Mitel Networks Corp. has unveiled the Hospitality Specialist Partner designation for resellers focused on the hotel industry. Part of the Ottawa network equipment vendor's new partner program, this latest designation helps resellers and Mitel tackle a particular vertical, according to a press release. Vertical focus is something for which Mitel aims to be known, and that industry observers say is an increasingly important part of vendor success.

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As if in response to Nortel Networks' recent news regarding work with IBM Corp., Cisco Systems Inc. has announced a service-management system for carriers that combines "active network abstraction" technology and IBM's Tivoli software. Dubbed the Cisco Assurance Management Solution, it will help service providers change network configurations without changing service management and operations support system applications, according to a Cisco press release. This should make it simpler for carriers to manage IP-based services, the San Jose network equipment maker said. Cisco also pointed out that it has a long-standing alliance with IBM. Nortel touted its own stalwart relationship with IBM earlier this week, announcing an IBM server infused with Nortel VoIP capabilities.

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The Alberta Court of Queen's Bench has extended Shift Networks Inc.'s creditor protection under the Companies Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) for an additional period expiring on September 7, 2007. As previously reported in Network Letter, Calgary-based Shift began operating under bankruptcy protection of the CCAA in early May, including debtor-in-possession financing of $1.5 million (NL, May 14/07). Since that initial order on May 8, Shift has reported combined activations and new sales of over 600 Shift subscribers, as well as a reduction in operating expenditures by approximately $230,000 per month. If Shift has not filed a Plan of Arrangement by September 7 it will apply for a further extension order if considered appropriate.

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Nearly half of Canadian and US businesses prefer equipment vendors to carriers for fixed-mobile convergence (FMC), according to an InfoTrack study. The Parsippany NJ research firm found that the split between companies that prefer enterprise-centric to carrier-centric FMC internationally was narrower than it was in North America. But 22% of respondents had no preference either way. What does it all mean? According to John Lilley, an InfoTrack program director, the results give enterprise-focused FMC providers such as DiVitas Networks and Siemens AG an early advantage, but carriers have nonetheless established themselves as genuine alternatives. Canadian service providers are building FMC services, which combine various networks so users can hop from one to another without losing their communication sessions.

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