Integra Telecom Expands Carrier Ethernet over Copper to 120 COs

Integra Telecom has expanded its Carrier Ethernet over Copper (EoC) network to more than 120 Central Offices across its 11 state, 35 metro-area footprint. This puts the EoC service in reach of more than 400,000 businesses.

The carrier operates an extensive long-haul fiber network across the western U.S. and has more than 2,000 fiber-fed buildings on-net. Integra's Ethernet Services product line is certified by the Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF) and is MEF 9 and 14 compliant.

"Integra remains committed to delivering a superior customer experience for our enterprise and wholesale customers. Ethernet is the preferred transport technology for businesses," said Joe Harding, senior vice president of marketing at Integra. "Integra's goal is to be the Ethernet service provider of choice in our markets, and this expansion underscores our commitment to this goal and the needs of our customers." http://www.integratelecom.com 

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Cisco Forecasts 4X Global IP Traffic by 2016

By 2016, annual global IP traffic is forecast to be 1.3 zettabytes – (a zettabyte is equal to a sextillion bytes, or a trillion gigabytes), according to the newly issued Cisco Visual Networking Index (VNI) Forecast (2011-2016). For comparison, the total global IP traffic generated in 2011 was 369 exabytes. The additional traffic added in 2015-2016 alone is expected to be 330 exabytes, or an addition over that 12 month period nearly equal to the entire IP traffic volume last year.

Not surprisingly, Cisco finds the leading factors of growth to be:

More devices: Cisco predicts that by 2016 there will be nearly 18.9 billion network connections ―- almost 2.5 connections for each person on earth -- for tablets, mobile phones, and other smart devices as well as machine-to-machine (M2M) devices. Cisco estimates there were 10.3 billion connections in 2011.

More Internet users: By 2016, there are expected to be 3.4 billion Internet users ― about 45 percent of the world's projected population according to United Nations estimates.

Faster broadband speeds: The average fixed broadband speed is expected to increase nearly fourfold, from 9 Mbps in 2011 to 34 Mbps in 2016.

More video: By 2016, 1.2 million video minutes―the equivalent of 833 days (or over two years) ―would travel the Internet every second.

Wi-Fi growth: By 2016, over half of the world's Internet traffic is expected to come from Wi-Fi connections.

"Each of us increasingly connects to the network via multiple devices in our always-on connected lifestyles. Whether by video phone calls, movies on tablets, web-enabled TVs, or desktop video conferencing, the sum of our actions not only creates demand for zettabytes of bandwidth, but also dramatically changes the network requirements needed to deliver on the expectations of this ‘new normal'," said Suraj Shetty, vice president of product and solutions marketing, Cisco.

Some highlights from the annual report:

 

• Average global IP traffic in 2016 is expected to reach 150 petabytes per hour, the equivalent of 278 million people streaming an HD movie (at an average streaming speed of 1.2 Mbps) simultaneously.
• By 2016, the Asia Pacific region is forecast to generate the most IP traffic (40.5 exabytes per month), maintaining the top spot over North America (27.5 exabytes per month), which generated the second most amount of traffic.
• The fastest-growing IP-traffic regions for the forecast period (2011–2016) are the Middle East and Africa (58 percent compound annual growth rate, for 10-fold growth), and Latin America (49 percent CAGR, sevenfold growth). For fastest-growing IP traffic at the country level, India is expected to have the highest IP traffic growth rate with a 62 percent CAGR from 2011 to 2016. In a second-place tie, Brazil and South Africa both have 53 percent CAGRs over the forecast period.
• By 2016, the highest traffic-generating countries will be the United States (22 exabytes per month) and China (12 exabytes per month).
• Globally, there are expected to be 1.5 billion Internet video users by 2016, up from 792 million Internet video users in 2011.
• Global mobile Internet data traffic is forecast to increase 18 times from 2011 to 2016, to 10.8 exabytes per month (or 130 exabytes annually).
• Globally, there were 1.7 billion residential Internet users with fixed Internet access in 2011; the index forecasts there will be 2.3 billion residential Internet users with fixed Internet access by 2016.

http://www.cisco.com 

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AT&T and Union Reach One-Year Contract Extension

AT&T announced a tentative agreement with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers on a one-year contract extension covering nearly 7,000 core wireline employees. The current contract expires June 23.

The deal will be voted on by the union's membership in the coming days. http://www.att.com 

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Verizon Accelerates FiOS to 300 Mbps

Verizon will more than double the speeds of several of its FiOS Internet tiers - and introduce two new tiers with even faster speeds.

The new FiOS Internet portfolio will feature download/upload speed tiers of 50/25 and 150/65 Mbps, as well as two new tiers of 75/35 and 300/65 Mbps. The latter speed is double that of FiOS Internet's current top speed of 150/35 Mbps.

In addition, Verizon will continue to offer its entry-level speed of 15/5 Mbps.

"As recently as 2005, video was less than 10 percent of Web traffic," said Mike Ritter, chief marketing officer for Verizon's consumer and mass market business unit. "By the end of this year, we expect it to be 50 percent, growing to 90 percent in just a few years."

Verizon noted that the average home now has seven Internet-connected devices, and by 2015 the company expects to see between nine and 15 Internet-connected devices per home. http://www.verizon.com 

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Nokia Siemens Networks Backs Verso Spin-off Fund

Nokia Siemens Networks is the first investor in a new Verso Spin-off Fund which will provide initial financial backing for spin-offs that are not core to NSN's product strategy.

Nokia Siemens Networks aims is to get other large companies as investors, thus helping the creation of new businesses in Finland. Several parties have advised on the creation of the new model, including the Ministry of Employment and the Economy, the Aalto University Center for Entrepreneurship, and Finnvera, which is a potential investment partner. http://www.nokiasiemensnetworks.com 

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European Commission to Act on Net Neutrality

European Commission Vice President Neelie Kroes is planning to propose action on consumer choice and "net neutrality", saying that while the market generally has functioned well, greater regulatory certainty is needed to ensure that all European consumers have access to the open, best-efforts Internet.

Citing newly released data from BEREC, the body of European network regulators, Kroes said that at least 20%, and potentially up to half of EU mobile broadband users have contracts that allow their Internet service provider (ISP) to restrict services like VOIP (e.g. Skype) or peer-to-peer file sharing. In addition, up to 95% of users in a country, may be served by fixed operators (spread across virtually all EU member states) that apply restrictions such as to limit peer-to-peer volumes at peak times. About 20% of operators engage in this practice.

Kroes plans to issue recommendations to "end the net neutrality waiting game in Europe." This includes requirements that consumers be provided with clear information on actual, real-life broadband speeds; clear information on the limits of what they are paying for (instead dof the vague "fair use" policies currently in place); and clear information on whether the service they are buying is real "Champagne or lesser sparkling wine" -- if it is not full Internet, it shouldn't be marketed as such. http://europa.eu http://erg.eu.int/whatsnew/index_en.htm 

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Sprint's iDEN Nextel Network Set for Retirement

Sprint will cease service on its iDEN Nextel National Network as early as June 30, 2013. 

Sprint is working to transition business and government customers from its iDEN (2G) Nextel National Network onto its next-generation, push to talk service, Direct Connect, which operates on Sprint’s 3G CDMA network. The company has already discontinued selling iDEN devices in certain channels and will discontinue selling iDEN devices in all channels and all brands carrying iDEN Nextel products over the next several months.

Sprint launched its new Direct Connect PTT service in October of last year. The service provides broadband data capabilities, familiar push-to-talk features, and rugged and reliable handset options. Sprint Direct Connect coverage is expected to broaden throughout 2012. http://www.sprint.com 

• The Sprint iDEN network traces its roots to the 1987 foundation of FleetCall, which later became Nextel Communications in 1993. Sprint acquired Nextel in 2005. The Nextel network operates in the 800MHz Specialized Mobile Radio band and uses iDEN technology developed by Motorola.
• In April, Sprint provided the following update on its Network Vision:
  
  Approximately 600 Network Vision sites are now on air. These are meeting speed and coverage enhancement targets.
  
  Zoning requirements are completed for approximately 9,700 sites and leasing agreements have been completed for close to 7,700 sites.
  
  More than 3,200 sites are in notice to proceed status and work has started on approximately 3,000.
  
  Sprint expects to bring approximately 12,000 sites on air by the end of 2012 and to complete the majority of its Network Vision roll-out in 2013.
  
  Approximately 1,300 iDEN sites have been taken off air to date. Sprint expects to shut down a total of 9,600 before the end of the third quarter.
  
  Sprint expects to launch 4G LTE in six major cities by mid-year 2012 including Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Atlanta, Kansas City and Baltimore.

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Alcatel-Lucent lands EUR 100M FTTH Contract with China Telecom

China Telecom awarded a contract value at Euro 100 million to Alcatel-Lucent Shanghai Bell, for the deployment of fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) networks across China’s 31 provinces. The rollout, which is part of China Telecom’s ambitious "Broadband China, Fiber Cities" plan, aims to serve millions of households with a wide range of high-speed services and guaranteed quality of service.

Alcatel-Lucent will supply Chine Telecom with its 7360 Intelligent Services Access Manager (ISAM) system, which supports GPON as well as EPON broadband technologies.

Rajeev Singh-Molares, President of Alcatel-Lucent Asia-Pacific Region, said: “This project highlights the rapid expansion of broadband in China. It also demonstrates our strong and growing leadership position in the FTTH market as we help accelerate the availability of superfast broadband throughout China.” http://www.alcatel-lucent.com 

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Kaspersky: Flame Malware Represents New Class of Cyber Threat

Moscow-based Kaspersky Lab published a report on a new, advanced cyber threat potentially more potent than Stuxnet and apparently targeted at certain countries in the Middle East.

The new type of malware, now known as Flame, is extremely complex and has remain undetected by security software for the past two years. Kaspersky Lab said the primary purpose of Flame appears to be cyber espionage, including the theft of documents, screenshots, audio recordings and interception of network traffic. Flame is an attack-toolkit with the ability to replicate over a local network using several methods, including the same printer vulnerability and USB infection method exploited by Stuxnet. Stolen information is sent back to a network of command-and-control servers located in many different parts of the world. The attack vector is not yet known.

Kaspersky Lab concludes that Flame should be categorized as a super-cyberweapon, noting similarity with Stuxnet and Duqu in terms of the geography of attacks, use of specific software vulnerabilities, and the fact that only selected computers are being targeted.

Eugene Kaspersky, CEO and co-founder of Kaspersky Lab, said: "The risk of cyber warfare has been one of the most serious topics in the field of information security for several years now. Stuxnet and Duqu belonged to a single chain of attacks, which raised cyberwar-related concerns worldwide. The Flame malware looks to be another phase in this war, and it’s important to understand that such cyber weapons can easily be used against any country. Unlike with conventional warfare, the more developed countries are actually the most vulnerable in this case." http:// 

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NTT DOCOMO Selects Alcatel-Lucent's 7750 Routers for LTE

NTT DOCOMO is deploying Alcatel-Lucent’s 7750 Service Routers for the IP/MPLS network supporting its LTE services.

Alcatel-Lucent’s IP routers feature integrated LTE Security Gateway functionality with IPSec (IP security) technology, a key requirement to securely transport LTE data for NTT DOCOMO. Alcatel-Lucent said space and energy efficiency were also key requirements for NTT DOCOMO. Alcatel-Lucent is working with FUJITSU, which has a long-standing relationship with NTT DOCOMO. Financial terms were not disclosed. http://www.alcatel-lucent.com 

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GSMA Comments on Saudi Spectrum

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia should release internationally harmonised band plans of 140 MHz of spectrum at 2.6 GHz and at least 60 MHz of digital dividend spectrum at 800 MHz, according to the GSMA. A report from the GSMA finds that if the Saudi government were to release internationally harmonised spectrum in the 800MHz and 2.6GHz bands, the Kingdom would stand to benefit from a total GDP gain of SAR358 billion(1) (US$95.5 billion) in net present value terms over the period 2013 to 2025. The study also predicts direct and indirect creation of jobs for 424,000 people by 2020. The report also found that any delay in the release of this harmonised spectrum beyond 2013 would have a significant impact on these benefits. For example, a five-year delay in the release of harmonised spectrum would reduce the total GDP gain over 2013 – 2025 to just SAR96 billion (US$26 billion) and reduce the number of jobs created to 75,000.

"The current spectrum allocation for LTE in KSA, in the 2.3GHz and 2.6GHz bands, follows a completely non-harmonised arrangement, and as a result, will not deliver the benefits made possible by allocating harmonised spectrum in the 800 MHz and the 2.6 GHz bands," said Peter Lyons, Director of Spectrum Policy, Africa and Middle East, GSMA. "The continuation of the current arrangement will have a detrimental impact on coverage across rural areas, in-building penetration and high-capacity connectivity for KSA's largest cities." http://www.gsma.com 

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Infonetics: Carrier IP Edge Router/Switch Markets Grows in North America

The global service provider router and switch market, which includes IP edge routers, IP core routers, and carrier Ethernet switches (CES), sequentially decreased 14% to $3.3 billion in the first quarter of 2012 (1Q12), according to a new report from Infonetics Research. From the year-ago first quarter, the market is essentially flat, down just 1%. However, the North American market was up a very healthy 27% quarter-over-quarter and up 9% from the year-ago first quarter.

Some highlights:

Service provider routers and switches are the second largest telecom market segment in 2011 total revenue (~$14.5 billion) after mobile RAN spending ($30+ billion),

Cisco, Alcatel-Lucent, and Juniper all gained IP Edge market share in the first quarter, Cisco the most by far, increasing its share from about 31% to about 39% quarter-over-quarter,

In 1Q12, Cisco, Juniper, and Huawei together took 96% of global core router revenue. However, Alcatel-Lucent is entering this space with its new 7950 core router. http://www.infonetics.com 

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Bharti Acquires 49% Stake in Qualcomm AP's India BWA

Bharti Airtel will acquire a 49% interest in Qualcomm Asia Pacific's (Qualcomm AP) Indian BWA entities for approximately US$165 million. This unit holds BWA licenses in Delhi, Mumbai, Haryana and Kerala. The agreement contemplates that once commercial operations are launched, subject to certain terms and conditions, Bharti would assume complete ownership and financial responsibility for the BWA entities by the end of 2014.

Bharti already has BWA licenses in four circles - Kolkata, Karnataka, Punjab and Maharashtra - and 3G licenses in thirteen circles in India. With this agreement, Bharti has secured a nation-wide broadband leadership through a combination of 4G and 3G, with its own networks in 18 circles. Bharti has already taken the lead in LTE TDD space by launching 4G services in Kolkata and Karnataka Circles.

"One of our key objectives has been to include a strong partner in the Indian venture with the scale, experience and resources to deploy LTE TDD networks. We are pleased to have Bharti's participation and support in this effort," said Dr Paul E Jacobs, chairman and CEO of Qualcomm. "GHC and Tulip have been great partners in facilitating this transaction. Qualcomm remains dedicated to the continued progress and success of the BWA venture and to fulfilling our commitment as a key equity stakeholder." http://www.airtel.com http://www.qualcomm.com 

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NTT Comm Extends VPLS in Europe

NTT Communications is extending its Virtual Private LAN Services (VPLS) for customers in Europe. The VPLS offering now provides layer 2 Ethernet capabilities in 30 countries across Europe, backed by 24x7 customer support, customer portal access and leading SLA. The service delivers multipoint, multi-site to multi-site connectivity within this extensive EU footprint. http://www.ntt.co.jp 

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Pandora Reaches 51.9 million Listeners, Growing 53% YOY

The Pandora Internet radio service is now averaging 51.9 million users per month. Total listener hours for the most recent quarter grew 92% to approximately 3.09 billion, compared to approximately 1.6 billion for the same quarter last year.

"Pandora is off to an excellent start, exceeding our first quarter outlook and raising our expectations for the full fiscal year," stated Joe Kennedy, Chairman & CEO of Pandora. "This quarter Pandora averaged more than 50 million active users a month who generated more than 3.09 billion listening hours across Pandora's multiple platforms – desktop, auto, consumer electronics, and mobile devices. Consumers continue to embrace Pandora's unparalleled personalized radio experience at an extraordinary rate, propelling Pandora's market leadership to an all-time record share of 5.95% of total U.S. radio listening. Advertisers want to be everywhere their consumers are. They are moving quickly to speak with their target customers across the Pandora platform, with the majority of the top 50 digital advertisers in the U.S. already having bought multiplatform advertising on Pandora. Pandora is the future of radio." http://www.pandora.com 

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Intel Invests $40 Million in University Research Centers

Intel disclosed plans to invest more than $40 million over the next 5 years in a university research centers worldwide.

The "Intel Collaborative Research Institutes" (ICRI) program will bring together experts from academia and industry to invent the future of technology. The new investment provides for the ICRI for Sustainable Connected Cities in the United Kingdom; ICRI for Secure Computing in Germany; and the ICRI for Computational Intelligence in Israel. In addition, two previously established centers are being incorporated in the ICRI program: Intel Visual Computing Institute (Saarland University) and the Intel-NTU Connected Context Computing Center (National Taiwan University), extending Intel’s global research network even further.

The company already runs a series of U.S.-based Intel Science and Technology Centers (ISTCs).

"The new Intel Collaborative Research Institute program underscores our commitment to establishing and funding collaborative university research to fuel global innovation in key areas and help address some of today’s most challenging problems,” said Justin Rattner, chief technology officer at Intel. “Forming a multidisciplinary community of Intel, faculty and graduate student researchers from around the world will lead to fundamental breakthroughs in some of the most difficult and vexing areas of computing technology.” http://www.intel.com 

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NTT Invests in Philippines

NTT Communications plans to acquire a 50.1% stake in the Diversified Technology Solutions International (DTSI) Group of the Philippines. Financial terms were not disclosed.

DTSI Group accounts for 60% of all seats in contact centers currently operating in the Philippines. Also, Anthem, Inc., a DTSI Group company, is forecasting high growth for its business of building and leasing contact center platforms to companies looking to start up IT-BPO businesses in the Philippines. http://www.ntt.co.jp http://www.dtsigroup.com 

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iBasis Envisions an LTE Signaling Exchange (LSX) for Roaming

iBasis is preparing to launch an LTE Signaling Exchange (LSX) to allow MNOs to connect to hundreds of other operators through a single interconnect and assure LTE Roaming interoperability across multiple vendors.

iBasis sees a need for an LTE Signaling Exchange as a result of the disruptive nature of LTE and the evolution from traditional SS7 (MAP) signaling to IP-based Diameter signaling. Because implementations of LTE roaming can vary widely from operator to operator, iBasis believes the traditional model of bilateral roaming agreements between operators will prove to be technically complicated and commercially unscalable.

The iBasis LSX will run on iBasis’ IPX network, a multiservice, global IP network that delivers high quality voice and data services for mobile operators.

UNE, a leading telco based in Colombia, and Dutch operator KPN have agreed to connect to iBasis’ LSX Sandbox, which provides a comprehensive trial environment in preparation for launching commercial LTE roaming services.

“With more than 15 years of experience in global, real-time communications over IP, iBasis is uniquely positioned to be the LTE exchange provider,” said Willem Offerhaus, iBasis CEO. “The LSX leverages the full complement of iBasis capabilities – voice, data, signaling, IPX, and more – to enable our customers to deliver even greater innovations to their customers.” iBasis is a wholly owned subsidiary of KPN, the Dutch telecommunications and ICT service provider. http://www.ibasis.com/ 

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At The Cable Show this week in Boston, Motorola Mobility is showcasing its latest innovations for cable operators offering whole home connectivity, including its DCX3600 Video Gateway – a nextgen set-top positioned as the entertainment hub in the living room... and morphing into the Center of the IP Connected Home.

Motorola Mobility is also demonstrating HEVC video compression technology, which reduces bandwidth by 50 percent in comparison to MPEG4 AVC/H.264 at similar video quality. HEVC was jointly developed by ISO/IEC Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) and ITU-T Video Coding Experts Group (VCEG). It promises better video delivery over wireless link, including Wi-Fi and cellular.

Time Warner Cable has selected the company's SecureMedia Encryptonite ONE HLS+ solution for securing video streams across a variety of devices – including smartphones, tablets, game consoles, connected TVs and Blu-Ray players.

http://motorola.com

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Insight Research: U.S. Telecom Business Services Continues to Grow

U.S. businesses will spend $154 billion for telecommunications services in 2012 and business spending on wired and wireless calling will grow to $184 billion by the close of 2016, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.8 percent over the forecast period, according to a new market report from Insight Research.

Insight's newly released market analysis report, "Telecom Services in Vertical Markets, 2011-2016" found that business spending for cellular and other wireless services is creating all of the growth, while spending on wireline services will be essentially flat over the five year forecast horizon.

Wireless expenditures are expected to grow at a compounded rate of 9.4 percent over the period of 2011-2016. Four vertical industries – wholesale trade; financial, insurance, and real estate services; professional business services; and communications -- account for 68 percent of total business telecom expenditures in 2011. The study analyzes 14 vertical industries categorized by the NAICS, and focuses on corporate spending for wireline and wireless telecommunications services in each of the 14 industries.

"The U.S. telecommunications industry continues to show modest revenue growth, driven by business Internet and mobility solutions," says Fran Caulfield, Research Director for Insight Research. "As US business activity recovers, employment and network traffic increase. In parallel, business applications shift to the cloud and end users shift to wireless access, driving higher network and wireless revenues for service providers," Caulfield concluded.
http://www.insight-corp.com/reports/vert11.asp

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Google Seeks to Super Charge Android with Motorola Acquisition

Google completed its acquisition of Motorola Mobility, saying the deal will "supercharge the Android ecosystem and will enhance competition in mobile computing."

Motorola Mobility will remain a licensee of Android and Android will remain open. Google will run Motorola Mobility as a separate business. Sanjay Jha has stepped down as CEO and been replaced by longtime Googler Dennis Woodside.

Larry Page, CEO of Google, said, "I'm happy to announce the deal has closed. Motorola is a great American tech company, with a track record of over 80 years of innovation. It's a great time to be in the mobile business, and I'm confident that the team at Motorola will be creating the next generation of mobile devices that will improve lives for years to come." http://www.google.com 

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NTT Expands in Nordics

NTT Communications has extended its global network and cloud solutions into Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Denmark. NTT Europe’s Nordic launch is further strengthened through partnership with Secode (wholly owned subsidiary of NTT Com), a leading provider of managed-security and security-consulting services within the Nordic markets. http://www.ntt.co.jp 

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Brocade and NEC Enter Partnership for Software-defined Networking

Brocade and NEC Corporation of America (NEC) announced a partnership focused on Software-Defined Networking (SDN) and OpenFlow switching, including network virtualization. The companies will jointly market solutions for network virtualization, large-scale data center infrastructure management, traffic engineering and Wide Area Network (WAN) flow management, with an open standards-based approach.

The partnership combines Brocade's OpenFlow-enabled products and NEC's Programmable Flow Controller. The companies will establish joint solution labs in key regional offices to test and demonstrate their solutions. http://www.brocade.com 

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SAP to Acquire Ariba for $4.3 Billion - Business Collaboration in the Cloud

SAP agreed to acquire Ariba for $45.00 per share, representing an enterprise value of approximately $4.3 billion and a 20% premium over the company's closing stock price on May 21. The deal combines Ariba's buyer-seller collaboration network with SAP's broad customer base and business process expertise to create new models for business-to-business collaboration in the cloud.

Ariba is based in Sunnyvale, California and has 2,600 employees. It recorded 2011 revenue of $444 million, up 38.5 percent over 2010.

Last week, SAP announced the roadmap for its cloud applications business (Software-as-a-Service), focusing on managing customers, suppliers, employees, and financials, in addition to its cloud suite offerings SAP Business ByDesign and SAP Business One. http://www.sap.com http://www.ariba.com 

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Juniper Fires Back with Core Router Multi-Chassis Upgrades

Juniper Networks announced plans to upgrade the capacity of its core TXP multi-chassis routing system for all existing Juniper Networks T4000 and T1600 core routers. The upgrade more than doubles the maximum capacity of the existing T Series Core Routers. Specifically, the TXP multi-chassis routing system will support the following key functionality:

• Up to 4X T4000 and 8X T1600 system capacity.
• Up to 22 Terabits per second (Tbps) of capacity.
• Future capacity expandable up to 64 Tbps.
• Simplified pay-as-you grow installation and expansion with standards-based cabling and pluggable optics.

http://www.juniper.net

• Juniper Networks first unveiled its T1600 core router in June 2007.
• Juniper Networks first unveiled its T4000 core router in November 2010.
• Juniper's T4000 is powered by its Trio silicon, which was first unveiled in October 2009 for use in its MX series edge routers. The first generation was implemented in 60nm technology and optimized for highly granular packet processing. The second generation features the smaller and more energy-efficient 45nm technology and is optimized for the high-throughput requirements of core routing. By comparison, the T1600 uses 90nm silicon.
• A fully loaded T4000 system can support up to 192 ports of 10GbE, or 16 ports of 100GbE interfaces.

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Brocade Builds OpenFlow into Switching & Routing Platforms

Brocade has integrated hardware based OpenFlow support into its MLX Series of routers and related NetIron platforms, which support wire-speed 100 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) performance.

The company said its goal it to deliver a SDN-ready product family today that will serve as the foundation for software-defined network architecture in the future. These products include the Brocade VDX family of data center switches, Brocade ADX Series application delivery switches, Brocade MLX Series of 100 GbE routers, Brocade NetIron CER Series routers and Brocade NetIron CES Series switches.

Brocade articulated an SDN strategy encompassing the following key technologies and capabilities:

Resilient and auto-forming Ethernet fabrics optimized for virtualized applications with virtual machine (VM)-aware intelligence.

Network virtualization via overlay technologies for highly scalable multi-tenancy environments.

Support for OpenFlow in hybrid mode, enabling traditional Layer 2/3 forwarding with OpenFlow.

Partnerships with a broad set of OpenFlow controller vendors and open APIs.

A single common cloud management and orchestration interface through northbound standards-based plug-ins and standards-based RESTful interfaces. The plug-ins to cloud management frameworks -- including Cloudstack, Microsoft System Center, OpenStack, and VMware vCenter/vCloud Director -- provide comprehensive orchestration capabilities for cloud service delivery and automated operations. http://www.brocade.com http://www.brocade.com/launch/sdn/index.html 

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Infonetics: Carrier VoIP Market Up in 1Q12; Alcatel-Lucent Doubles Share

Thanks to exceptionally strong IMS equipment spending, the overall service provider VoIP equipment market bucked its traditional down first quarter by inching up 1% to $715 million over 4Q11, according to a newly released report from Infonetics Research. The increased spending on IMS equipment is tied to Voice over LTE deployments.

"In the first quarter of 2012 we saw the largest order of IMS core equipment and application server licenses on record, secured by Alcatel-Lucent -- a clear sign that operators in North America are gearing up for voice over LTE (VoLTE) deployments. While commercial VoLTE services have yet to launch, this is a taste of what is to come as operators push forward over the next 5+ years. That said, large equipment orders will be sporadic and the IMS market will continue to be lumpy," explains Diane Myers, principal analyst for VoIP and IMS at Infonetics Research.

Some highlights:

Globally, the overall market is up 18% in 1Q12 from the year-ago first quarter -- despite continued declines in legacy trunk media gateway and softswitch sales -- driven by strong IMS core equipment, session border controller (SBC), and voice application server sales.

In 1Q12, Alcatel-Lucent more than doubled its service provider VoIP and IMS revenue and market share, propelling them to the #1 position for worldwide market share, ahead of perennial leaders Huawei and GENBAND North America led the quarter, with carrier VoIP and IMS spending up 18% quarter-over-quarter and up a strong 76% year-over-year.

Infonetics expects the number of mobile and fixed-line subscribers on IMS networks to grow 42% in 2012 to top 250 million worldwide. http://www.infonetics.com 

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Alcatel-Lucent Offers Motive Customer Experience Service

Alcatel-Lucent is launching a new managed service for telecommunications operators and service providers that will monitor the customer experience of their subscribers using metrics such as dropped calls to issues with video downloads and connecting to the Internet.


The new Managed Service Quality and Assurance (MSQA) offering draws on Alcatel-Lucent’s Motive Customer Experience Solutions portfolio – launched in February – as well as patent-pending methodology developed by Bell Labs, and the company's existing base of network operations centers. The Bell Labs methodology uses service modeling - directly aligned with the service provider’s business priorities - to determine how best to measure service quality and identify the appropriate ways of addressing customer concerns. Motive solutions are then used to proactively detect, isolate, and help resolve issues that can impact the customer experience. This approach gives service providers a focused and tangible way to increase customer satisfaction and strengthen subscriber loyalty. http://www.alcatel-lucent.com 

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Comcast Showcases X1 Video Platform

Comcast is showcasing its X1 Video Platform at The Cable Show being held this week in Boston.

The X1 platform leverages IP technology and cloud servers on Comcast’s network to integrate interactive, customized apps and social media features with traditional video programming. Comcast plans to launch Xfinity TV on the X1 Platform in Boston and a new X1 remote control app in the coming weeks. Rollout in several other major markets is planned to follow this year. It will be available to new Xfinity Triple Play with HD/DVR service customers at no additional cost. http://www.comcast.com 

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Google + Moto Mobility Deal Gets Regulatory Approval from China

Google's bid to acquire Motorola Mobility received regulatory clearance from the Chinese authorities.

The deal was first announced on Aug. 15, 2011. The companies say the merger will "supercharge" Android.

Motorola Mobility is the holder of a portfolio of approximately 17,000 issued patents and 6,800 applications, including hundreds of standard essential patents (SEPs) relevant to wireless devices that Motorola Mobility committed to license through its participation in standard-setting organizations (SSOs).

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Motorola Mobility Showcases Home Connectivity Vision, HEVC

At The Cable Show this week in Boston, Motorola Mobility is showcasing its latest innovations for cable operators offering whole home connectivity, including its DCX3600 Video Gateway – a nextgen set-top positioned as the entertainment hub in the living room... and morphing into the Center of the IP Connected Home.

Motorola Mobility is also demonstrating HEVC video compression technology, which reduces bandwidth by 50 percent in comparison to MPEG4 AVC/H.264 at similar video quality. HEVC was jointly developed by ISO/IEC Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) and ITU-T Video Coding Experts Group (VCEG). It promises better video delivery over wireless link, including Wi-Fi and cellular.

Time Warner Cable has selected the company's SecureMedia Encryptonite ONE HLS+ solution for securing video streams across a variety of devices – including smartphones, tablets, game consoles, connected TVs and Blu-Ray players.
http://motorola.com 

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NTT Com Connects with Brunei

NTT Communications and Brunei International Gateway (BIG), a joint venture of government and telecommunications companies in Brunei, agreed to collaborate in providing local Internet service providers (ISPs) with IPv4/IPv6 dual stack global access via NTT Com's Tier-1 global IP network. BIG's local infrastructure will provide direct connections to NTT Com's Tier-1 network.

NTT Com is BIG's first partner to establish an International Internet Gateway (IIG) for ISPs in Brunei and nearby regions of neighboring countries. Several local ISPs already connect separately to global ISPs, but the IIG will unify connections for greater efficiency. http://www.ntt.co.jp 

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Carlos Slim Gets Honorary Degree from George Washington U.

Carlos Slim, the Chairman and CEO Telmex and América Móvil and currently the world's richest person, was awarded an honorary degree from George Washington University. Hundreds of protesters picketed the university in Washington D.C., arguing that Slim amassed his great fortune by working to block any meaningful competition in the Mexican telecommunications market and then using his monopoly to price-gouged Mexican customers billions of dollars for basic telephone and Internet service. http:// 

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Insight Research: U.S. Telecom Business Services Continues to Grow

U.S. businesses will spend $154 billion for telecommunications services in 2012 and business spending on wired and wireless calling will grow to $184 billion by the close of 2016, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.8 percent over the forecast period, according to a new market report from Insight Research.

Insight's newly released market analysis report, "Telecom Services in Vertical Markets, 2011-2016" found that business spending for cellular and other wireless services is creating all of the growth, while spending on wireline services will be essentially flat over the five year forecast horizon.

Wireless expenditures are expected to grow at a compounded rate of 9.4 percent over the period of 2011-2016. Four vertical industries – wholesale trade; financial, insurance, and real estate services; professional business services; and communications -- account for 68 percent of total business telecom expenditures in 2011. The study analyzes 14 vertical industries categorized by the NAICS, and focuses on corporate spending for wireline and wireless telecommunications services in each of the 14 industries.

"The U.S. telecommunications industry continues to show modest revenue growth, driven by business Internet and mobility solutions," says Fran Caulfield, Research Director for Insight Research. "As US business activity recovers, employment and network traffic increase. In parallel, business applications shift to the cloud and end users shift to wireless access, driving higher network and wireless revenues for service providers," Caulfield concluded. http://www.insight-corp.com/reports/vert11.asp 

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Google + Moto Mobility Deal Gets Regulatory Approval from China

Google's bid to acquire Motorola Mobility received regulatory clearance from the Chinese authorities.

The deal was first announced on Aug. 15, 2011. The companies say the merger will "supercharge" Android.

Motorola Mobility is the holder of a portfolio of approximately 17,000 issued patents and 6,800 applications, including hundreds of standard essential patents (SEPs) relevant to wireless devices that Motorola Mobility committed to license through its participation in standard-setting organizations (SSOs). http://google.com http://www.motorola.com 

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Huawei Previews 12.5GHz DWDM

Huawei unveiled a WDM prototype based on a flexible 12.5 GHz wavelength grid , improving upon the current mainstream commercial products that use a 50GHz of 25 GHz fixed spectrum interval. The flexibility of the wavelength spacing lays a foundation for multi-carrier technologies and next-generation bandwidth-flexible optical networks beyond 100G.

Huawei said its WDM prototype developed increases the spectrum utilization for large-capacity WDM systems. The WDM prototype supports 40G, 100G, 400G and 1T hybrid transmissions and is compatible with the 50GHz or 25GHz spectrum interval legacy systems. It provides smooth evolution from 40G and 100G systems to 400G and 1T systems, effectively protecting investment on current networks. Huawei expects next-generation, bandwidth-flexible optical networks will leverage systems capable of automatic adjustment of the modulation mode and line rate based on the transmission distance and service capacity, constantly changing the frequency width utilization. The 12.5GHz granularity enables flexibility in the adjustment of bandwidth, distance, and frequency width, freeing up more of the available spectrum to transmit services.

Jack Wang, president of Huawei Transport Network Product Line, said: "After releasing the world’s first 10 petabit all-optical switch prototype and the 400G DWDM prototype, Huawei has provided a preview of next-generation optical networks by unveiling the highest efficiency spectrum WDM prototype. Huawei is committed to providing innovative solutions in the field of optical networks and to making significant contributions in broadband network construction to further develop next-generation optical transmission technologies."

http://www.huawei.com

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Comcast Launches Skype on Xfinity

Comcast began marketing "Skype on Xfinity" widescreen HD video calling in its first two markets: Boston and Seattle. The service rolls out later this week in Atlanta, Augusta, Ga., Chicago, Detroit, Harrisburg, Pa., Indianapolis, Miami and Pittsburgh.

The service allows users to make and receive Skype-to-Skype video and audio calls or send instant messages via Skype on a TV while watching a TV show at the same time, and accept incoming Skype calls during a TV show with the help of Caller ID.

Pricing is set at $9.95 per month for qualifying Xfinity Triple Play customers.

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Dell'Oro: LTE RAN Investments Grow in Q1

Despite the challenging macro economic environment, mobile operators are investing in LTE networks while slowing down spending on the 2G/3G mobile Radio Access Network (RAN) equipment, according to a new Mobile RAN Quarterly report from Dell'Oro Group. Some highlights:

• LTE RAN revenues up more than 160 percent versus 1Q11


• There were more than 60 commercial LTE networks at the end of 1Q12


• There were 15 million LTE subscriptions at the end of 1Q12, up 70 percent Q/Q


• TDD LTE markets have been commercialized in Japan.

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Deutsche Telekom Q1 Revenues Slide, Profits Up

Deutsche Telekom's Q1 revenue declined 1.1 percent to EUR 14.4 billion compared to a year ago, while EBITDA remained stable at EUR 4.5 billion, and adjusted EDITDA margin hit 31.0 percent, 0.4 percentage points higher than one year before.

Domestic net revenue amounted to EUR 6.4 billion, around EUR 0.2 billion lower than in the first three
months of 2011. International net revenue remained on a par with the level in the prior-year quarter at
EUR 8.0 billion.

"This was a very satisfying quarter for us," said René Obermann, Chief Executive Officer of Deutsche Telekom. "We have made significant progress in many areas and can now confirm our guidance for the year."

The company cited macroeconomic worries in Europe, intense competition and price changes imposed by the regulatory authorities as having a negative effect.

Some highlights:

In the German mobile market

• Mobile contract net adds were -107k – due to customer migration of one reseller


• Smartphone sales in Q1: 863k smartphones, of which 291k iPhones


• LTE coverage increased to 25% of population (+11pp quarter-on-quarter)

Total subscriber base is 35,100,000

 In the German fixed line division:

• Line losses were 24% below last year: 259k in Q1 (339k in Q1/11)


• Broadband customers were up+2.5%: 12,367k, 102k net adds in Q1


• Entertain customers were up +37%: 1,725k total, 173k net adds in Q1


• Retail fiber customers (VDSL) were up +67%: 674k total, 66k net adds in Q1

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Gogo and AeroSat Offer Satellite Internet for Airlines

Gogo announced a new partnership with AeroSat, a satellite equipment provider, to bring a Ku-satellite solution to commercial airlines.  The Ku-satellite solution will allow Gogo to offer airlines connectivity services that extend beyond the United States in the near term, including transoceanic routes, until Inmarsat's Global Xpress Ka-satellite service becomes available.

AeroSat will deliver the Ku-satellite antenna, radome, antenna control and modem unit and high power transceiver to Gogo.  The AeroSat equipment will be coupled with Gogo's onboard hardware and software (server and access points).

Gogo recently announced that it will be one of two global service providers of Inmarsat's Global Xpress™ Ka-satellite service. The launch of the first of three Inmarsat-5 satellites is scheduled for mid-2013.  Gogo expects to offer Global Xpress Ka-satellite service after the launch of all three I-5 satellites starting in late 2014 or early 2015.

"As a company, Gogo has always considered itself technology neutral.  Our goal is to provide the right technology to meet the connectivity needs of any aircraft size and any aircraft mission," said Gogo's president and CEO Michael Small.  "By adding a Ku-based offering, we will be qualified to offer our airline partners a wide range of technology solutions.  Whether it's by using our exclusive air to ground and ATG-4 technologies, Ku-satellite or, in the near future, Inmarsat's Global Xpress Ka-satellite technologies, we expect to be able to service all aircraft."

http://www.gogoair.com

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DOCOMO Extends Cloud Services

NTT DOCOMO is preparing to launch an array of new personal services for smartphone and tablet users under a new "docomo cloud" brand.

The cloud strategy, which the company highlighted in its financial report issued late last month, aims to transform the company into being a "trusted personal agent" of its customers rather than a dumb pipe. Since launching its "Shabette-Concier" voice command-based app for Android on March 1, DOCOMO has logged over 2 million downloads. Starting next month, Shabette-Concier voice command-based app will be enhanced to provide precise answers to inquiries on a wide range of topics.
In June, DOCOMO will launch, Mail-Hon’yaku-Concier, an app that automatically translates text messages, such as e-mails and social networking messages, between Japanese and English/Chinese/Korean. The service uses cloud-based mobile interpretation technologies that DOCOMO currently is developing.

In August, DOCOMO will begin providing users with 5GB of free cloud storage for photos and videos. The service recognizes facial features and scenes for automatic sorting and grouping. Photo Collection will link to external services like Evernote, Eye-Fi and HighlightCam.

Also in August, DOCOMO will enhance its dmarket portal for smartphone and tablet apps and content. Content purchased from DOCOMO’s VIDEO Store, MUSIC Store, BOOK Store or ANIME Store can be enjoyed for no extra charge on multiple devices registered to the same subscriber.
http://www.nttdocomo.com/pr/2012/001591.html
14-May-12
http://www.infonetics.com

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Infonetics: 23% Drop in Optical Network Market in 1Q12

Spending on optical gear dropped 23% globally in the first quarter of 2012 (1Q12) from the previous quarter, according to a newly released Optical Network Hardware vendor market share report from Infonetics. Carrier spending in Europe was down sharply, making 1Q12 the worst quarter for optical capex in the region in over 5 years.

"While optical hardware revenue trends in all world regions were not positive in the first quarter of 2012, the most alarming development is that year-over-year in EMEA – particularly Europe – spending on WDM optical equipment decreased faster than spending on legacy SDH equipment," notes Andrew Schmitt, principal analyst for optical at Infonetics Research. "This is not the behavior of a region experiencing only a minor quarterly pullback. By contrast, the trend in North America was the opposite, with carriers cutting spending year-over-year but allocating towards forward-looking technology investments like WDM equipment and ROADMs."

Some highlights from the report:

• While the global WDM and SONET/SDH optical network equipment market declined 23% in 1Q12 to $2.8 billion (the largest quarterly drop in years), the impact was sharpened by a strong previous quarter, when the market grew 9%
• Revenue for all optical vendors declined in EMEA, with the exception of Infinera.
• Though EMEA typically has a seasonal sequential decline in the first quarter, 1Q12 was the worst quarter for optical capex in over 5 years.
• Fujitsu and Ciena outperformed competitors in North America.
• Asia Pacific was buoyed by strong spending in Japan, with NEC and Fujitsu posting eye-popping 28% gains in 1Q12 from the year-ago first quarter.
• Aside from the standout performances by NEC and Fujitsu, while many of the big vendors enjoyed gains the previous quarter, 1Q12 was characterized by smaller companies such as Infinera, ADVA, and Transmode outperforming the market.
• ROADM optical equipment spending was flat in 1Q12, an achievement considering this category posted a record quarter in 4Q11.

http://www.infonetics.com

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OIF Launches Three Interface Projects

The OIF has commenced work on three new electrical interface projects addressing next generation needs for high speed and low power electrical interfaces. These include: The Ultra Short Reach Electrical Interface, which will define a link of less than 10 mm between an ASIC and an Optical Engine (OE) at data rates up to and including 56 Gbps. This will enable the industry to develop Multi Chip Modules (MCMs) and alternate advanced packaging schemes that are optimized for minimum power consumption.

The Close Proximity Electrical Interface, which will define a link with a reach of less than 50 mm from chip to discrete OE at data rates up to and including 56 Gbps. This will facilitate an efficient board mounted OE at low power.

The CEI-56G-Very Short Reach project, will determine optimum modulation format based on measurements, verification and CMOS Switch ASIC I/O capability. The project looks at single lane electrical I/O data rates beyond 28 Gbps needed for future chip-to-module applications, including single lane interfaces for 40 Gbps modules and 8-10 lane interfaces for 400 Gbps modules. "These projects address different elements of the important electrical interface beyond 100G transmission, where speed and power will become an increasingly difficult issue,” said Dave Stauffer of IBM Corp. and the OIF’s Physical and Link Layer Working Group Chair. “Based on our Common Electrical Interface (CEI) work, the industry has turned to the OIF to drive the next phase in electrical interfaces which will include data rates up to 56 Gbps."
http://www.oiforum.com 
14-May-12 

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Ciena Endorses Open Data Center Interoperable Network (ODIN)

Ciena announced its support for the new Open Data Center Interoperable Network (ODIN)framework from IBM, which is positioned as an industry best-practice for transforming data-centers with a flatter, more converged network architecture.

In a blog posting, Steve Alexander, Chief Technology Officer of Ciena, writes: "We can see a time in the near future where the combination of increasing network intelligence combined with the use of open standards-based network programming interfaces (NPIs) enables physical network resources to be virtualized, just as we today routinely work with virtualized compute and storage resources."

The ODIN framework outlined by IBM addresses issues such as virtualization and Virtual Machine (VM) migration across flat Layer 2 networks, lossless Ethernet, Software-Defined Networking (SDN) and OpenFlow, and extended distance WAN connectivity (including low latency). Several papers are posted on the IBM site listed here.
http://www.ciena.com/corporate/blog/Its-All-About-Open.html 
http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/networking/solutions/odin.html 
16-May-12 

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Here is a look at the future of DSL, presented by Dr, John Cioffi, Founder and CEO of ASSIA -- and the inventor of discrete multitone modulation (DMT) technology that became the basis of DSL.

01:23 - Where does DSL stand in the market today?
02:30 - Is DSL still expanding and will this growth continue?
03:12 - Did the adoption cycle for DSL surprise you?
04:26 - How has DSL continued to improve over time?
06:21 - What are some of the technology milestones that got us to where DSL is today?
09:18 - How much more performance can yet be achieved over copper?
13:25 - What is Dynamic Spectrum Management? What is vectoring?
14:53 - Is the goal to clean up a single line, a bundle of cables or a whole node?
15:36 - When will this come to market?
16:22 - Will carriers have to choose between further investment in their wireline infrastructure versus rolling out more lucrative 4G LTE?

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Zayo Expands its Fiber Network

Zayo is expanding its fiber footprint in Phoenix, Arizona by 165 route miles, a 60% increase over the existing network. The build will provide presence to the Phoenix suburbs Peoria, El Mirage, Fountain Hills and Sun City. It will also connect 123 new towers. With the expansion in Phoenix, along with other markets, Zayo’s tower footprint has over 900 towers under construction; currently the on-net tower footprint is 2,427.

Separately, Zayo announced a low latency service between Seattle and Chicago. Zayo said its existing service between Seattle and Chicago already provides industry-leading latency. The enhanced service, which will be available in the third quarter of 2012, significantly improves latency. The distance of the route will be reduced by approximately 100 route miles. To further reduce latency, the system will be engineered as an express route, with add/drop points being limited to approximately 4 locations. Zayo anticipates reducing latency by 5 – 15% relative to currently available services. The Wavelength system being deployed will be a native 100G system. Zayo will continue to offer service on its existing system, which provides add/drop points in many markets between Chicago, IL and Seattle, WA. http://www.zayo.com 

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Brocade Sees Softness in Federal Sales

Huawei unveiled a WDM prototype based on a flexible 12.5 GHz wavelength grid , improving upon the current mainstream commercial products that use a 50GHz of 25 GHz fixed spectrum interval. The flexibility of the wavelength spacing lays a foundation for multi-carrier technologies and next-generation bandwidth-flexible optical networks beyond 100G.

Huawei said its WDM prototype developed increases the spectrum utilization for large-capacity WDM systems. The WDM prototype supports 40G, 100G, 400G and 1T hybrid transmissions and is compatible with the 50GHz or 25GHz spectrum interval legacy systems. It provides smooth evolution from 40G and 100G systems to 400G and 1T systems, effectively protecting investment on current networks. Huawei expects next-generation, bandwidth-flexible optical networks will leverage systems capable of automatic adjustment of the modulation mode and line rate based on the transmission distance and service capacity, constantly changing the frequency width utilization. The 12.5GHz granularity enables flexibility in the adjustment of bandwidth, distance, and frequency width, freeing up more of the available spectrum to transmit services.

Jack Wang, president of Huawei Transport Network Product Line, said: "After releasing the world’s first 10 petabit all-optical switch prototype and the 400G DWDM prototype, Huawei has provided a preview of next-generation optical networks by unveiling the highest efficiency spectrum WDM prototype. Huawei is committed to providing innovative solutions in the field of optical networks and to making significant contributions in broadband network construction to further develop next-generation optical transmission technologies."

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Westell to Acquire ANTONE Wireless for Tower Mounted Amplifiers

Westell Technologies has acquired the assets and business of ANTONE Wireless Corp., which makes a line of high-performance Tower-Mounted Amplifiers, Multi-Carrier Power Amplifier Boosters, and cell-site antenna sharing products. ANTONE’s products have already been approved for use by large U.S. wireless carriers to address the growing need for cell-site optimization.  FiANTONE had revenues of approximately $2 million in the 12 months ending March 31, 2012.

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Apple Commits to 100% Renewable Energy in N.C. Data Center

Apple will power its new data center in Maiden, North Carolina, using entirely renewable sources by the end of this year.  About 60% of the capacity will cover from on-site generation using the nation’s largest private solar arrays and the largest non-utility fuel cell installation in the country. The remaining 40 percent of the data center energy needs will be clean, renewable energy generated by local and regional sources.

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Marvell Posts Revenue of $796 Million, up 7% Sequentially

Marvell Technology Group reported revenue of $796 million for the quarter ending 20-April-2012, a 7 percent sequential increase from $743 million in the preceding quarter and down slightly from $802 million in the same period a year ago. GAAP net income for the quarter was $95 million, or $0.16 per share (diluted), compared with GAAP net income of $81 million, or $0.13 per share (diluted), for the preceding quarter, and $147 million, or $0.22 per share (diluted), for the same period last year.

"Our results in the first quarter were better than anticipated driven in part by our TD smartphone products, which grew about 25% sequentially and increased deployment of our 500 gigabyte per platter mobile storage solutions to all the hard disk drive manufacturers," said Dr. Sehat Sutardja, Marvell's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "This financial performance gave us the confidence to increase our share repurchase program by $500 million to a total of $2.5 billion, and based on broad institutional shareholder request, to also initiate a quarterly dividend of 6 cents per share."

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DIRECTV Extends Satellite Broadband Across US

DIRECTV announced new agreements with ViaSat and Hughes to deliver satellite broadband service to consumers across the U.S.

DIRECTV will offer the Exede by ViaSat and Hughes' HughesNet Gen4 next-generation satellite broadband services, with speeds of over 10 Mbps, to its customers living in mostly unserved, rural areas later this year.

This new offering, coupled with already available triple-play bundles with Verizon, AT&T, Century Link and other telco providers, means that any DIRECTV customer in the U.S. will now be able to get bundled pricing.
http://dtv.client.shareholder.com/releases.cfm

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Aruba Posts $132 Million in Revenue, up 25% YoY

Aruba Networks reported quarterly revenue of $131.9 million, an increase of 25 percent from the $105.8 million reported in Q3’11. GAAP net income for Q3’12 was $6.0 million, or $0.05 per share, compared with GAAP net income of $3.2 million, or $0.03 per share, for the same period in the previous year.


“We are pleased with our solid third quarter results as we grew revenue 25 percent year-over-year to the highest level in our history,” said Dominic Orr, president and chief executive officer. “Our differentiated mobile-centric approach to the access network continues to resonate with both new and existing customers as the global proliferation of mobile devices and the BYOD trend fundamentally change how users securely connect to their enterprise resources. The recent customer wins we made this quarter with our MOVE architecture demonstrate the power of our platform to expand within our current customer base and win new accounts.”
http://www.arubanetworks.com

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SSE Telecoms Deploys 100G with Ciena

SSE Telecoms, the UK’s fourth largest asset owning telecoms operator (a business unit of Scottish and Southern Energy), has selected Ciena’s coherent 100 Gbps optical networking technology as the exclusive solution for deployment in its UK national network. SSE Telecoms is connecting its data centers across Britain using the 100 Gbps network.  The company is deploying Ciena’s 6500 Packet-Optical Platform equipped with WaveLogic coherent optical processors.  The high-capacity links, already deployed and operational, connect SSE Telecoms’ sites in Manchester and Hampshire to the Global Switch 2 data centre located in London’s Docklands.

http://www.ciena.com

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Huawei Selects Metaswitch Control Plane Software

Huawei has licensed Metaswitch’s Path Computation Element software (DC-PCE) to serve as a key component of its IP and optical product integration strategy. Metaswitch’s DC-PCE, along with its GMPLS software previously licensed to Huawei, provides the key building blocks for Huawei’s Unified Control Plane, which powers the software for its SingleBackbone network architecture.

The Metaswitch solution enables a separation of the IP/MPLS control plane from the data forwarding hardware in the network. This separation and virtualization of the control software from the forwarding hardware is a central feature of Software Defined Networking (SDN) architectures.

http://www.metaswitch.com
http://www.huawei.com

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NextIO Raises $12.3 Million for Data Center I/O

NextIO, a start-up based in Austin, Texas, raised $12.3 million in a Series F funding round for its data center solutions.


NextIO offer a portfolio of rack-level I/O consolidation solutions for datacenter network consolidation, GPGPU computing, and high-performance storage. The newest product in the NextIO portfolio is the vNET I/O Maestro, which provides server connectivity at the rack level to both Ethernet and Fibre Channel networks without the need for changes in governance models or proprietary, hard to support I/O drivers.

http://www.nextio.com

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Zayo Expands its Fiber Network

Zayo is expanding its fiber footprint in Phoenix, Arizona by 165 route miles,  a 60% increase over the existing network. The build will provide presence to the Phoenix suburbs Peoria, El Mirage, Fountain Hills and Sun City.  It will also connect 123 new towers. With the expansion in Phoenix, along with other markets, Zayo’s tower footprint has over 900 towers under construction; currently the on-net tower footprint is 2,427.

Separately, Zayo announced a low latency service between Seattle and Chicago.  Zayo said its existing service between Seattle and Chicago already provides industry-leading latency.  The enhanced service, which will be available in the third quarter of 2012, significantly improves latency. The distance of the route will be reduced by approximately 100 route miles. To further reduce latency, the system will be engineered as an express route, with add/drop points being limited to approximately 4 locations. Zayo anticipates reducing latency by 5 – 15% relative to currently available services. The Wavelength system being deployed will be a native 100G system. Zayo will continue to offer service on its existing system, which provides add/drop points in many markets between Chicago, IL and Seattle, WA.

http://www.zayo.com

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Latest Release of OpenFlow Adds IPv6, Tunneling, QoS

The Open Networking Foundation (ONF) approved OpenFlow 1.3.0, adding a number of updates to the standard for real-world deployment in wide-ranging environments. 

OpenFlow 1.3.0 was developed by the Extensibility Working Group of ONF, which is tasked with moving technical work forward and making OpenFlow more flexible to enable a rich set of features and broad set of implementations. The new version of the OpenFlow protocol includes support for:

• IPv6 deployment that enables OpenFlow controllers to implement IPv6 RFCs and routing

• Tunneling and logical port abstraction used in datacenters, virtualized private networks (VPN), and more

• Provider Backbone Bridging (PBB), which is a lightweight tunneling standard used between datacenters

• Quality of Service (QoS) through a new per-flow metering feature to precisely control the usage of the network bandwidth

• Features that enable the controller to better select the information it gets from the switch with per-flow metering and per-connection event filtering.

OF-Config 1.1 was also approved, which is an update for the configuration and management protocol for OpenFlow switches. The updated configuration protocol is an important aspect of the evolution of OpenFlow and includes capability discovery, tunnel configuration, error handling, and new security features. OF-Config 1.1 allows OpenFlow controllers and OpenFlow switches from different vendors to be easily deployed and managed in the same datacenter or network.

"ONF continues to focus its technical work on the topics that are most important to the networking market,” said Dan Pitt, executive director, ONF. “OpenFlow brings market-defining value into the SDN eco-system. The approval of OpenFlow 1.3.0 and OF-Config 1.1 demonstrates the Foundation’s commitment to reducing time-to-value in real-world deployments where operational efficiency and managing complexity are primary concerns. We are eager for member companies to move forward with the implementation and deployment of these updates because doing so will allow processes to be defined ‘on the fly’ and deployed automatically, thus driving the commercialization of OpenFlow-based SDN for the benefit of customers." 

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