CenturyLink Begins Operations

CenturyTel and Embarq completed their merger. The combined company, which will be known as CenturyLink, serves more than 2.1 million broadband customers, more than 440,000 video subscribers and approximately 7.5 million access lines in 33 states, based on operating results as of March 31, 2009.


"The completion of this merger is a significant event for our customers, communities, investors and employees," said Glen F. Post III, president and chief executive officer. "CenturyLink has the advanced networks, the people and the financial stability to deliver the reliable and innovative services that our customers want and need. We look forward to this exciting new chapter in our company's history."


CenturyLink expects to generate annual full run-rate operating and capital synergies of approximately $400 million by 2011. Based on this synergy level and operating results of the two companies for the twelve months ended Dec. 31, 2008, CenturyTel would have had combined revenue of more than $8 billion, combined operating cash flow of over $4.2 billion and combined free cash flow of approximately $1.9 billion.
http://www.centurylink.com

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AT&T, BT and Tata Complete Mulit-carrier Cisco TelePresence Call

AT&T, BT, and Tata Communications completed the industry's first multipoint, intercompany Cisco TelePresence meeting across multiple carrier networks. AT&T, BT and Tata, together with Cisco, demonstrated the technical ability for a Cisco TelePresence user to call others on any carrier network with high levels of security and reliability.


The demonstration, which occurred at the Cisco Live 2009 event, connected the following sites on AT&T, BT, and Tata Communication's networks:

• AT&T Telepresence Solution sites in Bedminster and Morristown, N.J., and Chicago, Ill.



• A BT site in Colorado Springs, Colorado



• A Cisco site at Cisco Live in San Francisco



• Tata sites in Boston and London

Cisco noted that more than 350 organizations to date have selected Cisco TelePresence for more than 2,300 rooms. Cisco has also installed more than 500 Cisco TelePresence rooms on its own internal network.


"Inter-carrier connectivity is the next step in building out telepresence for improved collaboration for businesses throughout the world. With the AT&T Telepresence Solution we are providing companies today with the ability to interact with customers or other key businesses in a highly-secure environment. Looking to the future, AT&T is committed to working with other network service providers to bring this proof of concept to market as soon as possible," stated Bill Archer, chief marketing officer, AT&T Business Solutions.
http://www.cisco.com

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MAGPI Deploys Ciena to Link Federal Research Labs

The Mid-Atlantic Gigapop for Internet2 (MAGPI), an Information Systems and Computing organization based at the University of Pennsylvania, has deployed Ciena's CN 4200 FlexSelect Advanced Services Platform. The network delivers high performance connectivity among multiple research labs located at Princeton University's Forrestal Campus and the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Energy Sciences Network 4 (ESnet4), which operates over Internet2's nationwide infrastructure. ESnet4 provides the DOE with a dynamic and reliable communications infrastructure and leading-edge network services to foster greater scientific collaboration to support the agency's research projects and goals.


Ciena's CN 4200 is supporting new 10 GbE service, replacing the previous generation of 155 Mbps links. Ciena's CN 4200 enables high-performance optical transport with rapid provisioning, no packet loss and low, deterministic latency.
http://www.ciena.com/researchandeducation

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The State of Utah Connects with Qwest Ethernet

The State of Utah has chosen Qwest Communications to deliver a cost-saving, converged voice and data network.

Qwest has begun connecting 300 locations in Salt Lake City and along Utah's Wasatch Front using Qwest's Metro Optical Ethernet (QMOE) data networking platform. Thirty government sites have already been connected as part of the 3-year, $7.2 million agreement. Qwest's network delivers up to 1 Gbps per site.
http://www.qwest.com

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AT&T Unveils Embedded 3G Netbook and Laptop

AT&T is now offering Acer, HP and Panasonic netbooks and laptops featuring embedded 3G wireless connectivity. The products are being

http://www.att.com

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Alcatel-Lucent Releases Eco-Efficient DSLAM

Alcatel-Lucent introduced a high-capacity and eco-efficient digital subscriber line (DSL) platform that it calculates will consume up to 25% less power compared to conventional DSL solutions. The reduced power consumption is achieved using the latest generation of DSL line cards, the company's unique distributed DSLAM concept and Alcatel-Lucent's Smart DSL technology.


Alcatel-Lucent said its latest ISAM release is also the first commercially-available DSL platform for ETSI markets that delivers 50 Mbps to all users -- with peaks up to 100 Mbps -- using new, third generation VDSL line cards.


"Today, standards exist that allow modems to go in a low-power mode when user traffic is low. However, re-activating these modems causes power fluctuations -- resulting in crosstalk and destabilizing the network," said Jürgen Lison, Vice-President of Alcatel-Lucent's ISAM product unit. "Alcatel-Lucent's green DSL provides operators with a unique, end-to-end solution that overcomes these issues -- enabling a significant reduction of the modems' power consumption across a service provider's subscriber base without causing any line stability issues. This is a value proposition that cannot be provided by any other vendor in the industry today."


"Release-4 of the ISAM platform puts Alcatel-Lucent more than one year ahead of its competitors," said Dave Geary, President of Alcatel-Lucent's Wireline Networks activities. "The ISAM platform enables our customers to deliver the most bandwidth-intensive services over their copper architectures, by leveraging -- for instance - last-mile bonding support, which is a first in ETSI markets. We are confident that our ‘more bandwidth with less power' value proposition will again create a big stir in the DSL industry -- just as the launch of the ISAM platform five years ago."http://www.alcatel-lucent.com

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NTT DOCOMO Selects Alcatel-Lucent for LTE Backhaul

NTT DOCOMO has selected Alcatel-Lucent' Ethernet transmission solution to provide the backhaul network of its Long Term Evolution (LTE) service. Financial terms were not disclosed.


Alcatel-Lucent said its packet optical gear will provide NTT DOCOMO with cost-effective and flexible Ethernet-based aggregation and transport from the base stations to the core network. Specifically, the Alcatel-Lucent solution, based on the 1850 Transport Service Switch (TSS) and its universal switching technology, will provide multipoint Ethernet connections between cell sites supported by strong operations, administration and maintenance capabilities, as well as carrier-class protection and network management.
http://www.nttdocomo.com
http://www.alcatel-lucent.com

• In October 2008, NTT DoCoMo announced plans to roll-out LTE from 2010, as one of the first adopters in the world. NTT DoCoMo has demonstrated LTE downlink transmission rates of 250 Mbps in outdoor tests conducted by its R&D labs in Yokosuka, just south of Tokyo.

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Alcatel-Lucent + Reliance Joint Venture Completes 1st Anniversary

Alcatel-Lucent Managed Services, the first of its kind managed network services joint venture company of Alcatel-Lucent and Reliance Communications, completed its first year of operations. The joint venture was launched in July 2008 to establish a cost-effective delivery hub for global services business.


The initial phase of the JV spanned through July to September 2008 wherein CDMA and GSM operations and maintenance of 5 circles (Maharashtra and Goa, Mumbai, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh) were successfully transitioned. In the second phase, on October 2008, Reliance Communications handed over the rest of India's operations. Alcatel-Lucent Managed Services now manages Reliance's pan India CDMA & GSM network covering approx 80 million subscribers and providing coverage to more than 2 million km2 of area. This makes Alcatel-Lucent the only vendor entrusted with the complete pan India, multi-vendor, multi-technology mobility network operations for a telecom service provider.


The 5-year agreement signed last year by Alcatel-Lucent and Reliance Communications is valued about USD 750 million. It is one of the largest multi-vendor managed services deal in the world and the first for multi-technology managed services in India (both CDMA and GSM).
http://www.alcatel-lucent.com

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USDA Makes Available $4 Billion for Broadband Stimulus Projects

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Obama administration announced the availability of $4 billion in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act loans and grants to help bring broadband service to un-served and underserved communities across America.


The Recovery Act provided a total of $7.2 billion to the Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service (RUS) to accelerate broadband deployment in areas of the country that have been without the high-speed infrastructure. Of that funding, NTIA will utilize $4.7 billion to deploy broadband infrastructure in un-served and underserved areas in the United States, expand public computer center capacity and encourage sustainable adoption of broadband service. RUS will invest $2.5 billion to facilitate broadband deployment in rural communities.


NTIA and RUS will be accepting applications for loans, grants and loan/grant combinations to be awarded by each agency under a single application form. Applications will be accepted beginning July 14, 2009, through 5:00 p.m. EDT on August 14, 2009.


This is the first of three rounds of funding the Agriculture and Commerce Departments will provide.


Public workshops in July to share information about the funding availabilities and the application process. Forums will be held in Boston, Mass.; Charleston, W.Va.; Minneapolis, Minn.; Memphis, Tenn.; Lonoke, Ark.; Birmingham, Ala.; Billings, Mont.; Albuquerque, N.M.; and Los Angeles, Calif.

http://www.broadbandusa.govhttp://www.usda.gov

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CableLabs Publishes Interactive and Advanced Advertising Specs

CableLabs published new set of specifications to further the development of cable advertising and other interactive products.


CableLabs' Stewardship and Fulfillment Interfaces (or SaFI) comprise a set of component specifications that will allow cable companies to provide more innovative types of advanced ads, such as interactive advertising, advertising within existing video on demand platforms, and advanced forms of addressable advertising.


CableLabs said its new SaFI interfaces will allow multi-system operators (MSOs) to offer such ad products with consistent technologies, metrics and interfaces across a national footprint. Consistent metrics will and interfaces will help MSOs deliver timely and usable measurements to their advertising customers. The SaFI specs were developed and will be maintained by a CableLabs Working Group composed of MSO, Canoe and CableLabs technical leads, with selective input from the vendor community.


The SaFI specification includes the following component pieces:


1. Service Measurement Summary Interface (SMSI)--enables MSOs to export information about the execution of a campaign.


2. Interactive Fulfillment Summary Interface (IAF)--provides a means for messaging generated by an interactive application to be exposed to an external entity.


3. Interactive Application Messaging Platform (IAM)--provides a critical interface between interoperable applications (apps distributed to more than one MSO) and MSO systems, defining the common form of messages instantiated by interoperable apps and how MSO systems decode them.


4. Campaign Information Package Interface (CIP)--provides information to the MSOs on the configuration of application messaging processing, such as identifiers relevant to the messages.
http://www.cablelabs.com

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Terrestar-1 -- World's Largest Commercial Satellite -- Enters Orbit

Terrestar-1, the largest and most powerful commercial satellite to date, was successfully launched into geostationary orbit aboard an Ariane 5 rocket from the spaceport in French Guiana.


TerreStar-1 will be located at an orbital position of 111 deg. West, offering integrated satellite and terrestrial mobile services across the United States and Canada using conventionally-sized dual mode handsets. The hybrid satellite/terrestrial architecture ensures mobile coverage in rural areas across the continent or in cases where the conventional terrestrial services become unavailable.


The satellite, which weighs a record 6,910 kg and was built at Space Systems/Loral's Palo Alto, California facility, operates in two 10-Mhz blocks of contiguous MSS spectrum in the 2 GHz band throughout the United States and Canada - with a spectrum footprint that covers a population of nearly 330 million. The satellite uniquely features an 18-meter deployable reflector and an S-band feed array with 500 spot beams.


TerreStar has worked with EB (Elektrobit) to develop an integrated satellite-terrestrial smartphone with quad-band GSM and tri-band WCDMA/HSPA capabilities.

In addition to seamless satellite/terrestrial voice handovers, the smartphone is capable of SMS, MMS, IM, Email, Push to Talk and Location Based Services (LBS). Notably, TerreStar will use an all-IP core network, with services based on IMS.


TerreStar is also working to integrate Qualcomm's EV-DO-based satellite communications technology into an Alcatel-Lucent base station. The satellite-adapted EV-DO base stations -- developed by Alcatel-Lucent -- will form key components of TerreStar's integrated satellite-terrestrial network.


"Today's launch is just the beginning of the TerreStar story," said TerreStar President, Jeff Epstein. "We believe there are tremendous opportunities ahead - in both the commercial and government sectors - and we remain focused on our promise to help solve the critical communications and business continuity challenges faced by government, emergency responders, enterprises and rural communities."





http://www.terrestar.com
http://www.terrestar.com

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FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski Sworn In, Adelstein Departs

Julius Genachowski was sworn in as Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission.


In comments to the FCC staff, Genachowski outlined a vision of a more connected America, focusing on the following goals:

• Promoting universal broadband that's robust, affordable and open.



• Pursuing policies that promote job creation, competition, innovation and investment.



• Protecting and empowering consumers and families.



• Helping deliver public safety communications networks with the best technology to serve our firefighters, police officers, and other first responders.



• Advancing a vibrant media landscape, in these challenging times, that serves the public interest in the 21st century.



• Seizing the opportunity for the United States to lead the world in mobile communications.
  

In addition, Jonathan Adelstein stepped down as an FCC Commissioner to take up a new post at the Department of Agriculture,
where he will head the Rural Utilities Service.
http://www.fcc.gov

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Sprint Wins Exclusive Wireless Data Contract for 2010 Census

Harris Corporation, the system integrator for the upcoming 2010 U.S. census, has selected Sprint as the exclusive wireless data provider to help automate the process and to provide wireline and wireless data support to collect the information in real-time. Financial terms were not disclosed.


Beginning in April 2009, approximately 140,000 field workers carried the Harris custom-built devices operating on the Sprint network, with the ability to transmit collected data back to the Census Bureau in near real-time. In addition to their unique data collection capabilities, all hand held devices were equipped with GPS capabilities (allowing workers to verify addresses remotely without relying on printed maps) and fingerprint ID scanning for added security.


In addition, Sprint is providing several other solutions for this program, including:

• Approximately 500 Sprint Global MPLS sites across United States, allowing local Census offices to connect on a single IP-based network



• Roughly 1,500 managed devices including routers, switches, firewalls and Intrusion Detection Service (IDS) for additional security



• More than 150,000 active telemetry wireless devices that will allow workers to collect data remotely, resulting in more accurate reporting and substantially less use of paper



• About 1,500 mobile broadband connection cards



• Significant professional services and integration expertise such as on-site security management, dedicated program management, and data center hosting services from Sprint, providing the critical infrastructure "glue" for one of the most complex activities of 2010.

http://www.sprint.com

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Mushroom Networks' PortaBella CPE Aggregates Up to Four Cellular Data Cards

Mushroom Networks, a start-up based in San Diego, introduced its second generation "PortaBella" -- a customer premise device that can aggregate up to four USB cellular data cards into a single broadband pipe. For example, the PortaBella can aggregate the full bandwidth of a Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile data cards (or any other carrier) to access the Internet or stream video with low latency with four times the speed of a single cellular air-card.


"PortaBella provides the fastest available wireless Internet connection where ever there is cellular coverage," stated Dr. Cahit Akin, co-founder and CEO of Mushroom Networks. "Our technology is truly a game changer not only for the enterprise and sales teams but for anyone requiring a portable instant connection to the net such as temporary construction sites, mobile news teams streaming live video, or maritime. Just think of all the possibilities; PortaBella inside a taxi cab, bus or train or deployed in areas impacted by a natural disaster."


Mushroom Networks is actively pursuing channel partners to expand PortaBella's reach across its targeted verticals.
http://www.mushroomnetworks.com

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Brookhaven National Labs Selects Force10

The U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Labs has selected Force10 Networks' ExaScale family of virtualized switch/routers to help power its network. ExaScale was chosen largely based on its industry-leading density and performance characteristics, which are required to satisfy the needs of its ongoing scientific research as well as the day-to-day operations of its campus LAN. Force10's ExaScale E-Series offers support for 140 line-rate 10 GbE SFP+ ports per chassis. In addition to capacity, the E1200 delivers an total throughput of more than two billion packets per second across a switching fabric capacity of up to 3.5 Tbps or 250 Gbps full duplex per slot.
http://www.force10networks.com

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Zhone's New MXK Terabit Platform Gains RUS Acceptance

Zhone Technologies' new MXK platform has been accepted by the US Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service (RUS) for use by RUS program participants. RUS and the National Telecommunications and Information Agency (NTIA) are responsible for dispersing the $7.2 billion in economic stimulus funding allocated for broadband initiatives under the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).
http://www.zhone.com

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GENBAND and BroadSoft Deliver Legacy Switch Migration Solution

GENBAND and BroadSoft announced a new set of solutions that enable carriers to upgrade their networks while supporting legacy features. The two companies have integrated GENBAND's gateways with BroadSoft's hosted telephony and multimedia applications.

When the GENBAND/BroadSoft solution is deployed for TDM switch replacement, carriers can implement an integrated platform:

• Residential Broadband -- delivering primary-line services to residential consumers and home offices over any broadband or legacy connection, including GR-303, V5.2 and TR-08



• Business Connectivity -- connecting legacy Customer Premises Equipment (CPE), such as IP PBX, PBX or Key Telephone Systems, to the PSTN over any form of IP connectivity



• Hosted PBX-- delivering a complete suite of enhanced PBX functionality over any IP connection



• IP Peering and Transport -- lowering total cost of operation and increasing network efficiency and operational simplicity

http://www.genband.com
http://www.BroadSoft.com

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Xena Networks Launches GbE/10GbE Test Platform

Xena Networks, a start-up based in Copenhagen, released its "XenaCompact" GbE/10GbE test platform. The XenaCompact provides wire-speed L2/L3 traffic generation and analysis capabilities in a compact one rack-unit form factor.

Each unit supplies up to six GbE ports or two 10GbE ports in a variety of copper and optical interfaces. The XenaManager test management software provides an intuitive graphical user interface requiring little to no training to use. And, a flexible scripting interface enables test engineers using the XenaCompact to implement a wide range of test setups including those requiring interoperability with 3rd party test tools.

"As part of a cooperative test project between Internet2 in the United States and DANTE in the United Kingdom, MCNC used the XenaCompact to test and characterize various combinations of network equipment we use to terminate transatlantic OC-192 circuits with 10GbE customer interfaces", said John Moore, Advanced Services Director at MCNC. "There has been great interest in the research and education community for a network test tool like Xena's that provides the ability to accurately characterize the performance of a 10GbE network at a practical price point", continued Moore.
http://www.xenanetworks.com

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Florida's Rybovich Super Yacht Marina Deploys Alloptic for Fiber-to-the-Slip

Rybovich Super Yacht Marina and Refit has deployed the Alloptic GEPON solution to its 60 yacht slips and throughout the 12 acre Rybovich property in West Palm Beach, Florida.

"Rybovich is known for its world-class accommodations and service. By deploying Alloptic's fiber optic infrastructure across our property we increase the value we provide to our captains and their crews," said John Vander Wagen, CIO, Rybovich Super Yacht Marina and Refit. "Prior to the Alloptic deployment our customers used their satellite connections for day-to-day business -- which in general was expensive and slow. Today, all mega-yachts docked at Rybovich Super Yacht Marina and Refit can securely access our dedicated, high-speed Internet and phone services at their slip allowing them to conduct business without the additional fees of expensive satellite connections."

Nature also factored into the decision to employ Alloptic's fiber-optic infrastructure. "Our copper system lasted only three years in these challenging conditions. We expect that fiber will last us 10-20 years and overall is much more reliable than copper," continued John Vander Wagen. By locating Alloptic's Optical Network Units (ONUs) in self-drying power pedestal enclosures at each slip, Rybovich Super Yacht Marina and Refit protects its investment against the ever-changing and sometimes harsh environmental conditions.
http://www.alloptic.com

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Marriott to Offer AT&T Telepresence Worldwide

Marriott International will offer AT&T's fully-managed AT&T Telepresence Solution in its hotels worldwide. Marriott said this technology will enable it to offer customers the widest array of meeting options, whether in-person, virtual or both.
http://www.marriott.com

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AT&T to Convert 600 Service Vans to CNG

AT&T has selected Dallas-based BAF Technologies to convert 600 Ford E-Series vans to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) technology in 2009.




AT&T expects to spend an estimated $350 million to purchase about 8,000 CNG vehicles as part of a $565 million, long-term strategy to deploy more than 15,000 alternative-fuel vehicles over the next 10 years. AT&T's investment represents the largest U.S. corporate commitment to CNG vehicles to date. The new deployments will bring AT&T's alternative-fuel fleet to more than 15,000 vehicles by 2019.


AT&T will work with natural gas service providers to build up to 40 new CNG fueling stations across its operating region to provide the fueling infrastructure needed for the new vehicles.


In addition to deploying CNG vehicles, AT&T has committed to replacing retiring gasoline-powered passenger vehicles in its fleet with alternative-fuel models. AT&T expects to replace 7,100 passenger cars over the next 10 years. The alternative-fuel vehicles, which will be used by employees in a variety of diverse work functions across AT&T's operations, are expected to offer up to a 39 percent improvement in fuel economy and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 29 percent.
http://www.att.com/sustainability

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Spirent Delives Test Lab Automation Solution

Spirent Communications introduced a broad set of tools designed to automate the testing process and save engineers and their organizations time and money. "Spirent NoCode" is an integrated, modular, multi-vendor, multi-layer test framework with test and lab management capabilities covering operations, test, systems and device automation.


The company said its solution covers the entire breadth of test automation requirements, streamlining the efforts associated with managing physical infrastructure, integrating and configuring the test environment, authoring and executing test cases, as well as orchestrating entire test campaigns.The NoCode solutions:

• Spirent NoCode Physical Infrastructure helps engineers realize true
  lab automation and cost-reduction through the optimization and promotion of sharing lab equipment by job scheduling and use of transparent switching infrastructure. Ultimately, organizations can better manage the costs related to utilizing equipment and more easily maintain global test equipment assets.



• Spirent NoCode Environment enhances collaboration in the lab by integrating and streamlining automation processes within existing infrastructures, supports a standardized communication platform for configuration of devices and implementation, and automates
  configuration and pass/fail criteria within tests.



• Spirent NoCode Test Case allows engineers to author test cases and convert them into executable scripts without coding. Users can specify test logic in a GUI to realistically emulate network activity, analyze results and uncover bugs. This approach allows users not skilled in
  programming to quickly build automated test cases.



• Spirent NoCode Test Cycle supports a complete regression environment and enables the optimization and execution of test cases based on available test resources as well as the valuable measurement of
  operational performance.

Spirent NoCode solutions are designed in accordance with the automation framework defined by the Test Automation Alliance (TAA). http://www.spirentcom.com/

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Korean Carriers Debut Rich Communication Suite-Based Service

KT, SK Telecom and LG Telecom have launched the world's first interoperable enhanced communication service incorporating key elements of the GSMA's Rich Communication Suite (RCS) specifications.


KT's 'show moov', SK Telecom's 'Mobile Messenger' and LG Telecom's 'OZ messenger', incorporate key features of RCS such as phonebook driven buddy lists, presence capability that includes taglines and status, and voice calls and messaging. In essence, RCS unleashes the communities hidden in a user's phone book and with one simple click, the 'always on' user can share lifestyle experiences and emotions using rich content such as images and video amongst their closest 'buddies'.


KT's 'show moov' client application is available for mobile and PC platforms, so users can access RCS services from mobile and fixed terminals, which is a key feature of the RCS specifications developed by the GSMA. Also, SK Telecom and KT are actively collaborating with fixed line services. For instance, KT 'show moov' is integrated with one of Korea's major portal's e-mail, search services and SK Telecom' s mobile messenger is linked with one of Korea's most popular messenger 'Nate On Messenger'.


The GSMA noted that its RCS initiative is supported by some of the world's leading handset vendors, core network vendors and mobile operators.
http://www.gsmworld.com

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NTT Communications to to Acquire Integralis for Security Services

NTT Communications has agreed to acquire Integralis AG, a leading international provider of IT security services, at an offering price of EUR 6.75 in cash per share. The offer price represents a 70 percent premium over the three-month average closing share price on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (Xetra).


Based on the number of Integralis shares outstanding, the offer would represent an equity value for Integralis of approximately Euro 75 million. Integralis has 511 employees and realized revenues of EUR 169 million in 2008.


NTT Com said the acquisition will add a market-leading security services platform to its portfolio. NTT Com will offer the enterprise security service to its clients around the world. Customers of NTT Com will, for example, benefit from Integralis worldwide network of security operation centers, which provide a 24 hour service for multinational companies. After the transaction, Integralis will become a lead global IT security unit within NTT Com and will gain access to the large customer base of NTT Com.


In early 2008, NTT DATA, a sister company of NTT Com, acquired a majority stake in German SAP specialist intelligence. In the same year, the acquisition of a majority stake in Cirquent, the former IT consulting unit of BMW, followed. Both companies have performed very well since the beginning of the cooperation.
http://www.ntt.com
http://www.Integralis.com

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Hatteras Extends EFM to 25+ Miles with Repeaters

Hatteras Networks introduced its HN239 Repeater and HNLPM8 Line Power Modules for its EFM product family. The new repeaters enable the use of Mid-Band Ethernet beyond the traditional distance limitations of copper services, reaching sites more than 25 miles (40km) from the nearest serving office. They are designed to extend higher rates for Ethernet business services and mobile backhaul applications, enabling service providers to bring much greater bandwidth over bonded copper to remote cell towers and DSLAMs.


"With the Hatteras Repeaters now installed, we are able to more cost-effectively deliver business services to our customers living and working in Southern Utah and Northern Arizona at far greater rates and distances than traditional T1s," said Jody Davis, Inside Plant Manager at South Central Communications, one of the largest employers and telecommunication companies in Southern Utah. "Installation was very easy and efficient and we plan to deploy more Hatteras Repeaters in the future to meet growing customer demands."http://www.hatterasnetworks.com

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NTT Com to Offer SLA for Global IPv6 Services

NTT Communications will launch a service-level agreement (SLA) guaranteeing 100% network availability, as well as latency and packet loss levels, to customers using IPv6 services provided on NTT Com's global Tier 1* IP backbone network beginning July 1.


If the services do not achieve the quality levels guaranteed under the SLA, NTT Com will refund all, or a pro-rated amount, of the customer's service fee.


The maximum average time for round-trip packet communication (maximum latency) in a given month is guaranteed in each of four regions is as follows. Packet loss is guaranteed to be less than 0.3% on a calendar month basis in all four regions.


SLAs will be offered for the following three existing services:

• Option service of Transit Service, IPv6/IPv4 Dual Service (provides both IPv6 and IPv4 connectivity to Tier 1 IP backbone using only one access circuit)


• Option service of Collocation Transit Service, IPv6/IPv4 Dual Service (provides data center customers with IPv6 and IPv4 connectivity to Tier 1 IP backbone)


• IPv6 Native Service (provides IPv6 connectivity to Tier 1 IP backbone)

Going forward, NTT Com expects to offer SLA guarantees in other major regions of the world.


NTT Com launched the world's first commercial IPv6 connectivity service in 2001.
http://www.ntt.co.jp

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CloudSwitch Secures $8 Million in Funding

CloudSwitch, a start-up based in Burlington, Mass., secured $8 million in series B funding for a software based appliance for cloud computing. The company has not yet published any product plans, but said its CloudSwitch software appliance will enable enterprises to benefit from the cloud's dramatic improvements in cost, rapid deployment and scaling. The company was co-founded by Ellen Rubin and John Considine in 2008. Rubin was an early member of the management team at Netezza Corporation (NYSE: NZ), the global market leader in data warehouse and analytic appliances. As Vice President of Marketing, Rubin helped build Netezza to over $125 million in revenue, 200 enterprise customers worldwide and a successful IPO in 2007. Considine was part of the early technology team at Pirus Networks, which was acquired by Sun Microsystems in 2002. From 2002 to 2008, Considine served as Director of Engineering for Sun's Platform Products Group.


The new funding round includes initial investors Matrix Partners and Atlas Venture and brings the company's total funding to more than $15 million.


CloudSwitch also announced John McEleney as its new Chief Executive Officer.
http://www.cloudswitch.com

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Lifeline Data Centers Selects Ciena

Lifeline Data Centers, an Indianapolis-based provider of strategic data center outsourcing facilities and services, has deployed Ciena's CN 4200 FlexSelect Advanced Services Platform to provide high-performance, low-latency connectivity over dark fiber between its existing data center in downtown Indianapolis and its new 460,000-square foot state-of-the-art data center facility twelve miles outside of the city.

Lifeline serves customers in the healthcare, retail, government, biotech and other industries.

As part of a project to dramatically expand its capacity, Lifeline is transforming the former Eastgate Mall -- one of Indianapolis' first retail shopping centers -- into a data center, which currently includes 65,000 square feet of space and will ultimately house 460,000 square feet spread across five buildings on the property.
http://www.ciena.com

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Vodafone Essar Completes Indian Expansion with NSN

Vodafone Essar has completed a rapid service expansion into seven new regions across India. People living in or traveling to Assam, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, North East and Orissa will now be able to use services provided by India's second largest GSM operator. Nokia Siemens Networks, Vodafone Essar's existing infrastructure partner in 12 regions, undertook the new network roll out in just ten months.
http://www.nsn.com

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NSN Secures €250 million Loan from European Investment Bank

Nokia Siemens Networks has secured a EUR 250 million loan facility from the European Investment Bank for the development of its multimode Radio Access network technology. The loan provides financial support for conducting R&D in Europe for multiradio technology .


"Nokia Siemens Networks has some of Europe's most talented and innovative developers working on radio access network products that are setting standards across the industry and we are delighted that the value of that work has been recognized by the EIB with this facility," said Luca Maestri, Chief Financial Officer of Nokia Siemens Networks.


EIB Vice-President Eva Srejber said: "The EIB attaches particular importance to the development of a knowledge-based economy in the Union, which assures a long-term growth of European economies. We are happy to assist such promising initiatives."http://www.nokiasiemensnetworks.com

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Optical Internetworking Forum Publishes 100G Framework

The Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF) published a framework document that lays the foundation for its100G technical work. A product of the 100G collaboration announced last year by the OIF, the 100G LH DWDM Framework Document provides component vendors with the specificity needed to focus their 100G investments.


The OIF's 100G projects are targeted at producing specifications for the technically challenging application of DWDM 100G long haul transport interfaces over 50GHz spaced channels.


The Framework Document begins by identifying a modulation format that is used to drive key component design considerations for the integrated photonics transmitter and receiver, the electro-mechanical aspects of a line-side optical transceiver module, as well as for forward error correction. The sub-components are being specified in a modulation format independent manner where possible.


"The Framework Document provides the foundation that is needed to coordinate and advance the OIF 100G projects," said Jeff Hutchins, CoreOptics and an OIF board member. "The OIF's Working Groups are now able to develop implementation agreements for the key components necessary for cost effective 100G long haul transport."


"We are really encouraged by the OIF work on 100G," said Glenn Wellbrock, Director of Optical Transport, Network Architecture and Design for Verizon. "Bringing together multiple companies will allow the industry to work more quickly to implement 100G and help to both focus and minimize the industry's investment."


A copy of the Framework Document can be viewed at http://www.oiforum.com/public/documents/OIF-FD-100G-DWDM-01.0.pdfhttp://www.oiforum.com

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Taiwan's Chunghwa Tests Teknovus & ZyXEL for 10G-EPON

Chunghwa Telecom (CHT) has selected Teknovus and ZyXEL's 10G-EPON solution for testing by CHT's Lab. CHT began FTTx deployments in 2007 based on Teknovus' EPON chips, and is the first carrier worldwide to complete a formal evaluation and selection process for the next generation in PON solutions -- 10G-EPON.


CHT currently supports more than 1.1 million FTTx subscribers, representing 28% of all broadband subscribers. The carrier has plans to reach 3.5 million FTTx subscribers by 2011. CHT continues to add subscribers to its IPTV service "Multimedia-on-Demand," with almost 700,000 subscribers at the end of April 2009.


CHT began evaluation of next-generation FTTx options in early 2009. Key selection criteria included 1G/2.5G/10G coexistence, advanced traffic management, guaranteed end-to-end QoS (Quality of Service) for all subscriber types (single-family units, MDUs, small businesses, large enterprises), and low power consumption. Teknovus and ZyXEL's 10G-EPON solution met all of CHT's requirements and will be delivered in July, 2009.
http://www.teknovus.com
http://www.zyxel.com

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Comcast Begins Bundling WiMAX in Portland

Comcast launched a high-speed wireless data service Portland, Oregon -- the first market for the new Comcast High-Speed 2go service. Comcast's High-Speed 2go will be bundled with one or more of Comcast's Internet, phone and television products, providing mobile broadband where ever and whenever customers need to be connected.


Comcast is selling two different data cards and service plans:

• Comcast High-Speed 2go Metro service uses a 4G-only data card giving customers the fastest wireless service within the 4G metro coverage area. The Metro device operates only in a 4G service footprint.



• Comcast High-Speed 2go Nationwide service delivers the fastest metro 4G service plus coast-to-coast access on Sprint's national 3G network. The Nationwide device automatically switches between available 4G and 3G networks.

Comcast also will be selling High-Speed 2go to small-to-mid-sized businesses through Comcast Business Services sales teams.
http://www.comcast.com

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Juniper Enables Intelligent Services on Edge Routers

Juniper Networks introduced a series of product enhancements that integrate key service delivery and performance assurance functions directly within its edge routing platforms. Additionally, Juniper is delivering hardware and software features that reduce costs by enabling customers to leverage investments in legacy voice and data networking equipment while they migrate to next-generation IP transport networks and services.


The rollout includes an Integrated Multiservice Gateway (IMSG) solution that integrates standards-based session border control (SBC) signaling and media gateway functions with sophisticated, high performance routing and comprehensive security features that include intrusion prevention software, IPsec and firewall services.


Juniper said that by integrating these features to run on the Multiservices cards for the M and MX Series, its customers will be able to avoid the costs and complexity associated with deploying multiple service-specific appliances to perform each of these functions. Furthermore, integrating these functions within the routing infrastructure also provides greater scalability than discrete appliances -- and because the Multiservices cards provide dedicated processing resources, customers will be able to add these services without impacting the performance of other services running on the router.

Juniper estimates that by eliminating or reducing the need to deploy standalone appliances such as Session Border Controllers, the IMSG solution can reduce power consumption by 30 percent or more.

Juniper is also delivering hardware and software features for the CTP Series (for Circuit-to-Packet), BX Series Multi-Access Gateways, and M Series Multiservice Edge Routers that can ease the transition to next-generation IP infrastructure, while making maximum use of prior product investments. The BX Series and Circuit Emulation Physical Interface Cards (PICs) for the M Series provide reliable transport of TDM and voice traffic over an IP/MPLS network. New Voice Modules and software updates for the CTP Series provide analog voice, voice compression and echo cancellation support, which enable customers to reliably transport analog voice, serial data, and TDM based services over an IP/MPLS network.

Juniper is also introducing Telchemy embedded Performance Monitor (TePM), a comprehensive router-integrated IP performance management application that facilitates service-level monitoring and troubleshooting for a broad collection of IP services. By providing active network, session and application layer monitoring for a wide variety of IP voice and data services from within the routing infrastructure, TePM improves efficiency and eliminates the costs associated with deploying standalone monitoring or measurement appliances; this integration also brings the added benefits of increased scale, performance, and reliability.

TePM was developed by Telchemy, a Juniper Open IP Solution Development Program (OSDP) member and the leading provider of IP, VoIP and IP Video performance management solutions.
http://www.juniper.net

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Broadcom Raises its Emulex Offer from $9.25 to $11.00 Per Share

Broadcom raised its tender offer for all of the currently outstanding shares of common stock (including the associated preferred stock purchase rights) of Emulex (NYSE:ELX) from $9.25 to $11.00 per share in cash, representing a total equity value of approximately $912 million. As required by law, Broadcom will extend its tender offer for an additional 10 business days, until midnight New York City time, July 14, 2009.

http://www.broadcom.com

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Chelsio Adds Traffic Mgt to its Unified Wire Adapters

Chelsio Communications has added traffic management (TM) and filtering capabilities for its T3-based Unified Wire Adapters, enabling the efficient management of offloaded traffic and filtering of received packets for a wide range of virtualized application environments.


Chelsio's Unified Wire adapters are now able to shape and pace offloaded TCP traffic per connection or per arbitrary class and filter non-off-loaded (tunneled) received packets at 10Gb rate on the fly. The TM and filtering functions can be mixed and matched in a wide variety of applications, including storage virtualization, where traffic to each storage disk head must be regulated. Other applications include firewalls, LFN, and video/IPTV, in which video servers must be able to present predictable latency and bandwidth.
http://www.chelsio.com

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AT&T Teams with TDC for Services in Nordics

AT&T announced a partnership with TDC to jointly develop and deploy global service bundles and networking solutions for multinational companies, either headquartered or doing business in the Nordics. The deal combines TDC's portfolio, resources and coverage with AT&T's complementary portfolio of services and intelligent, highly-secure global networking platform.


TDC is the leading provider of communications solutions in Denmark and a strong player in the Nordic business market.


AT&T will also use its expanded agreement with IBM to develop and deploy solutions to companies in the Nordics. TDC will play a key role in helping AT&T to transition network management services for these customers to the new arrangement with AT&T.
http://www.att.com

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KT Achieves Seamless Wibro/3G/Wi-Fi Handovers with Stoke

KT successfully performed uninterrupted handover of a mobile data session between 3G, Wi-Fi, and WiBRO/WiMAX networks. The results were achieved by integrating software developed by KT Central R&D Laboratory, and Stoke's SSX-3000 mobile broadband access gateway. The solution uses MOBIKE, a standard protocol defined by the IETF that enables secure connection management while the mobile device changes access networks. The implementation is an overlay solution that does not require reconfiguring or changing any of the intermediary network elements -- no matter which wireless networks are involved.


"We explored a number of different techniques for achieving media-independent handover. In the end, Stoke's SSX-3000 Multi-Network Mobility Anchor capabilities, together with KT's own client software, enabled uninterrupted video, VoIP, and file transfer on a laptop while driving at 60Km/hour, managing sessions between WiBro & HSPA networks," said Hyung-Keun Ryu, Director, Wireless Technology Department at KT. "The SSX-3000 Mobility Anchor is purpose-designed to deliver very large volumes of secure subscriber sessions over different access networks and, with its high capacity throughput and small form factor, is ideally suited for this requirement."


Stoke said its Multi-Network Mobility Anchor provides operators the means to ensure a seamless user experience while optimizing traffic demand and costs across all of the wireless networks available to subscribers. This capability will improve the user experience by using the best available connection, improve broadband service coverage at a very low cost to the operator, and can improve operator data services profitability by offloading their cellular infrastructure."


"Mobile data subscribers care more about being connected than which network they are using, but currently they are forced to notice since their services are interrupted as they move," said Vikash Varma, president and CEO of Stoke. "For operators to rely on a single network to ensure total coverage does not make sense technically or financially. These trials demonstrate to operators that a major barrier to convergence has been removed and signals that KT's convergence capabilities are placing KT at the forefront of mobile data services."http://www.stoke.com

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Huawei Launches Huge Optical Cross-Connect

Huawei Technologies unveiled its enhanced optical transport network (OTN) solution -- the OSN 8800, featuring a record cross-connect capacity of 2.56 Tbps, with the potential of a further upgrade to 5.12 Tbps.


The OSN 8800 offers VC-x (Virtual Container), ODUk (Optical Data Unit), future-oriented packet services and cross-connection capabilities.


Huawei said the optical-layer and electrical-layer ASON abilities of the platform will significantly increase reliability in transporting services across different granularities and contribute to the reduction of operating expenditure. Support for 40 G and 100 G transmissions is available. http://www.huawei.com

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Huawei Opens LTE Incubator Laboratory in Japan

Huawei Technologies has launched a Long Term Evolution (LTE) lab in Tokyo, Japan. The lab will both serve as an incubator for LTE technologies and a training facility for the implementation and commercialization of the next-generation wireless technology. Huawei' s research and development teams will also be able to work with Japanese operators to conduct rigorous test on LTE systems before delivery.


Huawei's LTE lab in Tokyo includes the latest testing facilities and a real-world environment in which tests such as peak throughput, latency, multi-users, quality of service (QoS), handover, Element-level Management System (EMS) operation and Self-Organizing Network (SON) can be conducted. The lab' s downlink data rate at application layer can reach 140 Mbps through a single remote radio unit (RRU) with 20 Mhz bandwidth. It is also equipped with Huawei' s fourth-generation DBS3900 base station and the latest versions of commercial LTE software and test terminals.
http://www.huawei.com

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NTT Com Partners with BSNL

NTT Communications (NTT Com) and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL), India's largest telecommunications company, signed a partnership agreement with the basic aim of providing customers with better services. NTT Com intends to expand the reach and quality of its local services to help multinational customers develop their businesses in India.

To date, NTT Com has provided networking, system integration and other IT services to multinational enterprises operating in the Indian market. In particular, networking services have been growing in recent years as multinationals move beyond urban areas and expand into rural areas, creating needs for NTT Com to expand its reach and enhance service quality.

BSNL is 100% owned by the government of India. In addition to its domestic network, it also provides global managed MPLS network, cellular phone and internet services.
http://www.ntt.com/index-e.html

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Telecom Liechtenstein Selects Nortel for UCS

Telecom Liechtenstein is modernizing its internal communications infrastructure with a Unified Communications (UC) solution provided by Microsoft and Nortel. Specifically, Nortel is integrating Microsoft's Office Communications Server (OCS) environment with the company's existing Nortel voice communication infrastructure to enable unified communications applications that will simplify and speed up business operations, improve the way employees communicate and enhance customer service. The new system will enable the 130 employees of Telecom Liechtenstein in Vaduz to determine whether colleagues they wish to contact are available, and then instantly make phone calls, start conference calls and send e-mails and instant messages through a simple mouse 'click' on their desktop.


The new unified communications network will also allow employees to securely access the Telecom Liechtenstein corporate network via mobile devices to retrieve information and respond more quickly to enquiries. In a second phase of this implementation, Telecom Liechtenstein plans to offer a hybrid network unified communications solution to enterprise customers in Liechtenstein, Austria and Switzerland.


Nortel also provided system integration services to support implementing Microsoft's Office Communications Server environment with the Telecom Liechtenstein network upgrade.
http://www.nortel.com

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Germany's E-Plus Offers Subscriber Discounts for Targeted Mobile Ads

Germany's E-Plus, a member of the KPN group, is now offering discounts to mobile subscribers willing to receive targeted advertising. Through a mobile advertising subsidiary, called Gettings, E-Plus' consumers can choose between three packages - S, M and L - where they will receive between 10 and 25 mobile ads per week in exchange for free call minutes, free SMS messages or vouchers. The Advertising Selection Server enables users to provide their preferences so they receive only mobile ads that interest them -- both enhancing
their experience and providing advertisers with a higher value, more targeted campaign.


The service is enabled using Alcatel-Lucent's newly launched Advertising Selection Server, a hosted service that leverages advanced targeting algorithms and enables advertisers to deliver targeted mobile advertising campaigns on an opt-in basis.


"Mobile advertising is an additional revenue stream that will help us continue to provide mobile communication services at especially attractive rates," says Daniel Euler, managing director of E-Plus' Gettings. "Advertising must not be perceived as a nuisance, however. It only works if the messages suit the recipients' interests. The hosted Advertising Selection Server, offered by Alcatel-Lucent, truly delivers in that regard and also works well with our existing system landscape."


The Advertising Selection Server provides mobile service providers with a single platform that is able to deliver via SMS, MMS and WAP a mix of push and pull targeted advertising campaigns tailored to an individual subscribers' opt in preferences. The Advertising Selection Server also
offers a unique interface for inventory and campaign management and acts as a single front-end for advertising players and features a suite of APIs for tight integration with third party services, profiling, and billing systems. The Advertising Selection Server is generally available worldwide as a turnkey product as well as a hosted service.
http://www.alcatel-lucent.com

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Octasic Appoints New CEO

Robert Blake has taken the helm of Octasic, succeeding Michel Laurence, co-founder and retiring CEO of Octasic.


Until recently, Blake served as vice president of consumer and automotive business at Altera Corporation, where he was responsible for defining the programmable logic product portfolio. Prior to Altera, he developed ASIC technology at LSI Logic and Fairchild, where he worked in both engineering and strategic marketing positions.


Octasic's recent introduction of its Vocallo DSP family is based on Opus, an innovative clock-less DSP core technology targeted at the media gateway and Software Defined Radio (SDR) macro cell market.
http://www.octasic.com

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AT&T to Provide Managed Data Network and Security Services to Amtrak

Amtrak awarded a new five-year outsourcing agreement to AT&T to provide a package of telecommunications networking services, including managed security services to help protect Amtrak's telecommunications network infrastructure.


AT&T will implement and manage Amtrak's Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) and Enhanced Virtual Private Network (EVPN) to help connect more than 400 locations and converge multiple networks to a single, global network platform. AT&T will also manage 25,000 ports across Amtrak's LAN and WLAN. These technology solutions will help Amtrak to simplify the management of its telecommunications and support its efforts to deliver value to its customers faster.
http://www.att.com

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Eutelsat Offers Services in Germany's State of Brandenburg

The German state of Brandenburg will include Eutelsat's satellite broadband services as part of its "Broadband supply for rural areas" programme to bridge the digital divide.

Eutelsat will provide its Tooway satellite broadband service to all interested households and small companies at a monthly EUR 39.95 cost for a 24-month subscription, equipment included.


The service is totally independent of telephone lines and offers an ADSL-comparable service, including speeds to users of 3.6 Mbps and uplink speeds of 384 kbps. Tooway will be provided in Brandenburg via skyDSL and dsl2u.
http://www.eutelsat.com
http://www.tooway.com

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Panasonic Names Eisuke Tsuyuzaki as CTO

Panasonic Corporation of North America named Eisuke Tsuyuzaki as its new Chief Technology Officer, replacing Dr. Paul Liao, who is leaving Panasonic to become President and CEO of CableLabs. Mr. Tsuyuzaki has served as Managing Director of Panasonic Hollywood Laboratory since 2005. In this capacity, he directed Panasonic's next-generation entertainment R&D activities in the U.S., especially in the Blu-ray Disc format and 3D Full HD TV areas, and deepened the company's relationships with the Hollywood studios and creative community. Before joining Panasonic, Mr. Tsuyuzaki held leadership positions in corporate development and technology functions at Sony Corporation and Sony Pictures Entertainment.
http://www.panasonic.com

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BT and Tata Communications Sign Global Voice Agreement

BT and Tata Communications announced a major voice services agreement that will allow two of the world's largest providers of voice and IP services to mutually benefit from shared resources as part of a global supply arrangement.


Through the five-year agreement, Tata Communications will become BT's primary supplier of International Direct Dial (IDD) and other voice termination services outside BT's own footprint countries and BT will become Tata Communication's main distribution channel for its IDD traffic into the UK, expanding into other markets across Europe as the relationship matures.


By providing each party with access to additional capacity and flexibility, the relationship will allow BT and Tata Communications to benefit from each others' strengths as they develop and grow their businesses in their respective markets.


Brian Fitzpatrick, Managing Director of BT Wholesale Markets, said: "Tata Communications is a leader in the international wholesale voice business, making them a perfect partner to help us achieve additional economies of scale to those of our own. We look forward to maximizing the opportunities this relationship presents to both organizations as we expand our portfolio of wholesale products and services and ultimately strive to become even more competitive with our pricing."


Michel Guyot, President of Global Voice Solutions, Tata Communications, said: "We are proud to become BT's primary supplier of international voice termination services. The agreement will increase both partners' competitiveness and will enhance our respective service offerings. We are also very excited to have BT as our main distribution channel in the UK as we are confident that BT's resources and strong knowledge of the European market will be of great benefit to Tata Communications."http://www.bt.com
http://www.tatacommunications.com

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3Com Marks its 30 Year Anniversary

This week, 3Com is celebrating 30 years since Ethernet-inventor Bob Metcalfe incorporated the company.

The company noted a number of achievements. Starting with the first commercial TCP/IP for UNIX, and then the introduction of the first "Thicknet" Ethernet Transceiver, the 3C100, 3Com's 30-year timeline is dotted with customer-driven technology innovations such as:

• The world's first Ethernet adapter card for the PC


• The world's first commercial network operating system, Etherseries


• Commercialization of Ethernet bridging which later evolved into Ethernet switching


• Use of Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) to lower the cost and complexity of networking


• The Ethernet stackable hub and switch


• The invention and commercialization of Power over Ethernet (PoE)


• Creation of IRF (XRN) virtual chassis stacking technology


• Commercialization of voice-over-IP

http://www.3com.com

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Mzima Picks Ciena's Carrier Ethernet Service Delivery Portfolio

Mzima Networks has selected Ciena's Carrier Ethernet Service Delivery (CESD) portfolio for its next-generation IP network. Mzima offers a unique combination of route-optimized transit and private peering for customers requiring the highest levels of performance and reliability. Financial terms were not disclosed.


Mzima will leverage one of Ciena's connection-oriented Ethernet technology options, specifically choosing a Provider Backbone Bridging--Traffic Engineering (PBB-TE) implementation. Ciena's CESD portfolio combines intelligent devices and software to deliver the full range of Ethernet services, simplifying the process associated with provisioning, service activation, and quality routing across Mzima's network.


For Mzima, Ciena said the implementation of PBB-TE combined with its Ethernet Services Manager (ESM) -- a carrier-grade, automated service activation, creation, and management platform -- enables significant acceleration and automation of service activation. Additionally, it minimizes the number of backbone device configurations while expanding Mzima's Operations, Administration and Maintenance (OAM) capabilities.
http://www.ciena.com
http://www.mzima.net

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President Obama Nominates Meredith Baker for FCC Commissioner

President Barack Obama nominated Meredith Atwell Baker to be an FCC Commissioner, for the remainder of the term expiring June 30, 2011, that was previously held by Kevin J. Martin.


Meredith Attwell Baker most recently served as Acting Assistant Secretary of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration from 2007 to January 2009. She was previously Vice President at the firm of Williams Mullen Strategies, where she focused on telecommunications, intellectual property, and international trade issues. Earlier, she held the position of Senior Counsel at Covad Communications from 2000 to 2002, and Director of Congressional Affairs at the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA) from 1998 to 2000.


President Obama has also nominated Mignon L. Clyburn, of South Carolina, to be an FCC commissioner for the spot previously held by Deborah Taylor Tate.
http://www.fcc.gov

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Alcatel-Lucent: Consumers Spend on Broadband Even in Tight Economy

Broadband services appear to be nearly recession-proof, with 84 percent of consumers identifying broadband as an essential network service and therefore the least likely target for spending cuts, according to a series of recent studies sponsored by Alcatel-Lucent . The studies also showed that more consumers globally are planning to subscribe to and/or upgrade their broadband services, even while reducing spending in other areas.


Alcatel-Lucent said key factors driving this preference include a desire to reduce the cost and travel time associated with commuting, coupled with a preference for greener alternatives. In developed countries, respondents also noted a growing dependence on the Web as an information source, business tool, social network and entertainment venue.


"This clearly shows that people across the world rely on broadband services as a central part of their social and economic lives," said Tim Krause, Chief Marketing Officer for Alcatel-Lucent. "As the world looks at ways to address the twin challenges of economic growth and climate change, our research shows that broadband and the digital economy must absolutely be at the top of decision making agendas."http://www.alcatel-lucent.com/map

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Tellabs Enhances its Optical Transport System

Tellabs introduced a new optical transport for its 7100 Optical Transport System, which is part of Tellabs Business Services and Wavelength Services solutions. The new optical transport network multiplexer module offers guaranteed quality video delivery.


The module makes timing and service transparent and offers protection options. It supports flexible service connections with any-rate interfaces for 100 Mbps to 2.7 Gbps and video signals such as SDI, HD-SDI and DVB-ASI.


The Tellabs 7100 system supports Carrier Ethernet, SONET/SDH and optical transport technologies over a dynamic, reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexer (ROADM)-enabled network.


In addition, the Tellabs 7100 system is now Interoperability Certified by EMC, an industry-recognized interoperability vendor. It can support Storage Area Network (SAN) applications meeting the industry requirements for high-quality services performance delivery.
http://www.tellabs.com

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Julius Genachowski Confirmed by Senate for FCC Chairman

The U.S. Senate confirmed Julius Genachowski as the new chairman of the FCC. The FCC also confirmed Robert McDowell, a Republican, for a second term as FCC commissioner.


The previous FCC chairman, Kevin Martin, a Republican, stepped down following the inauguration of President Obama.


Genachowski, who served as technology advisor to the Obama campaign, holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School (1991), where he studied with Barack Obama. Genachowski is cofounder and Managing Director of LaunchBox Digital and Rock Creek Ventures, and a Special Advisor at General Atlantic. He was a senior executive for eight years at IAC/InterActiveCorp, where his positions included Chief of Business Operations and General Counsel. He has served on the Boards of Directors of Expedia, Hotels.com, Ticketmaster, Website Pros, and The Motley Fool.


In government, Genachowski served at the Federal Communications Commission as Chief Counsel to Chairman Reed Hundt, and earlier as Special Counsel to FCC General Counsel (later Chairman) William Kennard. He was a law clerk for United States Supreme Court Justice David H. Souter and, before that, for Justice William J. Brennan, Jr. (ret.).


Genachowski received a J.D in 1991 from Harvard Law School (magna cum laude), where he was co-Notes Editor of the Harvard Law Review, and a B.A. in 1985 from Columbia College (magna cum laude). Genachowski was raised in New York, and now resides in Washington DC.
http://www.fcc.gov

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FCC Approves CenturyTel and EMBARQ Merger

The FCC approved CenturyTel's pending acquisition of EMBARQ. The merger is expected to be finalized on July 1, 2009.


In its approval, the FCC concluded that the proposed transaction is unlikely to harm competition or potential competition in those local
markets where the two companies currently compete. The FCC also stated that it not concerned that the merger will have significant anticompetitive effects in the three local markets where CenturyTel currently competes with Embarq for enterprise customers.


To gain approval, the companies have made a number of voluntary commitments to the FCC, including a pledge to "integrate, and adopt for CenturyTel CLEC orders, the automated [OSS] of Embarq within fifteen months of the transaction's close," and in the interim, to "devote additional resources to its existing manual CLEC order processing system to ensure that all local number portability requests are
promptly processed." Applicants also commit to processing CenturyTel's wholesale LNP orders through Embarq's OSS.


Furthermore, CenturyTel and EMBARQ specifically committed to substantially increase the broadband service available to consumers in the areas they serve over the next three years. The companies pledged to offer retail broadband Internet access to 100 percent of the merged company's retail single-line residential and single-line business access lines within three years of the transaction closing date. To meet this commitment, the merged company has committed to make available retail broadband Internet access service with a download speed of 768 kbps to 90 percent of such lines within three years using wireline technologies.128 The merged company will make available retail broadband Internet access service in accordance with the Commission's current definition of broadband to the remaining 10 percent of lines using alternative technologies and operating arrangements, including but not limited to satellite and terrestrial wireless broadband technologies.


"We have committed to the FCC that we will remain focused on infrastructure development and broadband deployment after completion of the merger," said Tom Gerke, EMBARQ's chief executive officer. "Our combined company is committed to investing in our communities and providing our customers high-quality, reliable communications and expanded broadband services."


The FCC memorandum and order approving the merger can be found on the FCC website.
http://www.fcc.govhttp://www.centurytel.com

• 
  The new company formed by the merger of CenturyTel and EMBARQ will be known as CenturyLink. Full deployment of the brand is expected to occur in the months following closing. As markets are converted to the new brand, customers will receive advance notification and CenturyLink will begin to appear on building signage, company vehicles and marketing materials.

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AT&T Releases iPhone Apps for U-verse TV Scheduling, Navigation

AT&T released an iPhone application that lets its U-verse TV customers schedule recordings on their DVR.
The U-verse TV Mobile Remote Access App for iPhone and iPod touch also lets customers search U-verse TV program listings from the full program guide, view descriptions of selected programs, schedule program or series recordings, manage or edit scheduled recordings, and delete stored DVR content.


The launch of the new U-verse TV Mobile Remote Access App follows several DVR enhancements that are currently being rolled out to U-verse TV customers, including an exclusive new Total Home DVR feature that allows customers to schedule and delete recordings from any U-verse receiver in the home -- all from a single DVR.


Earlier this week, AT&T also released a turn-by-turn GPS navigation app for the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS.


AT&T Navigator features regular map updates, speech recognition, ETA updates, more than 10 million business listings, real-time traffic alerts, one-touch rerouting and daily gas prices. The service is priced at $9.99 a month.
http://www.att.com

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Clearwire Acquires Licenses from Oneida

Clearwire has acquired certain wireless licenses previously held by Oneida Communications Group and its financial backer, the private equity firm of Catalyst Investors. Catalyst began acquiring wireless licenses through its ownership of Oneida in 2006 and sold the majority of Oneida's spectrum holdings to Sprint Nextel in 2008. With this final transaction, Catalyst said it achieved a 38 percent annualized return on its investment.


Oneida was funded by management, Catalyst and Northwood Ventures to capitalize on the advent of 4G broadband wireless technology by acquiring a footprint of wireless licenses in various markets in the United States. Harold Furchtgott-Roth, former FCC Commissioner and Catalyst Operating Partner, served as the Company's co-founder and Chairman of the Board.
http://www.catalystinvestors.com/

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One Minute Video: What's Next For Carrier Ethernet?

presented by Umesh Kukreja, Alcatel-Lucent

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Ericsson Picks Vestberg to Succeed Svanberg as CEO

Ericsson's Board of Directors has appointed Hans Vestberg (44) to replace Carl-Henric Svanberg as president and CEO effective January 1, 2010.


Carl-Henric Svanberg is leaving Ericsson to accepted the position of Chairman of BP, the world's fourth largest company.


Hans Vestberg is currently CFO and Executive Vice President of Ericsson He is 44 years old and earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Uppsala, Sweden, in 1991. He joined Ericsson the same year and was within a short time period appointed to various international managerial positions in China, Sweden, Chile, Brazil and the US. Between 1998 and 2000 he was CFO of Ericsson in Brazil. In the years 2000 to 2002, Vestberg was Chief Financial Officer for Ericsson in North America and Ericsson's controller for the Americas. From 2002 to 2003 Vestberg served as President of Ericsson in Mexico. He became Senior Vice President and head of business unit Global Services in 2003 and was appointed Executive Vice President in 2005. Vestberg was appointed Chief Financial Officer in 2007.
http://www.ericsson.com

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Calix Introduces Active Ethernet Access Platform, Extended Reach GPON

Calix introduced a residential Active Ethernet (AE) platform and released an Extended Reach GPON capability for its Calix C7 Multiservice Access Platform (MSAP) that enables carriers to reach subscribers located up to 40 km.


The Calix E5-312 delivers last mile AE service to residential subscribers at distances of up to 60 km while preserving service providers' current investment in Calix' optical network terminals (ONTs). Key features of the new residential AE platform include:

• The E5-312 is a purpose-built, environmentally hardened, small-form-factor 1RU platform that enables flexible deployment from the CO to the edge of the access network.



• AE enables up to 1Gbps dedicated symmetrical bandwidth, allowing service providers to strategically serve high capacity residential customers whose upstream bandwidth requirements exceed that of the general consumer.



• The flexibility of the Calix 700GX ONTs, which auto-detects and supports both AE and GPON from a common ONT, enables service providers to use the E5-312, or other Calix C- and E-Series platforms, to select the appropriate form factor and technology to match the service requirements of subscribers without the capital or operational expense of replacing the ONT.



• The platform has 12 GE SFP ports for symmetric 1GE AE services that support copper or bi-directional (single fiber) optical modules; the AE optics modules are Calix screened to ensure carrier-grade performance.



• Two standards-based 10GE SFP+ ports support ring and point-to-point topologies.



• The platform supports several access network topologies, including GE/AE aggregation, GE uplink aggregation, 10GE/GE network uplink, and link aggregation.



• Link aggregation provides logical NxGE link bonding for bandwidth expansion.



• The E5-312 is fully managed by the Calix Management System (CMS), which provides a single network view and a common user experience independent of media type, protocol, or service.

In addition, Calix rolled out an enhanced Extended Reach GPON solution aimed at rural deployments. The latest C7 software Release 6.1 further enhances the Calix Extended Reach GPON solution, enabling a standards-based solution that, when deployed with a specialized, pluggable OIM, doubles a service provider's GPON service radius from 20 km to 40 km. Key features include:

• Doubles the reach of standards-based GPON from 20 km to 40 km.



• Support on all existing C7 GPON OLT line cards (new pluggable OIM required).



• Support by any Calix 700, 700G, or 700GX ONT.



• Standards-compliant solution based on ITU-TG.984.6 and Amendment 2 to ITU-T G.984.2.

Calix noted that it now has over 375 fiber customers, which span telcos, cable operators, developers and municipalities. More than 75 percent of Calix' customer base is deploying fiber technologies today.
http://www.calix.com

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Level 3 Builds Low-Latency Network Between NYC and Chicago

Level 3 Communications has activated a low-latency, fiber network between New York and Chicago. The network expansion was deployed using the shortest-path routes and advanced electronics to enable high-speed transaction rates with very low transmission delays.


The new route offers aggregate bandwidth of multiple 40 Gbps connections to accommodate growing traffic volume generated by hedge funds, investment brokers, financial exchanges and other market participants. Currently, more than 80 Gbps of live financial trading traffic is being carried over the new route.


In addition to the recent network expansion, Level 3 has also collaborated with financial services customers to design custom, low-latency network services to select trading venues throughout North America and Europe. Level 3 noted that it now offers direct connections to 15 financial exchanges, 15 electronic communications networks and seven market data centers.
http://www.Level3.com

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Firetide Debuts 900 MHz Non-Line-of-Sight Mesh Wireless

Firetide introduced a non-line-of-sight, 900 MHz wireless "Smart Adaptive" mesh solution aimed at utilities, public safety, transportation and industrial applications wherever clear line-of-sight cannot be obtained. The new HotPort 6000-900 can be used to deploy multi-hop, fully meshed networks and delivers throughput of up to 26 Mbps, depending on line of sight conditions.


Firetide said its HotPort 6000-900 mesh is uniquely designed for noisy 900 MHz spectrum and leverages Smart Adaptive Mesh technology to mitigate the effects of interference that typically bring down wireless throughput and reliability in this band. For example, Firetide's noise-aware data path and noise filtering algorithms enable mesh to better handle interference from other 900 MHz devices, as well as from adjacent frequency bands taken up by cellular and 3G traffic. Tools such as the spectrum analyzer, which is integrated into the product, allow a network administrator to remotely monitor the health of the network and take actions to further optimize the network performance.


The HotPort 6000-900 mesh is part of and fully compatible with the HotPort 6000 series of mesh nodes that provide reliable Ethernet connectivity over a high-performance, self-forming wireless mesh backbone. All HotPort nodes have multiple Ethernet ports for connecting network devices or other networks to the wireless mesh. With HotPort 6000 nodes, users can build a single infrastructure for voice, video and data traffic, dramatically reducing capital investment in the wireless backbone.


The 900 MHz product features a dual radio solution with the capability of operating in the 900 MHz spectrum on one of the radios, while operating in the 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz or 4.9 GHz (public safety) frequency bands on the other. The solution is available immediately in both indoor and outdoor configurations.
http://www.firetide.com

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NYSE Euronext Builds Ultra-Low Latency Network with Juniper Networks

NYSE Euronext has selected Juniper Networks to design a state-of-the-art, ultra-low latency core network for NYSE Euronext's new consolidated global data centers. In a press event in New York, the companies said they will pursue a simplified data center architecture that is optimized for low latency and vast scalability. The blueprint calls for collapsing multiple switching layers to reduce complexity while yielding improved efficiencies in space, power, cooling and management. Juniper estimates it can reduce network complexity and total cost of ownership by up to 52 percent in capital expenditures, up to 44 percent in power, up to 44 percent in cooling and up to 55 percent in data center rack space.


Located in the greater New York and London metropolitan areas, NYSE Euronext's two new data centers will be the primary operational infrastructure supporting several billion daily transactions and quotes across diverse asset classes and geographies, and will be instrumental in NYSE Euronext's effort to consolidate the total number of its global data centers from ten to four. Expected to be operational in 2010, the new facilities will provide much greater network scale and efficiency, with plans to utilize Juniper's Data Center Infrastructure Solutions and advanced data center fabric technology to support an unprecedented internal latency of 50 microseconds roundtrip.


The deployment will include the Juniper Networks EX Series Ethernet Switches and MX Series Ethernet Services Routers. The data center core designs are anchored by the EX8216 Ethernet Switch and uses top of rack EX2500 Ethernet Switches to provide access connectivity to the data centers' high-performance servers with 10GbE ports that deliver wire-speed throughput. NYSE Euronext also plans to leverage the advanced routing capabilities, such as MPLS network virtualization, low-latency multicast, advanced quality of service (QoS), and high availability of Juniper's family of MX Series Ethernet Services Routers.


"Juniper's simplified data center approach will allow us to deploy a complete 10 Gigabit Ethernet network with ultra-low latency at a substantial cost savings," said Steve Rubinow, executive vice president and co-global CIO of NYSE Euronext.


"Competitiveness in the global financial markets is measured in microseconds and the NYSE Euronext trading platform is one of the world's premiere high-performance networks, supporting billions of transactions each day," said Kevin Johnson, Chief Executive Officer of Juniper Networks. "The NYSE Euronext technology vision is in alignment with Juniper's next generation data center roadmap, which will lead to the creation of a single data center fabric that will deliver a quantum advance in scale, performance and simplicity, while lowering energy consumption and reducing overall operating costs."http://www.nyx.com
http://www.juniper.net

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Global Crossing Expands its EtherExtend Flex Access Service

Global Crossing's EtherExtend Flex Service is now available in 26 locations worldwide. The company recently added Houston, Sunnyvale, Singapore and Frankfurt. The service is available in North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region and will be available in more than 70 points of presence in these same regions, plus Latin America, by the end of 2009.


EtherExtend Flex lowers a user's cost of access and matches the access Level of Service to the application's needs. It provides a last-mile Ethernet connection to Global Crossing's end-user customer via logical connections over a physical Network-to-Network Interface with the access provider, rather than forwarding the customer's traffic over a fixed physical connection to Global Crossing.


EtherExtend Flex can be paired with Global Crossing IP VPN or Dedicated Internet Access/IP Transit services, whether managed or unmanaged. The service also can support Collaboration, Voice over Internet Protocol and other applications that utilize these transport services.


Other sites where the service is available are Hong Kong in Asia; Amsterdam, London, Milan and Paris in Europe; Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Kansas City, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. in the United States, and Toronto, Canada.
http://www.globalcrossing.com

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GSMA Establishes Mobile Money Exchange

The GSMA, which represents the GSM industry, has kicked off a Mobile Money Exchange initiative with the aim of helping financial services companies who are entering the mobile environment, by providing a common voice and formal business forum for business collaboration. The ethos behind the formation of the Exchange is for best practice and innovations to be highlighted and shared, both across industry and inter-industry. The Mobile Money Exchange will feature an online knowledge portal with social business networking and community functionality designed to advise and serve the interests of the mobile money industry.


Visa and Globe Telecom are the first two founding partners of the Mobile Money Exchange.
http://www.gsmworld.com

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Verizon Business Enables Dynamic Management of Ethernet Networks

Verizon Business introduced a customer-controlled dynamic management capability for its Ethernet Virtual Private Line service.


The new offering, Verizon EVPL Dynamic Bandwidth, is available immediately to U.S.-based businesses and government agencies. It enables them to adjust their bandwidth requirements on an as-needed basis, and, as a result, to better leverage the low cost and simplicity of Ethernet, with the added flexibility of self-provisioned network capacity that can accommodate surges in application-bandwidth.


Verizon said EVPL Dynamic Bandwidth is aimed at large-enterprise and mid-market customers -- such as tax preparers, retailers and insurance companies -- that have seasonal requirements and intermittent bandwidth demands.


Using the Verizon Enterprise Center, a one-stop resource for customers to manage all of their Verizon services, EVPL users have desktop control over a self-service portal that allows for dynamic bandwidth provisioning and reporting. Upgrades or downgrades can be delivered within 60 minutes, modifications can be made every 24 hours, and customers can schedule upgrades in advance.


Verizon's Private IP customers also have access to similar dynamic bandwidth and reporting capabilities via the Verizon Enterprise Center. The Dynamic Bandwidth and automated monitoring features, part of the company's Application Aware suite of tools that enable increased network visibility and management, allow for bandwidth changes on demand based on the customer's needs, and provide customized reports to indicate bandwidth usage.
http://www.verizonbusiness.com

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Proximion Adds Fiber Bragg Gratings for Patch Cord Dispersion Compensation

Proximion Fiber Systems has leveraged Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) technology to create the industry's first Patch Cord Dispersion Compensation Module (DCM-PC). The module combines continuously chirped Fiber Bragg gratings into a simple patch cord. Because service providers are already using patch cords for connecting boards within their systems, integrating the DCM into the cable eliminates the need for a separate piece of hardware for dispersion management.


Proximion said its DCM patch cord is a more cost-effective solution than using dispersion compensation fiber (DCF). The patch cord provides the same functionality as DCF or traditional DCMs while replacing dedicated and costly terminal floor space needed to house hardware or DCF spools. Moreover, the DCM-PC connects one board to another, consequently replacing the need for two additional patch cords.


The DCM-PC is available in different flavors that tightly control the dispersion from -1300 to +1300 ps/nm over a 6.5 nm wide band. Commercial availability is expected in Q3.
http://www.proximion.com

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Blue Cross and Blue Shield Selects Qwest

Qwest Communications has been selected by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) as a preferred provider for voice and data services. Under the two-year, multimillion dollar contract, Qwest offers a broad range of solutions to BCBSA's Chicago headquarters and its member Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies nationwide. Financial terms were not disclosed.
http://www.qwest.com

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Telenor Selects Huawei for LTE Network Trial in Norway

Telenor, the world' s 7th largest provider of mobile communications, has chosen Huawei to provide LTE radio access and EPC (Evolved Packet Core) equipment for its LTE trial in Oslo, Norway. All the necessary equipments have been shipped to Oslo and installation has begun. http://www.huawei.com

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Ericsson Powers Interactive TV for Ucom in Armenia

Ericsson will deliver its IPTV solution including GPON technology to Ucom, a network operator in Armenia. Ericsson's IPTV solution for Ucom includes IPTV middleware; a content-distribution platform; the customized consumer portal and GPON technology. The agreement also includes systems integration of operational management tools and consultancy services. Ucom will be using Ericsson's EDA 1500 GPON fiber-access platform. The rollout will start in July 2009.
http://www.ericsson.com

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ZigBee and HomePlug Alliances Target a Smart Energy HAN Standard

The ZigBee Alliance and HomePlug Powerline Alliance released a list of market requirements for Smart Energy communication between utility companies and everyday household devices such as smart thermostats and appliances.


The document includes insight to a variety of use cases including plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) charging, installation, configuration, firmware download for home area network (HAN) devices, prepay services, user information and messaging, load control, demand response, and common information and application profile interfaces for wired and wireless HANs.

http://www.zigbee.org/smartenergyhttp://www.homeplug.org

• On May 18, the ZigBee/HomePlug Smart Energy profile was selected by the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) as an initial interoperable standard for HAN devices and communications and information model.

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TI Debuts Multicore Femtocell DSPs, Partners with Continuous Computing, mimoOn

Texas Instruments unveiled a new new family of multicore DSPs (digital signal processors) enabling residential and enterprise HSPA femtocells. The solutions include a portfolio of complementary analog solutions, support for Linux, and software solutions from third party developers (Continuous Computing and mimoOn).


TI's femtocell product family includes the TMS320TCI6485 with two high-performance 850MHz C64x+ DSP cores delivering 1.7 GHz of overall performance for residential femtocell applications, and the TMS320TCI6489 which includes three 850MHz C64x DSPs delivering 2.55 GHz of performance for enterprise or "super femto" applications.


TI's TCI6485 supports up to eight users while the TCI6489 supports up to 32 users. The entire product family is compatible with all major 2G/3G and 4G systems including GSM, CDMA, WCDMA, TD-SCDMA, WiMAX and LTE.


The devices are expected to sample in 3Q09 and start production in 4Q09.


In addition, Texas Instruments is partnering with Continuous Computing (wireless protocol software) and mimoOn GmbH (software defined radio solutions) for HSPA and LTE femtocells for residential and enterprise deployments.


Specifically, Continuous Computing's Trillium software, and mimoOn's mi!Femto advanced femtocell software will be integrated onto TI's TMS320TCI6485 residential femtocell processor and TMS320TCI6489 enterprise femtocell processor in order to offer both single and multimode solutions for LTE, HSPA+, and HSPA.
http://www.ti.com/femtocell-pr

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Two Minute Video: Top Five Barriers to LTE

Top Five Barriers to LTE presented by Aswath Mohan


Jargon Buster

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Ericsson Confirms First LTE License Agreements

Ericsson has signed license agreements for LTE essential patents. The company said it is a strong advocate for reasonable aggregated royalties and will take a lead role in licensing its technology to promote a healthy market. This builds on Ericsson's present global licensing program for GSM/WCDMA, now composed of more than 80 agreements and generating significant revenue.


Ericsson claims to hold the industry's strongest LTE patent portfolio with a substantial number of standard essential patents that are key to developing 4G/LTE products.
http://www.ericsson.com

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Alcatel-Lucent Appoints Christel Heydemann to Head HP Alliance

Alcatel-Lucent announced the appointment of Christel Heydemann as Strategic Alliance Vice President for HP. She will report to Tom Burns, President of Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise Product Group.

Previously, she was the leader of the Sales Account Management in Alcatel-Lucent France. Prior that she has been holding various managerial positions such as key account manager for SFR and Orange among others.


Last week, HP and Alcatel-Lucent announced that they have signed a relationship agreement establishing both parties' intent to form a 10-year global alliance to bring new end-to-end integrated telecom and IT solutions to the market.
http://www.alcatel-lucent.com

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AT&T Extends U-verse Integration contract with Alcatel-Lucent

AT&T has extended Alcatel-Lucent's contract for end-to-end multivendor network integration for AT&T U-verse.


The AT&T U-verse portfolio brings together U-verse TV, U-verse High Speed Internet and U-verse Voice services all delivered using Alcatel-Lucent's Triple Play Service Delivery Architecture (TPSDA). AT&T U-verse services are now offered in 93 markets in 19 states, with more than 1.3 million U-verse TV customers. Financial terms were not disclosed.


Under the new agreement, Alcatel-Lucent will continue to provide end-to-end multivendor network integration for AT&T U-verse, including Microsoft Mediaroom Internet Protocol television ("IPTV") software platform. Alcatel-Lucent's end-to-end multivendor network systems integration includes solution program management, third-party management, network engineering, solution testing/validation and deployment services.
http://www.alcatel-lucent.com

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Nortel Builds UC Software Communication System

Nortel is expanding its Software Communication System (SCS) solution to accommodate enterprises beyond small and medium-size businesses. SCS brings solution simplicity, new applications, further plug-and-play interoperability and more opportunities for third-party development communities. A recognized leader in unified communications (UC), Nortel supports customers' evolutionary and transformational paths to UC with telephony UC solutions such as Communication Server 1000 and native UC solutions such as SCS.


SCS, which is based on Session Initiation Protocol, enables businesses to converge all of their communications into a centralized solution with open Web-based interfaces. Release 3.0 of SCS now extends support to industry-standard platforms from IBM, Dell and HP, including IBM Power Systems and System i, Dell Optiplex, and HP Proliant DL360, as well as the recently announced IBM x3350 and Dell PowerEdge R300 systems. In addition to the supported platform expansion, the rapidly growing Nortel SCS Developer Program also offers dozens of interoperable third-party products such as desktop phones, soft phones, gateways, IP consoles, applications like call recording and call accounting, wireless mobility solutions, etc.


Nortel's base user license includes all applications like voicemail and unified messaging, integrated voice conferencing, secure presence and instant messaging, desktop-based video conferencing, single number reachability, an 'informal' call center, and integration with Microsoft Outlook, IBM Lotus Notes and IBM Lotus Sametime.


SCS was developed in collaboration with Nortel and the open source community SIPfoundry.
. http://www.sipfoundry.orghttp://www.nortel.com/scs

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Altair Semiconductor Announces LTE Baseband Processor

Altair Semiconductor, a fabless chip company based in Israel, introduced its FourGee-3100 LTE baseband processor.


The chip, which will be available in Q409, is a fully optimized LTE CAT-3 baseband processor that will operate with devices from mobile handsets, data cards and USB dongles to various handheld consumer electronics devices. The FourGee(TM)-3100 is bundled with a complete LTE L1 and protocol stack. It supports LTE category 3 (CAT-3) throughputs (100Mbps/50Mbps DL/UL respectively) and offers two 20MHz MIMO receive chains and one transmit chain.


In the coming months, Altair will continue to roll out its LTE product portfolio, including:

• FourGee-6150 - a MIMO RF transceiver that supports LTE-TDD. This product will be available in August 2009



• FourGee-6200 - a multi-band LTE-FDD MIMO transceiver that supports the most popular LTE bands in North America, Japan and Europe. The chip will be available in Q210.

http://www.altair-semi.com

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Allot Tunes Deep Packet Inspection and Caching for Monetizing Internet Video

Allot Communications unveiled its "MediaSwift" solution -- a revenue- generating network and subscriber service designed to intelligently accelerate internet content delivery (HTTP streamed video and P2P traffic) to broadband subscribers.


MediaSwift synergizes Allot's DPI and caching competences to provide a unified intelligent media caching solution which delivers improved quality of experience (QoE). MediaSwift is offered as an internal blade or as an external solution with Allot Service Gateway. It is also offered as a solution with other Allot platforms.


The platform analyzes streams of traffic and when needed will cache streamed video traffic so as to optimize performance.


Allot confirmed that its MediaSwift has already been deployed at a Tier 1 operator in Asia, in conjunction with both Allot Service Gateway and Allot NetEnforcer. Analysis of the implementation to date shows an approximate saving of 40% in backhaul and international traffic at the installed sites, as well as a significantly enhanced subscriber experience for internet video and P2P traffic.


Allot MediaSwift is currently commercially available.
http://www.allot.com

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