Nortel, Verizon claim first 100G network

Nortel and Verizon have jointly deployed a commercial 100G network between Paris and Frankfurt, reports InternetNews.com.

The link marks the commercial availability of 100G from Nortel and the production use debut of 100G in a live network. The technical and business milestone comes at challenging time for Nortel, which has been under bankruptcy protection since January.

The company's Metro Networking unit which produces the 100G solution is set to be acquired by Ciena for $769 million.

A full-scale UK next-generation mobile network came a step closer today with Huawei announcing a successful live trial of LTE (Long Term Evolution) technology with O2, while Ericsson unveiled what it claims to be the world's first 4G network in Stockholm, states Computing.co.uk.

Huawei, a provider of next-generation telecom solutions, carried out the trial at the Slough headquarters of O2, during which speeds of 150Mbit/s were achieved.

The chief technology officer of O2 UK, Derek McManus, says the trial would help the company better understand this emerging technology and prepare customers for the next generation of mobile broadband services.

Starent Networks' shareholders have approved the proposed $2.9 billion acquisition by Cisco, says eWeek.

The deal, which still has to get approval from regulators, is expected to close in the first half of 2010. Starent was able to stave off investor lawsuits filed by shareholders unhappy with the price being offered by Cisco.

The Starent acquisition is one of several Cisco is making as it looks to expand beyond its traditional networking business.