T-Mobile US invests in Movius for mobile convergence

T-Mobile US has made an equity investment in Movius, a start-up software provider for secure and compliant mobile communications based in Cupertino, California. 

T-Mobile’s MultiLine service is powered by Movius. The service allows employees to use a single smartphone for personal and business communications in a way that meets compliance standards. It enables employees to use their personal phone to call, text and even use apps like WhatsApp on a dedicated, secure, compliant business line. 

“We’re thrilled to further advance our partnership with T-Mobile for Business to offer MultiLine to an expanded set of industries with diverse use cases across Healthcare, Pharmaceutical, Government, Legal Services and other highly-regulated industries,” said Ananth Siva, CEO at Movius. Siva added that T-Mobile MultiLine is gaining significant traction with companies in the non-regulated space as well, including those in the Hospitality, Transportation, and Construction industries and with small to medium size businesses looking to save on device costs.

www.movius.ai

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GSMA: Growth prospects with a second wave of 5G

More than 30 countries will begin 5G rollouts during 2023, heralding a second wave of 5G and potentially doubling the number of 5G connections over the next 24 months, and confirming 5G as the fastest generational roll-out, when compared to 3G and 4G.

At Mobile World Congress 2023 in Barcelona, GSMA Intelligence reported:

• As of January 2023, there were 229 commercial 5G networks globally and over 700 5G smartphone models available to users.
• Growth will also come from key markets within APAC and LATAM, such as Brazil and India, which have recently launched 5G networks. India will be especially significant, with the expansion of services from Airtel and Jio in 2023 expected to be pivotal to the region's ongoing adoption. 
• There will be four 5G networks in India by the end of 2025, accounting for 145 million additional users.
• 5G adoption in the sub-Saharan region sits below 1% but will reach over 4% by 2025 and 16% in 2030, largely thanks to a concerted effort from industry and government organisations to provide connectivity to citizens.
• As of January 2023, more than 90 fixed broadband service providers (the vast majority of which are mobile operators) had launched commercial 5G-based fixed wireless services across over 48 countries. This means around 40% of 5G commercial mobile launches worldwide currently include an FWA offering.
• In the US, T-Mobile added over half a million 5G FWA customers in Q4 2021 and Q1 2022 combined. By 2025, it expects to have eight million FWA subscribers, while Verizon is targeting five million FWA subscribers for the same period. And, with operators such as Jio announcing ambitions to connect as many as 100 million homes across India to its 5G FWA network, the number of FWA users looks likely to grow substantially over the next few years.
• Only 7% of 5G launches have been in 5G mmWave spectrum so far but this looks set to change given 27% of spectrum allocations and 35% of trials are already using 5G mmWave bands. Furthermore, in 2023 alone, the industry will see ten more countries assigned 5G mmWave spectrum for use – a significant increase from the 22 countries who have been assigned it to date. Spain received the first European 5G mmWave spectrum allocation this year, resulting in Telefónica, Ericsson and Qualcomm launching its first commercial 5G mmWave network at MWC Barcelona 2023.

"Until now, 5G adoption has been driven by relatively mature markets and consumer use cases like enhanced mobile broadband, but that's changing. We're now entering a second wave for 5G that will see the technology engage a diverse set of new markets and audiences," said Peter Jarich, Head of GSMA Intelligence. "The extension to new use cases and markets will challenge the mobile ecosystem to prove that 5G truly is flexible enough to meet these diverse demands in a way that's both inclusive and innovative."

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Deutsche Telekom and Asian operators

Deutsche Telekom Global Carrier, Sunrise and AIS Thailand have established an intercontinental 5G Standalone (SA) roaming connection between two networks in Europe and Southeast Asia. 

The direct SEPP-to-SEPP (Security Edge Protection Proxy) connectivity set-up between the home and visited networks was carried out via GSMA’s SEPP protocol. SEPP enables secure interconnect between 5G networks by ensuring end-to-end confidentiality for all 5G interconnect roaming messages between the originating and destination networks and by following 5G SA Roaming security design in 3GPP standard. 

Nicholas Nikrouyan, Vice President, Voice & Mobile Solutions at Deutsche Telekom Global Carrier, said: “We want to accelerate innovation during the current transformation to 5G by encouraging active partnerships that allow the industry to jointly learn and master this technology. Our latest success in completing a 5G SA roaming connection together with Sunrise and AIS Thailand paves the way for further developments that will see 5G SA enable all sorts of next-generation telco service offerings for consumers and enterprises alike. SEPP can also be efficiently hosted on Deutsche Telekom Global Carrier’s IPX network, if operators wish to outsource its implementation and management.”

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Fujitsu teams with Microsoft on private 5G and edge computing

Fujitsu is expanding its partnership with Microsoft especially in the areas of private 5G and edge computing.

Work has been underway at the 5G-focused “FUJITSU Collaboration Lab”  testing facility in Kawasaki, Japan since last summer. Following the success of its initial demonstrations, Fujitsu will conduct future verification trials in fiscal 2023 at a planned verification facility in Birmingham, UK, with preliminary activities at the site starting from March 2023. With the expansion of these trials to the European market, Fujitsu aims to further accelerate business co-creation with customers based on private 5G services on a global scale.

Fujitsu says that by combining its 5G technology including base stations and applications with Microsoft’s Azure Private 5G Core, it has successfully built and operated one of Japan’s first private 5G platform in a commercial environment. 

“As one of our key partners, Fujitsu has been working with Microsoft to create a seamless and secure connected society by combining private 5G and edge computing. We are very pleased with the success of this verification, and we will continue to provide connected value to the global market by combining our market-leading 5G solutions and managed services with Microsoft's Azure private MEC service. As 5G, digital, and edge computing convergence advance, these technologies will also play a key role in enabling rich customer experiences. We will continue to work with Microsoft to support the digital transformation and growth of our customers,” said Koji Arai, Head of Uvance Hybrid IT, Fujitsu Limited.

https://www.fujitsu.com/global/about/resources/news/press-releases/2023/0227-01.html

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Deutsche Telekom to offer private 5G Campus service with Microsoft

Deutsche Telekom is collaborating with Microsoft for private 5G ampus networks. The company has successfully launched a pilot with a leading pharmaceutical company in Germany.

The solution is built on Microsoft Azure private multi-access edge compute (MEC) which includes the new Azure Private 5G Core service deployed on Azure Stack Edge to provide customers with a private network that is reliable, secure and can operate across multiple sites. The newly developed concept integrates new and existing customer applications to quickly deliver secure, cloud-managed solutions at the edge.

Deutsche Telekom plans to provide customers with a complete campus network build-out, from planning to building the private network using Azure services with radio access network components and operations packaged as a packaged managed service. Through the solution, Deutsche Telekom is looking to offer a broad selection of robotics, video analytics and Internet of Things (IoT) use cases, validated as part of the ISV program (Independent Software Vendor) for Azure private MEC, tailored to specific customer needs, creating an end-to-end service for business customers. 

Hagen Rickmann, Managing Director Business Customers at Deutsche Telekom in Germany says: “Our new 5G campus network solution comes with low entry barriers regarding costs and effort. Therefore, we can not only address customers with an existing Microsoft Azure landscape, but also new customers in the segment of small and medium-sized businesses. They can adopt 5G technology easily and push their digitalization further - while maintaining flexibility”. 

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Dell'Oro: North American optical transport market 14%

Optical Transport equipment revenue in North America grew 14 percent in 2022, surpassing $4.0 billion, according to a new report from Dell'Oro Group. Among the large optical equipment suppliers, Fujitsu and Infinera stood out with revenue growth that far exceeded the market's rate of growth.

"Demand for optical systems in North America continued to be robust, surpassing even my lofty expectations," said Jimmy Yu, Vice President at Dell'Oro Group. "The fourth quarter was particularly strong since many vendors received more component supply than expected, allowing for higher systems shipments. We believe this may possibly be a signal that component shortages are beginning to abate," added Yu.

Additional highlights from the 4Q 2022 Optical Transport Quarterly Report:

• Currency exchange rate continued to be a concern throughout 2022, lowering market results in many regions. On a constant currency basis, the worldwide Optical Transport market grew approximately 4 percent in the year and the total WDM market grew approximately 5 percent.
• The largest suppliers in North America were Ciena, Cisco, Fujitsu, and Infinera. Among these vendors, Fujitsu and Infinera sharply outperformed. Fujitsu's optical equipment revenue grew 80 percent year-over-year and Infinera's grew 38 percent.
• Internet content provider spending on WDM equipment rebounded in 4Q 2022 after an unexpected drop in the third quarter, contributing to the strong North American results in the fourth quarter.

https://www.delloro.com/news/north-american-optical-transport-market-grew-14-percent-in-2022/

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Windstream Wholesale signs a global financial institution for 400G

Windstream Wholesale is to provide a custom, hybrid 400G spectrum solution for a large global financial institution.

The 400G spectrum service features a unique route design with customer-specific equipment, satisfying the need for capacity, encryption, and diversity. 

The hybrid solution will be controlled between endpoints by Windstream Wholesale and includes the capability to expand and upgrade capacity with the company’s winning Fast and Flexible process.

“We’re an open, collaborative partner, and this is a great example of how we are bringing our Fast and Flexible culture to the Global Accounts market. We were able to work with our customer with full transparency, come up with a very creative solution, make quick decisions, and set a delivery timeframe that met customer expectations,” said Joe Scattareggia, Windstream Wholesale chief revenue officer. “In this instance, we were the only provider willing and able to design and make the service offering available in a hybrid capacity. Our new Global Accounts vertical really delivered white glove service for this customer, and we’re proud to create the capability and technology to offer such a unique solution.”

Windstream achieves 400 Gig Open ZR+ integration

Tuesday, October 18, 2022  Windstream  

Windstream Wholesale, along with its partners Coherent and Nokia, completed full integration of the 400 Gig, 0 dBm QSFP-DD Pluggable into the generally available Nokia 7250 IXR X1 and 7250 IXR-X3 routers. The integrated solution is ready for full commercial deployment, accelerating Windstream’s ICON and ICON-Edge network strategy. Windstream announced in October 2021 co-development with Coherent (formerly II-VI) of the world’s first high...

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Windstream Wholesale launches Managed Spectrum optical transport

Monday, August 15, 2022  Windstream Wholesale  

 Windstream Wholesale announced nationwide availability of Managed Spectrum, a new network architecture solution that provides customers with a dedicated block of photonic capacity measured in GHz. Customers then procure, install, maintain and monitor the service layer equipment, giving them a secure, private connection between two locations within a metropolitan area or across the U.S.Managed Spectrum, which leverages Windstream Wholesale’s...

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Open XR Forum expands membership roster

Open XR Forum has added Hisense Broadband, KDDI, Lumentum and Viettel to its membership roster. The industry initiative aims to advance the deployment of software-configurable point-to-point and point-to-multipoint coherent optical networks utilizing industry-defined XR optics pluggable transceiver technology. 

“The robust multi-vendor ecosystem fostered by the Open XR Forum generates promising opportunities for accelerating the deployment of our 5G mobile and metro aggregation networks,” said Tomohiro Otani, Deputy General Manager at KDDI.

“Open XR Forum is pioneering cost-saving innovations in the optical space that will optimize our telecommunications networks,” said Nguyen Duc Tho, Network Strategy and Technology Innovation at Viettel Networks. “These advances hold significant promise for the optical transport layer of our 5G network infrastructure. We look forward to working closely with the Forum on future innovations.”

“Lumentum looks forward to working closely with the Open XR Forum ecosystem to accelerate the adoption of coherent optics closer to the network edge,” added Wupen Yuen, SVP and General Manager of the Telecom Transmission Business Unit at Lumentum. “XR optics can fundamentally grow the market for coherent optical components by changing the economics of deploying coherent in aggregation networks.”

Open XR Forum is an MSA consortium bringing together network operators, equipment vendors, and component suppliers committed to building the foundation for a new generation of coherent optical solutions that will cost-effectively meet the demand for greater network scalability and flexibility. XR optics is the industry’s first coherent optical solution to solve the access and aggregation challenges faced by network operators caused by the misalignment between network traffic patterns and the technology used to transport that traffic.

https://www.openxrforum.org

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O2 Telefonica Germany selects Nokia AVA for Energy Saas

O2 Telefónica Germany will employ Nokia’s AVA for Energy SaaS solution to strengthen the energy efficiency efforts across its Nokia radio access network.

Nokia AVA for Energy SaaS automatically monitors network traffic patterns to allow operators to throttle back connectivity resources, like base stations, during low usage periods, enabling reductions in power usage.

https://www.Nokia.com

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Monetizing 5G with open APIs linking network resources to applications, such as Zoom

At this week's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Orange, Telefónica, and Vodafone, in collaboration with Ericsson and Vonage, are demonstrating an API that exposes 5G network resources for application developers. 

The idea in exposing advanced network functionalities for app-developers is enable a better user experience for applications such as Blacknut, Zoom, and Vonage while providing a monetization pathway for mobile operators.

The ambition is for all three operators to use the same QoD API, defined, developed and documented in CAMARA, the open source project driven by Linux Foundation in collaboration with GSMA, which is available for all operators to implement thereby maximizing the potential benefits for the developer community.

https://camaraproject.org/

https://www.ericsson.com/en/news/2023/2/operators-are-opening-up-5g-networks-to-application-developers-to-drive-innovation

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Intel brings vRAN Boost to its Xeon processors

At #MWC23, Intel introduced a vRAN Boost capability for its 4th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors.

The capability brings Layer 1 acceleration into the Xeon SoC and eliminates the need for external accelerator cards. Intel says its vRAN Boost has the support of Advantech, Capgemini, Canonical, Dell Technologies, Ericsson, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Mavenir, Quanta Cloud Technology, Rakuten Mobile, Red Hat, SuperMicro, Telefonica, Verizon, VMware, Vodafone and Wind River, among others.

Intel claims 2x the capacity gains gen over gen within the same power envelope and up to an additional 20% power savings with integrated acceleration, which is above and beyond the 4th Gen Intel Xeon platform’s already outstanding performance-per-watt gain. Intel expects 4th Gen Xeon Scalable processors with Intel vRAN Boost will match or better the performance-per-watt of the best Layer 1 SoC accelerator cards in the market today6, while delivering the benefits of software-defined, virtualized networks.

“Intel powers the world’s clouds, networks and enterprises, giving us unique insight on where to place compute and acceleration along the entire cloud-to-edge continuum and helping our customers scale to meet user demands,” said Sachin Katti, Intel senior vice president and general manager of the Network and Edge Group. “The advancements we’ve made in our 4th Gen Intel Xeon platforms to double vRAN performance1 while staying within the same power envelope, to nearly doubling the 5G core UPF throughput5, and to speed the deployment of a wide range of network, security and enterprise edge services, makes Intel the platform for our customers to modernize and monetize their networks of the future, today.”

Some other highlights from Barcelona

• Intel demonstrated 4th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors now enable the industry’s first 1 Tbps of performance for the 5G UPF workload within a single dual-socket server, further validated by Samsung.
• New Intel Infrastructure Power Manager for 5G Core reference software dynamically matches run-time server power consumption with data traffic without compromising key performance indicators such as throughput, latency and packet drop. The software, in tests with Casa Systems, NEC and Nokia, significantly reduces time-to-market for ISVs and operators by simplifying access to key capabilities in Intel’s 3rd and 4th Gen Xeon Scalable processors, including power telemetry, granular power control states and low-latency frequency change. Operators can use the reference software to reduce network TCO and accelerate progress toward net zero emissions goals, realizing millions of dollars in potential savings and a significant amount of CO2 emissions offset.
• Intel is expanding its Agilex 7 FPGAs and eASIC N5X structure ASIC devices for cloud, communications and embedded applications. As cloud service providers (CSPs) begin transitioning from 200G to 400G networks in 2023, with CoSPs to follow suit in 2024, Intel Agilex 7 FPGA AGI 041 devices will enable next-generation 400G infrastructure acceleration solutions. AGI 041 devices deliver the right balance of capacity, power efficiency and performance for the 400G Infrastructure Processing Unit (IPU) and networking solutions.

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AT&T and ServiceNow present a joint global telco solution

AT&T and ServiceNow unveiled a global telecom product to help communications service providers (CSPs) manage 5G and fiber network inventory. 

AT&T provided strategic design and technical guidance for the development of ServiceNow Telecom Network Inventory, which is built on the ServiceNow Platform and available for telcos globally today.

“Working with ServiceNow to develop Telecom Network Inventory was a great collaboration to create a tool that could help us address an industry-wide challenge,” said Jon Summers, senior vice president of information technology and chief information officer, AT&T. “As we approach our internal deployment, we also look forward to seeing how other operators around the globe might take advantage of it.”

“ServiceNow is committed to delivering products that are purpose-built for the telecom industry,” said Rohit Batra, vice president and head of telecommunications, media, and technology products at ServiceNow. “Together, ServiceNow and AT&T will work to redefine network inventory, and we will continue to innovate to address the challenges communications service providers face now and in the future. This is only the beginning.”

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Terabit BiDi MSA posts specs for 800G and 1.6T interfaces

The Terabit BiDi Multi-Source Agreement (MSA) group releases version 1.0 of its optical specifications for 800 Gb/s and 1.6 Tb/s optical interfaces over 70 meters of OM4 multimode fiber (MMF). 

The MSA's specifications utilize the widely adopted dual wavelength bidirectional transmission technology. This provides an upgrade path to the large scale deployed parallel MMF cabling infrastructure. The specifications are built on the 100 Gb/s Ethernet MMF specifications.

The members of the Terabit BiDi MSA include Alibaba, Arista Networks, Broadcom, Cisco, Coherent, CommScope, Corning Incorporated, Dell Technologies, HGGenuine, Hisense Broadband, Lumentum, MACOM, Marvell, OFS, Panduit and Tencent.

"The transition to 100 Gb/s per lane signaling is rapidly underway, and the release of the Terabit BiDi specifications is just in time for the industry to adopt cost-effective and fast interfaces with VCSEL based solutions," said Tzu Hao Chow, MSA co-chair.

"Multimode bidirectional optical transceivers have been crucial for preserving the usefulness of already existing fiber cables in data centers as technology has progressed from 10 to 25 to 50 Gb/s per lane. The Terabit BiDi specification is a roadmap to continue this trend," said David Piehler, MSA co-chair.

http://www.terabit-bidi-msa.com

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Mavenir cites Open RAN deployment with Deutsche Telekom

 Mavenir confirmed its selection in an Open RAN deployment in Deutsche Telekom’s European footprint. Mavenir will be delivering its OpenBeam massive MIMO radios as well as 3rd party O-RAN based Radio Units (O-RU) for open Fronthaul. In addition, Mavenir will also act as end-to-end system integrator for that deployment.

Mavenir’s Open cloud-native RAN solution is based on fully containerized microservices allowing it to be deployed easily on any cloud infrastructure. Mavenir’s Open RAN compliant solution works on open interfaces, and it further disaggregates the RAN architecture into Distributed Unit (DU) and Centralized Unit (CU). These containerized network functions are running on Commercial Off the Shelf (COTS) hardware and are designed to support multiple Fronthaul splits simultaneously – making the Open RAN solution an ideal choice for a vendor-agnostic and future-proof Radio network architecture strategy.

Abdu Mudesir, Chief Technology Officer at Deutsche Telekom, said: “Deutsche Telekom is actively driving network disaggregation based on multi-vendor Open RAN architecture to provide customer focused innovation in the RAN. We will continue our partnership with Mavenir to accelerate Open RAN development and create a path to deployment at scale.”

Pardeep Kohli, President and CEO at Mavenir, said: “Mavenir’s market leading cloud-native Open RAN product presents the way forward to introduce automation and intelligence to radio networks, in order to deliver on the use cases and manage complexity and data demands of future network elasticity, flexibility and best-in-class automation and quality. The Mavenir OpenBeam radio portfolio fully compliments Deutsche Telekom’s spectrum and RAN requirements, and we look forward to playing an active role in introducing radio network automation and driving openness in the RAN.”

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TECH Mahindra offers network monitoring and Smart Device assurance

Tech Mahindra introduced SANDSTORM, a remote real-time network monitoring and smart device assurance service for telcos and enterprises that remotely measures customer experiences on any device, from smartphones, tablets, VR headsets, smart TVs, to connected cars.

SANDSTORM DELIVERS insights into device lower-layer information mapped to applications. 

Rohit Madhok, Global Head of Digital Engineering Services at Tech Mahindra, said, "The launch of SANDSTORM will revolutionize the way telcos and enterprises monitor and assure their networks and devices. SANDSTORM's intuitive design interface and easy-to-use tools, will enable our customers to quickly set up, run applications and gain valuable insights that were previously unattainable remotely and in real-time. Early success stories have demonstrated the immense capabilities that SANDSTORM brings to the table. This is a testament to our commitment to deliver game-changing technology that helps our customers stay ahead of the curve."

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DOCOMO advances Open RAN with 5 global operators

NTT DOCOMO is now cooperating with KT, Vodafone Group, Smart Communications in the Philippines, DISH Wireless, and Singtel Open RAN initiatives.

KT and DOCOMO signed a memorandum of understanding in January 20221 to support Open RAN and are now verifying an Open RAN system. Smart successfully demonstrated Open RAN, a first in the Philippines. In addition, Vodafone and DOCOMO agreed in October 20222 to collaborate towards harmonizing mobile operator system integration and test processes. On February 3, the two firms published a white paper with a defined common test script. Also, DISH plans to evaluate the product performance and stability of Open RAN at the Shared Open Lab, DOCOMO's Open RAN verification environment in Japan. Singtel and DOCOMO agreed to evaluate Open RAN technologies and explore an Open RAN introduction.

In addition, DOCOMO unveiled its "OREX" (Open RAN Ecosystem Experience) brand to strengthen the support scheme for international telecom operators in delivering the Open RAN system. 

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Nokia launches its "Habrok" massive MIMO radios

Nokia launched its latest generation AirScale massive MIMO radios, code-named "Habrok" at Mobile World Congress 2023 in Barcelona.

Habrok radios are powered by Nokia’s latest generation of ReefShark System-on-Chip (SoC), now implemented in 5nm. The radios are available in both 32 TRX (Habrok 32) and 64 TRX (Habrok 64) versions, covering all massive MIMO use cases and deployment scenarios.

Nokia cites spectrum flexibility and network performance as design objectives. Habrok initially supporting band n78, both Habrok 32 and Habrok 64 support high radio frequency bandwidth, 200 MHz occupied bandwidth (OBW) and 400 MHz instantaneous bandwidth (IBW), enabling the use of fragmented spectrum allocations and network sharing cases.

At 24kg, Habrok 64 is approximately 30 percent lighter than its predecessors, making it easier to install and faster to deploy, accelerating 5G network deployment. The products also offer even higher energy efficiency by using 30 percent less energy, lowering the total cost of ownership.

Nokia has also announced new optimized additions to its AirScale Osprey portfolio. This includes the first AirScale Osprey 64 dual-band mMIMO radio, which covers the entire US C-band as well as the 3.45G band in a single-box solution. Nokia has also several new multiband remote radio heads, each simplifying site solutions and lowering the total cost of ownership.

Significantly, Nokia has reduced the energy consumption of its latest products by some 30 percent through a combination of software, hardware, and services – including Nokia’s digital design for energy efficiency and energy efficiency-related suite of software features – overall, this can reduce energy consumption by 36 percent.

Tommi Uitto, President of Mobile Networks at Nokia, said: “We are proud to unveil Habrok, our latest generation of industry-leading AirScale radios that deliver future-ready performance. Powered by our cutting-edge ReefShark chipsets, these optimized products redefine radio performance with ultra-fast 5G speeds and capacity where it is needed. They are extremely lightweight making them easy to install and support wide bandwidths in both instantaneous and occupied bandwidth. These products are built with energy efficiency in mind, highlighting our continued commitment to reducing our CO2 footprint and supporting our customers in reaching their sustainability targets. We can’t wait to see these new products deliver incredible 5G experiences to mobile subscribers around the world.”

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Nokia pushes smartNIC-powered "anyRAN"

Nokia is driving the concept of "anyRAN" as a means to drive CloudRAN partnerships efor mobile network operators and enterprises.

The concept of anyRAN aims to assist  mobile operators and enterprises extend their options for building and evolving their radio access networks. The anyRAN software can run on any partner's Cloud and Server infrastructure in addition to Nokia AirScale base stations and Nokia AirFrame servers. To ensure performance, anyRAN leverages the Nokia Cloud RAN SmartNIC, a Layer 1 (fronthaul) In-Line acceleration card that integrates seamlessly with all leading Cloud or server infrastructures. L1 acceleration needs specialized silicon with extreme computing capacity, which is beyond the capabilities of general-purpose processors. Nokia Cloud RAN SmartNIC uses dedicated and optimized silicon technology, which is more energy efficient and provides higher performance. Nokia and its partners have already successfully performed end-to-end 5G data calls (Layer 3 calls) in multi-vendor setups powered by Nokia’s solution.

Tommi Uitto, President of Mobile Networks at Nokia, said: “The strength of our industry partnerships and the launch of anyRAN unlocks more choice and higher performance in Cloud RAN for our mobile network operator and enterprise customers. Server-based Cloud RAN will have to co-exist with purpose-built RAN in the short-to-medium term which calls for performance consistency and service continuity between the two. Together with our leading industry partners, we have made huge progress towards this goal by driving consistent performance across any partner's Cloud Infrastructure or server hardware. Our collaborative approach to Cloud RAN means we can drive efficiency, innovation, openness, and scale by jointly delivering competitive advantage to organizations embracing Cloud RAN.”

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Cisco and NTT Collaborate on Private 5G

Cisco and NTT Ltd. agreed to collaborate to drive Private 5G adoption across the Automotive, Logistics, Healthcare, Retail and Public sectors.

The companies plan to accelerate edge connectivity through NTT’s first-to-market, Managed Private 5G solution, combined with Intel hardware, so that Cisco and NTT customers will be able to seamlessly integrate Private 5G into their pre-existing LAN/WAN/Cloud infrastructure.

“Together with NTT, we aim to help our enterprise customers accelerate digital transformation, with the power of 5G and Wi-Fi across IT and OT operations,” said Masum Mir, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Provider Mobility, Cisco Networking. “Our cloud-managed private 5G offers customers seamless integration with their Enterprise network fabric along with common policy and zero trust security architecture, helping to reduce technical, financial, and operational risks associated with managing 5G networks, so they can focus on driving business agility and efficiency.”

“This is a natural expansion of the cutting-edge capabilities and services NTT brings to market to help our global clients modernize their businesses. NTT and Cisco are building on our mutual commitment to build a simple to manage pure private network solution,” said Shahid Ahmed, Executive Vice President, New Ventures & Innovation at NTT. “

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HPE acquires Athonet for its private cellular tech

Hewlett Packard Enterprise has acquired Athonet, a private cellular network technology provider based in Vicenza, Italy that delivers mobile core networks to enterprises and communication service providers. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Athonet claims more than 450 successful customer deployments in various industries, including leading mobile operators, hospitals, airports, transportation ports, utilities, government and public safety organizations.

Athonet´s private 5G offers high levels of coverage, reliability and mobility across campus and industrial environments. It also augments the cost-effective, high-capacity connectivity provided by Wi-Fi. 

HPE said Athonet’s technology will be integrated with the Aruba networking portfolio. 

“Telco customers are looking for simpler ways to deploy private 5G networks to meet growing customer expectations at the connected edge,” said Tom Craig, global vice president and general manager, Communications Technology Group at HPE. “At the same time, enterprise customers are demanding a customized 5G experience with low-latency, segregated resources, extended range and security across campus and industrial environments that complement their existing wireless networks. With the acquisition of Athonet, HPE now has one of the most complete private 5G and Wi-Fi portfolios for CSP and enterprise customers – and we will offer it as a service through HPE GreenLake.”

“Athonet was founded to provide customers with private 4G and 5G solutions that deliver carrier-grade reliability and performance to suit their increasing and more challenging connectivity needs,” said Gianluca Verin, CEO and co-founder of Athonet. “We are excited to join HPE and combine our highly skilled teams as we expand our joint service provider offerings for the rapidly growing private 5G market and build on HPE’s strategy to be the leading edge-to-cloud solutions provider.”

In addtion, HPE GreenLake, HPE’s edge-to-cloud platform, will offer Athonet private 5G offerings, combining all costs for Wi-Fi and private 5G into one single monthly subscription with no capital expenditure.

https://www.hpe.com

 

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Nokia's new logo unveiled at MWC

Nokia is refreshing its brand at Mobile World Congress 2023 with the unveiling of a new logo.

In a pre-show press conference, Nokia's CEO, Pekka Lundmark, unveiled the new logo, saying that it brings energy and vitality to company's brand, reflecting Nokia's belief that the networks of the future will be used for s will be sensing, thinking, and acting.

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Nokia and Bosch develop 5G precision positioning ~ 50cm

Nokia and Bosch have jointly developed 5G-based precision positioning technology intended for new Industry 4.0 use cases.  The positioning technology tracks mobile and portable devices connected to the 5G network.

Extensive tests under realistic manufacturing conditions have shown an accuracy within 50 cm in 90 percent of a factory footprint where a proof-of-concept is running.

Andreas Mueller, Chief Expert and responsible for the 6G activities at Bosch, said: “Knowing where things are is generally very valuable information in manufacturing. While today usually separate systems are used for connecting and locating devices, this may be done via an integrated private 5G solution in the future. The proof-of-concept conducted jointly with Nokia underpins the leading role of Bosch in exploring new opportunities for our customers and developing the Factory of the Future.”

Peter Vetter, President of Bell Labs Core Research at Nokia, said: “Bosch and Nokia Bell Labs foresee a future where networks do far more than communicate. Soon, 5G will track connected devices more precisely than satellites, in places satellites can’t reach. In the next decade, 6G will be capable of sensing all objects in their coverage areas regardless of whether they contain active radios. We are creating networks that will endow humans with a digital 6th sense.”

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Reports: Ericsson plans major job cuts

On the eve of Mobile World Congress, Reuters reported that Ericsson plans to cut 8,500 positions out its global workforce of 105,000. Reuters cited an internal memo from Chief Executive Borje Ekholm.

North America is expected to be significally impacted as the major U.S. operators trim their CAPEX budgets following significant 5G rollouts in the preceding years.

The reductions follow news of staff reductions in Ericsson’s home market of Sweden.

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Nokia's PSE-6s photonic service engine carries 1.2 Tbps wavelength for 118km

Nokia announced two performance metrics for its recently-announced sixth generation super-coherent Photonic Service Engine, PSE-6s: 1.2 Tb/s over metro distances (118km) and 800 Gb/s over long haul distances (2,019 km), both using a single wavelength.

Both field records were achieved on GlobalConnect’s live optical network in Europe. 

The 1.2 Tb/s speed was using Nokia’s PSE-6s optics deployed over a wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) network using 150 GHz of spectrum on GlobalConnect’s Metro Data Center Interconnect links. Data center interconnection was also demonstrated at 800 Gb/s on a single wavelength over 2,000km, paving the way to single-wavelength 800GE transport across long-haul distances with no regeneration. Reducing the number of coherent interfaces needed enables up to 50% network total cost of ownership savings and up to a 60% reduction in network power consumption.

James Watt, President Nokia Optical Networks, said: “With world data volumes expected to double by 2025, there has never been so much focus on cost and power consumption per bit. That is why we launched the PSE-6s and why we are celebrating this first field trial with GlobalConnect, ushering in new era of single-wavelength 800GE client transport to increase network capacity.”

Martin Højriis Kristensen, Head of Market & Operations at GlobalConnect, said: “This trial highlights GlobalConnect’s commitment to offering scalable and flexible high-bandwidth services across our Nordic backbone network. We are pleased to validate Nokia’s latest generation of PSE-6 super coherent optics as an important enabler of these continuous network upgrades, seamlessly operating over our live network with existing coherent channels.”

https://www.nokia.com/about-us/news/releases/2023/02/23/nokia-and-globalconnect-demonstrate-record-12tbs-coherent-transmission-over-a-single-wavelength-in-live-network/

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Vodafone tests Juniper's Open RAN RIC

Vodafone, in partnership with Juniper Networks and Parallel Wireless completed a field trial that validated both Admission Control and Traffic Steering applications running on top of the open and interoperable Juniper RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) platform. 

The trial ran over a Vodafone commercial network.

The Admission Control use case combines both the rApp and xApp from Juniper, allowing real-time tracking and optimization of radio resources such as User Equipment (UEs)/tenant and Power Distribution Unit (PDUs)/tenant based on current traffic utilization. The application allows for the dynamic allocation of network resources without the need for over-provisioning all the way to specific customers, therefore improving resource management and network efficiency. As a result, operators can achieve cost savings with streamlined operations and reduced equipment needs while providing a higher quality of service to end users.

The Traffic Steering xApp from Parallel Wireless, in conjunction with Juniper’s rApp, enhances the user experience by dynamically and automatically distributing network load. Based on the traffic/cell conditions in Vodafone’s live network, throughput improvements of 40 percent were observed for users that were experiencing low performance due to cell overload, and an average of 15 percent to 30 percent improvement was observed across all users in the overloaded cell. This application efficiently utilizes operator resources to meet capacity demands without requiring manual intervention, thereby helping to reduce costs and to minimize errors.

Juniper says both use cases  demonstrate that user experience can be managed and optimized automatically by the RIC, based on real-time data insights. These use cases can be implemented uniformly across RANs in a multi-vendor environment. The ability to deploy innovative applications from third-party vendors on top of the Juniper RIC platform helps mobile operators and third-party apps unlock the full potential and benefits of Open RAN.

http://www.juniper.net

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CignalAI: a nascent market for 100ZR coherent pluggables

CignalAI has published a “Coherent at the Network Edge” report that forecasts demand for 100ZR coherent pluggables beginning in 2024 as operators upgrade to higher speeds in optical access networks. 

“It was important to discuss the requirements and viability of this technology with the hardware designers and end users, not just the component manufacturers,” said Scott Wilkinson, Lead Analyst for Optical Components at Cignal AI. “We learned that dedicated QSFP28-based 100ZR modules will fill a central role in the next generation of fiber access networks.”

More key findings from the Coherent at the Network Edge Report:

• QSFP28 versions of 100ZR will win most of the access market. QSFP-DD versions based on 400ZR technology do not meet critical size and power needs at the network’s edge.
• Access network upgrades will drive 100ZR demand when Enterprise and mobile traffic coexists on the same network.
• Price is not the primary driver in situations where 100ZR is the best solution, but it must be significantly less than the current 400ZR pricing to replace 10G.
• Market demand and general availability of 100ZR components will align in 2024.
• As a result of these discussions with access hardware manufacturers, Cignal AI’s forecast for 100ZR module shipments was doubled for 2025.

https://cignal.ai/2023/02/100zr-coherent-pluggable-deployment-begins-in-2024/

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Juniper and IBM pursue O-RAN automation

Juniper Networks and IBM will pursue the integration of IBM’s network automation capabilities with Juniper’s Radio Access Network (RAN) optimization and Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) technology. 

The goal is to deliver a unified RAN management platform that will be designed to use intelligent automation to better enable communications service providers (CSPs) to monetize, optimize and scale their investments in next-generation networks and provide better experiences to mobile users.

Specifically, the two companies will look to integrate Juniper’s RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) with IBM Cloud Pay for Network Automation with the intention of creating a fully integrated and automated O-RAN and RAN solution. The goal of this solution will be to offer end-to-end automation of secured 5G network slices, from provisioning through validation and deployment, monitoring and assurance of SLAs during run-time, through the integration of Juniper’s RIC and Slice-aware use case capabilities with IBM Cloud Pak for Network Automation’s policy engines.

“We see CSPs rapidly turning to cloud and intelligent automation technology as they look to build more open and scalable next-generation networks and provide their customers with better end-user experiences. We are driving innovation with partners like Juniper Networks where the value of Cloud Pak® for Network Automation can bring extensive solution value to our joint clients who need disaggregated, multi-vendor and economically-viable radio networks,” stated Andrew Coward, General Manager, Software-Defined Networking, IBM.

“O-RAN is enabling a shift to an open, intelligent and programmable environment that can open up a new vista on the full potential of mobile services, driving innovative applications that make new revenue streams possible for service providers globally. To realize this potential, Juniper’s RIC has been architected as an open and interoperable platform to support easy integration with RAN automation solutions. Coupling it with IBM’s Cloud Pak for Network Automation software has the potential to unlock new monetization opportunities for operators,” said Constantine Polychronopoulos, Group Vice President, 5G & Cloud Networking, Juniper Networks.

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Ericsson: 5G subscriptions top one billion

According to updated figures just released by Ericsson, the number of active 5G subscriptions worldwide has topped 1 billion. Some 136 million 5G subscriptions were added globally between October and December 2022.

Among other statistics in the Ericsson update:

• There were more than 8.4 billion mobile subscriptions at the close of 2022 - a net addition of 39 million between October-December 2022.
• Nigeria accounted for the most mobile subscriptions net additions between October-December 2022, accounting for more than four million. More than four million were also added in the Philippines and more than three million in
• There were about 6.1 billion unique mobile subscribers at the close 2022.
• Mobile broadband accounts for about 86 percent of all mobile subscriptions.
• Mobile network data traffic grew 40 percent between Q4 2021 and Q4 2022, reaching 118 EB (exabytes) per month.
• There was a ten percent quarter-on-quarter mobile network data traffic growth between Q3 2022 and Q4 2022.
• Mobile network data traffic has doubled in just two years.
• 4G subscriptions increased by 36 million from October-end of December 2022 to around 5.1 billion, representing 60 percent of all mobile subscriptions
• WCDMA/HSPA subscriptions fell by 89 million during Q4, 2022, while GSM/EDGE-only subscriptions dropped by 40 million during the same period.
• At the close of 2022, 235 communications service providers (CSPs) had launched commercial 5G services. About 35 CSPs have deployed or launched 5G standalone (SA) networks.

https://www.ericsson.com/en/news/2023/2/emr-february-2023-update

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Nokia supplies 5G Standalone Core for Comcast

Nokia will supply its 5G Standalone Core to Comcast to deliver new seamless connectivity for Xfinity Mobile and Comcast Business Mobile customers.

The deployment includes Nokia's 5G Stand Alone Core networking software, including Packet Core, delivering near zero touch automation and ultra low latency capabilities, as well as operations software and consulting services. These offerings will support Comcast’s efforts to deliver enhanced 5G access to consumer and business customers in the U.S. using Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) and 600 MHz spectrum. This will supplement Comcast's existing Xfinity WiFi network and cellular network partnership with additional targeted 5G coverage in certain high-traffic areas within its service territory. 

Fran Heeran, SVP & General Manager of Core Networks, Cloud and Network Services, at Nokia, said: “We are delighted to partner with Comcast and provide Nokia’s advanced 5G Core portfolio to deliver innovative 5G customer offerings securely, at scale, and with advanced operational efficiencies.”

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Infinera posts Q4 sales of $485.9 million as ICE6 ramps

Citing ramping sales of its ICE6, Infinera reported Q4 2022 GAAP revenue of $485.9 million compared to $390.4 million in the third quarter of 2022 and $400.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2021. GAAP gross margin for the quarter was 37.1% compared to 34.4% in the third quarter of 2022 and 35.6% in the fourth quarter of 2021. GAAP operating margin for the quarter was 5.2% compared to (2.4)% in the third quarter of 2022 and (2.5)% in the fourth quarter of 2021.

GAAP net income for the quarter was $33.5 million, or $0.14 per diluted share, compared to net loss of $(11.9) million, or $(0.05) per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2022, and net loss of $(33.1) million, or $(0.16) per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of 2021. Non-GAAP net income for the quarter was $40.3 million, or $0.16 per diluted share, compared to net income of $9.9 million, or $0.05 per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2022, and $5.7 million, or $0.03 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of 2021.

Infinera CEO David Heard said, “Our fourth quarter revenue and operating profit beat consensus expectations and contributed to record performance for Infinera on many fronts. In the fourth quarter we grew product revenue by 26% and overall revenue by 21% compared to the same quarter a year ago, while operating profit improved approximately three-fold compared to the same quarter a year ago. We delivered these results despite the significant impact of elevated supply chain costs on our financial results. We expanded ICE6 revenue in the quarter, continued to win in the metro, deployed new line systems and advanced the qualification of our 400G ZR+ softwaredefined pluggables.”

“For the full year of 2022, we ramped ICE6 to exceed our 25% of product revenue annual goal, grew total revenue by 10%, and improved operating margin by 230 basis points. Furthermore, we introduced our first subsystems products, which positions us well to access a new multibillion-dollar market that we believe can drive incremental growth, profitability and earnings per share as we focus on achieving our target business model.”

https://investors.infinera.com/overview/default.aspx

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Fujitsu's new 1FINITY Ultra Optical System delivers 1.2 Tbps wavelengths

Fujitsu unveiled its new 1FINITY Ultra Optical System capable of delivering 1.2 Tbps on a single wavelength, with future upgrade to 1.6 Tbps. 

Fujitsu will launch the new platform in the first half of 2023, starting with customers in Japan, North America, as well as throughout Europe where Fujitsu recently expanded availability of its full line of optical, wireless and networking software solutions.

The next generation 1FINITY Ultra Optical System features a digital signal processor (DSP) using latest semiconductor processes and liquid cooling technology with twice the cooling capacity of conventional technology.  The newly developed high performance coherent DSP and ultra-high-speed CDM (Coherent Driver Modulator) enable 135 Gbaud capabilities.

The platform also leverages Fujitsu’s continuous C+L ROADM architecture able to handle multiple wavelength bands in a single product, as well as Forward Raman amplification, a technology developed Furukawa Electric in which signal light and excitation light propagate in the same direction in an optical fiber, and the transmission distance is extended by Raman excitation of the signal light.  

Fujitsu also noted its new 1FINITY Ultra Optical System can significantly reduce carbon emissions compared to similar platforms, while maintaining high data rates of 1.2 Tbps on a single wavelength and 40% greater reach.

Moving forward, Fujitsu plans to offer services using machine learning to optimize network operations and resources for use in combination with Fujitsu’s “Virtuora Network Control Solution” for wide-area network operation and management. 

https://www.fujitsu.com/global/about/resources/news/press-releases/2023/0222-01.html

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DISH rolls out Virtual Open RAN with Samsung

The DISH Wireless 5G network is rolling out the first  shipment of 24,000 Open RAN-compliant radios and 5G virtualized RAN (vRAN) software solutions from Samsung.

Samsung confirmed an acceleration of the DISH network deployment across the U.S., which is poised to provide reliable and fast nationwide coverage to DISH Wireless network users. For this rollout, Samsung provided its comprehensive portfolio of 5G solutions, including its virtualized distributed unit (vDU), virtualized central unit (vCU) and Open RAN-compliant 5G radios, which support the DISH spectrum bands. Samsung also built new dual-band and tri-band Open RAN-compliant radios specific for this deployment.

“Samsung is a key player in the DISH Wireless Open RAN ecosystem, created in collaboration with additional Open RAN leaders like Dell, VMware, AWS and others,” said Marc Rouanne, EVP and Chief Network Officer, DISH Wireless. “Samsung’s 5G vRAN solutions and our shared innovation process allow DISH Wireless to continue the DISH 5G multi-vendor, open and interoperable cloud-native network buildout, as we progress to covering 70 percent of the U.S. population.” 

“DISH Wireless is an innovator in mobile technologies and we are thrilled to reach new heights of connectivity together, validating the immense potential that virtualization and openness can bring to the industry,” said Junehee Lee, Executive Vice President, Head of Global Sales & Marketing, Networks Business, Samsung Electronics. “This milestone advances the wide-scale deployment of Samsung’s vRAN in the U.S. and we look forward to continuing our work with DISH Wireless to accelerate 5G expansion and lead the delivery of next-generation connectivity across the country.”

https://www.samsung.com/global/business/networks/insights/press-release/0222-dish-wireless-launches-virtual-open-ran-5g-network-with-samsung/

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Nubis emerges from stealth with XT1600 optical engine

Nubis Communications, a start-up based in New Providence, New Jersey, emerged from stealth to unveil its an optical engine optimized for machine learning and artificial intelligence (ML/AI) networks. 

Nubis' underlying technology building block is a 16 x 112 Gbps (full duplex) Silicon Photonics engine with integrated modulator drivers and transimpedance amplifiers. This 2D-tileable optical engine supports over 500 Gbps per millimeter of full-duplex edge I/O density, pitch-matched to the bandwidth density of modern SerDes. 

Nubis said its patented fiber array technology enables a density improvement of 10x from today’s front-panel pluggable transceivers without the need to bundle multiple optical streams onto the same fiber, maintaining the full parallelism needed for all-to-all mesh connectivity between ML/AI servers. With a power consumption under 4 pJ per bit, Nubis’ platform provides a 4x power savings over today’s technology. The ultra-low power and ultra-high density are critical to the continued growth of ML/AI clusters in power-constrained data centers where AI models are growing at a rate of 35x every 2 years.

Nubis is sampling its first product. The XT1600 has a total capacity of 1.6 Tbps optical transmit and 1.6 Tbps optical receive carried over 16 fiber pairs, allowing full fan-out and flexible assignment as sixteen independent 100-Gbps full-duplex channels, four separate 400 Gbps full-duplex channels, or two 800 Gbps full-duplex channels. The XT1600 engine is optimized for unretimed direct-drive operation, connecting directly with host ASIC SerDes designed for copper links. This direct-drive approach dramatically lowers the power, size, and cost of the optical solution. Nubis plans to announce later this year additional products utilizing its technology across different use cases, including retimed pluggable modules, active optical cables and co-packaged optics modules.

The company, which was founded in 2020 by industry luminary Peter Winzer and a cross-functional team of industry experts, has raised over $40 million from Matrix Partners and other leading investors to fully fund the development of their first product to volume production.

“Our customers have consistently told us that the power and size of conventional optics are unsustainable,” said Dan Harding, CEO of Nubis Communications. “They are building the largest and highest performing data interconnect clusters in the world and are depending on us to deliver optics that are orders of magnitude denser, lower power, and more efficient to enable their network build-outs.”

https://www.nubis-inc.com

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Effect Photonics intros pico tunable laser assembly QSFP28 100G ZR

EFFECT Photonics introduced a Pico Tunable Laser Assembly (pTLA) to address the growing demand for 100G coherent transceivers in access networks. 

The new pTLA supports both commercial- and industrial-temperature (C-temp and I-temp) operating ranges and is designed specifically to address the 100G coherent network edge, The pTLA will allow coherent pluggables to be deployed more easily and cost effectively in the access domain and will feature optimal laser performance, size and power consumption for a standard QSFP28 form-factor. Furthermore, EFFECT Photonics’ new pTLA utilizes the existing microelectronics ecosystem to allow manufacturing at scale as well as complementary coherent products and services, such as DSPs for those providers in need of a complete transceiver solution.

“Today’s operators need a network edge aggregation strategy that offers the best combination of capacity, cost-effectiveness, and performance to evolve network access effectively, and 100G coherent pluggable optics offer just that,” said Roberto Marcoccia, CEO, EFFECT Photonics. “EFFECT Photonics’ new Pico Tunable Laser Assembly will be the only purpose-designed tunable laser assembly to serve this emerging market, helping to easily scale up network edge aggregation capacity and benefit from coherent technology.”

http://www.effectphotonics.com

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Samsung announces 5G NTN modem for smartphone-to-satellite

Samsung Electronics has secured standardized 5G non-terrestrial networks (NTN) modem technology for direct communication between smartphones and satellites, especially in remote areas. The company plans to integrate this technology into the company’s Exynos modem solutions, accelerating the commercialization of 5G satellite communications and paving the way for the 6G-driven Internet of Everything (IoE) era.

Samsung did not cite the source of its technology acquisition.

"This milestone builds on our rich legacy in wireless communications technologies, following the introduction of the industry’s first commercial 4G LTE modem in 2009 and the industry’s first 5G modem in 2018," said Min Goo Kim, executive vice president of CP (Communication Processor) Development at Samsung Electronics. "Samsung aims to take the lead in advancing hybrid terrestrial-NTN communications ecosystems around the world in preparation for the arrival of 6G."

For highly reliable NTN communication with low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, Samsung has developed and simulated 5G NTN standard-based satellite technology using its Exynos Modem 5300 reference platform to accurately predict satellite locations and minimize frequency offsets caused by the Doppler shift. Based on this technology, Samsung’s future Exynos modems will support two-way text messaging as well as high-definition image and video sharing.

Additionally, Samsung plans to secure a standardized NB-IoT NTN technology for use in its next-generation modem platforms. With integrated satellite connectivity, Samsung’s NB-IoT solutions will eliminate the need for a separate high-power wireless antenna chip inside smartphones, providing mobile device makers with much greater design flexibility.

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Arrcus and VMware partner on end-to-end slicing

Arrcus is spotlighting its telco cloud work with VMware at the upcoming Mobile World Congress 2023.

The Arrcus and VMware solution combines the Arrcus Connected Edge (ACE) platform with VMware Telco Cloud Platform architecture, providing CSPs with end-to-end slicing for 5G, from radio access network (RAN) to multi-access edge computing (MEC) to core networks. This capability leverages Arrcus’ advanced traffic engineering technology, enabling CSPs to set different policies and service level agreements (SLAs) for unique customers and applications on various slices of their networks.

Network automation is another key CSP benefit of the joint solution. And CSPs can create instances across RAN, 5G core, (MEC)/edge and transport networks. The Arrcus-VMware solution also delivers a service assurance platform for transport network, 5G core and RAN telemetry, so CSPs receive metadata on key network parameters.

“CSPs need truly modern infrastructure to gain the greatest value from their 5G investments,” said Arrcus CEO and Chairman Shekar Ayyar. “Arrcus’ ACE platform and our partnership with VMware provide CSPs with an agile network overlay to automate network operations, expedite the delivery of new services on and monetize their 5G infrastructure.”

“VMware brought software-defined networking to service providers,” said Lakshmi Mandyam, vice president of product management and partner ecosystem, service provider and edge, VMware. “VMware’s Telco Cloud Platform, in concert with innovator Arrcus, is transforming 5G networks with virtualization and SDN, distributed computing, cloud technology, automation and agility.”

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Mavenir intros containerized Open vRAN on Red Hat

Mavenir launched its Open Virtualized RAN (Open vRAN) solution running on Red Hat OpenShift for cloud deployment, running on general purpose, common-off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware.

The solution complies with O-RAN Alliance’s O-Cloud specifications, using the O-RAN O2 interface to allow Mavenir’s cloud-native network functions (CNF) to manage the resources provided by Red Hat OpenShift. The integrated offering provides a full stack solution to operationalize Open RAN, including life cycle management, orchestration, and automation, to lower the barrier to entry for service providers and enterprises deploying 4G and 5G public and private networks with real-time use cases that require on-premises equipment. The solution is being deployed by three tier-1 service providers in global markets including Asia, North America, and Europe.

BG Kumar, President, Access Networks, Platforms and MDE, Mavenir, said, “This collaboration with Red Hat allows Mavenir to address the requirements of operators and enterprises needing hybrid or multi-cloud solutions, as well as those looking for a solution that runs on-premises but benefits from the automation and orchestration of a cloud deployment.”

“Red Hat is building a bridge for customers to embrace the Open RAN movement, connecting business needs with the underlying technologies with our open source expertise. Red Hat OpenShift offers a consistent and flexible cloud-native foundation to accelerate application development and Open RAN deployments across any network landscape,” said Honoré LaBourdette, Vice President, Telco, Media, Entertainment & Edge Ecosystem, Red Hat. “By supporting the Mavenir Open vRAN solution on Red Hat OpenShift, service providers are better equipped to meet unique network requirements on a trusted, agile open source platform.”

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Keysight launches test platform for 5G RedCap spec

Keysight Technologies introduced a streamlined network emulator designed to provide protocol, radio frequency, and functional testing of all cellular internet of things technologies, including RedCap. 

The new E7515R solution based on Keysight's 5G Network Emulation Solutions platform, a streamlined network emulator specifically designed for protocol, radio frequency (RF), and functional testing of all cellular internet of things (CIoT) technologies, including RedCap. The E7515R expands Keysight’s 5G Network Emulation Solutions portfolio, the industry’s most robust, which is used in mobile device validation across the workflow, from early design to acceptance and deployment.

The 5G RedCap specification introduces support for wireless devices with reduced 5G capabilities. These devices are less complex, and consume less power, allowing them to address new CIoT use cases such as industrial sensors and wearables such as smartwatches. Like other cellular devices, RedCap devices require time-consuming and expensive certification from accredited labs before they can be released to the market. By performing lab validation ahead of time to identify and correct design issues, device and module manufacturers can shorten the certification process for RedCap and other CIoT devices.

Mosaab Abughalib, General Manager of Keysight’s Wireless Device Development R&D Group, said: “With the introduction of the E7515R solution, Keysight is providing chipset, module, and device makers with a proven test solution that enables the development workflow of the next generation 5G New Radio (NR) RedCap devices. The E7515R solution is optimized for the development of devices that do not require full 5G NR capability, which allows our customers to maximize their return on investment.”

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Rivada signs manufacturer for its laser-connected space network

Rivada Space Networks has signed Terran Orbital's wholly owned subsidiary Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems, to manufacture 300 low-earth-orbit (LEO) satellites for its "network in the sky".

RSN will offer access to a secure satellite network with pole-to-pole reach, offering end-to-end latencies similar to or better than terrestrial fiber. The RSN network combines inter-satellite links with advanced onboard data routers creating an optical backbone in space to deliver an ultra-secure and highly reliable global data network for business operations in the telecom, enterprise, maritime, energy and government services markets.

Rivada Space Networks Executive Chairman Declan Ganley said: "With this contract, Rivada is one step closer to launching a global network dedicated to the wholesale sale of connectivity and capacity at market rates, making truly global connectivity-as-a-service a reality." He added: "The constellation we are building with Terran Orbital in combination with our patented Open Access Wireless Market Platform allow us to offer a network with unprecedented flexibility to users around the world. It will be instrumental in driving the next leg of the ongoing communications revolution." 

www.rivadaspace.com

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