Aricent Releases Data Center Ethernet Software

Aricent announced a new release of its Intelligent Switching Solution (ISS) specifically tailored for building Data Center Ethernet equipment. Aricent's ISS is a licensable, pre-packaged software framework that jumpstarts the development and integration of advanced switching products, and has been selected by more than 60 networking and telecom equipment manufacturers worldwide.The new ISS release includes functions essential to delivering Ethernet in the Data Center including Priority Flow Control (PFC), Enhanced Transmission Selection (ETS),...

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Xelerated Samples 100 Gbps Network Processor

Xelerated has begun sampling its HX family of network processor units (NPUs), which can process 100 Gbps of Ethernet traffic at wirespeed for any packet size. The silicon is aimed at a new generation Carrier Ethernet switches and routers. Xelerated's HX family of NPUs integrate Ethernet MACs, programmable switching and advanced traffic management for the delivery of fine-granular Quality of Service (QoS). They also feature Xelerated's Dataflow packet...

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Dell to Acquire Scalent for Data Center Software

Dell agreed to acquire Scalent, a private company that provides data center software, for an undisclosed sum.Scalent, which is based in Palo Alto, California, brings an open, software-based approach to managing virtual infrastructure. Its software automates the end-to-end provisioning of server images, networks, and storage access in a coordinated manner. The company was founded in 2003.Dell plans to integrate Scalent technology into its Advanced...

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Juniper Invests in ADVA Optical

ADVA Optical Networking will issue 551,471 ordinary shares to Juniper Networks in exchange for an investment of US$3.0 million. The companies said they will evaluate the potential for jointly marketing and selling next-generation IP-based transport solutions to service providers to help reduce network complexity and costs. http://www.advaoptical....

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SingTel Deploys Juniper EX4200 Ethernet Switches

Singapore Telecommunications has deployed Juniper Networks' EX4200 Ethernet Switches at points-of-presence (POP) across the region for supporting its MEF-certified Carrier Ethernet suite, which includes international services such as ConnectPlus Ethernet Line (E-Line), ConnectPlus Ethernet Virtual Private Network (E-VPN), ConnectPlus Ethernet Virtual Private Line (E-VPL) and local services such as MetroEthernet and Meg@POP suite of Ethernet services including E-VPN and E-VPL. In addition to deploying the Junos OS across the EX switches, SingTel...

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Taiwan's Chunghwa Telecom Lab Tests LTE with Ericsson

Taiwan's Chunghwa Telecom Laboratories and Ericsson demonstrated indoor and outdoor LTE mobility tests, application services as well as CHT-TL's in-house developed LTE Simulator. The LTE trial network was implemented by Ericsson at the end of last year as part of Chunghwa Telecommunications Laboratories' effort to support the Networked Communications Program (NCP) Project. The trial focused on feature testing IP-based LTE-EPC, MIMO, LTE-EPC network...

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Ericsson Academy Launches Online

Ericsson launched an online Academy for sharing knowledge about networking technology with students, partners, suppliers and customers. The Academy was launched within Ericsson in November 2009 for its 80,000 employees. Online materials include tutorials, technical snapshots and webinarshttp://www.ericsson.com/ourportfolio/ericsson-acad...

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NSN and Nokia Test LTE in 800 MHz Digital Dividend Spectrum

Nokia Siemens Networks and Nokia conducted the first end-to-end LTE data call with Nokia Siemens Networks' commercial equipment on the 800 MHz frequency band. The tests, conducted at NSN's LTE Center of Competence in Espoo, Finland, follow the company's commencement of production of LTE-ready Flexi Multiradio Base Stations for the 800 MHz band in April this year, and complement earlier tests with Nokia on the 2100 MHz and 2600 MHz bands.During the...

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GSA: Rapid Shift to HSPA+ is Happening, 80 Operators Confirmed with LTE

3G/WCDMA is now commercially available on 357 networks in 148 countries, according to the Global mobile Suppliers Association (GSA), and nearly all of these mobile operators have implemented a High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) upgrade. The number of networks operators expressing a commitment to HSPA network upgrades is even higher -- 401 in 154 countries.Some additional statistics from the GSA:The majority of HSPA networks, currently 58%, support...

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Ericsson Conducts First LTE TDD trials in India

Ericsson demonstrated an LTE data call using the 2.3GHz band in a technology trial showcase in India. The LTE trial, which is a milestone for LTE TDD in India, was performed at the Experience Centre, Ericsson Forum, in Gurgaon, India. http://www.ericsson....

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Infonetics: North American Voice Revenues, including Mobile, Declined 5% in 2009

The decline of traditional fixed-line voice service and the rise of broadband access, video, and mobile data is speeding up, according to a new report from Infonetics on Residential Voice, Data, and Video Services in North America. Some highlights of the report:The residential services market in North America, which comprises voice, video, and Internet access services, held steady during the economic downturn, maintaining $240 billion in 2009Service...

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Motorola Outlines Separation Plans

In an S.E.C. filing, Motorola outlined its plans to separate its Mobile Devices and Home businesses from its Enterprise Mobility Solutions and Networks businesses. The separation will be accomplished through a series of transactions in which the assets, liabilities and operations of the Mobile Devices and Home businesses on a global basis will be transferred to a new company called Motorola SpinCo. Motorola's Board of Directors cited several benefits...

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Fujitsu FLASHWAVE 4500 Clears Energy Efficiency Metric

Fujitsu's FLASHWAVE 4500 MSPP has met energy efficiency standards under the Telecommunications Energy Efficiency Ratio (TEER) metric released by ATIS.The TEER standard provides a comprehensive methodology for measuring and reporting energy consumption as well as quantifying a network component's ratio of work performed to energy consumed. Fujitsu noted that several of the nation's largest telecom service providers are currently using the ATIS TEER metric as a basis for evaluating network equipment under their procurement processes.http://us.f...

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Microsoft Drops Kin Phones Two Months After Launch

Microsoft discontinued its recently launched "Kin" mobile phones due to poor demand. Microsoft said it intends to redeploy employees on the Kin team to its Windows Phone 7 project. Verizon Wireless was offering the two Microsoft Kin phones. The first Windows Phone 7 devices will be available by holiday 2010 under labels from other manufacturers. http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/presskits/KIN/In 2008, Microsoft acquired Danger, a Palo Alto, California-based developed of mobile phone for the youth market. Danger was best known for its Sidekick...

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China Telecom Shanghai Activates Juniper TX Matrix Plus

China Telecom has deployed its Juniper Networks' multi-chassis routing system in a production environment of its Shanghai network. The Juniper Networks TX Matrix Plus interconnects T1600 Core Routers, providing the core of its super metro area network in Shanghai and supporting Expo 2010, which is taking place in the city. China Telecom has 3.5 million Shanghai broadband customers, including 1.2 million IPTV subscribers, and had been using Juniper...

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European Commission Launches Net Neutrality Consultation

The European Commission has launched a consultation on net neutrality covering such issues as whether Internet providers should be allowed to adopt certain traffic management practices, such as prioritizing one kind of Internet traffic over another. The EC will examine whether such traffic management practices may create problems and have unfair effects for users, and whether the level of competition between different Internet service providers and...

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Zayo to Acquire American Fiber Systems

Zayo Group agreed to acquire American Fiber Systems Holding Corporation (AFS), a leading provider of metropolitan fiber network and telecom services. Financial terms were not disclosed.AFS, which is based in Rochester, NY, operates over 800 route miles of unique, fiber-rich network in 6 new metropolitan markets -- Boise, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Nashville, Reno and Salt Lake City. In addition, AFS enhances Zayo's fiber depth and footprint with approximately...

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Cisco Delivers Hosted Collaboration Solution for Service Providers

Cisco released a Hosted Collaboration solution that enables Service Providers to deliver Cisco applications via the cloud using an "as a service" model.Specifically, the Cisco Hosted Collaboration Solution gives service providers and integrators the ability to deploy multiple collaboration applications on one server in a virtualized environment and then host those applications for multiple client organizations. The solution is designed to be run...

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Cisco Expands Data Center 3.0 Strategy with FabricPath Routing

Cisco expanded its Data Center 3.0 strategy for transforming information delivery in physical and virtualized environments. Cisco's data center and virtualization vision combines unified fabric and unified computing in the data center. The key innovation in its 3.0 architecture is a new Cisco "FabricPath" technology that increases network scalability, resource agility, asset efficiency, and performance in the data center. The company is also rolling...

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Vodafone Portugal Selects NSN's Service Broker

Vodafone Portugal has selected Nokia Siemens Networks' Service Broker to enable the seamless convergence of legacy circuit-switched services, such as Personnel Greeting Voice services, with IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) services. NSN's Service Broker technology, based on an OpenCloud platform and integrated into the operator's existing IMS and intelligent network (IN) systems, is expected to substantially cut the time and cost of launching new services....

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Portugal Blocks Telefonica's Bid for Vivo Stake

The government of Portugal acted to block the proposed sale of Portugal Telecom's stake in Vivo, the Brazilian mobile operator, to Telefónica S.A. The Portuguese government remains a special "golden" shareholder in Portugal Telecom and opposed Telefónica's bid for strategic reasons. The moves follows several bid increases from Telefónica, which reported had pushed the offer up to EUR 7.15 billion. http://www.telefonica.com http://www.telecom...

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Procera Cites First Deployments of PacketLogic

Procera Networks announced the first shipments of its PacketLogic PL8720 platform, a two rack unit (2RU) 10 Gbps deep packet inspection (DPI) appliance for providing awareness, analysis, and control over network traffic. The new PacketLogic PL8720 is designed for networks transitioning from GE (gigabit Ethernet) to 10GE links. It offers up to eight 10GE or sixteen 10GE DPI ports. http://www.proceranetworks....

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Ooma's iPhone App Offloads AT&T Voice Minutes

Ooma, which offers residential voice service in the U.S. using a freemium model, released an iPhone app that lets Ooma customers make domestic and international calls over any Wi-Fi or 3G network while tapping into their Ooma account rather than using AT&T voice minutes. Ooma leverages its own "PureVoice" codec to reduce bandwidth usage by 60%. For international calls, Ooma calculates this will save customers up to 90%. http://www.ooma....

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MobileAccess Teams With Cisco on Wi-Fi + Cellular Solution

MobileAccess, which supplies enterprise wireless solutions, is working with Cisco to deliver a solution that enables reliable, in-building cellular coverage over an organization's existing LAN infrastructure. The solution integrates MobileAccessVE with the Cisco Unified Wireless Network by sending cellular RF signals over CAT-5/6 Ethernet LAN infrastructure for 2G, 3G and 4G services, without affecting wired or wireless LAN traffic. This approach...

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Ericsson's Acquisition of Nortel's stake of LG-Nortel Completed

Ericsson completed its acquisition of Nortel's majority shareholding (50%+1 share) in LG-Nortel, the joint venture of LG Electronics and Nortel Networks, for $242 million in cash. The deal significantly expands Ericsson's position in Korea, which is one of the 10 largest telecom markets in the world with advanced end-user demand for new services.The joint venture, which was established in 2005 through the contribution by LG Electronics of its telecommunications...

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EC: Roaming Prices Falling but Competition Still Not strong

The cap on the maximum price consumers in the European Union pay for roamed voice calls fell from €0.46 to €0.43 per minute (excluding VAT) as of 1 July 2009 and will decrease further to €0.39 per minute as of 1 July 2010. The capped-price of a text message fell by almost 60% to €0.11 as of 1 July 2009. The prices that operators charge each other for data roaming will drop from €1 to €0.80 per MegaByte uploaded or downloaded as of July 2010.The European...

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Google Sees Data Center Efficiency in 40 Gbps InfiniBand

Network engineers from Google have proposed an energy proportional data center based on a unique Butterfly Topology architecture built with 40 Gbps InfiniBand switches and adapters. The proposal was made during a recent presentation at the ACM IEEE International Symposium on Computer Architecture (ISCA) and a related paper on the topic has been posted online.The Google paper proposes several ways to design a high-performance datacenter network whose power consumption is more proportional to the amount of traffic it is moving. The authors find...

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Pareto Launches Cloud-based Branch Office Networking Service

Pareto Networks, a start-up based in Sunnyvale, California unveiled a cloud-based service aimed at simplifying branch office network deployment and operations. Pareto's service uses a low-cost CPE device to securely tunnel all branch office traffic to its hosted platform in the cloud, where security and management policies are enforced. The solution eliminates the various firewall, IPS, routing and other appliances typically deployed at each branch...

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Alcatel-Lucent acquires ProgrammableWeb, Extending its Application Enablement Strategy

Alcatel-Lucent has acquired ProgrammableWeb, a leading online repository for Web APIs (application programming interfaces) used by application developers to build web, mobile, and other connected applications. Financial terms were not disclosed.ProgrammableWeb maintains a its repository of over 2,000 Web APIs which are regularly accessed by a community of hundreds of thousands of developers. The APIs and mash-ups available for download from the...

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Cisco Unveils Energy Management Tools for Utilities, Consumers, Businesses

Cisco introduced a Home Energy Management Solution that features a Home Energy Controller along with Cisco Energy Management Services that, when provided by utilities to their customers, are designed to help consumers securely and reliably gain insight into, and easier control over, their energy use.The Cisco Home Energy Controller (CGH-100) is a countertop touch screen display that tracks and controls real-time household, historic and individual...

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Mexican Students Win Cisco's $250K Global I-Prize Innovation Prize

A team of five university students from Mexico were awarded Cisco's second I-Prize competition, an open, global innovation contest developed to encourage collaboration among entrepreneurs and help identify new potential billion-dollar business ideas for Cisco. The winners receive a cash prize of $250,000.The students from Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM) developed the concept of a "Life Account" that combines social...

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Avaya and HP Expand Enterprise Collaboration

As part of a three-year strategic agreement, Avaya and HP are adding elements of Avaya's Unified Communications and Contact Center products to the HP Unified Communications and Collaboration (UC&C) services portfolio for enterprises. This solution set is to be sold and delivered by HP. Specifically, HP is offering Avaya Aura Unified Communications architecture and applications, Avaya Contact Center applications and Avaya's range of end-user...

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Hulu Plus Priced at $9.99 per Month

Hulu unveiled plans to offer an ad-supported subscription Internet TV streaming service that aggregates content from more than 100 providers across broadcast networks, major studios and independent content creators. Hulu Plus will offer full current season runs of hit TV programs from ABC, FOX and NBC across multiple Web-connected devices, in HD, for $9.99 a month. The content will be viewable on PCs and Macs as well as on Apple's iPad and iPhone,...

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Cisco Debuts Android Business Collaboration Tablet

Cisco introduced a mobile collaboration business tablet that runs its Cisco collaboration and communication applications, including HD video.Cisco Cius is an Android-based tablet designed for full telepresence interoperability, HD video streaming and real-time video, multi-party conferencing, email, messaging, browsing, and the ability to produce, edit and share content stored locally or centrally in the cloud.Some highlights:The tablet is offered...

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Deutsche Telekom Deploys Ixia for High-density 10 GE Testing

Deutsche Telekom AG will migrate to Ixia's newly announced NGY high-density 10 GE testing solution. Specifically, DT is using IxN2X to perform layer 2-3 testing of their network backbone under high traffic conditions, as well as to scale up traffic levels to see how the network performs under stressful load conditions. Specifically, DT is using IxN2X to perform layer 2-3 testing of their network backbone under high traffic conditions, as well as...

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AT&T Teams with CURRENT Group to offer Smart Grid to North American Utilities

AT&T signed a new agreement with CURRENT Group, a leading provider of distribution Smart Grid solutions, to deliver grid optimization solutions to North American utilities. CURRENT's solutions includes intelligent sensors and analytical software that monitor distribution grid performance; its OpenGrid utility element management system; and its System Optimization and Reliability analytical software solutions. AT&T offers a suite of M2M pricing...

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HP Strengthens Security for Data Centers

HP announced new high-performance security solutions for both physical and virtual environments as part of its "FlexFabric" data center networking fabric for a Converged Infrastructure.The HP TippingPoint Secure Virtualization Framework (SVF) is a suite of products designed to help prevent network threats from impacting virtualized environments. The TippingPoint Virtual Controller (vController), the first product introduced under the SVF, extends TippingPoint security protection from physical to virtual networks by routing it through an HP TippingPoint...

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Equinix to Build $65 Million Exchange in Sydney

Equinix announced plans to build its third International Business Exchange (IBX) in Sydney, Australia. The new IBX data center, called SY3, will have a total capacity for more than 3,000 cabinet equivalents when all of the phases are fully built out. The $65 million first phase of the SY3 IBX data center will add 1,000 cabinets and is targeted for opening during the second quarter of 2011. http://www.equinix....

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Deutsche Telekom Deploys Ixia for High-density 10 GE Testing

Deutsche Telekom AG will migrate to Ixia's newly announced NGY high-density 10 GE testing solution. Specifically, DT is using IxN2X to perform layer 2-3 testing of their network backbone under high traffic conditions, as well as to scale up traffic levels to see how the network performs under stressful load conditions. Specifically, DT is using IxN2X to perform layer 2-3 testing of their network backbone under high traffic conditions, as well as...

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AT&T Teams with CURRENT Group to offer Smart Grid to North American Utilities

AT&T signed a new agreement with CURRENT Group, a leading provider of distribution Smart Grid solutions, to deliver grid optimization solutions to North American utilities. CURRENT's solutions includes intelligent sensors and analytical software that monitor distribution grid performance; its OpenGrid utility element management system; and its System Optimization and Reliability analytical software solutions. AT&T offers a suite of M2M pricing...

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HP Strengthens Security for Data Centers

HP announced new high-performance security solutions for both physical and virtual environments as part of its "FlexFabric" data center networking fabric for a Converged Infrastructure.The HP TippingPoint Secure Virtualization Framework (SVF) is a suite of products designed to help prevent network threats from impacting virtualized environments. The TippingPoint Virtual Controller (vController), the first product introduced under the SVF, extends TippingPoint security protection from physical to virtual networks by routing it through an HP TippingPoint...

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Equinix to Build $65 Million Exchange in Sydney

Equinix announced plans to build its third International Business Exchange (IBX) in Sydney, Australia. The new IBX data center, called SY3, will have a total capacity for more than 3,000 cabinet equivalents when all of the phases are fully built out. The $65 million first phase of the SY3 IBX data center will add 1,000 cabinets and is targeted for opening during the second quarter of 2011. http://www.equinix....

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UNH-IOL Begins Energy Efficient Ethernet Testing

The University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory (UNH-IOL) has begun offering third-party testing of Energy Efficient Ethernet (EEE), or IEEE 802.3az, which enables network devices to enter a low power idle mode when not transmitting data, drastically reducing energy requirements. In compliance with the IEEE 802.3az Task Force's current draft standard, the UNH-IOL's EEE testing service allows member companies to assess the interoperability...

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Novatel Rolls Out LTE Embedded Modules

Novatel Wireless introduced three LTE embedded modules for use in portable devices. The modules provide enhanced GPS/GNAA capabilities, allowing users to retrieve position data for navigation and location-based applications. Additional key features include Novaspeed, which provides higher throughput via proprietary network traffic prioritization, and Novatel Wireless' Connection Manager - Mobilink 3 - supporting Windows 7, Vista, XP and Mac. A rich set of APIs is also available to developers through the software development kit. The solutions...

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AT&T Boosts 3G in NYC with 805 MHz Carriers

AT&T has completed an upgrade of its 3G network in Manhattan as well as the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens. The network enhancement includes the addition of new 850 MHz carriers to more efficiently manage available spectrum and increase 3G capacity. The additions have been applied to nearly all cell sites in Manhattan and in other areas as needed throughout the Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn. The company said its internal metrics already has tracked...

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TI Delivers SuperSpeed USB 3.0 transceiver -- 5.0-Gbps

Texas Instruments introduced the first SuperSpeed USB (USB 3.0) transceiver, which is capable of 5.0-Gbps data transfers. The device, which TI claims offer receiver sensitivity that is twice as good as required by the USB 3.0 specification, is a 5 Gbps USB 3.0 physical layer transceiver that operates from a single crystal or external reference clock with selectable frequencies from 20, 25, 30 and 40 MHz. "End users are demanding the ability to store huge photo and high-definition video files on their portable consumer devices with ease and...

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Aviat Networks Appoints New CEO

Aviat Networks appointed Chuck Kissner as its new CEO, following the resignation of Harald J. Braun. Kissner has been serving as the company's Chairman of the Board of Directors and will be based at its headquarters location in Santa Clara, California. He previously served as CEO of Stratex Networks, Inc., a predecessor of Aviat Networks, from July 1995 through May 2000, again from October 2001 to May 2006 and also was Chairman of the Board of...

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Cruzio Deploys Exalt Microwave Backhaul Systems

Cruzio, a wireless and wireline Internet service provider in Santa Cruz County, California has deployed Exalt Communications' microwave backhaul systems to upgrade the capacity of its wireless backbone network and to back up its fiber network. The Exalt systems enable a full duplex, 1 Gbps Ethernet transport capability to drive Cruzio's wireless Internet access business on both sides of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Working directly with Exalt, Cruzio has deployed Exalt systems that use the 18 GHz, 23 GHz, and 5 GHz frequencies to reliably deliver...

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President Obama Commits to Opening 500 MHz of Spectrum

As called for in the FCC's National Broadband Plan announced earlier this year, President Obama signed a Presidential Memorandum committing the federal government to make available 500 MHz of federal and commercial spectrum available to new mobile broadband usage over the next 10 years.Th effort, which will nearly double the amount of commercial spectrum currently available for commercial use, is expected to result new rounds of spectrum auctions.Specifically,...

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Hughes Telematics Selects Force10

Hughes Telematics has selected Force10 Networks' C-Series resilient switches and S-Series Ethernet access switches to provide 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10 GbE) core and top-of-rack network services for its next-generation telematics architecture. HTI's platform delivers interconnectivity between multiple content providers, call centers and hardware platforms through two-way, wireless telematics services. http://www.force10networks....

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Crossbeam Adds Sophos to List of Security Partners

Crossbeam Systems has added Sophos to its list of security vendors whose software is certified to run on its X-Series platform. Crossbeam's X-Series platform customers now have the ability to run Sophos's email security gateway software, Sophos PureMessage, to proactively protect users against the growing volume and sophistication of spam, malware, phishing, and other email-borne threats. Existing Crossbeam partners include Check Point, IBM, Imperva,...

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Alpheus Communications Deploys Hatteras

Alpheus Communications is deploying Hatteras Networks' HN6100 Multi- Service platform for Ethernet service delivery via Ethernet-Over-Copper (EoC) and Ethernet-Over-Time-Division Multiplexing (EoTDM) infrastructures. Alpheus is pursuing an "Ethernet Everywhere" strategy across Texas. The carrier has over 5,700 miles of Texas fiber, colocations in more than 85% of the AT&T central offices in six of the largest cities in Texas (Austin, Corpus...

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Sprint Introduces its Second 3G/WiMAX Android Phone

Sprint introduced its second 4G-capable handset -- the Samsung Epic 4G, a Galaxy S smartphone and Samsung Mobile's first 4G Android-powered device. Key capabilities include:3G/4G capability4G data speeds (WiMAX) - peak download speeds of more than 10 Mbps; peak upload speeds of 1 Mbps; average download speeds of 3-6 Mbps3G data speeds (EVDO Rev A.) - peak download speeds of up to 3.1 Mbps; peak upload speeds of 1.8 Mbps; average download speeds...

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FIFA.COM Reports Traffic Spike

FIFA.com, the official website for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, reported huge traffic spikes on its website are tournament play reached the Final 16 stage. On June 23, FIFA.com delivered a total of more than 410 million page views. 126 million of them occurred shortly after the match between England and Slovenia ended between 5pm and 6pm local time in South Africa, when data requests from visitors reached more than one million a second.The numbers were expected to increase even further over the weekend and as the tournament progresses.FIFA.com estimates...

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South Africa's Telkom Sets Sights on Mobile, CEO to Step Down

Citing a continued slide in traditional voice revenue and growing competition, Telkom, South Africa's incumbent operator, reasserted its plan of restructuring into three business units."Our strategy seeking to re-position the Telkom Group is imperative given the tough operating environment. Similar to the strategies of other leading operators in the world, we are focusing on growing other revenue streams -- data centre operation, mobile and Africa...

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Russia's MTS and Comstar to Merge

Comstar-UTS, the leading fixed-line telecommunications company in Moscow, and Mobile TeleSystems (MTS), a leading mobile operator across Russia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, are planning a merger that will create the largest integrated telecommunications provider in Russia and the CIS.Under the deal, 0.825 MTS ordinary shares would be exchanged for one Comstar Ordinary Share. The implied price represents a 13.1% Premium to the three month volume...

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Duke Energy Forms Joint Venture to Grow Communications Business

Duke Energy Corp., Alinda Capital Partners and DukeNet Communications LLC today announced the formation of a joint venture to grow DukeNet. An affiliate of Alinda will acquire 50 percent of the ownership interests in DukeNet from an affiliate of Duke Energy in exchange for $137 million in cash. Duke Energy, through it affiliate, will continue to own the remaining 50 percent in DukeNet.The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2010.DukeNet is one of the largest wholesale fiber-based carriers in the Southeastern U.S. It operates more...

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France's Covage Deploys Ericsson's GPON

Covage, a French network operator, has selected Ericsson to roll out an FTTH infrastructure to local and regional governments and estate owners. Ericsson will provide Covage with active and passive equipment for its fiber-optic networks as well as associated operator support services. The first deployment in Angoulême, France is already underway. Financial terms were not disclosed.Covage is an open access network operator, acting as the single point of contact for local and regional governments and property management agencies. Initially focused...

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Parks Associates Forecasts NAS Revenues to Exceed $4.4B in 2014

DVRs and video downloads will push the storage needs of U.S. broadband households to almost one terabyte by 2014, creating a parallel rise in the market for file backup and storage solutions, according to international research firm Parks Associates.The firm's new report Consumer Storage Opportunities finds almost 50% of households are performing regular backups, including external storage, flash drives, and online backup, up from only 35% in 2006.http://www.parksassociates....

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IPeak Awarded Patent for Packet Protection

IPeak Networks, a start-up based in Ottawa, was awarded a U.S. patent in connection with its "IPQ" (Internet Performance and Quality) packet protection technology designed for video conferencing, telepresence, and virtualized computing markets.Matthew Williams, IPeak Networks founder and chief technology officer, is the author of the patent and inventor of the IPQ technology. IPeak Networks implements the patented methods in a full line of IPQ appliance products for video conferencing and telepresence applications: IPQ VC2, IPQ Presence, and IPQ...

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Public Mobile Launches Service in Montreal

Public Mobile's Montreal network went live on 25-June-2010. The company has no contracts and no credit checks and offers two unlimited voice and texting plans."We want to give the people of Montreal an economical option," said Alek Krstajic, Chief Executive Officer of Public Mobile. Added Krstajic, "For the first time, people in Montreal can have a cell phone with unlimited talk and text at a predictable price. Whether they are calling friends and family locally, or in other parts of Canada, the United States, or overseas, Public Mobile's plans...

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Vopium Raises $16.5 Million for Mobile Alternative Skype

Vopium, a start-up based in Copenhagen, Denmark, has raised US$16.5 million from an Indian investor to support its efforts to launch a mobile alternative to Skype. The Indian investor, Raghuvinder Kataria, along with his own investment company are underwriting the funding.Vopium, which is headed by Tanveer Sharif, was originally intended for immigrants to Denmark who were looking for cheap telephony solutions to get in contact with family and friends...

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