Monday, August 23, 2021

Zayo lays out its 400G upgrade plan

Zayo announced the planned deployment of thirty-one high capacity, 400G-enabled long haul routes across North America and Western Europe. The significant network update is expected through Q1 of 2022. Up to 800G transmission will be available in select areas as Zayo deploys significant speed enhancements in anticipation of future network needs.

“400G is rapidly becoming the prevailing requirement for networks and Zayo is breaking new ground with its 800G capabilities,” said Brian Lillie, Chief Product and Technology Officer. “This deployment underscores Zayo’s commitment to maintaining the leading edge of communications infrastructure and providing state-of-the art network solutions critical to our customers’ digital transformation journeys.”

Zayo said its optimized wavelength network is designed to provide a direct route for multi-cloud and multi-market connectivity, ideal for content providers, hyperscalers, carriers and data centers. The upgrade will also enable reduced physical space requirements as well as reduced operation and maintenance costs resulting from a 40% reduction in power consumption.

http://wwww.zayo.is/400G

Zayo appoints Steve Smith as its new CEO

Zayo Group named Steve Smith as Chief Executive Officer, replacing Dan Caruso.. Smith was recently a Managing Director of the Private Equity firm GI Partners. Before that, he was CEO of Equinix for over 10 years, growing revenues from $400 million to $4.4 billion across 200 data centers, in 52 markets. He is a West Point graduate and an 8-year Army veteran.“Steve’s track record successfully managing growing digital infrastructure businesses...

Seaborn appoints Steve Orlando as CEO

Seaborn Networks appointed Steve Orlando as its new Chief Executive Officer.Orlando brings 27 years of experience across senior leadership positions at Zayo Group, Orlando joins Seaborn from Zayo Group, where he served as the Senior Vice President of Fiber and Network Solutions. In this role, he led product, operations and network development to support indirect and direct sales for the organization across 18 states in the Central Region. He...

Citing increased demand to 100G ports, Zayo announced a significant boost to its IP Transit capacity in key metro markets across the United States. Zayo recently completed upgrades to support 100G IP Transit in Phoenix, San Jose and Denver. These three metro areas join Atlanta, Boston, New York, Miami, San Francisco and Seattle in benefiting from Zayo’s 100G enabled services. “We're also meeting requests from higher bandwidth consumers as they...

Zayo adds U.S. wavelength routes

Zayo announced four new long-haul optical wavelength routes in the U.S: Miami to New Orleans features a high-capacity DWDM network, an architecture used to increase bandwidth. This route, which provides a diverse route out of Miami, provides an option for Latin American carriers that require backhaul from cable landing stations in the area. With completion expected in the third calendar quarter, the route will expand Zayo’s growing presence in...


Djibouti Telecom doubles capacity of DARE1 cable with Ciena

Djibouti Telecom is deploying Ciena’s GeoMesh Extreme submarine network solution to upgrade its DARE1 (Djibouti Africa Regional Express1) network serving the East Africa region. The upgrade utilizes Ciena's 6500 Packet-Optical Platform powered by the WaveLogic family, allowing a doubling of line rates to 400 Gbps. Spectrum Sharing capabilities enable the partitioning of submarine optical spectrum to different end users for more efficient use of undersea assets. The network is managed via Ciena’s Manage, Control and Plan (MCP) domain controller.

Located on the northeast coast of the Horn of Africa, Djibouti is situated on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait—one of the world’s busiest shipping routes serving the Indian Ocean and Red Sea. The nation is a connectivity hub for East Africa, made possible by state-owned network provider Djibouti Telecom.


As part of a consortium of telecoms operators, Djibouti Telecom operates eight submarine cable systems, including DARE1, which crosses Djibouti, Kenya, and Somalia. The 5,000 km network, which connects the countries to data centers and content providers around the world, offers businesses and citizens access to internet, mobile, and global cloud services. 

http://www.ciena.com

DARE-1 subsea cable enters service to East Africa

The Djibouti Africa Regional Express (DARE) submarine cable system has entered service in East Africa and the Horn of Africa. 

The 4,900 km cable links Djibouti, Somalia and Kenya. The project was funded by Djibouti Telecom, Somtel, Hormuud Telecom and Telkom Kenya. Total investment was US$81 million.

DARE-1 has a design capacity of 36 Tbps, making it the largest in the region.

https://international.djiboutitelecom.dj/dare1/internet-le-cable-dare-1-mis-en-service/

IBM Telum Processor features interconnect to link up to 32 chips

IBM unveiled its upcoming Telum Processor for artificial intelligence applications. A Telum-based system is planned for the first half of 2022.

Telum is IBM's first processor that contains on-chip acceleration for AI inferencing while a transaction is taking place. The chip contains 8 processor cores with a deep super-scalar out-of-order instruction pipeline, running with more than 5GHz clock frequency, optimized for the demands of heterogenous enterprise class workloads. The completely redesigned cache and chip-interconnection infrastructure provides 32MB cache per core, and can scale to 32 Telum chips. The dual-chip module design contains 22 billion transistors and 19 miles of wire on 17 metal layers.

The chip is developed in Samsung's 7nm EUV technology node.

IBM said its Telum processor excels in AI-specific workloads, such financial services workloads like fraud detection, loan processing, clearing and settlement of trades, anti-money laundering and risk analysis. 

https://newsroom.ibm.com/2021-08-23-IBM-Unveils-On-Chip-Accelerated-Artificial-Intelligence-Processor

Intel secures foundry contract in Pentagon's RAMP-C program

The U.S. Department of Defense awarded Intel an agreement to provide commercial foundry services in the first phase of its multi-phase Rapid Assured Microelectronics Prototypes - Commercial (RAMP-C) program. 

The RAMP-C program was created to facilitate the use of a U.S.-based commercial semiconductor foundry ecosystem to fabricate the assured leading-edge custom and integrated circuits and commercial products required for critical Department of Defense systems. In October 2020, DOD launched the RAMP program using the Advanced Commercial Capabilities Project Phase 1 Other Transaction Authority. 

The contract was awarded to the newly established Intel Foundry Services business through the NSTXL consortium-based S2MARTS OTA. Financial terms were not disclosed.

“One of the most profound lessons of the past year is the strategic importance of semiconductors, and the value to the United States of having a strong domestic semiconductor industry. Intel is the sole American company both designing and manufacturing logic semiconductors at the leading edge of technology. When we launched Intel Foundry Services earlier this year, we were excited to have the opportunity to make our capabilities available to a wider range of partners, including in the U.S. government, and it is great to see that potential being fulfilled through programs like RAMP-C,” stated Pat Gelsinger, Intel CEO

Under RAMP-C Intel Foundry Services will partner with industry leaders, including IBM, Cadence, Synopsys and others, to support the U.S. government’s needs for designing and manufacturing assured integrated circuits by establishing and demonstrating a semiconductor IP ecosystem to develop and fabricate test chips on Intel 18A, Intel’s most advanced process technology.

“The RAMP-C program will enable both commercial foundry customers and the Department of Defense to take advantage of Intel’s significant investments in leading-edge process technologies,” said Randhir Thakur, Intel Foundry Services president. “Along with our customers and ecosystem partners, including IBM, Cadence, Synopsys and others, we will help bolster the domestic semiconductor supply chain and ensure the United States maintains leadership in both R&D and advanced manufacturing. We look forward to a long-term collaboration with the U.S. government as we deliver RAMP-C program milestones.”

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/newsroom/news/intel-wins-us-project-develop-foundry-ecosystem.html 

U.S. DoD backs Intel for semiconductor packaging tech

The U.S. Department of Defense awarded a contract to Intel to enable the U.S. government to access Intel’s state-of-the-art semiconductor packaging capabilities in Arizona and Oregon.

The project, which is supported by the DoD's State-of-the-Art Heterogeneous Integration Prototype (SHIP) program,  is executed by the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division, and administered by the National Security Technology Accelerator.

The second phase of SHIP will develop prototypes of multichip packages and accelerate advancement of interface standards, protocols and security for heterogeneous systems. SHIP prototypes will integrate special-purpose government chips with Intel’s advanced, commercially available silicon products, including field programmable gate arrays, application-specific integrated circuits and CPUs. This combination of technologies provides new paths for the U.S. government’s industry partners to develop and modernize the government’s mission-critical systems while taking advantage of Intel’s U.S. manufacturing capabilities.

Heterogeneous packaging allows the assembly of multiple, separately manufactured integrated circuit dies (chips) onto a single package to increase performance while reducing power, size and weight. SHIP provides the U.S. government access to Intel’s advanced heterogeneous packaging technologies, including embedded multi-die interconnect bridge (EMIB), 3D Foveros and Co-EMIB (combining both EMIB and Foveros).

“Intel and the U.S. government share a priority to advance domestic semiconductor manufacturing technology. The SHIP program will enable the Department of Defense to take advantage of Intel’s advanced semiconductor packaging capabilities, diversifying their supply chain and protecting their intellectual property while also supporting ongoing semiconductor R&D in the U.S. and preserving critical capabilities onshore,” stated Jim Brinker, president and general manager of Intel Federal LLC.

“To ensure that the U.S. defense industry base can continue to deliver state-of-the-art electronics for national security, it is imperative that the Department of Defense (DoD) partners with leading U.S. semiconductor companies," Nicole Petta, principal director of microelectronics, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. "The DoD microelectronics roadmap recognizes the importance of strategic partnerships with industry. The roadmap also prioritizes and recognizes that as process scaling slows, heterogeneous assembly technology is a critical investment for both the DoD and our nation. SHIP directly contributes to advancing the objectives outlined in the DoD roadmap and the DoD looks forward to working with Intel, a world leader in this technology.”

http://www.intel.com




In 2018, Intel demonstrated a new 3D packaging technology, called "Foveros," which for the first time brings 3D stacking to logic-on-logic integration. Foveros will will allow products to be broken up into smaller “chiplets,” where I/O, SRAM and power delivery circuits can be fabricated in a base die and high-performance logic chiplets are stacked on top. The first Foveros product will combine a high-performance 10nm compute-stacked chiplet with a low-power 22FFL base die. 

IDC forecasts Managed Edge Services market to reach $2.8B in 2025

Worldwide revenues for managed edge services will reach $445.3 million in 2021, an increase of 43.5% over 2020, according to a new forecast from International Data Corporation (IDC). Over the 2021-2025 forecast period, the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for managed edge services is expected to be 55.1%.

IDC said it believes public cloud providers, or hyperscalers, will be key enablers of edge services through the partnerships they are establishing with 5G service providers. 


"Managed edge services represent a significant monetization opportunity for service providers to capitalize on their investment in edge compute," says Ghassan Abdo, research vice president, Worldwide Telecom, Virtualization, and CDN, IDC. "At the same time, service providers are keenly aware of the potential impact of the edge on their current market position and are watching closely for unforeseen competition from adjacent markets and new disruptors. Technology vendors including network equipment providers (NEPs) and software, datacenter, and networking vendors are vying to shape this market and play a significant role in delivering innovative edge services."

IDC identified three primary deployment models for managed edge services.

  • On-premises deployment: This represents managed edge use cases where the edge compute infrastructure is deployed at the enterprises' premises, also referred to as private deployment. This deployment model is intended to address the need for extra low latency and is applicable to industrial use cases, healthcare, and AR/VR applications.
  • Service provider edge deployment: This represents managed edge services provided by edge compute deployed at the provider edge, both fixed and mobile. IDC expects this deployment model to spur development of a wide range of vertical use cases.
  • CDN edge deployment: This represents managed edge services provided by edge compute deployed at the CDN POPs or edge locations. These use cases will enhance content delivery with personalized, high-fidelity, and interactive rich media customer experience.

IDC projects the on-premises edge to be the fastest-growing segment with a five-year CAGR of 74.5%. The service provider edge will be the second-fastest growing segment with a CAGR of 59.2%, which will enable it to become the largest market segment by 2022. The CDN edge segment is expected to have a five-year CAGR of 41.9%.

https://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS48179321


Prysmian to invest $85M to expand fiber manufacturing in North America

Prysmian Group is investing $85 million in major equipment and technology upgrades at plants in North America.

The company said most of these investments and upgrades will take place at the Prysmian Group Claremont, N.C. facility to expand production of optical products. Additionally, the Claremont facility is expected to grow to 620 employees in the next 18 months, adding up to 70 new jobs.

“Prysmian Group is committed to support the growth necessary to expand access to high-speed broadband in North America,” said Andrea Pirondini, Chief Executive Officer of Prysmian Group North America “The U.S. Rural Digital Opportunity Fund and the Canadian Universal Broadband Fund will also help build local economies and provide access to healthcare services and education opportunities. Prysmian Group continues to experience strong demand in North America for optical fiber in the telecom sector, and is proud to play a lead role as an enabler of the digital transformation across the Country. With these investments, we can continue to meet customer needs in support of 5G development in the U.S. and Canada.” ended Pirondini.

With a strong legacy in manufacturing optical fiber and cable for a broad range of applications, the Group has four telecom production sites in the United States. In particular, the Claremont R&D center is the only one of its kind, co-located in a joint optical fiber and optical fiber cable manufacturing facility. 

https://www.prysmiangroup.com/en/press-releases/prysmian-group-investing-to-support-broadband-development-and-5g-in-north-america

Nokia expands 5G radio and core deal with A1 Telekom Austria Group

A1 Telekom Austria Group (A1) selected Nokia to extend its 5G footprint outside of Austria into Bulgaria, Serbia, and Slovenia. The multi-country single vendor deal will see Nokia provide 5G RAN solutions from its  AirScale portfolio to all three markets and 5G Standalone core network to Serbia and Slovenia. Financial terms were not disclosed. 


Nokia, which is already providing comprehensive 5G coverage across Austria, is a long-standing partner of A1 and had worked collaboratively to introduce 3G and 4G mobile networks as well as Austria's largest fiber-optic network and multiple private wireless campus installations.

Tommi Uitto, President of Mobile Networks, Nokia, said: “We are delighted to have been selected by A1 Telekom Austria Group to support their rollout of our AirScale 5G RAN and core technology across Bulgaria, Serbia and Slovenia. They continue to place their trust in our technology and are committed to delivering best-in-class services to their subscribers around the world. We look forward to working collaboratively with them moving forward.”


Cambodia's SINET upgrades with Juniper

SINET, one of Cambodia’s largest internet and telecommunication service providers, has selected Juniper Networks to upgrade its network infrastructure., accelerating time-to-value for customers in Cambodia. 

SINET currently operates over 200 active network points of presence (POPs) in main cities, provincial towns, remote districts and villages across Cambodia. SINET will upgrade its Ethernet Virtual Private Network – Virtual Extensible LAN (EPVN-VxLAN) IP Fabric and Metro-Ethernet transport networks. The network upgrades includes:

  • Juniper's QFX Series Switches, which provide the building blocks for SINET EVPN-VxLAN IP Fabric.
  • Juniper's ACX Series Universal Metro Routers supporting SINET’s latest 200G Metro-Ethernet expansion project, bolstering its nationwide fiber network and maintaining its competitiveness with one of Cambodia’s most advanced networks.



“It is an honor to be chosen by one of Cambodia’s largest network providers, and we are excited to empower SINET in connecting millions of users through simple, fast and reliable network systems. By providing flexible and easily scalable network solutions, I am confident that we will be able to support SINET’s continued growth and to help deliver high-performance connectivity to the digitally vibrant communities across urban and rural Cambodia," stated Perry Sui, Senior Director, ASEAN/Taiwan, Juniper Networks.