AWS partners with Ningxia Western Cloud Data for 2nd data center region in China

Amazon Web Services (AWS) has formed a strategic partnership with Ningxia Western Cloud Data Technology Co. Ltd. (NWCD).

AWS will use data centers and cloud infrastructure operated by NWCD to launch AWS China (Ningxia) Region, its second cloud region in China. NWCD operates and provides services from the AWS China (Ningxia) Region in full compliance with Chinese regulations.

The AWS China (Ningxia) Region, operated by NWCD, offers two Availability Zones at launch. AWS Regions are comprised of Availability Zones, which refer to technology infrastructure in separate and distinct geographic locations with enough distance to significantly reduce the risk of a single event impacting availability, yet near enough for business continuity applications that require rapid failover. Each Availability Zone has independent power, cooling, and physical security, and is connected to national backbone networks via local telecom carriers’ high-speed fiber-optic networks. AWS customers focused on high availability can architect their applications to run in multiple Availability Zones or across both AWS China Regions to achieve even higher fault-tolerance.

AWS China (Beijing) Region is already in service and operated by Sinnet. The company said it already has thousands of active customers using its cloud services in Beijing.

The expansion to NingXia marks the seventh AWS region in Asia Pacific (Beijing, Mumbai, Seoul, Singapore, Sydney, and Tokyo). AWS now provides 46 Availability Zones across 17 technology infrastructure regions globally, with announced plans for another 15 Availability Zones across five AWS Regions in Bahrain, France, Hong Kong SAR, Sweden, and the US.

“Together with our partner NWCD, and with deep appreciation of the support we’ve received from the Zhongwei municipal government and Ningxia government, we’re excited to announce the launch of the AWS China (Ningxia) Region, operated by NWCD. The second AWS Region in China is part of AWS’s ongoing commitment to offer best-in-class cloud technologies to Chinese customers,” said Andy Jassy, CEO, AWS. “For years, AWS and our partners have had an enthusiastic base of customers in China, a country with one of the world’s largest and most dynamic cloud ecosystems. Our customers build their businesses on AWS because in addition to being the world’s largest cloud, it has more functionality than any other cloud platform, an extensive partner community, and unmatched maturity, security, and performance.”

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Iron Mountain to acquire IO Data Centers U.S. for $1.3B

Iron Mountain agreed to acquire the U.S. operations of IO Data Centers LLC, a colocation data center services provider based in Phoenix, Arizona, for $1.315 billion plus up to $60 million based on future performance.

The deal includes the land and buildings associated with four state-of-the-art data centers in Phoenix and Scottsdale, Arizona; Edison, New Jersey; and Columbus, Ohio. The existing data center space in the four owned facilities totals 728,000 square feet, providing 62 megawatts (MW) of capacity with expansion potential of an additional 77 MW in Arizona and New Jersey. 

IO Phoenix Campus
Leading interconnected campus with significant expansion potential
Current data center capacity: 38 MW (approximately 95% utilization)
Weighted average remaining lease term of 2.9 years
Expansion capability: 2 - 3 MW through an expansion of the existing shell, plus an additional 60 MW on adjacent 9-acre owned and entitled parcel

IO Scottsdale
Raised floor with dedicated metro optical network to IO Phoenix campus
Current data center capacity: 7 MW (approximately 88% utilization)
Weighted average remaining lease term of 2.2 years

IO New Jersey Campus
830,000 square foot building, including approximately 400,000 square feet of warehouse space for subleasing; former New York Times printing building, partially fitted with data centers, offers proximity to Wall Street and healthcare firms
Current data center capacity: 15 MW (approximately 79% utilization)
Weighted average remaining lease term of 4.3 years
Expansion capability: 15 MW

IO Ohio
Highly efficient data center
Current data center capacity: 2 MW (approximately 98% utilization)
Weighted average remaining lease term of 4.0 years

This agreement follows the acquisition of FORTRUST data center on September 1, 2017, and the announcement of Iron Mountain's international data center expansion through the planned acquisition of two Credit Suisse data centers in the London and Singapore markets.

When the Credit Suisse and IO transactions are consummated in early 2018, Iron Mountain's data center portfolio will total more than 90 MW of existing capacity, with an additional 26 MW of capacity currently under construction and planned and future expansion potential of another 135 MW.

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FirstNet adds "Ruthless Preemption" feature

FirstNet, which in partnership with AT&T is building the nationwide public safety broadband network, announced the release of "ruthless preemption" for first responder subscribers across the country.

Preemption is a mission-critical feature that enables first responders on FirstNet to communicate and coordinate during emergencies, large events or other situations where commercial networks can become congested.

The feature is now available to first responders in states and territories that have opted in to the First Responder Network Authority and AT&T plan.

"As a first responder on 9/11, I experienced the communications challenges that can happen in large emergencies as networks become congested and overwhelmed," said Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Chief Richard Bowers. "Now, with the launch of preemption on FirstNet, for the first time, public safety is ensured a 'fast lane' to connect. FirstNet will provide reliability, confidence and ability for first responders to be able to communicate during emergency operations. Virginia was first in to opt in, and we're all in to ensure emergency communications are seamless for first responders."

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Zayo to provide European Dark Fiber to Global Webscale Company

Zayo announced a major contract to provide a global webscale company (not named) with significant amounts of dark fiber in Europe. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The solution consists of more than 835 miles (1,350 kilometers) of long-haul dark fiber located on multiple strategic routes in the UK and France. The solution utilizes Zayo’s significant European assets acquired from Geo, Viatel, and AboveNet.

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Tencent deploys Mellanox RDMA and Intelligent Interconnect Acceleration Engines

Tencent Cloud has adopted Mellanox interconnect solutions for its high-performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence (AI) public cloud offering.

Specifically, the Tencent Cloud infrastructure leverages Mellanox Ethernet and InfiniBand adapters, switches and cables to deliver advanced public cloud services. Tencent also employs Mellanox RDMA, in-network computing and other interconnect acceleration engines.

“Tencent Cloud is utilizing Mellanox interconnect and applications acceleration technology to help companies develop their next generation products and offer new and intelligent services,” said Wang Huixing, vice president of Tencent Cloud. “We are excited to work with Mellanox to integrate its world-leading interconnect technologies into our public cloud offerings, and plan to continue to scale our infrastructure product lines to meet the growing needs of our customers.”

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Verizon opens 5G incubator in NYC’s Silicon Alley

Verizon opened a 5G-enabled Open Innovation lab in New York’s Silicon Alley.  The facility, which was created in partnership with Alley, a co-working community that collocates startups, accelerators, and entrepreneurs, aims to work with startups and academics to unlock new use cases and experiences through trials and prototypes using Verizon’s pre-commercial 5G technology.

“5G brings an entirely new and unique array of benefits and possibilities compared to previous wireless technologies,” says Verizon SVP of Strategy, Innovation and Product Development, Toby Redshaw. “One of the best ways to unleash the true possibilities of 5G is by getting it into the hands of innovators and visionaries. We see Alley as a logical first place to do just that.”

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Fiber Broadband Association elects Kevin Morgan as Chair

Kevin Morgan has been elected to the position of Chairman-Elect for the Fiber Broadband Association (formerly the Fiber to the Home Council Americas), which is an industry that promotes all-fiber-optic network infrastructure to the home, to the business, and everywhere.

Morgan will serve one year as Chairman-Elect then move to the position of Chairman of the Board in 2019.  He also serves as Chief Marketing Officer for Clearfield.

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Corning to acquire 3M's communications division for $900 million

Corning agreed to acquire 3M’s Communication Markets Division in a cash transaction valued at approximately $900 million. This business consists of optical fiber and copper passive connectivity solutions for the telecommunications industry including 3M’s xDSL, FTTx, and structured cabling solutions and, in certain countries, telecommunications system integration services.

3M’s Communication Markets Division, which is based in Austin, Texas, has an annual turnover of approximately $400 million for its high bandwidth and optical fiber products. This puts the acquisition at less than 7 times the Communication Markets Division’s estimated forward-annual adjusted EBITDA, including expected run-rate synergies.

Corning said it expects the transaction to add $0.07-$0.09 to 2019 EPS. In addition to its operations in Texas, the 3M business also has a dedicated manufacturing facility in Pontchâteau, France, and operations in Hannover, Germany. Approximately 500 3M employees are expected to join Corning upon completion of the transaction.

“Corning leads in optical passive components and solutions. This transaction expands both our global market reach and our high-bandwidth portfolio. It also provides new co-innovation opportunities and enhances our ability to serve customers globally,” said Clark S. Kinlin, executive vice president, Corning Optical Communications. “As the industry’s only true end-to-end manufacturer and supplier of optical solutions, we look forward to bringing these two strong organizations together and welcoming a group of outstanding employees.”

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Ericsson confirms 5G contract with Verizon

Ericsson will provide the 5G Core network, 5G Radio Access Network (RAN), transport and associated services for Verizon's commercial 5G launch in selected U.S. markets during the second half of 2018. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Verizon will deploy the pre-standard 5G commercial radio network and the 5G Core network gear.

The deployment follows joint trials of fixed-wireless 5G using mmWave spectrum in multiple cities and residential neighborhoods with different geographies and housing densities.
“5G will change the way we work, interact, learn and play. Through our work with Ericsson, we are creating a clear roadmap and building a robust ecosystem that will enable us to maximize the potential of 5G,” stated Ed Chan, SVP Technology Strategy and Planning for Corporate Networking and Technology, Verizon.

“Our pioneering work with 5G will make US consumers and businesses among the first in the world to benefit from the transformative services of the new technology. It further illustrates how our global 5G portfolio, designed to support 5G NR as standardized in 3GPP, enables first movers in the early commercialization of 5G networks,” stated Fredrik Jejdling, Executive Vice President and Head of Business Area Networks, Ericsson.

• In November, Verizon announced that its first 5G application will be a fixed residential broadband service. The first commercial launch will occur in Sacramento, California during the second half of 2018. Additional markets are also expected to launch in 2018. Verizon did not disclose the performance characteristics of its 5G residential service but said it will provide unprecedented wireless speeds for Internet access. Verizon estimates the market opportunity for initial 5G residential broadband services to be approximately 30 million households nationwide. The company also noted that the 5G residential rollout will not have a material impact on Verizon’s consolidated capital expenditures in 2018. CAPEX is expected to be consistent with the past several years.

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Colt cuts Tokyo-London latency to under 159 milliseconds

Colt Technology Services has cut network latency between the Tokyo to London financial centres to less than 159 milliseconds. Lower latency is highly desirable for global financial firms.

“We are committed to providing global financial firms with a very fast and reliable network infrastructure together with superior customer experience. This is why we are investing heavily in low latency connectivity between the key financial centres and exchanges in Asia, Europe and North America. This year, we have announced improved latency on our Chicago to Tokyo network route and key APAC routes. We are now focusing on the Tokyo to London route. Firms are increasingly using their network to gain a competitive advantage and the Colt IQ Network provides a consistently high experience across all regions,” stated Andrew Housden, VP, Capital Markets at Colt.

In 2017, Colt has invested €200 million to upgrade capacity across its global Colt IQ Network.

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Acacia ships pluggable coherent CFP2-DCO module for 100/200G

Acacia Communications has begun commercial shipment of a new pluggable coherent CFP2-DCO module supporting 100 Gbps and 200 Gbps transmission in a range of network applications such as including data center interconnect, metro access, metro core, long-haul, as well as emerging applications including remote PHY and client optical interfaces up to 80 km. 

The CFP2-DCO supports four times the faceplate density of the CFP-DCO.  Acacia’s CFP2-DCO incorporates its Meru DSP ASIC, based on 16nm CMOS technology, and its silicon photonic integrated circuit. Internal layer 1 encryption can be enabled for enhanced security applications. The technology was first sampled in 2016.

Acacia said these CFP2-DCO modules help to simplify network management and reduce operations costs for providers. The believes that these compact pluggable modules will allow its customers to offer some of the lowest power solutions available in the optical transport industry. 

Key advantages of the CFP2-DCO form factor compared to alternative coherent architecture:

• Pay-as-you-grow deployment model – Defers the deployment cost, including that of the digital signal processor (DSP), of additional ports until additional bandwidth is needed.
• Digital host interface – Streamlines integration into existing network equipment and supports field plugability without the need for complex calibration.   The use of pluggable optics means that a failure in a single module will affect only the module's port, not the entire line card.
• Flexible modulation – 100 Gbps transmission using QPSK modulation for metro-core and long-haul applications and 200 Gbps for metro-access applications using either 16QAM for backward compatibility or 8QAM for greater reach and fewer regeneration stages.

“Our team has done a great job to develop this low power solution, while maintaining high performance. With the Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF) developing a CFP2-DCO Implementation Agreement, the form factor is positioned for wide adoption in the optical networking industry and with support for up to 400 Gbps, the CFP2-DCO form factor can offer network operators a long-term return on investment,” said Benny Mikkelsen, Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Acacia Communications.

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Elliott Advisors says Qualcomm's bid for NXP is too low

Elliott Advisors (UK), which advises funds that collectively hold an economic interest in NXP Semiconductors of approximately 6%, published an open letter stating that Qualcomm's offer to acquire the company is too low. Elliot believes NXP is worth $135 per share on an intrinsic standalone basis – far above the $110 offered by Qualcomm.

Elliott states Qualcomm’s offer of $110 per share is acting as "a ceiling on NXP’s valuation", noting that NXP’s peers have traded up 65% since rumors of Qualcomm’s interest arose.

“We believe NXP’s prospects are bright. Approximately half of NXP’s revenue is exposed to exciting growth engines of the semiconductor market – automotive and industrial,” Elliott stated in its letter to shareholders. “We believe NXP shareholders have the opportunity to unlock a material valuation gap that exists today.”

Qualcomm to Acquire NXP -- Engines for the Connected World

Thursday, October 27, 2016  Mergers And Acquisitions, Netherlands, NXP, Qualcomm, Silicon  No Comments

Qualcomm agreed to acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of NXP for $110.00 per share in cash, representing a total enterprise value of approximately $47 billion. The deal will be financed through cash on hand and $11 billion in new debt. The companies expect total annualized synergies of $500 million within two years of close.

NXP Semiconductors N.V., which headquartered in Eindhoven, Netherlands, employs approximately 45,000 people in more than 35 countries and is known for its mixed-signal semiconductor electronics. The company was known as Philips Semiconductor prior to 2006.

Key markets include automotive, broad-based microcontrollers, secure identification, network processing and RF power. NXP has a broad customer base, serving more than 25,000 customers through its direct sales channel and global network of distribution channel partners.

For Q3 2016, NXP reported revenue of $2.469 billion, up 4.4% over a year ago, and GAAP gross profit of $1.184 billion, up 7.7% over a year ago.

The combined company is expected to have annual revenues of more than $30 billion, serviceable addressable markets of $138 billion in 2020 and leadership positions across mobile, automotive, IoT, security, RF and networking.

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Menlo Security raises $40M for cloud-based threat isolation

Menlo Security, which offers a cloud-based isolation platform that prevents web-based malware from infecting local machines by running the browser in a cloud-based container, raised $40 million in Series C funding.

Menlo Security describes its Isolation Platform as a digital partition, isolating and executing all web content, email links and documents in the cloud, then streaming a malware-free version of the content to employees’ computers via a patented Adaptive Clientless Rendering (ACR) technology.

New investors in the round include American Express Ventures, Ericsson Ventures, and HSBC. Existing investors include JPMorgan Chase, General Catalyst, Sutter Hill Ventures, Osage University Partners and Engineering Capital. This brings total investment in Menlo Security to $85 million.

“More than a million users at hundreds of companies are protected by Menlo, with zero infections to date,” said Amir Ben Efraim, CEO of Menlo Security. “This has given the market tremendous confidence in our solution. Customers are demanding more durable approaches to malware prevention versus a long legacy of solutions that remain perennially vulnerable to the latest attacks. This funding allows us to respond to this opportunity by continuing to expand our deployments globally to meet this growing demand while delivering on our vision of eliminating the phishing, ransomware and malware risks from email, web and document downloads.”

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Digicel appoints new CEO

Digicel has appointed Alexander Matuschka Greiffenclau as Group Chief Executive, replacing Colm Delves who stepped down for personal and family reasons. Delves is expected to remain as a non-executive director of Digicel.

Greiffenclau previously served as Group Chief Performance Officer of VEON since mid-2015.  He previously served as Chief Transformation Officer at Nokia Networks, where he was credited as playing a key role in its transformation.

Under Colm’s leadership over the past 13 years, Digicel grew from US$478 million revenues in eight markets to $2.5 billion revenues across 32 markets with a ten-fold increase in profitability and subscribers.

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Juniper Bots aim for the Self-Driving Network

Juniper Networks is introducing a series of new applications called Juniper Bots that are intended to simplify network operations by translating intent into automated workflows.

Leveraging both the Contrail and AppFormix platforms, the Juniper bots incorporate real-time analytics to translate higher-level business requirements (the "what") into automatic configuration changes across the network (the "how"). The first Juniper bots include:

• Contrail PeerBot automates the traditionally cumbersome process of network peering -- managing multiple Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) routing and complex policy enforcement -- to simplify policy enforcement and on-demand scaling.
• Contrail TestBot, an application that's part of Juniper's broad effort to help network operators embrace a DevOps approach for Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment, automates the continuous auditing of design, provisioning, and deployment changes in the network.
• AppFormix HealthBot is a machine learning fitness and health tracker for the network that leverages AppFormix to collect real-time network data and glean insight, HealthBot translates troubleshooting, maintenance, and real-time analytics into an intuitive user experience to give network operators actionable insights into the health of the overall network.

Also being introduced are Juniper Extension Toolkit (JET) enhancements that extend the current management and control API framework to the data plane. This will allow developers to create applications with direct data plane access on Juniper's vMX and MX Series 3D Universal Edge Routers.

"Juniper Bots bring us closer to our vision for The Self-Driving Network, one that requires less human intervention and the ability to focus on more strategic business initiatives. To move at the speed of business, network operators need to spend less time precisely managing manual network knobs and levers, and more time expressing intent," stated Sally Bament, vice president, service provider marketing, Juniper Networks.

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Cisco to acquire Cmpute.io for cloud optimization tools

Cisco will acquire Cmpute.io, a start-up based in Bangalore that optimizes applications by moving workloads between private and multiple public clouds or region, based on current performance metrics and/or spot pricing.  Financial terms were not disclosed.

Cmpute.io, also known as 47Line Technologies, analyzes cloud-deployed workloads and consumption patterns. Its cost-optimization strategies help customers
minimize cloud instance overprovisioning.

Cmpute.io’s team and technology will join Cisco CloudCenter.

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HDMI 2.1 spec cranks up speed to 48 Gbps, support for 8K60

A newly released Version 2.1 of the HDMI Specification supports a range of higher video resolutions and refresh rates including 8K60 and 4K120, and resolutions up to 10K.

HDMI v2.10, which is backwards compatible, offers significantly increased bandwidth of up to 40 Gbps across the connection. Key attributes of the specification:

HDMI Specification 2.1 features include:

• Higher video resolutions support a range of high resolutions and faster refresh rates including 8K60Hz and 4K120Hz. Resolutions up to 10K are also supported for commercial AV, and industrial and specialty usages.
• Dynamic HDR 
• The Ultra High Speed HDMI Cable supports the 48G bandwidth for uncompressed HDMI 2.1 feature support. The cable also features very low EMI emission and is backwards compatible with earlier versions of the HDMI Specification and can be used with existing HDMI devices.
• eARC simplifies connectivity, provides greater ease of use, and supports the most advanced audio formats and highest audio quality. It ensures full compatibility between audio devices and upcoming HDMI 2.1 products.
• Enhanced refresh rate features ensure an added level of smooth and seamless
• motion and transitions for gaming, movies and video. They include:
• Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) reduces or eliminates lag, stutter and frame tearing for more fluid and better-detailed gameplay.
• Quick Media Switching (QMS) for movies and video eliminates the delay that can result in blank screens before content is displayed.
• Quick Frame Transport (QFT) reduces latency for smoother no-lag gaming, and real-time interactive virtual reality.
• Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM) allows the ideal latency setting to automatically be set allowing for smooth, lag-free and uninterrupted viewing and interactivity.

“The HDMI Forum’s mission is to develop specifications meeting market needs, growing demands for higher performance, and to enable future product opportunities,” said Robert Blanchard of Sony Electronics, president of the HDMI Forum.

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Crosslake Fibre plans subsea cable from Toronto to Buffalo

Crosslake Fibre, a new venture that plans to construct the first submarine cable across Lake Ontario from Toronto, Canada to Buffalo, New York, has secured an investment from Tiger Infrastructure Partners.

Crosslake intends to build a high fibre count network linking data centres in Toronto t networks in the United States. The 60-km subsea cable will be the first in Lake Ontario. Crosslake Fibre said intends to use horizontal directional drilling to land the submarine cable at each landing in order to minimize any impact to the shore end or beach. The ready-for-service (RFS) date for the system is September 2018.

“Crosslake will enable the purchase of new, diverse dark fibre between Canada and the U.S., allowing carriers to displace leased fibre and add diversity,” said Michael Cunningham, CEO of Crosslake. “We are excited to
partner with Tiger Infrastructure to grow the Crosslake platform.”

In November, Crosslake Fibre announced plans for a submarine cable system connecting cable landing stations in Wall, New Jersey to Long Island, New York.

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Megaport activates Direct Connect to IBM Cloud

Megaport, which provides SDN-based Elastic Interconnect Services, has begun offering direct, secure connectivity to IBM Cloud from any of the 179 data centres globally where it is present.

"IBM Cloud has a long and rich history within the enterprise space," said Vincent English, Chief Executive Officer, Megaport. "Clients who want to build next-generation applications now have direct, scalable access to cloud infrastructure that is tuned for AI and big data. Our connectivity model bypasses the public internet and serves enterprises moving to the cloud while improving performance and network reliability to critical business applications. As a result, customers can optimise workloads and scale between on-premises infrastructure and the cloud."

"Enterprises have moved well past using the cloud simply for cost-savings, and are now embracing higher value cloud-native services to create new business opportunities," said Kit Linton, Vice President of Network, IBM Cloud. "Megaport is enabling direct connectivity to IBM Cloud Direct Link to provide a reliable way for global enterprises to expand their reach, drive innovation and embrace a cloud strategy that seamlessly connects public and private infrastructure."

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Toshiba boosts conventional HDD to 14TB

Toshiba introduced an enterprise hard disk drive (HDD) with a record capacity of 14 TB and based on Conventional Magnetic Recording (CMR) technology. The drive uses a 9-disk, helium-sealed design and is aimed at cloud-scale and enterprise storage applications. A 12 TB, 8-disk version of the drive will also be available.

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