per platform while providing QoS guarantees on a per-user basis. Services Edge Router 5500 will provide support for the DSL Forum's emerging TR-059 specification, a framework for delivering tiered IP levels of service over a DSL infrastructure.



SAVVIS Communications which is one of Nortel Networks largest Shasta 5000 Broadband Services Node (BSN) customers, is testing Services Edge Router 5500 in its global IP network. Shasta 5000 BSN is the core wide area network component of SAVVIS' new virtualized services delivery platform, which integrates network, hosting, storage and compute architectures to deliver virtualized managed utility services.



Nortel Networks said the Services Edge Router 5500 complements its recently announced Multiservice Provider Edge 9000 series. For large distributed networks, Services Edge Router 5500 provides subscriber management and personalization at the subscriber edge while feeding into the Multiservice Provider Edge 9000 series, which aggregates Layer 2 and Layer 3 access traffic into the provider core. Services Edge Router 5500 will also be able to serve as a 'services server,' supporting multiple Multiservice Provider Edge 9500 devices to provide security, remote access and other service capabilities. Nortel Networks Services Edge Router 5500 will be fully 'backward compatible' with Nortel Networks Shasta portfolio, which has been deployed in over 200 service provider and large enterprise networks around the world. http://www.nortelnetworks.com

• Nortel Networks unveiled its Multiservice Provider Edge (MPE) 9000 series platform for converging multiple services over an IP/MPLS core. At its customer conference in Miami, Nortel Networks' said its new platform would address the network reliability, service scalability and traffic prioritization shortcomings of current edge routers. Nortel's MPE design will support IP-VPN, ATM, Frame Relay, VPLS, Ethernet and broadband aggregation services for both the consumer and the business market. On the network reliability issue, Nortel is promising "Voice-Grade Reliability applied to all services" based on provides non-stop routing, hitless software upgrades, rollbacks and patching features. A separate Gigabit Ethernet control plane is separately from the data path. The first product in the series will be the MPE 9500, which is positioned for medium to large central offices. It features a mid-plane design with 40 Gbps or 80 Gbps of throughput. Commercial availability is slated for Q4. The company is also developing a smaller, 20 Gbps MPE 9200 version aimed at smaller POPs.

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Flextronics to Acquire 55% of Hughes Software Systems

Flextronics will acquire Hughes Network Systems' entire ownership stake of fifty-five percent (55%) in Hughes Software Systems (HSS), a leading provider of software products and services to telecom infrastructure companies, for a total cash consideration of approximately US$226 million (Rs547 per share). HSS, which is based in India, provides convergent software solutions for fixed and mobile networks for both voice and data. Its products and services span a variety of domains, such as optical networks, wireless networks, satellite networks, switching systems, convergent networks and broadband networks. HSS' product portfolio includes protocol stacks and value-added frameworks and are comprised of licensable technologies focused on Voice over Packets (VoP), SS7, broadband and wireless (GPRS/UMTS) products that provide customers with open architecture solutions.



HSS' shares trade in India on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange . Some of its customers include many of the world's largest telecom companies. HSS reported revenue of Rs3,604 million (approximately US$80 million) and net income of Rs769 million (approximately US$17 million) in its fiscal year ended March 31, 2004. Revenues grew approximately 63% in fiscal 2004 and are expected to grow approximately 25% in fiscal 2005. HSS has about 2,400 employees.



Flextronics said that by partnering with HSS, it can now provide a complete outsourcing solution to telecom OEMs. This includes engineering/design services, system assembly and manufacturing, logistics services, and after-market services, such as repair and warranty services as well as network and communications installation and maintenance.



Flextronics is headquartered in Singapore. http://www.flextronics.comhttp://www.hssworld.com/

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Marconi Ships $33 Million in BXR-48000s to U.S. Government

The U.S. Federal government recently purchased and has taken delivery of a number of Marconi's BXR-48000s. During the fiscal quarter ended 31-March-2004, Marconi shipped the bulk of an order valued at about $33 million, including installation services, for BXR-48000s. These sales were the major driver of the increase in BBRS sales during that period. This contract follows a sale of BXR-48000s to the U.S. Federal government announced in September 2003 that was valued at about $9 million for hardware and services.



Marconi said the BXR-48000 is the only platform that meets the U.S. Federal government's simultaneous requirements for massive data transmission capacity, high-speed encryption support and the broad range of legacy and packet protocols required for applications that enable critical front-line defense, homeland security and intelligence analysis.



Marconi's BXR-48000 is designed to simultaneously handle ATM switching, MPLS switching and IP routing. It offers up to 480 Gbps of full-duplex, deterministically non- blocking throughput (960 Gbps simplex) and an architecture that transports packets and cells in their native format. http://www.marconi.com

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AT&T Announces Global VoIP Telework Trials

AT&T is conducting trials in Asia and Europe for a global VoIP telework service, targeted to multinational companies. The service , which leverages the AT&T CallVantage consumer VoIP platform, allows a business to provide its employees a suite of advanced calling features in the home or hotel environment using readily available broadband connections. Eventually, the service will afford remote workers secure, high-speed connections directly to their corporate offices. AT&T expects to introduce the service in 2005. http://www.att.com/

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BellSouth Readies Network-Hosted Business VoIP

BellSouth will begin offering, on a market trial basis, a business class network-hosted VoIP service in Columbia, South Carolina and Miami, Florida. Customers' voice and data traffic will be carried on the private BellSouth Regional IP Backbone, versus the public Internet. BellSouth plans to launch hosted VoIP business services in additional metros in the Southeast later this year, based on these trials. BellSouth's VoIP portfolio already includes equipment-based services (IP-PBXs), which the company has offered for nearly three years, and Centrex IP, a network service announced last month.



BellSouth has selected an integrated solution from Siemens, utilizing its next-generation softswitch to deliver the network-hosted VoIP services. http://www.bellsouth.com

• In May, BellSouth launched a new Centrex IP Service for business customers across the southeastern markets served by the company. Centrex IP will allow customers to use browser-based software that assists them with call management. Customers will be able to use Centrex IP to access enhanced call management functions through a secure login and have real-time control of calling features. The service is provided using Lucent's EBS Communication Manager and iMerge Centrex Feature Gateway, which works with any Class 5 switch, and serves as a bridge between circuit-switched networks and IP network infrastructures to deliver Class 5 features and functionality over a packet network.

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CIRPACK Adapts its SoftSwitch for SIP Scalability

CIRPACK announced new software add-ons enabling its carrier-class SIP softswitch to deliver Class-5 subscriber services on a very large scale using SIP. The Cirpack Back-To-Back User Agent (B2BUA) and RTP Forwarder enhancements enable service providers to manage and track a SIP call from beginning to end and to incorporate external processing into SIP. This could include network announcements or the automatic disconnection of calls for prepaid calling card users. All Class 5 features are now available to SIP users. The Cirpack Back-To-Back User Agent (B2BUA) and RTP Forwarder also provide an efficient means of converting SIP and IP addresses for Network Address Translation (NAT) and firewall traversal. The modules are available immediately as software add-ons across the Cirpack product line. They have been deployed with some existing Cirpack customers and are under trial with others.



Also, the Cirpack MultiNode product line, previously called "SuperNode", is being renamed to emphasize its extensive support of TDM, ATM and IP. http://www.cirpack.com

• In October 2003, CIRPACK and IBM Global Services announced a partnership focusing on next generation telecom voice solutions in ETSI compliant countries: Europe, Middle East, Africa, and most Asian and Latin American countries. IBM Global Services will provide the support services and systems integration expertise for CIRPACK SoftSwitch solutions enabling telecom operators to deploy new voice services while maintaining legacy services.

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Nortel to Offer Qovia's E911 VoIP management tools

Nortel Networks will offer Qovia's Location Gateway Server application as part of its E911 solution for customers of its Communication Server products. The Location Gateway Server is a key component of Qovia's VoIP Monitoring and Management System (VMMS) to provide E911 client location within VoIP networks. It enables E911 data to be gathered and forwarded to PSAP (Public Safety Answer Point) databases to enable dispatching of emergency personnel to a terminal's (IP phone, soft client) location. Qovia provides up-to-date location information as soon as clients are moved and/or re-connected to a Nortel Networks Communication Server-based VoIP network.



Qovia's Location Gateway Server application will become a Nortel Networks Select Product in the September 2004 timeframe, in conjunction with the release of Succession Release 4.0 software for the Nortel Networks CS 1000. Qovia's system is also planned for the CS 2100 platform early in 2005. http://www.qovia.com

In April, Qovia, a start-up based in Frederick, Maryland, closed $10.6 million in second round equity financing for its enterprise VoIP monitoring and management products.

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Quake introduces 10 Gbps PHY Chips for WANs

Quake Technologies introduced a 10 Gbps serial-to-XAUI PHY for Ethernet and Fibre Channel local and wide area networks (LAN/WAN). The device builds on Quake's existing LAN PHY components and includes an optional WAN Interconnect Sublayer (WIS) for connecting 10 Gbps Ethernet and Fibre Channel islands across SONET/SDH and WDM networks. The device could be used in XAUI-based modules or directly on a system card interfacing to XFP modules. http://www.quaketech.com

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Kineto Raises $35 Million for Mobile over WLAN

Kineto Wireless, a start-up based in Milpitas, California, raised $35 million in Series C financing for its Mobile over Wireless LAN (MoWLAN) solutions. Kineto is developing technology to allow subscribers to roam seamlessly between mobile networks and WLANs with a single handset for voice and data services. The round was led by Oak Investment Partners. Existing investors including 3i, Mitsui & Co. Venture Partners, SeaPoint Ventures, Storm Ventures, Sutter Hill Ventures and Venrock Associates also participated in the financing round. Kineto has raised over $59 million to date. http://www.kinetowireless.com

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PMC-Sierra Introduces High-Density Line Interface for T1/E1/J1

PMC-Sierra introduced a high-density and low cost copper line interface unit (LIU) solution for medium- and short-haul operations. The device delivers 32-channel T1/E1/J1 port density and is optimized for multi-service provisioning platforms (MSPPs), add/drop multiplexers (ADMs), wireless infrastructure, multi-service switches and edge routers. http://www.pmc-sierra.com/networking

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