business

Redback racks up wins

I'll be the first one to admit that I thought Redback Networks was a goner. But thanks to U.S. bankruptcy laws, the company could be on the comeback trail.

Redback filed for bankruptcy protection in November 2003 and emerged in January 2004 having wiped out about $467 million in debt.

Now the Silicon Valley broadband networking gear maker has been announcing contracts left and right. On Wednesday, it announced a deal with Bosnia Herzegovina Telecom to build out its next generation broadband network. Earlier this week it announced Turk Telekom in Turkey would be using its SmartEdge gear … Read more

Intel funding ISP's Wi-Max plans

Intel Capital has given Speakeasy, a Seattle-based broadband ISP, an undisclosed amount of money to help roll out Wi-Max wireless broadband services . Intel has been one of the biggest boosters for Wi-Max, hoping its success with WiFi chips can be replicated as the new long-range technology becomes more popular.

Other ISPs are looking closely at the technology too. Recent Federal Communications Commission decisions have made it increasingly difficult for independent ISPs to offer service using telephone companies' DSL lines or cable companies' networks, and so they're desperately scrambling for a role in the broadband future.

Reach out and touch someone broadband style

Reliance WebWorld, a nationwide chain of retail stores for digital entertainment and communication in India, is taking the old AT&T tagline "Reach out and touch someone" into the broadband age.

The retailer, which offers broadband connectivity for web surfing and video conferencing from its stores, announced earlier this week a special videoconferencing offer on the eve of Rakshabandhan, a Hindu festival which celebrates the bond between a brother and sister. As part of the celebration women tie specially made threads or "rachis" to their brothers to ensure their welfare and protection from evil. It'… Read more

Telcos, as sick as railroads?

The Wall Street Journal has a page one story (subscription required) on the trials faced by the big local phone companies, which are seeing their core business lost to Internet voice services, cell phones, and other rivals. The big local phone companies have lost 18 percent of their lines to rivals since the end of 2000, the article says.

Nor is technology such as DSL necessarily their salvation. The reporters cite the post-World War II railroad business, which threw money at new tracks and trains, only to see its passenger traffic evaporate in favor of airlines and automobiles.

It's … Read more

Twilight Zone of the Apes

Somebody's gone and made a high-quality re-edit of the original Planet of the Apes as if it were a Twilight Zone episode. Yes, Virginia, there are video mash-ups. Somebody else got tired of waiting for the download, and put it on BitTorrent. Boing Boing has the link.

Legal? Don't ask me, I'm not a lawyer. Record companies have spent money on trying to keep music mash-ups ?? such as the "Grey Album" mix of Jay-Z's "Black Album" and The Beatles' "White Album" ?? offline. If you're interested, I'd watch this … Read more

Justice Dept.: Let RIAA do its work

At least one top U.S. Department of Justice official isn't crazy about a proposed law that would let federal prosecutors target online copyright infringers with civil lawsuits. "There's something to be said for those who help themselves," Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust Hewitt Pate said at a conference in Aspen Tuesday.

The Recording Industry Association of America has backed the idea of federal civil prosecutions as a way to cut down on file swapping. The idea is contained in the Pirate Act, short for Protecting Intellectual Rights Against Theft and Expropriation Act of 2004, which … Read more

Optical networking comeback in the works?

Since the telecommunications bubble burst, "optical" has become a dirty word in the networking world. But that could be changing, as researchers from Internet2 and the National LambdaRail start developing optical technology to exponentially increase capacity on the Internet.

LambdaRail, a consortium of universities, research institutions and private industry, has been quietly buying long stretches of fiber from carriers across the country at bargain basement prices. The organization is building the first nationwide fiber backbone owned by the research community.

Cisco Systems has donated all the optical gear used in the LambdaRail network. And Internet2 is using fiber … Read more

TV via Microsoft: Swiss have it; should we?

Microsoft and Swiss telecommunications company Swisscom are starting a trial, offering TV service over DSL lines, according to Reuters. It only takes 1.2 megabits per second to 1.4mbps to provide a good signal, the companies say--well within the range offered by most DSL providers in the United States today--but a little more than what most customers get in Europe.

Microsoft is also testing the service with Bell Canada, and SBC Communications has said it will try out the technology. It's part of telephone companies' long-standing (and as yet unsuccessful) drive to match cable companies' range of ordinary … Read more

Power lines, today's broadband hype

PC World has a story saying broadband over power lines is gaining steam, and cites some promising projects. That's all true, but it'll be a long, long time before it can provide real competition to the local phone and cable giants.

We asked AT&T CEO Dave Dorman on Friday what he thought about alternative broadband pipes, since Ma Bell is pretty squarely locked out of DSL these days. Power lines are interesting, but they're run by big monopoly utilities themselves, he said. Think of the local phone companies, but back when they were doing their … Read more