IEEE approves 200G and 400G Ethernet spec

The IEEE 802.3 Ethernet Working Group has approved 802.3bs - Standard for Ethernet Amendment: Media Access Control Parameters, Physical Layers, and Management Parameters for 200 Gbps and 400 Gbps Operation. The new specification cover the operation of 200GbE and 400GbE across various interconnects, including applications such as cloud-scale data centers, Internet Exchanges, co-location services, service provider networks, and other bandwidth-intensive...

Read More

CWDM8 MSA Group releases 400G 10 km optical spec

The CWDM8 Multi-Source Agreement group released a new technical specification for 400 Gb/s optical links up to 10 km over duplex single-mode fiber (SMF). The group promotes the use of 8-wavelength Coarse Wavelength Division Multiplexing technology.in modern data centers and to support the deployment of 12.8T Ethernet switches and other advanced networking equipment with 50G SERDES. Current members of the CWDM8 MSA are Accton, Applied Optoelectronics,...

Read More

China funds PEACE subsea cable from Pakistan to Kenya

Marine survey work is underway for a new Pakistan East Africa Cable Express (PEACE) submarine cable that will connect South Asia with East Africa, as well as offer the shortest route from western China to southern Europe when combined with terrestrial fiber between Pakistan and China. Huawei Marine is the lead vendor for the project. The PEACE subsea cable will have a total length of 13,000km and is targeted to enter service by the end of 2019....

Read More

GTT acquires Amsterdam-based Custom Connect

GTT has acquired Custom Connect, an Amsterdam-headquartered provider of high-speed network connectivity serving multinational enterprises and financial trading firms. Financial terms were not disclosed. Custom Connect, which was founded by Olav van Doorn and Jan Willem Meijer, operates a carrier-neutral MPLS/IP network that integrates SD-WAN and public and private clouds alongside existing data centers, offices, and branches. Its range of services...

Read More

Dallas picks Ericsson’s Connected Urban Transport solution

The City of Dallas is working with Ericsson to install and host an Advanced Traffic Management System (ATMS) that promises that ability to aggregate and analyze diverse, real-time data from traffic sensors and cameras. This will allow the city to dynamically control traffic lights, school flashers and message signs to optimize traffic flow. Work began in late 2017 and plans call for the system to be fully operational by 2020. Highlights of Ericsson’s...

Read More

TELUS picks Ericsson's MediaFirst TV Platform

TELUS has selected Ericsson's MediaFirst TV Platform to power its next-generation TV service. The carrier recently launched its new Optik TV app to almost one million customers in British Columbia, Alberta and Quebec. Financial terms were not disclosed. The Ericsson MediaFirst TV Platform leverages a cloud architecture for the creation, management, and delivery of next-generation Pay TV. It includes advanced analytics tools which enable operators...

Read More

China Telecom completes 100G ROADM net with Huawei

China Telecom completed the commercial rollout of a 100G ROADM backbone network on the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River serving Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanghai, Hubei, Anhui, and Jiangxi. Huawei was the exclusive network solutions provider. The network, which is now supporting over three hundred 100G services, is based on ROADM optical mesh networking. The rollout was completed in 5 months. "The dynamic interconnection of the first ROADM...

Read More

Ericsson borrows $370M to fund 5G R&D and strengthen balance sheet

In late December, Ericsson signed a credit agreement with the Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) for US$220 million, maturing in 2023, and with AB Svensk Exportkredit (SEK) for US$150 million, maturing in 2025. Of these new funds, $98 million will replace credit with NIB that was set to mature in 2019. Ericsson said the remaining amount will be used to strengthen its balance sheet and to support R&D activities to further develop 5G and other mobile...

Read More

China Mobile Chooses Huawei's CloudFabric

China Mobile is using Huawei's CloudFabric solution to build a private cloud resource pool for its data centers in the cities of Hohhot and Harbin. China Mobile is mainly using its private cloud to support its internal IT systems, including business platforms, IT support systems, and other internal uses. In 2016, the Phase-I project for China Mobile's private cloud resource pool was completed. Phase-II aims to become the world's largest OpenStack...

Read More

Will Europe regain mobile leadership with 5G?

by James E. Carroll At the end of November, Verizon confirmed plans to launch 5G residential service beginning in Sacramento, California. By the end of 2018, Verizon should have commercial 5G fixed line residential services running in half a dozen cities. The timing is a little bit slower than what was suggested at Mobile World Congress this year, but it is is a very aggressive rollout plan. AT&T has been testing fixed line 5G services in several...

Read More