Talking Telephones
The race to recruit voice-over-broadband customers continues to heat up, with Net2Phones launch last week of its VoiceLine service, which allows customers to place and receive calls over broadband networks using standard telephones. In the same vein, Jetstream Communications and Panasonic said they expect to roll out a broadband telephone by the fourth quarter of this year.
A New Identity
SCC Communications, a provider of 9-1-1 solutions for wired and wireless telecommunications carriers, has changed its name to Intrado to reflect its recent acquisition of Lucent Public Safety Systems. Intrado will begin trading on the Nasdaq market under the symbol TRDO today.
Celestica Deal
Celestica says it will begin manufacturing about 40 percent of the mobile phones sold by Sagem, and has agreed to acquire the French companys production plant in the Czech Republic. The three-year manufacturing agreement is valued at about $500 million.