Octasic Provides Echo Cancellation for ZTE's 3G

ZTE has selected Octasic's echo cancellation and voice quality enhancement (VQE) solutions for its 3G products. Specifically, ZTE's 3G Platform Division has selected Octasic's OCT6100 devices for integration into its high-density Base Station Controllers (BSC) for GSM networks.


ZTE's ZXG10 iBSC is based on an all IP platform and has integrated the Octasic OCT6100 solution including Tandem Free Operation (TFO). Also known as Vocoder bypass, TFO is specified by the 3GPP standards group to help improve voice quality in mobile-to-mobile calls. By allowing voice to cross the network without unnecessary decoding and re-encoding, better voice quality is possible. Octasic provides support for TFO with its echo cancellation solutions for 2G and 3G systems. Octasic's carrier-grade echo cancellation and VQE solutions reduce system costs by offering unparalleled area density and low power consumption.


Separately, Octasic noted a number of company milestones and continued growth. The company broadened its customer base internationally and increased sales in China by 32 percent in 2008, despite challenging economic conditions. Throughout 2008, Octasic expanded its international presence with the hiring of new sales representatives for North America, Korea, and China, and announced EuroSemi GmBH as the company's official representative in Europe. In addition, the company grew its engineering workforce by an impressive 22 percent.


Octasic achieved several other important milestones in 2008:

• The company began shipping its Vocallo multi-core gateway digital signal processor (DSP) platform -- the industry's first DSP based on an asynchronous architecture that delivers the highest performance-to-power ratio available today.



• Building on the Vocallo media gateway platform for voice, Octasic added video capabilities to create a true off-the-shelf media gateway solution. Support for MPEG-4 and H.263 transcoding allows customers to build mobile video gateways at a higher density, thus reducing their cost per port.



• Octasic was chosen by Mitel to provide echo cancellation for the Mitel 5000 Network Communications Solution and Axxess Converged Communications System.

http://www.octasic.com

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Xobni Raises $7 Million for MS Outlook Plug-in

Xobni, a start-up based in San Francisco, closed $7 million in second round funding for its Microsoft Outlook plug-in. The software offers lightning fast search and organization of an Outlook inbox. Xobni (which is "in-box" spelled backwards) has evolved from a private, invite-only beta to publicly available software that's been downloaded over 1.5 million times. Xobni has evolved from a private, invite-only beta to publicly available software that's been downloaded over 1.5 million times.


The funding round was backed by new investor Cisco Systems, as well as Xobni's existing investors - Khosla Ventures, First Round Capital, Baseline Ventures, and Atomico.
http://www.xobni.com

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Deltacom Expands GigE, 2.5Gbps and 10Gbps Wavelength Services

ITC^DeltaCom has extended its GigE, 2.5Gbps and 10Gbps wavelength services availability to a number of new markets across the Southeast. The wavelength services are now available in the following new markets: Wilsonville and Mobile, AL; Savannah, Augusta and two additional carrier hotels in Atlanta, GA; Lake City, Jacksonville, Daytona Beach, Orlando, Tampa, Ocala, Archer and Pensacola, FL; Columbia and Greenville, SC; and Charlotte, Greensboro and Raleigh, NC.


The company said its network upgrade is ahead of schedule with the completion of its Infinera DTN optical network systems deployment. Deltacom expects to complete the deployment of additional SONET equipment and to build out a number of metro markets by mid-year 2009.


ITC^DeltaCom, which is based in Huntsville, Alabama, has a fiber optic network spanning approximately 15,800 route miles, including more than 11,800 route miles of owned fiber.


"We were able to complete the DTN deployment a month earlier than originally planned," said Tony Tomae, Deltacom's Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing.

http://www.deltacom.com

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Japan's Global Access Tests 100 GbE with Infinera

Global Access Limited (GAL), which owns and operates a network linking Japan's major cities and cable landing points on the Japanese coast, completed a trial of 100 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) using Infinera's platform. During the test, 100 GbE traffic was sent over a live network between Tokyo and Osaka, a round trip of about 1,200 km. This 100 GbE demonstration showed that GAL's existing network based on the Infinera Digital Optical Networking system can carry 100 GbE traffic using Infinera's Bandwidth Virtualization paradigm.


Last year, GAL deployed an Infinera Digital Optical Network. The Infinera DTN is a Digital ROADM for long-haul and metro core networks, combining high-capacity DWDM transport, integrated digital bandwidth management, and GMPLS-powered service intelligence in a single platform.
http://www.infinera.com

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2Wire Debuts Modular Broadband HomePortal

2Wire unveiled its HomePortal GEM modular platform for enabling broadband service providers to quickly deploy a wide range of new services, ranging from cordless phone DECT base stations and femtocells, to home control interfaces and intelligent home servers. The platform is designed for incremental expansion through physical modules as well as software, applications, and management systems.
An application software development kit (SDK) and snap-on hardware modules enable the expansion.


Network operators can develop their own applications for the modular GEM platform or use third-part providers. The first wave of GEM applications is expected to include technology from companies such as Logitech, OpenDNS, and SharedBand. New third-party applications will include home surveillance, home automation, digital media server, and digital life backup services, among others.


2Wire features a TR-069 standard-compliant management system that could support and manage a variety of devices on the home network, including off-the-shelf digital cameras, NAS disks, motion sensors, and music players.


Expansion modules that will be offered for use with the HomePortal GEM platform include:

• GEM Topaz -- DECT base station cordless phone system


• GEM Sapphire -- home control interface, consolidating control of the digital home


• GEM Emerald -- intelligent home server, simplifying personal media and data management


• GEM Ruby -- femtocell mobile base station, improving mobile phone coverage in the home


• GEM Amethyst -- 3G wireless WAN, delivering broadband over a 3G link

"The HomePortal GEM is a powerful, elegant, and flexible gateway solution, designed to meet the current and future needs of both service providers and end users," said Pasquale Romano, president and CEO of 2Wire. "Its modularity establishes a low base unit cost while providing flexible expansion options for additional revenue-generating services. This new platform, combined with our application software development program, will define, optimize, and extend the capabilities of the digital home for years to come."http://www.2wire.com

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Huawei to Open R&D Center with Telecom Italia

Huawei Technologies and Telecom Italia signed an agreement to establish a Network Innovation Centre (NIC), which will work in close relation with Telecom Italia research and innovation labs (TILab) to develop new technologies for the carrier. The NIC will focus on research on green ultra-broadband network, Quality of Services, Quality of Experience, Fixed Mobile Convergence etc. to provide more services and better experience to users in Italy. http://www.huawei.com

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China's State Council Issues 3G Licenses

China's State Council issues 3G licenses to the nation's top three mobile operators.

The licenses employ all three major standards, including the domestically developed TD-SCDMA (Time Division Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access), WCDMA and CDMA 2000. China Mobile will use TD-SCDMA, while China Unicom and China Telecom will use WCDMA and CDMA 2000, respectively.
http://english.gov.cn

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Freescale Targets $200 Netbooks with 1GHz ARM

Freescale Semiconductor marked its entrance into the fast-growing netbook market with a solution based on the new i.MX515 processor featuring ARM Cortex-A8 technology,. Freescale's solution includes Ubuntu software, components and resources for OEMs. The new i.MX515 provides up to 2100 Dhrystone MIPS and can scale in performance from 600MHz to 1GHz. Freescale is also including a new power management IC, an ultra low-power audio codec and Adobe Flash Lite software, Adobe's Flash Player for mobile phones and devices.


"As was evident in the 2008 holiday season, the netbook market has exploded due to consumer demand for affordable and compact devices that allow users to conduct routine tasks like social networking or shopping on the Web," said Philip Solis, principal analyst at ABI Research. "The netbook market is still in its infancy, and it represents a huge market opportunity for companies like Freescale. As advanced platforms for netbooks become increasingly available, price points will drop and the market will expand."http://www.freescale.com

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PCTEL Acquires Wi-Sys for GPS Antenna Optimization

PCTEL, which develops propagation and optimization solutions for the wireless industry, has acquired Wi-Sys Communications, an Ottawa, Canada based company that specializes in GPS antenna and receiver technology, for $2.1 million. Wi-Sys' core products include a family of magnetic and fixed mount GPS antennas, OEM antennas and integrated GPS receiver-antennas to address GPS requirements at all levels of integration in military, public safety, marine and commercial applications. In 2008, Wi-Sys' proprietary products and technology generated approximately $2.2 million in revenue.
http://www.antenna.pctel.com

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LG Electronics Unveils Broadband TV with Netflix

LG Electronics unveiled its broadband-enabled HDTVs with Netflix streaming software embedded directly in the TV. The new LCD and plasma "Broadband HDTVs" will display movies, TV episodes and high-definition (HD) content from Netflix. An Ethernet port enables the broadband connection. LG's new LCD and plasma HDTVs will join the LG BD300 Network Blu-ray Disc Player, the first Blu-ray disc player to stream movies instantly from Netflix.
http://us.lge.com

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Industry Conference Schedule for Q1 2009

	International Consumer Electronics Show (CES)	08-Jan-09 to 11-Jan-09 Las Vegas
	ITEXPO EAST 2009	02-Feb-09 to 04-Feb-09 Miami
	DesignCon 2009	02-Feb-09 to 05-Feb-09 Santa Clara, California
	3GSM Mobile World Congress	16-Feb-09 to 19-Feb-09 Barcelona
	OFCNFOEC 2009	24-Feb-09 to 26-Feb-09 San Diego
	CompTel's Spring 2009 Convention & Expo	02-Mar-09 to 05-Mar-09 Dallas
	CeBIT	03-Mar-09 to 08-Mar-09 Hannover, Germany
	Satellite 2009	24-Mar-09 to 27-Mar-09 Washington, D.C.
	CTIA Wireless 2009	01-Apr-09 to 03-Apr-09 Las Vegas
	RSA Conference 2009	20-Apr-09 to 11-Apr-09 San Francisco
	NAB 2009	18-Apr-09 to 23-Apr-09 Las Vegas

http://www.convergedigest.com/conferences.asp

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Force10 and Turin Networks to Merge

Turin Networks and Force10 Networks announced a merger agreement. The deal combines leading equipment suppliers for the service provider and enterprise data center markets.


Turin Networks is a leading provider in the wireless backhaul aggregation market with products deployed in more than 60 thousand North American cell sites. Force10 Networks has the industry's second highest revenue share for total 10 Gigabit Ethernet, as ranked by the Dell'Oro Group. Industry analyst firm IDC projects two million 10 GbE ports will be deployed in data centers worldwide next year, while data center Ethernet switching revenue will grow at a CAGR of 8% to reach $6.4 billion in 2012. The combined companies will have more than 1,300 customers worldwide, including a number of top-tier service providers and premier enterprise data centers.


The merged company will operate under the name of Force10 Networks and be based in San Jose, California. Henry Wasik, president and CEO of Turin Networks, will become the president and CEO of the combined entity. Current Force10 Networks president and CEO James Hanley will assume the role of president, field operations with responsibility for sales, marketing, services and business development. The merger is expected to be finalized by March 2009, pending the completion of legal and regulatory filings.
http://www.force10networks.com/http://www.turinnetworks.com

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