Sunday, March 6, 2005

VON Keynote: Session Management is Key to Scaling Multimedia IP

There are 3 mega trends shaking the industry, said Raj Sharma, President of NexTone, in a keynote address at VON Spring. These include the rapid proliferation of multimedia IP endpoints; the very compressed timeframe required to introduce new apps and services in the competitive IP market; the growing convergence of voice, data, video from both wireline and wireless networks.We're still in the early adopter phase of VoIP adoption, said Sharma, estimating that there is now about a 10% penetration rate. Today's traffic patterns indicate that 90%...

Mahi Debuts Optical Ethernet Transponders for its Vx7 ROADM

Mahi Networks introduces an expanded line of optical Ethernet transponders for its Vx7 Multi-Service Core Transport System. The solution is aimed at residential broadband and FTTP initiatives, which are taxing carrier's SONET-based transport infrastructure. To support the increasing demand for IP and SAN services, Mahi Networks is introducing a 10-port Multi-Service ADM Transponder with SFP client interfaces supporting any combination of GbE, Fiber Channel, ESCON, FICON, and digital video services. The GFP/VCAT implementation supports full-rate...

VON Keynote: 500,000 Vonage Lines and Counting

Vonage has exceeded 500,000 total lines in service and is now "on a quick and easy march" to its first million users, said Jeffrey Citron, CEO, Vonage, in a keynote address at Spring VON in San Jose. Vonage is adding 15,000 users per week and expects to end Q1 with over 600,000 users. It claims to have a leading 35% share of the U.S. residential VoIP business, with its nearest competitors being Cablevision and Time Warner. Citron believes Vonage, as a pure play VoIP providers, will keep ahead of cable competitors even as Comcast enters the market...

MetaSwitch Introduces Application Server for Unified Communications

MetaSwitch introduced its UC9000 Unified Communications System, adding a range of SIP-based features to its existing softswitch product line. The standards-based platform is targeted at service providers launching next generation services.The initial release of the UC9000 includes Voicemail and Unified Messaging for "any message, any client" access, with support for Web, PDA, telephone and Outlook clients. A Web portal allows subscribers to manage their own messaging and personal telephone settings, plus easy configuration of business groups in...

DSL Forum Elects New Leaders

The DSL Forum elected the following new members to its Board of Directors:Chairman of the DSL Forum Board of Directors -- Michael Brusca, Distinguished Member of Technical Staff, Verizon Communications DSL Forum President -- Steve Kingdom, Vice President, Global Business, at KTL in the UK. DSL Forum Vice President and Chairman Emeritus -- Tom Starr, Lead Member of Technical Staff, SBC Communications.DSL Forum Chief Operating Officer, Treasurer, and Secretary -- David Greggains, Director, Gorham & Partners Ltd. DSL Forum Board Director --...

Xten and GN Netcom Partner on USB-to-headset VoIP

GN Netcom is working to bundle Xten's eyeBeam softphones with its headsets in retail stores across the US & Canada. The two companies will work together to deliver bundled headset & softphone solutions for retail and wholesale offerings in the enterprise and carrier markets. Wholesale points of distribution will also span the US, Canada and other parts of the globe.GN Netcom is introducing a USB-to-headset adapter that features call control...

Riverstone's HVPLS Extends MPLS-based Ethernet

Riverstone Networks announced the availability of Hierarchical Virtual Private LAN Service (HVPLS) across both its RS and Riverstone 15000 product lines. Riverstone said its HVPLS technology extends the capabilities of MPLS-based Ethernet, giving service providers the added reliability and scalability necessary to serve hundreds of thousands or even millions of subscribers dependably. It also provides a more economical means of delivering high quality...

TI Narrows 2005 Business Outlook

Citing lower-than-expected demand for DLP products used in televisions and projectors, Texas Instruments narrowed its 2005 expected ranges for revenue and earnings per share (EPS).The company's new expectations for revenue are: Total revenue between $2910 million and $3030 million, compared with the prior range of $2900 million to $3140 million;Semiconductor revenue between $2550 million and $2650 million, compared with the prior range of $2550 million to $2750 million; Sensors & Controls revenue between $285 million and $295 million, compared...

Marconi Unveils Long-Haul SDH Radio Platform

Marconi unveiled a new long-haul Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) radio system featuring very low power consumption and a footprint reduced by 70%. The Marconi Digital Radio System (MDRS) 155 EC digital radio relay system provides STM-1 or STM-4 signals over medium and long distances in the trunk and metro area of communication transmission networks. Marconi said its new product utilises Digital Adaptive Linearisation techniques to produce a quantum leap in the evolution of high capacity fixed wireless equipment. Marconi can now transmit up...

8x8 and Uniden Offer 5.8 GHz Cordless VoIP Set

8x8 and Uniden America Corporation introduced a fully integrated, service-ready whole house VoIP phone system. The Packet8-enabled UIP1868 is a 5.8GHz digital expandable corded/cordless phone with built-in VoIP. The unit is expandable with up to ten handsets. It incorporates Centillium Communications' Voice Services Platform (VSP) and 8x8's Internet telephony software to provide plug-and-play access to Packet8's broadband telephone service.Uniden's...

Kagoor Adds On+Off the Path Functionality to SBC

Kagoor Networks introduced a new unique session border control capability designed for Tier 1 carriers and other large VoIP service providers. The new "On+Off the Path" functionality allows them to place Kagoor's session border controllers within their chosen network design, rather than having to make material network changes to incorporate the session border controller.In an On the Path configuration, where a carrier has converged voice and data, VoiceFlow now supports Data NAT functionality (including header NAT, source NAT, HTTP, HTTPS, TFTP...

White Rock Acquires Seranoa for its Service Edge Concentrators

White Rock Networks, announced has acquired Seranoa Networks, a start-up based in Boxborough, Massachusetts, that supplies intelligent Service Edge concentrators. Financial terms were not disclosed. White Rock is provider of next-generation optical transport systems for metro markets.White Rock said the acquisition substantially broadens its market coverage "since their products reduce the costs of terminating and transporting all of the data that comes into a carrier's network from beyond the fiber's edge." Seranoa's current products will become...

AudioCodes Announces Media Gateway Platform for Carriers and Enterprises

AudioCodes introduced its Mediant 1000 VoIP Media Gateway designed for carrier and enterprise applications. The compact media gateway interfaces between TDM & IP networks in enterprises or small-scale carrier locations. The open platform on the Mediant 1000 offers partners the option to host their own applications (e.g., IP-PBX or call center application) using a powerful, low-power processor and hard disks to provide a complete solution within the Mediant 1000 chassis. The Mediant 1000 has enhanced hardware and software capabilities to ease...

Global Crossing Announces New VoIP LDS Service

Global Crossing launched a new VoIP LDS (local digital service) offer in the U.S., enabling enterprises to extend their local presence to more than 46 major business centers across the US. The new service allows enterprises to expand their addressable markets by offering their customers local numbers through a single connection from one provider. Customers of enterprises can dial these numbers as local calls from any or all of the 46 major business centers serviced by Global Crossing. Calls are then routed across Global Crossing's private VoIP...

TI Selected by Vonage as its Preferred Silicon/Software Provider

Vonage has selected Texas Instruments (TI) as its preferred provider of Voice over IP (VoIP) silicon and software. This agreement between the two companies encourages VoIP equipment manufacturers to use TI's VoIP silicon and software technology when developing products for use on Vonage's broadband telephony network. TI has been supplying solutions to the IP telephony industry since its inception and has shipped over 100 million VoIP ports to date for the IP phone, customer premise equipment (CPE) gateway, and high-density infrastructure marke...

TI Delivers Wireless Digital Baseband Processor

Texas Instruments is delivering fully functional wireless digital baseband devices from its advanced 65-nanometer (nm) CMOS process technology. TI said the 65-nm process and techniques effectively shrink the 90-nm design area by half, leveraging strained-silicon to boost transistor performance by 40 percent, and reducing leakage power from idle transistors by a factor of 1000. TI is among the first semiconductor manufacturers to deliver working 65-nm products.To achieve the power gains, the device uses TI's SmartReflex dynamic power management...

Ditech Introduces Packet Voice Processing Platform

Ditech Communications introduced a new voice processing platform designed to enable carriers to deploy universal transcoding and toll-quality VoIP services.Ditech's new Packet Voice Processor incorporates the company's high-density media processing subsystems. The system can be configured for up to 16 Gigabit Ethernet ports and can scale up to 50,000 transcoding and/or voice processing calls per rack in a fully redundant configuration. The Packet Voice Processor supports current VoIP standards including the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP). The...

Bell Labs Tests Nanograss for Electronic and Photonics

Bell Labs has launched of a new research project that aims to use nano-textured surfaces to solve the extreme thermal management challenges of advanced electronic and photonic systems. The team will be spearheaded by researchers from Bell Labs' new research laboratory in Blanchardstown, Dublin, who, in collaboration with three Irish universities and Bell Labs researchers in Murray Hill, New Jersey, will use "nanograss," a Bell Labs-engineered surface that contains billions of tiny silicon posts, to study the effectiveness of transferring heat from...

Colubris Raises $15 Million for WLAN Systems

Colubris Networks, a start-up based in Waltham, Mass., secured $15 million in its third institutional round of funding for its WLAN systems. Colubris said it now has over 1,000 customers and 60,000 WLAN devices deployed worldwide and that it holds leading market share positions in the WLAN carrier, hospitality, transportation and retail segments. New investors DCM - Doll Capital Management and the Telecommunications Development Fund participated in the round. DCM led the oversubscribed round which also included existing investors: Prism Venture...

Coaxsys Supplies IPTV In-home Networking

Coaxsys, a start-up based in Los Gatos, California, is supplying its IPTV in-home networking solution to McDonough Telephone Cooperative of Illinois. McDonough is the first member of the Western Illinois Video(WIV) group to achieve an in-home networking solution over existing wiring in the home. Coaxsys TVnet leverages in-home coaxial wiring to create an IPTV-ready digital entertainment network. Because the Coaxsys system uses the existing cabling, McDonough will no longer have to engagein costly home rewires.http://www.coaxsys.comThe Coaxsys technology...

Telstra Launches VoIP Trial with Lucent

Telstra has launched a VoIP trial in Melbourne. The Telstra Softswitch platform is initially providing multiple telephone line capability and call control features over broadband connections for up to 200 trial participants. Lucent Technologies is the lead provider of the VOIP technology. http://www.telstra.com...

Verilink Completes Interoperability Testing with Sylantro, Acme Packet

Verilink has completed VoIP interoperability testing of its 8000 Series VoIP-enabled Integrated Access Device (IAD) with the Sylantro platform and suite of hosted communications applications. The 8000 Series IAD was tested using both MGCP and SIP protocols, including CLASS-5 call features, and Sylantro application feature server support. Broadvox, a next generation competitive service provider based in Cleveland, Ohio, has conducted VoIP interoperability testing with the Verilink 8000 Series IAD together with the Sylantro platform. Separately,...