Samsung to receive up to $6.4B of CHIPs Act funding for Texas fabs

Samsung Electronics will receive up to $6.4 billion in direct funding under the CHIPS and Science Act.

The proposed investment is expected to boost Samsung’s existing presence in Texas. This incluses two new leading-edge logic fabs, an R&D fab, and an advanced packaging facility in Taylor, as well as an expansion to their existing Austin facility. Samsung is expected to invest more than $40 billion dollars in the region in the coming years, and the proposed investment would support the creation of over 20,000 jobs.

Highlights:

• Taylor, Texas: Construct a comprehensive advanced manufacturing ecosystem, ranging from leading-edge logic to advanced packaging to R&D, transforming the small municipality of Taylor into an expansive hub of leading-edge semiconductor manufacturing. This ecosystem would include two leading-edge logic foundry fabs focused on mass production of 4nm and 2nm process technologies, an R&D fab dedicated to development and research on technology generations ahead of nodes currently in production, and an advanced packaging facility producing 3D High Bandwidth Memory and 2.5D packaging, both of which have critical artificial intelligence applications. The semiconductors that are designed and manufactured in this ecosystem would serve a wide variety of end markets – from communications, automotive, and defense industries to high-performance computing and artificial intelligence.
• Austin, Texas: Expand a facility that has been an economic engine for Central Texas for nearly 30 years. This proposed investment would expand the existing facilities to support the production of leading fully depleted silicon-on-insulator (FD-SOI) process technologies for critical U.S. industries, including aerospace, defense, and automotive. This proposed investment also includes commitments to collaborate with the U.S. Department of Defense.

Samsung has been manufacturing chips in the United States since 1996. The company said it is committed to strengthening U.S. economic and national security and increasing the resilience of both the U.S. and global semiconductor supply chains. 

Samsung also notes that it has ongoing partnerships with Austin Community College, The University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M University, Texas State Technical College, Temple College, Manor High School and Taylor High School — to train its future semiconductor workforce. The proposed CHIPS investment also includes up to $40 million in dedicated workforce funding. 

“Semiconductor research and development is critical to building a robust and thriving semiconductor manufacturing industry in the United States,” said Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and National Institute of Standards and Technology Director Laurie E. Locascio. “Samsung’s plans to build a cutting-edge R&D and advanced packaging facilities in Texas are shining examples of the types of R&D projects that will help build, and heavily contribute to, America’s chip manufacturing industry.”

“We’re not just expanding production facilities; we’re strengthening the local semiconductor ecosystem and positioning the U.S. as a global semiconductor manufacturing destination," said Kye Hyun Kyung, President and CEO of the Device Solutions (DS) Division at Samsung Electronics. "To meet the expected surge in demand from U.S. customers, for future products like AI chips, our fabs will be equipped for cutting-edge process technologies and help advance the security of the U.S. semiconductor supply chain.”

The U.S. Department of Commerce has received more than 630 statements of interest, more than 180 pre-applications and full applications for NOFO 1, and more than 160 small supplier concept plans for NOFO 2. The Department is continuing to conduct rigorous evaluation of applications to determine which projects will advance U.S. national and economic security, attract more private capital, and deliver other economic benefits to the country. The announcement with Samsung is the sixth PMT announcement the Department of Commerce has made under the CHIPS and Science Act, with additional PMT announcements expected to follow throughout 2024.

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Qunnect's Polarization Qubit Distribution on NYC's GothamQ Network

 Qunnect, a start-up specializing in quantum-secure networking, announced a major technical achievement with its GothamQ quantum network in New York City. Utilizing existing commercial fiber optic cables, GothamQ has exceeded previous performance benchmarks by effectively distributing polarization-based quantum entanglement. The network demonstrated exceptionally high rates of preservation and fidelity, underscoring the capability of Qunnect's quantum networking components to support entanglement-based protocols over extended periods in real-world conditions. This advancement marks a significant step in validating the practical application of Qunnect's quantum network technologies.

Unlike most quantum networks, Qunnect uses atoms at room temperature to generate polarization entangled photons, since these qubits are native to other quantum devices such as sensors and computers. By constructing a stable network to distribute polarization qubits, Qunnect has demonstrated a path forward for other quantum networks to host applications beyond secure communications. 

For this demonstration, the Qunnect team used its hardware instruments to generate, distribute, and preserve entangled photons over 34 kilometers of fiber within the GothamQ network. Its QU-SRC maintained generation rates between one to ten million polarization-entangled photon pairs per second. Meanwhile, the QU-APC preserved the fidelity of the transmitted photons through an automated protocol, minimizing the quantum bit error rate. The result was a record-breaking 99.84% network uptime over 15 days of continuous operation. During that time, the team:

• Distributed and preserved 500,000 polarization-entangled pairs per second in commercial-grade fiber channels with 17dB of transmission loss
• Maintained a quantum bit error rate below 2.5%

"GothamQ's performance as a stable, automated network that can support high-quality entanglement distribution networking protocols represents a major step forward in unlocking future applications like distributed quantum sensing and computing," said Noel Goddard, CEO of Qunnect. "As we celebrate World Quantum Day, we are proud to showcase Qunnect's first-in-class hardware as an example of the progress made in turning experimental innovations into commercial products."

"This work demonstrates that the field of entanglement distribution networking is ready to transition from proof-of-concept experiments to the era of reliable, 24/7 operation." Said Mehdi Namazi. "Important to note, we used polarization qubits, which are highly practical for transactions at the end nodes, yet notoriously hard to preserve in long, deployed fiber optic channels."

The full test results are published in a manuscript posted on ArXiv today (https://arxiv.org/abs/2404.08626), in celebration of World Quantum Day 2024.

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SURF readies 800G for CERN's Large Hadron Collider update

SURF, the collaborative organisation for IT in Dutch education and research,  successfully reached a single carrier 800Gb/s optical transmission using Nokia’s photonic service engine technology.

The trial was conducted over a 1648 km point-to-point fiber link connecting Amsterdam and Geneva, crossing Belgium and France. The fiber link is part of the SURF-network, which connects national research and education institutes in the Netherlands, such as Nikhef. Furthermore, the SURF-network boasts robust connections with various research networks and experiments globally, notably the LHC Optical Private Network (LHCOPN). This network facilitates access to data from the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, renowned as the largest and most potent particle accelerator worldwide. In a collaborative effort involving CERN, Nikhef, SURF, and the ATLAS LHC experiment, real production workflows pertinent to the forthcoming operation of the High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC) have been incorporated for trial purposes.

Nokia’s sixth-generation super-coherent Photonic Service Engine (PSE-6s) was deployed on the Amsterdam-Geneva link, in combination with SURF's line system with equipment from a third-party on an older fiber link. It showed that the partners were able to achieve 800 Gbps transmission using 16QAM-shaped PCS modulation. 

SURF is gearing up its network infrastructure in anticipation of CERN's LHC transition to the High-Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC), set to be operational by 2029. The original LHC's role in discovering the Higgs boson has already transformed our understanding of the universe. The upcoming HL-LHC is poised to provide even more profound insights into the universe's fundamental components. This enhancement will not only yield richer research outcomes and heighten the chances for pivotal discoveries but will also handle a vast increase in scientific data. The HL-LHC is expected to produce data at a rate five times that of the current LHC. 

Ron Augustus, Chief Innovation Officer, member of the Board at SURF, said: “We are proud to collaborate with Nokia and Nikhef in this successful innovative trial that pushes the limits of our existing fiber and shows us what is possible. This trial is an important milestone for us as we prepare our network for the future demands of scientific research and education, including the upgrade of CERN’s particle accelerator. By emphasizing testing and the adoption of advanced technology, SURF ensures optimal service and support for its research partners' innovative, data-heavy projects and applications.”

James Watt, Vice President and General Manager, Optical Networks at Nokia, said: “Groundbreaking test events like this show how networks can play an essential role in initiatives that help unlock the secrets of the universe, and the role they play enhances our ability to learn and grow as a civilization. This trial is a testament to the innovation, collaborative spirit and leadership of both Nokia and SURF in the optical networking space. We are committed to helping SURF prepare its network for the upgrade of CERN’s particle accelerator, and look forward to working with other research and education networks around the world to advance their missions and enable cutting-edge discoveries.”

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Ericsson commends Trade and Technology Council 6G Vision

Ericsson’s Chief Technology Officer, Erik Ekudden, has welcomed a new joint 6G Vision between the United States and the European Union.

A recent transatlantic intergovernmental Trade and Technology Council (TTC) session, comprising senior representatives of the U.S Government and the European Union and industry experts, officially adopted a 6G Vision statement that focuses on technology challenges and research collaboration including microelectronics; AI and cloud solutions for 6G; security and resilience; affordability and inclusiveness, sustainability and energy efficiency; openness and interoperability; efficient radio spectrum usage; and standardization.

The joint vision states: “As the European Union and the United States embark on the journey towards 6G, collaboration is not only desirable but essential. By leveraging each region's strengths and expertise, transatlantic cooperation can accelerate the development and deployment of 6G technology while upholding shared principles and values. We intend to strengthen cooperation between our Research and Innovation funding agencies in the range of 6G areas and will increase cooperation in the global standardization process through standardization organizations such as ETSI/3GPP. We also intend to develop an outreach plan with likeminded partners to advance the development and commercialization of 6G networks.”

Ekudden said it was important that the U.S. and Europe was aligned on future tech such as 6G, with a shared vision and common goals.

“As a global technology leader, Ericsson is ready to play our role to achieve the aims of the Trade and Technology Council so that the U.S. and Europe can catalyze the development of future technologies, not just for their own innovation and digital economy benefits, but to also drive digitalization with global scale using mobile technologies.”

He adds: “We know from previous generations of mobile technology that getting things right from the outset is crucial to seamless global technology experiences and benefits. That’s why early collaboration, such as the Trade and Technology Council work, is vital to ensuring the future success of 6G and those emerging technologies that it will enable.

https://www.ericsson.com/en/news/2024/4/ericsson-welcomes-strengthened-u.s.-eu-cooperation-on-6g

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Moby deploys Ciena’s XGS-PON and uOLT pluggables in Calgary

Moby, an independent telecom provider and division of Western Fibre Communications Corp., is utilizing an XGS-PON solution from Ciena to provide residential connectivity services to subscribers in Calgary, the largest city in Alberta, Canada.

Through its residential arm, Moby provides internet, TV, and phone services to high-density multi-family apartment and condo buildings. The network is using XGS-PON to make possible downstream and upstream speeds of up to 10 Gbps. 

“We saw that people didn’t have a lot of choice when it came to telecom services, so we set out to offer a real alternative—a local, independent provider with a quality, super-fast all-fiber network and an intense focus on the customer,” said Nick Brewer, Founder and Chief Technology Officer, Moby.

Ciena’s solution included the 3924 Platform, XGS-PON uOLTs (micro optical line terminals), and 3801 ONUs (optical network units). Unlike traditional large, chassis-based approaches that are hindered by limited flexibility and scalability, Ciena’s uOLT, a small pluggable device, can transform any port on the 3924 into an OLT, one port at a time. This makes it ideally suited for residential broadband applications, allowing Moby to adapt and evolve with user, bandwidth, and performance demands in a highly cost-effective manner. Additionally, the 3924’s high-capacity yet compact 1RU design enables Moby to reduce footprint and energy requirements, resulting in a more environmentally friendly solution.

“Ciena’s uOLT pluggables are a game changer. They've allowed us to economically scale with demand while significantly decreasing our space and power consumption. This is particularly crucial for space-constrained MDU applications and dovetails perfectly with our sustainability aspirations,” said Brewer.

https://getmoby.com/

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Ekinops posts Q1 revenue of EUR 28.3M

 Ekinops reported Q1 2024 consolidated revenue of 28.3 m€, down as expected compared to Q1 2023 (-11%).

The quarterly revenue was in line with the Q3 and Q4 2023 trend (27.8 m€ and 30.3 m€ respectively), in an economic environment that remains slow. The company cited a mixed performance across different product lines and regions, with growth in Access solutions offset by declines in Optical Transport and challenges in international markets.

Here's a summarized overview of Ekinops' Q1 2024 financial results:

Access Solutions:

Sales grew by 3% compared to Q1 2023.

Sequentially, sales increased by 33% compared to Q4 2023.

Strong rebound in France (+19%), while EMEA (excluding France) saw a 13% decline.

Optical Transport Solutions:

Sales declined by 27% compared to Q1 2023.

Cautious investment policies and large inventories contributed to the downturn.

Launch of new 800G optical solution contributed to a wait-and-see attitude among customers.

Software & Services:

Accounted for 15% of quarterly revenue.

Slightly lower compared to Q1 2023 (14%) and FY 2023 (17%).

Regional Performance:

France: Revenue increased by 15% compared to Q1 2023, driven by Access solutions. Optical Transport solutions declined by 10%.

International: Sales decreased by 24%, with significant declines in all regions.

North America: Sales were €7.0m, accounting for 25% of total business activity, similar to FY 2023.

EMEA: Sales declined by 21%, with a more pronounced drop in Optical Transport activity.

Asia-Pacific: Accounted for 3% of total business activity, with relatively stable sales.

Revenue Distribution:

France accounted for 43% of revenue (vs. 32% in FY 2023).

International business accounted for 57% of revenue (vs. 68% in FY 2023).

As for its outlook, Ekinops said 2024 kicked off with a stabilized level of sales comparable to the 2nd half of 2023, against a backdrop of economic slowdown, with limited signs of recovery at this stage. In Access, the improved Q1 sales in France in a context of operators easing equipment inventories is an encouraging sign. The Group confirms that it is aiming for a rebound in Access equipment sales during 2024, both in France and in EMEA, as the economy recovers. In Optical Transport, the launch of the new 800G product and a new OTN (Optical Transport Network) solution should boost business momentum over the coming semesters.

https://www.ekinops.com/news

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Ekinops acquires "5View" software from Infovista

Ekinops announced the acquisition of the "5View" software suite from Infovista, a key player in infrastructure management software for both mobile and fixed networks. 

5View is renowned for its ability to analyze application performance across networks by collecting, storing, and aggregating real-time data. This enables detailed reporting for troubleshooting, managing service level agreements, and long-term network capacity planning. Importantly, it offers critical insights into application traffic within SD-WAN solutions, enhancing network visibility.

This acquisition will enrich Ekinops' existing Compose software suite, primarily used by telecom operators and enterprises. 5View will be integrated into Ekinops' SD-WAN solutions, though its utility extends beyond to any operator or enterprise seeking better application visibility across various network technologies.

Additionally, the acquisition will strengthen Ekinops' research and development capabilities with the addition of four seasoned engineers from France, who will continue to advance the solution under the Ekinops umbrella.

Furthermore, Ekinops and Infovista have entered into a commercial agreement that will allow Infovista to continue integrating and selling the 5View software within its network assurance service solutions, ensuring continued revenue and integration flexibility.

https://www.ekinops.com

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Blueprint: Reimagining Data Center Networks for AI

by Aniket Khosla, Spirent’s VP of Wireline Product Management

By now, you’ve probably seen plenty of examples of artificial intelligence in action, whether creating new code with ChatGPT, using enhanced web search with Google Gemini, even generating full-motion videos on demand. Even so, we’re just scratching the surface of AI’s potential to transform applications and industries. Language processing, image recognition, AI-driven recommendation systems and automation, it’s all incredibly exciting. In the data centers where these AI applications run, however, processing these workloads brings extraordinary new challenges. 

To process evolving AI workloads, AI cluster networks must provide unprecedented throughput, extremely low latency, and support for new traffic patterns such as micro data bursts. Even more challenging, the traditional approach for improving network performance—throwing more hardware at the problem—won’t work. The characteristics of AI workloads and their exponential growth demand an entirely new kind of data center network. 

The industry is still in the process of determining exactly what tomorrow’s AI-optimized networks will look like, and several open questions remain. Among the most significant: the role that Ethernet will play in front- and back-end networks, and the pace at which data center operators will adopt next-generation Ethernet speeds and protocols. 

Why is AI so different and challenging for data center networks? And what do operators and vendors supporting them need to know to make informed decisions? Let’s take a closer look. 

Inside the Cluster

To understand the impact of AI workloads on data center networks, let’s review what’s happening behind the scenes. There are two basic phases of AI processing:

• Training involves ingesting vast amounts of data for an AI model to train on. By analyzing patterns and relationships between inputs and outputs, the model learns how to make increasingly accurate predictions.  
• Inferencing is where AI models put their training into practice. The model receives an input (such as a query from a chatbot user), and then performs some classification or prediction action to generate an output. 

Both phases require large amounts of compute in the form of specialized (and expensive) processing units. These “xPUs” could be CPUs, GPUs, Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), or other types of accelerators. For AI inferencing in particular though, the network connecting all those xPUs (and servers, and storage) must deliver extremely high bandwidth, with extremely low latency, while ensuring no packet loss. 

These requirements are already pushing the limits of hyperscale data centers, where the number and variety of AI workloads have skyrocketed. And that’s just today’s AI models—which are growing 1,000x more complex every three years. Operators can’t meet these demands by scaling data center fabrics as they have in the past. They need to fundamentally re-architect them. 

AI Fabric Requirements

Today, operators are investing in massive numbers of xPUs for AI workloads. How many they’ll ultimately require—and the scale of the network connecting them—will depend on future AI applications. But needing a fabric that can support tens of thousands of xPUs and trillions of dense parameters seems likely. 

For AI training, operators should be able to support workloads well enough with typical refresh cycles, which will push front-end networks to 800Gbps and beyond over the next several years. Inferencing, however, is another matter. Here, they need scalable back-end infrastructures capable of connecting thousands of xPUs and delivering: 

• Massive scale: Compared to training, AI inferencing can generate 5x more traffic per accelerator and require 5x higher network bandwidth. Back-end networks must also be able to support thousands of synchronized jobs in parallel and more data- and compute-intensive workloads.  
• Extremely low latency: For real-time AI inferencing (from an AI vision application flagging a production flaw to an AI chatbot responding to a customer), every millisecond counts. These workloads must progress through large numbers of nodes, and any delay in this flow can impede scalability or cause timeouts. Depending on the application, such delays could result in poor user experiences, expensive manufacturing errors, or worse. 
• No packet loss: AI applications running in data centers are highly sensitive to packet loss, which increases latency and makes the network less predictable. AI cluster fabrics therefore must be lossless. 

These back-end network requirements are already affecting AI user experiences. According to Meta, roughly a third of elapsed time for AI workloads is spent waiting on the network.  
 

Evolving Interfaces

Given these extreme demands, how should data center operators and the vendors supporting them respond? What’s the best infrastructure approach to sustain both current AI workloads and those on the horizon? This is still an open question. 
Even in new back-end data center infrastructures, we see significant variation, with Google, Microsoft, and Amazon all taking different paths. Based on what operators are saying, however, and the interfaces they’re investing in, we’re starting to get a clearer picture. 
In front-end networks used for data ingestion, Dell’Oro Group forecasts that by 2027, one third of all Ethernet ports will by 800 Gbps or higher. In back-end networks, where operators need higher throughput and lower latency immediately, things are moving more quickly. Nearly all back-end ports will be 800G and above by 2027, with bandwidth growing at a triple-digit growth rate.

While most operators will continue using Ethernet in front-end networks, back-end infrastructures will vary. Depending on the AI applications they’re supporting, some operators will want a lossless technology like InfiniBand. Others will prefer the familiarity and economics of standardized Ethernet in conjunction with technology like the RoCEv2 (RDMA over Converged Ethernet, version 2) protocol, which facilitates lossless and low latency flows. Still others will use both InfiniBand and Ethernet. 

For now, there is no single “right” answer. Apart from considerations like price and deployment size, data center operators will need to weigh multiple factors based on the AI workloads they expect to support, including: 

• Bandwidth and latency requirements
• Whether model training will be performed in-house or outsourced
• Standardized versus proprietary technologies 
• Comfort with future roadmaps for technologies under consideration 

Looking Ahead

Despite the uncertainty, vendors developing connectivity solutions for AI clusters have little choice but to push ahead under accelerated timelines. The customer’s need is just too great. Even as 400G Ethernet deployments grow, vendors are manufacturing 800G chipsets as quickly as possible, and work on the 1.6-Tbps Ethernet standard is progressing. 

In the meantime, rigorous testing will become even more important—and demand new test and emulation tools designed for the speeds and scale of AI infrastructures. Vendors will need the ability to validate new Ethernet products, perform high-speed timing and synchronization testing, assure interoperability of multi-vendor components, and more. Given the exorbitant costs of building AI clusters for lab environments, vendors will also need tools to emulate cluster behavior with lifelike accuracy. 

The good news is that testing solutions are evolving as quickly as data center networks themselves. As new questions arise about the future of AI networking, the industry will be ready to answer them. 

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Tech Update: NTT Research - Innovations for a Better Future

As demand for network and computing capacity continues to rise, AI is pushing for a revolutionary new infrastructure that is quicker, more sustainable, and secure. This will support cutting-edge innovations. Implementing NTT's IOWN concept, which aims to shift from electronic to photonic technologies in networks and computing, will play a crucial role in developing a more sustainable and scalable AI infrastructure. 

Kazuhiro Gomi, President and CEO from NTT Research, provides updates from Upgrade 2024 event in San Francisco :

- The role of photonics technology as a potential solution to the overheating problem in IT tech infrastructure, especially as AI requires significant computational power and energy consumption.

- The steps towards integrating photonics technology into our systems, starting with replacing connections between processors and memory, and eventually leading to the development of optical computers.

- The importance of investing in fundamental basic research, as it is the starting point for big innovations, and how NTT Research allocates a significant portion of its operating income towards this type of research.

https://youtu.be/Won83-wrh7U

Have a tech update that you want to brief us on? Contact info@nextgeninfra.io!

Check out other Tech Updates on our YouTube Channel (subscribe today): https://www.youtube.com/@NextGenInfra and check out our latest reports at: https://nextgeninfra.io/

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Tech Update: Pioneering the Future with Photonic Computing & IOWN

Check out other Tech Updates on our YouTube Channel (subscribe today): https://www.youtube.com/@NextGenInfra and check out our latest reports at: https://nextgeninfra.io/

NTT Research is making bit bets on photonics/ Chris Shaw, Chief Marketing Officer from NTT Research, explains:

- The concept of the Innovative Optical and Wireless Network (IOWN), a big bet NTT Research made five years ago, envisioning the future

- The successful deployment of an All Photonics Network (APN) in Osaka, Japan, and its subsequent expansion to the UK and the US, marking the beginning of a global APN deployment.

- The next steps towards photonic computing, including the development of photonic hardware and chipsets, and how these advancements can lead to faster, more efficient communication in the world of AI and more sustainable hardware. 

https://youtu.be/mIx73LcenhQ

Have a tech update that you want to brief us on? Contact info@nextgeninfra.io!

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Tech Update: The Battle for AI will be Won at the Edge

 How critical is edge infrastructure to the future of AI?  Devin Yaung, SVP, Global Enterprise IoT from NTT, discusses:

- Devin discusses the importance of edge computing in AI and ML platforms, emphasizing that these platforms are only as good as the data you feed them. He explains how the edge, being closest to the physical environment, provides real-time information for these platforms to offer true insights.

- He shares how NTT is helping clients maximize their investments in ERP, AI, and ML by providing data from the edge. He gives an example of a client who was able to significantly increase the value they got from their ERP platform by gaining visibility into their data through a real-time inventory management solution provided by NTT.

- Looking ahead, Devin reveals that NTT will continue to build out the edge and develop advanced platforms on AI, machine learning, and analytics. He encourages viewers to stay updated with NTT's progress through their social media and website.

https://youtu.be/R7b2VuNgnjM

Join Devin as he explores the intersection of AI and edge computing, and learn what NTT is doing at the edge.

Have a tech update that you want to brief us on? Contact info@nextgeninfra.io!

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Singtel teams with Huawei on Fibre To The Room

Singtel has partnered Huawei to launch FibreEverywhere, a home broadband solution featuring Huawei’s transparent fibre optic cables that provide unprecedented high speed and reliable internet connection to devices such as laptops and smartphones in every room – a first-in-Singapore. 

The Fibre To The Room solution can also be easily installed without homeowners needing to make any structural adjustments to their homes.

This new connectivity solution provides more than 1Gbps Wi-Fi speeds to every room – up to 2-3 times faster than basic Wi-Fi 6 routers. The installation of the new fibre optic cables and routers is available at a promotional price from S$109 per month for connectivity in two rooms, and S$20 per month for every additional room.

https://www.singtel.com/about-us/media-centre/news-releases/singtel-first-in-singapore-to-launch-next-generation-fibre

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Cisco completes acquisition of Isovalent for open source networking

Cisco completed its previously-announced acquisition of Isovalent, a leader in open source cloud native networking and security. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Isovalent holds leadership positions in the Cloud Native Computing Foundation and eBPF Foundation, in addition to upstream software contributions, and has led the development of Cilium, the leading cloud native solution for networking and security. 

• eBPF, which stands for extended Berkeley Packet Filter,” provides a lightweight, efficient, and secure framework for running bytecode in the Linux kernel without changing kernel source code or loading kernel modules. Originally designed for network packet filtering, eBPF has evolved to offer more generalized functionality, including:
• Network Functionality: eBPF is widely used for networking tasks, such as filtering, monitoring, and routing of network packets.
• Observability: It allows for detailed monitoring and tracing of system and application behaviors. eBPF can be used to trace kernel and user-space functions, making it a powerful tool for performance analysis and debugging.

The Isovalent team joins the Cisco Security Business Group.

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Lumen wins US government managed network services contract

Lumen Technologies recently landed a $73,616,904 contract to transform the U.S. Government Accountability Office's (GAO) network, data, voice and video connectivity.

Highlights

• These modern technologies powered by Lumen enable GAO to provide Congress, the executive branch and the public with well-timed, fact-based, non-partisan analysis and recommendations that can improve government and save taxpayers billions of dollars.
• Lumen is delivering secure managed network services, virtual private network services, ethernet transport services, internet protocol services, videoconferencing services, and voice and toll-free services to GAO, which serves as the audit, evaluation and investigative arm of Congress.
• This task order has a base performance period of one year, with eight additional one-year options. It was awarded to Lumen under the General Services Administration's Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions (EIS) program.

https://news.lumen.com/2024-04-11-Lumen-lands-73-6-million-contract-with-U-S-Government-Accountability-Office

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NTT Achieves Less Than 1ms Latency, Below 1μs Jitter at 400Gbps

NTT's All-Photonics Network (APN) has achieved ultra-low latency over metro-area distances, demonstrating the potential for higher-performance data center interconnected.

NTT published results of APN connections between its data centers near London and in Northern Virginia, achieving round-trip delays of less than 1 millisecond. These tests also showed significantly reduced jitter. 

Two data centers, HH2 in Hemel Hempstead and LON1 in Dagenham, in the United Kingdom, and VA1 and VA3 in Ashburn, in the United States, were connected using NEC APN equipment to measure round-trip delays and delay jitter between the two data centers.

As a result of the demonstration experiment, both data centers were connected with delay of less than 1 millisecond and delay jitter of less than 1 microsecond at 400Gbps. In the U.K., the delay2 between data centers at the same distance as this demonstration exceeds 2 milliseconds.

NTT notes that conventional networks with general Layer 2 switch experience delay jitter of several microseconds to tens of microseconds. A major cloud service provider specified that the conditions under which data centers can be treated as the same data center are 2 milliseconds3, which is significantly lower than the delay expected for general cloud applications.

https://www.nttdata.com/global/en/news/press-release/2024/april/ntt-low-latency-network-connects-urban-and-suburban-data-centers-in-us-and-uk

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China Telecom achieves record 120 Tbps over single fiber

In a trial conducted with Yangtze Optical Fibre and Cable Joint Stock Limited Company (YOFC) and ZTE, China Telecom Research Institute achieved a maximum real-time single-wavelength rate of 1.2Tbit/s, resulting in a single optical fibre single-direction transmission rate exceeding 120Tbit/s. 

The test used S+C+L bands over standard single-mode quartz optical fibre. 

The verification test has set new benchmarks in system bandwidth, algorithms, and architecture:

• Enhanced bandwidth: The traditional C-band spectrum expands to include the S and L bands, achieving a substantial communication bandwidth of 17THz across the S+C+L multiband, spanning the range of 1,483nm-1,627nm.
• 
  Higher performing algorithms: China Telecom Research Institute leverages the optical fiber loss and power transfer characteristics of the S/C/L bands, implementing a technique that maximizes spectrum efficiency through adaptive matching of symbol rate, channel spacing, and modulation code type. Additionally, with ZTE's advanced multi-band system filler wave and automatic power balancing technology, the service performance across all channels is balanced, vastly expanding the maximum transmission distance.
• Reimagined architectural design: this real-time transmission methodology incorporates the industry's leading CPO (Co-Packaged Optics) technology, boasting a single-wave signal baud rate exceeding 130GBd and a bit rate of 1.2Tbit/s, significantly reducing the number of required photoelectric components.

The experiment employed the ultra-low attenuation, large effective area optical fibre developed by YOFC. This fibre boasts a lower attenuation coefficient and an expanded effective area, facilitating the expansion of the system's bandwidth to include the S-band. This advancement enables the achievement of a maximum real-time single-wavelength rate of 1.2Tbit/s.

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Vantage Data Centers plans 2nd data center in Zurich

Vantage Data Centers unveiled plans for a second Zurich campus (ZRH2) supporting 24MW of critical IT capacity. This campus, the company’s 33rd globally, is located 30 kilometers north of Zurich’s City Center in Glattfelden. It is conveniently situated just over 20 kilometers from Vantage’s ZRH1 campus in Winterthur and 15 minutes from Zurich Airport.

ZRH2 will have a total of 226,000 square feet (21,000 square meters) of space for Vantage’s customers consisting of hyperscalers, cloud providers and large enterprises. It comes online as the company is seeing increased demand globally to support artificial intelligence and other high-performance computing applications.

When combined with Vantage’s flagship Zurich campus (ZRH1), both campuses will offer customers 64MW of capacity for their computing requirements.

“Zurich is a rapidly growing data center market due to its strategic central location and its global financial leadership, and we expect to continue developing in this market based on customer demand,” said David Howson, president of Vantage Data Centers, EMEA. “Across Europe and the globe, the demand for highly efficient, hyperscale data centers is booming to meet the needs of next generation applications, from powerful AI models to high-performance computing and cloud transformation. Vantage is prepared to meet that demand for current and new customers, and we look forward to opening the doors of our latest data center this summer.”

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

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Dell'Oro: Private Wireless RAN Revenues up ~40 Percent in 2023

Private Wireless Radio Access Network (RAN) revenue growth slowed in the fourth quarter on a year-over-year (Y/Y) basis; however, full-year revenues still accelerated around 40 percent in 2023, propelling private wireless to comprise around 2 percent of the overall RAN market.

“Although public RAN is still fueling the lion’s share of the overall RAN capex and the overall investment levels are tracking below some of the initial projections provided by the vendors in the early part of the 5G enterprise hype cycle, the fact of the matter is that private wireless is now growing at a formidable pace,” said Stefan Pongratz, Vice President at Dell’Oro Group. “This stands in contrast to public RAN and enterprise WLAN – both segments are projected to contract in 2024,” continued Pongratz.

Additional highlights from the April 2024 Private Wireless Report:

• The evolving scope of private wireless taken together with the fact that the $20 B+ enterprise RAN opportunity remains largely untapped is spurring interest from a broad array of participants across the ecosystem. Still, the traditional RAN suppliers are currently well-positioned in this initial phase.
• Top 3 Private Wireless RAN suppliers in 2023 include Huawei, Nokia, and Ericsson.
• Top 3 Private Wireless RAN suppliers in 2023 excluding China include Nokia, Ericsson, and Samsung.
• The overall Private Wireless RAN forecast is mostly unchanged (+3 percent relative to the last report), reflecting the fact that our bottom-up vendor analysis vs. the initial top-down calculations is improving the market size estimates. In addition, the industry is now past the hype phase and in a better place from a forecasting perspective.
• The high-level message that we have communicated for some time has not changed—private wireless is a massive opportunity, but it will take some time for enterprises to embrace private cellular technologies.
• Total Private Wireless RAN revenues are projected to grow at a 21 percent CAGR over the next five years, while public RAN revenues are set to decline at a 2 percent CAGR over the same time period.
• The underlying technology mix has also not changed. 5G is dominating in China, while LTE is currently dominating outside of China. Private 5G RAN revenues are expected to reach the $1 B to $2 B range by 2028.

 https://www.delloro.com/news/private-wireless-ran-revenues-up-40-percent-in-2023/

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Crown Castle names Moskowitz as next CEO

Crown Castle appointed Steven J. Moskowitz as President and Chief Executive Officer

Moskowitz held several executive leadership roles over his 12 years at American Tower Corporation, including seven years as EVP and President, of the U.S. Tower business. During his tenure, American Tower’s U.S. operations became the largest and most profitable U.S. wireless infrastructure company, tripling in size to more than 20,000 cell sites and expanding the indoor DAS network division, growing Adjusted EBITDA approximately 5x, representing more than 85% of the corporation’s profitability. Most recently, Mr. Moskowitz served as CEO of Centennial Towers Holding LP, where he created a leading provider of build-to-suit cell sites in Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico. Prior to Centennial, Mr. Moskowitz served as the CEO of NextG Networks, a provider of fiber-based small cell solutions. During his tenure, he successfully scaled the business, significantly increasing revenue and cash flow, and doubling the asset base prior to its sale to Crown Castle in 2012.

"We are excited to welcome Steven as Crown Castle’s next leader. His appointment marks the conclusion of a robust process during which the CEO Search Committee and the Board unanimously determined that Steven is the candidate best suited to oversee our strategy and path forward. He possesses all the key skill sets that the Board was looking for, including strong operating experience with domain expertise, strategic capital allocation, proven value creation, and prior CEO experience leading high-performing teams," said P. Robert Bartolo, Chair of the Crown Castle Board of Directors.

"Steven's breadth and depth of experience in domestic and international towers and small cell solutions is unique in the industry, and we know that he will provide valuable insights as we continue our progress on the strategic and operating review of the company's enterprise fiber and small cell business, and tower growth opportunities. We are confident that under Steven’s leadership, Crown Castle is well positioned to execute on its strategic initiatives and drive enhanced value for our shareholders."

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Teledyne LeCroy captures Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth, and 802.15.4 traffic

Teledyne LeCroy introduced its Frontline X500e wireless protocol analyzer with Wi-Fi 7. The solution captures and correlates data from a wide range of communication technologies, including Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, 802.15.4-based technologies (including Matter, Thread, and Zigbee), or wired interfaces such as HCI-UART, USB, SPI, and Audio I2S.

The Frontline X500e with its ability to handle 320MHz channel width and 4096 QAM (quadrature amplitude modulation) empowers design and test engineers, and IT specialists to optimize performance and troubleshoot issues, in the rapidly evolving landscape of wireless communication. Only the Frontline X500e equips design and test engineers with the means to:

• Ensure seamless interoperability of products that integrate Wi-Fi 7 technology.
• Measure the impact of Wi-Fi 7 on overall system performance, latency, and throughput.
• Reveal how Wi-Fi 7 implementations coexists with other wireless technologies, such as Bluetooth, fostering harmonious communication.

www.TeledyneLeCroy.com/FrontlineX500e

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