Meriton and Mahi Merge, Focus on Agile Optical Networking

Meriton Networks is merging with Mahi Networks, combining two start-up companies offering leading edge optical networking systems for carriers. The combined company, which will use the Meriton name, said its mission is to deliver a unified, end-to-end Agile Optical Networking solution under an integrated management system. This will include automated optical layer provisioning, multi-topology (ring and mesh) support as well as Reconfigurable Optical Add/Drop Multiplexer (ROADM) capabilities.


Meriton Networks features an end-to-end, fully managed high-speed metro/regional (HSM) services architecture that consolidates key transport capabilities (DWDM/CWDM and Wavelength/SONET/SDH switching) within a single network element. The mid-plane design of Meriton's 7200 OADX enables it to support the transmission and switching of wavelengths and SONET/SDH traffic -- all within a single network element. Individual wavelengths can be groomed via the SONET/SDH switch fabric or be switched transparently. The chassis design also enables the addition of ROADM and transparent wavelength switching cards.


Mahi Networks offers a Vx7 Multi-Service Core Transport System with ROADM capabilities. The Vx7 provides single wavelength switching granularity with full 100% optical add/drop capability for 2.5, 10, and 40 Gbps line-rates, with full wavelength-reuse around a sixteen-node network that spans up to a 1000 km circumference. To support the increasing demand for IP and SAN services, Mahi Networks recently introduced a 10-port Multi-Service ADM Transponder with SFP client interfaces supporting any combination of GbE, Fiber Channel, ESCON, FICON, and digital video services. The GFP/VCAT implementation supports full-rate and rate-limited services multiplexed using ADM-on-a-Wavelength technology to provide service add/drop at any node and wavelength reuse around the ring. In addition, Mahi offers a 10G Multi-Service Transponder with XFP client interfaces supporting 10GbE LAN PHY, 10GbE WAN PHY, OC-192, STM-64, and G.709 services.


Michael Pascoe, Meriton's president and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), will continue in that role. Bill Gartner, Mahi's former president and Chief Operating Officer (COO), will take over the COO position at Meriton.


The company's Agile Optical Networking portfolio includes the following:

• 9500 Network Planning Tool (NPT)


• 8600 NMS and 8300 EMS (Integrated Management Systems)


• 7200 Optical Switching Platform (OSP)


• 6400 Optical Transport Platform (OTP)


• 3300 Optical Services Multiplexer

http://www.meriton.com
http://www.mahinetworks.com

• In June 2005, Meriton Networks, a start-up based in Ottawa, secured US$54 million in Series C funding for its optical metro optical solutions. The company cited growing traction with carrier customers worldwide – including its role in supporting strategic partner, Fujitsu Telecommunications Europe, in addressing BT's 21Cn network build. Meriton said it would continue to work with strategic partners in reaching top-tier service providers, as well build-out its own channels of distribution. The oversubscribed round was led by two new prominent investors, VantagePoint Venture Partners and Nomura International. All of the previous investors in Meriton also participated in the round, including Desjardins Venture Capital Group, Newbury Ventures, Primaxis Technology Ventures, RBC Capital Partners (Telecommunications Fund), Sierra Ventures, VenGrowth and Venture Coaches/Skypoint Capital.



• In March 2005, Meriton named Michael Pascoe as its new CEO. Pascoe was the former CEO of PairGain Technologies, which was acquired by ADC Telecommunications in 2000 for $3 billion. Prior to PairGain, Pascoe was a key member of the executive management team at Newbridge Networks.



• In June 2004, Mahi announced its acquisition of Photuris, another start-up based in New Jersey. It developed an automated optical transport system for high-capacity metro and regional DWDM networks. Its platform features a "Versicolor" capability that integrates four functions on a single optical line card: WDM demux/mux at the system input/output; fully flexible, reconfigurable OADM wavelength switching (any wavelength to any port, independent of any other wavelength); per-wavelength power balancing; and real-time per-wavelength optical power monitoring.



• Also in June 2004, Mahi Networks closed $70 million in new funding. The company later discontinued Mahi's original Mi7 Metro Core Aggregation System (MCAS), which combined SONET add-drop multiplexer (ADM), 3/3 digital cross-connect (DCS), DS-3 breakout capability and Layer 2 Ethernet transport switching in a single box.

Equipping Metro Optical Networks to Deliver Ethernet Services

To address the needs of the various Ethernet-based applications, service providers have to create a set of service descriptions to enable the transport of Ethernet data from the enterprise network through the Metro Area Network. The Ethernet service descriptions can be divided into two categories: 1) Leased Line or 2) Switched services. The level of transparency and the bandwidth allocation method differentiates the two service categories.  The metro IP/Ethernet layer network needs to be able to provide a switched Ethernet and/or routed IP network.

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FCC Sees Healthy Competition in U.S. Mobile Market

The FCC adopted its Tenth Annual Report to Congress on the state of competition in the mobile telephone business, concluding that there continues to be effective competition based on several factors: the number of competing carriers providing service in an area, the extent of service deployment, prices, technological and product innovations, subscriber growth, usage patterns, churn, and investment. Although consolidation during the period covered by the report has reduced the number of nationwide mobile telephone carriers, the FCC found that none of the remaining carriers has a dominant share of the market and that the market continues to behave and perform in a competitive manner.


Consumer behavior metrics provide further evidence that mobile telephone carriers have an incentive to compete on price and quality of service. For example, churn rates, or the percentage of customers who switch providers each month, averaged 1.5 to 3.0 percent per month during 2004, a slight decline from the previous year. The implementation of local number portability (LNP) beginning in November 2003 has lowered consumer switching costs by enabling wireless subscribers to keep their phone numbers when changing wireless providers. While the advent of LNP has not resulted in an increase in churn, evidence continues to suggest that LNP has put added pressure on carriers to improve service quality in order to retain existing customers and to avoid increased churn.


Some other highlights from the report:

• During 2004, the number of mobile telephone subscribers in the United States rose from 160.6 million to 184.7 million, increasing the nationwide penetration rate to approximately 62 percent at the end of 2004.



• The amount of time mobile subscribers spend talking on their mobile phones has also increased, with the average minutes of use per subscriber per month rising to more than 580 in the second half of 2004, up from 507 in 2003 and 427 in 2002.



• Two indicators of mobile pricing -- revenue per minute (RPM) and the cellular Consumer Price Index (Cellular CPI) -- showed a continued decline in the price of mobile telephone service during 2004. The RPM, which can be used to measure the per-minute price of mobile telephone service, fell 12 percent during 2004, and the Cellular CPI declined 1.0 percent during 2004 while the overall CPI increased 2.7 percent.



• The volume of text messaging traffic grew to 4.7 billion messages per month in December 2004, more than double the 2 billion messages per month reported in December 2003.

http://www.fcc.gov

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Latest Skype Release Offers Ringtones, Sounds and Pictures

Skype released a new Windows version of its Internet telephony software featuring ringtones, sounds and pictures, better than ever sound quality, as well as more ways of interacting with users in groups by searching Skype's Global Directory, and import personal contacts from Outlook directly into their buddy lists.


The new Skype for Windows Version 1.4, which was first available in beta in August, incorporates two new premium services.


A new Call Forwarding service will allow callers to forward incoming Skype calls to another Skype Name, or up to three landline or mobile numbers when they're away from Skype, at no cost to the caller. Anyone using Skype may forward their calls to another Skype Name free of charge, or forward to traditional phone numbers at low SkypeOut rates.


Skype's new Personalise Skype features also allow callers to express themselves with original pictures, sounds and ringtones for as little as 1 EUR ($1.20). This feature opens up a new market for content providers looking to deliver applications to Skype's global callers and is initially offered in partnership with American Greetings, Qpass and WeeWorld. The global ringtone market is forecast to grow to $5.2 billion in 2006, and ringtones now account for over 10% of the $32.3 billion worldwide music market (Arc Group).
http://www.skype.com

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NTT DoCoMo Shows Mobile Handset for Terrestrial Digital Broadcasting

NTT DoCoMo unveiled its 3G FOMA P901iTV, its first mobile handset to receive terrestrial digital broadcasting signals, in addition to conventional analog signals.


The handset was developed in response to the planned launch of mobile digital broadcasting in April 2006, which Japanese broadcasters formally announced in September.


DoCoMo said its new s P901iTV will converge mobile communications and broadcasting, providing access to TV programs and related websites by simply clicking the URL shown on the display during the program.


The handset's main display will be a 2.5-inch, wide-view LCD screen. More than 2.5 hours of continuous viewing will be possible for digital TV programs.


The TV function is activated by twisting the screen (enabling the lower half of the phone to be used as a convenient handle), or simply pushing a button. An antenna-embedded earphone will enhance TV signal reception.


The new P901iTV will also be one of DoCoMo's "Osaifu-Keitai" mobile phones with wallet functions, which enable the phone to be used as electronic money, credit card, commuter pass, electronic ticket, etc.
http://www.ntt.co.jp

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iGrid 2005 Showcases Super High-definition Video over Gigabit IP

Researchers from the University of California, San Diego, NTT Network Innovation Laboratories, and Keio University in Tokyo demonstrated super high-definition (SHD) 4K digital video transmitted over 15,000 kilometers of gigabit IP optical-networks.


4K images have roughly 4,000 horizontal pixels -- offering approximately four times the resolution of the most widely-used HD television format, and 24 times that of a standard broadcast TV signal.


At 8 megapixels per frame, uncompressed streaming of 4K video requires a data rate greater than 6 Gbps. At various points though the trans-Pacific connection the signal needed to be carried over 1 Gbps circuits. To do so efficiently, the iGrid demonstration utilized prototype JPEG 2000 codecs from NTT Network Innovation Labs, designed to compress and decompress 4K digital video in real time to 200-400 Mbps for direct connection to gigabit IP networks. NTT Labs also provided prototype Flexcast systems that enable multicast delivery of 4K video and audio over traditional unicast networks by just adding functions to existing networks.


The researchers said 4K video is a particularly significant new image format because it will be widely used for future digital cinema theatrical distribution under new specifications proposed by Digital Cinema Initiatives, a consortium of the seven major Hollywood studios.


Nearly six hours of live and pre-recorded 4K content will be streamed in real time via 1 Gbps IP networks from Tokyo to San Diego, where the video will be displayed on one of Sony 's Electronics' prototype SXRD 4K projectors installed in Calit2's new 200-seat auditorium. The content streamed from Keio/DMC to Calit2 includes pre-rendered computer animations, materials shot with 4K digital motion picture cameras and digital still cameras, real-time computer-generated visualizations, and digitally scanned 35mm and 65mm motion picture film.
ttp://www.ucsd.edu/http://www.calit2.net/igrid2005/

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FOCUS Announces First Silicon for 880 Mbps UWB Chip

FOCUS Enhancements, a supplier of video production and conversion technology, received first silicon for its new 880 Mbps Ultra Wideband (UWB) chip.


The FOCUS Enhancements' analog/rf chip is the first chip of a two-part chipset solution in FOCUS Enhancements' "Talaria" UWB line being designed for wireless video distribution and high speed data transfer for home and office applications. The company expects tape out of the second chip to occur in October 2005 and receipt of silicon of this chip in December 2005. Evaluation kits are anticipated to be shipped around the end of 2005.


FOCUS Enhancements said its UWB technology will allow wireless high definition (HD) and standard definition (SD) video transmission at net data rates up to 880 Mbps at distances of up to 8 meters and 37 Mbps at 40 meters.
http://www.FOCUSinfo.com

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Verizon to Accelerate Availability of FiOS TV Service in Texas

Verizon filed for a state-issued franchise from the Public Utility Commission of Texas to offer its new FiOS TV service to 21 communities in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. Verizon now expects that FiOS TV will be available to nearly 400,000 North Texas households with over 1 million potential viewers by the end of 2006.
http://www.verizon.com

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Cisco to Acquire Nemo Systems

Cisco Systems agreed to acquire Nemo Systems, a start-up based in Los Altos, California, for up to $12.5 million in cash.


Nemo Systems has developed technology in the network memory space that will offer enhanced performance on Cisco's core switching platforms and service modules. Cisco said this technology will allow its customers to scale network systems and line card bandwidth while reducing the overall cost of high-performance networking systems.
http://www.cisco.com

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Nortel Restructures into Two Groups

Nortel announced a corporate reorganization of its product, technology, services, operations and sales structure to better meet the needs of global enterprise and carrier customers in the converged marketplace.


The new organization simplifies Nortel's structure into two product groups:

• Enterprise Solutions and Packet Networks, which will be led by Steve Slattery. Nortel said that in order to better serve global enterprise customers, it is combining core assets such as Ethernet and enterprise telephony, optical, and wireline data into a unified product group to better leverage core technology and hardware platforms for enterprises while fulfilling the requirements of carrier customers.



• Mobility and Converged Core Networks, which will be led by Richard Lowe. This group consolidates the company's mobile businesses and combines them with core network technologies, reinforcing the wireless market as a vital element of current and future revenue growth.

Nortel is also forming four region-based teams to address the most promising business opportunities, as well as to create market solutions and business arrangements tailored to individual customer requirements. These teams will be led by Steve Pusey, executive vice president, Nortel and president, Eurasia; Dion Joannou, president, North America; Robert Mao, president and chief executive officer, Greater China; and Martha Bejar, president, Caribbean and Latin America and Emerging Markets Strategy.


To meet global customer demand for managed services, Sue Spradley, president, Global Services and Operations, will continue to provide single point of contact solutions to enterprise and carrier customers worldwide. Spradley's team delivers a comprehensive services and solutions portfolio that gives customers the ability to simplify their operations, optimize their networks and better manage costs.


In addition, Nortel announced that Malcolm Collins, president, enterprise networks, will be leaving the Company.


"Convergence is here and now, and our enterprise and carrier customers are demanding partners who can deliver enterprise innovation on carrier-grade platforms. With our carrier and enterprise capabilities, Nortel is uniquely positioned to deliver on this," said Bill Owens, vice chairman and CEO , Nortel. "We're playing to win, and that means having the determination and flexibility to transform our teams, simplify our portfolio, and focus our resources close to our customers, as well as harness both the power and opportunities of network convergence."http://www.nortel.com

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Liberty Global to Acquire Switzerland's Cablecom

Liberty Global agreed to acquire 100% of Switzerland's largest broadband cable operator, Cablecom Holdings AG from a group of selling shareholders led by Apollo Management, TowerBrook Capital Partners and Goldman Sachs affiliates. Liberty Global will pay CHF2.825 billion (US$2.186 billion) in cash. The purchase price, together with the company's net debt position, represents a multiple of 10.4 times Cablecom's estimate of 2006 operating cash flow before synergies, and is below Cablecom's announced IPO pricing range of CHF2.9 to 3.5 billion (US$2.2 to $2.7 billion). The transaction is expected to close in October 2005.


Cablecom serves about 2 million subscribers and has an 80% video penetration in its region.


Upon completion of the deal, Liberty Global will be the largest broadband cable operator in 11 of its 14 European markets, and it will have approximately 17 million total RGUs worldwide.
http://www.lgi.com/

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Boeing Selects Thales for In-Flight Wireless Entertainment Network

Boeing has selected Thales as the first recommended in-flight entertainment provider for the all-new 787 Dreamliner.


The new Thales system, called the TopSeries i-8000, will use a wireless network to deliver DVD-quality video to each seat on the airplane. The Thales product interfaces with the Connexion by Boeing system that provides broadband connectivity for the 787 and allows passengers to access the Internet and e-mail systems.


A prototype system will be built and demonstrated to Boeing late 2006. Then, in 2007, a new engineering lab with a 270 seat configuration will be built at the Thales facility in Irvine, California. After lab testing, the system is scheduled to ship to Seattle where it will be installed into a B787 flight test aircraft for further testing.
http://www.boeing.com/http://www.thalesgroup.com/home/home/

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