Equinix Unveils New Branding, Marks 10th Anniversary

Equinix launched a new corporate brand to mark its 10th anniversary. The company said its new logo, which represents a fortress structure, symbolizes the critical role that it plays in safeguarding its customers' information assets. In addition, with the increasingly global nature of its business, Equinix's Internet Business Exchange (IBX) data centers will be re-branded as "International Business Exchange" data centers, representing Equinix's evolution beyond Internet connectivity to global network connectivity.


The new brand initiative comes one year after the acquisition of leading European colocation services provider IXEurope, which provided Equinix with an extensive presence in the European market.http://www.equinix.com

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Verizon Beats Estimates with Growth in Wireless , FiOS, Business Services;

Verizon Communications reported strong results for Q3 2008 supported by Verizon Wireless' continued strong performance, accelerating numbers of new FiOS customers, and continued increased sales of strategic business services. Verizon's total operating revenues grew 4.1 percent to $24.8 billion in the third quarter 2008, from $23.8 billion in the third quarter 2007. This is an increase of 5.4 percent when adjusted for the spinoff of non-strategic local exchange and related Wireline business assets earlier this year (non-GAAP). Total operating expenses increased 5.2 percent to $20.6 billion, or 5.4 percent on an adjusted basis, comparing third-quarter 2008 with third-quarter 2007. The company reported 59 cents in diluted earnings per share (EPS) in the third quarter 2008, compared with 44 cents per share in the third quarter 2007.

Some highlights for the quarter:


Verizon Wireless

• Wireless retail gross customer additions were strong, up 5.3 percent over the prior year.



• Organic growth (growth from sources other than acquisitions) was 1.5 million retail net customer additions, essentially all post-paid.



• Total growth was 2.1 million retail net additions. This included 630,000 retail customers from the Rural Cellular Corp. acquisition, and Verizon expects to have a net loss of approximately 120,000 of these customers under an exchange agreement with another carrier.



• Verizon Wireless had 70.8 million total customers at the end of the quarter.



• Churn was 1.33 percent. Among the company's retail post-paid customers, churn was even lower at 1.03 percent.



• Verizon Wireless continued its double-digit revenue growth, with total revenues of $12.7 billion, up 12.5 percent year over year. Service revenues were $10.9 billion, up 12.2 percent year over year, driven by customer growth and demand for data services.



• Total service ARPU of $52.18 was up 0.9 percent year over year, reflecting strong growth in total data ARPU, which was up 28.3 percent.

FiOS

• Verizon added 233,000 net new FiOS TV customers, compared with 176,000 in the second quarter 2008. The company has 1.6 million FiOS TV customers, compared with more than 700,000 FiOS TV customers at the end of third-quarter 2007.



• Verizon added 225,000 net new FiOS Internet customers, compared with 187,000 in the second quarter 2008. The company has 2.2 million FiOS Internet customers, compared with 1.3 million FiOS Internet customers at the end of third-quarter 2007.



• FiOS Internet sales penetration (sales as a percentage of potential customers) increased to 24.2 percent, compared with 20.0 percent in last year's third quarter. FiOS Internet is available for sale to nearly 9.1 million premises.



• FiOS TV sales penetration increased to 19.7 percent, compared with 15.2 percent in last year's third quarter. Verizon made FiOS TV service available for sale to a record 1.2 million additional premises in the quarter, bringing the total to 8.2 million.



• Broadband and video revenues from consumer customers totaled $1.1 billion in the third quarter, representing year-over-year growth of 45.3 percent.



• Consumer ARPU in legacy Verizon wireline markets (which excludes consumer markets served by the former MCI) was $66.67, a 12.8 percent increase compared with last year's third quarter.



• Verizon's broadband fiber-to-the-premises network passed 11.9 million premises throughout the company's wireline service territory by the end of the quarter.



• Total broadband connections were 8.5 million, a net increase of 129,000 over the second quarter 2008. This includes a decrease of 96,000 DSL-based Verizon High Speed Internet connections, which was more than offset by the increase in FiOS Internet customers. The 8.5 million is a 9.1 percent year-over-year increase.



• Broadband and TV products now account for 29.1 percent of consumer ARPU in legacy markets, compared with 27.6 percent in the second quarter 2008. The ARPU among FiOS customers continues to be more than $130 per month.

Verizon Business

• Verizon Business had total revenues of $5.4 billion, or growth of 1.2 percent compared with last year's third quarter. This was Verizon Business' eighth consecutive quarter of year-over-year pro-forma revenue growth (non-GAAP, calculated as if Verizon and MCI had merged on Jan. 1, 2005).



• Sales of strategic services -- such as IP (Internet protocol), managed services, Ethernet and optical ring services -- continued to drive growth at Verizon Business. These services generated $1.6 billion in revenue, up 15.4 percent from third-quarter 2007.



• Verizon Business continued to expand its global network reach and capabilities, announcing during the quarter that the first phase of the Trans-Pacific Express submarine cable system directly connecting Mainland China, the U.S., South Korea and Taiwan is ready for service. The company also began a significant expansion of its operations in India, activating Private IP nodes in five major business centers following receipt of international and national long-distance licenses earlier this year.



• Additional global network enhancements included installing 27 additional Private IP edge switches globally for a total of 621 edge switches in 158 markets; completing the first phase of the company's U.S. optical mesh network; expanding its mesh network in the Asia-Pacific region to Taiwan, Hong Kong and Korea; and deploying an additional 1,348 ultra long haul route-miles in the U.S.

http://www.verizon.com

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Indonesia's Axis Expands GSM Network with Ericsson

Axis, Indonesia's newest GSM/3G operator, has awarded an expansion contract to Ericsson for the next phase of the operator's national network rollout program. The agreement, which includes network operation and technical support, will allow Axis to provide improved services and greater coverage to its subscribers while reducing operating expenses. Under the agreement, Ericsson will be responsible for the deployment of a GSM/EDGE and WCDMA radio access network, including about 2100 sites in Greater Jakarta, Banten and Sumatra. Ericsson will also supply its mobile backhaul solution with optical and microwave products. The contract also includes a three-year managed services agreement to provide technical support and network operation, including field operations and support services. Financial terms were not disclosed.http://www.ericsson.comhttp://www.axisworld.co.id/

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Cox Confirms Plans for Wireless Launch in 2009

Cox Communications, the third largest cable operator in the U.S, with 6.2 million customers, confirmed plans to add wireless offerings to its bundle of entertainment and communications service. Specifically, Cox will use Sprint's nationwide network to quickly enter the market in 2009. At the same time, Cox is concurrently building its own 3G network for additional market launches in 2009. Cox will also test 4G technology utilizing LTE (long term evolution).


In recent years, Cox has spent $500 million to acquire wireless spectrum in various FCC auctions.


"Wireless service will be a key driver to Cox's future growth," said Pat Esser, president of Cox Communications. "As wireless communications enters the new generation, we are uniquely positioned to deliver the entertainment and communications services our customers want, whenever, however and wherever they want them. Our bundled customers will become even ‘stickier' as we offer them the best customer experience. To deliver the best customer experience, we will manage every aspect of the service, from product development to marketing and sales to back-office operations and customer support and billing."http://www.cox.com

• Earlier this year, Sprint Nextel and its cable operator partners agreed to unwind the relationship under which Comcast, Cox and Time Warner bundled Sprint's mobile service under the "Pivot" brand.

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Atheros Targets 802.11g Upgrades with "Align" 802.11n Silicon

Atheros Communications introduced its new "Align" product line based on the IEEE draft 802.11n 1-stream specification. The new silicon provides a low-cost solution for enabling Wi-Fi devices that deliver performance enhancements over the existing 802.11g technology, at comparable price points. Align solutions are also forward compatible to higher-performance, multi-stream, MIMO-based 802.11n. Target applications include low-cost notebook, netbook, home networking and consumer electronics.


The Atheros Align portfolio is positioned for low-cost Wi-Fi connectivity, while the company's XSPAN family (launched in 2006) offers higher-performance 2-stream, MIMO-enabled 802.11n connectivity at up to 300 Mbps PHY rates per band.


Atheros' Align solutions deliver up to 150 Mbps PHY rates, and leverage the efficiencies of the 802.11n media access control (MAC) technology to achieve actual throughput levels up to five times that of legacy 802.11g. Atheros said the higher throughput of 1-stream products improves network efficiency by occupying the wireless channel for shorter periods than slower 11g devices -- reducing congestion and increasing capacity for additional wireless devices. Align products employ optional features of the 11n specification and Atheros' advanced radio design techniques, to effectively double the wireless coverage versus legacy WLAN solutions.


The Atheros AR9285 single-chip PCI Express (PCIe) solution is designed for sub-$500 notebook and netbook products. The single chip integrates the MAC/baseband and radio transceiver, as well as the power amplifier, low noise amplifiers and antenna switch -- the entire RF front-end -- providing a complete WLAN solution.


The Atheros Align AR9002AP-1S chipset for home networking targets value-priced wireless routing equipment, with increased capacity and range over legacy 802.11g. The chipset consists of the AR9285 1-stream MAC/BB/radio and the new Atheros AR7240 network processor System-on-Chip (SOC) which features advanced power management and a network processor with integrated 5-port Fast Ethernet switch -- based on the company's ETHOS technology. The AR7240 provides 400 MHz of processing power, ample to support 1-stream solutions as well as higher-performance, 2-stream, MIMO radio designs. The Atheros network processor is specifically engineered to optimize wireless performance by looking beyond clock speed and focusing on overall system efficiency. The AR7240 features a MIPS32 24K(R) processor core, 64KB of instruction memory cache up to four times that offered by competitor NPUs, and a high speed 16-bit Double-Data-Rate (DDR) memory interface to dramatically increase raw memory speed.


The Atheros AR9271 single-chip USB solution provides enhanced Wi-Fi performance and value for home gateways, set-top boxes, gaming consoles, printers and a variety of other embedded wireless products. The single chip features a new architecture that integrates both a CPU and memory to run more of the wireless LAN function on-chip.


The AR9002AP-1S chipset for AP/Routers and AR9285 single chip for PCs are sampling now. The AR9271 embedded USB solution will begin sampling in late Q4 2008.http://www.atheros.com

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Atheros Revenue Rises to Record $138.1 million

Atheros Communications reported record Q3 revenue of $138.1 million, compared with $121.5 million reported in the second quarter of 2008 and $106.3 million reported in the third quarter of 2007. Net income (GAAP) was $10.1 million or $0.16 per diluted share. This compares with GAAP net income of $10.1 million or $0.16 per diluted share in the second quarter of 2008.


GAAP net income in the third quarter of 2007 was $9.7 million or $0.16 per diluted share. Total cash, cash equivalents and short-term marketable securities were $274.1 million at Sept. 30, 2008, up $21.5 million from the prior quarter.


"We are pleased to report our 14th consecutive quarter of revenue growth," said Dr. Craig Barratt, president and chief executive officer. "Our 14 percent sequential increase in revenue was driven by strength in each of our three channels - PC, Networking and Consumer. Demand for our expanded family of 802.11n products was particularly strong while our 802.11g solutions continue to be incorporated into a wide variety of value-oriented laptops, networking products and consumer devices." http://www.atheros.com

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Microsoft Debuts "Azure" Internet Cloud Services Platform

Microsoft introduced its "Windows Azure" operating system and Azure Services Platform (Azure) for cloud-based computing using Microsoft global data center network. Microsoft said its aim is to provide developers with the on-demand compute and storage resources to host, scale, and manage Internet or cloud applications.


Over the past year, Microsoft has opened major data centers in Quincy, Washington, and San Antonio, Texas. Additional Microsoft data centers are scheduled to open in Chicago and Dublin, Ireland.


Azure makes use of existing Microsoft technologies, such as the Microsoft .NET Framework and Visual Studio. Developers also access the Azure Services Platform using a variety of common Internet standards. Specifically, Azure provides an open, standards-based and interoperable environment with support for multiple internet protocols, including HTTP, REST, SOAP, and XML.

Key components of the Azure Services Platform include:

• Windows Azure for service hosting and management, low-level scalable storage, computation and networking



• Microsoft SQL Services for a wide range of database services and reporting



• Microsoft .NET Services which are service-based implementations of familiar .NET Framework concepts such as workflow and access control



• Live Services for a consistent way for users to store, share and synchronize documents, photos, files and information across their PCs, phones, PC applications and Web sites



• Microsoft SharePoint Services and Microsoft Dynamics CRM Services for business content, collaboration and rapid solution development in the cloud.

Microsoft said the key advantage for developers is that its cloud-based approach allows them to pay only for the services they use, while reducing the capital costs associated with purchasing hardware and infrastructure.


http://www.microsoft.comhttp://www.microsoft.com/azure/default.mspx

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ADC Notes Key OFDMA Intellectual Property for LTE, WiMAX

ADC announced that its OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access) multipoint-to-point technology has been recognized in the upcoming update of "WiMAX/LTE IPR and Market Impact Report" from broadband wireless and WiMAX industry research and analysis firm Maravedis Inc. The Maravedis report also noted Alcatel-Lucent, Nokia, Huawei, AT&T, Nortel and Ericsson as companies with key 4G technologies.


OFDMA technology divides available bandwidth into many orthogonal subcarriers, which can be dynamically allocated to multiple users as needed. This flexibility in bandwidth allocation, along with OFDM's resistance to multipath effects, makes OFDMA the technology of choice for 4G networks trying to push the envelope of bandwidth efficiency.


ADC noted that its effort to break into the broadband data transport market began in the early 1990s, when it launched an a $250 million R&D effort supported by some 200 engineers. The company brought to market synchronized OFDMA, an industry-first synchronized multipoint-to-point system leveraging the advantages of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing with sub-channelization in an upstream channel to achieve dramatic improvements in transmission efficiency. After this period of intense development, ADC successfully built and deployed more than 100,000 OFDMA modems. The U.S. Patent Office has issued more than 40 patents to ADC and dozens of additional applications are pending.


An executive summary of Maravedis' "WiMAX/LTE IPR and Market Impact Report" and ordering information for the 4G report can be viewed by visiting www.maravedis-bwa.com.http://www.adc.com

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CenturyTel to Acquire EMBARQ

CenturyTel agreed to acquire EMBARQ, creating one of the leading communications companies in the United States. The two companies have a combined operating presence in 33 states with approximately eight million access lines and two million broadband customers. The combined company is expected to have pro forma revenue in excess of $8.8 billion, pro forma EBITDA of approximately $4.2 billion, pro forma leverage of 2.1 times EBITDA and pro forma free cash flow of approximately $1.8 billion, based on anticipated full run-rate synergies and operating results for the twelve months ended September 30, 2008.


EMBARQ, which was formerly Sprint's Local Telecommunications Division, was spun out as an independent company in 2006.


Under the terms of the agreement, EMBARQ shareholders will receive 1.37 CenturyTel shares for each share of EMBARQ common stock they own. Based on the closing stock price for CenturyTel on October 24, 2008, this consideration would be equivalent to $40.42 of CenturyTel stock for each EMBARQ share, representing a premium to EMBARQ shareholders of approximately 36% over EMBARQ's closing stock price on Friday.


The transaction reflects an enterprise value of approximately $11.6 billion, including the assumption of $5.8 billion of EMBARQ's debt. Upon closing of the transaction, EMBARQ shareholders are expected to own approximately 66% and CenturyTel shareholders are expected to own approximately 34% of the combined company.


The companies said their merger will generate synergies of approximately $400 million annually within the first three years of operation. Key drivers of these synergies include reduction of corporate overhead, elimination of duplicate functions, enhanced revenue opportunities and increased operational efficiencies through the adoption of best practices and capabilities from each company.


Glen Post will be Chief Executive Officer, Tom Gerke will assume the role of executive Vice-Chairman of the Board, Karen Puckett will be Chief Operating Officer and Stewart Ewing will serve as Chief Financial Officer.


Corporate headquarters will be in Monroe, Louisiana. The combined company will also maintain a significant presence in Overland Park, Kansas.


The name of the combined company will be determined prior to the close of the transaction.


http://www.centurytel.comhttp://www.embarq.com

• In March 2008, Embarq named Tom A. Gerke, 51, as its new CEO. Since January 2007 he has led EMBARQ's Wholesale Markets business unit, while continuing to lead the company's legal, regulatory and external affairs functions. Before joining EMBARQ, in connection with its spin-off from Sprint Nextel, he held a variety of leadership roles at Sprint Nextel, including executive vice president and general counsel.



• In December 2007, Sprint Nextel named Daniel R. Hesse, as its new president and CEO. He previously was chairman, president and CEO of Embarq, which was previously Sprint's Local Telecommunications Division.

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AT&T Expands U-verse TV channel Lineup

AT&T announced several additions to its U-verse TV channel lineup, including more than 30 new HD channels and new international programming packages for Chinese, Polish, Russian, French and European-sports audiences.

Beginning Nov. 3, U-verse TV customers will receive up to 30 new HD channels at no additional charge as part of their existing HD service subscription, depending on their programming package. With the additions, U-verse TV offers more than 75 HD channels -- exceeding the HD channel lineups offered by the major local cable providers in every U-verse market.http://www.att.com

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ZeroG Wireless Secures $17 Million for Low-Power Wi-Fi

ZeroG Wireless, a start-up based in Sunnyvale, California, closed $17 million in Series B funding for its development of low-power Wi-Fi chips. The company is focused on "Long Tail" market segments that were previously unserved by Wi-Fi. Such Wi-Fi applications could include Smart Energy, consumer electronics, home and building controls, portable medical devices, sensor networks, etc. Product plans have not been disclosed.


The funding round was led by Battery Ventures with both Morgenthaler Ventures and Greylock Partners returning as investors in this second round funding.


"We are on the edge of a dramatic shift in how people connect with 'things,'" said John Cummins, CEO, ZeroG Wireless. "In five years it will be hard to find an electronic device that is not connected to the internet," Cummins continued. "This funding will enable ZeroG to deliver products that will connect billions of new devices to the massive Wi-Fi infrastructure."http://www.zerogwireless.com

• ZeroG Wireless is headed by John D. Cummins, who previously spent six years at Agere Systems/Lucent Microelectronics, where he was most recently Vice President responsible for the Greater China region. The company's technical team is headed by Dr. Thomas H. Lee, who is concurrently a tenured professor at Stanford University, and Dr. Andrew N. Karanicolas, who previously was the Design Director at True Circuits, where he was responsible for the design and development of PLL and DLL IP for precision clock generation and memory interface applications in CMOS technologies.

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Mformation: 80% of Mobile Subscribers Seek Personalization

Consumers want to be able to choose from a range of applications and services and then tailor them to their needs when buying a new phone. According to new research commissioned by mobile device management (MDM) specialist Mformation,
80 percent of respondents indicated that they would use mobile services more if greater personalization were possible. 67 percent of mobile subscribers stated they would be willing to pay a premium to personalize their mobile devices and the applications and services on them. Other key findings from the survey include:

• Over two thirds (68%) of mobile users find buying a phone frustrating when they know that there are applications and services on it that they will never use.



• Revenue-generating mobile data services such as mobile email (43%), Internet (51%) and picture messaging (46%) are gaining ground as the most frequently used applications.



• There are still a large number of people who never or rarely use these applications (email -- 57 %, Internet -- 49%, picture messaging -- 54%).



• More than half of people who don't currently have access to these applications would use them if they were made available in a simple and compelling manner (email -- 62%, Internet -- 58%, picture messaging -- 68%).



• 94 percent of consumers are already attempting to personalize their phones with items like specific ringtones or accessories.



• 89 percent said that they would like a higher level of personalization through the ability to pick and mix applications, services, and other characteristics of the handset such as form factors and designs.



• 81 percent would switch to a provider that offered greater choice for customization.

http://www.mformation.com

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Telstra's 1.28 Tbps Endeavour Cable Enters Commercial Service

"Telstra Endeavour", a new 9,120-kilometer submarine cable linking Australia and the United States, has gone live.

The new cable, which can carry up to 1.28 Terabits per second of traffic, is named for Captain Cook's flagship Endeavour. The cable took 18 months to build and has been transmitting data since mid September.


"This is the first international cable to be laid out of Australia in seven years and is the only Australian cable that is 100% owned and operated by an Australian company - Telstra. It's now been activated and is open for business," Kate McKenzie, Group Managing Director Telstra Wholesale, said this project t will benefit all Telstra customers.http://www.telstra.com

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NTT DOCOMO Selects Fujitsu + NSN for Super 3G/LTE Core

NTT DOCOMO has selected Fujitsu to provide Nokia Siemens Networks' core technology for its Super 3G / Long Term Evolution core network. Fujitsu and Nokia Siemens Networks have agreed to cooperate on jointly developing the Service Architecture Evolution (SAE) Gateway, including the Serving Gateway and the PDN Gateway, for the Super 3G project's Long Term Evolution (LTE) core. Financial terms were not disclosed.


The selection of SAE Gateway vendors means NTT DOCOMO is on track to be among the world's first operators to introduce LTE into its network.


Nokia Siemens Networks noted that it has supplied core network solutions worldwide that support over 1 billion subscribers and that it was the first to introduce "flat architecture" through Internet HSPA and Direct Tunnel, key evolutionary steps towards LTE.


"We are very pleased to be working with Fujitsu and NTT DoCoMo to advance the progress of LTE," said Juergen Walter, Head of Converged Core, Nokia Siemens Networks. "It is a testament to the quality of our LTE solution and our commitment to the Japanese market."http://www.nsn.comhttp://www.fujitsu.com

• In March 2008, NTT DoCoMo demonstrated a downlink transmission rate of 250 Mbps
  
  over a high-speed wireless network in an outdoor test of an experimental Super 3G system for mobile communications. The "Super 3G" system trial has been underway using an actual wireless environment near its R&D labs in Yokosuka, just south of Tokyo, since February. The test involves four Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) antennas for base-station transmission and mobile-station reception in the 20MHz bandwidth, the maximum under new Super 3G standards. DoCoMo said it is continuing to test connection handover from one base station to another, and the functionality of applications in indoor and outdoor environments.
  
  
  Super 3G, which features low-latency data transmission and high spectrum efficiency, is an evolution beyond the High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) and High-Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA) protocols of W-CDMA, an original technology for 3G packet transmissions. Super 3G, also known as Long Term Evolution (LTE), is being standardized by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) and core specifications have been approved already.
  
  
  

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