Recently in Telecommunications Category

I just thought it was amusing that 3M issued a press release to announce a brochure:

3M Solution for Fiber to the Premises Highlighted in Brochure

Actually, it's of interest because of the fiber-to-the-premises topic -- the brochure is directed at service providers and contractors and describes 3M's capabilities in the fiber implementation area.

If you want a copy of the brochure, the press release gives an 800 number you can call. The brochure is in "full-color," so that's a selling point!

AB -- 5/19/05

Today this release arrived from speech technology company Loquendo:

Loquendo Brings Lifelike Loquendo Embedded TTS To The Symbian Market

A couple of things about this announcement spark my interest. At first blush, most of the release comes across as a rehash of the capabilities of Loquendo TTS, a multilingual synthetic speech engine. But reading the release more carefully gave me an opportunity to take a closer look at Symbian and at Loquendo itself. I've taken note of both entities in passing but didn't really know much about them.

First, about Loquendo: From what I can gather, it looks to me as if the forte of Loquendo's technology is its ability to convert text into natural-sounding speech in multiple languages. If you want to hear what Loquendo's voices sound like, they have a remarkable set of demos in different languages on their Web site:

http://www.loquendo.com/en/demos/index.htm

They even include an interactive demo that allows you to type in text and listen to it in various voices and languages. Fun to play around with.

Today's release describes some of the capabilities of the technology:

"Loquendo embedded TTS for Symbian provides full multilingual capability - more than one voice and language can be used concurrently and dynamically switched. The engine also carries out automatic language identification: the text pre-processor automatically identifies multiple languages in a text, and uses the corresponding language and voice accordingly. It also includes mixed language capability - a feature that is unique to Loquendo technology - and enables foreign words to be pronounced correctly, without switching voices.

"With Loquendo embedded TTS for Symbian, users also benefit from Loquendo's emotional synthetic voices - capable of conveying expressive intention, such as greetings and apologies, in a lifelike, expressive manner for an even more natural effect."

Symbian is an operating system used in mobile devices and known for its stability and processor efficiency. Embedding Loquendo TTS into the Symbian operating system provides text-to-speech capabilities for those devices.

This quote from Paolo Coppo, Director of Business Development at Loquendo, gives an idea how the technology will enhance the capabilities of Symbian devices: "Loquendo TTS is the best fit for a brand new set of user-friendly services such as voice feedback for the visually impaired and the elderly, navigation services, SMS and e-mail reading."

AB -- 5/18/05

Kevin J. Martin, FCC chairman announced staff appointments today. Here is the FCC's press release from this morning:

-----

Chairman Kevin J. Martin Announces His Intention to Appoint the FCC Chief Of Staff, Announces a Staff Change, and Announces His Intention to Appoint Select Bureau Chiefs

Today, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin J. Martin announced his intention to appoint Daniel Gonzalez as the Commission’s Chief of Staff and that Michelle Carey will join his personal staff as Legal Advisor for Wireline Issues.  Chairman Martin also announced his intention to appoint Monica Desai as Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau Chief, Kris Monteith as Enforcement Bureau Chief, and Tom Navin as Wireline Competition Bureau Chief. 

Of these announcements, Chairman Martin said, “I want to thank Dan, Michelle, Monica, Kris, and Tom for agreeing to serve the Commission in these capacities.  I am grateful for their commitment to public service and look forward to working with them.  I am particularly excited that Michelle has agreed to join my personal staff as my Legal Advisor for Wireline issues.  Michelle has served this agency admirably in the past, and I want to thank her for her efforts and assistance going forward.  She will be a great asset to my team.”

Daniel Gonzalez has served as Chairman Martin’s Senior Legal Advisor and Wireline Advisor since February 2002.  Mr. Gonzalez has a notable career of service at the Commission, having served previously as an attorney in the Common Carrier Bureau’s Policy and Program Planning Division and the Accounting and Audits Division and as a Legal Advisor to the Common Carrier Bureau Chief and Commissioner Rachelle B. Chong.  Prior to joining Chairman Martin’s staff in 2002, Mr. Gonzalez served as Vice President of External and Regulatory Affairs for XO Communications.  Mr. Gonzalez received his B.A. from the State University of New York and his J.D. from Hofstra University School of Law.

Since September 2004, Michelle Carey served as Deputy Chief of the Wireline Competition Bureau.  Prior to that, she was Chief of the Competition Policy Division for nearly five years, where she managed rulemaking proceedings concerning a variety of issues including local competition, broadband, and IP-enabled services.  She also supervised numerous adjudicatory proceedings, including applications by the regional Bell companies to provide long-distance service and wireline telecommunications mergers.  Prior to becoming Chief, Ms. Carey was Deputy Chief and, before that, a staff attorney in both the Policy and Enforcement divisions of the former Common Carrier Bureau.  Before joining the Commission, Ms. Carey clerked for the Honorable Hart T. Mankin of the U.S. Court of Veterans Appeals.  Ms. Carey received her B.A., magna cum laude, from Georgetown University and her J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center.

Monica Desai has worked at the Commission since 1999 in a variety of capacities.   She previously served as an interim legal advisor to then-Commissioner Martin on spectrum and international issues and various common carrier and media issues.  She has also worked as an attorney-advisor in the Pricing Policy Division of the Wireline Competition Bureau, as well as the Commercial Wireless Division and the Public Safety and Private Wireless Division of the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau.  Before joining the FCC, Ms. Desai previously served as an associate at the law firm of Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal, a law clerk to the Honorable Deborah K. Chasanow (United States District Court, District of Maryland), and as an adjunct professor at the George Mason University School of Law.  Ms. Desai received her B.B.A., magna cum laude, in Finance from George Washington University, where she was a National Merit Scholar, and she received her J.D., cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center.

Kris Monteith most recently served as Deputy Bureau Chief for Outreach and Intergovernmental Affairs in the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau.  In that capacity, Ms. Monteith oversaw the Commission’s interaction with local, state, and tribal governments and other federal agencies, and she was responsible for consumer outreach to inform and educate the public about the Commission’s rules, policies, programs, and plans.  Ms. Monteith previously served as Chief of the Policy Division of the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, Deputy Chief of the former Common Carrier Bureau’s Competitive Pricing Division, the Designated Federal Official to the North American Numbering Council, and as a Senior Attorney in the then-Common Carrier Bureau’s Network Services Division.  Before joining the Commission in 1997, Ms. Monteith was an attorney for McDermott, Will & Emery and Keller and Heckman.  She received her B.A. from the University of Colorado and her J.D. from the George Washington University. 

Tom Navin most recently served as the Chief of the Wireline Competition Bureau’s Competition Policy Division, where he was responsible for managing implementation of many key aspects of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, including the Commission’s UNE Triennial Review pursuant to section 251 and issues affecting Broadband policy such as VOIP and wireline broadband Internet access.  Previously, Mr. Navin served as Deputy Chief of his current division and Deputy Chief of the Wireless Bureau’s Policy Division.  Before joining the FCC, he was an associate at McDermott, Will & Emery.  Mr. Navin received a B.S. from Wake Forest University, and a J.D. from the University of Virginia, where he was an Executive Editor of the Virginia Journal of International Law. 

-----

AB -- 4/29/05

Today a stream of announcements came out from the various preferred suppliers chosen for BT's 21st Century Network program, crowned by this summary from BT itself:

BT Announces Preferred Suppliers for 21st Century Network Program

BT describes 21st Century Network as "the world's most radical next generation network transformation program." BT expects to spend as much as 10 billion pounds sterling on the program to build out its new communications infrastructure in the UK.

The following roster of preferred suppliers not only identifies the players in the upcoming buildout but also the nature and scale of the 21st Century Network effort as BT sees it:

1. Fujitsu and Huawei have been chosen in the access domain which will
link BT's existing access network with the new 21CN.

2. Alcatel, Cisco and Siemens have been selected as preferred suppliers
for metro nodes which provide routing and signalling for 21CN's
voice, data and video services.

3. Cisco and Lucent will be 21CN's preferred suppliers for core nodes
providing high capacity and cost efficient connections between metro
nodes.

4. Ericsson has been selected in the i-node domain -- in essence the
intelligence that controls the services.

5. Ciena and Huawei have been chosen in the transmission domain to
supply the optical electronics that will convert the signals carried
at high capacity over the cables connecting the metro and core nodes.

In today's news release, Matt Bross, BT Group's chief technology officer, comments on the importance of this program: "The capability that BT is putting in place through this investment in 21CN is unequalled anywhere in the world. It will enable us to introduce new services at a speed that is simply impossible today."

BT said that it spent two years in discussions with over 300 potential suppliers before settling on this short list. It describes this competitive process as "one of the largest single procurement programs ever undertaken in the communications industry."

AB -- 4/28/05

This morning Qwest announced that it is expanding its outreach efforts on over 60 tribal lands in 14 states to reach more residents who qualify for the company's Tribal Lifeline and Tribal Link-Up assistance programs. The announcement is available on TMCnet at:

Qwest Expands Outreach to Low-Income Residents on Tribal Lands; More are Now Eligible for Low-Cost Telephone Service

The programs provide for reduced rates for households meeting certain income guidelines. Residents on tribal lands can receive basic telephone service for as little as $1.00 per month and installation services at up to 50% off. The discount Tribal Lifeline and Tribal Link-Up services are offered under reimbursement programs established by the FCC.

AB -- 4/28/05

Verizon announced today that it signed on Showtime Networks as a content provider for the Verizon FiOS TV service scheduled to launch later this year. Verizon's massive rollout of fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) is positioning it as a strong triple-play provider in many markets in the the near future. Showtime will provide premium movie services over FiOS.

Today's announcement is available at:

Verizon Signs Agreement With Showtime Networks for Premium Movie Services

Last week we picked up announcements of Verizon's video content deals with A&E Television Networks and NBC Universal Cable -- see those releases below:

Verizon and A&E Television Networks Sign Deal for Distribution of All Its Networks

Verizon and NBC Universal Cable Reach Extensive Agreement for Distribution of NBCU Cable and Broadcast Networks

So -- if the telcos are going to be providing TV programming, should they be regulated in the same way as the cable companies? 'Of course!' says Comcast. 'Certainly not!' says SBC. For reporting on this issue, see Bob Liu's article:

SBC: IP Video Service Isn't Cable

We also discussed this question in our TMCnet podcast last week. To listen to that program right now, click here to call up the MP3 file -- or go here to subscribe to our weekly communications podcast.

AB -- 4/26/05

A release just arrived at TMCnet announcing that Qwest is filing comments today with the FCC in opposition to the pending merger of SBC and AT&T. The release is available at:

Qwest Communications Files Comments at FCC to Block SBC-AT&T Merger; Divestitures and Conditions Necessary to Protect Consumers and Businesses

Qwest calls this issue "the most significant matter to come before the FCC since the divestiture of the Bell System" and says that the merger would "constitute a significant setback to federal and state policymakers' efforts to bring about competition in the telecommunications industry" and would result in "higher prices, reduced service quality and less choice and innovation."

The release quotes Steve Davis, Qwest senior vice president of public policy: "SBC proposes to acquire its largest competitor and greatest strategic threat. It is inconceivable that this transaction could be in the public interest without the imposition of significant conditions and required divestitures."

The release goes on to say:

"To protect the public, it is essential that if the merger application is not denied outright, then the FCC must condition its approval, at a minimum, on significant divestitures of facilities and other related overlapping operations in SBC's 13-state operating territory. In addition, because the proposed merged company will benefit from the elimination of AT&T as a competitor -- and benefit from the elimination of other competitors' access to AT&T's wholesale services and access facilities -- other significant conditions must be imposed in order to attempt to level the playing field."

On the heels of the Qwest release, an opposing announcement arrived from the Communications Workers of America, available at:

SBC-AT&T Merger Merits Quick Approval, CWA Tells FCC

According to CWA, SBC-AT&T merger will:

+ Create a "premier U.S. communications company," with the ability to "expand the delivery of advanced technologies, services and features to all classes of customers."

+ "Create a company with the resources and end-to-end network essential in the deployment of advanced next-generation Internet-Protocol enabled networks and services."

+ Assure that "national security will be safeguarded, by ensuring that AT&T, on which the government heavily depends for national security and other needs, will be a strong American company."

+ "Enhance, not reduce, competition by combining the different strengths of the two merger partners -- AT&T's global network and research innovation and SBC's financial strength and local exchange, broadband and wireless capabilities."

+ "Provide employees at both companies with the opportunity to share in the growth of the merged entity rather than the job loss that has been the fate of all too many AT&T employees in recent years."

-----

AB -- 4/25/05

Various news outlets are reporting that Adelphia Communications has agreed to pay $715 million to settle its federal fraud case. Here is the Bloomberg report:

Adelphia to Settle Fraud Case for About $715 Million

BusinessWeek's report is here:

Adelphia to pay $700M to resolve probe

And CNN's here:

Adelphia to pay $715M for fraud

Bloomberg says that the Rigas family, founders of the company, will forfeit 95% of their assets in the settlement. The government will use the money to set up a victims' compensation fund.

AB -- 4/26/05

Chinese telecom equipment manufacturer and wireless provider ZTE Corporation opened its Asia-Pacific headquarters today in Singapore in Parkview Square. The company issued this announcement:

ZTE Opens Asia-Pacific Headquaters In Singapore

Zhang Yun, the Chinese Ambassador to Singapore, praised ZTE as "the largest listed telecommunications manufacturer in China," and said: “With its substantial investment into R&D, and its proprietary intelligent property rights, ZTE illustrates the strength of Chinese companies in high-technology markets."

AB -- 4/22/05

Time Warner Inc. and Comcast Corporation announced today that they have reached definitive agreements to acquire nearly all assets of Adephia Communications Corporation. Details were outlined in the following two prepared statements.

This joint release is from Time Warner and Comcast:

Time Warner Cable and Comcast to Acquire Assets of Adelphia Communications; Companies Also to Swap Certain Cable Systems and Unwind Comcast's Interests in Time Warner Cable and Time Warner Entertainment Company

This is from Adelphia:

Adelphia Communications to Be Acquired by Time Warner and Comcast

AB -- 4/21/05