Telefónica Selects Ericsson's DWDM

Telefónica de España has selected Ericsson as supplier for its metro DWDM optical network. The new network will allow Telefónica to meet the increasing traffic demand generated by the consumer's response to its broadband services offering.



Ericsson said the contract highlights the benefits of its recent Marconi acquisition.
http://www.ericsson.com

Read More

Alvarion Partners with IBM on Public Safety Networks

Alvarion announced a partnership with IBM to offer and deliver wireless systems to municipalities and their public safety agencies. The alliance will enable a new approach for delivery of scalable, multi-layer IP-based wireless networks that support data, voice and video for both fixed and mobile applications.



The companies have already collaborated on a pilot wireless network implementation in Fresno, the 6th largest city in California. Built by IBM using Alvarion broadband wireless systems and IBM's WebSphere Everyplace Connection Manager, the network features government-grade wireless encryption, roaming and compression to the city's 250 police vehicle fleet.
http://www.alvarion.comhttp://www.ibm.com

Read More

AT&T to Deliver MobiTV at Wi-Fi Hotspots Nationwide

AT&T agreed to deliver MobiTV's mobile television content across its nationwide Wi-Fi network. The service will enable AT&T customers to view live television while connected to one of AT&T's Wi-Fi hot spots.



The MobiTV service includes 15 channels spanning national news, sports, entertainment and full-length music videos from top artists. The MobiTV service will be accessible from the AT&T Wi-Fi portal. Users will have a basic channel line-up available through a monthly $11.99 subscription or for each 24-hour session for $5.99.

The service will be available this month at nearly 7,000 AT&T owned and operated Wi-Fi hot spots, which includes airports, coffee shops and book stores, with plans to expand to additional locations.

http://www.att.comhttp://www.mobitv.com

• MobiTV claims more than one million subscribers.



• The MobiTV service is currently available in the US through Sprint, Cingular and Alltel; in the United Kingdom through 3 and Orange UK; and to Canadian customers through Bell Canada, Rogers and TELUS Mobility; and other regional carriers around the world.

Read More

T-Systems and Cisco Announce Strategic Relationship

Cisco Systems announced a strategic partnership with T-Systems, a unit of Deutsche Telekom focused on information and communications technology (ICT). The companies are working together to deliver a range of integrated services incorporating local area networking (LAN), Internet Protocol (IP) communications and security, as well as developing solutions for vertical markets such as financial services, and a radio frequency identification (RFID) solution for the transport and retail sectors in Germany. The relationship will be rolled out on an international level in the next phase.

http://www.cisco.comhttp://www.t-systems.com

Read More

Broadcom Supplies Bluetooth and Wi-Fi for Nintendo's Wii Console

Nintendo's forthcoming "Wii" game console will be equipped with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connections powered by Broadcom silicon. The Wii console is the first major gaming platform on the market to introduce Bluetooth technology as a standard feature, eliminating the cables between the console, hand-held game controllers and other accessories.



For the Bluetooth game controller, Broadcom said special enhancements were made to ensure the same reliable, low-latency responsiveness that gamers are accustomed to in wired controllers. The Wii console also includes Broadcom's single-chip 54g Wi-Fi solution. Both Bluetooth and 802.11g Wi-Fi products operate in the 2.4 GHz radio frequency band, introducing the possibility of radio interference between the two radio signals. To address this concern, Broadcom optimized the wireless performance for optimal simultaneous throughput of both technologies, minimizing the possibility of radio signal collisions, blocking and other phenomena that could degrade the performance of either device.

http://www.broadcom.com

Read More

Hanaro Cites Turn Around in Broadband Subscribers

Hanarotelecom announced a 17% gain in revenues to KRW 432.3 billion on the back of an increase in broadband revenues resulting from the merger with Thrunet and a continuous growth in voice net additions in its first-quarter earnings release for 2006.

Hanaro said that it added 7,300 broadband subscribers in April, posting a net addition for the first time this year, and acquired about 15,300 voice subscribers in April, continuing a sustained growth of net addition. The company credited aggressive marketing activities for a turnaround in operating results.



In particular, Hanaro expanded optical LAN coverage in the first quarter of 2006 to 4,500 apartment complexes with 2.6 million households, which accounts for 52% of nationwide apartment complex coverage. In the voice business, Hanaro added 10 local call service areas and thus securing 80% of nationwide coverage areas.



"By focusing on the 100 Mbps service such as optical LAN and launching a commercial TV-Portal service in July this year with a target of attracting 250,000 subscribers by the end of 2006, we will be able to achieve satisfactory results in both core business and new business," stated Janice Lee, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Hanaro.

http://www.hanaro.com

Read More

Meriton Announces New Customers for its Agile Optical Networking

Meriton Networks announced two new customers for its Agile Optical Networking (AON) architecture: Canada's RBC Financial Group and PalmettoNet, a carrier's carrier based in the Carolinas.



RBC, which is Canada's largest bank, is using Meriton's scalable Gigabit Ethernet transport system to connect its key data centers in a regional network of leased dark fiber. RBC needed to add capacity to its existing OC-48 network. The Meriton platform scale to 320 Gbps of capacity (in half a rack) without any additional shelves. Adding wavelengths simply requires SFPs and cards. RBC's deployment includes Meriton's 7200 OSP (Optical Switching Platform) for metro WDM transport, the 3300 OSM (Optical Services Multiplexer) for metro access, the 1455 OFA (Optical Fiber Amplifiers) to extend reach up to 600 km, the 8600 NMS (Network Management System) to fully manage the end-to-end network, and the 8300 EMS (Element Management System) for field commissioning and provisioning.



PalmettoNet, which interconnects some 14 independent carriers in North and South Carolina over a fiber backbone spanning some 3,100 route miles, has extended its high-speed network with the Meriton Networks 6400 OTP (Optical Transport Platform). PalmettoNet selected the 6400 OTP to deliver a full range of point-to-point services throughout the Carolinas, including traditional SONET connectivity (DS1, DS3, OC3 through OC192) and Ethernet Solutions (1 Gig, 10 Gig and beyond). In addition to the flexibility of the 6400 OTP, which leverages Meriton's ADM-on-a-Wavelength technology, a key driver for PalmettoNet's selection of the 6400 OTP was its ability to provide reconfigurable dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) channels in a cost-effective manner.


http://www.meriton.com

Read More

T-Com Renews Supply Contract with Alcatel

T-Com, the broadband/fixed line business division of Deutsche Telekom, has renewed an existing equipment supply agreement with Alcatel. Under the two-year contract, Alcatel will continue to supply its:

• Optical Multi-Service Node (OMSN) systems providing business customers with carrier-class Ethernet services - such as Virtual Private Networks (VPN) - and streamlining broadband aggregation and distribution.



• 1678 Metro Core Connect (MCC), which helps service providers develop their central offices in both the metro and the core further, while simplifying operations and improving network efficiency. The Alcatel 1678 MCC is a flexible and cost-effective solution for fixed-line and mobile network operators, as well as Internet service providers. Traffic streams from different services and using a variety of protocols can now be bundled and consolidated more efficiently for onward transport in national and international core networks.

In the further expansion of the SDH network, Alcatel will also upgrade the existing 1350 management suite to monitor the new equipment and services that the network enhancements will support. http://www.alcatel.com

Read More

Broadbus and Axiom Partner on IPTV Management

Broadbus Technologies and Axiom Systems announced a partnership to address service providers' need for a next-generation video platform with an operational support system (OSS) that gives subscribers highly reliable, premium on-demand experiences.



The partnership combines the solid-state Broadbus B-1 Video Server, which is a scalable platform for advanced on-demand video services, with Axiom Systems' AXIOSS solutions, which are utilized to design, create, deliver and analyze advanced services across end-to-end next-generation networks.



The companies said their partnership offers reduced time to design, create, test and introduce new IPTV services, as well as simplified activation/provisioning of highly complex end-to-end IPTV services,http://wwww.axiomsystems.comhttp://www.broadbus.com/

Read More

BellSouth Offers Home Monitoring Camera with DSL

BellSouth will begin offering new residential DSL customers a free home monitoring camera to remotely view video images of inside their homes. Customers can choose from several ways to monitor using one or more video cameras set up in their homes. They log in to a secure Web site from a home PC, remote PC or cell phone, and can view their selected images.



The free home monitoring camera is available to new customers of BellSouth FastAccess DSL Xtreme 6.0, BellSouth FastAccess DSL Xtreme and BellSouth FastAccess DSL Ultra.
http://www.bellsouth.com

Read More

UTStarcom's Hong Lu to Step Down as CEO

UTStarcom announced that its Chairman and CEO, Hong Lu, will step at the end of this year. Mr. Lu will remain as Chairman and CEO of the company until December 31, 2006, focusing on strategic opportunities and assisting during the transition. Tom Toy, currently an independent director of UTStarcom, will assume the position of chairman of the board as of January 1, 2007.



Ying Wu, CEO of UTStarcom China, will assume the CEO position as of January 1, 2007. Mr. Wu has been UTStarcom's Executive Vice-President and Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors since October 1995. Prior to its merger with Unitech Telecom, Inc., he was the President of Starcom, Inc. Before founding Starcom, Inc., Mr. Wu was a member of the technical staff of Bellcore (now Telcordia). From 1987 to 1988, Mr. Wu was a consultant to AT&T Bell Labs (now part of Lucent Technologies). He holds an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from the New Jersey Institute of Technology and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Beijing Industrial University.

http://www.utstarcom.com

Read More

Telecom Argentina Reaches 244,000 DSL Lines

As of 31-March-2006, Telecom Argentina had 244,000 ADSL customers, up from 136,000 a year earlier. Broadband ISP subscribers totaled approximately 186,000 (+107% vs. Q1 05), with most connected to Telecom Argentina fixed lines. Dial-up customers decreased to 111,000 (-26% vs. Q1 05) as a consequence of migration to broadband services.



The cellular market in Argentina maintained its expansion during Q1 06, with the subscriber base of Telecom Personal in Argentina reaching approximately 6,351,000 , up by 2,128,000 customers compared to a year earlier. GSM now accounts for 73% of the customer base.

http://www.telecom.com.ar/

Read More

TiVo to Record Brightcove Content over the Web

TiVo's digital video recorders will be able to record broadband video published through Brightcove, under an agreement announced by the companies. The companies said their partnership will provide a method for almost any publisher of broadband video using Brightcove's Internet TV services to distribute content to TiVo subscribers. It also opens the possibility of monetizing the distribution through advertising, subscription plans, or pay-per-view.



Brightcove and TiVo plan to phase in a number of content partners and new downloading capabilities for a number of possible content partners of TiVo's going forward. Initially, all content will be offered for free to TiVo subscribers and may carry advertising within the content.



Broadband video content from Brightcove will be made available to any TiVo "Series2" DVR connected to the Internet. TiVo subscribers will be able to discover this content directly in the TiVo Central content management area on the TiVo box.



"TiVo has been a powerful factor increasing consumer choice and control over television viewing experiences. The Brightcove partnership will further empower consumers by allowing TiVo subscribers to find broadband video content via their TiVo or PC and send that content directly to their TiVo box where they can view it whenever they choose," said Jeremy Allaire, founder and CEO of Brightcove.

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

• Last month, Brightcove, a start-up based in Boston, launched an open, commercial preview of its Internet TV service, which helps video content producers to build broadband TV channels and distribute their video through the Internet. Brightcove plans to launch the full commercial release of their Standard Services in the summer of 2006. At that time the company plans to announce a variety of service plans including options to pay for usage of the service as well as plans that allow broadband programmers to use the Brightcove services at no cost, and generate revenue, by participating in an advertising network or offering videos for sale and rental. Brightcove said it has several content developers, including Discovery, National Lampoon, and Oxygen, distributing their broadband channels with the Brightcove Premium Services.



• In November 2005, Brightcove signed a video content distribution partnership with AOL. Brightcove and AOL will market a co-branded version of the Brightcove service as the self-service platform for publishing video on AOL.com. Through the syndication to AOL, publishers will be able to generate revenue from the advertising and pay media sales of their content on AOL.com and other video gateways on the AOL network of web properties.



• As of March 2006, TiVo's total subscription base stands at approximately 4.4 million, which represents 45% growth over last year. TiVo-owned subscription gross additions were 221,000 for the quarter ended 31-January-2006 and net adds were 183,000. TiVo added 173,000 DIRECTV subscriptions in the quarter, compared to 379,000 in the third quarter of fiscal 2006.

Read More