SK Telecom and Nokia Collaborate on 5G

SK Telecom and Nokia signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to collaborate on the development and verification of 5G mobile technologies. The companies will conduct joint research on core 5G technologies such as the gigabit-level data communications and cloud-based virtualized base stations. They plan to establish a test bed at SK Telecom’s R&D Center in Bundang, Seoul.

One area of R&D will be cmWave/mmWave technology, which uses wideband spectrum resources in ultra-high frequency bands (6GHz or higher).

At the MoU signing ceremony at Nokia’s Headquarters in Finland,, the two companies announced plans to demonstrate 5G in 2018 and commercialize 5G service in 2020.

“The future of mobile telecommunications network will not only connect people, but things as well. In the end, 5G will further extend human potential through advanced telecommunications technologies,” said Hossien Moiin, Head of Technology and Innovation at Nokia. “Together with SK Telecom, Nokia will make efforts to allow diverse futuristic services to be efficiently provided through 5G technologies.”

Meanwhile, in June 2014, SK Telecom has signed an MOU with Nokia to cooperate on the development of technologies including virtualization, software-based network establishment and next-generation cloud network management, all of which are critical in developing base stations for the 5G network.

http://www.sktelecom.com/en/press/detail.do?idx=1099

• In November 2014, Nokia and SK Telecom demonstrated base station virtualization technology (Cloud vRAN).
• In July 2014, SK Telecom announced a 5G development pact with Ericsson.

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Oracle Intros Lower Cost Virtual Compute Appliance

Oracle introduced a line of lower priced data center equipment aimed at taking on other major vendors in this sector.

"We're going to compete for that core data center business. Our appliances and engineered systems deliver the highest performance by a large margin at the lowest purchase price for the data center core. They get the job done faster, more securely and more reliably than any competitive offering available today," said Ellison. "Our customers want their data centers to be as simple and as automated as possible. With some of Oracle's engineered systems and appliances, you can pay 50 percent less, BUT you have to be willing to take TWICE the performance."

The new generation of integrated appliances include:

Oracle's Virtual Compute Appliance X5: Paired with the Oracle FS1 Series Flash Storage System, the Virtual Compute Appliance serves as a complete, converged infrastructure system. Oracle calculates that compared to Cisco plus EMC, Virtual Compute Appliance is 50 percent cheaper and easier to deploy.

Oracle Database Appliance X5: Designed for distributed and branch office deployments, the Oracle Database Appliance integrates compute, storage, and software. It adds flash caching, integrated InfiniBand connectivity, increased compute cores, and increased storage to improve consolidation density by up to 4x.

Oracle Big Data Appliance X5: Delivers Hadoop and NoSQL capabilities to the enterprise at a 35 percent lower three-year total cost of ownership and with 30 percent faster deployment time than a custom-built cluster. The new appliance comes with twice the RAM and 2.25x the processor cores. Also available on Oracle Big Data Appliance is the latest version of Oracle Big Data SQL, which extends Oracle SQL to Hadoop and NoSQL, enabling customers to use one fast SQL query across all their data, with no application changes.

Oracle's Zero Data Loss Recovery Appliance X5: Eliminates data loss exposure, offering faster processors and up to 30 percent expanded capacity within a single rack, enabling faster recovery, higher throughput, and improved database backup consolidation.

http://www.oracle.com

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Verizon Deploys 100G in APAC Using Fujitsu and Ciena

Verizon has deployed 100G technology on its network in Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong, connecting these three locations and further extending 100G technology across its global network.

This deployment, which used the Fujitsu Flashwave 9500 ROADM and Ciena 5430 Reconfigurable Switching System, added approximately 11,681 terrestrial and submarine miles (18,800 kilometers) to the company’s extensive 100G network.  These additional miles add to the more than 32,000 100G miles already deployed on Verizon’s U.S. network and 8,500 100G miles on its European network.

“Like other regions in the world, the Asia-Pacific region is seeing solid traffic growth from such drivers as cloud services, over-the-top video and unified services,” said Helen Wong, director of Asia-Pacific products for Verizon. “By deploying 100G, Verizon stays ahead of its global customers’ increasing demand for bandwidth while improving quality and increasing the efficiency of our global network.”

Verizon said traffic continues to rise due to the growing demands of data, cloud, video and mobile solutions that require increasingly agile and scalable enterprise networks. The company also cited its recent Secure Cloud Interconnect agreements with Google, Salesforce, HP, Microsoft and Amazon Web Services, which are expected to fuel the demand for 100G connections between the Asia-Pacific region, Europe and the U.S.

http://www.verizon.com/about/news/verizon-extends-its-100g-network-asia-pacific/

• Verizon first deployed 100G on an ultra-long-haul optical system in the U.S. in 2011.

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AT&T's UC Federation Service Connects Lync, Jabber

AT&T launched a new UC Federation service that connects across disparate unified communications (UC) systems, including Microsoft Lync and Cisco Jabber.

Key capabilities include:

• Connect to supported UC platforms of partners, suppliers and vendors
• Control which organizations can communicate at the company, group or user level
• Allow communication methods (like instant messaging) and block others (such as online presence).

"Companies that try to set up UC platforms on their own can face challenges when creating scalable, secure connectivity that meets compliance and support requirements," said Vishy Gopalakrishnan, AVP Big Data and Advanced Solutions, AT&T Business Solutions. "UC Federation from AT&T provides tools to help overcome this challenge by removing the hassle and allowing business teams to connect easily and over a highly securely platform."

Sonus has deployed and trialed AT&T UC Federation and is in the process of a full service rollout.

AT&T said it plans to extend UC Federation beyond IM and presence to include calendar integration and video and voice capabilities later this year. Additional UC platforms may also be supported in the future.

http://www.business.att.com/enterprise/Service/unified-communications/uc-as-a-service/uc-federation

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Dell'Oro: Ethernet Switch Market Expected to Exceed $25 B in 2019

The Layer 2-3 Ethernet Switch market is expected to exceed $25 billion in 2019, according to a new report from Dell'Oro Group

“Data center switching will evolve rapidly through the rest of the decade and will drive most of the growth in the Ethernet Switch market.  Already we see these changes causing vendors to significantly increase the number of products they offer,” said Alan Weckel, Vice President of Ethernet Switch market research at Dell’Oro Group.  “Towards the end of the decade, we expect data center switching growth to be driven exclusively by the Cloud, with the enterprise market declining slowly.  The Cloud will help spur the adoption of Software Defined Networking (SDN) that is another key driver in the evolution from an enterprise-driven to a Cloud-dominated Ethernet Switching market.  The Cloud’s need to scale, be flexible, and differentiate are ultimately all governed by what can be achieved in software,” stated Weckel.

The Ethernet Switch 5-Year Forecast Report also indicates that 25 Gigabit Ethernet will be a major driver for growth in data center switching and will help propel 100 Gigabit Ethernet volumes, with Enterprises adopting a different class of switch to support 25 Gigabit Ethernet compared with switches used in the Cloud.  The report also indicates software will transform how Ethernet switches are consumed by customers.

http://www.delloro.com/news/ethernet-switch-market-expected-exceed-25-b-2019

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Dell'Oro: Optical Packet-Transport Equipment Market to Reach $10 Billion by 2019

The demand for optical packet-transport equipment is forecast to grow at an average annual rate of 14 percent until it reaches $10 billion by 2019, according to a new report from Dell'Oro Group.

“The previous generation of optical equipment was defined by its transport capacity,” said Jimmy Yu, Vice President of Optical Transport Market Research at Dell’Oro Group.  “However, I think the next generation will be defined by its adaptability and openness. Service providers need these types of features in order to move to a software defined network architecture or carrier SDN, as well as to enable network elasticity and operational cost savings.  The right optical network elements, starting with optical packet-transport, will help service providers to realize the benefits of carrier SDN,” added Mr. Yu.

Optical Packet-Transport systems unite optical switch functions with WDM optics, thereby enhancing WDM systems functionality beyond high capacity throughput to include bandwidth management, protection and restoration.  As equipment manufacturers add open control interfaces, optical packet-transport equipment can be an excellent network element to undertake requests from an SDN controller for network changes, service turn-up and turn-down.

http://www.delloro.com/news/optical-packet-transport-equipment-market-reach-10-billion-2019-according-delloro-group-forecast

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Reports: AWS May Buy Israeli Start-up

Amazon is looking to acquire Annapurna Labs, a start-up based in Israel believed to be developing data center switching chipsets.  According to various media sources, the deal could excedd US$350 million. The company was founded in 2011 by Avigdor Willenz, who previously founded Galileo Technology. The companies have not yet commented on the reports.

http://www.annapurnalabs.com/
https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/aws/

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Verizon's IoT Business at $585 Million for '14 and Growing 45% YoY

Verizon Communications reported total Q4 2014 operating revenues of $33.2 billion, a 6.8 percent increase compared with fourth-quarter 2013. There was a loss of 54 cents per share, compared with earnings per share (EPS) of $1.76 in 4Q 2013, due to non-operational items. Full-year 2014 operating revenues were $127.1 billion, up 5.4 percent or $6.5 billion, compared with full-year 2013.

Some highlights:

• New revenue streams from the Internet of Things and telematics totaled approximately $585 million in 2014, with an annual growth rate of more than 45 percent. The company recently launched Verizon Vehicle, a connected-vehicle service for consumers, with an addressable market of more than 200 million vehicles.
• In 2014, cash flows from operations totaled $30.6 billion, and free cash flow (non-GAAP, cash from operations less capital expenditures) totaled $13.4 billion. Capital expenditures totaled $17.2 billion for 2014, up 3.5 percent year over year.

Wireless

• Total revenues were $23.4 billion in fourth-quarter 2014, up 11.0 percent year over year. Service revenues in the quarter totaled $18.2 billion, up 2.8 percent year over year. Retail service revenues grew 2.6 percent year over year, to $17.4 billion.
• Verizon Wireless full-year total revenues were $87.6 billion, an increase of 8.2 percent compared with full-year 2013 revenues of $81.0 billion.
• Verizon Wireless added 2.1 million retail net connections, including 2.0 million retail postpaid connections, in the fourth quarter. These additions exclude acquisitions and adjustments.
• At the end of the year, the company had 108.2 million retail connections. This includes 102.1 million retail postpaid connections, a 5.5 percent increase year over year.
• Verizon Wireless had 35.6 million retail postpaid accounts at the end of the fourth quarter, up 1.5 percent compared with fourth-quarter 2013, and 2.87 connections per account, up 4.0 percent year over year.
• During fourth-quarter 2014, retail postpaid device activations were up nearly 34 percent over the same period in 2013. About three-quarters of phone activations in the quarter were customer upgrades. Approximately 9.8 percent of the retail postpaid base upgraded devices, and 93 percent of these upgrades were 4G smartphones.
• The company added a net of 672,000 postpaid phones, as 4G smartphone additions of 1.5 million were offset by net declines in basic and 3G smartphones. In terms of Internet devices, the company added 1.4 million new 4G LTE tablets.
• At the end of 2014, smartphones accounted for 78.6 percent of the Verizon Wireless retail postpaid customer phone base, up from 70.0 percent at the end of 2013.
• Retail postpaid churn was 1.14 percent in the fourth quarter, an increase of 14 basis points sequentially and 18 basis points year over year. Retail churn was 1.39 percent in the fourth quarter, up 10 basis points sequentially and 12 basis points year over year.

Wireline

• Total revenues were $9.6 billion in fourth-quarter 2014, down 1.6 percent year over year. Consumer revenues were $4.0 billion, up 4.1 percent compared with fourth-quarter 2013, with FiOS revenues representing 77 percent of the total.
• Total FiOS revenues grew 11.6 percent, to $3.3 billion, comparing fourth-quarter 2014 with fourth-quarter 2013. For the full year, FiOS revenues totaled $12.7 billion in 2014, up 13.6 percent compared with $11.2 billion in 2013.
• Sales of strategic services to enterprise customers increased 1.5 percent, to $2.1 billion, compared with fourth-quarter 2013. Strategic services include private IP, Ethernet, data center, cloud, security and managed services.
• In fourth-quarter 2014, Verizon added 145,000 net new FiOS Internet connections and 116,000 net new FiOS Video connections. Verizon had totals of 6.6 million FiOS Internet and 5.6 million FiOS Video connections at year-end 2014, representing year-over-year increases of 9.0 percent and 7.4 percent, respectively.
• FiOS Internet penetration (subscribers as a percentage of potential subscribers) was 41.1 percent at the end of 2014, compared with 39.5 percent at the end of 2013. In the same periods, FiOS Video penetration was 35.8 percent, compared with 35.0 percent. The FiOS network passed more than 19.8 million premises by year-end 2014.
• By year-end 2014, 59 percent of consumer FiOS Internet customers subscribed to FiOS Quantum, which provides speeds ranging from 50 to 500 megabits per second, up from 57 percent at the end of third-quarter 2014.
• Broadband connections totaled 9.2 million at year-end 2014, a 2.1 percent year-over-year increase. Net broadband connections increased by 59,000 in fourth-quarter 2014 and 190,000 for the full year, as FiOS Internet net additions more than offset declines in DSL-based High Speed Internet connections.
• In fourth-quarter 2014, Verizon migrated an additional 52,000 customers who had been using copper connections, bringing the full-year total to around 255,000. Verizon has converted more than 800,000 customers to fiber since starting this initiative in 2011.

http://www.verizon.com/about/news/verizon-reports-high-quality-customer-additions-4q-caps-year-position-drive-continued/

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Infinera Posts Q4 Revenue of $186 Million, up 34% YoY

Infinera reported revenue of $186.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2014, compared to $173.6 million in the third quarter of 2014 and $139.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2013.  GAAP gross margin for the quarter was 45.3% compared to 43.4% in the third quarter of 2014 and 40.2% in the fourth quarter of 2013. GAAP net income for the quarter was $8.4 million, or $0.06 per diluted share, compared to net income of $4.8 million, or $0.04 per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2014 and a net loss of $10.2 million, or $0.08 per share, in the fourth quarter of 2013.

Revenue for the year was $668.1 million compared to $544.1 million in 2013.

“The fourth quarter capped off an exceptional year of winning footprint, taking care of customers and increasing profitability. Growing greater than 20% for a second consecutive year demonstrates the market’s acceptance of our differentiated products and the overall Infinera experience,” said Tom Fallon, Infinera's Chief Executive Officer. “As we evolve from a single-threaded product company to an end-to-end optical solutions company, I believe Infinera is better positioned than ever to serve more customers and address more opportunities.”

http://www.infinera.com

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VI Systems Intros 850nm VCSEL for 50 Gbps

VI Systems introduced a 850nm vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) transmitter module for multimode fiber transmission of up to 50 Gbps.

The transmitter module features a V-connector for the electrical input signal and for the optical output a 50/125 multi mode fiber which is terminated with a standard FC/PC connector.  

The V50-850M transmitter module is designed for test setups aimed at development of advanced short reach optical interconnects.

http://www.v-i-systems.com/

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Orange Launches Digital Ventures

Orange is lauching an “early stage” investment program branded Orange Digital Ventures. It will  identify and fund start-ups during their initial development as well as provide the  strategic relationships needed for them to become valuable companies.

Orange said it plans to focus its investments on start-ups working on the new and next transformations of the telecoms and digital  sectors. Orange Digital Ventures will support in particular start-ups in  the fields of communication, connectivity, the cloud, payment, the  Internet of Things and big data, e-Health and security services  developing innovative solutions and technologies as well as inventing  new business models.

Orange Digital Ventures has earmarked 20 million Euros for its first  year.

http://www.orange.com/fr/innovation/une-innovation-ouverte/Orange-Digital-Ventures

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Singtel Updates its Branding

Singtel adopted new branding for the first time in 16 years, marking the company's transformation from a telecom operator to a full-service multimedia and ICT services provider.

Singtel Group CEO, Ms Chua Sock Koong, said: “Generations in Singapore have grown up with Singtel. Customers see us as a trusted, reliable brand that is at the forefront of technology.  In this digital age, we recognise that customers also want things simpler, faster and delivered by people who truly care."

http://www.singtel.com

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