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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