DOCOMO Deploys Remote Radio Equipment for LTE Base Stations

NTT DOCOMO is deploying new W-CDMA base stations equipped with newly developed remote radio equipment (RRE) units to provide both existing W-CDMA and forthcoming LTE service.
RRE (also known as remote radio head) allows the relatively easy and efficient installation of LTE base stations to existing W-CDMA base stations. Compared to existing equipment, it also helps to lower operational costs thanks to its reduced weight, size and energy consumption. The RRE-equipped base station comprises a master unit for signal processing and maintenance functions and the RRE for modulating and demodulating both W-CDMA and LTE signals transmitted and received via antenna. The two are linked by optical fiber

NTT DOCOMO said the RRE-equipped base stations will account for about half of the initial LTE base stations when DOCOMO becomes one of world's first operators to launch an LTE service in December 2010.


The deployment is a part of DOCOMO's initial plan to layer a 2GHz LTE network over its existing 3G network to provide dual W-CDMA/LTE service, which will combine the benefits of LTE's high transmission speeds with 3G's wide-area coverage as the LTE network is expanded gradually.
http://www.nttdocomo.com/pr/2009/001465.html

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Zayo Bandwidth Expands Fiber-to-Tower Services in Northwest

Zayo Bandwidth will deploy TDM and Ethernet services to 45 wireless tower sites in Spokane, Washington and Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. The deployment will support the rollout of LTE wireless network services. This expansion increases Zayo's national tower footprint to more than 1,300 locations.
http://www.zayo.com

• Zayo Bandwidth has committed $65 million in its capital expenditure program for FY 2010. This compares with the $45 million that the company will have spent this year on network expansion. In 2009, Zayo added over 400 buildings across its dense fiber footprint. 75% of that capital expense was deployed in direct support of customer bandwidth requirements.

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Nokia and ST-Ericsson Partner on TD-SCDMA

Nokia will be using ST-Ericsson as a key supplier of chipset platforms in its Symbian based TD-SCDMA devices and solutions portfolio. The companies have entered into a partnership aimed at creating a robust user experience for Chinese consumers.


In October, Nokia launched Nokia 6788, its first Symbian based TD-SCDMA phone and announced the creation of a dedicated TD-SCDMA R&D team in Beijing.


ST-Ericsson, through its Chinese subsidiary T3G, has been fully dedicated to the creation of new TD-SCDMA technology and devices for more than six years.
http://www.stericsson.com
http://www.nokia.com

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Cisco Completes Starent Acquisition -- Mobile Packet Core

Cisco completed its previously announced acquisition of Starent Networks, a supplier of IP based mobile infrastructure solutions targeting mobile and converged carriers. Starent now becomes part of Cisco's new Mobile Internet Technology Group within the Service Provider Group (SPG). In addition, Ashraf Dahod, former president and CEO of Starent Networks, becomes senior vice president and general manager of this new group, reporting to Pankaj Patel, senior vice president and general manager of SPG.


Cisco paid $35 per share in cash in exchange for each share of Starent Networks and assumed outstanding equity awards for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $2.9 billion.


Starent provides the multimedia intelligence, core network functions and services to manage access from any 2.5G, 3G, and 4G radio network to a mobile operator's packet core network. Starent Networks' access-independent technology is deployed in CDMA2000 (1X, EV-DO), UMTS/HSPA and WiMAX networkshttp://www.cisco.com

• Starent Networks was founded in 2000 and completed its initial public offering in 2007. The company is based in Tewksbury, Mass. and has approximately 1,000 employees worldwide. For the year ended Dec. 31, 2008, Starent Networks reported revenue of $254.1 million, up 74 percent from the prior year.



• Earlier this year, Verizon Wireless selected Starent Networks as a key supplier for the packet core. The company claims over 100 operator deployments in 40+ countries, including eight of the top 10 3G operators.

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Avaya Competes Acquisition of Nortel's Enterprise Solutions Business

Avaya completed its acquisition of Nortel's global Enterprise Solutions business as well as the shares of Nortel Government Solutions Incorporated and DiamondWare. Approximately 6,000 NES employees have joined Avaya, including 25 top managers. Joel Hackney, previously president, Nortel Enterprise Solutions, joins the Avaya Executive Committee as senior vice president and president, Avaya Government Solutions and Data.


The deal enhances Avaya's strategic position in providing business communications solutions and services for enterprise customers. Avaya will now begin the work to integrate the operations and customer care functions of the two organizations. The company expects to provide information about the new combined product portfolio and roadmap within the next 30 days.


The sale of certain Enterprise Solutions assets held by Israeli subsidiaries remains subject to court approval in Israel.



"The completion of this acquisition represents another major step in Avaya's evolution and growth in the communications industry," said Kevin J. Kennedy, president and CEO, Avaya. "Avaya and Nortel Enterprise Solutions share a common vision for the future of business communications. By combining our complementary technology portfolios, deep industry specific domain expertise, sales channels and customer bases, the new Avaya will redefine business communications and help customers to reduce costs, simplify operations and increase their business agility."


"This is our second, large-scale business divestiture, and it represents significant progress on Nortel's plan to preserve the value of its innovation, while maximizing value through the sale of its businesses," said Pavi Binning, Chief Restructuring Officer, Nortel. http://www.avaya.com
http://www.nortel.com

• In September 2009, Avaya prevailed its bid to acquire Nortel Enterprise Solutions at auction for US $900 million in proceeds to Nortel and an additional pool of $15 million reserved for an employee retention program.

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Orange Expands Cloud Computing Strategy

Orange Business Services announced plans to launch a dozen of new cloud computing services in the coming 24 months, covering six main areas including real-time applications, collaboration, security, infrastructure, cloud-ready networking and vertical solutions for specific industries. The carrier already offers a number of cloud services, such as its IT Plan and Flexible Computing offerings.


Orange envisions a full range of services, from infrastructure to real-time business applications, supported by a cloud-ready network that is able to ensure rapid scalability with full security and end-to-end service level agreements. Orange will provide customers with step-by-step guidance during their transition to cloud-based services, accommodating hybrid models, which are the most suitable for many enterprises.


Orange noted that it is already managing 12,000 servers for enterprise customers.


"Operating cloud computing services is in our DNA," said Barbara Dalibard, president and CEO, Orange Business Services. " The network is the cloud, and our experience and expertise in network and communications services place us in the best position to deliver high performance cloud computing services to support our customers' transformation. We are committed to leveraging our global capabilities to deliver secure and flexible cloud computing services to our customers," Dalibard added.
http://www.orange.com
http://www.orange-business.com/cloud

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Google Joins "IP for Smart Objects" (IPSO) Alliance

Google has joined the IPSO Alliance, a group of technology companies with the common goal of promoting the Internet Protocol for smart object communications, allowing items ranging from appliances to factories to cars to "communicate" as individuals do over the Internet.


The IPSO Alliance supports the technical standards being developed by the IETF and IEEE. The alliance performs interoperability tests, documents the use of new IP-based technologies, conducts marketing activities and serves as an information repository for users seeking to understand the role of IP in networks of physical objects. The group was formed one year ago.


Smart objects are defined as things in the physical world that - typically with the help of embedded devices - transmit information about their condition or environment (e.g., temperature, light, motion, health status) to locations where the information can be analyzed, correlated with other data and acted upon. Applications range from automated and energy-efficient homes and office buildings, factory equipment maintenance and asset tracking to hospital patient monitoring and safety and compliance assurance.


The IPSO alliance now boasts 53 member companies, including Bosch, Cisco, Ericsson, Intel, SAP, Sun Microsystems and Texas Instruments.
http://www.ipso-alliance.org

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Tele2 and Telenor select Huawei for LTE

Net4Mobility, the joint venture by Tele2 and Telenor, has selected Huawei Technologies as its lead supplier for LTE for a nationwide 4G network in Sweden. Financial terms were not disclosed.


The goal is that 99 percent of the Swedish population will be able to access the new network before the end of 2013, starting with densely populated areas. The deployment also includes increasing the number of base stations for voice traffic in 2G/GSM by 30-50 percent, with enhanced indoor- and outdoor coverage across the country as a result.
http://www.tele2.com
http://www.telenor.com

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