Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Enablence Acquires Teledata

Ottawa-based Enablence Technologies, which supplies FTTH equipment as well as optical components and subsystems for access, metro and long-haul markets, completed its previously-announced acquisition of Teledata Networks Ltd.


Teledata, which is based in Tel Aviv, supplies multiservice access solutions, including VDSL equipment. It's flagship BroadAccess-1000E is a FTTX MSAG designed for the delivery of residential Triple Play services and Carrier Ethernet business services over copper or fiber. The BroadAccess-1000E covers multiple functionalities including those of an MSAG, IP-DSLAM, and Carrier Ethernet Switch with a wide range of service interfaces, including POTS, xDSL (ADSL2+, VDSL2, and SHDSL) and broadband over optical fiber.


The merger consideration is comprised of US$10,000,000 in cash, US$10,000,000 in 5% subordinated secured notes payable on the second anniversary of the closing of the merger and 54,932,143 common shares of Enablence (representing 14.3% of total outstanding shares post closing), the equivalent value of which was US$30 million, for gross consideration of US$50 million.


Enablence said Teledata's revenues are generated from technology complementary to its own and derived primarily in geographical markets in which it has not previously operated.
http://www.enablence.com
http://www.teledata-networks.com/.

Telefónica and Tata Comunications Sign Telepresence Deal

Telefónica and Tata Communications have signed an interconnection agreement to allow customers in each of
the respective networks to have seamless Telepresence sessions, regardless of the service provider from whom they are being serviced. http://www.telefonica.com
http://www.tatacommunications.com

Graybar to Distribute Fujitsu FLASHWAVE in North America

Graybar Electric Company, a leading distributor of electrical, communications and networking products, has joined the Fujitsu Strategic Authorized Reseller (STAR) program and will provide distribution expertise for Fujitsu's FLASHWAVE optical networking solutions and professional services enabling customers across North America.http://us.fujitsu.com/telecom
http://www.graybar.com

Overture Networks Delivers G.8032 Ethernet Ring Protection

Overture Networks has added G.8032 Ethernet ring protection switching to its UTS 4000 optical edge switch.


ITU G.8032 Ethernet Ring protection switching is optimized for high-performance Carrier Ethernet applications, giving customers SONET-like performance with all of the bandwidth and flexibility of Carrier Ethernet. Features such as 50msec protection switching, deterministic performance and simplified design rules add quality, accelerate deployment and lower cost.


The Overture UTS 4000 product family enables converged Ethernet and up to 24 optional DS1 pseudowires over native Ethernet transport. The platform targets mobile backhaul, enterprise access or infrastructure applications which require Ethernet with fine-grain CoS and SONET-quality DS1 transport across a native Ethernet infrastructure. In addition, the UTS 4000 can be paired with the Overture Networks' UTX 8500 PWE gateway to allow carriers to enable a 1588v2 solution without the cost and complexity of deploying separate 1588v2 timing servers. The UTX 8500 PWE gateway is the industry's most scalable and cost-effective solution; supporting 1,000 protected DS1s in a completely redundant system. The UTX 8500 leverages existing BITS or SONET line timing to deliver an integrated 1588v2 timing master server which supports up to 500 UTS 4000s.


The addition of G.8032 ring protection switching gives Overture's customers a technologically advanced and cost-effective solution for building secure mobile backhaul networks as they look to support the mounting bandwidth requirements of 3G and 4G services.
http://www.overturenetworks.com

Verizon Completes 100G Ethernet Field Trial with Alcatel-Lucent

Verizon completed a field trial carrying 100G Ethernet traffic on a metropolitan Ethernet infrastructure.


The trial, which ran from June 14 - 18, used existing Alcatel-Lucent 7450 switching equipment with new plug-in cards to place native 100GE traffic on a single fiber, creating the high-speed links. The tests were completed over 12.7 km (7.9 miles) of field fiber in the company's Dallas area network. Alcatel-Lucent's 7450 ESS nodes used 100 GE service interfaces with 100GBASE-LR10 optics, which are rated for distances of up to 10 km.


"With this 100G Ethernet trial, Verizon is preparing for the future and the need to meet our customers' bandwidth needs in the metro Ethernet space," said Jean McManus, executive director of technology for Verizon. "The network of tomorrow will include building blocks such as 100G Ethernet that allow us to scale our switched Ethernet core as access speeds and customer demands increase."



Verizon's SES network supports Ethernet LAN (E-LAN) and Ethernet Virtual Private Line (EVPL) metro services. E-LAN is a multipoint-to-multipoint bridging service designed for any-to-any connectivity between dedicated ports. EVPL is an all-fiber optic network service that connects subscriber locations at native LAN speeds using point-to-point Ethernet virtual connections.


This latest trial follows Verizon's deployment of the first live 100G commercial system on its European optical core network between Paris and Frankfurt as well as a series of successful 100G technology trials the company has previously completed.


In November 2007, Verizon and Alcatel-Lucent successfully completed the industry's first field test of 100G optical transmission on a live network route between Tampa, Fla., and Miami. In October 2008, Verizon and Nortel proved 100G transmission could perform with better tolerance for signal distortion than typically found in today's standard 10G wavelength. In September 2008, Verizon and Nokia Siemens Networks announced they had successfully transmitted data at 100G on a single wavelength for more than 1,040 kilometers, setting a new distance record over deployed fiber and demonstrating better performance than conventional transmissionhttp://www.verizon.com
http://www.alcatel-lucent.com
  • In December 2009, Verizon began carrying live, commercial traffic over a 100 Gbps ultra-long-haul optical system on the company's European optical core network between Paris and Frankfurt. The accomplishment marked the first time for deployment of ultra-long-haul 100G using a single channel on a production network. Specifically, Verizon deployed Nortel's 100G solution to carry live Private IP traffic between Verizon's core routers over the 893-kilometer (555-mile) route without modifying the system. Verizon sent a true 100G signal by using the same spacing between wavelengths that is used for a single wavelength, demonstrating the company's drive to promote 100G in a serial fashion on just one information channel. The 100G transmission was conducted on a Verizon ultra-long-haul optical system carrying other live 10G wavelengths.

Google Prevails Over Viacom in YouTube Legal Case

A U.S. District Court threw out a copyright infringement lawsuit brought by Viacom against Google. The judgment found that YouTube is protected by the safe harbor of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) against claims of copyright infringement. Viacom said it would appeal the decision.
http://www.google.com
http://www.viacom

Verizon Wireless Readies Motorola's DROID X

Verizon Wireless confirmed that it will begin offering Motorola's DROID X beginning next month. It features fast Web browsing; a 1GHz processor; 3G Mobile HotSpot capabilities; social messaging; Adobe Flash and access to the Android Market, which has more than 65,000 applications, along with a host of unique Verizon Wireless applications such as NFL Mobile, Skype mobile, V CAST Video, EA Need for Speed Shift, etc.


The DROID X also features a dual-flash, 8-megapixel camera, HD camcorder, as well as DLNA and HDMI connectivity to download, stream and share personal HD content.


DROID X by Motorola will be available at www.verizonwireless.com and in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores beginning July 15 for $199.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate with a new two-year customer agreement.
http://www.verizonwireless.com

Verizon Tests 10 Gbps XG-PON with Motorola

Verizon has completed a field trial of a second XG-PON fiber-optic distribution system connecting at 10 Gbps downstream and 2.5 Gbps upstream to a FiOS customer location in Taunton, Mass. The test, which was completed in May, used an XG-PON system developed by Motorola.


The field test used Motorola equipment deployed with dual fibers from an OLT (optical line terminal) in a Verizon switching facility to a combiner that coupled the XG-PON system with the existing GPON system. On the customer-facing side of the network, the test data traveled over a single FiOS fiber link to the customer test location.


At the customer's home, the optical network terminal (ONT) received the 10/2.5 Gbps feed and used two data communication ports to simultaneously provide transmission speeds of close to 1 Gbps to each of two PCs inside the home. Combined, the two ports delivered approximately 1.85 Gbps in aggregate bandwidth in each direction. In addition, speed tests were performed to Verizon's speed test server located more than 400 miles away in Reston, Va., realized speeds of up to 915 Mbps between the PC and the speed test server.


Verizon said the test demonstrates the capability of its FiOS network to scale to greater speeds. The company noted that the alternate network link approach used at the OLT covered in the standards. The dual fiber linkage is seen as a way to reduce the overall costs of XG-PON and is under investigation by suppliers and service providers.


"XG-PON can provide the capacity needed to support the explosive growth in bandwidth envisioned for new and emerging services such as 3DTV and Ultra HD TV, and the growing demand for streaming video content to the PC and TV, as well as the increased use of concurrent applications," said Vincent O'Byrne, director of technology for Verizon's FTTP architecture and design effort.


Motorola is already a supplier of BPON and GPON optical networking equipment to Verizon.

The Verizon technology team plans to continue testing XG-PON with other suppliers in the laboratory and in the network, and also, by year-end, to submit to suppliers a request for information for XG-PON technology.
http://www.verizon.com
  • In December 2009, Verizon announced its first field-tests of XG-PON. XG-PON signal was tested independently on a dedicated passive optical network (PON) as well as overlaid on a fiber providing FiOS service to a customer. The overlay test verified there was no interference between the XG-PON signal and the regular FiOS signal using gigabit passive optical network (GPON) technology and running at 2.5 Gbps downstream and 1.24 Gbps upstream. The test was conducted recently in southern Massachusetts. Previously, Verizon tested the XG-PON signal in the company's Waltham laboratory. The XG-PON trial consisted of a new optical line terminal (OLT) installed in the Verizon central office, generating a 10 Gbps XG-PON signal transmitted over a wavelength, or color of light. Two tests were conducted: One test transmitted the XG-PON signal by itself on a separate PON fiber between the central office and a new optical network terminal (ONT) device at a customer's home. In the other test, the XG-PON stream was merged as a separate wavelength onto an already-operating live fiber running FiOS with GPON at 2.5 Gbps to provide a total downstream flow of 12.5 Gbps. This test used equipment from Huawei Technologies.

Verizon Wireless Carries BLOCKBUSTER On Demand to Android

Verizon Wireless' V CAST Video has begun delivering BLOCKBUSTER On Demand content for DROID X customers. The service will offer customers the hottest new release movies available to download the day they become available, alongside Blu-ray and DVD releases. DROID X customers will be able to rent or buy titles to watch on their smartphones and other BLOCKBUSTER On Demand devices. Movies cost $9.99 and up to purchase and $3.99 each to rent.
http://www.verizonwireless.com

TeliaSonera International Connects at i/o Data Centers in Phoenix

TeliaSonera International Carrier, which owns and operates more than 27,000 miles of fiber network with over 100 points of presence in 35 countries, has established a presence at i/o Data Centers in Phoenix, Arizona.

i/o operates carrier-neutral data centers and provides its customers with direct access to more than a dozen telecommunications carriers including AT&T, Verizon Business, Level3, AboveNet, AGL, Cogent, Qwest, tw telecom, XO Communications, and now TeliaSonera International Carrier. In addition, i/o offers enterprise-grade blended bandwidth and data transport services. The company does not charge for cross-connects.
http://www.iodatacenters.com

Cisco Commits to $1 Billion Multi-Year Investment in Russia

Cisco made a firm commitment to invest $1B USD to drive entrepreneurship and sustainable innovation in Russia. The announcement came during a meeting in San Jose between President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev and Cisco Chairman and CEO John Chambers.


Cisco will invest the $1 billion through a five phase collaborative plan and as part of Russia's Skolkovo Project to develop a new Silicon Valley center of innovation outside of Moscow.


Key elements of the plan include:


1. Venture Capital -- Cisco it will extend its existing venture commitment to Russia's innovation economy with an incremental $100 million in new companies. Cisco also committed to increase the number of Cisco Networking Academies to 300 across the country.


2. Skolkovo -- Cisco made a firm commitment to establish a dedicated physical presence in Skolkovo. Cisco aims to establish Skolkovo as the first of a next-generation of Smart+Connected Communities in Russia, and establish a collaborative model for Russia's future sustainable social, economic and environmental development.


3. R&D -- Cisco will increase its research and development capability in Russia. In addition to the Skolkovo infrastructure build out, Senior Vice President Marthin De Beer will establish a second global headquarters for the Cisco Emerging Technologies Group and will locate key members of its engineering team in Skolkovo. Cisco already operates dedicated manufacturing and development for Russia-specific routing technologies, and will look to extend its engineering expertise throughout the region.


4. I-Prize -- Cisco also announced the third phase of its I-Prize competition, open specifically to entrepreneurial teams in Russia. Cisco will provide $175,000 USD in overall prize money for the winning Russian teams in the contest.


5. Building a Collaborative Model -- In the fifth phase, Cisco will build a model for partnering with existing businesses, venture capital and technology companies in Russia. Cisco will look to work on joint development projects in areas such as smart grid, financial services, service provider models, financing, broadband implementation and social networking to develop exportable products, solutions and business models.
http://www.cisco.com

Monday, June 21, 2010

Google Voice Hits One Million Users

A little over one year since debuting a limited beta version, Google officially released its voice application "for everyone" in the U.S. The sign-up page is now open to general public. Google said it already has over a million users of Google Voice. The company highlighted the number of new features added in the past months, include a mobile app, an integrated voicemail player in Gmail, the ability to use Google Voice with your existing number, the ability to send SMS to multiple recipients, etc.


Google Voice, which is based on the GrandCentral service that Google acquired in July 2007, provides the user with a single phone number that will ring your home, work, and mobile phones, a central voicemail inbox that you could access on the web, and the ability to screen calls by listening in live as callers leave a voicemail. Google Voice is initially available only to users of the preceding GrandCentral service, but the company plans to release the application to the general public in the coming weeks.
http://www.google.com

Cubic Acquires Safe Harbor for CyberSecurity

Cubic Defense Applications has acquired Safe Harbor Holdings, a Vienna, Virginia-based supplier of customized hardware and software for cyber solutions.


Safe Harbor provides specialized cyber security and networking infrastructure solutions, including systems design, cross-domain product development and deployment, enterprise network architecture and engineering, access controls, and common cross-domain framework solutions comprised of multilevel controlled interfaces. The firm has approximately 30 cyber security engineers and professionals located in the Northern Virginia area and serving specialized intelligence and defense clients.
http://www.cubic.com

AT&T Adds 1.6 Million Rural Customers from Verizon Wireless

AT&T completed its previously announced $2.85 billion acquisition of wireless assets from Verizon Wireless that were divested as part of the Alltel deal. The transaction primarily represents former Alltel assets, but it also includes assets from Verizon Wireless and the former Rural Cellular Corporation. This enhances AT&T's wireless network coverage in primarily rural areas across 18 states. Once network transition work is completed, AT&T will add approximately 1.6 million subscribers to its mobile network. AT&T expects to roll out its 3G service to all of the acquired properties.
http://www.att.com

TeliaSonera Deploys NSN for LTE in Gothenburg

Telia is deploying Nokia Siemens Networks' Flexi Multiradio Base Station for its upcoming launch of 4G/LTE services in Gothenburg, Sweden. Under the two-year radio network contract, Nokia Siemens Networks is supplying its Flexi Multiradio Base Stations and its NetAct network management system to monitor, manage and optimize the operator's network. Services including network planning, integration and optimization as well as a full range of care services are part of the overall offering.


"The demand for ultra high-speed mobile broadband is significantly increasing in Sweden, and after TeliaSonera´s world premiere last year with 4G services, we are now continuing a fast roll out in Sweden. Nokia Siemens Networks, as one of two LTE vendors, is now providing the radio network in Sweden's second largest city," said Erik Hallberg, senior vice president and head of Mobility Services Sweden in TeliaSonera.
http://www.nsn.com
  • In March 2010, TeliaSonera, which activated the first commercial LTE service in the world in December 2009, announced the next step in its next-generation mobile broadband roll-out. The company is upgrading base stations to 100 Mbps, beginning with sites in central Stockholm and extending to the rest of the network in Spring. The upgraded backhaul will enable downlink speeds of up to 80 Mbps to customers in optimal locations. Telia's 4G network is currently installed in the central parts of Stockholm and in parts of the Stockholm International, Kista and Hammarby Sjöstad. Telia plans to build out 4G in 25 locations in Sweden. During the third quarter of this year, the 4G network will be launched in Lund, VästerÃ¥s, Malmö, Gothenburg, Uppsala and Linköping.

Saudi Arabia's Baud Telecom Picks DragonWave

Saudi Arabia's Baud Telecom Company (BTC Networks) has selected DragonWave as its "vendor of choice" for wireless, last-mile enterprise access. One of BTC Networks' valuable customers, Etihad Atheeb Telecom Company "GO", is expanding its footprint across Saudi Arabia by deploying DragonWave's Horizon Compact to flexibly support low-latency business services of varying speeds up to 400 Mbps. Financial terms were not disclosed.
http://www.dragonwaveinc.com

Spread Networks Delivers 13.3ms Latency for NYC-Chicago Trading

Spread Networks, a new a privately owned telecommunications provider, launched a dark fiber private network optimized for financial trading between New York City and Chicago. The network, which operates along a completely new 825 mile route, reduces round-trip latency to 13.33 milliseconds. Most connections between these financial centers have operated along railroad rights of way that avoided mountainous construction ducts in central Pennsylvania.


Spread Networks is headed by Jim Barksdale (Chairman), who also is Chairman and President of Barksdale Management Corporation and former CEO of Netscape and AT&T Wireless, and David Barksdale (CEO). Its technical team includes Michael Strickland (Senior Vice President, Technology and Engineering), who previously was Director of Network Architecture, Engineering and Deployment at Level 3.


Spread Networks cited several network equipment partners, including ADVA Optical Networking, Ciena, Infinera and JDSU. ADVA confirmed that its FSP 3000 WDM low-latency optical transport solution has been certified by Spread Networks and is achieving speeds of 13.33 milliseconds on the New York-Chicago route. Infinera also noted that its optical networking solution is designed to reduce the equipment drag on Spread's dark fiber by more than 80%, when compared to conventional DWDM solutions, thanks to new technical innovations ultra-fast transponders , latency-optimized optical amplifiers, low latency FBG dispersion compensation, and its flexible Forward Error Correction (FEC) modes.
http://www.spreadnetworks.com
http://www.advaoptical.com

London Grid for Learning Upgrades with Juniper

London Grid for Learning (LGfL), which handles ICT operations for all 2,600 primary and secondary schools in greater London, has upgraded its data center network with a high-performance infrastructure from Juniper, including routing, switching and security solutions. The upgraded network enables LGfL to provide bandwidth-rich multimedia teaching and learning services, including videoconferencing with museums and specialist learning centers; content streaming; and online managed learning resources.


LGfL has deployed Juniper Networks MX Series Universal Edge Routers for the core and distribution layer of its network, with Advanced Routing, MPLS, QoS and Multicast capabilities. Juniper Networks J Series Services Routers standardize service delivery at the network edge. Additionally, Juniper Networks EX Series Ethernet Switches with Virtual Chassis fabric technology eliminate the need for an aggregation layer -- a primary source of complexity in data center networks -- providing LGfL with Ethernet aggregation in the distribution layer to create flexible carrier-class level connectivity in LGfL's data center. Juniper Networks SRX Series Services Gateways are also deployed at the network's core to provide security.


LGfL's metro network is 100 percent optic fiber and 100 percent Ethernet. The network is also the backbone of the London Public Services Network (LPSN), which ensures reliable information sharing between the capital's 33 local authorities.
http://www.juniper.net

Deltenna Offers 3G Multi-beam Antenna Extender

UK-based Deltenna introduced its WiBE (Wireless Broadband Enabler) -- a small modem that uses multi-beam antenna technology to extend the range and throughput of a 3G signal. The multi-beam antenna system scans then and selects the link offering the best data connection while rejecting interfering signals from other base stations. The company claims that in areas of weak signal it delivers a data throughput 30-times greater than a conventional 3G USB modem dongle. Deltenna said the connection range is up to five-times that of the 3G dongle. The WiBE also offers an 802.11bgn WiFi router to distribute the signal within the home. The company is also working on an LTE version.
http://www.deltenna.com

Sprint Launches 3G/4G USB Modem from Sierra Wireless

Sprint released a new 3G/4G USB 250U mobile broadband modem from Sierra Wireless. Sprint 3G/4G USB 250U is available now through Business Direct and Business Solutions Partners followed by full channel availability by mid-July. Customers can purchase Sprint 3G/4G USB 250U from Sprint for free (excluding taxes) after a $50 mail-in-rebate, a $49.99 instant savings and with a two-year service agreement on a new line activation or eligible upgrade. Sprint's 3G/4G Mobile Broadband Connection plan is priced at $59.99 per month for unlimited use on the Sprint 4G Network and 5 GB of data on the Sprint 3G Network (price plans exclude surcharges and taxes).
http://www.sprint.com