ECI Telecom Debuts "Pluggable" ROADM

ECI Telecom has integrated Wavelength Selective Switch (WSS) based Reconfigurable Optical Add/Drop Multiplexer (ROADM) technology into its flagship XDM MSPP/MSTP platform. Optimized for regional and metro applications, the XDM WSS ROADM solution will support up to 8 "colorless" add/drop ports and has built-in metro optical amplifiers. The advanced WSS technology provides access to all wavelengths at every port, thus paving the way for flexible and fully managed multi-ring and full mesh networks. The built-in metro optical amplifiers reduce the complexity and lower the cost of ROADM nodes. There is also an amplifier option available for regional applications. For carrier networks that need support for up to 40 channels, ECI offers a Wavelength Blocker that is optimized for managing HUB sites.


ECI estimates that by adding one installation step alongside the installation of the transponder and corresponding drop fiber interconnect, its XDM can reduce the initial ROADM deployment costs by over 50%. The solution eliminates the need to realign levels with the addition or removal of wavelengths. ECI has filed a patent application for this capability.
http://www.ecitele.com

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BayPackets Debuts Parlay/OSA Gateway

BayPackets has expanded its IMS service delivery framework with the addition of a Parlay OSA Gateway, which separates the complexity of the network from the application layer, enabling carriers to deploy new revenue-generating data, voice, messaging and multimedia services across converged networks. Open APIs eliminate the need for developers to write code for specific networks and environments, reducing the risk and cost of development.


The Agility Parlay/OSA Gateway complies with Parlay Version 4.1 and Parlay-X 1.0 standards. It interoperates with IBM's WebSphere Everywhere Server for Telecom (WES-T), as well as diverse hardware platforms such as IBM Blade Center and SUN Netra Servers.


BayPackets also announced availability of its Agility Advanced Call Center solution, which is compliant with the Agility Parlay/OSA Gateway and Agility SIP Application Server. The application enables service providers to offer IP-based, toll-free routing services to enterprises with high volumes of call-in traffic, such as sales, customer service or technical support departments. Agility Advanced Call Center allows calls to be routed and prioritized according to a wide range of criteria, such as location of origin and time of day, helping service providers streamline call flows, cost-effectively manage networks systems and enhance the end-user experience.


BayPackets' service layer IMS solution includes the following carrier-grade, highly scalable products:

Agility SIP Application Server:

• Support of JSR 116 SIP servlets and JAIN



• Converged applications through support of ISC, SIP, HTTP



• Application composition



• IP multimedia endpoints



• Service building blocks

Agility Parlay/OSA Gateway:

• Support of external enterprise verticals



• Enables fixed-mobile convergence



• Migration from legacy to IP



• Enablement of content providers



• Support of multiple protocols - ISC/SIP, MGCP, AIN, CAMEL



• Support of WebSphere Application Server

In addition to the SIP Application Server and Parlay/OSA Gateway, BayPackets plans to launch a Mobility Management Application Server (MMAS) product later this year. MMAS uses existing standards to enable the delivery of services over multiple access networks, including: mobile, cable, DSL and Wi-Fi, via a single number.
http://www.baypackets.com

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UTStarcom Unveils its 3rd Generation IP DSLAM

UTStarcom introduced its third-generation IP DSLAM featuring high-density and high-bandwidth capabilities for Triple Play deployments.


The new AN-2000 B1000 lets carriers provision Passive Optical Network (PON) or multiple DSL access technologies. Access line support includes VDSL/VDSL2 (pre-standard) as well as ADSL, ADSL2, ADSL2+, and ADSL2++, G.SHDSL, GEPON and Fast Ethernet (FE).


The new IP DSLAM offers up to 8 Gigabit Ethernet (GE) links, as well as ATM uplink interfaces of E1/T1 IMA and OC-3/STM-1. It can be deployed in a GE Ring configuration or a subtended configuration, allowing service providers to install remote DSLAMs in outdoor cabinets.


The AN-2000 B1000 IP DSLAM also supports a full range of enhanced video service management features for IPTV. This includes support for 1,024 multicast groups and multicast packages, which would let service providers create many mix-and-match channel packages offerings to a large number of customers. Other multicast functionality includes channel zapping delays of less than 50 milliseconds for fast, seamless channel changes and an efficient Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) join/leave aggregation mechanism. The AN-2000 B1000 also supports a unique local multicast authentication mechanism, which prevents unauthorized (non- set-top-box- based) access to multicast services.
http://www.utstar.com

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Ditech Acquires Jasomi for Session Border Controller

Ditech Communications agreed to acquire Jasomi Networks, a supplier of session border controller technology that enables companies and carriers to route inbound SIP traffic without bypassing a firewall, for approximately $20 million, with payment divided into approximately $13 million in cash and $7 million in convertible notes. Ditech will also provide approximately $4 million for the assumption of options and the establishment of a restricted stock plan to issue restricted common stock to Jasomi employees.


Jasomi, which is based in Mountain View, California and Calgary, Alberta, supplies a line of SBCs for carriers, enterprises, and service providers. The company recently introduced a session border controller running on ATCA hardware.


Ditech Communications will continue to sell the Jasomi PeerPoint line of SBCs and combine Jasomi's technology with Ditech's Packet Voice Processor platform to provide a complete border services solution package to carriers.
http://www.ditechcom.com/
http://www.jasomi.com

• Jasomi Networks was founded by Dan Freedman, who previously served as executive officer and vice-president of security products at anti-virus maker McAfee and co-founder of Canada's Launchworks venture investment firm.

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Moonv6 IPv6 Network Tests Multicast Video

MCI, France Telecom Research and Development, the University of New Hampshire-InterOperability Laboratory (UNH-IOL) and Lucent Technologies completed a series of distance-learning video tests over IPv6. The tests linked the North American IPv6 Task Force's Moonv6 network to MCI's global IP backbone via MCI's MAE Extended Services infrastructure, from San Jose, Calif. to Durham, NH. The MCI backbone provided the essential transport and its MAE West facility hosted the IPv6 application servers from France Telecom R&D, Lucent Technologies and Panasonic.


France Telecom R&D provided unicast and multicast applications that ran across the network. The applications include the ePresentation suite of multimedia communications software, developed by France Telecom R&D. Panasonic provided IPv6 Web-enabled video cameras at both ends of the network for live video communications.


Lucent Technologies contributed the Domain Name Server (DNS) infrastructure which provided name resolution services for all the major Moonv6 locations for this round of testing at the UNH in New Hampshire, MCI in San Jose, Calif. and Lucent in Malvern, PA. Lucent also provided DNS and Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol for IPv6 (DHCPv6) services. In addition to stateful and stateless DHCPv6 services, Lucent also provided stateful and stateless DHCPv6 clients for various operating systems to facilitate the testing. Support for Dynamic Domain Name Server Updates was available in Lucent's DHCPv6 server and clients and DNS server to facilitate peer-to-peer applications.


MCI created the conformance test plans and executed the associated tests which reflected key IPv6 attributes of interest to the Internet community. These attributes included IPv4-to-IPv6 transition methods, such as Generic Routing Encapsulation overlay and IPv6 islands over an MPLS core.


The tests performed by MCI also included evaluation of basic protocol functionality concerning IPv6 extensions to the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP), Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) and Intermediate System-to-Intermediate System (IS-IS) protocol in a dual stack IPv4/IPv6 environment and in a native IPv6 environment. http://www.iol.unh.edu/http://www.nav6tf.org/

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Accenture to Support Microsoft Connected Services Framework

Accenture, a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing firm, will utilize the Microsoft Connected Services Framework as the core component for the .NET- based version of its Service Delivery Platform. Accenture is offering its Service Delivery Platform as an environment for the rapid deployment, provisioning, execution, management and billing of value-added communications services, including IPTV.


Microsoft Connected Services Framework is an integrated software solution for building and managing complex services using a service-oriented architecture (SOA) and Web service interfaces. http://www.microsoft.com
http://www.accenture.com

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Scientific-Atlanta and Microsoft Sign IPTV Agreement

Scientific-Atlanta and Microsoft signed a cooperation agreement focused on IPTV. Scientific-Atlanta will make its advanced encoders compatible with the Microsoft IPTV Edition software platform. These encoders will support MPEG4 part 10 and VC-1, the proposed SMPTE (Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers) standard video codec based on Windows Media Video 9.
http://www.scientificatlanta.com/

• In March 2005, SBC awarded a $195 million, multi-year contract to Scientific-Atlanta to provide IP-based video equipment for Project Lightspeed in its 13-state service area. Scientific-Atlanta will supply IP video equipment for an IP video operations center (VOC), two national IP video super hub offices (SHO) and 41 IP video hub offices (VHO). Scientific-Atlanta will provide encoders, satellite dishes, video routers, and professional services as part of the contract. Scientific-Atlanta will also provide professional services related to the initial design and builds of the VOC, SHOs and VHOs.



• In November 2004, SBC announced a $400 million, 10-year agreement with Microsoft to provide next-generation television services using the new Microsoft IPTV Edition software platform.

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Microsoft and TANDBERG Partner on IPTV

TANDBERG Television will integrate its encoding technologies with Microsoft TV's IPTV Edition software platform.


The companies also agreed to enhance TANDBERG's EN5900 range of advanced video encoders that integrate Microsoft's IPTV platform by incorporating picture-in- picture (PIP) generation functionality into the encoder itself.


Enabling PIP functionality without requiring additional hardware-based tuners in the set-top box is one of the unique features of Microsoft TV IPTV Edition. By incorporating PIP capabilities into the encoding solution, TANDBERG Television and Microsoft TV further maximize system efficiencies, because PIP encoding is handled at the encoder. This eliminates processing demands on the acquisition server, which otherwise would need to decode and re-encode the PIP stream, thus reducing the overall cost of the solution and improving the user experience.


The PIP stream will be generated from the same video source and will consist of a lower-resolution version encoded at a much lower bit-rate than the main stream. Resolution reduction is achieved within the encoder and no additional external components are needed.
http://www.tandbergtv.com/http://www.microsoft.com/tv

• Earlier this month, TANDBERG Television announced that it has commenced the installation of an end-to-end IPTV delivery system for the commercial roll-out of the Swisscom/Bluewin triple play service. Swisscom has chosen the TANDBERG Television professional hardware encoding solution for Windows Media Video 9 (Microsoft's implementation of VC-1, the proposed SMPTE standard) following a competitive tender process.

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Seagate Debuts 500GB HDD Optimized for Video

Seagate introduced a new 500GB hard drive for DVR and home entertainment systems. It will provide up to 85 hours of High-Definition TV recording, 500 hours of standard TV recording, and up to 10 simultaneous TV streams. Seagate said its DynaPlay Technology fine-tunes the drive's operating parameters for entertainment applications, including performance for uninterrupted digital media, security to enhance fair use of digital programming, and power to give manufacturers more leeway in selecting cost-efficient power supplies and keep internal temperatures under control.


The drive was one of ten new products introduced by Seagate for applications such as portal media players, game consoles, digital cameras, notebooks, automobile-based information systems, etc.
http://www.seagate.com

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AT&T Wins $27 Million Contract with Cargill

AT&T won a $27 million contract to deploy a global networking solution for Cargill, an international provider of food, agricultural and risk management products and services. The agreement extends and expands a long-standing relationship between the two companies.


Under the agreement, AT&T will provide domestic and international high-speed data, Internet and voice services. Cargill's traffic will be migrated to MPLS.
http://www.att.com

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Telmex Selects Siemens for NGN

Telefonos de Mexico (Telmex) plans to deploy Siemen's SURPASS Next Generation Networks solution to support business and residential services. Under the agreement, Siemens will deploy its SURPASS softswitch solution in Mexico and at Telmex's branches in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru and the United States. Implementation has already started in Mexico and will soon be continued in other Latin American countries. Financial terms were not disclosed.
http://www.usa.siemens.com

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T-Online (France) Deploys Ciena's WDM

T-Online will deploy Ciena's CoreStream Agility platform to deliver additional network capacity and enhanced performance to its Club Internet customers in France. Financial terms were not disclosed.
http://www.ciena.com

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Boeing Teams with Cisco on Network-centric Defense and Security

Boeing and Cisco Systems signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding documenting their intention to extend their non-exclusive business alliance to create and deliver joint solutions for the projected $200 billion global market for network-centric defense and security operations.


Under the agreement, Boeing will serve as the prime lead systems integrator, combining its expertise as a military and intelligence platform provider with its proven success as a systems integrator. Cisco will provide Boeing with its commercial off the shelf technologies (COTS) and services, including networking technologies, integrated solutions, support services as well as consulting and engineering resources. Additionally as part of the alliance, the Cisco Internet Business Solutions Group will provide network business and industry expertise, further accelerating the results and adoption of network-centric operations with mutual customers and at Boeing.


The alliance is complimentary to a previously announced, non-exclusive business alliance between Boeing and IBM. All three companies also are among the 28 founding members of the Network Centric Operations Industry Consortium, NCOIC, which is developing a unified approach that would enable sensors, communications and information systems to interact within a global network-centric environment.


In addition to the alliance, Cisco will continue to be a strategically important supplier to Boeing Shared Services Group (SSG). Cisco is currently delivering on a multi-year contract for product and services announced in 2004, whereby Cisco is providing IP telephony and convergence solutions for use across the Boeing global enterprise, which includes more than 160,000 employees in 48 states and 70 countries.
http://www.cisco.com
http://www.boeing.com

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Broadwing Selects Broadsoft's BroadWorks VoIP

Broadwing Communications has deployed Broadsoft's BroadWorks platform for delivering nationwide VoIP services designed to meet the needs of multi-site enterprises. The service enables enterprises to complement and integrate on-site PBX features with advanced hosted VoIP and multimedia features. Broadwing customers are able to implement VoIP solutions using direct WAN connections among on-premises PBX systems via the SIP capabilities of the BroadWorks platform. http://www.broadwing.com
http://www.broadsoft.com

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3Com Revamps Enterprise Network Prtfolio

3Com announced a significant expansion of its network portfolio with the addition of four new enterprise-class product families based on technology from its TippingPoint division, and switches built with the express purpose of enabling converged networks by the Huawei-3Com joint venture. The new products include:

• the 3Com Switch 5500 family - new Layer 2/3/4 edge switches available in 12 models with both 10/100 and Gigabit variants. Up to eight switches can be managed as a single unit, with fully distributed switching and resilient connections, creating a 'virtual chassis.'



• an expanded 3Com Switch 7700 family - delivering advanced high density Power over Ethernet service in two new modular chassis



• the new 3Com TippingPoint Quarantine Protection - leveraging 3Com switches to extend security control over network endpoints, without having to deploy client software or make changes to endpoint devices and



• the 3Com Enterprise Management System (EMS) - enabling large-scale network change control and configuration management.

http://www.3com.com

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Apple's QuickTime 7 Uses MPEG4 / H.264

Apple delivered a preview release of QuickTime 7 Player and QuickTime 7 Pro for Windows, the industry's first mainstream H.264 solution for streaming and playback of High Definition (HD) video on the Windows platform. In addition to H.264, QuickTime 7 features:

• support for playing up to 24 channels of audio, including 5.1 and 7.1 audio;



• new and improved playback controls, including jog shuttle and variable speed playback options;



• zero-configuration streaming for easy access



• live resizing for smooth playback as a user changes the size of the QuickTime 7 Player window

QuickTime 7 Pro for Windows adds:

• H.264 video encoding for easy creation of pristine video for any use, from 3G to HD and everything in between;



• support for configuring and encoding 5.1 audio;



• new full-screen controls for easy access to player controls in full- screen mode;



• native support for VBScript, enabling QuickTime workflow automation;



• background exporting to allow users to continue working during exports; and



• all-new movie settings for simple and efficient movie authoring.

The final versions of QuickTime 7 Player and QuickTime 7 Pro for Windows will be available this summer.
http://www.apple.com

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BellSouth to Offer 6 Mbps DSL Tier

BellSouth will begin offering a 6 Mbps DSL tier beginning in Q4 this year. The company's fast current offering is 3 Mbps downstream with 384 kbps upstream.
http://www.bellsouth.com/

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