Ciena Reports 16% Sequential Revenue Growth

Ciena reported first quarter revenue of $94.7 million, representing a 16% sequential increase, and an increase of 43% over the same period a year ago. On a GAAP basis, Ciena's reported net loss for the fiscal first quarter was $57.0 million, or a net loss of $0.10 per share. This loss compares to a GAAP net loss of $76.7 million, or a net loss of $0.16 per share, in the same period a year ago.


Ciena recognized revenue from two customers that each contributed more than 10% of the fiscal first quarter's total revenue. Combined, the two ten percent customers accounted for 31.7% of the quarter's total revenue. In addition, approximately 83% of Ciena's business in the fiscal first quarter came from domestic customers.


As a result of product mix, Ciena's gross margin in the quarter was 25.6%, compared to 29.5% in its fiscal fourth quarter.


"Strong growth from a number of application areas, including core optical transport, core switching and data networking, fueled revenue growth in our fiscal first quarter," said Gary Smith, Ciena's president and CEO. "While our traditional specialty of core networking continues to be a focus for us, one of the most telling signs of the scope and progress of our efforts to become a more strategic provider is that we have increased the number of customers purchasing from multiple product lines by 73 percent compared to the first quarter of 2004 and we're looking to build on that momentum."http://www.ciena.com

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Rogers Cable Selects Nortel Cable Telephony Solution

Rogers Cable, Canada's largest cable television company, has selected Nortel as its primary softswitch vendor to support digital phone service, which it plans to begin launching Digital Phone service in mid-2005. Rogers passes 3.3 million homes in Ontario, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and has 69% basic cable penetration of its homes passed. Financial terms were not disclosed.


Rogers Digital Phone service will leverage the company's DOCSIS broadband cable network combined with Nortel's Communication Server (CS) 2000 - Compact -- a softswitch that is PacketCable qualified in both North America (CableLabs) and Europe (EUR-Cable Certification Board). Nortel will also provide Rogers with Nuera's ORCA BTX-4K, a high-density media gateway providing PacketCable compliant trunking access to the PSTN.


Rogers' optical transport network is based on Nortel Optical Metro 5200s and Optical Metro 3500s for transport of voice traffic.
http://www.nortel.com

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Telecom Italia Integrates Avici into Testbed

Telecom Italia Lab has integrated Avici Systems' SSR carrier class routing platform in its hybrid IP/optical network test bed that leverages open standards signaling across the optical and IP domains. Telecom Italia Lab is building an advanced multi-layer network based on IP/MPLS and optical technologies to evaluate the advantages of an intelligent architecture utilizing standards-based interworking between the optical transport network and client devices (IP routers). Leveraging the unified IP/Optical control plane, this IP/optical test bed will be used to evaluate future upgrades to European research infrastructures in order to support the highly demanding applications of the European research community.


Avici said its is leveraging open standards to enable carriers to signal between the IP and optical domains.
http://www.avici.com

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FCC Rules Against AT&T on Prepaid Calling Card USF Fees

The FCC ruled that AT&T unlawfully avoided paying millions of dollars of universal service contributions and other fees related to pre-paid long-distance calling card services. The FCC ordered AT&T to file revised universal service contributions forms for the entire period that AT&T has provided its calling card service. In its November 2004 filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, AT&T reported that it had avoided $160 million in universal service contributions on the card since 1999.


The Commission rejected an assertion by AT&T that its practice of inserting verbal advertisements in the calling card service transformed it into an unregulated "information service" not subject to universal service assessments. The FCC found the advertisements to be incidental to the underlying telecommunications service offered to the cardholder, and therefore did not change the regulatory status of the service.


The Commission also rejected AT&T's assertion that calls made within a state shouldn't be subject to intrastate access charges. AT&T said the calls are exempt because they are routed through AT&T's out-of-state switching platform. The Commission generally determines the jurisdiction of a call by its endpoints; calls that originate and terminate in the same state are considered jurisdictionally intrastate.


AT&T plans to appeal the decision. In a statement, AT&T said the FCC decision was legally flawed and that it reversed years of precedent to re-regulate enhanced prepaid calling card services.


AT&T asserts that there are dozens of other companies offering prepaid
cards that do not appear to be contributing to universal service or paying access charges . Rather than settling the issue years ago, AT&T complained that "the Commission has instead dodged the difficult issues and opened another in its long line of rulemakings. By doing so, this Commission continues its legacy of asking many questions but answering very few."http://www.fcc.govhttp://www.att.com

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Iridium Cites Favorable Trends for Mobile Satellite Service

Iridium Satellite announced that it had more than 114,000 subscribers as of December 31, 2004, a 22.5% increase over its total number of subscribers at the end of 2003. The company's revenue for the full-year 2004 increased by 23.2% over total revenue for the prior year.

In the general aviation market, the company surpassed a milestone in October of 2,500 aircraft using Iridium-based equipment -- roughly double the number equipped in 2003. In the maritime industry, Iridium announced four significant agreements in 2004 resulting in more than 300 ships being equipped with Iridium satellite terminals. In the defense/government sector, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) exercised an option to extend its contract for airtime on the Iridium network for mobile voice, data and paging services. The U.S. government relies on the Iridium network for many applications, including command and control, logistics and tracking systems, battlefield and weather condition data transmission, remote unattended sensor programs and man-pack soldier systems.


In 2005, Iridium plans to complete the development of a new netted push-to- talk communications architecture. This architecture will provide an efficient broadcast service within a designated region for military, homeland security and commercial applications requiring netted voice and data communications. Iridium expects to make this innovative service available in Q4 2005.



In the second half of 2005, Iridium will launch a new lower cost data modem for short-burst data communications. This data module will leverage the 100% global coverage of the Iridium network and will feature low latency, two- way communications, broadcast and high throughput data capabilities.
http://www.iridium.com/

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Time Warner Telecom Launches VoIP Over Metro Ethernet

Time Warner Telecom is launching its business-class VoIP solution suite in 21 initial markets across the U.S..

The first phase of VoIP-based products offered under TW Telecom ONE SOLUTION, provides solutions for PBX customers. These products include: TW Telecom ONE CONNECT, a VoIP trunking solution; TW Telecom ONE REACH, an IP FX virtual numbering service; and TW Telecom ONE FORUM, a conferencing solution. In concert with this VoIP-based business strategy launch, Time Warner Telecom is offering free VoIP VPN service to all its site-to-site customers in the 44 markets it serves.

"Our strategic approach to this technology may differ slightly from other service providers, but it is consistent with how we have built our networks, solutions and customer care for businesses," said Michael A. Rouleau, senior vice president -- Strategy and Business Development for Time Warner Telecom. "Our strategy is to layer VoIP-based business-class solutions on our robust metro Ethernet platform. This leverages our network strengths and relationships with customers to meet their mission-critical voice needs."http://www.twtelecom.com

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Space Systems/Loral Completes DIRECTV 8 Satellite

Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) completed all assembly, integration and tests of the DIRECTV 8 satellite, more than two months ahead of the contracted schedule.

The DIRECTV 8 satellite will provide selectable medium and high power Ku- band broadcast services to the U.S. on up to 32 transponders. The service is optimized to support the current and next generation higher coding rate services that DIRECTV provides. The Ka-band payload will use the full 1,000 MHz of Ka-band communications bandwidth available to link DIRECTV facilities as part of DIRECTV's dramatic infrastructure development for the upcoming launch of local digital and high definition services in the Ka-band.
http://www.ssloral.com

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Peleton Offers Multi-wavelength Laser Source

Peleton, a start-up based in Ottawa, Canada, unveiled its flagship multi-wavelength laser source. Peleton also announced an optical channel controller, a companion module to the multi-wavelength laser source. The products are designed for use in the test and measurement of advanced optical networking equipment.


The laser source generates 40 wavelengths simultaneously on a single output fiber. All of the wavelengths produced by the device are internally locked to the IUT-T grid at a variety of channel spacings. The Peleton multi-wavelength technology is capable of providing wavelength channels in all the L, C and S bands, and it offers locking to specific channel spacings, such as 100GHz or 50GHz. The high scalability and small form factor make it suitable for the optical test and measurement sector.


Peleton's optical channel controller enables power-level control and also enables closed-loop dynamic flatness control.


Tropic Networks, which offers a reconfigurable OADM/DWDM solution, is an early customer of the multi-wavelength laser source.
http://www.peleton.com

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DIRECTV Expands Networking Contract with AT&T

DIRECTV awarded a new three-year networking contract valued at more than $69 million to AT&T. The deal will provide DIRECTV with the ability to roll out new IP-based technologies, like VoIP, in its call center support networks and enterprise networks. DIRECTV provides digital multichannel television service to more than 13.9 million customers nationwide.

http://www.att.com

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Brooktrout and BayPackets Announce Prepaid Offering

Brooktrout Technology and BayPackets have jointly developed an IP-based network prepaid calling card solution for service providers with circuit-switched, hybrid or packet-based networks.

The IP-based prepaid application runs on BayPackets' Agility Network Services Platform (NSP), which has been designed to scale to support millions of subscribers. Brooktrout's SnowShore Media Server, an open carrier- class IP media server, provides media processing for the BayPackets platform. The Agility Prepaid application includes real-time call rating, support for mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs), branded announcements with a customized web portal, multi-language and multi-currency support, and web-based self-provisioning.

http://www.baypackets.com/http://www.brooktrout.com

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China Netcom Builds GPON with Flexlight

China Netcom (CNC), China's second largest service provider, completed the first stage of its GPON (Gigabit Passive Optical Network: ITU-T G.984.x) deployment linking 15 cities in the north of the country. The deployment uses FlexLight Networks' modular Optimate suite of products. CNC's GPON will be expanded to a further six cities in the coming months.


Michael Camp, President and CEO of FlexLight Networks, Inc., explains, "The successful completion of the first stage of CNC's deployment is a huge endorsement of the technology as a reliable and cost-effective access technology."http://www.flexlight-networks.com
http://www.ponforum.org/In January 2005, FlexLight Networks, a developer of Gigabit PON (GPON; ITU-T G.984) optical access network solutions, named J. Michael Camp as its new CEO, replacing Gary Lee, who will remain with the company in the role of Chief Marketing Officer. Most recently, Camp served as CEO of VocalData, which was acquire in 2004 by Tekelec.

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Marconi and Operax Team on QoS Systems

Marconi signed an agreement with Operax, an independent Swedish software vendor, to jointly develop a carrier-class bandwidth management solution. This bandwidth management solution will guarantee QoS across the core and access network. The new solution, which has open interfaces, brings together Marconi's network and service provider expertise and Operax's bandwidth management knowledge and skills. It is based on Operax's established Bandwidth Manager, a network resource control system for IP networks that enables guaranteed end-to-end QoS and allows operators to migrate current and future services onto a converged network.


The new bandwidth manager is integrated with Marconi's Impact portfolio, which includes SoftSwitch, Session Initiation Protocol-based Admission Controller, Session Border Controller and Intelligence platforms. Once fully developed, service providers can deploy policy-based bandwidth management solutions, which will ensure that adequate bandwidth is available at all times for voice and multimedia services.


The Operax bandwidth manager, which supports services such as private circuit emulation and ATM, will be integrated with a number of the products from Marconi's Impact portfolio to provide a complete end-to-end next-generation network solution for IP-based voice and multimedia services. Using common hardware and with a single management solution, Impact delivers class 4 and class 5 telephony services; business services for all types of enterprises; as well as broadband voice and Session Initiation Protocol-based multimedia services.
http://www.marconi.com
http://www.operax.com

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Cisco Delivers 1 Gbps over HFC with Wideband DOCSIS

Cisco Systems announced "Wideband Protocol for DOCSIS", a new technology able to deliver up to 1 Gbps broadband speeds over existing hybrid fiber coax (HFC) networks. The protocol augments HFC network bandwidth by adding one of more additional downstream to the standard broadband DOCSIS system. This new set of downstream channels is grouped into one larger channel, and is known as a Wideband channel. Cisco said its Wideband Protocol for DOCSIS is compatible with existing DOCSIS 1.x and 2.0 specifications.


Himawari Network, a Japanese cable operator is testing the technology to deliver advanced commercial services. The trial, being conducted at the Toyota Dream Home at Aichi prefecture in Japan, will showcase the ability to converge video, data traffic onto a single IP-based service. The Himawari Wideband trial is based on Cisco's uBR10012 Cable Modem Termination System (CMTS) platform. As part of the trial, Linksys will provide the Wideband cable modem which can receive and process data streams transmitted by the CMTS on multiple radio frequency channels.
http://www.cisco.com

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ISN Telcom Selects Kagoor's Session Border Controllers

ISN Telcom, the Miami based CLEC, has deployed Kagoor's VoiceFlow 1000 session border controllers for its ipFONE VoIP service, which offer unlimited calls to Latin America in addition to the United States, and Canada for a single monthly fee. Kagoor's session border controllers provide network protection and security for ISN's VoIP network. Kagoor's network protection applications include topology hiding, intrusion prevention, call admission control, and protection from denial of service (DoS) attacks. Kagoor also provides its hosted NAT traversal solution, which permits incoming VoIP calls to securely pass through firewalls. With the VoiceFlow network-hosted NAT traversal solution, ISN delivers its customers VoIP service without adding additional premises equipment.


Kagoor's VoiceFlow fully supports all major VoIP protocols (SIP, H.323, MGCP).

by Jim Greenway Kagoor Networks

The Evolution of Session Border Controllers Session border controllers have matured to play an essential role in delivering secure and seamless VoIP service. Most VoIP has been deployed in "islands", either within enterprises deploying VoIP on a LAN or by a carrier using it for its internal network transport. In both cases, the VoIP traffic terminates at a gateway and is converted to PSTN as it leaves the enterprise or the carrier's network. Session border controllers (SBCs) were designed to connect these islands and create an end-to-end VoIP network

http://www.kagoor.com

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SBC & AT&T Argue that Merger in Public Interest

SBC and AT&T filed papers with the FCC kicking off the formal federal review process aimed at determining that the merger is in the public interest. The companies noted that so far, more than 260 consumer, business and civic organizations, as well as state and federal elected officials, have announced their support for the merger.


In the joint filing, the companies argue that the merger is a response to rapid technological changes, extraordinary competition in the marketplace and financial pressures - including the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs and more than $2 trillion in market value - that have marked the telecommunications industry the past few years.


The companies' filing states "the merger will produce numerous tangible public interest benefits, and it will enhance, not harm, competition in every sector." Specifically, the filing claims:

• The public will benefit from creation of a U.S. communications company with global reach. AT&T's network, which spans more than 50 countries, and AT&T Labs' technological prowess will be combined with SBC's financial strength and local exchange, broadband and wireless capabilities - resulting in a positive impact on investment, employment and productivity for the U.S. economy, benefiting all Americans.



• The merger will strengthen national security. AT&T in particular serves numerous government customers, including the White House, the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security and numerous states from Alaska to New York. This transaction will result in a robust communications company with the resources and expertise necessary to continue to serve those customers with leading-edge services.



• The combined company will be an engine of innovation and investment across the country, speeding the delivery of existing services to customers who might otherwise wait years for them, and prompting the development of new services that would otherwise not exist. The combined company will have greater incentives and ability to provide the fruits of its investment in research and development to all customers.



• And because of the merger, the capabilities, reliability and efficiency available to the largest business and government customers should flow to residential and small business customers. "

Edward E. Whitacre Jr., chairman and CEO of SBC, said "This is a natural and healthy evolution of a dynamic, competitive and restructuring communications industry. It is a direct response to a new competitive reality - and to retail and business customers who have so many more choices in communications today than 10 years ago, when the last federal telecom laws were passed."http://www.sbc.com
http://www.att.com

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Alcatel and Microsoft to Collaborate on IPTV

Alcatel and Microsoft announced a global collaboration agreement aimed at accelerating the rollout of IPTV services for broadband operators worldwide. The companies will offer an integrated IPTV delivery solution. The partners expect their precedent-setting agreement will help expand the quickly-growing ecosystem of IPTV industry partners and enable telecommunication providers to take advantage of global economies of scale fueled by large-scale IPTV deployments planned across the globe.


As part of the agreement, the two companies plan to pursue a series of joint initiatives, including:

• Developing and customizing new applications to meet the unique needs of different cultures and markets around the world,



• Enhancing application and network resilience for better reliability in large-scale deployments,



• Integration of content, security and digital rights management to ensure secure delivery of high-quality content, to and throughout the home,



• Managing quality of service through intelligent video packet handling, and



• End-to-end integration of management systems for the application platforms and all components of the network including the home network.

Alcatel said it will continue developing and supporting its own Open Media Platform (OMP) platform, which already has 24 commercial and trial deployments. The Alcatel Open Media Platform is also a software middleware platform that enables broadband service providers to create, deliver and manage multimedia entertainment services. Going forward, the companies will be recommending their joint solution.
http://www.alcatel.com
http://www.microsoft.com/tv

• In recent months, Microsoft has announced a series of high-profile wins for its IPTV platform, including Taiwan's Chunghwa Telecom, Verizon, SBC, BellSouth, Telecom Italia, KPN, Swisscom/Bluewin and others.



• In 2003, Alcatel acquired iMagicTV, a developer of software for delivering multi-channel digital television over broadband networks, for approximately US$30 million in aggregate. Alcatel already owned approximately 16% of iMagicTV. The iMagicTV IP video solution enables digital TV services, an interactive program guide, video-on-demand, pay-per-view and other interactive information services. iMagicTV is based in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada.



• In October 2000, Alcatel and Oracle formed Thirdspace, a joint venture targeting interactive, broadband TV.

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Avanex Unveils 10-12.5 Gbps Modulator with 120 km Reach

Avanex introduced a 10-12.5 Gbps Lithium Niobate chirped intensity external modulator, which features an innovative chirp mechanism capable of extending the reach of uncompensated signal transmission to 120 kilometers (over single-mode fiber at 2000 ps/nm). Avanex said conventional modulators such as intrinsically chirped single-drive z-cut modulators have the potential for uncompensated signal transmission only up to 80 to 100 kilometers.


http://www.avanex.com

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Terayon Offers MSO Solution for All-Digital Migration

Terayon Communication Systems introduced an IP-enabled, digital-to-analog multichannel integrated edge decoder (MID) that enables cable operators to accelerate and manage their evolution to all-digital networks, allowing them to deliver more high quality digital video services to their subscribers.


Cable operators currently maintain dual analog and digital headends to transport duplicate digital and analog programming line-ups to their digital and analog video subscribers. This dual carriage not only requires separate digital and analog headend and transmission equipment, but more importantly uses a substantial portion of network capacity for parallel distribution of the analog signals.


Terayon said that with its new CP 7600G platform at the edge of their networks, operators can immediately remove that analog tier and distribute all of their programming only once -- digitally -- across their networks. Deployed at the edge of cable networks -- typically in local headends or hubs -- the CP 7600G decodes the digital signal into a high-quality analog signal for transmission to analog subscribers on the network. Using this approach, operators can consolidate critical functions in the digital domain, such as headend operations and local ad insertion.


Terayon's CP 7600G MID is capable of decoding up to six MPEG-2 digital video services to either NTSC or PAL analog format in a compact, one rack unit (RU) tall chassis. http://www.terayon.com

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MCI and Cisco Collaborate on SMB Solutions

MCI and Cisco Systems will collaborate to enable Cisco channel partners to address the needs of small and medium-sized business (SMB) customers by selling IP-based next generation services. As part of the agreement, MCI and Cisco will identify resources and create the tools, training and programs to improve the channel partner's ability to sell, deploy and support both hosted and premise-based IP solutions that combine MCI services and Cisco technology.

Expanding on its decade-long relationship, MCI and Cisco will work together to create advanced networking services for SMB customers. By combining resources, both companies are able to offer SMBs a larger selection of voice, data and security solutions and products. In addition, both companies plan to offer network-based and premise-based solutions, such as MCI's VoIP service MCI Advantage and Cisco's Call Manager and Call Manager Express.

http://www.mci.com
http://www.cisco.com

• In February 2004, MCI announced its global MPLS-based service -- Private IP -- had earned the Cisco Powered Network designation.

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Amino Secures its PVR Set-Top with Widevine

Amino Communications will begin securing its AmiNET500 PVR set-top boxes with the Cypher Virtual SmartCard from Widevine Technologies.
The AmiNET500 is the first PVR (Personal Video Recorder) for IPTV applications to be fully secured against unauthorized copying of digital content.


The AmiNET500 supports time-shifting, pause and trick-play of live material, instant-record, and instant replay, and scheduled record of up to two streams simultaneously. The AmiNET500 can also act as a home media server by providing RTSP video streams to one or more other set top boxes. All content transmitted using the Widevine Virtual SmartCard solution is stored on the disk in its original encrypted form.


Widevine Cypher's Application Level Encryption allows the encryption properties established by the service operator to persist while content is stored on the AmiNET500, or streamed to a secondary device within the home (such as another set top box). Content is not decrypted until consumed, allowing enforcement and enhancement of the CGMS-A (Content Generation Management System for Analog) robustness rules as they impact digital recorders like the AmiNET500.
http://www.widevine.com
http://www.aminocom.com

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