Archive for the ‘General’ Category

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Level 3 Communications and Global Crossing Merger – Waiting for FCC Approval

Back in April, Level 3 Communications – one of the world’s six Tier 1 Internet operators – announced a $3 billion agreement to purchase Global Crossing, a provider of fully integrated and interoperable IP and legacy services. Once complete, the acquisition would produce a company with connections to over 70 countries and ownership over networks in more than 50 countries, which Level 3 claims would allow it to better serve governments, carriers, content providers and businesses throughout Europe as well as North and Latin America.

Until recently, XO Communications strongly protested the merger, claiming it would give rise to a “global colossus” in the market that would cause service quality to drop and prices to sky rocket – something that would clearly not be in the public’s interest. Randolph Nicklas, the chief technology officer for XO filed a declaration with the Federal Communications Commission that alleged the proposed acquisition would be a catalyst for Level 3 to terminate Internet peering deals with additional providers of Tier 1 networks and in its place stipulate payment to exchange traffic.

However, in a message that was recorded with the Federal Communications Commission in early August, it was noted that Level 3 was prepared to amend its arrangement with XO because it believes that “XO now meets, and is willing to embrace, the framework of Level 3’s developing peering policy.”

Thankfully for Level 3, an additional letter filed last month with the Federal Communications Commission reports that XO now feels the acquisition is in the public’s interest; but when pressed for answers, outside counsel for XO – Thomas Cohen – declined to go into detail on the agreement.

As a result, both Global Crossing and Level 3 are now asking the Federal Communications Commission – who is nearing the half-way mark on the 180 day timeline for reviewing the contract – to approve the merger due to the fact that there is nothing left for the agency to investigate. Representatives for the two companies had informed the Federal Communication Commission in August that “postponement in attaining authorization for the matter “would result in significant financial and other burdens,” but refused to remark on the reason why or whether the Federal Communications Commission specified a timeline to rule on the acquisition.

Outside counsel for Level 3 also wrote the Federal Communications Commission, adding that the two companies trust that there aren’t any outstanding barriers “to the prompt grant of the Applicants applications.”

Posted in General, Internet T1, XO | No Comments »

Verizon Reports Acts of Sabotage by Strikers

The Verizon strike, which began when Verizon Communications could not reach an agreement with roughly 45,000 of its union employees over healthcare premiums, retirement benefits, and pensions, has turned ugly.

Due to striker’s actions, Verizon Communications has successfully acquired preliminary injunctions in Delaware, New York, and Pennsylvania, and was recently in court to obtain two more for New Jersey and Massachusetts. The injunctions prevent strikers from illegally blocking Verizon facilities as well as using intimidation tactics on non-striking employees that show up for work at picketed locations.

Since August 6th, (just prior to 45,000 union members going on strike after their contract expired) Verizon Communications has reported almost 100 acts of “sabotage” against its network facilities. Aside from intimidating drivers, Maryland has cited 8 picketers being arrested; 2 in Salisbury for blocking employees that were not on strike from entering work, and 6 in Randallstown for illegally blocking an entrance to the facility there. Verizon refuses to accept such uncouth acts as these, and Mike Mason, Verizon’s Chief Security Officer, stated that it will not be tolerated. Furthermore, he noted that it is “a federal offense to damage or destroy critical communications equipment.”

One of the most shocking complaints was that Verizon reported the acts of “sabotage” had “temporarily affected service to thousands of customers across the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, including police stations and other emergency responders.”

Verizon maintains that they are simply trying to stay competitive in a dying landline business, while union members keep pushing the idea of corporate greed. The CWA claims that, despite the fact that over the past four years Verizon made $19.5 million in profits – with $258 million going to the top five execs – they still want $1 billion in annual concessions, or approximately $20,000 a year per worker.

Moreover, the strikers believe that Verizon is refusing to cooperatively reach a deal. James Wagner, President of the CWA Local 1122, which represents almost 600 employees in the Buffalo, NY area, said that Verizon has not moved away from any of their “regressive demands,” adding that “Verizon’s way of negotiating is their way or the highway.”

In one of the many Channel Partners blogs on this hot topic, commenter Mike Jones makes a valid argument, citing that “the portion of the company that turned a serious profit last year – the wireless business – is almost entirely NOT union. Why should Verizon NON union employees’ hard work go to fund the union employees’ outrageous salaries and benefits packages?”

We’d like to know what you think! Who are you siding with?

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Attention Verizon Customers, Verizon Workers are on Strike

After unsuccessful negotiations, Verizon union workers say they have had enough, and are now on strike. Approximately 45,000 Northeast wireline unit workers of the two unions involved – the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the Communications Workers of America – believe that Verizon Communications wants too many concessions, and have refused the company’s proposals to make employees pay more for healthcare, change work rules, and cut benefits and pensions.

Workers say that in this economy they cannot afford to contribute more for their health benefits. Verizon claims that the wireline business has been waning for the past decade, and that it is merely trying to keep costs in check and stay competitive as more customers decide to cut-the-cord and move to wireless services by having union workers pay for healthcare upfront as other non-union employees do.

The Communications Workers of America however, isn’t falling for the ‘poor Verizon is only trying to save money’ bit, blaming it on corporate greed and noting that over the past four years the company paid out $258 million to its top five executives after raking in $19.5 billion in profits. Edward Mooney, VP of CWA District 2-13 has said that his union workers “are determined to fight back against Verizon’s corporate greed and bargain a fair contract.”

In regards to negotiations, legislative and political director for the CWA, Bob Master stated in a recent interview that Verizon is adamant about “gutting health care,” and that he has “never seen bargaining this unproductive in 25 years.”

The Communications Workers of America and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers represent just about 45,000 and 13,000 workers in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions, respectfully. As a result of the strike, the burden now falls on non-union workers that are called on from other states, such as North Carolina. With the least amount of Verizon employees that are represented by a union, newsobserver.com reported that North Carolina has roughly 200 of its 1,800 workers at one location on standby to travel to New York as well as other states affected by the strike in order to pick up the slack. The non-union workers will fill in a number of various positions for the time being.

Although the last time they voted to authorize a strike was in 2008, the last time CWA actually went through with it was back in 2000. And while it’s clear all sides are looking for a resolution, as of now it is difficult to determine just what the end result will be.

Posted in General, Internet T1, Verizon | No Comments »

Conference Call in the Skies

Brian Dickinson, an engineer at Cisco and also an avid adventurer and philanthropist, has a goal to climb The Seven Summits, bringing toys to orphanages in the cities he visits along the way, and raising money for AIDS research. He will spend the beginning of May at the base camp on Mt. Everest before eventually climbing to the top of the tallest mountain in the world – and you can be there with him!

At the end of March, Brian arrived safely with his gear in Katmandu, Nepal where he caught the first glimpse of the massive Himalayan mountain range from his plane. He wrote about what he saw, saying “it was interesting to see how just the sight of the mountain could impact so many people regardless of their nationality.” Upon his arrival, Brian visited the Kathmandu Early Childhood Development Center where he gave toys to the orphaned children. Snapshots of Brian’s journey – including one of a very happy child after receiving a gift from him can be seen here: http://blogs.cisco.com/collaboration/getting-to-mt-everest-landing-and-giving-in-katmandu/#more-26623

On April 1st, Brian conducted a science class for orphan children in Katmandu, Nepal via Cisco Telepresence.

Now at Mt. Everest’s base camp which stands at an incredible 17,000+ ft. above sea level, Brian is planning to hold a WebEx event to talk about his journey to date before trying to reach the summit on May 4th. You can register for the free WebEx event here: http://www.webex.com/webinars/Meeting-Mt-Everest-Live-from-the-Climb . As you can probably imagine, being so high up in a relatively remote part of the world could pose a problem when it comes to troubleshooting any connectivity issues. Thankfully, Brian has help in the form of Christopher Rose of INX who is assisting in coordinating devices, networking, and more so he will be available to speak with viewers and well-wishers via a 3G network.

With three summit climbs already under his belt: Mt. McKinley in 5/2009, Mt. Kilimanjaro in 2/2010, and Mt. Elbrus in 7/2010, Brian is excited for what is about to be his riskiest climb yet. Not one to shy away from danger, Brian is originally from Southern Oregon, and spent six years stationed in San Diego working as a helicopter rescue swimmer for the Navy. There he met his wife, JoAnna, and the couple went on to have two beautiful children, Emily and Jordan.

Brian’s personal adventure has quickly become an extraordinary global expedition that is reaching well beyond his expectations. I know I’ll be there watching his every step and sending well-wishes his way… will you?

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Level 3 Communications/Global Crossing $3 Billion Merger

Level 3 Communications is one of only six Tier 1 Internet providers in the world, and currently ranked one of the world’s most connected ISPs. Global Crossing serves 40% of Fortune 500 companies in addition to 700 ISPs, carriers, and mobile operators worldwide.

Over a decade ago, both companies raised billions to build fiber-optic networks around the globe in response to the projected demand for Internet-based services. Then, in 2001 when the telecom industry buckled, both network operators fought to stay afloat amid a slump in demand for capacity, aggressive competition, and heavy debt. As a result, Level 3 managed to avoid a swell of bankruptcies that added to the telecom industry’s estimated $2 trillion loss in market value, but took a big hit; and in the last two years alone, has endured $1.24 billion in combined losses. Global Crossing took a different route and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. A year later Global Crossing emerged under a successful reorganization plan and a new 61.5% equity shareholder that remains the largest shareholder to this day.

Now the two companies are planning to join forces.

At the start of this week, Colorado-based Level 3 announced its plan to amalgamate with New Jersey-based Global Crossing in a deal worth approximately $3 billion. The merger between two of the world’s biggest fiber-based communications service providers will take place via a tax-free, stock-for-stock transaction. Following regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions, the deal is expected to close by year’s end, and gives shareholders of Global Crossing stock 16 shares of Level 3 stock for every Global Crossing stock they possess at closing.

Level 3 has stated that the purchase will help better serve businesses, carriers, governments and providers throughout Europe and the Americas, and will reportedly create a company with connections to over 70 countries, and ownership over networks in more than 50 countries.

According to Level 3’s Chief Financial Officer, Sunit Patel, merging the two companies not only improves their credit profile and balance sheet, but also “accelerates the achievement of Level 3’s target leverage ratio of three to five times debt to Adjusted EBITDA.” Patel went on to say that, in addition to a savings of nearly $2.5 billion, he expects the acquisition “to give us the financial strength to capitalize on the many opportunities available in the global market.”

Posted in General, Global Crossing, Level 3 | No Comments »

According to Polls, Small Businesses Underestimate the Threat of Cybercrimes

Recent polls have shown that many owners of small businesses do not believe they will become the target of the countless cyber criminals traversing the Internet today. Roughly 1,000 owners of small businesses participated in a poll conducted by the National Cyber Security Alliance that covered their perceptions of the impact of cybercriminal operations and overall activity. As it turns out, small businesses have been perceived to be reactive rather than proactive when it comes to securing their data assets.

According to the National Cyber Security Alliance poll, 84 percent of small business owners concur that they have the procedures and policies in position to maintain the security of their systems and data, however only 43 percent were certain they have protection from cyber thieves. Also noted in the poll, 54 percent of owners believe they are capable of securing corporate and client data better than larger businesses, and a shocking 85 percent of owners feel like cybercriminals target larger businesses more than small businesses.

These results are in contrast to reports from security product vendors that state that cybercrimes are growing at disturbing rates, especially with the addition of electronic communications and social networking is involved.

The fact of the matter is this: small businesses – with the blend of misperceptions and increasing security threats – are at just as much of a risk as larger companies to become the victim of a cyber criminal. In addition to the above listed statistics, the National Cyber Security Alliance poll also illustrated the mounting need small business owners are beginning to see in the way of mitigation, background checks, disaster recover, and training.

In a separate survey conducted by Symantec in May of 2010 an alarming 75 percent of the region’s small businesses had been attacked by cyber criminals. Of that 75 percent, 42 percent had reported a loss of proprietary or confidential information as a result.

This is where the team at EasyT1 comes into play. Here at EasyT1, our expertly trained, professional account managers can personally assist you in finding the right protection from cyber criminals – no matter what size your business may be. We represent the finest providers in the telecommunications industry and are more than capable of determining the best possible solution available for your business. Rest assured all of our providers have passed a rugged selection process of excellence in customer service, financial strength, and network stability. We look forward to proving to you why doing business with the team at EasyT1 is the ideal decision for your business.

 

T1 Connection ||   Fractional T1

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Alleged iPad Hackers Release Sensitive Information Belonging to 120,000 Users

One of the people charged with hacking into AT&T’s network and pilfering the information and email accounts of 120,000 iPad customers, Andrew Auernheimer was freed last week on $50,000 bail, and in the meantime will reportedly go to work as a computer consultant for a friend’s company in New Jersey.

While it’s unsettling to know that an alleged thief can manage to land a job post-jail in these troubling economic times when upstanding citizens are struggling to get by and support their families, Auernheimer’s not out of the woods yet.

In February, the 25 year old was charged by federal authorities with one count of fraud in association with personal information and one count of conspiracy to access a computer devoid of authorization. Auernheimer’s accomplice, 26 year old Daniel Spitler was also charged with the same two counts. According to a criminal complaint filed with the US District Court in New Jersey, both men had written a script that collected iPad users’ personal information without consent by tricking the servers at AT&T into thinking they were connecting to another iPad.

Federal authorities claim that Auernheimer and Spitler then passed that information – along with an exclusive email list of iPad users that included reporter Diane Sawyer, producer Harvey Weinstein, and the Mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg – to the website Gawker.

Auernheimer claims he was only trying to make AT&T aware of a serious security flaw, however the US Attorney for the District of New Jersey’s press release dated January 18th states that Auernheimer and Spitler actually “conducted the breach to simultaneously damage AT&Y and promote themselves and an association of Internet hackers that disrupt Web services and content, known as Goatse Security” – and the proof lies in a series of instant messaging chats between the two defendants. In any event, federal authorities do not seem to be concerned about the Auernheimer and Spitler’s motives.

In a statement made last month by the special agent in charge on Newark’s FBI field office, Michael Ward, “unauthorized intrusions into personal privacy adversely affect individual citizens, businesses, and even national security” and that in intrusion cases such as this, the defendants “must and will be aggressively pursued to ensure these rights are protected to the highest degree” regardless of their motive – whether it was prestige among their cyber-hacking peers or criminal gain.

If Spitler and Auernheimer are convicted, the two could face a hefty fine and/or jail time. Each count carries a maximum punishment $250,000 and up to five years in prison.

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Global Crossing Debuts Cloud-Based Solution Set

Global Crossing has debuted the initial phase of its cloud-centric, network-based solution set, Communications as a Service. Communications as a Service (CaaS) provides an ground-breaking, “pay-as-you-grow” set of on-demand capabilities that have the ability to streamline your companys’ understanding of audio conferencing, taking it from several services down to a single, cloud-based service model.

The goal of CaaS is to provide customized, user-friendly, integrated communications enterprise alternatives. CaaS blends Global Crossing Ready Access hosted audio conferencing services with their SIP Trunking (Session Initiated Protocol Trunking), and IP Virtual Private Network (IP VPN) to generate a network-centric platform.

Once combined, these capabilities – along with other features – support the functionality of Global Crossing Connect Mobile. Global Crossing Connect Mobile utilizes a standard API (application programming interface) that allows end-users to host or join a conference by clicking on an emblem found on smart phones and other popular mobile devices, and has the ability to sync meetings with your calendar.

According to Global Crossing’s chief information and technology officer, Anthony Christie, the company’s CaaS is “integral” to their worldwide cloud solution strategy. Christie goes on to explain that it is “a logical extension of our competency in IP networking and collaboration, and addresses the needs of today’s businesses that want to take advantage of network-centric cloud services, while reaping the benefits of a higher quality experience and more simplistic per-seat pricing model.” Christie also states that, succeeding releases will include email, Instant Messaging, and enhanced IT, video, and telephony services.

Global Crossing’s CaaS offers a predictable monthly fee in a shared-seat billing model. Compared to per-minute pricing, shared-seat billing is more simple and foreseeable, and for a set shared-seat fee, CaaS customers have access to limitless audio conferencing minutes. Shared-seat billing increases your business’ overall communications while decreasing your need for business travel and the time and costs associated with it, and in turn, shrinks your corporate carbon footprint.

Currently, Global Crossing working on creating supplementary cloud solutions that will embrace infrastructure and storage capabilities, intrusion detection, email filtering, and dynamic firewall security protection as well as virtual compute. Forthcoming cloud-based solution additions are planning to incorporate hosted software applications as well as a hosted application development environment in order to support strategic opportunities.

CaaS is also incorporated into Global Crossing’s online account management tool, uCommand for seat-based utilization reporting. Global Crossing uCommand provides network management capabilities, performance monitoring in real-time, and access to network services.

Global Crossing says it’s already proven the cost-savings value of CaaS through its own internal implementation of the solution set.  By implementing CaaS in each of its locations around the world, the company’s annual telecommunications spend has decreased 30 percent.

Posted in General, Global Crossing | No Comments »

T-Mobile and Sprint Are Discussing a Merger

Rumour has it that T-Mobile USA will be sold to Sprint Nextel.

The merger is believed to be a solution to the widening gap between the two companies and the likes of Verizon Wireless and AT&T. T-Mobile’s owner, Deutsche Telekom, has reportedly been holding “on and off” merger discussions with Sprint Nextel, but has not been able to come to terms on the value of T-Mobile USA. Another possible issue could be that Deutsche Telekom is reportedly looking for a significant stake in the merged enterprise if the deal is made – a hefty 50% to be exact.

While T-Mobile and Sprint Nextel hold the number three and four position in the wireless market, the emergence of popular smart phones (like the iPhone)is hindering their rise to the top of the market. And now that Verizon has added iPhones to their growing list of products, it seems as though, barring a huge shake-up in the market, T-Mobile and Sprint are destined to lag behind their larger rivals indefinitely.

So what is a realistic asking price for T-Mobile? According to T-Mobile’s earnings report, their revenue was a little over $21 billion. That falls slightly behind Sprint’s revenue that was said to be over $32 billion. An analyst with Evolution Securities in London believes that T-Mobile could be valued at anywhere from $15 to 20 billion; and although T-Mobile does flaunt their 4G network, the amount decreased due to last quarter’s drop in profits.

Previously, it was reported that T-Mobile may possibly purchase spectrum from Clearwire as a backup to a merger with Sprint. Likewise, last month it was reported that LightSquared was discussing speeding up its infrastructure development at a lower cost with Sprint.

After the news broke, Deutsche Telekom’s stock rose almost 4% while Sprint’s climbed almost 5%. Tell us what you think. Do you believe the merger would be a good idea? Could a combination of Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile finally be innovative and powerful enough to take on the likes of AT&T and Verizon Wireless? Share your thoughts with us, or better yet, contact one of our account managers today to see what our services at EasyT1.net can offer your business. Who knows, with the right data and Internet, managed and professional, or voice and VoIP solution, your business could become so successful you’ll begin your own merger talks. Call us today!

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Web Hosting Services

A managed webhosting service is the best way to maintain your website and domain network. Managed webhosting is fully customizable, and saves you the trouble of troubleshooting the network, patching it through to the WAN, and monitoring the system’s status.

By outsourcing the management of your network, you free up manpower and resources that would have been otherwise devoted to the maintenance of your network and system. Third-party webhosting services also provide a 24-hour maintenance crew to ensure the rapid recovery of any system failures that may occur.

Watch out for these services

The best way to know if a webhosting service provider is worth your time is to check what their set of services includes.

A decent level of services should include a secure way of connecting and transporting files to the remote web host. The most secure method of transferring files to a remote server usually involves file transfer protocols by using a third-party program for Windows (FTP) and secure shell protocol for Unix-based computers. File transfers should pass through SSL (or transport layer security) protocols in order to ensure that the data integrity of what you’re sending is never compromised.

Support for troubleshooting and maintenance is key and should include full, functional, and timely phone and email support that is available round the clock. The ability to enable a user ID to access your FTP server from a remote location is also important when looking for the perfect webhost. However, you should be able to limit this function, prohibiting full access to parent directories when necessary.

Your server should let you design and publish your own website, either via FTP or via a built-in CMS provided by the service. This includes personal websites/ blogs, or fully functional e-commerce websites that sell products over the Internet.

If you plan on selling through your website, then your webhost should at least allow you to install scripts that are native to PayPal payments. Ideally, an e-commerce friendly webhost will provide you with a suite of e-commerce friendly functions. This includes support for Zen Cart, space for an unlimited number of products and categories, as well as support for merchant accounts.

If you want to be able to update the contents of your website without having to go through the HTML code, you may want to find out what CMS your webhosting provider has to offer. Otherwise, you should check if the server will allow you to install an API, such as WordPress, to facilitate the management of content on your website.

On a final note, POP3 service access and webmail options are generally included in most webhosting packages today. However, it wouldn’t hurt to check the webmail hosting details of the hosting service provider you are considering.

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