Thursday, September 22, 2005

Ellacoya VoIP Quality Reporter Deliver Per-Call Reporting

Ellacoya Networks introduced a "VoIP Quality Reporter" software capability that enables its IP Service Control System to monitor VoIP calls on a per-subscriber basis. Service providers could use the system to measure VoIP call quality in real-time for a particular subscriber, CMTS or DSLAM, or network segment.


Ellacoya's IP Service Control System, which consists of its e30 IP switches and Service Logic Software for centralized management, can identify, classify and control VoIP calls on a per-VoIP service provider and individual subscriber basis. It can prioritize specific VoIP calls and apply appropriate QoS to control jitter, latency and packet loss, and guarantee a high quality VoIP call. The VQR complements the Ellacoya system by providing voice quality reports, historically or in real-time, using a Mean Opinion Score (MOS) measurement method to rate calls from 1 (very poor) to 5 (excellent). The reports are used to identify specific quality problems or quality trends in the network that can then be resolved by the service provider.


The VQR captures latency/jitter, packet loss and Codec information. It collects information from Real Time Control Protocol (RTCP) streams and frames, the most accurate means for obtaining latency/jitter and packet loss information end-to-end. The system can be configured to report on specific subscribers, subscriber groups, VoIP service provider, time intervals, upstream/downstream quality and many other parameters. It can even zero in on a specific problem call and troubleshoot in real-time to enhance customer service.


Each Ellacoya e30 switch can track and report up to 10,000 simultaneous calls, while supporting up to 64,000 subscribers for network reporting, bandwidth management and tiered services.


Ellacoya said its system can scale to millions of subscribers by managing hundreds of switches from a central point in the network. The VQR is currently in beta tests at service providers and will be available for general release in November 2005.
http://www.ellacoya.com

ZTE Announces First European WiMAX Deployment

ZTE Corporation announced its first European WiMAX deployment in Serbia. ZTE will provide VeratNet with a nationwide WiMAX network which is due for completion by June 2007. In January 2006, the first phase of the deployment will be complete offering wireless broadband access to business subscribers in Serbia's capital, Belgrade.


ZTE also recently announced a WiMAX deployment in Pakistan.


ZTE has partnerships with Intel and Fujitsu to develop and promote WiMAX networks.
http://www.zte.com.cn

NeoPhotonics Introduces Transceiver for 4Gbps SANs

NeoPhotonics introduced a 4 Gbps Multimode SFP transceiver. The device can be used at 1, 2 or 4 Gbps for Fiber Channel applications. The device meets the SFP and SFF-8472 MSA and is hot pluggable and LC-Duplex fiber connector compatible. The transceiver incorporates an 850nm Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser (VCSEL) and is capable of transmission distances over 50/125 MMF of up to 150 meters at 4.25 Gbps and 550 meters at 1.0625 Gbps.
http://www.neophotonics.com

Con Edison Expands its Fiber Network in NYC

Con Edison Communications completed a network expansion through Staten Island that enables it to offer customers services that can completely bypass Manhattan as well as provide east and west paths out of Manhattan. CEC also completed a ring in Connecticut that connects Greenwich and Stamford to CEC's network. The new ring provides customers along the route protected services back to CEC's network hub, located in Manhattan, and from there connectivity to more than 170 commercial buildings.


Con Edison reported that its first half 2005 revenues increased 19% over the same period in 2004. CEC's customer base also grew 18 percent during the first half of 2005 compared to the first half of 2004.


The CEC network now services a total of 192 buildings with more than 564 route miles of fiber-optic cable in the New York Metro area. CEC will install approximately 45 additional miles of fiber-optic cable during the remainder of 2005. The number of new SONET and Ethernet rings increased by 24% and 7% respectively over the first half of 2004. Meanwhile, the company reported it installed 1,388 circuits in the first six months, an increase of 7% over the first half of 2004.
http://www.conedcom.com

FCC Issues CALEA Order for Facilities-based VoIP

The FCC issued its formal Order imposing Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) obligations on certain broadband and VoIP service providers. The FCC decision was first announced on 05-August-05 and the final order has just been released.


Order is limited to facilities-based broadband Internet access service providers and VoIP providers that offer services permitting users to receive calls from, and place calls to, the public switched telephone network. http://www.fcc.gov

Siemens and France Telecom Extend Cooperation in Poland

Polska Telefonia Komórkowa Centertel (Centertel Polish Cellular Telephony) or PTK Centertel, a subsidiary of Telekomunikacja Polska and France Telecom, selected Siemens for the construction of a signaling network based on the Surpass hiS 700 platform. The Surpass hiS platform from Siemens will allow PTK Centertel to provide the number portability service required by Poland's new telecommunications law (subscribers will be able to retain their previous numbers even if they change networks). The contract builds on the global cooperation between Siemens and France Telecom.
http://www.siemens.com/communications

Ericsson Supplies 3G/HSDPA to Israel's Partner

Partner, an Israeli operator, selected Ericsson to expand its 3G/HSDPA radio network and provide accompanying services. The system rollout will start this year. Ericsson's HSDPA capabilities enable download speeds of up to 14 Mbps.
http://www.ericsson.com

KyLinTV Offers Chinese Broadcast Stations via IPTV

KyLinTV launched a service poised to bring the best of Chinese broadcast TV channels and VOD via web-based subscription. KyLinTV delivers broadcast channels from China's CCTV, as well as movies, to a set-top box using its own video codec. Subscribers receive more than 300 hours of new content every week including the Top 10 movies and TV dramas from China for a $15 monthly fee. VOD titles are extra. The set-top box is free.
http://www.kylintv.com/

AtomFilms Inks Deals With AOL, Singingfish and Blinkx

AtomFilms announced new distribution agreements that extend its reach to AOL, Singingfish, Blinkx and other major portals and video search engines. AtomFilms, which offers short-form film and animation titles, said it has seen its audience increase 174% in the past year as broadband continues to drive more consumption of video content online. http://www.atomfilms.com/

USAF Set to Launch First GPS IIR Satellite

The U.S. Air Force is slated to launch the first modernized Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite built by Lockheed Martin aboard a Delta II rocket on Sept. 25, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.


The satellite, designated GPS IIR-14 (M), is described as the most technologically advanced GPS satellite ever developed and will provide significantly improved navigation performance for U.S. military and civilian users worldwide. It is the first in a series of eight GPS IIR satellites that Lockheed Martin is modernizing.


The modernized series will offer a variety of enhanced features for GPS users, such as a modernized antenna panel that provides increased signal power to receivers on the ground, two new military signals for improved accuracy, enhanced encryption and anti-jamming capabilities for the military, and a second civil signal that will provide civil users with an open access signal on a different frequency.


The current GPS constellation of 28 spacecraft includes 12 fully operational Block IIR satellites, which were developed to improve global coverage and increase the overall performance of the global positioning system. http://www.lockheedmartin.com/

QUALCOMM Integrates WLAN Into Mobile Handsets

QUALCOMM will support Philips' WLAN module in its Mobile Station Modem chipsets, enabling mobile handset connectivity to 802.11b and 802.11g networks and cellular networks, including both CDMA2000 and WCDMA (UMTS).


Initially supported on the MSM6550 chipset, the 802.11b/g-compatible broadband capabilities enabled by Philips' WLAN module are scheduled to be commercially available by the end of 2005.


"Our work with Philips helps us to address the demand for additional functionality in mobile devices," said Mike Concannon, vice president of strategic products for QUALCOMM CDMA Technologies. "This strategic relationship delivers a number of new possibilities, which we look forward to making a reality."http://www.semiconductors.philips.com
http://www.qualcomm.com