Healthy growth continues for public cloud data centre infrastructure

The global market for IT infrastructure products continues to be reshaped by rapid buildouts of hyperscale data centres for public clouds. Ahead of a busy mid-summer week for data centre server announcements, several analyst studies have been released that shed light on how the market for server, storage and Ethernet switch products continues to evolve. Overall, this market grew 14.9% year over year in the first quarter of 2017 (1Q17), reaching...

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CityFibre Agrees to acquire Entanet, raises funding

CityFibre Infrastructure Holdings, designer, builder, owner and operator of optical infrastructure in UK towns and cities, announced that it aims to raise minimum gross proceeds of GBP 185 million via a placement of shares at 55 pence per share in an offering that is fully underwritten by banks Citigroup, finnCap, Liberum and Macquarie,CityFibre also intends to raise further proceeds through an accelerated bookbuilding process that will be launched...

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FirstLight to acquire 186 Communications, operator of New England fibre network

Albany-based FirstLight, a fibre bandwidth infrastructure services provider operating in U.S. northeast and a company of Oak Hill Capital Partners, announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire 186 Communications, operator of a high-capacity fibre network in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont.The transaction will combine 186 Communications' network infrastructure with FirstLight's expansive fibre network and portfolio of data, Internet, data centre, cloud and voice services.Upon completion of the transaction, together...

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Edgewise exits stealth - Trusted Application Networking

Massachusetts-based Edgewise Networks, a provider of Trusted Application Networking designed to secure data centres and the cloud, has emerged from stealth having reportedly raised $7 million in funding.Founded by Peter Smith, a cybersecurity entrepreneur, and Harry Sverdlove, former CTO of Carbon Black (formerly Bit9), Edgewise Networks offers a new approach to security designed to prevent compromise and attack progression of network-borne threats...

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Korea's SK Telecom achieves 1 Gbit/s with Ericsson LAA

Ericsson announced that SK Telecom, a major mobile operator in South Korea, has tested mobile broadband using Ericsson's Licensed Assisted Access solution, during which it achieved data speeds of up to 1 Gbit/s to smartphones in an indoor environment.Ericsson noted that Licensed Assisted Access (LAA) technology utilises licensed LTE spectrum and unlicensed spectrum, and in the testing SK Telecom used one LTE 20 MHz band and three WiFi 20 MHz bands,...

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AT&T launches high-speed wireless network in Indianapolis

AT&T, which in April announced that as part of its 5G Evolution program it planned to offer higher speed services for wireless customers in 20 metro areas by the end of the year, has launched 5G Evolution in parts of Indianapolis, providing faster wireless speeds and enhanced services for customers.The new wireless capability is now available in select areas of Austin, where AT&T wireless customers with a Samsung Galaxy S8 or S8+ smartphone...

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SK Telecom commercialises T-MANO NFV

Korea's SK Telecom announced that it has commercialised T-MANO, an NFV MANO (network functions virtualisation management and orchestration) platform that performs integrated management and orchestration of virtualised network equipment and software. SK Telecom noted that NFV MANO, also termed MANO, provides an architectural framework for managing and orchestrating virtualised network functions (VNFs) and other software components. The new T-MANO...

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Idaho state R&E network IRON deploys ADVA FSP 3000

ADVA Optical Networking announced that the Idaho Regional Optical Network (IRON) has deployed its 100 Gbit/s core technology to address increasing bandwidth demand from research and education (R&E) institutions in the state.The upgraded backbone network in Idaho delivers secure high-capacity services across the state, including in remote rural areas. The new network features ADVA's flexible transport technology, designed to enable IRON to provide...

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Verizon validates NG-PON2 interoperability based on OpenOMCI spec

Verizon announced it has validated interoperability of NG-PON2 at its Technology Center in Waltham, Massachusetts during a trial focused on ONT management and provisioning that used Verizon's OpenOMCI specification, which defines the OLT-to-ONT interface and is aligned with the ITU-T Recommendation G.989.3. Verizon noted that it worked with ADTRAN, Broadcom, Cortina Access, Ericsson/Calix and Intel, which have expertise with OMCI and interoperability...

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Huawei and BT Openreach test 25/100G symmetric PON

Huawei and BT unit Openreach announced they have tested a 25/100 Gbit/s symmetric PON prototype as part of preparations to support future 5G speeds, as well as manage network demands from ultra-HD (UHD) video consumption and enterprise leased lines. The Huawei technology trialled is designed to enable operators to increase speeds and bandwidth on their existing network infrastructure, and so help to future-proof their networks. The PON prototype...

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Ericsson enhances performance of HDS 8000 using Intel

Ericsson announced that the Intel Rack Scale Design featuring the new Intel Xeon Scalable processor is being introduced in the Ericsson Hyperscale Datacenter System 8000 to enable expanded capacity and capabilities for data centres and improve the performance of applications running on the platform. Specifically, Ericsson is introducing the new Intel Xeon Scalable processor within the Compute Sled Unit 02 within its Hyperscale Datacenter System...

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Rise expands fixed wireless broadband

Rise Broadband, a major fixed wireless broadband service provider, announced it has finalised its agreement with the city of Blair, Nebraska, and has activated transmission equipment on three city structures to expand its Internet and phone service coverage, speed and capacity for homes and businesses in the area. Rise specialises in delivering broadband service and support to rural and suburban regions that are unserved or underserved by wireline...

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Vodafone teams with Lime Microsystems to develop software-defined radio

UK-based Lime Microsystems, a designer and manufacturer of field programmable RF transceivers, announced a collaboration with Vodafone Group to develop software-defined cellular radio platforms that will support Vodafone's OPEN RAN vision. The app-enabled LimeNET platform is designed to bring together a large community of developers to help create advanced and tailored cellular applications more quickly and more cost effectively. The applications...

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