Monday, January 14, 2013

Canadian Court: Former Nortel Execs Not Guilty of Fraud

The Ontario Superior Court has acquitted Nortel's CEO, Frank Dunn, its former CFO, Douglas Beatty, and its former controller, Michael Gollogly of fraud charges in a case dating back to 2002 and 2003.

Nortel posted significant losses in 2001 and 2002 and downsized its work force by nearly two-thirds. Later 2002 and 2003, Nortel published financial results that made it appear as though the company was recovering faster than in actuality.  The three former executives were charged with manipulating the company's financial statements so as to appear more profitable and garner bonus payments for themselves.  The defendants argued that their accounting methods were approved by the company's outside auditor, Deloitte & Touche.

http://www.canlii.org/


  • In June 2008, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) formally filed criminal charges against Frank Dunn, the former CEO of Nortel; Douglas Beatty, the former CFO of Nortel; and Michael Gollogly, the former Corporate Controller of Nortel.  The charge alleged the three men made false entries and omitted materials particular in the books and documents in regards to the financial results of Nortel.
  • In January 2005, Nortel released key findings of an extensive, independent review, which found that its former corporate management (terminated for cause) and former finance management (also terminated for cause) in the company's finance organization endorsed, and employees carried out, accounting practices relating to the recording and release of provisions that "were not in compliance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("U.S. GAAP") in at least four quarters, including the third and fourth quarters of 2002 and the first and second quarters of 2003." In three of those four quarters - when Nortel was at, or close to, break even - these practices were undertaken to meet internally imposed pro-forma earnings before taxes ("EBT") targets.  Nortel posted significant losses in 2001 and 2002 and downsized its work force by nearly two-thirds. The doctored results from 2002/3 made it look as though the company was recovering faster than in actuality.
  • On 27-April-2004, Nortel fired Frank Dunn "for cause." Nortel Networks also fired its former chief financial officer, Douglas Beatty, and former controller, Michael Gollogly, both of whom had been placed on paid leave of absence by Nortel Networks on 15-March-2004.


Southern Cross Cuts Trans-Pacific Prices with 40/100G Upgrade

The Southern Cross Trans-Pacific submarine cable network, which connects Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Hawaii and the west coast of the U.S., is cutting prices by 20% thanks to its 40G & 100G upgrade programme, which is due for completion in February.

Southern Cross said its latest price decline marks the second stage of the eighth major capacity expansion programme since 2001. The current stage is based on Ciena’s 40Gbps transmission equipment and takes total lit capacity on the Southern Cross Network to 2 Tbps.  The third stage of the current expansion programme is being implemented concurrently and is based on Ciena's 100 Gbps transmission equipment. 100G technology is already installed on some network segments and will take lit capacity to 2.6 Tbps by June 2013.


“We have reduced our capacity prices by another 20%”, said Sales and Marketing Director Ross Pfeffer. “This will be our 10th major price reduction since 2000 and over the period our price decline has averaged more than 22% per year... Our protected circuits continue to provide 100% availability and the performance of the six fibre pairs and 500 repeaters on the diverse cable network is better today than when constructed more than 10 years ago."

http://www.southerncrosscables.com/News/another-southern-cross-price-drop

  • The Southern Cross upgrades use Ciena's 6500 platforms equipped with 40G and 100G submarine-grade coherent line interfaces on each of Southern Cross’ seven segments. Southern Cross is also using Ciena’s 5430 and 5410 Reconfigurable Switching Systems, which offer 3.6 Tbs) and 1.2 Tbps of OTN-based intelligent control plane-enabled switching capacity for bandwidth aggregation and management.

Level 3 Connects NATO-Russia Council Air Traffic Monitoring


The NATO Communications and Information (NCI) Agency has selected Level 3 Communications to install and maintain an IP Virtual Private Network (VPN) to be used by the NATO-Russia Council Cooperative Airspace Initiative (NRC CAI).

The joint NRC will have a 24/7 capability to monitor air traffic, thereby enhancing airspace transparency between NATO and Russia.   Level 3 said its network will connect a range of NATO monitoring facilities and enable real-time display and observation of commercial airspace activities.

http://www.level3.com

Radisys Increases Q4 Guidance on Strong Finish to Year


Radisys boosted its financial guidance for Q4 2012 saying it now expects revenue to be near the high end of the range provided on October 30, 2012 and positive non-GAAP earnings per share compared to a previous guidance range of ($0.06) to breakeven.

"A strong finish to the year in our software and solutions business along with continued operational focus enabled us to return to profitability more quickly than originally expected,” commented Brian Bronson, Radisys President and Chief Executive Officer. "Additionally, we generated positive cash flow in the fourth quarter and have adequate liquidity to retire the $16.9 million of convertible debt coming due in February 2013. We will set a specific earnings release and conference call date over the next month. I look forward to sharing the full results for the quarter, go forward guidance, and an update on the strategic objectives we outlined in October at that time."

http://www.radisys.com

Aviat Boosts Financial Guidance

Aviat Networks boosted its financial outlook for its second quarter of fiscal 2013, ended 28-Dec-2012, saying it now expects revenue in the range of $123M - $126M.  The prior guidance range was $115M - $120M.  Orders were greater than revenues.

http://investors.aviatnetworks.com

Ixia Boosts Q4 Outlook

Ixia increased its Q4 2012 revenue guidance to be in the range of $123.5 million to $124.5 million, above its previously stated guidance range of $118 million to $122 million.

Combined Q4 revenue from its two recent acquisitions, Anue Systems and BreakingPoint Systems is expected to be in the range of $30 to $31 million, compared with its previously stated guidance of $26 to $28 million.

"Ixia delivered an impressive fourth quarter with strong momentum across all of our solutions," commented Vic Alston, Ixia's president and chief executive officer. “The integration of our Anue and BreakingPoint acquisitions is tracking well and we are increasing our presence at enterprise and service provider accounts. Ixia is well positioned to help these customers accelerate and secure the delivery of applications over their mobile and data center networks."

http://www.ixiacom.com

Softbank Tests Sequans LTE Interference Cancellation


Softbank has conducted a technical trial of Sequans’ AIR (advanced interference rejection) technology to determine its value in mitigating interference in LTE networks. Sequans AIR is an interference mitigation algorithm whereby the receiver uses multiple antennas to form a receive beam toward the desired signal and spatial nulls toward interfering signals.

Sequans said the laboratory trial used commercial eNodeBs (base stations) commonly deployed in Softbank’s network and a receiver equipped with Sequans AIR.  This was tested against a default receiver in both high mobility (vehicular) and low mobility (pedestrian) scenarios. In both cases the Sequans AIR receiver delivered performance gains well above the default receiver, measured at 7dB in the low mobility case and 9dB in the high mobility case.

Sequans notes that its AIR technology is designed to work in any LTE network, regardless of eNodeB vendor, carrier frequency, channel bandwidth, or duplexing method.

"These gains are meaningful to operators and their end users,” said Georges Karam, Sequans CEO. “In the low mobility case, we showed that a Sequans AIR receiver can handle about five times as much interference as a non-Sequans AIR receiver, and for the high mobility case, the Sequans AIR receiver can handle about eight times as much interference. This translates into 10 Mbps higher throughput in the low mobility case and 14 Mbps higher throughput in the high mobility case. In very high interference areas, such as might be encountered near cell edges, users can expect to get three times better throughput—this can mean users staying connected in conditions where other devices would be dropped from the network.”

http://www.sequans.com/

Volex Acquires AppliedMicro Active Optical

Volex has acquired active optical technology from AppliedMicro for approximately US$2 million. Under the deal, AppliedMicro has agreed to a five-year non-compete in connection with the marketing and sale of active optical cables, transceivers, modules and related assemblies. The companies also agreed to share ownership of the associated active optical patent portfolio, allowing each company to continue development of the technologies, and forming the basis for the two companies to collaborate on next-generation optical interconnect products and solutions.

"We chose Volex to take the platform forward due to its strong focus on the active optical cable space and extensive customer relationships in data-center markets," said George Jones, vice president of marketing and business development for connectivity solutions at AppliedMicro.

Volex said the acquisition supports its entry into the emerging multi-billion dollar optical interconnect market for high-speed data applications in data center and telecommunications, as well as the consumer, healthcare and industrial markets.

Ray Walsh, Volex CEO, stated: "Our data-center and telecommunications customers have been asking for a cost-effective, high-speed optical solution to replace legacy copper interconnects."

http://www.apm.com/
http://www.volex.com/


European Cybercrime Centre Opens in the Hague

A new European Cybercrime Centre (EC3) has opened in the Hague, Netherlands.   EC3 will focus on illegal online activities carried out by organised crime groups, especially attacks targeting e-banking and other online financial activities, online child sexual exploitation and those crimes that affect the critical infrastructure and information systems in the EU.

http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-13-13_en.htm

Sunday, January 13, 2013

GSA: LTE is now Mainstream - 145 Networks Launched

There are now 145 mobile operators who have launched commercial LTE service in 66 countries, according to the Global mobile Suppliers Association (GSA), and this number is forecast to reach 234 LTE networks in service by the end of 2013.  Meanwhile, the number of LTE subscriptions increased almost 10-fold in the year to September 2012, reaching 44 million.

Some other observations from the GSA's newly published Evolution to LTE report:

The majority of network deployments use FDD and operate in paired spectrum.
  • 1800 MHz (3GPP band 3) has emerged as the dominant band for LTE network deployments in virtually all regions of the world.
  • 58 operators i.e. 40% of all commercial LTE operators, use 1800 MHz spectrum either as a single band system, or as part of a multi-band deployment, in 39 countries. At least another 22 LTE 1800 network deployments are in progress in the Asia Pacific region, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America.
  • 130 LTE products, almost 1 in 4, support LTE 1800.
  • The second most popular band in which LTE systems are deployed is 2.6 GHz (band 7).
  • The TDD mode of the LTE standard has also gained strong traction and interest across the world. A total of 13 operators have launched commercial services using LTE TDD, which is the optimal solution for use in unpaired spectrum.
  • The FDD and TDD modes are fully complementary. LTE TDD shares most of the FDD design and standards and uses a common core network, and industry commitment is strong. Some operators have commercially launched LTE service using both FDD and TDD modes.
  • Six TDD systems are deployed in band 38 (2.6 GHz), five systems are in band 40 (2.3 GHz) and there is one deployment each in band 41 (2.5 GHz) and bands 42/43 (3.5 GHz). Bands 38 and 40 have the largest ecosystems for LTE TDD user devices.

http://www.gsacom.com

Ericsson Transfers Mobile Patents to Unwired Planet, Gains Access to Wider Portfolio

Ericsson will transfer 2,185 issued U.S. and international patents and patent applications to Unwired Planet, an intellectual property holding firm with many patents considered fundamental to mobile communications.

Under the deal, Ericsson will also contribute 100 additional patent assets annually to Unwired Planet commencing in 2014 through 2018.

In return, Ericsson gains access to Unwired Planet's enlarged patent portfolio. Ericsson will also gain rights in future revenues generated from the enlarged  patent portfolio.

"In 1997, Ericsson and Unwired Planet introduced the Wireless Application Protocol that
brought Internet access to mobile devices,” said Kasim Alfalahi, Chief Intellectual Property Officer, Ericsson. “Following this transaction, Unwired Planet’s portfolio will reflect decades of invention at the forefront of mobile infrastructure, handset technologies and over-the-top services. We are pleased to have concluded this business deal with Unwired Planet as an alternative channel for IP licensing.”

Unwired Planet is based in Reno, Nevada.

http://www.unwiredplanet.com

CITIC Telecom Buys Out Macau Telecom for US$1.2 Billion

CITIC Telecom will buy out the entire equity stakes in Companhia de Telecomunicações de Macau (CTM) that are currently held by Cable & Wireless Communications and PT (Portugal Telecom) for US$1,161.3 million (approximately HK$9,000.1 million).

 The deal consists of the 79% interest held by C&W and PT. CITIC previously held a 20% stake in CTM. Companhia de Telecomunicações de Macau is principally engaged in mobile, fixed line and broadband services in Macau and is a major supplier of enterprise telecom services to corporate customers in Macau.

CITIC Telecom is a subsidiary of CITIC Pacific Limited, a publicly traded Hong Kong corporation with diversified business expertise and interests in Hong Kong and Mainland China — including Special Steel manufacturing, Civil Infrastructure, Iron Ore Mining, Property, and Energy.

 http://www.citictel.com/

Streetline Raises $25 Million for M2M Smart Parking


Streetline, a start-up based in Foster City, California, raised $25 million in Series C funding for its M2M smart parking systems for cities.

Streetline says it now has more than 30 cities and universities using its real-time smart parking solutions.  The first two European deployments are in Braunschweig, Germany and Birmingham, U.K.

Streetline's patented smart parking platform detects the presence of a car through a network of ultra-low power wireless sensors located in individual parking spaces. Data from these sensors, or from counting equipment installed in parking garages and lots, is then made available in real time via various cloud-based applications, such as Parker, the leading consumer guidance app for smartphones, tablets, personal computers and – soon – in-car navigation systems, as well as other applications geared toward city planners and parking facility operators. In addition to real-time data, Streetline also integrates garage data for over 23,000 locations into the only unified and complete parking data package for consumers through Parker.

The new funding was led by True Ventures, and new investors Citi and Qualcomm Incorporated, acting through its venture investment group, Qualcomm Ventures. Pro-rata follow-on investments were made by Sutter Hill Ventures, RockPort Capital Partners, and Fontinalis Partners to complete the round. The Series C financing augments the $25 million credit facility Streetline recently secured from Citi that enables the company to offer innovative financing options for municipalities deploying smart parking solutions.

"Streetline is harnessing the power of the 'Internet of Things' to tackle one of the great unsolved urban problems: parking," said Zia Yusuf, president and CEO of Streetline. "With more than 30 deployments in both the U.S. and Europe, we've moved beyond smart parking as a concept to smart parking as a reality. This investment is a validation of Streetline's achievements to date and represents a considerable endorsement of our future growth potential globally. We are delighted to welcome our new investors True Ventures, Citi, and Qualcomm and the continued support of Sutter Hill, RockPort Capital and Fontinalis."

http://www.streetline.com

Streetline recently announced a collaboration with Cisco to bring smart parking to two Silicon Valley cities (San Mateo and San Carlos).

Guavus Raises $30 Million for Big Data Analytics for Carriers

Guavus, a start-up based in San Mateo, California with R&D in India, closed a $30 million round of new funding to support its big data analytics solutions

Guavus specializes in big data analytics solutions for tier-1 communications service providers.  It offers a suite of decisioning applications that have pre-built intelligence for faster time to insights across network, device, content and subscriber analytics.  The company said its solutions have allowed carriers to both realize cost savings by optimizing network capacity and increase revenues by delivering a better consumer experience.

Guavus claims two of the top three mobile operators and backbone carriers in the United States utilize Guavus Big Data analytics solutions.

The funding round was led by Investor Growth Capital (IGC) with participation from QuestMark Partners and previous investors Artiman Ventures, Sofinnova Ventures and Intel Capital.

“The explosion in sensor, operational and network data presents an unprecedented opportunity for businesses in every industry to deliver and optimize services, continuously,” said Anukool Lakhina, founder and CEO of Guavus.  “To generate value from this data, they need a new data fabric that fuses disparate sources of data streaming on the network with existing information systems, and provides contextually-aware decisioning applications that can be used to trigger business processes at the exact moment of need."

http://www.guavus.com/

Guavus was founded in February 2006.

American Airlines' New A320s, 737s Use Both Satellite and Air-to-Ground Internet

Gogo has been selected to install two in-flight connectivity solutions on American Airlines' new Airbus A320 family and Boeing 737 deliveries: Ku-band satellite and Gogo's next generation Air to Ground technology - ATG-4.

The dual systems will enable the aircraft to provide seamless in-flight internet service on domestic and international flights.  Installations will occur as the new aircraft are delivered to American beginning in 2013.

"Installing the two systems helps ensure these aircraft will stay connected wherever they fly, whether they're flying domestically or headed to an international destination," said Gogo's president and CEO,Michael Small.  "Gogo's ability to deploy multiple connectivity solutions gives us the flexibility to install the right technology for each individual aircraft regardless of its mission. American's decision to use both solutions is further acknowledgment of the significant advantages of the dual system for an enhanced customer experience."

http://www.gogoair.com


  • Gogo was previously selected to outfit existing MD-80 and Boeing 737, 757 and 767 aircraft in American's domestic fleet. Gogo service is currently available on more than 400 American aircraft.


Brocade Wins Permanent Injunction Against A10 Networks

A U.S. court in San Jose, California confirmed a $60 million damages verdict against A10 Networks and entered an order permanently enjoining A10 from infringing on Brocade's patents involving technologies for Global Server Load Balancing and High Availability. The Court enjoined A10 from "making, using, selling, or offering to sell in the United States, or importing into the United States any AX series application delivery controller that includes features that infringe" on these asserted claims.

Last August, a jury found for Brocade on four claims of patent infringement involving technologies for Global Server Load Balancing and High Availability and found that the A10 AX Series line of load balancers infringe on these specific patents.

"We appreciate the Court's careful attention to the evidence and its willingness to enforce important intellectual property rights," said Tyler Wall, vice president and general counsel at Brocade.

For its part, A10 Networks described the court ruling as "a narrowly-tailored injunction against certain products," noting that the court explicitly held that "[c]ustomers of A10 who have already purchased and continue to use infringing AX Series devices shall not be affected by this injunction."


"We have already designed around the issue, completed rigorous testing of non-infringing software, and will ship AX Series products immediately to serve our outgoing and future orders," stated Lee Chen, CEO of A10 Networks.

http://newsroom.brocade.com/press-releases/update-brocade-awarded-permanent-injunction-in-in-nasdaq-brcd-973558

http://www.a10networks.com/

Thursday, January 10, 2013

AT&T's Project VIP Will Bring Wireless + Wireline Integration


Project VIP is on track and will deliver multiple benefits to AT&T as its wireless and wireline networks become more tightly integrated, said John Donovan, Senior Executive Vice President - AT&T Technology & Network Operations, speaking at the Citi Global Internet, Media & Telecommunications Conference on January 9th.

Objectives of the three year Project VIP include:

Densification of the wireless grid through multiple technology deployments, including 10,000+ new macro sites, 1,000+ distributed antenna systems, and 40,000+ small cells.  Over half of the densification will come from small cells.

Extending the wireline broadband network to 57 million homes.  Donovan spoke of a 100 Mbps ceiling for residential services as achievable in many locations.

Extending fiber to many more business locations.  The target is for 1 million more customer locations in 3 years.

With Project VIP, Donovan said he is most excited about the integration between AT&T's wireline and wireless networks. Packets are much more efficiently carried on the ground network than through the air. Fiber endpoints will drive small cell backhaul, reducing the need for new macro sites.

Donovan noted that AT&T achieved many network objectives in 2012, including bringing its LTE network to 170 million POPs and its HSPA+ network to 288 million POPs. The number of dropped calls on the AT&T network improved by 32% in 2012 over 2011.  Ethernet backhaul is now carrying 90% of mobile data

AT&T's work on cell site architecture is paying off in two areas:  providing a seamless experience between LTE and HSPA+, and ensuring that only one radio is drawing handset power.  The company plans to bring LTE to 300 million POPs by end of 2014.

Regarding the recent agreement with Akamai, Donovan said deal was driven by the rapid pace of the content distribution business.  The partnership with Akamai combines their ability to move at the pace of the market with the scale of the AT&T network.

An archived webcast of the presentation is on the AT&T Investor relations web page.
http://www.att.com/gen/landing-pages?pid=5718



  • On November 7, 2012, AT&T unveiled Project Velocity IP (VIP) -- its plan to invest $14 billion over the next three years to significantly expand and enhance its wireless and wireline IP broadband network. The plan adds $8 billion for wireless initiatives and $6 billion for wireline initiatives.  It also makes a distinction between areas where the company believes are better served wirelessly rather the through a traditional copper network or deploying a fiber infrastructure.
  • Total capital spending is now expected to be approximately $22 billion for each of next three years. The company said a stronger balance sheet has provided it the financial footing to invest. AT&T is also increasing its quarterly dividend 2.3 percent and is predicting EPS will grow by mid-single digits for the next 3 years with opportunity for stronger growth going forward.
  • The Project VIP plan includes an upgrade for U-verse to speeds of up to 75Mbps and for U-verse IPDSLAM to speeds of up to 45Mbps, with a path to deliver even higher speeds in the future.
  • In the 25 percent of AT&T's wireline customer locations where it's currently not economically feasible to build a competitive IP wireline network, the company said it will utilize its expanding 4G LTE wireless network -- as it becomes available -- to offer voice and high-speed IP Internet services. The company's 4G LTE network will cover 99 percent of all in-region customer locations. AT&T's 4G LTE network offers speeds competitive with, if not higher than, what is available on wired broadband networks today. 

Equinix Invests in Fourth Data Center in Tokyo

 Citing high demand for data center services in Japan, Equinix announced plans to invest $43 million  to build its fourth International Business Exchange™ (IBX®) data center, TY4, in ÅŒtemachi, Tokyo.

The new TY4 IBX data center  will be launched in two phases, providing total capacity of 750 cabinet equivalents. The first phase, scheduled to open in the third quarter of 2013, will offer initial capacity of 450 cabinet equivalents. TY4 will have direct fiber connectivity to Equinix's three other IBX data centers in the city, which will further facilitate customer interconnections.

ÅŒtemachi, located in the heart of Tokyo’s business district, is the Internet Exchange hub in Japan, with 90 percent of Internet traffic being exchanged in the area.

Equinix said the data center outsourcing market in Japan will reach a size of 1.4 trillion yen (US$20 billion) in 2015, based on figures from International Data Corporation (IDC).

“Tokyo is a strategic market for Equinix as it is one of the largest data center markets worldwide and a primary gateway for traffic from the U.S. to Asia. We believe our expanded presence in Japan will give our customers greater access to global network connectivity and capitalize on the opportunities presented by the Japanese market. We would like to thank Mitsubishi Estate for its support in securing ‘Otemachi Financial City’ for our TY4 data center.”

http://www.equinix.com/


  • Equinix currently lists over 194,000 sq. ft. colocation space in its current Tokyo data centers.


ETNO Looks for Further Deregulation in European Telecom Markets

The European Telecommunications Network Operators' Association (ETNO) will undertake a review of national markets with a goal determining where further deregulation could lead to increased investment.

ETNO said the main changes to the recommendation should include:


  • A reduction of the number of markets, in particular the retail market for access to the fixed telephone network: no competition issues are observed on this market where fixed telephony is increasingly subject to competition from mobile networks and consumers increasingly use online Over the Top services over broadband networks to keep in touch.
  • A new approach to wholesale regulation of broadband networks which takes into account all competing platforms at retail level (including cable and next generation mobile networks), in accordance with the principle of technological neutrality. National regulators should also be asked to analyse geographical differences within a national market, in order to focus regulation on uncompetitive areas.

“This review offers an opportunity to make another bold step towards the deregulation of the sector which is essential to unlock investments that are indispensable for meeting the policy goals of the Digital Agenda. The new recommendation should reflect the new regulatory paradigm for broadband investment announced by Vice President Kroes and take into account new market developments that should determine the scope of regulation for the years to come”, says Luigi Gambardella, ETNO Executive Board Chair.

 “In line with increased competition on the markets and rapid technological evolutions, the revision of the recommendation on relevant markets should not only lead to a reduction of the number of regulated markets. It should also imply a fundamental change in the way regulation applies to wholesale broadband markets”, says Daniel Pataki, ETNO Director.

http://www.etno.eu/news/etno/2013/117

Nokia Tops Q4 Estimates and NSN Hits Record Q4 Profits

Nokia reported good news:  sales of Devices & Services exceeded expectations and achieved underlying profitability in the fourth quarter 2012.  Specifically, its Mobile Phones business unit and Lumia portfolio delivered better than expected results; and operating expenses were lower than expected.  Devices & Services non-IFRS operating margin for the fourth quarter 2012 now expected to be between break even and positive 2 percent.

In addition, Nokia Siemens Networks exceeded expectations for the fourth quarter 2012, delivering record underlying profits and a third consecutive quarter of underlying profitability.  The company cited strong performance in higher margin product categories and geographic regions, along with better than expected cost management.  NSN's non-IFRS operating margin for the fourth quarter 2012 is now expected to be between 13 and 15 percent.

"We are pleased that Q4 2012 was a solid quarter where we exceeded expectations and delivered underlying profitability in Devices & Services and record underlying profitability in Nokia Siemens Networks. We focused on our priorities and as a result we sold a total of 14 million Asha smartphones and Lumia smartphones while managing our costs efficiently, and Nokia Siemens Networks delivered yet another very good quarter."

http://press.nokia.com/