CableLabs Certifies DOCSIS 3.0 Gear: Six Modems, 3 CMTSs

CableLabs awarded certification status for Data over Cable Service Interface Specification (DOCSIS) 3.0 cable modems to Ambit, Arris, Cisco, Motorola for two modems; and SMC. This represents the first certification of DOCSIS 3.0 cable modems.




CableLabs also awarded "full" qualification status for Cable Modem Termination Systems (CMTS) to Casa Systems for two devices. This is the first qualification of a DOCSIS 3.0 CMTS representing "full" or complete compliance with all requirements of the DOCSIS 3.0 specification for headends. Motorola received bronze qualification for its CMTS. CableLabs noted that the headends were tested under a tiered program that was created as a way to encourage CMTS makers to submit gear for testing earlier than they otherwise might have done.
The three-tiered program for CMTS qualification--bronze, silver and full--progressively scales compliance with some of the more long term DOCSIS 3.0 CMTS requirements.


DOCSIS 3.0 achieves the higher data rates through channel bonding in both the upstream and downstream directions. In addition, DOCSIS 3.0 is backward compatible with all existing DOCSIS products.http://www.cablelabs.com

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Ericsson Readies LTE for Sweden's 2.6GHz Spectrum Winners

Ericsson said it is ready to deliver end-to-end HSPA and LTE technology to the winners of Sweden's recent 2.6GHz spectrum auction. Ericsson's offerings for the 2.6GHz band are based on its multi-standard RBS 3000 and RBS 6000 series. These energy efficient base stations support WCDMA/HSPA/LTE and GSM/EDGE/WCDMA/HSPA/LTE respectively. Ericsson's RBS suite offers the smallest base stations on the market and facilitates low-cost migration and easy network integration. HSPA is already commercially deployed in more than 185 networks in 80 countries, with more than 600 devices launched.


http://www.ericsson.com

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Nokia Siemens Networks Demos 10 Mbps Internet High Speed Packet Access

Nokia Siemens Networks, in conjunction with mobilkom austria, demonstrated an I nternet High Speed Packet Access (I-HSPA) data call with a downlink speed reaching 10.1 Mbps. The I-HSPA functionality is designed for heavy data and rich multimedia usage over the wireless network. I-HSPA by Nokia Siemens Networks introduces a flat network architecture to the 3G networks based on Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) technology by connecting the base station directly to the Internet. The solution also complies with Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology, which promises data rates of up to 173 Mbps. In addition to the world's fastest I-HSPA call, Nokia Siemens Networks also demonstrated its LTE solution for the first time in Austria.http://www.nokiasiemensnetworks.com

• In February 2008, Nokia Siemens Network launched its Long Term Evolution (LTE) / System Architecture Evolution (SAE) solution for radio and core networks, including a new Flexi Multimode Base Station, Mobility Management Entity (MME) and System Architecture Evolution (SAE) Gateway. Nokia Siemens Networks said its LTE solution would be aimed at both new operators and operators upgrading existing GSM/WCDMA/HSPA networks. The new Flexi Multimode Base Station is a small, modular and energy-efficient design that will make full use of the software defined radio concept. The Flexi Multimode Base Station can be deployed with WCDMA/HSPA starting from 3Q 2008 and software upgraded to LTE from the second half of 2009. The Nokia Siemens Networks Flexi Base Station family currently supports FDD and TDD based technologies.

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Cogent Posts Revenue of $52 Million, up 20% YoY

Cogent Communications announced net service revenue of $52.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2008, an increase of 19.5% over $43.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2007. On-net revenue was $42.8 million for the quarter, an increase of 29.1% over $33.2 million a year earlier. Off-net revenue was $8.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2008, a decrease of 5.5% from $8.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2007. Off-net customers are located in buildings directly connected to Cogent's network using other carriers' facilities and services to provide the last mile portion of the link from the customers' premises to Cogent's network.


Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), as adjusted, was $14.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2008, an increase of 45.4%, over $10.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2007. EBITDA, as adjusted, margin increased from 23.1% for the three months ended March 31, 2007 to 28.1% for the three months ended March 31, 2008. Basic and diluted net loss applicable to common stock was $(0.21) per share for the three months ended March 31, 2008 compared to $(0.19) per share for the three months ended March 31, 2007.


Some operational highlights:

• Total customer connections were 15,596 as of March 31, 2008 compared to 12,939 as of March 31, 2007, an increase of 20.5%.



• On-net customer connections were 11,849 as of March 31, 2008 compared to 8,565 as of March 31, 2007, an increase of 38.3%.



• Off-net customer connections were 3,003 as of March 31, 2008 compared to 3,433 as of March 31, 2007, a decrease of 12.5%.



• Non-core customer connections were 744 as of March 31, 2008 compared to 941 as of March 31, 2007, a decrease of 20.9%.



• The number of on-net buildings increased by 118 from 1,129 as of March 31, 2007 to 1,247 as of March 31, 2008.

http://www.cogentco.com

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European Commission Revisits Roaming Regulations

The European Commission has launched a public consultation on the functioning and the effects of the EU Roaming Regulation. Feedback is being sought from industry, consumers and other interested stakeholders to review the functioning and effectiveness of the EU Roaming Regulation, which entered into force on 30 June 2007.

Specific issues under review include:

• inadvertent roaming (or involuntary roaming) when consumers use their mobile phone close to the border of a neighbouring country and are connected to a foreign network;



• the effect of the Regulation on smaller operators and on domestic prices;



• the issue of actual and billed minutes (e.g. whether there has been any detrimental trend away from "per second" to "per minute" billing as a result of the Regulation);



• whether regulation is necessary for data roaming services and SMS in light of current retail prices and market developments;



• the duration of the EU Roaming Regulation (until 30 June 2010 or beyond).

Current EU Roaming Regulation requires operators to offer customers a "Eurotariff" for voice calls when roaming in other Member States and introduced ceilings (excl. VAT) of €0.49 per minute for making calls and €0.24 per minute for receiving calls. These will decrease to €0.46 and €0.22 respectively on 30 August 2008 and to €0.43 and €0.19 on 30 August 2009. At the end of September 2007, over 400 million EU citizens could already benefit from a "Eurotariff".


The Roaming Regulation is limited to voice calls and expires on 30 June 2010 unless the European Parliament and the Council decide to extend it beyond this date, on the basis of a proposal from the European Commission. The Commission must carry out a review and report to the European Parliament and the Council in 2008.http://www.europa.eu

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SureWest Sells Wireless Business to Verizon Wireless

SureWest Communications

completed the previously announced sale of the operating assets of its Wireless business to Verizon Wireless for an aggregate cash purchase price of $69.0 million. Verizon Wireless acquired the spectrum licenses and operating assets of SureWest Wireless, excluding SureWest's more than 50-owned communication towers.http://www.surewest.com

• In December 2007, SureWest agreed to acquire Everest Broadband in a transaction that will more than double SureWest's triple-play residential subscriber base.



• In 2007, SureWest sold its Directory Publishing business to GateHouse Media for $110 million.

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Swedish Post and Telecom Agency Awards Spectrum Licenses

The Swedish Post and Telecom Agency announced five winning bidders in its auction of spectrum auction in the 2.6 GHz band. The total amount for all assigned licenses is SEK 2,099,450,000 (approximately EUR 226 millions). The auction involved 112 rounds of bidding over 16 days. The money will go to Sweden's national treasury.


The licenses in the 2.6 GHz band are technology and service neutral and may be used for, e.g., mobile telephony or wireless broadband.


http://www.pts.se

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TELE Greenland Deploys Cisco ASR 1000

TELE Greenland A/S, the telecommunications, and postal services provider for Greenland, is transforming its data network into an Internet Protocol Next-Generation Network (IP NGN) to deliver broadband Internet access, telephone and video entertainment services to more than 24,000 subscribers. The deployment includes the new Cisco ASR 1000 Series router. The network transformation will be implemented by NetDesign, a Cisco Gold Certified Partner.


http://www.cisco.com

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Occam Networks Posts Q1 Revenue of $19.7 Million

Occam Networks reported Q1 2008 revenue of $19.7 million, up 4 percent from the same quarter last year and down 8 percent compared with the prior quarter, reflecting first-quarter seasonality. Net loss (GAAP), was $4.5 million, or a loss of $0.23 per basic share, compared with a $4.6 million net loss or $0.23 per basic share for the fourth quarter of 2007 and with net income of $29,000, or $0.00 per basic share, for the first quarter of 2007. The GAAP net loss for the first quarter of 2008 included a write-down of $0.9 million for the divestiture of certain legacy activities associated with the company's purchase of certain Terawave assets during the fourth quarter of 2007.


"We continued to focus on our strategic goals during Q1, chief among these is returning to profitability," said Bob Howard-Anderson, president and CEO of Occam Networks. "An important strategic development for Occam during the first quarter was the announcement that FairPoint Communications, the eighth largest telco in the U.S., has selected Occam to be its lead access-equipment provider for a major broadband initiative in northern New England. "http://www.occamnetworks.com

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DT Reports Increased Profit, Fixed Line Losses, Mobile Gains, More Competition

Deutsche Telekom reported net revenue of EUR 15.0 billion for Q1 2008, representing a year-on-year decrease of 3.1 percent, impacted by the decline in revenue in the Broadband/Fixed Network and Business Customers segments due to conventional line losses, the move to flat-rate plans and increased price competition for broadband services. Domestic revenues decreased by 6.1 percent. Adjusted EBITDA of the Group remained stable at EUR 4.7 billion, as the company trimmed its capital expenditures by 11% compared to a year earlier. Adjusted to exclude exchange rate fluctuations, it increased by 3.1 percent. Reported EBITDA of EUR 5.0 billion came in 9.1 percent above the previous year's figure. The proportion of net revenue generated outside Germany increased slightly to 51.6 percent.


In a conference call, Deutsche Telekom officials discussed the possibility of further acquisitions of mobile operators abroad, but did not confirm rumours of a possible bid for Sprint Nextel.


Some highlights from the quarterly report.


Mobile Communications

• T-Mobile Deutschland strengthened its position in the domestic market, which was dominated by fierce price wars. Although T-Mobile Deutschland reported a 3.4 percent decline in revenue to EUR 1.9 billion, the efficiency gains had a significant positive effect. Adjusted EBITDA decreased only slightly year-on-year by 1.1 percent, totaling EUR 692 million. The EBITDA margin improved by 0.8 percentage points to 36.7 percent.



• New calling plans launched at CeBIT 2008 have generated strong demand, especially MyFaves and Max. New data plans, including cell phone and laptop flat rates, along with cooperation with Yahoo! have also improved competitiveness in the field of mobile Internet usage. Growth also continued in this lucrative segment with the addition of 210,000 new fixed-term contract customers in the first quarter. T Mobile's customer base in Germany increased year-on-year by 12.3 percent to 37.1 million.



• T-Mobile USA posted 981,000 net additions in q1, three quarters of which were fixed-term contract customers. 1.1 million SunCom customers were also added as SunCom was consolidated on February 22. This took T-Mobile USA past the 30 million customer mark, with 4.8 million net additions compared with the first quarter of 2007, bringing the total to 30.8 million customers.



• Data revenue for mobile communications, excluding messaging services, increased by 28.0 percent in the first quarter to EUR 0.5 billion. Growth in Europe totaled 41.5 percent, rising to EUR 0.3 billion. In the United States, revenue in dollars increased by 30.7 percent to just under USD 0.4 billion.

Broadband / Fixed Network

• In the domestic market, T-Home's sales of DSL lines for new customers remained high in the first quarter of 2008, totaling 539,000. Deutsche Telekom now accounts for around 43 percent of growth in the entire German broadband market.



• In Germany, T-Home's revenue decreased year-on-year by 6.1 percent to EUR 4.8 billion, which is in line with expectations.



• The marketing of T-Home Complete packages in Germany continued to deliver solid results. The number of broadband lines increased by 1.9 million compared with the first quarter of 2007 to 13.0 million. The number of customers with Complete packages increased by 5.4 million to 11.1 million.



• Line losses amounted to 120,000, primarily due to the increasing availability of all-IP lines, essentially as resale competitors switched their business models. As a result of the corresponding fall in demand for DSL resale products in new business, the number of DSL resale lines fell to 3.4 million. Between 0.8 and 1.1 million line losses are forecast for the full year due to all-IP migration.



• Another approximately 460,000 are line losses in the true sense of the word, with the forecast for the full year of some 1.7 to 1.9 million losses in this category remaining unchanged. Overall, including the migration to all-IP lines -- an effect that didn't happen in the previous year -- the number of fixed lines in Germany decreased by 582,000 in the first quarter. The number of leased unbundled local loop lines, in other words the last mile to the customer, increased accordingly to 7.0 million.



• International business of the Broadband/Fixed Network operating segment posted revenue of EUR 0.6 billion; the decrease of 19.2 percent year-on-year is essentially down to the deconsolidation of the companies



• The broadband market outside Germany also continued on a growth course in the first quarter of 2008. With a total of 1.5 million broadband lines including resale products, the Broadband/Fixed Network segment recorded an increase of around 34.8 percent year-on-year outside Germany.

T-Systems

T-Systems modified its reporting structure to reflect its operational realignment starting in the first quarter of 2008. As a result, reporting will no longer show Enterprise and Business Services. The previous Business Services unit is now fully integrated in Telecommunications. The two other units, Computing & Desktop Services and Systems Integration, have been retained and are not affected by this measure.

Business outside Germany grew by 3 percent to EUR 593 million in the first quarter of 2008. By contrast, revenue in Germany decreased by 13.7 percent to EUR 2.0 billion. As such, the Business Customers segment posted an overall decrease of 10.4 percent to EUR 2.6 billion. This is mainly the result of the reassignment of Active Billing to T-Home and the deconsolidation of Media & Broadcast. Another factor was the reduction in intra-group revenue, which fell 20.1 percent year-on-year. This decrease illustrates T-Systems' substantial contribution to Deutsche Telekom's cost-cutting program. Organically, i.e. adjusted for the 2007 revenue from Media & Broadcast and Active Billing, revenue decreased by 5.2 percent in the first quarter of 2008.

http://www.telekom.com

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Korea Telecom Selects Tektronix's GeoProbe Network Assurance

Korea Telecom (KT) has selected Tektronix Communications' GeoProbe Network Assurance solution to test the deployment of new call-related services on their intelligent network. Specifically, GeoProbe will be used by KT to proactively monitor, manage, diagnose and troubleshoot issues before, during and after the launch of new services over their intelligent network. GeoProbe's real-time and historical multi-protocol call trace and online analytical processing report features will provide KT an end-to-end monitoring approach, allowing them to view multiple sessions in real-time. Financial terms were not disclosed.http://www.tek.com/geoprobe

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Marvell Settles Stock Option Case with the SEC

Marvell reached a settlement with the Securities & Exchange Commission ("SEC") in connection with its past stock option granting process. Without admitting or denying the allegations in the SEC's complaint, the company agreed to settle the charges by consenting to a permanent injunction against any future violations of various provisions of the federal securities laws. Marvell will also pay a civil penalty of $10 million in connection with the settlement.


In a related agreement, Weili Dai, one of the company's co-founders, also entered into a settlement with the SEC. Without admitting or denying the allegations in the SEC's complaint, Ms. Dai consented to a permanent injunction against any future violations of various provisions of the federal securities laws, agreed not to serve as a director or officer of a public company for a period of five years, and will pay a civil penalty of $500,000.http://www.marvell.com

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Vonage Reports Q1 Growth, Teams with Covad

Vonage's Q1 revenue grew to a record $225 million, up 15% from $196 million in the first quarter 2007 and up 4% sequentially, driven by an increase in subscriber lines and higher average revenue per user. There was a GAAP net loss of $9 million or $0.06 per share, down from a loss of $72 million or $0.47 per share reported in the first quarter 2007.


Some highlights:

• Average monthly revenue per line in the first quarter 2008 was $28.85, up from $28.31 in the year-ago quarter and $28.19 reported in the fourth quarter 2007. Average monthly telephony services revenue per line for the quarter increased to $27.87, up from $27.36 reported a year ago and up from $27.42 sequentially.



• Marketing expense for the quarter was $61 million, or 27% of revenue, down sharply from $91 million, or 46% of revenue, a year ago, and down from $63 million, or 29% of revenue, sequentially. Marketing cost per gross subscriber line addition ("SLAC") was $216 in the first quarter 2008, down from $273 in the year-ago quarter and $223 sequentially. The company expects SLAC to increase in the second quarter, consistent with prior year seasonal trends. Vonage expects to gradually increase marketing expenditures in the second half of 2008 to accelerate growth but continues to expect the cost of acquisition to fall within $225-$250 for the full year 2008.



• Vonage added 30,000 net subscriber lines in the first quarter 2008 and finished the quarter with more than 2.6 million lines in service.



• Average monthly customer churn increased to 3.3% in the first quarter 2008 from 3.0% in the fourth quarter 2007.



• Vonage announced a relationship with Covad whereby Vonage will offer a DSL service to both residential and small business customers. The company expects this new service, called Vonage Broadband, to be available to customers by the end of the year.

http://www.vonage.com

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Sonus Posts Q1 Revenue of $74.0 Million

Sonus Networks reported Q1 2008 revenue of $74.0 million, compared with $97.1 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007 and $71.1 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2007. Net income on a GAAP basis for the first quarter of 2008 was $0.6 million, or $0.00 per diluted share, compared to GAAP net income of $14.1 million, or $0.05 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2007, and a GAAP net loss of $4.0 million, or $0.02 per share, for the first quarter of 2007.


"Our first quarter results demonstrate the diversity of our business and a solid global environment for IP communications," said Hassan Ahmed, chairman and CEO of Sonus Networks.http://www.sonusnet.com

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The Cloud Selects Devicescape for "mycloud" Easy Connect

The Cloud, Europe's leading independent wireless broadband provider, announced the launch of mycloud (beta), a new connector capability that aims to simplify the Wi-Fi user experience by providing seamless log-on to home, office, public access and free networks, without complex registration requirements or hidden costs.


The Cloud has partnered with Devicescape Software to power "mycloud." The Devicescape Connect Service automatically connects subscribers' Wi-Fi devices to The Cloud and other European networks. The new ‘mycloud' service allows customers to automatically connect to all of The Cloud's 10,000 hotspots across the UK, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, The Netherlands and Norway. The service will initially be offered on select networks to beta subscribers, eventually rolling out to the full footprint of Cloud hotspots.


Some of Devicescape's other customers include BT, Deutsche Telekom, FatPort (Canada) and Vex (Brazil).http://www.thecloud.nethttp://www.devicescape.com

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CopperGate Acquires Conexant's HomePlug AV Powerline Technology

CopperGate Communications has acquired Conexant Systems' HomePlug AV business, including all relevant power line technology and silicon products, related patents, appropriate licenses, and requisite personnel. Former Conexant employees will become part of the CopperGate team and will expand the company's R&D initiatives in Southern California. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.


CopperGate is already the leading provider of HomePNA compliant chipsets, the dominant coax and phone wire standard for IPTV installations and the company remains strongly committed to the HomePNA standard. CopperGate said the acquisition makes it the first semiconductor company with home networking technologies supporting all three wire types -- coax, phone and power lines.


"Adding power line technology to our HomePNA coax and phone line technology opens up many new markets globally and better prepares the company for the exciting new ITU home networking standard, G.hn," said Gabi Hilevitz, Chief Executive Officer of CopperGate.


G.hn is the working group name for the next generation global home networking standard being created within the ITU-T. With G.hn, coax, phone wires and power lines will all be supported by a single standard. Today, there are twenty-five active global members of G.hn including AT&T, Verizon, France Telecom, Intel and TI and the group recently began meeting monthly due to strong interest and increased contributions. The G.hn foundation specification is expected by the end of 2008.


Separately, CopperGate announced a significant milestone -- the shipment of 5 million HomePNA chipsets worldwide.http://www.copper-gate.com

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Sun to Add On2's Video Codecs to Java

Sun Microsystems entered into a multi-year agreement to add On2 Technologies' TrueMotion video codecs to its JavaFX family of products. Sun said that the deal will enable the same high resolution video and media applications to run across the billions of devices that use the Java platform -- browsers, desktops, mobile and embedded devices. The first availability of On2 video codec for JavaFX software products is scheduled for the fall of 2008.http://www.sun.comhttp://www.on2.com

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Taiwan's Chunghwa Established JV in Vietnam

Chunghwa Telecom, the incumbent operator in Taiwan, has established a joint venture with Viettel Corporation (''Viettel'') to provide Internet Data Center (''IDC'') services in Vietnam. This venture, which is expected to begin operations in the third quarter of 2008, marks Chunghwa Telecom's first investment project outside of Taiwan. The initial investment is US$30 million, of which 70% will be provided by Viettel and 30% will be provided by Chunghwa Telecom.


Chunghwa Telecom initially will cooperate with Viettel to offer Taiwan- based companies and customers IDC services in Vietnam, where demand for these services is expected to increase dramatically, in line with Internet growth. In Taiwan, Chunghwa Telecom provides not only basic IDC services, but also total solutions for network monitoring, security, load-balancing, and disaster recovery. The company said it expects that the joint venture will expand to also provide both basic and total solution IDC services for Taiwanese corporate customers, government authorities and private companies in Vietnam.http://www.cht.com.tw/

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Spain's TeleCable Selects Juniper M-series, MX-series Routers

TeleCable, a leading cable TV and Internet provider in Spain, has deployed Juniper Networks' M-series multiservice routers and MX-series Ethernet Services Routers in its metro network to improve the user experience for its broad range of voice, television and mobile services. TeleCable offers a range of television, video, data and telephone services throughout northern Spain. The new metro Ethernet network will leverage the MX-series' MPLS capabilities and the MX960 ESR, which delivers up to 960 Gbps of switching and routing capacity and is optimized for emerging Ethernet network architectures and services. Financial terms were not disclosed.http://www.juniper.net

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Virgin Media Tests 40G with Nortel, Juniper

Virgin Media, the largest broadband provider in the UK, has conducted a trial of 40 Gbps technology using equipment from Nortel and Juniper Networks.

The 40G North-South trial was conducted over a 350km span of Virgin Media's current UK 10G network. Nortel provided its 40G Adaptive Optical Engine DWDM transponder cards which interconnected with Juniper Networks' T-series routers with 40G interfaces located at sites in Manchester and London.


The live field trial, conducted in late April 2008, carried 40G traffic generated by Virgin Media and delivered over its long-haul optical network between Manchester and London.


"Our aim for this trial was to ensure we continue to meet the growing capacity needs of the high-speed services we deliver and provide a quality experience for Virgin Media customers," said Daniel Hennessy, director of Technical Architecture, Virgin Media. "Our strategic suppliers have demonstrated very clearly how existing network assets can be scaled to meet the growth in demand associated with evolving customer behaviour and step changes in the products provided as part of our high-speed broadband proposition. Our optical network will provide a solid foundation for growth as it takes advantage of technology designed to avoid electrical regeneration and where possible reduce the incremental cost of scaling transport capacity."http://www.virginmedia.comhttp://www.juniper.net

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