Openreach deploys ADVA's demarc gateway for 5G Small Cell rollout

Openreach, the infrastructure division of BT Group, is deploying the ADVA FSP 150-GO102Pro Series cell site gateway to enable mobile network operators (MNOs) to roll out small cell services throughout the UK.

Openreach will house the compact edge demarcation product in street furniture access points to support its Street Access service. The MEF 3.0-certified gateway will support Openreach’s 1Gbit/s Carrier Ethernet and IP services and deliver the precise phase synchronization needed for 5G mobile connectivity.

The ADVA FSP 150-GO102Pro, which is billed as the world’s smallest cell site gateway device, delivers precise time and frequency synchronization. It features automated testing and in-service monitoring and is available in two sizes. A hardened housing is sealed against water, moisture, and dust.

ADVA says this single device with standardized software-defined networking (SDN) interfaces offers a unique combination of Carrier Ethernet and IP features together with the advanced synchronization capabilities required for emerging technologies such as LTE-Advanced and 5G. The ADVA FSP 150-GO102Pro features a comprehensive set of protocols and tools for fast and efficient service activation, testing and monitoring.

With multi-layer Carrier Ethernet and IP integration, service lifecycle management and precise, assured distribution of phase and frequency synchronization, the ADVA FSP 150-GO102Pro ensures that Openreach can cover a wide range of applications with a single
demarcation product. In addition, the ADVA FSP 150-GO102Pro offers open programming interfaces, supporting bandwidth slicing, and provides deployment flexibility through moisture resistance, extended temperature range and power-over-Ethernet support.

“The ADVA FSP 150-GO102Pro is a key tool in our drive to address urgent small cell challenges. Its design and feature set enables us to roll out the highly efficient mobile backhaul architecture we need to support our 1Gbit/s Street Access product as well as LTE Advanced and 5G services,” said Mark Logan, product director, Openreach. “The ADVA FSP 150-GO102Pro requires no expensive air conditioning system. It also has an extremely compact form factor coupled with a design ruggedized to withstand harsh conditions, making it ideal for deployment in lampposts and street cabinets. And, despite being the smallest network terminating equipment solution on the market, the ADVA FSP 150-GO102Pro provides true carrier-class capabilities including automated testing, in-service monitoring and full phase sync support.”

https://www.advaoptical.com/

Read More

Tata Communications brings Cisco SD-WAN to its cloud platform

Tata Communications and Cisco have extended their partnership to enable customised and secure multi-cloud native hybrid network solutions.

The new offering brings together Tata Communications’ IZO cloud enablement platform and Cisco SD-WAN, giving businesses the ability to securely connect any user to any application location, and provide the assurance of application performance needed to support successful digital transformation.

Tata Communications’ cloud and hybrid networking capabilities are underpinned by the company’s global tier-1 Internet backbone and partnerships with major cloud providers, including Amazon, Microsoft, Google and Alibaba. This means that through IZO SDWAN powered by Cisco, enterprises are now able to offer their employees a secure and reliable user experience for and with cloud-based applications and on premise applications seamlessly in more than 150 countries worldwide.

“We want our customers to be able to harness the power of the Internet and the cloud to transform how they operate, but without jeopardising security or performance,” said Song Toh, Vice President, Global Network Services, Tata Communications. “With our new SDWAN solution powered by Cisco, we offer a fully managed hybrid network service that’s fit for your digital business. It’s a resilient cloud-ready network-as-a-service which can grow and scale as needed, while ensuring predictable and secure access to data and applications.

Read More

Huawei completes first 5G VoNR video call

Huawei recently completed the world's first voice over NR (VoNR) call on a 5G standalone (SA) network and using two Huawei Mate 20X 5G phones. One of the mobile phones was placed in a 5G test field at the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology while the other was placed in a 5G test field at the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences. Both sites are in Beijing, but the distance between them is over 60 km.

The test 5G VoNR call used Huawei's end-to-end 5G commercial products, including a 5G radio access network, core network, bearer network, and 5G chips and terminals.

Huawei said the test call showed that the 5G new radio (NR) leverages the IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) to provide 5G voice services (VoNR). The test was also a dry run of interoperability on the 5G air interface.

VoNR is a voice and video solution using in the 5G SA network architecture. The test call was based on a 5G network that Huawei built under the auspices of the IMT-2020 (5G) Promotion Group.

The Huawei Mate 20X 5G mobile phone used for the call is equipped with Huawei's Balong 5000 5G multi-mode chip. The Balong 5000 is the world's first single-core, multi-mode 5G cellphone baseband processor. It is the first baseband processor compatible with SA and NSA network architectures and that fully supports 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G networks. The Balong 5000 supports peak downlink speeds of 4.6 Gbps on the sub-6GHz frequency band, 6.5 Gbps on the mmWave frequency band, and 7.5 Gbps in 5G NR+LTE dual-connection mode.

Huawei also noted that it has signed more than 40 5G contracts with operators worldwide, and shipped more than 100,000 5G base stations.

Read More

Huawei shows UHD live streaming over 5G network slice

In a public event conducted with The China Media Group and China Mobile, Huawei demonstrated UHD live streaming through a real end-to-end 5G network slice. The demo is believed to be the first live streaming slice on a 3GPP-compliant 5G SA network.

In the demo, a network slice was dedicated carrying the CCTV 4K live streaming services with the ultra-high bandwidth and ultra-low latency. The test personnel used 4K cameras to shoot videos in the outdoor field of Dong Zhi Meng of China Mobile Beijing. The video streams after being encoded and compressed were backhauled to the 4K TVs through the 5G SA network.

Huawei notes that each network slice is logically isolated from end to end, including terminals, radio access network (RAN), transport networks, and core networks. This meets various requirements in different industries and service scenarios. This verification uses the SA base station, SPN transport network, and brand-new 5GC network from China Mobile to build dedicated channels based on 5G network infrastructure and slice services, for a guaranteed 4K UHD video playback experience. 5G network slicing will be widely used in fields, such as live media broadcasting, smart grid, and mobile gaming.

https://www.huawei.com/en/press-events/news/2019/5/chinamediagroup-chinamobile-huawei-uhd-live-streaming-5g-sa-slices

Read More

Huawei blacklist weekend news wrap-up

Ren Zhengfei, Chairman and CEO of Huawei, told the Nikkei Asian Review that his company will be fine even with the U.S. government blacklisting, and that Huawei will not acquiesce to any demands from the U.S. for management changes or monitoring conditions. Ren further said that the U.S. blacklisting would only slightly impact Huawei's stellular growth.
https://asia.nikkei.com/Economy/Trade-war/Huawei-does-not-need-US-chips-CEO-on-Trump-export-ban

Due to the Department of Commerce blacklisting, Google will discontinue supplying Android updates to Huawei along with its professional support services, according to an exclusive report from Reuters. The blacklisting apparently does not apply to prior open source versions of Android. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-huawei-tech-alphabet-exclusive/exclusive-google-suspends-some-business-with-huawei-after-trump-blacklist-source-idUSKCN1SP0NB

On Friday, the CEO of HiSilicon Technologies, which is Huawei's chipmaking division, stated that the company has contigency plans to deal with a disruption of semiconductors from U.S. suppliers. The internal memo from He Tingbo, which was widely circulated on Chinese media sites, said the company would transition quickly to its own silicon designs.

Bloomberg reported that Huawei has stockpiled an inventory of semiconductors and other vital components to last at least three month if the supply from U.S. vendors is cut off. People cited in the article commented that Huawei has been building its inventory since at least the middle of 2018.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-05-17/huawei-built-at-least-a-three-month-stockpile-ahead-of-trump-ban

Read More

Sony and Microsoft alliance to include cloud, edge, silicon, AI

Sony and Microsoft announced an alliance targeted at direct-to-consumer entertainment platforms and AI solutions.

The companies agreed to explore joint development of cloud solutions in Microsoft Azure to support their respective game and content-streaming services. In addition, the two companies will explore the use of current Microsoft Azure datacenter-based solutions for Sony’s game and content-streaming services.

Sony and Microsoft also agreed to collaborate in the areas of semiconductors and AI. For semiconductors, this includes potential joint development of new intelligent image sensor solutions, potentially integrating Sony’s image sensors with Microsoft’s Azure AI technology in a hybrid manner across cloud and edge.

In terms of AI, the parties will explore the incorporation of Microsoft’s advanced AI platform and tools in Sony consumer products, to provide highly intuitive and user-friendly AI experiences.

“Sony is a creative entertainment company with a solid foundation of technology. We collaborate closely with a multitude of content creators that capture the imagination of people around the world, and through our cutting-edge technology, we provide the tools to bring their dreams and vision to reality,” said Kenichiro Yoshida, president and CEO of Sony. “PlayStation® itself came about through the integration of creativity and technology. Our mission is to seamlessly evolve this platform as one that continues to deliver the best and most immersive entertainment experiences, together with a cloud environment that ensures the best possible experience, anytime, anywhere."

“Sony has always been a leader in both entertainment and technology, and the collaboration we announced today builds on this history of innovation,” said Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft. “Our partnership brings the power of Azure and Azure AI to Sony to deliver new gaming and entertainment experiences for customers.”

Read More