Fortinet to acquire Lacework for Cloud Native Application Protection Platform

Fortinet agreed to acquire Lacework, a start-up based in Mountain View, California specializing in security solutions that offer visibility, threat detection, and compliance across multi-cloud environments. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Lacework offers an AI-powered, Cloud Native Application Protection Platform (CNAPP). It features an agent and agentless architecture for data collection, a homegrown data lake, and a code security offering. The company claims nearly 1,000 customers.

Lacework was founded in 2015 and has attracted over $1.9 billion over 6 rounds of funding from various venture capital firms and investors, including Sutter Hill Ventures, Altimeter Capital, D1 Capital Partners, Google Ventures,Tiger Global Management, Coatue Management, and Dragoneer Investment Group.

Lacework was founded by Vikram Kapoor and Sanjay Kalra. Before co-founding Lacework,  Kapoor was the Chief Architect and Principal Engineer at Bromium, a company specializing in endpoint security solutions. Before Lacework, Kalra was the CEO and Co-founder of Vhayu Technologies, a company that provided financial market data analytics solutions. Vhayu Technologies was later acquired by Thomson Reuters.  T

he CEO of Lacework is Jay Parikh, who before joining Lacework in 2021, he was the Vice President of Engineering and Infrastructure at Facebook, where he oversaw the company’s global engineering and infrastructure teams.

Fortinet said it intends to integrate Lacework’s CNAPP solution into its existing portfolio, forming one of the most comprehensive, full stack AI-driven cloud security platforms available from a single vendor. 

https://www.lacework.com/

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Nokia debuts API Network Exposure Platform

Nokia introduced a new Network Exposure Platform designed to expand and simplify the number of APIs available to operators, their partners, and customer channels to enable the creation of network powered applications for consumer, enterprise, and industrial customers. It will support Linux Foundation CAMARA APIs, TM Forum Open APIs, edge-based APIs, and other APIs for connecting networks securely to a broader B2B digitalization ecosystem.

Nokia Network Exposure Platform (NEP) is the first implementation of the GSMA Operator Platform, a standard that operators look to for operational guidance and reflects the telco industry’s need for solutions that satisfy the requirements of an array of API models.

Nokia NEP complements and seamlessly integrates with Nokia's Network as Code platform with developer portal, which aligns to the GSMA Open Gateway aggregator concept and provides a cloud-based platform to connect and monetize service provider networks with application developers around the world.

Nokia said its NEP expands on and is designed to work closely with Nokia Network Exposure Function (NEF), another API-exposure related solution, which is based on 3GPP specifications. Nokia NEF provides a process for interfacing with well-defined functions in the core network. It also enables API mashups to combine multiple APIs from different core functions into new simplified APIs, which are easier to integrate with partner and customer channels.

For existing Nokia NEF customers, it is possible to upgrade to a combined NEF and NEP solution to simplify their API ecosystem.

Shkumbin Hamiti, Head of Network Monetization Platform, Cloud and Network Services at Nokia, said: “Exposing and simplifying access to 5G and 4G network capabilities for channels connecting developers requires a sustained and collaborative effort by all industry players on a variety of technical fronts. Nokia NEP is another meaningful part in that work of enabling operators to organize, control, and secure the way their networks integrate into developer ecosystems and platforms; and driving choice and flexibility for creating new use cases and value for the end customers.”

https://www.nokia.com/about-us/news/releases/2024/06/11/nokia-introduces-network-exposure-platform-to-expand-and-simplify-network-api-exposure-for-service-providers/

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Vonage and Telstra partner on advanced network APIs

Vonage, a division of Ericsson, and Telstra have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to promote the digitalization of network Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) within Australia’s enterprise sector.

This non-exclusive agreement will integrate Telstra’s network APIs into the Vonage platform, enabling enterprises and developers to harness these network capabilities for creating innovative, advanced applications and improving the customer experience.

The partnership not only supports Telstra’s T25 API leadership goals but also paves the way for new opportunities for Vonage throughout the broader Asia Pacific region.

Vonage and Telstra will collaborate on, and continue investing in, enhancing existing APIs, such as Silent Authentication - a new verification method that provides secure authentication without requiring users to input passwords or verification information.

Telstra and Vonage will also work together to identify new open APIs to bring to market such as slicing, edge computing, fraud and spam protections, and network analytical insights, while exploring the integration of Telstra’s APIs with Vonage’s API platform.

Niklas Heuveldop, Vonage CEO and Head of Business Area Global Communications Platform, Ericsson, says: "By combining Vonage’s API platform, Ericsson’s 5G network capabilities and Telstra’s network APIs, we are providing developers and enterprises with the tools they need to create new, secure, reliable and engaging solutions,”

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Mavenir builds Generative AI Co-Pilot for CSPs

Mavenir introduced an Operations Co-Pilot that uses generative AI (GenAI) to improve service-level agreements (SLAs) and optimize operational efficiency for communications service providers (CSPs). 

Mavenir’s Operations Co-Pilot for RAN Service Assurance (RSA), which was developed in collaboration with NVIDIA and AWS, automates network troubleshooting, enabling mobile network operators to rapidly and accurately anticipate network issues and address detected network impairments before they become critical. The Operations Co-Pilot significantly reduces manual debugging effort, development and maintenance lead times to enhance IT operations, service availability and delivery for increasingly complex mobile networks.

Utilizing the power of GenAI with large language models (LLMs) trained on detailed key performance indicators (KPIs), counters, logs and traces from network infrastructure, Mavenir, together with NVIDIA and AWS, is creating a suite of Operations Co-Pilot solutions that will transform the operations management of telecom networks through intelligent automation. This new framework – built on NVIDIA Tensor Core GPUs and the NVIDIA AI Enterprise software platform for generative AI running on AWS – leverages Mavenir’s Open RAN architecture to provide accessibility into multiple open interfaces that can deliver the data needed to train and optimize domain-specific telecom LLMs.

Mavenir’s Chief Technology and Strategy Officer Bejoy Pankajakshan commented: “Our new Operations Co-Pilot framework has the potential to be a game-changer for operators, delivering a wealth of fault prediction and root cause analysis capabilities with AI-powered accuracy and speed. This industry-first solution is built on the transformative foundation of NVIDIA GPUs operating on AWS and enabled by Mavenir data, which can be accessed via numerous interfaces in the Open RAN and in the Packet Core for complete end-to-end visibility.”

He added: “The three key use cases of Core Dump Analysis, Log Similarity Search feature and Log Anomaly Detection can be used together to maximize the automated efficiency gains. Combining information from these trained LLMs will provide broader and deeper coverage of all fault and anomaly scenarios, enabling very early prediction of potential problems in the network. Moreover, as these solutions evolve, the models have the ability to continuously learn and optimize based on user feedback and iterative training with further logs, KPIs and traces, promising even greater gains.”

https://www.mavenir.com/resources/mavenir-automated-ran-service-assurance-platform-enabled-by-generative-ai/

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JUNO cable linking Japan-US deploys Ciena’s WaveLogic 6

The NTT DATA-led JUNO submarine cable system, which will link Japan and the United States, will deploy Ciena’s GeoMesh Extreme, powered by WaveLogic 6 Extreme (WL6e).

 The 10,000km JUNO cable, which is slated to launch at the end of 2024, will be the highest capacity trans-Pacific cable.

Ciena said the state-of-the-art cable will benefit from its performance-optimized WL6e, enabling 800Gb, 400Gb, and 100Gb services. JUNO will also benefit from Ciena’s Navigator Network Control Suite, which provides operational efficiencies for the cable, simplifying and accelerating planning, provisioning, and assurance workflows. Additionally, Ciena Services will provide submarine-specific automation for installation, spectrum activation, and testing for time savings and improved spectrum optimization. Submarine Line Terminal Equipment technical support will also be provided to maintain the highest network reliability.

“NTT DATA is dedicated to providing reliable global internet infrastructure and Ciena’s industry-leading WaveLogic 6 coherent optical technology will enable JUNO to start strong. We continue to see demands to build our global digital economy, and capacity and network performance are critical pillars to support this rapid growth,” said Yoshio Sato, CEO, Seren.

“Existing Japan-U.S. cables are nearing capacity limits and there is a need to meet the growth of bandwidth-intensive applications associated with AI, cloud-based services, and streaming videos. Powered by WL6e, the JUNO cable, which is the largest trans-Pacific submarine cable system, will be ready to hit new service delivery targets as soon as it launches,” said Thomas Soerenson, Vice President, Global Submarine Solutions, Ciena. 

•  In July 2022, NEC announced a contract to build the JUNO Cable System, which is slated to be the highest capacity transpacific cable when it comes online by the end of 2024. The project is led by Seren Juno Network Co., Ltd., a company established by NTT Ltd Japan Corporation, PC Landing Corp. Mitsui & Co. and JA Mitsui Leasing.
• The JUNO cable will span 10,000 km between Chiba prefecture and Mie prefecture in Japan to California.NEC plans to deploy its newly developed energy efficient repeaters and leading-edge SDM (Space Division Multiplexing) technology. This system will be able to adapt as many as 20 fiber pairs for the first time in a trans-Pacific subsea fiber-optic cable. The cable is expected to provide a maximum capacity of 350 Tbps.

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AWS to launch Taipei Infrastructure Region

Amazon will launch an AWS infrastructure Region in Taiwan by early 2025. 

The new Asia Pacific (Taipei) AWS Region will consist of three Availability Zones at launch, adding to AWS’s existing 105 Availability Zones across 33 geographic regions globally. With today’s announcement, AWS has plans to launch 21 more Availability Zones and seven more AWS Regions in Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Thailand, and the AWS European Sovereign Cloud. AWS Regions consist of Availability Zones that place infrastructure in separate and distinct geographic locations. Availability Zones are located far enough from each other to support customers’ business continuity, but near enough to provide low latency for high availability applications that use multiple Availability Zones. Each Availability Zone has independent power, cooling, and physical security and is connected through redundant, ultra-low-latency networks. AWS customers focused on high availability can design their applications to run in multiple Availability Zones to achieve even greater fault tolerance.

“AWS is committed to helping customers of all sizes and across all industries accelerate their digital transformation with the highest levels of security and resilience available,” said Prasad Kalyanaraman, vice president of Infrastructure Services at AWS. “The new AWS Region in Taiwan will enable organizations to unlock the full potential of the cloud and build with AWS technologies like compute, storage, databases, analytics, machine learning and artificial intelligence to drive innovation and transform the way businesses and institutions serve their customers. We look forward to helping customers and AWS Partners in Taiwan deliver cloud-enabled applications to accelerate growth, productivity, and innovation with lower latency from data centers located in Taiwan.”

https://aws.amazon.com/about-aws/global-infrastructure

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Ayar adds VP of Packaging and Test to its team

Ayar Labs appointed Pooya Tadayon as its Vice President of Packaging and Test. 

Tadayon was formerly a Fellow and Director of Assembly & Test Pathfinding within Intel’s Assembly and Test Technology Development (ATTD) group. He holds 47 patents and has over three dozen pending, in areas including test interconnect technology, thermal technology, and package/product architecture.

“The demand for photonics technology is rapidly increasing to meet the bandwidth and energy requirements of AI,” said Tadayon. “My goal at Ayar Labs is to accelerate assembly and test ecosystem maturation to support the volumes being projected for optical I/O in AI connectivity.”

Tadayon will lead the creation of an efficient OSAT (outsourced semiconductor assembly and test) process that will enable the photonics ecosystem and accelerate the adoption of Ayar Labs’ solutions.

http://ayarlabs.com/

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Lightpath to Acquire United Fiber & Data for NYC-to-Ashburn route

Lightpath agreed to acquire substantially all of the assets of United Fiber and Data (UFD), which owns and operates a diverse 323-route mile, high-fiber count network between New York City and Ashburn, Virginia. UFD also owns a 79-route mile metro network in New York City and New Jersey, including connectivity to over 350 enterprise and data center locations and a high-fiber count crossing of the Hudson River, which will add capacity to Lightpath's three existing Hudson River crossings. 

UFD's New York City-Ashburn network offers high-fiber counts, the latest optical technologies from Ciena, and will support dark fiber, Ethernet, and wavelengths up to 800 Gbps. UFD's network is geographically diverse from typical long-haul routes along the I-95 corridor and will enhance Lightpath's network of over 20,000 route miles, connecting over 15,000 service locations, including over 140 data centers and 7 cable landing stations. The combination of networks will allow Lightpath to offer geographically diverse, high-capacity services from commercial enterprise buildings, cable landing stations, and data centers along the east coast, directly to the Ashburn ecosystem.     

UFD customers will gain access to the entire Lightpath network as well as the entire service portfolio, including Wavelengths, Ethernet, Internet, Private Networks, Dark Fiber, LP FlexNet, Voice, Security Solutions, and other Managed Services. Additionally, customers will be able to utilize Lightpath services to connect to over 140 data centers, 7 cable landing stations, and all major cloud providers.  

Financial terms were not disclosed. The deal is expected to close in Q3.

"The addition United Fiber & Data is a natural extension of Lightpath's expansive Greater New York City Metropolitan fiber assets, increasing our ability to serve high-capacity customer needs into the Ashburn data center ecosystem and further enhancing our Manhattan metro coverage where we will serve nearly 1,500 enterprise and data center destinations, a 5x increase over the past 3 years," stated Chris Morley, CEO of Lightpath. "This represents a continuation of Lightpath's strategic investment thesis of creating critical fiber infrastructure in attractive and high growth markets for the benefit of our Enterprise, Hyperscale, and Wholesale customers."

Altice USA owns a 50.01% interest in Lightpath and Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners (MSIP) owns 49.99% of Lightpath.

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Apple powers Private Cloud Compute with its own servers

At its #WWDC24 event in Cupertino, Apple announced Private Cloud Compute, its in-house cloud intelligence system designed specifically for private AI processing. 

The idea is to extend Apple Intelligence from the user’s device to the cloud while preserving security and privacy.  Apple says this will enable user to access even larger server-based models than could be achieved on-device, while ensuring that data stays within its Private Cloud Compute infrastructure.

Apple’s Craig Federighi said Private Cloud Compute will be powered by custom servers built with Apple silicon.  He also noted that user data would not be used to train Apple’s AI models.

In addition, Apple confirmed that iOS18 will have SMS-via-satellite capabilities.

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IDC: Worldwide Public Cloud Services up 20% in 2023

According to new data from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Semiannual Public Cloud Services Tracker, global revenue for the public cloud services market reached $669.2 billion in 2023, marking a 19.9% increase compared to 2022.

"In large part due to end-user investment in AI, PaaS revenue growth continues to outpace the overall cloud market," said Adam Reeves, research director, PaaS for Developers of Modern and Edge Applications. "Both market share-leading vendors and smaller providers continue to release PaaS-delivered AI offerings. Vendors are focused on being strategic partners to their customers by delivering highly performant, developer-friendly, trustworthy, and secure offerings that help users deliver intelligent applications more efficiently."

Highlights

• In 2023, the largest source of public cloud services revenue was Software as a Service – Applications (SaaS – Applications), making up nearly 45% of the market total. 
• Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) was the second-largest revenue category with 19.9% of the total. Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Software as a Service – System Infrastructure Software (SaaS – SIS) accounted for 18.4% and 17.0% of the overall revenue, respectively. 
• Notably, PaaS and SaaS – SIS experienced the fastest year-over-year revenue growth.
• The leading providers of public cloud services maintained their positions in 2023 with the combined revenue of the top 5 public cloud service providers – Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, Salesforce Inc., Google, and Oracle – capturing 40.5% of the worldwide total. 
• With offerings in all four deployment categories, Microsoft remained in the top position in the overall public cloud services market with 16.8% share in 2023, followed by Amazon Web Services with 12.4% share.
• IDC forecasts worldwide public cloud services revenue will surpass $800 billion in 2024, an increase of 20.5% over 2023 with a similar increase expected in 2025. 
• While the annual rate of growth will slow slightly over the forecast period, the market is still forecast to deliver a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19.5% with worldwide revenues reaching $1.6 trillion in 2028.

https://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS52343224

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Nokia completes first call using 3GPP IVAS Codec

Nokia completed the first cellular call using the new 3GPP Immersive Voice and Audio Services (IVAS) codec.

The IVAS codec, which is part of the upcoming 5G Advanced standard, allows consumers to hear 3D spatial sound in real-time instead of today’s monophonic smartphone voice call experience. The 3GPP IVAS codec standard has been developed by a consortium of 13 companies under the framework of the IVAS codec public collaboration. Nokia has been a leader in these standardization efforts and has contributed major parts of the technology to the standard, including the development of a smartphone specific format for the IVAS standard.

The company described the call as "the biggest leap forward in the live voice calling experience since the introduction of monophonic telephony."

Nokia was able to successfully demonstrate the IVAS technology in a real-time call even though the technology has not yet been implemented in mobile networks. This first live call used Nokia’s proprietary Immersive Voice technology to achieve the experience over a public 5G network.

Pekka Lundmark, Nokia's President and CEO, held a live immersive audio and video call with Stefan Lindström, Finland's Ambassador of Digitalization and New Technologies.

Stefan Lindström, Finnish Ambassador of Digitalization and New Technologies, said: "The live immersive voice and audio experience enabled by IVAS improves the richness and quality of the call, and the three-dimensional sound experience makes interaction more lifelike and engaging, bringing a wealth of new benefits to personal and professional communication. Immersive communications technology will also take XR and metaverse interaction to the next level."

Pekka Lundmark, President and CEO of Nokia, said: "We have demonstrated the future of voice calls. This groundbreaking audio technology takes you to the caller’s environment creating a spatial and massively improved listening experience for voice and video calls, offering significant benefits for enterprise and industrial applications."

https://www.nokia.com

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HKBN to deploy Nokia's 25G PON fiber

Hong Kong Broadband Network Limited (HKBN) will deploy Nokia's 25G PON fiber solution to deliver 20 Gbps symmetrical broadband speeds for its users.

Nokia said its 25G PON, which is based on its Quillion chipset, allows HKBN to reuse its existing fiber broadband equipment.

William Yeung, HKBN Co-Owner, Executive Vice-chairman and Group CEO, said: “Since 2004, HKBN has been the market leader in introducing Hong Kong's first fiber-to-the-home broadband service. With an unwavering commitment to innovation, we have joined forces with Nokia to achieve a groundbreaking upgrade, proudly providing customers with a revolutionary 25Gbps broadband speed that meets their ever-increasing demands for network connectivity. Looking ahead, we will continue to stay at the forefront of technological advancements, investing resources to expand network coverage and upgrade infrastructure. This will enable more households and businesses to benefit from our exceptional and high-quality services.”          

Geert Heyninck, Vice President of Broadband Networks at Nokia, said: “Nokia’s technology enables HKBN to upgrade its existing fiber network quickly and efficiently, leveraging both passive and active assets. With Nokia's technology and HKBN 's citywide network, we're leading customers into a new era of seamless connectivity.”

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GSMA: MWC Barcelona has a €502 million impact on local economy

MWC Barcelona 2024, which attracted over 101,000 participants over four days in February, contributed €502 million to the Barcelona economy, according to an economic impact report released by the GSMA.

The 0.5 billion euros in economic impact is over twice that of the inaugural edition of MWC in Barcelona, which was held in 2006. This means that cumulatively the event’s total economic contribution to Barcelona has reached €6.3bn since 2006. 

MWC Barcelona 2024 in numbers: 

• 
  €502mn of economic impact generated 
• More than 9,200 part time jobs created 
• €6.3bn contributed to the Barcelona economy in total since 2006  
• More than 101,000 attendees from 205 countries and territories 
• More than 2,700 exhibitors, sponsors and partners 
• Over 59% of attendees representing industries adjacent to the core mobile ecosystem 
• Over 1,100 speakers and thought leaders, including over 40% female speakers

“Our contribution to the prosperity and economic opportunities of Barcelona is clear, and we are delighted and proud to be part of the success of this city which means so much to us. MWC and Barcelona is the perfect combination of innovation, collaboration and mutual success – without the support of Host City Partners and the people of Barcelona, we wouldn’t be able to put on such a successful event, year after year. We are so grateful for this public-private partnership,” said GSMA Ltd.’s CEO, John Hoffman.  

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Ultra Accelerator Link group aims for open interconnect standard

AMD, Broadcom, Cisco, Google, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), Intel, Meta and Microsoft agreed to develop an open industry standard for interconnecting AI accelerators.

The Ultra Accelerator Link (UALink) group will develop a specification to define a high-speed, low-latency interconnect for scale-up communications between accelerators and switches in AI computing pods.

The 1.0 specification will enable the connection of up to 1,024 accelerators within an AI computing pod and allow for direct loads and stores between the memory attached to accelerators, such as GPUs, in the pod. The UALink Promoter Group has formed the UALink Consortium and expects it to be incorporated in Q3 of 2024. The 1.0 specification is expected to be available in Q3 of 2024 and made available to companies that join the Ultra Accelerator Link (UALink) Consortium.

Ultra Accelerator Link Overview

• The group plans to launch the organization and release the 1.0 spec for members in 3Q24
• An update to increase the bandwidth will be released in 4Q24
• The interconnect is for GPU-to-GPU communication
• Direct load, store, and atomic operations between Al Accelerators (i.e. GPUs)
• Low latency, high bandwidth fabric for 100's of accelerators
• The initial UALink spec taps into the experience of the Promoters developing and deploying a broad range of accelerators and leverages the proven Infinity Fabric protocol

“The work being done by the companies in UALink to create an open, high performance and scalable accelerator fabric is critical for the future of AI. Together, we bring extensive experience in creating large scale AI and high-performance computing solutions that are based on open-standards, efficiency and robust ecosystem support. AMD is committed to contributing our expertise, technologies and capabilities to the group as well as other open industry efforts to advance all aspects of AI technology and solidify an open AI ecosystem.” – Forrest Norrod, executive vice president and general manager, Data Center Solutions Group, AMD

"Broadcom is proud to be one of the founding members of the UALink Consortium, building upon our long-term commitment to increase large-scale AI technology implementation into data centers. It is critical to support an open ecosystem collaboration to enable scale-up networks with a variety of high-speed and low-latency solutions.” – Jas Tremblay, vice president and general manager of the Data Center Solutions Group, Broadcom

“Ultra-high performance interconnects are becoming increasingly important as AI workloads continue to grow in size and scope. Together, we are committed to developing the UALink which will be a scalable and open solution available to help overcome some of the challenges with building AI supercomputers.” – Martin Lund, Executive Vice President, Common Hardware Group, Cisco

“Open standards are important to HPE as we innovate in supercomputing and increase access to systems. As a founding member of the UALink industry consortium, we look forward to contributing our expertise in high performance networking and systems, and collaborating to develop a new open standard for accelerator interconnects for the next generation of supercomputing.” – Trish Damkroger, senior vice president and general manager, HPC & AI Infrastructure Solutions, HPE

“UALink is an important milestone for the advancement of Artificial Intelligence computing. Intel is proud to co-lead this new technology and bring our expertise in creating an open, dynamic AI ecosystem. As a founding member of this new consortium, we look forward to a new wave of industry innovation and customer value delivered though the UALink standard. This initiative extends Intel’s commitment to AI connectivity innovation that includes leadership roles in the Ultra Ethernet Consortium and other standards bodies.” – Sachin Katti, SVP & GM, Network and Edge Group, Intel Corporation

“In a very short period of time, the technology industry has embraced challenges that AI and HPC have uncovered. Interconnecting accelerators like GPUs requires a holistic perspective when seeking to improve efficiencies and performance. At UEC, we believe that UALink’s scale-up approach to solving pod cluster issues complements our own scale-out protocol, and we are looking forward to collaborating together on creating an open, ecosystem-friendly, industry-wide solution that addresses both kinds of needs in the future.” – J Metz, Ph.D., Chair, Ultra Ethernet Consortium

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Alphawave Semi collaborates with Arm on compute chiplets

Alphawave Semi is working with Arm to develop an advanced compute chiplet based on Arm Neoverse Compute Subsystems (CSS) for systems used in artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML), high-performance computing (HPC), data centers, and 5G/6G networking infrastructure. This development follows Alphawave Semi's entry into the Arm Total Design ecosystem last year, which focuses on creating custom silicon solutions using Arm Neoverse CSS.

The chiplet-based custom silicon design platform from Alphawave Semi incorporates IO extension chiplets, memory chiplets, compute chiplets, and their ultra-high-speed connectivity IP and advanced packaging capabilities. The new compute chiplet features an Arm Neoverse N3 CPU core cluster and the Arm Coherent Mesh Network (CMN) for efficient, scalable performance. This technology, available on industry-leading process nodes, helps customers accelerate the development and reduce the time-to-market of new custom system-on-chip (SoC) technologies, supporting high-performance digital infrastructure deployment.

Alphawave Semi, in collaboration with Arm, leverages advanced packaging techniques and a portfolio of connectivity technologies, including PCIe Gen 6.0 and 7.0, Universal Chiplet Express (UCIe), 112/224G Ethernet, and HBM subsystems. This integration ensures robust performance and flexibility for Arm-based compute chiplets, addressing the needs of next-generation HPC, data center, AI/ML, and 5G/6G infrastructure while accelerating customer time-to-market.

Key Points:

• Alphawave Semi and Arm have partnered to develop an advanced compute chiplet.
• The chiplet is based on Arm Neoverse Compute Subsystems (CSS).
• Applications include AI/ML, HPC, data centers, and 5G/6G networking infrastructure.
• The chiplet platform includes IO extension, memory, and compute chiplets, with high-speed connectivity and advanced packaging.
• Features Arm Neoverse N3 CPU core cluster and Arm Coherent Mesh Network (CMN).
• Supports faster development and reduced time-to-market for custom SoC technologies.
• Incorporates advanced connectivity technologies like PCIe Gen 6.0/7.0, UCIe, 112/224G Ethernet, and HBM subsystems.

https://awavesemi.com/press-release/alphawave-semi-collaborates-with-arm-on-high-performance-compute-chiplet/

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Rapidus and IBM target 2nm chiplet packaging technology

Rapidus, headquartered in Tokyo, and IBM  announced a partnership focused on 2nm chiplet packaging technology. Rapidus will leverage IBM's advanced semiconductor packaging technology. This partnership is part of a broader international collaboration under the framework of the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO).

As part of this partnership, Rapidus engineers will work alongside IBM at its North American packaging research and development facility. IBM, with its extensive experience in high-performance semiconductor packaging and collaborations with Japanese semiconductor manufacturers, will provide the expertise and support needed for Rapidus to expedite the development of advanced chiplet packaging technology. Rapidus aims to solidify Japan's role in the semiconductor supply chain through this international collaboration.

Both Rapidus President Atsuyoshi Koike and IBM Senior Vice President and Research Director Darío Gil expressed their enthusiasm for this partnership. Koike emphasized the importance of this collaboration in enhancing Japan's semiconductor packaging capabilities, while Gil highlighted IBM's commitment to advancing chiplet technology and supporting new use cases and semiconductor talent development through this collaboration.

Key Points:

• Rapidus and IBM have partnered to develop 2nm chiplet packaging technology.
• The collaboration is part of NEDO's international framework for semiconductor technology development.
• Rapidus engineers will work at IBM's North American R&D facility.
• IBM brings extensive experience in high-performance semiconductor packaging.
• The partnership aims to enhance Japan's role in the global semiconductor supply chain.

https://jp.newsroom.ibm.com/2024-06-04-Rapidus-and-IBM-Expand-Collaboration-to-Chiplet-Packaging-Technology-for-2nm-Generation-Semiconductors

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Joint ASML-imec Lab to accelerate High NA EUV for chip foundries

ASML and imec (Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre), a renowned research and development organization based in Leuven, Belgium, inaugurated a new High NA EUV Lithography Lab in Veldhoven, the Netherlands. 

The new facility is equipped with a prototype High NA EUV scanner (TWINSCAN EXE:5000) and surrounding processing and metrology tools.

The opening of the joint ASML-imec High NA EUV Lab marks a significant milestone in preparing High Numerical Aperture (NA) Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) technology for high-volume manufacturing, projected for the 2025-2026 timeframe. This facility provides leading-edge logic and memory chip manufacturers access to a High NA EUV prototype scanner and essential tools, aiding them in de-risking the technology and developing private use cases before the scanners are operational in their production fabs. Additionally, the broader ecosystem of material and equipment suppliers, as well as participants in imec’s High NA patterning program, will also have access.

The readiness of the 0.55 NA EUV scanner and supporting infrastructure followed extensive preparations starting in 2018. ASML and ZEISS developed specific solutions for the High NA EUV scanner, addressing challenges such as the source, optics, lens anamorphicity, stitching, reduced depth of focus, edge placement errors, and overlay accuracy. Concurrently, imec and its extended supplier network prepared the patterning ecosystem, developing advanced materials, photomasks, metrology and inspection techniques, imaging strategies, optical proximity correction, and integrated patterning and etch techniques. These efforts culminated in the first successful exposures of 10 nm dense lines printed on metal oxide resists using the prototype scanner.

Key Points:

• ASML and imec open High NA EUV Lab to prepare for high-volume manufacturing.
• High NA EUV anticipated for production use in 2025-2026.
• Lab provides access to prototype scanner and tools for chip manufacturers.
• Broader ecosystem of material and equipment suppliers also gain access.
• Preparations since 2018 involved ASML, ZEISS, and imec's extended network.
• First successful exposures of 10 nm dense lines achieved with prototype scanner.

https://www.asml.com/en/news/press-releases/2024/asml-imec-opening-high-na-euv-lithography-lab

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Italy's Fastweb sells its stake in FiberCop to KKR

Fastweb, which is the Italian subsidiary of Swisscom, agreed to sell its full 4.5% stake in FiberCop to KKR, the U.S.-based investment firm. The deal was valued at EUR 438.7 million, a value in line with the pro rata price paid by KKR to TIM for its stake. The transaction remains subject to the completion of the NetCo transazioni by KKR, closing is expected in Q3 2024.

Fastweb has been a shareholder in FiberCop – a company established by the Italian telecommunications company TIM, the American investment firm KKR to accelerate the development of fibre infrastructures in Italy – since its inception in 2021. The transaction has no effect on the wholesale agreement between Fastweb and FiberCop.

Fastweb said it remains fully committed to its mission of driving innovation and connectivity in the country through investments in key telecommunications infrastructures. Fastweb will therefore keep making relevant investments to increase the coverage of its proprietary, end-to-end controlled fiber network and will continue to be a key provider of wholesale services to third parties, ensuring the availability of robust and competitive offerings in the market.

The transaction remains subject to the completion of the NetCo transition by KKR, closing of the transaction is expected in Q3 2024.

• In May 2024, the European Commission has approved unconditionally the acquisition by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR), a U.S.-based investment group, of NetCo., which comprises the primary and backbone fixed-line network business of Telecom Italia S.p.A. (‘TIM’) as well as FiberCop S.p.A (‘FiberCop’). FiberCop is a joint venture between TIM and KKR comprising TIM’s secondary fixed-line network. The deal, which was announced in November 2023, is valued at EUR 22 billion.

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Indonesia's Telin builds Cable Landing Station for Bifrost cable

Telin hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for the Cable Landing Station (CLS) near Pantai Mutiara, a critical component of the Bifrost Cable System. 

The ambitious Bifrost cable will connect Singapore and North America through Indonesia, enhancing connectivity across the Java Sea and the Celebes Sea. The construction of the CLS marks a significant milestone in the project, which has been under development since March 2021, in collaboration with Keppel, Meta, and Google.

The Bifrost Cable System aims to address the increasing connectivity needs of Southeast Asia, offering seamless direct connectivity to North America, low latency, and network diversity. The project is poised to significantly bolster Indonesia’s international connectivity and support the region's digital transformation and economic growth.

Bifrost highlights

• CLS Location: Near Pantai Mutiara, Indonesia.
• Partners: Telin, Keppel, Meta, and Google.
• Route: Connects Singapore, Indonesia, and North America via the Java and Celebes Seas.
• Project Start: March 2021.
• Strategic Gateways: Manado as the second international gateway after Batam.
• System Length: Approximately 16,000 kilometers.
• Landing Points: Guam, Indonesia, California, and Singapore.
• Benefits: Enhanced connectivity, low latency, network diversity, and capacity resiliency for businesses and consumers.

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Deep Blue One links French Guiana, Suriname, Guyana, T&T

Digicel Group announced the activation of its subsea fibre cable, Deep Blue One, linking the Caribbean and South America with landings in French Guiana, Suriname, Guyana and Trinidad & Tobago.

Marcelo Cataldo, Digicel Group’s Chief Executive Officer said, “Subsea fibre has long been the backbone of global connectivity, and Deep Blue One is set to serve as a catalyst for the next wave of economic development in the region. At Digicel, our focus has always been on keeping our customers connected to the people and things that matter most; driving economic development in the countries we serve is a key part of that. This is an exciting milestone for us, and we are committed to unlocking new opportunities for growth and innovation across the region.”

https://www.digicelgroup.com/en/news

• In 2021, Orange announced a financial investment to extend Digicel’s forthcoming Deep Blue One submarine network from Trinidad to French Guiana. The 2,000 km cable installation for Deep Blue One has five branching units, plus the capability to provide connectivity for offshore rigs, with anywhere from two to eight fibre pairs in each segment, offering a minimum of 12 Tbps capacity per fibre pair. The French Guiana leg to Trinidad is 1,600 km long.  In addition, Orange will act as landing party in Cayenne for the French Guiana branch and will operate the Cable landing station on behalf of Digicel while its subsidiary Orange Marine, will be in charge of laying the cable. Orange notes that Deep Blue One will complement its existing, fully-owned 1746 km long “Kanawa” cable, which was commissioned early 2019 as well as Orange’s existing networks based on Americas-2, ECFS, CBUS. Digicel noted that this extension of Deep Blue One will complement its existing Southern Caribbean Fiber network, which has approximately 3,000 km of submarine cable connecting 20 islands in the Eastern Caribbean.

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