Qualcomm Technologies confirmed that Apple has renewed an agreement underwhich it will continue to supply Snapdragon 5G Modem‑RF Systems for smartphone launches in 2024, 2025 and 2026. Terms and conditions of the new contract are similar to the previous agreement.
Qualcomm notes that the global patent license agreement, effective as of April 2019, remains unchanged.
Worldwide telecom equipment revenues remained relatively stable in the first half of 2023, with variations in performance observed by region and technology, according to Dell'Oro Group's 2Q23 reports for all telecom infrastructure programs. Worldwide telecom equipment revenues across the six telecom programs tracked at the Dell’Oro Group*, were flat year-over-year (Y/Y) in the quarter and advanced 2% in the first half of 2023.
Worldwide telecom equipment revenues, excluding North America, increased by 7% in the first half, supporting the thesis that the telecom equipment market remains robust outside of the US.
In a blog posting, Dell'Oro's Stefan Pongratz notes that vendor rankings remained mostly stable between 2022 and 1H23, with a few exceptions. Ciena surpassed Samsung, and the gap between Nokia and Ericsson widened. Huawei continued to lead the global telecom equipment market, especially outside of North America, accounting for a significant portion of revenues.
https://www.delloro.com/total-telcom-equipment-market-grows-2-percent-in-1h23/
SpaceX announced a multi-launch agreement to deliver the Telesat Lightspeed constellation to Low Earth Orbit (LEO).
The contract covers 14 launches from both California and Florida on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 to carry up to 18 Telesat Lightspeed satellites to LEO per launch. The launch campaign is scheduled to commence in 2026. Telesat anticipates offering global service beginning in 2027.
The optically-linked Telesat Lightspeed network will provide multi-Gbps data links and highly secure, resilient, low-latency, enterprise-class connectivity anywhere in the world. MDA is serve as the prime satellite manufacturer for Telesate.
“SpaceX has been a trusted and effective launch provider to Telesat on our geostationary satellite programs and I am delighted that they will be supporting us with their highly reliable Falcon 9 rocket to deploy the Telesat Lightspeed constellation, the most ambitious program in Telesat’s 54-year history,” stated Dan Goldberg, Telesat’s President and CEO.
“With growing demand for high-speed internet around the world, SpaceX is proud to launch and deploy Telesat’s Lightspeed constellation” said SpaceX President and Chief Operating Officer Gwynne Shotwell. “Building upon our successful launch partnership to-date, we look forward to flying Telesat once again as they expand connectivity capabilities for their customers across the globe.”
Netcracker Technology announced its new GenAI Telco Solution to help communications service providers (CSPs) harness their telecom data and knowledge in a secure and controlled way.
This includes support for specialized telco-centric scenarios such as Care Assistant, Agent Partner, Sales Assistant, Catalog Assistant and Digital Operations Technician.
With the GenAI Telco Solution, Netcracker has combined its extensive telecom IT domain leadership and expertise with AI technology innovations. The solution comprises a GenAI Telco Platform consisting of Knowledge Management to build, test and optimize telco-focused scenarios, such as customer care, business operations, sales and network operations. It also includes a GenAI Trust Gateway that integrates with the telco IT and data analytics environment, works in real time to create the best personalized prompts to ensure the highest quality GenAI interactions and obfuscates sensitive telco data, which ensures the highest levels of security and accuracy.
Netcracker has integrated its solution with the most popular commercial GenAI models, creating a unified approach enabling CSPs to choose their preferred combination of public and private models that best meets their business needs and maximizes return on investment. Netcracker has also created powerful out-of-the-box use cases for each area of the telco business to speed up adoption and realize benefits quickly.
“The telco industry is extremely complex, and extracting value from its valuable yet highly proprietary data requires an in-depth understanding of the entire telecom business,” said Roy Chua, Founder and Principal Analyst at AvidThink Research. “Netcracker is in a strong position to fill that important role with its new solution, which will broaden the scope and usefulness of generative AI technology across all telco domains and make it securely accessible.”
“Netcracker’s GenAI Telco Solution enables service providers to securely tap into their telco data and maximize the value from multiple GenAI models and platforms,” said Bob Titus, CTO at Netcracker. “When leveraging enterprise telco data with GenAI, it is crucial to address the data privacy, security and quality concerns. Our solution and library of interaction models allow service providers to quickly generate tangible business value from GenAI for their customers and their internal operations.”
Arista has been appointed by Spark as a private cloud networking provider to support Spark’s data centre networking services for a new private telecommunications cloud platform.
The new private cloud network will host applications to service Spark’s mobile voice and data customers and support Spark’s 5G network rollout, supporting greater flexibility, reliability and scalability for software-defined networks and any underpinning systems.
The private cloud network will be built utilising Arista 7050X switches, the Arista 7358X4 series for high-density 100GbE and 400GbE for data-intensive and high-performance workloads, and the Arista 7280R platform for data centre interconnectivity, all managed via Arista CloudVision®, a turnkey solution for network-wide workload orchestration and workflow automation.
https://www.arista.com/en/company/news/press-release/18062-pr-20230823
The Next G Alliance, which is an initiative to advance North American wireless technology leadership, announced a collaboration with the Bharat 6G Alliance, which is an initiative of Indian industry, academia, national research institutions and standards organizations.
The MoU between the two organizations was signed by ATIS President and CEO Susan Miller and Chair Bharat 6G Alliance N.G. Subramaniam.
“Defining what it takes to deliver next generation wireless leadership is an audacious undertaking,” said ATIS President and CEO Susan Miller. “ATIS has entered into collaboration agreements with Korea’s 5G Forum, Japan’s Beyond 5G Promotion Consortium and Europe’s 6G Smart Networks and Services Industry Association (6G-IA). We see the agreement with Bharat 6G Alliance as a critical link in advancing both organizations’ objectives in the development of the global 6G mobile wireless ecosystem.”
“India has a vision for the empowerment of the society at large with sustainability as its core, and the next generation 6G will further enhance the quality of life in this planet. This would entail focused, open and collaborative research amongst nations, dedicating resources to contribute to national, regional and global standards and developing products meeting those exacting standards. The MoU with Next G Alliance is an important step in this direction.” said N.G. Subramaniam, Chair of Bharat 6G Alliance.
OIF has kicked off four new projects:
224G PAM4 protocol agnostic link training for electrical interfaces project
Electrical interface link training holds considerable significance throughout the industry. This project will define communication method, messaging format and contents, training patterns, states and sequences, diagnostics and fault handling, etc. for link training of a 224G PAM4 class electrical link. The objective is to enhance overall link performance, a critical factor, particularly under challenging conditions, to establish a functional connection.
As part of this initiative, the CEI (Common Electrical IO) framework will be expanded with an additional tool to encompass a comprehensive solution, reinforcing OIF's leadership in the electrical/SERDES domain.
“This project is critical for OIF, yielding a standardized solution that seamlessly fosters SERDES interoperability and implementation, transcending the boundaries of specific applications,” said David Stauffer, OIF Physical & Link Layer Working Group Chair and Kandou Bus, S.A. “Through collaborative efforts with other industry groups, we aim to forge a consistent industry-wide solution that simplifies implementation.”
1600ZR Project
The 1600ZR project will define a power optimized solution for a multi-vendor interoperable 1600 Gbps coherent optical interface, with a focus on Data Center Interconnect (DCI) scenarios. This Implementation Agreement (IA) will create a comprehensive electrical/protocol/optical framework that facilitates realization into pluggable modules. It will also establish a reference point for additional applications that contribute to the growth of the coherent ecosystem.
“It has become clear that multiple evolution paths from 400ZR will be required in DCI transport,” said Ian Betty, OIF Board Member and Ciena. “While the 800ZR IA development is still ongoing, the group has started a parallel project to address the complexities of supporting 1.6T Ethernet clients in single span DCI applications for reaches of at least 80km. OIF is leading the industry by creating an IA for an interoperable 1.6T Ethernet coherent line interface designed for ZR/DCI applications. This project further validates that OIF is the platform for next-generation coherent line interface discussions and to facilitate the development of innovative applications and architectural solutions. We encourage network operators to actively participate in these efforts to help shape the specifications to best meet their needs.”
Data Center Storage and Optical Multi-layer Coordination
Transaction failures in the financial industry are sometimes attributed to network issues such as jitter, intermittent disconnection and bit errors, caused by unstable DCI links. Fast fault detection and recovery of optical connections can be leveraged to address these issues and support new DC applications, by coordinating between the application layer and optical connections in the DCI network. This project will result in a white paper that will delineate anticipated scenarios, crucial technical requirements, and potential multi-layer protection solutions, and provide a comprehensive gap analysis regarding the coordination of storage and optical connections.
“This project stands as a testament to OIF’s mission to develop interoperable solutions for challenging optical interworking applications like DCI,” said Jia He, OIF Networking & Operations Working Group Chair and Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
System Vendor Requirements Document for Energy Efficient Interfaces
This project will result in a requirements document for Energy Efficient Interfaces (EEI) through input gathered by system vendors from end users and provide a list of prioritized applications and a basic set of requirements for the next generation of energy efficient electrical and optical links. A primary objective of this work is to provide guidance to the EEI Framework Project and future IAs based on the framework at the OIF or other standards organizations.
“This project introduces a new area of standards for the OIF, expanding its ecosystem and industry influence,” said Jeffery Maki, OIF Physical Layer User Group Chair and Juniper Networks. “A key objective of this project is to outline user-driven prerequisites that will shape the trajectory of future EEI initiatives within the organization.”
The announcement follows OIF's hybrid Q3 Technical and MA&E Committees Meeting, which was held last monght in Vancouver.
CyrusOne announced plans for its seventh data center campus in Frankfurt, named FRA7, located on a 63,000 square meter plot at FRANKFURT WESTSIDE; a 73-hectare commercial and industrial mixed-use regeneration project managed by BEOS AG and Swiss Life Asset Managers Deutschland.
This latest news from CyrusOne follows a competitive selection process in which CyrusOne was the favored partner to deliver a data center scheme that prioritizes sustainability, provides re-used waste heat to the WESTSIDE campus, and is aligned to BEOS’ commitment to create spaces that support; creativity, innovation, progress and productivity. CyrusOne’s partnership with BEOS and Swiss Life Asset Managers marks an important step in the company’s ongoing commitment to European expansion and a sustainable future.
The new facility will start with a total capacity of 81 megawatts delivered across nine data halls in two 3-story buildings. CyrusOne aims for an annualised PUE of <1.3 in advance of European energy efficiency directive targets for 2030. It will also fall in line with the anticipated energy efficiency targets proposed by German legislation.
The facility will be powered by renewable energy, as has CyrusOne’s entire operational portfolio in Europe since June 2021. In addition, specific practices are being implemented throughout the design and construction phase to source sustainable materials and lower CO2 emissions.
“Frankfurt is an incredibly important location for CyrusOne in Europe with 60 MW IT capacity across four operational data centers and another 126 MW under development. It is a real milestone to be planning our seventh facility in the city, and our biggest development to date in Frankfurt,” explains Andreas Paduch, Area Vice President, of European Sales at CyrusOne. “We are thrilled to have BEOS, an experienced and innovative local organization, as a key partner for this build at FRANKFURT WESTSIDE and this is the start of a longstanding partnership with this team. It’s fantastic to work with a company so aligned with us on sustainability and biodiversity goals as we move forward on the project together.”
Verizon unveiled a Mobile Onsite Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) unit designed to deliver a private network, private MEC, SD-Wan, and satellite connectivity to customer locations.
The mobile unit, which is packaged aboard a 10-foot trailer that can be pulled by truck, was developed with dual-core network capabilities supporting both 4G and 5G standalone functionality. It also provides scalable, reliable 5G and edge compute that can be managed locally by enterprise and public sector customers for enhanced operational flexibility just about wherever they need it.
"By delivering the mission critical connectivity that our network provides to customer locations, we are demonstrating how 5G and edge computing can help customers address their strategic priorities and continue to develop advanced solutions,” said Srini Kalapala, Senior Vice President for Technology and Product Development at Verizon. “A private network on location delivers the high-speed, high-capacity, and low-latency needed for various applications as well as greater privacy and security.”
The first deployment of Verizon's Mobile Onsite NaaS is at Lockheed Martin's Waterton, Colorado campus.
The Mobile Onsite NaaS can also be used as a Mobile Lab as a Service, which is part of Verizon Innovation Labs’ offerings. Verizon has three Innovation Labs located in Boston, Los Angeles and San Francisco that provide customers with integrated spaces with products and solutions for collaboration as well as an active lab environment for development and testing. These spaces include both commercial and private 5G networks, NSA and IMS cores, multiple RF shielded rooms and a full private MEC portfolio for developers.
Sparkle activated commercial service in the first section of the BlueMed submarine cable connecting Palermo with Genoa to Milan. Service is available at multiples of 100 or 400 Gbps with a latency reduced by 50% compared to the terrestrial cables connecting Sicily with Milan today.
BlueMed is Sparkle's new cable that will connect Italy with France, Greece and several countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea all the way to Aqaba in Jordan. The cable is part of the Blue & Raman Submarine Cable Systems, built in partnership with Google and other operators and that will extend to Mumbai. It is fully integrated with Sparkle's network, BlueMed.
Each fiber pair is lit with innovative transmission platform with throughput of 30 Tbps, which is currently the highest submarine backbone capacity per fiber pair in service in the Mediterranean region, destined to increase as the technology evolves further.
Some additional notes:
After the Palermo-Genoa-Milan route, activations will follow to Pomezia (Rome), Golfo Aranci (Sardinia), Bastia (Corsica) and Marseille planned by the end of 2023, and then during 2024 the other routes in the Central and Eastern Mediterranean.
The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) recently announced how it has allocated funding to all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and five territories to deploy high-speed Internet to all addresses that are currently unserved. The funding, a component of the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, totals $42.5 billion in eligible grants.
Here is an infographic from Infinera on Where will the money go?
Tower Semiconductor and InnoLight Technology will develop multi-generation high-speed optical transceivers based on Tower’s Silicon Photonics process platform (PH18). Production is already underway.
Tower’s PH18M SiPho platform offers a portfolio of optical components, including ultra-high bandwidth modulators, photodetectors, low-loss waveguides, and light coupling solutions. The company says its silicon photonics platform delivers accurate model-to-silicon match that empowers designers to bring disruptive solutions to market on time and with minimal design iterations.
InnoLight has launched multiple 400G and 800G products based on the PH18M SiPho platform. 400G parts are currently in mass production while 800G parts are scheduled to be in volume production in Q4, 2023. InnoLight also developed 400G COSA, which will be used in its 400G DCO coherent transceivers.
Osa Mok, the Chief Marketing Officer of InnoLight, commented on the partnership: “InnoLight has established itself as an industry leader by rapidly developing and delivering high-performance optical transceiver products to the market. Our well-established collaboration with Tower firmly demonstrates that we have found a foundry partner who not only possesses best-in-class silicon photonics technology but is also willing to collaborate closely with us to translate our innovations into silicon. We anticipate a successful journey together.”
H3C conducted a large-scale, high-density test of 64 ports of 800G Ethernet across its S9827 800G CPO silicon photonic switch.
This recent test leveraged the industry’s first high-density 800G OSFP and QSFP-DD test platform, the Spirent TestCenter 800G B2 Appliance.
The H3C S9827 series is a new generation of 800G data center switches based on CPO silicon photonics technology, and test results showed a total switching capacity of up to 51.2T, with all 64 ports achieving 100 per cent line speed forwarding under different traffic. Each port transmission rate reached 800Gbps, and the integrated CPO silicon photonics technology fully met the high throughput demands for intelligent computing networking, ensuring its suitability for AIGC clusters and other high-performance data center core switching and related applications, which will help to unleash optimal computing power in the AIGC era.
“We were pleased to support H3C in verifying multiple breakthrough technology solutions for 800G Ethernet,” said Andrew Liu, VP of Sales for Spirent in Greater China. “We have developed a comprehensive, end-to-end 800G testing suite that leverages decades of experience in Ethernet testing. This latest positive 800G test validating the reliability and high performance of H3C S9827, H3C’s 800G CPO silicon photonic switch series, will help ensure successful deployments of this complex new technology and reliable high-speed networks to meet future demand.”
“The 800G high-performance switch, bolstered by CPO technology, will provide higher network capacity for cutting-edge applications such as AIGC and large-scale model training, paving the way for further improvement in the scale and computing power of computing clusters,” said Yutao Li, Vice President of Network Product Line and General Manager of Switch Product Line at H3C. “This joint test fully reflects H3C’s leading technical strength in the field of digital infrastructure. In the future, H3C will also help customers from various industries to comprehensively boost Ethernet performance, unleashing the full potential of computing power.”
The worldwide Ethernet switch market grew revenues 38.4% year-over-year in the second quarter of 2023 (2Q23) to $11.8 billion, according to a newly published report from IDC. Meanwhile, the total worldwide enterprise and service provider (SP) router market recorded $4.6 billion in revenue in 2Q23, a 9.4% year-over-year increase.
"The Ethernet switch market's continued growth momentum is indicative of enterprises, hyperscalers, and services providers worldwide continuing to efficiently invest in higher-speed and feature-rich platforms to support new applications such as Generative AI workloads," said Vijay Bhagavath, research vice president, Cloud and Datacenter Networks at IDC. "Meanwhile, the component shortage issues continue to ease, allowing vendors across the Ethernet switching market to recognize revenues from backlogged orders and book new orders. The Ethernet switching market will continue to be dynamic in the quarters and years to come as supply chains normalize and high-performance network capacity continues to be built out."
Some highlights of the IDC Worldwide Quarterly Ethernet Switch and Router Trackers:
Ethernet switching
Routing
The U.S. Senate voted 55-43 to confirm President Biden’s nominee, Anna Gomez, to the Federal Communications Commission, ending the 2-2 deadlock between Republicans and Democrats that has been in place for the past 3 years.
Gomez was confirmed for a term of five years from July 1, 2021, replacing Ajit Pai, whose term expired.
Gomez is a telecommunications attorney who currently serves as a Senior Advisor for International Information and Communications Policy in the Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy. Gomez served as the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Deputy Administrator from 2009 to 2013. She also served for 12 years in various positions at the Federal Communications Commission, including as Deputy Chief of the International Bureau and as Senior Legal Advisor to then-Chairman William E. Kennard. Gomez also was Vice president for Federal and State Government Affairs at Sprint Nextel and an Associate at Arnold and Porter.
Digital Realty announced its expansion into the Italian market following the acquisition and pre-development planning of land in Rome.
The first data center (ROM1) is designed as a tier four facility, as classified by the Uptime Institute. Construction is expected to commence in Q4 2023. The site, which covers 22 hectares of land (approximately 220,000 square meters) is located within 15 kilometers of the coast, making it an ideal interconnection point for future subsea cables that will land in Rome.
Digital Realty said the future facility will strengthen its position as the leading provider of digital infrastructure capacity in the Mediterranean region, building on its existing presence in Athens, Marseille, and Zagreb, as well as hubs currently under development in Barcelona, Crete, and Tel Aviv.
Digital Realty's vision for the Italian capital as a key Mediterranean connectivity hub is aligned with that of NAMEX, Rome's Internet Exchange. "Digital Realty and NAMEX have a common goal of transforming Rome into a leading global interconnection hub," commented Maurizio Goretti, CEO, NAMEX. Goretti continued: "Digital Realty's pedigree in developing highly connected data communities in carrier-neutral connectivity hubs is a critical ingredient in the achievement of this goal."
Jan-Pieter Anten, Group Managing Director EMEA, Digital Realty said: "Developing our first data center in Rome is an important part of our integrated strategy across the Mediterranean and strengthens our leadership position in the region. It represents a significant expansion of PlatformDIGITAL®, Digital Realty's global data center platform, further supporting our customers as they rapidly deploy their critical infrastructure at the heart of a growing connected data community."
Alessandro Talotta, Managing Director, Digital Realty in Italy, added: "The delivery of a carrier-neutral facility in Rome will help enable the digital transformation strategies of local enterprises and global customers in the region. Our customers will greatly benefit from the facility being highly connected to both terrestrial and subsea cable networks."
Cadence Design Systems completed its previously-announced acquisition of the Rambus SerDes and memory interface PHY IP business. The deal brings Cadence proven and experienced PHY engineering teams in the United States, India and Canada, further expanding Cadence’s domain-rich talent base. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Rambus retains its digital IP business, including memory and interface controllers and security IP.
Pure Fi introduced an HDMI 2.1 Active Optical Cable (AOC) for A/V professionals.
The modular design features detachable Tx and Rx modules, making it possible to fish the pure optical fiber cable through conduit and other narrow openings with ease before terminating at the desired endpoints.
Key features of the new Pure Fi Pro HDMI 2.1 AOC include:
“We set out to design an optical connectivity solution that offers the same blazing-fast performance our customers have come to expect from Pure Fi, but with a number of benefits sure to be appreciated by professionals in the A/V space,” said Bill Huang, CEO of Pure Fi. “Our new Pro HDMI AOC features a modular design that serves the dual purpose of streamlining in-wall installation, while future-proofing the AV investment, all thanks to detachable connectors that can be replaced and upgraded in the future without abandoning existing in-wall cabling.”
NTT has extended its tier-1 Global IP Network with a new Point-of-Presence (PoP) in Phoenix, Arizona, at phoenixNAP’s data center facility.
NTT’s clients at phoenixNAP’s facility will be able to connect to the Global IP Network AS2914.
“This new Point of Presence in Phoenix further supports the continued growth of our tier-1 Global IP Network across the world,” said Michael Wheeler, Executive Vice President of the Global IP Network division at NTT. “We are committed to increasing our ability to offer new interconnectivity options, including global reach to a greater number of Internet-centric businesses and organizations in the market.”
Credo introduced new Dove 800D and 410D PAM4 DSPs chips optimized for active optical cables and short reach tranceivers targeting hyperscale data centers and AI applications. Sampling is underway.
The new 8x100G and 4x100G per lane devices incorporate VCSEL drivers and fourth generation DSP technology which combined, creates an optimized, high-performance, small footprint solution that meets the increasingly stringent energy efficiency requirements of hyperscalers. The Dove 800D and 410D DSPs are tailored for multimode optical fiber (MMF) applications.
The Dove 800D is designed for low-power, high-performance 2x400G, or 1x800G OSFP and QSFP-DD800 optical transceivers.
The Dove 410D is optimized for 2x200G or 1x400G QSFP112 optical transceivers.
Both devices include integrated Credo VCSEL drivers. Dedicated PLLs for each transmit and receive data lane enable a wide range of breakout applications. High-performance optical and electrical host side DSP technology, together with specialized performance enhancing features, compensate for optical and electrical impairments while maintaining low power dissipation. Highlights:
“The newest hyperscale buildouts require an increasing number of optical fiber connections driven by applications such as AI and machine learning,” said Michael Girvan Lampe, Vice President of Worldwide Sales and Marketing at Credo. “The majority of this traffic is sent over short 400G and 800G MMF links using optical SR4/SR8 modules or Active Optical Cables (AOCs). Dove 800D and 410D DSPs, with integrated VCSEL drivers, address this expanding market and enable our customers to simplify their PCB design while reducing overall module costs.”
