European Commission Seeks Input on Digital Divide

The European Commission has opened a public consultation on policy measures needed to bring high-speed internet access to Europe's under-served areas. There are now 40 million broadband lines in the EU, an increase of 70% over the past year, thanks to competition. Broadband coverage is increasing fast, but on average it still excludes about 15% of EU15 population, and certainly a higher percentage when taking new Member States into account. Commercial deployment in remote and scarcely populated areas has been constrained by high costs. The EC believes market forces will drive further deployment, although some areas of the EU will suffer delayed coverage or will be excluded altogether from broadband rollout.


The European Commission has just published a "Digital Divide" report examining the pros and cons of government initiatives for extending broadband coverage. Public input is sought by September 16, 2005.http://europa.eu.int/information_society/eeurope/i2010/digital_divide/index_en.htm

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European Commission Opens More Spectrum for Wi-Fi

The European Commission decided to make available a substantially greater amount of radio spectrum in the 5 GHz range throughout the European Union for Wi-Fi.


The Commission decision, which is to be implemented by Member States by 31 October 2005, makes two specific frequency bands (5150-5350 MHz and 5470-5725 MHz) available in all Member States for wireless access systems. A large amount of flexibility is provided with respect to what type of service or network topology the technology is used for.


The decision also introduces spectrum management approaches, by requiring the application of "intelligent" techniques to protect other radio spectrum users against harmful interference, such as military radar and satellite services.


Other major markets, such as Japan and the US, are implementing similar rules for the 5 GHz bands based on- the outcome of the World Radiocommunications Conference 2003. A large market in the EU will encourage other countries to align themselves to the same specifications.http://europa.eu.int/information_society/policy/radio_spectrum/index_en.htm

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Agilent Offers High-Speed Serial Pulse Data Generator

Agilent Technologies introduced a high-speed, serial pulse data generator with stimulus capability up to 7 GHz, enabling computer and semiconductor test engineers to accurately characterize components being developed for the next-generation serial buses used in high-speed transmission systems.


Agilent said its new device allows engineers, for the first time, to conduct reliable and accurate physical layer tests by providing precision low-jitter signals and offering full control of data streams for stress tests. Linear delay modulation is used to enable fast and ultra precise jitter tolerance and jitter transfer measurements.
Versatile, high-quality and the most precise data signals are the key contributions of the 7 GHz pulse data generator. Other features include:

• Data formats RZ, R1 and NRZ, with flexible parameters and fast transition times for high-quality waveforms and eye diagram measurements.



• Pattern and sequence capabilities enabling stimulus signals for the entire range of digital high-speed serial buses.



• Linear delay modulation up to 1 GHz for jitter tolerance testing.

http://www.agilent.com/find/7G_Pulse

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Motorola to Provide $30 Million Network Upgrade in Kuwait

Kuwait's Mobile Telecommunications Company (MTC) signed contracts with Motorola in the Middle East and Africa worth more than US$30 million as part of a network expansion initiative. MTC will deploy Motorola solutions to boost the capacity, availability and voice quality of its network in Kuwait, while enabling 2.5G expansion capabilities for its more than 1.5 million subscribers.


MTC will be among the first telecom operators in the Middle East to deploy Motorola's Adaptive Multi Rate (AMR) solution, which is designed to improve voice quality especially in more remote areas, at the edge of the network's coverage range, as well as in buildings. MTC has been a Motorola customer for more than a decade.
http://www.motorola.com

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Cisco Board Sets Retirement Age of 70

Cisco Systems' Board of Directors adopted a policy that no individual will be eligible to be nominated or renominated for election to the Board of Directors after his or her 70th birthday. In the case of the current Chairman of the Board, John P. Morgridge, age 71, the policy will take effect for nominations for the 2006 Annual Meeting of Shareholders expected to be held November 2006.


Based on the new policy, Vice Chairman Donald T. Valentine and board member James F. Gibbons will not be eligible for renomination for Cisco's 2005 Annual Meeting of Shareholders in November 2005. Both directors intend to remain on the board through the date of the Annual Meeting, and Cisco expects to reduce the number of authorized directors from 13 to 11 at that time.

http://www.cisco.com

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Yipes Adds Boston POP

Yipes Enterprise Services has begun service expansion into Boston with a new downtown POP, scheduled to be operational by the end of Q3 2005.


In April, Yipes launched FinancialConnect!, a scalable network solution that provides banks, brokers, hedge funds, institutional investors and investment managers with simple, scalable and cost-effective access to the largest financial Exchanges, Electronic Communication Networks, liquidity pools and trading platforms.


Yipes currently serves 128 cities worldwide and in June, announced a new international POP in London. http://www.yipes.com/

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Cogent Acquires Transatlantic 10 Gbps Wavelength from Hibernia

Cogent Communications has purchased a 10 Gbps wavelength service from Boston to London from Hibernia Atlantic. Financial terms were not disclosed.


Hibernia Atlantic owns and operates a direct trans-Atlantic cable route from the US and Canada to Ireland and the UK. http://www.hiberniaatlantic.com/

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NEC Develops Litebird Mobile Router

NEC announced a "Litebird" mobile router that enables seamless broadband communication from high-speed vehicles using fast handoffs to wireless LANs and 3G networks. Use of this mobile router achieves a next-generation ubiquitous networked environment where uninterrupted communication is allowed even on high-speed moving objects. NEC said it has demonstrated seamless mobile IP roaming with stable rates of over 6 Mbps while moving at 200 km/h. Applications could include train-based services and realtime multimedia communications in emergency vehicles, such as ambulances.
http://www.nec.co.jp/press/en/index.html

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Telcordia Appoints CFO

Telcordia Technologies announced the appointment of Mark T. Greenquist as Senior Vice President and CFO. Previously, Greenquist was Senior Vice President and CFO at Symbol. He also served as Executive Vice President and CFO at Agere Systems and Vice President of Finance and CFO for General Motors, Europe.
http://www.telcordia.com

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T-Mobile Implements Alcatel's Genesys

T-Mobile has implemented Genesys solutions as a key component of its customer care strategy across Europe, including Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and additional Eastern European countries. Nearly 80 million customers are served in the nine T-Mobile markets, and as a result, T-Mobile's customer service agents handle more than 5.5 million customer requests per month. All these calls are managed through the Genesys solution. Financial terms were not disclosed.

T-Mobile has been successfully using Genesys in Germany for the past six years.

Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories is an Alcatel company.
http://www.alcatel.com

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IMS Reconciliation White Paper

NEW  IMS Reconciliation White Paper by MultiService Forum Widespread acceptance of the principles in the 3GPP IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) are nearing a level that would indicate the communications industry is close to reaching a defacto convergence architecture.  This whitepaper identifies similarities and differences between the MSF R2 (physical) Architecture and the 3GPP R6 Core IMS functional architecture.  It then recommends work activity the MSF should consider to achieve alignment. View PDF

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VeriSign Acquires iDEFENSE for Security Intelligence

VeriSign has acquired iDEFENSE, a provider of security intelligence serving government agencies and large enterprises, for $40 million in cash.


iDEFENSE, which is based in Reston, Virginia, provides actionable intelligence regarding network-based security threats and vulnerabilities. The company has over 200 multi-lingual research contributors in over 30 countries who provide insight into the cyber underground and previously unknown software vulnerabilities. The iDEFENSE research product portfolio includes iAlert Daily Delivery and FLASH Reports, Weekly Threat Reports and Focused Intelligence Reports that customers use to modify security infrastructure and respond to threats on a real-time basis.


VeriSign said the acquisition would augment its Managed Security Services (MSS) and expand its ability to monitor and assess security threats in real time. VeriSign will retain the iDEFENSE employee base, and iDEFENSE will assume the VeriSign name, continuing to market the iDEFENSE suite of intelligence services.
http://www.verisign.com

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AT&T Lands $27 Million Contract with Whirlpool

Whirlpool awarded a five-year, $27 million contract to AT&T to provide a global MPLS-based IP-VPN integrating more than 150 Whirlpool locations across North America, South America, Europe and Asia Pacific -- including more than 30 manufacturing locations, 13 technology centers and 18 design centers. The contract renews and expands an existing strategic global relationship in which AT&T provides Whirlpool a full range of networking services, including an IP VPN, toll-free services, long-distance, high-speed Internet access and business continuity services.
http://www.att.com

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U.S. Army Awards Lockheed Martin $152 Million for Intranet Portal

The U.S. Army awarded a $152 million contract to Lockheed Martin to lead the development, integration and maintenance of Army Knowledge Online (AKO), the U.S. Army's primary internal web portal. The intranet site has 1.8 million users worldwide and serves as the web gateway providing soldiers with access to dozens of logistics and combat support applications, secure e-mail and messaging, and information about the Army itself. http://www.lockheedmartin.com/

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Cable One Selects Arris for VoIP

Cable One, the tenth largest Multiple System Cable Operator (MSO) in the U.S., has selected ARRIS' Cadant C4 Cable Modem Termination System (CMTS) and Touchstone 402 line of Embedded Multimedia Terminal Adapters (E-MTAs) to deploy VoIP services. This marks the first order from Cable One for ARRIS' broadband product.

http://www.arrisi.com

• Cable One, the cable division of The Washington Post Company, operates 52 cable systems serving 715,000 subscribers in 19 states.

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Microsoft Teams with Marvel on Massively Multiplayer Online Games

Microsoft has obtained the exclusive rights to develop and publish massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs) featuring Marvel's iconic Super Heroes for use in games developed for the new Xbox 360 system. Microsoft said its MMOGs will enable thousands of players to interact online simultaneously. The companies predict this will represent one of the biggest areas of growth for the multibillion-dollar interactive entertainment industry.
http://www.microsoft.com/

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China's Coship Licenses ANT for IP Set-top Boxes

Coship, one of the largest set-top box (STB) manufacturers in China, has licensed ANT Fresco to target global IP STB market opportunities, primarily in Europe and Asia. ANT's Fresco embedded HTML browser will be shipped on the Coship AnySight200 range of IP STBs. The companies plan to demonstrate their low cost STBs at the upcoming IBC2005 event in Amsterdam in September.
http://www.antplc.com/index.htm

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Lucent and NMS Supply Echo Cancellers in Japan

Lucent Technologies and NMS Communications announced that their new echo cancellers have been selected by major Japanese network operators for their next-generation networks. Customer names were not disclosed.


The companies said the new echo canceller is an enhanced optical voice processor that replaces previous generation echo cancellation equipment developed by Lucent nearly 10 years ago. The new design reduces the cost per channel compared to the previous product and enables wireless networks to support high-quality, high-speed wireless broadband services. http://www.lucent.com
http://www.nmscommunications.com

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IBM and Cisco Build Data Center for China's Agricultural Bank

IBM and Cisco Systems collaborated to build a data center in Beijing for the Agricultural Bank of China (ABC), one of the four largest state-owned banks in China. A second data center will be built in Shanghai. The partnership between Cisco and the ABC began with the establishment of the ABC's national backbone network and its major sub-branch networks, for which Cisco was the primary equipment provider.
http://www.cisco.com
http://www.ibm.com

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Bell Canada and Nortel Study Broadband in Rural Communities

Bell Canada and Nortel launched a research project in the town of Chapleau, Ontario, to study the impact of advanced technology on rural and dispersed communities. Project Chapleau will evaluate the positive effect of technology and how it stimulates economic, healthcare, education and social activity in the community. The two companies will contribute technology and other resources to enable broadband access service in Chapleau, as well the applications necessary to fully leverage this technology.


Chapleau is a Northern Ontario community of approximately 3,000 people and lies about 320 kilometers northeast of Sault Ste. Marie. Chapleau, whose main industries are rail transportation and forestry, is located within the Boreal Forest Region and the Arctic Watershed. http://www.nortel.com

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