An update from the Telecom Infra Project (TIP)

To mark its fourth anniversary, the Telecom Infra Project (TIP) provided the following update on its activities:

1. Global expansion of TIP activities, progressing solutions such as OpenRAN, Disaggregated Cell Site Gateways (DCSG) and Cassini into a growing number of deployments and field trials. Specifically, Vodafone has now launched trials in Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of the Congo as anticipated, and is progressing with trials in the UK and Ireland. In Indonesia, Indosat Ooredoo and Smartfren will conduct the first OpenRAN field trials in the APAC region. Smartfren has also conducted and completed the first OpenRAN lab trial in the region.

2. Growing the number of technology solutions and project groups within TIP, addressing a wide range of deployment environments – including Core and Wi-Fi. For instance, Dell EMC continues to work on a configuration with SONiC, an open source network operating system, on DCSG including Zero Touch Provisioning. Alongside DCSG, the expanding OOPT product portfolio landed commitments from Edgecore and Wistron to develop the hardware for Phoenix (formerly known as Apollo), a 400G optical transponder. The Phoenix spec is now fully approved and available. Also in the OOPT family, IP Infusion is now announcing the general availability of their Cassini Operating System. Whitestack led a trial of the Cassini technology in Telefónica del Perú, and is implementing some of the first projects (combining optics and Layer2/3) in Latin American operators.

The OOPT Project Group launched an initiative focused on the development of Disaggregated Open Routers (DOR). The initiative will be led by KDDI and Vodafone. Several OOPT technology providers including ADVA, Delta, Drivenets, Edgecore, Exaware and Ufispace have committed to support the activity. I

3. Deeper alignment with adjacent industry consortia such as O-RAN Alliance, GSMA, OpenStack Foundation (OSF) and OpenAirInterface Software Alliance (OSA). First, O-RAN Alliance and TIP are announcing a liaison agreement for the development of open and intelligent RAN architecture and specifications. The liaison agreement enables TIP requirements to reference O-RAN specifications. The TIP OpenRAN 5G NR Project Group will be releasing their OpenRAN 5G NR Base Station Platform requirements document with normative references to the O-RAN specifications.

TIP and the GSMA have signed an understanding that will help drive share service provider requirements from the GSMA into TIP Project Group work streams – ultimately giving operators wider solutions in the areas of operator platforms and open networks.

TIP has reached agreements with the OpenStack Foundation (OSF), and the OpenAirInterface Software Alliance (OSA) to jointly explore collaboration areas on the newly formed Open Core Network Project Group and leverage each organization’s expertise and resources to accelerate progress towards a converged open core network implementation.

4. Integration and hardening of disaggregated technology solutions through TIP Community Labs and PlugFests. As part of the alignment with O-RAN, Deutsche Telekom is expanding its current TIP Community Lab and launching a European Open Test and Integration Center. Deutsche Telekom will transform its current Berlin lab to focus on interop validation of O-RAN compliant RU-DU solutions leading to an upcoming Open FrontHaul (RU-DU) TIP PlugFest, as well as supporting Open Optical Packet Transport (OOPT) technology trials. Multiple operators, most notably Orange, are collaborating across several streams in the lab for integration, testing and also for upcoming Plugfest activities. In addition, KDDI will be opening up the first TIP Community Lab in Japan, supporting DCSG solutions and the OOPT Project Group initially, and expanding to other technologies in the future. China Unicom has announced that it has joined the OpenRAN 5G NR Project Group, and is preparing to launch the first TIP Community Lab in China to support the project.

The full TIP update is posted here: https://telecominfraproject.com/tip-community-momentum-driven-by-new-operator-demand-technology-solutions-and-industry-alliances/

Read More

U.S. Senate passes "rip and replace" bill

The U.S. Senate voted unanimously to approve a "rip and replace" bill to drive the rapid replacement of telecom gear deemed to be a national security threat, namely Huawei and ZTE. The House already passed similar legislation in December. Up to $1 billion would be made available through the FCC to help smaller telecom operators comply with the new requirements. President Trump is expected to sign the bill into law.

Read More

GSMA leads Telco Edge Cloud initiative

GSMA is leading an industry effort to develop Telco Edge Cloud capabilities. The platform to be developed in 2020, will make local operator assets and capabilities, such as latency, compute and storage available to application developers and software vendors enabling them to fulfill the needs of enterprise clients.

China Unicom, Deutsche Telekom, EE, KDDI, Orange, Singtel, SK Telecom, Telefonica and TIM are backing the initiative.

Objectives of the Edge Compute architectural framework and reference platform:

• Be open and inclusive
• Provide data protection and sovereignty mechanisms
• Offer carrier-grade reliability, security, trustworthiness
• Leverage existing technology solutions; as appropriate, including, but not limited to, aggregation platform solutions such as MobiledgeX, or the interconnection mechanisms developed as part of the GSMA MultiOperator MEC experience.

“Operators are very well placed to provide capabilities such as low latency through their network assets,” said Alex Sinclair, CTO at GSMA. “It is essential for enterprises to be able to reach all of their customers from the edge of any network. Based on the GSMA Operator Platform Specification, Telco Edge Cloud will provide enterprise developers and aggregators with a consistent way to reach connected customers.”

“Edge cloud will build a unified network edge ecosystem, providing diversified and customised products and services, and multiple platform capabilities. It will also realise more extensive boundary-crossing cooperation to meet the requirements of digital transformation of various vertical industries,” said Xiongyan Tang, the Chief Scientist of China Unicom Network Technology Research Institute and the Chief Architect of China Unicom Intelligent Network Center, China Unicom.

“Edge Cloud has an exciting potential to enable and enhance many innovative experiences for our customers. I welcome this operator initiative to take ownership of the edge opportunity by joining forces to deliver our capabilities in a federated edge service,” said Claudia Nemat, Board Member Technology & Innovation at Deutsche Telekom. “Leveraging MobiledgeX as platform partner and aggregator in the federation puts operators on the best track to create scale, bring in the developer community and make a market impact.”

Read More

Company withdrawal notices for OFC

Acacia Communications, Infinera, OFS, and Viavi Solutions all confirmed their withdrawals from OFC 2020 due to the coronavirus situation.

Previously, Ciena and Lumentum announced cancellations from the event.

"We have made the difficult decision to cancel our participation in OFC," said Raj Shanmugaraj, President and Chief Executive Officer. “We are disappointed we cannot participate as we were looking forward to showcasing our 400ZR, OpenZR+ and 400G Open ROADM product portfolio. However, our highest priority is the health and safety of our employees and business partners.  Based on the information available, we believe this is the best decision at this time."

“While we were looking forward to attending OFC 2020, the premier optical networking conference, and showcasing our latest innovations, our top priority is the health and safety of our employees, and our concern extends to the welfare and well-being of our customers, partners and others in our community,” said Tom Fallon, Infinera CEO. “

"We value OFC as a venue for sharing our latest research and innovation each year. However, with the continued spread and growing concern of COVID-19 and the prioritization of health and safety not only in our manufacturing environment, but in the travel and exposure potentially impacting our employees, customers and stakeholders, we have decided to cancel our participation in OFC. We will work to share our intended demonstrations and research with customers and industry partners over the coming months in local forums," stated Pierre Marty, Senior Vice President, Fiber & Cable North America, OFS.

Read More

NeoPhotonics posts revenue of $103.4 million, up 13%

NeoPhotonics reported Q4 2019 revenue of $103.4 million, up 12% quarter-over-quarter and 13% year-over-year. Gross margin was 30.2%, up from 28.4% in the prior quarter.

Revenue in 2019 was $356.8 million, compared to $322.5 million in 2018

“Our strong revenue and gross margin expansion throughout the year was a result of our leadership in high speed products, serving the largest players in the industry in DCI and the transition of Cloud and hyper-scale data center networks to coherent technologies,” said Tim Jenks, Chairman and CEO of NeoPhotonics.

Read More

VMware revenues rise 11% yoy

VMware reported revenue of $3.07 billion for the fourth quarter of its fiscal 2020, an increase of 11% from the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019. GAAP net income for the fourth quarter was $321 million, or $0.76 per diluted share, compared to $496 million, or $1.17 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019. Non-GAAP net income for the fourth quarter was $868 million, or $2.05 per diluted share, up 9%.

The combination of subscription and SaaS and license revenue was $1.59 billion, an increase of 14% from the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019.

“VMware delivered over $10 billion in revenue for the first time in company history in fiscal 2020, along with continued double-digit topline growth,” commented Pat Gelsinger, CEO, VMware. “Our results demonstrate the power of our broad-based portfolio and a strategy that continues to resonate with our customers.”

“We signed a record number of enterprise agreements above $10 million in Q4, including a significant increase in the value of subscription and SaaS offerings in the top ten agreements,” said Zane Rowe, executive vice president and CFO, VMware. “Subscription and SaaS revenue grew 52% year-over-year in the fourth quarter to $556 million and is expected to continue strong growth in fiscal 2021.”

Read More

Lufthansa Technik deploys private 5G with Nokia

Lufthansa Technik, the leading provider of technical aircraft services, deployed a 5G industrial-grade private wireless network to accelerate a project that enables remote engine parts inspection for its civil aviation customers. The "Virtual Table Inspection" proof of concept project leverages the 5G netork to remove the need for customers to physically attend servicing by providing seamless video access to the engine overhaul shop floor. Nokia is the supplier.

Soeren Stark, Lufthansa Technik Executive Board Member, responsible for Technical Operations, Logistics and IT said: "Continuous innovation is part of our corporate DNA, and this is what drives us to constantly try out new approaches. The first application cases already impressively demonstrate the valuable contribution 5G technology can make to the aviation industry. It will also pave the way for numerous new innovations at Lufthansa Technik that will benefit our company, our employees and also our customers.”

Kathrin Buvac, President of Nokia Enterprise said: "This application captures the essential value of fast, secure 5G private wireless networking to help improve operational efficiency, productivity and service. It highlights the potential for new ways of working that benefit not only our customers, but also the markets they serve."

Read More

Applied Optoelectronics delivers revenue of $49 million

Applied Optoelectronics reported Q4 2019 revenue of $48.7 million, compared with $58.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2018 and $46.1 million in the third quarter of 2019.

GAAP gross margin was 23.3%, compared with 18.2% in the fourth quarter of 2018. GAAP net loss was $35.4 million, or $1.76 per basic share, compared with net loss of $8.6 million, or $0.43 per basic share in the fourth quarter of 2018, and a net loss of $8.8 million, or $0.44 per basic share in the third quarter of 2019. Non-GAAP net loss was $3.6 million, or $0.18 per basic share

“We are encouraged with our financial performance in the fourth quarter, which reflects another quarter of sequential revenue growth,” said Dr. Thompson Lin, Applied Optoelectronics Inc. Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer. “We are pleased by the customer interest we are seeing for our 400G products and are delighted to announce that we recently secured our first 400G design win with a Tier 1 network equipment manufacturer. Looking ahead, while we expect a continued soft cable TV environment, coupled with typical seasonal patterns and the effects of the coronavirus, to impact our near-term results, we expect this to be partially offset by growth in our datacenter and telecom segments driven by datacenter upgrades and 5G related sales.”

Read More

OFC 2020 is still on

The organizers of the upcoming OFC 2020 conference and exhibition confirmed that the event is still on.

“We are excited to confirm that OFC 2020 is still on and going strong. The conference will be held as planned 8 – 12 March in San Diego, California USA with a high-quality technical program and exhibition. OFC Management is fully committed to providing a safe and healthy environment for all OFC attendees. We have heard from many exhibitors that they are committed to attend OFC and we thank them for their continued engagement. OFC Management respects the decision of exhibitors who decided to cancel their participation and look forward to partnering with them in the future.”

https://www.ofcconference.org/en-us/home/

OFC 2020's COVID-19 Action Plan

Monday, February 17, 2020  OFC, OFC20  

Organizers of the upcoming OFC 2020 conference and exhibition, which will be held 8 – 12 March in San Diego, California, issued the following statement.

“Due to the COVID-19 (also known as coronavirus) outbreak, OFC Management is closely monitoring the ongoing potential impact for our attendees, exhibitors, and vendors”, said Ryan Strowger, head of OFC Management. “We are following the guidance from worldwide health organizations and experts. We are fully committed to taking appropriate precautions to provide a safe and healthy environment for attendees.”

Some additional points:

• OFC Management understands that individuals who have been in China (originating or visiting) within 14 calendar days, will be unable to participate in-person at OFC 2020 due to travel restrictions barring access to the U.S. 
• Some Chinese exhibiting companies have determined that they will be unable to exhibit, while other Chinese exhibiting companies may utilize non-China based staff, or sales representatives/distributors with knowledge of their products and services to represent them. 
• OFC Management will continue to support OFC companies based in China on their final decisions, and we thank them for their continued engagement.
• OFC Management will follow recommendations from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the policies of the local government and city officials

The full statement is here:
https://www.ofcconference.org/en-us/home/about/update-on-coronavirus/

Read More

Broadband Forum completes two new 5G standards

The Broadband Forum announced the completion of two standards for supporting 5G networks:

• 5G Fixed Mobile Convergence (FMC) Architecture (TR-470) - describes the 5G FMC architecture to provide a high-level guide for network architects and planners
• Access Gateway Function (AGF) Functional Requirements (TR-456)  - describes the functional requirements of the AGF. The AGF resides between fixed access networks and the 5G core network to support 5G and wireline Residential Gateways, creating a truly converged deployment.

The specifications are completing the approvals process and will be published as Broadband Forum’s other 5G initiatives continue. These include ongoing work to standardize and enhance the transport network to ensure it can meet the demands of 5G, and normative work is also beginning on Broadband Forum’s joint FMC project with 3GPP.

“When it comes to deploying 5G, all operators will have different starting points which means any transformation steps need to be independent and not require co-ordination,” said Gavin Young, Head of Fixed Access Centre of Excellence at Vodafone Group Technology. “Deployment flexibility is also needed – and it is these challenges, and more, that TR-470 and TR-456 address.”

The Broadband Forum also announced that specifications for carrier grade Wi-Fi are in progress:

• Device:2 root data model (TR-181), which is used by User Services Platform (USP), is being extended to address 5G Residential Gateways. 
• Open Broadband – Broadband Access Abstraction (OB-BAA) and virtualization of the ONU management and control interface (OMCI) are also smoothing the way to software-driven cloud-based access networks, ensuring fixed networks can scale with the unprecedented amounts of data that 5G will bring.

“Broadband Forum’s latest specifications are key pieces of the very big jigsaw that must be created and completed to deliver on 5G – and we are working with operators to define those pieces quickly, efficiently, and, most importantly, together as an open collaborative effort, preventing fragmentation and misalignments between stakeholders,” said Broadband Forum CEO Robin Mersh. “The breadth of our ongoing work and how much of that has 5G at its core is significant and the holistic approach we can take is unique to the broadband industry and critical to the ongoing development of 5G.”

https://www.broadband-forum.org/projects/5g

Read More

Nokia trials 4G/5G slicing capabilities with customers

Nokia introduced new end-to-end slicing network functionality for 4G and 5G New Radio (NR).

The slicing capability can be deployed via a software upgrade into existing LTE and 5G non-standalone (NSA) networks and subsequently 5G standalone (SA) networks. The slicing continuity between LTE and 5G NR allows operators to maximize their network coverage for new mobile connectivity services.

Nokia said the solution provides sliced mobile broadband connectivity from device to radio, transport, core, all the way to applications in private and public networks and the cloud. The user and service-aware slicing functionality has been introduced to Nokia radio access products for the first time and is also supported in Nokia transport and core products with control, management and assurance systems. Solution supports all 4G and 5G devices and works in a multi-vendor
environment.

The company is already trialing live 4G/5G slicing use cases with customers powered by a unique Software Defined Network (SDN) radio slice controller as well as a transport slice controller. The trial includes a Nokia cloud packet core slice orchestrator to support network deployment automation as well as an SD-WAN software solution providing a managed 4G/5G network slice to private and public cloud services. Nokia assurance systems are used to verify per slice KPIs as a part of Nokia’s E2E service orchestration.

Tommi Uitto, President of Mobile Networks, Nokia, said: “Working closely with our customers to develop new technologies and business opportunities is hugely important to Nokia. 4G/5G slicing enables multiple new use cases which operators can start building now to create new revenue streams.”

Read More

Cisco builds Cloud Services Stack for 5G

Cisco announced new mobility solutions for integrating multi-vendor “telco stacks” of hardware, software and services capabilities as the foundation for 5G.

The new Cisco Cloud Services Stack for Mobility is a cloud-based mobile packet core solution that accelerates implementation of 4G and 5G mobility services. It offers a carrier-grade NFVI platform that is pre-integrated, pre-validated, and embedded with security, automation and assurance capabilities, running on Cisco UCS and Cisco Nexus fabric. It is deployed and supported through Cisco Customer Experience. 

“A critical element for accelerating 5G deployments is the need for the right skills and experience to address complex solution integrations,” said Dave Malik, Cisco Fellow and Chief Architect, Cisco Customer Experience. “The current climate of diverse technology stacks requires engineering expertise across multiple domains to drive seamless interoperability at scale. The Cisco Customer Experience team has the knowledge gained from working with global service providers to accelerate lifecycle management and large mobility deployments, helping customers speed time-to-value and capture market share.”

The company is also introducing a Cloud Services Stack for Content Delivery and a Cloud Services Stack for Residential.

This week, Cisco made several other product announcements, including:

• new line cards for its Aggregation Services Routers (ASR) 9000 series, more than tripling the performance with high-density 400GbE interfaces. The new cards are aimed at edge routing use-cases across service providers, data center, and enterprise private backbones. 
• a new Network Convergence System (NCS) 5700 router featuring four times higher performance with high-density 400GbE interfaces. 
• new models of the Cisco NCS 540 5G fronthaul router, providing seamless, packet-based transport of Common Public Radio Interface (CPRI) streams. It offers 300Gbps system scale and the operational simplicity within a single Cisco IOS XR software environment from the core to the access network. 
• a new software capability that enables the creation of trusted routing paths that can be offered as a premium service. Cisco Crosswork Trust Insights collects evidence to identify more trustworthy routing paths. Cisco’s Crosswork Optimization Engine then automates and optimizes routing paths based on trust metrics using segment routing

https://newsroom.cisco.com/press-release-content?type=webcontent&articleId=2056576

Read More

Microsoft cites OEM supply chain stress from China

Microsoft issued updated financial guidance saying its Personal Computing segmen, which includes guidance as Windows OEM and Surface, will be more negatively impacted than expected due the COVID-19 health situation. The company said its supply chain in China is returning to normal operations at a slower pace than anticipated.

All other components of the company's Q3 guidance remain unchanged.

https://news.microsoft.com/2020/02/26/microsoft-update-on-q3-fy20-guidance/

Read More

Mavenir builds 5G cloud with VMware & Dell

Mavenir has announced the integration of its 5G cloud-native telecom network functions (CNFs) with VMware’s container-ready Telco Cloud running on Dell Technologies’ edge computing solutions 5G deployments.

The pre-integrated and tested Mavenir solution on Dell and VMware infrastructure integrates open source Container as a Service (CaaS) and Platform as a Service (PaaS) with Mavenir’s microservices-based packet core and 4G/5G vRAN network functions.

The joint solution allows Mobile Network Operators and Enterprises to quickly and easily deploy telco workloads on private or hybrid cloud environments by extending on-premises VMware vSphere-based environments to the AWS Cloud via VMware Cloud on AWS.

“The Mavenir/Dell/VMware solution utilizes end-to-end orchestration, closed loop automation mechanisms and harmonizing network slicing. Mavenir’s solution is designed to support applications and use cases that require millisecond latencies and responsive networks,” said Pardeep Kohli, Mavenir’s President and CEO.

“Mavenir is committed to lowering the TCO for operators through innovative solutions. Simplifying deployments with pre-integrated and tested solutions and aligned roadmaps is a key step towards that goal. The responsiveness and reliability expected from network clouds can now be realized from this solution,” said Bejoy Pankajakshan, Mavenir’s EVP and Chief Strategy Officer.


https://mavenir.com/press-releases/mavenir-simplifies-deployment-of-5g-cloud-solutions-with-business-partners/

Read More

Google to invest $10G in U.S. facilities in 2020

Google will invest $10 billion in offices and data centers across the United States in 2020. The investments will be focused in 11 states: Colorado, Georgia, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New York, Oklahoma, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington and California.

During 2019, Google invested $13 billion in facilities across the country.

When these figures are combined with its other R&D spending, Google says it is the largest investor in the U.S.

https://www.blog.google/inside-google/company-announcements/continuing-grow-invest-across-america-2020

Read More

South Pacific Manatua subsea cable deployment complete

Cable laying operations have been completed for the new "Manatua" South Pacific submarine cable system, which will provide connections from Apia, Samoa to Toahotu, Tahiti, with branching units for landings to Niue; Aitutaki, Cook Island; Raratonga, Cook Island; and Vaitape, Bora Bora.

The Manatua Cable IW a new two/three fiber pair trunk that connects Apia and Toahotu with a two-fiber pair branch to Avatele, a three-fiber pair branch to Raratonga and one-fiber pair branches to both Aitutaki and Vaitape. The cable will cover more than 3166 kilometers in total.

SubCom is the lead contractor for the project. The cable is expected to enter service in June.

The Manatua Consortium is composed of: The Office des Postes et Télécommunications (OPT), the telecoms operator of French Polynesia; Avaroa Cables Limited (ACL), the cable operator of Cook Islands, Telecom Niue Limited (TNL), the telecoms operator of Niue; and Samoa Submarine Cable Company (SSCC), the cable operator of the Independent State of Samoa.

Read More

Nutanix posts quarterly sales of $347M, subscription model grows

Nutanix reported revenue of $346.8 million for the second quarter of its fiscal 2020 ended January 31, 2020, up from $335.4 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2019. There was a GAAP net loss of $217.6 million, compared to a GAAP net loss of $122.8 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2019; Non-GAAP net loss was $116.3 million, compared to a non-GAAP net loss of $40.4 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2019. Billings were $428.1 million, up from $413.4 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2019.

“Our solutions-based approach to our go-to-market strategy is helping customers realize the benefits and power of our new products in conjunction with our core software. As a result, we increased the attach rate of our new products to 31%, up from 21% as of Q2 fiscal 2019,” said Dheeraj Pandey, Chairman, Co-founder and CEO of Nutanix. “We were also pleased with several other key drivers of growth for our business in the quarter, including our partnership with HPE and traction in the U.S. commercial segment.”

“We saw strong momentum in the shift of our business towards subscription. In the second quarter, 79% of billings came from subscription, surpassing our stated goal of 75% by the end of the fiscal year and well ahead of our internal plan, while still delivering on our guidance for top line growth,” said Duston Williams, CFO of Nutanix. “Looking forward, the change in our fiscal 2020 TCV guidance is driven by two factors – first, a much faster than expected shift to subscription, coupled with a more cautious view on business activities in the greater APJ region due to the anticipated impact of the coronavirus.”

Read More

Samsung intros Secure Element chip with with CC EAL 5+ for mobiles

Samsung Electronics introduced a Common Criteria Evaluation Assurance Level (CC EAL) 5+ certified Secure Element (SE) chip for mobile devices.

The new Secure Element solution consists of a security chip and optimized software for protecting private data on an isolated data storage.

“Strong security measures have become a crucial feature in today’s smart devices as they evolve into essential tools that hold the key to our personal data connected to various services such as the cloud and financial transactions,” said Dongho Shin, senior vice president of System LSI marketing at Samsung Electronics. “Samsung has a long and proven history in security solutions such as smart card ICs, IoT processors and other semiconductor products that require robust security. Our new turnkey SE solution for mobile devices will not only keep user data safer on the go but also enable new mobile applications that will broaden and enrich our everyday lives.”

Samsung’s new SE solution is currently in mass production and is featured in Samsung’s recently-announced Galaxy S20 series smartphones.

Read More

Qualcomm: What's Next in 5G

In a webcast in lieu of Mobile World Congress, Qualcomm showcased some of its R&D project for "What's Next in 5G."

Here are the highlights:

• Advanced 5G Massive MIMO OTA test network: This end-to-end system operating in 3.5 GHz highlights key innovations to further improve the network capacity and user experience benefits of multi-user massive MIMO and to enable of wide-area, low-latency services such as augmented reality.
• 5G wide-area technology evolution: To demonstrate the future of 5G wide-area networks and devices beyond 2020, this demo models the performance of new features such as full duplex MIMO and accurate device positioning technologies, and introduces new data management approaches for IOT.
• Real-world experiences over an outdoor mmWave OTA test network: A 28 GHz end-end demonstration of advanced approaches for mmWave mobility, robustness and performance under different real-life operation scenarios, bringing enhanced and new mobile experiences.
• The evolution of 5G mobile mmWave technology: Models the system performance of of new mmWave network and device features coming in Release 16+ that will simplify network densification, elevate system performance, and enhance device efficiency.
• 5G factory of the future: This live demonstration in our industrial 5G test network showcases the benefits of some of the upcoming 5G capabilities for industrial automation such as time sensitive networking (TSN) and enhanced ultra-reliable low latency communication (eURLLC).
• Precise positioning over an indoor 5G network: Demonstration of sub-meter 3D positioning for industrial IoT applications, such as asset tracking and automated guided vehicle control, by utilizing multiple 5G transmission points to measure time difference of arrival.
• 5G NR Cellular-to-Everything (C-V2X) : 3GPP Release 16 brings additional C-V2X capabilities based on 5G NR to complement C-V2X with new and advanced use cases. In this 5G NR C-V2X demonstration we show how sensor sharing using distance-based reliability can improve reaction time across challenging radio environments, both as an interactive simulation and in an over-the-air Release 16 aligned prototype.

“Our R&D work continues to provide breakthrough technologies that help drive the mobile ecosystem forward,” said John Smee, vice president, engineering, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. “We are now in 2020 and it’s the beginning of the 5G era. It’s a great time for us to demonstrate the innovations we’ve been working on in our labs to set the stage for what to expect in the coming year.”

https://www.qualcomm.com/company/events/whats-next-in-5g

Read More

Verizon picks Fujitsu or CPRI, eCPRI and Ethernet Multiplexing Fronthaul

Verizon selected Fujitsu Network Communications as a preferred supplier of CPRI, eCPRI and Ethernet multiplexing fronthaul technology.

In partnership with HFR Networks, Inc. , the Fujitsu solution works across Verizon’s existing network infrastructure to reduce deployment and operational costs while simultaneously supporting 4G LTE and 5G services.

The Time Sensitive Networking (TSN) solution provided by Fujitsu and HFR Networks facilitates a more efficient and lower cost centralized (CRAN) Hubbing of 4G/LTE CPRI traffic using standards based RoE (Radio Over Ethernet) along with eCPRI and Ethernet services.

“Fujitsu is a proven supplier of Smart xHaul transport solutions to Verizon, and we share a history of innovation and success,” said Paul Havala, head of the optical business unit at Fujitsu Network Communications. “Our open Ethernet Fronthaul solution provides Verizon with a reduced total cost of ownership and contributes to a smooth evolution to 5G.”

https://www.fujitsu.com/us/about/resources/news/press-releases/2020/fnc-20200225.html

Fujitsu expands its Smart xHaul for 5G transport

Tuesday, March 05, 2019  Fujitsu  

Fujitsu Network Communications is expanding its Smart xHaul transport solution for 5G transport networks in collaboration with HFR Networks and Volta Networks.

The solution enables 5G transport networks to leverage legacy 4G Centralized Radio Access Network (C-RAN) fiber transport and cell sites using an open, disaggregated, pay-as-you-go architecture.

The Fujitsu Smart xHaul solution consists of several key elements:

Intelligent Fronthaul -- now includes new intelligent fronthaul platforms for centralized and cloud-based RAN architectures leveraging next-generation Packet RAN access technology by HFR Networks. The M6424 Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) aggregation and transport switch series supports interfaces for CPRI, eCPRI and Ethernet services. This temperature-hardened, one rack unit solution supports 24x multi-rate client ports at up to 25G operation for 4G, 5G and Ethernet service coexistence, along with 4x 100GbE network ports offering multiple topologies. With high-precision timing, TSN offers synchronization to the cell site remote radio, while maintaining low latency variation for aggregated 4G and 5G traffic by preempting Ethernet and Internet services. In addition, the M6424-R O-RAN compliant Fronthaul Gateway platform includes a PHY-LOW networking interface that significantly improves bandwidth efficiency and enables multi-vendor interoperability between legacy and new base station equipment.  With this solution, a 5G overlay is not needed on existing 4G transport networks, helping to reduce total costs and speed time to market of lucrative new 5G services.

Disaggregated Cloud Control Plane -- a cloud-based control plane architecture provided by Volta Networks is integral to the new Smart xHaul solution. The virtual routing engine in the cloud combined with agent software on the 1FINITY S100 Switch platform, enables service providers to realize full routing capabilities optimized to their specific application without the limitations and excessive cost structures of legacy, monolithic routers and transport elements. Disaggregating the control and user planes allow scale out via linear resource scaling versus scaling up to a limit with integrated control and user planes. As a result, the solution provides pay-as-you-go efficient scaling to address initial migration from 4G to 5G, as well as diverse 5G multiservice operation using network slicing, for greater intelligence, scalability and cost-efficiency without network overlays.

Network Slicing -- Fujitsu enables network slicing operation via its 1FINITY S100 transport switches for midhaul and backhaul transport, providing enhanced network slicing and cloud control segment routing to reduce operational complexity, increase scalability and deliver better infrastructure utilization versus traditional routers.

Read More

Verizon hits 4.2 Gbps over 5G mmWave with 8-channel carrier aggregation

Verizon demonstrated speeds up to 4.2 Gbps over its live 5G network.

The trial, which took place using a commercial network cell site in Texas, aggregated 800 MHz of 28 GHz band spectrum using Samsung Network’s 5G NR 28 Ghz Access Unit, which has been commercially deployed by Verizon. Motorola Mobility and Qualcomm were also key technology providers.

“We’re continuing to expand our 5G Ultra Wideband network, built to enable unique and transformational experiences for our customers,” said Adam Koeppe, Senior Vice President of Technology Planning at Verizon. “We are only beginning to scratch the surface of what 5G can do, demonstrated by this latest milestone.

“We continue to innovate and introduce advanced technologies on our 5G network that will help us reach never-before seen mobile capabilities and create new and exciting use cases across the consumer and enterprise landscape. Using 5G carrier aggregation, we are able to achieve unprecedented mobile speeds and bring the massive bandwidth available with mmWave spectrum to life,” said Koeppe.

The companies said eight channel carrier aggregation using mmWave will be widely available on the 5G network in 2020.

Read More

Qualcomm cites momentum for its 5G mmWave small cells platform

Qualcomm Technologies cited growing support for its 5G RAN platform (FSM100xx), which was first announced in May 2018 and it has since been adopted by many manufacturers and cellular infrastructure providers.

The platform support mmWave radio access for indoor and outdoor network densification.

“With the continued growth and adoption of our Qualcomm 5G RAN platform, Qualcomm Technologies aims to deliver cutting-edge 5G mmWave infrastructure technology to power 5G small cell and remote radio head infrastructure across the globe,” said Durga Malladi, senior vice president and general manager, 4G/5G, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. “Combined with the power and flexibility to support virtual RAN and open radio access interfaces, our Qualcomm 5G RAN platform is designed to allow infrastructure providers the ability to solve pressing connectivity issues and give its users increased access to the reliable, robust and powerful mobile experiences enabled by 5G. We are pleased that leading 5G infrastructure innovators are choosing our Qualcomm 5G RAN platform for their network solutions, and we are excited by the opportunity ahead.”

Supporters include Airspan, Altiostar, Baicells, Corning, Radisys, Rakuten, Samsung, Sercomm, the Small Cell Forum, and Verizon.

Qualcomm intros 5G NR for Small Cells and Remote Radio Heads

Monday, May 21, 2018  5G, Qualcomm  

Qualcomm introduced the first 5G NR solution for small cells and remote radio head deployments. The new device (FSM100xx), which builds on Qualcomm's FSM Platform for 3G and 4G small cells, support 5G NR in both mmWave and sub-6 GHz spectrum.

Qualcomm said its 5G NR solutions allows OEMs to reuse both software and hardware designs across sub-6 and mmWave products, supporting high-bandwidth and robust coverage for mobile subscribers around the globe. Given the propagation characteristics of 5G NR’s higher frequencies (especially mmWave), solutions are needed to support delivery of uniform 5G experiences, especially indoors where most data is consumed.

The FSM100xx solution scales to address outdoor small cell performance requirements such as support for MIMO implementation and multi-gigabit throughput, as well as support indoor requirements such as compact form factor and power over Ethernet (PoE) support. It also includes a software-defined modem, designed to facilitate OEMs to readily upgrade their devices to comply with future 3GPP releases. Additionally, this 5G NR solution supports various options for interface splits between central unit (CU) and remote radio head, providing OEMs and operators with the flexibility to use a 5G radio access network architecture that best fits their needs, such as a virtualized 5G architecture that is designed to deliver scalability through the cloud or a more distributed architecture to ease fronthaul requirements.

Read More

O-RAN Alliance and the Telecom Infra Project reach agreement

The O-RAN Alliance (O-RAN) and the Telecom Infra Project (TIP) agreed to collaborate on the development of interoperable open Radio Access Network (RAN) solutions.

The O-RAN Alliance is focused on the development of open, intelligent, virtualized and interoperable RAN specifications. The Alliance has already created 31 specifications, with 37 demonstrations of the technology at past MWC events, global plugfests, and more than 1 000 000 lines of code released in partnership with the Linux Foundation. Operators have begun to announce network implementations.

O-RAN Alliance’s mission and focus complements TIP’s mission of deploying end-to-end disaggregated telecom infrastructure in varying environments. With the liaison agreement O-RAN and TIP are now reaching a new level of collaboration for open RAN. The liaison allows for sharing information, referencing specifications and conducting joint testing and integration efforts.

"This new collaboration framework between O-RAN and TIP, two major initiatives in the area of open networking, will support our mission to re-shape the RAN industry towards open and intelligent mobile network infrastructure," said Alex Jinsung Choi, COO of the O-RAN Alliance and SVP Strategy & Technology Innovation, Deutsche Telekom. "Alignment on O-RAN interoperability efforts will help the industry to speed up the delivery of commercial open RAN solutions. The establishment of the first joint O-RAN Open Test and Integration Center (OTIC) with the TIP Community Lab in Berlin is a concrete step to facilitate this multi-community approach."

"TIP’s OpenRAN solutions are an important element of our work to accelerate innovation across all elements of the network including Access, Transport, Core & Services. Across the TIP community, we are seeing increasing demand and have achieved meaningful progress with OpenRAN deployments around the world," said Attilio Zani, Executive Director, Telecom Infra Project. "With this collaboration framework in place, TIP and O-RAN will work together to develop interoperable 5G RAN solutions. One of our first outputs will be the release of the OpenRAN 5GNR NR Base Station Platform requirements document with normative references to the O-RAN specifications."

http://www.o-ran.org

Read More

Rakuten Mobile looks to Nokia to automate operations

Rakuten Mobile, Japan’s newest mobile network operator, has selected Nokia to implement a fully automated operations environment for the 5G era. Nokia will operate Rakuten Mobile’s virtualized core network to manage total cost of ownership (TCO). The agreement will allow Rakuten Mobile to focus on developing its portfolio of disruptive services and expanding its service footprint, while developing operational maturity and automation capabilities.

Nokia said it is enabling groundbreaking levels of automation in network and service lifecycle management within the Rakuten Mobile cloud environment. Specifically, Nokia is supporting over 160 virtual network function instances across two data centers in an industry-leading multivendor cloud environment. As an essential part of Rakuten Mobile’s operations organization, Nokia’s domain expertise and value-add will be incorporated into the core of Rakuten’s business.

Friedrich Trawöger, Head of Operate & Managed Services Unit at Nokia, said: “By managing its telco cloud we can help Rakuten Mobile to focus on its objectives; to launch its mobile LTE network and to rapidly realize its vision as a 5G digital service provider. We support Rakuten Mobile in bringing new services to market quickly by utilizing the latest innovations in automated operations while focusing on the total cost of ownership.”

Tareq Amin, Chief Technology Officer of Rakuten Mobile, Inc., said: “With Nokia supporting the operation of our cloud native network, we can focus on service launch and expansion. Nokia is an integral partner in our network operations, and we look forward to future business opportunities that this partnership brings.”

Read More

NTT DOCOMO picks Cisco's segment routing to optimize 5G backhaul

NTT DOCOMO has selected Cisco's Network Convergence System routers and segment routing for network slicing to help optimize its 5G mobile backhaul.

Cisco said its converged SDN transport, with segment routing, and Network Convergence System routers can provide massive scale, full programmability, simpler cloud integration and service level agreements.

“The IP network plays a more important role with 5G than ever before,” said Jonathan Davidson, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Cisco Service Provider Business. “Networks have to be automated, programmable and capable of massive scale. Together, DOCOMO and Cisco mapped out the right path for its 5G transformation with a new intelligent, software-defined network. Converging services over a common, trustworthy architecture will reduce costs, deliver new services that span multiple domains, and prepare them for a profitable 5G future.”

, Subsea  

S

Read More

Ciena pulls out of OFC 2020

Citing concerns about the COVID-19 coronavirus, Ciena has withdrawn from the upcoming Capacity Middle East 2020 event, scheduled to take place March 2-5 in Dubai, and the upcoming OFC 2020 event, scheduled to take place March 9-11 in San Diego.

“We have made the decision to cancel our participation in all industry events for the next 30 days in order to safeguard the well-being of our employees, customers and partners. Although we are disappointed that we cannot continue with these events as planned, as they are important benchmarks for the industry, we believe this is the right decision under the circumstances and we look forward to participating in future events,” stated Gary Smith, president & chief executive officer, Ciena.

Read More

Lumentum withdraws from OFC

Lumentum confirmed that it will not attend the upcoming OFC 2020 conference and tradeshow scheduled for March 8-12 in San Diego due to the continuing spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus globally. This withdrawal includes all investor and industry events scheduled during OFC.

"Every year, we look forward to attending OFC to showcase our latest innovations and advancements in technology," said Alan Lowe, Lumentum President and CEO. "However, our highest priority is the health and safety of our employees, customers, and partners. This year, due to the rapidly evolving coronavirus outbreak, we believe we can better serve all of our stakeholders by exercising an abundance of caution and not attending OFC."

Read More

Infinera posts Q4 revenue of $384.6 million

Infinera reported GAAP revenue for Q4 2019 of $384.6 million compared to $325.3 million in the third quarter of 2019 and $332.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2018. GAAP gross margin for the quarter was 29.0% compared to 26.7% in the third quarter of 2019 and 25.4% in the fourth quarter of 2018.  GAAP net loss for the quarter was $(66.6) million, or $(0.37) per share.  Non-GAAP net income for the quarter was $6.4 million, or $0.03 per diluted share.

“In the fourth quarter, we delivered solid results and achieved significant bookings growth. We also completed the most challenging integration tasks, doubled our synergy savings commitments for the year and returned to non-GAAP operating profitability in the fourth quarter of 2019,” said Tom Fallon, Infinera CEO. “Major accomplishments this past year included strengthening our global customer base with 10 Tier 1 scale customer wins, significant growth in backlog, and continued progress in building our innovation pipeline as evidenced by announced DRX wins, the introduction of XR optics, and growing confidence in our plan to deliver 800G products to the market in 2020.”

https://www.infinera.com/press-release/Infinera-Corporation-Reports-Fourth-Quarter-and-Fiscal-Year-2019-Financial-Results

Read More

Crowd watch at the RSA Conference in San Francisco

2pm on Tuesday, 25-February-2020. Not bad considering the circumstances.

Read More

Conversational AI for Telco Service Providers

Customer support may well be the first really solid business case for AI in Service Provider networks. Imagine the ROI if conversational AI and automation could trim the time needed for millions of customer support calls.

In this video, Umesh Sachdev, CEO of Uniphore, discusses the use case for conversational AI by telcos.

More thought leadership videos on network automation may be found here:
https://nginfrastructure.com/network-automation/

Read More

Intel launches 10nm chip for 5G base stations

Intel introduced a 10nm SoC for wireless base stations. The company is predicting that it will be the leading silicon provider in base stations by 2021, a year earlier than it had earlier forecast, after design wins with three leading base station manufacturers.

Notable, the new Atom P5900 processor extends the Intel architecture from the core to access and all the way to the farthest edge of the network. 

The Atom P5900 promises up to a 1.8X boost in integer processing. In terms of load balancing, the Atom P5900 is expected to deliver a 3.7X performance boost over software-based solutions. For encryption processing, the processor will offer a 5.6X boost over software-only alternatives.

Read More

Southern Cross Cable carries first 800G wavelength

Southern Cross Cable connected the first single-wavelength 800G across a live production network using Ciena’s WaveLogic 5 Extreme (WL5e) coherent optics.

Specifically, the new 800G channel speed ran error-free on Southern Cross’ live production network between two large, global data centers on the U.S. West Coast and demonstrated record-breaking spectral efficiencies.

Ciena said Southern Cross will begin volume deployment of WL5e in the second calendar quarter of 2020 across various segments of its network, including Trans-Pacific submarine cables and terrestrial cables across U.S. West Coast and New Zealand.

“As many internet service providers are looking to the submarine cable industry to provide reliable connectivity to their customers, leading operators like Southern Cross need networks that can adapt to fluctuating connectivity demands. With WaveLogic 5, we are delivering the industry’s first 800G solution and reinforcing our leadership in providing the highest performance optics in the market,” stated Rick Seeto, Vice President and General Manager of Asia-Pacific and Japan, Ciena.

Construction begins on Southern Cross NEXT Cable

Tuesday, October 01, 2019  Southern Cross, Telstra  

The Southern Cross NEXT project has achieved CIF (Contract in Force) status and has entered the construction project phase.

The Southern Cross NEXT submarine cable is a state-of-the-art 4 fibre pair undersea route utilising an open cable design and enhancing the existing Southern Cross eco-system. The system will also provide full fibre connectivity to Auckland, New Zealand, and will incorporate Branching Units (BU) and OADM technology for connections to Fiji, Tokelau and Kiribati. Given its robust design and route including branches, the 16,148km cable system will provide the lowest latency path from Australia and New Zealand to the United States. Organisers said Southern Cross NEXT represents a network investment of around US$300 million. It is designed to carry 72 terabits per second of traffic. Completion is targetted for the end of 2021 or early 2022.

“The achievement of CIF is a testament to the hard work of the combined Southern Cross and Pioneer Consulting team over many months and is a validation of the technology and expertise behind the new cable,” said Southern Cross President and CEO, Laurie Miller. “The addition of the Southern Cross NEXT route to our platform will provide existing and future customers with further resiliency and connectivity options between Australia, New Zealand and the United States.”

Read More

Intel announces network-optimized 2nd Gen Xeon Scalable processors

Intel announced 2nd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors, promising an average of 36% more performance and an average of 42% more performance per dollar than the prior generation Intel Xeon Gold.

The new processors — labeled with an “R,” “T” or “U” suffix — are designed for dual- and single-socket mainstream and entry-level server systems. The addition of more cores and increased cache in these processors are targeted at workloads where capacity-per-server is critical, such as virtualized clouds, hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI) and network function virtualization (NFV).

Intel also announced today two new processors (Intel Xeon Gold 6256 and 6250) that feature the industry’s highest server processor frequency, delivering a base and turbo frequency up to 3.9 GHz and 4.5 GHz, respectively. These

Intel said this wave of Xeon Scalable processors are network-optimized and can deliver up to 58% more performance for NFV workloads. The company cited development partnerships with CenturyLink, China Mobile, SK Telecom, and Sprint.

“Intel’s data-centric platforms offer the broadest market coverage of any server processor platform -– from the cloud, through the network, to the intelligent edge,” said Lisa Spelman, corporate vice president and general manager of the Xeon and Memory Group within Intel’s Data Platform Group. “Working closely with our customers, we are delivering these new server processors to address their performance and pricing needs across a broad range of markets and workloads.”

https://newsroom.intel.com/news/xeon-scalable-5g-network-portfolio-launch/#gs.xerm31

Read More

Intel unveils Diamond Mesa ASIC for 5G network acceleration

Intel unveiled "Diamond Mesa", its first next-generation structured ASIC for 5G network acceleration. It complements Intel’s portfolio of processors and FPGAs.

Intel said structured ASICs like Diamond Mesa provide a minimum-risk optimization path for workloads that do not require the full programmability of FPGAs, targeting double the performance efficiency versus the prior generation, and uniquely position Intel as the only provider delivering a full silicon platform foundation for network infrastructure.

Diamond Mesa is currently sampling early access customers.

In addition, Intel introduced "Edgewater Channel," a 5G network-optimized Ethernet NIC.

The new Ethernet 700 Series Network Adapter with Hardware-Enhanced Precision Time Protocol is Intel’s first 5G-optimized network adapter, offering GPS-based cross-network service synchronization with Hardware-Enhanced Precision Time Protocol (PTP).

Latency requirements across 5G network implementations have challenged existing Ethernet technology, especially in edge servers.

Intel said maintaining accurate time synchronization across the network at a cost-effective price point is one avenue to help address application latency. The Ethernet 700 series adapter increases the timing precision required for 5G networks through a combination of hardware and software enhancements.

Edgewater Channel is sampling now and will enter production in Q2‘20.

Read More

Vertical Systems Group: 2019 U.S. Carrier Ethernet LEADERBOARD

CenturyLink and AT&T retain the top two rankings on Vertical Systems Group's newly published 2019 U.S. Carrier Ethernet LEADERBOARD.

Seven companies achieved a position on the 2019 U.S. Carrier Ethernet LEADERBOARD. The market leading companies are as follows (in rank order based on year-end 2019 retail port share): CenturyLink, AT&T, Spectrum Enterprise, Verizon, Comcast, Windstream and Cox. Service providers must have four percent (4%) or more of the U.S. Ethernet services market to qualify for a LEADERBOARD rank.

Six companies attained a 2019 Challenge Tier citation (in alphabetical order): Altice USA, Cogent, Frontier, GTT, Sprint and Zayo. The Challenge Tier includes providers with between 1% and 4% share of the U.S. retail Ethernet market.

"The base of U.S. Ethernet ports increased by 8.9 percent in 2019, buoyed by healthy demand for higher speed access to cloud, Internet and VPN services," said Rick Malone, principal of Vertical Systems Group. "During the past year, Ethernet providers focused on better monetizing service features to expand their existing business, while introducing streamlined offers to target the needs of the SMB market."

Highlights of Vertical's 2019 U.S. Ethernet Market Share Analysis

• CenturyLink continues to hold first position on the U.S. Ethernet LEADERBOARD, followed by AT&T in second position.
• Spectrum Enterprise moves up to the third position from fourth, surpassing Verizon.
• Comcast had the highest year-over-year market share growth across the 2019 LEADERBOARD providers.
• Four Incumbent Carriers (CenturyLink, AT&T, Verizon, Windstream) and three Cable MSOs (Spectrum Enterprise, Comcast, Cox) are represented on the 2019 LEADERBOARD. 

Highlights of Vertical's 2019 U.S. Ethernet Market Share Analysis

• Retail U.S. Ethernet installations increased 8.9% to more than 1.25 million customer ports.
• Price compression, particularly for high speed services, continues to limit Ethernet revenue growth.
• Ethernet is the WAN underlay of choice for Carrier Managed SD-WAN solutions requiring secure, dedicated high speed connectivity.
• Active fiber build-outs across the U.S. are enabling Ethernet footprint expansions to serve a broader base of mid-market customers.
• Ethernet service enhancements are providing customers with improved performance, faster installations, and more flexible network configurations.

Read More