NeoPhotonics samples 400ZR OSFP coherent transceiver

NeoPhotonics began sampling its new 400ZR ClearLight OSFP transceiver to a leading cloud -related customer.

The new transceiver utilizes NeoPhotonics Silicon Photonics Coherent Optical Subassembly (COSA) and low power consumption, ultra-narrow linewidth Nano-ITLA tunable laser, combined with the latest generation of 7 nm DSP, to provide full 400ZR transmission in a standard data center OSFP form factor.

NeoPhotonics said its new 400ZR ClearLight OSFP transceiver can be plugged directly into switches and router, simplifying data center interconnect (DCI) networks by eliminating a layer of network equipment and a set of short reach client-side transceivers. The new OSFP module is capable of tuning to 75 GHz or 100GHz spaced wavelength channels, as specified in the OIF agreement, and operates in 400ZR mode for Cloud DCI applications.  For longer metro reaches, the module  is designed to support 400ZR+ modes.

This ClearLight OSFP module can also be optionally provisioned to tune over the entire “Super C-Band”, or up to 6.4 Terahertz, increasing the capacity of an optical fiber by up to 50% over standard implementations.  NeoPhotonics provides arrayed waveguide gratings for multiplexing and de-multiplexing with 75GHz and 100GHz wavelength channel spacings, supporting 85 and 64 channels respectively, with filter responses optimized for high baud rate coherent signals.

"This new OSFP module joins our ClearLightTM DCO transceiver line and takes full advantage of our highly integrated and low power consumption Nano-Tunable Laser and Silicon Photonics COSA to enable a full metro coherent transceiver in the form factor and electrical interface designed for short reach interconnections inside the data center," said Tim Jenks, Chairman and CEO of NeoPhotonics. "We are now sampling these OSFP transceivers so that customers can evaluate the simplicity, cost and operating savings that can be realized by plugging coherent optics directly into switches and routers, and we are applying this same technology to additional form factors such as QSFP-DD", concluded Mr. Jenks.

https://www.neophotonics.com/

OIF readies 400ZR, CEI-112G and IC-TROSA demos

Monday, September 09, 2019  OIF  

Twelve OIF member companies will stage a multi-vendor interoperability demonstration of 400ZR, Common Electrical I/O (CEI)-112G and IC-TROSA at the upcoming ECOC 2019 trade show in Dublin, Ireland later this month.

Participating companies include ADVA, Amphenol, Cadence Design System, Credo, Finisar, Inphi, Keysight Technologies, Marvell, Molex, MultiLane, TE Connectivity and YAMAICHI ELECTRONICS will participate in the demonstration in OIF’s booth, # 441.

400ZR & IC-TROSA Demo

OIF’s 400ZR project aims to reduce cost and complexity reduction for 400GbE over 80 km DWDM networks. The IC-TROSA features all of the optical building blocks for a coherent module in a single package. The demonstrations will highlight important aspects of IC-TROSA integration as well as real-time EVM measurements with the updated script for 400ZR. In addition, a hardware-based 400ZR installation will show a typical application case.

CEI-112G Demo

OIF is taking a lead role in moving the industry to the next generation with its development of electrical interface specifications for 112 Gbps per differential pair. Multiple live demonstrations featuring interoperability clearly prove the key role OIF provides. The CEI-112G demonstrations in the OIF booth will feature multi-party silicon supplier interoperability over mated compliance board channels, a full host to module channel and direct attach copper cable channels, all demonstrating the technical viability of 112 Gbps operation, along with multiple industry form factors including OSFP and QSFP-DD.

“Understanding and seeing first-hand how key technologies – 400ZR, CEI-112G and IC-TROSA – are each specified to enable interoperable deployment across the ecosystem is critically important to building market confidence and accelerating adoption,” said Steve Sekel, OIF Physical and Link Layer Interoperability Working Group Chair. “This showcase of 12 companies and key technologies is a clear representation of OIF’s leadership in driving electrical, optical and control interoperability.”

https://www.oiforum.com/

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Vodafone supports 5G 0-RAN as its restructures tower business

by Benedict Chua

Vodafone confirmed further activation of its 5G network in the UK, including in Belfast, Edinburgh and Leeds, plus the towns of Cheadle, Rochdale and Stockport in and around Greater Manchester.

Vodafone is also now offering  5G roaming in five locations in the Republic of Ireland. 5G roaming already covers Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK as part of Vodafone’s 5G roll-out.

Vodafone is the first UK company to introduce 5G multi-operator radio access network (MORAN) technology. This enables providers to share the same mobile base station, helping to reduce energy usage and the number of masts needed.

Vodafone UK Chief Executive Officer Nick Jeffery said: “We have started the new year as we mean to go on. We now offer 5G in double the number of places than our nearest rival and we have significantly boosted the capacity of our network. It is ready for the arrival in 2020 of some great new 5G handsets and the next big software release bringing ultra-low latency. Together, these will push 5G to the next level.”

In October 2019, Vodafone initiated trials of OpenRAN in the UK, the DRC and Mozambique. The trial sites across the three countries will provide 2G, 3G and 4G services, with 5G possible over OpenRAN in the future. Vodafone has already undertaken lab trials of OpenRAN with Vodacom South Africa, and in Turkey has deployed the technology to deliver 2G and 4G services to customers in both urban and rural parts of the country.

Vodafone is working with a number of new vendors supplying OpenRAN technology including US companies, Parallel Wireless and Mavenir, and UK-based Lime Microsystems for Open CrowdCell. Vodafone has also become a founding member of the newly annouced 5G Future Forum, which is also backed by America Movil, KT, Rogers, Telstra and Verizon. The mission of this forum is to develop uniform interoperability specifications to improve speed to market for developers and multinational enterprises working on 5G-enabled solutions.

Also of note, Vodafone is currently working to restructure most of its European tower infrastructure into a new, fully independent "TowerCo" company. The goal is for TowerCo to be operational by May 2020. The newly independent company will comprise 61,700 towers in 10 markets with potential proportionate EBITDA of around EUR 900 million. Vodafone said it believes that there is significant scope to generate operational efficiencies and increase tenancy ratios across the portfolio by creating an independent company. Based on market benchmarks for anchor tenant lease rates, existing third party revenues and the attributable cost base, TowerCo could generate proportionate annual revenue and EBITDA of around €1,700 million and €900 million, respectively. TowerCo’s attributable annual maintenance and expansion capex could be up to €200 million.

A future IPO for the new organization is a possibility.

Vodafone has recently announced active and passive network sharing agreements in Italy, Spain and the UK.

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Germany's Bundesliga Goes All-In on AWS

Germany's Bundesliga has selected AWS as its official technology provider to deliver more in-depth insight into every live broadcast of Bundesliga games and enable new personalized fan experiences.

Specifically, Bundesliga will build new cloud-based services that automate processes, increase operational efficiency, and enhance the viewing experience using AWS artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), analytics, compute, database, and storage services.

“We are extremely excited to be working alongside AWS to develop the next generation of football viewing experience,” said Christian Seifert, CEO of Bundesliga. “Innovation means challenging the status quo. Working closely with AWS, as one of the most innovative technology companies in the world, significantly enhances the investment we’ve made in innovation over the past two decades, all of which contributes to us being able to deliver a world-class football experience for our fans.”

“As the league with the highest average number of goals per game, and the highest stadium attendance globally, the Bundesliga is one of the most entertaining sports leagues in the world,” said Andy Isherwood, Vice President and Managing Director EMEA, Amazon Web Services, Inc. “We are thrilled to work with the Bundesliga and help them use cloud technology to give football fans around the world a more engaging match day experience and look forward to helping them leverage our deep portfolio of ML and AI services so they can deliver even greater insight into the world’s favourite game.”

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SK Telecom shares 5G MEC insights

SK Telecom is launching a "Global MEC Task Force" with Bridge Alliance member operators, including Singtel, Globe, Taiwan Mobile and PCCW Global.

SK Telecom said it plans to share lessons-learned in 5G and mobile edge computing (MEC) with other members that are preparing to launch 5G, while making joint efforts for the development of MEC technologies and services. The company will also play a leading role in setting international MEC standards to build an interoperable MEC platform.

“As the global 5G pioneer, SK Telecom is committed to contribute to the expansion of the global 5G ecosystem,” said Lee Kang-won, Vice President and Head of Cloud Labs of SK Telecom. “SK Telecom will work closely with Bridge Alliance Member Operators to help accelerate their progress in 5G and MEC, and create a pan-Asian 5G MEC ecosystem.”

“As the role of telecommunications companies is expanding beyond simply providing mobile connectivity to offering new values based on infrastructure, Bridge Alliance believes that this cooperation will serve as a key driver for realizing win-win business opportunities to all members,” said Ong Geok Chwee, CEO of Bridge Alliance.

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Samsung to acquire TWS, a network integrator in U.S. market

Samsung Electronics Co. agreed to acquire TeleWorld Solutions (TWS), a privately-owned network services provider headquartered in Chantilly, VA.

TWS provides network design, testing and optimization services to mobile service and cable operators, equipment OEMs and other companies across the U.S. The company has network builds associated with 5G and 4G LTE underway in the U.S.

Samsung Electronics said the service offerings and customers of TWS complement its own growth among networks infrastructure clients. Key competencies include radio frequency (RF) and network design service—as well as installation, testing, and optimization services—TWS will continue to serve its existing customers and clients they currently support with Samsung. The TWS leadership team will continue to manage the business and, together with Samsung, address the network upgrade cycle occurring in the U.S.

“The acquisition of TWS will enable us to meet mobile carriers’ growing needs for improving their 4G and 5G networks, and eventually create new opportunities to enhance our service capabilities to our customers,” said Paul Kyungwhoon Cheun, Executive Vice President and Head of Networks Business at Samsung Electronics. “Samsung will continue to drive innovation in communications technology, while providing optimization services for network deployments that accelerate U.S. 5G network expansion.”

“Everyone at TeleWorld Solutions is excited to be part of the Samsung family,” said Shervin Gerami, CEO of TeleWorld Solutions. “The advent of 5G and the amount of new spectrum coming into the U.S. market requires scale and innovation for the next generation of wireless technologies. Joining forces with Samsung will accelerate innovation to help our customers fulfill their needs for network strategy, deployment, and automation.”

http://www.teleworldsolutions.com

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Zayo builds private dark fiber network for Denver schools

Zayo has completed a dark fiber private network for Denver Public Schools. The high-capacity fiber network spans more than 600 route miles of fiber, which included more than 50 route miles of new build to reach 132 schools. The design includes multiple rings to each of the district's data centers so that impact from fiber cuts and other network interruptions are minimized.

The dark fiber network has increased the capacity for each DPS school location by approximately 500%. The additional bandwidth enables DPS to leverage digital resources in K-12 classrooms, including electronic textbooks, online standardized testing, streaming media, educational resources and cloud-based applications. The increased capacity has also eliminated congestion issues caused by the district’s largest bandwidth requirement and key security initiative, video surveillance.

“Zayo’s dark fiber is an optimal solution for organizations that prefer to manage their own network and are looking to benefit from lower total cost of ownership. By lighting and managing the network on their own, customers benefit from greater capacity, control, security and scalability,” said Jack Waters, president of Zayo Networks and COO.

Zayo’s Denver fiber footprint consists of 1,750 route miles, which connects to more than 25 data centers, and four zColo data centers.

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Mellanox supplies 200G HDR InfiniBand to ECMWF

Mellanox Technologies will supply its 200 Gigabit HDR InfiniBand to the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) to accelerate their new world-leading supercomputer, which is based on Atos’ latest BullSequana XH2000 technology.

ECMWF's new supercomputer will be one of the world’s most powerful meteorological supercomputers, supporting weather forecasting and prediction researchers from over 30 countries across Europe. The new platform, utilizing HDR InfiniBand, will enable running nearly 2 times higher-resolution probabilistic weather forecasts in under an hour, improving the ability to monitor and predict increasingly severe weather phenomena and enable European countries to take proactive precautions to protect lives and property.

“We are proud to have our 200 Gigabit HDR InfiniBand solutions accelerate one of the most powerful meteorological services supercomputers in the world, at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts,” said Gilad Shainer, senior vice president of marketing at Mellanox Technologies. “Climate and weather simulations are compute and data intensive, and require the most advanced interconnect technology to ensure fast and accurate results. HDR InfiniBand includes multiple data acceleration and analysis engines, making it the leading technology for such applications. We look forward to continuing work with ECMWF and Atos, to develop the supercomputing capabilities needed for even more accurate and complex simulations in the future.”

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