HAVFRUE subsea cable to link NJ and Denmark with 108 Tbps capacity

TE SubCom will serve as the system supplier for HAFVRUE, a new subsea cable that will link New Jersey to the Jutland Peninsula of Denmark with a branch landing in County Mayo, Ireland. Optional branch extensions to Northern and Southern Norway are also included in the design.

The HAVFRU system will be owned and operated by multiple parties, including Aqua Comms, Bulk Infrastructure, Facebook, and others. Aqua Comms, the Irish cable owner/operator and carriers’ carrier, will serve as the system operator and landing party in U.S.A., Ireland, and Denmark. Bulk Infrastructure of Norway will be the owner and landing party for the Norwegian branch options.

The HAFVRUE subsea cable system will be optimized for coherent transmission and will offer a cross-sectional cable capacity of 108Tbps, scalable to higher capacities utilizing future generation SLTE technology. SubCom will incorporate their Wavelength Selective Switching Reconfigurable Optical Add Drop Multiplexer (WSS-ROADM) for flexible wavelength allocation over the system design life. It is the first new cable system in almost two decades that will traverse the North Atlantic to connect mainland Northern Europe to the U.S.A.

HAVFRUE is the Danish word for mermaid.

Preparation work is underway and system ready-for-service (RFS) is expected in Q4 2019.

“The HAVFRUE cable will provide state-of-the-art connectivity for increasing needs of users, ranging from individual consumers to businesses and the research community. SubCom is proud to be selected as the supplier for this project,” said Sanjay Chowbey, president of TE SubCom.

• In September 2017, construction was completed on the 6,600 km MAREA subsea cable, which was jointly funded by Microsoft and Facebook. MAREA links Virginia Beach, Virginia to Bilbao, Spain. The cable will be managed by Telxius, Telefónica’s new infrastructure company. The cable features eight fiber pairs and an initial estimated design capacity of 160 Tbps. MAREA takes a more southern route than other transatlantic cables, which mostly connect northern Europe to the New York/New Jersey region.

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AT&T tests LTE-enabled structure monitoring for roads and railroads

AT&T is testing a structure monitoring solution to help improve the safety of our roadways and railways.

AT&T's Smart Cities Structure Monitoring will use LTE-enabled sensors to remotely monitor structural factors. The sensors, which measure things like cracks and tilts, also feature alert triggers and email alerts to capture significant events.

“Safety is a top concern of citizens and cities alike. This concern extends beyond the realm of crime and natural disasters. It also includes the safety of our infrastructure,” said Mike Zeto, general manager, AT&T Smart Cities.  “We’re pleased to test this solution, which will allow for smart infrastructure analysis and monitoring.

AT&T also provided the following update on its Smart Cities initiative:

Atlanta: The City of Atlanta is using AT&T Digital Infrastructure with Current, powered by GE’s CityIQ, to transform existing lighting infrastructure into a sensor-enabled data network that will accelerate the digital era of urban development.  To date, two hundred sensors have been added to previously installed LED streetlights. The sensors can be used for traffic flow, parking optimization and gunshot detection, and create a platform for citizen engagement.

Dallas: AT&T is working with the Dallas Innovation Alliance (DIA) on challenges like sustainability and parking. To make the city’s historic West End more sustainable, the city installed 22 new smart lighting solutions using connected LED and intelligent controls. The new lighting used 35% less energy in its first 90 days.

Montgomery County: Wi-Fi was installed on targeted buses and bus shelters to inform the public about transit time delays in real-time.

Mexico: Mexico City’s Ministry of Economic Development (SEDECO) will work with AT&T on an IoT pilot as part of a “Program to Promote and Improve Public Markets in Mexico City.”

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NYT: AT&T Drops Huawei’s New Smartphone Amid Security Worries

AT&T suddenly dropped plans to sell Huawei's latest Mate 10 smartphone amid security concerns and/or political pressure from Washington, according to reporting by The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.

Huawei's new Mate 10 is a flagship smartphone with specs with a new Kirin 970 processor based on TSMC's  10nm semiconductor manufacturing process, an octa-core ARM Cortex CPU, a first-to-market Mali-G72 12-core GPU, and a dedicated Neural Network Processing Unit (NPU) for augmented reality apps. It comes with dual 4G SIM support and dual VoLTE connections.

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FT: Australia blocks Huawei Marine from Solomon Islands subsea cable project

The Australian intelligence service has blocked Huawei Marine from its role in funding and constructing a high-capacity subsea cable that is to link Sydney to the Solomon Islands, according to the Financial Times. Instead, the Australian government will fund the A$100m (US$78m) project itself.

Huawei Marine Networks, which is based in Tianjin, China with manufacturing in Dongguan, China, and R&D institutes in Beijing as well as in Chelmsford, UK, is a joint venture established by Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. and Global Marine Systems Limited.

https://www.ft.com/content/96513f58-d959-11e7-a039-c64b1c09b482

• In July, Huawei Marine announced that it signed a contract with the Solomon Island Submarine Cable Company (SISCC) to construct the first submarine cable in the Solomon Islands. The 4,000km subsea cable design called for a total capacity of 2.5 Tbps.

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Altice restructuring spins out U.S. operations

Roughly 18 months after acquiring Cablevision Systems, the leading MSO in the NY metro region in a deal valued at $17.7 billion at the time, Altice N.V. announced a corporate restructuring centered on the separation of Altice USA from Altice Europe.

The separation is to be effected by a spin-off of Altice NV’s 67.2% interest in Altice USA through a distribution in kind to Altice NV shareholders.

Following the spinoff, the two companies will be led by separate management teams.

Patrick Drahi, founder of Altice, will retain control of both companies through Next2 and will serve as President of the Board of Altice Europe and Chairman of the Board of Altice USA.

In addition, Altice Europe will reorganize its structure comprising Altice France (including French Overseas Territories), Altice International and a newly formed Altice Pay TV subsidiary.

“The separation will allow both Altice Europe and Altice USA to focus on their respective operations and execute against their strategies, deliver value for shareholders, and realize their full potential. Both operations will have the fundamental Altice Model at their heart through my close personal involvement as well as that of the historic founding team," stated Patrick Drahi.

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Interxion announces European data center expansions

Interxion announced new expansion projects in seven cities across Europe to meet rising demand. The expansion will be funded with cash and committed loans.

Highlights of the projects:

• In Amsterdam, Interxion will complete the remaining four phases of AMS8, totaling approximately 5,300 square meters (sqm) of equipped space and 10 MW of customer-available power when fully built out. The first two phases are scheduled to open in 4Q 2018 and the final two phases are scheduled to open in 1Q 2019. CAPEX for the remaining phases of AMS8 is approximately €63 million. Interxion has also acquired approximately 22,000 sqm of land adjacent to AMS8.
• In Paris, Interxion will complete its PAR7 data center by adding an additional 2,000 sqm of equipped space and 4 MW of customer available power as well as upgrading the existing PAR7 power infrastructure. CAPEX is approximately €44 million.
• In Vienna, in addition to the 1,600 sqm currently under construction and scheduled to be delivered by 3Q 2018, Interxion will add a further approximately 2,000 sqm scheduled for delivery by 3Q 2019. CAPEX is approximately €40 million.
• In Madrid, Interxion will construct its third data center in a single 2,500 sqm phase with 5 MW of customer available power when fully built out. MAD3 is close to Interxion’s existing campus on land that Interxion intends to purchase in 1Q 2018 and is expected to open in 2Q 2019. MAD3 will be connected redundantly to the existing and proprietary campus fiber ring, providing access to over 80 carriers, ISPs, CDNs, and the ESpanix and DE-CIX Internet exchanges. CAPEX associated with MAD3, including the property purchase, is expected to be approximately €44 million.
• In Copenhagen, Interxion will expand CPH2, with 900 sqm scheduled to open in 2Q 2018 and 600 sqm in 1Q 2019. CAPEX is approximately €18 million.
• In Stockholm, Interxion will expand STO5 in two phases that will add approximately 400 sqm in 2Q 2018 and 800 sqm in 1Q 2019. CAPEX is expected to be approximately €18 million.
• In Brussels, Interxion will add BRU2 which includes approximately 1,000 sqm of equipped space and 1 MW of customer available power. The new facility is scheduled for availability in 1Q 2018, and connects directly via dedicated fiber to the existing facilities at BRU1, providing access to over 100 connectivity providers, and the BNIX, NL-ix, AMS-IX, LINX, and DE-CIX internet exchanges. CAPEX is approximately €3 million.

“The increased pace of cloud adoption combined with an improving economy in Europe continues to drive broad-based demand for our colocation services across our entire footprint,” said David Ruberg, Interxion’s Chief Executive Officer. “With continuing demand from multiple communities of interest, these investments will allow us to meet the needs of our expanding customer base by adding approximately 15,500 square metres of equipped space. When combined with previously announced expansion projects, Interxion now has active expansion projects across its entire 11 country footprint totalling over 33,000 square metres which will increase the Company’s equipped space by over 25% compared to the end of 3Q 2017.”

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Ford partners with Qualcomm on C-V2X - cellular vehicle-to-everything

Qualcomm and Ford are collaborating on the development of advanced connectivity systems for vehicles using Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything (C-V2X) technology.

C-V2X is designed to allow vehicles to directly communicate with other vehicles, pedestrian devices, and roadside infrastructure, such as traffic signs and construction zones, without the involvement of a cellular network, or cellular network subscription.

C-V2X field validations are expected to begin in 1H 2018 in San Diego, along with additional trials in Detroit.

Qualcomm's first C-V2X chipset is expected to be commercially available the second half of 2018.

Qualcomm and Ford are also working on automotive telematics platforms with integrated Qualcomm Snapdragon LTE modems.

"Our goal is to provide the smartest and best connected, human-centered experiences for our customers around the world," said Don Butler, Ford Motor Company. "Ford and Qualcomm Technologies believes that C-V2X holds great potential for the cars of the future. We're excited to prove its ability to create a more connected environment where people can move more freely."

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Cisco develops 1 Gbps in-vehicle network with Hyundai

Cisco has teamed up with Hyundai for the production of a hyperconnected car.

A key innovation is the use of a Software Defined Vehicle (SDV) architecture -- an in-vehicle, 1 Gbps Ethernet network with integrated, multi-layer security and allowing for sensor integration. It will also enable new, high-speed services through an integration layer between software and legacy hardware. The in-vehicle network w

The development of first-generation solutions to enable 1Gbps Ethernet. This will significantly increase the in-vehicle bandwidth. The solutions will provide flexibility, lower costs, and improved security. By enabling IP and Ethernet services, legacy buses and devices will work together with the new Ethernet attached devices and services.

Hyundai will feature this new in-vehicle network in their premium 2019 vehicles. 

Ruba Borno, Vice President, Growth Initiatives and Chief of Staff to CEO, Cisco: “Cisco is pleased to bring a standards-based approach in partnership with the automotive industry; one that will help accelerate innovation and increase the value to the consumer. By creating a flexible, scalable, and secure platform, we are allowing automotive companies to deliver better cars – faster.”

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Cox: Gig service now across 40% of its footprint

Cox Communications is reporting that Gigabit Internet service is now available to 40 percent of customers across its network footprint.  The gigabit performance is enabled by deployment of DOCSIS 3.1.

Cox says it is on plan to reach nearly all customers within the next two years.

Cox is also powering all the wired and wireless infrastructure today at the Consumer Electronics Show at the Las Vegas Convention Center. This includes 2,100 WiFi access points, redundant 10 gigabit backbone internet connections and a distributed antenna system (DAS) equivalent to 14 cell towers inside the convention center. At CES 2017, more than 6.4 terabytes of data crossed the Las Vegas Convention Center WiFi network via 200,000 connected devices. Cox also supports the 15-screen digital signage network within the Convention Center facility, including two new 40-foot LED screens in the concourse, and creates and manages the displayed content.

Cox noted that it has invested more than $15 billion in infrastructure upgrades over the past 10 years and that it plans to invest at least $10 billion over the next five years, with a focus on enhancing residential and business customers' experience.

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Coriant supplies Packet Optical Transport for CELESTE

CELESTE, a leading Internet service provider in France, is leveraging its nationwide deployment of the Coriant 7100 Packet Optical Transport Platform to expand the range of flexible and resilient optical interconnect services for its enterprise customers.

The new CELESTE service offerings include guaranteed symmetrical bandwidth of 80 Gbps, with the ability to easily upgrade to 160 Gbps as B2B network access and interconnect requirements evolve.

The CELESTE fiber optic infrastructure, which spans over 2,500 kilometers, connects major metropolitan markets throughout France and includes access to international peering points.

Coriant said its 7100 Nano and 7100 Pico Packet Optical Transport Platforms enable CELESTE to efficiently utilize its fiber optic infrastructure to support delivery of high-quality B2B services connecting geographically-distributed enterprise sites, users, and IT resources.

"As enterprises evolve their wide area networking strategies in response to public and private cloud-based application demands, service providers require infrastructure solutions that can provide superior resiliency and scale with the flexibility needed to easily adapt to new requirements,” said Ronald Van der Kraan, Managing Director, Europe, Coriant. "We are pleased to be working closely with CELESTE and building upon our long-standing relationship to help them deliver a best-in-class customer experience as they expand their B2B service offerings throughout France.”

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Comcast boosts residential Internet speeds in California

Comcast is boosting the speeds of its Xfinity Internet service for existing customers in California at no additional cost. The company says the majority of its users will see an increase of 50 Mbps this month.

"We are committed to delivering a superior online experience along with the latest and greatest technology and boosting speeds is a testament to that,” said John Gauder, Regional Vice President, Comcast California. “We’ve increased internet speeds 18 times in the past 17 years, and we will continue to bring California customers the absolute fastest speeds possible by proactively investing in our advanced, high-performance network.”

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