IDC: Ethernet Switch Revenues up 20.1% in 2023

The worldwide Ethernet switch revenues grew 20.1% year over year in 2023 to $44.2 billion, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Ethernet Switch Tracker and the Worldwide Quarterly Router Tracker. In the fourth quarter of 2023 (4Q23) the Ethernet switch market grew 0.8%. The total worldwide enterprise and service provider (SP) router market recorded $16.4 billion in revenue in 2023, a year-over-year decline of 0.4%. The router market also saw a year-over-year decline of 12.7% in 4Q23. 

"The worldwide Ethernet switch market was dynamic in 2023, driven by a variety of trends, in particular by the impact of AI," said Vijay Bhagavath, research vice president, Cloud and Datacenter Networks. "In the datacenter portion of the market, enterprises and service providers are building ever-faster Ethernet switch speeds to support rapidly maturing AI workloads. In the non-datacenter portion, Ethernet switch vendors are embedding AI capabilities in software management platforms to improve operations. Connectivity in general, and Ethernet switching in particular, are playing an increasingly critical role in supporting the era of AI everywhere."

Ethernet Swith highlights

• Datacenter Ethernet switch market revenues increased by 13.6% year over year in 2023 and by 4.4% in Q4 2023, representing 41.5% of the total market revenues.
• Revenues for 200/400 GbE switches in the datacenter segment surged by 68.9% throughout 2023 and by 14.8% from Q3 to Q4 2023.
• 100GbE switches, constituting 46.3% of the datacenter market's revenues, grew by 6.4% in 2023 but saw a sequential decline of 3.0% from Q3 to Q4 2023.
• ODM Direct sales in the datacenter segment increased by 16.2% year over year in 2023, accounting for 14.3% of the segment's annual revenues.
• The non-datacenter Ethernet switch market grew by 25.2% year over year in 2023, despite a 1.9% decrease in Q4 2023.
• The non-DC segment experienced growth due to improved component availability and the fulfillment of backlogged orders, although new product orders slowed in Q4 2023.
• Within the non-DC segment, 1GbE switches rose 24.2% in 2023 but fell by 7.0% in Q4, whereas 10GbE switches increased by 5.3% annually but dropped 6.1% in Q4 2023.
• Geographically, the U.S. Ethernet switch market grew 28.8% in 2023 and 3.8% in Q4 2023. Western Europe saw a 19.3% annual increase but a 6.9% decline in Q4. Central & Eastern Europe grew 20.7% annually but declined 1.6% in Q4. The market in the People's Republic of China decreased by 4.0% in 2023 but improved by 9.1% in Q4. The Asia/Pacific region (excluding Japan and China) grew 15.0% annually but declined 9.0% in Q4 2023.

Router Market Highlights

• The service provider segment, encompassing communications and cloud service providers, constituted 76.6% of the total router market, with a 1.4% revenue increase in 2023 but a 10.6% decrease in Q4 2023.
• The enterprise segment made up the remainder of the router market, experiencing a 6.1% decline in revenue for 2023 and an 18.6% decrease in Q4 2023.
• In the Americas, the combined service provider and enterprise router market saw a 2.0% increase in revenue for 2023 but an 18.0% decrease in Q4 2023.
• The Asia/Pacific region's router market experienced a 2.1% decline in revenue for 2023 and a 6.5% decrease in Q4 2023.
• In the Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) region, the market saw a 1.7% decline in revenue for 2023 and a 13.6% decrease in Q4 2023.

Vendor Highlights

Cisco's Ethernet switch revenues increased 22.2% year over year in 2023 but declined 12.1% in 4Q23. Non-DC revenues made up 69.5% of Cisco's total Ethernet switch revenues in 2023 and rose 28.6% year over year for the full year but declined 12.8% in 4Q23. DC revenues made up the balance and rose 9.7% for the year but declined 10.6% in 4Q23. Cisco's total Ethernet switch share stood at 43.7% for the full year 2023. Cisco's combined service provider and enterprise router revenue rose 1.4% for the full year 2023, but declined 22.9% in 4Q23, giving the company a market share of 35.7% for 2023.

Arista Networks Ethernet switch revenues – 91.4% of which are in the DC segment – increased 35.2% in 2023 and rose 19.1% in 4Q23, giving the company 11.1% market share for full year 2023.

Huawei's total Ethernet switch revenue increased 10.6% in 2023 and 16.5% in 4Q23, giving the company market share of 9.4% for the full year 2023. The company's combined SP and enterprise router revenue rose 2.6% in 2023 and was up 0.9% in 4Q23, giving the company 29.2% market share for 2023.

HPE's Ethernet switch revenue – 89.6% of which are in the non-DC segment – increased 67.6% in 2023 and rose 50.8% in 4Q23, resulting in a market share of 9.4% for full year 2023.

H3C's Ethernet switch revenue declined 6.3% for the full year 2023, but rose 12.9% in 4Q23, giving the company full-year market share of 4.2%. In the combined service provider and enterprise routing market, H3C's revenues decreased 8.5% in 2023 and 9.8% in 4Q23, giving the company market share of 2.0% for 2023.

https://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS51948824

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IDC: Enterprise WLAN sales dropped in Q4

The latest release of the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Wireless LAN Tracker reports that the enterprise segment of the worldwide wireless local area network (WLAN) market saw revenues grow 7.6% year over year in 2023 to $10.8 billion, however, in the fourth quarter, enterprise customers deployed a record amount of product inventory, leading to a sharp decline of 25.5% compared to Q4 2022.

"2023 was a dynamic year in the enterprise WLAN market, driven by myriad factors including the effects of the supply chain disruptions, product backlogs, and the shipping of product inventory, combined with a fragile macroeconomic environment," said Brandon Butler, research manager, Enterprise Networks. "Nonetheless, WLAN remains a critically important technology for organizations across the globe as they build out a future connectedness strategy."

Some highlights from IDC:

Adoption of Wi-Fi 6E:

•     * Continued growth in 4Q23, expanding Wi-Fi use to the 6 GHz spectrum.
•     * In the enterprise sector, Wi-Fi 6E revenues grew 11.7% from Q3 to Q4 2023, representing 22.6% of dependent AP quarterly revenues and 10% of unit shipments.
•     * Wi-Fi 6 accounted for the majority of dependent AP revenues (72.8%) and unit shipments (77.5%), with Wi-Fi 5 making up the remainder.

Consumer WLAN Market in 2023:

• Declined 12.8% year over year for the full year.
•  Declined 14.5% in 4Q23.
•  Wi-Fi 6 constituted 64.1% of consumer market revenues; Wi-Fi 5 accounted for 26.5%.
•  Wi-Fi 6E adoption was low in the consumer segment, at 6.7% of revenues in 4Q23.

Enterprise WLAN Market by Region:

• United States: Increased 20.6% year over year for 2023 but declined 25.9% in 4Q23.
• Canada: Rose 14.5% for the full year but fell 32.3% in the fourth quarter.
• People's Republic of China: Declined 17.5% for the full year and 18.0% in 4Q23.
• Asia/Pacific (Excluding Japan & China): Declined 16.9% in the quarter but rose 6.2% for the full year.
• Europe, the Middle East & Africa (EMEA): Dropped 32.1% in the quarter but increased 1.6% for the full year.
• Latin America: Dropped 15.1% in 4Q23 but increased 25.1% for the full year.

Company Highlights

• Cisco's enterprise WLAN revenues declined 40.3% year over year in 4Q23, but rose 11.2% for the full year to $4.6 billion. The company's market share stood at 42.6% for the full year.
• HPE Aruba Networking revenues declined 21.6% year over year in 4Q23 and rose 7.0% for the full year, giving the company market share of 14.6% for 2023.
• Huawei enterprise WLAN revenues declined 0.4% in 4Q23, but rose 13.8% for the full year, giving the company market share of 8.0% for calendar year 2023.
• Ubiquiti enterprise WLAN revenues declined 11.3% in 4Q23 and declined 2.6% for the full year, giving the company market share of 6.1% in 2023.
• CommScope enterprise WLAN revenues declined 33.1% in 4Q23, but rose 23.3% for the full year, giving the company market share of 4.4% in 2023.
• Juniper Networks enterprise WLAN revenues increased 13.2% year over year in 4Q23 and rose 26.6% for the full year, giving the company market was of 4.1% for the full year.

https://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS51945024

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Crehan: Server-class Ethernet NIC revenue tops $6B in 2023

During calendar-year 2023, data center customers invested significantly in server and storage networking, which drove total annual server-class Ethernet NIC market revenues to $6 billion, according to a recent report from Crehan Research. 

Spending on accelerated networking was particularly strong, resulting in SmartNIC revenue – including DPUs and IPUs – surpassing foundational/performance NIC revenue during the year and now comprising more than half of the total revenue.

“Although foundational/performance NICs still account for most of the server-class Ethernet NIC shipments, broader adoption of SmartNICs coupled with their higher average selling price pushed these products to account for a majority of the total server-class Ethernet NIC market revenue,” said Seamus Crehan, president of Crehan Research.

Crehan also reported that the SmartNIC revenue increase was much stronger for merchant-built SmartNICs, as opposed to the self-built proprietary SmartNICs that were the early driver of growth in this market. “Even before generative AI arrived, data center networking customers – especially the larger cloud service providers – were significantly deploying SmartNICs to offload, secure and accelerate the increased volume and complexity of their server and storage networking traffic," Crehan said.

https://crehanresearch.com/

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Marvell reports Q4 sales of $1.427B, demand for AI data centers

Marvell Technology reported net revenue of $1.427 billion for its fourth fiscal quarter ended February 3, 2024, above the mid-point of the company's guidance provided on November 30, 2023. GAAP net loss for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024 was $(392.7) million, or $(0.45) per diluted share. Non-GAAP net income for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024 was $401.6 million, or $0.46 per diluted share. Cash flows from operations for the fourth quarter was $546.6 million.

Net revenue for fiscal 2024 was $5.508 billion. GAAP net loss for fiscal 2024 was $(933.4) million, or $(1.08) per diluted share. Non-GAAP net income for fiscal 2024 was $1.310 billion, or $1.51 per diluted share.

Revenue by category

• Data center $765.3 million
• Enterprise Networking $265.0 million
• Carrier Infrastructure $170.0 million
• Consumer $143.9 million
• Automotive/industrial $82.3 million

"Marvell delivered fourth quarter fiscal 2024 revenue of $1.427 billion, above the mid-point of guidance. AI drove strong growth in our data center end market revenue which increased 38% sequentially and 54% year-over-year. As a critical enabler of accelerated infrastructure for AI, Marvell is well positioned to capitalize on this massive technology inflection, which continues to gain momentum," said Matt Murphy, Marvell's Chairman and CEO. 

"In the first quarter of fiscal 2025, we expect continued sequential growth in our data center revenue with initial shipments of our cloud optimized silicon programs for AI complementing our electro-optics franchise. While we are forecasting soft demand impacting consumer, carrier infrastructure, and enterprise networking in the near term, we expect revenue declines in these end markets to be behind us after the first quarter, and project a recovery in the second half of the fiscal year."

https://investor.marvell.com/

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Broadcom reports revenue of $11.9B, demand for data center networks

 Broadcom reported revenue of $11,961 million for its first quarter, ended February 4, 2024, up 34 percent from the prior year period and up 11% from the prior year period when excluding the contribution of VMware.  GAAP net income was $1,325 million for the first quarter and GAAP diluted EPS was $2.84. Non-GAAP net income was $5,254 million for the first quarter and Non-GAAP diluted EPS was $10.99.

"We are pleased to have two strong drivers of revenue growth for Broadcom in the first quarter and fiscal year 2024. First, our acquisition of VMware is accelerating revenue growth in our infrastructure software segment, as customers deploy VMware Cloud Foundation. Second, strong demand for our networking products in AI data centers, as well as custom AI accelerators from hyperscalers, are driving growth in our semiconductor segment," said Hock Tan, President and CEO of Broadcom Inc. "We reiterate our fiscal year 2024 guidance for consolidated revenue of $50 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $30 billion."

"Consolidated revenue grew 34% year-over-year to $12.0 billion, including the contribution from VMware, and was up 11% year-over-year, excluding VMware. Adjusted EBITDA increased 26% year-over-year to $7.2 billion," said Kirsten Spears, CFO of Broadcom Inc. "Free cash flow, excluding restructuring in the quarter, continued to be strong at $5.4 billion. We have started to pay down debt, beginning with $3 billion to date in 2024, and expect to continue to pay down debt in fiscal year 2024."

https://investors.broadcom.com

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Astera Labs launches IPO - PCIe + CXL + Ethernet

Astera Labs launched an initial public offering of 17,800,000 shares of its common stock. The offering consists of 14,788,903 shares of common stock offered by Astera Labs and 3,011,097 shares of common stock to be sold by certain of Astera Labs’ existing stockholders. Astera Labs will not receive any proceeds from the sale of shares by the selling stockholders.

In addition, the underwriters will have a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 2,670,000 shares of common stock from Astera Labs at the initial public offering price, less underwriting discounts and commissions. The initial public offering price is expected to be between $27.00 and $30.00 per share. The shares are expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol “ALAB.”

www.asteralabs.com

Astera Labs raises $150M for its CXL platform

Thursday, November 17, 2022  Astera, CXL  

Astera Labs, a start-up based in Santa Clara, California, raised $150 million in Series-D funding with a $3.15B valuation for its data and memory connectivity solutions based on Compute Express Link (CXL), PCIe, and Ethernet technologies. 

Fidelity led the funding round and was joined by other existing investors, including Atreides Management, Intel Capital, and Sutter Hill Ventures.

“Astera Labs continues to surpass every milestone for a technology start-up, and we are now deep into the next stage of evolution for our company as we accelerate growth,” said Jitendra Mohan, CEO, Astera Labs. “This latest funding round is a testament that we are not only invested in the right growth markets such as Cloud, Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning, and Hyperscale infrastructure, but that we are also able to consistently execute and deliver breakthrough connectivity products that are critical to our customers and partners.”

In its Series-D funding round led by Fidelity Management and Research, Astera Labs 

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Marvell pushes ahead to 2nm with TSMC

Marvell announced plans to produce 2nm semiconductors optimized for accelerated infrastructure in collaboration with TSMC.

Marvell's 2nm platform will leverage the company's IP portfolio that covers the full spectrum of infrastructure requirements, including high-speed long-reach SerDes at speeds beyond 200 Gbps, processor subsystems, encryption engines, system-on-chip fabrics, chip-to-chip interconnects, and a variety of high-bandwidth physical layer interfaces for compute, memory, networking and storage architectures. The company says these technologies will serve as the foundation for producing cloud-optimized custom compute accelerators, Ethernet switches, optical and copper interconnect digital signal processors, and other devices for powering AI clusters, cloud data centers and other accelerated infrastructure.

In 2020, Marvell adopted TSMC's 5nm node for its highest performance devices. At the time, TSMC's 5nm was the industry's most advanced process node. Marvell followed the achievement with several 5nm designs and the first portfolio for infrastructure silicon on TSMC 3nm processes.

"Tomorrow's artificial intelligence workloads will require significant and substantial gains in performance, power, area, and transistor density. The 2nm platform will enable Marvell to deliver highly differentiated analog, mixed-signal, and foundational IP to build accelerated infrastructure capable of delivering on the promise of AI," said Sandeep Bharathi, chief development officer at Marvell. "Our partnership with TSMC on our 5nm, 3nm and now 2nm platforms has been instrumental in helping Marvell expand the boundaries of what can be achieved in silicon."

"TSMC is pleased to collaborate with Marvell in pioneering a platform for advancing accelerated infrastructure on our 2nm process technology," said Kevin Zhang, senior vice president of business development at TSMC. "We are looking forward to our continued collaboration with Marvell in the development of leading-edge connectivity and compute products utilizing TSMC's best-in-class process and packaging technologies."

https://www.marvell.com/

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Ciena's revenue in Q1 dips to $1.04 billion

Ciena reported revenue of $1.04 billion for its fiscal first quarter ended January 27, 2024, as compared to $1.06 billion for the fiscal first quarter 2023.

Ciena's GAAP net income for the fiscal first quarter 2024 was $49.5 million, or $0.34 per diluted common share, which compares to a GAAP net income of $76.2 million, or $0.51 per diluted common share, for the fiscal first quarter 2023.

"We delivered solid fiscal first quarter results, including strong profitability, as we continue to expand our relationships and gain share with cloud providers," said Gary Smith, president and CEO of Ciena. "While we remain very confident in the strength and durability of bandwidth demand as a long-term driver of our business, it is taking longer than expected for service providers to work through high levels of inventory."

Some highlights from Ciena's investor presentation

• Optical Networking sales amounted to $695.8 million, accounting for 67% of sales
• Routing and Switching sales amounted to $114 million, accounting for 11% of sales
• Two customers represented 10%-plus of revenue combining for a total of 26.5% of revenue
• Non-telco represented a record high 54% of total revenue
• Direct Cloud Provider revenue was up 38%YoY
• Subsea revenue grew nearly 49% YoY
• EMEA revenue increased 36% YoY
• Global Services revenue grew 13% YoY
• Customer traction continues with WL5e 800G technology, reaching 270 customers
• There were 86 customers for WL5n 400ZR/ZR+ pluggables, of which 19 were new this quarter
• Three new customer orders for WaveLogic 6 Extreme
• Surpassed 2,000 x 81xx platforms delivered to over 50 customers 
• Cash and investments totaled $1.48 billion
• Cash flow from operations totaled $266.1 million
• Average days' sales outstanding (DSOs) were 88
• Accounts receivable, net balance was $865.2 million
• Unbilled contract asset, net balance was $151.6 million

https://investor.ciena.com/financials/quarterly-results

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Satellites Will Soon Transform the Mobile Industry

How will next gen satellites transform the mobile industry? Vinay Ravuri, CEO from EdgeQ, discusses:

- The satellite industry is showing a strong interest in adopting 3GPP standards, essentially 4G or 5G, for Low Earth Orbit (LEO) deployments. This shift allows for economies of scale and the use of regular off-the-shelf phones for direct communication with satellites.

- EdgeQ's software-defined physical layer can uniquely implement the frequency interface in satellites, compensating for the Doppler effect caused by the constant movement of satellites. This feature is crucial for maintaining stable communication.

- EdgeQ's low-power solution significantly reduces the power consumption of satellites, bringing it down to around 15 watts per hour per chip compared to the traditional 50 to 100 watts. This reduction in power and weight makes satellite deployment more cost-effective.

However, Vinay also highlights the challenges in this space, such as the need for radiation-hardened chips and the long revenue cycles of 5 to 10 years. Despite these challenges, the potential for high margins in this evolving industry is promising.

https://youtu.be/DWG8tZ8WPF4

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CommScope to ramp up its U.S. based manufacturing

CommScope plans to expand U.S. based production of its fiber-optic connectivity products to address the projected increase in demand for Build America Buy America (BABA) compliant products manufactured and assembled in the U.S. The expansion will occur at CommScope’s existing facilities where it already produces an array of BABA compliant products.

The increased production will focus on CommScope’s fiber-optic connectivity products and solutions that target faster installation and more efficient construction of rural broadband networks. These include Fiber Optic Splice Closures (FOSC), fiber distribution cabinets and connectorized hardened and non-hardened fiber terminals will meet the BABA domestic preference. Preparations are currently being implemented and production is planned to meet industry demand as soon as Q3 of 2024.

“We want to make it as easy as possible for our partners and customers as they access federal and state funding subject to BABA domestic preference requirements. We are eager to expand the U.S. manufacturing capacity of our fiber connectivity portfolio to support our partners and customers and the efforts to bring broadband to everyone,” stated Koen ter Linde, SVP & president, Connectivity & Cable Solutions. “As a U.S. manufacturer for over half a century with a focus on broadband network solutions, we’ve long been a proponent of bridging the digital divide. Regardless of what your network architecture is or what challenges you face, CommScope has solutions to help.”

The company notes that it has already shipped over 2 million FOSC units in the U.S. over the past two years, which includes projects funded by the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) as well as other government funded initiatives to provide internet for all.

https://www.commscope.com

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Singtel unloads more shares in Airtel

Singtel sold an 0.8% direct stake in regional associate Airtel to US-based investment firm GQG Partners for S$0.95 billion. The resultant gain from the sale is estimated to be S$0.7 billion.

Singtel has been a strategic investor in Airtel, one of the world’s top three mobile operators with over 500 million customers in 17 countries, for more than 20 years. After the transaction, Singtel will hold an effective stake of 29.0% in Airtel, worth an estimated S$33 billion. In 2022, Singtel sold a 3.3% direct stake in Airtel for approximately S$2.54 billion to illuminate the value of its holdings in Airtel.

Singtel says this transaction is the latest in its efforts to unlock value from its assets, bringing the total capital recycled to S$8 billion since its strategic reset in 2021. This has allowed the Group to fund the growth of its data centre and IT services, as well as reduce net debt by S$3.2 billion as of end September 2023. The Group has also returned S$0.8 billion in special dividends to shareholders from capital recycling, contributing to cumulative dividends of S$5.2 billion paid out to shareholders since April 2022.

https://www.singtel.com/about-us/media-centre/news-releases/singtel-unlocks-0-95-billion-from-divestment

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NPS raises $17.5M for Software-Defined Radar

Neural Propulsion Systems (NPS), a start-up based in Pleasanton, California, raised $17.5 million in Series B funding for its software-defined radar.

The NPS Atomic Sensing Platform for automotive market is powered by the patented Atomic Norm Tensor Processing Software to achieve disruptively high resolution, precision and reliability. NPS ANTP radar SW performance is based on a new mathematical framework, the Atomic Norm, that transforms how sensor data is processed and understood.  The company says its software-defined radar, SDR, achieves near maximum likelihood performance in detection — meaning, the NPS proprietary software achieves close to what is theoretically possible with existing radar sensors. This advancement in radar technology enables clearer and earlier detection.

The round funding round was led by Cota Capital with contributions from GM Ventures, the venture capital arm of General Motors Co., and RTX Ventures, the venture capital arm of RTX.

"This investment confirms the value of our vision and technology," said Dr. Behrooz Rezvani, Founder and CEO of NPS. "By harnessing the potential of our newly developed radar technology, we can potentially achieve performance enhancements that are over 10 times greater than current radar capabilities, putting us at the forefront of revolutionizing the $28 billion radar market. Our radar software works with all radar hardware and significantly improves the performance of existing sensing platforms with lower cost and more efficiency."

https://nps.ai

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Padtec announces robust 2023 earnings amid global market challenges

 Padtec Holding S.A., a leading Brazilian telecommunications equipment company, has unveiled its earnings results for the fiscal year 2023, demonstrating resilience and strategic agility in a fluctuating market. Amidst a backdrop of macroeconomic and geopolitical tensions, Padtec reported a marginal growth in total net revenues of 0.8% over the previous year, with significant strides in its Services, Software, and Platforms unit.

Despite a saturated market and a slowdown in ISP growth projects, notably influenced by post-pandemic adjustments and inflation containment measures worldwide, Padtec’s diverse business model has shown its efficacy. The Equipment/DWDM unit experienced a slight downturn in domestic sales by 6.5%, whereas international sales rose by 2.5%. In stark contrast, the Services, Software, and Platforms unit saw an impressive 38.5% revenue growth, underscoring Padtec’s strategic pivot towards recurring revenue streams and service diversification.

The company's operating cash flow, as measured by EBITDA, saw a  25.7% increase to R$56.0 million. Gross operating revenue held steady at R$455.2 million, with net revenue slightly up to R$368.7 million. There was a gross profit of R$131.3 million, the highest in Padtec's history, and a gross margin improvement to 35.6%.

In 2023, Padtec continued to innovate, integrating routers and new DWDM platforms into its product lineup and securing new contracts in its services sector. The company's international market strategy has borne fruit, as evidenced by the foreign market DWDM unit's compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 45.7% from 2020 to 2023.

Administrative, commercial, and R&D expenses saw an uptick to R$104.2 million, reflecting Padtec’s R&D and market expansion. The financial results improved, with net financial losses narrowing to R$14.7 million. Furthermore, the company reported a net income of R$15.4 million, a significant 58% increase over the previous year, with a net income per share rising to R$0.19.

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Cloudflare Acquires Nefeli and Enters Multicloud Networking Market

Cloudflare announced its entry into the multicloud networking market via the acquisition of Nefeli Networks, a start-up based in Berkeley, Califonia focused on reducing the complexity of IT and DevOps teams by providing a unified network management layer for cloud infrastructure deployments. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Cloudflare's Magic Cloud Networking promises a simple, secure and scalable way for businesses to connect and secure their public cloud environments. 

By integrating Nefeli’s technology with Cloudflare’s connectivity cloud, Cloudflare now combines cloud network orchestration with the scale of a global network in a unified platform. Cloudflare's SASE platform, Cloudflare One, will offer a seamless management experience throughout an enterprise network, covering both cloud-based and on-site installations.

“At Nefeli, we worked to ensure businesses could get the most out of the cloud, without being constrained by artificial boundaries within or between any particular cloud platform," said Eugenia Corrales, CEO of Nefeli. “By seamlessly integrating Nefeli’s multicloud networking capabilities into Cloudflare’s robust platform, businesses will be now able to easily connect and manage their cloud infrastructure with security and performance built in at scale."

“Since the early days of the Internet, complexity has been one of the biggest roadblocks to innovation,” said Dr. Scott Shenker, Co-founder and Chairman of Nefeli. “That’s why I’m thrilled to see this next chapter for Nefeli’s talented team – bringing simplicity and scalability together to revolutionize multicloud networking.”

https://www.cloudflare.com/press-releases/2024/cloudflare-enters-multicloud-networking-market-unlocks-simple-secure/

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Comcast boosts speeds and offers promo for ACP customers

Comcast boosted the performance for millions of Xfinity Internet customers at now additional cost. 

Comcast Xfinity speed increases:

Connect: 75 Mbps to 150 Mbps

Connect More: 200 Mbps to 300 Mbps

Fast: 400 Mbps to 500 Mbps

Xfinity Prepaid: 50 Mbps to 200 Mbps

“Streaming live sports, gaming, and other data-rich applications are driving Internet consumption to new heights,” said Emily Waldorf, Senior Vice President, Consumer Internet Services, Comcast. ”We have regularly increased speeds over the past two decades to provide customers with the connectivity they need to power their increasingly connected lives. And, with the potential that funding for the Affordable Connectivity Program will not be renewed, this year we have really leaned into boosting speeds for these customers so that they can take advantage of these new capabilities.”

Later this year, Comcast will introduce its latest gateway, the XB10, the first to incorporate unified DOCSIS 4.0, WiFi 7, and AI technologies. The XB10 will be capable of delivering symmetrical multi-gig speeds over WiFi and connect up to 300 devices.

Offer for those impacted by ACP cutoff

Comcast also noted special promotions for customers who may be impacted if the federal government's Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) ends in April. ACP participants who are existing Xfinity customers or new to Xfinity can take advantage of current promotional offers. Customers are encouraged to call 1-800-Xfinity to learn more about what offers may be available in their area. Teams are ready to work with customers to move them to a plan that fits their budget and connectivity needs if they will no longer be able to afford their current tier of service without the $30 ACP benefit.

Xfinity customers benefitting from ACP are automatically eligible to enroll in Internet Essentials for as low as $9.95 a month or Internet Essentials Plus, which doubles the speed of traditional Internet Essentials for $29.95 per month. Both services provide fast and reliable home Internet with no credit checks or cancellation fees and come with equipment included.

https://www.xfinity.com/learn/internet-service

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Infinera adds next gen OLS functionality to its GX Series platform

Infinera announced commercial availability of next generation multi-haul optical line system (OLS) functionality on the GX Series compact modular optical transport platform.

The GX OLS solution features a broad set of multi-haul OLS functionality including carrier-grade features and support for Super C- and Super-L bands which provide 35% increased capacity per fiber.

Infinera also announced that it has secured initial design wins for its GX OLS solution from leading CSP and web-scale operator customers, with strong interest across its global customer base.

“The release of our next generation GX OLS capabilities represents the completion of our multi-year journey to converge our edge-to-core networking capabilities onto a single platform,” said Ron Johnson, SVP and General Manager of Optical Subsystems and Global Engineering at Infinera. “The GX was purpose-built to provide network operators with a single platform that can be used to support virtually any application in their network, enable pay-as-you-grow economics, and seamlessly support multi-generational embedded and pluggable optics.”

https://www.infinera.com/press-release/infinera-announces-next-gen-multi-haul-ols-functionality-for-gx-series-platform/

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Broadcom samples PCIe Gen5/Gen6 Retimers

Broadcom has begun sampling the first 5nm PCIe Gen 5.0/CXL2.0 and PCIe Gen 6.0/CXL3.1 retimers, which can be used in combination with its PEX series switches for an end-to-end PCIe solution. 

Broadcom’s  PCIe Gen 5.0 switches are broadly deployed for interconnecting AI infrastructure today and ably complement the Gen 5.0 retimers. In addition, Broadcom’s PCIe Gen 6.0/CXL3.1 switches will sample later this year to deliver an end-to-end PCIe 6.0 portfolio. Broadcom is also committed to accelerate the open AI ecosystem further with PCIe Gen7 based solutions in the near future. 

Broadcom’s wide spanning PCIe portfolio with industry-first Gen5/Gen6 end-to-end solutions include the following features and benefits: 

• Broadcom In-house SerDes: 40% greater SerDes reach and highest lane count switches in the industry enable customers to build systems with larger fanout; Built-in hardware interoperability ensures reliable signal integrity.
• Broadcom Architecture: 50% lower power and form factor flexibility with midplane/backplane/cables enable customers to create advanced AI sub-systems.
• Broadcom Advanced Diagnostics: LINKCAT™ and embedded logic analyzers drastically reduce the system design and validation cycle.
• Broadcom Software: Integrated software suite substantially eases NPI cycle and accelerates time to market.

“PCIe is one of the most critical and widely-adopted protocols for interconnecting CPUs, AI accelerators, NICs and storage devices. Broadcom’s market-leading PCIe portfolio allows our customers to architect efficient data center solutions with the lowest power and maximum reach,” said Vijay Janapaty, vice president and general manager of the Physical Layer Products Division at Broadcom. “Our PCIe Gen5/Gen6 retimers with CXL support, together with our PEX switches, enable an open, flexible and industry standard based ecosystem for next-generation AI server fabric.”

https://www.broadcom.com/company/news/product-releases/61891

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Infinera raises its outlook for Q4 2023

 Infinera released preliminary financial results for its fourth quarter ended December 30, 2023:

• Preliminary revenue is expected to be $435 million to $452 million, compared to the Company’s prior outlook of $421 million to $451 million.
• The resulting preliminary GAAP gross margin is expected to be 38.0% to 40.0%, compared to the Company’s prior outlook of 37.3% to 40.4%.
• The resulting preliminary GAAP operating margin is expected to be 0.0% to 3.0%, compared to the Company’s prior outlook of 0.7% to 5.0%.
• The resulting preliminary GAAP net income (loss) per diluted share is expected to be ($0.02) to $0.04, compared to the Company’s prior outlook of ($0.04) to $0.04.
• Preliminary non-GAAP gross margin is expected to be 39.0% to 41.0%, compared to the Company’s prior outlook of 38.0% to 41.0%, and the preliminary non-GAAP operating margin is expected to be 5.7% to 8.3%, compared to the Company’s prior outlook of 5.5% to 9.5%.
• Preliminary non-GAAP net income per diluted share is expected to be $0.07 to $0.13, compared to the Company’s prior outlook of $0.05 to $0.13 per diluted share.
• Preliminary cash and cash equivalents, including restricted cash, was approximately $174 million.

Infinera CEO David Heard said, “We ended 2023 on a high note with a strong fourth quarter during which the midpoints of our preliminary revenue, gross margin, and earnings per share ranges are all expected to come in above those of our prior outlook ranges. For the full year of 2023, we expect to deliver our sixth consecutive year of revenue growth, expand gross margin to a level approaching 40%, and grow earnings per share on a year-over-year basis.”

“As we look ahead, like the rest of the industry, we are expecting a slow first half of the year. Regardless, both the pace and scale of our design wins are accelerating. Already, in the first 60 days of 2024, we have achieved major hyperscale-influenced strategic wins, one of which is among the most significant in the company’s history, based on our Systems and Subsystems solutions. These strategic wins, combined with our design win funnel, position us well to deliver a stronger second half and place us on a path to achieve our seventh consecutive year of revenue growth with continued margin and earnings per share expansion,” continued Mr. Heard.

Infinera’s outlook for the quarter ending March 30, 2024, is as follows:

• Revenue is expected to be $320 million to $350 million.
• GAAP gross margin is expected to be 35.3% to 37.4%. Non-GAAP gross margin is expected to be 36.0% to 38.0%.
• GAAP operating expenses are expected to be $157 million to $161 million. Non-GAAP operating expenses are expected to be $143 million to $147 million.
• GAAP operating margin is expected to be (13.5%) to (8.2%). Non-GAAP operating margin is expected to be (8.5%) to (3.5%).
• GAAP net loss per diluted share is expected to be ($0.25) to ($0.17). Non-GAAP net loss per diluted share is expected to be ($0.18) to ($0.10).

https://www.infinera.com/press-release/infinera-corporation-announces-preliminary-unaudited-fourth-quarter-2023-financial-results

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Digital Realty and Mitsubishi expand data campus in Chiba Prefecture

MC Digital Realty (MCDR), a 50/50 joint venture in Japan between Digital Realty and Mitsubishi Corporation, inaugurated its second data center at the NRT campus in Inzai City, Chiba Prefecture, Japan.

NRT12 adds 34 megawatts (MW) of critical IT capacity to the campus, bringing the total to 73 MW to meet the growing demand for scalable, flexible, and AI-ready data centers in the Tokyo metropolitan area.

NRT12 is designed to offer high-density power of up to 70 kilowatts (kW) per rack, innovative Air-Assisted Liquid Cooling (AALC) technologies, low-latency networks, and high-speed connectivity that enable it to meet the demands of high-performance computing (HPC), machine learning, virtual reality, and augmented reality as well as AI/Generative AI workloads.

Additionally, the NRT campus offers Campus Connect, an interconnection service that allows customers to utilize infrastructure across multiple data centers on the campus as a single unit, facilitating efficient data exchange for AI and digital transformation initiatives. The data centers' modular design also allows for dynamic scaling of server environments to accommodate growing AI deployments.

"The launch of NRT12 marks a significant milestone for Digital Realty in Japan. This new data center, designed to world-class specifications, expands our capacity and strengthens our commitment to supporting the growing demand for AI-powered and scalable digital infrastructure in the Tokyo metropolitan area. Coupled with connectivity to PlatformDigital® and ServiceFabric™, NRT12 significantly strengthens our offerings to our customers and partners globally," said Serene Nah, Managing Director and Head of Asia Pacific, Digital Realty.

Said Chris Han, Chief Operating Officer of MC Digital Realty, "With its robust features and strategic location, NRT12 provides an ideal platform for businesses to accelerate their digital transformation journeys and unlock the full potential of cutting-edge technologies like AI and hybrid IT. We are confident that NRT12, alongside our existing data center NRT10 and the broader PlatformDIGITAL® ecosystem, will empower businesses to thrive in the ever-evolving digital landscape."

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Vertical Systems: 2023 U.S. Carrier Managed SD-WAN LEADERBOARD

 Seven companies qualify for a position on Vertical Systems Group's 2023 U.S. Carrier Managed SD-WAN Services LEADERBOARD as follows (in rank order based on site share): AT&T, Comcast Business, Verizon, Hughes, Lumen, Windstream, and Zayo. Each of these service providers has four percent (4%) or more of the billable Carrier Managed SD-WAN customer sites installed in the U.S. as of December 31, 2023.

“The number of managed SD-WAN sites in the U.S. expanded by 24% in 2023, which was lower growth than expected. Many service providers focused primarily on order fulfillment, upgrading bandwidth, and adding SASE/SSE for existing customers,” said Rick Malone, principal of Vertical Systems Group. “Share gains were led by cable MSOs and providers specializing in mid-size business sectors.”

Seven companies attain a Challenge Tier citation for year-end 2023 as follows (in alphabetical order): Aryaka, Cogent, Cox Business, Fusion Connect, MetTel, Spectrum Enterprise, and TPx. Providers in this tier have between one percent (1%) and four percent (4%) share of U.S. Carrier Managed SD-WAN sites.

2023 SD-WAN Research Highlights

• Rank positions for the top six 2023 SD-WAN LEADERBOARD companies are unchanged from mid-year 2023. Zayo attains the seventh and final position based on U.S. site share, advancing from the Challenge Tier.
• Five companies retain their Challenge Tier citations from mid-2023: Aryaka, Cox Business, MetTel, Spectrum Enterprise, and TPx.
• Two companies advance to the Challenge Tier from the mid-2023 Market Player tier: Cogent (includes Sprint assets from T-Mobile) and Fusion Connect.
• Challenges cited by market leading service providers include delayed purchase decisions due to economic uncertainties, as well as the shifts to WFH or anywhere that are impacting network site requirements. The integration of multiple SD-WAN and SASE/SSE solutions continues to be a challenge for marketing, sales, and technology teams.
• Five of the seven 2023 U.S. LEADERBOARD companies have MEF 3.0 SD-WAN Service Certification as follows: AT&T, Comcast Business, Verizon, Lumen, and Windstream. Spectrum Enterprise is the only Challenge Tier provider with MEF 3.0 SD-WAN Certification.

https://www.verticalsystems.com/2024/03/05/2023-u-s-sdwan-leaderboard/

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