NORTEL NETWORKS CONFIRMS PLANS TO ACQUIRE QTERA FOR UP TO US$3.25 BILLION
Nortel Networks confirmed plans to acquire Qtera, a start-up developing a long-haul, optical transport platform, for up to US$3.25 billion in stock, depending on Qtera meeting certain objectives.  Qtera's solutions have been successfully tested by Qwest, which is also a Nortel customer.  Qtera has about 140 employees in Boca Raton, Florida, and about 30 employees in Richardson, Texas.  http://www.nortelnetworks.com/corporate/news/newsreleases/1999d/12_15_9999789_qtera.html
Nortel Networks, December 15, 1999

Last month, Qwest completed a 30-day field trial of Qtera's optical, long haul photonic transport platform The Qtera platform carried 10 Gbps signals 2,400 km (or 1,440 miles) without any opto-electronic regeneration.  Qtera's long-haul platform also provides the ability to add/drop wavelengths at any node.  A protection switching design enables traffic signals to be restored within 10 milliseconds, faster than SONET's 50 millisecond standard across far shorter distances.  Qtera expects to begin beta tests soon using live commercial traffic.  Qtera is led by Fahri Diner, formerly with Siemens Information and Communications Networks.  The company received financing from Battery Ventures, Mayfield Fund and Oak Investment Partners, among others.   http://www.qtera.com 

BELLSOUTH SELECTS MARCONI FOR FIBER-TO-THE-HOME
BellSouth will deploy Marconi's next-generation, "deep fiber" technology to deliver ATM -based broadband services to within 500 feet (152m) of residential customers throughout its nine-state region.  The equipment will be deployed in new housing developments and to enhance existing fiber-to-the-curb (FTTC) systems.  The companies describe the deployment as the largest commitment to date from a US carrier to drive high-speed, fiber optic-based technology deep into its network.  Financial terms were not disclosed.  Currently, 95% of BellSouth customers in the company's top 30 markets and 85% of all customers are within 12,000 feet (3567m) of fiber.  BellSouth also more than one million kilometers of fiber deployed, ADSL rollouts underway in 30 metro areas, 274 Frame Relay and 57 ATM currently in service, and the number of SONET rings will double this year to almost 20,000. http://www.comms.marconi.com/
Marconi, December 15, 1999

WINSTAR RECEIVES $900 MILLION INVESTMENT FROM MICROSOFT, PARTNERS
WinStar Communications will receive $900 million from Microsoft and a group of leading investment firms to fund the company's business plan and expand its network, products and services.  The investment converts into WinStar common stock at $67.50 per share, a premium of 20 to 25% over recent trading activity.  Microsoft will also license its leading, branded applications to Winstar on an Application Service Provider (ASP) basis. 
http://www.winstar.com/press/1999/Templ.asp?fileid=1215991
WinStar Communications, December 15, 1999

WinStar is the largest holder of broadband fixed wireless spectrum, with licenses in the top 60 US markets and in ten international markets.   In October, WinStar Communications agreed to pay $300 million over 20 years to Metromedia Fiber Network for dark fiber in 38 US markets and 3 European cities.  WinStar selected Siemens Information and Communication Networks to build its national and international Point-to-Multipoint (PMP) broadband wireless LMDS networks.  WinStar has already deployed a PMP network in Amsterdam.  Rollouts in Washington, D.C., Phoenix, Oakland, San Jose, Seattle and Salt Lake City are underway.

TI INTRODUCES DSP-BASED CHIPSET FOR CABLE MODEM HEADENDS
Texas Instruments announced DSP-based cable modem headend chipset solution that significantly increases system capacity and reduces noise.  The increase in upstream capacity is achieved by allowing DOCSIS cable modems to transmit on overlapping frequencies.  At the same time, the chipset mitigates ingress, impulse and burst noise by using various cancellation techniques. The programmable DSPs support both DOCSIS and DAVIC standards.   http://www.ti.com/
TI, December 15, 1999

TI SHOWS VOICE-ENABLED CABLE MODEM WITH SIP TECHNOLOGY
Texas Instruments (TI) unveiled a voice-enabled cable modem reference design that uses Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) – a new IETF standards-track signaling protocol for Internet telephony and conferencing.  TI's voice-enable cable modem could use either SIP or media gateway control protocol (MGCP) for its network control signaling.
http://www.ti.com/sc/docs/news/1999/99089.htm
Texas Instruments, December 15, 1999

More information about SIP is available at http://www.cs.columbia.edu/sip

LUCENT AND GI ANNOUNCE CABLE TELEPHONY ALLIANCE
Lucent Technologies will work with General Instrument on the development and marketing of IP telephony solutions for cable networks.  The companies have a trial underway using Lucent's PathStar Access Server or 7R/E Packet Solutions to process the calls and deliver services like caller ID.  Connected to Lucent's equipment and located inside or attached to the outside of a customer's home, GI's customer premise equipment, such as its SURFboard SB3500 cable modem or new CentriQ 1000 communications gateway.  The CentriQ 1000 communications gateway will use support PacketCable 1.0 and DOCSIS 1.1 specifications to deliver up to four phone lines over the cable connection.  http://www.gi.com/
General Instrument, December 15, 1999

LUCENT ACQUIRES SOUNDLOGIC, A DEVELOPER OF CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP SOFTWARE
Lucent Technologies acquired Soundlogic CTI Inc., a privately-held developer of customer relationship software, for an undisclosed sum.  Soundlogic employs 22 people and is based in Vancouver, Canada.  The company's IP-based Computer Telephony Integration (CTI) solutions are aimed at small and medium enterprises.  Soundlogic's software uses Microsoft BackOffice Server to expedite rules-driven customer communications via voice, fax, Internet, email and video.  http://www.soundlogic.net/ie.htm
http://www.lucent.com/press/1299/991215.coa.html
Lucent Technologies, December 15, 1999

3COM UNVEILS 3 NEW DOCSIS 1.1 CABLE MODEMS
3Com introduced three new cable modems built on a DOCSIS 1.1 hardware platform:

* an external cable modem with consumer-friendly features, including user-programmable sounds to indicate connection made, connection dropped, incoming email, etc.  Provides standard Ethernet interface (USB version planned)

* an external, cable modem for small offices, featuring a standard 10BaseT Ethernet interface and the ability to support up to 16 PCs

* an internal, PCI-based cable modem with telco-return features.
http://www.3com.com/news/releases/pr99/dec1599a.html
3Com, December 15, 1999

MOCKINGBIRD NETWORKS RAISES $7 MILLION FOR VOIP/SS7 SWITCHES
Mockingbird Networks, a start-up developing voice-over-IP telephony switches, raised $7 million in financing from Wasserstein Adelson Ventures L.P.  Mockingbird's IP telephony switches will SS7/H.323 functionality required to integrate VoIP traffic with the PSTN.  The company's "Nuvo" switches use a distributed architecture to scale from a few dozen ports to 10,000-plus ports.  Mockingbird is based in Cupertino, California.  http://www.mbird.com/
Mockingbird Networks, December 15, 1999