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TeleChoice In The News
TeleChoice consultants are frequently quoted in leading business and trade publications.
Bell Canada takes heat from clients for limiting online speed
Montreal Gazette 04/02/08
"Hands off my Internet" is the message Bell Canada is hearing from Canadians this week and last. Alarmed by the company's decision to limit Internet speeds when using file-sharing programs, customers are treating Bell to a public relations storm, and asking the government to intervene if necessary. The issue is what is known as "traffic shaping" or "throttling," the slowing down of Internet speeds for certain types of data. Bell Sympatico said last November that it slows the service of people who share files on peer-to-peer networks like BitTorrent and LimeWire.
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No Need to Take Discs Along
New York Times 03/07/08
JUST because you have two homes doesn't mean you need to have two of everything else: cable or satellite TV subscriptions, DVRs, telephone systems, music libraries, Internet packages.
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Priority at a price
TelephonyOnline 03/04/08
SMS text messages have become as pervasive as cell phones themselves. Once reserved for younger users keen on digital shorthand, it is now an accepted mode of communication for parents, businesspeople and users of all ages.
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Keeping Track From Afar
New York Times 02/08/08
WHEN you're not at your second home, there are basically three things you want to be able to do from the comfort of your primary residence: maintain security, monitor crucial systems like heating and air-conditioning and turn on and off various lights and locks.
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IPTV in China: Shanghai surprises
TelephonyOnline 05/07/07
How successful is IPTV in this city of 18 million people? Successful enough for DaZhong Zhang, vice president of Shanghai Media Group and CEO of its IPTV joint venture, BesTV, to feel in the position to offer advice to what he sees as a laggard IPTV market.
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Where have all the good phones gone?
Network World 04/11/07
In my office, I get to try out all sorts of new gear and technologies. And with all this testing come boxes full of gear that didn't quite work as promised, or didn't earn a place in my daily office life.
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'Jetsons' lifestyle within reach
LA Times 03/15/07
ERICA SALISBURY doesn't like coming home to a shadowy cave at night, and now she doesn't have to. By clicking a mouse from any computer, anywhere, or by triggering a remote sensor, she can illuminate her house like a stadium before reaching the front door.
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2007: The year of motion applications
Network World 02/19/07
Several times over the years, I've suggested you corner your CEO and whisper some sweet IT in his/her ear. Well, it's that time again - you can help drive some near-term innovation and differentiation into your firm's product lineup that builds on an up-and-coming technology: motion-enabled applications.
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How to avoid telecommuting headaches
ComputerWorld 01/24/07
The stakes are too high for IT to be disconnected from home network decisions made by teleworkers -- inf fact, the IT group should provide active input on everything to avoid problems.
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A wild scramble for Web television
TelephonyOnline 01/22/07
It's no longer a matter of if or when Web-based video is coming tothe TV set in your living room, but how and from what company. As aflood of announcements at this month's Consumer Electronics Show madeclear, the ties between the home PC and the home TV are growing evertighter.
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CES: TV, Internet becoming one
TelephonyOnline 01/08/07
Based on the frenzy of activity at this year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, it won't be long before it's hard to separate TV content from Internet content.
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Are your bandwidth usage models wrong?
Network World 03/28/06
As service providers plan their networks and make strategic technology choices - like fiber to the home vs. fiber to the node vs. enhanced CO DSL - they rely upon certain assumptions about how customers will want to use bandwidth, and what sorts of bandwidth requirements customers will have, and - most importantly - what minimum requirements users will seek from their provider (or go to another provider for).
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TELECOMNEXT: BellSouth tying IMS, Web Services
TelephonyOnline 03/21/06
BellSouth is developing software that will knit together the IP multimedia subsystems architecture it is using to develop next-generation wireless and wireline services with the Web Services architecture it is increasingly using in its back-office operations. First outlined in a speech at last week's VON show by Chief Architect Hank Kafka, the effort is an attempt to make better use of IT technology.
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Trade show tips that make life easier for all
Network World 03/13/06
I am back from another trade show and am doing all my postconference processing. Once again, I'm dealing with all the typical postconference headaches, which follow the inevitable conference headaches, which were preceded by the preconference headaches. I am amazed that so many people are still making life hard for us analysts and writers.
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New technology bridges wireless, wireline
Telephony 03/08/06
A form of home networking technology now on the market holds the potential to dramatically change the way wireless technology is used within a home or office.
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Optimism growing for Tellabs GPON
Telephony 03/08/06
After a seemingly late start, optimism appears to be growing around Tellabs' chances of being named a supplier of gigabit passive optical networking products to the Bell companies next year.
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Intel Viiv push puts pressure on telco TV
Telephony 03/08/06
Intel said today that it has signed up 40 partners to work with its forthcoming Viiv brand of consumer electronics devices that will act as home media centers, in a deal with significant implications for telco TV providers.
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Moore's Law, Metcalfe's Law; now McGuire's
Network World 01/16/06
We're now in the Age of Mobility, governed by the Law of Mobility. Thanks to cost reductions of Moore's Law, scalability resulting from Metcalfe's Law, convergence and miniaturization of devices and increasing ubiquity of 3G wireless networks, the cost of making any product (especially one involving information) available all the time is plummeting. Therefore, McGuire concludes, just as computing power and the Internet have been built into virtually every product, mobility is beginning to be built into every product.
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Multiple options tie home networking in KNOTS
EEDesign 01/09/06
Pretty soon, the joy of soap operas, sitcoms and sports will be coming to any room near you, and it won't be just the cable guy transforming homes into multiplex theaters.
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Optimism growing for Tellabs GPON
TelephonyOnline 12/30/05
After a seemingly late start, optimism appears to be growing around Tellabs' chances of being named a supplier of gigabit passive optical networking products to the Bell companies next year.
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Digital confusion frustrates TV buyers
USA Today 12/30/05
Consumers snapped up millions of high-definition TV sets this holiday season. Now if they can only figure out how to use the darn things.
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New technology bridges wireless, wireline
TelephonyOnline 12/28/05
A form of home networking technology now on the market holds the potential to dramatically change the way wireless technology is used within a home or office.
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Give your customers a mobility roadmap
Network World 12/20/05
In the news this week was an exciting (and long-awaited) item: the IEEE has approved the standard for mobile WiMAX, 802.16e. This standard gives vendors, chipmakers and carriers something to aim at, and gives groups like the WiMAX Forum the ability to start developing interoperability standards, testing procedures and certifications for mobile WiMAX – just as last year’s 802.16d-2004 fixed WiMAX standard has provided some stability in the non-mobile arena. But having a standard - and even having interoperability and certification - doesn’t solve the problem that carriers face about where to go next.
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IPTV landscape chagnes, again
TelephonyOnline 12/12/05
Several recent announcements from traditional video outlets, Internet portals and the consumer electronics world have the potential to reshape a telco TV landscape in which plans seemed to be gelling just three months ago.
Among those salvos was last week's announcement that NBC would begin offering select shows for download over Apple's iTunes network. Prior to that, TiVo said it was teaming with Yahoo to allow its subscribers to use the Internet portal to program their digital video recorders. Intel's release of its Viiv-branded consumer electronics devices also is adding fuel to an expanding model that connects consumers directly to content providers. Although that model relies on a broadband connection into the home, the moves call into question whether carriers are too late to the entertainment landscape, according to several analysts.
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Debunking the set-top box safety net -
Network World 12/06/05
The set-top box is becoming less important. That's right, less important. Wow, how can you say that? Cisco just paid bazillions for Scientific Atlanta. Microsoft is plowing money into its IPTV set-top box-driven initiative. No doubt you are shaking your head at this statement and thinking: You're NUTS!
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Intel Viiv push puts pressure on telco TV
Telephony 11/30/05
Intel said today that it has signed up 40 partners to work with its forthcoming Viiv brand of consumer electronics devices that will act as home media centers, in a deal with significant implications for telco TV providers.
Among the group of partners are well-known brands such as TiVo, VirginMega and Adobe Systems. However, also included is Telecom Italia, which has been pushing hard into the triple-play market, and MovieLink, which earlier this year signed a content distribution agreement with Verizon.
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Are your telecom services under the Christmas tree?
Network World 11/22/05
It's an amazing world when the toymakers stop making toys for Christmas. But that's what's happening. This Christmas, if the NY Toy Fair is any indication, is going to be the first one where the toy industry has pretty much thrown in the towel and agreed that kids want bandwidth not Barbie dolls.
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Wireless EV-DO on board
Network World 10/25/05
Coming soon to a computer store near you: little yellow traffic signs that say "EV-DO On Board"
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Wireless EV-DO on board
Network World 10/25/05
Coming soon to a computer store near you: little yellow traffic signs that say "EV-DO On Board"
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Where's Walt Disney when you need him?
Network World 10/24/05
We have a government busy moving pieces around the telecommunications game board. Where are our national plans for an EPCOT 2014, our New Songdo City? I guess they're on the shelf, next to our national alternative energy strategy - in the TBD section.
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Where's Walt Disney when you need him?
Network World 10/24/05
We have a government busy moving pieces around the telecommunications game board. Where are our national plans for an EPCOT 2014, our New Songdo City? I guess they're on the shelf, next to our national alternative energy strategy - in the TBD section.
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Cutting the copper cord creates minor controversy
Telephony 10/17/05
Verizon's decision to remove the copper lines of homes it has connected to its FiOS network is coming under mild fire in the online community for locking customers into more expensive high-speed access options.
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IPTV? Of course, but don't forget RFTV
Network World 10/11/05
We've spent some time this month at the FTTH Conference and Expo in Las Vegas, and we've, as always, been keeping an eye on the news related to telco TV strategies and access trends.
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GPON RFP hits the street
Telephony 10/04/05
The road to GPON is about to be paved. BellSouth, SBC Communications and Verizon have issued an RFP for Gigabit Passive Optical Networking technology, helping to immediately put that technology on the launch pad for 2006.
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Extending Ethernet with copper is gaining steam
Network World 09/27/05
Vendors have been offering products that use bonding or VDSL-like techniques to provide copper extensions to high-speed data services for years. In some markets outside of the U.S. these services are quite popular (using VDSL coding to provide fiber extension), but in the U.S. they’ve always been a bit of a slow starter.
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Voice just keeps getting worse at filling the coffers
Network World 09/13/05
In this day and age of "unlimited" local and LD services, of multi-1000 minute cellular plans and rollover minutes, it's hard to get too excited about the prospects of new voice and triple or even quadruple play services as a big driver of service provider revenue.
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It's an XML world
Network World 09/12/05
There's enough experience now with the earlier adopters to project where your XML weak spots are going to be as your organization scales with XML.
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It's time for XML (and more!) in your network
Network World 08/30/05
As you have no doubt been hearing (at least in bits and pieces), there's a big move within the networks of your enterprise customers towards application-aware switching and networking. Application switching is not happening as one big paradigm-shifting overnight revolution, but it is revolutionary, and it is coming towards as a series of smaller steps forward.
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SA, Microsoft tie expected IPTV knot
Telephony 08/30/05
In a move that surprised no one, Scientific Atlanta and Microsoft announced yesterday they will team up on IPTV set-tops, combining Microsoft’s operating software with SA’s set-top.
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Making the leap to cheap VoIP?
Network World 08/16/05
We are sure you take it as a matter of course that the whole world is going to IP and that VoIP is "the future." Of course it is! Whether you're talking about residential users migrating to Vonage and the like, large enterprises moving call centers and PBXs to IP, or carriers moving to VoIP in their core networks, the move is in progress and inevitable.
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Service providers target young minds
Telephony 07/11/05
Learn the challenges telecom carriers face as well as the new revenue opportunities created by migrating to converged packet networks. View Webcast Now.
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Start-up Hillcrest Labs delves into digital TV
Telephony 05/24/05
A Maryland start-up company is promising to dramatically change the way consumers navigate the increasingly complex world of digital television, creating a new navigation system the replaces the 100-plus button remote control with a two-button, intuitive free-space pointing device that is the trigger to a new multi-dimensional content framework.
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10 White-Hot Technologies
TelephonyOnline 04/06/05
Today’s wireless network is not just about the call anymore. While voice is still the dominant application, carriers are offering a dizzying array of new data and even video services directly to the handset. With the adoption of increasingly complex data and converged services, ensuring that the services that are accessed by the handsets and devices in the field work properly is of paramount importance. They also need to be upgraded remotely when a new service is introduced.
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SBC project highlights do-it-all trend
Dallas Morning News 02/19/05
SAN ANTONIO – It was a much simpler world for SBC Communications Inc. when its mission was just to help customers talk to one another.
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Will all get quiet on the telecom front?
Dallas Morning News 02/15/05
After several years of deliberate and painstaking restructuring, telecom companies are creating corporate empires with renewed zeal.
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How one community got DSL
Network World 10/11/04
It's not news that the telephone company databases feeding broadband customer service front ends can be wrong. Like me, you've probably been in the position of trying to convince a customer service representative that you really should be able to get broadband in your area, despite what the computer says. Usually your perspective is driven by common sense ("My house is right next door to the central office") or things too obvious to ignore ("Nineteen of my neighbors have DSL"). But what do you do when your telco tells you your entire community does not qualify for DSL?
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Diving In
TelephonyOnline 09/15/04
The initial goal of DSL was simple: provide an Internet connection better than dial up. But as traditional carriers face significant competition from cable operators, the challenge becomes how to compete over that same DSL line. Amid their fiber-to-the-X battle cries, carriers have emerged with the TR-58/59 specifications as a launching pad to provide a differentiated service set over DSL.
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Telecom policy gets political
Network World 08/23/04
In a presidential election year, everything is up for grabs - even things no one has seemed to care about for a long time.
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TIA and FTTH Council release updated
LightWave 05/19/04
The Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) Council and the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) today released an updated list of "U.S. Optical Fiber Communities," with the total rising to 128 communities in 32 states.
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Wi-Fi, wide area switching arrives
Infoworld 04/21/04
After two years of promises from the wireless industry, Broadbeam appears to be the first player to deliver seamless switching between wide area and wireless local area (Wi-Fi) networks.
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Jackson Energy Authority and Aeneas Internet & Telephone deliver VoIP over FTTP
LightWave 03/31/04
Building on its success deploying what it claims is the nation's largest fully-funded Fiber-to-the-Premise (FTTP) network, the Jackson Energy Authority is partnering with Aeneas Internet & Telephone, the largest ISP in western Tennessee, to offer voice services to 31,000 homes and businesses. Aeneas has selected MetaSwitch as its VoIP technology partner for the venture, based on the company's proven ability working with the JEA's chosen FTTP network vendor, Wave7 Optics. Using MetaSwitch's flagship VP3500 Next Generation Class 5 Switch, Aeneas will offer Jackson residents a range of advanced calling features, along with the ability to manage and configure those services via the Web.
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Jackson Gets VOIP over FTTP
LightReading 03/30/04
Building on its success deploying the nation's largest fully-funded Fiber to the Premise (FTTP) network, the Jackson Energy Authority is partnering with Aeneas Internet & Telephone, the largest ISP in western Tennessee, to offer voice services to 31,000 homes and businesses. Aeneas has selected MetaSwitch as its VoIP technology partner for the venture based on the company's proven ability working with the JEA's chosen FTTP network vendor, Wave7 Optics (www.wave7optics.com). Using MetaSwitch's flagship VP3500 Next Generation Class 5 Switch, Aeneas will offer Jackson residents a broad range of advanced calling features, along with the ability to manage and configure those services via the Web.
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For RLECs, Opportunities Still Outweigh Obstacles
TelephonyOnline 02/10/04
When it comes to the USF (Universal Service Fund), rural LECs are like coal miners working a profitable vein of anthracite: They realize the lode is finite, but figure there’s plenty to be tapped so long as nothing causes a cave-in.
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NTT Picks Acme Packet Sbcs
LightReading 11/03/03
Acme Packets today announced that NTT Communications (NTT Com), the Tokyo-based global IP solution company, has selected the Net-Netä session border controllers to meet the high availability and security requirements for their commercial network. The multiprotocol support (SIP, H.323, MGCP) with interworking functionality (SIP-H.323, H.323-H.323) in Acme Packet’s carrier-class solution, and critical security features such as hosted NAT traversal, access control, topology hiding, and denial of service (DoS) protection, all contributed to NTT Com’s decision to deploy Acme Packet.
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Net.com, Atreus Team On QoS
LightReading 10/29/03
net.com (NYSE: NWK - message board), a leading vendor of next generation BRAS technology to enable broadband service creation, and Atreus Systems, a service definition and fulfillment leader for Internet protocol (IP) services and applications, today announced a strategic technology and marketing partnership to supply their carrier customers with quality of service (QoS) enabled IP service delivery systems for use in applications such as voice or data virtual private networks, video on demand, IP TV, bandwidth on demand, and content delivery.
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New Orleans: Optical Solutions Gets Rus Ok
LightReading 10/08/03
Optical Solutions Inc., the fiber to the premises market leader, today announced that its FiberPath 500 fiber to the premises (FTTP) system has been accepted by the United States Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service (RUS). A technical standards committee at RUS determines acceptance of products for the List of Materials. The company's FiberPath 400 FTTP system is also listed on the RUS List of Materials.
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Wave7 Wins In Jackson
LightReading 10/06/03
The Jackson Energy Authority (JEA) of Jackson, Tennessee, an electric, gas, water, and wastewater utility company, along with Wave7 Optics are teaming to build the largest "fiber-to-the-premises" (FTTP) network in North America to date. Upon its anticipated completion in 2005, the network will "pass" 31,000 homes and businesses in JEA’s electric service area. The two companies made the announcement here at the 2003 Fiber-to-the-Home Conference and Expo, the FTTP industry’s largest event. Wave7 Optics is exhibiting in booth 170 at the Hilton Riverside Hotel conference center.
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DSL Forum Tackles Premium Services
LightReading 09/12/03
After a year of development, the latest DSL Forum technical specifications have hit the streets. The impact of the new specs, which detail the next generation of broadband services, could be huge, as vendors scramble to upgrade products to meet the requirements, and carriers begin deploying new revenue generating services enabled by the new architecture.
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Telechoice Touts Dsl Growth
LightReading 09/11/03
The latest DSL Forum technical specification has hit the streets, detailing the next generation of broadband services, and the impact will be immediate on worldwide telco customers and service provider revenues, says a new report from TeleChoice, Inc., a telecommunications consultancy specializing in broadband network edge applications, and East by North, Inc., a telecommunications consulting and training organization. The new specification, designed to be implemented quickly in the existing DSL and broadband networks, could result in almost $1b annually in incremental services within the first few years of service.
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SBC Ratchets Up PON Politics
LightReading 09/11/03
If you're looking to wager on the outcome of the RBOC fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) initiative, you might want to first check on who's giving you the odds.
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Long-haul Fiber Glut Persists
Infoworld 09/09/03
The "fiber glut" that has been widely blamed for a weak long-haul telecom equipment and services market still exists in most areas, but there are signs that more existing fiber needs to come online and demand might soar in the next few years.
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FTTP RFP Countdown: One Week Until the Short List
XCHANGE 09/06/03
One week from today BellSouth Corp., SBC Communications Inc. and Verizon Communications, through what they’re calling the Joint Procurement Consortium, are expected to issue the short list of suppliers for the group’s fiber-to-the-premises project.
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Going To Sea…wirelessly
Network World 09/02/03
We tend to look at the telecom market from a land-based perspective, but the maritime communications industry is huge. In fact, we’ve seen estimates that this industry is worth as much as $4 billion annually. Merchant ships, fishing vessels, barges and even pleasure crafts often venture out of cell-phone range, and need a means of communicating back to the dry side of the world.
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There's A New Competitor In Town – It's The Town!
Network World 08/19/03
Hey service providers, there's a movement afoot in small town America that you should be aware of. The town itself sees a profitable opportunity in providing broadband telecommunications and entertainment services to the community.
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Getting virtual with wireless LANs
Network World 08/05/03
Despite relatively limited revenue growth for vendors - caused by steep drops in per unit pricing - the wireless LAN market is growing like crazy. Unit sales continue to grow at a double digit pace. More than half of the enterprises we surveyed recently either had WLAN equipment in place, or were planning to have it within a year. As WLANs proliferate, however, many enterprises and public venues face an issue: how to provide secured, policy-driven access to different groups of end users.
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Infrastructure Solutions: The Future of PON -- More Thoughts on the RBOC FTTP RFP
XCHANGE 08/01/03
PON seemed the obvious choice in defining the focus of this article, listed in XCHANGE’s editorial calendar simply as “next steps in broadband last mile.” Since late May the industry has been buzzing about the fiber-to-the-premises RFP issued by an RBOC consortium including BellSouth, SBC Communications Inc. and Verizon.
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Handicapping the FTTP market
LightWave 08/01/03
The joint request for proposal (RFP) recently issued by BellSouth, SBC Communications, and Verizon has caused a whirlwind of activity in the fiber to the premises (FTTP) space, particularly among vendors of passive-optical-network (PON) equipment. With just four weeks to complete their proposals, PON startups have scrambled to partner with established vendors and vice versa, making any handicapping of the market difficult at best.
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Handicapping the FTTP market
LightWave 08/01/03
The joint request for proposal (RFP) recently issued by BellSouth, SBC Communications, and Verizon has caused a whirlwind of activity in the fiber to the premises (FTTP) space, particularly among vendors of passive-optical-network (PON) equipment....
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Needed: A return to simplicity
Network World 07/14/03
We're hearing a steady hum across the industry as the market begins to recover a little, some forward visibility starts to creep in, and things, well . . . pick up, albeit in some slow-growth ways.
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Peer-to-peer traffic - friend or foe?
Network World 07/08/03
Most everyone is aware of the havoc peer-to-peer traffic can cause on a service provider’s network. But many may not be aware that some solutions now exist to control this traffic.
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Mobile data is coming, and backhaul needs upgrading
Network World 06/24/03
Whatever your opinion is regarding how fast it will happen, it seems inevitable that near broadband, and eventually true broadband wireless services are on their way. Verizon is trialing EV-DO in Maryland and San Diego, and several smaller carriers have also begun full-blown market trials and even revenue-generating deployments. Other carriers, like Clearwire, are using UMTS systems for portable/mobile broadband data deployments. Still others are mixing Wi-Fi hot spots into their existing GPRS or 1XRTT networks.
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Microsoft wants more PDAs in hot spots
ZDNet 06/23/03
Microsoft has teamed with the largest hot spot service providers in the United States to encourage more people to use Pocket PCs for wireless Net access at coffee shops, airport lounges and other typical hot spot locales.
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Numbers Crunched
Telephony 06/02/03
HOME SWEET HOME … Survey numbers about the home networking market.
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RBOCs push fiber closer to users
Network World 06/02/03
Three regional Bell operating companies last week adopted a set of common technical requirements for extending fiber- ...
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Front Page: SUPERCOMM: Still On the A-List
XCHANGE 06/01/03
Telecom trade shows aren't anything like those in the bubble years. Attendance is down from its peak and there are few bells and whistles. Don't expect to see David Letterman or Bruce Springsteen entertain, and, remember, there is no such thing as a free lunch -- literally.
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RBOCs jointly push fiber closer
Network World 05/29/03
Three RBOCs this week adopted a set of common technical requirements for extending fiber-optic cabling and equipment to homes and businesses.
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Untangling the hot spot backhaul mess
Network World 05/27/03
Wireless LAN hot spots face a common issue - how to provide adequate backhaul from each wireless access point onto the public Internet and other WANs. Getting users connected to the wireless network itself is not all that hard for hot spot operators, but carrying the user’s traffic back to the Internet is giving operators all sorts of headaches.
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The truth will set us free
Network World 05/26/03
John Chambers has made a big issue over the past year of re-establishing trust in the telecom marketplace. The rise and fall of the telecom sector has been blamed substantially on the hype perpetrated on everyone by, well, everyone. We simply don't know who knows the "truth," and we're still living a lot of lies in our industry.
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Telcos use Wi-Fi to ward off cable
ZDNet 05/15/03
Telecommunications companies are starting to use Wi-Fi as a weapon against the cable industry's ambitions to infiltrate the local telephone market.
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Consolidating your access points
Network World 04/29/03
In past columns we've talked about some "switched" wireless LAN solutions: devices that control and aggregate multiple access points in an enterprise or campus Wi-Fi deployment. These switches provide central management of all access points in a Wi-Fi network - traffic prioritization, load balancing, and even, in some cases, monitoring of the airwaves for unauthorized users and rogue access points. A host of these solutions have hit the market in the past six months from vendors such as Aruba Wireless Networks, Chantry Networks, Airespace and others. The main selling point of all of these solutions is that they provide a centrally managed wireless LAN system as opposed to the more traditional enterprise approach of installing a series of "smart" access points, each of which handles its own authentication, security, routing and other network functionality.
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Last-mile rivals pressure cable
EE Times 04/07/03
Incumbent local-exchange carriers are realizing that standard asymmetric digital subscriber line service may not be enough to woo broadband customers away from cable multisystem operators, which hold a two-to-one lead in U.S. subscriber line deployments. So DSL developers are touting spectral management and "vectored DSL" to make the most of copper.
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Location services move into prime time
Network World 04/01/03
Location-aware services - providing information, applications and services to wireless customers based upon their physical location - have been a long promised part of the next-gen wireless data services that seem to be finally getting off the ground around the world. We recently spent some time at the Cellular Telephone Industry Association (CTIA) conference in New Orleans, and saw location-based services in action. We walked away impressed from what we saw - location-aware services for 2.5 and 3G handsets (and in some cases, for short message service-capable 2G handsets).
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What if service providers could make wireless LANs easy?
Network World 03/18/03
There’s much talk in the press about the explosive growth in wireless LAN usage and how this is the hot spot (no pun intended) for wireless technology. On the flip side, there are the actual users of this technology who are still for the most part unconvinced. Although they are intrigued by the functionality of wireless LANs, most are still baffled about what it takes to support a wireless LAN - how to manage it, how many access points to install, what kind of performance to expect and, oh, don’t forget, will it be secure?
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Mac users get more ISP choices
ZDNet 03/06/03
Although Mac users have often been treated as second-class citizens by Internet service providers, they are about to have a few more choices.
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FCC ruling could mean status quo
Network World 03/03/03
The Federal Communications Commission's much-ballyhooed triennial review last month was supposed to kick-start the ailing telecom industry, but observers who've digested the controversial decision say the regulations won't have much immediate effect.
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Fixed Broadband Wireless Marches Ahead
XCHANGE 03/01/03
Fixed broadband wireless is moving forward as vendors garner new contracts and deliver new and improved products offering more bandwidth and additional features.
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PON moves forward
Network World 02/18/03
The Passive Optical Networking industry has made some key steps forward since our last column on the subject two months ago. Most significantly, the ITU-T has approved the first two components of the Gigabit PON standard - G.984.1 and G.984.2 - and reached an "almost frozen" draft stage on a third, G.984.3.
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Service provider-ready wireless LANs
Network World 02/11/03
Wireless LANs remain one of the bright spots in an otherwise lackluster networking market. But service providers, with a few exceptions, haven't really caught on to the services aspect of the Wi-Fi revolution. Sure, companies like Boingo and Wayport are beginning to make a business providing hot spot services, and Cometa has jumped into the pool too (creating a huge splash), but there isn't yet a widespread availability of Wi-Fi services in public places (beyond Starbucks/T-Mobile).
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First Gigabit PON product meets new ITU standards
LightWave 02/11/03
FlexLight Networks has announced general availability of its Optimate product suite - the industry's first Gigabit passive optical networking product that is fully compliant with the ITU's GPON standards.
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World's first Gigabit PON product announced by FlexLight Networks
LightWave 02/10/03
FlexLight Networks, (Atlanta, GA) the optical access provider, announced general availability of its Optimate product suite - the industry's first Gigabit passive optical network (GPON) product that is fully compliant with the ITU's standards for GPON, newly announced by the ITU on January 31, 2003. Optimate is shipping today and is currently involved in major trials with customers in Europe and Asia.
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A look at new service revenue generation via IP services
Network World 01/21/03
The main problems today's service providers face are not a surprise to anyone who works in the telecom industry. They have been discussed and rehashed for the past year in the media, at conferences and in internal meetings.
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Broadband wireless service drawing renewed interest
Network World 01/20/03
Licensed broadband wireless services that provide an alternative to DSL and cable connections could become more widely available in coming months as providers shift from trialing new technology to providing commercial offerings.
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Streamlining your network with GMPLS - Part 2
Network World 01/07/03
Returning to profitability and increasing shareholder value will no doubt be huge themes for service providers in 2003. We want to continue our discussion from the November column regarding Generalized Multi-protocol Label Switching (GMPLS) and service provider expectations. Part 1 can be found here.
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Will 2003 see a telecom revival?
Network World 12/02/02
Columns written this time of year often have one of three themes: a nostalgic look back - such as the 10 best things to happen in 2002 (unfortunately, the "best" events this year would be "worst" in a good year); wishful Santa-list dreaming - you know, the 10 services we'd like to see launched (realistically, we're not even likely to get one of them in 2003); or a hopeful look forward.
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Wireline providers: Stemming the outflow to cellular options
Network World 11/26/02
If you're a wireline provider, you have to admit there are some challenges coming down the pike. Slow acceptance or not, 3G is coming, and the wireless data services' pricing plans are getting better rationalized. Users will come too; it's only a matter of time. They have already come to the cellular voice services - even as their primary telephone lines, and that migration is increasing.
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What is broadband?
Network World 11/18/02
The debate about the need for a national broadband policy has been pushed to the back burner by national security issues, but before it comes back to a boil the industry needs to agree on what broadband is.
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Wi-Fi for handhelds gets a push
ZDNet 11/14/02
Wireless "hot spot" provider Boingo Wireless on Thursday unveiled software meant to make it easier for people with handheld devices to use Wi-Fi wireless networks.
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Spediant Spies Copper Opportunity
LightReading 11/06/02
As small and medium-sized businesses become more and more bandwidth hungry, Spediant Systems says it has a plan to satisfy their appetites (see Spediant Intros Access Technology ).
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Spediant Spies Copper Opportunity
LightReading 11/06/02
As small and medium-sized businesses become more and more bandwidth hungry, Spediant Systems says it has a plan to satisfy their appetites.
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Spediant Spies Copper Opportunity
LightReading 11/06/02
As small and medium-sized businesses become more and more bandwidth hungry, Spediant Systems says it has a plan to satisfy their appetites (see Spediant Intros Access Technology ).
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Williams back from Chapter 11
Network World 10/21/02
Williams Communications emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy last week with a new name, no debt and $375 million available in credit.
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Intrusion Prevention Systems complete security
Network World 10/15/02
No longer is a managed firewall adequate to protect a customer's vital network and information assets. A complete security offering requires a multiple-layer approach that includes an intrusion detection or prevention solution. Service providers who provide less than a complete offering run the risk of becoming irrelevant as these additional measures become critical to enterprise security.
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Sarvega Accelerates XML
LightReading 10/15/02
As a growing number of companies wake up to the benefits of using extensible markup language, or XML, a few startups have begun to emerge with products that address the equally large challenges posed by the meta-language.
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Sarvega Accelerates XML
LightReading 10/15/02
As a growing number of companies wake up to the benefits of using extensible markup language, or XML, a few startups have begun to emerge with products that address the equally large challenges posed by the meta-language.
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Sarvega Accelerates XML
LightReading 10/15/02
As a growing number of companies wake up to the benefits of using extensible markup language, or XML, a few startups have begun to emerge with products that address the equally large challenges posed by the meta-language.
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Crisis requires change of habit
Network World 10/07/02
It's no secret that the service providers are having problems. We've not seen the last of the big bankruptcies. Most of their business customers are sitting it out, rechecking their own strategies in light of the telecom mess and waiting for it to be resolved.
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DSL providers expand service options
Network World 09/09/02
DSL companies, like their cable counterparts, are beginning to introduce a variety of service plans and pricing options, giving companies with telecommuters a choice of paying more money for a high-end service, or less for a basic broadband offering that's still better than dial-up.
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In another round of layoffs at Tellabs, 800 lose jobs
Network World 09/05/02
Bandwidth management equipment vendor Tellabs is laying off another 800 workers, including 400 in the U.S. and 400 in Ireland, as it again trims costs to cope with continuing sales declines in a tough IT marketplace.
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PON Pushers Huff and Puff
LightReading 09/02/02
In a bid to help boost the ever-floundering market for passive optical networking (PON) gear, a group of vendors, carriers, and other intrepid PON proponents are expected to launch a forum to promote PON technology. An announcement is set to happen at or close to the time of the NFOEC show next month.
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Telecom scared stupid
Network World 08/19/02
We have clients all over the world, in all aspects of telecom. Service providers. Vendors. Software developers. Chip makers. Management consultants. Wireline, wireless, cable, telephone companies, cellular. The works.
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Product portfolio delivers optical Ethernet with SONET attributes
LightWave 07/01/02
Lucent Technologies' spinout, Internet Photonics Inc. (Shrewsbury, NJ, and Marlboro, MA), recently unveiled its LightStack product family, which promises to make data and video services more profitable by leveraging existing fiber and fitting into carriers' existing operational models.
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WorldCom finds accounting errors, fires CFO
Network World 06/26/02
WorldCom Tuesday announced it will restate its financial results for 2001 and the first quarter of 2002 as a result of accounting irregularities and has terminated Chief Financial Officer Scott Sullivan.
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C&W hangs up on its voice, frame and ATM customers
Network World 06/24/02
Cable & Wireless is getting ready to exit the domestic voice, frame relay and ATM markets but hopes to minimize customer inconvenience by selling its user base to other service providers.
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Williams plans Ethernet push
Network World 06/17/02
Williams Communications is planning to enter the metropolitan-area and wide-area Ethernet services market later this year with offerings the company says will be more scalable than those available from others.
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Survival is key message at SuperComm show
Network World 06/10/02
Despite the best efforts of vendors to hawk their wares, attendees at last week's SuperComm were more concerned with lifelines than product lines.
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Carriers: Innovation not at standstill
Network World 06/03/02
It's still true that carriers are spending mostly on technologies that will help them reduce operational costs and keep future capital spending in check.
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SBC offering IP, DSL Centrex
Network World 06/03/02
SBC Communications hopes to attract companies striving to cut costs with IP Centrex and DSL Centrex services it unveiled last week.
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Efficient launches T-1 gateway
Network World 06/03/02
Efficient breaks into the T-1 market with the Siemens se5940 T-1 Business Gateway, which combines a CSU/DSU, router, firewall, Ethernet switch and back-up dial modem in one device.
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Covad, McLeodUSA Beat Bankruptcy
XCHANGE 06/01/02
A few large competitive carriers, enduring months under the microscopes of judges and creditor committees, have emerged from bankruptcy court. They are hoping to leave behind their once-questionable financial status.
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Hot Start-ups
TelephonyOnline 06/01/02
It's no time to be a start-up, according to many in the industry.
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Efficient launches T-1 gateway
Network World 05/29/02
DSL equipment provider Efficient Networks broke into the T-1 market last week by launching the Siemens se5940 T1 Business Gateway, which combines a DSU/CSU, router, firewall, Ethernet switch and back-up dial modem in one device.
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DSL's trials, tribulations nearing an end?
EBN 05/23/02
DSL broadband has labored mightily through its early stages of development, but providers of both central-office and customer-premise silicon solutions are priming for accelerated growth.
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WorldCom launches Ethernet portfolio
Network World 05/20/02
WorldCom last week introduced a family of metropolitan-area network and long-haul Ethernet services designed for businesses that require high-speed connections to handle new bandwidth-intensive applications such as storage-area networking.
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VPN services tout easier control
Network World 05/20/02
Two VPN service providers are touting features that make it easier for businesses to manage access to their networks by employees, customers and partners.
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WorldCom Unveils Metro Ethernet
LightReading 05/15/02
WorldCom Inc. (Nasdaq: WCOM - message board) today introduced metro Ethernet services nationwide in what it says is a key step (see WorldCom Launches Metro Ethernet ).
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WorldCom Unveils Metro Ethernet
LightReading 05/15/02
WorldCom has rolled out a series of services based on point-to-point Ethernet connections, and it says this is just a start.
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Guarding the Gigabits
LightReading 05/07/02
With more and more companies deploying networks that can run at gigabit speed, certain security applications can literally be a drag. But judging from several announcements at NetWorld+Interop (N+I), that might just be about to change.
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Guarding the Gigabits
LightReading 05/07/02
With more and more companies deploying networks that can run at gigabit speed, certain security applications can literally be a drag. But judging from several announcements at NetWorld+Interop (N+I), that might just be about to change.
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Carriers beef up service-level agreements
Network World 05/06/02
Covad Communications has begun offering broader service-level agreements, a move that could help the DSL carrier differentiate its services from those of incumbents if it can deliver on its lofty promises.
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Gig-E, G-PON, Gee-Whiz
Network World 04/22/02
The snappy marketers that drove the DSL industry to use 23 of the 26 letters of the alphabet to describe their technologies have moved to the optical access side of the house. We've now got A-PON (ATM passive optical network), E-PON (Ethernet PON) and G-PON (Gigabit PON).
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AT&T airs converged network upgrades
Network World 04/15/02
AT&T unveiled enhancements to its voice-over-data services last week that expand their reach to ATM customers and more international locations.
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NetScreen Goes Carrier-Grade
LightReading 04/15/02
NetScreen Technologies Inc. today introduced a line of high-speed security firewalls targeted at large companies and telecom carriers.
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NetScreen Goes Carrier-Grade
LightReading 04/15/02
NetScreen Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq: NSCN - message board) today introduced a line of high-speed security firewalls targeted at large companies and telecom carriers.
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"There is no fibre glut"
LightWave 04/01/02
No surprise for a fibre maker to say that the rumour of a "fibre glut" is inaccurate, or even totally wrong. But, at the OFC event, Janice Haber of OFS had some trenchant arguments to counter the glut-believers.
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Where Is VOIP?
LightReading 03/29/02
Despite setbacks and delays, vendors of packetized voice products that run voice over Internet Protocol (IP) or Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) networks insist their future will be solid in carrier networks -- even if it takes a while to get there.
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Where Is VOIP?
LightReading 03/29/02
Despite setbacks and delays, vendors of packetized voice products that run voice over Internet Protocol (IP) or Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) networks insist their future will be solid in carrier networks -- even if it takes a while to get there.
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Acme Software Vets VOIP
LightReading 03/26/02
Acme Packet, a startup founded in August of 2000, yesterday announced two products designed to help service providers offer interactive voice applications over an IP network.
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Acme Software Vets VOIP
LightReading 03/26/02
Acme Packet, a startup founded in August of 2000, yesterday announced two products designed to help service providers offer interactive voice applications over an IP network.
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MPLS 'Could Save Billions' Says Study
LightReading 03/21/02
Users need to be "forced" to deploy Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) and start setting priorization bits in the traffic they send over broadband networks, according to a study released this week by TeleChoice Inc., a market research consultancy (see MPLS is Key to Profits, Says Study).
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PhotonEx's 40-Gbit/sec system
LightWave 03/01/02
PhotonEx Corp. (Maynard, MA) is perhaps best known for its recent financing coup; the company closed its third round of funding, a $90-million endeavor, last October, bringing its total to $178 million, enough to remain operational through 2003 and into 2004.
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WaveSmith's Frame Relay Connection
LightReading 02/19/02
WaveSmith Networks Inc. says an addition to its multiservice switch, announced today, will help break open a new market -- frame relay.
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WaveSmith's Frame Relay Connection
LightReading 02/19/02
WaveSmith Networks Inc. says an addition to its multiservice switch, announced today, will help break open a new market -- frame relay. Yes, that's right. Frame relay, the so-called "legacy" networking technology that, like ATM, seems to be again in vogue.
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THE LOCAL EXCHANGE IN 2015
Telephony 02/18/02
In 1986 the local exchange network was much different than it is today. Then there was no household Internet penetration, and only 6% of office computers...
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North American DSL market reaches 5.5 million lines; ILECs have the lead
America's Network 02/15/02
DSL lines in service in North America totaled 5,509,386 at the end of 2001, according to new statistics published by TeleChoice Inc. The US had 4,363,846 DSL lines in service at year's end with incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) accounting for 88% of the total, followed by competitive LECs with 11% and IXCs with about 1%. Canada exceeded 1 million lines for the first time, ending the quarter with 1,145,540 DSL lines in service.
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HOME NETWORK SECURITY
Telephony 01/28/02
More Americans are choosing to spend time working and playing at home, a phenomenon dubbed cocooning. Centillium Communications is banking on the acceleration...
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RapidStream gets to the (Check) Point
Network World 01/21/02
RapidStream is betting customers will be more willing to buy its high-speed security gear if it runs big-name firewall-VPN software made by Check Point Software.
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Alliance Formed to Drive 40 Gb/s Commercialization
LightWave 01/14/02
PhotonEx Corp., a supplier of 40 Gb/s network-wide photonic systems, has announced the founding of the 40G Collaborative, a business alliance committed to the commercialization of deployable 40 Gb/s solutions in the core public services network.
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Is the fiber glut for real?
EBN 12/10/01
A small but growing number of analysts say the world's telecommunications diet needs more fiber despite the massive layoffs, inventory write-downs, and lack of visibility that have plagued the sector since last year.
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Fiber glut challenged as misperception
EBN 12/09/01
A small but growing number of analysts say the world's telecommunications diet needs more fiber despite the massive layoffs, inventory write-downs, and lack of visibility that have plagued the sector since last year.
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