Malaysia's Maxis signs Huawei for 5G

Malaysia-based Maxis has selected Huawei Technologies for the provisioning of 5G network in the country.

As part of the agreement, Huawei will be supplying 4G/LTE and 5G radio equipment and services. Besides having access to 5G technologies, Maxis will able to modernise its existing LTE network to be 5G-ready. Leveraging on existing investments and footprint, Maxis will be able to facilitate faster rollout of 5G services when spectrum is available.

Additionally, Maxis will have access to insights, standards, products and solutions that would make 5G easier to deploy and operate and introduce new use cases in Malaysia.

The signing ceremony was witnessed by Yang Amat Berhormat Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad, the Prime Minister of Malaysia at Yayasan Kepimpinan Perdana, Putrajaya. Signing the agreement on behalf of Maxis was its Chief Executive Officer, Gokhan Ogut, while Huawei was represented by Michael Yuan, its Chief Executive Officer.

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Eric Xu takes over rotating Chairmanship of Huawei

Mr. Xu Zhijun (Eric Xu) will assume the position of Rotating and Acting Chairman of Huawei from October 1, 2019 to March 31, 2020. During his term, Mr. Xu will serve as the company's top leader, and head the Board of Directors and its Executive Committee.

 Xu joined Huawei in 1993 and has served as President of the Wireless Network Product Line, Chief Strategy & Marketing Officer, Chief Products & Solutions Officer, Chairman of the Investment Review Board, Rotating CEO of Huawei, and Chairman of the Strategy & Development Committee (SDC). Currently, Mr. Xu serves as Deputy Chairman of the Board and Rotating Chairman of Huawei.

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Ciena to acquire Centina for Service Assurance

Ciena agreed to acquire privately-held Centina, a provider of service assurance analytics and network performance management solutions. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Centina, which is based in Plano, Texas, supplies a multi-vendor, multi-technology service assurance solution specifically designed for complex multi-service network operations.

Ciena said the acquisition will accelerate Blue Planet’s software strategy of providing closed-loop, intelligent automation solutions that help communications service providers improve operational agility while delivering a highly differentiated customer experience. Specifically, the Centina solution will expand Blue Planet’s assurance capabilities by collecting and collating fault, event, and performance data from multiple vendors and network layers, including virtual domains such as NFV as well as more traditional optical, Ethernet and IP/MPLS networks and services.

Integrating Centina’s robust service assurance capabilities with Blue Planet Multi-Domain Service Orchestration (MDSO) and Blue Planet Inventory (BPI) will allow continuous optimization of service performance, quality and availability on a proactive basis by resolving problems automatically before they impact the service and user experience.

“The acquisition of Centina advances Blue Planet’s position as an emerging leader in operational support systems (OSS), focused on closed-loop automation. By continuously monitoring the performance of services, Centina’s multi-layer, multi-domain service assurance solution will help our customers resolve issues more quickly and optimize network performance,” said Rick Hamilton, senior vice president of Blue Planet. “This is a key step to achieving more adaptive networks that are critical in today’s digital society where the customer experience is the ultimate differentiator.”

The deal is expected to close by the end of calendar 2019. Centina will be integrated into Blue Planet, a division of Ciena.

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Georgia Tech develops fully integrated silicon carbide optical switch

Researchers at Georgia Tech have developed the first silicon carbide (SiC) photonic integrated chip that can be thermally tuned by applying an electric signal. The project involved the integration of a microheater and an optical device called a microring resonator onto a SiC chip, potentially paving the wave for a new class of quantum devices. SiC is known to have defects that can be optically controlled and manipulated as quantum bits, or qubits.

“The SiC-on-insulator platform our group pioneered is similar to the silicon-on-insulator technology widely used in semiconductor industry for a variety of applications,” said Tianren Fan, member of the research team. “It enables wafer-level manufacturing of SiC devices, paving the way toward commercialization of integrated photonic quantum information processing solutions based on SiC,” said Ali A. Eftekhar, member of the research team.

The research is published in The Optical Society (OSA) journal Optics Letters.

https://www.osa.org/en-us/about_osa/newsroom/news_releases/2019/tunable_optical_chip_paves_way_for_new_quantum_dev/

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Mavenir demos O-RAN at new R&D center in Stockholm

Mavenir demonstrated the transmission of data traffic over O-RAN interface in a 5G New Radio during the official opening of the Center of Innovation in Stockholm. The successful transmission of data at the physical layer demonstrated the implementation in a 5G New Radio of the O-RAN split 7.2 open interface between a Distributed Unit (O-DU) and a simulated Remote Radio Unit (RRU) (O-RU). The DU was implemented on an x86-based architecture standard COTS server and displayed maximum speed for the chosen transmission of 777 Mbps.

The new facility focuses on Mavenir’s open virtualized Radio Access Network (vRAN) development, both S/W and H/W, as well as innovation on next-generation platforms for 5G and IoT for Service Providers, Industry and Enterprises.

“The relevance of this demonstration is that the O-RAN interface is a straightforward and robust interface to implement in 5G with standard commercial off-the-shelf equipment,” said Mikael Rylander, SVP/GM RAN Business Unit. “This means we will be able to stimulate a full ecosystem of Radio Unit suppliers, which will inject new blood into the market and support the vision of OpenRAN in transforming the mobile network economics.”

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DT, Audi and the city of Ingolstadt test 5G for mobility

by James E. Carroll

Audi and Deutsche Telekom for a 5G technology partnership together with the city of Ingolstadt in Bavaria, Germany. This

The goal of the partnership is to use 5G to make urban mobility safer, more digital and more sustainable.

One possible 5G application is connected traffic signals at road junctions that exchange anonymized movement data with cars and other road users via the 5G network. This will enable drivers or cars themselves to react more quickly to unforeseen movements. Mobile 5G devices of pedestrians and cyclists can also be integrated into real-time communication between infrastructure and cars, so that all road users can be connected as comprehensively as possible. Furthermore, new technologies such as 5G can reduce the time spent searching for parking spaces, which is a significant proportion of increased traffic volumes in cities. Free parking spaces will be communicated to drivers as real-time information so that they can navigate directly to them.

DT to bring 5G to Allianz Arena in Munich

Sunday, September 08, 2019  5G, Deutsche Telekom, Germany  

Deutsche Telekom and FC Bayern Munich announced a partnership to bring 5G coverage to the Allianz Arena in Munich by spring 2020.

“Deutsche Telekom is working with FC Bayern Munich to open up the world of 5G technology to soccer spectators. Fans visiting the Allianz Arena will be able to explore a whole new dimension in soccer through VR and AR. We’re helping bring the club and its fans even closer together, which is of course in keeping with our motto – ‘Life is for sharing,’” comments Michael Hagspihl, Head of Consumers at Telekom Deutschland.

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OSARO raises $16M for industrial automation

OSARO, a start-up based in San Francisco, raised $16 million in Series B funding for its machine learning software for industrial automation.

The company’s flagship product, OSARO Pick, automates stationary picking stations in “goods to robots” distribution centers. OSARO’s robotic piece-picking software has improved performance and efficiency in e-commerce order fulfillment and intralogistics for multiple customers, including top material handling companies. OSARO plans to expand into handling order fulfillment in electronics, apparel, groceries, pharmaceuticals, and many other industries.

The investment round included participation from King River Capital (KRC), Alpha Intelligence Capital, Founders Fund, Pegasus Tech Ventures, GiTV Fund, and existing investors as well as strategics. This brings total funding for the company to $29.3 million. According

“A key element of our competitive advantage is OSARO Vision’s deep learning algorithms,” said CEO Derik Pridmore. “These algorithms generalize picking tasks with minimal training data and no SKU registration for quick, scalable solutions. In addition, as a software company, we support a wide array of commodity hardware and robotic arms which lets our customers select options that best fit their needs.”

OSARO also announced that Kevin Pope has joined as VP of Engineering. With 30 years’ experience in high-tech product development, he led engineering teams at Applied Digital Access, Mahi Networks, and Calix. Pope will support the company in scaling their AI-based robotic picking solutions worldwide.

http://www.osaro.com

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Ericsson completes acquisition of Kathrein’s antenna and filter business

Ericsson completed its acquisition of Kathrein’s antenna and filters business. The deal was first announced in February 2019. The purchase price was not disclosed. Preliminary and unaudited revenues from the acquired part of Kathrein were approximately EUR 270 million in 2018, excluding sales to Ericsson.

Kathrein, with headquarters in Rosenheim, Germany, founded in 1919, specializes in antenna and filter technologies and is an existing Ericsson supplier. The antenna and filters business has a strong R&D organization with extensive experience in antenna design and research, coupled with a strong IPR portfolio. In addition to broadening Ericsson’s portfolio of antenna and filter products, the acquisition will bring vital competence for the evolution of advanced radio network products. The acquisition will add around 4,000 highly-skilled professionals in R&D, production, and sales based in more than 20 locations, including Germany, Romania, the U.S., Mexico and China.

Ericsson says the antenna domain is evolving using multiple frequencies and multiple technologies. At the same time, radios and antennas are being integrated to optimize the usage of site space and overall network performance, which is vital for the introduction of 5G. This makes antennas going from being passive components to a more advanced technology and an area of strategic importance.

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Tata Comm appoints Lakshminarayanan as Managing Director

Tata Communications appointed Mr Amur S Lakshminarayanan (Lakshmi) as Managing Director and Group Chief Executive Officer – Designate of Tata Communications.

Lakshmi previously served as President and CEO of TCS Japan, Global Head of Telecom, Media & Information Services, HiTech and Utilities, and Head of TCS UK & Europe.

“I am truly excited to join another Tata company. Tata Communications’ leadership in India, strong international presence with its talent base, technology capabilities and global network reach puts it in a strong position to help customers with their digital transformations. I look forward to working with our customers and partners to harness the next phase of growth,” stated Lakshmi.

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