Cisco to Acquire Pure Networks for Home Network Mgt Software

Cisco agreed to acquire Pure Networks, a Seattle-based start-up specializing in home networking-management software, for approximately $120 million.


Pure Networks' home networking-management solution allows users to easily set up and manage a home network and connect a range of devices, applications and services within a home. Pure Networks currently partners with Cisco to provide the software infrastructure and tools used to create the Linksys Easy Link Advisor (LELA) which allows a consumer to more easily set up, organize, manage, secure and use a home network.


Following the acquisition, Pure Networks' employees will remain in Seattle and be integrated into Linksy.


Cisco said the acquisition reflects its "build, buy, and partner" strategy to expand existing product categories and enter new markets.http://www.cisco.com

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AT&T Sees Revenue Growth in Wireless, Decline in Wireline

Driven by continued 15.8% wireless revenue growth, AT&T reported consolidated Q2 revenues of $30.9 billion, up 4.7 percent versus reported results in the year-earlier quarter and up 3.6 percent compared with second-quarter 2007 pro forma revenues. Q2 net income totaled $3.8 billion, up from $2.9 billion in the year-earlier quarter, and reported earnings per diluted share totaled $0.63, up from $0.47 in the second quarter of 2007.

Some highlights for Q2:

Wireless

• AT&T ended the quarter with 72.9 million wireless subscribers.



• Total wireless revenues increased 15.8 percent to $12.0 billion in the second quarter, and wireless service revenues, which exclude handset and accessory sales, grew 14.8 percent to $11.0 billion.



• Retail postpaid subscriber ARPU (average monthly revenues per subscriber) was up 3.5 percent versus the year-earlier second quarter.



• Wireless data revenues grew 52.0 percent versus the year-earlier quarter to $2.5 billion.



• Data now represents 22.9 percent of AT&T's total wireless service revenues, up from 17.3 percent in the
  second quarter of 2007.



• Text messaging volumes tripled versus totals for the year-earlier quarter, and multimedia message volumes increased more than 170 percent.



• At the end of the second quarter, approximately 18 percent of AT&T's postpaid wireless subscribers had an integrated device, up from 8 percent one year earlier.



• AT&T's second-quarter net gain in total wireless subscribers exceeded 1.3 million, down 123,000 versus results in the second quarter of 2007 and up 38,000 compared with the first quarter of this year.



• Retail postpaid net adds totaled 894,000, down 2.0 percent versus the year-earlier second quarter and up 26.8 percent from results in the first quarter of this year.

Wireline

• Second-quarter revenues in AT&T's wireline segment totaled $17.6 billion versus $18.0 billion in the year-earlier quarter.



• Reflecting solid demand from wireless carriers, Internet service providers, content providers and other customers, total wholesale revenues were $3.5 billion, down just 0.2 percent versus the year-earlier quarter. AT&T said this represents a major step up from a year-over-year decline of 8.3 percent in the second quarter of 2007 and marks the company's second consecutive quarter of sequential revenue growth in this category.



• Total enterprise revenues in the second quarter were $4.7 billion, down 1.0 percent versus results for the year-earlier quarter, and enterprise service revenues, which exclude CPE sales, were down 0.1 percent. Enterprise fundamentals in terms of closed sales, a strong sales funnel and new service adoption remain solid. AT&T expects to deliver positive growth in total enterprise revenues for the full year 2008.



• AT&T's total regional business revenues increased 1.6 percent in the second quarter to $3.2 billion. Regional business data revenues grew 5.2 percent, led by robust growth in Ethernet services and 13.7 percent growth in IP data services, including double-digit gains in managed Internet, VPN and hosting services.



• Data growth was led by a 16.1 percent increase in revenues from IP-based services, with continued gains in high speed Internet, managed Internet, VPN and hosting services.



• Data transport service revenues increased 1.1 percent, and packet switched data revenues, which include Frame Relay and ATM services, were down 13.5 percent.



• AT&T U-verse TV Services experienced a net subscriber gain of 170,000 to reaching 549,000 in service.



• U-verse network deployment is on schedule, install times continue to decline and the attach rates for broadband service continue to be high. The company is on a trajectory to reach its target of more than 1 million AT&T U-verse TV subscribers by year-end 2008.



• Regional consumer IP revenues, which combine revenues from broadband and AT&T U-verse services, grew 19.3 percent versus the year-earlier quarter, and revenues per consumer household served increased 4.2 percent.



• Total regional consumer revenues were $5.6 billion, down 2.1 percent versus the year-earlier quarter and down 0.7 percent sequentially. In addition to operational trends, these comparisons also reflect a change in AT&T's relationship with Yahoo! Inc., which provides portal services to AT&T's more than 14 million wireline broadband subscribers. Under the new arrangement, AT&T no longer pays monthly portal fees and receives a reduced level of shared advertising revenues from Yahoo!



• Regional consumer revenue connections (retail voice, high speed Internet and video) totaled 48.4 million at the end of the quarter, versus 49.5 million at the end of the second quarter of 2007 and 49.3 million at the end of the first quarter of 2008.



• Total consumer broadband and TV connections over the past year increased by 2.2 million. At the end of the second quarter, AT&T had 14.7 million total broadband connections, up 1.4 million over the past year and up 46,000 in the second quarter of 2008.

http://www.att.com

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NEC Partners with Motive on Femtocells

NEC Europe is partnering with Motive on femtocells. The partnership will see Motive's service management software integrated into NEC's Femtocell Access Point Management System. NEC said its Access Point Management system is under trials with several operators around the world.http://www.nec.comhttp://www.motive.com

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Equinix Reports Q2 Revenue of $172 Million, up 9% YoY

Equinix reported Q2 revenue of $172.0 million, a 9% increase over the previous quarter and an 87% increase over the same quarter last year. Net income for the second quarter was $2.2 million compared to net income of $5.4 million in the previous quarter and net income of $1.2 million in the same quarter last year. This reflects a negative $3.0 million quarter-over-quarter fluctuation related to foreign exchange, and a specific $3.1 million increase in stock-based compensation expense related to the executive change in our European operations.


During the quarter, Equinix completed on-schedule expansions in the London, Paris, Silicon Valley and Washington D.C. markets, adding approximately 2,750 cabinet equivalents in the U.S., and 2,600 cabinet equivalents in Europe.
http://www.equinix.com

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F5 Networks Introduces Entry Level BIG-IP Application Delivery Controller

F5 Networks introduced entry-level versions of its flagship BIG-IP Application Delivery Controller platform aimed at the enterprise market. The BIG-IP 1600 and 3600 devices have dual-core processors and use F5's Clustered Multiprocessing (CMP) technology. Highlights include:

• Fast Cache, IPv6 Gateway, Rate Shaping, SSL Offload, and Compression



• Advanced security and acceleration -- The 3600 platform is able to run BIG-IP Application Security Manager (ASM) or WebAccelerator as a module on BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM).



• Integrated basic protocol security option -- Both new platforms are able to run the new BIG-IP Protocol Security Module (PSM).

http://www.f5.com/products/big-ip

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F5 Posts Quarterly Revenue of $166 Million, up 25% YoY

F5 Networks posted quarterly revenue of $165.6 million, up 4 percent from $159.1 million in the prior quarter and 25 percent from $132.4 million in the same period last year. GAAP net income was $19.1 million ($0.23 per diluted share), compared to $17.7 million ($0.21 per diluted share) in the prior quarter and $21.8 million ($0.26 per diluted share) in the period a year ago.


"As we anticipated, our chassis-based VIPRION controller was a key driver of product revenue growth. Sales of VIPRION were especially robust among large Internet content and service providers, and we continue to see strong demand heading into the close of fiscal 2008," said John McAdam, F5 president and chief executive officer.http://www.f5.com

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Sprint to Sell 3,300 Towers to TowerCo for $670 million in Cash

Sprint Nextel agreed to sell approximately 3,300 towers to TowerCo for approximately $670 million in cash. The specific number of towers and final purchase price will be determined at closing. The companies said the towers are located in prime metropolitan locations. The deal is expected to close in 90 days.



The two companies also signed a long term leasing agreement where TowerCo will provide Sprint Nextel with wireless communications towers to support the company's CDMA, iDEN and WiMAX networks.


"By leasing rather than owning these network facilities, we can better focus on our core business of providing communications services to consumers, businesses and government customers," said Bob Azzi, senior vice president, Field Engineering and Operations, Sprint Nextel. "Significantly, this transaction provides Sprint Nextel with additional liquidity which gives us greater flexibility in managing our company."


.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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Netgear Reports Q2 Revenue of $204.5 million, up 24% YoY

NETGEAR posted Q2 net revenue of $204.5 million, a 24% increase as compared to $164.3 million for the second quarter ended July 1, 2007, and a 3% increase as compared to $198.2 million in the first quarter ended March 30, 2008. Q2 net income (GAAP) was $11.1 million, or $0.31 per diluted share. This compared to net income of $6.1 million for the second quarter of 2007 and to net income of $11.2 million in the first quarter of 2008. Diluted earnings per share, computed in accordance with GAAP, was $0.17 for the second quarter of 2007 and $0.31 for the first quarter of 2008.


During Q2, NETGEAR's service provider net revenue was approximately $55 million, about 27% of total net revenue, as compared to 24% in the year ago quarter, and 28% in the first quarter of 2008. In Q2, the company added TV Cabo in Portugal and Cablemas in Mexico to its service provider customer list.


"Despite a challenging market and economic environment in the U.S. and U.K., we enjoyed very healthy year on year revenue growth due to a strong performance in Asia Pacific and the successful launch of NETGEAR products in Wal-Mart stores in the U.S. However, we continue to foresee market weakness in both the U.S. and U.K. in the coming quarters. Our operating margin improved in Q2 due to successful product and operating cost reductions, strong sales of ReadyNAS and Smart Switches and the reduction in air freight costs with an increase in our on hand inventory. Looking forward, we believe continuous emphasis in R&D resulting in differentiated new products and efficient supply chain management will enable us to win in competitive and challenging market conditions," stated Patrick Lo, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NETGEAR.http://www.netgear.com

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Verizon Selects New Home Gateways from Westell, Actiontec

Verizon has selected two home gateways from Westell and Actiontec for use with its FiOS service. The new broadband routers, designed to Verizon's specifications by Actiontec and Westell, will use MoCA 1.1 technology to boost in-home speeds over coaxial cable to up to 175 Mbps from 75 Mbps and allow operation of multiple simultaneous Wi-Fi networks. For example, customers will be able to modify security settings on each network, allowing a Wi-Fi network for guests and visitors, one with parental controls for young users, one for computers holding secure documents, or one for teleworking only. The new routers will be ready for deployment in the third quarter. Financial terms were not disclosed.


The new equipment includes the MI424-WR by Actiontec and the UltraLine Series 3 model 9100 by Westell, both custom-built for FiOS to Verizon specifications. Both vendors have supported other Verizon broadband services with modems, gateways and routers designed for Verizon.


Verizon said key design features of the new routers include:

• Higher bandwidth, offering 175 Mbps total data flow in the home.



• Support for up to four Wi-Fi networks, enabling more than one Wi-Fi network to operate simultaneously within the home.



• Quality of service controls to give traffic preference to critical services like voice or security devices.



• Remote management of Verizon devices and services beyond the router by Verizon technicians, improving the service and support experience for customers.



• Integrated dual-core processor to allow simultaneous networked data services, possibly including home security, home monitoring, network security and other applications.



• Support for media sharing between home devices, such as between TVs and PCs, media servers, and other consumer electronics, using DLNA and Universal Plug and Play standards now being adopted by hardware manufacturers to support connectivity and service integration.



• USB expandability for shared storage servers, printers, peripherals and other devices



• In addition, the MoCA 1.1 distribution technology increases to 15 from seven the number of set-top boxes or other devices that can operate simultaneously on the coax portion of the FiOS home network.

http://www.verizon.comhttp://www.westell.com

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Radware Posts Q2 Revenues of $24 Million

Radware reported Q2 revenues of $24.0 million, an increase of 12% compared with revenues of $21.5 million for the second quarter of 2007 and an increase of 8% compared to revenues of $22.2 million for the first quarter of 2008. Net loss on a GAAP basis for the second quarter of 2008 was $7.1 million or $0.36 per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $8.3 million or 0.42 per diluted share in the first quarter of 2008 and to a net loss of $4 million or $0.21 per diluted share in the second quarter of 2007.


"The strategic and tactical plans set forth in the first quarter are proving to be successful and are enabling Radware to make real headway in the ADC market," said Roy Zisapel, President & CEO of Radware. "With the introduction of APSolute Immunity, our new security strategy and key partnerships such as joining Juniper Networks J-Partnership program as a major application delivery solutions provider, we are well positioned for continued growth in the next quarters." http://www.radware.com

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HughesNet Boosts Speeds for Consumer Service

Hughes Network Systems has boosted the speeds of three of its HughesNet consumer service plans -- Home, Pro and ProPlus -- without raising the price. The Home plan now features download speeds of up to 1 Mbps. The Pro and ProPlus plans feature download speeds of up to 1.2 and 1.6 Mbps, respectively.


The speed enhancements in the Home, Pro and ProPlus plans were made possible by the launch of Hughes' SPACEWAY 3, the largest satellite in the US and the world's first commercial satellite with on-board switching and routing. SPACEWAY 3 has the highest total capacity of any commercial satellite, which fuels the faster speeds. SPACEWAY 3 was launched in August of 2007 and began serving customers in April of 2008.


HughesNet currently has more than 400,000 subscribers.http://www.hughesnet.com

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Spain's ONO Fortifies DNS with Nominum

ONO, a broadband operator in Spain with more than 1.2 million subscribers, has implemented Nominum's DNS solution. With the upgrade, more than 90% of the DNS traffic is handled by three Nominum DNS servers. The previously deployed open source based solution required a larger server hardware footprint, and accommodating future DNS and Internet traffic growth was going to require the addition of even more servers on a regular basis.http://www.nominum.com

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Ikanos Posts Q2 Revenue of $29.9 million, Names New CEO

Ikanos Communications reported Q2 revenues of $29.9 million compared with revenue of $29.7 million for the first quarter of 2008 and revenue of $25.7 million for the second quarter of 2007. GAAP net loss for the second quarter of 2008 was $4.0 million, or $0.14 per share, on 29.3 million weighted average shares. This compares with a net loss of $4.8 million, or $0.16 per share, on 29.5 million weighted average shares in the first quarter of 2008 and with a net loss of $7.2 million, or $0.25 per share, on 28.4 million weighted average shares in the second quarter of 2007.


Ikanos Communications also announced the appointment of Michael Gulett as its new president and CEO, succeeding Michael A. Ricci who is leaving those positions and will pursue other interests. Michael Gulett has been a member of the Company's Board of Directors since 2003. Gulett has held CEO positions most recently at Tzero Technologies and ARC International, and was the interim CEO at Siliquent Technologies, which was acquired by Broadcom in 2005. Previously, Gulett served as president and COO at Virata Corporation and president and CEO of Paradigm Technology.http://www.ikanos.com

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