EXA Infrastructure activates 400G linking Europe and North America

EXA Infrastructure, which is a new carrier that consists of the subsea European, and North American infrastructure and data centre assets previously owned by GTT Communications, introduced 400 Gbps transport services across its network.

EXA Infrastructure will initially enable 65,000km of its network footprint to support 400G, including two transatlantic cables, which equate to more than 3000 possible route combinations. 400G wavelengths are available from EXA with immediate effect, with further routes and POPs to be added over the coming 12 months..

“400G is the next step in high-capacity bandwidth technology, and by introducing it on our network we can now look to make a substantial leap forward in the bandwidth density and service speed we offer,” said Steve Roberts, Senior Vice President Product and Marketing.

“There continues to be surging demand from our customers to carry more data, at greater speeds, and with greater efficiency, particularly for data centre-to-data centre connectivity. 400G interfaces answer this call, with a 75% reduction in patching costs and 75% fewer QSFP pluggable modules required, resulting in simplified service delivery and reduced power consumption. It is the first of many steps we intend to take to invest in further network capacity and reach,” he said.

http://www.exainfra.net

• Earlier this year, I Squared Capital completed the purchase of Europe-wide, subsea and North American network infrastructure and data centre assets, previously owned by GTT Communications. The new company now serves customers across 103,000 route kilometres of fibre network that connects 300 cities. The network features more than 500 Points of Presence (POPs), spanning 31 countries, 14 Tier 3-equivalent data centres and 300 co-location facilities, as well as three wholly-owned transatlantic subsea cables including the lowest latency route between Europe and North America. EXA is headquartered in London.
• EXA also announced the appointment of Martijn Blanken as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Mr Blanken previously held various executive positions within Telstra Corporation, among others CEO of Telstra Global, and most recently served as Senior Advisor to I Squared Capital.

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Verizon launches private mobile edge computing with AWS Outposts

Verizon announced the commercial launch if its private mobile edge compute solution with AWS Outposts in the U.S. 

Verizon 5G Edge with AWS Outposts is a cloud computing platform that brings compute and storage services to the edge of the network on the customer premises for real-time enterprise applications like intelligent logistics, factory automation and robotics. For example, Corning is using Verizon 5G Edge with AWS Outposts and On Site 5G to enhance innovation at one of the world’s largest fiber-optic cable plants. Corning and Verizon are currently experimenting with high-speed, high-volume data collection on the factory floor, quality assurance, and on-premises inference using machine learning.

“By bringing compute and storage services to the edge of the network on the customer premises, we’re providing enterprises with the low lag and high bandwidth needed to process information in near real time so they can gain actionable data-driven insights and optimize their operations,” said Tami Erwin, Verizon Business CEO. “Through our partnership with AWS, we are helping customers unlock the true potential of 5G and edge computing which together will enable innovative applications involving computer vision, augmented and virtual reality, and machine learning. We are just scraping the surface of the new experiences that will be enabled by having 5G and edge compute on site.”

“At Corning, we believe 5G will revolutionize the way people and companies interact with technology, and we’re excited to advance these developments in our own plant, where we manufacture the optical cable needed to support the networks,” said Michael A. Bell, senior vice president and general manager, Corning Optical Communications. “Leveraging Verizon 5G Edge with AWS Outposts, we can improve safety, precision and efficiency as we explore the potential of 5G and private mobile edge computing.”

https://www.verizon.com/about/news/verizon-private-mobile-edge-computing-enterprise-aws-outposts

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TelcoDR announces $1 billion Telco Transformation Fund

TelcoDR  announced a $1 billion Telco Transformation Fund to support the strategic acquisition, development and cloudification of software products for the telco market. Acquired assets will be overseen and operated by 

Skyvera, a subsidiary of TelcoDR, will oversee and operate assets acquired by the fund. Industry veteran Matt Taylor will lead Skyvera.

In addition, TelcoDR has announced the acquisition of a number of assets from telco software company Zephyrtel. These assets will be integrated into TelcoDR’s growing portfolio of telco software products and will be operated by Skyvera. Skyvera will provide customers of acquired companies ongoing support, product innovation, and a path to leverage public cloud-native software, allowing them to unlock all the benefits that this revolutionary technology provides.

“With my Telco Transformation Fund, I’m building a library of software products purpose-built for the public cloud,” added Danielle Royston, TelcoDR founder and CEO, and telecom’s leading public cloud evangelist. “I’m thrilled to welcome the Zephyrtel customers to Skyvera, and I’m eager to continue to help accelerate CSPs’ move to the public cloud.”

https://www.telcodr.com/

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Windstream teams with VMware on SASE

Windstream Enterprise (WE), a managed communications service provider, is working with VMware to bring Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) to mutual customers faster. 

The solution combines Windstream Enterprise’s Cloud Core network and VMware SASE Points of Presence (PoPs) to deliver an optimal and more secure application experience to remote access users. This allows Windstream Enterprise to deliver a Software-Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN) with optimum performance on its own cloud-based services such as Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS), OfficeSuite UC and managed security in addition to native MPLS integrations. Windstream Enterprise’s Cloud Core architecture maximizes the reliability and performance of its cloud services while streamlining the extension of services to include VMware SASE cloud services, including VMware Cloud Web Security (CWS) and its Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) solution, VMware Secure Access.

“The integration of the Cloud Core and VMware SASE makes it easier for customers to transition from outdated legacy networks to the next era of networking and security,” said Mike Frane, vice president of product management, Windstream Enterprise. “This partnership gives us the ability to quickly expand our feature set as VMware develops additional innovative cloud-delivered features and functionality.”

“The global footprint of VMware and our partner PoPs delivers cloud-based networking and security services that effortlessly scale with customers’ needs,” said Mark Vondemkamp, vice president of edge operations and services, VMware. “The services delivered through our PoPs will be quickly and seamlessly consumed by both Windstream Enterprise and our end users to deliver a leading-edge SASE solution.”

https://news.windstream.com/

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T-2 Slovenia names Nokia as sole 5G provider

T-2 Slovenia awarded a five-year deal to Nokia to supply equipment from its AirScale 5G portfolio. The new deal will see Nokia upgrade T-2’s existing Single RAN radio footprint as well as introduce enhanced 5G new radio (NR) services. The project includes 5G RAN, AirScale base stations, and Nokia AirScale radio access products including its Single RAN portfolio for both indoor and outdoor coverage. These solutions will offer faster speeds and wider mobile coverage. Nokia will also provide digital design and deployment for a faster time to market as well as optimization and technical support services.

T-2 is one of the largest telecommunications providers in Slovenia and recently secured frequencies in the 2100 MHz and 2300 MHz bands at Slovenia’s spectrum auction. Nokia is a long-standing provider and key strategic supplier to T-2. 

Tommi Uitto, President of Mobile Networks at Nokia, said: “We are proud to expand our partnership with T-2 into the 5G era as their sole vendor. Our latest AirScale portfolio will help support T-2’s ambitious 5G roll-out plans and deliver incredible connectivity experiences across the country.”

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DE-CIX Barcelona goes live

 DE-CIX Barcelona is now operational, offing interconnection services like peering and private interconnection, along with cloud exchange services through its Apollon platform, and additional access to top public clouds, including Microsoft Azure, AWS, Google Cloud, IBM Bluemix and Oracle. Close to 30 network operators (carriers), Internet service providers (ISPs), content providers, and enterprise networks have already started to exchange traffic and make use of the company’s interconnection and cloud services in DE-CIX Barcelona. Among those are global players such as Google and Microsoft, as well as local entities such as the Centre de Telecomunicacions i Tecnologies de la Informació de la Generalitat de Catalunya (CTTI).

The company notes interconnection services to the bitNAP, Equinix and EdgeConneX data centers in Barcelona.

DE-CIX said it is establishing the largest neutral interconnection ecosystem in Southern Europe, together with its further IXs in Lisbon, Madrid, Palermo, and Marseille. All DE-CIX IXs in Southern Europe serve domestic markets, as well as establishing new European gateways to South and North America, Africa, and Asia. On top, along with interconnecting to DE-CIX Madrid and Marseille, DE-CIX Barcelona is interconnected with one of the world’s largest IXs, DE-CIX Frankfurt, through which the company is opening up one of the largest cloud exchanges in the world to enterprises in the Catalonian region.

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Ethernity notes $3m order for FPGA-based 1G/10G PON OLT SoCs

Ethernity Networks reported a $3m order from a Chinese broadband network OEM for its ENET 4820 and ENET 5200 FPGA System-on-Chip (SoC) devices.

Ethernity's SoC's support four GPON Optical Line Termination (OLT) ports and four 10Gbps XGS-PON OLT MAC ports, respectively, or for different combinations thereof. The SoCs will enable the two types of PON for use in the OEM's 5G fronthaul products, as well as other fiber access deployments.

The total initial committed order, valued at approximately $3,000,000 from a mix of the FPGA SoCs, accrues from 2022 into 2023 with additional orders anticipated thereafter.

Ethernity's ENET 5200 10G XGS-PON OLT SoC focuses on resolving major infrastructure issues related to the deployment of 5G cell towers, as detailed in a recent article in Lightwave Magazine by Ethernity's David Levi. The OEM will base its XGS-PON and GPON offerings on a unique architecture that utilizes a low-cost enterprise switch, as well as Ethernity's FPGA SoC with advanced traffic management, and the OLT PON MACs.

David Levi, CEO, Ethernity Networks said: "This is Ethernity's largest single contract since the company's IPO in 2017 and builds on the multiple new contract wins and orders over the last six months. We are immensely pleased to have converted our PON technology into a deployable product via this significant entry into the Chinese marketplace, and plan to extend this offering to other worldwide markets. The addition of PON to our global implementations is a validation of our statement that Ethernity's products cover network processing 'from the tower to the 5G core.'"

https://ethernitynet.com/

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