Wednesday, May 16, 2007

BT Reaches 10.7 Million BB Lines, New Wave Revenue Offsets Lower Calling

As of the end of March 2007, BT was serving 10.7 million wholesale broadband connections (DSL and LLU), including 1.9 million local loop unbundled lines, an increase of 2.6 million connections year on year and 763,000 connections in the quarter. BT Retail's share of the net additions in the quarter was 32 percent.



BT Retail added 245,000 customers in Q1, in addition to the 195,000 customers gained through BT's recent acquisition of PlusNet. BT had 32 percent of new DSL customers, and 29 percent of all new broadband customers during the last quarter. The company said it is now the UK's leading broadband provider, ahead of the combined customer base of Virgin Media and NTL.

Some additional highlights for the quarter:

  • VoIP services continued to grow strongly with 1.4 million registered customers at March 31.


  • Financially, BT's revenue was 3 percent higher at 5,292 million pounds in the quarter with continued strong growth in new wave revenue more than offsetting the decline in traditional revenue. The strong growth in new wave revenue continued and at 2,117 million pounds was 14 percent higher than last year.


  • New wave revenue is mainly generated from networked IT services and broadband and accounted for 40 percent of the group's revenue. Networked IT services revenue grew by 6 percent to 1,287 million pounds, and broadband revenue increased by 32 percent to 556 million pounds.


  • Consumer revenue in the fourth quarter was 1 per cent lower, continuing the improving trend of recent quarters. Growth in consumer new wave revenue of 29 per cent continues to reduce our dependence on traditional revenue, which has declined by 6 per cent with the strategic shift towards new wave products and services.


  • The 12 month rolling average revenue per consumer household increased by 4 pounds for the second consecutive quarter to 262 pounds. Increased penetration of broadband and the growth of value added propositions have more than offset the lower call revenues. Following a period of sustained growth, the proportion of contracted revenues remained at 68 per cent as a result of the reductions in package prices made during the year.
http://www.btplc.com

ChinaCache Expands its CDN Capacity to 200 Gbps

ChinaCache, a leading content distribution network (CDN) service provider in China, reported that the total capacity of its nationwide CDN network reached 200Gbps at the end of April. The total network capacity reached 100 Gbps at the end of 2006.



The company said the first four months of 2007 have witnessed rapid network expansion of its network capacity. ChinaCache has thus far built 175 service nodes in more than 50 major cities across China.
The network is well interconnected with all major carriers in China, including China Telecom, China Netcom, China Mobile, China Unicom, China Railcom, and China Cernet.



Earlier this year, ChinaCache closed B series of its private equity placement, raising $31.5 million to be invested in network expansion.

http://www.chinacache.com

Marvell Posts Preliminary Revenue of $635.1 million, Weaker Demand

Marvell Technology Group reported preliminary, unaudited revenue for its first fiscal quarter ended April 28, 2007 of $635.1 million, an increase of 22% over net revenue of $521.2 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2007 and a 2% sequential increase from net revenue of $622.0 million for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007.



"The growth in our Q1 revenues was limited due to an overall weaker demand environment across some of our markets" stated Dr. Sehat Sutardja, Marvell's President and CEO. "Despite the seasonal softness, we continue to be excited about the progress we are making in applying our technologies to serve additional large market opportunities which should enable us to deliver solid long term growth."http://www.marvell.com

Motorola to Acquire Modulus Video for MPEG4-AVC Encoding

Motorola will acquire Modulus Video, a supplier of video encoding systems, for an undisclosed sum. The companies have partners for the past two years on several key accounts.



Modulus Video specializes in MPEG-4 Advanced Video Coding (AVC) compression systems designed for delivery of high value video content in the IPTV, cable, broadcast and satellite marketplace. Its product line includes dedicated HD/SD MPEG-4 AVC video encoders, including one recently introduced model that eliminates the need for external demodulator, receiver and decoder systems by providing built-in reception functions.



Upon completion of the transaction, Modulus Video will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Motorola and will be integrated into the Motorola Home and Networks Mobility business. Motorola intends to maintain Modulus Video operations in Sunnyvale, California.



"Motorola is committed to offering an integrated, end-to-end video portfolio designed to meet the current and next-generation requirements of operators," said Dan Moloney, President, Home and Networks Mobility business, Motorola.



The deal adds to a string of recent acquisition by Motorola, including:

  • Broadbus (July 2006) -- a start-up that developed a solid-state server architecture that enables the distribution of on-demand content to consumers through multiple devices. The company's technology leverages intelligent configuration and management of dynamic random-access memory (DRAM). Motorola said the acquisition would enable it to extend its video delivery platform with new content management and distribution capabilities that address growing market opportunities such as mobile video, video on-demand (VOD), time-shifted TV, network-based digital video recording (nDVR), on-demand ad insertion (ODAI) and switched digital video (SDV).


  • Kreatel (January 2006) -- a start-up that developed a Linux-based IPTV set-top box supporting a broad set of middleware solutions. Kreatel's customer base included Telefonica (Spain), TeliaSonera (Sweden), and KPN (The Netherlands).


  • Tut Systems (December 2006) -- provided carrier-class end-to-end digital video encoding, processing and distribution products. Tut's solutions support MPEG-2 and MPEG- 4 AVC video compression, local ad insertion, forward error correction, and real-time conditioning of video and audio. Tut Systems' customer list included more than 160 service providers worldwide. Acquired for $39 million.


  • Netopia (November 2006) -- a supplier of broadband (DSL) customer premise equipment (CPE). Netopia had supply arrangements with AT&T, BellSouth, Covad Communications, eircom, Swisscom, and Verizon. The acquisition was valued at $208 million.
http://www.motorola.com

http://www.modulusvideo.com/
  • In November 2006, Modulus Video unveiled a real-time, MPEG-4 AVC encoding solution for both SD and HD designed to meet the growing demand for video on demand (VOD) movies and local content delivered over IPTV networks. The Modulus VODxchange system can convert content from virtually any video format and encode it into MPEG-4 AVC at bit rates specifically optimized for IP networks. It includes advanced features like bandwidth optimizing Constrained Fidelity-Constant Bit Rate (CF-CBR) mode, digital program insertion triggers and integrated low resolution stream output. The solution set includes the MPEG-4AVC encoder, video file transcoding, VTR control, quality control and monitoring and an integrated RAID storage subsystem.


  • Modulus Video was co-founded by Robert S. Robinett (CTO) and Mark Magee (VP Technology & Chief Architect). Robinett previously co-founded SkyStream Networks in 1996, serving as President, VP Engineering and VP Business Development. Magee previously was VP of Engineering for DiviCom (acquired by Harmonic, Inc.) He was the architect of the DiviCom MPEG-2 encoder and multiplexer and helped define and develop other DiviCom core products.

Brasil Telecom GlobeNet Selects Alcatel-Lucent to Upgrade Undersea Network

Brasil Telecom GlobeNet has selected Alcatel-Lucent to upgrade its GlobeNet submarine network, which spans 22,000 km linking the United States, Venezuela and Brazil.



Alcatel-Lucent will upgrade the submarine section, along with the respective landing points, linking Brazil (Rio de Janeiro and Fortaleza), Venezuela (Maiquetia), Bermuda (St.David's), and USA (Boca Raton, FL and Tuckerton, NJ). In Rio de Janeiro, the submarine network integrates with the terrestrial optical infrastructure of GlobeNet's parent company, Brasil Telecom. When completed in the first quarter of 2008, the project will almost double the existing capacity over the entire network.

The Alcatel-Lucent submarine solution will be based on its 1620 Light Manager, managed by the upgraded Alcatel-Lucent 1350 management suite. A comprehensive suite of professional services, including manufacturing, installation and commissioning, is part of this turnkey project.

http://www.alcatel-lucent.com

http://www.globenet.net

JDSU Names Head of Communications Test & Measurement Group

JDSU named Helmut Berg to lead its Communications Test & Measurement business, replacing John Peeler who has announced his plans to leave the company in June. Berg has served JDSU CommTest for 14 years in a variety of senior executive positions, most recently as senior vice president of its Lab & Production product division. Berg will now report to Kevin Kennedy, JDSU's president and chief executive officer, and will oversee the Communications Test and Measurement senior management team.

http://www.jdsu.com

Nth Air Launches WiMAX (802.16e) Trial in Silicon Valley

Nth Air has launched a WiMAX (802.16e) network trial in Silicon Valley.
Nth Air using PureWave's "PureMax" multi-beam forming technology.

http://www.nthair.com