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Cisco to Acquire Arch Rock for Wireless Energy Sensors
Cisco agreed to acquire privately-held Arch Rock Corporation, a start-up based in San Francisco that develops IP wireless network sensors for smart-grid applications. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Arch Rock's PhyNet architecture is a foundation for turning wireless sensing or metering points into IP- and web-enabled devices. The technology is designed to enable utilities to connect smart meters and other distributed intelligent devices over a scalable, highly secure, multi-way wireless mesh network based on IP standards. The company has been a lead contributor to the IETF 6LoWPAN (now RFC 4944) working group, which addresses wireless IPv6 communication over IEEE 802.15.4 low-power radios. Arch Rock was also the first company to launch the first product based on the standard.

Cisco said the deal will enable it to offer a highly secure advanced metering infrastructure solution based completely on IP standards.

"The acquisition of Arch Rock enhances Cisco's end-to-end smart-grid offerings and further positions Cisco as a strategic partner to utilities that want to better manage power supply and demand, improve the security and reliability of energy delivery, and optimize operational costs," said Laura Ipsen, senior vice president and general manager of Cisco's Smart Grid business unit. "Cisco's solutions, incorporating the Arch Rock technology, will help enable a more efficient and sustainable energy future that is based on an open, highly secure and reliable smart-grid infrastructure."

Arch Rock will become part of Cisco's industry-leading Smart Grid business unit.

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Alcatel-Lucent Acquires OpenPlug, Extending its Application Enablement Strategy
Alcatel-Lucent has acquired OpenPlug,

a software developer specializing in tools for mobile applications, for an undisclosed sum. The deal extends Alcatel-Lucent's Application Enablement strategy, which is focused on combining the trusted and secure network capabilities of service providers with the speed and innovation of the Web to provide a richer end-user experience. By building a robust application-enablement system, Alcatel-Lucent said it is aiming to transform service provider infrastructure by unlocking network resources and functionality and thereby creating new revenue share models. OpenPlug, which is based in Sophia Antipolis, France, provides tools for converting application code into software that runs natively on any leading mobile device operating system, including Apple's iOS, Android, Symbian, Windows Mobile, and Linux. The company's ELIPS Studio is essentially an open software environment that lets developers create an application once and then deploy to multiple mobile phone OSes.

Alcatel-Lucent plans to integrate the OpenPlug toolset into its own Developer Platform and Open API Service, thus broadening the functionality available to service providers, enterprises and developers for the exposure of network assets and the rapid introduction of new services across mobile and Web domains.

"Being able to provide more applications across multiple devices helps service providers significantly broaden their app store content to create more value for consumers," said Laura Merling, vice president of Alcatel-Lucent's global developer strategy. "As service providers typically offer multiple mobile devices to their subscriber base, the OpenPlug software can help them get to market five times faster by allowing them to easily port an application to all of their devices. And this isn't purely a mobile play -- the software can be extended to support application development for IPTV set top boxes, game consoles, even the ng Connect LTE Connected Car."

"Deploying valuable web and mobile services requires assembling many different pieces from many horizons," said Eric Baissus, CEO of OpenPlug. "By combining OpenPlug's ELIPS Suite and ELIPS Studio technologies with Alcatel-Lucent's platforms and API services, we enable developers and service providers to gather all these pieces in a very efficient and consistent way. This will dramatically facilitate the deployment and the monetization of the new generation of applications that the market is expecting."

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Intel Confirms Acquisition of Infineon Wireless
Intel announced its intention to acquire Infineon's Wireless Solutions Business, called WLS, in a cash transaction valued at approximately $1.4 billion. The deal expands Intel's current Wi-Fi and 4G WiMAX portfolio to include Infineon's 3G capabilities. Intel said the acquisition also accelerates its entry into LTE.

Intel plans to integrate the Infineon's wireless technology in its Intel Core processor-based laptops and Intel Atom processor-based devices, including smartphones, netbooks, tablets and embedded computers.

"The global demand for wireless solutions continues to grow at an extraordinary rate," said Paul Otellini, Intel president and CEO. "The acquisition of Infineon's WLS business strengthens the second pillar of our computing strategy -- Internet connectivity -- and enables us to offer a portfolio of products that covers the full range of wireless options from Wi-Fi and 3G to WiMAX and LTE."

Infineon said the deal enables it to concentrate its resources towards growth in its core segments Automotive (ATV), Industrial & Multimarket (IMM) and Chip Card & Security (CCS). The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2011.

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IBM Acquires Sterling Commerce from AT&T
IBM completed its acquisition of Sterling Commerce from AT&T for approximately $1.4 billion in cash. AT&T, which acquired Sterling Commerce in 2000, expects to record a one-time pretax gain of approximately $800 million in the third quarter of 2010.

Sterling Commerce provides software for cross-channel commerce and integration of customer, partner and supplier networks across a wide range of industries.

"In combination with IBM's existing offerings, Sterling Commerce, Coremetrics and Unica are expanding IBM's ability to help companies automate, manage and accelerate core business processes across marketing, selling, order management and fulfillment," said Craig Hayman, general manager, IBM Industry Solutions.

AT&T said the divestiture is consistent with its focus on developing and providing a full portfolio of networking-based solutions and services, including network- and cloud-based data storage and managed hosting, application and computing services, to its business customers.

AT&T also stated that it remains committed to its strategic alliance with IBM, its largest customer, to provide a unified set of telecommunications and computing services to multinational corporations across the globe.

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Nortel to Sell Multi Service Switch Business for $39 million
Nortel Networks will sell its Multi Service Switch business to private investors for US$39 million in cash. The deal includes Nortel's North America, Caribbean and Latin America (CALA) and Asia Multi Service Switch (MSS) business and the assets of the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) portion of its MSS business. The buyer is PSP Holding LLC, a special purpose entity to be fully funded at closing by Marlin Equity Partners and Canadian based Samnite Technologies Inc. Nortel's MSS business consists of its Data Packet Network and Shasta product groups and associated intellectual property. Nortel expects all MSS employees would have the opportunity to continue employment with PSP as envisioned by the sale agreement. Commenting on the announcement, John Luszczek, General Manager of Nortel's MSS business said: "Today's announcement is welcome news to all MSS customers, suppliers, partners and employees. The proposed transaction represents a clear and positive step forward and is a testament of our continued commitment to innovation and customer support that resulted in the creation of the business value evident by today's announcement. Throughout this process we will remain focused on providing our customers with the highest level of service, support and responsiveness that they have come to expect."

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Cisco to Acquire ExtendMedia for Video Content Management
Cisco agreed to acquire ExtendMedia, a privately-held company based outside of Boston with the majority of its employee base in Toronto, for its software-based Content Management Systems (CMS). Financial terms were not disclosed.

ExtendMedia's "OpenCASE" CMS is designed to manage the entire lifecycle of video content through monetization for pay media and ad-supported business models. Cisco said the technology will help service providers deliver multi-screen offerings as the market transitions to IP video.

"As the video market transitions and consumers expect multi-screen engagement, service providers are enhancing their infrastructure to manage and deliver video to any device while providing a rich user experience," said Enrique Rodriguez, senior vice president and general manager, Cisco's Service Provider Video Technology Group. "ExtendMedia will strengthen Cisco's position in the delivery of IP video services by enabling service providers to provide a more interactive and personal experience and to optimize quality for consumer viewing devices."

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Huawei Partners with Amerilink Telecom for US Strategy
Huawei reportedly has formed a partnership with Amerilink Telecom, a new company based in Overland Park, Kansas, to help its entry into the North American market.

Amerilink Telecom is headed by Kevin Packingham (CEO), who until recently was the Senior Vice President of Product and Technology Development for Sprint Nextel. Its management team includes Admiral (ret.) William Owens (former Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and CEO of Nortel and Teledesic); Mark Kenyon (Principal), formerly at Sprint and Embarq; Alan Pritchard (Principal), formerly at Nortel; Jeff Lynch (Principal), formerly at Sprint and Embarq; and George Finn (Principal), formerly at AT&T, Sprint, and Embarq.

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HP Bids $24 per Share for 3PAR, Topping Dell
HP announced a bid to acquire 3PAR, a supplier of highly-virtualized storage solutions, for $24 per share in cash. The deal values 3PAR at $1.6 billion, providing a 33% premium over the acquisition offer made by Dell last week.

HP said the addition of 3PAR's next-generation storage architecture will accelerate its Converged Infrastructure strategy, which provides customers with an unmatched portfolio of intellectual property across storage, server and networking solutions.

"HP's proposal offers superior value to 3PAR's shareholders. Our global reach, strong routes to market and commitment to innovation uniquely position HP as the ideal fit for 3PAR," said Dave Donatelli, executive vice president and general manager, Enterprise Servers, Storage and Networking, HP. "We've seen great momentum with our Converged Infrastructure strategy, and 3PAR accelerates that strategy, particularly in cloud and scale-out markets."

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China Mobile Tops 554 Million Customers
China Mobile, the world's largest mobile operator reported healthy momentum in the first half of 2010,

although subscriber growth rates have slowed due to increasing mobile penetration rates and intensifying industry competition. For the six months of 2010, the Group's operating revenue reached RMB229,818 million, up 7.9% over the same period last year, while the Group achieved a 4.2% increase in profit over year to RMB57,643 million, representing a relatively high margin of 25.1%.

The total customer base at the end of June 2010 was 554 million. Monthly net adds averaged 5.29 million for the year, which is below the rate of growth from a year earlier. During the first half of the year, the carrier added 31,750,000 mobile lines, down from a net add of 35,874,000 new customers during the first half of 2009. In addition, China Mobile's market share fell from 72% to 69% over the period.

Average minutes of usage per user per month (MOU) was 520 minutes, up 6.1% over the same period last year, and average revenue per user per month (ARPU) was RMB72, exhibiting a moderately declining trend.

Total voice minutes carried over the China Mobile network reached 1.665 trillion minutes for the first half of the year -- up 20% over the first half of the year. Total voice revenues rose 5.8% to 161.9 billion RMB compared to a year earlier.

China Mobile noted a slowdown in SMS usage growth due to high penetration, IM to SMS substitution and cheaper voice tariffs. Mobile Internet access is growing rapidly and has become a key growth driver, contributing 65.7% of value-added business revenue growth. For future growth, China Mobile is pursuing a "Blue Ocean" strategy. Growth areas include New Customers in rural, migrant worker and family groups; New Voice usage by refining market segments; New Business and New Services by stimulating existing customers with new applications; New Arenas, such as developing the Internet of Things; and New Business Models in the mobile Internet Era. China Mobile is also targeting Mobile Payment/Mobile Wallet, Mobile Reading, Mobile Video, Mobile Gaming, Music Downloads and Mobile TV services.

China Mobile launched a Mobile Payment/Mobile Wallet service in May and now has 360 merchants and 2.7 million users.

China Mobile's 3G network now has 115,000 base stations active in 238 cities. The number of activated 3G base stations is expected to pass 200,000 by the end of the year. Overall, China Mobile has 600,000 base stations, with fiber optic access reaching 96% of these locations.

China Mobile also provided an update on its technology roadmap. The company cited good progress in TD-LTE development and multiple city field trials are now planned following the successful network demonstration at Shanghai World Expo.

China Mobile is actively promoting a synchronized development and convergence of TD-LTE/FDD LTE in international standards organizations. TD-LTE has also gained support from China's government and from the industry ecosystems. The TD-LTE chipsets are now expected in the first half of 2011.

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Airband and Sparkplug Announce Merger -- Fixed Wireless Operators
Airband Communications and Sparkplug Communications have merged, creating one of the largest fixed wireless operators, serves 17 markets across the U.S. providing voice and data services for businesses. Financial terms were not disclosed. Key markets include Atlanta; Austin; Baltimore; Dallas; Des Moines; Fort Lauderdale; Fort Worth; Houston; Las Vegas; Los Angeles; Miami; Orange County, Calif; Philadelphia; Phoenix; San Antonio; San Diego and Washington, D.C.

Airband delivers data services from 1 Mbps to over GigE speeds and a full suite of VoIP services including hosted VoIP and VoIP/SIP trunking.

The new company, which will be known as Airband Communications, is headquartered in Dallas. Michael Ruley, formerly CEO of Sparkplug, becomes CEO of Airband. Tim Kinnear, formerly CEO of Airband stays on as CFO.

"Our companies share the belief that it's critical to increase market penetration in existing territories and leverage the economies of scale we will realize with our combined networks and services," said Airband CEO Michael Ruley. "As a combined entity, we will have the financial backing, network and human resources required to grow, organically and strategically, and to further enhance our competitive position in our markets."

In addition, the merged company will receive $20 million in financing as part of the transaction. Previous equity backers Ignition Partners, Key Venture Partners, M/C Venture Partners and Trilogy Equity Partners, each of which bring significant track records in telecommunications services, are leading the $11 million equity investment. In addition, Airband received $9 million in debt financing from Silicon Valley Bank and MMV Financial. The new financing will be used to fund growth and acquisitions.

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Marvell Acquires DS2 for Powerline Chips
Marvell acquired the intellectual property and assets of Diseno de Sistemas en Silicio S.A. ("DS2"), a supplier of high speed semiconductor solutions for powerline communications. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Marvell said powerline technology represents one of the easiest and most reliable ways to build a network for distributing broadband media in most homes.

DS2 was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Valencia, Spain. The company was a leading technology innovator in next-generation wireline technology based on the G.hn standard, which aims to combine, powerline, coaxial, and phoneline wiring within a single wired home network. DS2 was also a global supplier of Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) solutions and Universal Powerline Association (UPA) compatible circuits for Digital Home, Smart Grid and Ethernet over Coax applications. At the close of the acquisition, approximately 75 employees joined Marvell's worldwide development team.

"With the industry ready to standardize on Powerline technology and consumer demand for new home networking options rising fast, now is the time to drive innovation in this space," said Gani Jusuf, Vice President of Product Development, Communications and Consumer Business Group of Marvell Semiconductor.

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Intel to Acquire Texas Instruments' Cable Modem Unit
Intel agreed to acquire Texas Instruments' cable modem business for an undisclosed sum.

TI's Puma 5 family supports a wide-range of DOCSIS 3.0 end-equipment that can deliver speeds up to 400 Mbps downstream. Additionally, TI provides customers with a cost-optimized, high-performance solution designed for mass market demands of up to 200 Mbps downstream, helping manufacturers get to market quickly in volume. All employees of Texas Instruments' cable modem team received offers to join Intel at sites in their home countries, primarily Israel, and will become part of Intel's Digital Home Group.

Intel said the acquisition enhances its focus on the cable industry and related consumer electronics (CE) market segments. Intel plans to combine TI's Puma product lines with the Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification (DOCSIS) standard technology and Intel SoCs to deliver advanced set top box, residential gateway and modem products for the cable industry. The objective is to provide cable OEMs with an open and powerful platform for delivering innovative and differentiated products to service providers that improve the video, voice and data content experience at home.

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LG-Ericsson USA Launches, Integrates Accton's SMC Networks
LG-Ericsson USA

launched its new brand of data and voice networking product for business customers. The company's product portfolio includes IP PBX systems and a full complement of business-class digital, IP, WiFi, SIP, soft phones, and multimedia terminals, as well as a host of smart, fully-managed and unmanaged switches with a robust Network Management Services (NMS) and Unified Device Manager (UDM) platform to provide easy management.

LG-Ericsson USA (formerly Edgecore Networks), is a joint venture between Korea-based LG-Ericsson Co. and Taiwan-based Accton Technology Corporation, a global provider of voice and data networking solutions. LG-Ericsson USA is based in Irvine, California. LG-Ericsson owns 60 percent share in the joint venture while Accton owns 40 percent. Accton also own SMC Networks, which will now be part of LG-Ericsson USA, although the company says some SMC branding will continue forwards.

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Bivio Announce Cyber Partnership with General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems
Bivio Networks announced a partnership with General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, to drive deployment of advanced cyber security solutions in the federal market.

General Dynamics is a principal contractor to defense, intelligence and homeland security agencies. The two companies will offer enhanced network security solutions that integrate the most up-to-date cyber security products and technologies to deliver situation awareness, allowing enterprises to proactively address cyber threats in real-time.

"With malicious cyber activity on the rise, the ability to act on secure, real-time communications is vital for agencies to make timely and accurate decisions in support of mission-critical operations," said Dr. Elan Amir, president and CEO of Bivio Networks.

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Dell to Acquire 3PAR for Virtualization-Optimized Storage
Dell agreed to acquire 3PAR, a supplier of highly-virtualized storage solutions, for approximately $1.15 billion, net of 3PAR's cash.

3PAR's storage arrays offer advanced data management features, including dynamic tiering and thin provisioning, for multi-tenant cloud-computing environments. This reduces upfront costs and power consumption while providing easy scalability of storage capacity in flexible workload applications.

3PAR was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Fremont, California. After closing, Dell plans to maintain and invest in additional engineering and sales capability. There are no plans to move the current operations.

Dell said it plans to make 3PAR an integral part of its industry-leading storage portfolio, including PowerVault, EqualLogic and Dell/EMC. With 3PAR, Dell will offer innovative systems and customer choice at every storage tier, from direct-attach to highly-virtualized, clustered SANS.

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Bharti Airtel to acquire Telecom Seychelles
Bharti Airtel will acquire 100 % of Telecom Seychelles Limited, the incumbent operator of Seychelles, for US$62 million. Seychelles is an island nation in the Indian Ocean with an estimated population of 84,000.

Telecom Seychelles began operations in 1998 by launching mobile services. Today, it offers 3G mobile and integrated wireline services across the island nation under the Airtel brand and has over 57% share of the mobile market. The operator also has a wireline core network supplied by Ericsson and it offers ISDN/DSL along with digital / IP PABX connectivity.

With this acquisition, Bharti Airtel will expand its African footprint to 16 countries and its overall presence to 19 countries.

Mr. Manoj Kohli, CEO (International) & Jt. MD, Bharti Airtel, said, "We are delighted at the addition of Seychelles to our Africa portfolio. Telecom Seychelles has world-class operations that include state-of-the-art 3G services. These operations will benefit further by leveraging the efficiencies of scale of our African operations."

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NTT Com to Acquire Secode AB for Managed Security in No. Europe
NTT Communications will acquire Secode AB, a leading provider of managed-security and security-consulting services in Nordic countries, for an undisclosed sum.

Secode provides managed-security and security-consulting services across northern Europe. The company offers 24/7 services for intrusion detection and prevention, log management, vulnerability analysis, data-loss prevention, anti-virus and anti-spam, managed VPN/firewall and mobile security. In addition to its two SOCs, it operates support desks in local languages in Finland and the Netherlands. Secode also manages a specialized team for conducting tests and audits, as well as its staff of consultants who offer a wide range of professional security services. Secode has about 90 employees. Following the acquisition, Secode will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary led by Trygve Reinertsen, Secode's current CEO.

NTT Com said the acquisition will help it to capitalize on the growing needs for managed-security services among multinational companies, who are increasingly outsourcing security management to professionals due to the difficulties of nurturing qualified engineers and ensuring 24/7 readiness against constantly evolving security threats.In addition, it will fold Secode's security operation centers (SOCs) in Sweden and Norway into its existing group of SOCs in Japan, Germany, Singapore and the U.S., the latter three of which were added in October 2009 when NTT Com acquired a majority stake in Integralis AG in Germany.

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Limelight to Acquire Delve Networks for Video Publishing Tools
Limelight Networks has acquired Delve Networks, a privately-held provider of cloud-based video publishing and analytics services. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Limelight Networks operates a leading global content delivery network (CDN). The company said the Delve acquisition complements and extends the value of Limelight's mobility platform and EyeWonder's in-stream video advertising products by providing a web-based workflow for these solutions. Founded in 2006, Seattle-based Delve Networks' software-as-a-service platform provides online businesses with a streamlined and scalable solution for the addition, management, syndication, analysis, and monetization of web video. Delve offers for publishing videos online, including hosting, encoding, channel and playlist management, video search, metrics, and advertising.

"As online content consumption accelerates, content producers and online businesses need scalable tools to easily and quickly publish their video and syndicate it to an ever-expanding list of web properties and connected devices. With Delve Networks added to our global computing infrastructure, Limelight Networks now can provide our customers with an at-scale value-added solution for publishing online video, analyzing end-user preferences, and, in conjunction with our EyeWonder and mobility products, monetizing their digital assets," said Jeff Lunsford, chairman and chief executive officer, Limelight Networks, Inc.

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NTT DOCOMO Acquires PacketVideo for Embedded Mobile Software
NTT DOCOMO

announced an agreement with NextWave Wireless Inc. to acquire the remaining 65 percent equity interest in PacketVideo Corporation, a subsidiary of NextWave Wireless Inc., for US$111.6 million, turning PacketVideo into a wholly owned subsidiary of DOCOMO.

DOCOMO aims to create synergies with PacketVideo for enhanced media services, including the creation of an all-new domain of services that allow users to easily link their mobile handsets with home electronic devices to remotely enjoy and share content.

San Diego-based PacketVideo supplies mobile phone-based multimedia software and media service platforms that have been widely adopted by mobile operators and device manufacturers in North America, Europe and Asia. The company also provides solutions that allow users to share pictures, music and videos among PCs, mobile phones and consumer electronic devices such as TVs, digital picture frames and audio equipment.

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Harris Acquires CapRock for $525 Million
Harris completed its previously announced acquisition of CapRock Communications for $525 million in cash.

CapRock provides managed communication services including broadband Internet access, VoIP, networking and real-time video delivered to harsh and remote locations around the world. CapRock managed network solutions include multiband, portable and fixed satellite communications services supported by its teleports and network operations centers around the globe. CapRock supports a wide range of customers in the energy, maritime and government industries, including Chevron, Diamond Offshore, ExxonMobil, Halliburton, MODEC, Shell, Transocean, KBR, Green Reefers, Gulf Offshore, Seatrans, Oceaneering, Subsea 7, the U.S. Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security and other federal civilian agencies. The companies has its headquarters in Houston, Texas.

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Cisco to Acquire Arch Rock for Wireless Energy Sensors

02-Sep-10

Alcatel-Lucent Acquires OpenPlug, Extending its Application Enablement Strategy

01-Sep-10

Intel Confirms Acquisition of Infineon Wireless

30-Aug-10

IBM Acquires Sterling Commerce from AT&T

27-Aug-10

Nortel to Sell Multi Service Switch Business for $39 million

27-Aug-10

Cisco to Acquire ExtendMedia for Video Content Management