In Memoriam: Sir Charles Kuen Kao, 1933-2018, Pioneer of Fiber Optics

Sir Charles Kuen Kao, recipient of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physics, passed away on September 23rd in Hong Kong. Dr. Kao, who was often called the "Father of Fibre Optics", is credited with breakthrough research in the realization of fiber optics as a telecommunications medium in the 1960s while at Standard Telecommunication Laboratories (STL) based in Harlow, UK. He earned his Ph.D. in electrical engineering in 1965 from University College London. Over...

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FCC eases regulatory barriers for small cells and 5G infrastructure

The FCC adopted an order aimed at removing regulatory barriers that inhibit the deployment of infrastructure necessary for 5G and other advanced wireless services. In a Declaratory Ruling, the FCC focuses primarily on local fees for the authorizations necessary to deploy small wireless facilities.  Specifically, the Declaratory Ruling concludes that state and local governments may not charge fees that "are greater than a reasonable approximation...

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Ericsson and Telstra complete 100-km NB-IoT connection

Ericsson and Telstra announced a technical milestone for extending IoT over long distances. The companies have deployed and tested Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) data connections up to 100km from a base-station in Telstra’s commercial network — the longest-range NB-IoT connection of its kind. Telstra said this helps extend its LTE footprint in rural and regional Australia. Ericsson notes the achievement extends the 3GPP standards-based...

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ECOC 2018: Cisco shows 400 Gigabit Ethernet Nexus switch

At ECOC 2018. as part of the 100G Lambda multisource agreement (MSA) interoperability demonstration, Cisco demonstrated Nexus 32-port 100 GbE & 400 GbE 1RU switches populated with modules from various manufacturers. In a blog post, Cisco's Mark Nowell writes "It is very exciting that 400 GbE is now becoming available for testing, deployment, and adoption by network operators, paving the way for Terabit Scale Ethernet being a mainstream technology....

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ECOC 2018: EXFO reveals open transceiver system for testing 400G and up

At ECOC 2018, EXFO unveiled a new 400G test module featuring its Open Transceiver System (OTS), which is a modular design concept that enables compatibility between current or future high-speed transceivers and EXFO's test platforms (lab and field). EXFO said inserts to test specific transceiver types, including those used in 400G systems (e.g., QSFP-DD, OSFP, COBO, and CFP8), eliminate the need to replace entire testing modules and can be interchanged...

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ECOC 2018: Sicoya shows 100G Embedded Optical Module, 400G DR4

At ECOC 2018, Sicoya held private demonstrations of one chip 100G solutions based on its SETR-CDR-E100 Silicon Photonic Engine, which integrates CDRs, TIAs, drivers, modulators, and PINs. The engine enables QSFP28 transceivers using chip on board assembly technology or embedded optical modules utilizing Sicoya's optical ASIC packaging solution. Highlights: a 100G Embedded Optical Module (EOM) that comes in a 20x20mm BGA ASIC package. The EOM can...

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ECOC 2018: ColorChip shows 40-400G optical transceivers

At ECOC 2018, ColorChip showcased its portfolion of optical transceivers ranging from 40 to 400G. During the exhibition, ColorChip demonstrated a new family of 100G-400G PAM4 optical transceivers, including 100G Single-Lambda PAM4 QSFP28, 200G FR4 (2km) and LR4 (10km) QSFP56 and 400G QSFP56-DD DR4/FR4 transceivers, built with power efficient uncooled DML/EML-based CWDM4 optical engines. ColorChip's CEO, Yigal Ezra, commented: "Today we are proud...

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ECOC 2018: MaxLinear intros 400 Gbps DR4 Optical Modules, 100G transceiver/driver

At ECOC 2018, MaxLinear introduced a 100 Gbps transceiver with integrated driver. MaxLinear’s new MxL93512 is part of the Telluride family of devices, which are DSP SoCs with integrated electro-absorption modulated laser (EA-EML) drivers for 100 Gbps/400 Gbps optical interconnects. The new device allows optical module vendors to develop a 100 Gbps optical interconnect module in a compact form factor for intra-datacenter applications with a transmission...

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