Colin C. Haley

BT will stick with its longtime telecom equipment vendor Nortel when it shifts its U.K. and Indian call centers to Voice over IP technology. The London carrier will phase in Nortel Centrex IP ACD (Automatic Call Distribution) systems over the coming months. By year’s end, more than 2,000 of BT’s 10,000 customer service reps will […]

UPDATED: With 7.4 million high-speed data subscribers, Comcast is the largest broadband provider in the United States, but a key executive with the cable giant said the number is nowhere near topped out. “I’m very confident we’ll be able to continue to grow,” COO Stephen B. Burke said at the company’s annual analyst meeting today. […]

In a merger of rival speech software makers, ScanSoft is buying Nuance Communications for $221 million in stock. The combined company will have a broad portfolio of speech applications for call center and directory assistance services. “[The deal] creates a trusted provider of industry-defining technologies and applications,” Paul Ricci, chairman CEO of Peabody, Mass.-based ScanSoft, […]

One reason Qwest fought for MCI was to pad its government customer list. But just because MCI spurned its advances in favor of Verizon , doesn’t mean Qwest won’t be doing business inside the Beltway. The Denver-based telecom today announced a 10-year contract with the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), a Department of Defense (DoD) unit […]

VoIP upstart and venture capital darling Vonage will announce an eye-popping $200 million in new financing today in order to fund its continued expansion. The Edison, N.J., company claims that the round, led by the venture capital arm of Bain Capital, is the largest for a tech company since the Internet industry downturn. The backing […]

Qwest said the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) should set a deadline for Voice over IP providers to offer enhanced 911 (E911) services. “VoIP providers must treat E911 access as an integral part of the service they provide, and a necessary cost of doing business. “Anything less is irresponsible,” Steve Davis, Qwest’s senior vice president of […]

America Online (AOL) is looking to bring blogging to the masses with the its now-free bloging software that offers some new features. For example, AOL Journals on AIM.com allows users to set up and update their online journals via IM. First launched in 2003 as a service for the ISP’s paying customers, the bloggine program […]

Covad Communications is now rooting for speedy approval of the SBC-AT&T combination. The San Jose, Calif., DSL provider today announced that the carriers will continue to use Covad as a nationwide broadband partner when the merger becomes official next year. In addition to locking in long-term contracts, Covad could see more business from the combined […]

Sprint and Intel are teaming on products and services based on the emerging 802.16e WiMAX wireless broadband specification, the companies announced today. The wireless carrier and the chipmaker will hammer out technical standards, test equipment and check interoperability with other network components in hopes of laying the groundwork for new devices and services. John Polivka, […]

SBC said it is a step closer toward the widespread rollout of IP services over fiber-optic cable. The San Antonio, Texas, telecom today announced that it will use Amdocs software for ordering, billing and customer relationship management for its fiber-delivered IP services. SBC described the contract, which also includes consulting and systems integration services, as […]

Qwest CEO Richard Notebaert, who waged a frenetic but ultimately futile battle to acquire MCI , is looking at a new strategy: patient acquisition. The path to his prey will be possible assets that could be carved out of the upcoming regulatory review of Verizon-MCI and SBC-AT&T mega-mergers. During a conference call Tuesday, Notebaert said […]

D-Link, best known as a maker of networking gear for the consumer and small office/home office (SOHO) sectors, is looking up-market. At the Interop 2005 trade show in Las Vegas today, the company announced it will launch three new switches for enterprise customers later this year. The products — a 48-port offering and two 24-port […]