Network Equipment Suppliers Urge Congress to Update Telecom Act for IP Services

Senior executives from Alcatel, Lucent, Motorola, Siemens and QUALCOMM testified before the House Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet on "How IP-Enabled Services are Changing the Face of Communications." A common theme of the testimony was that Congress should legislate a "light regulatory touch" when addressing IP-enabled services. The witnesses addressed the digital television (DTV) transition and advocated a "hard deadline" for the transition in order to reclaim the analog broadcast spectrum....

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ADVA and SAGEM Supply Optical Backbone for neuf

Neuf Telecom has deployed equipment from ADVA Optical Networking to underpin its large-scale roll-out of DSL services across France. Neuf Telecom selected global optical solutions supplier SAGEM to help backhaul the growing residential and business traffic and expand the capacity of their backbone network. SAGEM installed ADVA's Fiber Service Platform (FSP) 2000 along with its own Ionos Network Management System for operation, control, and provisioning. Under the terms of the frame contract signed with Neuf Telecom in late 2003, SAGEM has deployed...

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Siemens to Supply MSC solution from Spatial Wireless

Siemens Communications will supply a 3G wireless MSC solution from Spatial Wireless to a key 3G UMTS customer in the United States. Spatial Wireless, a wholly-owned entity of Alcatel, offers a next generation wireless distributed mobile switching solution that supports multiple generations of radio access, services, and core transport technologies. A distributed mobile switching solution is characterized by a centralized call server, providing the switching logic and management, and one or more media gateways providing the physical bearer (voice)...

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Merrill Lynch Selects Avaya for Corporate Campuses

Merrill Lynch selected Avaya solutions for new corporate campus offices spanning three continents. The deployment will include the new Avaya Communications Manager IP telephony S8700 solutions for over 10,000 employees at Merrill Lynch facilities in Sydney, Australia; Sao Paulo, Brazil; and several locations in the United States including their world headquarters in New York City. All the facilities will have the Avaya IP Softphone. Financial terms were not disclosed. http://www.avaya....

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Merrill Lynch to Deploy Cisco IP Telephones

Merrill Lynch will deploy a Cisco Internet Protocol (IP) Communications system to support 14,000 financial advisors in approximately 600 Merrill Lynch offices across the U.S. The system will be rolled out beginning in the second half of 2005. Financial terms were not disclosed. Merrill Lynch also operates an end-to-end Cisco switching and routing environment. http://www.cisco....

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Nortel Supplies Avici Routers in Sweden

IP-Only Telecommunications AB, a carrier based in Sweden, will deploy Avici Systems' routers for a core network upgrade. The equipment will be supplied by Nortel Networks. Financial terms were not disclosed. IP-Only delivers IP and Ethernet services, wavelengths and dark fiber to Swedish and international operators, as well as to many of Sweden's largest and most demanding enterprises, television and multimedia service providers. Avici Systems is Nortel's worldwide 'preferred partner' for IP core routers. http://www.avici.com http://www.no...

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Ciena Expands Strategic Relationship with TELMEX

Telefonos de Mexico will deploy Ciena's CoreDirector multiservice switching system across its nationwide network. Since 2002, Ciena's CoreDirector systems have been deployed in TELMEX's Mexico City network, one of the largest metropolitan area networks in the world. With this expansion, CoreDirector is now helping TELMEX's metro and long-distance networks by enabling a single, automated nationwide infrastructure. Financial terms were not disclosed. CoreDirector's role in TELMEX's Mexico City metro network has also been expanded with the deployment...

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LVL7 Closes $21 Million for Networking Software

LVL7 Systems, a start-up based near Research Triangle Park, North Carolina., raised $21 million in Series C funding for its networking software. LVL7's FASTPATH software allows equipment manufacturers to reduce their reliance on internal software development and test organizations and decrease expenses, risks and timelines. The company said it now has a customer base of 40 system manufacturers. The oversubscribed funding round was led by Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm USVP. The funding round also included participation from Lighthouse...

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TANDBERG Integrates Video Systems with Cisco CallManager

TANDBERG introduced dedicated group video systems that provide seamless integration with Cisco CallManager versions 4.0 and 4.1 for business-quality video telephony. The TANDBERG 550 MXP and 770 MXP for Cisco CallManager are set-top video communication systems for small to medium-sized groups. TANDBERG also announced that its MXP video systems for individuals and large groups will be integrated with Cisco CallManager later this year.http://www.tandberg.n...

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USAF Readies Modernized GPS Satellite for Launch

Lockheed Martin delivered the first modernized Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station for a scheduled launch in May 2005. The satellite, designated GPS IIR-M1, is the most technologically advanced GPS satellite ever developed and will provide significantly improved navigation performance for U.S. military and civilian users worldwide. The current constellation of 30 GPS spacecraft includes 12 fully operational Block IIR satellites, which were developed to improve global coverage and increase the overall performance...

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FCC Proposes Flexible Ku-band for Airborne Satellite Services

The FCC proposed a regulatory framework for licensing the operation of Aeronautical Mobile Satellite Service (AMSS) systems to communicate with fixed-satellite service (FSS) networks in the Ku-band frequencies. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking addresses two-way broadband data and communications capabilities onboard aircraft. Specifically, the Notice: examines frequency allocation issues in the Ku-band where AMSS systems will operate and seeks comments on procedures to protect space research service and radio astronomy service sites from AMSS...

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Alcatel to Resell Alvarion's WiMAX

Alcatel has signed an OEM agreement to resell Alvarion's WiMAX-ready solution based on WiMAX 802.16-2004 ("Rev d") standard. Financial terms were not disclosed. As a first positive market recognition of this new OEM agreement, both companies also disclosed today that Alcatel has been selected to run several WiMAX pilot deployments in Europe. Among those, one will be delivered to TDF (the French broadcast service provider) and RATP (the Paris public transport agency) in France. http://www.alcatel.com http://www.alvarion.com/In January 2005, Lucent...

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AudioCodes & Outsmart Collaborate on Fixed-Mobile-Convergence

AudioCodes announced a partnership with Outsmart Ltd., a provider of Fixed-Mobile-Convergence (FMC) and Intelligent Networks (IN)-based solutions, to integrate Outsmart's SmartFMC product with AudioCodes' Mediant family of VoIP media gateways. The joint offering provides a base for next-generation 3G IMS architecture and services. Audiocodes' Mediant platform supports wireline, cable and wireless (UMTS, GSM and CDMA) in the same gateway. Outsmart's SmartFMC delivers one identity across a variety of terminals, allows full control on all call sessions,...

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Global Crossing Appoints Head of Wireless Services Exchange

Global Crossing has appointed Simon Clayton-Mitchell as vice president, wireless services exchange, with the primary role of executing the international launch and establishment of Global Crossing's Wireless Services Exchange, an extranet community for mobile network operators providing global connectivity to support the convergence of voice, multimedia messaging, video calling and other IP services that will ride across 3G networks. Clayton-Mitchell joins Global Crossing from Blueshift Consulting, a Tokyo-based firm of which he was co-founder...

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