TI Unveils New DSPs for Low-Power Mobile Applications

Texas Instruments released three new low-power digital signal processors (DSPs) aimed at mobile, portable and other low-power, real-time signal processing applications.



The devices enable advanced low power consumption through the industry's lowest standby power (0.12 mW), very low core and memory operating power, dynamic frequency and voltage scaling, and multiple standby modes with ability to turn individual peripherals and internal functional units on and off. http://www.ti.com

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Marconi Launches Multiservice SDH Extension Platform

Marconi introduced a low-cost customer premise located platform for its optical multiservice metro portfolio. The new OMS840 is a multiservice customer located device used to support mixed E1 and Ethernet (10/100) interfaces. It uses Generic Framing Procedure (GFP) for the mapping Ethernet frames into SDH payloads (virtual containers) and Virtual Concatenation to use and allocate network bandwidth. In addition, the OMS840 employs Link Capacity Adjustment Scheme (LCAS) technology to provide the flexibility to adjust bandwidth in service. Carriers could use the platform as an extension to their SDH networks. The OMS840 integrates with Marconi's SMA range of SDH multiplexers via a flexible range of STM-1 & 4 network interfaces delivered via Small Form Pluggable modules (SFPs).



Marconi said the compact 1U high device allows operators to simultaneously offer more competitive Ethernet services, such as Ethernet private lines, alongside traditional TDM services, such as leased lines, to their customers. http://www.marconi.com/

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UTStarcom Signs $55M Contract with China Telecom / Shanghai

UTStarcom was awarded a US$55 million contract by China Telecom Corporation (CTC) to deploy its IP-based PAS network in Shanghai.



PAS was introduced in suburban areas of Shanghai in May 2003 and reached more than 500,000 subscribers within one year. According to Shanghai China Telecom officials, more than 15,000 people subscribe for iPAS service each week in Shanghai now that service has been extended to the city center. Shanghai China Telecom has set up an aggressive marketing plan to promote the service throughout the city and hopes to have more than one million subscribers by the end of 2004.



Separately, UTStarcom noted that 50 million people currently subscribe for PAS (Personal Access System) service in China. As of the end of May, UTStarcom had more than 29 million PAS subscribers in China. http://www.utstar.com/

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Alcatel Offers Service Aware Manager for IP/MPLS and Ethernet

Alcatel announced availability of an advanced management solution for IP/MPLS and Ethernet based business services. The Alcatel 5620 Service Aware Manager (SAM) is an addition to the company's 5620 network management portfolio, which is deployed in hundreds of service provider sites around the world.



New capabilities include automated service provisioning of multiple VPN technologies based on wizards and service templates. Advanced Operations, Administration and Maintenance (OA&M) tools improve service troubleshooting and monitoring, which can significantly impact day-to-day costs associated with truck rolls, deployment of technical resources and compliance with government security regulations such as CALEA (Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act) in the U.S. and similar requirements established by governments around the world. http://www.alcatel.com

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Comcast Adds Video Content to its Broadband Media Portal

Comcast, the largest U.S. cable operator, is adding financial video content from CNBC/Dow Jones to its broadband web portal. Comcast's 5.7 million High-Speed Internet customers now access video clips from Squawk Box, Economic Roundtable Discussion, NYSE and NASDAQ Market Wraps and Capital Report co-host Alan Murray's Business Day report from Washington, D.C.



Additional video content partners on the Comcast.net portal include FoxSPORTS.com, MLB.com, HGTV (Home & Garden Television), The Food Network, DIY, Fine Living, E!, and Associated Press. http://www.comcast.net/

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Qovia Files Patents for Voice Spam Blocking Technology

Qovia has filed a patent application for a method to identify and block VoIP Spam and prevent security problems such as Denial of Service (DoS) attacks that have the potential to overload voice servers and affect system reliability. The patent application, titled, "System and Method for Broadcasting VoIP Messages," covers the use of VoIP for emergency broadcast as well as provides for methodologies to prevent inappropriate use of VoIP applications such as Spam over Internet Telephony, also known as SPIT or VoIP Spam.



Qovia said VoIP Spam, the combination of telemarketing calls and e-mail spam, is a top security challenge because of the potential to flood large volumes of unwanted voice messages into voice mailboxes. In an attempt to prevent the spread of VoIP Spam, Qovia has created an application that can identify unsolicited and unwanted messages and differentiate these messages from those that recipients desire to receive. Qovia plans to incorporate this tool into a security module that will be available as part of the company's VoIP Monitoring and Management System (VMMS) later this year. http://www.qovia.com

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Cox Turns Up High Definition Digital Video Recorder Service

Cox Communications began offering a high-definition digital video recorder service via the Scientific Atlanta 8010 HD set top box. The service is currently available in the company's San Diego network and will be expanded shortly to other markets. Cox's HD DVR service costs $9.95 per month, plus the lease price of the integrated high-definition digital set-top box with DVR functionality for $9.95. http://www.cox.com

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TeliaSonera Rolls Out MPLS-VPNs with Cisco 7600s

TeliaSonera is deploying an Ethernet, leased line and IP-VPN aggregation solution based on Cisco 7600 Series Routers to provide business IP and MPLS services. The deployment is an extension of TeliaSonera's MPLS-based core network, which is already supported by the Cisco 12000 Series Router. The new architecture will help TeliaSonera to enhance its relationship with customers by delivering advanced MPLS Layer 2 and Layer 3 VPN services. In addition to business IP/MPLS services, Cisco 7600 Series Routers are also providing Broadband Aggregation for Ethernet based access both over DSL and fiber-to-the-home/business. Financial terms were not disclosed. http://www.cisco.com

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ECI Telecom Delivers its XDM MSPP in Ukraine

Ukrtelecom (Ukrainian State Telecommunication Enterprise), the leading national telecommunications operator in the Ukraine, will deploy ECI Telecom's XDM MSPP for its national multiservice optical backbone network, covering major cities and international gateways. The deployment follows the successful installation of ECI's XDM equipment in Kiev's metropolitan area network (MAN). Under the new contract, ECI Telecom will deploy and support XDM platforms in over 50 sites nationwide, to create a national multi-service transport backbone based on DWDM and SDH technologies and next generation Ethernet capabilities. Financial terms were not disclosed.



ECI's modular XDM MSPP converges intelligent optical networking capabilities with advanced data functionality including ATM and Ethernet Layer 2 over SDH/SONET, CWDM and DWDM. http://www.ecitele.com

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Vernier Networks Names New CEO

Vernier Networks, a start-up specializing in adaptive security products for wired and wireless networks, appointed Simon Khalaf as president and CEO. Before joining the company, Khalaf led Connectus Management Group, a management consulting firm in the IT security space. Previously, he was president of Volera Corp.



In addition, Vernier named Bethany Mayer as its new vice president of marketing. Prior to joining Vernier, Mayer served as vice president of product marketing for four years with SkyStream Networks, where she was responsible for directing marketing strategies and driving technology initiatives. Previously, she served in the Office of the CTO for Cisco Systems. http://www.verniernetworks.com

• Vernier Networks is based in Mountain View, California.

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Juniper Delivers SSL VPNs with SAML Standards

Juniper Networks has integrated the Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) standard into its NetScreen Secure Access appliances, enabling the SSL VPN products to interoperate via standards-based interfaces to administer authentication, authorization and Single Sign On (SSO) policies stored in corporate directories.



SAML defines an XML-based framework for exchanging security information in a standards-based manner. Enterprise customers can use the new capabilities to simplify the deployment of trusted environments through centralized policy stores.



Juniper Networks is working with a number of access management companies to ensure interoperability between their products and its new Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML)-enabled SSL VPN solutions. Specifically, Juniper is using SAML to integrate with access management products from Entrust, IBM, Netegrity, Oblix, OpenNetwork Technologies and RSA Security. The SAML standard is used to assert and enforce the authentication and authorization information stored, eliminating the need to distribute and maintain software agents or to replicate resources in a DMZ. http://www.juniper.net

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Peribit Debuts Latest WAN Optimizers

Peribit Networks, a start-up based in Santa Clara, California, introduced a new integrated WAN optimization architecture that integrates compression, sequence caching, latency reduction, bandwidth management, path optimization, and visibility tools for enterprise WAN links. Peribit's PeriSphere architecture is aimed at improving application performance over congested enterprise WAN links. The company is also introducing new hardware and software:

• SR-100 Sequence Reducer, which provides OC-3 compressed output speeds and can support connections to 2,000 remote SRs. The SR-100 is available immediately.



• SM-500 Sequence Mirror, which combines caching /compression and supports Network Sequence Mirroring (NSM). With 500 Gigabytes of persistent storage, NSM eliminates large, repetitive data patterns even when separated by hundreds of gigabytes.



• New SRS 5.0 software. Its Active Flow Pipelining (AFP) and Forward Error Correction (FEC) features enhance application performance on links with high latency and packet loss.

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Telenor Partners with Inmarsat on Global Broadband Net

Telenor Satellite Services will offer interconnection to the Inmarsat Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN), Inmarsat's next generation satellite communication offering. The BGAN system, currently planned for commercial launch in 2005, will offer telephony and high-speed data services through small size land portable terminals with near-global coverage.



The enhanced capabilities of the BGAN system are made possible through a new generation of satellites, known as Inmarsat 4, to be launched first quarter 2005. http://www.telenor.com/satellite

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Top Layer Networks Hires VP of Engineering

Top Layer Networks, a start-up providing intrusion prevention solutions, appointed Mike Cooper as vice president of engineering. Previously, Cooper founded New England Project Services (NEPS), a project management consultancy. Before NEPS, he served as vice president of service delivery with Tanning Technology, an IT services company.



Top Layer Networks' ASIC-based Attack Mitigator IPS 5500 product family uses advanced deep packet inspection technology. http://www.TopLayer.comTop Layer Networks is headquartered in Westboro, Massachusetts.

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Agilent and Sun Form Java Community for Open-Source Development

Agilent Technologies and Sun Microsystems have formed a new Java Distributed Data Acquisition and Control (JDDAC) java.net community, an open-source forum for development of Java applications and libraries for wide-area distributed sensors and controls. Sun Microsystems is the developer of the Java technology platform.



JDDAC's objective is to share information and encourage development of Java applications for industrial control, building automation, industrial security, utilities management, robotics, mobile communications, and distributed sensor and control networks. JDDAC will create the first Java implementations of technologies for distributed sensors and actuators based on the IEEE 1451 and IEEE 1588 standards supported by the National Institute of Standards and Technologies. Agilent Laboratories is conducting extensive research on distributed wide-area sensor networks using wireless networking built on these standards. http://www.community.java.net/jddac

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IPCC Merges with International VoIP Consortium

The International Packet Communications Consortium (IPCC) has merged with International VoIP consortium. The mission of the newly combined organization, which retains the IPCC name, is to promote and accelerate the development of VoIP and packet communications. http://www.packetcomm.org

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Bob Metcalfe appointed Advisory Director to the Metro Ethernet Forum

Bob Metcalfe, inventor of Ethernet, founder of 3Com and now venture capitalist with Polaris Venture Partners, is joining the Metro Ethernet Forum as Advisory Director.



"The Metro Ethernet Forum is the kind of place I like to be," said Bob Metcalfe, "where standards, particularly Ethernet standards, gain momentum with organized efforts to knock down obstacles to market adoption."http://www.MetroEthernetForum.org

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CableLabs Completes Latest Certification Round

CableLabs awarded qualified status to a DOCSIS 2.0 cable modem termination system (CMTS) from Arris. CableLabs also announced three more DOCSIS 2.0 cable modems had achieved certified status, that it had recertified five other DOCSIS 2.0 modems, and that it had qualified two DOCSIS 1.1 CMTSs. Ambit, Cisco-Linksys, and Thomson were certified for DOCSIS 2.0 modems. Conexant, Motorola and Scientific-Atlanta received re-certifications. ADC and Motorola were qualified for DOCSIS 1.1 CMTSs.



In addition, CableLabs has awarded CableHome 1.1 certified status to two devices from Cisco-Linksys. The announcement followed the recent conclusion of a certification wave. The CableHome 1.1 specification adds residential gateway security features, introduces standardized prioritized quality-of-service (QoS) for home local area networks (LANs), and adds support for home servers, telecommuters and home offices.www.cablelabs.com

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Network Chemistry Offers Wireless Intrusion Protection

Network Chemistry, a start-up based in Palo Alto, California, introduced a wireless intrusion detection system that monitors security for 802.11 networks. Using a set of 802.11a/b/g sensors and specialized software, Network Chemistry's "Rfprotect" system detects all types of rogue devices and their activities over enterprise WLAN's of all sizes. Vulnerabilities due to policy violations, mis-configurations and mis-implementations are reported. RFprotect also detects a multitude of wireless-specific attacks -- denial of service, impersonation, war-driving, client-to-client, insertion - many of which have been automated into scripts that hackers could download off the Internet. The system also captures detailed user traffic and logs performance-related statistics.



Network Chemistry said its RF sensor appliance are designed as security devices and are not just repurposed access points. http://www.networkchemistry.com

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