Thursday, May 26, 2005

Infineon Announces VDSL2/ADSL2+ Silicon

Infineon Technologies is extending its DSL silicon portfolio with VINAX, a VDSL2/ADSL2+ end-to-end solution positioned for Triple Play services such as multi-channel HDTV, on-line/on-demand gaming and video applications, VoIP and high-speed Internet access. The new Infineon VINAX chipset drives symmetric 100 Mbps over copper wires at distances greater than 350 meters (1150 ft), doubling the loop reach performance of existing VDSL solutions.


Infineon said VINAX is fully compliant to the new VDSL2/ G.993.2 (Very-High-Bit-Rate Digital Subscriber Line 2) standard, which is solely based on DMT (Discrete Multi-tone Modulation) technology. It provides the long-reach capabilities of the ADSL2+ technology while enhancing the high data rates of VDSL from 70/30 Mbps to symmetric 100 Mbps. In order to carry such high bit rates within a reach of up to 350 meters the VDSL2 frequency spectrum has been increased from 12 MHz to 30 MHz. To meet carrier access market requirements for medium and long loops the transmit power has been raised up to 20 dBm and echo canceling techniques were specified to allow ADSL-like performance for long reach applications. For most efficient use of bit rate and bandwidth flexible framing and on-line reconfiguration methods like Seamless Rate Adaptation (SRA) and Dynamic Rate Repartitioning (DRR) were included as well.


The new Infineon VDSL2 chip set is available as complete end-to-end solution designed for full VDSL2 bandwidth of 30 MHz. The multi-channel Central Office (CO) chipset is based on a 2-chip architecture enabling line card density of 48 full-rate VDSL2 ports in CO and Remote Terminal (RT) applications. MII, R-MII, S-MII, SS-SMII, POSPHY-L2, and Utopia-L2 interface on the backplane side allow full flexibility and in combination with the built-in AAL5 interworking functionality enable system vendors and telecom providers to deploy VDSL2/ADSL2+ line cards in existing Ethernet and ATM networks. To increase service speed and range the solution integrates a 2-port bonding mechanism and therefore enables service providers to reach 100 percent of their customer base. ADSL-like long reach performance is ensured using Echo Canceller algorithms, Time Domain Equalization and a maximum of 20 dBm line power. All service profiles and regional specific requirements can be met with a single hardware platform by appropriate software configuration.


On the Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) side, Infineon offers a full standard compliant VDSL2 single-chip solution which addresses both simple bridge modems as well as access gateway applications. The VINAX-CPE can be integrated with the company's new WildPass Wireless Network processor for a complete, ready to deploy, VDSL2 / ADSL2+ gateway reference design.


"We are delighted to see standardized VDSL2 technology entering the market so quickly as it is a key element of next generation DSL business," said Tom Starr, Board Member of the international DSL Forum.
http://www.infineon.com

ITU Approves VDSL2 Standard

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) officially approved the very-high-bit-rate digital subscriber line 2 (VDSL2) standard.


The new VDSL2 Recommendation (ITU-T G.993.2) delivers up to 100 Mbps both up and downstream, a ten-fold increase over "plain vanilla" ADSL.


Yoichi Maeda, chairman of the ITU Telecommunications Standardization Sector (ITU-T) Study Group responsible for the work, said: "We have leveraged the strengths of ADSL, ADSL2+, and VDSL to achieve the very high performance levels you will see with VDSL2. This new standard is set to become an extremely important feature of the telecommunications landscape, and is a landmark achievement for our members, many of whom are relying on this Recommendation to take their businesses to the next level."http://www.itu.int

SIPquest Appoints CEO

SIPquest, a developer of Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) based IP Telephony software applications, named David Hattey as its president, CEO, replacing co-founder and current CEO, Alain Mouttham, who stepped down for personal reasons. Mouttham will continue to serve on the company's board and as CTO. Hattey previously served as Vice President and General Manager, Enterprise Voice Solutions at 3Com.

http://www.sipquest.com

Verio Provides IPv6 Service to UltraDNS

Verio, a subsidiary of NTT Communications, will provide its IPv6 Gateway Services to Internet access customer UltraDNS, a provider of managed DNS services. The company currently manages more than 12 million domains, representing approximately a 20% share of the global domain market. The IPv6 services UltraDNS provides to its customer base expand beyond the United States, reaching to Hong Kong and London, making IPv6 an option for international customers.
http://www.verio.com

Pace Micro Lands Set-Top Contract with Comcast

Pace Micro Technology was awarded a multi-year set-top box contract by Comcast. In addition, Comcast has agreed to license Pace's EngineWare software platform and related set-top box technology and to work with Pace on the joint development of next-generation set-top boxes and related technologies.


The total price expected to be paid for the set-top boxes over a three-year period is between approximately $375 million and $550 million based on the type of Pace boxes that Comcast may order. Under the new agreement, which supersedes an earlier set-top box purchase agreement between the companies, Comcast will purchase a variety of Pace's set-top boxes, including the recently announced Tahoe HD DVR set-top box. The purchases are subject to Comcast's acceptance of the boxes and other conditions contained in the agreement.


Comcast also will have the right to sublicense Pace's EngineWare software and specified set-top box designs in the North American cable market. In addition, Comcast and Pace will jointly fund non-exclusive development of next-generation cable set-top boxes and related technologies to be carried out by Pace's engineering team. http://www.pacemicro.com

European Regulators See High International Roaming Charges

Regulators from 32 European countries agreed to coordinate their efforts to address the very high retail charges for mobile international roaming services. The European Regulators Group (ERG) said the exorbitant charges appear to result both from high wholesale charges levied by the foreign host network operator and also, in many cases, from high retail mark-ups charged by the customer's own network operator. Reductions in wholesale charges are not being passed on to consumers. Furthermore, consumers often lack clear information on what they will be charged for each call.


The ERG is establishing a project team to identify regulatory measures in order to improve tariff transparency. The issue will be discussed at the next ERG meeting in September.
http://www.erg.eu.int/