Tuesday, July 20, 2010

ADVA Optical Posts Revenue of EUR 68.6 million, Ahead of Expectations

ADVA Optical Networking announced Q2 2010 revenues of EUR 68.6 million, slightly above guidance of between EUR 63 million and EUR 68 million, up a significant 18.0% vs. Q2 2009 at EUR 58.2 million and up 8.6% vs. EUR 63.2 million reported in Q1 2010.


IFRS pro forma operating income, excluding stock-based compensation and amortization & impairment of goodwill &
acquisition-related intangible assets, amounted to EUR 1.9 million or 2.8% of revenues in Q2 2010, within guidance of between 1% and 5% of revenues. This compares to EUR 1.1 million or 1.9% of revenues in Q2
2009 and EUR 2.7 million or 4.3% of revenues in Q1 2010.


"ADVA Optical Networking's revenues developed well in Q2 2010, due to incremental carrier infrastructure business in the Americas. While this clearly increases the robustness of our business mix, our growth in H2 2010 will very likely be driven by additional enterprise and Ethernet access business, resulting in a corresponding pick-up in profitability. Our Q2 2010 book-to-bill ratio is very strong, with significant order back-log for our industry-leading and highly innovative low-latency optical transport solution for the financial services industry. Additionally, the massive increase in mobile backhauling traffic driven by 3G and 4G mobile phones will have a major positive impact on our Ethernet access business. We create value for our customers - this will continue to translate into profitable growth," stated Brian Protiva, chief executive officer of ADVA Optical Networking.
http://www.advaoptical.com

Qualcomm Reports Revenues $2.7 Billion, Record MSM Shipment

Qualcomm reported quarterly revenue of $2.71 billion, down 2 percent year-over-year and up 2 percent sequentially. Net income was $767 million, up 4 percent year-over-year and down 1 percent sequentially.


CDMA-based Mobile Station Modem (MSM) shipments were approximately 103 million units, up 10 percent year-over-year and 11 percent sequentially.


"Our financial performance this quarter exceeded our prior expectations, driven by record MSM chipset shipments, favorable product mix and continued strong demand for 3G devices around the world," said Dr. Paul E. Jacobs, chairman and CEO of Qualcomm. "Looking forward, we continue to see healthy CDMA-based device growth of approximately 23 percent in calendar year 2010, and are raising both our revenue and earnings guidance for the fiscal year."http://www.qualcomm.com

McCain and Lieberman Propose Giving 700MHz D-Block Spectrum to First Responders

U.S. Senators John McCain and Joe Lieberman introduced a bill that would give the public safety community the so-called "D-Block" spectrum, rather than allowing the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to auction this spectrum to a commercial carrier. The FCC is slated to auction the D-Block in 2011.


Specifically, the proposed First Responders Protection Act of 2010 would require the FCC to license the 700 MHz D-Block spectrum to the same "public safety broadband licensee" that holds the license for 10 MHz already allocated to public safety. This would place a single public safety licensee in control of all public safety spectrum in the 700 MHz band. The proposed bill would also direct $5.5 billion in revenue from the auction of a different block of spectrum to commercial interests to support the construction of towers, transmission facilities, and equipment for the new public safety network. Another $5.5 billion in auction proceeds would help cover recurring maintenance and operational costs.http://mccain.senate.gov/public/
  • In a statement, Verizon Wireless Vice President and General Counsel Steve Zipperstein voiced support for the proposed legislation: "As President Obama, the FCC and Congressional leaders work to bring an additional 500 MHz of spectrum to market for commercial innovation, open auctions will maximize dollars to the U.S. Treasury while providing the financial resources public safety will need to build out dedicated, interoperable wireless networks. By dedicating just 10 MHz of D-block spectrum - two percent of the 500 MHz total - to public safety, we give emergency service providers the resources they need to do their jobs right."

Alcatel-Lucent Wins PON Contracts with China Mobile and China Telecom

Alcatel-Lucent confirmed that it has been selected by both China Mobile and China Telecom to deploy its Passive Optical Networks (PON)-based solutions for next-generation broadband services such as HDTV and high-speed Internet throughout China.

  • China Mobile will deploy Alcatel-Lucent's fiber-based solutions in 14 provinces.


  • China Telecom will deploy Alcatel-Lucent's fiber-based solutions in 18 provinces.


Under the contracts, Alcatel-Lucent will deploy its 7342 Intelligent Services Access Manager Fiber-to-the-User (ISAM FTTU) platform. Alcatel-Lucent is also supplying a wide range of optical network units (ONU) to support fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) and fiber-to-the-building (FTTB), and will provide its comprehensive professional services - including network deployment, integration and maintenance.


The contracts were secured through Alcatel-Lucent Shanghai Bell, Alcatel-Lucent's flagship company in China. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Alcatel-Lucent noted that it is currently involved in over 100 FTTH projects worldwide, over 85 of which are with PON.
http://www.alcatel-lucent.com

Netflix Reaches 15 Million Subscribers as Streaming Grows

As of 30-June-2010, Netflix was serving approximately 15,001,000 total subscribers, representing 42 percent year-over-year growth from 10,599,000 total subscribers at the end of the second quarter of 2009 and 7 percent sequential growth from 13,967,000 subscribers at the end of the first quarter of 2010.


The percentage of customers using its streaming service during the quarter rose to 61 percent compared to 37 percent for the same period of 2009 and 55 percent for the first quarter of 2010. The company said it will continue to invest aggressively in streaming content because of the clear benefits to its business - faster subscriber growth due and less growth in DVD by mail shipments due to substitution.
http://www.netflix.com

Telefónica I+D Outsources to Ericsson + Indra

Telefónica
has agreed to a major network outsourcing agreement with Ericsson and Indra, a Spanish IT management firm based in Madrid.


The agreement includes transfer of Telefónica's complete pre-paid billing assets, related operations support systems together with about 500 employees that develop, operate and maintain the solution that today serves about 100 million subscribers in the Telefónica Group. The assets will be transferred to Ericsson and Indra, effective October, 2010. Of the about 500 highly skilled employees joining Ericsson and Indra, approximately 400 come from Telefónica I+D in Spain and about 100 come from Telefónica I+D in Brazil.


Ericsson said the deal strengthens its position within systems integration and within the areas of business support systems (BSS) and operation support systems (OSS).


Telefónica spokesperson said: "Pre-paid is an important component in our group's offering and we are happy to have Ericsson and Indra managing our solution. The agreement offers a unique opportunity for the development and the operational efficiency of the billing solution, together with the Telefónica I+D organizations that the two companies are taking over."http://www.ericsson.com
http://www.telefonica.es

Lockheed Martin Tests Through-The-Earth Wireless Communications

Lockheed Martin is testing a "MagneLink" Magnetic Communication System (MCS) that transmits magnetic waves through the earth without wires. The system could be used by the mining industry to provide voice communication and texting for miners trapped following a collapse or other accident.


Lockheed Martin said its portable, two-way, voice- and text-capable emergency communication system operates at ranges sufficient to communicate from the surface into deep underground mines.


"During the test, MagneLink MCS performed superbly," said Warren Gross, MagneLink MCS program manager. "The system interfaced with hand-held radios similar to the Miner Emergency Radios (MERs) and functioned as a multi-band receiver, establishing communications with multiple MagneLink MCS units without the requirement for the MCS units to be on the same channel to receive transmissions."

http://www.lockheedmartin.com/ms2
  • In December 2009, the MagneLink MCS Engineering Development Model's functionality for voice and text communications was successfully demonstrated at a commercial mine in Dilliner, Pa.


  • In March 2010, Lockheed Martin tested MagneLink MCS at the Contrary Portal of CONSOL Energy's Buchanan Mine in Mavisdale, Va. The system demonstrated successful two-way voice communications to a depth of 1550 feet and two-way text communications to a depth in excess of 1550 feet.

Verizon Global Wholesale Expands its White-Label Offerings

Verizon Global Wholesale is expanding its portfolio of services to include two white-label, or non-branded, high-speed Internet (HSI) options.


Starting immediately, wholesale customers can offer Verizon's DSL-based services -- Broadband Traffic Aggregation Service (BTAS) and InfoSpeed DSL Service -- under the customers' own branding.


Verizon's BTAS offers a turnkey solution for national providers that want to offer an easy-to-implement HSI service across the U.S. InfoSpeed, generally a regional service, provides the local access portion of DSL to providers that already operate an ATM backbone and that have local points of presence, allowing them to apply their own quality control to their services. Verizon Global Wholesale can also create ATM networks for providers.


Under the new options, a carrier can repackage the services with its own branding, including the name of the service, the URLs associated with it and the "company-dot-com" or "service-dot-net" e-mail addresses.


Verizon Global Wholesale offers HSI services with speeds up to 7.1 Mbps (download) and 768 Kbps (upload).
http://www.verizon.com

AT&T Wins $350 Million VPN Deal with U.S. Dept. of Agriculture

AT&T Government Solutions was awarded a task order worth up to $350 million to provide Managed Security Services and deploy a VPN for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Data Services. The task order, which was part of the GSA Networx Universal contract vehicle, encompasses a transition to a department-wide managed IP network architecture supporting data services to over 5,000 USDA locations across the country. The USDA has a geographically dispersed network, encompassing over 29 agencies.


In addition to the MPLS-based VPN, AT&T will provide Managed Security services such as Managed Firewall, Intrusion Detection and Prevention, Managed e-Authentication Service, Vulnerability Scanning, Anti-Virus Management, Incident Response, Secure Managed e-mail, and Managed Tiered Security Services.


AT&T, the incumbent data carrier for USDA, has been engaged with the Cabinet-level agency for several years. AT&T has deployed sites for the USDA Universal Telecommunications Network (UTN) VPN under the Federal Telecommunications Service 2001 (FTS2001) Crossover contract.
http://www.att.com

Oclaro Acquires Mintera for 40 Gbps Transmission

Oclaro has acquired Mintera Corporation, a privately-held developer of 40 Gbps optical transport sub-systems solutions. Mintera, which is based in Acton, Mass., achieved revenues of approximately $20 million for the twelve months ended June 30, 2010. Terms of the deal call for a payment of $12 million in cash upon close, plus a revenue-based earn-out ranging from $0 to $20M payable in cash or stock at Oclaro's option.


Oclaro said the acquisition broadens its product portfolio for high-speed telecommunications. As a result of the acquisition, Oclaro will offer components and sub-systems covering all of the major modulation technologies necessary for high-performance 40 Gbps data transmission in regional, metro, long-haul (LH) and ultra Long-Haul (ULH) networks.


Mintera offers a 40 Gbps Adaptive DPSK (Differential Phase Shift Keying) transmission module, which enables ultra long-haul transmission compatible with 50 GHz channel spacing. Oclaro already supplies DQPSK (Differential Quadrature Phase Shift Keying) components and modules for 40 Gbps networks.


Beyond 2011, Oclaro believes the 40 Gbps DPSK market will begin to migrate to Coherent technologies, enabling lower line costs and simplified deployments. Mintera's 40 Gbps PM-QPSK (Coherent) module is planned for production by the second half 2011. Mintera's 40 Gbps Coherent technology development is expected to further enhance Oclaro's competitive lead in the development of 100 Gbps components and modules.


The company's said that Mintera's upcoming 40Gbps Coherent module will be the first product of its kind on the market, due to an existing partnership agreement between Mintera Corporation and ClariPhy Communications, a leading provider of high performance mixed-signal ICs and also an Oclaro strategic partner.


"Oclaro's acquisition of Mintera is the latest in a series of strategic moves to increase our addressable market, better serve our customers and outdistance our competition," said Alain Couder, president and CEO, Oclaro. "Through this acquisition, Oclaro has taken another important step forward in building upon our leadership position in 40 Gbps regional and metro networks by broadening our product portfolio and systems expertise to expand into 40 Gbps LH and the 100 Gbps Coherent markets."http://www.oclaro.com
http://www.mintera.com
  • Mintera was founded in 2001. The company has announced $81.5 million in venture funding and revolving credit since then.


  • Mintera began demonstrating long-haul, 40 Gbps transmission in 2002.

Mid-Atlantic Broadband Co-op Deploys Infinera in Stimulus Project

Mid-Atlantic Broadband Cooperative (MBC), which provides optical transport services across Virginia, has deployed Infinera for a federally-funded broadband stimulus project.


MBC won a $16 million grant in the first round of the federal broadband stimulus program for a proposal to deliver advanced open-access middle-mile services for 121 K-12 schools in southern Virginia.


MBC deployed an Infinera DTN network on its 800-mile regional network providing middle-mile connectivity in southern Virginia and to key carrier interconnection points in northern Virginia and the southeast.
http://www.infinera.com
http://www.mbc-va.com

ZyXEL's VDSL Products Gain IPv6 Phase II Certification

ZyXEL Communications' VDSL CPE/IAD products have been certified for IPv6 Ready Logo Phase II by the IPv6 Forum. This makes ZyXEL the world's first vendor to receive an IPv6 Ready Logo Phase II certification for VDSL CPE/IAD products in the market.
http://www.zyxel.com
http://www.ipv6forum.com

ZTE Completes LTE/EPC Interoperability Tests with MSF

ZTE completed LTE/EPC interoperability tests conducted through the MultiService Forum. The tests were held by China Mobile and Vodafone in China and Germany, respectively.


ZTE provided LTE eNodeB equipment, Evolved Packet Core (EPC) and IP Multimedia Subsystems (IMS) components for testing at both sites. All the core network vendors underwent two scenarios of tests: single and interconnected laboratory. The objective was to assess the performance of equipment from multiple vendors under different implementation conditions. The end goal is to enhance the maturity of EPC inter-working in a multi-vendor environment and to promote core network development in the LTE eco-system.


In the experiment carried out in the Vodafone Germany laboratory ZTE was the exclusive supplier of eNodeB wireless equipment, and it successfully passed single laboratory and interoperability tests with Starent, Bridgewater, NEC and other vendors.


ZTE also joined the tests held at China Mobile's Beijing laboratory that measured end-to-end interoperability of the main LTE interfaces. In addition, the Company also concluded all three roaming experiments between the two laboratories and realized the industry's first IMS LTE call under a multi-vendor interconnection setting.


ZTE noted that it has deployed seven commercial LTE networks so far and participated in nearly 50 LTE trial networks.
http://www.zte.com.cn