Vodafone Germany offers Ethernet Business Services with Alcatel-Lucent

Vodafone Germany has introduced new Ethernet services throughout Germany based on Alcatel-Lucent's IP/MPLS platform. The services allow enterprise customers to connect multiple sites via Ethernet point-to-point or point-to-multipoint as an alternative to leased lines and IP VPNs.


Alcatel-Lucent provided a turnkey IP/MPLS solution including its 7x50 Service Routers and the 5620 Service Aware Manager (SAM), as well as Customer Premise Equipment (CPE). In addition to supplying hardware, Alcatel-Lucent will provide a full range of professional services including network design, installation, integration, testing and system maintenance.
http://www.alcatel-lucent.comhttp://

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Cisco Outlines "Security Without Borders" Architecture

Cisco outlined its plans for a new enterprise network security architecture aimed at enabling business users to access information from any device and any location.


The Cisco Secure Borderless Network architecture focuses on four critical anchors: enterprise endpoints (mobile or fixed), the Internet edge, the data center, and policy that is context- and location-aware.


Key components of this architecture include the Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility client, which is a little sliver of software that runs on every PC, laptop and mobile device. Its job is to make sure that every connection coming on or off a device is connected to a security-scanning element somewhere in the network. The solution is designed to provide automatic security gateway detection, trusted network detection, and a hghly secure application access for both managed and unmanaged devices.


Cisco is also expanding its "TrustSec" to provide businesses with identity and granular control over security policy. This is especially important as workforces are increasingly mobile and are using new forms of Web-based collaboration and communication, making traditional security approaches insufficient.


Future plans call for extending the Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility solution to include hybrid enforcement delivered through the Cisco IronPort S-Series appliances and cloud-based security delivered through Cisco ScanSafe.
http://www.cisco.com

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Alcatel-Lucent Names Stephen A. Carter as Chief Marketing Officer

Alcatel-Lucent announced today the appointment of Stephen A. Carter to the newly created position of Chief Marketing, Strategy & Communication Officer. He will also sit on the company's Management Committee.


Most recently, Stephen A. Carter served as the Minister in the UK Government for the Communications, Technology & Broadcasting Sector, where he was the author of the Digital Britain Report, and the follow on Digital Economy Bill.
http://www.alcatel-lucent.comhttp://

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EU Opens Consultation on Future of Universal Service

The European Commission has opened a public consultation on the future of Universal Services in the digital age.


Current EU rules on universal service obligations for telecoms date from 2002 and guarantee that Europeans have access to public telephone networks and to services like basic internet access.


The new consultation aims to see if these rules and definitions on universal service need to be updated for the digital age, and in particular if they should be extended to cover broadband access. The consultation will run until 7 May 2010.


Among the questions the consultation aims to address are: Should universal service principles help to reach the EU's goal of 'broadband for all', or would competition on the open telecoms market or other policy options be more effective? With regard to the Digital Divide, what is the right balance between a coordinated EU-wide response and the need for national flexibility? How should universal service be financed in the future?http://www.europa.euhttp://

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Solera Networks Partners with EMC on Network Forensics Storage

Solera Networks, which specializes in network forensics, will resell a scalable storage area network solution from EMC.


Solera said its DS SAN solution, powered by EMC, breaks the single-system storage barrier by providing incident responders instant assess to the full detail of historical network activity in up to one petabyte of captured network data. Unlike competitive solutions, which require the use of multiple standalone systems to scale to the needs of modern networks, DS SAN simplifies and consolidates hardware deployments while reducing management costs. DS SAN is available immediately in configurations starting at 100 TB of capture storage for network speeds ranging from 100 Mbps through 10 Gbps.


The companies said enterprises need the ability to store network data in a single scalable location, with redundancy built in, without sacrificing instant access to that data. Network forensic tools can then be used to defend against unidentified, persistent threats to the network.
http://www.soleranetworks.com

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Altor Raises $10 million for its Virtualized Data Center Technology

Altor Networks, a start-up based in Redwood Shores, California, closed a $10 million Series B funding round to support its work in securing virtualized data centers and clouds.


Altor Networks is pioneering a new class of virtual security solutions to secure production-oriented virtualized data centers. The company's initial product line includes a purpose-built virtual firewall, a software security appliance that runs in a virtualized environment and enforces security policy on a per virtual machine basis or for groups of VMs.


The new funding came from new investors DAG Ventures, Juniper Networks , Accel Partners and Foundation Capital, Altor's founding investors.
http://www.altornetworks.comhttp://

• Altor Networks is headed by Amir Ben-Efraim (CEO and co-founder), who previously was head of business development at Check Point Software.

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Sourcefire and Immunet Partner on Cloud-Based Antivirus

Sourcefire and Immunet, a developer of antivirus technologies, announced a partnership to deliver a free, Windows-based version of the ClamAV antivirus solution that leverages Immunet's "Cloud-based Collective Immunity" technology, linking together a user's network of friends to identify new threats in real-time, and providing protection across the product's user-base.


Immunet's unique, cloud-based approach links Windows users to a global community, including their friends, family and colleagues to harness a collective knowledge-base for securing their PC. Every time someone in this community encounters a threat, all global ClamAV users gain protection instantly.


ClamAV is an open source anti-malware solution that is installed on over two million gateway devices downloading updates daily from 121 mirror servers located in 43 countries.
http://www.sourcefire.comhttp://http://www.immunet.com

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Force10 Networks Files for IPO

Force10 Networks filed SEC papers for an initial public offering (IPO). The San Jose, California-based company specializes in high performance switches and routers for data center and other network deployments. In fiscal 2009, the company's products were shipped to more than 1,100 end customers in 63 countries. The company reported revenue of $43 million for the year but has not yet attained profitability.
http://www.force10networks.comIn 2009, Turin Networks merged with Force10 Networks. The deal combined leading equipment suppliers for the service provider and enterprise data center markets. Turin Networks was a leading provider in the wireless backhaul aggregation market with products deployed in more than 60 thousand North American cell sites. Force10 Networks offered high-performance equipment for data centers.

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Level 3 Wins $14 Million in Federal Broadband Stimulus Funds

Level 3 Communications has been awarded $13.7 million in federal grant funding from the National Telecommunications and Information Association (NTIA) under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Level 3 will commit an additional $4.2 million in matching funds to the NTIA grant for the expansion of rural broadband.


Level 3 said it will use the NTIA grant funding and its own capital to create dozens of new high-speed network access points or middle mile connections in rural areas across six states: California, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Tennessee and Texas.


Each new access point on the Level 3 network will have the capabilities to provide local telephone, cable and wireless companies more efficient access to Internet, voice, data and video services with national and international reach.
http://www.level3.com
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/press/2010/BTOPgrants_03022010.html

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Accenture Opens Cyber Security “Threat Analysis Center�? in San Antonio

Accenture has opened a threat analysis center in San Antonio, Texas. Accenture said its Threat Analysis Center is designed to help federal, state and local government and commercial clients achieve regulatory compliance, protect data, and make informed decisions that translate into timely action to address cyber threats. The company also plans to use the center to provide clients with assistance in areas such as technology infrastructure, identity management, malware analysis, cyber forensics, mission resilience, business continuity, and Federal Desktop Core Configuration compliance.
http://www.accenture.comhttp://

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Comcast Releases Remote DVR iPhone App

Comcast released a new version of its iPhone app,which now includes a remote DVR programming service (rDVR) that is being rolled out across the country. With the Comcast Mobile app 2.0, customers program their DVR at any time, from anywhere. The app also serves as a single access point to some of Comcast's most popular services including Comcast.net email; visual voice mail, which enables customers to view and select which voice mail messages they want to hear; address book sync; real-time TV listings and trailers of On Demand movies.
http://www.comcast.comhttp://

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Accenture Joins AT&T Business Exchange with Telepresence

Under a non-exclusive agreement, Accenture is gaining access to the AT&T Business Exchange, an inherent feature of the AT&T Telepresence Solution that allows multiple companies in different locations to connect to one another using Cisco TelePresence.


Accenture already has 50 rooms around the world equipped with telepresence. The locations, which Accenture refers to as "telepresence rooms," are widely used to facilitate meetings between employees in remote locations. With access to the AT&T Business Exchange, employees are now also able to link with parties outside of Accenture for business-to-business video conferencing.


More than 50 companies with hundreds of telepresence sites are now connecting with each other using the AT&T Business Exchange, which runs over the carrier's MPLS network.


The exchange also allows Accenture to establish direct connections with more than 1,000 other Cisco TelePresence meeting endpoints deployed worldwide for either intra-company or inter-company meetings.
http://www.att.comhttp://

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Charter's ARPU Reaches $117.43, up 8.1% YoY

Charter Communications, which emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November 2009, reported that its 2009 revenues increased 4.5% on a pro forma basis and 4.3% on an actual basis compared to 2008.


Notably, Charter's total average monthly revenue per basic video customer (ARPU) for Q4 2009 increased 8.1% year-over-year to $117.43, driven by increased sales of "The Charter Bundle".


Some highlighted operational data from Charter:

• As of December 31, 2009, Charter served approximately 5.3 million customers, and the Company's 12.7 million RGUs were comprised of 4.8 million basic video, 3.2 million digital video, 3.1 million HSI and 1.6 million telephone customers.



• Charter served approximately 12.7 million revenue generating units (RGUs).



• Approximately 57% of Charter's customers subscribe to a bundle, up from 53% in the fourth quarter of 2008.



• Digital video customers increased by approximately 43,300 and basic video customers decreased by approximately 56,900 during the fourth quarter. Video ARPU was $62.06 for the fourth quarter of 2009, up 4.7% year-over-year.



• HSI customers grew by approximately 51,800 during the fourth quarter of 2009. HSI ARPU of $41.48 increased approximately 3.0% compared to the year-ago quarter, driven by customer upgrades to higher speeds of service and increased penetration of home networking service.



• Fourth quarter 2009 net gains of telephone customers were approximately 60,600. Telephone penetration is now 14.9% of approximately 10.7 million telephone homes passed as of December 31, 2009. Telephone ARPU of $41.73 increased approximately 1.6% compared to the year-ago quarter.

http://www.charter.com

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T-Mobile to Launch 42 Mbps HSPA+ in German Network

At CeBIT 2010, Deutsche Telekom announced plans to launch HSPA+ running at up to 42 Mbps downstream in its German T-Mobile network. Specifically, T-Mobile will first launch HSPA+ at up to 21 Mbps within Germany. Its first 21 Mbps USB modem will launch next month. During the course of 2010, transmission speeds are to be increased to 42 Mbps. Nokia Siemens Networks and QUALCOMM are participating in an HSPA+ demonstration at CeBIT.

Deutsche Telekom is also showcasing the potential of LTE. The company will have a high-speed connection between its CeBIT stand and transmitter and receiver units in Innsbruck and Bonn. The demonstration will feature mobile Internet at maximum speeds of up to 100 Mbps. The company will also feature a huge multi-touch desk, where visitors can select and control various LTE test applications. Deutsche Telekom's strategic partners Huawei and Samsung will play a significant role in the execution of this showcase. Huawei is involved in setting up the network infrastructure, whereas Samsung will provide the LTE mobile communications devices.
http://www.telekom.de

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Verizon Supports FCC's Spectrum Proposal for National Broadband Plan

Verizon voiced its support for FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski's recent proposal to free up 500 Megahertz of new spectrum over the next decade as part of the upcoming National Broadband Plan.


Verizon said it agrees that newly identified spectrum should be subject "to market-based policies that will promote innovation, speed the delivery of advanced wireless products and services, and ensure that commercial spectrum flows to uses the market values most."

http://www.verizon.comhttp://

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Apple Sues HTC for iPhone Patent Claims

Apple filed a patent infringement lawsuit against HTC relating to the iPhone's user interface, underlying architecture and hardware. Apple said HTC infringes 20 patents it holds in these areas. The lawsuit was filed concurrently with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) and in U.S. District Court in Delaware.


"We can sit by and watch competitors steal our patented inventions, or we can do something about it. We've decided to do something about it," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "We think competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours."http://www.apple.com

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Force10 Debuts 40-port Line Card, Packing 560 10 GigE Ports per Chassis

Force10 Networks announced the availability of a new 40-port line-card that increases the density of its ExaScale E1200 virtualized core switch/router to 560 10 GbE ports in a single half-rack chassis -- a new industry record.


Force10's 40-port 10 GbE line card is the latest solution based on the ExaScale suite of advanced, packet processing and switching ASICs that leverage Force10's high performance hardware and software design knowledge, patented backplane technology, and performance, reliability and flexibility.


The company said its ExaScale can be configured for both line-rate and oversubscribed 10 GbE ports, ensuring customers can support high density connectivity as well as true non-blocking operations where required. In addition, Force10's Ethernet products incorporate the Force10 Virtualization Framework technology suite, which enables data centres and service providers to build, manage and automate network and application performance and processes.


Pricing for the 40-port 10 GbE line-card starts at $97,500. The product will begin shipping in the 2nd quarter of 2010.
http://www.force10networks.com

• In December 2009, Force10 Networks introduced a 10-port 10 GbE line card and a 50-port GbE line card for its ExaScale E1200 and midsized ExaScale E600 chassis. The new ExaScale 10-port 10 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) line card provides support for SR, LR, ER, ZR, and CX4 interfaces using pluggable XFP transceiver modules, making them ideally suited data centers as well as in WAN and long-haul optical networks. The new ExaScale 50-port GbE line card supports pluggable SFP modules, which provide support for SX, LX, ZX and 1000Base-T interfaces. The line card's high-density design enables the ExaScale switch/router to support up to 700 line-rate GbE SFP ports in a single chassis.

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CENX Introduces First Carrier Ethernet Voice Exchange Service

CENX, which operates Carrier Ethernet exchanges for Service Providers, will also offer a Carrier Ethernet neutral Voice Exchange service. Optimized for IP traffic, CENX's Voice Exchange service replaces both TDM direct connections and legacy voice tandems.


CENX said this new service provides competitive carriers with the one-to-many efficiency of a tandem design combined with the effectiveness of a direct connect (capacity-based charges, not minutes-used based charges), delivered on a Carrier Ethernet Exchange platform that scales to match traffic volumes. The CENX service will be offered in a one or ten gigabit Ethernet connection and it will feature capacity-based billing. This enables competitive carriers to reach all other competitive carriers and replace lower speed, costly T1, DS3 and SONET/SDH connections.


"This is the first deployment of Carrier Ethernet for a voice exchange application. The virtual connection and granular bandwidth characteristics of our Carrier Ethernet Neutral Exchanges make it the perfect alternative to legacy voice tandems and the multitude of inefficient, low-speed direct connections between carriers, including wireless carriers and MSOs," said Nan Chen, CENX co-founder and Chief Executive Officer. "Our new Voice Exchange service integrates seamlessly with other CENX Carrier Ethernet Exchange services. By leveraging several unique technical innovations and our years of Ethernet expertise, CENX enables profitable scalability as flat-rate calling plans increase in popularity and traffic volumes grow."http://www.cenx.com

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Radia Perlman Named Intel Fellow for Network and Security

Intel announced the appointment of Radia Perlman as an Intel Fellow, a position where he is responsible for ensuring Intel Labs' leadership in network and security.


Intel Fellows represent one of the highest levels of technical achievement within the company. They are selected for their technical leadership and outstanding contributions to the company and the industry.


Perlman was most recently with Sun Microsystems, where she was a Sun Fellow. Perlman is the inventor of many fundamental technology innovations in computer networking, including the spanning tree algorithm, which is at the heart of today's Ethernet; TRILL, an emerging standard for data center interconnection that can replace today's spanning tree Ethernet; and scalable and robust link state routing technology that is key to the operation of today's Internet.


Perlman has authored two networking textbooks and earned a Ph.D. from MIT in computer science. She holds approximately 100 patents in encryption, decryption and routing.
http://www.intel.com

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MRV's LambdaDriver WDM Surpasses Verizon's TEEER Energy Standard

MRV's LambdaDriver WDM optical transport system has surpassed the Telecommunications Equipment Energy Efficiency Ratings (TEEER) standard for energy efficient optical networking. The TEEER standard, developed by Verizon, provides a score for products that measures the direct relationship between the system's throughput capacity and its power consumption, weighted for different operation modes. Verizon's calculated TEEER value represents the system energy efficiency rating on a scale from one (least efficient) to 10 (most efficient).


MRV said a measured TEEER for optical or video transport equipment should be better than 7.54. In certain configurations, MRV's LambdaDriver platform achieved a score of 9.02, showing the modular WDM system to be a highly energy efficient solution for carriers. The LambdaDriver is the second MRV product to achieve high ratings under the TEEER rating system, following the Fiber Driver optical multi-service platform.


MRV's LambdaDriver is designed for enterprise access, metropolitan carrier and long haul transport networks. The LambdaDriver is a multi-functional, compact, modular WDM system that supports both DWDM and CWDM. LambdaDriver also serves as a packet optical transport system by integrating Carrier Ethernet connection-oriented services and reconfigurable OADM for automated optical mesh topologies with wavelength-level switching. The LambdaDriver series can support data rates from 8 Mbps up to 40 Gbps with future upgrades to 100 Gbps.
http://www.mrv.com

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