Intel Enters DSL Market
MS: a more connected life
Telcos shelling out the dough for optical networking solutions
Handsets shrink with ceramic circuits
Wireless' byte-sized bandwidth
3Com deal ends network venture with Siemens
Telephone equipment makers make most of Lucent's woes
Nortel nabs high-speed gear
Net2Phone and Panasonic team for offline Net calls
Imagitel releases VoIP flip phone
Quicknet releases Linux open source drivers for VoIP cards
Time Warner follows a new media path

Intel Corp. has entered the digital subscriber line market with a modem based on a chip set from GlobeSpan Semiconductor Inc. (Largo, Fla.), and plans to drive deeper into the sector later this year with its own DSL silicon.  The PRO/DSL 3100 high-speed digital modem, which is geared for the consumer and small business markets, supports both full-rate asymmetric DSL (ADSL) and G.Lite protocols, according to Chad Taggard, business unit manager at Intel's Broadband Access Operation.

The modem represents Intel's latest entry in the booming communications sector, although the company's broader DSL strategy is still shrouded in mystery. Taggard said the modem uses a chip set from GlobeSpan, but in the future, the company also plans to use third-party DSL chips from Analog Devices Inc. (Norwood, Mass.).  And Intel's DSL chip relationship with Analog Devices and GlobeSpan is likely to be only on an interim basis, according to analysts. This year, the company is expected to roll out its own DSL chip-a move that would put it in yet another new and booming communications market.  Taggard said the company is developing its own DSL chip set line, but declined to comment further.  "We're progressing in our development plans," he said. "Right now, we're using third-party chip sets to reduce our time to market."

Though Intel is designing a proprietary chip set, some analysts speculate that the company could also buy its way into the DSL chip market via an acquisition. Intel already owns small equity stakes in two competitive DSL chip makers, GlobeSpan and Integrated Telecom Express.  And Intel is no stranger to acquisitions, especially in the communications chip space. Last year, it spent billions to acquire several major communications chip makers, including DSP Communications, Level One Communications, NetBoost, Softcom Microsystems and Stanford Telecommunications' cable modem chip operations.  Intel's DSL modem will begin shipping next month at a suggested retail price of $295.

 MS: a more connected life
Source: ZDnet

The new pitch: Microsoft wants to be the provider of software and services that will let users be more connected to the Internet and to each other. If the pitch sounds familiar, that's because it is. 3Com Corp. also presented its vision of a "more connected life" for its customers at CES.  While their approaches are different, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) and 3Com (Nasdaq: COMS) have the same aim: Give consumers the ability and the tools to stay connected all the time.

For its part, Microsoft used CES, which kicked off last Thursday in Las Vegas, as a venue to present a suite of new consumer-oriented technologies. At the show, Microsoft announced that it will offer two new Microsoft Network Mobile Companion services as well as Pocket PC handheld devices (formerly known as Palm-size PCs). Microsoft also demonstrated advances in its Universal Plug and Play initiative and an updated version of its MSN Web Companion Internet Appliance.  Pocket PCs will incorporate a new user interface as well as a set of new applications, including an audio application that can play both MP3 and Windows Media format sound files in stereo. They will also incorporate a new version of the company's eBook Reader application, which will allow consumers to read, annotate and even listen to audio eBooks with embedded graphics on their Pocket PC. The audio application will be available as a download for Palm-size PCs next month, Microsoft officials said.

Keeping users even better connected, Microsoft announced MSN Mobile 2.0, a new service for microbrowser-enabled phones that will provide users with access to Microsoft Hotmail e-mail and calendar services. The service will be made available in the next two months, Microsoft officials said. The company, in addition, will make its MSN Mobile service available to device makers to distribute along with their hardware.

At the other end of the spectrum, Microsoft showed off Web Companion, another Windows CE-based device platform designed to offer first-time computing users access to the Internet via MSN. The device, which will be manufactured by companies such as Acer Group and Philips Electronics, has no Start Menu, instead relying on a "start page" filled with links to services such as the Web and e-mail. It has a permanent navigation bar at the bottom of its screen, allowing users to easily get back to where they started. A light shows when a user has e-mail waiting.  MSN Web Companion is slated for introduction in the middle of the year, Sanford said.  

Microsoft and the forum are also working to allow UPNP-enabled devices to be able to access Windows applications and work with the short-distance wireless networking technology known as Bluetooth.

Telcos shelling out the dough for optical networking solutions
Source: Comsoc

Communications Industry Researchers (CIR) predicts that telcos will spend $7.6 billion in DWDM and optical crossconnects by 2003. CIR believes such spending is likely because of the role optical networking will play in technological advancements. In addition, optical networks will serve as the foundation for a completely new kind of network called the intelligent optical internetwork. While carriers already recognize optical networking as a cost-saving tool, they will soon realize that the new optical internetwork will also generate revenues for them. Optical internetworking will enable telcos to cut the time it takes to deploy high-bandwidth services. Once intelligence is included, DWDM transmission systems and optical crossconnects will internetwork to establish an entirely optical internetwork that will support ATM, IP, and other types of network traffic, according to CIR. 

Handsets shrink with ceramic circuits
Source: Comsoc

The Ceramic Interconnect Initiative, consisting of over 40 firms, wants more companies to use ceramics in their wireless products. The consortium believes that handsets can become smaller and less expensive if ceramic-based materials are used to embed some passive components. This would result in longer battery power and lower power use. The CII also says that ceramic based materials offer adaptability and faster commercial deployment. Samuel Horowitz, the consortium's leader, says that the perception that ceramics are expensive is incorrect. He believes that ceramics' circuit-board technology can actually be a cheaper option. He added that Teledesic LLC and Iridium LLC use ceramic-based materials in their satellite network equipment. Motorola and National Semiconductor Corp. have teamed up to integrate ceramics into production operations. 

Wireless' byte-sized bandwidth
Source: Comsoc

Internet output rates may increase in the near future as wireless service providers update their networks. Current rates of 9.6 Kbps have been superseded by cellular digital packet data, or CDPD, which can send data at speeds of up to 19.2 Kbps. However, physical conditions can significantly reduce speeds. Despite this, a number of government agencies use wireless systems for their workers. Fire, emergency, law enforcement, and utilities employees use wireless systems for a number of purposes. Paramedics may log into a database to retrieve patient information. Public water companies can monitor water flow using fixed wireless radio technology that sends frequent readings to remote microcell controllers. Police officers use wireless systems to instantly retrieve drivers' records. In the future, government organizations may not have to worry about limited data speed and narrow bandwidths. Second generation and 3G broadband wireless technologies promise even faster speed rates--up to 1.25 Mbps. CDMA is one of the possible 3G standards. GSM and TDMA are other digital technologies that may be used for 3G systems. It remains to be seen how soon the new wireless technologies become widespread. 

3Com deal ends network venture with Siemens
Source: Cnet

Networking player 3Com announced plans on January 10 to offer voice over the Internet to large businesses, a move that effectively closes the book on a failed joint venture with German networking firm Siemens.  3Com said it plans to transform its network-based telephone system typically geared for small and medium-sized businesses to service large corporations and business telecommuters.

3Com and Siemens originally teamed for a $100 million joint venture in 1998 to develop telephony products for corporate networks. But the pair killed the partnership this summer after 3Com bought NBX, a company that builds telephone systems to shuttle phone traffic over data networks.  At the time, the two companies--which have an agreement to jointly sell and market each other's products--didn't rule out working together to build a similar network-based telephony system for large businesses.

With this announcement, 3Com has decided to go it alone and build its own technology as it tries to compete against rivals such as Cisco Systems, Nortel Networks, and Lucent Technologies.  Networking and telecommunications equipment makers are all racing to build equipment that combines voice and data over a single network, even though many businesses are skeptical that the technology is reliable enough to work effectively.  For 3Com, the introduction of the new equipment is part of the struggling firm's overall strategy to rebound from its troubled times. The company has spent the past year trying to move away from slow growing markets, such as analog modems and networking cards, to emerging markets, such as Internet telephony, high-speed Internet access modems, wireless technology and home networking.

Currently, 3Com's network-based phone system, called the NBX Communications System, can support up to 200 users. By the end of the year, 3Com will add these same voice capabilities to its SuperStack II switches, which will support up to 750 users, the company said. By early 2001, the company plans to add voice to its high-end CoreBuilder 9000 switch, which will support up to about 1,000 users.

Rival phone equipment makers took immediate advantage of Lucent's misery. Executives from Nortel, Alcatel, Newbridge Networks and Ericsson all announced that their companies will meet analyst's estimates for their fall quarters--and investors today flocked to their stocks.

While Lucent is considered a bellwether for the telecommunications equipment industry, analysts say rival companies didn't take hits in their stocks today because Lucent's troubles is not indicative of the market, where Cisco's sales jumped 49 percent last quarter and Nortel's revenue increased 30 percent.  "The basic message is that this is an issue specific to Lucent, and not telecom-market related," said analyst Joseph Bellace, of Jefferies & Co.

Lucent believes it will back on track by the second half of 2000. Some analysts agree, but others remain skeptical as they downgraded the company's stock.

Promatory's DSL equipment will allow fast Internet access to be offered over regular copper telephone wires. The move allows Nortel to compete with rival telecommunications equipment makers, such as Cisco Systems, Lucent Technologies and Alcatel, as well as niche providers like Redback Networks.  Nortel executives said Promatory's equipment will also integrate with its optical-based network systems--a key growth area for the company. Nortel in December spent $3.25 billion to purchase Qtera, which has developed a product that allows phone and data traffic to be sent across a fiber-optic network.

In addition to high-speed Net access, Promatory's DSL technology will allow consumers and businesses to transform one telephone connection into 12 to 16 separate phone lines. Promatory's chief executive Roger Dorf, who will now become a vice president at Nortel, says this allows each family member, for example, to have his or her own telephone number.

Net2Phone's service allows a user to make a phone call over the public Internet from a computer equipped with a microphone and Net2Phone software. With the new phones, consumers will be able to access Net2Phone's service without having to log on to the Net2Phone site.  Internet telephony for now is an emerging technology; many analysts note that the quality of sound still leaves much to be desired. However, although users may not be willing to overlook the poorer quality for domestic calls, they might for more expensive international calls.

Net2Phone is the best known player in the field, having cut deals with several Net and telecommunications powerhouses including America Online and Qualcomm. But competition is heating up with rival Dialpad.com and ZeroPlus.com cutting in to the mix.

Concluding the week of VoIP gadgets and handsets, Texas based Imagitel has released a new web based phone to use for long-distance dialing that uses VoIP.  The Millennium Phone is reported to weigh just 6 ounces and is only 5 inches in length, the Millennium Phone is not a cell phone, but a personal flip phone that plugs in to any standard phone outlet.

Whether at home, at the office, or even at a hotel or airport, customers can dial over VoIP networks without having to punch in access numbers or PINs.  The Millennium Phone does the access dialing for customers, also providing additional productivity features. No Ethernet connection or other buffer technology is needed.  The phone can also be programmed for pre-paid long distance. It debits calls in real time, and additional time can be purchased through automatic remote programming.

Quicknet released on January 6th the open source Linux device drivers for the company's Internet PhoneJACK, Internet LineJACK, and Internet PhoneCARD Telephone Cards.  The device driver code is released under the GNU Public License (GPL) and has been accepted for inclusion in the latest Linux kernel distribution.  The Quicknet Linux drivers include multi-card support, permitting developers to create multi-line Internet Gateways and private inter-office Internet telephony phone systems.  The drivers include license-free access to G.711, G.723.1, and TrueSpeech 4.1-8.5, enabling developers to create Internet Telephony applications without licensing costs or royalties.

The source code for Quicknet's Linux drivers will be released as part of all new Linux kernels, and is available on the company's web site at http://www.quicknet.net.  Being part of the standard Linux kernel means that Quicknet's drivers will become included in all the Linux distributions, including Red Hat, SuSE, TurboLinux, Debian, Caldera, and Corel.

Time Warner follows a new media path
Source: Cnet

January 10th's announcement that America Online will buy Time Warner highlights the revolution afoot for media companies as they change to meet the challenges of the new Internet landscape.  Time Warner, saddled with serious debt in the 1980s, has since built an impressive stable of magazines like Time, Sports Illustrated and People, cable channels such as Cable News Network (CNN) and Home Box Office (HBO), and the Warner Bros. film studio and Warner music group. The firm emerged at the end of the century with worldwide sales in excess of $12 billion.

But at the dawn of a new millennium, Time Warner will become part of a company that has built its reputation on the so-called new media of the Internet age. Time Warner chief executive Gerald Levin, successor to old-time entertainment mogul Steve Ross who died in 1992, will become chief executive of the new AOL Time Warner. The combined company will be valued at more than $350 billion.

The writing was on the wall for the traditional media firm last year when independent-minded Warner Bros. studios' co-heads Bob Daly and Terry Semel left after 20 years.  Their departure underscored the transition of Time Warner from an entertainment-based company to a cable and digital company. Under Levin, Time Warner could rightly claim to be the world's leading media company, with its fingers in a number of media pies such as movie and TV production, cable systems, and cable programming such as Turner Entertainment. It also owns baseball's Atlanta Braves and World Championship Wrestling.  Nearly 50 percent of sales are generated through Warner Bros., which produces and distributes programming for feature films, television and home video markets.  Time Warner also manages one of America's largest cable systems, serving nearly 13 million subscribers. HBO is the most popular pay television service in the United States, which, along with affiliated network Cinemax, has about 35 million subscribers.