Industry News
Alcatel Wins a Euro 50 Million Contract with Jilin Mobile in China
Representatives of Alcatel announced Wednesday that the company has signed a Euro 50 million (US$ 63.2 million) contract to deploy a Mobile NGN solution for Chinese service provider Jilin Mobile Communications Company (Jilin MCC) and expand the operator's existing mobile network. The contract was won through Alcatel Shanghai Bell, Alcatel's flagship Chinese company.
Under the terms of this new contract, Alcatel will deliver its distributed mobile-switching solution. The cornerstone of this mobile NGN solution is the Alcatel 5020 Spatial Atrium Softswitch, a multi-standard mobile call server controlling distributed media gateways. Its distributed architecture results in significant cost efficiency and greater simplicity in the design of Jilin MCC's network.
Once deployed, Alcatel's Mobile NGN solution will enable Jilin Mobile to evolve its current network to support future advanced mobile services with one simplified, high-capacity, core network. The solution will also enable the operator to grow its subscriber base while reducing operating expenses.
Alcatel will also expand the operator's current Alcatel-powered GSM/GPRS mobile network, providing Jilin Mobile with its Alcatel Evolium® multi-standard end-to-end network infrastructure solution. With previous GSM expansion already provided to the operator, Alcatel will have increased Jilin Mobile's mobile network capacity by 30 % to serve up to 8 million subscribers.
With the completion of all the projects in September 2006, Alcatel's solution will cover all the cities in Jilin province, including Chuangchun, Jilin, Yanji, Siping, Songyuan, Liaoyun, Baicheng, Baishan and Tonghua.
Alcatel has a long-standing relationship with Jilin Mobile. In 1995 Alcatel deployed the operator's first GSM network. In 1999, Alcatel upgraded Jilin Mobile's entire GSM network of 2G to 2.5G with an end-to-end Evolium solution. In addition to Jilin Mobile, Alcatel maintains industry leading mobile solutions in over 25 cities and provinces across the country and is a leader in providing advanced mobile communication solutions in China.
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Lockheed Martin Receives $36 Million for Production of Unitary Army Tactical Missiles
Lockheed Martin has received US$36 million from the U.S. Army Aviation & Missile Command for Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) Unitary Product Improvement missiles.
Work on the contract will be conducted at the company’s facilities in Dallas and Horizon City, TX. The first flight of the improved system is expected in January 2008.
The ATACMS Block IA Quick Reaction Unitary (QRU) Missile was combat proven in joint operations during Operation Iraqi Freedom, and is the latest addition to the current ATACMS family of munitions. The Product Improvement Program focuses on adding a multi-functional fuze/warhead system that is capable of executing air-burst, point detonate or delay missions.
ATACMS was the first tactical surface-to-surface missile ever fired in combat by the U.S. Army during Operation Desert Storm. ATACMS is a combat-proven evolutionary family of missiles which scored numerous successes again in Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), where 456 missiles were fired.
The Army TACMS Unitary missile is a responsive, all weather, long-range missile, with a high explosive, fragmentation, multifunctional warhead fired from the Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) family of launchers, including the MLRS 270A1 launcher and the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS). ATACMS Unitary has a much more efficient logistical footprint, while it expands the traditional target-set for Army TACMS.
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IBM Selected by U.S. DoD to Deliver Net-Centric Collaboration Services
The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) has selected IBM Global Services to provide net-centric collaboration services. The contract is valued at US$17 million.
The work is a key part of DISA's Net-Centric Enterprise Services (NCES) project to provide one consistent service for collaboration that can be used by personnel across the DoD. These services will enable real time information sharing through the use of an on-demand IT services structure, based on open standards and a secure hosted environment.
As part of the initiative, IBM will provide a variety of capabilities including instant messaging, low-bandwidth text chat, web conferencing and persistent chat rooms. Instant messaging and web conferencing both include audio and video support, while web conferencing adds shared whiteboards, desktop/application sharing, and the ability to invite non-DoD personnel to web conferences. The chat room capability includes capturing user messages and activity over time in a shared area. Chat rooms enable users to review activity and associated documents independent of other users.
IBM is working with a team of partners including ServerVault, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), FGM, Inc., Instant Technologies, Polycom, Inc. and CISCO, to ensure the service adheres to the needs of those working with unclassified and classified information.
IBM's collaboration capabilities are comprised of open standard, commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) products that have been proven at the enterprise scale. Key COTS products include IBM's Lotus Sametime software suite for the Instant Messaging and Web Conferencing capability, and InstantTech for the Chat Room capability. These capabilities are integrated via IBM's powerful WebSphere portal and application server, the IBM DB 2 Database, and the Tivoli Federated Identity and Access Manager.
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Raytheon Names Mac Jeffery Vice President Global Public Relations
Raytheon Company has appointed a senior public relations professional to the position of vice president, Global Public Relations.
Mac Jeffery will serve as chief spokesperson for the company and will be responsible for coordinating the development and implementation of Raytheon's strategic plan for global public and media relations in support of corporate initiatives. He will report to Pamela Wickham, the company's vice president of Corporate Affairs and Communications.
Jeffery's responsibilities will also include executive messaging, product and technology positioning, financial and crisis communications and investor relations support.
Jeffery joins Raytheon from Samsung Group of Seoul, Korea, and New York, where he was most recently the senior vice president of Global Public Relations. In this role, he was responsible for major public relations activities for Samsung Electronics and Samsung Group's corporate office.
Prior to joining Samsung, Jeffery was a senior communications director for Loral Space & Communications, a leading provider of commercial satellite manufacturing and services, and Loral's affiliated company, Globalstar L.P., the world's largest mobile satellite phone service. He has also held public relations and communications positions with Hill & Knowlton -- Hong Kong and Pepsi-Cola Company and had a 17-year career with IBM, where he most recently served as director of Public Relations for the company's Asia-Pacific operations, based in Tokyo.
Jeffery holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale University.
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Rockwell Collins Avionics, Cabin Systems Selected by Aegean Airlines
Aegean Airlines, based in Greece, recently selected Rockwell Collins' avionics, as well as its Programmable Audio Video Entertainment System (PAVES) and the Airshow 4200 moving map information system for eight new and three leased Airbus A320 aircraft. The agreement also calls for an option on 12 additional aircraft with deliveries scheduled to begin in February 2007.
A highlight of the avionics package is the Rockwell Collins' WXR-2100 MultiScan Weather Radar, which is a fully automatic radar that reduces pilot workload and enhances safety and passenger comfort by reducing unexpected turbulence encounters. MultiScan provides optimal weather detection from the nose of the aircraft to 320 nautical miles.
Other Rockwell Collins avionics selected by Aegean Airlines are the complete array of aircraft sensors, including the latest generation VHF-2100 data radio. The VHF-2100 design provides higher reliability due to 30 percent fewer part and 20 percent lower power requirements than previous designs. The VHF-2100 also supports all future operational modes of VHF Data Link. Rockwell Collins AOC-900 Data Link operational software was selected by Aegan Airlines.
Another highlight of the avionics package is the GLU-925 Multi Mode receiver (MMR), which is the first to include LAAS, and supports growth to future FMS landing system (FLS) and GPS landing system (GLS) capabilities currently in development at Airbus.
The PAVES system selected by Aegean Airlines provides passengers overhead video on the latest generation 10 inch retractable liquid crystal displays featuring wide viewing angles and crisp, bright picture quality. In addition, Aegean Airlines selected a state of the art digital video reproducer based on hard disk memory. The system offers up to 25 channels of high-fidelity digital in-seat audio programming. PAVES enables airlines to provide passengers a variety of entertainment options that utilize available flying time.
Rockwell Collins Airshow 4200 offers a full-featured multimedia platform, incorporating a wide variety of capabilities, including 3-D route maps, real-time news feeds, connecting gate information, and points-of-interest media libraries. It captures real-time flight information from the aircraft's flight management computer, long-range navigation system, and aircraft communication systems. The Airshow 4200 can use the on-board ACARS connection to retrieve current airport terminal information.
Aegean Airlines operates 22 aircraft and serves all major Greek destinations as well as cities in Germany, Italy, Cyprus and Bulgaria. Aegean Airlines will carry approximately 5 million passengers in 2006 flying mostly scheduled routes. A number of charter routes connect the Greek holiday resorts to major European cities. Three times winner of a European Regions Airline Association award and registered by the International Air Transport Association Safety Audit, Aegean Airlines offers quality service from its Athens and Thessaloniki bases.
