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By cableunion, February 22, 2012 1:11 pm

GLOBAL TELECOM, a provider of broadband services in Colombia, recently announced the selection of KEITO Fiber to upgrade its network infrastructure across Colombia, which will help the company to deliver on its customers’ requirements and effectively improve their experience.

In a release, GLOBAL CTO Juan Gonzalo Angel Restrepo, said that, “Following a competitive bidding process, we selected KEITO to provide us with their fiber that exceeded our customers’ demands for increased bandwidth and that also met our aggressive economical requirements. This investment will not only allow our company to satisfy the quality and coverage requirements of our existing customers, but also interconnect additional 82 other municipalities in the all regions of Colombia, completing a total of 242 municipalities.”

KEITO is a Chinese-based manufacturer and supplier of fiber optic products. The company will provide GLOBAL TELECOM with 12,000 km of optical fiber which will effectively expand and help in the maintenance of the company’s network infrastructure.

The fiber upgrade will enhance both voice and data services provided by GLOBAL TELCOM across the areas it already serves in addition to enabling it to deliver full GEPON network services and 100 Mbts and more per customer. This move will provide it with a competitive edge over its competitors by ensuring an enhanced customer experience.

Adela Lin, president of KEITO, said that, “The purchase of KEITO optical fiber cable gives GLOBAL an important competitive advantage over other Colombian companies that provide internet and broadband services, since GEPON provides a better cost efficient and permit offer fiber-to-the-Premises services which is more efficient as compared with standard HFC networks used by other companies. This purchase demonstrates GLOBAL’S commitment to constant improvement and focus on providing the last mile to corporate customers.”

Calvin Azuri is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of Calvin’s articles, please visit his columnist page.

Edited by Jennifer Russell

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By cableunion, January 27, 2012 9:36 pm

The Holy Land is also likely to become the land of super-fast Internet connections, as it adopts a technology called “fiber to the home” (FTTH).

Israel Electric Corp, a state-owned electric company, plans to offer a cutting-edge, high-speed broadband network to the entire nation, which is about the size of New Jersey. Because the country is relatively small and has some dense population centers, Israel Electric is predicting Israel will jump to the “forefront of the next generation of Internet technology,” according to a report from The Associated Press.

Israel is looking ahead by opting for fiber-optic lines that will likely provide connections that are 10 to 100 times faster than more traditional methods, The AP said. “All the developing countries that have a vision for 10 years ahead, or 20 years ahead, understand that the name of the game will be communications, broadband communications, very fast communications,” Tzvi Harpak, Israel Electric’s senior vice president for logistics, said in a statement made to The AP and carried by TMCnet.

Israel expects that 10 percent of the nation will be wired for the new technology by 2013, and two-thirds of the nation will be wired within seven years, The AP said.

Oliver Johnson, CEO of Point Topic, said FTTH will be the “gold standard” of “the next generation of broadband service,” The AP reported. The improved technology will lead to applications in such areas as videoconferences, medical surgery, and in cloud computing. It will also lead to increased chance for economic success, The AP said.

“Everyone feels that bandwidth will be this commodity down the road. If you don’t have it, you’ll be out of luck,” David St. John, spokesman for the FTTH Council, told The AP.

South Korea now leads the world with FTTH technology, followed by Japan and Hong Kong. About 7.1 million homes in the United States, representing 6.6 percent of the total residences, use FTTH, The AP said. An example is FiOS (News – Alert) from Verizon. Israel now uses mostly DSL and cable for connections.

Among the companies interested in installing the new technology in Israel are: Telecom Italia (News – Alert) SpA and BT Group PLC, as well as Israel-based firms Elbit Systems, Rapac Communication & Infrastructure, and Tamares, The AP said.

“There’s been quite a lot of interest,” Philippe Guez, managing director at Rothschild, the financial adviser on the project, told The AP. “We believe and hope the government and the Israel Electric Corp. will make the appropriate changes in order to make this wonderful project happen.”

Given that Israel is considered a major technology center, the adaption of FTTH not just for major technology companies but for everyday folks is not a surprise. “Providing high-quality, fiber-to-the-home bandwidth for consumers all over Israel (especially in peripheral areas) is a national interest as it promotes economic growth, education, provision of government services, social welfare,” Eden Bar-Tal, director general of Israel’s Communications Ministry, told The AP.

Israel Electric traces its roots to 1923, when it was started as The Electric Company for Palestine. It has 2.4 million customers, according to data cited by Yahoo Business.

Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO East 2012, taking place Jan. 31-Feb. 3 2012, in Miami, FL. ITEXPO (News – Alert) offers an educational program to help corporate decision makers select the right IP-based voice, video, fax and unified communications solutions to improve their operations. It’s also where service providers learn how to profitably roll out the services their subscribers are clamoring for – and where resellers can learn about new growth opportunities. For more information on registering for ITEXPO registration click here.

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Ed Silverstein is a TMCnet contributor. To read more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.

Edited by Rich Steeves

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By cableunion, January 23, 2012 11:16 am

Deutsche Telekom International Carrier Sales & Solutions (News – Alert) (ICSS), the wholesale provider of Deutsche Telekom and Lattelecom, Latvia’s tier one telecommunications service provider, have announced an alliance to give Europe a next generation network. The investment is expected to help operators in Russia and other neighboring states to address the needs of high speed Internet customers, which are ever-increasing in the region.

As a part of the alliance, the companies have reportedly signed a deal to deploy Baltic Telecommunications Highway, a powerful data transmission highway that will address the growing network connectivity needs across the Baltics.

ICSS provides global voice communication and Internet connectivity to millions of people, and global roaming and messaging on next generation platforms, as well as smart content distribution, media exchange, and virtual carrier solutions. Lattelecom offers telecommunications solutions for households, small and medium enterprises and state and municipal institutions as well as corporate customers.

ICSS and Lattelecom will jointly lay an advanced network technology based fiber-infrastructure across the Baltics, Poland and Germany. This deployment is expected to enable transmission speeds of up to 10 Gbps, the partnering companies claimed in a press release.

In addition of making investments in the infrastructure of their respective countries, ICSS and Lattelecom will also make significant investments in Poland and Lithuania to complement the Baltic Highway.

According to Juris Gulbis, Lattelecom’s chairman of the Management Board and CEO, the Baltic Telecommunications Highway project has high international significance as it establishes the shortest data flow route between Europe and rest of the world.

“With increasing volume and diversity of the Internet content as well as various data exchange services, the Internet data exchange consumption continues growing throughout the world. Therefore Lattelecom early on the way is setting up a powerful data transmission highway which in the future will help Lattelecom in satisfying the ever growing need for high Internet speed of customers,” Gulbis explained. “Baltic Telecommunications Highway is a project of international importance as it will ensure Russian and other neighboring state telecommunications operators with the geographically shortest route for data flow to Europe and the rest of the world.”

“By partnering with Lattelecom, we bring businesses in the Baltic States and beyond access to a European next generation network. The Baltic States as well as Russia have witnessed a substantial surge in demand for network connectivity, and through the Baltic Highway we will jointly provide enhanced connectivity for the region,” noted Holger Magnussen, senior vice president at ICSS.

In separate news, Deutsche Telekom (News – Alert) announced a strategic partnership with online daily deals company Groupon to deliver Groupon’s local commerce deals in European countries within the Deutsche Telekom network.

Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO East 2012, taking place Jan. 31-Feb. 3 2012, in Miami, FL. ITEXPO (News – Alert) offers an educational program to help corporate decision makers select the right IP-based voice, video, fax and unified communications solutions to improve their operations. It’s also where service providers learn how to profitably roll out the services their subscribers are clamoring for – and where resellers can learn about new growth opportunities. For more information on registering for ITEXPO registration, click here.

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Madhubanti Rudra is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.

Edited by Jennifer Russell

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By cableunion, January 20, 2012 8:30 pm

In an effort to continue to expand its national footprint, zColo opened its first data center facility in downtown Chicago. zColo, a Zayo group company, is known for its ability to provide carrier- neutral interconnection focused colocation services, according to company officials.

Located at 600 South Federal St., the facility is the first location in downtown Chicago area for the company and the 13th United States location. With this addition, another metro market now comes within zColo’s nationwide reach, officials said.

The announcement of the new facility comes less than one month after the company bought the 28,000 square feet data center in Las Vegas from MarquisNet. The rising demand for data center space in Las Vegas triggered this purchase.

The company’s plans to expand address the recent increase in demand for data center services in Chicago which according to Chris Morley, president at zColo, has outpaced supply by 50 percent over the last two years.

Morley also noted that as a carrier-neutral provider, zColo planned to partner with other carriers in the Chicago area to support this demand.

The carrier-neutral site will have 8,500 square feet of data center floor available, supporting up to 200 watts per square foot. It will leverage Zayo’s bandwidth infrastructure. Services are expected to be available by the end of the second quarter 2012.

zColo is the exclusive operator of the 60 Hudson Street Meet-Me-Room. The company was recently named one of the Denver-areas Fastest Growing Private Companies by the Denver Business Journal.

In a related news release, Zayo Group announced the completion of a fiber build into the Green House Data facility, Wyoming’s first multi-tenant data center, offering cloud hosting and colocation services. In addition to the build, Zayo will provide IP Transit service to Green House Data while enabling on-net connectivity to its 70 tenants from 24 states and three countries.

Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO East 2012, taking place Jan. 31-Feb. 3 2012, in Miami, FL. ITEXPO (News – Alert) offers an educational program to help corporate decision makers select the right IP-based voice, video, fax and unified communications solutions to improve their operations. It’s also where service providers learn how to profitably roll out the services their subscribers are clamoring for – and where resellers can learn about new growth opportunities. For more information on registering for ITEXPO registration click here.

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Mini Swamy is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.

Edited by Carrie Schmelkin

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By cableunion, January 20, 2012 1:12 pm

PMC-Sierra (News – Alert), a provider of Internet infrastructure semiconductor solutions, announced its HyPHY OTN processors comply with the Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF (News – Alert))’s new OTN-over-Packet-Fabric Protocol Implementation Agreement (IA).

A press release from PMC-Sierra said the OIF program is expected to assist the telecommunications industry to develop an ecosystem for interoperable OTN switching at the silicon and optical equipment levels.  

Compliance with the New Optical Internetworking Forum Protocol is a significant development for PMC-Sierra whose HyPHY 20G and HyPHY 10G OTN processors provide a fully compliant implementation of the OIF IA via the Constant Bit Rate Interface (CBRI) and OTN Phase Signaling Algorithm (OPSA).

“Carriers worldwide are adopting OTN switching as a method to provide sub-wavelength switching to their converged optical transport infrastructure,” said Mark Pashan, general manager, optical transport products, Tellabs (News – Alert), in a statement. “The ability to combine OTN with packet switching on the same platform provides them maximum flexibility in network designs to optimize costs.”

PMC-Sierra officials claim the compliance meets carriers’ needs to drive mass deployment of OTN switching in their networks. PMC-Sierra will benefit as the P-OTP equipment market is likely to grow more than 20 percent per year through 2015.

“PMC has significant experience in delivering architecture-level solutions for metro transport optical networking equipment, and we are pleased to be a contributing partner to this important OIF initiative along with our customers and other companies,” said Babak Samimi, vice president of marketing and applications for PMC’s Communication Products Division.

“With industry alignment and our HyPHY multi-service OTN processing solutions in volume production, carriers can now deploy OTN switching in their metro networks,” Samimi added.

Recently, PMC-Sierra announced new silicon products that enable OEMs to develop a range of high performance, highly integrated solutions for the growing mobile backhaul market segment.

Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO East 2012, taking place Jan. 31-Feb. 3 2012, in Miami, FL. ITEXPO (News – Alert) offers an educational program to help corporate decision makers select the right IP-based voice, video, fax and unified communications solutions to improve their operations. It’s also where service providers learn how to profitably roll out the services their subscribers are clamoring for – and where resellers can learn about new growth opportunities. For more information on registering for ITEXPO registration, click here.

Stay in touch with everything happening at ITEXPO. Follow us on Twitter.

Rajani Baburajan is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of Rajani’s articles, please visit her columnist page.

Edited by Jennifer Russell

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By admin, December 29, 2011 8:58 am

Thursday, Dec 29, 2011

Power cable producer Jiangsu
Zhongchao Cable plans to acquire three industry peers through a private
placement, reports Shanghai Securities News, citing a company
filing.

Zhongchao Cable plans to issue a
maximum of 68 million shares at not less than 13.43 yuan per share in order to
raise a maximum of 900 million yuan to acquire 51 percent stakes in Yufang
Cable, Mingzhu Cable and Xizhou Magnet Wires, and to set up an operations
center in Shanghai.

According to the filing,
controlling shareholder, Jiangsu Zhongchao Group, plans to spend not more than
300 million yuan for the private placement.

Zhongchao Cable said the products,
markets, and future development goals of the three companies are different, and
the acquisitions will help to optimize its product mix and increase sales.

The company
currently has insufficient production capacity, and could therefore utilize the
capacity of the target companies to meet production needs and accelerate the
delivery time.

Yuanfang Cable produces and sells
cables such as 35KV cross-linked power cables, and is a high-technology firm
based in Jiangsu province.

It recorded respective net profits
of 11.72 million yuan and 13.27 million yuan on revenues of 376 million yuan
and 350 million yuan in 2010 and during the first nine months of 2011.

Mingzhu Cable produces and sells
power cables, electric wires used in electronic equipment, cables used in
mines, and bare wire cables. It earned net profit of 10.96 million yuan on
revenue of 385 million yuan during the first nine months of 2011.

Xizhou Magnet Wires produces and
sells winding wires, paper-covered wires, and multi-split wires used in new
power generation equipment and metro transportation.

Xizhou Magnet Wires is one of the
companies designated by the State Grid to produce transposed conductors used in
EHV and UHV transformers. It posted net profit of 3.19 million yuan on revenue
of 629 million yuan during the first nine months of 2011.

In addition to the acquisitions,
Zhongchao Cable intends to use the proceeds raised to produce energy-saving
frequency conversion cables and optical fiber low-voltage cables.

Upon completion, the production
facility is expected to generate average annual net profit of 53.33 million
yuan on revenue of 526 million yuan.

Source: Capital Vue

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By admin, December 21, 2011 11:06 am

Wednesday, Dec 21, 2011

A US$455 million undersea cable from India to Italy via the Gulf and Egypt has been completed, and will go live in weeks.

The cable comes ashore in Fujairah and can be used by du, and regional operators including the Saudi Telecom Company and Vodafone Qatar.

It is being tested and the first internet traffic will be carried in “the coming few weeks”, said Gulf Bridge International, one of the companies behind it.

Click here for full article in The National

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By cableunion, December 20, 2011 2:32 pm

The United States isn’t exactly the most developed country as far as Internet speed is concerned. Recently, though, companies have been aggressively extending their capabilities, promising new high-speed Internet services for its customers. The demand on fiber-optic cables from these companies put a strain on suppliers and delayed some of the projects put forth by ISPs.

One such company, known as Consolidated Electric Cooperative, is right now working on a project involving 200 miles of fiber optic cabling from north Columbus, Ohio to Richland and Knox. The project has been held back by fiber optic shortages due to increased nationwide demand. The cabling necessary for the north side of the network isn’t going to arrive until January, and the company’s been waiting six months for the arrival.

One of the companies providing CEC with cabling said that federal stimulus funding increased the demand on fiber optics by approximately 30 percent this year compared to the demand in 2010. Since the stimulus, waiting 4-6 months for cabling to arrive has been something normal because of the gigantic demand coming lately. The trend is expected to go on through the year 2012.

The investment in cabling projects by broadband distributors totals around $4 billion nationwide. In Ohio alone, companies are putting their heads together to form a Consortium that intends to install 3,500 miles of fiber optic broadband cabling throughout 82 different counties in the state.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration says that most recipients of stimulus money didn’t have any supply issues, but the projects that ordered cable after the tsunami of stimulus money were hit hard with wait time.

One of the companies that formed the new Ohio consortium ordered its cable in February 2011. The part of the project it’s responsible for will place 900 miles of cable in northeast Ohio. This part will finish towards the end of 2012.

Miguel Leiva-Gomez is a professional writer with experience in computer sciences, technology, and gadgets. He has written for multiple technology and travel outlets and owns his own tech blog called The Tech Guy, where he writes educational, informative, and sometimes comedic articles for an audience that is less versed in technology.

Edited by Jennifer Russell

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By admin, December 8, 2011 12:21 pm

Thursday, Dec 08, 2011

Shanghai, China – December 08, 2011 – Dow Electrical & Telecommunications (Dow E&T), a business unit of The Dow Chemical Company, today announced it had signed DOW INSIDE license agreement with Jiangsu Shangshang Cable Group which is a leading wire & cable products manufacturer in China.

Under the terms of the DOW INSIDE agreement, Shangshang Cable will use DOW ENDURANCEâ„¢ insulation, semi-conductive and jacketing materials to manufacture electronics wiring and/or medium and high voltage power cables. In exchange, Dow E&T will provide the companies with cutting edge technologies, proven products and enhanced service that benefit both the customer and Dow in a demanding market.

In addition, Shangshang Cable will be allowed to market its products with a logo comprised of the “DOW DIAMOND” followed by the word “INSIDE” when the company uses the branded wire insulating and jacketing materials produced by Dow.  Shangshang can also enjoy the benefit of co-marketing opportunities provided by Dow.

Jiangsu Shangshang cable group is the leading wire and cable manufacturer founded in 1967, the company’s annual production value is over RMB 15 billion. Shangshang cable has been growing fast in recent years thanks to its strategy of developing talents and implementing the advanced technologies in its production. Shangshang’s wire and cable products cover high voltage, medium voltage, low voltage, plastic and rubber, and specialty cable.

“’DOW INSIDE’ marketing is a key component of our strategy to continue aggressive growth while offering total solutions to our existing and prospective customers in a competitive market,” said Tim Laughlin, General Manager, Dow Electrical & Telecommunications.

About Dow Electrical & Telecommunications

Dow Electrical & Telecommunications, a business unit in the Performance Plastics Division

of The Dow Chemical Company (“Dow”), is a leading global provider of products, technology, solutions and knowledge that sets standards for reliability, longevity, efficiency, ease of installation and protection that the power and telecommunications industries can count on in the transmission, distribution and consumption of power, voice and data. Understanding that collaboration is essential to success, Dow Electrical & Telecommunications works together with cable makers, other industry suppliers, utilities, municipalities, testing institutes and other organizations around the world to help develop solutions and create mutual value that will sustain these industries for years to come. For more information, visit dow.com/electrical.

About The Dow Chemical Company

Dow (NYSE: Dow) combines the power of science and technology with the “Human Element” to passionately innovate what is essential to human progress. The Company connects chemistry and innovation with the principles of sustainability to help address many of the world’s most challenging problems such as the need for clean water, renewable energy generation and conservation, and increasing agricultural productivity. Dow’s diversified industry-leading portfolio of specialty chemical, advanced materials, agrosciences and plastics businesses delivers a broad range of technology-based products and solutions to customers in approximately 160 countries and in high growth sectors such as electronics, water, energy, coatings and agriculture. In 2010, Dow had annual sales of $53.7 billion and employed approximately 50,000 people worldwide. The Company’s more than 5,000 products are manufactured at 188 sites in 35 countries across the globe. References to “Dow” or the “Company” mean The Dow Chemical Company and its consolidated subsidiaries unless otherwise expressly noted. More information about Dow can be found at dow.com.

About Shangshang Cable

Jiangsu Shangshang cable group was founded in 1967, the annual production capacity is over RMB 15 billion. Jiangsu Shangshang cable group core enterprises Ltd is a professional production enterprise of wire and cable, as a State enterprise, the national key high-tech enterprise, has national post-doctoral scientific research station and State-level Enterprise Technology Center. Sophisticated production equipment, key equipment are imported from abroad, has the international first-class level; leading the research and test equipment, facilities, products, complete testing capabilities. “Shangshang” wire and cable products cover high voltage, , medium voltage, low voltage, plastic and rubber, and specialty cable.

Source: Dow Electrical & Telecommunications

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By admin, December 5, 2011 8:59 pm

After releasing countless announcements of partnerships and network expansion in the past couple of months alone, Zayo, provider of fiber-based Bandwidth Infrastructure and network-neutral collocation and interconnection services, and member of the Dark Fiber Community, has more news to add to its list of accomplishments this year.

After coming to a calculated decision, the fiber provider has officially completed its transaction of purchasing 360networks (News – Alert) in a deal that will enable Zayo rights to 360networks’ estimated pro forma revenue of about $393 million a year.

Recently named one of the Denver-areas Fastest Growing Private Companies by the Denver Business Journal, the decision to acquire 360networks came as a no-brainer for Zayo considering the company’s credentials and market reach, which will further enable Zayo to expand its own fiber network.

Zayo serves wireline and wireless carriers, data centers, Internet content and services companies, high bandwidth enterprises as well as federal, state and local government agencies to provide its services over regional, metro and fiber-to-the-tower networks.

“The combination of the two companies’ operations provides us with a platform to greatly expand our market and service coverage,” stated Dan Caruso (News – Alert), president and CEO of Zayo Group. “Given both companies’ focus on simple, Bandwidth Infrastructure services, we anticipate a rapid and smooth integration of the businesses. With the integration of systems and networks already underway, customers can purchase services across our expanded footprint starting today.” 

Zayo’s network assets include 44,000 route miles, covering 39 states plus Washington D.C. as well as 4,500 buildings on-net, 450 Points-of-Presence (POPs), 2,100 cell towers on-net, and over 170,000 square feet of collocation space.

According to the Zayo officials, the completion of this acquisition will add 360networks’ 18,500 route miles of metro and intercity fiber to Zayo’s network, interconnecting 73 markets across the central and western United States, including 24 existing Zayo fiber markets.

In addition to its intercity network, 360networks operates metropolitan fiber networks across 25 markets. The acquisition also provides Zayo access to a number of new markets including Albuquerque, Bismarck, Des Moines, San Diego, San Francisco and Tucson.

As part of the agreement, 360networks’ wholesale VoIP business will become part of Onvoy Voice Services (“Onvoy”), which Zayo previously spun off as a separate entity. These services will increase Onvoy’s coverage and scalability as a national voice service provider. 

Stefanie Mosca is a Managing Editor for TMCnet, with a particular focus in wireless technologies as well as mobile and IP communications. She holds a master’s degree in journalism from Quinnipiac University and a bachelor’s degree in communication from the University of New Haven. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page or follow her on Twitter (News – Alert) @stefaniemosca.

Edited by Jennifer Russell