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SBC
ANNOUNCES MULTI-SERVICE OPTICAL NETWORKING (MON)
SBC
Communications announced the availability of Multi-Service Optical
Networking (MON), a dedicated point-to-point solution at up to 2.5
Gbps per wavelength between data centers or business sites in a
metro area. SBC’s
MON service will carry up to 160 Gbps of unprotected traffic or 80
Gbps of protected traffic on a fiber.
It will also support a range of transport protocols
including ESCON, FICON, ETR, ISC, Fibre Channel, Fast Ethernet,
Gigabit
Ethernet,
SONET
and D1 video in their native formats.
Data CPE solutions are available immediately nationwide
from SBC. The regulated MON service will be available from
Southwestern Bell in October and throughout the remainder of
SBC’s core 13 state region over the upcoming months.
http://www.sbc.com/News_Center
SBC Communications,
October 3, 2001
SBC
SEEKS FCC STATUS AS NON-DOMINANT CARRIER OF ADVANCED SERVICES
SBC Communications filed a petition asking the FCC to confirm
an earlier ruling that it and its subsidiaries remain classified
as non-dominant providers of advanced services.
SBC said the evidence is “overwhelming” that it is not
a dominant provider in the competitive advanced services because
the cable industry controls two thirds of the market.
SBC also argues that among the providers of advanced
services to medium and large businesses, AT&T, WorldCom and
Sprint together account for a 70% market share, but are classified
as non-dominant providers. SBC
said an FCC designation as a dominant provider would be a further
disincentive to aggressive investment in broadband infrastructure.
http://www.sbc.com/News_Center/1,3950,31,00.html?query=20011003-1
SBC Communications, October 3, 2001
- Last month, SBC Communications,
which currently owns an effective 42% stake in Prodigy,
announced a tender offer for all of the outstanding shares of
the Internet service provider's common stock at a 54% premium.
NORTEL
NETWORKS SELECTED FOR SBC’S METRO OPTICAL SERVICE
Nortel Networks was awarded a multi-year contract to
supply its OPTera Metro
Multiservice platforms for SBC’s newly announced Multi-Service
Optical Networking (MON) service and Data CPE product offerings.
The SBC MON service will use the OPTera Metro 5200
Multiservice Platform. SBC's Data CPE product will also
incorporate the Nortel Networks OPTera Metro 3500 next-generation
SONET platform. Financial
terms were not disclosed. http://www.nortelnetworks.com/corporate/news/newsreleases/
Nortel Networks,
October 3, 2001
VERIZON
CITES CUSTOMER GAINS IN DSL, WIRELESS AND LONG DISTANCE
In a preview of its Q3 results, Verizon Communications
said that it added between 120,000 to 130,000 net new DSL
subscribers for a total of 960,000 to 970,000 customer accounts.
Previously
announced year-end targets were 1.2 to 1.3 million.
Verizon plans to launch a new DSL marketing campaign this
quarter. Verizon
Wireless also announced an addition of 752,000 customers (net) in
Q3, giving it a total customer base of 28.7 million.
In long distance, Verizon expects customer additions of
650,000 to 700,000, for a year-to-date total of 6.6 to 6.7
million. Regarding
the recovery efforts in lower Manhattan, Verizon has now restored
approximately 80% of voice services originally supplied by a
severely damaged building adjacent to the World Trade Center. http://newscenter.verizon.com/proactive/newsroom/release.vtml?id=62528
Verizon
Communications, October 3, 2001
MCLEODUSA
ABANDONS PLANS FOR NATIONAL NETWORK, SCALES BACK
McLeodUSA, the largest CLEC in the US, abandoned plans for
a national network and will de-emphasize certain wholesale
services. In a bid to
cut costs and get to profitability, McLeodUSA will focus on its
existing network footprint in 25 states, where it sells voice and
data services to small and medium size business and residential
customers. Non-core
assets will be sold off. Capital
expenditures for 2002 will be scaled back from $400 million to
$350 million. The
company will also layoff 15% of its workers and consolidate 11
facilities into 3 locations.
http://www.mcleodusa.com
McLeodUSA, October 3,
2001
| McLeodUSA
Key Operational Data |
30-June-01 |
31-Mar-01 |
30-June-00 |
| ATM/FR
switches |
383 |
380 |
361 |
| Voice
switches |
49 |
50 |
37 |
| Collocations |
372 |
342 |
230 |
| DSLAMs |
512 |
376 |
110 |
| Employees |
10,600 |
11,300 |
NA |
| Intracity
route miles |
5,302 |
5,299 |
2,950 |
| Intercity
route miles |
25,676 |
24,526 |
9,877 |
| Buildings
connected |
1,451 |
1,336 |
1,229 |
- On May 2, McLeodUSA announced
that it had sold two of its PCS licenses and entered into
agreements to sell the remainder of its PCS licenses by year
end. As of August
1, McLeodUSA had received over $125 million in cash for the
sale of its PCS licenses.
- Last
October, McLeodUSA signed a three year, $600 million contract
to purchase wholesale voice and data services from Qwest.
In November, it agreed to purchase additional
network infrastructure from Level 3 covering 25 US states.
- During
2000, McLeodUSA acquired CapRock Communications Corp., a CLEC
serving the southwestern
US with 95,000
lines in service and 5,400 fiber route miles, and Splitrock
Services Inc., which operated a nationwide data network with
ATM switches in over 325 POPs in all 50 states.
ALERON
TO ACQUIRE TELIA’S US INTERNET BACKBONE, PLANS GLOBAL NETWORK
Aleron, a privately-held company backed by Goldman Sachs,
agreed to acquire Telia AB’s Internet backbone subsidiary in the
US. Financial terms
were not disclosed. Aleron
is developing a global Internet backbone and plans to grow through
strategic acquisitions. The
company is based in McLean, Virginia.
Telia said the sale does not change the strategy of its
Telia International Carrier division, which provides wholesale
carrier services over a wholly-owned fiber network throughout
Europe and North America. http://www.aleron.com/news/releases/tiiacquisition.html
http://www.telia.com
Aleron,
October 3, 2001
- Aleron is planning to deploy an
advanced network architecture using IP over DWDM at
OC-48/OC-192 rates. Its
packet backbone will be based on MPLS.
Aleron's peering plan includes establishing peering
connections at major NAPs: MAE-East, MAE-West, Ameritech/AADS
and MAE-Central. At
those locations, plans include public and private peering
relationships with major Tier-1 and Tier-2 backbones, with
several Gbps of capacity in place to support peering traffic.
Internationally, Aleron plans to establish peering
relationships in Europe at LINX in London and elsewhere.
- Aleron is headed by Paolo Guidi,
the former Chairman and CEO of Teleglobe. Its
executive team also includes Steve Heap, formerly VP of
network planning at Teleglobe; Jeff Barrows, formerly Director
of Internetwork Engineering at UUNet; David Kim, formerly VP
of Internet Technology at Broadwing.
AT&T
BUILDS VOICE AND DATA NETWORK FOR AFG
AT&T was awarded a multi-year contract by American
Financial Group, a leading provider of insurance services, to
build and maintain a secure nationwide, integrated voice/data
network. AFG's
networking infrastructure and services, including transport,
remote access, Internet, extranet, web hosting and security, will
run on AT&T's Private IP VPN service and will be located in
one of AT&T's secure, redundant Internet Data Centers.
AT&T will manage routers at all locations across AFG's
enterprise network. In
addition, AFG is one of the first customers to use AT&T’s
new MPLS-based Managed Router Service running over AT&T’s
Frame Relay and ATM networks.
http://www.att.com/press/item/0,1354,3989,00.html
AT&T, October 3,
2001
FLAG
ATLANTIC-1 ENTERS FULL SERVICE
Following the commissioning of its southern cable, FLAG
Atlantic-1 (FA-1), the multi-terabit,
transatlantic cable system, has now entered full commercial
service. The Six
fiber pair, dual cable system will scale up to 4.8 Tbps of
capacity. The network
is configured as three self-healing, interlocking loops with twin
terrestrial access points. http://www.flagtelecom.com
FLAG
Telecom, October 3, 2001
QWEST
TIGHTENS IP SERVICE LEVEL AGREEMENTS, OFFERS OFF-NET GUARANTEE
Qwest
Communications announced new service-level agreement (SLA)
guarantees for its dedicated Internet access (DIA) and VPN
customers. Qwest will
now provide all its DIA and VPN customers with an enhanced 99.5%
packet delivery and a maximum average latency of 50 milliseconds.
Also, Qwest will now guarantee a 95-millisecond maximum
average round-trip latency between its network and the networks of
the industry's Top 5 carriers (based on a percentage of all
network traffic, industry-wide).
Qwest claims to be the first to offer such an
"off-net" SLA. http://www.qwest.com/about/media/pressroom/1,1720,792_current,00.html
Qwest Communications,
October 3, 2001
MICROSOFT
PROMISES TO ADDRESS NETWORK SECURITY CONCERNS
Citing its concern for Internet security and the
increased threat from computer viruses, Microsoft announced a
Strategic Technology Protection Program to address problems with
its Windows 2000 Server's Internet Information Services (IIS)
platform. Initial
steps include a “lockdown tool” for securing IIS and free
virus-related product support.
The company also promised to provide an automated security
update service.
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2001/Oct01/10-03ImproveCNSecurityPR.asp
Microsoft, October 3,
2001
VIBRANT
SOLUTIONS TARGETS CARRIER-TO-CARRIER MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE
Vibrant Solutions, a
start-up based in Fairfax, Virginia, introduced a portfolio of
Cost and Revenue Management applications for analyzing
carrier-to-carrier transactions.
Vibrant Solutions' ViewLogic multi-application platform and
Business Intelligence Suite analyzes large volumes of network data
and streamlines the greatly detailed processes involved in revenue
assurance, interconnect invoice audits, and network cost
optimization. The software can automate interconnect invoice
workflows across multiple applications by using Oracle databases,
a browser-based user interface and data exchange formats such as
.NET, OLAP and XML. The
system can process and mediate various types of event records
including Voice (AMA, CDRs), Data records (IPDRs), content records
and Network Signaling (SS7).
http://www.vibrant-1.com/
Vibrant Solutions,
October 1, 2001
- Vibrant Solutions was formed in
May 2001 by the merger of three companies:
InformationView, Telecon
and Network Audit Control.
- Vibrant Solutions has
raised $26 million from investors Bessemer Venture Partners
and Columbia Capital.
NORTHSTAR
PHOTONICS RAISES $11 MILLION FOR ITS OPTICAL COMPONENTS
Northstar Photonics, a start-up based in Minneapolis,
Minnesota, secured $11 million in new financing for development of
glass-based integrated photonic components.
Investors include St. Paul Venture Capital, CIT Venture
Capital, InnoCal Venture Capital and two strategic partners.
http://www.northstarphotonics.com
Northstar
Photonics, October 3, 2001
- Northstar
Photonics’ laser and amplifier devices are based on its
proprietary design and process technology utilizing rare-earth
doped glass substrates.
AFC
EXPANDS ITS CUSTOMER BASE AMONG INDEPENDENT TELCOS
Advanced
Fibre Communications has acquired over 50 new IOC (independent
operating company) customers since January 2001, increasing its
IOC customer base to more than 750 carriers.
These independent telco customers have deployed nearly 16
thousand AccessMAX Integrated Multiservice Access Platforms (IMAPs),
representing a serving capacity of more than 20 million access
lines. http://www.afc.com/
AFC, October
3, 2001
CORNING
SEES FURTHER SOFTENING
Corning
announced an expanded company-wide restructuring that will result
in charges of up to $1 billion in 2001 and the idling of the
majority of its fiber manufacturing facilities worldwide.
Fiber manufacturing operations will resume in 2002 as
business conditions improve.
Corning has previously announced 8,000 layoffs and now
expects the workforce reduction may reach 12,000 employees by the
end of the year. http://www.corning.com/
Corning,
October 3, 2001
Daily Journal For Broadband Networking
Copyright 2001 Converge! Media Ventures Inc.
All Rights Reserved. ISSN 1084-2438
News sources are listed for your reference.
Sunnyvale, California USA |
