Vonage Wins Injunction Against NY Public Service Commission

Vonage was awarded a preliminary injunction by a U.S. District Court barring the New York Public Service Commission (PSC) from regulating Vonage as a telecommunications carrier. The judge will consider the merits of a permanent injunction in January 2005.



"We are satisfied with the court's decision and believe this is a positive step forward for New Yorkers and the industry," said Jeffrey A. Citron, chairman and CEO of Vonage Holdings Corporation. "Vonage remains eager and committed to working with the states, Congress and the FCC to create a national framework for this emerging industry."

• On 20-May-2004, New York's Public Service Commission ruled that Vonage is a telephone corporation as defined by state law and therefore must obtain a certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity. The New York state commission said it does not seek to interfere with the rapid deployment of new technologies, but "must ensure that its core public interest concerns, including public safety and network reliability, are met." The state commission holds that Vonage must be subject to the same "limited" regulatory regime which is applied to competitive carriers in New York. Specifically, the commission said Vonage is not subject to economic or rate regulation, but must obtain authorization to provide telephone service and must file a schedule of its rates.



• In September 2003, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission issued an order for Vonage to comply with state laws governing telecommunications companies. A month later, a U.S. District Court ruled that Vonage is an "information service" and should not be regulated by state laws.

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EC Outlines Plans for Mobile Broadband Services

The European Commission reaffirmed it commitment to a policy blueprint to ensure that information services can be accessed anytime, anywhere across the EU, and that the EU retains its lead in mobile broadband services. Mobile penetration levels in Europe are over 80% and rising. The challenges ahead include ensuring that services can be supplied seamlessly to a variety of devices, making the technologies and networks that carry them interoperable, and providing adequate intellectual property protection for services with high value-added content. To meet these objectives, the EC is calling for targeted R&D, both on basic research and to accelerate technical innovation.



The EC communication outlined the following key issues:

• R&D - the share of GDP that Europe spends on R&D lags well behind that of its main trading partners. An R&D strategic agenda that supports innovation, including basic research, is needed;



• Interoperability - industry is asked to take urgent steps to improve the interoperability of mobile broadband services, so as to facilitate communication and the supply of services on different networks;



• Value-added content -- the regulatory framework for intellectual property rights should be implemented so as to foster the creation of high value-added content;



• E-payments -- prudential rules governing the use of "e-money", where relevant to mobile payments, need to be applied in a proportionate and risk-sensitive manner;



• Base stations and masts -- action is required to address regulatory barriers to their establishment in some Member States;



• Spectrum policy - a coordinated European approach towards availability and flexible usage is needed.

"Mobile broadband services are an economic locomotive in their own right, but are also vital to sustain competitiveness throughout the economy. Building on Europe's strength in the mobile communications sector, these new services will increase productivity by boosting labour efficiency in public services and business. Anywhere, any time availability will be essential to a European information economy where the mobility of people, goods and services is increasing," said Enterprise and Information Society Commissioner Erkki Liikanen. http://europa.eu.int/

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BT Trims Broadband Prices, Confirms Rollout Schedule

BT announced broadband price cuts of up to 25% for its consumer services. The prices will now be as follows:

• BT Broadband (512k) - down from £27 per month to £24.99



• BT Yahoo! Broadband 512k - down from £29.99 per month to £26.99



• BT Yahoo! Broadband 1 Mbps - down from £40.99 per month to £29.99,



• BT Broadband Basic (512kbps), remains at £19.99 per month, now with free modem and connection.

All products will continue to offer free connection and modem when purchased online.




BT also raised the monthly bandwidth allowances to "levels significantly higher than the usage of the overwhelming majority of broadband customers." For example, the 512k service has a monthly allowance of 15 GB.



BT also confirmed the deployment dates for making broadband available to more than a thousand communities across the UK. The move follows an earlier announcement that BT would be rolling out broadband so that 99.6% of UK households are connected to broadband exchanges by August 2005. http://www.bt.com/broadband

• As of 14-May-2004, BT reported an installed base of 2.45 million Wholesale broadband lines, an increase of 162% on the number of connections 12 months ago, with net additions in the quarter growing at more than 35,000 per week.

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Kotura Raises $11 Million for its Silicon Optics

Kotura, a start-up based in Monterey Park, California, secured $11 million in funding for its Silicon Opto-Electronic Integrated Circuits (SOEIC). The company's CMOS platform can be used for dynamic optical modules that combine active devices with passive waveguide devices on a single silicon chip. The funding came from existing investors, ComVentures and ARCH Venture Partners. http://www.kotura.com

• Kotura, was founded in October 2003 through the merger of Arroyo Optics and Lightcross. Both companies, based in southern California, have developed integrated opto-electronic products for the optical communications industry.

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Mitsui to Market Firetide Wireless Mesh Networks in Japan

Firetide, a provider of wireless mesh networking technology, announced a marketing and sales partnership with Mitsui & Co., Ltd., one of the largest trading companies in Japan and its U.S. subsidiary Mitsui Comtek Corp. Mitsui will become the master distributor for Firetide products in Japan.



Firetide's HotPoint Wireless Mesh Routers replace Ethernet cabling and form a Wireless Instant Network, eliminating the need for trenching and laying fiber or cable. The network self-configures by simply plugging HotPoint routers into standard AC power outlets. http://www.firetide.com

• In May 2004, NETGEAR and Firetide announced a co-marketing agreement targeting large-scale WLANs in locations otherwise too difficult or costly to reach with wires. The partnership combines NETGEAR's access points and Firetide's Hotpoint Wireless Mesh Routers, which provide a wireless backhaul solution.

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Xten Reports Successful VoIP Onboard Transatlantic Flight

Klaus Schulz, a former 3Com Chief Technology Architect, reported great VoIP quality using Xten's softphone, the free SIPphone service and the Connexion by Boeing broadband service during a Lufthansa flight from Munich to Los Angeles. http://www.xten.com/

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Level 3 Providing Network Services to Tiscali International Network

Level 3 Communications was selected to supply optical wavelength services to Tiscali International Network BV, the carrier arm of Tiscali. Level 3 is providing Tiscali International Network with 2.5 Gbps and 10 Gbps wavelengths connecting Europe to New York, Chicago and other U.S. markets. Tiscali International Network will use the wavelengths to upgrade their network capacity into main Internet exchange points on both U.S. coasts. http://www.Level3.com

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AT&T Continues National Consumer VoIP Deployment

AT&T announced the expansion of its CallVantage VoIP service to residents in 10 additional states. The consumer VoIP service has now been launched in 22 states and 72 major markets in the 14 weeks since its introduction. The company plans to reach 100 markets by the end of September 2004.



AT&T has also extended its special six-month introductory rate of $19.99 a month through the end of August. Earlier this month. it reduced the full retail price to $34.99 per month for all subscribers. http://www.att.com

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Metalink Cites Growing VDSL Shipments in Japan, Korea

Metalink shipped over 30,000 VDSL ports to Japan in June 2004. The company also announced record shipment of over 200,000 ports to Korea -- fueled by demand for its Long-Reach Total-VDSL solution. Metalink now expects that its Q2 2004 revenues will be approximately $6.1 million, compared to $3.2 million for Q2 2003, its highest revenues recorded during the last 12 quarters. The quarter revenues represent an increase of 90% over the year ago quarter, and a 15% increase over the $5.3 million for Q1 2004. http://www.metalinkbb.com/

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Intrado Extends Presence in VoIP 9-1-1

Intrado will provide Primus Telecommunications with 9-1-1 services for its VoIP subscribers. Intrado routes VoIP 9-1-1 calls to the appropriate public safety agency. Due to industry-wide technical and regulatory limitations, these calls cannot be treated as traditional 9-1-1 calls with priority routing and critical location information. Intrado said it is working with the industry to proactively address these VoIP issues while providing a clear roadmap to a true Enhanced 9-1-1 (E9-1-1) solution in 2005. http://www.intrado.comhttp://www.primustel.com

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Cisco Supplies Optical Network in Ethiopia

The Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation has deployed an optical network infrastructure that will help transport voice, data and multimedia services to government departments, companies and the general population. The deployment is based on Cisco ONS 15454-based optical transport infrastructure and an IP/MPLS core network. A fiber network has been built around Addis Ababa, and it will transport both mobile and fixed-line analogue voice traffic. An IP/MPLS layer provides a single converged core infrastructure based on Cisco MGX 8000 Series switches to support existing ATM and Frame Relay networks. A combination of high-speed fixed and microwave links extends this network to other parts of the country. The Ethiopian Government, through its Ministry of Capacity Building (MoCB), enlisted ETC to build a core multiservice network. ETC awarded the tender for this infrastructure to Cisco Systems and its pan-African network and systems integrator, Business Connexion. http://www.cisco.comhttp://www.telecom.net.et

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Cisco Announces New Global Technical Support Services Program

Cisco Systems is launching a new Global Services Alliance program to help its partners provide co-branded technical support services to customers requiring consistent information technology (IT) support capabilities on a global scale. The program integrates Cisco SMARTnet technical support and Cisco services' best practices with the partner's value-added IT services. The program is expected to benefit Cisco customers with extensive IT resources distributed across multiple countries.



To be eligible for the Global Services Alliance program, interested Cisco partners must have achieved multinational certification in two of Cisco's three multiple country regions (Europe, Middle East, and Africa; Asia-Pacific and Americas International) and Cisco Gold Certified Partner status in the United States and Japan. In addition, Global Services Alliance partners will need to make ongoing investments, such as linking their internal support systems to Cisco's support systems, to facilitate an integrated services offering. http://www.cisco.com

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U.S. Robotics Management Team Acquires Majority of the Company

The management team of U.S. Robotics Corporation has acquired a majority stake in the company from Solectron Inc. The acquisition gives the U.S. Robotics management team majority ownership in the company. Terms of the transaction will not be disclosed.



U.S. Robotics will retain its current employees including the executive management and account management teams. Moreover, the company's supply chain infrastructure will remain intact, and existing distribution channels will be used for all current and future products.



3Com and Accton Technology Corporation maintain a minority interest. http://www.usr.com

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Orange Plans France's Largest WiFi with Cisco

Orange plans to extend its current total of 3,000 hotspots in France to 4,500 by the end of 2004. The project includes the first use in France -- and one of the first in the world -- of zero configuration networking, a feature which allows users to log onto WiFi networks directly without any changes to the setup of their computers, facilitated through capabilities provided by the Cisco Mobile Exchange architecture.



Orange has forged deals to provide pre-paid WLAN services in Air France business lounges and Accor hotels, with around 55 new WiFi hotspots -- with up to 25 access points -- being introduced each week. Besides targeting real estate owners, the operator offers a post-pay WLAN service to its 2 million corporate mobile phone customers since April. Orange mobile users can dial #125# from their mobile phone to get WLAN connection codes. Payments can be added to the user's mobile phone bill. Cisco said the integration is made possible by the Cisco Access Registrar server, the Cisco Mobile Exchange component enabling Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting (AAA) services.



Orange is deploying redundant Cisco Service Selection Gateway (SSG), Subscriber Edge Services Manager (SESM) and Cisco Content Services Gateway (CSG) platforms, along with Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series switches. At hotspots, Cisco Catalyst 2900 or 3500 Series platforms provide switching capability while Cisco 1700 Series modular access routers connect Cisco Aironet wireless access points to the DSL network. Financial terms were not disclosed. http://www.cisco.com

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ECI Telecom Awarded Large DSL Order through Strategic Partner

ECI Telecom announced that it will supply hundreds of thousands of DSL lines in Europe within the coming two years through a new contract secured by its strategic partner. ECI's equipment will enable an unnamed service provider to deliver advanced broadband services such as voice and ADSL to its subscribers. The Hi-FOCuS scalable solution will additionally enable an evolution path to multimedia services. http://www.ecitele.comIn February 2004, Nortel Networks named ECI Telecom as a strategic partner for its new last mile access portfolio.

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Meru Signs Japanese Partners for Voice over WLAN

Meru Networks, a start-up offering voice over WLAN solutions, announced strategic partnerships with Nissho Electronics Corporation and Tokyo Electron Ltd, two leading Japanese IT solutions providers. Both companies will distribute, resell, and support Meru's 802.11 Wireless LAN products to meet the advanced voice and data requirements of their enterprise customers throughout Japan. http://www.merunetworks.com

• Meru's technology provides application-specific QoS, high client density on a WLAN, and cellular network-style soft-handoffs between access points. Meru leverages a set of distributed algorithms in its access points and gateway to provide near deterministic channel access. Multiple access points collaborate to form one "virtual AP". No changes are needed for Wi-Fi compliant client devices. Meru Networks claims that by controlling over-the-air contention, its Air Traffic Control architecture yields a 5X effective performance boost for an access point. This leads to an ability to support up to 100 active users per access point, compared to a maximum of 10 to 20 users per access point today.



• Meru's Wireless LAN System includes the Meru Access Point, a standards-compliant 802.11 access point that simultaneously acts as an access point and RF monitor; the Meru Controller, a centralized gateway by which all security, QoS and management policies can be configured and enforced across the entire wireless LAN, and the Meru System Director, an extensible, embedded software suite.

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Q1 Labs Secures $11 Million for Network Security

Q1 Labs, a start-up based in Waltham, Massachusetts, secured $11 million in a new round of funding, for its network monitoring software. Q1 Labs flagship product, QRadar, provides a unique live window for surveillance, analysis and control, acting as a RADAR screen for an organization's entire network. QRadar profiles the behavior of systems, applications and users; learns normal patterns; and recognizes anomalies, whether they originate from security breaches, internal network misuse or operational inefficiencies.



The funding round was led by new investor Globespan Capital Partners and included previous investors Menlo Ventures and Polaris Venture Partners. The round also included additional investments from BDC Venture Capital and New Brunswick Investment Management Corporation (NBIMC). This brings total funding raised by the company to $29.4 million. http://www.q1labs.com

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