DE-CIX in Frankfurt hits peak of 10 Tbps

DE-CIX in Frankfurt has set a new record for data throughput by reaching a peak of 10 Terabits per second shortly after 8 pm on November, 3, 2020. With more than 1000 connected customers, DE-CIX in Frankfurt maintains its position as one of the largest Internet Exchanges in the world.

At the beginning of March, DE-CIX Frankfurt broke through the 9 Tbps peak for the first time. 

DE-CIX is also reporting new peak throughput records for its exchanges in New York, Madrid, Marseille, Istanbul, and Dubai.

“Whether it’s for home-schooling, work-from-home, or private use, the global outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic earlier in the year resulted in a meteoric rise in the use of digital applications – for streaming, chatting, or gaming. This year, there was also no slow-down in the summer months – quite the opposite! As a result of the coronavirus, digitalization has been boosted at all levels. We see in particular that large enterprises and listed corporations are currently adapting their interconnection strategies and are specifically seeking consultations and investigating the possibility of data exchange at and via Internet Exchanges like DE-CIX. With all eyes on the US election this week, a further impact on traffic has been felt around the world. It has already been made clear that the Internet can withstand massive loads – like those of a global lock-down. Now is the time to increase the quality of the Internet maximally, right through to the end user,” says Dr. Thomas King, CTO at DE-CIX.

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INDIGO subsea cable to deploy Ciena’s GeoMesh Extreme

Ciena has been selected by SUB.CO and its Australian entity APX Partners to upgrade the INDIGO subsea cable system, which connects Sydney, Perth, Jakarta and Singapore.

The Indigo submarine cable network spans approximately 9,000 kilometers, has two fiber pairs, and features new spectrum-sharing technology that allows consortium members to independently upgrade their networks and increase capacity, as needed and on-demand. 

This upgrade will use Ciena’s GeoMesh Extreme, powered by WaveLogic 5 Extreme on the 6500 platform, to deliver 500 Gbps single-wavelength channels speeds across the submarine cable network. SUB.CO and APX Partners will leverage Ciena’s Hosted Manage, Control and Plan (MCP) software via Ciena Services. The deployment of the Hosted MCP Software-as-a-Service is a first in the Asia Pacific region. Ciena Services will also be used for site engineering, installation, testing and end-to-end project management.

“Looking to where the industry is heading SUB.CO is focused on building and operating hyperscale and software defined submarine cable capacity by fusing dedicated spectrum/fiber infrastructure ownership economics with optical platforms that will allow us to maximize spectral efficiency, yet be flexible in configuration for all our different customer demands. Deploying both Ciena’s latest coherent optical solution over a shared spectrum cable and its hosted network management software in the Southeast Asia region is a key piece of our long-term strategy,” states Bevan Slattery, CEO, SUB.CO and APX Partners.

INDIGO subsea cable is ready for service

Monday, June 03, 2019  Australia, INDIGO, Subsea  

The INDIGO subsea cable system, which connects Australia and Southeast Asia, is officially ready for use.

INDIGO features two-fibre pairs with a design capacity for up to 36 terabits per second. The cable system will utilise new spectrum sharing technology so each consortium member will have the ability to independently take advantage of technology advancements for future upgrades and capacity increases on demand.

INDIGO is backed by AARNet, Google, Indosat Ooredoo, Singtel, SubPartners and Telstra.

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Qualcomm posts revenues of $6.5 billion, up 35% yoy

Qualcomm reported quarterly revenue of $8.3 billion, up 73% year-over-year, above the high end of prior guidance issued by the company. Non-GAAP revenues were $6.5 billion, up 35% year-over-year. Non-GAAP diluted EPS was $1.45, an increase of 86% year-over-year, above the high end of our prior guidance range.

“Our fiscal fourth quarter results demonstrate that our investments in 5G are coming to fruition and showing benefits in our licensing and product businesses,” said Steve Mollenkopf, CEO of Qualcomm Incorporated. “We concluded the year with exceptional fourth quarter results and are well positioned for growth in 2021 and beyond. As the pace of disruption in wireless technology accelerates, we will continue to drive growth and scale across our RF front-end, Automotive and IoT adjacencies.”

Some highlights:

• MSM chip shipments: 162 million, an increase of 7% year-over-year, above the midpoint of the prior guidance range.
• QCT revenues: $5.0 billion, an increase of 38% year-over-year, above the high end of the prior guidance range
• QTL revenues: $1.5 billion, an increase of 30% year-over-year, above the high end of the prior guidance range.

Regarding the 5G environment, Qualcomm notes:

• Over 400 operators investing in 5G and more than 110+ operators in almost 50 countries / territories have launched commercial 5G services- across both sub-6 and millimeter wave spectrum
• 35+ operators offer 5G fixed wireless access or home broadband services
• 148 5G phones commercially available (+56% vs June 2020) – 200 announced (+48% vs June 2020)
• 222 5G devices commercially available (+64% vs June 2020) – 444 announced (+40% vs June 2020)
• Release 16 completed, which expands 5G to new spectrum and services, working on Releases 17 and 18

https://investor.qualcomm.com/financial-information/historical-financial-results

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Spectra7 Sets Sights on 56Gbps PAM4 NIC designs

Spectra7 Microsystem announced three new reference designs targeted at new server connectivity needs implementing 56Gbps PAM4 signaling on Ethernet Network Interface Cards (NICs). 

As servers adopt higher bandwidth ports that utilize 56Gbps PAM4 signaling, passive cables cannot serve all lengths needed. Instead of deploying optical interconnects that are much higher power and more costly, operators are looking to Active Copper Cables (ACCs) to serve this growing need. One example is Tencent who demonstrated a Spectra7 enabled ACC for server connectivity in September at China’s Open Data Center Committee (ODCC) conference. The 200Gbps demonstration showed a Spectra7 enabled ACC “splitter cable” connecting from a 200Gbps top-of-rack (ToR) switch port to 2 separate servers with 100Gbps NIC ports. The signaling in the cable was 56Gbps PAM4. This “splitter cable” architecture is being widely planned both in the US and in China for next generation deployments.

GCS-QSFP Reference Design

Server Connectivity Splitter Cable with 200Gbps QSFP56-CR4 form factor module at switch end and 2 QSFP56-CR2 form factor modules at server ends. A total of 4 GC2502 ICs are used in this reference design.

GCS-DSFP Reference Design

Server Connectivity Splitter Cable with 200Gbps QSFP56-CR4 form factor module at switch end and 2 DSFP-CR2 form factor modules at server ends. A total of 4 GC2502 ICs are used in this reference design.

GCS-SFP-DD Reference Design

Server Connectivity Splitter Cable with 200Gbps QSFP56-CR4 form factor module at switch end and 2 SFP-DD-CR2 form factor modules at server ends. A total of 4 GC2502 ICs are used in this reference design.

http://www.spectra7.com/pam4-referencedesigns

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FCC fines T-Mobile $200 million for Lifeline violations at Sprint

The Federal Communications Commission’s Enforcement Bureau imposed a $200 million fine on T-Mobile in connection with Sprint's non-compliance with rules pertaining to waste, fraud, and abuse in the Lifeline program for low-income consumers.  

The payment is the largest fixed-amount settlement the FCC has ever secured to resolve an investigation. 

Prior to its merger with T-Mobile, Sprint was claiming monthly subsidies for serving approximately 885,000 Lifeline subscribers even though those subscribers were not using the service, in potential violation of the Commission’s “non-usage” rule.  The matter initially came to light as a result of an investigation by the Oregon Public Utility Commission.  In addition to paying a $200 million civil penalty, Sprint agreed to enter into a compliance plan to help ensure future adherence to the Commission’s rules for the Lifeline program.

The Lifeline program helps make phone and broadband service more affordable for low-income consumers.  Providers participating in the program receive a $9.25 monthly subsidy for most Lifeline subscribers, which they must pass along to consumers as a discount.  For most mobile Lifeline consumers served by Sprint and many other providers, the subsidy makes the service free to the consumer.

“Lifeline is key to our commitment to bringing digital opportunity to low-income Americans, and it is especially critical that we make the best use of taxpayer dollars for this vital program,” said Chairman Ajit Pai.  “I’m pleased that we were able to resolve this investigation in a manner that sends a strong message about the importance of complying with rules designed to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse in the Lifeline program.  In addition to the great work of our Enforcement Bureau team, I would like to thank the Oregon Public Utility Commission for its efforts in this case.  States play an important role in helping low-income consumers get access to affordable communications through Lifeline and making sure the program is run efficiently.” 

 

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Zain Group cites impact of COVID-19 on telecom revenues

Zain Group reported consolidated revenue of KD 1.2 billion (USD 3.9 billion) for the first nine months of 2020, down 2% Y-o-Y, while consolidated EBITDA for the period reached KD 502 million (USD 1.6 billion), down 7% Y-o-Y, reflecting a healthy EBITDA margin of 42%. Consolidated net income amounted to KD 132 million (USD 429 million), reflecting a 14% Y-o-Y decrease. Earnings per share amounted to 30 fils (USD 0.10) for the nine-month period. For 9M 2020, foreign currency translation impact, predominantly due to the 14% currency devaluation in Sudan from an average of 46 at 9M 2019 to 53.7 at 9M 2020 (SDG / USD), cost the Group USD 78 million in revenue, USD 36 million in EBITDA and USD 9 million in net income. 

Zain highlighted e notable 68% Y-o-Y increase in net income at Zain Iraq and healthy 28% revenue growth in USD terms at Zain Sudan.   

Mr. Bader Nasser Al-Kharafi, Zain Vice-Chairman and Group CEO commented, “The telecom sector is not immune to the current pandemic facing the global community that will continue to play havoc across all aspects of socio-economic life for the foreseeable future. Nevertheless, we continue our resolve and commitment to ensuring meaningful connectivity and implementing more digitalization initiatives to better serve businesses, governments, and societies, aiming to lessen the impact of COVID19 on society.”

Operational review of key markets for the nine months ended 30 September, 2020

• Kuwait: Maintaining its market leadership, Zain Group’s flagship operation saw its customer base serve 2.6 million. It remains the Group’s most profitable operation with revenue for 9M 2020 reaching KD 236 million (USD 770 million), EBITDA reaching KD 85 million (USD 277 million), representing an EBITDA margin of 36%. Net income reached KD 58 million (USD 189 million) for 9M 2020, with data revenue accounting for 39% of total revenue.
• Saudi Arabia: For the 9M 2020, Zain KSA generated revenue of SAR 5.9 billion (USD 1.6 billion), EBITDA for the period reached SAR 2.6 billion (USD 695 million), reflecting an EBITDA margin of 45%. Net income for the nine months reached SAR 224 million (USD 60 million).  Data revenue represents 51% of total revenue and customers served stood at 7.0 million. 
• Iraq: Zain Iraq’s 9M 2020 revenue reached USD 708 million and EBITDA amounted to USD 285 million, reflecting EBITDA margin of 40%. The operation reported an impressive net profit of USD 61 million for 9M 2020. The operator served 15.7 million customers maintaining its market leading position.
• Sudan: For 9M 2020, Zain Sudan generated revenue of SDG 14.9 billion (USD 278 million), with EBITDA amounting to SDG 6.5 billion (USD 121 million), reflecting an EBITDA margin of 44%. Net income for the period reached SDG 1.9 billion (USD 36 million). Data revenue represented 25% of total revenue, while the operator’s customer base reached 16.0 million, maintaining its market leadership.
• Jordan: For 9M 2020, Zain Jordan revenue reached USD 359 million, EBITDA reached USD 160 million, reflecting an EBITDA margin of 44%, with net income reaching USD 56 million. With the ongoing expansion of 4G services across the country, data revenue represented 46% of total revenue.  Zain Jordan served 3.5 million customers maintaining its market leading position.
• Bahrain: Zain Bahrain generated revenue of USD 123 million for 9M 2020. EBITDA for the period amounted to USD 42 million, reflecting an EBITDA margin of 34%. Net income amounted to USD 10 million. 

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