Ghepardoo's Blog

Femtocell Industry Awards 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Ghepardoo) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 13:29:00 +0000

The Femto Forum, the independent industry association that supports femtocell deployment worldwide, today announced the winners of the inaugural Femtocell Industry Awards. The awards recognise outstanding achievement within, and contributions to, the femtocell industry. The awards were presented at a gala dinner at the Femtocells World Summit in London last night.
The winners for the Femtocell Industry Awards 2009 are:
1. Award Category: Femtocell or femtocell network element design and technology innovation
Award Winner: ip.access Ltd - nano3G Enterprise Solution
The nano3G represents an evolution of the femtocell into the enterprise environment. Not only does it support the 3GPP's new femtocell standard, it also represents a step up in coverage and capacity.

2. Award Category: Femtocell service (commercial, prototype or demo)
Award Winner: ip.access Ltd - Facebook virtual fridge notes
The service implements a "classic" application use case - where the subscriber receives a reminder message when arriving at home - but with an innovative extension that enables the message to be composed and sent using Facebook.

3. Award Category: Progress in commercial deployment (vendor or ecosystem)
Award Winner: NEC Corporation
This recognizes NEC's strong traction in the market with several commercial contracts in place and several live trials underway with operators around the world.

4. Award Category: Significant progress or commercial launch by a large carrier
Award Winner: Sprint Nextel Corp.
This recognizes this commercial launch, which was the world's first commercial deployment of femtocells.

5. Award Category: Significant progress or commercial launch by a small carrier
Award Winner: Cellcom
For Cellcom’s deployment of the world's first IMS-based CDMA femtocell network for consumers and enterprises.

6. Award Category: Contribution to femtocell standards (individual or company)
Award Winner: Taka Yoshizawa, Thomson
For his pivotal role in defining the femtocell management specifications by working through the Femto Forum, the Broadband Forum and the 3GPP.

7. Award Category: Enabling technology (components, subsystems, modules etc.)
Award Winner: picoChip Designs Ltd -picoXcell™ PC302 SoC.
This optimized system-on-chip, which supports the 3GPP's new femtocell standard, embodies five years of femtocell experience, comprehensive interoperability testing and numerous real-world deployments.

8. Award Category: Social vision - use of femtocells for social / economic / environmental development
Award Winner: Softbank Mobile Corp - Niimi project
The project illustrates how femtocells can be cost-effectively deployed to deliver services in rural environments where existing coverage is limited.

9. Award Category: Award for individual contributions to Femto Forum activities
Award Winner: Chris Fenton of Telefónica-O2
For achieving architectural consensus as chair of the Femto Forum Network & Interoperability Working Group.

“The judges were extremely impressed by the high quality and number of award submissions which reflect the health and innovation of the femtocell industry,” said Simon Saunders, Chairman of the Femto Forum. “The femtocell industry is rapidly evolving as major advances are made in the technology, standards, services and applications - these awards recognise and reward this progress. Our congratulations to the winners and to all those who participated.”
The awards were open to the whole industry and were judged independently of the Femto Forum by a panel of distinguished analysts, journalists and industry experts, chaired by Professor William Webb, Head of R&D at Ofcom.
For more information on the Femtocell Industry Awards, please visit: http://www.femtoforum.org/femto/aboutforum.php?id=96

Virtual Wi-Fi

noreply@blogger.com (Ghepardoo) — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 20:39:00 +0000

Meru Networks has announced "virtual ports" for its wireless networks - a development it claims will finally enable Wi-Fi to replace Ethernet by making it as reliable as a switched Ethernet port.

The new fast version of Wi-Fi, 802.11n, can match the performance of Ethernet, but it can still be unpredictable, said Meru's vice president of marketing, Rachna Ahlawat. Virtual ports, introduced to the latest software on Meru's wireless controllers, give each user a dedicated network service, which can be tied to quality of service and delivered data rates.

Laptops and phones connecting to a Meru network with virtual ports will each see a dedicated BSSID or Wi-Fi Mac address, analogous to a wired switch port, said Ahlawat. This will follow the user throughout the network.

"It's like having a wired network port following you, hopping from radio to radio as you move," said Meru's chief architect, Joe Epstein. "One client can't affect the performance of others," added Ahlawat.

"The approach is very interesting," said analyst Craig Mathias of Farpoint Group, "providing greater control over the relationship between the infrastructure and a given client. I'm looking forward to testing it."

The feature is made possible by Meru's existing virtual cell architecture, said Ahlawat. This "virtualises" the Wi-Fi network, so access points do not all have separate identities: the BSSIDs are centralised, and network resources can be pooled for all users. Virtual ports take this further, by partitioning the pooled resources, to deliver service level agreements to individual clients, said Ahlawat.

Most rival wireless network equipment can also set up multiple BSSIDs, sometimes called "virtual APs," for instance to provide multiple wireless networks for guests and contractors on a site. But they cannot offer virtual ports, because the BSSIDs are held on the individual access points, and not centralised and pooled, Epstein said. "In that situation, attempting to assign a BSSID per client would be wrong - the network would rapidly run out of addresses. Without pooling, virtual ports would be the utter worst case of preprovisioning - not a virtualisation solution."

"Aruba, Cisco and others are trying to find ways to optimise a hublike technology," said Epstein, making a comparison with the old-fashioned hubs that shared access to Ethernet networks until they were replaced by switches which give each client its own port. "They make it work as well as a hub can work, but there will still be a difference between that and a switch-like technology."

Virtual ports can't make capacity out of nothing, acknowledged Epstein: they still share the bandwidth of a limited number of channels. But Ethernet switches are also limited by the uplink bandwidth - and the virtual port puts the two technologies on an equal footing: "The reaction of a switch to load is predictable."

The virtual port was designed for fast Wi-Fi in mind, using the IEEE 802.11n standard, but works on the previous 802.11abg standards, and is already available on Meru's 802.11abg products, said Epstein.

Cell phone study shows adverse testes results

noreply@blogger.com (Ghepardoo) — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 21:58:00 +0000

Male cell phone users who carry their devices like 21st century six-shooters might want to reconsider where, exactly, they put them. A new study from the Center for Reproductive Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic has suggested a link between cell phones and sperm damage. Specifically, the study said, when in close range to the testes and in talk mode, the cell phones damage sperm.

Studies were taken on 32 men with similar sperm health. One group was placed for an hour within 2.5 centimeters of a cell phone in talk mode at 850 MHz. The transmission, the study said, led to an increase in "oxidative stress" which, in laymen's terms, apparently means damaged sperm. Even worse, there may be a relation to testicular cancer as well.

This isn't the first time this particular medical team has found a link between cell phones and sperm problems. A previous study of 361 subjects showed men who use their cell phones more than four hours a day have "significantly lower sperm counts." A CTIA spokesman, while supporting "good science," also pointed to other studies that show no link between wireless usage and adverse health effects.

Alcatel-Lucent gets WIMAX Certification

noreply@blogger.com (Ghepardoo) — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 18:21:00 +0000

Paris, September 4, 2008 — Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) today announced that it has been awarded the WiMAX Forum Certified seal of approval for its WiMAX 802.16e Compact Base Station at 2.5GHz. This achievement further confirms Alcatel-Lucent’s leadership in WiMAX and its commitment to accelerate the development of a global and open WiMAX™ eco-system.

Alcatel-Lucent’s infrastructure portfolio is made up of products that strictly comply with the 802.16e-2005 standard (also called Rev-e), which supports fixed, nomadic and mobile services. The company’s “Open CPE Program” is helping to accelerate the availability of terminals by encompassing comprehensive interoperability testing programs with WiMAX chipset and end-user device suppliers.

This significant milestone is also the first step toward the certification of the company’s entire portfolio of WiMAX solutions already available in other licensed frequency bands and deployed in several networks worldwide, including some in commercial service today in Europe, Asia and Latin America. Alcatel-Lucent expects its 3.5GHz equipment to be WiMAX Forum Certified by end of 2008.

“Alcatel-Lucent is proud to receive the WiMAX Forum Certified designation, which acknowledges the development efforts we have made over the last four years,” said Karim El Naggar, Vice President and head of Alcatel-Lucent’s WiMAX activities. “Customers can be confident that Alcatel-Lucent’s WiMAX solution complies with the most stringent requirements of the standard and smoothly interoperates with any WiMAX Forum Certified device.”

Karim El Naggar pointed out that, unique in the industry, Alcatel-Lucent systematically guarantees strict alignment of features and compliance at 2.3, 2.5 and 3.5GHz, as part of its global mobile WiMAX™ strategy.He noted that with 30 commercial contracts and more than 70 trials around the world, ”Alcatel-Lucent is the undisputed leader in the WiMAX market,” he said.

Currently the WiMAX Forum has more than 530 member companies including service providers, regulators, equipment vendors, chip vendors and content providers. Alcatel-Lucent is a member of the WiMAX Forum board.

“The first series of Mobile WiMAX certifications by the WiMAX Forum represent a critical milestone for the WiMAX industry as it will further accelerate the availability of interoperable solutions and ensure widespread adoption and deployment of WiMAX technology and products,” said Ron Resnick, President of the WiMAX Forum. “Alcatel-Lucent is playing a key role in taking that important step with the WiMAX Forum, enabling the global WiMAX community to benefit from fully interoperable infrastructures and devices.”

To earn this certification, Alcatel-Lucent’s 802.16e WiMAX products underwent rigorous and extensive series of tests by the WiMAX Forum's lead certification laboratory partner, AT4 wireless, spanning protocol conformance, radio conformance and interoperability testing.

“Achieving Mobile WiMAX certification is the result of the teamwork between leading wireless companies and our lab people, the most experienced in WiMAX certification testing world-wide. That is why AT4 wireless would like to thank Alcatel-Lucent for its key contribution towards putting in place the necessary process and tools,” said Fernando E. Hardasmal, Deputy General Director at AT4 wireless.

In addition to being a board member of the WiMAX Forum, Alcatel-Lucent is a founding member of the Open Patent Alliance formed by key industry players to advance WIMAX 4G technology.

Orange Romania will sell iPhone 3G on 22 August

noreply@blogger.com (Ghepardoo) — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 18:18:00 +0000

Orange Romania, part of France’s mobile telephony operator Orange, on Wednesday said the new iPhone 3G handset, to be launched in Romania on August 22, will sell for prices ranging between EUR179 and EUR489, based on the type of model and subscription.

Orange is the only mobile telecom operator to sell the iPhone 3G terminal in Romania, following a deal France’s Orange signed with U.S. Apple Inc. in May to sell its iPhone in several European countries, including Romania.

Apart from Romania, Orange said it will sell the iPhone in Austria, Belgium, the Dominican Republic, Egypt, Jordan, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Switzerland and its African markets later this year.

Apple launched the iPhone in the U.S. in June last year. The handset combines the features of a mobile phone, web browser and audio and video players.

Orange Romania is the top operator on the local mobile telephony market, with 10.01 million customers reported end June.

The company reported a 9% hike in its first half revenues to EUR628 million.

Huawei attacks the European market

noreply@blogger.com (Ghepardoo) — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 20:04:00 +0000

Huawei Technologies, the China telecommunications equipment maker, is to step up sales efforts in Europe in a move that will raise pressure on western rivals.

Zhou Ming Cheng, Huawei's European marketing director, told the Financial Times the group had achieved sales of $2bn (£1bn) in Europe in 2007, up from $770m in 2006.

Mr Zhou said Huawei aimed to lift European sales this year, implying it was seeking to raise market share at the expense of rivals Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson and Nokia Siemens Networks.

Huawei's aggressive overseas drive is putting pressure on Alcatel-Lucent and Nokia Siemens, which reported losses last year, and Ericsson, which saw net income fall.

"I do believe that in the coming few years we are still growing very fast here," Mr Zhou said.

"The European market is one of the biggest in the world - very strategic to the company. So we put more investment in and we believe we will have a better and better position here."

He claimed that the 2006 merger between Alcatel and Lucent and the joint venture between Nokia and Siemens had given Huawei sales opportunities because fixed-line phone and mobile operators did not want to be dependent on a restricted range of equipment suppliers.

During the past two years, Huawei has been winning wireless infrastructure contracts with European mobile operators by edging out Alcatel-Lucent, Eric-sson and Nokia Siemens.

Vincent Rech, an analyst at Société Générale, pointed to contracts won by Huawei in 2007 with Vodafone in Greece, Romania and Spain; France Telecom in Belgium and France; and Telefónica in Germany. The contracts underline how Huawei is moving beyond China and other emerging markets.

But while it is enjoying growing success in Europe, Huawei has made limited progress in the US. Mr Zhou said sales of $100m were achieved in the US in 2007.

The 2007 annual report of Huawei, which is not a public company, said it generated revenue of $12.6bn and net income of $673.5m.

Mr Zhou played down suggestions by rivals that it was aggressive in its pricing of contracts so as to win orders.

He described Huawei as a private company and denied it received financial support from the Chinese government.

Orange will bring iPhone 3G to Romania on August 22

noreply@blogger.com (Ghepardoo) — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 17:23:00 +0000

Bucharest - August 6, 2008. Orange Romania today announced it will bring iPhone 3G to Romania on August 22. iPhone 3G combines all the revolutionary features of iPhone plus 3G networking that is twice as fast*, built-in GPS for expanded location-based mobile services, and iPhone 2.0 software which includes support for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync and runs hundreds of third party applications available through the new App Store.

"We are excited to be the only network provider to offer iPhone 3G in Romania from August 22. With our 3G/HSDPA capabilities and widespread broadband coverage, Orange customers in Romania will be able to enjoy the full iPhone 3G experience,” said Richard Moat, CEO Orange Romania.

Orange customers are welcomed to attend the official launch of iPhone 3G at midnight on August 22. The doors of six Orange shops across the country will open simultaneously: Orange concept store in Bucharest and the Orange shops in Iasi (Anastasie Panu Blvd.), Cluj (21 Decembrie Blvd.), Brasov (Muresenilor St.), Timisoara (Republicii Blvd.) and Constanta (St. Stefan cel Mare).

Starting August 7, customers can register online their pre-order at www.orange.ro/iphone.

The combination of widespread EDGE, Wi-Fi, 3G and HSDPA networks mean customers can fully enjoy the mobile Internet almost wherever they go. In addition, Orange will offer a range of new tariffs plans and benefits for iPhone 3G customers. Details of pricing and availability will be announced soon.

Cisco acquires Pure Networks

noreply@blogger.com (Ghepardoo) — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 18:52:00 +0000

SAN JOSE, Calif. - July 23, 2008 - Cisco today announced its intent to purchase privately held Pure Networks, a Seattle-based leader in home networking-management software and tools. Pure Networks' home networking-management solution allows users to easily set up and manage a home network and connect a range of devices, applications and services within a home.

Cisco believes the industry is amid a transition from Home Networking 1.0, in which home networks are largely designed to share a broadband connection that links PCs and peripherals, to Home Networking 2.0, in which the multimedia-enabled home will be comprised of a multitude of disparate network devices, applications and services that are connected to one another. The acquisition of Pure Networks provides Cisco with a fully integrated home networking-management solution that will also serve as the foundation for the development of new applications, tools and capabilities for consumers to use in an increasingly "connected life" at home, at work and on the go.

Pure Networks currently partners with Cisco to provide the software infrastructure and tools used to create the Linksys Easy Link Advisor (LELA) which allows a consumer to more easily set up, organize, manage, secure and use a home network. The acquisition strengthens Cisco's vision of the network as the cornerstone of the "connected life" by enabling further development of the existing LELA platform which will serve as the base for new multimedia-enabled applications, tools and capabilities. Pure Networks' products and solutions can also provide the foundation for service providers to manage home networks on behalf of consumers.

"With the rapid proliferation of networking technology and new consumer electronics devices, the ability to quickly and easily connect to a range of devices, content and services throughout the home is becoming paramount to achieving a satisfying consumer experience," said Ned Hooper, senior vice president for Cisco's Corporate Development and Consumer Group. "Pure Networks' network-management innovations will provide Cisco and Linksys with a key underpinning to take home networking to the next level of ease of use."

The Pure Networks acquisition follows Cisco's "build, buy, and partner" innovation strategy focused on capturing market transitions to expand existing product categories and enter new markets. By attaining Pure Networks' valuable network-management technology and intellectual property along with a dedicated research and development team, Cisco will be able to further advance its consumer strategy.

Under the terms of the agreement, Cisco will pay approximately $120 million in exchange for all shares of Pure Networks. The acquisition of Pure Networks is subject to various standard closing conditions and is expected to be complete in Cisco's first quarter of fiscal year 2009. Upon the close of the acquisition, Pure Networks' employees will remain in Seattle and be integrated into Linksys, led by Mike Pocock, Linksys senior vice president and general manager.

ZTE to help Ethiopia Telecommunications build national network

noreply@blogger.com (Ghepardoo) — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 01:03:00 +0000

SHENZHEN, China — ZTE Corporation ("ZTE"), a leading global provider of telecommunications equipment and network solutions is exclusively developing Ethiopia's nationwide network to cover 14 major cities in Ethiopia, including Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. This cooperation marks ZTE's continuous success in penetrating Ethiopia, after reaching an agreement with ETC to help construct IP-backbone network late last year.

As part of the agreement, ZTE will help ETC establish two separate networks that will allow ETC to provide NGN and BTS related network services by deploying ZTE's GSM bearer network optical solutions. ZTE will play a role in helping ETC to establish Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) by deploying ZXMP M800 high-end optical transmission equipment, and Access Network by using ZXMP M600, Coarse Wavelength Division Multiplexer (CWDM) system with Fixed Service Access Gateway (SAG).

ZTE's ZXMP M600 is a highly integrated CWDM transmission system, supporting 18 wavelengths and a maximum rate of 2.7 Gb/s. It features an open multi-service access model and high flexibility in consolidating voice and data services.

Moreover, it can be widely deployed at the convergence and access layers of large-scale metro network, the backbone, convergence and access layers of small to medium sized metro network, as well as the private network of utility infrastructure. With its high deployment flexibility and large capacity, ZXMP M600 helps telecom carriers lower operating cost.

"With our state-of-the-art optical transmission solution, we believe we can provide a smooth transmission route for Ethiopia's telecom network to help them satisfy their customers' demands for multi-service transmission within GSM, CDMA, IP and fixed line. ZTE is committed to playing a key role in bolstering Ethiopia's telecom infrastructure, and in return, boost its economic growth," said Mr. Han Ling, ZTE's vice president and general manager, optical network products.

ZTE has established close partnerships with over 500 operators in more than 120 countries, and has completed several large-scale backbone transmission network projects in different countries. Its optical networking products have been widely deployed by several countries and regions globally, such as Europe, Latin America, South Asia, Commonwealth of Independent States, Africa and Middle East. According to the latest statistics released by Ovum RHK, ZTE is ranked second in terms of global market share for LH Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM), with high potential of maintaining its positive growth in the market.

Nokia acquires Symbian

noreply@blogger.com (Ghepardoo) — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 17:52:00 +0000

Espoo, Finland - Nokia today announced it has launched a cash offer to acquire all of the shares of Symbian Limited that Nokia does not already own, at a price of EUR 3.647 per share. The net cash outlay from Nokia to purchase the approximately 52% of Symbian Limited shares it does not already own will be approximately EUR 264 million.

Nokia has received irrevocable undertakings from Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB, Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ), Panasonic Mobile Communications Co. Ltd. and Siemens International Holding BV to accept the offer, representing approximately 91% of the Symbian shares subject to the offer. Nokia also expects Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. to accept the offer.

The acquisition is a fundamental step in the establishment of the Symbian Foundation, announced today by Nokia, together with AT&T, LG Electronics, Motorola, NTT DOCOMO, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, STMicroelectronics, Texas Instruments and Vodafone.

"This is a significant milestone in our software strategy" said Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, CEO of Nokia. "Symbian is already the leading open platform for mobile devices. Through this acquisition and the establishment of the Symbian Foundation, it will undisputedly be the most attractive platform for mobile innovation. This will drive the development of new and compelling, web-enabled applications to delight a new generation of consumers."

"The wide support for this initiative, uniting the industry around the Symbian platform, reflects the strong gravitational pull it has for application developers and other ecosystem players. We will drive efficient, open innovation by unifying the platform and simplifying the software supply chain, leveraging our experience from mobile devices. Nokia is strongly positioned to realize the benefits of open innovation, as well as accelerating time to market, enabling us to meet and exceed consumer expectations for leading converged devices and experiences", Kallasvuo continued.

Symbian Limited is the software company that develops and licenses Symbian OS, the market-leading open operating system for mobile devices. User interfaces designed for Symbian OS include S60 from Nokia, MOAP (S) for the 3G network and UIQ, designed by UIQ Technology, a joint venture between Motorola and Sony Ericsson. A privately-owned company established in 1998, Symbian has its headquarters in London, UK and other offices in the United Kingdom, United States and Asia (Bangalore, Beijing, Seoul and Tokyo).

"Ten years ago, Symbian was established by far sighted players to offer an advanced open operating system and software skills to the whole mobile industry", said Nigel Clifford, CEO of Symbian. "Our vision is to become the most widely used software platform on the planet and indeed today Symbian OS leads its market by any measure. Today's announcement is a bold new step to achieve that vision by embracing a complete and proven platform, offered in an open way, designed to stimulate innovation, which is at the heart of everything we do."

Mobile devices based on Symbian OS account for 60% of the converged mobile device segment (source: Canalys, 12 months to Q1 2008). Symbian OS represented approximately 7% of all mobile device sales in 2007, up from 5% in 2006 (source: Strategy Analytics). To date, more than 200 million Symbian OS based phones have been shipped, over 235 models, from 8 vendors and on more than 250 mobile networks around the world. More than 4 million developers are engaged in producing applications for Symbian devices.

Nokia expects the acquisition to be completed during the fourth quarter of 2008 and is subject to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions. On a reported basis, Nokia expects the transaction to be dilutive in 2009, approximately breakeven in 2010, and accretive in 2011. On a cash basis, Nokia expects the transaction to be dilutive in 2009 and accretive in 2010 and 2011. After the closing, all Symbian employees will become Nokia employees.

Source

3G iPhone

noreply@blogger.com (Ghepardoo) — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 18:38:00 +0000

Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the iPhone 3G to an appreciative audience during the opening keynote speech at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday.
The new iPhone, sporting a thinner and sleeker look, will support faster 3G (third-generation) broadband wireless networks and come with built-in GPS (Global Positioning System) capabilities, Jobs said. Support for 3G networks will enable the new iPhone to download data up to 2.8 times faster than the earlier model, Jobs said. Built-in GPS will make it easier for users to navigate roads.

The iPhone 3G will come with a 3.5-inch screen and have better battery life, with talk time of five hours, stand-by time of 300 hours, six hours of high-speed browsing time, 20 hours of audio and seven hours of video, Jobs said. Some who had previously bought iPhones complained about its battery life and that was a problem that Apple needed to solve with the new iPhone, Jobs said.

While Jobs said the phone is "even thinner at the edges," it is just a hair thicker than its predecessor. The 3G iPhone is 0.48 inch, or 12.3 mm, thick, while the previous version is 0.46 inch, or 11.6 mm, deep.

Quicker data downloads and lower prices are key to greater adoption of iPhones worldwide, Jobs said. Apple has cut the price by half to make the new iPhone more affordable for users, so that the 8GB model will sell for $199 (£101) and the 16GB model for $299. The company found that 56 percent of people surveyed wouldn't buy the earlier iPhone because they found it expensive.

The phone will ship on 11 July in North America and will eventually be rolled out in 70 countries, including India, China, Singapore and Australia, Jobs said.

iPhone and 3G iPhone will be available at Orange locations across Romania soon. More details here

Here is a hands-on review of the new iPhone

Source

Here are some videos with Steve Jobs at WWDC08 presenting the new iPhone:

Here is the ad for the new iPhone:

Belden acquired Trapeze Networks

noreply@blogger.com (Ghepardoo) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 15:08:00 +0000

St. Louis - Belden – June 6, 2008 – (NYSE:BDC) has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Trapeze Networks, a leading provider of wireless local area networking (WLAN) equipment and management software, for $133 million in cash. The acquisition builds on Belden's market-leading position as a complete signal transmission solutions provider by adding a recognized leader in the wireless LAN market.

Wireless extends the reach of Belden's physical-layer cable and connectivity products and enables the company to address the growing mobility needs of customers. "Belden's strategic vision is to provide the best signal transmission solutions to our customers regardless of technology," said John Stroup, President and Chief Executive Officer of Belden. "We believe the acquisition of Trapeze Networks uniquely positions Belden to offer our enterprise customers tailored connectivity solutions that benefit from blending the strengths of copper, fiber and wireless technologies. Trapeze Networks Smart Mobile wireless LAN solutions deliver superior performance, security, reliability and management capabilities, making this a highly attractive wireless investment for Belden's future. The acquisition will make Belden the world's largest unified wired and wireless solutions provider and will provide expanded market access for Trapeze Networks' Smart Mobile solutions.

"We believe we are at an inflection point in enterprise wireless LAN expansion, a market that is already growing nearly 25 percent per year, and that wireless connectivity is no longer considered a luxury but is a customer expectation," added Mr. Stroup.

Trapeze Networks, a privately held company based in Pleasanton, California, with 2007 revenues of $56 million, sells its products into healthcare, education, manufacturing, retail, government and other enterprise verticals through OEMs and distribution channels. The Trapeze product portfolio is an end-to-end WLAN system built on a highly scalable and secure wireless operating system running on Trapeze Networks access points and controllers and features the industry's most robust management software capabilities. More than 4,000 organizations around the world have deployed Trapeze wireless platforms.

Jim Vogt, President and Chief Executive Officer of Trapeze, said, "During the past six years, enterprise customers around the world have invested in Trapeze Networks Smart Mobile because they can depend on it for constant connectivity and reliable mobility. The superior performance and cost benefits of our highly acclaimed wireless LAN products have fueled our global growth through distribution and through our OEM relationships with 3Com, Enterasys, Nortel and other large networking companies. Our customers can now be assured of continued product innovation and new capabilities from the combined resources of Belden and Trapeze."

Impact on Belden's Outlook

Because Trapeze Networks sells software as well as hardware and services, the company is required under accounting principles generally accepted in the United States to defer and amortize certain revenues over the lives of contracts until it can establish vendor-specific objective evidence of the fair market value of each separate deliverable. The majority of Trapeze Networks' revenue is deferred and is typically amortized over periods of a year or more. This accounting treatment makes the acquisition more dilutive to Belden's expected earnings in 2008 and 2009 than would otherwise be the case.

John Stroup said, "The acquisition of Trapeze Networks furthers our strategy, and we expect that it will provide a return on invested capital for Belden consistent with or better than that of our successful 2007 acquisitions. We expect that the total dilutive impact of revenue deferral and amortization for 6 months in 2008 to be $0.15 to $0.20 and in 2009 $0.25 to $0.30. Despite this impact, we expect the transaction to be neutral in operating cash flow in 2008 and a positive contributor to operating cash flow in 2009 and beyond.

"The expected dilution from the Trapeze acquisition, including the impact of revenue deferral and the recurring amortization of intangible assets resulting from the purchase, but excluding short-term, nonrecurring amortization, will be in the range of $0.27 to $0.32 in 2008 and $0.25 to $0.30 in 2009," said Mr. Stroup. "We expect that the acquisition will be accretive on a GAAP basis in 2010 and beyond.

"Our outlook for 2008 remains unchanged except for the expected effects of the planned acquisition. Because of the mid-year timing of the closing of this transaction and the deferral of Trapeze Networks' revenue, our expectations for consolidated revenue remain in the range of $2.2 to $2.3 billion. We expect our operating margin to be in the range of 11 to 12 percent, and we are adjusting our expectation for 2008 earnings per diluted share to the range of $3.15 to $3.35."

WWDC08

noreply@blogger.com (Ghepardoo) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 14:59:00 +0000

The groundbreaking innovations of Mac OS X Leopard and iPhone OS offer two revolutionary development platforms for developers and IT professionals. Immerse yourself with information-rich sessions where Apple engineers go in-depth on the innovative technologies that power the features of these sophisticated platforms. Bring your code to the Labs and work one-to-one with Apple engineers, applying development methods and best-practices you gain from sessions to enhance your application.

From June 9 - 13, WWDC will host the best of the Apple developer universe — with attendees representing all corners of the globe. Take advantage of this unique opportunity to experience a community atmosphere filled with your industry peers.

Apple confirmed that its Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC), held 9-13 June 2008 in San Francisco, has sold out for the first time in the history of the event.

3G iPhone will be launched at WWDC08 after several months of secrecy.

Apple is likely to release its new 3G iPhone and announce a new software platform for the phone when CEO Steve Jobs takes the stage at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday.

The new iPhone will feature GPS (Global Positioning System) services and a thinner form factor, according to Shaw Wu, an analyst at American Technology Research. The new iPhone will also have thinner casing and an improved virtual keyboard with like multi-touch technology, Wu wrote.

Pricing for the 3G iPhone may be £25 to £50 cheaper than the current iPhone, Wu wrote.

Anti-trust investigation against Intel

noreply@blogger.com (Ghepardoo) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 14:53:00 +0000

The US Federal Trade Commission is launching an anti-trust investigation into Intel, the chip manufacturing giant.

Intel said the FTC served a subpoena on the company last week, and it pledged to co-operate with the regulator to provide any required information, as it has since 2006, when the FTC began an informal inquiry.

"The company believes its business practices are well within US law," Intel said in its statement. "The evidence that this industry is fiercely competitive and working is compelling."

Prices for microprocessors declined by more than 42 percent between 2000 and 2007, Intel noted.

An FTC spokesman said he could confirm the investigation but couldn't give more details.

The FTC investigation comes a day after the Korea Fair Trade Commission fined Intel a reported 26 billion won (£13 million) for abusing its dominant position in the microprocessor market. Intel offered rebates to South Korean computer makers in a way that unfairly harmed its rival Advanced Micro Devices, the Korean agency said.

In January, New York state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo launched an antitrust investigation of Intel.

Japan and the European Commission have also investigated Intel, and AMD has a pending civil lawsuit against the company.

The Fair Trade Commission of Japan (JFTC) in 2005 recommended that Intel end its practice of offering funds to PC makers in exchange for a commitment not to use processors from its competitors. Intel accepted those recommendations, which came after a lengthy JFTC investigation, saying at the time it wanted to avoid a protracted legal battle.

The Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA), a trade group with AMD as a member, praised the FTC for opening the investigation.

The FTC investigation is "long due," said Ed Black, CCIA's president and CEO. After investigations by South Korea, Japan, and the European Commission, it was time for the US government to act, Black said.

Intel has a strong set of products, Black added. "They should not have to abuse their power and break the law in order to be successful," he added.

Source

Nokia produced 1 million mobile phones in Romania

noreply@blogger.com (Ghepardoo) — Thu, 29 May 2008 00:51:00 +0000

Nokia announced today that it had produced the 1 millionth mobile phone at its new factory from Cluj, Romania. This comes after only three months since the factory started the production, as the plant opened its doors at the beginning of the year, in February.

For the moment, the Cluj factory makes Nokia cell phones for the European market and it mainly roles-out entry-level devices. The plant has around 700 employees, but when it reaches the full production capacity (at the end of 2009), it is estimated that no less than 3,500 people will work there.

Talking about the 1 million mark announced today, John Guerry, Director of the Cluj Factory, said: "This number represents a great success for us and it should be a pride for all those who sustained us since the debut of our operations in Cluj. The beginning of production in Romania was a fruitful one, and Nokia's clients from all over Europe are satisfied. We've managed to recruit dedicated and dynamic employees and I'm sure that, thanks to this wonderful team, the Cluj factory will become a model of performance when it comes to product quality."

The Cluj factory is the 11th one from all the factories that Nokia has around the world and its construction was first announced back in March 2007. The decision to build a facility in Romania was taken by the Finnish company mainly due to the low production costs found here. This led to the closing of Nokia's plant from Bochum, Germany, which should be completed in June.

Nokia invested until now more than 60 million USD into the Cluj factory, but the giant mobile manufacturer will surely recover the investment in a short time, once the facility reaches full production capacity and starts making more handsets.

Source SoftPedia

Cisco accused of building a Great Chinese Firewall

noreply@blogger.com (Ghepardoo) — Sun, 25 May 2008 15:57:00 +0000

In a 2002 Cisco (China) PowerPoint presentation entitled “An Overview of [China's] Public Security Industry”, a Cisco (China) official in the Government Business Department listed the “Golden Shield Project” – the host project of China’s Great Firewall – as one of Cisco's major target customers. In this document, which apparently lays out the marketing strategy for Cisco (China) to sell products to the Chinese security police, one of the main objectives of the Golden Shield was to “combat the ‘Falun Gong’ evil cult” – parroting the rhetoric of the Chinese authorities used to persecute Falun Gong.

In the presentation page headed "Cisco Opportunities [in the Golden Shield Project]," Cisco offers much more than just routers; it offers planning, construction, technical training, and operations maintenance for the Golden Shield. Global Internet Freedom Consortium research shows that the infrastructure of China’s Great Firewall coincides with the layouts in Cisco (China)’s PowerPoint document.

One of Golden Shield's stated goals in the Cisco presentation was to "combat 'Falun Gong' evil religion and other hostiles," -- a statement that was attributed to Runsen Li, the Chinese government information technology chief in charge of developing the project.

Shiyu Zhou, deputy director of the Global Internet Freedom Consortium said Cisco could be offering, "censorship training" to Chinese authorities. A 2002 internal company document lists China's "Golden Shield" censorship project as one of Cisco's "major target customers," Zhou told the Senate human rights subcommittee.

Mark Chandler, Cisco's senior vice president of legal services, said during the Tuesday Senate hearing that he was "appalled" and "disappointed" when he saw that quote in the presentation.

"Cisco is the largest producer of networking equipment and sells the same products worldwide. It does not customize the equipment to help repressive governments censor the Internet", General counsel Mark Chandler said at a Senate hearing Tuesday. "The company's routers and switches have basic security features that protect networks from viruses and service interruptions", he said.

That part of the document was a quote from an official Chinese government statement condemning "hostile elements," Chandler said. The presentation was done by a Chinese engineer working for Cisco.

"We regret that the engineer included that in the presentation, even by way of explaining the Chinese government's goals," Chandler said. "We disavow the implication that this reflects in any way Cisco's views or objectives."

"It is very regrettable that one of our engineers quoted directly from Mr. Runsen Li, the Chinese government's head of IT for the Golden Shield project in this internal presentation," said Terry Alberstein, a senior director of corporate communications at Cisco. "They do not represent Cisco's views, principles or its sales and marketing strategy or approach. They were merely inserted in that presentation to capture the goals of the Chinese government in that specific project, which was one of many discussed in that 2002 presentation."

About Global Internet Freedom Consortium:

Global Internet Freedom Consortium is the largest and longest anti-censorship operation in the world.
The Consortium has run the world’s largest anti-censorship operation since 2000. Our five existing tools – UltraSurf, DynaWeb FreeGate, Garden, GPass, and FirePhoenix — currently accommodate an estimated 95% of the total anti-censorship traffic in closed societies around the world, and are used DAILY by millions of users. As of January 2008, the Top Five censoring countries with the most average daily hits to our anti-censorship systems are (hits per day):
(a) China: 194.4 million
(b) Iran: 74.8 million
(c) Saudi Arabia: 8.4 million
(d) UAE: 8 million
(e) Syria: 2.8 million
They say that "The Great Firewall will be taken down as the Berlin Wall."

About Cisco:

Cisco is a multinational corporation with more than 63,000 employees and annual revenue of US$35 billion as of 2007. Headquartered in San Jose, California, it designs and sells networking and communications technology and services under five brands, namely Cisco, Linksys, WebEx, IronPort, and Scientific Atlanta.

Reports on Chinese Firewall:
The internal Cisco PDF
Battle for Freedom in Chinese Cyberspace
New Technologies Battle and Defeat Internet Censorship, 2007-11-21
Wikipedia

Romtelecom's Future Broadband Infrastructure over Cisco IP Next-Generation Network

noreply@blogger.com (Ghepardoo) — Fri, 23 May 2008 21:55:00 +0000

Cisco announced that Romtelecom has implemented a new Cisco Internet Protocol Next-Generation Network (IP NGN), based on the Cisco CRS-1 Carrier Routing System. This implementation is part of Romtelecom's strategy to expand broadband services in Romania and to enhance its service capability with technology that offers the highest levels of quality and diversity. By creating this converged multiservice network using Cisco technology, Romtelecom is better equipped to reduce the total cost of ownership, improve the management of customer access and use of services, and support all existing and new wireline and wireless services.

"This is a turning point in the evolution of telecommunications in the region," said Yorgos Ioannidis, chief executive officer of Romtelecom. "Faced with today's complex market challenges, Romtelecom needs to focus on three fundamental objectives: more services, better efficiencies and greater control. To achieve these objectives we need to build a longer-lasting and more economical infrastructure that will support existing services and can evolve to provide a wide range of new, more personalized services over time."

"At Romtelecom, we are seeking to transform the current backbone infrastructure into a next-generation network. With these new technologies we can continue to grow our customer base for new Internet-based services, such as the ClickNet broadband service," Ioannidis added.

The Cisco IP NGN architecture helps service providers transform their businesses, meet the needs of existing and new customer segments efficiently and economically, and deliver managed services and new applications, such as video, to sustain profitability.

With the Cisco IP NGN implementation, completed with support from Cisco's Advanced Services department, Romtelecom is proactively preparing for an increase in broadband demand and business users' requirements for new, highly secure services, such as high-availability virtual private networks (VPNs). Romtelecom is a leader in the growth of VPN products, not only in Romania but also in southeast Europe. Supported by the enhanced features of the Cisco CRS-1, Romtelecom has the tools to offer a higher availability of service to its business customers. With the implementation of the countrywide Cisco IP NGN, Romtelecom's intelligent network can provide differentiated, personalized and valuable new services that satisfy current customers and attract new ones.

"The intelligent Cisco IP NGN is the solution that Romtelecom requires to meet the needs of all customer segments efficiently and economically and to deliver applications to sustain profitability. The solution that Romtelecom deployed includes an innovative, carrier-class technology based on the CRS-1 platform, and it fosters the introduction of new service models, including video and managed services," said Kaan Terzioglu, vice president of Central and Eastern Europe for Cisco.

Cisco to introduce new messaging protocol

noreply@blogger.com (Ghepardoo) — Fri, 23 May 2008 21:28:00 +0000

Cisco has developed a new messaging protocol to allow developers to integrate client/server applications without the overhead of traditional protocols such as SOAP. The new protocol, Etch, was introduced at a developer's conference covering the new 2.5 release of the Cisco Unified Application Environment (CUAE).

For project managers starting new work, Etch, which will go into beta release this summer, may offer an attractive alternative to SOAP, CORBA, EJB and other established messaging protocols. Etch promises a distributed application development without the cross-platform headaches that SOAP entails, and with a degree of performance that makes it practical for real-time applications that are chattier than traditional SOA infrastructures are set up for.

Louis Marascio, Director of Engineering for the CUAE platform at Cisco said that when you whittle SOAP down to the intersection of features that are compatibly implemented by the available platforms, the feature set shrinks considerably. Marascio says that Cisco is committed to having 100-percent functional compatibility of all features on all supported languages and platforms.

Cisco also is examining the possibility of establishing Etch as a standard. Marascio pointed out that Cisco is well represented in the IETF, the main standards body for Internet protocols. Alternatively, Cisco might attempt to promote Etch as an industry standard, an effort that would be aided by Etch's open source nature.

Hungarian ceremony for Steve Ballmer

noreply@blogger.com (Ghepardoo) — Fri, 23 May 2008 14:30:00 +0000

Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer had to scramble for cover after a Hungarian student hurled eggs at him during a lecture in Budapest earlier this week.
The young man then launched into a rant, during which he accused Microsoft of stealing "from the Hungarian people".
Amid nervous laughs from the audience, the heckler concluded his short outburst with the words "Give the money back, right now!" before throwing three eggs at Mr Ballmer in quick succession.
The protester then left the auditorium to the jeers of his fellow students. Scrawled across the back of his shirt in black marker pen were the words "Microsoft = Corruption".
Mr Ballmer appeared from behind the desk and laughed off the attack, telling his audience: "It was a friendly disruption … now that broke my train of thought."

Qualcomm invests in femtocell company

noreply@blogger.com (Ghepardoo) — Thu, 22 May 2008 20:14:00 +0000

Qualcomm has made another strategic investment in a UK mobile company - this time pumping an undisclosed amount into pico and femtocell developer ip.access. Qualcomm joins Cisco, Intel Capital, ADC and Motorola Ventures, Scottish Equity Partners, Rothschild Gestion and Amadeus Capital Partners as strategic investors in ip.access.

Although the terms of the deal were not disclosed, Stephen Mallison, ceo of ip.access said the investment was about much more than the money.

"We like Qualcomm because as a strategic player in the industry they are very well connected to the carriers. They've go their finger on the pulse and we can tap into that knowledge and judgement," Mallison told Mobile Europe.

As for Qualcomm, obviously if the femtocell market is going to take off, it will be interested in the chip side of that business - and will gain knowledge and insight by sharing with ip.access, Mallison said. "From a Qualcomm point of view they want a closer understanding of where femtocell will goand how it will impact on their business," Mallison said.

"3G femtocells will have a very important role in future mobile network architecture," said Frederic Rombaut, head of Qualcomm Ventures Europe, "ip.access has an innovative approach to the 3G femtocell market that will enable our customers to enhance the delivery of 3G services to mobile users."

ip.access currently builds its femtocell on technology from PicoChip, and Mallison said that wouldn't be changing any time soon as a result of this deal.

"Certainly Qualcomm is active in silicon development and in the future the femtocell market will require future iterations of silicon as the scale of the market increases - but it is not conditional in them investing in us," Mallison said. "PicoChip is a great company with a great product."

Mallison said that ip.access is "actively engaged" with a number of operators, but was unable to release any further details.

"That's a positive sign though," he said, "as it proves that the market is getting competitive now, and operators do not want to release details of how they will come to market with this technology."

Source MobileEurope

iPhone boosts data traffic in Germany

noreply@blogger.com (Ghepardoo) — Thu, 22 May 2008 20:06:00 +0000

Speaking at Deutsche Telekom's AGM, the CEO, Rene Obermann, let slip that the iPhone had done wonders to T-Mobile Germany's data traffic. Obermann revealed that German iPhone customers use mobile internet services thirty times more than other cell phone subscribers, while one third of all T-Mobile iPhone customers have chosen the most expensive plan.

This level of success perhaps prompted T-Mobile's CEO, Hamid Akhavan, to state that the company expected to remain the sole seller of the handset in Germany. "We have a very good relationship with Apple... at least in Germany it is exclusive, and we expect it to remain as such," he said. 'If and when there is a 3G iPhone we expect to have it exclusively in Germany as well," he added.

While T-Mobile is reported to have sold over 100,000 iPhones since last November, Apple has recently started to make deals with more than one operator in all the major European countries, with the exception of Germany.

Source FierceWireless

Yahoo! will launch its Romanian portal

noreply@blogger.com (Ghepardoo) — Sat, 17 May 2008 12:05:00 +0000

Yahoo! announced plans to launch the yahoo.ro version of its portal. Yahoo! Europe Business Development Manager Darren Peterson visited Romania early this week to prepare the launch of yahoo.ro.

“Darren came to Romania to discuss the collaboration with potential partners,” according to Bobby Voicu, Community Manager Yahoo! in Romania.

According to Voicu, Yahoo! is also preparing to launch the Turkish version of its portal. Voicu was recently appointed Community Manager in Romania, to establish a link between Romanian users and the company, and to ascertain user expectations on content and services.

Internet in Romania

noreply@blogger.com (Ghepardoo) — Sat, 17 May 2008 12:02:00 +0000

ANRCTI, the Romanian National Regulatory Authority for Communications and Information Technology, reports that the total number of Internet access connections reached almost 5.8 million, registering a 76% increase in 2007 compared to 2006, whereas the number of broadband Internet dedicated access connections (excluding dial up and mobile access) reached 2.1 million, thus doubling the penetration rate (10% compared to 5% by end-2006).

The report shows that the most significant share (almost 55%) within the broadband Internet dedicated access connections is still held by the UTP/FTP cable connections, followed by the coaxial cable connections (22%) and by the xDSL connections (17%), which actually registered the most significant annual growth, by more than 270% compared to end-2006.

The fixed telephony registered a slight increase as well. Thus, in comparison with the previous year, as of December 31, 2007, the total number of access lines to fixed telephone services grew by 1.4%, reaching a total of 4.26 million lines, of which 1.22 million lines were installed by the alternative providers. In 2007, the lines installed by the alternative providers increased by 50%, and, therefore, their market shares reached almost 29% by the end of 2007.

Furthermore, the traffic volume achieved by the alternative providers’ users grew by 44%, in the context of a 2% increase of the total voice traffic originated in the public fixed telephone networks, up to approximately 8.5 billion minutes in 2007 compared to 8.3 billions in 2006.

The ANRCTI statistical data report indicates that the mobile telephony penetration rate reached 106.2% by the end of 2007, registering 22.9 million “users” (active SIM cards). 67% of these use prepaid cards, whereas approximately 33% (7.5 million) pay a monthly subscription. 67% (5.1 million) of the subscribers are natural persons and approximately one third (2.4 million) are legal persons.

The ANRCTI President remarked the significant growth (+87% in 2007 compared to 2006) of the roaming voice traffic achieved by the customers of the Romanian mobile telephony providers and appreciated that the introduction of the European maximum tariff in September 2006 represented one of the key-factors that encouraged the Romanians to use more the mobile telephone when travelling in the European Union’s Member States.

According to the statistical data report, as of December 31, 2007, the total number of subscribers to audio-visual retransmission programme services grew by 19%, mainly due to the consolidation of the level of use of the cable alternative solutions – the “direct-to-home” with satellite digital transmission registered a 177% annual increase – which attracted part of the customers living in the rural and urban areas without access to means enabling the reception of commercial television programme services.

The penetration rate of the audio-visual retransmission programme services per households reached 71.7%, increasing by 9.3 percentage points compared to half-2007, and respectively by 11.6% compared to end-2006.

The statistical data report was laid down based on the data reported by 99% of the authorised providers of electronic communications networks or services, who carried commercial activities between January 1 – June 30, 2007 and, respectively, July 1 – December 30, 2007.

83% of the world doesn't use Internet

noreply@blogger.com (Ghepardoo) — Sat, 17 May 2008 11:17:00 +0000

According to a NHS Research Study on the impact of the European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL), more than 80% of the world doesn't use the Internet.

The study reveals that users saved about 25 minutes per day as a result of their new IT skills, depending on their previous knowledge level.

10 ways the Internet will die

noreply@blogger.com (Ghepardoo) — Sat, 17 May 2008 11:05:00 +0000

The Internet is a worldwide series of interconnected computer networks that transmit data by packet switching using the standard Internet Protocol (IP).

How might the Internet as we know it die? Here are 10 possibilities that were published on gigaom.

Someone subverts the Domain Name Service
Zombie networks attack
Massive physical infrastructure failure
Death by a thousand fragments
A really good virus breaks the routers
Updates break how updates work
The Net stops being neutral
The lawyers get involved
Walled gardens
Humans take themselves out