DANTE Builds Terabit GÉANT Network with Infinera and Juniper

GÉANT, the pan-European research and education network, confirmed that Infinera and Juniper Networks are key suppliers for upgrading its 50,000km backbone.

Specifically, GÉANT is using Infinera’s DTN-X optical transmission platform and Juniper Networks MX Series 3D Universal Routers with 100Gbps capability

“After an extensive procurement process Infinera and Juniper demonstrated the best match for our stringent criteria, combining leading edge technology with ease of use and a vision for the future that matches our needs moving forward. We look forward to working closely with them to deliver the benefits of this highly advanced network to GÉANT’s 40 million plus users across Europe,” stated Michael Enrico, CTO, DANTE.

DANTE is the organisation that on behalf of Europe’s national research and education networks (NRENs) has built and operates the GÉANT network.

http://www.geant.net
http://www.dante.net

Earlier, GÉANT announced that Hungary's Wigner Research Centre for Physics in Budapest will host CERN’s new remote data center and will process and store data from CERN for the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).   The centre will be connected with multiple 100G links.

NIIF/Hungarnet, the Hungarian National Research and Education Network (NREN) has a central role to play in providing extreme high speed connectivity for data communication between the GÉANT Point of Presence in Budapest and the Wigner site hosting CERN’s remote centre.

In a joint statement, Matthew Scott and Niels Hersoug, joint General Managers of DANTE, the organisation which on behalf of Europe’s NRENs has built and operates the GÉANT network, said, “We’re delighted that CERN value the substantial benefits offered by the GÉANT network and services, and are continuing the long-standing and successful relationship that has seen GÉANT at the centre of the LHC data needs for many years. The Wigner data centre is exactly the kind of power user that the upgraded network will continue to support, and we look forward to working with all the partners involved to ensure the continued success of the LHC research.”

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Telefónica Digital Selects Microsoft Mediaroom for Global Video Platform

Telefónica Digital has selected Microsoft's Mediaroom for its new Global Video Platform (GVP) for all video entertainment services across Telefónica’s Operating Businesses.

Telefónica's GVP is an IPTV-based pay-TV subscription service --  including DVR, video on-demand and and other applications -- that can be delivered either on the carrier's own access network or as an over-the-top offering.  It supports a range of devices inside and outside the home, including set top boxes, Xbox 360s, tablets and smartphones.  

Launches are already underway in Brazil (Vivo TV Fibra), Chile (Movistar IPTV) and Spain (Movistar Imagenio on Xbox 360).  The service is Spain provides subscribers with 12 linear channels focused on sports including the Spanish First Soccer League (Liga BBVA) under Canal+ Liga Channel.

“This new agreement focused on Telefónica’s GVP further extends our alliance in the world of TV and video entertainment to a range of screens throughout the home and on the go, and the benefits will be enjoyed by many millions of people globally. Through its use of IP-based broadband networks and the Microsoft Mediaroom platform, Telefónica’s next-generation TV services are poised to delight and entertain millions of consumers across their markets in Europe and Latin America," stated Tom Gibbons, corporate vice president, Operator TV Business, Microsoft.

http://www.microsoft.com

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CenturyLink Upgrades to 100G

CenturyLink, the third largest telecommunications company in the U.S., completed a 100 Gbps upgrade of its nationwide network.  The carrier can now deliver dedicated 100 Gigabit Ethernet Optical Wavelength Service to enterprise and wholesale businesses in more than 50 metropolitan locations across the United States. CenturyLink also recently deployed 100 Gbps in Singapore and London, with more international cities planned for early 2013.

CenturyLink said it plans additional network capabilities to be deployed in early 2013, including connectivity to Savvis cloud, hosting and colocation services, data centers and customer business locations. Savvis, which is a CenturyLink company, provides cloud infrastructure and hosted IT solutions for enterprises.

"Responding to the increasing broadband demands and supporting new business applications is a priority for us, which is why we began the transition to 100 Gbps a couple of years ago," said Pieter Poll, CenturyLink senior vice president of national and international network planning, engineering and construction. "These speed and capacity improvements will provide customer services that deliver fully managed, end-to-end optical networks designed to meet the specific needs of banks and financial institutions, government agencies, enterprises, carriers and Internet service providers."

http://www.centurylink.com

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GSA: 42 Mobile Operators using 1800 MHz for LTE

The most widely used band for 4G/LTE to date is the 1800 MHz band, according to GSA (Global mobile Suppliers Association), which counts 42 active LTE deployments using this spectrum.  The second most popular band in which LTE systems are deployed is 2.6 GHz, followed by 700 MHz.

Commercial LTE1800 services are currently available in 29 countries and there are more than 130 LTE devices on the market suporting this band.

GSA notes that in most cases the 1800 MHz spectrum has been refarmed from its original use as a 2G/GSM band.  

http://www.gsacom.com/lte1800

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LSI Debuts Syncro Storage Architecture

LSI introduced Syncro, a new storage architecture that enhances direct-attached storage (DAS) with advanced sharing capabilities in multi-server data center applications.

The first member of the Syncro product family, the Syncro MX-B Boot Appliance, is a standalone, pre-configured, 1U form factor rack boot device for as many as 48 servers.  It eliminates boot drives, helping to reduce the overall system and maintenance costs for the largest cloud and mega-datacenter environments.

“The Syncro architecture is the result of customer requests to increase data protection across multiple server and storage systems by enabling levels of enterprise-class availability and flexibility never before offered for DAS,” said Bill Wuertz, senior vice president and general manager, RAID Storage Division, LSI. “The new Syncro architecture and product family demonstrate LSI’s long, proven commitment to delivering the most innovative and productive solutions for next-generation server and storage systems.”

http://www.lsi.com

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AT&T Donates to Telecoms Sans Frontieres

AT&T made a donation of $150,000 to Télécoms Sans Frontières (TSF), an NGO focused on emergency telecommunications NGO.

TSF can deploy anywhere in the world within 24 hours to help reinstate telecommunications channels, assist rescue operations and help disaster victims to reach family and friends.  TSF is currently operating in Syria and North Mali, providing critical communications helping civilians and relief organizations tackle deteriorating security situations.

AT&T noted that it has give $800,000 to TGF over the past decade.

http://www.att.com
http://www.tsfi.org

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Texas Instruments Cuts 1,700 Jobs and Refocuses Wireless Business

Texas Instruments (TI) is cutting 1,700 jobs worldwide and refocusing its  Wireless business on embedded markets "with greater potential for sustainable growth."

Instead of pursuing the market for mobile devices, Texas Instruments said it will focus its OMAP processors and wireless connectivity solutions on a broader set of embedded applications with long life cycles.

"We have a great opportunity to reshape our OMAP processor and wireless connectivity product lines to concentrate on embedded markets. Momentum is already building with new embedded applications and a broad set of customers, and we are accelerating our efforts in these areas," said Greg Delagi, senior vice president of Embedded Processing. "These job reductions are something we do with a heavy heart because they impact people we care deeply about. We will work closely with all employees affected by these changes to provide a range of assistance related to compensation, benefits and job search."

http://www.ti.com 

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Symmetricom and Cavium Partner on IEEE 1588 Synchronization

Symmetricom and Cavium announced a collaboration for delivering synchronization for 3G and 4G/LTE equipment.

Symmetricom's SoftClock fully supports both the IEEE 1588 Precision Time Protocol (PTP) standard as well as the Network Time Protocol (NTP) and has now been certified for operation on Cavium's OCTEON Fusion base station-on-a-chip products.

http://www.cavium.com
http://www.symmetricom.com

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Dell'Oro: LTE RAN Sales up in Q3, NSN Gains Share

Sales of LTE radio access network equipment increased almost 3X in 3Q12 over a year earlier but this was not enough to offset lower carrier spending on 2G/3G gear, according to a recently published report from Dell'Oro Group.  The report finds that the total mobile RAN market declined 11 percent in 3Q12, and that Ericsson maintained its leadership position in LTE while Nokia Siemens Networks passed Alcatel-Lucent to become the number two LTE vendor.  Huawei and Alcatel-Lucent shared the third spot with approximately 15 percent of LTE RAN revenue shares respectively.

"This is the fourth straight quarter that total mobile RAN revenues have suffered double-digit declines year over year,” said Stefan Pongratz, analyst with Dell’Oro Group. “The good news is that we are seeing operators increasingly putting an emphasis on network coverage, performance, and quality, in the hope of differentiating their networks. They know that once they fall behind on LTE coverage/performance, it will become increasingly challenging to generate net adds. This is spurring LTE spending/commitments not only in the US, Japan, and Korea, but now also in Russia, Brazil, and even the UK and France,” continued Pongratz.

http://www.delloro.com/news/2012/Mob111312.htm

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