• Allen nets peanuts in Charter stock sale
By Brian Santo
Charter Communications Chairman Paul Allen last week sold 28.4 million shares of the company’s Class A common stock, according to a document (available here) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The document said the shares were sold at a below-market-value price of $0.000035, netting Allen $996.36. On the date of the sale (June 17), Charter stock closed at $0.028 per share.
The transaction is said to have no material effect on Allen’s holdings in Charter. The company is currently in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and under the terms of the current reorganization plan, Allen will retain a significant minority share of the voting stock. No rationale was given for the sale.
• Chicago provider taps Ciena for 10G
By Brian Santo
Urban Light Networks (ULN), a facilities-based, fiber-optic network provider in Chicago, has deployed Ciena’s service platform, the vendor said.
ULN completed its infrastructure build in April 2009 and has begun offering competitive services for downtown Chicago businesses, including wholesale carriers and financial services institutions.
With an architecture based on Ciena’s CN 4200 RS FlexSelect Advanced Services platform, ULN is offering customers a range of high-speed transport services, including SONET/SDH, storage and Ethernet-based lit services and high-capacity dark fiber services.
• Corning intros new optical fiber line
By Brian Santo
Corning Cable Systems has introduced a new set of optical networking products designed to be used in data centers.
Corning’s LANscape Pretium Evolved-Density, Growth-Enabled (EDGE) solutions include a set of high-density, pre-terminated optical cabling, including the company’s recently introduced ClearCurve multimode fiber. The cable can be more tightly routed around corners and bends, and extra slack can be coiled without causing attenuation that may adversely impact system performance.
The company claims its EDGE solutions allow for up to 35 percent faster deployment; enable up to 25 percent faster moves, adds and changes (MACs); and offer up to 100 percent more density than traditional pre-terminated solutions. Pretium EDGE solutions housings are available in both 1U and 4U sizes and mount in 19-inch racks or cabinets. When combined with Pretium EDGE solutions trunks and jumpers, they provide an LC connector termination density of 576 fibers within a single 4U housing, Corning said.
• T-Mobile to launch 2nd Google phone in August
By Peter Svensson, AP Technology Writer
NEW YORK (AP) – T-Mobile USA’s follow-up to the first “Google phone” will go on sale in early August, the carrier said Monday. The “T-Mobile myTouch 3G with Google” will be a touchscreen phone and will lack the physical keyboard of the T-Mobile G1, the first phone that used Google Inc.’s Android software.
The G1 went on sale in October. T-Mobile has sold more than 1 million of the phones. Google is giving away the software, because the company’s goal is to make Android the basis for phones across the industry, stimulating the use of its Web services on mobile devices. Google is getting some traction. Verizon Wireless has said it will bring out an Android phone “in the near future.” Motorola Corp. is betting big on Android and aims to have its first products out late this year.
But Android phones are facing strong competition. BlackBerrys from Research In Motion are gaining ground among consumers. Apple Inc. launched a new iPhone model Friday and said that it sold more than 1 million units in the first three days (story here). The Pre from Palm Inc. has gotten favorable reviews. The myTouch looks much like an iPhone and has many of the same features, including a similarly sized screen. It will cost $199 with a two-year contract.
