ZTE to supply 5G Stand-alone Core for China Mobile in 12 provinces

ZTE was selected in China Mobile’s 2020 centralized procurement of new 5G SA core network equipment. Financial terms were not disclosed.

For the public-oriented network, ZTE has won the bid of 12 provinces in six regions, and secured the bid for 35% shares in 31 provinces in China for the industry-oriented network.  The project is expected to become the world's largest 5G SA network.

ZTE said China Mobile’s 5G SA core network project will use its Common Core solution, which features SBA, microservice components, stateless design and network slicing to implement flexible and agile service innovation, deployment and O&M. ZTE’s Common Core solution supports 2G/3G/4G/5G/fixed simultaneously.

In addition, to meet automatic and intelligent requirements of the 5G network, ZTE also brings its CloudStudio intelligent O&M solution to support one-click service provisioning and deployment through automatic tools, so that new services can be launched quickly.  Meanwhile, AI, machine learning, and root cause analysis (RCA) are introduced to implement real-time network monitoring, real-time analysis, automatic optimization, and fault self-healing so as to improve the O&M efficiency.

To date, ZTE has obtained 46 commercial 5G contracts in major markets, such as Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa (MEA).

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Vertical Systems: Fiber connections to commercial buildings in the U.S.

Availability of direct optical fiber connections to commercial sites is expanding across the U.S. and now more than one million commercial buildings and data centers now have on-net access to fiber-based network services, according to latest ENS @Fiber Plus research from Vertical Systems Group.

The Fiber 20+ segment, which includes buildings with twenty or more employees, has a 64.5% fiber lit availability rate. This compares to 12.1% availability for the Fiber <20 2019="" accounting="" availability="" buildings="" despite="" employees.="" fewer="" fiber="" for="" gap="" growth="" in="" includes="" lit="" more="" new="" of="" p="" propelled="" segment="" sites.="" small="" than="" the="" this="" twenty="" two-thirds="" which="" with="">
Fiber lit buildings are strategic assets that provide competitive advantages such as faster and more profitable delivery of network services. Vertical Systems Group measures business fiber market leadership with annual Fiber LEADERBOARD benchmarks. Thirteen retail and wholesale providers attained a rank position on the 2019 U.S. Fiber Lit Buildings LEADERBOARD based on 10,000 or more on-net fiber lit commercial sites. Another twelve companies qualified for a citation on the 2019 Challenge Tier with between 2,000 and 9,999 lit buildings.

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https://www.verticalsystems.com/2020/04/07/statflash-fiber-2019/

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Serverius deploys ADVA's FSP 3000 TeraFlex

Serverius, one of the Netherlands’ largest data center service suppliers, has deployed ADVA's FSP 3000 TeraFlex terminal to massively increase its network capacity.

ADVA said its TeraFlex with its ultra-flexible bandwidth modulation enables Serverius to harness previously unused spectrum, unlocking new value in its existing fiber network. By enabling super-channels of up to 1200Gbit/s and a total capacity of 7.2Tbit/s, TeraFlex empowers Serverius to provide Dutch and international enterprises with a new level of capacity and throughput.

“Serverius has a clear vision of what businesses need and a bold strategy for delivering it. By leveraging our most advanced technologies to massively increase the capacity of its fiber plant, the Netherlands’ fastest-growing cloud connectivity provider is offering its customers a vital competitive edge. With our TeraFlex™, Serverius has the power to flexibly respond to soaring data requirements and help businesses achieve their full potential,” commented Hartmut Müller-Leitloff, SVP, sales, EMEA, ADVA.

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Ericsson supplies 5G EPC and RAN in Kansas

Nex-Tech Wireless, a Kansas-based wireless carrier, will deploy Ericsson's 5G Evolved Packet Core and Radio Access Network (RAN) supporting 5G NR Non-standalone (NSA). Financial terms were not disclosed.

Ericsson said its 5G EPC and RAN enhancements will future proof existing customer core assets via software updates in order to enable support for new use cases that require improved latency and data throughput guarantees. In addition, Nex-Tech Wireless will be implementing Ericsson Spectrum Sharing technology, which will allow the carrier to allocate spectrum assets efficiently based on traffic demand using existing infrastructure – enabling a smoother transition to 5G.

Rob Johnson, Head of Customer Unit Regional Carriers for Ericsson North America, said: "Through our partnership, Nex-Tech Wireless is able to deliver 5G capabilities including Core and RAN to its subscribers as they transition from 4G to 5G. We are excited to work with Nex-Tech Wireless to bring them the best network possible as they make this transition."

Jon Lightle, President and CEO of Nex-Tech Wireless, said: "As we make the move to 5G, it is critical that we have a seamless experience. Nex-Tech Wireless is excited to work with Ericsson to deliver that experience and to bring 5G capabilities to our customers in Kansas."

Nex-Tech Wireless and Ericsson also signed a deal in September 2019 to roll out 600 MHz 5G capabilities in key markets. The previous deal allowed Nex-Tech Wireless to provide Voice over LTE (VoLTE) and Wi-Fi calling services utilizing Ericsson's cloud-based IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) solution.

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Open Networking Summit rescheduled for September 28-29 in LA

The Linux Foundation, along with co-hosts LF Networking and LF Edge, announced the rescheduled event dates for Open Networking & Edge Summit North America (ONES, formerly Open Networking Summit): September 28-29 at the JW Marriott LA Live in Los Angeles, California. The summit line-up features prominent speakers from AT&T, eBay, Ericsson, Huawei Technologies, Rancher Labs, Red Hat, Toyota Motor Corporation, Verizon, VMware, Wells Fargo, Yelp, and more. The full event agenda is available here.

"We have an impressive roster of experts lined up to present at Open Networking & Edge Summit North America," said Arpit Joshipura, General Manager, Networking, Edge & IoT, The Linux Foundation. "With expanded content focused on open source Edge, this year's event is the place to be for the latest in open innovation and knowledge-sharing across adjacent technologies such as 5G, cloud native, AI/ML, IoT, and more."


Andre Fuetsch, Executive Vice President & Chief Technology Officer, AT&T Services, Inc.
Dan Kohn, Executive Director, Cloud Native Computing Foundation
Alex Choi, Senior Vice President of Strategy and Technology Innovation, Deutsche Telekom AG
Farah Papaioannou, Co-Founder and President, Edgeworx, Inc.
Anders Rosengren, Head of Architecture & Technology, Ericsson
Justin Dustzadeh, Chief Technology Officer, Equinix
Aparna Sinha, Director of Product Management, Google Cloud
Bill Ren, Chief Open Source Liaison Officer, ICT Infrastructure Open Source GM, Huawei
Marisa S. Viveros, Vice President of Strategy and Offerings, IBM
Arpit Joshipura, General Manager, Networking, Edge & IoT, The Linux Foundation
Heather Kirksey, Vice President, Community and Ecosystem Development, The Linux Foundation

https://events.linuxfoundation.org/open-networking-edge-summit-north-america/

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3 Hong Kong launches 5G service

Earlier this month, 3 Hong Kong, the mobile arm of Hutchison Telecommunications, launched commercial 5G. Coverage is expected to expand across the entire territory within the year.  service.

3 Hong Kong’s 5G base stations are served by a 10Gbps optical-fibre backhaul network.

Phase-one will see outdoor coverage initially serving Wan Chai, Causeway Bay, Tsim Sha Tsui, Mongkok, Sham Shui Po, Shatin and Tai Po. Indoor coverage will include the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, as well as Hongkong Land’s Grade-A shopping malls such as the Landmark Atrium, One and Two Exchange Square, Chater House, Alexandra House and Prince’s Building. Also covered will be key CK Asset shopping malls such as the OP Mall, plus Hong Kong International Airport and certain 3Shops.

Phrase-two will extend outdoor coverage to Island South, Island East, Central and Western District, Yau Tsim Mong, Kowloon City, Wong Tai Sin, Kwun Tong, Kwai Tsing, Tsuen Wan, Tuen
Mun, Yuen Long, North District, Sai Kung and Islands District. Users in 5G restriction zones – including Ma On Shan, Tai Po and Stanley – will be provided with 5G service by re-farming the
2100MHz spectrum band.

HTHKH Executive Director and CEO Kenny Koo said: “Launch of our 5G service marks an important milestone in the telecoms industry. We have unveiled a supreme 5G network, complete with ultra-fast speed and super-low latency, in accordance with our ‘5G One World’ theme. What’s more, our 5G service is served by a powerful 10Gbps optical-fibre backhaul network and benefits
from our relationships and synergies with other members of the 3 Group.”

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EXFO posts quarterly sales of US$55.3 million, citing drop from COVID-19

EXFO reported total sales of US$55.3 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2020 compared to US$50.4 million for the same period a year earlier. The company attributed the drop mainly to the negative impact of the coronavirus outbreak that forced EXFO to temporarily shut down its manufacturing operations in China.

Test and Measurement (T&M) sales accounted for 68% of revenue in the second quarter of 2020, while Service Assurance, Systems and Services (SASS) sales represented 32%. Revenue distribution among the three main selling regions amounted to 48% in the Americas, 31% in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and 21% in Asia-Pacific.

EXFO’s top customer accounted for 8.2% of sales, while the top three totaled 19.5%.

Profitability. IFRS net loss amounted to US$9.0 million, or -US$0.16 per share, in the second quarter of fiscal 2020, while adjusted EBITDA totaled -US$4.9 million, or -8.9% of sales. The company generated US$7.1 million in cash flows from operations.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, EXFO has suspended issuing quarterly and annual guidance.

“Despite the temporary shutdown of our manufacturing operations in China, which negatively impacted our revenues, EXFO delivered solid bookings in the second quarter of 2020 with double-digit growth for our Test and Measurement business,” said EXFO’s CEO Philippe Morin. “Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, the safety of our employees, communities and customers remains at the center of all our actions. All EXFO sites are fully operational and committed to helping global network operators and webscale companies thrive during this challenging period. More than ever, the telecom industry is mission-critical in which network capacity, reliability, and scalability will play a growing role in creating real opportunities for EXFO’s innovative solutions.”

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