Cisco and Microsoft Join Forces on Security

Cisco Systems and Microsoft announced that they are working to share and integrate their respective security and health assurance technologies. Specifically, the companies said they will share information about their technologies to help drive an approach to solution-compatibility between Cisco Network Admissions Control (NAC) and Microsoft Network Access Protection (NAP), their respective approaches for providing endpoint security and health -policy compliance when accessing network resources. The companies will then work toward interoperability...

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BT to Use Green Power for its Network

In what it described as the world's largest purchase of green electricity, BT has committed to use environmentally friendly energy sources for all of its UK electricity needs. BT said the three-year contracts, worth several hundred million pounds follows negotiations with npower and British Gas. The contracts will provide BT's 6,500 telephone exchanges, satellite earth stations, offices and depots with environmentally friendly power some of which will come from sustainable resources such as wind generation, solar, wave and hydroelectric schemes....

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SBC Offers $1.99/Month Wi-Fi HotSpots for DSL Users

SBC Communications will offer its FreedomLink Wi-Fi hotspot service for $1.99 a month to customers who bundle the service with SBC Yahoo! DSL. The FreedomLink network provides connectivity at 3,900 locations, including airports, hotels and coffee shops, as well as select McDonald's restaurants and The UPS Store. SBC companies have previously disclosed plan to make available more than 20,000 Wi-Fi hot spots to FreedomLink customers by the end of 2006 and to work with Cingular Wireless to utilize Wi-Fi and Cingular's wireless network to deliver...

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Iowa Telcos Test Metaswitch

Iowa Network Services (INS) completed testing of the Metaswitch VP3500 series Class 5 softswitch for VoIP and SS7 interconnection. As a result, Iowa's 150 independent telephone companies, could deploy the VoIP softswitch in their shared fiber-optic network - opening up the prospect of packet-based voice services to over 560,000 Iowans in 330 communities. http://www.metaswitch....

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NETGEAR and Flarion Team to Deliver Wi-Fi to Mobile Broadband Products

NETGEAR and Flarion Technologies have formed a strategic alliance to productize and deliver integrated FLASH-OFDM and Wi-Fi technologies for carriers. The first product integrating FLASH- OFDM and Wi-Fi is expected to be available this quarter for evaluation and trials by mobile operators worldwide. With FLASH-OFDM, users experience mobile broadband with wide area cellular coverage. Wi-Fi gives them improved localized coverage. Flarion completed the first handoff between an 802.11b network and a fully mobile broadband WAN in December, 2001....

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AudioCodes and BayPackets Partner for Voice Over Broadband

AudioCodes and BayPackets announced an alliance to deliver VoIP routing and messaging solutions to the cable MSO and DSL market. These solutions, which include Single Number Service (find-me follow-me), integrated Visual Voicemail, Personal Communications Manager, and Advanced Toll-Free, enable broadband operators to deploy advanced telephony services across IP, TDM or hybrid networks. AudioCodes offers a line of carrier-grade IPmedia Media Server products. BayPackets offers the Agility SIP Application Server for carriers that already have deployed...

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AMCC Extends its Mission Chips to the Access Network

Applied Micro Circuits Corporation (AMCC) introduced an OC-12 network processor and an integrated HDLC controller/channelized framer that are designed to address the multi-protocol termination and inter-working functions required to interconnect the existing access technologies to the converged IP/MPLS service provider networks. AMCC said its new MISSION Access chipset can be used to simultaneously migrate or tunnel services such as TDM, Frame Relay, ATM and Ethernet into a common MPLS network, or to interoperate virtually any combination of these...

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Ikanos Sees Growth in Japan for its 100 Mbps Chipsets

Sumitomo Electric Networks (SEN) is using Ikanos' 100 Mbps programmable Fx and FxS chipsets to build a new range of carrier products for triple play services over copper access networks. Sumitomo Electric Networks has been using Ikanos' chipsets since 2002 in Central Office (CO) and Customer Premise Equipment (CPE) products for 50 Mbps downstream and 30 Mbps upstream services and 70 Mbps downstream and 30 Mbps upstream services. The new Ikanos Fx and FxS chipsets are now being used in Sumitomo Electric Networks' VDSL CO and CPE products will...

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AudioCodes Introduces High-Density Wireline-Wireless Converged Media Servers

AudioCodes has extended its IPmedia Media Server product line with the addition of two high density converged (wireless/wireline) media server platforms that address carrier requirements for applications such as business communications, wireless personal communications, fixed-mobile-convergence applications and residential broadband services. The IPmedia 8000 media server provides support for up to 18,000 low-bit- rate VoIP/VoATM channels of media processing whereas the IPmedia 5000 media server offers up to 8,000 low-bit-rate channels. Those...

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TI Introduces Voice over Cable Architecture

Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) introduced its next-generation architecture for Voice over Cable (VoCable) products. The single chip Puma IV architecture, which meets the current and anticipated PacketCable specifications, integrates a high performance applications processor and a closely coupled DSP co-processor for voice applications. The solution also leverages the company's Telogy Software for VoIP. http://www.ti.com/broadb...

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Global Crossing Expands Carrier VoIP Services With New Inbound Portfolio

Global Crossing introduced a new inbound service portfolio for carriers that consists of two components:Global Crossing VoIP DID, which provides carriers with local origination for nationwide local numbers through a single IP point of interconnection as a lower-cost alternative to traditional toll-free applications. This service eliminates TDM, private line and foreign exchange service fees by providing a single IP connection alternative. The service is generally available now in all major U.S. markets while Global Crossing VoIP Toll Free Transport...

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Brooktrout Announces Video Support on its SnowShore Media Server

Brooktrout Technology has added support for the H.263 video compression standard to its SnowShore Media Server. TMN, Portugal's largest mobile operator, has recently deployed the SnowShore Media Server as part of their new 3G Videomail service with Openwave. The system allows TMN's 3G subscribers to view and purchase video content as well as send, receive, store and manage voice and video messages. In addition to support for H.263 video compression, the new release of the SnowShore Media Server offers an optional PCI hardware acceleration card...

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Primus' Lingo VoIP to Bundle D-Link Router

Primus Telecommunications, Inc., which operates the Lingo broadband telephony service, announced a partnership with D-Link to offer VoIP solutions to consumers and small businesses. The companies will offer the Lingo VoIP telephone service bundled with the new D-Link Broadband Phone Service VoIP Router at major electronics retailers nationwide. http://www.Lingo....

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Pace Develops MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 IPTV Set-Top Box

Pace Micro Technology is working with Equator Technologies and Dicas, a supplier of MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 (AVC) software codecs, to develop a new IP based set top box for operators implementing AVC audio visual services. The Pace DB680 IP STB will provide access to a full range of digital TV services such as pay-per-view, video-on-demand and streaming applications. Equator supplies a system-on-a-chip (SoC) processor for video streaming and image processing. http://www.pace.co...

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Israeli Cable Consortium Selects SeaChange for VOD

HOT, the Israeli cable consortium comprised of Golden Channels, Matav and Tevel, is rolling out on-demand television in November 2004 and has selected SeaChange International to provide the platform and integration services for this advanced new television service. Financial terms were not disclosed. SeaChange said its VOD Systems currently provide over 1.2 million on-demand streams in over 100 deployments, including 17 of the top 25 U.S. television markets. Customers include Adelphia, Bright House, Cablevision, Comcast, Cox Communications, Insight,...

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Verizon to Offer Alcatel OmniPCX Office

Verizon will offer small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) a combination of network-based and on-premise business communications solutions and services using the Alcatel OmniPCX Office voice, data and Web communications server. With this agreement, Verizon now offers the full Alcatel voice product portfolio to the U.S. market. Verizon will launch the service soon, initially in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. http://www.alcatel.comhttp://www.verizon....

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Boingo Wireless and Vonage Team on Wi-Fi VoIP

Boingo Wireless and Vonage agreed to co-market a service bundle that includes Vonage's SoftPhone service and Boingo's Wi-Fi service. The XPRO SoftPhone, from XTEN, the preferred Softphone Client utilized by Vonage is available for personal computers running Windows 98SE/NT/ME/2000/XP/MACOS-X operating systems. Boingo provides access to a network of 11,000 hotspots in airports, cafes, and hotels around the world. Boingo said the Vonage agreement is the first step in a comprehensive VoIP strategy, integrating a new class of device software into...

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Pactolus Adds Prepaid Billing Capability for SIP Broadband Telephony

Pactolus Communications Software is adding prepaid billing to its SIPware Broadband Telephony application running on its RapidFLEXApplication Server. Unlike fixed-price VoIP services offered currently by VoIP service providers, prepaid billing allows consumers to avoid fixed recurring monthly costs. SIPware Broadband Telephony with prepaid billing capabilities will be available Q1 2005. The SIPware Broadband Telephony software release with post paid billing is currently available. http://www.pactolus....

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Telution Announces New IP Service Ordering Capabilities

Telution unveiled a new COMX NextGen IP Portal developed specifically to support the ordering, provisioning and sales management of VoIP and other IP-based services by communication and cable companies. The COMX NextGen IP Portal uses web and workflow technology to support the addition of IP-based services into a service provider's existing OSS processes and infrastructure through enhanced ordering, provisioning and sales management features. Specific capabilities include:a flexible product model to support multiple IP-service configurations across...

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Spirent Launches Global Services Initiative

Spirent Communications announced a Global Services strategic initiative that combines the company's test products with customized test methodologies, test automation, outsourced testing, local technical support, and training to offer a test solution for converging voice and data networks. Spirent announced its Services organization in North America in May of this year. Now, its Global Services will be staffed by Spirent's network of employees, its distributors, partners, and subsidiary organizations around the world to provide testing services...

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Edgewater Adds New Edge Router

Edgewater Networks introduced a new WAN access router that integrates a T1 CSU/DSU, a 4 port managed ethernet switch and on-board encryption accelerator. Designed for small and medium enterprise branch office connectivity or as a VoIP aware access router for hosted VoIP service providers, it provides a SIP, MGCP and H.323 application layer gateway to resolve NAT/Firewall traversal issues. The product has an entry-level list price of $700 for IP routing, VPN, NAT, DHCP server and firewall functionality. VoIP software options can be purchased at...

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Verizon and One Economy to Offer Low-Cost Access

Verizon Avenue, a subsidiary of Verizon, and a non-profit called One Economy Corporation, are working together to affordable high-speed Internet access into the homes of many low-income Americans. One Economy's core target market is the approximately 12 million people living in 5 million units of government-subsidized rental housing, approximately 44 percent of the total number of people living in affordable housing in the United States. One Economy and Verizon anticipate impacting a significant share of the 200,000 new low-income apartments built...

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Telvita Launches VoIP Service

Telvita, a start-up based in Hollywood, Florida, launched its "Fidelio" global VoIP telephone service aimed at small and medium enterprise customers. Fidelio uses USB phones that plug into desktop and laptop computers. The company is offering international long distance rates starting at less than 3 cents a minute. http://www.telvita....

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