News
16/12/2008
Packet Optical Shines Bright Amidst Network Equipment Gloom
On 3 and 5 December, Infonetics published its latest market reports on Packet-Optical Transport, WDM, SDH/SONET, and service provider switches and IP core and edge routers. Acr…
Fibre Still Coming Home: Global FTTx Subscribers Grow 23%
On 1 December, IDATE announced its FTTH market analysis to June 2008, recording a 23% growth in the number of FTTx subscribers worldwide between December 2007 and June 2008. …
Photonic Firewall Aims to Clear Internet Security Bottlenecks
ICT Results reported on 29 October on progress in the EU-funded WISDOM (Wirespeed Security Domains using Optical Monitoring) project that has been running since 2006. <…
15/12/2008
Mobile broadband to rock the Middle East
The explosive growth that mobile broadband services are enjoying in the west looks set to be replicated in the Middle East and Gulf, with representatives of local carriers express…
09/12/2008
3 promises 21Mbps mobile broadband in Nordics
Nordic operator 3 Scandinavia is to beef up its HSPA network up to 21Mbps on the downlink. On Monday, the operator, which runs 3G networks in Sweden and Denmark, said…
26/11/2008
Telstra gains advantage with fibre proposal
Australian incumbent Telstra and its biggest rival Optus lodged bids on Wednesday for the rollout of a nationwide fibre network designed to bring broadband connectivity to at leas…
19/11/2008
Carphone considers splitting up
UK-based retail outfit Carphone Warehouse is considering demerging its distribution and telecoms businesses, to better develop the individual units. As the company an…
18/11/2008
Carrier Ethernet: not just another empty buzzword - Ovum comment from CEW-APAC
First of all, my congratulations to IIR for executing impressively its first APAC Carrier Ethernet congress. Nearly three hundred attendees, a rough 50-50 split of carrier-vendors in…
Telekom Austria jumps on femto bandwagon
The mobile division of Austrian carrier Telecom Austria said Friday it has started the first femtocell pilot in Central Europe. Mobilkom has rolled out the technology…
03/11/2008
Vodafone takes brand into Russia, CIS
Russia's leading mobile operator, Mobile TeleSystems (MTS), has partnered with Vodafone, the world's largest operator in terms of revenues, to bring the Big V's brand to Russia, U…
31/10/2008
Missed CEWC this year - need a reminder?
Download a detailed analysis of the CEWC content put together by Read More
Ethernet interoperability progressing apace
Ethernet services and transport solutions are growing in importance as service providers and their customers find sweet spots for their application. The Carrier Ethernet industr…
MEF announce Carrier Ethernet Phase 3
At CEWC in Berlin, Nan Chen announced the next phase in the MEF's work - Carrier Ethernet Phase 3 - the globalisation of Ethernet services. View a short intervie…
MPLS attacks the access domain
As operators look for end-to-end packet solutions, it's MPLS that will lead the charge - according to Kireeti Kompella, Juniper Fellow, Juniper Networks.
Routers outstrip switches, but overall growth positive for both markets
While the Ethernet switch-router marketplace is set to grow at over 20%, it is router vendors who are likely to see the most activity -
Ethernet technology war - truce announced?
Mark Lum hails maturity of Carrier Ethernet and a new focus on end users -ENNI critical for success. Read More
France Telecom posts reassuring figures
French carrier France Telecom reassured investors on Thursday with financial results that bode well for the European telecoms sector, according to analysts. The Frenc…
28/10/2008
PCCW wins Oman fixed line licence
A consortium including Hong Kong operator PCCW and a local investor has won a fixed line licence for Oman, the country's communications regulator said over the weekend. …
CenturyTel snaps up Embarq
US operator CenturyTel said Monday that it is to acquire ex-Sprint fixed line operation, Embarq, for around $5bn in stock. Upon closing of the transaction, which refl…
CDMA players bet on LTE, WiMAX
An unusual announcement came through from the CDMA Development Group (CDG) Tuesday morning, claiming that CDMA operators will be among the first to roll out LTE and Mobile WiMAX.<…
21/10/2008
France Telecom expands into Uganda
French carrier France Telecom has expanded its African footprint under a deal with Ugandan new entrant Hits Telecom. Under the agreement signed at the weekend, France…
15/10/2008
Carphone Warehouse outlines expansion plan
UK-based mobile phone retailer the Carphone Warehouse gave more details on its expansion into the consumer electronics market this week, under a £1.1bn deal with US retailer…
13/10/2008
Aircel invests $400m in new kit
Indian operator Aircel has sigend a deal worth $400m with Chinese infrastructure vendor ZTE to expand its GSM coverage. Aircel, majority owned by Malaysia's largest telecoms …
Grameenphone extends all-IP network
The leading Bangladeshi operator by subscriber numbers, Grameenphone, will extend the capacity of its all-IP core network. The Telenor Group company says the decision to add capacity…
10/10/2008
Voda makes offer to boost stake in Vodacom
UK-based operator Vodafone said Friday that it has made a Rand22.5bn ($2.5bn) bid for a further 15 per cent stake in South African operation Vodacom. If successful, Vodafone …
09/10/2008
BT beefs up backhaul for T-Mobile, 3UK
UK mobile operators T-Mobile and 3UK this week tapped BT as a backhaul supplier for their consolidated 3G infrastructure. When it was announced in December last year, …
08/10/2008
Ethernet services momentum at CEWC 2008
The IIR and MEF's Carrier Ethernet World Congress, the seminal European Ethernet event, took place in Berlin on 22-26 September 2008. Ovum's Ian Redpath presented an analyst v…
06/10/2008
MTN goes on spending spree in Ivory Coast
Pan African operator MTN continued its acquisition spree this week, snapping up two service providers on the Ivory Coast. MTN, which is based in South Africa, said it…
04/10/2008
Managed services market on strong growth curve
The strong growth in managed services that the telecoms industry has witnessed in recent years looks set to continue, with the market forecast to grow to over $34bn by 2013. <…
Cable & Wireless taps Indian partner in BSNL
UK-based carrier Cable & Wireless said Monday that its Indian operation has signed an asset sharing agreement with Indian operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL).
Nortel offloads metro unit
Canadian kit vendor Nortel added another dark patch to the general economic gloom on Wednesday, and looks to be flogging off its crown jewels in order to keep the ship afloat.…
Europe calls for better access to fibre networks
The European Commission has called for fixed line operators to allow rivals easier access to their next generation fibre networks, in a bid to stimulate competition and adoption o…
UK joins call for better broadband
UK communications regulator Ofcom published proposals on Tuesday, encouraging further investment in super fast broadband for UK homes and businesses. Ofcom said that n…
NSN and Huawei strike patent licensing agreement
Kit vendor Nokia Siemens Networks and its Finnish parent Nokia have struck a patent licensing agreement with Chinese manufacturer Huawei. On Monday, the firms said th…
US operator AT&T shakes up top brass
US operator AT&T has given more responsibility to Ralph de la Vega, head of its wireless operation, by making him chief of the consumer fixed line unit. The new a…
03/10/2008
CEWC Daily Digest - Conference Day One
For another extraordinary year, the Carrier Ethernet industry worldwide has been experiencing hyper-growth, evident by surging MEF membership, now over 150 members, consisting of car…
CEWC Daily Digest - Conference Day Two
Mark Lum's Diary AN INCONVENIENT TECHNOLOGY AND CARRIER ETHERNET MATURITY Day 2 at CEWC, and with a full exhibition area and a streamed conference agenda concu…
CEWC Daily Digest - Conference Day Three
Announcing the MEF's EMEA Carrier Ethernet Service Provider of the…
CEWC Daily Digest - Future Ethernet Seminar
Mark Lum's Diary TRAFFIC CONTROL PROBLEM CAUSES NON-DETERMINISTIC PLANE MANAGEMENT It's the fourth and final day of CEWC, somewhat diminished in quantity of de…
31/07/2008
WDM-PON Gains Ground in FTTH Industry Agenda
Even though GPON deployments have scarcely got into the ground, the industry is already turning its eyes to next-generation PON architectures and systems, with XG-PON, NG-PON1, NG-PO…
Ethernet and IP/MPLS VPN Services More Popular Than Ever
On 9 July, Infonetics reported that organisations around the world are increasingly replacing their legacy Frame Relay, ATM, and private line services with Ethernet and IP MPLS VPN s…
100GET Aims for Lower TCO than IP/MPLS and SDH
Packet-Optical Transport Networks are generating intense industry interest, as evidenced by record attendance at the Packet Transport Networks (Read More
China (and India) Drive Carrier Capex to Olympian Heights
Even as AT&T and other US carriers are reportedly trimming their 2008 budgets, Infonetics projects a spike in worldwide carrier capex in 2008, followed by a plateau in 2010 and a…
Summer Trivia: Only in America?
Network World reports on 23 July that the Mayor of San Francisco has undertaken a rescue mission to meet with a jailed IT administrator and obtain the system passwords to th…
Seen in Passing: Tim Berners-Lee's Original Web Server
In a world where a single data centre can now be as large as a football pitch and consume perhaps more than a hundred Megawatts of power, as much as a small city, Optical Transmi…
04/07/2008
WDM Daily Digest - Day One
If it's the last week of June, then it's time for the optical industry to meet once again at IIR's annual WDM Cannes - welcome to my 2008 conference diary! As the sun sh…
WDM Daily Digest - Day Two
A short walk in the morning sun brings me to Day 2 of WDM Cannes. On today's agenda: flexible optical networks, ROADM technology, PIC and P-OTN integration plus key carrier ses…
WDM Daily Digest - Day Three
What a match! Your diarist is not a natural footballer, but Morrisons Irish pub, just beyond rue d'Antibes was the perfect place to join Germany and Turkey supporters - and quite a f…
WDM Daily Digest - Day Four
It's Friday and the final day of WDM! Like many delegates I've spoken to, I feel the week has simply flown by with a wealth of presentations, information, meetings and follow-u…
07/06/2008
OIF Aims for Agreement on 100G Implementation
The Optical Internetworking Forum's Physical and Link Layer Working Group (PLL WG) designated a new work project on 23 May, to address 100G long-haul DWDM. This project will fo…
Storage Networks Jump to 8G Fibre Channel
On 13 May, Brocade announced a new family of data centre fabric switches and server host bus adapters used in high performance SAN (Storage Area Network) and managed data centre appl…
Novel Modulation Aims to Ease 100G Deployment
FibreSystems Europe reported on 13 May that KDDI had managed to send data 'at speeds of 100 gigabits per second and for distances as far as 1,000 km without the need for…
Guangzho Claims Largest Asia-Pacific Internet Data Centre
ChinaTechNews reported on 29 May that the 'Asia-Pacific Information Engine', the largest internet data centre in the Asia-Pacific region, has been launched in Guangzhou and …
The Future is Optical ... At Last! Demand for Metro WDM Surges
On 5 June, market analysts Dell'Oro Group reported that WDM sales have moved ahead of SONET/SDH multiplexers for the first time ever in the first quarter of this year. Dell'O…
Verizon Painting the Exchange Green in 2009
In a bid to reduce the energy requirement of its networks, Verizon has published a new Technical Purchasing Requirement, VZ.TPR.9205, on 5 June. Its 'Energy Efficiency Requ…
09/05/2008
18% growth in 2007 global wireline infrastructure, says Ovum
On 28 March, Ovum posted its analysis of fourth-quarter 2007 revenue trends and market share changes in the wireline infrastructure segment. Global wireline equipment sales g…
EANTC Takes MPLS/Ethernet Mobile Backhaul to USA
CTIA Wireless was held in Las Vegas during 1-3 April, and EANTC with 15 participating vendors presented the Mobile Backhaul Interoperability Test showcase during the exhibition. …
Odlyzko Measures Internet
The latest figures published by Internet guru Andrew Odlyzko in the MINTS (Minnesota Internet Traffic Studies) project indicate current (year-end 2007) annual Internet traffic growth…
Unlikely Duo Transport MPLS Forwards
In further news from Berlin, delegates at Packet Transport Networks were updated on developments in Transport MPLS by experts from Alcatel-Lucent and Cisco. MPLS for transport …
Ethernet Routing Adds to PBT Control
Packet Transport Networks are a strategic investment area for most carriers, and a large and enthusiastic audience made for an interactive conference on that very subject in Berlin, …
Big Blue Squeezes Video Bandwidth
Speak it softly, but for a telecoms industry driven by an expectation of exponential video bandwidth growth, the news that IBM can compress high-definition video into a 3 Mbit/s stre…
09/04/2008
EU Super-Regulator Flies into Spanish Storm
The UK's Financial Times, 2 April, reports that Viviane Reding's plans to establish a "super" regulator to help govern Europe's EUR300bn-a-year electronic communications mar…
OKI Regenerates First All-Optical 160Gbit/s
Oki Electric Industry in Japan used an optical test-bed provided by the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT)'s Japan Gigabit Network II (JGN II) to …
Ovum-RHK Reports IP/MPLS, Ethernet Up and ATM, BRAS Down
On 11 February, Ovum-RHK posted its analysis of global fourth quarter 2007 service provider switching and routing equipment sales. Sales in 4Q07 grew to $2.94 billion overall, …
Czechs Choose ROADMs
The CESNET association recently announced the upgrade of its CESNET2 network to include 4-degree ROADM nodes, enabling software switching of particular wavelengths without any manual…
BT's 21CN Tribulations Continue
The Western Mail, a national Welsh newspaper published in Cardiff, has recently put a figure on the number of customers migrated to BT's much-publicised 21CN network. <…
Meriton Finally Succumbs to Consolidation Forces
After several years of valiant efforts as one of the few remaining post-bubble venture start-ups, Meriton Networks has been acquired by Xtera Communications. In a 7 April sta…
27/03/2008
Managed services: Allow me, Sir
When you hear of a company that provides service to 185 million cellular customers, your thoughts turn to large international carriers like Vodafone and Telefonica, or mayb…
Nokia whets double EDGE blade
Finnish-German kit maker Nokia Siemens Networks has doubled the data downlink speeds available over EDGE, with the launch of its Dual Carrier EDGE software upgrade. The enha…
26/03/2008
DoCoMo Super 3G hits 250Mbps downlink
Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo said Wednesday that it has recorded a downlink transmission rate of 250Mbps over its experimental 'Super 3G' high speed wireless network. DoCoMo …
25/03/2008
Airspan hits back at WiMAX "disaster" claims
Garth Freeman, the CEO of Australian service provider Buzz Broadband, caused a stir last week when he openly disparaged WiMAX performance at a conference in Thailand. F…
17/03/2008
Managing wireless data limits
With 3G wireless broadband subscriptions forecast to exceed global DSL connections by as early as 2010, mobile carriers are slowly coming round to the realisation that the finit…
03/03/2008
Wifi: The second coming
Next generation wifi standard 802.11n is beginning to hit the mainstream, with a steady flow of early adopters announcing plans to roll out the technology over the past couple o…
27/02/2008
O2 UK in trouble over 3G rollout
UK communications regulator Ofcom has slapped O2 UK with a warning after the mobile operator was found to be behind in its obligations to roll out 3G. Ofcom said it has issue…
26/02/2008
Japan launches experimental internet satellite
An experimental satellite launched by Japan at the weekend has reached orbit and is preparing to embark upon trials to deliver internet connectivity to the most remote parts of Asia.…
Google to put down trans-Pacific cable
Web giant Google is heading up a consortium of six international companies, which this week forged an agreement to lay a high-bandwidth subsea fibre optic cable linking the United St…
22/02/2008
Carriers warned over promise of fibre, HDTV services
Carriers have been warned not to bet the farm on high definition TV services as a way of reversing the revenue decline in the fixed line market. Instead, analysts have advis…
21/02/2008
Google floating wireless balloon idea?
In the post Barcelona lull, the rumour mill has a tendency to grind away more that usual but there is one story that might turn out to be more than hot air. Word has it that…
20/02/2008
Industry guarded on WiMAX/LTE merger
Vodafone CEO Arun Sarin has suggested that WiMAX and LTE technologies could be merged, to reduce the burden on the industry of developing dual standards. In a keynote speech at the r…
Virgin upgrades UK broadband subs for free
UK cable operator Virgin Media is giving its 4Mbps broadband customers a free upgrade to 10Mbps. The company announced plans to carry out its upgrade for 4Mb subscribers bet…
19/02/2008
Satellite ops. spy opportunity in Europe's digital divide
Satellite operators are pushing their space-based broadband services as a solution to Europe's digital divide. Recent announcements by major players Eutelsat, Viasat, Telenor…
Mobile calls to exceed those on fixed networks
Phone calls made on mobile networks will exceed those on fixed networks in Western Europe by the middle of this year, according to research published on Tuesday. Figures fro…
Voda, Orange step up site sharing initiative
UK operators Orange and Vodafone revealed the next steps in the network sharing partnership announced this time last year. The first stage of implementation will see Or…
15/02/2008
China Mobile joins Verizon, Voda, in LTE tests
China's leading mobile operator, China Mobile, has confirmed plans to trial next generation wireless technology LTE (Long Term Evolution), in a three way partnership with Vodafone an…
12/02/2008
Carriers driving femto fever
Talk of femtocell technology is high on the agenda at Mobile World Congress taking place in Barcelona this week. Following on from the launch of an initiative to harmonise the integr…
07/02/2008
AT&T develops wireless broadband plans
US carrier AT&T announced plans to expand its 3G network to a further 80 cities, as well as an upgrade to HSUPA by mid-year. The planned expansion will deliver 3G servic…
06/02/2008
Subsea cable repairs underway
Work has started to repair the subsea communications cables linking the Middle East and Asia to Europe. Flag Telecom, owner of two of the Read More
05/02/2008
LTE backers keep pedal to metal
The flurry of activity around next generation wireless platform LTE (Long Term Evolution) continued on Tuesday, with an industry body focused on interoperability completing another r…
01/02/2008
Virgin upgrades net speed for free
UK cableco Virgin Media has announced plans to upgrade its internet service customers for free. From the end of this month, customers on Virgin Media's 'L' tier broadband pa…
31/01/2008
Subsea cable trouble hits Asia, Middle East
Perhaps the Immense Menacing Squid (IMS) has been at it again, but internet services across the…
29/01/2008
Carrier Ethernet vendors expect strong 2008
Vendors of equipment supporting the Carrier Ethernet protocol are preparing for what they expect to be an important year in the growth of the technology. Nokia Siemens Netw…
28/01/2008
LogicaCMG's McKenna makes a move
IT services company LogicaCMG said Monday chief operating officer and executive director Jim McKenna has decided to leave the company during the second half of 2008 to pursue a "port…
25/01/2008
India takes Soma to realise WiMAX dream
State-owned Indian operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam, Ltd (BSNL) said Friday it has tapped US WiMAX kit vendor Soma Networks to deploy what it claims is the largest WiMAX network in…
24/01/2008
Next-gen network sharing mooted for Portugal
Portugal last month became the latest market in which operators have proposed to jointly invest in a nationwide next-generation access (NGA) network. But elsewhere, the out…
What's up with FDD WiMAX?
There seems to be some confusion brewing in the WiMAX camp, after revelations that the WiMAX Forum has been working on an FDD profile for the technology and is aiming to implement it…
23/01/2008
Fast fibre to fill Britain's sewers
Dark fibre provider H2O Networks is gearing up to launch Britain's first 'fibre town', boasting a 100Mbps broadband network, in 2009/2010. The company, which lays fibre netw…
21/01/2008
picoChip unveils TD-SCDMA femtocell
UK-based chip shop, picoChip, has unveiled it's a femtocell reference design supporting China's homegrown TD-SCDMA standard. The PC8808 TD-SCDMA femtocell reference design su…
DoCoMo disbands WiMAX partnership
Following its failure to secure a chunk of WiMAX spectrum in December, leading Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo has dissolved its wireless broadband partnership with ACCA Wireless. <…
15/01/2008
T-Mo beats backhaul blues with DSL
German mobile carrier T-Mobile is showing off the benefits of a converged infrastructure by offloading its 3G backhaul traffic onto sister company T-Com's network. As a resu…
10/01/2008
BT puts first 100Mbps fibre down
UK incumbent carrier BT has started its first deployment of fibre-optic cable, in the Ebbsfleet Valley in Kent. From August, around 10,000 homes on Land Securities' 1,000 ac…
08/01/2008
Doubts remain over HSUPA
The trend in the mobile industry for complementing HSDPA with its uplink equivalent is gathering pace. As of November 21, two-dozen HSUPA networks were up and running worldwide,…
21/12/2007
Nokia Siemens completes urban trial of LTE
Finnish - German joint venture, Nokia Siemens Networks, said this week that it has completed the world's first multi-user field trial of Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology in an ur…
18/12/2007
3UK and T-Mobile in 3G network share deal
UK mobile operators 3 UK and T-Mobile said Tuesday they have signed an agreement to combine their 3G access networks, leading to almost complete population coverage for 3G services a…
30/11/2007
Verizon backing LTE
US CDMA carrier Verizon Wireless has announced that it is to embark upon a 4G LTE deployment plan in the US, with trials beginning in 2008. Vendors involved in the trial include Alca…
27/11/2007
Verizon opens ups to any device, any app.
US mobile operator Verizon Wireless said Tuesday that it will allow customers to use any wireless device, software and applications, even those not offered by the company itself, on …
23/11/2007
Nokia Siemens may be cut out of monster Indian deal
Nokia Siemens Networks' share of one of the world's biggest GSM contracts is in danger after the Finnish-German venture reportedly refused to budge on price. Reports coming …
16/11/2007
LTE backers complete test calls
Wireless broadband technology Long Term Evolution (LTE), moved a step closer to commercial reality on Thursday as Alcatel-Lucent and LG Electronics announced the completion of test c…
08/11/2007
Siemens takes hit on Nokia venture but holds on
German conglomerate Siemens appears keen to hold onto its stake in the Nokia Siemens Networks joint venture, despite previously expressing concern about its potential. On Th…
Finns roll out 3G in 900MHz band
Finnish mobile operator Elisa said Thursday that it has launched what it claims to be the world's first commercial WCDMA 3G network in the 900MHz spectrum. Local kit maker N…
24/10/2007
Verizon offers 20Mbps upload over fibre
US carrier Verizon shook up the broadband market with the launch of a 20Mbps symmetrical fibre offering this week. The FiOS 20/20 service gives subscribers an upload and dow…
Cisco gets in on WiMAX game
Networking giant Cisco said Tuesday that it has agreed to spend $330m on the acquisition of WiMAX kit maker Navini Networks. Texas-based Navini develops smart beamforming tec…
10/10/2007
KPN puts the brakes on IMS rollout
Netherlands operator KPN is drastically cutting back on development work aimed at moving to a single IMS core, Karl Heinz van der Made, KPN's director of service operations, tol…