DE-CIX offers 400-GE access to its Frankfurt Exchange

DE-CIX has begun offering 400-GE access technology to its flagship Internet Exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, which handles the highest peak exchange traffic in the world.

DE-CIX first introduced 100-GE access in 2013.

The expansion is being realized on the DE-CIX Apollon platform, which uses Nokia routers as one core component. The 400-GE Nokia line cards are now available in DE-CIX Frankfurt.

DE-CIX said it will make 400-GE available at further DE-CIX locations over time.

“With the introduction of the 400-GE access technology, we once again underscore our claim to be a technology leader,” says Dr. Thomas King, Chief Technology Officer at DE-CIX. “We offer our customers newest generation hardware and a modern, scalable infrastructure, which will also be able to meet all requirements in the future. At the same time, we support the growth of our customers at our worldwide locations with the new technology. Because the more data traffic they can exchange over us, the more the investment in our services will pay off.”

“We have happily served DE-CIX for over six years with our cutting-edge equipment,” says Ken Kutzler, Vice President of Nokia’s IP Routing Hardware business. “Our routing R&D is heavily driven by the fast-growing, high-quality throughput demands of customers like DE-CIX.  Nokia is proud to be their partner and to help enable its first 400GE peering ports. Powered by the Nokia FP4 Chipset, DE-CIX can continue to expect deterministic loss-less performance, smooth operations and seamless upgrades as we move together into the future.”

Read More

Colt employs Cisco segment routing and eVPNs for 5G backhaul

Colt will deploy Cisco’s segment routing and Ethernet VPN (eVPN) based architecture to deliver its wholesale 5G backhaul.

Colt said that by allowing MSPs to share connectivity costs while maintaining individual service level agreements (SLAs), its 5G backhaul will help its MSP customers deliver 5G services to end-users faster and with lower subscription costs.

“We are focused on providing best-in-class, high bandwidth, on-demand connectivity solutions to meet our customers’ ever-growing business needs and the arrival of 5G presents exciting opportunities,” said Peter Coppens, Vice President, Product Portfolio at Colt. “We have worked closely with Cisco to design a network architecture that is simple to operate, highly available, and capable of delivering the innovative network services that are required for 5G.”

Cisco’s programmable-routing architecture for advanced 5G service enablement will enable the Colt IQ Network to be extended to customers directly using standards-based APIs. The companies describe this as a breakthrough in automation for next-generation 5G backhaul requirements, enabling self-provisioned bandwidth scaling and guaranteed SLA services or network slices based on latency and bandwidth demands.

“With every new mobile technology comes complexity, and 5G is no different. We are proud to support Colt as a strategic partner in its mission to simplify 5G deployments,” said  Sumeet Arora, SVP and GM Service Provider RoutingCisco. “Cisco’s highly programmable segment routing architecture will enable Colt to lower the barriers of entry for MSPs, reducing costs and significantly speeding up the delivery of 5G services.”

Read More

Source Photonics inaugurates fab in Jintan, China

Source Photonics inaugurated its new fabrication facility in Jintan, China.

The new Jintan facility will double Source Photonics’ capacity of Indium Phosphide (InP) lasers and related components. The fabrication plant includes a fully integrated laser chip production capability, high-precision TO operations, and an advanced R&D facility to support the company’s global technology roadmap and regional customers. Its chip capabilities include base wafer, regrowth, and chip processing, while its TO operations will support the advanced requirements emerging for high-speed PON and 5G markets.

The Jintan facility augments the company’s existing fab in Hsinchu in Taiwan, which has itself doubled its output over the past three years. Recent investments in the Taiwan facility include significant expansion in MOCVD and advanced coating technologies. The Taiwan facility also recently completed expansions to support transceiver assembly in support of customers’ demands for resiliency in their supply chains. Source Photonics said its manufacturing prowess is a key advantage in the optical communications industry in which a majority of manufacturers are fabless.

“These new investments support our integrated manufacturing approach which is critical to meeting the ever-growing needs of our customers” said Doug Wright, CEO. “Managing the entire value chain from laser production through transceiver assembly gives SP differentiated capability that enhances speed to market, yields manufacturing innovations, and offers flexibility our customers demand”.

http://www.sourcephotonics.com

Read More

3M intros Expanded Beam Ferrule and Connector System

Earlier this month, 3M introduced an Expanded Beam Optical Connector System for single mode and multimode interconnects in next-gen data centers.

“We’ve reimagined fiber optic connectors,” said Nick Stacey, Ph.D., global laboratory manager at 3M. “Our ferrule and connector technology is designed to reduce cleaning requirements, to provide design flexibility and to enable the performance necessary for next-generation optical deployment.”

The 3M Expanded Beam Optical Ferrule uses a non-contact optical coupling in contrast to the more traditional physical contact methods. Together with the connector design, this helps to provide reduced sensitivity to dust, helping maintain signal integrity, and reducing the need for, and cost of, maintenance and cleaning.

It is available in single mode (1310 nm) and multimode (850 nm) versions. In single mode, insertion loss specification is <0 .70="" and="" db="" is="" loss="" return="">55 dB. In multimode, insertion loss specification is <0 .30="" and="" db="" is="" loss="" return="">25 dB. The configurable and scalable connector design can accommodate anywhere from 12 fibers to 192 fibers. The simple, but robust hermaphroditic component geometry design, with low part count, can be mated and re-mated reliably with a simple LC-style latch. The performance enables architects and engineers to deploy the technology in multilink data center applications.

http://www.3M.com

Read More

Comcast launches streaming service for its Internet-only customers

Comcast launched Xfinity Flex, a new service that provides its Xfinity Internet-only customers the ability to use their television and voice control to manage all of the connected devices in their home.

Xfinity Flex offers more than 10,000 online movies and TV shows—including live streaming TV—from ESPN3, Xumo, Pluto, Tubi TV, Cheddar, YouTube, etc. The Xfinity Flex box features an integrated guide and voice control, enabling customers to easily browse and access programming across apps like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, HBO, and Showtime, rent and purchase movies and shows from the digital store, access their digital lockers across platforms by pairing their account with Movies Anywhere, or listen to music from Pandora, iHeartRadio, and XITE. And

“Xfinity Flex will deepen our relationship with a certain segment of our Internet customers and provide them with real value,” said Matt Strauss, Executive Vice President, Xfinity Services for Comcast Cable. “For just five dollars a month, we can offer these customers an affordable, flexible, and differentiated platform that includes thousands of free movies and shows for online streaming, an integrated guide for accessing their favorite apps and connected home devices, and the ease of navigating and managing all of it with our voice remote.”

Read More

T-Mobile US tests LTE fixed broadband service

T-Mobile US is piloting a fixed Internet home service delivered over its LTE network.

T-Mobile is inviting a limited group of T-Mobile customers in rural and underserved to test the service.

The T-Mobile Home Internet fixed service expects to deliver speeds of around 50 Mbps. The pilot service is priced at $50 per month and has no data cap.

T-Mobile said that due to LTE network and spectrum capacity constraints, the pilot is limited by invitation-only to existing customers in specific areas, with the goal of reaching 50,000 households by the end of the year – or slightly less than 0.04% of U.S. households.

If T-Mobile’s pending merger with Sprint is approved, the company said the New T-Mobile will cover more than half of U.S. households with 5G broadband service – in excess of 100 Mbps – by 2024.

“Two weeks ago, I laid out our plans for home broadband with the New T-Mobile. Now, we’re already hard at work building toward that future,” said John Legere, CEO of T-Mobile. “We’re walking the walk and laying the foundation for a world where we can take the fight to Big Cable on behalf of consumers and offer real choice, competition and savings to Americans nationwide.”

Read More

Broadcom samples Automotive Multilayer Ethernet Switches

Broadcom has begun sampling a new family of automotive multilayer Ethernet switches designed for time-sensitive networking (TSN) requirements of autonomous and connected vehicles. In addition, Broadcom has begun shipping production quantities of its automotive 1000BASE-T1 PHY transceiver device for Gigabit Ethernet on single-pair UTP cables for in-car networking applications.

Broadcom said its new BCM8956X switches, which are offered in various port configurations with and with integrated 100BASE-T1 and 1000BASE-T1 PHYs, allow customers to have scalable and cost-effective designs for automotive gateway, ADAS and infotainment applications.

The integrated PCIe interface provides high bandwidth connectivity to the host processor, while the on-chip Layer 3 flow accelerator offloads the host processor from compute-intensive routing operations. Furthermore, the BCM8956X is packed with advanced multilevel security features including dedicated hardware security module (HSM) block for line rate encryption, L2 anti-hack, deep packet inspection, and intrusion prevention reporting.

Broadcom's BCM8988X is a 1000BASE-T1 PHY with integrated BroadR-Secure functionality, which authenticates each packet transmitted and received on either end of the link using secure keys. The company said its BCM8988X has undergone rigorous IEEE 802.3bp compliance testing by the University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory (UNH-IOL). The device has passed critical IEEE 802.3bp PHY compliance requirements test for which Broadcom is sharing the test reports with its lead customers. The BCM8988x 1000BASE-T1 PHY incorporates DSP and AFE technology, enabling superior EMC and EMI performance, fast link-up time, low power consumption and robust signal integrity over UTP cables.

"With the availability of Broadcom’s industry leading secure multilayer switch and Gigabit PHY, automotive manufacturers can now design and build a gamut of Gigabit Ethernet systems to address high speed secure networking applications,” said Ali Abaye, senior director of marketing for the Physical Layer Products Division at Broadcom. “As vehicles become increasingly advanced, Broadcom continues to spearhead high speed Automotive Ethernet developments to support secure networks to proliferate new applications such as 5G, artificial intelligence (AI) and autonomous driving."

https://www.broadcom.com/company/news/product-releases/2392007

Read More