Huawei, investment firm, to buy 3Com for $2.2B
By Brian Santo
Bain Capital and Huawei Technologies will buy IP networking specialist 3Com for more than $2 billion, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. Bain would be the majority owner.
3Com and Huawei were partners in a joint venture, Huawei-3Com, founded in 2003. 3Com bought out Huawei’s share in the venture late last year. At the time, Huawei said its divestment would allow it to concentrate on its core technology of fixed-mobile convergence (FMC) systems.
3Com was founded by Bob Metcalfe, credited with inventing Ethernet. 3Com has been one of the key proponents of Ethernet and IP-based networking in the corporate environment.
Motorola to shed embedded computing unit for $350M
By Mike Robuck
Motorola will sell its Embedded Communications Computing business to Emerson Electric Co. for $350 million.
Schaumburg, Ill.-based Motorola expects to finalize the sale by the end of this year after it gains customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.
Motorola’s ECC business, which had 2006 revenue of approximately $520 million, will strengthen Emerson’s position in the $6 billion-and-growing merchant embedded computing industry. Upon completion of the transaction, Motorola’s ECC business, which has 1,100 employees, will become part of Emerson Network Power.
The primary purpose of embedded computing technology is to control machines or other computer systems and manipulate data. Based in Tempe, Ariz., Motorola’s ECC business provides embedded computing products and services to communication infrastructure and equipment manufacturers in telecommunications, medical imaging, defense and aerospace and industrial automation.
Motorola said the transaction will help it sharpen its focus on the company’s core businesses and technologies, as well as provide additional capital.
“We regularly evaluate our company’s portfolio to ensure alignment with our core vision and business strategies to enhance shareholder value,” said Ed Zander, chairman and chief executive officer, Motorola, in a statement. “We believe that Emerson has the proven track record to continue to serve ECC’s customers with the same high quality and level of products and services.”
Cisco said to be considering Navini purchase
By Brian Santo
Cisco will buy its way into the incipient WiMAX market with an acquisition of privately-held Navini, according to a new report from ThinkEquity.
A spokesman from Cisco offered the obligatory “no comment.”
The ThinkEquity report says, “We believe such an acquisition would validate our thesis that WiFi and WiMAX belong together, just like enterprise and public networks (muni, cellular) are all blending/merging.
Motorola is the leader in this area now, but we believe Cisco will want to catch up with this type of an acquisition.”
The analysts note that AT&T has deployed Navini in several markets such as Florida, Georgia and Louisiana, and they talked up Navini’s beamforming technology as being a critical technological differentiator for Navini among other WiMAX system builders.
GigaBeam reels in another U.K. customer
By Mike Robuck
GigaBeam Corp. landed another customer in the U.K. for its “wireless fiber optics” technology.
GigaBeam received an order from FWA Solutions, a U.K.-based value added distributor of high-performance wireless solutions, for one of its WiFiber links. According to GigaBeam, WiFiber technology is similar to terrestrial fiber in terms of speed and reliability. It can also be less costly and easier to deploy than traditional terrestrial fiber.
“The United Kingdom has long been a focus of our efforts to expand in Europe and I believe that this order is an important step towards establishing a major presence throughout the continent,” said Louis Slaughter, chairman and CEO of GigaBeam, in a statement. “We are very pleased to be working with strategic partners such as FWA Solutions. They are well respected and have a positive track record of building truly next generation wireless networks.”
GigaBeam’s WiFiber products operate in the 71-76 GHz and 81-86 GHz upper millimeter wave spectrum bands.
The Federal Communications Commission and the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT) and some other countries have authorized this portion of the spectrum for licensed wireless commercial use.
Sylantro, Incognito team on SIP provisioning
By Mike Robuck
Incognito Software and Sylantro Systems have integrated some of their products to deliver an automated SIP provisioning solution.
The integrated solution includes Sylantro’s Synergy multiplay application feature server and Incognito’s SIP Deployment Server to provide faster and more flexible provisioning of multi-vendor SIP phones for hosted services as well as enterprise and university networks.
According to the companies, the SIP deployment solution automates the secure provisioning of SIP-based business phones and ATAs, and allows end users to configure their own features such as speed dialing as well as other phone functionalities. The solution will securely provision, configure and maintain business phones and Analog Terminal Adapters (ATAs) from various vendors.
“Our solution will introduce automated SIP provisioning for Business VoIP phones with substantial savings in administration, support and maintenance costs,” said Patricia Steadman, CEO and co-founder of Incognito Software, in a statement. “It will also offer mutli-vendor flexibility with the widest support for SIP devices.”
Incognito Software will demonstrate onsite the SIP Deployment Server provisioning solution at the Sylantro Global Summit taking place at the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas from Sept.30-Oct. 2.
Occam snaps up choice bits of Terawave
By Brian Santo
Occam Networks said it is buying assets relating to GPON and Metro Ethernet from Terawave Communications, which sells equipment for a range of access technologies, including GPON, BPON, Carrier Ethernet (EFM), ATM, PDH/SONET/SDH and VDSL2. The purchase price is $3.4 million.
The Terawave assets Occam is buying include:
* FSAN ITU G.984 GPON interoperable technology,
* Technology focused on GPON physical interfaces,
* Products and technology directed toward Metro Ethernet, and
* Technology license agreements to two leading silicon manufacturers: Ikanos Communications Inc. and Mindspeed Technologies Inc.
Occam said it will pay Terawave $3.4 million in cash, forgive bridge financing of up to approximately $1.9 million and assume certain liabilities and purchase commitments.
ADC expands its FTTP, FTTx portfolios
By Traci Patterson
ADC has expanded both its OmniReach fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) solutions portfolio and its OmniReach fiber-to-the-x (FTTx) solutions.
The Plug-and-Play Multiple Dwelling Unit (MDU) product family has been added to the company’s FTTP portfolio. The products can speed the construction of FTTP networks and deliver service for mid- and high-rise MDUs.
And the OmniReach Indoor/Outdoor Splitter Fiber Distribution Terminal for MDU applications has been added to ADC’s FTTx solutions. The terminals provide a small footprint for splitting, splicing and termination functions and offer increased efficiency within distinct FTTx network applications.
Both new solutions, as well as ADC’s portfolio of fiber optic network equipment, will be on display at the 2007 FTTH Conference and Exposition, in Orlando Oct. 1-3.
Broadband Briefs for 9/28/07
* Huawei, Qualcomm complete test of VoIP over HSPA
By Brian Santo
Huawei Technologies and Qualcomm have completed commercial testing in Shanghai of a technology they’re calling VoIP over HSPA (High-Speed Packet Access). The two claim that VoIP over HSPA can increase traffic capability by 50 percent in comparison with traditional voice communications technologies.
Huawei said VoIP over HSPA allows operators to replace circuit-switched calls, as well as deliver services with new business models, such as offering free Internet-quality calls. The company said the technology ensures high voice quality and quality of service (QoS), while the billing and security can be completely controlled by the carrier.
* Former Cox employee pleads guilty to turning off 911 system
By Mike Robuck
A Norcross, Ga. man pleaded guilty earlier this week to charges of tampering with a telecommunications system owned by Cox Communications, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The tampering temporarily affected Cox’s 911 emergency service system for customers in Dallas, Las Vegas, New Orleans and Baton Rouge, La., the paper reported. William Bryant, 38, admitted to remotely shutting down parts of Cox’s computer and telecommunications system on May 6 after Cox asked him to resign. The shutdown lasted for almost two hours and Cox customers could not make emergency phone calls during that time frame.
Bryant will be sentenced Dec. 13. He could be fined up to $250,000 and sentenced to up to 10 years in prison.
* Alloptic inks distribution agreement with Challenger Cable Sales
By Mike Robuck
Alloptic, a developer of fiber access network products, said it has signed a strategic distribution agreement with Challenger Cable Sales. Challenger will distribute Alloptic’s MicroNode and RF technology to MSOs in the western United States.
“MSO and CATV operators have the opportunity to move into the delivery of voice and data services to business, enterprise, and MDU customers. These are customers that have historically been in the domain of the traditional telco operator,” said Glenn Duval, president and CEO of Challenger Cable Sales, in a statement. “To leverage this opportunity, MSOs need to expand their bandwidth and lower costs, and with this agreement, Challenger can now offer MSOs a range of deep fiber solutions that expand bandwidth, add TDM backhaul, deploy FTTH, and deliver business-class Ethernet services.”
* Quartics releases Blink beta
By Traci Patterson
Quartics has launched Blink beta, a new software solution that provides an interface to browse unlimited video sources on a PC or, when used with Quartics PC2TV technology, on a TV.
Blink beta allows users to wirelessly stream Web content to their TV, and it allows them to organize photos and music from their PCs or from the Internet. The software is compatible with any Wi-Fi-enabled PC. The product is expected to be commercially available at the beginning of Q4.
* Cablevision adds TBS HD channel
By Traci Patterson
Cablevision Systems Corp. will add TBS HD to its HD lineup next week, just before the Major League Baseball divisional playoffs begin. This marks the 41st HD programming service made available to Cablevision’s iO TV customers. Cablevision requires no extra fees or charges for the service.
* Panasonic, HomePlug team on BPL technical submission
By Traci Patterson
Panasonic has merged its technical submissions for the IEEE P1901 Work Group for Broadband over Powerline (BPL) with The HomePlug Powerline Alliance’s submissions, and the two companies have presented a joint proposal.
The merged submission offers the efficiency of a single MAC and the support of both Panasonic’s HD-PLC and HomePlug’s AV PHYs. The IEEE P1901 project is developing a communications standard for high-speed powerline devices and is expected to approve a proposal later this year.