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Alcatel
and SaskTel Form R&D Alliance
 SaskTel,
the incumbent operator in the Canadian province of
Saskatchewan, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
will Alcatel to conduct joint research and development.
Once finalized, the agreement will lead to the creation of
approximately twenty new R&D positions to be based in
Saskatchewan and jointly funded by Alcatel and SaskTel.
R&D activity resulting from the MOU will focus on the
development of advanced software applications to address
global market needs. Products and services resulting from
the collaboration will be distributed worldwide utilizing
the extensive market reach of Alcatel's global sales
presence in conjunction with SaskTel Internati
http://www.alcatel.com
29-Jun-06
NTT
Com Expands its Ethernet "Global Super Link"
Service
NTT
Communications is expanding its Global Super Link Ethernet
service to England, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and
Hong Kong in addition to the U.S. and Japan. The expanded
reach will be available in July.
NTT Com is also introducing a more flexible fee structure.
Currently, users can choose between two transmission
speeds of 45Mbps, for a flat rate, or 100Mbps with a fee
depending on data traffic. Under the new flexible fee,
users can choose transmission speeds in increments of
10Mbps from 10Mbps to 100Mbps for a flat rate, although
100Mbps subscribers can also opt for a variable rate.
The Global Super Link Ethernet service runs over NTT Com's
Global IP/MPLS backbone. Enterprise users can create a
global LAN environment using their existing equipment,
which saves the cost of having to purchase special
devices.
http://www.ntt.com
29-Jun-06
Senate
Commerce Committee Drops Net Neutrality from
Communications Bill
The
Senate Commerce Committee voted not to include Net
Neutrality provisions in the proposed
"Communications, Consumer's Choice, and Broadband
Deployment Act of 2006" (SB 2686), which is now
making its way to the Senate floor. The vote was evenly
split (11-11), which meant the provision could not be
included in the bill.
The proposed bill, which was sponsored by Sens. Ted
Stevens (R-Alaska) and Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), seeks to
reform the cable franchise process by establishing a
national franchise, enabling telcos to enter the
television market more quickly. The U.S. House passed a
similar video choice bill on June 8.
"Congress is close to producing a tangible victory
for consumers -- lower cable TV bills and greater video
choice. The full Senate should vote soon because every
year reform is delayed costs consumers $8.2 billion in
higher cable bills. This bipartisan committee vote -- and
the huge House victory -- prove video choice is within
consumers' grasp this year. The momentum is there if the
full Senate acts soon to give consumers the competition
and choice they deserve, stated Peter Davidson, Verizon
senior vice president for federal government relations.
http://commerce.senate.gov/public/
28-Jun-06
BellSouth
to Lab Test Alcatel's WiMAX
BellSouth
plans to conduct a lab test of Alcatel's Evolium WiMAX
solution. The agreement comes four months after Alcatel
conducted a live demonstration of the newly ratified WiMAX
IEEE 802.16e-2005 standard.
http://www.alcatel.com
27-Jun-06
Amdocs
Seeks to Build Digital Content Marketplace
Amdocs,
a leading provider of telco billing and customer
management solutions, launched OpenMarket Exchange, a
web-based business system that enables media companies to
build lucrative, high-growth
"direct-to-consumer" (D2C) mobile content
businesses.
OpenMarket Exchange is a system for digital content
transactions designed to improve the profitability of
digital content initiatives of both media companies and
mobile service providers, as well as minimize the costs
and complexity associated with such initiatives.
The new exchange will enable "off-network"
transactions, in which consumers purchase mobile content
directly from media companies using the billing and
service relationship with their mobile service provider.
"When you look at the amount of money tier one media
companies spend on the mobile channel relative to the
others - TV, radio, print, and online media -- mobile is
receiving just a tiny fraction of its potential
investment," said Steve Shivers, senior vice
president and general manager of OpenMarket at Qpass,
Amdocs Digital Commerce Division, which developed the
service. "The OpenMarket Exchange addresses the
complexity and costs that make it difficult for media
companies to enter the D2C mobile commerce space. With the
scalable, financial-grade infrastructure provided by
OpenMarket, they can invest and profit from the mobile
channel on par with the other major media channels, and
can do so in a way that greatly increases revenues and
profits for mobile operators."
OpenMarket provides the critical functionality of offer
management, SMS short-code management, SAS 70 compliant
transaction processing, real time reporting, settlement,
and customer care integration.
http://www.openmarket.com
http://www.amdocs.com
26-Jun-06
SK
Telecom Deploys 10 Gbps Caspian Backbone for Flow-State
QoS
South
Korea's SK Telecom is deploying a 10 Gbps MPLS mesh
backbone designed exclusively with Caspian's Media
Controllers, core routers that perform both basic routing
and Caspian's unique Flow-State QoS traffic management.
Caspian also announced the availability of its Flow-State
QoS technology on 10 Gbps Ethernet interfaces and (10) x
1-port GE interfaces. Caspian already offers OC192c/STM64
line cards and (4) x OC48c/STM16c cards.
Caspian said its Media Controllers’ flow-state traffic
management capabilities enable SK Telecom to deliver
exceptional quality of service to its subscribers at
broadband data rates without the cost and complexity
involved in over-engineering the network. The Flow-State
QoS technology identifies all unique IP traffic flows,
without requiring invasive deep packet inspection. It then
applies the fair use policies that dynamically deliver the
QoS, bandwidth and priority required by each traffic flow.
Caspian's custom-designed ASICs enable each 10-Gbps
interface to process and retain state information for up
to six million separate flows and thousands of policies
simultaneously. Congestion is also mitigated proactively
using Call Admission Control for VoIP and video traffic.
SK Telecom will use the network to provision e-Gov
services, including high-quality VoIP, videoconferencing
and other real-time multimedia applications, along with
mission-critical virtual private networks and Internet
access for government agencies and citizens alike.
Caspian said its Media Controllers deployed in the
aggregation, backbone or peering points of existing IP or
MPLS networks are able to provide deterministic QoS,
zero-packet loss and a 2-3 times improvement in overall
bandwidth utilization.
http://www.caspian.com
26-Jun-06
- In June 2006, Caspian announced the second phase of
its joint technology development partnership with
Korea's Electronics and Telecommunications Research
Institute (ETRI) to deliver new IPv6 services. Caspian
and ETRI announced Phase I of their joint technology
agreement in February 2005 to develop multimedia
quality of service (QoS) solutions for South Korea’s
Broadband convergence Network (BcN) initiative. Phase
II of the joint development agreement between Caspian
and ETRI will focus on new IPv6 services that are part
of a comprehensive IPv4-to-IPv6 migration strategy.
Through its Phase I collaboration with ETRI, Caspian
has successfully deployed its Media Controllers in
South Korean’s Electronic Government (e-Gov) network
with Korea Telecom and SK Telecom. The e-Gov networks
are one of many BcN initiatives that represent an
ambitious countrywide network infrastructure to
deliver dedicated bandwidth in support of integrated
multimedia services including VoIP, streaming audio
and video, and real-time health and welfare response
services to 20 million Korean subscribers.
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Fair
Use Networking: Leveraging Quality To Create
Profitability |
What
is “fair use” of a service provider’s
network? Ideally, service providers should be
able to allocate capacity and be paid according
to what they carry over the network. While
Internet access providers are able to raise
prices for customers who require more bandwidth,
long-haul backbone service providers pay the
freight for growing volumes of traffic from
which they generate no revenue, and worse, rob
capacity at the expense of premium services
Today there seem to be two approaches to the
problem of balancing network traffic and revenue
considerations. The first approach is to simply
let any customer transport any kind of
traffic—and as much as they want—over the
long-haul backbone network. The second approach
available to service providers for managing
bandwidth is to filter out certain types of
traffic or lock out traffic from certain content
providers. |
BT
to Offer "Ojo" Personal Video Phones
BT
will purchase of WorldGate's "Ojo" Shadow
personal video phones for resale to customers around the
world. The agreement provides for BT to begin selling Ojo
immediately in conjunction with the launch of BT's Club
Complete platform.
http://www.wgate.com
23-Jun-06
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TV
as the Ultimate IMS Endpoint
 by
Hunt Norment
Vice President, Business Development
Integra5
Convergence
is an ambiguous word in the telecom
world. Generically, convergence is
defined as the state of having come
together toward a common point – a
two-dimensional reference. In telecom,
however, convergence takes on a third
dimension - time.
The temporal dimension of convergence
can be divided into three large
categories: systems convergence, service
convergence, and user-experience
convergence.
The
first phase, systems convergence, began
in the mid-1990s. The goal: to give
consumers a single, integrated bill for
all of their communications services. It
was reasoned that the convenience of
paying a consolidated bill would entice
users to purchase their communications
services from a single provider. What
that reasoning missed in consumer
adoption, it got right in operational
efficiency as costs and overhead were
removed from billing and CRM processes.
The second phase, service convergence,
began in the early 2000s and is still
seeing a reasonable amount of investment
today. The goal: improve customer
service by simplifying the way end users
interact with their communications
provider. This stage saw investment in
consolidating call centers; creating
portals for end users to add, delete, or
modify their services; and, most
importantly, saw the beginning of the
end user being managed as an individual
and not a telephone number. This phase
achieved great advancement in customer
service, as well as cost savings from a
support standpoint.
We are just beginning the third phase of
convergence, user experience
convergence. The goal: creating lasting
relationships with end users by making
the communications bundle work in
unison, i.e., make the aggregate user
experience so compelling that the pain
of switching even one service in a
bundle is insurmountable. The ROI in
this phase will be greater than the
previous two phases combined.
The
importance of user experience
convergence to service providers
The lifetime value of a triple- or
quad-play subscriber is worth
exponentially more than a single-service
subscriber. The biggest factor in this
calculation is not ARPU, but rather
“stickiness” that results in
reduction in churn and also reduction in
the retention spending required to
minimize churn. Therefore, the objective
of user experience convergence is to
increase the uptake and retention of
triple- and quad-play subscribers.
There is also a competitive aspect to
this equation that often goes
overlooked. Several non-facilities-based
Internet service providers have
converged the user experience across
devices, namely Google, Yahoo!, and MSN.
Based on this, these portals can no
longer be considered just portals, as
they are continually enhancing their
communications offerings and encroaching
steadfastly on the turf held by cable
and telephone companies.
For example, I am a quad-play subscriber
to a large telephone company. I receive
voice, video (via a satellite
relationship), broadband, and wireless
services from this company. However, the
provider cannot offer me an integrated
communications experience across the
devices and services they sold me,
leaving me with multiple email
addresses, multiple address books, and
multiple preference profiles. The
communications experience is not ideal
to say the least.
On the other hand, Yahoo! and other
portals offer me an integrated
communications experience across these
same devices (except satellite, but that
is forthcoming). I can even get voice
service via Yahoo! Therefore, as a
consumer, my loyalty lies with Yahoo!,
not my telephone company, and I would
switch service providers to lower my
access prices in an instant.
To combat this effect, some cable and
telephone companies have proactively
partnered with MSN and Yahoo!, but this
is a double-edged sword. These
partnerships can increase uptake
initially, but will be detrimental to
service providers seeking lasting
relationships with their subscribers.
Television
– the Great Equalizer
The real battle for extracting consumer
value is not between telco and cable
operators, but rather service provider
against the opposition that most
threaten them: non-facilities-based
service providers that can delivery
services on top of the cable and telecom
infrastructures. The television gives
service providers a vehicle to redefine
this fight for the consumer.
The
television has undergone a major
face-lift in recent years. The
transition to digital, high-definition
technology, along with new capabilities
like video-on-demand (VOD), and
augmented by the space saving design of
flat, large LCD, plasma or
rear-projection television sets has
brought a renewed interest to this home
entertainment device. Costly investments
in this new generation of televisions
leave consumers expecting to be able to
do more with their TVs than their other
communications devices, and they are
showing an interest in converged
services that go beyond basic video
programming. Consumers are attracted to
services that offer them access to a
wide range of communications information
and entertainment services in a
user-friendly, cost-effective way.
Moreover,
consumers have spoken loud and clear to
their communications providers. In
surveys, and based on early technology
adoption, consumers are clamoring for
the same interactive experience on the
television that they receive on home
computers and mobile devices. They are
seeking a consistent user experience
across all of the services sold to them,
including video services. Incumbent
cable providers have a leg-up when it
comes to delivering video services,
however telephone companies with IPTV
have a technical advantage for
converging the user experience across
devices.
Unfortunately
for cable and telco service providers,
enhanced video services also enable over
the top competition from Google, MSN,
and Yahoo! Will service providers close
their enhanced video networks to
portals? Are there any business models
that adequately represent the interests
of all parties?
One
thing is for certain: telephone and
cable companies deploying quad-play
services must protect their core service
offerings: communications and video
services, respectively.
The
television as an IMS End Point?
To ensure a consistent communications
experience across networks and devices
– including the television – service
providers must make the television an
IMS end point. This places the
television on equal footing with the
telephone, mobile phone, and PC as
communications and other multimedia
devices where non-facilities-based
providers have a stronghold.
The
IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) standard
defines a generic architecture for
offering Voice over IP (VoIP) and
multimedia services. It is an
internationally recognized standard,
first specified by the Third Generation
Partnership Project (3GPP/3GPP2) and now
being embraced by other standards bodies
including ETSI/TISPAN. The standard
supports multiple access types,
including GSM, WCDMA, CDMA2000, Wireline
broadband access and WLAN.
Read
the full article on our Blueprint:
Circuit to Packet Web site
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ClearMesh
Combines Wireless Optical + Mesh for Metro Nets
ClearMesh
Networks, a start-up based in Pasadena, California,
unveiled a wireless optical mesh networking solution
capable of delivering business-class services at 5-100
Mbps without requiring licensed spectrum.
The ClearMesh Metro Grid technology aims to extend the
reach of metro Ethernet networks, where lateral expansion
of fiber would require significant up-front investment and
months for deployment. The company is also positioning its
technology as a complement to metro Wi-FI or WiMAX
deployments.
ClearMesh Networks cites two major advancements since the
early days of free-space optical (FSO) enthusiasm:
- The use of LED technology rather than lasers for the
wireless optical transmitters. LEDs are significantly
lower cost than lasers and provide the added advantage
of a greater target. This enables the link to tolerate
vibration, and thus the LED transmitters can be pole
mounted or roof-mounted. The LEDs have a specified
range of 250m and are eye safe.
- The use of mesh networking algorithms -- this
provides a high level of resiliency compared to
line-of-sight, point-to-point FSO links, especially in
inclement weather.
The ClearMesh technology is able to distribute from 300
Mbps to 2Gbps of toll-quality service capacity throughout
the mesh. Each of the nodes includes three optical
transceivers and an integrated Ethernet switch.
ClearMesh said its wireless optical technology also
provides inherent security, including signal scrambling
between nodes and optional use of encryption.
http://www.clearmesh.com
28-Jun-06
TeliaSonera
Selects Siemens for DWDM Backbone
TeliaSonera
selected the Siemens Communications Group to build a new
DWDM backbone to serve as the foundation for the delivery
of all TeliaSonera services. The first Siemens deployment
in the TeliaSonera transport network was successfully
completed in spring 2006. Financial terms were not
disclosed.
Siemens’ Surpass Transparent Optical Networks solution
consists of the DWDM platforms Surpass hiT 7300, Surpass
hiT 7500 and the management system TNMS.
Siemens said its solution yields lower costs due to its
full-channel optical add/drop multiplexer capabilities and
photonic cross-connects, enabling remote configuration of
a path without the need to access the network while
staying all-optical through multiple add/drop nodes.
Another highlight of the solution is the simplification of
installation, provisioning and maintenance operations
compared to current systems. The Siemens system also
features transponders that are tunable over the full
wavelength band, resulting in quicker wavelength
provisioning for customers as there is no need to custom
order "colors" of light
http://www.siemens.com/communications
27-Jun-06
Corrigent
Releases TDM-to-Ethernet Interworking for its Packet
Transport Solution
Corrigent
Systems released a TDM-to-Ethernet suite of interfaces for
its CM-100 packet transport platform. Using the CM-100,
service providers can now offer Ethernet services over
existing TDM access networks and aggregate these services
efficiently on 10 Gbps packet rings. The following new
interfaces are now available on the CM-100:
- 24-port DS3/E3 clear-channel user interface module
with Ethernet-over-PDH termination, as well as PPP to
Ethernet Layer-2 interworking
- PPP/MLPPP to Ethernet Layer-2 interworking on 6-port
DS3/E3 channelized user interface module
Each of the modules also supports transport of native TDM
channels, and the TDM-to-Ethernet interworking capability
is configurable on a per-channel basis.
The Layer-2 interworking function on both DS3 interface
types is designed to terminate PPP and/or bundled MLPPP
sessions and map each individual connection to a standard
Ethernet VLAN.
http://www.corrigent.com
26-Jun-06
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Canada's
Rogers Communications Selects Amdocs CRM
Rogers
Communications will implement Amdocs CRM across its cable,
wireless and telecom lines of business. This
implementation is part of Rogers' integrated customer
management (ICM) strategy rollout which is designed to
provide a consistent customer experience to its more than
10 million subscribers. Financial terms were not
disclosed.
Customers receive a variety of communications services
from Rogers, including cable TV, high-speed Internet,
wireline and wireless. Rogers strives to ensure a
consistent customer experience across all those services.
Providing a single view of the customer is part of an ICM
strategy, which helps achieve that. ICM provides a
framework to organize a company's infrastructure and
resources around customer needs and the customer
experience.
Rogers is also using Amdocs billing software to support
its various lines of business.
http://www.amdocs.com
http://www.rogers.com/
29-Jun-06
Overture
Receives Patent on Ethernet Status Indicator
Overture
Networks was awarded its seventh patent, No 7,069,512 on
"Command Line Interface with Indication of Network
Element Status", which enables operators of Overture
Networks' ISG family of products to quickly ascertain the
operational status of nodes in their networks. Other
patents held by Overture Networks are in the pseudo- wire
and protected switching ring fields.
Overture said its patented Command Line Interface (CLI)
status indicator provides a simple, unobtrusive visual
indication of an issue requiring attention. Operators can
determine at a glance the severity of the issue based on
Overture Networks' unique fault classification
identifications, making problem isolation and resolution
faster and simpler.
http://www.overturenetworks.com
29-Jun-06
New Foundry Switches Target Acceleration and Security of IP, Web and
Triple Play
Foundry
Networks introduced a new family of ultra-high-performance
ServerIron application switches to meet the growing demand
for secure and optimized delivery of Web and Triple Play
services.
The new family of ServerIron switches features Foundry's
new generation application processor and ASIC technology
to deliver scalable performance up to 350,000 connections
per second and 12 Gbps of application level throughput.
The switches are available in three modular chassis
models, starting with a compact Two-Rack Unit (2RU) high
3-slot chassis to a highly scalable 8-slot chassis that
supports up to 112 Gigabit Ethernet ports for large
density server farms.
The network-centric ServerIron 350, 450 and 850 PLUS
series switches feature redundant power, hot swappable
modules and fully interchangeable modules for investment
protection and future expandability. A choice of 10/100,
Gigabit copper and fiber, and 10 Gigabit interface modules
provide connectivity options for the network and server
farm.
Foundry's new version of TrafficWorks OS includes enhanced
security features to protect Web applications from attacks
that target sensitive data. Using a positive security
enforcement model, these features provide protection for
Web applications against key threats like buffer overflow
attacks that can cripple servers, cookie poisoning and
tampering that hijack sessions and user identity, forceful
browsing attacks that allow illegal access to sensitive
Web content, and SQL injection and cross-site scripting
attacks that provide unauthorized access to sensitive
data.
http://www.foundrynetworks.com
28-Jun-06
SafeNet
Announces Client-Server IPSec and IKEv2 Security Toolkits
for OEMs
SafeNet
announced a major upgrade of its QuickSec IPSec VPN
product for manufacturers of enterprise security gateways
and client devices. The toolkit enables developers to add
IKEv2 to enterprise security gateways, enterprise-class
PBX systems, desktop VPN clients, and mobile VPN
platforms.
This major release of QuickSec 4.0 Client and Server
Toolkits is the first simultaneous release by SafeNet of
compatible client-side and server-side development tools
implementing the most current IPSec security features like
IKEv2, stateful firewall, IPv6/IPv4 support, 64-bit
platform support, and pre-integration with high-speed
security processors for hardware acceleration.
http://www.safenet-inc.com
27-Jun-06
Lucent
Lands Prime Contract for U.S. Army's Modernization Project
Lucent
Technologies was one of ten prime contractors selected by
the U.S. Army for its new Infrastructure Modernization
(IMOD) contract, which has a total ceiling of $4 billion
dollars.
Under the scope of the indefinite delivery, indefinite
quantity (IDIQ) contract, Lucent will work to engineer,
furnish, install, secure and test a next-generation
multi-vendor communications infrastructure at selected
Army installations around the world. The contract has a
base five-year award term and one additional five-year
award term potential option period.
http://www.lucent.com
26-Jun-06
Cisco-sponsored
Survey Finds Slow Government Take-up of IPV6
A
survey commissioned by Cisco Systems of U.S. federal
decision makers indicates that, despite federal government
mandates for rapid implementation of IPv6, less than 4
percent have completed IPv6 implementation and less than 8
percent have completed agency transition plans. Budget
constraints are cited as the biggest impediment, and most
agency decision makers are choosing to conduct planning
in-house, without outside vendor or consultant support.
Although 14 percent of the respondents indicate that
agency implementation is already under way, the largest
number of respondents indicate that they will complete
their implementation by the end of FY 2007. However, 26
percent state that they have not yet targeted a final
date. Almost 38 percent will complete planning by FY 2007.
The survey was conducted last month by Market Connections,
a federal IT market research firm. The research effort was
conducted by phone and targeted IT and business decision
makers in both civilian and military agencies.
"This survey indicates that agencies must focus more
on how IPv6 implementation will support the fulfillment of
their mission, underlining productivity and long-term cost
management benefits," said Bruce Klein, Cisco federal
segment vice president. "Focusing on the 'big
picture' benefits means that IPv6 should be driven from
the top down, versus from the bottom up. As every asset --
whether a person or an object -- becomes connected, agency
heads are beginning to understand and appreciate the vast
opportunities for mission efficiencies, as we move from
wired to wireless, from multiple, siloed networks (voice,
video, data, emergency response, etc.) to converged,
media-rich messaging, and from phone and mail transactions
to mobile applications and interactions."
http://www.cisco.com
26-Jun-06
Sensory
Networks Builds Security Appliance Ecosystem
Sensory
Networks, a start-up based in Palo Alto, California with
R&D in Sydney, Australia, unveiled an ecosystem of
security applications designed to run on its
"NodalCore" acceleration platform.
The NodalCore Security Processing Unit (SPU) is a 64-bit
dedicated processor designed for high-speed scanning,
analysis and classification across a wide range of
security applications including anti-virus, anti-spyware,
anti-spam, intrusion detection/prevention and content
filtering. Combined with Sensory Networks' suite of
accelerated software libraries, commercial security
applications and development tools, products built with
NodalCore can be rapidly brought to market.
The first commercial vendors offering applications in
Sensory Networks' Application Ecosystem include: AhnLab,
Endeavor Security, Eneo Technologia, Exinda Networks,
Kaspersky Lab, Intoto, Mail Filters, Mailshell, McAfee,
Message Labs, PC Tools, Sunbelt Software and Threat
Metrix. Additionally, open source applications include:
Snort, Clam AV, DSPAM, and Apache Spam Assassin. These
application partners join Sensory Networks' core
technology and appliance partners, including Xilinx,
Intel, Nexcom, Lanner and Advantech.
Sensory Networks said it no longer makes sense for
appliance designers to develop and integrate all of these
applications in-house and that general purpose
architectures simply cannot provide the necessary
processing power while meeting the price/performance
benchmarks sought by the market. Sensory's NodalCore
acceleration technology off-loads application vendors from
speed constraints and allows them to focus on their core
competencies and features.
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