KPN Selects NexTone to Enhance VoIP Service Flexibility

KPN has deployed NexTone Communications' Multiprotocol Session Controller (MSC) to more efficiently route and manage VoIP traffic for its growing domestic and international wholesale business. Financial terms were not disclosed.



KPN's transport service serves more than 230 destinations from its International Network Center and regional POPs in Europe, New York, Miami, and Asia. KPN will utilize NexTone's MSC to interconnect with VoIP carriers worldwide via secure VoIP connections. In addition, utilizing the NexTone MSC, KPN will now have easy access to the growing community of international VoIP carriers that already use the NexTone MSC. http://www.nextone.com/

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Logitech and Skype Announce Marketing Agreement

Logitech and Skype announced a marketing alliance to promote consumer VoIP. As part of the agreement, Logitech will bundle up to 120 minutes worth of free vouchers for SkypeOut -- the pre-pay service that allows Skype users to call traditional phone numbers -- with Logitech USB Headsets sold in Europe, the U.S. and Canada. http://www.logitech.com

• The Skype website currently lists over 35 million software downloads.

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SBC and Yahoo! Extend and Expand Alliance

SBC Communications and Yahoo! announced a multi-year extension to their alliance to provide co-branded DSL and Dial services. More significantly, the companies agreed to expand the partnership beyond the PC to home television and audio systems, Cingular wireless phones, SBC FreedomLink Wi-Fi and SBC Home Networking equipment. The first new products developed as part of the expanded alliance will be available in 2005.



Key elements of the expanded SBC / Yahoo! Alliance include:

• Project Lightspeed and Home Entertainment - the SBC Yahoo! look and feel will be extended to customers of a new SBC home entertainment service. It will be available to SBC Yahoo! DSL subscribers and to customers who will receive super high-speed Internet access over the new SBC Project Lightspeed fiber optic network. The experience will extend to the home television and stereo, including features such as Video On Demand, LAUNCHcast Internet Radio, SBC Yahoo! Photos and remote access to digital video recorders (DVR). It will also enable customers to view Caller ID or access all their messages - either e-mail, voicemail or faxes - from the SBC Unified Communications service on several different devices.
  
  
• Cingular Wireless - the companies will work to develop a co-branded SBC Yahoo! experience for SBC Yahoo! customers who subscribe to Cingular wireless service, enabling them to access personalized Web-based content and all their integrated messages.



• SBC FreedomLink Wi-Fi - the companies will work to further integrate the SBC Yahoo! environment with the SBC Wi-Fi service, including local search information which, for example, would allow customers to get directions to the nearest local florist - even if they are not in their hometown.



• SBC Home Networking - the companies will work to integrate an SBC Yahoo! environment with the home networking gateway which is offered along with SBC Yahoo! DSL service.



• SBC Unified Communications - the companies will work to integrate the current service features to work seamlessly with SBC Yahoo! Mail, further enhancing the "one mailbox" service for all e-mail, wireline and wireless voicemail and faxes. The companies will also work together to develop one consolidated address book, accessible by computer, phone or television.

http://www.sbc.comhttp://www.yahoo.com

• SBC and Yahoo! first announced their strategic alliance in November 2001 and launched co-branded DSL and Dial services less than a year later.

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BT's 21CN Carrying Live FTTP Traffic using ECI Equipment

BT's 21st Century Network (21CN) trials have begun carrying live traffic using FTTP equipment supplied by ECI Telecom. ECI's Hi-FOCuS4 broadband platform, which is used at both the customer premises and at the exchange, supports multiple subscriber interfaces from the same platform. http://www.ecitele.com

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Marvell Reports Revenue of $317.6 million, Up 7% Sequentially

Marvell Technology Group reported quarterly sales of $317.6 million, an increase of 47% over net revenue of $215.3 million for the same period last year, and a 7% sequential increase from the prior quarter. Net income (GAAP) was $43.6 million, or $0.14 per share (diluted).



Revenue for the third quarter was a record for Marvell and represented the 28th consecutive quarter for sequential revenue growth. During the quarter Marvell also reported its highest level of cash, cash equivalents and short- term investments with a balance of $577.3 million. http://www.marvell.com/

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Verizon to Open FIOS Customer Service Center in Virginia

Verizon will open a new customer service center in Hampton, Virginia support consumers and business customers who purchase new broadband products -- known as FiOS services -- over Verizon's new FTTP network. The new customer service center will create at least 100 new jobs by January. When it is fully staffed over the next two to three years, the new center could employ as many as 500 people. Verizon has already opened a similar customer service center in the Dallas-Forth Worth area.



Verizon earlier this year began selling FiOS broadband Internet access services to consumers served by its new FTTP network in parts of California, Florida and Texas. The company has begun building an FTTP network in six East Coast states and plans to begin general marketing of FiOS products in these states early next year. http://www.verizon.com/fiberjobs

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MPLS & Frame Relay Alliance Completes TDM/MPLS Spec

The MPLS & Frame Relay Alliance has completed an Implementation Agreement (IA) addressing the emulation of Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) circuits over MPLS using Raw Encapsulation (MFA 8.0.0). This IA will accelerate deployment of services carrying TDM circuits across MPLS cores by addressing the key aspects of the technology, including encapsulation formats, setup and teardown of connections carrying TDM circuits across MPLS networks, and OAM.



The IA, by encapsulating TDM data into MPLS packets, removes the need for the AAL1-based layer used by TDM Transport over MPLS using AAL1 (MFA 4.0.0).



The MFA expects that this approach will simplify implementations, save network bandwidth and allow flexible usage of "delay budgets." Traffic on traditional TDM circuits such as T1 and E1 can be transported in packetized form over MPLS networks. This enables service providers to offer TDM services using the same MPLS network that they use to offer other services, simplifying the process of moving to a single, converged voice and data network. http://www.mplsforum.org/

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SOFTBANK BB Selects Portal for Next Gen Service Billing

SOFTBANK BB has selected Portal Software's billing and Revenue Management solution as the core component for its overall billing infrastructure supporting all current and future communication services. Financial terms were not disclosed.



SOFTBANK BB currently has over 4.5 million subscribers for its Yahoo! BB broadband service and 4.3 million subscribers for its "BB Phone" IP Telephony service. The company has recently launched FTTH service in Tokyo and is offering a "Yahoo! BB Mobile" wireless LAN service as well. SOFTBANK said the range of devices it supports is expanding beyond personal computers to include mobile devices and other technologies.



Portal Software said its billing solution will allow SOFTBANK to optimize the provisioning of its broadband services and content, while scaling the network. The billing and Revenue Management platform can handle an increase from the existing subscriber base of 4 million up to a subscriber base of over 10 million. More significantly, the billing platform provides the ability to charge for content services in addition to connectivity services. Value-based charging allows the service providers to extend its menu while providing a settlement means with content providers. http://www.portal.com

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SAIC to Sell Telcordia for $1.35 Billion in Cash

Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) agreed to sell its Telcordia subsidiary to Providence Equity Partners (Providence) and Warburg Pincus (Warburg) for $1.35 billion in cash. Providence and Warburg are equal equity investors in the transaction.



Telcordia, which is based in Piscataway, New Jersey, is a provider of telecommunications software and services for IP, wireline, wireless and cable providers. The company offers consulting, systems integration, research and development and network planning services. Telcordia software currently handles all U.S. toll-free traffic with 90% market share of wireless number portability in the U.S.



For the past two years, Telcordia has been transforming itself to help its customers automate their business and improve their bottom line," said Matt Desch, chief executive officer, Telcordia.



JP Morgan acted as SAIC's exclusive financial advisor. http://www.telcordia.com

• Telcordia was previously known as Bellcore prior to is acquisition by SAIC from the Regional Bell Operating Companies in 1997.



• In September 2003, Telcordia Technologies unveiled its "Elementive" portfolio for managing IP, optical and wireless networks. The open, configurable Elementive portfolio is based on industry standards including J2EE and TMF 513, and would let carriers implement modularized OSS/BSS components either from Telcordia or its partners. Telcordia said its new business model would help carriers increase new enterprise service revenues while lowering their operating costs through the use of off-the-shelf OSS/BSS products.

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Mindspeed Reaches 43 Million VoIP Port Milestone

Mindspeed Technologies announced that its VoIP processing technology has been deployed in 43 million ports worldwide. The company said has shipped a total of 12 million system-on-chip voice and data solutions integrating multiple digital signal processors (DSPs), packet processors, and software. http://www.mindspeed.com

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Nortel Expands VoIP Interoperability Program

Nortel Networks completed VoIP interoperability tests with a new round of third-party vendors. It awarded Nortel Compatible Product status to products from Adax, ARRIS, AudioCodes, Carrier Access, Entrisphere, Nuera and Westell. This designation is awarded to companies that successfully demonstrate interoperability with Nortel's Communication Server (CS) 2000 superclass softswitch and Multimedia Communication Server (MCS) 5200. http://www.nortel.com

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Connexion by Boeing and NTT Communications Link Networks

Connexion by Boeing and NTT Communications will link networks, making the in-flight Internet service available to NTT Communications customers. Passengers who have an NTT Communications account will enter their current Hotspot credentials to access the Connexion by Boeing service, and will receive their billing for service access as an add-on to their existing bill. http://www.connexionbyboeing.com/http://www.ntt.com/

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InfiniRoute Selects tel(x) for Fully-Managed VoIP Peering Facility

tel(x) will provide a fully-managed VoIP Peering facility to InfiniRoute Networks will at the tel(x)
New York interconnection site.



InfiniRoute said its MVP service is the first hosted carrier-neutral VoIP peering service solution that fully manages the technical, operational, and commercial complexity of worldwide IP-based interconnections for wireline, wireless, and emerging carriers. The managed service provides policy-driven IP route optimization and voice-layer route control technology. http://www.infiniroute.com/

• InfiniRoute Networks Inc. was established in 2004 as the result of the merger between two private companies, IP Deliver and Proficient Networks.

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Cogent Aligns with Interxion throughout Europe

Cogent Communications is now providing IP and Internet access services at 6 Interxion Data Centers located in Germany, France, Belgium, Austria and Spain.



Cogent currently has a presence in over 85 markets throughout Europe and the United States, and the ISP operates over 25 of its own On-Net data centers. http://www.cogentco.com/euhttp://www.interxion.com/.

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Alcatel and Tut Systems Announce 10th Joint IPTV Customer

Alcatel and Tut Systems have rolled out an IPTV solution to their 10th end customer in the U.S. IOC market -- Wamego Telephone. This solution has also been deployed by other IOCs in the U.S., including D&E Communications, TCT West and Allendale Communications to name a few.



The joint solution combines Tut Systems' Astria digital head-end and Alcatel's carrier-class IPTV middleware platform under the Tut Systems iViewTV middleware brand.



Tut Systems is part of the Alcatel Open Media partnership program. The Astria digital head-end is an approved product in Alcatel's Open Media reference platform for delivering IPTV over broadband networks as part of a "triple-play" of voice, data and video services. http://www.alcatel.comhttp://www.tutsys.com/

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Cisco to Acquire Jahi for Net Management

Cisco Systems will acquire Jahi Systems, a start-up based in San Jose, California and Hyderabad, India, for its network management appliances designed to simplify device deployment, configuration and management. Jahi has not yet announced any products. Cisco will pay approximately $16 million in cash and assumed options for the company, which has 20 employees.



The companies said Jahi's technology will provide the foundation for a consistent external network device interface and simplifies network deployment and management by creating a virtual device view of the network, thus reducing the complexity and cutting the overall cost. For Cisco, the Jahi solution will augment its existing network management applications by providing an enhanced interface for Cisco devices. It will also offer customers who are writing their own scripts and network management applications a common way of interacting with different Cisco devices running in the network. http://www.cisco.comhttp://www.jahinetworks.com/Cisco's 2004 acquisitions have included:

• Perfigo, a privately-held developer of packaged network access control solutions, approximately $74 million in cash



• dynamicsoft, a start-up offering SIP-based carrier solutions, for $55 million in cash



• NetSolv, a provider of remote network and IT infrastructure management services for businesses



• P-Cube, a developer of IP service control platforms, for approximately $200 million in cash and options.



• Procket, a developer of concurrent services routers with expertise in silicon and software development, for approximately $89 million in cash.



• Parc Technologies, a spin off from a renowned center for research into search algorithms based at Imperial College, University of London, for $9 million. Parc's Route Server algorithms address network routing problems involving complex Quality of Service constraints.



• Actona Technologies, a start-up developing software that facilitates data management across geographically distributed offices, for approximately $82 million in cash.



• Riverhead Networks, a start-up offering security technology that protects against Distributed Denial of Service ("DDoS") attacks and other security threats in enterprise and service provider networks, for approximately $39 million in cash.



• Twingo Systems, a start-up developing desktop security solutions for Secure Socket Layer (SSL) Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), for approximately $5 million in cash.

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UTStarcom Selected for Telco Triple Play in Southern U.S.

DSSI and SmartTel selected UTStarcom as the key technology vendor for its rollout of triple play services to subscribers in Alabama and Florida. DSSI is deploying UTStarcom's complete mVision TVoIP solution, including a low-bit-rate encoding platform; IP TV streaming platform; TVoIP set-top boxes; and an Operations Support System (OSS). UTStarcom's IP-based mSwitch softswitch and carrier-class software suite are designed to provide OSS capabilities by handling media asset management, channel management and scheduling, billing, security and conditional access, system management, and other management functions. UTStarcom is also providing DSSI with its 8250 Personal Communications Management System (PCMS), which integrates enhanced voice services and unified messaging in one platform.



DSSI envisions a rollout to 100,000 homes and multi-dwelling units (MDUs) of IP-based voice, high-speed data, on-demand video and video gaming, and 100-channel TVoIP service to subscribers via Fiber to the Home (FTTH) over the operator's fiber network. DSSI will deploy an initial phase of 12,000 platforms to residential subscribers from Panama City, Fla. to Mobile, Ala, with additional deployments to follow. SmartTel, which is DSSI's integration division, intends to rollout its new converged services on January 1, 2005. http://www.utstar.com

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mPhase Adds Integrated Security to its IP TV

mPhase Technologies has enhanced its IPTV system through the integration of Ranch Networks' security products into its video soft switch. The new feature uses Ranch Networks Single Pass Packet Scan technology to integrate multiple security and management capabilities into a single piece of hardware. According to the company, the Security+ Feature lets network operators cost-effectively segment the IP network into multiple individually-secured zones - each with its own security policies in both directions. Additional security layers such as per-user authentication, virtual zones, and policy-based security-on-demand are included. http://www.mPhaseTech.comhttp://www.ranchnetworks.com

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NENA Launches Next-Gen E9-1-1 Program

The National Emergency Number Association (NENA) launched a Next Generation E9-1-1 (NG E9-1-1) Program aimed at encouraging service providers to upgrade the nation's 9-1-1 systems by implementing "next generation" technologies, procedures and best practices .



The NG E9-1-1 Program is organized into three topic Roundtable groups around NENA disciplines and areas of concerns - 1) Technical, 2) Policy, and 3) Operational/Educational. The work of the Roundtables is to identify appropriate supplementary activities that are needed to further the NG E9-1-1 goals, work and principals.



The program is an open consultative process to improve the nation's planning, leadership and innovation in the delivery of a fully functional 9-1-1 system that responds anytime, anywhere, from any device," said Stephen Seitz, NENA's Governmental Affairs Director. http://www.nena.org

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Latest Amino IPTV Set-Top Box Offers Windows Media 9 and HDTV

Amino Communications introduced an IPTV set-top box offering compatibility with HDTV and Microsoft's Windows Media 9 (WMV9) low bit-rate codec. Telcos could use the STB to offer TV services via DSL. HDTV displays to the 720p or 1080i standards. Amino plans to launch an MPEG-4 AVC compatible set-top box early next year.



Amino also announced the availability of two major middleware applications for its AmiNET500 IPTV set-top box with integral PVR (personal video recorder). The new Minerva iTVManager 2 and Myrio Interactive 3.5 client software have now been ported to the AmiNET500, enabling telcos to upgrade subscriber offerings to include PVR functions on live television broadcasts. These include scheduled record from EPG, viewing one channel whilst recording another, pause, fast-forward and reverse, and slow motion frame-by-frame. The AmiNET500 IPTV set-top box contains an 80GB hard disk drive which is capable of storing around 40 hours of video content. http://www.aminocom.com

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