The 700 MHz auction kicked off today with two rounds of bidding, racking up a total $2.425 billion. Unlike previous auctions, the FCC is keeping secret the leading bidders’ names, revealing them only after the auction concludes. But the bids themselves are public and the biggest bid so far is for the C block, a package of 8 regional licenses covering all 50 states. The open-access spectrum block attracted two bids in two rounds, ending at $2.25 billion for the day. more…
HP this week delivered a major platform update for its NG OSS portfolio, adding a handful of new features but more importantly adding key underlying capabilities and standards deployments that set a new baseline for future OSS feature releases.
The updates include a new 6.0 version of HP’s TeMIP fault management system and new 5.0 version of HP Service Activator Software. Also on tap: a partnership with Cisco to deliver a managed services management solution for carriers running Cisco-based IP networks. more…
AT&T said today it expects to begin pair-bonding advanced DSL lines in “late 2008,” pushing back the expected arrival of what the company says is an important part of its fiber-to-the-node (FTTN) initiative.
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By its own estimates Nokia achieved 40% global handset market share in the fourth quarter after a strong holiday sales season and increased dominance in the developing markets. Nokia is clearly benefiting from Motorola’s failure to execute on its new products, but Nokia’s momentum may have inspired CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo to be a bit more daring. He claimed Nokia would regain its lost market share in North America, the only region where Nokia is not the market leader. more…
AT&T is expecting a strong 2008, with consolidated revenue growth in the mid-single digits, a significant expansion in margins and continued double-digit growth in earnings per share — even if the U.S. economy continues to struggle, Senior Executive Vice President and CFO Rick Lindner told financial analysts today.
The financial markets reacted badly earlier this month, when AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson mentioned a slowdown in the consumer market, and some analysts questioned whether AT&T had taken into account the current economic times when making its relatively rosy 2008 projections. more…
Though optical transport equipment vendor Sorrento Networks was absorbed by Zhone Technologies in 2004, a new incarnation of Sorrento launched this month, acquiring those products back from Zhone. Its CEO Jim Nevelle spoke with Telephony about the startup’s plans.
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Little Soma Networks has hit the WiMAX jackpot, announcing today it is rolling out what it believes is the largest WiMAX network in the world in India. Though Soma did not reveal any financial details of the deal, it said India’s telecom incumbent Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) has tapped Soma for networks in four of India’s states in a rollout that will target 400 cities and towns in the next two years. more…
Driven by disappointing sales of the Razr 2, Motorola today reported fourth-quarter earnings of $100 million, down from $623 million in Q4 of last year. Sales for the Chicago-based communications company fell in the last three months to $9.65 billion from $11.79 billion in the same period a year earlier. more…
Ciena’s surprise announcement of its plans to acquire Ethernet access vendor Worldwide Packets left some analysts scratching their heads yesterday, largely because Ciena declined to offer many details on key justifications for the deal and its terms. more…
Siemens released its line of 802.11n product line today, joining a growing number of wireless LAN vendors — which includes Cisco Systems, Meru Networks, Aruba, Trapeze, Colubris and Ruckus Wireless — that are designing high-capacity wireless LAN gear for the enterprise. There seems to be little doubt that 802.11n will eventually displace its a, b and g predecessors (IT research firm The Burton Group believes that 802.11n will even replace wired Ethernet LANs in the next two years). The question is whether the enterprises need them, or can even support them, today. more…
