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AT&T: iPhone Accounts for 80% of Smartphone Sales
 AT&T reported blockbuster mobile broadband sales in Q4 2011 with 9.4 million smartphone activations in the quarter -- 50 percent more than the previous quarterly record and nearly double 3Q11 sales. This equates to over 100,000 smartphone activations for every day of the quarter. There were 7.6 million iPhone activations, meaning that Apple represented 81% of smartphone sales in Q4 for AT&T.
“This was a blowout quarter for smartphone sales. Our network performance is at a high level on voice quality and best-in-class mobile download speeds. U-verse sales continue to be strong and business revenue trends are on a good track," stated Randall Stephenson, AT&T chairman and chief executive officer.
For Q4, AT&T’s consolidated revenues totaled $32.5 billion, up $1.1 billion, or 3.6 percent, versus the year-earlier quarter. Compared with the fourth quarter of 2010, operating expenses were $41.5 billion versus $29.3 billion; operating loss was $9.0 billion, compared to operating income of $2.1 billion; and AT&T’s operating income margin was (27.7) percent, compared to 6.7 percent, including costs related to T-Mobile USA.
CAPEX for 2012 is expected to be about $20 billion, stable with 2011, as increases in wireless spending offset declines in wireline capital expenditures.
Some highlights:
Wireless
Best Postpaid Growth. AT&T posted a net increase in total wireless subscribers of 2.5 million in the fourth quarter to reach 103.2 million in service. Subscriber additions for the quarter include postpaid net adds of 717,000, the best gain in five quarters. Prepaid net adds were 159,000, connected device net adds were 1,029,000 and reseller net adds were 592,000. Fourth-quarter net adds reflect accelerated adoption of smartphones, including the October launch of iPhone 4S, increases in prepaid and reseller subscribers and sales of tablets and connected devices such as automobile monitoring systems, security systems and a host of other emerging products.
Record Quarter for Smartphone Sales. Fourth-quarter smartphone sales represented more than 80 percent of postpaid device sales. Both iPhone and Android device sales set records.
At the end of the quarter, 56.8 percent of AT&T’s 69.3 million postpaid subscribers had smartphones, up from 42.7 percent a year earlier and 32.8 percent two years ago.
The average ARPU for smartphones on AT&T’s network is 1.9 times that of the company’s non-smartphone devices. About 87 percent of smartphone subscribers are on FamilyTalk® or business plans. Churn levels for these subscribers are significantly lower than for other postpaid subscribers.
AT&T had its best sales quarter ever for branded computing subscribers, a new growth area for the company that includes tablets, aircards, mobile Wi-Fi hot spot devices, tethering plans and other data-only devices.
AT&T added 571,000 of these devices to reach 5.1 million, an almost 70 percent increase in total subscribers from a year ago. Most of those new subscribers were tablets, with 311,000 added in the quarter, more than half of which were postpaid.
Total wireless revenues, which include equipment sales, were up 10.0 percent year over year to $16.7 billion. Wireless service revenues increased 4.0 percent, to $14.3 billion, in the fourth quarter.
Wireless data revenues — driven by Internet access, access to applications, messaging and related services — increased by $956 million, or 19.4 percent, from the year-earlier quarter to $5.9 billion. AT&T’s postpaid wireless subscribers on monthly data plans increased by 16.4 percent over the past year. The number of subscribers on tiered data plans also continues to increase. About 22 million, or 56 percent, of all smartphone subscribers are on tiered data plans, and about 70 percent have chosen the higher-tier plans.
Wireless margins were impacted by record-setting smartphone sales and customer upgrade levels. This was offset in part by improved operating efficiencies and further revenue gains from the company’s growing base of high-quality smartphone subscribers. AT&T’s fourth-quarter wireless operating income margin was 15.2 percent versus 22.9 percent in the year-earlier quarter, and AT&T’s wireless EBITDA service margin was 28.7 percent, compared with 37.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010.
Wireline
Total business revenues grew sequentially for the second consecutive quarter. Revenues were $9.3 billion, down 1.4 percent versus the year-earlier quarter but a slight increase over the third quarter of 2011. The year-over-year decline reflects economic conditions and weakness in voice and legacy data products somewhat offset by growth in IP data. Business service revenues, which exclude CPE, declined 1.2 percent year over year, compared to a year-over-year decline of 4.3 percent in the year-ago quarter and were essentially flat sequentially, despite fewer business days in the fourth quarter.
Revenues from the new-generation capabilities that lead AT&T’s most advanced business solutions — including Ethernet, VPNs, hosting, IP conferencing and application services — grew 16.4 percent versus the year-earlier quarter, continuing strong trends in this area. This now represents a nearly $6 billion annualized revenue stream.
Total business IP data revenues grew 9.2 percent versus the year-earlier fourth quarter, led by growth in VPN revenues. IP-based solutions allow customers to easily add managed services such as network security, cloud services and IP conferencing on top of their infrastructures. Total business data revenues grew 1.3 percent year over year.
Revenues from residential customers totaled $5.3 billion, an increase of 0.5 percent versus the fourth quarter a year ago. The fourth quarter marked the sixth consecutive quarter of year-over-year growth.
AT&T U-verse TV added 208,000 subscribers to reach 3.8 million in service. As U-verse scales, its margins improve, contributing to profitability. In the fourth quarter, the AT&T U-verse High Speed Internet attach rate was 90 percent and about half of new subscribers took AT&T U-verse Voice. About three-fourths of AT&T U-verse TV subscribers have a triple- or quad-play option from AT&T. ARPU for U-verse triple-play customers was almost $170, up 2.5 percent year over year.
AT&T’s U-verse deployment has reached its goal of passing 30 million living units.
AT&T U-verse High Speed Internet delivered a fourth-quarter net gain of 587,000 subscribers to reach a total of 5.2 million, helping offset losses from DSL. Overall, AT&T lost 49,000 wireline broadband connections. About 74 percent of consumers have a broadband plan delivering speeds of 3 Mbps or higher versus 65 percent in the year-ago quarter....
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Ericsson Reports Slower Network Sales in Q4 2011
 While 2011 was a year of strong sales overall, Ericsson reported lower sales in Q4 2011 due to the failed AT&T + T-Mobile USA merger in North America and more cautious operator spending in markets worldwide.
“Group sales in the quarter were flat year-over-year and grew 15% sequentially, which is weaker than normal in the fourth quarter. The sequential growth is mainly driven by a strong development of 32% in Global Services, while Networks sales were weak, up only 2%. The sales development in Networks is mainly related to North America and Russia, where the trend continued from the third quarter with slower operator spending after a period of high investments in capacity. In addition, we saw some increased operator cautiousness during the quarter due to uncertainties such as economic development and political unrest in some countries," stated Hans Vestberg, President and CEO of Ericsson.
Some highlights from Ericsson's investor presentation:
Sales in the quarter amounted to SEK 63.7 (62.8) b., was up 1% year-over-year and 15% sequentially. Sales for comparable units, adjusted for currency exchange rate effects and hedging, increased 6% year-over-year. The sequential increase is mainly related to strong growth in services.
Net income decreased year-over-year to SEK 1.5 (4.4) b. due to lower sales volumes in networks, lower gross
margin and losses related to Sony Ericsson. Sequentially net income decreased from SEK 3.8 b to 1.5 b. mainly
due to lower gross margin and losses related to Sony Ericsson.
Gross margin in the quarter was down year-over-year to 30.2% (36.6%), and down from 35.0% sequentially.
In 2011, sales amounted to SEK 226.9 (203.3) b., up 12%, driven by strong demand for mobile broadband along
with network rollout services. Sales in 2011 for comparable units, adjusted for currency exchange rate effects and
hedging, increased 19%.
In the fourth quarter, Ericsson’s share in earnings of joint ventures, before tax, was SEK -1.9 (-0.3) b., compared to SEK -0.6 b. in the third quarter 2011 due to significantly lower result in Sony Ericsson.
Networks
Networks sales in the quarter were SEK 33.3 (36.4) b., a decline of -9% year-over-year and up 2% sequentially. Ericsson cited slower sales in North America and Russia. North America, down -27% sequentially, was impacted by operator consolidation, technology shift from CDMA to LTE as well as a slower pace after a period of high operator
investments in network capacity.
During Q4, Ericsson shipped its first RBS6000 base station with CDMA functionality. It also began shipments of its new IP Edge router, Smart Service Router SSR 8020, and its new Antenna Integrated Radio unit (AIR).
Global Services
Global Services sales in the quarter were SEK 27.0 (22.9) b., an increase of 18% year-over-year and 32%
sequentially. In 2011, Global Services sales increased 5% to SEK 83.9 (80.1) b., driven by network rollout,
consulting and systems integration.
Professional Services sales were SEK 18.1 (16.7) b. in the quarter, up 8% year-over-year and 23% sequentially.
Managed Services sales increased by 13% year-over-year to SEK 6.0 (5.4) b. and 14% sequentially, mainly driven
by India and Latin America.
Network Rollout sales amounted to SEK 8.9 (6.2) b. in the quarter, an increase of 44% year-over-year and
56% sequentially, driven by high volumes of network modernization in Europe and coverage projects in other
regions.
Multimedia
Multimedia sales in the quarter decreased -2% year-over-year and increased 33% sequentially. The acquisition of Telcordia has just been completed.
Joint Ventures
For Q4 2011, ST-Ericsson’s sales were flat sequentially at US$409 million, down 29% year-over-year. ST-Ericsson is currently in a shift from legacy to new products. Ericsson noted that in light of the tough business environment, ST-Ericsson’s recently appointed CEO is reviewing the company’s strategic plan and financial prospects.
Sony Ericsson reported a net loss of US$207 million, reflecting intense competition, price erosion and restructuring charges. The quarter was also impacted by unfavorable macro economic conditions and effects from the flooding in Thailand. Sony is buying out Ericsson's share in this joint venture.
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Verizon Posts Record Revenue, Fueled by -- Smartphones and FiOS
 Fueled by continued strong demand for smartphones and FiOS fiber-optic services, Verizon Communications posted the highest year-over-year quarterly revenue growth in the company's 11-year history -- Q4 revenue of $28.4 billion on a consolidated basis, an increase of 7.7 percent compared with fourth-quarter 2010. For full-year 2011, revenues totaled $110.9 billion, a 4.0 percent increase compared with 2010, when results included revenues from operations that have since been divested.
Due primarily to non-cash pension charges, Verizon reported a loss of 71 cents in EPS in fourth-quarter 2011, compared with earnings of 93 cents per share in fourth-quarter 2010. Adjusted fourth-quarter 2011 earnings (non-GAAP) of 52 cents per share exclude $1.20 per share, or $3.4 billion after-tax, due to the actuarial valuation of Verizon's benefit plans, and 3 cents per share for the early extinguishment of debt.
"Verizon finished 2011 very strong, both in terms of revenue growth and by delivering an 18.2 percent total return to our shareholders for the full year, and the company has great momentum for 2012," said Lowell McAdam, Verizon chairman, president and chief executive officer. "Verizon Wireless produced particularly strong growth in the fourth quarter. While that diluted wireless margins in the short term, it is good news for revenue and margin growth over the long term, particularly given our leadership in the rapidly developing 4G LTE ecosystem."
Some highlights:
Cash flow from operating activities totaled $29.8 billion in 2011, and capital expenditures totaled $16.2 billion.
Free cash flow (non-GAAP, cash flow from operations less capex) was more than $13.5 billion in 2011.
Verizon returned $5.6 billion in quarterly dividends to shareholders in 2011, as the company's Board of Directors approved a fifth consecutive year of dividend increases.
Wireless
Total revenues were $18.3 billion in fourth-quarter 2011, up 13.0 percent year over year.
Data revenues were $6.3 billion, up more than $1.0 billion or 19.2 percent year over year, and represented 41.6 percent of all service revenues.
Service revenues were $15.1 billion, up 6.4 percent year over year. For full-year 2011, total revenues were $70.2 billion, up 10.6 percent over full-year 2010, and service revenues were $59.2 billion in 2011, up 6.3 percent year over year.
Retail service ARPU grew 2.6 percent over fourth-quarter 2010, to $53.14. Retail postpaid ARPU grew 2.5 percent, to $54.80. Retail postpaid data ARPU increased to $22.76, up 14.3 percent year over year.
Verizon Wireless added 1.0 million total net connections in fourth-quarter 2011. The company added 1.5 million retail customers, including 1.2 million retail postpaid customers. While the wholesale channel grew during the fourth quarter, a loss of telematics customers resulted in a net decrease of 490,000 wholesale and other connections in the quarter.
Within retail, 1.2 million were postpaid and 252,000 were pre-paid. Within the postpaid net add mix, 1 million were smartphones and 400,000 were Internet data devices, the remaining being the net change in basic phones. Of particular interest, more than 700,000 of these net adds were 4G LTE smartphones or data devices.
During the quarter, Verizon Wireless activated 4.3 million Apple iPhones and sold 1.6 million 4G LTE smartphones. In addition, the carrier sold roughly 700,000 4G LTE Internet data devices.
At year-end 2011, the company had 108.7 million total connections, a 6.3 percent increase year over year, consisting of 92.2 million retail connections and 16.5 million wholesale and other connections.
At year-end 2011, smartphones accounted for 44 percent of the Verizon Wireless retail postpaid customer phone base, up from 39 percent at the end of third-quarter 2011.
Retail postpaid churn was 0.94 percent in fourth-quarter 2011, an improvement of 7 basis points year over year. Total retail churn was 1.23 percent, an improvement of 14 basis points year over year.
In Q4, Wireless capital spending was $1.8 billion, bringing the full year to $9 billion, an increase of 6.3%.The incremental spending in 2011 was a combination of 3G capacity requirements, driven by the Apple iPhone, and the continued rapid expansion of our 4G LTE network.
Wireline
q4 revenues were $10.1 billion, a decline of 1.5 percent compared with fourth-quarter 2010. Consumer revenues grew 1.3 percent compared with fourth-quarter 2010.
Consumer ARPU for wireline services was $96.43 in fourth-quarter 2011, up 8.5 percent compared with fourth-quarter 2010. ARPU for FiOS customers totaled more than $148 in fourth-quarter 2011, rising approximately $2 year over year. FiOS services to consumer retail customers represented 61 percent of consumer wireline revenues in fourth-quarter 2011.
Global enterprise revenues totaled $3.9 billion in the quarter, up 1.3 percent compared with fourth-quarter 2010. Sales of strategic services - including Terremark cloud services, security and IT solutions, and strategic networking - increased 14.7 percent compared with fourth-quarter 2010 and represented 51 percent of global enterprise revenues in fourth-quarter 2011.
Verizon added 201,000 net new FiOS Internet connections and 194,000 net new FiOS Video connections in fourth-quarter 2011. Verizon had a total of 4.8 million FiOS Internet and 4.2 million FiOS Video connections at year-end.
FiOS penetration (subscribers as a percentage of potential subscribers) continued to increase. FiOS Internet penetration was 35.5 percent at year-end 2011, compared with 31.9 percent at year-end 2010. In the same periods, FiOS Video penetration was 31.5 percent, compared with 28.0 percent, respectively. The FiOS network passed 16.5 million premises at year-end 2011, up more than 900,000 from year-end 2010.
Broadband connections totaled 8.7 million at year-end 2011, a 3.3 percent year-over-year increase. FiOS Internet connections more than offset a decrease in DSL-based HSI connections, resulting in a net increase of 98,000 broadband connections from third-quarter 2011. Total voice connections, which measures FiOS Digital Voice connections in addition to traditional switched access lines, declined 7.2 percent to 24.1 million - the smallest year-over-year decline since first-quarter 2006.
In Wireline, capital spending was $1.6 billion in the fourth quarter, bringing the full year to $6.4 billion, a decline of more than $800 million or 12%, thanks to lower FiOS rollout spending.
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Silver Spring Unveils its Gen4 Smart Grid Networking Platform
Silver Spring Networks unveiled its fourth-generation, IPv6-based networking technology for building Smart Grid utility networks.
Silver Spring, whose utility customers already have connection over 10 million homes and businesses using its systems, said its Gen4 technology is focused on improving the flexibility needed to meet utilities’ demanding requirements across disparate service territories, deployment approaches and application needs. The company is aiming to provide a flexible and upgradable network over the 20-year planning horizon expected by municipal utilities.
The Gen4 technology promises “Any Transport, Any Territory, Any Endpoint, Any Application”. It leverages an integrated cellular option, the industry’s first Micromesh™ technology and triple the performance of previous Smart Grid connectivity. Some highlights:
The Modular Architecture -- a single Communications Module to support a variety of international cellular transports, such as GPRS, CDMA, EVDO, HSPA and LTE, in conjunction with a standards-based, high-speed RF mesh transport. Utilities may choose to deploy modules with cellular, mesh, or both transports.
The Micromesh Architecture -- a Silver Spring cellular Communications Module normally operates as an ordinary point to point cellular connection, supporting meter reading, remote connect/disconnect, and many other applications directly across public carrier networks to the endpoint. However, with the Micromesh technology enabled, the Communications Module additionally connects to nearby grid devices via RF mesh and acts as their take-out point for the WAN. With this innovative combination, utilities can adapt the number of cellular connections they need based on topology, coverage, density, bandwidth requirements, pace of deployment, and many other complex project drivers.
Endpoints -- Gen4 will support the full range of emerging endpoints for the smart grid, including next-gen line sensors, renewables, and load-control switches.
Increased speeds -- Gen4 Communications Modules continue to support communications options for in-home networking as well.
Gen4’s increased data rates, with support up to 300 kbps, enable the Silver Spring platform to support increasingly demanding smart grid applications.
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Telekom Austria Rolls with Vectoring from Alcatel-Lucent
Telekom Austria will deploy vectoring technology from Alcatel-Lucent to deliver significantly higher data transmission speeds on its domestic Giga-Network. Vectoring technology minimizes the impact of interference or “crosstalk” between copper lines in a copper bundle.
Telekom Austria's A1 group is initially deploying vectoring in Korneuburg, lower Austria. A comprehensive countrywide rollout is planned for the second half of 2012.
With the world’s first commercial launch of VDSL2 Vectoring technology, Alcatel-Lucent has demonstrated once again its technology leadership. Based on cutting-edge innovation from our research center Bell Labs, the VDSL2 Vectoring technology marks a further important step in our efforts to get the utmost out of the current network infrastructure and thus create real added value for network operators such as A1 and their customers,” said Stephen Carter, President, Europe Middle East and Africa for Alcatel-Lucent. 
“The still untapped potential of copper lines is incredibly impressive. Since the late 1990s, when private households started to use modems for data transmission, we have been able to reach a thousendfold increase in transmission capacities of existing copper lines. We are currently facing a dual challenge: on the one hand, we have to invest in the further rollout of our high-performance fiber optic network going forward, and on the other, we have to provide our customers with a full-coverage broadband network with ever-increasing bandwidths starting from today," stated Walter Goldenits, CTO, A1....
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Apple's iBooks Weigh in at 1GB+
 Apple unveiled its plans to revolutionize educational publishing with the release of iBooks Author, iBooks 2, and iTunes.
The first E-Textbooks are already available through the iBooks store from Pearson, McGraw-Hill and other educational publishers. The books include video, photos, narrations and other interactive material, all of which is downloaded in a single package to the iPad. A biology textbook from McGraw-Hill contains 1,906 print pages and weighs in at 1.49 GB, while a competing Biology textbook from Pearson contains 1,791 pages and weighs 2.77 GB.
The content presumably is downloaded once over Wi-Fi and stored locally on the iPad, as well as being archived on iCloud....
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2011 Major Networking
Acquisitions (some pending) |
|
Buyer |
Target |
|
|
Huawei |
Centre for Integrated Photonics |
photonic R&D |
1/25/2012 |
|
Aurelius (private equity) |
KPN's Getronics divisions |
IT consulting |
1/24/2012 |
|
Semtech |
Gennum |
Mixed Signal Semiconductors |
1/23/2012 |
|
Synopsys |
ExpertIO |
verification IP for protocols |
1/23/2012 |
|
Microsemi |
Maxim's timing and synch products |
network timing devices |
1/20/2012 |
|
JDSU |
Dyaptive Systems |
Mobile Test Solution |
1/5/2012 |
|
Mindspeed Technologies |
Picochip |
Femtocell silicon |
1/5/2012 |
|
IBM |
Green Hat |
Cloud-based Test Platform |
1/4/2012 |
|
Marvell |
Xelerated |
Programmable switching silicon |
1/4/2012 |
|
Newport |
ILX Lightwave |
Photonic components |
12/28/2011 |
|
Akamai |
Cotendo |
Global CDN Suite |
12/22/2011 |
|
Crown Castle |
NextG Networks |
DAS installations |
12/16/2011 |
|
American Tower |
Telefonica's towers in Mexico |
2,500 Towers for wireless operators |
12/12/2011 |
|
Private equity |
Blue Coat |
Security and WAN optimization |
12/9/2011 |
|
IBM |
DemandTec |
Cloud-base Smarter Commerce analytics |
12/8/2011 |
|
HickoryTech |
IdeaOne |
Fiber network in Fargo, North Dakota |
12/6/2011 |
|
Zayo |
360networks |
18-500 mile Inter-city fiber network |
12/2/2011 |
|
SAP |
SuccessFactors |
Cloud-based Enterprise Software |
12/2/2011 |
|
NewNet |
NSN's WiMAX business |
WiMAX |
11/29/2011 |
|
Twitter |
Whisper Systems |
Android security |
11/28/2011 |
|
3S Photonics |
Manlight |
optical components |
11/25/2011 |
|
Microsoft |
VideoSurf |
Video content search |
11/22/2011 |
|
NetScout |
Simena |
Packet Flow-based Monitoring Switch |
11/21/2011 |
|
Aruba Networks |
Avenda Systems |
Identity-based policy engine |
11/17/2011 |
|
Huawei |
Symantec's 49% in Huawei-Symantec JV |
network security & storage |
11/15/2011 |
|
Qualcomm |
HaloIPT |
|
11/8/2011 |
|
Private equity |
Tekelec |
Network signaling and management |
11/7/2011 |
|
DragonWave |
NSN's microwave transport business |
Microwave backhaul for carriers worldwide |
11/4/2011 |
|
Alvarion |
Wavion |
Carrier outdoor Wi-Fi |
11/2/2011 |
|
Vector Capital |
Motorola Solutions' Orthogon & Canopy groups |
Point-to-Point and Point-to-Multipoint Wireless |
11/2/2011 |
|
Sony |
Ericsson 50% in Sony Ericsson |
Mobile Handsets |
10/27/2011 |
|
LSI |
SandForce |
SSD processors |
10/26/2011 |
|
PCTEL |
Envision Wireless |
Indoor wireless |
10/25/2011 |
|
AT&T |
Superclick |
Wi-Fi management for hotels |
10/24/2011 |
|
Cisco |
BNI Video |
video control plane software for MSOs |
10/20/2011 |
|
Private Equity |
Alcatel-Lucent's Genesys division |
call center solutions |
10/19/2011 |
|
ARRIS |
BigBand |
Video delivery / ad insertion platform |
10/11/2011 |
|
Neustar |
TARGUSinfo |
Network Information systems |
10/11/2011 |
|
IBM |
Platform Computing |
Software for HPC clusters |
10/11/2011 |
|
McAfee |
NitroSecurity |
Cyber security software |
10/4/2011 |
|
IBM |
Q1 Labs |
Cyber security analytics software |
10/4/2011 |
|
Avaya |
Sipera Systems |
SIP-based Security for Enterprise Communications |
10/4/2011 |
|
Intel |
TelMap |
Location-based Servicees |
10/3/2011 |
|
NeoPhotonics |
Santur |
Tunable Laser Arrays |
9/29/2011 |
|
Oracle |
GoAhead Software |
High-availability middleware for carrier platforms |
9/22/2011 |
|
MicroSemi |
Zarlink |
networking silicon |
9/22/2011 |
|
The Gores Group |
Alpheus |
Fiber network in Texas |
9/21/2011 |
|
NetCracker |
Subex division |
Activation and Provisioning products and business |
9/19/2011 |
|
Broadcom |
NetLogic |
Multi-core embedded processors |
9/12/2011 |
|
Cisco |
Versly |
collaboration plug-ins |
8/29/2011 |
|
Verizon |
CloudSwitch |
cloud interconnect for enterprise apps |
8/25/2011 |
|
Ericsson |
Telenor Connexion |
M2M tools |
8/24/2011 |
|
Cisco |
Axioss Software |
service fulfillment software |
8/22/2011 |
|
Skype |
GroupMe |
mobile group messaging |
8/21/2011 |
|
Amdocs |
Bridgewater |
policy management for 3G/4G networks |
8/17/2011 |
|
Time Warner Cable |
Insight |
750,000 cable customers |
8/15/2011 |
|
F5 |
Crescendo |
application acceleration technology |
8/15/2011 |
|
Google |
Motorola Mobility |
patents, mobile devices, set-top boxes |
8/15/2011 |
|
ADTRAN |
Bluesocket |
virtual LAN technology |
8/9/2011 |
|
Windstream |
PAETEC |
national CLEC, 36,700 fiber mile network, 7 DCs |
8/1/2011 |
|
CA Technologies |
Watchmouse |
Saas-based monitoring |
7/29/2011 |
|
Tektronix |
Optametra |
100G Coherent Lightwave Signal Analyzer |
7/26/2011 |
|
Mindspeed |
IPG Communications |
WCDMA signal processing technologies |
7/25/2011 |
|
Dell |
Force10 |
data center and service provider switching |
7/20/2011 |
|
Riverbed |
Zeus and Aptimize |
web optimization technologies |
7/19/2011 |
|
Intel |
Fulcrum Microsystems |
10/40 GbE switching silicon |
7/19/2011 |
|
Citric |
Cloud.com |
Hypervisor-agnostic Scaling |
7/12/2011 |
|
Private Equity |
Go Daddy |
web registry, hosting |
7/1/2011 |
|
Synchronica |
Nokia's operator branded messaging |
white label email and IM services |
6/30/2011 |
|
Private Equity |
Masergy |
managed, virtualized network services worldwide |
6/27/2011 |
|
Ixia |
VeriWave |
wireless testing |
6/27/2011 |
|
Charter |
US Cable |
16,000 cable customers in Missouri |
6/24/2011 |
|
CommScope |
Argus |
antenna technologies |
6/17/2011 |
|
Ericsson |
Telcordia |
service fulfillment, service assurance, OSS |
6/14/2011 |
|
Qualcomm |
Rapid Bridge |
IC design tools |
6/10/2011 |
|
CommScope |
LiquidxStream |
dense QAM systems |
6/2/2011 |
|
Mavenir |
Mobile Messaging |
mobile messaging |
5/30/2011 |
|
Qualcomm |
Atheros |
Wi-Fi silicon |
5/24/2011 |
|
euNetworks |
LambdaNet Deutschland |
fiber networks in Germany, Czech and Austria |
5/19/2011 |
|
Skyworks |
SiGE Semiconductor |
RF front-end chips |
5/17/2011 |
|
VMWare |
Shavlik |
cloud-based IT management |
5/16/2011 |
|
Rambus |
Cryptography Research |
semiconductor security |
5/12/2011 |
|
Motorola Mobility |
SunUp Digital Systems |
software for IPTV, digital cable, DTH |
5/10/2011 |
|
Private Equity |
Tollgrade Communications |
network assurance solutions |
5/10/2011 |
|
Microsoft |
Skype |
170 million Web voice users |
5/10/2011 |
|
Sophos |
Astaro |
unified threat management |
5/9/2011 |
|
Xilinx |
Modelware |
traffic management IP cores for 10/40/100G |
5/9/2011 |
|
NVIDIA |
Icera |
3G/4G baseband processors |
5/9/2011 |
|
Broadcom |
SC Square |
security software |
5/8/2011 |
|
Vimplecom |
Vladivostok's New Telephone |
mobile operator in Russia's Far East |
5/6/2011 |
|
TelePacific |
Orange County Internet Xchange |
California CLEC |
5/5/2011 |
|
TelePacific |
Telekenex |
California CLEC |
5/5/2011 |
|
Applied Materilas |
Varian |
silicon wafer manufacturing |
5/4/2011 |
|
RadiSys |
Continous Computing |
ATCA communication platforms |
5/3/2011 |
|
Consortium |
Nortel Networks patents |
|
5/2/2011 |
|
Aurora Network |
GoBackTV |
cable headend and edge solutions |
5/2/2011 |
|
Nokia Siemens Networks |
Motorola Solutions' Networks assets |
GSM, CDMA, WCDMA, WiMAX and LTE products |
4/29/2011 |
|
Equinix |
ALOG Data Centers of Brazil |
data centers in Sao Paolo and Rio |
4/26/2011 |
|
Neustar |
Evolving Number Systems |
OSS |
4/21/2011 |
|
Level 3 |
Global Crossing |
fiber network spanning 3 continents |
4/11/2011 |
|
Metaswitch |
Colibria |
enhanced mobile messaging |
4/6/2011 |
|
Texas Instruments |
National Semiconductor |
analog silicon |
4/4/2011 |
|
EMC |
NetWitness |
network security analysis solutions |
4/4/2011 |
|
Lightower |
Open Access |
network operator on Long Island |
4/1/2011 |
|
Cisco |
newScale |
self-service portal software |
3/29/2011 |
|
NetScout |
Psytechnics |
performance management technology |
3/28/2011 |
|
Motorola Mobility |
Dreampark |
IPTV software |
3/23/2011 |
|
AT&T |
T-Mobile USA |
nationwide network, spectrum, 33 million users |
3/21/2011 |
|
Broadcom |
Provigent |
microwave radio backhaul silicom |
3/21/2011 |
|
NetLogic |
Optichron |
LTE Base Station Processors |
3/21/2011 |
|
NETGEAR |
Westell Technologies |
Customer Networking Solutions (CNS) division |
3/18/2011 |
|
Cisco |
Inlet |
adaptive digital media processing |
3/14/2011 |
|
Ericsson |
Nortel's Multiservice Switch |
switching platforms for CDMA networks |
3/11/2011 |
|
NetApp |
LSI's External Storage Business |
Engenio external storage |
3/9/2011 |
|
Overture |
Hatteras Networks |
carrier Ethernet systems |
3/1/2011 |
|
Private equity |
Conexant |
|
2/25/2011 |
|
Interoute |
KPN's fiber network in Germany |
3600km fiber net in Germany |
2/22/2011 |
|
CSR |
Zoran |
imaging and video silicon |
2/21/2011 |
|
EchoStar |
Hughes |
broadband satellite systems |
2/14/2011 |
|
Symmetricom |
Brilliant Telecom |
network timing |
2/14/2011 |
|
PAETEC |
Xeta Technologies |
enterprise communication sales |
2/9/2011 |
|
Time Warner Cable |
NaviSite |
enterprise cloud services, 10 data centers |
2/1/2011 |
|
Corning |
MobileAccess |
distributed antenna systems |
1/31/2011 |
|
Silicon Laboratories |
SpectraLinear |
network timing silicon |
1/26/2011 |
|
Cisco |
Pari Networks |
net configuration and change manament tool |
1/26/2011 |
|
Google |
SayNow |
voice messaging software |
1/25/2011 |
|
Ceragon |
Nera Networks |
short and longhaul microwave backhaul |
1/19/2011 |
|
Aerohive |
Pareto |
WLAN + cloud services |
1/18/2011 |
|
GE |
Linear Power |
telco power solutions |
1/13/2011 |
|
NetApp |
Akorri |
data center optimization tools |
1/12/2011 |
|
Skype |
Qik |
video sharing software |
1/6/2011 |
|
Avaya |
Konftel |
audio collaboration |
1/4/2011 |
|
GENBAND |
Cedar Point |
VoIP switching platform |
1/4/2011 |
|
Earthlink |
ONE Communications |
|
12/20/2010 |
|
Altera |
Avalon |
100G OTN |
12/14/2010 |
|
Dell |
Compellent |
|
12/13/2010 |
|
Huawei |
photonic R&D |
NA |
Ipswitch,UK |
1/25/2012 |
|
Talari Networks |
WAN virtualization appliance |
$4.5 million |
San Jose, CA |
1/24/2012 |
|
Aurelius (private equity) |
IT consulting |
NA |
Europe and APAC |
1/24/2012 |
|
Semtech |
Mixed Signal Semiconductors |
$494 million |
Ontario, Canada |
1/23/2012 |
|
Synopsys |
verification IP for protocols |
NA |
|
1/23/2012 |
|
Microsemi |
network timing devices |
NA |
California |
1/20/2012 |
|
Bridgewave Communications |
4G backhaul |
$10.3 million |
Santa Clara, CA |
1/10/2012 |
|
JDSU |
Mobile Test Solution |
NA |
Vancouver, B.C. |
1/5/2012 |
|
Mindspeed Technologies |
Femtocell silicon |
$51.8 million |
UK |
1/5/2012 |
|
IBM |
Cloud-based Test Platform |
NA |
London, UK |
1/4/2012 |
|
Marvell |
Programmable switching silicon |
NA |
Stockholm, Swedem |
1/4/2012 |
|
Newport |
Photonic components |
$9.3 million |
Bozeman, Montana |
12/28/2011 |
|
Akamai |
Global CDN Suite |
$268 million |
Sunnyvale, CA and Israel |
12/22/2011 |
|
Jawbone |
Mobile Lifestyle |
$40 million |
San Francisco |
12/21/2011 |
|
Crown Castle |
DAS installations |
$1 billion |
|
12/16/2011 |
|
BinOptics |
|
$13 million |
Ithaca, NY |
12/16/2011 |
|
ip.access |
Small cell products |
$15 million |
Cambridge, UK |
12/12/2011 |
|
Soasta |
Cloud-based Test Platform |
$12 million |
Mountain View, CA |
12/12/2011 |
|
American Tower |
2,500 Towers for wireless operators |
$500 million |
Mexico |
12/12/2011 |
|
Private equity |
Security and WAN optimization |
$1.3 billion |
Sunnyvale, CA |
12/9/2011 |
|
IBM |
Cloud-base Smarter Commerce analytics |
$440 million |
San Mateo, California |
12/8/2011 |
|
Twilio |
Cloud Communication APIs |
$17 million |
San Francisco |
12/7/2011 |
|
HickoryTech |
Fiber network in Fargo, North Dakota |
$28 million |
Fargo, ND |
12/6/2011 |
|
SAP |
Cloud-based Enterprise Software |
$3.4 billion |
San Mateo, California |
12/2/2011 |
|
NewNet |
WiMAX |
NA |
Arlington Heights, IL |
11/29/2011 |
|
Twitter |
Android security |
NA |
San Francisco |
11/28/2011 |
|
Microsoft |
Video content search |
NA |
San Mateo, California |
11/22/2011 |
|
NetScout |
Packet Flow-based Monitoring Switch |
NA |
Sterling, Virginia |
11/21/2011 |
|
Aruba Networks |
Identity-based policy engine |
NA |
Santa Clara, CA |
11/17/2011 |
|
YuMe |
Connected TV monetization solution |
$12 million |
Redwood City, California |
11/16/2011 |
|
NexGenStorage |
Solid state shared storage |
$10 million |
Colorado |
11/15/2011 |
|
Deca Technologies |
Wafer Level Chip Packaging |
NA |
Tempe, Arizona |
11/9/2011 |
|
Cloudera |
Apache Hadoop solutions for Big Data |
$40 million |
Palo Alto, California |
11/9/2011 |
|
Qualcomm |
|
NA |
New Zealand |
11/8/2011 |
|
Quantenna |
4x4 MIMO 11n Silicon |
NA |
Fremont, California |
11/7/2011 |
|
Private equity |
Network signaling and management |
$780 million |
Morrisville, North Carolina |
11/7/2011 |
|
DragonWave |
Microwave backhaul for carriers worldwide |
up to EUR 110 million |
Milan, Italy and Shanghai, China |
11/4/2011 |
|
Alvarion |
Carrier outdoor Wi-Fi |
$30 million |
Israel |
11/2/2011 |
|
Vector Capital |
Point-to-Point and Point-to-Multipoint Wireless |
NA |
Schaumburg, Ill. and Ashburton, England |
11/2/2011 |
|
Traffix Systems |
Network signaling solutions |
$7 million |
Israel and New Jersey |
11/2/2011 |
|
SolidFire |
SSD for Cloud Providers |
$25 Million |
Boulder, Colorado |
10/31/2011 |
|
Mendix |
Platform as a Service |
$13 million |
Boston |
10/31/2011 |
|
CALIENT Technologies |
3D MEMS photonic switching |
$19.4 million |
Santa Barbara, California |
10/28/2011 |
|
Qwilt |
ISP video caching system |
$24 million |
Redwood Shores, California |
10/19/2011 |
|
Dropbox |
Cloud storage |
$250 million |
San Francisco, California |
10/18/2011 |
|
Siklu Wireless |
E-band radio for backhaul |
$19 million |
Israel |
10/18/2011 |
|
Box.net |
Cloud storage |
$81 million |
Palo Alto, California |
10/11/2011 |
|
Skorpios |
Silicon Photonics |
$19 million |
Albuquerque, New Mexico |
9/15/2011 |
|
Qosmos |
DPI network Intelligence software |
EUR 19.8 million |
Paris, France |
9/8/2011 |
|
Embrane |
Virtual network service layer |
$18 million |
Santa Clara, California |
8/25/2011 |
|
6connect |
IPv4 to IPv6 tools |
$2 million |
Palo Alto, California |
8/23/2011 |
|
nLIGHT |
Chip-based lasers |
$17.5 million |
Vancouver, Washington |
8/22/2011 |
|
6fusion |
Cloud management |
$7 million |
Raleigh, North Carolina |
8/22/2011 |
|
Centrify |
On-premise and cloud security |
$16 million |
Sunnyvale, California |
8/17/2011 |
|
Airband |
Fixed Wireless Service |
$20 million |
Dallas, Texas |
8/11/2011 |
|
CloudBees |
Java middleware |
$10.5 million |
Boston, Massachusetts |
7/25/2011 |
|
BlueCat |
IP address management |
$16.8 million |
Toronto, Canada |
7/21/2011 |
|
Nakina Systems |
Network Integrity |
NA |
Ottawa, Canada |
7/20/2011 |
|
Nimble |
Flash + iSCSI storage |
$25 million |
San Jose, California |
7/14/2011 |
|
Iptronics |
Parallel Optical Interconnects |
$6 million |
Roskilde, Denmark |
7/8/2011 |
|
Qualtre |
Silicon MEMS Gyroscope |
$10 million |
Marlborough, Massachusetts |
7/8/2011 |
|
Valens |
HDBaseT Chips |
$14 million |
Israel |
7/6/2011 |
|
Neul |
White Spaces |
$12.8 million |
Cambridge, UK |
6/29/2011 |
|
Blue Jeans Network |
Video conferencing |
$23.5 million |
Santa Clara, California |
6/29/2011 |
|
ViVOtech |
NFC |
$24 million |
Santa Clara, California |
6/29/2011 |
|
SiliconBlue |
Mobile FPGAs |
$18 million |
Santa Clara, California |
6/29/2011 |
|
Square |
Mobile Payments |
$100 million |
San Francisco, California |
6/29/2011 |
|
ScaleXtreme |
Cloud Management System |
$11 million |
Palo Alto, California |
6/21/2011 |
|
ClariPHy |
WHDI silicon |
NA |
Los Altos, California and Cordoba, Argentina |
6/20/2011 |
|
Nicira |
Hypervisor for OpenFlow network virtualization |
NA |
Palo Alto, California |
6/20/2011 |
|
Macheen |
Mobile Cloud Services |
$10 million |
Austin, Texas |
6/16/2011 |
|
Aylus |
Mobile MRF Platform |
$16 million |
Westford, Massachusetts |
6/16/2011 |
|
Cotendo |
Content Acceleration Service |
$17 million |
Sunnyvale, California |
6/15/2011 |
|
JouleX |
Network-based Energy Management |
$17 million |
Atlanta, Georgia |
6/10/2011 |
|
XtremIO |
Solid State Storage |
$14 million |
Tel Aviv, Israel |
6/6/2011 |
|
Infineta |
Data Center WAN optimization |
$15 million |
San Jose, California |
6/6/2011 |
|
Mavenir Systems |
LTE solutions |
$40 million |
Richardson, Texas |
5/30/2011 |
|
MobileIron |
Enterprise mobile device managemet |
$20 million |
Mountain View, California |
5/26/2011 |
|
SkyCross |
LTE antennas |
$11 million |
Viera, Florida |
5/23/2011 |
|
CloudPassage |
Cloud security compliance |
NA |
San Francisco, California |
4/27/2011 |
|
Big Switch Networks |
Open Flow Network Virtualization |
$13.75 million |
Palo Alto, California |
4/25/2011 |
|
Bamboom |
Cloud-based TV antenna |
$4.5 million |
New York, New York |
4/15/2011 |
|
VideoSurf |
Video discovery |
$16 million |
San Mateo, California |
4/14/2011 |
|
Zixi |
Online VOD Software |
$4 million |
Waltham, Massachusetts |
4/11/2011 |
|
Altair |
LTE silicon |
$26 million |
Israel |
4/11/2011 |
|
Tabula |
3D logic silicon |
$108 million |
Santa Clara, California |
3/28/2011 |
|
AMIMON |
WHDI Silicon |
$15 million |
Herzlia, Israel |
3/23/2011 |
|
Altobridge |
Rural wireless access |
$12 million |
Dublin, Ireland |
3/14/2011 |
|
Glue Networks |
Cloud networking service |
$4.5 million |
Sacramento, California |
3/3/2011 |
|
AirWalk |
Small Cell Radios |
$10 million |
Richardson, Texas |
2/8/2011 |
|
Loc-Aid |
Location-as-a-Service |
$13 million |
San Francisco |
2/7/2011 |
|
Violin Memory |
Scalable Memory Arrays |
$35 million |
Mountain View, California |
2/7/2011 |
|
BLiNQ |
Wireless backhaul solutions |
$7.4 million |
Plano, Texas |
2/7/2011 |
|
Aircell |
In-flight broadband service |
$35 million |
|
2/7/2011 |
|
CyOptics |
Optical Components |
$50 million |
Breinigsville, Pennsylvania |
1/26/2011 |
|
Tilera |
Multi-core processors |
$45 million |
San Jose, California |
1/18/2011 |
|
Stoke |
Mobile Broadband Gateways |
$17 million |
Santa Clara, California |
1/18/2011 |
|
CipherOptics |
Scalable Network Encryption |
$21 million |
Raleigh, North Carolina |
1/11/2011 |
|
Nasuni |
Cloud Storage Gateways |
$15 million |
Natick, Massachusetts |
12/20/2010 |
|
Mobixell |
Mobile optimization |
$10 million |
San Jose, California |
12/13/2010 |
| 
Get Your Column Published
| | Hundreds of Columns Sorted
by Topic |
|
| Tailoring 100G for Metro Networks
by Stephan Rettenberger
100G is in rapid fashion making its way across more and more of the network, as enterprises and carriers seek an extended break from bandwidth exhaustion and traffic bottlenecks. As the state-of-the-art technology has reached the metro, it has quickly spawned a more diverse landscape of solutions from which to choose. |  | 
| The "Flattening Effect" and Network Intelligence
by Terence Martin Breslin, CEO, and Andy Huckridge, Director of Marketing
Because the network has simultaneously become both flatter and more complex, the journey toward a converged all-IP network comes with an entirely new set of network performance and management philosophies to be adopted and developed by IT organizations. To drive the need for maintaining and managing the experience of the subscriber, real-time monitoring, troubleshooting and provisioning of the network must be implemented strategically and methodically. Real-time monitoring of network traffic has proven to be crucial to diagnosing and analyzing network performance and services, and consequently the subscriber’s quality of experience (QoE). |  | 
| Focus on a Premium Mobile User Experience
by Ray Greenan
What is left for the service provider to differentiate themselves from their competition? It is the user experience. Since the playing field has been leveled for mobile devices, the most important thing carriers can do is focus on the user experience to create loyalty and drive revenue. Security is a big part of this picture. |  | 
| Service Delivery Networking: The key to 4G Network Success
by Ray Vinson
Applications and devices require quality network service architectures in order to deliver the QoE that subscribers demand. This article looks at the framework of Service Delivery Networks. |  | 
| What Operators Still Need in Next-Generation Transport
by Jimmy Mizrahi
What do operators still need in next generation transport? This article will provide an in-depth look at what operators still need for next generation transport, and Packet Optical Transport Systems (P-OTS) in particular. P-OTS, thought well intentioned, has its weaknesses – and its early promises fell short of its expectations. We will discuss and focus on each of the challenges that exist in early P-OTS implementations by operators. Based on an assessment of these unique challenges, operators and vendors alike are gaining a better picture of what they really need, so that the full benefits of P-OTS can be realized |  |
| It's Time for Mobile-specific Encryption Policies
by Brian Tokuyoshi
Imagine for a moment an attacker has gotten his hands on one of your employees’ smartphones. Perhaps it was forgotten in the backseat of a taxi or fell on the floor of a train on the way home from work. The attacker is able to get past the phone’s screen lock and password – 1234 wasn’t too hard to guess. Here's a look at things to consider when implementing encryption for mobile devices. |  | 
| Video Grade Wi-Fi and the Emerging 802.11ac Standard
by Nir Shapira
The emerging 802.11ac standard promises several big improvements over 802.11n, especially for video delivery in the home. This article looks at 802.11ac's performance enhancements, including wider 80 MHz bandwidth channels, use of 5 GHz spectrum, LDPC coding and beamforming, and multi-user MIMO capabilities. The first generation of 802.11ac silicon will be coming to market soon. |  | |
|
 |
“Group sales in the quarter were flat year-over-year and grew 15% sequentially, which is weaker than normal in the fourth quarter. The sequential growth is mainly driven by a strong development of 32% in Global Services, while Networks sales were weak, up only 2%. The sales development in Networks is mainly related to North America and Russia, where the trend continued from the third quarter with slower operator spending after a period of high investments in capacity. In addition, we saw some increased operator cautiousness during the quarter due to uncertainties such as economic development and political unrest in some countries."
Hans Vestberg, President and CEO of Ericsson 25-Jan-12
more quotes |
|
|
Apple continues to gain momentum. Some stats from its record Q4 2011 report:
Panasonic published a "Smart ICT" proposal to commercial a 60 Ghz technology based on WiGig and other network standards for ultra-high-speed wireless communications inside the home.
Ions from one of the strongest coronal mass ejections (CME), or solar storms, since 2005 are expected to hit the Earth's atmosphere beginning at about 9am EST (1400 GMT) on Tuesday, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC).. The SWPC forecast is for Moderate (G2) level geomagnetic storming with G3 levels possible (the scale tops out at 5). This is expected to make the aurora borealis visible at lower latitudes, and possibly cause interference for satellite communications.
This acquisition is designed to enhance Intel’s networking portfolio and provide scalable high- performance computing (HPC) fabric technology as well as support the company’s vision of innovating on fabric architectures to achieve ExaFLOP/s performance by 2018. An ExaFLOP/s is a quintillion computer operations per second, a hundred times more than today's fastest supercomputers.
The world's largest mobile operator ended 2011 with 649,568,000 users, up by 65.5 million users for the year. Over 5.2 million users were added during December 2011.
Time Warner Cable launched an iPhone app that allows its cable customers to watch live TV from within the home, change channels on their set-top box and manage their DVR right from their iPhone. The features are available at no additional cost to Time Warner Cable video customers that have a broadband connection.
Nokia Siemens Networks is providing its 1.8GHz LTE radio equipment including its Flexi Multiradio Base Stations. The company is also providing services including network integration and commissioning. Nokia Siemens Networks’ NetAct operations support system will enable effective monitoring, management and optimization of KT’s LTE network. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Ericsson and ZTE announced a cross licensing deal that resolves lawsuits filed by Ericsson against ZTE in Germany, UK and Italy related to GSM and 3G/UMTS cellular technology. The parties have now signed a global cross-licensing agreement and both parties have also agreed to drop all litigation.
