Laying the Next-Gen SD-WAN Foundation

SD-WAN is advancing at a rapid pace. Enterprise customers are now looking for network automation when connecting WAN to multi-cloud services, says Sunil Khandekar, CEO of Nuage Networks. Most importantly, they worry about how network automation is going to help them solve new security concerns. Closed-loop automation can bolster network security through micro-segmentation. Machine learning may be in its formative stages, says Khandekar, but there is a lot of potential for analytics to bolster security.

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Nokia launches Intent-based Software-defined Access

Nokia outlined plans for a fully-integrated, Intent-based solution for fixed access networks.

Nokia’s new intent-based Altiplano Access Controller promises software-defined access with automated control of gigabit broadband solutions. The goal is to create software-defined access networks (SDAN) that are programmable and easier to adapt, automate and expand.

Sandra Motley, President of Fixed Networks at Nokia, said: “Innovative intent-based solutions like our Altiplano Access Controller are changing the game for how operators deliver services over their network. No longer confined by their underlying infrastructure, operators can now create a service with the assurance of knowing the network will automatically configure and adapt to support what’s needed.”

Nokia says Intent-based networking (IBN) further enhances the benefits of SDAN and serves as the next evolutionary step toward a fully autonomous network. Supporting both traditional and SDAN nodes, it allows operators to manage service availability from a business perspective instead of at the technology level.

Ray Owen, CTO at nbn, said:  “As a long-standing strategic partner for nbn, Nokia continues to play a key role in helping us evolve our network to meet our broadband access goals. Nokia’s cutting-edge SDAN technology allows us to manage the various G.fast deployments we have across the nbn FTTC network. It also gives us the flexibility to enhance the customer experience management and advance our own operations systems with integration into the Nokia SDAN open environment.”

Whitepaper on intent-based networking: https://onestore.nokia.com/asset/202237

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Arista supplies switches for SK Telecom's 5G network

Arista Networks is providing switching platforms for SK Telecom’s 5G network. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Specifically, SK Telecom will be building a high capacity leaf-spine based data center network environment leveraging VXLAN/EVPN for virtualization, scalability and availability, providing customers with reliable high-speed network services.  SK Telecom intends to apply Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) for an efficient IT infrastructure expansion plan in line with its service expansion.

Arista said it is providing SK Telecom with universal spine and leaf network switches, combining routing and switching to reduce complexity and significantly improve scale without compromising performance at speeds of 100+Tbps. In addition, Arista's network switches enable functionality such as 100GbE aggregation, large routing tables, high resiliency, hybrid cloud traffic patterns, lossless connectivity and real-time monitoring in a single chassis, meeting the requirements of commercial, private and hybrid clouds.

“By installing Arista Networks' network switches optimized for 5G in our infrastructure, we have been able to provide high-quality 5G services quickly and reliably to our customers,” said Se Wook Kim, Manager for SK Telecom's Core Engineering Team of Infra Eng Group at ICT Infra Center. “Arista Networks also offers prompt and expert support services appropriate for our business characteristics, for which reliable service operation is essential. In the future, we intend to work together to proceed with network infrastructure upgrades in accordance with our 3G service expansion,” he added.

“We are delighted to be working with SK Telecom to deliver a 5G open architecture with programmable automation that will scale to support their customers,” said Mark Foss, Senior Vice President, Global Operations and Marketing for Arista Networks.

SK Telecom tops 1 million 5G subscribers just 4 months after launch

Thursday, August 22, 2019  5G, Korea, SK Telecom  

On August 21, SK Telecom became the first mobile operator in the world to exceed the 1 million 5G subscriber mark. The company's 5G subscribers now represent more than 3.5 percent of its total subscriber base of 28 million.

The 1 million subscriber milestone was achieved 140 days after launching the world’s first 5G smartphone on April 3, which is twice faster than its LTE uptake rate. After commercializing the LTE service in July 2011, the company hit the 1 million LTE subscriber mark in eight months.

The 5G service is also driving up customers' data usage. According to SK Telecom’s analysis on 5G subscribers, the average monthly data usage of customers who switched devices from LTE to 5G has increased about 65 percent from 20.4GB (LTE) to 33.7GB (5G).

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Telia Finland deploys 5G Fixed Wireless Access with Nokia

Nokia is working with Telia to bring its 5G Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) solution to customers across Finland.

Finnish customers that subscribe to Telia’s enhanced 5G service can now pick up a Nokia Fastmile 5G gateway in select stores, plug it in and have immediate access to Gigabit peak speeds in their home. An easy-to-use visual display on the gateway helps customers identify the right location to achieve the best performance, while integrated WiFi features ensure ultra-broadband access is available in every corner of the house.

New FastMile 5G products will support 5G NR in both NSA (Non-StandAlone) and SA (StandAlone) modes.

Janne Koistinen, 5G Program Manager for Telia Finland, said: “We want customers to enjoy the benefits of 5G regardless of where they are, and Nokia is an important partner helping us achieve this. With Fixed Wireless Access solutions like Nokia’s Fastmile 5G Gateway, our customer will be able to quickly leverage our end-to-end 5G network and enhanced services to support all of their ultra-broadband needs in the home.”

Leopold Diouf, Head of Nokia Fixed Wireless Access, said: “We are excited to help Telia create extraordinary experiences and bring the power of 5G to customers across Finland. Our industry leading 5G Fixed Wireless Access solution helps accelerate broadband access and brings all the benefits of 5G into the home to deliver a better user experience.”

Nokia debuts FastMile 5G Gateway

Sunday, February 24, 2019  #MWC19, Nokia  

Nokia unveiled its new FastMile 5G Gateway for residential and business Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) rollouts.

Optus is testing the FastMile 5G indoor gateway in a live network to simultaneous stream multiple 4K video services to select residential customers in Australia.

The indoor device connects wirelessly to the mobile network using either 3GPP compliant 5G New Radio (NR) or 4G signals. It offers carrier aggregation capabilities and can deliver peak speeds of 1 Gbps.

Nokia said its FastMile 5G Gateway maximizes spectral assets and uses the industry's highest gain (11dBi) antenna to deliver up to twice the indoor coverage, three times the downlink capacity and five times the uplink capacity compared to traditional designs

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Skyworks supplies modules for leading Wi-Fi 6 vendors

Skyworks Solutions confirmed that its connectivity moduless are powering Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) devices from leading connected home and mesh network providers, including Arris, Asus, D-Link, Netgear, Ruckus and TP-Link. Specifically, Skyworks’ modules are being leveraged in all of the latest Wi-Fi 6 routers named in a recent CNET article.

According to ABI Research estimates, Wi-Fi 6 chipset shipments are expected to grow from approximately 127 million units in 2019 to close to 2 billion units by 2024, representing a compounded annual growth rate of approximately 73 percent.

Skyworks’ Wi-Fi 6 portfolio include:

• 2.4 GHz high power WLAN power amplifier (PA)
• 2.4 GHz receive front-end module (FEM) with integrated SPDT switch and low-noise amplifier (LNA)
• 2.4 GHz high power WLAN FEM with SPDT transmit/receive switch, LNA with bypass and PA
• 2.4 GHz high power WLAN FEM with SPDT transmit/receive switch, LNA with bypass and PA
• 5 GHz WLAN FEM with SPDT transmit/receive switch, LNA with bypass and PA
• 5 GHz WLAN FEM with SPDT transmit/receive switch, LNA with bypass and PA
• 5 GHz WLAN FEM with SPDT transmit/receive switch, LNA with bypass and PA

“Skyworks has decades of experience developing cutting-edge technologies for successive wireless standards and we are proud to partner with industry leaders to bring next generation products to the market, particularly as Wi-Fi 6 quickly gains momentum,” said Dave Stasey, vice president and general manager of diversified analog solutions for Skyworks. “Faster, more reliable and efficient Wi-Fi coverage is becoming increasingly important as more and more devices and users are connected in smart homes. Our portfolio of high performance solutions provides our customers with all the required functionality to deliver maximum Wi-Fi range and speeds to address the need for always-on connectivity.”

5  Mergers And Acquisitions, Skyworks  

Skyworks Solutions confirmed that PMC has terminated its acquisition agreement and, as

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Bahrain's Batelco picks Nuage for SD-WAN 2.0

Batelco, Bahrain's leading service provider, has chosen the Nuage Networks’ SD-WAN 2.0 solution to support cloud connectivity, automation and digital transformation services for its Bahrain and international enterprise customers.

Batelco serves corporate and consumer customers in the MENA region — offering fixed broadband and mobile communication services as well as digital services, such as data center and cloud, internet and e-commerce services.

The deal is expected to support the digital transformation efforts of Batelco’s enterprise customers across sectors including banking and finance, healthcare, education, hospitality, transportation and energy.

Sunil Khandekar, CEO, Nuage Networks, said: “The Nuage Networks SD-WAN 2.0 solution will provide Batelco with a powerful platform for offering advanced digital services to support cloud connectivity, automation and network segmentation while eliminating the boundaries imposed by the underlying connectivity technologies. Batelco’s SD-WAN services will be a big boost to the digital transformation of MENA businesses and organizations.”

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NYT: Trump Green-Lights Some Sales to Huawei

Citing unnamed sources, The New York Times reported that the Trump administration has decided to issue licenses to some companies to resume shipment of general merchandise to Huawei. However, a spokesman from the Commerce Department told The New York Times that “as of right this moment, the status quo holds.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/09/us/politics/trump-huawei-trade.html

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Murata builds 60 GHz RF Module for Facebook's Terragraph

Japan-based Murata Manufacturing Co. is developing an RF module solution for Terragraph, a gigabit wireless technology envisioned by Facebook for urban and suburban environments.

Terragraph is enabled in part by placing millimeter-wave RF modules at 200 to 250 meter intervals between base stations.

Murata said its millimeter-wave RF modules use an independently developed Low Temperature Co-fired Ceramic that realizes stable communications quality in the millimeter-wave band and features both high heat and moisture resistance. This help ensures a high-quality network environment for Terragraph.

Norio Nakajima, Senior Executive Vice President, Module Business Unit, and Representative Director stated: “As the popularity of 5G approaches, the information society will become more familiar than ever and will be accessible to everyone. Murata Manufacturing has advantages in communications and hardware, and we are very pleased to be able to support Facebook’s Terragraph project to expand access to high-quality connectivity.”

Facebook's Terragraph Accelerates WiGig for City Access

Wednesday, April 13, 2016  Facebook, WiGig  

Facebook took the wraps off of two terrestrial connectivity technologies for fast wireless access.

Terragraph is a 60 GHz, multi-node wireless system for dense urban areas and that uses radios based on the WiGig standard. Facebook said Terragraph will deliver gigabits of data capacity. IPv6-only Terragraph nodes will be placed at 200m intervals. Terragraph will incorporate commercial off-the-shelf components and aim for high-volume, low-cost production. Facebook noted that up to 7 GHz of bandwidth is available in the unlicensed 60 GHz band in many countries.  U.S. regulators are considering expanding this to a total of 14 GHz.

Facebook Terragraph will also leverage an SDN-like cloud compute controller and a new modular routing protocol that Facebook optimized for fast route convergence and failure detection. The architecture also tweaks the MAC layer to solve shortcomings of TCP/IP over a wireless link. The company says the TDMA-TDD MAC layers delivers up to 6x improvement in network efficiency while being more predictable than the existing Wi-Fi/WiGig standard.

Terragraph is already in operation at the Facebook campus in Menlo Park, California, where it delivers 1.05 Gbps bidirectional (2.1 Gbps total throughput per distribution node) in P2P mode, up to 250 meters away. A wider trial is planned for San Jose, California.

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Cohesity completes transition to software business model

Cohesity, which specializes in data management, completed its transition to a software business model.

Key highlights from FY 19 fiscal year include the following:

• The company’s software revenue grew more than 100 percent year-over-year.
• Within the last two quarters, more than 50 percent of Cohesity’s new contracts were recurring, further emphasizing the success of a subscription-based software model.
• Cohesity received a customer software order valued at more than $10 million.
• The number of customer orders worth more than $1 million surged by 350 percent compared to the previous year.
• Cohesity doubled the number of customers utilizing its solutions compared to the previous fiscal year.
• More than half of Cohesity customers licensed the company’s cloud capabilities in FY 2019, showing growing momentum for hybrid and multi-cloud deployments.

“Demand for our disruptive data management solutions continues to skyrocket as more companies turn to Cohesity to simplify backup, defend against ransomware, make data easier to manage, and solve mass data fragmentation,” said Mohit Aron, CEO and founder. “And now, with the Cohesity MarketPlace, we are enabling customers to bring apps to the data, which opens a new world of possibilities in extracting value from data. Just as Google made it easy for consumers to manage and extract value from consumer data, we are doing the same with enterprise data across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.”

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ADTRAN trims Q3 estimates citing pause from 2 international customers

ADTRAN trimmed its preliminary estimates for the third quarter ended September 30, 2019, saying it now expects revenue for the quarter to be approximately $114 million. Earnings per share for the quarter, assuming dilution, is expected to be a loss of approximately $0.96. Non-GAAP earnings per share for the quarter, assuming dilution, is expected to be a loss of approximately $0.06.

ADTRAN Chief Executive Officer Tom Stanton stated, “Our revenue this quarter has been significantly impacted by a pause in shipments to a Tier 1 customer in Latin America and the continued slowdown in the spending at an international Tier 1 customer. With the exception of these two large customers, revenues generated from the rest of our business grew 20% over the previous quarter. Although we expect our Latin American customer sales to rebound, our current visibility regarding timing is limited. For the international Tier 1 customer, we expect that sales should resume with the new capital cycle in 2020.”

Our current expectation for revenue for the fourth quarter of 2019, is that it will be flat to slightly down from the third quarter. Additionally, we plan for our non-GAAP operating expenses during the fourth quarter to be approximately 10% below our second quarter non-GAAP expense rate.

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