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SBC
GAINS FCC APPROVAL FOR PROJECT PRONTO
SBC
Communications gained approval from the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) to begin providing DSL through neighborhood
broadband gateways deployed as part of its $6 billion Project
Pronto initiative. SBC
is required to offer the service on a wholesale and
non-discriminatory basis to competitive local exchange carriers
(CLECs), including Advanced Solutions Inc., its own data
subsidiary.
http://www.sbc.com/News_Center/Article.html?query_type=article&query=20000908-01
SBC Communications, September 8, 2000
- Last month, SBC announced its
first trials of DSL provisioned through neighborhood
gateways. Ten
CLECs were named as equal participants in the trials,
including its own data subsidiary.
SBC intends to activate approximately 4,000
neighborhood gateways by year-end, and 18,000 by the end of
2002. SBC’s
first Project Pronto sites include Austin, Dallas, Ft. Worth,
Houston, San Antonio, Kansas City, San Jose, Sacramento,
Riverside, Santa Rosa and Danbury (Conn).
UPC
SELECTS LIBERATE TECHNOLOGIES FOR INTERACTIVE TELEVISION
UPC, Europe's largest cable TV network operator, awarded a
key contract to Liberate Technologies for its interactive TV
software platform. UPC
will use the Liberate middleware platform to deploy digital
interactive services to its cable television subscribers, starting
with UPC's operation in Vienna, Austria.
The Liberate client/server software enables set-top boxes
to integrate Web content and TV content, while supporting e-mail,
chat, e-commerce and other services.
UPC said the Liberate platform would form part of its
multi-vendor strategy for interactive services.
Financial terms were not disclosed.
http://press.liberate.com/archives/2000/090900_upc.html
Liberate Technologies, September 9, 2000
- In
Europe, Liberate Technologies has previously disclosed
contracts with Ono in Spain, and NTL, Telewest and CWC (now
owned by NTL) in the UK.
- In
July, Cisco Systems made a $100 million investment in
Liberate, for a 3.8% share.
The company is based in San Carlos, California.
MICROSOFT
DEBUTS ITS INTERACTIVE TV PLATFORM
Microsoft began exhibiting its software platform for
delivering enhanced TV and interactive services to TV set-top
boxes. The Microsoft
platform will include an Advanced client application for next
generation set-top boxes, as well as a Basic client for existing
set-top boxes used in digital cable, satellite and terrestrial
networks. In
addition, the Microsoft platform will deliver Enhanced TV
applications and services to the emerging PC-based appliances
designed specifically for entertainment.
The next generation of the Windows operating system will
include support for broadcast and streaming video, audio and data;
content protection; ATVEF interactive content and programming; and
digital video and audio recording.
Microsoft said it already has commitments for 15 million
set-top boxes running the software platform to be deployed
worldwide.
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2000/Sept00/MSTVIBCUSPR.asp
Microsoft, September
8, 2000
- Microsoft estimates there will
be more than 250 million Enhanced TV set-top boxes will be
installed worldwide by 2004.
IBM
INTRODUCES BANDWIDTH ALLOCATION TECHNOLOGY FOR NET PROCESSOR
IBM will offer a unique bandwidth allocation technology
(BAT) for its forthcoming PowerNP "network processor"
chip. The company
claims its prioritization scheme will yield significant
improvements in the quality and speed of information traveling
across the Internet and other networks.
The BAT software, which consists of 100 lines of code,
supports multiple levels of priority.
It will be offered on the forthcoming copper-based PowerNP
network processor, which is being developed for routers and
switches. The new
chip is expected to sample later this year.
http://www.chips.ibm.com/products/wired/
IBM, September 10, 2000
LEVEL
3 COMPLETES ITS FIRST EUROPEAN FIBER RING
Level
3 Communications completed conduit construction and installed
fiber in Ring 1 of its 7,600 km inter-city fiber optic network in
Europe. The 3,400-km Ring 1 features 10-12 conduits connecting
Level 3 data centers in London, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Paris and
Brussels. Level 3
installed fiber in only one of the conduits, leaving the
additional conduits empty as reserves for future generations of
fiber. Construction
on a second ring, connecting Frankfurt, Dusseldorf, Hamburg,
Berlin and Munich, is scheduled for completion before the end of
the year.
http://www.level3.com/us/news/newsreleases/0,1727,20000908,00.html
Level 3, September 8,
2000
- Alcatel was the lead contractor
on the Level 3 network. Level
3 has now completed more than 90% of its inter-city conduit
installation in North America and Europe.
ALCATEL
INTRODUCES COMPACT DIGITAL CROSS-CONNECT
Alcatel
introduced a wide-band digital cross-connect designed for
Competitive Local Exchange Carriers (CLECs) and wireless service
providers. The new
model is 75% more compact than the widely deployed Alcatel LMC
wide-band digital cross-connect, yet can be expanded to support
the full capacity of the largest systems.
http://www.usa.alcatel.com/telecom/transpt/1631_lmc.htm
Alcatel, September 8, 2000
NEC
SHIPS WCDMA EQUIPMENT TO NTT DOCOMO
NEC Corporation completed its first major shipment of W-CDMA
infrastructure gear for NTT DoCoMo's commercial service, which is
scheduled to begin operating from May 2001.
NEC will supply mobile multimedia switching systems (MMS),
base transceiver stations (BTS), radio network controllers (RNC),
multimedia processing equipment (MPE) and mobile handsets.
http://www.nec.co.jp/english/today/newsrel/0009/0701.html
NEC,
September 7, 2000 |
