Saturday, November 29, 2014

NSA Releases Niagarafiles Flow Analysis Tool as Open Source

The National Security Agency announced the public release of a software tool called "Niagarafiles (Nifi)" that automates data flows among multiple computer networks, even when data formats and protocols differ. The code is being released through the Apache Software Foundation.

Nifi, which was developed by the NSA, is used to create situational awareness from flows of information coming from geographically dispersed sites.

NSA said that by releasing this technology as open source code will allow the private sector and others to examine the agency's research up close, and potentially benefit from it through additional enhancements and applications. At the same time, the government can gain from related research advances.

"NSA's innovators work on some of the most challenging national security problems imaginable," said Linda L. Burger, Director of the NSA TTP. "Their research breakthroughs often have broad, commercial applications, too. We use open source releases to move technology from the lab to the marketplace, making state-of-the-art technology more widely available and aiming to accelerate U.S. economic growth."

https://www.nsa.gov/public_info/press_room/2014/nifi_announcement.shtml

Telekom Austria Adds EUR 400M to Broadband Rollout

Telekom Austria announced additional investments of up to EUR 400 million for its ongoing broadband rollout in Austria.

"Following the successful conclusion of the capital increase of EUR 1 billion, trading of the new shares on the Vienna Stock Exchange commenced as of today. Our next important item on the agenda with regard to the allocation of the new funds mainly concerns investments in our core markets. In our domestic market, Austria, given the right framework conditions, additional investments of up to EUR 400 million will boost broadband rollout. In this way, we are equipping the country with the necessary infrastructure to meet the challenges lying ahead in the 21st century, while setting important impulses for economic growth and job creation," said Hannes Ametsreiter, CEO Telekom Austria Group and A1.

Telekom Austria also said the infusion of cash will give it the option to pursue strategic acquisitions, inline with the following priorities: (i) in-market consolidation to strengthen existing operations; (ii) the continued pursuit of Telekom Austria Group's convergence strategy to diversify in markets that are currently mobile-only as well as to enhance existing convergent operations; and (iii) expansion via new operations.

http://www.telekomaustria.com/



In October, Telekom Austria Group's A1 domestic subsidiary, together with its technology partner Alcatel-Lucent, demonstrated G.fast running a several hundred megabits per second.  Currently, G.fast is still in a testing phase at A1 and the launch of commercial operations is expected in 2016.

IDC: Worldwide WLAN Market Shows Sustained Growth in Q3

The combined consumer and enterprise worldwide wireless local area network (WLAN) market segments increased 7.4% year over year in the third quarter of 2014 (3Q14), according to the preliminary results published in the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly WLAN Tracker.

"WLAN is proving to be an increasingly mission-critical platform in the enterprise," said Rohit Mehra, Vice President, Network Infrastructure, at IDC. "Not only are organizations experiencing transformed internal business processes through WLAN-enabled cloud and multimedia applications, but public-facing enterprises are realizing opportunities to improve customer engagement through the wireless network. This is leading to a robust stream of network upgrades and greenfield deployments, increasingly built upon the 802.11ac standard. These trends will continue to play out in the foreseeable future."

Some highlights:

  • 802.11ac already accounts for 26.5% of dependent access point shipments and 39% of revenues.
  • The consumer WLAN market increased 4.8% year over year in 3Q14. This was noticeably lower than the 10.9% year-over-year growth seen in 2Q14.
  • The enterprise WLAN market once again performed especially well in Latin America with its 27.3% year-over-year growth in 3Q14. The Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region also enjoyed its second consecutive quarter of solid growth, growing 15.0% year over year. North America, rebounding from a decline in 2Q14, grew 7.5% year over year in 3Q14. The enterprise WLAN market in the Asia/Pacific region grew more modestly at 4.5% year over year.
  • Cisco's 3Q14 worldwide enterprise WLAN revenue increased 2.6% year over year and 7.3% quarter over quarter. Cisco's worldwide market share increased to 48.3% in 3Q14 from 46.8% in 2Q14, stemming two consecutive quarters of declining market share, but still down from the 51.6% market share held in 3Q13.
  • Aruba (excluding its OEM business) had a very strong quarter in 3Q14 and increased 33.4% year over year and 1.4% sequentially on strength across its product portfolio, including the 802.11ac and Aruba Instant access points. As a result, Aruba's market share increased to 11.5% of the enterprise WLAN market, up from the 9.4% in 3Q13.
  • Ruckus again outperformed the overall enterprise WLAN market after growing 22.6% year over year and 4.5% quarter over quarter in 3Q14. Ruckus now accounts for 6.3% of the overall market, up from 5.6% in 3Q13.

Infonetics: VoLTE Drives Subscriber Data Management Momentum

While mobile deployments will continue to dominate the subscriber data management (SDM) market, there is interesting activity in the fixed-line space, including using SDM to support multiscreen video and enable multiple subscriber profiles supported by a single set top box (STB), according to a new report from Infonetics Research.

LTE and voice over LTE (VoLTE) continue to drive the subscriber data management (SDM) market as operators look to synchronize data across domains and ensure a smooth transition for subscribers across access networks. And we expect voice over WiFi (VoWiFi) to have a similar accelerating effect as VoWiFi devices become available,” says Shira Levine, directing analyst for service enablement and subscriber intelligence at Infonetics Research.

“Meanwhile, the ongoing buzz around analytics and big data is translating into interest in SDM’s role as an aggregator of subscriber information across multiple points in the network and IT realms,” Levine adds.

Some highlights:


  • Operators will be launching network functions virtualization (NFV) initiatives over the next few years, but the virtualization of back-end subscriber data repositories is expected to be slow to follow as concerns about the reliability, availability, and security of virtualized network functions persist
  • Organizational issues such as internal resistance to sharing data across departmental “silos” remain a major hurdle to operators’ SDM strategies
  • The worldwide market for SDM software and services is forecast by Infonetics to grow to $2.5 billion in 2018, with services gradually representing a larger share of the market.


http://www.infonetics.com/pr/2014/1H14-SDM-SW-Market-Highlights.asp

Dell'Oro: Microwave Transmission Up 5% YoY in Q3

The point-to-point Microwave Transmission market held on to its positive upturn that began in early 2014, following nearly three years of market contraction, according to a new report by Dell’Oro Group.

“The microwave transmission equipment market is returning to growth,” said Jimmy Yu, Vice President of Microwave Transmission research at Dell’Oro Group.  “Following two quarters of year-over-year growth this year, we’re expecting the momentum to continue as mobile operators continue to expand their mobile networks in geographic areas that favor wireless backhaul over fixed line technologies.  India and the Middle East are just a few of these key microwave backhaul regions where further network spending has benefited the microwave market,” Yu added.

In the third quarter of 2014, the market grew five percent year-over-year for a second consecutive quarter and is set to grow in the area of three percent for the full year 2014.

During Q3, microwave transmission equipment revenue increased 33 percent and 20 percent respectively in Asia Pacific and the Middle East.  Other regions that rely on wireless backhaul such as Africa and Europe also increased microwave use during the quarter, offsetting declines in the Americas region.

http://www.delloro.com


Telstra Activates 700MHz + 1800 MHz in Melbourne

Telstra activated its "4GX" network service in Melbourne, promising users with compatible devices download speeds ranging from 2-100 Mbps.

4GX uses Telstra’s new 700MHz spectrum and delivers higher typical mobile speeds on compatible devices.  It also uses LTE Advanced technology to aggregate the 700MHz spectrum with Telstra’s 1800MHz band.

The service is available today in parts of Melbourne’s CBD and surrounding suburbs including in St Kilda, Windsor, Albert Park, South Yarra, South Melbourne, Docklands, West Melbourne, North Melbourne, Collingwood, Fitzroy, East Melbourne, Parkville, Elsternwick, Cremorne. By January, 4GX services will cover an area spanning three kilometres of the Melbourne GPO and will be expanded across Telstra’s mobile footprint over time.

http://www.telstra.com.au/aboutus/media/media-releases/telstra-launches-world-leading-4gx-mobile-service-in-melbourne.xml

Telstra Builds a National Wi-Fi Network

by James E. Carroll

Telstra is switching on the first 150 Wi-Fi hotspots in anational Wi-Fi network

The first Wi-Fi trials will be located at payphone sites in the heart of local communities in metro and regional areas as well as holiday hotspots, focusing on parts of the communities where people congregate and spend time. In future, Telstra-built hotspots will also be located at Telstra retail outlets and exchange buildings.

Access to Wi-Fi will be free at the 1000 trial sites before the network officially launches early next year.

“This trial marks the beginning of our ambition to switch on more than two million hotspots across the nation over five years and give customers the best Wi-Fi experience in and out of the home,” said Gordon Ballantyne, Group Executive Telstra Retail.

“We want customers to have greater options for connecting when they're out and about. From browsing the web, streaming videos or sharing photos with friends, we want customers to have a taste of what the network will be like next year, when Telstra Wi-Fi members will be able to use their home broadband allowance at the hotspots.

http://www.telstra.com

Thursday, November 27, 2014

Alcatel-Lucent Transfers OMSN R&D to SM Optics

Alcatel-Lucent and SM Optics have announced the transfer of the research and development activity responsible for optical multi-service node (OMSN) platforms, including the 1850 TSS product family and related network management systems to SM Optics, an Italy-based SIAE MICROELETTRONICA company.

A total of 256 specialized R&D engineers and technicians currently based at Alcatel-Lucent’s site in Vimercate, Italy, will be integrated into the SM Optics team, and in a second phase, 110 specialized R&D engineers and technicians currently based at Alcatel-Lucent’s sites in Shanghai and Chengdu, China, will be integrated in another SIAE MICROELETTRONICA joint venture company in China. Under the terms of the agreement, Alcatel-Lucent will maintain responsibility for product strategy, manufacturing, and market-facing activities related to the technologies concerned.

Commenting on the agreement, Roberto Loiola, CEO and Managing Director of Alcatel-Lucent Italia, said, “Through this transfer of  R&D operations to SM Optics, Alcatel-Lucent will be able to maintain its full support for customers, leveraging the valuable experience and specialist expertise of the teams involved while ensuring future employment opportunities for those involved. At the same time, Alcatel-Lucent in Italy will focus on the strategic development of next-generation networking and access technologies, including WDM and wireless transmission.”

Romano Valussi, a board member of SM Optics added “We are delighted with the agreement reached with Alcatel-Lucent, a major partner in the industry. The agreement enables the new company to maintain and enhance Alcatel-Lucent’s huge installed base. In addition, thanks to the R&D agreement, we will reinforce our end to end capability which is a core strength of SIAE MICROELETTRONICA.”

SIAE MICROELETTRONICA, founded in 1952, is a leader in wireless communication technology.

http://www.siaemic.com
http://www.alcatel-lucent.com

Ericsson Signs 5-Year Deal with Egypt's Mobinil

Ericsson announced a 5-year agreement with Mobinil to enhance the Egyptian telecommunication company's network.

Ericsson employees in Egypt and the Middle East region will provide professional services such as design and integration of the various nodes of the Packet Core as well as data migration services. The deal includes Ericsson's Packet Core solution.

Rafiah Ibrahim, Head of Ericsson's Region Middle East, says: "By providing Mobinil with the latest in packet core technology, we are proudly assisting the people of Egypt to enter the Networked Society. Our belief is that customer experience through state of the art technology is the key to differentiation for operators to succeed in competitive markets, such as Egypt, and we look forward to the continued growth of our partnership."

http://www.ericsson.com

Global Net Neutrality Coalition Gets Formed

A new coalition of more than 35 groups from 19 countries has been formed to address Net Neutrality on a global basis.

The coalition agreed on and published the following definition of net neutrality:

"Net neutrality requires that the internet be maintained as an open platform, on which network providers treat all content, applications and services equally, without discrimination."

Lead members of the group include the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Greenpeace, Public Knowledge and others.

http://www.thisisnetneutrality.org/

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Boingo Lands $50 Million Credit Line

Boingo Wireless announced a new $50 million credit agreement with Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Silicon Valley Bank. Bank of America Merrill Lynch will serve as the sole lead arranger and sole bookrunner for the agreement.

“We are pleased with the support received from Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Silicon Valley Bank,” said Peter Hovenier, Chief Financial Officer of Boingo Wireless. “The $50 million facility, coupled with its $40 million accordion feature, strengthens our liquidity position at attractive rates. Paired with our strong balance sheet and cash flow prospects, the credit facility will provide us with flexibility to continue investing in our strategic growth initiatives.”

http://www.boingo.com

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

What's driving the market for Business Ethernet? @TelecomItalia Responds

Alessandro Talotta, Executive Officer of National Wholesale Services at Telecom Italia gives his one-minute take on what's hot in business Ethernet services.
 





GEN14: What's Driving Business Ethernet Services?


by James E. Carroll

Vertical Systems Group recently reported that customer installations of Carrier Ethernet services in the U.S. will reach one million ports in 2018.  The projected figure includes all retail Ethernet services at speeds ranging from sub-10 Mbps to more than 10 Gbps.

So, what's driving the market for business Ethernet?

The recent MEF GEN14 conference in Washington, D.C., which brought together over 1,000 attendees from 36 countries, featured keynotes and presentations from many of the leading Ethernet service providers.

 A few takeaways:
  • There is a paradigm shift underway to cloud-centric services.
  • Enterprises are seeking secure and scalable direct connections to leading cloud providers.
  • Network vendors are delivering new service orchestration platforms that promise service innovation and business agility for operators.
  • The MEF is developing its "Third Network" framework to define automated e-to-e provisioning.  (the first network is the telecom infrastructure and the second network is the best-effort Internet)
  • There are 3 pillars for the Third Network: the MEF's Lifecycle Service Orchestration (LSO), the ONF's SDN, and ETSI's NFV.
  • Allstream and Tata Communications are already showing an Elastic Bandwidth Proof of Concept where an API automates the ENNI between networks.
  • XO Communications sees Ethernet access disrupting legacy connections and yet serving as a complement to MPLS-based IP VPNs.
  • Global Capacity, which offers an Ethernet-enabled Cloud Ecosystem, noted that there are already 12,000 network asset owners, over 2500 in the U.S. alone.  It is targeting "Connectivity-as-a-Service", offering a national aggregation network combined with a software-driven cloud marketplace with automated provisioning and analytics.
  • Lumos Networks sees VoLTE as one of the emerging use cases for dynamic bandwidth in backhaul networks.
  • Time Warner Cable believes the industry is just in the Early Adopter phase of cloud adoption. It is offering its NaviCloud Director platform providing advanced self-service capabilities.
  • Colt, which operates 42 metro networks across Europe connecting over 20,000 buildings and 436 data centers, is now offering dedicated access to its own VMware-powered cloud, AWS, Microsoft Azure and VMware. Further partnerships are expected.
  • The Cloud Ethernet Forum (CEF) launched its Clouded Leopards Den competition to find and support start-ups powered by cloud services.



















Telekom Austria A1 Rolls Out LTE-A Carrier Aggregation

Telekom Austria Group's subsidiaries A1 in Austria and Si.mobil in Slovenia are activating LTE-Advanced carrier aggregation to deliver higher bandwidth in select locations.

Working with Ericsson, A1 is using LTE Carrier Aggregation on two 20 MHz frequency blocks from the 800 and 2600 MHz frequency bands, which it acquired in auction in autumn 2013. In Austria, A1 has already started upgrading currently existing mobile base stations in Graz, especially in highly frequented areas.

In Slovenia, selected locations across six cities are going to be covered with LTE Carrier Aggregation with immediate effect. The Slovenian subsidiary Si.mobil has devoted concerted efforts to driving the rollout of its LTE network forward and expects total population coverage of 75% by year-end 2014.

"Network rollout is in full swing and with LTE Carrier Aggregation A1 and Si.mobil offer a further milestone by bringing this future-proof technology to our customers," said Günther Ottendorfer, CTO Telekom Austria Group.

http://www.telekomaustria.com/

Bidding for AWS-3 Spectrum tops $37 billion

After 35 rounds, bidding in the FCC's Advanced Wireless Services (AWS-3) auction has reached $37.5 billion.

A total of 1,614 licenses total are up for auction, covering 65 MHz of spectrum in the 1695-1710 MHz, 1755-1780 MHz, and 2155-2180 MHz bands ("AWS-3" bands).

The 1695-1710 MHz band is authorized for low-power mobile transmit (i.e., uplink) operations only. The 1755-1780 MHz frequencies in the paired 1755-1780/2155-2180 MHz band are authorized only for low-power mobile transmit (i.e., uplink) operations; the 2155-2180 MHz frequencies are authorized only for base station and fixed (i.e., downlink) operations. Mobiles and portables in the 1695-1710 MHz and 1755-1780 MHz bands may only operate when under the control of a base station, and AWS-3 equipment is subject to a basic interoperability requirement.

http://wireless.fcc.gov/auctions/default.htm?job=auction_summary&id=97

GENBAND and Nokia Collaborate on VoWiFi/VoLTE

Nokia Networks will offer GENBAND´s QUANTiX evolved Packet Data Gateway (ePDG) as part of its voice evolution solutions, including Voice over WiFi.  The GENBAND ePDG will be integrated into Nokia’s Liquid Core portfolio to support multimedia voice, data and video sessions and anywhere/any-device services.

The ePDG is a key component of GENBAND’s Wireless Access Gateway solution and enables Voice over WiFi (VoWiFi) and Voice over LTE (VoLTE) interworking to allow for seamless, secure network connectivity and an enhanced customer experience.

“Combining GENBAND’s ePDG with Nokia’s Liquid Core portfolio allows operators to take advantage of communications services inWiFi networks, offering their customers the ability to make calls and send messages regardless of where they may be,” said BG Kumar, Chief Product Officer at GENBAND.  “We are excited to build on our longstanding partnership with Nokia Networks, a global leader in mobile broadband, to bring advanced solutions to the mobile marketplace.”

“With the evolution of voice and messaging services, like VoWiFi, the combination of Nokia’s and GENBAND’s solution is an effective way to ensure agility and flexibility for our customers. It allows operators to launch innovative, intelligent solutions while maximizing the value of their networks,” said Thorsten Robrecht, Vice President, Nokia Networks. “As part of our strategy, we will integrate GENBAND’s ePDG in our core portfolio to provide complete solutions to operators, without compromising our quality requirements.”

http://www.GENBAND.com
http://networks.nokia.com/

A10 Networks Adds Advanced DDoS Mitigation

A10 Networks introduced new advanced DDoS mitigation capabilities for its Thunder TPS platform.

The new functionality blocks additional attacks such as the recent POODLE attack, and provides advanced rate-limiting for granular Layer 4-7 control to enable mitigation.  The company said its Thunder TPS Release 3.1 includes comprehensive detection capabilities with access to over 400 global, destination-specific and behavioral counters, to eliminate false positives. These granular forensics protect applications and networks while they remain highly available. Significant visibility enhancements expose enhanced traffic details to provide a comprehensive understanding of regular and anomalous traffic patterns. The enhanced easy-to-use GUI provides dashboard, incident and rich report views, which can be analyzed to improve any DDoS protection strategy.

"Network and security staff will greatly benefit from the new mitigation and visibility options provided by Thunder TPS 3.1. More detailed threat analysis and updated tools help to combat the impact of DDoS attacks by preventing damage to critical online resources and the bottom line," said Raj Jalan, CTO of A10 Networks. "With these enhancements, A10 Networks sets the stage to provide additional correlated analytics and ease of administration, including centralized management and automatic traffic baselining features in the near future."

http://www.a10networks.com/news/pr.php?id=1903525

American Tower to Acquire Bharti Airtel's Towers in Nigeria

American Tower agreed to acquire over 4,800 communications towers in Nigeria from Bharti Airtel.

Airtel will be the anchor tenant on the portfolio under a lease with a ten-year initial term.

“We are pleased to announce the launch of our operations in Nigeria while expanding our relationship with Airtel, one of the leading multinational operators in the world,” said Jim Taiclet, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of American Tower. “With the largest population and economy in Africa and relatively underdeveloped wireless infrastructure, we view Nigeria as a tremendous growth opportunity. Further, we expect this investment to support our long-term objective of generating double-digit AFFO per share growth for our stockholders.”

Commenting on the development, Christian de Faria, MD and Chief Executive Officer of Bharti Airtel Africa, said, “Nigeria is the largest mobile market in Africa and a key one for Airtel. This agreement, which is part of our stated philosophy of promoting infrastructure sharing, will provide us with considerable cost efficiencies and at the same time allows us to sharpen our focus on the customer. American Tower has a proven track record in passive infrastructure management and we look forward to benefitting from the best practices from all other countries it operates in."

http://www.americantower.com

American Tower to Acquire TIM Celular's Towers in Brazil

American Tower agreed to acquire two portfolios of towers in Brazil from TIM Celular S.A., which is owned by Telecom Italia S.p.A..

The first portfolio includes approximately 5,240 towers. The second portfolio includes approximately 1,240 towers, which are subject to certain preemptive acquisition rights held by third parties. The total consideration is expected to be approximately 3.0 billion Brazilian Reais (approximately $1.2 billion at the current exchange rate), subject to customary adjustments. American Tower intends to finance the acquisition in a manner consistent with its previously announced leverage targets.

American Tower anticipates that the towers will generate approximately 435 million Brazilian Reais (approximately $171 million at the current exchange rate) in annual run rate revenues (which includes ground rent pass-through and existing collocation revenue), and approximately 191 million Brazilian Reais (approximately $75 million at the current exchange rate) in annual gross margin. TIM will be the anchor tenant on each portfolio under leases with 20-year initial terms.

http://www.americantower.com

Telekom Austria Group Raises EUR 997 million

Telekom Austria Group raised approximately EUR 997 million by floating 221.5 million shares. This brings the total number of shares outstanding from 443.0 million to 664.5 million.

Telekom Austria said it intends to use the net proceeds of the capital increase to re-establish its target capital structure and maintain a credit rating of at least BBB (stable) by Standard & Poor's.

http://www.telekomaustria.com/

Networking Event Calendar 2015 - Conferences & Exhibitions

Events we'll be covering in 2015...


Conference
Opening Day
Location
6-Jan-2015
Las Vegas
27-Jan-2015
Santa Clara
9-Feb-2015
San Francisco
25-Feb-2015
Santa Clara
2-Mar-2015
Barcelona
9-Mar-2015
San Jose
17-Mar-2015
Paris
18-Mar-2015
San Francisco
24-Mar-2015
Los Angeles
7-Apr-2015
Santa Clara
8-Apr-2015
Rio de Janeiro
14-Apr-2015
Santa Clara
14-Apr-2015
London
14-Apr-2015
Berlin
20-Apr-2015
San Francisco
21-Apr-2015
Berlin
22-Apr-2015
Santa Clara
28-Apr-2015
Las Vegas
28-Apr-2015
London
5-May-2015
San Jose
INTX (formerly NCTA)
5-May-2015
Chicago
12-May-2015
Orlando
18-May-2015
Vancouver
19-May-2015
Paris
19-May-2015
Barcelona
26-May-2015
London
27-May-2015
Singapore
7-Jun-2015
San Diego
9-Jun-2015
New York
15-Jun-2015
Santa Clara
24-Jun-2015
San Francisco
11-Jul-2015
Santa Clara
27-Jul-2015
Santa Clara
30-Aug-2015
San Francisco
15-Sep-2015
Las Vegas
15-Sep-2015
San Francisco
6-Oct-2015
Las Vegas
6-Oct-2015
Santa Clara
13-Oct-2015
Germany
22-Oct-2015
London
25-Oct-2015
San Francisco
16-Nov-2015
Dallas