EC Telecom Rules: More Progress on Emergency 112 Caller Location Info

The European Commission cited progress on the issue of European emergency number 112 caller location information. Following action from the European Commission, caller location information for mobile calls is now available in Latvia and that the issue is being tackled with urgency by the authorities in Poland. The issue of caller location information in these two countries will no longer be taken to the European Court of Justice.


There are five Member States in which caller location information for 112 calls from mobile phones is not yet available. These are Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Romania and Slovakia. In addition, the 112 number is not yet fully available in Bulgaria .http://www.europa.eu

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Europe's GÉANT Extends Global Connections

GÉANT, the advanced pan-European backbone network connecting National Research and Education Networks (NRENs) across the continent, is now linking up to similar networks world-wide with the aim of creating a single global research network.


GÉANT currently connects 34 national research networks using multiple 10 Gbps wavelengths and linking some 3,500 universities and their 30 million users. High-speed links will now be established with regional research network infrastructures emerging in the Balkans, the Black Sea and Mediterranean regions, as well Asia, Southern Africa and Latin America.


GÉANT was launched in 2000 as a jointly funded initiative to upgrade Europe's research and education networking infrastructure with €200 million in total.http://www.geant2.nethttp://europa.eu/information_society

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Mario Rosso appointed new CEO of Tiscali

Tiscali announced the appointment of Mario Rosso as its new CEO, replacing Tommaso Pompei, who has stepped down after two years at the post. The company also confirmed its intention to pursue a strategic plan in light of the ongoing consolidation process in the telecommunication arena in Europe.http://www.tiscali.com

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Harris Stratex to Resell Brix Networks' Service Assurance Products

Harris Stratex Networks has agreed to resell Brix Networks' converged service assurance products as part of its NetBoss network management offering. The two companies have also integrated Brix Networks' BrixWorx analysis and correlation software engine with the NetBoss product suite. The combined BrixWorx/NetBoss offering provides IP service and network performance visibility, network management, and service impact analysis - plus automated service level agreement (SLA) capabilities.http://www.brixnet.com

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Covad Shareholders Approve Buyout by Platinum Equity

Shareholders in Covad Communications holding a majority of the company's outstanding shares approved Covad's acquisition by an affiliate of Platinum Equity for $1.02 per share in cash. The deal remains subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including approval of the Federal Communications Commission and state public utility commissions in many of the states in which Covad operates. Covad confirmed that the required FCC and state commission filings have been completed and that it is awaiting approval from the FCC and two remaining state commissions. The approvals are expected within the next 30 to 60 days.


The deal was first announced in October 2007.http://www.covad.com

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Akamai Wins Patent Case Against Limelight

The U.S. District Court of Massachusetts ruled in favor of Akamai in a patent infringement case against Limelight Networks. Both companies operate content delivery networks. The jury awarded Akamai $45,526,946 in damages, plus interest, for infringing U.S. Patent No. 6,108,703.
http://www.limelightnetworks.com/

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FCC Publishes Studies on Spectrum Management Issues

The FCC's Office of Strategic Planning and Policy Analysis (OSP) released three working papers
on two important spectrum management issues:


Working Paper #41, "Enhancing Spectrum's Value Via Market-informed Congestion Etiquettes"
and Working Paper #42, "Modeling the Efficiency of Spectrum Designated to License Use and
Unlicensed Operations," examine ways in which spectrum designated to licensed and unlicensed use can
be more efficiently used. Under the examined environment, theory predicts that society leaves half of the value it can
receive from spectrum "on the table."


The FCC said one new approach to spectrum management utilizes various types of user information to address the inefficient use
problem. Assuming a close similarity between the naturally occurring environment and the experimental
one, analysis reveals that the average efficiency of the existing etiquette employed in most unlicensed
equipment is 42%. In comparison, experimental analysis reveals that the average efficiency of one
market-informed etiquette - the Informed Greedy Algorithm - is 70%. This and other results form the
factual basis for generating an entirely new type of spectrum allocation wherein a given band of spectrum
is treated as a common pool resource in the absence of excessive spectrum congestion, but is treated as an
excludable private good in the presence of such congestion.


Working Paper #43, "A Market-based Approach to Establishing Licensing Rules: Licensed
Versus Unlicensed Use of Spectrum," examines the feasibility of employing a market mechanism to
determine whether spectrum should be designated to either licensed or unlicensed use.


The full text of each working paper is available online.http://www.fcc.gov/osp/workingp.html

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Tata Consultancy Services to provide R&D for Nokia Siemens Networks

Nokia Siemens Networks announced a multimillion Euro outsourcing agreement with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to transfer product engineering and R&D services as well as parts of the Operations and Business Software (OBS) business unit activities from Nokia Siemens Networks to TCS. The reassigned parts belong to the Nokia Siemens Networks development center in Düsseldorf, Germany, including 90 employees who will be transferred to TCS as part of this engagement.


Nokia Siemens Networks said the transfer of R&D capabilities to trusted business partners such as TCS is part of Nokia Siemens Networks' overall strategy to realize synergy savings.http://www.nokiasiemensnetworks.com

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Telefónica Reaches 169 million Wireless, 10.2 million Retail Subscribers

Telefónica reported strong 2007 financial results driven by an expanding customer base (+12.5%), revenues (+6.7%), OIBDA (+19.3%), OI (+42.1%) and net profit (+42.9%), all up compared with 2006. Telefónica had a total of 228 million accesses, of which 169 million were wireless telephony accesses and 10.2 million retail broadband accesses.


Telefónica has also improved its shareholder remuneration policy and launched a new share buyback program for 100 million shares up to first half of 2009. This will be complemented by a dividend payment of 1 euro per share charged against 2008 earnings.


Some highlights:

• Telefónica España has 46.4 million accesses, an increase of 5% on 2006, underpinned by growth in wireless and broadband customers.



• Telefónica Latinoamérica has 134.1 million accesses, up +16.9% year-on-year thanks to the strong growth in broadband, a robust wireless market, which registered a new record for net adds in the fourth quarter, and an expanding Pay TV customer base, which increases close to 75% compared with 2006.



• By access type, growth in mobile accesses at the Telefónica Group accelerated to 16.6% year-on-year to 169.2 million.



• Retail Internet broadband accesses at the Telefónica Group surged 28.9% year-on-year to over 10.2 million at the end of December. Take-up for ADSL, TV and voice bundles remained strong, making a significant contribution to developing the broadband market and forging customer loyalty. In Spain, retail broadband accesses surpassed 4.5 million (up +22.1% year-on-year), in Latin America, 5 million (+33.2%) and in Europe, 670,000 (+48.3%).



• Pay TV accesses at the end of the quarter exceeded 1.7 million, 64.3% more than in 2006, with operations up and running in Spain, the Czech Republic, Peru, Chile, Colombia and Brazil.



• CapEx in 2007 totaled 8,027 million euros, an increase of 0.3% year-on-year.

http://www.telefonica.es

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Soapstone Releases Beta Version of its Control Plane Software

Soapstone Networks, which is a business unit of Avici Systems, released the beta version of its Provider Network Controller (PNC)
multi-vendor, multi-technology dynamic control plane. Soapstone said the new product would help automate the entire service lifecycle by providing state of the art provisioning, monitoring and repair, network fault to service correlation, performance, optimization, and planning software to carrier and enterprise customers. Net One Systems, one of Japan's leading networking and systems integration providers is a beta customer for the PNC software.


The beta release includes the PBB-TE module for the PNC which includes the dynamic provisioning, monitoring and repair of services across a multi-vendor Carrier Ethernet network as well as network operations support.


Key capabilities include:


1.) Dynamic Service Provisioning. One of the main features of the PNC control plane is the dynamic provisioning of services across a multi-vendor network. In addition to simple, best-effort shortest path routing, the PNC performs path computations involving a variety of constraints and
equipment limitations.


2.) Service Monitoring and Repair. After a network event (link/node/fiber failure) the network equipment responds in less than 50msec to provide service protection. Since the PNC has a database containing the network topology it has the ability to determine which service(s) was
affected by the outage and creates both a primary and secondary path to restore the service and ensure that it always remains protected.


3.) Bridge-and-Roll. Provides network operations support by making it possible for customers to introduce new hardware or services seamlessly into a network or perform routine maintenance in an automated fashion. This capability enables customers to request the removal of nodes from
active service without disruption to services. When a node is taken out of service by the customer, the PNC notices all of the affected services and for each service that is impacted, the PNC re-computes paths for services that were locked due to lack of a network resource. As with
any path selection, the Committed Information Rate (CIR) of each service is used in the path
selection and no oversubscription occurs.http://www.soapstonenetworks.com

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France's Cegelec Selects Juniper for Remote Access

Cegelec, a French technology services company, has selected Juniper Networks' secure routing and remote access solutions to improve the quality and accessibility of network resources for corporate users at hundreds of sites throughout Europe. The Juniper SSG security appliances link approximately 12 international branch sites, in addition to more than 150 small office-home office sites in France and other countries. The Juniper Networks NetScreen-Security Manager solution was also deployed to provide centralized management of the SSG network, enabling remote modification of routing or security rules automatically from a single source.


The Juniper Networks Secure Services Gateway (SSG) firewall/VPN appliances integrate firewall, IPSec VPN and optional unified threat management features such as antivirus, anti-phishing, anti spam, and web filtering, with high-performance routing capabilities in a single platform. http://www.juniper.net

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Avanex Offers Compact EDFA Module for 40 Gbps Transponders

Avanex unveiled a compact power transient-suppressed EDFA featuring improved 40 Gbps receiver sensitivity. The amplifier has a gain of 27dB and output power up to 15dB in a compact package designed for integration into 40 Gbps line cards. Advanced power control suppresses input transients of +/-6dB to less than +/-1dB, extending the automatic gain control capabilities of the existing PureGain 1600 platform upon which it's built.http://www.avanex.com

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Avanex Releases 10G XFP Transceivers for 40km and 80km

Avanex released new 10G XFP transceivers suitable for 40km and 80km transmission applications in access and metropolitan networks. The new PowerPort 2080, for TDM applications, and the PowerPort 2180 for DWDM applications, are 10 Gbps EML-based transceivers that combine leading-edge optics and RF electronics to create a high performance and lower power-dissipation reach capability up to 80km. http://www.avanex.com

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Hitachi and Opnext Introduce 4 x 25 Gbps Laser for 100 Gbps Interface

Hitachi and Opnext announced the first wide temperature range operation of 1310-nm 25 Gbps EA-DFB lasers for 100 Gbps Ethernet 10km single-mode fiber (SMF) application. The companies noted that a 10km SMF (single mode fiber) 100 Gbps Ethernet specification is already being discussed in the IEEE 802.3ba taskforce.


To achieve the 100 Gbps rate, Hitachi and Opnext are using four channels of 1310-nm 25 Gbps via WDM. The companies have demonstrated EA-DFB lasers operating at 25 Gbps with wavelengths of 1290-, 1310-, 1330- and 1350-nm. The 25 Gbps operation was achieved using high speed device technology which has been already confirmed in 1550-nm 40 Gbps EA-DFB lasers currently used commercially in 40 Gbps transceivers. A wide temperature range operation from 0ºC to 85ºC was also reported. This was achieved using advanced aluminum-based material system in the EA (electro-absorption) modulator section. This semiconductor material system has a temperature tolerant band-gap structure which decreases the temperature dependent performance of the modulator.
http://www.hitachi.comhttp://www.opnext.com

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HomePlug and Panasonic Submit Powerline Proposal to IEEE

The HomePlug Powerline Alliance and Panasonic are hoping that the IEEE will advance their jointly-submitted proposal for the creation of an international standard for In-Home and Access powerline communication technologies. Following a vote in mid-October, the IEEE P1901 work group rejected all other proposals, leaving the HomePlug/Panasonic proposal as the only remaining proposal under consideration. The next IEEE meeting will be taking place March 5-6, 2008, in Fukuoka, Japan.




The HomePlug Alliance and Panasonic said they fully support the IEEE process and believe that the completion of an industry-wide standard will be a significant step forward for the powerline industry. The final solution recommended to the IEEE P1901 work group by HomePlug and Panasonic will be a more complete solution than was originally anticipated, and takes into account the requests of all interested parties and offers the efficiency of a single MAC with the flexibility to support both the HomePlug AV and HD-PLC PHYs.http://www.homeplug.org

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Sonus Posts Preliminary Q4 Sales of $97 Million

Sonus Networks reported preliminary Q4 revenue of $97.1 million, compared with $76.6 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2007 and $79.0 million for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2006. Revenues for the year ended December 31, 2007 are expected to be $320.3 million, compared with $279.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2006.


Sonus is not providing detailed GAAP or non-GAAP financial results for the quarter or full year at this time, as the audit of the company's financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2007 has not yet been completed. http://www.sonusnet.com

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UTStarcom Sees Growth in Q4 2007

UTStarcom reported Q4 2007 net sales of $806 million as compared to $704 million in the fourth quarter of 2006. Gross margins for the fourth quarter 2007 were 12.7% as compared to 11.1% in the fourth quarter of 2006. Net loss for the fourth quarter of 2007 was $24.6 million, or a loss of ($0.20) per share, as compared to a loss of $42 million, or ($0.35) per share in the fourth quarter of 2006.


et sales for the full year 2007 were $2.5 billion as compared to $2.5 billion in 2006. Gross margins for the full year 2007 were 13.0% as compared with 15.7% in 2006. Net loss for the year was $195.6 million, or a loss of ($1.62) per share, as compared to a loss of $117.3 million, or ($0.97) per share in 2006.


"Beginning in the fourth quarter of 2007, we launched a number of initiatives, including a restructure of the Company to focus on our core growth technologies, including IPTV, and IP-based softswitch and broadband devices. Through 2008, we shall be very focused on continued operational improvements and the execution of our new strategy," stated Peter Blackmore, chief operating officer of UTStarcom. http://www.utstart.com

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Level 3 and IBM Announce Patent Cross-License

Level 3 Communications and IBM announced a long-term patent cross-license agreement.


Under the deal, IBM granted Level 3 licenses to IBM's approximately 42,000 pending and issued patents which cover a broad range of telecommunications services and technologies. In turn, Level 3 granted IBM licenses to those of Level 3's more than 850 pending and issued patents which cover a broad range of information handling systems. The licenses will last as long as the lives of the respective patents. Other terms of the cross-license agreement were not disclosed.http://www.level3.comhttp://www.ibm.com

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Sprint Takes $29 Billion Impairment Charge as Subscribers and Profitability Decline

Sprint will take a goodwill impairment charge of $29.7 billion to write-down the value of its Nextel acquisition. The company reported declines in subscribers and profitability in Q4 2007 and announced steps it is taking to stabilize its financial situation, including canceling any dividends for the foreseeable future.


The company reported Q4 2007 net revenue of $9.8 billion, compared to $10.4 billion in the fourth quarter of 2006. Full-year 2007 revenues were $40.1 billion versus $41.0 billion in 2006. Including the impairment charge, the net loss for the quarter was $29.5 billion or $10.36 diluted loss per share compared to net income of $261 million or 9 cents diluted earnings per share in the fourth quarter a year ago. After adjusting for the goodwill impairment charge, as well as the effects of other special items and merger-related amortization costs, adjusted EPS before amortization was 21 cents in Q4 2007, compared to 29 cents in Q4 2006.


Some key points:

• Q4 wireless revenues were $8.5 billion, a 2% sequential decline and a 6% decline from the fourth quarter of 2006. Data revenues increased 12% sequentially and 26% year-over-year. Full-year revenues were $34.7 billion, a 1% decline compared to full-year 2006, primarily driven by lower equipment revenue.



• Wireless subscribers declined 108,000 in the fourth quarter, due to gains in wholesale and Boost Unlimited subscribers offset by decreases in iDEN post-paid and traditional Boost pre-paid users.



• The company had 53.8 million total wireless subscribers at the end of 2007. This compares with 53.1 million subscribers at the end of 2006. The net growth of 700,000 subscribers for the year reflects a gain of 1.9 million subscribers in prepaid and wholesale segments, offset by a net decline of 1.2 million in direct and affiliate post-paid subscribers.

.

• At the end of Q4, Sprint Nextel served a little more than 35 million subscribers on the CDMA platform, 17.3 million on iDEN and 1.4 million PowerSource subscribers who access both platforms.



• Q4 post-paid churn was 2.3%, matching Q3 2007 and Q4 2006. Wireless post-paid ARPU in the quarter was a little more than $58, a 1% sequential decline and a 4% decrease compared to the fourth quarter of 2006. ARPU continues to be pressured by lower voice contributions, partially offset by growth in data services.



• Q4 wireline revenues were $1.6 billion, a modest sequential increase and a decline of 1% compared to the fourth quarter of 2006. Internet Protocol (IP) revenues increased 11% sequentially and 42% on an annual basis. Full-year 2007 revenues were $6.5 billion compared to $6.6 billion in 2006.

http://www.sprint.com

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Deutsche Telekom Posts 2007 results

Deutsche Telekom reported Q4 and full-year financial results for 2007, posting adjusted EBITDA of EUR 19.3 billion, which is about the same as in 2006 and ahead of its guidance of EU 19 billion. Free cash flow before dividends increased to EUR 6.6 billion, also just ahead of the company's prior guidance. The company cited double-digit growth in mobile communications abroad and bright prospects in broadband and IP television, offset by continuing fixed-network line losses, the growing trend towards flat rates, and falling prices for Internet access.


Some notable points from the annual report:

• T-Mobile Deutschland signed up 962,000 new fixed-term contract customers in 2007, an increase of 20.7 percent compared with 2006. Overall, T-Mobile increased its subscriber base in Germany to almost 36 million at year-end.



• At EUR 8.0 billion, revenue at T-Mobile Deutschland was down 2.7 percent on 2006 following a 4.7 percent decrease in the previous year. Adjusted EBITDA fell by 11.1 percent year-on-year to EUR 2.9 billion.



• Excluding Germany, T-Mobile revenue rose to EUR 27.1 billion in the 2007 financial year, an increase of 12.2 percent on 2006.



• T-Mobile USA remains the principal growth driver outside Germany with revenue up 3.3 percent to EUR 14.1 billion and adjusted EBITDA up
  4.3 percent year-on-year to EUR 3.9 billion. On a dollar basis, revenue climbed by a substantial 12.6 percent and adjusted EBITDA rose by as
  much as 13.7 percent.



• T-Mobile's international subscriber base expanded by more than 6.5 million net additions to 83.7 million.



• T-Home revenue declined by 8.0 percent in Germany in the 2007 financial year to EUR 20.1 billion. As a result,



• In Germany, T-Home maintained its lead in the broadband market with a new customer share of around 44 percent of broadband growth for 2007 as a whole. T-Home won just under 2 million new broadband DSL customers in 2007. As a result, more than 9 million customers
  in Germany now have a broadband line directly from T-Home. In addition, there are 3.5 million resale DSL lines.



• The VDSL rollout has reached 27 towns and cities, while another 750 are supplied with ADSL2+. This means around half of all German households had access to VDSL orADSL2+ Internet connections in 2007.



• By the end of 2008, the company aims to have signed up half a million IPTV customers.



• T-Home's activities outside Germany proved successful in Eastern Europe, where revenue rose by 3.7 percent to EUR 2.4 billion in the
  2007 financial year and adjusted EBITDA also increased by 4.1 percent to EUR 1.1 billion. This improvement was mainly attributable to the growth of the Eastern European broadband market. The number of broadband lines including resale was lifted by around 400,000 to 1.4 million, an increase of 39.5 percent.



• T-Systems' business outside Germany expanded by 7.1 percent in 2007 to EUR 2.5 billion. In Germany, by contrast, revenue fell by 10.0 percent to EUR 9.5 billion. Overall, therefore, revenue at Deutsche Telekom's Business Customers arm decreased by 6.9 percent to EUR 12.0 billion at the close of 2007. This is primarily due to the decline in internal revenues in the Group, which slipped 15.5 percent to EUR 3.0 billion.

http://www.telekom.de

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Sprint Launches its $99.99 ''Simply Everything'' Plan

Sprint introduced a domestic unlimited pricing plan that gives customers unlimited voice, data, text, e-mail, Web-surfing, Sprint TV, Sprint Music, GPS Navigation, Direct Connect and Group Connect for $99.99 a month.


"Wireless today is about much more than just voice. It is about data services - texting, email, video, pictures, music, navigation, surfing the Web and more. Customers want these applications, but without complexity and without having to worry about their bill," said Dan Hesse, president and CEO, Sprint Nextel.http://www.sprint.com

• Earlier this month, AT&T announced a $99.99 per month wireless plan or unlimited U.S. calling on all devices with no domestic roaming or long distance charges. Verizon Wireless introduced a new Nationwide Unlimited Anytime Minute Plan at a flat rate of $99.99 per month. And
  T-Mobile USA announced an unlimited nationwide wireless calling and unlimited nationwide messaging for $99.99 per month that includes unlimited messaging includes text messages (SMS), picture messages (MMS) and instant messages (IM).

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Agilent Teams with Azimuth to Offer FMC Test Solution

Agilent Technologies is teaming with Azimuth Systems to create a fixed-mobile convergence (FMC) test solution.


The FMC test solution is expected to be commercially available in the second quarter of 2008 and will combine Agilent's 8960 Wireless Communications Test Set with the Azimuth FMC Performance Test Suite.


The Agilent 8960 Wireless Communications Test Set is a one-box test set for wireless device development, manufacturing and repair of all major 2G, 2.5G, 3G and 3.5G wireless technologies. The Azimuth FMC Performance Test Suite includes a suite of automated test scripts that streamline the testing of VoWiFi and fixed-mobile convergence products to validate the functionality, performance and seamless mobility of devices and networks. Currently used by industry-leading service providers, handset manufacturers and semiconductor vendors, this test suite provides a full range of unique, repeatable performance and interoperability tests on converged Wi-Fi/cellular devices over a broad range of real-world environment dynamics. It also measures Wi-Fi performance in areas that end-users care about most such as dropped calls, battery life and call quality.http://www.azimuthsystems.comhttp://www.agilent.com

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NTELOS Implements Ciena's FlexSelect

NTELOS, a Virginia-based integrated telecommunications provider, has selected Ciena's CN 4200 FlexSelect Advanced Services Platform family for its access and metro networks. The classic CN 4200 chassis has already been deployed in NTELOS' network upgrade, with plans to add the CN 4200 MC and CN 4200 RS chassis to support growing customer demand for high-bandwidth, Ethernet-based services such as broadband data, IPTV and evolving on-demand services. Financial terms were not disclosed.


Ciena's CN 4200 is a WDM transport platform that offers on-demand programmability and support for any service. The CN 4200 platform allows network operators to groom, switch, and transpond a diverse range of client services, such as OC-3/12/48 and STM-1/4/16, GbE, Fibre Channel, FICON, and ESCON into higher-speed 2.7 Gbps (OTU-1), 10.7 Gbps (OTU-2), and 43 Gbps (OTU-3) transport streams. In addition, an "RS" chassis can function as a multi-degree Reconfigurable Optical Add/Drop Multiplexer (ROADM).http://www.ciena.com

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AT&T Sees Rapid Rise in IP Traffic

AT&T has experienced an explosive growth in network traffic over the past two years, said John T. Stankey, AT&T Group President - Telecom Operations, speaking at the Merrill Lynch Communications Forum in New York City. Consumer broadband traffic has risen 145% in the past 2 years, while business traffic rose 60% in 2007 over 2006. Wireless data traffic was up 4X in 2007 over 2006. AT&T now delivers connectivity to over one billion devices on its network.


As the business continues to scale, managing the cost per megabit of traffic is becoming a critical factor. On this score, Stankey said the company's IP backbone delivered a 67% reduction in the cost per megabit carried in 2007 over the preceding year, while OC192 transport costs declined 83% from 2006 levels.


Some highlights from Stankey's presentation:

• AT&T is now forecasting a 4X growth in IP backbone traffic over the next 3 years.



• According to AT&T's monitoring, MSO cable modem traffic is consistently below the 6~8 Mbps advertised. The average speed often is below 1 Mbps.



• AT&T is building out content server locations and network caches around the U.S. to enhance the end-user experience



• The AT&T U-verse platform is expected to reach 30 million living units by the end of 2010



• AT&T hopes to reach 40,000 U-verse installs per week by the end of 2008



• In markets where U-verse has been available for more than 12 months, the penetration rate is 13.4%



• New U-verse features for 2008 are expected to include a Photo and Media Sharing service (1H08), two HD Stream capability (2Q~3Q 08), Whole home DVR capability (2H08), CVoIP expansion, and copper pair bonding (4Q08).



• The U-verse bandwidth profile has a 25 Mbps budget over a single copper pair line at up to 3,000ft. This supports 2 HD and 2 SD streams, 2 VoIP lines and up to 10 Mbps Internet service.



• About 80% of U-verse customers will be on loop lengths of under 3,000ft. A pair-bonding solution will be introduced later this year for customers on longer loops. Pair bonding could also be used to deliver more than 2 HD simultaneous HD streams per home should the market demand it.



• For SMBs, AT&T intends to introduce a "Business in a Box" CPE solution that integrates voice and data. The CPE will incorporate the following capabilities: router, LAN switch with PoE, firewall, WiFi/Wireless access point and IP VPNs.

An archived webcast of the presentation is available in the Investors Relations section of the AT&T website.



http://www.att.com

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Sunrise Introduces Home Network Triple Play Readiness Assessment Test

Sunrise Telecom introduced a portable handheld test set designed to speed accurate verification of home networks for triple play deployments.


Field technicians can use the test set for various home network configurations, including Ethernet, WiFi, HomePNA and home wiring. Key tests include:

• Home Wiring Testing -- identifies shorts, grounds and cable terminations, checks cable loss, verifies POTS voltage and places calls



• HomePNA Analysis -- validates HomePNA copper and coaxial connectivity and performance for the entire HPNA network by measuring Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR), throughput and packet loss



• WiFi -- verifies signal strength, channel conflicts and provides a list of available channels



• Ethernet Verification -- provides link status and speed to ensure connectivity

http://www.sunrisetelecom.com/

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ECI Debuts FTTB Multi-service Access Platforms

ECI Telecom has added two new GPON and gigabit Ethernet (GbE) optical network units (ONUs) for fiber-to-the-building (FTTB) deployments to its broadband access product suite.


The new G-PoweRAM 48V is optimized for large multi-dwelling units (MDUs) in densely populated areas. This ONU, which features GPON connectivity to the building and VDSL2 within the premises, allows service providers to support as many as 48 subscribers on one unit. The G-PoweRAM 48V is based on network-processor technology, supporting advanced multi-play service-enabling intelligence functionality.


The new MiniCAB 8V is a compact device that supports up to eight subscribers and offers service providers the versatility to deploy either a GbE or GPON uplink, along with VDSL2 in the site.


Both products can be deployed with ECI's Hi-FOCuS Multi-Service Access Node (MSAN) Optical Line Terminator (OLT) to leverage existing in--building copper wiring. The GPoweRAM 48V and the MiniCAB 8V will be available in Q2 2008.http://www.ecitele.com

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Proofpoint Closes $28 Million for Enterprise Messaging

Proofpoint, a start-up based in Sunnyvale, California, .closed a $28 million financing round for its unified email security and data loss prevention solutions. Proofpoint offers an email security and DLP solution for enterprises, universities and government organizations.
and its products are controlled by a single management and policy console. The new funds will be used to accelerate Proofpoint's continued global expansion, customer acquisition and product development initiatives.


The funding round was led by new investor DAG Ventures. All previous investors -- including Benchmark Capital; Bridgescale Partners; Inventures Group; JAFCO Ventures; Meritech Capital Partners; Mohr, Davidow Ventures and RRE Ventures -- also participated in this round, bringing Proofpoint's total raised capital to more than $86 million. http://www.proofpoint.com

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Akimbo Refocuses on Internet VOD Software

Akimbo introduced an Internet VOD software solution for content providers' own websites. The Akimbo solution includes advertising system and supports multiple business models including ad-supported, transactional, subscription, download-to-own, download-to-burn, pay-per-minute, gift cards, account credits, etc.


To support the development of this new solution, Akimbo secured new financing led by investors including Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers, and Zone Ventures.

http://www.akimbo.com

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Verizon Business Offers Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Managed Hosting

Verizon Business will be among the first carriers to introduced a Microsoft Windows Server 2008 managed hosting service beginning this spring.
The companies said Windows Server 2008 will give Verizon Business more control over security for its customers by better safeguarding data and protecting against server failure and intrusion.


The latest iteration from Microsoft includes enhancements that allow Verizon Business to offer customers a more streamlined server deployment that will accelerate time to market. For example, Windows Server 2008 eliminates much of Verizon Business' reliance on custom code and third-party tools previously required.http://www.verizonbusiness.com/us/itsolutions

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Alcatel-Lucent Reports Optical Transmission Record: 16.4 Tbps over 2,550 km

In papers presented at this week's OFC/NFOEC conference in San Diego, Alcatel-Lucent reported optical networking milestones, including a new optical transmission record and three novel new photonic integrated circuits.


In a post deadline paper, Bell Labs researchers in its Villarceaux, France center, in partnership with Alcatel-Thales' III-V Lab and the optical solution company Kylia announced the successful transmission of 16.4 Terabits per second of optical data over 2,550 km. This transmission was achieved using 164 Wavelength-Division Multiplexed (WDM) channels modulated at 100 Gbps. The company said this represents a world record for capacity x distance at 41.8 Petabits/s.km.


Several new technologies were used, including a highly-linear, balanced optoelectronic photoreceiver and an ultra-compact, temperature-insensitive coherent mixer. This result is a critical step forward in enabling 100 Gbps Ethernet. It ensures the maximum exploitation of the fibre bandwidth to cope with future capacity needs, by providing very high information spectral density at 2bit/s/Hz.


Alcatel-Lucent also highlighted three other papers from Bell Labs researchers at Holmdel, NJ. They describe the development of three new photonic integrated circuits developed to achieve 100 Gbps with a high spectral efficiency. In the first of these papers researchers developed an integrated high-speed receiver using DQPSK modulation that is about 1,000 timers smaller than existing DQPSK receivers which are built out of discrete components. This new receiver could significantly lower the cost and size of 100 Gbps components. Another of these papers demonstrated a dual-polarization modulator with a 40 Gbps data stream in one polarization and a different 40 Gbps data stream in another one. This technique doubles the capacity of a link without requiring any additional bandwidth. The last paper in this series presents a modulator producing a 16-QAM signal format, used for systems with extremely high spectral efficiency. While this format is well known in wireless and satellite communications, its use in optics is new.http://www.alcatel-lucent.comhttp://www.alcatel-lucent.com/wps/portal/BellLabs

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Alcatel-Lucent Boosts GPON card Switching Capacity to 250 Gbps

Alcatel-Lucent enhanced its 7342 Intelligent Services Access Manager Fiber to the User (ISAM FTTU) GPON platform with a new 250 Gbps switching capacity per network termination (NT) module and support for load sharing between the two NTs in a single shelf. The enhancements help guarantee the platform's non-blocking, future-proof characteristics for the deployment of IPTV, video-on-demand and other broadband services. Both can be added to the Alcatel-Lucent GPON shelves that are currently being shipped.


Alcatel-Lucent also enhanced the platform's uplink capacity to handle two 10 Gbps and two 1 Gbps uplinks per NT.


Alcatel-Lucent noted that it is engaged in over 80 FTTx projects around the world, over 60 of which are with GPON.http://www.alcatel-lucent.com

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Nortel Reports Q4 Numbers, Announces Job Cuts

Nortel reported Q4 2007 revenue of $3.20 billion, down 4 percent year over year. Revenue was $10.95 billion for the full year, down 4 percent; however, excluding the impact of the UMTS Access divestiture, revenue increased by 2 percent in the quarter and grew by 2 percent for the full year. Compared to the third quarter of 2007, revenue grew by 18 percent. Nortel achieved Q4 Operating Margin (OM) of $244 million, an increase of 339 basis points compared to 2006 and achieved full year OM of 3.7 percent, the highest since 2000.


Nortel expects 2008 revenues to grow in the low single digits and OM to increase by about 300 basis points compared to 2007


Nortel also outlined the next steps of its previously announced Business Transformation plan. The company plans to cut its global workforce by approximately 2,100 positions and in addition move approximately 1,000 positions to higher growth and lower cost geographies. The plan also includes the sale of certain real estate assets. These actions are expected to result in annual gross savings of approximately $300 million, with total charges to earnings of approximately $275 million and cash outlays of approximately $250 million, however the actual costs could be lower with the redeployment of resources.


"Nortel continued to make strong progress in the fourth quarter as we completed a pivotal year in our transformation," said Nortel President and CEO Mike Zafirovski. "We are just over two years into a major transformation of Nortel. Significant progress has been made while upholding the highest standards of ethics and integrity. We have increased our profitability, improved organizational effectiveness and enhanced our competitiveness in the market. I am particularly pleased with the attainment of double digit productivity, which contributed to our gross margin improvements, and by our ability to shift significantly more R&D investments into growth and emerging new areas while reducing the overall R&D spend."http://www.nortel.com

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Arcadian Networks Names CEO, Targets Wireless Monitoring for Energy Sector

Arcadian Networks, a privately held wireless telecommunications carrier, appointed Ed Solar as its new CEO. Mr. Solar, who joined the company in November 2007 as Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing, replaces co-founder Gil Perez, who will remain with the company as Chairman of the Board. Prior to joining Arcadian Networks, Solar served as Vice President, Sales and Marketing for Cellnet Technology Inc., which was acquired in early 2007 by Bayard Inc. for $705 million.


Arcadian Networks offers IP-based, wireless broadband field automation services for the energy sector in rural America. Arcadian Networks said its business model is focused on the imperative for US electric, gas, oil, and coal energy producers to augment, update, and replace legacy communication systems with state of-the-art broadband, IP-based wireless communications systems and services to enable 'smart' initiatives (smart grid, smart field, etc.). http://www.arcadiannetworks.com

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Tellabs Names Robert W. Pullen as CEO

Tellabs has appointed Robert W. Pullen

as its new CEO, replacing Krish A. Prabhu, who announced his resignation last November.


Pullen, 45, began his career at Tellabs in 1985 as an electrical engineer. He has held a series of increasingly responsible positions in engineering, sales, marketing and services. Prior to being named CEO, Pullen was vice president and general manager of global services. From 2002 to 2005, he was senior vice president of North American sales. Previously, he served as senior vice president of optical networking.http://www.tellabs.com

• Krish Prabhu was appointed president and CEO of Tellabs in March 2004. Michael J. Birck, a company founder, served as CEO of Tellabs for 27 of its 29 year history. Birck continues to serve as chairman of the board. Prabhu previously served as chief operating officer of Alcatel Telecom and CEO of Alcatel USA.

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Ikanos Enables Multi-mode VDSL2/ADSL2+ Residential Gateways

Ikanos Communications introduced a single-chip Integrated Front End (IFE) that enables a new class of residential gateway capable of VDLS2 performance while simultaneously meeting DSL Forum's stringent ADSL2+ and ADSL performance specifications (TR-100 and TR-067 respectively). This multi-mode gateway capability simplifies the equipment purchasing requirements for service providers who are currently delivering ADSL or ADSL2+ and planning a future upgrade to VDSL2. Stocking a single multi-mode VDSL2/ADSL2+ RG potentially reduces the carrier's CAPEX and recurring operating expenses by moving to a "deploy once" CPE strategy.


The new Ikanos FXS60IF1 single-chip Integrated Front End (IFE) integrates the xDSL line driver, while reducing the external components and power consumption compared to existing solutions in the market.


It can be used in conjunction with a residential gateway processor, such as the Ikanos Fusiv Vx180, for full a multi-mode triple play residential gateway. The new IFE device also employs Ikanos' physical layer technology, such as high levels of impulse noise protection, Rapid Rate Adaptation (RRA), on-chip quality of service (QoS) and wire-speed network processor performance. http://www.ikanos.com

• In October 2007, Ikanos Communications introduced a Rapid Rate Adaptation (RRA) technology designed to minimize noise-induced service interruptions over DSL connections. Noise over a broadband line due to sudden power surges or other sources can potentially cause dropped connections and interruptions of service. For IPTV viewers, even a momentary drop in the connection leads to retraining of the broadband line and a subsequent re-establishment of the IP connection -- a process than can take half of a minute. In the mean time, the TV program that is being watched and any VoIP sessions underway, are suddenly dropped. RRA minimizes such link drops by rapidly and dynamically adapting data rates to accommodate the additional noise without dropping the connection, thus improving service availability and the user experience.

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Ixia's iSimCity Targets City-scale Triple Play Testing

Ixia opened "iSimCity," a proof-of-concept (PoC) lab capable of conducting city-scale testing of high performance, converged multi-play networks.


The new facility in Santa Clara, California, allows customers to access thousands of test ports and aggregate traffic in the range of 10-100 Gbps, emulate hundreds of thousands of subscribers/users and generate millions of routes with thousands of routing peers. They also can conduct system testing by emulating dozens of infrastructure servers, including load balancers, denial of service defenders, switches, routers, video servers, SIP proxies, and DNS and DHCP servers.


The iSimCity lab provides the ability to emulate fully-loaded IPTV networks with 100's of thousands of concurrent users. QoS and QoE can be measured for each service delivered, while running various "what-if" scenarios. The facility has already been used to test a 384-port Gigabit Ethernet switch from Force10 Networks.


In addition to the latest Ixia test boxes, modules and applications at iSimCity, Ixia will provide expert test methodologies and consulting services.


Ixia said network equipment manufacturers, service providers and enterprises often request proof-of-concept demonstrations, at scale, before they will commit to purchasing test applications and equipment. Both test hardware and software must function with the devices tested.


"Our goal is to provide carrier grade scale with real-world network emulation that will provide quick proof to our customers that Ixia's test solutions are essential in getting their products and services to market more quickly," said Atul Bhatnagar, Ixia president and COO.


http://www.ixiacom.com

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JDSU Introduces Agile Optical Network (AON) SuperBlade

JDSU introduced its Agile Optical Network (AON) Superblade concept -- all major functions required for optical network transport integrated onto a single blade, significantly reducing size, cost and power requirements for network equipment manufacturers (NEMs) and service providers.


The AON Superblade will include very small blocks of wavelength selective switch (WSS) technology that JDSU has invented called the Nano WSS, erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA) technology, and an optical channel monitor technology into a single-slot device. As with existing WSS technology, the Nano WSS can direct traffic in network nodes requiring greater than two dimensions, and provides colorless routing and switching, or the ability to direct wavelengths in several directions instead of in just a single direction.


JDSU is also developing a customized operating system-- called the AON Embedded Operating System - to ensure that AON Superblade seamlessly integrates within network equipment manufacturer's (NEMS) and service provider's unique network environments.


JDSU said its high level of vertical integration will allow for flexibility during the individual design and manufacturing of each optical element.
The company estimates that the new solution could be as much as 50 percent lower in cost compared to the total cost for all of the separate optical components currently used today. The AON Superblade will also be approximately four times smaller because all of the components will be integrated into a single-slot blade, compared to current solutions that can require up to four blades within NEM's systems.


Additional key benefits of the JDSU AON Superblade include:

• Lower cost -- due to a highly consolidated assembly and test process compared to solutions with multiple discrete modules on multiple discrete blades.



• Reduction in optical power loss -- power no longer has to travel through numerous connectors and splices between blades.



• Reduction in operational complexity -- eliminates the need for multiple cards to be manually interconnected, which requires training.


Enhanced monitoring -- includes control software that allows for faster response times to system variances and automated alarm and fault isolation.

JDSU expects to be shipping the single blade solution by the end of calendar year 2008.
.http://www.jdsu.com

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Microsoft's Windows Server 2008 Integrates with Cisco WAAS

Microsoft is collaborating with Cisco to offer Windows Server 2008 with Cisco WAN optimization in a solution for branch office environments. Specifically, Cisco will embed a virtualization component within its Wide Area Application Services (WAAS) appliance family that will help customers to host Windows Server 2008 services within their existing network infrastructure for branch offices. Cisco WAAS is an application acceleration and WAN optimization solution that optimizes TCP performance.


The two companies intend for Cisco to offer Windows Server 2008 preinstalled on its new virtualized Cisco WAAS appliances that are scheduled to be available later this year.


The companies said their collaboration will enhance enterprise WAN performance by making critical Windows Server 2008 services available to remote offices through integration with Cisco's WAAS solution. This will help ensure branch end-user performance for accessing centralized data centers and applications, while efficiently deploying locally critical Windows Server 2008 services, all through a common remote IT platform.


The Windows Server 2008 services that will be offered as part of Cisco WAAS platforms initially include Domain Name System (DNS), Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP), Active Directory, and Print Services.
http://www.cisco.comhttp://www.microsoft.com

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Emerson Unveils Centellis 500 MicroTCA System

Emerson Network Power unveiled its "Centellis 500" MicroTCA system featuring an injection molded plastic enclosure that houses a MicroTCA backplane, fans, power module, MCH, PrAMC 7211 processor Advanced Mezzanine Card (AMC) and three additional AMC payloads.


The Centellis 500 is a completely MicroTCA system available for under $5,000, or about half the price of previous generation MicroTCA systems.
Applications include IP-PBX, Packet Processing, VoIP Gateway, Network Point of Sales (POS), Industrial Automation, Access Router, WiMAX, Telemedicare, Remote Radiology and Patient Monitoring.


http://www.EmersonNetworkPower.com/EmbeddedComputing

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Siemens Enterprise Communications Announces Job Cuts, Exits Hardware

Siemens Enterprise Communications GmbH & Co KG (SEN), a wholly owned subsidiary of Siemens AG, will undergo a major restructuring in a bid to transform itself from a hardware supplier to a software and solutions provider to fit changed market conditions. Siemens AG confirmed that it is also seeking to find a suitable partner for SEN.


"We will begin accelerating the reorientation of SEN and the related restructuring activities under the control of Siemens to ensure that personnel measures associated with these changes will be as socially compatible as possible.", Siemens CFO Joe Kaeser said.


Planned sales or solutions involving a third party would affect roughly 3,000 employees worldwide, of whom about 1,200 are in Germany. In addition, Siemens plans to cut 3,800 jobs worldwide, including up to 2,000 in Germany. In Germany, SEN's headquarters and other administrative and support functions are expected to be affected the most.


Siemens also confirmed that the transformation into a software and solutions provider will necessitate SEN giving up its own manufacturing operations. In Germany, plans call for the SEN plant in Leipzig, which currently has about 530 employees, and the telecommunications cable business, with some 60 employees, to be sold or funneled into solutions involving a third party. In addition, SEN is seeking a partnership with an IT provider for around 570 employees involved in direct sales to customers for small and mid-sized systems.


For its international operations, SEN intends to sell or find partners for its facilities in Thessaloniki (Greece) and Curitiba (Brazil), which have 270 and 470 employees, respectively. The possibility of a facility being closed down cannot be ruled out. Order call centers in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, which employ a total of about 1,100 people, are not part of SEN'S core portfolio and are slated to be sold.http://www.siemens.comhttp://www.enterprise-communications.siemens.com

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Brasil Telecom GlobeNet Selects NSN for Optical Backbone

Brasil Telecom GlobeNet will deploy Nokia Siemens Networks' SURPASS hiT 7300 DWDM platform in North America. Other components of the turnkey solution are Nokia Siemens Networks' Telecommunications Network Management System and a services package including network design, commissioning, installation as well as training and extended care. Financial terms were not disclosed.


Nokia Siemens Networks has already begun deployment of the SURPASS hiT 7300 multi-haul DWDM solution for Brasil Telecom GlobeNet. When the first phase of the build-out is complete, South Florida will be linked to Brasil Telecom GlobeNet's undersea fiber optic network, which currently connects the East Coast of the United States, Bermuda, Brazil and Venezuela. This will position Brasil Telecom GlobeNet to strengthen its presence in the North America market.http://www.nokiasiemensnetworks.comhttp://www.globenet.net/

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AT&T iBuilds Bandwidth Capacity at top Carrier-neutral Hotels

AT&T is expanding capacity to deliver key services, such as long-haul private line and Managed Internet Services (MIS), in most of the 26 carrier-neutral hotels nationwide in which it has a presence. These hotels are located primarily in key metropolitan markets, such as Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Miami, New York, San Francisco and Seattle. Carrier-neutral hotels are facilities at which multiple carriers interconnect and make their telecommunications services available to their customers.


AT&T delivers an array of wholesale services in these carrier-neutral hotels, including long-haul private line for data transport services at speeds from DS3 through OC192 and dedicated high speed Internet access via MIS at port speeds from OC3-OC48 and Ethernet speeds of GigE and 10GigE.


AT&T is also introducing the first 22-state AT&T Interstate Guidebook, which lists standard rates, terms and conditions for interstate broadband services, including AT&T's award-winning SONET and Ethernet services. Customers may purchase services directly from the guidebook or may negotiate customized broadband services agreements. The company said the guidebook supports its more flexible contracting process for interstate broadband services.http://www.att.comhttp://att.com/guidebook

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Verizon Tests Automated Fiber-Optic Cross Connections (AFOX)

Verizon has completed a trial of automated fiber-optic cross connects, or AFOX, which is a technology for remotely performing such tasks as switching traffic from working fibers to spare fibers, finding alternative fiber routes, connecting test equipment to network elements, and sending test signals through fiber at unmanned sites.


While automated fiber-optic cross connects improve fiber management, the technology also changes the way network elements are connected, resulting in additional advantages. For example, AFOX could provide new features such as load balancing and flexible connections for Verizon's FiOS services. Additionally, AFOX can facilitate optical power monitoring, fiber-cut detection and traffic protection and restoration.


Verizon said its AFOX trial three different switch technologies: 3D microelectro-mechanical systems (MEMS), piezoelectric beam steering and robotic fiber connections. Each technology has its own specific advantages. The 3D MEMS are compact and support a relatively large number of connections. Piezoelectric beam steering is a relatively fast switch, while the robotic approach best mimics current manual patching.


"This trial highlights the advantages of automating fiber management -- from improving network performance to reaping the benefits of creating a comprehensive database of network connections," said Mark Wegleitner, Verizon senior vice president of corporate network and technology. "It also creates new opportunities in areas such as equipment deployment, network design, and customer service."


http://www.verizon.com

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Wisair Secures $24 Million for UWB

Wisair, a start-up based in Tel-Aviv, secured $24 million in new funding for its single-chip based Ultra Wideband (UWB) and Wireless USB (WUSB) solutions.


Wisair's product set includes a single-die CMOS chip for both host and device Wireless USB applications. The production-ready chip, based on WiMedia and Certified Wireless USB standards, integrates UWB PHY (including RF), MAC and Wireless USB subsystems. The device could enable a range of Wireless USB applications, including battery-powered, portable devices. The device is implemented in digital CMOS process and supports HWA, DWA and Native device protocols, and features SDIO and USB interfaces, isochronous data transfer and cable and numeric association models. Wisair has previously noted that its chip can deliver full-room coverage with connectivity ranges of 8 meters at 480Mbps and over 20 meters at 200 Mbps.


The financing included four new international investors and was led by Susquehanna Growth Equity (SGE), a US-based private equity fund investing in growth capital and late stage venture opportunities. SGE was joined by European-based Advent Venture Partners ('Advent Ventures'), Bridge Capital Fund of Japan (an affiliate of Nikko Antfactory), and Yasuda Ventures. Existing Wisair investors also participated, and included Apax Partners, Broadcom, Intel Capital, Vertex, and Zisapel brothers from the RAD group.
http://www.wisair.com/

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iTunes Now Number Two Music Retailer in the US

Apple's iTunes is now the number two music retailer in the US, behind only Wal-Mart, based on the latest data from the NPD Group. Apple also announced that there are now over 50 million iTunes Store customers. iTunes has sold over four billion songs, including 20 million songs sold on Christmas Day 2007 alone.http://www.apple.com

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AT&T Supplies MPLS Network for Deutsch

AT&T announced a 2-year contract to provide an MPLS service for Deutsch, a multinational electronics corporation. The service will link Deutsch's facilities in the U.S., Germany, Italy, India, Japan, Mexico, Israel and the U.K. Once the AT&T VPN solution is fully deployed, Deutsch plans to introduce VoIP services, such as local and international calling, mobile call routing, telecommuting, centralized Internet access, video streaming, virus control, content-filtering and spam management. Financial terms were not disclosed.http://www.att.com

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ColorChip Offers GEPON PX20 Transceiver

ColorChip introduced its GEPON (EPON) PX20 transceiver for the FTTH market. ColorChip's transceivers are based on its "SystemOnGlass" concept, which simplifies the design and manufacturing process compared with the traditional bulk optic solutions. The transceivers support Digital Diagnostic & Monitoring (DDM) providing diagnostic and monitoring capabilities for power supply, temperature, transfer and receive status, alert towards end of life and more. The product is SFF-8472 compliant.
http://www.color-chip.com

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Hughes Introduces WAN Optimization and Application Acceleration Technology

Hughes Network Systems has added new WAN optimization and application acceleration capabilities to its suite of HughesNet Managed Network Services. Unlike competing solutions which typically require an additional acceleration appliance at every location or are limited to a single broadband access technology, the new capabilities are integrated into access routers at each location. Enterprise customers can set application level prioritization, a capability normally associated with leased-line MPLS networks, on more cost-effective broadband IP VPN networks.


The new HughesNet capability improves network utilization and performance of TCP applications by addressing common latency issues such as slow-start and window scaling. Sophisticated pre-fetch technology is employed to improve performance of accessing Web content while improving network bandwidth utilization through transparent data reduction, intelligent compression and multiple application prioritization levels.


Hughes said its solution is ideal for enterprises that are experiencing poor application performance on their current broadband networks, or for customers on legacy networks seeking to migrate to IP networks.
http://www.hns.com/

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Juniper Debuts Control Plane Scaling Platform

Juniper Networks unveiled its JCS 1200 high-performance Control Plane Scaling Platform aimed at solving a fundamental problem of scaling core networks.


As service providers seek to deliver multiple services concurrently across a converged IP infrastructure, each service must contend for a fixed amount of control plane capacity in the underlying routing infrastructure. The Juniper Networks JCS 1200 addresses this challenge by providing a standalone, dedicated platform for control plane resources (hosting multiple Routing Engines). This introduces a new paradigm--the ability to scale the control plane independently in a separate, interconnected platform.


Juniper pioneered the separation of control and forwarding planes in 1998 with the introduction of the M40 core router, which distributed the control and forwarding functions to different processors within the physical router chassis without the intervention of software. Juniper said that since then, the forwarding and control planes of routers have each scaled dramatically to keep pace with network traffic growth and service provider demand; however, individual routers are designed with a fixed amount of control plane resources, leaving providers with few options when faced with adding control plane capacity without sacrificing forwarding capacity.


The JCS 1200 is a 12 rack unit (RU) chassis that provides 12 Routing Engine slots and connects to Juniper Networks T-series routers via redundant Ethernet connections. It leverages JUNOS software and works with deployed T-series routers, enabling service providers to achieve this separation through service-specific virtualization --- the secure, flexible allocation of a single physical routing platform to multiple virtual routing instances.


Juniper lists several advantages for the JCS 1200

• Maximum Scale: The dedicated RE chassis eliminates the need to compromise expensive, revenue-generating router slots for control plane scaling--all 40G and 100G slots on the routers are preserved for forwarding. When used in conjunction with a T1600 router, JCS 1200 can create hardware-virtualized routers while delivering as much as three times the forwarding capacity of competitive systems--while using 25 percent less rack space.



• Increased Efficiency and Investment Protection: JCS 1200 integrates seamlessly with existing T-series router deployments, helping to protect customers' capital investment. By enabling service-specific virtualization, the JCS 1200 can improve network efficiency by consolidating equipment--studies have shown that using virtualization to maximize resource utilization can deliver substantial efficiency gains.



• Greater Control for Rapid Service Roll Out: New services can be planned, tested, and deployed quickly, with far fewer resources and with a greatly accelerated time to market. By simplifying and shortening the pre-deployment testing process, the JCS can allow service providers to reduce time-to-market by several weeks or months, resulting in enhanced potential for accelerated revenue and customer growth.

The JCS 1200 Control Plane Scaling Platform is expected to be generally available for deployment in Q2 2008.


"Enabling the control plane to scale independently of the forwarding plane is the next logical evolution of routing technologies, and we believe it will help providers accelerate the monetization of their networks by delivering innovative, quality, scalable services which set them apart from the crowd," said Kim Perdikou, executive vice president and general manager, Infrastructure Products Group, Juniper Networks. "Juniper is once again advancing the economics of networking by delivering the industry's first control plane scaling platform, which delivers significantly enhanced capacity, efficiency and control, while reducing the costs and complexities associated with managing today's converged IP infrastructures."http://www.juniper.net

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OIF's UNI 2.0 Implementation Agreement Delivers to Emerging Carrier Ethernet Market

The Optical Internetworking Forum has ratified the UNI (User-Network Interface) 2.0 Implementation Agreement (IA), enabling users to signal for enhanced transport services from an optical network service provider. UNI 2.0 complies with the ITU-T ASON architecture, and supports all UNI 1.0 signaling with additional protocol extensions for the following new UNI 2.0 features:

• Support for Ethernet clients, providing both Ethernet Private Line (EPL) and Ethernet Virtual Private Line (EVPL) services


• Dynamic bandwidth modification, without service disruption


• G.709 connection services for ODU and OTU switching layers


• Low order SONET/SDH connection services

For network users, these improvements deliver more responsive and flexible services plus right-sized bandwidth for their dynamic traffic.


The OIF said these Improvements were gleaned from the OIF's Worldwide Interoperability Demonstration - On-Demand Ethernet Services held last summer between 7 carriers and 8 equipment vendors.http://www.oiforum.com

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Cisco Announces 40-Core "QuantumFlow" Processor

Cisco disclosed plans for a programmable processor that packs 40 cores on a single chip and can perform up to 160 simultaneous processes.


The forthcoming Cisco QuantumFlow Processor, which the company said has been more than half a decade in the making, was designed by a team of more than 100 Cisco engineers and has led to more than 40 patent submissions. Many of the same engineers who developed the Cisco Silicon Packet Processor (SPP) for the Cisco Carrier Routing System (CRS-1), which debuted in 2004, also worked on the Cisco QuantumFlow Processor. The new device will boast more than 800 million transistors compared to the 185 million on the Cisco SPP.http://www.cisco.com

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Google Joins Global Consortium Planning New Pacific Cable System

A consortium of six international companies, including Bharti Airtel, Global Transit, Google, KDDI Corporation, Pacnet and SingTel, have executed agreements to build a high--bandwidth subsea fiber optic cable linking the United States and Japan.


Construction of the new Trans--Pacific cable system -- dubbed "Unity" -- will cost an estimated US$300 million. Unity is expected to initially increase Trans--Pacific lit cable capacity by about 20 percent, with the potential to add up to 7.68 Tbps of bandwidth across the Pacific. The new five fiber pair cable system can be expanded up to eight fiber pairs, with each fiber pair capable of carrying up to 960 Gbps.


The Unity consortium selected NEC Corporation and Tyco Telecommunications to construct and install the system during a signing ceremony held in Tokyo on February 23, 2008. Construction will begin immediately, with initial capacity targeted to be available in the first quarter of 2010.


"While Google is the first non-telecom company to take an active role in ownership of a submarine cable, it's not likely that this is the beginning of a new trend," commented TeleGeography Research Director Alan Mauldin. "Although many non-telecom companies have high bandwidth requirements, few will venture into owning submarine cables anytime soon."http://www.google.com/intl/en/press/pressrel/20080225_newcablesystem.htmlhttp://www.telegeography.com

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Verizon's Wholesale Unit Offers ROADM-based Integrated Optical Service

The Verizon Partner Solutions group, Verizon's wholesale business unit, is now offering Verizon Integrated Optical Service using reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexers (ROADMs) to create nodes, or access points, where data from virtually any transport feed -- from DS1s to SONET at speeds up to OC-192, and from 10 Mbps up to 10 Gbps for Ethernet -- are merged onto a dedicated optical network custom-built for each customer.

The complexity of billing to support multiple technologies can now be replaced by billing for an Integrated Optical Service network, which may be as simple as one node charge per location, one total ring mileage charge, and the respective rider charges. The backbone service employs DWDM with a ring topology for the most versatile and secure transport possible.


"The economies are tremendous, based on the network design," Lew said. "The need to manage multiple networks, bills, technologies and equipment is eliminated, making this an extraordinary solution for our customers... Interexchange carriers, wireless providers, CLECs, ISPs -- virtually anyone who deploys multiple technologies and requires bandwidth-intensive transport services -- will find economies and efficiencies never before offered. Integrated Optical Service provides true next-generation multiservice delivery capabilities for our customers today," said Quintin Lew, senior vice president, Verizon Partner Solutions.


Verizon Partner Solutions is selling Integrated Optical Service within Verizon's operating territory as well as in some select near out-of-franchise locations.





http://www.verizon.net

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FCC Debates Broadband Management and Net Neutrality

The FCC hosted an open meeting at Harvard Law School to considered the issue of Net Neutrality, network management, and, in particular, Comcast's role in limiting and/or slowing BitTorrent traffic from its subscribers. Panelists presenting their views included FCC Commissioners, Comcast's David L. Cohen, Verizon's Tom Tauke, BitTorrent's Eric Klinker, Sony's Scott Smyers, and noted speakers from Harvard Law School, Columbia Law School, University of Pennsylvania Law School, and M.I.T..


A archived webcast of the event will be posted on the FCC site shortly.


Some opening comments from the FCC.


Kevin Martin, FCC Commissioner: "Obviously network operators can take reasonable steps to manage traffic, but they cannot arbitrarily block access. This raises several issues in my mind. First, its seems important that they do so in a reasonable, open, and transparent way. consumers need to know if and how network management practices distinguish between different applications, so that consumers can configure their own applications and systems properly. And it means providing transparency to broadband consumers - in the promises to deliver increased speeds, services, and pricing."


Michael J. Copps, FCC Commissioner: "In the 1950s and ‘60s, the government was told that the entire phone network could be compromised if innovations like Hush-a-Phone and Carterfone where attached to the end of the telephone line. In the early ‘80s, the Department of Justice was told that breaking up Ma Bell would leave the United States literally unable to respond to a nuclear threat. More recently, we were told that forcing telecom carriers to accept enforceable network neutrality rules would jeopardize their financial future as they reconsolidated. And late last year we were told that wireless carriers couldn't make an open access model work-- until these very carriers changed their mind and came out in favor of just such a model."


Jonathan Adelstein, FCC Commissioner: "Just as it took the establishment of a constitution to secure Americans' freedom from government intrusion, now is the time to establish enduring principles to protect our citizens from losing their freedom on-line. We need to establish an effective Internet Bill of Rights that can secure Internet freedom for generations to come."http://www.fcc.gov

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Nokia Unveils "Morph" Nanotech Material Prototypes

Nokia Research Center (NRC)

and the University of Cambridge (UK) unveiled "Morph", a joint nanotechnology concept that demonstrates how future mobile devices might be stretchable and flexible, allowing the user to transform their mobile device into radically different shapes.


The joint research is focused on flexible materials, transparent electronics and self-cleaning surfaces. Nokia believes that certain elements of Morph might be available to integrate into handheld devices within 7 years, though initially only at the high-end. However, nanotechnology may one day lead to low cost manufacturing solutions, and offers the possibility of integrating complex functionality at a low price.


The partnership between Nokia and the University of Cambridge was announced in March, 2007 - an agreement to work together on an extensive and long term program of joint research projects. NRC has established a research facility at the University's West Cambridge site and collaborates with several departments - initially the Nanoscience Center and Electrical Division of the Engineering Department - on projects that, to begin with, are centered on nanotechnology.http://www.nokia.com

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Riverbed's RiOS 5.0 Update Adds Performance, Virtualization and Visibility Features

Riverbed Technology released version 5.0 of its Riverbed Optimization System (RiOS), enabling its Steelhead product line to provide application-level protocol optimization for Microsoft Exchange 2007. The upgrade also adds new scale, simplicity and security features, including the new RiOS Services Platform (RSP) for delivering virtualized edge services without the need to deploy additional branch office servers.



In the area of application-level acceleration, RiOS 5.0 adds to the existing HTTP and HTTPS acceleration capabilities by further improving the performance of enterprise Web applications, including SAP NetWeaver, Oracle, PeopleSoft/JD Edwards, Microsoft and Siebel CRM, SharePoint, and Outlook Web Access (OWA). The gains are achieved by further reducing the chattiness and delay often associated with enterprise Web-based applications. Riverbed said users of RiOS 5.0 will see additional performance improvements of up to 10X for their Web applications.


RiOS 5.0 also delivers acceleration capabilities for Oracle 11i applications running in HTTP mode. The improvements target the Oracle E-Business suite of applications, particularly Oracle forms traffic and reporting, as well as other application operations. Riverbed is the only vendor that provides application-level optimization for Oracle 11i.


Riverbed said its RiOS Services Platform (RSP) enables the delivery of virtualized edge services without the need to deploy additional physical servers at remote or branch offices. The RSP allows businesses to deploy best-of-breed services from their choice of vendors on Steelhead appliances in a self-contained partition to minimize the hardware infrastructure footprint at the branch office. In a typical RSP deployment, IT infrastructure at the remote site is simplified to include the RSP and a router.


Riverbed said it also now provides flexibility for organizations that want to enable end-to-end transparency of WAN traffic by IP address and port or by port only. Steelhead appliances enable full IP or port-only address visibility on the WAN for optimized connections in addition to their default correct addressing mode.


In RiOS 5.0, Riverbed is adding to its QoS classification of traffic based on both bandwidth and priority with the launch of hierarchical QoS. Hierarchical QoS allows customers to assign different QoS specifications on a per site basis in addition to setting application or protocol priorities. Riverbed's QoS capability not only provides granularity, but also simplified management for complex environments.http://www.riverbed.com

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JDSU Introduces 10 Gbps Stressed Receiver Sensitivity (SRS)

JDSU introduced stressed receiver sensitivity (SRS) functionality to its TestPoint 10Gbps product line. Stressed receiver sensitivity is IEEE's requirement for 10 GigE receivers to function properly in the presence of optical signals that contain impairment such as vertical eye closure and jitter.

The JDSU TestPoint 10Gbps with SRS tests a receiver's compliance to the standard, supporting both unframed and framed test patterns (with SRS it provides transponder testing in unframed environments and system and line card testing in framed protocol environments).

JDSU noted that additional features of its TestPoint 10Gbps include support for nine line rates, including 10 GigE LAN/WAN, 10 Gigabit Fibre Channel, and six OTN line rates; a factory-calibrated, one-box solution with a built-in self-test procedure, simplifying test setup and enabling users to focus on running tests as opposed to calibrating the equipment; and adjustable signal parameters and impairment parameters for in-depth analysis of the device under test (DUT). http://www.jdsu.com

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Brightstar to Distribute Huawei's Terminal Products

Brightstar, which provides customized distribution and supply chain solutions for the wireless industry, will distribute Huawei's terminal products in key regions around the world. This deal covers the sale of Huawei's wireless terminal products in all leading regions worldwide. Brightstar will collaborate closely with Huawei to explore key markets, deliver Huawei products to leading mobile operators and help Huawei to promote its products in the marketplace.http://www.huawei.com

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Brasil Telecom Selects Alcatel-Lucent

Brasil Telecom awarded a major contract to Alcatel-Lucent to provide Operations and Maintenance (O&M) services for the carrier internal plant (including wireless, wireline and data networks), as well as their outside plant.

Based on the agreement Alcatel-Lucent will take care of 100 percent of Brasil Telecom infrastructure, including detailed O&M for the operator's wireless network (voice, data and core); switches and transmission (for fixed land line); data communications and ADSL (core and access); satellite platform; infrastructure (building, AC/DC energy, air conditioning, towers and poles); network management systems; and technical support for all levels. Financial terms were not disclosed.


Alcatel-Lucent said the contract represents a milestone in Latin America as no other company in the region is responsible for the whole infrastructure of an operator.http://www.alcatel-lucent.com

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Tellabs Offers 40 Gbps Transponder

Tellabs announced a 40 Gbps transponder module for its Tellabs 7100 Optical Transport System (OTS). With the new plug-in module, the Tellabs 7100 OTS delivers an increase in bandwidth from 440 Gbps to 1.76 Tbps. The new 40 Gbps transponder module is expected to be commercially available in June 2008.http://www.tellabs.com

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Motorola Acquires Digital Cable Set-Top Box Manufacturer in China

Motorola acquired the assets related to digital cable set-top products of Zhejiang Dahua Digital Technology and Hangzhou Image Silicon (collectively, Dahua Digital). Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.


Dahua Digital is a privately held, developer, manufacturer, and marketer of cable set-tops and related low cost integrated circuits for the emerging Chinese cable business. Its product line includes basic set-tops, two-way interactive set-tops and the high-end media-center class of products. Dahua Digital also has a substantial China cable operator customer base.


Motorola said the deal will expand its digital set-top box offerings in China and significantly improve time to market in the region. Further, Dahua Digital's low-cost chipset solution, designed specifically for the Chinese set top business, will enhance Motorola's product line.


Dahua Digital will be integrated into Motorola's Home & Networks Mobility business. Motorola intends to maintain Dahua Digital in Hangzhou, which will be an integral component of Motorola's China digital cable market operations.
http://www.motorola.com

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NEC Introduces "Light IMS" for Next Generation Network Service Convergence

NEC Corporation of America (NEC) introduced its Service Convergence Integrated Platform (SCI-P), a new converged multimedia and SIP-based solution for mid-tier North America telecom carriers.



The SCI-P is intended as a "starter" framework for IMS. The platform consolidates NEC's carrier-grade call processing quality, an HP blade-server architecture, an Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)-based SIP server, an operations, maintenance, billing and provisioning server and service enablers into a compact, yet highly scalable all-in-one "light-IMS" platform. Applications for the platform include both basic and advanced VoIP and value-added multimedia services, including presence, personalized services, interactive gaming and IP messaging.


NEC said its SCI-P ensures a clear migration path to the full IMS platform through a simple software upgrade of the SIP server at the services layer of the network. The software platforms are critical to NEC's IMS ecosystem; which incorporates NEC and third party hardware and software components to support IMS signaling, call control, and enhanced applications.


NEC offers a full line up of software solutions for its IMS product suite.

• NC7000-software product series - At the services layer, NEC's Service Delivery Platform (SDP) provides multimedia services (beyond legacy telephone services) to generate new carrier revenue streams. Examples include: IP Messaging, Web-Phone book with Presence, among other services.



• NC9000-software product series - Also at the services layer, the NC9000 series houses the core IMS database functions, including the Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Serving Call Session Control Function (S-CSCF), Proxy Call Session Control Function (P-CSCF) and/or the Interrogating Call Session Control Function (I-CSCF), among other key IMS functions.



• NC5000-software product series - At the transport layer, the NC5000-series offers Quality of Service (QoS) Control and Access Authentication, including the Resource and Admission Control Subsystem (RACS) and Network Attachment Subsystem (NASS) functions.

For large carriers that have already deployed IMS-ready/compliant core call processing functionality, NEC will offer its NC7000-software series as a standalone, standards interface-based SDP to deliver new value-added, revenue-generating services to market, immediately.


With the NC7000-series, carriers can simplify procedures for rapid service creation and fast service provisioning by providing network service function as an open API (application programming interface); based on Java/XML and standard Parlay X.http://www.necam.com

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Verizon Business Implements Optical Mesh for Pacific Undersea Cable System

Verizon Business has implemented an optical mesh with five paths on the trans-Pacific portion of its global network to provide more diverse routes to benefit large business and government customers.


This network architecture provides route diversity across the five paths in the event of a cable cut or other network disruption. Previously, the trans-Pacific transport network used a ring configuration to provide redundant paths. However, that architecture provided protection against only a single failure within any network ring, and service restoration on the alternate path usually increased the latency of the transmission. Additionally, in the event of a service interruption on two or more segments of the same network system, physical restoration of the cable may not be available until a cable ship is deployed to make repairs.


Each of the five paths operates with 10 Gbps capacity, offering automatic restoration and real-time management of voice and data traffic on the Pacific undersea cable routes. The Pacific mesh is currently deployed on two major submarine cable network systems in the Pacific called Japan-US and China-US. With completion of the Trans-Pacific Express (TPE) cable in the third quarter of this year, the company will expand meshing to include Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan. By year-end, Verizon Business will have seven-way mesh diversity deployed on the trans-Pacific network.


"We have seen a dramatic improvement in our overall network performance in the Atlantic since we introduced meshing," said Yali Liu, director of Asia-Pacific network planning for Verizon Business. "We're now extending this same benefit into the Asia-Pacific region, and we will continue to expand the enhanced diversity and reliability of a meshed network to meet the growing demands of our global customers."http://www.verizon.com

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One Minute Video: What is an IPSec VPN?

One Minute Video presented by Glenn Gibson, Juniper Networks -- What is an IPSec VPN?


Jargon Buster

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Arieso Raises £5million for Self Optimizing Wireless Networks

Arieso, a start-up based in Newbury, UK, secured £5 million in a Series B funding for its software for optimizing the quality of service for mobile cell phone users. By simulating network use, Arieso specifies the optimal setup for individual base stations to improve performance from the existing network, and can assess the return on investment of any additional sites. O2 Group, Telefonica, AT&T Mobility, Sprint, Vodafone and Qualcomm are among the organizations already using Arieso's products.


The new investment was led by Oxford Capital Partners and Qualcomm Ventures. Existing shareholders, Add Partners and Top Technology, also participated in the Series B round.http://www.arieso.com

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BaySpec Offers 10/40Gbps Optical Channel Performance Monitor

BaySpec announced commercial availability of its 40 Gbps "IntelliGuard" Optical Channel Performance Monitor (OCPM) with enhanced 10/40Gbps modulation discernment capability. With over 8,000 units in the field, devices offer proven performance with built-in flexibility for the future. Devices are Telcordia GR-1209/1221-CORE qualified. The company said its 10/40G discernable OCPMs enable significant operating cost reduction in the price sensitive Metro Core market where current demand is strongest.http://www.bayspec.com

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Ericsson's Board Proposes 1:5 Reverse Stock Split

Ericsson's Board of Directors is a 1:5 reverse stock split, implying that five A shares and five B shares respectively will be consolidated into one A share and one B share respectively. The issue is to be considered at the shareholders annual meeting in April.


Ericsson noted that as a result of the rights issue in 2002, the number of shares in the company increased from approximately 8 billion shares to more than 16 billion shares. Further, the ratio between the B share and an American Depositary Share (ADS), traded on NASDAQ, was changed from 1:1 to 10:1. In connection with the reverse split, the ratio will be changed back to 1:1.
http://www.ericsson.com

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Alcatel-Lucent Installs 200th Solar-powered Radio Site in Senegal

Alcatel-Lucent announced the commissioning of its 200th radio site powered by solar energy. The site in Senegal - including base station, microwave and all other electrical components - is completely powered by the sun, providing telecom services to remote communities on the island of Bettenty and surrounding Saloum islands that previously had no access to wireless communications services. Alcatel-Lucent said its GSM solution can operate with power consumption levels up to 40% less compared to other vendors with no decrease in traffic flow or extent of coverage.http://www.alcatel-lucent.com

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Infinera's Photonic IC Roadmap Predicts Capacity Doubling Every 3 Years

Infinera announced a product roadmap for its Photonic Integrated Circuit (PIC), predicting that its capacity will continue to double every three years -- a phenomenon the company is referring to as Kish's law, after Dr. Fred Kish, one of the developers of the PIC and Infinera's VP of PIC development and manufacturing.


Infinera current PICs offer a capacity per chip of 100 Gbps and serves as the heart of the Infinera DTN Digital ROADM and Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) platform. These PICs consolidate more than 60 optical components integrating ten wavelengths operating at 10 Gbps per wavelength.


From this starting point, Infinera anticipates PIC capacity per chip to double every three years and plans to produce PICs capable of 400 Gbps per chip in 2009. This growth path is expected to continue for at least ten years, leading to the commercialization of PICs with 4 Terabits/second per chip within ten years.





At this week's OFCNFOEC 2008 conference in San Diego, Infinera is announcing the results of two lab demonstrations with significant implications for the future development path of photonic integration and high-capacity optical networks.


In the first demonstration, Infinera successfully developed and tested a photonic integrated circuit (PIC) that integrates ten wavelengths of data at 40 Gbps per wavelength, using Differential Quadrature Phase-Shift Keying (DQPSK) modulation, for an aggregate data rate of 400 Gbps. The implementation of DQPSK modulators on an Infinera PIC will enable the commercial production of the next generation of PICs, with a capacity per chip of 400 Gbps. This PIC integrates more than 100 optical devices on a single chip, more than double that of today's 100 Gbps PIC.
Infinera uses DQPSK modulation for increasing the data rate on each DWDM channel as it offers high spectral efficiency, high tolerance to impairments including dispersion, and superior optical signal-to-noise tolerance.


In the second lab demonstration, Infinera demonstrated successful transmission of data with a 100 Gbps PIC using on-chip semiconductor amplifiers (SOAs) in the S-band over a distance of 320 kilometers. Infinera contends that current DWDM networks are limited by EDFA (erbium-doped fiber amplifier) technology, which can only amplify effectively over a very limited range of the optical spectrum. Known as the C-band, this range accounts for just 4.4 TeraHertz (THz), out of a full fiber spectrum of 55 THz. Amplification by SOAs can allow transmission in spectral regions inaccessible in systems reliant upon EDFA amplification, opening up the full fiber spectrum for data transmission. In this demonstration, a ten-channel PIC with integrated SOAs successfully transmitted error-free data in the 1490 nanometer range of the S-band without external dispersion compensation.



http://www.infinera.com

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NeoPhotonics Announces 40 mW Widely Tunable Laser for 40 Gbps systems

NeoPhotonics introduced a new high power tunable laser for DWDM (dense wavelength division multiplexing) networks that has an output power of 40 mW and other features ideal for DQPSK coding and 40 Gbps systems. The 40 mW rating is twice the output power of a standard ITLA, Special coding used in some 40 Gbps transmission requires higher optical power to overcome higher loss from additional optical components. In addition, 40 Gbps systems are much more sensitive to dispersion than 10 Gbps systems and require narrower linewidths and higher Side Mode Suppression Ratios (SMSR).


NeoPhotonics said the external cavity design and output power of its new NTL 2040 laser results in a narrow linewidth, low noise, high SMSR and high 40 mW power. The NTL2040 laser can address all commonly used wavelengths in DWDM systems in the C, C+, L and XL bands, with channel spacing based on the "ITU-T" specified 50 GHz grid. Thus, one NTL2000 series tunable laser can replace any of 120 single wavelength lasers in the C+ or XL bands.http://www.neophotonics.com

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CoreOptics introduces Optical Distortion Equalization Technology

CoreOptics, which supplies 40 Gbps and 10 Gbps optical networking subsystems, announced availability of the second generation of its Maximum Likelihood Sequence Estimation (MLSE) technology for deployment in metro/regional optical networks.


CoreOptics currently offers 10 Gbps DWDM, 40 Gbps Single Channel Short Reach and 40/43G DWDM transponder modules. The company's product portfolio also includes 43 Gb/s Ultra-FEC, 40G Mux/DeMux for 4x10G client signals and Interface Converter supporting SFI-5s, SFI-4, XFI to enable building of next generation Open Tolerant Networks.


"CoreOptics has been in the forefront of delivering 10/40 Gbps product innovations to advance the transformation to packet-oriented optical networking and increase the efficiency of existing network infrastructure," said Dr. Christoph Schulien, chief technology officer of CoreOptics. "Our company's 10G MLSE equalization technology, is a fundamental building block in CoreOptics' long-term strategy to advance utilization of optical networks by broadly applying digital signal processing to optical transport at 10, 40 and 100 Gbps."http://www.coreoptics.com

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Japan Launches "KIZUNA" Broadband Satellite

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), in conjunction with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, successfully launched the "KIZUNA" broadband Internet satellite from the Tanegashima Space Center in Japan.


The KIZUNA geostationary satellite, which is also designated as the Wideband Internetworking Engineering test and Demonstration Satellite (WINDS), is designed to deliver residential services in remote areas of Japan at a maximum speed of 155Mbps (receiving) / 6Mbps (transmitting) using 45-centimetre aperture antennas. The satellite is further capable of ultra-high speed downlinks of up to 1.2 Gbps to locations using five-meter antennas. The satellite leverages an on-board ATM switch and Ka-band transmitters.http://www.jaxa.jp/projects/sat/winds/index_e.html

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Russia's VimpelCom Selects Ericsson for WCDMA/HSPA

Russia's VimpelCom selected Ericsson for the supply and implementation of a WCDMA/HSPA network, plus associated services, to cover seven out of nine macro regions across Russia, including Moscow, the North Caucasus, Siberia, Volga, Northwest Russia, South Russia and the Urals.


Under the five-year agreement, Ericsson will supply a WCDMA/HSPA radio access and core network, including circuit-switching and packet-switching, and subscriber management system Home Location Register (HLR). Ericsson will also be responsible for a range of telecom services, including deployment and integration, systems integration, operation and maintenance assistance, technical support and training. Financial terms were not disclosed.
http://www.ericsson.com

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Motorola Appoints CFO

Motorola appointed Paul J. Liska as its new chief financial officer (CFO). Tom Meredith, the company's acting CFO will continue as a non-management board member.


Prior to joining Motorola, Mr. Liska served as an industrial partner for various private equity firms including MidOcean Partners, CVC Capital Holdings and Ripplewood Holdings LLC. From 2004 to 2006, Mr. Liska served as executive chairman of US Freightways until its purchase by Yellow Roadway Corporation and served in various capacities with Weekly Reader Companies, including executive chairman. http://www.motorola.com/

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Cablevision Offers SMBs Up to 12 Lines of VoIP

Cablevision Systems, the cable operator servicing the New York metro area, is now offering small and medium-sized business customers across its entire service area up to 12 lines of its Optimum Voice phone service. Each line features flat-rate, unlimited local and long-distance calling and advanced calling features like Caller ID, call waiting and enhanced voicemail.


Cablevision is also offering SMBs its Optimum Online Internet access service at up to 30 Mbps downstream and 5 Mbps upstream, as well as static IP addresses.http://www.cablevision.com

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Brightcove Endorses Google AdSense for Video Beta

Brightcove voiced its support for the newly announced AdSense for video beta program, Google's contextual advertising technology for online video. AdSense for video provides contextual text overlays for online videos.


Google's AdSense for video beta is currently available through Brightcove in a limited beta release with select customers. The company said they plan to make the feature generally availability to publishers in 2008.http://www.brightcove.comhttp://www.google.com

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Motorola Unveils DOCSIS 3.0 CPE

Motorola unveiled its line of DOCSIS 3.0-based customer premises equipment (CPE) designed to work with the Motorola DOCSIS 3.0 CMTS platform and other DOCSIS 3.0-qualified CMTS industry solutions. Motorola has announced several pre-DOCSIS 3.0 commercial deployments to date.


Motorola said it is supporting all DOCSIS 3.0 features, including channel bonding, IPv6, and advanced encryption services. The modems enable channel bonding of up to four downstream channels and four upstream channels, which allows an operator to offer their customers advanced multimedia services with data throughput approximating 160 Mbps in DOCSIS mode and 195 Mbps in Euro-DOCSIS mode -- all without upgrading the HFC plant.



The new line up includes:

• Motorola SB6120 SURFboard Cable Modem -- supports data throughput approximating 160 Mbps in DOCSIS mode and 195 Mbps in Euro-DOCSIS mode, without the need for a hybrid fiber coax (HFC) plant upgrade. It supports all DOCSIS 3.0 standards including channel bonding, both IPv4 and IPv6, and advanced encryption services.



• Motorola SBV6120 SURFboard Digital Voice Modem -- Builds on the SB6120 and offers up to two lines of full-featured digital voice service.



• Motorola SBV6220 SURFboard Digital Voice Modem -- Builds on the SBV6120 and offers Lithium-ion battery backup, which can provide backup power during a power outage.

Motorola's DOCSIS 3.0 SURFboard CPE can be self-installed through the product's intuitive rear panel icon and color coding connection guide. Troubleshooting is simplified via the product's front-panel operational status LEDs. Operators can also optionally activate dual-colored LEDs for their customer to have visual verification of bonded channels and GigE link use.


Motorola's DOCSIS 3.0 CPE line is also designed for Service Assurance -- Quality of Service (QoS) at the edge of the network -- and is compatible with Motorola's NBBS Device Management Platform and with Motorola's eCare web-enabled interactive support solution.http://business.motorola.com/ultrabroadbandsolutions/home.html

DOCSIS 3.0, Raising the Standard DOCSIS 3.0 ushers in an era of breathtakingly faster line speeds supporting new applications that hold the promise of expanded revenue streams for operators. At a minimum, DOCSIS 3.0 starts by increasing a subscriber�s bandwidth up to 160 Mbps downstream and 120 Mbps upstream. Here is a look at the enabling technology.

Ran Senderovitz and Etai Zaltsman

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