FCC Recommends Public Safety Network Leverage Commercial Rollouts

The FCC issued a detailed report recommending that the public safety network for first responders that is called for in the National Broadband Report be built alongside next gen commercial networks rather than as separate infrastructure. This approach would cost approximately $6.5 billion over 10 years, significantly less than the projected $15.7 billion in capital costs associated with building a stand-alone public safety network.


In addition, the FCC's analysis indicates that to build and operate a stand-alone public safety network would be substantially more expensive than a network constructed under the FCC's recommended incentive-based approach. The study projects $12 to $16 billion in network costs for upgrades and operations within the first 10 years of the network's existence, while the cost for a stand-alone public safety network over the same 10-year period is projected at $25 billion.


"It is vitally important that we move forward with our plan to solve the public safety communications crisis that was exposed on 9/11 and during hurricanes Katrina and Rita," said Jamie Barnett, Chief of the FCC's Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau.
http://www.fcc.gov

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FCC Establishes New Emergency Response Interoperability Center

The FCC has established a new Emergency Response Interoperability Center (ERIC) under the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (PSHSB) with the mission of promoting nationwide operability and interoperability in
wireless broadband communications for America's first responders.


Operating under the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (PSHSB), ERIC will work closely with industry, commercial providers, manufacturers and standards setting groups to ensure interoperability and operability on the new network.


The FCC's recently released National Broadband Plan recommended a framework to create a nationwide interoperable wireless broadband network for public safety. ERIC's mission is to adopt and implement:

• Technical requirements and procedures for ensuring a nationwide level of interoperability;



• Mechanisms to address operability, roaming, priority access, gateway functions and interfaces, and interconnectivity of public safety broadband wireless networks; and



• Authentication and encryption requirements for common public safety broadband
  applications and network usage.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will be instrumental in the functions of the ERIC.http://http://

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Ericsson's Q1: Network Sales Decline as Global Services Rises

Ericsson's Group sales in Q1 2010 declined 9% year-over-year with lower sales in Networks but with an increase of 3% year-over-year in Global Services. Sales for comparable units, adjusted for currency exchange rate effects and hedging, declined -16% year-over-year. Gross margin, excluding restructuring, improved year-over-year to 39% (36%) due to efficiency gains and product mix.


Ericsson's share in earnings of joint ventures, before tax, amounted to SEK -0.3 (-2.2) b. excluding restructuring charges, compared to SEK -0.4 b. in the fourth quarter. Sequentially, Sony Ericsson improved sales and margins significantly due to efficiency programs and new products, while ST-Ericsson's loss increased mainly due to lower sales and seasonality. Restructuring charges in joint ventures were SEK 0.1 b in the quarter.


Some highlights for the quarter:

• Networks' sales in the quarter declined by -14% year-over-year, positively impacted by CDMA sales.
  However, tight industry component supply conditions affected sales in the quarter. This was more than
  offset by the acquired CDMA operations.
  
  
• Voice related sales, such as 2G access and core continued to decline. Increased mobile broadband
  (3G) sales, including radio, mobile backhaul and packet core, partly offset this impact.
  
  
• Global Services sales grew 3% year-over-year and declined -22% sequentially. Professional Services sales
  increased 4% year-over-year and in local currencies growth amounted to 12% year-over-year. Managed
  Services sales in the quarter increased by 17% year-over-year.
  
  
• Network Rollout sales increased 3% year-over-year.
  
  
• There is a continued good demand for services targeting the operational efficiency of operators, such
  as managed services, systems integration and consulting. Services related to 2G voice sales
  developed unfavorably.
  
  
• Multimedia sales in the quarter decreased by -29% year-over-year and -31% sequentially, due to continued
  slower sales of revenue management solutions in regions Sub-Saharan Africa, Middle East and South
  East Asia and Oceania. Sales in multimedia brokering (IPX) were also somewhat slower.
  The TV business continued to show good development with strong demand for compression technology and
  IPTV solutions.
  
  
• Sony-Ericsson shipped 10.5 million units in the quarter, a decrease of 28% year-over-year. Sales in the quarter were EUR 1,405 million, a decrease of 19% year-over- year.
  
  
• ST-Ericsson's net sales in the quarter showed a -18% decrease sequentially, due to the impact of the ongoing
  portfolio transition, to seasonal effects as well as the number of days in the quarter.

Market Observations and Milestones

• Global mobile data traffic has surpassed voice traffic.



• In addition, 3G/WCDMA traffic has surpassed GSM traffic.



• Ericsson's findings show that mobile data traffic globally grew 280% during the last two years
  and is forecast to double annually over the next five years. The data traffic growth is contributing to
  operator revenue growth as more and more consumers use data traffic generating devices, such
  as smartphones and laptops.



• Mobile subscriptions grew by 184 million in the quarter to a total of 4.8 billion, returning to higher growth levels.



• Global mobile penetration is now 70%.



• China and India alone accounted for 44% of net mobile additions in Q1 2010 with 28 and
  53 million respectively.



• The global number of new WCDMA subscriptions grew by 39 million in the quarter to a total of 490 million, of
  which 225 million are estimated to be HSPA. In the fourth quarter 2009, fixed broadband connections
  grew to 457 million, adding 19 million subscribers.

http://www.ericsson.com

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SES-1 Successfully Launched from Kazakhstan

SES-1, a hybrid C- and Ku-band spacecraft that will provide coverage over the United States, was successfully roared into space on board a Proton Breeze M booster from the Baikonour Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The satellite was built by Orbital Sciences Corporation and is owned an operated by SES WORLD SKIES. The spacecraft is poised to be the 42nd satellite in SES' global fleet.


The spacecraft carries 24 active C-band and 24 Ku-band transponders of 36 MHz capacity each. Six of the channels in each band can be cross-strapped to the opposite band, enabling new service capability.
http://www.ses.com

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Equinix Opens Second IBX Data Center in Amsterdam

Equinix is ready to open its new Amsterdam (AM2) International Business Exchange (IBX) data center, which has been under development since November 2009. The first phase represents an expected investment of approximately $40.0 million and provides 480 cabinets equivalents. The second phase is targeted for completion during the third quarter of 2010 and is expected to provide an additional 520 cabinets equivalents. A third phase, to be timed to meet market demand, will provide an additional 500 cabinet equivalents.


Equinix noted that its new AM2 IBX data center represents its fourth facility in The Netherlands, including two IBX data centers located in Enschede and Zwolle, and is part of the company's $2.0 billion investment to expand operations between 2007 and 2010.
http://www.equinix.com

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Voltaire Enables Virtualized 10 GbE Data Center Fabric

At this week's Interop in Las Vegas, Voltaire will demonstrate the industry's first end-to-end, virtualized, scale-out data center across a multi-vendor 10 Gigabit Ethernet fabric.


In the demonstration, Voltaire's recently introduced Unified Fabric Manager (UFM) 3.0 software orchestrates physical and virtual switches delivering guaranteed levels of service per application. The demonstration will include 10 GbE networking products from Voltaire, BLADE Network Technologies, HP ProCurve, Intel and Emulex, and virtualization software from VMware.


Specifically, the demonstration includes the Voltaire Vantage 8500, a low latency 10 GbE Layer 2 core switch, which provides CEE capabilities such as lossless traffic, as well as the BLADE RackSwitch G8124, HP ProCurve 6600-24XG switch, Intel Ethernet Server Adapter X520-DA2, Emulex OneConnect Universal Converged Network Adapters (UCNAs), and VMware ESX 4.0. The converged fabric also tunnels storage traffic over 10GbE with virtualized connectivity to Fibre Channel storage.


"The dynamic and shared nature of today's virtualized data center and cloud computing environments is creating new challenges in maintaining security and service levels," said Asaf Somekh, vice president of marketing, Voltaire. "Resolving these challenges requires a new kind of fabric orchestration solution that translates service or application requirements to data center fabric policies in real-time. Voltaire's UFM software for Ethernet essentially functions as the data center fabric operating system and automatically configures fabric resources as services are added or mobilized across the data center."http://www.voltaire.com

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Mindspeed Offer Signal Conditioning for Enterprise Applications

Mindspeed Technologies released its "Amplif-Eye" line of signal conditioners designed specifically for enterprise storage, computing and networking applications.

Optimal performance in PCI Express, SATA/SAS, RXAUI, Fiber Channel and Ethernet applications is often difficult to achieve because signal integrity could not be maintained across the systems' backplanes and cabling media.


Mindspeed's products address these problems by correcting for insertion loss, crosstalk, reflections due to impedance mismatches and other channel impairments associated with implementing multi-gigabit signaling between line cards and across their backplanes. The company notes that the signal-integrity problem has been magnified as enterprise data rates have doubled over the past few years to 5 Gbps for the most common server protocol, PCI Express, and 6Gbps for the most common enterprise-storage protocol, SAS. Signal conditioners resolve these problems in two general categories: Re-driving signal conditioners, which use transmit and receive equalization to correct for insertion loss, and re-timing signal conditioners, which add a Clock Data Recovery (CDR) circuit to address issues caused by crosstalk and reflections.


Mindspeed's Amplif-Eye enterprise signal-conditioning product line initially includes six re-driving and re-timing devices, with five other products scheduled to be added later this year. Each device is specifically designed to accommodate SAS, PCI Express, Interlaken and RXAUI protocols. Products in the family are fabricated in low-power CMOS technology to maintain the lowest possible power profile while maintaining best-in-class performance to assist system designers in the difficult task of migrating to the higher data rates.
http://www.mindspeed.com

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Unions Seeks Employment Assurances in Qwest-CenturyLink Deal

The Communications Workers of America voiced its concern over the merger "cost synergies" that were described as a driving factor for the recently announced Qwest Communications + CenturyLink deal.

In a press statement, the CWA said "Our nation is plagued by job cuts and Wall Street terms like 'merger synergies' that are often just shorthand for job cuts or pay cuts. President Obama's job summit and recent legislation put jobs front and center, not just at a conference but in all governmental decision-making.


Just weeks ago, the Federal Communications Commission published its broadband plan. Central to the plan is a one gigabit build-out to anchor institutions in every community, and by 2015, a build-out of 50 megabits down and 20 megabits up to 80 percent of households.


We will work with management, and with the FCC and state regulators, to make sure that this merger offers specific commitments to meet these goals."http://www.cwa-union.orghttp://

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NTT Com to Acquire Major Stake in Emerio GlobeSoft

NTT Communications (NTT Com) will acquire a 70% stake in Emerio GlobeSoft (Emerio), a leading technology services and outsourcing company based in Singapore. Financial terms were not disclosed.


Emerio offers application services, such as application development and maintenance; infrastructure services, such as IT service desks, server operation and maintenance, IT engineer dispatch, and end-user support; and business process outsourcing, such as support center business and account processing. The company employs about 1,400 people and has 14 worldwide bases in Australia, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Mainland China, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, U.K., U.S.A. and Vietnam.


NTT Com said the deal will enhance the coverage, cost effectiveness, reliability and quality of its global services and strengthen its ability to meet multinational companies' growing needs for globally seamless and one-stop solutions for networks, applications and servers.
http://www.ntt.com
http://www.emeriocorp.com

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Nokia Builds TD-SCDMA Portfolio for China Mobile

At the World Expo Shanghai 2010,, Nokia is unveiling two new TD-SCDMA devices: the Nokia X5 and the Nokia C5 for TD-SCDMA. Both devices, which are customized for China Mobile, feature a jointly offered mobile application store -- the Mobile Market-Ovi Store.


Connectivity to the Internet is provided through China Mobile's 3G (TD-SCDMA) network. They are offer preloaded applications such as CMCC Music, Mobile Video, Fetion IM, and the Mobile Market-Ovi Store.


"We are also very excited to become a board member of TD Forum after being involved in the forum's activities for years. We have a long-term commitment to TD-SCDMA and we take our leadership role very seriously. We will continue to drive for TD-SCDMA technology and market development as well as evolution towards TD-LTE. And thus will contribute the prosperity of TD-SCDMA in China, with both high quality TD-SCDMA devices and rich applications and services," said Chris Leong, Nokia Senior Vice President, Greater China, Korea & Japan.


The Nokia X5 is the first Nokia TD-SCDMA Symbian based entertainment device. It features a dedicated music key and easy access to CMCC music, a 5.0-megapixel camera, dual LED flash and video recording functions.


The Nokia C5 has a stainless-steel keypad in a compact design. It is pre-loaded with Fetion and 139 mailbox, and offers a 5.0 megapixel camera and a 2.4'' QVGA 16M color TFT display.
http://www.nokia.com

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Alcatel-Lucent's EPC Breaks 100 Gbps Barrier in Ixia Test

Alcatel-Lucent's Evolved Packet Core (EPC) solution broke the 100 Gbps barrier for mobile gateway performance in a test performed with Ixia.


A set of two Alcatel-Lucent 7750 Service Routers, deployed in the role of LTE/EPC Serving Gateway and Packet Data Network (PDN) gateway, were stressed using Ixia's IxLoad application and Acceleron load modules and successfully passed multimedia traffic over simultaneous 80 Gbps downstream and 20 Gbps upstream links.


Ixia IxLoad application and Acceleron load modules generated and tested a continuous flow of real-time traffic using more than 1.5 million active LTE connections (bearers) loaded at 65 Kbps each. This traffic, aggregated at more than 100 Gbps, was processed and passed across an Alcatel-Lucent EPC, which included two Alcatel-Lucent 7750 Service Routers. The scenario roughly equated to 1.5 million voice LTE channels or, inversely, more than 65,000 high-definition html-based H.264 video sessions running concurrently at aggregate speeds over 100 Gbps.


"These test results show that aggregate speeds over 100 Gbps are today's reality for the Alcatel-Lucent LTE Evolved Packet Core gateways -- speeds that are necessary to accommodate the exponential rise of traffic in the mobile broadband evolution," said Kevin Macaluso, Vice President and General Manager of the Service Router product group within Alcatel-Lucent.


"LTE is about massive increase of video and data traffic which demands massive throughput in the Evolved Packet Core," said Victor Alston, Senior Vice President, Product Development at Ixia. "This collaboration with Alcatel-Lucent sets a new benchmark for LTE data plane processing and showcases the best practices in LTE service quality validation."http://www.ixiacom.com
http://www.alcatel-lucent.com

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Overture Raises $17.2 Million for Carrier Ethernet

Overture Networks has closed an additional $17.2M round of equity funding to support its Carrier Ethernet offerings.


Overture Networks supplies Carrier Ethernet edge and aggregation equipment to more than 225 service providers and enterprise customers worldwide. Its ISG family can deliver Carrier Ethernet over fiber, SONET/SDH, and TDM/PDH. The privately-held company is based in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina with a technology center in Richardson, Texas.


The new round of funding was lead by QuestMark Partners, who joins existing investors, including Intel Capital, Intersouth Partners, Morgenthaler Ventures, Tenaya Capital, TDF Fund and Gray Ventures. In addition, Tim Krongard, Partner, QuestMark Partners will take a seat on Overture's Board.
http://www.overturenetworks.comhttp://

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Level 3 Delivers Managed Video Network for ABC

Level 3 Communications will provide its Managed Video Network Services (MVNS) platform to ABC News locations in New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., allowing the broadcaster to move more video and data content. Under a three-year contract, Level 3 will install its MVNS offering at each of the ABC News Bureau locations. The broadcaster will have direct access to Level 3's Tier 1 Internet backbone allowing transmission of both video and data from a single platform. Level 3 will also provide Ethernet Virtual Private Line network (EVPL).
http://www.level3.comhttp://

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PMC-Sierra Posts Revenues of $153 Million, Up 49%

PMC-Sierra reported Q1 net revenues of $152.8 million, a year-over-year increase of 49% compared with $102.6 million in the first quarter of 2009, and 9.5% higher than revenues of $139.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2009.


Net income in the first quarter of 2010 on a GAAP basis was $27.0 million (GAAP diluted earnings per share of $0.12) compared with a GAAP net loss in the first quarter of 2009 of $3.9 million (GAAP loss per share of $0.02). Non-GAAP net income in the first quarter of 2010 was $43.5 million (non-GAAP diluted earnings per share of $0.19) compared with non-GAAP net income of $12.4 million (non-GAAP diluted earnings per share of $0.06) in the first quarter of 2009. On a year-over-year basis, this represents growth in non-GAAP net income of $31.1 million or 251%.


"In the first quarter of 2010, we experienced improving demand in our Wide Area Network Infrastructure business and saw the continuation of healthy demand in our Enterprise Storage business as global IT spending improves year over year," said Greg Lang, president and chief executive officer of PMC-Sierra. "Revenue in the first quarter of 2010 was 9% above our previous quarterly revenue peak in the second quarter of 2008, while non-GAAP net income was 46% above the second quarter of 2008."http://www.pmc-sierra.comhttp://

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Nokia Siemens Networks Announces EUR 750 Million Contracts in China

Nokia Siemens Networks has signed frame agreements with China Mobile and China Unicom to continue purchasing GSM, WCDMA and TD-SCDMA mobile network equipment and solutions. The two Chinese operators signed similar agreements last year as part of the China-Europe Purchasing delegation.


Under the scope of the current agreements, China Mobile plans to purchase Nokia Siemens Networks' GSM and TD-SCDMA network equipment, and its IP Multimedia Subsystem solution.


China Unicom, on the other hand, will source Nokia Siemens Networks' GSM and WCDMA equipment, as well as its HSPA solution, while continuing to purchase the company's unique "direct tunnel" packet core technology. Direct tunnel will help the operator cost-effectively keep pace with the rising demand for data traffic.


Nokia Siemens Networks noted that it has steadily built up a strong manufacturing, R&D, operations and distribution presence in China. Three of its nine manufacturing sites are located in the country. Nokia Siemens Networks has also significantly invested in R&D activities in China, creating a TD-LTE competence center in Hangzhou, with plans to increase its R&D staff during 2010.
http://www.nsn.com

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Gigamon Introduces Smaller Data Access Switch for Monitoring Tools

Gigamon introduced an entry level version of its Data Access Switch, which aggregates, multicasts, filters and divides traffic flows across multiple passive monitoring tools.


The GigaVUE-212 is a modular packet-aware Data Access Switch with much of the same functionality as the company's existing platforms. It offers an eight 1GE ports and two 10GE ports with an optional expansion module for support of another four 1GE ports.


Gigamon's data access switch provides span ports for out-of-band monitoring of complex and remote networks. The new GigaVUE-212 can be used by data centers or enterprises who either require a low-cost option in order to enhance their network monitoring for the first time, or who have areas of their networks where they need lower port counts to support monitoring.
http://www.gigamon.com

• Earlier this year, Gigamon released new "GigaSMART" software that leverages 10 Gbps, full line-rate packet modification technology to offer time stamping, network port labeling, slicing and masking capabilities.

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AT&T Wi-Fi Network Sees 5X Traffic Growth in Q1 YoY

AT&T reported that use of its more than 20,000 U.S. Wi-Fi hotspots surged to 53.1 million connections in the first quarter. This is nearly five times higher than the 10.7 million connections made in the first quarter last year, and more than half of the 85.5 million total Wi-Fi connections made in 2009.


The Wi-Fi network is designed to complement AT&T's wireless and wired broadband networks. At the end of the first quarter, nearly 32 million AT&T customers had AT&T Wi-Fi access included with their qualifying smartphone, AT&T High Speed Internet and 3G LaptopConnect plans, an added value and convenience that drives Wi-Fi usage. Many smartphones, including the iPhone support auto-authentication at AT&T Wi-Fi Hot Spots. In Q1, 69 percent of Wi-Fi connections were made from smartphones and integrated devices, up from 35 percent a year ago in the first quarter of 2009.


The total number of AT&T broadband connections -- which includes both wireline broadband and wireless LaptopConnect cards -- grew by 278,000 in the first quarter to reach 17.5 million in service.
http://www.att.com

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Vitesse Introduces EcoEthernet Technology Exceeding 802.3az

Vitesse Semiconductor introduced its second generation "EcoEthernet" technology, with power-saving features exceeding the IEEE's 802.3az Energy Efficient Ethernet standards.



EcoEthernet 2.0 silicon, which is designed for enterprise LAN, data center and carrier Ethernet switches, optimizes performance for all link speeds, while providing unique energy-saving capabilities for temperature monitoring, smart fan control, and adjustable LED brightness.


Vitesse said its technology enables Gigabit Ethernet ports to dissipate well below 400 mW, while drawing less than 200 mW when operating in Fast Ethernet speeds. Features intended to reduce fan and front-panel display power ensure that switches and Carrier access systems based on EcoEthernet 2.0 will offer the lowest possible energy use for the next generation of green network appliances.


The recent work of the IEEE's 802.3az EEE Task Force to establish further green opportunities for Ethernet are aligned with coalition efforts such as The Green Grid and GreenTouch for making Enterprise, data center, and telecom networks more energy efficient. Vitesse's EcoEthernet technology allows manufacturers to design products for these emerging standards.


"Until now, most Ethernet IC development has focused solely on the cost and performance gains achieved by using 65-nm technology. However, relying on this process alone is not a comprehensive green strategy," said Jason Rock, product marketing manager at Vitesse.

As part of the EcoEthernet portfolio, Vitesse is introducing a 12-port Gigabit Ethernet PHY device with dual media copper and fiber support. It features "ActiPHY" automatic link-power down and "PerfectReach" intelligent cable algorithm, along with IEEE 802.3az idle power savings, temperature monitoring, smart fan control, and adjustable LED brightness.

Vitesse notes that the new IC achieves its breakthrough power dissipation of 370 mW/port for 1000BASE-T copper and 150 mW for fiber, not only through optimal design techniques in a 65-nm CMOS process, but through support of both low pin count SGMII and QSGMII interfaces. Sampling begins this quarter.


"The unprecedented density of Vitesse's new 12-port VSC8512, combined with its EcoEthernet 2.0 technology simplifies designing next-generation green Enterprise switches and Carrier Ethernet switch and routers with 24-, 48-, and even 96-ports in a single line card," said Rock.
http://www.vitesse.com/green

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Verizon: Wireless Data Grows as Other Areas Slow

Verizon Communications reported Q1 2010 financial results in line with expectations with its strongest area of growth in wireless data services, FiOS and broadband, as traditional services declined and subscriber growth slowed. Verizon Wireless recorded 1.5 million total net customer additions for Q1 2010.


Verizon's total operating revenues were $26.9 billion in the first quarter of 2010, an increase of 1.2 percent compared with the first quarter of 2009. Net income attributable to Verizon was $0.4 billion in the first quarter of 2010, compared with $1.6 billion in the first quarter of 2009.


Capital expenditures totaled $3.5 billion in the first quarter of 2010. Although this was down 6.8 percent from the first quarter of 2009, Verizon reiterated its guidance that total 2010 capital spending will range from $16.8 billion to $17.2 billion.


Highlights include:

Verizon Wireless

Added 423,000 retail postpaid and 284,000 total retail customers in the quarter, excluding acquisitions and adjustments. Nearly 95 percent of the company's customers are retail, the most retail customers of any U.S. wireless provider. The company had 87.8 million retail customers at the end of the first quarter, an increase of 4.4 percent year over year.


The total number of customers at the end of the quarter was 92.8 million, an increase of 7.2 percent year over year, with 1.5 million total net customer additions in the first quarter 2010. In addition, the company has 7.3 million other connections, including machine-to-machine (M2M), eReaders and telematics, bringing total connections to 100.1 million.


Retail postpaid churn, retail churn and total customer churn was 1.07 percent, 1.46 percent and 1.40 percent, respectively. All are improved year over year.


Retail service revenues in the quarter totaled $13.4 billion, up 5.0 percent year over year. Retail data revenue was up 25.6 percent to $4.5 billion. Service revenues in the first quarter were $13.8 billion, up 5.9 percent. Total revenues were $15.8 billion, up 4.4 percent year over year.


Retail service ARPU was flat at $50.95. Retail data ARPU increased to $17.06, up 19.6 percent year over year.


Wireless operating income margin was 28.9 percent, an increase of 0.7 percentage points year over year. Segment EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) margin on service revenues (non-GAAP) was 46.0 percent, the same as first-quarter 2009.


Wireline

First-quarter 2010 operating revenues were $11.2 billion, a decline of 2.9 percent compared with first-quarter 2009. This is an improvement of 1.0 percentage point compared with the year-over-year revenue declines reported in the fourth quarter 2009.


First-quarter 2010 operating expenses were $11.1 billion, an increase of 1.7 percent compared with first-quarter 2009. In first-quarter 2010, savings from continued workforce reductions and other initiatives were more than offset by weather-related expenses in the Northeast, and incremental pension and retiree benefit expenses.


Broadband connections totaled 9.3 million at the end of the first quarter 2010, a 4.3 percent year-over-year increase. This is a net increase of 90,000 from the fourth quarter 2009, as the increase in FiOS Internet connections more than offset a decrease in DSL-based High Speed Internet connections.

As of the end of first-quarter 2010, the FiOS network passed 15.6 million premises. Verizon continues to target passing 18 million premises with FiOS. Since the company has already secured video franchises to meet this target, it is spreading the passing of remaining premises several years past 2010.



New Verizon offerings for multinational corporate and government customers included a cloud-based data backup service offered jointly with IBM; a managed mobility solution tailored to government customers; a managed immersive videoconferencing solution with Cisco; and new professional consulting services.


Continuing to broaden its global scope and capabilities, Verizon installed 11 additional Private IP edge routers for a total of 763 edge routers in 215 sites throughout 59 countries. The company also expanded its Private IP network into three additional Latin American locations -- Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and Santiago, Chile. Additionally, Verizon enhanced its Trans-Atlantic global mesh network to eight-way diversity with the addition of the Atlantic Crossing-1 cable system.
http://www.verizon.com

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Nokia: SmartPhone Sales Rise, NSN is Profitable

Citing tough competition in high-end mobile devices, Nokia reported Q1 2010 net sales of EUR 9.5 billion, up 3% year-on-year and down 21% sequentially (up 1% and down 21% at constant currency).
. Nokia continues to expect industry mobile device volumes to be up approximately 10% in 2010, compared to 2009 (based on its revised definition of the industry mobile device market applicable beginning in 2010).


For Nokia Siemens Networks, first quarter 2010 net sales decreased 9% to EUR 2.7 billion, compared with EUR 3.0 billion in the first quarter 2009, reflecting challenging competitive factors and market conditions. However, gross profit increased 11% to EUR 782 million, compared with EUR 703 million in the first quarter 2009, with a gross margin of 28.8% (23.5%).


Some highlights for the quarter:

• Devices & Services net sales of EUR 6.7 billion, up 8% year-on-year and down 19% sequentially (up 7% and down 19% at constant currency). A key highlight in Q1 was the inclusion of navigation into Nokia smartphones. Devices & Services net sales are forecast to be between EUR 6.7 billion and EUR 7.2 billion in the second quarter 2010.



• Services net sales of EUR 148 million, down 12% sequentially; billings of EUR 228 million, up 1% sequentially.



• Nokia total mobile device volumes of 107.8 million units, up 16% year-on-year and down 15% sequentially.



• Nokia converged mobile device (smartphone and mobile computer) volumes of 21.5 million units, up 57% year-on-year and up 3% sequentially. The company believes its device market share was 33 percent in Q1 -- down 2 percent sequentially



• Nokia mobile device ASP (including services revenue) of EUR 62, down from EUR 64 in Q4 2009.



• Devices & Services gross margin of 32.4%, down from 33.8% in Q1 2009 and 34.3% in Q4 2009.



• Devices & Services non-IFRS operating margin of 12.1%, up from 10.4% in Q1 2009 and down from 15.4% in Q4 2009.



• NAVTEQ non-IFRS net sales of EUR 189 million, up 41% year-on-year and down 16% sequentially (up 46% and down 18% at constant currency).



• Nokia Siemens Networks net sales of EUR 2.7 billion, down 9% year-on-year and down 25% sequentially (down 12% and 27% at constant currency).



• Nokia Siemens Networks non-IFRS operating margin of 0.6%, up from -4.1% in Q1 2009 and down from 5.5% in Q4 2009.



• Nokia operating cash flow of EUR 1.0 billion.



• Total cash and other liquid assets of EUR 9.7 billion at the end of Q1 2010.

"During the quarter, we also demonstrated our ability to deliver the Nokia smartphone experience to consumers on a global scale, with our smartphone shipments up by more than 50% year-on-year... In infrastructure, Nokia Siemens Networks' profitability benefited from a positive sales mix in Q1. I am also pleased to see encouraging results from the company's focus on helping operators meet the challenge of the rapid growth in data and signaling traffic from smartphones," stated Olli-Pekka KALLASVUO, Nokia's CEO.
http://www.nokia.com
http://www.nsn.com

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