Sunday, October 20, 2019

NJFX and Telxius interconnect their East Coast Cable Landing Stations

The NJFX Cable Landing Station (CLS) in Wall, New Jersey has been directly connected to Telxius facilities at the CLS in Virginia Beach, VA using Windstream's fiber network.

NJFX’s CLS campus offers access to four subsea cable systems to Europe and South America and seven independent US fiber-based backhaul providers. Customers can access points of presence in 15 countries across Central and South America, Mexico and the Caribbean. NJFX said its CLS campus is resistant to even Category 5 hurricanes in part because of its location 64 feet above sea level.

The Telxius CLS campus in Virginia Beach, includes the Telxius facilities at the MAREA and BRUSA CLS. MAREA’s 200 Tbps transmission capacity plus BRUSA’s 138 Tbps equal that of the top 10 hub cities in the world combined, ranked by international capacity.[1] They are uniquely suited to deliver massive capacity and the lowest possible latencies. In addition to offering direct access to those two subsea cable systems to Europe and South America, the Telxius CLS campus features connections with several independent US fiber-based backhaul providers. Access to other advanced subsea cables will be completed soon. Additionally, the Telxius Communications Campus in Virginia Beach connects directly to main data center campuses in Ashburn, Richmond and Phoenix.

“We are proud to be the catalyst of the first-ever CLS to CLS terrestrial route,” states Gil Santaliz, CEO for NJFX. “This is an integral part of the shift the industry is seeing in new infrastructure being deployed to replace the old networking models. The total capacity of the subsea cables coming out of these two cable landing stations is greater than all of the capacity of the previously placed North American subsea cables stretching across the Atlantic combined. Windstream and Telxius are bilaterally leveraging each company’s routes to address customer network diversity requirements and capacity needs. The potential for clients is endless.”

“Telxius as a world-class communications infrastructure company, is keen to enable the interconnection of two key cable landing stations in the US, offering the strategic ability of network protection at the subsea cable level,” states Gerardo Bonilla, Head of Sales for Telxius. “A pioneer as the first provider with connectivity between these two cable landing stations, Windstream can offer robust options to customers to use either cable landing station. Our companies are now able to provide our respective customers end to end global solutions leveraging Windstream’s robust US network and the Telxius subsea global network. Additionally, we are happy to be able to offer services over MAREA and BRUSA from NJFX facilities, creating tremendous value.”

“Our fiber deployment between two of the most important cable landing stations along the east coast aligns with Windstream’s core strategy to take our national network – global,” comments Joe Scattareggia, Executive Vice President, Windstream Wholesale. “Our fiber connectivity across the US from Canada to Mexico, combined with our build out at the NJFX CLS campus in New Jersey and at the Telxius CLS campus in Virginia Beach, offers customers the ability to leverage our national network and go beyond.”

5G is now active in 38 carrier networks

There are currently 38 3GPP standardized commercial 5G networks globally, and it is anticipated that there will be 77 commercial 5G networks by the end of 2019, according to TeleGeography. Ovum’s forecast predicts 156 million 5G connections worldwide and 32 million in North America by end of 2021. 

Citing figures from Ovum, 5G Americas, the wireless industry trade association and voice of 5G and LTE for the Americas, reports that nearly a quarter billion new LTE connections were added around the world in the second quarter of 2019, bring the total to 4.7 billion as of June 2019.

With 459 million LTE connections in Q2 2019, North America continues to lead the world in LTE market share. LTE represents 88 percent of all mobile connections in North America as of June 2019, which is up from 82 percent in June 2018. The Oceania, Eastern and South Eastern Asia region has the second highest market share for LTE at 73 percent, up from 65 percent in June 2018. Western Europe follows with 55 percent (up from 48 percent), while Latin America and Caribbean continues to see strong LTE subscriber growth, up to 47 percent (from 35 percent) during the same period.  Market share represents the percentage of mobile wireless connections that are LTE technology versus all other mobile cellular technologies.

https://www.5gamericas.org/5g-network-rollouts-accelerate-as-ltes-long-tail-extends/

Verizon expands 5G in sports arenas

Verizon’s 5G service will be live in 10 arenas by the end of the 2019-2020 season, including Talking Stick Resort Arena, Chase Center, Pepsi Center, and coming soon to Madison Square Garden.

These arenas together host millions of basketball fans, hockey fans, and concert goers each year.

Last month, Verizon launched its 5G service in 13 NFL stadiums.

“Verizon is leading in 5G development and is transforming how entire industries operate ranging from entertainment to manufacturing,” said Heidi Hemmer, Vice President of Technology at Verizon. “Having this next generation technology in large venues like arenas should not only enhance the game-day experience for sports fans, but provide greater bandwidth for concert-goers, visitors or businesses working inside the venue.”

Verizon signs Boingo to bring 5G in airports, office buildings, stadiums, etc.

Verizon is working with Boingo Wireless to bring 5G Ultra Wideband service indoors and to public spaces – places like airports, stadiums and arenas, office buildings, hotels, etc.

Boingo is a leading distributed antenna system (DAS), small cells and Wi-Fi provider.

The companies confirmed that they are working together to architect a hyper-dense network designed for large and small indoor spaces as part of Verizon’s ongoing 5G network expansions.

In addition, Verizon announced the expansion of its 5G service to Phoenix, Arizona. Initially, Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband service will be concentrated in Downtown Phoenix around several well-known landmarks, including: Phoenix Convention Center, Talking Stick Resort Arena, The Orpheum Theatre, CityScape, and Chase Field. It will also be available in Tempe, on the Arizona State University campus.



Huawei introduces 5G Microwave SuperHUB

Huawei introduced a SuperHUB 5G microwave solution with simplified architecture to improve the spectrum efficiency and enables high bandwidth for aggregation sites. H

vision Multiplexing (SDM) technology. The solution enables a spectrum used only once within 90° range to be multiplexed three times, thus improving spectral efficiency by 300%. This allows the same amount of spectrum to provide triple the bandwidth for all directions at a hub site, facilitating multi-directional bandwidth upgrade.

Huawei is also using modular dual-band antennas to combine any two 6–86 GHz bands at a site. This avoids the deployment of multiple antennas in cases where a single band is not sufficient to achieve a high bandwidth. The carrier aggregation ODU can aggregate four channels into one, resulting in a single ODU delivering capacity equal to that of four regular ODUs. This amounts to a 75% reduction in installation space and load bearing required on a tower where multiple channels are used to support high bandwidth.

Huawei also unveiled 40Gbps and 100Gbps ultra-bandwidth microwave solutions for 5G aggregation sites, setting a new record for microwave solution bandwidth. The company says its ongoing E-band innovation will increase transmission distances by 30% for E-band while boosting bandwidth to 40Gbps in short-distance cases when compared to current all-scenario 10Gbps capabilities. This will enable operators to meet the requirements of high bandwidth at huh sites as 5G continues to mature. New innovations involving new spectra, such as D-band (130–175 GHz), will be able to support an ultra-high backhaul bandwidth of 200Gbps, raising microwave bandwidth to new heights.

https://www.huawei.com/en/press-events/news/2019/10/Huawei-Released-5G-Microwave-SuperHUB-Solution

Singapore plans 5G gaming trial

Razer, Singtel and Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) are preparing to launch Singapore’s first 5G cloud gaming trial.

Throughout the trial, Razer will provide the 5G cloud gaming use case and test scenarios, leveraging their unique know-how and intellectual property for the development of cloud gaming technologies and hardware, while Singtel will provide the 5G platform and technical test scenarios.

The trial will commence in the next few months and will be conducted at three locations – Shaw Centre and Ngee Ann City on the Orchard Road shopping belt, and Razer’s new Southeast Asia headquarters at one-north. At the end of the trial, Razer and Singtel plan to hold a cloud gaming showcase that will be open to the public.

The trial aims to gain insights on:

  • 5G network characteristics and requirements of cloud gaming;
  • Design and engineering of low latency hardware for cloud gaming that can deliver quality performance and a broader range of gaming experiences, from ultra-fast responsiveness to portability to seamless device-to-device sync to cloud servers.


Telia launches 5G commercial services in Finland

Telia launched commercial 5G service in Finland. The first phase is underway in Helsinki, Vantaa and Oulu. An expansion to the top seven cities in Finland will follow shortly. Nokia is the lead vendor. Telia's 5G network has actually been running since the beginning of 2019 in pilot projects including at Helsinki Airport and the ABB factory at Pitäjänmäki.

Telia’s newly launched offering several 5G Rajaton (”Limitless”) subscriptions with maximum speeds of 1.000 and 450 Mbps. The first mobile broadband subscription offers 1000 Mbps.

Telia’s first 5G devices are Huawei Mate 20 X 5G and Samsung Galaxy S10 5G phones and for mobile broadband customers, Nokia 5G FastMile gateway and Huawei 5G CPE Pro router.

In addition, Telia's 5G service is now available in the new Mall of Tripla in Helsinki -- the largest indoor shopping mall in the Nordics. In addition, Telia has opened a new flagship store in Mall of Tripla, and in Q1/2020 the site will also accommodate Telia Finland’s headquarters.

”Mall of Tripla is an excellent example of building a modern smart city: the digital infrastructure has been on the drawing board right from the start together with the more traditional infrastructure of the complex. To us it was clear that the mall, which will also host our future Helsinki headquarters ​were at the top of the list in our 5G roll-out program,” says Janne Koistinen, 5G Program Director, Telia Finland.

”Mall of Tripla is the largest mall in Scandinavia, and with its meticulously planned concept and new innovations it is a real forerunner. We naturally wanted that the Mall of Tripla represents state of the art technological solutions right from the opening day, and the fast 5G network is an example of that,” says Kati Kivimäki, Managing Director, Mall of Tripla.

SK Telecom invests in Switzerland's ID Quantique

SK Telecom has made an equity investment in ID Quantique, a start-up based in Switzerland that is developing quantum cryptography.

The European Union has launched a 3-year European research project, named Open Quantum Key Distribution (OPENQKD), that will install test quantum communication infrastructures in several European countries. It will boost the security of critical applications in the fields of telecommunication, finance, health care, electricity supply and government services. The project will lay the groundwork for a pan-European quantum communication infrastructure that uses satellite as well as ground-based solutions. For this €15 million project, the European Union has selected 38 companies and research institutes across the continent, including ID Quantique, Deutsche Telekom, Orange and Nokia.

Since establishing Quantum Tech Lab in 2011, SK Telecom has been making aggressive efforts to develop quantum cryptography technologies to enhance the safety and security of its mobile networks. In March 2019, the company has applied ID Quantique’s Quantum Random Number Generator (QRNG) to its 5G authentication center (AuC) to prevent hacking and ensure quantum-safe security. It has also applied ID Quantique’s Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) technology to the Seoul-Daejeon section – the most data traffic-concentrated section in Korea - of its 5G and LTE networks, to strengthen the security of 5G and LTE data transmission and reception.

“In the 5G era, security will become increasingly important as all connected things will generate data,” said Park Jin-hyo, the Chief Technology Officer of SK Telecom. “SK telecom will make continued investment in quantum cryptography communication technologies to secure the world’s top competitiveness in this area.”

SK Telecom applies Quantum Cryptography to network security

SK Telecom has applied a Quantum Random Number Generator (QRNG) developed by ID Quantique of Switzerland to its 5G authentication center (AuC). QRNG is a device that constantly generates “quantum random numbers,” which creates strong keys that are not biased and cannot be predicted. SK Telecom said it plans to apply the same quantum random number technique to its 4G network as well.

Next month, SK Telecom will also apply ID Quantique’s Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) technology to the Seoul-Daejeon section – the most data traffic-concentrated section in Korea - of its 5G and LTE networks, to strengthen the security of 5G and LTE data transmission and reception. QKD provides ultimate cryptographic security based on the laws of quantum mechanics. It enables two parties to produce a shared random secret key known only to them, which can then be used to encrypt and decrypt messages.

SK Telecom invested US$65 million in ID Quantique in February 2018.

SK Telecom also noted its pivotal role in global standardization of QKD and QRNG technologies at ITU-T. In February 2019, SK Telecom’s two new technologies related to QKD have been selected as work items by ITU-T’s Study Group 17 (SG17), which coordinates security-related work across all ITU-T Study Groups. Combining these two work items with the two on-going work items on QKD and QRNG technologies it proposed in July 2018, SK Telecom is currently leading a total of four meaningful work items in SG 17. In addition, Sim Dong-hi, a delegate from SK Telecom,  is serving as associate-rapporteur on quantum technology in SG17.

“As security emerges as one of the most important issues in the 5G era, SK Telecom is determined to provide the most secure 5G network and focus on expanding the ecosystem by developing quantum cryptography technologies,” said Park Jin-hyo, the Chief Technology Officer of SK Telecom.

Spain's central government picks BT for global network

Spain’s Central Government has awarded a 3-year contract valued at €39.97 to BT to support its operations by providing communications services in 120 countries.

BT will draw on its global reach and technical expertise to upgrade the Spanish Central Government’s global network, which provides resilient connectivity for Spain’s embassies, consulates and trade offices. It also includes satellite-based connections to ten scientific research ships in the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea as well as a Spanish polar research station in Antarctica.

BT said it was selected to support the international presence of the Spanish Government because of its global footprint, experience and the quality of its offer during the tender process.

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Now Available: 2019 Next Gen Network Automation site and report



The dream of fully automated networks has been with us for decades, but with the rise of machine learning and virtualized network architecture, the industry finally appears ready to step ahead with Next Gen Network Automation.

In this series of videos, we speak with the thought leaders who are redefining the concept of automation. This 4-minute overview video gives us some high-level definitions:



  • Arpit Joshipura, The Linux Foundation
  • Partho Mishra,  Cumulus
  • Jeff Gray, Gluware
  • Prasanth Shenoy, Cisco
  • Chris Wade, Itential
  • Gerhard Wieser, FRINX
  • Mansour Karam, Apstra
  • Dr. Junlan Fang, China Mobile
  • Chris Rice, AT&T


See our full series of Thought Leadership videos, and download the exclusive report from our partner AvidThink, at https://nginfrastructure.com/network-automation/

BT’s new automation platform accelerates journey to SD-WAN

BT has launched a new Service and Network Automation Platform (SNAP) designed to help customers innovate using SD-WAN and network functions virtualisation (NFV) technologies.

The unique platform sits at the heart of BT’s global network and leverages SD-WAN controllers from Cisco and Nuage Networks. SNAP also works with Cisco’s Network Services Orchestrator. SNAP uses open source software and industry-standard languages including YANG for network modelling and TOSCA for service definition and VNF service chaining. Control commands can now cascade through BT’s systems taking effect within minutes, something that previously could take weeks.

BT said it plans to extend orchestration from its core network to major third-party cloud data centres and all the way into customers’ local area networks (LAN) and data centre LANs (DC-LANs). This will provide end-to-end applications visibility, control and configuration from customers’ laptops and devices through to servers in the cloud.

BT has pooled its SD-WAN and NFV expertise and key skills into a new Centre of Excellence (CoE). The CoE supports the full life cycle of customers’ SD-WAN or NFV services, collaborating across design and deployment to operations. The integrated team is backed with a programme of investment in training and tools in areas such as YANG, Netconf and TOSCA — new skills that are in very short supply.

Keith Langridge, vice president of network services at BT, said: “We’re investing to make it easier for our customer to take advantage of the latest networking technologies and cloud. Our new Service and Network Automation Platform and Centre of Excellence help customers tap into our wealth of know-how and experience in SDN and NFV. We have created a unique environment in which customers can deploy the latest software-defined services alongside their underlying network technologies. This transforms their experience of the journey to SD-WAN and makes the promise of software-defined services an operational reality.”

https://www.btireland.com/company/communications/bt-ireland-blog/authors/steve-coakley/new-automation-platform-accelerates-journey-to-sdwan

Ericsson: 5G is taking off faster than earlier anticipated

Citing strong growth in North America and North East Asia, Ericsson reported Q3 2019 sales of SEK 57.1 (53.8) billion (US$5.88 billion), up 3% when adjusted for comparable units and currency, and up 6% on a reported basis. Operating income was SEK 6.5 billion (11.4% operating margin) when excluding restructuring charges and items affecting comparability.  Net income was SEK -6.9 (2.7) billion.

Ericsson now has 27 commercial 5G contracts with named operators.

At its Investor Day in Stockholm, Ericsson expressed confidence in reaching 2020 and 2022 financial targets.


Some comments from Börje Ekholm, President and CEO of Ericsson:

We continue to see strong momentum in our business, based on the strategy to increase our investments for technology leadership, including 5G. We saw organic sales growth[1] of 3% in the quarter, driven by the early adopters of 5G, in North America and North East Asia. Our operating income was SEK 6.5 b., corresponding to a margin of 11.4% excluding restructuring costs, the SEC and DOJ provision of USD -1.2 b. (SEK -11.5 b.) and the refund of social security costs of SEK 0.9 b. Free cash flow before M&A was SEK 5.5 (0.7) b. adding to our strong financial position.

Our focused strategy, introduced in 2017, is aimed at building a stronger Ericsson longer term. With clear focus on our operator customers the strategy stands on a foundation of increased investments in R&D for technology and cost leadership, and growing market footprint. Increased R&D efforts, which will continue, have resulted in a competitive portfolio driving improved gross margin. In addition, we have been able to record several important wins improving market footprint for future business. We are disciplined in the deals we take and target opportunities where we have a clear competitive advantage through technology leadership, supported by our improved cost structure in hardware and software. While we believe the strategic contracts are attractive long term, the initial margins may be challenging. This is due to high associated costs as operators change vendors.

An important indicator for our execution of the strategy is the improvement in gross margin. The gross margin[2] in the quarter ended at 37.8% compared with 36.9% last year and 36.7% last quarter. Within the 0.8 percentage point[3] sequential decline in Networks gross margin, we have absorbed the margin impact and inventory provisions related to strategic contracts.

The largest market for 5G infrastructure will be China where deployments are expected to start near term. We have invested to increase our market share, however it is still too early to assess possible volumes and price levels. Based on historic experience we expect to have challenging margins initially but positive margins over the lifespan of a contract.

With an organic sales growth[1] of 4%, segment Networks delivered another solid quarter, with strong development in North America. Operating margin improved YoY, with continued good traction for the Ericsson Radio System.

The turnaround of Digital Services is on track for low single digit margins in 2020. Driven by strong improvement in the underlying business, the losses were substantially reduced QoQ, in spite of a negative impact from the remainder of the 45 critical contracts of SEK 0.5 b. (slightly more than in the second quarter). The negative impact of these contracts will continue to vary between quarters as they are addressed. We continue to focus on developing a full 5G and cloud-native portfolio. It is encouraging to see that the sales growth in our new product portfolio improved from 13% to 19% rolling 12 months.

5G is taking off faster than earlier anticipated and we see initial 5G buildout as a capacity enhancer in metropolitan areas. However, over time, new exciting innovations for 5G will come with industrial and IoT use cases, leveraging the speed, latency and security characteristics of 5G. This provides opportunities for our customers to capture new revenues as they provide additional benefits to consumers and businesses.

Our IoT business is growing almost twice as fast as the estimated market growth of 20-25% per year. We have more than 4,500 enterprises on our IoT platform and the number of connected devices on the platform has more than doubled year to date. To fully leverage our position and capture new recurring revenue streams we are increasing our investments in IoT within Emerging Business. With this investment, we do not expect to reach breakeven for the segment next year, and instead incur losses of SEK -1.5 to -2.0 b.


https://www.ericsson.com/4a98ea/assets/local/investors/documents/2019/ericsson-investor-update-2019.pdf

Korea’s LG U+ selects Ericsson for RAN and core #5G NSA

South Korea-based LG U+ has selected Ericsson as a 5G radio access network (RAN) vendor for its 3.5 GHz Non-Standalone (NSA) 5G network. Ericsson has already been selected by LG U+ as a preferred 5G core network vendor.

This first 5G RAN contract with LG U+ sees Ericsson deploying 3GPP standards-based 5G New Radio (NR) hardware and software from Ericsson Radio System (part of Ericsson’s 5G platform).

RAN deployment got underway in October 2019. Ericsson solutions are going commercially live as they are deployed in the LG U+ network.

The new RAN deal means that Ericsson now has commercial 5G RAN contracts with all three major communication service providers in Korea.

Daehee Kim, Vice President, Network Strategy, LG U+, says: “We are delighted to have Ericsson as a trusted 5G Core and 5G RAN vendor. Ericsson’s end-to-end 5G technology leadership is key to ramping-up our nationwide 5G ambitions in Korea. Ericsson will help us to deliver the very best enhanced mobile broadband experiences for our subscribers, as well as opening up innovation and job creation opportunities through the Internet of Things (IoT), Industry 4.0 and digitalized society.”

Hakan Cervell, Head of Ericsson Korea, Ericsson, says: “We’re working in close partnership with LG U+ to strengthen its 5G network in Korea. We look forward to building the partnership to help LG U+ meet its 5G needs as its subscriber base grows across enhanced mobile broadband, IoT, and Industry 4.0. We’re also delighted to now be working with all three communication providers in Korea to use our 5G abilities to keep the country at the forefront of 5G innovation and benefits.”

Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT is forecasting that says the number of 5G subscriptions his pass the five million mark by the end of 2019.

Corelight raises $50m for network traffic analysis in the cloud

Corelight, a start-up based in San Francisco, announced an additional $50 million in Series C financing for its network traffic analysis (NTA) solutions for cybersecurity.

Corelight was founded by Dr. Vern Paxson (a Professor of Computer Science at UC Berkeley and Chief Scientist at Corelight), Robin Sommer (CTO) and Seth Hall (Chief Evangelist) to deliver network visibility solutions for cybersecurity built on an open source framework called Zeek (formerly Bro). Paxson began developing Zeek in 1995 when he was working at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). The software is now widely regarded as the gold standard for both NSM and network traffic analysis (NTA) and has been deployed by thousands of organizations around the world.

The new Series C financing was led by Insight Partners and its first capital investor, Accel.

“What makes our data first security approach so powerful is the global community behind it,” said Greg Bell, CEO of Corelight. “That community generously contributes new detections, parsers, and other capabilities for the benefit of all defenders. In addition to helping Corelight accelerate commercial progress, the new investment will enable us to engage and serve our community at a higher level. Belief in this joint vision is a key driver for the partnership with Insight and Accel, two renowned and experienced firms.”

Corelight has raised a total of $84 million to date, with investment from General Catalyst, Accel, Osage University Partners and Riverbed Technology Co-founder Dr. Steve McCanne in previous rounds. The company has more than doubled in size since its Series B in September 2018.

https://www.corelight.com

Cumulus Networks targets latest release at campus networks

Cumulus Networks announced availability of Cumulus Linux and NetQ for enterprises looking to extend the benefits of open and disaggregated networking from their data centers to their campus networks using a single fabric.

The new version adds several critical features for campus settings:

  • 802.1x for authentication and security
  • Automation
  • Power over Ethernet (PoE)
  • 1G and MultiGig campus switches
  • Voice VLAN
  • L2/L3 switching
  • MLAG
  • EVPN/VXLAN

Cumulus said it is working with Dell EMC to offer a uniform operating model that streamlines operations through automation and orchestration, reduces operational expenses by minimizing time to troubleshoot, and eliminates costly support renewals from legacy vendors.

“Our 1,800 enterprise customers have made it clear that they want the ability to use the same tools for automation, orchestration and management for their Cumulus Networks data centers and extend the benefits to their campus networks. This opens the door to a simplified network that is open, feature-rich, flexible and resilient,” said Partho Mishra, President and Chief Product Officer at Cumulus Networks.

https://cumulusnetworks.com/

Sequans intros NB-IoT module

Sequans Communications introduced the first module based on its second-generation Monarch N chip that is optimized for low-cost/low-power NB-IoT operation.

The Monarch NB02S is a highly integrated, low-cost NB-IoT module that features an EAL5+ Secure Element that enables the integration of the SIM inside the module, thereby introducing Module-as-a-SIM capability.

Monarch NB02S Module Feature Highlights

  • 3GPP Release 14/15 LTE Cat NB1/NB2
  • Ultra-small, S-series LGA module
  • Module-as-a-SIM™ capability enables security and connectivity with no SIM card or SIM chip required
  • Programmable RF filtering for global band support in a Single-SKU™ (617 MHz to 2.2 GHz)
  • Supports LTE bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 12, 13,14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 28, 66, 71, 85
  • Single-rail power supply: 2.2-5.5 V allows for direct connection to low-cost AA batteries
  • Adaptive output power supporting +20 dBm and +14 dBm for efficient, deep indoor penetration
  • Fully software compatible with first-generation Monarch NB01Q and GM01Q modules for easy migration
  • Based on Sequans’ Monarch N NB-IoT chip technology

“It cannot be overstated how important the new, cost-optimized Monarch NB02S will be in accelerating mass adoption of IoT,” said Georges Karam, Sequans CEO, “In addition to its significant cost and power advantages, it is the first module of its kind in the industry with integrated SIM capability, enabling it to provide seamless and ubiquitous connectivity, while removing the complexity that comes with sourcing data plans and SIM cards. When linked with pre-paid connectivity, Monarch NB02S can be used like a Bluetooth or Wi-Fi module, with the added benefit of not needing a gateway. This powerful capability, along with Monarch’s global band support, in a simplified, all-in-one, low-cost module, gives IoT device makers the ability to design once and deploy anywhere, quickly, easily, and---most important---cost-effectively.”

Rest in Peace - Michael Howard

We mourn the passing of Michael Howard, co-founder of Infonetics (now part of IHS Markit), a long-time industry analyst, technology advisor, expert in carrier virtualization technology, a voice of reason, role model, mentor, and friend to many in the networking and telecommunications industry. You will be greatly missed. Rest in peace.

A tribute by Rich Williams, co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Witz Communications, is posted here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/walking-light-richard-williams/





Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Pensado emerges from stealth, led by "MPLS" team from Cisco

Pensando Systems, a start-up based in San Jose, California, emerged from stealth to unveil its first product -- a software-defined edge services platform that was developed in collaboration with the world’s largest cloud, enterprise, storage, and telecommunications companies.

Pensando ("thinking" in Spanish) is led by Cisco’s legendary “MPLS” team — Mario Mazzola, Prem Jain, Luca Cafiero, Soni Jiandani and Randy Pond. Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Lightspeed Venture Partners led a Series C round to raise up to $145 million in funding. This will bring the total amount raised to $278 million after an earlier founder-led series A round of $71 million, and a customer-led series B round of $62 million. Cited customers, investors, and partners including HPE, Goldman Sachs, NetApp, and Equinix.

The Pensando platform is a custom programmable processor optimized to execute a software stack delivering cloud, compute, networking, storage and security services wherever data is located, all managed via its Venice Centralized Policy and Services Controller. The platform delivers highly programmable software-defined cloud, compute, networking, storage, and security services wherever data is located.


The platform promises an improved security posture through distributed network protection and east-west security. It offloads networking and security functions at wire speed to dedicated accelerators, and it is designed to scale to > 1000 tenants per server and >1M routes.

The company claims its capability means that cloud providers can now gain a technological advantage over the current market leader, Amazon Web Services Nitro, delivering 5-9x improvements in productivity, performance, and scale when compared to current architectures with no risk of lock-in.

The portfolio includes:

  • Naples 100 and Naples 25 cards for installation in standard servers. The Naples Distributed Services Card (DSC) delivers high-performance cloud, compute, networking, storage and security functions. 
  • Venice Centralized Policy and Services Controller - Centrally-managed enterprise-grade security and visibility at every level of the stack enables seamless distribution of all infrastructure services policies to active Naples nodes. In addition, Venice handles lifecycle management such as deploying in-service software upgrades to Naples nodes and delivers always-on telemetry, deep end-to-end observability, and operational simplicity across the environment. 

 “In less than 3 years we’ve assembled a best in class engineering team that are experts in building systems for the cloud, compute, networking, storage and security markets” said Prem Jain, CEO of Pensando Systems. “As a customer and partner first company we are focused on accelerating all aspects of our business as we go to market with a great ecosystem and a breakthrough platform.”

Pensando also announced that Mark Potter, chief technology officer of Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), and Barry Eggers, a partner of Lightspeed Venture Partners, joined the board of directors, with John Chambers, CEO of JC2 Ventures, leading as chairman.

“It gives me great pleasure to welcome two new members to the Pensando board,” said John Chambers, Chairman of the Pensando Board of Directors. “I look forward to working closely with Mark and Barry as we focus on accelerating our operations and go-to-market activities.”

http://pensando.io

Huawei cites 24% annual growth rate, sixty 5G contracts, strong smartphone sales

Huawei announced CNY610.8 billion (US$85.676 billion) in revenue for the first 9 months of 2019, an increase of 24.4% year-on-year.

The company said its net profit margin in this period was 8.7%. In a series of announcements from its headquarters in Shenzhen and corporate events in Europe, Huawei described its 5G business as robust,saying the company continues "to boost the efficiency and quality of its operations." Huawei states that increased operational and organizational stability has solidified the company's performance in the first three quarters of 2019.

 Some highlight from the Huawei announcements:

  •  In the carrier business, commercial deployment of 5G networks around the world has sped up. 
  •  The production and supply of Huawei's optical transmission, data communications, and IT products grew steadily. 
  • By the end of Q3 2019, more than 700 cities, 228 Fortune Global 500 companies, and 58 Fortune Global 100 companies had selected Huawei as their partner for digital transformation. 
  • In Q3, Huawei announced its computing strategy and released Atlas 900, the world's fastest AI training cluster. 
  •  Other innovative products the company has launched include the HUAWEI CLOUD Ascend AI cluster services, 112 new services powered by Kunpeng and Ascend processors, and Industrial Intelligent Twins. 
  •  Huawei's smartphone shipments in the first three quarters of 2019 exceeded 185 million units, representing a year-on-year increase of 26%. 
  • The company also saw rapid growth in other new businesses like PCs, tablets, wearables, and smart audio products. 
  • The Huawei Mobile Services ecosystem has also developed rapidly, covering more than 170 countries and regions. 
  • It has attracted over 1.07 million registered developers worldwide. 


Speaking at Huawei's 10th annual Global Mobile Broadband Forum 2019 in Switzerland, Ryan Ding, Huawei Executive Director of the Board and President of Carrier BG, said Huawei has large-scale 5G rollouts underway worldwide.

Some key points from the speech:

  • Huawei has won more than 60 5G contracts (In February at MWC 2019 in Barcelona, Huawei cited 50 5G contracts)
  • Huawei has now shipped over 400,000 5G active antenna units (AAUs).
  • China is now on course to build 600 to 800 thousand 5G base stations by the end of 2020.
  • The theme of this year's event was "5G, Gear Up"

At the end of his speech, Ding told the attendees that "the best way to predict the future is to create it" and called upon carriers, regulators, vertical industry players, equipment vendors, and systems integrators to work together to build a thriving 5G industry.

http://www.bizconfstreaming.cn/webcast/huawei20191006.html

FCC votes 3-2 to approve T-Mobile-Sprint merger

FCC Commissioners voted 3-2 along party lines to approve the T-Mobile-Sprint merger.

In August, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai circulated a draft order with his fellow commissioners urging approval of the T-Mobile + Sprint deal subject to conditions imposed by the Department of Justice.

Voting in opposition to the merger, FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel stated: "We’ve all seen what happens when markets become more concentrated after a merger like this one. In the airline industry, it brought us baggage fees and smaller seats. In the pharmaceutical industry, it led to a handful of drug companies raising the prices of lifesaving medications. There’s no reason to think this time will be different. Overwhelming evidence demonstrates that the T-Mobile-Sprint merger will reduce competition, raise prices, lower quality, and slow innovation."

A coalition of 16 state attorneys general, including California and New York, have filed a lawsuit to block the proposed merger of telecommunications companies T-Mobile and Sprint. The states argue that the merger would lead to higher prices and fewer choices for consumers, particularly low-income subscribers of the companies’ services.

IBM reports cloud revenue of $20.0 billion over the last 12 months

IBM reported Q3 revenue of $18.0 billion, down 3.9 percent (down 0.6 percent adjusting for divested businesses and currency), with GAAP EPS from continuing operations of $1.87. Red Hat's Q3 revenues were up 19 percent (up 20 percent adjusting for currency), normalized for historical comparability.

“In the third quarter, as we continued to help clients with their digital reinventions, we grew revenue in our Cloud & Cognitive Software segment and in Global Business Services," said Ginni Rometty, IBM chairman, president and chief executive officer. "Our results demonstrate that clients see IBM and Red Hat as a powerful combination and they trust us to provide them with the open hybrid cloud technology, innovation and industry expertise to help them shift their mission-critical workloads to the cloud.”

Some highlights by segments:

  • Cloud & Cognitive Software (includes cloud and data platforms which includes Red Hat; cognitive applications; and transaction processing platforms) — revenues of $5.3 billion, up 6.4 percent (up 7.8 percent adjusting for currency), led by security, IoT, data and AI platforms and hybrid cloud; cloud and data platforms, up 17 percent (up 19 percent adjusting for currency); cognitive applications, up 4 percent (up 6 percent adjusting for currency); transaction processing platforms, down 5 percent (down 4 percent adjusting for currency).
  • Global Business Services (includes consulting, application management and global process services) — revenues of $4.1 billion, up 1.0 percent (up 2.2 percent adjusting for currency), led by growth in consulting, up 4 percent (up 5 percent adjusting for currency); gross profit margin increased 110 basis points.
  • Global Technology Services (includes infrastructure and cloud services and technology support services) — revenues of $6.7 billion, down 5.6 percent (down 4.1 percent adjusting for currency).
  • Systems (includes systems hardware and operating systems software) — revenues of $1.5 billion, down 14.7 percent (down 13.8 percent adjusting for currency), reflecting the end of the IBM z14 product cycle and shipping of the new IBM z15 in the last week of September; gross profit margin expansion in Power and Storage.
  • Global Financing (includes financing and used equipment sales) — revenues of $343 million, down 11.7 percent (down 10.7 percent adjusting for currency); revenue reflects the wind-down of OEM commercial financing; gross profit margin expansion.

https://www.ibm.com/investor/att/pdf/IBM-3Q19-Earnings-Charts.pdf

  • IBM completed its acquisition of Red Hat on July 9, 2019.