Huawei Announces Hybrid Access Line Assurance Solution

Huawei Technologies announced a hybrid access line assurance solution aimed at solving new line maintenance problems arising from hybrid xPON+DSL access deployments. Such problems can arise in networks where multiple FTTX network topologies with different copper lengths and aging copper loops are used. Issues arising out of crosstalk and interference seriously impact the performance of DSL, and affect the service rollout.


Huawei said its Xpert LAS implements the leading DSM (Dynamic Spectra Management) technology based on its APO (Associated Performance Optimization) algorithm, to solve the DSL crosstalk & interference bottleneck in an efficient and practical way. Its software-based provisioning and management solution enables operators to reduce service roll-out time and maintenance effort and in turn attract more customers with faster time-to-market. The end-to-end line assurance solution offers great power saving features for DSL, assisting operators in their effort for energy savings.


Huawei calculates that its Xpert LAS can improve ADSL2+/ VDSL2 performance by over 30%, while greatly reduces the probability of mosaics in IPTV. http://www.huawei.com

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China Mobile, SOFTBANK and Vodafone to Open Joint Lab

China Mobile, SOFTBANK and Vodafone agreed to establish a Joint Innovation Lab (JIL) to promote the development of new mobile technologies, applications and services. The three companies expect the initiative will help to accelerate the commercial deployment of mobile Internet services. Specifically, the JIL will focus on mobile widgets. Initially, the JIL plans to develop a platform for mobile widgets to encourage the development of innovative new services that can leverage mobile operators' unique capabilities. The JIL also welcomes the co-operation of vendors and developers in the creation of new applications and services.
http://www.chinamobileltd.com/doc/pr/2008/20080421.htm

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HSBC Mexico Deploys Converged Network with 9,800 Cisco Unified IP Phones

HSBC Mexico has implemented an IP network which supports 9,800 Cisco Unified IP Phones and 500 desktop video cameras using the Cisco Unified Video Advantage solution. This converged network connects 279 branches and the HSBC Tower in Mexico City, enabling voice, data and video transmission between the bank's nine main buildings. In addition to HSBC Mexico, Cisco Unified Communications is currently deployed in the HSBC offices in Argentina, Paraguay and Peru.


Cisco said that since 2005 it has experienced a 300 percent growth in IP phone sales in Latin America.http://www.cisco.com/go/uc/

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Salira's EPON Attains MEF Carrier Ethernet Certification

Salira Systems' Ethernet PON (EPON) solution has attained MEF-9 and MEF-14 certification status for Carrier Ethernet services. MEF-14 certification is the first global program to test for QoS conformance, which is critical for delivering stringent service level agreements to enterprise customers. The certification is sanctioned by the Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF). Salira noted that it is the first EPON vendor to gain such certification.

"For many compelling reasons, enterprise customers are moving more of their mission-critical applications to Ethernet-based networks," said André Martineau, Senior Director, Business Solutions for Advance Newhouse Communications. "As this migration continues, it is becoming increasingly important to ensure that our networks are Carrier Ethernet compliant. Salira's MEF-9 and MEF-14 certifications are an important contribution to meeting our customers' needs."http://www.salira.com

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Juniper Reports Q1 Revenue of $823 Million, up 31% YoY

Juniper Networks posted Q1 2008 revenue of $822.9 million, up 31% on a year-over-year basis, GAAP net income of $110.4 million or $0.20 per diluted share, and non-GAAP net income of $149.5 million or $0.27 per diluted share. The non-GAAP EPS figure represents an increase of 44% from the $0.19 per diluted share reported for the first quarter of 2007.


Juniper's operating margin rose to 17.3% on a GAAP basis from 9.6% in the same quarter a year-ago. Non-GAAP operating margin rose to 23.5% from 19.6% in the first quarter of 2007. The improvement reflected strength in gross profit margins owing to a favorable mix of infrastructure products, particularly in the Company's T and M series products, as well as reduced operating expense as a percentage of net revenues due to the Company's efforts to manage expenses and improve efficiency.


"The strength of our first quarter results continues to underscore the value of Juniper's commitment to high-performance networking," said Scott Kriens, chairman and chief executive officer, Juniper Networks, Inc. "Across our markets and around the world, we are seeing clear opportunity to extend our lead through an optimal combination of Juniper size, speed, focus and execution, which translates directly into strategic advantage for our customers."http://www.juniper.net

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Riverbed's Sales Rise to $73 Million, up 71% YoY

Riverbed Technology reported Q1 2008 revenue of $73 million, an increase of 71% from the first quarter of 2007. GAAP net income was $638,000, or $0.01 per share, in the first quarter of 2008, compared to net income of $3.3 million, or $0.05 per share, in the first quarter of 2007. Riverbed's first quarter of 2008 GAAP results included $11.3 million of stock-based compensation expenses and related payroll taxes. Excluding the impact of stock-based compensation and related payroll taxes in all periods, as well as related income tax effects, the non-GAAP net income for the first quarter of 2008 was $7.9 million, or $0.11 per share, compared to non-GAAP net income of $8.6 million, or $0.12 per share, in the first quarter of 2007.


"In the first quarter, we posted 71% revenue growth year-over-year but our results were impacted by a lengthening sales cycle at some accounts due to macro-economic trends," said Jerry Kennelly, Riverbed president and chief executive officer. "While we had fewer large deals in the first quarter than in recent periods, we did see broad-based demand from our installed base and added approximately 500 new customers this quarter across a broad range of verticals. With these new customers, we now have over 4,000 cumulative customers."http://www.riverbed.com

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Ixia Posts Q1 Revenue of $41.7 Million, up 2% YoY

Ixia reported Q1 2008 revenue of $41.7 million, which represents a year-over-year increase of 2% from the first quarter of 2007. The company recorded net income on a GAAP basis for the first quarter of 2008 of $106,000, or $0.00 per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $759,000, or $0.01 per diluted share, for the first quarter of 2007. Ixia's 2008 first quarter GAAP results include non-cash charges of $2.9 million related to stock-based compensation, $1.5 million for the amortization of acquired intangible assets, and a net tax benefit of $1.7 million related to these items.


"Although we experienced a seasonally weaker than expected first quarter, we saw several positive trends during the quarter and we continued to position Ixia for future growth opportunities," commented Atul Bhatnagar, Ixia's president and chief executive officer. "The lower than expected shipments to Europe and Canada in the first quarter were partially offset by record sales to the Asia Pacific region. We were also encouraged by the sequential increase in shipments to network equipment manufacturers, led by higher sales to Cisco Systems, which were up over 20% compared to the fourth quarter of 2007. On the product side, sales of our 10 gigabit Ethernet products continued to be strong and represented about 28% of revenue."http://www.ixiacom.com

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Motorola Announces Q1 Sales of $7.45 billion, Mobile Sales decline 39% YoY

Motorola reported Q1 2008 sales of $7.45 billion and a net loss from continuing operations of $194 million, or $0.09 per share. The net loss from continuing operations includes net charges of $0.04 per share from highlighted items, primarily related to a charge associated with workforce reductions. The company had an operating cash outflow of $343 million and ended the quarter with a net cash position of $3.5 billion.


Some highlights from the report:

• Mobile Devices segment sales were $3.3 billion, down 39 percent compared to the year-ago quarter. The operating loss was $418 million, compared to an operating loss of $233 million in the year-ago quarter. During the quarter, the Company shipped 27.4 million handsets.



• Home and Networks Mobility segment sales were $2.4 billion, up 2 percent compared to the year-ago quarter. Operating earnings were $153 million, compared to operating earnings of $167 million in the year-ago quarter. Motorola saw strong demand for High Definition and DVR devices resulted in shipments of over four million digital entertainment devices during the quarter, including a milestone three millionth IP device to-date. Sales outside North America grew 30 percent compared to the year-ago quarter, led by Europe and Latin America. Motorola recorded WiMAX wins in Saudi Arabia and Taiwan.



• Enterprise Mobility Solutions segment sales were $1.8 billion, up 5 percent compared to the year-ago quarter. Operating earnings increased to $250 million, compared to operating earnings of $131 million in the year-ago quarter.

http://www.motorola.com

• In March 2008, Motorola announced plans to split into two independent, publicly-traded companies in 2009. The split would occur as follows: The Mobile Devices business will continue to supply multi-mode, multi-band communications products and technologies. The business designs, manufactures and sells mobile handsets and accessories globally with integrated software solution. It also licenses a portfolio of intellectual property. Motorola is currently searching for a new CEO for this business.
  
  
  The Broadband & Mobility Solutions business includes Motorola's Enterprise Mobility, Government and Public Safety, and Home and Networks businesses. These businesses manufacture, design, integrate, and service voice and data communication solutions and wireless broadband networks for enterprises and government and public safety customers worldwide. These businesses also provide end-to-end digital and IP video solutions, cellular and high speed broadband network infrastructure, cable set-top receivers, and associated customer premise equipment for residential and commercial wireless network system access.

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DISH Network Selects Alcatel-Lucent for DVB-SH Test

DISH Network has selected Alcatel-Lucent for a trial of DVB-SH (Digital Video Broadcasting - Satellite services to Handhelds) mobile broadcast technology in the United States. Alcatel-Lucent will supply DVB-SH equipment, test tools and training. The evaluation will take place in DISH Network's laboratories in Atlanta, Ga. from May to August 2008.


DVB-SH, which is an evolution of DVB-H, is a mobile broadcast standard for mobile TV. It can be used in any frequency spectrum below 3GHz, including UHF, L band and S band, and in terrestrial, satellite or hybrid networks. The DVB-SH waveform definition was published by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) in March 2008.http://www.alcatel-lucent.comhttp://www.dishnetwork.com/

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Foundry Networks Posts Q1 Revenue of $150 Million

Foundry Networks reported Q1 2008 revenue of $150.1 million, compared to $135.8 million in the first quarter of 2007 and compared to $168.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2007, an increase of 10.5% year-over-year. Net income was $13.9 million, or $0.09 per diluted share, compared to net income of $9.1 million, or $0.06 per diluted share, in the first quarter of 2007, and net income of $28.9 million, or $0.18 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of 2007.


"While Foundry experienced a challenging environment during the first quarter, we still achieved over 10% growth year-over-year," said Bobby Johnson, President and CEO of Foundry Networks. "As the overall macro environment stabilizes, we believe the recent investments we've made in our sales organization and product portfolio will have a positive impact on our business."http://www.foundrynet.com

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Ikanos Posts Q1 Revenue of $29.7 Million

Ikanos Communications reported Q1 2008 net revenue of $29.7 million compared with revenue of $29.9 million for the fourth quarter of 2007 and revenue of $24.7 million for the first quarter of 2007. GAAP net loss for the first quarter of 2008 was $4.8 million, or $0.16 per share, on 29.5 million weighted average shares. This compares with a net loss of $4.1 million, or $0.14 per share, on 29.3 million weighted average shares in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007 and with a net loss of $9.1 million, or $0.32 per share, on 28.0 million weighted average shares in the first quarter of 2007. Non-GAAP net income for the first quarter of 2008 was $0.6 million, or $0.02 per diluted share, on 30.8 million weighted average shares.


"I'm very pleased that Ikanos achieved non-GAAP profitability for the second consecutive quarter. Our quarterly revenues increased 20% from the year ago period driven primarily by increased demand in Europe and Japan," said Michael A. Ricci, Ikanos' president and CEO. "During the quarter we expanded our product portfolio by introducing the industry's first single chip integrated front end (IFE) which enables cost effective, low power, multi-mode triple play residential gateways. In addition, we have made significant progress on our GPON initiative."http://www.ikanos.com

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Qwest Launches 20 Mbps and 12 Mbps Broadband based on FTTN

Qwest Communications launched a new generation of residential Internet access services with downloads speeds of up to 20 Mbps. The new services powered by Qwest's ongoing fiber to the neighborhood (FTTN) network expansion. The new tiers include:

• Qwest Connect Quantum -- delivering connection speeds of up to 20 Mbps for a bundled price of $99.99 per month.



• Qwest Connect Titanium -- offering connection speeds of up to 12 Mbps for a bundled price of only $46.99 per month.

Both services will be available in 23 of Qwest's top markets across 10 states in 2008 as Qwest continues to execute its phased rollout of fiber-optic technology to the neighborhood.http://www.qwest.com

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Jeff Pulver Resigns from Pulvermedia

Jeff Pulver has resigned as a director of Pulvermedia, which runs the VON tradeshows amongst its activities. No reason was given.

http://www.pulvermedia.com

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Cable Companies and Sprint Unwind Their "Pivot" Service

Sprint Nextel is unwinding the relationship under which Comcast, Cox and Time Warner bundled its mobile service under the "Pivot" brand. According to media reports, the partners found the operational details of the jointly marketed service to be too complex and will now transfer the existing customers directly to Sprint.http://www.sprint.com

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Foundry Introduces Compact Routing Switch

Foundry Networks has expanded its line of FastIron Edge X Series of compact Layer 2/3 routing switches with the introduction of the FastIron Edge XE Series routing switches featuring IPv4 and IPv6 hardware-based routing capacity in a compact 1.5 rack unit (RU) platform.


The FES-XE series is available in three models including fiber and copper configurations and port densities of 24- and 48-ports. All three models are upgradeable with a two-port 10 gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) module.


Some technical highlights include:

• Support for up to 512,000 IPv4 and up to 64,000 IPv6 routes in hardware forwarding memory
  
  
• Up to 1,000,000 BGP route advertisements in software for storing and processing multiple views of the full Internet routing table
  
• Wire-Speed Performance and Deep Packet Buffers with up to 88 to 136 Mpps forwarding throughput and independent IPv4 and IPv6 ,hardware forwarding tables



• 32MB ingress and 32MB egress packet buffers deliver maximum performance under high traffic loads



• IPv4: RIPv1/v2, OSPF, BGP-4, PIM, IGMP, ECMP



• IPv6: RIPng, OSPFv3, IPv6 Static Routing, IPv6-to-IPv4 static tunneling to facilitate network transition and a range of IPv6 edge features including IPv6 extended ACLs.



• Advanced Layer 2 Features: Metro Ring Protocol (MRP), Virtual Switch Redundancy Protocol (VSRP), IEEE 802.1s, IEEE 802.3ad, IGMP v2/v3 snooping, MLD v1/v2 snooping, etc.

The FastIron Edge XE series will be available May 2008 with U.S. list prices starting at $14,995.http://www.foundrynet.com

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Telecom Italia Completes MBMS Field Trial with Huawei, Qualcomm

Telecom Italia has completed a field trial of MBMS (Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service) technology conducted with Huawei and Qualcomm. MBMS technology is based on 3GPP standards and supports multicast and broadcast innovative services, allowing speeds of up to 256kbps on a mobile device. The trial, which was conducted by means of Huawei MBMS solution together with the handsets powered by Qualcomm's MSM7201A chipset, demonstrated MBMS service deliveries of between 128kbps and 256 kbps under various indoor and outdoor MBMS channel conditions.http://www.huawei.com

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Tata Introduces Global Suite of Security Services

Tata Communications introduced suite of security services designed to protect the applications, IT systems and networks that power its customers' critical business infrastructures. The managed security solutions are backed by performance-based Service Level Agreements (SLAs). The services are overseen by an experienced, globally distributed support team using state-of-the-art systems, processes and tools. Tata Communications' wide range of supported vendors and solutions, combined with its globally consistent and efficient service delivery model, meets the security needs for businesses.


The suite of security services, which includes managed and monitored Firewalls and Unified Threat Management (UTM) appliances, Intrusion Detection and Prevention systems, Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) Detection and Mitigation, and Penetration Testing, offers customers proactive detection and evaluation of information security threats, accompanied by swift incident response and remediation actions. Evaluation and response is based on Tata Communications' real time security incident and event analysis, which draws upon a global base of current activity and trends.http://www.tatacommunications.com

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NextWave Considers Sale of Its Wireless Spectrum Holdings in the U.S.

Citing offers from several potential buyers, NextWave Wireless has retained Deutsche Bank and UBS Investment Bank to explore the sale of its extensive spectrum holdings in the United States.


NextWave's U.S. spectrum footprint covers over 251 million people, or pops, in the United States and includes major markets such as New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia, Denver, Houston, and Detroit. The company's holdings include licenses and lease rights for a total of 4.7 billion MHz/pops of spectrum comprised of 154 Advanced Wireless Service ("AWS") licenses in the 1.7/2.1 GHz band, 30 Wireless Communication Service ("WCS") licenses in the 2.3 GHz band, and 39 Educational Broadband Service ("EBS") and Broadband Radio Service ("BRS") licenses and spectrum leases in the 2.5 GHz band.


"Since the completion of the recent 700 MHz auction, we have received multiple offers for our U.S. spectrum assets. Given our continued success in developing highly differentiated wireless broadband and multimedia-enabled products, we no longer view our spectrum holdings as critical to reaching our product sales objectives, and believe that now is the perfect time for us to sell these valuable assets while network operators are trying to finalize their band plans and spectrum holdings for their continuing 3G and planned 4G rollouts," said Allen Salmasi, chief executive officer and president of NextWave Wireless. "Monetizing the value of our substantial spectrum assets would allow us to further strengthen our balance sheet, retire debt, and continue the commercial introduction of a wide range of innovative wireless broadband and multimedia solutions such as our high-performance WiMAX and RFIC chipsets, advanced multi-mode, multi-band TD-CDMA, WiMAX and LTE enabled base station platforms, breakthrough MXtv and TDtv mobile television systems, highly advanced mobile multimedia software solutions and platforms that we are now bringing into commercial deployments globally with many of the largest mobile operators and device manufactures in the world."http://www.nextwave.comEarlier this month, NextWave Wireless announced its NW2000 Wave 2-ready family of second-generation mobile WiMAX chipsets designed for high-volume, small form-factor wireless broadband subscriber stations, including CPE modems, PC card modems, laptops, multimode/smartphone handsets and mobile multimedia terminals. Specifically, the new mobile WiMAX chipsets include:

• NW2100: NextWave's NW2100 is a family of 802.16e-based mobile subscriber baseband System-On-a-Chip (SoC) solutions designed for Wave 2 WiMAX Forum compliance. Integrating an ARM9 processor and memory, the NW2100 provides a complete self-hosted modem, enabling designs with minimum processing load on the host processor. The chip uses 65-nanometer CMOS process and includes integrated 802.11b/g MAC/BB, SIM controller, multiple host interfaces, an embedded device security/firmware authentication engine, support for optimum data throughput, and advanced proprietary techniques that significantly reduce the overall system power consumption.



• NW2200: Designed to be used in conjunction with NextWave's NW2100 WiMAX SoC family, NextWave's NW2200 family of single-chip, highly integrated, multi-band Radio Frequency (RF) transceivers have dual independent receive chains optimized for mobile applications. The NW2200 provides a compact, ultra low-power, high-performance solution for manufacturers of wireless broadband mobile devices, and unlike competitor RF ICs it supports all major worldwide WiMAX bands and profiles. To further decrease total system cost and chip footprint, NextWave has deployed a direct-conversion architecture, integrated low-noise amplifiers, and integrated low-dropout voltage regulators for reduced external component count.

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Ixia Debuts 10 GbE Load Modules for High Density Data Center Testing

Ixia introduced a layer 2-7, 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10 GbE) IP testing solution for high-density next-generation data center infrastructure.


The new 10 GbE IxYukon load module, which leverages Ixia's converged testing applications, IxLoad and IxNetwork, is aimed at testing for next generation data centers.


Ixia said the new 10 GbE IxYukon module provides four times the 10 GbE port density of its nearest competitor. When used with the Ixia XM12 chassis, the solution requires one-quarter of the laboratory space and one-half the power consumption. With the eight-port IxYukon, 96 10 GbE test ports fit in a standard 19-inch rack-mount Ixia XM12 chassis. The nearest competitor requires four fully loaded chassis to match Ixia's 96-port, single chassis 10 GbE solution.


Ixia's IxYukon 10 GbE load modules begin shipping at the end of Q2 2008.http://www.ixiacom.com

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O2 Germany Selects Huawei for Base Stations

O2 Germany has chosen Huawei Technologies for the replacement of existing base stations and the planned construction of more than 8,000 base stations by Huawei for GSM and UMTS. O2 plans to expand its GSM coverage in Germany to almost 100 percent. At the same time, the infrastructure for the use of mobile data services will be expanded. O2 has plans to increase the UMTS supply in Germany to 60 percent. In addition, the company will expand the HSDPA network and implement HSUPA. Financial terms were not disclosed.

http://www.huawei.com

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