Friday, September 10, 2004
Golden Telecom
The Russian telecom market is on fire, and alternative operator Golden Telecom Inc. (Nasdaq: GLDN - message board) looks to be taking advantage of that market. The company is set to announce its fourth-quarter and full-year 2003 results Thursday, with investors and suppliers looking for more good news from the business services player.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 4:44 AM
Microsoft IPTV: Now That's Italian!
Both carriers are part of what Microsoft TV's marketing chief, Ed Graczyk, calls the "early adopter program," though the Italian carrier isn't as advanced as its Swiss neighbor, as it has the TV-over-DSL system in lab trials only. "We expect consumer trials to start in early 2005, and for Telecom Italia to quickly scale up to thousands of households," says Graczyk, who is in Amsterdam for the International Broadcasting Convention (IBC) 2004 that starts today.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 4:35 AM
Thursday, September 09, 2004
In it for the long haul: Optical transport systems go the distance
A change is brewing for long-haul networks. Companies such as Qtera and Corvis are developing ultra long-haul optical transport systems that can send traffic as far as 3200 to 5000 kilometers without electrical regeneration. These systems could encourage carriers to rethink their network architecture.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 3:56 PM
Movaz Networks
I am pleased to say that we have completed our ninth consecutive quarter of revenue and our best Q1 performance ever. Revenue for Q1 of 2004 increased 67% over the same quarter in 2003. In addition to this we added three new customers, which brings our total number of customers to 46.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 3:43 PM
Force10 Networks
Skeptics have abounded, but customers, partners, and investors (to the tune of $209 million to date) have all shown faith in the company that was the first to market with a full-featured switch capable of wire-speed performance at 10 Gbit/s.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 3:24 PM
Tried & True? Not for VOIP
The future network cost and service revenue implications of picking a mediocre Class 5 migration vendor are enormous. Incumbent network operators of all sizes must be prepared to bite the bullet, cap their legacy systems, and migrate to a multisource paradigm with new vendors, if existing suppliers aren't up to the task.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 3:14 PM
VOIP Boom Boosts Ulticom
Ulticom's figures, which were released after the market closed on Wednesday, show just how much the market has picked up in the past year. It reported revenues of $16.1 million, up 22 percent from the first quarter's $13.2 million, and up a whopping 71 percent compared with last year's $9.4 million.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 3:03 PM
La. tags $40 million for fiber-optic link
BATON ROUGE -- Gov. Kathleen Blanco surprised participants at an information-technology research conference Thursday by announcing that the state will spend $40 million to link Louisiana universities to a high-speed fiber-optic communications network.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 2:59 PM
Network Engineer
There is a major telecommunications company in the Alpharetta area in need of a Network Engineer. This candidate must have specific knowledge and experience with installation and maintenance of DWDM and SONET networks.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 2:35 PM
Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing
Dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) is a fiber optic transmission technique that employs light wavelengths to transmit data parallel-by-bit or serial-by-character.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 6:00 AM
Lightpath
Since 1988, Lightpath has delivered voice, data, Internet, and video solutions for businesses of every size and complexity in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. Utilizing the power of its own fiber optic network, Lightpath delivers a powerful competitive advantage to its customers.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 4:31 AM
Wednesday, September 08, 2004
Cisco Skips Class 5
In the world of softswitches, Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO - message board) remains conspicuously absent. But it's not clear that the company will fire up its M&A machine to mind the gap.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 10:17 PM
The Softswitch Name Game
VOIP is reaching a stage where its popularity could hamper its progress with carriers, according to a recent report from Heavy Reading, Light Reading's paid research arm.
No one is questioning the strength of VOIP in the long run. But the flood of startups pouring into the market could be causing carriers to slow their move to new VOIP architectures.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 10:13 PM
White Rock Ships Small-Office DCS Plus Ethernet in SONET Box
White Rock Networks began shipping a newly enhanced VLX2020 OC-48/192 SONET Transport Platform that provides both a small-office DCS (Digital Cross-Connect System) and an edge Ethernet aggregation platform in a single package.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 10:08 PM
Skype Calls Out, But Is the Pope In?
Skype today launched its commercial peer-to-peer (P2P) VOIP service, SkypeOut, which allows users to make low-cost calls to fixed and mobile PSTN (public switched telephone network) lines (see Skype Launches SkypeOut and Skype Plans Some Ins & Outs ).
And if he hasn't already heard, someone should alert the Pope about the tariffs - and quick. Calls to the Vatican's PSTN lines are just 2 cents per minute from anywhere in the world, so the Holy Father's Hotline might just start smokin' from today.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 9:01 PM
Wi-Fi Clouds and Zones
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 7:30 PM
Fall VON 2004
Our sold out exhibit floor will showcase 190+ companies which represent a great snapshot of the IP Communications Industry -- covering the marketplace from the perspectives of: Enterprise Users, Service Providers, Consumer services and the Industry as a whole.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 2:51 PM
Covaro puts Ethernet over DS-3
Covaro Networks has announced a new product, the CC-301, that serves as a demarcation point box allowing carriers to provide Ethernet over their traditional installed base of DS-3 lines.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 6:42 AM
Qwest launches IP Centrex service
Qwest Communications today said it has launched an IP Centrex service for its medium and large enterprise customers, but unlike its competitors, Qwest is eschewing the enhanced media capabilities and focusing entirely on the standard telephony functions of the platform.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 4:55 AM
Lightpointe names new CEO
Free-space optics equipment vendor Lightpointe named Jim Cady its new president and chief executive officer today.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 4:53 AM
Tuesday, September 07, 2004
Extreme's S400 raises the bar for workgroup switches
Enabling gigabit to the desktop - or to lots of desktops - is the name of the game for Extreme Networks' new Summit 400-48t, a 10G Ethernet workgroup switch.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 7:49 PM
Wireless Is the New Platform
Bob Metcalfe, the inventor of the Ethernet networking standard, knows a thing or two about the computer industry. He has seen it shift from mainframe to minicomputer to personal computer in his long tenure on the technology mound. Now he says that computing is moving to a new era, with wireless as the platform.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 7:20 PM
Philadelphia's 135 square mile mesh project
"The ambitious plan, now in the works, would involve placing hundreds, or maybe thousands of small transmitters around the city - probably atop lampposts. Each would be capable of communicating with the wireless networking cards that now come standard with many computers."
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 5:52 PM
Why Bother With VOIP?
Hard-bitten PSTN types will ask - why bother with VOIP? Why throw out an effective, tried-and-tested Sonet/SDH connection-oriented transport infrastructure, only to attempt to simulate it with the virtual MPLS connections over an IP packet network?
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 5:08 PM
VOIP vs PSTN
It's no secret that carriers are looking to move from traditional, circuit-switched voice to voice-over-packet technologies. In a way, of course, they have already done this years ago with Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), but ATM's fixed-length micropackets (cells) and connection orientation were adopted specifically to be voice-friendly. What's new is the wholesale move to the variable length and connectionless orientation of Internet Protocol (IP) packets, which are definitely not the obvious architecture of choice for voice.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 5:02 PM
Telcordia: Let's Split
I had a bit of a giggle last week when I discovered that about half of the respondents to our August Research Poll have picked Burger King as the most likely acquirer of Telcordia Technologies Inc. (see Telcordia With Fries?).
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 4:56 PM
Brits Prepare for VOIP Deluge
U.K. telecom regulator Office of Communications (Ofcom) effectively gave the green light to voice-over-broadband competition today by ruling that service providers could provide geographic numbers (ones with area codes) to VOIP customers (see Ofcom Speaks Out On VOIP ).
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 4:14 PM
Global IP Sound releases VoiceEngine Mac
Last month, Skype released a Mac version of its client, and like its windows and linux products, it is powered by Global IP Sound (GIPS)’s Voice Engine. Skype leveraged VoiceEngine Mac to provide unmatched voice quality and voice processing in the beta version of Skype for Mac OS X.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 4:11 PM
It used to be more expensive to complete telephone calls than it is today. The operator-completed call gave way to call completion by electro-mechanical switch. Then, in the late 70s, the era of computer controlled electronic switching made placing calls even cheaper and more reliable.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 4:03 PM
Rise of the Stupid Network
Why the Intelligent Network was once a good idea, but isn't anymore. One telephone company nerd's odd perspective on the changing value proposition.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 10:43 AM
Sprint, Mediacom announce VOIP deal
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Sprint Corp. and cable television provider Mediacom Communications Corp. announced an agreement Wednesday that will allow Sprint to offer Internet telephone service to Mediacom's 2.7 million household subscribers.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 10:23 AM
Charter Taps Three Telephony Partners; Level 3, Sprint and Accenture to Enhance, Expedite Charter Telephone
ST. LOUIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 30, 2004--Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: CHTR), through its subsidiaries, today announced agreements with Level 3 Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: LVLT) and Sprint Communications Company, L.P. (NYSE: FON) to provide long distance and local telephone service connectivity in selected Charter markets. In addition, Charter has selected Accenture (NYSE: ACN) to provide telephony provisioning services.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 10:04 AM
Verizon Keeps RNC Connections
NEW YORK -- The Republican National Convention (RNC) left town last week after consuming an amazing amount of fiber.
Network fiber, that is. And the good news is that much of the massive communications infrastructure put into place by Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ - message board) for the RNC will stick around for more pedestrian uses later.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 3:11 AM
Monday, September 06, 2004
Radio Network Controllers
A radio network controller (RNC) controls multiple Node Bs in a UMTS network. Its functions are similar to those of a base station controller (BSC) – so much so that the terms BSC and RNC are often used interchangeably.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 6:15 PM
An edge at the edge?
Number 2 router vendor Juniper Networks, which has not been bashful in its efforts to unseat its Number 1 competitor Cisco Systems, continued its onslaught with its recent introduction of the M7I and M10I edge routers.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 5:40 PM
Extended Ethernet lights fire in the metro
"We did a recent report in which we interviewed 27 major service providers around the world, 17 of whom are in North America," says Michael Howard, a principal analyst with Infonetics. "All but two have Ethernet services already, and the two holdouts are planning on launching services this year. And it's all happened so quickly. As recently as nine months ago there wasn't that much activity."
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 5:28 PM
No new technology can replace an old one unless it is cheaper, better or both. Ethernet fails this test versus SONET.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 4:45 PM
Getting up to 10 Gbit/s to converge Sonet and packet
Ten gigabits per second is increasingly looking like the sweet spot in future metro architectures on the access and aggregation sides, since it is where 10-Gigabit Ethernet and OC192 Sonet meet; it is also a level of the new G.709 OTN (Optical Transport Network) hierarchy.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 12:33 PM
The Next-Gen Brand
If metro network technologies were soap powders, Next-Generation Sonet would be a leading brand. But that’s part of the problem for carriers trying to figure out how next-gen Sonet fits into their metro plans – it’s just a brand, not a single technology or standard.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 12:14 PM
Next-Gen Sonet
A few years ago, it wasn't cool to say Sonet was sexy. Sonet was considered incredibly inefficient and inflexible – a stodgy, old-fashioned circuit technology that wouldn't survive in tomorrow's packet-based networks.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 12:04 PM
Why Rings?
Packet rings have generated plenty of arcane controversy concerning the best ways to handle Ethernet and other packet protocols over the ubiquitous metro fiber-ring topology. But with the new IEEE 802.17 technical standard firmly on the horizon, it’s time for vendors to prove they can make packet rings appeal to the Sonet- and TDM-dominated world of the big incumbents. In short, packet rings are about to grow up.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 12:01 PM
Resilient Packet Rings
Could Resilient Packet Ring be the Jesse Ventura of emerging metro technologies?
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 10:54 AM
Lessons From the LAN
I recently came across another article raising the question: “Will Ethernet kill Sonet?” (See Stitt: Sonet's Even More Dead .) This got me thinking about the similar battle between Token Ring and Ethernet LAN technologies in the late 1980s and 1990s, which could make for an interesting comparison.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 10:51 AM
Om Malik
TheLawyer.com reports that working on bankruptcy of the three big broadbandits - WorldCon, Global Double Crossing and Enron has proved to be a windfall for a bunch of law firms.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 10:25 AM
Britain Creates New Numbers for Internet Phone Users
LONDON (Reuters) - A new batch of phone numbers will be assigned in Britain to accommodate the emerging market for cheap phone calls over the Internet, the UK's media and telecoms regulator said on Monday.
"Broadband voice services are a new and emerging market. Our first task as regulator is to keep out of the way," said Stephen Carter, Ofcom chief executive.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 10:00 AM
Jeff Pulver
While in 2004 there are still a few companies still trying to charge what seems to be millions of dollars for software that is now, thanks to SER, available for free, the communications software space has been disrupted.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 9:42 AM
Mobile Wireless Air Interface Technologies
Some of the most common acronyms used in the discussion of wireless are those that describe the air interface method of a wireless network. The air interface technology specifies the method for transmitting information over the air between base stations and mobile units.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 12:31 AM
Personal Portals Online Announces Opening of World Headquarters and Data Center
ORLANDO, FL -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 08/24/2004 -- Personal Portals Online, Inc. (OTC: PPON), the leader in dynamic do-it-yourself Consumer Web Site and Commercial Portal development tools, today announced the opening of its new World Headquarters and Data Center at 100 West Lucerne Circle in Orlando, Florida. The new facility is strategically located atop a primary telecommunications carrier building with direct services from tenants including Level 3 Communications, Time Warner, AT&T, Sprint, BellSouth and MCI.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 12:02 AM
Sunday, September 05, 2004
Finisar Announces 120 km DWDM SFP Transceiver
SUNNYVALE, CA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 09/02/2004 -- Finisar Corporation (NASDAQ: FNSR), a technology leader in gigabit fiber optic solutions for high-speed data and telecommunication networks, today announced a new dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) small form factor pluggable (SFP) transceiver with enhanced digital diagnostics functions and low power consumption.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 10:50 PM
TriQuint to debut XFP 10-Gbit/sec transceivers at ECOC
August 31, 2004 Breinigsville, PA--TriQuint Optoelectronics, a provider of active optical component and module technology, today announced the availability of XFP MSA compliant 10-Gbit/sec transceivers for SONET/SDH 40-km (short haul) and 80-km (long haul), as well as 10 Gigabit Ethernet 40-km (extended reach) applications. These new transceivers utilize TriQuint's EML optical engines. The modules will debut at the 30th Annual European Conference & Exhibition on Optical Communication (ECOC) in Stockholm, Sweden, September 6-8.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 10:44 PM
BlackDiamond 10K
Extreme Networks' BlackDiamond 10808, the first in the family of BlackDiamond 10K switches, represents the future of core Ethernet networking. Offering the industry's leading capacities and capabilities, it is designed to ensure that Ethernet networks built today will stand the test of time.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 10:12 PM
Telecom Bides Time on XFP
In the move to XFP modules for 10-Gbit/s Ethernet, datacom vendors appear to be ahead of telecom vendors for the moment.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 9:51 PM
Blazing New Communication Trails
Long Island University serves more than 31,000 students across six metropolitan New York campuses in Brooklyn, Brookville, Southampton, Brentwood, Rockland, and Westchester, as well as a university center. Because it is geographically dispersed, with a single administrative center, inter-campus communications are essential to the smooth functioning of the university.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 7:29 PM
DC Metro Operations Technician
Candidates must possess knowledge of Central Office or Service Provider Operations including; SONET ADM Equipment Installation, AC and DC Power distribution, Fiber Optic Splicing and Cleaning, Test and Turn-Up of circuits, and Colocation Facility Services. Strong technical ability to utilize network test equipment for analysis and diagnosing network connectivity for DS-3, OC-3/192, WDM and Ethernet data/transmission services.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 7:12 PM
Verizon offers CDMA-GSM 'World Phone'
Verizon Wireless is making available what it claims is the world's first 'world phone' that can access both the carrier's CDMA network in the U.S. and Vodafone's worldwide GSM network.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 6:38 PM
Cisco sued in Wi-Fi patent clash
At issue are three Wi-LAN patents - one Canadian (2,064,975), the others registered in the US (5,282,222 and 5,555,268) - which cover the use of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), a technique incorporated into the 802.11g and 802.11a Wi-Fi standards.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 6:27 PM
Don't Go to War Over .11n
With an expected usable throughput of at least 100 Mbit/s per device, the upcoming 802.11n standard is set to storm the wireless LAN scene - and anyone who thinks different is clearly either smokin', drinkin', or snoozin'.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 6:00 PM
AT&T dials up VoIP service with cable deals
AT&T (T) is teaming with America's big cable TV operators to offer phone service over their broadband Internet lines, marking the telecom giant's first big move since it announced plans to abandon its traditional consumer long-distance business.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 5:41 PM
New York firms use VOIP to avoid convention crowds
Most VOIP service using dedicated phones means that the number assigned to a particular phone goes with it, so the receptionist for Infinity Consulting Group LLC took her VOIP phone home this week and answered calls as if she were in the office. She simply plugged her VOIP phone into a broadband connection to receive calls.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 5:32 PM
Another Level 3 reseller?
I am thinking about starting a death-watch for most of these "clones."
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 5:24 PM
Jonathan Schwartz
Sun is not a threat to GNU/linux. Innovation is not a threat to GNU/linux. dTrace is not a threat to linux. Nor is Solaris 10, nor Janus. Nor is our new comp plan.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 4:52 PM
Wireless Switchers Strike
Bill Day points out that the wireless number switching seems to be picking up steam of late. This is not good news for the phone companies, and one can expect some serious realignment of market shares by the end of the year.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 4:45 PM
SONET Wiki
SONET (standing for Synchronous Optical Networking) is a standard for communicating digital information over optical fiber. It was developed to replace the PDH system for transporting large amounts of telephone and data traffic.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 4:27 PM
Packet8 VideoPhone Review
I got a sneak peek at the Packet8 VideoPhone, which has an embeded RTOS (UNIX/OSIX compliant) and I was quite impressed! It supports CIF (352 x 288 pixels) and QCIF (176 x 144 pixels) resolutions, and it uses SIP. According to the specifications, it uses G.711, G.723.1 for the audio, although when I spoke to Packet8, they said the videophone also uses their own "flavor" of G.729a.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 4:16 PM
Wireless ahoy!
Would You Make a Cell Phone Call from a Cruise Ship?
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 3:55 PM
Vanco Lands MPLS Deal
ISLEWORTH, U.K. -- Lend Lease, a leading global real estate services business, is to install a new global MPLS based Wide Area Network (WAN) across its global operations, a move which will reduce its annual data communications spend by 25%. The network, worth 6.5 million English pounds over five years, will cover 350 locations in 27 countries across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. Vanco, the leading global Virtual Network Operator (VNO), has been contracted to design, implement and manage this new solution.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 3:41 PM
The Jeff Pulver Blog
"An online love letter from the New York Times to Skype, appearing in today's edition..."
How big a deal will Skype turn out to be? I have no idea whether the company itself, which was founded one year ago, will someday come to epitomize and dominate a particular booming business, the way Google, eBay and Amazon now do. But I feel confident that the service it provides will be attractive to most people who give it a serious look.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 2:54 PM
Saturday, September 04, 2004
Sprint Technicians Ready to Respond as Frances Moves Ashore
OVERLAND PARK, Kan., Sept. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Sprint (NYSE: FON) has additional crews and resources staged and ready to respond to any restoration issues once Hurricane Frances passes through Florida.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 9:02 PM
Lightpath Begins Multiprotocol Label Switching Deployment To Maximize Service Breadth And Quality
The overlay network marks the second phase of Lightpath"s aggressive network infrastructure upgrade, with the first phase, the conversion of Lightpath"s core optical network from SONET to dense wave division multiplexing (DWDM), completed in April 2004.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 8:42 PM
Cisco Skips Class 5
In the world of softswitches, Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO) remains conspicuously absent. But it's not clear that the company will fire up its M&A machine to mind the gap.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 8:38 PM
CWDM or DWDM in metro networks: Which platform makes economic sense?
By Michael Schneider, ECI Telecom--Today, fiber exhaust is still a common problem in many metro networks. Although, the price of fiber-optic cable continues to drop, the trenching, labor, and other installation costs remain very high. WDM technology was developed to get more capacity from the existing fiber-optic cable plant, by using channels (wavelengths) to carry multiple signals on a single fiber.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 8:27 PM
Jeff Pulver
The speaker lineup so far looks great. I'm with some very distinguished company.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 7:01 PM
What If WiMAX Is Too Hard?
While the mainstream coverage has suggested that WiMAX is a sure thing, some are finally starting to admit publicly that the WiMAX standard has its problems.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 6:55 PM
Wi-Max
WiMax has become a high-stakes Silicon Valley game.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 6:52 PM
SBC's FTTH Baby Steps
SBC is taking baby steps towards a FTTH future, in a tiny community of Pabst Farms. Pabst Farms is a 1,500-acre residential and business development, and it is SBC's first mass deployment of fiber-to-the-premise connections, according to published reports.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 6:20 PM
Thursday, September 02, 2004
OnFiber
OnFiber's mission is to add value to the metro portion of the telecommunications infrastructure.
Read here.
Picture here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 8:54 PM
Scoping out the GigE MAN vendors
If you're looking for an alternative to pricey and inflexible T-1 connections to the Internet, or if you want to build a campus or metropolitan-area network without making a capital investment, one option is a Gigabit Ethernet-based MAN vendor.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 8:20 PM
Tip of the iceberg, or slippery slope?
VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) has been around for years, but 2004 is the year that the technology is finally taking off, with a number of high profile companies rolling it to their employees, and service providers both in the US and Canada beginning to offers it as a service to consumers and businesses.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 8:13 PM
AT&T All Out for MPLS-Based IP-VPN
Underlining a "transformation" strategy it introduced earlier this year, AT&T today announced a new virtual private network offering via the carrier's Internet Protocol infrastructure.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 8:00 PM
Manual Network Configuration Impedes MPLS Network Adoption
Automating today's manual VPN management maximizes the true potential that MPLS offers enterprises, governments and service providers in consolidating Layer 2 Ethernet, Frame Relay, ATM, and traditional IP data traffic onto an MPLS core. The triple play of consolidated voice, video, and data -- combined with the cost savings that an MPLS VPN provides -- enables customers to lower their costs, increase their network optimization and accelerate their service provisioning.
Read here.
Via MPLS News.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 7:52 PM
Skype
Pretty cool. Guess you can tune into live TV and interact using Skype.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 7:31 PM
40-Gbit/Sec duobinary signal generation
September 2, 2004 Fremont, CA, and Berlin, Germany -- Avanex Corp. and SHF Communication Technologies AG today announced the joint development of a 40-Gbit/sec duobinary modulator-driver assembly, which they claim is a significant milestone toward field-applicable 40-Gbit/sec transmission.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 7:25 PM
Z-Tel: Lost in Transition
It's fair to say that the past few weeks have been a total bummer for Florida-based CLEC Z-Tel Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq: ZTEL - message board), which is trying to make the transition from leasing lines from incumbent carriers under the UNE-P model to being a facilities-based IP service provider.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 7:01 PM
Joseph Laszlo
Oh my god, Koreans can download porn and steal movies and music 20 times faster than Americans can! Something must be done!
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 6:45 PM
David Dorman
August 25th video interview with David Dorman, CEO, AT&T.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 4:53 PM
AT&T chief determined to ride VoIP wave
David Dorman, AT&T's chief executive, is determined not to let history repeat itself. Ma Bell -- under prior management in the 90s -- let the Internet revolution slip from its grasp, as companies like America Online, EarthLink and MSN grabbed the lead in providing Internet access.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 4:48 PM
Level 3 goes Lightyear's ahead on VoIP
Level 3 Communications padded its wholesale voice-over-IP customer list this week by signing a contract with Lightyear Network Solutions, LLC for Level 3 voice services it will provide to its business and residential customers.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 4:17 PM
Dana Blankenhorn
...a great Wi-Fi gold rush...
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 4:07 PM
Cisco, Microsoft offer VoIP/CRM package
Small and midsize businesses often lack the IT skills and budget to build sophisticated call center setups that link customer information stored in CRM applications with IP telephony systems. Cisco, working in partnership with Microsoft, aims to change that.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 4:01 PM
Vint Cerf
Vint Cerf, senior vice president of technology strategy for MCI, said regulators should ask what public good they serve by regulating VoIP, which should be their only goal.
"Voice is just one of a thousand things you can do with the Internet," Cerf says. "To focus on it for regulation can be confusing, if not destructive."
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 3:36 PM
Radio-Over-Fiber
The integration of wireless and optical networks is a potential solution for increasing capacity and mobility as well as decreasing costs in the access network. By using Radio-over-Fiber (RoF) or Hybrid Fibre Radio (HFR), the capacity of optical networks can be combined with the flexibility and mobility of wireless access networks. The concept Radio-over-Fiber means to transport information over optical fibre by modulating the light with the radio signal. This modulation can be done directly with the radio signal or at an intermediate frequency. This technique can be used in the backbone of a wireless access network.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 3:33 PM
Radio-Over-Fiber 3G Network Solution
ROF technology allows the baseband processing portion and the radio frequency (RF) processing antenna unit (AU) of a 3G base station to communicate over high-speed optical fibers. Before ROF, these two parts had to be physically close to maintain the fidelity of the high-speed communication data.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 3:25 PM
Verizon Introduces Fiber Optics Installation Plan for the Palisades
At last Thursday's Community Council meeting, a Verizon spokesman introduced the Fiber to the Premises (FTTP) project, an advanced fiber-optic technology that can be used instead of copper wires to connect a home or business directly to Verizon's network.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 3:18 PM
Joseph Laszlo
After a decade or more of exciting announcements from the RBOCs, that proceed to go nowhere ("Project Pronto," anyone?) we who watch the industry have grown more than a little skeptical when yet another press release rolls out on the wonders of fiber to the home/premises/curb/heck, anywhere.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 3:16 PM
UNE-P's first victim, ZTel
Supreme court decision that put the stake through the UNE-P, has all but taken toll on Z-Tel Technologies, a small CLEC based in Florida. The company announced that it is going to cut its head count by 150.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 2:55 PM
Carriers say regulation would stifle VoIP
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Regulators should take a hands-off approach to VoIP services, a panel of service providers told state telecom directors last week.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 6:34 AM
Good riddance to a bad crew
OK, I can finally say it: They're crooks. I'm talking about the guys who almost single-handedly managed to drive the telecom industry into the ground with their overweening greed and ego.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 6:27 AM
Lessons From the LAN
I recently came across another article raising the question: "Will Ethernet kill Sonet?" (See Stitt: Sonet's Even More Dead .) This got me thinking about the similar battle between Token Ring and Ethernet LAN technologies in the late 1980s and 1990s, which could make for an interesting comparison.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 5:18 AM
Mediacom Picks Sprint for VoIP
Mediacom Communications is now the third cable company to align with Sprint Corp. for voice-over-Internet protocol telephony, starting next year.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 4:18 AM
Wednesday, September 01, 2004
Death Knell for Vonage, Net2Phone, Packet8, Broadvoice, Lingo?
I was just reading this article: Net2Phone Out2Dry and it brings up some interesting points regarding the positioning of phone companies/Tier 1 carriers, cable companies, and the likes of Net2Phone, Vonage, Lingo, etc.
It discusses how Sprint picked up a cable-telephony contract from Mediacom Communications Corp. and how that could spell trouble for Net2Phone which is also trying to get a foothold in cable telephony.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 6:14 PM
US Internet Telephony Users To Reach One Million in 2004
"After many years of testing, VoIP is finally ready, and major industry players are committing to mass-market deployment of their VoIP services," The Yankee Group said in a statement. The success of Vonage, which now dominates the U.S. VoIP market, has spurred a dramatic response from major telephony players. AT&T, Verizon and Qwest have committed to local VoIP rollout strategies for 2004, the market research firm said.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 6:08 PM
Lightyear and Level 3 team up
Lightyear Network Solutions inked a deal with Level 3 Communications that allows Lightyear to begin offering business and residential VoIP service.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 5:57 PM
Lightyear Alliance
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 5:47 PM
VoIP Inc: From Tea to Telecom
What do you get when you mix a tea importer, a felon, and a hot new technology? Amazingly, a brand new public company that says it's making a run at Vonage in the consumer VOIP space.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 4:55 PM
ENUM could be the missing link to next-generation voice services. But will it be hindered by a group of telecom incumbents?
Technology defines tomorrow's telephone network. Whether it's the newest whiz-bang handsets, crackerjack protocols, or light-inspired optical gizmos, high technology will make or break the next-generation phone network. Right?
Think again. The battle for the new phone network is gearing up in the political back alleys of Washington, D.C., where incumbent providers and upstart telephony competitors are battling over the deployment of RFC 2916. This new Internet protocol, dubbed ENUM (short for Electronic Numbering), maps phone numbers to URLs, and it could give Internet telephony providers the technology to turn the Internet into a fully functional telephony network.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 5:48 AM
VoIP Moves Continue: Qwest Enters Fray
Qwest Communications International Inc. this week says it will soon launch IP telephony-based local and long-distance bundles with broadband nationwide. The notice follows a VoIP announcement by Verizon Communications Inc. earlier in the week and others by incumbents and top interexchange carriers over the last six months.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 5:33 AM
Sprint to Bring EV-DO to Most of its U.S. Markets by Next Year
Sprint today announced plans to deploy EV-DO (Evolution Data Optimized) technology - which delivers average user speeds of 300-500kbps and peak rates of up to 2.4mbps for downloads - across its PCS network.
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 5:17 AM
VoIP, Inc. Aggressive Rollout Continues
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. --(Business Wire)-- Aug. 31, 2004 -- VoIP, Inc. (OTCBB:VOII) today announced the expansion of its residential and business Voice over IP phone service, "eGlobalphone."
Read here.
posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 4:14 AM
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