Ciena's WaveLogic 5 delivers tunable bandwidth up to 800G

Ciena unveiled its latest WaveLogic coherent optics technology for greater scale, programmability and intelligence from network edge to core.

The two solutions are being introduced:

• WaveLogic 5 Extreme (WL5e) provides programmable capacity in 50G increments over a single-wavelength 800G.  The solution delivers 50 percent more capacity per wavelength and up to 20 percent higher spectral efficiency than competitive offerings. WL5e also enables an elegant evolution to emerging 400GbE-interface routers, with the ability to efficiently transport 400GbE client rates at any distance, from across the metro to across the ocean.
• WaveLogic 5 Nano (WL5n) addresses the market of footprint-optimized coherent solutions for 100G-400G applications. It supports a range of solutions that meet specific space, power and operational requirements, from standalone pluggables for 400ZR single-span DCI applications, to extended-temperature, standards-based optical modules for access applications, to compact coherent optics with seamless photonic layer integration for certain metro/regional applications.

Ciena said it has focused its WaveLogic 5 investment in key foundational technologies beyond digital signal processing (DSP) to include high-speed electro-optic components based on both silicon photonics and indium phosphide. This gives Ciena full control of the design of its coherent optical solutions to accelerate innovation and deliver significant time-to-market and cost advantages for customers.

“An important part of Ciena’s success has always been our ability to anticipate market trends and strategically invest and out-innovate the competition to solve our customers business problems. WaveLogic 5 is another example of that leadership ability at work, underpinned by the financial strength, global scale and superior engineering expertise that affords us the confidence in continuing to deliver as promised on our forward roadmap commitments,” stated Scott McFeely, Senior Vice President of Global Products and Services, Ciena.

The WaveLogic 5 solutions will begin to become available in the second half of 2019. WL5e and WL5n technology will be offered across Ciena’s Converged Packet Optical and Packet Networking portfolios, and will also be made available for use in third-party equipment via Ciena’s Optical Microsystems portfolio.

https://www.ciena.com/insights/articles/Ciena-unveils-WaveLogic-5-800G-and-so-much-more.html

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Ericsson and Juniper partnership exceeds 20 new customers

Ericsson and Juniper Networks cited growing momentum for their expanded partnership, which was announced in September 2018 and which has now passed 20 new customers worldwide.

The two companies also announced the following enhancements to their joint 5G transport network and security solutions:

• With the evolution of Ericsson’s solution for network slicing, Juniper’s SDN controller, NorthStar, is interworking with Ericsson Dynamic Orchestration, providing seamless control from the cell site to the packet core network – including the data center gateway. This allows automation and integration of connectivity services in the transport domain into an end-to-end network slice. With this solution, Ericsson’s Wide Area Network Orchestrator (WANO) acts as a hierarchical SDN controller in charge of configuring connectivity services.
• Transport orchestration added to Ericsson’s network slicing solution provides the network slice with guaranteed bandwidth and key performance indicators, such as latency. Slicing in the transport domain is also enhanced by combining soft network slicing through Ericsson Dynamic Orchestration and hard network slicing through Junos node slicing on Juniper’s MX Series portfolio. In combination with Ericsson Radio System, this joint solution will enable an end-to-end network slice on a shared infrastructure that can be secure, optimized and isolated.
• Security solutions from Juniper are being integrated into the Ericsson RAN offerings. In addition to the newly announced 5G High Layer vRAN, Ericsson security functionality has been complemented with Juniper SRX and vSRX gateway products as the IPSec security solution to elevate and extend the security framework across the network.
• Juniper PTX, MX and SRX will be natively integrated into Ericsson Security Manager to reduce time-to-market by automating hardening and facilitating monitoring and compliance of security policies.

Ericsson expands 5G portfolio with Juniper's edge, core and security

Wednesday, September 05, 2018  Ericsson, Juniper  

Juniper Networks and Ericsson are expanding their 18-year partnership with Ericsson with a focus on delivering an end-to-end 5G solution that combines Juniper’s routing and IP transport with Ericsson’s Router 6000 and MINI-LINK microwave portfolio for distributed, centralized and virtualized radio access.

The companies are now offering a 5G transport network solution with single pane of glass visibility to manage the new requirements of next-generation mobile service delivery.


For the go-to-market strategy, Ericsson will include Juniper’s solutions for edge, core and security as part of its end-to-end 5G transport portfolio.

The joint solution encompasses:

Access, fronthaul/backhaul:

• Ericsson Router 6000 flagship mobile backhaul portfolio. 
• Ericsson Fronthaul 6000 includes high density optical solutions that complement microwave solutions for CPRI and eCPRI transport.

Microwave radio backhaul:

• Ericsson’s MINI-LINK is a 5G-ready microwave technology.

WAN Services and IP Transport: 

• Juniper’s MX and PTX Series support mobile infrastructure for 10G/100G/400G optical transport, simplified operations with Juniper’s unique universal design, advanced Junos OS software functionality including Junos Node Slicing, Juniper Telemetry Interfaces and an open, standards-based hardware-accelerated 5G CUPS User Plane.
• Juniper’s MX Series 5G Universal Routing Platform .
• Juniper’s PTX Series Packet Transport Routers are built to optimize IP/MPLS transport for backbone, peering and converged metro core applications.
• Juniper’s transport routers offer integrated dense wavelength-division multiplexing (DWDM) interfaces with interoperability between the MX, PTX series and Ericsson’s Router 6000

Security Gateway & Gi Firewall:

• Ericsson Radio Base Stations are already integrated with the Juniper’s SRX Series Services Gateway, a high performance and highly scalable next-gen firewall platform, providing both Gi Firewall and security gateway solutions for end-to-end 4G/5G offerings. Juniper will continue to enhance its security solutions to work efficiently with Ericsson’s RAN solutions as they evolve to 5G.

Unified management and control:

• Ericsson’s management and orchestration solution will be applied across Ericsson and Juniper products, which will be fully integrated, including full FCAPS support.

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NEC demos adaptive network control for radio resources

NEC demonstrated adaptive network control technology in its multi-access edge computing (MEC) servers and base stations in a use case concerning automated driving. These trials successfully allocated radio resources (frequency bandwidth and time slots) to vehicles with high urgency as part of providing services that require real-time communication control for mobile networks.

NEC said the tests confirmed that base stations can support safe driving by steadily suppressing communications delay time to within 100 milliseconds by preferentially assigning radio resources to vehicles with high urgency based on the analysis results of vehicle location information, camera images of the area around the road and other data.

In the experiment, an automated driving environment was simulated in an anechoic chamber. The MEC server detected pedestrians by analyzing images of street cameras at an intersection, collected information on the location of surrounding vehicles, and shared such information with individual vehicles in real time. The commercial LTE base station was placed near the intersection, and multiple devices, such as vehicle models, cameras and smartphones, were connected to create a situation where there was a shortage of wireless resources.

https://www.nec.com/en/press/201902/global_20190221_02.html

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ZTE intros 5G Fronthaul 200G outdoor OTN platform

ZTE unveiled a 5G fronthaul 200G outdoor OTN product, the ZXMP M721 OD62, for the metro edge. The platform supports 200G connections and employs Flex-O technology to restrict the end-to-end latency within 1 microsecond.

ZTE said its fronthaul solution supports various service access types, including SDH, Ethernet, CPRI and eCPRI to meet the requirements of diversified scenarios. In addition, it supports WiFi debugging, and can automatically implement fast service provisioning, thereby simplifying operation and maintenance. 

“The ZXMP M721 OD62 demonstrates the world-leading 5G fronthaul transport capability of ZTE OTN products, and consolidates the industry-leading position of the full ZXMP M721 series as the aggregation access layer OTN. ZTE’s ZXMP M721 series has got objective assessment from the global industry analyst firm GlobalData. In the Packet-Optical Access (POA) class, it has again been rated as ‘Very Strong’ in recognition of the largest switching capacity, the highest port density, and the smallest footprint in the industry,” said Mr. Wang Taili, General Manager of ZTE Optical Transport Product. 

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Deutsche Telekom continued to grow in record year 2018

Deutsche Telekom managed to keep growing throughout 2018, with revenue up by 0.9 percent to 75.7 billion euros, representing organic growth of 3.1 percent. Adjusted EBITDA rose by 5.0 percent to 23.3 billion euros, and free cash flow increased by 13.7 percent in the full year to 6.2 billion euros. The figures exceed the carrier's financial guidance.

The DT Group’s CAPEX increased to a record level with spending before expenses for mobile spectrum reaching 12.2 billion euros. This takes the investments made by the Group worldwide in the last four years to more than 46 billion euros, around 21 billion euros of this in Germany.

Some highlights:

• In Germany, of branded mobile contract customers, 50.7 percent now use product packages combining mobile communications and fixed network, compared with 41.7 percent a year earlier. The number of MagentaEINS customers rose to 4.3 million as of the end of the year, up 17.5 percent from the end of December 2017.
• In Germany, the fiber-optic build-out, which has been driven forward year after year, is resulting in a steady rise in customer numbers. 12.2 million customers now use a fiber-optic line, up more than 27 percent compared with the end of 2017. About half of branded consumers in the broadband business are already benefiting from the high speeds of fiber-optic lines.
• While revenue remained almost stable, falling just 1.1 percent to 21.7 billion euros, adjusted EBITDA in the Germany segment increased by 2.4 percent to 8.6 billion euros. The first-time application of the new accounting standard IFRS 15 had a negative impact on revenue and a positive effect on adjusted EBITDA.
• T-Mobile US’ total revenue grew by 6.8 percent in 2018 to 43.1 billion U.S. dollars. At the same time, adjusted EBITDA rose by 13.6 percent to 11.9 billion U.S. dollars.
• In other European markets, revenue increased by 1.5 percent on an organic bases in the full year, and adjusted EBITDA by 1.8 percent. Due to the first-time consolidation of UPC in Austria, the increases in the reported figures were even higher. Revenue increased by 2.6 percent in 2018 to 11.9 billion euros. Adjusted EBITDA rose by 3.5 percent to 3.9 billion euros.

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Okinawa subsea cable to deliver 80 Tbps design capacity

The  Okinawa Cellular Telephone Company has selected NEC to design, engineer, supply, install, test and implement an optical submarine cable system connecting Okinawa Prefecture and Kagoshima Prefecture in Japan.

The subsea cable will span a total length of approximately 760 km at a maximum depth of approximately 1,200 m. The cable system employs the latest optical wavelength multiplex transmission method, and the maximum design transmission capacity is 80 Tbps. The system is expected to enter service in April 2020.

https://www.nec.com/en/press/201902/global_20190218_02.html

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Vodafone rolls out 5G test in Barcelona city center

In preparation for next week's Mobile World Congress, Vodafone has rolled out a 5G network in the city centre of Barcelona. The network will be used to demonstrate peak downlink speeds of 1.5Gbps.

Vodafone confirmed that it is on track to launch 5G in a number of European cities during the second half of 2019. The carrier has already completed trials over a four-week period with three 5G smartphones that will be launched in 2019. Both the smartphones and Vodafone’s 5G network were fully compliant with the latest version of the industry standard for Non-Standalone 5G - 3GPP’s ‘Release 15’, which was only approved in December 2018.

Other notes

• Vodafone has invested €90 million in Milan to build the first 5G network in Italy, covering over 80% of the city. It has launched 31 5G use cases to date working with 38 industrial and public sector partners. The use cases cover the fields of health and wellbeing; security and surveillance; smart energy and smart cities; mobility and transport; manufacturing and industry 4.0; education; entertainment; and the digital divide. The use cases include a 5G Connected Ambulance developed with San Raffaele hospital; Europe’s first live 5G news broadcast with Sky; and a self-driving robotic vehicle delivering books at the Polytechnic University of Milan campus. Vodafone has also allocated €10 million over four years for the ‘Action for 5G’ competition for start-ups, SMEs and social businesses.
• Vodafone UK is trialling 5G in seven cities and successfully completed the country’s first holographic call in September 2018 when England and Manchester City Women’s Captain, Steph Houghton MBE who broadcast from Manchester to Vodafone’s headquarters in Newbury, Berkshire in order to give footballing tips to 11-year-old Manchester City and Lionesses fan, Iris.
• Vodafone Germany won the international Paul Pietsch Award in 2019 for its work in making the 5G standard fit for connected and autonomous driving in future utilising its 5G Mobility Lab and auto test track near Dusseldorf. It is now working with German broadcaster WDR to test the distribution of TV and Video on Demand content over 5G.
• Vodafone Spain, which completed the world’s first 5G call at Mobile World Congress in 2018, has 5G cell sites across six cities. The company is also supporting the development of 5G connected surgery in Spain working with L’Hospital Clinic in Barcelona to enable a specialist surgeon to guide an operation by another surgeon without being physically present.

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Xilinx updates Zynq UltraScale+ RFSoC chip for 5G sub-6GHz

Xilinx has updated its Zynq UltraScale+ Radio Frequency (RF) System-on-Chip (SoC) portfolio for greater RF performance and scalability.

The new Zynq devices can cover the entire sub-6 gigahertz (GHz) spectrum, which is a critical need for next-generation 5G deployment. They support direct RF sampling of up to 5 giga-samples per-second (GS/S) 14-bit analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) and 10 GS/S 14-bit digital-to-analog converters (DACs), both up to 6 GHz of analog bandwidth.

The portfolio now includes:

• Xilinx Zynq UltraScale+ RFSoC Gen 2: Sampling now with production scheduled for June 2019, this device meets regional deployment timelines in Asia and supports 5G New Radio.
• Xilinx Zynq UltraScale+ RFSoC Gen 3: Provides full sub-6GHz direct-RF support, extended millimeter wave interface, and up to 20 percent power reduction in the RF data converter subsystem compared to the base portfolio. The product will be available in 2H 2019.

"We are committed to helping our customers accelerate innovation, and are especially excited to drive the development of adaptable, intelligent 5G infrastructure with these new, higher performing additions to the Zynq UltraScale+ RFSoC portfolio," said Liam Madden, executive vice president of hardware and systems product development, Xilinx. "Now with complete coverage of sub-6GHz spectrum bands, it will give our customers even more of a competitive advantage by allowing them to accelerate the design and development of next-gen systems today."

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ADVA posts Q4 revenue of EUR 131.5 million, up 12% YoY

ADVA reported revenues of EUR 131.5 million for Q4 2018, up by 4.2% from EUR 126.2 million in Q3 2018 and up by 12.2% from EUR 117.2 million in the same year-ago period. Pro forma operating income for Q4 2018 was EUR 8.1 million (6.2% of revenues), compared to EUR 6.8 million (5.4% of revenues) in Q3 2018 and a pro forma operating income of EUR 4.5 million in the same year-ago period. Net income for Q4 2018 was EUR 3.6 million, down from EUR 3.9 million in Q3 2018 and significantly improved in comparison to the same year-ago period net loss of EUR 0.9 million.

"We have steered a steady course in these turbulent times, remaining focused on our key goals to ensure both stability and continuity,” said Uli Dopfer, CFO, ADVA. “In all four quarters of 2018, we were able to increase our revenues sequentially. Our profitability also developed in a positive direction. In addition to successfully developing existing customers, we have won important new projects in all regions. At the same time, consolidation in our industry has further reduced the number of competitors, further sharpening our profile as an innovative telecommunications supplier with a unique blend of innovation and customer focus.”

“Digitization continues to transform networks and drive the investment focus towards us,” commented Brian Protiva, CEO, ADVA. “The rapid development and rollout of artificial intelligence, edge computing solutions, IoT and 5G require a robust and scalable telecommunications infrastructure with greater optical transmission capacity, new models for providing communication services, and increasingly precise network synchronization. Our key investments address each of these issues and clearly underline the value of our acquisition strategy. From this solid base, we’re creating new growth opportunities that we will capitalize on.”

https://www.advaoptical.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/20190221-adva-posts-annual-revenues-of-eur-502-million-for-2018

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Orange and NTT enter R&D pact

Orange and NTT have entered into a strategic R&D pact covering multiple technology domains including 5G, network transformation, AI, IoT, cloud services, etc.

“As Europe embarks on its own 5G journey, our collaboration with NTT will be very precious. Both parties share a commitment to continuous learning and cultural exchange, which I fundamentally believe is essential in today’s global environment. The mutualisation of our respective research learnings will enable us to identify and develop better services for customers in our respective regions, and support the development of our multinational business customers internationally,” stated Stéphane Richard, chairman & CEO, Orange Group.

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