Ericsson has struck a managed services deal valued at $1 billion with India’s Reliance Communications, covering the management of both fixed-line and mobile networks in the north and west of the country.

The contract is for an eight-year period and will see the Swedish vendor take over responsibility for the field maintenance, network operations and operational planning of Reliance Communications’ 2G, CDMA and 3G mobile networks.

First generation Carrier Ethernet already dominates WAN equipment revenue, and now Carrier Ethernet 2.0 is making it easier for Carriers to meet and exploit the demand that Carrier Ethernet has already fuelled

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Ten years ago The Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF) was founded to develop and promote a new generation of Ethernet called Carrier Ethernet. Since then Carrier Ethernet has transformed WAN and enterprise connectivity as well as providing an infrastructure to fuel soaring user expectations for mobile applications.

British telecoms incumbent BT (London, UK) has announced that Luis Alvarez will replace Jeff Kelly as chief executive of the company’s Global Services business.

Having previously served as president of BT Global Services Europe, Middle East, Africa and Latin America, Alvarez will take over from Kelly on October 1.

According to BT, Kelly has decided to return to the US, where he will continue to work for the group in a part-time capacity as a senior executive advisor.

Cisco Systems Inc, the world's biggest network equipment maker, and EMC Corp, the leading data storage company, are increasingly encroaching on each other's turfs, in a sign their long partnership may be unraveling.

Cisco and EMC have for years collaborated on designing, marketing and cross-selling their products, choosing to go after corporate customers as allies instead of competitors.

Network storage equipment maker Brocade Communication Systems Inc's third-quarter results beat Wall Street estimates, boosted by a 13 percent rise in storage equipment sales, and the company said its chief executive intends to resign.

Shares of the company rose 11 percent after the market-topping results but lost all of their gains on news of the CEO's resignation.

A faltering recovery in the United States and weakness in Europe has hit network equipment makers as telecom service providers, their biggest customers, cut spending and delay purchases of new equipment.

European telecom operators are planning to charge customers more for faster new fourth-generation (4G) mobile services in the hope of recouping massive network investments and clawing back lost pricing power.

It's a risky approach since it could put off recession-weary customers and slow the adoption of a technology that benefits telcos by lowering operating costs and helping reduce network overload.