BT Launches Entertainment Division

BT is creating a new division called BT Entertainment within its Retail consumer business to develop, license and bring to market content value added services such as on-demand music, gaming, TV and movies. The new division will incorporate innovative services such as Rich Media -- BT's content platform business, Click & Buy -- BT's online payment system and BT Learning Centre -- BT's online learning offering. BT Entertainment will be headed by Andrew Burke, currently director of value added services at BT Retail. Burke previously CEO of...

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Scientific-Atlanta Uses Broadcom's VoIP Chips

Scientific-Atlanta is using Broadcom's VoIP chips and software for the development of next generation VoIP adapters. The products are aimed at global markets. Broadcom is already a supplier of chips and software to Scientific-Atlanta for its digital interactive set-top boxes, voice modems (EMTAs) high speed data modems & wireless residential gateways. Scientific-Atlanta has extensive relationships with both cable multiservice operators (MSOs) and incumbent voice service providers.httop://www.broadcom....

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Intelsat Loses its Americas-7 Satellite

Intelsat reported the permanent loss of its in-orbit Americas-7 satellite following an unexpected electrical distribution anomaly on November 28. Customer traffic has been diverted to alternative satellites. The satellite, which operated at 129° West, was launched in September 1999 and covered the continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii, Canada, Central America, and parts of South America. The satellite was self-insured by Intelsat. A new Intelsat Americas-8 satellite is currently scheduled to launch on December 17, 2004. It will provide 36 Ku-band,...

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Global Crossing Tightens MPLS SLAs

Global Crossing announced new Service Level Agreements (SLAs) for its converged IP services, including IP VPNs, VoIP and IP video. The upgraded SLAs include:end-to-end availability of 99.999%, compared to the previous guarantee 99.9%.packet delivery of 99.999%, compared to the previous guarantee of 99.9%.jitter of 5 milliseconds (ms), compared to the previous guarantee of 15 ms.a new service guarantee ensures that service performance issues trigger availability guarantees and reparations.a new performance guarantee equates service degradation...

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NETGEAR Offers Low-Cost PoE Switch and AP

NETGEAR announced the launch of its ProSafe 8 Port 10/100 Desktop Switch with 4 Port Power-Over-Ethernet (PoE, IEEE 802.3af ) capability and its PoE-enabled ProSafe 802.11g Wireless Access Point. Power over Ethernet eliminates the need to place wireless access points near a power outlet or pay to install new power outlets to ensure optimum placement of the wireless connection. The new 8 port Desktop switch with PoE can power up to four IEEE 802.3af-compliant IP-based devices such as wireless access points, VoIP telephones, surveillance cameras,...

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Iridium Announces Subscriber Growth, New Funding

Subscribers to the Iridium Satellite mobile telephone service grew by 29% for the nine months ended September 30, 2004 versus the comparable period in 2003. In July, the company exceeded the 100,000-subscriber mark for the first time. Iridium cited growth in vertical markets, including aviation and maritime applications. The Department of Defense has also exercised its contract option again this year. In related financing news, Iridium recently closed an agreement for a $65.5 million credit facility with Bank of America, which replaces a similar...

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Chelsio 10GEAdapters Used for New Bandwidth Records

Chelsio's 10-Gigabit Ethernet server adapters were used to set new world records for LAN bandwidth and distance at the Supercomputing 2004 conference in Pittsburgh earlier this month. The University of Tokyo shattered the world record for speed and distance of Internet communication, sending standard 1500 byte Ethernet packets more than 31,000 kilometers at more than 7 Gbps totaling 225,000 terabyte meters per second to win the SC2004 Bandwidth Challenge award for single stream distance and bandwidth. The Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC),...

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Bellsouth Announces Officer Changes

BellSouth named Mark Feidler as its new chief operating officer (COO). Feidler joined BellSouth in 1991 as director of strategic transactions. In 1993, he was promoted to vice president of corporate development and was named president of Interconnection Services three years later. In 1998, he was appointed president of BellSouth Mobility. In 2001, he was named chief operating officer for Cingular Wireless, a position he held until January 2004, when he was named chief staff officer for BellSouth. BellSouth also announced that Dick Anderson, currently...

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Rainbow Orders 5 New Lockheed Satellites for HDTV

Rainbow DBS Company LLC, a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems, selected Lockheed Martin (to build its next five geostationary telecommunications satellites. The five new satellites, designated Rainbow Ka-1 through Rainbow Ka-5, will provide direct broadcast services across the continental United States (CONUS), Alaska and Hawaii. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. The spacecraft payloads will feature multiple Ka-band spot beams as well as half-CONUS beams. Rainbow Ka-1 through Rainbow Ka-5 are based on Lockheed Martin's A2100AX satellite,...

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CableLabs Issues RFP for CableHome Residential Gateway

Key cable operators and CableLabs issued a request for proposal (RFP) that identifies a common set of product requirements for a CableHome-based residential gateway (integrated cable modem and router/wireless access device). The RFP seeks information about a residential gateway that will comply with CableHome 1.1 specifications. The gateway will enable the delivery of value-added services for home networking and high-speed data service subscribers, including but not limited to, services requiring QoS guarantees. The RFP also includes requirements...

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Azimuth Introduces Voice over WLAN Test

Azimuth Systems announced a new benchmark test suite specifically designed for testing VoIP in the Wi-Fi environment. The new test suite focuses on two key VoWLAN system components. The first component, the VoWi-Fi Benchmark Test for Wireless VoIP Handset, validates the 802.11 behavior of the client handset during motion - ranging and roaming - and analyzes this behavior relative to the voice quality as measured by both MOS and R-Factor. The tests can be run with and without background data traffic. The second component, VoWLAN Benchmark Test...

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Siemens and Enterasys Networks Expand Worldwide Partnership

Siemens Communications will integrate Enterasys' full line of Secure Networks products and solutions into its HiPath Enterprise Convergence Architecture for VoIP and will distribute the technology worldwide. The expanded business relationship is expected to generate millions of dollars in additional annual revenue for Enterasys. The companies also will collaborate on joint development of HiPath solutions, delivery of services, and certification of each other's technology. http://www.enterasys.comwww.siemens.com/communicati...

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Shaw Finds Speed the Dominant Factor for Broadband Choice

The need for speed and quality remain the driving factors behind consumer choices for Internet service, according to a new survey conducted for Shaw Cablesystems, Western Canada's leading Internet provider. The survey was commissioned by Shaw and conducted in October of this year, by market research firm Ipsos-ASI. In total, 1,341 interviews were conducted among Shaw's recent Internet subscribers through an online questionnaire. In the survey, 72% of respondents said speed was an important factor in their decision to choose Shaw as their Internet...

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IBM, Sony and Toshiba Unveil Cell Processor

IBM, Sony and Toshiba unveiled some of the key concepts of their jointly developed advanced microprocessor, code-named Cell, which is aimed at next-generation computing applications and digital consumer electronics. Cell is a multicore chip comprising a 64-bit Power processor core and multiple synergistic processor cores capable of massive floating point processing. The device is optimized for compute-intensive workloads and broadband rich media applications, including computer entertainment, movies and other forms of digital content. It will...

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