AT&T to make dial-up more expensive than DSL
AT&T is set to raise rates for its dial-up service, to be more expensive than its basic DSL plan, in a maneuver that seems designed to encourage dial-up subscribers to either move to AT&T DSL or to a competitive dial-up service. On Dec. 1, AT&T will raise its dial-up price to $22.95 per month for its month-to-month plan. Some customers will see their rates go up to $15.95.
AT&T has several dial-up plans. Price points include $9.95 a month, $15.95 a month and $21.95 a month. As to how the price increases would be applied, the AT&T spokesperson said only that the price increases will be based on each subscriber's current plan, and that for many current customers, the increase to $22.95 would be an increase of only $1.
As for a rationale for the price increases, the AT&T spokesperson said, "This change is intended to better reflect the overall demand for broadband service."
When asked for elaboration, the spokesperson said, "Throughout the years, as broadband has become more pervasive, consumers have been drawn to the benefits the technology offers over dial-up."
In related news, AT&T announced the expanded availability of its Yahoo! high-speed Internet service to consumers in El Portal and Wawona, Calif.
Verizon, Alcatel demo single-wavelength 100 Gbps on 10 Gbps fiber
Verizon has wrapped up a field test of 100 Gbps transmission on a live, in-service, 312-mile optical network route between Tampa and Miami in Florida. The test was designed to demonstrate the ability to upgrade a 10 Gbps optical network to 100 Gbps.
The company said it successfully transmitted a live video feed from FiOS TV on a Verizon Business optical system carrying other live traffic at 10 Gbps.
Verizon used Alcatel-Lucent's 1625 LambdaXtreme Transport system for the test. There are two ways to achieve 100 Gbps. One is to use 10 separate 10 Gbps wavelengths to carry an aggregate 100 Gbps. Verizon demonstrated the other method, a 100 Gbps signal on a single wavelength.
Verizon offering symmetrical FiOS Internet service in 16 states
Verizon is now offering its high-speed symmetrical FiOS Internet services to consumers in 16 states, with downstream and upstream connections of up to 15 or 20 megabits per second (Mbps), depending on the state where the service is sold.
On Oct. 23, Verizon launched the symmetrical FiOS Internet service—featuring an upload and download speed of up to 20 Mbps—in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
In Florida, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, Verizon now offers downstream and upstream connections of up to 20 Mbps, as well. And in California, Delaware, Indiana, Maryland, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Texas, Virginia and Washington State, connections of up to 15 Mbps are available.
Verizon Business boasts Dashboard, eBonding enhancements
Verizon Business' Customer Center (VBCC) Dashboard—a customized network-monitoring tool that allows customers to view their communications landscape—now features two new enhancements.
The first enables users to track how well Verizon Business' IP services performed against service level agreement (SLA) standards, and the second, called the LEC/PTT Performance Report, gives customers visibility into Enterprise Trouble Management System tickets referred to local exchange carriers (LECs) and foreign carriers (or PTTs) for resolution. Verizon Business has also added two eBonding enhancements: an eBonding Implementation Toolkit and a new eBonding Center.
French provider builds Ethernet backbone with Juniper routers
Juniper Networks announced that French IP services operator Neo Telecoms has deployed Juniper's MX960 Ethernet Services Routers (ESR) to create a new high-performance IP backbone to support hosting, IP and MPLS-based connectivity services. The MX960 ESR can deliver up to 960 Gbps of switching and routing capacity, and it is optimized for emerging Ethernet network architectures and services.
Company: IneoQuest Technologies Inc.
Headquarters:
Mansfield, Mass.
CEO: Marc A. Todd
URL: www.ineoquest.com
Claim to fame: IneoQuest offers its telco, cable, broadcast and network equipment customers combinations of hardware, software and services to design, build, deploy and manage IP video networks.
Recent news of note: SureWest Communications has deployed service probes from IneoQuest, not only in its test labs, but also in subscribers' homes, which will enable SureWest to assure video quality.
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The Internet is an incredibly valuable tool, but the Internet's success is predicated largely on mass appeal and mass applicability—which makes it little different from any other commercial endeavor. For every mass market phenomenon, there's a group of people who end up missing out on the benefits.
Yassini is putting up his own money to fund four $50,000 research grants every year, one per quarter. Each will be for a nine-month period, long enough for Ph.D. research. The Knowledge Center will publish details on how to qualify grants shortly.
per month for new subscribers. Last year, Verizon raised the price by almost $3, to $42.99.
communities with advanced entertainment packages delivered over a single fiber-to the-home (FTTH) network.
Acme Packet's
