SonicWALL Introduces DPI-based UTM Appliance for Branch Offices

SonicWALL introduced its next generation of Unified Threat Management (UTM) appliance designed specifically to address the challenges of application management and bandwidth growth. The new SonicWALL NSA 240 accelerates and prioritizes business critical network traffic, while attacking network threats, misuse of network resources and unreliable or unavailable Internet connectivity.


The NSA 240 combines multiple technologies into a single appliance, protecting networks against an array of network security and content attacks, delivering granular inspection and control over a variety of networked applications and accelerating overall network performance. The design leverages a "Reassembly-free Deep Packet Inspection" (RFDPI) engine, which incorporates object-based contextual controls over user identity and access, application identity and access, data leakage, and network optimization, as well as granular reporting, auditing and forensics.


The NSA 240 also enhances resiliency through the integration of an add-on high speed 3G or Modem card, providing continual network operation when hard line connections are disrupted.


The NSA 240 is priced at $1,195 and the NSA 240 Total Secure is priced $1,770.
http://www.sonicwall.com/nsa240

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NSN to Acquire ELEKTROBIT's WiMAX Baseband Assets

Elektrobit Corp. (EB) has agreed to sell its WiMAX baseband software asset to Nokia Siemens Networks. The parties have agreed to continue the WiMAX baseband software related product development together, with Nokia Siemens Networks purchasing WiMAX product development work from EB as a service. According to the agreement, EB will in the future have the license to use the WiMAX baseband software and its subsequent versions when developing demanding customer solutions based on WiMAX technology. Financial terms were not disclosed.http://www.elektrobit.com/http://www.nsn.com

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Nortel and LG-Nortel Introduce WDM-PON Ethernet Access

Nortel and LG-Nortel (the joint venture of LG Electronics and Nortel) introduced an Ethernet Access solution that uses a WDM-PON architecture.


Nortel said the advantage of this approach is the assurance of dedicated bandwidth and more security over connections which are always available, and never stalled or slowed down by other traffic on the network. The solution starts with speeds of 100 Mbps and easily scalable to add more bandwidth.


Products in the Nortel Ethernet Access Portfolio include:

• Ethernet Access Business Unit (Indoor) 1111 -- the Ethernet Access Business Unit (EABU) 1111 is a colorless termination unit that resides at the business location and can accommodate various types of services through the Ethernet (100Base-TX) port.



• Ethernet Access Business Unit (Indoor) 1112 -- the Ethernet Access Business Unit (EABU) 1112 is a colorless termination unit that resides at the business location and can accommodate various types of services through the Ethernet (100Base-TX) port.



• Ethernet Access Residential Unit (Indoor) 1112-- the Ethernet Access Residential Unit (EARU) 1112 is a colorless indoor termination unit that resides at the subscriber location and can accommodate various types of services through the Ethernet (100Base-TX) port.



• Ethernet Access Service Terminal 1100-- the Ethernet Access Service Terminal 1100 offers simple, scalable and secure point-to-point or point to multi-point Ethernet access to end-users. It surpasses traditional FTTx /ETTx solutions by offering Ethernet point-to-point and Ethernet over Wavelength Division Multiplexing-Passive Optical Networks (WDM PON) technology for both business and residential solutions.



• Wavelength Passive Unit 1132 -- the Wavelength Passive Filter (WPF) is an Arrayed Waveguide Grated (AWG) filter that takes in colored light from the Ethernet Access Service Terminal 1100 and splits the wavelengths out towards the Ethernet Access Business and Residential Units.

http://www.nortel.com

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Nokia and NSN enter Patent License Agreement with Huawei

Nokia and Nokia Siemens Networks have entered into a patent license agreement with Huawei and its affiliates for standards essential patents. The comprehensive agreement covers the worldwide use of all standards essential patents of all parties, including GSM, WCDMA, CDMA2000, optical networking, datacom and WiMAX in mobile devices, infrastructure and services.http://www.nokia.comhttp://www.nsn.com

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Nokia and NSN enter Patent License Agreement with Huawei

Nokia and Nokia Siemens Networks have entered into a patent license agreement with Huawei and its affiliates for standards essential patents. The comprehensive agreement covers the worldwide use of all standards essential patents of all parties, including GSM, WCDMA, CDMA2000, optical networking, datacom and WiMAX in mobile devices, infrastructure and services.http://www.nokia.comhttp://www.nsn.com

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Beceem Debuts Single Chip Voice/Data WiMAX Chip

Beceem introduced a WiMAX Voice and Data chip for Customer Premise Equipment (CPE). The BCS5200 is the industry's first, single chip WiMAX solution with integrated voice and gateway router functionality. It combines Beceem's WiMAX solution with an applications processor that supports a suite of VoIP codecs and IP network protocol stacks.


The BCS5200 enables more than 30 Mbps data throughput with simultaneous support for 2 voice streams. It also features on-chip IPSec processing as well as VPN and Security acceleration engines. It further integrates popular voice codecs including G.711 and G.729.


The BCS5200 is fully software compatible with Beceem's BCS200 Wave 2 chipset, which was among the first to be certified for 2.5GHz by the WiMAX Forum. As a result, BCS5200 based CPEs should be able to achieve WiMAX Forum certification in the most expedient manner. In addition to 2.5GHz spectrum the BCS5200 chipset also supports 2.3GHz and 3.5GHz all in one chipset.http://www.beceem.com

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Redline and Starent Networks form WiMAX Partnership

Redline Communications and Starent Networks have formed a strategic alliance for the co-development of a complete Mobile WiMAX solution. The partnership matches Redline's RedMAX 4C family of Mobile WiMAX radio access network products and Starent Network's ASN Gateway and Home Agent (HA) solution for mobile WiMAX networks.http://www.starentnetworks.comhttp://www.redlinecommunications.com

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Coresonic Unveils Technique for Adding WiMAX to other Processors

Coresonic AB, a developer of baseband processor technology based in Sweden, introduced a technique for enabling WiMAX to be added to consumer electronics with very little additional silicon. At this week's WiMAX World conference in Chicago, the company is showing its LeoCore WiMAX personality pack running on a new FPGA-based evaluation system. The demo system runs at 80MHz, enough to perform 5MHz single antenna WiMAX channels as well as other standards such as WiFi.


Coresonic said its LeoCore WiMAX personality pack and associated firmware allows WiMAX connectivity to be added to any new chip design, such as media processors for digital cameras, application processors for UMD devices and other products which could benefit from the addition of WiMAX or other high speed wireless communications, with just 1.5sq mm of additional silicon in a 65nm semiconductor manufacturing process. The personality pack provides a complete mobile WiMAX solution from RF interface through FEC to CPU interface for the MAC layer.


Rick Clucas, CEO of Coresonic, said "Some market commentators are suggesting that if WiMAX can be added to existing products for under $10, then the WiMAX market could take off rapidly. Others are indicating that LTE is the way forward. The key point with Coresonic's solution is that our LeoCore technology can add WiMAX connectivity to any device with very little incremental cost and size. Secondly, because our solution is programmable, our customers will be able to quickly adapt their products to whatever standard they need to address by licensing new firmware such as LTE."http://www.coresonic.com

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Dilithium Enables Live TV Streaming over iPhone

Dilithium released a live video and Video On Demand (VOD) streaming solution for the iPhone utilizing the Dilithium Content Adapter (DCA). The DCA iPhone solution is an infrastructure offering that can be deployed by operators and service providers to enable live or on demand video content through the standard iPhone Safari browser.




The DCA solution supports live and pre-recorded clips in a wide range of video formats. DCA performs on the fly and on demand media format and codec adaptation. iPhone users do not need to install a special application, and may be on WiFi, WiMax, 3G, or 3.5G (HSDPA) networks.http://www.dilithiumnetworks.com

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The Gores Group Takes Control of Siemens Enterprise Communications

The Gores Group, a U.S.-based private equity firm, acquired a 51 percent stake in Siemens Enterprise Communications. The parent company, Siemens AG, maintains a 49 percent ownership interest. In the coming months, Siemens Enterprise Communications business will be merged operationally with two of Gores' portfolio companies -- Enterasys, a network equipment and security solutions provider and SER Solutions, a call center software company.


Gores and Siemens plan to invest at least €350 million in the joint venture - not including expenditures for research and development and other expenditures as part of the ordinary course of business. The investments will be made in order to launch innovative Siemens Enterprise Communications products on the market, acquire other technology platforms to capitalize on the powerful Siemens Enterprise Communications distribution organization and further drive the expansion and transition of the business from a hardware supplier to a software and service provider.


James R. O'Neill has been appointed CEO. He most recently served as CEO of CompuDyne Corporation, a leading provider of products and services to the public security market. CompuDyne is also owned by The Gores Group. Prior to joining CompuDyne, O'Neill served four years as president of Northrop Grumman Corporation's $4.5 billion Information Technology sector.


The companies said products like the OpenScape UC Server will remain an integral part of the portfolio. Support and upgrades for Siemens Enterprise Communications products, especially HiPath 3000 and HiPath 4000, will also be continued.http://www.siemens.com/enterprise/presshttp://www.gores.com

• In February 2006, The Gores Group, in partnership with Tennenbaum Capital Partners, gained control of Enterasys in a private equity buyout valued at approximately $386 million.

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Alcatel-Lucent and Green Packet Sign WiMAX CPE Agreement

Green Packet, a network equipment supplier based in Malaysia, and Alcatel-Lucent signed an agreement to joint promote the WiMAX ecosystem. Specifically, Alcatel-Lucent will promote Green Packet's new WiMAX Rev-e Customer Premise Equipment (CPE) and Intouch Connection Manager (CM) software. Green Packet's devices include outdoor and indoor subscriber modems and USB dongles.


Green Packet's WiMAX Rev-e CPEs are also undergoing interoperability testing (IOT) under Alcatel-Lucent's Open Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) Program, which has been established to accelerate the development of a global and open WiMAX ecosystem.http://www.greenpacket.com

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HP Acquires LeftHand Networks for Storage and Virtualization

HP agreed to acquire LeftHand Networks, a provider of storage virtualization and iSCSI storage area network (SAN) solutions, for $360 million in cash, subject to certain purchase price adjustments.

LeftHand Networks, which pioneered iSCSI SAN technology, delivers scalable storage software on industry-standard hardware that supports existing technology environments.


HP said LeftHand Networks' portfolio extends its virtualization solutions to the midmarket with software that runs on both existing storage and industry-standard server hardware, reducing training time and overall complexity. Additionally, for certain virtualized environments, LeftHand Networks' intelligent cloning technology can reduce the amount of disk space required for storage by up to 97%. Furthermore, LeftHand Networks also features advanced data replication technology with bandwidth management and failover protection.


Founded in 1999, LeftHand Networks is privately held and headquartered in Boulder, Colorado. It has 215 employees and more than 500 resellers and distributors worldwide. The company has more than 11,000 installations across 3,000 different customers.http://www.hp.comhttp://lefthandnetworks.com

• LeftHand Networks is located in the LeftHand Valley in Boulder, Colorado.

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Belgacom Installs Ekinops Optical Gear for HD Transport

Belgacom is using optical gear from Ekinops to provide live coverage of the Pro League football matches in Belgium. Belgacom needed to connect its 10 Gbps backbone to all the stadiums of the soccer First League, and then link the various broadcasters to its own switching center. Belgacom had specific needs in terms of interfaces and infrastructure. Specifications included:

• Aggregation of 4 x HD-SDI video signals on 10 Gigabit Ethernet


• Integration of one 1 Gigabit Ethernet channel for remote management


• Integration of a channel dedicated to a voice service for the Belgacom technical staff liaison


• Utilization of only 1 WDM wavelength


• Interconnection with an existing DWDM system


• Deployment of a fully tested solution before the season began.

http://www.ekinops.net

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Fujitsu Introduces Scalable WiMAX SoC

Fujitsu Microelectronics America (FMA) introduced a new mobile WiMAX base station SoC built using the leading-edge Fujitsu 65nm process technology.


The new SoC incorporates all the PHY and MAC features along with the analog and digital radio control, and analog circuits required for base station products to pass Mobile WiMAX Wave 2 certification requirements. An on-chip processing unit delivers the power needed to handle all functions of a femto base station. For larger base station applications, an additional processor can be connected by means of a PCI host interface to handle larger demands for more throughput and a bigger user base.


The SoC also provides a full range of commonly used interfaces. The power requirements are approximately 2W, typically enabling a full femto base station to operate on less than 10W.


The Fujitsu femto solution supports up to 10 users with seven simultaneous flows, each with enhanced support for self-organizing networks and on-chip IPSec support for non-secure, back-haul traffic applications. The new SoC can be designed into femto base stations for indoor applications; into pico stations for indoor or outdoor applications by service providers or enterprise networks; and into micro base stations for outdoor use by service providers.


Fujitsu has developed a femto base station reference design kit that includes all required software and hardware for ODMs or contract manufacturers to build a cost-effective system solution.
http://www.fma.fujitsu.com/http://us.fujitsu.com/micro/WiMAX

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Motorola Supplies WiMAX for Pakistan's wi-tribe

Motorola has signed a multi-year WiMAX contract with Pakistan's wi-tribe, a new all-new wireless broadband Internet provider entering the market. Motorola will supply infrastructure and a comprehensive services package.

This includes its WAP 400 WiMAX access point, which features diversity MIMO antenna capabilities to enable strong indoor penetration. Motorola will begin deploying wi-tribe's WiMAX network from this month in the 3.5GHz spectrum. Commercial launch is expected during 2009. Financial terms were not disclosed.


wi-tribe Pakistan Limited is a joint venture between Qatar Telecom (Qtel) and Saudi Arabia's A.A. Turki Group of Companies (ATCO). wi-tribe aims to deliver instant wireless broadband connectivity from North Africa across the Middle East and up to Asia (AMESA region).http://www.motorola.com/wimaxhttp://www.wi-tribe.com/

• In January 2008, Motorola announced a contract with Wateen Telecom-Pakistan for the supply of 198,000 end-user WiMAX customer premises equipment (CPE) devices for both indoor and outdoor use. The deal is described as one of the world's largest WiMAX device orders to date. Financial terms were not disclosed. Motorola is also supplying its 802.16e WiMAX and IMS solutions for Wateen Telecom's nationwide WiMAX network under previously announced deals.

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Towerstream Deploys Alvarion Mobile WiMAX in Chicago

Towerstream has deployed Alvarion's 802.16e BreezeMAX 3650 solution in downtown Chicago to reach additional businesses in the city and ensure Towerstream's customers continue to receive optimal service. The addition of Alvarion's Mobile WiMAX gear provides Towerstream with non-line-of-sight capabilities. As a result, the company can now offer its high-speed, wireless broadband service to additional businesses in downtown Chicago that did not previously have line-of-sight to a Towerstream Point of Presence (PoP). Towerstream is able to provide this enhanced service to businesses of all sizes in the area, while utilizing its existing network infrastructure and equipment.http://www.towerstream.comhttp://www.alvarion.com

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Motorola Says its Chicago WiMAX infrastructure Ready for Sprint XoHM

Motorola announced that its WiMAX infrastructure has passed network acceptance tests ahead of Sprint's upcoming commercial launch of its WiMAX service. Nearly 600 Motorola WiMAX base stations are on the air and ready for commercial service. Sprint announced its selection of WiMAX technology in 2006 and awarded Motorola the Chicago market in early 2007. Motorola noted several milestones:

• December 2006 - Completed first data session in the XOHM labs


• September 2007 - Demonstrated mobile WiMAX handoff to the press


• October 2007 - Completed first data session on the live XOHM mobile WiMAX network between XOHM markets and across vendor platforms


• April 2008 - Completed successful interoperability certification testing with multiple commercial device vendors.

http://www.motorola.com

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One Minute Video: Real-Time Traffic Intelligence

One Minute Video presented by Greg Oslan, Narus, Real-Time Traffic Intelligence

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Alloptic Gains Traction for its RFoG Solution

Alloptic cited growing customer traction for its RF over glass (RFoG) and passive optical networking (PON) solutions for CATV, telecom, and private network operators worldwide. The company has added 15 new RFoG customers this year. This brings Alloptic's base of tier 1 through tier 3 MSO customers to 44. Listed among their new customers are Midcontinent Communications in North and South Dakota, NPG Cable in Missouri, and Allen's TV Cable Service in Morgan City, Louisiana.


"Over the past six months, we have seen rapid growth in demand for our RFoG products," said Shane Eleniak, VP of Marketing and Business Development for Alloptic. "The MSO market is increasingly interested in deep fiber solutions because of their low operating expenses and moreover, the strategic role of a single all-fiber network enabling additional residential and business services. Our customers are benefiting from years of field-proven RFoG expertise to reduce costs and improve network performance."http://www.alloptic.com

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PMC-Sierra Expands WiMAX Silicon for Global Spectrum Coverage

PMC-Sierra has added four new multi-band devices to its WiZIRD family of highly integrated WiMAX RF IC solutions for broadband wireless subscriber equipment.


The new silicon enables equipment suppliers to leverage a single radio design to provide Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) and Network Interface Cards (NICs) for all popular broadband wireless radio bands (450-928 MHz, 2.3-2.7 GHz, 2.7-2.9 GHz, 3.3-3.8 GHz and 4.9-5.95 GHz) for worldwide WiMAX deployments.


PMC-Sierra said the lack of a cohesive global spectrum policy has added complexity for system vendors and carriers. For example, the Government of India recently announced its policy and guidelines for a WiMAX spectrum, establishing plans for an auction in the 2.3 and 2.5 GHz bands for broadband wireless data services and provisions for future auctions of the 700 MHz and 3.3-3.6 GHz bands when available. In addition, the existing 2.7-2.9GHz spectrum is being selected for WiMAX services. The WiZIRD devices offer multi-band support, enabling WiMAX equipment to be developed for global markets.


The new products include:

• PM8850 - Two transmit and two receive branches (2Tx/2Rx) with multi-band support for 2.3-2.9 GHz, 3.3-3.8 GHz and 4.9-5.95 GHz..



• PM8851 - One transmit and two receive branches (1Tx/2Rx), with multi-band support for 2.3-2.9 GHz, 3.3-3.8 GHz and 4.9-5.95 GHz.



• PM8870 - 2Tx/2Rx with multi-band support for 2.3-2.9 GHz, 3.3-3.8 GHz and 450-928 MHz .



• PM8871 - 1Tx/2Rx with multi-band support for 2.3-2.9 GHz, 3.3-3.8 GHz and 450-928 MHz.

PMC-Sierra's WiZIRD RF chips integrate ZIF RF transceiver, analog and digital converters, and an industry-standard JEDEC JESD207 compliant baseband digital interface. The devices use a harmonic canceling technique to achieve extremely linear output at high power levels and deliver up to 64QAM modulation for Tx paths at 0dBm output power level with an EVM rating that addresses a complete spectrum of WiMAX solutions, from base station applications to mobile subscriber solutions.http://www.pmc-sierra.com

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PMC-Sierra Announces 2nd Gen GPON Devices

PMC-Sierra announced the availability of its second generation GPON devices for Fiber to the Home (FTTH) deployments. The devices support the company's GigaPASS architecture, which integrates multiple hardware-based packet processing engine subsystems to deliver wire-speed packet processing at all packet sizes for gigabit connectivity.


PMC-Sierra's new GPON System-On-Chip (SoC) solutions include the PAS7401 GPON ONT, the MSP7162 GPON Gateway and the PAS5211 four-port GPON OLT. The company is also offering reference designs and software.


PMC-Sierra's ONT, Single-Family Unit (SFU), Multi-Dwelling Unit (MDU) and gateway reference designs are available for a range of user interfaces, including Gigabit Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, MoCA, POTS, USB and WiFi. The designs implement advanced power saving techniques that enable the use of smaller batteries in deployments where lifeline service is required, and reduce ONT power consumption to a minimum when not in use, reducing the cost and increasing the energy efficiency of GPON networks.


The GPON OLT reference design provides complete line card functionality and implements a very low-latency upstream Dynamic Bandwidth Allocation (DBA) algorithm, as well as optical supervision features, enabling higher network efficiency and lower maintenance costs.


Key Features of PMC-Sierra's GPON Solutions

• The PAS7401 integrates a GPON MAC, a VoIP subsystem, an embedded controller and GigaPASS bridge performing advanced classification, queuing and filtering, with wire-speed throughput at all packet sizes. Advanced power saving modes can lower PON deployment costs by reducing battery backup unit expenses. The reference designs come with complete GPON ONT software, featuring GPON functions, QoS bridging, VoIP, SIP and OMCI.



• The MSP7162 leverages the PAS7401 features and adds gigabit-per-second IPv4 or IPv6 routing, Network Address Translation (NAT) and Quality of Service (QoS) features (see Figure 7). The reference design includes complete GPON gateway software featuring an RG management application, GPON functions, bridging, routing, NAT and QoS, WiFi, VoIP and SIP, and OMCI.



• The PAS5211 integrates four GPON MACs, a backplane interface of either one 10Gbps port or four 2.5Gbps ports, an embedded controller and a GigaPASS bridge performing advanced classification, queuing and filtering at line-rate. DBA accelerators and embedded optical supervision cores can lower the network deployment and maintenance costs. Its high-density OLT line card reference design comes with complete software, including GPON link management protocols, DBA algorithm and an API layer that are portable to a variety of operating system and host processors.

http://www.pmc-sierra.com

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BT Launches Inter-company TelePresence Global Video Exchange

BT introduced a new service that enables Cisco TelePresence connections between companies. Both parties need to have Cisco TelePresence systems. BT recently became the first service provider to complete the Cisco TelePresence Global Authorized Technology Provider (ATP) program.


BT Global Video Exchange offers:

• Full conferencing services, including set-up, live call monitoring and assistance and 24-hour help-desk support



• A high level of multi-layered security



• Global reach. BT Global Video Exchange is available now in the United States, UK and EMEA. Asia Pacific service will be available in the second half of 2009.

Initially, BT Global Video Exchange will offer three levels of service:

• Producer-assisted offers full conferencing services with in-call monitoring and assistance available.


• Automated self-service provides call assistance with no live call monitoring.


• Direct Dial scheduling allows for reservation-less, point-to-point connections. In-call assistance is available on demand, with no call monitoring.

Ross Fowler, vice president, service provider, European Markets, Cisco, commented: "The cost, efficiency and environmental arguments for Cisco TelePresence are now just too strong to ignore, and we see strong growth opportunities for video communication across a range of sectors."http://www.bt.comhttp://www.cisco.com

• In July 2008, BT also announced that it has earned Cisco's Global Certification status by expanding the geographical scope of its existing Cisco specializations in unified communications, routing and switching, security and wireless. Additionally, BT announced in June 2007 that it had earned the Cisco Powered TelePresence Connection certification.

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OIF Marks 10th Anniversary -- Starts 100G FEC Technical Work

The Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF) marks the 10th anniversary of its founding next month.




The Forum is gearing up to launch a new 100G Forward Error Correction (FEC) technical project. This follows close on the heels of the OIF's 100G Long Distance DWDM Integrated Photonic Components project announced in August.


The FEC project addresses the propagation challenges facing the optical networking industry in the long-distance application for OTU4 transport. The OIF's goal for the project is to develop a common error correction code that can be implemented cost-effectively in the near term while helping to meet the demanding propagation targets for 100G long-haul transmission in an interoperable way.


The Forward Error Correction for 100G DP-QPSK Long Distance Communication IA will study and seek to reach agreement on an FEC algorithm suitable for long-haul 100G applications. Defining a common basis for a FEC encoder, interleaving and overhead rate will add to the scope of the 100G Long Distance DWDM Transmission Framework IA, creating common building blocks for the long haul communication space. The agreement will complement and support the work already underway defining 100G Ethernet in the IEEE, and the OTU4 of the Optical Transport Hierarchy (OTH) in the ITU-T.http://www.oiforum.com

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Nokia Media Network Offers Targeted Advertising in 10 U.S. Metro Markets

Nokia is introducing a service that lets advertisers target mobile campaigns to consumers in 10 major metro areas of the United States on the Nokia Media Network.


The Nokia Media Network is a premium mobile advertising network. Nokia said it has the support of publishers such as Hearst and TV Guide, operator partners such as Sprint, and Nokia services such as Nokia.mobi.


The service is being launched in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas-Ft.Worth, Los Angeles, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York, San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, Seattle-Tacoma, and Washington, D.C.

http://www.nokia.comhttp://www.advertising.nokia.com/solutions/nmk

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Nokia Re-focuses its Enterprise Mobility Strategy

Nokia announced a re-alignment of its business mobility strategy, saying it intends to focus on bringing best-in-class devices and solutions to market by further strengthening strategic relationships with leading enterprise technology vendors.


Nokia will cease developing or marketing its own behind-the-firewall business mobility solutions. These resources will be reallocated to Nokia's new consumer push e-mail service. Going forward, Nokia plans to form its enterprise solutions offering by combining Nokia devices and applications with software solutions from industry leading enterprise vendors such as Microsoft, IBM, Cisco and others.


Nokia also confirmed it is in the advanced stages of discussions for the potential sale of its security appliances business to a financial investor.
http://www.nokia.com

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Harris Stratex Networks Targets End-to-End WiMAX, Partners with Telsima

Harris Stratex Networks introduced its end-to-end network solution for WiMAX networks, including a set of services and integrated network management solutions designed to give service providers a single source for all their WiMAX network requirements. The company also announced a new partnership with Telsima to provide a full portfolio of WiMAX 802.16e products.


Harris Stratex Networks is targeting mobile operators in developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America that need to augment their mobile cellular services with fixed, nomadic and mobile broadband services, and have the opportunity to use WiMAX today while other standards remain in development. A key demographic is Tier 2 and 3 service providers that are starting to plan and build out networks targeting residential and business users with data, voice over IP and video-on-demand services.


The cornerstone is the new 7000 Series WiMAX platform, which supports IEEE 802.16e-2005 WiMAX standards for both mobile and fixed subscriber applications respectively. The 7000 Series supports flexible base station architectures and a large range of subscriber units, and also supports 450/700MHz for cost effective deployments in sparsely populated rural areas. The solution also includes Harris Stratex's Eclipse platform for wireless IP backhaul and best-in-class core network services elements (ASN and CSN), all encompassed under an integrated umbrella network management system provided by the company's NetBoss Service Assurance platform. Service providers will also benefit from the range of turnkey services provided by Harris Stratex, which includes everything from business planning, network design and optimization, IP transmission network design, installation and maintenance through to a complete managed network service.


Also, under a new partnership, Telsima will provide Harris Stratex with base station, CPE, and management/provisioning systems featuring Wave II-certified multi-sector base stations, high power base station radios and CPE products including outdoor, indoor and PC client adapters. http://www.HarrisStratex.comhttp://www.telsima.com

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Nokia to Acquire OZ Communications for Consumer Email and IM

Nokia agreed to acquire OZ Communications, a privately held company based in Montreal, for its consumer mobile messaging solution, including instant messaging and email services on mobile devices. Financial terms were not disclosed.



OZ can enable access to leading instant messaging and email services, including AOL, Gmail, ICQ, Windows Live Hotmail, Windows Live Messenger and Yahoo!. With more than 5.5 million monthly paid users, OZ's solutions have been deployed by leading mobile operators on a wide array of mobile device platforms. Its customer base includes 3 Scandinavia, Alcatel Lucent, Alltel, AOL(R), Bell Mobility, Boost Mobile, AT&T, Dobson, HTC, ICQ, LG, Microsoft, Motorola, Nokia, Orange France Telecom, Palm, Pantech & Curitel, Rogers Wireless, Samsung, SonyEricsson, Sprint Nextel, TCL & Alcatel Mobile Phones, TDC, Telefonica Moviles Espana, Telenor Group, TeliaSonera, Telus Mobility, T-Mobile USA,T-Mobile International, UTStarcomm, Verizon Wireless, Virgin Mobile USA and Yahoo!.


Nokia said OZ's expertise and technology is complementary to its own existing portfolio of messaging solutions and will provide a complete portfolio of mobile messaging solutions for Series 40 and S60 devices. Nokia will continue to work closely with OZ's existing original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and mobile operator customers. After the closing, OZ will become part of Nokia's Services & Software operative unit.http://www.nokia.comhttp://www.oz.com

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Tunisian WiMAX provider Deploys Juniper's MX-series for Ethernet Backhaul

Divona Telecom, a satellite and WiMAX operator based in Tunisia, has selected Juniper Networks MX-series Ethernet Services Routers to create a backhaul network to meet growing demand for its wireless broadband services portfolio.

The deployment is designed to address Divona's requirement to increase network capacity, reduce operational costs and accelerate the delivery of advanced fixed and mobile wireless broadband services to the operator's premium corporate customers. Financial terms were not disclosed.


Since its creation in 2003, Divona Telecom has expanded operations into Algeria, sub-Sahara Africa and territories in Europe and Asia. Its services include broadband Internet, call center, hosting and international leased line services.http://www.juniper.nethttp://www.divonatelecom.com

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LG Electronics Selects Ericsson for HSPA Modules

LG Electronics has selected Ericsson to provide mobile broadband modules based on HSPA. LG Electronics notebooks and netbooks will include mobile broadband modules from Ericsson in Q3 2008.


HSPA provides a DSL-like experience wirelessly with true mobility and there are currently more than 207 commercially deployed HSPA networks globally, serving more than one billion subscribers.


Market projections indicate that in 2011, approximately 200 million notebooks will ship annually and Ericsson anticipates that 50 percent of those notebooks will feature a built-in HSPA mobile broadband module. http://www.ericsson.com

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Alcatel-Lucent Enhances IPTV Network Analyzer

Alcatel-Lucent announced enhancements to its 5530 Network Analyzer (NA) for testing solution for DSL-based broadband access networks. Enhancements include a customer care interface that enables service provider staff to provide immediate support when facing end-user issues, while the Dynamic Line Management (DLM) feature automatically sets DSL to work with their optimal parameters, resulting in a dramatic increase in stability and service quality.


Alcatel-Lucent noted that is 5530 Network Analyzer, which was launched in May 2004 for the ETSI market and in June 2006 for the North American market, now has more than 25 million digital subscriber lines under management. It has been successfully introduced at more than 50 service providers around the world -- publicly announced references which include KPN, Telstra, SingTel, TNZ, Iceland Telecom, Algeria Telecom, Kazakhtelecom, Tunisie Telecom, and Shaanxi Telecom. The 5530 Network Analyzer supports both Alcatel-Lucent and third party DSLAMs.http://www.alcatel-lucent.com

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Alcatel-Lucent Evolves its IP Access Platform -- ISAM

Alcatel-Lucent introduced enhancements to its Intelligent Services Access Manager (ISAM) portfolio of IP broadband access products, which have now been adopted by more than 200 service providers worldwide. Since its launch four years ago, the ISAM family - a major building block of Alcatel-Lucent's Triple Play Service Delivery Architecture (TPSDA) - has continuously evolved to support a flexible mix of future-proof access technologies (xDSL, VDSL2, GPON, P2P Ethernet) and a variety of network topologies (central office as well as remote architectures).


Alcatel-Lucent said recent enhancements to its ISAM product family include its Smart DSL technology, as well as its distributed DSLAM and virtual ONT concepts.


Lead customers include AT&T, Belgacom, Hanaro Telecom, Hong Kong Broadband Network Limited, KPN, NeufCegetel, NTELOS, Swisscom and Telstra), as well as a considerable number of utility companies and municipalities and regions around the world.


"Since its launch four years ago, the ISAM family has been adopted by at least one customer per week, consolidating our undisputed number one position in IP broadband access," said Luis Martinez Amago, President of Alcatel-Lucent's fixed access activities.http://www.alcatel-lucent.com

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Telecom Italia Selects Cisco + Adobe Flash Streaming for 'Web TV' Services

Telecom Italia has deployed the Cisco Content Delivery System with Internet Streaming (CDS-IS) platform along with Adobe Flash streaming technology to deliver live television channels and on-demand content through its Web portal, Yalp!


The rich streaming media content is delivered to viewers on laptops and PCs, accelerating the fusion of TV and the Internet. Financial terms were not disclosed.http://www.cisco.comhttp://www.adobe.com

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Mobile Broadband Initiative Sets Charter

A new Mobile Broadband Initiative backed by the GSM Association has been formed by 16 leading IT and mobile companies with the goal of creating a new category of always-connected Mobile Broadband devices, delivering a compelling alternative to WiFi.


In the first phase of this unprecedented initiative, mobile operators, PC manufacturers and chipset providers are uniting to pre-install Mobile Broadband into a range of notebook PCs that will be ready to switch on and surf straight out of the box in 91 countries across the world.


Launch participants include 3 Group, Asus, Dell, ECS, Ericsson, Gemalto, Lenovo, Microsoft, Orange, Qualcomm, Telefonica Europe, Telecom Italia, TeliaSonera, T-Mobile, Toshiba and Vodafone -- some of the world's largest technology brands and operators.


To support this initiative, the GSMA has created the Mobile Broadband service mark, a new global identifier which will help consumers easily identify the array of 'ready to run' Mobile Broadband devices.


The Mobile Broadband mark promises a superior customer experience based on the latest technology available to deliver the highest standard of fully mobile connectivity. Products work out of the box and are fully integrated for maximum simplicity and supported by leading PC manufacturers such as Lenovo and Toshiba.http://www.gsmworld.com

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Tata Communications Extends MPLS Reach in Middle East with Batelco

Tata Communications announced a major expansion of its MPLS network into the Middle East through a partnership with Bahrain Telecommunications Company (Batelco).

Batelco is Bahrain's leading integrated communications provider, providing end-to-end telecommunications solutions to retail and enterprise customers in the Middle East region. This partnership enables Tata Communications to offer MPLS VPN services into Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan and other locations within the region for its customers in the Middle East and elsewhere in the world.http://www.tatacommunications.com

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Sprint XOHM WiMAX Goes Live in Baltimore

Sprint announced the commercial launch of its XOHM WiMAX network in Baltimore. The company expects average downlink speeds of 2-4 Mbps. Sprint is offering both daily and month-to-month service options. At launch, mobile WiMAX service plans include a $10 Day pass, $25 monthly Home Internet service and $30 monthly On-the-go service. Special launch pricing includes a $50 "Pick 2 for Life" monthly service option covering two different WiMAX devices. A single monthly charge covers service for multiple WiMAX access devices. WiMAX devices can purchased like other computing/consumer electronic devices. In addition. the XOHM broadband service is self-activated and includes future updates capability.


Customers in Baltimore can now purchase XOHM-branded Samsung Express air cards for $59.99 and ZyXEL modems for $79.99 via XOHM web, telesales or select Baltimore-area independent retailers. Additional WiMAX devices such as a ZTE USB modem, Intel Centrino 2 WiMAX notebook PCs and the Nokia N810 WiMAX Edition are expected in market later this year.


Sprint also noted that its Baltimore XOHM service launch comes approximately two years after its selection of WiMAX IEEE 802.16e as a technology standard and the formation of a charter WiMAX ecosystem with Intel, Samsung and Motorola.


The XOHM WiMAX network utilizes the 2.5 GHz spectrum holdings that were combined in the Sprint and Nextel merger. XOHM uses WiMAX infrastructure developed by Samsung Electronics Corporation Ltd. and has worked with them in deployment and buildout of the Baltimore-area WiMAX network. Additional markets are in various stages of infrastructure development for commercial readiness.


Sprint also confirmed that it is on target with Clearwire to complete the anticipated combination of its XOHM WiMAX business assets with Clearwire to form a new company in the fourth quarter. This new company, to be called Clearwire, will continue to expedite the deployment of a nationwide mobile WiMAX network.


Sprint said it looks forward to becoming the first and only national wireless carrier to offer customers a dual-mode 3G - 4G device that extends the power of Sprint's NOW network. Expected to launch in the fourth quarter, this Sprint device will operate on the nation's largest 3G mobile broadband network and the 4G network in Baltimore and other markets as WiMAX service becomes available.http://www.sprint.comhttp://www.xohm.com

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Alcatel-Lucent Adds T-MPLS to its 1850 Transport Service Switch

Alcatel-Lucent introduced Transport Multi-Protocol Label Switching (T-MPLS) support on its 1850 Transport Service Switch (TSS). The T-MPLS capabilities, which will smoothly align to MPLS-TP when the standards are finalized, are designed to help service providers enhance their transport networks and address the growing demand for carrier Ethernet-based services including mobile backhaul, enterprise broadband and residential triple play.


Alcatel-Lucent said the enhancements support the evolution of its Triple Play Service Delivery Architecture (TPSDA) by introducing advanced transport features such as resiliency, protection and advanced operation; administration and maintenance (OAM) that optimize service delivery between the access and aggregation layers. Alcatel-Lucent is also enhancing its 1850 TSS product portfolio with a new chassis and broadening the range of supported applications to scale from the metro/regional core to the customer premises.


Key elements of the release include:

• Release 3.0 of the Alcatel-Lucent 1850 TSS-320 with integrated T-MPLS capabilities;



• The Alcatel-Lucent 1850 TSS-160, a compact chassis for scaling down in the metro edge/core;



• Enriched TDM and Ethernet features in the metro edge/core of the network with Release 3.0 of the Alcatel-Lucent 1850 TSS-100;



• Enhanced packet ring transport capabilities with the Alcatel-Lucent 1850 TSS-40;



• Enriched Ethernet functionality for the Alcatel-Lucent 1850 TSS-5;



• Intelligent Ethernet demarcation for end-to-end Ethernet services support with carrier-class operation, administration and maintenance (OAM) and quality of service (QoS) using the Alcatel-Lucent 1850 TSS-3.

Alcatel-Lucent also noted that more than 10 large operators, including China Mobile, are trialing T-MPLS capabilities over the 1850 TSS.http://www.alcatel-lucent.com

• In July 2008, Alcatel-Lucent announced its commitment and support for MPLS-Transport Profile (MPLS-TP), building on the standardization efforts by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) and the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). Enhancing MPLS with transport operational practices - including operation, administration and maintenance (OAM) and survivability - is expected to help carriers scale their transport networks while adding performance monitoring and multi-domain capabilities.
  
  
  Alcatel-Lucent said it is committed to enabling seamless transformation of transport networks to converged MPLS-based packet transport. It has already added MPLS techniques to transport networks through its 1850 Transport Service Switch (TSS) portfolio -- where the current version of MPLS-Transport, the ITU-T T-MPLS, is already implemented and under test with several service providers -- and its 7450 Ethernet Service Switch (ESS) portfolio, which is deployed worldwide in carrier networks using MPLS pseudowires. This new effort brings these two related approaches together and delivers one unified set of MPLS-based packet transport standards.

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ADVA Introduces Optojack for Intelligent Demarcation

ADVA Optical Networking introduced its "Optojack" technology for providing optical demarcation and service monitoring at the handoff point between carrier networks, as well as at the demarcation point between the carrier and customer network. Optojack is designed to enable remote Operations, Administration and Maintenance (OAM) of key optical network elements in the access and backhaul portions of the network. The technology its analogous to ADVA's existing "Etherjack" for Ethernet demarcation.




ADVA's Optojack provides the ability to monitor and test wavelength-based services all the way to the access equipment (e.g., a DSLAM at the curb or in a building) or customer device (e.g., LAN router). Using Optojack functionality, carriers gain important knowledge about when optical service degradations or outages take place and, in some cases, can identify service problems before the customer is aware they exist. Importantly, problems can be fixed before they cause a complete outage, contributing to the delivery of higher service availability levels.


Optojack is a Small Form factor Pluggable- (SFP) transceiver-based solution, which is compliant with the MSA (SFP MultiSource Agreement) and can be integrated into any SFP-based equipment, including ADVA Optical Networking's flagship FSP 3000 and FSP 150 solutions. Other network devices, like Optical Network Units (ONUs) that provide the link to the customer premise, can also utilize the SFP, enabling Optojack to play a critical role in successfully managing the entire access portion of the network. In addition, a specific loopback option enables the Optojack functionality to interoperate with any device using standard-based SFPs.


"Due to the competitive nature of our industry, intelligence about the network and the service can be a service provider's secret weapon," commented Dr. Christoph Glingener, chief technology officer (CTO) of ADVA Optical Networking.http://www.advaoptical.com

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ADVA Optical Challenges EPON/GPON with WDM-PON Universal Access

ADVA Optical Networking introduced a WDM-PON solution aimed at giving carriers greater capacity and flexibility in both the access and backhaul segments of their network by leveraging wave division multiplexing technology. The Flexible Remote Node (FRN) is an extension of the ADVA FSP 3000 platform. When located at the curb, it can be configured as a purely passive network element with environmentally hardened WDM filters that allow the setup of a point-to-multipoint WDM-PON structure. When located at a street cabinet, the FRN can include active equipment such as optical amplifiers and active Ethernet technology that enable reach extension and traffic aggregation.


ADVA Optical Networking said its introduction of WDM into the FTTx environment challenges current EPON (Ethernet PON) and GPON (Gigabit PON), because both of these architectures use protocol-based traffic separation, which creates security concerns for high-end users. Bandwidth scalability is affected by the demands of neighboring customers. Loss-intensive splitting and the absence of optical amplification limit the reach of such solutions to roughly 20km.


In contrast, a WDM-PON approach uses wavelength-based traffic separation implemented with wavelength-selective filters. Bandwidth--per-cabinet, -building or -end user can be scaled nearly indefinitely, while the reach can be extended to 100km or more. The combination of secure traffic separation, scalable bandwidth and extended reach enables carriers to serve a wider customer base from fewer active sites. It eliminates the need for purpose-built platforms and allows a streamlined network operation with fewer operational staff.


ADVA also points to energy efficiency through the elimination of active equipment and the reduction in number of active network sites.


"There is true benefit to having WDM in both the access and backhaul segments of the network," stated Christoph Glingener, chief technology officer of ADVA Optical Networking. "There have been several false starts in the industry regarding FTTx (Fiber-to-the-x) deployments; many solutions have shown limited scalability, introduced network complexity and increased operational costs. Our new unified approach, employing a WDM-PON solution, will enable service providers of all kinds to extend the benefits of WDM into the access network, thereby eliminating active sites and reducing overall network costs."http://www.advaoptical.com

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Alcatel-Lucent Enhances Triple Play Architecture

Alcatel-Lucent is rolling out a significant evolution of its Triple Play Services Delivery Architecture (TPSDA), featuring a more cost-effective and flexible platform for high bandwidth services such as HDTV, an improved IPTV user experience - with immediate channel changing and more reliable TV service, and new capabilities to facilitate the insertion into TV programs of advertisements that are targeted to specific communities or localities, in turn enabling the development of new TV advertising business models. The goal is to enable smart, IP-based, video-centric networks that offer subscribers a consistent and high-quality, personalized and interactive viewing experience.


This evolution of Alcatel-Lucent's TPSDA - dubbed "TPSDA 2.0", which is powered by enhancements to the company's broadband access and IP/MPLS portfolios, will be available starting in early 2009. The company is announcing these capabilities at this week's Broadband World Forum in Brussels.


The enhancements add application layer intelligence to the TPSDA network elements enabling them to cache, store, stream and splice video content as well as to characterize application layer content. As a result, TPSDA 2.0 is able to deliver new features such as immediate channel change and re-transmission. The company says this will yield considerable cost savings, while assuring an uninterrupted viewing experience. In addition, TPSDA 2.0 enables mass scaling of unicast/personalized services, even with HDTV, by optimizing the content delivery. By distributing and integrating these capabilities into the network elements instead of in centralized or distributed servers, TPSDA 2.0 provides operators with a scalable and cost-effective foundation to serve all of these options from the network, allowing them to continue to grow and expand their business.


The enhancements in TPSDA 2.0 also help support Alcatel-Lucent's new Targeted and Interactive IPTV Advertising solution, introduced today, which is designed to increase IPTV revenue by making it easier for advertisers to reach the most attractive potential customers with ads that are more timely and relevant.


Alcatel-Lucent noted that it holds the No.1 market position in IPTV middleware subscribers (2+ million), TPSDA deployments (55+) and IPTV transformation and integration projects (50+).http://www.alcatel-lucent.com/tpsda

• In March 2008, 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.

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Harris Stratex Networks Joins WiMAX Forum

Harris Stratex Networks announced that it has received principal member status with the WiMAX Forum. The company's portfolio includes the 7000 Series WiMAX platform, which supports both IEEE 802.16e-2005 and 802.16d-2004 WiMAX standards for both mobile and fixed subscriber applications respectively.
http://www.harrisstratex.com

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One Minute Video: Voice over WiMAX

One Minute Video presented by Yaser Mujahed, Veraz Networks, Voice over WiMAX

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Agilent Arranges $1.5 Billion Refinancing through Llyods

Lloyds TSB Bank plc agreed to refinance the current $1.5 billion repurchase obligation of Agilent Technologies World Trade Inc. Under the deal, Lloyds will, subject to specified conditions, purchase the preferred stock of an Agilent subsidiary with an aggregate liquidation preference of $1.5 billion from its current owner and to extend until Jan. 27, 2011 the date on which Agilent Technologies World Trade is required to repurchase that preferred stock. Under the new terms, Agilent will be obligated to make quarterly payments to Lloyds TSB at a rate per annum, reset quarterly, based on LIBOR plus 175 basis points.


Merrill Lynch & Co. acted as the exclusive structuring and arranging agent for the transaction. The deal is expected to close on November 17, 2008.http://www.agilent.com

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TeliaSonera Acquires Controlling Stakes in Mobile Operators in Nepal and Cambodia

TeliaSonera has acquired controlling interests in two mobile operators, Spice Nepal Private Limited in Nepal and Applifone Co Limited in Cambodia. Specifically, TeliaSonera will acquire 51 percent of the shares and votes in TeliaSonera Asia Holding B.V. from Visor Group that will remain owner of the other 49 percent. TeliaSonera Asia Holding B.V. owns 80 percent of the shares and votes in Spice Nepal, the second largest mobile operator in Nepal, and 100 percent of the shares and votes in Applifone, a start-up mobile operator in Cambodia. The total cash consideration to be paid by TeliaSonera is approximately SEK 3.2 billion (US$484 million), corresponding to 51 percent of the total equity value of TeliaSonera Asia Holding B.V.

• Spice Nepal launched its operation in September 2005 and is the second largest mobile operator in Nepal, with around 1.6 million subscriptions and an estimated market share of approximately 41 percent as of August 2008. Spice Nepal's net sales in 2007 and for the first six months of 2008 were US$41.1 million and US$34.1 million, respectively, and EBITDA, excluding non-recurring items, was US$19.0 million and US$18.2 million, respectively. Mobile penetration in Nepal, with a population of 28.4 million, is approximately 13 percent.



• Applifone launched its operation in October 2007 and is the fourth largest mobile operator in Cambodia, with some 97,500 subscriptions and an estimated market share of approximately 3 percent as of August 2008. Mobile penetration in Cambodia, with a population of 14.6 million, is approximately 21 percent.

TeliaSonera also holds majority stakes in major mobile operators in Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Georgia and Moldova, and through associated companies in Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and Belarus as well as in Afghanistan, through a financial holding.


"One of our top priorities is to grow our business in Eurasia, where we have successfully grown and created value over the past ten years. We now take a further important step in executing our strategy to expand into new high-growth emerging markets, following our successful investments in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Nepal and Cambodia have a combined population of 43 million, low mobile penetration and growing economies. I am excited about this opportunity," says Lars Nyberg, President and CEO of TeliaSonera AB.http://www.teliasonera.comhttp://www.spicenepal.com/

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USDA Announces $342 Million in Rural Broadband, Telecommunications Loans

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that broadband and telecommunications loans totaling more than $342 million are being awarded to 18 communications firms serving 22 states. The funds will help bring new and improved telecommunications services to rural residents and businesses. The loans are being made through the Rural Development Broadband Loan and Loan Guarantee Program, which provides low-interest loans to deploy broadband and telecommunications services to rural communities of 20,000 residents or less, with first priority going to areas without broadband. Rural Development is also providing funding through the Telecommunications Infrastructure Loan Program, which makes loans to local firms working to provide both voice and broadband services in areas with 5,000 or fewer citizens.


The USDA cited several examples of how the money is being spent. Fort Mojave Telecommunications, Inc. in Mojave Valley, Ariz., will use a $16.9 million Rural Development telecommunications loan to connect 60 subscribers, deploy 36 route miles of fiber and copper cables, make improvements and additions to its existing plant and construct a 2,000-square-foot warehouse on leased land on the Fort Mojave Reservation in the Arizona Village Exchange.


International Broadband Electric Communications, Inc., in Hokes Bluff, Ala., was selected to receive a $49.2 million loan to construct a broadband over power line (BPL) network. The company will partner with 13 electric utilities to provide BPL service in seven states to connect 62,143 subscribers. The states are Alabama, Indiana, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin. TCT West, Inc., Basin, Wyo., will use an $11.4 million Rural Development loan to construct a fiber-to-the-home system in Cody, Wyo., connect 7,278 subscribers and provide enhanced services to approximately 5,306 video and 9,823 voice subscribers.
http://www.usda.gov

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AT&T Appoints TelMex's Jaime Chico Pardo to its Board

Jaime Chico Pardo has been appointed to AT&T's board of directors. He will serve on the AT&T board's audit committee.


Mr. Chico is chairman of Teléfonos de México, S.A.B. de C.V. (Telmex). He was appointed to his current position in 2006 as chairman of Telmex and co-chairman of IDEAL, a publicly listed company that invests and manages infrastructure assets in Latin America. Before then, he was vice chairman and CEO of Telmex, a position he held since 1995.


AT&T holds a 9.5 percent ownership position in Telmex and an 8.3 percent ownership position in América Móvil. John Stephens, senior vice president and controller for AT&T Inc., is a member of the board of directors of both companies. Ray Wilkins Jr., group president of Diversified Businesses for AT&T Inc., is a member of the board of directors of América Móvil. Larry Boyle, executive director-Financial Analysis for AT&T Inc., is a member of the board of directors of Telmex.http://www.att.com

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Singapore Chooses OpenNet for Next Gen Fiber Project

The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) has selected the OpenNet consortium as its successful Network Company (NetCo).
OpenNet will be contracted to provide passive fibre grid services for Singapore's Next Generation National Broadband Network (NGNBN). OpenNet will be making use of existing ducts and other underlying infrastructure, thereby minimizing disruption to the public and enabling the network to reach homes and buildings nationwide by 2012.


The OpenNet consortium consists of Axia-Netmedia (30%), Singapore Telecommunications (30%), Singapore Press Holdings (25%) and SP Telecommunications Pte Ltd (15%).


OpenNet expects to complete the agreement contracting process with the IDA as planned within the next seven months and expects that the Singapore-wide fiber grid will be completed by June 2012. This fiber grid will be made available on equal terms at very compelling prices to any parties qualified by the IDA.


Art Price, Chairman and CEO, Axia NetMedia, said: "OpenNet's approach is future-proof with no compromises from either the technology or business structure perspectives for the passive segment of the network. I believe that Singapore will be the showcase for how compelling the no-conflict open access fibre-to-the-premise solution can be for end-users in metropolitan communities."


A key component of the solution involves OpenNet acquiring access to existing infrastructure through usage fees that vary
with the market adoption of OpenNet's services.


This is the first part of IDA's competitive RFP process for a complete Next Generation National Broadband Network. The second part is the provision of active broadband services over the fiber grid.


Some key elements of the project:

• As the selected NetCo, OpenNet will design, build and operate the passive infrastructure of the Next Gen NBN that will be capable of delivering speeds of up to 1 Gbps and beyond.



• The Government of Singapore will provide a grant of up to S$750 million to the NetCo to support the network rollout.



• OpenNet will offer attractive wholesale prices of S$15 per month per residential fiber connection and S$50 per month per non-residential fiber connection, to the Operating Companies or OpCos. Such wholesale prices are expected to bring about competitive retail prices in the ultra-high speed broadband market.



• To encourage premise owners to connect their homes and businesses to the network, OpenNet is required to waive installation charges for home and building owners when the network first reaches their premises.



• Under a Universal Service Obligation, which will take effect from 2013, OpenNet will also fulfill all subsequent requests to install fibre termination points in homes, offices and buildings.



• In its proposal, OpenNet will deploy and own all the fibre optic cables and offer wholesale dark fibre services to downstream operators on a non-discriminatory basis as set out in the RFP.



• OpenNet will make use of relevant existing underlying passive infrastructure assets, such as ducts, manholes and exchanges, belonging to its partner, SingTel, to facilitate the deployment of its fibre network.



• As part of OpenNet's proposal, SingTel has committed to transfer these underlying assets to a neutral party within 24 months of the NetCo's Contractual and Financial Close, or CFC in short. The CFC will take place within seven months of the project award (September 2008).



• A neutral party, called the Asset Company or AssetCo, will be an independent and separately managed company. It will be owned by a registered business trust or will be structured in a similar manner to be approved by IDA. SingTel, as a member of OpenNet, has also committed to reduce its stake in this AssetCo within five years of the CFC and seek the relevant shareholders' and regulatory approvals, where required. As part of the successful close of the RFP, SingTel is also required to submit to IDA for approval, a detailed implementation plan on the formation of the AssetCo and subsequent partial divestment of its relevant underlying assets.

http://www.ida.gov.sghttp://www.axia.com

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SingTel and Chunghwa to Launch ST-2 satellite in 2010

Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) and Taiwan's Chunghwa Telecom have formed a joint venture to build and launch an ST-2 satellite. This satellite is targeted to be delivered in 2010 and will replace the ST-1 satellite, which will be retired in 2011.SingTel will have approximately 62% share in the joint venture. Chunghwa Telecom will own the remaining 38%.


Mr Bill Chang, SingTel's Executive Vice President for Business, said: "The ST-2 satellite will offer significantly greater capacity than ST-1 and wider coverage to also include emerging markets such as the Middle East. We are well placed to meet the strong demand for fixed and mobile satellite services, including our innovative IP-based solutions, which are transforming the way our customers do business. Even before its launch, about two-thirds of ST-2's capacity has been pre-booked."http://www.singtel.com

• The original ST-1 satellite was launched in 1998 as a joint venture between SingTel and ChungHwa. Its payload includes sixteen high-power Ku-band transponders and fourteen medium-power C-band transponders, as well as two Ku-band spot beams. Services includes telephony, digital DTH broadcasting, and VSAT.

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Nanoradio Supplies WiFi for 3G UMA Mobile Phone

Nanoradio AB has supplied its "Always On WiFi" silicon for Samsung's first 3G UMA phone. The same "Always On WiFi" solution was also recently launched in a 2.5G UMA phone. The two phones, P250 and P270, will both be released by Samsung in multiple countries in Europe, opening up a new world of multimedia services to the UMA operator customer base. The P270 is the first device on the market that combines UMA and 3G network technology.


Nanoradio said its NRX700/2 Wi-Fi chipset offers fully tested 802.11b/g functionality, featuring ultra-low power consumption enabling extensive UMA standby time and UMA talk time. The Nanoradio WiFi solution is doubling the standby and talk time compared to standard UMA phone offerings. http://www.nanoradio.com

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AT&T and DIRECTV Re-Sign Satellite TV Resale Agreement

AT&T and DIRECTV announced a deal under which AT&T will market and sell DIRECTV's service as a co-branded satellite television service after January 31, 2009.


AT&T | DIRECTV will become part of the AT&T Advanced TV video portfolio, alongside AT&T U-verse TV, after the expiration of AT&T's current satellite agreement with DISH Network, which it will fully honor. AT&T will offer, market and sell co-branded AT&T | DISH Network services through Jan. 31, 2009. After that date, existing AT&T | DISH Network customers will continue to receive the same, quality service.


New AT&T | DIRECTV customers will receive DIRECTV programming packages, with the added benefit of a discount for bundling their wireless, home phone and broadband services with AT&T.


Other terms of the non-equity agreement were not disclosed.
http://www.att.com

• On June 30, 2008, DISH Network received a notice of termination from AT&T concerning a reseller agreement under which AT&T markets the DISH Network programming services. As a result of the notice from AT&T, the commercial agreement will terminate on December 31, 2008.

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Azulstar Launches 3.65 GHz WiMAX Services with Alvarion

Azulstar, an independent network operator based in Grand Haven, Michigan, officially launched its "MetraMAX" consumer and business wireless broadband services using 3.65 GHz spectrum and Alvarion's 802.16e BreezeMAX equipment. The business service delivers full T1 functionality starting under $275 per month. Residential phone and Internet home bundles start at under $40 per month. Service speeds are available up to 6 Mbps for the home and 100 Mbps symmetric for business connections. The services are available in various West Michigan and New Mexico communities.


Tyler van Houwelingen, Azulstar founder and CEO, said the use of the 3.65 GHz band provides the benefits of licensed spectrum and yet is far cheaper and flexible than previous licensing regimes.


Alvarion's commercially available BreezeMAX 3650 base station and CPEs (customer premises equipment) were the first in the U.S. to receive FCC authorization earlier this year, which is required for all deployment of equipment in the 3.65 GHz band. Alvarion's BreezeMAX 3650 supports self-install CPEs, advanced antenna technologies including MIMO, and enables up to fourth order diversity to maximize capacity and coverage.


Azulstar has aligned with local resellers and partners including US Signal, SourcIT Technologies and BB Telsys with funding for the projects coming from private, local investors.http://www.azulstar.comhttp://www.alvarion.com

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Extreme and Ixia Collaborate to Speed Service Provider Network Troubleshooting

Extreme Networks and Ixia are collaborating to enhance post-deployment service verification. The companies will integrate Extreme Networks' Ethernet switch platforms and the ExtremeXOS modular operating system with Ixia IxRave Converged Service Verification Solution. Service providers and triple-play enterprise users will benefit from the visibility and insight created by automated network service verification, validation, and active troubleshooting.


Ixia's IxRave service verification system allows service providers and enterprises to diagnose the actual data path with real-world voice, video, and data traffic streams. IxRave utilizes the provider's central office equipment in coordination with customer premise equipment (CPE), network infrastructure hardware and software test endpoints to actively test along the customer's actual network path. Extreme and Ixia are working together to make IxRave software endpoints available in all Extreme Networks Ethernet switches, allowing faster, more accurate network problem resolution for service providers of all sizes.http://www.ixiacom.com

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Ixia Introduces Probeless Voice and IPTV Service Verification System

Ixia has enhanced its "IxRave" service verification system with new capabilities that enable service providers to assure VoIP quality of service and alerts service providers of problems before subscribers become aware of them. IxRave 3.0 also expands its IPTV service verification offering with support for QoS and QoE monitoring based on ITU-T Recommendation G.1080.


IxRave Voice is a unique probeless, web-based system accessible by multiple service provider organizations, such as field service technicians and installers. The Ixia solution can place automated "test calls" to customers' devices at predetermined times as a proactive solution. A customer care agent can perform on-demand tests immediately upon receipt of a customer call, and in some cases test the house wiring at the customer location to determine the location of the fault. The solution rates test-call quality based on the PESQ algorithm. For customer-made calls, network call data records (CDRs) are analyzed for poor IP metrics. These voice quality metrics, along with other data gathered from network elements, enable service providers to determine the root cause of service issues in their network.


Early adopters of IxRave Voice include Buckeye Cable System of Toledo, Ohio, and Armstrong Cable of Butler, Pennsylvania.http:www.ixiacom.com

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Nokia Develops Mobile Data Gathering Software for NGOs

Nokia has developed mobile software to help public sector and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) quickly and accurately collect data in the field. It could be use for rapidly collecting data on critical issues such as disease outbreaks or disaster relief via mobile devices. The Amazonas State Health Department in Brazil will be the first to use the solution as part of its fight against dengue fever in the city of Manaus in Northern Brazil.


The Nokia Data Gathering software will be available to public sector organizations and NGOs free of charge. It can be used to create tailored questionnaires and distribute them to multiple mobile phones using a normal mobile network. Field personnel surveying local conditions can quickly complete the questionnaires and immediately transmit their findings to a central database. The system also allows organizations to geo-tag data with GPS location information to build a more detailed picture of very local conditions.http://www.nokia.com/datagathering

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Toshiba Launches 256GB Solid State Drives

Toshiba introduced a 256-gigabyte (GB) SSD and launched small-sized Flash Modules for netbook computers, ultra-mobile PCs (UMPCs) and other mobile and peripheral applications. Mass production of the 256GB SSD will start in Q4.

Toshiba said its new high density SSD brings 256GB of capacity to a 2.5-inch drive form factor with an advanced Multi-level Cell (MLC) controller that achieves higher read-write speeds, parallel data transfers and wear leveling to optimize performance, reliability and endurance.


The new small SSD Flash Modules will be offered in 8GB, 16GB and 32GB densities.http://www.toshiba.com

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Senate Hears Testimony on Broadband Consumer Privacy

Executives from AT&T, Verizon, Time Warner Cable and a consumer group known as Public Knowledge testified before the U.S. Senate's Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation on the subject of broadband consumer privacy. Some highlights:


AT&T has no immediate plans to offer online behavioral advertising, stated Ms. Dorothy Attwood, Senior Vice President Public Policy and Chief Privacy Officer AT&T Services. Furthermore, she believes consumers should have more control over whether and how their online information is collected and used. If AT&T were to conduct online behavioral advertising, Attwood said the company would require customers to give their permission before it collects and uses their information. Customers would also have clear information about the information to be collected.


Online companies should commit to a list of industry "best practices" to protect consumers from potential problems associated with targeted Internet advertising - also known as behavioral advertising - when consumers surf the Web, stated Tom Tauke, Verizon executive vice president of public affairs, policy and communications. Verizon believes these best practices for behavioral advertising such include: (1) transparency - "conspicuous, clearly explained disclosure to consumers"; (2) meaningful consent - affirmative agreement from consumers before a company captures Internet usage data, when consumers surf the Web, for targeted or customized advertising; and (3) consumer control - ensuring that consumers can at any time act to stop any company from using their Internet usage information. Verizon is also calling for the establishment of a broad-based coalition of online publishers, search engines, Internet service providers, browser and application providers, and other online providers - along with representatives of consumer and privacy organizations - to adopt the industry best practices.


Time Warner Cable does not presently engage in targeted Internet advertising as an ISP or website operator, stated Peter Stern, Chief Strategy Officer, Time Warner Cable. Should the company start such a program, it would ensure subscriber privacy, said Stern, because "it is not only important as a matter of public policy, but it is also central to the success of our business." The company believes a set of industry practices based on consumer control, transparency, and disclosure should be adopted by all providers of targeted advertising, including ad networks, application providers and ISPs.


Deep Packet Inspection is the Internet equivalent of the postal service reading, stated Ms. Gigi B. Sohn, President and Co-Founder
of Public Knowledge. In submitted testimony, Sohn said that given DPI's potential to be used as an intrusive tool, we must first ask why the user's traffic is being collected or analyzed at all. Is the use of DPI integral to the functioning of the network or is the technology simply being used to provide the ISP with an additional revenue stream? She noted that not all uses of DPI are inherently problematic. The first widespread uses of DPI were for security purposes: to stop malicious programs like viruses and worms.http://commerce.senate.gov

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Motorola's New Multimedia Set Top Platform Links to Mobile Handsets

Motorola introduced a multimedia set top platform that lets users transfer content to and from a mobile phone without needing to bridge through a PC. Users are also able to create and store personalized music and video libraries.


KDDI, a major mobile operator in Japan, is launching a new service, called "au BOX" using set tops based on Motorola's platform. The au Box service will allow mobile customers to transfer content between their home entertainment systems and their mobile devices. The au Box service, due to be launched on 1st November, 2008, will be delivered to au subscribers as an option on a leased basis.


The set top being implemented by KDDI also features a CD player and CD ripping capabilities to allow users to rip CDs from their personal collections, automatically retrieve CD information, store the files in their music libraries and then transfer them to a mobile handset or to a portable media player via USB. In addition, music from a CD, mobile handset, or portable media player can be played by the set top through its integrated stereo speakers.


The box also offers video encoding capabilities to allow users to upload video from their personal video recorders and then transfer it to a mobile handset. It can also play DVDs when linked to an external monitor. The set top can additionally serve as a portal for internet web browsing, enabling users to access a wide range services and user generated content in addition to the option of purchasing music and video content from online stores.


Motorola's new platform is based on the company's "KreaTV" open software platform for set-top devices. KreaTV is compatible with a wide range of OS middleware and Digital Rights Management (DRM), and supports multiple different video formats ranging from MPEG-2 SD to H.264 HD, DVR, and hybrid.http://www.motorola.com

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NSN Promotes VDSL2 as best Migration Path to Next Gen Access Networks

Nokia Siemens Networks is introducing a suite of VDSL2 access platforms at next week's Broadband World Forum Europe in Brussels. Specifically designed for fiber-to-the-building applications, the platforms would allow operators to offer up to 100 Mbps bandwidth. The new platforms will include:

• SURPASS hiX5608 -- a small size "mini-DSLAM" based on VDSL2. The product is designed for in-building installations. First pilots will be in conducted in October/November 2008. The company expects commercial roll outs to start in the beginning 2009. The main markets are in Europe, especially the CLECs starting FTTB rollouts in dense urban areas.



• SURPASS hiX5621 and hiX5622 -- access platforms designed for fiber-to-the-curb or building applications and capable of delivering bandwidth of up to 50 Mbps. The hiX5621 features one service slot and supports 72 ADSL2+ or 72 VoIP or 48 VDSL2-ports, while the hiX5622 can support double the number of ports including a combination of different technologies. Both will be available for trials in 1Q09 for European markets.

Nokia Siemens Networks is also introducing a new software package for optimizing IPTV over new and existing VDSL2 and ADSL2+ network. The software. which is targeted for release in the first half of 2009, would help minimize packet loss across the network.


"The traffic in networks will continue its rapid growth and VDSL2 capacity can satisfy this need for the next few years," says Martin Lüst, Head of Broadband Access business unit, Nokia Siemens Networks. "It provides a smooth, cost-effective and high quality migration path to the passive opti-cal fibre access technology that will eventually dominate the network."http://www.nokiasiemensnetworks.com

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Verizon and Nokia Siemens Networks Test 100 Gbps Transport

Verizon and Nokia Siemens Networks claimed a new optical transport record -- a 100 Gbps transmission on a single wavelength for more than 1,040 kilometers over field fiber. The test, conducted on optical fiber on the Verizon network in north Dallas, demonstrated that 100 Gbps traffic can be simultaneously transported with any mix of 10 Gbps and 40 Gbps on a typical 80-channel ULH DWDM system. As a result, current network configurations can support capacity upgrades to 100 Gbps per channel on existing routes over similar distances without modification to the physical network.


The Nokia Siemens hiT 7500 ultra-long-haul, dense-wavelength-division-multiplexing platform -- combined with multi-level modulation, polarization multiplexing and coherent detection -- allowed the signal to be carried with significantly better chromatic dispersion and polarization-mode-dispersion tolerances than conventional systems.


"As a leader in pursuit of 100 Gbps technology, Verizon's goal is to drive optical networking to deliver greater capacities over longer distances to enhance the high performance and high bandwidth of our network," said Mark Wegleitner, Verizon senior vice president for technology. "Whether it's FiOS delivering HD channels and video on demand or business customers using database applications and online trading, we strive to provide the most advanced underlying network technology for our customers."


The technical details of this field trial were presented at the European Conference on Optical Communications (ECOC) by Verizon's Glenn Wellbrock, director of backbone network design, as an invited paper from Verizon Communications, Nokia Siemens Networks, Siemens PSE DE GmbH & Co. KG, Technical University of Eindhoven, and the University of the Federal Armed Forces.http://www.nokiasiemensnetworks.comhttp://www.verizon.com

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One Minute Video: Telco 2.0 -- Evolving Business Models

One Minute Video presented by Andrew Coward, Juniper Networks --Telco 2.0 -- Business Model Evolution

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EU Calls for Central Telecom Regulatory Body

The European Parliament adopted measures calling for the creation of a new Body of European Regulators in Telecommunications (BERT), whose mission would be to ensure fair competition and high-quality telecom services across the EU by requiring national regulators to implement common policies for common market conditions. The original proposal from the Commission had been to set up a European Electronic Communications Market Authority (EECMA) to achieve these goals. BERT will be a leaner structure, based on the existing Board of Regulators composed of the 27 national regulatory authorities.


BERT should be funded jointly by the EU and national regulatory authorities, but the Parliament chose not to specify the respective proportions of funding at this stage.



Members of Parliament also voted against the Commission's proposal for the new body to take over tasks related to network and information security. The report was adopted with 490 votes in favour 105 against and 14 abstentions.http://www.europarl.europa.eu

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Sprint Nextel Completes Tower Sale to TowerCo for $670M Cash

Sprint Nextel completed the previously announced sale of approximately 3,080 towers to TowerCo for an estimated $670 million in cash, with the number of towers and sale price subject to post-close adjustment. The two companies have also signed a long-term leasing agreement for TowerCo to provide Sprint Nextel with wireless communications towers to support the company's CDMA, iDEN and WiMAX networks.




"Leasing rather than owning these network facilities is a more efficient use of resources and allows us to focus more closely on our core business of providing communications services to our customers," said Bob Azzi, Sprint senior vice president - Network Services. "This deal also gives Sprint additional liquidity and greater flexibility in managing our business."


Equity financing for this transaction was provided by Tailwind Capital, Soros Strategic Partners II LP, Stone Tower Equity Partners and Vulcan Capital.http://www.sprint.comhttp://www.towerco.com

• TowerCo was founded in 2004 by Tailwind Capital and industry veterans Richard Byrne, Chief Executive Officer, and Scot Lloyd, Chief Operating Officer. Soros Strategic Partners invested in TowerCo in December 2005.

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NEC Expands its Unified Communications Portfolio

NEC introduced a host of new Unified Communications (UC) and infrastructure products for both SMB and large enterprise customers in the EMEA (Europe, Middle East & Africa) region. The new solutions include the UNIVERGE SV8100 and 8300 communications servers and a family of IP and digital terminals, in combination with new UC applications such as Business ConneCT.


The new scalable UNIVERGE SV8100 and SV8300 communications servers offer calling number and name display, conferencing, soft keys, voicemail, unified messaging, speed dialing and support for wireless handsets and softphones.


NEC's new line of modular IP and digital terminals, UNIVERGE DT700/DT300, offer extensive feature sets move the standard desktop phone to the next level. This includes extensive customization options, SIP support, XML open interface support, menu-driven soft key functions, and easy-access function keys.


NEC's Business ConneCT unified communications application suite offer rich presence, mobility, unified messaging and desktop telephony applications as well as operator and contact center functionality.http://content.nec-philips.com/hq/

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Intelsat's Galaxy 19 Successfully Launched to Orbit

Intelsat's Galaxy 19 satellite was successfully launched aboard a Sea Launch Zenit-3SL rocket. Built by Space Systems/Loral (SS/L), the 1300-series hybrid spacecraft carries a total of 52 physical transponders. The Galaxy 19 satellite will provide Intelsat customers valuable 50-state coverage, as well the Caribbean, Canada and Mexico. It will be located at 97 degrees West Longitude.


Galaxy 19 will join Intelsat's North American Galaxy fleet comprised of 16 other satellites that cover North America, Central America and the Caribbeanhttp://www.intelsat.com

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Motorola Launches WiMAX Interoperability Testing Program

Motorola has launched a WiMAX interoperability testing program (IOT) in its labs in Arlington Heights, Ill., and at its new lab in Taiwan that is operated in partnership with M-Skylink. The location in Asia further enhances Motorola's ability to fulfill its commitment in the M-Taiwan project by helping to establish an ecosystem for WiMAX technology in Taiwan and worldwide.


Through its IOT program, Motorola validates for its customers that a device is compatible with their WiMAX network infrastructure.


Vendors wishing to submit products to Motorola for interoperability testing must provide assurances that the products conform to the WiMAX Forum's specifications for certification or have been WiMAX Forum Certified.
http://www.motorola.com/wi4

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Level 3 Launches High Capacity IP Services in Toronto and Montreal

Level 3 Communications' Wholesale Markets Group has launched high speed IP (HSIP) services in the Toronto and Montreal markets and expanded transport services into Montreal. The company also maintains operations in Ottawa.http://www.level3.com

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Verizon to Offer Cisco Collaboration Services

Verizon will expand its overall suite of unified communications and collaboration tools based on the new Cisco collaboration portfolio. New services will include components of Cisco Unified Communications System Release 7.0 and Verizon-developed collaborative business applications based on Cisco's new WebEx Connect platform. These services are aimed at enhancing communications and collaboration between and among employees, partners, customers and vendors, while enabling companies to achieve eco-friendly benefits through reduced travel and lower carbon emissions.


Verizon said it plans to offer to its large-business and government customers served by Verizon Business managed services support for Cisco Unified Communications Manager and Cisco Unified Contact Center. Verizon also plans to develop a customized business application based on the new WebEx Connect platform for its small- and medium-sized business customers served by Verizon Telecom. The new services will be available in the coming months.http://www.verizon.com

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SureWest Refinances $30 Million Term Loan

SureWest Communications has refinanced a short-term $30 million loan that extends the maturity date from February 2009 to May 2012. The facility consists of $15 million each from CoBank, ACB (CoBank) and Union Bank of California (UBOC).


In connection with the February 2008 acquisition of Everest Broadband, Inc. in the Kansas City region, SureWest entered into a $60 million term loan with CoBank; $30 million of which was repaid with a portion of the proceeds from the divestiture of the company's Wireless assets in May 2008. The extension of the remaining $30 million term loan facility to 2012 places it in line with the maturity dates of the company's other revolving and term loan credit facilities under this Amended Credit Agreement.http://www.surewest.com

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U.S. Appeals Court Affirms Jury Verdict Against Qualcomm

A U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has upheld a unanimous jury verdict that Qualcomm cellular chips and software infringe two Broadcom patents. The court also upheld the injunction entered by the district court on those two patents. The appeals court also rejected Qualcomm's request for a new trial. The court ruled that a third patent was invalid.


Broadcom filed the infringement case in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana, Calif., in May 2005. On May 29, 2007, a unanimous jury returned a verdict finding that Qualcomm infringed three Broadcom patents and awarded past damages to Broadcom. Late last year, U.S. District Court Judge James V. Selna issued an injunction against Qualcomm designed to stop the company from continuing its infringement of the three Broadcom patents.


In August 2008, Judge Selna found Qualcomm in contempt of his injunction by, among other things, failing to pay royalties to Broadcom on infringing QChat products. Citing the "egregiousness" of Qualcomm's conduct, the court ordered Qualcomm to pay Broadcom the gross profits Qualcomm has earned on its infringing QChat products. Judge Selna further ordered Qualcomm to pay Broadcom's attorneys fees in connection with the contempt proceedings.http://www.broadcom.com

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KPN Delivers Broadband in Belgium with Nortel 40G-Ready Optical Solution

KPN Belgium is using a Nortel 40G-ready optical solution to provide its broadband services across Belgium The next generation DWDM network provides connectivity between several major locations across Belgium while the 40G solution enables KPN Belgium to make more efficient use of the existing network and deliver higher bandwidth. Financial terms were not disclosed.


The new 40G-ready network uses products from the Nortel Metro Ethernet Network's portfolio including its Common Photonic Layer and Optical Multiservice Edge 6500 platforms. The deployment also features Nortel's electronic Dynamic Compensating Optics (eDCO) technology. This leverages the value of Reconfigurable Optical Add/Drop Multiplexing (ROADM) in 10G/40G all optical networking. Either 10G or 40G transponder cards can be plugged into the Optical Multiservice Edge 6500 shelves. End-to-end wavelength provisioning is accomplished with Nortel's Optical Service Provisioning (OSP) tool. The DWDM solution is capable of supporting 88 x 40G wavelengths (3.52 Tbps).http://www.nortel.com

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Cisco Capital Launches Financing Program in Asia Pacific.

Cisco Systems Capital Corporation is launching a "Zero Percent Progress Payments Program" for the Cisco Unified Communications system in the Asia Pacific region. Funding is available for Cisco partners and customers until July 25, 2009.


Under the financing program, customers can defer payments for up to 120 days, without interest, during their Cisco Unified Communications system deployment, and channel partners receive progress payments from Cisco Capital when installation milestones are reached. The financing program is designed to help customers when they are required to make deposits prior to full deployment of unified communications projects, and to help Cisco channel partners manage their cash flow on projects with long implementation times. The minimum transaction size is US$50,000. This program is not available in Vietnam, Indonesia or the Philippines.http://www.cisco.com/go/capital

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Cisco's Open Collaboration Portfolio Integrates UC, TelePresence and WebEx

Cisco introduced a new collaboration portfolio that consists of Cisco Unified Communications, Cisco TelePresence and a new Web 2.0 application platform -- all of which are being integrated with business applications, existing IT infrastructures and other Web services.


"Collaboration is the next phase of the Internet, a phase that analysts see as a $34 billion market opportunity, and at the center of this phase is the network," said Don Proctor, senior vice president, software group, Cisco. "Our network platform uses open-standards protocols to expose critical collaboration services such as presence, instant messaging, call control and policy to a broad range of devices and applications. The Cisco collaboration portfolio uses this network architecture to create an integrated collaboration experience that encompasses everything from simple text messaging to immersive Cisco TelePresence sessions."



In a webcast product launch, Cisco executives said their goal is to leverage an open architecture and standards-based application programming interface (API) expose business application to the network as a platform. Key components of this portfolio include:

Unified Communications: Cisco Unified Communications System Release 7.0, featuring significant improvements in total cost of ownership by increasing Cisco Unified Presence scalability to 30,000 users and Cisco Unity to 15,000 users on a single server. Cisco Unified Mobile Communicator now supports devices running on Windows Mobile as well as Symbian and BlackBerry operating systems.


Video: Cisco TelePresence Expert on Demand integrates the immersive Cisco TelePresence experience into the contact center. This would enable customers to connect with subject-matter experts via an "in-person" experience. Users can summon expert assistance directly in a Cisco TelePresence meeting or use a dedicated Cisco TelePresence endpoint and get face-to-face assistance. For example, a retail bank could provide "in-person" services to bank customers in every location via Cisco TelePresence, while optimizing highly trained resources.


Web 2.0 Applications Platform: Cisco WebEx Connect, a new software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform, integrates presence, instant messaging, Web meetings and team spaces with traditional and Web 2.0 business applications. Essentially, Cisco WebEx Connect is a cloud-based application platform for collaborative business mash-ups. It includes a number of standard applications such as enterprise instant messaging, team spaces, document management, calendaring and discussions, which can be combined with third-party widgets that are built using open APIs, enabling companies to work from a single workspace. Extensive administrative controls support enterprise policy, security and compliance requirements to enable secure inter-company collaboration.


Cisco listed a number of APIs that it is providing to support this open application environment, including:

• Cisco Unified Applications Environment, to deliver Web applications to the Cisco Unified IP Phone screen


• Cisco Applications eXchange Platform, to expose capabilities within the router to applications in branch offices


• Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance 8.0(4), to provide an open network security appliance that allows businesses to extend their collaboration capabilities with a high degree of security via a converged data and voice virtual private network


• Cisco WebEx Connect, to bring together business applications, Web tools and team workspaces.

http://www.cisco.com

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