SingTel Offers VOD a-la-Carte

Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) began offering its DSL customers more than 25 channels of new and exclusive video-on-demand (VOD) content.


The VOD content is available to SingTel's 1500kbps and 3500 kbps residential broadband subscribers. They can access any of the VOD websites via the IDEAS Video-On-Demand portal. Subscription for individual channels starts at S$5.99 per month.


SingTel is working with M2B World, a leading US-based provider of entertainment and education on-demand content, to provide the content from four broadband streaming websites designed and programmed by M2B World.
http://www.singtel.com

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BT Delivers MPLS based Broadcast Network for ITV

BT is providing an integrated broadcast video, voice and data MPLS- based network for Meridian, a regional broadcast company within ITV. This is the first element in the implementation of ITV's nationwide MPLS network, due to be completed throughout the first half of 2005.
The new network, which replaces an ATM network, will transport broadcast quality video, file transfer, voice, and IT traffic between ITV's studios.
http://www.btplc.com

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Moxi Adds Telephony to Home Media Center

Digeo has added a fully integrated telephony application to its Moxi Media Center software platform for cable operators. Moxi Telephone can be added with a software upgrade that requires no new equipment or phone wiring. Additional features, such as caller ID, call logging, the ability to listen to voicemail messages, answer incoming calls, assign caller ID images, and flag and/or re-direct specific calls for transfer to external numbers or voicemail will also soon be made available through Moxi Telephone.


Digeo is partnering with leading switch and service providers such as Cedar Point Communications. Current Moxi partners are planning trials and deployments of the Moxi Telephone application as early as this summer. The company said the telephony is an example of how the Moxi Media Center offers subscriber value beyond DVR capabilities.
http://www.digeo.com

• In April 2004, Charter Communications began offering the Motorola Broadband Media Center (BMC) with Digeo's Moxi Service in Charter's Rochester, Minnesota market. The Moxi service is also offered in 9 other Charter markets. Adelphia also offers Moxi in many of its markets.



• Paul G. Allen founded Digeo in 1999. In the spring of 2002, Moxi merged with Digeo to provide advanced media center platforms and iTV services.

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Samsung Unveils Latest Horizontal LCD Phone

Samsung Electronics launched an upgraded version of its horizontal LCD phone, a new form-factor introduced by the company last year. The pivotal LCD screen which allows users to view images and video files horizontally. The SCH-V600 features a more compact design, a 1.3 megapixel camera and external transflash memory chip. The phone will be available in Korea at the end of this month.
http://www.samsung.com

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Riverstone Settles Noteholder Litigation

Riverstone Networks announced an agreement to settle its pending noteholder litigation. Riverstone will offer to redeem up to $65,875,000 of the outstanding $131,750,000 in notes from current noteholders, at face value, with no premium. The Company also agreed to reimburse $675,000 in attorneys' fees and administrative costs incurred by the noteholders as a result of the litigation. In exchange, the majority noteholders who initiated the litigation have agreed to waive the alleged default on which they based their claims. The majority noteholders have also agreed to a full release of the claims asserted against the company, which prevents their claims from being asserted again at a future date.
http://www.riverstonenet.com

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Navini Announces First Commercial 2.3GHz Net in the U.S.

MegaBroadband of Massachusetts is launching the first commercial use of the 2.3GHz WCS spectrum in the U.S. using equipment from Navini Networks. MegaBroadband's initial network will support up to 3000 users with expansion plans to serve over 10,000 in the area. Navini said it has the only FCC certified product in 2.3GHz spectrum today.
http://www.navini.com
http://www.meganet.net/

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MCI Discussions Continue with Qwest

Verizon Communications agreed that MCI may engage in further discussions with Qwest Communications through March 28.
http://www.verizon.com

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DiStream Launches Full Screen VOD Below 1 Mbps

DiStream launched a streaming video on demand service that delivers full screen resolution video at under 1 Mbps. The new "Movie xStream" uses standard encoding along with patent-pending technologies for pre-and-post-processing of the video stream. The company said it is working directly with Hollywood studios.


DiStream is based in Jacksonville, Florida.
http://www.distream.com

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Cisco Supplies IP Backbone in Ukraine

Ukrtelecom, the largest national telecommunications operator in Ukraine, is rolling out a nationwide Cisco IP Next Generation Network (NGN). Working with Cisco Silver Certified channel partner, Priocom, Ukrtelecom has completed the upgrade of its backbone network connecting Kyiv to five regional centers and implemented VoIP termination and origination services.


Ukrtelecom is currently extending its metropolitan ring infrastructure using Cisco Metro Ethernet solutions to deliver Ethernet services and provide broadband aggregation to support broadband services to over 150,000 users. The company is also using Cisco Aironet wireless technology to provide wireless Internet access throughout Ukraine with the commercial launch of its Radiospot project in October 2004.


As part of the E-Ukraine program launched by the Ukrainian government, Ukrtelecom is aiming to deliver an additional 35,000 broadband access lines in 2005 to bring the total number of broadband access ports to 40,000. http://www.cisco.com

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Broadwing Celebrates Fourth Anniversary of the ULH All-Optical Network

Broadwing Communications marked the fourth anniversary of the completion of its nationwide, All-Optical Ultra-Long Haul Network. Broadwing's initial turn-up of the AON began in late 2000 and was completed in the first quarter of 2001. The network includes numerous industry firsts, such as the first all-optical switch, 100% reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexers, terrestrial Raman amplifiers, and ultra-long haul transmitters and receivers. Most initial services were concentrated on long distance voice and traditional data services at the OC-48 rate being routinely transported over 3,000 km without regeneration. Now, the network plays host to evolving new services, such as high-definition video, converged network and VoIP, on OC-192 rate wavelengths all riding over the same fiber and distances as the OC-48 waves.
http://www.broadwing.com

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Cisco Systems Completes Acquisition of Airespace

Cisco Systems completed the acquisition of privately held Airespace, Inc. of San Jose, California. Airespace is a provider of Wireless Local Area Networking (WLAN) systems for enterprises and commercial customers. The $450 million deal was first announced in January.


Airespace's product portfolio includes WLAN controllers, Access Points, WLAN Management and Location Software, and Security capabilities, including IDS.


With the completion of the acquisition, the Airespace team will become a part of Cisco's Wireless Networking Business Unit under vice presidents Brett Galloway and David Leonard. http://www.cisco.com

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Ericsson and Siemens Reach Push-to-Talk Interoperability

Ericsson and Siemens Communications completed interoperability tests between Siemens push to talk handsets and Ericsson infrastructure (IMS system including push to talk server). Recent testing between Ericsson infrastructure and Siemens mobile devices were carried out with two currently offered push to talk enabled devices, the CX70 and C70 which are commercially available. Siemens plans to offer ten different handsets supporting push-to-talk this year.


The companies said this major step will significantly expand the customer base for operators planning to offer standard-based push. It also proves the two global mobile communications suppliers' commitment to open standards.


Ericsson's push to talk solution is based on IMS and complies with the existing Push to talk over Cellular, (PoC) specifications to ensure interoperability and will comply with OMA PoC specifications when available. Ericsson's IMS system also supports other fixed and mobile services such as Combinational Services (talking and sharing various media at the same time), IP Centrex etc. Ericsson conducts interoperability testing of push to talk/IMS handsets through its Multi Vendor Terminal Verification program that is open for any vendor.
http://www.ericsson.com
http://www.siemens.com

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Skype Launches New Version for Windows

Skype released a new Windows version 1.2 (v 1.2) featuring a centralized Contacts list, which allows users access to their list of contacts from multiple devices from wherever they connect to Skype, and a new 'Getting Started Wizard' for importing contacts from Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express, MSN Messenger and Opera. In earlier versions of Skype, the contacts lists was stored locally; the new central contacts list expands user options and allow one to Skype with their existing contacts from multiple locations and platforms.


Skype now has more than 31 million registered users and is adding more than 160,000 new users per day. The company said more than 6 billion minutes of Skype calls have been made by users around the world to date using its software.
http://www.skype.com

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Irish Broadband Expands WiMax-Ready Net with Alvarion

Irish Broadband has ordered an additional $4.3 million in Alvarion equipment, including its license-exempt, BreezeACCESS VL, BreezeMAX 3500, its WiMAX-ready platform, and WALKair products, to be deployed during the coming year. These orders enable Irish Broadband to expand its broadband wireless networks that provide high speed internet services throughout Ireland.


Since 2002, Irish Broadband has been expanding its wireless broadband network using various Alvarion products in both the licensed and license-exempt spectrums. In November 2004, Irish Broadband added
BreezeMAX 3500, Alvarion's WiMaX-ready platform, extending coverage to other cities, including Dundalk, Drogheda, Galway, Limerick, and Waterford.
http://www.alvarion.com

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Broadcom Introduces 2.5 Gigabit PCI Express Controller

Broadcom began sampling the first 2.5 Gbps controller as part of its NetXtreme II family of C-NICs (converged network interface controllers). Key features of the C-NIC line include TCP/IP offload engine, iSCSI, and Remote Direct Memory Access capability.


The new 2.5 Gbps Ethernet controller, which is optimized for embedded blade server applications, more than doubles the throughput of standard Gigabit networking while improving overall CPU utilization by up to five times. Significantly, it enables up to four separate network fabrics found inside a blade server to be converged over standard Ethernet. The controller is positioned as a cost-point replacement for existing 1 Gigabit Ether implementations.


Broadcom said current blade servers rely on up to four highly specialized fabrics to support the four data types that blade servers require to operate efficiently: storage, clustering, management and data networking. To date, the only way to effectively implement blade servers required utilizing specialized network fabrics for each network type. This multi-fabric approach drastically increased overall system cost and compromised the overall value of the blade server implementation. The new NetXtreme II C-NIC enables OEMs to design-in a 2.5 Gbps device to perform all of the networking I/O functions over a single, unified Ethernet fabric. This eliminates the need for specialized networks, fundamentally changing the way that blade servers can be built.


The new NetXtreme II BCM5708S represents the second generation of C-NIC silicon solutions from Broadcom.

Remote Direct Memory Access, which is an advanced feature for memory-to-memory transfers in high-performance workgroup clusters, could provide up to an order of magnitude improvement over standard Gigabit Ethernet connections, thereby competing with Infiniband and other such implementations.
http://www.broadcom.com

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DARPA Awards Network Optimization Contract to Lockheed Martin

the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency awarded an 18-month, $3.75-million contract to Lockheed Martin to significantly improve the performance of defense computer applications that degrade due to constantly changing network conditions, such as those occurring on the battlefield. The program also aims to increase by 60 times the availability of those applications to the warfighter. If all development phases are completed and options exercised, the program could be worth up to $10.6 million.


Lockheed Martin said its Synthesizing Adaptive Protocols by Selective Enumeration (SYNAPSE) program will deliver intelligent network sensing, learning, and reasoning technologies to stabilize the performance of collaborative applications operating on unreliable network infrastructures. By intelligently optimizing protocols despite network instability, SYNAPSE is expected to enable smooth, near-optimal performance.


SYNAPSE is a program within DARPA's Situation-Aware Protocols in Edge Network Technologies (SAPIENT) initiative. Teammates are Lockheed Martin Integrated Systems and Solutions, Cornell University, Drexel University, and Architecture Technology Corporation.
http://www.lockheedmartin.com

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Hungary's Kabelkon Selects Motorola's Digital Video System

Motorola will supply an end-to-end digital video solution for Hungary's first major digital cable TV (CATV) system. The six operators supporting this initiative are Pr-Telecom Rt, Hirsat-2000 Kft, Szarvasi Informatika, Juhasz Antenna Kft, Lat-Sat Kft and Dunakanyar Informatika. The system will be delivered to operators by Motorola's Hungarian partner and distributor Kabelkon Kft.


The new cable system will use Motorola's DVi1000 set-top terminals to provide digital video entertainment services in subscribers' homes and Motorola's MediaCipher conditional access solution. Motorola and Kabelkon are currently collaborating to enable the Hungarian regional operators to deliver data services using Motorola's BSR range of CMTS solutions and the SB5100 line cable modems. This new system is also capable of delivering VoIP.
http://www.motorola.com

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XConnect Extends VoIP Interconnect Service to North America

London-based XConnect, which interconnects Voice over Broadband operators (VoBBs), is launching its service in North America. XConnect's service simplifies interconnection between VoBBs by overcoming the principal issues associated with VoIP peering, including numbering, interoperability and security. XConnect has signed Yak Communications as a founder Alliance member and iBasis as a founder Carrier member.


XConnect is also partnering with NexTone Communications to provide the first certified XConnect-Ready VoIP session border controller.




http://www.xconnect.nethttp://www.nextone.com

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Transmode and Lumentis to Merge, Targeting Metro DWDM

Transmode Systems AB and Lumentis AB, both start-ups based in Stockholm, will merge to create a larger company focused on metro WDM components. The new company will use the Transmode name.

Through the merger, which is effective immediately, Transmode has become a major supplier to telecommunications operators, MSOs, systems integrators, enterprises, utilities, public institutions and OEM partners worldwide. The new organization also has stronger financial backing, with Transmode having closed a $15 million financing round last December and Lumentis raising $9 million in June 2004. The total investment to date in both companies is $81 million, and existing investors Amadeus Capital Partners, POD Holding, HarbourVest, European Equity Partners.
http://www.transmode.com

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Ikanos Builds its Management Team

Ikanos Communications announced the appointment of three vice presidents and an assistant vice president to its management team.

• Dean Grumlose was named vice president of marketing. Grumlose previously held executive and marketing positions at Azanda Network Devices, PMC-Sierra, Conexant, Velio, and AMD. At PMC-Sierra, he was responsible for Voice over IP (VoIP), switch fabric, network processing, and traffic management product lines.



• Chris Smith was named vice president of human resources. Previously, Smith was vice president of human resources at Tularik Inc.



• Derek Obata was promoted to vice president of worldwide sales. Obata, formerly vice president of sales Asia Pacific, will lead the sales organization and be responsible for developing sales and managing the operations of Ikanos' worldwide sales force.



• The company also named Biswa Ghosh as assistant vice president of systems engineering. Ghosh was previously director of engineering at Brocade Communications Systems. Prior to Brocade, Ghosh held senior-level management positions at Force10 Networks, IoSpan Wireless, Glenayre Technologies, and Wireless Access.

http://www.ikanos.com

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