U.S. stations want to shut off Canadian Internet TV
Cisco router aims to meet high-end demand
New switch may give life to Canada's Newbridge
Level 3 launches its first long distance VoIP service
Experts Tackle Mobile Internet Business Model
Researchers Crack Code in Cell Phones
Here Comes GPRS
DSL's DLC Impasse Perplexes Carriers
Internet users cover their digital tracks
Worldwide completes Vancouver - Calgary fiber
Consultants offer telecom management software

Last week, the U.S. stations  gave iCraveTV an ultimatum: Stop broadcasting, or face legal action. The Friday deadline passed and the shows went on, and now the stations say they'll see iCraveTV.com in court.  The dispute between programmers and iCraveTV will help set ground rules for what is likely to be a contentious relationship between traditional broadcasters and upstart Net companies. The Canadian start-up is the first to offer uncut, uninterrupted streams of broadcast television programming online. Its fate could determine the early course of Internet television.

Large Web sites like America Online and Yahoo have expressed some interest in offering broadcast programming online. But a recent fight in Congress left the rules governing this process unresolved. Net companies say they'll have to gain permission from regulators or legislators before pursuing any type of Net broadcasting, however.  Under Canadian law, third parties like cable or satellite TV companies are allowed to retransmit broadcast signals as long as the programming isn't cut or modified. iCraveTV chief executive Bill Craig says the company is acting within the law.

Craig's service is geared for Canadian residents. To log on to the site, users must plug in a Canadian area code and agree to legal language stating that they are viewing the site from a PC in Canada. But no technological barriers currently prevent Web surfers from the United States or elsewhere from tuning in.  Craig says he's working with Canadian copyright authorities to find a formula that will allow the company to reimburse television programmers, much as satellite TV and cable companies do. But he's not willing to shut down the service.  This decision has pit iCraveTV against TV stations and programmers on both sides of the border. Canadian stations said early last week that they would ask the courts to shut the Net start-up down, and are still in the process of drafting their legal papers.  The National Football League has said the Net company could be liable for fines up to $100,000 for each game it shows online without permission. It's waiting to make a decision on legal action until after tonight's Monday Night Football game, a spokesman said.  Davidson said the U.S. stations haven't yet decided whether they would join the Canadian broadcasters in a joint lawsuit or file their own. 

Cisco Systems has unveiled a new high-speed optical networking device for communications carriers and Internet service providers, filling a hole in its strategy to build technology for even the most demanding networks.  Qwest Communications International already has deployed Cisco's new routing device and America Online plans to test the technology as well, according to the company.  Both Lucent Technologies and Nortel Networks also have announced ambitious plans for tackling one of the most lucrative battlegrounds in the networking market:  High-end devices for long-distance networks based on fiber-optic technology. Lucent plucked start-up Nexabit Networks to fill its gaps earlier this year. High-flying upstart Juniper Networks is another entrant in the market.

The new technology, called the GSR 12016, can zip traffic across a network at speeds of 10 gigabits per second (Gbps) on each of 15 possible interfaces. Cisco claims the device can handle a total of 5 terabits per second (Tbps) worth of traffic, putting it on par with forthcoming technology from competitors as well as a slew of well-funded start-ups.

Cisco executives said the new technology, shipping this month, will solidify the networking firm's place in the market while ISPs work on the best strategy to expand network capacity.  Although Lucent dived into the high-capacity networking market with its Nexabit purchase and Nortel has disclosed plans for its own technology, Cisco has been relatively silent about its strategy--until now. Upstarts like Avici Systems and Pluris among others are also vying for a piece of the high-end market.

"With the GSR 12016, Cisco is finally responding to the latest competitive threats from the terabit routers vendors, Avici, Nexabit/Lucent and Nortel," said Chris Nicoll, director of infrastructure analysis at market watcher Current Analysis.  "This announcement should either open the doors into the service providers for the terabit competitors, or close them," Nicoll added. "Many service providers have been waiting to see what Cisco was going to do to get into the terabit range, and now they know."

New switch may give life to Canada's Newbridge
Source: Cnet

Canadian network gear firm Newbridge Networks is now shipping a new high-capacity switch for customer testing, beating some analysts' expectations and breathing new hope into the troubled company.  Newbridge plans to announce next week that U.S.-based local phone firm SBC Communications and U.K.-based communications giant British Telecommunications are testing its newest switch.  The timing is critical for Newbridge, which some analysts suggest is losing U.S. market share for its flagship asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) technology to rival Lucent Technologies. ATM technology sends multimedia data across networks at high speeds.

Newbridge said last month that it is open to takeover offers, following a series of disappointing quarters and a flagging stock price. Yet analysts said today's news could make the struggling firm a more attractive takeover candidate.  If Newbridge can quickly move its new ATM switch, said to be the fastest on the market at 50 gigabits per second, from testing to the market, the firm could gain an important advantage over its rivals.

Level 3 has announced commercial availability of its first long distance VoIP service - (3)Voice. The service will initially be offered on a wholesale basis across the US with plans to expand to additional markets over the next year.  Level 3's Softswitch-based network architecture currently processes over a billion minutes of Internet connections per month. (3)Voice service will be carried over the same Softswitch technology.

"If the quality should ever temporarily drop below the quality of the traditional phone network, we would move our customers' traffic onto the traditional phone network," said Kevin O'Hara chief operating officer of Level 3.  "All carriers in the industry have such overflow contracts in place to enable them to move traffic back and forth as needed."

One of the initial customers signing a contract for (3)Voice is Network Enhanced Technologies, Inc. (NET), a service provider based in Los Angeles.  (3)Voice service will initially be available in the following 10 markets: New York; Los Angeles; Chicago; Washington, DC; San Francisco; Denver; Dallas; Detroit; Seattle and Tampa -- and is expected to expand to 25 cities by the end of the first quarter of 2000.

Experts tackle mobile Internet business model
Source: Comsoc

Executives in the telecommunications and the Internet industries addressed the topic of a business model for the mobile Internet during the ISP Forum in Amsterdam.  The issue is of importance when one considers that cellular phone users are believed to be key to the future of the Internet. By next year most new phones will provide Internet access. Moreover, analysts believe that as many as half of Internet browsers could come from some kind of a mobile terminal within two years. The main questions involve who will pay and how, but there were no easy answers from industry experts. David Worlock, of EPS Limited, said mobile Internet "should be started on a different business model, on a different site, and in a different relationship with the consumer." 

Advertising was seen by some officials as a potential alternative to replacing tariffs for the mobile versions. However, Alison Mordue, of Turner Broadcasting Systems Europe Limited, had questions about advertising, as well as about charging against simplified information systems. Meanwhile, Yahoo Europe's Bjorn Modee added that pay per minute is unlikely. Oyj Radiolinja and Sonera charge startup fees and a rate per minute. However, one of the differences between the two cellular service providers in Finland is that Sonera requires an additional charge for the type of services used, while Radiolinja does not.

Researchers crack code in cell phones
Source: Comsoc

Two Israeli researchers say they have discovered a way to break the encryption method that allows for secure calling and data transmissions over a GSM-based cellular phones. While GSM is not the preferred standard in the United States, it is the most commonly used wireless technology in the world. Over 215 million digital handsets are based on the technology, but only 5 million of those are used in the United States. However, several U.S. operators, including Pacific Bell and Omnipoint, offer GSM-based service. The researchers say they have broken the code called the A5/1 algorithm, which is meant to prevent electronic eavesdropping. Although this is not the first time an encryption code has been cracked, the new procedure is notable because it does not require a substantial amount of computer power. Adi Shamir and Alex Biryukov, two researchers of the Weizmann Institute in Rohovot, Israel, said the computer they used to crack the code had 128 megabytes of RAM and two 73 gigabyte hard disks. 

Here comes GPRS
Source: Comsoc

Despite having to wait until July before GPRS (general packet radio service) is commercially available, TDMA and GSM suppliers and carriers are already testing the technology. Before GPRS can be implemented, however, issues concerning interoperability, equipment, and network management must be resolved. Omnipotent Communication Services plans to offer the new service late next year. The biggest problem may be finding enough handsets that can carry the new technology, says William Diaz, Omnipotent's director of network engineering. AT&T Wireless already has a similar network in use called CDPD (cellular digital pocket data). Because GPRS and CDPD are IP-based, AT&T can do without new applications. AT&T Wireless is also testing a GPRS network that does not need EDGE. The company intends to debut the new technology by the end of 2002.

DSL's DLC impasse perplexes carriers
Source: Comsoc

Digital loop carrier (DLC) systems have emerged as an obstacle to wide deployment of ADSL service. Because DLCs are meant to support voice traffic exclusively, many of the systems do not work with ADSL technology. BellSouth and SBC Communications are among the service providers dedicated to overcoming the problem. A DLC is designed to provide multiple channels of voice traffic to residential and corporate customers. These systems are critical because they allow incumbents to broaden CO capabilities without having to deploy new cable. Fixing the problem is important to BellSouth since as many as 40 percent of its customers are behind digital loops. BellSouth intends to finish an upgrade this month on 2,000 DLCs in Atlanta; New Orleans; Charlotte, N.C.; Jacksonville, Fla.; and South Florida. The DLC has to be upgraded in order for customers behind it to get DSL access. But such upgrades will be difficult because the service provider must determine that each location has sufficient space for new equipment, that a proper power supply is available, and that proper facilities for data transport back to the CO are in place, says John Cahill, executive director of the advanced network division of BellSouth. SBC's Project Pronto initiative calls for the deployment of advanced DLC cabinets and the upgrading of existing ones by 2002. 

Internet users cover their digital tracks
Source: Teledotcom

For about $50, users of the Freedom network, a technology service rolled out by Zero-Knowledge (Montreal), can build an online identity that's good for up to five years. The product, almost two years in production, will give Internet users tools to attempt to control how much of their personal information is collected when they browse the Web.  If it can deliver on its promise, the Freedom network could go a long way to clearing a major obstacle in the way of additional e-commerce development. Privacy and the collection of personally identifiable data by online businesses are quickly becoming a flashpoint in the growth of e-commerce.  "This is the infrastructure on which the future is built," says Austin Hill, CEO of the privately held company. "We view this as a fundamental technology."

The release comes as marketers seek more efficient ways to harvest additional information on users. For merchants, data is the necessary complement to the automation that the Internet allows. This new technology makes it much easier to gather large amounts of data and tie it to other data to provide services and products more quickly.

The Freedom product lets users create pseudonyms without having to store the data on a third-party server. The user can build the identities and travel around the Internet through a chain of servers that obscure identifiers and digital footprints in Web surfing, e-mail, newsgroup discussions and chat.  The product builds a process that encrypts the digital packets at the base of Internet communications protocols. The encrypted packets are routed through multiple servers operated by Internet service provider (ISP) partners to obscure pathways. "The experience is consistent, and we didn't overshoot our capability," Hill says.  The service will be available to a maximum of 100,000 users--10,000 new users a week--through mid-February. It costs $49.95.

Worldwide completes Vancouver - Calgary fiber
Source: Angustel

Vancouver-based Worldwide Fiber Network Services says its Vancouver-Calgary fiber span, which went live on November 7, is the first in the world to use Nortel's OPTera LH system. Worldwide says it will complete a 22,000-mile North American network by the end of 2000.

Consultants offer telecom management software
Source: Angustel

Telecom consultants P.W. Ritchie & Associates have announced PoWeR Telemanager, a Windows program designed to help organizations with up to 800 phones manage telecom equipment, services, and bills.