NEC announces agreement to supply 5G base stations to NTT DOCOMO

NEC announced an agreement to supply 5G base station equipment to NTT DOCOMO. Financial terms were not disclosed. Docomo aims to launch 5G in 2020.

Under this new agreement, NEC will achieve 5G compatibility through software upgrades and a minimal replacement of hardware to maximize the use of existing high-density base station equipment.  NEC said it will provide updates that enable existing high-density base stations to be fully compatible with 5G while continuing to deliver LTE/LTE-Advanced services.

This includes base station equipment that NEC has been supply to DOCOMO since February 2015. This equipment is already compatible with the advanced Centralized Radio Access Network (C-RAN) architecture advocated by
DOCOMO, and is now being utilized as a base station control unit.

"DOCOMO aims to deploy and expand our commercial 5G services efficiently by maximizing the use of existing communications equipment," said, Hiroshi Nakamura, Executive Vice President, Chief Technology Officer and Member of the Board of Directors, NTT DOCOMO. " This agreement with NEC is in line with that policy and we expect it to make a significant contribution to our 5G services. Going forward, DOCOMO accelerates co-creation of new services and businesses with vertical industry partners."

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NTT Docomo and NEC test 5G to race car traveling at 300 km/h

NTT DOCOMO and NEC conducted a test of 5G connectivity to a race car moving at 305 km/h (190 mph)

The test, which used 28 GHz spectrum, sustained a downlink of 1.1 Gbps between the 5G base station and the 5G modem in the car moving at 293 km/h and a fast handover during communication between 5G base stations and a 5G mobile station moving at 290 km/h. In addition, the trial succeeded in a wireless live relay of 4K high-frame-rate video via uplink from a 5G mobile station moving at 200 km/h. Both the 5G base station and 5G mobile station in the car were equipped for beamforming, which concentrated radio power in a specific direction, and beam tracking, which switched the direction of the beams to follow the 5G mobile station as it moved at high speed.

The trials were conducted last month at the Japan Automobile Research Institute (JARI).

The 4K video transmission operated at 120-frames-per-second and used NTT's real-time 4K high-frame-rate HEVC codec.

Other companies involved in the trials included DOCOMO 5G Open Partner Program participants, Sony Business Solutions Corporation, and DOCOMO TEAM DANDELION RACING manager Dandelion Limited.

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TE SubCom debuts SDN-powered Ocean Control Suite

TE SubCom introduced its software-defined Ocean Control suite for enabling automated control and extensive remote programmability over an entire communications network, both terrestrial and undersea.

TE SubCom said its Ocean Control Suite substantially increases the capabilities, efficiencies and options available to an external orchestrator.  The suite uses RESTful application programming interfaces (APIs) with read and write functionality to interface with undersea network elements like Wavelength Selective Switch Reconfigurable Optical Add Drop Multiplexer (WSS ROADMs). SubCom partner Ciena is among the first to take advantage of the new API capabilities, which will be demonstrated to a select audience in Ciena’s Ottawa labs throughout May.

The first release of Ocean Control, available now, supports of SubCom’s enhanced Line Monitoring System (eLMS). Two additional releases are anticipated later this year that will further expand and enhance the Ocean Control suite’s functionality to cover all major wet and dry network elements.

Mark Enright, vice president, customer solutions of TE SubCom said, “The Ocean Control suite enables us to further strengthen SubCom’s commitment to customers, through our partnership with Ciena. With this new technology, we’re building the API platform that will underpin the future of an optimized network control interface.”

“We look forward to the opportunity to put the SubCom APIs to good use. They will provide a seamless integration into our Blue Planet Manage, Control and Plan (MCP) domain controller to enable the automated delivery of services across Ciena packet-optical networks, and more programmable management,” said Ian Clarke, vice president, global submarine systems of Ciena.

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Orange offers terrestrial link between Marseille and Atlantic subsea cable stations

Orange International Carrier is launching a high-capacity, direct terrestrial fiber connection between Marseille and Penmarch, linking the landing stations for Mediterranean and Atlantic subsea cables.

Orange said this new terrestrial service bridges existing submarine cable routes from Asia/Middle East and West Africa, including CHLS SMW4 Saint-Mauront, CHLS IMEWE Bonneveine and Interxion’s Data Center MRS1, at Marseille with the CHLS SMW3 and ACE submarine cables at Penmarch.

“This unique service is being added to the range of Orange solutions already available in Marseille to facilitate connections in regions where data growth is increasing significantly,” said Pierre-Louis de Guillebon, CEO of Orange International Carriers. “This is a fully Orange
owned route, which will soon be automated, and it means that Orange can now offer a secure ‘all-inclusive’ solution by way of configuration, housing and operations.”

https://wholesalesolutions.orange.com

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DLR and ADVA hit 13.16T in test of free space laser for satellite comm

The German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt – DLR), working in conjunction with ADVA, set a new data transmission record of 13.16 Tbps for free-space laser communications.

The trial, which emulated a ground to a geostationary satellite link, succeeded in transmitting 13.16 Tbps of data over a distance of 10.45km – nearly eight times the DLR’s previous record. The setup involved a laser at a ground station in Weilheim, Germany, and a mock satellite more than 10km away on the mountain Hohenpeißenberg.

DLR developed the free-space terminal technology. ADVA supplied its FSP 3000 CloudConnect platform including its QuadFlex line cards. These support high-order coherent modulation schemes and enabled each wavelength to carry 200 Gbps payload data using dual-polarization 16QAM (quadrature amplitude modulation) and strong soft-decision forward error correction. Atmospheric turbulence in the terrestrial link was equivalent to that experienced in a worst-case scenario between ground and geostationary satellites.

“This trial is a significant milestone in the evolution of stable, high-speed communication via satellite. It’s showing the industry that multi-Terabits of data can be transported every second via satellites using free-space laser communications,” said Christoph Günther, director, DLR Institute of Communications and Navigation. “One of our core aims is helping to achieve global connectivity and this test is a big part of realizing that goal. Through a lot of close collaboration between the DLR and ADVA teams, we’ve been able to demonstrate that this approach is not only feasible but that it’s ready to be used to transmit the enormous amounts of data needed for tomorrow’s users. Setting this benchmark brings high-speed broadband for everyone a step closer to reality.”

“Together with the DLR team, we’re helping shape the future of connectivity. This trial shows the full potential of free-space laser links to transform communications across the globe. We’re proud that our FSP 3000 CloudConnect is making it possible,” commented Jörg-Peter Elbers, SVP, advanced technology, ADVA. “Throughout the tests, the stability of the connection was vital. Even short interruptions of only milliseconds mean Gigabits of lost data. Thankfully, our FSP 3000 CloudConnect™ is one of the most resilient platforms on the market. This trial is about delivering the transformative power of the internet to communities and countries that need it most. By enabling affordable, reliable broadband via satellite at speeds that make a difference, we really are helping to close the digital divide.”

http://www.dlr.de/dlr/en/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-10081/151_read-27323/year-all/#/gallery/30516

https://www.advaoptical.com/

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BT outlines strategic initiative, including increased infrastructure spending and job cuts

BT outlined a series of strategic priorities as it seeks to transform into a leader in converged connectivity and services.

Highlights include:

• Launching new converged product offerings to deliver differentiated customer experiences, support customer loyalty and improve economic returns;
• Increasing FTTP and mobile infrastructure investment within an annual CAPEX allocation of around £3.7bn;
• Accelerating the restructuring and transformation of Global Services by introducing new digital products with a greater focus on our top global customers, reducing capital intensity, and significantly lowering costs;
• Focusing on around 30 modern, strategic sites to create a more collaborative, open and customer-focused working culture, including plans to exit BT’s headquarters in Central London;
• A three-year reduction of c.13,000 mainly back office and middle management roles;
• A year 3 cash cost reduction of £1.5 billion with costs to achieve of £800 million and 2-year payback;
• Cost reductions to help offset near-term cost and revenue pressures, provide capacity to invest in value-enhancing projects and drive longer-term profit growth;
• Hiring c.6,000 new employees to support network deployment and customer service.

“BT is uniquely positioned to be a leader in converged connectivity and services. We are a clear market leader in terms of the scale of our customer relationships. We have the UK’s leading fixed and mobile access networks, a portfolio of strong and well-segmented brands, and close strategic partnerships. We provide products and services that are essential to both consumers and businesses, delivered through multiple channels to suit their needs. This position of strength will enable us to build on the disciplined delivery and risk reduction of the last financial year, a period during which we delivered overall in-line with our financial and operational commitments whilst addressing many uncertainties,” stated Gavin Patterson, BT Chief Executive.

Separately, BT reported revenue of £5,967 billion for its fourth fiscal quarter ending 31-March-2018, down 1% for the year and 3% for the quarter.

Some operational highlights

• Gfast premises of 1m and FTTP premises of 560,000 passed in Q4; over 1.5m premises able to connect to ultrafast service
• Openreach fibre connections at 555,000 in Q4 with superfast fibre broadband passing nearly 27.6m UK premises
• 4G coverage reaches 90% of the country as we deploy in hard to reach areas
• Mobile postpaid net additions of 95,000, with low churn of 1.2%; monthly mobile postpaid ARPU down 1% to £26.0
• BT Sport rights packages secured; includes Premier League matches for a further three years from 2019/20
• Average BT Sport viewing increased 19% year on year; second best quarterly performance since launch
• BT Consumer revenue generating units per customer increased 3% to 2.03, with ARPU up 5% to £41.7

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Interoute adds UK fibre routes to Europe

Interoute has added new 100G routes between the UK and Europe, enabling service providers and large enterprises to transport traffic from the UK Midlands to Europe without going through the London area. Interoute cites improved diversity and resilience for the expansion.

Jonathan Wright, VP of Commercial Operations at Interoute, commented: "Offering unparalleled cross border capacity and connectivity has always been a cornerstone of Interoute’s strategy. With this, we will continue to provide highly strategic, robust routes to meet the multitude of demands made by our valued customers.”

Earlier, Interoute announced that it has been selected by a global social media networking company to provide over 4,000 kilometres of dark fibre in Europe, specifically in long-haul dark fibre routes in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and the UK. Financial terms were not disclosed.

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