xchange magazine Articles

The Death of Exclusivity?

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:49:37 PDT

ATT Inc. and Verizon Wireless might be exploring netbooks lately, but the next wrinkle in the device wars will be a new category of connected device — call it the smartbook, or the netphone. Regardless of nomenclature, the coming smart-net-phone-book will embed broadband — 4G and HSPA, most likely — ...(1023 words)

Broadband Stimulus: Feds Unveil Funding Details

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:16:10 PDT

The federal government has, at last, spelled out who may seek the grants and loans provided in the broadband portion of the 2009 American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, and the process for doing so. The responsible agencies – the Rural Utilities Service and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration – ...(1376 words)

Floundering Financials? Check Revenue Assurance Model

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 10:24:40 PDT

Service providers struggling to figure out why their bottom line isn’t matching up to their sales numbers might have to look no further than their revenue assurance tools — if they have any, that is. According to a new survey conducted by the nonprofit TM Forum and vendor cVidya Networks, ...(441 words)

VoIP Fraud Takes Its ‘Toll’

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 09:48:03 PDT

VoIP toll fraud is increasing, experts say, and that’s largely because of the recession. The bad economy has hit so many companies so hard that network security spending no longer is top of mind, a circumstance that just invites hackers. To that end, a recent vendor-funded study shows VoIP toll ...(512 words)

Slow, Steady Growth Ahead for Service Assurance Market

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 09:13:21 PDT

Analysys Mason analyst Patrick Kelly said in his recent “Service Assurance Market Review – June 2009,” he sees a 5.3 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for service assurance through 2013, pushing the market from a worth of $2.28 billion last year to $2.94 billion.“The growth rate is not setting ...(278 words)

Netbooks Find Niche in Enterprises, Study Shows

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 11:50:05 PDT

Netbooks, which are widely viewed as consumer devices, are being actively deployed in many enterprises; 21 percent of organizations currently have netbooks deployed and 50 percent intend to deploy them in the future, according to new research from the Technology Practice of Chadwick Martin Bailey (CMB). The study, “Netbooks in ...(677 words)

It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s Super LEC!

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 16:34:24 PDT

The FCC is expected to approve the merger between Tier 2 telcos CenturyTel and EMBARQ later this week, which will create the fourth-largest ILEC in the nation, with 7.7 million access lines in 33 states. The deal is part of a bigger mergers and acquisitions wave that is creating a ...(995 words)

Rural Telco M&A Activity at a Glance

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 15:28:20 PDT

We are in an era of massive consolidation among Tier 2 telcos and rural LECs. The result of these moves is a Tier 2 market segment comprised of Qwest, Cincinnati Bell, CenturyTel, Fairpoint Communications, Frontier Communications, NTELOS, TDS Telecom and Windstream. Each spends over $100 million a year in capex.Skyline ...(308 words)

Microsoft’s Mobile Reality

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 11:29:11 PDT

Microsoft Corp. is willing to invest 5 to 10 percent of its operating income into its new search engine, Bing, in the next five years, or up to $11 billion. And that needs to pay off if Microsoft is to stay relevant. But the reality is, for the company to ...(656 words)

What Operators Can Expect from Combined Nokia Siemens, Nortel

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:41:57 PDT

With CDMA subscribership growing in Africa, China and India, especially, and LTE gaining ground worldwide, Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) has made an astute move in buying bankrupt Nortel Networks’ (NT) wireless assets. Analysts agree the Europe-headquartered joint venture of telecom equipment makers will add market share in North America and assume ...(1004 words)