Acacia debuts single-carrier 1.2 Tbps pluggable powered by new DSP

Acacia, which is now part of Cisco, introduced the first, single-carrier 1.2 terabits per second (1.2T) faceplate pluggable coherent module powered by its "Jannu" 5nm CMOS digital signal processor (DSP) ASIC. 

The new 1.2 Tbps pluggable, which represents the 8th generation of Acacia's coherent module family, combines the Jannu DSP with 3D Siliconization packaging technology, including the silicon photonics integrated circuit (SiPh PIC), high-speed modulator driver and transimpedance amplifier (TIA) in a single opto-electronic package.

“Today is an exciting new milestone in Acacia’s history as we once again introduce an exciting new product that delivers the type of disruption needed to cost-effectively scale network capacity in the future,” said Mehrdad Givehchi, Sr. Director of Engineering for Hardware and Software and Founder at Acacia. “With every generation of product, we have been able to deliver higher transmission data rates, lower power consumption and higher performance and I am proud to see this new product carry on that legacy.”

Acacia notes that its new Coherent Interconnect Module 8 (CIM 8) can address transmission of multiple 400GbE client interfaces, delivering 1.2T per carrier capacity for high-capacity DCI interfaces and 800G per carrier capacity over most optical links using 4 bits/symbol (~16QAM) modulation.

The Jannu DSP features Acacia’s second-generation 3D Shaping technology, which leverages enhanced probabilistic constellation shaping (PCS) algorithms and Adaptive Baud Rate. This provides continuous baud rate adjustment up to 140Gbaud to optimize utilization of available spectrum in a single-span or in cascaded ROADM paths. The Jannu DSP also includes Acacia’s advanced line-rate processing algorithms to efficiently overcome fiber transmission impairments over greenfield or brownfield fiber infrastructures. These power-efficient algorithms are designed to compensate linear and non-linear impairments, as well as provide state-of-polarization (SOP) tracking with industry leading response times. In addition, the Jannu DSP leverages Acacia’s new soft-decision error correction (SD-FEC) to further enhance performance.

https://acacia-inc.com/blog/acacia-unveils-industrys-first-single-carrier-1-2t-multi-haul-pluggable-module/

Read More

Telefónica chooses IBM, Red Hat, Juniper for UNICA Next 5G core

Telefónica will use IBM intelligent automation software and services to implement UNICA Next – Telefónica's first-ever, cloud-native, 5G core network platform.

Specifically, Telefónica has engaged IBM Global Business Services, a leading systems integrator and the digital transformation services and consultancy arm of IBM, Red Hat and Juniper networking to deploy the cloud-native platform. The platform is planned to be a new open-standard open-networking technology compliant platform that will be deployed across multiple central, regional, and distributed data centers offering low latency and high bandwidth, while able to deliver services in an agile manner. UNICA Next data centers are planned to be deployed starting in October 2021 and its scalable architecture is designed to address ETSI and other relevant industry standards.

The new network is built on IBM Cloud Pak for Network Automation, Red Hat OpenShift, and Juniper Networks Apstra and QFX technology aligned to deliver streamlined end-to-end orchestration and operations. 

IBM says the integration of its automation software  with UNICA Next allows for intent-driven orchestration supporting the end-to-end lifecycle management of different network cloud elements and network functions, including 5G core. 

"Building out the UNICA Next platform with its next-generation network architecture shows how important it is to build the infrastructure now to support the deployment of 5G. 5G has the potential to support thousands of use cases and applications for consumers and enterprises in all industries. Our collaboration will not only help us to harness the potential of 5G, but also prepare for the future through a hybrid-cloud led technology and business transformation. With IBM, Telefónica is combining the latency and bandwidth advancements of 5G with the customization and intelligence of the cloud: we anticipate the results will be transformative in Europe and beyond," said Javier Gutierrez, director of strategy, network, and IT development for Telefónica.

https://newsroom.ibm.com/2021-09-23-Telefonica-Chooses-IBM-To-Implement-Its-First-Ever-Cloud-Native-5G-Core-Network-Platform

Read More

Ekinops expands collaboration with the b<>com research institute

Ekinops announced a new research collaboration with b<>com, a private Institute of Research and Technology in France with labs in Rennes, Paris, Brest, and Lannion.

The collaboration, which utilizes b<>com's private-public partnership model, will see the two organizations work together to develop technologies for private cloud infrastructures with use cases in eHealth, artificial intelligence and telecoms. The collaboration will focus on developing new generations of hardware and software platforms using a bare-metal "service containers" approach that optimizes resource allocation while meeting evolving connectivity demands in solutions that are robust, compact and easily integrated into any environment. It will also look to develop solutions that are flexible enough to host services that can support IoT or Edge Computing use cases, such as real-time pattern or object recognition, Cloud services while offering 4G, 5G or fiber access.

Ekinops has previously collaborated with b<>com on optical transport solutions.

"Having already successfully applied virtualization to business use cases with our OneOS6-LIM technology, this new research collaboration will allow us to address different environments and services. A bare-metal integrated container approach in OneOS6 would offer the benefits of both worlds of physical (pCPE) and virtualized (uCPE) platforms," comments Sylvain Quartier, VP Marketing & Product Strategy Access at Ekinops. "We are delighted to have found with b<>com, once again, ambitious technological innovation supporting companies, and it is with great motivation that we continue our collaboration with their experts," he adds.

"Our ambition is to imagine the private networks of tomorrow while meeting the needs of companies today," says Mathieu Lagrange, Director of Networks and Security at b<>com. "The challenges of the transformation that lies ahead are numerous, whether it is AI or real-time computing, for example, to serve the performance, resilience and security of these future networks. The results of our joint research will probably be applied first to very demanding uses in terms of security and processing of high-definition video streams with very low latency, for example in the healthcare field," he concludes.

"Ekinops' ambition is to have a product ready for the market in 2022. This will most likely apply to the field of cyber security, a strong topic for us in the context of our SD-WAN Xpress solution," adds Sylvain Quartier.

http://www.ekinops.com

Read More

Equinix builds 5G edge-to-cloud sandbox with Nokia

Equinix has established a 5G and Edge Technology Development Center at its Infomart facility in Dallas to provide a production-ready interconnection sandbox environment from the radio network to the cloud. The facility includes a fully operational, non-standalone 5G network from Nokia to test and validate various 5G services and use cases. 

Equinix says its new 5G and Edge Technology Development Center will bring together mobile network operators (MNOs), cloud platforms, technology vendors and enterprises  to test, demonstrate and accelerate complex 5G and edge scenarios—key activities that will make 5G deployments available to enterprises in the future. Equinix Fabric directly, securely and dynamically connects distributed infrastructure and digital ecosystems on Platform Equinix. Customers can establish data center-to-data center network connections on demand between any two Equinix Fabric locations within a metro or globally via software-defined interconnection.

"As we look to a future where 5G is ubiquitous, the way that IP traffic moves between networks around the world will change completely, and interconnected data centers will play a crucial role in this new 5G-dominated future," said Sean Hemphill, VP Webscale Business at Nokia. "Equinix's approach to digital infrastructure enables access to a large ecosystem of end users and service providers. Nokia IP solutions underpin Equinix Fabric, providing seamless interconnection between its global data centers. We're pleased that Equinix Fabric will bring the power of interconnection to help customers test real-world 5G and edge deployments."

"As companies develop new 5G technologies and services, they need a real-world environment to test and bring their concepts to life," said Justin Dustzadeh, CTO, Equinix. "With Equinix's rich ecosystem of service providers, partners and clouds, the 5G and Edge Technology Development Center is an ideal place to fully test their concepts in a real way, enabling them to bring new capabilities to market, accelerate adoption and deliver new revenue streams faster."

Jim Poole, VP Business Development, Equinix added, "We're excited to invite private enterprises, commercial organizations and researchers across industries to Dallas to test, validate and accelerate complex 5G deployments and interoperability scenarios."

Equinix to acquire iconic Infomart Dallas colo data center for $800m

Wednesday, February 14, 2018  Equinix  

Equinix has agreed to acquire the Infomart Dallas data center, including its operations and tenants, from ASB Real Estate Investments for $800 million.

The iconic Infomart building, which is located at 1950 N. Stemmons Freeway in Dallas, is one of the largest interconnection hubs in the U.S. and one of the largest buildings in Texas at 1.6 million square feet (147,094.2 m2) over 7 floors.Infomart is currently home to four of eight Equinix Dallas International Business Exchange (IBX) data centers (DA1, DA2, DA3 and DA6), which combined, support approximately 3,500 built out cabinets.

Equinix said the transaction increases the number of its owned assets by four, increasing recurring revenue from owned assets to more than 45 percent. The facility offers multiple, diverse fiber entry points, and provides significant expansion opportunities to Equinix through the existing underdeveloped capacity (approximately 11MW of power), as well as the potential to develop additional capacity (approximately 40MW of power) on land adjacent to the Infomart building. It currently has approximately 45 tenants, including networks, colocation providers, office tenants and Equinix. Today, Equinix is the largest tenant accounting for approximately 40 percent of the lease revenues from the facilities

Read More

BT to employ Oracle's Cloud Native Converged Policy Mgt

BT Group has selected Oracle Communications' Cloud Native Converged Policy Management to optimize its network resources and bring new 5G offerings to market faster. 

Oracle's solution will enable BT to quickly and seamlessly test and implement 5G services—such as live streaming and zero-rated 5G content—across its EE mobile network.

The policy design engine will enable BT to test and quickly implement new 5G service plans and experiences, such as live streaming and augmented reality (AR), reducing testing and implementation time to a matter of minutes, instead of months. Oracle's policy management will also give BT the flexibility to optimize network and subscriber resources to launch 5G-enabled Internet of Things (IoT) service offerings to consumer and enterprise customers.

"BT Group, and EE in particular, have a long-standing, successful track record with Oracle," said Howard Watson, Chief Technology Officer, BT. "As we move to this next evolution in networking, Oracle is helping us reduce complexity with solutions that ease the migration to 5G and provide the flexibility needed both to introduce innovative new services, and also ensure we're offering our customers the right levels of service according to their needs. Working with Oracle further supports our ambitions towards delivering a mobile network that continues to exceed customer expectations."

"Oracle Communications technology is helping forward-thinking operators such as BT, future-proof their 5G vision," said Andrew Morawski, senior vice president and general manager, Oracle Communications, Networks. "With a unified, future-ready policy management platform, BT can optimize network resources appropriately and bring new, innovative services and experiences to customers more quickly."

https://www.oracle.com/news/announcement/bt-and-oracle-accelerate-delivery-of-5g-services-2021-09-23/

Read More

Airtel picks Tejas Networks for DWDM/OTN in key cities

Bharti Airtel has selected Tejas Networks to expand its optical network capacity in key metropolitan markets.

Tejas will supply, install and support its TJ1600 DWDM/OTN products for extending Airtel's optical networks towards the edge, supporting 5G backhaul, B2B services and broadband applications. 

Mr. Randeep Sekhon, Chief Technology Officer of Bharti Airtel said, "Airtel has been making significant investments in expanding its metro network capacity as part of its 5G readiness and for catering to increased bandwidth consumption by fixed-line and enterprise customers. We are delighted to partner with Tejas in this key network intervention that will enable us to deliver world-class experience to our customers."                                                              

Mr. Sanjay Nayak, Managing Director and CEO of Tejas Networks said, "We are delighted to expand our decade-long partnership with Airtel, which has established itself as one of the premier telecom service providers in the world. Under this new contract, we will provide our multi-terabit TJ1600 DWDM/OTN products to augment Airtel's metro network capacity right up the network edge. We are happy to see that our TJ1600 platform, with its "pay-as-you-grow" modular design supporting 100Gbps to 600Gbps wavelengths and a universal OTN/DWDM architecture offering advanced bandwidth expansion and optimization, is gaining significant traction among leading telecom service providers around the globe."

http://www.tejasnetworks.com 

Read More

China Mobile awards largest contract to ZTE for high-end routers

ZTE confirmed that it has secured a 50% share of section 4 of China Mobile’s high-end router/switch centralized procurement 2021-2022, which is the largest one in the high-end router centralized procurement of China Mobile, containing the largest number of equipment.

ZTE will provide the routers to take the role of SR (Service Router) and PE (Provider Edge) in such scenarios as cloud private network, network cloud, 5G UPF (User Plane Function), IP private network and MAN (Metropolitan Area Network). ZTE will also provide necessary equipment for the future IP network of China Mobile, especially cloud private networks and 5G transport networks.  

ZTE's high-end router ZXR10 M6000-S supports SR/EVPN/SRv6/BIER. The router employs the in-house NP (Network Processor) to enable the single-slot 1T performance, and reaches the industry-leading standards in forwarding performance, energy-saving and SDN. 

Read More

Spark expands 5G rollout in New Zealand with Nokia

Spark has again selected Nokia for its expanded 5G rollout across New Zealand.  The goal is to provide 5G coverage to approximately 90 percent of the population by the end of 2023. 

Under the deal, Nokia RAN equipment will be used to upgrade parts of Spark’s mobile network using products from its latest AirScale radio portfolio, all powered by Nokia’s ReefShark System-on-Chip technology.

Nokia’s AirScale portfolio equipment is also software upgradeable from 3G/4G to 5G, enabling Spark to remotely upgrade 4G sites to 5G, when required. Together this energy efficiency and upgradeability makes Spark’s network investment future proof while also lowering its total cost of ownership.

Nokia has a long-standing partnership with Spark and has delivered several projects across Spark’s network including 5G RAN, IP, core, and optical transport. Rob Joyce, Chief Technology Officer of Australia and New Zealand at Nokia, said: “We’re proud to support Spark as it delivers the benefits of 5G to more of New Zealand. By helping Spark be 5G ready and reduce its total cost of ownership with our AirScale products, it can deliver 5G much faster and further than before, allowing its consumer and enterprise customers to reap the rewards of 5G in more and more places across New Zealand.”

Spark New Zealand launches 5G with Nokia

Wednesday, October 14, 2020  New Zealand, Nokia  

Spark New Zealand launched 5G services in the Auckland Viaduct area using Nokia’s AirScale radio portfolio. 

Spark New Zealand and Nokia have a long-established relationship, crossing multiple domains, including IP, optical and wireless. Nokia and Spark have collaborated extensively on 5G technology, with Nokia supporting Spark’s 5G networks across New Zealand. The service rollout in Auckland adds to Nokia’s solid 5G momentum in the region, while it allows Spark to offer additional services in high traffic areas.

New Zealand blocks Huawei from 5G Infrastructure

Wednesday, November 28, 2018  Huawei, New Zealand  

The government of New Zealand will block Huawei from participating in 5G infrastructure.

Spark New Zealand disclosed that the Director-General of the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) has notified the company of the decision based on national security concerns.

Spark was planning on deploying Huawei equipment in its 5G RAN rollout. Spark said is disappointed by the decision but remains on track to launch 5G services by mid-2020.

Read More

Effect Photonics to open Boston office

EFFECT Photonics, which is a spin-off from the Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands, announced plans to open an office in the Boston area. 

EFFECT says its US-based team will be a customer-focused expansion of the engineering, product testing & verification, customer support and marketing capacity to complement its European teams.

"Photonics is a global industry and we have the goal to be a global company. We are a fast growing organisation, offering compelling and innovative integrated photonic solutions. Expanding our geographic presence beyond The Netherlands, the UK and Taiwan, offers us the opportunity to be at the heart of one of our largest markets and to be closer to our customers and partners in the region,” states James Regan, CEO.

https://effectphotonics.com/effect-photonics-facility-in-the-us/

EFFECT Photonics raises $43 million for system-on-chip

Sunday, April 25, 2021  Academia, Funding, Netherlands, Start-Ups  

EFFECT Photonics, a developer of DWDM components based on its optical System-on-Chip technology, announced $43 million in Series-C funding.

EFFECT Photonics, which is a spin-off from the Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands, has developed a photonic chip in which light signals can be generated, modulated, filtered, and detected. 

The first close of the investment round, was co-led by Smile Invest together with existing investor Innovation Industries Fund, exactly one year after announcing the tape-out of its Manta full photonic integration coherent PIC. Smile Invest are joined by existing investors including Innovation Industries Fund, Photon Delta, btov Partners, Brabant Development Agency (BOM) and individual investors. This new round of funding will be used to further expand the current product line of optical transceivers for among other things 5G networks, and to scale up production capacity. In addition, the R&D activities for the next generation of optical chips, with capacity of more than 400 gigabits per second, will also be ramped up.

Boudewijn Docter, one of the founders and President of EFFECT Photonics: “As a company, we have come a long way to make the photonics technology market-ready. We are pleased that Invest-NL is joining our other investors in helping us scale up our production and enabling us to bring additional products to market quicker”.

Ruud Zandvliet, Senior Investment Manager at Invest-NL: “The Netherlands has a unique ecosystem for photonics technologies. EFFECT Photonics is a leading player in this field, capable of developing complex, fully integrated photonic chips. This offers the company the opportunity be a leading player as a manufacturer of the next generation of transceivers. By joining this investment round, Invest-NL contributes to the availability of financing for upscaling and future R&D investments. This is a good example of the role Invest-NL plays in increasing the strength of scale-ups and is in line with our objective of making the Netherlands more sustainable and innovative.

https://effectphotonics.com/

Read More