KPN Selects Huawei for CWDM/DWDM

KPN signed a formal contract with Huawei for a CWDM/DWDM project. The project includes access layer CWDM covering the whole of the Netherlands and the national backbone DWDM. Financial terms were not disclosed.


Huawei described the contract as it second recent breakthrough in Europe. Earlier this year, Huawei was named as a preferred supplier of MSAN and transmission equipment to BT 21CN.
http://www.huawei.com

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India's VSNL Completes Acquisition of Tyco Global Network

Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL), India's leading provider of international telecommunications and internet services, completed its acquisition of the Tyco Global Network (TGN), a state-of-the-art undersea cable network that spans 60,000 km (37,280 miles) and the continents of North America, Europe and Asia. With the acquisition of TGN, VSNL is now one of the world's largest providers of submarine cable bandwidth. VSNL acquired the network for $130 million (not including the assumption of certain liabilities).


In addition to the submarine cables, the Tyco acquisition gives 30 Points of Presence in 12 countries in North America, Europe and Asia. VSNL also has business operations in Sri Lanka and Nepal and is soon entering South Africa.


VSNL has a strong pan-India domestic Long Distance presence. It is also a leading player in the Corporate Data Market in India, offering Frame relay, ATM and MPLS based IP-VPN services. VSNL also has a rapidly growing retail presence under the Tata Indicom brand through its products like high speed broadband, dial-up Internet, net telephony and calling cards, and has an Internet subscriber base of over 750,000 subscribers.
http://www.vsnl.in/

• VSNL is part of the $17 billion Tata Group, which last year listed Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) on the Bombay Stock Exchange. TCS is Asia's largest software service provider and system integrator.



• In 2004, the Reliance Group, India's largest business house, acquired the FLAG Telecom Group and its network of undersea fiber cables.

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Telenor Selects Juniper/Siemens for IP/MPLS

Telenor has commissioned Siemens Communications to upgrade its broadband network to a next-gen IP/MPLS backbone using Juniper Networks' core and edge routing platforms. Telenor is upgrading its entire network to a new IP/MPLS network, including the distribution, access and core with Juniper Networks routing platforms supplied by Siemens. The new network is also based on RESIP (RESilient IP), a program of next-generation network design and engineering principles developed jointly by Siemens and Juniper. By using a single IP/MPLS-based network, Telenor will be able to offer advanced services and applications to all of its customers more efficiently. Financial terms were not disclosed.
http://www.siemens.com/communicationshttp://www.juniper.net

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Telco Systems' President Steps Down

Telco Systems announced that Larry Asten, the company's president, has resigned to pursue other opportunities. Bob Resinger, the Chief Operating Officer, will assume the responsibilities of president. Telco Systems is a wholly owned subsidiary of BATM Advanced Communications.
http://www.telco.com

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Microsoft TV Hires Juniper Exec to Head its Marketing

The Microsoft TV Division named Christine Heckart as its new general manager of marketing. Heckart most recently served as the vice president of marketing at Juniper Networks. Prior to Juniper, she served as president of the strategic consulting firm, TeleChoice.
http://www.microsoft.com

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Essent Kabelcom Selects Siemens for Cable IP

Essent Kabelcom, the second largest cable company in the Netherlands with 470,000 subscribers, has commissioned Siemens to deliver, install and maintain a new IP platform based on its Surpass solution. The network will enable a range of integrated services, including digital television, voice and video. The platform will be installed in the cities Groningen and Tilburg, which will add redundancy to the network. The management system for the new platform will be set up in Zwolle.
http://www.siemens.com

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Siemens Delivers WiMAX-based Telemetering in Belarus

The government-owned telecommunications operator in Belarus (BEST) selected Siemens for the delivery of a WiMAX network is designed to provide large parts of the population with internet access. In addition, the Belarussian government wants to use the WiMAX network for a telemetering application in which all household consumption data for electricity, gas and water will be transmitted over the air to a central billing system. The network and the remote wireless meter reading system are scheduled to go live at the end of 2005.


The network will use Siemens' SkyMAX products. Siemens will also deliver special equipment capable of recording and transmitting the necessary measurement data. http://www.siemens.com/communications

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China Mobile Selects Nortel to Upgrade Zhejiang Optical Backbone

China Mobile, the world's largest GSM carrier in terms of subscriber numbers with 210.62 million subscribers, selected Nortel to upgrade its optical backbone network in Zhejiang province to address accelerating subscriber growth and prepare for migration to 3G. Zhejiang Mobile, a provincial affiliate of China Mobile, operates the province-wide network. Two Nortel optical platforms - Optical Cross Connect HDX Multiservice Switch and Optical Multiservice Edge (OME) 6500 - are being deployed in Zhejiang Mobile's provincial backbone network to optimize its existing network and increase network bandwidth in cost-effective increments. Financial terms were not disclosed.


The upgrade will include two Optical Cross Connect HDX switches as Hub nodes to be configured as multiple rings to optimize the backbone network. Nortel HDX cross connect capacity is scalable beyond one Terabit per second. In the Zhejiang Mobile deployment, the HDX will be provisioned initially at 640 Gbps. Nortel said the current HDX platform is also ready to support ASTN (Automatically Switched Transport Network) application through a system upgrade.


Similarly, the OME 6500 for Zhejiang Mobile will be used as a high-density service aggregator subtended under the Optical Connect HDX switch. OME 6500 is able to provide next generation Layer two switching functions to support various kinds of Ethernet services. The VC12/VC3/VC4 cross connect capacity enables operators to deliver any future broadband voice, video and data 'triple play' services including IPTV.
http://www.nortel.com

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IEEE Develops Standard for Broadband-over-Powerline Systems

The IEEE has begun work on a standard to define the nature of the communication channel to be used to adapt the installed base of electrical power lines for Internet and other broadband communications. The standard, IEEE P1901, "Standard for Broadband over Power Line Networks: Medium Access Control and Physical Layer Specifications", will make it easier for high-speed communication equipment to be used with AC power lines. It is targeted for completion in early 2007.


IEEE P1901 will apply to broadband-over-power-line (BPL) devices for first-mile/last-mile connection to broadband services, as well as those for the local area networks and other data distribution systems to function over copper power lines in a building. The standard will create a balanced and efficient BPL channel that has the bandwidth and quality of service needed by all users.
http://www.ieee.org

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SaskTel Mobility Selects Nortel for Wireless Upgrade

SaskTel Mobility selected Nortel to expand its 3G CDMA2000 1X and 1xEV-DO network in the province of Saskatchewan. Nortel will provide CDMA2000 1X radio base stations, base station controllers, switching platforms and other related equipment. Nortel will also supply SaskTel Mobility with CDMA2000 1xEV-DO equipment for initial deployment in Regina and Saskatoon. http://www.nortel.com

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Ericsson to OEM Airspan's WiMax Products

Airspan Networks has signed a General OEM agreement under which Ericsson will resell Airspan's AS.MAX family of WiMAX broadband wireless access products. The deal gives Ericsson worldwide rights to resell Airspan's HiperMAX, MacroMAX and MicroMAX base-station products, as well as EasyST and ProST customer premise equipment.


Airspan's AS.MAX product family has been designed for indoor, self-installable deployment of customer premises equipment. The product family will be commercially available in the third quarter 2005.
http://www.airspan.comIn May 2005, Airspan announced a deal under which Fujitsu Telecommunications Europe will resell its AS.MAX family of WiMAX broadband wireless access products, including its HiperMAX, MacroMAX and MicroMAX base-station products, as well as EasyST and ProST customer premise equipment.

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Broadcom Surpasses 50 Millionth Wi-Fi Chipset

Broadcom has surpassed the milestone of over 50 million Wi-Fi chipsets shipped. The majority of Broadcom's Wi-Fi shipments have consisted of its 54g wireless LAN chipsets. The company said that in 2004 it sold more Wi-Fi chipsets than any other semiconductor vendor and that to date, more than 200 million Wi-Fi products have been sold worldwide.

http://www.broadcom.com

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Sprint and Motorola in WiMax Development Pact

Sprint and Motorola agreed to conduct joint wireless broadband technology testing and equipment trials in 2005 and 2006. The collaboration is expected to spur IEEE 802.16e (2.5GHz) technology development, validate vendor solutions and help formulate network architecture strategies. The technical assessment involves lab testing of base station equipment, smart antenna technology and multimedia handsets and field trials in certain locations beginning in 2005 through 2006 as a basis for additional business-case evaluation.


"WiMAX is one of the technologies Sprint is investigating for services which would be considered for deployment in the 2.5 GHz band of spectrum," said Oliver Valente, CTO and vice president - Technology Development, Sprint.


Sprint previously signed a related agreement with Intel as it begins to cultivate an ecosystem of chipsets, devices, equipment and infrastructure for future wireless broadband services.
http://www.sprint.com
http://www.motorola.com

• In January, Sprint joined the WiMAX Forum as a principal member to lend its support and long-standing network expertise to that organization's mission of global interoperability standards formation for broadband wireless access products.

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Adelphia Boosts Cable Modem Rate to 16 Mbps Downstream

Adelphia Communications will begin offering a premium cable modem Internet service with speeds up to 16Mbps downstream and up to 2Mbps upstream. The service initially will be available to Adelphia subscribers living within serviceable areas of Leesburg, Virginia. http://www.adelphia.com

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TANDBERG TV Offers 24x7 Support for VOD and Compression Equipment

TANDBERG Television began offering 24x7 technical support for both VOD and compression systems through its Network Operation Center (NOC) in Atlanta. The NOC currently supports more than 1,500 VOD systems. http://www.tandbergtv.com/

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AT&T Shareholders Approve SBC Merger

AT&T shareholders voted to approve a proposed merger agreement with SBC Communications. The company said approximately 97.9% of the shares that were voted approved the merger. This represents more than 70.7% of the outstanding shares.


"The positive vote is an important step forward on the road to creating a leading U.S.-based global communications company for the 21st Century," said AT&T Chairman and CEO David W. Dorman. "Together, SBC and AT&T will create one of the world's premier communications companies in terms of global reach, innovation and service quality."http://www.att.com

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Apple Signs Up One Million Podcast Subscribers

Apple's iTunes customers have subscribed to more than one million Podcasts from the new iTunes Podcast Directory in its first two days of availability.
http://www.itunes.com

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France Telecom Outlines NExT -- New Experience in Telecom services

France Telecom outlined its vision for transforming itself into a full-service, integrated wireline/wireless broadband operator with a new business model.


France Telecom's NExT (New Experience in Telecom services -- Nouvelle Expérience des Télécommunications) is a three-year initiative that will leverage both its legacy brands (France Telecom, TP, etc.) and Orange, provide customers with a personalized portal for all their communications, introduce new services, and integrate all of the company's networks under a single management system. The company will use the Orange brand for its mobile, broadband and enterprise services globally.


With the move to converged services, France Telecom will adopt a number of flat-rate pricing plans with unlimited on-network communications. These include the launch next month of a "Family Talk" service with unlimited, 24/7 communication between a family's fixed and mobile devices for EUR 39 per month, and "LiveCom," a software application integrating voice, videotelephony and instant messaging between fixed-line terminals, mobiles and videophones. A "HomeZone" service is expected to launch in 2006, bridging mobile and broadband services. The "MaLigne" TV-over-DSL service, which has been available in France since late 2003, will be rolled out in the UK, Spain, the Netherlands and Poland by mid-2006.


NExT has set a number of operational objectives for 2008, including:

• 5% to 10% of the Group's total revenues from convergent offerings



• single portal available to 100% of the client base



• more than 2 million IP mobile telephones and more than 30% of the mobile customer base using signature devices



• more than 12 million fixed-line broadband clients, including more than 8 million Livebox subscribers (of which 6 million in France)



• more than a million subscribers to MaLigne tv in France, and more than EUR 400 million in revenues from direct paid content



• more than 12 million mobile broadband customers, including over 6 million in France and over 5 million in the UK



• in the Enterprise market, more than a million Business Everywhere clients and more than 2 billion EURs of revenues from Information & Communication Technology (ICT) services.

To accomplish its NexT objective, France Telecom announced a number of industry partnerships. These include:

• M@Home -- an alliance with Ericsson to deliver a fixed-mobile voice service that would bridge its UMTS network and a broadband VoIP line at home. Pilot testing is planned for Paris later this year.



• VideoLyra -- a partnership with Thomson to develop a portable, multimedia player that could leverage Wi-Fi hotspots and home networks. A consumer launch is planned for Christmas.



• Microsoft -- the companies have agreed to cooperate on multimedia products and services both businesses and consumers. The products are aimed at fixed-mobile convergence. First results are expected in early 2006.

The NexT strategy calls for the development of a "LiveBox" device that unifies home networks, provides the ADSL connection, VoIP, TV service, photos, music, etc.


The company foresees only a limited amount of fiber-to-the-home, preferring instead to upgrade to faster DSL technologies. Already, the company said it can achieve 7 Mbps on 65% of its lines. ADLS2+ and VDSL2 will significantly boost these rates. France Telecom is also planning a very gradual migration of its fixed line network to an NGN architecture. NGN deployments are not expected to start until late 2007 or 2008.


Also part of its transformation plan, France Telecom announced a 25% increase in employee training efforts and a reinforced staff incentive programme. The company also confirmed its 2005 guidance, including:

• Revenue growth on a comparable basis between 3% and 5%


• EBITDA in excess of EUR 18.5 billion


• CAPEX to revenues ratio in the high end of 10% to 12% range


• Net debt to EBITDA ratio below 2.5

http://www.francetelecom.com

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Telmex Chile Selects Cisco for 10 GigE Network

Telmex Chile has selected Cisco Systems for a 10 Gigabit Ethernet network covering the Santiago metropolitan area. The IP/MPLS network will incorporate the Cisco ONS 15454 multiservice optical platform, the Cisco 7600 Series routers, and the Catalyst 3750 and 3550 Ethernet switches. The network has a total aggregate capacity of more than 300 Gbps. Financial terms were not disclosed.


Cisco Systems Chile and Telmex began working together in 2001, when Chilesat, which three years later would become part of the Mexican corporation, built the first DWDM and IP MPLS fiber optic network in Latin America, doubling the company's services.
http://www.cisco.com

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SMC Networks Selects Intel's 10 GigE Transceivers

SMC Networks announced six new 10 GigE uplinks for its TigerSwitch and TigerStack managed switches. The uplinks, all of which use Intel 10 Gbps transceivers, are available in both XENPAK and XFP form factors, beginning in July.


SMC will offer three 10G transceivers for XENPAK uplinks: the SMC10GXEN-SR, for transmission distances up to 300m; the SMC10GXEN-LR, for transmission distances to 10km; and the SMC10GXEN-ER, for transmission distances to 40km. Prices range from $2,299.99 to $8,999.99.
http://www.smc.com

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Nextel to Launch 2.5 GHz Trial with IPWireless

Nextel Communications will deploy a wireless broadband trial based on UMTS TD-CDMA technology from IPWireless. The field trial will begin during Q3 in Washington, D.C. and nearby suburbs. Nextel will test a range of subscriber services, including broadband access for laptops, desktops or PDAs, backhaul for enterprise campus and a wide array of Wireless Interactive Multimedia Services such as video streaming, online gaming, document collaboration and video conferencing. The trial is scheduled to run for a minimum of six months.
http://www.ipwireless.com
http://www.nextel.com

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Passave's EPON Chip Qualified in Korea

Equipment from Tellion based on Passave's OLT (optical line terminal) and residential-gateway ONU (optical networking unit) chipsets has successfully passed benchmark testing by KT and are qualified for deployment in Korea. The OLT and ONU devices are designed around the gigabit EPON chipset from Passave.
http://www.passave.com
http://www.tellion.com

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Alloptic Provides GEPON for Sweden's National Broadband Testbed

Acreo AB, a Swedish Research Institute developing broadband technologies and a partner in several European Union projects relating to broadband technology, has tested Alloptic's Gigabit Ethernet Passive Optical Networks (GEPONs) technology in its National Broadband Testbed. The testing was part of a program led by Ericsson LME, who acted as systems integrator for the Alloptic equipment and provided the passive network infrastructure.
http://www.alloptic.com/

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NTT Com to Launch Transpacific Ethernet Service

NTT Communications (NTT Com) is preparing to launch Global Super Link, a virtual end-to-end Ethernet service, between Japan and the U.S. Enterprise users can choose two transmission speed options of 45 Mbps or 100 Mbps. Users can transmit up to one terabyte of data per month for a fixed cost, after which they are charged per-gigabyte for any additional data transmission. Unlimited usage at a fixed monthly cost is available with the 45 Mbps option. The service rides over NTT Com's MPLS-based Tier 1 backbone.


NTT Com's transpacific Ethernet service will be available to the U.S. starting next month, followed by a worldwide rollout linking major cities.
http://www.ntt.com/

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Lucent Upgrades Metro Optical Net for US Army in Germany

The U.S. Army awarded a contract to Lucent Technologies to install a next-generation optical communications network at a U.S. Army installation in Mainz-Kastel, Germany. The project will increase network bandwidth at Mainz-Kastel.


This year Lucent has already announced $36.3 million in contracts for other infrastructure upgrades in North America and Europe and in 2003 announced contracts with the Army valued at $50 million for installations in North America and Asia.
http://www.lucent.com/

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Toshiba Adopts Sun's Java for 3G Phones

Toshiba has adopted Sun Microsystems' Java implementation for cell phones to deliver its latest handsets for Vodafone, the world's largest mobile operator. Sun and Toshiba have jointly deployed the Connected Limited Device Configuration (CLDC) Hotspot Implementation, Sun's Java Virtual Machine technology that turbo-charges applications for 3G handsets, and Sun Java Wireless Client software for Vodafone.
http://www.sun.com

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Microsoft's Board of the Future Predicts IT Trends

A group of 12 university students representing 10 countries brought together by Microsoft to consider the views of young people entering the workforce, released a list of predictions for information technology (IT) in the next decade. These are the top five predictions determined by the student board:


1. Connectivity will be truly ubiquitous. People will be able to work virtually anyplace, at any time. Firms will support this flexibility, while employees will increasingly supply their own connected systems, blurring the line between work life and personal life.


2. Interfaces will be more natural. The user interface will become more natural, contextually intelligent and adaptive -- just better.


3. Technology at home will be integrated and include all forms of entertainment. Technology's reach will extend to clothing and housewares, and personal finance will tie to the shopping experience. Consumer technology (and content) will pour into the workplace.


4. Learning will be driven by the individual. Increasing job movement will lead to greater self-initiated learning through on-demand, continually available forms of education, both formal and informal. The highly dynamic workplace will drive the need for lifelong learning.


5. Access to information will be smarter. Improved tools for discovering and using information will make possible a "collective intelligence," and managers will benefit by making better-informed decisions more easily.


Members of Microsoft's Board of the Future came from Brazil, China, Hungary, India, Israel, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden and the United States.
http://www.microsoft.com

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Cablevision Integrates Home Security Systems in VoIP Service

Cablevision, which provides cable TV service to 3 million households in the New York metro area, is now providing the ability to link a customer's Optimum Voice digital VoIP service to central station security and fire monitoring facilities. This enables customers to maintain home security systems without a PSTN line.


Cablevision said it is now serving more than 400,000 VoIP customers. The recently began offering its VoIP customers a battery back-up option that would allow hours of continued operation in the event of a power outage. The Optimum Voice network remains powered for several hours during a loss of electrical current, so with the battery back-up option Optimum Voice customers would continue to have service during an electrical interruption as long as they were using non-electric telephoneshttp://www.cablevision.com

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Motorola to Acquire Sendo for Handset R&D

Motorola agreed to acquire key assets from British mobile handset maker Sendo Ltd. for an undisclosed sum. Send sold approximately 5 million handsets in 2004 and had more than $420 million in revenue; however, the privately held company went into administration due to financial pressures. Motorola is purchasing Sendo's UK- and Singapore-based research and development team and design and test equipment required by that team, as well as the company's intellectual property portfolio.


Sendo has approximately 200 engineers -- with nearly 170 of those based in Birmingham, UK, and the rest based in Singapore. Motorola will integrate the engineers into its Mobile Devices business. Sendo's intellectual property portfolio includes 50 existing and 40 pending patents.
http://www.motorola.com/

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Nortel Names New Chairman

Nortel Networks announced the appointment of Harry J. Pearce as its non-executive chairman of the board, replacing Lynton R. (Red) Wilson, who has served as chairman since November 2001. Pearce has previously served as Chairman of the Board of Hughes Electronics Corporation (now The DIRECTV Group, Inc.). He was a director and Vice-Chairman of General Motors Corporation from January 1996 to June 2001. Mr. Pearce is also a director of Marriott International, Inc. and MDU Resources Group, Inc.
http://www.nortel.com

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Belgacom Launches IPTV Services with Siemens

Belgacom announced the commercial launch of digital TV services over its ADSL network. Belgacom's business model is to rent the set-top box and remote control for EUR 6 per month, provide free access to dozens of channels, and charge extra for VOD and sports programming. Siemens provided the end-to-end solution, based on the Surpass Home Entertainment concept.



Belgacom said its key differentiators would be better digital image and sound quality, exclusive and more interesting content, and an Electronic Program Guide that lets viewers tailor their content choices. In the near future, Belgacom will offer PVR capabilities and onscreen surfing capabilities.


Belgacom TV, which is initially available to about half the population of Belgium, offers 55 channels, available free of charge at the launch. The VOD catalog will include thousands of films. Belgacom will also be offering a number of sports programming packages, including upcoming football championships (Belgacom Skynet's division recently acquired the TV broadcasting rights to the Jupiler League and the Italian A Series). Belgacom is currently upgrading its access network to VDSL and ADSL2+.


Belgacom is offering free activation through August. After that, there will be an activation charge of EUR 59. The decoder and the remote control are rented to subscribers for EUR 6 per month. VOD titles are priced from EUR 2 to EUR 6 per film. Sports programming is extra. For the Jupiler League, viewers purchase access to nine matches per weekend for EUR 25 per month; or a premium subscription, which gives viewers access to the three best matches of the weekend for EUR 15 per month. Pay Per View football matches are EUR 8 per match.


http://www.belgacom.be/belgacomtvhttp://www.siemens.com

• In September 2004, Siemens selected nCUBE's On Demand platform to power Video On Demand in an interactive digital television (iDTV) pilot of Siemens' SURPASS Home Entertainment turnkey solution for Belgacom. The project was described as the first order for Siemens' SURPASS home entertainment solution. In addition to nCUBE, Siemens is working with a number of partners for its SURPASS home entertainment solution including Myrio for the middleware to enable the application, Verimatrix for content protection system, and Tandberg Television for the video broadcast equipment.



• In April 2005, Siemens Communications acquired Myrio, a supplier of IPTV middleware, for an undisclosed sum. Siemens Venture Capital made a strategic investment in the Seattle-based start-up in late 2003. In addition to the account successes with Siemens AG in Europe and Asia, Myrio also has more than 65 other customers globally.

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India's Reliance Infocomm Deploys Veraz Media Gateways

Reliance Infocomm, the largest private telecom service provider in India, has deployed Veraz's I-Gate 4000 PRO media gateways, supporting 60,000 ports for international long-distance (ILD) VoIP traffic. Reliance Infocomm is running live traffic over ten media gateways in New York, Los Angeles, London, and Hong Kong, terminating in India. The carrier carries both retail and wholesale voice traffic.


Veraz Networks said that optimizing the bandwidth on the international voice trunks was key to the Reliance Infocomm deployment. Veraz's I-Gate 4000 PRO media gateways provide a compression rate of up to 10:1, using key algorithms including RTP multiplexing and G729 codecs. Additionally, the underlying voice-processing and DSP technology that drives the I-Gate 4000 PRO is based on Veraz's in-house experience in statistical voice multiplexing, signal analysis, voice compression, jitter buffer management, packet loss concealment and packet aggregation.


Veraz operates an R&D facility in Pune, India and has a sales office in New Delhi.
http://www.veraznetworks.com

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BT Announces Ethernet WAN Services

BT announced plans to launch three new Ethernet services this summer:

• BT GigeStream is a low cost, point to point Ethernet private circuit service available nationally at speeds of between 250 Mbps and 1 Gbps.



• BT EVLAN, a VPLS-based, metro any-to-any Ethernet LAN service.



• BT Enterprise Ethernet, a new low bandwidth version of its MegaStream product that will offer many of the characteristics of a traditional private circuit, but with the benefit of a low-cost Ethernet interface.

"BT is transitioning the foundation of our entire business and we're putting Ethernet at the heart of our plans," said Matt Bross, BT Group's chief technology officer.
http://www.btplc.com/

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Foundry and Level 5 Partner on High Performance I/O

Foundry Networks is partnering with Level 5 Networks to deliver high-performance computing (HPC) solutions as part of Foundry's HPC Ethernet Alliance Program. Specifically, the companies will work together in interoperability testing and benchmarking of Foundry's Ethernet switches with Level 5 Networks' EtherFabric adapters.
http://www.level5networks.com
http://www.foundrynetworks.com

• Earlier this month, Level 5 Networks unveiled its EtherFabric, a high-performance I/O architecture aimed at improving server CPU efficiency while remaining completely Ethernet-compatible. Level 5's accelerated interface technology is positioned as an alternative to iWarp and InfiniBand, which the company describes as too disruptive for enterprises because incompatibilities with the existing network require that applications be rewritten for high-performance clusters. Level 5's EtherFabric places the TCP/IP implementation with each application via a linked library. This approach yields over 2x more CPU processing power for applications.

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BT Selects Microsoft IPTV

BT has selected Microsoft's IPTV Edition software platform to deliver TV over broadband in the UK. The announcement represents a major win for Microsoft's IPTV platform.


BT plans to trial TV over broadband services powered by Microsoft TV IPTV Edition in early 2006, with delivery of a commercial service expected to begin in the summer of 2006.
http://www.microsoft.com/tv

• In recent months, Microsoft has announced a number of major carrier wins for its TV platform, including BellSouth, SBC Communications, Verizon, Bell Canada, Cablevision Mexico, Reliance Infocomm (India), Swisscom/Bluewin, and Telecom Italia, among others.

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Redline Expands Spectrum Coverage of its WiMAX Platform

Redline Communications, will expand its family of WiMAX-based products to include coverage of the 3.3 to 3.4 and the 3.6 to 3.8 GHz spectrum. The new radios will initially available on Redline's AN-100 platform. Redline's RedMAX products, which incorporate, the Intel PRO/Wireless 5116 WiMAX modem silicon on the SU (Subscriber Unit) with Redline's 2nd generation 802.16 MAC, and 3rd generation OFDM PHY, will be submitted for WiMAX Forum Certification.


Redline said its RedMAX product line will be commercially available before year-end.
http://www.redlinecommunications.com

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Devicescape Offers Platform for Enterprise-Class Access Points

Devicescape Software released a new version of its Wireless Infrastructure Platform that enables device manufacturers to create full-featured, enterprise-class wireless access points. In addition, vendors of specialized Wi-Fi equipment, such as hotspot and public-safety infrastructure, can now use Devicescape WIP to leverage high-end WLAN features into their products.


Enterprise-class features of Devicescape's Wireless Infrastructure Platform (WIP) 2.0 include:

• Automatic configuration and management for easy deployment and self-management of access points, and for automatically configuring additional access points as they are added to the network



• Load balancing for detecting the number of users on each access point and redistributing network traffic as necessary for optimal access point utilization



• Channel planning for detecting conflicting channel assignments, and automatically reconfiguring the wireless network to avoid interference



• Embedded enterprise security to enable the most secure forms of wireless authentication and authorization without the need to deploy and manage separate RADIUS servers. In addition, WIP-enabled access points can support multiple virtual networks, allowing organizations to deploy separate networks for guests as well as individual departments, ensuring optimal network utilization and protection of sensitive data.



• Enterprise-class management to allow WIP-enabled access points to be compatible with open network standards, including SNMP, and to integrate seamlessly with existing management platforms, such as HP OpenView and IBM Tivoli.

http://www.devicescape.com

Preparing Home Networks for the Triple Play

It's not enough for service providers to simply get content to the consumer's doorstep. Consumers will want to access the wealth of content arriving at their broadband gateway in many locations and on many different devices throughout and beyond the home. If broadband triple play services are to be adopted at mass-market levels, industry-wide standards must be developed that make it simple for consumers to set up, interconnect and use devices that will consume these services. The Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) is addressing these issues.

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Infranet Initiative Becomes IPsphere Forum

The Infranet Initiative Council, which was launched by Juniper Networks in 2003, has become The IPsphere Forum. The group will promote "the standardization of Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) approaches to network service federation, publication and consumption by identifying requirements and current gaps, specifying mechanisms to address these, and contributing to the work conducted by associated standard bodies."


At an executive meeting held earlier in June at Supercomm 2005, the board of directors and officers of the IPsphere Forum were elected. The IPsphere Forum board includes individuals representing the following companies: Alcatel, BT, Cisco Systems, France Telecom, Huawei, Juniper Networks, Lucent Technologies, Red Zinc, Siemens, T-Com, Telenor, and Tellabs.


IPsphere Forum officers are: Chair Kevin Dillon (Juniper Networks), Vice Chair Monique Morrow (Cisco Systems), Secretary Omar Elloumi (Alcatel) and Treasurer Tom Walsh (Lucent Technologies).
http://www.ipsphereforum.org

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China TieTong Expands Cisco IP/MPLS Rollout

China TieTong (formerly China Railcom) has begun migration to a Cisco IP Next-Generation Network (IP NGN) for the latest expansion of its CRNET backbone. The new network, based on Cisco IP/MPLS technology, is expected to increase the company's coverage to 250 cities from the current 129. CRNET is using the Cisco 12416 Router and the Cisco 7304 Router, among other products. Financial terms were not disclosed.
http://www.cisco.com

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German Banks Deploy Siemens HiPath for SIP VoIP

FIDUCIA IT AG, an IT service provider for the Volksbanken and Raiffeisenbanken banking cooperatives in Germany, has selected the Siemens HiPath 8000 Real-Time IP system as the central softswitch in its network. FIDUCIA IT will host real-time communication services such as telephony, CTI applications and unified messaging over IP for the German banking industry. Financial terms were not disclosed.


Siemens said its SIP-based HiPath 8000 can scale to hundreds of thousands of users and is also vendor independent, able to provide compatibility with other commonly used protocols as well as with IBM x345 standard hardware and SuSE Linux operating system software. Most existing IP telephones can be supported by the solution, as can Q.SIG-standard telecommunications systems and third-party gateways with standard interfaces.
http://www.usa.siemens.com

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Alcatel Supplies Metro Optical for Beijing Netcom

Beijing Netcom, a subsidiary of China Netcom, has completed the deployment of an optical network using gear from Alcatel. The project is described as the largest intelligent optical metro network in China. Alcatel supplied its 1678 Metro Core Connect (MCC) and Optical Multi-Service Node (OMSN) products for the project. The network will be used for carrier-class metro Ethernet services, high-speed Internet access, optical VPN, IPTV, Bandwidth on Demand (BoD) and leased-line services -- as well as Storage Area Network (SAN) applications. Financial terms were not disclosed.
http://www.alcatel.com

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Pakistan Suffers Undersea Fault on Sea-Me-We 3 Cable

Pakistan Telecommunication Ltd. suffered a glitch on the Sea-Me-We 3 undersea cable on Monday, severely disrupting Internet communications to the country. The cable is the primary source of connectivity for the country, with satellite links providing back-up capacity. It was not clear when the service would be restored.

http://www.smw3.com
http://www.pta.gov.pk/

• Sea-Me-We 3 includes 39 landing points in 33 countries and 4 continents from Western Europe (including Germany, England and France) to the Far East (including China, Japan and Singapore) and to Australia. The system, which entered service in 1997, was upgraded twice, as of August 2003. It consists of two fiber pairs, each carrying 8 wavelengths. Some wavelengths operate at 10 Gbps and others at 2.5 Gbps.



• In March 2005, Alcatel was awarded a multi-million dollar turnkey contract for a 10 Gbps upgrade of the 38,000 kilometer Sea-Me-We 3 submarine cable network. Alcatel will upgrade submarine sections linking the UK to India via France, Portugal, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Djibouti in Africa and the United Arab Emirates. Alcatel will also upgrade all terrestrial stations along the network. The upgrade is scheduled for completion by the end of 2005.



• In March 2004, Alcatel and Fujitsu were chosen to build a new terabit capacity Sea-Me-We 4 submarine cable network, which will span nearly 20,000 km and link 14 countries from France to Singapore via Italy, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Thailand and Malaysia with 16 landing points.

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Apple Takes Podcasting Mainstream

Apple has expanded iTunes to help users discover, subscribe, manage and listen to Podcast through its online music store. iTunes users can now subscribe to over 3,000 free Podcasts and have new episodes automatically delivered over the Internet to their computer and iPod.


As of March 31, Apple had sold 15 million iPods.
http://www.apple.com
http://www.itunes.com/

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Verizon Wireless Expands EV-DO Network

Verizon Wireless has expanded its EV-DO (Evolution-Data Optimized) network to 50 major metro areas across the U.S. and said it remains on track to cover half the U.S. population by the end of this year. It BroadbandAccess service supports typical user download speeds of 400-700 kbps, while its V CAST wireless broadband multimedia service provides video clips from content partners.
http://www.verizonwireless.com/

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Cisco Acquires NetSift for Deep Packet Processing

Cisco Systems agreed to acquire NetSift, a start-up based in San Diego, for approximately $30 million in cash and options. NetSift develops content processing technology focused on high speed networking and security. NetSift was founded in June 2004 to commercialize research conducted at the University of California, San Diego. The company has 15 employees.


Cisco said the NetSift acquisition will help it to accelerate the integration of additional packet processing capabilities into future core Cisco platforms, such as modular switching. NetSift will become part of Cisco's Internet Systems Business Unit (ISBU) led by vice president and general manager Tom Edsall.

Cisco Systems' 2005 Acquisitions
NetSift	deep packet processing	$30 million	June 05
M. I. Secure Corporation	security and VPN solutions	$13 million	June 05
FineGround Networks	Bandwidth optimization appliances	$70 million	May 05
Sipura	VoIP customer premise equipment	$68 million	Apr 05
Topspin Communications	server networking equipment designed for grid and utility computing	$250 million	Apr 05
Airespace	WLAN controllers, Access Points, WLAN Management and Location Software, and Security capabilities	$450 million	Jan 05

http://www.cisco.com
http://www.netsift.com

• NetSift's management team includes George Varghese (Co-founder, President and CTO), Sumeet Singh (Co-founder and Chief Scientist), Steve Hunt (VP Engineering), Sanjay Mehta (VP Marketing and Business Development) and Tom Clancy (Chairman of the Board).



• The company raised Series A financing in June 2004 from Enterprise Partners Venture Capital.

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Level 3 Supports NENA's E-911 Program

Level 3 Communications has become a program partner in the Next Generation E-911 Program of the National Emergency Number Association (NENA), a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the study, advancement and implementation of as America's universal emergency number. As a program partner, Level 3 is assigned to the Technical Roundtable, a group focused on identifying technical solutions that will help facilitate Enhanced 911 services.


Level 3 also released the results of a recent online consumer awareness survey conducted in conjunction with Harris Interactive. The study found that 68% of U.S. adults have heard of Voice over IP. In addition, 40% of respondents have heard of VoIP but do not consider themselves very familiar with the technology. The survey also found that adults who have heard of VoIP consider lower price (60%) and clear, reliable connection (49%) the top factors when considering adopting VoIP service.
http://www.level3.com

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Metalink Announces Pre-802.11n Chip Offering 240 Gbps Wi-Fi

Metalink unveiled a new baseband chip targeting the emerging IEEE 802.11n standard for next-generation Wi-Fi. The company said its -MIMO-based (Multiple-Input Multiple-Output) wireless chipset supports data throughput of more than 240 Mbps and could provide full-home, over-the-air coverage for video-distribution applications. Sampling is expected in Q3.
http://www.metalinkdsl.com

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Microsoft Launches Communications Sector Alliance Program

Microsoft launched a Communications Sector Alliance Program (CSAP) aimed at helping service providers promote and develop new customer solutions. The program, which is offered through the Microsoft Partner Solutions Center (MPSC), provides communications companies with a strong commitment to Microsoft technologies with access to development and testing facilities at Microsoft. Bell Canada and Swisscom Mobile have already signed up to take advantage of the program.
http://www.microsoft.com

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IBM To Expand Support on Solaris 10

IBM and Sun Microsystems announced a 10-year extension to their Java technology agreement. The two companies also announced plans to deliver IBM middleware support for the Solaris 10 Operating System (OS) on SPARC, x86 and x64 systems. IBM will broaden support of its DB2, Rational, Tivoli and WebSphere software to include the Solaris 10. http://www.sun.com

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Extreme Networks Accelerates Vesting of Stock Options

Extreme Networks accelerated the vesting of certain unvested options awarded to its employees, officers and directors under its stock option plans in response to the upcoming change in the accounting treatment of stock awards. The acceleration applies only to those options with an exercise price of $7.00 per share or higher. The closing sale price of Extreme's common stock on June 27, 2005 was $4.17 per share. http://www.extremenetworks.com/

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NewStep Targets Fixed-Mobile Convergence with IMS

NewStep Networks, a spin-out from Bell Canada that was established in January 2003, unveiled its suite of IMS-compliant software-based applications to enable carriers to derive revenue from the convergence of fixed and mobile networks. NewStep's technology operates at the signaling layer, facilitating standards-based integration with legacy TDM/SS7 networks, IP/SIP networks and enterprise communication software and IP PBX implementations. The solution enables carriers to establish and retain control of calls across IP and TDM, wireless and wireline, service provider and enterprise networks. On the wireless side, it supports either GSM or CDMA-based networks.


NewStep said fixed-mobile convergence would expand the addressable market for the service provider, enabling them to offer a seamless service to enterprises, where users could choose to take/make calls from their desk or via their mobile phone. Calls would be trunked through the corporate PBX wherever possible and future applications would be insulated from the underlying network technology. Fixed-Mobile Convergence also promises a new wave of residential services




NewStep Networks Converged Call Management (CCM) solution includes four software elements:

• Mobile Call Handoff - Automatically switches calls between cellular and Wi-Fi services as dual-mode handsets move in and out of coverage areas. Additionally, it automatically recovers calls from lost Wi-Fi connections.



• Mobile Call Pickup - Allows subscribers to easily transfer incoming and active calls from ordinary cell phones to desktop IP phones.



• Automatic Call Reconnect - Holds and recovers active calls as subscribers pass through cellular dead spots to improve quality of experience for cellular subscribers.



• Mobile Call Director - Supports enterprise directory-based call initiation, screening and disposition with easy-to-use mobile and desktop user interfaces, enabling a consistent set of services across the mobile and fixed subscribers in the network.

The integrated session-based billing supports detailed tracking of calls as they move from one network to another, making it easier for service providers to reconcile and charge for usage across multiple networks.
http://www.newstep.comNewStep is headed by Neil Baimel, who previously served as Chairman and CEO of Syndesis, a company he co-founded and grew to a leader in service fulfillment software solutions. The company's technical team is headed by Lloyd Williams, who previously worked at Bell Canada where he conducted research to invent the core technology that forms the basis of NewStep's Calling Service Node software. At Bell Canada, he served in a variety of management roles in network planning and technology .

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Google Releases Video Viewer Browser Plug-n

Google released a video viewer plug-in for FireFox and IE browsers that lets video files play right in the Google search pages. A few weeks ago, Google released another tool that lets users upload video content into its Video Search, where it is indexed. The new tool lets users play this content and search within the video.http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2005/06/google-video-now-with-video_27.html

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BellSouth Names Feidler as President

BellSouth has given Mark Feidler the additional role of president and elected him to its Board of Directors. Feidler will also continue in his current role of chief operating officer, reporting to Duane Ackerman, chairman and chief executive officer.
http://www.bellsouth.com

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Redknee Raises $10 Million for Telecom Software

Redknee, a start-up based in Toronto, raised US$10 million in debt financing for its telecommunication software solutions. Redknee's software capabilities include service provisioning, real-time converged billing, messaging, service control, customer relationship management solutions which provide value-added functionality to wire-line, mobile, circuit-switched, and VoIP service providers. The financing was led by MMV Financial and HSBC Capital (Canada) also participated.
http://www.redknee.com

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SBC Cites Progress in AT&T Merger Clearance Process

SBC Communications has received clearances regarding its pending merger with AT&T in 26 of 36 states with approval or notification requirements and in the District of Columbia. The company believes the merger process will be completed in late 2005 or in early 2006.


Merger review also is well under way at the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Communications Commission. In addition, clearances have so far been obtained from nine of 14 countries. http://www.sbc.com
http://www.att.com

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Micromuse Teams with Cramer on Automated IP Discovery

Micromuse and Cramer announced an off-the-shelf integration for synchronizing data between Micromuse's Netcool/Precision IP discovery software and Cramer's inventory management platform. The solution includes adapters from both Micromuse and Cramer to enable service providers to transition more quickly to next generation network operations by providing a rapid, standards-based means to manage new and complex network data.


The jointly-developed integration synchronizes information about Layer 2 and Layer 3 MPLS, IP and ATM networks, including device configurations and connectivity discovered by Micromuse's Netcool/Precision IP solution along with the Cramer inventory system. On an ongoing basis, new or changed data is automatically compared with the core Cramer inventory model. Any discrepancies found can be corrected by changes either to the network or the data, driven automatically by Cramer according to separately defined rules. The solution is currently available.


Cramer and Micromuse have been alliance partners since 2001.


The Cramer adapter is the second commercially available product to be based on the TeleManagement Forum's new MTOSI standard for interfacing network and operations support systems. In May 2005, Cramer announced a similar adapter integrating its platform to Nortel's Optical Network Manager (ONM) platform. http://www.micromuse.com
http://www.cramer.com

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Supreme Court Sides with Content Owners

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that peer-to-peer file sharing networks could be held liable if they enable, encourage and profit from users that swap copyrighted material. The ruling hailed as a major victory by the entertainment industry.


"Today's unanimous ruling is an historic victory for intellectual property in the digital age, and is good news for consumers, artists, innovation and lawful Internet businesses. The Supreme Court sent a strong and clear message that businesses based on theft should not and will not be allowed to flourish. This decision will be of utmost importance as we continue developing innovative and legitimate ways to marry content and technology so consumers can access entertainment on a variety of devices, " stated Dan Glickman, President and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA).

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Supreme Court Backs FCC Order on Classifying Information Services

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in favor of the FCC in its Brand X Decision, which classified cable modem service as an interstate "information service" and thereby exempted the cable operator from mandatory common carrier regulations. The ruling means that cable operators will not be bound to open their networks to other ISPs. Cable operators hailed the ruling as an important victory, while ISPs and consumer groups warned that network operators would cut off competition and eventually raise prices.


The ruling also provides the FCC with a green light to pursue a new IP regulatory framework that redefines and/or eliminate other common carriage requirements.


Some industry reactions:


"This decision provides much-needed regulatory clarity and a framework for broadband that can be applied to all providers. We can now move forward quickly to finalize regulations that will spur the deployment of broadband services for all Americans." Kevin Martin, Chairman of the FCC


"We really have our work cut out for us now. In the wake of this decision, the FCC confronts the challenge of protecting consumers, maintaining universal service and ensuring public safety in uncertain legal terrain. Today's decision makes the climb much steeper. But this country just has to find ways to promote innovation, enhance competition, protect the openness of the Internet, and return the United States to a position of leadership in broadband penetration. The Commission needs to think anew and act anew to meet these challenges." Michael Copps, FCC Commissioner


"Today's Supreme Court's decision is a victory for consumers and maintains the momentum to advance broadband in the U.S. Classifying cable modem service as an interstate information service, as the FCC did, keeps this innovative service on the right deregulatory path." Kyle McSlarrow , NCTA President & CEO,


"Today's Supreme Court ruling is a blow to consumers and competition. For too long, cable companies and the FCC have denied consumers a choice of broadband providers over cable. Besides keeping prices high, this lack of choice limits the future deployment of innovative voice, video and data services beyond just those offered by the local cable company," Dave Baker, vice president, law and public policy, EarthLink.


"We're pleased the court upheld the FCC's light regulatory touch on cable broadband service. Consumers benefit when companies can freely negotiate their commercial agreements without the government distorting a highly competitive broadband market. Investment in broadband networks and the continued development of innovative pricing and service packages for consumers are best realized without the government looking over the shoulder of companies at the negotiating table." Forrest Miller, Group President, SBC.


"Covad strongly believes that having open networks helps promote broadband growth in the U.S., and that competitive service providers should have open access to incumbent networks to provide service to their customers. In light of the Court's decision, it is clear that Covad offers the only national alternative broadband network to ISPs and VOIP providers." James A. Kirkland, Covad senior vice president and general counsel.
http://www.fcc.gov

• The FCC's declaratory ruling, which was issued 15-March-2002, classified cable modem service as an “information service�? rather than a “cable service.�? As an interstate information service, cable modem service would therefore be subject to FCC jurisdiction rather than state or local rules.



• In October 2003, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court vacated the FCC declaratory ruling that had classified cable modem service as an "information service without a separate offering of a telecommunications service." The FCC promptly appealed the decision. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has now declined to review the lower court's ruling.



• The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals declined to review a lower court's ruling that had overturned the FCC's classification of cable modem service as an "information service." The case originally arose regarding whether local municipalities could require cable operators to open their networks to other ISPs.



• In August 2004, the FCC filed papers to appeal the “Brand X�? cable modem case to the Supreme Court.

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NYT: SBC's TV Project Isn't Happening at 'Lightspeed'

SBC Communications has pushed back its target date for Project Lightspeed by six months, according to the The New York Times, due to problems installing high speed lines. The article discusses technical, legal and programming stumbling blocks that are disrupting SBC's ambitious plans. Limited rollouts are still expected this year, but SBC now seems more likely to make its IPTV service available to 18 million homes, or half its customers, by the end of 2008, according to the story.
http://www.nytimes.com

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Cavium Offers Security Processor for WiMAX Base Stations and CPE

Cavium Networks, a start-up based in Mountain View, California, introduced optimized versions of its security processors for WiMax base stations and customer premise equipment (CPE). The 802.16 standard requires a security sub-layer encrypting connections between Subscriber Station (CPE) and Base Station using the AES-CCM protocol. It also requires the usage of a client/server key management protocol based on X.509 digital certificates and RSA public-key encryption algorithm [PKCS #1]. Cavium said processing these algorithms on the CPU of a base station or a CPE would consume valuable processing cycles thereby reducing application performance. It believes the optimal solution is to offload the security processing to a dedicated co-processor.


Cavium's NITROX & NITROX II security processors provide 802.16-2004 compliant security for base stations requiring 75 Mbps to multi-Gbps performance. The need for multiple gigabit performance arises from large, 16-sector base station, where each sector could be operating at up to 75 Mbps.


Cavium's the NITROX Soho Secure Communication Processors (SCP) provide the same support for CPEs requiring 64 Kbps to 20 Mbps performance.


Cavium said the security support for both product families is extendible to 802.16e, the mobile version of the WiMAX standard.


Additionally, the company announced that nex-G, a designer, developer and manufacturer of carrier class wireless broadband solutions for the global market, is using NITROX II security processors in its Horizon Sixteen Sector WiMAX Base Station. http://www.caviumnetworks.com

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Meriton Secures $54 Million for its Optical Solutions

Meriton Networks, a start-up based in Ottawa, secured US$54 million in Series C funding for its optical metro optical solutions. The company cited growing traction with carrier customers worldwide -- including its role in supporting strategic partner, Fujitsu Telecommunications Europe, in addressing BT's 21Cn network build. Meriton said it would continue to work with strategic partners in reaching top-tier service providers, as well build-out its own channels of distribution.


The oversubscribed round was led by two new prominent investors, VantagePoint Venture Partners and Nomura International. All of the previous investors in Meriton also participated in the round, including Desjardins Venture Capital Group, Newbury Ventures, Primaxis Technology Ventures, RBC Capital Partners (Telecommunications Fund), Sierra Ventures, VenGrowth and Venture Coaches/Skypoint Capital.


Meriton Networks features an end-to-end, fully managed high-speed metro/regional (HSM) services architecture that consolidates key transport capabilities (ROADM/DWDM/CWDM and Wavelength/SONET/SDH switching) within a single network element. The integrated approach promises CAPEX and OPEX savings, density as well as new networking capabilities.




Earlier this month at Supercomm, Meriton announced the addition of STS-1/VC-4 grooming to its existing ROADM and transparent wavelength switching capabilities. The mid-plane design of Meriton's 7200 OADX enables its to support the transmission and switching of wavelengths and SONET/SDH traffic -- all within a single network element. Individual wavelengths can be groomed via the SONET/SDH switch fabric or be switched transparently. As carrier networks evolve, wavelengths may be changed from SONET/SDH to Gigabit Ethernet without a truck roll. The 7200 OADX provides switching capacity of 128 bi-directional transparent wavelengths with 320 Gbps of STS-1/VC-4 grooming, and is fully non-blocking. Meriton said its non-blocking architecture is preferred over ADM-on-a-card solutions because it assures unrestricted "any wavelength to any wavelength" grooming in a single platform. With the universal fabric, a line interface can change from being a groomed OC-48 to being a transparent Gigabit Ethernet.
http://www.meriton.com

• In March 2005, Meriton named Michael Pascoe as its new CEO. Pascoe was the former CEO of PairGain Technologies, which was acquired by ADC Telecommunications in 2000 for $3 billion. Prior to PairGain, Pascoe was a key member of the executive management team at Newbridge Networks.

Equipping Metro Optical Networks to Deliver Ethernet Services

To address the needs of the various Ethernet-based applications, service providers have to create a set of service descriptions to enable the transport of Ethernet data from the enterprise network through the Metro Area Network. The Ethernet service descriptions can be divided into two categories: 1) Leased Line or 2) Switched services. The level of transparency and the bandwidth allocation method differentiates the two service categories.  The metro IP/Ethernet layer network needs to be able to provide a switched Ethernet and/or routed IP network.

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NetDevices Unveils "OnePass" Unified Services Gateway

NetDevices, a start-up founded by former Cisco executives, unveiled its "Unified Services Gateway" aimed at consolidating and simplifying the multiple network appliances currently being deployed by enterprises at the edge of their networks. NetDevices is using a "OnePass" architecture for packet classification and inspection from which multiple advanced services -- such as firewalls, intrusion detection, VoIP gateway and VPN gateway -- would be based. The company argues that real-time services will be best supported if all these functions are connected together by a system-wide approach to processing and management. OnePass classification and management is more efficient than running multiple boxes and latency is reduced.



NetDevice's platform features a modular operation system and separate traffic, control and management planes to ensure "always available" system access. The system has a hardened forwarding path into which multiple services are inserted and integrated. Specific services can be performed at the correct point in the packet flow. In existing networks, however, packets usually go to an unprotected router first, where they are forwarded to a variety of security devices, such as firewalls and content filters. This opens up the router to Denial of Service (DoS) attacks. With NetDevices, users can start and stop individual service modules without impacting other services in operation. Multiple SG-8 Unified Services Gateways could be managed from a central location, with common policies shared across all units.


NetDevices features a stateful Layer 7 firewall, intrusion detection and prevention, and web filtering. It also features a SIP application layer gateway with QoS and built-in support for future VoIP services. The company has a roadmap of future services and hardware modules for the gateway.





NetDevices has been shipping its SG-8 Unified Services Gateway for three months. Pricing starts at $14,990.
http://www.netdevices.com

• NetDevices was founded in 2003 by Seenu Banda (CEO), Rob Haraga (VP of Engineering), and Jeff Kidd (VP of Hardware Engineering). Prior to founding NetD, Banda was senior director of marketing for mid-range routers, including the 7200 and 7500, at Cisco Systems. Haraga spent 10 years at Cisco, where he led the development and engineering of three generations of router product lines in the 7000 series. Kidd also served at Cisco in senior engineering roles for the Cisco 7000, 7200, 7300, 7500 and 7600 routers, and the Cisco Catalyst 5000 and 6000 multi-layer switching platforms.



• Early investors in the company include ComVentures, Artiman Ventures, Columbia Capital and JumpStart.



• NetDevices is based in Sunnyvale, California with a development office in Bangalore, India.

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Ikanos Debuts Second Generation VDSL2 Chips

Ikanos Communications has begun sampling its second generation VDSL2 (G.993.2) chipsets, the SmartLeap 9402 and the SmartLeap 9450, designed for high-density line cards for VDSL and VDSL2-based Broadband Access Concentrators, Remote Units, mini-RAMs, and ATM or IP DSLAMs. The company's first generation VDSL2 chipsets, which were introduced in December 2004, were the industry's first announced VDSL2-compliant solutions for central office, remote terminal, and MxU equipment. The new chips offer significantly higher port density and transmit launch power. The new chipsets remain compatible with existing VDSL and ADSLx customer premises equipment, enabling equipment vendors to reduce development time and costs by building a single system for all worldwide VDSL applications.


Ikanos is positioning its VDLS2 silicon for Triple Play residential broadband services. The SL9402 and SL9450 chipsets support up to 60 Mbps of downstream bandwidth and up to 30 Mbps of upstream bandwidth. The company said major IPTV rollouts in the U.S. market are expected to bring fiber to within 3,000ft of customer homes, giving VDSL2 a clear bandwidth advantage over other DSL implementations.





VDSL2 compliant features of the new chipsets include Trellis coded modulation, Seamless Rate Adaptation, Dynamic Rate Repartitioning, Bitswap, Profile, programmable framing, fast start-up and variable tone spacing. Connectivity at up to 15,000 feet is supported.


The SL9402 consists of an 8-port Burst Mode Engine (BME) with integrated IP and ATM capabilities, a quad-port analog front end, and dual-port integrated front end (IFE) that support up to 17.5dBm of transmit power. The SL9402 consists of an 8-port Burst Mode Engine (BME) with integrated program memory, which reduces the occupied board area and BOM costs. Both could be used in 72-port line cards. Both devices are currently sampling and production quantities are expected to be available in August 2005. The chipsets are listed at $15 to $20 per port based on volume.
http://www.ikanos.com

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Senators Lautenberg and McCain Seek to Prevent States from Blocking Municipal Nets

Senators Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) and John McCain (R-AZ) introduced the "Community Broadband Act of 2005," seeking to prevent states from blocking local communities from providing broadband access to their citizens. According to the senators, fourteen states have already enacted barriers to entry, from outright restrictions to prohibitions that make entry difficult or prohibitively costly. The proposed legislation would prevent states from enacting such measures.http://lautenberg.senate.gov/~lautenberg/press/2003/01/2005623B38.html

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Samsung Introduces 5 Mega-pixel CMOS Chip for Mobile Phones

Samsung Electronics Cohas completed development of a CMOS image sensor with 5 megapixel (2,608 x 1,952 pixels) QSXGA resolution. The device performs at the same level as its charge-coupled device (CCD) counterpart, yet it operates on less power and is more price competitive. Samsung said that by using 0.13-micron process technology it increased the fill factor (the image sensor's measurement of light sensitivity) by over 50%. Samsung has also completed development of a 3.2M-pixel CIS for camera phones. Samsung plans to begin mass-production of the 5M-pixel CIS in Q4 2005 and the 3.2M-pixel CIS with an embedded image signal processor (ISP) by the first half of 2006. http://www.samsung.com

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Loral Skynet Launches Skyreach IP Services for Asia

Loral Skynet entered into an agreement with BtNAccess to extend Loral's SkyReach IP-enabled communications services to Asia. The service is powered by an iDirect IP hub at the BtNAccess teleport in Hong Kong. Skynet will combine satellite capacity on its Telstar 10 and Telstar 18 Asian satellites with teleport and terrestrial communications services, including MPLS, provided by BtNAccess.


The SkyReach service in Asia will be available July 1st, using VSAT technology to deliver a full range of IP applications, including Internet access, VoIP, streamed media, file transfers (FTP), Virtual Private Networks (VPN), LAN connectivity and satellite-enabled WiFi services.


BtNAccess is a subsidiary of PCCW, the incumbent carrier in Hong Kong.
http://www.loralskynet.com/

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Broadband Services Forum Elects Board

The Broadband Services Forum, an industry group that fosters collaboration across the broadband value chain including content, service and technology providers, announced its first Board of Directors:

• Derek Kuhn of Alcatel, Chairman



• Craig Forbes of net.com, Vice-Chair



• Andy Birchall of On Demand, Vice-Chair, Europe



• Jerry Passione of Juniper Networks, Secretary



• Keith Wehmeyer of Thomson, Treasurer



• Matthew Marnik of Nortel, VP, Marketing



• Joe Mosher of Aliant Telecom/Innovatia, Member at large



• Thomas Ostendorf of Siemens, Member at large



• Helmut Leopold of Telekom Austria, Member at large

At the first two quarterly meetings of 2005 (March in Santa Monica, California and May in Cardiff, Wales), the Broadband Services Forum confirmed the direction of the group's future initiatives -- IPTV and dynamic and interactive services (such as gaming and video) were given top priority.


The BSF is developing a series of whitepapers around IPTV and interactive services, and is currently evaluating potential IPTV pilot projects. The group is also creating a liaison program for reaching out to other industry groups in the broadband space, and broadened relationships with the analyst community.
http://www.broadbandservicesforum.org

IPTV: Making it Work by Derek Kuhn, Chairman of the BSF

The market window for value-added broadband services is open, but video is not a business for the uncommitted or inexperienced player. Cable companies have had years of experience in acquiring and delivering content to subscribers and have had several years' experience in developing their pay-per-view (PPV) - and in some cases VOD - businesses while they converted their networks to two-way to support high-speed Internet (HSI) services. Time-to-market can be significantly shortened by leveraging installed assets and partnering with suppliers who have demonstrated experience in implementing video and other broadband entertainment infrastructures. Here is what you need.

• In November 2004, the Broadband Content Delivery Forum (BCDF) and the Service Creation Community (SCC) agreed to merge to form the Broadband Services Forum.

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PMC-Sierra Confirms Q2 Outlook, Trims R&D

PMC-Sierra confirmed that is revenues in the second quarter of 2005 are expected to be at or near the high-end of the revenue range provided on April 20, 2005, following its first quarter earnings release. At that time, the revenue outlook provided was $70 million to $72 million in revenues for the second quarter of 2005, or 6% to 9% sequential growth. Additionally, by the end of the second quarter, the company's book-to-bill ratio is expected to exceed 1.1 as current quarter bookings are already greater than the Company's second quarter revenue outlook.


PMC-Sierra announced previously that it was eliminating 26 positions at a restructuring cost of approximately $1.5 million. The company has decided to eliminate approximately 63 further positions, primarily related to research and development, at a restructuring cost of approximately $5.9 million. PMC-Sierra currently has 902 full-time employees in its worldwide operations. The restructuring primarily relates to PMC's design and operations center in Santa Clara, California.


"Business conditions across all of our product groups are improving, with new communications and storage products contributing to our business momentum," said Bob Bailey, Chairman and CEO of PMC-Sierra. "Additionally, we are continuing to focus on improving the efficiency of our operations to enhance our on-going business performance."http://www.pmc-sierra.com

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Broadcom Settles Securities Class Action Litigation

Broadcom agreed to settle the securities class action litigation currently pending against the company and certain of its current and former officers and directors for an aggregate cash payment of $150 million. Broadcom expects that approximately $40 million of that amount will be paid by its insurance carriers, with the balance of approximately $110 million to be paid by the company.


The class action was brought on behalf of persons and entities who bought or acquired shares of Broadcom's common stock, or options on such shares, between July 31, 2000 and February 26, 2001. The proposed settlement remains subject to the satisfaction of various conditions, including negotiation and execution of a final stipulation of settlement, approval by the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California following notice to members of the class, and a commitment by the company's insurance carriers to fund a portion of the settlement payments.
http://www.broadcom.com

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NTT DoCoMo Achieves 1 Gbps in 4G Field Test

NTT DoCoMo achieved 1 Gbps real-time packet transmission in a wireless downlink at a moving speed of about 20 km/h in a field experiment on fourth-generation (4G) radio access technology. The experiment took place last month in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture.


NTT DoCoMo said the 1 Gbps transmission was realized through Variable Spreading Factor-Spread Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (VSF-Spread OFDM) radio access and 4-by-4 Multiple-Input-Multiple-Output (MIMO) multiplexing. The MIMO used a technique called "adaptive selection of surviving symbol replica candidate" (ASESS) based on Maximum Likelihood Detection with QR decomposition and the M-algorithm (QRM-MLD), which was developed by DoCoMo.


NTT DoCoMo said its new algorithm reduces the large computational complexity of the original MLD method while maintaining almost the same achievable throughput performance. Frequency spectrum efficiency, which is expressed as information bits per second per Hertz, is 10 bits per second per Hertz, about 20 times that of 3G radio networks' spectrum efficiency.


During an earlier trial in July 2003, DoCoMo achieved 100 Mbps and 20 Mbps data rate transmission in the downlink and uplink, respectively, in outdoor environments using the same 100MHz bandwidth.


DoCoMo's field trials are part of its program to develop a 4G global standard in cooperation with the International Telecommunication Union Radiocommunication Sector. The telecommunications council of Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications aims to see 4G services commercialized in Japan by 2010.
http://www.nttdocomo.com

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Intelsat Americas-8 Satellite Successfully Launched

Intelsat Americas-8 (IA-8), a high-power satellite built for by Space Systems/Loral (SS/L), was successfully launched on a Sea Launch Zenit-3SL rocket from the Odyssey Launch Platform, positioned on the equator in the Pacific Ocean. The IA-8 satellite carries 28 C-band and 36 Ku-band transponders, as well as 24 Ka-band spot beams and will have total end-of-life power of 16 Kw -- making it one of the most powerful communications satellites to date. The satellite will provide coverage of North and South America, Alaska, Hawaii and the Caribbean from its orbital slot at 89 degrees West longitude.


IA-8 will be the fifth Intelsat satellite in the North American arc and the 28th satellite in Intelsat's global fleet.


IA-8 is the thirty-second satellite built by SS/L for Intelsat, including all of the recently launched Intelsat IX series of satellites. In addition, SS/L is currently building the Intelsat Americas-9 satellite, which will further expand the operator's coverage and services in North America.
http://www.ssloral.com/http://www.loral.com/

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Vitesse Adds to its Ethernet Marketing Team

Vitesse Semiconductor named Richard Martin to the newly created position of director of strategic marketing and Claus Stetter as the worldwide product line director for its Ethernet Switch IC products.


Prior to joining Vitesse, Martin worked at Broadcom as the director of product marketing for the successful StrataSwitch, RoboSwitch and StrataXGS product lines.


Stetter formerly worked as a senior product line manager for Broadcom, where he was responsible for the Robo-HS Gigabit Ethernet switch product line and for a family of Faster Ethernet Switch and PHY devices. He joined Broadcom through the Allayer Communications acquisition.
http://www.vitesse.com

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Sprint and Nextel Unveil New Logo

Sprint and Nextel Communications unveiled a new brand and logo to be used upon completion of the companies' merger, expected in the third quarter of 2005, pending shareholder and regulatory approvals. The new go-to-market brand name of the combined Sprint Nextel will be Sprint, with the Nextel name continuing as a key product brand.
http://www.sprint.com
http://www.nextel.com

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Sun Highlights Telecom Features of Solaris 10

Sun Microsystems certified its Netra server line of telecom hardware for the Solaris 10 OS. Additionally, more than 50 telecom software and hardware partners have announced support for Solaris 10.


Sun recently made the source code to Solaris available at opensolaris.org under the Common Development and Distribution License (CDDL). This OSI approved open source license allows network equipment providers (NEP's) to safely develop innovative new solutions for distribution under their own terms. Solaris 10 is indemnified by Sun, providing its customers and partners with patent, copyright and trademark infringement protection.


Sun said more than 50 hardware and software partners in the telecom industry have announced support for Solaris 10. These include: AC Corporation, Adax, Appium, AsiaInfo Technologies (China) Inc., BOCO Inter-Telecom, Cntomorrow, DigitalChina, Flextronics Software Systems (FSS), Hurray! Times, Infozech Software Ltd., jNETx, Jaatayu Software, Kabira Technologies, Lenovo, LHS Telekom GmbH & Co. KG, Longshine, Metarnet, Mpathix, Neusoft, NMS Communications, Object Computing, Inc., Open Cloud, Poson, Pronto Networks, Runway, Shanghai Ideal, Sleepycat Software, Subex Systems, Syndesis, TransNexus, Ubiquity, UshaComm, Ulticom, Veraz Networks, VoiceGenie, Wayout, Xbell, ZCXC, Zhongyin-Unihub, and Zznode.


For example, Veraz Networks plans to adopt the Solaris 10 Operating System for its next generation ControlSwitch product. Veraz has started testing Solaris 10's advanced telecom features including Solaris Containers, Predictive Self Healing, and Dynamic Tracing (DTrace). Veraz said the nearly a dozen distinct software elements in its ControlSwitch map to functional IMS components are deployed across multiple SUN servers. Solaris Containers can increase the flexibility of ControlSwitch software element deployment combinations and thus facilitate network planning, design, and network and service traffic expansion. http://www.sun.com

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TeliaSonera Selects Ericsson's Softswitch

TeliaSonera International Carrier selected Ericsson's Telephony Softswitch for the upgrade of its circuit-switched network to packet technology. The contract covers international switch applications for Europe and the United States, enabling TeliaSonera International Carrier to offer its customers voice, data and multimedia services with the same functionality, security and quality as it does today, but with the added benefits of overall increased scalability and new product
creation opportunities. Financial terms were not disclosed.


Ericsson said it now has more than 30 Telephony Softswitch solution customers around the world.
http://www.ericsson.com

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AT&T Adds a 6th Videoconferencing Hub for DoD

AT&T Government Solutions is adding a sixth video hub location in southwest Asia for the global video teleconferencing service it provides to the Defense Department. AT&T Government Solutions maintains and operates video hubs around the world that are used by the DoD to conduct more than 2,000 video conferences per month for both command and control and administrative purposes. AT&T also operates a 24-hour-a-day network management center to support the video network, which can link up to 25 sites for a video teleconference. More than 3,000 military units around the world have access to the network, including U.S. Central Command.


In addition, the company was recently awarded a 22-month, $26 million contract extension to continue providing the service.
http://www.att.com/

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AT&T Expands its Global Network Services

AT&T is further expanding its portfolio of global networking services for business customers and extending them into additional locations in Europe, Asia and Latin America. The expansion includes the rollout of new access nodes in China through network interconnections with China Netcom and China Telecom, as well as new nodes in Croatia, Cyprus, Ecuador, India, Malaysia, Qatar, Panama and United Arab Emirates. Interconnections are also being established in Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland and the UK. These complement AT&T's previously announced network interconnections with Alestra's network in Mexico and Unisiti in China. Additional interconnections are planned for later in the year.


AT&T announced global enhancements to its portfolio of IP VPN-based services, hosting, managed services and security offers, including AT&T "Internet Protect" and said that by year-end, it will expand the reach and in-country coverage of its global portfolio in the following critical high-growth regions:

AT&T also is increasing the breadth of supported access technologies, including:

• global WiFi access from more than 9,200 hot spots in key business locations in 36 countries worldwide -- increased from more than 5,000 at the end of 2004 -- and has plans for a total of more than 15,000 by the end of 2005.



• wired Ethernet to more than 1,700 locations globally, increased from 1,300 at the end 2004.



• DSL expansion into Europe and Asia.



• trials of WiMAX technology are being deployed in two key U.S. markets -- New Jersey and Georgia -- with a third site to be announced shortly.

http://www.att.com

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BT Avoids Break-up in Agreement with UK Regulator

BT reached an agreement with Ofcom, the telecom regulatory authority in the UK, that avoids the break-up of the company and provides a long-term framework for the UK's fixed line telecommunications market. Under the agreement, BT agreed to substantive changes in its structure and behaviour, significant cuts in the price it charges for unbundled local loops, to continue its universal service obligations, and to ensure that its 21CN Next Generation Network does not inhibit reasonable developments by alternative network operators. Full details of the agreement will be published by the end of the month. Some key points include:

• BT will set-up a new - and operationally separate -- business unit, provisionally entitled Access Services, but with a distinct new brand and identity. The new business unit will be staffed by around 30,000 employees presently responsible for the operation and development of BT's local access networks. It will have separate physical locations for management teams and separate bonus schemes with long-term incentive plans that reflect the objectives of the new business unit, not those of the BT Group plc.



• The new business unit will be required, through a set of formal rules on governance and separation, to support all providers' retail activities (including those of BT Retail) on a precisely equivalent basis. The new business unit will offer a universally available product and service set, including Local Loop Unbundling (LLU), shared loops (where BT Retail continues to provide voice services and another provider is responsible for broadband), Wholesale Line Rental (WLR), and Backhaul service. Equivalence of Input will also apply to IPStream - BT's wholesale internet products used by many Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to provide broadband connections for their customers.



• The BT Group plc shall adopt the same clear principles in the design, procurement and build of its next generation 21st Century Network.



• BT Group plc and the new business unit's compliance with the proposed undertakings will be monitored by a new Equality of Access Board (EAB), which will also oversee the delivery of other legacy regulated products not directly delivered by the new business unit.



• BT will cut the price for full LLU by 24% per cent from £105 to £80 per year. It has also committed to deliver stability on IPStream pricing until there are 1.5 million unbundled lines in the UK to encourage competition.

Ofcom Chief Executive Stephen Carter said: "Effective regulation for the telecommunications industry needs to be forward looking, needs to encourage competition in the right places and needs to deliver tangible benefits for customers."


BT chief executive Ben Verwaayen stated "This has been a meticulous process during which BT has engaged in depth with Ofcom and the industry. We came up with bold proposals in February that reflected the reality of the market and we have now committed to a framework to ensure others have confidence in the settlement. It is time to draw a line under twenty years of micro-regulation and to welcome a new era where regulation is focused where needed and rolled back elsewhere."http://www.ofcom.org.uk/media/news/2005/06/nr_20050623http://www.btplc.com

• The UK government licensed the first telecom competitor (Mercury) in 1980s and encouraged the company to build its own network. From 1994 to 1997, the regulator at that time (Oftel) favored competition between fixed-line companies that owned their own networks - and particularly those with networks that actually came into homes and offices, such as cable operators. Oftel also licensed two extra mobile networks, so that there were four network operators competing from the mid-1990s. However, in the mid-1990s Oftel was less favourable to companies that did not own a network.



• There are five mobile network operators in the UK, plus others which offer services by using another company's network. On the other hand, BT has an 80% share of the residential phone market, and supplies most business lines as well. For Internet access, it seems at first glance that there's a whole variety of internet service providers (such as AOL and Freeserve) supplying narrowband and broadband services to homes and offices. However, almost all of them use just one of two networks -- cable or DSL.

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Alcatel Launches Venture Capital Program in China

Alcatel is launching a Venture Capital Partnership Program in China aimed at accelerating the development of home-grown IT and telecom technologies. The program will be managed directly by Alcatel Shanghai Bell, Alcatel's Chinese flagship company. It will focus on innovative technologies, products, applications and services that address the demand of Chinese enterprises end users for a better, personalized telecom experience. The program supports start-ups using all technologies in the wireline and wireless arenas. In addition, Alcatel will provide start-ups with access to its research and development facilities in China for prototype testing and validation. Alcatel will also offer marketing support.
http://www.alcatel.com

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SBC Adds Intrusion Prevention to Managed Security Services

SBC Communications is adding an intrusion prevention service to its portfolio of SBC PremierSERV Managed Security Services. The new SBC PremierSERV Managed Intrusion Prevention Service (IPS) provides business customers with a professionally managed tool that can detect, contain and/or neutralize both known network threats as well as previously unidentified threats, also known as "zero day" threats. These malicious intrusions - in the form of viruses and worms on network clients such as servers, laptops, desktops or other endpoints - can sometimes bypass traditional network perimeter-based security solutions.


SBC PremierSERV Managed IPS uses a network security solution from Mirage Networks.
http://www.sbc.com

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picoChip Secures $20.5 Million for Wireless Silicon

picoChip, a start-up based in Bath, UK, secured $20.5 million in third round funding for its DSP tuned for high-performance wireless applications, including WiMax and HSPDA. picoChip said its technology is being used by Intel in its Glenfield board, which is sold for use in WiMAX basestations, and Airspan. Airspan has recently won WiMAX contracts from Marconi and Fujitsu. In addition, picoChip has a number of strategic customers and partners for both WiMAX and 3G, including Tier One manufacturers.


In the latest funding round, new lead investor Scottish Equity Partners was joined by Rothschild and Intel Capital, along with previous investors Pond Venture Partners and Atlas Venture. The company has raised $41.5 million to date. http://www.picoChip.com

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Freescale Expands AdvancedTCA Ecosystem

Freescale Semiconductor unveiled its Open AdvancedTCA Development Platform -- a series of modular, board-level components that initially includes an AdvancedTCA carrier blade and two Advanced Mezzanine Cards (AMCs). The carrier blade reference design features a PowerQUICC controller and support for both Ethernet and Serial RapidIO interconnect capabilities in the backplane. The AMC reference designs include Freescale's MPC8548E PowerQUICC III processor with RapidIO technology and a DSP farm module with eight MSC8122 multicore-DSPs based on StarCore technology.


Freescale said its AdvancedTCA platform would enable flexible prototyping for a wide range of carrier-grade applications, such as DSLAMs, IP-DSLAMs, IP-PBXs, media gateways, high-density VoIP systems, enterprise routers, host processing farms, and radio network controllers (RNCs) used in 3G wireless infrastructure.
http://www.freescale.com

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Edward Jones Selects 3Com's Convergence Solution

Edward Jones, a major financial-services firm with more than 9,000 branch offices in the U.S., Canada and the UK, will deploy 3Com's Convergence Applications Suite for IP Telephony, IP Conferencing, IP Messaging, IP Mobility, and IP Contact Center services. The first phase of the agreement includes the conversion of their corporate headquarters legacy voice system to an IP telephony solution based on 3Com products. The deal also includes 3Com routers, switches, and Enterprise Management Suite to complete the secure converged network. 3Com partner Verint will supply its ULTRA Call Recording Suite to the headquarters' call center. 3Com partner Aspect will provide IP Contact Center applications in a later phase of the project. Financial terms were not disclosed.
http://www.3com.com

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Lucent Trials HSDPA with China Netcom

Lucent Technologies completed a field trial of High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) technology in China, conducting a series of data calls - including demonstrations of live TV and video-on-demand services - on a 3G W-CDMA trial network deployed by China Netcom in Shanghai.


Lucent provided its Flexent OneBTS base stations -- which support HSDPA -- Flexent Radio Network Controller, as well as its W-CDMA packet core solution including Lucent's Flexent Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN), and Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN). The HSDPA solution is currently capable of supporting peak data speeds of up to 7.6 Mbps, however the maximum speeds supported by the current generation of mobile devices is 1.8 Mbps. Future upgrades of HSDPA will provide theoretical maximum peak data speeds of up to 14.4 Mbps.
http://www.lucent.com

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XO Partners with Avaya

XO Communications will bundle Avaya solutions with its network services, providing a single point of contact for customers from the time of installation to ongoing customer service and billing. Multi-site customers will be able to benefit from the efficiency and convenience of having a single provider and bill for their entire communications services and systems across all locations.


Under the agreement, XO Communications will offer two suites of Avaya software and systems to small and medium-sized businesses:

• Avaya IP Office, an "all-in-one" office communication solution that brings together voice, data and communications applications for small and mid-sized businesses and includes applications such as mobility, customer contact centers, and conferencing features.



• Avaya PARTNER Advanced Communications System, a key system with advanced telephony features such as email and voice mail access and management from a single PC, and dedicated Internet access for connectivity.

http://www.xo.com
http://www.avaya.com

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Charter Deploys Moxi in California

Charter Communications has begun deploying Digeo's Moxi PowerKEY media centers to customers using its network in Turlock, California.


The Moxi media center integrates high-definition television with a dual-tuner digital video recorder, enabling the user to watch one channel while recording another. Subscribers can search for and select On Demand video content and access instant weather, sports and news via an interactive information ticker. Moxi PowerKEY also enables cable operators to offer subscribers other revenue-generating services including games, as well as display and management of digital photos.


Digeo said more than 130,000 Moxi Media Centers have been deployed nationwide by Charter, Adelphia, BendBroadband, NewWave Communications and Sunflower Broadband.
http://www.digeo.com/

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Lucent and Riverstone Selected by Kazakhtelecom

Lucent Technologies and Riverstone Networks were selected for a DSL and Ethernet services network upgrade by Kazakhtelecom, the national carrier in Kazakhstan. Equipment deployments include Lucent Stinger DSL access concentrators and Riverstone RS 8000 and 3000 series platforms. Financial terms were not disclosed.
http://www.lucent.com/

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National LambdaRail Selects MCNC

National LambdaRail (NLR), a consortium of leading U.S. research universities and private sector technology companies deploying a nationwide optical networking infrastructure, selected MCNC to operate NLR Experiment Support Services. NLR's Experiment Support Services will provide a number of services, including coordinating the deployment of experimental equipment, providing engineering support and other assistance to researchers, serving as a facilitator for the researchers and research collaboration, and establishing a set of tools that enables researchers to access the NLR infrastructure in ways not possible on other production research and education networks.


MCNC currently operates the North Carolina Research and Education Network (NCREN). http://www.nlr.net/ess/http://www.mcnc-gcns.org/

• National LambdaRail is using WilTel Communications' OC-192 Optical services to complete their nationwide network.

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