NTT Com to Launch OpenFlow-based Enterprise Cloud

NTT Communications is launching a globally seamless enterprise cloud service using OpenFlow network virtualization technology within and between data centers. The service, which launches June 20, is initially provided via NTT Com data centers in Japan and Hong Kong, followed by data centers in the United States (two locations), the United Kingdom and Singapore in December and in Australia, Malaysia and Thailand in March 2013.


NTT Com’s new infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) offering, Enterprise Cloud, provides global cloud resources that enterprise customers can easily control and manage to optimize their ICT costs and support the global expansion of corporate operations.



NTT Com said its new service will provide greater flexibility allowing system changes to be performed automatically using virtualized servers and networks, and a convenient customer portal. Primary features of the new Enterprise Cloud service include free-of-charge broadband connection from this service directly to the Arcstar Universal One cloud-based enterprise network in NTT Com data centers. On-demand backup is also provided via other data centers worldwide using NTT Com’s global and secure broadband virtualized networks. In addition, NTT Com will enable customers to perform precise, small-increment control of server resources, such as CPU, memory and disk, and network resources, such as virtual firewall, virtual load balancer and virtualized networks. ICT costs can be trimmed on a pay-as-you-go basis down to the per-minute level.



. http://www.ntt.com.cnhttp://www.ntt.com/bhec_e

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GSA: 80 LTE Networks Launched, Subscriber Growth Accelerates

There are now 80 LTE networks in commercial operation, according to the GSA, and this figure is expected to grow by another 64 operators before the end of the year. The GSA counts 267 operators with firm commercial plans, trials underway or live LTE networks in operation. LTE is entering a new phase as a mainstream technology in 2012, giving it the fastest adoption cycle among mobile technology, according to the GSA.



Alan Hadden, President of the GSA, said: “The number of commercial LTE networks has quadrupled in just over a year. Commercial LTE services are available in 38 countries. The pace of introduction of LTE is happening faster than most people predicted a year ago.�?



Some highlights from the report:

• As of the end of Q1, there were 17 million LTE subscriptions -- an addition of 7.4 million in Q1 alone.
  64% of LTE subscriptions are in North America. APAC is also growing quickly, while Europe is far behind.
  Initial network launches are mainly LTE-FDD. The most common frequencies used for LTE are: 700 MHz: band 13, band 17 800 MHz: band 20 1800 MHz: band 3 2600 MHz: band 7.



• 7 commercial LTE TDD networks have been launched: Sky Brazil, Bharti Airtel, Softbank, Aero2, Mobily, STC, and 3 Sweden. (some dual LTE-FDD and LTE-TDD)



• Providing initial widespread coverage with LTE in the 1800 MHz band can be as much as 60% cheaper than covering the same area with LTE using higher frequency bands.



• Regulators need to accelerate efforts to enable refarming of spectrum in the 1800 MHz band in order to realise the benefits of LTE 1800MHz.



• The report was presented at last week's LTE Forum 2012 – Istanbul, 5-6 June, 2012.

The report as well as additional LTE resources are on the GSA website. http://www.gsacom.com

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NteTT Com to Launch OpenFlow-based Enterprise Cloud

NTT Communications is launching a globally seamless enterprise cloud service using OpenFlow network virtualization technology within and between data centers. The service, which launches June 20, is initially provided via NTT Com data centers in Japan and Hong Kong, followed by data centers in the United States (two locations), the United Kingdom and Singapore in December and in Australia, Malaysia and Thailand in March 2013.


NTT Com’s new infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) offering, Enterprise Cloud, provides global cloud resources that enterprise customers can easily control and manage to optimize their ICT costs and support the global expansion of corporate operations.



NTT Com said its new service will provide greater flexibility allowing system changes to be performed automatically using virtualized servers and networks, and a convenient customer portal. Primary features of the new Enterprise Cloud service include free-of-charge broadband connection from this service directly to the Arcstar Universal One cloud-based enterprise network in NTT Com data centers. On-demand backup is also provided via other data centers worldwide using NTT Com’s global and secure broadband virtualized networks. In addition, NTT Com will enable customers to perform precise, small-increment control of server resources, such as CPU, memory and disk, and network resources, such as virtual firewall, virtual load balancer and virtualized networks. ICT costs can be trimmed on a pay-as-you-go basis down to the per-minute level.



. http://www.ntt.com.cnhttp://www.ntt.com/bhec_e

Read More

GSA: 80 LTE Networks Launched, Subscriber Growth Accelerates

There are now 80 LTE networks in commercial operation, according to the GSA, and this figure is expected to grow by another 64 operators before the end of the year. The GSA counts 267 operators with firm commercial plans, trials underway or live LTE networks in operation. LTE is entering a new phase as a mainstream technology in 2012, giving it the fastest adoption cycle among mobile technology, according to the GSA.



Alan Hadden, President of the GSA, said: “The number of commercial LTE networks has quadrupled in just over a year. Commercial LTE services are available in 38 countries. The pace of introduction of LTE is happening faster than most people predicted a year ago.�?



Some highlights from the report:

• As of the end of Q1, there were 17 million LTE subscriptions -- an addition of 7.4 million in Q1 alone.
  64% of LTE subscriptions are in North America. APAC is also growing quickly, while Europe is far behind.
  Initial network launches are mainly LTE-FDD. The most common frequencies used for LTE are: 700 MHz: band 13, band 17 800 MHz: band 20 1800 MHz: band 3 2600 MHz: band 7.



• 7 commercial LTE TDD networks have been launched: Sky Brazil, Bharti Airtel, Softbank, Aero2, Mobily, STC, and 3 Sweden. (some dual LTE-FDD and LTE-TDD)



• Providing initial widespread coverage with LTE in the 1800 MHz band can be as much as 60% cheaper than covering the same area with LTE using higher frequency bands.



• Regulators need to accelerate efforts to enable refarming of spectrum in the 1800 MHz band in order to realise the benefits of LTE 1800MHz.



• The report was presented at last week's LTE Forum 2012 – Istanbul, 5-6 June, 2012.

The report as well as additional LTE resources are on the GSA website. http://www.gsacom.com

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Intelsat Plans "EpicNG" Broadband Satellites

Intelsat unveiled its EpicNG platform -- a new approach to satellite and network architecture utilizing multiple frequency bands, wide beams, spot beams and frequency reuse technology. EpicNG will be the company's next generation of satellites, promising higher throughputs and lower cost per bit. It will be a complementary overlay to the company's existing constellation of satellites and global IntelsatONE terrestrial network.

Target markets include wireless and fixed telecommunications, enterprise, mobility, video and government applications requiring broadband infrastructure across the major continents. Intelsat said its EpicNG platform will bring high throughput technology to its spectral rights in the C-, Ku- and Ka-bands. Customers will be able to use existing hardware and network topologies, and in many cases, define their own service characteristics, enabling them to offer customized solutions to their end users and build upon their current business success. Initially, the Intelsat EpicNG platform will feature two next generation satellites, and Intelsat is currently evaluating proposals by several manufacturers. These first two satellites, Intelsat 29e and Intelsat 33e, have projected in-services dates in 2015 and 2016, and feature wide coverage and high throughput capacity; combined they will serve every populated region in the world.

 "The Intelsat EpicNG platform represents the next generation of satellites, a progressive evolution of the Intelsat fleet," said Intelsat Chief Executive Officer Dave McGlade. "As the global demand for bandwidth surges and penetration of communications reaches ever further into developing regions and mobile applications, we are strategically investing in this platform to support our customers with a highly reliable and efficient broadband infrastructure as they launch new services and enter new geographies." “With Intelsat EpicNG, we will deliver innovation that creates immediate value for our customers,” said Intelsat SVP and Chief Technical Officer Thierry Guillemin. "As bandwidth demand grows, speed and throughput is critical. However, equally important is the operating environment. Our customers operate vast infrastructures, with millions of dollars invested in capital equipment and operational teams that must be managed efficiently. Intelsat EpicNG caters to this environment, with an architecture open to a wide array of network topologies and terminal technologies. Combined with multi-band frequency reuse, this is high throughput with the benefits of backward and forward compatibility. Operational excellence is core to our approach, and Intelsat EpicNG is designed to support the same in our customers’ businesses."
http://www.intelsatepic.com

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Meru Raises $12 Million in Financing

Meru Networks announced $12 million in growth capital debt financing from Western Technology Investment (WTI), a leading technology investment firm.



Meru specializes in virtualized wireless LAN solutions for enterprises.
http://www.merunetworks.com

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ZTE Launches LTE + WiFi Router with Softbank

Softbank will resell a next-generation high-speed 4G WiFi router developed by ZTE. The router, called the SoftBank 102Z, features a sleek design resembling an ultra-slim mobile phone. It offers a download speed of up to 76Mbps on SoftBank’s 4G AXGP high-speed network. The unit has a lithium ion battery with a capacity of 2800mAh for seven hours of usage. http://www.zte.com.cn

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U.S. and Mexico Sign 800 MHz and 1.9 GHz Spectrum Protocols

The United States signed two Protocols with Mexico for sharing spectrum in the 800 MHz and 1.9 GHz bands along the
U.S.-Mexican border.



The FCC said this marks the beginning of the final phase for rebanding in the 800 MHz band across the country. These actions will help support commercial broadband services and public safety mission-critical voice communications along the U.S.-Mexico border and throughout the United States.



"These agreements with Mexico will unleash investment and benefit consumers near the borders by enabling the rollout of advanced wireless broadband service and advanced systems for critical public safety and emergency response communications,�? Chairman Julius Genachowski stated. “I appreciate the commitment and dedication of agency staff and those at the State Department who made these important agreements possible.�? http://www.fcc.gov

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Obama Renominates Clyburn as FCC Commissioner

President Obama has renominated Mignon L. Clyburn to serve as one of the five FCC Commissioners. She has served since July 2009 and her term end June 30, 2012.



Mignon Clyburn previously was a member of South Carolina's Public Service Commission, which regulates the state's investor owned public utilities, including providers of telecommunications services. http://www.fcc.gov

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MetroPCS is First U.S. Carrier with Huawei LTE Phone

MetroPCS Communications has begunn marketing Huawei's Activa 4G smartphone -- Huawei's first 4G LTE handset in the United States.



The Huawei Activa 4G is a 3.5-inch HVGA capacitive touchscreen smartphone powered by the Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) operating system and equipped with a 5.0 megapixel camera with single LED flash and front-facing VGA camera. The 4G LTE device is powered by GCT's GDM7240 single-chip 4G LTE solution. The phone is priced at $149 without a contract.



"MetroPCS is committed to bringing 4G LTE handsets to consumers with a range of price points and features to ensure that 4G LTE is available to everyone and offers the experience that is right for them," said Tom Keys, president and chief operating officer of MetroPCS. "The addition of Huawei as a new 4G LTE handset provider is a great step for us as we continue to expand our portfolio of affordable, feature-rich 4G LTE devices at an exceptional value."http://www.metropcs.com

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AT&T Earns Homeland Security Certification For Disaster Preparedness

AT&T has earned Department of Homeland Security (DHS) certification for disaster preparedness under the Voluntary Private Sector Preparedness Program. The program enables private sector organizations to enhance their capabilities for planning, responding to, and recovering from natural disasters and other threats.



AT&T is the first company to earn this certification.



"We are proud to be the first company to achieve this Homeland Security certification, for it reflects AT&T's long-standing commitment to business continuity through disaster preparedness," said Pamela Lackey, President of AT&T South Carolina. "This accomplishment is a tribute to South Carolina's leaders who, for many years, have championed policies that encourage investment in advanced and reliable technologies across the state. As a result, our business and network operations are state-of-the-art when it comes to performing during and after a disaster or emergency."http://www.att.com

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Meru Raises $12 Million in Financing

Meru Networks announced $12 million in growth capital debt financing from Western Technology Investment (WTI), a leading technology investment firm.



Meru specializes in virtualized wireless LAN solutions for enterprises.
http://www.merunetworks.com

Read More

ZTE Launches LTE + WiFi Router with Softbank

Softbank will resell a next-generation high-speed 4G WiFi router developed by ZTE. The router, called the SoftBank 102Z, features a sleek design resembling an ultra-slim mobile phone. It offers a download speed of up to 76Mbps on SoftBank’s 4G AXGP high-speed network. The unit has a lithium ion battery with a capacity of 2800mAh for seven hours of usage. http://www.zte.com.cn

Read More

U.S. and Mexico Sign 800 MHz and 1.9 GHz Spectrum Protocols

The United States signed two Protocols with Mexico for sharing spectrum in the 800 MHz and 1.9 GHz bands along the
U.S.-Mexican border.



The FCC said this marks the beginning of the final phase for rebanding in the 800 MHz band across the country. These actions will help support commercial broadband services and public safety mission-critical voice communications along the U.S.-Mexico border and throughout the United States.



"These agreements with Mexico will unleash investment and benefit consumers near the borders by enabling the rollout of advanced wireless broadband service and advanced systems for critical public safety and emergency response communications,�? Chairman Julius Genachowski stated. “I appreciate the commitment and dedication of agency staff and those at the State Department who made these important agreements possible.�? http://www.fcc.gov

Read More

Obama Renominates Clyburn as FCC Commissioner

President Obama has renominated Mignon L. Clyburn to serve as one of the five FCC Commissioners. She has served since July 2009 and her term end June 30, 2012.



Mignon Clyburn previously was a member of South Carolina's Public Service Commission, which regulates the state's investor owned public utilities, including providers of telecommunications services. http://www.fcc.gov

Read More

MetroPCS is First U.S. Carrier with Huawei LTE Phone

MetroPCS Communications has begunn marketing Huawei's Activa 4G smartphone -- Huawei's first 4G LTE handset in the United States.



The Huawei Activa 4G is a 3.5-inch HVGA capacitive touchscreen smartphone powered by the Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) operating system and equipped with a 5.0 megapixel camera with single LED flash and front-facing VGA camera. The 4G LTE device is powered by GCT's GDM7240 single-chip 4G LTE solution. The phone is priced at $149 without a contract.



"MetroPCS is committed to bringing 4G LTE handsets to consumers with a range of price points and features to ensure that 4G LTE is available to everyone and offers the experience that is right for them," said Tom Keys, president and chief operating officer of MetroPCS. "The addition of Huawei as a new 4G LTE handset provider is a great step for us as we continue to expand our portfolio of affordable, feature-rich 4G LTE devices at an exceptional value."http://www.metropcs.com

Read More

AT&T Earns Homeland Security Certification For Disaster Preparedness

AT&T has earned Department of Homeland Security (DHS) certification for disaster preparedness under the Voluntary Private Sector Preparedness Program. The program enables private sector organizations to enhance their capabilities for planning, responding to, and recovering from natural disasters and other threats.



AT&T is the first company to earn this certification.



"We are proud to be the first company to achieve this Homeland Security certification, for it reflects AT&T's long-standing commitment to business continuity through disaster preparedness," said Pamela Lackey, President of AT&T South Carolina. "This accomplishment is a tribute to South Carolina's leaders who, for many years, have championed policies that encourage investment in advanced and reliable technologies across the state. As a result, our business and network operations are state-of-the-art when it comes to performing during and after a disaster or emergency."http://www.att.com

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Telefónica UK and Vodafone UK to Integrate 18,500 Cell Sites

Telefónica UK and Vodafone UK agreed to pool the basic parts of their network infrastructure to create one national grid running each operator’s independent spectrum. Plans call for creating a 50/50 joint venture company that would take ownership of basic network infrastructure, including towers and masts. There would be a single grid of 18,500 masts representing an increase in sites of more than 40% for each operator. The joint venture will also be responsible for the building of new sites needed to extend coverage into rural and remote areas. Duplicate sites would be decommissioned. Both companies will retain complete control over their wireless spectrum, intelligent core networks and customer data. They will continue to actively compete with each other in all products and services, enabled through the 'intelligent' parts of their networks.



Responsibility for design, management and maintenance of the radio equipment as well as backhaul would be split geographically. Telefónica UK will manage and maintain these elements in the East (including Northern Ireland and most of Scotland) and Vodafone UK in the West (including Wales).



The companies said this level of cooperation will lead to indoor 2G and 3G coverage targeting 98% of the UK population by 2015, delivering mobile coverage and mobile internet services to the vast majority of UK households. It will also ensure that 4G mobile services is rolled out as widely and rapidly as possible. The companies would continue to compete at the services layer.



Ronan Dunne, CEO Telefónica UK said: “Exceptional customer demand for the mobile internet has challenged the mobile industry to consider innovative solutions to building a nationwide network that will be fit for our customers in the future and support the products and services that will truly make Britain digital. This partnership is about working smarter as an industry, so that we can focus on what really matters to our customers – delivering a superfast network up to two years faster than Ofcom envisages and to as many people as possible. One physical grid, running independent networks, will mean greater efficiency, fewer site builds, broader coverage and, crucially, investment in innovation and better competition for the customer."



Guy Laurence, CEO Vodafone UK said: “This partnership will close the digital divide for millions of people across the country and power the next phase of the smartphone revolution. It will create two stronger players who will compete with each other and with other operators to bring the benefits of mobile internet services to consumers and businesses across the country. We have learned a lot from our existing network collaboration but now it is time for it to evolve. This partnership will improve the service that customers receive today and give Britain the 4G networks that it will need tomorrow."http://www.telefonica.com http://www.vodafone.com

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Intelsat Plans "EpicNG" Broadband Satellites

Intelsat unveiled its EpicNG platform -- a new approach to satellite and network architecture utilizing multiple frequency bands, wide beams, spot beams and frequency reuse technology. EpicNG will be the company's next generation of satellites, promising higher throughputs and lower cost per bit. It will be a complementary overlay to the company's existing constellation of satellites and global IntelsatONE terrestrial network.



Target markets include wireless and fixed telecommunications, enterprise, mobility, video and government applications requiring broadband infrastructure across the major continents.



Intelsat said its EpicNG platform will bring high throughput technology to its spectral rights in the C-, Ku- and Ka-bands. Customers will be able to use existing hardware and network topologies, and in many cases, define their own service characteristics, enabling them to offer customized solutions to their end users and build upon their current business success.



Initially, the Intelsat EpicNG platform will feature two next generation satellites, and Intelsat is currently evaluating proposals by several manufacturers. These first two satellites, Intelsat 29e and Intelsat 33e, have projected in-services dates in 2015 and 2016, and feature wide coverage and high throughput capacity; combined they will serve every populated region in the world.



"The Intelsat EpicNG platform represents the next generation of satellites, a progressive evolution of the Intelsat fleet," said Intelsat Chief Executive Officer Dave McGlade. "As the global demand for bandwidth surges and penetration of communications reaches ever further into developing regions and mobile applications, we are strategically investing in this platform to support our customers with a highly reliable and efficient broadband infrastructure as they launch new services and enter new geographies."



“With Intelsat EpicNG, we will deliver innovation that creates immediate value for our customers,�? said Intelsat SVP and Chief Technical Officer Thierry Guillemin. "As bandwidth demand grows, speed and throughput is critical. However, equally important is the operating environment. Our customers operate vast infrastructures, with millions of dollars invested in capital equipment and operational teams that must be managed efficiently. Intelsat EpicNG caters to this environment, with an architecture open to a wide array of network topologies and terminal technologies. Combined with multi-band frequency reuse, this is high throughput with the benefits of backward and forward compatibility. Operational excellence is core to our approach, and Intelsat EpicNG is designed to support the same in our customers’ businesses."http://www.intelsatepic.com

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Citrix to Acquire Bytemobile for Mobile Optimization Platform

Citrix agreed to acquire privately held Bytemobile, which offers data and video optimization solutions for mobile operators. Financial terms were not disclosed.



The deal provides Citrix with a key strategic foothold in the core infrastructure of more than 130 mobile operators in 60 countries around the world, significantly extending the company’s market reach, and enhancing the broader Citrix strategy of powering mobile workstyles and cloud services. The acquisition builds on a strategic partnership announced earlier this year that combined the Bytemobile Smart Capacity technology with the Citrix NetScaler line of cloud networking solutions.



Bytemobile said its mobile network customers today serve more than 2 billion subscribers and process more than 20 petabytes of data traffic through customer networks daily.



Bytemobile, which is based in Santa Clara, California (near the Citrix Silicon Valley headquarters), has approximately 300 employees, including product, sales and services teams around the world.



“The cloud and mobile revolutions are rapidly converging, and mobile operators are at the heart of this convergence,�? said Klaus Oestermann, group vice president and general manager of cloud networking at Citrix. “With the integration of Bytemobile technology, products and intellectual capital, Citrix will be uniquely positioned to be a leader in the global mobile data and video infrastructure market in the LTE era."



Citrix plans to build on Bytemobile as the center of its go-to-market strategy for mobile network operators – retaining and growing its investment in the Bytemobile brand, technology, products, employees and customer relationships. Bytemobile will continue as an independent product group within the Citrix cloud networking group, leveraging clear synergies with adjacent technologies such as Citrix NetScaler.



“We are excited about the significance of this transaction for the industry, our customers, our employees, and our stockholders,�? said Chris Koopmans, chief operating officer of Bytemobile. “With the rollout of LTE and other next-generation networks, the mobile data market is poised to grow dramatically in the coming years. The addition of Bytemobile solutions to the Citrix portfolio will accelerate the fulfillment of our vision and investment in the future of the industry.�? http://www.citrix.com http://www.bytemobile.com

• In April 2012, Bytemobile has extended its Adaptive Traffic Management System for ensuring quality of experience (QoE) in mobile networks with two new products for 3G and 4G networks.
  
  
  
  Introduced last year, Bytemobile's T3100 Adaptive Traffic Manager, which was the first product in the series, is an in-line platform designed to automatically adapt and manage all mobile IP traffic based on real-time network conditions. The NEBS Level 3-compliant platform integrates a combination of network elements for caching, load balancing, deep packet inspection (DPI), web and video optimization, policy control, and analytics. It is designed to be deployed in the core of mobile networks, between the RAN and the Internet.
  
  
  
  The new T1100 Traffic Director and the T2100 Content Accelerator provide operators with a seamless single-vendor solution for processing video and web traffic to deliver increased network efficiency and the best possible user experience under all network conditions.
  
  The T1100 Traffic Director is designed to deliver the intelligence and performance required to scale next-generation networks and applications. It is a flexible application delivery controller – powered by Citrix NetScaler and custom-built for deployment with Bytemobile’s Smart Capacity platforms. It provides a seamless exchange of information to intelligently distribute traffic load at all times, resulting in higher availability, greater throughput and simplified operational management. The T1100 also features advanced Citrix NetScaler TriScale technology, including new clustering capabilities that enable multiple appliances to work as a single system so overall network capacity can scale from just megabits/sec to terabits/sec.
  
  
  
  The T2100 Content Accelerator is an intelligent caching appliance. Because of its seamless integration with Bytemobile’s two Smart Capacity platforms, operators can add the T2100 to existing traffic management deployments and immediately begin accelerating the multimedia experience by bringing streaming video and audio closer to the subscriber.

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