Wednesday, February 3, 2021

Google's Dunant subsea cable ready for service with up to 250 Tbps

Google's new Dunant transatlantic submarine cable system has been declared ready for service. 

Dunant is the first long-haul subsea cable to feature a 12 fiber pair space-division multiplexing (SDM) design, which will enable it to deliver record-breaking capacity of 250 terabits per second (Tbps) across the Atlantic Ocean. Subcom was the prime contractor for the project.

SubCom is the first to market using SDM technology to increase cable capacity in a cost-effective manner with additional fiber pairs (twelve, rather than six or eight in past generations of subsea cables) and power-optimized repeater designs. While previous subsea cable technologies relied on a dedicated set of pump lasers to amplify each fiber pair, the SDM technology used in Dunant allows pump lasers and associated optical components to be shared among multiple fiber pairs. This ‘pump sharing’ technology enables more fibers within the cable while also providing higher system availability. 

“Google is dedicated to meeting the exploding demand for cloud services and online content that continues unabated,” said Mark Sokol, senior director of Infrastructure, Google Cloud. “With record-breaking capacity and transmission speeds, Dunant will help users access content wherever they may be and supplement one of the busiest routes on the internet to support the growth of Google Cloud. Dunant is a remarkable achievement that would not have been possible without the dedication of both SubCom and Google’s employees, partners, and suppliers, who overcame multiple challenges this year to make this system a reality.”

“Our congratulations to Google on the completion of the Dunant submarine cable system,” said David Coughlan, CEO of SubCom. “It is a privilege to partner once again with Google to achieve a technology milestone that, not so long ago, was out of reach. Our companies not only delivered another well-provisioned, high-bandwidth, low-latency, and highly secure connection between the U.S. and Europe, but we did so during a global pandemic that required unprecedented levels of cooperation, flexibility, and dedication.”

http://www.subcom.com



Orange expands transatlantic capacity with 2 new cables

Orange announced ready-for-service status on the new Dunant cable system linking France and the United States and also unveiled for another new transatlantic cable system that could be ready as early as next year.The Dunant cable, which is a joint project with Google, is now ready for service for its wholesale and business customers. Dunant boasts 12 fibre pairs with over 30 Tbps of capacity each.The next submarine cable, called AMITIÉ, will take...

Google’s transatlantic Dunant cable has landed in Saint-Hilaire-de-Riez, in the Vendée region of France. The terrestrial stage of the laying of this cable is proceeding. As the “Landing Party” and owner of the French part of the cable, Orange has completely refurbished the historic station in Saint-Hilaire-de-Riez, which was no longer in use, to house the terminal equipment for the Dunant system. This area is a strategic location, close to the main...

Orange and Telxius to backhaul Google's Dunant transatlantic cable

Orange and Telxius will provide terrestrial backhaul extensions in France and in the US for Google's Dunant submarine cable, which is expected to enter service in late 2020. Under this agreement, Orange and Telxius offer co-location services at their respective Cable Landing Stations in Saint-Hilaire-de-Riez (France) and Virginia Beach (US). From its Saint- Hilaire-de-Riez (85) Cable Landing Station, Orange will enable terrestrial connection to...


Linux Foundation targets cellular core network stack with Magma

The Linux Foundation is launching an open source industry collaboration focused on enabling a converged cellular core network stack, starting with the Magma open source software platform. 

Magma, which was previously open sourced by Facebook in 2019,  will now be managed under a neutral governance framework at the Linux Foundation.

Arm, Deutsche Telekom, Facebook, FreedomFi, Qualcomm, the Institute of Wireless Internet of Things at Northeastern University, the OpenAirInterface Software Alliance, and the Open Infrastructure Foundation, will join the collaboration as founding members to accelerate the path to production use cases at scale. 


Magma features an access-agnostic mobile packet core, advanced network automation and management tools, and the ability to integrate with existing LTE networks with use cases across both virtual and container Network Functions (xNFs) including fixed wireless access, carrier Wi-Fi, private LTE and 5G, network expansion, and mobile broadband. 

A number of Magma community members are also collaborating in the Telecom Infra Project (TIP)’s Open Core Network project group to define, build, test, and deploy core network products that leverage Magma software alongside disaggregated hardware and software solutions by the TIP Open Core ecosystem.

“Arm is synonymous with a diverse technology ecosystem that underpins the compute, connectivity, and security required for solutions spanning cloud to edge to endpoint devices,” said Chris Bergey, senior vice president and general manager, Infrastructure Line of Business, Arm. “Together with the Linux Foundation and Facebook Connectivity, Magma is helping to solve the very real challenge of providing feature-rich, cost effective access for worldwide mobile networks.”

“Bringing Magma to the Linux Foundation is a huge milestone as the Magma ecosystem of developers continues to grow,” said Dan Rabinovitsj, vice president for Facebook Connectivity. “We are excited to see the contributions and innovations from this collective group of industry players, and we look forward to celebrating Magma’s success as the project continues to scale.” 

“Qualcomm Technologies strongly supports the evolution of the Magma core network efforts into a broader coalition among the key founding and contributing projects,” said Douglas Knisely, engineer, principal, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and OSA Advisory Board member. “This effort builds on the collaboration activities and code contributions from OAI into the Magma project and promotes the harmonization of a common 5G Core Network reference architecture, internal structure, APIs, and interfaces for all of the emerging 5G open source projects in the industry.”

https://www.linuxfoundation.org/press-release/linux-foundation-launches-industry-collaboration-with-magma-to-accelerate-deployment-of-wireless-networks/

https://www.magmacore.org/

PacketLight releases 400G muxponder

PacketLight Networks released a new 400G muxponder that can aggregate any mix of 10/25/100GbE, 16/32G FC, and OTU2/2e/4 services into one 400G coherent uplink.

The new PacketLight PL-4000M Muxponder can be used for DCI, metro, short-, and long-haul applications. It provides full demarcation between the service and the OTN/DWDM uplink and offers complete interoperability with third-party switches and routers. The product delivers full visibility and performance monitoring of both the line optical transport layer (OTN) and service interfaces. It also offers high levels of security with embedded Layer-1 GCM-AES-256 optical encryption using elliptic curve Diffie-Hellman key exchange.

PacketLight said its device reduces the total transport solution costs, as it takes up minimal rack space and lowers the power consumption per transmitted bit. 

“The PL-4000M is based on the latest standard technologies of OTN 400G mapping and pluggable, compact coherent 400G modules in both CFP2 and QSFPDD form factors,” says Koby Reshef, CEO of PacketLight Networks. “It provides added value for service providers and high-end enterprises to build their next generation network or expand their existing network’s capacity.”

http://www.packetlight.com

Ireland's Tyndall National Institute opens wireless laboratory in Dublin

Ireland's Tyndall National Institute has opened a wireless communications laboratory in Dublin to research future deep technologies: Future RF, Future Access, Future Protocols, Future AI, and Future Quantum. The new facility, which is the first for Tyndall outside of Cork, will see the creation of 50 new research jobs by 2025.

The announcement comes one year on from the launch of the ambitious Tyndall 2025 plan, which aims to double the size and impact of the national ICT research institute.

The Wireless Communications Research Laboratory will be headed up by industry thought leader and acclaimed scientist Dr Holger Claussen, along with Dr Lester Ho and Dr Senad Bulja. All three are former researchers with the prestigious multi award-winning Nokia Bell Labs Ireland, where they created the foundations for many of Nokia’s next generation products and pioneered Small Cell Networks, now a $6.7bn/a market.

The team will initially be based at CONNECT – the world leading Science Foundation Ireland Research Centre for Future Networks and Communications, hosted at Trinity College Dublin. The CONNECT Centre includes Ireland’s top telecommunications researchers in ten higher education institutes around Ireland, including University College Cork.

CEO of Tyndall National Institute, Professor William Scanlon, whose own research and academic background is in the area of wireless communications, welcomed the recruitment of this world-class research team. 

“Building on such high calibre international talent will ensure that Ireland becomes a leader in the future of communications innovation. Dr Claussen and his team will be instrumental in developing ground-breaking wireless technologies and will allow Ireland to take the lead in solving the fundamental problems in wireless communications across many domains such as industry 4.0 machine-communications, virtual and augmented reality, and mobile broadband. This new location and team will help us realise our Tyndall 2025 strategy for research excellence and ambitious growth.”

Commenting, Head of the newly formed Wireless Communications Laboratory Dr Holger Claussen said, “My team and I are excited to continue with our innovative work in shaping the future of wireless networks to enable exponential growth in mobile data traffic and reliable low latency communications on behalf of Tyndall and Ireland”.

https://www.tyndall.ie/news/tyndall-national-institute-expands-with-new-wireless-communications-laboratory-in-dublin/

Reuters: A second SolarWinds vulnerability

Chinese hackers may have exploited a second vulnerability in SolarWind's Orion platform to gain access to the National Finance Center, a federal payroll agency inside the U.S. Department of Agriculture, according to Reuters. The intrusion apparently occurred independently of the Russian hackers who gained access to hundreds of U.S. government and Fortune 1000 networks.


It is not clear yet how many other organizations may have been impacted by this second attack vector. SolarWinds has not yet commented on the matter.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cyber-solarwinds-china/exclusive-suspected-chinese-hackers-used-solarwinds-bug-to-spy-on-u-s-payroll-agency-sources-idUSKBN2A22K8

Spectrum Enterprise debuts Managed Network Edge based on Cisco Meraki

Spectrum Enterprise, a part of Charter Communications, introduced a Managed Network Edge (MNE) service based on the Cisco Meraki cloud-based platform.

The MNE base solution includes Managed Routing, Security and software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) powered by Cisco Meraki. In addition, proactive monitoring, 24/7/365 support, service level agreements (SLAs) and professional installation and a single, integrated user portal for real-time monitoring are all part of the base MNE solution. Additional, extensible services include: WiFi, network switches and smart cameras. MNE is offered as a packaged solution that integrates connectivity and Unified Communications (UC) options, and can be delivered nationally. 

“The ongoing pandemic has made connectivity a critical infrastructure for businesses, especially as they digitize and transform their networks to meet the changing needs of their customers and employees,” said Satya Parimi, Group Vice President, Product, Spectrum Enterprise. “Managed Network Edge is a flexible solution that allows for a layered approach to adding modular network services and a choice of connectivity and management options – all delivered by a single service provider to ensure end-to-end performance.” 

“Businesses are accelerating the move towards a digital-first model faster than ever before because of the pandemic, resulting in the need to support a hybrid workforce long-term,” said Lawrence Huang, Vice President of Product Management, Cisco Meraki. “Together, Spectrum Enterprise and Cisco Meraki are helping to improve the client and user experience by simplifying IT operations and making it easier to integrate solutions that connect employees, applications, devices and locations.” 


https://enterprise.spectrum.com/

Lumen teams with VMware to drive innovation at the Edge

Lumen Technologies is working with VMware to fast-track the design, development, and delivery of edge computing and more secure, work-from-anywhere solutions. 

The teams will focus initial efforts on co-developing solutions for the Lumen portfolio of managed services in key areas including:


  • Edge Computing: Certifying the integration of the VMware Tanzu Basic edition with the Lumen Edge Bare Metal service and Lumen Dynamic Connections. This combination will enable businesses to create a more secure software supply chain to rapidly deploy new edge-native workloads, on-demand, closer to the point of digital interaction.
  • Work-from-anywhere: Adding VMware’s Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) platform – inclusive of VMware SD-WAN and VMware Workspace ONE – to the Lumen solutions set. Many organizations now manage distributed workforces, making legacy solutions – including hub-and-spoke-based VPNs – obsolete. This initiative will help customers more seamlessly adopt SASE architecture to achieve the reliability and performance of a traditional network, as well as deliver superior customer and employee experiences, in a Zero Trust model.
  • Security: Integrating VMware Carbon Black Cloud Endpoint and VMware Carbon Black Cloud Workload with intelligence data from Black Lotus Labs, the threat research arm of Lumen. Enterprises will be better positioned to defend against cyber-threats, right from the end point, using the combination of security analytics derived from one of the world’s most deeply peered networks and industry-leading endpoint protection and datacenter virtualization.

“Resilient edge computing solutions will drive the next wave of digital innovation for the enterprise and customers need the right capabilities to effectively create, deploy, and manage applications in this new environment,” said Jeff Storey, president and chief executive officer, Lumen Technologies. “This deliberate move to invest in and accelerate our efforts with VMware will allow us to quickly bring to market software-defined solutions that address the real issues our customers face as they move applications to the edge. That is powerful.”

  • In September 2020, CenturyLink changed its name to Lumen Technologies.

Orange launches 5G Labs initiative

Orange is launching a series of 5G labs in France and abroad to help local authorities and companies - start-ups, SMEs, big companies - regardless of their sector to leverage the opportunities with 5G.

In France, seven sites will host all the companies and local authorities, regardless of their sector. The Orange 5G Lab site in Châtillon (Paris region) is opening today. The others will gradually open in six other French towns: Lille, Lyon-Charbonnières, Marseille, Paris-La Défense, Rennes and Toulouse.

Certain sites will specialise in a specific field but will not be devoted exclusively to this area. For example, the Lyon lab, located at the Campus Région du Numérique at Charbonnières-les-Bains, will be focused on Industry 4.0, and the CÅ“ur Défense site in the Customer Innovation Centre will be more focused on Orange Business Services’ major clients.

The initiative will also be rolled out in European countries where the Group has a presence during the first half of 2021. An Orange 5G Lab will open in Bucharest in Romania in partnership with the University Politehnica of Bucharest to foster the development of commercial projects, research and innovation. In Belgium, the lab will be located near the Orange Industry 4.0 campus in the Port of Antwerp. 

“We believe that 5G will drive business competition and regional development. This is why Orange is involved in a co-innovation approach focused on 5G to create the uses of the future. Having a local presence close to these players is a key part of the Orange 5G Labs initiative, to support the digital transformation of economic players and to help everyone take advantage of 5G’s potential,” said Michäel Trabbia, Chief Technology and Innovation Officer at Orange.

https://5glab.orange.com/fr/

ADTRAN reports revenue of $130 million

ADTRAN reported Q4 2020 revenue of $130.1 million, up from $115.8 million for the same period a year earlier. Net income for the fourth quarter of 2020 was $6.1 million and earnings per share, assuming dilution, was $0.13 per share. Non-GAAP net income was $5.2 million and non-GAAP earnings per share, assuming dilution, was $0.11 per share.


ADTRAN Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Tom Stanton stated, “We saw substantial growth in our Tier-2 and Tier-3 service provider segments in the U.S. and a solid increase in fiber deployments in Europe. We expect that our fiber access solutions will continue to be adopted by customers around the world.”

ADTRAN also announced that its Board of Directors declared a cash dividend for the fourth quarter of 2020 of $0.09 per common share.

https://investors.adtran.com/Interactive-Financials/default.aspx

MaxLinear posts Q4 revenue of $195 million

 MaxLinear reported net revenue of $194.7 million for Q4 2020, up 24% sequentially, and up 178% year-on-year.  Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share was $0.39, compared to diluted earnings per share of $0.32 in the prior quarter, and diluted earnings per share of $0.16 in the year-ago quarter.

“In the fourth quarter, we posted record revenue, up 24% sequentially, due to stronger-than-expected demand for broadband access and connectivity products. The fourth quarter represented the first full of quarter of ownership of the Intel and NanoSemi assets, with which we are making tremendous progress on the respective integration efforts. Despite intensifying supply chain challenges, our cash flow from operations approximated $74.3 million with non-GAAP gross margin of 57.8% in the quarter. We are making tremendous progress with integration efforts of our recent acquisitions. With this backdrop, along with contributions from our expected revenues from our PAM4 DSP product for the 400G optical data center market and 5G wireless backhaul, we are very confident in the Company’s outlook entering 2021,” commented Kishore Seendripu, Ph.D., Chairman and CEO.