TelecomWeb News Digest articles from March 2005

TelecomWeb News Digest archives from March 2005

10Gb/s Over Copper Startup Snags $48 Million In New Capital.(Solarflare Communications recieves more finance from Oak Investment Partners)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... Venture Capitalists have plowed another $48 million into Solarflare Communications, the California startup that is developing 10Gb/s Ethernet silicon to meet the developing 10GBASE-T technology and is in the final throes of being finalized by...

New CEO Takes Helm As Government Taps France Telecom Chief.(Didier Lombard appointed as cheif executive officer)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... France Telecom's board on Sunday night named Didier Lombard as its chairman and CEO replacing Thierry Breton, who was named France's new finance minister on Friday night. Breton has entered what's become a revolving door in the French...

Wireless Spam Soars.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... The number of spam text messages sent to mobile phones in the United States has soared to 43 per cent of all text messages, up from must 18 per cent a year ago, according to a count by wireless data specialist Wireless Services Corporation. The...

Qwest Touts $8B MCI Purchase, Despite Unrequited Love.(Qwest Communications International Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... With no word from MCI on its proposed $8 billion purchase, Qwest Communications International today once again made its case to investors that its acquisition terms should be seriously considered and that the combination of the two companies...

RF Micro Devices Gives Up On WLAN Chipsets.(wireless local area network)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... In what some see as a surprise move and others view as the best possible solution to a money-losing proposition, RF Micro Devices Inc. decided to exit the internal wireless local area network (WLAN) chipset-development marketplace. The...

NYC Readies For Increased Tower Buildouts.(New York City municipal governmen promotes affordabel braodband internet)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... New York City's municipal government is preparing to accelerate initiatives to promote more ubiquitous wireless and broadband access to the Internet in urban communities, with an emphasis on both mobile and fixed spectrum applications...

Without Security, U.S. Telco TV Won't Be Easy.(telecommunication forecast)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... NDS CFO Alexander Gersh, who boasts a telecom background that stems back to a stint as CFO of Flag Telecom, believes telcos could find it hard to be successful in the TV business, particularly in markets where there is strong cable and...

TIA Offers $365B Estimate On 2005 Transport Revenue.(Telecommunications Industry Association)
March 3, 2005... Total spending on all transport services (landline local exchange and long distance as well as wireless) is expected to grow 3.6 percent to reach $309.6 billion in 2005 and continue to increase to reach $365.4 billion by 2008, according to...

Tardy MCI Finally Breaks Bread with Qwest.(Qwest Communications International Inc. acquires MCI Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... In what might be regarded as small victory, MCI finally responded to an $8 billion rebound purchase bid from Qwest Communications International, saying MCI staff yesterday had met with Qwest counterparts in "good faith" and with the consent of...

Mexico's Slim Wants Fatter MCI Value.(largest shareholder of MCI Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... Mexican mega-mogul Carlos Slim Helu, whose family is among the largest shareholders of MCI, has essentially suggested the U.S. interexchange carrier (IXC) could be worth more than the $6.7 billion accepted offer and $8 billion rebound offer...

Mobile WiFi VoIP Hits New York; Free Hot Spot VoIP Hits UK.(internet telephony contract)
March 7, 2005... Free P2P-based VoIP provider Skype has signed a pact with the United Kingdom's Broadreach Networks under which Skype users will be able to connect via Broadreach's network of hotspots without having to pay for hotspot use. The deal is the first...

Worldwide IP PBX Market Catches Fire.(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... IP PBXs are hot, with the worldwide PBX/KTS (key telephone system) market growing 8 percent to $1.7 billion between 3Q04 and 4Q04. Year- over-year, such sales jumped 16 percent between 4Q03 and 4Q04, according to a quarterly marketshare and...

Ultra-Wideband Trade Groups Merge.(Multiband OFDM Alliance Special Interest Group, WiMedia Alliance)
March 7, 2005... The Multiband OFDM Alliance (MBOA) Special Interest Group and the WiMedia Alliance have merged, creating a more unified front in the development of ultrawideband technology and adding additional muscle to the battle to get MB-OFDM accepted as a...

Former Cisco Number Two Tapped As New Nortel Prez.
March 7, 2005... Nortel was successful in luring Cisco's former second in command back into a day-to-day operating role in the telecom industry, naming Gary Daichendt as its new president and COO in a shakeup of top executive roles. Daichendt had been Cisco's...

FCC Unblocks Rural Telco VoIP Blocking.(Madison River Communications)(Federal Communications Commission)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... Although technically not characterized as a fine, the Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau forced a $15,000 "payment" from rural North Carolina local exchange carrier (LEC) Madison River Communications for allegedly blocking...

HNS To Feds: More Satellite Broadband Usage, Please.(Hughes Network Systems's Michael Cook puts testimony before House Committee on Government Reform)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... In testimony before the House Committee on Government Reform, Michael Cook, senior vice president of Hughes Network Systems, told committee members that the government should include satellite technologies in its "Networx" procurement vehicle....

Motorola Ups Investment In 3D Facial-Recognition Arena.
March 10, 2005... Motorola's venture-capital division Motorola Ventures is investing in California-based A4Vision Inc., a developer and marketer of identification software and 3D facial-imaging products and technology. No dollar amount was released. As part of...

New VoIP Directory Lists 1,650 Companies And Counting.(VoIPAction lists companies coming under voice over internet protocol markets)(Brief Article)
March 10, 2005... There are now more than 1,650 companies trying to cash in on the VoIP industry, according to a directory published by web site VoIPAction - which we guess is itself counted as one of those 1,650 companies. Come to think of it we at TelecomWeb...

SAVVIS Unit Unveils Automated Content Portal.(Savvis Communications Corp.)(Brief Article)
March 10, 2005... Telecom service provider SAVVIS Communications said its WAM!NET division has introduced a service allowing clients to use a single, customer-branded, web-based submission portal for reception of large volumes of digital content. SAVVIS, which...

Qwest Snags Colorado State $3.5M Voice Contract.(Qwest Communications International Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 10, 2005... Qwest Communications International signed a two-year contract initially valued at more than $3.5 million with its home state of Colorado to provide voice services to state agencies. Denver-based Qwest said the contract allows for three,...

Vonage Tops 500,000 Subscribers.(Brief Article)
March 10, 2005... Vonage said that it has now topped 500,000 subscribers, with new subscribers signing up at a record pace. The VoIP provider said that new users are flocking in at a current rate of 15,000 per week, up 50 percent from the pace in the fourth...

The Wireless Broadbanding Of Chicagoland.(city and state fights to manage the wireless broadband internet access)(Brief Article)
March 10, 2005... The race is on between Chicago and the Illinois General Assembly to see which one will control unwired broadband access for paying subscribers: the city or the state. At its City Council meeting today, a vote will be taken regarding the...

Mail Call: N.C. Delegation Backs Martin For FCC Chair.(Federal Communications Commission)(Brief Article)
March 10, 2005... It doesn't hurt to be a hometown boy with connections on the Hill. FCC Commissioner Kevin Martin, whose name tops the list of likely candidates to move into the chairman's office once Michael Powell leaves the building, has garnered some...

CompTIA Recruits Help In Creating A RFID Certification Program.(Computing Technology Industry Association launches RFID certification program)
March 10, 2005... The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) has signed up six organizations in the radio frequency identification (RFID) market - ranging from manufacturers and distributors to an industry trade group - to help it develop a...

Canadian Gov't Funds WiMax House.(Brief Article)
March 14, 2005... Canada's National Research Council's Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP) is putting $990,000 into Montreal-based Wavesat to help the company develop a mobile WiMax chip. The funding further beefs up a war chest of $10.5...

Premium Content: Wireless Subs Ready, Willing, Able To Pay.(subscribers)(Brief Article)
March 14, 2005... Growth in mobile content revenues seems almost unstoppable for the foreseeable future, with only a fraction of users currently buying premium content and loads of room for deeper penetration. "We have seen, on average, no less than...

China's ZTE On A Roll: Wins ADSL Deal At France Telecom.(Brief Article)
March 14, 2005... Chinese telecom hardware maker ZTE snagged a global ADSL supply deal from France Telecom, the latest in a string of victories outside of China for the fast-growing company. The France Telecom deal, whose estimated value was not disclosed, most...

Powell Chairs His Last FCC Meeting.(Federal Communications Commission)
March 14, 2005... It was kudos all around as outgoing FCC Chairman Michael Powell gaveled in what he called his "90th meeting and last as chairman" earlier today. Commissioner Kevin J. Martin, one of the reported top contenders to take Powell's center seat on...

Skype Launches Inbound Beta; Outbound Subs Top A Million.(subscribers)
March 14, 2005... Skype has gone into beta with an inbound calling plan called "SkypeIn" that lets callers from the public switched telephone network (PSTN) reach users of the free PC-to-PC VoIP technology - and it's priced the inbound calls at a rate that...

TIA Sees Enterprise Support Spending Up 15.2 Percent In '05.(Telecommunications Industry Association)(Brief Article)
March 14, 2005... Revenue from support services for enterprise customer premises equipment (CPE) and network systems equipment totaled $246.5 billion in 2004 and it is expected to increase 15.2 percent to $284 billion in 2005, according to the Telecommunications...

$7.2B.(revenues from internet protocol television expected to increase)(Brief Article)
March 14, 2005... The worldwide IP TV business revenues could grow from $635 million in 2004 to $7.2 billion in 2008, while subscriber levels could grow from about1.9 million in 2004 to about 25.3 million in 2008, according to a semi-annual forecast released...

FCC Wireless Chief Quits.(Federal Communications Commission)(Brief Article)
March 14, 2005... FCC Wireless Telecommunications Bureau Chief John Muleta has handed in his resignation, effective the end of this month. No reason was given, which is hardly unusual in official Washington. Muleta, who took over the post in February 2003,...

Rumor No More: Martin Wins FCC Chairman Post.(Federal Communications Commission)(Kevin Martin)
March 17, 2005... Well, it's all over but the shoutin'. President Bush officially named Kevin Martin, a sitting FCC commissioner, to the top spot, replacing the departing Michael Powell. The rumor mill started this morning, with the usual leaky Washington,...

Ebbers Found Guilty, Sentencing in June.(Bernard Ebbers )
March 17, 2005... Former WorldCom CEO Bernard Ebbers was found guilty of fraud, conspiracy and false regulatory filings after a six-week federal trial in New York as a result of the $11 billion accounting scandal that rocked the company into Chapter 11...

RIM To Pay $450M Blackberry Patent Settlement.(Research in Motion Ltd.)(Brief Article)
March 17, 2005... Research In Motion (RIM) has finally bitten the bullet and agreed to pay NTP $450 million to settle a patent infringement suit that's been brewing since 2001. NTP accused RIM of 16 counts of violating its patents involving the wireless...

Outgoing FCC Chairman To Join Aspen Institute.(Federal Communications Commission)(Michael Powell )(Brief Article)
March 17, 2005... The Aspen Institute said outgoing Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell will become a senior fellow at its Communications and Society Program for a three-month period effective upon his departure from the commission. The...

Verizon Wireless Seeks Leap Spectrum And Assets.(Verizon Wireless Inc.)(Leap Wireless International Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 17, 2005... Verizon Wireless and Leap Wireless International signed a definitive agreement for Verizon Wireless to purchase select Leap spectrum licenses and network and operating assets for $102.5 million; the companies said the purchase transaction is...

Clock Ticking On FCC's SBC-AT&T Review.(Federal Communications Commission)(SBC Communications Inc.)(AT&T Corp.)(Brief Article)
March 17, 2005... The Federal Communications Commission formally started the clock on its review process for approving SBC Communications' proposed $16 billion acquisition of AT&T. The move, which started on Friday March 11, essentially sets up a timeline for...

VoIP's Next Step: Hearings On The Hill.(Voice-over-Internet Protocol)
March 17, 2005... Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology and carriage is starting to get additional attention in light of potential rewrites of the 1996 Telecom Act during the 109th session of Congress, with the House Rural Caucus Telecommunications...

Qwest, Verizon Ready To Raise Bids For MCI?(Qwest Communications International Inc.)(Verizon Communications Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 17, 2005... Rumors are circulating that both Verizon Communications and Qwest Communications International may be preparing to raise their respective $8 billion and $6.7 billion bids to acquire interexchange carrier MCI this week. Deutsche Bank...

No Successor Found Yet As CompTel/Alts CEO Leaves.(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... Long time CompTel/Alts CEO H. Russell Frisby will leave the post tomorrow, Friday March 18, even though the association still hasn't found a successor. Frisby, who announced his plan to leave back in November (TelecomWeb, Nov 29, 2004) after...

UNE Challenges Over...Or Are They?(Unbundled Network Elements)(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued an order dismissing requests for yet another remand of the Federal Communications Commission's already-reduced Unbundled Network Elements (UNE) rules under its Triennial Review Order...

MCI To Review Revised Qwest $8.4B Proposal.(Qwest Communications International Inc. puts merger proposal)(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... Interexchange carrier MCI today said it has received and will review a revised Qwest Communications merger offer of $10.50 in cash and 3.735 Qwest shares per MCI share, which represents a bid increase of approximately 5.7 percent to a total...

New Skies Secures Key LatAm Broadband Contract.(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... New Skies Satellites reached a long-term agreement with Latin American broadband service provider Impsat in Argentina to support a new two-way broadband Internet network using the NSS-7 satellite. No financial details were disclosed. ...

Pressure Builds Over FCC's Level 3 VoIP Issue.(Federal Communications Commission's tax exemption to Level 3 Communications Inc. gets disapproval from trade associations)
March 21, 2005... The House Rural Caucus and several trade organizations are making a last ditch effort to get the Federal Communications Commission to deny a Level 3 Communications request to exempt certain VoIP calls from access charges. Under commission...

Wi-Fi Gets A Ticket To Ride The Bus.(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... The city of Cerritos, California is about to get the first known deployment of wireless broadband on a municipal bus system. Over the past year TelecomWeb and its sister publications have reported on broadband access via Wi- Fi on planes,...

FTTP User's Group Gains Momentum.(the fiber to the premises)
March 21, 2005... Fiber Optic Communities of the United States (FOCUS), the fiber to the premises (FTTP) users' group which was born in October, has increased its membership by a baker's dozen - representing a 50 percent increase in membership in the nascent...

CSI Wireless: Quite A Financial Turnaround, Eh?(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... Imagine reporting year-end financials that showed your company made the trip from a $500,000 loss in 2003 to net profits of $4.3 million on $82 million in revenues in 2004. That's exactly what Calgary-based CSI Wireless, which makes wireless...

Providers Again Warned Against 'One Size Fits All' Offerings.(capital spending on fixed telecom services increased)(Brief Article)
March 24, 2005... According to new research from the U.K.-based Businessinfo.ws, by the close of 2004, U.S. businesses spending on fixed telecom services topped $132 billion, and that dollar amount is expected to surpass $144 billion by 2008. The report,...

BlackBerry Goes To The Caribbean.(Cable and Wireless PLC agreement)(Brief Article)
March 24, 2005... Global carrier Cable & Wireless said it is now supporting BlackBerry 7280 wireless handheld devices from Research In Motion (RIM) for users in the eastern Caribbean island nations of Antigua & Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts & Nevis,...

Siemens & Huawei Launch 3G Venture In China.(Huawei Technologies Company Ltd. forms joint venture with Siemens AG)(third generation)
March 24, 2005... Siemens and Huawei launched a joint venture company to build products based on Time Division - Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access (TD-SCDMA) technology, the Chinese-born 3G technology that promises to deliver 2 Mb/s wireless data and...

Level 3 Withdraws Controversial FCC VoIP Petition.(Level 3 Communications Inc.; Federal Communications Commission, voice over internet protocol)(Brief Article)
March 24, 2005... In a surprise move, Level 3 Communications backed off on its request submitted to the FCC back in December 2003 to exempt certain voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) calls from access charges. Under FCC rules, Level 3's forbearance petition...

EarthLink Unveils VPN for Remote Workers.(virtual private networks)(Brief Article)
March 24, 2005... Internet service provider EarthLink is introducing a software-intensive virtual private network (VPN) service for its high-speed business customers aimed at secure connectivity for traveling workforces, teleworkers and remote offices. The...

MCI Expands Worldwide Wi-Fi Coverage.(Brief Article)
March 24, 2005... MCI disclosed a 77-percent increase in its wireless Internet access footprint resulting from its recently enhanced coverage agreement with Boingo Wireless. The deal expands Wi-Fi hotspot coverage in MCI's three major geographic global carrier...

Global Exits Small Business Market.(Global Crossing Ltd. sells its small business group to Matrix Telecommunications Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 24, 2005... Global Crossing is selling off its small business group (SBG) as part of its plan, announced in October 2004, to concentrate on global enterprise offerings, new carrier data offerings and new channels for it IP offerings. The unit is going...

Cisco/Yankee Study Issues Triple-Play Warning.(Cisco Systems Inc.)(Yankee Group Research Inc.)
March 24, 2005... Cisco Systems and consultant Yankee Group released key findings of a commissioned study on the European cable television industry with a warning that cable operators must face the challenge and innovation of converging voice, data and video...

Manhattan Goes Wireless VoIP...But Who Will Use It?(Brief Article)
March 28, 2005... Carrie Bradshaw and her troupe of sex-driven gal pals may have a new piece of bling to whip out of their D&G bags this summer - a Wi-Fi phone. Wireless broadband provider TowerStream is moving wireless VoIP equipment down from Rhode Island...

MCI Will Continue Contact With Qwest.(Qwest Communications International Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 28, 2005... Interexchange carrier MCI said it board has decided to continue discussions with Qwest Communications on the upwardly revised offer to purchase the IXC, suggesting contacts between the companies could continue beyond MCI's self-imposed March...

New England CLECs To Merge.(Competitive Local Exchange Carrier)(CTC Communications Corp.)(Lightship Telecom)(Brief Article)
March 28, 2005... CTC Communications and Lightship Telecom have agreed to merge, creating one of the largest CLECs in New England serving the business market. The surviving name will be CTC Communications and corporate operations will be run out of CTC's...

TSA Spends More On FL Port-Security Program.(Transportation Security Administration)(Florida)(Brief Article)
March 28, 2005... Hackensack, N.J.-based I.D. Systems Inc. says the Transportation Security Administration will fund a Phase II expansion of the company's wireless vehicle security program at JAXPORT, the Jacksonville, Fla.-based, seaport. The new deal, which...

More MA Venues Get Verizon FTTP.(fiber-to-the-premises)(Massachusetts )(Verizon Communications Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 28, 2005... Verizon Communications says it is rolling out fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) local loop projects in the Massachusetts towns of Lynn, Nahant and Swampscott, with the lightwave capabilities aimed primarily at residential and small-business users....

Making Carrier-Switching Cheaper.(Brief Article)
March 28, 2005... It looks like one Michigan wireless-retail chain is channeling another nationwide video-rental outfit by deciding to eliminate activation fees as one way to bring in new customers in an already crowded sales arena. Wireless subscribers...

New Survey Highlights Enterprises IM Threats.(instant messaging)
March 28, 2005... Security software developer SurfControl plc said a recent survey-based study it conducted showed that while many U.S. enterprises have embraced formal policies for managing Internet and e-mail use in the workplace, nearly half of them have...

Ericsson, Sendo Duke It Out.(Sendo Holdings PLC)(Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson)(patent infringement case)(Brief Article)
March 28, 2005... Swedish mobile-phone maker Ericsson is suing U.K. mobile-phone company Sendo, alleging it infringed Ericsson patents in GSM and GPRS technologies in several countries. Meanwhile, tit for tat, Sendo has filed documents with the European...

Verizon Prevails For MCI; Will Qwest Go Quietly?(Verizon Communications Inc.)(Qwest Communications International Inc.)
March 31, 2005... Despite Qwest's last-minute extension of its offer deadline and grumblings from shareholders regarding an alleged low-ball figure, MCI's board of directors has decided to stick with its plan to accept Verizon's kicked-up-a- notch $7.6 billion...

FCC: States Can't Require Naked DSL.(Federal Communications Commission)(digital subscriber line)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2005... Based on a BellSouth Telecommunications request for declaratory ruling, the FCC ruled state regulators can't require incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) to provide digital subscriber line (DSL) loop facilities to voice subscribers of...

FTTx Deployments Ring The Pacific.(Izumo Cable Vision)
March 31, 2005... The first "single fiber" triple-play FTTx network in Japan has gone live -- a deployment in Taki-Cho, Shimane prefecture, built using hardware from Wave7. Meanwhile, on the other side of the Pacific, Wave7 competitor World Wide Packets has...

Telstra Privatization Advisors Get Green Light.(Caliburn Partnership)(UBS AG)
March 31, 2005... The Australian government chose investment bank UBS and merger advisory firm Caliburn Partnership to evaluate the sale of the government's remaining 51.8-percent stake in Telstra, Australia's national phone carrier. The sale is expected to...

Canada To Get Ka Satellite Broadband.(Barrett Xplore)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2005... Canadian wireless service provider Barrett Xplore signed a multi-year distribution deal with Telesat that names Xplore as a national service provider for Ka-band broadband delivered via Telesat's Anik F2 satellite. The satellite is the same...

UNH Stages Unique Corporate Triple-Play Test.(University of New Hampshire )
March 31, 2005... The University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory (UNH-IOL) has completed a week-long multi-vendor test of triple-play broadband as it would actually be deployed in a large corporate LAN serving several offices on a distributed...

Good News For IT Contractors: More Work Coming.(Brief Article)
March 31, 2005... According to new research from INPUT, state and local IT spending is expected to grow from approximately $48 billion in FY05 to $70 billion in FY10. The group's annual State & Local IT Market Forecast, which hit the street today, also says...

French TD-CDMA Wireless Broadband Trials Begin.(Time Division - Code Division Multiple Access )(Brief Article)
March 31, 2005... France Telecom's Orange wireless subsidiary, using equipment from IPWireless, launched the first French tests of TD-CDMA (UMTS-TDD) wireless broadband. The test, in Lille, France, brings to about 20 the number of TD-CDMA trials and...