Nakina Develops Multi-Vendor, Multi-Layer Carrier Ethernet Mgt Solution

Nakina Systems introduced version 7 of its Nakina Network OS featuring new capabilities for managing Carrier Ethernet networks and services. The new release offers management functionality to expedite the roll out of Carrier Ethernet services over any type of infrastructure -- optical (Layer 0/1), Ethernet (Layer 2) or IP/MPLS (Layer 3). This includes support for a logical view of Carrier Ethernet services -- providing carriers with visibility and control over their entire, end-to-end Ethernet service and network with a single solution for provisioning, configuration, fault and topology information.


Nakina said that by abstracting away the complexity of different vendors' network equipment, as well as the different technologies used at each network layer, into a common information model, its OS could significantly lower the cost and time to develop higher-level OSS applications.http://www.nakinasystems.com

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Russia's Eurocabel-1 Purchases 1 Million Km of Fiber from OFS

OFS confirmed that Eurocabel-1, a leading Russian optical cable manufacturer, has purchased over 1 million kilometers of fiber from OFS to date.


"Eurocabel-1 has been using the lion's share of this large volume of OFS fiber in connection with the expansion of our manufacturing capacity undertaken to support the sharp growth in consumption of optical cable in Russia during the last 3-4 years," said Eduard Kim, General Director of Eurocabel-1.http://www.ofsoptics.comhttp://www.eurocabel-1.ru

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U4EA Acquires NextHop for 802.11 software

U4EA Technologies, which offers integrated access solutions for converged communications, has acquired NextHop Technologies, a supplier of 802.11 software. Financial terms were not disclosed.


The NextHop product portfolio includes Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n controller and access point software.


U4EA said the deal adds a wealth of Wi-Fi software and expertise to its growing portfolio of communications products delivered to the small and medium business markets. Integrating the NextHop Wi-Fi software with U4EA's Multi-service Business Gateway Fusion series will address the rapidly growing SMB requirements for seamless mobility, unified communications and highly integrated and cost effective solutions.


The former NextHop Technologies will operate as U4EA Wireless, and U4EA has appointed PG Menon as vice president and general manager of the operating unit.
http://www.u4eatech.com

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Wintegra and WiChorus Establish Mobile WiMAX Interoperability

Wintegra, a fabless semiconductor company providing silicon and software solutions for WiMAX 802.16e and LTE base stations, and WiChorus, which provides Intelligent Wireless Core Platforms for WiMAX and LTE networks, completed interoperability testing (IOT) between WiChorus' Intelligent ASN gateway and Wintegra's Mobile WiMAX base station technology.


Specifically, WiChorus and Wintegra demonstrated seamless end-to-end connectivity between Wintegra's base station technology platform and WiChorus' Intelligent ASN Gateway, based on the R6 interface within the WiMAX Forum's NWG Specification.


WiChorus provides a new class of intelligent wireless core platform that enables service providers to deploy large scale, profitable WiMAX and LTE (long term evolution) networks. The WiChorus intelligent ASN Gateway sits in the heart of the wireless network, with visibility across all subscribers and packet flows


Wintegra said it plans to continue to invest in WiMAX technology to develop new "cutting-edge" WiMAX features. Wintegra is planning a follow up WiMAX 1.1 production release during the second half of this year that will add to the feature set already supported. WiChorus and Wintegra will continue to work together on a joint IOT program to ensure that the mobile WiMAX experience is simplified and seamless for partners, vendors, and mobile operators. In addition, the two companies are collaborating on a similar initiative for LTE.http://www.wichorus.comhttp://www.wintegra.com

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Sonus Networks Appoints Dr. Richard Nottenburg as CEO

Sonus Networks appointed Richard N. Nottenburg as its new President and CEO, replacing Hassan Ahmed. Nottenburg, former executive vice president chief strategy and technology officer of Motorola, will join the company in mid-June. Prior to joining Motorola in 2004, Dr. Nottenburg was vice president and general manager of Vitesse Semiconductor Corporation after its merger in 2003 with Multilink Technology Corporation, a publicly traded provider of advanced mixed-signal and VLSI solutions for optical networks. Nottenburg was the co- founder and chief executive officer of Multilink. Nottenburg had previously worked at AT&T Bell Laboratories.


Hassan Ahmed will continue to serve as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sonus Networks and additionally serves on the Board of Directors of Airvan.http://www.sonusnet.com

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JDSU Offers Control software for Raman Optical Amplification

JDSU has integrated control software for Raman amplification within its AON Embedded Operating System, which is used in circuit packs by network equipment manufacturers (NEMs) and service providers to manage optical functions as part of their dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) network infrastructures.


JDSU said its new Raman control software helps to extend the transmission distances of optical signals between data centers up to 250 kilometers or more without the need for mid-span optical amplifiers. Extending transmission distances may lower the chance of data loss from unexpected events such as power outages and can also simplify ongoing operations and reduce costs for NEMs and service providers by removing the need to manage and house mid-span optical gear.

http://www.jdsu.com

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Alcatel Shanghai Bell Responds to Earthquake

Alcatel Shanghai Bell, which has about 500 employees in Chengdu ( about 159km from the epicenter of last week's massive earthquake), said it is actively involved in repair efforts for communications infrastructure. In the Sichuan province -- the hardest-hit region -- the transmission networks for several operators were seriously damaged and one of the first steps employees took was to transfer transmission equipment into tents to better protect them against aftershocks.


As soon as the news about the earthquake broke, Alcatel Shanghai Bell said it established a 24-hour emergency response team to support customers with disaster response and network recovery efforts. Employees have focused on urgent repair work to restore the communication infrastructure, which should further aid other relief efforts.


On May 15, Alcatel Shanghai Bell helped one service provider repair the first fixed line into the city of Deyang, within a day after the main road into the city was cleared. Alcatel Shanghai Bell was able to restore service to nearly 3,100 lines, helping improve communications capabilities at the earthquake's epicenter.


Close to 100 Alcatel Shanghai Bell employees have been devoted full time to the restoration work. The first batch of equipment needed to restore communications, such as base stations, optical transmission, ADSL and routers, weighing some 35 tons in total, was shipped to the epicenter by the end of last week by Alcatel Shanghai Bell.http://www.alcatel-lucent.com/

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Alcatel-Lucent Teams with Convergys on Billing and Customer Care

Alcatel-Lucent and Convergys have signed a multi-year non-exclusive agreement that integrates Convergys Infinys applications into Alcatel-Lucent's Business Support System (BSS) solution. It includes a convergent billing solution combining Convergys and Alcatel-Lucent's leading product portfolios in the prepaid and postpaid segments, and Alcatel-Lucent's BSS integration services. The deal extends Alcatel-Lucent's portfolio of partners, providing pre-integrated solutions simplifying integration and deployment. It helps Convergys extend the available market reach of Infinys through Alcatel-Lucent's global presence.http://www.alcatel-lucent.comhttp://www.convergys.com

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NSN Supplies Mobile TV Streaming for SingTel

Nokia Siemens Networks supplied the Mobile TV streaming solution for SingTel's newly launched mio TV Mobile service. SingTel's deployment uses Nokia Siemens Networks' Media Delivery Solution (MDS) 3.5 platform. The phone application is based on Adobe's Flash Lite technology. Nokia Siemens Networks' Mobile TV solution can be extended to support various standards including video streaming (unicast), and future technologies. The contract also includes a range of services which has allowed SingTel to rapidly start its new Mobile TV offering and guarantee ongoing platform stability and quality. Financial terms were not disclosed.


Nokia Siemens Networks said this is its first Singapore deal with SingTel and marks a milestone for both companies in pushing the Mobile TV envelope in the country.http://www.nsn.com

• In September 2007, Alcatel-Lucent announced that it provided key network integration services for SingTel's recently launched pay TV service, mio TV, which debuted on 20-July-2007. mio TV is based on a combination of Alcatel-Lucent's services integration solution and the Microsoft Mediaroom IPTV and multimedia platform. Alcatel-Lucent also provided a complete services integration solution that brings together the network infrastructure, software platforms and integration skill sets.

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SingTel launches mio TV on Mobile

SingTel launched its mio TV on Mobile service -- the first such offering in Singapore. Compared to WAP TV services offered currently by SingTel and other service providers, mio TV on Mobile adds a number of innovations, such as an electronic programme guide (EPG), live TV channels and easy channel switching. One of its unique features is the easy-to-navigate interactive programming guide which displays information up to seven days in advance. The service features a TV remote control-like user interface that includes a number keypad and arrow keys which users can use to select and toggle between channels, as well as navigate up and down the menu. The EPG supports an interactive playlist with easy access to programme listings and information.


mio TV customers who subscribe to this service can look forward to the Remote Personal Video Recorder (PVR) that allows them to use their mobile phones to schedule recordings on their mio TV PVR service at home -- even when they are overseas. This service will be available by September this year.


SingTel launched its full mio TV over broadband service in July 2007.

mio TV on Mobile customers pay a flat monthly subscription of S$6 per month for unlimited viewing of the live channels. Pay Per View for channels and On Demand video are charged at $0.50 per clip. There are no data charges for downloading the mio TV on Mobile application, browsing the programme guide or watching programmes.http://www.singtel.com

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Verizon Business Expands its Professional Consulting Services

Verizon Business is significantly increasing the number and range of its professional consulting services. The goal is to provide end-to-end support from the network to the application layer and anywhere in between


The company announced that it is delivering a standardized set of more than 50 professional-service capabilities in 30 countries around the globe. The services will be delivered through 2,700 specially trained and experienced consultants in five key practice areas:

• IT Services - Verizon Business helps companies handle a wide range of IT responsibilities from consolidation of data centers to disaster recovery backup and restore. Spread across a dozen pro-services capabilities, Verizon Business specializes in e-commerce assessment and design, Web application acceleration, database design and replication, disaster recovery/backup and restore, data center relocation/migration, and IT staff augmentation.



• Network Integration and Engineering - Verizon Business enables the building, management and maintenance of wired and wireless local-to-wide area networks providing the foundation for today's business. Verizon Business can deliver an array of essential networking services, including: network operations center design, new technology evaluation, network integration -- hardware and software, lifecycle program management office and project management expertise, as well as network engineering staff augmentation.



• Professional Security Services - Verizon Business offers a comprehensive set of pro service capabilities worldwide for securing the extended enterprise through its threat and vulnerability assessment, identity and access management, governance, risk and compliance, and business impact analysis offerings. Verizon Business focuses on forensics, PCI compliance, identity access management, and threat and vulnerability assessment and mitigation.



• IP Communications - Verizon Business offers a range of specialized services to address the complexity when moving from the traditional legacy voice (PSTN) world to VoIP. Verizon Business offers more than 10 pro-serve capabilities so that companies can get where they need to go through convergence strategy workshop and planning services; business/financial impact analysis; ITP/convergence readiness assessment; convergence architecture and design; and migration strategy development.



• Contact Center Solutions - The Contact Center practice area specializes in system integration, hardware/software implementation and custom software development. Offerings include contact center architecture, design and implementation; contact center transformational analysis; infrastructure consulting; speech recognition; Web development; project management; and call center operations consulting, including work force management and quality monitoring, as well as custom reporting.

Verizon Business, which also provides advanced communications and IT solutions for 98% of the Fortune 500, reported revenue of $1.4 billion for strategic services in the first quarter 2008, up 23.5 percent from the first quarter 2007. Strategic services include IP, Ethernet and optical-ring services.http://www.verizonbusiness.com

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Verizon Presents FiOS Plan to NYC Franchise Committee

Verizon presented its plan to offer FiOS fiber-based service throughout all five boroughs of the city to the New York City Franchise and Concession Review Committee (FCRC) . A vote is expected on May 27.


The principal provisions of the Verizon franchise proposal include:

• The plan calls for a full build-out of Verizon's state-of-the-art fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) network throughout the entire city by mid-2014.



• Providing FiOS TV service to requesting customers in all five boroughs within a six-year time frame as Verizon's wire centers are upgraded to being video-capable.



• Verizon will provide an all-digital lineup of more than 400 channels and a growing library of more than 10,000 video-on-demand selections.



• Payment to the city of more than $4 million for a technology and education fund that will enable service to public and municipal buildings as well as other projects.



• Payment of approximately $18 million in grants through the life of the agreement to support public access via the city's five borough-based Community Access Organizations (CAOs).



• $10 million in grants to support the city's education and government access channels.



• More than 50 public, educational and governmental access channels for use by the city and the CAOs over the life of the agreement.



• Provision of a fiber-optic institutional network (known as an INET), primarily to support the city's public safety needs.



• Pay franchise fees equivalent to five per cent of gross revenues on cable TV service, as do other cable TV providers in the city.



• An extensive and appropriate set of customer service provisions.

http://www.verizon.com

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Rohati Unveils its Layer 7 Network-Based Entitlement Control

Rohati Systems, a start-up based in Sunnyvale, California, unveiled its high-performance network-based entitlement control (NBEC) solution for simplifying the way that enterprises define and enforce network policies in a highly scalable way. The solution is aimed at providing wider access to data center applications, where security concerns are evolving to required a deeper understanding of "who is using the network? what are applications are they using? when are they accessing the network? where are they located ? and how can I control them?"


The Rohati Transaction Networking System (TNS) addresses this problem by using -standard XACML (Extensible Access Control Markup Language) to define and enforce per-transaction policies across all types of users and applications. This eliminates the need for client or server agents, or changes to network topology.


Unlike traditional firewalls that are limited in the depth and relevance of controls they are able to provide, and by identity and access management (IAM) products that are complex to manage, Rohati has developed a high-performance platform enables enterprises to inspect and correlate individual transactions to network policies. Previous network security devices implement policies using Layer 4 access control lists (ACLs) that grant access based on the IP address and application identified by port number. Rohati's solution support the much richer Layer 7 ACLs, enabling granular entitlement definition and enforcement to support the new methods of business collaboration. Significantly, Rohati's approach requires no changes to applications, servers, user clients, or network topology


Rohati's platform is powered by 16-core processors capable of providing Layer 7 intelligence on thousands of simultaneous connections/flows at wire-speed. Two models are initially offered. The TNS 100 is scalable to 4 Gbps and handles 250,000 flows. This platform is aimed at medium sized data center environments and departmental server farms. The TNS 500 packs up to eight 10 Gbps XFP interfaces, up to 132 cores of processing power, and up to 6 million flows. This larger model is designed specifically for large data center environments.


Rohati Systems was founded by a number of former engineers from Cisco Systems, including Prashant Gandhi, Abhijit Patra, Kirti Prabhu, Anant Thakar, and Nagaraj Bagepalli. The company is headed by Shane Buckley, President and CEO, who previously served as Chief Operating Officer at Nevis Networks, Inc. a leader in network access control. Previously, he was Vice President of Worldwide Operations for Juniper Networks. Rohati is backed by Matrix Partners and Foundation Capital.http://www.rohati.com

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