German Union Workers Visit T-Mobile USA

Thirteen Deutsche Telekom/T-Mobile workers, all members of the German union ver.di, and a member of Germany’s Bundestag will visit T-Mobile USA workers in Tennessee and Texas this week to see first hand how T-Mobile USA workers who want union representation are treated.


The group is concerned about workers' rights at T-Mobile USA and how they differ from employment conditions in Germany. http://www.cwa-union.org

• In April 2010, ver.di, the union representing workers at Deutsche Telekom and T-Mobile operations in Germany, the Communications Workers of America and UNI Global Union held a press conference to denounce a double standard they see in the way the Deutsche Telekom treats its Germany and American workers. Specifically, the unions accuse T-Mobile USA of engaging in an anti-union behavior.



• During 2011, CWA and ver.di voiced their support of AT&T's proposed acquisition of T-Mobile USA.

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Congress Grants Incentive Auction Authority to the FCC

In passing the "Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012", the U.S. Congress also granted voluntary incentive auction authority to the FCC and paved the way for a nationwide interoperable public safety broadband network.


"For years, TIA has advocated for this legislation and we are incredibly impressed with all players – Congress, the White House, the FCC, and industry – who contributed to this long-awaited and monumental achievement,�? said TIA President Grant Seiffert. “Key provisions of the Act will create certainty for the market and will promote new investment in critical wireless network infrastructure, leading to hundreds of thousands of new jobs across America as well as improved mobile broadband service. The impact of spectrum availability on the U.S. economy will be enormous and cannot be underestimated.�?


“In addition to providing billions of dollars for the U.S. treasury, auction proceeds will also help fund the construction of a long-awaited and much-needed nationwide interoperable public safety broadband network,�? Seiffert continued. “We also applaud Congress for incorporating the Next Generation 9-1-1 Advancement Act of 2012, which will help modernize and update the Nation’s 9-1-1 and E-9-1-1 systems. These decisive actions will provide ihttp://www.tiaonline.org

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Barcelona Public Transport Strike to Coincide with MWC

A public transport strike has been announced in Barcelona coinciding with Mobile World Congress, which will be held 27th February through 1st March 2012.


The GSMA said it is putting in place contingency plans to ensure that all participants of the Mobile World Congress have unfettered access to and from the Fira during all days of the event.
http://www.gsm.org

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AppliedMicro Begins Shipping First 100G Transponder/Muxponder for OTN

AppliedMicro has begun commercial shipments of the first standard 100 Gbps transponder/muxponder solutions for Optical Transport Networks (OTN) and data centers. The design was unveiled a year ago and since then has passed all interoperability tests before reaching the initial stages of deployment in 100G carrier and data center networks.


AppliedMicro said its 100G transponder/muxponder is capable of multiplexing any combination of 10G and 40G client signals into a 100G OTN signal (OTU4). Specifically, the 100G Muxponder supports any combination of signals from 10G and 40G Ethernet to legacy OC192/OC768 SONET/SDH, as well as 8G and 10G Fibre Channel.


This provides network operators tremendous flexibility in filling new 100G pipes in their networks. Additionally, these 100G OTN pipes are being deployed between high capacity data centers where significant growth is driving demand for higher speed connections. As a result, the solution can carry both data and storage traffic efficiently and can be used for file and backup synchronization between large data centers. It also interoperates with all major forward error correction (FEC) schemes in long-haul optical network architectures.


"AppliedMicro's 100G transponder/muxponder reference design provides a common software API for both its SoftSilicon and ASSP solutions, making it efficient to integrate with system software of the host platform or line card," said Lars Pedersen, Chief Technology Officer of AppliedMicro TPACK A/S. "System design and maintenance efforts for 100G platforms are greatly simplified and streamlined with a common API, and it provides software investment protection for future upgrades as AppliedMicro's highly integrated silicon devices come to market offering even greater cost-reduction potential."


Reference designs and API for the 100G transponder/muxponder are now available.
http://www.apm.com

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ip.access Develops Dual mode LTE/3G AP with Freescale

ip.access announced plans for a 3G + LTE small cell access point using Freescale's QorIQ Qonverge system-on-chip solution.


The new unit, codenamed the E-100, is a small cell Access Point designed for enterprises and public indoor environments. The 3G connection supports HSPA+ connections of up to 42 Mbps while the LTE radio supports up to 150 Mbps. Up to 200 users could be supported.


ip.access expects to deliver the E-100 into customer labs later this year, with field trials expected in Q1 2013.


Announcing the E-100, ip.access founder and CTO Nick Johnson said: “Small cells will have a vital role to play in delivering LTE's promise of high-speed data for large numbers of subscribers. The E-100 allows operators to rapidly add coverage and capacity to their LTE networks exactly where it is needed." At the same time, the integrated 3G capability improves network performance and relieves congestion for the majority of today's smartphone users. "There's an immediate return on investment for operators even before the mass-market take-up of LTE handsets,�? explained Johnson.


The E-100 unit will be the first small cell from ip.access to use Freescale’s QorIQ Qonverge platform.
http://www.ipaccess.com
http://www.freescale.com

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Accuris Cites Tier One Traction for its Wi-Fi Offload + Wi-Fi Roaming

Accuris Networks, a privately-held company based in Dublin, Ireland, is reporting that three North American top tier mobile operators have selected its AccuROAM platform for Wi-Fi offload and also to enable International-roaming subscribers to automatically roam onto partner Wi-Fi networks when abroad. The company said its unique advantage is to offer both Wi-Fi offload and Wi-Fi roaming on one platform.


The AccuROAM platform enables subscribers to automatically and securely access operators Wi-Fi hotspots by using the subscriber’s SIM credentials for authentication. In addition to greater security, this approach also gives operators the ability to control service access, manage Wi-Fi offload connections and bill subscribers for Wi-Fi usage when roaming.


“Carriers worldwide are faced with huge challenges of network congestion and with roaming challenges as their customers travel abroad. Integrating Wi-Fi with mobile networks is essential for carrier success, not just for authentication and data but for all the services that users’ currently receive on cellular such as billing, voice, messaging and roaming,�? said Aidan Dillon, CTO, Accuris. “Rather than having to turn data roaming off when traveling, Accuris’ AccuROAM solution means that smartphone users can expect the same seamless roaming experience when they are traveling as they do when they are at home.�?http://www.accuris-networks.com

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Radisys Delivers DPI Network Appliance based on Intel

Radisys introduced an Intel-based, carrier-grade network appliance platform that enables Telecom Equipment Manufacturers (TEMs) to better address the requirements of Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) applications, including policy enforcement, lawful intercept security, network probe and others.


The Radisys RMS-220 uses a 2U high, 20-inch deep form factor for flexibility and serviceability. The design supports Network Equipment-Building System (NEBS) guidelines and dual server class Intel processors. The design allows up to four front I/O modules, five front storage modules (HDD or SSD), redundant AC or DC power supply units (PSUs) and front serviceable fans that can be replaced in the field without de-racking the system. A broad range of configurations are available, including:

• Front I/O port options including 32x 1 Gigabit Ethernet, 24x 10 Gigabit Ethernet and I/O bypass options


• Up to 10TB of local storage


• Broad range of co-processing options including NetLogic and Cavium processors

Radisys has more than 20 years of experience delivering innovative embedded products and a successful track record for providing our customers with the tools they need to develop competitive, differentiated solutions,�? said Keate Despain, vice president and general manager, platforms, Radisys. “The RMS-220 network appliance platform is a strong complement to Radisys’ long-standing ATCA product portfolio, expanding on the same embedded software and engineering expertise. We truly provide our customers with a one-stop-shop for their telecom infrastructure needs.�?


“Intel continues to make significant strides on multiple data plane vectors including raw throughput performance and performance per watt. The timing couldn’t be better for the telecom market to have an Intel architecture based Carrier Grade Network Appliance Platform that is designed and optimized for the rapidly growing DPI and networking applications segment. This is another example of a strong Intel partner ecosystem delivering innovative solutions with cutting-edge performance,�? said Rose Schooler, general manager, Intelligent Systems Group, Intel Corporation.
http://www.radisys.com

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Leap Wireless Benefits from Smartphone Upgrades

Leap Wireless reported Q4 2011 revenues of $729.5 million reported adjusted operating income before depreciation and amortization (OIBDA) of $135.1 million for the fourth quarter, compared to $107.0 million for the comparable quarter of the prior year. Leap also reported a fourth quarter 2011 operating loss of $3.5 million, compared to an operating loss of $27.0 million for the fourth quarter of 2010.


Some highlights:


Leap added 179,000 customers during the fourth quarter of 2011, comprised of approximately 209,000 voice net customer additions and net deactivations of approximately 30,000 broadband customers, bringing total net customer additions for the full-year 2011 to approximately 416,000.


The company ended the year with approximately 5.9 million customers.


Customer churn for the fourth quarter of 2011 was approximately 3.9 percent.


During the second half of 2011, Leap expanded into an additional 6,500 national retail locations, increasing its retail presence to approximately 11,500 locations.


Approximately 60 percent of the Company's new handset sales in the fourth quarter of 2011 were for smartphones and Muve Music devices, compared to approximately 30 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010.


Approximately 10 percent of the Company's customer base upgraded their handsets during the quarter, most of which were upgraded to better devices coupled with higher-ARPU service plans, compared to 13 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010.


ARPU for the fourth quarter of 2011 was $42.09, an increase of $3.95, or 10.4 percent, over the comparable period of the prior year, and $0.84, or 2.0 percent, from the third quarter of 2011.


Capital expenditures were $152.4 million for the fourth quarter of 2011 and $441.7 million for the full year.


Total capital expenditures for 2012 are expected to be between $600 million and $650 million, primarily to support the initial deployment of next-generation LTE network technology, the ongoing maintenance and development of the Company's network and other business assets and other capital projects.


http://www.leapwireless.com

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EU Approves800 MHz Mobile Broadband Spectrum Plan

The European Parliament approved a plan that requires EU member states to open up more radio spectrum for mobile broadband use by 2013.


Under the radio spectrum policy programme (RSPP), member states will have to authorise the use of the 800 MHz band for wireless broadband by 1 January 2013.



Currently, the 800 MHz band is used to broadcast analogue TV channels in most member states, but will be freed by the end of 2012 when all TV sets will be switched to digital. This so-called digital dividend will be assigned to mobile Internet.


The 800 MHz spectrum band is better at penetrating buildings and provides superior indoor reception and travels longer distances without losing strength than spectrum above 1 GHz.



The EU said the management of radio frequencies remains a national responsibility, but that its efforts play an important role in coordinating policy and setting standards.


We have ensured that sufficient amounts of spectrum both for coverage and capacity are made accessible in the EU to achieve the fastest mobile broadband worldwide," stated Swedish Christian Democrat Gunnar Hökmark.
http://www.europa.eu

• In October 2011, the European Council endorsed an amendment by MEPs to widen the scope of an inventory of the existing spectrum between 400 MHz and 6 GHz in order to identify where efficiency could be improved and ensure that the exponential growth in wireless data traffic can be met by future reallocations.

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Japan's eAccess First to Deploy Mixed Mode WCDMA + LTE

eAccess, which serves 5.6 million mobile broadband and wired internet subscribers in Japan, will become the first operator in the world to launch a Mixed Mode solution for WCDMA and LTE. Ericsson is supplying a Mixed Mode solution that enables eAccess to use the same radio frequency band for both LTE and WCDMA services. Commercial launch of the Mixed Mode solution will begin in major cities across the country from March 2012 including Tokyo, Tokai and Osaka.


Ericsson has been the main network equipment to eAccess since 2006.

Under the contract, Ericsson will provide eAccess with full turnkey Network Rollout, Network Optimization & Consulting, and upgrade the Packet Core network to an Evolved Packet Core architecture.
http://www.ericsson.com

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Aruba Posts Record Revenues, 1,500 New Customers in Latest Quarter

Aruba Networks reported record financial results for its fiscal second quarter 2012 ended January 31, 2012. Revenue for Q2’12 was $126.3 million, an increase of 35 percent from the $93.9 million reported in Q2’11. GAAP net loss for Q2’12 was $11.4 million, or $0.11 per share, compared with $2.8 million, or $0.03 per share, for the same period in the previous year. Non-GAAP net income was $19.4 million, or $0.16 per share, compared with of $16.3 million, or $0.14 per share, in Q2’11.


“Second quarter revenue grew by 35 percent over last year as new and existing customers looked to Aruba’s differentiated solution to solve some of their most strategic IT needs,�? said Dominic Orr, president and chief executive officer. “Our differentiation in security, scalability and mobility software has been built over the last ten years and continues to help us win. To further address our customers mobility needs, we continue to expand our innovative product portfolio with software solutions leveraging our Avenda and Amigopod acquisitions.�?


The company added over 1,500 new customers in Q2 to surpass 19,000 cumulative customers.
http://www.arubanetworks.com

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Vantage Data Centers Sees Strong Silicon Valley Demand

Vantage Data Centers reports robust demand in the heart of Silicon Valley. The company, which took over a former 18-acre Intel facility in Santa Clara, California, is accelerating the construction and availability of V1, the third data center on its three-building campus. The first two data centers building in the complex (V2 and V3) are 100% leased.


The new V1 facility is a 198,000 square feet, two-story data center that will support 22 MWs of IT load when complete. Approximately 40% of V1 is already under contract and the company anticipates the facility will sell out before construction is complete. In December, Telx announced that it had leased 5.7 MWs of capacity in V1. Telx is a strategic tenant who offers a complementary mix of colocation and interconnection services, allowing Vantage to offer more options to current and future customers.


In addition, Vantage Data Centers reported that its V2 facility is delivering a Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) of 1.12, making it one of the most energy-efficient data centers in the industry. V2 was constructed and leased two years ahead of Vantage’s original business plan and developed in close collaboration with the single tenant now occupying the building.
http://www.vantagedatacenters.com

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Sony Ericsson Divestiture Completed

Sony completed the buy-out of Ericsson's 50% stake in their joint venture, Sony Ericsson.


Ericsson's gain on the transaction will be approximately SEK 7.5 billion (approx. US$1.1 billion).
http://www.sony.com
http://www.ericsson.com

• The Sony Ericsson joint venture was created in 2001.

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AppliedMicro Samples 28.1 Gbps CMOS PHY for 100GBASE-LR4

AppliedMicro has begun sampling the world's fastest CMOS PHY at 28.1Gbps. The new S28010 Gearbox integrated circuit is designed for next generation CFP optical modules compliant with 100GBASE-LR4, 100GBASE-ER4 and OTU4.4 standards, supporting optical connection speeds from 10Gbps to 100Gbps for high-end switching and routing equipment.


Until now, industry adoption efforts have been slowed by high-cost, power-hungry SiGe or FPGA integrated circuits that are limited and unable to provide transport-quality performance and reliability.


AppliedMicro said its 28010 Gearbox delivers SiGe-like performance in a reliable, low-power CMOS process and enables system designs with the flexibility to transport Ethernet, Fibre Channel and Optical Transport Network traffic.


AppliedMicro will demonstrate the S28010 Gearbox at OFC/NFOEC 2012 from March 6-8 in Los Angeles.


“Data center and access network developers have been eager for 100GBASE-R4 Gearbox devices that lower power and cost while improving reliability and availability,�? said George Jones, Vice President of AppliedMicro’s Transport Business Unit. “The S28010 is designed to allow module vendors to supply CFP-based solutions that support Ethernet, Fibre-channel and Optical Transport Networks using a single chip, exceeding jitter requirements in the process. The 28Gbps interface contains enhanced equalization for line-card compatibility with CFP2 and potentially CFP4 modules when they become available. The S28010 also integrates ODB precoding and decoding to support metro applications."


AppliedMicro’s Gearbox translates the 10-lane, 10Gbps CAUI electrical interface to 4-lanes operating from 25.7 up to 28.1 Gbps. It is compliant with IEEE802.3ba, the CFP MSA and OIF-28G-SR standards. The fully-integrated single-chip solution reduces module bill of materials and with power consumption below 4 watts, it is less than 50 percent of comparable 2-chip BiCMOS solutions. The result is reduced system heat and lower operational costs without compromising performance.
http://www.apm.com

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NEC to Leverage 60GHz Microwave for Small Cell Backhaul

NEC announced plans to leverage 60GHz radio as its key technology for the backhaul of small cells. The company's first field trials are expected later this year.


NEC cited license-free bandwidth availability at 60GHz and the uniquely high channel re-use characteristics of this spectrum as reasons for this strategic decision. The company believes 60GHz is ideally suited to deliver high capacity and low latency connections to hundreds of cell sites, which will be rapidly deployed in concentrated coverage areas of busy city squares and avenues. Furthermore, the choice of the zero-cost 60GHz spectrum allows the design of compact products, which can be easily installed and aesthetically concealed within a wide variety of urban environments. In addition, NEC has developed features for intelligent provisioning of backhaul resources and protection against performance degradations, resulting in improved capacity efficiency and elimination of costly manual maintenance and troubleshooting.


"NEC was one of the first companies to set the vision for small cell networks and today we follow this up by taking a pioneering role in small cell backhaul,�? said Dejan Bojic, senior product manager, Backhaul, NEC Corporation. “We complement the 60GHz wireless technology with intelligent network resource management to deliver the backhaul solution with performance and costs tailored to small cell deployment requirements. Our customers’ response has been enthusiastic and we are looking forward to field trials.
http://www.nec.co.jp

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Blue Coat's Privatization is Complete

An investor group led by private equity investment firm Thoma Bravo has completed its previously announced acquisition of Blue Coat Systems. Blue Coat shareholders will be entitled to receive $25.81 in cash per share of common stock they currently possess. The company's listing on NASDAQ has been withdrawn.


"Blue Coat will be an excellent addition to our portfolio of software and technology companies," said Thoma Bravo managing partner Orlando Bravo. "We believe we can help it achieve its strategic vision and aggressively advance its leadership in the Web security and WAN optimization markets."http://www.bluecoat.com

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Colt Deploys ADVA FSP 3000 Multi-Degree ROADM in Dublin

Colt has selected ADVA Optical Networking's FSP 3000 as the foundation of its new ROADM-based network in Dublin, Ireland. The infrastructure enables incremental bandwidth to be added on demand with fast provisioning through the FSP Service Manager. The eleven-node, ring-based network spanning 100km is capable of flexible service routing that reduces operational costs, planning time and lead times when deploying new services.


"The multi-degree ROADM architecture provides us with a flexible provisioning option, allowing us to easily provide access at nodes as demand grows with point-and-click technology, giving us a competitive advantage to attract customers through reduced lead times�? said Ken Sherry, operations director for Colt in Ireland. http://www.advaoptical.com

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Leap Hires Former T-Mobile USA CIO

Leap Wireless International announced the appointment of Robert A. Strickland as executive vice president and chief technical officer, a position in which he will have responsibility for the company's information technology, engineering and network operations. Strickland is charged with setting and managing Leap's long-term network technology strategy. Previously, Strickland was senior vice president and chief information officer at T-Mobile USA, responsible for all software development including handsets and related infrastructure elements, the company's billing, customer care and other related systems and all telecommunications platforms.


Leap also announced the appointment of Bill Ingram as executive vice president, strategy and as acting chief financial officer, effective March 1, 2012.
http://www.leapwireless.com

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LightSquared Fires Back at FCC, Claims $4 billion Spent

Following the NTIA's finding that there is "no practical solution" to the GPS interference issue with LightSquared's proposed network, and the FCC's subsequent decision to rescind its conditional approval of the network, LightSquared fired back. In a press statement, Sanjiv Ahuja, Chairman and CEO of LightSquared states:


"After years of receiving regulatory approvals, the FCC approved LightSquared to build its ground network in 2005. In 2010, the FCC amended that plan, requiring LightSquared to build a national broadband network that reached 260 million Americans. At the government's mandate, LightSquared began investing billions of dollars in America's infrastructure – without asking for any money from the American taxpayer. Yesterday, after LightSquared had already spent nearly $4 billion, the FCC changed its mind. There can be no more devastating blow to private industry and confidence in the consistency of the FCC's decision-making process." http://www.lightsquared.com

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Gigamon Adds High-Accuracy Packet "Time-Stamping" to Network Monitoring

Gigamon has enhanced its Traffic Visibility Fabric solutions with an FPGA-based, high-speed time-stamping capability that can be applied to packets directly at the ingress ports with nanosecond accuracy.

Accurate time-stamping of traffic traversing production networks enables architects, engineers and operators of High Frequency Trading (HFT), financial and service provider infrastructures to analyze, evaluate, manage and tune the latency of transactions.

Gigamon has previously provided a GigaSMART Time Stamping module as part of its GigaVUE-2404 platform. This time-stamping module allows enterprise customers to accurately measure application response times, jitter and latency by marking incoming packets with microsecond precision.

The new H Series GigaPORT-X12-TS line card improves this time-stamping to nanosecond level accuracy, thereby supporting applications such as high frequency trading.

It also supports the PTPv2 timing standard (IEEE 1588), dramatically improving the timing accuracy and visibility into enhanced latency, jitter and bidirectional transactional performance.

Gigamon said this new time stamping technology enables out-of-band network analysis to occur at a single location, which drives operational efficiency and reduces infrastructure complexity and cost. Combined with GPS synchronization, GigaPORT-X12-TS enables enhanced accuracy across networks that span hundreds or thousands of miles.
http://www.gigamon.com

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