Link | Solarflare Gets $26M for 10 GigE ( for running total of $126M) - GigaOM

Solarflare Gets $26M for 10 GigE - GigaOM remember when chip startups were “acquired” for less than $126M.

Link | Big Growth for the Internet Ahead, Cisco Says - GigaOM

Big Growth for the Internet Ahead, Cisco Says - GigaOM: Om is “happy” with Cisco’s new traffic forecast of 46% annual growth for 2007 to 2012.

Link | An Application Specific Semi Vendors Dream Story | EETimes.com - The truth about last year’s Xbox 360 recall

EETimes.com - The truth about last year’s Xbox 360 recall: tip to Andrew@Nyquist for spotting this. I had to post it ’cause it is a Application Specific Semi-vendors dream story. The gist is of the story is that MSFT decided to do their own chip design using TSMC ( what I call an ASIC - Application Specific Integrated Circuit) instead of having ATI design the chip ( which is normally called an ASSP - Application Specific Standard Product). Unfortunately, the MSFT-ASIC didn’t work and they had to go with ATI in the end.

I’m sure that the sales and marketing departments of PMCS, VTSS, AMCC, BRCM, MRVL, ATI, etc are loving this story.

I have to say that the usage of ASSP and ASIC in this EE Times story was butchered very badly.

Link | Seth’s Blog: Not so grand

Seth’s Blog: Not so grand: Seth had a great string of posts last week. I particularly like this posting bashing of gala’s and grand openings. It also includes this gem — “Most overnight successes take a decade (okay, four years online).”

Link | A VC: Managing “Unproductive” Meetings

A VC: Managing “Unproductive” Meetings: Fred’s got some good points. I like “1) Limit the length of the meeting upfront. ( and that 30 min is a good limit).” and “6) Ask the person who you met with to follow up with an email with the specific request they are making of you.”

Link | 1.9m FTTH ports ship in Q108 - fibresystems.org (DITTBERNER)

1.9m FTTH ports ship in Q108 - fibresystems.org: Here are some bullet points

• FTTH shipments rose to 1.9 Million ports which was an 11% quarterly increase and a 33% YoY increase
• Japan with 7 Million homes and 2 Million apartments connected with fiber is the largest installed base and a bigger market than Korea and the USA combined.”

Link | The $199 iPhone: still a money maker - EETimes.com

EETimes.com - The $199 iPhone: still a money maker: Amazing how quickly BOMs drop in consumer electronics.

“The first phone had a bill of materials estimated at $170 at launch, but the iPhone 3G could have a BOM as low as $100 when it debuts July 11, said David Carey, president of Portelligent, a division of TechInsights, the publisher of EE Times.”

tip to Kedrosky’s blog for pointing me to this.

Link | Redback Targets AlcaLu - Again! - Light Reading

Light Reading - Ethernet - Redback Targets AlcaLu - Again! - Telecom News Analysis: This begs the question “Just how many Carrier Ethernet switches can the market really support?”.

My “gut” tells me that this telco equipment industry attempt to unseat Cisco in Modular Ethernet market, only helps Cisco. My reasoning is that Cisco has the enormous enterprise market and the currently modest carrier market to support its developments. With all the new guys fighting in the carrier segment at some point they’re gonna say “this market isn’t big enuff”. Then their ego’s will get the better of them and then they’ll try to take Cisco head-on in enterprise. ( ie they’ll lose focus and go the way of 3Com, Cabletron, Bay, etc ).

It is ironic, but the Huawei approach (which is along the lines of the old 3Com, Cabletron, etc) is more likely to make inroads today. Cisco’s biggest issue is commoditization, not features. They’ll win on features any day.

Link | Thoughts on Infinera’s success ( and why switch fabrics suck as a semi product ) » Telecom Ramblings

Thoughts on Infinera’s success: I always like how innovation is not always in the product. It can be pricing too. Kind of ironic for such a cosmic product innovation like the Infinera PIC to require an innovative pricing structure.

“Then, Infinera rolls out its new systems with a pricing model where their base systems are priced almost at cost, with the modules the plug into it and the software licensing being where the actual money is made over time.”

I believe that this give-away-the-base-box and make-it-up-in-the linecards is not a new strategy. It’s been around for a long time. Box vendors have been trying to hide the fabric forever. From a semi-vendors perspective this need to hide the fabric is exactly why “switch fabrics” are such a horrible semi-product. The box vendor rarely makes any money on it

Link | Telco 2.0: Ring! Ring! Hot News, 9th June 2008

Telco 2.0: Ring! Ring! Hot News, 9th June 2008: Telco 2.0’s weekly news summary. enjoy.

“In Today’s Issue: FTel/Teliasonera nightmare off; Singtel/Indosat off; visual voicemail for all; iPhones to be 50% subsidised; David Isenberg, underworld spy; DTAG, spy; VZW buys Alltel; secret Phorm docs; Android-Access row, but mobile Linux marches on; 3GPP femto standard less unready than before; 3UK crash; Qtel spends a billion in Iraq”