FCC Acts on Waivers for Integrated Set-Top Box Rules

The FCC acted on several set-top box waiver requests seeking to delay implementation of a rule that requires cable set-top boxes distributed after July 1, 2007 to separate the "security" and "navigation" functions.



The FCC said its statutory requirements aim to facilitate a competitive market for set-top boxes in a reasonable and consistent manner. Separation of security functions will allow consumers to pick the products they want.



The action from the FCC's Media Bureau included the following:

• Granted an Omnibus Waiver of the integration ban for MVPDs currently all digital or going all digital by February 17, 2009. An all-digital conversion will facilitate the DTV transition, enable expanded service offerings, promote efficient use of the spectrum, deliver broadband services, spur competitive entry, and expand universal service.



• Deferred Enforcement of the Integration Ban for Crosslake, Minnesota d/b/a Crosslake Communications. The Media Bureau noted the difficulties that small cable operators may face in complying with the July 1, 2007 deadline for separated security because manufacturers prioritize orders from the largest providers. The Bureau indicated that the Commission would defer enforcement of that deadline for those small cable operators who can demonstrate that they have placed orders for set-top boxes that comply but that their orders will not be fulfilled in time for them to comply with the deadline.



• Denied NCTA's (National Cable & Telecommunications Association)
  request for a waiver of the integration ban for all cable operators. The Bureau finds the arguments NCTA's makes are not adequately novel or changed from assertions that it has made to support previous extension requests to justify further relief and it does not reflect developments in the market.

FCC Chairman Kevin Martin stated: "A previous Commission required cable operators to separate their security functions putting them into a CableCARD, which can be used in televisions and set-top boxes made by other manufacturers. By separating out security functions, the Commission hoped a viable market for truly cable ready televisions and set-top boxes could flourish. Back then, Congress and the Commission envisioned consumers being able to walk into their local retail store and buy televisions and set-top boxes from any manufacturer that would work on any cable system. This is a goal that I share and believe we are a big step closer to with today's rulings. In a new era with a competitive set-top box market, consumers will enjoy greater choice and reap the benefits of exciting and innovative features -- such as the ability to watch Internet videos or view slideshows of family vacations on their tv sets."



In a separate press statement, Verizon said the waiver enables it to continue its focus on deploying its competitive FiOS TV service and developing additional innovative features.

http://www.fcc.gov

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FCC Declares Carrier Call Blocking Unlawful Self-Help Remedy in Access Charge Dispute

The FCC issued an order stating that carriers may not resort to the "self-help" remedy of blocking calls to avoid potentially inflated termination charges resulting from alleged access stimulation activities. The FCC said its action affirms that all customers will continue to be able to connect with anyone on the network that they so choose.



Numerous local exchange carriers (LECs) and consumers have expressed concern about the blocking or potential blocking of interexchange calls that terminate with certain local exchange carriers as a form of self help to resolve disputes concerning the access rates of these local exchange carriers.



To address concerns expressed by long-distance and wireless companies, the FCC suspended the tariffs of 39 rural carriers due to substantial questions raised about the lawfulness of the rates filed, in light of possible efforts by the carriers to stimulate long-distance access traffic.

http://www.fcc.gov

• On June 15, 2007, 29 carriers that were participating in the National Exchange Carrier Association (NECA) traffic-sensitive tariffs filed individual tariffs under section 61.39 of the Commission rules. Qwest, Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint Nextel filed objections to these filings, alleging that it is likely that these tariffs will result in unjust and unreasonable rates. The complaining carriers assert the recent conduct of current section 61.39 carriers similarly situated to those that recently made such tariff filings raises serious questions regarding whether such carriers are likely to enter into arrangements for the purpose of increasing their terminating access minutes significantly.

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KPN Upgrades Media Network with Net Insight

KPN Broadcast Services is upgrading its media transport network across The Netherlands using Net Insight's Nimbra platform. The core network, which is currently based on the Nimbra One multiservice switch, is now being upgraded to the high-capacity Nimbra 680 switch and new sites are added. The Net Insight order is valued at 10M SEK (US$1.4 million), and the equipment will be delivered during the third quarter. The order from KPN Broadcast Services was placed through Net Insight's Dutch partner Alphatron.


http://www.netinsight.com

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AT&T to Acquire Cellular One for $2.8 Billion

AT&T agreed to acquire Dobson Communications, which markets itself under the Cellular One brand, for approximately $2.8 billion in cash.



Dobson Communications operates in more than 60 wireless markets in 17 states, covering a population base of over 12.4 million and serving 1.6 million subscribers. It is the largest wireless provider in Alaska. It uses both TDMA and GSM/GPRS/EDGE technologies.



In addition to Alaska, Dobson's network covers rural and suburban areas in Arizona, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin.



The companies said Dobson's network overlaps minimally with AT&T's. Additionally, Dobson's 850 MHz spectrum will enhance AT&T's service quality in those rural and suburban markets.



Following the acquisition, Dobson will be incorporated into AT&T's wireless operations, which are led by Stan Sigman, president and chief executive officer AT&T Mobility.



"This acquisition is an excellent fit for AT&T," said Sigman. "We've worked with Dobson for years. It's a good company, with great people, the same GSM/EDGE technology and coverage that dovetails almost perfectly with our own. We welcome the opportunity to serve Dobson's customers and look forward to a smooth transition thanks to Dobson's strong leadership and employee team."http://www.att.comhttps://www.celloneusa.com

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BCE Agrees to Acquisition by Investor Group Led by Teachers Private Capita

BCE, the parent company of Bell Canada, agreed to be acquired by an investor group led by Teachers Private Capital, the private investment arm of the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan, Providence Equity Partners Inc. and Madison Dearborn Partners, LLC. The all-cash transaction is valued at C$51.7 billion (US$48.5 billion), including C$16.9 billion (US$15.9 billion) of debt, preferred equity and minority interests. The BCE Board of Directors unanimously recommended that shareholders vote to accept the offer.



The equity ownership of BCE would be as follows: Teachers Private Capital 52%, Providence 32%, Madison Dearborn 9% and other Canadian investors 7%.



"This proposed transaction concludes a comprehensive and disciplined review of the company's strategic alternatives launched April 17," said Richard J. Currie, Chairman of the Board of BCE. "It will deliver substantial value creation for our shareholders. In addition, a majority of the equity will be owned by Canadians."



"The transaction delivers to our shareholders the economic benefit of the work done to focus on our core business and to strengthen Bell with a new cost structure and new competitive capabilities," said Michael Sabia, President and CEO of BCE. "All members of the investor group have outstanding track records in building strong and resilient enterprises and they share our commitment to customers, our employees and the communities we serve."http://www.bce.ca

• BCE controls Bell Canada, Telesat Canada and an interest in Bell Globemedia.

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Nokia Siemens Networks Updates Board of Directors

Nokia Siemens Networks announced several changes to its Board of Directors.



Klaus Kleinfeld, 49, President and CEO of Siemens AG until June 30, 2007 has resigned from the Board of Directors of Nokia Siemens Networks B.V., effective as of July 1, 2007. He will be replaced by Peter Loscher, 49, President and CEO of Siemens AG, effective as of July 1, 2007.



After the changes the Board of Nokia Siemens Networks will consist of the following seven members: Nokia President and CEO, Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo (Chairman of the Nokia Siemens Networks Board); Siemens President and CEO, Peter Loscher; the head of Nokia Operational Human Resources, Juha Akras; Siemens CFO, Joe Kaeser; Member of the Siemens Managing Board, Eduardo Montes; head of Nokia Technology Platforms, Niklas Savander; and Nokia CFO, Rick Simonson. http://www.nokiasiemensnetworks.com

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Toshiba Adds Web-Enabled Capabilities to HD DVD

Toshiba announced that new HD DVD titles will have web-enabled network capabilities that allow consumers to easily access additional content and bonus features online. Current users of Toshiba HD DVD players can enjoy the web-enabled network capabilities by updating to the latest HD DVD player firmware, now available from Toshiba.



Using the Ethernet ports found on all Toshiba HD DVD players, and the currently available firmware update, once connected to the network, users can download bonus features, as available, from a movie studio's server. This data is then saved in the player's persistent storage and can be accessed by the user. In addition to downloading new bonus features, some HD DVD discs may even include locked prerecorded content which can be unlocked with a downloadable key from the studio's online server.



In addition to downloading content, HD DVD users also have the ability to upload content and interact with content providers. For example, with the award winning title, "Blood Diamond" from Warner Home Video, users can participate in interactive polls. After providing feedback, results are delivered back to users via the HD DVD player.



"Through web-enabled network connectivity, HD DVD is unlocking the door to an entirely new world of entertainment and once again achieving another milestone in next generation DVD," said Jodi Sally, Vice President of Marketing, Toshiba's Digital A/V Group.

http://www.toshiba.com

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SingTel Launches Integrated Global Wide Area Network Solution

Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) has launched an integrated global IP Wide Area Network (WAN) solution that combines IP-VPN and satellite technologies. The service that marries four communication services -- BGAN (Broadband Global Area Network) for mobile connectivity, satellite IP for land-based remote communications, maritime VSAT for maritime communications and ConnectPlus IP-VPN for other global business locations.



SingTel ConnectPlus IP-VPN is a fully managed, MPLS-based private and secure voice and data network. SingTel's BGAN or Broadband Global Area Network is a highly mobile satellite solution that enables voice and broadband communications in regions without adequate communications infrastructure. Satellite-IP is IP-based solution over satellite using Time Division Multiplexed (TDM) and shared Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) technology. SingTel's Maritime VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminals) is a high speed, two-way IP broadband ship to shore satellite telecommunications service. http://www.singtel.com

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Nokia Offers Mobile Photo Printing Services in Europe

Nokia has begun offering a mobile printing service in Europe that allows users of compatible Nokia Nseries multimedia devices to upload their photos via the cellular or Wi-Fi network. The mobile printing service is accessible from the device's Gallery application. http://www.nokia.com

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SOFTBANK Demos Femtocell FMC for Japan

SOFTBANK, which recently has acquired a wireless spectrum license from Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, has begun demonstrating a femtocell solution for fixed-mobile-convergence (FMC) in the home.



Sonus Networks and Ubiquisys both announced their participation in the SOFTBANK femtocell demo.



Sonus recently announced the acquisition of privately-held Zynetix Ltd. Sonus' femtocell solution will combine an access point inside the consumer's home with the user's existing broadband network to provide an important increase in base station coverage and reducing the number of sites required for coverage.



Ubiquisys offers the "ZoneGate femtocell" -- a plug-and-play 3G access point that can use a mobile subscriber's broadband connection to transport voice and data calls to an operator's core network using either standards-based interfaces, IMS/SIP or RAN Gateway (UMA based). ZoneGate is fully self-provisioning and requires no changes to the mobile handsethttp://www.softbank.co.jp/en/index.html

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Verizon Wireless Completes EV-DO Rev. A Nationwide Upgrade

Verizon Wireless has completed an upgrade of its CDMA 1x Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO) network nationwide to Revision (Rev.) A technology.



The company's flagship business data service, BroadbandAccess, with Rev. A-compatible devices can now expect average download speeds of 600 kbps to 1.4 megabits per second and average upload speeds of 500-800 kbps.
http://www.verizonwireless.com

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Samsung Announces Multi-band Mobile TV Chipset

Samsung Electronics has begun sampling the industry's first 65 nanometer (nm) multi-standard channel decoder (S3C4F31) and multi-band radio frequency (RF) tuner (S5M8602) chipset supporting multi digital mobile TV standards, including DVB-H/T, DAB-IP, ISDB-T, and terrestrial DMB.



Samsung's multi-standard channel decoder, which transforms the analog signal into digital signal in order to restore the image and audio source, is fully compliant to DVB-H/T, T-DMB, DAB, DAB-IP, and ISDB-T segment standards.



The multi-band RF tuner, which receives the analog broadcast signal, has a simplified circuit structure by applying a low IF to compliment the conventional zero IF. It is also a general purpose tuner that supports UHF, VHF and L-band commonly used in Europe and the United States. The wide use of the RF tuner compliments the advanced performance of the multi-standard channel decoder.



This new chipset is offered either as two standalone ICs or as a system-in-chip package (SiP) which places together the RF tuner and the channel chip on a single module package.



"Although a new market, we see high growth potential in mobile TV applications," said Yiwan Wong, vice president, System LSI Division, Semiconductor Business, Samsung Electronics. "With initial product launch targets for the Europe and Asia markets, we are introducing our high performance mobile TV chipset technology with added feature support to serve the needs of the entire mobile TV industry."http://www.samsung.com

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Equinix to Acquire IXEurope for $482 Million -- 14 Data Centers

Equinix announced plans to acquire IXEurope Plc, which operates 14 data centers across Europe, in a deal valued at $482 million. IXEurope's 14 data centers comprise more than 380,000 square feet of net sellable space throughout Europe, including centers in London, Zurich, Frankfurt, Munich, Paris, Dusseldorf and Geneva. The company serves more than 450 enterprise and Internet customers, including Merrill Lynch, Avis Europe, Deutsche Boerse, Citigroup, Rackspace and SurfControl.




Equinix plans integrate IXEurope's network-neutral data center business and operations under the Equinix brand. Equinix is targeting completion of the transaction in mid-September 2007.



The acquisition comes as Equinix is in the midst of a more than $450 million expansion program in the U.S. and Asia-Pacific since 2006.



Equinix said the addition of IXEurope to its announced expansions, will give it a total footprint of more than three million square feet of data center space across 17 markets in the U.S., Europe and Asia-Pacific.



"The strategic acquisition of IXEurope by Equinix will solidify Equinix's position as the world's market leading colocation provider with high-quality data centers across the United States, Asia-Pacific and Europe," said Steve Smith, CEO of Equinix.

http://www.equinix.com

http://www.ixeurope.com

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Pan Dacom Direkt Supplies Hatteras' Mid-Band Ethernet in Germany

Hatteras Networks is partnering with Pan Dacom Direkt GmbH to offer Mid-Band Ethernet solutions in Germany. Pan Dacom Direkt, one of the leading product integrators in Germany, has already secured 15 early deployments. These Mid-Band Ethernet deployments to date range from large enterprise campus networks to alternative regional service providers, wholesale operators, military installations and municipal networks.
http://www.hatterasnetworks.com

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ZeroG Appoints Top Executives, Focuses on Low-Power RF

ZeroG, a start-up based in Sunnyvale, California, announced the appointment of John D. Cummins as CEO and Dr. Andrew N. Karanicolas as Vice President of Engineering.



Cummins joins ZeroG from Agere Systems/Lucent Microelectronics where he spent three years running their business in Shanghai, China as Greater China Vice President.



Karanicolas joins ZeroG from True Circuits where he was the Design Director responsible for development and deployment of PLL and DLL IP for precision clock generation and memory interface applications in CMOS technologies.



ZeroG Wireless is focused on the design and development of low power Radio Frequency (RF) chips.



Investors include Cisco, Greylock Partners and Morgenthaler.

http://www.zerogwireless.com

• ZeroG was founded by Dr. Thomas H. Lee, a tenured Stanford University professor, who also co-founded Matrix Semiconductor in 1998, and is known for his work in designing of the first 3-D memory chip.

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Agilent Offers Drive Testing for WiMAX 802.16e-2005

Agilent Technologies introduced its WiMAX Optimization Solution for IEEE 802.16e-2005, featuring a drive-testing capability that enables WiMAX network equipment manufacturers and service providers to authenticate the actual subscriber experience in real-world WiMAX environments.



The Agilent WiMAX Optimization Solution for IEEE 802.16e-2005 is based on the Agilent E6474A network optimization test platform. The new software for WiMAX helps identify interference issues and neighboring cell site configuration problems, enabling the smooth introduction and ongoing maintenance of WiMAX capabilities that operate in IEEE 802.16e-2005 wireless broadband data networks.



Agilent said its platform can be used to support integration and maintenance of 2G, 3G and 4G networks, obtain comprehensive call-performance statistics and quantify the end-user's experience for both voice and data.

http://www.agilent.com

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3Com Plans IPO for TippingPoint Subsidiary

3Com is planning an initial public offering (IPO) of common stock of its wholly owned subsidiary TippingPoint. 3Com expects to file a registration statement related to the IPO by the end of the calendar year.



TippingPoint provides network-based intrusion prevention systems (IPS) and Digital Vaccine attack filter services for enterprises, government agencies, service providers and academic institutions. http://www.3com.com

http://www.tippingpoint.com/

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Federal Trade Commission Remains Cautious on Net Neutrality

The Federal Trade Commission's Internet Access Task Force is recommending that policy makers proceed with caution in regards to Net Neutrality. In a newly issued report, entitled "Broadband Connectivity Competition Policy," observes that certain conduct and business arrangements that broadband providers may pursue, including data prioritization, exclusive deals, and vertical integration into online content and applications, can benefit consumers.



According to FTC Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras, "The primary reason for caution is simply that we do not know what the net effects of potential conduct by broadband providers will be on all consumers, including, among other things, the prices that consumers may pay for Internet access, the quality of Internet access and other services that will be offered, and the choices of content and applications that may be available to consumers in the marketplace."http://www.ftc.gov

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Lockheed Martin Enhances Network Centric Warfare Capability

Lockheed Martin has provided the U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) with a network centric warfare capability that allows system users to create a collaborative, real-time picture of critical events on their computers, then simultaneously share that view with others.



The new User-Defined Operational Picture (UDOP) provides the ability to "see" and better understand dynamic, global situations by interfacing with DoD systems that provide cyber, air, land, sea and space-based resource information.



Lockheed Martin said the new capability enables commanders to quickly establish a tailored operational picture on their respective workstations which can then be shared to better communicate complex situations. Before this capability was developed commanders had to view static pieces of information from various sources individually, in sequence. Operational views could not be shared in real-time.

http://www.lockheedmartin.com/

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Motorola Leads OpenSAF Project

Motorola will form an industry-wide consortium that will assume stewardship for the "OpenSAF" project, which seeks to establish a broadly adopted high availability operating environment that can be leveraged by computing technology companies, network equipment providers (NEPs) and other industries requiring high availability.



Motorola also announced the first release of the open source code related to the project. The consortium also will manage any future development of the OpenSAF code base. Leading companies including Ericsson, HP and Nokia Siemens Networks have expressed support for this initiative.



Supporters of OpenSAF argue that it will enable more efficient use of in-house software engineering resources, and additional tools will be provided to enable application development and deployment services. Independent software vendors (ISVs) will be able to use OpenSAF as a benchmark for creating highly available applications. OpenSAF includes an implementation of the Service Availability Forum Application Interface Specification (AIS).



The goals of the OpenSAF project are as follows:

• Create an open source implementation of a high availability operating environment which includes the SA Forum Application Interface Specification (AIS)



• Develop necessary additional complementary services necessary to deploy and manage the software



• Help accelerate the development of SA Forum specifications by proposing enhancements



• Establish a broadly adopted high availability operating environment that can be leveraged by computing technology companies, NEPs, and other industries requiring high availability, and ISVs.



• Utilize an open source licensing model not tied to any commercial implementation.

http://www.opensaf.orghttp://www.motorola.com

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Cricket Awards $126M Contract to Alcatel-Lucent for Network Upgrade

Cricket Communications has committed to purchase up to $126 million USD worth of equipment, services and software over five years from Alcatel-Lucent to help expand its network into new markets across the U.S. Cricket's new market expansion includes the deployment of third-generation (3G) CDMA2000 1xEV-DO Revision A (Rev. A) technology.



In addition, Alcatel-Lucent will provide its industry leading IP/MPLS solution, which includes the Alcatel-Lucent 7750 Service Router and 7450 Ethernet Service Switch, to deploy an IP routing and IP RAN backhaul solution. http://www.alcatel-lucent.com

http://www.mycricket.com/

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Extreme Networks Finds No Evidence of Fraud in Stock Option Probe

Extreme Networks announced that the Special Committee of its Board of Directors has completed its investigation into the company's historical stock option practices and found no evidence of fraud. However, the Special Committee found deficiencies in the company's processes for approving and documenting option grants, which resulted in the company erroneously treating the stated grant date as the measurement date for financial accounting purposes with respect to certain options. The Special Committee concluded that none of Extreme Networks' personnel involved intended to mislead investors or were aware that the Company's stock option granting and documentation practices had resulted or would result in a material misstatement of the Company's financial results.



Specifically, the Special Committee found no evidence of misconduct by current management, and found no involvement by (among others) the current CEO, CFO, Controller, or Vice President, General Counsel in any of the grants for which inaccurate measurement dates were used. The Special Committee also confirmed that none of the affected options granted to the company's officers or directors has ever been exercised.



The Special Committee reviewed and tested over 8,000 grants, including all grants to Board members, officers, and executive level employees between April 9, 1999, the date of the Company's initial public offering, and September 30, 2006.



As for financial restatements, Extreme Networks said it should have recognized approximately $223.0 million of pre-tax, non-cash, share-based compensation expense during the review period that was not accounted for in its previously issued financial statements. In addition, the company should have recorded approximately $0.3 million of income tax benefits. Therefore, Extreme Networks is restating financial information for fiscal years ended July 3, 2005, June 27, 2004, June 29, 2003, and June 30, 2002.

http://www.extremenetworks.com

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T-Mobile USA Launches FMC Based on UMA

T-Mobile USA launched a fixed mobile convergence (FMC) service that enables mobile subscribers equipped with a Wi-Fi-enabled handset to use their home broadband connection or Wi-Fi hotspot for unlimited domestic calling. The deployment is based on Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA), an access technology that allows a seamless handoff of mobile voice and data from a wide area cellular network to a wireless local area network (WLAN).




T-Mobile HotSpot@Home enables calls to seamlessly transfer from T-Mobile's GSM/GPRS/EDGE wireless network whenever an authorized Wi-Fi hotspot is in range. While at home, customers benefit from a strong wireless signal and unlimited domestic calling over the Wi-Fi connection; while mobile, customers also can get the same benefits at all the nearly 8,500 T-Mobile HotSpot locations across the U.S.



Key components of the T-Mobile HotSpot@Home service include new mobile phones -- the Samsung t409 and the Nokia 6086. Each phone currently retails for $49.99 with a two-year contract on a qualifying rate plan. Battery life for each of the phones is rated at over 4 hours of talk time.



T-Mobile also has partnered with D-Link and Linksys to offer free Wi-Fi routers optimized for the service.



As part of its launch promotion, the T-Mobile HotSpot@Home service can be added to any qualifying T-Mobile voice plan for $9.99 per month for a single line, and $19.99 per month for up to five lines on a FamilyTime plan.

http://www.t-mobile.com

http://www.theonlyphoneyouneed.com

• Kineto Wireless is supplying its Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA) client software for the Samsung handset used for T-Mobile service.

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Paul Reynolds leaves BT for Telecom NZ

Dr. Paul Reynolds, who currently serves as Chief Executive of BT Wholesale, is leaving the company in September to take up the position of CEO of Telecom New Zealand.



Paul will succeed Theresa Gattung, who leaves Telecom New Zealand this week after twelve years at the company, the past eight as the company's CEO. Simon Moutter has been appointed as acting CEO until Paul Reynolds formally takes up his role.

http://www.btplc.com

http://www.telecom.co.nz

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C&W Barbados Selects Calix

Cable & Wireless (Barbados) has selected the Calix C7 multiservice access platform (MSAP) and the Calix Management System (CMS) to implement a 24,000-line expansion of its existing network that will bring DSL and VOIP services to more customers. Cable & Wireless (Barbados) had previously installed more than 10,000 Calix combo ports for POTS and ADSL2+ service.

http://www.calix.com

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DISA Awards $11.5M Contract to AT&T for Global Videoconferencing

The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) awarded a $11.5 million six-month contract extension to AT&T to manage a global videoconferencing system for the Department of Defense. U.S. military commanders throughout the world communicate on the DISN Video Services-Global (DVS-G), the Department of Defense's all-service video teleconferencing (VTC) system.



Under the terms of the contract, AT&T will provide network management services for the DVS-G. AT&T will also provide such networking services as configuration and installation and inventory management services for DVS-G equipment.



The DVS-G operates six video hubs worldwide - four in the U.S., one in Germany and one in Kuwait. The DVS-G also supports conferences at the Department of Defense Unclassified, Secret and Top Secret classifications, as well as Allied and NATO Secret. AT&T developed, and has managed, the DVS-G for more than 10 years.

http://www.att.com

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Tektronix Tests World's Fastest, Longest Infiniband Cable -- 100m

Tektronix validated the performance of a new Intel 100 meter Infiniband cable operating at speeds up to 20 Gbps. Described as the world's longest InfiniBand optical cable, it has an electrical interface on either end and uses four serial data lanes at 5 Gbps each. The cable, which is designed for large computing clusters, is being used as the part of the backbone network at the International Supercomputing Conference (ISC) show in Dresden, Germany.

http://www.tektronix.com/http://www.intel.com

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ST Chips Enable In-Vehicle SIRIUS Backseat TV

STMicroelectronics is supplying the digital broadcasting chipset for SIRIUS Backseat TV, a new TV service that will deliver three channels of family programming directly to vehicles. SIRIUS Backseat TV will be launched later this year in select 2008 model Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge vehicles.



SIRIUS Backseat TV is received via an in-vehicle satellite video receiver and two small roof-mounted antennas. The SIRIUS Backseat TV digital audio and video signal is broadcast over the same frequency spectrum allocation as SIRIUS radio.



The core of the in-vehicle satellite video receiver, which is manufactured by Delphi for SIRIUS, is based on three ST chips: the STA210 RF tuner IC; the STA240 channel, service and source decoder IC; and the STA264 advanced hierarchical demodulator chip, which extracts the video stream and performs error correction on the received signal.



ST has been a supplier to SIRIUS since 2004 for of its radio receiver chipsets.

http://www.st.com

http://www.sirius.com

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Neopolitan Raises $3 Million for Ethernet Services

Neopolitan Networks, an Ethernet network service provider based in Palo Alto, California, secured $3.17 million in its first round of venture capital financing. The company operates metro Ethernet networks in Silicon Valley and Miami.

http://www.neopolitan.com

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CommScope to Acquire Andrew for $2.6 Billion

CommScope, which is the global leader in structured cabling systems for business enterprise applications and also the largest manufacturer of coaxial cable for Hybrid Fiber Coaxial (HFC), agreed to acquire Andrew Corp. in a deal valued at $2.6 billion.



Andrew provides broad-based wireless solutions for antennas, cable products, base station subsystems, in-building and distributed coverage, geolocation systems and satellite communications.



The merger will create a global leader in infrastructure solutions for communications networks. Its portfolio will include structured cabling solutions for the business enterprise; broadband cable and apparatus for cable television applications; and antenna and cable products, base station subsystems, coverage and capacity systems, and network solutions for wireless applications.



Under the deal, CommScope will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Andrew for $15.00 per share, at least 90 percent in cash. Based on CommScope's and Andrew's results for fiscal year 2006, on a pro forma basis, the combined companies would have had sales of approximately $3.8 billion comprised of approximately 35 percent in wireless antenna and cable products; 29 percent in carrier and network solutions; 21 percent in enterprise products; and 15 percent in broadband/cable television solutions. The combined companies' revenues on a geographic basis would have been approximately 57 percent in North America; 24 percent in Europe, the Middle East and Africa; 12 percent in Asia/Pacific Rim; and 7 percent in Latin America. The combined company will have more than 2,200 global patents and pending patent applications and approximately 16,000 employees serving more than 130 countries.



Following the close of the transaction, Andrew will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of CommScope. Frank Drendel will remain Chairman and CEO of CommScope, and CommScope will retain its global headquarters in Hickory, North Carolina. The combined company also plans to maintain its Chicago-area presence, including Andrew's state-of-the-art manufacturing and office facility in Joliet, Illinois.

http://www.commscope.com

http://www.andrew.com

• In August 2006, CommScope dropped its bid to acquire Andrew Corporation. A day earlier, Andrew Corporation had rejected CommScope's proposal to acquire all of Andrew's outstanding shares for $9.50 per share in cash.



• Also in August 2006, Andrew Corporation and ADC Telecommunications mutually agreed to terminate a merger agreement that had been set in May 2006.

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XO Launches Point-to-MultiPoint on Demand Service for Carriers

XO Communications launched a new wholesale network service that enables carriers and service providers to obtain bandwidth on demand over the XO advanced, nationwide optical network.



Through a single connection to the XO National Hub, service providers can obtain network connections and capacity on demand to establish hubs on a local, regional and national basis in carrier hotels, ILEC central offices and other end user locations across the United States. The XO solution allows customers to reserve network capacity and deploy it when it is needed, but only pay for the circuits when they are used.



XO said its service is aimed at:

• International carriers that need to extend their network coverage
  within the United States;



• Mobile wireless companies that need the ability to rapidly expand network capacity;



• Telecommunications carriers' that require primary or redundant network solutions supporting dispersed end user data traffic;



• Internet Service Providers that need to aggregate traffic nationwide through a single network handoff.

http://xo.com/products/carrier/transport/nationalhub

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Toshiba Adds 4GB microSDHC Card for Mobiles

Toshiba expanded its line of small-format, high-speed, high-capacity memory cards with the launch of a 4-GB microSDHC card for mobile phone applications.



Toshiba's 4GB microSDHC card meets SD memory card standard Ver. 2.00(3), the SDHC card standard for high density SD products with a capacity of over 2GB. The card is designed for use in dedicated microSDHC slots, but can also be used in standard SDHC card slots in an adapter.



Toshiba said 4GB of capacity will store 69 hours of music encoded at 128 kps or 28 hours of one-segment TV programs at 312 kbps.

http://www.toshiba.com

• The SD memory card was jointly developed in 1999 by Toshiba, SanDisk and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd.

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ARRIS Boosts QAM Density by 50%

ARRIS will boost the QAM capacity of its D5 Universal Edge QAM (UEQ) by 50% from 48 QAMs per 2 RU chassis to 72 QAMs per 2 RU chassis as part of the D5's planned Release 2.3, available for shipment in the latter part of 2007. This increased density is achieved via a software upgrade and will result in significantly lowering the cost per QAM channel.



The field upgradeable, next-generation D5 UEQ is designed to support multiple video and DOCSIS-based services. ARRIS said an added advantage of the D5 UEQ's increased density is that an operator can choose between Quad Bonding ratios (4 QAM channels per RF port) and Hex Bonding ratios (6 QAM channels per RF port) to be able to mix and match QAM capacity to the network configuration needed on a channel by channel basis. http://www.arrisi.com

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KDDI and Microsoft to Collaborate on Software as a Service (SaaS)

KDDI and Microsoft will jointly develop and provide applications using a Software as a Service (SaaS) delivery model for corporate users. The companies will also create an ecosystem to support independent software vendor (ISV) partners and spur the development of new service-enabled applications to drive momentum for new SaaS applications.



Under the agreement, KDDI will use Microsoft Connected Services Framework as a foundation for providing services to customers. The first SaaS application will be built on Microsoft Solution for Hosted Messaging and Collaboration, a carrier-grade platform that offers enterprise-class e-mail and document-sharing services to corporate customers. Subscription is a monthly fee-based model, covering mobile and fixed-line communications and the SaaS application.
http://www.microsoft.com

http://www.kddi.com

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Nielsen to Acquire Telephia for Consumer Telecom Research

The Nielsen Company agreed to acquire San Francisco-based Telephia, which offers syndicated consumer research to the telecom and mobile media markets. Telephia and Nielsen are both privately held companies and financial terms were not disclosed.



Telephia provides technology-based measurements of consumer behavior, product quality, and consumer attitudes, especially for the mobile sector. The acquisition expands Nielsen's ability to measure the rapidly expanding mobile content delivery industry, where today there are more than 232 million wireless subscribers in the U.S.
http://www.nielsen.com

http://www.telephia.com

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LSI Announces Restructuring, Sells Consumer Business to Magnum Semiconductor

LSI announced a broad restructuring that will include the elimination of approximately 900 positions, or about 13 percent of its non-production workforce, across all business and functional areas on a global basis. The restructuring follows LSI's recent acquisition of Agere Systems in April 2007.



LSI has also agreed to sell its consumer products business to Magnum Semiconductor for an undisclosed amount. The deal includes the LSI DoMiNo, Domino[X] and Zevio architectures, products and related intellectual property of the LSI consumer products business. Additionally, Magnum will offer employment to a significant number of LSI employees associated with the business. Magnum Semiconductor said the acquisition strengthens its existing DVD, digital TV and digital entertainment center solutions while also adding MPEG-2 and H.264 high-definition media processing and low-power 3D graphics products to its portfolio.



Regarding the restructuring, LSI said the job cuts are expected to reduce its non-GAAP operating expenses to between $255 million and $265 million in the third quarter and to between $245 million and $255 million in the fourth quarter of 2007. The corresponding GAAP operating expenses are expected to be between $290 million and $310 million for the third quarter of 2007 and between $275 million and $295 million for the fourth quarter of 2007. The quarterly operating expense run rate exiting 2007 is inclusive of all previously announced synergies and cost savings. The company expects to make further progress on operating expenses in 2008.



LSI also updated its outlook for the second quarter ending June 30, 2007 and revised its estimated revenue range to between $650 million and $670 million. Non-GAAP earnings are expected to be between ($0.03) and $0.00 per diluted share in the second quarter primarily due to lower than expected revenues, partially offset by strong expense control and favorable product mix. GAAP loss is expected to be between 52 and 43 cents per diluted share, noting that the company is in the process of determining the exact amount of charges it will recognize in the second quarter.



LSI said the revised outlook reflects greater than anticipated softness in its businesses but that it remains confident in its long term direction.

http://www.lsi.com

http://www.magnumsemi.com

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EC Insists on Access Network Competition in Germany

The European Commission has requested the German regulatory authority to ensure adequate competitive access and a level playing field in the transition to high bandwidth Next Generation Networks (NGN).



In May, the Germany regulator (BNetzA) notified the Commission of measures intended to continue the obligations imposed on Deutsche Telekom to grant competitors access to its copper fixed telephone network. Since Deutsche Telekom is upgrading its network by rolling out fibre-based Next Generation Networks, BNetzA's regulatory measures also include remedies to tackle the transition to this.



In a statement, the European Commission argues that while the regulatory measures proposed by BNetzA go in the right direction, they are not yet sufficient. The roll-out of fibre closer to the customers, normally to the street cabinets, enables the provision of high bandwidth services. However, it raises important issues regarding the position of alternative operators who currently benefit from access obligations of Deutsche Telekom. As alternative operators in Germany already have started to roll-out their own infrastructure to local exchanges, or more central levels of the network, these operators now need an economic way of reaching the new access points provided in street cabinets.



Therefore, the Commission has requested the German telecom regulator to guarantee that access to Deutsche Telekom's existing copper network by its competitors remains efficient during the roll-out of Next Generation Networks. BNetzA is therefore asked to ensure that competitors have economically viable access to Deutsche Telekom's ducts and fibre network, if appropriate, in order to deploy, their own networks down to the street cabinets and so that the necessary equipment can be installed in those cabinets.

http://www.europa.eu

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Occam Selected by Centennial de Puerto Rico for FTTB

Centennial de Puerto Rico has selected Occam's Broadband Loop Carrier (BLC) system, including Occam's new Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) voice functionality, as part of its strategy to expand its fiber-to-the-business (FTTB) Ethernet solution. Specifically, Centennial has purchased and deployed Occam's BLC 6312 Optical Line Terminal Blades, BLC 6440-01 Optical Packet Transport Blades and 2342 Optical Fiber Network Terminals (ONTs).



Centennial serves more than 400,000 lines and provides wireline, wireless and broadband data services in Puerto Rico and in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

http://www.occamnetworks.com/http://www.centennialpr.com

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Ericsson Supplies Mobile Softswitch to Algeria

Wataniya Telecom Algérie has selected Ericsson's Mobile Softswitch Solution for its nationwide GSM network in Algeria. The solution will increase network capacity, performance and operational efficiency. Ericsson will also provide a range of associated professional services. Financial terms were not disclosed.

http://www.ericsson.com

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TELUS Decides Not to Bid for Bell Canada

TELUS announced that it has elected not to submit an offer to acquire BCE. In a press statement, TELUS said the inadequacies of BCE's bid process did not make it possible for TELUS to submit an offer.

http://www.telus.com

• Earlier this week, BCE, the parent company of Bell Canada, and TELUS, the incumbent operator in western Canada, confirmed that talks are underway regarding a possible business combination. BCE and TELUS have entered into a mutual non-disclosure and standstill agreement on a non-exclusive basis.

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Cavium Develops Storage Services Processors with 2-12 Cores

Cavium Networks announced a new family of OCTEON MIPS64 Multicore Storage Services Processors (SSPs) targeted at applications such as Fiber Channel and Ethernet Disk Arrays, RAID controllers, multi-protocol switches, single-chip iSCSI adaptors, virtualization equipment, Protection and NAS/SAN equipment.



Cavium said its new, single-chip OCTEON SSP processors deliver two to four times more compute cycles versus many alternatives and integrate advanced hardware acceleration for RAID, compression, de-duplication, security and iSCSI.



The OCTEON SSP processor family consists of seven different software-compatible products. Key features include integration of 2 to 12 cnMIPS Plus 64-bit cores, storage application acceleration, an array of high-speed input/output interfaces including 10-Gigabit XAUI, PCI-Express, Gigabit Ethernet ports, dual DDR2 memory controllers, and data protection mechanisms.



OCTEON SSP enables storage equipment vendors to build low to high-end scalable storage solutions providing up to 3 Million on-chip virtual IOPS, 10Gbps of iSCSI, 1GB/s of compression / decompression, up to 2GB/s of in-line encryption in a single chip and up to 10GB/s of RAID acceleration.

http://www.caviumnetworks.com

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Cavium Expands its OCTEON Plus Network Services Processor Family

Cavium Networks introduced two new devices in its OCTEON Plus Network Services Processor (NSP) family. The new processors integrate 2 to 12 cnMIPS 64-bit cores at up to 1 Gigahertz, advanced application acceleration for networking, security, compression/decompression, an array of high-speed industry standard serial packet interfaces including up to two 10-Gigabit XAUI, two 8-lane PCI-Express, eight Gigabit Ethernet ports, and dual DDR2 memory controllers.



Target applications for the new processors include routers, switches, 3G+ and WiMAX equipment, ATCA / AMC blades, security appliances, 802.11n enterprise gateways, and acceleration cards.

Highlights of the new processors include:

• OCTEON CN56XX consists of four different software- and pin-compatible parts with 6 to 12 cnMIPS cores, running at clock speeds of up to 1 Gigahertz, along with integrated dual 72-bit DDR2 memory controllers and a 2MB L2 cache. CN56XX integrates a total of 16 SerDes interfaces that can be flexibly configured as a combination of up to two 1/2/4/8-lanes PCI Express controllers, two 10-Gigabit XAUIs, eight SGMII. The CN56XX delivers up to 12Gbps IPv4 forwarding min packet performance, 20Gbps of in-line encryption and 10Gbps of compression/decompression in a single chip with leading performance/$ and performance/watt.



• OCTEON CN54XX consists of three different software- and pin-compatible parts with 2 to 6 cnMIPS cores, running at clock speeds of up to 1 Gigahertz, along with an integrated 72-bit DDR2 memory controller and a 1MB L2 cache. CN54XX has a total of 12 SerDes interfaces that can be flexibly configured as a combination of up to two 1/2-lanes PCI Express controllers, one 8-lane PCI Express, 1x XAUI, eight SGMII. The CN54XX delivers up to 6Gbps IPv4 forwarding min packet performance, 10Gbps of in-line encryption and 6Gbps of compression/decompression in a single chip with leading performance/$ and performance/watt. The OCTEON CN54XX is the industry's first Network Services Processor that delivers over 3GHz of total CPU processing under 8 watts of power consumption.

http://www.caviumnetworks.com

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China Telecom Shanghai Deploys Juniper's TX Matrix

China Telecom Shanghai has deployed additional Juniper TX Matrix and T640 core routing platforms to optimize its next-generation IP network, supporting IPTV and other multiplay applications.



The service provider, a wholly-owned subsidiary of China Telecom, first deployed the multi-chassis TX Matrix alongside existing Juniper Networks M-series multiservice routers and E-series edge routers in February 2006. The current expansion of its multi-terabit core network is designed to meet rapid subscriber and traffic growth. Financial terms were not disclosed.



Juniper noted that its T-series core routing platforms have an installed base of over 2,500 platforms worldwide across over 125 service provider production networks. The platform has been shipping since April 2002.

http://www.juniper.net

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Broadcom, Conexant and Broadlight Increase Activity in MoCA

Broadcom, Conexant Systems, and BroadLight are the first three companies to join MoCA's new contributor class. All three have
been associate members for more than a year. In their new role as contributors, all three companies will actively participate in the formation and direction of new specifications. Every contributor level member also has voting rights and can partake in all MoCA work groups from technical and specification to marketing.



The Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA-TM) is an open, industry driven initiative promoting distribution of digital video and entertainment through existing coaxial cable in the home. http://www.mocalliance.org

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NETGEAR and Ubiquisys to Develop Femtocell Home Gateway

NETGEAR and Ubiquisys plan to deliver a residential gateway with integrated DSL modem, Wi-Fi, VoIP and 3G femtocell technology. This gateway device will offer mobile operators worldwide a single-box, converged solution at a competitive price.



The companies anticipate that the NETGEAR gateway integrating Ubiquisys' femtocell technology will be available for operator testing by Q4 2007, with commercial availability slated for early 2008.

http://www.ubiquisys.com/http://www.netgear.com

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RealPlayer Records Online Videos for Web DVR Experience

RealNetworks' latest RealPlayer application allows consumers to record and download videos from Web sites for later offline viewing. The free software provides single-click recording of online videos regardless of format. RealPlayer automatically recognizes and will not download video content protected by DRM. A premium version of RealPlayer ($29.99) allows the downloaded videos to be burned to DVD.

http://www.real.com

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iPhone Customers to Activate AT&T Service via iTunes

iPhone users will be able to activate their new iPhones at home using Apple's iTunes software running on a PC or Mac, without having to wait in a store while their phone is activated.



The companies said that activation via iTunes should take only minutes, as the iTunes software guides the user through simple steps to choose their service plan, authorize their credit and activate their iPhone. Once iPhone is activated, users can then easily sync all of their phone numbers and other contact information, calendars, email accounts, web browser bookmarks, music, photos, podcasts, TV shows and movies just like they do when they sync their iPods with iTunes.



"iPhone's user-driven activation is another example of how AT&T and Apple have partnered to bring innovative new features to our customers," said Randall Stephenson, chairman and CEO, AT&T. "iPhone's innovative activation and sync is just one example of how this is going to be a real industry game-changer."



Apple and AT&T also announced three rate plans for the iPhone. Each plan offers unlimited data (web/email) and the Visual Voicemail service: $59.99 for 450 voice minutes; $79.99 for 900 minutes; and $99.99 for 1,350 minutes.

http://www.apple.com

http://www.att.com

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Sun Constellation System Leverages 3,456-port InfiniBand Switch

Sun Microsystems introduced its "Sun Constellation System" -- a High Performance Computing (HPC) platform that leverages ultra-dense processors and ultra-dense InfiniBand switches to scale up to 1.7 PetaFlops of processing power.



The Sun Constellation System combines ultra-dense blade server architecture with a 3,456 port InfiniBand switch fabric. Previously, the largest InfiniBand switch had 288 ports. Sun Microsystems said its new, monolithic, non-blocking InfiniBand switch replaces hundreds of discrete switching elements.



The Sun Constellation System also uses state-of-the-art open storage technologies, providing up to 300TB of storage per rack, accessible from the same InfiniBand network.



The first installation will be the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) at the University of Texas in Austin.

http://www.sun.com

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Boingo Offers Flat Rate Wi-Fi Roaming for $39/Month

Boingo Wireless announced a new Wi-Fi service providing access to more than 100,000 Boingo hot spot locations around the world for a flat rate of EUR 29 or US$39 per month, with no roaming charges and no per-minute fees.



Boingo also announced a partnership France's Hub télécom and Norway's Oslo Lufthavn Tele & Data AS (OLTD), thereby adding key airport locations in Europe to its roaming network.

http://www.boingo.com

• In May 2007, Boingo Wireless signed a roaming agreement with FON, a Madrid-based start-up building a global community of Wi-Fi access point owners (or "foneros") willing to share their broadband connections. The roaming deal will provide Boingo users with access to an additional 130,000 hot spot locations – more than doubling the company's network size.

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RCN to Acquire NEON for $260 Million

RCN Corporation agreed to acquire NEON Communications Group, a facilities-based carrier serving New England and the mid-Atlantic regions, for up to $5.25 per share of NGI common stock, in cash, for expected total consideration of up to approximately $260 million.



The merger combines RCN, a leading competitive provider of video, data, and voice services to residential and business customers in the Northeast, mid-Atlantic, and Chicago metro markets, with NEON's pure play network transport services to carrier and enterprise customers in its twelve-state New England and mid-Atlantic region.



NEON operates a densely built fiber optic network with approximately 4,800 route miles, over 230,000 fiber miles, 22 colocation facilities, and more than 200 points of presence from Maine to Virginia. It serves approximately 120 carrier and enterprise customers.



RCN provides service in the Boston, New York, Eastern Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., and Chicago metropolitan markets.



"This is a significant strategic acquisition for RCN that scales our high-value commercial segment with another premier regional service provider in our own footprint. This combination of NEON, ConEd Communications and RCN's existing metro and intercity rings will now reach into both Tier 1 and Tier 2 markets for enterprise and carrier customers who are looking for robust alternatives to incumbent providers. Additionally, NEON's dense capillarity improves our ability to deliver seamless, high quality services and creates significant growth potential," commented Peter Aquino, President and CEO of RCN.

http://www.rcn.com

http://www.neoninc.com

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Germany's EWE TEL Selects Infinera Optical Backbone

EWE TEL, one of Germany's leading regional telecom operators, selected Infinera for its optical backbone. The European systems integrations partner AXIANS, represented in Germany by NK Networks & Services, introduced the Infinera Digital Optical Networks solution. Financial terms were not disclosed.

http://www.infinera.com

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Telstra and Alcatel-Lucent Announce R&D Pact

Telstra and Alcatel-Lucent announced a three year collaborative Research and Development (R&D) agreement. Alcatel-Lucent said the agreement ensures that its global products and solutions are developed in close alignment with Telstra's commercial and technological business requirements.

http://www.alcatel-lucent.com

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Nokia Siemens Networks Builds Global Network Solutions Center in Lisbon

Nokia Siemens Networks will create a new Global Network Solutions Center (GNSC) at its site in Lisbon, Portugal. The facility will consist of a Global Network Operations Center, for outsourced network operations and management for our customers, a Global Care Center for network maintenance services, including fault correction, and also a Service Delivery Center for Consulting and Systems Integration activities such as network optimization. http://www.nokiasiemensnetworks.com

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Wi-Fi Alliance Begins Testing 802.11n Draft 2.0 Gear

The Wi-Fi Alliance Authorized Test Laboratories began testing products for 802.11n draft 2.0 compliance. Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 802.11n draft 2.0 products have been tested for interoperability across vendors, adherence to WPA2 (Wi-Fi Protected Access) security protocols, and backward compatibility with more than 3,500 Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 802.11n a/b/g products.



The first products are anticipated to arrive on store shelves this summer -- in time for students returning to school.

http://www.wi-fi.org

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Verizon Business and SoftBank Announce Alliance

Verizon Business and SoftBank Telecom announced a strategic alliance to serve multinational customers doing business in Japan. The deal provides customers with access to the networks and capabilities of each company.



SoftBank Telecom has a nationwide, fiber-optic network of more than 13,000 kilometers. Verizon Business owns and operates an expansive global IP backbone.

http://www.verizon.com

http://www.softbanktelecom.co.jp

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EarthLink Names New CEO, Former Mpower Exec

EarthLink named Rolla P. Huff as its new president and CEO. Previously, Huff, 50, served as the chairman and CEO of Mpower Communications, a facilities-based provider of voice and data services to both the business and consumer markets from 1999 to 2006. Prior to Mpower, he served as president and chief operating officer, and earlier as chief financial officer, of Frontier Corporation until its acquisition in 1999. http://www.earthlink.net

• Garry Betty, EarthLink's President and CEO, passed away on January 2 due to complications from cancer. He was 49. Mr. Betty had been with the company since 1996.



• Mpower was a facilities-based CLEC with operations in areas of California, Nevada, and Illinois. The company was acquired by TelePacific in 2006.

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Fujitsu Enables Station-to-Station HD-over-IP Transmission in Japan

Fujitsu has developed a new High-Definition (HD) video encoder that is being used for station-to-station transmission between TV Asahi and All Nippon Network (ANN) affiliated companies. The new service enables high quality video transmission from station-to-station using inexpensive broadband public IP lines. Previously, HD video transmission required the use of special lines and mainstream billing using a pay-as-you-go plan.



The deployment uses MPEG4 AVC (H.264) encoding technology in Fujitsu's IP-9500 Video Encoder, which was first launched in November 2006. http://www.fujitsu.com

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blinkx Launches Contextual Online Video Advertising Platform

blinkx, a video search engine company based in San Francisco, introduced a contextually relevant video advertising platform.



blinkx's AdHoc platform aim to match customized, TV-style ads to online video clips in way that Google's AdSense matches advertising to text based Web pages.



AdHoc leverages blinkx's patented speech-to-text transcription and visual analysis technology to understand video content more thoroughly and effectively than other search engines. http://www.blinkx.com

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MobiTV Expands R&D in Sweden, Silicon Valley

MobiTV announced the opening of its R&D center in Stockholm, Sweden, as well as the company's new engineering facility in Sunnyvale, California.



MobiTV currently claims more than two million paying subscribers.

http://www.mobitv.com

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Seagate Unveils New Terabyte Hard Drives

Seagate announced two new 1 terabyte (TB) hard drives for enterprise and desktop PC storage of digital content.



The new products are second-generation desktop and enterprise perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR) hard drives. They deliver 1TB of capacity, 7,200-rpm spin speeds, average seek times of 8.5ms, caches up to 32MB. The new hard drives pack 1TB of data on just four discs. One model offers a SATA interface, and the other model offers SATA and SAS interface options. Shipment is slated for Q3 and MSRP is $399.99.

http://www.seagate.com

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Motorola Introduces Good Mobile Messaging 5

Motorola announced the release of Good Mobile Messaging 5, a mobile messaging client for business users. The new release aims for greater personalization; and strengthened security and manageability. The new release will incorporate all of the handheld security capabilities previously available separately though the company's Good Mobile Defense product. New features include:

• Group and find by conversation and sender: sorts and groups emails by conversation thread and/or sender, helping users to easily pinpoint important messages and save time by filing and/or deleting an entire thread or group



• Complete calendaring: helps invite participants to a meeting, provide real-time visibility into their free/busy status; and automatically suggests and reserves conference rooms based on past preferences and availability



• Edit and send documents: securely accesses corporate intranets using Good Mobile Intranet (GMI); enables downloads of Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Adobe PDF documents directly to the smartphone; allows users to edit files and attach them to outbound emails



• Dial without password: dials a contact from a password-protected phone without requiring users to enter the password--all while keeping email and contacts data secure



• Third-party access to contacts: option to provide third-party applications, such as voice dialing and SMS, with access to Good contacts, helping to enhance device usability.

http://www.motorola.com

• Earlier this year, Motorola completed its acquisition of Good Technology, a supplier of enterprise mobile computing software and service, for an undisclosed sum. At the time of the deal, the companies said more than 12,000 enterprises globally were using the Good platform for their mobile messaging.

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Zarlink to Acquire Legerity - Targeting Voice over Packet

Zarlink Semiconductor agreed to acquire privately held Legerity Holdings, Inc., a leading developer and supplier of voice ICs for carrier, enterprise and residential gateway equipment, for US$134.5 million in cash, subject to working capital adjustments.



Legerity, which is based in Austin Texas, has grown revenue from US$88 million in calendar year 2004 to US$113 million in calendar year 2006. For the calendar year 2006, income from operations was US$5.1 million and net income was US$4.1 million. Over its 27 year history, the company has shipped over 450 Million lines of DSP-based analog mixed signal products and nearly 320 Million SLIC lines.



Zarlink said it portfolio of network synchronization, voice enhancement and telecom-related products will be combined with Legerity's products and technologies to create a powerful platform for the growing deployment of next-generation networks.



Zarlink intends to fund this acquisition through a combination of its cash resources and, as required, draw down on a bridge facility of up to US$50 million.



"This acquisition will accelerate and expand Zarlink's plans for the voice-over-packet market," said Kirk K. Mandy, President and CEO, Zarlink Semiconductor. "Both companies are designing complementary technologies that enable high-quality voice services. We share a very similar customer base but are not direct competitors. As a result, we expect there to be substantial cross-selling opportunities across a larger customer base and plan to deliver more integrated, higher-value solutions for the rapidly growing voice-over-Internet and voice-over-cable markets."http://www.zarlink.com

http://www.legerity.com

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Chelsio Signs Tier-One OEMs for 10GbE NICs

Chelsio Communications said it has signed OEM contracts with eleven new customers (including five Tier-One vendors) for its 10Gb Ethernet Unified Wire solutions. The company estimates these deals alone will generate more than $30 million in revenue for Chelsio in 2008.



Chelsio technology is being used in a wide range of applications, including WAN acceleration, Network-Attached Storage (NAS) Filers, Storage Area Network (SAN) Arrays, Server Adapters, High Performance Cluster Computing, Video Servers, Server Blades, Application Servers and Web Accelerators. A key attribute of the Chelsio technology is the seamless upgrade path from NIC to RDMA, iSCSI and TOE. http://www.chelsio.com

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Intel to Support OpenCable Platform in Future Consumer Chips

Intel will include support for the OpenCable Platform in future consumer electronic (CE) system-on-a-chip (SoC) products. This will enable devices powered by the Intel chips, such as digital televisions, set-top boxes, digital media recorders and other networked consumer electronics, to run standard OpenCable applications and services delivered by cable operators, consumer electronics companies, program networks, and other software developers.



Future Intel platforms will include OpenCable Platform technologies certified by CableLabs for interactive applications. Interactive digital cable-ready products can access interactive program guides delivered by cable operators, as well as premium services ordered on-screen, such as video-on-demand (VOD). The devices will also include support for the CableCARD removable security module. The CableCARD encapsulates the local cable system-specific conditional access technology, thus enabling nationwide portability of these two-way devices.



"The collaboration between the major cable TV operators and Intel exemplifies and fuels the ongoing transition to digitally delivered entertainment whether through a computer, high-definition TV, smart set-top box or other networked CE device," said Eric Kim, Intel senior vice president and general manager of the company's Digital Home Group.

http://www.cablelabs.com

http://www.intel.com

• In April, Intel said it planned to deliver Intel Architecture (IA) SoC products for a new generation of Internet compatible consumer electronics devices. Intel's first CE-optimized IA-based SoC is scheduled for 2008, pairing an IA processor with leading-edge A/V processing, graphics and more to help deliver greater performing, Internet-compatible devices.

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Infineon Acquires Texas Instruments' DSL CPE Business

Infineon Technologies will acquire Texas Instruments' DSL Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) business. The transaction is expected to close in the summer of 2007. Financial terms were not disclosed.



Infineon said it plans to continue supporting Texas Instruments' product portfolio and existing customer designs while leveraging the acquired experience in future product generations.



"Combining Texas Instruments' DSL CPE products with Infineon's innovative roadmap leads to a unique end-to-end offering for DSL customers," said Prof. Dr. Hermann Eul, Executive Vice President of the Infineon Management Board and President of the Communication Solutions business group.



"We recognize Infineon's strong commitment to the DSL business. This transaction gives our customers continuity of the product line, continuity of customer support and a strong DSL roadmap," said Dennis Rauschmayer, General Manager of TI's Residential Gateway business. "TI is fully committed to support the transition of the business and the customer service transition to Infineon, ensuring a positive customer experience."



Infineon serves the entire DSL value chain from terminal equipment to street cabinets to the Central Office (CO). Infineon's wireline access portfolio currently includes products ranging from ADSL/2/2+ to integrated voice/data (IVD), SHDSL, VDSL2 and VoIP solutions. Leveraging its product offerings in the CO arena, Infineon also offers a broad portfolio of xDSL routers, VoIP, IP telephony, WLAN and Ethernet switching ICs ideal for broadband CPE applications.

http://www.infineon.com/news/http://www.ti.com

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Huawei Wins $700 million GSM contract with China Mobile

Huawei Technologies Co. announced a GSM expansion contract with China Mobile, the largest mobile services provider in China, valued at approximately $700 million. The contract represents 23.6 percent of China Mobile's GSM group purchase project and is the second largest share. Huawei also doubled its share of this year's GSM group purchase project as compared to 2006.



Under the agreement, Huawei will expand China Mobile's GSM coverage in 30 provinces in China, including Guangdong, Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangsu, and Shandong with the deployment of thousands of GSM core and radio products and services.



China Mobile selected Huawei's EnerG GSM solution which includes a new generation BSC (Base Station Controller) based on an ALL-IP PARC platform (Platform of Advanced Radio Controller) and IP-based BTS (Base Transceiver Station) family.

http://www.huawei.com

• Earlier this month, China Mobile awarded a GSM expansion contract to Ericsson covering the supply of core and radio network equipment, along with related technical support and services. The signing ceremony is Stockholm was attended by Chinese President Hu Jintao, King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, Wang Jianzhou, Chief Executive of China Mobile Communications Corporation, and Carl-Henric Svanberg, President and CEO of Ericsson.

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ZTE Supplies UMTS/HSDPA Network in Estonia

PGH, a holding company integrating resources of virtual mobile company Bravocom and fixed line operator ViaTel, has selected ZTE to deploy a commercial nationwide UMTS/HSDPA network in Estonia. The Estonian operator awarded ZTE the sole vendor contract. Financial terms were not disclosed.

http://www.zte.com.cn/

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Mobile Campus Appoints Cingular Exec as CEO

Mobile Campus, which provides interactive mobile services for U.S. universities, announced the appointment of Jim Ryan as the company's new President and CEO. Most recently, Ryan served as vice president of consumer data services for Cingular Wireless.



To date, eleven major universities including the University of Texas, University of Florida, University of Central Florida, Texas State University, Texas Tech University, Kent State University and Clemson University have signed long-term agreements with Mobile Campus for their services.

http://www.mobilecampus.com/

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Freescale and Tundra Partner on RapidIO Switch

Freescale and Tundra Semiconductor introduced a Serial RapidIO interconnect development platform that uses Tundra's Tsi578 switch to cluster four Freescale MSC8144 multi-core DSPs in an AMC single-width form factor. The platform is designed to address interconnect bandwidth requirements of up to 10 Gbps between on-board components in applications such as wireless base stations, radio network controllers, media gateways, video conferencing and radar signal processing.



Tundra's Tsi578 enables low latency RapidIO interconnect capabilities at up to 10 Gbps, thereby supporting the bandwidth-per-link requirements of key applications. Freescale's MSC8144 multi-core DSP offers up to 10 Gbps per sRIO port. The solution could be used in standalone mode within MicroTCA and ATCA systems, or alongside Tundra's recently announced Tsi578 Serial RapidIO Development Platform.

http://www.freescale.com

http://www.tundra.com

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Korean MSO Selects Harmonic for Wideband Modular CMTS Trial

Qrix Communications, a Korean cable operator serving more than 710,000 subscribers, has launched a wideband modular cable modem termination system (M-CMTS) trial using Harmonic's NSG 9000 universal edgeQAM. Harmoni's NSG 9000 is capable of reaching up to 72 QAM RF outputs per unit and supports a wide variety of applications including broadcast, video-on-demand (VOD), switched digital video (SDV), M-CMTS and DOCSIS 3.0. The wideband M-CMTS architecture using the NSG 9000 universal edgeQAM enables Qrix to deliver up to 100 Mbps to the home.

http://www.harmonicinc.com

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LG and Harris Develop In-Band Mobile DTV Technology for Handhelds

LG Electronics and Harris Corp. submitted a proposal to the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) for a standard that would enable broadcasters to provide high-quality digital television (DTV) signals to a wide range of mobile and portable devices. Until now, reliable reception of signals transmitted by terrestrial broadcasters has not been possible in fast-moving vehicles or pedestrian handheld devices such as mobile phones or laptop computers.



LG Electronics and its U.S. research subsidiary, Zenith, has partnered with Harris to develop a Mobile-Pedestrian Handheld (MPH) in-band mobile digital television system that uses the digital broadcast signal and is backward-compatible to the current standard.



The companies said their "MPH" in-band mobile DTV system provides robust DTV signals to mobile, pedestrian and handheld devices. Unlike the cellular-based approach, MPH technology uses only the single, existing transmitter from commercial and public broadcasters.



MPH is a multiple-stream system, with the main service stream for existing DTV and HDTV services, and the MPH stream for one or more mobile, pedestrian and/or handheld services. Key attributes of the MPH( system include:

• Backward compatibility with the existing ATSC 8-VSB transmission and receiving equipment,



• Capability to receive broadcast signals at high (mobile) speed with a single antenna,



• Use of practical, small handheld receivers without the need for multiple antennas,



• Power savings in handheld receivers.

http://www.LGusa.com

http://www.harris.com

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Portugal Telecom Launches IPTV with Alcatel-Lucent + Microsoft

PT Comunicações, the largest telecommunications and multimedia business organization in Portugal, has deployed Alcatel for its new IPTV commercial service -- "meo" -- which launched this month in Lisbon, O'Porto and Castelo Branco. Initially, the service will deliver 78 TV channels (2 of them with high definition). It also includes VOD and PVR (160 hours) functionality.



The Alcatel-Lucent solution allows a customized on-demand service for each customer, enabling viewers to create their own schedule of TV programs and integrates an OSS-BSS interface that facilitates the integration between PT Comunicações' OSSs/BSSs and the Microsoft TV IPTV Edition platform.



The network infrastructure supporting PT Comunicações'striple play services include the Alcatel-Lucent 7450 Ethernet Service Switch, Alcatel-Lucent 7750 Service Router and Alcatel-Lucent 7302 Intelligent Services Access Manager.

http://www.meo.pt

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Vodafone Portugal Selects Alcatel-Lucent for DSL

Vodafone Portugal has deployed Alcatel-Lucent's TPSDA (triple play service delivery architecture) that combines access and subscriber service delivery into an integrated DSL solution, as well as its next generation converged solutions.

Specifically, Alcatel-Lucent has supplied its Intelligent Services Access Manager and its Network Analyser and Home Network Management solution (for the management of devices deployed in customer homes and businesses). It has also deployed its next generation Service Router along with the Service Aware Manager and the Access Gateway Controller. Financial terms were not disclosed.

http://www.alcatel-lucent.com

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U.S. International Trade Commission Denies QUALCOMM Request

The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) has denied a request by QUALCOMM to stay the effectiveness of the ITC's recent exclusion order, which bans the importation into the United States of certain Qualcomm chips and cellular phones containing those chips that infringe a Broadcom patent.

http://www.usitc.gov/

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TELUS and Bell Canada Consider Merger Possibility

BCE, the parent company of Bell Canada, and TELUS, the incumbent operator in western Canada, confirmed that talks are underway regarding a possible business combination. BCE and TELUS have entered into a mutual non-disclosure and standstill agreement on a non-exclusive basis.



In a press statement, TELUS said a combined TELUS/BCE could:

• Create a combined organization poised for improved growth and returns through the realization of significant operating synergies to the ongoing benefit of TELUS and BCE investors



• Retain investment grade credit ratings thereby retaining financial strength to invest in long-term growth with the associated public benefits related to innovation and productivity



• Preserve and enhance a public Canadian investment vehicle for ordinary Canadians and institutional investors



• Ensure access to leading edge technology, services and devices for the benefit of Canadian consumers and the competitiveness of businesses



• Allow current BCE shareholders to participate in ongoing value creation on a largely tax deferred rollover basis which would be attractive to the many BCE shareholders with a low tax cost basis



• Preserve an income tax base for Canadian governments that would otherwise be eliminated by highly levered private equity structures with non-taxable equity holders and U.S. sourced debt



• Be the most likely strategic alternative to preserve long-term Canadian control if foreign ownership restrictions are removed



• Establish a truly national telecommunications company, similar to other G8, European and Commonwealth countries (e.g. British Telecom, France Telecom, Deutsche Telekom, NTT, Telecom Italia) in an industry critical to national sovereignty.

http://www.telus.com

http://www.bce.ca

• In April 2007, BCE announced a series of discussions with a group of leading Canadian pension funds to explore the possibility of taking the publicly-traded company private. This group will be led by the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), the Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec and Canada's Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments), who have signed a non-disclosure and standstill agreement with BCE on a non-exclusive basis. Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Co. (KKR), a leading global private equity firm, has also signed the agreement and will join the Canadian-led consortium as a minority partner.



• BCE controls Bell Canada, Telesat Canada and an interest in Bell Globemedia.

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Nortel Shows Three SIP Applications

Nortel introduced three SIP and IMS-ready applications: Web Services, Fixed Mobile Convergence (FMC), and Web Portal customization. The applications can integrate multiple networks such as wireline, wireless or cable and IP-based communications -- email, video, web-based services, instant messaging.

Nortel's SIP applications:

• Web Services -- an application that leverages Parlay X API standards and allow businesses to enhance their web sites through interactive multimedia communications such as click-to-call, instant messaging and call presence. This new Web-services application will enable businesses to send targeted messages to their customers' mobile device based on the user's location and individual preferences. The Web Services APIs will be available in Q3 2007.



• Fixed Mobile Convergence (FMC) integrates voice, video, text and data communications into a seamless communications environment between desktop and mobile devices, using cellular and WLAN access. Enhanced capabilities provide unified voice, messaging and multimedia communications high-speed broadband services for workers whether they are at home or working remotely. They also allow a PC-based interface to screen mobile calls, and provide advanced collaboration features such as file sharing, while on a mobile call. These enhanced FMC offerings are available today.



• Carrier-hosted Web Portal enhanced application allows subscribers to create and manage communications services via a personalized Web application. Preferences such as call routing and call blocking can be prioritized for each incoming call. Enhanced capabilities include use of a mobile internet browser to customize call and service profiles. The Web Portal and corresponding customization options are currently available.

Nortel has previously announced SIP contracts with leading carriers Orange, Neuf Cegetel, Bell Canada and Telefonica.



Nortel new and enhanced applications are designed to run today over a pre-IMS environment and are built with IMS interfaces necessary to run over future IMS core networks. The applications are enabled on the Application Server 5200 (AS 5200) and the Communication Server 2000 (CS 2000).

http://www.nortel.com

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Bell Canada Deploys Nortel's Network Operations Management Solution

Bell Canada is deploying Nortel's Metro Ethernet Manager (MEM) solution to support delivery of new high-bandwidth communications services, such as video and large file sharing, to its business customers.



Metro Ethernet Manager (MEM) is Nortel's element and domain management solution. Key features include the ability to quickly and efficiently provision services; monitor, isolate and troubleshoot faults; measure network performance for capacity planning and SLA assurance; view the network topologies from nodal as well as service perspectives; and backup & restore within a common security infrastructure.

http://www.nortel.com

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Sonus and NeuStar Partner on Presence-Enabled IMS Applications

Sonus Networks and NeuStar are working together to create feature-rich IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS)-based consumer applications with presence technology. The new integration effort builds on an existing partnership between the companies.



The Sonus IMX Multimedia Application Platform, a key element in the application layer of Sonus IMS-based network architecture, has been successfully integrated with NeuStar's Presence Platform (PSP).



Part of NeuStar's suite of next generation messaging services, the PSP incorporates a presence server and group list management server (GLMS), which power presence-enabled IMS-based applications. http://www.neustar.biz/ngmhttp://www.sonusnet.com

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Ellacoya Enables the Personal Internet Plans with New Software for DPI-based Platform

Ellacoya Networks announced two software modules that extend the capabilities of its deep packet inspection (DPI) hardware platforms, the e30 and e100 network platforms, enabling network operators to offer a personalized service plan for each subscriber.



Ellacoya's e30 platform and e100 platform (a custom-designed 20 Gbps wire-speed DPI network hardware element) enable service providers to effectively identify and manage network traffic dynamically by subscriber, service type, time-of-day, etc. Ellacoya's platforms provide granular reports on network usage; manage traffic dynamically with precision; ensure VoIP quality; identity and prevent network threats; and provide the basis for quota management, differentiated service plans and quality-assured premium services (IPTV, VoIP, streaming video).



The new Ellacoya Service Creation Manager (SCM) is a graphical user interface that provides rapid and scalable service creation. Built on hierarchical database technology, services and service bundles are defined once in the environment and then can be assigned to individual subscribers and subscriber groups instantly with point-and-click ease. Subscribers can also be automatically provisioned through Ellacoya's well-documented Application Programming Interface (API).



The Ellacoya Service Plan Manager (SPM) integrates with the service provider's OSS/BSS and automates subscriber management functions including service activation, service changes and the enforcement of application-based service tiers. It tracks each subscriber's usage against the terms of his/her service plan to enforce the correct policies and ensure accurate accounting and billing. The SPM also provides integration with other back office systems and network infrastructure such as policy servers through standard COPS, SOAP and EJB interfaces.

http://www.ellacoya.com

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BT Deploys Ellacoya for Network Visibility and Service Optimization

BT has deployed Ellacoya Networks' broadband optimization platform to support the BT Retail broadband network of more than 3 million subscribers. Financial terms were not disclosed.



The Ellacoya solution's network visibility function is being used for capacity planning and traffic analysis; providing visibility into aggregate traffic and specific application usage on both a real-time and historic basis. This enables BT to effectively engineer network capacity to meet all subscriber bandwidth needs as well as to anticipate and plan for future service requirements.



The service optimization functions of the Ellacoya solution are used to identify and provide Quality-of-Service (QoS) for BT's IPTV service, BTVision, and to analyze VoIP service quality to ensure expected performance. It also allows BT's business customers to self-activate services remotely.

http://www.ellacoya.com

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Pulse~LINK Files Suit Against Tzero for UWB Patents

Pulse~LINK announced a lawsuit against Tzero Technologies of Sunnyvale, California, claiming infringement of Pulse~LINK's patented UWB communications technologies.

http://www.pulselink.net/

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NexTone and PortaOne Offer SIP-H.323 Switching and Billing Solution

NexTone announced an interworking initiative with PortaOnec to provide carriers and service providers worldwide with an integrated billing and SIP-H.323 switching solution.

PortaBilling100 is a carrier-grade VoIP billing and customer management platform. The NexTone MSX (Multi-protocol Session Exchange), when used together with PortaBilling100 for NexTone, allows service providers to create a flexible and scalable VoIP network while ensuring consistent service quality, protection, and security. By applying its signaling intelligence at the edge of the network, the NexTone MSX adapts session signaling to enable carriers to interconnect their SIP and H.323 networks, while PortaBilling100 for NexTone provides call authentication and authorization as well as billing information.

http://www.nextone.com

http://portaone.com

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YouTube Encodes Video in H.264 for Apple TV, iPhone

YouTube has begun encoding their videos in the advanced H.264 format for viewing on Apple's upcoming iPhone and the Apple TV device.

http://www.apple.com

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Global Crossing Selects Alcatel-Lucent for Global Maintenance Services

Global Crossing has selected Alcatel-Lucent to oversee the maintenance of its optical and transport equipment by providing technical support, repair, field maintenance and program management services. The outsourcing is expected to reduce their global network maintenance costs and improve network operating efficiencies. http://www.alcatel-lucent.com

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Real Time Content (RTC) to Spin Out of BT

BT will spin out a group that is developing an "adaptive media" platform into a new company called Real Time Content (RTC). The RTC platform uses viewer profiles and real time feedback to customize video content that is automatically delivered and controlled by the brand. By analyzing profiles, user criteria, surfing trends, and bandwidth capabilities, brands and content owners can create a personalized information and entertainment experience that speaks directly to each viewer. RTC effectively monitors, measures and adjusts digital content to allow dynamic changes in real time.



RTC, which is headquartered in the UK, has funding from BT and New Venture Partners.

http://www.btplc.com

http://www.realtimecontent.com

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Cablevision Expects to Carry 500 HD Channels by Year End

Cablevision, which serves the NY metro area, will add 15 new high-definition channels from VOOM HD Networks. The additions will bring Cablevision's iO digital cable customers a total of 40 HD programming services -- the most HD available anywhere in the nation, from any provider. The company also announced that by the end of this year it will have the capability to carry more than 500 channels of HD programming on its advanced fiber optic network.

http://www.cablevision

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Optimum Lightpath Receives MEF 14 Certification

Cablevision's Optimum Lightpath division received the Metro Ethernet Forum's (MEF) MEF 14 Service Provider Certification. As part of the process, the Optimum Lightpath network was certified to support E-Line, V-Line and E-LAN solutions. Testing was completed by Iometrix - the MEF's independent certification lab - to ensure compliance with the Abstract Test Suite for Traffic Management (MEF-14-ATS).



Optimum Lightpath was one of only 11 service providers from around the globe to be certified under the inaugural Certification Program.



Separately, Optimum Lightpath received the "2007 Regional Carrier Ethernet Service Provider of the Year" award among North American Carrier Ethernet providers. The company has more than 2,400 route miles of fiber in the ground and more than 2000 lit commercial buildings in the New York metro area. The company claims that more than 50 percent of hospitals in the New York metropolitan area are now using its Optimum Lightpath network for high capacity and high bandwidth integrated IP data, Internet and voice solutions.

http://www.metroethernetnow.com/

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Vietnam Tests WiMAX with Motorola

Vietnam Datacommunications Company (VDC), a company within the Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT), selected Motorola for a technical and commercial WiMAX trial in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. The trial will use Motorola's wi4 WiMAX platform.

http://www.motorola.com

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AT&T Gains Metro Ethernet Certification

AT&T has been certified by the Metro Ethernet Forum's (MEF) test lab and has passed the industry association's most stringent MEF-14 evaluation for performance. The MEF-14 evaluation includes a set of 170 tests, such as an analysis of service performance for frame delay, frame delay variation and frame loss ratio, as well as bandwidth profile service attributes. AT&T received certification of its Ethernet Private Line, Virtual Private Line, and Private Line for Wide Area Network family of services.

http://www.att.com

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BigBand Unveils New Video Processing Engine

BigBand Networks unveiled a new video processing engine for its flagship Broadband Multimedia-Service Router. The new video processing engine will form the core of a new family of cards designed to significantly enhance advertising insertion and RateShaping performance. The new engine can also enhance video quality and increase density for BigBand's switched digital video and addressable advertising solutions.

http://www.bigbandnet.com

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Fujitsu Integrates 40G Wavelengths on Flashwave 7500

Fujitsu Network Communications has integrated 40 Gbps transmission capabilities into its FLASHWAVE 7500 Reconfigurable Optical Add/Drop Multiplexer (ROADM), enabling 10-Gbps metro DWDM networks based on the platform to grow from 400 Gbps to 1.6 Tbps of total capacity.



Fujitsu has developed an advanced modulation scheme and per-wavelength variable dispersion compensation (VDC) to support the 40 Gbps rate. Optical performance requirements such as optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR), chromatic dispersion, polarization mode dispersion (PMD), and spectral width become much more stringent as bit rates increase.



Fujitsu said that by utilizing a Return to Zero Differential Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (RZ-DQPSK) modulation scheme and per-transponder VDC, there is no need to change dispersion compensation of existing networks when upgrading to support 40 Gbps wavelengths. These technologies significantly improve PMD tolerance and OSNR performance of DWDM networks, resulting in longer spans, fewer regeneration sites, and increased number of ROADM nodes per network.



Three new 40 Gbps units for the FLASHWAVE 7500 ROADM offer options for multiple deployment scenarios. The 40 Gbps transponder provides a full band tunable network interface and a 40 Gbps client interface, designed primarily for interconnection of core routers. The 40 Gbps muxponder combines four 10 Gbps client interfaces into a single wavelength operating at 40 Gbps, which provides additional capacity expansion on constrained routes. The 40 Gbps regenerator unit eliminates back-to-back transponders on long spans, reducing cost and complexity. Each unit plugs directly into the existing FLASHWAVE 7500 chassis with no changes required to support 40 Gbps wavelengths across existing metro/regional DWDM networks.



"While many of our potential competitors have chosen a 40 Gbps solution that requires an external shelf and alien wavelengths to work, we believe that our fully-integrated approach offers a far more compelling and manageable option for carriers. By integrating 40 Gbps capability directly into the ROADM, we will achieve greater distance performance, while simplifying operations with fewer fiber jumpers, better performance monitoring, fewer spares, and an overall reduction in space and power," said Bill Erickson, senior vice president of planning and development at Fujitsu Network Communications.

http://us.fujitsu.com/telecom

• Fujitsu's FLASHWAVE 7500 ROADM is widely deployed in the RBOC and MSO markets for core network consolidation, metro/regional capacity relief, and triple-play service delivery. It uses a Wavelength Selective Switch (WSS) architecture to add, drop or pass-though up to 40 channels at any node with single channel granularity.

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