Monday, September 28, 2009

NTT Com to Launch Services Subsidiary in Philippines

NTT Communications has established a wholly-owned subsidiary in Manila to provide system integration, security solutions and other ICT services. NTT Com Philippines will provide local multinational companies with one-stop global-quality communication systems and ICT environments, from design and implementation to operation and support, as well as system consulting, PBX/LAN/server installation and security services, including both staff education and solutions for protection against information leaks. http://www.ntt.co.jp

China Mobile Deploys First ATCA-Based Mobile Softswitch with Huawei

China Mobile has deployed its first ATCA-based mobile softswitch in Guangdong province using Huawei's platform. The companies claim the deployment holds the record for the single largest user-supported service by any vendor, serving 1.7 million subscribers in Dongguan City. Huawei said its ATCA mobile softswitch system can support 12 million subscribers with one device.
http://www.huawei.com

Hitachi Node+Zero Single-Fiber RFoG Gains USDA RUS

Hitachi Communication Technologies America's Node+Zero RFoG module has been accepted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service (RUS) for use on projects funded by the Rural Telecom Infrastructure and by the Broadband Loan and Loan Guarantee Programs.


The Node+Zero joins Hitachi's AMN 1200 BPON and AMN1220 GPON systems on the RUS List of Materials Acceptable for Use on RUS Financed Projects in category "ae", "Access Equipment". RUS listing also means that the Node+Zero module can be deployed under the ARRA (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act).
http://www.hitachi-cta.com

Japan's JPIX Internet Exchange Installs Force10 for 10 GbE

Japan Internet Exchange Co. Ltd. (JPIX) has selected Force10 Networks' ExaScale E-Series family of switch/routers to provide high-performance 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10 GbE) services for its growing network. With support for 140 line-rate 10 GbE SFP+ ports per chassis, the ExaScale E-Series delivers 100 Gbps of useable data capacity per slot. In addition to capacity, the E1200 delivers total throughput of more than two billion packets per second across a switching fabric capacity of 3.5 Tbps or 250 Gbps full duplex per slot.
http://www.force10networks.com

Level 3 to Deliver Services to Cypress in 29 U.S. Markets

Cypress Communications, a provider of managed voice, data and Internet solutions for more than 6,000 companies across the U.S., selected Level 3 Communications to provide colocation, voice and a variety of Ethernet-based and dedicated high-bandwidth services (e.g., Ethernet private line, Ethernet virtual private line, high-speed dedicated Internet access, etc.).

"Level 3 is an appealing strategic partner for us because of the company's nationwide backbone and fiber assets in our target metro markets," said Jorge Rosado, executive vice president of engineering and network operations for Cypress Communications. "The Level 3 network will help us accommodate the growth we're seeing from the popularity of our C4 IP hosted VoIP and unified communications solution."http://www.Level3.com

Taiwan's Chief Telecom Selects Acme Packet for IMS

Chief Telecom, a subsidiary of Taiwan's Chunghwa Telecom, has deployed the Acme Packet Net-Net session border controllers (SBCs) to offer advanced, IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) based enterprise VoIP services throughout the island. Specifically, Chief Telecom is using Acme Packet's Net-Net SBCs for their IMS-based, enterprise solution, which includes SIP trunking, IP-Centrex, audio conferencing, video telephony, voice mail and messaging services. Acme Packet's SBCs also secure and connect Chief Telecom's Microsoft MSN VoIP service for consumers with its international peering network. Chief's Telecom's parent company, CHT, has used Acme Packet's SBCs for more than four years as part of its IMS-based, fixed-line residential and mobile VoIP, and international SIP peering services.
http://www.acmepacket.com

CipherOptics Appoints Tom Gill as CEO

CipherOptics, which offers network encryption technologies, has appointed Thomas J. Gill as its new Chairman and CEO. Gill is the former CEO and President of FORE Systems. Several other former FORE Systems executives have also joined CipherOptics including Gary Brunner as Chief Financial Officer, Kevin Nigh as Senior Vice President of Engineering, and Kirk Wrigley as Senior Vice President of Sales and Business Development. Jim Doherty will continue in his role as Chief Marketing Officer. http://www.CipherOptics.com

Xelerated Enhances its Processors and Programmable Ethernet Switches

Xelerated released version 5.0 of its Software Development Kit (SDK) for its new generation of HX Carrier Ethernet network processors (NPUs) and AX Programmable Ethernet Switches. Enhancements enable system vendors to develop and customize data plane software for their unified fiber access and next generation Metro Ethernet platforms. The SDK 5.0 instruction set and programming model are compatible with previous NPU generations, thus easing reuse of existing applications and migration of code for existing X11 customers that are looking to optimize their data planes with the capabilities of new generation Carrier Ethernet devices.
http://www.xelerated.com

Verizon CTO: All-Fiber is a Game Changer

"The real opportunity of a fiber-access network is created by the seamless interconnection with our wireless broadband and global IP networks," said Dick Lynch, Verizon executive vice president and chief technology officer, speaking at the Fiber to the Home Conference and Expo in Houston.


In the five years since beginning its FiOS rollout in Keller, Texas, Verizon's FTTH network has grown to where it will pass 15 million homes and businesses by year-end. The network delivers access for all its customers to Internet service at up to 50 Mbps downstream and 20 Mbps upstream, and TV service with about 120 high-definition (HD) channels.


Lynch said sales penetration rates for FiOS Internet and TV are already 28 percent and 25 percent, respectively. More than 300,000 new customers signed on to each of the services in the second quarter, bringing the totals to 3.1 million customers for FiOS Internet and 2.5 million for FiOS TV.


Lynch called on the networking industry to keep optical technologies moving forward. He said development of standards for emerging services must be expedited, citing the need to reduce the standards for 3D video from about a dozen to one. He said energy efficiency must be another priority. Verizon is migrating its networks to IMS and he called on the industry's assistance in developing a robust set of complementary CPE. Lynch also called for new PON systems capable of delivering strong signals out to 40 kilometers and beyond. This requires the use of better PON cards with improved optics as well as other innovations.
http://www.verizon.com

Cavalier Upgrades its Legacy Switches with Metaswitch

Cavalier, a full-service competitive telecom operator serving markets in the eastern United States, selected MetaSwitch to transform its network. Cavalier is leveraging its investment in MetaSwitch to launch hosted PBX and unified communications services under the "IPeer" brand. Specifically, the MetaSphere Enhanced Application Server is deployed in a central data center and is complemented by nine MetaSwitch MG3510 media gateways deployed throughout the Cavalier service territory. This allows Cavalier's business customers to have immediate access to new features and applications without the need to update any software or hardware on-site, avoiding the high capital expenditure of premises-based equipment.
http://www.metaswitch.com

MPEG LA Cites Progress in Sorting Out LTE Essential Patents Owners

The MPEG LA, which administers patent pools, held its first meeting of essential LTE patent owners in September in Tokyo, Japan. At the meeting, 12 patent owners from five countries on three continents discussed the specific structure and terms of a patent pool for licensing patents that are essential to the LTE standards developed by 3GPP. The patent owners represent a broad spectrum of the LTE marketplace, including handset manufacturers, network equipment manufacturers, wireless carriers, chipmakers, and research institutions.


"The wireless industry desires a reasonable LTE patent pool license that includes the essential patents of major industry participants," said MPEG LA President and CEO Larry Horn. "We were impressed with the desire of LTE essential patent owners to deliver a broad, marketable and innovative license as evidenced by their openness to discuss and reach consensus on fundamental licensing issues."http://www.mpegla.com

FCC's Broadband Task Force Delivers Initial Assessment

With 141 days remaining before the FCC must deliver a National Broadband Plan to Congress, the task force issued a preliminary report on the state of broadband in the United States.


The FCC's forthcoming plan, which was mandated by The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, will address broadband deployment, adoption, affordability, and the use of broadband to advance solutions to national priorities, including health care, education, energy, public safety, job creation, investment, and others. The plan will provide concrete recommendations on how to successfully deliver on the infrastructure challenge of our time: provision and adoption of universal broadband.


This initial report provides data to the five FCC commissioners for developing the plan. Key findings includes:

The Framework: Congress required the Commission to craft a strategy for delivery of universal, affordable, widely adopted broadband to serve vital national purposes. The report states that subsidy mechanisms must be considered as a means to universal adoption, but current mechanisms, such as Universal Service and stimulus grants, are insufficient to achieve national purposes. The FCC might also help reduce costs with new policies on spectrum, rights of way, backhaul, and fiber.


Applications: The report finds that applications require different broadband speeds, with the most demanding being high-definition streamed video. But actual broadband speeds lag advertised speeds by as much as 50% to 80%. Peak usage hours, typically 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., create network congestion and speed degradation. About 1% of users drive 20% of traffic, while 20% of users drive up to 80% of traffic. A constrained network dictates investment needs in infrastructure.


Deployment: Preliminary analysis indicates that approximately three to six million people are unserved by basic broadband (speeds of 768 Kbps or less). The number of unserved increases as the definition of minimum broadband speed increases.


The incremental cost to universal availability varies significantly depending on the speed of service, with preliminary estimates showing that the total investment required ranging from $20 billion for 768 Mbps-3Mbps service to $350 billion for 100 Mbps or faster.


The cost of providing consumers with a choice of infrastructure providers, and/or ensuring that all consumers have access to both fixed and mobile broadband would be significantly higher than these initial estimates. The cost to provide service in rural areas is significantly higher than in urban areas, and is driven not only by higher capital expenditures, but also significantly higher recurring operating expenses largely driven by transport and transit. Universal Service Fund recipients have made progress bringing broadband to rural America, but the fund faces systemic and structural problems.


Adoption: Nearly 2/3 of Americans have adopted broadband at home, while 33% have access but have not adopted it, and another 4% say they have no access where they live. But large segments of the population have much lower penetration rates, and adoption levels vary across demographic groups. The cost of digital exclusion is large and growing for non-adopters, as resources for employment, education, news, healthcare and shopping for goods and services increasingly move on line.


Spectrum: Bandwidth-hungry devices, applications and users are buffeting existing network capacity and driving many to cite the need for additional spectrum. Some models suggest a need for more than 1 GHz of total allocated spectrum. The task force is actively assessing the long-term spectrum needs of the country for mobile broadband services, but after decades of new allocations, concedes that the spectrum pipeline is drying up.


International Broadband Plans: The driving force behind national broadband plans in other nations has been competitiveness, job creation and innovation. Successful plans need four or more years of continuous effort and consistent funding sources.


National Purposes: Broadband can be part of the solution to many of the nation's challenges, creating economic and social benefits.


The FCC noted that it has received nearly 41,000 pages of written comments so far in response to its National Broadband Plan Notice of Inquiry.
http://www.fcc.gov