Thursday, January 31, 2008

Huawei Installs CDMA2000 network for Indonesia's Telkom

Huawei Technologies has supplied a CDMA2000 network for PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Telkom). The project that started in May 2007 and took just five months to complete. Currently, Huawei infrastructure covers over half of Telkom's national network, which encompasses the areas of Jakarta, West Java, Center Java and Sumatera. Financial terms were not disclosed.http://www.huawei.com

Pirelli Labs Spins Out New Company Focused on Nanotech Photonics

Pirelli will soon incorporate a new company to focus on second generation photonics based on nanotechnologies. The company will be the result of integration between the photonics business unit of Pirelli Broadband Solutions and the Optical Innovation division of Pirelli Labs.


Pirelli said the new company will focus on innovative optical components, optical modules, and transportation systems. It has a growing product portfolio and significant know-how in research and technology thanks to its laboratories in Milan-Bicocca and to a network of international partnerships.


At the same time, Pirelli Broadband Solutions will concentrate its activity on the broadband access business, increasingly characterized by market and technology dynamics that are different from those of photonics. The company holds a consolidated portfolio of five product lines (access gateways, set-top boxes, extenders, dual-mode phones and remote management systems), has a leadership position in the Italian market, and is beginning to affirm itself in the rest of Europe.http://www.pirelli.com

FCC Amends Video Leased Access Rules

The FCC adopted rules aimed at promoting video programming diversity. Cable operators are required by statute to set aside channel capacity for commercial use by unaffiliated video programmers (leased access channels). However, in its most recent annual cable price survey, the FCC found that cable systems on average carry only 0.7 leased access channels.


The new Order tries to remove several obstacles that may be hindering the use of leased access capacity, including clarifying the information that cable operators must be prepared to provide in response to inquiries, and the time in which it must be provided.


In a statement, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin wrote: "Section 612 of the Communications Act requires the Commission to promote "competition in the
delivery of diverse sources of video programming." Unfortunately, however, our existing leased access rules were simply not achieving their intended purpose. For example, the Commission's most recent cable price survey found that cable systems on average carry only .7 leased access channels. The record suggests that the leased access regime has been extremely underutilized because of artificially high rates. Our order, therefore, is designed to increase the use of leased access channels and thereby enhance the diversity of programming."http://www.fcc.gov

FCC and USDA Launch Web Site for Rural Broadband

The FCC and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) have launched a new website for those in rural America looking to bring the benefits of broadband services to their communities. The site provides information on the different technology platforms that can be used to
provide broadband service, how to access spectrum necessary for delivery of wireless broadband services, government funding for broadband services, relevant FCC and USDA proceedings and initiatives, and data on broadband deployment. In addition, the site provides instructions on how to locate companies already licensed to provide wireless services in or near specific rural communities, as well as helpful links to other government and private resources related to encouraging broadband opportunities in rural America.http://wireless.fcc.gov/outreach/ruralbroadband

Ericsson: Mobile Sales Growth Slowed in 2007, 3.3 Billion Mobile Users Worldwide

During 2007, Ericsson experience a rapid build out of mobile communications in emerging markets along with a decline in network expansions and upgrades in mature markets, resulting in lower overall margins. The year-over-year sales for Q4 2007 were flat due to less spending from operators on network infrastructure and a continued weakened USD. About 50% of sales are USD related. For the full year, the sales increase amounted to 4%. In constant currencies, estimated organic growth was 8%.


Operating income amounted to SEK 7.6 (12.2) b. in the quarter and SEK 30.6 (35.8) b. for the full year. Operating expenses amounted to SEK 15.2 (13.2) b in the quarter as a consequence of seasonality and newly acquired companies.


Some highlights from the company's financial report:

  • Sales in Networks declined by 4% in the quarter, year-over-year. For the full year sales grew by 1%. During the second half of 2007, sales were affected by the shift from capacity expansions and software upgrades to new network buildouts. This shift in business mix, as well as the rollout of new switching technologies, has negatively affected gross margin. Network rollout services increased 61% sequentially, reflecting the higher proportion of large network buildout projects.


  • Redback has significantly increased its international sales over the year through leveraging Ericsson's global sales organization. In the US, however, Redback saw a decline in business from one major customer which impacted domestic sales. Redback full year sales grew slightly.


  • Sales in Professional Services grew by 15% in the quarter year-over-year and by 16% for the full year. Growth in constant currencies amounted to 19% and 16% respectively. Managed services and systems integration showed the fastest growth. Operating margins remained

  • Sales growth amounted to 7% in the quarter year-over-year and 14% for the full year. Operating margin in the quarter was negative 9% and just below break-even for the full year. Multimedia is in a build-up phase. It includes areas with good growth and healthy margins as well as new areas with significant investments, and sales and results fluctuate.


  • At the end of 2007, Ericsson had 74,000 employees worldwide, including 19,800 in Sweden. This compares with 63,800 at the end of 2006, including 19,100 in Sweden.



Ericsson estimates the Mobile Subscriptions worldwide grew by some 150 million in Q4 2997 to a total of 3.3 billion. 180 million are WCDMA subscriptions, up by close to 20 million in the fourth quarter.


There are now 197 WCDMA networks in 87 countries, of which the large majority is being upgraded to HSPA.


Uptake in data traffic accelerates quickly, and in 3G networks monitored by Ericsson total data traffic now exceeds voice traffic.


In the twelve-month period ending September 30, 2007, fixed broadband connections grew with 24% to some 320 million.http://www.ericsson.com

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Nokia Siemens Networks and Ubiquisys Team on 3G Femto Cells

Nokia Siemens Networks has signed a collaboration agreement with Ubiquisys to provide mobile network operators with femtocell solutions that offer greatly improved 3G network coverage and quality of mobile services at home. Under the agreement, Nokia Siemens Networks and Ubiquisys will cooperate in the marketing and sales of the joint solution to mobile operators worldwide.


The Ubiquisys ZoneGate femtocell supports industry standard interfaces and conforms to Nokia Siemens Networks' Femto Gateway's open architecture. The plug-and-play 3G access point uses a mobile subscriber's broadband connection to transport voice and data calls to the 3G core network.


"The femtocell market is moving at an astonishing speed and 2008 will undoubtedly prove to be ‘make-up-your-mind' time for many operators. We are currently involved in 10 trials and expect several to expand into larger deployments later this year," said Chris Gilbert, CEO of Ubiquisys.http://www.ubiquisys.comhttp://www.nsn.com

Telecom Egypt Selects Alcatel-Lucent for New Submarine Cable

Telecom Egypt awarded a US$125 million contract to Alcatel-Lucent to deploy a new submarine cable network linking Sidi Kerir in Egypt to Marseille in France. Named TE North, the 3,100km cable system will enable Telecom Egypt to expand international connectivity, providing diversity from existing cable routes. Additionally, the TE North submarine cable system will help Telecom Egypt enhance its network capacity to operate as a wholesale carrier to other operators and expand its service offering to businesses and consumers.


TE North is designed for an ultimate capacity of 128 x 10 Gbps on eight fiber pairs, making it one of the largest cable systems in the region.http://www.alcatel-lucent.comhttp://telecomegypt.com.eg

Sea-We-Me4 and FLAG Failure Disrupts 620 Gbps of Traffic

The damage to the South East Asia-Middle East-West Europe 4 (Sea-We-Me4) and the FLAG Europe-Asia undersea cables, which both went out of service on Wednesday morning (30-January-2008), is due to a fiber cut in the Mediterranean Sea approximately 19km from the Egyptian coast, according to media reports. The cables are about 400 meters near that location, leading to speculation that the outage was caused by a ship's anchor dragging along the sea floor. An estimated time-to-repair has yet been given by the network operators.


TeleGeography, which tracks undersea cable issues, estimates that 620 Gbps of Internet capacity along the main route connecting Europe to the Middle East and India was disrupted by the cut. This represents 75% of the traffic along the route. With the two main cables out of service, the alternate route is via Southeast Asia and then across the Pacific, North America and Atlantic.


http://www.seamewe4.com/

Infinera Reports Q4 2007 Revenue of $76.1 Million

Infinera reported Q4 2007 GAAP revenues of $76.1 million compared to $62.2 million in the third quarter of 2007 and $43.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2006. There was a GAAP net loss of $3.9 million, or $0.04 per share. GAAP gross margins were 36% in Q4 2007 compared to 34% in the third quarter of 2007 and 6% in the fourth quarter of 2006.


"Infinera's strong performance in the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2007 reflects solid execution against our business strategy, increased customer momentum in favor of our unique approach to optical networks, and continued growth in world-wide bandwidth demand," said Jagdeep Singh, president and chief executive officer of Infinera.http://www.infinera.com

Nokia Siemens Networks and Ubiquisys Team on 3G Femto Cells

Nokia Siemens Networks has signed a collaboration agreement with Ubiquisys to provide mobile network operators with femtocell solutions that offer greatly improved 3G network coverage and quality of mobile services at home. Under the agreement, Nokia Siemens Networks and Ubiquisys will cooperate in the marketing and sales of the joint solution to mobile operators worldwide.


The Ubiquisys ZoneGate femtocell supports industry standard interfaces and conforms to Nokia Siemens Networks' Femto Gateway's open architecture. The plug-and-play 3G access point uses a mobile subscriber's broadband connection to transport voice and data calls to the 3G core network.


"The femtocell market is moving at an astonishing speed and 2008 will undoubtedly prove to be ‘make-up-your-mind' time for many operators. We are currently involved in 10 trials and expect several to expand into larger deployments later this year," said Chris Gilbert, CEO of Ubiquisys.http://www.ubiquisys.comhttp://www.nsn.com

TiVo Wins Appeals Ruling in Lawsuit Against EchoStar

The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit unanimously ruled in favor of TiVo in the patent infringement case against EchoStar. The full award of damages, which was stayed pending appeal, was ordered to be reinstated.

http://www.echostar.com

Garmin nüvifone Integrates GPS + Google

Garmin International made its entrance into the mobile phone market by unveiling the nüvifone, a slim, touchscreen device that combines a premium 3G phone, mobile web-browser, and GPS personal navigator.


When powered on, the 3.5-inch touchscreen display reveals three primary icons -- "Call," "Search," and "View Map".
Calls are initiated by tapping the "Call" button and selecting a name from the contact list or by using the on-screen keypad. When the nüvifone is docked onto a vehicle mount, it automatically turns on the GPS, activates the navigation menu, and enables hands-free calling.


The phone includes preloaded maps of North America, Eastern and Western Europe, or both.


The nüvifone is Garmin's first device to include Google local search capability, allowing users to search for locations like "coffee shops" and Google will sort the results based on the user's current location and relevance. Information provided by Google includes a web-based rating so that users can select the most appropriate destination and route directly to it. In addition, the nüvifone includes a web browser incorporating touchscreen operation. The nüvifone also includes personal messaging functions, including email, text, and instant messaging.


The phone offers a "Where am I?" feature that lets users touch the screen at any time to display the exact latitude and longitude coordinates, the nearest address and intersection, and the closest hospitals, police stations and gas stations.


Garmin will also offer mobile entertainment applications. A built-in camera allows individuals to take a picture that will automatically be tagged with the exact latitude and longitude reference of where the image was taken. The user may then save the image so they can navigate back to the location, or email the image to a recipient who can navigate directly to the location. The nüvifone also provides direct access to millions of geo-located landmark and sightseeing photographs available through Google's Panoramio picture sharing site.


Other multimedia functions of the nüvifone include a built-in video camera, MP3 and MPEG4/AAC.


Garmin anticipates that the nüvifone will be available in Q3 2008. Pricing details have not been announced.http://www.garmin.com/nuvifone

EMBARQ Signs on as Reseller of HughesNet Broadband Satellite

EMBARQ has signed an agreement to be a reseller of HughesNet broadband satellite Internet access service from Hughes Network Systems. EMBARQ business customers in certain rural areas of the United States will have high-speed Internet access comparable to the services available in other EMBARQ markets.


HughesNet service is available in a variety of packages with download speeds ranging from 700 Kbps to 2Mbps and a price range of $59.99 per month to $179.99 per month.http://www.embarq.com/http://www.hughes.com/

Motorola Seeks Exit from Mobile Device Business

Motorola is exploring strategic alternatives for its Mobile Devices business. Motorola said its alternatives may include the separation of Mobile Devices from its other businesses in order to permit each business to grow and better serve its customers.


"We are exploring ways in which our Mobile Devices Business can accelerate its recovery and retain and attract talent while enabling our shareholders to realize the value of this great franchise" said Greg Brown, President and Chief Executive Officer.http://www.motorola.com
  • In January, Motorola reported Q4 2007 sales of $9.65 billion and net earnings of $0.04 per share, which include $0.05 per share from continuing operations and a net loss of $0.01 per share from discontinued operations. The company said its Mobile Devices business remains challenged, with sales declining 38 percent versus prior-year quarter, while its Home & Networks Mobility and Enterprise Mobility Solutions business continued to deliver strong results.


    "We are focused on aggressively rationalizing the company's cost structure and working to get Mobile Devices back on track," said Greg Brown, chief executive officer of Motorola. "The recovery in Mobile Devices will take longer than expected and there is a lot more work to be done. Our primary focus is on improving profitability and enhancing our product portfolio in this business. At the same time, we are very pleased with the continued strong performance of our Home and Networks Mobility and Enterprise Mobility Solutions businesses."


    Mobile Devices segment sales were $4.8 billion, down 38 percent compared with the year-ago quarter. The operating loss was $388 million, compared with operating earnings of $341 million in the year-ago quarter. For the full year 2007, sales were $19.0 billion, a 33 percent decrease compared to 2006, and the segment incurred an operating loss of $1.2 billion, compared to operating earnings of $2.7 billion in 2006. During the quarter, the company shipped 40.9 million handsets.


    Home and Networks Mobility segment sales were $2.7 billion, up 11 percent compared with the year-ago quarter. Operating earnings decreased to $192 million, compared with operating earnings of $223 million in the year-ago quarter. For the full year 2007, sales were $10.0 billion, a 9 percent increase compared to 2006, and the segment generated operating earnings of $709 million, compared to $787 million in 2006.


    Enterprise Mobility Solutions segment sales were $2.1 billion, up 35 percent compared with the year-ago quarter, driven by sales from the Symbol business acquired in early 2007. Operating earnings increased to $451 million, compared with operating earnings of $323 million in the year-ago quarter. For the full year 2007, sales were $7.7 billion, a 43 percent increase compared to 2006, and the segment generated operating earnings of $1.2 billion, compared to $958 million in 2006.

New Mexico's ENMR•Plateau Upgrades with Occam

ENMR•Plateau Telecommunications, the largest telephone cooperative in New Mexico, has purchased Occam's Broadband Loop Carrier (BLC) 6000 system as the centerpiece of its voice and DSL services upgrade project at all 25 ENMR•Plateau exchanges over the next 3 years.


ENMR•Plateau manages 13,000 lines across 25,000 square miles of New Mexico's eastern high plains. The upgrade features the deployment of more than 200 Occam blades to replace the system's existing local loop and DSLAM solutions with both POTS-only and POTS/ADLS2+ combination blades. The Occam blades purchased by ENMR•Plateau include the BLC 6152, 6252, 6440, 6312, 6660, 6246 and EMS.


ENMR•Plateau has also purchased Occam's new GPON offering to supplement copper services in one of the Cooperative's exchanges. The telco will implement the SIP-enabled VoIP served by a Metaswitch softswitch and high-speed DSL to its members.http://www.occamnetworks.comhttp://www.enmr.com

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Deutsche Telekom adds 526,000 Retail DSL, 116,000 IPTV Subscribers in Q4

Deutsche Telekom released key operational metric for 2007 underlining its enhanced competitiveness in its home market of Germany and gains in mobile and broadband services. Some highlights:


  • In broadband, T-Home almost tripled its share of new customers in the DSL market and realized a market share of more than 40 percent for five quarters in a row. T-Home expects to equip 13 additional cities with VDSL. By the end of the year, approximately 1,000 cities should have ADSL2+.


  • The number of retail DSL broadband customers rose by 526,000 in the fourth quarter. As a result, more than 9 million customers in Germany now have a broadband line direct from T-Home. This represents an increase of almost 2 million customers in 2007.


  • As of the end of 2007, 150,000 Entertain IPTV packages have been sold, including 116,000 in Q4. The company aims to sell 500,000 Entertain IPTV packages by the end of the year. To make that happen, T-Home will present new content and functions at CeBIT.


  • In mobile, T-Mobile has expanded its customer base by a good 10 percent to roughly 120 million customers. The company added seven million customers abroad.


  • T-Mobile also continued to increase its customer base in Germany and reported almost 36 million customers as of the year-end. Almost 1 million of these customers opted for fixed-term contracts in 2007, of which 385,000 in the fourth quarter alone. The national companies in Eastern Europe and the USA were drivers of this growth. In addition to organic growth, the acquisition of Orange in the Netherlands contributed to the positive subscriber development with 2.2 million users.


  • T-Mobile USA had 28.7 million customers as of the end of the financial year. In the fourth quarter of 2007, T-Mobile gained 951,000 net additions in the USA, 733,000 of which were contract customers.


Additional metrics are posted online.


http://www.telekom.com/dtag/cms/content/dt/en/498760

Ericsson Supplies Greece's hellas with the IMS + Softswitch

Ericsson has provided supplied Greece's hellas online (hol) with a next-generation network incorporating its Telephony Softswitch Solution and IMS solutions. Ericsson also provided the network deployment, systems integration, multivendor verification, customer support and training programs. Financial terms were not disclosed.

http://www.ericsson.comhttp://www.hol.gr/

Ericsson Demos LTE in Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) and Time Division Duplex (TDD)

Ericsson has demonstrated for the first time Long Term Evolution (LTE) in both Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) and Time Division Duplex (TDD) mode on the same base station platform. Ericsson said LTE is the only technology that can use the same platform for both paired and unpaired spectrum, thereby enabling large economies of scale for operators.


Ericsson's LTE TDD mode demonstration encompassed a variety of applications and showcased speeds over 90 Mbps in the downlink with 2x2 MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output). Ericsson has previously demonstrated LTE in FDD mode several times with speeds of up to 160 Mbps.


LTE enables efficient spectrum utilization for both legacy and future wireless frequency bands. Channel bandwidths of 1.4-20MHz are supported.


"We have now demonstrated that LTE can be used in both paired (FDD) and unpaired spectrum (TDD) on the same base station platform. This means that operators with only unpaired spectrum also can plan for LTE and benefit from the optimal global LTE solutions" stated Ulf Ewaldsson, Vice President and Head of Product Area Radio at Ericsson.http://www.ericsson.com
  • On January 17, 2008, 3GPP confirmed that the LTE Terrestrial Radio Access Network technology specifications have been approved and are now under change control, leading to their inclusion in the forthcoming 3GPP Release 8

Nokia Siemens Networks Publishes Connectivity Scorecard for Global Economies

Businesses and governments must make better use of their communications and computing infrastructure if they are to benefit from the full economic and social benefits of ICT, according to a breakthrough study by Professor Leonard Waverman of the London Business School and global economic consulting firm LECG. The study, which was commissioned by Nokia Siemens Networks, includes a "Connectivity Scorecard" that analyzes not only a nation's ICT infrastructure but the effectiveness of its use.


The Connectivity Scorecard ranks the United States first in a group of 16 innovation driven economies [as defined by the World Economic Forum], although its score is only 6.97 out of a possible 10.0. The differentiated nature of the Scorecard compared to other rankings is illustrated by the fact that Korea, typically a high scorer on other indexes, is ranked 10th on the list, with a rating of just 4.78.


The Connectivity Scorecard measures the extent to which governments, businesses and consumers make use of connectivity technologies - the copper wires, fiber-optic lines, mobile phones and PCs that underpin today's information economy - to enhance social and economic prosperity. For each component of the Scorecard, countries are benchmarked against the best in class in their tier; thus if a country was best in all dimensions, it would score a maximum of 10.0 Countries typically considered to be highly connected achieved only modest scores on the Scorecard -- the average score for a group of 16 countries that include the U.S., Sweden and Korea was 5.05.


Nokia Siemens Networks said these results indicate an opportunity for countries to add hundreds of billions of dollars in economic benefit by rethinking how they measure and enable connectivity, according to the study authors.


Further details on the study are posted online.


The Femto Forum Launches Integration Program, Expands Membership

The Femto Forum, the independent industry association that supports femtocell deployment worldwide

, has launched a programme to help harmonise the integration of femtocells into mobile core networks. Operator demand to launch femtocells quickly has led to the development of many different methods for integrating potentially millions of femtocells into the network core. Although this is not holding up the commercial deployment of femtocells, The Femto Forum said it seeks to unite these different approaches in the longer term and set the stage for the development of future standards.


The Femto Forum's next plenary will be held in March 2008.


In other news the forum also welcomes new members who are already active in the working groups, these include: Acme Packet, AudioCodes, BT, Cellcom Israel Ltd, Cisco, Ericsson, GENBAND, Huawei, KTL, mobilkom austria AG, NewStep Networks, NXP Semiconductors, Samsung, SaskTel, SOFTBANK MOBILE, Telecom Italia and Vodafone. This brings the forum's membership to 58 companies. http://www.femtoforum.org

Siemens to Sell HP ProCurve network products

HP announced a worldwide sales agreement under which Siemens Enterprise Communications will sell voice and data solutions incorporating ProCurve network products and Siemens VoIP technology. The initial phase of the agreement is now being rolled out in Germany with subsequent implementation planned for the United Kingdom, Austria and Spain. The companies' combined offerings will provide high levels of IP communications performance and open standards-based networking to customers.http://www.hp.comhttp://www.siemens.com

Veraz Migrates Two billion minutes of Legacy Nortel TDM Switch Traffic

Veraz Networks announced a significant milestone -- the company's customers have migrated two billion minutes of legacy Nortel TDM switch traffic to the Veraz ControlSwitch Interconnect Solution by replacing their Nortel legacy DMS switches and/or other TDM switches.


Veraz said its next-generation ControlSwitch can deliver a total return on investment (ROI) in as little as six months, with ongoing operational expense savings. With the Veraz ControlSwitch, operators realize significant savings due to centralized management, routing flexibility, ease of maintenance and enhanced revenue opportunity due to application continuity and enhanced service creation.


The Veraz ControlSwitch enables service providers to replace a network of monolithic switches with a single distributed softswitch. This distributed softswitch enables a single point of service creation and control across the network, whether TDM or IP. Network operators can configure, provision and monitor the network from a single, central point thereby reducing floor space requirements and simplifying upgrades and maintenance. Additional capacity and enhanced services can be added in specific geographic areas on an as-needed basis in order to increase revenue per subscriber.
http://www.veraznetworks.com

FCC 700 MHz Auction Tops $11.7 Billion

After sixteen rounds, bids for various licenses in the 700 MHz band have reached $11,573,702,900, including over $4.7 billion for the package of licenses across all 50 states. Round 17 continues on Thursday. Updated bidding results are posted online.


http://wireless.fcc.gov/auctions/default.htm?job=auction_summary&id=73

Harris Stratex Networks Posts Quarterly Revenue of $181 Million

Harris Stratex Networks reported quarterly revenues for the period ended December 28, 2007 of $181.1 million and a GAAP net loss of $1.0 million or $0.02 per share, which includes $17.6 million in pre- tax charges associated with the merger transaction, integration, asset impairment and stock compensation expense.


North America microwave had record second quarter revenue of $63.8 million, realizing 13 percent growth compared to the prior quarter and an increase over the year ago quarter. Network Operations also had a strong revenue quarter at $6.5 million, comparable to the prior quarter and 30 percent higher than the year ago quarter.


International revenue of $110.8 million was comparable to the prior quarter and increased 7 percent compared with the year-ago period. Combined revenues for Latin America and Asia Pacific were $37.8 million, an increase of 54 percent compared to the prior year, as the company's focus on capturing new customers in these regions gained traction. Africa revenue at $41.0 million increased 4 percent compared to the year-ago quarter. Revenue in Europe, Middle East and Russia was $32.0 million, a decrease of 20 percent compared with the year ago period, as a result of operator consolidations and slower implementation of 3G networks.http://www.HarrisStratex.com

March Networks to Acquire Cieffe for IP Video Surveillance

March Networks agreed to cquire Cieffe S.p.A. and its related company Insignis Technologies for EUR 20 million plus an earn-out component of up to EUR 10.0 million in cash.


Cieffe, based in Milan, Italy, develops high performance IP video surveillance solutions used by enterprise-class organizations across Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific. The product line includes interoperable encoders, IP and megapixel cameras, video analytics and advanced video management software. Cieffe's products are used by European financial institutions and a number of high profile airport, government and commercial industrial clients for mission-critical security applications. Cieffe's calendar 2007 revenue is estimated at EUR 10 million.


"This is a strategic acquisition for March Networks that significantly strengthens our presence in the EMEA region as well as in the high-growth commercial industrial segment," said Peter Strom, President and CEO, March Networks. "Cieffe's innovative product portfolio complements March Networks' existing solutions and enhances our position as a global supplier of comprehensive, open IP video management solutions."http://www.marchnetworks.comhttp://www.cieffe.com/

ShoreTel Delivers Six-Line Color IP Phone with GigE, Bluetooth

ShoreTel introduced its ShorePhone IP 565g, a six-line IP telephone equipped with a high-resolution color display, Gigabit Ethernet connectivity and new Bluetooth headset integration. The built-in Gigabit Ethernet switch eliminates the need for multiple network drops to workspaces by extending full Gigabit speeds to the PC connected to the IP telephone's Ethernet switch. The ShorePhone IP 565g features a wideband audio codec that supports seven full octaves of human sound. It also offers a high fidelity, full-duplex speakerphone.


Like other IP telephones in the ShoreTel line, the IP 565g offers plug-and-play installation, with automatic discovery and centralized management via ShoreWare Director. The ShorePhone IP 565g is priced at US $599.


http://www.shoretel.com

Ditech' Voice Quality Assessment Employed by Mobile Operators

Ditech Networks' Experience Intelligence (EXi) solution has been used by 16 mobile service providers around the world to assess voice quality.


Ditech's solution quantifies voice quality problems caused by the caller's environment and by mobile devices. The software unobtrusively assesses voice quality on live mobile calls to derive an R-Factor and a Mean Opinion Score (MOS), which are commonly used standards in the telecommunications industry. When combined with existing voice quality tests, EXi completes the picture of voice quality as it is actually experienced by subscribers, by adding to the partial view already provided from network-induced impairments.
http://www.ditechnetworks.com/

Cedar Point Names Interim CEO

Cedar Point Communications announced that Curt Hockemeier, a member of the company's board of directors and a veteran telecommunications executive, has been named interim CEO following the departure of Andy Paff as President and CEO. The board of directors will be retaining an executive search firm to find a permanent replacement. Hockemeier has been a member of the Cedar Point Communications board of directors for the past five years. He is the former President and CEO of Arbinet-thexchange, the world's largest electronic exchange for telecommunications services.http://www.cedarpointcom.com/

Monday, January 28, 2008

AT&T and Yahoo! Refocus Alliance on Wireless and PC Screens

AT&T and Yahoo! announced a new multi-year strategic alliance that revises the previous revenue sharing arrangement under which AT&T paid Yahoo! a fee for each broadband user it served. The new agreement focuses instead on advertising-based revenue opportunities for both companies from search and display capabilities from either a mobile handset or a PC. Financial terms were not disclosed.


The companies said the new alliance includes the following features:

  • A new look and feel for the att.net portal, "powered by Yahoo!," beginning in the second quarter, for new customers. Later in the year, the att.net portal, which will run on the My Yahoo! and Yahoo! Mail platforms, will be available to existing AT&T Yahoo! customers as well as those AT&T Internet customers in the former BellSouth service area and those with the legacy AT&T WorldNet service.

  • Yahoo! provides search and display advertising for AT&T consumers on mobile devices and the PC.

  • Once the new att.net portal launches later this year, any AT&T customer -- even those without AT&T Internet service -- can access the new Web portal and e-mail services at no additional charge. For example, an AT&T wireless customer in Seattle could establish an att.net e-mail address and access e-mail via a mobile smart device or a PC.

  • Access to co-branded versions of Yahoo!'s mobile Web properties and the Yahoo! Go application for AT&T's 14.2 million broadband customers.

  • AT&T's YELLOWPAGES.COM becomes the lead local search experience on both the wireless and PC screens for AT&T customers, bringing easy-to-use local search capabilities to customers at home or on-the-go.

  • AT&T U-verse TV customers continue to have access to Yahoo! content through the service's interactive AT&T U-bar feature, where available.
http://www.yahoo.comhttp://www.att.com

Equinix Selects Infinera for Metro Networks in North America and Asia

Equinix has selected Infinera for its metro networks linking its Internet Business Exchange (IBX) centers in major cities in North America and Asia. Equinix currently has 37 IBX centers located in 17 strategic markets across North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific. Financial terms were not disclosed.


Equinix plans to leverage Infinera's Bandwidth Virtualization to deploy large bandwidth quickly, and reconfigure it easily, rapidly, and cost-effectively.


The Infinera DTN is a Digital ROADM for long-haul and metro core networks, combining high-capacity DWDM transport, integrated digital bandwidth management, and GMPLS-powered service intelligence in a single platform.http://www.equinix.com

Infinera Offer Bandwidth Virtualization over Optical Transport

Infinera is promoting the concept of "Bandwidth Virtualization" over optical transport networks based on its digital circuit technology as a means to meet the needs for a faster, more responsive Internet.


In a traditional optical network using Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM), each service that a service provider sells is typically linked to a specific wavelength, which is installed and turned up after a customer commits to purchase that service. Each service to be sold typically requires pre-planning, engineering activities and testing at time of installation, and there is often a significant delay between customer commitment to purchase and turn-up of the corresponding service. Service providers introducing new services, such as 40 Gbps and 100 Gbps services, must frequently re-engineer or overbuild their WDM networks to support the new services, creating long cycles between end-user service requests and service delivery, as well as inefficient network utilization, operational complexity, and the need for additional capital outlays.


Infinera said Bandwidth Virtualization overcomes these challenges and accelerates operators' speed of service provisioning by decoupling the service layer in the network from the underlying optical transmission layer.


Bandwidth Virtualization is enabled by an Infinera Digital Optical Network using high-capacity photonic integrated circuit technology on every route in the optical network, and integrates sub-wavelength digital switching with end-to-end software intelligence. This provides operators with a readily available pool of WDM bandwidth to meet immediate service requests, and allows new services to be deployed over the same infrastructure. The transmission layer can be configured to support any service simply by installing a service interface module at each of the two service endpoints and activating new end-to-end services using software rather than via hardware-based re-engineering of network resources.


Bandwidth Virtualization also yields significant operational benefits for service providers. By deploying hundreds of Gigabits of capacity at initial installation and being able to turn up additional services with digital plug-and-play ease, service providers can operate their network with smaller skilled engineering teams and at lower cost than on traditional WDM networks.


Infinera has released a video on its website in which Equinix and XO Communications (both customers) and Infinera CEO Jagdeep Singh explain the benefits of Bandwidth Virtualization.



http://www.infinera.com

Juniper Debuts Enterprise Ethernet Switches Running JUNOS

Juniper Networks unveiled a new family of Ethernet switches running on its JUNOS software and designed to meet the technical, business and economic requirements of a service-enabling network infrastructure. The new EX-series, which includes three Ethernet switching families, the EX 3200, 4200 and 8200, are based on three key tenets -- operational simplicity, carrier-class reliability, and integration and consolidation.


Operational simplicity -- Legacy enterprise switch infrastructures are often inundated by multiple, inconsistent versions of network operating systems, resulting in unpredictable performance as new features are enabled on the network. Juniper said that deploying its JUNOS software across the enterprise would help to automate network operations while minimizing the complexity, cost and risk associated with implementing network features and upgrades. JUNOS is the same operating system used in its carrier-grade routers.


Carrier-Class Reliability: To mitigate the impact of security risks on network operations, Juniper Networks has integrated its Unified Access Control (UAC) solution with the new EX-series switches to provide businesses with the ability to control user access to mission critical applications and company assets through the enforcement of end-to-end policies.


Integration and Consolidation: Traditional enterprise networks are often built upon multiple layers of switches deployed in three general areas: access, aggregation and core. The new EX-series switches will offer scalable port densities and carrier-proven high availability features that consolidate legacy switch layers.


All of the Juniper EX-series switches will include ASIC-based flow capabilities that permit the hardware-based collection of network statistics combined with the integrated ability to identify applications.


The Juniper EX 3200


The EX 3200 series switches are fixed-configuration Ethernet platforms offering a simple, cost-effective, standalone solution for low-density regional and corporate office deployments. Installed in wiring closets to provide network access, the 24- and 48-port EX 3200 switches offer plug-and-play 10/100/1000BASE-T connectivity. Full and partial Power over Ethernet (PoE) options are available for supporting IP-enabled devices such as telephones, security cameras and WLAN access points. Optional four-port GbE and two-port 10GbE uplink modules with pluggable optics are also available for supporting high-speed connections to other switches or upstream devices such as routers.


The Juniper EX 4200 series


The EX 4200 series Ethernet switches with Virtual-Chassis technology combine modular systems capablities with the economics and flexibility of stackable platforms. Target applications include data center, corporate and regional office environments.


Like the EX 3200 switches, EX 4200 series switches offer 24- and 48-port 10/100/1000BASE-T configurations with full and partial PoE and optional GbE and 10GbE uplink modules, plus a 24-port fiber switch offering 100/1000BASE-X support.


The Virtual Chassis technology allows up to 10 EX 4200 series switches to be interconnected over a 128 Gbps backplane, creating a single virtual switch supporting up to 480 10/100/1000BASE-T ports and up to 40 GbE or 20 10GbE uplink ports. All EX 4200 series switches include HA features such as redundant, hot-swappable internal power supplies and field-replaceable, multi-blower fan trays to help deliver maximum uptime.


The Juniper EX 8200 series


The modular EX 8200 series Terabit Ethernet switches are aimed at high-density 10GbE enterprise core and aggregation deployments. Juniper will offer two EX 8200 series switches -- an eight-slot 1.6 Terabit Chassis and a 16-slot 3.2 terabit Chassis.


The EX 8200 switches will feature enterprise-class routing tables and deep, hardware-based packet buffers. Wire-speed 10GbE port densities will scale to 64 ports in the eight-slot chassis and 128 ports in the 16-slot chassis. Two fully-equipped 16-slot EX 8200 switches will fit in a single 42-unit rack, delivering 256 wire-speed 10GbE ports per rack.http://www.juniper.net/training/fasttrack/

NewStep Raises $9.5 M for FMC, Appoints CEO

NewStep Networks, a spin-out from Bell Canada based in Toronto, closed a Series C round of $9.5 million from existing investors for its session management convergence solutions for carriers and enterprises.


NewStep's technology operates at the signaling layer, facilitating standards-based integration with legacy TDM/SS7 networks, IP/SIP networks and enterprise communication software and IP PBX implementations. The solution enables carriers to establish and retain control of calls across IP and TDM, wireless and wireline, service provider and enterprise networks. NewStep's platforms enable subscribers to have a single number, single voicemail, simultaneous ringing across multiple phones, and other features like corporate extension dialing, from existing mobile phones.


NewStep said widespread FMC adoption is being driven by business and consumers requiring a more personalized and mobile communications experience. Its technology permits this experience to be delivered through seamlessly managing the user's session independent from the underlying network.


NewStep also announced that Peter N. Vicars has joined the company as president and CEO. Vicars most recently served as president and CEO of Chantry Networks, a company in the WLAN space, which he subsequently sold to Siemens AG. Prior to Chantry, he held CEO positions with Cayman Systems (acquired by Netopia); Teloquent Communications (acquired by Syntellect); and Tekelec, where he directed all corporate activities . http://www.newstep.com

Fujitsu Network Communications Files Patent Infringement Lawsuit against Tellabs

Fujitsu Limited and Fujitsu Network Communications announced a patent infringement lawsuit asserting that Tellabs' products infringe four of Fujitsu's U.S. patents covering optical communication technologies. The accused products include the Tellabs 7100 Optical Transport System, Tellabs 5500 series and Tellabs 6300 series. Fujitsu said its complaint follows numerous attempts by Fujitsu to engage in cooperative discussions with Tellabs.


"Fujitsu has been investing heavily for years in research and development and owns approximately 10,000 patents in the field of optical communications around the world," said Masanobu Katoh, corporate vice president and president of the Law & Intellectual Property Unit of Fujitsu Limited. "In this field, Fujitsu is a leader and has patents that are important to optical communication technologies such as Synchronous Optical Networking (SONET), Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH), and Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM)."http://us.fujitsu.com/telecom

RadiSys Introduce Packet Processing Module Based on Cavium OCTEON

RadiSys ntroduced its Promentum ATCA-7220 Dual OCTEON PLUS Packet Processing Module, offering a high density of Gigabit Ethernet interfaces on a single blade for packet processing applications such as Radio Network Controllers, session border control (SBC), security gateways, edge routers and media gateways.


The ATCA-7220 is a single slot ATCA module that supports the Option 9 (10 GE) fabric interface. It incorporates an onboard 10GE switch to facilitate very flexible data flow models and enables powerful packet processing solutions needed for the next generation equipment. RadiSys said the combination of ATCA-7220 with fully validated IP data path software such as IPV4/V6 forwarding, load balancing, IPSec, etc., along with the award winning 10G ATCA Platform enables equipment manufacturers to accelerate their time to market. The ATCA-7220 also includes a local management processor to enable blade management functions and offers front or rear I/O.


The ATCA-7220 module is designed with a Cavium Networks' OCTEON Plus multi-core MIPS64 processor, which features a Smart FrontEnd with a 10 Gigabit Ethernet Switch and content aware capabilities. The Smart FrontEnd allows offloading preprocessing from the Cavium Processors, enhances manageability of the processors, and enables flexibility of data flow to and from the processors.


The ATCA-7220 Dual OCTEON PLUS Packet Processing Module will be available in early 2008.http://www.radisys.com

Harmonic Sees Q4 Sales of $88.4 million, up 17%

Harmonic Inc. reported Q4 2007 net sales of $88.4 million, up 17% from $75.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2006. For the full year 2007, net sales were $312.2 million, up 26% from $247.7 million in 2006. The Company saw revenue growth in both domestic and international markets, with international sales representing 43% and 44% of revenue for the fourth quarter and for the full year of 2007, respectively.


GAAP net income for the fourth quarter of 2007 was $13.3 million, or $0.15 per diluted share, up from $5.0 million, or $0.07 per diluted share, for the same period of 2006. For the full year 2007, GAAP net income was $30.1 million, or $0.36 per diluted share, up from $1.0 million, or $0.01 per diluted share in 2006.


Harmonic said the strong revenue growth reflects sales to an expanding range of cable, satellite, telco and other customers that are deploying a growing array of new video products and solutions.


"We enter 2008 with a very strong competitive position in cable, satellite and telco markets worldwide, and a growing position in new broadcast and Internet video delivery markets. The powerful trends toward more high-definition, on-demand and anytime, anywhere video continue to intensify and reshape the video delivery marketplace. Going forward, we expect to continue to extend the breadth and depth of our product solutions to address these major trends, and intend to continue working with our expanding global customer base to take their video services in exciting new directions. We are very encouraged about our opportunities for growth in 2008 and beyond," stated Patrick Harshman, President and CEO of Harmonic.www.harmonicinc.com

Chelsio Delivers Unified Wire for HP BladeSystem c-Class

Chelsio Communications announced the general availability of its T3-based Unified Wire Accelerators, which enable server networking, storage networking and clustering on a single platform, for HP BladeSystem c-Class. Chelsio's S320EM-BS 10GbE Unified Wire expansion card solution has been qualified by HP for use by BladeSystem customers. The new expansion card from Chelsio is a dual-port 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) adapter with PCI Express interface. It offloads TCP/IP, iSCSI iWARP, classification, virtualization, and traffic management processing from the host system, freeing up host CPU cycles for other applications. http://www.chelsio.com

mig33 Closes $13.5 Million for its Mobile Social Network

mig33, a start-up based in Burlingame, California, closed Series B funding of $13.5 million for its global mobile social network.


mig33 offers a mix of free and inexpensive services, including VoIP calls, instant messaging, e-mail, text messaging, picture sharing, social networking and community features. The company has more than 9 million users across more than 200 countries. The service claims more than 2 million sessions per day, more than 45 million messages each day and more than a million pictures a month.


mig33 will use this round of funding to continue expansion of the company and growth of the mig33 global communication service in the U.S. and around the globe.


The funding round was led by DCM with participation from existing Series A firms Accel, Redpoint and TVP.http://www.mig33.com

Foundry Posts Q4 Revenue of $168.7 Million

Foundry Networks posted Q4 2007 revenue of $168.7 million, compared to $132.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2006 and compared to $159.5 million in the third quarter of 2007, an increase of 27.7% and 5.7% respectively. Net income was $28.9 million, or $0.18 per diluted share, compared to net income of $15.7 million, or $0.10 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of 2006, and net income of $27.6 million, or $0.18 per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2007.


Included in Foundry's results for the fourth quarter of 2007 were $13.2 million of non-cash stock-based compensation expense and $54,000 of expenses related to the stock option investigation and restatement of Foundry's consolidated financial statements. Excluding these expenses and the related tax effect, non-GAAP net income in the fourth quarter of 2007 was $37.8 million and non-GAAP net income per diluted share was $0.24.



Foundry Networks said that in Q4, North American commercial (non Federal Government) revenue represented 48% of total revenue while sales to Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) represented 18% of total revenue. Business from Japan increased to 6% of total revenue, while sales from the rest of Asia increased to 9% of total revenue.



Sales to the U.S. Federal Government remained strong, representing 19% of total revenue.



Within the service provider market, router revenue grew to 20% of total revenue, a 26% increase from the third quarter of 2007. Overall, service provider revenue grew to represent 26% of total revenue in the quarter.
http://www.foundrynetworks.com

JDSU Offers Low-Cost Optical Detector Chip for GPON

JDSU began shipping an avalanche photo detector (APD) chip designed for GPON deployments. In order to make APD chips affordable for the GPON market, JDSU said it leveraged its manufacturing expertise to reduce production complexity, while retaining the same high reliability and performance of legacy APD chips. The chip is based on a planar platform, known for higher reliability and easier fabrication. JDSU has shipped tens of thousands of APD chips for telecom applications, with a reputation for field performance and reliability.


JDSU is currently developing packaged versions of the APD chip for the GPON space and other telecommunications markets.http://www.jdsu.com/

Ikanos Reports Q4 Revenue of $29.9 Million

Ikanos Communications reported Q4 revenue of $29.9 million compared with revenue of $27.3 million for the third quarter of 2007 and revenue of $21.0 million for the fourth quarter of 2006. GAAP net loss for the fourth quarter of 2007 was $4.1 million, or $0.14 per share, on 29.3 million weighted average shares. This compares with a net loss of $13.0 million, or $0.45 per share, on 28.7 million weighted average shares in the third quarter of fiscal 2007 and with a net loss of $15.6 million, or $0.56 per share, on 27.6 million weighted average shares in the fourth quarter of 2006.


Separately, Ikanos Communications appointed Frederick M. Lax to its Board as a Non-Executive Director. Lax succeeds Mike Goguen who has been on Ikanos' board since May 1999. Lax has previously served with Tekelec, Lucent Technologies, AT&T and Bell Laboratories. As President and CEO of Tekelec, a leading developer of next-generation switching and signaling telecommunications network performance management technology and value-added applications, Lax oversaw Tekelec's growth strategy as it expanded its telecommunications product portfolio, strengthened its competitive position and successfully expanded its global presence, including the acquisition of several private companies. Currently Lax serves on the board of Argent Networks.http://www.ikanos.com

Korea Digital Cable Laboratories Aligns with MoCA

The Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA) and Korea Digital Cable Laboratories (KLabs) have entered into a formal liaison where both
organizations will share information assuring ongoing compatibility within South Korea's cable environment. Both MoCA and KLabs will continue to develop specifications independently, and share published and draft specifications as well as proposed documentation.


The arrangement is expected to ensure seamless integration of and interoperability between their respective technology as it is implemented by service providers.


KLabs is a non-profit research institute established by Korea's cable industry for the development and advancement of digital cable. KLabs is the leading authority on Korea's cable standardization and certification.http://www.mocalliance.org

Sunday, January 27, 2008

One Minute Video: What is SIP Security






One Minute Video presented by Rajneesh Chopra, Juniper Networks -- What is SIP Security?


Jargon Buster

Packet Design Provides Visibility into Layer 3 MPLS-VPNs

Packet Design introduced a network management product that provider visibility into MPLS-VPN customer traffic not only at the network edge but across the core.


VPN Traffic Explorer lets service providers determine the exact path each customer's traffic travels, know which customers are the heaviest bandwidth users, and analyze customer traffic by class of service (CoS) not just on a few links but everywhere in the network.
Armed with this new level of VPN-centric management knowledge, providers can resolve customer problems faster, do far more effective capacity planning, and pinpoint trends to better tailor existing services and sell new ones.


The new product combines Packet Design's foundation technology, route analytics -- which provides visibility into real-time, network-wide routing paths -- with the ability to map VPN customer traffic flows directly onto those paths. The product supports the newest versions of router-based flow data, including Cisco's NetFlow version 9, which recognize not only IP but also MPLS, the mechanism used by service providers to forward customers' VPN traffic across their network cores using private "tunnels."


Packet Design said previous solutions aimed at Layer 3 MPLS-VPN service management gather traffic data from the provider's edge routers, showing how much traffic each customer is sending. But they provide no insight inside the MPLS core, which typically exists one "hop" in from the edge and where problems can impact the quality of service for many customers.http://www.packetdesign.com

Taiwan Mobile Deploys Axerra Pseudo-Wires for Mobile Wireless Backhaul

Taiwan Mobile Co., Ltd. has deployed Axerra Networks' Pseudo-Wire solutions in its radio access network (RAN) for the backhaul of UMTS and GSM voice and data traffic. Axerra's solutions employ Carrier Ethernet as a full-service alternative to TDM backhaul in the mobile wireless RAN. Financial terms were not disclosed.http://www.axerra.comhttp://www.taiwanmobile.com

IEEE P802.3ba Task Force Sets Sights on 40GbE, 100GbE

The IEEE New Standards Committee (NesCom) has approved the Higher Speed Study Group's project authorization request (PAR), and the resulting project will now be known as the IEEE P802.3ba task force.


In July 2007, the Higher Speed Study Group (HSSG) agreed upon a single project encompassing a 40 Gigabit Ethernet (40GbE) rate for server and storage applications and a 100 Gigabit Ethernet (100GbE) rate for network aggregation. In November 2007, the IEEE 802.3 working group authorized the HSSG to become the IEEE P802.3ba task force to begin work on the 40GbE and 100GbE draft standard. The Task Force will now focus on defining the standard for 40GbE and 100GbE, and expects to complete standard ratification in 2010.


"This is a key milestone for the 40GbE and 100GbE project, and the result of collaboration between many individuals who have helped the IEEE P802.3ba task force gain momentum," said John D'Ambrosia, newly appointed chair of IEEE P802.3ba task force. "During last week's interim session, we began to hear initial technical presentations as part of the effort to work towards a first draft standard proposal expected to be completed by Fall 2008."


The Ethernet Alliance noted that the IEEE P802.3av (10Gb/s PHY for EPON) task force has finalized its task force review of draft D1.0 and is preparing the next revision of the draft standard.http://www.ethernetalliance.org
  • The Ethernet Alliance is an industry group whose mission is to accelerate industry adoption and remove barriers to market entry by providing a cohesive, market-responsive industry voice on IEEE 802 Ethernet projects.

Helio Reaches Nearly 200,000 Subscribers, ARPU at $85

Helio, the U.S. joint venture between SK Telecom and EarthLink, announced some key usage statistics for its mobile service.

  • Helio has nearly 200,000 subscriber.


  • Average revenue per user (ARPU) is over $85, well above the industry average.


  • Helio users have an average of over 550 text messages per member per month, many times the industry average


  • Instant Message penetration 3 times the industry average


  • 95% of Helio brand members access the Web through their mobile device versus an industry average of about 13%


  • Each month, 60% of Helio brand members access MySpace via their Helio and average nearly 500 page views


  • 57% of Ocean users downloaded Helio's exclusive YouTube application within two weeks of its launch


In addition, Helio announced that founding CEO Sky Dayton has been named non-executive Chairman of Helio's Board of Directors, and Wonhee Sull, formerly Helio's President and COO, has been elevated to CEO.http://www.helio.com

Motorola Signs WiMAX CPE Order with Wateen Telecom-Pakistan

Motorola announced a contract with Wateen Telecom-Pakistan

for the supply of 198,000 end-user WiMAX customer premises equipment (CPE) devices for both indoor and outdoor use. The deal is described as one of the world's largest WiMAX device orders to date. Financial terms were not disclosed.


Motorola is also supplying its 802.16e WiMAX and IMS solutions for Wateen Telecom's nationwide WiMAX network under previously announced deals.


The Motorola CPE units will provide subscribers in Pakistan with wireless access to agile and affordable data and VoIP services, as well as business services such as VPNs.http://www.motorola.comhttp://www.wateen.com.

Nokia to Acquire Trolltech for Software Development Expertise

Nokia announced a public voluntary tender offer to acquire Trolltech, a company headquartered in Oslo, Norway and publicly listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange. Trolltech is a recognized software provider with world-class software development platforms and frameworks. Nokia said the acquisition would accelerate its software strategy.




Trolltech provides cross-platform software development frameworks and application platforms. Trolltech's Qt is used in popular software such as Skype, Google Earth, Adobe Photoshop Elements and Lucasfilm, among others. Its Qtopia is used in consumer devices such as mobile handsets, video-phones, set-top boxes and media players. Trolltech's software has shipped in more than 10 million devices.

"The technology landscape evolves and, for Nokia, software plays a major role in our growth strategy for devices, PCs and the integration with the Internet. We continue to focus on areas where we can differentiate and add more value. Common cross-platform layers on top of our software platforms attract innovation and enable Web 2.0 technologies in the mobile space," said Kai Oistamo, Executive Vice President, Devices, Nokia. "Trolltech's deep understanding of open source software and its strong technology assets will enable both Nokia and others to innovate on our device platforms while reducing time-to-market. This acquisition will also further increase the competitiveness of S60 and Series 40."http://www.nokia.comhttp://trolltech.com/

Movial Demos its "Social Communicator"

Finland-based Movial unveiled its "Social Communicator," a software application that enables instant social communication by bringing Internet calling, social media content (e.g., YouTube), unified messaging, and Web and video feeds together for content sharing and real-time communication on mobile handsets, PCs, IP set-top boxes, and Internet tablet devices.




Movial's Social Communicator determines the best way to share content, regardless of a user's device or online/offline status, and frees users from the complexities of figuring out how to reach a contact for instantaneous communication.


The Social Communicator, which Movial will distribute through Service Providers, offers built-in presence, SMS, MMS, instant messaging, multimedia calling, and video sharing. Users can now connect, share and communicate about all their Internet content -- from news and information sources to popular video sites -- all in real time using a variety of communication possibilities on any device.http://www.movial.com

Ceragon Posts Q4 Revenue of $46.1 Million, up 40% YoY

Ceragon Networks, which supplies high-capacity wireless backhaul solutions, reported Q4 2007 revenues of $46.1 million, up 40% from $32.9 million for the fourth quarter of 2006 and 3.8% from $44.5 million in the third quarter of 2007. Net income (GAAP) was $4.4 million or $0.13 per basic share and $0.12 per diluted share compared to net loss of $8.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2006, or $0.30 basic and diluted net loss per share. Gross margin on a GAAP basis in the fourth quarter of 2007 was 36.2% of revenues.


"We are pleased to report record quarterly and annual results," said Ira Palti, President and CEO of Ceragon. "2007 was an excellent year in which our revenues grew 49% and our profits grew even faster. We believe the primary growth drivers for high-capacity wireless backhaul remain in place and we have a large pipeline of opportunities. We are looking forward to another year of growth in 2008."
http://www.ceragon.com

Ribbit Unveils its "Amphibian" Consumer Voice Mash-up Service

Ribbit, a start-up based in Mountain View, California, unveiled its "Amphibian" consumer service for transforming any physical phone into a physical/virtual "dual world" phone. The idea is to enable consumers to use their current phone plans in any number of new and evolving Web environments.

Ribbit's Amphibian service, which the company calls a "voiceware application, is expected to be available in the second quarter of 2008. The service integrates voice into any number of Web environments including social networking pages, Web-based applications, and mash-ups.




http://www.ribbit.com





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Atheros Posts Q4 Revenue of $114.3 million, up 30% YoY

Atheros Communications posted record Q4 2007 revenue of $114.3 million, up eight percent from the $106.3 million reported in the third quarter of 2007 and up 30 percent from the $87.8 million reported in the fourth quarter of 2006. Net income (GAAP) was $13.4 million or $0.22 per diluted share. This compares with GAAP net income of $9.7 million or $0.16 per diluted share in the third quarter of 2007. Net loss in the fourth quarter of 2006 was $1.2 million or $0.02 per diluted share.


http://www.atheros.com

Cisco Unveils Massive Nexus 7000 Switch for Virtualized Data Centers

Cisco unveiled its the next generation, flagship data center-class switching platform for combining Ethernet, IP, and storage capabilities across one unified network fabric.

The Cisco Nexus 7000 Series, which sets forth the company's Data Center 3.0 vision, represents the culmination of over $1 billion in R&D, according to the company. The platform is designed for next generation data center infrastructure deployments of virtualized servers, storage, networks and applications. Using a unified fabric would eliminate the need for parallel storage and computational networks, reducing the number of server interfaces and significantly reducing the cabling and switching infrastructure required in the data center. At the heart of the network is a lossless unified switching fabric capable of simultaneously forwarding storage, Ethernet, and IP traffic.


Cisco's Nexus 7000 is a scalable modular platform that delivers up to 15 terabits per second (Tbps_ of switching capacity in a single chassis, supporting up to 512 10 Gbps Ethernet and future delivery of 40- and 100-Gbps Ethernet. Its unified fabric architecture combines Ethernet and storage capabilities into a single platform, designed to provide all servers with access to all network and storage resources. Key components of the unified fabric architecture include unified I/O interfaces and Fibre Channel over Ethernet support to be delivered in the future.


The design of the Nexus 7000 is also optimized for improved airflow and offers integrated cable management. The data plane is fully distributed and, when coupled with the Cisco NX-OS operating system, is designed to enable zero service-disruption upgrades on production systems. NX-OS combines the best of Cisco's SAN-OS, Layer 2 switching, Layer 3 routing protocols, and advanced virtualization capabilities. These virtualization capabilities allow the system to be partitioned into multiple logical devices, each with its own processes and command-line interface running independent of one another. This system may be used by hosting providers and complex enterprise administrative models, to be shared by multiple administrators concurrently, each with its own switching environment.


The Nexus 7000 Series starts at $75,000. Availability is expected in Q2 2008.


http://www.cisco.com

Verizon Tops 1 Million FiOS TV Customers, Adds 2 Million Wireless Customers

Citing gains in strategic growth areas such as wireless, broadband, data, video and global IP, Verizon Communications reported $23.8 billion in Q4 2007 revenues, up 5.5 percent; up 5.6 percent on an adjusted basis (non-GAAP) and earnings of 37 cents in fully diluted earnings per share (EPS). This compares with fourth-quarter 2006 earnings of 48 cents per share before income from discontinued operations that have since been divested.


"In the fourth quarter, the momentum of revenue growth and margin expansion continued to drive double-digit earnings growth, and we once again reported strong growth in sales of all our strategic products," said Verizon Chairman and CEO Ivan Seidenberg.


Some highlights for the quarter.


Wireless


  • 2.0 million total net customer additions, 1.9 million net retail customer additions; 65.7 million total customers, 63.7 million retail (non-wholesale) customers; 6.9 million retail net adds in 2007, the most of any carrier.


  • 1.20 percent total churn, 0.94 percent retail post-paid churn.


  • Total revenues in the quarter were $11.4 billion, up 13.3 percent; service revenues were $9.9 billion, up 13.7 percent, driven by customer growth and demand for data services. Full-year revenues were $43.9 billion, up 15.3 percent.


  • ARPU (average monthly revenue per customer) levels increased year-over-year for the seventh consecutive quarter: retail ARPU of $51.49 was up 1.4 percent; retail data ARPU of $11.06 was up 36.0 percent.



  • Wireline


  • 226,000 net new FiOS TV customers, 943,000 total FiOS TV customers at year-end; Verizon now has more than 1 million FiOS TV customers. Including satellite TV customers served in partnership with DIRECTV (a net of 63,000 added this quarter), Verizon has more than 1.8 million video customers.


  • Verizon added a net of 264,000 new broadband connections (DSL and FiOS Internet connections combined). Broadband connections totaled 8.2 million, an increase of 17.9 percent compared with year-end 2006. The company added a net of 245,000 FiOS Internet connections this quarter, for a total of more than 1.5 million as of year-end.


  • ARPU in legacy Verizon wireline markets (which excludes former MCI consumer markets) increased 11.0 percent to $59.48, compared with the fourth quarter 2006.


  • The FiOS network passed more than 9.3 million premises by year-end. Estimated earnings dilution from FiOS was 9 cents per share in the fourth quarter.


  • FiOS Internet was available for sale to 7.5 million premises in parts of 17 states by year-end. Penetration for the service averaged 20.6 percent across all markets. FiOS TV was available for sale to 5.9 million premises in parts of 13 states by year-end. Penetration for the service averaged 16.0 percent across all markets.



  • Verizon Business


  • Verizon Business generated revenues of $5.4 billion, or growth of 0.5 percent compared with the fourth quarter 2006 on an adjusted basis (non-GAAP). This is Verizon Business' fifth consecutive quarter of year-over-year, pro-forma revenue growth.


  • Verizon cited strong sales of key strategic services -- such as IP, managed services, Ethernet and optical ring services -- continued to drive Verizon Business' growth. These services generated more than $1.4 billion in revenue, up 25.1 percent from the fourth quarter 2006.
http://www.verizon.com

Thursday, January 24, 2008

SkyCross Unveils iMAT Single Antenna

SkyCross unveiled its Isolated Mode Antenna Technology (iMAT) single-antenna approach providing MIMO capabilities.


SKyCross said its revolutionary antenna design will enable designers of handsets, PC cards, USB dongles, personal navigation and other wireless electronics to offer diversity or multiple input, multiple output (MIMO) communications, even in applications where such implementation has been considered impossible due to space constraints inside mobile devices. Traditionally, MIMO leverages multiple antennas at both the radio transmitter and receiver to improve communication performance. Next-generation protocols, such as HSxPA, WiMAX, 802.11x, and LTE, all of which require diversity or MIMO.


The single-antenna solution from SkyCross eliminates the need to configure multiple antennas and reduces the number of parts required to build a device. The company said its iMAT enables a single device antenna to perform like multiple antennas through the use of multiple feed points. Each feed accesses the antenna as if it consisted of multiple antennas, each with high isolation, low correlation, and high per-feed antenna efficiency. The multiple radiation patterns produced by an iMAT antenna have low correlation so they cover different spatial regions to achieve pattern diversity and signal independence. This makes the way the device is "pointed" with respect to towers and base units less crucial.http://www.skycross.com

NXP Launches Ultra-low Power Multi-band Silicon Tuner for Portable TV

NXP Semiconductors introduced a multi-band silicon tuner (TDA18292) that supports the five global TV standards for portable devices (DVB-T, DVB-H, DVB-SH, T-DMB, ISDB-T) and five prominent frequency bands (VHF, UHF, L1, L2, S-band).


NXP said the ultra-low power, low noise, small footprint and high immunity to other cellular and connectivity standards, makes the new device an ideal TV solution for notebooks, USB sticks, Portable Multimedia Players (PMP), portable DVD players, mobile phones, portable navigation systems (GPS) and other handheld devices -- at a very low cost of less than $2, for high volume quantities.http://www.nxp.com

Ericsson Appoints VP of Sales and Marketing

Ericsson has appointed Torbjörn Possne as Senior Vice President and Head of Group Function Sales and Marketing. Possne is presently Head of Market Unit Northern Europe and Global Customer Account Deutsche Telekom.


Possne joined Ericsson in 1979 and has held several different positions, including Head of Ericsson Belgium and Luxembourg between 1996 and 2000. In 2000, he was appointed Head of Business Unit WCDMA, PDC Systems and was Head of Solutions Business Area WCDMA between 2001 and 2003.http://www.ericsson.com

Strix Systems Introduces Wireless Mesh Video Surveillance System

Strix Systems and Dotworkz Systems announce a high-performance Integrated Wireless Video Surveillance System (IWVS) designed for optimal IP video surveillance over wireless/WiFi mesh networks.


Strix Systems' hardware and software have been integrated into the Dotworkz D2 weatherized enclosures for IP-enabled Intelligent Pan-Tilt-Zoom (PTZ) cameras. High throughput and low latency are achieved via Strix intelligent radio algorithms that dynamically adjust to the environment. Maximum power enables the greatest signal strength, receive sensitivity and optimal channel selection for the most robust wireless connectivity and highest achievable throughput.


The IWVS includes high power 802.11a and also supports high-power 4.9 GHz for public safety deployments. 802.11a and 4.9 GHz radios provide secured/encrypted WiFi access to the wireless mesh network. IP Video is switched at high-speed between radios and the IP camera connected Ethernet port while Strix Virtual/One and Strix Priority/One provide packet prioritization and Quality of Service throughout the network. Layer 2 Network Address Translation (NAT) and Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) enable self-configuration which is fully manageable by Strix Systems Manager/One and a compliment of iSNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) managers. Video and recording management is enabled by the IP video surveillance camera and/or client-server application of choice. The IWVS optionally includes an 802.11g radio for localized wireless client/user access supporting voice, video and data applications.
http://www.strixsystems.com

Indonesia's Global Mediacom Selects Nokia Siemens for Mobile TV

Indonesia's Global Mediacom has selected Nokia Siemens Networks to launch a commercial broadcast mobile TV service based on Digital Video Broadcast-Handheld (DVB-H) technology in the first half of 2008. The deal is the biggest DVB-H agreement signed by Nokia Siemens Networks globally to date. Financial terms were not disclosed.


Nokia Siemens Networks Indonesia is responsible for the end-to-end systems and services, which will include consulting, implementation of the entire broadcasting solution and network, systems integration and the relevant business applications. Global Mediacom is also in discussions with Nokia for Nokia to provide DVB-H integrated devices such as the Nokia N77, and work with Nokia Siemens Networks on joint marketing activities to ensure service adoption by Indonesian consumers.http://www.nsn.comhttp://www.mediacom.co.id/

Ubiquisys Offers Femtocell System for Small Offices

Ubiquisys introduced new femtocell systems for small and medium-sized businesses based on its residential product. The ZoneGate E2 modular femtocell system enables Mobile Network Operators to provide users with their own private 3G network access point for better indoor coverage.


The ZoneGate E2 is a modular femtocell system that can be used individually or or in a formation to cover various office layouts. Irrespective of the deployment formation, the femtocells dynamically adapt the coverage between them, and automatically manage handover as employees move around the office whilst on a call. The system connects to the mobile operator's core network through the existing broadband connection.


"Femtocells have long been thought of as a consumer device that provides better quality lower cost mobile coverage in the home - this is no longer the case. Mobile operators can now extend these innovative services to businesses as well." said Will Franks, CTO Ubiquisys.http://www.ubiquisys.com

NTT America Announces Carbon Offset Program

NTT America announced a program designed to offset carbon dioxide emissions generated from the use of NTTA's enterprise hosting and co-location services. The program will be offered through a partnership with TerraPass, which provides carbon offsets by investing in green technologies.


Through its relationship with TerraPass, NTTA has calculated the estimated amount of annual power and resulting carbon pollution that enterprise hosting platforms and co-location services emit in a year. All emissions calculations are based on the World Resources Institute (WRI) Greenhouse Gas Protocol, an international accounting tool for greenhouse gas emissions.


The fee charged for TerraPass carbon offsets is used by TerraPass to fund carbon reduction programs. These programs include wind farms, farm power generated from methane gas digesters and landfill gas capture.


NTTA said its customer carbon off-set program is one of several Green Initiatives being undertaken by NTTA in data centers within the United States, and globally by NTT Communications.
.http://www.nttamerica.comhttp://www.terrapass.com

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

PMC-Sierra Post Q4 Revenue of $124 Million, up 21% YoY

PMC-Sierra reported Q4 2007 net revenues of $123.6 million compared with $117.5 million in the third quarter of 2007, and $101.9 million in the fourth quarter of the prior year. The revenues in the fourth quarter of 2007 represent a quarterly sequential increase of 5% and a year-over-year increase of 21%.


Net loss in the fourth quarter of 2007 on a GAAP basis was $5.1 million (GAAP loss per share of $0.02) compared with GAAP net loss of $5.9 million (GAAP loss per share of $0.03) in the third quarter of 2007.


"In the fourth quarter of 2007, PMC experienced its best operational results in years," said Bob Bailey, Chairman and CEO of PMC-Sierra. "We had strong demand for most of our diversified portfolio, especially enterprise storage and printer-related products."http://www.pmc-sierra.com

Sprint Nextel Announces Executive Changes

Sprint Nextel announced the departure of three executives in its senior management team. Paul Saleh, Chief Financial Officer, Tim Kelly, Chief Marketing Officer, and Mark Angelino, president, Sales and Distribution will leave the company Friday, January 25. No reason was given.


William G. Arendt, currently senior vice president and controller of Sprint Nextel, will serve as acting Chief Financial Officer. John Garcia, currently senior vice president, Product Development and Management, will serve as acting Chief Marketing Officer. Paget Alves, currently Sprint Nextel's regional president for sales and distribution, will serve as acting president, Sales and Distribution. All will report directly to Dan Hesse, the company's new CEO.http://www.sprint.com

Sprint Files VoIP Lawsuits

Sprint filed four patent infringement actions in the United States District Court against NuVox Communications, Broadvox Holdings, Big River Telephone Company, and Paetec Communications. Sprint alleges that each of these companies has infringed at least 6 VOP patents by selling VOP services that utilize the Sprint patents. Sprint seeks monetary damages from these companies and an injunction that would enjoin the companies from ongoing infringement.


Sprint noted that these lawsuits follow its recent successful legal action against Vonage Holdings. In October 2005, Sprint filed suit against Vonage Holdings and Voiceglo Communications in the same Kansas court asserting infringement of seven VOP patents. In August 2006, Voiceglo agreed to a settlement of its case by paying a confidential sum for a license to Sprint's VOP patent portfolio. Sprint's case against Vonage, however, proceeded to trial. In September of 2007, an eight-person jury found that Vonage had willfully infringed all of Sprint's asserted patents and awarded Sprint $69.5 million in damages. Less than one month later, Vonage agreed to take a license under Sprint's VOP portfolio and paid Sprint $80 million. The same patents asserted against Vonage and Voiceglo in the 2005 case have been asserted in the four new cases.http://www.sprint.com

Juniper Posts Q4 Revenue of $809.2 million, up 36% YoY

Juniper Networks reported Q4 net revenues of $809.2 million, compared with $595.8 million for the fourth quarter of 2006, an increase of 36 percent. Net revenues for the twelve months ended December 31, 2007 were $2,836.1 million, compared with $2,303.6 million for the 2006 fiscal year, an increase of 23 percent. Net income on a GAAP basis for the fourth quarter of 2007 was $122.9 million or $0.22 per share on a diluted basis, compared with a GAAP net income of $71.0 million or $0.12 per share for the fourth quarter of 2006.


"2007 was a strong year for Juniper Networks," said Scott Kriens, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Juniper Networks, Inc. "Our people and products delivered a clear competitive advantage to our customers in the high-performance networking market, and our results speak for themselves. We look forward to 2008 as another high-performance year, where we believe the intensity of our focus and execution will produce accelerating growth and leverage across our business."http://www.juniper.net

NTT DoCoMo and Google to Partner in Mobile Internet Services

NTT DoCoMo announced a partnership with Google to provide search services, search-related advertisement and potential applications to i-mode users. The companies will also collaborate to enhance the user-friendliness of i-mode services, by making various Google services easier to access through i-mode handsets. The default pre-loading of Google Maps application into upcoming DoCoMo i-mode handsets is one of the initial initiatives being discussed.


Google Maps for Mobile is under discussion to become a standard pre-installed application on upcoming i-mode handsets to be launched in the near future.


The companies are also considering the possibility of bringing Google Android based handsets to the Japanese market. http://www.ntt.co.jphttp://www.google.com

AT&T Adds 2.7 million Net Wireless, 162K U-Verse TV Subscribers

AT&T reported strong wireless growth in Q4 2007 with a record net gain of 2.7 million wireless subscribers, up 13.5 percent from 2.4 million net adds in the year-earlier fourth quarter. AT&T's reported fourth-quarter revenues totaled $30.3 billion, up from $15.9 billion in the year-earlier quarter. AT&T's 2007 reported results reflect the Dec. 29, 2006 acquisition of BellSouth and the accompanying consolidation of wireless results.


AT&T's reported net income for the fourth quarter totaled $3.1 billion, or $0.51 per diluted share, compared with $1.9 billion, or $0.50 per diluted share, in the year-earlier quarter.


Some highlights:

AT&T Wireless


  • AT&T's net gain of 2.7 million wireless subscribers was almost entirely driven by stronger growth in retail postpaid net adds, which totaled 1.2 million, up 36.8 percent versus results in the year-earlier quarter. In addition, AT&T's acquisition of Dobson Communications, which was completed on Nov. 15, 2007, added 1.7 million subscribers, bringing AT&T's wireless subscriber base at year end to 70.1 million.


  • Q4 was also the industry's best-ever quarterly gross wireless subscriber additions, which totaled 6.0 million, up 9.6 percent versus the year-earlier fourth quarter. Total average monthly subscriber churn was 1.7 percent, down 10 basis points versus the year-earlier quarter, and postpaid churn was 1.2 percent, down 30 basis points from the fourth quarter of 2006.


  • AT&T's total wireless revenues were $11.4 billion, up 16.3 percent versus the year-earlier quarter.


  • Wireline

  • At the end of Q4, subscribers to AT&T U-verse totaled 231,000, up from 126,000 three months earlier.


  • AT&T's U-verse TV weekly install rate in mid-December was approximately 12,000, above the company's year end target of 10,000.


  • AT&T's broadband revenues grew 13.7 percent in the fourth quarter to $1.4 billion.


  • Total high speed Internet connections, which include DSL, AT&T U-verse high speed Internet and satellite broadband services, increased by 396,000 in the quarter to reach 14.2 million, up 2.0 million, or 16.3 percent, over the past year.


  • Enterprise

  • Recurring enterprise service revenues, which exclude revenues from CPE and from assets acquired during the past year, increased 1.8 percent, up from 0.3 percent year-over-year growth in the third quarter of 2007 and a 3.5 percent decline in the fourth quarter of 2006.


  • Fourth-quarter enterprise services growth was led by a 20.9 percent increase in revenues from IP-based data services such as virtual private networking (VPN), hosting and managed Internet services.


  • Total enterprise revenues declined 1.9 percent year over year, reflecting a decreased emphasis on CPE sales following the fourth quarter of 2006.


For the full year 2007, cost savings from BellSouth and AT&T Corp. merger integration initiatives totaled approximately $4.0 billion, approximately 75 percent expense and 25 percent capital.


Full-year 2007 capital expenditures totaled $17.7 billion.


Free cash flow totaled $16.4 billion, and free cash flow after dividends totaled $7.6 billion, significantly above AT&T's original outlook of $5 billion to $6 billion. (Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital expenditures; free cash flow after dividends also subtracts dividends paid.)http://www.att.com

Level 3 and BT Team in Central and Eastern Europe

Level 3 Communications' European Markets Group is working collaboratively with BT Global Services to expand backbone capacity in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). The joint project has ensured that there is a 2,400 km fiber network fully equipped with next generation networking capability. In addition, under the terms of this new multi-year agreement, Level 3 will deliver wavelength services to BT within the CEE region and more broadly through Europe.


Level 3 said the deal enables it to further expand its fiber-based network, offering full services in the existing markets of Prague and Vienna while adding new points of presence in Budapest, Bratislava and Ivancice.


BT Global Services is focusing on the service layer and optimization.
http://www.level3.com/http://www.bt.com

FCC Auction Gets Underway for 700 MHz Band

The FCC auction for licenses in the 700 MHz Band got underway. Over $2.8 billion in bids have been recorded in the initial rounds. The full auction is expected to take about a month.



Bidding information is posted on the FCC's electronic auction website.http://wireless.fcc.gov/auctions/default.htm?job=auction_summary&id=73

  • The auction (designated as Auction 73) will include 1,099 licenses in the 698-806 MHz bands, including 176 licenses over Economic Areas (EAs) in the A Block, 734 licenses over Cellular Market Areas (CMAs) in the B Block, 176 licenses over EAs in the E Block, 12 licenses over Regional Economic Area Groupings (REAGs) in the C Block, and one nationwide license, to be used as part of the 700 MHz Public/Private Partnership, in the D Block.
  • One Minute Video: What is IDP






    One Minute Video presented by Rajneesh Chopra, Juniper Networks -- What is IDP?


    Jargon Buster

    Verizon Business Rolls Out HD Video Conferencing

    Verizon Business announced its rollout of video conferencing in high definition. The service is immediately available for customers around the world, who are increasingly turning to video conferencing as an alternative to face-to-face meetings to boost productivity, hold the line on business travel costs, and help reduce carbon emissions associated with business travel.


    The HD video supported by Verizon conferencing provides a quality high- definition experience with a screen resolution frame size of 1,280 x 720 pixels and a transmission speed of 30 frames per second. To take advantage of the offering, customer equipment must support high definition at each location participating in HD meetings. The access may be provided through the public Internet or over Verizon Private IP service, with four access speeds available -- 1,152 kbps, 1,472 kbps, 1,536 kbps and 1,920 kbps.http://www.verizon.com

    Avaya Transition Ethernet Switching Lines to Extreme Networks

    Avaya is recommending the Extreme Networks BlackDiamond and Summit Ethernet switches to its customers as the Avaya Cajun family of switches approach end-of-sale status. Ethernet switches are typically used to accommodate the bandwidth required for advanced applications in IP telephony, security and wireless local area networks.


    "Avaya has been integrating and supporting the Extreme Networks product lines worldwide in its Intelligent Communications solutions for more than four years," said Simon Woollett, vice president, Converged Communications Division, Avaya. "It's only natural that Extreme would be Avaya's preferred offer for our customers who want to transition from Avaya's Cajun switches."http://www.avaya.comhttp://www.extremenetworks.com

    Broadcom Posts Q4 Revenue of $1.027 billion, up 8.1% Sequentially

    Broadcom reported Q4 2007 revenue of $1.027 billion, an increase of 8.1% compared with the $950.0 million reported for the third quarter of 2007 and an increase of 11.2% compared with the $923.5 million reported for the fourth quarter of 2006. Net income (GAAP) for the fourth quarter of 2007 was $90.3 million, or $.16 per share (diluted), compared with GAAP net income of $27.8 million, or $.05 per share (diluted), for the third quarter of 2007, and GAAP net income of $45.1 million, or $.08 per share (diluted), for the fourth quarter of 2006.


    Net revenue for the year ended December 31, 2007 was $3.78 billion, an increase of 3.0% compared with the $3.67 billion reported for the year ended December 31, 2006. Net income computed in accordance with GAAP for the year ended December 31, 2007 was $213.3 million, or $.37 per share (diluted), compared with GAAP net income of $379.0 million, or $.64 per share (diluted), for the year ended December 31, 2006.


    "2007 ended strongly as Broadcom generated record revenue for the fourth quarter and the full year, driven by the ramp in new product cycles occurring in the Bluetooth, wireless LAN and digital TV markets," said Scott McGregor, Broadcom's President and Chief Executive Officer. "Broadcom remains a product cycle driven company, and to continue this product cycle momentum into the future, we made a number of strategic acquisitions and significant internal investments in 2007. We believe that as the convergence of technologies, products and markets continues, the winners will be the companies that possess all of the communication technologies required to build these next generation products. Broadcom remains well positioned to benefit from this trend."


    "As we look into 2008, we believe that Bluetooth, wireless LAN and digital TV will continue to be key revenue drivers, plus we look forward to the emergence of new product areas such as HD DVD, cellular and GPS, in addition to continued growth opportunities within our traditional end markets, such as switching and set-top boxes. While Broadcom will continue to invest to bring these and other new products to market, we have tightened our processes and made additional strategic portfolio management decisions in the fourth quarter to help moderate expense growth across 2008, with the goal of trending back towards our long-term business model."
    http://www.broadcom.com

    Extreme Networks Reports Quarterly Revenue up 7%; Gross Margins up 14%

    Extreme Networks reported that quarterly revenue increased 7 percent to $92.5 million, from $86.9 million in the year ago quarter. For the quarter, net income on a GAAP basis for the fiscal second quarter of 2008 was $4.1 million or $0.04 per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $1.9 million or a loss of $0.02 per diluted share in the year-ago quarter. GAAP results include stock-based compensation charges.


    "This quarter represents our highest revenues in two years, driven largely by our newer products, which are being broadly accepted by the market," said Mark Canepa, president and CEO of Extreme Networks. http://www.extremenetworks.com

    Nokia Posts Q4 2007 Net Sales of EUR 15.7 Billion

    Nokia's fourth quarter 2007 net sales increased 34% to EUR 15.7 billion, compared to EUR 11.7 billion in the fourth quarter 2006. At constant currency, group net sales would have been up 40% year on year. Nokia's fourth quarter 2007 operating profit increased 64% to EUR 2.5 billion (including the EUR 13 million net negative impact of special items), compared to EUR 1.5 billion in the fourth quarter 2006 (including a negative special item of EUR 39 million).


    Some highlights from Q4:


    • Nokia diluted EPS of EUR 0.47, growing 57% from Q4 2006, excluding special items.


    • Nokia operating margin of 15.9%, up sequentially from 14.6% in Q3 2007, excluding special items.


    • Nokia operating cash flow of EUR 2.7 billion.


    • Nokia device volumes of 133.5 million units, up 20% sequentially and up 27% year on year.


    • Estimated industry device volumes of 336 million units, up 17% sequentially and up 16% year on year.


    • Nokia estimated device market share of 40%, up from 39% in Q3 2007 and up from 36% in Q4 2006.


    • Nokia device ASP of EUR 83, up from EUR 82 in Q3 2007.


    • Total device gross and operating margins increased significantly sequentially and year on year.


    • Several key devices started shipping in volume across the product range including: Nokia 1200/1208, Nokia 2630, Nokia 5310, Nokia 6500 and Nokia N95 8GB.


    • Nokia Siemens Networks net sales increased 25% sequentially.


    • Nokia Siemens Networks operating margin, excluding special items, was 1.4%, and was 4.3% excluding special items and Purchase Price Accounting related items.


    • Nokia Siemens Networks continued to be on track to deliver the targeted annual EUR 2 billion cost synergy target, as previously announced.


    Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, Nokia CEO said "It was a year of important strategic initiatives by Nokia, with Nokia Siemens Networks starting operations, our internet services effort taking shape around Ovi, and the announcement of the pending acquisition of NAVTEQ. Facing a market that remains intensely competitive, we are continuing to improve our leading device portfolio as well as execution at Nokia Siemens Networks. With this we believe Nokia is well positioned for growth in 2008." http://www.nokia.com

    Tuesday, January 22, 2008

    Cisco Extends Catalyst Switch Portfolio with ePoE, 10GigE Aggregation

    Cisco introduced new Catalyst switches and capabilities, including enhanced Power-over-Ethernet (ePoE) across its Catalyst portfolio beginning with the Catalyst 3750-E and 3560-E Series, with the Catalyst 6500 and Catalyst 4500-E Series scheduled to follow in the second quarter of this calendar year. With ePoE, customers can power Cisco 802.11n wireless access points from a single switch port.


    Cisco also announced new fixed 10 Gigabit Ethernet aggregation switching solutions in its Catalyst 3560-E Series and has introduced Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) support in its Catalyst 2960 Series, providing greater deployment flexibility to enterprises and small and medium-sized business customers.


    Cisco Catalyst 3750-E and 3560-E Series switches are enterprise-class lines of wiring closet and aggregation switches supporting real-time applications such as IP telephony, wireless and video. The added support of ePoE in the Catalyst 3750-E Series enables deployment of 802.11n wireless networks, including the Cisco Aironet 1250 Series Access Points. This internal ePoE provides up to 18.5 watts per port on the family of Catalyst 3750-E and 3560-E Series today with the future rollout across the Catalyst 6500 and 4500-E Series portfolio scheduled for the second quarter of this calendar year.


    The Cisco Catalyst 3560-E Series has been extended with the introduction of a 12-port 10 Gigabit Ethernet switch and a 12-port 1 Gigabit Ethernet switch with two 10 Gigabit Ethernet ports. The Catalyst 3560E-12D and 3560E-12SD are suited to support real-time converged applications such as Cisco TelePresence, Cisco Unified Communications and intensive client-server applications by providing highly secure unified network services with Layer 3 and Layer 2 feature sets and IPv4 and IPv6 support.http://www.cisco.com