European Commission Offers Mobile App for Tracking Carbon Footprint

The European Commission launched a mobile application that allows consumers to track their carbon footprint. The "mobGAS" mobile phone application, which is available in 21 European languages, was developed at the European Commission's Joint Research Centre. It allows users to see the implications of the choices they make every day, in terms of the three major greenhouse gases -- carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. Information about everyday activities -- cooking, transport, lighting, electronic appliances etc. - is put into the application, and calculations made of individual emissions. A user diary of daily, weekly and yearly emissions can be registered on a secure website, allowing a comparison with national and world averages.

http://mobgas.jrc.ec.europa.eu

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India's Idea Cellular Selects Ericsson for GSM and Managed Services

Idea Cellular, an Indian mobile operator currently serving some 20 million subscribers, selected Ericsson as the sole supplier of its GSM network in Mumbai, India.

Under the four-year deal, Ericsson will supply radio access, microwave transmission, and core network equipment, including Ericsson's Mobile Softswitch Solution. Ericsson will also be responsible for network deployment and integration, as well as managed services including network and field operations. Rollout is planned to begin shortly, with commercial launch is scheduled for May 2008.



Ericsson said it will also provide a real-time charging system for traditional telecom services and new multimedia services. The solution is part of Ericsson's end-to-end Revenue Management offering. Financial terms were not disclosed.



The deal marks Ericsson's first network win in Mumbai and completes its footprint in India's 23 telecom circles. (The country is divided into 23 telecom regions known as service areas, and operators require separate licenses to operate in each service areas.)http://www.ericsson.com

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Belgacom Bundles DSL and Mobile Internet

Belgacom launched a service package that combines mobile internet and ADSL or VDSL. The single-bill service offers Belgacom's broadband customers two options: 10 hours of mobile surfing on the Proximus 3G network for EUR 20.95 per month, or 2GB of mobile surfing for EUR 34.95 per month. Belgacom said its HSDPA mobile network offers downloads speeds of up to 3.6 Mbps and reaches 80% of the country's populated areas.

http://www.belgacom.com

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Corning Notes First Customer for "ClearCurve" Rugged Drop FTTH Cable

Corning Cable Systems named Connexion Technologies as the first customer of its ClearCurve fiber. Connexion Technologies, which is deploying FTTH networks in markets across the U.S., is using ClearCurve Rugged Drop Cable in its multiple dwelling unit (MDU) deployments. This follows a field trial in West Palm Beach.

ClearCurve Rugged Drop Cable is 4.8 mm in diameter and is designed for applications where other physical cable protection, such as microduct, is neither available nor desired. Corning said its ClearCurve design offers significant protection of the optical fiber. The cable has a self-bend-limiting feature that prevents the fiber from exceeding the 5 mm minimum bend radius no matter how the cable is bent. This enables the cable to be handled in any way that copper communication cables are handled, such as pulling through wall studs and stapling to wood.
http://www.corning.com

http://www.connexiontechnologies.net

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Avail Media to Resell Espial's IPTV Service Platform

Avail Media, a provider of content aggregation and IPTV transport services, agreed to resell Espial's Evo IPTV Service Platform to small and mid-sized operators in the North American market. The offering includes a large transport rights library of more than 220 channels from the major national programmers including ESPN, ABC, Disney, MTV Networks, Fox Networks, and others.



The partners also intend to jointly develop and share revenues for a range of new and differentiating IPTV applications that will leverage the strengths of their respective technologies.



In addition, Avail Media revealed that nine North American service provider customers have already selected Espial's Evo IPTV Service Platform as their middleware, pre-integrated with Avail Media's managed video content services.

http://www.espial.com

http://www.availmedia.com

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Qualcomm Adds 700 MHz Support for CDMA2000 and WCDMA

Qualcomm has added support for CDMA2000 and WCDMA (UMTS) wireless services in the 700 MHz band to its product roadmap.



Qualcomm's RTR6570 transceiver delivers support for the 700 MHz band to CDMA2000 and WCDMA (UMTS) devices. The transceiver also supports all other frequency bands in the United States, including 850 MHz, 1700/2100 MHz, and 1900 MHz for CDMA2000.



The RTR6570 is a CMOS transceiver that is scheduled to sample mid-2008, enabling commercial devices to be ready for the first 700 MHz service launches expected as early as the beginning of 2009.
http://www.qualcomm.com

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Motorola's Ed Zander to Step Down as CEO

Motorola named Greg Brown, 47, as its new CEO, effective January 1, 2008, replacing Edward J. Zander, who will continue to serve as Chairman of the Board of Directors until the company's annual meeting of stockholders in May 2008.



Brown currently serves as President and Chief Operating Officer of Motorola. Prior to his role as President and COO, Mr. Brown headed four different businesses at Motorola. He also led the $3.9 billion acquisition of Symbol Technologies, the second largest transaction in Motorola's history and an important strategic move to strengthen Motorola's enterprise offering. He joined Motorola in 2003. Before that, Brown was chairman and CEO of Micromuse Inc., a network management software company.htt://www.motorola.com

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Google Confirms Plans to Bid in FCC Spectrum Auction

Google confirmed its intention to participate in the FCC's upcoming auction of wireless spectrum in the 700 megahertz (MHz) band, which begins on January 24, 2008. Google will bid for the spectrum on its own rather than seek partners.



"We believe it's important to put our money where our principles are," said Eric Schmidt, Chairman and CEO, Google. "Consumers deserve more competition and innovation than they have in today's wireless world. No matter which bidder ultimately prevails, the real winners of this auction are American consumers who likely will see more choices than ever before in how they access the Internet."

http://www.google.com

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Comcast Hires Former AT&T & Lucent Exec

Comcast announced that James J. Finnegan has joined the company as Vice President, Intellectual Property Strategy. Previously, Finnegan spent 17 years at AT&T and Lucent as a leading contributor to their intellectual property business. Most recently he served as Vice President, Intellectual Property, for Qimonda AG in Munich, Germany. He has also served in various consulting roles to major communications and electronics firms.

http://www.comcast.com

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Xtera Acquires Azea Networks, Extending its Subsea Optical Portfolio

Xtera Communications has acquired Azea Networks, a privately held company based in the UK and focused on delivering substantial capacity gains to existing undersea repeatered links, for an undisclosed sum.



Xtera said the acquisition extends its subsea product portfolio from the unrepeatered market to include repeatered subsea applications. Xtera's unrepeatered product line provides extended reach for new deployments and enables existing unrepeatered links to be upgraded to significantly higher capacities.



Azea's product line provides similar benefit to repeatered upgrades and initial deployments. By upgrading their existing repeatered assets with these solutions, service providers are able to achieve the capacity of a new system at a fraction of the cost of a new deployment.

http://www.xtera.com/http://www.azea.net/

• Azea Networks was founded in 2001. Its leadership team includes Scott White (previously a co-founder of Atmosphere Networks), Mike Hynes (previously General Manager of the international optical division at Nortel Networks and President and General Manager of Nortel's global submarine business initiative), and Stuart Barnes (previously Technical Director of STC Submarine Systems, a co-founder of core optical switching equipment provider Ilotron, as well as Alcatel, Nortel and ITT).

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Sandvine Launches Service Delivery Engine

Sandvine has added a Service Delivery Engine (SDE) to its deep packet inspection-based (DPI-based) Policy Traffic Switches, giving service providers a policy infrastructure to launch next gen services with network-wide quality of service (QoS) over multiple access technologies: cable, DSL, FTTH, 3G wireless and WiMAX. Through universal equipment signaling, the SDE allows policy enforcement network-wide, from the edge to the core.



The SDE supports standards such as IMS, TISPAN and PCMM, providing end-to-end network resource management and control of quality-sensitive services such as VoIP, streaming media, bandwidth-on-demand, photo upload and online gaming.



"By adding the SDE to our product portfolio, Sandvine offers the dynamic policy control needed to implement network-wide QoS and accelerate new revenue streams for service providers," said Tom Donnelly, Sandvine Executive Vice President, Marketing and Sales.

http://www.sandvine.com

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U4EA Acquires J6 for Voice Signaling Gateways

U4EA Technologies, a provider of integrated access gateways for enterprises, has acquired J6 Technology, a supplier of next generation network signaling gateways. Financial terms were not disclosed.





J6 Technology has expertise in voice signaling systems and protocol translation for enabling TDM to IP conversions and network connections.



J6 Technology includes a complete set of PBX and ISDN protocols, including PRI, BRI, CAS, DPNSS, and QSIG, and uses an extensive range of transport protocols to deliver these protocols over any physical transport such as TDM, ATM and IP (SIGTRAN and RTP).



U4EA said the acquisition brings additional voice signaling strength to its Fusion Series Multi-Service Business Gateway (MSBG) product portfolio, enabling U4EA products to serve new carrier and service provider requirements for interconnecting their networks worldwide.

http://www.u4eatech.com

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Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF) Sets 2008 Course

Based on the successful demonstration of On-Demand Ethernet Services conducted this summer at ECOC 2007, the Optical Internetworking Forum's technical leadership launched an E-NNI 2.0 Routing Project to address additional routing support for multilayer UNI and E-NNI signaling. The Forum said its course for 2008 will be guided by its 2007 Worldwide Interoperability Demonstration.



"The OIF is quickly incorporating what we learned during the three-month interoperability testing effort this summer," said Jonathan Sadler of Tellabs and the OIF Architecture & Signaling Working Group chair. "The OIF is continuing to develop control plane capabilities to meet carrier Ethernet service needs through our UNI 2.0 and E-NNI 2.0 implementation agreement work."



Attendees at a recent OIF meeting in Kobe, Japan participated in a joint workshop with the Photonic Internet Forum (PIF), focusing on current optical network research topics, including 100 Gigabit Ethernet and ASON/GMPLS. The workshop included presentations by PIF and OIF representatives with a keynote from Professor Ken-ichi Kitayama of Osaka University, vice-chair of PIF and chair of the PIF Technical Research Committee.



Some other highlights of the meeting:

• The OIF Software Working Group launched a software interface project to support the Integrable Tunable Laser Assembly (ITLA-MSA). The creation of a Software Application Programming Interface (API) and reference software implementation at the management plane will complement the existing ITLA-MSA that has been developed by the OIF Physical and Link Layer (PLL) Working Group.



• OIF members approved Control Plane Logging and Auditing with Syslog, a new Implementation Agreement (IA) defining an interoperable method for logging and auditing control plane data based on the IETF Syslog documents. The IA addresses controlling and securing the generation, transport, and storage of log data to enable an auditing capability for the OIF's UNI and E-NNI. It complements previous OIF IAs on secure transmission of signaling and routing messages from one NE (or its clients, components, or proxies) to another.



• As a follow-on to the OIF's Common Electrical Interface (CEI) project, the Forum has completed studies to develop short test patterns that are representative of typical CEI data traffic. The short stress patterns provide a practical alternative to lengthy Pseudo-Random Binary Sequence (PRBS) test patterns, and facilitate jitter measurement and eye analysis. OIF has published the CEI Implementation Guide with extensions to the CEI Interoperability Agreement to incorporate the results of this study.



• The CEI 2.0 Implementation Guide and the CEI Short Stress Patterns White Paper are available for download from the OIF website.



• Chuck Sannipoli, of IP Infusion was named vice chair of the OIF Technical Committee. Martha Fratt of AT&T, was elected as chair of the Interoperability Working Group -- Networking.

http://www.oiforum.com

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Verio Offers First IPv6-Enabled Managed Hosting in North America

Verio, a subsidiary of NTT Communications, will begin offering IPv6 connectivity for customers and solution provider partners using its Virtual Private Sever (VPS) and Managed Private Server (MPS) hosting services. The offering is described as the first managed, IPv6 commercial hosting service based in North America.



NTT Communications already supports the Verio IPv6 initiative on the NTT Communications Global IPv6 backbone network, which is delivering commercial service in many countries in Asia-Pacific, including Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Australia, as well as Europe, including Great Britain, the Netherlands, France, Germany and Spain.



IPv6 network connectivity for customers and solution partners will be provided by Verio's sister company, NTT America. Verio will provide the service on its Virtual Private Sever (VPS) and Managed Private Server (MPS) hosting platforms, which are part of the Verio 360◦ Managed Server family of services.

http://www.verio.com/ipv6-vps-mps/

• The NTT Communications data center in Tokyo began offering an IPv6-enabled service in 2005.



• IPv6 offers a 128-bit addressing scheme and the availability of 340 trillion trillion trillion (340 followed by 36 zeros) unique Internet user addresses. The IPv4 Address Report, updated daily, states that according to the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), on May 19, 2010, all IPv4 IP addresses worldwide will be exhausted if they continue to be provisioned at the current rate.

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Verscom Launch New Hosted VoIP Partitioning Service with NexTone

Verscom, a supplier of carrier solutions in EMEA, has deployed NexTone's IntelliConnect System to offer hosted VoIP partitioning with full redundancy. NexTone's IntelliConnect System includes NexTone's Session Border Controller (SBC), Multi-protocol Session Exchange (MSX), and Real-time Session Manager (RSM).



Verscom has been a value-added partner for NexTone in Middle East and North Africa (MENA) for the last two years and has supplied numerous NexTone networks to carriers in the region. In addition, Verscom runs more than 850 million minutes per year over its own voice network using the NexTone platform.



Among Verscom offerings are hosted wholesale VoIP interconnect applications, access SBC partitioning as well as enhanced applications like policy-enforcement to complement Verscom's other managed service offerings for real-time, multi-service networks combining voice and video technologies.

http://www.nextone.com

http://www.verscom.com

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Patent and Trademark Office Rules for TiVO over EchoStar

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) issued a decision in favor of TiVo in a reexamination of TiVo's Multimedia Timewarping System patent, U.S. patent number 6,233,389. TiVo hailed the ruling.



In a statement, EchoStar expressed disappointment but said the decision, would not impact its pending appeal to the Federal Circuit court, where the company hopes the court will reverse a earlier district court ruling."http://www.tivo.com

http://www.echostar.com

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Verizon Selects LTE for 4G Evolution

Verizon outlined plans to develop and deploy its fourth generation mobile broadband network using LTE -- Long Term Evolution -- the technology developed within the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standards organization.



The selection of LTE provides Verizon and Vodafone -- joint owners of U.S.-based Verizon Wireless -- with a unique opportunity to adopt a common access platform with true global scale and compatibility with existing technologies of both companies.



Verizon and Vodafone have a coordinated trial plan for LTE that begins in 2008. Trial suppliers include Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson, Motorola, Nokia-Siemens, and Nortel. The companies also said that discussions with device suppliers have expanded beyond traditional suppliers such as LG, Samsung, Motorola, Nokia, and Sony Ericsson, as consumer electronics companies anticipate embedded wireless functionality in their future products.



Verizon Wireless currently serves about 64 million mobile users on its existing CDMA2000 1x and EV-DO networks.



"A number of factors are setting the stage for our 4G network migration; most importantly, our view of customers' evolving appetite for more information, entertainment, and functionality, combined with an increasing customer expectation for easy access, high speed, easy handling, and seamless mobility. With a host of new devices and applications, and a particular focus on embedded wireless in virtually every piece of electronics you buy in any store, we believe LTE is the best technology with global scale to deliver on the promise," commented Richard Lynch, executive vice president and chief technology officer of Verizon Communications.

http://www.verizonwireless.com

• n May 2007, a group of leading telecom technology manufacturers and network operators comprised of Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson, France Telecom/Orange, Nokia, Nokia Siemens Networks, Nortel, T-Mobile, and Vodafone, launched a joint initiative aimed at driving high performance mobile broadband networks based on 3GPP Release 8 "Long Term Evolution / System Architecture Evolution" (LTE/SAE) specifications.
  
  
  
  The LTE/SAE Trial Initiative targets mobile broadband peak data rates exceeding 100 Mbps. In line with 3GPP requirements, LTE/SAE aims to provide a mobile broadband service that outperforms both 3GPP Release 6 HSPA, as well as current fixed line DSL data rates while maintaining and extending the highly successful mobility and coverage benefits of 3GPP networks such as GSM.
  
  
  
  3GPP LTE/SAE networks are expected to enable lower operating costs for operators as well as higher data-rate, lower latency end-user services, and an improved end-user wireless mobility experience.
  
  
  
  LTE radio systems are designed to provide both greater levels of radio spectrum efficiency through use of new radio transmission schemes and advanced multi-antenna technologies, and a more flexible utilization of radio spectrum through support of carrier bandwidths ranging from 1.25 MHz to 20 MHz (subject to 3GPP ratification).
  
  
  
  The companies are planning a series of joint tests including radio transmission performance tests, early interoperability tests, field tests and full customer trials. Joint activities will commence in May2007, and are expected to run for a period of 18-24 months. Commercial deployments are expected in the 2009/2010 timeframe.



• In November 2007, Alcatel-Lucent and LG Electronics completed Long Term Evolution (LTE) test calls using Alcatel-Lucent's LTE solution and mobile device prototypes from LG. The companies described the accomplishment as a milestone in the commercialization of this next-generation wireless technology, which is currently being standardized by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). 3GPP LTE technology will leverage improved spectral efficiency and increased radio capacity to enable downlink/uplink peak data rates above 100/50 Mbps in initial deployment configurations. The tests were conducted using both single antenna and multiple input/multiple output (MIMO) 2x2 configurations, transmitting over a 10 MHz channel.

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NexTone Notes Customer Deployments in Balkans, Russia

IT TEL d.o.o., an alternative telecommunication operator for voice and data services in the Adriatic/Balkan region of Europe, has purchased NexTone's IntelliConnect System, including its Session Border Controller (SBC), Multi-protocol Session Exchange (MSX), and Real-time Session Manager (RSM). IT TEL will use the NexTone system to offer high-quality voice services on a national and international level for private users, corporate customers, carriers and operators. Specifically, IT TEL will be able to offer a broad range of voice and data services in Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, and Albania. In addition, IT TEL will be able to share selected billing information and details with almost all other carriers and operators.



Separately, NexTone announced that Express Teleservice Corp. (d/b/a. LANCK Telecom), an international wholesale voice carrier, has deployed its Session Border Controller (SBC) to extend its voice network to carrier partners all over the world. Express Teleservice focuses on delivering international voice traffic to Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Belarus, and other CIS countries. By integrating NexTone's SBC with an OSS solution from Telejet Ltd., a software provider for inter-carrier billing, routing, and rate management, Express Teleservice can utilize NexTone's robust features to achieve a higher level quality of service, more granular routing capabilities, and capacity control. The NexTone/Telejet solution also speeds provisioning with new customers.

http://www.nextone.com

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Paramount Joins BT Vision Download Store

Paramount Pictures Digital Entertainment agreed to make around 150 of its films available from the BT Vision Download Store. BT Vision Download Store is an online video store available to all UK broadband customers, regardless of which internet service provider they use.
http://www.downloadstore.bt.com

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Exalt Releases GHz Tri-band DS3 Wireless Backhaul System

Exalt Communications released its new EX-5i-DS3 high capacity wireless backhaul system, supporting all three 5 GHz sub-bands in one system.



The 5i-DS3 all-indoor system carries low latency native TDM and native IP, and offers software expandability to add capacity on demand. Additional features include high-precision 1 MHz tuning across 600MHz of spectrum, and variable channel bandwidth to mitigate interference, high security SNMPv3 management, proprietary link security coding, and AES encryption functionality, Monitored Hot Standby, and "ExaltSync" for high-density system collocation of multiple Exalt radios in close proximity and frequency without self-interference.

http://www.exaltcom.com

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GE Fanuc Offers AdvancedTCA IP Packet Processor Blade

GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms introduced its AT2-5800 IP Packet Processor Advanced TCA Blade, featuring two high performance Cavium OCTEON Plus 16-core CN5860 multi-core Secure Communications Processors (SCPs) operating at up to 750MHz. The blade, which is designed to enable data and control plane services in the same form factor, will scale to dual 900MHz OCTEON Plus CN5860 processors when available from Cavium. A Rear Transition Module (RTM) is also available.



Target applications include IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), IPTV and wireless broadband. In addition, it is designed to enable rapid application development using open, modular, highly available systems based on AdvancedTCA architectures, and can be configured to enable a wide variety of applications where high speed, secure connectivity is a requirement.



The processors -- each of which supports up to 8 Gigabytes of DDR2 memory, implemented as packet memory -- provide hardware acceleration for security, compression, packet scheduling and QoS (Quality of Service) -- and deliver up to 10 Gbps line-speed core processing for network Layers 2-7. With dual 16-core processors, the AT2-5800 has 32 MIPS64 cores for high-speed packet processing.

http://www.gefanuc.com

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Veraz Partners with Telarix on Next Generation Routing

Veraz Networks and Telarix, a provider of Interconnect Business Optimization (IBO) and settlement solutions, announced a joint solution to enable carriers to financially optimize routing on-the-fly as network conditions change. The solution combines Veraz's ControlSwitch softswitch and Telarix's iXRoute and iXTranslate next generation routing optimization technology.



Veraz's ControlSwitch can interface with any network protocol enabling carriers to preserve legacy service infrastructure as they add new services and expand into new markets.



Telarix's iXRoute and iXTranslate work in conjunction with the ControlSwitch to streamline and automate the carrier's routing processes. Network route guides are converted into switch level instructions allowing carriers to easily financially optimize their routing to specific QoS and network requirements.



As part of the announced partnership, Telarix has joined the Veraz Open Solution Alliance program (VOSA), which brings together hardware vendors, software developers, and systems integrators.

http://www.veraznetworks.com

http://www.telarix.com

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Vodafone Portugal Installs Acme Packet for IMS Network

Vodafone Portugal is leveraging Acme Packet's Net-Net session border controllers (SBCs) to provide secure, high-quality residential VoIP services throughout Portugal.



Acme Packet's Net-Net SBCs, which are deployed as part of an Ericsson Core IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) solution, protect Vodafone Portugal's IMS network as well as provide a solution for service assurance, service reach maximization and regulatory compliance.



Acme Packet's Net-SAFE security architecture provides denial of service (DoS/DDoS) protection from malicious attacks and non-malicious overloads, access control and topology hiding. Call admission control policies on the Net-Net SBCs assure service quality and network availability.



Hosted NAT traversal, signaling protocol repair and interworking maximize the reach of Vodafone Portugal's IMS services. Using the DIAMETER e2 interface, Acme Packet SBCs query the CLF (connectivity location repository function) to obtain subscriber location information and insert it in SIP messages for emergency service support.



Acme Packet's SBC is also deployed at the access border to provide lawful intercept capability for Vodafone Portugal's PSTN emulation service.

http://www.acmepacket.com

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Calix Supplies its Multiservice Access Platform in Dominican Republic

TRICOM, a full-service carrier that serves more than 700,000 customers in the Dominican Republic, has selected the Calix C7 multiservice access platform (MSAP) to expand and extend its broadband services.
TRICOM, which is the largest cable operator in the country, started the deployments in March of 2007. Along with the C7, the carrier also employs the Calix Management System (CMS) to simplify service provisioning. The carrier initially targeted its broadband DSL service at business customers but is now also deploying the C7 platform to serve residential customers. http://www.calix.com

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Ironton Telephone Selects Occam for DSL Upgrade

Ironton Telephone Company, which serves over 18,000 subscribers in eastern and central Pennsylvania, selected Occam Networks' Broadband Loop Carrier (BLC) system to upgrade its DSL network. Specifically, Ironton has purchased Occam's BLC 6214 ADSL2plus Blades with Gigabit Ethernet and integrated splitters, and BLC 6440-01 Optical Packet Transport Blades.

http://www.occamnetworks.com

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Verizon Business Tunes its eBonding for Large Enterprises

Verizon announced two eBonding enhancements that allow corporate and government customers to more easily link their systems directly to those of Verizon Business.

Specifically, Verizon Business is offering a new eBonding Implementation Toolkit, which provides technical assistance, and a new eBonding Center, which monitors the status of automated transactions for a wide range of business processes between Verizon Business and its customers.



Verizon Business said eBonding offers customers the benefit of a system-to- system interface that enables them to automate day-to-day functions like ordering, monitoring and troubleshooting of communications services. This empowers customers to better manage their networks and telecommunications expenses through an end-to-end business process.



Verizon Business delivers a comprehensive suite of real-time application integration and data-exchange tools including trouble management, circuit testing, order management and inventory reporting.

http://www.verizonbusiness.com

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TiVo and Nero Partner on Personal Computer PVR

Nero and TiVo announced a deal to extend TiVo's television user experience with Nero's next generation of PC software. Specifically, Nero will develop a software solution that will bring TiVo features to the personal computer. Capitalizing on the growing PC TV tuner market, it will answer the consumer demand for a PC-based DVR experience for use with the estimated 50.8 million PC TV tuners that will be sold worldwide by 2011, according to In-Stat research report published in April 2007.

http://www.tivo.com

http://www.nero.com

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Hearst-Argyle to become First Television Reseller of Google Advertising

Hearst-Argyle, operator of 29 TV stations across the U.S. and more than 30 Websites, will become the first television industry reseller of the Google AdWords advertising program. Under the deal, Hearst-Argyle will become an official reseller and will use its Web sales force to provide marketers in its 26 local markets access to Google AdWords. http://www.google.com

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AT&T and Nokia Siemens Networks Host IMS Research Competition

AT&T and Nokia Siemens Networks will an IMS Research Competition for undergraduate and post-graduate students at the Georgia Institute of Technology with the goal of building prototype next-generation mobile applications using an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) platform. The competition will begin in the Spring semester 2008.



Student teams will compete in one of three categories: Innovation, Higher Education, and Contextual Usage -- all categories have been identified as key growth areas in the wireless communications industry. Students will have unparalleled access to commercial-grade network equipment supplied by Nokia Siemens Networks. The IMS lab is located in the Georgia Electronic Design Center (GEDC), and is co-operated by GTMobilesphere and participating vendors. In addition to the application prototype, students will be judged on a business plan outlining how they would market and launch their application.



Students are competing for $45,000 in cash prizes to be divided among each category, and up to eight internships at AT&T and Nokia Siemens Networks, two of the world's leading companies in their respective fields.
http://www.att.com

http://www.nsn.com

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Hong Kong Broadband Network Launches GPON with Alcatel-Lucent

Hong Kong Broadband Network Launches GPON with Alcatel-Lucent
Hong Kong Broadband Network Limited (HKBN), a wholly-owned subsidiary of City Telecom (HK), announced the deployment of the first GPON links in Hong Kong using gear from Alcatel-Lucent. The deployment uses the Alcatel-Lucent 7342 Intelligent Services Access Manager Fiber-to-the-Home (ISAM FTTU) solution. The contract also includes network maintenance. Financial terms were not disclosed.



Alcatel-Lucent's Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) solution will enable HKBN to deliver advanced triple play services to its subscribers and enlarge its FTTH network coverage in Hong Kong. The new network is expected to be in service in January 2008.



Monthly pricing for HKBN's FTTH service announced last month is as follows:

• FiberHome100 for HK$378 (US$48)


• FiberHome200 for HK$6888 (US$88)


• FiberHome100 for HK$1,680 (US$215)

HKBN is now phasing out its 10 Mbps residential broadband tier. Its new entry-level tier is 25 Mbps symmetric service for HK$208 per month (US$27).

HKBN first launched 100 Mbps and 1 Gbps services in 2005 using a fiber-to-the-building approach. It now plans to increase its coverage from 1.4 million to 2 million homes passed within three years.

http://www.ctigroup.com.hk/en/http://www.alcatel-lucent.com

• HKBN has installed thousands of Cisco Catalyst LAN switches and more than 800 Cisco routers in buildings throughout Hong Kong. Category 5e copper cables are wired from the LAN switch cabinet to the apartments of each target customer. Fiber-to-the-building (FTTB) was deployed between the buildings using the Cisco ONS 15454 Multiservice Transport Platform (MSTP) and Cisco Catalyst 4507R Switches. HKBN is also using a Cisco Optical Core network. The deployment includes the Cisco ONS 15454 SONET/SDH Multiservice Provisioning Platform (MSPP); Cisco Catalyst 6500, Catalyst 4500, Catalyst 3350, and Catalyst 2950 series switches; and Cisco 2600XM Series routers.

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Freescale and OpenCon Offer GPON Reference Design

Freescale and OpenCon announced a hardware/software reference design kit for highly integrated GPON customer premises equipment (CPE). The kit includes a turnkey software solution for optical network terminals (ONTs) based on field-proven OMCI management technology that ships with Freescale's MSC7120 GPON device. The OpenCon software solution also leverages the MSC7120's on-chip DSP to support SIP-based VoIP voice telephony services.
http://www.freescale.com

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Verizon Business Enhances Customer Portal

Verizon Business unveiled a number of enhancements to its business online portal, the Verizon Business Customer Center (VBCC), including more capabilities for its Dashboard and a new document-management capability enable customers to better collaborate and more closely manage their relationship with the company.



The VBCC Dashboard -- a customized network-monitoring tool that provides customers a comprehensive, at-a-glance view of their communications landscape -- now enables customers to track how well Verizon Business' IP services performed against service level agreement (SLA) standards. It also has added a LEC/PTT Performance Report that provides customers visibility into Enterprise Trouble Management System tickets referred to local exchange carriers (LECs) and foreign carriers (or PTTs) for resolution.



The company has also launched a document-management capability for the VBCC -- a one-stop tool for customers to manage their documents in a secure, centralized location.
http://customercenter.verizonbusiness.com

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XO and Sotto Wireless Launch FMC Trial in Seattle

XO Communications and Sotto Wireless will begin trials of a fixed mobile convergence (FMC) solution in Seattle. The XO-Sotto FMC solution, to be called the Unwired Office, combines XO Communications' nationwide IP networking capabilities with Sotto Wireless' all-in-one wireless and office phone communications service to offer a single device FMC solution for businesses.



The companies said that unlike other FMC solutions that simply allow calls to ring on multiple fixed and mobile devices, the Unwired Office solution integrates customers' fixed and wireless communications services into a single platform with one smartphone that can be used in the office or on the go for voice, email and Internet access as well optional IP desk phones.



The service uses dual-mode smartphones from Nokia, such as the Nokia E61i, that feature both office Wi-Fi and cellular network connectivity options, full keyboards, and productivity applications.

http://www.xo.com

http://www.sottowireless.com

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Gigle Semi Raises $20 Million for Home Networking Chips

Gigle Semiconductor, a start-up based in Redwood City, California with operations in Barcelona and Edinburgh, raised $20 million in Series B funding for its "any wire" multimedia home networking solutions.



Gigle Semiconductor is developing system-on-chip integrated circuits for multimedia home networking over any wire -- powerline, coax and/or phoneline. The company said the market for multimedia home networking has taken significant steps towards the formation of a true standards-driven mass market in recent months. This is evidenced by the recent announcement that the joint proposal submitted by HomePlug Powerline Alliance member companies and Panasonic, is the sole MAC/PHY proposal remaining in the IEEE P1901 work group process for creating an international standard for in-home and access powerline communication technologies.



The round was led by a new investor, SEP. Existing investors, Accel Partners and Pond Venture Partners, also participated. The new funding will be used to support the development and launch of the company's next-generation multimedia home networking solutions.

http://www.gigle.biz

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BigBand Selected by Five Chinese Cable Operators

BigBand Networks announced that five additional Chinese cable operators are deploying its Broadband Multimedia-Service Router (BMR) to process and deliver digital television services. These customers include Tibet Cable, Taicang Cable in Jiangsu province near Shanghai, Jiayuguan Cable in Gansu province, Nanchang Cable in Jiangxi province and Luan Cable in Shanxi province. Financial terms were not disclosed.



BigBand's BMR can be used to improve the bandwidth efficiency and optimize picture quality of digital TV services.
http://www.bigbandnet.com

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ONEMAX Deploys Veraz's IMS Core in Mobile WiMAX Net

ONEMAX officially launched its WiMAX 802.16e network in the Dominican Republic on October 24, 2007, offering Internet, multimedia and VoIP services over mobile broadband. The deployment uses Veraz Networks' IMS over WiMAX solution, which includes the Veraz User Services Core (USC), ControlSwitch and I-Gate 4000 series of media gateways to deliver services in a multi-vendor environment.



Veraz said its ControlSwitch enables ONEMAX to integrate with third-party components including application servers, end user devices, session border controllers and Business and Operational Support Systems for service delivery on the WiMAX network. Additionally, Veraz's I-Gate 4000 media gateways provide connectivity between ONEMAX and other network operators.

http://www.veraznetworks.com

http://www.onemax.com

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CopperGate Adds CTO

CopperGate Communications, which provides silicon for home networking over existing wiring, announced that Rami Verbin has joined the company as its Chief Technical Officer. He joins CopperGate from Tracespan Communications, a leading manufacturer of broadband monitoring solutions, where he served as VP responsible for all R&D activity in the company. Prior to that, Verbin held various research, development, program management and strategic marketing positions at Orckit Communications, Tioga Technologies, a pioneer in DSL IC development acquired by STMicroelectronics in 2002, and later with STMicroelectronics' broadband access and set-top box divisions.

http://www.copper-gate.com

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Narus Announces NarusInsight Secure Suite 7

Narus announced version 7 of its "NarusInsight" Secure Suite (NSS), a carrier-class anomaly detection and traffic intelligence system designed for the world's largest IP networks.



Narus said its latest release (NSS 7) significantly improves the ability of carrier service providers to quickly and accurately identify emerging network attacks, while reducing the amount of time and resources spent analyzing alerts and security events. The new version also adds advanced mitigation options including seamless integration with Cisco Guard DDoS mitigation appliances, allowing carriers to more granularly manage security rules, operations and provisioning.



Other new features include:

• A fully integrated portal that displays relationships between traffic and security information. -- NSS 7 offers operational and network resource efficiencies by introducing a portal that includes a revolutionary method for putting in context the relationships among petabytes of data such as security, traffic and network event information presented to the operator, allowing for faster pinpointing of the root cause of an attack. These efficiencies include the clustering of alerts into Meta-events; improved correlation of Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) Events to reduce alerts by tenfold; and Converged Operational Views across network traffic, routing, topology, service and application behavior.



• Advanced mitigation capabilities -- NSS 7 tightly integrates with Cisco Guard to quickly and accurately detect the presence of malicious traffic and mitigate it in real time. NSS 7 offers management of all Guards network-wide as a single infrastructure allowing customers to maximize their investment in Guard technology, while minimizing the operating expense of managing threat mitigation measures. Using NSS, service provider operators can manage mitigation down to a single Guard device.



• Topology and routing awareness -- NSS 7 provides deep visibility into the behavior of the network, its applications and services by providing complete topology and routing awareness. This awareness allows operators to design the management of critical applications and services into their overall network control strategy. NSS 7 provides an accurate view of traffic associated with BGP anomalies, as well as an accurate forecast of the directed impact to Traffic Engineering. In addition, NSS 7 delivers feedback to the operator necessary to evaluate which peers or upstream providers have caused routing instability.



• Third generation anomaly detection algorithms -- Utilizing the advanced anomaly detection algorithms with Entropic Variance Analysis (EVA), NSS 7 moves far beyond ten-year-old Holt-Winter techniques used by outdated enterprise approaches to combine cutting-edge algorithms, third-party sources and massive scalability. Narus said this advanced technology detects even the most well-disguised, widely distributed threats with an extremely high level of accuracy and confidence.

http://www.narus.com

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Quantenna Raises $13 Million for Wireless Chipsets

Quantenna Communications, a start-up based in Sunnyvale, California, has closed series B funding of over $12.7 million for its development of advanced wireless chipsets. The company said it is working on fundamental breakthroughs and innovation in wireless networking, including "radically improved MIMO."



The company's management team is led by Dr. Behrooz Rezvani who previously founded Ikanos Communications and served as CTO through its IPO in 2005. While at Ikanos, Dr. Rezvani led the world's first VDSL2 deployment of 100 Mbps over copper. Quantenna's co-founder and CTO, Dr. Andrea Goldsmith, is on leave from Stanford University, where she is a professor of Electrical Engineering.



The funding round, which includes another new investor Grazia Equity, along with previous investors Sequoia Capital and Venrock Associates, brings Quantenna's total financing to approximately $25 million. Additionally, Fahri Diner, managing director of Sigma Partners has joined Quantenna's board of directors.

http://www.quantenna.com/

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Marvell Announces Record Q3 Revenue of $758 Million, Job Cutbacks

Marvell reported net revenue for the third quarter of fiscal 2008 of $758.2 million, an increase of 46% over net revenue of $520.4 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2007 and a 15% sequential increase from net revenue of $656.7 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2008. Net loss (GAAP) was $6.4 million, or $0.01 per share (diluted), for the third quarter of fiscal 2008, compared with net income under GAAP of $6.0 million, or $0.01 per share (diluted), for the third quarter of fiscal 2007.



Marvell also announced a plan to reduce operating expenses by cutting approximately 400 employees, or approximately 7% of its total worldwide workforce. The company expects to incur a restructuring charge in connection with the plan of up to $8 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008 related to severance and other expenses. The workforce reduction will affect in particular positions based in the United States and Israel, and to a lesser degree, other international locations.



"We are extremely pleased with our performance this quarter and see even greater opportunities in the fourth quarter," stated Dr. Sehat Sutardja, Marvell's President and CEO. "Marvell achieved record revenues, reached a $3 billion annual run rate and our operating margins and earnings per share on a pro forma basis have exceeded our expectations. The increasing sales trend is a result of our investments in a broad range of technologies and from our ability to efficiently integrate these technologies into superior products across many markets."http://www.marvell.com/

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Verizon Wireless to Allow "Any Apps, Any Device" on its CDMA Network

Verizon Wireless announced that it will allow customers the option to use "any application and any device" on its nationwide wireless network by the end of 2008.



Verizon Wireless will publish a basic set of technical standards and then certify devices able to access its network, but the device manufacturer and/or application provider would be responsible for supporting it. Customers will have the option of buying their own CDMA device and activating it online or via an 800-number. However, the company believes the majority of its customers will continue to use its full-service offerings.



Pricing for the "bring your own device" service has not been announced, however Verizon Wireless executives indicated that the company would be open to different models for different applications and markets.



Following publication of technical standards, Verizon Wireless will host a conference to explain the standards and get input from the development community on how to achieve the company's goals for network performance while making it easy for them to deliver devices.



"This is a transformation point in the 20-year history of mass market wireless devices -- one which we believe will set the table for the next level of innovation and growth," said Lowell McAdam, Verizon Wireless president and chief executive officer. "Verizon Wireless is not changing our successful retail model, but rather adding an additional retail option for customers looking for a different wireless experience."



Some industry reactions:



FCC Chairman Kevin Martin -- "As I noted when we adopted open network rules for our upcoming spectrum auction, wireless customers should be able to use the wireless device of their choice and download whatever software they want onto it. I continue to believe that more openness--at the network, device, and application level--helps foster innovation and enhances consumers' freedom and choice in purchasing wireless service. As I said at the time, I had hoped that our auction rules would ultimately encourage all of the wireless industry to adopt a more open and consumer-friendly industry approach. Today's announcement, along with the Open Handset Alliance's previous announcement of an open platform capable of working on multiple networks, is a significant step towards fulfilling these goals. "



Microsoft's Senior Vice President of the Mobile Communications Business, Pieter Knook -- "Microsoft is very excited to see Verizon Wireless make such a bold move to satisfy the demands of wireless consumers. As people's mobile needs become more sophisticated and varied, they will require smarter and more adaptable mobile devices. We are proud to support any open access that puts more power in people's hands to connect them to the information they want when and where they want it."http://www.verizonwireless.com

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Enigma Semi Raises $5.6 Million for Packet Switch Fabrics

Enigma Semiconductor, a start-up based in Santa Clara, California with R&D in Denmark, raised $5.6 million in an extension to its series B financing. The company plans to introduce new packet-based switch fabrics during the first half of 2008.



Enigma Semiconductor also named Douglas Goodyear as its new President and Chief Executive Officer. Goodyear comes to Enigma Semiconductor having led public and private hi-tech companies, serving as CEO at Tioga (acquired by ST Micro), TakImaging (Insilica), and Nuelight (Leadis Technologies).



The company also named Everett Herrera as its new Vice President of Sales and Business Development. Herrera previously served as VP of Sales for Redpine Signals, and held senior sales, marketing and engineering positions at Silicon Packets (Cypress), Intel, Paxonet Communications (Conexant) and C-Cube Microsystems (LSI Logic).



The new funding was raised through current investors Innovations Kapital, NorthZone Ventures, TVM Capital, and Sunstone Capital.

http://www.enigmasemi.com

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Centillium Targets Greener Broadband with Low-Power Chipsets

Centillium Communications has launched an initiative to facilitate greener broadband by developing its next-generation communications systems-on-chip (SoC) with smaller form factors and significantly reduced power consumption. The announcement formalizes Centillium's commitment to significant power reductions across the next generation of its SoC products. Centillium's next generation of low-power DSL, VoIP and Optical chipsets, in design now for release throughout 2008, will benefit from a much steeper power reduction strategy due to optimizations in SoC architecture, signal processing algorithms, processor architectures and lower power processes.



Centillium estimates that a 25% reduction in power consumption for broadband services could save the energy equivalent of 110GW-Hrs (gigawatt-hours) annually by 2011. This calculation is based on the following analysis. The global market for broadband continues to grow rapidly. In the 12 months from May 2006 to May 2007, approximately 65 million new broadband subscribers signed up for high-speed access to the Internet (In-Stat figures); by 2011, total worldwide broadband subscribers are expected to number 567 million, almost double the current 285 million subscriber base. This ongoing expansion, along with ever-increasing data rates and growth in services, continues to push broadband power consumption higher. With every broadband line representing an always-on consumer of energy resources, lower-power chipsets can provide significant power savings for each line, with gains extended exponentially across large-scale deployments to create a substantial savings of energy. Estimated worldwide broadband power consumption today equals roughly 5TW-Hrs (terawatt-hours) annually; by 2011, worldwide broadband power consumption is estimated to be roughly 10TW-Hrs annually.



"Broadband lines are always on, constantly drawing power and consuming energy in ways that traditional telephony has not," said Faraj Aalaei, CEO, Centillium Communications. "It makes good sense, both from an economic and environmental standpoint, to design chips that will consume less power."http://www.centillium.com/

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NBC Universal to Sell TiVo's Interactive Advertising

TiVo and NBC Universal (NBCU) have entered into a multi-year strategic partnership to leverage the NBCU brands with the advertising, promotional and audience research capabilities enabled by TiVo DVRs.



As part of the agreement, NBC Universal's 14 television networks and 10 NBC owned-and-operated TV stations will be able to sell TiVo Interactive Tags in combination with other NBC products and will subscribe to TiVo's Stop||Watch second-by-second commercial ratings service.



NBC Universal said it will offer advertisers the ability to purchase TiVo's Interactive Tags in conjunction with other NBC advertising products as a way to enhance their campaigns on NBC broadcast and cable networks and owned TV stations. The tags allow viewers to click on an icon when watching a commercial to obtain more information about that advertiser and then return to the exact place they exited viewing. Tags also provide advertisers with an effective way to reach live, time-shifted or fast-forwarding viewers and to achieve deeper engagement through the opt-in requests for more information.

http://www.tivo.com

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Vodafone Turkey Deploys Tektronix' Unified Assurance

Vodafone Turkey, the second largest mobile phone operator in Turkey, has deployed Tektronix's GeoProbe network assurance platform and Advanced Performance Monitoring (APM) product. Tektronix' monitoring system enables Vodafone Turkey to detect bottlenecks, abnormal situations and performance degradation within its GPRS and GSM network in real time. Financial terms were not disclosed.

http://www.tektronix.com

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JDSU Prevails in Class Action Lawsuit

A jury has ruled in favor of JDSU on all claims in a securities class action lawsuit filed by Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Funds. JDSU noted that while the jury's decision in this case is a significant positive milestone, it continues to defend itself in the securities class action and related litigation.

http://www.jdsu.com

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BBC, ITV and Channel 4 to Launch "Kangaroo" Web-TV Service

BBC Worldwide, ITV and Channel 4 in the UK will launch a commercial on-demand content service in 2008 with the working title of 'Kangaroo'.



The service will bring together over ten thousand hours of the UK broadcasters' current and archive programming. The three-way joint venture will be owned equally and will work independently as an aggregator of both joint venture partners and third party content and will encourage other quality content providers to join the service to further enhance the viewer experience.



The BBC said the service will launch initially as a web based proposition and will be available for distribution on other platforms. Content will be available both streamed and downloaded and viewers will be able to watch for free, rent or buy.



John Smith, Chief Executive Officer of BBC Worldwide said: "This is a historic partnership between the UK's largest broadcasters. For some time we have wanted to form an alliance with other rights holders in the UK and give viewers an on-demand service with real added value."



Michael Grade, Executive Chairman of ITV plc said: "This key strategic move is complementary to our investment in itv.com and further strengthens ITV's customer proposition online. The joint service has the potential to become an important shop window for UK broadcaster content and a great destination for viewers."



Andy Duncan, Channel 4 Chief Executive said: "TV on the internet is a rapidly growing medium as proven by the incredible success that Channel 4 has enjoyed with its 4oD service. We want to continue to build and innovate in this area, giving viewers ultimate control over what they watch and when they watch it, and believe that partnering and sharing expertise is the best way of doing this."http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/

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Saudi Arabia's Mobily Selects Huawei

Mobily, a mobile operator in Saudi Arabia, selected Huawei Technologies to construct its nationwide IP bearer network for voice and data services. Financial terms were not disclosed.



Specifically, Mobily will deploy Huawei's core routers NetEngine 5000E ("NE5000E") and NetEngine 40E ("NE40E"), and network management systems iManager N2000 DMS and NSM, in its national network to support Mobily's NGN/3G service.

http://www.huawei.com

http://www.mobily.com.sa

• Etihad Etisalat Company (Mobily) is a Saudi public company managed by the multinational operator Etisalat who owns 35% of Mobily and is the second largest mobile operator in Saudi Arabia with seven million subscribers.

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Cable Industry Agrees on Switched Digital Spec for One-Way Digital Cable Ready Devices

CableLabs, along with TiVo, Motorola, Scientific-Atlanta, BigBand Networks and C-COR, announced a solution that extends the functionality of certain Unidirectional Digital Cable Ready Products (UDCPs) that use CableCARDs to access switched digital services previously unavailable to such devices.


CableLabs recently developed specifications for a new external interface that enables UDCPs equipped with a USB connector and necessary firmware to access switched digital cable channels, benefiting both cable operators and consumers. A new adapter using this interface will attach to the UDCP device so the device can access switched digital cable channels.



The new adapter is expected to become available to consumers in the first half of 2008.



TiVo confirmed that the new external adapter will attach to TiVo Series 3 HD DVRs and TiVo HD DVRs to ensure the DVRs can directly access all digital channels including switched digital cable channels without a set-top box.

http://www.cablelabs.com

http://www.tivo.com

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Airvana Introduces Femto Network Gateway for FMC

Airvana announced general availability of its Universal Access Gateway (UAG) for mobile operators seeking to use the Internet as an extension of the radio access network.



Fixed mobile convergence (FMC) enables users to access services using a dual-mode mobile/Wi-Fi handset together with a Wi-Fi access point, or with a dual-mode mobile/Wi-Fi laptop together with a Wi-Fi service, or with an existing 2G/3G handset together with a femtocell. In all cases, the traffic can be sent over the Internet in a secure tunnel to the Airvana UAG, which authenticates and inspects the traffic before sending it to the mobile operator's network. As subscribers move between their home or office and the macro cellular network, the UAG maintains seamless mobility over a secure, QoS-enabled, wireline-speed connection.



Airvana said its UAG is currently in multiple trials with mobile operators worldwide for fixed mobile convergence services using dual-mode mobile/Wi-Fi handsets, dual-mode mobile/Wi-Fi laptops and Airvana femtocells.

http://www.airvana.com

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Alcatel-Lucent Inks Contracts with China Mobile, China Unicom

In a signing ceremony attended by Chinese President Hu Jintao and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Alcatel-Lucent formally signed a package of frame agreements with a combined value of up to EUR 750 million with China Mobile and China Unicom. Part of these agreements was previously announced.



Under the terms of a EUR 600 million agreement with China Mobile, Alcatel-Lucent is providing end-to-end mobile solutions supporting China Mobile's extensive network expansion plans. The solution includes GSM/GPRS/EDGE radio and core networking equipment, mobile applications, IP routers and optical networking equipment. Alcatel-Lucent also is providing China Mobile with a TD-SCDMA solution being implemented in the operator's trial network and will support services such as Video Streaming, WAP and Personal Ring Back Tone.



The agreement with China Unicom, valued at EUR 150 million, encompasses a range of industry-leading, end-to-end solutions including CDMA networking equipment, GSM/GPRS radio and core networking equipment, mobile applications, IP routers, optical networking equipment and related services to support China Unicom's network deployment and expansion. In addition, the agreement includes the expansion and upgrade of China Unicom's third-generation (3G) CDMA1xEVDO, a high-speed data network in Macau.

http://www.alcatel-lucent.com

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Xilinx and Brilliant Develop Carrier-Class FPGA-Based Network Timing

Xilinx and Brilliant Telecommunications, a developer of timing solutions, announced the industry's first carrier-class FPGA-based network timing solution for next generation wired and wireless networks.



The jointly developed, embedded programmable timing solution is implemented using a Xilinx Virtex or Spartan FPGA and delivered in the form of two Intellectual Property (IP) cores, NGNTime and FemtoTime. The cores are fully interoperable with the industry standard Network Timing Protocol (NTP). It also provides a migration path for Version 2 of IEEE 1588 or Precision Time Protocol (PTP).



The companies said their solution provides accurate timing from ingress to egress points across an entire (end-to-end) network to support next-generation applications such as wireless base stations, femtocell access points, IPTV routers/switches and mobile backhaul.
http://www.xilinx.com/networktiminghttp://www.brillianttelecom.com/

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NETGEAR Offers Dual WAN Gigabit SSL VPN Firewall

NETGEAR announced the availability of its ProSafe Dual WAN Gigabit SSL VPN Firewall featuring simultaneous support for up to 25 IPsec and 10 SSL VPN tunnels. The ability to support both SSL and IPsec VPN tunnels enables the ProSafe Dual WAN Gigabit SSL VPN Firewall to provide both clientless remote access through a secure Web browser interface and legacy support for client-based remote access. Additionally, IPSec VPN tunnels enable secure site-to-site VPN tunnels to connect branch office locations seamlessly.



The ProSafe Dual WAN Gigabit SSL VPN Firewall offers an integrated four-port 10/100/1000 Mbps switch and two Gigabit WAN ports to support dual broadband connections for load-balancing or fail-over.

http://www.netgear.com

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On2 and Texas Instruments Collaborate on Optimized Codec Performance

On2 Technologies and Texas Instruments will collaborate on technology to implement On2's TrueMotion VP6 and VP7 video compression formats on TI's OMAP Platform and DaVinci technology for mobile handsets and digital video applications.



Under their agreement, the two companies will share technology and development resources allowing TI to optimize VP6 and VP7 codec performance for different applications with TI's development partners and community.



"On2's video compression is setting the trend for a lot of applications in mobile handsets, web video, real time video conferencing and others, and the need for devices to support such applications is growing," said Charlie Gonsalves, DSP Third Party Network marketing manager, TI. "Through this agreement we anticipate acceleration of availability of highly optimized solutions that our customers can leverage to bring to market applications based on TI's technology."http://www.ti.com/3phttp://www.on2.com/

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Polycom Opens Development Center in Hyderabad

Polycom opened a new, state-of-the-art product and solutions development center in Hyderabad, India. The facility will house development programs for the company's portfolio of voice communications solutions for mobile, desktop and conferencing applications.



In addition to the Hyderabad development center, Polycom in 2007 has completed office expansions at Delhi (Noida NCR) and Mumbai, and opened new offices in Bangalore and Hyderabad. The Noida facility will showcase the industry's only immersive telepresence solution, the Polycom RPX (Real Presence Experience). In 2008, six additional office locations are planned to serve India's top 10 metropolitan and regional business hubs. http://www.polycom.com/

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Neotel South Africa Selects ECI Telecom's XDM Platform

Neotel, the first national infrastructure-based competitor in the fixed-line telecommunications sector in South Africa, has selected ECI Telecom's XDM and BroadGate (BG) line of products to support its network rollout in the country. Neotel's next-generation transport network will support both enterprise and residential customers with voice, data and internet services. Financial terms were not disclosed.



ECI said it will provide a full access-to-core solution for all of Neotel's transmission requirements by deploying the XDM and the BG families of products. The network is managed via ECI's centralized LightSoft Network Management System, providing an end-to-end multi-layer management solution, from access to core.



Spescom Telecommunications, ECI's local partner in South Africa, is providing installation and integration services.

http://www.ecitele.com

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Cricket Selects Starent's Multimedia Core Platform

Cricket Communications has selected Starent's ST16 multimedia core platform solution to provide multimedia services to subscribers.
The deployment will enable Cricket to enhance its current offering of mobile applications such as text messaging, picture messaging and games, and to prepare for the next-generation of multimedia applications. Financial terms were not disclosed.



Starent's platform provides detailed inspection of each subscriber session, shaping and managing the session based on subscriber, application or business policies. The platforms utilize deep packet inspection (DPI) technology, service steering and intelligent traffic control to deliver this intelligence on a per-subscriber basis.

http://www.starentnetworks.com

http://www.leapwireless.com

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Siemens Unveils WiMAX Gateways and Modems

Siemens Home and Office Communication Devices (SHC) unveiled two WiMAX modems and two WiMAX gateways based on 802.16-2005 and compliant to Wave 2 certification, including MIMO (Multiple Input / Multiple Output) A and B and beamforming.



All models offer throughput of up to 20 Mbps. They combine two integrated high gain antennas which support MIMO (Matrix A and B) and adaptive beamforming to boost signal strength between the base station and WiMAX devices. They also employ Space-Time-Coding (STC) and Spatial Multiplexing (SM) to improve coverage and effectively double the data throughput. In demanding environments, all indoor CPEs can connect to an external outdoor antenna. Siemens offers outdoor antennas with a gain of up to 18 dBi.

The new Siemens WiMAX portfolio includes a basic modem, a VoIP modem and two feature-rich gateways: The Siemens Gigaset SX685 WiMAX gateway is designed for the small office, small enterprise or demanding residential user. It offers four Ethernet ports and PBX functionality for up to 6 extensions, with support for CLIP, call-forwarding and conferencing. Both fixed line phones and VoIP phones can be connected. The flagship gateway model, Siemens Gigaset SX686 WiMAX, adds WLAN, which be switched on and off as needed.

Siemens Gigaset SX682 WiMAX is a VoIP modem that targets residential and home office users who want to combine broadband access with making calls with their traditional analog phone via IP.

The Siemens Gigaset SE681 WiMAX modem is designed for the residential user who needs basic wireless broadband access.

Siemens said remote device management will be key to successful WiMAX deployments. It offers secure remote provisioning, authentication, configuration and management based on TR-069. It also supports the OMA-DM protocols specified by the WiMAX Forum.

All Siemens WiMAX CPEs are developed and manufactured in Germany. They support the 2.3 to 2.7 and 3.4 to 3.8 GHz frequency bands and will be available for commercial shipment in 2Q 2008.

http://gigaset.siemens.com/provider

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Algérie Télécom Selects Ericsson's Softswitch

Algérie Télécom has selected Ericsson as sole supplier and systems integrator for its upgrade to an all-IP network. Under the agreement, Ericsson will supply its Telephony Softswitch solution to migrate the operator's national transit layer to a next-generation network architecture. Ericsson will also be responsible for network deployment, support, and training services. Deployment and systems integration will start in November, with the migration set to be completed by mid-2008. Financial terms were not disclosed.

http://www.ericsson.com

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Uganda Telecom Deploys UMTS/HSPA from Alcatel-Lucent

Uganda Telecom has deployed a UMTS/HSPA network from Alcatel-Lucent in time for this month's Summit of Head of States of the Commonwealth. As announced earlier this year, Uganda Telecom Ltd chose Alcatel-Lucent for the extension of its GSM/EDGE mobile network and for the deployment of the first third-generation UMTS/HSPA network in Uganda, one of the first such deployments in the East Africa region.



Under this contract, Alcatel-Lucent has provided Uganda Telecom with its comprehensive radio networking solution including base stations, radio network and base station controllers (RNC/BSC), wireless network management system solutions and engineering tools. Alcatel-Lucent was also responsible for network design and complete network deployment, including network integration and maintenance services. Additionally Alcatel-Lucent has supplied a new generation of microwave systems to optimize the transmission of voice and data traffic from the base stations to the core network, with the capability to adapt quickly and efficiently to the growth in traffic and services.

http://www.alcatel-lucent.com

http://www.utl.co.ug

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European Operators Take Skeptical View of Proposed EU Telecom Reforms

At the 5th annual conference of the European Telecommunications Network Operators' Association (ETNO) last week in Brussels, the CEOs of leading EU telecoms operators held a debate on the recent European Commission proposals for a review of the EU telecoms rules. The CEOs agreed that EU policy makers would do better by focusing on how to encourage private investment in high-speed broadband access networks rather than focusing mainly on how to achieve functional separation of the incumbent operators' wholesale and retail operations.



Speaking at the conference Mr. Bojan Dremelj, President of the Management Board of Telekom Slovenije, raised a number of serious questions regarding the direction where regulation is going and stated: "There is no need for overregulation which will reduce all of us to a 'grey average'. How can we ever become the most competitive economy in the world if we are stifling innovation? If we cut the wings of our big players, aren't we cutting the 'branch on which we are sitting'? Is this what Europe is aiming for?"



ETNO members welcomed the proposal by the European Commission for a more flexible management of radio spectrum to boost the deployment of wireless applications. They also noted the reduction in the number of markets to be subject to regulatory intervention but regretted that at the same time the European Commission is extending regulatory intervention to new technology, including risky fibre-based broadband access networks.

http://www.etno.be/

• Earlier this month, The European Commission officially adopted proposals for a reform of the EU telecoms rules with the aim of creating a single European telecom market with a consistent set of regulations covering consumers in all 27 EU Member States. The plan calls for a new European Telecom Market Authority to govern national telecoms regulators in ensuring that market rules and consumer regulation are applied consistently, independently and without protectionism. To become law, the Commission proposals will now need to be approved by the European Parliament and the EU Council of Ministers. The European Commission believes the approval could be attained by the end of 2009.

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Alvarion to Supply Mobile WiMAX Gear in Nigeria

Monarch Communications, a privately owned company and WiMAX license holder in several different states in Nigeria, has selected Alvarion's "4Motion" 802.16e Mobile WiMAX solution. Rollout is planned to begin in Lagos and later in Abuja and Port Harcourt. Financial terms were not disclosed.
http://www.alvarion.com

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Celtel Nigeria Selects Motorola for $70 Million GSM/EDGE Expansion

Celtel Nigeria awarded a US$70 million contract to Motorola to expand and enhance its GSM coverage in the southern part of the country. The deployment features the latest Motorola Reach GSM solutions, including EDGE capability for mobile data, and will provide comprehensive network expansion planning, integration, support and optimization services to Celtel as it extends network coverage.
http://www.motorola.com

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Danaher Completes Acquisition of Tektronix

Danaher completed its previously announced acquisition of Tektronix. The deal was first announced in October.




Tektronix, which has annual revenues of approximately $1.1 billion, is a leading supplier of test, measurement, and monitoring products for networking.



Tektronix now becomes part of Danaher's Electronic Test platform, joining Danaher's Fluke and Fluke Networks businesses, and nearly doubling the platform's revenues.

http://www.danaher.com

http://www.tektronix.com/

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Belgium's De Persgroep Selects Cisco Data Center Network Architecture

De Persgroep, a leading media group in Belgium, is using Cisco data center virtualization technology in its data center. The deployment comprises both network switching equipment and the Application Control Engine (ACE) switch, which virtualizes the data center application infrastructure. De Persgroep is deploying the Cisco Data Center Network Architecture to connect two data centers with more than 300 servers in Brussels to seven additional sites across Belgium and Holland. The solution includes Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series Switches, Cisco Catalyst 4500 Series Switches and Cisco Catalyst 3750 Series Switches to form a core network capable of supporting Cisco data center services as well additional applications in the future.



Cisco Application Control Engine (ACE) modules in the data center will support a range of data center operations, including firewall management, application switching and streamed media. The virtual partitioning technology in the Cisco ACE segments and isolates applications, enabling them to act as individual modules on a single server so that applications can be distributed across data center hardware, making more efficient use of computational resources. Web and business applications will be protected by Cisco PIX 500 Series Security Appliances and the Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series Firewall Services Module.



Cisco said a virtualized data center application infrastructure will help enable De Persgroep to manage the large fluctuations in Web traffic generated by the rolling news agenda, by sharing Web server resources more effectively as well as by "ring-fencing" other business applications against peak demand. Hits on the company's flagship website can vary by 60 percent from day to day, reaching 525,000. In two years the company expects the site to garner a million hits a day.



The Cisco data center solution at De Persgroep is being implemented by Telindus, a Cisco Gold Certified Partner.
http://www.cisco.com

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France Telecom Secures Fixed-Mobile-Internet License in Niger

A consortium controlled by France Telecom was awarded a new global fixed-mobile-internet license in Niger for EUR 48 million. France Telecom has joined forces with Mr. Mohamed Rissa, a business leader from Niger , specialized in the Internet and telecommunications services sector, and Mr. Moctar Thiam, a long-standing investor in Orange Mali. Niger has a growing population of around 13 million people and a mobile penetration rate of under 5%.



France Telecom noted that it is already present in 12 African countries including five in West Africa.

http://www.francetelecom.com

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RawFlow Launches P2P CDN

RawFlow, a start-up based in London, launched its new managed live streaming service, iCDN, based on P2P technology. RawFlow said its iCDN is designed to cope with conditions specific to live streaming such as peak traffic volumes and network congestion.

http://www.rawflow.com

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Lockheed Martin Supplies Advanced Extremely High Frequency Military System

Lockheed Martin announced a milestone in the development of the Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) military communications system with the delivery of the core propulsion module for the second satellite in the program constellation.



The AEHF system will provide global, highly secure, protected, survivable communications for all warfighters serving under the U.S. Department of Defense.



Lockheed Martin's said each AEHF satellite will provide greater total capacity than the entire Milstar constellation and offer channel data rates higher than the current Milstar communications satellites. The higher data rates permit transmission of secure, tactical military communications such as real-time video, battlefield maps and targeting data. http://www.lockheedmartin.com/

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Zarlink Trims Financial Guidance

Citing a broader than expected softening of the telecommunication market, Zarlink Semiconductor trimmed financial guidance for its Fiscal 2008 third quarter ending December 28th, 2007.



On October 24, 2007 Zarlink had projected third quarter revenues of between US$55 million and US$58 million and a net loss of US$0.08 and US$0.10 per share. The Company now expects Fiscal 2008 third quarter revenue will be between US$48 million and US$51 million and net loss will be US$0.13 to US$0.15 per share in the third quarter.



Zarlink said it had anticipated seasonal softness in the residential cable gateway market. At the time, Zarlink expected that normal turns business would partially offset the seasonal softness. However, this seasonal softness is both broader and deeper than expected, and slowing deployment of new wireless and next-generation wireline equipment is impacting the ramp of Zarlink's new telecommunications products.



"We are confident that we are making the right technology choices as we rebuild Zarlink, and our key customers are continuing to invest in programs that require our next-generation networking products," said Kirk K. Mandy, President and CEO, Zarlink Semiconductor. "Presently, our revenue is impacted by seasonal softness, compounded by inventory concerns in our sales channels and the supply chains of our major customers. However, we do not believe that these inventory levels will lead to a prolonged downturn for our telecommunications products."
http://www.zarlink.com

http://www.zarlink.com

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Zayo Bandwidth Launches Onvoy Voice Services Unit

Following its recent acquisition of Minneapolis-based telecommunications provider Onvoy, Zayo Bandwidth, a regional provider of high bandwidth announced the formation of a new business unit called Onvoy Voice Services and has appointed former Onvoy chief operating officer, Fritz Hendricks, president of the business. Onvoy Voice Services was formed to provide dedicated service to local exchange carriers (LEC) and other communications providers. The company currently provides switched access, long distance, SS7, directory assistance and operator services in more than 350 communities in Minnesota.



The company said it is currently processing more than one million calls, representing 10 million minutes of usage, using three switches.
http://www.zayo.com/

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MTS Ukraine Deploys Alcatel-Lucent's CDMA/EV-DO Rev A

MTS Ukraine launched its commercial wireless broadband network using third-generation (3G) CDMA2000 1xEV-DO Revision A (Rev. A) equipment supplied by Alcatel-Lucent. The new network covers major Ukrainian cities.



Alcatel-Lucent supplied its CDMA Modular Cell 4.0 Compact base stations for the 450 MHz spectrum band, CDMA2000 1xEV-DO Radio Network Controllers (RNC), a base station operation controller and a network element management system as well as packet core network equipment. Alcatel-Lucent also provided network design, planning, deployment, operation, personnel training, and maintenance services, including remote technical support, repair, and local spares provisioning. Its partner in the project Kvazar-Micro - an international IT company that provides products, solutions and services in Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) - managed the overall network integration. Financial terms were not disclosed. http://www.alcatel-lucent.com

http://www.mts.com.ua

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Orange Signs WiFi Deal With The Cloud

Orange announced a WiFi roaming agreement with The Cloud, giving Orange customers access to The Cloud's network of thousands of WiFi hotspots across the UK.



Orange already has WiFi agreements in place with BT OpenZone, France Telecom and WeRoam. In the UK this latest agreement extends Orange's WiFi access to more than 10,000 hotspots.

http://www.orange.co.uk/wifihttp://www.thecloud.net

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Verizon Offers 20 Mbps Symmetrical FiOS for $65/Month

Verizon began offering its symmetrical FiOS Internet service for consumers in Tampa Bay, Florida, featuring upstream and downstream connection speeds of up to 20 Mbps. The new symmetrical FiOS Internet service is available for $64.99 a month with an annual service plan.



The company has also quadrupled the upstream connection speed of its fastest FiOS Internet service with no increase in price. This new service features a downstream connection speed of up to 50 Mbps and a new upstream connection speed of up to 20 Mbps. http://www.verizon.com

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Telefonica Selects Nominum Foundation Caching Name Server

Telefónica Deutschland has selected Nominum's Foundation Caching Name Server (CNS) to support its VoIP services in the German communications market. DNS traffic grew considerably when Telefonica Deutschland expanded its services from broadband data to VoIP. The existing DNS infrastructure needed to be adjusted and modernized in order to be prepared for continuous future growth. Telefonica Deutschland opted for Nominum CNS instead of adding more servers to boost network availability and performance, which would have increased administrative overhead and raised operational costs.
http://www.nominum.com/

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Malaysia Readies Mobile Number Portability Clearinghouse with Telcordia, UC

Telcordia, in partnership with Unified Communications, a provider of carrier-grade telecommunications solutions, are supplying a Mobile Number Portability Clearinghouse in Malaysia. The deployment will occur in the first half of 2008.



Telcordia has now supplied its number portability solution in nine countries, processing millions of transactions annually for more than 180 service providers who serve fixed and mobile subscribers.

http://www.telcordia.com

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Bharti Airtel Selects Mformation for Device Management

India's Bharti Airtel selected Mformation's mobile device management (MDM) platform for enabling new data services and managing the mobile devices of its more than 48 million mobile subscribers.



Specifically, Bharti Airtel will use MFORMATION SERVICE MANAGER to configure, diagnose, update and manage advanced mobile devices through every phase of their lifecycle. Mformation's platform will be critical to the launch of new mobile data services and applications such as Instant Messaging and device browsers. In addition, Bharti Airtel's enterprise customers will benefit from a hosted device management and security solution that gives each enterprise complete control over the mobile devices, applications and services used by their employees.

http://ww.mformation.com

http://www.bhartiairtel.in

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New Edge Networks Builds MPLS Net for Integrated Power Services

New Edge Networks, the business communications unit of EarthLink, completed installation of a managed private network for Integrated Power Services, a national industrial electric motor repair and consulting firm.



New Edge Networks said it installed, tested and activated within 60 days a 12-site fully managed, private network based on MPLS.



Integrated Powers Services uses its MPLS network to provide its service centers in 10 states throughout the country real-time access to ordering information, time management and financial systems. http://www.newedgenetworks.com

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Fujitsu Introduces 10G Ethernet LAN-PHY mapper for WDM

Fujitsu Microelectronics Europe (FME) introduced a 10G Ethernet LAN-PHY mapper targeting Ethernet mapping and transport applications.
The device enables transport of multiple service types (both synchronous and asynchronous) including 10GE LAN-PHY or WAN-PHY, SDH/SONET STM-64/OC-192 or OTN OTU-2 signals. Fujitsu said its 10G Ethernet LAN-PHY device provides maximum flexibility to manage Ethernet LAN/WAN transport over metro and core networks and complements its family of products for 10G SDH/SONET and Ethernet applications as well as 40G SDH/SONET/OTN applications. The mapper also functions as a multiple-standard interface converter (XFI/SFI-4/SFI-5s), 2.5G or 10G asynchronous cross-connect and has two full-duplex 10G channels for protected terminal applications. It supports seamless integration to XFP modules on the client side and to standard 10G and 40G FEC devices on the network side.

http://www.fujitsu.com/emea/news/pr/fme_20071119.html

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Nokia Siemens Networks Targets Energy Efficiency -- 70% Savings in Base Stations

Nokia Siemens Networks unveiled the first phase of its environmentally sustainable business solutions by announcing plans to significantly improve the energy efficiency of its wireless networks, particularly the base stations and base station sites.



The four main elements of the solution are:

• minimizing the number of base station sites;



• minimizing the need for air conditioning to cool the sites;



• using the latest base station technology; and,



• deploying software features that optimize the use of radio access for wireless communications.

The company estimates energy consumption of a base station site can be reduced by up to 70 percent. Building a network with a minimum number of base station sites further increases energy efficiency. This can be achieved with software features to increase coverage.



Reducing or eliminating the need for air conditioning for base station equipment is another opportunity to increase efficiency. By increasing the ambient temperature to up to 40˚C, energy consumption can be reduced by up to 30 percent in existing base station equipment.



Nokia Siemens Networks utilizes a wide range of software features to improve base station energy efficiency by balancing consumption according to load. For example, because nighttime base-station traffic is much lower than during peak daytime hours, part of the base station can be shut down or its capacity can be set on power save mode at night.



Finally, in terms of base station power consumption, Nokia Siemens Networks has achieved levels of 800W and 500W respectively for typical GSM and WCDMA base stations. Going forward, the company has set even more ambitious targets: to further reduce the energy consumption of its GSM and WCDMA base stations to the 650W and 300W respectively by 2010.

http://www.nsn.com

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Nokia Siemens Networks to Supply Energy-efficient Base Stations for China Mobile

Nokia Siemens Networks has signed a contract for the delivery of its energy-efficient Flexi GSM Base Stations to China Mobile Group Beijing Ltd. (CMBJ).



NSN said the Flexi GSM Base Station being used by CMBJ is the smallest and most energy efficient on the market. The company is also focused on minimizing the number of base stations sites in total; minimizing the need for air conditioning to cool the sites and deploying software features that optimize the use of radio access for wireless communications.



China Mobile Group Beijing will serve as the official telecommunications supplier at various venues during the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. http://www.nokiasiemensnetworks.com

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France's Neo Telecoms Deploys Juniper's MX960 Ethernet Services Routers

Paris-based Neo Telecoms, which operates a 100 Gbps European fiber network, has deployed Juniper Networks MX960 Ethernet Services Routers.
Neo Telecoms' IP transit network interconnects its regional data centers in major cities across Europe and is a critical component of its hosting, IP and MPLS-based connectivity services. Financial terms were not disclosed.

http://www.juniper.nethttp://www.neotelecoms.com

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picoChip Delivers Single-Chip WiMAX Wave 2 and IO-MIMO Femtocell

picoChip announced its PC6532 Wave 2 femtocell, the next version of its WiMAX base station reference design. The single-chip (PHY + MAC) reference design supports WiMAX Wave 2 and full IO-MIMO in both downlink and uplink.



Wave 2 is the latest version of the WiMAX standard, adding increased support for mobility, while MIMO (Multi Input Multi Output) increases data-rate and reliability by simultaneously sending and receiving data via multiple antennas.



picoChip said its WiMAX architecture is scaleable from femtocell access points to sophisticated multi-sector carrier macrocells with full support for IO-MIMO and beamforming. http://www.picochip.com

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Plato Networks Appoints CEO, Former Head of Exar

Plato Networks, a start-up based in Santa Clara, California that is developing physical layer solutions based on a unique approach in signaling technology, has appointed Dr. Roubik Gregorian as its President and Chief Executive Officer. Gregorian previously served as President and CEO of Exar Corp., where he was instrumental in transitioning the company into a major supplier of wire-line and optical products for the communications market. Roubik was also the Vice President of R&D and Chief Technology Officer for Sierra Semiconductor, now PMC-Sierra. Gregorian has been issued 28 patents and authored two textbooks and 45 technical articles.

"Plato Networks has a unique mixed signal processing platform with immense potential. The application to 10 Gigabit Ethernet on copper twisted pair wiring should address the growing needs of the data center and establish Plato as a leading supplier of communications ICs. I am excited to join this world class team and have the opportunity to be part of enabling this market," said Gregorian.

http://www.platonetworks.com

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Charter Selects BigBand's Switched Digital Video

Charter Communications has selected BigBand Networks' switched digital video (SDV) solution to expand digital TV services in its Los Angeles-area system, including Malibu, Burbank and Glendale. The equipment is being used to expand HDTV and other programming options. Charter is the fifth operator to initiate commercial deployments of BigBand's SDV solution. The five largest cable operators in the U.S. have now selected BigBand's SDV. Financial terms were not disclosed.



Charter is deploying BigBand's switched digital video management server to dynamically direct programming to areas where it is requested. The operator selected BigBand's universal edge QAM -- the BEQ6000 -- to deliver switched programming.

http://www.bigbandnet.com

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RMI Names Former Qualcomm Executive as President and CEO

Raza Microelectronics (RMI) named Behrooz Abdi as President and Chief Executive Officer, succeeding S. Atiq Raza, RMI's founding CEO, who will remain Chairman of the Board of Directors.



Prior to his appointment at RMI, Mr. Abdi held the position of Senior Vice President and General Manager of Qualcomm's CDMA Technologies (QCT). During his tenure, QCT became the driving force behind the transition to 65nm and 45nm technologies, successfully acquired and integrated several product and technology companies and moved into the top ten list of semiconductor companies. Prior to joining Qualcomm, Mr. Abdi held leadership and engineering positions of increasing responsibility at Motorola in its Semiconductor Products Sector (SPS). His last role at Motorola was Vice President and General Manager for the radio products division, in charge of RF and mixed signal ICs for the wireless mobile market.

http://www.RazaMicro.com

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BT Conferencing Selects Sonus

BT Conferencing has selected Sonus Networks to develop customer conferencing solutions. The companies said deployment of the Sonus platform within BT Conferencing's global infrastructure will allow for existing customer reservationless solutions to be expanded and scaled to meet demand, whilst retaining their existing call access numbers.



The first deployment, which includes the Sonus GSX 9000 Open Services Switch and the PSX Call Routing Server, will be in Boston.
http://www.sonusnet.com

http://www.bt.com/conferencing

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AT&T to Acquire Ingenio for Pay Per Call Search and Directory

AT&T agreed to acquire privately held Ingenio, a start-up based in San Francisco specializing in "Pay Per Call" search technology, for an undisclosed sum. Ingenio's Pay Per Call service is an advertising platform. The platform uses proprietary technology to provision unique published phone numbers to track calls to businesses generated by those ads, and advertisers' fees are based on the volume of these leads.





AT&T plans to integrate Ingenio's Pay Per Call into its directory service and local search advertising portfolio, including the YELLOWPAGES.COM Network, AT&T Real Yellow Pages and 1-800-Yellow Pages. The company said Pay Per Call technology will provide another lead generation tool for advertisers to reach customers. Integrating Ingenio's Pay Per Call technology will enable AT&T to take advantage of a growing trend toward performance-based advertising.

http://www.att.com

http://www.ingenio.com

• Ingenio was founded in 1999 and has 120 employees. Investors include Benchmark Capital and the Carlyle Group.

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Verizon Completes 100 Gbps Field Trial using FiOS Feed

Verizon completed a field test of 100 Gbps optical transmission technology on a live, in-service 312-mile (504 kilometer) network route in Florida between Tampa and Miami.



Verizon said the test, which utilized a live video feed from its national FiOS TV network as the "payload," was successfully completed on a Verizon Business ultra long-haul optical system carrying other live traffic at 10 Gbps. The test demonstrated that by deploying advanced electronics, an existing network system can easily and quickly be upgraded to 100 Gbps.



The test used Alcatel-Lucent's 1625 LambdaXtreme Transport system on existing fibers that were initially conditioned for 10 Gbps service. Unlike other trials that used 10 separate 10 Gbps wavelengths to carry 100 Gbps, the Verizon test utilized a 100 Gbps signal on a single wavelength, demonstrating Verizon's drive to promote "true" 100 Gbps in a serial fashion on just one transmission wavelength.



"This is another critical milestone on our way to ensuring that we have the most advanced telecom network technology at the right time, in the right place, to serve our customers," said Mark Wegleitner, Verizon's senior vice president for technology. http://www.verizon.com

http://www.alcatel-lucent.com

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Ixia's Chairman of the Board Retires

Jean-Claude Asscher will retire as Ixia's Chairman of the Board of Directors and as a Director, positions he has held since 1997. The Board of Directors has elected Errol Ginsberg, a founder and CEO of Ixia, to succeed Mr. Asscher as Chairman of the Board, effective January 1, 2008.

http://www.ixiacom.com

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Aruba Selects Cavium's OCTEON Processors

Aruba Networks has selected Cavium Networks' OCTEON MIPS64 Processor family for use in its enterprise wireless LAN (WLAN) products. The Cavium processors, with one to sixteen cnMIPS cores on a single chip, integrate processor peripherals, next-generation networking interfaces, a memory controller, advanced hardware acceleration for packet processing, QoS, TCP, multi-core scaling, pattern matching, compression/decompression, storage, and security. Additionally the OCTEON processor family provides throughput and general purpose programmability for Layer 2 through Layer 7 processing.
http://www.caviumnetworks.com

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Telstra Deploys Alcatel-Lucent's ISAM for "Next IP" Network

Telstra has deployed close to 900,000 DSL ports in its "Next IP" network using Alcatel-Lucent's IP DSLAM (ISAM) platform, which provides speeds of up to 24 Mbps. Alcatel-Lucent is one of Telstra's strategic suppliers and the end-to-end network integrator for the first phase of their wireline transformation project.

http://www.alcatel-lucent.com

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Amazon's WhisperNet Leverages Sprint EVDO on Per-Transaction Basis

Amazon.com's new "Kindle" portable reader will use Sprint Nextel's EVDO network for downloading electronic books and magazines from the company's online bookstore. Kindle users do not need to subscribe to a data plan. Amazon said the access fee is built into the price of the e-books it sells.

http://www.amazon.com

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