FCC's mid-band spectrum auction hits $672M on first day

The Federal Communications Commission kicked off its auction of 100 megahertz of contiguous, 3.45 GHz mid-band spectrum.  

“We are moving with record speed and collaboration to free up more mid-band spectrum for 5G,” said FCC Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel.  “These airwaves are a critical part of unlocking the 5G promise everywhere in the country.  I want to thank the FCC staff who have worked so hard to start this auction this year.  And I want to thank our partners at NTIA and the Department of Defense for working with us to free up this spectrum for 5G.”

As required by law, auction proceeds must cover 110% of the expected sharing and relocation costs for federal users currently operating in the band – in this case $14,775,354,330, based on a January 14, 2021 estimate from NTIA.

The FCC adopted flexible use service rules for the 3.45 GHz band in March 2021 and established procedures for Auction 110 in June.  License winners will operate within a cooperative sharing framework that will enable commercial use by an array of service providers, while also ensuring that federal incumbents are still protected from harmful interference where and when they require continued access to the band. 

After 2 rounds on the first day, bidding reached $672,410,700.

https://www.fcc.gov/auction/110

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VMware's Cross-Cloud service promises agnostic approach

At this week's virtual VMworld 2021, VMware launched new Cross-Cloud services for providing customers with the ability to build, run and better secure apps across any cloud. 

VMware Cross-Cloud services is comprised of five core building blocks:

• A state-of-the-art platform for building and deploying cloud-native apps;
• Cloud infrastructure for operating and running enterprise apps;
• Cloud management for monitoring and managing the performance and cost of apps across different clouds;
• Security and networking that spans across entire multi-cloud operations to connect and better secure all apps; and,
• A digital workspace to empower the distributed workforce along with edge solutions to deploy and manage edge-native apps.

“Multi-cloud is the digital business model for the next 20 years, as entire industries reinvent themselves,” said Raghu Raghuram, chief executive officer, VMware. “It’s no longer about a ‘cloud-first’ approach – it’s about being ‘cloud-smart’. Organizations should have the freedom to choose the ’right’ cloud, based on their strategic business goals. With our cloud-agnostic approach, we are uniquely positioned to meet our customers where they are and take them where they want to go. We give every organization the power to accelerate their innovation and control their own destiny in the multi-cloud era.”

http://www.vmware.com

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Marvell looks to TSMC's 3nm for custom ASICs

Marvell will use TSMC’s 3nm process technology to offer custom silicon for cloud data center, 5G carrier, automotive and enterprise markets.

Marvell is first to introduce a silicon platform that leverages 3nm process technology, advanced die-to-die interface IP, and TSMC’s advanced 2.5D Chip-on-Wafer-on-Substrate (CoWoS) packaging technology.

“Marvell is proud to be the lead ve3nm3nmndor to offer a 3nm platform for cloud-optimized solutions,” said Sandeep Bharathi, Executive Vice President, Central Engineering, System-on-Chip Group at Marvell. “Our new advanced node platform places Marvell on the leading edge of technology readiness with early Si validation of critical IPs to enable fast time-to-market.”

Marvell's new 3nm multi-chip platform includes two complementary advanced die-to-die interfaces. The first is a flexible extra short reach (XSR) interface for connecting multiple die on a package substrate for applications, like co-packaged optics (CPO) for cloud data centers. 

To address the growing needs for cloud-optimized silicon solutions from leading data center operators, Marvell is also developing an ultra-low power and low-latency parallel die-to-die interface with the highest bandwidth density in the industry. Compatible with emerging Open Compute Project (OCP) standards, the new parallel interface enables high-performance chiplet solutions by connecting multiple silicon devices on an interposer. Both interfaces are also available in 5nm to enable multi-node solutions.

The new platform also incorporates TSMC’s advanced CoWoS packaging technology, empowering continued data infrastructure performance scaling. Marvell said its collaboration with TSMC on CoWoS allows customers to build high-performance solutions for "the most demanding cloud data center applications."

https://www.marvell.com/products/custom-asic.html  

• Earlier this year, TSMC stated that its 3nm technology (N3) will offer up to 70% logic density gain, up to 15% speed improvement at the same power and up to 30% power reduction at the same speed as compared with N5 technology. N3 is expected to receive multiple customer product tape-outs in 2021. In addition, volume production is targeted in second half of 2022.

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Marvell debuts 5nm Prestera switch and 5nm OCTEON 10 5nm DPU

Marvell announced the availability of its 5nm Prestera DX 7321 Ethernet switch, the industry’s first 5nm 50G PAM4 device for the carrier market.

The new Marvell Prestera switch is designed for 5G fronthaul and edge applications. With the addition of the 5nm Prestera device, Marvell's carrier-optimized switch portfolio now comprises four Ethernet switches that scale port speeds from 1Gbps to 400Gbps with aggregate bandwidths ranging from 200Gbps to 1.6Tbps. 

Marvell also announced sampling of its 5nm OCTEON 10 DPU family, which will include hardware accelerators to address workloads required by 5G, cloud, carrier and enterprise data center applications. OCTEON 10 offers a mix of compute, hardware acceleration, data path bandwidth, and I/O including PCIe 5.0 and DDR5. 

Marvell’s 5G network solutions also include Alaska Ethernet PHYs and a broad portfolio of optical solutions for edge, metro and long-haul applications. In addition, Marvell’s COLORZ II 400ZR/ZR+ coherent optical modules are enabling carriers with high-capacity, long-reach DWDM connectivity directly from Ethernet switches.

“Carriers are requiring optimized high-performance, low-power and secured next-generation 5G data infrastructure solutions that enable new high-value applications,” said Raghib Hussain, president, Products and Technologies at Marvell. “Our 5nm switch and DPU set a new bar for power, performance and footprint, providing the breakthrough technology needed to fulfill the potential of 5G.”

https://www.marvell.com/

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Marvell completes acquisition of Innovium

 Marvell Technology completed its previously announced acquisition of Innovium. 

Marvell to acquire Innovium for data center switching silicon

Tuesday, August 03, 2021  Innovium, Marvel  

Marvell Technology agreed to acquire Innovium, a start-up offering switching silicon for cloud and edge data centers, in an all-stock transaction valued at $1.1 billion.

Innovium, which is based in San Jose, California, offers high-performance switching silicon solutions for cloud and edge data centers. The company was founded in 2014 and has approximately 230 employees.

Marvell, which has an extensive portfolio of Ethernet switch semiconductor solutions, and which recently acquired Inphi, said the deal accelerates its position in cloud data centers. Its portfolio for cloud data centers includes: cloud data center solutions, including: 

• High-speed Electro-Optical PAM4 and Coherent DSP chipsets 
• Pluggable COLORZ DCI modules OCTEON-based DPUs for security, offload, and acceleration 
• Custom Arm-based server CPUs 
• Full custom ASICs Bravera
• Flash and HDD-based storage
• and on closing the acquisition of Innovium, cloud-optimized Ethernet switches

“Our acquisition of Innovium and its complementary offerings further extends Marvell’s leadership in the cloud, and I am excited that Innovium has secured significant share at a marquee cloud customer,” said Matt Murphy, President and CEO of Marvell. “Innovium has established itself as a strong cloud data center merchant switch silicon provider with a proven platform, and we look forward to working with their talented team who have a strong track record in the industry for delivering multiple generations of highly successful products.”

Marvell to acquire Innovium for data center switching silicon

Tuesday, August 03, 2021  Innovium, Marvel  

Marvell Technology agreed to acquire Innovium, a start-up offering switching silicon for cloud and edge data centers, in an all-stock transaction valued at $1.1 billion.Innovium, which is based in San Jose, California, offers high-performance switching silicon solutions for cloud and edge data centers. The company was founded in 2014 and has approximately 230 employees.Marvell, which has an extensive portfolio of Ethernet switch semiconductor solutions,...

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ADVA’s aPNT+ delivers GNSS-independent timing/sync

 ADVA announced its aPNT+ platform for protecting critical infrastructure from the growing danger of GNSS vulnerabilities and cyber threats to positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) services. 

ADVA says its solution provides end-to-end control and timing network visibility for protection against the catastrophic risks that PNT disruption poses to national security and essential assets such as power grids.

“Cyber threats are at an all-time high. At the same time, the infrastructure that our economies and lives depend on has never been more reliant on weak and highly vulnerable satellite signals. That’s why the US DHS and NIST are driving for PNT services to be more resilient and for network operators to implement strategies to counteract the vulnerabilities of GPS and other GNSS systems, including in-network PTP timing feeds. Our trusted aPNT+ platform is the definitive response. Being open and scalable, it offers an end-to-end range of cost-effective solutions and the industry’s most comprehensive features for augmented resilience, robustness and cybersecurity,” said Gil Biran, general manager, Oscilloquartz, ADVA. 

http://www.adva.com

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