Arista announces 25G FPGA-powered switch

Arista Networks unveiled its next generation 7130 Series for ultra-low latency switching that accelerates 25G networking while retaining compatability with 10G. With three new 25G optimized systems, enhanced performance optics, 25G ready FPGA applications and updates to the FDK (FPGA Development Kit), Arista is addressing the needs for 25G market data distribution and High-Frequency Trading (HFT) environments.

The three new 7130 Series systems increase bandwidth and reduce link latency by 2.5x to address ever-increasing market data volumes and micro-bursts.

• 7132LB: Ultra-low latency of 150ns for L3 forwarding at 25GbE using SwitchApp.
• 7135LB: Integrated Layer 1 fabric with 10G and 25G switching with Arista MetaWatch precise timestamping and packet buffering.
• 7130B-32YD: High-density Layer 1 switch supporting 25GbE over all 256 links.

An upgraded set of Arista developed FPGA applications to enable 25G solutions include SwitchApp (L2/3 switching), MetaWatch (Precise timestamping), MultiAccess (Fast aggregation and Filtering), and MetaMux (Aggregation). Customized FPGA application development is supported through a rich set of API updates to the Arista FPGA Developer’s Kit (FDK), including a 25GbE MAC.

The 7132LB series (FPGA-only L2/3 switch) is orderable today. The Arista 7135 Series (FPGA switch with Layer 1) is planned for Q4 '23 orderability, and the Arista 7130B Series with 25G Ethernet speed will be orderable in Q1 ‘24.

https://www.arista.com/en/

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Ericsson books big impairment charge for Vonage, sales drop in N. America

Ericsson will record a non-cash impairment charge of SEK 32 billion in Q3 2023 representing 50% of the total amount of goodwill and other intangible assets from its acquisition of Vonage. The company cited a significant drop in the market capitalization of Vonage’s publicly traded peers, increased interest rates and overall slowdown in Vonage’s core markets as reasons for the charge. Ericsson continues to advance its enterprise strategy, with Vonage’s network API capabilities being central to this strategy and the development of a Global Network Platform (GNP). 

Overall for Q3, Ericsson reported a 10% drop in organic sales (adjusted for comparable units and currency) driven by a 16% organic decline in Networks partly offset by 5% organic growth in Cloud Software and Services and 10% organic growth in Enterprise.

Networks organic sales were down by -60% in North America YoY, with operators reducing their capex spend and adjusting inventories. It is worth noting that Q3 last year was a record quarter in North America. The sharp decline in North America was partly offset by strong sales in India.

Cloud Software and Services continued to execute on the turnaround strategy. With an EBITA excluding restructuring charges of SEK 0.4 billion in Q3 Cloud Software and Services has now achieved break-even on a four rolling quarters basis.

Enterprise reported continued strong growth in Enterprise Wireless Solutions and a slightly positive EBITA excluding restructuring charges in the Global Communications Platform business (Vonage) in the quarter.

Full results are expected on 17-October-2023.

https://www.ericsson.com/en/press-releases/2023/10/ericsson-announces-impairment-charge-of-sek-32-billion-and-provides-update-on-q3-earnings

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Ericsson releases its 2023 Microwave Outlook report

Ericsson released its 2023 Microwave Outlook report, a technology report focusing on microwave backhaul networks, with in-depth articles on current and emerging trends.

 The 10th edition of the report highlights the potential of E-band spectrum (ranging from 71 GHz to 86 GHz) to meet the backhaul needs beyond 2030. Already deployable in 90% of the world, the report predicts a 50/50 split between fiber and microwaves by 2030. Innovations like sway compensation antennas and AI-driven automation reduce costs, enhance performance, and cut site visits by 40%, with further reductions expected. 

Additional key findings include: 

* A surge in dual polarized antenna usage (70%) with ability to achieve longer hops with specific antenna sizes

* E-band’s ability while predicting a shift towards fiber-connected sites, reaching a 50/50 split with microwave solutions by 2030 with microwaves serving areas lacking fiber in rural regions 

* How AI-driven automation reduces operational costs for managing microwave networks substantially, minimizing troubleshooting time, cutting site visits, and enhancing overall prediction and planning within microwave networks

* A 0.6 m sway compensation antenna enables 30% longer hops than a 0.3 m regular antenna, while a 0.9 m sway antenna enables 80% longer hops than a regular antenna

The report also shows the trend of a gradual increase in the share of fiber-connected installed sites vis-à-vis those connected with microwave solutions, reaching a 50/50 split by 2030. Microwave solutions will be the main connectivity option where fiber is unavailable, and the preferred solution in rural areas where fiber investments can be challenging.

Innovation is in focus with the report looking at how new antenna designs enable better use of required spectrum in dense networks, lower spectrum costs and improve performance. For example, *0.9 meter sway compensation antennas provide 80 percent longer hops than 0.3 m regular antennas. The value of other antenna innovations such as muti-band and water-repellent radomes is also highlighted.

“Predicting the future accurately requires a good understanding of the past in combination with market and technology insights. This is what makes Microwave Outlook a highly relevant report, says Mikael Öhberg, acting Head of Microwave Systems, Business Area Networks, Ericsson. “As we release the 10th edition, we are glad to see that during the past decade of its publishing, Ericsson Microwave Outlook has come to be considered the primary source of insights and trends in the wireless backhaul industry.”

Microwave Outlook is a technology report focusing on microwave backhaul networks, with in-depth articles on current and emerging trends and developments in different areas that can be of interest for communications service providers who are using, or considering the use, of microwave backhaul in their network.

Download the Microwave Outlook 2023 report

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Arelion adds Vancouver PoP

Arelion  announced a new partnership with eStruxture, the largest Canadian cloud and carrier-neutral data center provider, deploying a fully diverse Point-of-Presence (PoP) at eStruxture’s VAN-2 site in the Harbour Centre Building, the largest carrier hotel in the Vancouver market. 

Arelion’s second fully diverse PoP in the Vancouver market will provide wholesale and enterprise customers with high-speed connectivity to Arelion’s global IP backbone and access to Arelion’s ecosystem of cloud, content and application providers, enabling further growth in Vancouver’s gaming, film and technology markets.

“We partnered with eStruxture because they are well-positioned to help us provide our services at scale to customers in Vancouver, enabling a new level of network quality in the market,” said Art Kazmierczak, Director of Strategic Sales & Network Development, Arelion. “eStruxture provides an optimal solution to reach the established customer ecosystem in the Harbour Centre facility, with sufficient power, physical security and connectivity that will enable us to provide affordable, low-latency services to our customers with diverse connections to our global network.”

“Our partnership with Arelion underscores our ongoing dedication to helping our customers extend their reach as their business necessitates it. We're actively expanding our carrier-neutral ecosystem to provide our customers with superior network connectivity choices. This new Point of Presence (PoP) will offer enhanced redundancy and capacity, lower latency, and enable us to effectively support our customers' sustained growth”, says Todd Coleman, President and CEO of eStruxture Data Centers.

With the addition of this PoP at eStruxture’s Harbour Centre site, Arelion provides customers in Canada with enhanced access to Arelion’s number one ranked Internet backbone, AS1299, as well as Arelion’s portfolio of leading connectivity services, including high-speed IP Transit, Dedicated Internet Access (DIA), Cloud Connect, Global 40G Ethernet Virtual Circuit (VC), IPX and DDoS Mitigation services for service providers, content providers and enterprises.

https://www.arelion.com/about-us/press-releases/arelion-adds-vancouver-pop

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Ekinops reports brisk growth for optical, overall Q3 revenue declines

Ekinops reported consolidated revenue of €27.8 million in Q3 2023, down -15% year-on-year. At constant exchange rates, quarterly sales declined by -13%.

"Given last year's particularly challenging comparative figures, Ekinops' third-quarter performance was penalized by the market environment, higher financing costs and large inventories at our operator customers. Our Access activity was impacted by the health of enterprises – our equipment end-users – and therefore by the economic conjuncture. On the other hand, Optical Transport maintained strong momentum, with revenue expected to top our 2023 targets, driven by sustained demand for bandwidth. We remain optimistic for the future as the Group will benefit from the rebound in Access equipment sales as the economy recovers, from the growth of Optical Transport sales which continues to outperform the market, and from Software & Services contribution to revenue," stated Didier Brédy, Chairman and CEO of Ekinops.

In addition to a very high basis for comparison (+36% growth in Q3 2022), the Group's Q3 performance was impacted by a less buoyant market environment, marked by declining demand and a macroeconomic slowdown. In this context, Access equipment sales were notably affected in France and Asia-Pacific.

Additional highlights:

• For the first nine months of 2023, consolidated revenue was €98.8 million, representing total growth of +3% vs. the same period last year, which represented a particularly high basis for comparison (+28% growth). At constant exchange rates, growth was up +4% over the period.
• The first nine months of 2023 were characterized by the brisk growth in Optical Transport, up +23%, with sales notably doubling in France since the start of the year and increasing by +19% in North America.
• Sales for Access solutions were down -10% over the period, with a -19% decline in Q3 alone (reminder: H1 2023 sales declined -5%). In addition to an unfavorable basis for comparison (+26% over nine months in 2022), this decline results from a depressed economic environment, marked by: (i) the slowdown in demand and a growing reluctance among customers to make investments; (ii) more complicated and expensive access to financing for operators; and (iii) cautious inventory management by major operators who had overstocked in response to the electronic components shortage in 2022.
• Driven by the success of network virtualization solutions and services, Software & Services posted robust Q3 growth (+44%), accounting for 20% of the Group's total quarterly revenue. As of end-September, Software & Services revenue increased by 13%, representing 15% of the Group's total revenue (vs. 14% a year earlier).
• The first nine months showed +6% growth internationally, and a -3% decline in France. International business accounted for 66% of Ekinops' total revenue, versus 64% a year earlier.
• North America reported sales of €25.0 million, up +18% Y-o-Y (+22% in USD), driven by strong demand for Optical Transport equipment. This strategic region now accounts for 26% of Group revenue over the period (vs. 22% one year prior).
• The EMEA region (Europe, excluding France, the Middle East and Africa), representing 39% of Ekinops' revenue, recorded solid growth of +11% over the first nine months, with an increase in all business lines (+7% for Access equipment and +17% for Optical Transport solutions).
• At end-September 2023, revenue for Asia-Pacific – which remains highly concentrated and reliant on just a few key accounts – was down -64% (reminder: revenue up +36% on the same period last year). Over nine months, the region accounted for 2% of Ekinops' total revenue.
• Lastly, in its domestic market, sales were down -3% Y-o-Y. In Q3, the downturn was -24% in France (reminder: +59% growth in Q3 2022), due to large inventories among key accounts for Access equipment, the main source of revenue in this market. Conversely, Optical Transport sustained its vigorous momentum with sales doubling since the beginning of the year. Ekinops generated 34% of its nine-month revenue in France.

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Padtec teams with Mexico's FYCO

Padtec has entered into a partnership with FYCO, a global company specialized in technological solutions for the telecommunications sector. This partnership aims to expand the presence of the Brazilian supplier in Mexico and leverage the implementation of high-capacity communication networks, based on DWDM technology, in that country. Moreover, it will contribute to the training of professionals in the Mexican telecommunications sector, through educational projects in partnership with FYCO Learning – FYCO’s academic institution accredited by the Fiber Broadband Association (FBA).

“Padtec is a company with a proven track record and technical capacity to collaborate in this market, through the continued education of professionals and technicians in the sector”, says Edwar Juárez, Chief Operating Officer of FYCO. “We believe that training is a fundamental tool for developing skills and transforming telecommunications on our continent. Together, we hope to train more than 2,500 people in optical transmission networks in Mexico”, he adds. The executive highlights that collaboration between companies represents a fundamental component of the expansion of fiber optic networks. “With Padtec, we hope to achieve a significant presence in the country’s internet providers and operators market, which will increase the region’s transmission capacity and expand its connection to other markets”, he concludes.

“We are pleased to collaborate with FYCO due to its great experience in Mexico, which has become an increasingly attractive market for our solutions”, assesses Hernán Yepes, manager of the Padtec Colombia and the CALA North region. “FYCO is strategically located in the Mexican state of Querétaro to meet the connectivity needs of the country, where the data center industry has been gaining strength, revealing the need for high-capacity, low-latency transmission networks to reach markets such as the United States”, he concludes. In total, Padtec has lit up more than 2 thousand kilometers of optical networks in Mexico, connecting the Mexican states of Quintana Roo and Yucatán to one of the most important carriers in the region.

https://www.padtec.com/

https://www.fycotelecom.com/en/sobre-fyco

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