Wednesday, February 23, 2022

Arista embeds network detection and response into switches

Arista Networks is adding embedded security and packet analysis capabilities to its 720XP series of switches. 

By embedding NDR (Network Detection and Response) capabilities into the Arista EOS-based switches themselves, Arista says it can deliver broader visibility and threat hunting across the modern cognitive campus. 

The new capabilities build on Arista's Autonomous Virtual Assist (AVA) platforms with two key components: AVA Sensors and the AVA Nucleus. AVA Sensors support a variety of form factors from stand-alone appliances and virtual to cloud workloads and now, within campus power over ethernet (PoE) switches. The AVA Sensors analyze the full packet, including application layer data which sets the stage for automated and manual threat hunting. The sensors then transfer the “just right” deep-packet data to the AVA Nucleus, which is offered as both on-premises and SaaS. 

Arista will deliver the capabilities via a switch software upgrade . The company cites minimal impact on switch performance or reliability.

“Network security has been an ongoing challenge for most organizations due to hardware deployments and configuration changes needed at the network infrastructure level. While organizations acknowledge that the network presents a unique vantage point, security teams have been forced to trade off network visibility and ongoing operational costs,” said Rahul Kashyap, Vice President and General Manager of Cybersecurity and CISO at Arista Networks. “By building NDR capabilities into the switching infrastructure itself, Arista enables a built-in, secure network that reduces organizational risk by speeding up both time to detection and time to remediation.”

The new capabilities are expected to be generally available in Q2, 2022, with early trials in March 2022.



Mavenir showcases portfolio of O-RAN-compliant radio units

Mavenir is introducing a portfolio of O-RAN compliant Radio Units (RUs) spanning micro, macro, millimeter wave (mmWave) and massive MIMO (mMIMO) deployments. The products will be showcased at the upcoming Mobile World Congress.

The Mavenir OpenBeam radio portfolio covers a wide range of spectrum, both licensed and unlicensed. Mavenir is offering open interfaces and O-RAN 7.2 compliance.

“We have engaged with customers globally to curate a comprehensive O-RAN portfolio that addresses the needs of both private enterprises as well as traditional communication providers” says Rajesh Srinivasa, Senior Vice President of Radio Business Unit at Mavenir. “OpenBeam portfolio covers a wide range of deployment scenarios starting from micro-RUs to 64TR Massive MIMO Radios. OpenBeam radios deliver industry-leading performance and energy efficiency packed in a small footprint.”

Pardeep Kohli, Chief Executive Officer at Mavenir, said “With the incredible growth of virtualization and Open RAN, we always believed that the ecosystem had to be accelerated as this is fundamental for the success of the future of networks. Mavenir has been working with many partners in the ecosystem, and we have also injected more direct contributions when it comes to innovative design.

https://www.mavenir.com/press-releases/expanding-the-open-ran-ecosystem-with-a-wide-portfolio-of-high-performance-o-ran-compliant-radios/

Viavi builds up its Open RAN test suite

Viavi Solutions announced extensions to its Open RAN test suite, including:

  • RIC Test. TeraVM RIC Test validates the performance of the RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) when presented with a wide range of RAN scenarios, tests the functionality of rApps and xApps, and provides the means to generate the data needed to train AI models.
  • Test in the Cloud. VIAVI allows any node – O-RU, O-DU, O-CU, RIC and Core – and complete end-to-end testing to be performed in public, private and edge cloud environments.
  • Test as a Service. VIAVI now provides a Test as a Service (TaaS), offering the support to maximize your engineering productivity and provide access to the right tools and expertise to enable the rapid delivery of high performance and ultra-reliable cellular communications products.
  • TMLite. The capabilities of the flagship TM500 Network Tester are now available in a streamlined version on a commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) server, enabling vendors to deploy focused functional test tools earlier in the development cycle, and allow smaller vendors to gain access to the TM500 family with a more compact package. The TMLite is built around the latest third-generation AMD EPYC processors which offer high compute and input/output flexibility per server, enabling multiple carriers of 4G and 5G at RF and Open Fronthaul.

VIAVI also highlighted the following partnerships:

  • Capgemini. VIAVI has collaborated with Capgemini, through Capgemini Engineering in Portugal, to deliver an industry-leading 5G and O-RAN lab test capability, powered by VIAVI's O-RAN Lab as a Service (LaaS) to ensure successful network integration of 5G networks and accelerate Lab-to-Live trials for Open RAN.
  • Ericsson. VIAVI will be delivering geolocation capabilities as a Non Real-time RIC Application (rApp) on the Ericsson Intelligent Automation Platform, a service management and orchestration product which enables any mobile network, purpose-built or Cloud RAN / Open RAN, to be intelligently automated.
  • Rohde & Schwarz. VIAVI and Rohde & Schwarz are partnering to offer an integrated solution for conformance testing of O-RAN Radio Units (O-RUs), including the O-RU Test Manager which provides a seamless user experience.

"Open RAN is moving out of the lab into the real world, facing the messy complexities of mapping theoretically sound technologies and architectures to a wide diversity of implementation scenarios," said Sameh Yamany, Chief Technology Officer, VIAVI. "VIAVI has harnessed its decades of leadership in test tools for cellular and virtual networks, our critical role in industry organizations such as the O-RAN ALLIANCE, and our relationships with other major vendors to ensure our customers have access to tailored and best-of-breed solutions."


MaxLinear debuts single-chip for 5G Open RAN Radio Units

MaxLinear introduced a fully integrated System on Chip (SoC) for 4G/5G Open RAN (Radio Access Network) radio units (RU) including in Macro, Massive MIMO, and Small Cell applications.

MaxLinear's Sierra integrates the following sub-systems into a single chip:

  • RF Transceiver supporting up to 8 transmitters, 8 receivers, and 2 feedback receivers
  • Digital Front End (DFE), powered by MaxLIN™ the industry’s leading digital pre-distortion (DPD) and crest factor reduction (CFR) solution, and supporting digital up-conversion (DUC) and digital down-conversion (DDC) of component carriers
  • Low PHY Baseband Processor supporting 5G, 4G, and NB-IoT air interfaces
  • Fronthaul Interface compliant with O-RAN Alliance Split 7.2x

“Sierra is an ultimate integration of MaxLinear’s highest performance RF and system technologies. It empowers radio vendors to rapidly and cost effectively develop new platforms with best-in-class size, weight, and power consumption for Open RAN applications,” said Brendan Walsh, Vice President of MaxLinear’s Wireless Infrastructure Group. “In this way Sierra represents a game-changing innovation that will level the playing field for wireless infrastructure vendors and can dramatically accelerate the global rollout of Open RAN without compromise on network performance or cost.”




NeoPhotonics samples Open ZR+ QSFP-DD transceivers

NeoPhotonics has begun sampling its Open ZR+ QSFP-DD transceivers. 

The Open ZR+ version of NeoPhotonic's QSFP-DD uses the Marvell Deneb Coherent DSP (CDSP) to incorporate industry-standard Open Forward Error Correction (OFEC). 

NeoPhotonics said that by using OFEC, the rOSNR capability of its transceivers is improved beyond traditional 400ZR CFEC, allowing for multiple span coverage in amplified networks. This may be applied to metro and IP-over-DWDM networks with extended-reach scenarios, with data rate coverage from 100 Gbps to 400 Gbps. 

In addition, there are a number of applications where the fiber reach may not exceed the OIF ZR specifications, but because of older fiber, patch panels and other impairments, the link loss and impairment budgets could exceed that of a standard 400ZR link. In these cases, NeoPhotonics’ OpenZR+ module can be used for 400G upgrades, where standard solutions are not practical.

“NeoPhotonics has developed an OpenZR+ solution to take advantage of the benefits of IP-over-DWDM and because many customers are interested in utilizing small form factor coherent modules deeper into their networks,” said Tim Jenks, Chairman and CEO of NeoPhotonics. “Our Open ZR+ QSFP-DD transceivers combine an extended network reach and interoperable OFEC with our proven optical component and transceiver designs to address these needs. The transceivers also augment our proven 400ZR solutions, which have multiple design wins at cloud and data center switch customers, with new Open 400ZR+ compliant QSFP-DD and OSFP modules. The ability to transmit 400Gb/s over distances as long as 800km and more in a cost-effective manner is a real game changer,” concluded Mr. Jenks.

https://ir.neophotonics.com/news-releases/news-release-details/neophotonics-announces-sampling-open-zr-qsfp-dd-transceivers

Lumentum to acquire NeoPhotonics for $918M amidst strong demand

Lumentum agreed to acquire NeoPhotonics for $16.00 per share in cash, representing a total equity value of approximately $918 million and a premium of approximately 39% to NeoPhotonics' closing stock price on November 3, 2021.The companies cited significant next-gen 400G+ opportunities as a leading driver for the merger.NeoPhotonics, which was founded in 1996 and is based in San Jose, is a leading supplier of tunable lasers and optoelectronic components,...

NeoPhotonics cover 800km reach with 400ZR+ QSFP-DD transceiver

NeoPhotonics demonstrated that its 400ZR+ QSFP-DD coherent pluggable transceiver can effectively transmit at a 400 Gbps data rate over a distance of 800 km in a 75GHz-spaced DWDM system with more than 3.5 dB of OSNR margin in the optical signal. This 400ZR+ coherent pluggable transceiver module is based on NeoPhotonics high performance coherent optics and its ultra-pure color tunable laser, and achieves a reach of 800 km while staying within...


#MWC22: The Biggest Misconception about Private 5G

Ahead of MWC 2022, Shahid Ahmed, Group EVP, New Ventures and Innovation at NTT, shares the biggest misconception about private 5G.

https://youtu.be/RUvwfouROc4

OIF demos at at #OFC22: 400ZR interoperability; CPO; CEI-112, CMIS

OIF will host the following demonstrations at this year’s OFC 2022 in San Diego, March 8-10, 2022. Industry experts will also present updates on OIF’s current work in many critical areas, including 400ZR/800ZR and electrical rates.

400ZR Demo - the first-ever public multivendor 400ZR consists of a full implementation of 400GE across an 80km, DWDM ecosystem using multiple module, router, open line systems, and test equipment vendors, demonstrating the project achieved it’s interoperability goals.

Co-Packaging Architectures Demo - multi-party demonstrations of OIF's 3.2T Module project and external laser project (ELSFP). A variety of interoperable components that enable co-packaging will be shown, along with a system implementation.

CEI-112G Demo - multiple live demonstrations featuring interoperability amongst 12 participating members clearly prove the key role OIF provides as well as the developing supplier ecosystem. The CEI-112G demonstrations in the OIF booth will feature multi-party silicon supplier interoperability over various channels including mated compliance boards, PCB channels and direct attach copper cable channels, and even fiber. Each configuration demonstrates the technical viability of 112 Gbps operation, along with multiple industry form factors, including OSFP and QSFP-DD. The demo also shows a measured far-end eye diagram on an oscilloscope with analysis to show an example of the silicon signal integrity that is typically required going through the large variety of channels on display.

Common Management Interface Specification (CMIS) Implementations Demo - CMIS provides a well-defined mechanism to initialize and manage optical and copper modules in a standard way, while still providing the capability to provide custom functionality. This commonality makes integration into different host platforms easier for both the host vendor and the module vendor. The CMIS demo consists of four separate demonstrations that show how modules can be managed and initialized, how modules can support multiple independent services (breakout) and how module firmware can be easily upgraded.

FlexE Demo - showing FlexE’s channelization features, which allow standard Ethernet optics to be broken down into multiple clients of both standard and non-standard Ethernet rates with a granularity of 5Gb/s. Realistic multi-vendor deployment scenarios will show standard 100GbE interfaces channelized into clients of mixed rates, mapping of traffic from standard Ethernet ports, and end-to-end bit error rate tester (BERT) features demonstrating error and alarm monitoring.

Participating companies include Accton; Alphawave IP; Amphenol; Applied Optoelectonics, Inc.; Broadcom Inc., Ciena; Cisco; EXFO; Fujitsu Optical Components; Innolume GmbH; Intel; Juniper Networks; Keysight Technologies; Lumentum, MACOM Technology Solutions Inc.; Marvell; MaxLinear, Inc.; Molex; MultiLane, Inc.; NEC Corporation; NeoPhotonics; Nokia; O-Net Communications; Ragile Networks Inc.; Senko Advanced Components; Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.; TE Connectivity; VIAVI Solutions and Wilder Technologies.

“With demonstrations in five critical technology areas enabling the networks of today and the future, the OIF booth at OFC will showcase the intersection of innovation, interoperability and implementations,” said Mike Klempa, Amphenol, and OIF Physical and Link Layer Interoperability Working Group Chair.

https://www.oiforum.com/oif-members-demonstrate-how-interoperability-accelerates-solutions-for-todays-and-future-global-networks-at-ofc-2022/

Meta to build data center in Idaho

Meta announced plans for a new data center in Kuna, Idaho. This will be Meta's 15th data center in the United States and 19th worldwide. The company estimates its investment in the project at $800 million.

Kuna is a town of approximately 24,000 located 18 miles (29 km) southwest of downtown Boise, the state capital of Idaho. The elevation is 2,694 ft (821 m).

The Kuna Data Center will run on 100% renewable energy. Meta said the facility will be at least 80% more water efficient than the average data center as the cooling system will rely on outside air for cooling for at least 50% of the year.


Dell'Oro: RAN growth slows in 4Q 2021 but still up over 10%

Radio Access Network (RAN) growth slowed somewhat in the fourth quarter, though this was not enough to change the full-year picture, according to Dell'Oro Group. Total 2G-5G RAN revenues, excluding services, increased at a double-digit rate for a second consecutive year, propelling worldwide RAN to approach $40B to $45B.

"The RAN market continues to show remarkable resilience to a confluence of external factors," said Stefan Pongratz, Vice President at Dell'Oro Group. "Even with the slower growth in the fourth quarter due partly to more challenging comparison, RAN prospects remain and healthy and the overall RAN market is on track to record a fifth consecutive year of growth in 2022," continued Pongratz.

Additional highlights from the 4Q 2021 RAN report:

  • Global RAN rankings did not change with Huawei, Ericsson, Nokia, ZTE, and Samsung leading the full year 2021 market.
  • Ericsson, Nokia, Huawei, and Samsung lead outside of China while Huawei and ZTE continue to dominate the Chinese RAN market.
  • RAN revenue shares are changing with Ericsson and Samsung gaining share outside of China.
  • Huawei and Nokia's RAN revenue shares declined outside of China.
  • Relative near-term projections have been revised upward – total RAN revenues are now projected to grow 5 percent in 2022.

http://www.delloro.com

Intelsat exits bankruptcy restructuring, cutting debt from $16B to $7B

Intelsat emerged from its financial restructuring process as a private company. The Plan of Reorganization, supported by all creditor groups and confirmed by the Bankruptcy Court on December 16, 2021, has reduced the Company’s debt by more than half, from approximately $16 billion to $7 billion.

In connection with emergence, Intelsat obtained $6.7 billion in new financing consisting of a revolving credit facility, term loan, and secured notes. Supported by new equity owners, the Company is now best positioned for long-term success as it continues to innovate and bring new services to market.

Intelsat also has a new Board of Directors, composed of the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and six new directors, including Lisa Hammitt, Intelsat’s Chairperson. Biographies of the directors can be found on the Company’s website at intelsat.com/about-us/leadership/.

“For more than 50 years, Intelsat has led innovation in our sector and delivered high-performing services for customers,” said Intelsat’s Chief Executive Officer, Stephen Spengler. “Now that our financial restructuring has been completed successfully, we are driving Intelsat’s future development and growth from a position of even greater strength. We have significantly less debt as well as new financing to support our innovation and network plans, complementing our unparalleled global orbital and spectrum rights and strong operating model. We are positioned better than ever to fuel the success of our customers and partners, achieve our strategic objectives, and accelerate our growth. Building the world’s first global 5G satellite-based, software-defined, unified network is just one of Intelsat’s many groundbreaking projects well underway.”

Bankrupty court approves Intelsat's restructuring

The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Richmond Division, approved Intelsat's Plan of Reorganization, marking the final Court milestone in the company’s financial restructuring process. Intelsat is poised to emerge from the process in early 2022 upon receipt of regulatory approvals, completion of certain corporate actions, and satisfaction of other customary conditions.Intelsat sais its confirmed Plan will reduce debt...


Tuesday, February 22, 2022

Infinera's ICE6 Turbo enables 4 x 400 GbE long-haul services

Infinera is rolling out a performance-optimized configuration of its 1.6T (2 x 800G) ICE6 coherent optical engine.

Infinera's ICE6 Turbo, which is produced in Infinera’s in-house, U.S.-based fabrication center, is the industry’s first coherent optical solution that can operate above 100 Gbaud.  This enables network operators to support 4 x 400 GbE services using a single optical engine across long-haul distances and 3 x 400 GbE services across ultra-long-haul distances, driving down the cost per bit of delivering high-speed optical services. ICE6 Turbo will be available in both C- and L-band variants.

Infinera said its ICE6 Turbo solution leverages the capabilities of the company’s unique monolithic indium phosphide-based photonic integrated circuit (PIC) technology. The new benchmark for optical performance set by ICE6 Turbo is enabled by the holistic co-design of the various optical engine components and pioneering optical networking features including second-generation Nyquist subcarriers, long-codeword probabilistic constellation shaping (LC-PCS), dynamic bandwidth allocation, and soft-decision forward error correction (SD-FEC) gain sharing.

“ICE6 Turbo builds on Infinera’s heritage of delivering innovative optical solutions that provide meaningful value for our customers,” said Ron Johnson, General Manager of Infinera’s Optical Systems & Network Solutions Group. “ICE6 Turbo further pushes the boundaries of optical performance, enabling our customers to rapidly scale their networks with industry-leading economics.”

https://www.infinera.com/press-release/infinera-ice6-gets-a-turbo-charge

Fastweb carries 600 Gbps wavelength across 1,372km with Infinera

Fastweb, one of the main telecom providers in Italy, completed a single-wavelength service connectivity speed trial of 600 Gb/s across its network, including the Milan-Bari optical route spanning 1,372 kilometers. The trial used Infinera’s fifth-generation ICE6 800G technology on the GX Series Compact Modular Platform. Infinera said its ICE6 solution enabled Fastweb to increase network capacity by up to two times. The ICE6 solution features...

Telia Carrier picks Infinera’s ICE6 800G solution for global network

Telia Carrier has selected Infinera’s ICE6 800G solution for Telia Carrier’s global network after completing a successful trial of the technology on Telia Carrier’s live number-one-ranked global network, AS1299. The decision to deploy Infinera’s ICE6 comes after a field validation trial on the 2,396-km link in the U.S. between Denver and Chicago. The trial was performed using Infinera’s innovative ICE6 technology over an existing third-party...

Open Eye Consortium releases 400Gbps and 800Gbps LR and SR spec

The Open Eye Consortium (Open Eye MSA) released two specifications:

  • 100 Gbps per lane, long reach, single-mode specification -  targeted for 4x100 Gbps WDM modules for three kilometers reach applications (400G-FR4-3). The specification enables the use of analog-based and DSP technologies to deliver lower cost, lower power and lower latency optical modules to address growing hyperscale data centers and AI-clusters requirements.
  • 100 Gbps per lane, short reach, multi-mode specification -  targeted for 400 Gbps SR4-Lite and 800 Gbps SR8-Lite applications. Optimized for lower power and lower cost solutions for high volume hyperscale data centers, the new specification defines 50 meter reach at 850 nm VCSEL wavelength over OM4 fiber, as well as 30 meter reach at 940 nm VCSEL wavelength over OM4 and OM5 fiber.

The specifications are optimized for low-power, low-cost solutions enabling hyper scale 400 Gbps and 800 Gbps data center connectivity. These new specifications complement the Open Eye MSA’s previously released single and multi-mode specifications.

In addition to these released specifications, the MSA has commenced work on multilane, 100 Gbps per lane, three-kilometer parallel single mode (PSM) fiber specifications optimized for hyperscale cloud data center connectivity. The MSA welcomes input from the end user community on these new specifications.

http://www.openeye-msa.org

MEF opens LSO Marketplace

MEF announced the launch of the LSO Marketplace, a set of resources designed to accelerate the evaluation and implementation of MEF Lifecycle Service Orchestration (LSO) APIs for automating service provider and enterprise business transactions. 

MEF also announced availability of the Celine LSO API Framework release, which adds a new service provisioning developer guide and features such as incident management and security profiles.

The LSO Marketplace includes:

  • LSO API Catalog – Includes API definitions, release information, developer guides, and test requirements
  • LSO Payloads – Schemas for MEF standardized products and services that can be managed with the APIs
  • Evaluation resources – Tools to help evaluate MEF APIs and build a business case for implementation
  • Implementation support – Tools, programs, groups, and resources to help accelerate API implementation

MEF also announced Celine, the third in the series of LSO API Framework releases. Celine provides new trouble ticketing uses cases and adds service provisioning and API security profiles. MEF also released new developer guides, including the LSO API Security Profile, LSO Payload Handbook, and an example implementation of dynamic binding.

“Leading global service providers are implementing MEF LSO APIs because they offer an automated, standardized way for service providers to buy and sell services while maximizing return on their investment in interface development,” said Daniel Bar-Lev, Vice President Strategic Programs, MEF. “With the availability of the LSO Marketplace, along with ongoing enhancements to MEF’s LSO SDKs, implementation is simplified and deployment is accelerated. Service providers can connect with partners faster to quickly bring new services to market that offer competitive differentiation to customers, and ultimately lead to faster time to revenue.”

https://www.mef.net/news/mef-lso-marketplace-accelerates-service-provider-automation/



Dell advances its open telecom solutions

Dell Technologies is introducing new telecommunications solutions and services to bolster the open telecom ecosystem and help communications service providers (CSPs) migrate to open, cloud-native networks. The announcement centers on its Dell Telecom Cloud Foundation, Dell Open RAN Accelerator and new telecom solutions and lab capabilities.

  • Dell Telecom Multi-Cloud Foundation is a turnkey, end-to-end network infrastructure solution that includes Dell hardware, Dell Bare Metal Orchestrator management software and choice of integrated telecom cloud software platforms, including Red Hat, VMware and Wind River. Dell is adding new Dell Bare Metal Orchestrator Modules to its software, giving CSPs the ability to deploy and lifecycle manage the entire cloud foundation stack. This provides a scalable cloud foundation spanning core, edge and RAN for their open hardware and software environment.
  • Dell Open RAN Accelerator Card  - this solution, which was developed in partnership with Marvell, is a new in-line 5G Layer 1 processing card for vRAN and Open RAN solutions. Designed for Dell PowerEdge and other x86-based servers, the PCIe accelerator card brings the same Marvell OCTEON Fusion technology and performance of today’s leading 5G radio networks to the Open RAN ecosystem. 

“Marvell is delighted to partner with Dell Technologies to enable an open, virtualized 5G RAN architecture that delivers advanced features and performance built on our proven OCTEON® Fusion platform,” said Raj Singh, executive vice president, Processors Business Unit at Marvell. “The new Dell Open RAN Accelerator Card is an innovative no-compromise, cloud-native, inline, Open RAN Layer 1 acceleration solution that addresses the shortcomings of existing vRAN alternatives.”

Dell also highlighted new telecom solutions for edge and core.

  • Dell Validated Design for Services Edge 1.2 brings together edge compute resources with private wireless connectivity, enabling the ease of deployment, scalable operations and security capabilities required for large numbers of edge locations. The open standards-based design now supports Airspan 5G RAN for a fast deployment of enterprise private 5G networks.
  • Dell Validated Design for the 5G Core with Oracle and VMware gives CSPs the choice to build a robust, scalable 5G core on industry standard infrastructure, in a more secure and reliable way. The solution can help reduce the time needed to design, test and integrate network components from multiple partners.
  • Dell ProDeploy for NFVI - a service that combines Dell factory integration and field deployment options to flexibly build the optimal NFV infrastructure specific to each customer’s network. The service integrates compute, networking and telecom cloud software platforms, helping CSPs deploy workloads faster and at scale, saving them time and cost. 



Deutsche Telekom and Ericsson demo 5G network slicing + SD-WAN

Deutsche Telekom and Ericsson demonstrated 5G end-to-end network slicing for latency-critical enterprise applications with guaranteed Quality of Service. 

The 5G slicing trial includes SD-WAN and end-to-end service orchestration afor latency-critical applications in different countries. This approach will be especially beneficial for global enterprises who run latency-critical applications in different international subsidiaries. 

In this trial, the QoS connectivity was extended from Germany to Poland using a 5G slicing setup that is based on commercial grade Ericsson 5G Standalone (SA) radio and core network infrastructure and a Deutsche Telekom commercial SD-WAN solution. The home operator-controlled User Plane Function (UPF) is placed in Poland as the visited country and the entire setup is managed by an Ericsson orchestrator integrated with a Deutsche Telekom business support system via open TM Forum APIs. Combining 5G slicing and SD-WAN technology allows flexible connectivity establishment and control, while traffic breakout close to the application server in visited countries enables low latency.

Deutsche Telekom said the trial also verified the radio resource partitioning (RRP) for enhanced RAN slicing. The trial achieved an efficient isolation and sharing of radio resources among network slices by isolating the radio resources into partitions that can be associated per network slice in a dynamic way. Each network slice can rely on the availability of a certain minimum allocation of radio resources, while unused capacity is dynamically made available to other network slices, thus maximizing the overall capacity of the system. For an operator, this enables delivery of high-value services with SLA assurance, while at the same time using valuable spectrum efficiently.

Alex Choi, SVP Technology Strategy & Innovation, Deutsche Telekom, says: “Network slicing is a key 5G enabler to deliver tailored connectivity services to enterprise customers. By flexibly combining 5G slicing with SD-WAN in an international setup, we can address the emerging need among enterprises for uniform global connectivity with guaranteed quality of service.”

Erik Ekudden, Senior Vice President, CTO and Head of Group Function Technology, Ericsson says: “Combining different technologies in an intelligent and flexible way across borders to address the emerging needs of globally operating enterprises is another proof point of the promise that a global 5G ecosystem can offer.” 

Vantage to build 16MW data center in Frankfurt

Vantage Data Centers disclosed plans to build the second of three facilities on its flagship 55MW EU campus (FRA1) located in Offenbach, Germany, just one kilometer from the main data centers and peering points in Frankfurt. This facility will include 16MW of critical IT capacity and 13,000 square meters (140,000 square feet) once fully developed and will open to customers in the first half of 2024.

In addition, Vantage has acquired full ownership of the first data center on this campus, buying out its joint venture partners Energieversorgung Offenbach (EVO) and DataCenter-Group (DCG). Vantage will continue in a new partnership with EVO as the energy provider and landowner of the campus. Terms of the deal are not being disclosed.

“Vantage continues to accelerate our growth in Frankfurt and Offenbach, the most sought-after data center markets in Europe, to meet demand from our hyperscale and cloud customers,” said Antoine Boniface, president of EMEA for Vantage Data Centers. “Our partnership with EVO and DCG was instrumental in opening this 

Furthering its commitment to be a responsible corporate citizen, Vantage, alongside EVO, will repurpose the waste heat from the new data center and make it available to the local community for heating purposes. This unique initiative supports Vantage’s sustainable construction goals and enables the company to make a positive impact in the region.

Vantage recently announced that it has also begun construction on a second campus in Frankfurt to meet increased customer demand. The two campuses combined will have 95MW of critical IT capacity in the Frankfurt region once fully developed. 

https://vantage-dc.com/data-center-locations/emea


KDDI implements Wind River Studio for O-RAN virtualized base station

KDDI implemented Wind River Studio for its O-RAN–compliant 5G stand-alone virtualized base station technology, which has recently launched on its commercial network.

Wind River Studio provides a cloud-native platform for the development, deployment, operations, and servicing of mission-critical intelligent systems. Its cloud infrastructure capabilities include a fully cloud-native, Kubernetes- and container-based architecture, based on the StarlingX open source project, for distributed edge networks at scale. Addressing the complexities of deploying and managing cloud-native vRAN infrastructure, Studio delivers a foundation for a geographically distributed, managed solution able to simplify Day 1 and Day 2 operations by providing single-pane-of-glass, zero touch automated management of thousands of nodes, no matter their physical location.

“5G opens up new opportunities, with greater intelligence and compute moving toward the edges of the network. Much of our future will be run on a virtualized, distributed cloud with low-latency, far edge cloud architecture to support new use cases in the new intelligent machine economy,” said Paul Miller, Chief Technology Officer, Wind River. “We are able to provide solutions to help prepare for a cloud-native future and deliver on high-reliability, ultra-low-latency, and highly efficient solutions for next-generation networks.”

http://www.windriver.com/studio

KDDI activates 5G Standalone Open RAN site powered by vRAN

KDDI activated the world's first commercial 5G Standalone Open Radio Access Network site powered by virtualized Radio Access Network in Kawasaki, Kanagawa and is now carrying live 5G traffic.KDDI is using Samsung's 5G virtualized CU (vCU) and virtualized DU (vDU) as well as Fujitsu's Massive MIMO radio units,Beginning with this site, in 2022, KDDI, along with Samsung and Fujitsu, will deploy this Open RAN in some parts of Japan and continue its deployment...


Aptiv to acquire Windriver for $4.3 billion

Aptiv, a leading supplier of automotive parts, agreed to acquire Wind River from TPG Capital, the private equity platform of global alternative asset management firm TPG, for $4.3 billion in cash.Wind River is a global leader in delivering software for the intelligent edge. Used on over two billion edge devices across more than 1,700 customers globally, Wind River’s software enables the secure development, deployment, operations and servicing of...

O-RAN Global PlugFest 2021attracts 144 corporate participants

The O-RAN ALLIANCE conducted its worldwide O-RAN Global PlugFest 2021 to demonstrate the functionality and multi-vendor interoperability of O-RAN based network equipment. The event was conducted in 7 global venues, with 94 participating companies. Many of the companies contributed to multiple venues, bringing PlugFest to a total of 144 active corporate participants compared to 70 at the 2020 PlugFest.“The expanded and diverse participation of...

Frontier offers 2 Gig Fiber Service to customers network-wide

Frontier, which operates in 25 states, is launching network-wide 2 Gig fiber internet service.

The residential offer includes symmetrical 2 Gig fiber speeds @ $149.99/mo + free next-gen total home Wi-Fi + free Amazon Fire TV + free webcam + free voice line + free activation + free premium tech support + free multi-device security.

The service is available across Frontier’s entire fiber footprint.

“We’re thrilled to become the first and only major ISP to deliver network-wide 2 Gig internet service, as we unleash the power of our fiber network,” said Nick Jeffery, President and CEO of Frontier. “Today is proof that Frontier is doing what customers want and cable can’t – bringing faster speeds and greater value to consumers as we Build Gigabit America.”

Sierra Wireless hits Q4 revenue of $149.9 million, up 24%

Sierra Wireless reported Q4 2021 revenue was $149.9 million, an increase of 24.4% year-over-year. 

Sierra Wireless said the improved performance was due to (i) strong demand; (ii) realization of previous investments in inventory in a supply constrained environment; and (iii) improved manufacturing flexibility with multi-factory production.

  • Gross margin was 32.5% as compared to 36.0% in the fourth quarter of 2020. The decrease was mainly driven by higher component costs as a result of the continued supply chain constraints as well as product mix. Operating expenses were $58.6 million, a decrease of 10.8% resulting from improved expense control measures.
  • Connectivity, software, and services revenue was $36.3 million, an increase of 11.3%. Monthly recurring revenue was $11.6 million in December, a year-over-year increase of 10.5%.


“We worked closely with our customers, partners and suppliers to deliver strong sequential and year-over-year revenue growth in the Fourth Quarter,” said Phil Brace, President and CEO of Sierra Wireless. "We continue to see strong demand for our solutions and we are working hard in a challenging environment to secure raw materials and deliver to our customers."



Monday, February 21, 2022

SEA-ME-WE 6 undersea cable system plans launch in 2025

The Southeast Asia-Middle East- Western Europe 6 consortium (SEA-ME-WE 6) selected Subcom for the supply and installation of a new 19,200 km undersea cable system connecting South East Asia, the Middle East, and Western Europe at 12 locations from Singapore to France. The system is expected to be ready for service by the first quarter of 2025.

SubCom will utilize SL17-SDM cable, supporting up to 24 fiber pairs (FP). Production of the cable and equipment will take place at SubCom’s manufacturing campus in Newington, NH, USA.

The system consists of three segments: an undersea segment from Tuas (Singapore) to Ras Ghareb (Egypt), a terrestrial segment from Ras Ghareb (Egypt) to Port Said (Egypt), and another undersea segment from Port Said (Egypt) to Marseilles (France). The fiber pair capacities for each network segment have been individually designed, together with the segment fiber pair counts, resulting in multi-Terabits end-to-end capacity whilst optimizing the overall system price.

SEA-ME-WE 6 will use Subcom's 18kV power source technology and is designed to maintain operations with single-end feed power in the event there is a far-end fault. Single-end power source capability is critical for the reliability and overall resilience of a system, particularly of extended length. SubCom’s system powering expertise and continued investment in research and development enables the company to support complex deployments requiring additional cable lengths.

To reliably support as much as 24FP on a trunk or branch port, SubCom will utilize its Enhanced Branching Unit (eBU), which provides flexible electrical power and optical fiber routing with shore-based telemetry control. The eBU latching power switching provides advanced internal management features for unit and user protection that include repair states, configurable restricted states, and a configurable power-down state that is selected for optimum system re- activation.

“SubCom is honored to drive the design, manufacture, and deployment of SEA-ME-WE 6, a system that will reach more than 11 countries and benefit hundreds of communities beyond,” said David Coughlan, CEO of SubCom. “We maintain the industry’s most advanced technology portfolio and marine installation capabilities, all of which will contribute to a successful project on behalf of the SEA-ME-WE 6 Consortium.

“With this new cable system, our partners will be able to meet and exceed capacity demands across multiple regions,” said Mr. Yue Meng Fai, Chairperson of the SEA-ME-WE 6 Management Committee and Senior Director, Consortium Cable Engineering, Singtel. “This new, reliable and resilient system encompasses some of the most advanced transmission technologies in the world and will improve access to services for everyone along this route.”

https://www.subcom.com/documents/2022/SEA-ME-WE_6_SubCom_CIF_21FEB2022.pdf