Free Press Launches Petition to Block AT&T's FaceTime Policy

Free Press, a public advocacy group working for Net Neutrality (wired and wireless), launched an online petition seeking to change or block AT&T's policy on using Apple's FaceTime application over its wireless networks. FaceTime on iPhones is currently limited to Wi-Fi connections. With the coming iOS 6.0 update, FaceTime is supposed to be enabled from use over cellular data connections as well. Specifically, Free Press is concerned that AT&T...

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Everything Everywhere Gets Permission to Roll with 1800 MHz LTE

Ofcom, the official telecoms regulator for the UK, has granted permission to Everything Everywhere (EE) to use its existing 1800 MHz spectrum to deliver 4G services after 11-September-2012. The decision follows a consultation as to whether an earlier start in LTE by EE ahead of other networks would distort competition. The decision takes account of the forthcoming release of additional spectrum in the 800 MHz and 2.6 GHz bands, in an auction...

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NTT Com's Asia-Oceania Backbone Hits 500 Gbps

NTT Communications has expanded the data-transmission capacity of its Global IP Network between Asia and Oceania to 500 Gbps. Capacity has increased nearly tenfold in five years, from 53 Gbps in 2007. NTT Com's largest cable network offers 630 Gbps between Japan and the United States. It uses a dual-stack (IPv4 and IPv6) configuration as one of NTT Com's core IPv6 networks. NTT Com has implemented a number of initiatives to boost its network,...

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Spirent Expands Testing for Network Virtualization

Spirent Communications is now supporting the ability to validate at scale the performance and security of advanced network virtualization and virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) deployments. The virtualization test capbilities are enabled by Spirent TestCenter, Spirent Avalanche and Spirent Studio. Specifically, Spirent TestCenter Virtual and Spirent Avalanche Virtual now offer expanded support for any type of hypervisor beyond VMware, including...

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Lantiq Targets VoLTE Enabled Home Gateways

Lantiq is collaborating with D2 Technologies and Ecrio Inc. to enable rich, native communications services for 4G LTE clients. Specifically, Lantiq will offer integration and test support for each company's Voice over LTE software with the Lantiq XWAY GRX Gateway Platform, providing networking OEMs and carriers with a path to faster deployment of wireless broadband enabled home gateways. Reference designs are expected in early 2013. D2 Technologies...

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AT&T Faces FaceTime Net Neutrality Issue

AT&T has confirmed plans to make FaceTime available over its mobile broadband network only for customers who also subscribe to its Mobile Share data plan. In response to criticism that this violates Net Neutrality rules because consumers should be able to use any app they choose on their data subscription, AT&T argues that Net Neutrality rules do not apply in this case because (1) FaceTime is preloaded on every iPhone on the AT&T...

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Infonetics: Carrier Routing/Switching Sales Rise in Q2

The global service provider router and switch market, including carrier Ethernet switches and IP edge and core routers, grew 4% in 2Q12 from the previous quarter, to $3.5 billion, according to a newly released Service Provider Routers and Switches report from Infonetics. Some highlights of the report: From the year-ago 2nd quarter, the overall carrier router and switch market is down 9%, as service providers generally remain cautious, particularly...

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Amazon's Glacier Archive - One Penny Per GB Per Month

Amazon Web Services introduced a new "Glacier" archival service priced at $0.01 per GB per month. Unlike Amazon's S3 cloud storage service, which is optimized for rapid access, Glacier is designed for long-term, high-durability archiving with infrequent access. Each archive can contain up to 40 Terabytes of data and is encrypted with AES-256, Amazon will store the archive durably in an immutable form in multiple facilities. Retrieval requests...

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FCC Releases Broadband Progress Report

The United States is leading in LTE deployment and DOCSIS 3.0 has now been rolled out extensively across the country, but approximately 19 million Americans -- 6 percent of the population -- still lack access to fixed broadband service at threshold speeds (4 Mbps/1 Mbps), according to the FCC’s Eighth Broadband Progress Report. Some highlights of the 181-page report: In rural areas, nearly one-fourth of the population -- 14.5 million people --...

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