Colin C. Haley

Voice over Internet Protocol provider 8×8 is expanding its Packet 8 telephony service to 300 new markets, thanks to an agreement with network operator Level 3 Communications . Among the new cities are Flagstaff Ariz., Beverly Hills, Bloomington, Ill., and Rockaway, N.J. The expansion could help the company vie for customers against fellow upstart Vonage […]

AT&T will test a new enterprise Voice over Internet Protocol offering in Asia and Europe this fall in advance of a 2005 launch. The Bedminster, N.J., carrier’s Telework service will help multinational companies provide employees with advanced calling features and broadband connections (either cable or DSL) at their homes or hotels. The tests will occur […]

Contract manufacturer Flextronics is buying a majority stake in Hughes Software Systems (HSS) to expand its outsourcing offerings for telecom equipment manufacturers. The Singapore firm will pay $226 million to Hughes Network Systems for a 55 percent ownership share. Hughes Network Systems is a subsidiary of DIRECTV. Based in New Delhi, HSS provides 250 telecoms […]

BOSTON — As the technology improves and business cases become clearer, nearly half of North American manufacturing executives expect a high return-on-investment from radio frequency identification projects, a new study from the consulting firm Accenture finds. The relatively upbeat outlook is largely due to progress in addressing stumbling blocks that have threatened to delay adoption […]

WALTHAM, Mass. — IBM is strengthening ties with venture capital firms and their portfolio companies to cultivate a pipeline of new technologies and partners, executives said at a news conference in their Boston-area office here Thursday. Despite an R&D budget of $5 billion and a staff that files 14 patent applications a day, “IBM is […]

Google has upgraded its Google Search Appliance (GSA) to help enterprise customers strengthen and simplify search on their intranets and Web sites. The Mountain View, Calif., company’s integrated hardware/software box now processes more queries and handles larger collections of documents than when it was first version introduced in 2002. In addition, the new GSA features […]

Nortel is increasingly optimistic about its future as it tries to shake its past, CEO Bill Owens said in a conference call today. Owens said surging demand for converged network equipment will help his company grow faster than the industry average. At the same time, the accounting scandal that chased Owens’ predecessor won’t be settled […]

Using technologies from partners and data from its global network, AT&T has launched a service to thwart denial-of-service (DoS) and distributed DoS (DDoS) attacks on corporate systems. “We’ve put the platforms in place and now we’re building out the products,” Stan Quintana, an AT&T vice president of network services, told internetnews.com. At the center of […]

Seranoa Networks has introduced new “service edge concentrators” to help carriers manage the flow of traffic between different network segments and make the most of their infrastructure. The Boxborough, Mass., company’s IP Exchange (IPeX) packet-aware switching products are designed for the edge of the network — central offices or co-location facilities. The gear helps carriers […]

Phone, cable and broadband service provider RCN has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to get out from under crushing debt. The Princeton, N.J., company said customers will not experience any service disruptions. If the restructuring goes as planned, the Princeton, N.J., company would slash the amount it owes creditors from $1.66 billion to $480 […]

NEW YORK — When IT outsourcing goes bad, it’s usually because the company that’s sending out the work abdicates management of the project, Deepak Khandelwal, a consultant with McKinsey & Company, said. “(The relationship) is something you have to manage,” Khandelwal said during an outsourcing session at CeBIT America trade show. There should be three […]

NEW YORK — As Sprint’s network becomes more advanced and integrated, the telecom carrier is talking with enterprises about tailoring industry-specific applications, a senior executive said at the CeBIT America trade show here today. “We are in the early stages of working with verticals to understand applications that are critical [to them],” said Kathy Walker, […]