Telegent Appoints CEO as Mobile TV Chip Shipments Top 50 Million

Telegent Systems, which supplies single-chip mobile TV solutions, appointed Dr. Samuel Sheng as its new CEO. Sheng has served as Telegent's Chief Technology Officer and executive Chairman of the Board since co-founding the company. In tandem with Sheng's appointment, Dr. Weijie Yun, the driving force behind Telegent since co-founding the company with Sheng in 2004, will take up Sheng's prior post of executive Chairman of the Board and carry operational responsibility for key strategic initiatives.


Sheng's appointment coincides with a new milestone for the company which has realized significant uptake of its free-to-air analog mobile TV products, shipping a record 50 million mobile TV receivers since mid-2007.Telegent's products deliver a quality mobile TV viewing experience for analog broadcast standards, providing consumers around the world with mobile access to the same, live free-to-air programming that they receive on conventional TV sets.
http://www.telegent.com

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ViaSat to Acquire WildBlue for Satellite Broadband

ViaSat agreed to acquire privately-held WildBlue Communications, which operates Ka-band satellite broadband service across the U.S., in a cash and stock transaction valued at $568 million.


In less than five years since launching its residential broadband satellite service, WildBlue has grown to over 400,000 customers, making it one of the top ISPs in the country.


WildBlue, which is powered exclusively by the ViaSat SurfBeam networking system, pioneered the use of "unprocessed" Ka-band spot beam technology to increase capacity and lower bandwidth costs.


The companies said their merger sets the stage for accelerated growth and expansion of the WildBlue broadband service using ViaSat next generation network technology, which will use a new higher-capacity ViaSat-1 satellite scheduled to launch in early 2011.


"WildBlue and ViaSat have been close partners for nearly a decade and today's announcement is the logical next step," said Mark Dankberg, chairman and CEO of ViaSat. "By integrating ViaSat-1 and its ground network technology into the WildBlue operational and distribution platform, we believe we can meaningfully reduce our operational execution risks. Joining forces with ViaSat provides fast and efficient access to next-generation capacity for the WildBlue business and its subscribers. This synergy, coupled with the improved free cash flow profile WildBlue has attained in the last year, has enabled us to structure what we believe is a highly capital efficient transaction that offers immediate financial benefits to ViaSat. In our view, it's exceptional to be able to make an acquisition with so many strategic benefits under such favorable financial terms."


"Our new satellite," Dankberg continues, "will have nearly all of its capacity aimed at those areas where WildBlue growth is constrained by lack of cost-effective bandwidth. The planned launch of ViaSat-1 in early 2011 is expected to multiply WildBlue total network capacity by more than tenfold, and by a factor of over 20 in those areas with the highest demand at a fraction of its current bandwidth costs. The increased bandwidth coupled with next generation ViaSat network technology is expected to enable WildBlue to increase upstream and downstream user speeds by factors of 3 to 5 times in those high-demand areas at current subscription prices, substantially raising the value to consumers."http://www.wildblue.com
http://www.viasat.com

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GSMA Launches Global Number Portability Registry Service

The GSMA launched a PathFinder Number Portability Discovery managed service that serves as a state-of-the-art solution for global number portability. The new service, which is operated by Neustar, encompasses 2.2 billion telephone numbers that are impacted by number portability worldwide, a figure which is expected to rise rapidly.


Number portability is currently implemented in over 52 countries globally, with many more, including China and India, expected to launch by the end of 2010. The service will also aggregate numbering plan data from virtually every country in the world, including those with high number portability penetration.


"The GSMA's PathFinder Number Portability Discovery service provides critical numbering plan and number portability information that dynamically enables service providers to identify the true destination network for accurate routing," said Alex Sinclair, Chief Technology and Strategy Officer at the GSMA. "The service will help eliminate incremental fees, reduce costs, optimise rates in commercial agreements, improve traffic delivery and pave the way for new feature-rich IP-based services. With their leading credentials in Number Portability, we are pleased to extend our relationship with Neustar, who will operate the service."


The GSMA said it created the service to provide an interoperable, industry-wide solution that enables the routing of global IP service interconnect traffic. The new Number Portability Discovery service will make use of PathFinder's extensive number portability database, which provides access to all national numbering plans and number portability information, where available, throughout the world. With adaptable and extensible interfaces, the service can rapidly incorporate new number portability data for countries coming on line or that plan to implement number portability in the future.


Furthermore, Pulse Networks, Veraz Networks and TransNexus have been certified as PathFinder Partners to enable access to IP-based ENUM services from both next generation networks and C7 legacy networks. Thttp://www.gsmworld.com/our-work/programmes-and-initiatives/pathfinder/index.htmhttp://www.gsmworld.com

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AT&T to Manage Global Network Services for MEI

AT&T won a new three-year contract to provide an array of managed network services to MEI, one of the leading manufacturers of electronic bill acceptors, coin mechanisms and other unattended transaction systems. MEI's global network links is headquarters in West Chester, Pa., U.S. distribution centers and other operations in Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Australia and China.
http://www.att.com

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AT&T Completes Acquisition of VeriSign's Global Security Consulting Business

AT&T completed its acquisition of VeriSign's global security consulting business. The transaction aligns VeriSign's security consulting experience in comprehensive risk assessment with AT&T's suite of network-based cybersecurity services. http://www.att.com

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Tyco Tests 10/40 Gbps over Same Undersea Fiber

Tyco Telecommunications demonstrated 40 Gbps transmission capabilities using an existing 2,500 km undersea system originally designed for 10 Gbps transmission. In-field testing on a live network demonstrated the capability for simultaneous transmission of 40 Gbps and 10 Gbps traffic. Tyco was able to transmit 64 wavelengths of 40 Gbps traffic, which increases system capacity to 2.56 terabits on a single fiber pair.
http://www.tycotelecom.com

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Verizon Provides Free Wi-Fi to its Small-Business Broadband Customers

Verizon is now offering free Wi-Fi hot spot access at more than 14,000 locations nationwide to its small business broadband customers. Free Verizon Wi-Fi hot spot locations include hotels, airports, restaurants, coffee shops, retailers, convention centers and public locations across the U.S.
http://www.verizon.net/hotspots

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Actus Networks Debuts G.8032 Ethernet Ring Protection for Carrier Ethernet

Korea-based Actus Networks debuted an access ring Ethernet protection solution compliant to G.8032 Recommendation version 1 and version 2, which enables 50 ms protection switching for packet transport in a ring network.


The company said its products open a new market window for PBB-TE, OAM (802.3ah, 802.1ag, Y.1731), MEF E-LINE and E-LAN, and PWE3 services on mobile backhaul and access rings.


In comparison with the IEEE802.17 Resilient Packet Ring Standard, Actus notes the following benefits:

• 50 ms protection switching using generic standards of IEEE802.1 and IEEE802.3



• Flexible topology with a single ring and interconnected multi-rings



• All Ethernet Speed (1/10/40/100GbE MAC)



• Support for multiple Ethernet services

Actus Networks developed the solution in collaboration with ETRI, an R&D subsidy of the Korean government, and KAIST, a globally renowned research university of Korea., http://www.actusnetworks.com
http://www.etri.re.kr/eng

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Nokia Joins Wireless Power Consortium

Nokia has joined the Wireless Power Consortium, an industry group whose mission is to create and promote wide market adoption of Qi (pronounced "chee") as the international wireless power standard for interoperability across rechargeable electronic devices. Members include ConvenientPower, Duracell, Hosiden, Fulton Innovation, Leggett & Platt, National Semiconductor, Nokia, Olympus, Philips, Samsung, Sanyo, Shenzhen Sangfei Consumer Communications, ST-Ericsson, and Texas Instruments.


"As the world's largest mobile phone manufacturer and leader in mobile telecommunications, Nokia brings a new dimension to the Consortium. This significantly expands the potential market traction of the Qi wireless charging standard," said Menno Treffers, Chairman, Wireless Power Consortium.
http://www.wirelesspowerconsortium.com

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Cisco + TANDBERG See $34 Billion Collaboration Market

In a bid to consolidate its position in telepresence and teleconferencing, Cisco launched a cash tender offer to purchase all the outstanding shares of TANDBERG for 153.5 Norwegian Kroner per share for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $3.0 billion. This represents an 11.0% premium to the previous day closing price of TANDBERG's stock, and a 25.2% premium to the 3-month volume weighted average closing price for TANDBERG's stock.


TANDBERG's Board of Directors is supporting the Cisco bid. Cisco expects the acquisition to be accretive to its non-GAAP earnings in fiscal year 2011.


TANDBERG's video endpoints and network infrastructure solution will be integrated into Cisco's collaboration architecture. This will enable intercompany and multi-vendor interoperability and ease of use across the full product portfolio -- from desktop to immersive, multi-screen TelePresence.


Cisco plans to position TANDBERG's Norway operations as a European center of video excellence alongside its own Service Provider video team in Kortrijk, Belgium.


"Cisco and TANDBERG have remarkably similar cultures and a shared vision to change the way the world works through collaboration and video communications technologies," said Cisco Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John Chambers. "Collaboration is a $34 billion market and is growing rapidly -- enabled by networked Web 2.0 technologies. This acquisition showcases Cisco's financial strength and ability to quickly capture key market transitions for growth."http://www.cisco.com
http://www.tandberg.com

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