Level 3 Communications� (www.level3.com) Content Markets Group has been selected by Crackle Inc., a Sony Pictures Entertainment Co., to support that company�s video delivery service. Under the terms of the multiyear agreement, Level 3 will provide Crackle underlying network services including high-speed Internet access via multiple 10-Gbit/sec ports and collocation services. Crackle delivers programmed and customized video streams to a global audience via a multiplatform syndication network that includes Sony devices, IPTV, leading social networks and one-click viral Web distribution, which facilitates and encourages voluntary distribution of content via the Internet.
Nortel has announced two new customers for its PBT-based equipment: Switzerland�s groupe-e and U.S.-based Southern Light. In Switzerland, the groupe-e company provides electricity to customers as well as bandwidth-intensive telecom services, including VoIP, high-speed Internet access, IPTV, and business services. The critical factor in choosing PBT for its network was to introduce new services like advanced business applications quickly and cost-effectively, say groupe-e representatives. Southern Light is a carrier operating on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. that provides wholesale networking capacity to other operators and large enterprises. The company says it selected Nortel�s PBT offerings because the traffic engineering and fast reroute capabilities will allow effective resource management with a high degree of availability.
Florida�s Turnpike Enterprise, part of the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), has selected Foundry Networks� (www.foundrynet.com) NetIron MLX Series multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) metro routers and the FastIron Family of Layer 2/3 switches for its extensive network redesign. Florida�s Turnpike will leverage the approximately 100 new switches and routers to improve customer service, facilitate the deployment of new toll collection systems, and support disaster recovery operations. The architecture ensures that the system continues to operate at peak performance even in the unlikely event of a failure.
ADVA Optical Networking (www.advaoptical.com) says that MBO Video has deployed the system vendor�s Fiber Service Platform (FSP) 3000RE to provide it with a highly scalable and flexible DWDM architecture. MBO Video is a privately held company whose DWDM and SONET network spans the four-state region of Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, and Missouri. The platform is currently enabling delivery of 2.5- and 10-Gbit/sec services to MBO Video; maximum scalability is up to 40 Gbits/sec on each of 40 wavelengths, or up to 1.6 Tbits/sec. MBO Video is using the equipment to provide video transport for a statewide network that connects universities, colleges, and secondary educational facilities for distance learning applications as well as a wholesale video network that enables service providers to deliver digital video services.
Infinera (www.infinera.com) has announced that its DTN reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexer has completed the Telcordia Technologies (www.telcordia.com) Operations Systems Modifications for the Integration of Network Elements Services process for Telcordia TIRKS and Telcordia NMA Operation Systems within service provider infrastructures that employ these operations systems. Telcordia�s OSMINE services certification is an important step for larger service providers, who typically require OSMINE certification to ensure interoperability with their existing networking infrastructure.
Independent communications holding company SureWest Communications (www.surewest.com) has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Everest Broadband Inc. (www.everestkc.com), a portfolio company of Seaport Capital, for $173 million in cash. Everest is a privately held competitive provider of high-speed data, video, and voice services in the greater Kansas City area. The transaction, which is expected to close by the end of 1Q08, will more than double SureWest�s triple-play residential subscriber base and facilitate the rapid expansion of its business services. latin america
AXTEL S.A.B. de C.V., a fixed-line integrated telecommunications company, and Mexico�s Federal Electricity Commission (CFE), have signed an agreement through which CFE will lease its fiber-optic network to AXTEL, thus increasing AXTEL�s integrated services capabilities. With this agreement, AXTEL will have the ability to provide additional virtual private network (VPN) and data services via CFE�s fiber network. AXTEL will leverage the optical ground wire (OPGW) in CFE�s network. AXTEL is a Mexican telecommunications company that provides local and long-distance telephony, broadband Internet, data, and built-to-suit communications services in 27 cities and long-distance telephone services to business and residential customers in more than 200 cities.
SEACOM Ltd. and its supplier, Tyco Telecommunications (www.tycotelecom.com), say they have begun construction of the 13,700-km SEA Cable System connecting the South and East Africa countries of South Africa, Mozambique, Madagascar, Kenya, and Tanzania with India and Egypt. The SEA Cable System will have 1.28 Tbits/sec of capacity and is expected to be completed by June 2009. The system is designed to provide African retail carriers with equal and open access to inexpensive bandwidth, removing the international infrastructure bottleneck and supporting East and South African economic growth.
Alcatel-Lucent (www.alcatel-lucent.com) has announced the signing of a turnkey contract for a 4,900-km submarine cable network with The East Africa Marine System Ltd. (TEAMS Ltd.) consortium�including the Government of Kenya and Etisalat (Emirates Telecom Corp.) of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The TEAMS network will connect the port city of Mombasa in Kenya with the port of Fujairah in the UAE. Designed with an ultimate capacity of 640 Gbits/sec, the network will dramatically increase the regional communication capabilities and support new high-quality broadband services, such as free Internet for schools and Ethernet-based services to further bolster social and economic development, say TEAMS representatives. The Alcatel-Lucent managed system will be based on the 1620 Light Manager next-generation DWDM submarine platform and will also include cable and submarine repeaters.
IBM (www.ibm.com) and Norwegian energy and telecom provider Lyse (www.lyse.no) are extending their services agreement for the optical provision of triple-play and mobile services to families in Norway and Denmark. The value of the new contract is 100 million NOK (~US$18.1. million) over a one-year period, and it extends the original 100 million NOK deal signed in 2005. Franchise partners will offer private homes access to broadband services as well as mobile telephony services. Lyse and IBM have worked together for several years to develop this multiplay concept, which is now called Altibox.
XO Communications (www.xo.com) says it plans to expand the capacity of its nationwide IP/MPLS network using Cisco CRS-1 routers. XO says the expansion will more than double current capacity, and with an eye toward a four-fold increase, while providing the ability to scale to a multiterabit-capable router complex. The deployment of the CRS-1 will support such services as high-speed dedicated Internet access, IP transit, IP-VPN, and VoIP services for businesses, large enterprises, and service providers. The upgrade of the XO IP/MPLS network follows a recently completed expansion of the XO long-haul transport network.
Ericsson (www.ericsson.com) has signed turnkey contracts as the total solution provider and prime integrator of metro networks to support the launch of seven digital cities across Greece. Per the agreements, Ericsson will supply and install fiber-optic telecommunications networks in the municipalities of Agrinio, Chania, Ermoupolis, Ierapetra, Iraklio, Kozani, and Rethymno. The networks initially will link municipal buildings, such as the general hospital, town hall, schools, and universities. The move is set to bolster public infrastructure for citizens and will provide high-speed, premium-quality broadband services to support innovative next-generation services, say Ericsson representatives. The contract also includes switching and Wi-Fi systems.
Reggefiber (www.reggefiber.nl), a major FTTH broadband operator in the Netherlands, is rolling out an optical fiber network to three cities in the Netherlands based on the Cisco Internet Protocol Next-Generation Network (IP NGN) architecture and using Cisco Ethernet FTTH (E-FTTH) technology. Reggefiber owns an extensive FTTH network in the Netherlands, and current planned projects will add approximately 100,000 to 200,000 households, making Reggefiber�s FTTH coverage the largest in The Netherlands, say company representatives. Fujitsu Services (www.fujitsu.com) will supply, install, and support the Cisco equipment.
Bahrain Bay, the $2.5-billion landmark waterfront community located in the heart of Manama, Bahrain, will become the region�s most connected urban community, thanks to its selection of Alloptic Inc.�s (www.alloptic.com) GEPON next-generation access network system. Alloptic says its equipment will provide Bahrain Bay�s complete communications, entertainment, security, and building management systems infrastructure. Many of the facilities services will be controlled and automated through the network.
Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. (www.huawei.com) and Global Marine Systems (www.globalmarinesystems.com) have committed to launching Huawei Submarine Networks Ltd. The companies expect to launch the entity in early 2008. Huawei Submarine is the culmination of the Memorandum of Understanding signed by both parties in March 2007. According to the companies, Huawei Submarine will deliver end-to-end submarine network equipment and related services.
Alcatel-Lucent has secured a contract from Total E & P Indonesie, the Indonesian subsidiary of Paris-based Total Group, to deploy microwave radio transmission equipment, optical networking equipment, and a network management system to expand and enhance the energy company�s mission-critical communications network. The deployment will take place at Total E & P�s operational and gas processing facilities on East Kalimantan, an island located northeast of Jakarta, Indonesia�s capital. Alcatel-Lucent will supply its 9600 LSY, an SDH wireless technology, as well as its Optical Multi-Service Node (OMSN) to enhance communications exchanges between sites.
Australia�s Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Research Centre of Excellence (NICTA) has signed a commercial license agreement with Optium Corp. (www.optium.com) covering optical signal-to-noise ratio monitoring technology. According to the companies, this is the first technology license agreement exploiting research in the Managing and Monitoring the Internet (MAMI) project, which is based at NICTA�s Victoria Research Laboratory. NICTA says its new generation OSNR monitoring technology is compatible with optical switches, including ROADMs, and can distinguish and measure the impairment caused by optical amplifier noise, improving the management of telecommunications networks.
Alcatel-Lucent and Hong Kong Broadband Network Limited (www.hkbn.net; HKBN), a wholly owned subsidiary of City Telecom (HK) Limited, have announced the deployment of what they claim is the first GPON-based network in Hong Kong. Alcatel-Lucent says its FTTH portfolio will enable HKBN to deliver advanced triple-play services to its subscribers and enlarge its FTTH network coverage in Hong Kong. Per the agreement, Alcatel-Lucent will deploy the 7342 Intelligent Services Access Manager Fiber-to-the-Home (ISAM FTTU) system, which the company says is designed specifically for packet-based voice convergence and triple-play services.
Alphion Corp. (www.alphion.com), developer of communication systems, subsystems, and integrated photonic components based on its proprietary QLight technology, has announced an alliance with ITI Limited, India for the manufacture and distribution of its family of GPON products. The platform supports PON architectures with path and equipment redundancy, say Alphion representatives. The product family includes the AOLT-4000 optical line terminal, as well as optical network terminals for single family residences (AONT-100), small businesses (AONT-200), and multiple dwelling units (AONT-300).
To stay ahead of demand for online video, photos, music, and Internet Protocol (IP)-based business applications, AT&T Inc. (www.att.com) says it has lit the nation�s first coast-to-coast network connections over new-generation IP/MPLS technology. The new-generation backbone network carries data at 40 Gbits/sec without the need for multiplexing, claim AT&T representatives. The carrier has deployed 40-Gbit/sec (or OC-768) technology on more than 50,000 wavelength miles of its U.S. IP/MPLS backbone network to date, connecting major U.S. cities with the fastest available transport technology, it says. To support the current network upgrade in the U.S. and planned future upgrades internationally, AT&T says it has selected the Cisco (www.cisco.com) Carrier Routing System (CRS-1) as the core platform for the backbone expansion.
EMCORE Corp. (www.emcore.com) and Intel Corp. (www.intel.com) have announced a definitive agreement for EMCORE to acquire the telecom-related portion of Intel�s Optical Platform Division for $85 million; this includes intellectual property, assets, and technology relating to tunable lasers, tunable transponders, 300-pin transponders, and integrable tunable laser assemblies. The transaction, subject to regulatory review and certain other closing conditions, is expected to close in 1Q08. Intel says it is currently �exploring strategic alternatives� regarding the enterprise-focused portion of its Optical Platform Division. According to EMCORE, the deal will expand its fiber-optics product portfolio, allowing the company to provide telecom customers with a more complete product offering.
Foundry Networks has announced that the world�s largest public Internet Exchange Point (IXP), the Amsterdam Internet Exchange (AMS-IX), has selected the NetIron MLX-32 metro routers for its powerful switching capabilities to keep up with the organization�s documented 100% year-over-year IP traffic growth. With the surging growth of Internet traffic pushing overall used capacity through the 350-Gbit/sec threshold at the end of October, AMS-IX required a powerful switching platform. To manage the bandwidth increase at the core of the network, AMS-IX deployed the NetIron MLX-32 metro routing and switching platform to addressing the needs of capacity-intensive L2/IPv4/IPv6 networks offering a massive 3.2-Tbit/sec data capacity, scaling to 128 10-Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) ports and up to 16�10GbE link aggregates or interswitch links at a maximum capacity of 160 Gbits/sec.