Caron Carlson

Tempered Expectations Mark Telecom Industry

ATLANTA—Irrational exuberance in telecommunications is dead, and industry experts at this years Supercomm show displayed a healthy measure of skepticism about the pace of technology development and about the rollout of services delivered over new technologies. “We cant do much on the network right now. Its really only been designed for Internet access,” said Paul […]

BellSouth Eyes Bigger Piece of Managed Services Pie

ATLANTA—BellSouth Corp. is planning to lift an ever-increasing burden of networking duties off the enterprise shoulder as it continues to upgrade its regional MPLS network. By the third quarter of this year, the company will add ATM and Metro Ethernet access to the regional data network, which it unveiled earlier this year. The addition of […]

Vendors Upgrade DSL Gear, Standards

ATLANTA—Despite its rocky young history, digital subscriber line technology is being marketed in new ways to businesses for all communications services, including data, voice and video. Tuesday at the Supercomm show in Atlanta, 11 DSL suppliers heralded united support for DMT (discrete multi-tone modulation) for standardizing very-high-bit-rate DSL. The standard, which is interoperable with ADSL, […]

BellSouth, Cisco Team to Offer IP Services

Illustrating the expanding junction of voice and data technologies, BellSouth Corp. and Cisco Systems Inc. said they will collaborate to deliver beefed-up managed telecom services to enterprise customers in the southeastern United States. Under the deal, BellSouth will integrate Ciscos IP and optical networking gear into its next-generation network, making it easier for BellSouth to […]

BellSouths Ackerman: Deregulation Will Spur Investment

ATLANTA—While faring far better than most of their start-up rivals in recent years, the Regional Bell Operating Companies are not attracting the kind of investment capital they are accustomed to, and they are looking to the government to change that. The Bells lobbying efforts to eliminate their regulatory obligations is unremitting, but in the sluggish […]

Lucent Boosts Services Profile – 2

ATLANTA—The Bell Labs component of Lucent Technologies Inc. Tuesday unveiled research in progress that the companys services unit will soon market to telecommunications carriers. The research focuses on ways to recover wasted bandwidth, help service providers reduce operating expenses and, in turn, reduce prices for users. “If theres wasted capacity, service providers are running a […]

Rural Areas to Get Broadband

Telephone companies have been promising for years to extend broadband networks to rural Americas businesses and neighborhoods if only federal regulators would cut them some breaks. Tired of waiting for industry lobbyists and policy-makers in Washington to reach a deal, four counties in southwestern Virginia are building their own broadband facilities by co-locating fiber-optic cables […]

CPI Tightens Call Management

Upgrades to Conference Plus Inc.s teleconferencing infrastructure will allow enterprises to customize calls for enhanced security and efficiency. CPI last week unveiled an audio bridge from Spectel Inc., a developer based in Dublin, Ireland, with North American headquarters in Andover, Mass. The bridge allows greater control and management of operator-attended and auto-attended conferences. For high-end […]

Carriers to Get IP Products

After several years of focusing on ways to cut costs and maximize return on infrastructure, carriers are finally considering upgrades that will allow them to offer next-generation IP services. And the vendors are ready. IBM is among those mapping product development to the shift to IP, according to officials at the IBM Communications Sector, in […]

IBM, Cisco Team on Streaming Media

IBM and Cisco Systems Inc. teamed up Thursday to give streaming media a shot in the arm by helping enterprises more easily distribute digital video throughout their networks. Digital video requires high bandwidth, and many streaming applications, such as sales and marketing tools, corporate communications and online training, require reliable security as well. With content […]