Time Warner Selects Scientific-Atlanta / Tropic Networks ROADMs

Scientific-Atlanta and Tropic Networks were selected to provide Time Warner Cable's Portland, Maine division with reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexer (ROADM) transport nodes for its core DWDM network and related support services. ROADMS enable the operator to quickly and remotely modify network topology to optimize bandwidth use. Time Warner Cable expects to rollout its first fully managed and fully reconfigurable network in Portland during Q2. Financial terms were not disclosed.


Time Warner Cable Portland will be using Tropic's WT-24000 optical transport platform, TROPX software suite and Wavelength Tracker, advanced optical layer management technology. The managed ROADM solution will provide Time Warner with dual homing master head-end protection for a protected VOD network designed to deliver uninterrupted service to its customers. In addition, the new architecture will support Time Warner's existing commercial services. The WT-24000's flexible architecture further provides Time Warner with the ability to create a fully converged network infrastructure as new services can be deployed onto this platform as they become available.
http://www.tropicnetworks.com
http://www.scientificatlanta.com

• Last month, Tropic Networks announced a partnership under which Scientific-Atlanta will resell and support its intelligent wavelength transport platform to cable operators. Under the terms of the OEM agreement, Scientific-Atlanta will have sales, distribution and support rights for the Tropic-developed family of intelligent optical transport products for the MSO market.



• Tropic Networks, which is based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, developed a Reconfigurable OADM (ROADM) that enables service providers to remotely reconfigure add and drop capacity at each node. Tropic's system features an advanced optical layer management technology called "Wavelength Tracker".



• In July 2004, Alcatel made an equity investment in Tropic Networks, a start-up offering metro-area optical networking gear. In addition to the financial investment, Alcatel also entered into a global agreement to market and distribute Tropic Networks products and technology. Financial terms were not disclosed.



• Tropic Networks was founded in May 2000 by Kevin Rankin, formerly co-founder of the Broadband Copper Access division at Newbridge Networks; Dr. Dan Oprea, former senior architect at Nortel Networks and Mitel; Dave Coomber, former assistant VP of xDSL at Newbridge Networks; and Ben Bacque, co-founder of the Broadband Copper Access division at Newbridge Networks.

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FCC Denies SBC's Petition on IP Services

The FCC denied a petition from SBC Communications requesting that Title II common carrier regulations not be applied to IP services. The petition was denied on procedural grounds rather than as a matter of policy.


In February 2004, SBC filed a petition asking the FCC to forbear from applying Title II common carrier regulation to IP Platform Services, which it defined as "those services that enable any customer to send or receive communications in IP format over an IP platform, and the IP platforms on which those services are provided."


In this ruling, the FCC reasoned that it would be inappropriate to grant SBC's petition because it asks the FCC to forbear from enforcing requirements that may not even apply to the facilities and services in question. The FCC has not yet decided the extent to which IP-enabled services are covered by Title II and its implementing rules. Therefore, the FCC cannot "forbear" from applying rules have not yet been defined.


In a statement, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said the issues presented by this petition are important ones that require the Commission's attention. "Accordingly, in order to accomplish what will be one of the Commission's core priorities -- promoting the deployment of new packetized networks throughout the nation -- we should move forward to address the creation of a level-playing field for the provision of advanced services by similarly situated service providers. The removal of legacy regulations should spur investment and the deployment of new packetized networks and facilities that will bring new broadband services to all Americans throughout the nation."http://www.fcc.gov

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Tellabs Enhances its 8800 Multiservice Router

Tellabs released a "ServiceAssured" upgrade for its IP/MPLS-based Tellabs 8800 multi-service router (MSR). A key enhancement is the ability to maintain all control and data path connectivity during system maintenance and software upgrades. For example, end-user Virtual Private Networks connections, as well as routing protocols, will operate normally during a system software upgrade with the Tellabs 8800 MSR. This ensures that software-related maintenance upgrades will cause no disruption to service provider networks.
http://www.tellabs.com

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EC Endorses Public Funding for Municipal Fiber Network in France

The European Commission ruled that public co-funding of an open broadband infrastructure in Limousin, France does not constitute "state aid" and should go forward. The project has a total budget of EUR 85 million and will be co-financed by EU funds as a public/private partnership. Selected through a public procurement procedure, the concession holder will provide various wholesale services to retail operators but not services to end users. Retail operators will be allowed to lease dark fiber on a non-discriminatory basis to offer services.


The EC noted that Limousin consists mainly of rural and remote areas, and that access to broadband services offered by existing market operators in Limousin is insufficient to meet the population's essential needs. The EC had already made a similar ruling in November 2004 in case in the Pyrénées Atlantiques region.http://europa.eu.int/

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QUALCOMM's 4GV Codec Increases Capacity Up to 40%

QUALCOMM announced its Fourth-Generation Vocoder (4GV) offering CDMA2000 1X and 1xEV-DO operators the flexibility to make network adjustments that prioritize voice quality and network capacity.


QUALCOMM said the new 4GV vocoder was specifically designed to leverage 1xEV-DO Rev. A, increasing the overall quality of end-to-end services for delay-sensitive applications such as VoIP. It supports both circuit-switched and packet-switched voice networks in a combined core. QUALCOMM claims it can increase capacity by up to 40% in narrowband networks compared to current vocoder solutions. It could also be used in wideband networks to offer superior voice quality enhancements, or in VoIP deployments to deliver better voice quality due to its QoS support.


QUALCOMM plans to support the 4GV solution in QUALCOMM's Mobile Station Modem (MSM) CDMA2000 1X and 1xEV-DO chipsets, which also support the current vocoder solution. The company said wireless operators can realize even greater capacity improvements -- up to double the capacity of today's networks -- by deploying 4GV in conjunction with receive diversity technology.
http://www.qualcomm.com/

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Sprint and Intel Team on WiMax

Sprint and Intel agreed to engage in joint efforts to advance the development of 802.16e WiMAX mobile technology. The companies will collaborate on technical specifications, perform equipment trials and conduct interoperability testing to examine possible next-generation wide-area wireless broadband devices and services.


"Our relationship with Intel will help validate requirements, drive key ecosystem development needs, formulate network strategies and define the potential for advanced wireless services adoption," explained Oliver Valente, chief technology officer and vice president -- Technology Development, Sprint. Sprint is fostering a number of strategic partnerships and investigating multiple technologies in support of future wireless interactive multimedia services that would be considered for deployment in the 2.5 GHz band of spectrum. WiMAX is one of the technologies Sprint is investigating for these services.
http://www.sprint.com/http://www.intel.com/pressroom

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UTStarcom Reports Q1, Warns on Sales in China

UTStarcom reported Q1 net sales of $901.8 million, an increase of 44.9% over net sales of $622.3 million reported in Q1 of 2004.


The UTStarcom Personal Communications Division, formerly Audiovox Communications, which was acquired in November 2004, contributed $315.6 million of sales in the quarter and the Company recorded $268.6 million of sales related to contracts with Japan Telecom, which were awarded last summer.


First quarter gross profit margin was 26.4% of sales as compared to gross profit margin of 28.3 percent of sales in the first quarter of 2004. Gross profit margin for the Company excluding the Personal Communications Division was 38.3% of sales. Gross profit margin for the Personal Communications Division business was 4.3% of sales.


GAAP net income for the first quarter of 2005 was $38.0 million, or $0.29 diluted earnings per share.


The company said nearly 75% percent of total revenue in Q1 came from outside of China, compared to approximately 9% at the same time last year. UTStarcom also warned that this year's decline in its PAS business in China will be more significant than it had initially expected due to the maturation of the market and uncertainty around timing of 3G license awards. The company now expects the decline to be in the range of 40 to 50% from 2004 revenue levels of approximately U.S. $2.0 billion, rather than its originally anticipated decrease of 30%. http://www.utstarcom.com

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Yahoo! Announces Major Content Partners for its Video Search

Yahoo! announced general availability of its Video Search, enabling Internet users to more easily find online video content. Yahoo! Video Search, which uses the company's media crawling and ranking technology, indexes content from across the Web and includes new content from partners such as Buena Vista Pictures, CBS News, CMT, Discovery Communications, MTV, Reuters, Scripps Networks (Home & Garden Television, The Food Network), VH1 and others.


Yahoo! is also forming partnerships with other video content sources. A relationship with TVEyes, enables Yahoo! to search within Bloomberg video broadcasts and direct links to the relevant portion of the broadcast. Other partnerships include Internet Broadcasting Systems (national network of local news), IFILM, The One Network, and Stupid Videos.


Yahoo! Video Search also provides users with integrated access to video content from the Yahoo! network by including movie trailers from Yahoo! Movies, music videos from Yahoo! Music, the #1 place on the web for music video content, and exclusive video from The Apprentice, including the full confessionals from fired contestants, and The Contender, including the full boxing match from each episode.


Yahoo! is supporting Media Really Simple Syndication (Media RSS) a self-publishing specification that enables publishers to promote audio and video content.


"We're delighted to be working with Yahoo! on a project that takes the video entertainment experience to the next level," said Jason Hirschhorn, senior vice president of digital music and media, MTV Networks Music Group. "Yahoo! Video Search caters directly to MTV Networks' global network and fan base, so users have the ability to access our content in an even more customizable way."http://video.search.yahoo.comhttp://search.yahoo.com/mrss/mrss

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ECI Reports 35% Revenue Growth in Q1

ECI Telecom reported Q1 revenue of $145 million, a 35% increase from $108 million in Q1 2004 and a 4% increase from $140 million in Q4 2004. This marks the seventh consecutive quarterly increase in revenues for the company. Net income for Q1 reached $10.4 million, or $0.09 per share.


Commenting on the results, Doron Inbar, President and CEO said "The Broadband Access Division's continued growth and profitability are due primarily to our European customers' increasing focus on delivering revenue-generating services such as TV over DSL and video on demand (VOD), which will enable them to attract new customers as well as increase customer loyalty and average revenue per user (ARPU)... Our Optical Networks Division maintained its strong growth, with advanced emerging markets such as Russia and Asia Pacific countries continuing to deploy new networks to meet increasing customer demand. With the increased momentum in deploying 3G networks, cellular backhaul continues to be a major growth driver for this Division."


Revenues for the Broadband Access Division increased to $63 million in the quarter, up 31% from a year ago and compared to $60 million last quarter. Operating income for the Division reached $8.5 million, compared to $3.3 million in the first quarter of 2004.


Revenues for the Optical Networks Division increased 47% from a year ago and reached $77 million for the quarter, compared to $72 million in the fourth quarter of 2004. The Division continued to improve its profitability, reaching an operating income of $4.9 million for the quarter, compared with a $3 million loss in the first quarter of 2004.
http://www.ecitele.com.

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Covad Signs Access Agreement with SBC, AT&T

Covad Communications reached an agreement with SBC Communications and AT&T under which it would help the combined entity extend IP-based services to out-of-region consumers and businesses. The deal is effective upon completion of the SBC and AT&T merger.


AT&T entered into a long-term commercial agreement with Covad on Jan. 1, 2002, buying high-speed Internet access services for resale. SBC entered into an agreement for similar services with Covad on Nov. 12, 2001. This new commercial agreement, along with the current contracts, would continue past the completion of the SBC-AT&T merger.


SBC and Covad also signed a separate commercial agreement that covers the provision of line-sharing over copper and remote-terminal facilities in SBC's territory for a four-year period. Line-sharing allows communications providers like Covad to deploy high-speed DSL broadband on the same line customers use for their voice phone services.


SBC said the deal demonstrates its commitment to promoting "vigorous competition" in the telecommunications industry and that the deal makes it a more effective out-of-region competitor.
http://www.covad.com
http://www.sbc.com

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Ambric Names Howard Bubb as CEO

Ambric, a start-up based in Beaverton, Oregon, named Howard Bubb as CEO and chairman of its board. Ambric is developing a new type of programmable IC platform that it says will help electronics companies accelerate time to market for their products while also slashing system development costs. The company is in stealth mode.


Howard Bubb is a former vice president of Intel Corporation and general manager of Intel's Communication Infrastructure Group. He joined Intel from Dialogic Corporation where he was president and CEO. http://www.ambric.com

• In September 2004, Ambric announced a $10.4 million Series A funding round, co-led by ComVentures and OVP Venture Partners.

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