Recently I reported that Soapstone Networks, which pioneered the market for Provider Backbone Transport control planes, won’t be alone for long. Equipment vendors in the PBT space know that other control planes have been developed for the Ethernet transport technology and expect them to be unveiled soon. My source said a pair of startup suppliers will probably emerge in the first half of this year. As I said, one of them seems likely to be Gridpoint Systems. I wonder if another near-future entrant will be Ciena.

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All of the bids may be in, and the auction may have generated more than double its projected earnings, but after the 700 MHz auction’s close some people are asking why there weren’t a few more bids and a few more billion dollars in the pot. Specifically consumer advocates are pointing to the controversial D-block shared public safety/commercial license, which received only a single bid and failed to meet its reserve price after 261 rounds. more