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PMC-SIERRA
TO ACQUIRE ABRIZIO FOR BROADBAND SWITCH CHIP FABRICS
PMC-Sierra will acquire Abrizio Inc., a privately held, fabless
semiconductor start-up, for approximately US$400 million
(4.35 million shares of stock). Abrizio specializes
in switch chip fabrics for core ATM switches, digital cross-connects and
terabit routers. The chipset design supports POS,
ATM, Frame Relay, voice, and IP traffic at up to OC-192 rates. Abrizio's
first chipset has been designed into several Tier 1 broadband customers'
mainstream systems. The company was founded by Dr. Nick McKeown, an
Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering and
Computer Science at Stanford University, and Anders
Swahn, previously Executive Vice President of World Wide Sales and
Marketing for Allied Telesyn International. The Mountain View,
California company raised $6 million in venture funding from Benchmark
Capital and Sequoia Capital. http://www.abrizio.com
http://www.pmc-sierra.com/pressRoom/pr/1999082400.html
PMC Sierra, August 24, 1999
NORTEL
TO ACQUIRE PERIPHONICS FOR INTERACTIVE VOICE - CALL CENTER
Nortel Networks will acquire Periphonics Corporation, a provider
of interactive voice solutions used in call centers,
for about US$436 million in stock. Periphonics offers software for
Interactive Voice Response (IVR), advanced speech processing with large
vocabulary recognition, natural language processing
and text-to-speech, speech output as well as
interactive processing via Web browsers, messaging, and fax. The New York
company has 900 employees and annual revenue of US$142 million. Nortel
said the acquisition would allow it to develop new
solutions for unifying call centers with the Internet.
http://www.peri.com/
http://www.nortelnetworks.com
Nortel Networks, August 24, 1999
A List of Nortel Networks'
Acquisitions
AT&T
TO ACQUIRE BRAZIL'S NETSTREAM FOR US$300 MILLION
AT&T will acquire Netstream, an emerging Brazilian carrier
with an IP/ATM-based network and its own fiber
facilities in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte, for
approximately US$300 million. Netstream has about
30,000 km of installed fiber, 160 buildings on its network and 400
customer accounts. Netstream is owned by Promon Tecnologia
S.A., Brazil's leading engineering, design and construction
management firm. AT&T said the Brazilian telecommunications industry
is a $14 billion market, with business representing
$9 billion, and advanced data services growing in excess
of 20% a year. http://www.att.com/press/item/0,1193,619,00.html
AT&T, August 24, 1999
3COM
SUPPLIES CDMA WIRELESS DATA ACCESS GATEWAY TO SPRINT PCS
3Com will supply a circuit-switched wireless data access gateway
solution for Sprint PCS. 3Com's CDMA InterWorking Function
(IWF) platform serves as a gateway between wireless CDMA and wireline
networks. The CDMA - IP gateway eliminates the need for a network modem,
providing mobile users on the Sprint PCS network with direct digital
access to the Internet and corporate intranets. The solution will support
transmission speeds of 14.4 kbps. Connect times from
the mobile phone to the data network will range from 5 to 7
seconds. Sprint PCS plans to a full-scale, nationwide launch its Wireless
Web service in late September. The Sprint service will use a
microbrowser from Phone.com to enable mobile phones to receive updates
from Yahoo! and other partner content providers. Sprint PCS subscribers
will also be able to use the mobile data service to connect
their notebook computers or PDAs. Voice and data minutes will
be combined in a single pricing bundle. Sprint PCS currently has 4 million
mobile phone subscribers. 3Com's IWF technology is based
on the company's Total Control multiservice access platform. http://www.3com.com/news/releases/pr99/aug2499a.html
3Com, August 24, 1999
DRAFT
SPECIFICATION FOR HOME VIDEO ELECTRONICS USES IP/IEEE 1394
The Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) released a
draft specification for networking home electronic
devices, such as PCs, TV, VCRs, security systems, residential gateways and
cable modems. The proposed specification includes physical media and data
link layers using 1394b, a long distance version of IEEE 1394-1995 as the
digital backbone and IP as its standard internetworking
protocol. The Common Application Language
(CAL), AV/C and X-10 models, and associated commands will be transported
over existing protocols using HTTP and XML. Participants
in VESA include CAL Interoperability Council (CIC), Canon Information
Systems, Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association
(a sector of the Electronic Industries Alliance), Lexmark International,
Metro Link Inc., Motorola, Inc., Panasonic, Samsung
Electronics, Telcordia Technologies and over 240 other companies.
http://www.vesa.org/
VESA, August 24, 1999
LUCENT
ANNOUNCES 10 GBPS ENTERPRISE FIBER CABLING SOLUTION
Lucent Technologies announced a 10 Gbps fiber-optic cabling
solution for enterprise networks. Lucent's new
LazrSPEED combines a short- wavelength multimode fiber developed by Bell
Labs with Lucent's high-performance LC small-form-factor connector.
LazrSPEED permits the use of low-cost,
short-wavelength vertical cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL)
transceivers for one- and 10 Gbps applications. For 10 Gbps rates, it
supports transmission distances of up to 300 meters. http://www.lucent.com/press/0899/990824.nsc.html
Lucent Technologies, August 24, 1999
EFFICIENT
NETWORKS ADDS TO ADSL CPE LINE
Efficient Networks introduced two new ADSL modems: the SpeedStream
3041, an ADSL internal modem for Windows PC users; and the
SpeedStream 4041, a standalone ADSL Universal Serial Bus modem suited for
telecommuters and residential users. The new modems support
both full-rate DMT ADSL and the G.lite standard. http://www.efficient.com/news/199908241.html
Efficient Networks, August 24, 1999
COLT INTERNET
APPOINTS MANAGING DIRECTOR
COLT Telecom Group plc (COLT) appointed Rob Mainor as Managing
Director of its Internet unit. Mainor formerly served as
Senior Vice President of Bell Atlantic Data Solutions Group and previously
as VP of CompuServe, where he launched its Internet services business.
London-based COLT Telecom currently has network facilities operations in
eighteen European cities in nine countries and plans to be providing
service in 24-26 cities by the end of 2000. http://www.colt.co.uk/
COLT, August 24, 1999
ONEPOINT
SELECTS LUCENT FOR IP-BASED VOICE AND DATA NETWORK
OnePoint Communications, a start-up service provider targeting
apartment communities, signed a $50 million, three-year agreement with
Lucent Technologies for an IP-based voice and data network. OnePoint plans
to deploy Lucent's revolutionary PathStar Access Server
to deliver integrated voice/data. Lucent's PathStar Access Server is being
designed to deliver an essential set of "Class 5" or local
telephony features, DSLAM aggregation, and edge router functionality based
on IP and/or IP over ATM networks for new and emerging
carriers. The first PathStar systems are expected to be deployed in
Phoenix in November. OnePoint's service areas include Maryland, Virginia,
Pennsylvania, Illinois, Georgia, Colorado, Arizona, North Carolina and the
District of Columbia. http://www.lucent.com/press/0899/990824.nsb.html
Lucent, August 24, 1999
EQUINIX
HIRES FRONTIER GLOBALCENTER AND POINTCAST EXECUTIVES
Equinix announced the appointments of Philip Koen as chief
financial officer (CFO) and Peter Ferris as vice
president of worldwide sales. Koen previously served as CEO of PointCast.
Ferris formerly served as senior vice president of sales at Frontier
GlobalCenter. Equinix, a start-up based in Redwood
City, California, is developing Internet Business
Exchanges (IBXs) for eCommerce. The Equinix concept is to provide
interconnection and financial grade security at a common exchange point
for ISPs, carriers, content providers and application service providers
(ASPs). Equinix had received funding from Cisco
Systems, Microsoft and Benchmark Capital to develop its highly secure
Internet Business Exchanges. http://www.equinix.com/
Equinix, August 24, 1999
BROADSOFT
UNVEILS ENHANCED SERVICE CREATION PLATFORM
BroadSoft Inc., a start-up based in Gaithersburg, Maryland,
announced a hardware-independent software platform
for creating enhanced services over the PSTN and
next generation packet networks. BroadSoft's distributed architecture
separates the service creation layer from the network fabric (switches,
routers, SONET multiplexers, and access devices),
allowing new services to be created without changes to network
devices. The platform manages subscriber and service information while
integrating telephony support with Internet services. It
will also provide access to resources such as voice response units,
credit card validation systems, billing systems,
text-to-speech translation, email servers, etc. The
system uses standard protocols and open interfaces to create services that
converge the telephony and data networks. BroadSoft
was founded by former employees of Celcore (DSC/Alcatel
USA) and received funding from Bessemer Venture Partners, Charles
River Ventures and Columbia Capital Corp. http://www.broadsoft.com/
BroadSoft, August 24, 1999
AMBER
NETWORKS RAISES $19M IN FIRST ROUND FUNDING
Amber Networks, a start-up based in Santa Clara, California,
raised $19 million in a first round of venture
funding to further its development of carrier-class edge networking
systems. Amber Networks said its carrier-class edge networking systems
would enable service providers to offer new,
revenue-generating IP-based services leveraging their terabit core
infrastructure while reducing their operational costs. Specific product
plans have not yet been announced. Investors include leading Accel
Partners, Information Technology Ventures and
Invesco. http://www.ambernetworks.com
Amber Networks, August 24, 1999
NEWBRIDGE
NETWORKS REPORTS REVENUE OF C$495 MILLION,
UP 8% SEQUENTIALLY
Newbridge Networks reported record quarterly
revenue of C$495 million, up 8% sequentially. Net
income was C$47 million, or 26c per share basic and fully diluted under
Canadian GAAP, or US 18c per share. WAN packet
revenue grew by more than 12% sequentially to reach
C$357 million in the quarter, representing 72% of total revenue.
Newbridge said sales of the 36170 switch were more than double that of the
previous year's first quarter. There were 140 customers for the
MainStreetXpress 36170 system in the quarter -- a record
number of 36170 customers for any quarter -- including 28 new customers.
The company also noted strong interest in its 50 Gbps and 320 Gbps
expanded versions of the 36170 Multiservices Switch, which are expected to
enter trials later this year. http://www.newbridge.com
Newbridge Networks, August 24, 1999
Zacks reported consensus estimates for NN of $0.16 p/s
A Daily Journal For Broadband
Networking
Copyright 1999 ATM News Inc.
All Rights Reserved. ISSN 1084-2438
News sources are listed for your reference.
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