Telecommunications Americas articles from March 2003

Telecommunications Americas archives from March 2003

The ultimate bundle. (Commentary).(Column)
March 1, 2003... Having my hands full trying to keep up with products and technologies for the network infrastructure, I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I rarely take advantage of deals that might benefit me. So I was pleased when I got a call offering me...

A new and improved Global Crossing? (For Starters).
March 1, 2003... Global Grossing, which has been operating under court protection for slightly over a year, is expected to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy any day now, or at least no later than by the end of April. As of late February, the carrier was at...

ZTE tops high-tech poll. (For Starters).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... In a ranking of China's top 100-high-tech companies conducted by Stockstar Shanghai -- a financial and stock website -- telecom vendor ZTE claimed the No. 1 position. The survey is based on four indices used by the U.S.-based Business Weekly...

Rural telecom deployment gains financial support. (For Starters).
March 1, 2003... Although rural telecom carriers may not be household names and they're nowhere to be found in the big cities, their customers' demand for services is just as relevant. Rural IOCs want to offer the same services as their big-city counterparts,...

Coming soon: MPLS Forum chief gives a peek at what's ahead.(Interview)
March 1, 2003... Andrew Malis, chief technologist of Vivace Networks, recently became president and chairman of the MPLS Forum. Malis previously was vice chairman of the forum and also chaired its technical committee. Senior Technology Editor Sam Masud recently...

The name game. (For Starters).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... SBC Park? With the San Antonio-based RBOC moving all of its subsidiaries to a national brand last December, many Californians wondered if their beloved 3-year-old Pac Bell Park would undergo a name change as well. But because the San Francisco...

Mix and match. (Viewpoint).(Column)
March 1, 2003... Much about high-speed wireless is still up in the air While operators continue to look at 3G, other technologies allowing high-speed mobile and portable access are gaining ground. Operators and vendors are rethinking their business models...

The new heavyweights.(telecommunications equipment industry)
March 1, 2003... When Juniper released the T640 last April, it was the vendor's first step into the terabit router space. In response, Avici was quick to note that its TSR was still the only scalable, carrier-class terabit router actually deployed in networks....

What's the rush? Operators cautiously navigate choppy 3G waters.
March 1, 2003... In a perfect world, navigating a path to a full-blown 3G wireless network would be as simple as paddling hard in one direction. But with a lack of customer demand for services and constrained capex, wireless carriers for the most part seem to...

The long road ahead: to pave the way for 3G, mobile operators in Europe will first have to make GPRS attractive. (Proceed with Caution).
March 1, 2003... Where's 3G in Europe? Given that WCDMA (wideband CDMA) is a totally different ballgame than TDM-based GSM and that going from a circuit-switched to a packet-switched network is like making the jump from checkers to chess, you may think the...

SIP goes mobile: when IP goes wireless, SIP will be at its heart. (Spotlight: Wireless World).(Session Initiation Protocol)
March 1, 2003... Two of the fastest-growing areas of development in the telecom industry in recent years have been mobile telephony and IP-based communications. It's no coincidence, therefore, that these two areas are converging and at the center of this move...

Safe and sound: a VPN-like approach may be the best bet for securing Wi-Fi. (Spotlight Wireless World).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... In the current economic environment of restricted IT spending--in the words of some networking industry pundits, the nuclear winter--there is a pronounced hot spot. Known by the more marketing-friendly term Wi-Fi, wireless LAN (WLAN) offers...

Telco TV: the new math; all the pieces finally add up for telephony providers to deliver video services. (Broadband Access).
March 1, 2003... This is the year your phone company could become your cable company, too. And this time it's for real. OK, so we've heard these promises before. Fiber to every home, and the amazing services it would bring. You might remember overwhelming...

Waves or dark fiber? It's important to assess the total cost of service deployment in the metro. (Optical Networking).
March 1, 2003... In the access portion of the network, it's infeasible for all but the carriers with high bandwidth requirements to build new infrastructures. However, in the metro core, where carrier hotels, data centers and COs are linked via fiber networks,...

Calix's C7: a higher-grade BLC. (2000 Product of the Month).
March 1, 2003... www.calix.com Here's the challenge: How do you get services, whether voice, data or video, from a service provider's POP to the residential or business customer? While not an impossible task, it would nonetheless require multiple network...

Ethernet over copper. (New Products).(Telco Systems EdgeLink )(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Telco Systems www.telco.com While Ethernet over copper is not by any means a new phenomenon in the LAN, it continues to gain momentum in the carrier network as a high-speed alternative access service where fiber may not be...

SIP gateway. (New Products).(Cirpack G16S SIP )(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Cirpack www.cirpack.com Building on the momentum it has gained with its Class 5 softswitch product line, France-based Cirpack has released its G16S SIP gateway for operators deploying voice services over IP local loops or carriers...

VoiceXML media server. (New Products).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Convedia www.convedia. com Convedia is taking its IP media server line (CMS-1000 and CMS-6000) to new heights with the addition of native VoiceXML 2.0 support. As a language to create voice-user interfaces, VoiceXML supports touchtone...

WCDMA scanning receiver. (New Products).(Wideband Code Division Multiple Access)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... DTI www.DynamicTelecommunications.com Although a WCDMA-based 3G network may still be a few years away, Dynamic Telecommunications is readying itself for this opportunity with the introduction of its dual-band WCDMA scanning receiver....

Wireless backhaul. (Product Spot).(Aperto Networks PacketWave 1000 wireless bridge)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Aperto Networks www.apertonetworks.com Backhauling wireless network traffic via T1 or fiber is great if you can get it, and if you can it's typically an expensive and time-consuming proposition. Aperto Networks argues it can solve the...

VoIP Analyzer. (New Products).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Empirix www.empirix.com Empirix is speeding up VoIP protocol analysis with its Hammer Call Analyzer, a VoIP application-aware analysis tool that can take actions based on the values of protocol fields to recognize individual call...

Mini-DSLAM. (Product Spot).(Net to Net Technologies miniDSLAM SMD2000-24 Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Net to Net Technologies www.nettonet.com While other DSLAMs require IMA (Inverse Multiplexing over ATM) technology, Net to Net Technologies' 24-port SHDSL miniDSLAM SMD2000-24 enables service providers to utilize up to four copper...

Correction.(Brief Article)(Correction Notice)
March 1, 2003... The Web Site address for Ixia was incorrectly listed in the January issue of Telecommunications [TM] magazine. The correct Web site is www.ixiacom.com.

Off-line.(SNET remains the same under SBC Communications management)
March 1, 2003... Although SNET has kept its old name, the venerable Connecticut-based telco has since 1998 officially been part; of the much larger SBC Communications, based far away in Texas. Has life at SNET changed much since the acquisition? Not really,...

Ethernet casts its spell.(Brief Article)
March 15, 2003... Has Ethernet used up all of its magic tricks in the LAN? Most definitely not, as service providers of all sizes are rolling that Ethernet services left and right to appease a customer base looking for abundant, cheaper MAN/WAN bandwidth. No...

Ethernet: the dominator. (Industry Forum).
March 15, 2003... In 1990, some analysts said Ethernet didn't have a chance in LANs; Token Ring was coming and would dominate. Then ATM was coming and would dominate. Ethernet, despite naysayers, prevailed in the LAN as the cheaper and easier technology. As...

Getting protective. (Industry Forum).
March 15, 2003... One of the key determining factors to realize increased market traction for MEN (metro Ethernet networks) is the industry's ability to deliver solutions that support SONET/SDH-like protection. For all of Ethernet's benefits in metro...

Ethernet magic; Ethernet's cost savings are touted, but here's the trick: understanding and sorting through all the options.
March 15, 2003... If the warm and fuzzy label can be put to any network technology, then surely Ethernet is a leading candidate. At home in the LAN, Ethernet is now being talked up by equipment vendors as a one-size-fits-all technology for service providers that...

How to generate new profits with Ethernet-over-SONET. (Advertisement).(Advertisement)
March 15, 2003... Service providers that have invested billions into building extensive, robust and reliable SONET networks need not let them go to waste in today's rapidly changing market for new services. This paper will explain how service providers can use...

Getting to the point: point-to-point solutions that support both copper and fiber access on a common platform are making their mark. (Ethernet Magic).
March 15, 2003... An ongoing debate about the last-mile access infrastructure centers on the right solution for carriers to deliver lucrative Ethernet business services--one that maximizes long-term revenue while minimizing customer acquisition and support...

Flexing its muscles: Ethernet provides advanced flexibility and granularity, allowing for better security, network control and operational simplicity. (Ethernet Magic).
March 15, 2003... Everywhere you turn the same word seems to be popping up: Ethernet. It has become the new telecom darling. Ethernet is a familiar, comfortable solution for most customers because they have used it, know the basic options, and can relate to the...

Building blocks: sound architecture is key in extending Ethernet access in today's network. (Ethernet Magic).
March 15, 2003... Metro Ethernet networks have been in the headlines a lot lately. As various organizations forge ahead on standards, a handful of service providers like AT&T, SBC and BellSouth have begun rolling out Gigabit Ethernet offerings. Ethernet access...

Capitalizing on copper: local loop Ethernet opens new revenue opportunities for service providers. (Ethernet Magic).
March 15, 2003... A shortage of fiber in the metro network need not slam the door on Ethernet networking. New technology approaches can aggregate bandwidth from the existing copper infrastructure and provide the foundation for profitable Ethernet services to...

The driving force: MPLS is behind carrier adoption of optical Ethernet. (Ethernet Magic).
March 15, 2003... Until recently, efforts to develop Ethernet technology has fallen short of meeting stringent carrier requirements for deployment in the MAN, and the absence of several key ingredients has prevented it from becoming a viable SONET/SDH...

Offline.
March 15, 2003... Diminished investment in telecom these days might suggest there's less industry innovation. Not true, says Masergy Communications' principal scientist Rick Wilder. After all of the research and development of the past decade, companies are...