CERN and Caltech Achieve 5.44 Gbps Transcontinental Data Transfer

On 01-Oct-2003, researchers from CERN and the California Institute of Technology set a new Internet2 Land Speed Record by transferring 1.1 Terabytes of data across 7,000 km in less than 30 minutes, corresponding to 38,420.54 petabit-meters per second. The average rate was 5.44 Gbps, smashing the old record of 2.38 Gbps achieved in February 2003.
http://www.caltech.eduhttp://datatag.web.cern.ch/datatag/

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Equant Supplies MPLS-based VPN to the K-Line

Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (the "K-Line"), one of the largest shipping lines in Japan, awarded a $2.6 million renewal contract to Equant for its IP VPN service. Equant is providing an MPLS-based IP VPN covering company sites in nine countries on three continents. The shipping company is using the VPN for a new application to manage its day-to-day business processes, including booking, documentation and container inventory control applications. It also runs processes to manage vessel scheduling and itineraries, which are supporting these major applications. "K" Line will also add Equant IP Dial service, enabling traveling and remote employees to dial-in to VPN.
http://www.equant.com

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Judge Releases Ruling on Vonage's Broadband Phone Service

Judge Michael Davis of the U.S. District Court of Minnesota publicly released the order in which he ruled that Vonage is "an information service" provider and that it should not be regulated by state laws or the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission. In September, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (MPUC) had issued an order for Vonage to comply with laws that govern telecommunications companies.


The U.S. District Court rejected the MPUC's "quacks like a duck" argument, which essentially held that because Vonage's customers make phone calls, Vonage's services must be telecommunication services.


Judge Davis said the issue is tied to the evolution of the Internet and that Congress "has expressed a clear intent to leave the Internet free from undue regulation so that this growth and exploration may continue." He noted that the backbone of Vonage's service is the Internet and that Congress had spoken with "unmistakable clarity" on the issue of regulating the Internet.


Notably, the court ruled that Vonage "uses telecommunication services rather than providing them." The line demarcating "telecommunication services" from "information services" is defined in the Communications Act of 1996. Even for outbound calls from a Vonage subscriber to a POTS number, the service was found to be an "information service" because the Vonage customer needs to use customer premise equipment that is different from an ordinary touch-tone phone configuration, and this equipment was found to change the form of the transmission into an information service.
http://www.mnd.uscourts.gov/

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Atacomm Launches VoIP Service in Minnesota

In the wake of the Vonage vs. State of Minnesota legal ruling, Atacomm announced plans to launch its own IP Centrex service for the state of Minnesota. Dan Guisinger, CEO of Atacomm, said the ruling "paves the way for exciting new options in the way people communicate." Atacomm's IP Centrex for small businesses will include 500 free minutes of long distance, voice mail, multiple-party conferencing and other features. Pricing is expected to start at under $30 per month. Atacomm will also offer Internet long distance services at 3.5 cents per minute.
http://www.atacomm.com

• Atacomm currently operates an online store for VoIP products.

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Telefónica Brazil orders Siemens' SURPASS

Telesp, Telefónica's Brazilian subsidiary, has selected the Siemens' SURPASS platform for its next generation network. Siemens Information and Communication Networks (IC Networks) is installing a virtual trunking solution based on the Surpass hiQ Call Feature Server, the Surpass hiG IP Gateway and the Surpass hiR Media Server. The network will also use Juniper Networks' E, M and T series routers. Installation is expected to be complete by December 2003. Financial terms were not disclosed.
http://www.siemens.com/

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Saudi Telecom Chooses Alcatel for ADSL

Saudi Telecom awarded a US$6 million contract to Alcatel to supply DSL equipment for 38 locations across Saudi Arabia. The installations will use the Alcatel 7300 Advanced Services Access Manager (ASAM) and the Alcatel 5620 Network Manager.
http://www.alcatel.com

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Marconi Supplies Intelligent Network Platform to THUS

Marconi is supplying an upgraded Intelligent Network (IN) platform to Thus plc., enabling the carrier to offer a range of corporate and productivity services, including the ability to allow end customers to manage their own service data via a web interface. Marconi's GAIN product will give users of the THUS's number translation services greater control over calls routed to their call centers and agents. Financial terms were not disclosed.
http://www.marconi.com

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MSN Partners with Network Associates for Broadband Security

MSN will begin offering McAfee Security's anti-virus and personal firewall services to its premium, broadband subscribers in the U.S. In addition, MSN Plus and MSN Dial-up subscribers will be able to access trial versions of the services .
http://www.msn.com

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Nokia Supplies MMS to Cingular Wireless

Nokia is supplying its multimedia messaging services (MMS) infrastructure solution to Cingular Wireless, the second largest wireless carrier in the U.S. The Nokia MMS solution enables person-to-person enriched messaging, allowing users to send photographs, pictures, video and voice or sound clips with text messages. Also available are a range of content-download services which also allow users to deliver ready-made, color postcard messages to friends. Financial terms were not disclosed.
http://www.nokia.com

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France Telecom Partners with NetCentrex for IP Centrex

At last week's ITU Telecom World 2003, France Telecom and NetCentrex announced a partnership focused on IP Centex solutions for enterprises. With "Service e-téléphonie", France Telecom will host the service features and also ensure interconnection with the public telephone network.
http://www.netcentrex.com
http://www.francetelecom.com

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FCC Modifies High-Cost Support Mechanism for Universal Service Program

The FCC revised its high-cost universal service support mechanism for the largest local telephone companies. In response to a remand by the U.S. Court of Appeals of the Tenth Circuit, the FCC was required 1) to define more precisely how its high-cost mechanism satisfied the statutory requirement to achieve reasonably comparable phone rates among rural and urban areas, 2) to better justify the cost benchmark used to determine support amounts, and 3) to develop a mechanism to induce states to assist in implementing the goals of universal service.


The FCC found that rural and urban phone rates generally are reasonably comparable today, based on data from a General Accounting Office (GAO) Report, and therefore concludes that current support levels should be maintained. In 2002, eight states received $233 million in support.


FCC Chairnan Michael K. Powell described the action aa "the ultimate truth-in-billing measure" although it does not eliminate all implicit support in local rate structures. Powell said that in a competitive market the goal of universal service can only be achieved by "creating an explicit support fund to benefit consumers who need it and by eliminating the vestiges of implicit support that misallocate resources and distort competition."http://www.fcc.gov

• Qwest Communications issued a statement condemning the FCC's "failure to fix the Universal Service High Cost Fund. Gary R. Lytle, Qwest senior vice president for federal relations, said more than 80% of the high-cost fund is funneled to just three states. The company is calling on the FCC to more "evenly distribute the hundreds of millions of dollars aimed at improving the lives of rural telecommunications customers."

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More than 80% of U.S. Broadcasters are On-Air with DTV Signal

More than 80% of all commercial TV stations in the U.S. are currently on-air with a DTV signal. The FCC noted that broadcast stations have made significant progress and that most of the remaining stations have made diligent efforts to broadcast a DTV signal. A total of 1,061 TV stations have made the required DTV implementation. Stations requesting extensions of their DTV deadline are required to demonstrate that failure to construct has been due to circumstances either unforeseeable or beyond their control.
http://www.fcc.gov

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FCC Opens 70, 80, and 90 GHz Bands for Millimeter Wave Applications

The FCC adopted service rules for the commercial use of spectrum in the 71-76 GHz, 81-86 GHz, and 92-95 GHz bands, which are well-suited for broadband, millimeter wave applications. Because of the "pencil-beam" characteristics of the signals transmitted in the 71-76 GHz, 81-86 GHz and 92-95 GHz bands, systems can be deployed in close proximity of one another. The FCC is pursuing a non-exclusive licensing approach for these bands. Traditional frequency coordination between users will not be required. Instead, each path will be registered in a database, and entitled to interference protection based on the date of registration.
http://www.fcc.gov

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FCC Implements 3G Spectrum Rules

The FCC implemented service rules for the 1710-1755 MHz and 2110-2155 MHz spectrum bands, effectively opening the bands for new 3G. The new rules cover application procedures, licensing, technical operations, and competitive bidding. The spectrum will be licensed by geographic areas under the FCC's market-oriented, competitive-bidding rules. The licenses for these bands will have an initial 15-year term with 10-year renewal terms. Licensees will be required to show that they have provided substantial service by the end of the license term; however, no interim construction requirements have been imposed.


FCC Chairman Michael K. Powell said the 90 MHz of additional licensed spectrum made available through this order would be a key building block for the broadband Internet future of licensed wireless service. He especially commended aspects of the order that provide for the flexibility of licensees to choose the types and characteristics of the services that they will offer in their licensed spectrum.


FCC Commissioner Michael J. Copps expressed concern that one company could potentially end up controlling the entire AWS band in a city or a geographic region, leaving no AWS spectrum for competitors. He said "we have arrived at this point because the Commission eliminated the overall spectrum cap more than a year ago, in a decision from which I dissented. So the Commission has already crossed the Rubicon."http://www.fcc.gov

• In November 2002, the FCC first allocated the additional 90 MHz of spectrum in the 1710-1755 MHz and 2110-2155 MHz bands that can be used to provide new advanced wireless services, i.e. 3G or IMT-2000. The spectrum was previously used by the federal government, microwave licensees and multipoint distribution services.

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Microsoft Signs 22 new Broadband Partners for Xbox Live

Microsoft has signed 22 new broadband partners to its Xbox Live Compatibility Program, adding to a list that already includes 50 other broadband providers in North America, Japan and Europe. The new partners are from the eight countries that will be launching Xbox Live in October: Australia, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Korea, Norway and Switzerland. They include the following:

• Australia: OptusNet (Cable), Telstra Big Pond (DSL/Cable)


• Austria: UPC/chello (cable), Telekom Austria (DSL)


• Denmark: TDC (DSL/cable), Telia Stofa (cable)


• Finland: Elisa (DSL), Helsinki Television (HTV Cable) (cable), TeliaSonera Finland (DSL)


• Ireland: Eircom (DSL), Esat BT (DSL), NTL (cable)


• Korea: KT (DSL)


• Norway: UPC/chello (cable), NextGenTel (DSL), Telenor (DSL),


• Switzerland: Bluewin (DSL), sunrise (DSL)

Microsoft currently has more than 500,000 people playing on Xbox Live worldwide. There are on average more than 15 million gaming sessions every week.
http://www.microsoft.com

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Taqua Extends Class 5 Switching Intelligence to Broadband Edge

Taqua introduced a new series of Class 5 switching system products designed for putting switching intelligence at the edge of the network while enabling an open architecture that can selectively deliver advanced applications to subscribers across any access medium. Taqua's design is to put softswitching functionality at central offices serving up to 80,000 subscribers as well as in remote-office locations serving 600 subscribers or less. This would provide flexibility in delivering advanced services when and where such capability is needed in the network.


For remote office locations, Taqua's is introducing the iX700, an intelligent line access gateway, based on its switch-on-a-card architecture. The iX700 can terminate 624 POTS or xDSL lines. It could be deployed in a remote-office or controlled environmental enclosure. It provides TDM or IP based trunking and can be configured with POTS, xDSL, DS1/E1 or IP interface cards. Signaling types supported include loop start, ground start, DTMF, MF, DP, GR-303, SFI, as well as SIP, SIP-T, NCS+DQoS, MGCP, and H.248.


For central offices, Taqua's Open Compact Exchange has been renamed the iX7000 and enhanced with the addition of an IP card for delivering packet voice in addition to TDM. The iX7000 can be configured with POTS, DS1/E1, DS3/E3, OC-3/STM-1o, OC-12/STM-4o and IP interface cards. It also supports the same range of signalling types.
http://www.taqua.com

• In January 2003, Taqua, a start-up based in Richardson, Texas, secured over $20 million in new funding to support its next generation Class 5 switching system. Taqua's flagship OCX incorporates softswitch, signaling and media gateway functionality on a single-card design. The round brought total funding of the company to over $140 million. In addition, Taqua also announced that Rich McGinn, a general partner at RRE Ventures, and former chairman and CEO, Lucent Technologies, and Alex Guira, partner, Investcorp, had joined its Board of Directors.

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Metalink Claims 200 Mbps+ for New VDSLPlus Chipset

Metalink introduced its next generation VDSLPlus chipsets for access switches, DSLAMs and customer premise equipment, claiming downstream transmission speeds over 200 Mbps (aggregate) over short ranges using a single, telephony-grade, copper pair. The company said VDSLPlus achieves significant improvements in speed and reach over standard 4-band VDSL technology by utilizing an additional 5th band in the unused spectrum between 12-30 MHz. Its new chipset is denser, consumes less power, and is "aggressively priced" compared to existing VDSL and ADSL solutions. Metalink said it is also fully spectral compatible with all VDSL standards' band plans (998, 997, and those defined by the Chinese CTSI). Its VDSLPlus products are also fully compliant with existing, 4-band, VDSL standards and are fully backwards compatible to Metalink legacy VDSL products. The devices include an Ethernet interface, allowing a glue-less connection to off-the shelf Ethernet switching components, and also supports ATM interfaces over VDSL.
http://www.metalink.co.il

• In July, Metalink described plans for a wireless LAN technology that it claims will deliver a five-fold boost in link speed compared to the currently available 802.11x WLAN technology. The company expects to be ready to demonstrated its WLANPlus chipsets before the end of the year. Metalink is a developer of QAM-based VDSL silicon.

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India's Reliance Group to Acquire FLAG Telecom

Reliance Group, India's largest business house with total revenues of US$16.8 billion, agreed to acquire FLAG Telecom Group for $207 million, representing a premium of more than 50% over the closing price of FLAG's shares on 15-Oct-03. Reliance is a key customer on the FLAG global network. The deal requires regulatory approvals and the approval of FLAG Telecom's shareholders.
http://www.flagtelecom.com

• In May 2003, FLAG Telecom announced plans to enhance the reach of its European network through an agreement with Verizon Global Solutions. This agreement is a key element in FLAG's global network plan. FLAG said it would also open new POPs in Amsterdam and Frankfurt to provide seamless connectivity to its submarine cable systems: FLAG Atlantic-1 (FA-1), FLAG Europe Asia (FEA) and FLAG North Asia Loop (FNAL).



• In March 2003, FLAG Telecom announced a capacity expansion to key segments of its cable system from Western Europe to Japan through the Middle East, India, Southeast Asia and China. This upgrade will double the system's capacity on key segments from the U.K. to the Middle East (from 10 Gbps to 20 Gbps).



• In October 2002, FLAG emerged from Chapter 11 with its network in tact and a significantly lower level of debt. Verizon originally was one of the principal shareholders in FLAG Telecom.

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Comcast Expands its VOD Offerings

Comcast began offering HBO on Demand and Cinemax on Demand to millions of customers in New England, Baltimore, Washington, DC and Detroit, as well as 1.9 million in the Philadelphia region. Comcasts expects the new content to be a key driver for its VOD service. The newly added content includes HBO original programming hits including "Sex and the City," "The Sopranos," "Six Feet Under," "K Street," "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and "Carnivale."


Comcast's ON DEMAND service already included hundreds of movies, as well as subscription services and free content for digital cable customers.
http://www.comcast.com

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Sprint Reaches 250,000 DSL Line Milestone

Sprint has activated its 250,000th DSL customer, four years after launching the service in Florida. Sprint said it continues to aggressively roll out DSL in its 18-state local territory, expanding availability from 3.8 million lines to 4.3 million lines from January to August.
http://www.sprint.com

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