Communications News articles from March 2002

Communications News archives from March 2002

A no-brainer. (Editor's Note).(Editorial)
March 1, 2002... Here's a scary thought. You arrive in your office one morning, boot your PC and retrieve your e-mail. The first message you open, however, automatically turns on your desktop videoconferencing system, subjecting you to a sales pitch by Bob at...

Legacy app moves to the Web. (Trends).
March 1, 2002... At the University of Georgia, Athens (UGA), administrators became acutely aware that the Web culture was revolutionizing not only consumer expectations but also those of higher education. In addition to restructuring core university curricula...

Events. (Trends).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... [check] The International Disaster Recovery Association (IDRA) presents a conference and trade show dedicated to telecommunications and disaster recovery on March 24-27, in West Springfield, MA, at the Best Western Sovereign Hotel & Conference...

BICSI.(Building Industry Consulting Service International)(names Al Feaster executive director)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Al Feaster has been named executive director of BICSI (www.bicsi.org),Tampa, FL, an international telecommunications association, replacing Jay Warmke. Feaster previously was with ADC Telecommunications....

American Power Conversion.(acquires product lines from Arris Corp)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... American Power Conversion (www.apcc.com), West Kingston, RI, has acquired select outside plant, networking power product lines from ARRIS Group....

Tellabs.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Tellabs (www.tellabs.com), Naperville, IL, has purchased Ocular Networks, a next-generation optical solutions provider, for $355 million in cash and options....

XO Communications.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... XO Communications (www.xo.com), Reston, VA, has rolled its InterCity Ethernet Services between all its 63 U.S. markets, delivering end-to-end Ethernet capabilities.... Optical networker

Alcatel.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Alcatel (www.alcate.com), Dallas, has been awarded a $110 million contract to provide Taiwan's Chunghwa Telecom with a nationwide SDH network. Alcatel also signed a $15 million contract with China Mobile to build an optical transmission...

Computer Sciences Corp.(wins govt contract extension)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Computer Sciences Corp. (www.csc.com) has received a $229-million, 4-1/2-year contract extension for the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Student Financial Assistance student loan data center.

NAS improves design performance. (Trends).(network attached storage)
March 1, 2002... SHORT TAKE On telecom network community: "In New York, telecommunications companies put aside their everyday marketplace rivalry and came together as one to help restore communications... (Congress) should complement these efforts by...

Control devices remotely. (ComNet 2002 winners).(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
March 1, 2002... ALL-IN-ONE REMOTE ACCESS management solution gives flexibility and capability in accessing company systems and network devices from remote locations. The Xio UAG is an in-band and out-of-band universal access gateway that provides remote access...

Access authentication. (ComNet 2002 winners).(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
March 1, 2002... SECURE AND TRACK REMOTE ACCESS activity from one location. The RAD-E Enterprise Access Server is a full-function RADIUS remote access server designed for use in enterprise network environments. The server manages user authentication, secures...

Network management. (ComNet 2002 winners).(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
March 1, 2002... MANAGE BUSINESS-CRITICAL NETWORKS efficiently. The Express Suite includes hardware and software to manage, monitor, analyze and troubleshoot enterprise networks. The hardware includes 256 MB of onboard RAM and multiple CICS/RISC processors for...

VPN security. (ComNet 2002 winners).(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
March 1, 2002... SUPPORT REMOTE SITES in distributed enterprise networks. The Virtual Private Network Service Unit-5 (VSU-5) enables enterprises and service providers to deploy VPN security to SOHOs over broadband connections, such as digital subscriber links...

Packet-shaping switch. (ComNet 2002 winners).(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
March 1, 2002... HARDWARE ROUTING, flow metering and packet shaping in a single box. The Procera MLS is a multilayer switch that allows policy-based application and bandwidth management in campus and multitenant networks, as well as LANs. Network managers can...

Closer than you think: Communications News focused its Executive Roundtable, Winter 2002, on videoconferencing and Web conferencing.
March 1, 2002... By using the technology itself to conduct this discussion, we learned from top industry executives how video and Web conferencing impact the enterprise, how they are being used, and what the future holds for the industry and its customers....

Wireless network keeps band in tune: a world-famous group now works and lives on the road comfortably. (Special focus: wireless applications).
March 1, 2002... A decade has passed since the Dave Matthews Band first entertained guests at a private rooftop party in its hometown of Charlottesville, VA. As the band's popularity grew and it began to play large audiences, the wired network it carried...

Wireless applications buyers guide. (Special focus: wireless applications).(Buyers Guide)
March 1, 2002... The first portion of this Wireless Applications Buyers Guide, the Product Guide, lists the various products in this category, and the companies that make those products. The second section, the Company Guide, provides phone and fax numbers, and...

Ethernet power injector. (Latest wireless products).(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
March 1, 2002... SAVE COSTS AND TIME setting up enterprise-level wireless networks. The new single-port ORiNOCO Active Ethernet, power injector, for smaller wireless networks, enables an access point to obtain power and its data connection over a single...

Indoor wideband antenna. (Latest wireless products).(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
March 1, 2002... PROVIDING MAXIMUM INDOOR SERVICE, while remaining physically unobtrusive, is the DB792SM5N-KU wideband antenna. The antenna--specifically designed for the 1710 MHz to 3600 MHz band--provides omnidirectional RF coverage for a range of...

Wireless print server. (Latest wireless products).(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
March 1, 2002... SHARE PRINTERS WITHOUT WIRES. The Air DP-313 wireless print server provides a solution for sharing printers over a network beyond the wired network infrastructure. The 802.11b product eliminates the need for dedicating a PC on a network as the...

802.11b adapters. (Latest wireless products).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... CONNECT A PC TO ANY NETWORK ENVIRONMENT. With 802.11b wireless adapters, users can share Internet access, printers and files at up to 11 Mbps, at distances ranging from 100' to 300' outdoors. The adapters work with any desktop or notebook...

Whiteboard conversion. (Latest wireless products).(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
March 1, 2002... TRANSFORM ANY STANDARD WHITEBOARD into a digital workplace in minutes with the FreeBeam wireless whiteboard conversion solution. The product captures and wirelessly transmits whiteboard input via infrared directly to one or more PCs in the...

Network analysis fine-tunes applications: national franchise grows global. (Testing And Diagnostics).
March 1, 2002... Mergers and divestitures had Bill Hutchinson in a bind. As manager of infrastructure services for Armstrong Holdings Inc., designer and manufacturer of floors and ceilings, and parent of Armstrong World Industries, he was faced with...

Test module. (New test solutions).(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
March 1, 2002... NEW MODULE FOR THE AX/4000 allows LAN, WAN, OC-192 PoS and BERT testing. The 10GbE UniPHY will enable network-performance analysis by performing Layer 2 and Layer 3 testing at full wire rate for high-speed routers and switches. It also provides...

Voice quality. (New test solutions).(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
March 1, 2002... TEST SET provides the analog 2-wire interface (RJ-11), along with the voice-quality measurement and analysis tools that are required to assure clear voice communications. The GL Analog Test Set (ATS) supports two analog ports with RJ-11...

Network simulation. (New test solutions).(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
March 1, 2002... ENABLE EMULATION of any installed fiber-optic network with the Network Simulation Test Box. The device supports an extensive range of applications, including system simulation, test/ quality control, calibration, field troubleshooting and...

VoIP performance. (New test solutions).(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
March 1, 2002... EMULATE A LARGE VoIP NETWORK with up to 20 media gateways and thousands of end points. The Media Gateway Control Protocol (MGCP) Functional and Performance test suite provides rigorous media gateway controller performance testing to RFC 2705...

Hand-held tester. (New test solutions).(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
March 1, 2002... ACTIVE NETWORK DIAGNOSTIC TESTER. The Pinger is targeted at the IT network-maintenance market and establishes a convenient method of PING and DHCP testing. The device incorporates four major test functions: link identification and decoding,...

Bluetooth conformance. (New test solutions).(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
March 1, 2002... MEASURE KEY BLUETOOTH RF PARAMETERS in accordance with the Bluetooth specification with the E1852B Bluetooth test set. The set has enhanced connectivity, new measurement capabilities and improved specifications. Plug-and-play drivers are...

Redundant cabling practice wins; global legal firm requires 100% uptime. (Cabling, Wiring and Enclosures).
March 1, 2002... When the international law firm Debevoise & Plimpton moved to a new high-rise building in New York City, timely and precise net work changeover was critical. The firm, which has 500 lawyers worldwide, relies on 100% uptime for its networking...

Termination blocks. (Latest cabling products).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... HIGH-DENSITY TERMINATION. Clarity Category 6 110 Block Kits are designed specifically for high-density termination of TIA-recommended four-pair horizontal cable. They will accommodate 24 cables in the 100-pair footprint and 72 cables in the...

Fiber epoxy. (Latest cabling products).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... DESIGNED FOR TERMINATING multimode and multifiber connectors, the AngstromBond AB930 is a low-stress adhesive that will not cause fiber core cracking or fiber pistoning. The two-part blue epoxy, which can also be used for single-mode and other...

Patch cable. (Latest cabling products).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... LOW-PROFILE DESIGN. Mold-Injected Category 5E 350 Mhz patch cable features high-quality, 24-AWG stranded, four-pair cable terminated with 50u RJ-45 plugs. Durable molded boots ensure the quality of the plug/cable termination and support bend...

Server rack. (Latest cabling products).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... OFFERING A COMPREHENSIVE CONCEPT for integrating network servers is the Miracel server rack. The rack system incorporates a thermal management design that draws fresh air through the front door and expels hot air outside through the perforated...

Compact console. (Latest cabling products).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... DESIGNED FOR LCD PANELS and compact room installation, the SlimLine Console is specially suited for flat-screen monitors used in network operating centers. The console depth of 18-1/2" plus workspace provides a small footprint. The consoles,...

Stop bent pins. (Latest cabling products).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... ELIMINATE BENT PINS in backplane applications with the 2mm Hard Metric vertical female connector. The product is used in place of male connectors. Press-fit contacts provide for a convenient and gas-tight connection. AVX's Varipin press-fit,...

Equipment support. (Latest cabling products).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... SUPPORT RACKMOUNT NETWORK EQUIPMENT, such as hubs, concentrators, routers and switches, with the QuadraRack 4-Post Frame. The frame's design supports more weight than many steel cabinets--2,000 lbs. to 2,200 lbs.--and can store extra-deep or...

Underfloor enclosure. (Latest cabling products).(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
March 1, 2002... DESIGNED FOR UNDERFLOOR and clean room applications, Plenum Pier supports cabling and piping in air-handling spaces--keeping services off the floor and providing support independent of raised-floor pedestals. The product consists of a block of...

Fiber adapters. (Latest cabling products).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... HOUSE A VARIETY of fiber-optic adapters in a common panel cutout with the Bezel System. Bezels provide a key front or backplane access point for fiber terminations in most data communications or telecom networks. Constructed with...

Remote access benefits Texans; electronic benefits transfer system assists 1.8 million citizens. (Network Management).
March 1, 2002... The state of Texas operates one of the nation's largest electronic benefits transfer (EBT) systems, delivering assistance through the Department of Human Services (DHS) to more than 1.8 million recipients via a magnetic stripe debit card that...

Answering IP telephony's call; VoIP solutions enhance education communications. (Telephony/CTI).
March 1, 2002... With nearly every new semester, students, faculty and staff are on the move, switching dorm rooms, classrooms, laboratories and offices. In addition, colleges and universities continually build new facilities, creating challenges for personnel...

Managed conversion.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
March 1, 2002... HIGH-DENSITY, SNMP-MANAGED MEDIA CONVERSION. The chassis-based PowerBlade system delivers modular, multi-protocol multimedia solutions to high-density media conversion in service-provider applications and enterprise LANs. Designed for NEBS...

Fiber-optic conversion.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
March 1, 2002... MEDIA CONVERTERS OFFER MORE OPTIONS for smaller applications and small offices. The PointSystem Converters allow users to convert single-mode to multimode fiber options on OC-3, Fast Ethernet, OC-12 and Gigabit Ethernet networks. The units are...

High-speed connection.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
March 1, 2002... OFFERING SCALABLE DATA RATES to 52 Mbps, the SPEEDWAVE LM50 digital microwave radio operates in frequencies from 18 GHz to 38 GHz, and includes remote network management control via SNMP software. Users can choose data rates and interface...

Copper to fiber.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... LINK LOW-COST NETWORK INTERFACE CARDS WITH COPPER PORTS to multimode or single-mode fiber-optic segments. The GFT Series of Gigabit Ethernet converters allows pre-existing CAT 5 UTP and fiber-optic segments to be interconnected while...

Wireless bridge.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
March 1, 2002... PROVIDE QUICK WIREDTO-WIRELESS bridging for Ethernet-enabled devices to any Wi-Fi certified WLAN infrastructure. The 11 Mbps Wireless LAN Workgroup Bridge, when connected to a hub, provides wireless connectivity for up to fo[Text unreadable in...

Broadband access system. (New Products).(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
March 1, 2002... CONVERGE VOICE AND DATA in the access network and deploy volume DSL services. The CN1000 broadband access system integrates POTS+DSL on every line and enables carriers to deploy mass-market DSL services from the central office, as well as...

Microwave relay. (New Products).(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
March 1, 2002... WITH COMPACT SONET RADIO, the Nlite 155 is a point-to-point digital microwave radio relay system for the 6-, 11-, 18-, 23- and 38-GHz frequency bands. Designed for OC-3 or STM-1 (155.52 Mbps), the product serves as a short-haul and...

Reflector antenna. (New Products).(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
March 1, 2002... FOR HIGH-FREQUENCY APPLICATIONS at 5.2 GHz and 5.8 GHz, the Corner Reflector Antenna offers bandwidth, gain and match over the frequency range. One model covers both lower bands (5.15 GHz to 5.35 GHz), the other the upper band (5.72 GHz to 5.83...

Carriers expand IP VPN outsourcing options: multiple offerings allow for greater customization. (Netcom Update).
March 1, 2002... Enterprises that want to outsource their IP virtual private networks (VPNs) have a growing number of options. During 2001, more carriers began offering IP VPN services, and the services were enriched with a number of new features and...

The fax of life: don't ignore this staple of communications in your cost-cutting plans and e-business strategies. (The Bottom Line).
March 1, 2002... While others focus on the future of wireless computing and Web services, I thought it might be a perfect time to cast your attention to that basic staple of business communications: fax. Fax isn't about to disappear. Many companies send and...