Device Arena

Alcatel-Lucent today announced it has been selected by Bezeq, Israel’s largest telecommunications provider, as the foundation for its new metro Ethernet network. Alcatel-Lucent will provide its industry-leading Ethernet & IP routing solution to help Bezeq deliver premium Ethernet L2 services, such as Virtual Private LAN Service (VPLS), and Ethernet-lines (E-lines) to its business customers. Bezeq is planning to take advantage of the IP VPN functionality and other rich functionalities that the solution offers as well.

The Alcatel-Lucent IP/MPLS solution supports the needs of Bezeq to evolve to packet-based network architectures as part of the operator’s ongoing MPLS network transformation process. This approach enables Bezeq to support the convergence of IP voice, data and video over Layer 2 and/or Layer 3 business VPN services with the performance and resiliency necessary to run latency-sensitive applications. The solution also enables Bezeq to tailor business VPN service offerings to each enterprise’s unique requirements.

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Every vote counts! And the youth vote is no exception. This election year, interest and involvement in the presidential primaries were unprecedented — in some cases quadrupling the turnout of previous elections, based on primary young-voter stats. AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) and Rock the Vote are once again hitting the trail to keep the momentum going.

Rock the Vote is gearing up to present “Ballot Bash” and an AT&T-sponsored after-party on Aug. 25 at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, featuring headliners Fall Out Boy, N*E*R*D and Jakob Dylan. In addition, the concert will feature plasma screens displaying call-to-action messages, encouraging attendees to text message their friends to spread the word.

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South Bend-area residents now have a new — and better — choice for their television and communications services. AT&T today announced the launch of the company’s integrated suite of AT&T U-verse^SM services, including AT&T U-verse TV, AT&T U-verse High Speed Internet and AT&T U-verse Voice.

AT&T U-verse brings together your TV, broadband, home phone and AT&T wireless services — all on one bill — with unique features that provide a new level of integration, convenience and control. AT&T U-verse TV, High Speed Internet and Voice services are all delivered over AT&T’s advanced Internet Protocol (IP) network.

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This morning, the presidential campaign of Democratic U.S. Sen. Barack Obama made wireless history when it announced via an SMS text message to supporters that Democratic U.S. Sen. Joe Biden would be Obama’s pick for vice president. Traffic on Sprint’s (NYSE: S) short code for the Obama campaign rose 255 percent following the announcement, which was texted shortly after 3:00 a.m. EST.

This marks the first time that a presidential campaign has used an SMS text message to announce a vice presidential running mate. According to CTIA, the international association for the wireless telecommunications industry, more than 48 billion text messages were sent each month in the United States as of Dec. 2007.

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This week’s Democratic Party Convention promises to be the “greenest” political gathering in history. Verizon Wireless is doing its part to help the environment in Denver and nationwide, starting with phone recycling. According to the EPA, recycling 100 million cell phones would save enough energy to power nearly 200,000 U.S. households with electricity for a year.

“We’re not there yet, but the good news is more and more old cellphones are being recycled every year,” said Melanie Braidich, regional president for Verizon Wireless. “Since we launched our national cellphone recycling program in 2001, we have kept more than 200 tons of electronic waste out of landfills.”

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Verizon Wireless and LG Electronics MobileComm U.S.A. today introduced the LG Voyager™ in Titanium – the newest addition to Verizon Wireless’ growing portfolio of touch-screen phones. Boasting the same stylish dual-screen design and features of its predecessor in black, the Voyager in Titanium has a lustrous titanium finish and also supports two of the hottest services from Verizon Wireless – V CAST Music with Rhapsody and Visual Voice Mail. Customers can order the Voyager in Titanium online at www.verizonwireless.com or in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores.

Customers can access a library of more than 5 million songs with V CAST Music with Rhapsody, purchase full songs over-the-air and download the master copy of the songs to their PCs free of digital rights management software. Customers can also sync favorite tracks, albums and playlists from their PCs to their Titanium Voyagers using the included USB cable.

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Just in time for back to school, the builder and operator of the nation’s most reliable wireless network announced today that the Verizon Wireless Blitz™ is available online at www.verizonwireless.com and in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores. Designed for the heaviest of texters, the Blitz comes complete with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard and easy access to a dedicated My Messaging key, making this the must-have phone at schools from coast to coast.

The Blitz is a text messaging powerhouse with a 2.2-inch screen – ideal for browsing the Web or checking e-mail. The phone is a music player ready for any party – on or off campus. It is equipped with an MP3 player that can access Verizon Wireless’ V CAST Music with Rhapsody’s library of more than 5 million songs that can be downloaded to a PC and side-loaded with the included USB cable, synchronized with a Bluetooth® speaker or played right from the speakerphone. Most music downloaded onto the PC using V CAST Music with Rhapsody is free of digital rights management software, which means the music can be played on multiple devices.

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Sony Ericsson today announced the expansion of its carrier channels in the U.S. to include wireless leader T-Mobile USA, starting with the launch of the TM506 in early September. Sony Ericsson will now reach more than 31 million wireless subscribers through this partnership. The TM506, Sony Ericsson’s first handset supporting T-Mobile’s AWS spectrum (1700/2100), is a compact and stylish clamshell phone that delivers an exceptional Web experience in an eye-catching design.

"The TM506 not only signifies Sony Ericsson’s expanding U.S. portfolio of handsets, but more importantly, that we have forged a strong and promising relationship with T-Mobile,” said Najmi Jarwala, president of Sony Ericsson North America. "With the launch of the TM506 with T-Mobile, Sony Ericsson is positioned to offer more choice of mobile handsets for a broader range of U.S. consumer segments at a variety of price points."

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For the first time, Ericsson has combined a GSM base station and satellite transmission in a solar-powered site, enabling Cambodian mobile operator Star-Cell to expand its network coverage in remote areas. The solution offers affordable communications for all and is based on Ericsson’s energy-optimized main-remote base-station.

The satellite transmission feature provides affordable mobile-network coverage in remote areas where other transmission solutions are unavailable. This is vital for bridging the digital divide, as about 80 percent of the Cambodian population lives outside the main urban centers.

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AT&T today announced plans to manage near unprecedented levels of data usage as thousands of delegates descend upon the Twin Cities for the 2008 Republican National Convention.

To prepare for the expected increase on AT&T’s wireless network, AT&T has added permanent as well as temporary network capacity in and around Minneapolis and St. Paul. This includes the deployment of several Cell sites on Wheels (COWs), Cells on Light Trucks (COLTs) and in-building solutions, all of which will be used to augment wireless coverage in and around key venues including the Xcel Energy Center.

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