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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