Cisco readies support for new Web standard
FCC grabs record $9.3 billion in bids
Ciena buys Cyras for $2 billion
Wireless video--get the picture?
Palm to buy wireless sync firm
Microsoft acquires software maker
3Com forms CommWorks

The new IP standard, called Internet Protocol version 6, is expected to affect every Net user once the technology is widely adopted in the coming years. The new standard was developed in response to the dwindling number of available IP numbers as cell phones and other devices became more popular.

Cisco expects to ship final versions of its IOS software--with support for the new standard--in March or April of next year, McNealis said.

FCC grabs record $9.3 billion in bids
Source: Cnet

The FCC's ongoing auction of valuable airwaves has set a record, pulling in $9.34 billion in bids, which will likely keep rising as companies seek to expand and improve service.  The auction, which could last until mid-January and which analysts expect to draw in $11 billion to $20 billion, topped the agency's 1996 auction of PCS licenses that netted $9.2 billion.

Ciena buys Cyras for $2 billion
Source: Spectrum

Ciena Corp., Linthicum, Md., a leading maker of equipment that aids in optical switching and boosts data transmission across long-haul optical fiber lines, announced on 19 December that it plans to purchase Cyras Systems Inc., Fremont, Calif., for $2 billion. The deal will put Ciena in the lead in metropolitan switching technology, which allows large amounts of corporate and Internet data to be moved quickly throughout a network existing within a city’s borders. The market for such systems is expected to reach $8 billion by the end of 2001.

Wireless video--get the picture?
Source: Comsoc

Telecom companies are trying to turn wireless video into a full-fledged offering. Although all the enabling technologies for wireless video are available or will be offered within the next 18 months, industry observers wonder how long it will take services to become popular with consumers. The development of the encoding format for streaming video and the capabilities of the cellular network are likely to play key roles in answering this question.

First, companies must find a format to stream video over the network. So far, MPEG-4 appears to be the best option for streaming video, since it defines content to be sent as a framework of media objects and scene descriptions. The standard can send complex video and multimedia scenes at low rates to mobile devices, and it is the only standard presently available for streaming media over wireless networks.

But the adoption of any standard will not work well with current 2G networks, which only allow video to be delivered to wireless devices at four frames a second. Such slow speeds are unlikely to attract many customers. But with the deployment of 3G networks in several years, data transfer speeds are expected to rise to 2 Mbps.

However, improved pipes will not solve all the problems associated with sending streaming video. Changing pipe conditions when a subscriber is roaming or moving farther from the network's antenna is another key obstacle. Some industry observers advocate the use of transcoding technology to modify the speed the application is using to deliver streaming video to users moving away from the antenna.  The media server also has a crucial role in providing high quality wireless video. A media server can procure content from a content provider and translate the format for delivery.

Palm to buy wireless sync firm
Source: Commweb

WeSync's software is used to wirelessly download, compare, and share structured information such as calendars, contact lists, and other databases. "This is an important step in our strategic roadmap," Palm CEO Carl Yankowski says.

Maybe, but acquisitions like this one could also present problems. "I would imagine [WeSync software] will make a neat feature on the Palm OS. The danger, of course, is you dont want to start competing with your developer base and producing products that the third-party market would be selling," says Craig Mathias, an analyst with Farpoint Group. "The third-party developers are going to be the backbone of Palm for quite a long time."

Microsoft acquires software maker
Source: itworldcanada

Microsoft Corp. has announced it will acquire mid-range ERP (enterprise resource planning) and accounting software company Great Plains Software Inc. for US$1.1 billion in stock.

The merger will extend Great Plains' global reach, allow a tighter integration of technologies and lend the company Microsoft's market strength, said Douglas Burgum, president of Great Plains Software, in a conference call.  Great Plains will become a separate division within Microsoft's Business Application Division.

3Com forms CommWorks
Source: itworldcanada

In the wake of dismal quarterly returns from its carrier networking segment, 3Com Corp. announced plans to create a subsidiary, CommWorks Corp., to handle its service provider and carrier systems businesses, according to a company statement.

The Santa Clara, Calif.-based vendor already has a CommWorks line of networking products. 3Com outlined a CommWorks architecture for telephony over IP (Internet protocol) to global service providers in September of last year and followed that with the first set of its CommWorks offerings in January of this year. The company delivered fax-over-IP, Internet call waiting and Net calling cards. 3Com followed up these initial plans by beefing up its unified messaging efforts and expanding its role in the DSL (digital subscriber line) market.

The new CommWorks subsidiary will continue to concentrate on developing products for IP services, including both hardware and software. In particular, CommWorks will target IP telephony, wireless data access, call control and signaling and gigabit-per-second routing systems, 3Com said. Irfan Ali, former senior vice-president and general manager at 3Com, will take on the role of president in the new unit.