* JacobsRimell updates business, headcount numbers
OSS specialist JacobsRimell (JR) reported a 32 percent revenue increase and a 40 percent increase in global headcount for 2006. The company attributed the revenue increase in part to contract wins and contract extensions with operators including UPC Broadband, Cbeyond, Bermuda CableVision and Get Norway. Since the end of 2006, UPC Broadband has installed JR’s OSS platform in all of its Europe-based systems, including two new implementations at Cablecom in Switzerland and UPC Romania. JR said its new platform manages converged IP-based services for more than 15 million broadband Internet, TV and VoIP customers worldwide.
New JR hires include COO Andrew Skehel, former vice president of Northern Europe for SSA Global Technologies; Senior Architect Andrew Forth, previously with Accenture; Manager of Marketing Karen Burnside, formerly with HP; and Manager of Product Management Christy Moorhead, previously with Inktomi.
* Cedar Point announces university trial of SAFARI C³
Cedar Point Communications Inc. announced a new trial of its SAFARI C³ Multimedia Switching System with Plymouth State University in Plymouth, N.H. Plymouth State will deploy SAFARI C³ to a pilot group of faculty, administration and students as part of a comprehensive evaluation of VoIP technologies.
The SAFARI C³, an integrated carrier-class VoIP switch that incorporates all of the components that make up the voice switching infrastructure, will enable Plymouth State to support SIP-based residential devices in dormitories and TDM and VoIP applications for University offices. This is Cedar Point’s second deployment in the campus and enterprise VoIP market; last year the company conducted a trial with the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.
* CSG Systems’ Care Express now serving five million
Billing and customer care firm CSG Systems said its CSG Care Express product, a solution for cable and direct broadcast satellite (DBS) providers that enables online customer self-service, now serves more than 5 million consumers nationwide. CSG has 23 of the nation’s leading service providers on Care Express including Time Warner Cable, Charter Communications, Bright House Networks and Mediacom Communications.
In a few months, CSG will build new enhancements into Care Express, allowing consumers to manage their accounts and pay bills through retail kiosks. The enhancements will also allow for bundled solutions with personalized offers and discounts tailored to the individual consumer.
* Tropos names John Shelnutt VP of worldwide sales
Tropos Networks, a maker of metro-scale wireless mesh network systems, announced the addition of John Shelnutt as the vice president of worldwide sales. Shelnutt will be responsible for sales of Tropos’ MetroMesh products to carriers, ISPs and municipalities worldwide.
For the past eight years, Shelnutt served as group vice president of sales for Alcatel U.S. At Alcatel, he sold the company’s mobility products to mobile operators such as Cingular, Verizon, Sprint/Nextel and T-Mobile.
Shelnutt also served as senior director of marketing and business development for Alcatel NAFTA and director of switching sales for Alcatel.
Earlier in his career, Shelnutt sold for Northern Telecom, ITT, MCI and Alta Telecom.
* VoIP secures funding to manage debt and move forward
VoIP Inc. has scared up $4.7 million in financing it intends to use to pay down debt and for operations. The company said it completed a series of private placements of convertible debentures with institutional investors totaling $4.7 million. The debentures are convertible into shares of restricted common stock. VoIP Inc. chairman and CEO Anthony J. Cataldo said, “This transaction eliminates a great deal of uncertainty regarding our financial condition, which should favorably impact our relationships with customers.”
