Germany Opens Consultation on Local Loop Access

Germany's Regulatory Authority for Telecommunications and Post (RegTP) has opened a national consultation and debate on draft proposals on the local loop access market.



Access to the local loop is one of eighteen relevant markets the national regulatory authorities (NRAs) have been recommended by the European Commission to look at. In its draft RegTP concludes that the German market, defined in line with national circumstances, requires regulation and that Deutsche Telekom AG (DTAG) has significant market power in this market. All interested parties are being given the opportunity to make their views known. Following this, RegTP will consider what obligations to impose, amend, maintain or withdraw in relation to DTAG (by a direction). http://www.regtp.de

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FCC Takes Measures to Reform E-Rate Program

Following an audit of the schools and libraries support mechanism (also known as the "E-rate" program), the FCC adopted a number of measures aimed at reducing waste, fraud and abuse of the program. The schools and libraries program enables qualified applicants to receive discounts on eligible telecommunications services, Internet access, and internal connections. Since the program's inception in 1997, schools and libraries across the United States have received over $11 billion in funding commitments and, as a result, 99% of public schools and 92% of public school classrooms are connected to the Internet.



The reforms set forth a framework regarding what amounts should be recovered by the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) and the FCC when funds have been disbursed in violation of specific statutory provisions and Commission rules; sets forth plans for future audits; requires applicants to develop a technology plan consistent with the U.S. Department of Education; strengthens certification requirements; and establishes other administrative procedures. http://www/fcc.gov

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Russia's SMARTS Selects Alcatel for EDGE mobile network

SMARTS, a leading regional mobile operator in Russia, selected Alcatel for the deployment of an EDGE network throughout the city of Samara, a city with over one million inhabitants. Under the contract, Alcatel will EDGE-enable the Evolium 900 and 1800 MHz base stations already installed in the operator's network using the multi-standard GSM/EDGE/WCDMA capability of its industry leading Evolium solution. http://www.alcatel.com

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MCI Provides MPLS VPN service for CODA

MCI is providing a fully-managed international Private IP solution to CODA, the financial systems specialist. The network-based, MPLS VPN service provides any-to-any connectivity between CODA's international sites. Because CODA chose a fully-managed solution, MCI also handled the hardware implementation, integration and the ongoing maintenance of their network from the router and beyond. MCI Private IP is a certified Cisco Powered Network service. Financial terms were not disclosed. http://www.mci.com

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Swisscom Reaches 656,000 ADSL Subscribers

As of 30-June-2004, Swisscom was serving 656,000 ADSL access lines, more than double the 317,000 ADSL subscribers it was serving a year earlier. Of the total, 389,000 are for Bluewin retail customers and 267,000 for other providers' customers.



Overall, Swisscom posted a 0.4% increase in revenue (excluding debitel) to CHF 5 billion for the first half of 2004. Operating income before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) fell by 5.6% year-on-year to CHF 2.25 billion.



Swisscom's Mobile segment posted a year-on-year increase of 4.9% in revenue from external customers to CHF 1,805 million. The 3.7% growth in revenue from connectivity voice is mainly attributable to expansion of the customer base, which more than offset the loss in revenue from national roaming following termination of the agreement between Swisscom Mobile and another mobile provider in mid-2003. The number of Mobile customers rose year-on-year by 223,000 to 3.898 million, primarily due to the successful rollout of Vodafone live!. The average minutes per user per month (AMPU) dropped from 121 to 118 minutes compared with the previous year. By contrast, the average revenue per user (ARPU) was on a par with the previous year's level. Revenue from connectivity data and value added services rose by 12.9%, largely due to an increased customer base and the direct billing of SMS traffic with other network providers. Other revenue increased by 14.5%, mainly due to higher terminal equipment sales. http://www.swisscom.com

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Sprint PCS Launches Nationwide Streaming Video and Audio

Sprint announced the nationwide launch of a wireless service that offers streaming video and audio content. The Sprint PCS Vision Multimedia Phone MM-A700 by Samsung will be the first CDMA device in the United States to deliver streaming audio and video content from familiar sources such as CNN, NBC, FOX Sports, The Weather Channel, E! Entertainment, mFlix, Twentieth Century Fox, AccuWeather and 1KTV.



Sprint said users will be able to access more than 600 new streaming video and audio clips every day, covering the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment.



The Samsung MM-A700 phone by Samsung enables customers to listen and view audio/video clips on-demand in real time directly from the phone's 262K TFT full-color screen. The content, decompressed and played on the embedded media player, is directly streamed to the handset from the CDMA1X Sprint PCS Vision network at 15 frames per second (fps). The phone also features a megapixel camera and digital camcorder, and Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) quality.



Initially, Sprint will offer 10 channels to choose from for accessing audio and video content. Content can be accessed in two primary categories:

1) My Channels: a 'basic cable' type package consisting of:

• Ch. 1 = Sprint TV, which is a compilation of content from NBC, FOX Sports, The Weather Channel and more. The content and technology for Sprint TV are being delivered by MobiTV.
  
• Ch. 20 = Twentieth Century Fox, that offers free movie trailers;
  
• Ch. 49 = The Preview Channel, which offers free previews of all
  channels; and
  
• Ch. 24 = Athens on Location - free summer games highlights from NBC
  through Aug. 29.

2) Premium Channels: this is a more in-depth service that provides more content more frequently as determined by the channel content providers. The additional premium services channels available at launch are:

• Ch. 2 = CNNtoGO - $4.95/month


• Ch. 3 = FOX Sports - $4.95/month


• Ch. 4 = The Weather Channel - $4.95/month


• Ch. 5 = 1KTV - $4.95/month


• Ch. 7 = mFlix - $4.95/month


• Ch. 8 = E! Entertainment - $4.95/month


• Ch. 14 = AccuWeather - $3.95/month

http://www.sprint.com

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BT Adds Self-help Option for Broadband Customers

BT introduced an enhanced 'self-help' option for its range of broadband services, from Broadband Basic to BT Yahoo! Broadband. Called 'BT Broadband Help' or 'BT Yahoo! Help', it enables customers to receive automated pop-ups that will automatically alert users to potential problems. These include issues with connection and email, general settings enquiries and internet usage allowances. It will then take the user through the necessary steps to remedy the problem,. The service is based on management software from Motive, Inc.



The service is available to new broadband customers through a CD installation. Existing customers can download the software via the BT website. http://www.btplc.com

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Conexant Announces Workforce Reductions

Conexant Systems announced plans to reduce its worldwide workforce by approximately 300 employees by the end of the calendar year. The company cited merger-related synergies and its 's revenue outlook for the September quarter, which was communicated in its recent quarterly earnings call at the end of July, and is lower than the company expected one quarter ago. The headcount reduction is in addition to the actions announced last April that will affect approximately 200 people by the end of the calendar year. http://www.conexant.com

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OIF Addresses Long Reach and 40 Gbps Enhancements

The Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF) has initiated technical work on Electronic Dispersion Compensation (EDC) aimed at long reach (LR)(80 km) and very long reach (VR)(120 km) 10 Gbps optical transceivers and transponders. The OIF's Physical & Link Layer Working Group is reviewing the current state of 10 Gbps EDC technology and evaluating the modeled and measured performance of the components. This effort will facilitate the maturation of EDC technology appropriate for 10 Gbps LR and VR fiber optic links. The OIF's intent is to recommend the parameters and specification methodology necessary for industry interoperability and standardization.



Another new project within the Physical & Link Layer Working Group will extend the OIF Serdes Framer Interface (SFI-5) Implementation Agreement. The goal is to change the OC-768 interface from the current 16-lane to a new four-lane interface based on the 11 Gigabit Short Reach Common Electrical Interface (CEI). The project will define the data path between 40 Gbps optical modules, SONET/SDH framers and Forward Error Correction (FEC) components. Next generation equipment platforms will need higher density and a reduced CAPEX for optical modules for OC-768 ports. This project will further the integration, density and expense reduction of 40 Gbps line cards.



At its July quarterly meeting, the OIF announced that Jim Jones of Alcatel was elected as the Forum's new Technical Committee chair, Trey Malpass of Mindspeed was elected as the new Technical Committee vice-chair and Rama Ati of Cisco Systems was elected as Market Awareness & Education (MA&E) Committee co-chair. The election results are effective October 1, 2004. Prior to the last quarterly meeting, Karl Gass of Sandia National Laboratories was elected to serve as the Physical Layer User Group chair. http://www.oiforum.com

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MERA Releases Cisco IOS Security Update for Session Controller

MERA Systems announced a major security enhancement for its MVTS session controller. The update addresses a security threat to VoIP networks discovered in Cisco IOS.



MERA Systems said recent Cisco IOS releases contain modifications to the call originator parameter that now displays the IP address of the endpoint from which the call was made. This information so easily available, it can be used to uncover the structure of a carrier's network and access other sensitive information, including customer-related details.



MERA is updating its MVTS session controller with a special network protection algorithm. The algorithm denies output of the originator IP address and thus keeps the carrier's network safe and secure. Along with the network protection, the updated MVTS Session Controller ensures interworking of IOS-based gateways with other VoIP equipment. The updated version of the MVTS is immediately available for all MVTS users. http://www.mera-voip.com/news/release_32.php

• The key functionality of MERA's MVTS session controller includes smart routing, session control, detailed call statistics and CDRs, and SIP/H.323 interworking. Based on a set of pre-defined rules and policies, the routing engine automatically switches between the available route paths, choosing the best route both in terms of quality and pricing.

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MIT-NASA Develop First Interplanetary Laser Communications

A NASA--MIT Lincoln Laboratory team is undertaking a project to develop and the first deep-space, interplanetary laser communication link by 2010. The Mars Laser Communication Demonstration (MLCD), which will fly on the Mars Telecommunications Orbiter spacecraft, aims to test a laser-based communication link that would operate at a rate nearly ten times higher than any existing interplanetary radio communication. Today, the maximum data rate transmitted to Earth by spacecraft at Mars is about 128,000 bits per second (for NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft). Depending on weather and atmospheric conditions on Earth, and the positions of the planets, the team expects to receive data at a rate of a million bits per second, and possible 30 times higher. The experiment is a partnership among NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), and MIT's Lincoln Laboratory (MIT/LL). http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2004/optical.html

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Korea Telecom Selects Alcatel Metro DWDM

KT has selected the Alcatel 1696 Metro Span DWDM platform to enhance its metro optical network. Alcatel has collaborated with KT on optical networking projects since 2002, including the recent deployment of Alcatel's 1660 SM and 1670 SM, the 2.5G and 10G optical transmission systems. The Alcatel 1696 supports up to 32 wavelengths of 10 Gbps traffic in amplified or un-amplified systems. It can concentrates various types of data signals into a single standardized optical signal to maximize the usage of optical transportation capacity. Financial terms were not disclosed. http://www.alcatel.com

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Sprint Builds 49-site MPLS VPN for EEOC

Sprint completed the implementation of a 49-site MPLS VPN over its private IP network for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The government-grade "peerless IP" network has no connectivity with the public Internet and will serve as a redundant network to EEOC's existing Frame Relay network. Sprint also supplies similar services to the FBI and the National Guard, among others. Financial terms were not disclosed.http;//www.sprint.com

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Deutsche Telekom Nears 5 million DSL Connections

Citing growth in broadband, mobile and business customers, Deutsche Telekom reported Q2 revenue of EUR 14.4 billion, up 6% over the first three months of the year. The company said it is growing again and "this growth continues to be increasingly profitable." Adjusted EBITDA showed a similar trend with a 4% increase during the second quarter to EUR 9.4 billion.



Some key operating statistics:

• Deutsche Telekom now has almost 5 million DSL connections Group-wide: 4.7 million of those are in Germany, up 750,000 or 17 percent since the end of 2003.



• Revenues from T-DSL connections are climbing even faster, accounting now for 0.4 billion EURs, up 50 percent during the same timeframe.



• The company increased its year-end goal from 5 million to 5.6 million DSL connections.



• Regarding VoIP, CEO Kai-Uwe Ricke noted that the company has been offering business VoIP services for several years. With respect to consumer VoIP services, he said he doubts current VoIP offerings actually provide a value to the customer. Nevertheless, he said Deutsche Telekom is watching the consumer VoIP market



• T-Com's domestic fixed line revenues were flat year-over-year, following a 2% annual decline in Q1 2004



• Calling revenues were down 15% in the first half of 2004 compared to the first half of 2003



• T-Mobile added another 4.5 million customers worldwide for a total of 65.7 million at the end of June, an increase of 16 percent year-to-year.



• Excluding the most popular data service - SMS - spending on such services as t-zones and ringtone downloads has more than doubled year-to-year, with customers spending 300 million EURs during the first six months of the year.



• T-Mobile USA added 1.092 million new net customers, giving it a total customer base of 15.4 million, compared to 11.4 million at mid year 2003, an increase of 4 million for the 12 months.



• T-Mobile USA's ARPU was US$55, up from US$54 in the first quarter of 2004 and US$53 in the second quarter of 2003.



• T-Mobile currently has 1,450 Wi-Fi hotspots in operation in Europe and has contracts to add 660 more. The company has 4,750 hotspots in the U.S.

http://www.telekom.de

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CinemaNow Signs Marketing Partnership with MSN

MSN will offer a customized version of CinemaNow's video-on-demand Web service, providing its users one-click access to CinemaNow's extensive library of content. CinemaNow's content providers include 20th Century Fox, Disney, Lions Gate, MGM, Miramax and Warner Bros. http://www.cinemanow.com

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Mexico's Alestra Selects Lucent's Metropolis ADMs

Alestra has selected Lucent Technologies' Metropolis ADM MultiService Mux to expand its network across Mexico. The equipment will be used for Ethernet private lines, LANs, as well as other data services for Alestra's Transport Backbone Network. Lucent said the contract marks the first deployment of its advanced Metropolis ADM (universal shelf) in Latin America.



Alestra has also chosen Lucent to expand its embedded base of high-capacity WaveStar OLS 80Gs to interconnect all Alestra Backbone Rings across the country. Financial terms were not disclosed. http://www.lucent.com

• Alestra offers Mexico broadband, IP and value added services in Mexico with the backing of the AT&T brand.

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BT Standardizes on Motive

BT has chosen to standardize on Motive software to build self-management capabilities into its existing and next-generation consumer and business data services. BT first deployed Motive software more than two years ago. The new agreement expands the companies' existing relationship to include Motive's entire set of broadband management products: Broadband Manager, Customer Service Manager, Usage Policy Manager, and Business Class Manager. Financial terms were not disclosed. http://www.motive.com

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Qwest and Bell Canada Extend Voice Interconnection Pact

Qwest Communications and Bell Canada reached a new multi-year interconnection agreement that provides both companies -- and their customers -- with voice termination and toll-free services between Canada and the U.S.



International voice traffic between Canada and the U.S. represents the largest volume of international long-distance traffic in the world. Telephone traffic between the two countries is estimated to be over 12 billion minutes of use per year. http://www.qwest.com

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D-Link Offers Wireless Pocket Router/AP

D-Link is introducing a Wireless Pocket Router/AP aimed at business travelers wanting to access and share hotel Internet connections. The device is smaller than the average PDA and can be powered over the USB cable if power outlets are not available. A small switch on the back of the unit allows users to select one of the three wireless modes: Router/Firewall, Access Point and Wireless Client modes. The device has an MSPP of $99.99. http://www.dlink.com

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ECI Telecom Returns to Profitability Following 3 1/2 Years of Losses

ECI Telecom earned a $5 million operating profit in the second quarter of 2004, following more than three and a half years of losses. Revenues reached $121 million, a 32% increase from Q2 2003 and 13% increase from Q1 2004.



ECI's Broadband Access Division recorded revenues of $51 million in the quarter, a 14% increase from a year ago and a 7% rise from last quarter. Operating income for the Division reached $5.3 million, compared to $3.3 million in the first quarter of 2004 and $4.2 million in the second quarter of 2003. During the quarter, the Company announced that it had been selected as the sole supplier to BT for its FTTP trial, scheduled to commence in October 2004, as part of its flagship 21st Century Network initiative.



In June ECI announced its first significant order for broadband access equipment to come out of its strategic partnership, to a customer in Europe, several months after the initiation of this strategic relationship.



ECI's Optical Networks Division saw revenues rise 54% from a year ago to reach $61 million for the quarter, compared to $40 million in Q2 2003 and $52 million in the first quarter. For the first time in almost four years, the Division reported an operating profit of $1.1 million, following losses of $15.5 million during the second quarter of 2003 and $3.0 million in the previous quarter. The Division is experiencing strong demand from emerging markets, particularly in India, Russia, the Ukraine and the Philippines. During the quarter, ECI announced a new $16 million order for its XDM products from Ukrtel, which followed the supply of a $7 million order late in 2003.



Sales to Veraz Networks totaled $8.3 million in the second quarter of 2004 compared to $7.0 million in the first quarter of 2004. ECI manufactures and sells products to Veraz for resale to their customer base, and holds 43% of privately held Veraz Networks. http://www.ecitele.com

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