China's Telecom Market Expands 13% in 1H 04

China's telecommunication and post service revenue reached US$35 billion (RMB 289 billion) as of the end of June 2004, an increase of 13% compared with 2003, according to China's Ministry of Information Industry.


Total fixed-line users now total 295 million, up by 68 million over a year earlier.


Total cell phone users reached 305 million, up by 35.3 million. http://www.mii.gov.cn

Read More

Megapath Networks Upgrades with Redback SmartEdge

MegaPath Networks, a service provider based in Pleasanton, California, is augmenting its existing Redback SMS systems with next-generation Redback SmartEdge Service Gateway systems to accommodate its growth and its plans to offer advanced services. Financial terms were not disclosed.


Megapath serves some18,000 customers including small businesses and distributed enterprises with a range of managed access, VPN and security services. http://www.redback.com

Read More

Amedia and Riverstone Team on Integrated Ethernet Solutions

Amedia Networks has entered into a non-exclusive co-marketing agreement with Riverstone Networks to pursue opportunities in the delivery of an integrated Ethernet solution to network providers. Amedia offers Ethernet solutions for the FTTP market. The companies are performing interoperability tests to assure that Riverstone's core Ethernet switches seamlessly and effectively interconnect with Amedia's QoStream AS5000 Aggregator Switch and QoStream PG1000 Premises Gateway. The company also plan joint marketing activities and joint sales efforts. http://www.amedianetworks.comhttp://www.riverstonet.com

• In June 2004, Amedia Networks, formerly TTR Technologies, unveiled an active Ethernet-based Fiber-to-the-Premises (FTTP) access solution. The company's Ethernet Switched Optical Network (ESON) technology, which was licensed from and jointly developed with Lucent Bell Labs, provides QoS mechanisms for delivering triple play services at up to 100 Mbps bandwidth per subscriber.

Read More

Asia Netcom Upgrades Tokyo Network with DWDM

Asia Netcom will migrate its current leased network platform to a new wholly-owned DWDM network. The upgrade is expected to be completed by January 2005. Asia Netcom currently operates five PoPs in Tokyo. The new network will link to Asia Netcom's national backbone connecting, Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka. It will also connect with EAC -- the company's wholly-owned 19,500km regional submarine cable system connecting Japan with Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, the Philippines, Singapore and soon China through a planned extension to Qingdao.


Asia Netcom already offers customers ATM, FR, subrate IPL, subrate voice and carrier voice solutions. The new DWDM connection enables core network connectivity and additional services, including a full suite of IP-based solutions and collocation service.


Asia Netcom said its new DWDM-based Tokyo MAN will also serve as a foundation for a truly next generation network featuring GMPLS. http://www.asianetcom.com

• In February 2004, China Netcom acquired full control of Asia Netcom, a company founded in March 2003 by a consortium lead by CNC which included Newbridge Capital and Softbank Asia Infrastructure Fund.

Read More

Huawei Announces US$400 million in African Contracts

Huawei Technologies announced US$400 million in networking contracts from the incumbent telecom operators in Kenya, Zimbabwe, and Nigeria.


Kenya's biggest mobile operator, SAFARICOM, selected Huawei for a US$34 million project to reconstruct and update its Intelligent Network.


Zimbabwe's state-owned fixed-line operator TEL*ONE and mobile operator NET*ONE awarded contracts to Huawei valued at US$288 million and US$40 million, respectively.


Huawei will provide network expansion and optimization solutions to TEL*ONE, which include switches, a national transmission backbone, CDMA equipment, and other Intelligent Network and data communications products. In the project with NET*ONE, Huawei will provide GSM equipment and services, expanding on the existing 170,000 lines of GSM that Huawei provided early this year.


Nigeria's second large mobile operator, Vmobile, selected Huawei to provide GSM base stations worth US$80 million. Vmobile plans to deploy GSM wireless equipment across 15 of the 36 Nigerian states. Huawei is also an equipment supplier for Nigeria's largest mobile operator, MTNhttp://www.huawei.com

Read More

China Mobile Deploys Huawei's Softswitch

China Mobile, the largest mobile operator in the world, has activated the first four domains in its toll tandem network using Huawei's softswitch. China Mobile's tandem network connects 31 provinces, representing more than 31,000 E1s of capacity. The carrier has adopted dynamic voice coding/decoding technology in toll tandem network and implemented dual homing technology for the softswitches for disaster recovery.


China Mobile has also implemented Huawei's softswitch for the local exchange serving 400,000 lines in Hunan province.


Huawei noted that its mobile softswitch has been deployed abroad in multiple GSM networks. In UMTS, Huawei reports more than 30 commercial or trial networks are using its mobile softswitch, including ETISALAT in UAE, SUNDAY in HK, EMTEL in Mauritius, TM in Malaysia and in Tunis.

. http://www.huawei.com

Read More

Entone to Launch Hydra IP Video Gateway

Entone Technologies announced its "Hydra" multi-television IP Video Gateway, which is able to support up to three simultaneous television streams and broadband Internet access over existing residential coaxial cabling. Whereas previous generations of IP set-top boxes required a separate box for each television in the home, Hydra is a single gateway device that can be shared by up to six televisions with any three of them receiving independent, simultaneous video streams. Video delivery within the home takes place over existing coaxial cabling. Entone is providing network interfaces for both ADSL2+ and FTTH/Ethernet deployments.


The gateway can also recognize signaling for telephone features, such as caller ID and call waiting, enabling these to be displayed on a TV screen. Entone is also supporting conditional access solutions--such as integrating DVB/DES descrambling which protects against service theft. http://www.entone.com

Read More

Teknovus Raises $9 Million for Broadband Chips

Teknovus, a start-up based in Petaluma, California, raised $9 million in Series B funding for its broadband-access chipsets. Teknovus is currently shipping in volume its fourth-generation EPON chipset designed for triple-play deployments.


The funding round was led by Samsung America Ventures and Mitsubishi Corporation, with participation from SUIT Growth Fund and current investors Partech International, U.S. Venture Partners (USVP), and Portview Communications. Teknovus will use this new funding to expand global operations and move to the next level of technology required for EPONhttp://www.teknovus.com

Read More

Force10 Cites Inroads in Super Computing Market

Force10 Networks announced that its E-Series switch/routers power four of the top 15 fastest supercomputers in the world, including one of the top five. As with most technology, research environments and national laboratories were early adopters of supercomputing technology. Among the leading research institutions that are leveraging the power of supercomputers, the Texas Advanced Computing Center (40), the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (10 and 22) and the San Diego Supercomputer Center (62) have deployed the E-Series to increase computational speeds. The company cited additional super computer deployments by government organizations and data-intensive industries, such as the oil and gas sector.


The Top500 project tracks in high performance computing. http://www.force10networks.comhttp://www.top500.org

Read More

Ericsson Receives Contract Extension from T-Mobile USA

T-Mobile USA has extended an existing agreement with Ericsson to expand and upgrade the operator's wireless network. Specifically, Ericsson will provide GSM 1900 MHz wireless network equipment and network deployment, system integration and support services in 18 strategic T-Mobile USA markets -- including Atlanta, Boston, Miami, New Jersey, Philadelphia and Washington D.C. -- in which Ericsson equipment is already installed. The agreement covers products from Ericsson's radio access, microwave transmission, Prepaid and Multimedia Messaging Service. T-Mobile USA also will realize increased radio access capacity and improved quality across the Ericsson footprint through Radio Optimization services and the deployment of Adaptive Multi Rate (AMR) technology. Deliveries will begin immediately. Financial terms were not disclosed. http://www.ericsson.com

Read More

Union Files Protest at T-Mobile USA

The Communications Workers of America (CWA) published a protest announcement aimed at Deutsche Telekom, accusing the firm of having a double standard by being a labor-friendly enterprise at home and an anti-union employer when it thinks it can get away with it in another country -- in this case the United States. The complaint involves layoffs associated with T-Mobile USA's acquisition of Cingular's network in California. The union cited T-Mobile's decision to fire 100 unionized technicians while keeping management employees. Cingular was forced to sell the California network to gain regulatory approval of its merger with AT&T Wireless. http://www.cwa-union.org/

Read More

Consolidated Communications Plans Triple Play with Tut

Consolidated Communications, the nation's 15th largest telecommunications provider, has selected Tut Systems' Astria digital headend solution to deliver digital TV over its DSL and FTTH networks for its recently announced Consolidated Digital Video Service (DVS). Consolidated will deliver a triple play of voice, video and data services to customers in central Illinois. Based in Mattoon, IL, Consolidated Communications, Inc. is a family of companies managing more than 250,000 customer access lines throughout Illinois and Texas. Financial terms were not disclosed.


Consolidated DVS will consist of over 200 channels, including national broadcast and premium TV, local channels, 45 digital music channels, and a number of Pay Per View channels. The company's digital entertainment service completes a triple play that includes unlimited local telephone and high-speed Internet services for residential customers. Consolidated will offer customers special savings when they select a bundled package that includes digital TV, high-speed Internet, and local service. http://www.tutsys.com/http://www.consolidated.com/

Read More

Best Buy Deploys Cisco Aironet Wireless LAN

Best Buy, North America's number one electronics retailer, has successfully deployed wireless networks across its Minneapolis-based corporate campus and in its more than 640 retail stores. The deployment uses Cisco Aironet 1200 Series Access Points, CiscoWorks Wireless LAN Solution Engine and Cisco Compatible Business Notebooks from HP. The campus in Minneapolis includes more than 1,000 Cisco Aironet 1200 Series Access Points in strategic locations inside the 42.5 acre facility. The companies said approximately 60% of Best Buy's 5,000 corporate employees now take advantage of the Wi-Fi network in a variety of offices, conference rooms and common areas. http://www.cisco.com

Read More

China Telecom Selects Cisco for CN2 Business Network

China Telecom selected Cisco Systems as the primary equipment provider for the business network portion of its next generation IP network, also known as ChinaNet Next Carrying Network or CN2. The network will connect more than 200 cities and provide premium services to corporate customers nationwide. Cisco also will provide equipment for the backbone network in Jiangsu, Hubei, Zhejiang, Anhui, Fujian and Jiangxi provinces. In the past 6 months, China Telecom has awarded contracts valued at more than US$100 million to Cisco.


The CN2 business network will deploy Cisco 12000 Series routers, providing MPLS VPN services and serving as a platform for future metropolitan-area-network deployments. It will interconnect with ChinaNet's overseas POPs, which use the Cisco ONS 15454 platform in the United States and Hong Kong. http://www.cisco.com

• In October 2004, China Telecom selected Lucent Technologies for upgrades to its national optical backbone network. Under the project, Lucent will provide its WaveStar OLS 1.6T high-capacity DWDM system to build a transmission network spanning over 2,400 kilometers across China. The contracts were awarded as part of China Telecom's National Transmission Backbone Expansion Project.



• In September 2004, it was announced that China Telecom will deploy Nortel Networks Optical Long Haul 1600 Optical Line Systems to expand its optical backbone networks in the cities of Wuhan, Guangzhou, Changsha, Fuzhou, Shanghai, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Hefei, Chongqing, and Chengdu. The expansion, scheduled for completion by the end of 2004, will boost transmission capacity to approximately 10 Gbps x 30 wavelengths. In addition, China Telecom's Shanghai Telecom and Zhejiang Telecom branches will use Nortel Networks Services Edge Router (SER) 5500 to expand their data networks.



• In August 2004, Alcatel Shanghai Bell announced a contract to supply 1.3 million Digital Subscriber Lines (DSL) to China Telecom in southern China. The contract covers the deployment of the Alcatel 7300 Advanced Services Access Manager (ASAM) by China Telecom's subsidiaries in 15 provinces and municipalities across southern China such as Shanghai, Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong and Guangxi.

Read More

Octasic Offers Music Protection for Echo Cancellation Silicon

Octasic introduced a Music-Protection feature in its echo cancellation silicon. This software feature for the OCT6100 Series of Octasic echo cancellers ensures that both recorded background music heard while on hold, and live music heard in the background of conversations are not clipped or incorrectly handled, as is the case with echo cancellers currently in use.



Traditional echo cancellers do not distinguish between music and generic background noise when processing residual echo. Instead, the typical echo cancellation algorithm replaces the entire signal with white (or similar) noise while trying to remove the echo. This results in music sounding unrecognizable, or as though the connection itself was "bad". Callers hearing such a result get annoyed or worse yet, end their calls assuming something is wrong with the connection.



Octasic's Music Protection software is able to recognize that music is on the line and process it accordingly resulting in a natural-sounding connection while still removing the echo.



The company has set up two demonstration phone lines - one with Music Protection enabled on the echo canceller and the other without any Music Protection functionality.

• Line without music protection: 514-597-0864 OR 866-334-5402
  
  


Line with Octasic Music Protection enabled on the OCT6100 Series: 514-597- 2802 OR 866-550-5402

(When calling, please ensure that you are using a standard analog or digital phone and not a wireless or IP-based phone.)http://www.octasic.com

Read More

Telia to Launch 24 Mbps ADSL2+ Service

Later this month, Telia will begin offering 24 Mbps ADSL2+ services in Sweden. By February, the company plans to offer the service to customers within 2.5 km of its switching centers in 101 municipalities across the country.



The monthly fee is SEK 449 kronor (US$64), not including a one-time connection charge of SEK 695 (US$100).. http://www.telia.com

Read More

Deutsche Telekom Reaches 5.4 Million DSL Subscribers

Citing growth in its T-Mobile and T-Online divisions, Deutsche Telekom reported Q3 revenue of EUR 14.5 billion, up by EUR 0.4 billion or 3.2% year-on-year. Some highlights:

• Revenue at T-Com decreased by 4.2% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2004. However, the rate of decrease slowed to 5% compared with the first nine months of 2003 after a decline of 5.4% in a year-on-year comparison of the first six months.



• T‑Systems kept its revenue stable compared with the respective prior-year periods.



• International revenue increased by over 8% in a quarter-on-quarter comparison. The key factor behind this is primarily the sustained positive development of revenue at T-Mobile USA.



• Net income increased by EUR 0.9 billion year-on-year to EUR 1.4 billion. An increase of EUR 0.5 billion to EUR 1.0 billion was achieved in adjusted net income.



• Net debt was reduced again in the third quarter of 2004 to just under EUR 40.8 billion.



• T-Com added 489,000 in Q3, giving it a total of 5.4 million lines . This corresponds to an increase in the customer base of 42.4% compared with the same period in 2003. As a result of the active marketing of the "three times zero" offer, the number of DSL lines in operation in Germany increased by over 40.1% or 458,000 since June 30, 2004, bringing the total to 5.2 million. This figure also includes for the first time 85,000 DSL lines T-Com sold to competitors under its resale offers.



• T-Mobile also substantially increased revenue by 9.4% in the third quarter of 2004 to almost EUR 6.5 billion. The number of mobile subscribers served by T-Mobile's majority-owned subsidiaries increased by around 1.6 million in the third quarter to 67.2 million. Of these, almost 1.3 million signed fixed-term subscription contracts. Year-on-year, the number of subscribers increased by 9.6 million, an increase of over 16%. T-Mobile added around 300,000 new subscribers in Germany in the third quarter.



• Revenue at T-Online increased year-on-year by 2.4% in the third quarter of 2004 to EUR 464 million due to the growth in the subscriber base. T-Online achieved record growth in the number of customers using DSL rates. The number of DSL subscribers in the T-Online group increased from 2.4 million at year-end 2003 to 3.2 million at the end of the third quarter.

http://www.telekom.de

Read More

SBC Outlines Aggressive IPTV Plans

SBC Communications outlined operational and financial details on Project Lightspeed, its plan to deploy IPTV and other advanced residential services over an upgraded fiber access infrastructure. In a conference call to investors and the media, SBC executives said Project Lightspeed would not be "a me-too undertaking" but would radically transform the market by delivering an integrated "Digital Lifestyle." The company believes its can achieve a true competitive advantage by tightly integrating IP voice, data, video and its Cingular wireless services.



SBC is setting an aggressive rollout schedule. Project Lightspeed will include both FTTN and FTTP deployments. Lab and field trials are currently underway and network construction is scheduled to begin in Q1 2005. Commercial launch of IPTV services is slated for Q4 2005. SBC is aiming to reach some 90% of its "high-value" residential customers by 2007 -- about 18 million households.



Some highlights of the announcment:

• the FTTN service will deliver 20 to 25 Mbps to each user with "Everything over IP." The FTTP service will deliver up to 39 Mbps to the customer.



• the IPTV service will deliver 4 high-quality TV streams, including HDTV and VOD.



• the network will provide full-featured IP voice capabilities. SBC will provide integration with its Cingular wireless service.



• the data service will provide 6 Mbps downstream and 1 Mbps upstream. SBC will also provide additional bandwidth-on-demand for additional fees.



• in existing neighborhoods, or "overbuild" situations, SBC plans to use an FTTN architecture, which on average takes fiber to within 3,000 feet of homes being served. the company expects that FTTN deployment can be completed in one-fourth the time required for an FTTP overbuild and with about one-fifth the capital investment. FTTP will be used in new housing developments, as well as in some multi-dwelling units.



• the 3 year deployment plan calls for 17 million FTTN homes and over 1 million FTTP homes.



• customers will be migrated to the network on their schedule.



• the three-year deployment costs for Project Lightspeed are expected to be approximately $4 billion, at the low end of SBC's previously announced range of $4 billion to $6 billion. In addition, there will be customer-activation capital expenditures of approximately $1 billion spread over 2006 and 2007. Because a significant portion of capital expenditures for Project Lightspeed will replace and refocus ongoing spending for its current network, SBC expects incremental capital investment for this project to be relatively small.



• the new network is expected to deliver substantial operating cost savings in installation, maintenance and customer care. FTTN is expected to provide approximately 70% of the network operational expense savings available from FTTP.



• SBC's video network architecture will include 2 national "Super Head Ends" where national content will be aggregated and VOD encoding will occur. SBC will build 40 Regional Video Hub Offices, which will provide video content storage, time-shifted TV and interactive applications. Local content aggregation will also occur in the Regional Video Hub Offices. The SBC video network architecture will also have a large number (about 140) Video Serving Offices for local distribution.



• expected deployment costs per subscriber are about $1,100 in new builds for FTTP. For overbuilds, the cost is $250 for FTTN and $1,350 for FTTP.



• per subscriber installation costs (including set-top-box, home gateway, in-home wiring and truck roll) are estimated $500-600 in 2005, declining to $300-450 by 2007. Within five years, SBC expects technology will have advanced sufficiently to provide a low-cost system-on-a-chip for the CPE functionality.



• in 2005, SBC expects that its total capital expenditures will be at the high end of its 2004 guidance range of $5 billion to $5.5 billion.



• the U.S. video market is expected to grow from $54 billion annually in 2004 to $63 billion in 2008.



• the U.S. broadband market is expected to grow from $16 billion in 2004 to $29 billion in 2008.



• SBC expects to be the second largest video provider within its fiber footprint within five years. This assumes a 20% market share within five years.



• regarding the home gateway, SBC expects to make its first vendor selections early next year. The in-home wiring is likely to leverage both existing twisted-pair (phone or Cat 5 wiring) or existing coax cabling. The gateways are also expected to have Wi-Fi capability.

http://www.sbc.com

• In October, SBC Communications selected Alcatel as its primary network infrastructure and services supplier for Project Lightspeed. The deal is estimated to be worth $1.7 billion to Alcatel over the next five years. Specifically, Alcatel will supply access and fiber technologies, IP routing and Ethernet switching solutions, and network systems integration services. Specifically, Alcatel will provide SBC with its remote 7330 IP DSLAM solution, which is capable of supporting wire speed triple play services and multiple variations of DSL for SBC's Fiber to the Neighborhood architecture. In addition, Alcatel provides its 7340 Fiber to the Premise (FTTP) solutions. SBC has selected Alcatel's 7750 Service Router and 7450 Ethernet Services Switch which will enable SBC to offer differentiated IP-based services, such as video. Additionally, Alcatel will work with SBC to ensure seamless video systems integration.



• SBC is currently testing Microsoft's IPTV platform.



• In October, the FCC voted to relieve incumbent local telephone companies of most obligations to lease advanced fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) network facilities to competitors at a regulated, cost-based price. Specifically, incumbents are relieved from unbundling requirements for fiber-to-the-curb (FTTC) loops, where fiber is extended within 500 feet of a customer's premises. The new rules free companies to choose between FTTH or FTTC networks based on marketplace characteristics, rather than disparate regulatory treatment.

Read More

T-Mobile USA Adds 901,000 Net Customers in Q3

T-Mobile USA added 901,000 net new customers in Q3, compared with 1,092,000 added in the second quarter of 2004 and 670,000 in the third quarter of 2003. About 90% of the growth in the third quarter of 2004 came from new postpay customers, which currently comprise 89% of the customer base. Some highlights for the quarter:

• $788 million in Operating Income Before Depreciation and Amortization (OIBDA) in Q3 2004, reaching a record OIBDA margin of 30%



• Net Income was $254 million



• T-Mobile USA service revenues, which consist of postpay, prepaid, and roaming and other service revenues, were $2.61 billion in Q3, up from $2.46 billion in Q2 2004 and $1.90 billion in Q3 2003. In addition to high customer growth, revenue increases in 2004 reflect inclusion of two new components compared to 2003: Universal Service Fund ("USF") recovery fees and regulatory cost recovery fees.



• Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) was $55 in the quarter, consistent with $55 in Q2 2004 and up from $54 in Q3 2003.



• Postpay churn averaged 2.6% per month in the quarter, up from 2.4% in Q2 2004, and down from 2.7% in Q3 2003. Blended churn, a mix of postpay and prepaid customers, was 3.0%, up from 2.8% in Q2 2004 and down from 3.3% in Q3 2003.



• The average cost of acquiring a customer, Cost Per Gross Add (CPGA) was $301 in Q3, down from $318 in Q2 2004, and $334 in Q3 2003.



• The average cash cost of serving customers, Cash Cost Per User ("CCPU", as defined in the footnotes to the Selected Data, below), was $24 per customer per month in Q3, an increase from $23 in Q2 2004 and consistent with $24 in Q3 2003.



• Capital expenditures were $453 million, down from $664 million in Q2 2004 and up from $407 million in Q3 2003.

http://www.t-mobile.com/

Read More

ECI Reports Fifth Consecutive Quarter of Growth

ECI Telecom reported Q3 revenues of $128 million, compared with $95 million in Q3 2003 and $121 million in Q2 2004. This represents the fifth consecutive quarter of increased revenues for the company. Net profit for the quarter reached $6 million, or $0.05 per share on a fully diluted basis, as compared with a net loss of $14.7 million in the third quarter of 2003 and a $3.5 million loss in the second quarter of 2004. Some highlights:

• the Broadband Access Division recorded revenues of $54 million in the quarter, a 35% increase from a year ago and a 7% rise from last quarter. Operating income for the Division reached $6.4 million, compared to $2.3 million in the third quarter of 2003 and $5.3 million in the second quarter of 2004. The division said it is seeing sustained demand from its two largest customers, France Telecom and Deutsche Telekom, as well as with other operators. BT is now testing its FTTP solution.



• revenues for the Optical Networks Division jumped 46% from a year ago and reached $69 million for the quarter, compared to $47 million in the third quarter of 2003 and $61 million in the second quarter. The Division reported continued improvement in profitability, reaching an operating profit of $2.2 million for the quarter, as compared with a $6.8 million loss in the third quarter of 2003 and an operating profit of $1.1 million in the second quarter. The division cited strong demand in emerging markets in the Asia Pacific region, particularly India, as well as Russia and Ukraine and other European countries



• sales to Veraz Networks totaled $4.5 million in the third quarter of 2004, as compared with $6.5 million in the third quarter of 2003 and $8.3 million in the second quarter of 2004. ECI manufactures and sells products to Veraz for resale to its customers and holds 43% of privately held Veraz Networks.

"Our continued growth in both revenues and net profit is in large measure a result of the strategic choices we made during the telecom crisis. We focused on the geographies and products that proved to be areas of significant growth. As a result, ECI's current growth is outpacing the average growth in our sector," said Doron Inbar, President and CEO. http://www.ecitele.com

Read More