AT&T Partners with NEC on VoIP Project in Japan

AT&T and NEC have jointly implemented a VoIP project for OMRON Corp. in Japan. The migration to VoIP began in November 2004, and after voice-switching testing and other preparations, over 10,000 telephones nationwide were switched in just two days.


In this project, AT&T was responsible for project management, network design, equipment/line selection, test and operational support. NEC installed VoIP equipment, including UNIVERGE SV7000 servers and VoIP gateways at all locations. The companies estimate that Omron will save $500,000 per year.


AT&T also supplies Omron with a global IP VPN linking 53 business locations in 19 European countries and 15 business locations in 9 countries in the Asia Pacific region. The VPN solution also has been extended to the U.S.
http://www.att.com

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Sierra Monolithics Announces Shipments of Dual-Band WiMAX Transceivers

Sierra Monolithics began shipping a dual-band transceiver that supports WiMax-compliant CPE. The device includes full receive and transmit paths with on-chip synthesizers and VCOs. The transceiver tunes over 2.3 to 2.7 GHz and 3.3 to 3.8 GHz. Sierra Monolithics also has evaluation kits available. The kits provide a complete RF section at 3.5 GHz suitable for half duplex frequency division duplex (FDD) or time division duplex (TDD) operation.


"Standards-based, cost-effective WiMAX modems and gateways are key to the success of the wireless broadband market," said Scott Richardson, general manager of Intel's Broadband Wireless Division. "SMI's dual-band single chip transceiver, the SMI7035, and the Intel PRO/Wireless 5116 broadband interface enable more cost effective WiMAX modems, which will help bring them to a broader audience."http://www.monolithics.com

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Motorola Invests in Asylum Telecom for Messaging Apps

Motorola Ventures has made an equity investment in Asylum Telecom, a start-up offering "turnkey" Internet-based communication solutions. Asylum's product portfolio includes anytime-anywhere access, voice VPN services, converged GSM/IP mobile, and instant messaging. The solution includes full OSS/BSS (Operation and Business Support Systems). Asylum sells through a global network of channel partners. Financial terms were not disclosed.


Asylum Telecom was founded in February 2003 and is headquartered in New York with R&D and operational support offices in Budapest, Hungary and Cambridge, Massachusetts.
http://www.asylumtel.com/

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Verizon Signs A&E for its IPTV Service

Verizon signed a long-term programming- distribution agreement with A&E Television Networks. The agreement includes rights to distribute all of A&E's networks on FiOS TV, which launches later this year. They include A&E, The History Channel, The Biography Channel, History International, Military History Channel, The History Channel en español, and Crime & Investigation Network. Also included is video-on-demand content from all of A&E Television Network services. Financial terms were not disclosed.


http://www.verizon.com

• Last week, Verizon SIGNED a long-term agreement with NBC Universal Cable for distribution of its cable and broadcast networks on Verizon FiOS TV. Two of the networks, Telemundo and mun2, will be part of the extensive lineup of Spanish- language programming available to FiOS TV subscribers.
  
  The agreement includes rights to distribute Bravo, CNBC, CNBC World, MSNBC, SCI FI Channel, Trio, USA, ShopNBC, Telemundo, including Telemundo's locally owned broadcast stations, and mun2, a channel aimed at young U.S. Latinos. Also included are retransmission consent rights to NBC Universal's owned and operated broadcast stations and Universal HD, a service that features high-definition films, TV shows, performing arts, sports and special events.


• Verizon has also signed long-term affiliation agreements with Starz Entertainment Group and TVN Entertainment for its upcoming FiOS TV service.

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Ericsson Predicts 2 Billion Mobile Subscriber Worldwide by Year End

Ericsson estimated that net mobile subscriber additions worldwide were close to 100 million in the first quarter of 2005. At the end of the quarter worldwide mobile subscription penetration is 28% with a total of more than 1.8 billion subscriptions, of which almost 1.4 billion are GSM. The strong subscriber growth continues and the global number of subscriptions could pass 2 billion already by year-end.


Ericsson reported Q1 2005 net sales of SEK 31.5, up 12% over Q1 2004, but down 20% from Q4 2004 due to seasonality. The company described the year-over-year improvement as encouraging but the comparison is also somewhat favorable due to a somewhat slower start last year. Currency exchange effects negatively impacted sales in the quarter by 5%, compared to currency exchange rates one year ago. In constant currencies sales for the quarter grew by 17%.


Gross margin was 48.5% compared to 44.7% last year, a reflection of a favorable product mix as well as continuous focus on cost reductions.


Western Europe sales grew 26% year-over-year. Italy and Spain continued to show strong development and the region as a whole is benefiting from ongoing 3G deployments and GSM capacity enhancements.


Central Europe, Middle East and Africa sales for Ericsson grew 20% year-over-year with particularly good development in Africa and Eastern European markets such as Turkey and Ukraine. The growing demand for EDGE and WCDMA continues to stimulate the positive development in the region.


Asia Pacific sales for Ericsson were up by 4% year-over-year. Strong development in important markets such as India, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Pakistan contributed to the sales growth. The development in China has been somewhat slower in the first quarter but should pick up going forward. Operators are evaluating different 3G technologies and performing large-scale trials with WCDMA as the natural choice for the dominating GSM technology. A Chinese telecom reform is expected mid year 2005 and should trigger the issuing of 3G licenses.


North America sales for Ericsson continue to be affected by the temporary slow down in capital expenditure due to operator consolidation and sales declined by 24% year-over-year. Sales should start to pick up as the 3G roll out starts later this year. During the quarter Ericsson also announced a contract to provide WCDMA equipment and telecom services to the U.S. Navy MUOS program.


Latin America continues to show a positive development and Eriksson's sales grew by 24% year-over-year through strong GSM sales. Brazil and Mexico in particular contributed to the year over year growth.


During the quarter, five new WCDMA networks were commercially launched, bringing the total to 61. Ericsson is a supplier to 36 of these networks. WCDMA subscriptions grew from approximately 16 million to more than 21 million during the quarter. The number of CDMA2000 1xEV-DO subscriptions has now reached 12 million.
http://www.ericsson.com

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Broadwing to Sell its Corvis Optical Switch Division

Broadwing is considering strategic alternatives for its Optical Convergence Switch (OCS) digital cross-connect product, including a potential sale of the product, in order to focus on its telecommunications services business.


The OCS digital cross-connect switch provides standard point-to-point, ring and mesh networking functionality that enables delivery of SONET/SDH services and is sold by the Broadwing's communications equipment division. Broadwing previously reported that its equipment sales, primarily to the U.S. government, contributed approximately 2% to consolidated company revenue in 2004.


Broadwing also announced that Jim Bannantine, who served as President of its equipment business, has resigned in order to pursue other interests. In addition, the company named Scott Widham, currently President-Carrier Accounts, to the new position of President of Sales, which merges oversight of the previously separate Carrier Accounts and Enterprise Accounts sales operations. http://www.broadwing.com

• In September 2004, Corvis changed its name to Broadwing Corporation. Last year, Corvis also acquired Chicago-based competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC) Focal Communications for $210 million.



• In June 2003, Corvis and Cequel III, a St. Louis-based telecommunications and cable management firm, completed their acquisition of Broadwing Communications from Cincinnati Bell. The sale includes Broadwing's 18,700 mile national fiber network, its all-optical switching platform, a state-of-the-art network operations center and all the other network elements necessary to provide its integrated and managed broadband telecommunications services.

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Nokia Sees Overall Mobile Device Market at 740 Million Units for 05

Nokia now expects the overall mobile device market for 2005 to reach about 740 million units, compared with its previous estimate of approximately 10% annual growth, from an estimated 643 million units in 2004. The overall market is also expected to grow in value, but to a lesser extent. Volume growth is expected to continue to be driven by replacement and upgrade sales in more developed markets, with the availability of new features, services and cameras, and by new subscriber growth in developing mobile markets. In infrastructure, Nokia continues to expect the overall market in 2005 to be slightly up compared with 2004 in EUR terms.


According to Nokia estimates, year-on-year volume growth for the mobile device market in the first quarter came in ahead of expectations at 20%, with Nokia growing at about the same pace as the market. Despite some weakness in 3G devices at the industry level, this marked a strong start for the year.



Nokia's first-quarter 2005 net sales increased 17% to EUR 7.4 billion, compared with EUR 6.3 billion in the first quarter of 2004. At constant currency, group net sales would have increased 19%. All business groups contributed to the year-on-year sales growth.


Nokia's first-quarter operating profit grew 10% year on year to EUR 1.1 billion, compared with the first quarter 2004 (EUR 1.0 billion) with an operating margin of 15.1% (16.1%).


Operating cash flow for the quarter ended March 31, 2005 was EUR 1.3 billion, compared with EUR 0.9 billion in Q1 2004, and total combined cash and other liquid assets were EUR 12.6 billion, compared with EUR 11.5 billion at 31 December 31, 2004. As of March 31, 2005, net debt-to-equity ratio (gearing) was -94%, compared with -79% at December 31, 2004.


For the first-quarter 2005, the total mobile device sales volume achieved by the Mobile Phones, Multimedia and Enterprise Solutions business groups reached 53.8 million units, representing a year-on-year rise of 20% and a sequential decline, mainly due to normal seasonality, of 19%. Overall market volumes for the same period reached an estimated 170 million units, representing 20% annual growth and a 13% sequential decline. In smartphones, the total industry volume for the first quarter reached an estimated 10 million units, while Nokia's own smartphone volumes grew to 5.4 million units, compared with 1.8 million units in the first quarter 2004.


Global mobile subscription growth also continued, as total global subscriptions rose to an estimated 1.8 billion by the end of the quarter, backed by the ongoing strong momentum in new growth markets such as India, Russia, China and Brazil.


Nokia's year-on-year volume growth in China was positively affected by stronger seasonal market growth in the first quarter, and our expanding distribution system, competitive product portfolio, brand strength and quality products. In Europe/Middle East/Africa, market growth in the first quarter 2005, particularly in new growth markets, combined with an improved product portfolio, drove Nokia volumes, compared with the first quarter 2004.


However, in North America, and now in Latin America, Nokia's year-on-year volume decline primarily reflected operator migration from TDMA, which was a strong market for us in the first quarter 2004, to GSM and CDMA, where the company's relative position is not as strong.


Nokia's estimated market share for the first quarter was 32%, flat year on year and down compared with 34% in the fourth quarter 2004. Strong sequential market share gains in China, followed by Europe/Middle East/Africa, were more than offset by substantial market share losses in North America and Latin America. The seasonal strength of the Korean and Japanese markets in the first quarter 2005 also adversely impacted our market share, as Nokia does not have a material presence in those markets.


The average selling price for Nokia's mobile device business was EUR 110. This was supported by proportionally higher sales of high-end products from our multimedia and enterprise businesses in the first quarter 2005.
http://www.nokia.com

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Hong Kong Broadband Launches 1 Gbps Home Service for US$215/month

Hong Kong Broadband Network (HKBN) officially launched its 1 Gbps symmetric service for the residential market. Approximately 800,000 households, out of a total of 2.2 million households in Hong Kong, are wired to receive the service. The 1 Gbps symmetric service is priced at US$215 per month.


HKBN noted that its 1 Gbps service is up to 166x faster downstream and 1,950x faster upstream than the advertised bandwidth of the incumbent's ADSL service.


HKBN Premium bb1000 service is being offered on the same metro Ethernet infrastructure that delivers the company's Mass Market bb100 (symmetric 100 Mbps for US$34/month) and Entry Point bb10 (symmetric 10 Mbps for US$16/month) services.
http://www.ctinets.com/

• HKBN is installing more than 10,000 Cisco Catalyst LAN switches and more than 800 Cisco routers in buildings throughout Hong Kong. Category 5e copper cables are wired from the LAN switch cabinet to the apartments of each target customer. Fiber-to-the-building (FTTB) was deployed between the buildings using the Cisco ONS 15454 Multiservice Transport Platform (MSTP) and Cisco Catalyst 4507R Switches.



• HKBN is also using a Cisco Optical Core network. The deployment includes the Cisco ONS 15454 SONET/SDH Multiservice Provisioning Platform (MSPP); Cisco Catalyst 6500, Catalyst 4500, Catalyst 3350, and Catalyst 2950 series switches; and Cisco 2600XM Series routers. Cisco's ONS 15454 MSPP enables the carrier to converge its legacy voice and data services and a new pay-TV service into a single platform, and at the same time offer Layer 2 and 3 IP services using Resilient Packet Ring (RPR)-ready ML Series line cards. The network enables HKBN to deliver up to 200 digital pay-TV channels via MPEG-2 at 4.5 Mbps to 10 Mbps with DVD visual quality. Its service also features interactive pay-TV elements and enables PC or TV connection with the aid of a set-top box.

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