New download peak speed benchmark: 7.3Gbps

Telstra, Ericsson claimed a new 5G download peak speed benchmark of 7.3Gbps for a single user.

The result was achieved at a Telstra live mobile site located at the Gold Coast, Queensland Australia. 

This new global 5G benchmark of 7.3Gbps for a single user was demonstrated using a smartphone form factor mobile test device, powered by Snapdragon X70 5G Modem-RF System. The mobile device connected to a live commercial Telstra mobile site equipped with an Ericsson Radio System base-station supporting New Radio Dual Connectivity (NR-DC) between 800MHz of n258 (26GHz) mmWave spectrum and 100MHz of mid-band n78 (3.6GHz) Time Division Duplex (TDD) spectrum.

The Ericsson base station used in this milestone has two Ericsson’s Baseband 6648, AIR5322 n258 26GHz mmWave radios, AIR6488 n78 3.6GHz radios and commercial Ericsson RAN software running 5G NR DC (new radio dual connectivity) capability. The high peak speed is achieved by aggregating eight 100MHz mmWave carriers (800MHz total bandwidth) running peak modulation of 256QAM and combining with 100MHz of mid-band TDD using NR dual connectivity.

The peak speed to 7.3Gbps surpassed  the previous 5G downlink benchmark also set by Telstra in February 2022 of 5.9Gbps (peak modulation of 64QAM on mmWave).

https://www.ericsson.com/en/press-releases/7/2022/telstra-ericsson-and-qualcomm-achieve-new-download-speed-benchmark

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Apples boosts its cloud security

Apple introduced three advanced security features to protect user data in the cloud:

• iMessage Contact Key Verification, allows users to verify they are communicating only with whom they intend. 
• 
  Security Keys for Apple ID - users have the choice to require a physical security key to sign in to their Apple ID account. 
• Advanced Data Protection for iCloud -  uses end-to-end encryption to provide Apple’s highest level of cloud data security, users have the choice to further protect important iCloud data, including iCloud Backup, Photos, Notes, etc.

“At Apple, we are unwavering in our commitment to provide our users with the best data security in the world. We constantly identify and mitigate emerging threats to their personal data on device and in the cloud,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering. 

https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2022/12/apple-advances-user-security-with-powerful-new-data-protections/

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Ericsson to divest IoT Accelerator and Connected Vehicle Cloud to Aeris

Ericsson will divest its IoT Accelerator and Connected Vehicle Cloud businesses to Aeris,

The IoT business, with 2022 full year forecasted net sales of SEK 0.8 billion, has been the key driver of the losses in Business Area Technologies and New Businesses in the Enterprise segment. The transaction will eliminate quarterly losses of SEK 0.25 billion. The divestment, related cost and other portfolio optimizations will lead to a negative one-time EBIT impact of SEK 1.1 billion in Q4 2022, of which 80 percent being cash and the majority occurring in Q1 2023. The IoT business will be transferred to Segment Other in Q1 2023 in anticipation of closing of the transaction, with an expected EBIT loss of SEK 0.25 billion during the first quarter.

Aeris’ Intelligent IoT Network, targeting industry verticals such as transportation, energy, automotive and healthcare, gives communications service providers the opportunity to monetize new services on top of connectivity enabled by the IoT Accelerator.  The company, which is based in San Jose, California, has already teamed up with several leading communication service providers including Softbank, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Vodafone, and is also working with leading automotive original equipment manufacturers. 

Ericsson IoT Accelerator is used by over 9,000 enterprises to manage more than 95 million connected devices with 22 million eSIM connections globally. These enterprises and connections leverage Ericsson's growing ecosystem of over 35 communications service provider partners for global IoT cellular connectivity. Ericsson Connected Vehicle Cloud is currently being used to connect six million vehicles and counting across 180 countries.

Together, Aeris’ and Ericsson’s IoT platforms will connect over 100 million IoT devices worldwide, covering 190 countries. 

Åsa Tamsons, Head of Business Area Technologies & New Businesses at Ericsson, says: “Aeris has been successful in extending its IoT solution offering beyond connectivity and has the right focus, assets, and capabilities to realize the full value creation potential of Ericsson’s IoT business and its strong market presence. Despite significant investments to address the fragmentation of the IoT market, Ericsson has only tapped into a limited part of the value chain, limiting the returns of such investments. The combined business will offer an unparalleled IoT platform for enterprises and new revenue streams for communication service providers, ultimately benefiting Ericsson’s customers. Aeris is a good home for our IoT business.” 

Marc Jones, President and CEO of Aeris, says: “Building the best technology to support the success of our customers and drive innovation in the IoT space have always been at the forefront for Aeris.  Our intelligent, software defined IoT network and Ericsson’s leading connectivity management platform will provide the leading IoT technology stack in the industry. We look forward to bringing these new, transformational IoT solutions and Ericsson’s IoT Accelerator and Connected Vehicle Cloud products to our customers.”

https://www.ericsson.com/en/press-releases/2022/12/aeris-to-acquire-iot-business-from-ericsson

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Korea Internet Neutral eXchange picks Nokia for optical backbone

Korea Internet Neutral eXchange (KINX) will use Nokia's  optical networking solution to connect KINX data centers in Korea.

Nokia's Re-Configurable Optical Add-Drop Multiplexer (ROADM) solution supports Colorless, Directionless, Contentionless, and FlexGrid (CDC-F) capabilities to enable improved performance and reduced operational costs. The solution will allow KINX to ensure reliable services to its end users without service impact, even in the case of multiple failures.

Nokia said its solution will provide KINX with full Layer 0 restoration capability using Generalized Multi-Protocol Label Switching (GMPLS) feature. This provides seamless service continuity to the end customers in case of multiple fiber cuts and/or equipment failures, and allows KINX to reduce network disruptions by enabling automatic re-routing through alternate paths when required. 

The KINX network will be deployed using Nokia’s 1830 Photonic Service Switch platforms, and includes use of fifth-generation Photonic Service Engine chipset (PSE-V), which deliver application-optimized performance for metro and regional networks.

Kevin Ahn, Head of Korea at Nokia, said: "The new state-of-the-art data center interconnect network will allow KINX to reduce operational expenses by automating the manual tasks of network provisioning and restoration. Nokia's next-generation optical network solution will allow KINX to provide a superior customer experience by quickly restoring network in case of a disruption. We are excited to work with KINX on this initiative to upgrade the legacy data center interconnect network for greater efficiency and cost optimization."

https://www.nokia.com/about-us/news/releases/2022/12/07/nokia-builds-next-generation-optical-backbone-for-kinx-data-centers-in-korea/

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Fujitsu and Accelecom deliver Middle Mile for Kentucky

Fujitsu Network Communications is partnering with Accelecom to connect businesses throughout the Commonwealth of Kentucky with a high-speed fiber broadband network.

Accelecom leverages dark fiber from the KentuckyWired middle mile network, which connects all 120 counties and provides commercial access to 100G symmetrical data services. Kentucky is the first U.S. state to build an open-access, fiber optic network reaching every county. The Commonwealth, which in 2017 ranked 47th in the U.S. for broadband speeds and capacity, now ranks third in the nation for internet speeds.

Fujitsu serves as the network systems integrator for the project and was responsible for network design, deployment, testing and turn-up of the network, including specifying, sourcing and integrating multi-vendor optical equipment and software. 

The next-generation broadband network incorporates Fujitsu 1FINITY Lambda blades, as well as 1FINITY T300 transport blades, to enable ROADM functionality, reliability and spectral efficiency. Network management is simplified with the Virtuora Network Control software-defined network (SDN) solution. Additionally, Fujitsu provided migration and deployment services to install 21 new huts to house the optical equipment.

“With activation of the Accelecom broadband network, underserved businesses are seeing exponential increases in available internet speeds and latency problems have virtually disappeared,” said Kim Epley, chief commercial officer, Accelecom. “The robust broadband infrastructure and professional services provided by Fujitsu allowed us to build a future-ready gateway to the internet economy so that new economic development, job and education opportunities can thrive throughout Kentucky.”

“Through their steadfast commitment to democratize bandwidth and narrow the digital divide, Accelecom has propelled Kentucky into the top tier of states with statewide, high-speed broadband,” said Greg Manganello, senior vice president and head of global network services at Fujitsu. “With their investment dedication, network persistence and operational drive, Accelecom can now offer 100G access to businesses and enable service providers to provide ultra-fast internet offerings to all Kentucky residents. It has been a remarkable turnaround.”

https://www.fujitsu.com/us/about/resources/news/press-releases/2022/fnc-20221207.html

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Proxxima Telecom deploys Padtec dual 400 Gb/s transponders

Proxxima Telecom, a telecommunications service provider of Paraíba (Brazil), is deploying Padtec’s new line of dual 400 Gbps transponders for its new DWDM network connecting the municipalities of Campina Grande, in Paraíba, and Caruaru, in Pernambuco.

Proxxima Telecom intends to expand the service offerings and its customer base in this region and to later expand its operations to other neighboring cities and states. 

“To accomplish this, we intend to continue counting on Padtec’s partnership, which has also helped us in planning the investment necessary to expand our network”, says Leonardo Gomes, CEO of Proxxima. He also emphasizes the quality of service and the agility of Padtec’s support areas as important differentials offered by the company.

The new generation of Padtec transponders features flexible pluggable network interfaces, with up to 400 Gbps of transmission capacity (based on CFP2-DCO). 

“With this, we combine greater performance of the optical channels with the gradual expansion capacity of the network, according to the growth in demand and the performance of providers in the market”, emphasizes Argemiro Sousa, Business Director at Padtec. Another highlight is the product’s compatibility with the three shelf models of the LightPad Platform (with 2, 4 and 14RU height), supporting applications of different capacities in short, medium and long distance networks.

In addition, Padtec’s new line of 400 Gb/s transponders can also be financed through credit lines offered by the company to providers, of different sizes, throughout Brazil. Padtec offers the market financing options through BNDES, FIDC with the Sifra group, Finep (branch of investments in technology and innovation of the federal government), “vendor financing” with private banks and “forfait” operations for international sales.

https://www.padtec.com.br/en/proxxima-telecom-invests-in-padtec-dual-400-gbs-transponders-to-meet-demands-for-new-services/

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SiTime debuts MEMS-based oscillators for wireless infrastructure

SiTime introduced a new precision timing platform for wireless infrastructure including radios in small cells, remote radio units (RRUs), microwave backhaul, and SATCOM equipment. 

The new SiTime Elite RF Super-TCXO is an entirely new class of MEMS-based temperature-controlled oscillators designedto withstand extreme environments in which 5G radios are deployed, while delivering the phase noise, accuracy, and resilience in a single, highly integrated device. 

SiTime said its new devices also meet the stringent performance requirements specified by the IEEE 1588v2 timing synchronization protocol.

Until now, mini-OCXOs were the primary timing reference for 5G and SATCOM radios. Mini-OCXOs provided the stability over changing temperature that was necessary to clock advanced synchronized radios. While mini-OCXOs are accurate, they are notoriously unreliable, especially in harsh environments, and they consume excessive power and board space and require additional components, such as jitter cleaners and VCXOs for generating RF-capable clocks. One Elite RF Super-TCXO replaces all these components.

“To enable new services, radios are expected to deliver 10x the bandwidth of previous generations with significantly lower latency,” said Piyush Sevalia, executive VP of marketing, SiTime. “To achieve these performance goals, next-gen radios must be deployed closer to the user, and all nodes in the network must be time-synchronized. Past radio architectures used separate timing devices for the radio and for synchronization. The SiTime Elite RF platform integrates these two clocking functions, simplifying the radio timing architecture and delivering on the promise of 5G bandwidth and coverage.”

Elite RF Super-TCXO Family Highlights

• 1 to 220 MHz any frequency output
• ±100 ppb stability over temperature
• -40 °C to +105 °C operating temperature range
• ±0.9 ppb/°C stability over temperature slope
• ±400 ppm digital control with ±0.05 ppt (parts per trillion) resolution
• 100 fs typical integrated phase jitter (19.2 MHz, 12 kHz to 20 MHz integration range)
• 0.3 ppb/day typical daily aging
• 144 mW power consumption at 1.8V
• 5.0 mm x 3.5 mm ceramic package

https://www.sitime.com/products/super-tcxos/sit5376

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Lumen partners with Genesys on cloud-based contact centers

Lumen Technologies has partnered with Genesys to launch a cloud-based Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS).

Lumen Solutions for Contact Center – Genesys Cloud is an all-in-one contact center solution for enterprise-grade and Public Sector-grade communications, collaboration, and customer experience management. The API-first, experience-orchestration platform enables organizations to coordinate every customer interaction and touchpoint with frictionless and connected experiences for customers and employees.

"Moving from older contact center infrastructure to the latest technologies is a major change for companies, but the massive improvements to efficiency and effectiveness make it worth the effort," said Craig Richter, senior director of UC&C product management for Lumen. "Legacy platforms are capital intensive, while newer cloud-based or hybrid solutions are much more flexible and cost effective."

https://lumen.com/en-us/communications/genesys-cloud

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Qualcomm debuts Compact Macro 5G RAN Platform

Qualcomm Technologies introduced a Compact Macro 5G RAN Platform to address macro cell infrastructure for mobility and Fixed Wireless Access (FWA). Sampling is expected to start in Q1 2023.

The new platform leverages the Qualcomm FSM 5G RAN Platform for Small Cells, while featuring macro-grade antenna module support with 256 antenna elements, delivering up to 60dBm of peak EIRP and up to 1 GHz of spectrum. 

The new Qualcomm Compact Macro 5G RAN Platform offers long-range performance enhancements for compact macro products that more than double the range capabilities compared to small cells designed with the Qualcomm FSM 5G RAN Platform, significantly reducing the number of cell sites needed for wide area coverage. 

Qualcomm said its new platform will accelerate deployment of mmWave infrastructure by facilitating up to 50% base station equipment cost reduction for a given coverage area, compared to similar high-power mmWave macro solutions.

“Building on our 5G infrastructure and mmWave leadership, we are pleased to announce a new long-range outdoor platform for compact macro cells that present our customers and operators with a cost-to-performance paradigm highly differentiated from traditional macro solutions,” said Durga Malladi, senior vice president and general manager, cellular modems and infrastructure, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. “This innovative solution will streamline deployments and accelerate mmWave adoption by providing the range, performance, energy efficiency, and form factor our partners need at an attractive price point. We’re thrilled to extend our technology leadership and expertise to help the ecosystem fully realize the benefits of mmWave for outdoor 5G networks.”

https://www.qualcomm.com/news/releases/2022/12/qualcomm-announces-long-range-compact-macro-platform

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Lumen deploys Corning's SMF-28 ULL fiber and SMF-28 Ultra fiber

Lumen Technologies recently upgraded over 24,000 route miles across its U.S. intercity network with new ultra-low-loss fiber capable of supporting wavelength services up to 400G and faster. 

Lumen is continuing to deploy Corning's SMF-28 ULL fiber and SMF-28 Ultra fiber in its multi-conduit infrastructure.

Lumen also confirmed plans for another 6 million fiber miles, expected to be installed by 2026.

"We are creating a next-gen network, and fiber type matters," said Andrew Dugan, Lumen chief technology officer. "As demand for optical fiber increases and technology evolves, Lumen's multi-conduit infrastructure means we can install the latest fiber type quickly and economically. It's difficult to upgrade legacy intercity networks without multiple conduits. These networks end up being stuck with older fiber technology. Lumen is fixing that issue with our upgraded technology. We can extend signal reach to help reduce equipment costs and increase bandwidth capacity. Using ultra-low-loss fiber on the Lumen network is a major component of what differentiates us from other network providers."

https://news.lumen.com/2022-12-06-Lumen-Invests-to-Expand-U-S-Intercity-Network-by-6-Million-Fiber-Miles

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Digital Bridge completes acquisition of Switch for $11 billion

DigitalBridge and IFM Investors completed their previously-announced acquisition of Switch, which operates a series of high-performance, SuperNAP co-location data centers.

All outstanding common shares of Switch (NYSE: SWCH) were acquired for $34.25 per share in cash, or approximately $11 billion, including the repayment of outstanding debt.

“We are excited to embark on the next chapter of Switch’s evolution in partnership with DigitalBridge and IFM Investors, two leading digital infrastructure investment firms,” said Rob Roy, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Switch. “With their strategic expertise and financial resources, Switch is ideally positioned to meet growing customer demand for the world’s most advanced and environmentally sustainable data center infrastructure.”

Jon Mauck, Senior Managing Director at DigitalBridge Investment Management, said, “We are delighted to partner with Rob and the Switch team as DigitalBridge continues to grow our portfolio of high-quality digital infrastructure assets globally. With a shared vision for the future of communications infrastructure, Switch, IFM Investors and DigitalBridge are ideal partners, and together we will scale Switch’s business domestically and internationally to meet the robust enterprise demand for mission-critical digital infrastructure.”

Kyle Mangini, Global Head of Infrastructure at IFM Investors, said, “IFM Investors is excited to join DigitalBridge to support Switch in its next phase of growth. Switch’s excellence in data center design and operations, along with its industry leadership in sustainability, makes the company an ideal fit for IFM Investors as we seek to deliver returns to our investors and maximize the retirement savings of the millions of working people they represent.”

http://www.digitalbridge.com

DigitalBridge to acquire Switch for $11 billion for its data centers

Wednesday, May 11, 2022  Data Centers, Digital Bridge  

DigitalBridge Group agreed to acquire Switch, a leading colocation data center operator, for $34.25 per share in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $11 billion, including the assumption of debt.Switch, which was founded in 2000, operates SuperNAP data center campuses in Las Vegas, Reno, and Grand Rapids, Michigan. The company touts its high-resiliecy and high-security designs for mission critical workloads in its "Class 5" data centers....

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Switch expands data center fleet to 16 with Data Foundry acquisition

Sunday, May 09, 2021  Data Centers, Mergers And Acquisitions, Switch  

Switch agreed to acquire Data Foundry, a carrier-neutral colocation provider with data centers in Austin and Houston, for $420 million in an all cash transaction. The acquisition is expected to close by mid-2021, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval. The purchase price of $420 million represents approximately 19x estimated 2021 Adjusted EBITDA, including $2 million of projected run-rate cost synergies. Data...

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Rackspace Hosted Exchange hit by ransomware attack

Rackspace Technology reported a ransomware incident affecting its Hosted Exchange environment. The company’s Hosted Exchange customers have been impacted by service outages.

Rackspace said it has taken proactive measures to isolate the Hosted Exchange environment to contain the incident and at this time believes the attack has spread to other aspects of its business. Rackspace Technology’s other products and services are fully operational, and the company has not experienced an impact to its Email product line and platform.

The company has engaged a leading cyber defense firm to investigate. 

Rackspace Technology is in ongoing communication with Hosted Exchange customers to help them migrate to a new environment as quickly as possible. Rackspace Technology has surged support staff and will be taking additional steps to help guide customers through this process in order to limit the impact to their own operations. Although Rackspace Technology is in the early stages of assessing this incident, the incident has caused and may continue to cause an interruption in its Hosted Exchange business and may result in a loss of revenue for the Hosted Exchange business, which generates approximately $30 million of annual revenue in the Apps & Cross Platform segment.  In addition, Rackspace Technology may have incremental costs associated with its response to the incident.

https://ir.rackspace.com/news-releases/news-release-details/rackspace-technology-hosted-exchange-environment-update

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Expeto raises $12 million for private/public network management

Expeto, a start-up based in Vancouver, announced a $12 million Series B funding round for its solutions for simplifying enterprise networking over private and public mobile networks.

Expeto’s cloud-based NeXtworking platform solves mobile complexity for enterprises by making any kind of mobile connectivity (CBRS, MNO-provided LTE, 5G, etc.) a seamless part of a privately managed network. The goal is to enable enterprises to seamlessly extend private networks via any type of cellular connectivity with single-SIM mobility between public and private instances of the network. 

Expeto can be deployed behind a corporate firewall, in a private or public cloud, at the edge or geographically remote sites depending on use case requirements. It supports creation of secure network segments, management of subscribers and network policies, and monitoring of network usage and performance. 

“Expeto hides the complexity of mobile network management behind an easy interface and powerful routing platform that has been proven to help achieve ambitious mobile connectivity management goals in large-scale commercial deployments,” said Expeto CEO Michael Anderson. “Our work with enterprises and MNOs is rooted in solving the challenges enterprises face expanding private networks with cellular connectivity and the role we can play in helping transform industries based on compelling new use cases.”

The round was led by Sorenson Capital and included existing investors Evok Innovations, Lavrock Ventures and Mistral Venture Partners. Additional new investors included 5G Open Innovation Lab and Samsung Next. Expeto has raised over $20M total financing to date and will use funds from the Series B to accelerate innovation and expand go-to-market programs.

https://www.expeto.io

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euNetworks appoints Paula Cogan as CEO, Brady Rafuse as Chair

euNetworks announced the appointment of Paula Cogan as its Chief Executive Officer, effective 1 January 2023. Paula currently holds the position of President, euNetworks. Paula will succeed CEO Brady Rafuse, who will become Chairman of euNetworks’ Board of Directors, with the existing Chairman Neil Hobbs remaining on the Board of Directors as a Non Executive Director.

Cogan previously held various senior leadership positions in companies such as British Telecom, Verizon and Colt. Prior to joining euNetworks Paula was most recently Executive Vice President – Sales, Marketing and Customer Relationship Management at Colt, responsible for the commercial strategy of the business. 

“I am excited to lead this exceptional and high-performing team of people through the next chapter of euNetworks’ growth,” said Paula Cogan. “euNetworks continues to distinguish itself in the digital infrastructure ecosystem, delivering critical internet infrastructure to customers. It’s an asset rich business, focused on developing and deepening its fibre networks, innovating and investing in new technologies to deliver highly scalable, owned and operated fibre-based and sustainable infrastructure in Europe. The vision that Brady and the team have followed and delivered creates an exciting opportunity for us all as we continue to drive the business forward. I want to thank Brady for that and also for his continued support as Chairman as we move forward in 2023.”

Brady joined euNetworks in March 2009. He has led euNetworks through its delisting on the Singapore Stock Exchange, privatisation with Columbia Capital, and sale to Stonepeak, with increased investment from IMCO. 

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Webinar: New fiber connectivity options inside the switch chassis

As the next generation of data center switch designs advance, new possibilities for fiber management inside the chassis are emerging. In this one-hour webinar, we will hear from Paul Yip who will discuss an innovative fiber shuffle from Optec for transmitting optical signals from the switching silicon to the front panel. The idea is to facilitate the fiber management and system redundancy from the CPO optical engines. Then we will hear from Fujikura's Teruhiko Omori who will present the various types of fiber suitable for these applications. 

Paul Yip is Product Marketing Manager of Optec Technology Limited. He joined Optec in 2015 and has key roles in product line management, field application engineering, and strategic marketing. 

Teruhiko Omori is a manager at Fiber Optics Components Department, Optical Component Division, Fujikura Ltd. He joined Fujikura in 1990 and engaged in research & development, production engineering and business development of passive optical components and business development of fiber-optic cabling solutions.Manufacturability, reliability, and maintenance issues will be considered.

Date/Time: Dec 12, 2022 04:00 PM in Pacific Time

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_rnZ64Y1lQa-X_7HNYEfmBA

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Verizon's C-band rollout is ahead of schedule

Verizon now covers more than 175 million people with their ultra fast, ultra reliable 5G Ultra Wideband service, and will offer nationwide 5G Ultra Wideband in Q1 2023. 

Verizon confirmed that its ongoing C-Band rollout is a full 13 months ahead of the original schedule.

Less than 21 months after announcing the results of the FCC’s C-band auction and after securing early access to an additional 30 markets this year, Verizon accelerated its build plan and surpassed its goal of reaching 175 million people covered by the end of 2022, a month ahead of schedule.

“Our customers don’t stand still and neither does our network. Today, more than one out of every two Americans now have access to 5G Ultra Wideband. We know our customers rely on our service every day and we work for them – continuously enhancing, expanding and improving our wireless network,” said Hans Vestberg, Chairman and CEO of Verizon. “And as proud as I am to have crossed this milestone, I am equally proud of the way we are building our network – with the most advanced technologies, industry leading security, a robust fiber underpinning and a robust and varied spectrum portfolio. We are building this right. We are building this as a platform for innovation for years to come.”

Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband supports download speeds up to 1 Gbps.

In addition to providing greater coverage, especially in rural and suburban areas, Verizon will also enhance capacity by activating 100 MHz of C-Band spectrum in many markets, a significant step up from the 60 MHz of spectrum available when deployment first began. Once all of its licensed spectrum is made available, Verizon will have up to 200 MHz of C-Band spectrum deployed in many markets, which will provide exceptional speed and capacity.

Verizon is continuing to deploy 5G on mmWave spectrum in areas with significantly dense populations such as venues, stadiums, arenas, airports, major metro areas, office complexes, etc. mmWave will also continue to be used for private network deployments.

Verizon also highlighed progress in fully deploying the 5G core with its proprietary cloud platform built specifically for telco workloads, advancing the fiber network to handle exponential increases in data traffic, continuing massive virtualization of the network to add programmability and flexibility into the network, using artificial intelligence to drive reliability and performance, continuing to develop edge computing capabilities to drive down latency, and continuing to advance antenna configurations to drive speed and efficiency.

https://www.verizon.com/about/news/verizon-continues-deploy-5g-ultra-wideband-faster

Ericsson and Verizon sign multi-year $8.3 billion 5G deal

Thursday, July 15, 2021  Ericsson, Verizon  

Ericsson confirmed a multi-year 5G supply agreement with Verizon valued at $8.3 billion.Under the agreement, Verizon will deploy Ericsson's 5G MIMO C-band, low-band and millimeter wave (mmWave) solutions to enhance and expand Verizon's 5G Ultra Wideband coverage, network performance and user experience. Ericsson's technology solutions, including Massive MIMO, Ericsson Spectrum Sharing and Ericsson Cloud RAN, complement the high-performing Ericsson...

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Verizon begins C-band rollout with Ericsson and Samsung

Monday, April 19, 2021  Ericsson, Samsung, Verizon  

Verizon confirmed that the installation of C-band equipment from Ericsson and Samsung Electronics Co. is now underway. Ericsson is providing its Antenna-Integrated Radio (AIR) product, which features a massive Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) architecture with Ericsson Uplink Booster and advanced beamforming technology.  Samsung is also supplying Massive MIMO radios and fully virtualized RAN (vRAN) solutions.Verizon secured an...

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Verizon activates C-band spectrum

Wednesday, January 19, 2022  Verizon  

Verizon activated C-band spectrum to boost its 5G Ultra Wideband network, which is now available to more than 100 million people in 1,700-plus cities around the nation.“This massive launch will put incredible speeds, reliability and security in the hands of our customers and amplifies our offering of reliable home and business broadband options to more places around the country, well ahead of the commitment we made last year,” said Hans Vestberg,...

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Verizon serves nearly 48% of its cell sites with owned fiber

Monday, September 12, 2022  Verizon  

Verizon now connects nearly 48% of its cell sites with its own deployed fiber optic cables and is on track to reach about 50% by the end of this year.In June Verizon announced that data traffic on its 5G Ultra Wideband network had already increased 249%, and it expects continued increases as more customers adopt the new technology and begin to experience the robust capabilities and performance of 5G Ultra Wideband. Verizon has also announced...

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Lattice debuts low-power FPGA platform

Lattice Semiconductor introduced a low-power FPGA platform for communications, computing, industrial and automotive applications.

The new Lattice Avant series offers advanced connectivity with configurable SERDES up to 25 Gbps, PCIe Gen 4, high performance I/O, and memory interface support including LPDDR4 and DDR5.

The company claims up to 2.5X lower power and 2X faster throughput than similar class competitive devices.

“With Lattice Avant, we extend our low power leadership position in the FPGA industry and are poised to continue our rapid pace of innovation, while also doubling the addressable market for our product portfolio,” said Jim Anderson, President and CEO, Lattice Semiconductor. “We created Avant to address our customers’ need for compelling mid-range FPGA solutions, and we’re excited to help them accelerate their designs with new levels of power efficiency and performance.”

https://www.latticesemi.com/about/newsroom/pressreleases/2022/202232-new-lattice-avant-fpga-platform 

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FCC issues 2.5 GHz licenses from Auction 108

The FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau  granted the first batch of new, flexible-use, county-based overlay wireless licenses made available in the 2.5 GHz auction, Auction 108.  With most of the available spectrum in the 2.5 GHz band located in rural areas, this auction provides vital spectrum resources to support wireless services in rural communities.  

In total, the FCC granted 51 of the 68 total long-form applications received from winning bidders in Auction 108, following a thorough review of the applications and a period of public comment.  Of the 51 applications granted, 15 applicants obtained small business bidding credits and 23 obtained rural service provider bidding credits.  Staff review of the remaining Auction 108 long-form applications remains ongoing.  

“This is important spectrum, especially for rural America.  I am grateful to our team for moving forward quickly but carefully in processing these applications,” said FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel.  “We continue to focus on ensuring that mid-band spectrum is available for 5G and other next-generation wireless services.”

http://www.fcc.gov

FCC incentivizes to open underutilized spectrum for rural carriers

Monday, July 18, 2022  FCC  

The FCC voted to create an Enhanced Competition Incentive Program (ECIP) to establish incentives for wireless licensees to make underutilized spectrum available to small carriers, Tribal Nations, and entities serving rural areas. The new program encourages licensees to partition, disaggregate, or lease spectrum to better match available spectrum resources with entities that seek to provide needed services to under-connected communities.  Under...

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Samsung and NAVER target semiconductors for hyperscale AI

Samsung Electronics and NAVER Corporation are collaborating on semiconductor solutions tailored for hyperscale artificial intelligence (AI) models. 

The partnership leverages Samsung’s next-generation memory technologies like computational storage, processing-in-memory (PIM) and processing-near-memory (PNM), as well as Compute Express Link (CXL).

NAVER will continue to refine HyperCLOVA, a hyperscale language model with over 200 billion parameters, while improving its compression algorithms to create a more simplified model that significantly increases computation efficiency.

“Through our collaboration with NAVER, we will develop cutting-edge semiconductor solutions to solve the memory bottleneck in large-scale AI systems,” said Jinman Han, Executive Vice President of Memory Global Sales & Marketing at Samsung Electronics. “With tailored solutions that reflect the most pressing needs of AI service providers and users, we are committed to broadening our market-leading memory lineup including computational storage, PIM and more, to fully accommodate the ever-increasing scale of data.”

“Combining our acquired knowledge and know-how from HyperCLOVA with Samsung’s semiconductor manufacturing prowess, we believe we can create an entirely new class of solutions that can better tackle the challenges of today’s AI technologies,” said Suk Geun Chung, Head of NAVER CLOVA CIC. “We look forward to broadening our AI capabilities and bolstering our edge in AI competitiveness through this strategic partnership.”

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STACK and ESR to develop data center in Osaka

 STACK Infrastructure and ESR Group announced a joint venture to develop a 72MW data center campus in Osaka, Japan.

STACK and ESR will jointly develop and deliver 72MW of data center capacity in Osaka’s eastern suburb of Keihanna. Construction of the first of three buildings will commence in Q4 2023 and will be ready for service in Q2 2025.

The deal further expands STACK and ESR’s APAC partnership, which currently includes a 48MW data center development in Incheon, Korea.

“Osaka is STACK’s sixth APAC market in 12 months since our entrance into the region, including the expansion of our footprint in both Japan and Australia to over 100MW each,” said Pithambar (Preet) Gona, Chief Executive Officer of STACK APAC. "This campus further deepens our partnership with ESR, allowing us to combine our capabilities to meet our clients’ strategic requirements in existing and emerging Tier 1 data center markets.” 

“ESR’s strong regional development capability in Tier 1 data center markets ensures we are well-positioned to continue to aggressively develop data center facilities across Asia Pacific,” said Diarmid Massey, CEO of ESR Data Centres. “Our partnership with STACK enables us to leverage our respective strengths to target hyperscale customer growth in key markets.”

https://www.stackinfra.com/about/news-events/press-releases/stack-infrastructure-and-esr-expand-their-apac-partnership-into-japan-with-a-72mw-data-center-development-in-osaka/

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