Germany Opens Consultation on Local Loop Access

Germany's Regulatory Authority for Telecommunications and Post (RegTP) has opened a national consultation and debate on draft proposals on the local loop access market.



Access to the local loop is one of eighteen relevant markets the national regulatory authorities (NRAs) have been recommended by the European Commission to look at. In its draft RegTP concludes that the German market, defined in line with national circumstances, requires regulation and that Deutsche Telekom AG (DTAG) has significant market power in this market. All interested parties are being given the opportunity to make their views known. Following this, RegTP will consider what obligations to impose, amend, maintain or withdraw in relation to DTAG (by a direction). http://www.regtp.de

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FCC Takes Measures to Reform E-Rate Program

Following an audit of the schools and libraries support mechanism (also known as the "E-rate" program), the FCC adopted a number of measures aimed at reducing waste, fraud and abuse of the program. The schools and libraries program enables qualified applicants to receive discounts on eligible telecommunications services, Internet access, and internal connections. Since the program's inception in 1997, schools and libraries across the United States have received over $11 billion in funding commitments and, as a result, 99% of public schools and 92% of public school classrooms are connected to the Internet.



The reforms set forth a framework regarding what amounts should be recovered by the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) and the FCC when funds have been disbursed in violation of specific statutory provisions and Commission rules; sets forth plans for future audits; requires applicants to develop a technology plan consistent with the U.S. Department of Education; strengthens certification requirements; and establishes other administrative procedures. http://www/fcc.gov

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Russia's SMARTS Selects Alcatel for EDGE mobile network

SMARTS, a leading regional mobile operator in Russia, selected Alcatel for the deployment of an EDGE network throughout the city of Samara, a city with over one million inhabitants. Under the contract, Alcatel will EDGE-enable the Evolium 900 and 1800 MHz base stations already installed in the operator's network using the multi-standard GSM/EDGE/WCDMA capability of its industry leading Evolium solution. http://www.alcatel.com

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MCI Provides MPLS VPN service for CODA

MCI is providing a fully-managed international Private IP solution to CODA, the financial systems specialist. The network-based, MPLS VPN service provides any-to-any connectivity between CODA's international sites. Because CODA chose a fully-managed solution, MCI also handled the hardware implementation, integration and the ongoing maintenance of their network from the router and beyond. MCI Private IP is a certified Cisco Powered Network service. Financial terms were not disclosed. http://www.mci.com

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Swisscom Reaches 656,000 ADSL Subscribers

As of 30-June-2004, Swisscom was serving 656,000 ADSL access lines, more than double the 317,000 ADSL subscribers it was serving a year earlier. Of the total, 389,000 are for Bluewin retail customers and 267,000 for other providers' customers.



Overall, Swisscom posted a 0.4% increase in revenue (excluding debitel) to CHF 5 billion for the first half of 2004. Operating income before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) fell by 5.6% year-on-year to CHF 2.25 billion.



Swisscom's Mobile segment posted a year-on-year increase of 4.9% in revenue from external customers to CHF 1,805 million. The 3.7% growth in revenue from connectivity voice is mainly attributable to expansion of the customer base, which more than offset the loss in revenue from national roaming following termination of the agreement between Swisscom Mobile and another mobile provider in mid-2003. The number of Mobile customers rose year-on-year by 223,000 to 3.898 million, primarily due to the successful rollout of Vodafone live!. The average minutes per user per month (AMPU) dropped from 121 to 118 minutes compared with the previous year. By contrast, the average revenue per user (ARPU) was on a par with the previous year's level. Revenue from connectivity data and value added services rose by 12.9%, largely due to an increased customer base and the direct billing of SMS traffic with other network providers. Other revenue increased by 14.5%, mainly due to higher terminal equipment sales. http://www.swisscom.com

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Sprint PCS Launches Nationwide Streaming Video and Audio

Sprint announced the nationwide launch of a wireless service that offers streaming video and audio content. The Sprint PCS Vision Multimedia Phone MM-A700 by Samsung will be the first CDMA device in the United States to deliver streaming audio and video content from familiar sources such as CNN, NBC, FOX Sports, The Weather Channel, E! Entertainment, mFlix, Twentieth Century Fox, AccuWeather and 1KTV.



Sprint said users will be able to access more than 600 new streaming video and audio clips every day, covering the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment.



The Samsung MM-A700 phone by Samsung enables customers to listen and view audio/video clips on-demand in real time directly from the phone's 262K TFT full-color screen. The content, decompressed and played on the embedded media player, is directly streamed to the handset from the CDMA1X Sprint PCS Vision network at 15 frames per second (fps). The phone also features a megapixel camera and digital camcorder, and Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) quality.



Initially, Sprint will offer 10 channels to choose from for accessing audio and video content. Content can be accessed in two primary categories:

1) My Channels: a 'basic cable' type package consisting of:

• Ch. 1 = Sprint TV, which is a compilation of content from NBC, FOX Sports, The Weather Channel and more. The content and technology for Sprint TV are being delivered by MobiTV.
  
• Ch. 20 = Twentieth Century Fox, that offers free movie trailers;
  
• Ch. 49 = The Preview Channel, which offers free previews of all
  channels; and
  
• Ch. 24 = Athens on Location - free summer games highlights from NBC
  through Aug. 29.

2) Premium Channels: this is a more in-depth service that provides more content more frequently as determined by the channel content providers. The additional premium services channels available at launch are:

• Ch. 2 = CNNtoGO - $4.95/month


• Ch. 3 = FOX Sports - $4.95/month


• Ch. 4 = The Weather Channel - $4.95/month


• Ch. 5 = 1KTV - $4.95/month


• Ch. 7 = mFlix - $4.95/month


• Ch. 8 = E! Entertainment - $4.95/month


• Ch. 14 = AccuWeather - $3.95/month

http://www.sprint.com

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BT Adds Self-help Option for Broadband Customers

BT introduced an enhanced 'self-help' option for its range of broadband services, from Broadband Basic to BT Yahoo! Broadband. Called 'BT Broadband Help' or 'BT Yahoo! Help', it enables customers to receive automated pop-ups that will automatically alert users to potential problems. These include issues with connection and email, general settings enquiries and internet usage allowances. It will then take the user through the necessary steps to remedy the problem,. The service is based on management software from Motive, Inc.



The service is available to new broadband customers through a CD installation. Existing customers can download the software via the BT website. http://www.btplc.com

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Conexant Announces Workforce Reductions

Conexant Systems announced plans to reduce its worldwide workforce by approximately 300 employees by the end of the calendar year. The company cited merger-related synergies and its 's revenue outlook for the September quarter, which was communicated in its recent quarterly earnings call at the end of July, and is lower than the company expected one quarter ago. The headcount reduction is in addition to the actions announced last April that will affect approximately 200 people by the end of the calendar year. http://www.conexant.com

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