Intel Unveils Centrino Atom Processor for Mobile Internet Devices

Intel introduced five new Intel Atom processors for Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs) and embedded computing solutions that it expects will begin shipping this summer.


The technology package includes the Inte Atom processor (formerly codenamed "Silverthorne") plus a single-chip with integrated graphics called the Intel System Controller Hub that enables PC-like capabilities. The Intel Atom processor, which is Intel's smallest and the world's fastest chip under 3 watts, has a thermal design power range1 of 0.65 to 2.4 watts* (versus 35 watts for today's typical laptop), average power range of 160-220 milliwatts (mW) and idle power range of 80-100mW.


"Today is a historic day for Intel and the high-tech industry as we deliver our first-ever Intel Atom processor and surround it with a great package of technology," said Anand Chandrasekher, Intel senior vice president and general manager of the Ultra Mobility Group.http://www.intel.com

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LSI Introduces Low Cost Content Inspection Chip

LSI introduced its Tarari T1000 series of silicon-based content inspection processors for networking OEMs. The T1000 series supports either completely RAM-less or single-memory chip operating modes and provides scalable throughput up to 2 Gbps. The chip is targeted at high-volume applications.


LSI said its T1000 is the first regular expression (regex) processor to function independently without any external memory for implementations operating at data rates of 250 Mbps and 500 Mbps. When configured for RAM-less mode operation, T1000 processors share host CPU system memory, resulting in lower cost and reduced power consumption. The simple addition of a single low-cost memory chip enables high-performance applications operating at 1 Gbps and 2 Gbps rates. This compares with competing solutions that require multiple, expensive and exotic memory types to achieve multi-gigabit data rates.
http://www.lsi.com

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AT&T Launches College Mobile Applications Developer Contest

AT&T is sponsoring a contest for full-time college students and staff to develop innovative and creative mobile applications that enhance academic performance, build campus community and help to improve campus security operations. Called the Big Mobile On Campus Challenge, the contest is open to all full-time students and full- or part-time staff at a four-year public or private accredited, nonprofit college or university in the continental United States.


The Big Mobile On Campus Challenge seeks applications in three categories: social networking, academics, and safety and security. AT&T will choose three finalists in the three categories and then pick the top three overall. The winner will receive a $10,000 scholarship. The two runners-up -- either as an individual or team -- will receive a $5,000 scholarship and device of choice for each entrant.http://www.att.com/higherEDcontest

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Microsoft Updates Windows Mobile Software, Announces Enterprise Mgt

Microsoft announced Windows Mobile 6.1, an update for its Windows Mobile software that includes new time-saving features, easier phone navigation and management, and increased security safeguards. Among the enhancements is the ability to easily view full-screen web pages and multimedia on the web with a smartphone.


Microsoft listed a number of carrier partners supporting the update, including Alltel Wireless, AT&T, ASUS, HP, HTC Corp, i-mate, Intermec Inc, Motorola, O2, Orange, Palm Inc, Pantech, Samsung, Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications, Sprint, T-Mobile USA Inc, T-Mobile International Inc, T-Mobile Germany, TELUS, Toshiba, Verizon Wireless and Vodafone.


Microsoft also announced the release of System Center Mobile Device Manager 2008 and plans for a Microsoft Mobile Services Plan (MMSP) to be available from mobile operators worldwide. These are designed to help midsize and large businesses to manage and help protect Windows Mobile phones. http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/default.mspx

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NextWave Launches Second-Generation Mobile WiMAX Chipset

NextWave Wireless announced its NW2000 Wave 2-ready family of second-generation mobile WiMAX chipsets designed for high-volume, small form-factor wireless broadband subscriber stations, including CPE modems, PC card modems, laptops, multimode/smartphone handsets and mobile multimedia terminals. Specifically, the new mobile WiMAX chipsets include:

• NW2100: NextWave's NW2100 is a family of 802.16e-based mobile subscriber baseband System-On-a-Chip (SoC) solutions designed for Wave 2 WiMAX Forum compliance. Integrating an ARM9 processor and memory, the NW2100 provides a complete self-hosted modem, enabling designs with minimum processing load on the host processor. The chip uses 65-nanometer CMOS process and includes integrated 802.11b/g MAC/BB, SIM controller, multiple host interfaces, an embedded device security/firmware authentication engine, support for optimum data throughput, and advanced proprietary techniques that significantly reduce the overall system power consumption.



• NW2200: Designed to be used in conjunction with NextWave's NW2100 WiMAX SoC family, NextWave's NW2200 family of single-chip, highly integrated, multi-band Radio Frequency (RF) transceivers have dual independent receive chains optimized for mobile applications. The NW2200 provides a compact, ultra low-power, high-performance solution for manufacturers of wireless broadband mobile devices, and unlike competitor RF ICs it supports all major worldwide WiMAX bands and profiles. To further decrease total system cost and chip footprint, NextWave has deployed a direct-conversion architecture, integrated low-noise amplifiers, and integrated low-dropout voltage regulators for reduced external component count.

Sampling begins this month. NextWave's first generation chipsets were sampled in 2007.http://www.nextwave.com

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OKI Develops 160Gbps Optical 3R Regenerator for Ultra Long Haul

Oki Electric Industry Co. announced a significant milestone -- all optically regenerated transmission, which enables unlimited transmission of 160Gbps optical signals with single wavelength. To demonstrate the results of this project, OKI used an optical test-bed provided by the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT)'s Japan Gigabit Network II (JGN II). The research that led to OKI's achievement was conducted as part of the "Research and Development on λ Utility Technology," under the auspices of NICT.


Specifically, OKI developed an all-optical 3R Regenerator using a specialized optical-repeater technology with functions for re-amplification, re-shaping to remove optical signal wave distortion, and re-timing to avoid timing jitter accumulation. The company said these advances, in theory, make it possible to achieve signal processing speeds of over 200Gbps.


OKI also developed a Polarization Mode Dispersion Compensator (PMDC) that adaptively mitigates the impact of the changes in transmission line characteristics that are unique to optical fiber. Polarization mode dispersion is a phenomenon whereby wave distortion increases in an oval-shaped fiber core. The dispersion value changes depending on the temperature or transmission environment. Because the faster the transmission speed, the more sensitive it is to such changes, a PMDC is indispensable for transmission systems operating at over 40 Gbps. OKI's newly developed PMDC adopts a design to fully leverage the optical 3R Regenerator.


OKI expects 160Gbps data transmission will be commercialized in 2010 or soon thereafter.http://www.oki.com/

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Nokia Demos Internet Tablet WiMAX Edition

At CTIA in Las Vegas, Nokia unveiled its N810 Internet Tablet - WiMAX Edition -- a pocket-sized device that is expected to be available in the U.S. during the summer of 2008 in areas where WiMAX connectivity is available.


The device offers a Mozilla web browser, GPS, 2GB of internal memory and expandability to 10 GB, a 4.13 inch touch screen and a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. A number of VoIP and Instant Messaging (IM) clients are available, including Skype, Google Talk, and Gizmo5. A client for the Rhapsody online music service is also available.


Also being introduced with the Nokia N810 WiMAX Edition is the newest Internet Tablet operating system. This new upgraded OS2008 introduces useful new features to the platform, including an enhanced e-mail client, support for Chinese character rendering in the browser and RSS feeds and Seamless Software Update functionality to eliminate manual software updates, making periodic updates of the operating system quick and easy.http://www.nokia.com

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Packeteer Board Rejects Elliott Offer

Packeteer's Board of Directors formally rejected the acquisition offer of Elliot Associates for $5.50 per share in cash, saying that if the Board decides to sell the company, it is "well-positioned to negotiate a transaction with a value greater than the Elliott tender offer."


The company also announced that its Board had adopted a stockholders rights plan with a one year duration. Under the Rights Plan, stockholders of record at the close of business on April 14, 2008 will receive one share purchase Right for each share of Packeteer, Inc. Common Stock held on that date. If any person or group acquires 15% or more of Packeteer, Inc.'s Common Stock without prior Board approval, there would be a triggering event causing significant dilution in the voting power of such person or group.http://www.packeteer.com

• On March 5, Elliott Associates. an international fund manager and long-term shareholder of Packeteer, make an unsolicited bid of $5.50 per share to acquire the company -- representing about a 42% premium over Packeteer's closing price the previous day.

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Qualcomm Improves CDMA2000 Network Capacity

Qualcomm announced an important advancement for its CDMA2000 technology -- operators will now be able to support more than double the current capacity of 35 simultaneous calls in 1.25 MHz of spectrum while delivering the same level of voice quality. The new levels of efficiency not only meet the growing demand for voice connectivity, but also enable the freed-up bandwidth to be used to expand 3G data services.


The capacity enhancements to CDMA2000 technology are featured in certain products from Qualcomm's new Cell Site Modem (CSM) CSM8xxx-series chipsets. The target schedule for the new CSM8xxx-series solutions supports complete interoperability testing and commercialization by 2010. Featuring reverse link interference cancellation and other advanced radio techniques, these products will enable existing CDMA2000 networks to deliver new voice capabilities through a simple channel card upgrade while leveraging most radio access network investments. In addition, the voice capacity enhancements can be combined with EV-DO Rev. B mobile broadband in the same base station.
http://www.qualcomm.com

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MobiTV to Offer Disney Channel to its Mobile Television Viewers

Disney-ABC Television Group and MobiTV, announced a content licensing agreement under which MobiTV will offer Disney Channel to MobiTV service subscribers. The same content and programming as seen on cable and satellite television is now available to MobiTV service subscribers on their enabled wireless handsets via MobiTV's carrier partners.http://www.mobitv.com/

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TrendChip Launches ADSL2+ Chipset with Integrated Fast Ethernet Transceiver

TrendChip Technologies, an xDSL IC developer based in Taiwan, introduced its next generation ADSL2+ chipset, composed of an ADSL2+ processor and an Analog Front End (AFE), for customer premise equipment (CPE). The chipset targets ADSL2+ Bridge and Router applications. It integrates a 10/100Base-TX Fast Ethernet MAC and Transceiver with an auto-negotiation function and provides the Quad-IO SPI flash which provides faster boot up time comparing with existing single-IO SPI flash. TrendChip said its design also provides high processing power, enhanced Impulse Noise Protection (INP) capability for IPTV, advanced routing throughput, and lower BOM (Bill of Material) cost.http://www.trendchip.com.tw

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Entel Selects Alcatel-Lucent to Deploy WiMAX Rev-e in Bolivia

Entel has selected Alcatel-Lucent a, to deploy the first commercial WiMAX Rev-e (802.16e-2005 standard) network in Bolivia.

The network will support VoIP, high-speed Internet access, video and other data services for both stationary and nomadic customers. Entel plans to launch commercial service of the network by the end of this quarter. Alcatel-Lucent will provide its end-to-end WiMAX solution, including base stations, wireless access controllers, software and application platforms. It also will provide design and planning for end-to-end network integration services, including radio network planning, installation and commissioning, project management and support services for Entel's network. ZyXEL will provide customer-premises equipment. Financial terms were not disclosed.http://www.alcatel-lucent.comhttp://www.entel.bo

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Alcatel-Lucent Introduces CDMA2000 1xEV-DO Rev B, Distributed Base Stations

Alcatel-Lucent plans to support CDMA2000 1xEV-DO Revision B (EVDO Rev B) capabilities for 3G CDMA networks. The Alcatel-Lucent EVDO Rev B solution is a software upgrade to existing EVDO base stations and allows EVDO radio carriers to be deployed in increments of 2.5 or 3.75 megahertz (MHz), as opposed to the 1.25 MHz increments supported today.


Alcatel-Lucent said that by deploying wider carriers, mobile operators could see a two- or three-fold improvement in the forward link peak data rates (6.2 Mbps for 2.5 MHz and 9.1 Mbps for 3.75 MHz). Peak data rates for the Reverse Link are improved proportionally (3.6 Mbps for 2.5 MHz and 5.4 Mbps for 3.75 MHz). Alcatel-Lucent's implementation results in higher individual user throughputs across the entire footprint of the cell, resulting in the perception by the end-user of a more uniform data rate as they move through different areas of coverage.


The new EVDO Rev B solution is a simple software upgrade into any of the Alcatel-Lucent 1xEVDO Rev A capable Base Stations (formerly known as the CDMA Modular Cell base stations). EVDO Rev B-equipped Base Stations will retain backwards compatibility and continue to support 1xEVDO Rev A and Rev 0 mobile devices that are already deployed.


In addition, Alcatel-Lucent introduced a new distributed base station that supports CDMA2000 1X and 1xEV-DO Revision A (Rev. A) services.
This "zero footprint" distributed base station seamlessly integrates into existing networks and can be deployed in a wide array of physical locations such as utility poles, the sides of the buildings and tower tops, without taking up any floor space at an existing site, or with minimal space at a new site, thus minimizing real estate costs, a key expense for operators. The platform effectively separates baseband and radio frequency components into a baseband unit and remote radio heads (RRH) allowing a wide variety of configurations, and enabling different elements of the base station to be separated by miles. This provides exceptional flexibility for operators facing physical site constraints and site acquisition challenges, allowing them to provide seamless coverage to their subscribers. Alcatel-Lucent's RRH products are fanless and offer a 50 percent improvement in power saving over earlier generation products.

Alcatel-Lucent also noted that it is the first company to adapt the Common Public Radio Interface (CPRI) specification to CDMA. It allows the company to better support customers by leveraging development across multiple wireless technologies (CDMA and W-CDMA), and support a smooth, and consistent evolution path to 4G. http://www.alcatel-lucent.com

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Cisco's Linksys Enables FMC with Wireless-G UMA Router

Cisco's Linksys division introduced a Wi-Fi router for mobile operators planning to offer fixed mobile convergence. The new Linksys by Cisco Wireless-G Router offers two phone ports and leverages Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA) technology. It also features two internal SIM card slots for multiple phone lines and UMA client software. T-Mobile USA is offering the product with its @Home service, currently available in Seattle and Dallas test markets.


Additional features include:

• Unscheduled Automatic Power Save Delivery (UAPSD), which improves the mobile phone battery life when the phone is connected to the home network over Wi-Fi.



• Simplified Security -- The WRTU54G includes a pre-standard version of Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) for improved ease-of-use via simplified pairing of handset to access point.



• GSM capability over IP -- uses technology from Kineto Wireless to enables analog phone traffic to be carried over IP back to the operator's network.

http://www.linksys.com

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WiMAX Forum Forecasts Rapid Growth -- 133 Million Users in 4 Years

The WiMAX Forum published a Worldwide Subscriber and User Forecast predicting more than 133 million WiMAX users globally by 2012. Additional data from the study estimates that approximately 70 percent of the forecasted WiMAX users by 2012 will utilize mobile and portable WiMAX devices to access broadband Internet services. The WiMAX Forum's report examines the progress of WiMAX service providers, equipment vendors, content developers and users in regions around the world.


"WiMAX is here now and is the catalyst in the global marketplace to grow demand for mobile broadband Internet access," said Ron Resnick, president of the WiMAX Forum. "This new subscriber and user forecast is a solid proof point of the future growth of the thriving mobile Internet ecosystem and presents reasonable predictions of the positive progress our industry is working to achieve."


The WiMAX Forum also announced the availability of a new 700 MHz white paper to clarify the organization's position on pursuing WiMAX deployment opportunities in this spectrum band. The WiMAX Forum said it views 700 MHz as a strong contender for mobile Internet services. WiMAX technology in the 700 MHz frequency has the capability to meet specific requirements of new subscriber and user segments, such as low cost deployment advantages in low-density rural areas.


The WiMAX Forum is also offering a map showing current deployment activities across the globe.


http://www.wimaxforum.org

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Spirent Offers WiMAX and LTE Test Tools

Spirent Communications announced new packaged configurations targeted at WiMAX and LTE developers. These new high-value packages support bi-directional Multiple-In, Multiple-Out (MIMO) and beamforming testing on the industry leading Spirent SR5500 Wireless Channel Emulator, which is used for testing wireless receivers. The new configurations also feature Spirent's exclusive Dynamic Environment Emulation (DEE) to perform a lab-based equivalent of mobility drive testing, including the scenarios recommended by the WiMAX Forum.


The Spirent SR5500 supports multiple emerging next-generation technologies, including the new 700 MHz and 2.7 GHz bands. It also offers fully independent RF channels for widely spaced Frequency-Division Duplexing (FDD) WiMAX applications. Spirent said its advanced fading engine ensures accurate testing of sophisticated technologies such as HSPA, EV-DO, E-UTRA (LTE) and WiMAX.http://www.spirentcom.com/wireless

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Agilent's New Receivers Simultaneously Measure All RF Bands

Agilent Technologies announced six new models for its W1314A measurement receiver platform that are designed to simultaneously measure all wireless technologies in all RF bands in a given market using a single unit.

Specialist measurements for UMTS, CDMA2000, 1xEVDO, GSM, iDEN and Mobile WiMAX technologies and CW, Spectrum Analysis can all be measured simultaneously on any of the RF bands supported with the new receivers. In addition, the receivers offer the ability to troubleshoot handover and missing-neighbor issues, confirm coverage and pinpoint interference sources.


Agilent said its new receivers enable network equipment manufacturers and wireless operators' RF engineering teams to effectively deploy, optimize and troubleshoot all technologies in their own networks by quickly identifying coverage and interference problems. In addition, they offer the ability to assess how all competitive networks in the market compare from an overall coverage perspective, regardless of the technology they use.http://www.agilent.com

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Quebec's Sogetel Selects Occam for Network Upgrade

Sogetel, an independent telephone company serving 26,000 lines in Quebec, Canada, has purchased Occam Networks' Broadband Loop Carrier (BLC) 6000 solution to complete a significant upgrade to its network, enabling it to offer VoIP and IPTV services to its subscribers. Sogetel maintains offices in Nicolet, St. Paulin, Lac Etchemin, St. Liboire and other locations in the province of Quebec.


Sogetel is deploying Occam equipment at more than 35 sites across its service area. The upgrade includes Occam's BLC 6252 POTS and ADSL2Plus combo blade and BLC 6214 ADSL2Plus blade. Sogetel is also using BLC 6450 blades to accommodate 10G transport rings to accommodate IP traffic increases. To offer IPTV, Sogetel will push electronics closer to the premises while utilizing ADSL2+ to provide IPTV over the last mile copper facilities. Sogetel is also deploying FTTP in areas where it is necessary to replace existing copper lines and will install Occam's BLC 6322 GPON blade later this year.http://www.occamnetworks.com/

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Alcatel-Lucent Teams with Georgia Tech on 3D Virtual Collaboration Environments

Alcatel-Lucent and Georgia Institute of Technology are developing a widescale distributed mobile Augmented Reality (AR) interface prototype. The prototype, which is the first development resulting from the Alcatel-Lucent 4G Center of Excellence established in 2007 at Georgia Tech, enables users to collaborate with colleagues in a virtual world from their mobile device.


In addition, the team has developed an advanced interface for a multiplayer online game that enables players to "collect" items from their favorite TV shows and then share these items with others in the real world using location and presence information.


"Augmented Reality technology - enabled by new business models for advertising, social networking and media - merges the physical and the virtual worlds. Next-generation technology is required to access these high-bandwidth 3D environments so that the mobile device can provide the 'magic window' into the virtual world," said Jessica Stanley-Yurkovic, vice president of North America marketing for Alcatel-Lucent. "Our partnership with Georgia Tech and the work we are doing there is a critical first step toward developing services and technologies that go beyond today's capabilities toward a next- generation user experience."http://www.alcatel-lucent.,comhttp://broadband.gatech.edu

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Alcatel-Lucent and Airvana to Jointly Demo CDMA Femtocell

Airvana and Alcatel-Lucent will jointly demonstrate an end-to-end CDMA/EV-DO femtocell solution,

supporting voice and mobile high-speed data services, at this week's CTIA Wireless 2008 tradeshow in Las Vegas. The CDMA femtocell solution envisioned by both companies combines Airvana's radio access technology, including the femto access point and Femto Network Gateway services provided by the Universal Access Gateway (UAG), together with Alcatel-Lucent's IMS core supporting CDMA-SIP convergence.


The companies said that by deploying a flat IP architecture using IMS and Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) standards, the solution provides support for both CDMA2000 1X and EV-DO Rev. A service, together with unique capabilities to allow seamless inter-working between the femtocell and the broader macro network, in order to ensure that users have a consistent, high-quality mobile experience for voice, data, and video services as they move between the indoor and outdoor environments.http://www.airvana.comhttp://www.alcatel-lucent.com

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AT&T Cites $1 Billion Infrastructure Upgrades in California

By the end of this year, AT&T will have invested more than $1 billion as part of the first phase of its network upgrade adding more fiber-optics to bring advanced services to California. AT&T made the announcement on the one year anniversary of receiving its state-issued authorization to provide video service. Currently, customers in parts of more than 140 cities and counties across California have access to AT&T U-verse services. The company has added close to 900 jobs in the state, and plans to add up to 1,000 jobs this year. Over the past two years, AT&T has added more than 450 Remote Terminals and 30 DSLAMs to its California network. In addition, the company has added close to 4,000 new route miles of fiber to its California network over this same period, bringing the total to more than 31,000 miles -- making it the state's largest.


On it wireless network, AT&T has added more than 550 new and acquired cell sites in California over the past two years alone. 3G service is currently available in more than 400 cities throughout the state. In 2008, AT&T plans to invest more than $400 million in its California wireless network to continue to improve service and bring advanced wireless services to more customers across the state.

http://www.att.com

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Texas Instruments Adds OMAP Multimedia Coprocessor for Mobile Phones

Texas Instruments has expanded its OMAP processor portfolio to include a line of coprocessors

that boost the multimedia and imaging performance of mobile phones. The newest device in this family is the OMAP-DM510 coprocessor which provides support for up to eight megapixel still images and DVD-quality video capabilities. TI said the coprocessor delivers the performance necessary to take high quality images and video by using an embedded image signal processor (ISP) and video processors along with an ARM processor. Along with advanced imaging capabilities, the OMAP-DM product line also offers high quality video, supporting up to DVD quality video at 30 frames per second for various video standards, including MPEG4 and H.264. Sampling is underway.http://www.ti.com

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Malaysia's Celcom Selects Ericsson for Common Core

Malaysia's Celcom will establish a single core network platform for both GSM and WCDMA technology with the deployment of Ericsson's Mobile Softswitch solution. Upon completion, Celcom will have a single, common infrastructure that can handle both 2G and 3G network services, including the current available voice, data and TV services such as MMS, mobile broadband and mobile TV. Ericsson said the deployment marks the first crucial step for Celcom in migrating its core network to an all-IP architecture.
http://www.ericsson.com

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Saudi Arabia's Mobily selects Alcatel-Lucent for Managed Services

Mobily, the Etihad Etisalat mobile operator in Saudi Arabia.

In March 2008, Ericsson announced that Mobily awarded it a 3-year multivendor, managed services agreement. Under the deal, Ericsson would be responsible for network operations, field operations and optimization as well as the spare parts management.

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Nokia Siemens Networks Supplies ADSL2+ for India's BSNL

Nokia Siemens Networks announced plans to supply ADSL2+ technology to BSNL to cover more than 25,000 villages in India. As part of the contract, Nokia Siemens Networks is deploying its Gigabit Ethernet-capable IP DSLAMs SURPASS hiX5625 (Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexers) and chassis based access switch (SURPASS hiD6615). Nokia Siemens Networks will also supply customer premises equipment that will enable BSNL to provide speeds of up to 8 Mbps using ADSL2+ for its subscribers over its existing copper infrastructure. Financial terms were not disclosed.http://www.nsn.com

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NSN Supplies Subscriber Data Management for Sprint's WiMAX

Nokia Siemens Networks is supplying its Subscriber Data Management (SDM) solution

for deployment in Sprint's XOHM WiMAX Broadband Network. The solution, which includes the Apertio One-NDS (Network Directory Server), will enable Sprint to operate a Subscriber Profile System (SPS) based on a single, real-time common subscriber database, eliminating the inefficiencies of multiple databases and reducing administration and cost. Additionally, the capability to efficiently integrate new applications by plugging in extensions to the core data model on short notice without service interruption gives Sprint greater agility to adapt to changing markets. Financial terms were not disclosed.


The platform also will support a host of IP and IMS-based services and applications over the XOHM WiMAX network.http://www.nsn.com

• In January 2008, Nokia Siemens Networks agreed to acquire Apertio, a provider of open real-time subscriber data platforms and applications, for around EUR 140 million. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2008.
  
  
  Apertio will provide the new generation architecture and open real-time subscriber data platform for Nokia Siemens Networks' portfolio.
  Nokia Siemens Networks said the acquisition will enable it to build on its position in the converged core.
  
  
  Apertio's software application suite, Apertio One, delivers a single, open, subscriber-centric architecture for current and new generation networks. The suite includes Apertio One-NDS (Network Directory Server), Apertio One-HLR (Home Location Register) and Apertio One-HSS (Home Subscriber Server).

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NSN Announces North American LTE Solution for 700 MHz, 1.7/2.1 GHz

Nokia Siemens Networks unveiled its Long Term Evolution (LTE) solution for 700 MHz and 1.7/2.1 GHz spectrum bands in North America. The solution is comprised of the new Flexi Multimode Base Station, Mobility Management Entity (MME) and System Architecture Evolution (SAE) Gateway. The Flexi Multimode Base Station is the newest member of the small, modular and energy-efficient Flexi Base Station family, making full use of the software defined radio concept, which simplifies the path to LTE.


Nokia Siemens Networks said its LTE solution is appropriate for new entrants, incumbents with existing GSM/WCDMA/HSPA and CDMA network operators, allowing them to provide Internet services via mobile broadband at speeds comparable to DSL.


The LTE solution was launched globally in February at Mobile World Congress.


"License winners from auctions in the U.S. and Canada will be eager to deploy new networks and services as quickly as possible," said Sue Spradley, President, Nokia Siemens Networks, North America. "We are confident that Nokia Siemens Networks' LTE solution will enable service providers to deliver high-speed wireless services in the near term, while providing investment protection in the form of a cost efficient software upgrade to LTE in the future."http://www.nsn.com

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Juniper Networks Debuts Mobile Backhaul Solution

Juniper Networks introduced a mobile backhaul solution for addressing the growth of data traffic in mobile networks. The new product set consists of the BX 7000 Multi-Access Gateway for the cell site and new M-series Circuit Emulation Physical Interface Cards (PICs) for the aggregation site, along with enhancements to the JUNOScope framework for network management.


The BX 7000 Multi-Access Gateway transports TDM and ATM circuits to the cell site over an IP/MPLS connection using MPLS pseudowires. It will feature a unique timing expansion module that protects network investments and provides a wide range of timing synchronization options by allowing customers to replace clocking modules as technologies and network requirements evolve. Additionally, the BX 7000 provides an expansion slot that will offer flexibility for backhaul network uplinks. The BX 7000 also includes a zero-touch deployment capability, allowing for automatic configuration of the system upon physical installation.


Juniper said that by deploying the BX 7000, mobile operators can retain their existing investments in 2G and 3G cell sites, while realizing the operational benefits of IP/MPLS-based transport. Services can be migrated gradually, for example, by offloading the high-growth data transport as a first step.


Juniper is also introducing new Circuit Emulation PICs for the M-series routers. Mobile operators can deploy the M-series with the new Circuit Emulation PICs as highly efficient and scalable aggregation site gateways. When combined with the BX 7000, this creates an end-to-end mobile backhaul network that fully leverages the converged IP/MPLS network.


The BX 7000 and M-series Circuit Emulation PICs are expected to be generally available in Q4 2008.

http://www.juniper.net

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Sandvine Introduces Policy Control Platform for Mobile Operators

Sandvine introduced a service control platform for tier-1 mobile operators with high subscriber counts, wireless specific protocols and subscriber mobility.

Sandvine said its new PTS 14700 enables visibility into subscriber data trends and consumption and opens the door to new customized services such as quota management, value-based billing, advice-of-charge, and content zones that facilitate and encourage more mobile data usage.


The PTS 14700 provides capacity to manage 5 million subscribers on a single platform and can be configured in clusters for even higher performance. It offer a range of policy capabilities, including: advanced usage-based services, advice-of-charge notices prior to usage, automatic network protection from DoS attacks, spam Trojans and other malicious activity, and business intelligence. Other platform highlights include:

• n: n+1 redundancy;


• Centralized policy management including advanced GUI configuration;


• Support for data link building blocks of 1, 4, 6, and 10 GE;


• Protocol support for wireless networks including IP in IP, GRE, VLAN, MPLS, L2TP and GTP tunnels; and,


• Integrates with standards-based (IMS, TISPAN) and pre-standard architectures.

http://www.sandvine.com

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Bubble Motion Raises $14 Million for its "Voice SMS"

Bubble Motion, a start-up based in Mountain View, California raised $14 million in new funding for its "voice SMS" technology.

The company's BubbleTALK provides a "click, talk, and send" short voice messaging service that works on any mobile phone. Operators can limit the messages to 30 seconds in length.


The new funding came from existing investors Sequoia Capital US and Sequoia Capital India, as well as new investors Comcast Interactive Capital and NCD Investors.http://www.bubblemotion.com

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Ericsson Demos HSPA at 42 Mbps

Ericsson plans to demonstrate end-to-end HSPA Evolution technology with speeds of up to 42 Mbps at this week's CTIA Wireless 2008 in Las Vegas. The 42 Mbps speed is achieved by combining new higher order modulation technology (64QAM), together with 2x2 Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) antenna technology. The demonstration will be made using a handheld form-factor device based on Ericsson Mobile Platforms access technology. Ericsson plans to introduce the first step of its HSPA evolution in 2008.


Ericsson's RBS 3000 family of base stations offer support for both HSPA Evolution and LTE. Ericsson's recently launched next-generation radio base station family, the RBS 6000 series, offers a enhanced multi-standard solution that supports GSM/EDGE, WCDMA/HSPA Evolution and LTE, all in a single package.
http://www.ericsson.com

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China Mobile Begins Commercial Deployment of TD-SCDMA

China Mobile (CMCC) will begin commercial deployment of TD-SCDMA in April. TD-SCDMA is a 3G wireless network standard developed by the China Academy of Telecommunications Technology (CATT) in collaboration with Datang and Siemens and endorsed by the Chinese government.


Spreadtrum welcomed the news and said it was already seeing TD-SCDMA silicon orders from handset manufacturers. Two of its customers received over 50% of the initial round of 60,000 handset order from China Mobile in January.


Spreadtrum developed the first single-chip dual-mode TD-SCDMA/GSM baseband (the SC8800D) in 2004 and the first multi-mode HSDPA/TD-SCDMA/GSM/GPRS baseband (the SC8800H) in 2007. The company also offers a single-chip TD-SCDMA/HSDPA solution optimized for data cards (the SC8800S) and its Quorum subsidiary announced a TD-SCDMA/GSM/GPRS/EDGE RF transceiver.http://www.spreadtrum.comhttp://www.chinamobile.com

• In February 2008, it was announced that China Mobile has joined LTE (Long Term Evolution) trials already being carried out by Vodafone and Verizon Wireless, a joint venture of Verizon Communications and Vodafone. The resultant three-way operator trials focus on LTE FDD (the Frequency Division Duplex version of LTE) for use with paired spectrum allocations and TD-LTE (the Time Division Duplex version of LTE) as an evolution of current TD-SCDMA technology to enable the exploitation of unpaired spectrum globally. The three carriers said their trials are designed to explore the performance of LTE with different spectrum types as a potential next generation mobile technology. They will provide an opportunity to adopt a harmonized access platform with global scale and high performance inter-working with the existing technologies of all three companies.

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Verizon Wireless Offers Loopt's Social-Mapping Service

Verizon Wireless will begin offering Loopt's social-mapping service on select mobile phones.




With Loopt, Verizon Wireless customers can leverage their phones' location-based services capabilities to share location information, status messages and geo-tagged photos with their community of friends. Loopt users can view where friends in their private network are located via a map displayed on their mobile phones and connect and share their locations with anyone in their address books or AIM buddy lists. Detailed Loopt maps that show Verizon Wireless users where friends are, what they are doing, and how to meet up with them, transform their Verizon Wireless phones into active social tools to connect, share and explore the real world.


Loopt is permission-based. Users can turn location-sharing on or off at any time on a friend-by-friend basis or for all friends at once.http://www.loopt.com

• Loopt has previously announced support from Sprint and Boost Mobile.



• Loopt, a start-up based in Mountain View, California, is backed by venture capital firms Sequoia Capital and New Enterprise Associates.

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Lockheed Martin Team Awarded $766 Million Contract for Joint Tactical Radio System

A team led by Lockheed Martin has been awarded an initial system development and demonstration contract valued at $766 million for a Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) for the U.S. Air Force, Army, Navy and other users. The Lockheed Martin Airborne and Maritime/Fixed Stations (AMF) JTRS team will design, develop, integrate, test and deliver advanced, reliable, tactical networked communications solutions providing joint interoperability with secure information flow.


AMF JTRS is an essential element in the Tactical Global Information Grid strategy to provide secure data, voice, and video to the right people, in the right place, at the right time. The initial System Development and Demonstration (SDD) contract value is $766 million.


AMF JTRS will network enable and provide interoperable communications for more than 160 platform types including fixed and rotary wing aircraft, submarines and surface ships, and fixed stations world-wide.


Lockheed Martin said its Network Centric Operations Live Flight Demonstration at the end of the Pre-SDD Phase of the Program showed a glimpse of the future with improved situational awareness, tactical voice, video and data interoperability, and communications automation.


The Lockheed Martin AMF JTRS team includes BAE Systems, General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman, and Raytheon. Work will be conducted at locations in Scottsdale, Ariz.; San Diego, Calif.; Tampa, Fla.; Fort Wayne, Ind.; Gaithersburg, Md.; St. Paul, Minn.; Wayne, N.J.; Charleston, S.C.; and Chantilly and Reston, Va.http://www.lockheedmartin.com/

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Jean-Pierre Vandromme to Remain as CEO of Golden Telecom

Jean-Pierre Vandromme, the Chief Executive Officer of Golden Telecom has agreed to extend his contract term until December 31, 2009. Golden Telecom was recently acquired by a subsidiary of VimpelCom.



The VimpelCom Group includes companies operating in Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Georgia and Armenia. The VimpelCom Group's GSM and 3G license portfolio covers a territory with a population of about 250 million across Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Georgia and Armenia.


Golden Telecom, is a facilities-based provider of integrated telecommunications and Internet services in major population centers throughout Russia and other countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States. It operates metropolitan overlay networks in major cities including Moscow, Kiev, St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Samara, Kaliningrad, Krasnoyarsk, Almaty, and Tashkent, and intercity fiber optic and satellite-based networks.http://www.vimpelcom.com

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China Unicom Deploys Motorola's Service Delivery Platform

Shanghai Unicom, a branch of China Unicom, is building a Value-Added Service Platform (VASP) using Motorola's GAMA (Global Applications Management Architecture) Service Delivery Platform (SDP) for mobile data applications.


Shanghai Unicom aims to simplify the current integration and future delivery of data applications through combination services, automated governance, value chain management and consistent user identity. End-user experience will be enhanced through single sign-on across all data services, and with the fast roll out of a wide range of value-added services and applications by leveraging existing service capabilities (messaging, location, browsing and push services, etc.).


As part of the contract, Motorola will provide servers, network equipment and GAMA software customized for Shanghai Unicom. Motorola Global Services professionals will support the modification of its legacy systems such as content downloading system, WAP and LBS (Location Based Service) platforms and the integration of VASP with Shanghai Unicom's existing network environment and its BSS (Business Support Systems). Financial terms were not disclosed.http://www.motorola.comhttp://www.sh.chinaunicom.com/

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Solera Raises $5 Million for its Deep Packet Capture

Solera Networks, a start-up based in Lindon, Utah, raised $5 million in Series B funding for its deep packet capture and stream-to-storage technology. Solera Networks' DS Series is a line of high-performance appliances, including software-only virtual appliances, which capture, record, and archive 100% of network traffic at speeds up to 10Gbps. The captured data is then accessible instantly via Solera Networks' search, alert and archive interfaces, or via any standards-based security, forensics, compliance, analytics or network management application. The new funding was led by Canopy Ventures, which also led the company's Series A round in 2006. Solera


Solera Networks also announced the appointment of three key executives. James Brown was named the company's Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer; Paal Tveit was promoted to the position of Vice President of Engineering; and Fumiya Minagawa was named President of Solera Networks Japan.


Mr. Brown joins Solera Networks' management team after recently serving on the company's Board of Directors. Over the past few years, he has advised several technology companies, including Solera Networks, on strategy, fundraising and operational matters. Prior to that, he was Executive Vice President and General Manager at OpenTV, where he played a key role in the company's successful IPO and was responsible for the company's applications business unit and its worldwide business development and corporate development activities. Prior to OpenTV, he was a Partner at the law firm of Pillsbury Madison & Sutro in San Francisco.


Mr. Tveit is a 20-year veteran of software and hardware engineering, having most recently served as Director of Engineering at SonicWALL in charge of their SSL, VPN and Common Criteria initiatives. Tveit has also held senior engineering positions at Mainstream Data, Philips/BTS and Unisys. He holds a Bachelor of Science in mathematical sciences and a Bachelor of Arts in political economics from Johns Hopkins University.


Fumiya Minagawa, named as President of Solera Networks Japan, began his relationship with the company as a distributor more than three years ago. He has more than 20 years of experience in engineering consulting, technology sales, product development, and corporate IT management, including five years as Chief Information Officer at Kokusai Kogyo. Mr. Minagawa also served as senior education manager for four years at Sun Microsystems in Japan, where he received the Sun President's Award in 2002. He has also held senior manager positions at Bearing Point and received the coveted Nikkei Publications Grand Prix award for a large-scale deployment of SAP.http://www.soleranetworks.com

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Alcatel-Lucent Boosts its IP Routing Portfolio to Terabit Capacity

Alcatel-Lucent unveiled extensive enhancements to its IP service routing portfolio that leverage a new high-performance chipset for packet processing and traffic management. The new silicon boosts performance of the company's 7750 Service Router (SR) and 7450 Ethernet Service Switch (ESS) to terabit performance levels, enabling more speed for mass-market video-based services and applications; more services, including secure IPSec VPNs, Ethernet VPNs and MPLS-based IP VPNs; and more availability, including support for non-stop routing, non-stop services and In-Service Software Upgrades (ISSU).


Alcatel-Lucent said its new custom FP2 chipset, which took three years to develop, is capable of sophisticated and optimized network processing and traffic management at speeds up to 100 Gbps. The upgrades to the current products include more than double the density of Gigabit and 10 Gigabit Ethernet ports as well as supporting up to 10 times the number of services per router. The FP2 chipset also provides a path to 100 Gigabit Ethernet. It also enables densities of up to 1,200 Gigabit Ethernet ports per rack, while delivering sophisticated services to each port at line rate.


The following enhancements to the Alcatel-Lucent IP/MPLS service router portfolio will be available in Q3 2008:


Next Generation Silicon

• the 100 Gbps FP2 chipset integrates 112 array cores for 95,000 MIPs performance and is implemented in 90nm process technology. The silicon was developed in house.

7750 Service Router Platform

• Up to 1 Tb/s capacity


• 50Gb/s (full-duplex) Input/Output Module3-XP (IOM3-XP)


• 20-port Gigabit Ethernet MDA-XP (SFP-Fiber)


• 20-Port 10/100/1000 Ethernet MDA-XP (Copper)


• 2-port 10 Gigabit Ethernet MDA-XP (XFP)


• 4-Port 10 Gigabit Ethernet MDA-XP (XFP)


• Application Assurance Integrated Services Adaptor (AA-ISA) with DPI technology


• IPSec Integrated Services Adaptor (IPSec-ISA)

7450 Ethernet Service Switch Platform

• Up to 1 Tb/s capacity


• 50Gb/s (full-duplex) IOM3-XP


• 20-port Gigabit Ethernet MDA-XP (SFP-Fiber)


• 20-Port 10/100/1000 Ethernet MDA-XP (Copper)


• 2-port 10 Gigabit Ethernet MDA-XP (XFP)


• 4-Port 10 Gigabit Ethernet MDA-XP (XFP)


• Application Assurance Integrated Services Adaptor (AA-ISA) with DPI technology

Alcatel-Lucent noted that it has shipped more than 20,000 IP/MPLS systems since 2004.



http://www.alcatel-lucent.com

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Aircell Announces Operational Readiness of its In-Flight Broadband Service

Aircell announced the completion and full

operational readiness of its first wireless network for broadband services to commercial and business airline passengers while flying over the U.S. The Aircell network can now provide air travelers with seamless connectivity when using their in-flight mobile broadband Internet service.


American Airlines and Virgin America have already signed agreements with Aircell to deploy its service in 2008.


"We are open for business and ready to help our airline partners deliver a service that three quarters of a billion passengers can use while flying over the U.S. each year," said Jack Blumenstein, CEO of Aircell.http://www.aircell.com

• In January 2008, Aircell completed its nationwide wireless Air-To-Ground (ATG) network. As part of this build-out, the company constructed cell sites throughout the country. Placement of cell sites ranged from windy, snow topped mountain peaks at 12,000 feet to remote desert terrain below sea level. The company said network completion was accomplished far ahead of time requirements set by the company's FCC license agreement. The first site was activated on August 25, 2007 and the final site, which finalized the nationwide network, went live on January 29th, just five months later.

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Verizon Business Manages Juniper J-Series Routers as Outsourced Service

Verizon Business announced a new managed services option for large-business and government customers with remote locations or for smaller networks. Specifically, Verizon Business is now the first U.S.-based service provider offering management of a customer's Juniper Networks J-series services router. The new managed service offering is available immediately to U.S.-based medium- and large-sized business and government customers. It has been certified with a variety of Verizon Business networking services, including company's flagship Private IP, an MPLS-based virtual private network service, as well as the company's private line and Frame Relay services.


Verizon Business offers three levels of service to support customers deploying the managed Juniper Networks J-series services router. The company's multi-tiered approach to network management enables it to help enterprises reduce the complexity associated with an IP environment. Verizon Business' IMPACT management platform supports its industry-leading service level commitments and enables the company to offer customer with the fully managed service option an actual time-to-repair commitment as low as 3.5 hours in the U.S.; the majority of Verizon Business' competitors still offer a mean time-to-repair commitment.


Verizon Business said this service will help enterprise customers take full advantage of the Juniper platform by reducing the day-to-day management burden so that the customer's technical staff can focus on critical business initiatives. The company plans to build on this announcement by offering a powerful branch office services delivery platform based on the Juniper Networks J-series services routers and that integrates managed routing, security and other services, including IP telephony.


Verizon Business noted that it currently manages 260,000-plus devices on more than 4,200 customer networks in 142 countries and territories, overseeing non-Verizon connections from more than 60 network providers around the world.
http://www.verizonbusiness.comhttp://www.juniper.net

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Comcast Teams BitTorrent, Dropping Previous Traffic Management Policy

In a policy turnaround, Comcast announced a partnership with BitTorrent and with the broader Internet and ISP community to more effectively address issues associated with rich media content and network capacity management. Some key points:

• By year-end 2008, Comcast will migrate to a capacity management technique that is protocol agnostic. Comcast said the result will be "a traffic management technique that is more appropriate for today's emerging Internet trends."



• BitTorrent acknowledged the need of ISPs to manage their networks, especially during times of peak congestion.



• Both companies have agreed that these technical issues can be worked out through private business discussions without the need for government intervention.



• BitTorrent and Comcast have also agreed to work with other ISPs, other technology companies, and the Internet Engineering Task Force, to explore and develop a new distribution architecture for the efficient delivery of rich media content.

"This new architecture would enable many new and emerging applications and will be based upon an open, non-discriminatory framework that could interface with or support multiple technologies. We believe that P2P technology has matured as an enabler for legal content distribution, so we need to have an architecture that can support it with techniques that work over all networks," said Tony Werner, Comcast Cable's Chief Technology Officer.http://www.comcast.comhttp://www.bittorrent.com/

• Earlier this month, Verizon said it no longer regarded P2P as a "dark-alley distribution system for unauthorized file sharing." Specifically,
  Verizon announced plans to begin using a peer-to-peer (P2P) file transfer system from Pando Networks to aid with the distribution of large media files to its broadband users. When deployed, the new system will move material authorized by the content owners -- such as movies, TV programs, software or large data bases -- faster for consumers and more efficiently for network operators, including Verizon.

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Motorola Introduces New CDMA EV-DO Base Site Controller

Motorola introduced its new IP-BSC-DO, a scalable EV-DO Base Site Controller (BSC) platform that enables CDMA operators to quickly and cost effectively upgrade the DO broadband data capacity. The new IP BSC provides 12 times the site capacity and IP data session capacity compared to the first generation DO BSC, while using significantly less floor space.


The new IP-BSC-DO, which is expected to be available for commercial shipment in Q2 2008, is built using a modular ATCA hardware platform.
It combines EV-DO packet controller functions (PCF) with the operations and maintenance controller in a single Motorola platform for CDMA2000 EV-DO. The functions of the IP-BSC-DO include CDMA2000 EV-DO traffic and signaling control and routing between a Radio Access Network (RAN) and the Packet Data Serving Node (PDSN), authentication of users attempting to access the EV-DO system, and operator management of the IP-BSC-DO.
http://www.motorola.com

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Verizon Wireless Updates on V CAST Mobile TV Service

Verizon Wireless released an update on its V CAST Mobile TV offering, noting that one year after launch the service is now available in 50 markets across the U.S. Verizon Wireless currently has more than 150 broadcast-quality programs available and recently announced exclusive deals with MTV Tr3s and ESPN Radio. In addition, the company noted that four phones currently support V CAST Mobile TV, including the popular Voyager by LG, MOTORIZR Z6tv, Samsung SCH-u620, and the LG VX9400.


V CAST Mobile TV from Verizon Wireless is powered on the FLO TV service from MediaFLO USA Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Qualcomm MediaFLO USA operates a dedicated multicast network that delivers programming in a linear format.http://www.verizonwireless.com

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Corning Introduces High-Temperature/Harsh-Environment Specialty Fibers

Corning introduced a suite of Corning High-Temperature/Harsh-Environment Specialty Fibers, designed to exceed the requirements for high-temperature sensor applications, which include a high resistance to hydrogen permeation, excellent fiber fatigue performance and high usable strength. The new products include single-mode and multimode fibers with polyimide coatings in both hermetic and non-hermetic formats.


Corning said its polyimide-coated fiber has an engineered high-temperature polymer that exhibits thermal stability up to 300 degrees Celsius. The multimode fiber is useful for Distributed Temperature Sensing (DTS) applications and the single-mode fiber can be utilized for Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) point sensing, such as engine or pipeline monitoring.
http://www.corning.com

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AT&T to Provide Connectivity for Corning

AT&T was awarded a two-year contract to provide global voice services to Corning. The services will include international voice, video and teleconferencing, calling-card and toll-free services to more than 120 Corning locations worldwide.http://www.att.com

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AT&T to Launch Mobile TV with FLO

AT&T will launch a Mobile TV with FLO,

a mobile television service delivered MediaFLO USA, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Qualcomm.
The mobile TV service will launch in May 2008 on two new exclusive handsets, the LG Vu and the Samsung Access. AT&T Mobile TV will also feature two exclusive channels, which will be announced soon.

FLO technology is a new air interface originally developed by QUALCOMM with multicasting capabilities designed to increase capacity and reduce content delivery costs to mobile handsets.

MediaFLO's content partners include CBS Mobile, Comedy Central, ESPN Mobile TV, FOX Mobile, MTV, NBC 2GO, NBC News2Go and Nickelodeon.http://www.att.comhttp://www.flotv.com/

• Since launching FLO TV service in March 2007, MediaFLO USA has announced collaborations with Verizon Wireless and AT&T.



• The service is currently available in more than 50 major metropolitan areas nationwide, including Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York, Seattle and Washington, D.C.



• In February 2007, Cingular Wireless (now AT&T) announced plans to use MediaFLO.

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One Minute Video: What is Packet Optical Convergence?

One Minute Video: What is a Carrier Ethernet Switch Router?

Presented by Rafael Francis

ECI Telecom

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NTT DoCoMo Achieves "Super 3G" 250 Mbps Downlink

NTT DoCoMo has demonstrated a downlink transmission rate of 250 Mbps

over a high-speed wireless network in an outdoor test of an experimental Super 3G system for mobile communications. The "Super 3G" system trial has been underway using an actual wireless environment near its R&D labs in Yokosuka, just south of Tokyo, since February. The test involves four Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) antennas for base-station transmission and mobile-station reception in the 20MHz bandwidth, the maximum under new Super 3G standards.


DoCoMo said it is continuing to test connection handover from one base station to another, and the functionality of applications in indoor and outdoor environments.


Super 3G, which features low-latency data transmission and high spectrum efficiency, is an evolution beyond the High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) and High-Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA) protocols of W-CDMA, an original technology for 3G packet transmissions. Super 3G, also known as Long Term Evolution (LTE), is being standardized by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) and core specifications have been approved already.


http://www.nttdocomo.com

• In September 2007, NTT DoCoMo announced a milestone of the way to "Super 3G" wireless, also known as Long Term Evolution (LTE) in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) -- the company has developed and successfully tested a trial large-scale-integration (LSI) chip incorporating advanced power-saving signal-processing technologies that enable the chip to work at a sufficiently low power consumption and to be made small enough to fit into forthcoming Super 3G handsets and beyond.
  
  
  DoCoMo reports that its LSI achieved a transmission rate of 200Mbps with high precision over a high-speed wireless network, while power consumption did not exceed 0.1W thanks to its proprietary signal-processing technology.
  
  
  The company said its LSI demodulates and separates MIMO (multiple-input multiple-output)-multiplexed OFDM (orthogonal frequency division multiplexing) signals transmitted in the 20MHz bandwidth from four antennas. Signal processing is based on MLD (maximum likelihood detection) technology that DoCoMo has originally developed for 4G wireless access. Redundant circuits have been eliminated in the experimental chip, which was made with 65 nanometer processing.
  
  
  DoCoMo plans to continue to develop Super 3G and 4G technologies in combination with its LSI technology, as well as cooperate in the establishment of related international standards.

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mimoOn GmbH Demos 3GPP LTE on Software Defined Radio Platforms

mimoOn GmbH announced the implementation of an end-to-end LTE software solution. The company said its platforms offer the high processing power required for LTE, but instead of using high clock frequencies, use parallel processing technology in order to keep power consumption low. The software solution also offers key features such as reconfigurability, which is key for supporting legacy mobile standards such as 3G and 2G whilst LTE evolves. The mimoOn SDR LTE platform supports the optional features of LTE, and it is future-proof and scalable to meet the processing requirements of future releases such as Advanced LTE and MIMO in the uplink.


mimoOn offers two versions of its SDR LTE product: one customized for base stations, picocells, and femtocells; and the other for client devices such as data cards, mobile phones, wireless modules and wireless modems. http://www.mimoOn.de

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BigBand Selected by China's Zhongshan Cable

China's Zhongshan Cable is deploying BigBand Networks' Broadband Multimedia-Service Router (BMR) to process, manage and deliver digital television services, including HDTV and video-on-demand (VOD). Zhongshan Cable serves approximately 300,000 subscribers in the city of the same name, among the larger urban centers in China's Guangdong Province. Financial terms were not disclosed.


Zhongshan Cable is using the BMR as a digital "headend-in-a-box." BigBand's "RateShaping" capability leverages advanced algorithms to allow Zhongshan to increase the amount of standard and high-definition digital video that can be delivered over its cable network without using additional bandwidth. The BMR also performs quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM), scrambling and acquisition functions to allow video content acquired from satellites to be delivered over Zhongshan's network.http://www.bigbandnet.com

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Lockheed Martin Announces Milestone for Navy's Next-Gen Satellite

Lockheed Martin announced a key milestone in the development of the Mobile User Objective System (MUOS)

with the successful completion of static loads testing of the first satellite in the program constellation. MUOS is a next-generation narrowband tactical satellite communications system. The new satellites, which will deliver simultaneous voice, data and video in real time to mobile terminals around the globe, will replace the current narrowband tactical satellite communications system known as the Ultra High Frequency Follow-On (UFO) system.


Lockheed Martin said the test validated the satellite's strength and ability to sustain its launch weight of over 13,000 pounds, proving that the structure can carry the physical loads it will experience during the satellite's manufacturing, launch and operation in geosynchronous orbit.


MUOS satellites will be the largest of Lockheed Martin's flight-proven A2100 spacecraft series. The first MUOS satellite along with the associated ground system are scheduled for on-orbit hand over to the Navy in 2010.


Lockheed Martin Space Systems serves as prime contractor and systems engineering lead for the MUOS program. The company is under contract to design, build and deploy the first two MUOS satellites and the associated MUOS ground system.http://www.lockheedmartin.com

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Ceragon Unveils Wireless Ethernet Platform Supporting TDM

Ceragon Networks introduced a new family of carrier-grade wireless Ethernet platforms that combine advanced IP and TDM networking. The new, versatile FibeAir IP-10 family features an integrated Ethernet switch, optional stackable radios with TDM cross-connect for nodal site applications, and advanced service management and Operation Administration & Maintenance (OAM) tools. It offers a capacity range of 10Mbps to 500Mbps over one radio carrier, using a single RF unit, across the entire licensed frequency spectrum - from 6GHz to 38GHz.


In addition, FibeAir IP-10 incorporates Ceragon's Native2 concept to support a native TDM and native Ethernet hybrid architecture - as well as all-IP and pseudowire architectures.


The FibeAir IP-10 family builds on the wide experience gained with Ceragon's FibeAir IP-MAX solutions family which will continue to serve private network and other applications. FibeAir IP-10 solutions will be available in both Native2 and Native Ethernet variants. First commercial release will be available during Q2 2008. http://www.ceragon.com

Building Migration-Ready Mobile Backhaul Networks with High-capacity Microwave Mobile networks, which today are based almost entirely on TDM, will gradually become all-IP/Ethernet. But what is the best migration strategy for getting there? Can Point-to-Point Microwave support this migration path?

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Motorola to Split into Two in 2009

Motorola announced plans to split into two independent, publicly-traded companies in 2009. The split would occur as follows:

The Mobile Devices business will continue to supply multi-mode, multi-band communications products and technologies. The business designs, manufactures and sells mobile handsets and accessories globally with integrated software solution. It also licenses a portfolio of intellectual property. Motorola is currently searching for a new CEO for this business.


The Broadband & Mobility Solutions business includes Motorola's Enterprise Mobility, Government and Public Safety, and Home and Networks businesses. These businesses manufacture, design, integrate, and service voice and data communication solutions and wireless broadband networks for enterprises and government and public safety customers worldwide. These businesses also provide end-to-end digital and IP video solutions, cellular and high speed broadband network infrastructure, cable set-top receivers, and associated customer premise equipment for residential and commercial wireless network system access.http://www.motorola.com

• Earlier this month, Motorola announced the resignation of Stu Reed, president of its Mobile Devices business, effective immediately.





• On January 31, Motorola confirmed that it is exploring strategic alternatives for its Mobile Devices business. Motorola said at that time that its alternatives may include the separation of Mobile Devices from its other businesses in order to permit each business to grow and better serve its customers.


• Also in January, Motorola reported Q4 2007 sales of $9.65 billion and net earnings of $0.04 per share, which include $0.05 per share from continuing operations and a net loss of $0.01 per share from discontinued operations. The company said its Mobile Devices business remains challenged, with sales declining 38 percent versus prior-year quarter, while its Home & Networks Mobility and Enterprise Mobility Solutions business continued to deliver strong results.

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Motorola to Offer Common Wireless Broadband Platform to Support WiMAX and LTE

Motorola outlined plans for a new common wireless broadband platform that will be used to support both WiMAX 802.16e access points and the Long Term Evolution (LTE) evolved Node-B (eNodeB). The new common platform will be physically smaller than the first generation WiMAX product, and it will be software configurable to support either WiMAX or LTE.


Motorola's LTE solution is comprised of the common wireless broadband wireless platform and a selection of radio options that include MIMO and smart antennas. The portfolio includes frame based-mounted radios, remote radio heads and tower top radios to support a wide variety of LTE deployment scenarios across newly available spectrum as well as existing GSM and CDMA spectrum.


Motorola's WiMAX solution is comprised of a number of tower top and ground based access point configurations utilizing MIMO B or smart antenna technology and can be operated in the 2.3, 2.5 and 3.5 GHz frequency bands.


Motorola will showcase the new wireless common broadband platform at next week's CTIA Wireless 2008 in Las Vegas.http://www.motorola.com/experiencelte

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Motorola Introduces WiMAX Indoor CPE

Motorola introduced its desktop CPEi 150

for indoor fixed WiMAX deployments, the latest 802.16e-compliant Wave-2 ready addition to Motorola's award-winning WiMAX consumer product portfolio. The new CPEi 150 features one data port, supports remote management and operates in the 2.5GHz band. The CPEi 150 automatically connects to the WiMAX network and authenticates itself for easy setup. Motorola will begin shipments to service providers during Q2 2008.


At the upcoming CTIA Wireless 2008 show in the Las Vegas, Motorola is participating with ecosystem partners Intel, Clearwire and XOHM to offer mobile WiMAX "test drives".http://direct.motorola.com/hellomoto/motowi4

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Motorola Unveils DVB-HB Mobile TV with PVR, GPS, HSDPA

Motorola unveiled its Mobile TV DH02

-- a personalized TV and navigation device featuring a touch screen user interface. It offers an HSDPA/GPRS back channel support offering mobile operators the potential to deliver 2-way entertainment and navigation services.


Additional features of DH02 include:

Live DVB-H TV with PVR capabilities -- timeshift, live pause, frame grabbing

Advanced navigation capabilities with GPS and Tele Atlas map views, points of interest and voice-activated directions, and handsfree calls to points of interest.

Automatic channel scan and listing

High resolution WQVGA display

Digital video quality @ 25 fps

Personal content like video, music and pictures on microSD cards

Five-minute memory buffer for live pause and time shift of TV channels

Points of Interest with voice assisted guidance, real-time traffic information and speed alerts

E-call (Emergency Calls) and SMS support

Bluetooth and earphones

Portrait and landscape auto-flip -- use portrait view for navigation and POI calls, and landscape for mobile TV and personal media entertainment

Motorola also supplies mobile TV solutions, including network infrastructure (DVB-H transmission network equipment, video headend center equipment, interactive application services delivery platform), services (to design, deploy and optimize the network in addition to application services); and the devices themselves.http://www.motorola.com

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Motorola Demos CDMA/EV-DO Rev-A to LTE Handoffs

Motorola announced the first successful packet-switched network handoff between CDMA EV-DO Rev-A and Long Term Evolution (LTE) technologies in a demonstration with VoIP calls and streaming video. In the Motorola demonstration, laptops and mobile devices are equipped with dual radio transceivers that support both CDMA/EV-DO Rev-A and LTE and are active during the packet handoffs. As a device loses LTE connectivity, it automatically switches to EV-DO to ensure consistent streaming without dropping IP packets. The process is then reversed, and devices switch back to LTE when LTE connectivity is restored. Motorola noted that the handover mechanisms employed in this demonstration leverage concepts which are part of the non-optimized handover procedures in LTE core network SAE standard 3GPP TS 23.402.


Motorola said its handoff technique illustrates how service providers using CDMA-based networks can smoothly integrate broadband OFDMA and IP packet-based wireless broadband technologies like LTE into their network.


http://www.motorola.com

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Verizon Lobbies for Faster Disconnects from Cable TV

Verizon has asked the FCC to require the cable industry to make it as easy for consumers to choose a new video provider as it already is for them to switch voice providers. Verizon argues that the currently many cable companies refuse to accept video service cancellations from a new provider, creating extra work and confusion for consumers. However, long-established procedures enable a new provider to submit a voice disconnection order on behalf of the customer.


"The process to switch video providers is more cumbersome for consumers," Verizon wrote in a petition filed with the FCC today to request a declaratory ruling. "Cable incumbents do not accept disconnect orders from the new provider; instead, they require the customer to contact them directly to cancel service after choosing a new video provider and to return equipment.


In a separate filing with the FCC earlier this week, Verizon said that the cable industry delays its customers' switches to competing voice providers by regularly failing to meet the commission's timing requirements for local number portability.
http://www.verizon.com

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RMI Expands its Board of Directors

RMI Corporation, which supplies multi-core, multi-threaded processors for communications and consumer applications, has expanded its Board of Directors to include Michael Thurk, chief operating officer of Avaya. RMI recently expanded the size of its board of directors to seven members. In addition to Mr. Thurk, RMI's board includes newly appointed members, Donald Schrock, former group president, Qualcomm, and Richard F. Wallman, former chief financial officer at Honeywell International, as well as existing members, Behrooz Abdi, president and chief executive officer, RMI Corporation, Joe Landy, co-president, Warburg Pincus, Bruce Dunlevie, senior partner at Benchmark Capital and Henry Kressel, partner and a senior managing director of Warburg Pincus..http://www.RMICorp.com

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Nortel Lands 5-Year CDMA Contract with US Cellular

U.S. Cellular has awarded Nortel a five-year contract to provide advanced wireless capabilities for its CDMA network. Under this agreement, U.S. Cellular will purchase Nortel's CDMA switching, base stations, and software. It also includes emergency technical support, spares management, software patch management, performance monitoring and other services from Nortel's Global Services portfolio. The deal builds on Nortel and U.S. Cellular's long-standing relationship for supplying CDMA solutions. Financial terms were not disclosed.
http://www.nortel.com

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India's BSNL Awards $100 Million GSM Expansion Contract to Nortel

India's BSNL (Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd.) awarded a GSM expansion

contract valued at over US$100 million to Nortel. BSNL, which currently serves 20 million cellular subscribers, is actively growing its network reach and capacity to meet increased demand for mobile telephony services across the country. This project focuses on southern areas of the country. Deployment is underway and completion is expected in 2008.http://www.nortel.com

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Indonesia's PT Telkom Selects Alcatel-Lucent IP/MPLS for DRS

PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia (PT Telkom), the incumbent fixed telephone service provider in Indonesia, has chosen Alcatel-Lucent's IP/MPLS platform to deploy a national Data Recovery Service (DRS) network connecting ten cities across the country. PT Telkom is migrating the connectivity of its data centers to IP/MPLS to facilitate administrative operations such as centralized billing. The deployment includes the Alcatel-Lucent 7750 and 7710 Service Routers and the 7450 Ethernet Service Switch.
http://www.alcatel-lucent.com

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France Telecom Announces Executive Appointments

France Telecom announce the following executive changes :

• Raoul Roverato is appointed Executive Vice-President in charge of the new growth businesses Division. This ‘new growth businesses' Division comprises the Content and Audience & On-line Advertising Divisions and is responsible for coordinating all of the Group's current or future growth initiatives.



• Patricia Langrand, in addition to her current position, is appointed Special Advisor to the Chairman and CEO for relations with media and content players.



• The International Business Development Division, led by Anne Bouverot, reports to the Executive Senior Vice-President, Group Genral Secretary, Jean-Yves Larrouturou.



• The Division in charge of operations in Africa, Middle-East and Asia (AMEA) led by Marc Rennard reports to the Executive Senior Vice-President, Group Genral Secretary, Jean-Yves Larrouturou.



• The Home Line of Business, led by Antonio Anguita reports to the Executive Senior Vice-President in charge of Group Transformation and Operations in France, Louis-Pierre Wenes.

http://www.orange.com

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Juniper Extends Steel-Belted Radius Platform with WiMAX Support

Juniper Networks enhanced its Service Provider Steel-Belted Radius (SBR) Authentication, Authorization and Accounting (AAA) Server with support for WiMAX broadband wireless networks with Support for mobile WiMAX is expected to be generally available as a separate software module for SBR Carrier AAA server in Q3 2008.


Juniper said mobile WiMAX places extraordinary demands on Authentication, Authorization and Accounting (AAA) systems, which need to support multiple Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) methods; manage mobile IP sessions; and facilitate roaming. Its SBR Carrier AAA solution will address these challenges by supporting the methods required by the WiMAX standard for authenticating users and devices (EAP-TLS, EAP-TTLS and EAP-AKA), as well as legacy technologies such as EAP-SIM for backward compatibility -- on a single, unified platform. With its mobile IP key derivation and management functionality, the SBR Carrier AAA Server will also have the intelligence to set up mobile IP sessions; manage mobile sessions throughout their lifetimes; and support roaming in both home and visited networks.


Juniper noted that more than 120 service providers worldwide are using its SBR.http://www.juniper.net

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Ethernet Alliance Announces Creation of IEEE P802.3at/Draft 3.0

A new IEEE P802.3at/Draft 3.0 addressing Power of Ethernet (PoE) Plus has been submitted it to the IEEE 802.3 working group ballot for technical review of the draft standard. PoE Plus is designed to provide up to 30W of power using Category 5 cables. Standard ratification is expected by 2009.


The additional power is seen as key for several advanced applications over converged networks, such as the use of high-end, pan-tilt-zoom video cameras.


"PoE Plus brings value to Ethernet by enabling key video services such as perimeter security, video conferencing and video-based IP phones for video collaborations," said Val Oliva, president, Ethernet Alliance. "The Ethernet Alliance is proud to support the IEEE P802.3at task force in its process of creating and ratifying the IEEE P802.3at draft standard."http://www.ethernetalliance.org

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Wisair Introduces SDIO Wireless USB solution

Wisair introduced a new SDIO Wireless USB solution for portable and handheld electronic devices. The design, which is based on the Wisair WSR601 low-power single chip, enables vendors to embed Wireless USB into portable devices, such as digital still cameras, camcorders and smart phones, using the Secure Digital Input/Output (SDIO) interface.


The Wisair WSR601 single chip has received regulatory approvals in Japan, the U.S., and Europe, and was recently certified by the USB-IF.

http://www.wisair.com/

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Aktino Names Lonnie Martin as New CEO

Aktino, which offers carrier-class long reach broadband over copper solutions, named Lonnie Martin as its new CEO. Martin most recently was CEO of White Rock Networks, an optical equipment company that he founded in 1999 and guided until 2006, when it was sold to Turin Networks.



Martin has also served as president and CEO of two other venture capital-backed companies (Broadband Telesystems, and Coastcom) and a top executive at two large multinational companies, ADC Telecommunications and Ascom/Timeplex.


Aktino has developed VDSL2-based MIMO (Multiple In, Multiple Out) on DMT (Discrete Multi-Tone) technology, which virtually eliminates crosstalk between copper pairs and allows multimegabit capacity on each copper pair, all the way to the edge of the carrier serving area.


Aktino, founded in 2003, is based in Irvine, California.
http://www.aktino.com

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Motorola Joins LTE/SAE Trial Initiative

Motorola has joined the LTE/System Architecture Evolution (SAE) Trial Initiative (LSTI), and industry group driving the acceleration of commercial and interoperable next-generation LTE mobile broadband systems.


Motorola has been a major contributor to the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long-Term Evolution (LTE) standard.


Motorola said that it is leveraging its experience in 802.16e commercial systems by reusing a significant amount of its WiMAX research and development, coupled with its rich heritage in cellular networking, Motorola chipsets, network and video head-end solutions, and professional services to deliver its end-to-end LTE solution.


Motorola is among the vendors selected by Verizon Wireless and Vodafone to participate in their joint LTE trials during 2008. Motorola also is planning a number of other field trials during 2008.
http://www.motorola.com/lte

• In May 2007, a group of world leading telecom technology manufacturers and network operators comprised of Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson, France Telecom/Orange, Nokia, Nokia Siemens Networks, Nortel, T-Mobile, and Vodafone, launched a joint initiative aimed at driving high performance mobile broadband networks based on 3GPP Release 8 "Long Term Evolution / System Architecture Evolution" (LTE/SAE) specifications.



• The LTE/SAE Trial Initiative targets mobile broadband peak data rates exceeding 100 Mbps. In line with 3GPP requirements, LTE/SAE aims to provide a mobile broadband service that outperforms both 3GPP Release 6 HSPA, as well as current fixed line DSL data rates while maintaining and extending the highly successful mobility and coverage benefits of 3GPP networks such as GSM.

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Motorola Expands OFDM-based Access Points

Motorola has expanded its Canopy wireless broadband system with the introduction of the 400 series of access points and subscriber modules in the 5.4 GHz spectrum. The Canopy 400 series uses Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM) technology to provide improved near-line of sight (nLOS) and non-line of sight (NLOS) coverage, allowing service providers and enterprise network owners to extend broadband network coverage into urban areas where obstructions and foliage have limited system expansion. The modules offer higher throughputs, up to 21Mbps, and extended range, accompanied with GPS synchronization to mitigate self interference. The Canopy 400 series modules, part of the MOTOwi4 Fixed Point-to-Multipoint portfolio, are now available in Europe, Middle East and Africa and soon in Latin America. North America availability is pending final FCC certification.


Motorola said that by leveraging OFDM technology in the access and backhaul layers, the Canopy 400 series significantly enhances overall network performance and reach enabling such applications as high speed data transfer, video surveillance, VoIP, and gaming to subscribers who were not previously reachable. http://www.motorola.com

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FPL FiberNet Deploys Alcatel-Lucent for IP/MPLS

FPL FiberNet, a subsidiary of Florida Power & Light which delivers wholesale bandwidth services throughout most major metropolitan areas in Florida, has deployed Alcatel-Lucent's IP/MPLS solution. the packet-based network is being used to deliver Ethernet and IP services. FPL FiberNet currently serves telecommunication companies, wireless carriers, Internet service providers, and enterprise and government customers in Florida through a geographically diverse and protected fiber-optic network. Financial terms were not disclosed.




The deployment includes the Alcatel-Lucent 7750 Service Router, Alcatel-Lucent 7450 Ethernet Service Switch, Alcatel-Lucent 7250 Service Access Switch and Alcatel-Lucent 5620 Service Aware Manager. In addition, FPL FiberNet's Metro Ethernet services are based on Alcatel-Lucent's optical networking solution, including the Alcatel-Lucent 1665 DMX and 1665 DMXtend, next-generation multiplexers designed for high-capacity voice, data and video transport, as well as its 1675 LambdaUnite MultiService Switch. Alcatel-Lucent also is providing installation, deployment, consulting, network integration and professional services.http://www.alcatel-lucent.comhttp://www.fplfibernet.com/

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NTT Comm and AT&T Join Trans Pacific Express Cable Project

NTT Communications and AT&T have joined the Trans-Pacific Express (TPE) Consortium, which is building next-generation, high- capacity undersea system to link the United States with mainland China, Taiwan and South Korea. Other members of the TPE Consortium include Verizon Business, China Telecom, China Netcom, China Unicom, Korea Telecom and Chunghwa Telecom (Taiwan)
http://www.verizon.com

• Earlier this month, Verizon Business announced that the U.S.-mainland China portion of the Trans-Pacific Express (TPE) submarine cable will enter service in July, a month in advance of the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing.

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Infinera Extends Just-in-TAM Program to 40 Gbps Module

Infinera extended its "Just-in-TAM" program to its 40 Gigabit Tributary Adapter Module (TAM). The Just-in-TAM program, introduced last year, is an Infinera commitment to ship most TAM modules anywhere in the world within ten days of receipt of customer order. Infinera said this enables record turn-up time by its customers for most services.


TAM modules slot into Infinera line cards at the endpoints of a circuit in an Infinera network. Installation of the TAMs, combined with software configuration of the circuit through the network, enables very fast turn-up of circuits and services in an Infinera network.


Infinera's 40 Gbps TAM, which has been available since last year, uses Infinera's Digital Virtual Concatenation (DVC) to map a 40 Gbps service over four 10 Gbps wavelengths, enabling 40 Gbps services to be offered over any fiber plant capable of supporting 10 Gbps services today.http://www.infinera.com

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Sun Awarded DARPA Contract to Develop Microchip Interconnect System

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has awarded Sun Microsystems a $44.29 million funding for a five and a half-year research project focused on microchip interconnectivity via on-chip optical networks.


The project, which is part of DARPA's Ultraperformance Nanophotonic Intrachip Communication program, aims to accelerate the development of lower cost, high performance and high productivity systems using arrays of low-cost chips. The goal is to create high bandwidth, low latency, and low power interconnections between the parallel computing chips in such an array.


Sun said its program combines optical signaling with Proximity Communication, its key chip-to-chip I/O technology, to construct arrays of low-cost chips in a single virtual "macrochip." Such an aggregation of inexpensive chips looks and performs like a single chip of enormous size, thus extending Moore's Law; it also avoids soldered chip connections to enable lower total system cost. Long connections across the macrochip leverage the low latency, high bandwidth, and low power of silicon optics, and through this program Sun and DARPA will research technologies to dramatically further reduce the cost of these optical connections. The result is a virtual supercomputer.


"Optical communications could be a truly game-changing technology -- an elegant way to continue impressive performance gains while completely changing the economics of large-scale silicon production," said Greg Papadopoulos, chief technology officer and executive vice president of research and development for Sun. "Congratulations to Sun Labs and Microelectronics teams for their constructive creativity and for driving innovation into the semiconductor marketplace."http://www.research.sun.com

• Earlier this month, researchers at IBM announced a nanophotonic switch for routing optical data between cores in future computer chips. Like a long-haul fiber-optic network, such an extremely miniature on-chip network will transmit, receive, and route messages between individual cores that are encoded as a pulses of light. IBM estimates that by using light instead of wires, as much as 100 times more information can be sent between cores, while using 10 times less power and consequently generating less heat.
  
  
  The report on this work, entitled “High-throughput silicon nanophotonic wavelength-insensitive switch for on-chip optical networks�? by Yurii Vlasov, William M. J. Green, and Fengnian Xia of IBM's T.J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, N.Y. is published in the April 2008 issue of the journal Nature Photonics. This work was partially supported by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) through the Defense Sciences Office program “Slowing, Storing and Processing Light�?.

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Sprint Names Elfman as President - Network Operations and Wholesale

Sprint Nextel named Steven L. Elfman to the new position of President - Network Operations and Wholesale, reporting to Dan Hesse, president and chief executive officer. Elfman most recently served as president and chief operating officer of Motricity, a mobile data technology services company, and before that held mobile data and technology leadership positions at Infospace, Inc., Terabeam and AT&T Wireless.


In his position at Sprint, which will take effect May 4, Elfman will oversee the combined network and IT organizations led by Chief Network Officer Kathy Walker, and the wholesale organization, which encompasses services sold to other telecommunications providers, led by Jim Patterson, who was recently named as President -- Wholesale.http://www.sprint.com

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Verizon Expands FiOS Rollout in Manhattan

Verizon has expanded the rollout of its FiOS fiber network to the residents of the 110-building, 11,232-unit Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village complex in Manhattan. Verizon FiOS Internet service is now available in seven buildings in the 110-building complex, and more buildings will be provisioned for service in the weeks and months ahead. Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village are located on 80 acres -- stretching from First Avenue to Avenue C, between 14th and 23rd streets, in Manhattan.http://www.verizon.com

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NTT America to Deliver IPv6 for The Planet

NTT America will deliver IPv6 connectivity for The Planet, which provides web hosting for more than 22,000 customers and 6.7 million web sites. Development on the project begins immediately, and The Planet expects to announce availability in late 2008.

By adding NTT America's IPv6 transit to The Planet network, The Planet will be able to offer each hosting customer a dual-stack approach for using both IPv4 and IPv6 simultaneously.

The NTT Communications Group provides IPv6 Gateway services that are available globally and allow enterprises to connect to the world's only commercial-grade Global Tier One IPv6 Backbone operating in four continents- North America, Europe, Asia and Australia-and serving thousands of customers. In addition, NTT has improved upon the inherent security features of IPv6 with the creation of its IntelliSecurity IPv6 Managed Firewall solution.
http://www.nttamerica.com/http://www.theplanet.com

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NEC to Resell VPIsystems' OnePlan network planning solution

NEC plans to resell VPIsystems' OnePlan network planning solution under its own SpectralWave ONP brand. Carriers will be able to purchase this customized version of OnePlan, specific to NEC products, to optimally plan and route their new and evolving networks, as well as create detailed design reports, including bills of materials and equipment information. The OnePlan solution will also allow these carriers to conduct extensive what-if analyses to not only discover path impairments, but also recommend design corrections to prevent failures.


NEC is planning to extend its use of the OnePlan solution in the coming months and is currently evaluating making further customizations and integrations, to make OnePlan an integral part of the company's existing optical network management solution.


VPIsystems' OnePlan offers service providers a single, cross-domain (geography, technology, discipline and network domain) integrated capacity and network planning capability for next-generation, IP-enabled infrastructure. http://www.vpisystems.com/http://www.nec.com/

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Comcast Offers Business Class VoIP for SMBs

Comcast introduced its "Business Class Voice" service aimed at small and medium-sized businesses across New England. SMB's may now subscribe to Comcast's Triple Play of cable television, high-speed Internet and voice services. Pricing begins at $99 a month.


Comcast Business Class Voice includes: unlimited local and long-distance calling for a flat rate, Auto Attendant, Do Not Disturb, Simultaneous Ring, Sequential Ring, Audible Message Indicator, Cancel Call Waiting, Call Forwarding Selective, Call Forwarding Variable, Caller ID Block, Caller ID Name and Number, Caller ID on Call Waiting, Call Screening, Call Trace, Call Waiting, Speed Dial 8, Speed Dial 30, Three-Way Calling, Visual Message Indicator and Voicemail. http://www.comcast.com/business

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Google Seeks Open Spectrum Sharing in White Space TV Broadcast Bands

Google filed comments with the FCC presenting its plans for mobile broadband services using the TV "white space," along with an enhanced spectrum protection proposal aimed at addressing concerns about the merits of using the white space for unlicensed personal/portable devices. Google is predicting that advanced spectrum sensing technologies enabled by low-cost processors in communications devices will pave the wave for a much more efficient use of spectrum. Beginning with the TV whitespaces, this spectrum sensing technology could be extended to other bands, and perhaps ultimately to all bands.



Some key elements of the Google plan include:

• (1) Google envisions a network that combines elements of both fixed/access unlicensed devices and personal/portable unlicensed devices. This "hybrid" approach will join together the tangible benefits of mobility, low cost, and ease of installation and use.



• (2) Coupled with the "Android" open source platform for mobile consumer devices, TV white spaces can provide uniquely low-cost mobile broadband coverage for all Americans. As announced last fall, over thirty other companies are working with Google through the Open Handset Alliance to develop a fully open source software stack, including the operating system, middleware, and user applications. Android-powered handsets should begin appearing commercially later this year, and would be an excellent match for the TV white space.



• (3) In the 700 MHz auction proceeding, Google advocated for openness at various network layers.3 In the context of TV white space, consumers will be able to enjoy robust access to the Internet, including the ability to download and utilize any lawful applications or content that is desired.



• (4) Google also would be willing to provide, at no cost to third parties, the technical support necessary to make these plans happen; this could include intellectual property and reference designs for underlying technologies, open geo-databases maintained by Google, and other supporting infrastructure.

As for Google's enhanced protection proposal, the company said a TV white space device should not transmit on a channel until it first has received an "all clear" signal for that channel, either directly from a database of licensed transmitters in that area, or from a geo-located device with access to that database. That "permission to transmit" signal (at a maximum power level of 4W EIRP) would be sent on channels the geo-located device already knows are clear of licensed users. Any device without geo-location and database access would not transmit at all, unless and until it has successfully received advance permission from such a device. Further, all TV white space devices would be blocked from transmitting by any wireless microphone beacon in that channel, using signals specifically designed to be easy to reliably detect, and coded to be identifiable to prevent abuse. These beacons should be quite inexpensive, and would be used in conjunction with existing wireless microphones, so there would be no need to replace legacy devices. Google is also proposing a "safe harbor" for wireless microphones in channels 36-38. No TV white space device would be permitted to transmit in these channels. This will also protect medical telemetry devices and radio astronomy services, which are licensed to use channel 37.http://www.fcc.gov

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Airvana Lands Global OEM Deal with Motorola for CDMA Femtocell

Airvana announced a global OEM agreement to provide Motorola with a CDMA femtocell solution. Airvana said its CDMA femtocells uniquely support both 1xRTT and EV-DO technologies to ensure users have a consistent mobile experience for voice and data services whether they are connected through their femtocell or the macro network. Financial terms were not disclosed.


Femtocells are small, low-cost and low-power cellular access points that connect to a consumer's existing broadband Internet service to deliver enhanced cellular radio coverage and high data speeds to mobile phones in the home.http://www.airvana.com

• In February 2008, Airvana announced that Thomson entered into a global sourcing agreement to use its Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS) femtocell technology in conjunction with residential gateways.

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