During its Open Meeting on May 19th, the FCC will consider two critical issues:Proposed rules and E911 requirements for IP-enabled service providersa comprehensive review and proposed rules on the Universal Service Fund (USF).http://www.fcc....
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
Deutsche Telekom Reaches 6.7 Million DSL Users
Deutsche Telekom added 600,000 DSL lines in Q1 2005, bringing its total number of DSL subscribers to 6.7 million. In Germany, the company now has 6.4 million DSL lines, of which 500,000 are resold by competitors. T-Online has also positioned itself as a full-package DSL provider in Germany since February 1, 2005 by marketing the DSL line together with an Internet access and hardware components. Some additional highlights from Q1:Deutsche Telekom's net revenue increased by 3.5% year-on-year, from EUR 13.9 billion to EUR 14.4 billion. Group EBITDA...
Packet8 Extends its E911 Availability
Packet8 announced that the Enhanced 911 (E911) service it offers its VoIP and videophone subscribers is now available in 2,024 rate centers covering 43 U.S. states. Launched nearly one year ago with support from NENA, the National Emergency Number Association, 8x8's E911 service automatically routes calls and computer-based "screen pops" of caller information to emergency personnel at local Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs). The company said that unlike "911" services marketed by some other VoIP providers, whereby a call to 911 is intercepted...
Cegetel and neuf to Merge
Citing the need for critical mass in the highly competitive French market, neuf Telecom (formerly LDCOM) announced plans to merge with Cegetel's fixed line division. The combination would create France's second-largest fixed-line telecommunications operator with annual turnover of EUR 2.8 billion ($3.6 billion) this year. As of the end of March, neuf telecom had 540,000 ADSL customers. Cegetel currently has about 338,000 ADSL customers. The other major players in the competitive French broadband market include Iliad's Free with 1.21 million ADLS...
UTStarcom Unveils VoIP CPE
UTStarcom unveiled a family of customer premise equipment (CPE) for both the residential and enterprise markets, including VoIP analog telephony adapters (ATA), integrated access devices (IADs), ADSL gear, and multi-function gateways. The new lineup includes:VoIP Analog Terminal Adapters (ATAs) that offer two FXS voice ports, each supporting a separate, independent phone number; call control provided via Session Initiated Protocol (SIP) or Media...
Microsoft Offers Wi-Fi Protected Access 2
Microsoft added support for Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 (WPA2) to Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2). WPA2 confirms that a PC's wireless software is compatible with the IEEE 802.11i security standard. Building on the protections of the earlier Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) specification, the new Wi-Fi Alliance standard offers the advanced data encryption mandated by the Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 140-2 specification, by which many government agencies and enterprises must abide. WPA2 also helps healthcare organizations meet the privacy...
Bell Canada to appeal CRTC VoIP decision
Bell Canada will appeal the decision by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to regulate prices for VoIP services provided by Canada's established phone companies, including Bell.Canada is the first major industrialized nation to regulate retail rates for Internet telephony.Bell Canada said it was unfair that only VoIP services offered by incumbent local telephone companies such as Bell to be price regulated, while others, such as the large incumbentcable companies, will be free to offer services and bundles unencumbered...
Canada to Regulate VoIP as a Local Service
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) ruled that VoIP should be regulated when used as a local telephone service. The CRTC said its overall aim is to create regulatory conditions that allow competition to grow. As each telecommunications market becomes sustainably competitive, CRTC would then refrain -- or forbear -- from regulating that market. Ultimately, the CRTC aims to eliminate price regulation in local telephone service, including VoIP, in Canada."We believe that VoIP represents a key moment in the evolution...
