NEC targets subsea cables to 24 fiber pairs and beyond

NEC and its subsidiary OCC Corporation completed full qualification of subsea repeaters and optical cable containing up to 20 fiber pairs (40 fibers). This represents a 25% improvement in fiber count over 16 fiber pair systems previously built by NEC. NEC said it achieved this milestone with only minor modifications to its proven repeater and cable designs. This was done by optimizing key repeater components, and by proving that its existing cable...

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Equinix acquires Packet for bare metal automation platform

Equinix agreed to acquire Packet, a start-up based in NYC offering a bare metal automation platform for developers. Financial terms were not disclosed. The acquisition will accelerate Equinix's strategy to help enterprises more seamlessly deploy hybrid multicloud architectures on Platform Equinix® and extract greater value from the platform's rich ecosystems and global interconnection fabric. By leveraging bare metal services at Equinix to deploy...

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Senators propose $1 billion funding to bolster U.S. competitors in 5G

U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL), Mark Warner (D-VA), Richard Burr (R-NC), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Michael Bennet (D-CO), and John Cornyn (R-TX) are proposing a $1 billion government to bolster Western-based alternative to Huawei and ZTE. The Utilizing Strategic Allied (USA) Telecommunications Act would "reassert U.S. and allied leadership by encouraging competition with Huawei. Specifically, the bill would: Require the FCC to direct at least $750...

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Colt adds Microsoft Azure ExpressRoute at Interxion AMS8

Colt Technology Services has added support for Microsoft Azure ExpressRoute connectivity capabilities to the ‘Amsterdam2’ Point of Presence (PoP), located at the Interxion data centre in The Netherlands. The expansion of Colt’s Azure ExpressRoute footprint benefits both SAP customers migrating their on-premises environments to the cloud and customers who require higher resiliency into Azure. SAP has announced that by 2025 it will no longer support...

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Google Cloud launches IBM Power Systems as a service

Google Cloud is now offering IBM Power Systems as part of our cloud solutions.  Customers can run IBM Power Systems as a service on Google Cloud whether using AIX, IBM i, or Linux on IBM Power. Google Cloud said its service helps organizations implement a hybrid cloud strategy, especially where IBM Power Systems are used for mission-critical workloads such as SAP applications and Oracle databases. Key benefits for IBM Power Systems on Google...

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Gartner: Worldwide semiconductor revenue drops 11.9% in '19

Worldwide semiconductor revenue totaled $418.3 billion in 2019, down 11.9% from 2018, according to preliminary results by Gartner, Inc. The report cites the drop in the memory market as the top reason for the decline. Sales analog products’ declined 5.4% while optoelectronics grew 2.4%. “The memory market, which accounted for 26.7% of semiconductor sales in 2019, experienced a 31.5% decline in revenue in 2019,” said Andrew Norwood, research vice...

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GTT adds Fortinet to SD-WAN portfolio

GTT Communications has expanded its SD-WAN service offering by adding Fortinet Secure SD-WAN as a technology option over any last-mile access. It includes Fortinet's integrated next generation firewall and unified threat management functionality combined with an SD-WAN edge device and router. “Clients rely on GTT to securely connect their locations across the world and to every application in the cloud,” stated Rick Calder, GTT president and CEO....

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Telkomsel deploys Metaswitch Unified Communications platform

by Benedict Chua, Assitant Editor Telkomsel, the largest wireless carrier in Indonesia with more than 178 million subscribers, has selected Metaswitch’s MaX UC portfolio to enable it to offer Unified Communications and Collaboration services. The new services will be underpinned by Telkomsel’s Advance Communication Enterprise Suite, its new virtual PBX  solution also based on Metaswitch, ensuring rapid deployment of its cloud-based telephony...

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Keysight and CAICT collaborate on 5G base station test plan

Keysight Technologies is collaborating with CAICT (China Academy of Information and Communications Technology) to accelerate the 5G new radio (NR) base station performance test plan endorsed by the IMT-2020 (5G) Promotional Group, the principal platform that brings together leading operators, vendors, universities, and research institutes in China. The collaboration will help base station manufacturers to validate the massive MIMO1 performance of...

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AT&T to deploy 5G at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada

AT&T will provide 5G and services to Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada. The carrier will also deliver FirstNet to eligible public safety personnel across Nellis. The AT&T 5G infrastructure will serve the base’s more than 40,000 Air Force personnel, their families, and retirees. It will provide wireless high-speed external and in-building connectivity across Nellis’ flight line, facilities, dormitories, and the Mike O'Callaghan Military Medical...

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