AT&T + BellSouth Deal Closes, Following Last Minute Concessions

The FCC voted 4-to-0 to approve AT&T's acquisition of BellSouth, concluding that the largest telecom merger in U.S. history would offer significant public benefits, including increased competition for video services and the creation of a stronger player in national communication services.The merger was completed immediately following the vote."AT&T will be an engine for innovation, competition, and growth for our customers at home and abroad,"...

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BT Ready to Get Telecom Licenses in India

The Government of India, Department of Telecommunications (DoT), issued Letters of Intent (LoI) to BT for the award of licences for National Long Distance and International Long Distance services. Once the licences are fully operational, BT will be able to offer both domestic and international managed services to corporate customers who have sites in India. BT will also be able to provide these companies with VPN services using technologies such as ATM and MPLS.http://www.btplc....

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Level 3 to Acquire SAVVIS CDN -- 7th Acquisition in 2006

Level 3 Communications agreed to acquire the Content Delivery Network (CDN) services business of SAVVIS, for $135 million in cash. The deal includes certain network elements, customer contracts, and intellectual property used in SAVVIS' CDN business. SAVVIS' CDN services business, based in Thousand Oaks, California, with approximately 50 employees and over 100 customers, provides solutions that improve performance, reliability, scalability and reach of customers' online content. The business was initially launched in 1996 as Sandpiper Networks...

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Microsoft, SOFTBANK and Japan Telecom Team on Services

Microsoft, SOFTBANK BB, and Japan Telecom are developing a security-enhanced, integrated communications service that combines VoIP, e-mail, Internet access, groupware, presence, instant messaging and desktop services with network infrastructure.The companies have formed a strategic business alliance to provide this service as a business-oriented solution, beginning with trials in Spring 2006.The service will link the Microsoft Solution for Enhanced VoIP Services with BB Phone's voice platform and JAPAN TELECOM's managed network infrastructure.Microsoft...

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Juniper Plans $900 Million in Charges for Past Stock-Compensation Probems

Juniper Networks announced that its internal Audit Committee has concluded that numerous stock option grants issued in the past differ from the recorded grant dates of such awards. Specifically, it was determined that there were numerous instances in which grant dates were chosen with the benefit of hindsight as to the price of the Company's stock, so as to give favorable prices. Blame was attributed to certain management members who are no longer with the company.Therefore, Juniper currently anticipates that it will record additional non-cash...

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AT&T Launches U-verse TV in SF Bay Area

AT&T announced the initial launch of its U-verse TV service in parts of the San Francisco Bay area, including parts of the cities of Cupertino and Saratoga, and parts of the cities of San Ramon and Danville. AT&T said it now expects to launch U-verse in eleven markets by the end of the year, with plans to launch in additional markets in early 2007.AT&T U-verse is offering:more than 300 channels, including digital music, local, and premium...

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Seagate to Acquire EVault for Online Backup Service

Seagate Technology agreed to acquire privately-held EVault, which provides online backup services, as part of its effort to extend the company's storage solutions and strengthen its Seagate Services group. The all-cash deal was valued at approximately $185 million.EVault was founded in 1997 and is based in Emeryville, California. The company has over 250 employees and claims more than 8,500 customers, including hundreds of financial, health care...

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Motorola To Acquire Tut Systems for $39 Million

Motorola agreed to acquire Tut Systems for $1.15 per share in cash, giving the transaction a value of approximately $39 million on a fully-diluted basis.Tut Systems provides carrier-class end-to-end digital video encoding, processing and distribution products. Their solutions support MPEG-2 and MPEG- 4 AVC video compression, local ad insertion, forward error correction, and real-time conditioning of video and audio. Tut Systems' customer list includes more than 160 service providers worldwide.Tut Systems' "Astria" content processor (CP)is an IPTV...

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UTStarcom's CTO Resigns to Take Post at China Mobile

UTStarcom announced the resignation of Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer Bill Huang, who will take a senior executive position at China Mobile Ltd. On an interim basis, Pat Chan, senior vice president of UTStarcom's Network Solutions business unit, will assume Huang's responsibilities as acting chief technology officer.http://www.utstar....

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DIRECTV Awards Data Networking Contract Extension to AT&T

DIRECTV will continue its current contract with AT&T for OneNet services for an additional year at a value of $33 million. AT&T will continue to provide DIRECTV with toll-free 800, Advanced Features and ATM and Frame Relay services that support 18 call centers and approximately 60 corporate WAN points of presence. AT&T will also begin to provide MPLS connectivity for supporting DIRECTV's corporate VoIP traffic.http://www.att.comhttp://www.directv....

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FCC Votes 3-2 to Ease Video Franchising Process

The FCC voted 3-to-2 to approve new rules that prohibit local franchising authorities from unreasonably refusing to award competitive franchises for the provision of cable services. The vote is a victory for A&T, Verizon and other telephone providers seeking to enter the market for video services.The majority of FCC commissioners concluded that the current franchising process required by local municipalities constitutes an unreasonable barrier...

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Siemens Achieves 107 Gbps over a Single Fiber Channel

Researchers at Siemens, working in cooperation with Micram, the Fraunhofer Institute for Telecommunications (Heinrich-Hertz-Institut) and Eindhoven Technical University, achieved an optical transmission rate of 107 Gbps over a single fiber channel using purely electric processing in both the transmitter and receiver.The newly developed transmission and receiving system processes the data by purely electrical means directly before and after its conversion into optical signals. The test was conducted at a long-haul network at one of world's largest...

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Boingo Expands Roaming Network in Europe

Boingo Wireless expanding its roaming network with the addition of six Wi-Fi partners in Europe, providing new Boingo hot spots in Germany, Spain, Greece and the Netherlands. Boingo now provides over 60,000 locations from more than 140 leading Wi-Fi operators.Boingo also announced an expanded partnership with The Cloud, Europe's leading neutral-host Wi-Fi network operator, to enable Boingo's retail customers, and customers of Fiberlink and Verizon...

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Motorola Cites Mobile WiMAX Momentum in 2006

With the prediction that 2007 will be the year WiMAX will begin entering the mainstream, Motorola issued a year-end update on its wi4 WiMAX solutions. The company cited several milestones during 2006. These include:Announced agreements with Sprint Nextel and Clearwire in the US, Wateen Telecom in Pakistan and Agni Systems, Ltd in Bangladesh for WiMAX systems. Clearwire and Sprint Nextel are the two largest holders of 2.5GHz spectrum in the U.S.Increased to more than 20 the number of 802.16e mobile WiMAX trials underway around the world.Began work...

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BigBand's DOCSIS 3.0 CMTS Enters Trials with European Operators

BigBand Networks' modular cable modem termination system (M-CMTS), which supports DOCSIS 3.0 downstream channel bonding, has entered trials with multiple European cable operators, including Multikabel in the Netherlands and Austria's LiWest Kabelmedien GmbH. BigBand has also provided its M-CMTS platform to operators in North America and Asia as part of an early access program (EAP). Key advantages include quadrupled downstream delivery capacity and convergence of video, data and voice traffic.DOCSIS 3.0 specifications, developed by CableLabs...

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Alcatel-Lucent Selected for Deutsche Telekom's "T-City" Initiative

Alcatel-Lucent has been named an exclusive premium partner supporting Deutsche Telekom's "T-City" competition, which aims to highlight the potential of new, innovative and broadband information and communication technologies for business, public facilities and citizens in a community. A total of 52 cities entered the "T-City" competition. An independent jury has selected ten cities to go forward to the final round: Arnsberg, Coburg, Frankfurt (Oder), Friedrichshafen, Görlitz, Kamp-Lintfort, Kaiserslautern, Neuruppin, Osterholz-Scharmbeck and Schwäbisch-Hall....

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TeliaSonera Selects HP and IXeurope to Serve Online Gaming Market

TeliaSonera International Carrier has selected HP and IXEurope as preferred suppliers of managed data services and high density co-location. The companies will provide TeliaSonera's Global Gaming Community business with access to hardware, software and storage for the creation of high quality gaming platforms and tailor made technology solutions.Customers can now rely on TeliaSonera International Carrier for outsourcing advanced, high quality gaming platforms and tailor made solutions designed to meet their individual needs for their Internet...

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Cox Adds Dynamic "PowerBoost" for Faster Downloads

Cox Communications introduced an exclusive "PowerBoost" enhancement that will give its cable modem customers a burst when downloading large files. PowerBoost automatically utilizes additional capacity on Cox's local fiber-hybrid network to give customers a speed burst above and beyond their normal speed. The capability leverages Cable Labs' DOCSIS technology to automatically detect when a customer begins a large file download, regardless of file type. It then jumpstarts the download. Speeds will be boosted up to twice as fast for Cox Preferred...

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Telcordia CEO Appointed to NSTAC

Telcordia Technologies' President and CEO, Daniel J. Carroll, Jr., has been appointed by President Bush to the National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC). The NSTAC, which is comprised of leaders from throughout the communications industry, provides industry-based analyses and recommendations to the President and the executive branch regarding policy and enhancements to National Security and Emergency Preparedness communications policy. http://www.telcordia....

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Skyworks Introduces Helios II-Plus EDGE Radio

Skyworks Solutions, a of high performance analog and developer of mixed signal semiconductors, unveiled its "Helios" II-Plus EDGE radio for next-generation quad band handsets incorporating advanced multimedia features such as DVB-H, FM radios, MP3 players, digital cameras, and Web browsing. Helios II-Plus reduces radio frequency (RF) board space by an additional 25 percent when compared to the company's previous Helios design. Skyworks said its radio solution also interfaces with virtually any analog baseband and radically simplifies factory calibration,...

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Sprint Invests $7 Billion in Network Upgrades in 2006

Sprint spent almost $7 billion in 2006 for network upgrades, most of which has gone to enhance its wireless and IP networks. Some highlights for the year:Sprint will have added more than 3,000 cell sites to its Nationwide Sprint PCS Network and National Nextel Network in large, medium and small markets across the country.In late October, Sprint upgraded the Sprint Mobile Broadband Network to high-speed EV-DO (Evolution -- Data Optimized) Revision A technology in San Diego, the first U.S. market to receive EV-DO Rev. A. Since then, EV-DO Rev. A...

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Ericsson to Acquire Redback for $2.1 Billion

Ericsson agreed to acquire Redback Networks for $2.1 billion, or $25 dollars per Redback share. The acquisition is expected to occur by means of a tender offer for all of the outstanding shares of Redback common stock. The companies expect the deal to be completed in early 2007.Redback Networks supplies multi-service routing platforms for delivering broadband access, including next generation services such as VoIP, IPTV and On-Demand Video. Its customers...

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Unicom Deploys UTStarcom's CDMA2000 Gear in Alaska

Unicom Inc., a communications carrier and a wholly owned subsidiary of United Companies, will deploy UTStarcom's MovingMedia 2000 all-IP CDMA2000 network solution in its new digital cellular network for rural Alaska. The initial deployment phase of Unicom's new digital cellular network will provide wireless voice and broadband data services in Bethel and the Yukon Kuskokwim Delta area of Alaska. The network's main infrastructure will be located in Bethel and will be connected by either satellite or microwave transmission to the outlying commu...

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Sony's PLAYSTATION Network Moves to Akamai

Sony Computer Entertainment's PLAYSTATION Network is adopting Akamai's content delivery for the PLAYSTATION 3 (PS3).In addition to providing delivery services to Japanese companies that offer online game content, such as SCE, Akamai's global platform is being leveraged in Japan to drive the commercial use of the Internet by providing delivery services optimized to meet the particular needs of companies in a variety of fields including image-delivery services, financial services, food and beverage services, cosmetics, and multimedia.http://www....

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Nortel Confirms US$2B Supply Order from Verizon Wireless

Nortel and Verizon Wireless signed an expected five-year, US$2 billion agreement for Nortel equipment and services.Under this agreement, Verizon Wireless plans to deploy additional CDMA2000 radio base stations, switching, IP platforms, optical networking solutions and related equipment with the help of professional services from Nortel. In addition, this agreement builds on the contract announced in July 2006, whereby Nortel was selected to supply Verizon Wireless with CDMA 1xEV-DO Revision A technology. This new agreement also presents an opportunity...

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AboveNet Deploys Juniper's T-Series for Core Network

AboveNet has begun upgrading the capacity of its nationwide Tier 1 IP network backbone with Juniper Networks T-series core routers. AboveNet's private optical network delivers key network and IP services in and between 14 top U.S. metro markets and London. The Juniper Networks T-series routers are being used to enhance the capacity of AboveNet's network and its existing Layer 2 eWAN service. AboveNet will also introduce new services such as Layer 3 MPLS-based VPN Services. http://www.juniper....

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Intellon Raises $18 Million for HomePlug AV Chips

Intellon, a privately-held supplier of powerline communications technology, raised $18 million in new equity financing, including financial backing from Samsung. Intellon will use the new funds to accelerate the global rollout of its HomePlug AV compatible ICs. The company already ships a line of HomePlug 1.0 compatible ICs for use in home networking, IPTV distribution, broadband over powerline (BPL) and commercial applications.Intellon said its new HomePlug AV ICs enable whole-house distribution of high definition video and digital audio over...

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Nokia Wins US$100 Million GSM/EDGE Contract in China

Thailand's Advanced Info Service Public Company Limited (AIS) selected Nokia for the expansion of its GSM/EDGE network, resulting in nationwide coverage for both GSM and EDGE. Nokia will supply a wide range of its GSM/EDGE radio and core network solutions, including base stations, Nokia MSC Server System mobile softswitch and the Nokia Intelligent Network. The network will be supported by the multivendor, multitechnology Nokia NetAct network and service management solution, including Nokia NetAct Traffica and Nokia Profile Manager to provide real-time...

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Matsushita Selects AT&T Global VPN Network for SWIFTNet

Japan's Matsushita Electronic Industrial Co. has awarded AT&T a contract for a global VPN that will provide the company's SWIFTNet connection. SWIFTNet is the latest messaging platform used by the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) for global financial transactions. AT&T already provides AT&T global VPN network services to numerous Matsushita locations in the United States and Europe as part of a global network infrastructure that supports its international business operations.http://www.att....

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Lenovo Integrates Atheros in Ultraportable Draft 802.11n Notebooks

Lenovo has integrated Atheros' XSPAN draft 1.0 802.11n silicon into models of its Lenovo 3000 product family. These Lenovo notebooks integrate Atheros' AR5008E-3NX chipset, which supports the PCI-Express interface and operation in both the 2.4 gigahertz (GHz) and 5 GHz frequency bands. http://www.atheros....

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US LEC Offers Nationwide MPLS

US LEC, a carrier based in Charlotte, North Carolina, announced the expansion of its MPLS VPN data network, saying it can now provide secure connections across the U.S. and internationally. Speeds may be scaled incrementally from fractional T-1 speeds below 1.544 Mbps to DS3 (up to 45 Mbps) to Ethernet Local Loop at 100 Mbps.http://www.uslec....

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Verizon Makes Executive Appointments

Verizon Wireless President Denny Strigl has been named President and Chief Operating Officer of Verizon Communications, reporting to Verizon Chairman and CEO Ivan Seidenberg.Verizon named Lowell McAdam, currently Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Verizon Wireless, to become President and CEO of Verizon Wireless, succeeding Strigl. Verizon named John Stratton, currently Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for Verizon Wireless, to the newly created position of Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, responsible...

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Broadcom Announces DSP-Based 10 Gigabit Ethernet Serial Transceiver

Broadcom announced a new 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) physical layer (PHY) device that leverages DSPs -- an industry first. The company said its unique high-speed DSP provides significant performance, manufacturing and reliability advantages over competing analog solutions. The new 10GbE DSP PHY exceeds the requirements of the new IEEE802.aq standard, which was developed to provide a low cost 10x speed upgrade for existing Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) links in multi-mode fiber (MMF) applications. Currently, more complex and higher cost 10GBASE-LX4 optical...

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FCC Commissioner McDowell Disqualifies Himself from AT&T+BellSouth Merger Vote

FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell disqualified himself from voting on the proposed AT&T+BellSouth merger approval vote, leaving the Commission evenly split between two Democrats and two Republicans. McDowell cited his earlier employment by COMPTEL, a lobby group of competitive carriers that has opposed the ILECs. In a statement, McDowell said promises made during his Senate confirmation hearing, and his own personal ethics, led him to withdraw from participating in the vote.http://www.fcc.govEarlier this month, the General Counsel of the FCC...

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Agere Debuts New Product Category -- BluOnyx Mobile Content Server

Agere Systems unveiled its BluOnyx Mobile Content Server, a new consumer product category designed to un-tether users from the PC and stationary storage devices by giving them access to content and applications in a portable device. The BluOnyx server, which will be shown at the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show in January, enables mobile users to share and stream music, video and business files to or from electronic devices ranging from cell phones,...

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Loral Skynet to Merge with Telesat Creating Global FSS Provider

Loral Skynet will merge with BCE's Telesat division to create one of the world's largest operators of telecommunications satellites, with a combined fleet of eleven satellites and four additional satellites to be launched over the next three years. The new company will have combined trailing 12 months revenue for the period ended September 30, 2006 of approximately US $568 million (CAD 658 million) and US $4.9 billion (CAD 5.6 billion) of backlog,...

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Carriers Plan New Terabit Capacity Trans-Pacific Express Optical Cable

Verizon Business signed a construction and maintenance agreement with a consortium planning to build an undersea optical cable system directly linking the U.S. mainland and China.The new Trans-Pacific Express (TPE) will initially provide capacity of up to 1.28 Tbps, with a design capacity of up to 5.12 Tbps to support future Internet growth and advanced applications. Customers will have access the cable system at 10 Gbps wavelengths. Construction of the new cable system, which will extend more than 18,000 kilometers, will begin in the first quarter...

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Juniper Adds T-series Physical Interface Card

Juniper Networks announced a new T-series physical interface card (PIC) with long reach optics and other advanced features designed for its T-series core routers. The new 4xOC-192 PIC features standards-based 10 Gigabit Small Form Factor Pluggable (XFP) optical transponders and inverse multiplexing to 40 Gbps.The new 4xOC-192 PIC enables providers to transport either a single OC-768 stream or four discrete OC-192 connections by using cost-effective 10 Gbps optical transponders and leveraging their installed base of T-series routers. XFP optics...

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Intel Installs WiMAX in Egyptian "Digital Village"

Working with Egypt's government, business and education leaders, Intel has installed a WiMAX network in Oseem, a city of 200,000 in Egypt. The wireless network connects two public schools, a health care center on wheels, a municipal building and an e-government services kiosk. Intel also donated and installed computers in the mobile health center and PC labs at the two schools where students and teachers can regularly connect to the outside world for the first time."The next billion Internet users will be from rural areas like Oseem," said Intel...

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Alcatel-Lucent Introduces Higher-Density 10-Gigabit Ethernet Enterprise Switch

Alcatel-Lucent introduced a new model of its 10-Gigabit Ethernet core switch chassis, featuring twice the capacity of the existing Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch 9700. Also available are a new high-density 10-Gigabit Ethernet module and a new power-over-Ethernet (PoE) Gigabit Ethernet module.The Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch 9000 family is deployment in the enterprise network core and aggregation layer where large amounts of user data being consolidated for 10 Gigabit connections. Similar to the other OmniSwitch 9000 models, the new Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch...

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Linksys Announces Skype iPhone

Cisco's Linksys division unveiled a new iPhone for Skype that works on 802.11g networks. The iPhone Wireless-G Phone for Skype (WIP320) makes Skype portable by integrating it into a Wireless-G handset, allowing consumers to place calls from anywhere they can connect to a wireless access point. The product is offered in North America through distribution, online retailers and VAR partners. Europe, Asia and LATAM availability is planned for Q1 2007....

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OIF Finalizes Scalable System Packet Interface

The Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF) has finalized the Scalable System Packet Interface (SPI-S) implementation agreement.SPI-S is a channelized, streaming-packet interface that scales from 6 Gbps to hundreds of Gbps for chip-to-chip and backplane applications. It is a successor to the widely deployed OIF SPI 4.2 interface, and leverages the OIF's Common Electrical Interface (CEI) to take advantage of high rate serial physical interconnects. SPI-S is specified to run over CEI, which is defined at 6 and 11 Gbps for both short reach and long reach...

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United States Trade Representative Urged to Support Global Access for VoIP

The Voice on the Net (VON) Coalition has filed papers with the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) charging more than a dozen trading partners with creating market barriers and prohibitions that are stifling Internet based communication technologies like VoIP. The VON Coalition asks U.S. Trade negotiators to help open markets to new technologies. The VON Coalition notes that some incumbent telephone carriers who also control the broadband network have unilaterally blocked users from communicating with VoIP over their broadband...

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Siemens Supplies ADSL2+ to Lebanon

Lebanon's Pesco Telecom SAL has commissioned Siemens Networks with the delivery and turnkey installation of ADSL2+ technology for its access network. Lebanon's first DSL-based broadband service is scheduled to go live at the beginning of 2007.As the sole supplier, Siemens Networks will provide its Surpass hiX 5630 IP-DSLAMs. The contract also covers network components like the first mile Ethernet switch Surpass hiD 6615, which aggregates the expected data traffic, and E-series Broadband Services Routers from Juniper Networks. Financial terms...

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France Telecom Plans FTTH Launch in Paris for March 2007

France Telecom has completed early pilot testing of FTTH and is moving ahead with phase two -- with the aim of having 150,000 to 200,000 customers connected by the end of 2008 out of a potential client base of 1 million.France Telecom now has 100,000 km of fiber installed, agreements signed with 650 tenant associations, 11,500 homes that can now be connected, and 500 customers to date.The carrier has selected the GPON architecture for its rollout.A range of consumer services will be marketed under the Orange brand starting in 2007, including Internet...

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NTT DoCoMo and Hutch form Partnership for i-mode in India

In partnership with NTT DoCoMo, Hutchison Essar (Hutch), one of India's leading mobile operators, will launch "i-mode" mobile Internet service in India during 2007.DoCoMo will license the patented technologies and know-how needed for Hutch to offer i-mode on GSM, GPRS and W-CDMA networks.More than 53 million people across the globe subscribe to i-mode, which is now available in 16 countries/regions of Asia-Pacific and Europe: Australia, Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Russia, Singapore,...

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Cisco to Acquire Tivella for Digital Signage

Cisco agreed to acquire Tivella, a privately-held company specializing in digital signage software and systems. Financial terms were not disclosed. Tivella was founded 2001 and has 10 employees based primarily in Milpitas, California, with corporate offices in Half Moon Bay, California.Cisco said the emerging market for digital signage has the potential to transform the customer experience and to promote richer communications.http://www.cisco.comhttp://www.tivella.comIn 2006, Cisco announced six acquisitions: SyPixx Networks, Audium Corporation,...

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SSK Telecom Plans Ultra Wideband (UWB) Handsets for PANs

SK Telecom, the largest mobile phone and broadband operator in Korea, is working with Staccato Communications on Ultra Wideband (UWB) wireless personal area network (WPAN) mobile phone services. SK Telecom selected Staccato's UWB silicon for use in mobile handsets that will use UWB for content delivery from access points, connecting mobile phones to larger displays (PC, TV, Auto), connecting mobile phones to the PC ecosystem, and sharing profiles...

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DVB-S2 Standardization Takes Step Forward

A significant licensing agreement was reached by key holders of DVB-S2 intellectual property. DVB-S2 is the second generation DVB system for broadband satellite communications, covering digital TV and HDTV broadcasting, interactive services, and professional links by satellite. is the second generation DVB system for broadband satellite communications, covering digital TV and HDTV broadcasting, interactive services, and professional links by satellite.DIRECTV, RAI (Radiotelevisione Italiana), and European Space Agency (ESA) -- the three rights...

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BT and Nortel Sign Partnership Deal for UK Enterprises

BT and Nortel signed a new, three-year partnership agreement to drive the uptake of VoIP, multimedia, instant messaging and mobile communications by UK enterprises of all sizes.The companies will offer solutions based on Nortel's portfolio and BT's networked IT services designed to evolve enterprise communications towards improved fixed-mobile convergence. BT is Nortel's largest EMEA enterprise partner and one of its three main global partners.BT is the UK market leader for the supply of enterprise telephone systems (PBX/IP PBX), with a 27 per...

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Aruba Networks Files for IPO

Aruba Networks, a start-up specializing in enterprise wireless solutions, filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed initial public offering of its common stock. Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Lehman Brothers Inc. will act as joint book-running managers for the offering with J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. and RBC Capital Markets acting as co-managers. The number of shares to be sold in the proposed offering...

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Ciena Reports Quarterly Revenue of $160.0 million

For its fiscal fourth quarter ending October 31, Ciena reported revenue of $160.0 million, representing a 4.9% sequential increase from fiscal third quarter revenue of $152.5 million and an increase of 35.3% over revenue of $118.2 million for the same period a year ago. For the fiscal year ending October 31, 2006, Ciena's unaudited revenue was $564.1 million, representing an increase of 32.0 % over the previous year.Q4 represents the company's eleventh sequential quarterly increase in revenue. Ciena's unaudited fiscal fourth quarter net income...

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Siemens Exec Arrested in Germany

On Tuesday, Thomas Ganswindt, a former executive and board member with Siemens, was arrested by German authorities in connection an expanding bribery scandal potentially involving hundred of millions of EURs over the pas seven years.Separately, following an internal audit, Siemens executives said that close to EUR 420 million ($556 million) of dubious payments made the company for various consulting services were now subject to further investigation. The allegations are that Siemens used these consulting funds to pay bribes in order to secure some...

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KPN introduces International Ethernet VPN Service for Enterprises

KPN launched its "EURRings International Ethernet VPN Service", offering corporate customers the ability to connect multiple locations through VPNs based on end-to-end Ethernet connections. The EURRings International Ethernet VPN Service is currently available in the five core countries of the international KPN network - The Netherlands, Belgium, the UK, France and Germany - and offers extended coverage via Ethernet over SDH technology across KPN's high capacity fibre-optic network in 22 European countries.KPN said its International Ethernet VPN...

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IP Unity to Acquire Glenayre Messaging

IP Unity, a supplier of carrier-grade media servers, application servers and real-time multimedia applications, agreed to acquire Glenayre Messaging. Financial terms were not disclosed.The combined company, to be known as IP Unity Glenayre, will deliver a portfolio of rich media services from a single, IMS enabled carrier grade platform. The merged unified communications framework brings together messaging services and rich media distribution to users across disparate networks and devices. Applications include voicemail, unified messaging, conferencing,...

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BT Fusion Launches FMC for Small Businesses

BT Fusion launched a Wi-Fi fixed and mobile convergence service for business over one mobile device, with seamless two-way handover between Wi-Fi and GSM. In-office Wi-Fi provides access to all fixed and mobile voice messages stored in one place, and call rates are significantly lower than over GSM .In the office, or at BT Openzone hotspots, for up to 60 minutes customers pay 5p for UK fixed line calls, less than the cost of a text; 15p for calls...

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AT&T + BellSouth Merger Off the Agenda for FCC' s Dec 20 Meeting

Consideration of the AT&T + BellSouth merger will not be a part of the FCC's next open meeting on December 20th. No date has been set for voting on the proposed merger.http://www.fcc.govEarlier this month, the General Counsel of the FCC cleared Commissioner Robert McDowell from any conflict of interest concern that might otherwise have prevented him from voting on the AT&T/BellSouth merger proceeding. In October, the FCC postponed a vote on the AT&T + BellSouth merger, as the Democrat commissioners sought concessions from the companies,...

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DSL Installed Base Reaches 173 Million

DSL's subscriber base worldwide has exceeded 173 million while global broadband subscribers reached more than 263 million in the 12 months to 30 September 2006. DSL's market share now stands at 65.6% market share, rising to 82% in the European Union. According to the DSL Forum and industry analyst Point Topic, each week 1.25 million people sign up to broadband.Globally, the largest broadband market in the world is the USA with more than 55.5 million...

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Hawaiian Telcom Selects Alcatel-Lucent for Triple Play

Hawaiian Telcom, the incumbent local exchange carrier (ILEC) in Hawaii, has selected Alcatel-Lucent's Triple Play Service Delivery Architecture to replace its existing infrastructure and to provide the scalability, reliability and speeds necessary to deliver new services.The deployment will feature the ISAM product family, including the Alcatel 7330 ISAM FTTN and the Alcatel 7342 ISAM FTTU. The rollout will also include the 7750 Service Router (SR) and Alcatel 7450 Ethernet Service Switch (ESS) to address its service routing requirements. Financial...

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Nokia Siemens Networks Merger Delayed Till Later in Q1 2007

Due to the current investigations of Siemens, the scope of which includes its carrier-related business, the planned merger between Nokia and Siemens is now expected to close sometime in Q1 2007, instead of January 2007 as originally planned.Nokia and Siemens said they intend to adjust their agreements in order to have Siemens conduct an appropriate compliance review prior to closing of the transaction. This adjustment is an addition to the previously agreed closing conditions. Nokia plans to participate actively in the review. Closing will be subject...

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Cablevision Reaches Two Million Broadband Customers

Cablevision Systems has surpassed the 2 million-customer milestone for its Optimum Online high-speed Internet service. The service now has a 44 percent take rate of the homes passed.Earlier this year, Cablevision raised the speed of its core Optimum Online service, from up to 10 Mbps downstream and 1 Mbps upstream, to new speeds of up to 15 Mbps downstream and 2 Mbps upstream, at no additional charge. The company also deployed its first premium tier high-speed Internet product, Optimum Online Boost, which offers customers downstream speeds of...

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Iliad Group' Free Selects Cisco for FTTH in France

The Iliad Group's "Free" broadband service selected Cisco's Ethernet fiber-to-the-home (E-FTTH) technology for a mass rollout in France. Specifically, Free will deploy Cisco Catalyst 4500 Series Switches as the E-FTTH access platform at its new optical PoPs with 10 Gigabit Ethernet uplinks to its core network to make optimum use of the increased capacity provided by the Cisco CRS-1 Carrier Routing Systems. The first phase of the fiber project aims...

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Agilent Acquires PXIT for Optical Signal Testing

Agilent Technologies has acquired PXIT Inc., a privately held company that provides signal integrity testing systems for broadband optical transceiver manufacturers. Financial details were not disclosed. All of PXIT's Massachusetts-based employees have joined Agilent.Agilent said the acquisition helps it to continue to innovate in the manufacturing test market, serving R&D and manufacturing customers.http://www.agilent....

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Skype Offers Annual Unlimited Calling plan

Skype is transitioning its Skype Out service from a free trial to a paid services with a flat rate of $29.95 for unlimited calling to any landline or mobile phone in the US or Canada for a whole year. Up through January 31, Skype is offering a promotional price of $14.95 for the same package. International calling is 2.1 cents per minute to major destinations worldwide.Skype said it currently has 11.9 million registered users in North America.Skype...

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UNH InterOperability Lab to Host IMS Forum Plugfest in January

The University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory (UNH-IOL) will host the first IP Multimedia Subsystem Forum (IMSF) group test in January 2007. The event, which is scheduled for Jan 15-19, will focus largely on IMS application servers. on testing the interfaces between the IMS architecture core network and application servers. This will include analyzing the north-south interfaces of the IMS architecture over several different IMS core...

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Occam Networks' BLC 6000 Selected by Ontario IOCs

Ten local, independent telcos in the province of Ontario, Canada have selected Occam Network's BLC 6000 solution to upgrade their networks. These carriers, which together support some 35,000 access lines, include Cochrane Telecom Services, Execulink Inc., Gosfield North Communications Co-op Ltd., Huron Telecommunications Co-operative, Nexicom Group, North Renfrew Telecom, Quadro Communications, Boxborough Telephone Company Ltd., and Wtc Communications (Westport).Most of these operators are utilizing the Occam BLC 6252 blade. The BLC 6252 provides...

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Cisco Invests $50M in China Communications Services

Cisco has made a strategic investment of US$50 million in China Communications Services Corporation Limited (CCS). Under the deal, Cisco and CCS will jointly provide managed telecommunications services, such as network operation and administration, to enterprise customers in China. Additionally, the two companies will provide customers with new network solutions, including IP infrastructures, digital video, and 3G platforms and applications. CCS is the specialized telecommunications support businesses arm of a major telecommunications group in...

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Celtro Wins HSDPA Backhaul Contract with Vodacom South Africa

Vodacom S.A., South Africa's leading mobile operator, is deploying Celtro's cellular backhaul solution for the expansion of 3G services and rollout of HSDPA. Specifically, Vodacom will deploy Celtro's DynaMate systems at over 850 sites this year, enabling rollout of 3G and HSDPA on existing backhaul infrastructure.Vodacom currently provides mobile services to over 20 million subscribers in South Africa, Tanzania, Lesotho, Mozambique and the Democratic...

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Verizon Business Promotes Polycom Telepresence Solution

Verizon Business is now offering its large-business customers a video "telepresence" system developed by Polycom for use over its advanced IP network. The new offering, the Polycom RPX modular conference suite, combines Verizon Business' intelligent Private IP network and Ethernet services with Polycom's standards-based RealPresence Experience (RPX) family of telepresence solutions. The modular rooms come in six configurations to accommodate from four to 28 participants.Bob Hagerty, chairman and CEO of Polycom, said, "Verizon Business is a longstanding...

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ETSI Approves Second-Generation IP over Satellite (IPoS)

The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) has approved the Internet Protocol over Satellite.v2 (IPoS.v2) air interface standard, which incorporates the DVB-S2 industry standard with ACM (Adaptive Coding and Modulation).The first version of IPoS was approved the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) in North America, and ETSI and ITU (International Telecommunications Union) in Europe.Hughes Network System said its HN System, launched in the spring of 2006, is fully compliant with the IPoS standard including DVB-S2, supporting...

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Meriton Networks 6400 Receives RUS Acceptance

Meriton Networks' 6400 OTP (Optical Transport Platform has been accepted by the Rural Development Utilities Program (RDUP), a division of the United States Department of Agriculture, for inclusion in the RDUP List of Materials. This acceptance enables independent telephone and utility companies to purchase Meriton Networks equipment with the assistance of funds from RDUP grants and loans.http://www.meriton....

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Altera Ships Stratix II GX FPGAs for Multi-Gigabit-Interconnected Systems

Altera began shipping its production-qualified Stratix II GX FPGAs, which provide up to 20 low-power transceivers operating between 600 Mbps and 6.375 Gbps with an 127 Gbps of aggregate serial link connectivity. Alter said its customers are now using the new FPGAs to design and manufacture multi-gigabit-interconnected systems. Many of these customer systems are now transitioning to production, including high-speed backplane and cabling interfaces, chip-to-chip interconnects, and protocol-bridging applications, including, but not limited to, such...

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CheckPhone Raises $10.2 Million for Voice Security

CheckPhone, a start-up based in Paris, secured a US$10.2 million investment from Trio Capital for its telephony security solutions.brCheckPhone, which was founded in 2005, offers an enterprise-class product designed to protect any convergent telephony network (traditional TDM, hybrid, and IP) against growing security threats such as: intrusion, interception, modification and denial of service. It is a multi-vendor, multi-technology platform for VoIP, legacy PBXs and hybrid environments, enabling centralized telephony security managementhttp://...

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EMC Enhances MPLS Support for Model-based Management Software

EMC Corporation has enhanced its Smarts IP Availability Manager 7.0 and Smarts Service Assurance Manager 7.0 software with added support for MPLS-based environments. EMC has also added compatibility for a broader range of application and system instrumentation such as HP's Mercury SiteScope -- EMC continues to widen its model-based management line-of-sight.Smarts IP Availability Manager automates real-time root-cause analysis of critical network connectivity layers, including network-attached storage connectivity. Smarts Service Assurance Manager...

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Verizon to Feature NFL Broadcasts Over Broadband

Verizon FiOS Internet and Verizon Online DSL customers who subscribe to either FiOS TV's Premier channel lineup or DIRECTV will be able to view live NFL game broadcasts this week on the Internet, including the first Saturday night matchup, with the Dallas Cowboys taking on the Atlanta Falcons, as well as the Thursday night matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and the Seattle Seahawks.Verizon said it is the only Internet service provider to deliver selected NFL Network programming over broadband.http://www.verizon....

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QUALCOMM Appoints COO, Hires Former Sprint Exec

QUALCOMM appointed Dr. Sanjay K. Jha as its chief operating officer. As COO, Jha will now oversee Corporate Research and Development and QUALCOMM Flarion Technologies (QFT), in addition to continuing as president of QUALCOMM CDMA Technologies (QCT). Prior to being named COO, Jha's 10-plus years of contributions at QUALCOMM included key engineering roles and the formation of QUALCOMM Technologies & Ventures. QUALCOMM also announced the hiring of Len J. Lauer, who has joined QUALCOMM as a corporate executive vice president and as group president...

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AT&T Tests Free Directory Assistance Service

AT&T has begun testing a free directory assistance service that would give callers access to business listings while giving advertisers the opportunity to reach buyers at a critical moment in their purchasing decisions. Callers will be able to request a listing for a specific business or for listings for a type or category of business from a landline or wireless phone. Callers will hear short audio ads relevant to their listing request before...

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STMicroelectronics Announces Product Organization

STMicroelectronics will reorganize its product segments into three main areas: Application Specific Groups, a Flash Memory Group and the Industrial and Multisegment Sector.ST is establishing a stand-alone Flash Memories Group (FMG), which incorporates all the Flash memory operations, including Technology R&D, all product related activities, front-end and back-end manufacturing, marketing and sales worldwide. FMG will be led by Mario Licciardello, Corporate Vice President and General Manager.ST is adding to the former MPA business its non-Flash...

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SureWest Offers 50 Mbps Residential Broadband in Sacramento Region

SureWest Communications, which serves the Sacramento, California region, announced a 50 Mbps "Ultimate Package" broadband service over its FTTH network. Similar to its 20 and 10 Mbps offerings, the 50-Meg product is synchronous, meaning that consumers receive up to 50 Mbps for both uploading and downloading.SureWest's Quad-Play "Ultimate" package includes 50 Mbps Internet access; "Full Color Multiplex" digital TV service, which features over 250...

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The Venice Project Enters Beta of its Web-TV

The Venice Project, an Internet TV start-up backed by the founders of Skype, began accepting beta testers. The project is not a file-sharing application or a video download service. It will use P2P streaming technology to deliver a variety of video content over the Web. Encrypted content would be provided directly by the owners. The Venice Project owners have said they are working within the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) framework.http://www.theveniceproject.c...

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picoChip and Kineto Team in UMA-Enabled Femtocell Market

Kineto Wireless and picoChip, a start-up specializing in software defined radio technology, are developing a UMA-enabled femtocell reference design. The reference design, based on picoChip's single-chip solutions, and Kineto's UMA client software will enable 3G femtocells to overcome network integration barriers to accelerate mass market adoption.Femtocells are low-cost cellular access points for mobile operators looking to provide enhanced, in-building 3G coverage within homes and small businesses.http://www.kineto.comhttp://www.picochip....

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NXP Chip Drives Multimedia-Enabled Navigation Devices

NXP Semiconductors announced a solution for low-cost, portable GPS devices with advanced multimedia capabilities. The solution builds on NXP's Nexperia mobile multimedia processor and includes software solution for GPS, along with ALK Technologies' CoPilot navigation software.Whereas traditional GPS solutions require hardware GPS baseband processors, NXP said its approach utilizes swGPS Personal running on the PNX0190 multimedia processor to efficiently perform GPS calculations. By eliminating the GPS baseband silicon, NXP's solution delivers a...

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Microsoft Releases Beta of Office Communications Server

Microsoft released a private beta of its enterprise voice communications server, Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 to 2,500 testers. Office Communications Server 2007, the successor to Microsoft Live Communications Server 2005, is part of Microsoft's unified communications portfolio. Microsoft said Office Communications Server 2007 allows companies to integrate VoIP into existing telephony infrastructure. Users will be able to instantly...

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Gomez and Limelight to Validate Digital Media Delivery

Gomez Inc. announced a reseller partnership with Limelight Networks, the high performance content delivery network for digital media. The deal provides Limelight customers with a new way to independently verify the service they receive from Limelight. Using Gomez Inc.'s web application experience management services, Limelight's customers can now precisely document and validate the performance benefits of Limelight's digital media delivery services and ensure the best experience possible for their customers.Under the partnership, Limelight will...

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Cingular Expands Support for Good Mobile Messaging

Cingular Wireless is now supporting Good Mobile Messaging to enterprises using Microsoft Outlook or Lotus Notes using a number of new smartphones, including the recent introductions of the Cingular 8525, BlackJack, Nokia E62, Cingular 3125, Palm Treo 680 and HP iPAQ hw6920.Cingular became the first carrier to sell Good Mobile Messaging directly to its customers in May 2005. Since then, Good-Cingular activations have grown more than 300 percent. Thousands of enterprises are running Good Mobile Messaging on the Cingular network today, including Deloitte,...

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