Cisco inks deal with Chinese govt

Networking giant Cisco has announced new collaboration deals with the Chinese public sector as it aims to strengthen its foothold in the world's fastest growing economy, says Computing.co.uk.

The deals will see Cisco and the Chinese government work together on IT research and development, education, procurement, investment and training.

"Cisco's public-private collaboration within China not only helps accelerate these business efforts, but also helps the 1.3 billion people and growing number of entrepreneurs within the country gain access to social and economic opportunities afforded by the Internet," said Cisco CEO John Chambers.

Telecoms giant AT&T plans to lay off 1.5% of its employees, primarily in management, in an effort to streamline its operations, the company announced on Friday, reports ITWorld.

AT&T had about 310 000 employees at the end of 2007, meaning the layoffs would affect about 4 650 workers. The layoffs are the "next step" in streamlining company operations in an effort to operate more efficiently after recent mergers between parent company SBC, the old AT&T and BellSouth, the company said in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

AT&T expects its total number of employees to remain stable in 2008 "as the company hires additional employees to support growth areas", AT&T said in the filing. In 2007, the company added about 7 000 employees, said Walt Sharp, an AT&T spokesman.

Several large Internet service providers (ISPs), namely Comcast Communications, AT&T, Time Warner and Verizon, were verbally battered by private citizens, free-Internet access advocates and representatives of radio stations and small ISPs at a special public hearing before the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), says eWeek.

The five-member FCC, in a session hosted by the Stanford Law School and held at Dinkelspiel Auditorium on campus, focused its fact-finding and comment-gathering session on broadband network management practices.

Comcast, the nation's second-largest ISP, has been accused of interfering with users who send large personal files through the Internet, particularly digital video and audio music using BitTorrent peer-to-peer file-sharing software.

Vietnam launched its first satellite over the weekend to provide telecommunications, broadcasting and Internet links across the country, says PCWorld.

Vinasat-1 was carried into space aboard an Ariane 5 rocket from the European spaceport in French Guiana at 7.17pm local time on Friday evening.

"With transmission capacity equivalent to 10 000 voice, Internet and data channels, or 120 TV channels, Vinasat-1 will help Vietnam bring telecommunications, Internet and television services to all isolated, mountainous and island areas where other means of transmission is not feasible," said Doan Hop Le, Vietnam's information and communications minister, in a televised speech shortly after the launch.