Wednesday, September 14, 2011

BroadLight Partners with Korea's ETRI on XGPON

BroadLight is collaborating with Korea's National Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) to develop and promote XGPON technology. The partnership aims to ensure a fully standardized XGPON (ITU-T G.987) initial deployment in Korea. BroadLight and ETRI are using their existing XGPON OLT and ONT technology for end to end interoperability testing. The test plan is based on efforts by FSAN to launch the first worldwide XGPON interoperability event. BroadLight plays an instrumental role in preparing this test plan as part of its active role with FSAN.
http://www.broadlight.com
http://www.etri.re.kr

Infinera Unveils Next Step in Photonic Integrated Circuits -- 500 Gbps

Infinera introduced its third generation, 500 Gbps photonic integrated circuit (PIC) -- the foundation for its new DTN-X multi-terabit switching platform designed for scaling core networks. The 500 Gbps PIC integrates more than 600 optical functions and works by converting light waves into electrical circuits, which can then be switched and groomed with digital signal processing.


The DTN-X combines three core functions-- a) a DWDM transmission system, offering 500 Gig super-channels based upon 100 Gig coherent channels, b) an OTN switch that scales from 5 Tbps non-blocking at ODU 0 today to 100-terabit non-blocking in the future; and c) a platform that can be upgraded to MPLS in the future.


Infinera believes that these key innovations will lead to the next economic disruption in the network, as very large pools of bandwidth can now be easily created, directed and managed across a fiber network. The 500 Gbps super-channel capability is unique in the industry and Infinera plans to support 1 Tbps super-channels in the future with another new PIC which is already in the lab.


The DTN-X combines PICs, custom ASICs and GMPLS software to deliver 5 Tbps of non-blocking, ITU G.709 Optical Transport Network (OTN) switching in a single bay for grooming traffic onto larger 100 Gbps and 500 Gbps pipes to maximize network utilization. Future iterations of the platform will be upgradeable to resilient multi-bay configurations providing 100 Tbps of non-blocking OTN and MPLS switching.


The embedded GMPLS software provides automatic topology discovery an inventory management. It also enables point and click end-to-end service provisioning, as well as <50ms hardware based protection for mesh & ring configurations.


The new DTN-X is interoperable with Infinera's existing DTN platform and is planned to support 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10 GbE), 40 Gigabit Ethernet (40 GbE), 100 Gigabit Ethernet (100 GbE), 10 Gbps SONET/SDH/OTN, 40 Gbps SONET/SDH/OTN, 100 Gbps OTN, 8/10 Gbps Fibre Channel, and multiple bit rate clear-channel interfaces.


Infinera also announced the availability of new capabilities on the DTN platform, including:



  • new 40 GbE and 100 GbE service interfaces to support high-bandwidth data services

  • new DWDM line-cards supporting 40 Gbps per wavelength coherent optical transmission, enabling the DTN platform to scale up to 6.4 Tbps of transmission capacity per fiber.
http://www.infinera.com

  • Infinera introduced its 100 Gig PIC and DTN platform in 2004.


  • Infinera currently claims 85 customers in 50 countries who have deployed over 8,000 DTN chassis systems.


  • Last month Infinera and SEACOM, a leading pan-African telecommunications provider, has completed testing of five 100 Gigabit per second (100 Gbps) coherent optical signals transmitted over 1732 km. The 500 Gbps trial ran over and was looped back across SEACOM’s newly built 930 km Dark Fibre Africa (DFA) fiber route which links the SEACOM Mtunzini cable landing station in KwaZulu Natal to the Teraco data center in Johannesburg.


    The trial used Infinera’s 500 Gbps Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs), each of which integrates five 100 Gbps coherent channels onto a single chip. The PICs were used for both transmitting and receiving the five 100 Gbps signals during the trial, the first time the PICs have been used to transmit and provide real time coherent processing for all 500 Gbps simultaneously on a production network. The trial also demonstrated Infinera’s FlexCoherent functionality by switching between QPSK and BPSK modulation.


    Infinera said it plans to deliver the 500 Gbps PICs as part of a system which integrates 5 Terabit per second (Tbps) OTN switching and 100 Gbps coherent optical transmission in early 2012.

Verizon Wireless Launches LTE In 26 New Markets

Verizon Wireless announced the launch of its LTE service in 26 additional cities and the expansion of its network in San Francisco, Indianapolis and Cleveland/Akron.


Verizon Wireless is now delivering LTE in a total of 143 markets across the United States. The carrier is currently offering 11 4G LTE-enabled device, including the new DROID BIONIC by Motorola which is the first Verizon Wireless smartphone to combine 4G LTE with the power of dual-core 1 GHz processors, 1 GB of RAM and a stunning 4.3-inch qHD display.


"We've followed an aggressive roll out plan for our 4G LTE network, and consumers and businesses can connect today to the fastest 4G LTE network in the country with nearly a dozen devices,�? said David Small, chief technical officer of Verizon Wireless.


Verizon Wireless also noted that it now has 11 rural operators that have announced their participation in its LTE in Rural America program and have leased spectrum covering, in total, more than 2.1 million people in rural communities and nearly 62,000 square miles. These companies include: Bluegrass Cellular, Carolina West/Clear Stream, Cellcom, Chariton Valley, Convergence Technologies, Cross Telephone, Custer Telephone Cooperative, Pioneer Cellular, S&R Communications, Strata Networks and Thumb Cellular. http://www.verizonwireless.com

AT&T Confirms LTE Launch for Sunday

AT&T confirmed plans to launch its first five LTE markets this Sunday, September 18.


While AT&T believes the pending T-Mobile acquisition will be approved and implemented, AT&T is not standing still but pushing forward in a number of areas, said John Stephens, CFO at AT&T, speaking at the Bank Of America Merrill Lynch Conference. The company is not discussing any Plan B regarding the acquisition. Among the hottest areas of growth, Stephens cited Uverse, which is now the nation's fastest growing paid TV service with 3.4 million subscribers. ARPU for Uverse is currently $170 and the Uverse business now represents a $6.5 billion annual revenue stream.


Another note from the conference, Stephens said the tiered pricing model for mobile data services has worked out well for AT&T. The company now has 15 million customers on these plans and there was no spike in churn when plans were introduced. In addition, 50% of post-paid customers are now using smartphones.


A webcast of the Bank Of America Merrill Lynch Conference session is on the company's Investor relations page. http://www.att.com http://www.veracast.com/webcasts/baml/media2011/id44929300.cfm



  • AT&T announced that its first LTE devices will be the AT&T USBConnect Momentum 4G and the AT&T Mobile Hotspot Elevate 4G, both of which support fallback to the HSPA+ network. AT&T will offer same $50 plan for 5 GB of data as is currently available for USBConnect or Mobile Hotspot customers on the HSPA+ network.


    AT&T has previously announced plans to roll out 4G LTE in five markets – Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio – this summer. By the end of 2011, AT&T plans to offer 4G LTE to customers in at least 15 markets, covering 70 million Americans.

ZTE Wins China Unicom Transmission Contract

ZTE announced a contract with China Unicom to provide more than 70% of the transmission equipment for network upgrades in 15 provinces across China. Financial terms were not disclosed.


As part of the project, ZTE will provide its ZXONE 8000 series OTN and ZXONE 5800 MSTP equipment. The contract covers 70% of the China Unicom OTN and WDM contracts and over 90% of its MSTP deployments.


As a result of a rapid increase of WCDMA users and in-depth 3G strategic layout, China Unicom has committed to building a powerful PTN network for 3G and LTE. It also is committed to promoting next-generation optical networks such as OTN. The ZTE contract marks the first time China Unicom will make a large-scale purchase of OTN equipment.

http://www.zte.com.cn

Skorpios Raises $19 Million for Silicon Photonics

Skorpios Technologies, a start-up based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, raised $19 million in Series B round of financing for its composite silicon photonic technology.


Skorpios Technologies has developed an advanced Composite Semiconductor on Insulator Technology promising lower cost, reduced size, and decreased power dissipation compared to traditional technology approaches. The technology allows the generation, detection and modulation of light to be monolithically integrated with high-speed electronic circuits in a standard CMOS-compatible process known as Composite-Semiconductor on Insulator (C-SOI)


Ericsson, Nokia Siemens Networks and other leaders in the communications ecosystem participated in the funding. Also participating were founding investors Cottonwood Technology Fund and Sun Mountain Capital.


The company said the funds will be used to complete the commercialization of its technology.


"We are obviously very pleased to have closed such a substantial funding round and thrilled to have the support of industry leaders from throughout the communication networking ecosystem," said Stephen Krasulick, President and CEO of Skorpios Technologies. http://www.skorpiosinc.com

Australia's Optus Sets LTE Launch for April 2012

Optus announced plans to launch commercial LTE service in April 2012. The rollout will begin with Newcastle, Port Stephens, the Hunter Valley and Lake Macquarie areas. A 4G capital city rollout will begin next month with Phase One to deliver LTE services in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth from mid-2012. Phase Two of the rollout will see an expansion of 4G LTE services to other capital cities and selected regional centres.


Optus also announced that it just became the first Australian carrier to be awarded a licence to trial LTE services in the 700 MHz spectrum band. A trial will take place in Bendigo, Victoria and will be the first time in Australia that the former analogue TV frequency will be used for 4G services and applications. Huawei has been selected for this trial.
https://www.optus.com.au

Nokia Siemens Networks Cites Packet Core Dominance in India

Nokia Siemens Networks announced that its intelligent mobile packet core solution has been selected by five mobile operators in India: with Bharti Airtel, Datacom, Idea Cellular, Tata Teleservices and Uninor. Its platforms are carrying data traffic from all 22 circles in India serving around 250 million subscribers, the highest in the country.


The Nokia Siemens Networks Evolved Packet Core solution consists of Flexi NS (Network Server) and Flexi NG (Network Gateway) and provides unique flexibility with 4D scaling. The company noted that it also provides managed services to many of the operator circles where it is providing its packet core solution. http://www.nsn.com

Alcatel-Lucent Tests 400G Network Processor with Spirent's Gear

Alcatel-Lucent is using Spirent Communications' testing tools to validate the performance of its new FP3 400G network processor in advance of its commercial introduction. Specifically, the Spirent TestCenter HyperMetrics mX 40/100G is being used to test the FP3-based Service Router modules under real-world scenarios with high-scale services and traffic.

http://www.spirent.com/ethernethttp://www.alcatel-lucent.com/fp3/

  • In June 2011, Alcatel-Lucent unveiled its 400 Gbps, "FP3" network processor for enabling the full stack of services over IP routers. The FP3 processor, which is scheduled to appear in Alcatel-Lucent's service router portfolio in 2012, supports 400 Gbps line rates, sufficient for handling 70,000 simultaneous High Definition video streams. It leverages 40nm process technology and represents the evolution of the company's 100 Gbps FP2 silicon, which was introduced in 2008 using 90nm process technology. It packs 288 RISC cores operating at 1 GHz. This compares with 112 cores at 840 MHz in the previous generation FP2 device. The new design uses 50% less power per bit than its predecessor.