Raza Raises $20 Million for Packet Processing Silicon

Raza Microelectronics, a start-up based in Cupertino, California, closed a $20 million round of financing to support is work in high-performance silicon for packet processing applications.



The company's XLR and Orion processor families are complex, highly-integrated designs incorporating hundreds of millions of transistors and built on leading-edge TSMC silicon process technologies.



Raza Microelectronics said it is supplying its advanced silicon solutions to a number of top-tier networking system vendors.



The funding round was led by Advanced Equities Financial Corp. and included existing RMI investors, Warburg Pincus, Benchmark Capital, Duff Ackerman & Goodrich and Kodiak Venture Partners.

http://www.razamicroelectronics.com/

• RMI's XLR Thread Processor, which incorporates 333 million transistors on 90nm CMOS technology, is a general purpose processor designed for network appliances, such as advanced firewalls, IDS, VPN boxes, intelligent switches and other edge applications. Significantly, the chip incorporates 8 MIPS64 CPU cores at up to 1.5GHz, each with 4 threads. This enables a single device to run 32 simultaneous instances of Linux. To support its high-performance threaded architecture, the XLR processor incorporates large Level-2 caches, full speed high throughput interconnects, networking accelerators, security acceleration and an interchip messaging complex. RMI said it is able to run 32-way Linux on the device.



• RMI's Orion Intelligent Access Processor, which utilizes 180 million transistors on 130nm CMOS technology, is positioned as a "line-card on a chip." The integrated Orion chip is designed to serve as a Packet Processor Engine, a Traffic Management Engine, and a SONET/SDH Processor Engine. By combining Ethernet/MPLS/VPLS packet processing with next-gen SONET/SDH capabilities, the device could be used in range of network aggregation platforms, including customer-located equipment (CLEs or pizza boxes), micro-MSPPs, and Ethernet/MPLS line cards in IP DSLAMs. The design leverages Ethernet as a universal client interface while providing simultaneous support for legacy T1/E1 or T3/E3 delivered services.



• Raza Microelectronics was founded by Atiq Raza, who is also the founder, chairman and CEO of Foundries Holdings, Inc. (formerly Raza Foundries). Previously, Mr. Raza was President and COO of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). At AMD, . Raza oversaw the development of AMD's processor roadmap and brought the AMD-K6 and Athlon family of processor products to the market. Before that, he headed NexGen, which was acquired by AMD in January 1996.



• In August 2003, Raza Microelectronics acquired SandCraft, which designed high-performance MIPS64 microprocessors for the communications, network storage and office automation markets.

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Motorola Debuts Canopy Wireless Extension for HFC Networks

Motorola introduced a strand-mounted, MOTOwi4 Canopy solution that enables cable operators to quickly deploy wireless extensions to their existing networks.



The Motorola Canopy solution, part of the MOTOwi4 wireless access solutions, integrates a DOCSIS 2.0-compatible hardened cable modem and pre-WiMax access point constructed to withstand and perform in all outdoor conditions. The unit is line-powered and supports dedicated licensed spectrum at 2.3 GHz, 2.5GHz and 3.5 GHz.



http://www.motorola.com

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Samsung and Tekelec Announce Interoperability for Mobile NGN

Samsung Telecommunications America (Samsung) and Tekelec announced interoperability between the Samsung SSX-300C Wireless Softswitch (WSS) and the Tekelec 8000 Converged Multimedia Gateway. The interoperability brings Samsung closer to a joint solution with the Tekelec 8000 Converged Multimedia Gateway as a part of Samsung's Mobile Next Generation Network (NGN) solution for North America.



The Tekelec 8000 Converged Multimedia Gateway is a converged media gateway that complements the Samsung SSX-300C WSS, the keystone for Samsung's distributed mobile switching center (MSC) solution.

Samsung's WSS is a CDMA2000-compliant mobile call server controlling distributed media gateways and managing call/session control for voice and data services.

http://www.samsung.comhttp://www.tekelec.com

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YouTube Raises $8 Million for Consumer Video Uploads

YouTube, a consumer media company that lets people upload and share short video clips, received $8 million in Series B funding from Sequoia Capital. This contributes to the initial $3.5 million in Series A funding from Sequoia Capital completed in November 2005.



YouTube said more than 35 million videos are currently being watched daily on its service.

http://www.youtube.com

• YouTube is based in San Mateo, California.

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Agilent Tunes its Wireless Network Optimization Platform

Agilent Technologies released a new version of its Wireless Network Optimization Platform, which enables RF engineering teams to optimize and troubleshoot radio access networks and wireless services, and quickly identify the cause of problems.



New features include support for HSDPA and 1xEV-DO measurements.



The new platform functions include a flexible user-interface design environment, view synchronization, protocol analysis view, combined data/voice call sequencer and improved mapping capabilities.



The Wireless Network Optimization Platform incorporates service tests for voice quality, video, MMS (multimedia message service), SMS (short message service), HTTP, FTP, e-mail and WAP (wireless application protocol).

http://www.agilent.com

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Fujitsu to Offer Mobile WiMAX, Mesh Wi-Fi Solutions

Fujitsu Network Communications will offer a native mobile WiMAX solution based on the IEEE 802.16-2005 standard. Fujitsu is also offering a series of Wi-Fi mesh products that allow telecom carriers, cable/MSO operators, utilities and municipalities to offer turnkey wireless services that integrate seamlessly within current infrastructure and operations.



Fujitsu's wireless portfolio includes WiMAX its System on Chip (SoC) and reference designs for WiMAX-certifiable systems. New WiMAX Forum Certified base stations and end-user devices are optimized for the delivery of scalable wireless bandwidth and VoIP services to residential and enterprise users.



Initial Fujitsu WiMAX products will operate at 3.5 GHz, 4.9 GHz and 5.8 GHz, with plans to support 700 MHz, 2.3 GHz, 2.5 GHz and 3.65 GHz in the future. Advanced RF technology allows these products to feature a two to five mile service radius in urban/suburban environments, and services up to tens of miles away in line-of-site applications.



The WiMAX products integrate SIP gateway messaging to enable call control and capacity reservation for voice traffic. Voice capacity is not reserved until requested, and can be dynamically adjusted while maintaining QoS, thus enabling the optimal use of radio link capacity. Outdoor WiMAX products can be wall-, rooftop- or tower-mounted.



The Wi-Fi mesh products are based on IEEE 802.11a/b/g, and the backhaul radios within them operate within the 5.0 GHz to 5.8 GHz unlicensed band for Wi-Fi. They can provide service within 500 yards in IEEE 802.11g mode, and can be wall-, rooftop-, tower-, pole- or strand-mounted for maximum flexibility.http://us.fujitsu.com/telecom

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AT&T Lobbies for California's "Digital Infrastructure and Video Competition Act"

AT&T announced its support for proposed legislation in the California Assembly authored by Speaker of the Assembly, Fabian Nunez, (D - Los Angeles) and co-authored by Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee Chair, Lloyd Levine, (D - Van Nuys). The "Digital Infrastructure and Video Competition Act of 2006" would streamline the video franchising process in California by implementing a new statewide-issued authorization.

http://www.TheNewATT.com

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Finland's Elisa Launches HSDPA Service

Finnish telecom operator Elisa launched the first commercial High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) network in the Nordic countries. Nokia supplied the HSDPA solution to Elisa as part of a frame agreement announced in June 2005, and continues as the main supplier of Elisa's mobile network infrastructure. http://www.nokia.com

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SupportSoft Updates its Self-Service Suite

SupportSoft released a new version of its Self-Service Suite, a Web-based software solution that enables end-users to solve technical problems on their own. The software can reduce or eliminate the need to telephone a service representative for assistance.



Self-Service Suite is part of a scalable set of software solutions from SupportSoft that enable companies to provide self-service answers for tens of thousands of employees or millions of customers. When a problem occurs that may impact many end-users, companies can use the Self-Service Suite to send proactive notifications to help avoid flood calls into the help desk or customer service.



The Self-Service Suite provides a framework that can assist end-users in solving problems ranging from repairing a faulty broadband connection to fixing corporate e-mail settings in Microsoft Outlook.

http://www.supportsoft.com

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Sony and Motorola Partner on Mesh Camera Video Networking

Motorola and Sony Electronics announced a reseller agreement that will make Sony IPELA remote video cameras compatible with Motorola's MOTOMESH technology, which supports up to four radio networks in a single access point, and Motorola's Mesh Enabled Architecture (MEA).



The cameras are being sold by Motorola as its Mesh Camera Wireless Video Networking System for municipal deployments. The mesh-enabled cameras can be configured to operate over licensed 4.9 GHz public safety or unlicensed 2.4 GHz frequencies.



The cameras feature a 360-degree "endless" pan and can tilt from 0 to 90 degrees. The full-range pointing capabilities can be masked to create privacy zones with spherical (three-dimensional) tracing, and its high quality lens has a 26X optical zoom. Also, Sony's Real Shot Manager software allows personnel to remotely control pan, tilt and zoom options.



Motorola's Multi-Hopping technology turns every mesh- enabled camera into a router/repeater.

http://www.motorola.comhttp://www.sony.com

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Modulus Video Awarded IPTV Orders Exceeding $10 Million

Modulus Video recently received orders exceeding $10 million for its MPEG-4 AVC SD and HD video encoding systems. The orders were for over 100 Modulus Video ME6000 high definition AVC encoders for a major U.S. telecommunications IPTV deployment.

Key features of Modulus Video MPEG-4 AVC encoders include:

• Constrained Fidelity Constant Bit-Rate (CF-CBR) encoding to maximize bandwidth efficiency for IPTV;



• Embedded low resolution proxy for enabling Picture-in-Picture (PIP) for Microsoft TV and Electronic Program Guide (EPG) applications;



• Video on Demand for IPTV;



• Commercial Insertion

http://www.modulusvideo.com

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Nortel Cites Customer Gains for its MIMO-powered WiMAX

Nortel said its MIMO-powered WiMAX systems recently have been selected by NEW Energie in Germany, Chunghwa Telecom (CHT) and National Taiwan University in Taiwan, and Telefónica Móviles in Mexico. NEW Energie has completed a WiMAX broadband service trial in the town of Erkelenz in North Rhine-Westphalia, laying the foundations for commercial launch. For the trial, Nortel worked with German communications consultant tkt teleconsult to deploy a WiMAX network that allowed NEW Energie to provide broadband wireless connections to a selection of small businesses and consumers at speeds of up to 10 Mbps.



Nortel has expanded its product portfolio to deliver mobile MIMO-enabled WiMAX products in the 1.5, 2.3, 2.5 and 3.5 GHz spectrum bands. Nortel is also launching WiMAX demo centers and interoperability labs.



In addition, Nortel's fixed WiMAX solution supplied by Airspan, recently achieved the designation of WiMAX Forum Certified based on the defined Frequency Division Duplexing (FDD) system profile operating in the 3.5GHz frequency spectrum.

http://www.nortel.com

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Nortel Enhances IMS Portfolio with Wireless Mobility Gateway

Nortel has enhanced its IMS portfolio with a new Wireless Mobility Gateway 6000 (WMG 6000) that is designed to allow service providers to bridge 3G wireless networks and WLAN networks.



A key component of Nortel's IMS Converged Mobility solution, the WMG 6000 would make it simpler for service providers to offer personalized multimedia services to virtually any device across any network - wireless, wireline or cable. The platform provides presence and advanced telephony features such as caller ID, call waiting, call hold, click to call, call screening and routing, SMS and IM interworking. It is compliant to the emerging IMS Voice Call Continuity (VCC) standards.



Nortel's IMS Converged Mobility solution utilizes the WMG 6000 and the AS 5200 multimedia application server, both running on Nortel's IMS-compliant core. It leverages third party clients, increasing the range of supported devices and speeding the adoption of the solution.



Nortel's initial release of its IMS Converged Mobility product enhancements are expected to be available in the second half of 2006.



Nortel's IMS solution is access-aware and supports 3GPP (IMS), 3GPP2 (MMD), Packet Cable 2.0 and TISPAN standards.



Nortel also noted that its IMS solution is one of the most open implementations in the market as evidenced by the collaboration with many developers, partners and applications providers in its seven SIP Interoperability labs, six IMS Live Experience Centers and two Joint Customer Innovation Centers, one being with Bell Canada. In addition, Nortel is enhancing its IMS solution through work with IBM in the IBM Telecommunications Solutions Lab (TSL) in Montpellier, France.



Nortel recently completed IMS SIP interoperability with Broadsoft . The IMS tests with Broadsoft featured lab to lab testing using Broadsoft's VoIP application software and Nortel's IMS Core. In addition, through its recently established joint venture with LG Electronics, Nortel demonstrated live SIP Video Calling between a 3G UMTS mobile and a Nortel-LG SIP Video Phone to demonstrate the technology's ability to enhance revenue growth for wireless and wireline carriers.



Nortel also is working with Intel to bring IMS benefits to end users. Intel is a key supplier for Nortel's ATCA-compliant Versatile Service Engine (VSE) which is the hardware platform for Nortel's Call Session Control and Home Subscriber Server functions in the IMS architecture. VSE is designed to utilize Intel packet-processing blades for security as well as Intel NetStructure ATCA single board computers, which incorporate multi-core processor technology and have been shown to provide up to 2.8 times the performance over current processors.



"In the same way the telephone changed how people communicated over distance and the Internet ushered in a new era of information exchange, IMS is expected to take networked communications to a new level of simplicity for users and provide greater profit potential for service providers," said Alan Stoddard, general manager, Carrier Multimedia Networks, Nortel. "IMS will enable intuitive networks that are subscriber-centric and access-aware; it is expected to put the power of the network in the hands of the subscriber and integrate multiple applications into a single, personalized experience. It is designed to allow users to move more seamlessly and securely between various networks with ease."http://www.nortel.com

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Wi-Fi Alliance and CTIA Develop Wi-Fi/Mobile Test Plans

The Wi-Fi Alliance and CTIA will cooperate on development of test programs for overlapping aspects of converged Wi-Fi/mobile phones. The initial focus will be on Radio Frequency (RF) performance mapping in a mixed network environment. Future work will explore other technology challenges of convergence, such as handover between cellular and Wi-Fi networks, cross-radio signal sensitivity and battery life. The groups envision that testing will occur in shared top-tier test laboratories worldwide, each authorized to perform both CTIA and Wi-Fi Alliance tests, and they expect to announce further details regarding program availability in the coming months.



The agreement comes as converged handsets are reaching the market from leading manufacturers. http://www.wi-fi.orghttp://www.ctia.org

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Lucent Appoints Elizabeth Hackenson as CIO

Lucent Technologies named Elizabeth Hackenson to the position of chief information officer (CIO), responsible for all of Lucent's global information technology systems. Hackenson, who previously held a similar position with MCI, has more than 25 years of experience in information technology with the last 12 years in the telecommunications industry. She will report to Lucent Chief Operating Officer Frank D'Amelio. http://www.lucent.com

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Extreme Networks Sees Quarterly Results Below Expectations

Extreme Networks expects its net revenue for the fiscal quarter ended 02-Apr-2006 to be $84 million to $85 million. This is below the company's previous expectations of $90 million to $95 million, due primarily to lower than anticipated revenues in the U.S. and Japan, which offset revenue growth in the Company's European markets.



Based on preliminary information, the Company expects earnings per diluted share for the third quarter to be between a profit of $0.01 and a loss of ($0.01) on a GAAP basis. Excluding stock-based compensation expense, non-GAAP earnings per diluted share for the quarter is expected to be between a profit of $0.02 and $0.00.

http://www.extremenetworks.com

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Discovery Channel Launches on Broadband, Powered by Brightcove

Discovery Communications will launch its first broadband channels on April 15: Discovery Channel Beyond and Travel Channel Beyond. The ad-supported TV will later be expanded with broadband channels for TLC, Animal Planet and Discovery Health Channel will launch in the coming months.



Discovery is using Brightcove for publishing its video content.

http://www.discovery.comhttp://www.brightcove.com

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