Telecommunications Americas articles from December 2001

Telecommunications Americas archives from December 2001

The New Generation. (Commentary).(Editorial)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 1, 2001... Has anyone else gotten sick of the term next-generation? Good, me too. We've been hearing it so often and for so long that the meaning has become more than trite. It's like the kids whining in the back seat: "Are we there yet?" No, we're...

Carriers eye new weapons for battling costs. (Global News).
December 1, 2001... CHARLOTTE, N.C.--Service providers terminating traffic from competing networks traditionally haggle over how much money they owe each other, and slower growth in the telecom business is only making the outcome of such disputes that much more...

DSL bottoms out.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 1, 2001... The slowdown in DSL growth as a result of the CLEC market collapse appears to be ending, according to new research from Cahners In-Stat, which estimates the U.S. DSL residential installed base will reach 3.6 million by the end of the year and...

Hitting paydirt.(Virtela Communications, Opthos)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2001... A few telecom players are still managing to squeeze cash out of capital markets. Virtela Communications, provider of managed VPN services, has raised $35 million in second-round funding, giving it $75 million in total financing. Opthos,...

MVNOs and 3G: Working hand in hand. (Global News).(mobile virtual network operators)
December 1, 2001... LONDON--3G license holders, desperate to cut costs, are assessing the possibility of partnering with MVNOs (mobile virtual network operators). While the strict definition of an MVNO includes only companies that have their own SIM cards, IN...

Blue-light specials.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2001... OSS and equipment vendors announced a number of acquisitions. Amdocs said it will pay $200 million for Nortel Networks' Clarify, a provider of customer relationship management software Illuminet Holdings, provider of SS7 network and database...

Ethernet lights up.(Epana Networks)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2001... Epana Networks announced the launch of Gigabit Ethernet MAN services in New York City, provided over copper lines leased from ILECs such as Verizon. Offering single-line data rates up to T3, Epana hopes to serve a total of 10 metro markets by...

Optical Ethernet: a dead ringer for SONET? (Global News).
December 1, 2001... If there's an access technology that's done nothing but grow, it's Ethernet. With ease of use, low cost and open standards, Ethernet has been so hard to beat that service providers have begun provisioning it to business customers. Ethernet...

Back-office build-up.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2001... Several OSS companies signed up new telecom customers. Linmor Technologies said Cable & Wireless will use its network performance management software in its physical network simulation lab in Reston, Va. Corvergys signed new customer care...

South American way.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 1, 2001... From advanced wireless services to IP networking, a number of South American countries are seeing strong growth in telecom development, according to new market research. Latin America now has more than 17 million CDMA subscribers, up nearly 100...

What is competitive advantage? (Current).
December 1, 2001... At Current Analysis, many briefings involve nondisclosure agreements, especially when we talk about vendors' network systems, since service providers feel "our network is our competitive advantage." That can be true when a provider is the...

Tunable lasers: Essential to the all-optical network.
December 1, 2001... All-optical networks are within reach due to breakthroughs in tunable laser technology that will have dramatic effects on network price and performance. The elimination of OEO (optical-electrical-optical) interfaces will be key. Current...

Light at the end of the tunnel. (Industry).(Statistical Data Included)
December 1, 2001... The most compelling rationale for a telecom upturn is end-user demand. Increased demand for wireline and wireless services remains unabated despite economic uncertainties and even the Sept. 11 disaster. Global wireline revenues are expected to...

A conversation with Ralph de la Vega of BellSouth. (Back Talk).(Interview)
December 1, 2001... Q: How many DSL lines do you have currently and what are the targets for future deployment? A: We had 463,000 subscribers at the end of Q3 and are on target for a total of 600,000 by the end of 2001. We're only talking about ADSL, not IDSL...

Voice over fixed wireless: a converging path; with recent decisions by major carriers, the services hinge on second-gen solutions. Can vendors deliver?
December 1, 2001... If you think fixed broadband wireless is just for data, think again: Many providers feel the opportunity to offer a bundled voice/data service over fixed wireless will allow them to differentiate from the crowd. Until now, the service has been...

Express lines to telecom service: Carriers look to portals for that elusive value-add.
December 1, 2001... The kid behind the McDonald's counter asks customers if they want to supersize their order. Grocery stores stock checkout racks with magazines, candy, razors, lip balm--whatever can squeeze those few extra dollars from patrons. Call it...

Network visions for 2002 and beyond.(Cover Story)
December 1, 2001... The Telecommunications[R] Staff The go-go capital outlays of the late '90s are a memory; the buzzwords now are a return to normalcy. Service providers haven't completely snapped their wallets shut, but the emphasis for the near-term will...

The next step for MSOs: a strong OSS platform is key for managed access implementation. (Service Provisioning).(multiple services operators)
December 1, 2001... MSOs (multiple services operators) own vast networks with huge bandwidth capacity and extensive content assets. While these networks were created to carry one-way, downstream analog video signals, MSOs have made significant investments to...

The great VPN debate rages: is virtual routing or BGP/MPLS the way to go? (Focus on VPNs Heat up).
December 1, 2001... As we approach 2002, network-Abased VPNs are becoming a technology of choice for VPN implementation. However, when implementation issues arise, two distinct camps emerge: the VR (virtual router) approach and the BGP/MPLS (Border Gateway...

It's all about the customer: Service providers with scalable service assurance systems can meet the demand for relevant, useful service guarantees. (Focus on VPNs Heat up).
December 1, 2001... Despite the controversy over the relative merits of site-to-site VPN technologies, the debate over IP VPNs misses the point. While arguments rage over whether frame relay is passe, MPLS (multiprotocol label switching) can be deployed more...

Avici's Stackable Router for smaller backbone or large POP. (Product of the month).(Product Announcement)
December 1, 2001... Perhaps it's less an admission that it overshot the mark with its flagship product than a tacit acknowledgement that a broader market for high-end routers exists. With the recently introduced SSR (stackable switch router), Avici Systems hopes...

Quintum Technologies. (Multinetwork VoIP Portal).(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
December 1, 2001... Whereas conventional call switching architectures require successive compression and decompression of voice traffic between networks, causing delay and degraded voice quality, Quintum Technologies' Tenor Call Relay VoIP portal has direct...

Schema. (UMTS Planning Tool).(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
December 1, 2001... To ease GSM operators' migration to 3G wireless while running hybrid GSM/GPRS/UMTS networks, Schema has released its UMTS OptiPlanner network planning product. The UMTS OptiPlanner has automatic RF optimization to influence system-wide...

Redback Networks. (Aggregation Router).(SmartEdge 800)(Product Announcement)
December 1, 2001... Redback's SmartEdge 800 is an aggregation router built to compete against the Juniper M20 and Cisco's 7500, 10008 and GSR 12410. It supports 48 OC-48 interfaces, which compares with 16 OC-48s supported in the Juniper M20 and 64 OC-48s in the...

Telution. (Workflow Processing).(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
December 1, 2001... Telution unveiled a new version of its COMX workflow software, COMX 3.1, for use by service providers in customer acquisition, service ordering, trouble handling and collections processing. The new software automatically does exception...

Datum. (Network Synchronization).(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
December 1, 2001... Seeking to help carriers cut their operation, administration and provisioning costs, Datum says its new SyncManager software provides users with a single source for managing synchronization of multivendor networks. Features include fault...

NetScreen. (VPN Management).(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
December 1, 2001... Netscreen Technologies says its new version of ScreenOS software will make it easier to establish VPNs, monitor NetScreen devices, and use digital certificates on them. The 3.0 release enables IPSEC NAT (network address translation) traversal,...

Astral Point. (Transport).(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
December 1, 2001... Astral Point Communications' new ON 7000 SONET transport node is intended to be "future-friendly," allowing carriers to meet demands with the single expandable equipment platform, potentially eliminating both equipment and operational costs...

Jasomi networks. (Secure SIP Peering).(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
December 1, 2001... While direct interconnection of carriers' IP networks is the most efficient way to derive revenue and reduce costs while handing off VoIP calls, carriers were required to open their networks to abuse from external network packets. Jasomi...

Off-line: Industry leaders share their opinions, philosophies of life and off-hours interests.
December 1, 2001... "Honest, open communication with employees is probably the No. 1 reason for our low turnover," declared Sean Aruda, president and CEO of Mapletree Networks, where management presents the previous quarter's progress and the company's financial...