NTT and NEC demo wavelength path provisioning

NTT and NEC published results of a field demonstration of optical wavelength path provisioning technology based on IOWN.

The tests demonstrated on-demand, high-capacity/low-latency connections among data centers through the National Science Foundation's (NSF) COSMOS testbed in the U.S. with Politecnico di Torino, Columbia University, Duke University, and Trinity College Dublin.

The results were presented earlier this month at the European Conference on Optical Communications (ECOC) in Glasgow.

NTT has been collaborating with NEC, a member of the IOWN Global Forum, to verify technologies to implement data center exchange (DCX) services that directly connect many data centers built in metro areas via optical fiber. DCX requires the connection of devices from multiple vendors between many-to-many locations with various transmission modes suitable for link length and quality (Figure 2). Unlike conventional DCI, new technology development has been required to control devices from multiple vendors across the user access links and carrier links and to set up optical wavelength paths on demand with various transmission devices in different transmission modes suitable for the link's quality.

NEC has developed an open platform with Linux-based device software architecture that utilizes open interfaces, specifications, and architectures defined by Open ROADM MSA (*11), TIP, and the IOWN Global Forum. NEC leveraged Open ROADM MSA-compliant coherent TRxs to ensure data plane interconnectivity. For the hardware abstraction interface and network operating system (NOS) that controls user TRxs, NEC applied the TAI architecture (that hides the differences among various TRx form factors or vendors) and the Goldstone NOS that are under development openly in TIP OOPT.

Another key innovation is a simple signal quality model developed by NTT that can be applied to short links. It combines a Gaussian noise model with a method for designing and configuring optical wavelength paths on demand, even when crossing multiple user access links and carrier links and when using a wide variety of WDM transceivers.

https://group.ntt/en/newsrelease/2023/10/13/231013a.html

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Elisa tests first Cloud RAN powered by in-line acceleration

Elisa completed a trial of Cloud RAN powered by In-Line acceleration at its headquarters in Finland. The test utilized Nokia’s commercial 5G Standalone RAN and 5G Core. 

The trial builds on Nokia’s anyRAN approach, which was introduced to ensure the feature richness, energy efficiency, and high performance of Cloud RAN compared to purpose-built RAN. Using In-Line layer 1 (L1) acceleration ensures each of these aspects while enabling flexibility to select between x86 and ARM-based ecosystems.

The trial took place in an over-the-air environment, utilizing 100MHz cells on the n78 spectrum band (3.5 GHz band), which globally is the most common 5G capacity band. Data calls were successfully performed with a selection of both test and commercial user devices. The trial followed a Nokia reference design with a CaaS layer from RedHat as well as an x86 server architecture. The feature performance delivered by Nokia’s anyRAN approach enabled immediate interoperability with 5G user equipment and Elisa’s 5G core network.

Markus Kinnunen, Vice President, Cloud Services, Elisa said: “Elisa is a pioneer in automation and in introducing the benefits of network cloudification to Finnish customers. This first call using Cloud RAN is a remarkable milestone on our cloudification journey. After already taking the first steps in cloudifying the telco network core, this transformation is now also expanding towards the access network. The key benefits of Cloud RAN include the diverse network service platforms and scalability for different kinds of customer needs. In the future, we can provide more agile network services to our customers, whose network usage is transforming closer to the network edge.”

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Orange and Vodafone test Open RAN in Romania

Orange and Vodafone have completed 4G calls over a cluster of shared commercial network sites in a rural area near Bucharest, Romania, based on Open RAN technology. 

This technological milestone follows the two companies’ announcement in February this year that they will build an Open Radio Access Network with RAN sharing in rural parts of Europe where they both have mobile networks. 

Open RAN technology decouples software and hardware functionalities. This enables mobile base stations to be upgraded with new features and services remotely, quickly and more cost effectively, reducing the need for site visits thanks to greater network automation.  In the context of RAN sharing, it will also allow each operator to operate their own virtualized RAN software on a common cloud infrastructure in future, enhancing operator autonomy and differentiation while sharing network costs. 

Within this pilot with commercial traffic, Orange and Vodafone worked together with key vendor partners.  This includes a Samsung commercial virtualized RAN solution, Wind River abstraction layer on top of hardware to deploy and scale the RAN software, and Dell PowerEdge servers. 

Following the successful completion of 4G calls over shared Open RAN sites in a rural location, Orange and Vodafone will soon introduce 2G, which has already been tested successfully in lab, and then 5G.

Bruno Zerbib, Chief Technology and Innovation Officer at Orange, said: “This first pilot deployment of Open RAN within Orange is an important milestone to demonstrate Open RAN is now mature for roll-out in brownfield networks. It opens the door for wider scale deployments across the group, and paves the way towards fully automated and intelligent networks.”

Alberto Ripepi, Chief Network Officer, Vodafone, said: “Alongside Orange we have developed a model which will serve as a blueprint to extend mobile networks to rural communities across Europe. Open RAN sharing will allow us to reduce costs by sharing hardware components while independently managing our own RAN software in the cloud to be able to offer differentiated services to our respective customers.”  

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Qatar Airways picks Starlink for 350 Mbps in-flight service

Qatar Airways announced a partnership with Starlink to offer a complimentary high-speed, low-latency internet connectivity experience onboard specific aircraft and routes. 

Qatar Airways envisions that once the service is active, passengers will be able to enjoy ultra-fast Wi-Fi speeds of up to 350 Mbps for a variety of Internet-based services such as video streaming their favourite entertainment and sports videos, gaming, enriched web-browsing, etc.

Qatar Airways and Starlink are currently in the pre-launch phase of the rollout strategy across Qatar Airways fleet.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: “Qatar Airways is proud to announce its agreement with Starlink to provide seamless and complimentary Wi-Fi to its global passengers. This exciting collaboration is not only in line with our industry-leading approach to technological adoption, but also serves as an unmissable opportunity to connect Starlink to our global passengers. We look forward to our passengers benefitting from this state-of-the-art addition to Qatar Airways’ in-flight experience.”

https://www.qatarairways.com/press-releases/en-WW/230930-qatar-airways-selects-starlink-to-enhance-in-flight-experience-with-complimentary-high-speed-internet-connectivity

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Deutsche Telekom delivers ESA Copernicus Data Space services

A new service from the European Space Agency (ESA) went live last month allowing anyone to access its Earth observation data.

The new Copernicus Data Space service is supported by Deutsche Telekom’s T-Systems division.

Since January 2023, the Copernicus Data Space has been open to the public. The services include a range of open-source tools, to support users from novice to expert to professional. The browser provides the entry level with extensive visualization functions. Based on the popular Sentinel Hub Browser it enables users to generate 2D and 3D images and time lapse videos within seconds and use the results in GIS systems. Experts can use the renowned Jupyter Hub for more detailed and immediate data analytics. 

T-Systems says the unique combination of open data, open-source tools and leading European public clouds will enable new knowledge and better response to extreme weather conditions, climatic change and the impact of natural disasters. 

T-Systems is responsible for managing and providing the huge volumes of data. From the current 55 petabytes, the data room will grow to up to 100 petabytes over the next six years. This will represent one of the largest data spaces that T-Systems hosts in its and partner data centers worldwide to date. The data will be stored sustainably. The Telekom subsidiary ensures this with green infrastructure and electricity from renewable sources.

https://www.telekom.com/en/media/media-information/archive/new-data-space-services-for-observing-our-planet-1051032

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Amphenol to acquire PCTEL for $140M

Amphenol Corporation, agreed to acquire PCTEL for approximately $139.7 million in cash. PCTI stockholders to receive $7.00 per share in cash.

PCTEL is a leading global provider of wireless technology solutions, including purpose-built Industrial IoT devices, antenna systems, and test and measurement products.

“Today marks an exciting milestone for PCTEL as we join forces with one of the world’s leading antenna solutions companies in Amphenol,” said David Neumann, Chief Executive Officer of PCTEL. “Our team has done an excellent job of growing the business, establishing a leadership position in both antenna and test & measurement (T&M) innovation, and meeting our customers’ strong global demand for high reliability applications. Amphenol is a leading global provider of interconnect, sensor and antenna solutions. Their sustained financial strength and unique entrepreneurial culture will create a valuable home for our employees around the world. We look forward to the accelerated growth opportunities enabled by the combination of our two companies.”

William J. Doherty, President, Communications Solutions Division of Amphenol Corporation added, “PCTEL and its employees are clear innovation leaders in the wireless technology solutions area, and will serve as an excellent addition to the Amphenol family. We look forward to working closely with them to leverage our existing international presence, dedicated customer base, and scale to take PCTEL’s business to new and exciting heights.”

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Ericsson appoints Chris Houghton as COO

Ericsson announced the appointment of Chris Houghton as Chief Operating Officer (COO) . Houghton, who is currently Senior Vice President, Market Area North East Asia, has been with Ericsson for 35 years and brings deep institutional knowledge across key markets and operational areas of the business.

Ericsson also announced the appointment of Åsa Tamsons to Head of Business Area Enterprise Wireless Solutions.  Tamsons currently serves as Senior Vice President, Business Area Technologies & New Businesses (BTEB.  In her new role, Ms. Tamsons will focus on growing Enterprise Wireless Solutions but also to increase the pace towards breakeven.

On the new appointees, Börje Ekholm notes: “The Chief Operating Officer’s objective will be to strengthen and oversee the operational execution across the Group and to enhance alignment and co-ordination across operational areas. This will enable me to fully focus on the key strategic priorities of our business. I’m happy that Chris with his extensive international experience has accepted to take on this new role within Ericsson”.

Börje Ekholm continues: “BTEB’s role within Ericsson is to create and scale strategic growth businesses that deliver long term profit and positive impact on people and our planet. During Åsa’s tenure BTEB has reached profitability and Åsa has done a great job over the last five years. I’m now looking forward to having her head another very important business area within Ericsson and drive growth and profitability improvements.”

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SES appoints Adel Al-Saleh as CEO

SES named Adel Al-Saleh as its new Chief Executive Officer, effective February 2024.

Since January 2018, Al-Saleh has been CEO at T-Systems International GmbH, the integrated IT services provider and subsidiary of telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom.

Interim SES CEO Ruy Pinto, who served as SES’s Chief Technology Officer from 2019 to 2023, will continue to lead SES through January 2024, after which Pinto will remain as a member of the executive team until June 2024 and then will assume the role of strategic advisor to the CEO.

Prior to his time with T-Systems, Al-Saleh spent nearly 20 years with IBM in multiple senior leadership roles, culminating in 2006 as Vice President and General Manager, Sales and Industries, IBM Northeast Europe Integrated Operating Team.

Al-Saleh is a citizen of the United States of America and the United Kingdom. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Boston University, and he received his Master of Business Administration from Florida Atlantic University.

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Comcast moves forward with DOCSIS 4.0

Comcast will begin rolling out DOCSIS 4.0 to select neighborhoods in Colorado Springs next week and to areas of Atlanta and Philadelphia before the end of the year.

Comcast’s path to DOCSIS 4.0 leverages “Full Duplex” technology which uses the same network spectrum to  increase upstream speeds without sacrificing downstream speeds.

Symmetrical 10 Gbps service based on fiber-to-the-home technology is already available in all of Comcast’s markets, and as part of its continued network evolution and the introduction of DOCSIS 4.0, multi-gig symmetrical speeds are rolling out.

New and existing residential customers connected via DOCSIS 4.0 will have access to Comcast’s newly introduced next-generation X-Class Internet portfolio. X-Class speed tiers include X-300 Mbps, X-500 Mbps, X-1 Gbps and X-2 Gbps upload and download speeds and low lag for the ultimate live sports streaming experience on Peacock, smooth connections on work calls, and ultra-responsive gaming​.

“The ubiquity of our network, which is already accessible to tens of millions of homes, provides us with an incredible opportunity to bring multi-gigabit upload and download speeds to communities across the country with the scale and efficiency that no other provider can replicate,” said Dave Watson, President & CEO, Comcast Cable. “Our connectivity experience, powered by the Xfinity 10G Network, will allow us to deliver speeds up to 10 Gbps over our traditional network to virtually all our customers, plus even better reliability, lower latency, and the best in-home WiFi coverage. We’re entering the next phase of this industry leadership with DOCSIS 4.0 technology to introduce X-Class Internet products that will revolutionize the way our customers get online today and many years into the future.”

“The enhancements that we have been making to our network over the past few years have been foundational to creating an award-winning network architecture that is fully virtualized and capable of delivering these exciting capabilities to our customers,” said Elad Nafshi, Chief Network Officer, Comcast Cable. “This is an awesome achievement and I’m incredibly proud of the team of brilliant technologists here at Comcast who have worked relentlessly to make DOCSIS 4.0 a reality ahead of schedule.”

• In April 2021, Comcast conducted the first-ever live test of full duplex DOCSIS and later that year tested the world’s first 10G connection all the way from the network to a modem. 
• In 2022, Comcast conducted a world-first live trial and connected a business location in the Philadelphia region to its live network including a DOCSIS 4.0-enabled 10G node and multiple cable modems. 
• In February 2023, the company marked another major milestone in the nation’s largest and fastest multi-gig deployment by announcing its latest Xfinity 10G Network upgrade launched to 10 million homes and businesses.

https://corporate.comcast.com/press/releases/comcast-multi-gig-symmetrical-speeds-world-first-docsis-4-deployment

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Preview of OCP Summit 2023

OCP Summit 2023 in San Jose will showcase the latest innovations in data center technology.

Cliff Grossner, VP Market Intelligence and Innovation from Open Compute Project, provides a preview:

- Discover the latest AI-related innovations and information, as OCP continues to focus on creating sustainable, large-scale computational infrastructures specifically tuned for AI.

- Learn about the critical projects underway, including those exploring optical networking for scalable AI clusters, chiplets for specialized computation, and strategies to create large memory pools to overcome the AI memory wall.

- Get a glimpse of the future with discussions on new cooling methods for computational infrastructures, the evolution of the open chiplet economy, and preparations for the emerging quantum opportunity.

If you can't make it to the event in person, don't worry - all sessions will be recorded and available post-summit.

https://youtu.be/URi6LnBDIdU

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MEF: Industry Pivot to NaaS

MEF has just published a Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) Industry Blueprint designed to help service providers develop, market, and deliver the next generation of NaaS offerings. Does this represent the biggest challenge for MEF so far? Is it a pivot point for the industry?

Kevin Vachon, COO from MEF, explains:

- The recent MEF's Global NaaS event marked a pivotal point for the industry, with MEF going big with NaaS. The event brought together various industry players to discuss the future of NaaS, providing a baseline for the industry's current state and future plans.

- MEF's value proposition lies in its years of building standards for services, delivering these to the industry, and fostering collaboration. MEF has evolved into a platform that brings the industry together to use these standards, with a changing ecosystem that now includes different players like Salesforce, ServiceNow, and blockchain companies.

- MEF has announced an Enterprise Leadership Council to bring a cross-section of the Enterprise Community to the table. This is part of a broader program to bring Enterprises into MEF, with the council helping to shape this initiative.

https://youtu.be/7Hl1bftnSfE

Check out our Enterprise series on #SASE, #SSE, #SDWAN, #ZTNA, #MCN, #NaaS at: https://ngi.fyi/sdwansaseztna23yt

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HiWire Consortium to standardize CXL via Active Electrical Cables and optics

The HiWire Consortium is announcing a new effort to standardize CXL Active Electrical Cables and optics.

CXL is expected to enable servers to dramatically expand memory footprints and to share compute, memory and storage resources across rack and row scale installations at line rate. 

However, existing passive copper connectivity solutions will not scale to meet this opportunity as they are too short, too bulky and provide insufficient signal integrity for the upcoming PCIe6/CXL3.0 PAM4 64GT/s standard. 

The HiWire Consortium CXL Cabling workstream is intended to enable row-scale CXL connectivity with the simplicity and interoperability that HiWire Ethernet AECs are already known for.

“The HiWire Consortium was a key actor in standardizing the Ethernet AECs that much of the cloud runs on today,” said Don Barnetson, Vice President of Product at Credo and organizer of the HiWire Consortium. “Our new CXL workstream will bring this same innovation – enabling plug and play, low-cost, low latency interconnect that allows CXL to span to rack and row scale installations.”

“External connectivity solutions will be key to enhancing the full potential of Intel’s CXL enabled Xeon products,” said Jim Pappas, director of Technology Initiatives at Intel. “Intel is working as a member of the CXL and HiWire Consortium to support these standardization efforts.”

https://hiwire.org

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Colt tests 800G with Nokia's PSE-6s Coherent Optics

Colt Technology Services completed a long-haul production network trial achieving 800G line capacity over a 1,500 Km network connecting Madrid, Spain to Lisbon, Portugal. 

The trial, which leveraged Nokia’s sixth generation super-coherent Photonic Service Engine (PSE-6s), was deployed over real-world conditions, including aerial fibre cables, as an alien wavelength, over 22 spans involving ROADMs in CDC configuration.

Rafael DeFermin, SVP Network Infrastructure, Europe Regional Business Center at Nokia, said: “With data volumes growing exponentially every year, there continues to be an increased focus by operators on the cost and power consumption per bit. But it’s not just about meeting the demands of today’s networks, it’s also about shaping the future of connectivity. Nokia’s PSE-6s solution allows operators like Colt to position themselves at the forefront of the industry and use their existing network to deliver the unmatched speed, efficiency and reliability essential for meeting both current and future evolving customer demands.”

Vivek Gaur, VP of Network Engineering at Colt, said: “This trial highlights our commitment to work with our technology partners to provide scalable and flexible high-bandwidth services across our entire optical network backbone. We are excited by the results of Nokia’s of PSE-6 super coherent optics and see their solution as an important enabler to effectively stay ahead of demand for new high-speed optical services.”

https://www.nokia.com/about-us/news/releases/2023/10/12/nokia-and-colt-showcase-power-of-pse-6s-coherent-optics-in-live-european-optical-network-demonstration/

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SUBCO deploys Ciena GeoMesh Extreme on Oman-Australia Cable

SUBCO is deploying tye Ciena GeoMesh Extreme, powered by WaveLogic 5 Extreme in the 6500 Packet-Optical Platforonce, to provide a resilient and reliable undersea corridor between Australia and Europe via the Oman Australia Cable (OAC). OAC has now increased its capacity to a maximum of 48 Tbps, helping support increased bandwidth demands.

Launched for commercial service in November 2022, OAC is a 9,800km submarine cable connecting Muscat, Oman, and Perth, Australia, with an alternate path that leads from Salalah, Oman into Europe and Africa to be ready by 2024.

“We have a long history of working with Ciena and, together, we are proud to provide our customers with an express gateway for onward capacity from Australia to Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. OAC provides the market with the most secure and diverse route to connect Europe with Asia Pacific and is important in boosting Australia’s digital resiliency,” said Lee Harper, Chief Operating Officer, SUBCO.

“Security and reliability are important to SUBCO as OAC prides itself as an alternative for moving traffic from Asia Pacific to Africa, Europe, and the Middle East, and promotes Australia’s role as a digital hub. With Ciena’s GeoMesh Extreme solution, SUBCO can keep pace with proactive bandwidth requirements and reactive performance demands while guaranteeing overall network availability,” said Ivan Polizzi, Regional Managing Director, Ciena Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific.

https://www.ciena.com

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Nokia ships 25G PON sealed fiber access node for cable operators

Nokia announced availability of its 25G PON technology on the Lightspan SF-8M sealed fiber access node for cable operators. The sealed remote Optical Line Terminal (OLT) also concurrently supports both GPON and XGS-PON. 

Based on the Nokia Quillion chipset, the Lightspan SF-8M supports eight GPON, XGS-PON, or multi-PON ports, or four 25G PON ports. It features flexible powering options including power-over-coax, AC, DC, or RFT-V. 

The Lightspan SF-8M has an IP67 rating, offers an array of installation options anywhere in the outside plant – on a strand, inside or outside a cabinet, or on a pole or wall – and supports various power options.

Mark Klimek, North America Business Center Head for Fixed Networks at Nokia, said: “Gigabit speeds are becoming the new normal, and operators are realizing that their fiber-to-the-home networks can be used for more than residential broadband. The ability to quickly deploy a remote FTTH node, and deliver GPON, 10G PON, and 25G PON based services over the same network allows operators to nimbly go after new opportunities and beat competition.”

https://www.nokia.com/networks/fixed-networks/lightspan-sf/

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Arista announces 25G FPGA-powered switch

Arista Networks unveiled its next generation 7130 Series for ultra-low latency switching that accelerates 25G networking while retaining compatability with 10G. With three new 25G optimized systems, enhanced performance optics, 25G ready FPGA applications and updates to the FDK (FPGA Development Kit), Arista is addressing the needs for 25G market data distribution and High-Frequency Trading (HFT) environments.

The three new 7130 Series systems increase bandwidth and reduce link latency by 2.5x to address ever-increasing market data volumes and micro-bursts.

• 7132LB: Ultra-low latency of 150ns for L3 forwarding at 25GbE using SwitchApp.
• 7135LB: Integrated Layer 1 fabric with 10G and 25G switching with Arista MetaWatch precise timestamping and packet buffering.
• 7130B-32YD: High-density Layer 1 switch supporting 25GbE over all 256 links.

An upgraded set of Arista developed FPGA applications to enable 25G solutions include SwitchApp (L2/3 switching), MetaWatch (Precise timestamping), MultiAccess (Fast aggregation and Filtering), and MetaMux (Aggregation). Customized FPGA application development is supported through a rich set of API updates to the Arista FPGA Developer’s Kit (FDK), including a 25GbE MAC.

The 7132LB series (FPGA-only L2/3 switch) is orderable today. The Arista 7135 Series (FPGA switch with Layer 1) is planned for Q4 '23 orderability, and the Arista 7130B Series with 25G Ethernet speed will be orderable in Q1 ‘24.

https://www.arista.com/en/

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Ericsson books big impairment charge for Vonage, sales drop in N. America

Ericsson will record a non-cash impairment charge of SEK 32 billion in Q3 2023 representing 50% of the total amount of goodwill and other intangible assets from its acquisition of Vonage. The company cited a significant drop in the market capitalization of Vonage’s publicly traded peers, increased interest rates and overall slowdown in Vonage’s core markets as reasons for the charge. Ericsson continues to advance its enterprise strategy, with Vonage’s network API capabilities being central to this strategy and the development of a Global Network Platform (GNP). 

Overall for Q3, Ericsson reported a 10% drop in organic sales (adjusted for comparable units and currency) driven by a 16% organic decline in Networks partly offset by 5% organic growth in Cloud Software and Services and 10% organic growth in Enterprise.

Networks organic sales were down by -60% in North America YoY, with operators reducing their capex spend and adjusting inventories. It is worth noting that Q3 last year was a record quarter in North America. The sharp decline in North America was partly offset by strong sales in India.

Cloud Software and Services continued to execute on the turnaround strategy. With an EBITA excluding restructuring charges of SEK 0.4 billion in Q3 Cloud Software and Services has now achieved break-even on a four rolling quarters basis.

Enterprise reported continued strong growth in Enterprise Wireless Solutions and a slightly positive EBITA excluding restructuring charges in the Global Communications Platform business (Vonage) in the quarter.

Full results are expected on 17-October-2023.

https://www.ericsson.com/en/press-releases/2023/10/ericsson-announces-impairment-charge-of-sek-32-billion-and-provides-update-on-q3-earnings

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Ericsson releases its 2023 Microwave Outlook report

Ericsson released its 2023 Microwave Outlook report, a technology report focusing on microwave backhaul networks, with in-depth articles on current and emerging trends.

 The 10th edition of the report highlights the potential of E-band spectrum (ranging from 71 GHz to 86 GHz) to meet the backhaul needs beyond 2030. Already deployable in 90% of the world, the report predicts a 50/50 split between fiber and microwaves by 2030. Innovations like sway compensation antennas and AI-driven automation reduce costs, enhance performance, and cut site visits by 40%, with further reductions expected. 

Additional key findings include: 

* A surge in dual polarized antenna usage (70%) with ability to achieve longer hops with specific antenna sizes

* E-band’s ability while predicting a shift towards fiber-connected sites, reaching a 50/50 split with microwave solutions by 2030 with microwaves serving areas lacking fiber in rural regions 

* How AI-driven automation reduces operational costs for managing microwave networks substantially, minimizing troubleshooting time, cutting site visits, and enhancing overall prediction and planning within microwave networks

* A 0.6 m sway compensation antenna enables 30% longer hops than a 0.3 m regular antenna, while a 0.9 m sway antenna enables 80% longer hops than a regular antenna

The report also shows the trend of a gradual increase in the share of fiber-connected installed sites vis-à-vis those connected with microwave solutions, reaching a 50/50 split by 2030. Microwave solutions will be the main connectivity option where fiber is unavailable, and the preferred solution in rural areas where fiber investments can be challenging.

Innovation is in focus with the report looking at how new antenna designs enable better use of required spectrum in dense networks, lower spectrum costs and improve performance. For example, *0.9 meter sway compensation antennas provide 80 percent longer hops than 0.3 m regular antennas. The value of other antenna innovations such as muti-band and water-repellent radomes is also highlighted.

“Predicting the future accurately requires a good understanding of the past in combination with market and technology insights. This is what makes Microwave Outlook a highly relevant report, says Mikael Öhberg, acting Head of Microwave Systems, Business Area Networks, Ericsson. “As we release the 10th edition, we are glad to see that during the past decade of its publishing, Ericsson Microwave Outlook has come to be considered the primary source of insights and trends in the wireless backhaul industry.”

Microwave Outlook is a technology report focusing on microwave backhaul networks, with in-depth articles on current and emerging trends and developments in different areas that can be of interest for communications service providers who are using, or considering the use, of microwave backhaul in their network.

Download the Microwave Outlook 2023 report

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Arelion adds Vancouver PoP

Arelion  announced a new partnership with eStruxture, the largest Canadian cloud and carrier-neutral data center provider, deploying a fully diverse Point-of-Presence (PoP) at eStruxture’s VAN-2 site in the Harbour Centre Building, the largest carrier hotel in the Vancouver market. 

Arelion’s second fully diverse PoP in the Vancouver market will provide wholesale and enterprise customers with high-speed connectivity to Arelion’s global IP backbone and access to Arelion’s ecosystem of cloud, content and application providers, enabling further growth in Vancouver’s gaming, film and technology markets.

“We partnered with eStruxture because they are well-positioned to help us provide our services at scale to customers in Vancouver, enabling a new level of network quality in the market,” said Art Kazmierczak, Director of Strategic Sales & Network Development, Arelion. “eStruxture provides an optimal solution to reach the established customer ecosystem in the Harbour Centre facility, with sufficient power, physical security and connectivity that will enable us to provide affordable, low-latency services to our customers with diverse connections to our global network.”

“Our partnership with Arelion underscores our ongoing dedication to helping our customers extend their reach as their business necessitates it. We're actively expanding our carrier-neutral ecosystem to provide our customers with superior network connectivity choices. This new Point of Presence (PoP) will offer enhanced redundancy and capacity, lower latency, and enable us to effectively support our customers' sustained growth”, says Todd Coleman, President and CEO of eStruxture Data Centers.

With the addition of this PoP at eStruxture’s Harbour Centre site, Arelion provides customers in Canada with enhanced access to Arelion’s number one ranked Internet backbone, AS1299, as well as Arelion’s portfolio of leading connectivity services, including high-speed IP Transit, Dedicated Internet Access (DIA), Cloud Connect, Global 40G Ethernet Virtual Circuit (VC), IPX and DDoS Mitigation services for service providers, content providers and enterprises.

https://www.arelion.com/about-us/press-releases/arelion-adds-vancouver-pop

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Ekinops reports brisk growth for optical, overall Q3 revenue declines

Ekinops reported consolidated revenue of €27.8 million in Q3 2023, down -15% year-on-year. At constant exchange rates, quarterly sales declined by -13%.

"Given last year's particularly challenging comparative figures, Ekinops' third-quarter performance was penalized by the market environment, higher financing costs and large inventories at our operator customers. Our Access activity was impacted by the health of enterprises – our equipment end-users – and therefore by the economic conjuncture. On the other hand, Optical Transport maintained strong momentum, with revenue expected to top our 2023 targets, driven by sustained demand for bandwidth. We remain optimistic for the future as the Group will benefit from the rebound in Access equipment sales as the economy recovers, from the growth of Optical Transport sales which continues to outperform the market, and from Software & Services contribution to revenue," stated Didier Brédy, Chairman and CEO of Ekinops.

In addition to a very high basis for comparison (+36% growth in Q3 2022), the Group's Q3 performance was impacted by a less buoyant market environment, marked by declining demand and a macroeconomic slowdown. In this context, Access equipment sales were notably affected in France and Asia-Pacific.

Additional highlights:

• For the first nine months of 2023, consolidated revenue was €98.8 million, representing total growth of +3% vs. the same period last year, which represented a particularly high basis for comparison (+28% growth). At constant exchange rates, growth was up +4% over the period.
• The first nine months of 2023 were characterized by the brisk growth in Optical Transport, up +23%, with sales notably doubling in France since the start of the year and increasing by +19% in North America.
• Sales for Access solutions were down -10% over the period, with a -19% decline in Q3 alone (reminder: H1 2023 sales declined -5%). In addition to an unfavorable basis for comparison (+26% over nine months in 2022), this decline results from a depressed economic environment, marked by: (i) the slowdown in demand and a growing reluctance among customers to make investments; (ii) more complicated and expensive access to financing for operators; and (iii) cautious inventory management by major operators who had overstocked in response to the electronic components shortage in 2022.
• Driven by the success of network virtualization solutions and services, Software & Services posted robust Q3 growth (+44%), accounting for 20% of the Group's total quarterly revenue. As of end-September, Software & Services revenue increased by 13%, representing 15% of the Group's total revenue (vs. 14% a year earlier).
• The first nine months showed +6% growth internationally, and a -3% decline in France. International business accounted for 66% of Ekinops' total revenue, versus 64% a year earlier.
• North America reported sales of €25.0 million, up +18% Y-o-Y (+22% in USD), driven by strong demand for Optical Transport equipment. This strategic region now accounts for 26% of Group revenue over the period (vs. 22% one year prior).
• The EMEA region (Europe, excluding France, the Middle East and Africa), representing 39% of Ekinops' revenue, recorded solid growth of +11% over the first nine months, with an increase in all business lines (+7% for Access equipment and +17% for Optical Transport solutions).
• At end-September 2023, revenue for Asia-Pacific – which remains highly concentrated and reliant on just a few key accounts – was down -64% (reminder: revenue up +36% on the same period last year). Over nine months, the region accounted for 2% of Ekinops' total revenue.
• Lastly, in its domestic market, sales were down -3% Y-o-Y. In Q3, the downturn was -24% in France (reminder: +59% growth in Q3 2022), due to large inventories among key accounts for Access equipment, the main source of revenue in this market. Conversely, Optical Transport sustained its vigorous momentum with sales doubling since the beginning of the year. Ekinops generated 34% of its nine-month revenue in France.

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