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 provider of hard disk drives and other storage solutions, and spent more than 20 years at Texas Instruments, serving as senior vice president and chief financial officer of the company's Semiconductor Group from 1988 to 1996.
http://www.agere.com

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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 the estimated offering expenses.
http://www.mathstar.com

• MathStar's Field Programmable Object Array (FPOA) are designed for use in networking and digital signal processing applications. The company said its FPOAs provide a strategic alternative to the high-cost of developing ASICs or the performance limitations of conventional FPGA architectures.

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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 for 3G.

http://www.helio.com

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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 entertainment, DFC also includes personalized, on-demand video for feature length films and television shows.
http://www.redback.com

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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 compensation. To save the Universal Service Fund, Martin advocates a mechanism based on phone numbers. Any phone service that uses a telephone number would be required to contribute to Universal Service. Regardless of which solution is ultimately adopted, Martin said he would work to ensure that is technology neutral.
http://www.convergedigest.com

• In June 2005, the FCC launched a formal inquiry into the management, administration and oversight of the Universal Service Fund, which helps provide affordable phone service in rural areas, fund Internet access and telecommunications equipment in the schools and libraries, bring telemedicine services to rural areas, and assist low-income families with their phone bills. Since 1997, the Universal Service Administrative Company, or USAC, which administers the fund, has disbursed approximately $30.3 billion from the fund. Money collected for the USF has been declining for some time. The FCC has been considering changes to the way it collects money for the USF. Currently consumers pay a percentage of their long distance service bill each month. The FCC is considering switching to a monthly flat fee based on telephone numbers.



• Every year, the nation's universal service fund (USF) pays out approximately $673 million for low-income programs and about $3.0 billion to support high-cost rural services.

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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 single-radio, wireless mesh node that leverages BelAir's rugged outdoor design. Each BelAir50s includes an 802.11g access radio module that supports Wi-Fi client access and wireless backhaul in the 2.4 GHz band. The BelAir50s offer automatic discovery of other mesh nodes, multiple SSID and VLAN support. The product has an external omni-directional antenna, battery backup and supports a DOCSIS, copper, or fiber interface.


The BelAir100s is a two-radio, wireless mesh switch that includes all of the capabilities of the BelAir50s and more. It adds a 5 GHz backhaul radio module that supports a shared mesh or forms dedicated point-to-point links to other mesh switches. The BelAir100s can be configured with two backhaul radio modules and offers high gain directional or omni-directional antennas.
http://www.belairnetworks.com

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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 IPv6 transition planning and progress, IP device inventory, and an impact analysis. http://www.spirentfederal.com

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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 network in Heilongjiang Province to intelligence network with NGN technology. http://www.alcatel.com

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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 to be launched as part of BT's 21CN initiative.
http://www.alcatel.com

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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 Small Form-Factor Pluggable ( SFP ) uplinks. It is optimized for both Ethernet to the home (ETTH) triple-play services and Ethernet to the business VPNs.



• The Supervisor Engine 32 for the Catalyst 6500 Series switches and the Cisco 7600 Series routers, which delivers MPLS over Ethernet capabilities closer to the edges of a service provider network at cost-effective price points;



• The ONS 15454 ML 100Base Fiber Module extending Ethernet reach, with RPR and advanced QoS to deliver 50msec resiliency and differentiated services;



• The ONS 15454 CE 10/100Mbps Module offering Private Line Ethernet and efficient bandwidth utilization with standards based GFP, VCAT, LCAS.



• The Supervisor II Engine with 10 Gigabit Ethernet uplinks for the Catalyst 4500 Series switches;



• The 10-gigabit SPA Interface Processor (SIP)-600 for the Cisco 7600 Series routers;



• A family of multi-rate (2.5G, 5G or 10G), modular 10-gigabit SPA Interface Processor (SIP)-401/501/601 for the Cisco XR 12000 and Cisco 12000 Series routers;



• Catalyst 4500 Series 48-Port 100BASE-X Switching Module offering mix-and-match optics for maximum deployment flexibility.



• In software, Cisco announced enhancements for a number of products including the Catalyst 3750 Metro Series switches, Cisco 7600 Series routers, Catalyst 6500 Series Switches, Cisco 12000 Series routers, and Cisco ONS 15454/15310-CL platforms. These enhancements deliver a common set of features and functionality across the entire Cisco Carrier Ethernet portfolio.

http://www.cisco.com

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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.com

• Hong Kong Broadband Network (HKBN) currently has 500,000 residential subscriptions across its service offerings of voice, broadband and IP-TV. HKBN has committed to expanding its Metro Ethernet coverage from 1.2 million homes passed today to 1.8 million homes passed (80% of Hong Kong's total homes) within the next 3 years.



• Hong Kong Broadband Network (HKBN) is expanding its coverage and capacity with a Cisco IP Next Generation Network (IP NGN), using Cisco ROADM (Reconfigurable Optical Add/Drop Multiplexer) technology together with HKBN's existing ONS 15454 Multiservice Transport Platform (MSTP) optical core. The expanded optical core will assist HKBN in achieving its goals



• In April, Hong Kong Broadband Network (HKBN) officially launched its 1 Gbps symmetric service for the residential market. Approximately 800,000 households, out of a total of 2.2 million households in Hong Kong, are wired to receive the service. The 1 Gbps symmetric service is priced at US$215 per month. HKBN noted that its 1 Gbps service is up to 166x faster downstream and 1,950x faster upstream than the advertised bandwidth of the incumbent's ADSL service. HKBN Premium bb1000 service is being offered on the same metro Ethernet infrastructure that delivers the company's Mass Market bb100 (symmetric 100 Mbps for US$34/month) and Entry Point bb10 (symmetric 10 Mbps for US$16/month) services.



• HKBN is installing more than 10,000 Cisco Catalyst LAN switches and more than 800 Cisco routers in buildings throughout Hong Kong. Category 5e copper cables are wired from the LAN switch cabinet to the apartments of each target customer. Fiber-to-the-building (FTTB) was deployed between the buildings using the Cisco ONS 15454 Multiservice Transport Platform (MSTP) and Cisco Catalyst 4507R Switches.

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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 services, including a hosted VoIP split for residential/SOHO, business, and wholesale in North America, split by US vs. Canada. The report also includes a residential/SOHO VoIP subscriber forecast.
http://www.infonetics.com/

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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.EarthLink.net

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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 for Multiple System Operators (MSOs). http://www.belairnetworks.com

• BelAir Networks is based in Kanata, Ontario.



• In January 2005, Lucent Technologies agreed to resell wide-area Wi-Fi solutions from BelAir Networks. Lucent Worldwide Services will also enhance BelAir's offer by providing a full suite of services including deployment, maintenance, professional and managed services.

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