Sea Launch Embarks on the First Mission of 2004

Sea Launch is making final preparations for its fist mission of 2004: the launch of the Telstar 14/Estrela do Sul 1 communications satellite scheduled for 09-Jan-2004. The SS/L 1300 series spacecraft carries 41 Ku-band transponders with five unique and interconnecting coverage beams. Fifty percent of the satellite's power will be dedicated to Brazil, providing a dedicated Ku-band solution for the Brazilian marketplace. The satellite's other beams will cover the Americas and the North Atlantic Ocean, where Connexion by Boeing will use the satellite to provide its Internet-to-aircraft service. Following the Telstar 14/Estrela do Sul 1 mission, Sea Launch is scheduled to launch DIRECTV-7S and then Telstar-18.
http://www.sea-launch.com

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Connexion by Boeing Seeks Momentum in 2004

"History will record 2004 as the year when air travelers for the first time could choose to be connected while in flight to family, colleagues and friends," said Scott Carson, president, Connexion by Boeing. Following successful trials of its service by Lufthansa and British Airways in 2003, Connexion by Boeing has obtained the first regulatory authorizations to operate wireless devices aboard commercial airliners in flight. Some other recent milestones for the service include in-flight VPNs, the first two-way video-teleconference between the air and the ground during a commercial airline flight, and the first two-way, real-time e-mail exchange in flight between two airline passengers flying on different airplanes.


SAS, Singapore Airlines and All-Nippon Airways are also planning to equip their long-range fleets with the Connexion by Boeing service. The company also cited increased momentum in the executive-jet market: Kingdom Holding Co. of Saudi Arabia announced plans to install the Connexion by Boeing system, initially on a Boeing 747.www.connexionbyboeing.comIn July 2003, the World Radiocommunication Conference approved the use of a range of radio frequencies for satellite-based communications for aeronautical purposes. The allocation cleared the way for regulatory authorities within each country's airspace worldwide to authorize certain in-flight connectivity services such as Connexion by Boeing.

Agreements also were reached with satellite service providers, including Eutelsat, Intelsat and Space Communications Corporation.

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FCC Opens Proceeding on Smart Radios

The FCC opened proceedings seeking public comment on the use and applications for cognitive "smart" radio systems. Smart radios are defined as devices having the capability to adapt their use of spectrum in response to information external to the radio. For instance, a system could use geolocation information to determine whether certain transmissions are permissible. Alternatively, such radios could sense their RF environment and use this information to determine the optimal frequencies and transmit powers to use, while avoiding harmful interference.


The FCC is seeking comment on ways to encourage and remove regulatory impediments to continued development and deployment of smart radio technologies, including, for example, facilitating the ability of licensed spectrum users to deploy them for their own use to increase spectrum efficiency, and to facilitate secondary markets, allowing licensees to lease their spectrum access to third parties using such technologies. The FCC is also seeking comment on ways in which smart radios can facilitate opportunistic use of the spectrum by unlicensed devices, while protecting incumbents from harmful interference. The FCC is developing rules permitting additional technical flexibility, including allowing unlicensed devices in limited bands to use higher transmit powers in rural and underserved areas.
http://www.fcc.gov

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Vitesse Acquires Cicada for GigE Switching Silicon

Vitesse Semiconductor agreed to acquire Cicada Semiconductor, a start-up based in Austin, Texas, for approximately $66 million in cash. Cicada is a supplier of DSP-based integrated circuit solutions to developers of high-speed communications systems used in LANs. Vitesse expects the Cicada products to contribute about $10 million in revenues in calendar 2004, with a majority to be realized in the second half of the year. As part of the deal, Cicada will have to reduce its workforce to approximately 40 employees.
http://www.vitesse.com
http://www.cicada-semi.comCicada Semiconductor has previously announced a total of $37 million in funding. The company was founded in 1996. Investors included Sevin Rosen Funds and Perot Investments.

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Fujitsu and Sumitomo Establish Joint Venture

Fujitsu and Sumitomo Electric Industries will create a joint venture to develop compound semiconductors for use in the telecommunications market and for growth applications such as mobile terminals, digital home appliances as well as enterprise applications, such as wireless local area networks.

Fujitsu Quantum Devices will bring to the new joint venture a broad portfolio of advanced technologies primarily geared toward the telecommunications infrastructure market, including microwave devices and optical communications devices. These will be combined with Sumitomo Electric's strengths in materials technologies. Fujitsu and Sumitomo Electric will each have an equal equity ownership in the joint venture. The new company is expected to be operational by April 2004.
http://www.sei.co.jp/news_e/press/03/03_14.html

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Vonage Signs Private Label VoIP Partnership with ANPI

Vonage will provide a co-branded broadband telephony service to Associated Network Partners Incorporated (ANPI's) cable television and long distance telephony member companies across 35 U.S. states. Vonage will offer ANPI's participating ISP's, who in turn serve several hundred thousand high-speed Internet subscribers, unlimited local and long distance calling throughout the U.S. and Canada for a flat rate.


ANPI is the first consortium of phone companies and telecom service providers to partner with Vonage. ANPI has 275 member companies.
http://www.vonage.com

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Acterna Introduces Fiber Mapping Software

Acterna introduced a new Optical Fiber Mapping (OFM) software application that provides a bird's eye view of a network's outside fiber plant, enabling the operator to hone in on the exact location of faults, outages, affected nodes, and customer sites. Acterna said the high-fiber density of metro networks requires operators to have up-to-date documentation that includes original schematics created by a designer in paper or electronic formats, maps, photos, plant assets, and network element data. The new software enables users from different divisions within an organization to generate customized reports.
http://www.acterna.com

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KDDI Launches Broadband TV and VOD over Fiber

KDDI, currently the second largest telecommunications company in Japan, launched "Hikari Plus TV," a multi-channel broadcasting and video on delivery (VOD) service offered over fiber lines. The new service rounds out the KDDI's Hikari Plus suite, which has also includes the recent launch of Hikari Plus Phone (VoIP) and Hikari Plus Net (fast Internet) in October 2003.


Hikari Plus TV will be delivered through KDDI rental set top boxes (680 yen per month) with connectivity to KDDI's proprietary CDN (Content Delivery Network). In addition to fiber, in-building connections may use VDSL or Ethernet. The network uses IP packet priority control and IP multicasting to deliver DVD-grade video. Residential users will also be able to access the Hikari Plus TV service using PCs and other devices.


KDDI expects to have about 2,000 titles in its VOD library by March 2004. Users will be able to view up to three titles (including one new title) for a fixed monthly charge, and an unlimited number of titles on a pay per view basis of 100-500 yen per title. Multi-channel broadcasting will also be available for a fixed monthly charge. Users can select from 25 channels including MTV and Sports Eye ESPN. In addition, Hikari Plus TV will offer online karaoke with a library of approximately 3,000 titles.


KDDI's Hikari Plus service area includes Sapporo, Sendai, Chiba, Saitama, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Nagoya, Shiga, Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, Hyogo, Takamatsu, Hiroshima, Kita Kyushu, a part of Fukuoka. KDDI expects to expand its service area in the future.
http://www.kddi.com/

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Verizon Adds Corning and 3 Others to FTTP Vendor List

Verizon selected four additional suppliers for its fiber- to-the-premises (FTTP) project: Corning Cable Systems, ADC, Preformed Line Products Co., and Tyco Electronics. The companies will provide fiber-optic cabling and other outside plant equipment, also known as the "passive" elements of the FTTP system.


They join four other companies that Verizon selected and announced in November 2003: AFC for the central-office electronics; and Sumitomo Electric Lightwave, Pirelli Communications Cables and Systems and Fiber Optic Network Solutions (FONS) as outside plant suppliers.


Verizon said it plans to continue performing lab and technology interoperability tests on the FTTP systems, ensuring the new technology works properly with existing and new Verizon operations support systems. In the first half of 2004, Verizon expects to begin initial test-deployments in at least two communities. By the end of the year, the company expects to deploy the new technology in over 100 central offices across nine states.
http://www.verizon.com

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Thomson uses Broadcom Chips for DSL in China

Thomson began shipping a new SpeedTouch ADSL modem designed for the Chinese market and which is based on Broadcom's silicon. The Chinese ADSL market is expected to grow to over 18 million subscribers by the end of 2004.
http://www.thomson.nethttp://www.broadcom.com

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UTStarcom Signs Expansion Contracts in Vietnam

Vietnam Post and Telecommunications (VNPT) awarded an expansion contract valued in excess of US$10 million to UTStarcom for continued deployment of the IP-based PAS citywide wireless access system in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh, the two largest cities in Vietnam. VNPT officially launched iPAS service under the "Cityphone" brand name in Hanoi in December 2002 and in Ho Chi Minh in February 2003. To date, VNPT has attracted nearly 50,000 subscribers to its networks. In addition, the "Cityphone" iPAS service now includes value-added data services (VAS) such as short messaging and multi-media messaging. These new value-added services are interoperable with VNPT's GSM network and 64kbps wireless Internet access via the handset, laptop computer, or personal digital assistant. VNPT also offers pre-paid services to its customers. VNPT is working with UTStarcom to launch six new handset models in 2004.
http://www.utstar.com

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France's FREE Deploys Cisco Metro Ethernet for Triple Play

Free, the second largest ISP and a subsidiary of the Iliad Group, is deploying a multi service Gigabit Ethernet-based Broadband Aggregation architecture to support TV-over-DSL services. Specifically, FREE is using Cisco Catalyst 6500 series switches in its QoS-enabled video distribution network. FREE is also deploying Cisco Gigabit Ethernet Interface Modules to provide Gigabit Ethernet aggregation in its metropolitan area networks.
http://www.cisco.com

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Athena Raises $10 Million for Single Chip CMOS Radios

Athena Semiconductors, a start-up based in Fremont, California, raised $10 million in series B funding for its single-chip CMOS radio transceiver IC products. Samsung Electronics led the current round and Needham Capital also joined the round. Several existing investors, including Alliance Ventures, participated in the round as well. The new funding brings the total amount raised to date to $20 millionhttp://www.athenasemi.com

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Nextel's CEO to Head Network Reliability and Interoperability Council.

Timothy M. Donahue, President and CEO of Nextel Communications, was named chairman of the newly re-chartered Network Reliability and Interoperability Council. NRIC VII, which will run from 06-Jan-2004 to 06-Jan-2006, is expected to focus on systems engineering aspects of emergency services. Donahue is the first wireless company executive to chair an NRIC panel.


The role of the NRIC is to develop recommendations for the FCC and the telecommunications industry to insure optimal reliability, security, interoperability and interconnectivity of, and accessibility to, public telecommunications networks and the Internet.
http://www.fcc.gov

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Qwest Acquires Metro Networks from Allegiance Telecom

Qwest Communications agreed to acquire substantially all of the assets of Allegiance Telecom, a facilities-based national CLEC headquartered in Dallas, Texas for approximately $300 million in cash. In addition, Qwest will issue approximately $90 million of convertible debt. The deal includes networks in 36 metro markets across the U.S., 31 of which are outside the Qwest local service region. Allegiance Telecom, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May 2003, currently carries approximately $550 million in telecommunications traffic annually. Qwest said it plans to combine and optimize this traffic -- with its existing network traffic. The deal requires approval of the bankruptcy court and certain other government regulatory agencies. In a bankruptcy court sale, other interested potential bidders will have an opportunity to offer higher bids for the assets of Allegiance.


"Upon closing of this transaction, Qwest will have more POPs than any other inter-exchange carrier in the U.S., allowing us to better serve existing customers and immediately expand our ability to serve more businesses than ever before," said Richard C. Notebaert, Qwest chairman and CEO.
http://www.qwest.com
http://www.algx.com

• Allegiance Telecom is headed by company co-founder Royce Holland, who previously was president and one of several co-founders of MFS Communications (acquired by WorldCom).



• For Q3 2003, Allegiance Telecom reported revenues of $188.2 million, a decrease of 4.3% compared with second quarter 2003 and a decrease of 14.3% compared with the third quarter of 2002.

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Level 3 Expands European Network to Vienna

Level 3 Communications has expanded its European network to Vienna, Austria, giving it a presence in 20 of Western Europe's largest markets. In addition, Level 3 is doubling IP capacity on one of the two network rings it operates in Germany. The ring, connecting Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Berlin, Munich, Cologne, Karlsruhe, Frankfurt and Leipzig, will have an expanded capacity of 10 Gbps.
http://www.Level3.com

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Foundry Networks Wins New Contract with BBC

Foundry Networks was awarded a contract lasting up to five years with BBC Technology, provider of products and services to both the BBC and other global media-driven organizations, for networking equipment including Internet routers, Layer 2/3 and Layer 4-7 switch technology and associated services. The BBC is migrating to tape-less television and radio program production based on IP. The contract was signed in July 2003, with a contract effective date starting back in April 2003 -- a framework agreement lasting up to five years.
http://www.foundrynet.com

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U.S. Air Force Ready to Launch GPS II Satellite

The U.S. Air Force is preparing to launch an upgraded Global Positioning Systems (GPS) satellite built by Lockheed Martin aboard a Delta II rocket scheduled on 21-Dec-2003 from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The GPS IIR-10 satellite features significant performance upgrades, including an advanced antenna panel, which will increase power for GPS receivers.


Lockheed Martin said there are eight new-generation GPS IIR spacecraft currently on orbit out of a total GPS constellation of 28 satellites. GPS IIR satellites are designed to improve global coverage and increase the overall performance of the GPS constellation. Lockheed Martin has delivered 21 of these satellites to the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center.
http://www.lmco.com

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The Quilt Signs AT&T as a Select Vendor

The Quilt, a coalition of regional network organizations, named AT&T as a select vendor to provide special discounts on Cisco Systems and Juniper Networks equipment and maintenance. The Quilt gathers more than 20 leading research and education networking organizations in the U.S. Participants in The Quilt provide network service for more than 200 Internet2 universities and thousands of other educational institutions.
http://www.thequilt.net/

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Lucent Names Giere as Chief Marketing Officer

Lucent Technologies appointed John P. Giere as Chief Marketing Officer, effective immediately. Giere was most recently a vice president at Ericsson, where he led the company's global branding and marketing program as well as business development efforts into new markets. Giere will report to Lucent's chairman and CEO Patricia Russo and build a central marketing organization to support the Lucent branding, marketing strategy and global marketing efforts. He will oversee all of the company's marketing initiatives and design a tightly linked team across its wireless, wireline and services businesses to support these efforts.
http://www.lucent.com

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