F5 Networks, a player in Application Delivery Networking (ADN) and Quova, a provider of IP geolocation data and services, have announced a partnership and OEM agreement.

The partnership is expected to improve F5′s ability to provide intelligent context-aware application delivery solutions to IT organisations worldwide.

The Quova technology maps IP addresses and related data to geographic locations at various levels of granularity. The contextual location information solves many security problems, such as enforcing download and access restrictions based on locality, the company said.

The company believes the addition of Quova’s IP geo data will allow F5 customers to solve a new range of business networking issues at the perimeter of the network rather than down at the web application level.

Localisation functions, such as setting the default language page and customising content for a specific region, will also rely on the Quova data.

Sybase 365, a subsidiary of Sybase, a player in mobile messaging and mobile commerce services, and Telecom New Zealand International (TNZI), a division of Telecom New Zealand, a full-service telecommunications provider, have announced a new partnership for the availability of a joint IPX voice service offering.

The companies are working together to offer a voice service based on managed IP interconnects using Sybase 365′s MPLS-based GRX community, combined with TNZI’s next-generation softswitch technology, which enables VoIP interconnections in Asia Pacific, North America, Europe and Africa, a TNZI official revealed.

Sybase 365′s IPX service is aimed at delivering services including global data roaming, MMS, Roaming Signalling, SMS, IMS services (presence, SIP-based messaging, P2P video) in addition to voice services, partnering with TNZI.

Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson, Fujitsu, NEC, Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) and NTT Docomo have announced the joint development and successful testing of common technical specifications for value-added IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) network services.

The technical specifications recently demonstrated by the six companies support deployment of data processing functions, such as image conversion, on the IMS network.

The processing functions will also allow companies to develop a variety of application services.

The companies believe the new specifications will make it easier for telecommunication operators and vendors to develop value-added network functions.

Operators that have adopted IMS can add these functions to their existing network and realise new services where, for example, a user edits a picture on the network and shares it, or converts a Japanese text message to English on the network before delivering it to the receiver.

The six companies have also collaborated to set up a network system based on the new specifications and then successfully completed a demonstration test in August.

Alcatel-Lucent has launched a new IP Transformation Centre (IPTC) in Chennai, India. First centre of its kind in the sub-continent, the IPTC is aimed at developing, integrating and testing end-to-end IP networking solutions for Alcatel-Lucent’s Indian and global customers as they migrate to next generation architectures.

The centre will enable service providers to design, test and integrate their solutions in a ‘risk-free environment’, the company said. It will reportedly help them shorten the IP transformation trajectory and their time to market.

The IPTC is networked with Alcatel-Lucent’s existing IPTCs and network integration centres located in Antwerp, Belgium; Singapore; Murray Hill, Naperville and Plano in the USA, as well as with multiple R&D labs world-wide, including India.

Alcatel-Lucent has signed two contracts with Vietnam Telecom National (VTN), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Vietnam Posts & Telecommunications Corporation Group (VNPT), to help the operator transform its network.

Alca-Lu said that it will provide its IP/MPLS solutions, including the 7750 Service Router(SR) and the 5620 Service Aware Manager (SAM). the company believes its flexible IP/MPLS infrastructure will provide VTN with scalability, bandwidth on demand as well as increased service level guarantees.

Leveraging its packet optical transport and Zero Touch Photonics offering, Alcatel-Lucent will also supply its 1850 Transport Service Switch (1850 TSS) and 1830 Photonic Service Switch (1830 PSS). Operating at 40 Gbps, the solution is expected to allow VTN to respond to end-user needs faster.

Alcatel-Lucent has signed a centralised purchasing contract with China Telecom, a telecom operator in China, to provide and maintain an IP/MPLS backbone across ten provinces (Guangxi, Hubei, Jiangxi, Ningxia, Sichuan, Jiangsu, Guizhou, Gansu, Xinjiang and Shanghai).

Upon completion in October, China Telecom hopes to deliver advanced broadband services with improved quality. The contract, which is part of the $700m framework agreement recently signed between China Telecom and Alcatel-Lucent, was awarded to Alca-Lu’s Chinese flagship company, Alcatel-Lucent Shanghai Bell.

Alca-Lu informed that it will deploy its 7750 Service Router (SR) and 7450 Ethernet Service Switch (ESS) providing the bandwidth, scale and service awareness required to support the market for more personalised, broadband offerings such as IPTV, WebTV, Virtual Private Networks, and 3G/4G mobile.

ZTE, a global provider of telecommunications equipment and network solutions, is rolling out an all-IP mobile phone and data network for Madamobil, a new mobile operator in Madagascar.

Madamobil is owned and operated by Life Telecom Holdings (a telecom investment and management firm based in the Netherlands) in partnership with Tecom Investments (a subsidiary of Dubai Holdings, an institutional investor in the Middle East).

The network rollout is currently in its final stages with ZTE supplying the core equipment and the base stations for the first phase of the network construction.

ZTE informed the futuristic core network is based on its layered architecture, which is currently an all IP environment, and includes the latest core based on Mobile Soft-switch; a Mobile Packet Backbone Network for data services; and a billing platform using intelligent network technology to deliver pre-paid and post-paid services to users.

Madamobil expects to launch services by August in Antananarivo, Madagascar’s capital, and to then expand into other cities in Madagascar.

Life Telecom Holdings plans to invest in the acquisition and roll out of 5 to 7 other mobile telephony licences in Africa over the next 2 to 3 years and expects that its capital spend over the next 5 years will be well in excess of $500m.

Alcatel-Lucent has been chosen by Samart Telcoms, a provider of network system services in Thailand and a member of the JJS consortium, to supply an intelligent optical network for TOT Public Company (TOT).

This contract is aimed at supporting TOT’s IP broadband project.

Alcatel-Lucent will provide Samart Telcoms with an integrated, end-to-end solution allowing TOT to support the bandwidth demands driven by next-generation 3G services.

Samart Telcoms also hopes to benefit from Alcatel-Lucent’s know-how in network roll-outs, project execution and network maintenance.

Intel and Nokia have announced a long-term relationship to develop a new class of Intel Architecture-based mobile computing device and chipset architectures, aimed at combining the performance of powerful computers with high-bandwidth mobile broadband communications and ubiquitous internet connectivity.

To realise this shared vision, both companies are expanding their relationship to define a new mobile platform beyond smartphones, notebooks and netbooks, enabling the development of a variety of hardware, software and mobile internet services.

Taking advantage of each company’s know-how, these future standards-based devices are expected to marry the best features and capabilities of the computing and communications worlds and transform the user experience.

The Intel and Nokia effort includes collaboration in several open source mobile Linux software projects. Intel will also acquire a Nokia HSPA/3G modem IP licence for use in future products.

AT&T has extended Alcatel-Lucent’s contract for end-to-end multivendor network integration for AT&T U-verse.

The AT&T U-verse portfolio brings together U-verse TV, U-verse High Speed Internet and U-verse Voice services all delivered over AT&T’s advanced Internet Protocol (IP) network using Alcatel-Lucent’s Triple Play Service Delivery Architecture (TPSDA).

Under the latest agreement, Alcatel-Lucent will continue to provide end-to-end multivendor network integration for AT&T U-verse, including Microsoft Mediaroom Internet Protocol television (IPTV) software platform.

Alcatel-Lucent’s end-to-end multivendor network systems integration includes solution programme management, third-party management, network engineering, solution testing/validation and deployment services.