Vodafone demos FlexEthernet with Ciena

Vodafone demonstrated what they believe is the world’s first programmable infrastructure based on FlexEthernet. The testing used Vodafone UK’s Red Stream network and equipment from Ciena.

RedStream is an IP-based converged core network consisting of more than 200 sites connected by more than 11,000 km of optical fibre and with more than 1,000 MPLS-enabled aggregation node. Redstream provides converged connectivity for Vodafone’s mobile base stations, consumer broadband services and enterprise data and voice customers throughout the UK.

In a blog posting, Eva Rossi, Head of Transport Product, Vodafone Group, says the test was capable of delivering speeds of up to 400 Gbps over a single wavelength. Vodafone also tested flexible spectrum based on Ciena’s tunable WaveLogic Ai coherent optics and Manage Control and Plan controller.

http://www.vodafone.com/content/index/what/technology-blog/vodafone-pioneers-flexible-ethernet-in-uk.html

Vodafone  No Comments

V

Read More

Trump nominates Geoffrey Starks as FCC Commissioner

President Trump nominated Geoffrey Adam Starks, of Kansas, to be a Member of the Federal Communications Commission for a term of five years from July 1, 2017. If approved by the Senate, he would replace Democrat Mignon L. Clyburn, whose term expired.

Starks currently serves as assistant bureau chief for the FCC's Enforcement division. Previously, he served at the Department of Justice as a senior counsel to Deputy Attorney General Jim Cole. He has a JD from Yale Law School.

Read More

IDC: Worldwide Ethernet switch market gros 11% in Q1

The worldwide Ethernet switch market (Layer 2/3) recorded $6.29 billion in revenue in the first quarter of 2018 (1Q18), up 10.9% year over year, according to IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Ethernet Switch Tracker and Worldwide Quarterly Router Tracker, while the worldwide total enterprise and service provider (SP) router market recorded $3.31 billion in revenue in 1Q18, a 1.4% decrease on a year-over-year basis.

"After modest gains in 2017, the Ethernet switch market started 2018 with a strong first quarter," said Rohit Mehra, vice president, Network Infrastructure at IDC. "There are two macro trends that contributed to growth: The emergence of next-generation software-based network intelligence platforms that add to the intrinsic value of networking, and the push by large enterprises, hyperscalers, and service providers to leverage faster Ethernet switching speeds for cloud rollouts. Both trends bode well for this industry moving forward."

Some highlights from IDC:

• The 1Q18 Ethernet switch market recorded its strongest growth in the Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan) (APeJ) region, which increased a solid 21.0% year over year. China had the region's most robust growth, rising 29.7% year over year to $769.8 million; Korea also posted strong 24.2% year-over-year growth. Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) was another standout region, growing 19.5%, with Poland up a strong 39.6% and the region's largest market, Russia, up 19.2%. The Middle East & Africa (MEA) region recorded 11.7% growth, while the United States, the world's largest market, was up 7.0% year over year to $2.44 billion. The Latin America (LA) region's growth continued to lag, up only 1.2%. Japan, meanwhile, dropped 2.0% year over year.
• 10Gb Ethernet switch (Layer 2/3) revenue increased 5.1%, coming in at $2.05 billion, while 10Gb Ethernet port shipments rose 41.6%. 
• 40Gb Ethernet revenues were down 4.0% despite port shipments increasing 7.8%, reflecting ongoing price erosion in the market and unfavorable price performance ratios relative to 25Gb and 100Gb products. 
• 25Gb revenue increased 176% year over year with port shipments growing 359% year over year in 1Q18. 
• 100Gb revenue increased 83.8% year over year to $742.5 million and port shipments grew 117.7% year over year in 1Q18. 
• 1Gb Ethernet revenues were up 5.4% in the quarter, with port shipments up 15.8%, which reverses a trend from last year and shows the interest in refreshing campus and branch networks. 
• Overall, across all speeds, port shipments in 1Q18 rose 12.0% year over year.
• Cisco finished 1Q18 with a year-over-year increase of 7.6% in Ethernet switching revenues and a market share of 53.4%, down from its 55.0% share in 1Q17 and down from 58.9% in 1Q16. 
• Huawei continued to perform well in both the Ethernet switch and the router markets on an annualized basis. Huawei's Ethernet switch revenue grew 41.2% year over year in 1Q18 for a market share of 8.1%, up from 6.3% in 1Q17. Hewlett Packard Enterprise's (HPE) Ethernet switch revenue grew 11.1% from 1Q17 to 1Q18 and its market share held steady at 6.0% during that time.
• Arista Networks performed well in 1Q18, with its Ethernet switching revenue rising 39.9% year over year, earning a market share of 6.5%, up from 5.1% in 1Q17.
• Juniper's Ethernet switch revenue fell 4.8% year over year in 1Q18, bringing its market share to 3.7% compared to 4.3% in 1Q17. Juniper also saw a 21.8% decrease in combined service provider and enterprise router revenues, with market share falling to 12.3% compared to 15.5% in 1Q17.

https://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS43900818

Read More

Deutsche Telekom and Vodafone test NB-IoT roaming

Deutsche Telekom and Vodafone Group completed an international roaming trial in Europe using licensed NB-IoT technology.

The trial was performed using global SIMs from Deutsche Telekom on Vodafone Spain’s network and global Vodafone SIMs on T-Mobile Austria’s network and commercial NB-IoT modules. The trials will also provide guidance to other operators in delivering a consistent level of implementation.

“The success of these trials is an important milestone in the development of a sustainable roaming environment for Mobile IoT networks, showcasing their capabilities as well as ensuring consistent service across geographical boundaries,” said Alex Sinclair, Chief Technology Officer, GSMA. “The market has matured considerably in a very short time and we anticipate that this will be the year that Mobile IoT scales. Undoubtedly this is because only licensed, managed mobile services can provide the secure low power connection that can meet future demand.”

“Deutsche Telekom has successfully introduced and developed NB-IoT networks across most of its European footprint and we are very pleased to see the ecosystem rapidly expanding,” says Ingo Hofacker, responsible for the IoT business in the Deutsche Telekom Group. “First commercial offers are available on a national basis already, but now, operators need to satisfy customer demand for international coverage and service continuity as well.”

Vodafone director of IoT Stefano Gestaut said, “This development shows the successful evolution of the technology and I am confident that it will lead to a raft of new applications for NB-IoT, such as the cold chain monitoring of goods across borders.

Read More

Microsoft to acquire GitHub for $7.5 billion, extend reach to developers

Microsoft agreed to acquire GitHub for $7.5 billion in Microsoft stock.

GitHub is the leading repository for open source code. The company has over 28 million developers collaborating on its platform.

GitHub vows to retain its developer-first ethos and to operate independently to provide an open platform for all developers in all industries. Microsoft said GitHub will become part of its Intelligent Cloud segment for accounting purposes.

“Microsoft is a developer-first company, and by joining forces with GitHub we strengthen our commitment to developer freedom, openness and innovation,” said Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft. “We recognize the community responsibility we take on with this agreement and will do our best work to empower every developer to build, innovate and solve the world’s most pressing challenges.”

“I’m extremely proud of what GitHub and our community have accomplished over the past decade, and I can’t wait to see what lies ahead. The future of software development is bright, and I’m thrilled to be joining forces with Microsoft to help make it a reality. Their focus on developers lines up perfectly with our own, and their scale, tools and global cloud will play a huge role in making GitHub even more valuable for developers everywhere,” said Chris Wanstrath, Github CEO and co-founder.

Read More

Qualcomm announces Snapdragon 850 for Windows 10 PCs

Qualcomm announced a joint effort with Samsung Electronics to integrate its Snapdragon 850 Mobile Compute Platform, featuring the Snapdragon X20 and Qualcomm AI Engine, in a future device.
The Snapdragon 850 Mobile Compute Platform leverages 10nm technology to allow for sleeker and more portable, fanless designs for mobile customers, compared to current 14nm solutions. The processor offers advanced graphics and high-quality audio, enabling a Windows 10 experience/

Windows 10 devices powered by the Snapdragon Mobile Compute Platform are expected to be available in retail later this year.

https://www.qualcomm.com/products/snapdragon

Read More

Three UK supports new MVNO from Superdrug

Superdrug, a health and beauty retailer in the UK, is launching a low-cost, prepaid mobile service that will be priced starting £10 per mont for unlimited calls and texts and 4GB per month. The service will be sold in the retailer’s 807 UK stores and online from 20th June 2018.

Superdrug Mobile will operate a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) over Three's network. Other MVNOs on the Three network include SMARTY, iD Mobile (the UK’s fastest growing MVNO) and B2B communications provider Gamma.

Read More

Aquantia intros USB to Multi-Gig Ethernet Adaptor chip

Aquantia introduced two USB to Multi-Gig Ethernet controller ICs for third-party USB v3.1 adapters and docking stations.

The devices enable a new class of accessories for laptop users who want wired Multi-Gig Ethernet connectivity at their desks. The new controllers offer up to 5Gbps and 2.5Gbps connectivity, respectively and incorporate Aquantia's AQrate PHY technology. They enable connectivity over 100 meters of standard Cat 5e cabling for external Ethernet solutions. Both devices are compliant with the IEEE 802.3bz standard ratified in September 2016 and the NBASE-T Alliance PHY specification.

“The circle of Multi-Gig Ethernet influence is growing steadily. Introducing this new category to the AQtion family supports the Aquantia mission to convert all Gigabit Ethernet ports to Multi-Gig connections,” said LK Bhupathi, Senior Director of Product Marketing, Aquantia Corp. “Partnering with industry leaders like Bizlink, Edimax, Goodway and Sunrich allows us to service an increasing number of customers with a simple, seamless upgrade path to Multi-Gig connectivity.”

Read More

Klas Telecom launches VoyagerSW26G 26-port GbE switch based on Cisco ESS 3300

Klas Telecom, a Cisco Solution Technology Integrator (STI), announced enhancements to its VoyagerSW26G rugged 26-port switch, which is based on Cisco’s new Embedded Services Switch (ESS) 3300.  The added features are designed for tactical users in the public safety, government and military markets, where low size, weight and power (SWaP) are required. The switch is packaged in a chassis that meets military standard for ruggedization. The switch provides two 10 Gbps uplink SFP+ ports and twenty-four 1 GbE ports, eight of which are PoE enabled.

“The VoyagerSW26G provides next generation IE switch features such as PTP, MACsec and L2/L3 support,” said Klas Telecom Chief Technology Officer Frank Murray. “Our customers can utilize the VoyagerSW26G as an access switch for use with other Voyager products, like the Voyager Tactical Data Center (TDC), to unlock the full potential of our systems. Our collaboration with Cisco has been seamless from an engineering perspective and we greatly value the support the Cisco team has provided in realizing Cisco ESS 3300 as VoyagerSW26G.”

http://www.klastelecom.com

Read More

SES-12 enters orbit with 72 high throughput user spot beams

SES-12 was successfully launched by SpaceX into geostationary orbit at 95 degrees East. It will serve video, fixed data, mobility and government customers across Asia-Pacific and the Middle East.

SES-12, which is one of the largest geostationary satellites that SES has ever launched, is equipped with six wide beams and 72 high throughput user spot beams.

It also has a Digital Transparent Processor (DTP) that increases payload flexibility to provide much more customizable bandwidth solutions to SES's customers.

SES-12 will join SES’ network of seven geostationary satellites and 16 MEO satellites across Asia-Pacific and the Middle East.

Martin Halliwell, Chief Technology Officer at SES said, “More content. More immersive viewing experience. Blazing internet speeds. Reliable cell coverage. All of these dynamic customer requirements can now be met with the successful launch of SES-12, which will provide incremental high-performance capacity and offer greater reliability and flexibility to our customers.”

Read More