Sunday, September 30, 2007

AT&T to Acquire Interwise for IP Conferencing

AT&T agreed to acquire privately held Interwise, a provider of voice, Web and video conferencing services to businesses, for $121 million in cash. AT&T plans to align Interwise's IP-based conferencing and collaboration solution with its enterprise networking, communications and collaboration services, global MPLS-based IP network and its industry-leading conferencing portfolio of services.



AT&T said it expect to retain Interwise's management team and its domestic and international operations, including its R&D center in Israel. Interwise is headquartered in Cambridge, Mass., and employs approximately 150 people. It operates in the United States, Europe and Asia with offices in six countries.

http://www.att.com

http://www.interwise.com

Bay Microsystems Adds PBT Implementation for Chesapeake 40G Network Processor

Bay Microsystems has added a Provider Backbone Transport (PBT) application for its Chesapeake 40G Network Processor, which is targeted at a new generation of broadband infrastructure equipment ranging from high density over-subscribed 1GE/10GE Metro Ethernet boxes to high reliability systems up to 40G and above.



The new PBT application adds to the company's "Lighthouse" hardware and software tool suite that facilitates the design, development, debug, and delivery of next generation network equipment.



Bay Microsystems said Chesapeake's programmable packet processing engines, service management support and forwarding performance are ideally suited for the onerous processing requirements of PBT and other Ethernet applications. With the addition of PBT, the Lighthouse Tool Suite now supports a wide range of Layer 2 and Layer 3 applications including: MPLS, PWE3, IPv4, IPv6, VLAN Switching, Multicast and Traffic Engineering.

http://www.baymicrosystems.com

Flextronics Completes Acquisition of Solectron

Flextronics has completed its previously announced acquisition of Solectron, creating the most diversified and premier global provider of advanced design and vertically integrated electronics manufacturing services ("EMS").



The combined company has approximately 4,000 design engineers, 200,000 employees, and annual revenues exceeding $30 billion.

http://www.flextronics.com
  • In June 2007, Flextronics International first announced plans to acquire Solectron Corporation for approximately $3.6 billion in equity, based on the closing price of Flextronics ordinary shares on June 1, 2007.

European Commission initiates Anti-trust Proceedings against Qualcomm

The European Commission will open formal anti-trust proceedings against Qualcomm concerning an alleged breach of EC Treaty rules on abuse of a dominant market position. This follows complaints lodged with the Commission by Ericsson, Nokia, Texas Instruments, Broadcom, NEC and Panasonic, all mobile phone and/or chipsets manufacturers. The complaints allege that Qualcomm's licensing terms and conditions are not Fair, Reasonable and Non-Discriminatory ("FRAND") and, therefore, may breach EC competition rules.



The EC noted that this initiation of proceedings does not imply that the Commission has proof of an infringement.

http://www.europa.eu

Nortel Announces All-IP Platform for GSM/UMTS, AT&T to Deploy

AT&T will be among the first to deploy selected elements Nortel's new All-IP product line for GSM and UMTS wireless networks.



Nortel's All-IP product line aims to simplify and consolidate service provider networks to decrease operation costs through easier maintenance and management of networks.



Nortel's product launch includes a new MSC Server which uses commercial-off-the-shelf ATCA technology enabling operators to support multiple applications on the same type of platform. The new product line also includes high-density VoIP Media Gateways capable of supporting more subscribers with less equipment than traditional platforms at a significantly lower cost for the operator.



The deployment of Nortel's new product line is compliant to R4 standards, which is a release of the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), and these products can reduce operator costs by enabling more efficient use of transmission capacity and reducing the amount of network equipment required to support wireless services.

http://www.nortel.com

Nortel Appoints CFO

Nortel named Pavi S. Binning as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Binning previously served in chief financial officer positions at Hanson PLC and Marconi PLC. He spent the majority of his career at Diageo PLC, a large, global consumer goods business that owns premium drink brands.

http://www.nortel.com

Freescale Teams Arcturus on "Embedded Voice" VoIP Platform

Freescale has introduced an embedded VoIP reference platform developed in collaboration with Arcturus Networks. The design solution includes a host board, VoIP module based on the ColdFire MCF53281 MCU family, VoIP voice processing software and a Middleware stack from Arcturus. Target applications include residential, industrial and commercial embedded voice using VoIP applications, such as intercom systems used in residential, commercial and industrial settings.
http://www.freescale.com

http://www.ArcturusNetworks.com.

Telecom Italia Deploys ECI Telecom in Outside Plant

Telecom Italia has deployed ECI Telecom's Broadband Access solution to expand its outside plant broadband network. ECI's Hi-FOCuS MiniCAB is a self-enclosed, ruggedized unit that can be deployed even where there is no street cabinet or previous installation, or when the street cabinet is full, and even under harsh environmental conditions. The platform can be remotely powered using copper lines. Financial terms were not disclosed.

http://www.ecitele.com

Telefónica and Yahoo! Partner on Mobile Search

Telefónica and Yahoo! announced a global agreement for making Yahoo! the main search service on Telefónica's mobile portals in 15 countries in Europe and Latin America, potentially reaching more than 100 million consumers worldwide.





Yahoo! oneSearch is specifically designed for mobile devices, delivering results directly in the first screen. It also gives consumers access to news, financial information, weather conditions, Flickr photos, Web images, as well as Web and Mobile Web sites.



Telefónica customers will also enjoy the benefit of direct access to Flickr, allowing customers to easily view and share their photos, view their friends' pictures, view and create comments on photos and browse or search more than one billion images posted by the Flickr service, all from the mobile phones.



Additionally, Yahoo! Mail will be seamlessly integrated into Telefónica's Mail Express service, providing Yahoo! Mail users with the ability to receive their Yahoo! Mail messages directly on their mobile phone via MMS messaging.

http://www.yahoo.com

http://www.telefonica.es

Alcatel-Lucent to Resell CloudShield Platform

CloudShield Technologies, a start-up offering a carrier-class service control platform, has signed a worldwide reseller agreement with Alcatel-Lucent. CloudShield's solutions are designed to inspect, analyze, control and secure IP network services -- including voice, video and data -- at multi-gigabit rates from a single, flexible and scalable platform.



Under this agreement, Alcatel-Lucent will resell CloudShield's products and operate as a primary network integrator for service providers around the world to develop applications using CloudShield's packet programming capabilities.



CloudShield systems are currently deployed by some of the largest network service providers in North America, South America, Europe and Asia.

http://www.cloudshield.com/http://www.alcatel-lucent.com

Wave7 Adds Compact Optical Line Terminal

Wave7 Optics introduced a temperature-hardened, Compact Optical Line Terminal (COLT) requiring only 2 RU (rack units) of space for deployment. The design allows network operators to deploy the COLT in inexpensive, non-climatically controlled field cabinets to serve small pockets of up to 256 subscribers, assuming typical 32-way PON splits. The COLT can be deployed up to 70 km away from either a Trident7 Universal OLT or third-party multilayer switch in a central office or head-end, and the COLT can also extend network reach and push resiliency closer to the network edge.

http://www.wave7optics.com

Sylantro Introduces Multiplay Application Feature Server Suite

Sylantro Systems expanded its Synergy Application Feature Server offering with a new release available in three editions:

  • Hosted VoIP Edition with enhanced attendant functionality, including a hosted, browser-based Web Attendant Console for small and medium-size businesses; integrated SIP device management; and rich ACD reporting. Sylantro is also offering a desktop widget pack for ACD agents and end-user telephony control.


  • A Voice 2.0 Edition that lets operators extend their reach into new business and consumer experiences enabled by SOA and Web 2.0. The Voice 2.0 edition includes Sylantro's Synapps 2.0 call control and eventing Web services; a collaboration gateway for integration with collaboration environments such as Microsoft Live Communication Server and Lotus Sametime; and access to Synapps Central, a growing, hosted ecosystem of third-party Synapps developers and partners.


  • A Mobile Edition that solidifies Sylantro's IMS leadership while offering single-mode and dual-mode FMC capabilities that enable fixed-line operators to offer mobile extensions of their services to drive revenue and adoption today.


Sylantro said its Application Feature Server is optimized to take advantage of a high-performance, 64-bit computing architecture.

http://www.sylantro.com


Zennstrom Steps Down as CEO of Skype, eBay Takes Impairment Charge

Niklas Zennstrom has stepped down as CEO of Skype but will become non-executive chairman of the Skype Board of Directors. Michael van Swaaij, eBay's Chief Strategy Officer, will become acting CEO until a permanent successor is found.



eBay also announced that it has paid €375 million (approximately $530 million) to settle all of its future obligations under the earn-out agreement signed with certain Skype shareholders when eBay acquired Skype in 2005. The earn-out agreement provided for payments of up to approximately €1,200 million (approximately $1,700 million) based upon specific active user, revenue and gross profit targets that were to be achieved in 2008 and the first half of 2009. eBay believes that the €375 million payment is reasonable given the progress and anticipated rapid growth of Skype's active user base.



eBay expects that the €375 million payment (approximately $530 million), together with an additional amount of €630 million (approximately $900 million), will be taken as an impairment charge to be recorded as part of its Q3 financial results. http://www.ebay.com

http://www.skype.com
  • Skype was founded in 2002 by Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis.


  • The eBay + Skype acquisition was first announced in September 2005 for approximately $2.6 billion in up-front cash and eBay stock, plus potential performance-based consideration.

PostPath Enhances its Exchange-Compatible Email Server

PostPath, a start-up offering a drop-in compatible alternative to Microsoft Exchange, announced PostPath Server version 3.0, now featuring support for both Blackberry Enterprise Server (BES) and Microsoft ActiveSync email push technologies.



The new support in PostPath 3.0 enables companies to deploy mobile access alongside their Outlook desktops, and to use web browser-based access to supplement or displace traditional desktop systems. BES support enables feature-rich high performance for Blackberry devices including Pearl and Curve. ActiveSync support enables users of Palm/Treo, Motorola Q, Symbian, Nokia, Windows Mobile, Helios, Blackjack, and High Tech Computer (HTC) devices -- and ultimately Apple iPhone users -- to access email, calendar, and other information on the PostPath server.



In addition, PostPath said performance gains in its Server 3.0 release enable it to deliver three to five times the performance of Exchange for Outlook and mobile clients alike.

http://www.postpath.com

Force10 Names Vice President of Worldwide Sales

Force10 Networks has named James Hanley vice president of worldwide sales. Previously, Hanley was senior vice president of worldwide field operations at NeoScale Systems, where he realigned the company's go-to-market strategy and developed a new worldwide sales channel. Earlier, he managed the channel at CA as senior vice president of worldwide partner sales. Hanley has also held executive roles in sales, field operations and channel development at EMC, including senior leadership positions in London and Hong Kong.

http://www.force10networks.com

Belgium's BELNET Selects Juniper T1600 and M120

BELNET, the Belgian national research network, will deploy Juniper Networks T1600 Core Routers and M-series Multiservice Edge Routers for its next generation infrastructure. The T1600s will be installed throughout BELNET's core network and the M120s at access points of presence throughout Belgium. The equipment will be deployed and maintained by Telindus.

http://www.juniper.nethttp://www.belnet.be

Nokia Agreed to acquire NAVTEQ for $8.2 Billion

Nokia agreed to acquire NAVTEQ, positioning itself to play a leading role in mobile location-based services. Under the deal, Nokia will pay $78 in cash for each share of NAVTEQ including outstanding options for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $8.1 billion (EUR 5.7 billion), or approximately $7.7 billion (EUR 5.4 billion) net of NAVTEQ existing cash balance. Nokia said this represents a 34% premium over NAVTEQ's trading price a year ago.



NAVTEQ brings a number of key assets to Nokia: maps and navigation industry expertise, an existing customer base and a map data and technology platform with broad geographical coverage. The company is a leading provider of comprehensive digital map information for automotive navigation systems, mobile navigation devices, Internet-based mapping applications, and government and business solutions. NAVTEQ also owns Traffic.com, a web and interactive service that provides traffic information and content to consumers.



NAVTEQ generated 2006 revenues of $582 million and has approximately 3,000 employees located in 168 offices in 30 countries. The company is based in Chicago and was founded in 1985.



"Nokia's unique vision for location based services aligns perfectly with NAVTEQ's vision to enable everyone to find their way to people, places and opportunities on mobile communications devices, cars, desktop computers and in all the other places that are important to them," said NAVTEQ President and CEO Judson Green.

http://www.nokia.com

http://www.navteq.com
  • In August 2007, Nokia introduced "Ovi", its new Internet services brand name for mobile devices. Ovi, meaning "door" in Finnish, will be Nokia's portal enabling consumers to access its gaming and music store services. Also under the Ovi umbrella is Nokia Maps, the company's navigation service, as well as future Internet-based services the coming plans to introduce in the coming months. The English language version of Ovi is expected to debut in Q4.

Wave7 Optics and Cisco Supply FTTH in Andorra

Servei de Telecommunications d'Andorra (STA) has selected Wave7 Optics, Telindus SAU and Cisco Spain to construct a new Next Generation Network (NGN) FTTP network. The installation will use Wave7's Trident7 Universal Access Platform in the access network and Cisco 7600 Series Routers in the aggregation network.



STA expects to inaugurate service throughout the capital of Andorra La Vella in Q1 2008 and achieve principality-wide coverage by Q2 2009. The project is a complete overbuild of the existing copper network, which will be retired as service activation on the NGN occurs.

http://www.Wave7Optics.com

Staccato Signs Japanese Distributor for its UWB Silicon

Staccato Communications, a supplier of Ultra Wideband (UWB) wireless silicon, has signed Hakuto, a preeminent full service distributor, as their new Japanese distributor for the Ripcord family of single-chip, all-CMOS products. This distributor agreement follows Ripcord's recently secured Japanese TELEC regulatory approval, enabling Staccato to deliver faster time-to-market with reduced risk for customers.

http://www.staccatocommunications.com