CONEXANT TO ACQUIRE HOTRAIL FOR ITS SCALABLE SWITCHING FABRIC
Conexant Systems will acquire HotRail Inc., a start-up developing high performance switching fabrics, for about in $400 million stock (7.8 million CNXT shares).  HotRail has core competencies in mixed signal and complex digital logic design and is developing advanced, integrated CMOS transceivers and switch fabrics.  Its product line includes a 16 Gbps Full Duplex Parallel Data Transceiver and a 3.125 Full Duplex 20-bit Data Transceiver.  The company is also developing highly scalable fabrics offering up to 256 Gbps switching capacity per crossbar chip for multi-Terabit routers, ATM/IP switches, Gigabit Ethernet switches and optical networking equipment.  The company is based in San Jose, California.  Conexant said the acquisition would accelerate its strategy to deliver a complete silicon solution.  http://www.conexant.com  http://www.hotrail.com/
Conexant, June 27, 2000

• In December, Conexant acquired Maker Communications, a developer of switching systems and network processors, for approximately $990 million in stock (12/21/99 prices).  Maker developed a MXT3010 Cell Processor providing standard cell processing functionality for 622 Mbps and 155 Mbps WAN interfaces, as well as an Edge Stream Processor for multi-service access equipment.  In January, Conexant acquired Microcosm Communications, a developer of optical networking components based on complimentary-metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) process technology, for up to $180 million in stock.
  
• HotRail has its roots in Techfarm, a start-up incubator led by Silicon Valley pioneer Gordon Campbell.  The company had raised $34.5 million in venture financing from Techfarm, Woodside Fund, Chase Venture Capital, Charter Ventures, Ontario TPP, Sky Capital, Selby Venture Partners and Wasserstein Adelson Venture.

LUCENT'S ENTERPRISE SPIN-OFF TO BE CALLED "AVAYA"
Lucent Technologies' Enterprise Networks Group will be known as "Avaya" when it completes a spin-off later this year.  An advertising campaign to build market awareness for the new Avaya identity will begin in a few weeks.  The company said it chose "Avaya" because the name sounds open and fluid.  The company also appointed its new executive management team. Henry B. Schacht, former chairman and CEO of Lucent Technologies and former CEO of Cummins Engine, is chairman of the new company.  Donald K. Peterson, former executive vice president and CFO of Lucent, is president and CEO. Peterson also previously served as Nortel's CFO and president of NORTEL Communications Systems.  For fiscal 1999, Lucent's Enterprise Networks Group had sales of approximately $8.3 billion and net income of approximately $300 million.
http://www.avaya.com
Avaya, June 27, 2000

• Last week, Lucent's Enterprise Networks Group filed its Form 10 registration statement with the SEC for its previously announced spin-off.  The spin-off is expected to occur before September 30. 

REGULATORS MOVE TO BLOCK MCI WORLDCOM AND SPRINT MERGER, COMPANIES WITHDRAW PLANS
The US Department of Justice took legal action to block the proposed merger of MCI WorldCom and Sprint on grounds that the combined company would pose a threat to competition for long distance and Internet services.  MCI WorldCom and Sprint subsequently withdrew its petition to the European Commission, which had also been expected to rule against the proposed merger on similar grounds.  The companies left open the possibility of re-working the deal.
http://www3.sprint.com/Stemp/press/releases/200006/200006271020.html
June 27, 2000

3COM ACQUIRES KERBANGO FOR INTERNET RADIO APPLIANCE
3Com will acquire Kerbango, a start-up developing an Internet appliance specifically for listening to streaming audio, for approximately US$80 million.  The Kerbango radio uses a Motorola PowerPC 32-bit processor and has 8MB DRAM, 8 MB Flash Memory, embedded Linux and RealPlayer G2 software, an Ethernet RJ-45 10/100 port, a modem and two USB ports.  The device would connect to home networks and use existing DSL, cable modem or dial-up ISP accounts.  The radio "tuning" is provided without using the PC via a connection to the Kerbango Tuning Service, which offers links to over 4,000 streams, dynamically updated and graded for quality and reliability. THOMSON multimedia has agreed to OEM the product.
http://www.kerbango.com  http://www.3com.com
3Com, June 27, 2000

• Kerbango was founded in 1998 by former Apple Computer and Power Computing executives.  The company is based in Cupertino, California and employs 28 people.

YIPES TO OFFER GIGABIT ETHERNET IN EQUINIX'S IBX CENTERS
Yipes Communications will provide its native Ethernet gigabit networking services to participants in the Equinix Internet Business Exchange centers.  The relationship gives Yipes access to concentrated groups of customers under one roof.  The services will be available initially in the New York, Washington, D.C., and Silicon Valley Equinix facilities, with other locations to follow.
http://www.yipes.com/press_box/pr_0627.html
Yipes, June 27, 2000

BROADBAND OFFICE TESTS JUNIPER AND ZAFFIRE PLATFORMS
BroadBand Office, a venture-backed carrier planning to offer high-capacity services in major office buildings, completed interoperability testing using Juniper Network's high-end routers and Zaffire's new optical networking platform.  BBO plans to build an industrial strength, dense, metropolitan optical network.  http://www.bbo.com
Broadband Office, June 27, 2000

• Zaffire's Z3000 platform for metro hub aggregation provides transparent and opaque wavelength transport services to existing equipment, including SONET, SDH and Gigabit Ethernet at speeds from 155 Mbps to 10 Gbps.  Zaffire's architecture leverages a Fractional Wavelength technology to multiplex diverse traffic types (IP, ATM, Frame Relay, Gigabit Ethernet, Voice and TDM) within a single wavelength.  http://www.zaffire.com

AGILENT DELIVERS LONG REACH 155 MBPS OPTICAL TRANSCEIVERS
Agilent Technologies introduced a small-form-factor (SFF) fiber-optic transceiver for 155 Mbps SONET/SDH (OC-3) long-reach applications.  The device offers single-mode fiber connectivity for SONET/SDH at distances up to 40 km. It operates with a 3.3V power supply.  Agilent already offers OC-3 transceivers for mid-range and short-range distances.  http://www.agilent.com/view/fiber/
Agilent Technologies, June 27, 2000

ARGUS BUILDS VIDEO-OVER-IP NETWORK WITH UNISPHERESOLUTIONS
Argus Telecommunications, a new Australian carrier that leverages rights-of-way along the country's railway lines, is deploying Unisphere's ERX-1400 Edge Routing Switch for a unique video application.  The switches will support a video-over-IP network providing video surveillance at 302 railway stations.  Argus will also use the network to offer IP VPNs and Broadband Remote Access Services (B-RAS) for xDSL and LMDS access.
 http://www.unispheresolutions.com/index/news/pr_06272000_1.html
Unisphere Solutions, June 27, 2000

SAMSUNG CORNING TO EXPAND ITS DWDM MANUFACTURING FACILITY
Samsung Corning Micro-Optics, a newly established joint venture based in South Korea, announced a $110 million expansion of its manufacturing facility.  The expansion will quadruple production of the company's DWDM modules.
http://www.corning.com/news/news_update1/index.html
Samsung Corning Micro-Optics, June 27, 2000

HARVARDNET'S DSL NOW REACHES 200 CENTRAL OFFICES
HarvardNet now has a DSL presence in 200 Bell Atlantic central offices, including 40 COs recently activated in the metro NY area.  The company is adding on average eight new COs per week and plans to have the deepest and broadest DSL footprint in the northeastern US by early next year.  http://www.harvardnet.com/about/pressreleases/2000/release062700.phtml
HarvardNet, June 27, 2000

• HarvardNet operates a Cisco-powered ATM/IP backbone network

EXCESS BANDWIDTH PUSHES HDSL2 DISTANCE TO 18,000 FEET
Excess Bandwidth, a start-up based in Cupertino, California, unveiled a new chipset that exceeds the range and data rate specifications of new US and proposed international standards for 1.5 megabit per second (Mbps) and 2.3 Mbps symmetric DSL service.  The two-chip solution extends the reach of the 1.5 Mbps HDSL2 standard to 18,000 feet.  The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) HDSL2 specification actually calls for data transmission at a fixed rate of 1.5 Mbps over distances up to 12,000 feet.  Excess Bandwidth also implements an on-chip MIPs processor that is used for line training, equalization and echo cancellation.  http://www.exbc.com/news000627.html
Excess Bandwidth, June 27, 2000

• Last week, Virata announced plans to acquire Excess Bandwidth for approximately $315 million in stock (7.3 million shares).