Dell'Oro: 5-year telecom equipment/services to grow at 1% CAGR

Dell'Oro is predicting the overall telecom equipment and services market to grow at a 1% CAGR through 2023, growing from $121 billion in 2018 to $129 billion by 2023.

Some highlights from Dell'Oro:

• In order to cope with mobile data traffic that continues to grow at an unabated pace and flattish revenue trends, operators are balancing their investments carefully between the supply side related challenges and the opportunities from a demand perspective. The need to reduce TCO has been a catalyst for the overall 4G to 5G migration acceleration, benefitting not only RAN equipment but also the demand for core, transport, and services.
• Total Transport Market – including Microwave and Optical – is projected to grow at a 3% CAGR. 
• The demand for Mobile Backhaul is projected to grow at a 3% CAGR while the overall RAN market is projected to grow at a 2% CAGR, over the forecast period.
• Overall 5G infrastructure projections – including 5G RAN and 5G Core – were revised upward, reflecting a more optimistic view about the 5G Core market.
• The adoption of 400 GE will help to advance the SP Router market and offset flat growth expectations for Broadband Access.
• Following five years of contractions, Network Equipment Services revenue growth is expected to improve, buoyed by improving market sentiment for telecom equipment. 
• Total Network Equipment Services revenue – including Managed Service, Network Rollout Service, and Consulting Service – is projected to grow at a low-single digit growth rate over the forecast period.

https://www.delloro.com

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Huawei offers optimistic view on top tech trends for 2025

Huawei published a whitepaper identifying top trends up until 2025, including 5G coverage, AI deployment, home robot adoption, and smart assistant use rates.

The 10 trends and examples of GIV’s key predictions for 2025 are as follows:

1. Living with Bots: Advances in material science, perceptual AI, and network technologies are powering the uptake of robotics in a variety of home and personal scenarios. GIV predicts a 14% global penetration rate of home robots.

2. Super Sight: The convergence of 5G, VR/AR, machine learning, and other emerging technologies will let us see beyond distance, distortion, surface, and history, opening up new vistas for people, business, and culture. GIV predicts that the percentage of companies using AR/VR will increase to 10%.

3. Zero Search: As data-driven and sensor-equipped appliances and devices begin anticipating our needs, information will find us. Future searches will be button-free, personal social networks will be created effortlessly, and industry will benefit from “zero-search maintenance”. GIV predicts that 90% of smart device owners will use intelligent personal assistants.

4. Tailored Streets: Intelligent transport systems will connect people, vehicles, and infrastructure, creating zero congestion, rapid emergency response, and other functions that will make life smoother. GIV predicts that 15% of vehicles will have Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything technology.

5. Working with Bots: Already transforming many industries, smart automation will take on more hazardous, repetitive, and high-precision tasks – a boon for safety and productivity. GIV predicts that there will be 103 robots in industry for every 10,000 employees.

6. Augmented Creativity: Cloud AI will cut the cost and barrier of entry to scientific experimentation, innovation, and art, opening up a goldmine of creative potential that’s available to all. GIV predicts that 97% of large companies will have deployed AI.

7. Frictionless Communication: AI and big data analytics will create seamless communication between companies and customers and break down language barriers. Accuracy, understanding, and trust will underpin tomorrow’s communications. GIV predicts that enterprises will fully use of 86% of the data that they produce.

8. Symbiotic Economy: Companies across the planet are adopting digital tech and smart applications on unified access platforms – that means greater collaboration, resource-sharing, stronger global ecosystems, and higher productivity. GIV predicts that every company everywhere will be using cloud technology and 85% of business applications will be cloud-based.

9. 5G’s rapid rollout: 5G is here and it’s landing far faster than any previous wireless generation – the potential for individuals, businesses, and society is enormous. GIV predicts that 58% of the world's population will have access to 5G.

10. Global Digital Governance: Advancements in digital tech must be balanced by shared data standards and principles for data use. GIV predicts that the annual volume of global data will reach 180 ZB (1 ZB = 1 trillion GB).

The full paper is here:

https://www.huawei.com/minisite/giv/Files/whitepaper_en_2019.pdf

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Singtel revenue stable despite lower ARPU and impact of Airtel India

Singtel posted revenue of S$4.11 billion for the quarter ended 30-June-2019, up 2% in constant currency, on growth in Consumer Australia and the Group’s digital businesses which continued to scale. Net profit was S$541 million for the first quarter, down 35% largely due to Airtel’s losses and higher depreciation and amortisation costs in network and spectrum across the Group. Excluding Airtel, however, net profit was down 3%.

Ms Chua Sock Koong, Singtel Group CEO said, “The Airtel impact aside, business is stable as we continued to execute to strategy in the first quarter. We added postpaid mobile customers in Singapore and Australia and grew our digital businesses Amobee and Trustwave. This was achieved against a backdrop of heightened competition, sustained industry headwinds and subdued economic growth. We are focused on the digitalization of our core communications business where innovations in digital products and services are proving to be key differentiators, leveraging our network superiority. We are also driving productivity gains and cost savings through digitalisation.”

Some highlights:

• Overall pre-tax earnings contributions fell 14% due to Airtel in India as higher network costs, depreciation and finance charges from its 4G network expansion affected financial performance. This quarter, Airtel India saw improved ARPU which drove growth in its mobile revenue. E
• Telkomsel Indonesia posted an 18% increase in earnings on robust growth in data and digital services. 
• In Thailand, AIS and Intouch’s earnings were mainly impacted by an additional provision for statutory payments under revised labour legislation. 
• In the Philippines, Globe saw strong data revenue growth from its mobile and broadband businesses.
• In Australia, Optus is rolling out its 5G fixed wireless service which is targeted to reach 1,200 sites by March 2020. Revenue increased 8% led by growth in NBN migration revenue, equipment sales and handset leasing. EBITDA rose 9% primarily from higher NBN migration revenue. Optus continued to drive customer growth, adding 50,000 postpaid handset customers. Mobile service revenue declined 7% from lower ARPU due to an increased mix of SIM-only customers and heightened data price competition. Optus Sport now reaches over 700,000 customers with compelling content on the Premier League, Champions League Final and the FIFA Women’s World Cup. Optus also launched Apple Music to further boost its content suite.
• In Singapore, mobile revenue was stable. Higher equipment sales offset the decline in local and roaming voice services. Postpaid customers grew 35,000 this quarter with strong demand for its all-digital, no-contract GOMO plans. Revenue from fixed services was down 3%, excluding contributions from the 2018 FIFA World Cup broadcast in the prior period. Pay-TV customers increased by 1,100 on a sequential quarter basis. Operating expenses fell 6% from strong cost management mainly through digitalisation. However, lower voice revenue resulted in a 4% decline in EBITDA.
• Group Enterprise revenue slid 5% due to lower Optus Business volumes and the continued pressure on carriage services amid a more cautious business environment. Optus Business in Australia was impacted by weak demand from the government and financial sectors, and a large ICT contract in the same quarter last year. Excluding Optus Business, revenue would have been stable. 
• Group Digital Life’s revenue rose 17%, driven by the continued growth in Amobee’s programmatic advertising business and contributions from Videology. Mobile video streaming service HOOQ saw healthy revenue growth from a higher base of paying subscribers in Southeast Asia and India. Amobee continues to deliver positive EBITDA.

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Global Cloud Xchange negotiates with bondholders

Global Cloud Xchange (GCX), a subsidiary of Reliance Communications and owner/operator of a global, undersea cable system, announced a two-week forbearance agreement with 87% of its bondholders.

GCX said the bondholders have committed not to take action for a minimum period of two weeks with the possibility of extending the agreement for an additional two weeks, assuming GCX continues to progress in its negotiations.  The forbearance agreement provides for, among other things, a two per cent consent fee payable to forbearing noteholders and payment of accrued interest to all noteholders (in each case with such amounts being added to the principal amount of the notes rather than being paid in cash); a fee equal to five percent of the outstanding principal amount of the bonds payable to forbearing noteholders if the notes are subsequently refinanced in full; the appointment of a Senior Managing Director of FTI Consulting as a Chief Restructuring Officer; and certain requirements that need to be fulfilled to maintain the forbearance agreement.

 “We appreciate our lenders continued support as we take these next steps and look forward to using the additional time the forbearance agreement provides to pursue the desired refinancing transaction under the best possible terms,” said Bill Barney, Chairman and CEO, GCX. “Meanwhile, we continue to operate as usual as a fundamentally strong company that is uniquely positioned to capture opportunities in our fast-growing markets.”

• In March 2019, Global Cloud Xchange (GCX) announced that its financial performance was on track per guidance for Financial Year 2018-19 (FY19), however, the company confirmed that it had retained Lazard as financial adviser "to evaluate refinancing options for the company and ensure that the upcoming maturity is addressed on competitive terms as soon as possible."

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AOI sees early signs of recovery from hyperscale operators

On August 7, Applied Optoelectronics reported Q2 2019 revenue of $43.4 million, compared with $87.8 million in the second quarter of 2018 and $52.7 million in the first quarter of 2019. There was a GAAP net loss of $11.4 million, or $0.57 per basic share, compared with net income of $8.0 million, or $0.40 per diluted share in the second quarter of 2018, and a net loss of $10.5 million, or $0.53 per basic share in the first quarter of 2019. Non-GAAP net loss was $5.2 million, or $0.26 per basic share, compared with non-GAAP net income of $12.9 million, or $0.64 per diluted share in the second quarter of 2018, and a non-GAAP net loss of $5.4 million, or $0.27 per basic share in the first quarter of 2019.

“We are pleased with our execution in the quarter as we delivered revenue within our guidance range and achieved better than expected bottom-line results,” said Dr. Thompson Lin, Applied Optoelectronics Inc. founder and CEO. “The datacenter demand environment remained consistent with our expectations and we secured five new datacenter design wins. We continue to have good technical engagement with both existing and new customers and are encouraged by the positive response to our innovations.”

Some notes from the Q2 investor conference call:

• 73% of revenue was for data center products, 23% for CATV products, and 4% for FTTH, telecom and other.
• 72% of data-center revenue was from 40G and 23% was from 100G.
• Telecom products revenue was $1.6 million compared with $4.2 million in Q2 2018 due to lower sales in China given geopolitical trade tensions.
• There were three customers who constituted 10% or more of overall revenue. Two of these customers are hyperscale data center companies and they represented 30% and 29% of overall revenue. The third customer is in the CATV business and represented 14% of revenue.
• During the quarter, AOI secured a total of five new design wins among two US-based data-center customers.
• AOI said it is starting to see early signs of recovery among two of its hyperscale data-center customers. 
• AOI recently showcased the ability of its 400G QSFP transceivers to break out into four individual 100G FR transceivers and interoperate with a leading 12.8 Tbps switch fabric ASIC.
• Revenue from CATV products decreased 31% year-over-year to $9.8 million compared with $14.2 million in Q2 of last year due to weaker demand from North American MSOs and in China.
• Regarding tariffs and global trade tensions, AOI execs said the company is able to adjust some of its manufacturing operations between its Taiwan and China factories

http://investors.ao-inc.com/

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FCC Chairman Pai: Current RF exposure limits are good

FCC chairman Ajit Pai is proposing to maintain current RF exposure safety limits, saying the United States’ RF exposure limits for handheld devices are already among the most stringent in the world.

Pai's proposal would also establish a uniform set of guidelines for ensuring compliance with the limits regardless of the service or technology, replacing the Commission’s current inconsistent
patchwork of service-specific rules.

“The FCC sets radiofrequency limits in close consultation with the FDA and other health agencies. After a thorough review of the record and consultation with these agencies, we find
it appropriate to maintain the existing radiofrequency limits, which are among the most stringent in the world for cell phones,” said Julius Knapp, chief of the FCC’s Office of Engineering and Technology. As Jeffrey Shuren, Director of the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, wrote to the FCC, “[t]he available scientific evidence to date does not support adverse health effects in humans due to exposures at or under the current limits…” and “[n]o changes to the current standards are warranted at this time.”

https://www.fcc.gov/rfsafety

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DOCOMO invests in WSC Sports for AI-powered analytics

NTT DOCOMO Ventures has made an equity investment in W.S.C. Sports Technologies Ltd., a startup based in Israel that provides a platform capable of automatically creating sports video highlights in near real-time by utilizing AI and machine learning technologies to distribute to all sorts of digital media. Financial terms were not disclosed.

WSC Sports’ AI platform analyzes audio, video and data in a live broadcast and not only identifies each and every event that occurs in the game but also creates and distributes short-form videos by any parameter, such as players and scenes selected, to any digital destination.

In 2018, WSC Sports analyzed more than 17,000 sporting events and produced more than 850,000 videos.

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Dell'Oro: 100 Gbps port shipments to peak in 2020

400 Gbps shipments are forecast to surpass 15 M switch ports by 2023, according to a recently published report by Dell’Oro Group. 100 Gbps port shipments are expected to peak in 2020, but still comprise more than 30 percent of data center switch ports during the next five years.

“The first wave of 400 Gbps switch systems based on 12.8 Tbps chips were introduced in the market in the second half of 2018,”said Sameh Boujelbene, Senior Director at Dell’Oro Group. “However, we do not expect material adoption of 400 Gbps until 2020 due to the lack of high volume, low cost 400 Gbps optics. The only Cloud Service Provider that started deploying 400 Gbps was Google, opting for 2×200 Gbps optics with an earlier time-to-market. Meanwhile, we expect other Cloud Service Providers, for instance Amazon, Facebook and Microsoft, to keep deploying 100 Gbps, and to probably use higher density 100 Gbps switch systems based on the 12.8 Tbps chips to lower costs,” added Boujelbene.

The Ethernet Switch – Data Center 5-Year Forecast Report provides more details about the timing of 100/200/400/800 Gbps and how the use cases may vary depending on the SerDes lane and market segment driving the speed.

https://www.delloro.com/news/400-gbps-shipments-to-surpass-15-m-switch-ports-by-2023/

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Huawei plans 5G factory in Brazil

Huawei has agreed to build a factory in Brazil to produce 5G base stations and other networking products.

The factory, which represents an investment of US$800 million, is expected to open by 2021 in the state of Sao Paolo. The deal was confirmed by the Governor of Sao Paolo, João Doria, during an official visit to China.

#MissãoChina🇨🇳 #GovernoSP🇧🇷 #Inovação #MaisDesenvolvimento #MaisEmpregos https://t.co/zzfcv13DE4

— João Doria (@jdoriajr) August 11, 2019

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CenturyLink to provide US Census Bureau with cloud connectivity at 40G and up

CenturyLink will provide secure cloud connectivity to the U.S. Census Bureau supporting the 2020 census.

Under the contract, CenturyLink will help digitize the 2020 Census by providing the Census Bureau with Managed Trusted Internet Protocol Services (MTIPS) at speeds of 40 Gbps or higher. The Census Bureau task order runs from July 2019 until the end of December 2020 and was awarded via the General Services Administration's Networx Universal contract.

CenturyLink said its highly secure, reliable and scalable MTIPS infrastructure capable of detecting and defending against aggressive network attacks while meeting or exceeding the federal government's strict network standards and requirements.

"Our high-speed MTIPS service will provide the Census Bureau with secure connectivity that enables it to move its 2020 Census to an online digital platform and carry out its important data-gathering mission in the most secure, reliable and cost-effective way," said David Young, CenturyLink senior vice president, strategic government. "We're eager to help the 2020 Census become the first to be completed largely online, with about half of all American households expected to submit their responses digitally."

http://news.centurylink.com/2019-08-08-CenturyLink-Provides-Secure-Cloud-Connectivity-to-U-S-Census-Bureau-for-2020-Census

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McAfee acquires NanoSec for container security

McAfee has acquired NanoSec, a start-up offering a multi-cloud, zero-trust application and security platform for containers. Financial terms were not disclosed.

NanoSec developed a wrapper technology that works as an agent and runs on any flavor of Linux and many flavors of Windows OS. NanoSec also provides an agentless Container scanning and Config Audit (including CIS Benchmarks). The NanoSec Intelligent backend can be hosted by the customer on any midsize server on-premise/cloud or as a SaaS service.

Nanosec is based in Santa Clara, California and Bengaluru, Karnataka, India.

McAfee said the acquisition will enable organizations to improve governance and compliance and to reduce risk of their cloud and container deployments. NanoSec’s security capabilities will be applied to applications and workloads deployed in containers and Kubernetes and will be integrated into McAfee MVISION Cloud and MVISION Server Protection offerings. These capabilities include continuous configuration compliance and vulnerability assessment as well as runtime application-level segmentation for detecting and preventing lateral movement of threats.

“NanoSec’s technology is a natural extension for McAfee MVISION Cloud, enhancing our current CASB and CWPP products, and adding to our ‘Shift-Left’ capabilities to deliver on the DevSecOps best practice to improve governance and security," said Rajiv Gupta, senior vice president and general manager of the cloud security business unit, McAfee.

“Joining forces with McAfee means that our groundbreaking capabilities including our unique application-identity based approach for app-level protection and micro-segmentation will be available on a global scale,” said Vishwas Manral, founder and CEO of NanoSec.

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