Thursday, January 27, 2005

Alcatel and Finmeccanica Merge their Satellite Activities

Alcatel and Finmeccanica reached a final agreement to merge their space activities through the creation of two joint ventures companies, to which both partners will contribute their respective satellite industrial and service activities.


The first company, Alcatel Alenia Space, of which Alcatel will hold 67% and Finmeccanica 33%, will combine Alcatel Space and Alenia Spazio's activities. It will concentrate on the design, development, and manufacturing of space systems, satellites, payloads, instruments and associated ground systems for civilian and military applications. The headquarters of Alcatel Alenia Space will be located in France, with plants in France, Italy, Belgium and Spain. With estimated 2004 sales of EUR 1.8 billion and around 7,200 people, it will create the European leader in satellite systems and services.


The second company, Telespazio, of which Finmeccanica will hold 67% and Alcatel 33%, will combine Telespazio with Alcatel Space Services and Operations activities. It will concentrate on operations and services for satellite solutions, which includes control and exploitation of space systems as well as value-added services for networking, multimedia and earth observation. Its headquarters will be located in Italy with plants in Italy, France and Germany. With estimated 2004 sales of EUR 350 million and around 1,400 people, it will be a key player in the space services market.
http://www.alcatel.com
http://www.finmeccanica.it

Siemens Announces Restructuring of Wireline Business

Siemens announced a corporate restructuring aimed at strengthening the competitiveness of its wireline business. The company said it would be increasing its focus on growth areas such as VoIP, Ethernet Access, applications and services for broadband networks or Home Entertainment. The restructuring is expected to affect some 600 jobs in Germany and 650 jobs overseas, although Siemens seeks to transfer the affected employees within the company wherever possible.
http://www.siemens.com

Eblana and Vitesse Announce Breakthrough in Laser Fabrication

Eblana Photonics and Vitesse Semiconductor announced a manufacturing relationship for single-mode laser diodes on Vitesse's 4" Indium Phosphide (InP) Integrated Circuit Fabrication Line.
This manufacturing relationship builds on an industry first where the companies fabricated 2.5 Gbps, single wavelength, laser diodes using established InP IC toolsets and processes.


The companies said their landmark process line production of high-quality laser diodes will have significant impact for the communications industry. Short term, it its expected to disrupt the production costs of photonic components by permitting low cost manufacture of the highest quality laser products on a mature electronics fabrication platform using only IC toolsets and processes and their associated process control regime. The companies believe this manufacturing process will enable the required levels of photonics integration to drive the burgeoning rollout of FTTP and Gigabit Ethernet in Access and Enterprise communications applications. Loner term, they expect that the integration of mature InP circuit technology with a InP laser technology to will create new components and new applications based on integrated photonics and electronics.
http://www.vitesse.com
http://www.eblanaphotonics.com

Verizon Selects Microsoft TV Platform

Verizon will use the Microsoft TV platform for the commercial rollout of its FiOS TV service. src="https://dl.dropbox.com/u/11402824/CND/v11n222-
msiptv.jpg" align="left"> The selection builds on a string of recent, high-profile wins for the Microsoft TV platform amongst telecom carriers, including SBC, Telecom Italia, Swisscom/Bluewin and others. Financial terms were not disclosed.


Verizon plans to use the Microsoft TV platform to deliver high-definition television, digital video recording and on-demand programming. In addition, it will provide FiOS TV customers with an interactive programming guide. Verizon and its third-party partners will use the Microsoft software to add advanced IP applications for future FiOS TV services. The companies said this would differentiate Verizon in the marketplace and bring consumers the benefits of voice, video and data convergence.


FiOS TV will also use the Motorola set-top hardware platform.


Verizon said the Microsoft TV platform will work in parallel with its "iobi" service delivery platform, which allows information to be shared across many different networks, applications and devices. Significantly, the Microsoft .NET architecture supports applications on Verizon's iobi platform as well as applications from third-party developers. Microsoft .NET architecture also supports the Microsoft TV platform.
http://www.microsoft.com/tv
  • In November 2004, SBC Communications selected the new Microsoft IPTV Edition software platform for its Project Lightspeed initiative. The deal was valued at $400 million over 10 years. SBC Labs has been testing an IP-based television service built on the Microsoft TV IPTV Edition platform since June 2004. SBC companies and Microsoft will begin field trials in mid 2005 and plan commercial availability of the IP-based television platform in late 2005.


  • In January 2005, BellSouth announced a technical trial of Microsoft TV Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) Edition software platform over its DSL network. BellSouth plans to leverage new DSL technologies, including ADSL2+ and copper pair bonding, as well as its deep fiber network, to test a feature-rich IP video offer during the first half of 2005.


  • In September 2004, Verizon Communications hired Terry Denson, former vice president of programming for Insight Communications, the ninth-largest cable operator in the country, to manage entertainment content and marketing strategies. As vice president of video programming and content marketing and strategy for Verizon, Denson will guide video product packaging, pricing and marketing strategies; video content acquisition and distribution agreements; and customer education, acquisition and retention planning.