Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Agere Names Clemmer as New CEO

Agere Systems appointed Richard L. Clemmer as president and chief executive officer, replacing John Dickson, who has decided to retire.Since June 2004, Clemmer has been a partner at Shelter Capital Partners, a private investment fund focused on technology startups. He became chairman of uNav Microelectronics, an emerging global positioning systems chipset company in 2003. Previously, Clemmer held executive management positions at Quantum Corp., a...

MathStar Set for IPO

MathStar, which develops a new class of chips it calls field programmable object arrays (FPOAs), announced that its initial public offering of 4,000,000 shares of common stock was priced at $6.00 per share.The shares will be quoted on The Nasdaq National Market under the symbol "MATH."Net proceeds from the offering are expected to be approximately $21.1 million and $24.4 million if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full, after deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions, the non-accountable expense allowance and...

SK-EarthLink Targets Mobile Launch for Spring 2006

SK-EarthLink changed its name to HELIO and announced plans to launch mobile services for young, tech-savvy consumers by spring 2006. The company is a $440 million joint venture between Korea's SK Telecom and EarthLink.HELIO plans to leverage R&D from SK Telecom to create a constant pipeline of new, proven service platforms, systems and applications. HELIO will use existing U.S. EVDO networks under its own brand to deliver data-rich content, such as music, video and multi-player gaming. HELIO will also feature cutting-edge mobile devices built...

Taiwan's Seednet Selects Redback for Triple Play

Seednet, Taiwan's second largest Internet service provider, has deployed Redback Networks' SmartEdge Service Gateway platform for its next generation converged broadband service network, which will provide video, voice and advanced data services throughout Taiwan. The network will be used to enable Seednet's IPTV, VoIP, and high speed Internet services for both consumers and businesses. The IPTV service, Digital Family Center (DFC), includes over 200 channels and combines both analog and digital video programming. In addition to traditional broadcast...

TELECOM '05: FCC Chairman Affirms Technology Neutral Stance

The FCC must maintain technological and competitive neutrality, said FCC Chairman Kevin Martin in a videocast keynote address to TELECOM '05 attendees in Las Vegas. Martin said he believes new video entrants, regardless of the technology employed, should be encouraged and not impeded from entry. At its upcoming November meeting, the FCC will consider what action to take with regard to burdensome local video franchise rules. Martin said other pressing issues that must be addressed by the FCC include the universal service fund and intercarrier...

BelAir Unveils Wi-Fi Mesh System for MSOs and Cable Operators

BelAir Networks announced two new carrier-grade wireless mesh products that enable Multiple System Operators (MSOs) and cable operators to deploy wireless mesh nodes directly on their existing wired network.The new BelAir50s and BelAir100s can be installed anywhere in existing cable networks allowing MSOs and cable operators to use their existing cable plant to deploy Wi-Fi networks for municipal and city-wide networks. These single- and dual-radio mesh nodes are strand-mounted, plant-powered and offer a DOCSIS 2.0 interface.The BelAir50s is a...

Spirent Federal Introduces Global Services for IPv6

Spirent Federal Systems will provide technical support teams for U.S. Government agencies and their prime contractors acting on guidance from the Office and Management and Budget (OMB) to ensure an orderly and secure transition from IPv4 to IPv6. With Spirent Global Services, agencies can comply with the specific requirements of the OMB memorandum M-05-22 on Transition Planning for IPv6 by the required deadlines. Spirent Global Services for IPv6 are available now and may be procured using GSA Contract No. GS-24F-0029N.The OMB requirements include...

China Netcom selects Alcatel for Nationwide NGN

China Netcom selected Alcatel Shanghai Bell to carry out a full-scale evolution towards Next Generation Network (NGN) across all 31 provinces of China. The contract also covers deploying tandem and local NGN networks in two provinces. Financial terms were not disclosed.Alcatel will supply its IMS-compliant NGN solution including the Alcatel 5020 Softswitch, the Alcatel 7500 family of media gateways and the Alcatel multi-service access gateways.As part of the agreement, Alcatel will also support China Netcom in transforming its existing fixed...

BT Deploys Alcatel for VPLS Service

BT is using an Alcatel solution for its recently launched EVLAN service, which provides Ethernet connectivity for multi-site organizations. The new BT EVLAN service, which is initially available in London and will be rolled-out to other UK metro areas later this year, provides secure any-to-any Ethernet connectivity between multiple sites in a single metro area. BT is offering access speeds from 10, 100 and 1000 Mbps and an open IP environment that allows companies to manage their own IP layer if they choose. EVLAN is one of the first services...

Cisco Enhances its Carrier Ethernet Switch Portfolio

Cisco Systems introduced new carrier Ethernet platforms and service-enabling features for delivering Layer 2 and Layer 3 VPNs along with voice, video, and data Triple Play services over converged Carrier Ethernet infrastructures for residential and business customers.The new products and features include:Cisco ME 3400 Series Ethernet Access Switches, designed for "pay-as-you-grow" feature-set bundles, with pricing tailored to the deployment model. The Cisco ME 3400, which is available in a compact form factor (1RU), offers 24 10/100 ports and 2...

Hong Kong Broadband Gains Cisco Metro Ethernet Certification

Hong Kong Broadband (HKBN) has become the first service provider in the world to achieve the Cisco Powered Network Metro Ethernet QoS Certified status. This certification indicates that HKBN has demonstrated, through a third-party assessment, that its Metro Ethernet service meets Cisco best practices and standards for delivering QoS. HKBN is testing the Cisco ME 3400, an Ethernet access switch purpose-built for service provider needs, in consideration for future deployment.http://www.cisco.com http://www.ctihk.comHong Kong Broadband Network (HKBN)...

Infonetics Reports North American VoIP Market Share

The top 3 North American residential/SOHO VoIP subscriber market share leaders in Q2 2005 were Vonage (32%, down from 36% in 1Q05), Time Warner Cable (25%, up from 21%), and Cablevision (19%, down from 21%), according to a new report from Infonetics Research.Some other findings: No other service provider has subscriber share greater than 3%. MSOs make up almost half the North American VoIP subscribers base in 2004 and will peak at 55% of all subscribers in 2005.The report presents market size and forecasts for hosted VoIP and managed IP PBX VoIP...

EarthLink Selected for Wi-Fi Net in Anaheim, a Tropos Mesh

The City of Anaheim awarded an exclusive franchise to EarthLink to build out an open Wi-Fi broadband network. In the first phase, EarthLink will construct a two-square-mile proof-of-concept area for testing and analysis. The remainder of the city's network will be completed by the fourth quarter of 2006. The network will be 'open access' so that multiple, competing providers can offer their services to consumers and businesses. EarthLink plans to deploy Tropos Networks' MetroMesh Wi-Fi routers on light poles throughout the city. http://www.E...

Comcast Invests in BelAir for Metro Wireless Mesh

BelAir Networks, a start-up offering wireless broadband solutions for metro-scale deployments, completed a Series C financing led by Comcast Interactive Capital (CIC) and McLean Watson Capital. The Series C financing brings the total investment in BelAir Networks to US $44 million.BelAir Networks has developed Wireless Mesh Network (WMN) access points that incorporates wireless access, wireless backhaul and switching into easy-to-install, environmentally hardened outdoor nodes.BelAir is deployed in 100 networks worldwide, including seven networks...