• AT&T launches U-verse Voice in parts of Ohio
By Traci Patterson
AT&T’s U-verse Voice service is now available in parts of Cleveland, Akron and other northeastern Ohio communities, as well as in parts of Columbus.
U-verse Voice combines AT&T’s wireline and wireless voice, broadband and TV services on one bill. AT&T U-verse Voice completes the company’s IP triple-play and is available to all new and existing U-verse TV customers.
Meanwhile, AT&T’s suite of U-verse services is now available to consumers in Reno and Sparks, Nev. The services include U-verse TV, U-verse High-Speed Internet and U-verse Voice.
• Verizon expands high-speed Internet service in W.Va.
By Traci Patterson
Verizon’s high-speed Internet service is now available to consumers and businesses in parts of Braxton County, W.Va.
With the recent installation, Verizon is now offering the service, which is based on DSL technology, to an additional 300 consumers and small businesses in parts of Flatwoods and Heaters.
Qualified customers can sign up for Verizon’s high-speed Internet service, with a connection speed of up to 768 kbps, for $21.99 per month. Verizon’s 3 Mbps service is also available for $31.99 per month.
• Motorola reduces size of research labs
By Traci Patterson
Motorola is reducing the size of its research labs to approximately 300 people, which means that some current projects will be ceased and at least 180 people will be moved to the company’s three other units.
In addition to Motorola’s mobile phone unit, which the company is planning to spin off, the company also has a network equipment and set-top box unit and a government and public safety unit.
And about 150 research positions will be cut worldwide due to the halt of some Motorola research projects.
• RCN fires up fiber ring in downtown Chicago
By Brian Santo
RCN said its Metro Optical Networks division has completed the construction of a fiber ring encompassing more than 10 route miles located in downtown Chicago. The downtown ring augments the 538-mile fiber network RCN already has in the Chicago area.
RCN Metro’s set of products now available in downtown Chicago range from Metro Ethernet to SONET and Wavelength services, IP transit, Colocation and Network Management Services. With this expansion, RCN Metro will add an additional 100 Gigabits of overall network capacity in a core growth market.
“With approximately 80 buildings lit, including major meeting points for the financial services industry and service provider points of presence, RCN Metro is offering highly reliable services deployed over a network that is diverse from other carriers’ networks,” said Lorin Dorco, Chicago regional director for RCN Metro. “Our services are backed by an exceptional operational infrastructure and customer-focused support teams.”
• Embarq picks Adtran’s aggregation platform
By Mike Robuck
Adtran announced today that Embarq Corp. has picked Adtran’s Total Access 5000 Multi-Service Access and Aggregation Platform for deployment in its network. This latest deal expands Adtran’s reach into the Embarq network, where Adtran equipment is already widely deployed, supporting a variety of broadband applications.
“The services and applications that our customers need are becoming more data centric,” said Jim Hansen, SVP of network services for Embarq. “This is driving our network toward more converged, packet-based technologies like Ethernet. The Total Access 5000, with its core Ethernet architecture, provides us with the flexibility to support a wide range of applications – all with the same platform.”
Adtran said that the Total Access 5000 is a carrier-class multi-service access and aggregation platform that bridges the gap between existing and next-generation networks. With an all-Ethernet core, the Total Access 5000 supports both legacy and emerging service interfaces over copper and fiber, easily scaling to support bandwidth-intensive applications. This scalable Ethernet architecture allows carriers to use the Total Access 5000 to economically address both legacy and next-generation services while providing a seamless path toward a converged network, according to Adtran.
• 4 join Acme Packet partner program
By Brian Santo
Acme Packet said that four more companies have joined its partner program.
Grande Communications, Telecom New Zealand International, VoIP Corp. and XO Communications Services have joined as Constellation-level members. Acme’s program now has 33 total members, with 20 Constellation members and 13 Star members.
Acme Packet’s Connected Universe, launched in November 2006, is designed to facilitate business relationships among Acme Packet-enabled service providers to extend service reach, drive down costs, improve service quality and ultimately leverage new IP interactive communication service opportunities beyond voice.
More Broadband Direct:
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• Cisco: IP traffic will increase 46% by 2012
• Widevine enhances Cypher for delivery of video to PCs
• Juniper Networks enhances Ethernet services routers
• JDSU unveils NetComplete assurance solution
• Harris’ IPTV encoders pass muster with Microsoft