Microsoft rolls out big upgrades to Azure networking

Microsoft announced major upgrades to Azure networking capabilities, including the launch of ExpressRoute 100Gbps Direct, ExpressRoute Global Reach, and the general availability of Azure Virtual WAN.  There are also enhancements to Azure Virtual Networks and DNS. The Azure Networking Fall 2018 update comes as part of the company's #MSIgnite conference underway this week in Orlando, Florida. Here are the highlights: Azure ExpressRoute Direct...

Read More

ECOC 2018: Intel announces 100G silicon photonics transceivers for 5G

At ECOC 2018, Intel announced new 100G silicon photonics transceivers targetted at 5G wireless fronthaul applications. The new transceivers are designed to meet the harsh outdoor conditions of cellular towers with the capability to support optical transport to the nearest baseband unit or central office (up to 10 km). Commercial availability is expected in Q1 2019. “Our hyperscale cloud customers are currently using Intel’s 100G silicon photonics...

Read More

ECOC 2018 - Lumentum intros Contentionless Wavelength Switch

At ECOC 2018, Lumentum introduced its next-generation, contentionless MxN Wavelength Selective Switch (WSS), adding to its extensive portfolio of Reconfigurable Optical Add-Drop Multiplexer (ROADM) solutions for optical networking applications. Lumentum's TrueFlex Twin 8x24 contentionless WSS delivers low loss, removing the need for Erbium-Doped Fiber Amplifier (EDFA) arrays in many network designs while enabling add/drop port scaling to support...

Read More

ECOC 2018: Oclaro readies 400G QSFP56-DD FR4 2 km transceivers

Oclaro will begin sampling its high-density QSFP-DD solution, which uses this same 100G PAM4 EML technology in 4 lanes to enable an aggregated data rate of 425 Gbps. First samples are expected later this year and volume production is expected in Q2 2019. “The breakthrough demonstration of the 100G single lambda optical link was made possible through the use of Oclaro’s world-class integrated indium phosphide (InP) 100G PAM4 EML technology,” said...

Read More

ECOC 2018: Cambridge develops graphene-based tunable lasers

Dr. Andrea Ferrari, director of the Cambridge Graphene Centre, which is part of the University of Cambridge, presented research on wavelength tunable lasers in single-layer graphene. The technology shows potential for use in on-chip optical switches. https://www.graphene.cam.ac.uk/ https://www.graphene.cam.ac.uk/news/graphene-high-speed-communication...

Read More

ECOC 2018: Molex demos 100GbE and 400GbE Optical Solutions

Molex is demonstrating its 100G FR QSFP28 and 400G DR4 and FR4 QSFP-DD products in compliance with the 100G Lambda Multi-Source Agreement (MSA). Both of the offerings are in Molex’s 100Gbps per wavelength PAM-4 product family which share the same optoelectronics technology platform. The 100G FR QSFP28 supports a 4x25G NRZ host electrical interface. The module transmits and receives 100G PAM-4 modulated optical signals over 2 kilometers of singlemode...

Read More

Sunit Patel to head new T-Mobile transition efforts

T-Mobile US announced the appointment of Sunit Patel as its new Executive Vice President, Merger and Integration Lead, effective October 1, 2018. Patel will lead T-Mobile’s strategic planning efforts to integrate its business with Sprint. The parties expect the transaction to close in the first half of 2019. Patel previously served as CenturyLink's Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. He previously held the same role at Level...

Read More

Digital Realty announces major expansion, acquisition in Brazil

Digital Realty will acquire 424 acres of undeveloped land in Loudoun County, Virginia for a total purchase price of $236.5 million, or approximately $558,000 per acre.  The site is adjacent to Washington Dulles International Airport and located near bulk transmission lines as well as a major fiber path.  The site is also located less than four miles from Digital Realty's existing data center campuses in Ashburn, Virginia.  "We are...

Read More

Hawaiki selects Ciena's GeoMesh Extreme to upgrade transpacific system to 67 Tbps

Hawaiki Submarine Cable has selected Ciena’s GeoMesh Extreme solution based on Waveserver Ai and various packet-optical networking platforms to upgrade capacity on its new subsea network serving Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific Islands and the United States. The 15,000-km Hawaiki cable, which began began commercial operations in July 2018, brought an initial 43.8 terabits per second of additional capacity to the market. Ciena said its GeoMesh...

Read More

Open Data Initiative backed by Microsoft, Adobe, SAP

A new Open Data Initiative is being backed by Microsoft, Adobe and SAP with the promise of letting enterprises derive more value from their own data. The core focus is to eliminate data silos and enable a single view of the customer, helping companies to better govern their data and support privacy and security initiatives. The Open Data Initiative is a common approach and set of resources for customers based on three guiding principles: Every...

Read More