Morristown, NJ – The TM Forum announced today that it has been working with the UK Government to establish a new industry program aimed at serving the procurement needs of large-scale end-user organizations. These buyers purchase IT and communications technology on a scale equivalent to many service providers and as such many of the Forum’s standards and guidelines and best practices are directly applicable.

The TM Forum has traditionally mainly served the needs of the telecom industry. However, with growing convergence of technologies spurring a major change in the demarcation lines between telecom, cable, media and web players that position is changing very quickly. The same underlying driver, technology convergence, is also changing the picture for many large-scale consumers of communications and IT technologies. No longer are these separate strands of their procurement requirements, the needs for an integrated procurement approach are rising with the advent of convergent approaches such as: Service Oriented computing architectures (SOA), all IP networking, and advanced Service Delivery Platforms.

The needs of large scale service providers are becoming indistinguishable from the needs of large-scale users such as government departments, defense industries, aerospace and financial services industries.

Andrew Bull Head of Infrastructure, Strategy and Architecture for the UK’s Revenue and Customs departments commented “We need to ensure the best value for money for UK taxpayers in our investments in IT and communications. Following international standards is one of the ways we can do that and we are delighted to be trail-blazing a new approach to working with an international trade association like the TM Forum. We hope other governments and large scale buyers will follow our lead.”

Martin Creaner, TM Forum President said “This is a natural extension of our work with service providers around the world - convergence is making the needs of users and service providers ever more aligned. Standards allow economies of scale that these ultra large buyers want to tap into. We are delighted to establish a new program aimed at meeting these needs.” The new program is expected to focus on ensuring that clear procurement guides can be developed to help large-scale buyers drive to standards in their procurements and market education.”

An initial meeting to launch the “Large Scale Buyers” program is going to be held at the TM Forum Management World, in Nice on the 21st at 1pm in the Euterpe room. The meeting is Open to all conference attendees.

About the TM Forum
With almost 700 members in 72 countries, the TM Forum is the world’s leading trade association focused on management of information, communications and entertainment services. The Forum provides leadership, strategic guidance and practical solutions to improve the way that services are created, delivered, assured and charged. Members include the majority of the world’s service providers, network operators, software suppliers, equipment suppliers and systems integrators.

The Forum currently facilitates over 80 technical programs and provides extensive training, conferencing and information services to its members. Through its initiatives to help providers move to 21st century ‘lean’ processes, the Forum helps its members automate business processes by deploying operational systems that will work seamlessly across various parts of the service delivery chain. The organization provides industry benchmarks, guidebooks, process and software frameworks and specific ‘plug and play’ standards. These give service providers the direction and specific roadmaps to achieve much greater business efficiency and operational flexibility.

For further information regarding the TM Forum, related programs such as the Prosspero initiative and its Management World conferences, please visit www.tmforum.org

Les, a member of the DSL Forum’s Testing and Interoperability Working Group, received the award this week at the Forum’s quarterly meeting in Montreal, Canada. A member of the DSL Forum since inception, Les has also been involved in developing ADSL, ADSL2/2plus and VDSL2 test plans, and for driving new DSL Forum power saving initiatives.

“Les continues to be an important member of the DSL Forum and his efforts to develop effective transport solutions for the Forum have been outstanding. He is extremely committed to his work and is fully deserving of this recognition,” commented George Dobrowski, chairman and president of the DSL Forum.

“It is a great privilege to receive this Circle of Excellence Award and I am honoured to have been singled out by my peers. The work we do at the DSL Forum is invaluable to the broadband industry and I am looking forward to continuing my work alongside so many other talented colleagues in the future,” said Les Humphrey.

The Circle of Excellence Award is given to those individuals who have shown exceptional skill, and have provided a significant contribution to the DSL Forum’s work and future of the broadband industry. The award, which is nomination driven, has been presented at the Forum’s quarterly meetings since 2000. Representatives from around the world have been recognised for their leadership in the development of standards, their contribution to the strategic development of the Forum, and their commitment to the committees that ensure the Forum’s continued success.

For information on this and previous recipients of the Circle of Excellence award, please visit http://www.dslforum.org/about/halloffame.shtml.

About the DSL Forum
The DSL Forum tailors broadband to meet the needs of the next generation of multi-media services and the online community. By forging agreements on common technical requirements and embracing new applications, the Forum works to streamline processes, define specifications, and share best practices that set the stage for effective deployments and explosive global broadband growth. Established in 1994, the DSL Forum is an international industry consortium of over 200 leading service providers, equipment manufacturers and other interested parties. Please visit www.dslforum.org for more information.

Nice, France, Management World – TM Forum, the world’s leading trade association focused on management of communications, information and entertainment services, today announced the publication of a new reference book aimed at integrating systems applications. Written by John Reilly, at the TM Forum and John Wilmes, of Progress Software, this is the latest in a series that describes how to adopt and apply the TM Forum’s New Generation Operations Systems and Software (NGOSS) program.

At the heart of NGOSS is the TM Forum’s Information Framework which provides the information/data reference model and a common information/data vocabulary essential for integration of systems. Commonly referred to as the Shared Information and Data model (SID) it is widely used across industry. The new book, “Application Integration Using the SID” provides an introduction to application integration frameworks and how to use the TM Forum Information Framework within that context. It provides detailed, step-by-step guidance on scoping, analyzing and designing BSS/OSS integration projects that leverage NGOSS frameworks and integration tools for data interoperability. Topics covered include:

• Introduction to application integration frameworks
• Process steps for employing the SID within an integration framework
• SID-based contracts, services and APIs
• Tool support for SID-based integration frameworks
• Real-world case studies

The book explains to readers how to use the TM Forum Information Framework to overcome typical integration challenges in data mapping and interface design. It also showcases how the common data model architecture contributes to successful service oriented architecture (SOA) implementation. Finally, it explains which features are critical in selecting data integration tools and platforms, and applies lessons from real-world case studies.

Application Integration Using the SID can be purchased through www.tmforum.org and online at amazon.

Kelvin has more than 15 years of versatile and hands-on experience across Asia Pacific in the telecom industry, most recently at US-based company Dilithium Networks Inc., which specialises in VAS applications for enterprise and mobile operators. In this role, he was responsible for building, developing and managing sales and marketing teams across Asia Pacific and developing channels and strategies to grow Asia Pacific’s video-based business in service providers and broadcasters. Prior to this, Kelvin held senior management and functional roles throughout his career in regional and global companies where he was successful in managing technical support, marketing, direct sales teams and channel partners, streamlining business processes and operations across most APAC countries.

Jeff Gordon, CEO of OpenCloud commented, “As a highly proficient professional, with an understanding for what it takes to develop new markets, partnerships and build channels of distribution, Kelvin’s appointment as VP of sales, Asia Pacific was an easy decision for OpenCloud. His enthusiasm and experience in building up growing businesses and working on new and exciting technologies will form an important part in strengthening OpenCloud’s position in the Asia Pacific next-generation telecoms network application server market.”

New Orleans – The Cable Show Booth #1405 – Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT) today launched a ruggedized, modular embedded Multimedia Terminal Adapter (M-eMTA) that provides cost-effective, flexible, multi-line IP voice and high-speed data (HSD) services all in one device. Motorola’s SURFboard M-eMTA platform can be applied to both multi-tenant businesses and multi-dwelling residential installations to extend broadband coverage to customers.

A new line of SURFboard products for the multi-dwelling unit (MDU) and commercial services market, Motorola’s SURFboard M-eMTA platform provides a multi-line high-speed data and IP voice solution, broadening the reach of service providers’ networks. For operators, the platform unlocks new revenue opportunities that extend their offerings to commercial services for small- and medium-sized businesses and previously underserved markets, which accelerates time to revenue.

“With the demand for voice and broadband services rising, we continually explore ways to help our customers deliver and extend these capabilities in and out of the home or business,” said Alan Lefkof, corporate vice president and general manager, Motorola Broadband Solutions Group. “This helps our broadband service provider partners build and grow their businesses and ensures that consumers have convenient access to voice and data applications when and where they need them, expanding on Motorola’s commitment to accelerate the delivery of personal media experiences.”

For consumers, the Motorola’s SURFboard M-eMTA platform enables one bill for voice and data services, simultaneous use of both the phone line and the computer, and support for services like caller ID, call waiting and call forwarding. As the M-eMTA can be located outdoors or in a utility closet, customers no longer need to be available or at home for the cable company to install services or make repairs.

Capable of replacing indoor eMTAs in an apartment building or small business, the SURFboard M-eMTA platform is smartly designed to address efficient use of space, offers easy access for installations and repairs, and is an economical, environmentally-hardened solution for cable operators to offer commercial voice and HSD services. The scalable, high-capacity platform features interchangeable modules, allowing any combination of two- or four-line modules per unit for the utmost flexibility granting cable operators up to 48 lines within one unit.

The platform is enhanced by Motorola’s NBBS device management platform. NBBS is a highly scaleable service and CPE management system that enables an excellent end-user experience while minimizing operator support costs and bringing quality of service to the edge of the network. Intuitive Web-based diagnostics allow for quick and easy troubleshooting, and maximum security encryption bolsters security.

Showcased at Motorola’s booth (#1405) at The Cable Show May 18 – 20 at the New Orleans Convention Center, Motorola’s SURFboard M-eMTA will be available in 3Q08.

New Orleans – The Cable Show Booth #1405 – Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT) is rolling out a showcase of solutions at The Cable Show 2008 designed to meet an explosive market demand for powerful, personalized media experiences. Among the new technologies on display, Motorola will: unveil its advanced advertising portfolio, demonstrate the fastest wired and wireless broadband speeds, prove the potential of new service assurance models, and deliver high quality, innovative video and audio entertainment solutions for the consumer.

The goal at this year’s Cable Show is to highlight the technologies that personalize video experiences and deliver new revenue streams from advanced services. To achieve that goal, Motorola is focused on three tenets of service delivery: enabling accessible broadband everywhere, optimizing networks to support services for today and tomorrow, and conveying content to consumers that is relevant and meaningful to their lives.

Broadband Everywhere
From optical access to 4G wireless, Motorola will have a wide range of network technologies on display. On the wired side, Motorola will show the BSR 64000 cable modem termination system (CMTS) – newly recognized with CableLabs DOCSIS 3.0 bronze qualification – as well as a live demonstration of the Motorola TX32 decoupled downstream module designed to increase downstream capacity in the CMTS by more than 500 percent. Motorola will also exhibit other ultra-broadband technologies, including passive optical network (PON) solutions for cable operators, and our DOCSIS 3.0-certified SURFboard cable modems.

For wireless, Motorola is showing an extensive WiMAX experience including a WiMAX-enabled vehicle, an open kiosk, and devices interoperating on the Motorola WiMAX network in the booth. Using WiMAX Ultra Mobile PCs, laptops, PC cards, and USB devices powered by an ecosystem of WiMAX chipsets, attendees can experience interactive, personal rich-media applications. As cable operators branch into wireless delivery, WiMAX promises a robust, always-on connection that extends their reach, mobilizing their triple play into a quad play that and enables new revenue-generating services.

Optimized Networks
From Motorola’s comprehensive suite of network-optimization technologies comes an innovative approach to advanced advertising. Demonstrations on the booth integrate Motorola’s switched digital video (SDV) platform, Motorola’s Advanced On Demand platform, the latest Motorola CherryPicker CAP-1000 and the new Motorola APEX1000 Edge QAM. These integrated products show the potential for delivering targeted content - be it entertainment or advertising, linear or on demand programming — with existing equipment and incremental software upgrades. This approach protects operators’ capital investments while introducing new sources of revenue. Motorola will also be demonstrating the new SURFboard (M-eMTA) Digital Voice Platform for delivery of cost-effective, multi-line IP voice and data services as well our self-installable SURFboard eMTA solutions.

With the announcement of the Motorola SmartStream Terminal Data Collector (STDC), Motorola has added a robust set-top diagnostics solution to the company’s broader service assurance portfolio. The STDC provides remote collection and presentation of detailed diagnostic set-top data and will be shown in conjunction with the Motorola NBBS Device Management Platform. Together these solutions deliver comprehensive device management capabilities, saving service providers on operating expenses and increasing consumer satisfaction.

To facilitate increased demand for HD content distribution, Motorola will also showcase the new DSR-6050 IRD solution for seamlessly converting programmer’s new MPEG-4 HD feeds to the cable-compatible MPEG-2 format .l

Content to the Consumer
In the Advanced Set-top Theater Experience zone, Motorola will demonstrate the stunning performance of the Motorola DCX3400 set-tops, complete with high-definition, MPEG-4 video and enhanced Dolby Digital Plus surround sound experience. Showcasing time-shifting and place-shifting applications, including the whole-home digital video recorder (DVR) experience, Motorola will highlight a new world of media mobility, enabling consumers to access high-quality video and audio entertainment, whenever and wherever they are.

Motorola will also have on site demonstrations of new Tru2way applications on the latest Motorola, Tru2way-compatible set-tops. The industry launch of Tru2way is helping to foster the development of innovative new cable applications, all designed to help consumer enjoy richer, more personalized media experiences.

Motorola’s Presence at The Cable Show 2008
In addition to extensive demonstrations at Booth #1405, Motorola’s presence will be felt throughout The Cable Show 2008 in partner booths, speaking engagements, sponsored events, and multiple community outreach activities. For more information on Motorola technology and activities, visit Motorola’s The Cable Show 2008 landing page on the Web. For insight and analysis, follow along with the Motorola blog, Media Experiences 2 Go.

What:

Brian Cappellani, Chief Technology Officer for Sigma, will present a Rogers Communications case study in partnership with Thomas Vari, SVP IT and CIO Cable for Rogers Communications. The presentation, titled “Converged Broadband Services Fulfilment…Delivered”, will detail RCI’s success with Sigma Advanced IP Service Fulfilment Solutions to deploy and fulfil a common set of defined broadband services. Attendees will learn:
• How Rogers’ service assets have been commonly defined, reused and provisioned over multiple access network technologies;
• How Sigma has enabled Rogers to extend its network reach and offer its addressable subscriber base a variety of options to access broadband services;
• The business benefits of a common IP service fulfilment architecture as it relations to ongoing operational expenditures; and,
• The importance of investing in IP service fulfilment infrastructure to enable business transformation in enabling multiple, IP-based service bundles.

The Rogers Communications/Sigma Systems case study is being presented in the “Delivering Innovative Services to the Cable Customer” module, which is being moderated by Kelly Anderson, Sector Head for Cable Markets, TM Forum.

When:
May 22, 2008 at 11:00 AM

Where:
TM Forum’s Management World 2008
Acropolis Convention Centre
Nice, France

Product Demonstrations

At booth 87, Sigma will highlight its global leadership in enabling advanced IP services such as high-speed data, video, voice, premium content and multimedia; to any device, on any network. Sigma is also pioneering the evolution to “applications enablement”, making it possible for service providers to rapidly deploy new applications and further distinguish themselves from the competition by offering a unique, personalised user experience. Sigma currently manages more than 50 deployments for CSPs with a combined total of approximately 100 million IP services deployed worldwide. Product demonstrations will include:

• Sigma’s Residential Triple-Play Solution, which enables the delivery of voice, video, high-speed data and ISP services. CSPs can rapidly introduce and deliver incremental messaging, premium content and entertainment services on top of defined triple-play bundles with Sigma’s complete, end-to-end solution.
• Sigma’s Hosted Commercial Voice Solution, which automates the complex IP service fulfilment functions required to deliver voice services with a full set of calling features, including call display, call forwarding, call answer and hunt groups, as well as innovative IP-based communication features such as find me/follow me and unified messaging. As well, it provides a web portal for SMB customers to manage their phone service remotely. The solution also supports LNP for multiple telephone number ordering and complex directory listings needed by businesses to preserve the investment in their phone numbers.
• Sigma’s Mobile Solution, which enables the service creation, service bundling and fulfilment process capabilities to deliver multiple services in a multi-technology mobile network domain. With Sigma, CSPs can automate the delivery of services such as voice telephony and voice features, push-to-talk, IM/SMS/MMS, premium content and broadband Internet capabilities with the push of a button.
• Sigma’s Advanced Advertising Solution, which is aligned with next-generation video standards, and demonstrates how subscriber data can be captured, correlated, analysed and subsequently leveraged to drive advanced advertising campaign decisions.

Media and Analyst Briefings

Sigma executives are available for one-on-one media and analyst briefings at the event. Please contact Artur Kwiatkowski (ak@kinrossrender.com or +44 (0) 20 7592 3100) for more information or to schedule a meeting and/or product demonstration.

TM Forum’s Management World 2008 takes place May 18-22, 2008 in Nice, France. Additional information is available from the TM Forum web site at http://www.tmforum.org/events/ManagementWorld2008/4807/home.html.

About Sigma Systems

Sigma Systems (www.sigma-systems.com) is the proven global leader in delivering advanced IP service fulfilment solutions. Sigma’s powerful OSS solutions enable the world’s Communications Service Providers (CSPs) to deliver any service, over any access technology to any device. The company’s award-winning software solutions include products for the fulfilment of Triple, Quad and All-Play services – defined as “New Services…Delivered”.

Sigma is a pioneer of Applications Enablement where new services and applications can be rapidly and efficiently enabled in a single system. Enablement includes service orchestration – where subscriber policy management, authorisation and entitlement processes, and business rules are managed and openly available for real-time service fulfilment.

Sigma’s heritage includes over 12 years of proven solution delivery experience in multi-service, multi-technology operating environments. Today, Sigma manages 50 deployments for CSPs with a combined total of approximately 100 million IP services deployed worldwide.

Redmond, WA. - RadioFrame Networks (RFN), the leader in small footprint, low cost wireless base stations today announced plans for its second generation OmniRadio processor, setting the stage for RadioFrame to deliver low cost, high functionality femtocell products for Long Term Evolution (LTE) and WiMAX networks.

RadioFrame launched its OmniRadio processor last year as the first silicon solution developed exclusively for the femtocell marketplace. The solution gives wireless carriers a distinct cost advantage and is the industry’s only combined 2G/3G femtocell being marketed today.

“RadioFrame is unique with our approach of an upgradeable platform solution that lets a wireless network provider implement femtocells in 2G, 3G and 4G networks and upgrade those same femtocells remotely as requirements for standards change,” said RadioFrame CEO Jeff Brown. “With our OmniRadioTM processor we not only offer wireless carriers a distinct cost advantage, we also offer the only software based, upgradable femtocell solution in the industry today. We are designing the RadioFrame solution to be both the first and last femtocell product that a carrier would ever need to deploy.”

RadioFrame’s second generation OmniRadioTM processor incorporates a wealth of system and software wireless technology and intellectual property developed by RFN to provide solutions that enable triple play voice, media and high speed data applications. It is based on leading edge silicon technology that ensures an excellent performance-to-cost ratio in one chip that can support 2G, 3G and now LTE and WiMAX networks. OmniRadio is architected as a multi-processor platform with an advanced ARM core and signal processing capabilities, as well as expansive “on-chip” memory for superior run-time code execution at all levels. It also incorporates RFN’s patented and fielded applications for packet synchronization that exceeds ETSI standards.

Recently, RadioFrame was named as ABI Research’s most innovative femtocell vendor in its most current vendor matrix. RadioFrame finished atop ABI’s innovation category, which judged cost advantages, scalability, plug and play capabilities, service security, solution maturity, multimode cellular support capabilities and future proof upgrade paths. ABI is one of the leading voices on the femtocell marketplace and has forecasted there will be more than 100 million femtocell users globally by the year 2011.

“We are continuing to develop silicon solutions that enable our customers to truly open up the wireless market in the home,” said Greg Veintimilla, RadioFrame Vice President of Engineering. “We firmly believe that cost sensitivities, coupled with a need for high performance requirements, are mandating highly integrated solutions. LTE and WiMAX will push that envelope even further and we are convinced the OmniRadioTM II processor makes RadioFrame uniquely positioned to make the most of these opportunities.”

RadioFrame’s picocell and femtocell base stations have been integrated with Nokia Siemens networking equipment, and more recently into Orange’s wireless network in Europe. The RadioFrame and Nokia Siemens partnership began in early 2006 with Nokia Siemens now marketing RadioFrame’s solutions to mobile network operators throughout the world.

About RadioFrame Networks, Inc.
Headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA, RadioFrame Networks, Inc. is the leading provider of complete radio access solutions for Tier 1 mobile operators and OEM partners throughout the world. RadioFrame has pioneered the development of pico and femtocell products that are network-friendly and easily deployed plug-and-play solutions at the lowest cost available. For more information, please visit the company’s Web site at www.RadioFramenetworks.com.

The focus of the second annual Broadband Connect Summit is “Enabling fixed and wireless networks for broadband media services”. The conference will include senior speakers and representatives from global brands including BT, BBC Worldwide, Virgin Media, Alcatel-Lucent, Admob and Disney.

Existing online and mobile network infrastructure is being stretched by the increasing demand for rich media services. Next generation networks promise to bring new entertainment services to the home and the handset but will require significant investment by operators.

At the Broadband Connect Summit representatives of leading telecommunications and media companies will discuss the issues involved in delivering broadband video and internet protocol television services, enabling digital media over home networks, and the rise of broadband mobile services.

Allan Hadden, president of Global Mobile Suppliers Association (GSA) will provide an industry overview of the mobile broadband industry’s current state and future outlook.

The conference, chaired by Dr William Cooper, founder and CEO of informitv and co-author of the report IPTV: Broadband meets Broadcast, will be moderated by industry analysts Anette Schaefer, the director of broadband and entertainment strategies at Yankee Group, and Dr Katja Mueller, the research director of broadband research company Point Topic.

Joseph de Villiers, the managing director of Technosummits, said: “This event has been designed to stimulate debate and provide delegates with the opportunity to discuss key issues with leading executives from across the media and telecommunications industries. We aim to provide an effective platform for discussions to take place and to help make things happen.”

The second Annual Broadband Connect Summit will take place at the Courthouse Hotel Kempinski in central London on 30 June 2008.

For details of the summit programme please see www.technosummits.com/broadband

For further information on the event or to register, please call +44 (0) 207 610 9908 or email info@technosummits.com

About Technosummits
Technosummits is the definitive and key technology events resource that provides unique interactive format discussion platforms, by bringing together Thought leaders and senior decision makers from the technology sector and global business community to address, discuss, and explore business issues and critical technology solutions to move the industry forward.

Representatives of media organisations wishing to attend the summit should contact the organisers in advance of the event. Photo opportunities and interviews with key speakers will be arranged on request.

The deal, which comes on the back of a commercial bidding procedure, sees AIRCOM deliver a range of consultancy services, including network planning and formal on-the-job training, to Vinaphone. AIRCOM was the clear winner in terms of quality and commercial competitiveness and was seen to offer the best services to help resolve Vinaphone’s network expansion requirements.

“We’re delighted to have won the opportunity to do more work with a growing network operator like Vinaphone,” said Nick Brown, Regional MD Asia, at AIRCOM International. “We had experience of working with Vinaphone in the past, having carried out some minor consulting projects as well as network planning and management tools supply, so to have been brought on board to help with the network expansion is a great result. It shows our consultancy services must really help operators with their long-term goals.”

Vinaphone is a subsidiary of the Vietnam Post and Telecommunications Corporation and currently boasts more than 8 million subscribers in the country. It is expanding its existing GSM network to boost subscriber numbers and provide service coverage to all nationwide districts through the installation of an extra 5,000 base transmission stations (BTS). With AIRCOM’s support, Vinaphone wants to have some 9,000 optimised BTS installed on its network by the end of the year.

About AIRCOM International
AIRCOM International is a leading independent provider of end-to-end network optimisation consultancy and tools for IP and cellular networks. AIRCOM specialises in fields such as network planning, sharing, outsourcing and OSS.

Working with many the worlds’ largest operators, AIRCOM leverages its objectivity to view network quality and efficiency from the consumers’ perspective. This enables its consultants and engineers to track market behaviours and trends to ensure networks achieve optimum performance.

Headquartered in the UK with offices in 18 countries, AIRCOM has more than 10 years’ experience across 131 countries for half of the world’s mobile operators, including more than 3.45 million hours working on 3G networks alone. It continues to grow its customer base each year, offering objective yet pragmatic advice, training and support services, backed by high-performance tools designed to deliver real benefits for both subscribers and operators.