I say goodbye and you say hello
When IP Capsule first blasted off more than six months ago, its objective was to report on IP's journey, comment on its progress and translate the often-times complex structure of the IP universe.

From all reports, it's off to a good beginning. Now, Brian Santo, the newest member of CED's editorial staff, will take over the controls of the Capsule. Be assured, Brian will bring an edgy and well-informed presence to the newsletter.

In the meantime, I have been asked to contribute more regularly to CED and Wireless Week magazines, and heavily contribute to the lift-off of Broadband Today, a daily Reed Business Information that is available presently as an electronic new vehicle. It will also include two print editions this year, quarterly next year, then bi-monthly.

So, needless to say this is the right time for Brian to take over the Capsule, which will continue its same frequency.

The IP space is indeed huge, and one that requires great attention. There's no doubt IP Capsule will continue giving it that attention when this electronic publication returns on Wednesday, July 12.

—Craig Kuhl, IP Capsule Editor, and CED Magazine Contributing Editor

Orca launches Interactive Alliance
Orca Interactive has launched an alliance designed to promote cooperation among IPTV industry leaders and build future-proof solutions for the IPTV business.

The Interactive Alliance includes several "tracks," including: integration partners, technology partners, application developer partners and SUI (Subscriber User Interface) partners.

Why the alliance? Open solutions, interoperability among IPTV service providers and their vendors. Creating an alliance to tighten the value chain is the alliance's top priority.

Oregan clicks with Skype
Oregan Networks will make available a new feature for delivery of Skype message alerts and caller ID to TV-centric devices via its Media Browser embedded software, the company announced.

The new feature enables consumers to be notified of Skype messages and calls during digital broadcast or IP television through the browser, which consists of a TV browser, IPTV client and DLNA player and server.

What's the big deal? More value-added features for IPTV service.

Amino breaks the Thai
Amino Communications has been selected by Siemens Communications Group for the first IPTV deployment in Thailand, the companies announced.

The IPTV service is provided by ADC (Advanced Datanetwork Communications Co.) in Thailand, which has been rolling out broadband services for several months.

What's the deal here? Thailand is emerging as a growth market for broadband and IPTV services. It's an important new piece of business for Amino and establishes an IPTV benchmark in Thailand.

And the research says....
Personal video communications ready to soar in Europe
Usage of personal video-based communications devices is expected to reach 32 percent penetration in Western European households by 2010, with 11 percent of the adult population using mobile video telephony, reports research group Analysys.

And what should broadband operators be doing about it? "They should not dismiss the potential of video telephony. It's growing very fast," Analysys says.

They should also consider launching video telephony as part of a range of services in an IPTV triple play, Analysys notes.

Auspice, Empirix to collaborate
Auspice Corp. and Empirix Inc. have entered into a strategic partnership for joint marketing, interoperability testing and developing opportunities, the companies announced.

The partnership is designed to integrate Empirix's Hammer XMS carrier-class VoIP monitoring and analysis solution with Auspice's OpsLogic service assurance solution.

Why the partnership? "A survey Empirix conducted earlier this year found that one-third of VoIP service providers rely on subscriber complaints to identify service problems," says Phil Odence, vice president of business development for Empirix. "By integrating VoIP quality of service metrics and analysis with real-time HFC plant monitoring and assurance, our MSO customers can proactively detect potential problems," he added.

Vodavi and Speakeasy partnering
Vodavi Technology and Speakeasy, an independent provider of broadband services, have announced a marketing partnership targeted at business hosted VoIP solutions.

The agreement calls for Speakeasy to market Vodavi's 6800 Series IP Terminals in conjunction with its flagship Business VoIP offering.

The partnership also gives Speakeasy's direct sales and indirect solutions providers a hosted business VoIP solution that delivers Speakeasy's broadband connectivity, local and long distance service, along with Vodavi's 6812 and 6830 carrier grade desktop terminals, the companies noted.

Why the partnering? Both companies hope to benefit from the other's market penetration in the small business space.

Trilithic and Minacom join the partner parade
Trilithic has announced a strategic partnership with VoIP testing company Minacom. The partnership is based on Trilithic's recent interoperability testing and certification as a Minacom Gold Partner.

Technicians can now use Minacom's PocketDQ web-GUI on the Trilithic 860 DSPi to control VoIP day-of-install and troubleshooting tests, which are administered by Trilithic's DirectQuality R7 test system.

Trilithic's DSP 860i digital cable analyzer is the first handheld tester to be awarded Minacom's Certified VoIP test integration status as a Gold Partner, the company added.

Why the alliance? VoIP testing is fast-becoming a mandatory step in the VoIP deployment process. And there's still plenty of testing needed.

NetQoS offering deeper view of VoIP
NetQoS has launched its Performance Center v2.0 to provide a unified view into critical VoIP statistics, including how VoIP is impacting other applications, how quickly calls are getting to end users, and the quality of those calls, the company said.

The Performance Center provides "global" visibility via a single Web console into all three key capabilities necessary to quantify network infrastructure performance, NetQoS noted. The capabilities include: end-to-end performance monitoring, traffic analysis and device performance monitoring.

Vonage drops, adds tax
Vonage, which was advised by the US Treasury Department to stop collecting Federal Excise Tax, said it will begin collecting taxes via the Universal Service Fund (USF), a result of the FCC vote to include all VoIP services under its new interim USF rules.

"Vonage fully supports its obligations to government programs. Now we must begin to collect USF tax, balancing the scales," said Mike Snyder, CEO of Vonage Holdings Corp.

What's this mean? A higher customer bill due to the new taxing system, which now falls under the USF umbrella.

And the research says....
Why the VoIP popularity?
A recent study by TheInfoPro found that 52 percent of the surveyed companies not currently deploying VoIP service or have no policy initiative in place consider it extremely likely that they will within 12 months.

The report found that "relatively large" evaluations and plans for implementations in VoIP technologies are underway. The two most likely candidates to reap the benefits? Avaya and Cisco, the company reports.

The two most common reasons for deploying VoIP? Cost and simplicity.

No love for DOCSIS 2.0b?
DENVER—Some comments made here at the SCTE Cable-Tec Expo suggest that the so-called DOCSIS 2.0b project—considered a shorter-term, interim step to DOCSIS 3.0—is anything but a slam dunk.

Speaking during the morning technical session last Wednesday, CTOs from Comcast Corp. and Adelphia Communications said they remain committed to DOCSIS 3.0, and are not much interested in an interim step, particularly if there are any questions about whether it is forward-compatible with DOCSIS 3.0 gear or backward-compatible with DOCSIS 2.0.

DOCSIS 2.0b, as it's been described, looks to bond a minimum of two DOCSIS 2.0 downstream channels, but does not bond any upstream channels.

The focus remains on 3.0 and getting those specs finalized, said Adelphia CTO Marwan Fawaz. He said today's DOCSIS 2.0 technology should, in the coming couple of years, be able to handle data speeds Verizon or any other competitor throws into the marketplace.

David Fellows, the EVP and CTO of Comcast, said his company may look into testing 2.0b, but he would not be a fan of anything that stands in the way of DOCSIS 3.0's progress.

DSL exceeds 150 million subscriptions worldwide
The number of DSL subscribers worldwide crested the 150 million mark as of the end of March, according to the DSL Forum.

More than 43 million business and residential users selected DSL for broadband access; that represents growth of 39 percent. In the first quarter alone, worldwide subscriptions increased by 11.5 million.

China paced the growth with almost 10 million new subscribers in the 12 months to March 2006; it is now close to the 30 million DSL subscriber mark. Both Germany (up 3.8 million) and France (up 3 million) now have more than 10 million DSL subscribers.

In North America, the U.S. added 5.6 million new DSL subscribers, at a growth of almost 34 percent, and also extended its market share in Canada, now accounting for 49 percent of that country's broadband connectivity.

Narad rolls with Hargray
Narad Networks Inc. will play a role in the market roll out of Hargray Communications' data and IP Centrex applications, the companies announced.

Hargray will use Narad's Ethernet-over-Coax solution for data services and IP capacity to Nortel's Centrex IP application, Narad said.

Narad's solution will allow Hargray to leverage its existing coax plant and provide small and medium-sized businesses with high capacity/high performance data and a large number of voice ports, Narad noted.

Hargray serves areas of southeastern South Carolina and Georgia with video, voice, data, wireless, high-speed Internet and directory publishing services.

Time Warner Cable to pilot Wi-Fi pilot program
Time Warner Cable plans to launch a Wi-Fi market test in the city of Cedarburg, Wis.

TWC will provide its Business Class wireless service in a pilot program expected to last up to 12 months. The network is supposed to be operational by tomorrow, the first day of the city's two-day Strawberry Festival. TWC's Milwaukee system expects to extend the pilot to several other areas in and around Milwaukee.

And the research says....
The IP Multimedia System, or IMS, will take another year to get traction, but when it does, watch out, says research firm In-Stat.

By 2011, there could be 72 million IMS users in the US alone, the firm reports, with the most significant growth beginning next year. Wireless carriers are expected to reap the most benefit, with potential revenues reaching $14 billion.

Denver a $142 million gold mine?
The T1 connectivity business could do well in Denver, says GeoResults Inc., a telecommunications marketing and database firm. With 13,819 businesses in greater Denver requiring nearly 26,000 T-1 links, the value of serving that market could translate to $124 million a year in revenue. Plus, the value of the T-1 Cellular Backhaul opportunity is $18 million a year.