Huawei announces 220 GBaud symbol rate test

Huawei has successfully tested a 220 GBaud ultra-high-speed optical signal transmission, breaking the previous record of 192 GBaud. The highest symbol rate in a commercial product is around 95 GBaud for an 800G single wavelength transmission.

The achievement, which was performed by Huawei's Munich optical network R&D team, is described in a post-deadline paper (PDP) by Huawei at last week's virtual European Conference on Optical Communications (ECOC) 2020.

"Our experiment marks a significant milestone in fiber optical communication research. 10 years after the first generation of coherent optical products based on 28 Giga symbols per second, we were able to scale up the symbol rate by a factor of almost 8, using AI-powered advanced signal processing and the latest high bandwidth components. This will pave the way for future multi-Terabit interfaces for metro and backbone networks," said Dr. Maxim Kuschnerov, director of the Optical & Quantum Laboratory in Munich.

https://www.huawei.com/en/news/2020/12/ecoc2020-pdp-200gbaud-optixtrans-f5g

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Breach of U.S. government agencies linked to SolarWinds

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issued an Emergency Directive confirming that SolarWinds Orion products (affected versions are 2019.4 through 2020.2.1 HF1) are currently being exploited by malicious actors  to gain access to network traffic management systems. The warning advises U.S. government agencies to take immediate action due to a high potential for a compromise of agency information systems.

Media reports indicate that the Commerce and Treasury departments have already suffered significant breaches.

For its part, SolarWinds issued a statement indicating that it believes a cyberattack inserted a vulnerability within its Orion monitoring products, potentially allowing an attacker to compromise the server on which the Orion products run. The vulnerability is believed to been inserted in Orion software updates released between March and June 2020.  

SolarWinds said it has been advised that the intrusion was a targeted attack by a nation-state, however, the company has not been able to confirm the identity of the attacker.

On Sunday, SolarWinds reached out to its approximately 33,000 Orion product customers to inform them of the vulnerability.

https://cyber.dhs.gov/ed/21-01/

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Star Alliance to migrate all data, platforms, apps to AWS

The Star Alliance network, which serves 26 of the leading airlines worldwide, is going all-in on AWS, moving all of its IT infrastructure to the AWS cloud.

Star Alliance is working with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) – an AWS Partner Network Premier Consulting Partner – to migrate all of its data, platforms, and business-critical applications to AWS and close its data centers, which will reduce its infrastructure total cost of ownership by 25%. 

“We decided to go all-in on AWS to gain the reliability and scalability we needed to support the increasing number of global travelers joining the alliance each year, but the pandemic also proved how valuable it is to have a flexible and agile infrastructure in the cloud. No one could have predicted what has happened so far in 2020, but because of our collaboration with AWS, we were able to quickly adjust our goals and scale back our expenses,” said Jeremy Drury, Head of Digital & Technology at Star Alliance. “In addition to cost savings and elasticity, AWS gives us the most comprehensive set of cloud services to innovate rapidly, introduce new services to keep travelers safe, and continuously reinvent the global travel experience.”

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Windstream Wholesale completes PNW fiber route

Windstream Wholesale completed a new high-capacity fiber route from Salt Lake City to Portland and Seattle.

The route from Portland to Seattle sets the foundation for Windstream Wholesale’s expansion into the Hillsboro, Ore., landing station, expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2021. 

Windstream Wholesale said this network expansion is part of an overall project to increase capacity to several major long haul routes which leverages flexible grid compliant open optical line systems featuring C+L band support and colorless, directionless, contentionless (CDC) ROADMs.

“This new high-capacity route to Portland and Seattle was built in response to booming customer demand for bandwidth,” said Joe Scattareggia, executive vice president of Windstream Wholesale. “Along with the network overlay, it will help ensure that Windstream Wholesale is positioned to meet our customers’ needs for high-quality, low-latency services across our most popular routes for years to come.”

"Our Data Gravity Index suggests the Pacific Northwest, and Seattle in particular, is expected to experience sustained growth in data gravity intensity through 2024,” said Tony Bishop, Digital Realty senior vice president of platform, growth and marketing. “The Westin Building Exchange is ideally placed to remove data gravity barriers, serving as the strategic regional interconnection hub linking the U.S. and Canada with Asia on PlatformDIGITAL®. We are excited by the new possibilities that the combination of Windstream Wholesale’s Network Hub deployment with us in Seattle and the new routes announced today will open up for customers looking to scale their digital business.”

https://www.windstreamenterprise.com/wholesale/interactive-map

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CommScope readies 204MHz digital return transceiver

CommScope is shipping a 204MHz digital return transceiver, enabling operators to deploy a high split in their upstream band and deliver new gigabit speeds. 

The digital return solution is comprised of the CommScope DT4600N node transmitter and DR3600N headend receiver. Together, they establish an optical link that delivers consistent performance across all link distances between CommScope’s widely deployed NC4000, NC2000 and OM41x0 node platforms and its CH3000 headend optics platform.

CommScope said its 204MHz digital return technology extends its unique “multiple-mode“ philosophy, providing operators with a seamless upgrade path from mid-split (85MHz) to high-split mode and either a single- (“1-fer”) or dual-return (“2-fer”) operation on a single wavelength; a single model supports multiple bandwidths and single/two-return operation with a simple “push-button” to switch between modes, facilitating a smooth network evolution.

“Our new 204MHz digital return is the first of its kind, and one of the most highly anticipated solutions to support upstream bandwidth expansion,” said Guy Sucharczuk, senior vice president, Access Technologies, Broadband Networks, CommScope. “With a high-split network, operators can address the tremendous bandwidth demands and the need for 1 Gbps upstream speed to meet the new global environment head-on. The new DT4600N and DR3600N build on CommScope’s proven digital return platform, offering operators a simple path to additional capacity and their network of the future.” 

http://www.commscope.com

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NEC spins out NanoBridge Semiconductor

 NanoBridge Semiconductor, a start-up based in Tsukuba, Japan, issued series A preferred stock to Japan Industrial Partners, Inc., NEC Corporation (NEC; TSE: 6701), and other companies to raise approximately 130 million yen.

NanoBridge was established by NEC researchers in September 2019 to commercialize a technology to control the creation or destruction of nanometer sized metal bridges in a solid electrolyte through the application of voltage, thereby realizing on and off-switch status.  NanoBridge does not require power to maintain an on or off status, and is highly resistant to both radiation and extreme temperatures. NEC has transferred related intellectual property to the new spin-out company.

Potential applications for the nanobridge technology include FPGAs and memories that repeatedly rewrite circuits. 

"The discovery of the atomic switch, based on the movement of atoms rather than electrons, was a major breakthrough in basic science," said Richard E. Dyck, Director, Japan Industrial Partners, Inc. "The team at NanoBridge, after two decades of skilled and focused engineering, has transformed this breakthrough into the realm of practical application. It is exciting to see the NanoBridge atomic switch can now be manufactured economically and in volume, on standard production equipment."

https://nanobridgesemi.com/

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Orange Marine builds its latest cable ship

Orange Marine recently confirmed plans to build a next gen cable ship specially designed for the maintenance of submarine cables, both fiber optic telecommunication cables and inter-array power cables used in offshore windfarms. 

The new ship, which promises to be more efficient and environmentally friendly, will replace C/S Raymond Croze, launched in 1983 and which carried out more than one hundred cable repairs, mostly in Mediterranean, Black Sea and Red Sea. It will fly the French flag.

Orange Marine said the ship will be equipped with the latest state of the art equipment, in particular:

• Her streamlined hull is designed to reduce fuel consumption, 25% lower than average existing cable ships, and will be optimized for cable repairs,
• Her Azipod marine propulsion thrusters will give her unmatched maneuverability and reliability,
• The ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle) used for cutting, inspecting and burying cables will be stored onboard in a dedicated hangar,
• The hybrid energy management system based on fuel production and electrical storage back-up using batteries will reduce her fuel consumption during cable works and will prevent any unexpected shutdown of a generator,
• Her capability to be connected through onshore power supply will enable her to reduce her carbon emissions when berthed.
• Everything has been carefully designed to reduce her environmental footprint, which will lead to a reduction of 20% in CO2 emissions and an 80% reduction in nitrogen oxide emissions. 

Didier Dillard, CEO of Orange Marine, commented: “The decision to build this vessel is very good news for Orange Marine, its employees and its customers. We will have a new and high-performance tool, with a low environmental footprint, which will allow us to offer high-quality services for several decades to our customers, not only owners of submarine telecommunications cables but also operators of  offshore wind farms.”

Jean-Luc Vuillemin, Executive Vice President of Orange in charge of international networks, and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Orange Marine, added: “The decision to build the latest generation cable vessel shows how much Orange believes in the future of the submarine cables market. Repair vessels are of strategic importance in maintaining global internet connectivity which relies over 80% on submarine cables. This new vessel allows us to be part of a long-term strategy to ensure that our network is well maintained and that Orange Marine continues to have the means to carry out its missions with state-of-the-art tools."

https://www.orange.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2020/orange-strengthens-its-commitment-its-submarine-cable-business-and

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FCC looks to revoke China Telecom America's license

The FCC launched a proceeding to determine whether to end China Telecom (Americas) Corporation’s authority to provide domestic interstate and international telecommunications services within the United States under section 214 of the Communications Act.  

http://www.fcc.gov

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Google suffers widespread outage

Google was hit by a widespread outage impacting Gmail, YouTube, and other services. The problem began on 14-Dec-2020 at 3:55 AM (Pacific). The company said that service was restored for the majority of users by 4:52 AM.

https://www.google.com/appsstatus#hl=en&v=status

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NEC establishes Open RAN lab in India

NEC has established an Open RAN laboratory in India. The facility will accelerate development of NEC’s 5G open ecosystem by pre-integrating partner Open RAN components to form end-to-end commercial-ready solutions according to customer-specific needs. The solutions will undergo end-to-end practical validations on functional/operational performance and quality assurance throughout all layers of the RAN, from network and cloud to service layers. The lab will also be responsible for post deployment trouble-shooting, life cycle management as well as continuous integration (CI) and continuous delivery (CD) of solutions. Initial partners include Altiostar, GigaTera and MTI, 

NEC said this new facility complements its Center of Excellence (CoE) in the U.K.

"We are confident that our firm partnerships with the industry’s best talents will enable us to advance the development of cutting-edge carrier grade ecosystems at full throttle," said Kazuhiko Harasaki, Deputy General Manager, Service Provider Solutions Division, NEC Corporation. "NEC will take leadership in curating pre-validated models and facilitating commercial, multi-vendor Open RAN deployment as a viable alternative 5G network for operators."

NEC participates in the UK Government-led 5G Open RAN trial

Sunday, November 29, 2020  NEC, O-RAN  

NEC is showcasing its Open Radio Access Network (RAN) technology in the UK.The NeutrORAN project will be used to test and demonstrate a multiple operator, neutral host solution using an Open RAN ecosystem. NEC also confirmed that will establish a Global Open RAN Center of Excellence in the UK. The NeutrORAN will be one of the first solutions delivered by the Center of Excellence."The project is another step in NEC's gro

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Intel to start assembly & test operations in Costa Rica

Intel will invest US$350 million over the next three years to start assembly & test operations in Costa Rica. Assembly and test operations will be carried out at the Intel Costa Rica campus in San Antonio de Belén and will start in the second half of 2021. 

"The existing infrastructure, the synergy with operations already in place at the site, our talent, the free-zone regime and the legal environment, have given Intel a favorable option to expand its assembly & test capacity to Costa Rica", said Ileana Rojas, General Manager at Intel Costa Rica.

With the start of operations, Intel Costa Rica joins the Kulim site in Malaysia, the Chengdu plant in China, and the site in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, which are the only Intel sites to perform global assembly & test operations, turning Intel Costa Rica into the first Latin American country site to perform such process.

"The fact that Costa Rica has become stronger as a trustworthy destination for investment amid the pandemic is a very powerful signal. Furthermore, it shows that the country builds long-term relationships with investors, since we have over two decades of history working together with Intel. An investment of this size deepens Intel's footprint and opens very significant job opportunities for people with different work profiles who will be able to join worldwide exports produced by the Costa Rican talent", said Carlos Alvarado, President of Costa Rica.

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ADVA expands its multi-vendor NFV program

ADVA announced the addition of VMware and 19 other members to its Ensemble Harmony Ecosystem of virtualized applications and supported services. Other companies joining the Ensemble Harmony Ecosystem are CASwell, flexiWAN, IEI Integration Corp, NEXCOM and Lanner.

ADVA’s Ensemble Harmony Ecosystem is a coalition of hardware, software and service partners working together to drive virtualization and softwarization in telecommunication networks. 

“This ongoing growth means our Ensemble Harmony Ecosystem provides more options and delivers more value. By welcoming industry leaders like VMware into the program, we’re enabling our customers to transform their operations with some of the best available cloud solutions,” commented James Buchanan, GM, Edge Cloud, ADVA. “Today’s CSPs demand the freedom to choose the most advanced virtualization technology from a variety of leading innovators. They expect tech suppliers to cooperate with each other to ensure interoperability and reduce complexity. That’s what our Ensemble Harmony Ecosystem is all about. It creates an environment that fosters close cooperation, accelerates new initiatives and enables true multi-vendor solutions.”

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