Newswatch

Tata Teleservices, AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint all posted revenue growth in the first quarter. Mobile data was the big driver, which comes as no surprise. Sandvine's internet traffic report revealed just how much data we're streaming through our wireless devices, and CTIA Research indicated a 123 percent jump in mobile data traffic in the United States. Carriers are reporting lower levels of churn as well, which flies in the face of a research report from Strategy Analytics that pegged worldwide mobile loyalty at an all time low.

In the equipment sector, ZTE's revenue grew nearly 30 percent, while Ericsson's revenue fell 4 percent. Similarly, Huawei's international revenues were up over 14 percent, while Alcatel-Lucent's revenues fell more than 12 percent. Juniper Networks also felt the pinch, reporting an 8 percent drop in revenue.

Acquisitions

If you've got the money to spend, acquisition is the quickest path to a new business opportunity, and several of these stories made headlines this month.

The biggest news in acquisitions land came from Vodafone. The massive corporation engaged in a difficult takeover of Cable & Wireless Worldwide (CWW). CWW's chief shareholder rejected Vodafone's bid of roughly $1.7 billion, saying it demonstrated that Vodafone undervalued CWW. Vodafone went to the shareholders for support, successfully garnering the support of at least 75 percent in order to push the sale through. Vodafone also promised an additional investment into CWW, which was undisclosed at press time.
 
The converged all-IP network is a future Acme Packet prepared for with the $21 million purchase of IPTEGO GmbH, an IP communications network management software company. "Both enterprise and service provider customers are looking for ways to optimize their IP communications networks--not only to reduce cost and complexity, but also to better deploy new value-adding applications and services," Andy Ory, Acme Packet’s president and chief executive officer said. "The addition of IPTEGO’s software to the Acme Packet portfolio enables us to help customers get the most out of their IP communications networks with unique, real-time management capabilities."