George A. Chidi Jr

Software maker Novell Inc. announced 1,400 job cuts on Nov. 15, citing the overall IT market decline and expectations for a slow recovery next year.

About six per cent of international voice call volume travels over the Internet instead of traditional telephone networks, sidestepping some of the more expensive aspects of cross-border telecommunication, according to a report from TeleGeography Inc.

Network equipment users will find fewer avenues to seek new equipment, as the big international vendors like Brampton, Ont.-based Nortel Networks Corp. and Motorola Inc. pull out of some markets to focus on their core lines of business, a market study from Stamford, Conn.-based Gartner Inc. predicted on Monday.

Global competition drove a wedge in the cozy relationships between telecommunication and network equipment suppliers and the big businesses and telecommunication service providers buying their products. And it seems times are changing again.

With telecommunication service providers using packet-based transmissions like voice over IP (Internet Protocol) for phone calls more often, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) wants U.S. carriers to help make those new kinds of networks easier to tap, according to a report.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requested additional information into the workings of the proposed merger between Hewlett-Packard Co. (HP) and Compaq Computer Corp., according to documents HP filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Thursday.

A security study released last month sounded another call to arms for network administrators to secure wireless networks, showing how hackers can use traditional methods to attack otherwise secure fixed networks from a wireless entry point.

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced Wednesday the creation of a council to craft contingency plans addressing a possible attack against the nation's telecommunications infrastructure and to plan for maintaining essential communications during emergencies.