http://www.convergedigest.com/qa655.aspWednesday, February 23, 2011
DOCOMO Rolls out Three Mobile Devices for New BeeTV
NTT DOCOMO introduced three mobile devices:
The MEDIAS N-04C is the world's thinnest 3G smartphone, measuring just 7.7 mm, and weighs only 105 grams. It is equipped for popular services such as mobile wallet (Osaifu-Keitai) and One-Seg mobile digital terrestrial television, convenient infrared-based data exchange, etc.
The Xperia arc SO-01C is powered by Android 2.3 and will achieve a maximum downlink of 14 Mbps. It is the first handset compatible with DOCOMO's enhanced extra-high-speed downlink service, which is set to launch in HSDPA service areas this June.
The Optimus Pad L-06C is powered by the Android 3.0 operating system for tablet PCs. The model, which only weighs 620 grams, features a high-resolution 8.9-inch display and dynamic stereo speakers for "mobile-theater" experiences.
All three models are compatible with the BeeTV video distribution service for Android smartphones that will launch on March 24.
http://www.nttdocomo.com
The MEDIAS N-04C is the world's thinnest 3G smartphone, measuring just 7.7 mm, and weighs only 105 grams. It is equipped for popular services such as mobile wallet (Osaifu-Keitai) and One-Seg mobile digital terrestrial television, convenient infrared-based data exchange, etc.
The Xperia arc SO-01C is powered by Android 2.3 and will achieve a maximum downlink of 14 Mbps. It is the first handset compatible with DOCOMO's enhanced extra-high-speed downlink service, which is set to launch in HSDPA service areas this June.
The Optimus Pad L-06C is powered by the Android 3.0 operating system for tablet PCs. The model, which only weighs 620 grams, features a high-resolution 8.9-inch display and dynamic stereo speakers for "mobile-theater" experiences.
All three models are compatible with the BeeTV video distribution service for Android smartphones that will launch on March 24.
http://www.nttdocomo.com
SandForce Debuts 2nd Gen SSD Processors
SandForce,
a start-up based in Milpitas, California, released its second-generation SF-2200 and SF-2100 SSD Processors optimized for SSDs deployed in client computing applications.
The SandForce SF-2200 processors feature a 6 Gigabit-per-second (Gb/s) SATA host interface, a sustained sequential read/write performance of up to 500 Megabytes per second (MB/s), and its "DuraClass" technology. The SF-2100 processors feature a 3 Gb/s SATA host interface, read/write performance up to 250 MB/s, and the same DuraClass Technology.
http://www.sandforce.com
a start-up based in Milpitas, California, released its second-generation SF-2200 and SF-2100 SSD Processors optimized for SSDs deployed in client computing applications. The SandForce SF-2200 processors feature a 6 Gigabit-per-second (Gb/s) SATA host interface, a sustained sequential read/write performance of up to 500 Megabytes per second (MB/s), and its "DuraClass" technology. The SF-2100 processors feature a 3 Gb/s SATA host interface, read/write performance up to 250 MB/s, and the same DuraClass Technology.
http://www.sandforce.com
- In September 2010, Sandforce raised $25 million in Series D funding for its SSD (Solid State Drive) processors. SandForce's chips are designed to overcome data retention issues associated with NAND flash memory, making it possible to build SSDs that deliver unprecedented performance over the life of the drive with orders-of-magnitude higher reliability than enterprise-class HDDs (Hard Disk Drives). The new funding was led by Canaan Partners. Existing investors who also participated include DCM, Storm Ventures, Translink Capital, LSI Corporation & UMC Capital.
MetroPCS Reaches 8.1 Million Users
MetroPCS Communications ended 2010 with over 8.1 million subscribers. The Company reported full year net income of $193 million, or $0.54 per common share, which includes approximately $59 million in net charges and gains recognized on FCC license exchanges consummated during the year. 
On a non-GAAP basis, excluding the loss on extinguishment of debt and gains on FCC license exchanges, net income would have been $252 million, or $0.70 per common share.
"We generated record full year net subscriber additions of over 1.5 million during 2010 and full year consolidated Adjusted EBITDA of approximately $1.18 billion; also a record for the Company. Introduced at the beginning of 2010, adoption of our Wireless for All service plans primarily drove these record results and also contributed to a 190bps decline in full year churn to 3.6%. Our focus on execution, combined with the success of our Wireless for All initiatives, drove approximately 23% year over year subscriber growth and 23% year over year consolidated Adjusted EBITDA growth. Importantly, over the past five years, we have generated impressive results with a CAGR of 29% subscriber growth and 31% Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA growth, both significant accomplishments for a wireless company," said Roger D. Linquist, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of MetroPCS.
http://www.metropcs.com
On a non-GAAP basis, excluding the loss on extinguishment of debt and gains on FCC license exchanges, net income would have been $252 million, or $0.70 per common share.
"We generated record full year net subscriber additions of over 1.5 million during 2010 and full year consolidated Adjusted EBITDA of approximately $1.18 billion; also a record for the Company. Introduced at the beginning of 2010, adoption of our Wireless for All service plans primarily drove these record results and also contributed to a 190bps decline in full year churn to 3.6%. Our focus on execution, combined with the success of our Wireless for All initiatives, drove approximately 23% year over year subscriber growth and 23% year over year consolidated Adjusted EBITDA growth. Importantly, over the past five years, we have generated impressive results with a CAGR of 29% subscriber growth and 31% Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA growth, both significant accomplishments for a wireless company," said Roger D. Linquist, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of MetroPCS.
http://www.metropcs.com
Chunghwa Telecom and Alcatel-Lucent for GPON
Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan's largest telecommunications provider, has selected Alcatel-Lucent to build the country's first GPON. Commercial operation of the initial phase of Chunghwa's GPON network is set to commence by Q3 of 2011.
Alcatel-Lucent will deploy its 7342 Intelligent Services Access Manager Fiber-to-the-User (ISAM FTTU) for the delivery of ultra-high-speed services to both residential and business users. The GPON platform will be complemented by the Alcatel-Lucent 5520 Access Management System (AMS) – Alcatel-Lucent's next-generation element management system that covers the entire ISAM product portfolio, encompassing DSL as well as fiber-based access. Alcatel-Lucent will also provide its professional services expertise – including software integration, as well as network management system installation and commissioning.http://www.alcatel-lucent.com
Alcatel-Lucent will deploy its 7342 Intelligent Services Access Manager Fiber-to-the-User (ISAM FTTU) for the delivery of ultra-high-speed services to both residential and business users. The GPON platform will be complemented by the Alcatel-Lucent 5520 Access Management System (AMS) – Alcatel-Lucent's next-generation element management system that covers the entire ISAM product portfolio, encompassing DSL as well as fiber-based access. Alcatel-Lucent will also provide its professional services expertise – including software integration, as well as network management system installation and commissioning.http://www.alcatel-lucent.com
Taiwan's Chunghwa Grows 2.1% for 2010
Taiwan's Chunghwa Telecom's total consolidated revenue for the full year 2010 increased by 2.1% year-over-year to NT$202.49 billion, of which 44.0% was from the mobile business, 12.1% was from the Internet business, 34.9% was from the domestic fixed business, 7.7% was from the international fixed business, and the remainder was from others. Despite the National Communications Commission (NCC) tariff reduction that became effective from April 1, 2010, Chunghwa maintained its growth pattern, due mainly to an increase in mobile VAS, handset sales and internet services.
For the mobile business, total revenue for 2010 amounted to NT$89.04 billion, representing a year-on-year increase of 2.9%, which was mainly due to growth in mobile VAS revenue relating to smartphone promotions and handset sales.
Chunghwa's Internet business revenue increased by 3.5% year-over-year to NT$24.48 billion in 2010, mainly attributable to growth in the number of broadband subscribers and the migration of ADSL subscribers to fiber solutions.
For 2010, domestic fixed revenue totaled NT$70.69 billion, representing a decrease of 1.1% year-over-year. Local and Domestic Long Distance (DLD) revenues decreased by 2.9% to NT$32.25 billion and 10.2% to NT$6.65 billion year-over-year, respectively. The decrease in local revenue was mainly due to mobile and VOIP substitution. The decrease in DLD revenue was also a result of mobile and VOIP substitution, as well as reflecting the mandated tariff reduction.
Broadband access revenue, including ADSL and FTTx, increased by 2.1% year-over-year to NT$20.32 billion. Although ADSL access revenue decreased as more ADSL subscribers migrated to fiber solutions, the decrease was fully offset by growth in FTTx access revenue.
International fixed revenue increased by 2.6% to NT$15.64 billion, primarily due to growth in leased line revenue.http://www.cht.com.tw
For the mobile business, total revenue for 2010 amounted to NT$89.04 billion, representing a year-on-year increase of 2.9%, which was mainly due to growth in mobile VAS revenue relating to smartphone promotions and handset sales.
Chunghwa's Internet business revenue increased by 3.5% year-over-year to NT$24.48 billion in 2010, mainly attributable to growth in the number of broadband subscribers and the migration of ADSL subscribers to fiber solutions.
For 2010, domestic fixed revenue totaled NT$70.69 billion, representing a decrease of 1.1% year-over-year. Local and Domestic Long Distance (DLD) revenues decreased by 2.9% to NT$32.25 billion and 10.2% to NT$6.65 billion year-over-year, respectively. The decrease in local revenue was mainly due to mobile and VOIP substitution. The decrease in DLD revenue was also a result of mobile and VOIP substitution, as well as reflecting the mandated tariff reduction.
Broadband access revenue, including ADSL and FTTx, increased by 2.1% year-over-year to NT$20.32 billion. Although ADSL access revenue decreased as more ADSL subscribers migrated to fiber solutions, the decrease was fully offset by growth in FTTx access revenue.
International fixed revenue increased by 2.6% to NT$15.64 billion, primarily due to growth in leased line revenue.http://www.cht.com.tw
France Telecom-Orange Reaches 209.6 Million Users
France Telecom-Orange was serving 209.6 million mobile and fixed access lines as of the end of 2010, up by 6% for the year. Consolidated revenues rose 0.6% in 2010, excluding regulatory effects, to 45.503billion euros, with a second-half increase of 1.2% driven by all countries.
In its home market, the company captured an estimated 36% share of 4th quarter net additions in the ADSL market; and in mobile, its customer market share was 46.6%. However, margins slid -0.9 percentage points, reaching 34.4%, with a total restated EBITDA of 15.642 billion euros.
The company said it achieved many of its goals for 2010 as net debt was reduced, social factors inside the company were ameliorated, and the company's international presence was strengthened despite the turbulent economy.
France Telecom noted its recent alliance with Deutsche Telekom, saying it was looking at possible network sharing, a joint Wi-Fi network for offloading mobile traffic, and other project of joint interest. In a webcast conference, company executives also discussed an increased FTTH push in France as well as LTE rollout after mid-year 2012.
"The Group's strong performance in 2010 signals we are on the right track with our new business plan
Conquests 2015. Thanks to the collective commitment of all our colleagues we have restored both energy and
ambition to our commercial offering while also meeting all our financial objectives.
"For example in France our quadruple play offer, Open, met with great success and as a result our share of
new ADSL subscriber wins," stated France Telecom CEO Stéphane Richard.
Some highlights:
- Mobile services customers reached 150.4 million at 31 December 2010 (excluding MVNO customers), for year on-year growth of 9.1% and 12.5 million net additions in the period. The majority of this growth was in Africa
and the Middle East, where total customers reached 59.0 million at 31 December 2010, up 23.1% year on year
(+11.1 million net additions). France added 595,000 customers, reaching 26.9 million customers at 31
December 2010, a 2.3% increase. The customer base in Poland grew significantly, with 618,000 additional
customers in 2010, and Armenia continued to grow rapidly, with 403,000 additional customers for the year.
The Group added 3.2 million contract customers, bringing the total to 51.2 million with year-on-year growth of
6.6%, led by the success of smartphones. - Fixed broadband services customers totaled 13.7 million at 31 December 2010, for a year-on-year increase of 3.4%
and 455,000 additional customers, of which 274,000 in France and 188,000 in Africa and the Middle East (Egypt,
Tunisia, Jordan and Senegal). The share of net additions in France grew significantly for the second consecutive
4 New operations in Africa: Kenya, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Niger, Central African Republic and Uganda.
6 quarter thanks to new offers and strengthened sales activities, with an estimated 36.0% share in the 4th quarter
versus 28.2% in the 3rd quarter. - Digital TV (IPTV and satellite) customer increased notably, with 4.1 million subscribers in Europe at 31 December 2010, a 28% increase (902,000 additional customers), primarily in France and Poland.
- Revenues in France rose 0.8% in 2010, with the second half (+1.3%) marked by very strong sales of mobile
services (+6.9%) led by data services and handset sales, and the rebound of ADSL continuing in the 4th
quarter, with the share of net additions improving significantly for the second consecutive quarter to an
estimated 36.0%, after reaching 28.2% in the 3rd quarter; - in Spain, the improvement seen in the previous quarters continued, producing annual growth of 2.8%, due to
steady growth in mobile services (+3.6% for the year) and improvement in fixed services sales, which were up
1.9% in the 2nd half; - in Poland, the success of segmented offers in mobile services resulted in renewed growth of the customer base
(+4.5% at 31 December 2010) and a 4.3% increase in revenues in the second half ; - in the Rest of World segment, Africa and the Middle East (excluding Egypt) showed continued strong growth at
+8.8% for the year, with new operations in Africa4 up sharply (+37%); Europe rose 0.9% for the year on continued
strong growth in Belgium (+5.6%), while Romania showed improvement (-7.8%) after the sharp downturn in the
previous year (-16.7%); - the Business segment's downturn in revenues was limited to 3.6% in the 2nd half on improved services sales
(deployment of service platforms and solutions) and the rebound in network equipment sales.
Intel's Thunderbolt offers Two 10 Gbps Bi-Directional Channels
Intel unveiled its Thunderbolt, a new high-speed PC connection technology that is featured on Apple's new line of MacBook Pro notebooks and a coming wave of higher performance peripherals.
Thunderbolt (formerly codenamed Light Peak) combines high-speed data transfer and HD video connections over a single cable. Thunderbolt uses two communications protocols -- PCI Express for data transfer and DisplayPort for displays. It can support two 10 Gbps bi-directional channels for a total throughput of 40 Gbps.
DisplayPort can drive greater than 1080p resolution displays and up to eight channels of audio simultaneously. Thunderbolt technology is compatible with existing DisplayPort displays and adapters. All Thunderbolt technology devices share a common connector and can be daisy chained.
Initially, Thunderbolt uses copper cables with a reach of 3 meters. It provides up to 10W of power. Intel also plans to introduce fiber-based Thunderbolt connectors, and these are expected to support distances of tens-of-meters.
Unlike with USB, Thunderbold is a proprietary technology and Intel is the only silicon vendor supplying the controller chip for Thunberbolt. Intel said it will continue to support USB 3.0, which offers peak connection speeds of 4.8 Gbps. Thunderbolt is expected to appeal to HD media enthusiasts.
Intel said it expects a range of Thunderbolt technology-enabled products will come to market, including computers, displays, storage devices, audio/video devices, cameras, docking stations, etc. Companies that announced Thunderbolt technology-based products are Aja, Apogee, Avid, Blackmagic, LaCie, Promise, and Western Digital. http://www.intel.com
Thunderbolt (formerly codenamed Light Peak) combines high-speed data transfer and HD video connections over a single cable. Thunderbolt uses two communications protocols -- PCI Express for data transfer and DisplayPort for displays. It can support two 10 Gbps bi-directional channels for a total throughput of 40 Gbps.
DisplayPort can drive greater than 1080p resolution displays and up to eight channels of audio simultaneously. Thunderbolt technology is compatible with existing DisplayPort displays and adapters. All Thunderbolt technology devices share a common connector and can be daisy chained.
Initially, Thunderbolt uses copper cables with a reach of 3 meters. It provides up to 10W of power. Intel also plans to introduce fiber-based Thunderbolt connectors, and these are expected to support distances of tens-of-meters.
Unlike with USB, Thunderbold is a proprietary technology and Intel is the only silicon vendor supplying the controller chip for Thunberbolt. Intel said it will continue to support USB 3.0, which offers peak connection speeds of 4.8 Gbps. Thunderbolt is expected to appeal to HD media enthusiasts.
Intel said it expects a range of Thunderbolt technology-enabled products will come to market, including computers, displays, storage devices, audio/video devices, cameras, docking stations, etc. Companies that announced Thunderbolt technology-based products are Aja, Apogee, Avid, Blackmagic, LaCie, Promise, and Western Digital. http://www.intel.com
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
CTIA WIRELESS 2012 Show Set for New Orleans on May 8 - 10
The International CTIA WIRELESS 2012 show has been booked for May 8 – 10 in New Orleans, Louisiana. This year's event, which is expected to host 40,000 attendees, is slated for March 22-24, 2011 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. http://www.ctia.org
Broadcom Debuts First Dual-Port 10GBASE-T Adapter with Full Offload
Broadcom unveiled the first dual-port 10GBASE-T adapter with full offload capabilities. The PCI Express adapter supports both networking and storage traffic over a single 10 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) connection.
Based on Broadcom's proven BCM57712 MAC and BCM84823 PHY components, the new 10GBASET adapter is the first technology to bring full offload capabilities to 10GbE and the first to integrate TCP/IP and iSCSI offload on a 10GBASE-T medium. Tight integration between the MAC and PHY layers and end-to-end interaction between the server and switch provides optimized performance and flexibility. http://www.broadcom.com
Based on Broadcom's proven BCM57712 MAC and BCM84823 PHY components, the new 10GBASET adapter is the first technology to bring full offload capabilities to 10GbE and the first to integrate TCP/IP and iSCSI offload on a 10GBASE-T medium. Tight integration between the MAC and PHY layers and end-to-end interaction between the server and switch provides optimized performance and flexibility. http://www.broadcom.com
Huawei Prevails in IPR Case Against NSN
The District Court for the Northern District of Illinois 
issued a preliminary injunction in favor of Huawei that prevents Motorola from transferring Huawei's confidential information to Nokia Siemens Networks. The order also requires Motorola to hire a qualified third party to ensure Huawei's confidential information is securely removed, and also allows Huawei to audit NSN's record of service it performs on Motorola-branded system that include Huawei products.
Huawei said its is pleased with the court's decision and that this legal episode gives it confidence to increase its investments in the U.S.
http://www.huawei.com
issued a preliminary injunction in favor of Huawei that prevents Motorola from transferring Huawei's confidential information to Nokia Siemens Networks. The order also requires Motorola to hire a qualified third party to ensure Huawei's confidential information is securely removed, and also allows Huawei to audit NSN's record of service it performs on Motorola-branded system that include Huawei products.Huawei said its is pleased with the court's decision and that this legal episode gives it confidence to increase its investments in the U.S.
http://www.huawei.com
France Telecom Confirms Stephane Richard As Chairman and CEO
The Board of Directors of France Telecom formally confirmed Stephane Richard to the role of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer with effect from 1 March 2011. He replaces Didier Lombard, who has served in these roles since 2005.
Stéphane Richard, 48, graduated from Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales and Ecole Nationale d'Administration (ENA). In January 2003, Stéphane Richard was appointed as Executive Vice President of Veolia Environnement and Chief Executive Officer of Veolia Transport. From May 2007 to June 2009, Stéphane Richard was Chief of Staff for the French Minister for the Economy, Industry and Employment. Until 2007, he was a board member at France Télécom SA, UGC SA and Nexity SA.
http://www.francetelecom.com
Stéphane Richard, 48, graduated from Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales and Ecole Nationale d'Administration (ENA). In January 2003, Stéphane Richard was appointed as Executive Vice President of Veolia Environnement and Chief Executive Officer of Veolia Transport. From May 2007 to June 2009, Stéphane Richard was Chief of Staff for the French Minister for the Economy, Industry and Employment. Until 2007, he was a board member at France Télécom SA, UGC SA and Nexity SA.
http://www.francetelecom.com
Juniper's QFabric Scales the Data Center
Juniper Networks
unveiled its QFabric architecture for collapsing multilayer data center infrastructure into a single, any-to-any fabric that unifies networking, storage and cloud computing resources.
QFabric, which is the result of the company's three-year, $100 million "Project Stratus," is composed of three components that create a high-performance, low latency fabric. The QF/Node acts as the distributed decision engine of the fabric; the QF/Interconnect is the high speed transport device; and the QF/Director delivers a common window, controlling all devices as one. The architecture breaks new grounds in its data plane, control plane and management structure. It also leverages custom 40nm ASICs to achieve extremely low latencies.
Initially, QFabric scales to 6,000 network nodes, allowing any network interface within the network to connect to any other interface in a single hop. Juniper achieves this 6,000 port switching fabric by decoupling the line cards on the central fabric and moving them out into the network using dual-homed fiber connections. The entire 6,000 node network is a single switch and can be managed as such.
Juniper believes that collapsing the traditional three-layer network down to a single, high-performance layer, will deliver exponential improvements in data center speed, scale and efficiency. The company calculates that the QFabric architecture is up to ten times faster, uses 77 percent less power, requires 27 percent fewer networking devices, occupies 90 percent less data center floor space, and delivers a nine fold reduction in operating resources than the nearest competitive offering.
"Data center compute and storage technologies have advanced over the last decade, and the legacy approach to networking has not kept pace," said Kevin Johnson, CEO of Juniper Networks. "As cloud computing and the mobile internet accelerate, demand is intensifying for a quantum leap forward in data center capabilities. With QFabric, Juniper is transforming data center economics by introducing the only network fabric that is able to eliminate multiple layers of cost and complexity."
The first product in the QFabric set is a top-of-rack QFX3500 switch, which is now commercially available. It is also capable of operating as a stand-alone 64-port 10Gigabit Ethernet switch with FCoE and Fiber Channel gateway functionality. The QFX3500 offers the fastest unicast and multicast performance in the industry. The QF/Interconnect and QF/Director will be available for order in Q3.
The New York Stock Exchange has committed to teh QFabric architecture.
Additional Juniper partners include IBM, NetApp, CA Technologies and VMware.http://www.juniper.net
unveiled its QFabric architecture for collapsing multilayer data center infrastructure into a single, any-to-any fabric that unifies networking, storage and cloud computing resources.QFabric, which is the result of the company's three-year, $100 million "Project Stratus," is composed of three components that create a high-performance, low latency fabric. The QF/Node acts as the distributed decision engine of the fabric; the QF/Interconnect is the high speed transport device; and the QF/Director delivers a common window, controlling all devices as one. The architecture breaks new grounds in its data plane, control plane and management structure. It also leverages custom 40nm ASICs to achieve extremely low latencies.
Initially, QFabric scales to 6,000 network nodes, allowing any network interface within the network to connect to any other interface in a single hop. Juniper achieves this 6,000 port switching fabric by decoupling the line cards on the central fabric and moving them out into the network using dual-homed fiber connections. The entire 6,000 node network is a single switch and can be managed as such.
Juniper believes that collapsing the traditional three-layer network down to a single, high-performance layer, will deliver exponential improvements in data center speed, scale and efficiency. The company calculates that the QFabric architecture is up to ten times faster, uses 77 percent less power, requires 27 percent fewer networking devices, occupies 90 percent less data center floor space, and delivers a nine fold reduction in operating resources than the nearest competitive offering.
"Data center compute and storage technologies have advanced over the last decade, and the legacy approach to networking has not kept pace," said Kevin Johnson, CEO of Juniper Networks. "As cloud computing and the mobile internet accelerate, demand is intensifying for a quantum leap forward in data center capabilities. With QFabric, Juniper is transforming data center economics by introducing the only network fabric that is able to eliminate multiple layers of cost and complexity."
The first product in the QFabric set is a top-of-rack QFX3500 switch, which is now commercially available. It is also capable of operating as a stand-alone 64-port 10Gigabit Ethernet switch with FCoE and Fiber Channel gateway functionality. The QFX3500 offers the fastest unicast and multicast performance in the industry. The QF/Interconnect and QF/Director will be available for order in Q3.
The New York Stock Exchange has committed to teh QFabric architecture.
Additional Juniper partners include IBM, NetApp, CA Technologies and VMware.http://www.juniper.net
- In May 2010, Juniper Networks outlined its new "3-2-1" data center network architecture aimed at improving latency, increasing density, boosting security, lowering power requirement and simplifying management. Juniper outlined a plan to leverage a "Virtual Chassis" fabric technology to reduce from three to two layers, and then collapse to one layer via Juniper's "Project Stratus" fabric in the future. Data centers typically have access, aggregation and core switching layers. Juniper currently collapses the aggregation and core layers into a single switch. The Virtual Chassis creates a single, logical switching fabric across multiple racks in the data center, so that a pool of compute resources can be more effectively virtualized. Juniper estimates that its Virtual Chassis will let administrators move virtual machines between 10x faster than current approaches. Ultimately, Juniper's Project Stratus seeks to collapse data center switching into a single, logical layer linking potentially thousands of servers.
Verizon Wireless to Offer Public Safety Roaming over its LTE Network
Motorola Solutions and Verizon Wireless have formed and an alliance focused on mobile broadband for public safety customers across the United States. The alliance allows public safety agencies to supplement their mission critical core platforms with the rich media services and the increased capacity and coverage of Verizon Wireless' 4G LTE network. This will allow first responders who travel off of the Public Safety LTE network, to have interoperability and secure roaming onto the Verizon Wireless public LTE network.
The companies said they will offer public safety agencies access to real-time management and control, enhanced nationwide roaming, and site sharing of existing mobile broadband sites for rapid deployment and economies of scale.
Motorola Public Safety LTE devices will be tested, pre-certified and pre-registered by Motorola Solutions
and Verizon Wireless to provide reliable interoperability between an agency-owned Public Safety LTE system and
the nationwide Verizon Wireless network.
"We are committed to investing in the development of critical innovations -- based on a fully standards-compliant LTE architecture -- to offer economies of scale and meet the unique public safety functionality requirements. Motorola Solutions' Public Safety LTE solution includes innovative multiband LTE devices and real-time device management and control. When combined with the extensive network coverage and site sharing offered through Verizon Wireless, we'll deliver an incomparable solution which will bring tremendous benefits to the public safety community including interoperability and secure public/private roaming," stated Bob Schassler, senior vice president, Radio Solutions, Motorola Solutions.
"Verizon Wireless' advanced wireless networks will complement Motorola's private network solution to help public safety agencies run their operations more efficiently and effectively. The advanced capabilities of 4G LTE, which Verizon Wireless is aggressively deploying across the United States, will allow agencies to leverage more applications and rich media services that were previously unavailable or too cost-prohibitive to implement in a wireless environment. 4G LTE brings a true mobile broadband experience to these public safety agencies -- and allows them to do the same type of work inside a police cruiser as they currently do in an office," said Mike Lanman, president, enterprise and government markets, Verizon Wirelesshttp://www.verizonwireless.com http://www.motorola.com
The companies said they will offer public safety agencies access to real-time management and control, enhanced nationwide roaming, and site sharing of existing mobile broadband sites for rapid deployment and economies of scale.
Motorola Public Safety LTE devices will be tested, pre-certified and pre-registered by Motorola Solutions
and Verizon Wireless to provide reliable interoperability between an agency-owned Public Safety LTE system and
the nationwide Verizon Wireless network.
"We are committed to investing in the development of critical innovations -- based on a fully standards-compliant LTE architecture -- to offer economies of scale and meet the unique public safety functionality requirements. Motorola Solutions' Public Safety LTE solution includes innovative multiband LTE devices and real-time device management and control. When combined with the extensive network coverage and site sharing offered through Verizon Wireless, we'll deliver an incomparable solution which will bring tremendous benefits to the public safety community including interoperability and secure public/private roaming," stated Bob Schassler, senior vice president, Radio Solutions, Motorola Solutions.
"Verizon Wireless' advanced wireless networks will complement Motorola's private network solution to help public safety agencies run their operations more efficiently and effectively. The advanced capabilities of 4G LTE, which Verizon Wireless is aggressively deploying across the United States, will allow agencies to leverage more applications and rich media services that were previously unavailable or too cost-prohibitive to implement in a wireless environment. 4G LTE brings a true mobile broadband experience to these public safety agencies -- and allows them to do the same type of work inside a police cruiser as they currently do in an office," said Mike Lanman, president, enterprise and government markets, Verizon Wirelesshttp://www.verizonwireless.com http://www.motorola.com
- In his recently announced National Broadband Initiative, President Obama called for an investment of $10.7 billion for public safety networking. This would consist of $3.2 billion to reallocate the "D Block" (which is a band of spectrum that would be reserved and prioritized for public safety and not auctioned as called for under existing law); $7 billion to support the deployment of this network; and $500 million from the WIN Fund for R&D and technological development to tailor the network to meet public safety requirements.
- In January 2011, the FCC adopted new rules that requires all 700 MHz public safety mobile broadband networks to use a common air interface, specifically LTE, to support roaming and interoperable communications. The action builds on the technical requirements that state and local 700 MHz broadband waiver recipients are already subject to in the early buildout of their regional public safety broadband networks. The FCC is also seeking public comment on additional rules to enable nationwide interoperability.
- In November 2010, Motorola demonstrated live over-the-air (OTA) broadband video in the 700MHz Public Safety spectrum band. The exercise, which was conducted at the 2010 Motorola Digital Users Group Conference, showcased a compact USB device based on commercial silicon supporting the Band Class 14 Public Safety spectrum band. The demonstration also highlighted dynamic prioritization and preemption for safeguarding LTE capacity for critical resources during an emergency response.
Motorola's portfolio of LTE devices will include portable data adaptors, vehicular modems and multimedia handhelds among others. Motorola has also developed real-time video intelligence that adjusts video to best match real-time wireless LTE bandwidth capabilities with the device screen size.
Calix Completes Acquisition of Occam Networks
Calix completed its previously-announced acquisition of Occam Networks. The merger consolidates two leading suppliers of broadband access equipment in the North American market.
The combined company claims over 900 customers globally, including 72% of the U.S. local exchange carriers. It has over 600 fiber access customers and 400 commercial video customers. It is also a major player in Broadband Stimulus projects.
"The combination of Occam and Calix can be summed up in one word: Acceleration," said Carl Russo, president and chief executive officer of Calix. "By combining Occam Networks' expertise in IP and Ethernet, Calix's strength in fiber access, and both companies' experience in copper access, we believe this merger will accelerate our pace of innovation within the now expanded Calix Unified Access portfolio. We expect that our innovation will in turn accelerate our customers' ability to meet the emerging needs of the broadband subscriber, while also making communications service providers more efficient. We are extremely excited about this combination, and look forward to extending a warm welcome to the hundreds of new customers who are now joining the Calix family."http://www.calix.com
The combined company claims over 900 customers globally, including 72% of the U.S. local exchange carriers. It has over 600 fiber access customers and 400 commercial video customers. It is also a major player in Broadband Stimulus projects.
"The combination of Occam and Calix can be summed up in one word: Acceleration," said Carl Russo, president and chief executive officer of Calix. "By combining Occam Networks' expertise in IP and Ethernet, Calix's strength in fiber access, and both companies' experience in copper access, we believe this merger will accelerate our pace of innovation within the now expanded Calix Unified Access portfolio. We expect that our innovation will in turn accelerate our customers' ability to meet the emerging needs of the broadband subscriber, while also making communications service providers more efficient. We are extremely excited about this combination, and look forward to extending a warm welcome to the hundreds of new customers who are now joining the Calix family."http://www.calix.com
Blue Coat: Social Networking Becomes Malware Vector
Social networking has become a leading source of malware, according to a newly released 2011 Blue Coat Web Security Report. In particular, social network phishing and click-jacking attacks were the two most common types of attacks through social networks in 2010.
Blue Coat said this shift of phishing attacks to social networks is particularly driven by the attempt to obtain user credentials that can also provide access to banking, financial and other online accounts that use shared passwords.
"Today, dynamic Web links are the most powerful tool cybercrime has, and static Web ratings that require update cycles are too slow when the bad guys can harvest users within minutes," said Steve Daheb, chief marketing officer and senior vice president at Blue Coat Systems.
Blue Coat develops its security reports by analyzing data from its WebPulse service, which weekly rates nearly three billion requests in real-time, to provide a comprehensive overview of the changing ways in which people are using the Internet and the new methods cybercrime is using to target their attacks.http://www.bluecoat.com
Blue Coat said this shift of phishing attacks to social networks is particularly driven by the attempt to obtain user credentials that can also provide access to banking, financial and other online accounts that use shared passwords.
"Today, dynamic Web links are the most powerful tool cybercrime has, and static Web ratings that require update cycles are too slow when the bad guys can harvest users within minutes," said Steve Daheb, chief marketing officer and senior vice president at Blue Coat Systems.
Blue Coat develops its security reports by analyzing data from its WebPulse service, which weekly rates nearly three billion requests in real-time, to provide a comprehensive overview of the changing ways in which people are using the Internet and the new methods cybercrime is using to target their attacks.http://www.bluecoat.com
Vertical Systems: Global Provider Ethernet Leaderboard
The leading 
global providers of Ethernet services are Orange (France), Colt (U.K.), Verizon (U.S.), NTT (Japan), AT&T (U.S.) and Global Crossing (U.S.), according to Vertical Systems' bi-annual Global Provider Leaderboard. The report ranks companies with four percent or more of retail Business Ethernet ports installed at sites outside of the provider's primary home country.
Key results of Vertical's latest Global Provider share analysis:
global providers of Ethernet services are Orange (France), Colt (U.K.), Verizon (U.S.), NTT (Japan), AT&T (U.S.) and Global Crossing (U.S.), according to Vertical Systems' bi-annual Global Provider Leaderboard. The report ranks companies with four percent or more of retail Business Ethernet ports installed at sites outside of the provider's primary home country.Key results of Vertical's latest Global Provider share analysis:
- The Global Provider Leaderboard expanded to a total of six companies in 2010, up from five at the end of 2009.
- Global Crossing joined the Leaderboard for the first time in 2010 at the number six position.
- Use of Ethernet Exchanges for multinational enterprise connections was negligible in 2010.
Companies not represented on the Leaderboard account for 47% of total Ethernet ports delivered by Global Providers in 2010.
"Enterprises that depend on global IP/MPLS VPNs are hitting the bandwidth limits of T1/E1 connections. Global Ethernet providers are responding with E-Access services that provide native Ethernet access to IP/MPLS VPNs at speeds ranging up to 100 Mbps and higher," said Rick Malone, principal at Vertical Systems Group. "During 2010, many Ethernet service providers expanded their metro fiber footprints, both domestically and out-of-county. What sets the Global Provider Ethernet Leaderboard companies apart is first, their commitment to the multinational business market, and second, the rollout of Layer 2/Layer 3 connection capabilities across all country markets served."
http://www.verticalsystems.com
Monday, February 21, 2011
Facing Govt Opposition, Huawei Drops Bid for 3Leaf Systems
Huawei reportedly has abandoned its bid to acquire 3Leaf Systems, a former U.S.-based supplier of enterprise data center technology. Last week, the Department of Commerce's Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States ruled against the acquisition on national security grounds. Huawei had originally bid to acquire the intellectual property of the bankrupt 3Leaf Systems last May, but objections were later raised and the company was blocked from transferring the intellectual property. http://www.huawei.com
- In August 2010, a group of eight U.S. senators published a letter to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Director of National Intelligence General James Clapper to raise their concern Huawei Technologies as a potential supplier to Sprint Nextel. Specifically, the senators claim that Huawei maintains close ties with China's military and poses a national security risk to the United States.
NTT Data Acquires Singapore's Cornerstone Asia Tech Pte.
NTT Data will acquire Singapore-based Cornerstone Asia Tech Pte., which specializes in providing business intelligence (BI) / business analytics (BA) consulting services and IT solutions in Southeast Asia. Financial terms were not disclosed.
http://www.ntt.co.jp
http://www.ntt.co.jp
