NORTEL NETWORKS ANNOUNCES OPTICAL ETHERNET WITH 25X PRICE/PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT
Nortel Networks said its forthcoming 10 Gigabit Ethernet products will deliver as much as a 25x improvement in network price/performance.  Utfors, a leading Swedish Internet and telecommunications operator, will deploy the Nortel Networks' system to build "Europe's first end-to-end Ethernet network."  Canada's Bell Nexia will also deploy end-to-end optical Ethernet to offer its customers 10/100/1000 Mbps and 10 Gbps Ethernet-based VPNs. Financial terms of the Utfors and Bell Nexia contracts were not disclosed.  Nortel Networks' optical Ethernet portfolio will include: 

• Accelar Routing Switches for aggregating Ethernet traffic
• Versalar Switch Router 25000 and OPTera Packet Core for high-speed Ethernet connections,
• Preside service-enabling management software,
• Baystack and Etherloop for extended Ethernet access,
• the Shasta 5000 Broadband Service Node for IP services,  and
• interWAN Packet Transport modules to integrate Ethernet switching across the complete OPTera and Transport Node product lines .  The interWAN Packet Transport (iPT) modules offer native Ethernet service interfaces -- 10/100 Mbps and 1/10 Gigabit Ethernet (1,000/10,000 Mbps) -- for data connections directly into SONET/SDH/DWDM.  The modules will provide Ethernet add/drop and switching capabilities at each node.  Applications supported include native Ethernet LAN extension, Ethernet Internet access, and Ethernet router interconnection. 

http://www.nortelnetworks.com/products/01/endtoendethernet/index.html
Nortel Networks, March 22, 2000

PSINET ACQUIRES METAMOR, COMBINING GLOBAL HOSTING WITH APPLICATIONS OUTSOURCING
PSINet will acquire Metamor Worldwide, a provider of eBusiness services, for approximately $1.9 billion in stock.  Metamor and its publicly traded e-Business solutions subsidiary – Xpedior -- provide packaged software solutions, operations outsourcing using SAP, PeopleSoft, Oracle and Baan applications.  PSINet said the applications outsourcing business provides an excellent complement to its global hosting capabilities.   http://www.psi.com/news/pr/00/mar22.html
PSINet, March 22, 2000

• Last August, PSINet acquired Transaction Network Services, a leading provider of eCommerce data communications processing, for about $720 million.  TNS operates a data transport network used by credit card processors in the US to carry account and purchase information between merchants and the processors' data centers for authorization.
• Last October, PSINet outlined a strategy to become an "Internet Super Carrier" by opening 20+ Web hosting centers worldwide, acquiring significant dark fiber capacity in the US and internationally, installing Nortel Network's optical network platform and purchasing satellite capacity.

SAVVIS BUILDS FINANCIAL XCHANGE SERVICE WITH LUCENT ATM CONCENTRATORS
SAVVIS Communications will install up to 10,000 of Lucent's PacketStar PSAX Access Concentrators on the premises of financial institutions in 43 countries, including 75 of the Top 100 banks in the world and 45 of the Top 50 brokerage houses.  The SAVVIS Financial Xchange services platform will provide the flexibility of specifying Quality of Service levels on an application-by-application basis.  Financial terms were not disclosed.  http://www.savvis.net  http://www.lucent.com/press/0300/000322.nsa.html
Lucent Technologies, March 22, 2000

At its IPO on February 15, 2000, SAVVIS acquired and integrated the global IP/ATM network of its former parent company, BRIDGE Information Systems, a leading financial information systems company.

ECI TELECOM PLANNING ROUTING CROSSCONNECT BASED ON IBM PACKET CHIPS
ECI Telecom announced its next generation cross connect system designed for packet networks based on ATM, IP or MPLS.  The new A::DAX cross-connect incorporates IBM’s latest 28.4 Gbps Packet Routing Switch chips.  ECI Telecom said it plans to scale the crossconnect routing system to terabit levels, while maintaining SONET/SDH reliability levels.  Beta testing is planned for later this year.  http://www.ecitele.com/radax_ibm.htm
ECI Telecom, March 22, 2000

• Separately, ECI Telecom announced a $6 million order to supply an SDH/DWDM backbone network to Korea's Hansol.
• In February, ECI Telecom announced plans for a single shelf, ”Tera-POP in a Box” solution that will combine a DWDM multiplexer, narrow, wide and broadband Digital Cross-Connects, IP routing, ATM switching and SDH Add-Drop-multiplexers.  The XDM product will use a switching matrix that allows full non-blocking Low Order (VC-12) connectivity of hundreds of STM-1s in a single shelf.  ECI Telecom said its all-in-one optical platform would allows direct mapping of any 2 Mbps circuit into any of STM-16 or STM-64 or DWDM trunk, thus providing a multi-ADM-64 or Optical ADM (OADM) with full low order connectivity.

IPVERSE LAUNCHES OPEN SOFTSWITCH ALLIANCE (OSA)
ipVerse announced the formation of the Open Softswitch Alliance (OSA), an industry group that will promote open, interoperable next-generation network solutions.  Participants in the group include Copper Mountain Networks, Tellabs, AccessLan Communications, Convergent Networks, General Bandwidth, Iperia, Shoreline Communications, TollBridge Technologies, Trillium Digital Systems, Vertical Networks and VocalData.  OSA partners will offer interoperability demonstrations and engage in joint marketing and sales calls.  IpVerse is developing an open, multi-protocol call control platform supporting SS7, MGCP, H.323, IPDC, SIP and ISDN-PRI signaling systems.  http://www.ipverse.com/
ipVerse, March 22, 2000

VIRATA ACQUIRES INVERNESS SYSTEMS, COMBINING DSL CHIPS WITH IP/ATM/MPLS SOFTWARE
Virata will acquire privately held Inverness Systems, a developer of IP/ATM/MPLS software source code, for approximately $105 million (850,000 VRTA shares).  Inverness' source code solutions and network simulation products include ATM, Voice over ATM, xDSL, IP Routing, Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) and Frame Relay code.  The company has 30 employees and maintains offices in Kfar-Saba and Jerusalem, Israel as well as Marlborough, Massachusetts.  Virata said the acquisition would allow it to deliver a tightly integrated semiconductor and software solution for broadband CPE and access devices.  http://www.invernessinc.com  http://www.virata.com
Virata, March 22, 2000

• In January, GlobeSpan announced plans to acquire Ficon Technology, a developer of IP/ATM/MPLS software source code , for approximately $90.0 million, including $ 5 million in cash.  GlobeSpan is a developer of DSL chipsets.  Ficon develops source code for a range of communications systems, including IP edge switches and routers, ATM edge and core switches, Voice Gateways, Integrated Access Devices, DSL modems and DSL Access Multiplexers (DSLAMs). 

SHORELINE RELEASES MAJOR UPGRADE TO ITS IP ENTERPRISE VOICE SYSTEM
Shoreline Communications released Version 2.0 of its IP Voice Communications System, including support for up to 1,200 users, support for remote teleworkers, unified messaging through MS Outlook.  The ShoreGear voice switch provides connectivity to 24 industry standard analog phones, plus trunking to the PSTN, and a 10/100 Mbps port for IP connectivity.  http://www.goshoreline.com/
Shoreline Communications, March 22, 2000

IAXIS RAISES $66 MILLION IN NEW FUNDING
Iaxis, which operates a pan-European multi-terabit network, secured $66 million in new funding from Bain Capital of Boston.  The company recently announced 19 new Web hosting centers in major European cities.  http://www.iaxis.com/
Iaxis, March 22, 2000