Networking & Telecomms

Cabletron buys into xDSL

Cabletron Systems last month entered the broadband remote access market by announcing it would acquire FlowPoint and Ariel's Communications Systems Group for a combined sum of $US58.5 million. Ariel develops end-to-end asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL)-to-ATM systems which give PC users high-speed access to the Internet, corporate intranets and online services. Ariel's Horizon II is a carrier-class xDSL Access Multiplexer for high-density DSL central office concentration. FlowPoint makes customer premise xDSL and ISDN Internet and intranet access routers for businesses and home offices.

Cabletron competitors Bay Networks, Cisco Systems and 3Com are aggressively moving into the DSL market as well.

Global telco leaders join universal ADSL groupTelecommunications leaders in Asia and Europe announced recently they are joining an industry group whose purpose is to push for wide deployment of high-speed digital Internet access using ADSL (asymmetric digital subscriber line). Deutsche Telekom AG, France Telecom, British Telecommunications PLC, Singapore Telecommunications Ltd and Nippon Telegraph & Telephone of Japan are joining the Universal ADSL Working Group (UAWG), which will now have telecom members that control more than one third of the world's phone lines. ADSL allows for transmission of voice and multimedia data simultaneously over existing copper telephone lines at rates of 1.544M bits per second downstream and 640K bps upstream -- up to 25 times the current highest-speed analog modem technology, the statement said. The group also includes Microsoft and Compaq Computer and other networking companies.

NetWare to be spun off

Like UnixWare and Novell DOS before it, Novell will spin off NetWare for Macintosh to another company for future development and support. The company will announce that Prosoft Engineering, best known for custom software, will acquire all of Novell's Macintosh products.