Orange Business Selected by German Foreign Office, Zurich

Orange Business Services has won a Europe-wide tender issued by the German Foreign Office. The five-year agreement includes a terrestrial wide area network (WAN) for 180 sites worldwide, WAN connection via satellite (operated by Satlynx and Orange) for an additional 50 sites, consulting and voice services, as well as an extensive service management package. The new contract represents an 85 percent increase in contract value compared to the previous agreement.


In addition, Zurich Insurance Company (Zurich), one of the leading global insurance-based financial services providers, has renewed its outsourcing contract with Orange Business Services for three additional years. Since 2003, Orange has been managing Zurich's telecom and network services across Europe. Orange is providing mobile voice and data services to more than 5,000 Zurich employees paired with Blackberry services for another 3,000 users. Fully managed global video conferencing solutions such as Telepresence and HD video were just recently added to the service catalog, another way Zurich can take full advantage of its converged IP network.
http://www.orange.com

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Charter Files Amended Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Plan

Charter Communications, the fourth-largest cable operator in the United States, filed an amended pre-arranged Joint Plan of Reorganization (the "Amended Plan") with the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.


"Since filing our initial pre-arranged plan, we have been working constructively with our creditors and other stakeholders and appreciate their ongoing support. Throughout this process, Charter has maintained its focus on enhancing all aspects of our customers' experience and looks forward to continuing to meet their communications needs in the future," stated Neil Smit, President and Chief Executive Officer.
http://www.charter.com

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BT's Openreach Selects Trimble to Manage Mobile Workforce of 17,000

Openreach, the UK-based local access network division of BT Group, will be implementing the full range of Trimble's Mobile Resource Management (MRM) solutions across its fleet of 17,000 mobile field engineers.


Trimble Performance Manager is an alerting and business intelligence application that complements Trimble's Taskforce scheduling and GeoManager tracking solutions. Trimble Performance Manager compares the real-time activities of field teams against planned and scheduled events and provides alerts, analysis and business intelligence to improve short and long-term performance in a variety of areas, including day-to-day activities of the mobile workforce, customer service, cost management, and strategic planning. The benefits also include reduced travel times resulting in lower fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.



http://www.btplc.com
http://www.trimble.com/mobile_resource_management

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JDSU Completes Acquisition of Finisar's Network Tools Business

JDSU completed its acquisition of the Network Tools business of Finisar Corporation. The company said the acquisition established it the world's leading provider of storage area network (SAN) protocol test tools, software and services.


"This acquisition provides JDSU with unique capabilities to address the SAN test market's best growth opportunities, such as Fibre Channel over Ethernet," said Dave Holly, president of JDSU's Communications Test and Measurement business segment. "We welcome the Network Tools team to JDSU and look forward to combining our respective strengths to deliver test innovation for the benefit of our customers."


The Network Tools business, currently headquartered in Sunnyvale, CA, includes more than 100 employees worldwide. Upon close of the transaction, Network Tools will form the Storage Network Test unit in the Instrument Business Division of JDSU's Communications Test and Measurement business segment. Dave Buse will continue to lead the business, reporting to Jerry Gentile, general manager of JDSU's Instrument Business Division. http://www.jdsu.com

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Boeing Signs 4-Satellite Contract with Intelsat

Intelsat has selected Boeing to build four telecommunication satellites based on its 702B satellite series. Financial details were not disclosed.


Under the contract, the four Boeing-built geostationary satellites, Intelsat 21, Intelsat 22, and two spacecraft yet to be named, will offer C- and Ku-band capacity optimized to distribute video, network and voice services from Asia and Africa to the Americas and Europe. In April, Intelsat announced its IS-22 satellite will include an Ultra-High Frequency government-hosted payload that will serve the Australian Defence Force.


Boeing's 702B, an evolution of the Boeing 702 satellite, operates in the medium-level power ranges, with six to 12 kilowatts of onboard power and a more flexible, modular design that maintains the spacecraft's advanced technologies.
http://www.boeing.com/ids/

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Raytheon Wins $155M DARPA Contract to Develop Radio Network Gateway

Raytheon was awarded a contract by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to provide a cost-effective, highly capable military wireless network interoperable gateway. The contract provides Raytheon $24.4 million for one year. Options would extend the contract to 2012 and bring the potential value to $155 million.


The Mobile Ad-Hoc Interoperability GATEway, or MAINGATE, will integrate any combination of heterogeneous military, civil or coalition radios into a single network to facilitate communication among disparate systems.



Raytheon said the unique architecture of its MAINGATE system allows for many more users to join the network at the same time and enables more than 30 different military and civil radios to communicate with one another while concurrently providing a high-capacity, mobile network. One of the key technologies used in the system's development is Raytheon's Mobile Ad-Hoc Networking protocols. These MANET protocols enable the MAINGATE system to be mobile, allow nodes to join or leave the network and scale to a very large numbers of systems.
http://www.raytheon.com

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Belgium's Telenet selects Alcatel-Lucent for MVNO Project

Telenet, a leading provider of media and telecommunications services in Flanders, selected Alcatel-Lucent as overall network integrator for a mobile MVNO (mobile virtual network operator) project. Under a 7-year frame agreement, Alcatel-Lucent will be the overall integrator of the full mobile core, and of the value added service network components. As part of the agreement, Alcatel-Lucent will be responsible for the supply, installation, integration, operation and maintenance of Telenet's next generation mobile core network and service creation infrastructure. Financial terms were not disclosed.


Telenet offers cable television, high speed internet and fixed and mobile telephony services, primarily to residential customers in Flanders and Brussels. In addition, Telenet offers services to business customers across Belgium under the brand Telenet Solutions.
http://www.telenet.be

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AT&T Implements LED Lighting to Improve Eco Efficiency

As part of its rebranding efforts over the last few years, AT&T replaced over 7,000 channel letter signs on more than 6,500 AT&T office buildings and retail locations. In doing so, AT&T has been installing the energy-efficient, long-life GE Tetra LED lighting system. The company calculates that it will save more than 5.8 million kilowatt hours of electricity year and eliminate 3,500 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually -- the equivalent of planting more than 950 acres of trees. The GE LEDs are up to 80 percent more energy efficient than commonly used neon.
http://www.att.com/sustainability

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Covad Evolves Access Network with DS3, Bonded T1, QoS

Covad Communications completed the next phase of its broader network transformation strategy by building out its access portfolio with the introduction of DS3 service for performance-intensive applications and enterprise connectivity, as well as higher-bandwidth bonded T1 offerings up to 12.0 Mbps. Covad DS3 service provides symmetrical speeds up to 35 Mbps and are available nationwide. The bonded T1 offerings provide up to 12.0 Mbps of symmetrical bandwidth to meet the demanding broadband needs of small businesses and distributed enterprises, further addressing the gap between T1 and DS3 offerings.


Covad has also introduced network-wide Quality of Service (QoS) capabilities to enable partners to layer on value-added services and applications. Covad has introduced five levels of broadband QoS, each with predefined network priority settings, delivery targets, and latency levels--for example, QoS with reduced jitter for VoIP, or QoS with lowest possible latency for mission-critical, real-time applications. Partners can pair the appropriate QoS level with a specific application to ensure their customers are getting optimal performance levels.


"Covad is rapidly evolving its network to create an intelligent broadband services platform that our partners can use to expand their offerings, reach more customers, and increase revenues," says Young-Sae Song, Vice President of Marketing for Covad Wholesale. "Covad's application-aware network capabilities allow our partners to customize network performance for specific applications, like VoIP, video conferencing, and software as a service (SaaS)."


In February, Covad completed a nationwide MPLS deployment and network capacity upgrades that included metro optical rings with up to OC-192 (10 Gbps) capacity.
http://www.covad.com

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Alcatel-Lucent Debuts 100 GigE Edge Intelligence

Alcatel-Lucent introduced a 100 Gigabit Ethernet interface and a 10-port 10 Gigabit Ethernet interface, both with massive queuing, classification and traffic management capabilities, for its 7750 Service Router and 7450 Ethernet Service Switch (ESS). Operators who have deployed Alcatel-Lucent service routers since 2004 can add the new line cards and immediately multiply capacity up to 100 Gbps per slot , double the current 50 Gbps maximum.


The new 100 Gigabit Ethernet capabilities are enabled by Alcatel-Lucent's custom FP2 chipset (launched July 2008), which is capable of sophisticated and optimized network processing and traffic management at speeds up to 100 Gbps. The FP2 chipset integrates 112 array cores for 95,000 MIPs performance and is implemented in 90nm process technology. The silicon was developed in house.


Alcatel-Lucent's FP2 silicon innovations and enhancements in thermal efficiency reduce power consumption to levels approaching four watts per gigabit with the new 100 Gigabit Ethernet interface modules, a significant improvement compared to the 10 Gigabit and 40 Gigabit alternatives widely deployed today.


Alcatel-Lucent said the edge of service provider network is where most of the intelligence in the network resides, and where determinations should be made about how individual services, such as high-definition video, need to be handled to ensure an optimal experience for end-users. The traffic management capabilities of the FP2 chipset could enable "high touch" edge & metro services via a single 100GigE customer-facing port or high-densities of 10 GigE ports. For instance, massively scalable queuing on the new interface cards could be used to guarantee real-time video and voice application delivery. One 7750 Service Router could support 160,000 users @ 6.25 Mbps sustained per-user, each with 8 queues.


Alcatel-Lucent noted that other 100 Gbps announcements for other vendors have been limited to core IP transport.


The new line cards will be available for demonstrations in 4Q 2009 and commercially in mid-2010.


Alcatel-Lucent has shipped more than 35,000 IP/MPLS service router portfolio systems since 2004, resulting in an installed base of more than 270 service provider customers in 100+ countries.
http://www.alcatel-lucent.com

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Nokia Sees Lower Demand for Mobiles, Average Selling Price Falls

Citing intense competition and a global device marketplace that appears to be bottoming out, Nokia reported Q2 net sales of EUR 9.9 billion, down 25% year on year and up 7% sequentially (down 24% and up 7% at constant currency). Nokia's second quarter 2009 reported operating profit decreased 71% to EUR 427 million, compared with EUR 1.5 billion in the second quarter 2008. Nokia's second quarter 2009 non-IFRS operating profit decreased 62% to EUR 775 million, compared with EUR 2.1 billion in the second quarter 2008. Nokia's second quarter 2009 reported operating margin was 4.3% (11.2%). Nokia's second quarter 2009 non-IFRS operating margin was 7.8% (15.6%).


Estimated industry mobile device volumes of 268 million units, down 12% year on year and up 5% sequentially. Nokia mobile device volumes of 103.2 million units, down 15% year on year and up 11% sequentially. Nokia estimated mobile device market share of 38% in Q2 2009, down from 40% in Q2 2008 and up from 37% in Q1 2009.


"We are balancing short-term priorities with our longer-term growth ambitions as elements of the mobile handset, PC, internet and media industries converge to form a new industry. Consumers will increasingly expect devices and services designed as integrated solutions. To capture this opportunity we are accelerating our strategic transformation into a solutions company," stated Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, Nokia CEO.


Some highlights from the quarter:


Devices & Services

• The lower device volumes year on year for Nokia and the industry continued to be driven by the negative impact of the deteriorated global economic conditions, including weaker consumer and corporate spending, constrained credit availability and currency market volatility.



• The sequential industry device volume increase primarily reflected seasonality in the second quarter. Nokia volumes also benefited sequentially from a more stable inventory situation in the operator and distributor channels. Nokia's mobile device market share was an estimated 38% in the second quarter 2009, down from 40% in the second quarter 2008 and up from 37% in the first quarter 2009.



• Of the total industry mobile device volumes, converged mobile device industry volumes in the second quarter 2009 increased to 41.0 million units, based on Nokia's preliminary estimate, compared with an estimated 37.1 million units in the second quarter 2008, and 36.0 million units in the first quarter 2009.



• Nokia converged mobile device volumes were 16.9 million units in the second quarter 2009, compared with 15.3 million units in the second quarter 2008 and 13.7 million units in the first quarter 2009. Nokia's share of the converged device market was an estimated 41% in the second quarter 2009, unchanged from 41% in the second quarter 2008 and up from 39% in the first quarter 2009.



• Based on preliminary market estimate, Nokia's mobile device market share for the second quarter 2009 was 38%, compared with 40% in the second quarter 2008 and 37% in the first quarter 2009.



• Nokia mobile device average selling price (ASP) in the second quarter 2009 was EUR 62, down from EUR 74 in the second quarter 2008 and EUR 65 in the first quarter 2009. Both the year on year and sequential ASP declines were primarily due to general price pressure and a higher proportion of sales of lower priced products. Our second quarter 2009 ASP benefited from sales of new high-end products, compared to the first quarter 2009.

NAVTEQ

• Second quarter 2009 NAVTEQ net sales increased 11% sequentially to EUR 147 million, compared with EUR 132 million in the first quarter 2009, reflecting a slight pick-up in demand for auto navigation systems. NAVTEQ reported gross profit was EUR 126 million (EUR 116 million), with a gross margin of 85.7% (87.5%). Non-IFRS gross profit was EUR 127 million (EUR 117 million), with a non-IFRS gross margin of 85.8% (87.3%). NAVTEQ had a reported operating loss of EUR 100 million (EUR 120 million loss). The reported operating margin was -68.0% (-90.9%). NAVTEQ non-IFRS operating profit was EUR 19 million (EUR 5 million), with a non-IFRS operating margin of 12.8% (3.7%).

Nokia Siemens Networks

• Second quarter 2009 net sales decreased 21% to EUR 3.2 billion, compared with EUR 4.1 billion in the second quarter 2008, reflecting challenging market conditions and competitive factors. At constant currency, Nokia Siemens Networks net sales would have decreased 20%.



• Nokia Siemens Networks reported gross profit decreased 25% to EUR 860 million, compared with EUR 1.1 billion in the second quarter 2008, with a gross margin of 26.9% (28.2%). Nokia Siemens Networks non-IFRS gross profit decreased 30% to EUR 897 million, compared with EUR 1.3 billion in the second quarter 2008, with a non-IFRS gross margin of 28.0% (31.5%). The lower year on year non-IFRS gross profit in the second quarter 2009 was due primarily to lower year on year net sales.



• Nokia Siemens Networks had a second quarter 2009 reported operating loss of EUR 188 million compared with an operating loss of EUR 47 million in the second quarter 2008, with an operating margin of -5.9% (-1.2%). Nokia Siemens Networks non-IFRS operating profit was EUR 2 million in the second quarter 2009, compared with a non-IFRS operating profit of EUR 274 million in the second quarter 2008, with a non-IFRS operating margin of 0.1% (6.7%). The year on year decline in Nokia Siemens Networks non-IFRS operating profit primarily reflected lower net sales.

http://www.nokia.com

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Postal Savings Bank of China Deploys Alcatel-Lucent's Contact Center

The Postal Savings Bank of China (PSBC) has deployed a new contact center solution from Alcatel-Lucent. The new network and contact center solution, led by Alcatel-Lucent Shanghai Bell, enables PSBC to centralize data management and improve data stability further improving PSBC's reliability, especially in peak service hours, while its customized reports system will help the bank further expand its telemarketing services.


Alcatel-Lucent provided its OmniGenesys contact center solution, the combination of the OmniPCX Enterprise and Genesys customer interaction management software, linked together with a unique Routing Service Intelligence component. The solution supports thousands of interactive voice response (IVR) ports for self-service that reduces operational costs, with seamless escalation to agent-assisted service that improves customer satisfaction. The advanced outbound dialing function enables more sophisticated telemarketing for all sorts of campaigns. The workforce management software enhances efficiency, which is vital to service center operation.
http://www.alcatel-lucent.com

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Infonetics: Recovery expected in 2010 for Equipment Market

A mild contraction in the overall telecom and datacom equipment market in 2009 will be followed by a recovery between 2010 and 2011, according to a newly released "Telecom and Datacom Network Equipment" report from Infonetics Research. Some highlights of the report:

• Telecom and datacom equipment tracked by Infonetics Research grew 8% in 2008, with worldwide revenue totaling $150 billion, driven in large part by currency appreciation against the US dollar



• The two largest segments of the telecom/datacom market by revenue: service provider mobile/wireless infrastructure and enterprise router/switch/wireless LAN equipment



• Cisco leads the overall worldwide telecom/datacom network equipment market in 2008, followed by Alcatel-Lucent and Ericsson; they dominate the enterprise segment



• The battle for service provider money rages on, with Ericsson maintaining its lead in the carrier network equipment segment in 2008, while Alcatel-Lucent and Nokia Siemens continue their neck and neck race for second



• The biggest increases in revenue market share in the service provider network equipment market in 2008 were made by Samsung, ZTE, and Huawei



• The Asia Pacific region, led by China and India, is forecast to increase its telecom/datacom revenue market share by 5 points from 2008 to 2013, taking from EMEA and North America.


"Though service provider capital expenditures are slightly decreasing in 2009 and 2010, spending is still on the rise for products that help carriers transform their networks. On the enterprise side, while companies of all sizes everywhere have been hit hard by the recession, they are in the middle of key network transformations of their own, which drive pockets of good growth. Whether to save on operating expenses or to increase revenue, service providers and enterprises are investing in new network technology. The three segments showing the highest growth potential are IPTV and video equipment, broadband customer premise equipment, and subscriber data, policy, and service management software," said Jeff Wilson, principal analyst at Infonetics Research.


"We expect a mild contraction in the overall telecom and datacom equipment market in 2009, and a recovery between 2010 and 2011, followed by strong growth through 2013, when worldwide revenue will reach $195 billion," Wilson added.
http://www.infonetics.com

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Motorola Names Chief Marketing Officer for Mobile Devices

Motorola has appointed William Ogle as chief marketing officer for its Mobile Devices business. Ogle will lead the marketing and branding efforts for Mobile Devices and will be responsible for all aspects of the marketing, advertising, interactive marketing and brand strategy, management and execution. He will report to Sanjay Jha, Motorola's co-chief executive officer and CEO of Mobile Devices.


Most recently, Ogle served as chief marketing officer for Samsung Telecommunications America. Previously, Ogle served as chief marketing officer at Pizza Hut. Prior to joining Pizza Hut, Ogle held brand management positions at Procter & Gamble and Sara Lee Corporation.
http://www.motorola.com

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IBM Offers Unified Communications Appliance for SMBs

IBM introduced a new, self-managing, "office in a box" appliance for small and midsized businesses (SMBs) that combines all of the unified communications and collaboration (UC2) tools needed to run a business with the ability to connect to telephony, in a single solution.


The new Lotus Foundations Reach solution customizes and extends the IBM Sametime UC2 capabilities in a single appliance designed specifically for SMBs that have limited IT skills and smaller budgets. It combines key UC features such as instant messaging (IM), presence awareness to see who is online and available, email, calendars, contacts, office productivity tools, network security, remote access, file and print sharing, and backup and disaster recovery.


IBM said its Foundations Reach is built on an open platform that enables and encourages partners to innovate and build upon IBM technology.
http://www.ibm.com/lotus/foundations

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Hutchison Selects Ceragon for Ethernet Microwave Systems

The Hutchison 3 Group has awarded a multi-year global supply agreement to Ceragon Networks to provide its high capacity Ethernet microwave systems, including the leading edge FibeAir IP-10 platform. The deployment will support Hutchison's network migration plans from TDM to IP, enabling the carrier to add network capacity quickly and cost effectively. Financial terms were not disclosed.


Ceragon's FibeAir IP-10 offers a combination of advanced native TDM and native Ethernet networking in a single, highly integrated mobile backhaul platform.


The Hutchison 3 Group is a division of Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa. Hutchison 3 Group, together with Hutchison Telecommunications International Limited and Hutchison Telecommunications Hong Kong Holdings, is the leading global player in the 3G arena, holding licenses in 12 markets with total population coverage of approximately 481 million. To date, commercial 3G services have been launched in Australia, Austria, Denmark, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Sweden and the UK. Hutchison announced more than 20 million 3G customers in March 2009.
http://www.ceragon.com

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Verizon Adds Facebook, Twitter and Internet Video Widgets to FiOS TV

Verizon has enhanced its FiOS TV service with two new social TV services -- the Widget Bazaar applications store and Internet Video on TV.


Verizon has worked with Facebook Connect, Twitter, ESPN, Veoh, blip.tv, and Dailymotion to create a converged Internet-to-television experience that lets FiOS TV subscribers connect with others while watching TV, plus search and view a variety of online, personal PC-based videos on their television screens.


Verizon also plans an open development platform to permit developers to write interactive FiOS TV applications that will be available through the Widget Bazaar.


The new services combine television's larger-than-life entertainment experiences with the


The new Widget Bazaar applications marketplace, located within FiOS TV's Interactive Media Guide, is launching with free Facebook, Twitter and ESPN Fantasy Football Widgets.


Through the Twitter Widget, FiOS TV subscribers can follow Tweets related specifically to the program, movie or sporting event they are watching, bringing a new level of community and interactivity to watching TV. They also can select from a list of top topics to view Tweets associated with today's hottest topics and trends, search for specific Tweets, and create and save a favorite-topics list.


FiOS TV subscribers with Facebook accounts can log in to Facebook through the FiOS TV Widget to update their Facebook status with messages about what they're watching, view their own photos, and view their friends' photos and status updates.


The ESPN Fantasy Football Widget provides instant on-screen access to personalized ESPN Fantasy Football points and football statistics, including rosters, box scores, scoring leaders and player information. All the information is available, at no additional charge, for FiOS TV customers who are registered ESPN Fantasy Football players.


In the coming months, Verizon plans to add to the FiOS TV Widget Bazaar dozens of additional free and transactional applications developed by the company and others.



Later this month, customers who subscribe to the Home Media DVR service will have access a new Internet Video feature that will allow them to search and view on FiOS TV user generated online videos from video-sharing sites blip.tv, Dailymotion and Veoh. In addition, a new My Videos feature will let these subscribers view via FiOS TV personal videos stored on their PCs. Both new features will be available free of charge to FiOS Home Media DVR customers and require no additional equipment.


The new Internet Video feature will allow customers to search content on the blip.tv, Dailymotion and Veoh sites individually, or on all sites at once, using either key words or by selecting "most watched," "top rated" and "recent searches" categories; view thumbnail screen grabs of videos that appear in search results, and bookmark favorite videos - among other features.
http://www.verizon.com

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NetLogic and TSMC Collaborate on 40nm 10/40/100 Gbps Silicon

NetLogic Microsystems has successfully migrated multiple silicon products to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company's (TSMC's) advanced 40nm technology.


By using TSMC's 40nm-G semiconductor process technology for NetLogic Microsystems' next-generation advanced knowledge-based processors and 10/40/100 Gigabit Ethernet physical layer (PHY) solutions, the companies seek to enable the next generation of networking equipment.


NetLogic Microsystems is one of first companies to tape-out and sample multiple silicon products in TSMC's advanced 40nm technology node.


NetLogic Microsystems is currently sampling its NLP2040 and NLP3040 PHY devices, the industry's first single-die quad-port 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) PHY devices, both of which are manufactured in the advanced 40nm process to deliver the highest performance and lowest power consumption for next-generation switches, routers and blade servers addressing the data center, enterprise networking, storage and service provider markets. In addition, NetLogic Microsystems is sampling the leading-edge NLP10000, the industry's first 100 Gigabit Ethernet PHY solution, which is also manufactured in the advanced 40nm process and offers customers unprecedented scalability for data-center, metro and long haul applications that require a 10X increase in performance while maximizing energy efficiency.


NetLogic Microsystems will also be taping out its next-generation knowledge-based processor, the NL11000 device, in TSMC's 40nm process. The NL11000 knowledge-based processor will offer significantly higher performance, lower power and cost advantages as a result of the close collaboration with TSMC. NetLogic Microsystems has developed a suite of custom circuits optimized around TSMC's 40nm node, including high-speed serial interface technology, analog and clocking circuitry, core processing elements and other standard cells, as well as refining the design and tape-out flow for this node.
http://www.netlogicmicro.com
http://www.tsmc.com

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Telenor Sweden Selects Amdocs OSS

Telenor Sweden has selected Amdocs' Operational Support System (OSS) suite of products to manage and automate its network inventory across its wireline operations. Financial terms were not disclosed.


Amdocs OSS already supports Telenor Sweden's mobile operations and it has expanded its relationship with Amdocs to support its fixed-line operations. Amdocs OSS will replace Telenor Sweden's current fixed-line solution with a consolidated, convergent OSS that places all network data in one repository, providing a single point of visibility across the network, and enabling Telenor Sweden to efficiently track and account for all its network assets. htt://www.amdocs.com/oss

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Cisco Promotes Health TelePresence

Cisco introduced its "HealthPresence" patient care delivery concept that combines Cisco TelePresence and medical devices to enable caregivers and patients who may be miles apart to interact in a clinical setting. The company said that pilot programs it has conducted in Aberdeen, Scotland and San Jose, California has found that more than 90 percent of the patients were satisfied with the remote care experience and would recommend it to others.


Cisco and UnitedHealth Group also announced plans to build the first, nationwide telehealth network delivering healthcare services to rural and underserved areas. UnitedHealth Group's national care provider network, including 590,000 physicians and care professionals and more than 4,900 hospitals, combined with Cisco's video conferencing and other collaborative network technologies, will help connect patients more easily with primary care physicians, specialists and hospitals. Connected Care will make clinics available in the workplace, as well as in rural and retail locations. In-home visits using similar technology will also be introduced to bring care to the patient. UnitedHealth Group has committed tens of millions of dollars toward the new initiative.



By using a live high-quality video collaboration and secure telemetry, Cisco said its HealthPresence solution can help a remote physician evaluate patients based on physiological data derived from a variety of medical devices such as a stethoscope, blood pressure cuff, pulse oximeter and other diagnostic equipment. Each Cisco HealthPresence unit is staffed by an attendant trained to operate the medical devices under the instructions of the remote health care professional, who may be hundreds of miles away.


Cisco HealthPresence combines Cisco TelePresence, a live, real-time solution that delivers face-to-face interactions over the network, with call center-like technology and a highly secure telemetry network to deliver medical services at a distance, similar to what one experiences during an in-person visit to a doctor's office.


Pilot users of the system include the Scottish Centre for Telehealth and the National Health Service, which are continuing to test Cisco HealthPresence at the Aberdeen Royal Infirmary in Scotland to provide a remote clinic experience for patients with non-life-threatening illnesses and injuries.


In California, the UnitedHealth Group (UHG) and Cisco, in partnership with HealthCare Partners began a pilot of Cisco HealthPresence with Cisco employees at Cisco's San Jose headquarters in October 2008 to determine its usefulness as an alternative to in-person doctor's visits. UHG coordinated the administrative processes for the visits to include scheduling, physicians' payments, the coordination of benefits, and the network availability of clinical services.
http://www.cisco.com

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