Global DSL Subscriber Base Hits 85 Million

The worldwide installed base of DSL now tops 85 million -- a 39% expansion so far in 2004 -- according to data produced for the DSL Forum by industry analyst Point Topic. This gain of 24 million DSL subscribers in the first nine months of the year represents a pace of more than half a million new subscribers each week. According to the data, DSL gaining market share in countries with high cable penetration rates.

Some highlights of the report:

• China has the world's largest DSL population with a total of 13.7 million subscribers



• South Korea has a the highest penetration rate at 28.88%, while Taiwan is second at 22.14%.



• European Union (EU) countries currently make up the largest regional DSL population worldwide, adding more than 9.25 million subscribers in the first three quarters of this year, to reach 26.5 million.



• Latin America is now emerging as a DSL market, adding 1.2 million subscribers from January to September 2004, a growth in subscribers of more than 72%. Brazil is leading the way, gaining over 620,000 DSL subscribers, and three countries, Mexico, Argentina and Peru, have experienced more than 50% growth since the beginning of the year.

http://www.dslforum.org

Read More

France Telecom and Fujitsu Announce R&D Partnership

France Telecom and Fujitsu Limited announced an R&D partnership focused on data mining and grid computing technology. The first phase of the project aims to dramatically facilitate analysis of the huge volume of data, such as for data mining and customer billing, generated by France Telecom. In the second phase, the project will generate value-added external services based on grid computing that can be offered to other enterprises. This partnership will enable France Telecom and Fujitsu to offer innovative value-added services to their customers with greater speed and efficiency through shared resources.



For the first phase of this project, Fujitsu will contribute its grid computing technology, specifically its CyberGRIP middleware and organic resource management systems. France Telecom R&D's division will bring to the partnership data-oriented and computation-intensive applications such as data mining, along with a number of enabling middleware components, particularly for persistent data and telecommunications application servers. http://www.francetelecom.comhttp://www.fujitsu.com

Read More

France Telecom Signs Clients for International IPv6 Transit

France Telecom has signed up the first three commercial clients for an international IPv6 transit service for international carriers and ISPs. France Telecom has developed native IPv6 transit on its international Tier-1 IP backbone at speeds of up to 155 Mbps. Its offering is accessible from nine PoPs on three continents, with 40 peering agreements. The service provides a single interface for both IPv6 and IPv4 traffic. The first IPv6 customers include Belnet and Renater, and Probe Networks.



Probe Networks is a Germany-based ISP providing hosting, collocation and IP transit services in Germany, Holland and the US. Their one-year international IP transit deal with France Telecom includes a 20 Mbps IPv6 access link, which will allow the company to meet the evolving needs of its customers by enabling services such as Internet relay chat.



Belnet and Renater manage the national research and education networks in Belgium and France respectively. Belnet, a customer acquired through France Telecom's wholesale distribution partner, Mobistar, has renewed a 1-year contract which includes IPv6 capacity of up to 155 Mbps dual stacks.



As part of a broader contract for international IP transit with Renater, France Telecom has put in place a 155 Mbps IPv6 access link; this complements the IPv4/IPv6 (dual-stack) capacity already available on Renater's national network (currently 2.5 Gbps). http://www.francetelecom.com

Read More

Marconi Names CTIO

Marconi named Andy Evans as Chief Technology and Information Officer (CTIO). Evans previously spent five years as a senior executive at FLAG Telecom. http://www.marconi.com

Read More

MCI Rolls Out Managed LAN Services

MCI rolled out a new suite of Managed LAN services for businesses of all sizes. Previously offered as custom solutions to its largest customers, MCI is standardizing its managed LAN capabilities to give companies the flexibility to fully or partially outsource the management of their local area networks. MCI is offering a choice of three levels of LAN management, including Premium (where the local area network is fully managed by MCI), Basic (shared LAN management between the customer and MCI), and Monitoring & Notification, (MCI monitors the network only).



MCI said it currently manages more than 2,700 customer networks in 120 countries for companies such as NASDAQ, DaimlerChrysler, Amer Sports, Viewpointe, and Resun Corporation. http://www.mci.com

Read More

AT&T Wins $9.5 Million Contract From Meredith Corp.

AT&T was awarded a $9.5 million, three-year contract to design and implement a networking solution for Meredith Corp., one of the nation's leading media companies. AT&T will provide an MPLS-based IP VPN integrating Meredith's 19 locations around the country, plus local, long-distance, teleconference, Internet access and high-speed data networking services. The VPN also will provide Meredith's 2,700 employees with secure access to the company's applications and databases. http://www.att.com

Read More

AboveNet and Equinix Announce Data Center / Fiber Connectivity Deal

AboveNet will provide fiber connectivity to link Equinix's three Internet Business Exchange data centers in the Silicon Valley. In addition, Equinix will assume AboveNet's lease for 103,000 square feet of data center space in San Jose, with AboveNet retaining some of the data center space for existing customers. Further, AboveNet has entered into an agreement with Equinix enabling AboveNet to offer hosting services in Equinix data centers. Financial terms were not disclosed.



AboveNet said it is pursuing a strategy to create nationwide access to its optical network. AboveNet continues to extend its network by creating lit fiber links to major data centers, carrier hotels, high-traffic POPS, enterprises and office buildings in major markets throughout North America. http://www.above.net/http://www.equinix.com/

Read More

UTStarcom Unveils "MovingMedia" TD-CDMA Wireless Broadband Platform

UTStarcom introduced its MovingMedia 6000 wireless broadband solution for delivering data services at up to 3Mbps per subscriber using a range of licensed frequency bands -- 1900- 1920MHz, 2010-2025MHz, 2500-2700MHz, and 3400-3600MHz.



UMTS license holders with allocated spectrum could use the MovingMedia 6000 solution to offer portable, always-on broadband service to compete with DSL and cable modem services. The wireless mobile data services could also complement existing Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (W-CDMA) data service. Future upgrades to the MovingMedia 6000 solution will support wireless VoIP and high-mobility data services.



UTStarcom said its new MovingMedia 6000 platform offers operators the opportunity to use low-cost, unused spectrum to offer high-value, portable broadband services. Because the MovingMedia 6000 complies with the UMTS standard, it can be co-located with UMTS FDD base stations and share cell site equipment, including antennas. The MovingMedia 6000 architecture supports both centralized and distributed deployments.



UTStarcom's platform is based on the UMTS Time Division Duplexing (UMTS TDD) standard for 3G mobile networks, which utilizes Time Division-Code Division Multiple Access (TD-CDMA) technology. UTStarcom is using IP Wireless' TD-CDMA core technology for the new product line. The end-to-end MovingMedia 6000 solution includes Radio Access Network (RAN) products, core network products, and customer premise equipment (CPE), including a PCMCIA card that provides a mobile broadband interface between a mobile computer and a wireless TD-CDMA network. UTStarcom will also offer a MovingMedia 6000 Desktop Modem.



UTStarcom's MovingMedia 6000 solution is currently being deployed by UK Broadband, a subsidiary of PCCW Communications (UK) Ltd. UK Broadband's NETVIGATOR service offers subscribers plug-and-play wireless broadband, with an initial choice of a 512 kbps or 1 Mbps connection. The carrier also plans to introduce VoIP and mobile broadband data in 2005. UTStarcom said the MovingMedia 6000 is also currently being trialed and evaluated by several operators in other regions of the world. Optus, the second largest GSM operator in Australia, has also announced it will evaluate the UTStarcom solution as part of its ongoing strategy to tap into new and emergent technologies that open up growth opportunities.http/utstar.com/Solutions/Wireless/TD-CDMA/

Read More

nLayers Raises $6 Million for Discovery Appliance

nLayers, a start-up based in San Jose, California, closed a $6 million Series B round in financing for its appliance for real-time network discovery and resource optimization. nLayers' InSight is an agentless appliance that provides organizations with "self-funding" discovery and optimization solutions for IT cost savings and operational risk mitigation. Customers use nLayers InSight to optimize applications resources to reduce the risk and cost involved in strategic IT initiatives such as resource consolidation, license realization, M&A and contract auditing. In addition, nLayers helps customers maintain application optimization by continuously monitoring for changes, conducting impact analysis, and fine-tuning the application environment.



The new funding was led by Walden Israel and Gemini Israel Funds. nLayers plans to use the funding to ramp up sales and marketing. The company also plans significant expansion of its OEM channel through key partnerships with multiple System Management vendors. http://www.nlayers.com/

Read More

Foundry Networks Offers New Optical Ethernet Interfaces

Foundry Networks expanded its portfolio of modular Gigabit and 10-Gigabit Ethernet (10-GbE) optical interfaces to include the recently ratified Ethernet-in-the-First-Mile (802.3AH EFM) standard and a 10-Gigabit Ethernet interface standard (10Gbase-ZR/10Gbase-ZRD) which enables 10-Gigabit Ethernet connectivity of up to 80 Kilometers. These new modular media transceivers are in addition to three new transceivers announced last month: a modular 10-GbE WAN PHY optical transceiver (10Gbase-LW) which enables seamless connectivity between 10-GbE and a DWDM or SONET/SDH wide area network infrastructure, a 10-GbE modular 10Gbase-LX4 optical transceiver for legacy FDDI grade cable and a 10-GbE 10GBase-CX4 copper transceiver for short distance data center applications.



The Ethernet-in-the-First-Mile (802.3AH EFM) Modular GbE Optical Interface integrates the optical combiner and splitter into the SFP transceiver. The enables a single strand of fiber is able to transmit bi-directionally. The devices work in a pair, with an upstream device and a downstream device connected at each end of the fiber. List price for the 802.3AH EFM transceiver is $1,495. http://www.foundrynetworks.com/

Read More

Huawei Marks First CDMA2000 Deployment in U.S.

Clear Talk has commercially launched Huawei's next-generation CDMA 1X system for its approximately 358,000 POPs in El Centro, California and Yuma, Arizona. The system consists of a complete Huawei Airbridge CDMA2000 wireless network, including a Mobile Switching Center, Base Station Controller, Base Transceiver Station, Home Location Register, Packet Data Serving Node and fixed terminals. Short Messaging Service (SMS), Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) and 1X data services will also be supported. Financial terms were not disclosed.



The launch represents Huawei's first commercial deployment in the U.S. Huawei's CDMA equipment is installed in 36 other countries. http://www.huawei.com/

Read More

D-Link Unveils First Gigabit Gaming Router

D-Link introduced a "GamerLounge" wireless router that uses an integrated packet processing engine to give priority to gaming traffic over all other Internet applications, email and FTP transfers. The home router is optimized for PC, Xbox and PlayStation2 games so as to provide a "no lag" gaming experience. The D-Link GamerLounge wireless router features four 1000Mbps Gigabit Ethernet ports and 108Mbps 802.11g wireless AP functionality. The router features a high performance CPU to support advanced management features such as MAC address authentication, Stateful Packet Inspection (SPI) and Content Filtering. MSRP is $150. http://games.dlink.com/.

Read More

RCN Set to Emerge from Chapter 11

The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York confirmed a plan of reorganization agreed to by RCN and its creditors, enabling the company to emerge from Chapter 11 by the end of the year. Under the plan, a total of $1.19 billion in debt will be converted into new equity of RCN. New credit facilities will be established by year end, led by Deutsche Bank, of up to $480 million under favorable terms to be used to pay off the previous senior secured lenders led by JP Morgan Chase. Upon emergence from Chapter 11, RCN will also have over $100 million in unrestricted cash to support its strategy.



Peter D. Aquino has been selected as RCN's new CEO. Aquino has been Senior Managing Director of Capital & Technology Advisors LLC (CTA), a telecommunications advisory firm, since 2001. A new Board of Directors has also been named. http://www.rcntomorrow.com/

Read More

Hancock Telephone Selects Motorola for Telco TV

Hancock Telephone, an independent telephone company serving communities in upstate New York and Pennsylvania, has selected the Motorola Multi-Service Access Platform for the delivery of voice, video and data services to residential and business customers over twisted pair wiring. In addition, Motorola said its platform will provide Hancock Telephone, parent company to Hancock Cable TV and Pronet ISP, with the ability to execute on its long term strategy of collapsing all three network types into a single, fully-integrated solution. http://www.motorola.com

Read More

Level 3 to Extend Comcast's National Fiber Infrastructure

Comcast reached a long-term agreement with Level 3 Communications that provide inter-city and metro dark fiber as part of Comcast's extension of its fiber footprint. Comcast's backbone is principally based on 20-year dark-fiber IRU's (indefeasible rights of use) from Level 3 and other sources. The new agreements currently total over 19,000 route miles, and cover 95% of Comcast's national footprint. The initial cost of the network, including fiber capacity and routing and optical equipment, is expected to involve approximately $100 million of capital.



The network initially will be provisioned with multiple 10 Gbps wavelengths. It will be capable of carrying multiple 40 Gbps wavelengths, for a total potential capacity of almost 3 Terabits per second. . In addition to the fiber, Level 3 will provide a wide range of maintenance services to the backbone, which will be managed out of Comcast's existing east and west National Operations Centers.



The companies said the deal would enable services such as video-on-demand, high definition television, digital video recorders, high-speed Internet access and advanced voice services. http://www.comcast.com/http://www.level3.com/

Read More

Microsoft Xbox Live Traffic Quadruples Following Halo-2 Launch

Microsoft Xbox Live traffic on service provider networks quadrupled following the November 9th launch of Halo-II -- which set entertainment industry records by selling 2.4-million units in the U.S. and Canada on the first day of availability, driving cash register receipts to the $125-million mark. A new study by broadband traffic measurement specialist Sandvine Incorporated shows that these traffic levels are continuing, raising QoS concerns for service providers eager to keep gamers.



Halo II, which requires low network latency, makes use of the multiplayer split-screen System-Link feature and Xbox Live. Sandvine said that "the explosion in X-Box Live traffic attributed to Halo II should be seen as a clarion call." In order to avoid network disruptions or "jitters" that degrade the pace and flow of virtual competition, network managers must be capable of identifying game traffic and setting quality of service (QoS) policies that protect it from interference.



Sandvine's trend analysis, "Gaming and QoS on broadband networks," can be downloaded from the company's website. http://www.sandvine.com/solutions/download_center.asp

Read More

Sprint Awards $3 Billion in Wireless Contracts to Lucent, Motorola and Nortel

Sprint has finalized multiyear wireless services infrastructure build-out agreements totaling approximately $3 billion with Lucent, Motorola and Nortel. Sprint expects to spend about $1 billion of the $3 billion investment total to upgrade its network to EV-DO. The contracts involve new switching and radio hardware and software for cell sites, capacity augmentation, and Sprint's EV-DO (Evolution, Data Optimized) wireless high-speed data network deployment. The contracts also include future 1xEV technology upgrade options.



Sprint said the investment will expand and strengthen its network coverage, enable new services and support continued customer growth.



Sprint's wireless infrastructure build-outs in the United States are divided among three vendors:

• Lucent Technologies received a three-year contract to enhance Sprint's nationwide 3G network, including CDMA2000 1xEV-DO technology. It will upgrade Sprint's existing Lucent-supplied base
  stations with an additional RF carrier where needed and provide key elements of its IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) solution.



• Motorola received an extension to the end of 2006 of its existing CDMA infrastructure supply agreement, involving CDMA2000 1x base station equipment and related services as well as Motorola's mobile broadband CDMA2000 1xEV-DO solution in markets served by CDMA 1X infrastructure.



• Nortel Networks received a three-year contract to provide CDMA2000 1X radio base stations, base station controllers, switching platforms and other related equipment across Sprint's existing Nortel footprint. Nortel will also supply Sprint with the new Nortel PDSN (Packet Data Service Node) 16000. Nortel will also provide CDMA2000 1xEV-DO equipment in several key markets.

http://www.sprint.com

• In June 2004, Sprint announced its plan to provide next-generation EV-DO wireless service at peak data rates of up to 2.4 Mbps to major U.S. metro areas during 2005.

Read More

Cablevision Surpasses 250,000 Cable VoIP Users, Daily Adds at 1,000

Cablevision Systems is adding more than 1,000 new cable VoIP users per day in its New York metropolitan market. Cablevision's Optimum Voice digital voice- over-cable (VoIP) service has now surpassed the 250,000-customer milestone.



Cablevision recently announced that the standard monthly price for Optimum Voice would remain unchanged at $34.95 in 2005. The residential VoIP service, which must be combined with the company's cable modem Internet service, provides unlimited local, regional and long-distance calling across the U.S. and Canada. The service also includes seven custom calling features: enhanced voicemail, call waiting, caller ID, caller ID blocking (*67), call return (*69), three-way calling and call forwarding, in addition to access to directory assistance (411).



Cablevision's Optimum Voice also provides E-911 service and is CALEA compliant. http://www.cablevision.com/

• As of 30-Sept-04, Cablevision had 1,259,024 cable modem customers. Total cable television revenue per basic video customer was $83.89. VOD/SVOD services provided average revenue $5.00 per digital subscriber per month.

Read More

Atheros and Digital 5 Collaborate on Wireless Digital Media Adapters

Digital 5, a developer of home content distribution software, is collaborating with Atheros Communications to create a reference design for low-cost, wireless-enabled digital media adapter and DVD player applications. The reference design is capable of wirelessly delivering a content from a Windows PC, media gateway, or Internet connection to a TV or audio system anywhere in the home. The design combines an Atheros 802.11a/b/g chipset with Super AG technology, an advanced digital media processor from ALi Corporation, and multimedia software from Digital 5 into a low-cost reference design that will enable Original Design Manufacturers (ODMs) and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to quickly bring to market a new class of low-cost digital media adapters and DVD players. http://www.digital5.com/http://www.atheros.com

Read More

Dell, EMC, Intel and Oracle Launch Project MegaGrid

Dell, EMC, Intel and Oracle announced the launch of Project MegaGrid - - an initiative that aims to make it easier to develop a complete enterprise grid computing solution that outperforms traditional offerings at a fraction of the cost. The initial phase of Project MegaGrid is focused on designing, testing and documenting industry standard best practices for building effective enterprise grid computing infrastructures taking into account cost and performance requirements. These practices also include conducting a series of tests for scalability, performance and manageability of a comprehensive database, server and networked storage configuration. The working infrastructure is architected, configured and validated at the Oracle Global IT Data Center.



Commercial and enterprise organizations can use the resources of Project MegaGrid to implement their own grid computing solutions.



In addition to the technology provided by the four companies, Cramer and F5 Networks are also contributing to Project MegaGridhttp://www.oracle.com/megagrid

Read More