"Digital Britain" Aims to Push Broadband Further

Prime Minister Tony Blair launched a "Digital Britain" strategy aimed at driving exploitation and use of broadband-enabled ICT, content, applications and services. The government seeks to work with industry to close the digital divide where some groups have been largely excluded from benefiting from access to the Internet. It also sees the nation's future economic prosperity tied to the efficiencies of broadband and e-business. The government has published a 60-page report outlining its strategy to modernise public services based on the broadband...

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Crest Urges FCC to Reject VSNL Acquisition Bid for Tyco

Crest Communications issued a public appeal to the Federal Communications Commission to reject Tyco Telecommunication's application to sell its global fiber network to VSNL Telecommunications, which is owned by the Indian government and the Tata Group, India's largest civilian defense contractor.In its petition, Crest Communications said the proposed sale would "severely compromise the Department of Defense's net-centric warfare plans and threaten the security and integrity of military, intelligence, and other sensitive communications on the cable...

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Comcast and Motorola Consummate Conditional Access Joint Ventures

Comcast and Motorola consummated their previously announced strategic relationship including two joint ventures focused on next-generation conditional access technologies and a multi-year set top commitment valued at more than US $1 billion.http://www.comcast.com http://www.motorola.comComcast and Motorola announced a multi-year set-top commitment valued at more than US$1 billion, the largest set-top purchase agreement in the operator's history. The deal extends a multi-year agreement for Comcast to purchase set-tops and network equipment. In...

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Qwest Raises its Bid for MCI

Qwest Communications made a new offer to acquire MCI. The new bid includes $13.50 in cash (excluding MCI's March 15 dividend payment of $0.40 per share) and 3.373 Qwest shares (subject to adjustment under a collar which fixes the value of the Qwest shares at $14.00 provided Qwest's share price is between $3.32 and $4.15) per MCI share. Qwest's previous proposal was $10.10 in cash (excluding MCI's March 15 dividend payment of $0.40 per share) and 3.735 Qwest shares (subject to adjustment under a collar which fixes the value of the Qwest shares at...

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Verilink Launches VoIP Partner Program

Verilink launched a new channel program designed to establish and develop a core group of partners with specialization in the selling and support of its VoIP products, including the 8000 Series and 3000 Series VoIP integrated access devices (IADs).Charter partners in the authorized Telephony Partner Program include AllenCOM, Alliance Datacom, Digital Connections, Graybar, ICOMM , NetDigital, and Phillips Communications. Interlink Communication Systems and Tech Data, master distributors for Verilink products, will participate in the program supporting...

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Infineon Introduces ADSL2+ Chip

Infineon Technologies introduced a low-power, low-cost ADSL2+ chip supporting data rates of up to 25 Mbps. The new "GEMINAX PRO" ADSL2+ chipset is designed for high-density, DSL central office applications. Infineon said power consumption is about 30% lower than conventional chips, and a correspondingly lower amount of heat is produced. This will enable higher densities -- approximately one third more ADSL2+ connections -- without requiring additional cabinet space or cooling. The GEMINAX PRO chipset consists of a 16-channel ADSL2+ Digital Front...

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Texas CLEC Deploys MetaSwitch's Distributed Softswitch Architecture

1stel, a Texas-based CLEC, has adopted the MetaSwitch distributed network architecture for carrier-class VoIP. Following the deployment of an initial system in February of last year, 1stel now has three MetaSwitches serving subscribers across the state. Particularly important to 1stel's network expansion plans was Metaswitch's ability to deliver all the major next generation protocols (SIP, H.248 and MGCP) in a distributed configuration, with highly scalable, collocatable media and signaling gateways controlled by a central call agent. Financial...

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OIF to Conduct Ten-Week Worldwide Interoperability Demo

AT&T, China Telecom, Deutsche Telekom, France Telecom, NTT Laboratories, Telecom Italia and Verizon will host the Optical Internetworking Forum's (OIF's) second Worldwide Interoperability Demonstration. The carrier hosts will provide test facilities, engineering staff and real-world network connectivity continuously from mid-April through mid-June. A public demonstration of the testing will take place at SUPERCOMM 2005, June 7-9, in Chicago. This year's OIF Worldwide Interoperability Demonstration will highlight solutions for support of Ethernet...

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Telstra Launches Global VoIP Solution

Telstra introduced a global VoIP offering aimed at multinational corporations. Telstra's T-VoIP service runs over the company's global IP VPN platform. Companies are able to interconnect geographically dispersed PBXs over a VPN at rates ranging from 128 Kbps through 155 Mbps. In a converged scenario, voice and data traffic share the same local access loop. http://www.telstra-usa....

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AT&T Plans Network Disaster Recovery Exercise

AT&T will conduct a Network Disaster Recovery (NDR) exercise on April 5th at its headquarters in Bedminster, New Jersey. Twenty-three self-contained equipment trucks and AT&T's Global Network Operations Center will be used to test and evaluate how well the company can respond to a natural or man-made disaster.AT&T said it has invested more than $300 million in its Network Disaster Recovery program over the past ten years. Since 1990, the NDR team has been activated 12 times in response to disasters, including restoring service after...

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BellSouth Offers IP VPN Class of Service Options

BellSouth introduced Network VPN Class of Service, a feature that enables enterprise customers to assign higher levels of priority to critical data traffic traveling on BellSouth's managed IP-VPN network. The service ensures traffic prioritization from the customer premises all the way through BellSouth's core MPLS network, ensuring hierarchical routing of data. Customers can designate traffic into four different classes: real-time, interactive, priority business and best effort. BellSouth's Managed Network VPN offers site-to-site connectivity,...

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Nortel Names Gary Kunis as CTO

Nortel Networks named Gary Kunis as CTO. Until 2002, Kunis was the Chief Science Officer at Cisco Systems. Earlier in his career, Kunis was involved in the design, implementation and operation of large scale data and telecommunications networks for several U.S. government agency programs, including the Department of Defense, U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, NASA, as well as for civilian agencies while working for the Boeing Company.In addition, Nortel...

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SBC Outlines IP Video Architecture for Project Lightspeed

SBC awarded a $195 million, multi-year contract to Scientific-Atlanta to provide IP-based video equipment for Project Lightspeed in its 13-state service area. Scientific-Atlanta will supply IP video equipment for an IP video operations center (VOC), two national IP video super hub offices (SHO) and 41 IP video hub offices (VHO). Scientific-Atlanta will provide encoders, satellite dishes, video routers, and professional services as part of the contract....

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China's State Council Selects Alcatel NGN

China's State Council Information Office (SCIO) selected Alcatel's Next Generation Network (NGN) solution to upgrade and optimize its communication network. Alcatel Shanghai Bell will provide the Alcatel 5020 Softswitch to build a nation-wide next-generation network for SCIO, covering more than 50 branches in major cities and provinces including Beijing, Shanghai, Xinjiang and Tibet. The new network will be deployed in conjunction with the Alcatel OmniPCX Enterprise, an integrated communications platform that enables traditional voice telephone...

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European Commission Recommends Leased Line Price Ceilings

In a bid to boost competition, the European Commission is recommending that its Member States adopt price ceilings for wholesale leased lines that reflect the real cost of supplying them. A report from the Commission recommends "best current practices" in wholesale leased line pricing and provides competitive market benchmark prices for the entire EU. The report finds that the EU single market is distorted by substantial variations in leased line prices. For a 2 Mbps line, 5 km long, the price in the most expensive Member State is seven times...

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NetCentrex Reports 2004 Revenue of EUR 26M, up 30%

NetCentrex, a supplier of softswitching solutions, revenue growth of more than 30% for 2004, with consolidated results totaling over EUR26 Million (US$34 Million). In addition, orders grew more than 80% between 2003 and 2004. The company said the growth came from new markets such as Eastern and Central Europe, as well as an acceleration of triple play deployments in Western Europe, where its customers are activating more than 4,000 VoIP lines per day. A list of new customers includes Eircom (the incumbent in Ireland), Tiscali, Telefonica Deutschland,...

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Taiwan's Chunghwa Reaches 3.1 Million DSL Subscribers

Chunghwa Telecom, the incumbent operator in Taiwan, had 3.1 million ADSL users as of 31-Dec 31, 2004, a 26.6% YoY increase. Including dial-up, the total number of Internet subscribers was about 3.8 million. The company is expecting another 650,000 of net new ADSL subscribers in 2005. Overall, Chunghwa Telecom reported total revenues for year 2004 was NT$185.2 billion (US$, a 1.5% YoY increase. Of this, 38.9% was from fixed-line services, 38.2% from wireless services and 21.2% from Internet and data services. Internet and data revenue for year...

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EarthLink Comments on Supreme Court Case

On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in the cases of the National Cable and Telecommunications Association vs. Brand X Internet Services and FCC vs. Brand X Internet Services. At issue is whether cable operators must open their networks to other ISPs.Dave Baker, vice president for law and public policy, EarthLink, said "We believe the Supreme Court will affirm the Ninth Circuit's decision. To do otherwise would dismantle the very framework that has allowed the Internet to develop and would limit the promise of new technologies such...

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Union Criticizes Verizon's Reluctance to Integrate Wireless / Wireline Operations

The Communications Workers of America issued a public statement criticizing Verizon Communications for a "failure to fully provide the bundled services that customers want." In a letter to Carlos Slim Helu, MCI's largest shareholder, CWA President Morton Bahr said that providing fully bundled services is the winning strategy for the communications industry. Noting that Verizon does not bundle wireless with its wireline service for residential customers, Bahr urged MCI shareholders to carefully consider the company's competitive position versus...

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Jason Chudnofsky to Head Pulver Events Group

Jason Chudnofsky has joined Pulver.com's Events Group as CEO.Chudnofsky is known for his role in growing the Comdex tradeshows in the 1980s and 1990s. In 1988 he became President of the Trade Show Division of The Interface Group. In April 1995, when The Softbank Corporation of Japan acquired Comdex, he became President and CEO of Softbank Comdex. His responsibilities continued when ZD Events and Key3Media Events acquired the assets of Comdex. From 1990 - 1995, Mr. Chudnofsky also served as President and CEO of the Sands Expo and Convention Center...

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Verilink Enhances Orion 4000 Multiplexer

Verilink has added an E1 to T1 transport card to its Orion 4000 Modular Multiplexer, which used by service providers and large enterprises. The new T2E conversion card offers additional capabilities to extend the reach of E1 services by allowing for data and voice transport over T1 lines.E1 supports 30 channels of voice or data, whereas T1 supports 24 channels of voice or data. Numerous PBX systems installed in Europe support only the E1 format, limiting their ability to connect to overseas offices established on T1 services. Verilink's new T2E...

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Orange Trials UMTS TDD in France with IPWireless

Orange has launched technical and marketing trials of UMTS TDD (TD-CDMA) targeting the enterprise market in Lille, France with equipment supplied by IPWireless. UMTS frequency allocation traditionally comprises a paired band (FDD) and an unpaired band (TDD). Like nearly all UMTS operators, Orange has been allocated, depending on the country, a number of FDD frequencies and a block of TDD frequencies. To date, most UMTS deployments have focused on WCDMA utilizing the paired frequency bands. Orange's large-scale WCDMA deployment will support delivery...

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BigBand Offer GigE Networked Video Decoding

BigBand Networks introduced a chassis platform for networked Gigabit Ethernet decoding. The BigBand Broadband Real-Time Decoder (BRD210) was developed in collaboration with KTech Telecommunications, a provider of professional digital broadcast and digital headend technologies. The compact chassis receives a gigabit-per-second of MPEG content over IP via an SFP module, and performs decoding for up to 40 analog video outputs with single audio, 20 with dual audio or combinations in between. Modularity allows operators to deploy only the precisely...

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Telekom Austria Teams with Alcatel on Triple Play

Telekom Austria has started a pilot project offering fiber-based Triple Play services in the township of Arnoldstein. Alcatel, which is serving as project integrator, has provided its Open Media Suite, NGN portfolio and Fiber to the User (FTTU) solution.Telekom Austria and the local and provincial governments are pursuing a Public Private Partnership model. Fiber is being deployed to each home alongside new pipes, which will be used for environmentally-friendly heating.Alcatel's Open Media Suite will be used for video delivery, as well as interactive...

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Tiscali Italy migrates to Alcatel Open Service Platform

Tiscali has migrated its intelligent network (IN) to the Alcatel 8690 Open Service Platform (OSP). The platform supports a quick time to market of value added services, such as toll-free numbers, prepaid phone card, call screening and prepaid residential telephony. Alcatel will also support Tiscali in the operation of the new service delivery platform from its premises in Vimercate (north of Milan) and in daily assistance and maintenance. Financial terms were not disclosed.http://www.alcatel....

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Charter Adds Video Mail for Cable Modem Users

Charter Communications began offering a video mail application at no additional charge to its cable modem customers. Charter Video Mail, which uses Vibe Solutions' Group platform, provides for up to 45 seconds of recording time, with VCR-like (stop/record/preview) functionality. For customers with speeds of 3 Mbps and higher, the service also comes with Greeting Card and Story Teller applications. Greeting Card includes more than 40 different video greeting cards that can be customized with a special message. Story Teller enables a user to assemble...

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Telenor to Launch Broadband Telephony

Telenor rolled out a consumer VoIP service for its DSL subscribers priced at NOK 49 (US$7.74) per month, plus NOK 0.15 (US$0.02) for calls to fixed lines in Norway. Calls to mobile numbers and international numbers have the same rates as from traditional fixed lines. Calls to other broadband users are free. http://www.telenor....

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Enterasys and Lucent Partner on Enterprise Security Consulting

Enterasys Networks and Lucent Technologies began offering a joint professional services for delivering secure convergence solutions to enterprise customers. The companies also announced that they have completed Secure Networks certification for Lucent's enterprise VoIP solution. This solution provides the same features and applications found in IP Centrex and IP PBX solutions, as well as applications such as unified communications, collaborative conferencing and location-based services. Under this agreement, Enterasys will resell Lucent's suite...

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BT Supplies 200-Site Global Network to Volkswagen

BT Infonet was awarded a three-year contract to provide managed network services for Volkswagen AG. Volkswagen is continuing its nearly eight-year partnership with BT Infonet, and has expanded the scope of its contract with nearly all of BT Infonet's services, including Internet, Mobility and MultiMedia Services. Financial terms were not disclosed.http://www.bt.infonet....

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Laurel and Telindus Supply VPN Solution for ntl

Laurel Networks and Telindus have delivered a solution that will enable ntl to provide new Ethernet and IP VPN services to its UK business customers. The solution -- a combination of Laurel Networks ST200 and ST50 broadband services routing products and the Laurel Provisioning System -- was delivered and implemented by Telindus, a global network services and solutions provider. Telindus provided ntl with independent laboratory facilities to test a variety of technology vendor solutions, before selecting Laurel Networks. Telindus then provided a...

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FCC Seeks Input on Spectrum for Emergency Responders

The FCC is conducting a study to assess the short-term and long-term spectrum needs of emergency response providers. Specifically, the Commission is considering whether to allocate additional portions of the electromagnetic spectrum for Federal, State, and local emergency response providers, including whether or not an additional allocation of spectrum in the 700 megahertz band should be granted by Congress to such emergency response providers. The FCC is seeking public input regarding the need for, operation, and administration of a potential...

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Microsoft Launches Video Download Site for Mobile Devices

Microsoft launched a subscription-based video download service for Windows Mobile devices such as Portable Media Centers and select Smartphones and Pocket PCs.Digital videos are downloaded daily to a Windows Media Player 10 library, and then synchronized with Portable Media Centers and other devices. A one-year membership costs $19.95. Some content is offered for free.Microsoft has some 20 content partners, including CinemaNow, Food Network, FOX Sports and IFILM, MLB.com, MSNBC.com, MSN Music, MTV, Napster, SnapStream Media and TiVo, who have...

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Caspian Releases Flow-State Edge Router

Caspian Networks introduced a smaller version of its flow-state router designed for broadband aggregation and peering applications. The new 50 Gbps A50 flow-state router uses the same ASICs, software and line cards as the existing Caspian router, but in a single 6-RU shelf capable of aggregating up to 40 Gigabit Ethernet connections, four 10 Gbps trunks or other combination of interfaces.Unlike traditional routers, the A50 is able to recognize and...

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U.S. Army Upgrades DNS Infrastructure with Lucent

Lucent Technologies has upgraded the global IP management and Domain Name Service (DNS) infrastructure of the U.S. Army's Network Enterprise Technology Command (NETCOM) based in Fort Huachuca, Arizona. NETCOM provides network operations for the Army supporting more than 1.25-million civilian and military users worldwide and provides the underpinning for all of the Army's data, voice and video services.The Lucent-designed infrastructure is being used to manage more than 1.75 million internet protocol (IP) records and is distributed to more than...

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MetaSolv Provides Mediation Solution for Bell Canada

Bell Canada has selected MetaSolv as their preferred billing mediation solution for VoIP business services after a rigorous lab trial. The MetaSolv mediation product is a next-generation, convergent mediation solution that collects, aggregates, enhances and distributes data for multiple purposes, including billing, discovery and performance applications. The solution enables operators to quickly implement flexible service pricing plans based on duration, usage, content, events, and services accessed. MetaSolv said its mediation solution supports...

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Terayon Introduces New Wi-Fi-Enabled TJ 855 Cable Modem Gateway

Terayon Communication Systems introduced a cable modem gateway with integrated 802.11g Wi-Fi wireless networking. The device integrates a DOCSIS 2.0 cable modem, 4-port Ethernet router and integrated 802.11g Wi-Fi wireless router. The gateway and its security features can be configured and managed remotely via Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), configuration file or web interface. http://www.terayon....

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WebEx Opens MediaTone Platform to Third Party Developers

WebEx Communications, a provider of on-demand web meeting applications, launched the MediaTone developer program aimed at accelerating the integration of real-time collaboration capabilities into third party applications. The program provides the tools, resources and support developers need to integrate web meeting capabilities into enterprise applications, VoIP platforms and telephony offerings or develop new, customized applications to meet specific industry needs. MediaTone is an open, on-demand web communications platform designed to support...

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New Global Telecom, Intrado and Broadsoft Collaborate on Mobile VoIP 911

New Global Telecom (NGT) is working with Intrado and Broadsoft on an end-to-end mobile VoIP 9-1-1 solution that enables end-user managed location updates in near real-time. As part of this agreement, NGT, Intrado and BroadSoft, are collaborating to integrate Intrado's V9-1-1 Mobility Service into BroadSoft's BroadWorks platform. This architecture will enable NGT's customers' end-users to easily self-manage updates to E9-1-1 information in near real-time. The companies said this would enable the correct routing of VoIP 9-1-1 calls from mobile workers...

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Verizon Acquires AT&T's Old Headquarters in New Jersey

Verizon Communications will locate operations of its major business units and subsidiaries in Basking Ridge, New Jersey. The operations center will house some 2,800 employees from New Jersey and around the country when fully occupied in about 18 months.The facility, to be called Verizon Center, is a 1.3 million-square-foot complex of seven interconnected buildings on a 135-acre campus originally built and occupied by AT&T. The facility, which is being acquired from current owner Pfizer, will be home to the leadership teams of Verizon's Domestic...

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Cisco Addresses Federal Continuity of Operations (COOP) Requirements

Cisco Systems introduced an integrated network architecture designed to help U.S. federal-government agencies comply with federal mandates for Continuity of Operations (COOP), which requires agencies to operate fully during and following natural or intentional disasters. Cisco's VirtualCOOP Solution and MeetingPlace Crisis Management Application uses VPN tunnels across broadband networks to enable offsite agency personnel to remain connected to data centers and their key business applications. These key personnel, thus, are assisted in retaining...

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Brix Networks Secures $5 Million in Latest Round of Funding

Brix Networks raised $5 million in fifth round of venture capital funding for its VoIP performance management and service assurance solutions. The latest series of financing was led by new Brix investor Castile Ventures, and also included long-time company backers Charles River Ventures, ComVentures, Fidelity Ventures, Partech International, and STAR Ventures. Brix has now raised approximately $60 million since its inception in July 1999. http://www.brixnet....

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China Unicom Deploys Acme Packet Session Border Controllers

China Unicom, one of the largest service providers in China, is deploying Acme Packet's Net-Net session border controllers in its national, multiservice converged network that connects residential and business customers. Deployment of Acme Packet's session border controllers is underway, with a target of nearly 50 cities to be installed over the next couple of months. Security features like access control and network topology hiding help protect China Unicom's own network from attack while ensuring the highest quality services to the end user....

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NTT Com Deploys Sycamore Networks' Universal Service Card

NTT Communications (NTT Com) has deployed Sycamore Networks' Universal Service Card (USC) in its nationwide optically switched network in support of Ethernet services. NTT Com's intelligent optically switched network is built on Sycamore's SN 3000 and SN 16000 optical switches. The USC is a modular service interface card for the SN 16000 intelligent optical switch that enables a variety of interface types, port speeds, and transport options in a single line card. The USC's modular architecture can support SONET/SDH, Gigabit Ethernet, and 10 Gigabit...

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Nortel Supplies Voice Security to U.S. Military

The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has chosen a Nortel solution to enhance its Defense Switched Network (DSN). Nortel and DoD's Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) -- with help from systems integrators General Dynamics and CSC -- will leverage existing communications equipment, upgrade hardware and add new software to transform the entire DoD managed voice network into a private network under complete DoD control. The new hardware and software will create a multifunction switch with full tandem and end office capability. It will support...

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Cedar Point and LongBoard Demonstrate Cable Voice Interoperability

LongBoard, a supplier of open mobile convergence software for wireline carriers, and Cedar Point Communications, which offers packet-based voice switching technologies for the cable industry, demonstrated VoIP interoperability over Hybrid-Fiber Coax (HFC) networks. The companies said their joint solution will allow cable operators to provide truly converged voice offerings -- including a unified set of call features.By integrating Fixed Mobile Convergence (FMC) with cable telephony solutions, cable operators could offer customers a wireless service...

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Ericsson SuppliesEthernet/ ADSL2+ in Colombia

Ericsson will deliver its ADSL2+ Public Ethernet Broadband Access solution to Telebucaramanga, a regional operator in Colombia. Ericsson will assist Telebucaramanga to build an advanced broadband access network for triple play services. The contract includes an end-to-end broadband access solution, comprising HomeGateways, IP-DSLAMs, Metro Network and associated management systems and services. Financial terms were not disclosed. http://www.ericsson....

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MCI Accepts Sweeten Bid from Verizon

MCI's Board of Directors accepted a revised $7.6 billion acquisition offer from Verizon. The new bid from Verizon was nearly $1 billion greater than its previous offer but still under the $8.45 billion offer from Qwest Communications.Under the revised proposal, MCI may be required to pay Verizon a termination fee in the event the agreement is terminated. Under specified circumstances, this termination fee has been increased to $240 million from $200 million and reimbursement to Verizon for its expenses up to $10 million.In making its determination,...

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Juniper to Acquire Kagoor Networks for Session Controllers

Juniper Networks agreed to acquire Kagoor Networks, a supplier of session border controllers (SBCs), for $67.5 million in cash, plus options and certain other incentives and equity compensation. Kagoor, which is based in San Mateo, California, with R&D in Herzelia, Israel, has supplied its VoiceFlow SBC products to over 100 carriers worldwide. The company has strategic partnerships with Lucent, Siemens and NEC. Juniper said the acquisition extends...

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ARRIS Gains Euro-DOCSIS 2.0 Qualification

ARRIS was awarded EUR-DOCSIS 2.0 qualification for its Cadant C4 CMTS in tComLabs' European Certification Wave 18. http://www.arrisi....

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Force10 Debuts Fixed Configuration Data Center Switches

Force10 Networks ntroduced its fixed configuration S50 Gigabit and 10 Gigabit Ethernet data center switch. The Force10 S50 delivers line-rate high density Gigabit and 10 Gigabit Ethernet to the server edge of high performance data centers. The one rack unit S50 supports 48 line-rate 10/100/1000 ports and two optional 10 Gigabit Ethernet uplinks.The S50 features 192 Gbps of switching capacity. Network operators can stack up to eight Force10 S50s...

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Pure Networks Enhances its Home Networking OS

Pure Networks, a start-up based in Seattle, released a new version of its Network Magic all-in-one home networking software. Network Magic is software for consumers that resides on each computer within a home network, connecting and unifying the many different PCs, routers, gateways, and networked devices into a seamless home network. To manage and repair the home network, Network Magic shows a visual Network Map of all computers and devices on the home network, making it easy for the average PC user to understand and run his or her own home network....

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Cavium Announces Certification of FIPS 140-2 SSL and IPsec Cards

Cavium Networks' NITROX XL NFB Acceleration cards received the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) FIPS 140-2 Level 2 and 3 certification. The Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 140-2 is the U.S. government's stringent security standard for cryptographic modules. Cavium said its accelerator cards are being integrated into a broad range of networking products including SSL enabled L4-L7 switches, SSL VPNs, application aware gateways and integrated security appliances. Cavium Networks' NITROX XL NFB FIPS 140-2 family...

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Wave7 Announces Single Fiber FTTP Network in Japan

Wave7 Optics announced the completion a "single-fiber" FTTP network in Japan providing the triple play of voice, RF video and data services. Single-fiber systems are less expensive to deploy and maintain than dual-fiber systems, which load upstream and downstream traffic onto separate fibers. Undertaken as a joint project between the municipality of Taki-Cho (Shimane prefecture) and Izumo Cable Vision in October 2004, the $6.2 million project covers a region of 44 sq. km and now connects more than 1,300 homes. This figure represents more than...

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BellSouth Offers $9.95 DSL Promotion

BellSouth announced a special three-month promotion whereby months new customers can get 1.5 Mbps DSL service for an introductory price as low as $9.95 per month with purchase of the BellSouth Complete Choice plan and the BellSouth Unlimited long distance plan. All new FastAccess DSL customers receive a free modem or home networking gateway and free activation after rebate and with a 12-month commitment, and customers who order online get a $50 rebate.BellSouth ended 2004 with two million DSL customers and experienced its largest DSL growth quarter...

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UNH-IOL Completes Enterprise LAN Triple Play Tests

The University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory (UNH-IOL) completed a multi-vendor interoperability test of voice, video and data technology for corporate LANs. A total of 13 companies participated in the week-long event, which tested VoIP, VoIP-over-wireless, voice clients (software and hardware), session initiation protocol (SIP) proxies, PDAs, bridging protocols, call generation/termination, voice quality analysis, routers, multiple wireless access points, laptop, streaming media servers and a mix of security protocols.The test...

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Tellabs to Resell Occam's Broadband Loop Carrier Products

Tellabs and Occam Networks announced a strategic alliance giving Tellabs exclusive rights to market, sell, and support Occam Networks' Broadband Loop Carrier products to select large North American local exchange carriers. Specifically, Tellabs has licensed Occam's Ethernet transport technologies for integration into its FiberDirect portfolio. Occam gains access to Tellabs' cabinet products, enabling the company to provide new and existing IOC customers with more deployment options for delivering services over copper access networks and to evolve...

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FCC Rules States Cannot Force Bells to Provide Standalone DSL

The FCC ruled that Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Georgia and other state telephone commissions cannot require incumbent carriers to sell DSL service to consumers who have opted to purchase traditional voice service from a CLEC.For several years, BellSouth has implemented throughout its operating region a policy not to sell DSL service to end user customers purchasing voice services from competitive LECs utilizing UNE loops. The FCC ruled that a state commission may not require an incumbent local exchange carrier (LEC) to provide DSL over the...

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Extreme Networks Offers Switches for IP Telephony

Extreme Networks introduced a new family of Layer 3 fixed Gigabit Ethernet switches designed for IP telephony, wireless and converged applications. The new Summit 400-24 family of switches delivers chassis-like availability with new "UniStack" stacking technology that incorporates Link Layer Discovery Protocol (LLDP) for simplifying device discovery and Extreme's "AccessAdapt" technologies to deliver native wireless LAN and IP telephony support.The UniStack technology allows for up to eight Summit switches to be managed as one device, with throughput...

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VoIP Security Alliance Elects Board

The Voice over IP Security Alliance (VOIPSA) elected the following officers for its Board of Directors.Chairman, David Endler, TippingPointTreasurer, Anne L. Coulombe, Enterasys NetworksSecretary and Education/Outreach Chair, Jonathan Zar, SonicWALLBest Practices Committee Chair, Jeffrey Stutzman, PricewaterhouseCoopersSecurity Requirements Committee Chair, Andrew Graydon, BorderWare TechnologiesSecurity Research Committee Chair, Ofir Arkin, InsightixTesting Committee Chair, Brian Tolly, Spirent CommunicationsVOIPSA is an open group with the purpose...

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Juniper Partners with Exent Tech. on Broadband Games

Juniper Networks and Exent Technologies have teamed up to deliver an integrated service infrastructure that enables broadband service providers (BSPs) to offer premium high-speed games delivery. The combined solution provides dynamic, application-driven service quality upgrades to generate compelling experiences for BSP game subscribers with an efficient, intelligent allocation of network resources. Exent provides secure streaming of gaming and application software. The application streaming technology allows users to enjoy quick time-to-play...

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Ikanos Exceeds 5 Million Port Shipments

Ikanos Communications announced that shipments of its Fiber-Fast Broadband chipsets have exceeded 5 million ports worldwide since volume production began in 2002. Carriers in Korea and Japan are now deploying equipment based on the fourth-generation Ikanos solutions, and carriers in Europe and North America are evaluating Ikanos chipsets as they plan deployment of new broadband services. http://www.ikanos.comIn February 2005, Ikanos Communications announced a programmable chipset capable of delivering speeds of up to 100 Mbps in both upstream...

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State University of NY Deploys 4,000 Cisco IP Phones

The State University of New York (SUNY) at Cortland has deployed more than 4,000 Cisco Unity unified messaging voice-mail boxes and more than 4,000 Cisco IP phones as part of a complete network overhaul undertaken by Ronco Communications, a Cisco Silver Certified channel partner. Ronco Communications recommended that SUNY Cortland replace its existing PBX with a complete Cisco IP Communications (IPC) system, including replacement of their current data infrastructure with a redesigned Cisco Catalyst switching infrastructure. Financial terms were...

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SingTel Offers VOD a-la-Carte

Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) began offering its DSL customers more than 25 channels of new and exclusive video-on-demand (VOD) content.The VOD content is available to SingTel's 1500kbps and 3500 kbps residential broadband subscribers. They can access any of the VOD websites via the IDEAS Video-On-Demand portal. Subscription for individual channels starts at S$5.99 per month.SingTel is working with M2B World, a leading US-based provider of entertainment and education on-demand content, to provide the content from four broadband streaming...

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BT Delivers MPLS based Broadcast Network for ITV

BT is providing an integrated broadcast video, voice and data MPLS- based network for Meridian, a regional broadcast company within ITV. This is the first element in the implementation of ITV's nationwide MPLS network, due to be completed throughout the first half of 2005.The new network, which replaces an ATM network, will transport broadcast quality video, file transfer, voice, and IT traffic between ITV's studios. http://www.btplc....

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Moxi Adds Telephony to Home Media Center

Digeo has added a fully integrated telephony application to its Moxi Media Center software platform for cable operators. Moxi Telephone can be added with a software upgrade that requires no new equipment or phone wiring. Additional features, such as caller ID, call logging, the ability to listen to voicemail messages, answer incoming calls, assign caller ID images, and flag and/or re-direct specific calls for transfer to external numbers or voicemail...

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Samsung Unveils Latest Horizontal LCD Phone

Samsung Electronics launched an upgraded version of its horizontal LCD phone, a new form-factor introduced by the company last year. The pivotal LCD screen which allows users to view images and video files horizontally. The SCH-V600 features a more compact design, a 1.3 megapixel camera and external transflash memory chip. The phone will be available in Korea at the end of this month. http://www.samsung....

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Riverstone Settles Noteholder Litigation

Riverstone Networks announced an agreement to settle its pending noteholder litigation. Riverstone will offer to redeem up to $65,875,000 of the outstanding $131,750,000 in notes from current noteholders, at face value, with no premium. The Company also agreed to reimburse $675,000 in attorneys' fees and administrative costs incurred by the noteholders as a result of the litigation. In exchange, the majority noteholders who initiated the litigation have agreed to waive the alleged default on which they based their claims. The majority noteholders...

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Navini Announces First Commercial 2.3GHz Net in the U.S.

MegaBroadband of Massachusetts is launching the first commercial use of the 2.3GHz WCS spectrum in the U.S. using equipment from Navini Networks. MegaBroadband's initial network will support up to 3000 users with expansion plans to serve over 10,000 in the area. Navini said it has the only FCC certified product in 2.3GHz spectrum today. http://www.navini.com http://www.meganet.n...

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MCI Discussions Continue with Qwest

Verizon Communications agreed that MCI may engage in further discussions with Qwest Communications through March 28. http://www.verizon....

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DiStream Launches Full Screen VOD Below 1 Mbps

DiStream launched a streaming video on demand service that delivers full screen resolution video at under 1 Mbps. The new "Movie xStream" uses standard encoding along with patent-pending technologies for pre-and-post-processing of the video stream. The company said it is working directly with Hollywood studios.DiStream is based in Jacksonville, Florida. http://www.distream....

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Cisco Supplies IP Backbone in Ukraine

Ukrtelecom, the largest national telecommunications operator in Ukraine, is rolling out a nationwide Cisco IP Next Generation Network (NGN). Working with Cisco Silver Certified channel partner, Priocom, Ukrtelecom has completed the upgrade of its backbone network connecting Kyiv to five regional centers and implemented VoIP termination and origination services.Ukrtelecom is currently extending its metropolitan ring infrastructure using Cisco Metro Ethernet solutions to deliver Ethernet services and provide broadband aggregation to support broadband...

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Broadwing Celebrates Fourth Anniversary of the ULH All-Optical Network

Broadwing Communications marked the fourth anniversary of the completion of its nationwide, All-Optical Ultra-Long Haul Network. Broadwing's initial turn-up of the AON began in late 2000 and was completed in the first quarter of 2001. The network includes numerous industry firsts, such as the first all-optical switch, 100% reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexers, terrestrial Raman amplifiers, and ultra-long haul transmitters and receivers. Most initial services were concentrated on long distance voice and traditional data services at the OC-48...

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Cisco Systems Completes Acquisition of Airespace

Cisco Systems completed the acquisition of privately held Airespace, Inc. of San Jose, California. Airespace is a provider of Wireless Local Area Networking (WLAN) systems for enterprises and commercial customers. The $450 million deal was first announced in January.Airespace's product portfolio includes WLAN controllers, Access Points, WLAN Management and Location Software, and Security capabilities, including IDS. With the completion of the acquisition, the Airespace team will become a part of Cisco's Wireless Networking Business Unit under vice...

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Ericsson and Siemens Reach Push-to-Talk Interoperability

Ericsson and Siemens Communications completed interoperability tests between Siemens push to talk handsets and Ericsson infrastructure (IMS system including push to talk server). Recent testing between Ericsson infrastructure and Siemens mobile devices were carried out with two currently offered push to talk enabled devices, the CX70 and C70 which are commercially available. Siemens plans to offer ten different handsets supporting push-to-talk this year.The companies said this major step will significantly expand the customer base for operators...

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Skype Launches New Version for Windows

Skype released a new Windows version 1.2 (v 1.2) featuring a centralized Contacts list, which allows users access to their list of contacts from multiple devices from wherever they connect to Skype, and a new 'Getting Started Wizard' for importing contacts from Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express, MSN Messenger and Opera. In earlier versions of Skype, the contacts lists was stored locally; the new central contacts list expands user options and allow one to Skype with their existing contacts from multiple locations and platforms. Skype now has more...

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Irish Broadband Expands WiMax-Ready Net with Alvarion

Irish Broadband has ordered an additional $4.3 million in Alvarion equipment, including its license-exempt, BreezeACCESS VL, BreezeMAX 3500, its WiMAX-ready platform, and WALKair products, to be deployed during the coming year. These orders enable Irish Broadband to expand its broadband wireless networks that provide high speed internet services throughout Ireland.Since 2002, Irish Broadband has been expanding its wireless broadband network using various Alvarion products in both the licensed and license-exempt spectrums. In November 2004, Irish...

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Broadcom Introduces 2.5 Gigabit PCI Express Controller

Broadcom began sampling the first 2.5 Gbps controller as part of its NetXtreme II family of C-NICs (converged network interface controllers). Key features of the C-NIC line include TCP/IP offload engine, iSCSI, and Remote Direct Memory Access capability.The new 2.5 Gbps Ethernet controller, which is optimized for embedded blade server applications, more than doubles the throughput of standard Gigabit networking while improving overall CPU utilization by up to five times. Significantly, it enables up to four separate network fabrics found inside...

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DARPA Awards Network Optimization Contract to Lockheed Martin

the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency awarded an 18-month, $3.75-million contract to Lockheed Martin to significantly improve the performance of defense computer applications that degrade due to constantly changing network conditions, such as those occurring on the battlefield. The program also aims to increase by 60 times the availability of those applications to the warfighter. If all development phases are completed and options exercised, the program could be worth up to $10.6 million.Lockheed Martin said its Synthesizing Adaptive Protocols...

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Hungary's Kabelkon Selects Motorola's Digital Video System

Motorola will supply an end-to-end digital video solution for Hungary's first major digital cable TV (CATV) system. The six operators supporting this initiative are Pr-Telecom Rt, Hirsat-2000 Kft, Szarvasi Informatika, Juhasz Antenna Kft, Lat-Sat Kft and Dunakanyar Informatika. The system will be delivered to operators by Motorola's Hungarian partner and distributor Kabelkon Kft. The new cable system will use Motorola's DVi1000 set-top terminals to provide digital video entertainment services in subscribers' homes and Motorola's MediaCipher conditional...

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XConnect Extends VoIP Interconnect Service to North America

London-based XConnect, which interconnects Voice over Broadband operators (VoBBs), is launching its service in North America. XConnect's service simplifies interconnection between VoBBs by overcoming the principal issues associated with VoIP peering, including numbering, interoperability and security. XConnect has signed Yak Communications as a founder Alliance member and iBasis as a founder Carrier member. XConnect is also partnering with NexTone Communications to provide the first certified XConnect-Ready VoIP session border controller. h...

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Transmode and Lumentis to Merge, Targeting Metro DWDM

Transmode Systems AB and Lumentis AB, both start-ups based in Stockholm, will merge to create a larger company focused on metro WDM components. The new company will use the Transmode name.Through the merger, which is effective immediately, Transmode has become a major supplier to telecommunications operators, MSOs, systems integrators, enterprises, utilities, public institutions and OEM partners worldwide. The new organization also has stronger financial backing, with Transmode having closed a $15 million financing round last December and Lumentis...

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Ikanos Builds its Management Team

Ikanos Communications announced the appointment of three vice presidents and an assistant vice president to its management team. Dean Grumlose was named vice president of marketing. Grumlose previously held executive and marketing positions at Azanda Network Devices, PMC-Sierra, Conexant, Velio, and AMD. At PMC-Sierra, he was responsible for Voice over IP (VoIP), switch fabric, network processing, and traffic management product lines. Chris Smith was named vice president of human resources. Previously, Smith was vice president of human resources...

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Casema Leverages Motive Software for Customer Support

Casema, the leading cable provider in the Netherlands, is using software from Motive to provide premium management features to its residential broadband service. Available to more than 270,000 subscribers, the self-help service eliminates or dramatically simplifies problem resolution tasks for customers and customer service representatives (CSRs). Casema is currently considering the addition of new functionality, including support for wireless home networking and VOIP, both of which are expected to be introduced this year. http://www.motive....

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Ericsson Supplies Softswitch in Malta

Maltacom, the leading telecommunications operator in Malta, has contracted Ericsson for a total upgrade of their fixed network to a softswitched solution. Under the agreement, Ericsson will upgrade Maltacom's core network from circuit-switched technology, based on AXE-10 exchanges, to an IP-based Softswitch solution. Ericsson will also provide the related implementation and support services. Ericsson's Telephony Softswitch solution will cover the complete fixed line telephony network including local, transit and international network layers. The...

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Nortel Partners with Trapeze on WLAN Mobility

Nortel formed a long-term alliance and development relationship with Trapeze Networks, a supplier of enterprise WLAN mobility systems. Trapeze and Nortel will work together to deliver an integrated wireless LAN portfolio optimized for voice, multimedia and data applications as part of a shared vision for enterprise mobility. This alliance is focused on three areas: bringing an OEM version of Trapeze's WLAN portfolio to market through Nortel's worldwide channels, co-developing new WLAN features to deliver pervasive mobility, and embedding Trapeze's...

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Juniper Appoints VP of Federal Systems

Juniper Networks named Thomas Kreidler as vice president of Juniper Federal Systems, where he will oversee sales to the United States federal government. Prior to joining Juniper Networks, Kreidler served simultaneous roles as the Vice President of Public Sector and President of Sun Federal for Sun Microsystems. http://www.juniper....

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SBC Yahoo! Upgrades Email Accounts to 2 GB

SBC Communications and Yahoo! are upgrading the email storage capacity for SBC Yahoo! DSL and Dial subscribers to 2 GB for each of their 10 available email sub-accounts, as well as their main email account, bringing the total potential storage capacity for a family or small business to 22 gigabytes. http://www.sbc.com http://www.yahoo.comYahoo! offers a free 1 GB email service via its own websi...

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SBC Builds its Project Lightspeed IPTV Team

SBC announced the appointment of five television programming executives to its Project Lightspeed IPTV. The programming team is based in Los Angeles. Amy Friedlander joins the Project Lightspeed team after work as a principal at Xanthum Partners of Santa Monica, CA. She was previously senior vice president of business development and general counsel at IP VOD provider Intertainer. She will oversee advanced products and new media. Chris Lauricella comes to SBC from DIRECTV, Inc, where he was director of programming acquisitions. For the last eight...

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Texas Attorney General Takes Action Against Vonage over 9-1-1

The state of Texas filed a lawsuit against Vonage, the country's largest Internet-based telephone service provider, for failing to make clear to consumers that the company's current service does not include access to traditional emergency 9-1-1 service. Thestory was widely reported in newspapers across the country.In a press statement, Abbott said the dangers posed by Vonage's failure "to clearly disclose the lack of traditional 9-1-1 access" have resulted in tragedy. Last month, a Houston family that subscribed to Vonage's service tried to call...

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