ASTRA-1KR Satellite Successfully Launched

The ASTRA-1KR telecommunications satellite was successfully launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida aboard an Atlas V launch vehicle provided by International Launch Services (ILS).ASTRA-1KR is a high-power Ku-band satellite belonging to SES ASTRA and built by Lockheed Martin. It features 32 transponders that will provide distribution of direct-to-home broadcast services across Europe.http://www.ses-global.comhttp://www.lockheedmartin....

Read More

HanseNet Launches Alice IPTV/DSL in Germany

Telecom Italia's HanseNet subsidiary is launching its "Alice" IPTV service in Hamburg, Germany and plans to expand country-wide over the coming months. The IPTV service include 100 standard definition channels and VOD delivered over DSL. HanseNet has deployed Harmonic's DiviCom Electra 5000 Multi-Service Encoders for MPEG-4 AVC (H.264) digital video compression. The Harmonic-based headend encompasses standard definition DiviCom real-time encoders for low bit-rate MPEG-4 AVC video as well as the ProView receivers and decoders for scalable content...

Read More

Harmonic Releases MPEG-2 HD Encoder

Harmonic introduced a new MPEG-2 high definition (HD) CBR/VBR encoder that can offer up to a 25% improvement in MPEG-2 HD compression efficiency relative to previous generation platforms. The new DiviCom MV 500 encoder offers and integrates seamlessly with Harmonic's DiviTrackIP distributed statistical multiplexing solution.Harmonic said the new DiviCom MV 500 makes it possible for cable operators to deliver as many as four HD programs within a single 256-QAM channel. This represents a significant increase in channel density that can accelerate...

Read More

Swedish MSO Selects Alcatel for IP/MPLS

Com Hem, the largest cable TV operator in Sweden, has selected Alcatel's for its IP/MPLS-based data backbone network. Specifically, Com Hem will deploy the Alcatel 7750 Service Router (SR) and the Alcatel 5620 Service Aware Manager (SAM). The IP/MPLS backbone will be capable of serving hundreds of broadcast channels, Video on Demand, VoIP and data services to 38 cities in Sweden. Alcatel is also providing a set of professional services including consulting solution design, project management, installation and maintenance.Financial...

Read More

WildPackets Integrates Telchemy's VQmon VoIP Performance Analysis

WildPackets has integrated Telchemy's VQmon/SA into its OmniAnalysis Platform to provide VoIP analysis and call quality monitoring. This enables media stream analysis and problem diagnosis of VoIP for enterprise customers.WildPacket's OmniAnalysis Platform can provide visibility into multiple areas in a network from a centralized console - including Gigabit, 10/100, 802.11 wireless, VoIP and WAN links to remote offices. Telchemy's VQmon technology can be used to detect, monitor and resolve call quality and network related problems for networked...

Read More

Tundra Semi to Acquire Systems Solutions Business from Alliance Semi

Tundra Semiconductor, which supplies system interconnect products based on PCI-X and RapidIO, will acquire the assets of the Systems Solutions Business Unit of Alliance Semiconductor for US$5.8 million in cash.Tundra said the acquisition broadens its product portfolio by adding PCI Express, HyperTransport and PCI bridges. These bridges are designed into systems currently in production at some of the world's leading communications companies. Tundra expects the acquired products to generate revenues of between $1.7 and $2.0 million in the first quarter...

Read More

Ericsson Renews Newport/Marconi Reseller Agreement

Ericsson Ltd has renewed the worldwide reseller agreement with Newport Networks previously signed by Marconi.Newport Networks' 1460 session border controller session border controller addresses the key service delivery issues of quality and security.http://www.newport-networks....

Read More

Iceland's Atlass�mi Deploys MERA Softswitch

Atlass�mi, an Iceland-based telco that delivers calling card and broadband telephony services, has deployed MERA Systems' VoIP Transit Softswitch for intelligent management of its VoIP sessions. Financial terms were not disclosed. MERA noted that it now has over 450 real-life deployments in 50 countries. It estimates it controls 70% of the VoIP softswitch market in Russia & the CIS countries and about 4% worldwide. http://www.mera-systems.comhttp://www.atlassimi...

Read More

Widevine Raises $16 Million from Cisco, TELUS

Widevine Technologies, a provider of downloadable content protection and digital forensics solutions, announced strategic investments by Cisco Systems and TELUS. The Series C strategic round, worth a total of $16 million, includes follow-on investment from VantagePoint, Bear Stearns Constellation Ventures, Pacesetter Capital and Phoenix Partners.Widevine's products enable the acquisition of premium broadcast and video-on-demand (VOD) content from all major studios and broadcasters. The company currently has over ninety telco, cable, satellite...

Read More

Cingular, Siemens and Georgia Tech Offer Cash Prizes for IMS Applications

Cingular Wireless, Siemens Communications and the Georgia Institute of Technology launched a program to encourage the creation of IMS applications. The initial project for the relationship is an IMS Research Competition, which challenges upperclassmen and graduate students in the schools of engineering, computing and business management to team together to create services blending audio, video, text messaging, chat and gaming in the open-systems IMS architecture. Qualified students who participate in the year-long competition will be eligible...

Read More

NeuStar to Acquire UltraDNS for $62 Million

NeuStar agreed to acquire UltraDNS of Reston, Virginia, for $61.8 million in cash. UltraDNS provides managed domain name systems (DNS) services. Based on unaudited financial statements, UltraDNS' 2005 revenue totaled $12.6 million and the company was profitable. For 2006, NeuStar projects revenue growth for UltraDNS services in excess of 40 percent, and expects the acquisition to be accretive by the first quarter of 2007.NeuStar serves as a neutral third party clearinghouse services to the global communications and Internet industry. http://w...

Read More

China Netcom Selects UTStarcom's IPTV in Harbin

China Netcom has signed a contract for the deployment of UTStarcom's RollingStream end-to-end IPTV solution in Harbin in the Heilongjiang in northeast China. UTStarcom said this deal represents the single largest IPTV capacity deployment in China to date. Financial terms were not disclosed.The contract is based on a commercial trial that was launched in May 2005. The initial deployment had a capacity of 100,000 concurrent media streams, covering the major metropolitan areas of the city. Currently, the service offers channels of live broadcast...

Read More

EarthLink Increase Full Year Expectations

During the first quarter of 2006, EarthLink added 125,000 net PeoplePC Online subscribers and strengthened its position as a leading non-facilities based broadband provider by adding 85,000 net broadband and voice subscribers in the quarter. EarthLink said its was continuing to manage the decline of its premium narrowband subscriber base, which decreased by 179,000 net customers during the quarter.EarthLink ended the first quarter with 1.4 million PeoplePC Online subscribers, 2.1 million premium narrowband subscribers, 1.7 million broadband subscribers...

Read More

JDSU Adds 10G Module for Ethernet-over-SONET/SDH Test

JDSU introduced a new module for its ONT-50 and ONT-506/512 platforms that provide testing for Ethernet over SONET/SDH at up to 10 Gbps. The new module handles the differential delay generation and analysis of low- and high-order virtual containers and GFP and MAC frames for Ethernet traffic generation and analysis. The solution provides full emulation of the LCAS protocol, and easy capture and decode of LCAS messaging via the state tracer utility. By fully addressing these applications, JDSU's new SONET/SDH solution supports the test requirements...

Read More

BellSouth Adds 263,000 DSL and 105,000 DirecTV Customers in Q1

BellSouth reported Q1 normalized revenue of $8.7 billion, up 4.5 percent year-over-year generated by growth in Communications Group, Cingular and Advertising & Publishing. Operating margins were 21.9 percent, improving year-over-year and sequentially. Normalized net income of $983 million grew 20 percent compared to the first quarter of 2005 driven primarily by Cingular's improved profitability.Some highlights for Q1 include:Communications Group revenue was $4.7 billion, a 1.3 percent increase compared to the same quarter of 2005. BellSouth...

Read More

KPN Selects World Wide Packets / Lucent for Ethernet Rollout

KPN has selected World Wide Packets' Ethernet customer premise equipment (CPE) to support the rollout of Ethernet-based services to KPN's enterprise customers in The Netherlands.World Wide Packets has entered into a reseller agreement with Lucent Technologies, which will supply the equipment, along with software and services, to KPN. Financial terms were not disclosed.World Wide Packets' "LightningEdge" family of products provide premises-based connectivity for optical fiber-based point-to-point Ethernet networks.http://www.worldwidepackets.co...

Read More

TANDBERG TV Debuts IP Head-end, Following SkyStream Acquisition

TANDBERG Television introduced an IP-based system designed to change the face of IP video head-ends in both contribution and distribution networks and in large and small scale DTH cable, satellite, terrestrial and telco platforms. The iSIS 8000 IP system includes MPEG-2, MPEG-4 AVC and SMPTE VC-1 video encoding and transcoding, IP multiplexing and new receiver/decoders, all under a single control and management system, nCompass.The new TANDBERG MX8400 IP Multiplexer is a next generation product designed for central head-end applications including...

Read More

Amino to Licence its IPTV Designs through Spinoff

Amino Technologies has established an independent business, IntAct Software Limited, to license its IntAct software solutions to set-top box (STB) OEMs and ODMs, semiconductor manufacturers, service operators and system integrators. In addition, service operators and integrators may also licence Amino's set-top box designs with unique signature form factor through IntAct Software Ltd.The IntAct IPTV solution consists of both a client software stack and IP STB server management tools. Amino has undertaken extensive third party interoperability...

Read More

Sprint Nextel to Acquire Wireless Affiliate UbiquiTel

Sprint Nextel agreed to acquire UbiquiTel for approximately $1.3 billion, including the assumption of about $300 million of net debt. UbiquiTel provides Sprint PCS services in mid-size markets in California, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Nevada, Tennessee, Utah, Washington and Wyoming, covering 8.3 million people. As of March 31, 2006, UbiquiTel served approximately 452,000 direct wireless subscribers and 151,000 wholesale subscribers. UbiquiTel employs about 425 people and had revenues for the 12 months ended Dec. 31, 2005 of $422.7 million.http:...

Read More

SkyStream Updates VOD and IPTV Platforms

SkyStream, which is now a newly-acquired division of TANDBERG Television, announced several enhancements to its platforms that will be shown at next week's NAB2006 tradeshow in Las Vegas. These include:zBand 6.0: zBand updates SkyStream's PUSH VOD platform to enable content delivery through both unicast and multicast networks, now letting subscribers access and manage their VOD services around the home through a broadband Internet connection. ReelTime Media Ltd. of Australia is using the new version of zBand to deliver VOD over broadband Internet...

Read More

NTT Electronics to Release High Profile AVC/H.264 HDTV Encoder

NTT Electronics introduced its HVE7100 High-Definition TV encoder, a real-time encoder that supports High Profile Level 4 of the AVC/H.264 standard. The encoder supports both DVB-ASI and IP output, enabling delivery of HDTV video while maintaining high quality even within the tight bandwidth limitations of either IPTV or satellite delivery."As the only manufacturer in the NTT Group, NTT Electronics Corporation provides its products to numerous customers besides NTT," said Tomio Kishimoto, head of the Digital Video Business Group, in charge of digital...

Read More