NTT DOCOMO's Smartphone for Beginners - Raku-Raku

NTT DOCOMO introduced the Raku-Raku SMART PHONE, the first smartphone designed for users who are new to touchscreen operations.

The Raku-Raku offers a 4-inch display with a simplified menu and large fonts for increased clarity and ease of use. The touch screen mimics the impression of a conventional phone key, allowing users to first confirm where their finger is touching by highlighting the contact point and then requiring them to press more strongly to actually select the menu button or icon. The device confirms the selection with a slight vibration and click. The menu has three large, easy-to-understand buttons for phone, email and phonebook-and also includes three programmable one-touch speed dial buttons.
http://www.nttdocomo.com/pr/2012/001604.html

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Corning's Telecom Sales Rose 10% Sequentially in Q2

Last week, Corning reported its telecommunications segment sales were $559 million, a 10% sequential and 2% year-over-year increase. The sequential gain was driven by stronger optical fiber and cable products and enterprise network solutions sales. North America and China were the most robust geographies for Corning’s Telecommunications segment.

Looking forward, Corning said that it expects telecommunications segment sales to be consistent with the previous quarter and consistent with normal seasonal trends. Corning expects sales of optical fiber and cable in China to remain strong.
http://www.corning.com

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Analog Devices Intros Programmable Dual Clock for OTN

Analog Devices introduced a fully-programmable, jitter-attenuating, dual-clock translator IC for optical transport network (OTN) applications and high-density line cards. The AD9559 quad-input multiservice line card adaptive clock translator simultaneously supports different standard frequencies for wired communications applications, including synchronous Ethernet, SONET/SDH, 1/10/100G Ethernet, Fiber Channel, and other applications that require low jitter, flexibility and fast time-to-market.

The AD9559 translator IC synchronously converts any standard input frequency to any standard output frequency at up to 1.25 GHz with sub-400-fs RMS (root mean square) total jitter over a 12-kHz to 20-MHz integration bandwidth. The AD9559 replaces two synchronous timing devices with a single IC, helping designers with board space constraints and cost optimization.
http://www.analog.com

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Rostelecom Acquires Sky Link to Expand its Spectrum

Rostelecom, Russia’s national telecommunications operator, has acquired Sky Link CJSC, which currently owns licences in 76 Russian regions. The licenses cover over 90% of the total Russian population, which includes Moscow, St. Petersburg and several other major Russian cities. Sky Link’s licences enable the Company to provide services using CDMA-450 and UMTS-1900/2100 technologies in 65 regions, CDMA-450/2000 in 3 regions, GSM-1800 in 45 regions and GSM-900 in one region.


Alexander Provotorov, President of Rostelecom, commented: "The strategic acquisition of Sky Link enables us to strengthen our competitive position and increase the value of our Company. This was the last asset available in the market that could offer such extensive network coverage and unique frequencies. Sky Link is also the fourth operator to have obtained the remaining 3G frequencies in Russia. In addition, the consolidation of Sky Link’s assets marks an important landmark in our complex reorganisation process, which merges Svyazinvest with Rostelecom. The aim of this process is to eliminate any cross-ownership between the two companies, to simplify our shareholder structure and help attract interest from a broader range of investors."
http://www.rostelecom.ru

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UTStarcom to Divest IPTV Business

UTStarcom will divest its IPTV business into a privately-held, standalone company. Jack Lu will leave UTStarcom to lead the IPTV equipment business. In addition, UTStarcom will seek to accelerate the growth of its media operational support services business. http://www.utstar.com

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AuthenTec for Fingerprint Sensors

Apple agreed to acquire AuthenTec, a specialist in mobile biometrics, for approximately $355 million.


AuthenTec provides smart fingerprint sensors and modules. The company also offers a comprehensive embedded security portfolio that includes IP security (IPsec) and SSL toolkits, DRM content protection, semiconductor IP and security processors.


AuthenTec claims nearly 200 foundational technology patents related to fingerprint biometrics covering fingerprint sensors and sensor packaging, software and end use. Top tier customers include Alcatel-Lucent, Cisco, Fujitsu, HBO, HP, Lenovo, LG, Motorola, Nokia, Orange, Samsung, Sky, and Texas Instruments. AuthenTec is based in Melbourne, Florida.
http://www.apple.com
http://www.authentec.com/

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Vodafone Egypt Picks Ericsson for Radio Upgrade

Vodafone Egypt has selected the Ericsson RBS 6000 base station for an upgrade of its radio access network. Financial terms were not disclosed.
http://www.ericsson.com

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Vodafone Spain Offers "joyn" Rich Communications to Competitors

Vodafone Spain has been offering a whole Rich Communication Suite to other operators in order to better compete with OTT providers. The umbrella name for the brand is joyn and the deployment in Spain is the world’s first joyn network. It offers users a combination of IM chat, video and file sharing services that are native on new smartphones or available as a downloadable client for those already in the market.


Vodafone Spain worked with Ericsson to develop the Rich Communication Suite evolved (RCSe) platform that joyn is based on. Ericsson supplied hardware, software and services, including Ericsson’s Messaging in One product which was adapted to meet the GSMA specification and then implemented as the joyn platform.


Vodafone said the ability to provide feature-rich services will bring users back to the network and in time will enable new revenue-generating services. The carrier noted interest in joyn from aroung the world, including New Zealand, India, China, the US, Canada, Turkey and Korea.
http://www.ericsson.com

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AT&T Looks to Repurchase More Shares

AT&T's Board of Directors has authorized the repurchase of up to 300 million additional shares, representing approximately 5 percent of AT&T shares outstanding, with no expiration date. This authorization is in addition to the 300 million share repurchase authorization approved by the Board of Directors in December 2010.


"This action allows us to continue returning cash to our shareholders through dividends and buybacks while maintaining a strong balance sheet and investing in the future of our business," said Randall Stephenson, AT&T chairman and chief executive officer.


Under the December 2010 authorization, AT&T had repurchased 143.5 million of its shares for about
$4.6 billion through June 30, 2012. Including dividends, the company returned nearly $10 billion to shareholders in the first half of 2012.
http://www.att.com

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Tellabs Reports Q2 Revenue of $288 million

Tellabs reported Q2 revenue of$288 million, compared with $317 million in the year-ago quarter. There was a net loss of $5 million or 1 cent per share in the second quarter of 2012, compared with a net loss of $29 million or 8 cents per share in the second quarter of 2011.

"In the second quarter, Tellabs grew revenue sequentially by 12%, generated $32 million in cash from operations, and improved margins and profitability," said Dan Kelly, Tellabs acting CEO and president. "We won new business and delivered major product releases. While we see a challenging
economic and industry environment ahead, our goals are to help customers succeed and to improve
Tellabs' profitability."http://www.tellabs.com/investors

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MetroPCS Surpasses 700,000 LTE Subscribers- now 8% of Customers

MetroPCS delivered improved financial performance despite a net loss of 186,000 subscribers in Q2 as the cost of operating its network decreased.


Roger D. Linquist, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of MetroPCS, said, "During the second quarter, we focused on generating Adjusted EBITDA and cash flow versus subscriber growth as we position for our anticipated launch of†4G LTE For All by the end of the third quarter... Looking towards the remainder of 2012, we believe demand for high-speed wireless broadband service will increase and we will be well positioned to meet that demand with our 4G LTE network, which now serves approximately 8% of our subscriber base. With our plan to manage our current spectrum holdings, we believe our subscribers' current and future anticipated data demands will be met. Importantly, we should have a full 10MHz dedicated to 4G LTE in most major metropolitan areas by the end of the year. "


Some notes:

• Net loss of 186,062 subscribers in Q2
  
  
• Quarterly churn of 3.4%, down 50 bps from the second quarter of 2011


• Quarterly ARPU of $40.62, an increase of $0.13 over second quarter 2011


• Surpassed 700 thousand 4G LTE subscribers, representing approximately 8% of total subscribers


• Total subscribers at the end of the quarter numbered 9,292,251


• Average revenue per user (ARPU) of $40.62 for the second quarter of 2012 represents an increase of $0.13 when compared to the second quarter of 2011.


• Cost per user (CPU) decreased to $18.40 in the second quarter of 2012, or a 3% decrease over the second quarter of 2011, driven by a decrease in retention expense for existing customers as well as a decrease in long distance cost and taxes and regulatory fees. These items were partially offset by an increase in costs associated with the 4G LTE network upgrade and roaming expenses associated with Metro USA.

http://www.metropcs.com

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Ixia Posts Revenue of $92.3 Million

Ixia posted Q2 revenue of $92.3 million, compared with $69.0 million reported for the 2011 second quarter and $85.6 million reported for the 2012 first quarter. Second quarter 2012 revenue includes approximately $3.9 million attributable to the recently acquired Anue Systems for the period following the June 1, 2012 closing date. Net income (GAAP) was $26.9 million, or $0.33 per diluted share, compared with net income of $0.5 million, or $0.01 per diluted share, for the 2011 second quarter.


"Our solid second quarter results were driven by healthy demand for our high-speed Ethernet, LTE and Wi-Fi products," commented Vic Alston, Ixia's president and chief executive officer. "We are very pleased with the momentum of our organic business -- on a standalone basis we generated record revenue and non-GAAP operating profit in the quarter."
http://www.ixiacom.com

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Radisys Reports Q2 Revenue of $77.6 Million

Radisys reported Q2 revenues of $77.6 million and non-GAAP revenue of $77.7 million. Second quarter GAAP net income was $1.3 million or $0.05 per share and non-GAAP net income was $5.2 million or $0.17 per diluted share.


Commenting on the second quarter results, Mike Dagenais, Radisys' Chief Executive Officer, stated, "Our second quarter non-GAAP earnings came in towards the higher end of our expectations. A favorable ATCA customer mix combined with strong Software-Solutions revenue, which was over 20% of total revenue, enabled non-GAAP gross margins of over 37%, our highest level in many years. When combined with tight expense controls, we were able to achieve our expected earnings target despite the lower than expected overall revenue levels."


The company noted 24 new wins across 21 different customers, 9 of which were new to Radisys. The design wins were a healthy blend between ATCA and Com Express; Com Express in particular had very strong wins across many applications including medical imaging, military communications, and photo radar. http://www.radisys.com

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NETGEAR Posts Q2 Revenue of $321 Million, up 10% YoY

NETGEAR reported Q2 2012 net revenue of $320.7 million, as compared to $291.2 million in the comparable prior year quarter, 10.1% year-over-year growth. Net income, computed in accordance with GAAP, for the second quarter of 2012 was $21.5 million, or†$0.56 per diluted share.


Patrick Lo, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NETGEAR commented, "Despite the challenging macro environment in Europe, we are pleased that we finished the second quarter with double digit year-over-year worldwide revenue growth. We increased our R&D spend and we are excited about the 26 products introduced in Q2 as well as the new products planned for the rest of the year.† We continued to see strong revenue growth and market share gain in Asia Pacific, the fastest growing region in the world."http://investor.netgear.com

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Facebook Hits 955 Million Users

Some key operational metrics from Facebook:

• Monthly active users (MAUs) were 955 million as of June 30, 2012, an increase of 29% year-over-year.


• Daily active users (DAUs) were 552 million on average for June 2012, an increase of 32% year-over-year.


• Mobile MAUs were 543 million as of June 30, 2012, an increase of 67% year-over-year.

"Our goal is to help every person stay connected and every product they use be a great social experience," said Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder and CEO. "That's why we're so focused on investing in our priorities of mobile, platform and social ads to help people have these experiences with their friends."
http://www.facebook.com

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Verizon Completes Acquisition of HUGHES Telematics

Verizon Communications completed its previously announced acquisition of HUGHES Telematics Inc.(HTI), providing the company with much greater resources for the delivery of automotive and fleet telematics and machine-to-machine services.


"Machine-to-machine services are beginning to play a vital role reshaping the business landscape and setting new consumer expectations about establishing valuable connections in their vehicles, their homes and the world around them," said John Stratton, president of Verizon Enterprise Solutions.† "This powerful combination will create a springboard for our clients to expand their business models and strengthen their customer relationships by creating new opportunities for connected services that address the increasingly sophisticated consumer and enterprise."†

• Earlier this year, Verizon launched a new practice focused on developing telematics solutions that leverage the company's cloud and information technology (IT), security, global IP network and communications, and mobility and M2M technology platforms.


• Hughes Telematics, Inc. (HTI) was founded in 2006 as a private company with initial financial backing from Apollo Management, one of the world largest private equity firms. Apollo Management maintains an investment portfolio of telecommunications and satellite companies including Hughes Communications.


• In April 2009, HTI merged with Polaris Acquisition Corporation resulting in a publicly traded company on the OTC under the symbol HUTC.

http://www.verizon.com/enterprise

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Motorola Mobility to Relocated to Downtown Chicago

Motorola Mobility will relocate its headquarters in Libertyville, Illinois to downtown Chicago's Merchandise Mart in summer 2013. †Motorola Mobility will become the landmark building's largest tenant and will occupy nearly 600,000 square feet on the top four floors and the rooftop.


"Today marks a homecoming for a company that was founded in Chicago over 80 years ago and continues to innovate to this day," said Mayor Emanuel. "Motorola Mobility joins a growing group of industry-leading companies that see Chicago as a global leader of talent development and business growth, and the company will bring jobs and economic opportunity to our city."
http://motorola.com/mobility

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FCC Officially Launches "Connect America" Fund

The first phase of the FCC's "Connect America Fund" is underway with about $115 million in public funding being allocated to bring broadband to nearly 400,000 residents and small business owners in 37 states.


Many projects are now receiving funding and are expected to begin immediately/ All projects must be completed within three years.


The FCC estimates that nearly 19 million residents currently lack access to broadband.


"I'm pleased to announce today that nearly 400,000 residents and businesses in rural communities who currently lack access to high-speed Internet will gain access within the next three years," stated FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski.

• The Connect America Fund has the following mission: (1) preserve and advance universal availability of voice service; (2) ensure universal availability of modern networks capable of providing voice and broadband service to homes, businesses, and community anchor institutions; (3) ensure universal availability of modern networks capable of providing advanced mobile voice and broadband service; (4) ensure that rates for broadband services and rates for voice services are reasonably comparable in all regions of the nation; and (5) minimize the universal service contribution burden on consumers and businesses.
  
  
  CAF will eventually replace all of the existing high-cost support mechanisms. The annual funding target is set at no more than $4.5 billion over the next six years. The goal is to help make broadband available to homes, businesses, and community anchor institutions in areas that do not, or would not otherwise, have broadband, including mobile voice and broadband networks in areas that do not, or would not otherwise, have mobile service, and broadband in the most remote areas of the nation. The CAF plans to adopt incentive-based, market-driven policies, including competitive bidding, to distribute universal service funds more efficiently than previously.

http://www.fcc.gov

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Sprint Nextel Reports Second Quarter 2012 Results and Updates Full Year Forecast

Sprint Nextel posted better financial results for Q2 2012 thanks to postpaid ARPU growth of $4.31 -- the largest quarterly year-over-year increase on record for the U.S. wireless industry. Overall, there was a net loss of $1.4 billion and a diluted net loss of $.46 per share for the second quarter of 2012 as compared to a net loss of $847 million and a diluted net loss of $.28 per share in the second quarter of 2011. Wireless service revenues came in at $7.3 billion during the quarter.


"The Sprint platform achieved best ever postpaid ARPU and customer churn that, combined with disciplined customer acquisition and cost management, contributed to our Adjusted OIBDA* of $1.45 billion," said Dan Hesse, Sprint CEO. "Based on this performance, we are raising the 2012 Adjusted OIBDA* forecast to between $4.5 billion and $4.6 billion."

Some highlights:

• Sprint platform postpaid net additions were 442,000, up 68 percent sequentially driven by best ever quarterly churn performance of 1.69 percent./li>
  
• The Nextel postpaid recapture rate is 60 percent./li>
  
• Sprint recorded nearly 1.5 million iPhone sales in the second quarter with 40 percent going to new postpaid customers./li>
  
• CAPEX was $1.2 billion in the quarter, compared to $640 million in the second quarter of 2011 and $800 million in the first quarter of 2012. Wireless capital expenditures were $1 billion in Q2, compared to $546 million last year $710 million in Q1. During the quarter, the company invested $704 million for Network Vision and approximately $230 million in data capacity related to both legacy network and Network Vision equipment./li>
• 9,600 Nextel sites have been taken off air to date -- earlier than previous guidance./li>
• Leasing agreements are done for more than 12,700 Network Vision sites and zoning requirements are completed for nearly 13,900 sites. In addition, nearly 6,300 sites are either ready for construction or already underway and more than 2,000 sites are on air and meeting speed and coverage enhancement targets. Sprint expects to bring 12,000 sites on air by the end of 2012 and to complete the majority of its Network Vision roll-out by the end of 2013./li>
  
• The subscriber base has hit 56 million customers, including nearly 32.6 million postpaid subscribers (29.4 million on the Sprint platform and 3.1 million on the Nextel platform), 15.4 million prepaid subscribers (14.1 million on he Sprint platform and 1.3 million on the Nextel platform) and approximately 8.4 million wholesale and affiliate subscribers, all of whom utilize the Sprint platform./li>
  
• Wireless cost of service increased approximately 2 percent year-over-year primarily due to higher costs associated with increased data volume and Network Vision related expenses, partially offset by lower service and repair expenses. Wireless cost of service was flat sequentially, primarily due to lower service and repair expenses, offset by seasonally higher roaming expenses./li>
  
• Wireline revenues of $1 billion for the quarter declined 9 percent year-over-year primarily as a result of an intercompany rate reduction based on current market prices for voice and IP services sold to the wireless segment as well as the migration of wholesale cable VoIP customers off of
  Sprint's IP platform. Sequentially, second quarter wireline revenues were flat.

Sprint also announced the expansion of its LTE network to Baltimore, Maryland; Gainesville, Georgia; Manhattan/Junction City, Kansas; and Sherman-Denison, Texas.
http://www.sprint.com

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Google Rolls Gigabit Fiber for Kansas City

Google launched its first fiber access service in Kansas City.


Google Fiber promises access download speeds of up to 1 Gbps in select neighborhood where an economically viable number of residents pre-register their commitment to enroll in the service.

Google Fiber marks the company's commercial debut as a broadband ISP and as a paid-TV operator.

Google Fiber TV will carry hundreds of channels (including local stations) tens of thousands of shows on demand in HD. The service will be match with a DVR with eight tuners and 2TB of storage. Gigabit + Google Fiber TV will cost $120 per month.

Gigabit Internet: Will offer 1 Gbps Internet download speeds and will include a gigabit-enabled network box with advanced WiFi and 1TB of cloud storage on Google Drive. Gigabit Internet will cost $70 per month.

Free Internet: Google will provide a 5 Mbps connection for zero monthly charge, however there will be a $300 construction fee (which can either be paid at once, or in $25 monthly installments).
http://www.google.com

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