Picochip and Wavesat Achieve LTE Interoperability

Picochip and Wavesat completed interoperability testing (IOT) between Picochip's PC960x LTE small cell base station solution and Wavesat's Odyssey 9000 family of UE chipsets. The first Wavesat Odyssey 9000 chipsets offer performance of 100 Mbps downlink and 50 Mbps uplink for user equipment such as USB dongles, data cards, mobile handsets and tablets/MIDs. These were tested with Picochip's PC9608/9 "small cell" basestation development platform developed jointly with Continuous Computing (CCPU), connecting to both network test and commercial EPC gateway products.
http://www.wavesat.com
http://www.picochip.com

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Bouygues Telecom and SFR Agree to Share FTTH Infrastructure

In France, Bouygues Telecom and SFR agreed to share the costs of deploying FTTH infrastructure in dense municipalities. The companies will share the passive elements of the GPON network, but will compete at the services level. The accord is expected to cover some three million homes in 20 municipalities across France.


SFR already has commercial FTTH services in several communities. Bouygues Telecom plans to launch its first FTTH in the second half of 2011.
http://www.sfr.com
http://www.bouyguestelecom.fr/

• SFR has previously announced a fiber line share deal with Numericable.

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PAETEC to Acquire Billing Company for $13 Million

PAETEC agreed to acquire Formula Telecom Solutions in a $13 million all-cash transaction.


FTS' Leap RevChain has been PAETEC's primary billing system since its inception in 1998. Upon the closing of this transaction, the Leap RevChain billing system will be the heart of the new RevChain Solutions division of PAETEC Software. The RevChain Solutions division expects to continue investing in the development of high performance invoicing solutions for businesses, institutions and carriers. The employees of the RevChain Solutions division of PAETEC Software will continue to be based primarily out of Boca Raton, Florida.
http://www.paetec.com

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Public Interest Groups Criticize Genachowski's Proposal

More than 80 public interest groups published an open letter to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski that criticizes his Internet government policy statement, which is headed to a vote later this month. Specifically, the groups argue that the proposed Order falls short in five areas:


1. Paid Prioritization: "Paid prioritization is the antithesis of openness. Any framework that does not prohibit such economic discrimination arrangements is not real Net Neutrality. Without a clear ban on such practices, ISPs will move forward with their oft-stated plans to exploit their dominant position and favor their own content and services and those of a few select paying partners through faster delivery, relegating everyone else to the proverbial dirt road."


2. Adequate Protections for Wireless: "Unfortunately, the draft Order apparently leaves wireless users vulnerable to application blocking and discrimination. The draft order reportedly would only prohibit outright blocking of websites and competing voice and video telephony applications, but would not restrict other blocking, degrading or
prioritization. This incomplete protection would destroy innovation in the mobile apps and content space, permanently enshrining Verizon and AT&T as the gatekeepers for all new uses of the wireless Web.... if bandwidth constraints are the supposed justification for disparate treatment, 4G wireless networks should receive greater Net Neutrality protections, as they should be far less capacity-constrained than some existing DSL
networks."


3. Loophole-Free Definitions: "The draft Order's definition of Broadband Internet Access Service could easily be exploited by ISPs seeking to evade or exempt themselves from the rules. The Commission should not adopt unnecessarily broad definitions that will erode the protections the rule seeks to provide. The FCC should adopt the definition of Broadband Internet Access Service suggested in the October 2009 NPRM."


4. Specialized Services Cannot Undermine the Open Internet: "While some highly sensitive and truly specialized services might not be best provided over the open Internet, there is no reason for the FCC to create a specialized services loophole that would undermine Net Neutrality. Unfortunately, the draft Order apparently opens the door to specialized services without any safeguards."


5. FCC Broadband Policy Must Be Based on Sound Legal Footing: "The FCC must restore its unquestionable authority to protect consumers, promote adoption and deployment, and serve the public interest in the broadband
market."


The signers include Free Press, New America Foundation, Media Access Project, Reporters without Borders, Daily Kos, Common Cause, Entertainment Consumers Association, Nonprofit Technology Network, ColorofChange.org, Center for Media Justice, National Hispanic Media Coalition and Public Knowledge.http://http://www.mediaaccess.orghttp://www.mediaaccess.org/wp-content/uploads/Dec%2010%20FCC%20Letter.pdf

• FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski is moving forward with a new set of Internet traffic rules that will be brought to a commission vote on December 21. The proposal would resolve that statutory uncertainty that currently exists regarding Net Neutrality by granting the FCC new powers to enforce Internet traffic management rules. Genachowski said the framework would establish "basic rules of the road to preserve the open Internet as a platform for innovation, investment, competition, and free expression." Three of the FCC commissioners are Democrats and two are Republicans, implying that the proposal should pass if the vote splits along partisan lines.

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Opnext's CEO Steps Down

Gilles Bouchard resigned his position as Opnext's CEO and President as well as from his seat on the company's Board of Directors. Harry Bosco, currently the non-executive Chairman of Board of Directors, will assume the position of CEO and President on an interim basis.


Prior to assuming the position of Chairman in April of 2009, Mr. Bosco served as the CEO and President of Opnext since the formation of the company in November of 2000. Mr. Bosco will continue in his role as Chairman.
http://www.opnext.com

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Bahrain's Batelco Picks ZTE for 2G/3G

Bahrain-based Batelco has signed a group framework agreement with ZTE for 2G/3G wireless solutions. As of Q3, Batelco serves 7.5 million mobile subscribers and 233,000 broadband customers across Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and India.


http://www.zte.cn.com

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GENBAND Opens HQ in Frisco, Texas

GENBAND opened a new corporate headquarters in Frisco, Texas. The new, 52,000 square foot facility houses GENBAND's senior management, sales, marketing, finance, legal and human resources teams. The company will continue to operate its existing campus in Plano, Texas as a strategic service and support center.
http://www.genband.com

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Ericsson Appoints New head of Sales and Marketing

Ericsson has appointed Jan Wäreby as its new head of Sales and Marketing. Wäreby is currently Senior Vice President, head of Business Unit Multimedia and member of Ericsson's Executive Leadership team. He was also Corporate Executive Vice President and head of Sales and Marketing at Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications and played an integral role in establishing the joint venture. A search is underway for his replacement as head of Business Unit Multimedia.
http://www.ericsson.com

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Bell Canada Boosts Dividend

BCE announced a 7.7% increase in its annual common share dividend to $1.97 per share for 2011, and plans to accelerate funding of future pension obligations through a voluntary prepayment in December 2010 in the amount of $750 million to Bell Canada's defined benefit pension plan from cash on hand. This represents BCE's sixth increase to the annual common share dividend in the past two years.


"Bell continues its strong track record as a dividend growth company, delivering increasing returns to our shareholders in a consistent and financially sustainable manner," said George Cope, President and CEO of BCE and Bell Canada. "The dividend increase reflects our confidence in delivering continued earnings growth and strong cash flow as we accelerate the execution of Bell's 5 Strategic Imperatives. Substantial ongoing cash flow generation and ample liquidity provide us with the financial flexibility to reward shareholders and maintain a strong balance sheet - while continuing our significant investments in broadband networks and other strategic business initiatives to enhance our competitive position."http://

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Novatel Files Patent Lawsuit Against Franklin Wireless and ZTE

Novatel Wireless filed a lawsuit against Franklin Wireless Corp. and ZTE Corp. citing infringement of five of its patents related to key architecture and functionality of the MiFi family of Intelligent Mobile Hotspots. The suit was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California.
http://www.novatelwireless.com

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Dell'Oro: WLAN Shipments Leap to Record Levels

Service Providers worldwide are now converging their IP infrastructure so as to deliver Carrier Ethernet business services, residential broadband services and mobile backhaul over a common network.


Worldwide enterprise Wireless LAN (WLAN) shipments grew 35 percent in Asia Pacific during Q3 2010, helping the overall market to grow 9 percent sequentially, according to a new report from Dell'Oro Group. WLAN shipments reached record high levels for the Enterprise and small office, home office (SOHO) segments. Record WLAN revenues were posted by Alcatel-Lucent, Aruba, Buffalo, Cisco, HP, Meru, NETGEAR, and Xirrus.


"The Enterprise market continued to swell in the third quarter, driven by double-digit sequential growth of Access Points," stated Loren Shalinsky, Senior Analyst of Wireless LAN research at Dell'Oro Group.


"Cisco had the largest Enterprise unit shipment increase, expanding its market share to two key regions of the world: North America and Europe, Middle East, and Africa regions. HP unit shipments sharply increased, powering the Asia Pacific region to grow 35 percent on a sequential basis during the third quarter. Alcatel-Lucent, Cisco, and HP all grew their enterprise revenues by over 20 percent. The SOHO market grew 18 percent as compared to the same quarter last year. The number of WiFi-enabled client devices continues to increase, helping to drive SOHO customers to install or upgrade their WLAN," added Shalinsky.


http://www.delloro.com

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