Corporate News
Raytheon Awarded $45 Million Rolling Airframe Missile Production Contract
Raytheon Company has been awarded a US$45.2 million contract from the U.S. Navy for fiscal year 2005 Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) production.
The RAM MK 31 Guided Missile Weapon System is co-developed and co-produced under a bilateral program agreement between the United States and German governments.
Under the contract Raytheon will deliver 70 launching canisters, 65 RAM
Block 1/HAS (helicopter, aircraft, surface) Tactical Guided Missile Round Packs (GMRPS), 25 RAM Block 1/HAS Telemeter GMRPs, active optical target detectors and related spares. Work on the contract will be performed at Raytheon's Missile Systems business in Tucson, Ariz., and RAMSYS GmbH of Ottobrunn, Germany. This contract is the U.S. Navy's eighth production installment of the GMRP Block 1 configuration.
RAM is a supersonic, lightweight, quick-reaction missile system ideally suited to counter the modern anti-ship missile threat. It has been designed for use in a layered ship defense system. RAM Guided Missile Weapon Systems are aboard more than 60 ships in the navies of the United States, Germany, Greece and Korea.
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Alcatel Wins US$10 Million Dollar Contracts in Lao People's Democratic Republic
Representatives of Alcatel announced that it has won three contracts worth US$9.3 million with Lao Telecommunications (LTC), the leading telecommunication service provider in Lao People's Democratic Republic, to provide wireless, optical and broadband solutions for a new phase of network expansion. These contracts were won through Alcatel Shanghai Bell, Alcatel's flagship Chinese company.
Alcatel's wireless solution for LTC involves the deployment of GSM including base stations, base station controllers, and network sub-systems that will expand network capacity to an estimated 360,000 users and bring wireless service to users located in remote areas of the country. The project is expected to be completed in October 2005.
Alcatel will also expand LTC's optical backbone and metro networks. The recently launched 1642 Edge Multiplexer Compact will provide LTC with an option to enhance connections between the optical backbone network and last-mile metro access points. This will enable local enterprises to benefit from enhanced service delivery and accessibility. Alcatel will also upgrade the existing network management system to ensure reliable and efficient monitoring of the new equipment.
To help Laotian enterprises enhance work efficiency, LTC will use the Alcatel 7325 Advanced Services Access Manager remote unit to deliver broadband access services to local government offices and enterprises in the capital and in provinces across the country. As a result, LTC will become the biggest operator in Lao People's Democratic Republic to offer high-speed Internet access, advanced web-based applications and file downloads.
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Ericsson and Viettel Sign Agreement for GSM Network Expansion in Vietnam
Ericsson has signed a multi-year frame agreement with the mobile operator Viettel for the expansion of Viettel's GSM/GPRS network in Vietnam.
Today, Vietnam is one of the fastest growing mobile markets in the world.
Under the agreement, Ericsson will provide Viettel with core and radio access network equipment, service layer platforms, GPRS, and network rollout and support services.
The network will have EDGE capability, which lays a solid foundation for a future-proof network migration to 3G.
The technology supplied by Ericsson will enable Viettel, currently the fastest growing mobile operator in Vietnam, to continue its nationwide network rollout, as well as to provide new advanced voice and high speed data services to a growing number of mobile phone users in Vietnam.
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Cisco Systems Completes Acquisition of Topspin Communications
Representatives of Cisco Systems announced the company has completed the acquisition of privately-held Topspin Communications, Inc. of Mountain View, Calif.
On April 14, 2005, Cisco announced a definitive agreement to acquire Topspin, a leading provider of server fabric switches, a new class of server networking equipment, that provides a high performance, programmable infrastructure for grid and utility computing, clustered enterprise applications, and server virtualization. The Topspin product line will extend Cisco's data center switching solutions to include InfiniBand-based server switching and will complement Cisco's existing network switching and storage switching solutions including its Ethernet-based Catalyst switching platform for internet/intranet infrastructure and its multiprotocol (Fibre Channel, FCIP, iSCSI and FICON) MDS switches for storage area networks.
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B-SAT Awards Lockheed Martin Contract
Representatives of Lockheed Martin have signed a contract with the Broadcasting Satellite System Corporation (B-SAT) of Japan to build its next geostationary telecommunications satellite. Designated BSAT-3a, the 1.8-kW satellite will provide direct broadcast services throughout Japan following its scheduled launch the second quarter of 2007. Contract terms were not disclosed. B-SAT previously issued an authorization to proceed to Lockheed Martin for start of satellite design and construction.
The BSAT-3a communications payload comprises eight 130-W Ku-band channels and will be located at 110 degrees East longitude. With a design life of more than 13 years, BSAT-3a is based on the award-winning A2100A platform manufactured by Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems (LMCSS), Newtown, Pa. BSAT-3a marks the 12th Lockheed Martin satellite contract awarded in the 1- to 4-kW small-class satellite range and the second in 2005.
BSAT-3A is the third satellite award for Lockheed Martin this year based on signed construction contracts. In January, Nordic Satellite AB (NSAB) awarded Lockheed Martin a contract to build their next geostationary direct broadcast satellite, designated SIRIUS 4. SES AMERICOM recently awarded Lockheed Martin a contract to build AMC-18, a small-class satellite also based on the A2100A.
The Lockheed Martin A2100 geosynchronous spacecraft series is designed to meet a wide variety of telecommunications needs including Ka-band broadband and broadcast services, fixed satellite services in C-band and Ku-band, high-power direct broadcast services using the Ku-band frequency spectrum and mobile satellite services using UHF, L-band, and S-band payloads. The A2100's modular design features a reduction in parts, simplified construction, increased on-orbit reliability and reduced weight and cost.
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Marconi and Huawei Sign Mutual Distribution Agreement
Representatives of Marconi Corporation plc and Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. announced that they have now signed a mutual distribution agreement (MDA).
Under the agreement, which follows the memorandum of understanding signed in January, the two companies will resell parts of each other's product portfolio. Marconi will resell Huawei's carrier-class data communications products to telco service providers only under the Marconi brand, while Huawei will resell Marconi's microwave radio, including next-generation microwave radio equipment, and associated network services for Huawei's wireless network projects.
The two companies have agreed to a process wherein they will leverage their respective sales and marketing teams' capabilities and regional strengths on an account-by-account basis to bring products and support services to as many customers as possible. The partnership will offer customers more flexibility, choice and support. It will also ensure more rapid integration of next-generation technology and products as well as network solutions that are optimized for customers' businesses.
Under the agreement, Marconi will resell a full range of Huawei data communications products to telco service providers only, for example, the Quidway NetEngine and AR series. The extended portfolio will complement and augment a suite of data communications products that Marconi currently develops and sells, including the ASX, TNX and BXR multiservice switching and routing platforms.
Marconi will become one of Huawei's microwave radio partners. Huawei will gain access to Marconi's trunk and access microwave radio products and services, including its next-generation AXR radio platform and associated network management software. Marconi's wireless consultancy and professional services have also been officially accredited by Huawei's Asia Pacific Regional Division.
Marconi and Huawei have already started to pursue joint business opportunities on Huawei's data communications products and Marconi's microwave in various regions around the world.
Discussions are also continuing regarding joint product development in several areas which will enable the two companies to enhance their competitive position by leveraging R&D resource and technologies. The initial emphasis will be on developing products that address the global European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) market. Discussions are also underway for the European accreditation by Huawei of Marconi's full suite of telco services for both fixed and mobile applications. Details will be communicated once these agreements have been finalized.
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Nortel, City of Richardson Launch Public Wireless ‘Hotzone’ Network
Nortel and the City of Richardson, Texas have launched a public ‘hotzone’ wireless network providing free broadband access in the Galatyn Park Urban Center area of Richardson's Telecom Corridor.
The network provides business commuters and consumers in the area with broadband capabilities for video streaming, surfing the Internet, downloading emails with large attachments and accessing corporate/private networks. It also enables City of Richardson personnel, including Police and Fire Departments, with access into the city's emergency and other proprietary communications systems.
The network, launched in time to provide public access at this year's Wildflower! Arts and Music Festival (May 20-22), is a field trial of Nortel's Wireless Mesh Network solution.
A wireless mesh hotzone links together small transmission access points hung on street lamps or the sides of buildings to form a local network that can deliver mobile communications throughout a city or campus. Because a mesh network uses the same standard as WiFi (802.11b), laptop computers or handheld computing devices set up for WiFi don't require new hardware or software to access the mesh network.
The new network covers the Galatyn Park Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) Light Rail station, the lobby of the Charles W. Eisemann Center for the Performing Arts and Corporate Presentations, the adjacent high-tech fountain and 2-acre public plaza and coverage up to a number of surrounding businesses and office buildings.
Nortel's Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) Mesh technology uses ‘self-aware’ wireless access points. The radio units, once installed (a simple procedure that does not require technology specialists), identify other nearby units and automatically create a ‘mesh’ radio architecture that interconnects and moves networking traffic between each. This is ideally suited to providing coverage across streets, buildings and various terrain where it would be cost-prohibitive to run networking cables. This architecture also provides a much more cost-effective ‘backhaul’ solution, as only one, or a few, of the radio units require leased broadband connections from a service provider.
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Raytheon Names Robert Davis to Lead RTSC Depot Operations
Robert (Bob) E. Davis has been named vice president and general manager of Raytheon Technical Services Company LLC (RTSC) Depot Operations in Norfolk, Va.
Reporting to RTSC President Bryan J. Even, Davis assumes responsibility for all aspects of growth, program execution, customer relationship management, and continuous improvement in the Depot Operations business.
Davis was formerly the business development growth leader for Raytheon Integrated Defense System (IDS) in the Tidewater region of Virginia, area, where he was responsible for identification of growth opportunities for IDS programs, products and services, and front-end customer interface. Prior to joining IDS, Davis led the Domestic and International Aircraft Carrier Product Line for the former Raytheon Naval and Maritime Integrated Systems business.
In this role, he had overall responsibility for product line execution and strategy, associated with aircraft carrier products and services.
Davis has more than 22 years of U.S. Naval service, leadership, management, and flight experience, which includes command tours during operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm and operations in Bosnia. He holds a bachelor's degree in marketing management from the University of Dayton.
