TELLABS INTRODUCES TITAN 6700 OPTICAL SWITCH, OUTLINES ITS OPTICAL STRATEGY
Tellabs introduced a massive TITAN 6700 optical switch for providing carriers with the versatility of an all-optical (OOO) infrastructure where possible and electric-optical (OEO) capability where necessary.  The TITAN 6700 is designed for connecting, aggregating, protecting, switching and managing wavelengths at the core of the network. The initial release of the platform will be able to handle 10 Tbps of traffic.  It will also function in both SONET and SDH networks.  Tellabs expects to begin field trials Q2 2001, with commercial release slated for Q4.   Tellabs' optical networking architecture will encompass access, transport, switching and management products capable of extending wavelength service delivery from the core to the edge of backbone transport networks. 
http://www.tellabs.com/news/00news/nr121100a.shtml
Tellabs, December 11, 2000

TELLABS PROVIDES SPRINT WITH MULTISERVICE TRANSPORT SWITCH
Tellabs announced a multi-year agreement to supply Sprint with its TITAN 6500 multiservice transport switch.  The switch is designed around a single, data-based switching fabric that routes SONET, ATM and IP/MPLS traffic mixes. The switch will replace existing broadband equipment and take up less than half the space of current central office systems.  Tellabs expects the agreement to be worth more than $100 million over the life of the contract.  http://www.tellabs.com/news/00news/nr121100c.shtml
Tellabs, December 11, 2000  

VILLAGE NETWORKS INTRODUCES ITS OPTICAL PACKET NODE
Village Networks, a start-up based in Eatontown, New Jersey, announced product details on its forthcoming integrated networking node, which will combine packet processing with optical switching in a single network element.  The new iOPN2000 will leverage a proprietary algorithm driven by high-speed ASICs to provide identification and control of all traffic flows across both the IP and optical domains.  The platform would allow the control of 512,000 optical IP flows in a single shelf, with the ability to scale multiple shelves to over eight million flows. The per-flow intelligence would enable different service level guarantees as well as sub-SONET speed restoration.  The product's Packet Engine will scale from 40 Gbps to over 640 Gbps and support GbE, OC3 to OC192, POS, ATM, SONET/SDH, MPLS or MP(lambda)S.   Village Network' system is undergoing field trials with Global Crossing and other carriers.  The product is expected to be available mid-2001.  http://www.villagenetworks.com/ 
Village Networks, December 11, 2000

• Village Networks was founded in 1998 by Dr. Kai Eng, a former Bell Laboratories research department head. 
  
• In October, Village Networks raised $40 million in second round of funding, bringing its total funding to $50 million.  Investors include Spectrum Equity Investors, Geocapital Partners, Acappella Partners, A.C. Capital Associates, Global Crossing Ventures, Intel Capital, The Goldman Sachs Group and PCG Ventures. 

AMCC ANNOUNCES 10 GBPS DIGITAL WRAPPER TECHNOLOGY
Applied Micro Circuits Corp. (AMCC) introduced a 10 Gbps digital wrapper silicon device designed to offer the protection features of SONET/SDH while removing some of the rigid overhead structure.  AMCC's Hudson variable rate, digital wrapper framer/deframer and performance monitor device incorporates programmable Forward Error Correction (FEC) for rates up to 10.66 Gbps and supports OC-192 transmission standards. The digital wrapper functions by grouping together a number of existing frames into "super-frames", which can then be more efficiently managed with a relatively small allocation of overhead-per-byte of data.  AMCC said that by aggregating together the provisions for "framing bits" that are already defined for use by existing TDM structures, the super-frame concept allows for an intelligent operation, administration and maintenance (OAM) capability without materially expanding the amount of data currently being transmitted. This creative use of available control bits also allows FEC functions to be very efficiently incorporated within the digital wrapper definition without a significant net increase in overall bandwidth usage.  AMCC's device supports the evolving G.709 digital wrapper standard and traditional SONET/SDH.   http://www.amcc.com/Compinfo/PressReleases/Hudson.htm
AMCC, December 11, 2000

METRO-OPTIX BEGINS FIELD TRIAL OF CITYSTREAM SYSTEM
OutReach Communications, a Missouri-based integrator of voice and data services, launched a trial of Metro-Optix's CityStream bandwidth manager, which integrates ATM, IP, and SONET traffic in a single system.  The Metro-Optix platform's core switching fabric is designed to scale from 100 Gbps to 400 Gbps.  Applications could include ring aggregation, point-of-presence bandwidth management, service access multiplexing, DSLAM aggregation, ATM edge switching, and IP routing.  The Metro-Optix is expected to be commercially available in Q1 2001.  http://www.metro-optix.com/11Dec.htm
Metro-Optix, December 11, 2000

• Metro-Optix is led by Arun Bellary, who previously served as General Manager of Ericsson's broadband access products unit.  The company is based in Santa Clara, CA, and Allen, TX.
  
• Since its founding as a spin-off of Ericsson in December 1999, the company has announced $83 million in two rounds of financing.  Investors include J. & W. Seligman and Co., BlueStream Ventures, Essex Investment Management, Wasatch Advisors, Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown, Weiss Peck & Greer Venture Partners, Chase H&Q, Star Ventures Management, Roger Engemann & Associates, and Dain Rauscher Wessels, Chase Capital Partners, InterWest Partners, Sevin Rosen Funds, Centerpoint Ventures and Ericsson.

3COM AND BROADCOM FORM STRATEGIC ALLIANCE FOR GIGABIT ETHERNET
3Com and Broadcom will jointly develop products, cross-license technologies, and engage in joint sales and marketing activities to accelerate the migration of business networks to Gigabit Ethernet.  The alliance will offer NICs and LOM (LAN on motherboard) solutions based on Broadcom’s new 10/100/1000BASE-T Media Access Controller (MAC). The MAC was jointly developed by Broadcom and the Gigabit NIC division of Alteon WebSystems, which 3Com has announced its intent to acquire.  http://www.broadcom.com   http://www.3com.com
Broadcom, December 11, 2000

• On November 15, 2000, 3Com announced that it would acquire the Gigabit Ethernet NIC business of Alteon WebSystems, a subsidiary of Nortel Networks, for $110 million in cash.  Alteon was among the first to ship Gigabit Ethernet solutions, beginning in February 1997.  Alteon has shipped more than 120,000 Gigabit Ethernet NICs.  3Com said the Gigabit Ethernet segment is exploding, with growth rates of more than 300% per year. 

ASIA GLOBAL CROSSING INCREASES ITS TRANS-PACIFIC IP BACKBONE TO 2.5 GBPS
Asia Global Crossing quadrupled the capacity of its Trans-Pacific IP transit backbone from 622 Mbps to 2.5 Gbps.  The company cited increasing bandwidth demand from ISPs, foreign companies, and multinationals.  Sony Communication Network Corporation (So-net), a Japanese ISP, agreed to use Asia Global Crossing as its main international backbone.  http://www.asiaglobalcrossing.com/media/press_releases/pr_dec1100.htm
Asia Global Crossing, December 11, 2000

WIRELESS WORLD RESEARCH FORUM CREATES INDUSTRY THINK TANK
Alcatel, Ericsson, Nokia and Siemens announced the creation of a new Wireless World Research Forum (WWRF) that will formulate strategic research directions in the wireless field among industry and academia.  The new forum will cooperate with the UMTS Forum, ETSI, 3GPP, IETF, ITU, and other relevant bodies regarding commercial and standardization issues.  http://www.ericsson.com/press/20001211-0054.html  http://www.ist-wsi.org/  
WWRF, December 11, 2000

INTEL AND POWER X TO LINK NETWORK PROCESSORS AND SWITCH FABRIC
Intel and Power X Networks will jointly develop technology for interconnecting Intel's IXP1200 network processor with Power X's TeraChannel intelligent switch fabric, which is geared for optical transport and computing I/O protocols, such as InfiniBand.  The interface would streamline development of next-generation Internet networking equipment based on the companies' silicon.
http://www.intel.com/pressroom/archive/releases/cn121100a.htm
http://www.powerxnetworks.com/
Intel, December 11, 2000

JUNIPER NETWORKS ACQUIRES MICRO MAGIC FOR IC DESIGN EXPERTISE
Juniper Networks agreed to acquire Micro Magic, an IC design company, for $260 million in stock and cash. Micro Magic specializes in software for designing the data paths and memory subsystems associated with processors, including DSPs, embedded controllers, multi-media, and network, graphics, and microprocessors.  Juniper Networks said the employees of MMI would be integrated into its core IP infrastructure engineering team.  The companies are both based in Sunnyvale, California. http://www.juniper.net/news/pressreleases/2000/pr-001211.html
Juniper Networks, December 11, 2000

RIVERDELTA ADDS GIGABIT ETHERNET TO ITS HFC BROADBAND SERVICES ROUTER
RiverDelta Networks, a start-up based in Tewksbury, MA., introduced a Gigabit Ethernet Network Interface Module for its Broadband Services Router 64000, a content-aware, IP switch/router designed to deliver hundreds of thousands of voice, data, video, music, and other interactive IP-based service flows over HFC networks.  The new Gigabit Ethernet Network Interface Module allows operators to connect BSR 64000s in point-to-point or ring configurations over dark fiber to eliminate SONET overhead.   RiverDelta recently demonstrated an OC-48 Add/Drop Multiplexer (ADM) Network Interface Module for the platform that would enable cable operators to aggregate DOCSIS traffic unto metropolitan SONET rings.    http://www.riverdelta.com/pr121100_a.html
RiverDelta Networks, December 11, 2000

• RiverDelta is led by Dave Callan, the former founder and CEO of XCOM Technologies, a facilities-based CLEC acquired by Level3.

CATENA NETWORKS RAISES $60 MILLION FOR NEW DSL ACCESS ARCHITECTURE
Catena Networks, a start-up based in Redwood Shores, California with R&D in Kanata, Canada, raised $60 million in new funding for its development of a New Access Architecture for the mass-market deployment of broadband DSL services to residential customers.  The company has raised more than $100 million to date.  Catena's network architecture aims to fundamentally simplify the access network, solve deployment bottlenecks, and reduce capital and operational costs.  Product specifics have not yet been disclosed.  Investors include Goldman Sachs, Berkeley International Capital, Attractor Investment Management, Morgenthaler Ventures, Menlo Ventures, Chase Capital Partners, Worldview Technology Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners and BCE Capital.  http://www.catenanet.com/news/np_121100.html
Catena Networks, December 11, 2000

• Catena is led by Bob Machlin, former Vice President of Marketing for Cascade Communications.  Other founders previously developed Nortel Networks’ mass-market, copper-loop solutions.

MINTERA RAISES $26 M IN FIRST ROUND FINANCING FOR 40 GBPS PHOTONICS
Mintera Corporation, an optical networking start-up based in Lowell, MA, announced the closing of $26 million in first round financing.  Mintera will develop intelligent photonic transport solutions that enable system providers to build carrier-class optical networking equipment operating at speeds of 40 Gbps.  Product specifics have not been disclosed.  Investors include Portview Communications Partners, Star Ventures, Court Square Optical, and Sycamore Networks.  http://www.mintera.com/ 
Mintera, December 11, 2000

• Mintera’s management team includes President and CEO Menachem Abraham, formerly President of Lucent Technologies' Enterprise Internetworking Systems Group and President and CEO of Prominet Corp.; Dr. Benny Mikkelsen - Vice President of Optical R&D; and Dr. Pavel Mamyshev - Vice President of Optical Transmission.  Mikkelsen and Mamyshev were previously researchers at Bell Laboratories.

AKARA SECURES $17 MILLION FOR OPTICAL UTILITY SERVICES PLATFORM
Akara, a start-up based Ottawa, Canada, secured $17 Million in first round funding for its development of an "optical utility services platform" that would drive the unbundling of the optical loop.  Akara's forthcoming product will be an enterprise-sited solution that effectively aggregates and manages traffic destined for the network core.  Product specifics have not been disclosed.  Trials are expected in Q1 2001.  Investors include Battery Ventures and Greylock. http://www.akara.com/
Akara, December 11, 2000

• Akara was co-founded by Solomon Wong, who formerly served with Cambrian Systems (acquired by Nortel Networks); and Stephen Adolph, who previously worked for Nortel Networks.  The company is led by Edward Ogonek, who most recently served as executive vice president and general manager at Alcatel Telecom.  Prior to Alcatel, Ogonek was EVP of Newbridge's switching and routing group.

INTELSAT TO INVEST $1.5 BILLION IN BROADBAND SATELLITE STRATEGY
INTELSAT will solicit proposals for the purchase of a next-generation broadband satellite system.  The company plans to invest more than $1.5 billion in the next-generation satellite system, which will be deployed on a regional basis starting in Latin America, Asia-Pacific and Europe.  A contract is expected by mid-2001.  http://www.intelsat.int/news/press/2000-28e.htm
INTELSAT, December 11, 2000

• INTELSAT already has nine new satellites on order for launch in the 2001-2003 timeframe, representing a total investment commitment of over $3.2 billion.