Business Telecommunication

Juniper Networks Positioned in Leaders Quadrant of Leading Analyst Firm’s SSL VPN Magic Quadrant

2007-12-18T12:07:00.000-06:00

Juniper Networks, Inc. (Nasdaq: JNPR), the leader in high-performance networking, today announced it has been positioned in the "Leaders" quadrant of Gartner’s recently published Magic Quadrant for SSL VPN, North America, 3Q07.1 The report evaluates vendors based on the company’s ability to execute and completeness of vision in the SSL VPN market.

According to the Gartner report, "The Magic Quadrant considers which vendors likely will dominate sales and influence technology directions through 2010, as well as which vendors are most visible among clients, generate the greatest number of requests for information and contract review, and account for the most new and ongoing installations in Gartner’s client base" The report continues, "Leaders demonstrate balanced progress and effort on all execution and vision categories. Their actions raise the competitive bar for all products in the market, and they can change the course of the industry. To remain in the Leaders quadrant, vendors must excel in mobile access and protection and must dominate in sales"

"We are pleased to be placed in the Leaders quadrant for our SSL VPN product line" said Mark Bauhaus, executive vice president and general manager of Service Layer Technologies at Juniper Networks. "Juniper continues to drive innovation and lead in the security market. Our solid performance over many years is due to our focus on innovating high-performance networking products that provide fast, reliable and secure access for our customers. The Juniper Secure Access SSL VPN has become the industry standard and preferred unified access solution for our enterprise and service provider customers worldwide"

Motorola Continues WiMAX Leadership in 2007 with 802.16e Network Deployments, Devices, and Historic Mobile WiMAX Handoffs

2007-12-18T11:59:00.000-06:00

Motorola, Inc., a leading provider of wireless broadband solutions, today issued a year-end update on its wi4 WiMAX solutions and customer engagements. During 2007 Motorola increased to15 its number of contracts for commercial WiMAX networks and demonstrated the historic first live mobile WiMAX 802.16e handoffs between continuous WiMAX cells supporting voice, data and multimedia applications during WiMAX World USA in Chicago.

The company also:

- Increased to more than 57 the number of WiMAX engagements in 38 countries worldwide, including 44 active trials.

- Is on track to support Sprint/Xohm™ soft launch in Chicago by year end 2007 and is on schedule with deployment for the planned commercial launch in Q2 2008

- Delivered thousands of access points to customers worldwide and delivered tens of thousands of CPE units or PC cards for customer engagements including trials and commercial deployments currently underway

- Completed the deployment of the first 802.16e commercial WiMAX network in Pakistan for Wateen Telecom. The operator has since launched nationwide commercial services to corporate and consumer markets.

- Unveiled its test WiMAX mobile device and WiMAX chipset which will be embedded in consumer electronic devices to provide mobile Internet access.

- Completed the first phase deployment of two additional commercial WiMAX systems in France and Germany.

“We’ve seen tremendous progress in the deployment of 802.16e WiMAX technology worldwide this year,” said Fred Wright, senior vice president, WiMAX and Cellular Networks, Motorola Home & Networks Mobility. “With the recent and impending launches of commercial service by major broadband wireless operators worldwide WiMAX is set to become a mainstream broadband wireless technology at least two years ahead of other alternative technologies.. While we spent the majority of 2007 proving the commercial viability of WiMAX technology, we will see the commercial launch of dozens of WiMAX systems in 2008 with a wide variety of customer premises equipment, PC cards, mobile devices, and innovative applications.“

“2008 promises to be another exciting year for WiMAX and the entire 4G landscape,” said Phil Marshall, vice president, Enabling Technologies, Yankee Group. “We expect that in 2008 several large scale national WiMAX deployments will be announced in Asia and Europe. Currently our conservative forecasts are calling for 37 million WiMAX globally subscribers by 2011. ”

Motorola’s wi4 WiMAX portfolio was also recognized for several awards during 2007 including:

wi4 WiMAX CPEs

* - Winner Best of WiMAX World Award Europe 2007: Best Devices/Peripherals/Application Software - CPEi 300

* - Runner-Up Best of WiMAX World Award Europe 2007: Industry Choice Award

* - Best of WiMAX World Award USA 2007: Industry Choice Award CPEi 850

wi4 WiMAX Flexible Access Point and Product Portfolio

* - Winner NXTcomm Eos Awards 2007: Technology Innovation Group: Access Networking

* - Winner Networks Middle East (NME) 2007: Best Telcom/Service Provider Offering

Wateen Telecom’s Commercial Deployment of a wi4 WiMAX Network Solution

* - Winner Networks Middle East (NME) 2007: Best WAN Implementation Award

* - Runner-Up Best of WiMAX World Award Europe 2007: Commercial Deployment

Motorola’s wi4 WiMAX solutions are designed to support fixed, portable, nomadic and mobile applications. The WiMAX access points, customer premises equipment and mobile WiMAX chipsets under development for use in Motorola’s devices are part of the MOTOwi4™ portfolio of solutions that complement and complete wireless broadband networks. For more information on Motorola’s wi4 WiMAX and MOTOwi4 solutions, please visit: http://direct.motorola.com/hellomoto/motowi4

Information on Motorola’s global WiMAX activity can be found at: http://www.firstcommunicate.com/motorola/wimax/w70814/worldTour/

Qwest CEO expects $1.8 billion in capital spending in 2008

2007-12-18T11:57:00.000-06:00

Qwest Communications International Inc. expects $1.8 billion in capital spending next year, according to Chairman and Chief Executive Edward Mueller.

One of the priorities for the Denver-based telecommunications company is to upgrade its network. Roughly 23 percent of its neighborhoods feature fiber-optic lines connected to a central hub, which increases the connection speed available to consumers.

Mueller said he sees a penetration rate of 40 percent by 2011, and expects a payback from its fiber investment in five years based on a "modest" increase of $10 in average revenue per user.

Qwest's network upgrade plan covers 1.5 million homes at a cost of $175 per home. The company will deploy the faster connections to select areas within 20 markets, Mueller said.

"We will finish it in 2008 and decide where we want to be with it," Mueller said.

Despite the investment, Mueller said he envisions no plans for an Internet TV service similar to AT&T Inc.'s. He did say he supported an on-demand model of video delivery.

Mueller said he would also look to strengthen existing partnerships and form new ones. Qwest has deals with DirecTV Group Inc. for satellite TV and Sprint Nextel Corp. for wireless service.

Mueller declined to comment on any potential merger and acquisition deals.

Qwest will provide more details at its investor meeting on Feb. 28, 2008, Mueller added.

Shares of the company slipped 12 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $6.89 in Monday afternoon trading.

BlackBerry maker picks US headquarters

2007-12-18T11:55:00.000-06:00

Research in Motion Ltd., maker of the BlackBerry smart phone, will put its U.S. headquarters in a Texas suburb where it plans to employ more than 1,000 people within next several years.

Company executives and local business and political leaders announced the choice of Irving on Monday at a press conference at its new offices there.

Jim Balsillie, co-chief executive, said Research in Motion is expanding operations to pursue sales and service opportunities around the world. He said Irving offered a talented work force and strong infrastructure.

The company's world headquarters are in Waterloo, Ontario. It makes wireless devices with phone, texting, e-mail and Internet capability for customers around the world. BlackBerry service is available on phone-service providers including AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon Wireless.

Ron Gafford, chairman of the Greater Dallas Chamber, called Research in Motion "a world-class organization" noted for innovation and said he was thrilled at the U.S. headquarters decision.

"This is a great day for North Texas as we welcome this wonderful company and the jobs it will create," said state Sen. Florence Shapiro, R-Plano.

Irving is home to the nation's largest company, Exxon Mobil Corp., and to Kimberly-Clark Corp. and jewelry company Zale Corp. It also houses large offices for several telecommunications and public relations companies.

Research in Motion will occupy more than 100,000 square feet in Riverside Commons, a recently renovated six-building office complex on 13 acres along State Highway 114.

This month, Research in Motion struck a deal with JetBlue Airways Corp. to test letting passengers check their e-mail in flight.

Hanaro Telecom selects Alcatel-Lucent’s GPON FTTH solution to deliver IPTV and HDTV services

2007-12-17T12:12:00.001-06:00

Alcatel-Lucent announced that it has been selected by Hanaro Telecom, a major broadband service provider in Korea, to supply its Gigabit Passive Optical Network (GPON) solution. Alcatel-Lucent’s GPON solution will enable Hanaro Telecom to deliver advanced broadband services, such as IPTV, high-definition television (HDTV), video-on-demand (VOD) over “hanaTV”, high-speed Internet access and interactive multimedia services to its 110,000 residential subscribers in Korea.

“As we embark into the era of IPTV and HDTV, the household demand for high bandwidth broadband services with the right quality of service is gaining importance. This is something we can deliver by deploying Alcatel-Lucent’s GPON solution,” said Chan-Woong Park, Senior Vice President of Network Technology Unit at Hanaro Telecom. “By partnering with Alcatel-Lucent, we will continue to focus on deploying new and advanced service offerings, providing reliable and premium connectivity services to meet our customers’ requirements.”

“Alcatel-Lucent has always provided Hanaro Telecom with key solutions, enabling them to build a high speed broadband converged network that meets the ever growing market demands,” said Frederic Rose, President of Alcatel-Lucent’s business in Europe, Africa and Asia. “This contract is a key milestone for Alcatel-Lucent, following last year’s GPON trial award with Hanaro Telecom. It further strengthens our leading position in the fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) market worldwide as well as in the Asia Pacific region, and more specifically in Korea.”

Under the terms of the contract, Alcatel-Lucent will deploy the 7342 Intelligent Services Access Manager Fiber-to-the-Home (ISAM FTTU) solution, which is designed specially for packet-based voice convergence and IPTV services. It enables IP converged triple play services by offering maximum bandwidth and QoS over a fiber access network. It enables service providers to offer seamless multimedia services such as high-speed data, IPTV, VoIP, or video services to its subscribers. Leveraging GPON technology, the solution can deliver any mix of voice, video or data over a single fiber that terminates at the subscriber’s premise with each PON line supporting 2.5 Gb/s downstream. Partnering with Sandeul Networks, Alcatel-Lucent will focus on the equipment while our business partner will dedicate its support on service delivery including items such as installation and integration

Alcatel-Lucent is engaged in more than 70 FTTx projects around the world, more than 55 of which are with GPON. More than 180 customers have adopted the ISAM product family globally – including 80% of the top 20 DSL operators in the world.Global leading service providers like Verizon, AT&T, and France Telecom have adopted Alcatel-Lucent’s GPON solution.

Verizon Adds Cable TV In Oregon

2007-12-17T12:12:00.000-06:00

Verizon Communications is launching a fiber optic television service in Oregon, setting up head-to-head competition with Comcast.

Verizon said Thursday it is making the FiOS TV service available to 152,000 Oregon households in the Portland area and called it a "liberation day for disgruntled cable TV customers."

The TV service is available to customers in Aloha, Beaverton, Cornelius, Dundee, Durham, Hillsboro, King City, McMinnville, Newberg, Tigard, Tualatin and Wilsonville. It will be added to Forest Grove and Sherwood later this month.

With the launch, Verizon now offers FiOS TV in 13 states.

The company also says it has reached a preliminary agreement with Comcast to offer the channel that carries Portland Trail Blazers' games as part of the new service.

Much to the dismay of some fans, the games have been carried only on Comcast.

Alltel Feature Turns Voicemail to Text

2007-12-17T12:09:00.000-06:00

Alltel Corp. is unveiling a new feature that uses voice-recognition software to allow wireless phone customers to read their voicemail messages as text messages.

Monthly fees for the Voice2TXT service start at $4.99, and users will still have the option to listen to the messages.

'It'll appeal to a broad customer base ... people who are in meetings quite regularly and can't take a phone call _ it's very useful in those settings,' said Wade McGill, Alltel's senior vice president of product management.

Alltel is using technology developed by Britain-based SpinVox. It will work on any Alltel wireless phone that can receive text messages, McGill said.

'It was one of those services that once you get it, you don't want to give it up,' he said, describing the reaction of a test group.

Alltel began offering the service in a soft launch Friday. To access it, customers need to reset their voicemail and greeting. After that, the voicemail text option will be available, McGill said.

SpinVox said its Voice Message Conversion System, which converts messages in English, French, Spanish and German, eliminates the need to search for a pen to write down the details of a message or navigate through a voicemail service.

'Voice2TXT as delivered by SpinVox eliminates the frustrations with dialing into voicemail by offering a discreet, efficient alternative,' said Christina Domecq, co-founder and chief executive of SpinVox.

Alltel is the first among major U.S. wireless carriers to offer such a service. A New York startup, SimulScribe Inc., unveiled a similar service at the International Consumer Electronics Show earlier this year.

Fees for the service start at $4.99 for 20 voicemail conversions a month and go up to $19.99 monthly for 100 conversions.

Little Rock-based Alltel has 12 million customers in 35 states. Last month, the company was taken private in a $24.7 billion buyout by two private equity groups.

IIJ to Use DoCoMo 3G Network to Provide Corporate Data Communications Services as MVNO

2007-12-17T12:07:00.000-06:00

Internet Initiative Japan Inc. (IIJ) and NTT DoCoMo today announced a preliminary agreement under which IIJ will become the first mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) to use DoCoMo's 3G FOMA(TM) network to offer corporate data communications services supported by DoCoMo's HSDPA technology. Details of actual operations are currently under discussion.

As the first step, IIJ, one of Japan's leading Internet-access and comprehensive network solutions providers, plans to offer corporate customers an Internet connection service that supports HSDPA 3.6 Mbps high-speed mobile data communications starting in January 2008. The goal is to meet a growing need among corporate users to access company networks via secure mobile broadband.

IIJ also plans to provide comprehensive outsourcing services for mobile data communications, including mobile data-communications terminals, network and data-center management and system maintenance.

IIJ and DoCoMo look forward to serving the corporate market with high-speed mobile data communications.

Vodafone faces regulation over sharing of cellphone sites

2007-12-16T09:49:00.000-06:00

Vodafone faces the prospect of regulation after the Commerce Commission knocked back its offer to allow competitors access to its cell phone sites.

The commission yesterday recommended the Government reject an undertaking from Vodafone to provide access - co-location - to its cell sites in favour of regulation.

Under a co-location agreement, a competitor can pay to place its equipment on the same tower or site as an existing operator.

In reaching its decision the commission said despite commercial co-location agreements being in force for a number of years, less than 0.5 per cent of cell towers had been opened up.

It said price wasn't a barrier to co-location, rather that incumbent operators - Vodafone and Telecom - had zealously guarded key co-location sites and had little or no incentive to offer co-location to competitors.

The undertaking offered by Vodafone was unlikely to promote any new mobile players entering the market, the commission said.

"Although a co-location code has been agreed to by the telecommunications industry, it has yet to result in any co-location," said Telecommunications Commissioner Ross Patterson. "By launching a standard terms process, the commission will be able to develop more effective co-location arrangements as we have recently done in relation to unbundled local loop services."

Bill Osborne, chairman of aspiring third mobile operator NZ Communications, said the outcome of the investigation by the Commerce Commission was "another small but important stepping stone to creating more mobile phone network competition in New Zealand".

"The Commerce Commission's recommendation makes breaking into a market at 100 per cent penetration a little less of a difficult challenge," said Osborne. "It will benefit new entrants by facilitating access to difficult coverage areas and where obtaining Resource Management Act approval would create lengthy delays."

Vodafone corporate affairs manager Tom Chignell welcomed the news the commission would be using the well-established determination process for setting the terms and conditions for co-location as it had done in the broadband market.

"We are sure that if standard terms determinations had been available when co-location was first considered by the industry and the commission then it would have been adopted as the process," said Chignell.

The Commerce Commission first began investigating the absence of new entrants into the mobile market in 2006, prior to the introduction of the Telecommunications Amendment Act later that year.

Telecom spokesperson Mark Watts said the company also looked forward to participating in the standardterms process and thoroughly discussing the many issues around co-location.

Commission to investigate lack of mobile co-location

2007-12-16T09:42:00.001-06:00

An investigation is to be launched into the lack of equipment co-location in the mobile telecommunications industry.

Co-location involves network operators installing equipment on another operator's tower, and is seen as a way of reducing costs associated with establishing cell sites.

But according to the Commerce Commission fewer than 0.5 per cent of available towers in this country have co-location on them, despite co-location agreements being in force for many years.
It said today it proposed to start a process early next year, with a view to developing a robust co-location regime.

Co-location prices should not be regulated as issues preventing effective co-location were not related to price, the commission said in a recommendation to Communications Minister David Cunliffe.

It would closely monitor co-location prices and act quickly if problems did emerge for access seekers.

The commission also recommended that a so-called undertaking from Vodafone, with the company's proposals for co-location, should not be accepted.

The undertaking lacked targets or timeframes and was unlikely to promote entry into the mobile market, the commission said.

So far, a lack of targets and key performance indicators, and robust implementation plans had created significant barriers to entry.

There appeared to be no or limited incentives to support co-location on reasonable terms for competing cellular networks, the commission said.

It considered co-location would help remove entry barriers to the mobile industry and improve competition in the retail mobile services market .

Nokia may have edge in dispute with Qualcomm

2007-12-16T09:37:00.000-06:00

NOKIA Oyj, the world's biggest maker of mobile phones, may have gained an edge in its technology licensing dispute with Qualcomm Inc after a United States judge ruled that it doesn't infringe Qualcomm's patents.

Administrative Law Judge Paul Luckern in New York rejected Qualcomm claims that Nokia infringed patents for a technology that prevents dropped calls. He also said one of the three patents is invalid. His decision is subject to review by the six-member US International Trade Commission in Washington.

The ITC decision may spur progress in negotiations to replace a licensing agreement, which expired eight months ago. Nokia says Qualcomm patents cover less of the technology used in the newest phones, warranting a smaller payment, Bloomberg News said. Qualcomm gets about three-quarters of its profit from licensing fees.

"Any way possible they could push the tides in their favor, they'll try like heck to do that," said American Technology Research analyst Mark McKechnie, referring to Nokia. "It's a minor setback for Qualcomm and a relief for Nokia."

Qualcomm trimmed its profit forecast for 2008 because of the dispute. Nokia refused to pay Qualcomm any royalties after that company rebuffed a US$20-million payment in April. An arbitrator is working to resolve part of the dispute, while the rest is litigated in Europe, North America and Asia.

Qualcomm said it intends to petition the trade commission for a review of the initial determination. If the commission finds in Qualcomm's favor, it could ban US imports of some Nokia phones.

"The numerous lawsuits against Nokia are part of Qualcomm's tactics for the ongoing cross-license negotiations," Nokia Chief Financial Officer Richard Simonson said on Wednesday during a conference call following the announcement. "This case is the first patent infringement case by Qualcomm filed against us to actually reach a verdict."

On November 9, Qualcomm Chief Executive Officer Paul Jacobs said, "It's going to take some external impetus to get one or other of the companies to move."

When asked on Wednesday about Jacobs's comments, Nokia's Simonson said, "I hope Paul's right."

The case before the ITC focuses on GSM technology, which stands for global system for mobile communications. The Qualcomm patents in the case relate to ways of controlling signal power so calls aren't dropped.

Nokia, based in Finland, argued that the Qualcomm patents don't cover original inventions.

Mobile networks planned for Pacific Islands

2007-12-16T09:31:00.000-06:00

New Zealanders may take for granted their mobile phones, but they are thinner on the ground in the Pacific Islands - a situation one Irish company is investing hundreds of millions of dollars to change.

Digicel, whose Caribbean business has invested US$1.5 billion ($1.9 billion) in that region, kicked off its services in the Pacific in August 2006 with the purchase of Telecom Samoa from Telecom New Zealand.

In Samoa, the price of calls has dropped by over 50 per cent, and Blackberry, roaming and other services available in more developed markets have been introduced.

Now, Digicel building a US$500 million mobile network in rugged Papua New Guinea, becoming the country's largest non-mining investor, despite threats from the government over its operating licence.

With network provider Ericsson, Digicel has built over 200 sites reaching nearly 80 per cent of the population, and is aiming for 90 per cent in coming months. It has dropped the price of making a call by over 60 per cent, said Digicel Pacific chief executive Vanessa Slowey.

Government-owned incumbent Telikom had focused on the main centres, or only about 30 per cent of population.

"Villages in remote areas in Papua New Guinea have never, ever had telecommunications, have never had a landline, never had a phone line, and all of a sudden they have it, and they can afford it which has really, really changed people's lives," Ms Slowey said.

She gives examples of people now able to ring for medical help where previously they could not, or a fisherman fishing to order as restaurants can contact him on his boat.

Industry analyst Phil Harpur of Buddecom said that in Samoa, Digicel had 55,000 of the 70,000 customers by July 2007. In PNG, it had 3500 of the 240,000 subscribers by July, soon after it launched, he said.

Annual market growth was 130 per cent and 151 per cent respectively, he said.

Digicel does not release subscriber numbers or financial data as it is a private company. It is owned by Irish entrepreneur Denis O'Brien, a key Independent News & Media shareholder, who founded Irish telecoms company Esat Telecom against an incumbent state-owned operator.

He later sold Esat for US$2.9 billion and established Digicel in the Caribbean, repeating the successful "challenger" model where it now has 5.7 million customers and 3500 employees.

In PNG, the terrain has not been the only challenge, with the government reversing its early welcome to Digicel, citing changes to its telecommunications policy and the importance of government control.

Digicel had to gain a court injunction to prevent government moves to close it down, and Telikom has reportedly refused to connect its landline and mobile phone services to Digicel's.

"We face challenges in Papua New Guinea in relation to the proposed changes to the ICT policy, but for us it's business as usual," Ms Slowey said.

The PNG government has admitted that the growing mobile market accounted for 0.7 per cent per cent of PNG's economic growth. Digicel's entry had also prompted Telikom to improve its services and prices, and expand its network, Ms Slowey said.

Good communications have been proven to improve a country's economy, as it became easier and cheaper to do business. While intent on turning a profit, Digicel also wanted to contribute to economies in the Pacific, where it hired mainly locals.

"When you improve the economic development of a country, more and more people can afford to come on your network," she said.

"We are very happy with where we're at at the moment in our investment and the return that we've got so far. It's going according to plan."

Digicel has bought Tonga's royal family-owned TonFon, and was working with the governments of Fiji, Vanuatu and other countries.

Should Digicel be successful in getting a licence for Fiji, it would commit around US$130m to build a network.

Fiji has only recently deregulated its market, and Digicel has been trying to gain access since July, Mr Harpur said. He expected it to enter the market by mid-2008.

"I'd say the biggest opportunity would be Fiji by far, they're the biggest island, they're pretty well developed," he said

While a lot of people were poor, there were niche opportunities throughout the islands, particularly where there was a monopoly.

While coverage was the key issue in PNG, enabling people to deposit money via mobile phone was more important in Samoa, where much of the population lives elsewhere and sends money back home.

However, Pan-Pacific coverage was patchy, reflecting differing standards of networks in region.

"Our aim is to build a pan-Pacific network where you'd have seamless roaming, one number no matter where you go, and affordable," Ms Slowey said.

NXP and TSMC Unveil Seven Innovations at IEDM Conference

2007-12-14T17:06:00.000-06:00

NXP Semiconductors, the independent semiconductor company founded by Philips, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the world’s leading foundry, are jointly presenting seven technological papers at the 2007 International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM), the world’s premier forum for the presentation of microelectronic advances, which started on December 10 in Washington DC. NXP and TSMC worked together through the joint NXP-TSMC Research Center to develop these innovations.

Among the technological breakthroughs presented by NXP-TSMC Research Center is a revolutionary embedded memory technology with superior performance, up to 1000 times faster than traditional non volatile memories, coupled with scalability and reduced power consumption. The estimated power consumption is at least one order of magnitude lower than existing solutions. This new memory technology is also 5-10 per cent cheaper to manufacture than regular embedded memory. This technology will be helpful, for example, to prevent data stream interruptions and increase security of transactions when using NFC (Near Field Communication) to complete mobile payment transactions or content upload.

At the IEDM conference, NXP-TSMC Research Center will also present a Quartz-replacement Resonator breakthrough for producing smaller and thinner clocks in silicon chips than it is currently possible with traditional quartz crystals. This makes it possible to embed clocks into smart cards or SIM cards, which can be used to improve the cryptographic protection of a smart card.

In addition, the joint research center will introduce its outstanding work on transistors. The research shows the performance of a new generation of transistors and how they could function in different environments. A new method created helps assess the advantages of a new transistor technology at circuitry level, helping engineering teams design systems with specific requirements.

The seven papers NXP-TSMC Research Center will present are:

- High Frequency Breakthrough: A novel fully self-aligned SiGe:C HBT architecture featuring a single step epitaxial collector-base process
- Process Simplification For Low Power CMOS Processes (For Portable Applications) : Tuning PMOS Mo(O,N) metal gates to NMOS by addition of DyO capping layer
- New Generation Transistor: Demonstration of high-performance FinFET devices featuring an optimized gatestack
- Demonstration Of High Performance Full CMOS Process: Low Vt CMOS using doped Hf-based oxides, TaC-based Metals and Laser-only Anneal
- Reducing Power Consumption Effectively By 80%: rapid circuit-based optimization of low operational power CMOS devices.
- Faster, Low Power, Scalable Embedded Memory: Evidence of the thermo-electric Thomson effect and influence on the program conditions and cell optimization in phase-range memory cells
- Resonator Technology Breakthrough: Scalable 1.1 GHz fundamental mode piezo-resistive silicon MEMS resonator

City of Maastricht builds mobility from the ground up with Nokia Intellisync Mobile Suite

2007-12-14T08:28:00.000-06:00

Nokia today announced that the City of Maastricht, Netherlands has selected Nokia Intellisync Mobile Suite as their standard platform for mobile applications. The solution enables the administrative officers of the City of Maastricht to integrate 900 Nokia Eseries devices into the Cisco corporate IP telephony system and synchronize contact and calendar details. Furthermore, the city will offer wireless email to some of the employees. To ensure an easy roll out and management of all services, the City of Maastricht is using Nokia Intellisync Device Management. The deployment of the service has started and is estimated to be completed in the beginning of next year.

"Mobile working is increasingly important wherever business is conducted. The efficiencies and the cost-savings it delivers are important criteria for a city such as ours" said Marc Lustermans, project manager, City of Maastricht. "We have selected Nokia Intellisync Mobile Suite as our standard mobility platform given the modular structure of the mobileware which means that it can grow and be customized according to our evolving mobility needs today and tomorrow"

In order to ensure an easy and cost-effective deployment of the different mobile services, to simplify administration and configuration of the mobile phones in use, device management is an integrated part of the total solution.

"It was important that the City of Maastricht integrated its mobile infrastructure plans into the overall IT strategy for the organization" says Scott Cooper, senior vice president, Mobility Solutions Unit, Enterprise Solutions, Nokia. "We recommend that all businesses take a similar, more strategic approach towards mobility. Done right, an organization can gain advantage by improving speed and quality of service, while encouraging collaboration and communication between employees, customers and partners"

"We were looking for innovative yet secure mobility solutions, as a high level of security and data protection is imperative for us as a municipal organization" said Lustermans. "One decision criterion for the Nokia solution resulted from the fact that we can fully integrate the wireless email solution behind the firewall and hence keep full control of the solution within our own IT department"

Nokia Intellisync Mobile Suite provides access to powerful collaboration tools such as email, contacts, calendar, device management and synchronization of file and data and business applications. Nokia Intellisync Wireless Email as part of Nokia Intellisync Mobile Suite works in any groupware environment - ISP, Microsoft Exchange, Lotus Notes or Groupwise - and can run on any kind of device platform - Symbian, Windows, Palm or Pocket PC. The highly scalable email solution supports more than 100 different devices in addition to Nokia Eseries portfolio. Nokia Intellisync Call Connect client ties employees’ mobile phones into a company’s telephony system. Workers then have all system functions available to them even when out of the office.

Qwest to reinstate dividend, ending a six-year absence

2007-12-14T07:17:00.001-06:00

Qwest Communications is resuming a shareholder dividend after a six-year absence, a move welcomed by retirees and analysts.

The quarterly dividend will be 8 cents a share, representing a more than 4.5 percent annual yield based on Qwest's closing stock price of $6.96 Thursday.

That's comparable with the dividend yields of AT&T and Verizon.

"The company is in a position once again to fulfill its longstanding commitment to reward its stockholders," Qwest CEO Ed Mueller said in a statement Thursday.

Nelson Phelps, executive director of the Association of U S West Retirees, said he thinks retirees will be very pleased.

"Many bought the stock because they were looking for a return that could be guaranteed, and it was a real shock when (former CEO Joe) Nacchio cut that," Phelps said.

He predicted the dividend could attract new investors.

Predecessor U S West was paying quarterly dividends of 53.5 cents before the merger with Qwest in 2000. Nacchio slashed the dividend to 5 cents a share annually, then eliminated it altogether in 2001.

While Qwest's dividend yield is about 4.5 percent now, it would be 3.2 percent based on Qwest's trading prices of $10 a share just before former CEO Dick Notebaert announced his retirement last summer.

The dividend will be payable on Feb. 21 to stockholders of record on Feb. 1.

Donna Jaegers, a telecommunications analyst at Janco Partners in Greenwood Village, said the quarterly dividend is a couple of cents higher than what she anticipated.

Jaegers said it might mean Mueller, who is expected to announce Qwest's strategic plan Monday, "won't be doing anything drastic in terms of investing in" TV services.

She is looking for Mueller to provide a plan to increase revenues, strengthen the company's nationwide fiber-optic business and better defend Qwest's 14-state core phone franchise from cable and wireless competitors.

Crackle Selects Level 3 to Provide High-Speed Internet Access and Colocation

2007-12-13T09:30:00.000-06:00

Level 3 Communications’ Content Markets Group today announced that it has been selected by Crackle, Inc., a Sony Pictures Entertainment Company, to support that company’s high-quality video delivery service. Under the terms of the multi-year agreement, Level 3 will provide Crackle underlying network solutions including High Speed Internet Access via multiple 10 Gigabits per second (GigE) ports and colocation services to enable Crackle’s continued growth and provide a better experience for Crackle’s customers through improved speed and reliability.
"Level 3’s global reach, proven scalability and reliability will give Crackle both the network performance and stability that will enable us to take our business to the next level" said Nate Underwood, vice president of Engineering & Operations at Crackle. "From the beginning of our relationship with Level 3, we have been impressed with their ability to address the complexities of our business and offer flexible solutions that meet our needs. With Level 3, we have the confidence to aggressively market and drive the evolution of online video, bringing viewers more professionally produced material and providing the next wave of creative talent a forum that will give them the exposure, including pathways to Hollywood and distribution to the widest audience, and the recognition they seek and deserve"

Crackle is a video entertainment network dedicated to the discovery and development of pioneering video creators across a diverse range of genres. Crackle delivers programmed and customized video streams to a global audience via a multi-platform 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.

"Crackle’s unique programming and editorial strategy continues to drive the evolution of online video content" said Brady Rafuse, president of Level 3’s Content Markets Group. "Their use of high-quality, full-screen experience raises the bar for content and video on the Internet. Level 3’s network was built for the high-bandwidth demands of companies like Crackle and is ideally suited to continue to scale with Crackle as it grows in reach and popularity"

With one of the world’s largest IP backbones, Level 3 provides reliable, high capacity bandwidth to meet growing traffic demand from customers with rich media applications. Level 3 offers Internet connectivity in 180 markets in addition to a comprehensive suite of network services that provide building blocks for its customers’ diverse service offerings. Level 3 has the scale, performance and service portfolio to support content delivery solutions as its customers’ network needs evolve.

LG’s Global Handset Viewty Makes Its Home Debut

2007-12-13T09:27:00.000-06:00

LG Electronics (LG), a worldwide technology leader in mobile communications, finally unveiled the long-awaited Korean edition of its Viewty phone, which was previously launched in Europe in October.

LG Viewty is the first high-tech category phone, in contrast to the company’s popular Black Label Series of design-focused handsets with emotional appeal. Dr. Skott Ahn, President and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company said, “High-tech features and premium design are two pillars of our product development direction, which is absolutely based on our consumer insight. LG’s ultimate goal is to serve and satisfy every single customer individually by offering brand new experiences involving our products, whether it’s emotional attachment, sensory pleasure or technological wonder.”

Even though LG Viewty is categorized as a high-tech phone, all the rich features of this camera phone have been designed for a user’s viewing enjoyment. Chang Ma, Vice President of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company, adds, “The highly elaborate camera functions of the Viewty phone allow a user to capture the most subtle moments of his or her life and creatively share it with their loved ones.”

LG Viewty’s target is not limited only to the handset market. LG also aims to take a share of the high-megapixel digital camera market.

Professional-level high-tech camera phone for a quality viewing experience

Armed with a 5.0 megapixel camera with certified Schneider-Kreuznach lens and manual focus, this full touchscreen camera phone is for the serious photographer on the go. LG Viewty’s many features enable users to experience true joy while taking pictures and video, viewing and especially sharing.

ISO800, SmartLight™ and Image Stabilizer with a dedicated-key help users take great images in low light or while moving. However, one of Viewty’s most unique features is the ability to play video at one-fourth normal speed, thanks to is high-speed 120fps video recording function. On top of that, the phone’s handwriting editing and drawing function allows consumers to add a creative touch to images directly through the 3-inch LCD touch screen. Finally, a user can share his or her creative work by directly uploading it to the mobile edition of Cyworld, the Korean equivalent of Facebook. For the global version of the phone, the LG KU-990, uploads can go directly to YouTube.

The Korean edition of LG Viewty comes in three models of 7.2-Mbps 3G phone, respectively tailored to all three major Korean network service providers: SK Telecom, Korea Telecom Freetel and LG Telecom. The global edition is a single 3.6-Mbps HSDPA model for the European open market.

LG’s product development strategy based on consumer insight

The fountain of inspiration for LG to develop its handsets is consumer insight.

LG categorizes its handsets into design-focused, feature-oriented or value products. The company targets consumers by various segments including Premier, Trendsetter, etc. In all, this comes to more than 20 types of consumers in the global handset market.

The company has been conducting consumer preference surveys for these types in fourteen countries including the U.S., the U.K., France, Brazil, Russia, India and China, to find out what consumers really want.

Based on the findings of the study, LG plans to develop both fashion phones with differentiated styles and feature phones focused on specific technology themes such as touch screen or mobile internet. Meanwhile, LG will continue to provide stunning designs and features even in the low-to-mid tier product category.

“We’ve successfully established the LG brand with design excellence in the global handset market,” said Dr. Ahn in wrapping up the launch event. “Going forward, LG will continue to develop hit products throughout all of our product categories.”

LG Viewty was also launched in Singapore, South Africa, Malaysia, Taiwan, UAE and Thailand in November. The phone will be available by the end of this year in other parts of Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

Motorola Celebrates Shipment of 50 Million SURFboard® Cable and Digital Voice Modems

2007-12-13T09:24:00.000-06:00

Motorola, Inc. today announced that it has shipped its 50 millionth SURFboard modem. This significant milestone further strengthens Motorola’s leadership position in global modem deployments as well as retail cable modem shipments.

“For the last decade, Motorola has brought its proven experience and expertise to help further the development of the DOCSIS® standards,” said Alan Lefkof, corporate vice president, Motorola Broadband Solutions Group. "As the leading provider of modems, we are in a strategic position to offer the most advanced, standards-based cable and digital voice modem features to our customers. We’re excited about the opportunities we’ll have around DOCSIS 3.0 in 2008.”

The Motorola SURFboard family of innovative, high-speed data and digital voice modems include an advanced feature set of Ethernet network connectivity and Universal Serial Bus (USB) interfaces for easy plug-and-play installation. They are compatible with Windows®, Macintosh® and UNIX® computers and support standard Internet software. Trouble-shooting is simplified with front panel status indicator LEDs and an online diagnostics page.

“While working with Motorola over the past six years, we have experienced incredible growth in our broadband business,” said Jay Rolls, vice president of technology, Cox Communications. “In today’s competitive marketplace, it is essential that Cox continue to offer the best and most reliable service; we appreciate Motorola’s innovative customer premises equipment with its best-in-class performance in support of that goal.”

As the long standing leader of cable modem sales globally, Motorola offers self-installable modems, reducing the need for on-site service installations and resulting in significant cost savings for customers. With advances like this around innovation and quality, Motorola maintains the top position in deployment numbers for the following areas:

* #1 in cable modems

* #1 in DOCSIS 1.0

* #1 in DOCSIS 1.1

* #1 in DOCSIS 2.0

* #1 in retail volume of cable modems shipped

“The total number of modem connections around the world is on the rise,” according to analyst firm Ovum’s global cable modem forecast published in October. “Current modem connections total 70 million worldwide with an annual growth rate of approximately 10% through 2011. It is anticipated that revenues will keep pace and experience similar growth.”

In the coming months, the SURFboard cable modems (model SB5101) and wireless cable modem gateways (model SBG900) will feature a 50 millionth celebratory icon on products sold in leading North America electronic stores.

Trade judge rules for Nokia over Qualcomm

2007-12-13T09:19:00.000-06:00

Nokia won a round in one of its many patent battles with chip maker Qualcomm Inc as a judge with the U.S. International Trade Commission ruled for the mobile telephone maker on Wednesday.

The complaint, which was filed in June 2006, accused Nokia of infringing on three patents that controlled power to mobile telephones. Qualcomm had asked the ITC to bar the importation of the infringing technology.

"The administrative law judge, after a review of the record developed, finds inter alia that there is jurisdiction and that there is no violation," wrote Paul Luckern, the administrative law judge who heard the case.

The ITC, which determines whether imports unfairly injure U.S. companies, must now decide if it will uphold Luckern's decision.

Qualcomm said it would continue the fight. "Under applicable ITC rules, Qualcomm intends to petition the commission for review of the ID (initial determination)," Qualcomm said in a statement.

Nokia applauded the judge's initial determination, and said it hoped it boded well for other cases pending between the two technology companies.

"Qualcomm has yet to prevail in any of the patent infringement lawsuits against Nokia," said Rick Simonson, Nokia chief financial officer, in a conference call to reporters.

Finland's Nokia and San Diego-based Qualcomm have about a dozen legal fights pending on three continents.

The two companies have been wrangling over a cross- licensing agreement for technology patents that expired in April 2007. Their expensive legal battle is worrying investors and the industry on both sides of the Atlantic.

In June, the ITC ruled that Qualcomm infringed a Broadcom Corp patent and banned imports of some new advanced cell phones using Qualcomm's chips.

AT&T turns on coast-to-coast higher-speed network connection

2007-12-11T10:08:00.000-06:00

AT&T said Monday it has switched on its high-speed backbone network, which is designed to ferry data traffic across the U.S. four times faster.

AT&T has begun placing traffic on its so-called "ultra-long haul" network, which boasts a capacity of 40 gigabits per second, meaning consumers will be able to download large files quicker and more easily stream online videos to their computers. Carriers have been upgrading the backbone network _ the underlying pipes needed to move data across extremely long distances _ to meet the increasing demand in bandwidth-intensive programs and videos.

"As the demand for Internet and IP-based applications continues to explode, IP traffic on the AT&T network has doubled throughout the past two years, and we fully expect this substantial growth to continue in the future," John Stankey, president of telecom operations at AT&T, said in a statement.

The company, which is deploying routing equipment supplied by Cisco Systems Inc., has upgraded 50,000 miles (80,463 kilometers) of its network and plans to connect 25 major metropolitan areas in the next several months. AT&T does not break out the cost of the network upgrade, but a spokesman said the expenses were covered under the company's overall capital-expenditure outlay.

In addition to a faster connection for consumers, the upgrades will help ease the capacity requirements for the company's U-Verse Internet-based TV system. While the network is the first in the U.S., Verizon Communications Inc. said that this month it would begin building a 2,000-mile (3,218-kilometer) backbone network connecting major cities in Europe. Both companies plan to push the 40-gigabit standard in the U.S. and eventually upgrade to 100 Gbps.

Shares of AT&T fell 28 cents to $38.19 in Monday afternoon trading. Verizon's stock rose 1 cent to $45.31. Roger Cheng is a correspondent for Dow Jones Newswires.

AT&T to buy core routers from Cisco

2007-12-11T10:03:00.000-06:00

Top U.S. phone company AT&T Inc said on Monday it was buying core routers from Cisco Systems Inc to upgrade its Internet backbone network, a major win for Cisco amid competition from rival network equipment maker Juniper Networks Inc .

The companies did not reveal the price and size of the order for Cisco's CRS-1 core routers, but AT&T said it plans to connect Internet hubs in 25 major U.S. cities with the upgraded network in the coming months.

The announcement comes amid concern about slower spending by U.S. companies after Cisco, the world's biggest maker of routers, reported a fall in spending by banks and automakers last quarter.

Investors have also pointed to competition from smaller rival Juniper, which recently launched a new core router called the T1600 to rival the CRS-1.

AT&T said the network upgrade was in response to growing Internet traffic. It will also be used to deliver its advanced Web and video service, called U-verse.

"As the demand for Internet and IP-based applications continues to explode, IP traffic on the AT&T network has doubled throughout the past two years, and we fully expect this substantial growth to continue in the future," said John Stankey, AT&T's group president of telecoms operations.

AT&T also said it chose the CRS-1 after comparing it with similar equipment from other vendors.

The CRS-1 sells for around $500,000 to more than $1 million each, depending on configurations. Most buyers are large phone and cable service providers such as Comcast Corp , Deutsche Telekom AG and Sprint Nextel Corp .

Cisco shares inched up in premarket trading to $27.58 from Friday's close of $27.45.

Italy’s Conad chooses Nokia Siemens Networks as a partner to provide hosting and charging services for its new mobile operations

2007-12-11T09:59:00.000-06:00

The supermarket chain to start as a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) in 2008

Nokia Siemens Networks has won a contract with Conad of Italy to manage its system and provide hosting services as the supermarket chain enters the mobile virtual network operator market at the beginning of 2008.

The contract will see Nokia Siemens Networks supply Conad with convergent charging solutions and hosting services from one of its hosting centers. Using an intelligent network server, the solution will be capable of communicating flawlessly with the host network of Vodafone Italy.

Conad and Vodafone signed an agreement last August enabling the supermarket chain to enter the MVNO market within the first months of coming year. Conad will have its own brand, be the sole manager of its relationship with customers, have its own prefix number, and manage all commercial offers and customer care activities directly.

Nokia Siemens Networks will create and manage a complete Customer Relationship Management (CRM) service for tariff application and traffic management, and set up the necessary infrastructure to meet Conad’s requirements for innovative voice and data offerings.

Conad is among the top distribution cooperatives both by sales points (a total of 3,037 in Italy under the Conad, Margherita and Leclerc Conad brands) and by market share (12%). The chain has attracted around 4 million loyalty card holders, who make a potential target group for Conad’s MVNO services in Italy, where MVNO activity is now picking up.

“We are confident that the hosted online charging by Nokia Siemens Networks will enable us to offer high-quality services to our mobile customers once we start our service early next year,” says Mauro Bosio, President of Conad Insim, the company group managing the MVNO activity. “We are convinced that our footprint will allow us to create a strong customer base. Our customers will have the possibility to activate and top-up their accounts at our 3,000 sales points all over Italy.”

“The mobile virtual network operator sector is becoming increasingly interesting in Italy. The business is appealing to all involved parties: from network and service providers to MVNOs and host operators to consumers,” says Roberto Loiola, the head of South East Europe Sub region at Nokia Siemens Networks. ”By selecting our hosting service, Conad will be able to offer the new services quickly and cost-efficiently, while our charging solution will allow targeted tariff and calling plans that contribute to quality customer experience and thus increase average revenue per user.”

Hosting is one of the many tools that Nokia Siemens Networks can offer operators to help expand their business in the face of ever-toughening competition and growing technological complexity. Hosting is part of Nokia Siemens Networks’ Managed Services business, one of the main pillars of its growing Services business unit. Nokia Siemens Networks is a leader in the managed services market, with over 160 contracts serving more than 130 million subscribers around the world.

Nokia Siemens Networks is the world’s No. 1 prepaid and charging supplier serving more than 400 million online customers. More than 200 operators use the company’s leading-edge charging and care solutions.

Tele Greenland selects Alcatel-Lucent to implement Euro 90 million “Greenland Connect” project

2007-12-11T09:56:00.000-06:00

Alcatel-Lucent today announced the signature of a Euro 90 million turnkey contract with Tele Greenland to deploy a 4,600 kilometer submarine cable network linking Greenland to Iceland and Canada. The new cable network, called Greenland Connect, is expected to provide international and domestic connectivity to meet the growing bandwidth requirements for new applications – including video, data, and other multimedia services – to serve Tele Greenland’s users. The project should be completed before the winter season of 2008.

The Greenland Connect network will consist of two main sections (or trunk cables): the first one will span 2,500 kilometers from Nuuk in Greenland to Milton in Newfoundland and the second will link Nuuk and Qaqortoq to Landeyarsandur in Iceland over 2,100 kilometers. Each of the trunk cables will be equipped with branching units allowing for future connections north of Nuuk and also for a direct connection from Newfoundland to Iceland. Greenland Connect will offer an ultimate capacity of up to 96 x 10Gbit/s.

The network will enable businesses and consumers to benefit from services such as broadband Internet and video conferencing. Tele Greenland will also be able to further enhance its end-to-end offering for voice and data network hubs, call centers and advanced multimedia applications for maritime safety and emergency communications.

“According to our vision “Greenland in the Centre of the World, we have to address increased connectivity requirements, while minimizing our operational costs and guaranteeing performance continuity at the highest level possible. The Greenland Connect cable will provide Greenland with a place on the worldwide Internet network, and direct access to American and European markets” said CEO Brian Buus Pedersen, Tele Greenland. “Alcatel-Lucent’s submarine solutions offer the flexibly and reliability our customers require to support the cost-effective delivery of innovative services.”

“The severe weather conditions of Greenland and the North Atlantic Ocean make this project very challenging,“ stated Jean Godeluck, President of Alcatel-Lucent’s submarine network activity. “Our selection for this project is based on our ability to manage from the most simple to the most complex turnkey projects and deliver it on time.”

Nokia Siemens Networks to expand packet core network capacity for China Mobile Group Beijing Ltd.

2007-12-11T09:51:00.000-06:00

China Mobile Group Beijing Ltd. (CMBJ) has selected Nokia Siemens Networks to expand its General Packet Radio Services (GPRS) core network. Nokia Siemens Networks’ solution will enable CMBJ to increase its packet core network capacity in a cost-efficient way and launch new mobile data applications.

Millions of additional visitors will use their mobile phones in Beijing during August of next year to stay up to date with the results of the hundreds of sport events or to send messages to their friends at home. That is why CMBJ wants to do more than expand its packet core network capacity in a cost efficient manner. The solution also has to be reality-proofed and stable. Both criteria are perfectly met by the packet core solution from Nokia Siemens Networks. It provides one of the highest and most intensively tested user capacities in the market.

“As the telecommunications service provider for Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, our goal is to provide advanced technology, rich applications and high quality services to respond to the needs of our customers. This expansion paves the way for convenient data services by using a proven platform supplied by Nokia Siemens Networks.” commented Mr. Li Zhijie, Deputy General Manager of Network Department, China Mobile Group Beijing Ltd.

“We are very proud to further cooperate with CMBJ for its GPRS expansion to allow mobile users to enjoy high quality voice and high speed mobile data services such as Push to Talk, Express News, streaming through Nokia Siemens Networks’ GPRS Platform,” said Zhang Zhiqiang, Head of Nokia Siemens Networks Greater China Region.

Nokia Siemens Networks is a leading packet core supplier and has more than 270 GPRS references globally. It serves more than 400 million GPRS subscribers on all continents Recent launches include a solution for content based charging for China market, policy enforcement including peer-to-peer application detection and service bandwidth management feature that are helping operator to protect valuable network resource in cost efficiency way and at the same time continuously driving standardized packet core network evolutions.

Nokia Siemens Networks has been a key supplier of GSM and GPRS networks to CMBJ since 1994. Our complete solution makes Nokia Siemens Networks the main supplier of radio and core networks to CMBJ for the coming athletic event in 2008 in Beijing. Besides GPRS core networks, Nokia Siemens Networks recently provided its innovative Flexi Base station products and a Push to Talk solution to CMBJ.

Technical Background:

The high user capacity of the packet core solution from Nokia Siemens Networks allows operators to handle a huge number of mobile consumers, even if they are using data services heavily, with a very small amount of equipment. One part of the solution, the Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN), combines support for 2G and 3G networks dynamically in one system. Operators are therefore free to devote available capacity to the network where the capacity is needed without adding new hardware.

The SGSN also prepares an operator’s network for the so called “direct tunnel architecture” or “flat architecture”. This architecture is part of the Long Term Evolution (LTE) of mobile data networks. With this technology the payload of the connection will be handled directly between access and the GGSN. Only the signaling part has to be routed through the SGSN. This saves a lot of capacity in the SGSN, so an increase in traffic doesn’t mean an additional investment in this part of the network.

AT&T Kicks Product Rollout and Branding into High Gear in Former Dobson Territory in Time for Holiday Season

2007-12-09T21:14:00.000-06:00

Customers to Have Access to iPhone and Other Innovative AT&T Products and Services; Improved Network Coverage

All Cellular One Wireless Stores Converted to AT&T Branding.

Beginning Sunday, Dec. 9, customers of the nation’s largest wireless carrier will see more of AT&T as the company transitions Dobson’s Cellular One-branded stores to AT&T, launches the Apple iPhone in select new markets and introduces AT&T’s leading-edge portfolio of wireless handsets and offers throughout former Dobson territory.

AT&T Inc. today announced that the first phase of integration will start Sunday by stocking store shelves with AT&T handsets and replacing Dobson’s Cellular One brand with exterior and interior AT&T signage in more than 200 stores in 16 states. In some Alaska markets, including Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau, AT&T will make the iPhone available in select retail outlets and will expand to include additional AT&T products and services in 2008. The rebranding follows AT&T’s acquisition of Dobson Communications Corp. on Nov. 15.

"We’re thrilled to welcome these new members to the AT&T community and offer them an amazing portfolio of wireless products and services, plus the nation’s largest voice and data network" said Ralph de la Vega, president and CEO of wireless services for AT&T. "From the iPhone to our exclusive Rollover® Minutes to cutting-edge data and content, our new customers will have exciting and innovative wireless options not previously available to them. We’re integrating quickly and in time for the important holiday shopping season"

Dobson customers can switch to AT&T plans without activation or upgrade fees. Dobson customers who choose AT&T calling plans will benefit from Rollover Minutes, a feature exclusive to AT&T. Dobson customers who currently have a Mobile to Mobile feature will now be able to use those minutes to reach all of AT&T’s 67.3 million wireless customers.

As a result of the acquisition, Dobson customers* now have access to AT&T’s lineup of exclusive handsets, including:

Shine by LG — A beautiful device featuring a silver exterior, Video Share, a 2-megapixel camera and unique 2.2-inch mirror LCD screen.

Samsung Blackjack II — The familiar look and feel of the first Blackjack with built-in GPS, global 3G capabilities and Video Share.

Samsung SLM — The first of AT&T’s devices to have Napster Mobile, giving customers access to wireless downloads from Napster direct to the phone while on the go.

In addition, AT&T will rebrand the Cellular One Web site and direct consumers to http://www.att.com for new product and service information. Dobson subscribers may also continue seeking account support through www.celloneusa.com.

The recent merger extends AT&T’s coverage and services into a number of primarily rural and suburban areas in Alaska, Arizona, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin. Dobson customers will experience a number of benefits as a result of joining AT&T, including access to the nation’s largest digital voice and data network, which offers maximum convenience and flexibility wherever subscribers are.

Dobson customers in AT&T’s traditional 22-state wireline footprint, including subscribers in Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas and Wisconsin, will have the opportunity to join the nation’s largest unlimited calling community — through AT&T UnitySM plans — with unlimited calling to more than 120 million AT&T home, business and wireless customers. Dobson customers traveling abroad will also have the advantage of access to lower-cost service in more than 190 countries.