Nature: “Glass ceiling fixed”  http://www.nature.com/nsu/010628/010628-13.html

360NETWORKS FILES FOR BANKRUPTCY PROTECTION
360networks filed for bankruptcy protection under Canada’s Creditors Arrangement Act and under Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code.  Its European subsidiaries will also initiate insolvency proceedings.  The company and the subsidiaries have $155 million in remaining cash, which they hope to use to maintain service to existing customers in Canada and the US, and to complete key segments of its North American network.  Further growth would require additional financing or strategic investment into the reorganized company.  Yesterday, 360networks announced the layoff of approximately 800 employees.  http://www.360.net/
360networks, June 28, 2001

• As of May 15, 360networks had completed about 35,700 km of its planned 43,000 km network.  About 22,000 km were lit and in commercial service.  Construction of 13 of approximately 20 planned metro area networks in the US and Canada was completed, including networks in Seattle, Toronto and Calgary.  In Europe, 360networks had lit approximately 9,800 km of its long haul network.  The company had also completed and was in the process of lighting metro networks in London, Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Paris.  In Q1, 360networks also completed installation of its 11,700 km undersea transatlantic cable, as well as about 15,000 km of its undersea and terrestrial network between North America and South America.

KPNQWEST COMPLETES EURO RINGS ON SCHEDULE
KPNQwest connected two new OC-192 self-healing rings in its “EuroRings” network.  The new Eastern and Southern rings connect 13 cities (of which 4 are new additions to its network) across 3,900 km in Austria, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland.  Each ring consists of 120 fiber strands, capable of delivering 80 wavelengths per strand at up to 10 Gbps per wavelength, giving it more than 96 Tbps of macro-capacity when fully lit.  KPNQwest now has connected 40 out of 50 cities in its planned network.  http://www.kpnqwest.com/
KPNQwest, June 28, 2001

DIRECTV REACHES 10 MILLIONTH CUSTOMER, 10% OF ALL US HOUSEHOLDS
DirecTV signed up its 10 millionth customer, representing 10% of US households.  The direct satellite TV service now supports more than 475 broadcast channels.  DirecTV also noted that it has registered more than 320 million pay per view purchases to date.  The company is integrating its service with digital video recording technology and two-way Internet access.  DirecTV is a unit of Hughes Electronics Corporation.  http://www.directv.com/press/pressdel/0,1112,415,00.html
DirecTV, June 28, 2001

• Last week, Hughes Network Systems (HNS) launched a marketing campaign for its DIRECWAY broadband-by-satellite service for businesses and consumers, which is now available in a two-way satellite configuration.  Hughes’s DirecPC satellite service (with landline modem return) has 116,000 subscribers.

WHITE ROCK NETWORKS OFFERS GIGABIT ETHERNET IN MINI SONET ADM
White Rock Networks, a start-up based in Dallas, Texas, added full line-rate Gigabit Ethernet capabilities to its line of mini SONET add/drop multiplexers (ADM).  White Rock Networks’ OC-192 SONET add/drop multiplexer (ADM) measures two rack units (3.5 inches) in height - one-fifth the size of the smallest competitive OC-192 multiplexer.  Its OC-48 SONET ADM measures one rack unit in height.  http://www.whiterocknetworks.com
White Rock Networks, June 29, 2001

• In May, White Rock announced details of a software-embedded control plane supporting OSPF-TE/GMPLS inter-working between optical cross-connects and also between edge access devices.  White Rock’s “VLXconnect” control plane sets up connections between devices in the network so that multiple systems can communicate after being provisioned once.  The company said its control plane infrastructure allows carriers to establish connections in a White Rock SONET network in seconds.  When the emerging signaling standards are adopted by other equipment vendors, such as cross-connect system vendors, the same end-to-end provisioning will work in a heterogeneous network.
• White Rock Networks was founded in November 1999 by Lonnie Martin (previously President of ADC’s Business Broadband Group), Tony Masella (previously Vice President & General Manager of ADC’s Transport Systems Division) and Greg Lowe (previously Vice President of Engineering for ADC’s Transport Systems Group).

WEST BAY LAUNCHES HIGHEST DENSITY OC-3/STM-1 FRAMING PROCESSOR
West Bay Semiconductor, a start-up based in Vancouver, Canada, introduced a 16 x 155 Mbps channelized framing processor for SONET/SDH systems – its first product.  The device incorporates clock and data recovery (CDR) units and terminates datapaths down to the STS- 1/VC-3 level.  West Bay’s framing processor includes the SONET/SDH framing, full overhead processing, alarm detection, performance monitoring, tandem connection processing, line and path bit error rate monitoring (BERM) and complete STS-1/VC-3 timeslot interchange that supports traffic grooming and automatic protection switching.  It also includes an On-line Fault Detection feature that ensures user traffic integrity in the entire datapath.  Applications could include multi-service routers, switches, access concentrators and DWDM equipment.  Samples are currently shipping.  http://www.westbaysemi.com/
West Bay Semiconductor, June 28, 2001

• West Bay Semiconductor is headed by Tino Varelas, one of the founders of PMC, which later became PMC-Sierra.

LUCENT NAMES SIX STRATEGIC SEMICONDUCTOR SUPPLIERS
Lucent Technologies named component suppliers who have signed strategic supplier agreements:  Agere Systems, Cypress Semiconductor, IDT (Integrated Device Technology), Motorola, PMC-Sierra and Xilinx.  In addition, Lucent named three strategic logistics and distribution providers: Anixter, Graybar and Ryder.  Lucent said the outsourcing partnerships would help it to gain access to leading edge technologies, shorten product cycle times and reduce the cost of delivering next-generation solutions.  http://www.lucent.com/press/0601/010628.coa.html
Lucent Technologies, June 28, 2001

D-LINK OFFERS 802.11B WIRELESS CABLE/DSL ROUTER
D-Link introduced a Wireless Broadband Router and Access Point with a 4-port 10/100 switch designed for sharing cable or DSL connections in homes or small offices.  The unit includes 128-bit Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) for security and is interoperable with all IEEE 802.11b compliant devices.  The integrated wireless router acts as a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) Server to allow shared Internet access for up to 252 clients.  The fast Ethernet ports provide direct connections for client computers.  MSRP is $299 and street prices are estimated to be $230.  http://www.dlink.com/products/broadband/di714/
D-Link, June 28, 2001

WORLD WIDE PACKETS SIGNS CALIFORNIA HOUSING DEVELOPER FOR ETHERNET/FIBER
A new housing developer in American Canyon, California will use World Wide Packets' Ethernet to the Subscriber solution to provide integrated telephone, video (cable television and other video products) and high-speed Internet services.  Service will begin July 2001 in a model home environment.  http://www.wwp.com/news/pressRelease.jsp?id=30
World Wide Packers, June 28, 2001

TOLLBRIDGE SECURES $22 MILLION IN FOURTH ROUND FUNDING FOR ITS VOICE/BROADBAND
TollBridge Technologies, a start-up based in Santa Clara, California, closed $22 million in a fourth round of venture funding, bringing its total raised to date to $85 million.  TollBridge offers IP-based voice over broadband gateway platforms and integrated access devices for cable operators and LECs.  Investors include Matrix Partners, Meritech Capital Partners, Sutter Hill Ventures, TeleSoft Partners and WorldView Technology Partners.  http://www.tollbridgetech.com/
TollBridge Technologies, June 28, 2001

• TollBridge claims to have more than 40,000 phone lines in active service using its technology.

SPIRENT COMMUNICATIONS REPORTS ROBUST OUTLOOK
Spirent plc said its Communications division saw a period of stability during Q2.  The Network Monitoring division of Spirent Communications continued to perform well and has a robust order book and positive outlook for further business.  The Telecom Test Division experienced a slowdown during April, but that has been followed by a level trend in order intake through May and June.  http://www.spirent.com/news/787.html
Spirent, June 28, 2001

REDBACK ATTRIBUTES 30% DROP IN Q2 REVENUES TO DELAYED CARRIER PURCHASES
Citing a continuing weak global telecommunications market, Redback Networks cut its forecast for Q2 revenues to approximately $55 to $60 million, resulting in a pro forma loss of approximately $0.27 to $0.32 per share.  Quarterly expectations were in the $90 million range.  Redback plans to take a significant inventory write down charge.  In a conference call, the company said all the major ILECs purchased Redback’s products in Q2, but that many orders were delayed as carriers chose to slow down deployments and reallocate existing network capacity.  This included Williams, Genuity, SBC, and Bell South.  Redback believes these networks will continue to be expanded and that orders for its subscriber management systems have only been delayed.  The company does not expect any cutbacks in staff as it expects the market to recover.  http://www.redback.com/ 
Redback, June 27, 2001