IBM Outlines IMS Strategy

IBM outlined its IMS (Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystems) architecture to help telcos transition to Next Generation Networks. The strategy uses various industry components and leverages the IBM Service Provider Delivery Environment (SPDE) framework. Legacy and evolving components are integrated by using open computing standards.


IBM will provide its telecommunications industry clients pre-integrated business solutions that are fully tested and designed to meet carrier grade quality standards. The integrated hardware and software components will form a high-performance service delivery platform based on Rational, Tivoli and WebSphere software.


IBM plans to leverage its eServer BladeCenter T and CarrierGrade Linux computing platform. The company said it will soon announce related software offerings for creating, integrating, executing current and next generation services in a flexible, cost-effective manner.


IBM is also unveiling six new Telecommunications Solutions Labs worldwide, including facilities in Austin, Beaverton, La Gaude, Hursley, Montpellier and Beijing. The IBM Telecommunications Solutions Labs offer technical skills across a range of telecom solutions to include Network Transformation, Service Delivery Platforms and BSS/OSS Transformation. Several IMS proof of concept projects, among others, are currently underway at the labs.


IBM is currently working with more than 800 business partners on telecommunications solutions.


"IMS is only relevant if it is directly contributing towards corporate fiscal and strategic objectives," said Joseph Ziskin, Vice President of strategy and growth initiatives, IBM Telecommunications Industry.
http://www.ibm.com

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The New AT&T Sets Course

SBC Communications completed its historic acquisition of AT&T, making it the largest telecommunications company in the United States and one of the largest in the world. The new AT&T vowed to lead to lead the industry "in one of the most significant shifts in communications technology since the invention of the telephone more than 120 years earlier -- the deployment of integrated services based on Internet Protocol, giving customers access to virtually any services, anytime, anywhere."


""The combination of SBC and AT&T companies gives us the local, global, and wireless network resources and the expertise to set the standard for delivering meaningful innovations and making the promise of integrated communications and entertainment a reality for consumers and businesses," said Edward E. Whitacre Jr., chairman and CEO of AT&T.

Fact Sheet on the New AT&T

Network and Customers

Largest U.S. provider of DSL with 6.5 million lines

Largest local service operator with 50.2 million access lines (SBC-only access lines)

No. 1 provider of data services to the Fortune 1000.

IP backbone is currently carrying 4.6 petabytes (4.9 billion megabytes) of traffic on an average business day

The new AT&T global backbone includes 1,500 managed MPLS nodes in 80 countries and 75,000 MPLS customer ports

Currently operating 28 data centers

The combined network has 410,000 fiber route miles

Wi-Fi currently offered at more than 18,000 hot spots in the United States and the world

Owns 60% of Cingular Wireless, which is the No. 1 U.S. wireless services provider with over 52 million wireless customers.. Services will be offered under the AT&T brand.

The new AT&T is preparing to launch cost-competitive, communications service bundles to residential customers in the coming weeks.

Project Lightspeed will deploy nearly 40,000 miles of fiber, initially reaching18 million homes and delivering 20 - 25 Mbps of bandwidth. Project Lightspeed will deliver numerous IP-based services, including IPTV

Financial

Stockholders of the former AT&T received 0.77942 shares of SBC common stock for each common share of AT&T.

A new ticker symbol will be announced on November 21

The combined company has 197,100 employees (SBC: 157,600; AT&T: 39,500 -- as of 9/30/05)

The combined 2004 revenues of the company were $71.2 billion (SBC $40.7 billion, AT&T $30.5 billion)

The combined company controls more than 6,000 patents

A new logo will also be unveiled this week

The new brand will be heavily promoted with the largest multimedia advertising and marketing campaign in either company's history, as well as through other promotional initiatives

"We are ready to meet the needs of a new generation of customers in a new era of communications and entertainment," said Whitacre.
http://www.att.com

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Intrado Completes VoIP Interconnection Deals with Major LECs

Intrado has secured agreements with the major local exchange carriers (LECs) to interconnect with their 9-1-1 selective routers and to steer dynamic location information into their regional E9-1-1 automatic location information (ALI) databases in the event of a VoIP 9-1-1 call.


Intrado said the interconnection agreements allow it to deliver a VoIP 9-1-1 call directly into the LEC's 9-1-1 selective router and gain access to the dedicated 9-1-1 network. The ALI steering agreements allow the 9-1-1 call takers to receive the caller's location information at the time of a 9-1-1 call. Most importantly, these named agreements allow Intrado's VSP customers and their subscribers to gain full benefit from the V9-1-1 Mobility Service's ability to provide caller location information to the call taker in the Master Street Address Guide (MSAG) valid format required for effective emergency dispatch. The delivery of location information to the PSAP in an MSAG valid format ensures integration and accurate emergency response. Intrado is currently the only third party provider to offer this critical component, which is required for an effective VoIP E9-1-1 solution.
http://www.intrado.com

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Data Connection Builds its Networking Protocols Group

Data Connection Limited (DCL) announced that networking industry veteran, Matt Currier has joined its executive staff. Previously, Currier was Director of Worldwide Sales for networking software solutions at NextHop Technologies. His previous sales and sales management experience has been with Wind River Systems, Mentor Graphics and Tektronix.
http://www.dataconnection.com

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Lawsuit Launched Against BCE and Teleglobe Directors

The Plan Administrator of Teleglobe filed a lawsuit against BCE and seven former directors of Teleglobe. The plaintiff is seeking a declaration that the former directors breached their fiduciary duty to Teleglobe Inc. and failed to act in accordance with the standard of care prescribed under the Canada Business Corporations Act. The plaintiff is seeking compensation for oppression in the amount of $3 billion and damages for breach of fiduciary duty in the amount of $3 billion, in each case plus interest and costs.


Teleglobe at a subsidiary of BCE at the time of the alleged breach.
http://www.bell.ca

• In July 2005, India's Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL) agreed to acquire Teleglobe International in a deal valued at $239 million. VSNL, which is part of India's $17 billion Tata Group, has a strong pan-India domestic Long Distance network. It is also a leading player in the Corporate Data Market in India, offering Frame relay, ATM and MPLS based IP-VPN services. VSNL also acquired the Tyco Global Network (TGN).



• In August 2004, Teleglobe acquired ITXC, the largest provider of international VoIP wholesale services with direct relationships with carriers in more than 175 countries.



• In June 2003, Teleglobe was relaunched as a provider of international voice, wireless roaming, data and Internet services following a corporate restructuring under which TLGB Acquisition LLC, an affiliate of Cerberus Capital Management and TenX Capital Partners, gained control of the company. Since its emergence from bankruptcy, Teleglobe has had positive net cash flows.



• In May 2002, Teleglobe filed bankruptcy papers with the Ontario Superior Court.



• On April 24, BCE (Bell Canada Enterprises), Canada's largest communications company, announced that it would cease long-term funding of Teleglobe.

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Cisco's Acquisition of Scientific Atlanta

Cisco Systems agreed to acquire Scientific Atlanta for $43 per share in cash -- a deal valued at approximately $6.9 billion -- providing it with a large installed base of set-top boxes and video transmission systems among cable operators as well as a triple play solution for carrier networks and the digital home.


"Video is emerging as the key strategic application in the service provider triple play bundle of consumer entertainment, communication and online services," said John Chambers, president and chief executive officer of Cisco Systems. "As consumers demand more sophisticated information and entertainment services in their home, tightly coupled applications, devices and networks will be essential. The collective strength of Linksys and Scientific-Atlanta will extend Cisco's leadership position across the entire networked digital home."


Earlier this year, 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.






The IP video operations center will serve as a command center, monitoring the availability and quality of all of the content traveling through SBC's network using Scientific-Atlanta's ROSA Element Manager system. The super hub offices (SHOs) receive, process, and encode video and TV programming from satellite feeds into IP packets. This content is then sent to the video hub offices (VHOs), typically one per major metropolitan area, via SBC's national IP-based network. In the VHOs are servers that have the electronic intelligence necessary to deliver IP video-on-demand, over-the-air TV programming, interactive applications, etc. The VHOs will also acquire and encode local video content.


Following the close of the transaction, Scientific-Atlanta will become a division of the Routing and Service Provider Technology Group under the leadership of Cisco Senior Vice President Mike Volpi.


Scientific-Atlanta was founded in 1951 and currently has more than 7500 employees. For FY2005, which ended July 1, 2005, Scientific-Atlanta reported revenues of $1.91 billion.
http://www.cisco.com
http://www.scientificatlanta.com/

• Scientific-Atlanta and Microsoft announced that they are working together on IPTV set-tops for supporting initiatives such as SBC's Project Lightspeed. The new line of Scientific-Atlanta IP set-tops, which will be integrated with the Microsoft TV IPTV Edition software platform, will support advanced codecs such as MPEG-4 Part 10/H.264 and VC-1 and will include standard- definition (SD), high-definition (HD), and whole home SD/HD digital video recorder (DVR) devices, as well as innovative gateway products that can serve an entire home with a single device. Additionally, Scientific Atlanta said these new set-tops will support a "no new wires" strategy for operators, which will enable IP video to be delivered over existing coax cable already installed in millions of homes.



• SBC Communications has awarded IPTV set-top box contracts to both Scientific-Atlanta and Motorola. The contracts, awarded by SBC Services Inc., give equal market opportunity to both vendors and continue through the end of 2008. SBC provided a common set of specifications to both vendors to build the set-top boxes. At this time, SBC said it expects to use Motorola set-top boxes initially when it scales the service, with Scientific-Atlanta set-top boxes soon thereafter.



• In September 2005, Scientific- Atlanta completed the acquisition of all outstanding interests in the Scientific- Atlanta Shanghai Limited joint venture from the other shareholders. Going forward, Scientific-Atlanta (Shanghai) Company Ltd. will function as a wholly owned subsidiary of Scientific-Atlanta China, Inc. The company will continue to use the extensive marketplace knowledge acquired during the 12 years of the joint venture's operation as it focuses on research and development of digital technology for the burgeoning China market and extending that technology for applications all across Asia.



• Also of note, Scientific-Atlanta resells Tropic Networks' intelligent wavelength transport platform to cable operators under an OEM deal. Tropic Networks, which is based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, developed a Reconfigurable OADM (ROADM) that enables service providers to remotely reconfigure add and drop capacity at each node. Tropic's system features an advanced optical layer management technology called "Wavelength Tracker".

 

Cisco Systems 2005 Acquisitions

Price reflects valuation at the time the
deal was announced.

Scientific Atlanta	set-top boxes and video transmission systems for cable operators and IPTV	$6.9 billion	Nov 05
Nemo Systems	network memory technology to enhance performance of core switching platforms	$12.5 million	Sep 05
Sheer Networks	network virtualization technology	$97 million	July 05
KiSS Technology A/S	networked entertainment devices	$61 million	July 05
NetSift	deep packet processing	$30 million	June 05
M. I. Secure Corporation	security and VPN solutions	$13 million	June 05
FineGround Networks	Bandwidth optimization appliances	$70 million	May 05
Sipura	VoIP customer premise equipment	$68 million	Apr 05
Topspin Communications	server networking equipment designed for grid and utility computing	$250 million	Apr 05
Airespace	WLAN controllers, Access Points, WLAN Management and Location Software, and Security capabilities	$450 million	Jan 05

 

 

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