OFC Service Provider Summit: BellSouth Highlights Network Evolution

BellSouth does not look at the optical part of its network in a vacuum. It is just one part of an interconnected network, said Bill Smith, Chief Product Development and Technical Officer of Bell South, speaking at OFC's Service Provider Summit in Atlanta this week. While it would be nice to create an all-new network on a fresh sheet of paper, reality requires a mix of solutions that integrate old and new, DSL, fiber and wireless. In addition, Smith said the ongoing operation of all network elements is more difficult than the initial rollout of equipment, requiring an integrated view of network planning and management. Smith described the on-going transformation of BellSouth's network to packet services, which will ultimately be delivered through MPLS, network-based IP-VPNs, and metro Gigabit Ethernet. Packet voice is developing through Internet Call Diversion (ICD), Packet Voice Tandem (PVT), VoIP, and IP Telephony Gateway (IPTG) technologies. Key optical advances for BellSouth include OC-192 MSPPs, wavelength services, and further rollouts of fiber to the business. Smith noted that BellSouth just completed deployment of an optical high performance core, which has reduced end-to-end latency from 100 to 20 ms across the carrier's entire region. In addition, key Internet access points have been reduced from nine to four, which Smith predicts will be helpful when confronting major viruses and worms like the recent Slammer virus. Future optical network upgrades will include OEO digital cross connects to address the complications, opportunities for failure, and difficulty of provisioning SONET networks. In addition, certain SONET networks will be upgraded to DWDM and systems will be deployed to offer metro Gigabit Ethernet and wavelength services. Smith also believes that disaster recovery and mainframe and off-site backup services could be very popular. Smith also shared several thoughts about the evolution of the access network.

• Delivery of voice, video and high-speed data on an integrated network is now a requirement.


• DSLAM deployments will take place deeper in the network


• As services evolve, the customer interface should change as little as possible. For instance, if BellSouth rolls out FTTH, there should be no need for customers to change their in-house wiring.


• Entertainment services via DSL are more promising than ever before. BellSouth's content partners now say that they need only 3 Mbps to deliver video. Breaking news and live sporting events need to be viewed in real time -- other programming can be delivered through personal video recorders.


• VDSL has great potential in multi family units. However, for neighborhoods of single-family homes, it is not clear that fiber reaches close enough to make VDSL viable. If fiber has to be run in closer, it might be better to go all the way to FTTH.


• PON has some appeal. The technology looks good, but pricing has not declined to where it needs to be. PON will be most likely used in greenfield and overbuild situations.


• Fixed wireless provides a good fill-in strategy, perhaps in rural areas and other places where DSL and FTTH do not make sense. BellSouth is now running a trial with Navini's fixed wireless system.

Smith observed that while service providers are constantly dealing with the challenging integration of multiple functions in the network, he is concerned that many system vendors are proposing solutions that try to accomplish too much in a single "god box style" platform. Instead, he feels that it may be better to have a more straightforward platform with just the key features. These are generally easier to implement and less expensive.
http://www.convergedigest.com

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Atheros Names New CEO

Atheros Communications named Dr. Craig Barratt as its new president and CEO, replacing Rich Redelfs, who will take on the new role of vice chairman of the board of directors. Barratt previously was vice president of technology for Atheros, and before that, he served as executive vice president and general manager at ArrayComm.
http://www.atheros.com

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Packet Design Raises $14.25 Million for IP Routing Control Plane Product

Packet Design Inc., a start-up based in Palo Alto, California, raised $14.25 million in Series B venture funding for its IP routing control plane developments. Packet Design's initial product, Route Explorer, was introduced in May 2002 as the first product to look into the IP "cloud" and leverage the routing protocols to gather, display and analyze routing-path information -- both in real time and historically -- enabling network managers to detect IP anomalies early and resolve them more quickly. Route Explorer has been shipping since mid-2002. A new version will be introduced next month. Prior to March 1, the company had existed as a set of internal technology projects of Packet Design LLC, a technology incubator founded by Judy Estrin and Bill Carrico. The new funding round was led by Advanced Technology Ventures and Mayfield Fund. Also participating in the round were Allegis Capital, Masthead Venture Partners, and Packet Design LLC.
http://www.packetdesign.com

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MeshNetworks Targets is P2P Wireless Architecture at Municipal Transport

MeshNetworks, a start-up based in Maitland, Florida, announced a VAR agreement with Viasys, a leading provider of infrastructure development and maintenance services for the transportation and power utility industries. The companies will position MeshNetworks' ad hoc, peer-to-peer mobile broadband architecture to help municipalities, counties and Departments of Transportation overcome the challenges of rolling out fixed and mobile wireless data networks. MeshNetworks also provides geo-location data without using GPS. Viasys installs and maintains traffic control, safety systems, and wireless communications solutions for every level of local, state and federal government.
http://www.meshnetworks.com

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MetaSolv Enhances its Service Activation Software

MetaSolv Software announced a set of enhancements to its service activation capabilities, including:

• IP services device support for Alcatel 7670 MPLS switches to activate MPLS VPNs and QoS;


• IP services device support for Cisco Catalyst layer 2 switches, including VLAN discovery and enabling activation of VLANs, QoS, and other CatOS features;


• IP services device support for Cisco Modular QoS CLI for policy driven activation of rich QoS features to enable delivery of VoIP, video and other multimedia services;


• Full support for the OSS Through Java Initiative's OSS Service Activation API (JSR 89 v1.0).

MetaSolv said more than 60 fixed and mobile operators worldwide are now using its service activation OSS.
http://www.metasolv.com

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SMC's High Power Wi-Fi Adapter Offers 4X Transmit Power

SMC Networks introduced the first product in a new series of "EliteConnect High Power" wireless networking products: an 802.11b High Power Wireless PC Card. with up to 200 milliWatts (mW) of transmit power -- nearly four times the power of standard PC cards and twice the power offered by any other PC card on the market. SMC said its new Wi-Fi adapter has an operating range of up to 2,700 feet -- almost three times greater than standard 802.11b wireless clients. It can also overcome significant indoor multipath distortion to provide improvements in networking quality and throughput. The range can be increased even further by attaching an optional high-gain antenna to one of the two available MMCX connectors. The card is priced at $139.
http://www.smc.com

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NetCentrex Supplies Softswitch for Lyse Tele's Triple-Play Service

Lyse Tele, a telecom company in the Southwest region of Norway, selected NetCentrex's MyCall platform for residential broadband IP telephony services. The NetCentrex softswitch solution provides self-service provisioning through the web and a voice portal, multiple call forward and voicemail. Lyse Tele, which is a subsidiary of the local power utility company, is building a fiber network to provide "triple-play" voice, video and data service. During the initial phase, Lyse Tele is providing flat rate Internet access (10 mbps), 40 channels of sport, culture, news and entertainment television, video on demand and telephony for EUR 100 per month.
http://www.lyse.nohttp://www.netcentrex.com

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Japan's ACCA Networks Deploys Juniper E-series

ACCA Networks, a Japanese DSL provider, is deploying Juniper Networks' E-series edge routers to support its consumer ADSL and premium enterprise DSL services. ACCA provides ADSL to major ISPs and premium DSL to carriers offering wide area Ethernet and IP VPN services. ACCA plans to expand by extending services to smaller ISPs and enterprise customers using the E-series platform's virtual routing capabilities. Financial terms were not disclosed.
http://www.juniper.net

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Unaxis Chooses Equant to Provide Global IP Data Network

Equant has built a 22-country IP VPN for the Unaxis Group, a Swiss information technology company. Equant said its MPLS backbone allows data traffic to be routed directly between Unaxis branch offices without having to pass through a server in Europe. The performance gain is especially notable between the company's Asian offices. Financial terms were not disclosed.
http://www.equant.com

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Level 3 Provides Packet Ethernet for Sony's EverQuest Multiplayer Game

Level 3 Communications is providing (3)Packet Ethernet service to Sony Online Entertainment to support the online game "EverQuest" and its future releases. Sony's "EverQuest" is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game that potentially involves thousands of individual players who participate by taking on the roles of characters known as "avatars." The (3)Packet service is carried over Level 3's MPLS network. Financial terms were not disclosed.
http://www.Level3.com

• Level 3 is the major provider of network services in North America and Europe for Microsoft's Xbox Live online video game service. Specifically, Level 3 provide its (3)Center Colocation, (3)CrossRoads Internet access, and (3)Packet MPLS Private Network (MPN) services to Xbox Live.

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Essient Extends Reach of XFP Capabilities to 40 Km

Essient Photonics, a start-up based in Scotland, announced that its Electro Absorption Modulator (EAM) technology could enable support of 40 km transmission within the constraints of the XFP specification. Essient has developed indium phosphide (InP)-based technology that enables integrated modulation, detection, and amplification components for 10 Gbps systems. Essient said its first product, an ultra-low power Electro Absorption Modulator at 10 Gbps, enables the overall module power characteristics to be reduced by more than 70% and the size to be reduced by over 35%, enabling the support of 1550nm Intermediate Reach solutions within an XFP package. The company expects it will be able to extend the transmission range beyond 40 kilometers.
http://www.essient.com

• Essient was founded in February 2002 with early stage support from Scottish Enterprise. The company has first round funding from Pond Venture Partners.



• In December 2002, Essient named Ken Jones as its new president and CEO. Jones previously served as vice president and general manager of the Advanced Transmission Division of Vitesse.

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AT&T Signs National Agreement with Blue Cross Blue Shield

AT&T announced a new two-year, multi-million dollar national agreement to provide networking services to Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) and its 42 member organizations. Included for the first time in the national agreement are AT&T Business local services, managed and professional services, and ATM connectivity. In total, the Blue Plans spend more than $200 million a year on telecommunications services.
http://www.att.com

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America Online Launches Voicemail Service

America Online is launching a new premium service that enables its members to listen to their home voice messages online and their AOL e-mails over the telephone. Customers will hear a "You've Got Voicemail" message whenever a new message arrives or when they log-on. Dial-up users will be able to receive voicemail for the telephone number they are using to connect to AOL. They are also able to retrieve home voicemail messages and e-mail messages by phone. The service also provides a caller log tracking the last 100 messages received. Separate voicemail boxes are available for different family members. The service is price at $5.95 per month for existing AOL subscribers. Additionally, local phone companies may charge an additional small fee, which covers the price of call forwarding that the service uses.
http://www.aol.com

• AOL Call Alert, another premium service that lets dial-up AOL users know what phone calls they are receiving while they are online, has attracted more than 300,000 paying subscribers since it was introduced in October 2002.

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WorldCom Says January Operating Results Indicate Profit

In it monthly financial update to the bankruptcy court, WorldCom reported $2.16 billion in revenue versus $2.20 billion in December 2002 and income from continuing operations of $188 million versus a loss of $47 million in December. Net income for January was $155 million versus a net loss of $580 million in December. January reorganization items were $37 million versus $514 million in December. WorldCom ended January with $2.8 billion in cash on hand, an increase of approximately $300 million for the month. Michael Capellas, WorldCom chairman and CEO, said the profitability for the month of January indicated progress in its 100-day restructuring plan, but that a lot more work needs to be done. He expects WorldCom to emerge from Chapter 11 later this year.
http://www.worldcom.com

• Last week, WorldCom noted two milestones in its 100-day restructuring plan. MCI's The Neighborhood, an "any-distance" local + long distance residential calling plan, is now available in all 48 contiguous states plus Washington, D.C. The WorldCom Connection, which consolidates local and long distance voice and data services for small businesses over one connection, is now available in all 94 metropolitan service areas where WorldCom owns local service facilities. WorldCom also announced today that it has expanded its bundled Connection offering to support PBX systems and a choice of IP phones.



• Also this month, WorldCom announced nearly $80 billion in balance sheet write-offs covering existing goodwill and the carrying value of its other intangible assets, property and equipment.

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OFC 2003 Plenary Sessions

Optical Vendors Should Widely Adopt Standards

While the long-term demand for telecommunications services is real, current business models of the industry are not sustainable, according to Eric Mentzer, VP and Chief Technology Officer, Intel Communication Group. In the face of changing industry rules, the greater adoption of standards is a way to succeed. Speaking at this week's OFC conference in Atlanta, Mentzer drew parallels between the trucking and optical industries. Trucking in the US was heavily regulated until deregulation in 1979. It then went through a turbulent transition during which time investment in trucking equipment fell greatly. In the period that followed, market leader Mack, which was vertically integrated and built all of its parts in-house, lost market share. Meanwhile, Kenworth standardized and integrated parts from a wide variety of partners. This allowed the company to add value "up market" in areas of driver convenience and comfort and fuel economy savings. Eventually, Kenworth achieved a larger market share, and Mack ultimately adopted a standards approach to its products. Mentzer observed that while network traffic is growing, revenues are flat, and the only way for carriers to survive is by lowering capital and operating expenditures. This means it is time to standardize. The optical industry, he believes, is ripe for standards and can no longer afford "boutique technologies."


Surviving in the Optics Business

The largest market for optics today is telecommunications. However, the optical industry needs to look beyond telecommunications if it is to survive and prosper, according to Kevin Kalkhoven of KPL Ventures and former CEO of JDS Uniphase. Kalkhoven said telecom applications for optics will grow no faster than the rate of overall GDP growth. Within telecom, he believes wireless, especially mobile phones and Wi-Fi, are the greatest opportunities in the near term. Kalkhoven argued that the optical industry must "think outside the box" to find new applications for its technology. Consumer oriented peripherals could be such a market opportunity. Kalkhoven encourages optics companies to work closely with the computer and electronics industries, and to explore display, sensor, material and medical science applications. He predicts only a small group of growing optics companies.


Increased Connectivity Can Create a Better World

The majority of the world does not have access to the information that we in the developed world take for granted, said Eduardo Gelbstein, Senior Special Fellow of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research and a contributor to the United Nations Information and Telecommunications (ICT) Task Force. He observed that 80% of the world's population has never made a phone call, London has more Internet subscribers than all of Africa, and New York City has more telephones than rural Asia. Gelbstein suggested that there are two ways to view this situation: 1) There is a sea of knowledge that surrounds us all, but a digital divide cuts off 6 billion people from it for the time being. 2) The privileged live in an oasis of knowledge, and others will never reach the oasis. Gelbstein feels that this second view has historically been dangerous. Gelbstein also observed that "complex problems are never solved, they are only transformed." Greater connectivity will take us into uncharted waters where we will face new questions. What happens to unique languages and culture? What happens when 6 billion people suddenly are connected, exposed to new ideas and knowledge, and have the ability to communicate directly with each other? While these changes raise some uncertainties, Gelbstein feels confident that they are much less risky than allowing the majority of the world's people to live outside of the oasis of knowledge.
http://www.unicttaskforce.org/

• The UN and the ITU are holding a World Summit on the Information Society to develop a better understanding of the global information revolution and its impact on the international community. The first phase will be held from 10-12 December 2003, in Geneva, Switzerland and the second from 16-18 November 2005 in Tunis, Tunisia. For more information, see http://www.itu.int/wsis

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OFC 2003 – International Perspectives

Europe's service providers have entered the post-bubble era, according to Stephane Teral of RHK. Speaking at this week's OFC conference in Atlanta, he said that following the "write-down party" of the major European service providers, a telecommunications turn-around can now take place in Europe. Teral feels that BT and KPN lead the pack. While France Telecom and Deutsche Telekom started later, they are making continuing progress.


As system and component vendors plan for the future, Teral said they should to be aware several trends in Europe.

• Fewer service providers mean fewer buyers of equipment.


• There is a shift from large-scale pan-European network deployments to small footprint city and rural IP/Ethernet-based networks.


• SDH is here to stay, and the 3rd generation SDH rollout has already started.


• OEO OCS deployment is about to ramp up. There is no need for wavelength grooming for now.


• The integration of bandwidth management and aggregation means that even fewer boxes are needed

Francois Tillerot of France Telecom R&D shared his predictions on the approach that European carriers will take to their optical core in the coming years. In the present business climate, the rule is to minimize investment. Service providers will select "pay as you grow" solutions whenever the introductory cost is low enough. They will generally upgrade existing technologies, such as to increase capacity or optical reach, rather than move to new technologies. Software evolutions are preferable to equipment replacement, and can yield improvements in such areas as network management and optimization.


For start-ups, the big picture has changed, according to Jeffrey Andrews of Atlas Ventures. Carriers' buying patterns have changed, making it more challenging to sell equipment without an OEM partnership. Financing has changed, resulting in far higher standards for funding. Questions of geography have changed as well. With the increased importance of cash efficiency and higher operating margins, there are more reasons to establish and expand start-ups in Europe and Asia. Many locations offer lower salaries than in the United States, and provide strong R&D tax credits and other programs. There are also benefits to being located closer to growing customer markets. International outsourcing also offers excellent business opportunities, particularly for software development in India and manufacturing in East Asia. However, start-ups outside of the US have to contend with other challenges, such as the difficulty of providing stock option incentives to employees and cumbersome regulations on staffing reductions in many countries.
http://www.convergedigest.com/DWDM/DWDM.asp

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XO Reports Q4 and Year-End 2002 Results

XO Communications reported Q4 revenue of $299.4 million, down from $343.0 million for this same period in 2001. Annual revenue for 2002 was $1,259.9 million, consistent with total revenue in 2001 of $1,258.6 million. Net loss for Q4 was $176.5 million compared to $681.9 million for the fourth quarter of 2001. Of the total revenue reported in Q4 2002, $157.3 million was derived from voice services, which includes revenue from local, long distance and other enhanced voice services, and $108.0 million was attributable to data services, which includes Internet access, network access, and web hosting. Revenue from integrated voice, data and other services totaled $34.1 million in Q4. As of December 31, 2002, XO had approximately $561.0 million in cash and marketable securities, which the company expects will be sufficient to get to profitability.
http://www.xo.com

• On January 16, 2003, XO Communications emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection with its long-term debt reduced from $5.1 billion to $500 million. Financier Carl Icahn has assumed the role of Chairman of the Board, and companies under his control hold more than 80% of the stock in the reorganized XO. Creditors hold the remaining shares.

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Wintegra Raises $13 Million for Access Packet Processor

Wintegra, a start-up based in Austin, Texas, closed $13 million in third round funding for its access packet processors. The company's WinPath access packet processor family offers aspects of ASICs, network processors, communications processors and communications peripherals. Wintegra claims over 60 design wins and said volume production of its chips has been ramping since Q3. The new funding round was supported by existing investors Texas Instruments, Concord Ventures, Magnum Communications, China Development Industrial Bank, and included new funding from a privately held European investment group. Wintegra has raised $39 million to date.
http://www.wintegra.com

• Wntegra's access packet processor is designed as a single-chip solution for all the required data path and control path packet processing functions in wireless base stations, media gateways, access multiplexers, service switches and enterprise routers. The Wintegra device features a combination of ATM and IP feature sets, high-speed SAR functionality, large ATM and IP queues, and an “any service any port�? capability. More specifically, the design provides more than 18 data path protocols resident in RAM on a single chip, including IPv4 Full Routing, AAL0, AAL1, AAL2, AAL5, ATM Circuit Emulation, IMA, ATM Cell Switching, AAL2 CPS switching, HDLC, PPP, MLPPP, Ethernet MAC, Ethernet L2 switching, Ethernet VLAN Tagging, Ethernet-to-ATM Bridging, MPLS, RFC1483/2684, and IP over ATM, PPP and Ethernet. Additional IP functionality includes classification of L2 to L7 headers or payload and mapping into policies or QoS. When used in conjunction with TI's programmable DSP-based TNETV communications processors and Telogy Software, the solution could provide aggregation, packetization and QoS functions scaling from 100 to over 8000 VoP channels.



• Wintegra is headed by Kobi Ben-Zvi, who previously served as Co-General Manager of the Networking and Communications Systems Division at Motorola Semiconductor in Austin, Texas.

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Tellabs Names CFO

Tellabs named Timothy J. Wiggins as executive vice president and CFO, replacing Joan Ryan, who resigned in February to accept the CFO position at Sirva. Prior to joining Tellabs, Wiggins was executive vice president and CFO at Chicago Bridge and Iron Company N.V.
http://www.tellabs.com

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France Telecom R & D Chooses IP Infusion's Routing Suite

France Telecom R & D will use IP Infusion's ZebOS Advanced Routing Suite to provide routing platforms for its research activities. IP Infusion will provide IS-IS, PIM-SM and RSVP-TE protocols to support both IP routing and MPLS traffic engineering.
http://www.ipinfusion.com

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