Hibernia Atlantic’s Global Financial Network (GFN) will be attending the upcoming High Frequency Trading Leaders Forum in New York City May 23-25. This event will bring together the industries thought leaders for a review of how speed traders leverage cutting-edge strategies and in-depth discussions on the present and future of High-Frequency Trading. The GFN is a financial exchange connectivity division of Hibernia Atlantic, the transatlantic, high-bandwidth, connectivity provider.  The GFN is purpose-built for the financial industry, including banks, financial exchanges and trading firms. Hibernia’s GFN is continuing to extend its global reach, both terrestrially and subsea, through new Points of Presence (PoPs) in and around London, Tokyo and Hong Kong.

To schedule a meeting with the GFN team at this or other upcoming events, email jsa_hibernia@jaymiescotto.com. For more information on Hibernia GFN, visit www.hiberniagfn.com.

ASHBURN, VIRGINIA – May 10, 2011– Telepresence Options, the leading publishing firm and website covering telepresence and effective visual collaboration, has announced the launch of Telepresence Options Magazine. The new periodical covers the revolution in telepresence conferencing, telepresence robotics and high-definition visual collaboration which is restructuring work, impacting business travel / airline profitability, and enhancing interaction of friends and families separated by distance.

The first issue of the magazine covers telepresence end-points and environments and is available in both hard copy and a digital edition.

Articles include:

• What is Telepresence?
• Understanding the Telepresence Marketplace: Endpoints & Environments
• Robotic Telepresence: A Primer & Tale of the Tape
• The ROI of Telepresence in a World of Economic & Geopolitical Uncertainty
• Creating Telepresence Environments: A Design Guide

Subscription is free and provides instant access to the digital edition at www.TelepresenceOptions.com/magazine The next issue which will be published in fall of 2011 will cover: Video Network Infrastructure, Managed Services, Internetworking, Security, and Exchange

About Telepresence Options

The Telepresence Options website at www.TelepresenceOptions.com is the #1 website in the world covering telepresence and effective visual collaboration with over 25,000+ unique visitors per month from 165+ countries. The Telepresence Options Telegraph newsletter has almost 5,000 subscribers and is the most widely read periodical in the world focused exclusively on telepresence and effective visual collaboration.

Golden Frog, a global security software developer and applications provider, announces the offering of VyprVPN through its Global Service Provider Program.  VyprVPN is a fast, reliable Virtual Private Newtork (VPN) that allows users to privately browse the Internet without sacrificing speed or quality.

Golden Frog’s Global Service Provider Program provides service providers with a cost-effective, value-added solution which can be bundled with traditional Internet services.

For more information, read the press release below or visit www.goldenfrog.com.

GOLDEN FROG’S VyprVPN ENCRYPTION SERVICE LAUNCHES ITS GLOBAL SERVICE PROVIDER PROGRAM

Value-Added Solution Delivers Global Internet Security, Privacy and Freedom to Internet Users

Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands,  – April 14, 2011 - Golden Frog, a global security software developer and applications provider, announces the offering of VyprVPN through its Global Service Provider Program.  VyprVPN is a fast, reliable Virtual Private Network (VPN) service that uses PPTP, L2TP/IPsec, and OpenVPN protocols and NAT Firewall to deliver a secure, private Internet experience without sacrificing speed. With customers in over 50 countries, VyprVPN customers can choose their IP location from global points of presence in North America, Europe and Asia. Through its service provider program, Golden Frog’s VyprVPN personal VPN provides a cost-effective value-added solution that can be bundled with traditional Internet services including wireless access, VoIP, messaging products, online security and antivirus solutions.

Golden Frog’s Global Service Provider Program for VyprVPN offers several key benefits to service providers.  Subscriber authentication is simple, ensuring accurate billing to end-user clients. Golden Frog’s network engineers provide comprehensive training for seamless integration and personal 24X7X365 Tier 2 support and service. Golden Frog designed the proprietary software, owns the servers, and actively manages the VPN network ensuring that customers experience a secure, fast network with always-on reliability. The program offers volume-based discounts and free trials to prove VyprVPN’s value and flexibility for service providers.

VyprVPN provides online security and privacy, protecting customers from hackers, ‘data snooping’ and deep packet inspection. Users can connect to VyprVPN via any Internet-enabled device, including mobile devices such iPhone, iPad and Android. Through Golden Frog’s encrypted network consisting of major global carriers and Tier 1 ISP connections, users have a choice of VPN servers in Europe, North America and Asia which they can connect and receive a ‘local’ IP address. This ‘local’ IP address allows a user to bypass Internet restrictions that may be enforced by corporate VPNs or local governments, providing a free and open Internet browsing experience.

“The Golden Frog team has been working together since 1994 with a core focus on delivering Internet solutions and applications that improve end-user privacy, freedom and security across the web,” states Sunday Yokubaitis, President of Golden Frog. “Our customer-centric approach drives our team to improve upon existing technologies. With the launch of the Global Service Provider Program, Golden Frog offers service providers a solution to further differentiate themselves in a competitive marketplace.”

With clients in over 50 countries, VyprVPN is currently offered by a variety of service providers and used by global business travelers and consumers.  To learn more about Golden Frog’s Global Service Provider Program and VyprVPN, please visit: https://www.goldenfrog.com/corporate/

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About Golden Frog

Golden Frog is a global security software developer and applications provider, delivering solutions to improve end-user Internet privacy and security without sacrificing speed and quality.  Since 1994, the Golden Frog team has been developing high quality applications for multi-national corporations, service providers and consumers.

Golden Frog’s VyprVPN (Virtual Private Network) solution uses PPTP, L2TP/IPsec, and OpenVPN protocols and NAT Firewall to protect their customers’ online identity and data from data snooping and security breaches. Golden Frog customers can choose their IP location from global points of presence in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. Golden Frog’s services can be bundled with a wide variety of online tools such as messaging, security and antivirus software, VoIP and wireless services to create a flexible, secure Internet experience anywhere in the world. For more information on Golden Frog’s services, visit www.goldenfrog.com and follow us on twitter at http://twitter.com/Golden_Frog.

For media enquiries, please contact pr@goldenfrog.com.

By Jaymie Scotto Cutaia

Level 3 Communications says it will buy IP solutions and networking provider Global Crossing. The transaction is valued at $23.04 per share, or approximately $3 billion, including the assumption of approximately $1.1 billion of net debt from Global Crossing. The deal will be an all-stock transaction.

Already folks are speculating on why this deal is huge news.  Acccording to Dean Takahashi on Deals & More, “the deal brings a much-needed consolidation to the broadband market, where the potential for traffic growth is huge but the major players have been hurt by low prices.”

And Gigaom says that the deal will give Level 3 more clout to negotiate with bigger telecommunications players, such as Comcast, even as network ownership consolidates into the hands of fewer players.

But can we boil this down further?

Both L3 and Global Crossing are losing money.  Level3 lost $622 million last year and hasn’t turned a profit since 1998, according to Mr. Takahshi.  And Global Crossing lost $172 million in 2010 and it last turned an annual profit in 2003.

So why now and why an all-stock transaction?  How can a negative and a negative add up to a positive?  What’s the real pay-off here?

Let’s go back to the quote from John Legere, the CEO of Global Crossing, in the official press release, which stated, “The timing of this combination is perfect. The demand for online content – in all its forms – has created unprecedented demand for bandwidth, and our combined platform will enable us to move massive amounts of content around the world, largely on our own facilities, under our control. The need to bring scale to the market is more important than ever before, and that is something that the combined company will have – in spades.”

As Mr. Legere stressed, the deal is all about “on our own facilities, under our control”. This is a direct reference to owning- and therefore controlling the fiber.  The telecom world is quickly dividing into two factions: those who have fiber and those who do not.

This critical infrastructure— and then the power to select whom has access to this infrastructure–   is becoming an apparent, all-out battle.  It stirs up the old net neutrality argument— and how those who have control over the last mile of fiber can thereby dictate the terms, especially for the enterprise market.  So how do we right this ship and get out of the death spiral?  I’ll tell you this: I’m not holding my breath until Global Crossing and Level3 let me have access to their fiber stock.

We need an immediate, carrier and network-neutral, dark fiber provider that is willing to incur the outrageous start-up costs (ideally with government support- if Obama is still interested in his big broadband push) so we can actually lay the much-needed fiber ducts across the expansive USA, to allow folks in the Bible Belt- and the non-NFL cities- to have access to choice and to ‘fiber freedom’.  We need to take the technology that’s blossoming on the east and west coast – and bring it to rural America who could use the fiber and connectivity and access for increasing the wealth of education, starting businesses and saving the family farms.  As a woman who spends her time between the city and the country, and sees the disparity between “those who have” and “those who have not” on a regular basis, it’s time to connect our country.

The 2011 SubTel Forum had a great article called “2011: The Year of the Investment to Neutral, Dark Fiber Network Infrastructure” — and it points out clearly that this is Allied Fiber’s plan— to build the necessary dark fiber infrastructure and give access to all.  And that this fiber plan can be duplicated in metro communities, over and over again, and similar to the Internet, can branch out and reach the hard-to-reach.

This sounds more like the big deal to me.

Does the Fixed Network have a future in Africa?

The leading heads of Africa’s telcos take the temperature of the region’s somewhat crowded telecoms market

How much is too much?

If you’re talking about telecom operators in Ghana, then 200,000 is too much.

That was the view of attendees at the Next Generation Telecoms Africa Summit 2011 which was held in Nairobi from 25-27 January 2011.

At this closed door summit, hosted by GDS International, around 100 C-level participants looked at a range of topics, including the future of the fixed network in Africa.

According to Eric Valentine, Head of Networks Vodafone Ghana, the fixed network can be a key differentiator and there is significant economic advantage to converging the mobile and fixed architecture.

“A major stumbling block, however, is that some markets have too many operators. For example, Ghana has around 200,000 operators who are currently active, including MTN, Tigo, Vodafone, Kasapa and Airtel. The benefits of a fixed line network can be diluted by too many operators,” says Valentine.

Similarly, the advent of mobile technology has meant that investment in fixed technology has been greatly reduced. “So what we did was push people into the fibre network to keep the numbers high. But unfortunately this didn’t work so well.”

Vodafone Ghana even considered selling the fixed line part of its business in the West African nation. “Data growth in fixed ADSL will hopefully bring in more revenue and add huge value. What we’re doing now is targeting the high value cabinet areas. We’re retraining people to interact with their customers and dealing with BT to come and train our staff. We also need to be smarter on workforce management and use tolls in OOS and BSS to do this. Call centres need accurate information because the fixed network is very complex with switches as old as 15 years.”

Looking ahead, Valentine says the next step is to shut down all of the legacy exchanges and evolve to IP transport using CPN and new MPLS infrastructure. “We can then look at backhaul on fixed assets and femtocell technology for improved indoor coverage. There has been a huge surge in data through dongles, so we will be upgrading the internet gateways (multi-service access nodes). We think that simplifying and modifying is the way to go.”

Valentine says Vodafone Ghana plans to start by replacing ageing equipment and launching an aggressive sales campaign for broadband services.

“Customer obsession is the key, the digital divide is closing and data is growing so we need to ensure that we’re not isolated with only one option.”

More than 100 of the industry’s top experts gathered at the Next Generation Telecoms Africa Summit 2011 which was held in Nairobi from 25-27 January 2011. A key opportunity for some of the most respected names in the African telecoms industry to network and engage in a clear and focused dialogue, the Summit also featured key speakers Nizar Dalloul, Founder and Chairman/CEO of Essar Telecom; Patrick Puges, VP Emerging Markets Networks and IT, France Telecom/Orange and Glen Lewis, GVP International Telecoms & Networking, IDC.

The next, Next Generation Telecoms Africa Summit will be hosted by GDS International in Cape Town, South Africa from 13-15th September 2011.

For more information, visit www.ngtafricasummit.com/

Regulation in telecoms industry could kick-start economic growth

The telecoms industry could hold the key to unlocking economic growth and stimulating the global economy – if the regulators get it right.

The global economy may be limping towards the shores of recovery, but the United Nations (UN) predicts that new approaches to regulating information and communication technology (ICT) could help to stimulate investment and growth by rolling out new networks and upgrading technology.

According to a report from the UN International Telecommunications Union (ITU), Trends in Telecommunications Reform, demand for services such as mobile telephones and broadband internet have remained buoyant, despite the economic crisis, with mobile subscriptions set to exceed six billion this year. 

“The industry is currently undergoing a generational shift from fixed telephones networks to mobile connections of all types, next generation networking and broadband wireless networks,” says the report.

Previously clear borders among telephones, broadcasting and online services are being eroded, with people able to watch movies on their computers and programming being downloaded on mobile phones.

Hamadoun Toure, the ITU’s Secretary-General, was reported as saying ICT regulators play a key role in fostering ongoing innovation and competition, “enabling operators to adopt the latest, most powerful technologies and ensuring consumers enjoy the very best range of services at the lowest possible prices”.

Toure admits the economic crisis has sounded the alarm for the need for effective regulation, “and the need for dialogue on the role of Government, which is now considering the need for State intervention to ensure, among other elements, the development of a ‘broadband economy’.”

Furthermore, the report argues that regulators and policy-makers can tackle the potential risk for under-investment in tomorrow’s networks through a two-pronged approach that involves Government-backed funding programmes and effective regulatory strategies and policies.

The role of the telecoms industry in global economic growth is no doubt one of the issues that will be on the agenda at the Next Generation Telecoms MENA Summit 2011, which takes place from 31 October to 2 November at The Meydan Hotel, Jumeirah, Dubai. This closed-door summit, hosted by GDS International, features some of the leading voices in the MENA telecoms sector.

Along with telecoms regulation, other key topics for discussion include maximising mobile broadband profitability, the telco cloud opportunity and mobile payments.

Next Generation Telecoms MENA Summit 2011 is an exclusive C-level event reserved for 100 participants that includes expert workshops, facilitated roundtables, peer-to-peer networks and co-ordinated meetings.

For more information, visit www.ngtsummitmena.com

FiberMedia is inviting members of the media to meet with its executive team and tour of its brand new Secaucus data center. The tours will take place on Wednesday, April 6th at 10 am and 2 pm. Transportation will be provided to and from New York City upon request. To secure your participation, please email fibermedia@jaymiescotto.com.

Located less than ten minutes from Manhattan, the 35,000 square foot Secaucus facility offers a full-suite of comprehensive services and solutions. Customers can gain access to multiple networks, high-speed Internet and an array of peering partners while experiencing uninterruptable power supported through a stringent N+1/2N design that includes fully conditioned electrical feeds served from two utility substations.

To celebrate the unveiling of it’s newest data centers, FiberMedia is hosting an exclusive cocktail party at the beautiful Andaz Wall Street on April 7th from 6-9 pm. To RSVP to this event, please visit http://www.rsvpbook.com/event.php?445798.

COMPTEL Spring 2011 kicks off this Sunday, March 20, 2011 at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas, NV. Allied Fiber’s executive team will be in attendance at the bi-annual event. The event promises to provide effective networking opportunities for communications companies and suppliers.

Allied Fiber will be joined by a variety of Dark Fiber Community members at the conference and they look forward to a successful event for themselves and their partners. To schedule a meeting with Allied Fiber at COMPTEL, email jsa_allied@jaymiescotto.com. For more information on Allied Fiber, visit www.alliedfiber.com.

Join TELEHOUSE America and TAMP Systems on Thursday, February 24^th at 11 am EST for a free Disaster Recovery webinar. Featured speakers from TELEHOUSE and TAMP with offer industry insight on the following topics:

• What is a disaster? What are common disasters that 21st century businesses suffer?

• What are the effects of not having a disaster recovery plan in place?

• Features and Benefits of disaster recovery plans 

TELEHOUSE America will discuss the partnership between TELEHOUSE and TAMP Systems and the special prices offered exclusively to TELEHOUSE clients. TAMP Systems’ featured speaker Carmine Coletti, will discuss the necessity of disaster recovery plans and provide a personal tour of TAMP’s DRS-I Module software.

Register now to secure your space in this informative webinar. For more information please email, amy.wetton@telehouse.com.

Pangaea Networks, a niche provider of Carrier Class Ethernet Local Loop services in the New York City and New Jersey markets, announces its collaboration in CoActive Commemoration “Expressions,” the inaugural scholarly and musical digital humanities event to mark the official United Nations commemoration in honor of the victims of the Holocaust.

On January 27, 2011, audiences in San Diego, CA and Jerusalem took part in “Expressions,” a musical and cultural event providing simultaneous Internet broadcast with audience interaction. Pangaea Networks, in conjunction with Bezeq International and National LambdaRail, provided the seamless Ethernet backbone that was critical for attendees in San Diego and Jerusalem to communicate and interact during the inaugural event.

The event was hosted by The Center for Research in Entertainment Learning (CREL) and Beit Avi Chai in collaboration with The Visual Exchange Network (VEN) and InTv.co.il. Expressions kicked off a series of community events that allowed audiences to experience a new form of interactive and international engagement.

For more information on Pangaea Networks please visit www.pangaeanetworks.com.

While attending IT EXPO East, TelecomMarketPlace.net’s managing director, Jamie Martino met with TMCnet’s Janice McDuffee. Martino introduced and explained TelecomMarketPlace’s newest venture, TelcoSource, an e-procurement platform that uses a reverse auction model and is specifically designed for the telecom and IT service industries.

Martino explained how this revolutionary platform would help further TelecomMarketPlace’s overall goal of increasing revenue and decreasing costs for companies in need of telecom services. TelcoSource allows procurement managers to interact with vendors on a broader scale and in a more efficient manner through TelcoSource’s online community.

To view the complete interview, please click here. For more information about TelecomMarketPlace and the TelcoSource platform, visit www.telecommarketplace.net.