GERMAN RESEARCH NETWORK EXTENDS HIGH BANDWIDTH TO 700 SITES
The German Research Network Association began connecting the first sites to a new optical backbone rivalling the Internet2 initiative.  The Gigabit-Wissenschaftsnetz (G-WiN) network will connect 700 sites across Germany, offering IP and ATM connections at rates up to 2.5 Gbps.  The backbone connects 27 core locations over two independent fiber paths using DWDM and 10 Gbps wavelengths. SDH Multi-service Gateways are used to aggregate traffic unto the optical network.  Deutsche Telekom's Network Management Center, which is responsible for operating the network, is also providing a "GIOVANA" Web portal (G-WiN Integrated Online Service Management) that will allow the DFN Association to set-up a connection between two locations within one hour, e.g. for transmitting a lecture or simulations carried out on central mainframes.  Alcatel supplied its Virtual Private Network (VPN) manager system and its OPTINEX Metro DWDM for the network.  http://www.dfn.de/     http://www.dtag.de/english/news/journal/index.htm
http://www.alcatel.com/vpr/index.htm?body=/latestnews/30062000uk
June 30, 2000

ANALOG DEVICES BIDS FOR MEM OPTICAL COMPONENT VENDOR
Analog Devices made a bid to acquire BCO Technologies, a developer of optical components based in Belfast, Northern Ireland, for US$150 million in cash.  BCO Technologies is a supplier of thick-film, bonded wafers used for fabricating optical switching devices with micro-machined mirrors.  Analog Devices said it plans to significantly accelerate its investments in optical networking.  The company plans to combine BCO's thick-film bonded wafers and silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology with its own micromachine technology and ability to integrate analog and mixed-signal technology.  BCO employs approximately 90 people and was founded in 1992.
http://www.bco-technologies.com/  http://www.analog.com/
Analog Devices, June 30, 2000

NET2PHONE AND SPEECHWORKS DEVELOP FIRST SPEECH OVER IP (SOIP)
Net2Phone licensed speech recognition technology from SpeechWorks for use with its Internet telephony services.  The companies are planning the first generation of SoIP (Speech over IP) based services.  The technology should enable quick, seamless call transfers between and among speech-enabled services.  . Net2Phone also intends to acquire a minority equity interest in SpeechWorks.  The company's speech recognition software is already deployed in the calling centers of Amtrak, Continental Airlines, E*Trade, FedEx, Hewlett-Packard, MapQuest.com, Nextlink and United Airlines.  http://www.speechworks.com  http://www.net2phone.com
Net2Phone, July 4, 2000

• SpeechWorks filed registration papers in April for a planned IPO.  The privately held start-up receceived venture capital from Atlas Venture, BankAmerica Ventures, Charles River Ventures, Citigroup, Digital BandWidth LLC, GE Equity, iGate Ventures, Intel, Intel 64 Fund, MCI WorldCom Venture Fund, QuestMark Partners, Reuters, Riggs Capital and SAP.  SpeechWorks  is based in Boston, MA.

SONERA EXPANDS DWDM NETWORK FROM FINLAND TO CENTRAL EUROPE
Sonera announced is deploying the latest DWDM systems from Ericsson and Nortel Networks along its international fiber network.  The network upgrades will extend from Finland, via Sweden and Denmark, to Central Europe and Russia (7,500 route km).  The network will use Ericsson's ERION Linear DWDM system supporting 10 Gbps per wavelength.
http://www.sonera.fi/investor_en/news/press/82.html  http://www.ericsson.com/pressroom
Sonera, June 30, 2000

NEW AUSTRALIA – JAPAN CABLE TO OFFER 640 GBPS CAPACITY
NEC was selected to build a new 12, 500 km submarine cable system between Australia, Guam and Japan.  The system is designed for 640 Gbps capacity – an estimated 500 times greater capacity than what is currently available between the East Coast of Australia to Japan.  Scheduled completion date is Q3 2001.  The contract was valued at US$350 million.  Principal investors include Telstra, MCI Worldcom, Japan Telecom, NTT Communications, Teleglobe Canada and Concert.
http://www.nec.co.jp/english/today/newsrel/0007/0301.html
NEC, July 3, 2000

INTERNET INITIATIVE JAPAN UPGRADES PACIFIC BANDWIDTH TO 1.085 GBPS
Internet Initiative Japan upgraded its transpacific bandwidth from 775 Mbps to 1.085Gbps.  IIJ now has five 155 Mbps lines connecting Tokyo and Palo Alto, California (PAIX); as well as a 155 Mbps link to San Jose(MAE-WEST) and a 155 Mbps connection from Osaka to its NY NOC. http://www.iij.ad.jp/index-e.html
Internet Initiative Japan, July 4, 2000

TERRY MATTHEWS APPOINTED AS NEW CEO OF TELEXIS
Terry Matthews, the former CEO of Newbridge Networks, was named the new CEO of Telaxis Corporation, a start-up targeting networked video management solutions.  Matthews said he believes the next wave in communications will be application service delivery by content and service providers.  http://www.telexiscorp.com
Telaxis, June 30, 2000

• Telaxis became an affiliate of Newbridge Networks in 1996.  The company is based in Kanata, Ontario.

NERA SIGNS WIRELESS SDH CONTRACTS IN LATIN AMERICA
NERA, a Norwegian supplier of wireless telecommunications equipment, was awarded $34.5 million in contracts for its microwave SDH system in Mexico.  The company is opening a new manufacturing facility in Brazil.  http://www.nera.no/
NERA, July 4, 2000

EANTC PLANS NEW ROUND OF MPLS INTEROPERABILITY TESTING
EANTC will conduct a new round of MPLS interoperability testing to be held at the Technical University of Berlin, Germany from 11-15 September 2000.  The test will focus exclusively on interoperability, robustness and performance of MPLS implementations. Test areas include basic LSP establishment with CR-LDP and RSVP as well as  VPN set-up and Traffic Engineering tests.  All developers and manufacturers of MPLS systems, protocol stacks and analyzers are encouraged to participate.  http://www.eantc.com/testing/gte/mpls/
EANTC, June 2000

CONFERENCE ANNOUNCEMENT:  OPTICON 2000, JULY 31- AUG 3, SAN FRANCISCO

• Wu-Fu Chen, speaking on "Investing in Optical Networking Technology." Chen is currently chairman of ANDA Networks, Cinta, Geyser Networks, Optimight Communications, Santera and Zettacom  (all optical start-ups).
  

• Dan Smith, speaking on "Identifying and Leveraging the Optical Opportunity."  Smith is president and CEO of Sycamore Networks and was previously a top executive with Cascade/Ascend.
  

• Carl Russo, discussing “The Optical Internet.”  Russo is group vice president, optical networking at Cisco Systems and previously the CEO of Cerent Corp.
  
• Vab Goel, discussing "How to Choose the Right Optical Networking Technology and Vendor."  Goel is a general partner at Norwest Venture Partners and previously VP of emerging technologies for Qwest Communications.

OPTICON 2000 is organized by BCR.  Registration information is online.  http://www.bcr.com/opticon/default.asp