Qualcomm Positions for More Powerful Enterprise Femto Networks

Qualcomm introduced three enterprise Femtocell Station Modem (FSM) chipsets supporting up to 32 active users. These chipsets complement the currently available FSM 3G femtocell chipsets that feature eight user versions targeting the residential market with hardware and software compatibility. The company also announced a Femto-Wi-Fi hardware reference design that integrates these FSM enterprise solutions with Qualcomm Atheros 802.11n Wi-Fi AR9350 and AR9344 access point solutions.


Qualcomm's FSM chipsets support both CDMA2000 and UMTS/HSPA+ network technologies and include a baseband modem, RF, network listen, GPS and an application processor.


Qualcomm is first releasing enterprise FSM chipsets for UMTS and CDMA supporting 16 users. Both the Femto-Wi-Fi integration hardware platform and the CDMA version of the FSM chipset with the expanded 32-user support are scheduled for availability in the second half of 2011.


Qualcomm is featuring "UltraSON" interference and mobility management algorithms, which provide robust wireless coverage while ensuring that the femtocells do not interfere with macrocells while providing hand-off capabilities between macrocells and other femtocells.


The company said that providing increased support for up to 32 active users, its FSM chipset will provide the capability to address larger cell sites, such as metro-femtocells and picocells, allowing more simultaneous users to connect to the femtocell and access cellular networks in challenging environments where reception is poor. The integrated Femto-Wi-Fi reference designs allow operators to create access points that let their enterprise customers connect to both Wi-Fi and cellular networks through a single gateway and coordinate the services delivery via either access technology.


The Qualcomm Atheros AR9350 and AR9344 Wi-Fi SoCs support all modes of 802.11n in both bands and include Ethernet, routing and management functions.
http://www.qualcomm.com

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American Jobs Act Includes Spectrum Provision

The American Jobs Act presented by President Obama highlights urges support for the bipartisan legislation from Senators Rockefeller and Hutchison, including an investment to develop and deploy a nationwide, interoperable wireless network for public safety. The plan includes reallocating the D Block for public safety (costing $3 billion) and $7 billion to support the deployment of this network and technological development to tailor the network to meet public safety requirements.
http://www.whitehouse.gov

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Broadcom to acquire NetLogic for $3.7 Billion

Broadcom will acquire NetLogic Microsystems in a deal valued at $3.7 billion ($50 per share) net of cash assumed.


NetLogic Microsystems, which is based in Santa Clara, California, adds a number of critical new product lines and technologies to Broadcom's portfolio, including knowledge-based processors, multi-core embedded processors, and digital front-end processors.


"This transaction delivers on all fronts for Broadcom's shareholders -- strategic fit, leading-edge technology and significant financial upside," said Scott McGregor, Broadcom's President and CEO. "With NetLogic Microsystems, Broadcom is acquiring a leading multi-core embedded processor solution, market leading knowledge-based processors, and unique digital front-end technology for wireless base stations that are key enablers for the next generation infrastructure build-out. Broadcom is now better positioned to meet growing customer demand for integrated, end-to-end communications and processing platforms for network infrastructure."


The companies expect the deal to close in the first half of 2012. Broadcom currently expects the acquisition to be accretive to earnings per share by approximately $0.10 on a non-GAAP basis in 2012.


Broadcom today also reiterated its business outlook for the third quarter of 2011. Broadcom expects revenue around the middle of the previously-guided range of $1.9 billion and $2.0 billion, GAAP product gross margins of flat to up slightly and GAAP research & development and selling, general and administrative expenses of flat to down $10 million in the third quarter of 2011. By the end of the third quarter, Broadcom also expects to have approximately $4.2 billion in cash and cash equivalents on hand, up from approximately $3.8 billion at the end of the second quarter.
http://www.broadcom.com
http://www.netlogicmicro.com

• Last week, NetLogic Microsystems unveiled its next generation of XLP II family of processors based on 28nm process technology, packing up to 80 high-performance NXCPUs per chip, and promising 5-7x performance enhancement over the existing XLP processors. Target applications for the new multi-core devices include next-generation LTE mobile infrastructure, data center, enterprise networking, storage and security platforms. NetLogic said its XLP II processor family is designed to deliver over 100 Gbps of network processing performance per device and over 800 Gbps in a clustered, fully-coherent system. The devices integrate up to 80 high-performance NXCPUs per chip, featuring an enhanced quad-issue, quad-threaded, superscalar out-of-order processor architecture capable of operating at up to 2.5 GHz to provide unmatched control and data plane processing and low-power profile.




• In July, NetLogic Microsystems reported Q2 2011 revenue of $103.7 million, a 5.1% sequential increase from $98.7 million for the first quarter of 2011 and a 9.1% increase from $95.0 million for the second quarter of 2010. Net loss (GAAP) was $35.2 million or $0.51 per diluted share. By comparison, GAAP net loss was $4.8 million or $0.08 per diluted share for the second quarter of 2010.




• In March 2011, NetLogic agreed to acquire Optichron, a privately-held, fabless semiconductor provider of 3G/4G LTE base station digital front-end (DFE) processors, for approximately $77 million in cash, $22 million for restricted stock units for employees of Optichron, and a possible maximum earn-out or approximately $108.5 million payable in 2013 if certain milestones are met. Optichron, which is based in Fremont, California, offers DFE technology for next-generation LTE systems requiring the highest data rates and lowest power consumption. The company said its DFE processors have been designed into next-generation base stations by multiple original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).


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  Broadcom's Previous Acquisitions
  SC Square	security software	$42 million	May 2011
  Provigent	microwave radio silicon	$313 million	March 2011
  Beceem	multimode LTE/WiMAX chipsets	$316 million	October 2010
  Innovision	near field communications	$47.5 million	June 2010
  Teknovus	EPON silicon	$123 million	February 201
  Sunext Design	Blu-ray	$48 million	March 2008
  Global Locate	GPS	$146 million	June 2007
  Sandburst	Ethernet switching silicon	$80 million	January 2006
  Athena Semi	DVB-H	$21.6 million	October 2005






• In 2009, NetLogic Microsystems acquired RMI, a developer of multi-core, multi-threaded processors, in a deal valued at approximately $175 million. The merger helped NetLogic Microsystems to expand into the high-performance "data-in-flight" processing segment. RMI's portfolio included its XLP, XLR and XLS Multi-Core, Multi-Threaded Processors, complementing NetLogic Microsystems' existing portfolio of knowledge-based processors, content processors, network search engines and 10-100 Gigabit Ethernet PHY products.



• Ron Jankov has served as President, Chief Executive Officer and a member of the board of directors of NetLogic Microsystems since April 2000.



• NetLogic Microsystems went public on July 9, 2004.

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NTT Opens new POP in Sao Paulo

NTT Communications has extended the reach of its Tier 1 Global IP Network with a new Point of Presence (PoP) location in Sao Paulo, Brazil.


"The Latin American telecommunications sector is quickly becoming a crucial part of the worldwide market, so it's an optimum time for NTT America and NTT do Brasil to leverage the NTT Communications Global IP Network to provide a stable and dependable infrastructure to meet the broadband demands of service providers and consumers in the area,�? said Yukio Adachi, president of NTT do Brasil.
http://www.ntt.co.jp

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RED-C Intros Next Gen ROADM Amplifiers

RED-C Optical Networks introduced a new set of amplifiers specifically designed to target next generation ROADM networks. These include a variety of high density EDFA packages for integration in ROADM line cards, as well as a new four-pump Hybrid Raman-EDFA module enabling dynamic path reconfiguration.


RED-C said its new model provides seamless integration of a distributed Raman pre-amplifier and a variable gain EDFA in a single compact module. The integrated Hybrid control circuitry operates in advanced AGC mode so that the combined Raman and EDFA gain is accurately measured and controlled, including fast transient suppression. The module operation and interface are similar to those of a traditional variable gain EDFA, and therefore requires no special system adaptations. Thanks to advanced laser safety mechanisms the module is classified as Class 1M with respect to laser safety. http://www.red-c.com

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Verizon Deploys 100G on 10 ULH Routes this Year

Verizon is expanding its deployment of 100G technology on ultra-long-haul portions of its U.S. backbone network to more than 10 routes in 2011. The installations use 100G coherent optical transport technology from Ciena.


"We're seeing not only growth in traffic, but also in the need for immediacy from our customers that are managing financial transactions, health care data exchange, energy services and entertainment on-the-go," said Ihab Tarazi, vice president of global network planning at Verizon. "With 100G, Verizon will be able to help meet those demands more efficiently and with better performance."


The installation uses the same 100G equipment from Ciena that was deployed in Europe earlier this year.
http://www.verizon.com

• In March 2011, Verizon activated a 100 Gigabit Ethernet link for an IP backbone on a portion of its European long-haul network between Paris and Frankfurt, a distance of 893 km. The deployment uses Juniper Networks' routers and Ciena's 100G Ethernet coherent optical transport solution.

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Juniper Upgrades Switching Fabric in MX 3D Edge Routers

Juniper Networks released a new 3.8 Terabits per second switch fabric for its MX 3D Universal Edge Routers. The new switch fabric, which can be installed in an existing MX Series chassis while in the router remains in service, enables full 120 Gbps through-put per interface slots.


The capacity upgrade applies to all MX Series services, including Juniper's MobileNext open mobile core for next-generation wireless networks.


Juniper also noted that a single MX960 can support eight million mobile subscribers or 10,000 business virtual private networks (VPNs). With the new capacity, a single MX960 is also capable of processing more than 8 billion views on YouTube a day. http://www.juniper.netEarlier this year, Juniper introduced its strategy (project Falcon) for delivering 2G/3G and LTE evolved packet core functions via a MobileNext Broadband Gateway providing GGSN/P-GW/ S-GW, MobileNext Control Gateway providing SGSN/MME, as well as a MobileNext Policy Manager providing PCRF functions. The MobileNext Broadband Gateway software, which runs on the company's MX 3D Universal Edge platform, promises scalability of mobile sessions, set up rates and forwarding capacity and a programmable platform for rapid service innovation.

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Cisco Expands ASR 9000 Edge Routing Family

Cisco introduced three new ASR 9000 Series Aggregation Services Routers aimed at supporting the proliferation of new mobile Internet services and devices such as tablets, smartphones and connected appliances on carrier networks. These include:


Cisco ASR 901 cell site router -- a high-capacity, low-power router for 2G, 3G and 4G mobile cell sites. Clocking options include TDM, BITS, 1588v2, and SyncE;


Cisco ASR 903 unified Ethernet access router -- a 3RU, fully redundant Ethernet access device for business, residential and mobile applications. It can also aggregate cell sites and use MPLS as a transport for Radio Access Network (RAN) backhaul traffic;


Cisco ASR 9001 small edge router -- a smaller version of the popular Cisco ASR 9000 Series edge router for smaller deployments. The 2RU unit delivers 120 Gbps of capacity. The Cisco ASR 9001 has an integrated route switch processor (RSP) and two modular bays, which support 1 Gigabit Ethernet, 10 Gigabit Ethernet, and 40 Gigabit Ethernet modular port adapters;


The platforms leverage Cisco's advanced nV (Network Virtualization) technology, which intelligently blends the network edge, aggregation and access layers into a single 96 Tbps system.


Cisco noted that is now has over 500 service provider customers for the ASR 9000 series, including recently announced customers: Polish Telecom (Poland), PCCW (Hong Kong), US Signal (U.S.), Comcast (U.S.), China Telecom (China), Tata Communications (India), FastWeb (Italy), Cox Communications (U.S.), NTT Plala (Japan), Kabel Deutschland (Germany), Charter Communications (U.S.) and Consolidated Communications (U.S.) and 3 Scandinavia (Denmark and Sweden).

http://www.cisco.com

• In June 2011, Cisco rolled out a series of enhancements for its ASR 9000 series edge and aggregation routers with a new high-capacity chassis, new 10 GigE and 100 GigE interface cards, a virtualization technology for linking edge routers into a single management plane, and a content-caching service module. With this rollout, the company is introduced two new members of the ASR 9000 family: the high-capacity ASR 9922 and the compact ASR 9000V. The ASR 9922 is designed to deliver application layer services quickly and reliably.
  
  A key design criteria for the new platform was to increase scalability, and this is achieved with the ASR 9922's 20-slot chassis and the new high-density line cards. The first of these high-density line cards supports 24 full-rate 10 GigE ports in a single slot. Transport optimized and service optimized versions of this line card will be offered. The second card offers dual 100 GigE ports. Even at full line rate with small packets, it fully protected with redundant switching fabrics.
  
  
  The new ASR 9000V is an access and aggregation router for the intelligent edge. Cisco is tying these edge routers together with a new technology that it is calling Cisco Network Virtualization (nV). This enables Service Providers to manage thousands of ASR 9000vs as though they were a single device, greatly simplifying network operations. The nV technology allows the ASR 9000v to operate as a "virtual distributed line card". Cisco said this enables it to scale to tens of thousands of Gigabit Ethernet ports under a single, managed ASR 9000 system.
  
  
  Cisco is also introduced a distributed content caching card for the ASR 9000 series. This module combines compute capabilities with over 3 TB of solid state storage. The idea is store video content in the edge or aggregation router itself, closer to the viewer. Apart from video caching, the integrated service module could support a new generation of applications that require responsive content caching and advanced subscriber management.

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Major Telecom and Networking Acquisitions in 2011 So Far (some pending)

2011 Major Networking Acquisitions (some pending)
Buyer	Target

Broadcom	NetLogic	Multi-core embedded processors	9/12/2011
Cisco	Versly	collaboration plug-ins	8/29/2011
Verizon	CloudSwitch	cloud interconnect for enterprise apps	8/25/2011
Ericsson	Telenor Connexion	M2M tools	8/24/2011
Cisco	Axioss Software	service fulfillment software	8/22/2011
Skype	GroupMe	mobile group messaging	8/21/2011
Amdocs	Bridgewater	policy management for 3G/4G networks	8/17/2011
Google	Motorola Mobility	patents, mobile devices, set-top boxes	8/15/2011
F5	Crescendo	application acceleration technology	8/15/2011
Time Warner Cable	Insight	750,000 cable customers	8/15/2011
ADTRAN	Bluesocket	virtual LAN technology	8/9/2011
Windstream	PAETEC	national CLEC, 36,700 fiber mile network, 7 DCs	8/1/2011
CA Technologies	Watchmouse	Saas-based monitoring	7/29/2011
Tektronix	Optametra	100G Coherent Lightwave Signal Analyzer	7/26/2011
Mindspeed	IPG Communications	WCDMA signal processing technologies	7/25/2011
Dell	Force10	data center and service provider switching	7/20/2011
Riverbed	Zeus and Aptimize	web optimization technologies	7/19/2011
Intel	Fulcrum Microsystems	10/40 GbE switching silicon	7/19/2011
Citric	Cloud.com	Hypervisor-agnostic Scaling	7/12/2011
Private Equity	Go Daddy	web registry, hosting	7/1/2011
Synchronica	Nokia's operator branded messaging	white label email and IM services	6/30/2011
Private Equity	Masergy	managed, virtualized network services worldwide	6/27/2011
Ixia	VeriWave	wireless testing	6/27/2011
Charter	US Cable	16,000 cable customers in Missouri	6/24/2011
CommScope	Argus	antenna technologies	6/17/2011
Ericsson	Telcordia	service fulfillment, service assurance, OSS	6/14/2011
Qualcomm	Rapid Bridge	IC design tools	6/10/2011
CommScope	LiquidxStream	dense QAM systems	6/2/2011
Mavenir	Mobile Messaging	mobile messaging	5/30/2011
Qualcomm	Atheros	Wi-Fi silicon	5/24/2011
euNetworks	LambdaNet Deutschland	fiber networks in Germany, Czech and Austria	5/19/2011
Skyworks	SiGE Semiconductor	RF front-end chips	5/17/2011
VMWare	Shavlik	cloud-based IT management	5/16/2011
Rambus	Cryptography Research	semiconductor security	5/12/2011
Private Equity	Tollgrade Communications	network assurance solutions	5/10/2011
Microsoft	Skype	170 million Web voice users	5/10/2011
Motorola Mobility	SunUp Digital Systems	software for IPTV, digital cable, DTH	5/10/2011
NVIDIA	Icera	3G/4G baseband processors	5/9/2011
Sophos	Astaro	unified threat management	5/9/2011
Xilinx	Modelware	traffic management IP cores for 10/40/100G	5/9/2011
Broadcom	SC Square	security software	5/8/2011
Vimplecom	Vladivostok's New Telephone	mobile operator in Russia's Far East	5/6/2011
TelePacific	Orange County Internet Xchange	California CLEC	5/5/2011
TelePacific	Telekenex	California CLEC	5/5/2011
Applied Materilas	Varian	silicon wafer manufacturing	5/4/2011
RadiSys	Continous Computing	ATCA communication platforms	5/3/2011
Aurora Network	GoBackTV	cable headend and edge solutions	5/2/2011
Consortium	Nortel Networks patents		5/2/2011
Nokia Siemens Networks	Motorola Solutions' Networks assets	GSM, CDMA, WCDMA, WiMAX and LTE products	4/29/2011
Equinix	ALOG Data Centers of Brazil	data centers in Sao Paolo and Rio	4/26/2011
Neustar	Evolving Number Systems	OSS	4/21/2011
Level 3	Global Crossing	fiber network spanning 3 continents	4/11/2011
Metaswitch	Colibria	enhanced mobile messaging	4/6/2011
EMC	NetWitness	network security analysis solutions	4/4/2011
Texas Instruments	National Semiconductor	analog silicon	4/4/2011
Lightower	Open Access	network operator on Long Island	4/1/2011
Cisco	newScale	self-service portal software	3/29/2011
NetScout	Psytechnics	performance management technology	3/28/2011
Motorola Mobility	Dreampark	IPTV software	3/23/2011
AT&T	T-Mobile USA	nationwide network, spectrum, 33 million users	3/21/2011
NetLogic	Optichron	LTE Base Station Processors	3/21/2011
Broadcom	Provigent	microwave radio backhaul silicom	3/21/2011
NETGEAR	Westell Technologies	Customer Networking Solutions (CNS) division	3/18/2011
Cisco	Inlet	adaptive digital media processing	3/14/2011
Ericsson	Nortel's Multiservice Switch	switching platforms for CDMA networks	3/11/2011
NetApp	LSI's External Storage Business	Engenio external storage	3/9/2011
Overture	Hatteras Networks	carrier Ethernet systems	3/1/2011
Private equity	Conexant		2/25/2011
Interoute	KPN's fiber network in Germany	3600km fiber net in Germany	2/22/2011
CSR	Zoran	imaging and video silicon	2/21/2011
EchoStar	Hughes	broadband satellite systems	2/14/2011
Symmetricom	Brilliant Telecom	network timing	2/14/2011
PAETEC	Xeta Technologies	enterprise communication sales	2/9/2011
Time Warner Cable	NaviSite	enterprise cloud services, 10 data centers	2/1/2011
Corning	MobileAccess	distributed antenna systems	1/31/2011
Cisco	Pari Networks	net configuration and change manament tool	1/26/2011
Silicon Laboratories	SpectraLinear	network timing silicon	1/26/2011
Google	SayNow	voice messaging software	1/25/2011
Ceragon	Nera Networks	short and longhaul microwave backhaul	1/19/2011
Aerohive	Pareto	WLAN + cloud services	1/18/2011
GE	Linear Power	telco power solutions	1/13/2011
NetApp	Akorri	data center optimization tools	1/12/2011
Skype	Qik	video sharing software	1/6/2011
Avaya	Konftel	audio collaboration	1/4/2011
GENBAND	Cedar Point	VoIP switching platform	1/4/2011
Earthlink	ONE Communications		12/20/2010
Altera	Avalon	100G OTN	12/14/2010
Dell	Compellent		12/13/2010

http://www.convergedigest.com

OIF Approves 25 Gbps Common Electrical Interface IA

The Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF) members approved the Common Electrical I/O (CEI) 3.0 implementation agreement (IA), which defines electrical layer interfaces with signaling rates up to 28 Gbaud/s for next generation systems and are the next evolutionary step beyond the existing CEI IA which addressed signaling rates up to 11.2 Gbaud/s.


The CEI 3.0 electrical layers form the basis of future protocol interfaces developed by the OIF, and were developed in conjunction with the OIF's efforts to address 100 Gbaud/s networks.


“The CEI work is important to the networking industry because it paves the way to second generation 100G systems and even beyond,�? said Klaus-Holger Otto, of Alcatel-Lucent and the OIF's Technical Committee vice chair and CEI author. “Moving forward, these IAs will help to drastically reduce power and increase density of the system internal interconnects and therefore open the way for even higher integrated transmission systems in the near future.�?


CEI 3.0 defines electrical specifications for up to 28 Gbaud/s signaling for chip-to-chip applications and 25 Gbaud/s signaling for backplane applications. The CEI-28G-SR clause supports chip-to-chip interfaces up to 300 mm with one connector. The CEI-25G-LR clause supports backplane interfaces up to 680 mm with two connectors. The CEI-25 project builds on the legacy of previous generations of the CEI effort, which provided electrical signaling solutions in the 5-6 Gbaud/s and 10-11 Gbaud/s ranges. http://www.oiforum.com

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