Researchers Announce First Hybrid Silicon Laser

Researchers from Intel and the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) unveiled the first electrically powered Hybrid Silicon Laser using standard silicon manufacturing processes. The researchers were able to combine the light-emitting properties of Indium Phosphide with the light-routing capabilities of silicon into a single hybrid chip. When voltage is applied, light generated in the Indium Phosphide enters the silicon waveguide to create...

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Citizens to Acquire Commonwealth, Creating 7th Largest US Telco

Citizens Communications agreed to acquire Commonwealth Telephone Enterprises Inc. for $41.72 per share, in a cash-and-stock taxable transaction, for a total consideration of $1.16 billion, based on the closing price of Citizens' common stock on September 15, 2006. The combined company will be the 7th largest local telephone exchange company in the U.S., with pro forma annual revenues of approximately $2.4 billion and operations across 23 states. Upon completion of the acquisition, Citizens, which operates under the brand name of Frontier, will...

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Tellabs Increases Capacity of Digital Cross-Connect

Tellabs introduced an enhanced version of its flagship Tellabs 5500 digital cross-connect system, featuring a consolidated core switch design that increases switch capacity by 50% while reducing floor space requirements by 78%. The Tellabs 5500 system carries voice and data traffic over communications networks and is the leading digital cross-connect system in the U.S. The new Tellabs 5500 offers an OC-48 interface, reducing the need to purchase...

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Amino Shows Multi-Codec IPTV Set-top Box

Amino, a leading supplier of IPTV set-top boxes, announced the AmiNET125 STB, is a new fully featured multi-codec device supporting standard definition (SD) video streams. The unit has been built on a new hardware platform, which draws on the existing AmiNET110 MPEG-2 and AmiNET124 MPEG-4 devices to offer multiple software configurations and support for both traditional and advanced codecs without the need for equipment upgrades. The platform features a programmable DSP to support low bit rate codecs and remote software upgrades without the need...

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Gizmo Project Offers Free Business Calling for Asterisk PBX Users

SIPphone, the San Diego-based developer of the free Gizmo Project Internet calling and IM software, introduced an "All Calls Free" calling plan for businesses worldwide, providing significant savings for small to mid-sized companies who want to enjoy free calling between co-workers and/or remote offices. Using Gizmo Project as an office softphone, workers can place free PC-to-PC calls, as well as free calls to landlines and mobile phones of co-workers...

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Analog Devices Acquires Audio IC Specialist, AudioAsics

Analog Devices (ADI) has acquired privately held AudioAsics A/S, a Danish company consisting of a team of experienced developers of high-performance, low-power microphone and audio signal conditioning technology. ADI paid approximately $19 million in cash at the closing in exchange for all of the outstanding shares of AudioAsics. In addition, upon the achievement of certain milestones following the closing, ADI would be obligated to pay up to an additional $8 million.AudioAsics designs low-voltage, low-power audio ASICs, including analog-to-analog...

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Psytechnics Offer QoE Across VoIP and Circuit Telephony

Psytechnics unveiled a new Unified Communications Experience Manager that address both IP and non-IP voice quality issues for enterprises and service providers.The Experience Manager integrates the latest versions of PSI, PVI and PSM, which are now shipping to Psytechnics customers. By combining both IP and voice quality measures, the Experience Manager identifies critical issues that affect voice quality, such as noise, echo and distortion as well...

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Wave7 Supplies FTTP for the Cayman Islands

Wave7 Optics is supplying its Trident7 Optical Access System to Infinity Communications for construction of an FTTP network in the Cayman Islands. The deployment is expected to be available to more than 24,000 households on Grand Cayman by the end of 2008.Infinity will deliver fiber-optic services to both residential and commercial customers, specifically corporate and banking firms. Infinity's digital cable television services will include video-on-demand, high definition TV, pay-per-view and advertising programming. Internet data services will...

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Aztek Networks Raises $6.6 Million for Emergency IP Gateways

Aztek Networks (formerly Aztek Engineering), a start-up based in Boulder, Colorado raised $6.6 million in Series A funding for its Emergency Stand Alone (ESA) switching and IP gateway products.Aztek Networks' Remote Switch Gateway is an IP media gateway and True Emergency Stand Alone ("True ESA") switch. True ESA is a patent-pending method for constantly maintaining subscriber dial-tone and calling access to emergency 911 services in a purpose built, high availability hardware system that is deployable in a field cabinet. Aztek Networks said it...

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Pace and BigBand Demo DOCSIS 3.0 Channel Bonding

BigBand Networks and Pace Micro Technology have collaborated on channel bonding interoperability based on DOCSIS 3.0 specifications. During IBC2006 in Amsterdam last week, the companies demonstrated the BigBand Cuda CMTS (cable modem termination system) and a prototype Pace channel bonded DOCSIS 3.0 cable modem.http://www.bigbandnet.comhttp://www.pacemicro....

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Gigamon Enhances Out-of-Band Data-Access Switch for 10 Gbps

Gigamon Systems, a start-up based in San Jose, California, has enhanced its GigaVUE-MP Data Access Switch for out-of-band network monitoring with new 10 Gigabit Ethernet capability that adds to its existing support for 10/100/1000 Ethernet. GigaVUE-MP Version 3.0 also adds large scale stacking, and a map-based smart connection that distributes packets to various destination monitoring tools based on the address, session, subnet, VLAN, or application...

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CopperGate Provides Entone with HomePNA 3 Capability

Entone Technologies has selected CopperGate's CG3010 chipset for use in its HD MPEG-4 set-top boxes, enabling multi-room video and content sharing over HomePNA 3 without the need for additional cabling.Coppergate's CopperStream chipsets, used in a variety of products such as set-top boxes, broadband residential gateways and ONTs from leading manufacturers, comply with the ITU G.9954 (HomePNA 3) home networking standard. CopperStream enables IP data over both coaxial cable and phone wires with guaranteed QoS. http://www.copper-gate.comhttp://www.entone.comThe...

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SES AMERICOM's IP-Prime Expands Programming Line-up to 120-Channels

More than 30 leading television programmers and networks representing 120 channels have signed IPTV transport agreements with SES AMERICOM and its IP-PRIME IPTV Television Broadcast Center. Starz!/Encore, A&E Television Networks, Hallmark Channels, and Lifetime Networks headline a growing lineup, which is expected to surpass the 200 channel mark by the time IP-PRIME makes its commercial debut later this year. The IPTV solution originates from...

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Iowa ILECS Select Occam for Active Fiber Architecture

Occam Networks announced deployments of its BLC 6000 System by seven local telecommunications carriers in Iowa: Farmers Mutual Telephone Cooperative/USACommunications, Alpine Communications, Northeast Iowa Telephone (NEIT), Baldwin/Nashville Telephone Company, Schaller Telephone Company and Andrew Telephone. Occam said nearly 20 Iowa incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) are now customers.http://www.occamnetworks....

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NCTC Names ARRIS a Preferred E-MTA Vendor

The National Cable Television Cooperative (NCTC), which is a cooperative for more than 1,100 cable operators throughout the U.S., has named ARRIS as a Preferred Vendor of Embedded Multimedia Terminal Adapter (E-MTA) customer premises equipment.http://www.arrisi....

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FTTH Council Lobbies For Telecom Reform Bill -- HR. 5252

The Fiber-to-the-Home Council has thrown its support to The Advanced Telecommunications and Opportunities Reform Act, (HR. 5252), which would establish a system of national video franchising. The bill would also support the development of municipal broadband networks.http://www.ftthcouncil.o...

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Telecom Entrepreneur is First Female Space Tourist, Also Launches Digital Home Company

Anousheh Ansari captured headlines worldwide as the first female space tourist. Ansari paid a reported $20 million to be a member of the crew of the Soyuz TMA-9, which launched on Monday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The mission is headed to the International Space Station. In the networking industry, Anousheh Ansari gained prominence as co-founder, CEO and Chairman of the Board for Telecom Technologies, Inc. Founded in 1993, the company...

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Matisse Networks Introduces "EtherBurst" Optical Switching

Matisse Networks, a start-up based in Mountain View, California introduced its "EtherBurst" optical switching technology, which employs optical burst transponders that switch packet traffic in bursts at different wavelengths. Unlike current Ethernet-over-DWDM metro architectures, which rely on pre-provisioned point-to-point optical circuits, Matisse Networks is introducing a system that applies the principles of packet switching to the optical layer. Instead of dedicated optical circuits, the goal is a more highly efficient, layer 2 packet-switched...

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