NeoPhotonics ships QSFP-DD and OSFP 400ZR coherent modules

NeoPhotonics announced the general availability of its QSFP-DD and OSFP 400ZR pluggable modules.

These products utilize NeoPhotonics Silicon Photonics Coherent Optical Subassembly (COSA) and low power consumption, ultra-narrow linewidth Nano-ITLA tunable laser, combined with the latest generation of 7 nm node DSP, to provide full 400ZR transmission in a standard data center QSFP-DD or OSFP form factor that can be plugged directly into switches and routers. 

NeoPhotonics QSFP-DD and OSFP modules have completed reliability qualification and have passed 2000 hours of High Temperature Operating Life (HTOL) as well as other critical tests per Telcordia requirements.

The company recently announced that it had used its QSFP-DD coherent pluggable transceiver to transmit at a 400 Gbps data rate over a distance of 800 km in a 75GHz-spaced DWDM system with more than 3.5 dB of OSNR margin in the optical signal while remaining within the power consumption envelope of the QSFP-DD module’s power specification.

“This demonstration of high data rates over longer distances shows the potential of these game-changing products, and we expect to see increasing deployment of coherent pluggable modules with different use cases, from data center interconnect to metro and regional applications as well as 5G wireless backhaul,” said Tim Jenks, Chairman and CEO of NeoPhotonics. “Since the beginning of coherent transmission, NeoPhotonics has been at the forefront in meeting the volume needs of our customers, as is indicated by our recent announcement that we had shipped a cumulative total of more than two million ultra-narrow linewidth tunable lasers,” concluded Mr. Jenks.

https://www.neophotonics.com/press-releases/?newsId=12491

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GIGALIGHT announces 400G QSFP-DD LR8 transceiver

GIGALIGHT announced a 400G QSFP-DD LR8 optical transceiver. It supports both 400GE (8X53 Gbps) Ethernet and OTN protocols.

GIGALIGHT said its 400G QSFP-DD LR8 optical transceiver uses single PCB design, the power consumption is lower than 12W under commercial, industrial and extended temperature conditions, standing the top level in the industry; the product complies with IEEE 802.3bs 400GBASE-LR8 standard and is compatible with CMIS 4.0.

https://www.gigalight.com/show-1394.html

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Streamlining the Mobile Optical Pluggables (MOPA) ecosystem

Nokia, Ericsson, II-VI, Lumentum and Sumitomo Electric have today published a joint technical paper making the case for reducing the wide choice of Mobile Optical Pluggables (MOPA) used to connect cell sites to fiber networks. The two telco equipment makers and three optics suppliers behind the paper have recommended predefined optical blueprints that help operators speed up time to market using a common list of optical pluggables in a market worth US$500 million per year.

Stefaan Vanhastel, CTO Nokia Fixed Networks said: “Fiber is a critical component of 5G rollouts and provides unmatched capacity for 5G transport. A clear overview of available optics strategies makes it easier to design and deploy 5G networks. We are pleased to be joining forces with Ericsson, II-VI, Lumentum and Sumitomo Electric on this vital initiative which will make the choice for fiber even more compelling in the transport domain.”

The 57-page whitepaper is posted here:

https://onestore.nokia.com/asset/210585?_ga=2.168708129.1082365935.1623369544-771610226.1623369544

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Blackstone Funds to acquire QTS for $10 billion

Investment funds managed by Blackstone will all outstanding shares of common stock of QTS Realty Trust for $78.00 per share in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $10 billion. The deal includes a 40-day "go-shop period" during which QTS may solicit other proposals.

Upon completion of the transaction, the parties expect that QTS will continue to be led by its senior management team and maintain its corporate headquarters in Overland Park, Kansas.

“We are pleased to enter into this transaction with Blackstone, as it will deliver compelling, immediate and certain value to stockholders while positioning QTS to continue supporting customers’ expanding data center infrastructure needs,” said Philip Trahanas, Lead Director of the QTS Board of Directors. “The QTS Board regularly reviews the Company’s strategy and market opportunities to maximize stockholder value, and we are confident this transaction achieves that objective.”

QTS is a leading provider of data center solutions with a footprint spanning more than 7 million square feet of owned mega scale data center space within North America and Europe.

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AT&T completes first call on newly-acquired C-Band

AT&T completed the first call on its network utilizing C-Band spectrum, which was awarded just three months ago. 

The call was made using a 5G smartphone form factor mobile test device powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon X55 5G Modem-RF System using the Nokia AirScale baseband and 5G massive MIMO (mMIMO) 64T64R C-Band radio. The milestone was achieved early May in Detroit, Michigan by engineers from both AT&T and Nokia, who jointly worked quickly to demonstrate the potential of the newly available n77 spectrum (n77: 3700 – 3980Mhz). The test utilized one of Nokia’s new mMIMO antennas that is designed to operate in the n77 C-Band in conjunction with the latest Nokia 5G software. The joint team will continue to test performance ahead of commercial network deployment, which is anticipated to begin later this year.

Nokia recently signed a five-year deal with AT&T to deploy the mobile operator’s C-Band network across the U.S. It will deliver enhanced mobile broadband capabilities and increase the range of 5G applications and services to a wide range of consumers and customers. 

Kevin Hetrick, Vice President – Construction & Engineering, AT&T said: “AT&T is committed to bringing the power of 5G to even more businesses and communities across the nation. In fact, we’ve committed to covering more people with C-band by the end of 2023 than any other carrier. Our planned C-Band launch with Nokia will add 5G capacity and coverage where it’s needed. Nokia’s C-Band portfolio has the capabilities and performance to enable AT&T to deliver an exciting and powerful 5G experience that our subscribers have come to expect from us.”

Ed Cholerton, President of Nokia Americas, said: “This is an important milestone and achievement as we support AT&T in its efforts to extend its commercial-grade 5G services across the country utilizing C-Band spectrum. We are proud to be a long-term partner of AT&T and to work collaboratively on this innovative project. Nokia’s flexible and comprehensive range of solutions covers all customer requirements and we look forward to continuing to work together with AT&T to help deliver incredible 5G experiences to its customers across the country.”

AT&T awards 5-year contract to Nokia for 5G C-band rollout

Thursday, March 18, 2021  #5G, Nokia  

AT&T has awarded a five-year contract to Nokia to deploy the mobile operator’s C-Band network in parts of the U.S. Financial terms were not disclosed.Nokia’s C-Band portfolio includes support for both 5G standalone (SA) networks and non-standalone (NSA) networks, cloud-based implementations and Open RAN products, providing AT&T with flexibility for its 5G deployment. Nokia’s C-Band RAN technology will interwork with existing Nokia LTE RAN...

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AT&T to spend $6-8 billion deploying newly acquired C-band spectrum

Sunday, March 14, 2021  AT&T, Spectrum  

In an Analyst & Investor Day presentation, AT&T updated its 5G strategy for deploying 5G in both sub-6 (5G) and mmWave (5G+) spectrum bands in 2021.Some highlights:AT&T will begin offering 5G access to consumers on its current unlimited wireless plans at no additional cost.AT&T secured 80mhz of spectrum and a 29% share of the available licenses in the recent C-band auction. The company plans to begin deploying the first 40 MHz of...

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Gigabit mmWave connection extended over 10 km -- a new record

Nokia, Qualcomm Technologies, and UScellular extended a near gigabit speed mmWave connection over more than 10 km -- a new record.

The field trial, which utilized Nokia’s AirScale Baseband and mmWave Radios in the 28 GHz (n261) band, was conducted on UScellular’s commercial network in Grand Island, Nebraska. The companies jointly tested multiple locations with different scenarios, measuring distance, throughput and latency.

UScellular said the milestone paves the way to bring extended range 5G service with massive capacity and low latency to even more regions across the U.S., including rural areas.

https://www.qualcomm.com/news/releases/2021/06/08/nokia-qualcomm-and-uscellular-hit-extended-range-5g-world-record-over

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FCC sets 3.45 GHz band auction procedures

The FCC’s Office of Economics and Analytics and the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau established the application and bidding procedures for Auction 110, the auction of spectrum in the 3.45 GHz band.  Bidding is scheduled to start on October 5, 2021.

Auction 110 will offer up to 4,060 new flexible-use licenses in the 3.45 to 3.55 GHz band divided into ten 10-megahertz blocks licensed by geographic areas known as Partial Economic Areas (PEAs).  In the first phase of the auction, the clock phase, bidders will bid on generic blocks in each geographic area.  In the second phase, the assignment phase, they will bid on frequency-specific license assignments.  The notice announces upfront payment and minimum opening bid amounts as well as the availability of bidding credit discounts for eligible small businesses, rural service providers, and for the deployment of facilities and services to qualified federally recognized tribal lands.  

“This is a critical step toward delivering on the promise of 5G,” said Rosenworcel.  “This auction will bring us closer to 5G service that is fast, secure, resilient, and most importantly, available across the country.  I want to thank the great FCC staff for their work on this as well as our partners in the National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the Department of Defense.”

The Public Notice sets a reserve price of approximately $14.7 billion.  By releasing the Public Notice and setting a bidding start date of October 5, the FCC is fulfilling Congress’s directive in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, to begin auctioning these airwaves by December 31, 2021. 

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Alibaba Cloud to open first data center in the Philippines

Alibaba Cloud announced plans to build its first data center in the Philippines by the end of this year. 

The new data center will extend the reach of Alibaba Cloud’s offerings in the Philippines, ranging from elastic compute, database, security and network services to machine learning and data analytics capabilities. Local businesses across sectors such as financial technology (FinTech), e-commerce, education and media will be able to adopt and implement cloud technologies more efficiently and better position themselves to capture the emerging opportunities in the country. The facility will be located in Manila.

“Cloud computing has become central to the digitalization of businesses in the Philippines and around Asia. With our first data center in the country, we will be able to better support Philippine enterprises in adopting cloud technologies and preparing for a digital-first future. We look forward to building out the cloud ecosystem in the Philippines and contributing to the digital economy in Asia, leveraging the synergy with other hubs in the region,” said Leo Liu, General Manager for Hong Kong, Macau, and Philippines, Alibaba Cloud Intelligence.

“Alibaba Cloud’s upcoming data center launch underscores our commitment to equipping Philippine customers with secure, reliable and scalable cloud solutions. It is important for local enterprises to have access to reliable cloud architecture to efficiently meet the evolving needs of Filipino consumers. We are glad to be in a position to provide local enterprises with the tools they need to succeed,” said Allen Guo, Country Manager for the Philippines, Alibaba Cloud Intelligence.

https://ph.alibabacloud.com

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Viavi enhances its Optical Network Monitoring

Viavi Solutions introduced multiple new capabilities for its Optical Network Monitoring Solutions (ONMS) family of remote test and monitoring solutions. 

Highlights:

• A new, patented Flash Fiber Monitoring feature for ONMSi and SmartOTU software that enables operators to detect and locate a flash attenuation that causes network route flapping and burst network error conditions. Viavi says the feature is 100 to 300 times faster than traditional monitoring, with performance that can detect flash attenuation in an unprecedented one-tenth of a second. Network route flapping is one of the most common but damaging and difficult problems to diagnose.  Until now, operators had no way to detect or locate flash attenuation events that are a root cause of millions of communication errors globally every year.
• New iOTDR Micro and Nano cards that enable NEMs to integrate optical time-domain reflectometer (OTDR) technology into their elements at a low price, with low power and a small footprint. The advanced software library for the cards provides operators with the industry’s most diverse range of uses cases via an element-integrated iOTDR solution, potentially saving NEM R&D teams 2–3-person years of development time. The cards support NEMs and their efforts for operators with an unmatched range of applications that include fiber characterization, fiber monitoring, tapping security intrusion detection, fault demarcation, Raman amplified link test, and tracking fiber degradation for preventative maintenance.
• New fiber network analytics using the NITRO BI Fiber Insight Platform for ONMSi, automate fiber diagnostics to proactively eliminate risks and create a prioritized network performance improvement action plan. The fiber trends and aging use cases allow operators to see simplified reporting across the entire fiber network to revise procedures.  All fibers can be graded by the cable, customer, network location down to the root cause fault type – turning mountains of raw data into actionable insight.

"With these additions to the ONMS line, VIAVI innovation continues to lead the industry in helping customers scale construction and maintain performance of critical fiber infrastructure to alleviate years of workload on network staff," said Kevin Oliver, Vice President and General Manager, Converged Instruments and Virtual Test, VIAVI. "With the ability to proactively monitor fiber using automated, remote test capabilities ­– service providers, NEMS and hyperscale operators can reduce expensive downtime and repair dispatch using proactive, assessment of the network health, improving the performance, reliability and customer satisfaction across the fiber lifecycle." 

http://www.viavisolutions.com

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