Orange Advances its “Content Everywhere�? Strategy

Orange is advancing its three screen "Content Everywhere" strategy in France with the upcoming launch of "Orange cinema."




Orange cinema series includes a main "feature film" channel, called Orange cinemax, which is available in HD and groups together the best of recent films and TV series that have never before been seen in France. The offer also includes four other channels that are organized along the themes of family, action, arthouse and classics.

• Orange cinemax: all the blockbusters exclusive to Orange and in High Definition


• Orange cinehappy: cinema for all the family


• Orange cinechoc: all types of action film


• Orange cinenovo: a reference in independent cinema


• Orange cinégéant: cinema classics at your fingertips

To acquire the content, Orange announced agreements with leading studios, including Warner Bros, Metro Goldwyn Mayer, HBO, Gaumont, BAC Films, Wild Side Films and Fidélité Film.http://www.orange.com

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Qatar Telecom to Launch DVB-H Mobile TV with NSN

Qatar Telecom (Qtel) and Nokia Siemens Networks have signed the world's first commercial Mobile TV deployment contract based on DVB-H and OMA BCast Smart Card Profile technology.

Specifically, Nokia Siemens Networks will supply Qtel with a Digital Video Broadcasting Handheld (DVB-H) solution providing their subscribers enhanced TV viewing experiences on their mobile phones. Nokia Siemens Networks will roll out a DVB-H solution with OMA BCast Smart Card Profile (SCP) for Qtel.


For the authentication of mobile TV subscribers, Nokia Siemens Networks is providing its One-BSF solution, forming a key part of Qtel's Unified Subscriber Database strategy for creating a common subscriber profile to be used for both mobile and DVB-H service. In addition, Nokia, the infrastructure vendor's parent company, will provide Nokia N96 handsets to test the first SCP compliant software that enables subscribers to choose from among a host of payment models and interactivity options. Financial terms were not disclosed.http://www.nsn.com

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Nortel Expands its Unified Communications Portfolio for SMBs

Nortel has expanded its Business Communications Manager (BCM) portfolio with several new products that provide SMBs with a path to unified communications.


The Business Communications Manager (BCM) 450 enables businesses up to 300 employees to transition from existing legacy digital equipment to a unified communications solution. The BCM450 is available from Nortel, or through its strategic vendors, including AT&T. Key features include:

• Unified messaging, consolidating voice, fax and e-mail messages onto a single device.
  
  
• Message forwarding, available in one to two months, which sends voicemails and faxes to the most convenient desktop or mobile device. For workers on the move, this can save long distance and roaming charges when retrieving messages.



• Meet-Me Conferencing that can establish teleconferences for up to 120 participants. This can eliminate the need for external services and reduce teleconferencing expenses.



• Computer Telephony Integration, which allows the use of third-party applications to control telephone services, such as click-to-call or automatic screen "pop" with customer information when they call.



• Intelligent Contact Center functionality, which quickly directs clients to the right contact.

The Business Services Gateway (BSG) 8 and 12 combine data infrastructure components needed to run unified communications. Available in North America, the Business Services Gateway (BSG) 8 and BSG12 replace multiple equipment and software with a single solution by including: a router; advanced security including firewall; VPN and intrusion detection; wired and wireless switching; a resilient SIP gateway with an integrated Analog Telephony Adapter; and application-aware QoS.




Business Services Gateway 8 provides routing, wired/wireless switching, and SIP capabilities. It is specifically targeted at SMBs, small branch offices and teleworkers with fewer than 100 users. The solution supports SIP Phones, a single analog station and fax machines as well as LAN connected PCs or network devices.


The Business Services Gateway 12 combines multiple functions, including broadband router, sophisticated security services, Power over Ethernet (PoE) managed switch, modular Wi-Fi access point, and a Survivable SIP Gateway.


Nortel estimates its single solution approach reduces the initial cost by up to 45 percent and provides the backbone upon which SMBs can build out an effective and cost-efficient network. The BSG8 and BSG12 also serve as a client-side data infrastructure platform for carriers who deliver hosted VoIP services to SMBs with Nortel's IP Powered Business Solutions .http://www.nortel.com

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NETGEAR Warns on Q3 Revenues

NETGEAR warned that its net revenue for the third quarter ended September 28, 2008 is expected to be in the range of $173 million to $183 million, or below the range of $208 million to $212 million provided on July 23, 2008.


"We experienced weakness in September demand on our consumer products across all channels and in all geographies, particularly in the service provider channel, where our carrier customers worldwide requested shipment delays on previously placed orders, thereby preventing us from recognizing revenue on those orders," commented Patrick Lo, Chairman and CEO of NETGEAR. "We believe the uncertainty in the economies and financial markets worldwide, especially in light of recent events, is causing the weakening of demand and we expect these conditions to persist until financial confidence returns to the market."


The company expects non-GAAP operating margin to be in the range of 10.3% to 11.3% versus the company's previous expectation of approximately 9.5% to 10.5%. Additionally the company expects to report other expense in the range of $4.5 million to $5.5 million in relation to losses on transactions denominated in foreign currencies. This is primarily a result of the strengthening of the U.S. dollar as compared to the Australian dollar, the British pound and the Euro.http://www.netgear.com

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AT&T Issues Citizenship and Sustainability Report

AT&T will intensify its efforts to reduce the environmental impact of its operations, according to the company's 2007/2008 Citizenship and Sustainability Report, "Connecting for a Sustainable Future." AT&T is also increasing its commitment to help customers find ways to reduce their impact through the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) products and services and applying innovation and technology to help address society's needs.

According to the report, some of the significant steps AT&T has taken to better integrate citizenship and sustainability initiatives with its business, include:

• The AT&T Board of Directors expanded the responsibility of its Public Policy Committee to include oversight in this area.



• AT&T appointed a senior executive to coordinate its citizenship and sustainability program.



• AT&T put in place a Citizenship and Sustainability Steering Committee that is made up of officers from across the company.



• AT&T worked with a nonprofit group, Business for Social Responsibility, to further drive citizenship and sustainability programs into the business operations of the company.



• In 2008, AT&T introduced a new fleet of alternative-fuel vehicles. The company is also covering much of the roof of its San Ramon, Calif., campus with a 1 megawatt solar panel system. In addition, 10 percent of the electricity purchased for all facilities in Austin, Texas, is coming from wind power. A new energy policy balances the company's need for affordable energy with the pursuit of alternative and renewable forms of energy that have less impact on the environment.



• Offering customers sustainable products and services: AT&T and Cisco Systems Inc. launched the AT&T Telepresence Solution, a new video conferencing service that combines rich audio with High Definition video to create a unique "in person" experience, helping customers reduce travel. The company provides its AT&T U-verse TV customers with set-top boxes that meet energy- efficiency criteria set by ENERGY STAR.



• AT&T Labs is fostering a work environment and culture that encourages its more than 1,100 scientists and engineers to actively follow their passions and apply technological advancements to address social and environmental challenges. AT&T innovations are helping tackle a variety of global issues, such as climate change through work on species migration and energy efficiency.

AT&T also said that it is in the initial stages of establishing data-gathering systems and key performance measures for its citizenship and sustainability efforts.http://www.att.com/csr

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Aricent Names Ex-Wipro Exec as CEO

Aricent has named ex-Wipro veteran Sudip Nandy as its new CEO, replacing Ash Bhardwaj who has resigned to pursue other interests. Previously, Mr. Nandy was the President of the Technology Media and Telecom Business Unit at Wipro, overseeing more than 18,000 people and a revenue run rate of US $1.3 billion per annum.


Aricent's investors include leading firms Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (‘KKR'), Sequoia Capital, Flextronics International Ltd and The Family Office.http://www.aricent.com

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Ixia Announces Fibre Channel over Ethernet Test Solution

Ixia will begin offering a testing solution for Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE). The company also announced a partnership agreement with SANBlaze Technology Inc., a leading provider of storage solutions for embedded systems.


Ixia's data center Ethernet (DCE) testing solution provides functional, performance and scalability testing of Ethernet, FCoE and SCSI devices, in addition to application traffic such as rich media, inherent to storage area networks. Port density scales up to 96 10 GbE ports in a single chassis. The solution provides support for FCoE protocols, including priority flow control (PFC), enhanced transmission notification (ETS) and congestion notification (CN), all of which are required to transmit SAN traffic over Ethernet, or "lossless Ethernet."


Ixia said it also supports SCSI testing over FCoE, which provides real-world storage area network testing. Ixia ports can emulate tape drives, disk arrays and other native fibre channel storage devices, bridging the gap between native fibre channel and FCoE. Application support includes functional testing and high-scalability performance testing, as well as RFC test suites for validation of data center Ethernet performance.


Under the Ixia/SANBlaze partnership, SANBlaze technology for fibre channel target and initiator emulation testing is integrated on the Ixia IxYukon 10 GbE hardware platform.http://www.ixiacom.com

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BroadLight Supplies GPON Chip for Billion Electric Co.

Taiwan's Billion Electric Co., Ltd. has selected BroadLight's BL2348 Residential Gateway (RG) SoC for a new line of GPON CPE devices. Billion's new GPON line of CPE products will feature a low cost, carrier-class design and leverage the company's own proprietary software stacks. Billion was able to easily port their own software onto the BL2348 architecture and have it run seamlessly and powerfully.http://www.broadlight.comhttp://www.billion.com

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WiMAX-Embedded Laptops Arrive in US from Acer, Asus, Lenovo and Toshiba

The WiMAX ecosystem continues to expand. Sprint noted that Intel is now shipping its first-ever combined WiMAX/Wi-Fi module, formerly code-named "Echo Peak," as part of the Intel WiMAX/Wi-Fi Link 5050 Series that is an optional feature for Intel Centrino 2-based laptops. Several leading PC OEMs have announced plans to deliver Intel Centrino 2-based notebooks featuring the Intel Core2 processor with WiMAX ,including Acer, Asus, Lenovo and Toshiba. Beginning today WiMAX-based Intel notebooks can be found online at Amazon.com and NewEgg.com. Dell, Panasonic, Samsung and Sony also plan to support WiMAX in their laptops starting in 2009.


This month, Sprint's XOHM service expects to start offering a USB dongle by ZTE. Also later this month, Nokia will sell the new pocket size Nokia N810 Internet tablet WiMAX edition, with widescreen display and QWERTY keyboard, at select independent retailers in Baltimore as well as online.


Sprint expects to launch a dual-mode 3G - 4G access device expected later in the fourth quarter. This device will extend Sprint's mobile broadband leadership by offering access over its 3G NOW network as well as the new 4G network in Baltimore and in future markets.


Sprint also noted that XOHM is relying on a new distribution strategy that follows a consumer electronics model, allowing customers to buy devices independent of service. XOHM products will be initially available at six select Best Buy locations in the Baltimore market. XOHM sales kiosks are open in several Baltimore-area shopping malls. The retail strategy involves both direct and indirect channels, local independent retailers, door-to-door, web and telesales. XOHM customers will self-activate their devices from retail channels, be able to bundle multiple devices under one account and in some cases with one rate plan, have daily and monthly service plans without traditional long-term contracts and access enhanced location-based and other services through a XOHM web portal.http://www.xohm.comhttp://www.sprint.com

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Zyxel Employs Sequans Chip for XoHM CPE

ZyXEL is using silicon from Sequans for the MAX-206m2 desktop modem/router that Sprint is featuring in its Baltimore launch of the XOHM Mobile WiMAX service.


Sequans said it is powering more than half of the Mobile WiMAX MIMO-enabled devices that are now certified by the WiMAX Forum.http://www.sequans.com

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SiRF Debuts SiRFlinkIII Combo Radio IC

SiRF Technology Holdings unveiled its SiRFlinkIII combination radio single-chip solution that combines a high-performance GPS RF front end and a complete Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR controller optimized for use with the SiRFatlas and SiRFprima multifunction SoC platforms. The device is designed to drive its on-chip Bluetooth radio at full class 2.0 power while providing high GPS sensitivity in next-generation mobile convergence devices.


The SiRFlinkIII combo radio IC successfully passed Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR qualification tests as well as interoperability testing with more than 150 popular mobile phones in the market. The GPS and Bluetooth functions share many peripheral components, such as power regulators and clock sources.


"SiRFlinkIII is designed to address our customers' need to build cost- effective mobile navigation and location-aware devices with wireless connectivity for enhanced functionality, such as hands-free calling, without compromising the location performance," said Kanwar Chadha, vice president of marketing and founder of SiRF. "By pre-integrating SiRFlinkIII with our multifunction SoC platforms, we are able to optimize the system-level performance while minimizing the design complexity for our customers to enable them to accelerate their time to market."http://www.sirf.com/

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Kineto Wireless Raises $15.5 Million for FMC

Kineto Wireless, a start-up based in Milpitas, California, announced an additional $15.5 million in funding for its fixed-mobile-convergence (FMC) solutions for mobile operators. The new funding includes a strategic investment from Motorola as part of a broader commercial relationship with the company's Home & Networks Mobility business.


Kineto's FMC solutions enable mobile operators to extend voice, data and IMS services over broadband access networks, thus harnessing the power of the Internet to lower service delivery costs while improving mobile coverage and performance. Kineto's FMC solutions are currently enabling mobile operators around the world to deliver a number of new revenue-generating FMC services, including dual-mode handsets, femtocells, terminal adaptors and softmobile clients.


Kineto's existing investors Oak Investment Partners, Sutter Hill Ventures, Venrock, Seapoint Ventures and InterDigital also participated in the funding.http://ww.kineto.com

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TerreStar Submits 2GHz MSS S-Band Application to EC

TerreStar Europe has submitted an application with the European Commission for a Pan-European 2GHz MSS S-band spectrum authorization.

The company plans to create a pan-European integrated satellite and complementary ground component network that is designed to provide high quality, cost-effective, seamless wireless applications and services to urban, rural and remote regions of Europe on a wholesale basis.


The TerreStar satellite-terrestrial wireless broadband network can allow customers to operate using a conventionally-sized mobile device capable of communicating over both traditional land-based wireless networks and the satellite network. TerreStar plans to provide multiple communications applications including voice, data, and video services.http://www.terrestar.com

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KT-NTT Venture Forum held in Seoul

A KT-NTT Venture Forum held this week in Seoul, Korea attracted 9 startup companies from US and Korea. The companies were invited to present their ideas for the executives and working groups from both KT and NTT.




Earlier this year, KT and NTT will work closely regarding new business development, toward the early development and commercialization of applications and other services for broadband and next-generation networks.http://www.ntt.co.jp

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