AT&T BROADBAND SELLS CABLE SYSTEMS TO CHARTER FOR $1.75 BILLION
AT&T Broadband closed previously announced cable-system transactions with Charter Communications that result in a net addition of about 554,000 customers for Charter and $1.77 billion in cash and cable systems for AT&T.  Charter received cable systems from AT&T serving some 563,000 customers in the St. Louis area; areas of Auburn, Birmingham, Montgomery and Selma, Alabama; and the Reno area of Nevada and California.  In addition to the cash, AT&T Broadband added 9,000 subscribers, valued at $24 million, in Sebastian, Florida ($2,666 per subscriber).  http://www.att.com/press/item/0,1354,3900,00.html
AT&T Broadband, July 2, 2001

YIPES REPORTS $45 MILLION IN SALES SO FAR, 128 FIBER RINGS LIT
Yipes Communications, a privately held service provider promoting metro Ethernet, said that it has sold $45 million in sales contracts to date.  The average contract has a life of almost 29 months.  The company currently has 300 building in service and has lit more than 32,000 fiber miles in 128 rings.  Route miles of fiber currently stand at 3,600, double the footprint of December 2000.  Yipes has services available in 21 markets across the country.  http://www.yipes.com
Yipes, July 2, 2001

FRAME RELAY FORUM APPROVES IP HEADER COMPRESSION
The Frame Relay Forum approved an implementation agreement that defines how IP Header compressed packets should be handled over a Frame Relay interface, including how the compression is negotiated between parties and how packets are encapsulated.  IP header compression is used per virtual circuit (VC) between end-user systems and is transparent to the Frame Relay network. The technique can yield significant improvement in bandwidth efficiently as header compression reduces a VoIP header from 40 bytes to a minimum of 2-4 bytes.  An ordinary 64K link can transport only two uncompressed G.729 VoIP calls. Using IP Header Compression, the same link can carry five concurrent calls.  http://www.frforum.com/6000/frf20.html
The Frame Relay Forum, July 2, 2001

THE ATM FORUM EYES WIRELESS OPPORTUNITIES
The ATM Forum focused its most recent quarterly meeting on the prospects for ATM in next generation wireless networks.  The Forum has a working group dedicated to reviewing and encouraging the development of wireless data over ATM.  The group is working on a Wireless Functional Reference Model and specifically addressing distributed network services as it relates to wireless systems.  http://www.atmforum.com
The ATM Forum, July 2, 2001

CISCO RECOGNIZES “CISCO POWERED” IP TELEPHONY NETWORKS
Cisco Systems announced an IP Telephony Services designation within its “Cisco Powered Network Program”.  The marketing status recognizes networks built with Cisco products.  The first service providers with the Cisco Powered Network IP Telephony Services Designation are Appiant, Dialpad, Genuity, iBasis, InPhonic, Pagoo and Voxeo.  http://www.cisco.com/ 
Cisco Systems, July 2, 2001

LUCENT AWARDED US$150 MILLION NETWORK EXPANSION CONTRACT BY SAUDI TELECOM
Saudi Telecom awarded Lucent Technologies a US$150 million contract to expand the nationwide wireline network in the Kingdom by 150,000 subscriber lines.  The deployment will include Lucent’s AnyMedia Access System and an upgrade to the network's existing 5ESS switching capability to accommodate the larger user base.  Saudi Telecom will also offer ADSL services.  http://www.lucent.com/press/0701/010702.nsa.html
Lucent Technologies, July 2, 2001

3PARDATA SECURES $100 MILLION FOR ITS CARRIER CLASS STORAGE SERVERS
3PARdata, a start-up based in Fremont, California, secured $100 million in third-round financing for its development of carrier-class storage servers.  3PARdata, which is still in stealth mode, said its new category of server is designed for handling huge volumes of e-commerce data.  The company’s strategic partners include Sun Microsystems, VERITAS Software and Oracle Corporation.  Investors include the Mayfield Fund, Worldview Technology Partners, Oracle Ventures and others.  http://www.3pardata.com
3PARdata, July 2, 2001

• In January, 3PARdata named David Scott as its CEO.  Scott previously was the General Manager of Hewlett-Packard’s XP enterprise storage business in the Network Storage Solutions Organization.
• 3PARdata was co-founded in May 1999 by Jeff Price, who was previously responsible for the development and product definition of Sun’s 1000-6000 series servers, and Dr. Ashok Singhal, formerly Chief Architect for Sun’s servers.

COPPERCOM SECURES $65 MILLION, ANNOUNCES REORGANIZATION
CopperCom secured $65 million in a new round of venture funding led by Advent International and Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV).  CopperCom also announced plans to re-locate its headquarters from Santa Clara, California to Boca Raton, Florida.  In addition, CopperCom named Dennis Chateauneuf as its new CEO, replacing company founder Cynthia Ringo, who continues as chairman of the board and chief strategy officer (CSO).  Additional investors include Advanced Technology Ventures (ATV), AT&T Ventures, Cross Atlantic Ventures, Focus Ventures (formerly Charter Growth), Granite Ventures, JK&B Capital, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Venture Partners, Patricof & Co., and Van Wagoner Capital Management.  http://www.coppercom.com 
CopperCom, July 2, 2001

• Last month, CopperCom announced plans to add VoIP support to its Local Exchange Softswitch System (LeXSS), which delivers converged services over TDM, ATM and IP networks.  The company said its strategy is to offer both circuit and packet support in a softswitch environment, while ensuring the fundamental interdependencies of PSTN interoperability, Class 4/5 feature creation, voice over broadband (VoB) access and network management.

AKARA SECURES $30 MILLION FOR OPTICAL UTILITY SERVICES PLATFORM
Akara, a start-up based Ottawa, Canada, secured $30 million in second 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.  The company said early work with lead customers indicates that its solution can increase utilization of fiber assets by 90%.  Investors include Corning Innovation Ventures, Dain Rauscher Wessels Morgan Keegan, Presidio Venture Partners, Sumitomo Corporation, and first round investors Battery Ventures and Greylock Partners.  http://www.akara.com/
Akara, July 2, 2001

• 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.

ZIA LASER RAISES $6 MILLION FOR QUANTUM DOT LASER TECHNOLOGIES
Zia Laser, a start-up based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, secured $6 million in seed funding for its development of quantum dot (QD) semiconductor laser technology.  The company said QD lasers exhibit increased wavelength tunability and improved electronic properties compared to existing technologies.  Applications could include a range of optical subsystems.  Investors include Prism Venture Partners and RWI Group.
Zia Laser, July 2, 2001

• Zia Laser was founded by researchers at the Center for High Technology Materials at the University of New Mexico, including Luke F. Lester, Petros M. Varangis, Timothy C. Newell, Kevin J. Malloy, Andreas Stintz, and Allen L. Gray.

METRICOM FILES FOR CHAPTER 11 BANKRUPTCY PROTECTION
Metricom, which operates the Ricochet mobile data access service, filed a voluntary petition for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code.  The company is seeking to restructure its operations and debt obligations while continuing to provide services over its network.  Metricom believes its wireless Internet access product remains the most viable service on the network.  Last week, Metricom laid off 23% of its staff, leaving it with 451 employees.  http://www.metricom.com/news_events/media_center/press_releases/2001/news010702.html
Metricom, July 2, 2001

• Metricom uses a unique MicroCellular Data Network architecture that uses intelligent routing and “pole-top” radios mounted to streetlight or utility poles.  The company recently has been upgrading its always-on connectivity service to 128 kbps in the major US cities in which it operates
• Metricom’s total subscriber count at December 31, 2000 was 34,000, including 21,800 subscribers for its 28.8 kbps service and 12,200 subscribers of its newly launched 128 kbps service.
• In October 1999, MCI WorldCom and Vulcan Ventures each agreed to invest $300 million in Metricom to support the rollout of its Ricochet 128 kbps mobile data service in major markets across the US.