Edgewater Adds VoIP Survivability to its Appliances

Edgewater Networks has added VoIP survivability features to its EdgeMarc line of VoIP CPE appliances. The new functionality provides local call switching in the event of wide area network (WAN) link failures, softswitch failures or during periods of network congestion that result in a loss of connectivity to the softswitch. Edgewater provides the ability to detect a loss of connectivity to the softswitch, a fallback mode of operation offering station-to-station calling for locally connected subscribers and automatic recovery of call control to the softswitch once connectivity has been restored. http://www.edgewaternetworks.com/

• In April 2004, Edgewater Networks introduced a line of session border controllers providing specialized security, NAT/Firewall traversal services and passive call quality monitoring for service providers. These systems provide topology hiding, dynamic session admission control and stateful packet inspection to secure critical VoIP and data infrastructure components such as VoIP softswitches, gateways and media servers. The EdgeProtect Series products use a dynamic access control list to authenticate VoIP subscribers as they register with the hosted service. This authentication eliminates the need to manually program IP addresses of valid subscribers in other firewalls around the perimeter of the data center to enable scalability while reducing the workload of operations personnel.



• In October 2003, Edgewater Networks introduced a VoIP customer premise device that combines T1 CSU/DSU or E1 and an 8-port 10/100 Ethernet switch. The company said its new EdgeMarc 38T resolves NAT/Firewall traversal problems by providing a "voice-aware" firewall that supports SIP, MGCP, H.323 or SCCP to protect the enterprise LAN.

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SBC President William Daley Steps Down

William M. Daley is stepping down from his role as president of SBC Communications.



SBC named Forrest Miller to lead a new organization combining the company's public affairs and planning units. Miller's title will be Group President-External Affairs and Planning and he will report to Edward E. Whitacre, chairman and CEO of the company. Miller was most recently Group President-Corporate Planning. He has previously served as president and CEO of SBC Southwestern Bell, and he held the same title at SBC SNET in Connecticut. http://www.sbc.com

• Daly formerly served as U.S. Secretary of Commerce from 1997 to 2000 and as chairman of Vice President Al Gore's presidential campaign. He took the job as President of SBC in November 2001.

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ITU Adopts OSS/BSS Specification

In partnership with the Telemanagement Forum (TM Forum), the International Telecommunication Union has adopted a standard for operations and business support systems (OSS/BSS) .



ITU-T Recommendation M.3050 is based on the TM Forum's Enhanced Telecom Operations Map (eTOM) standard. Network operators and equipment suppliers will be able to use eTOM alongside existing ITU-T guidelines for telecoms management defined in its Telecommunication Management Network (TMN) specifications for internal process reengineering, partnership management, and product and service specification.



While eTOM represents the first TM Forum specification to be published as an ITU-T Recommendation, it is envisaged that more will follow. Currently under discussion are new specifications on human machine interface (HMI) that aim to improve the interaction between OSS/BSSs and the people that operate them. http://www.itu.int

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TI and Aeluros Enter Alliance for 10 Gbps XFP

Texas Instruments and Aeluros announced an agreement allowing TI to manufacture and sell the Aeluros Puma AEL1002 XFI to XAUI integrated circuit (IC) as a TI-branded product. The device is an integrated 10 Gbps XFI to XAUI IC, with the primary function of bridging between optical modules compliant with the increasingly popular XFP multi-source agreement, and system MAC and ASIC devices featuring the mainstream 3 Gbps XAUI interface. The companies said their agreement provides a second-source for XFP line card developers. http://www.ti.com

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Nortel Networks Targeted by Criminal Investigation

Nortel Networks received a Federal Grand Jury Subpoena for the production of certain documents, including financial statements and corporate, personnel and accounting records, that were produced from January 2000 to date. The company said it would fully cooperate with the authorities in this matter. http://www.nortelnetworks.com

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NTT Cites Rising Competition, Focuses on Optical Access and 3G

NTT,
Japan's incumbent service provider, reported overall revenue of
11,095 billion yen, up 1.6% over fiscal 2003, for its fiscal
year ending 31-March-2004. Net income for fiscal 2004 was 644
billion yen, up 176% compared with the 233 billion in net income
for 2003. However, the company said revenues would decline and
profit growth is likely to fall this year due to increased
competition, a shrinking fixed line market, and a difficult
business environment. Some highlights:

• The NTT Group said its highest strategic priorities are
  optical access and 3G wireless. The Group is making
  "every possible effort" to build out its fiber
  access network, while reducing fees and strategically
  improving facilities in high-demand areas. To help realize
  its "Vision for a New Optical Generation," a new
  company, NTT-Resonant, was recently established to develop
  the new broadband market. At the same time, the NTT Group is
  moving aggressively to expand sales of its 3G FOMA mobile
  network. Key initiatives include extending the 3G coverage
  areas and upgrading consumer handsets.
  
  
• Despite restructuring efforts, NTT said its results were
  affected by a "severe business environment with
  intensified competition and the shrinking fixed-line market.
  The operating revenues at NTT East amounted to 2,267.1
  billion yen (a decrease of 3.6% from the prior year), and
  the operating revenues at NTT West amounted to 2,166.8
  billion yen (a decrease of 2.2% from the prior year).
  
  
• NTT East and NTT West have each launched IP telephony
  services for corporate customers. The program features
  reduced rates for outgoing calls to the IP telephone network
  and to subscriber numbers, as well as the option to retain
  in-use subscriber telephone numbers for receiving incoming
  calls. New services were also launched enabling users to
  call from subscriber telephones and public pay phones to IP
  telephones with the prefix number 050. The two companies
  have also launched a new VPN service called "FLAT
  ETHER" that provides flat-rate intra-prefectural WAN
  connectivity.
  
  
• NTT East and NTT West are also continuing to implement
  cost-reduction measures and to expand the amount of work
  outsourced to the Group's regional companies.
  
  
• NTT Communications began offering the IP telephone
  "OCN .Phone" to users of ADSL and "B FLET'S"
  services as a standard set requiring no initial fees and
  monthly basic fees. The company also introduced ADSL pricing
  tiers and increased the use of IP phones by extending the
  service network to include mobile phones.
  
• NTT DATA is further reducing its costs to boost
  competitiveness in the systems integration field. At the
  same time, NTT DATA is pursuing structural reform by
  re-organizing NTT Group companies involved in regional
  businesses and in maintenance and operations services. NTT
  DATA is focused on the promotion of new businesses including
  the "IT Partner Business" program where NTT Data
  works together with its customer firms in the form of
  business alliances or joint investments to conduct
  IT-related businesses.
  
• NTT DoCoMo highlighted alliances with overseas affiliates
  and partners, including new "i-mode" services that
  were newly launched in Spain and Italy, and 3G services that
  were launched in Hong Kong.

http://www.ntt.co.jp

14-May-04

NTT Group -- Fiscal 2004 Performance (billions of Yen)
	NTT Holding Company	NTT East	NTT West	NTT Comm.	NTT Data	NTT DoCoMo
Operating Revenues	258	2,267	2,167	1,107	847	5,048
Change from previous year	16.2%	(3.6%)	(2.2%)	(3.9%)	1.8%	5.0%
Net income (loss)	240	58	62	24	27	650
Change from previous year	159	55	42	11	(1.6)	438

 

NTT Subscriber Numbers
	31-Mar-02	31-Mar-03	31-Mar-04	31-Mar-05   (projected)
NTT East Fixed Telephone lines	25,084,000	25,139,000	25,264,000	25,317,000
NTT East  INS-Net Subscriber Lines	5,851,000	5,260,000	4,756,000	4,340,000
NTT East Total	30,956,000	30,399,000	30,020,000	29,657,000
NTT West Fixed Telephone lines	25,654,000	25,575,000	25,674,000	25,707,000
NTT West  INS-Net Subscriber Lines	5,299,000	4,868,000	4,378,000	3,930,000
NTT West Total	30,952,000	30,442,000	30,053,000	29,637,000
NTT East FLET's ISDN lines	653,000	651,000	514,000	364,000
NTT East FLET's ADSL lines	513,000	1,430,000	2,283,000	2,983,000
NTT East B-FLETS optical access lines	12,000	111,000	426,000	1,026,000
NTT West FLET's ISDN lines	651,000	621,000	466,000	359,000
NTT West FLET's ADSL lines	454,000	1,127,000	1,806,000	2,506,000
NTT West B-FLETS optical access lines	6,000	88,000	414,000	1,014,000
DoCoMo Cellular		43,861,000	45,927,000	47,700,000
DoCoMo Cellular -FOMA		330,000	3,045,000	10,600,000
DoCoMo i-Mode		37,758	41,077,000	43,400,000
DoCoMoi-Mode FOMA	303,000	303,000	2,997,000

http://www.ntt.co.jp

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NTT DoCoMo Names New CEO

NTT DoCoMo named Masao Nakamura as its new president and CEO, succeeding Dr. Keijii Tachikawa. The new CEO appointment is part of a larger set of changes in executive positions, including members of the board of directors and statutory auditors, announced by NTT DoCoMo. http://nttdocomo.com

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Equant Signs $5.6M MPLS VPN Contract with Spencer Stuart

Spencer Stuart, a global executive search firm with over 50 offices in 25 countries, awarded a 3-year, $5.6 million IP VPN contract extension to Equant for high-end IP VPN services. Equant's classes of service allow Spencer to prioritize its mission-critical applications, including proprietary software used for secure transmission of classified executive dossiers. http://www.equant.com

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Belgium's Telenet Selects Alcatel IP Service Router

Telenet, the Belgian cable operator, selected the Alcatel 7750 Service Router (SR) for its IP/MPLS network. Advanced business services, as well as future services such as interactive digital TV, integrated data and voice, will use the Alcatel service routers. Financial terms were not disclosed. http://www.alcatel.com

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AT&T Proposes Binding Arbitration for UNE Negotiations

AT&T expressed frustration at the lack of progress in reaching commercial agreements on UNE issues with the four Bell companies. AT&T is asking Verizon, SBC, BellSouth and Qwest to each agree to a binding arbitration process that results in long-term commercial agreements.



"The industry is fast approaching the witching hour and something must be done now to bring these negotiations to a successful close," said AT&T Chairman and Chief Executive Officer David W. Dorman. "Private one-on-one negotiations and even a mediated process have not resulted in the desired outcome. We are frustrated by the lack of progress in negotiations to date, and the absence of any positive response to our offer to move to our own facilities."http://www.att.com

• In late April 2004, AT&T issued a public proposal to the each of the four Bell companies offering a new roadmap to facilities-based local competition. AT&T is proposing increases in the price of UNE-P by at least $3 in phases over the next 2 1/2 years so as to impose a financial penalty on competitors that continue to rely on UNE-P. In exchange, however, competitors would be able to obtain operational and economic access to "last-mile" loop facilities on terms that are reasonable and fair. AT&T said it would support UNE-P price increases in exchange for reasonable reductions in the costs and necessary improvements in the provisioning required to support facilities-based competition. The framework also provides incentives for AT&T to accelerate deployment of its own facilities.

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French Regulator Opens WiMax Hearings

Autorité de Régulation des Télécommunications (ART), the telecom regulatory authority in France, opened a public consultation on WiMAX. The proceeding will consider the potential of WiMAX as well as its effect on radio local loop licenses across the 3.4 - 3.8 GHz frequency bands. http://www.art-telecom.fr

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ITU Approves Fiber Standard for CWDM

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has approved a global standard for a new optical fiber optimized for Coarse Wave Division Multiplexing (CWDM) in metro networks.



ITU-T Recommendation G.656 (Characteristics of a fiber and cable with Non-Zero Dispersion for Wideband Optical Transport) allows operators using CWDM to deploy systems without the need to compensate for chromatic dispersion, a phenomenon that at low levels counteracts distortion but at high-levels can make a signal unusable. G.656 also means that at least 40 more channels can be added to DWDM systems. The most important new feature in the specification is that it sets a low chromatic dispersion coefficient. http://www.itu.int

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QUALCOMM Debuts Convergence Chipset

QUALCOMM introduced its Convergence Platform of multimode chipsets aimed at merging wireless devices with consumer electronics. The company is introducing three chipsets, each of which incorporates a modem processor, an applications processor and associated DSPs delivering up to 1GHz speeds. The chipsets will include advanced power management capabilities for longer battery life, security and digital rights management support, wireless PC synchronization support, and connectivity to external consumer electronics devices via 802.11, USB, Bluetooth or other interfaces.



QUALCOMM said its Convergence Platform could be incorporated into a range of consumer electronics products with capabilities such as digital cameras (up to 6 megapixels), VGA 30 fps video recording and playback, high-fidelity digital stereo audio record and playback, etc.



Separately, QUALCOMM announced the wireless industry's first single-chip RF CMOS transceiver for dual-mode WCDMA (UMTS)/HSDPA and GSM/GPRS/EDGE (EGPRS) terminals. The device integrates a WCDMA (UMTS) transceiver and quad-band EGPRS transceivers into a single-chip, enabling cost optimized, smaller form factor devices for mainstream WCDMA (UMTS) markets. Samples of the RTR6275 are expected to ship in the second quarter of 2005.



QUALCOMM also announced that 21 wireless device manufacturers have selected its integrated chipsets and system software for their WCDMA (UMTS) deployments. http://www.qualcomm.com

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FCC Considers Rules for Smart Radios in Vacant TV Channels

The FCC is proposing to allow unlicensed devices to operate in the broadcast television spectrum at locations where the spectrum is not in use by television stations if they incorporate "smart radio" features that can identify unused TV channels.



Due to the physics of signal propagation, transmissions in the TV band can travel farther and can better penetrate into buildings than transmissions in the spectrum where existing unlicensed wireless broadband operations are permitted. As a result, allowing unlicensed operations in the TV bands could benefit wireless internet service customers by extending the service range of current providers' (WISPs) existing operations, particularly in rural and underserved areas.



The FCC is proposing to classify the unlicensed broadband devices that could be used in the TV bands into two general functional categories. The first category would consist of lower power "personal/portable" unlicensed devices, such as Wi-Fi like cards in laptop computers or wireless in-home local area networks. The second category would consist of higher power "fixed/access" unlicensed devices that are generally operated from a fixed location and may be used to provide a commercial service such as wireless broadband internet access. http://www.fcc.gov

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OPNET Releases Major Updates for its Software

OPNET Technologies announced a significant release of its IT Guru, SP Guru, Modeler, and ODK network management software and application. The release also includes a new Report Server product, new Automation module, and new Distributed Agent Controller module. OPNET's products are used in application performance management, configuration management, capacity planning, as well as modeling and simulation. http://www.opnet.com

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RadioShack Begins Selling Vonage Service in its 4,000 Stores

RadioShack began offering Vonage's broadband Internet telephone service in nearly 4,000 of its retail stores across the U.S. About 1,600 of these stores will host in-store, broadband telephony demonstrations beginning in June. http://www.radioshack.com/voip

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BellSouth Selects Nortel Networks Packet Voice Tandem Solution

BellSouth has selected Nortel Networks to provide packet voice tandem switches for its core network, with deployment expected later this year. This Packet Voice Tandem solution will include Nortel Networks Succession Communication Server 2000 (CS 2000) and Succession Multiservice Gateway 4000 (MG 4000) products. The CS 2000 will operate as a tandem switch in BellSouth's network, transferring calls between BellSouth's central offices. The MG 4000 is a trunking gateway that can reduce tandem congestion and help lower network costs. Financial terms were not disclosed. http://www.nortelnetworks.com

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BellSouth Deploys Lucent's Accelerate VoIP

Lucent Technologies announced a three-year agreement to help BellSouth expand its Centrex IP service across its nine-state territory. Specifically, BellSouth is deploying Lucent's EBS Communication Manager, which works with telephony systems to deliver IP-enhanced business applications via a Web graphical user interface, and iMerge Centrex Feature Gateway, which works with any Class 5 switch, and serves as a bridge between circuit-switched networks and IP network infrastructures to deliver Class 5 features and functionality over a packet network. Financial terms were not disclosed. http://www.lucent.com

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BellSouth Launches Centrex IP Service

BellSouth launched a new Centrex IP Service for business customers across the southeastern markets served by the company. Centrex IP will allow customers to use browser-based software that assists them with call management. Customers will be able to use Centrex IP to access enhanced call management functions through a secure login and have real-time control of calling features. http://www.bellsouth.com

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Europe Takes Stock of its National Broadband Strategies

Broadband Internet access across the European Union has grown by more than 80% in the year to January 2004, according a new European Commission report. The broadband take-up rates in several European countries are now amongst the highest in the world. However, the fastest growth is concentrated in cities. Furthermore, competition in broadband services is not equal in all areas.



The EU15 Member States all have national broadband strategies in place and the new Member States will table theirs before the end of 2004. The report concludes that national approaches must be kept under review and updated during 2005 so as to maintain the current momentum, particularly by ensuring competitive markets and the right regulatory conditions for investment. http://europa.eu.int

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