Nutanix Launches Kubernetes Platform-as-a-Service

Nutanix introduced its Karbon Platform Services, a Kubernetes-based multicloud Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) with automated system-managed security, to accelerate the development and deployment of microservices-based apps across any cloud.

The announcement marks a significant milestone for Nutanix as it looks to expand its offerings aimed at accelerating enterprises’ cloud native journeys.

“IT resources are the engines that power digital enterprises. But as a company scales, adopts hybrid cloud, and manages an increasing number of applications, supporting engineering needs can be challenging for IT,” said Rajiv Mirani, CTO at Nutanix. “With Karbon Platform Services, we aim to simplify application development and orchestration while streamlining the relationship between IT and development teams to support our customers’ DevOps strategies.”

Highlights for Nutanix Karbon Platform Services:

• Rich Managed Services: including  managed Kubernetes (K8s-aaS), Containers-as-a-Service (CaaS), serverless Functions, AI, message bus, ingress, service mesh, observability, and security services.
• SaaS-based Multicloud Operations: Ops teams benefit from simplified operations and uniform application, data, and security lifecycle management, regardless of the underlying cloud, at scale leveraging the SaaS-based infrastructure lifecycle manager. Developers benefit from the rich platform services to write applications once and deploy in the cloud through the SaaS-based application lifecycle manager.
• Extensible Hybrid PaaS: Karbon Platform Services provides cross-cloud data mobility and hybrid application management through transparent, WAN-optimized data pipelines and extensible data interfaces. This feature gives enterprises the flexibility to bring their own services and leverage the broader Kubernetes ecosystem.
• Enhanced Security Posture: With Karbon Platform Services, IT operations teams can leverage a consistent security and API model with unified observability for data and applications across cloud. It provides automated, system-managed security with built-in multi-tenancy and role-based access control (RBAC) for the rich services.

https://www.nutanix.com/products/karbon-platform-services

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Facebook and AT&T join North Carolina's Wireless Testbed

AT&T, CommScope, Facebook, Keysight, and NI are the first contributing equipment partners supporting the Platforms for Advanced Wireless Research (PAWR) program, which is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and a consortium of 35 leading wireless companies and associations.

AERPAW, which stands for Aerial Experimentation and Research Platform for Advanced Wireless, was named as the third PAWR testbed in 2019 and is designed with a focus on wireless communications for unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and ground mobility. The AERPAW team is now in the first phase of testbed deployment and expects to make the platform available for early research at the beginning of 2021.

PAWR partners have so far contributed the following to the AERPAW platform:

• AT&T: Data backhaul support
• CommScope: Wireless antennas and fixed node enclosures
• Facebook Connectivity: Terragraph nodes supporting millimeter wave communications
• Keysight: Network test equipment including a channel emulator and RF sensors
• NI: Software defined radios for experimentation and spectrum compliance monitoring

“We appreciate the partnership of so many industry leaders in our Consortium and recognize that the technology they contribute to the PAWR program represents the state of the art in wireless networking,” said Joe Kochan, Principal Investigator and Project Director for the PAWR Project Office. “For the AERPAW testbed, these contributions will make it possible for advanced research into novel drone-based communications and will drive innovation in wireless deployments through 5G and beyond.”

http://www.advancedwireless.org

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IDC: Worldwide server market grew 19.8% YOY in Q2

Vendor revenue in the worldwide server market grew 19.8% year over year to $24.0 billion during the second quarter of 2020 (2Q20) while worldwide server shipments grew 18.4% year over year to nearly 3.2 million units in 2Q20, according to IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Server Tracker.

"Global demand for enterprise servers was strong during the second quarter of 2020," said Paul Maguranis, senior research analyst, Infrastructure Platforms and Technologies at IDC. "We certainly see areas of reduced spending, but this was offset by investments made by large cloud builders and enterprises targeting solutions that support shifting infrastructure needs caused by the global pandemic. Investments in Asia/Pacific were also particularly strong, growing 31% year over year."

Some highlights from IDC:

• In terms of server class, volume server revenue was up 22.1% to $18.7 billion, while midrange server revenue declined 0.4% to about $3.3 billion and high-end systems grew by 44.1% to $1.9 billion.
• The worldwide server market ended 2Q20 with a statistical tie* between, and Dell Technologies for the number 1 position. HPE/New H3C Group finished the quarter with market share of 14.9% while Dell Technologies captured a 13.9% share of worldwide revenues. Inspur/Inspur Power Systems took third place with 10.5% share and impressive 77% year-over-year growth. Lenovo and IBM tied* for fourth with 6.1% and 6.0% share, respectively.
• On a geographic basis, the Asia/Pacific region performed very well this quarter growing at a combined 31.%. China outperformed the competitive set, growing 39.8% year over year, followed by Japan at 24.9%, and the rest of the region (Asia/Pacific excluding Japan and China) at 13.4%. The United States also grew 25.0% year over year while Canada declined 11.2%. Latin America was able to grow 15.6% while Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) declined 5.8% year over year.
• Revenue generated from x86 servers decreased 17.4% in 2Q20 to $21.6 billion. Non-x86 servers grew revenues 47.4% year over year to around $2.4 billion.

https://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS46838120

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ADTRAN introduces MetNet 60GHz fixed wireless CPE

ADTRAN introduced its new MetNet 60GHz high-powered version 2 (HPv2) CPE for extending gigabit symmetric services beyond the reach of the existing fiber network, whether it is a residential broadband, enterprise, backhaul or smart city use case.

The ADTRAN MetNet 60GHz HPv2 CPE, which was developed using technology built by Cambridge Communication Systems (CCS), uses a 90-degree phased array antenna that can now extend gigabit symmetric services out to 500 meters beyond the mesh nodes.

ADTRAN said its MetNet 60GHz solution, inclusive of both CPE and mesh nodes, delivers on the promise of a robust, self-optimizing millimeter wave (mmWave) gigabit fixed wireless network. It is designed to reach residential, campus, smart city and business customers, as well as support backhaul/midhaul small cell densification initiatives. The next-generation CPE significantly reduces the cost per subscriber connected, offering a small form factor while retaining maximum link performance. The mesh nodes automatically form multi-gigabit backhaul links to neighboring nodes, which enables multi-gigabit drop capability at the mesh node or to aggregate the subtending gigabit CPE. Additionally, mesh and CPE radios can be easily added without RF engineering to further simplify network scalability. Multiple mesh nodes can be connected into the core network at different 1GE or 10GE fiber point of presence locations to offer additional network capacity and improved resiliency.

“The ADTRAN MetNet 60GHz solution is an innovative self-configuring, self-optimizing and self-healing solution that makes it simple to deploy as well as maintain. This affords new broadband service entrants with lean operations and provides those with limited wireless expertise the ability to rapidly and cost-effectively deploy an ultra-low latency, gigabit-capable access network,” said Michael Kletchko, Head of Market Development for Fixed Wireless Access Solutions at ADTRAN. “As operators look to build their best broadband network, ADTRAN is helping to eliminate the digital divide by making gigabit services available over any infrastructure.”

http://www.adtran.com/fixedwireless

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KT deploys Infinera for Korea nationwide backbone

KT, South Korea’s largest telecom company, has deployed the Infinera 7300 Series Multi-haul Transport Platform in its national backbone network to support a nationwide rollout of 5G services.

Infinera said its 7300 platform was selected to provide a scalable core network solution optimized for the performance requirements of bandwidth-intensive end-user services such as 5G. Infinera’s solution for KT includes support for secure and reliable 200G transmission across KT’s nationwide core infrastructure. The 7300 coherent packet optical transport system offers a compelling pay-as-you-grow approach to network scaling. This model benefits KT by lowering initial costs, reducing equipment sparing costs, and providing the foundation for cost-effective scalability.

“Infinera’s advanced optical solutions enable KT to efficiently use its fiber and optimize the transmission of optical channels, lowering the total cost of network ownership, and helps KT maintain its global leadership in 5G,” said Nick Walden, Senior Vice President, Worldwide Sales at Infinera. “With Infinera’s innovative solutions, operators like KT pave the way for an agile and scalable infrastructure to support significant increases in bandwidth.”

Infinera's local partner for the project was Daesung Infotech.

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MACOM demos optical product set

At this week's China International Optoelectronic Exposition (CIOE) 2020 event in Shenzhen, MACOM is demonstrating its latest optical innovations:

10G Combo Passive Optical Network (PON) OLT Chipset - this demonstration will showcase MACOM’s 10G OLT product performance for XGS-Combo PON OLT applications. Featuring MACOM’s new MALD-02186 Combo Chip, MATA-02239 TIA and APD10B/ES APD, the demonstration will showcase best-in-class burst mode timing and receiver sensitivity.

2km 5G Front Haul Link Demo - this demonstration will showcase MACOM’s new Fabry-Perot (FP) laser along with a MACOM 25 Gbps Multi-Rate Dual CDR with DML laser driver and TIA, for distances up to 2 kilometers. The demonstration highlights the robust performance of the 25Gbps link based on MACOM’s 25G FP laser, laser driver/CDRs and TIA over a wide temperature range.

10km 5G Optical Link Demo -this demonstration showcases MACOM’s new 25G laser technology for 5G front haul and mid haul applications including CWDM6, BiDi, MWDM12 and LWDM12. It includes MACOM’s new 25G laser family with a 25 Gbps Multi-Rate Dual CDR with DML laser driver and TIA.

50G PAM4 5G Mid-Haul Optical Link Demo - this demonstration showcases a 5G wireless mid-haul link over 10 kilometers of fiber with 50Gb/s PAM4 DSP technology, Ethernet security and a DML laser. It features a full suite of MACOM ICs including the PRISM-50 DSP, a high-speed laser, a 56Gbps TIA and a 256Gbps PIN photodetector enabling a complete end-to-end optical link. MACOM’s ES200 MACSec PHY is used to source a 50GE traffic stream, with forward error correction and Ethernet security during the live demonstration.

Datacenter, 200G/400G Analog Chipset Solution - this demonstration highlights MACOM’s high-speed analog ‘4-device chipset’ in end-customer modules that are compliant with the recently released 200/400Gbps Open Eye MSA standards for multimode applications. The chipset will include MACOM’s driver, TIA, and transmit and receive CDRs. It will feature a complete active optical cable solution as well as an evaluation board showcasing performance over 100 meters of multimode fiber.

http://www.macom.com

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CrowdStrike expands support for AWS workloads and containers

CrowdStrike, which offers cloud-delivered endpoint protection, is expanding its support for Amazon Web Services (AWS) with new capabilities that deliver integrations for the compute services and cloud services categories.

“As security becomes an earlier part of the development cycle, development teams must be equipped with solutions that allow them to quickly and effectively build from the ground up the strength and protection needed for the evolving threat landscape,” said Amol Kulkarni, chief product officer of CrowdStrike. “Through our growing integrations with our strong collaboration with AWS, CrowdStrike is providing security teams the scale and tools needed to adopt, innovate and secure technology across any workload with speed and efficiency, making it easier to address security issues in earlier phases of development and providing better, holistic protection and uptime for end users.”

Compute Services

• AWS Graviton - CrowdStrike provides cloud-native workload protection for Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) A1 instances powered by AWS Graviton Processors, as well as the C6g, M6g and R6g Amazon EC2 instances based on the new Graviton2 Processors. With the Falcon lightweight agent, customers receive the same seamless protection and visibility across different compute instance types with minimal impact on runtime performance. CrowdStrike Falcon secures Linux workloads running on ARM with no requirements for reboots, “scan storms” or invasive signature updates.
• Amazon WorkSpaces - Amazon WorkSpaces is a fully managed, Desktop-as-a-Service (DaaS) solution that provides users with either Windows or Linux desktops in just a few minutes and can quickly scale to provide thousands of desktops to workers across the globe. CrowdStrike brings its industry-leading prevention and detection capabilities that include machine learning (ML), exploit prevention and behavioral detections to Amazon WorkSpaces, supporting remote workforces without affecting business continuity.
• Bottlerocket - Bottlerocket, a new Linux-based open source operating system purpose-built by AWS for running containers on virtual machines or bare metal hosts and designed to improve security and operations of organizations’ containerized infrastructure. CrowdStrike Falcon will provide run-time protection, unparalleled endpoint detection and response (EDR) visibility and container awareness, enabling customers to further secure their applications running on Bottlerocket.

Cloud Services

• AWS PrivateLink - AWS PrivateLink provides private connectivity between VPCs, AWS services, and on-premises applications on AWS, without the data having to go over the Internet. 
• AWS Control Tower - CrowdStrike Falcon Workload Protection seamlessly integrates with AWS Control Tower via API, delivering comprehensive protection and visibility across all Amazon EC2 resources. 

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Samsung wins huge 5G contract with Verizon

Samsung Electronics America has won a contract valued at approximately US$6.6 billion (7.9 trillion won) to supply network infrastructure to Verizon. The announcement was made in a financial disclosure posted by Samsung in Korea. The contract runs through 2025.

The contract is likely the largest 5G infrastructure deal to date for Samsung and likely comes as a loss to one of Verizon's European suppliers.

http://dart.fss.or.kr/dsaf001/main.do?rcpNo=20200907800091

Samsung offers 5G NR access unit for 28GHz

Tuesday, October 22, 2019  Samsung  

Samsung Electronics introduced a new 5G New Radio (NR) Access Unit (AU) supporting 28GHz spectrum and including a radio, antenna and digital unit in one compact box. The product is powered by Samsung’s in-house 5G RF chipset (announced earlier this year here and the company’s first 5G NR system-on-a-chip (SoC) modem (S9100).

Earlier this year, Samsung Networks successfully deployed its first-generation 5G NR radio base stations in the U.S. with separated radio and digital units (RU-DU separated radio). By integrating these RU-DU technologies with 1,024 antenna elements for mmWave spectrum into one compact box, the new AU can be more easily installed on streetlight poles and building walls, providing operators a faster, simplified way to build out 5G networks.

The AU can deliver 10Gbps throughput, enabling operators to deliver higher 5G NR speeds to more users. Additionally, improved cost-efficiency is achieved by eliminating the need for ‘fronthaul’ fiber connections, thanks to the AU’s integration of the digital unit. Samsung is currently shipping the new AU to a leading U.S. Tier One mobile network operator.

Samsung claims biggest share of Korea's 5G rollout

Tuesday, April 09, 2019  5G, Korea, Samsung  

Equipment from Samsung Electronics Co. represents the largest share the recent 5G network rollouts from all three mobile operates in Korea.

Korean operators have been transmitting 5G signals in Seoul and metropolitan areas since December 1, 2018 using 5G base station radios and 5G core solutions from Samsung’s Networks Business unit.

Specifically, Samsung has supplied 5G core solutions and more than 53,000 5G radio base stations to Korea’s three operators. The deployments used Samsung’s 5G Massive-MIMO Unit (MMU) radio base station in the 3.5GHz spectrum. The ability to re-use existing sites has been key to enabling the Korean operators to deploy a 5G network consisting of tens of thousands of radios within just a few months since the December 1st launch.

The virtualized 5G core solutions, provided to all three Korean operators for their 5G commercial launch, support both legacy 4G networks and next-generation 5G services in Non-Standalone (NSA) mode. Samsung will support the migration to Standalone (SA) mode through a future software upgrade. Samsung’s solution implements many of the key technologies of 5G networks, such as Control and User Plane Separation (CUPS), which are essential for network operators to scale their networks and support the new services enabled by 5G technology.

“Korea is one of the first markets in the world in which the 5G experience is opening up for consumers, and we’re thrilled to play a key role in the nationwide rollout of 5G with our unparalleled 5G network solutions,” said Paul Kyungwhoon Cheun, Executive Vice President and Head of Networks Business at Samsung Electronics. “As a longstanding innovator in the 5G space and one of the few vendors offering a full end-to-end 5G solution, Samsung is at the forefront of pushing the limits of 5G and beyond.”

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Delta builds 12.8Tbps switch with on-board optical modules

Taiwan-based Delta worked with Microsoft and the Consortium for On Board Optics (COBO) to develop a proof of concept (POC) open networking switch featuring 12.8Tbps bandwidth capacity as well as the seamless integration of five different optical module form factors in a single 4U rack.

The design features sixteen ports based on the COBO standard, which boasts up to 800 Gbps transmission speed (16 x 50Gbps) and energy savings as high as 30% when compared to similar peer technologies. The system also includes two 400G QSFP-DD, two 400G OSFP and sixty four 100G QSFP ports. Intel's 8-core 2.0 GHz D-1548 Broadwell high-performance chip sits at the core of the Delta COBO switch.

Mr. Brad Booth, Microsoft's Principal Network Architect and COBO's President, said, "We are pleased to see Delta's expertise in high-efficiency power electronics and in networking systems. Being capable of integrating COBO and other form factors into a single platform has been an integral contribution to this POC project to enable end users to perform hands-on evaluation and testing. Cloud data centers will require the support of networking systems featuring increased transmission speeds and low carbon footprint, and COBO represents a prime opportunity to deliver on these essential requirements."

Mr. Victor Cheng, Delta's Senior Vice President and General Manager of its Information & Communications Technology Business Group, said, "With the development of this highly innovative POC COBO open networking switch, we have completed the first phase of a new chapter in the successful collaboration story with our long-time partner Microsoft. The promising energy savings offered by the COBO optical form factor standard align perfectly with Delta's long-term commitment to energy conservation and lower CO2 emissions, and therefore, we look forward to cooperating with Microsoft and COBO to accelerate the growth of the 5G megatrend with this inventive technology."

Delta is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner and Azure Cloud Solution Provider.

https://www.deltaww.com/news/pressDetail.aspx?secID=3&pID=1&typeID=2&itemID=12998&tid=0&hl=en-US

https://www.onboardoptics.org/

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FCC: Cost to replace Huawei and ZTE is $1.8 billion

The FCC estimates it will cost $1.837 billion to remove and replace Huawei and ZTE equipment from U.S. telecommunications networks that receive support from the federal Universal Service Fund.

“It is a top priority of our nation and this Commission to promote the security of our country’s communications networks.  That’s why we sought comprehensive information from U.S. carriers about equipment and services from untrusted vendors that have already been installed in our networks.  Today’s announcement marks a critical milestone in our ongoing commitment to secure our networks,” said FCC Chairman Ajit Pai.  “By identifying the presence of insecure equipment and services in our networks, we can now work to ensure that these networks—especially those of small and rural carriers—rely on infrastructure from trusted vendors.  I once again strongly urge Congress to appropriate funding to reimburse carriers for replacing any equipment or services determined to be a national security threat so that we can protect our networks and the myriad parts of our economy and society that rely upon them.”

The list of eligible telecommunications carriers with existing Huawei and ZTE equipment and services:

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Orange launches 5G in Spain

Orange activated its commercial 5G service in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Sevilla y Málaga.

Ericsson confirmed that Orange is using its 5G Radio Access Network (RAN) and Core products and solutions in Madrid and Barcelona. Ericsson’s initial 5G deployments in Madrid and Barcelona will be followed by other locations under a four-year partnership to help Orange Spain develop its 5G offering across Spain. Operating on 3.6GHz spectrum, the 5G network in Madrid and Barcelona is powered by the Ericsson Radio System (Baseband 6648 and AIR 6488 antenna), delivering Massive MIMO, a key technology that significantly increases network capacity and spectral efficiency.

Ericsson also supplies Orange Spain with a 5G Evolved Packet Core to support 5G New Radio non-standalone (NSA), including control plane, user plane and policy network functions. These are all parts of the Ericsson Cloud Core portfolio.

Arun Bansal, President of Ericsson Europe and Latin America, says: “Ericsson’s 5G technology provides faster networks, much better mobile broadband experiences to end users and gives mobile networks greater innovation capabilities to meet future demands. Our core and radio portfolios are instrumental in providing a sustainable platform for innovation and economic growth in Spain. Ericsson is thrilled to partner with Orange Spain to help them capture the opportunities that 5G and related technologies will bring to their subscribers and to industries.”

Ericsson currently has 108 commercial 5G agreements and contracts with unique communications service providers, of which 58 are publicly announced 5G deals, including 60 live commercial 5G networks.

http://blog.orange.es/destacamos/orange-lanza-su-red-5g-en-madrid-barcelona-valencia-sevilla-y-malaga/?_ga=2.19251455.698697213.1599502386-1238123958.1599502386
https://www.ericsson.com/en/press-releases/2020/9/orange-launches-ericsson-powered-5g-in-spain

Telefónica activates 5G across Spain

Tuesday, September 01, 2020  5G, Spain, Telefonica  

Telefónica switched on its 5G network in Spain.

Telefónica is promising to bring 5G to 75% of the Spanish population by the end of the year.

The first phase of the rollout combines NSA (non-standalone) 5G and DSS (Dynamic Spectrum Sharing) using the 3.5 GHz band (the only 5G band frequency already licensed to operators) and the mid-band (1800-2100 MHz). The second phase will bring SA (standalone) 5G once the technology is fully standardized.

The new deployments will take place in tandem with a gradual shut-down of the 2G and 3G networks, which is slated for 2025. Telefónica also expects to have replaced 100% of its old copper network with fiber by 2025.

The announcement was made by José María Álvarez-Pallete, Telefónica’s Executive Chairman, who stressed that “the launch of our 5G network constitutes a leap forward towards the hyperconnectivity that will change the future of Spain”. The switching on of Telefónica’s 5G network comes after Álvarez-Pallete confirmed Telefónica’s commitment to promote the complete digitisation of the country last July. “It’s 5G for everyone, without any exceptions. In all the autonomous communities. Telefónica will accelerate the digitisation of SMEs, the public administrations and the general public with this initiative. “Like fibre and like so many other great things, 5G is Telefónica”, explained the company’s chief executive.

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TDC activates 5G in Denmark with Ericsson

TDC activated its commercial 5G network across Denmark.  TDC is using the 3.5GHz spectrum band. The launch includes the major Danish cities of Copenhagen, Odense, Aarhus and Helsingør. Ericsson is the network vendor.

Ericsson was announced as TDC’s 5G radio and core provider in March 2019. Since September 2019, Ericsson has also operated TDC’s mobile network with Ericsson Operations Engine.

Ericsson’s 5G partnership with TDC Denmark includes Radio Access Network (RAN) products and solutions from Ericsson Radio System and core solutions from Ericsson’s 5G Core portfolio.

Site deployment of Ericsson 5G products and solutions got underway in October 2019.  Since then, almost 3,000 base station sites have been equipped with Ericsson’s 5G technology throughout Denmark, amounting to more than 100 sites per week. On one day alone, Ericsson field professionals equipped 35 sites.

Jenny Lindqvist, Head of Northern and Central Europe, Ericsson, says: “We have worked very closely with TDC to rapidly meet their 5G deployment needs. 5G will deliver huge benefits for both consumers and industries in Denmark. Our Innovation Hub – a joint TDC and Ericsson team driving innovation and new business opportunities related to 5G – will play an important role in this. It has already resulted in deploying the first industrial 5G network in Denmark with Grundfos, as well as developing new opportunities related to 5G within key industries such as manufacturing, healthcare, media and entertainment.”

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Deutsche Telekom boosts mobile network in Germany

Deutsche Telekom upgraded 5,300 mobile sites across Germany in Q2, including the construction of 82 new sites, and the addition of 5G to 4,700 sites.

Deutsche Telekom's LTE network now covers 97% of the German population.

"We are pushing the pace with the mobile network expansion," says Walter Goldenits, Managing Director Technology at Telekom Deutschland. “We are planning over 1,500 completely new cell phone locations this year. In addition, we will increase the mobile communications capacities for our customers at thousands of other locations through expansion measures. As part of these massive expansion activities, we are also bringing 5G further to Germany. In mid-June, Telekom ignited the 5G boost for Germany. This means that 40 million people can already use 5G."

https://www.telekom.com/de/medien/medieninformationen/detail/telekom-erweitert-kapazitaet-an-5-300-mobilfunk-standorten-607302

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SCMP: Huawei seeks to raise fresh funds from employees

Huawei has launched an internal funding program that is selling virtual shares to employees, according to South China Morning Post.  The program is seen as a way for Huawei to raise funds for its R&D programs amidst increasing pressure from U.S. sanctions. Huawei did not confirm the report.

https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3100548/huawei-seeks-raise-fresh-funds-employees-amid-us-trade-sanctions

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Verizon tests Quantum Key Distribution

Verizon set-up a trial Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) network in the Washington D.C. area.

Live video was captured outside of three Verizon locations in the D.C. area, including the Washington DC Executive Briefing Center, the 5G Lab in D.C and Verizon’s Ashburn, VA office. Using a QKD network, quantum keys were created and exchanged over a fiber network between Verizon locations. Video streams were encrypted and delivered more securely allowing the recipient to see the video in real-time while ensuring hackers are instantly detected.

A QKD network derives cryptographic keys using the quantum properties of photons to prevent against eavesdropping. Verizon also demonstrated that data can be further secured with keys generated using a Quantum Random Number Generator (QRNG) that creates truly random numbers that can’t be predicted. With QKD, encryption keys are continuously generated and are immune to attacks because any disruption to the channel breaks the quantum state of photons signaling
eavesdroppers are present.

"The use of quantum mechanics is a great step forward in data security,” said Christina Richmond, analyst at IDC. “Verizon's own tests, as well other industry testing, have shown that deriving "secret keys" between two entities via light photons effectively blocks perfect cloning by an eavesdropper if a key intercept is attempted. Current technological breakthroughs have proven that both the quantum channel and encrypted data channel can be sent over a single optical fiber. Verizon has demonstrated this streamlined approach brings greater efficiency for practical large-scale implementation allowing keys to be securely shared over wide-ranging networks.”


https://www.verizon.com/about/news/verizon-achieves-milestone-future-proofing-data-hackers

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Dell’Oro: Open RAN market to eclipse $5 billion

The worldwide sales of Virtualized Open RAN technologies are forecasted to grow at double-digit rates over the next five years with cumulative Open RAN investments – including hardware, software, and firmware excluding services – projected to surpass $5 B over the forecast period, according to a new report from Dell'Oro Group.

“At a first glance it might appear overly optimistic with a baseline scenario suggesting a new technology, which remains relatively untested and some officials believe would need a decade to get off the ground, would be able to become a billion-dollar market comprising a sizable portion of the overall RAN segment in just half a decade,” said Stefan Pongratz, Vice President and analyst with the Dell’Oro Group. “At the same time, the momentum is improving, and we have adjusted the outlook upward to reflect a confluence of factors including promising results from initial commercial deployments, growing support from the incumbent RAN suppliers, and increased geopolitical uncertainty acting as a catalyst for operators to rethink their supplier strategies,” continued Pongratz.

Additional highlights:

• Cumulative Virtualized RAN revenues—here defined as the proportion of RAN baseband/compute capex that will utilize general-purpose processors for CU and/or DU—are projected to approach $3 B to 5 B over the next five years.
• Cumulative Open RAN radio shipments – including macro and small cells – are projected to surpass 1 M over the forecast period.

https://www.delloro.com/news/open-ran-market-expected-to-eclipse-5b/

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IDC: Ethernet switch market drops 6.3% in Q2

The worldwide Ethernet switch market recorded $6.6 billion in revenue in the second quarter of 2020 (2Q20), a decrease of 6.3% year over year, according to IDC's Quarterly Ethernet Switch Tracker and IDC Quarterly Router Tracker, while worldwide total enterprise and service provider (SP) router market revenues recorded a slight year-over-year gain, with a 0.1% increase in 2Q20 to nearly $4.0 billion.

"In addition to there being varying trends across the enterprise, hyperscale, and service provider segments of both the Ethernet switch and router markers, there is also significant variation in second quarter results based on geography," noted Petr Jirovsky, research director, IDC Networking Trackers. "Regions of the world where the COVID-19 pandemic subsided in the second quarter saw increases in their markets, while the response to the virus was ramping up during this period in parts of Europe and the Americas, representing a headwind."

"Softness in the Ethernet switch market in the first quarter of 2020 continued into the second quarter, driven primarily by the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to the lockdown of most economies worldwide," says Brad Casemore, research vice president, Datacenter and Multicloud Networks at IDC. "Despite the headwinds of COVID-19, the Ethernet switch market stayed relatively healthy, most notably because of steady demand from hyperscalers and other cloud providers, which continue to invest in greater datacenter scale and higher bandwidths."

Some Ethernet switch highlights from IDC:

• From a geographic perspective, the Ethernet switch market saw year-over-year reductions in most global regions. A bright spot was China, which recorded a 25.4% year-over-year increase in 2Q20. The broader Asia/Pacific region (excluding Japan and China) fell by 6.7% year over year with Hong Kong's Ethernet switch market dropping 35.8%. Japan's market was off 3.0% from a year earlier. There was also weakness across Europe and the Americas. Western Europe's Ethernet switch market fell 13.1%, with the United Kingdom off 23.4% from a year earlier and France losing 20.5%. Central and Eastern Europe was down 7.6% with Hungary losing 20.1% year over year while the Czech Republic grew 17.6%. The Middle East and Africa region fell 7.5% with Qatar declining 17.1% but Israel gaining 7.6%. In the Americas, the United States was down 12.5% while Canada lost 16.5%. The Latin America region fell 22.1% with Mexico losing 21.6% compared to a year earlier.
• Port shipments for 100Gb switches rose 51.2% year over year to 6.7 million units. 
• 100Gb revenues grew 16.3% year over year in 2Q20 to nearly $1.5 billion, making up 22.4% of the market's overall revenue. 
• 25Gb switches also saw impressive growth with revenues increasing 39.0% to $505.9 million and port shipments growing 62.2%. 
• Lower-speed campus switches, a more mature part of the market, saw mixed results in port shipments and revenue as average selling prices (ASPs) in this segment continue to decline. 
• 10Gb port shipments rose 23.1% year over year, but revenue declined 6.1%. 10Gb switches make up 28.0% of the market's total revenue. 1Gb switches declined 10.1% year over year in port shipments and fell 17.9% in revenue. 1Gb now accounts for 35.0% of the total Ethernet switch market's revenue.

Some router market highlights from IDC:

• The worldwide enterprise and service provider router market increased 0.1% on a year-over-year basis in 2Q20, with the major service provider segment, which accounts for 76.9% of revenues, growing 1.5% and the enterprise segment of the market declining 4.2%. 
• From a regional perspective, the combined service provider and enterprise router market grew 18.1% year over year in China and was up 20.2% in Japan. The broader Asia/Pacific region (excluding Japan and China) fell 5.6% year over year. Revenues in Western Europe were off 10.4%, while the Central and Eastern Europe combined enterprise and service provider market declined 8.7%. The Middle East & Africa region was down 5.7% year over year. In the United States, the enterprise segment was down 12.0%, while service provider revenues fell 5.9%, giving the combined markets a 7.5% year over year drop. The Latin American market declined 2.6% on an annualized basis.
• Cisco finished 2Q20 with a 13.4% year-over-year decline in overall Ethernet switch revenues and market share of 47.2%. In the hotly contested 25Gb/100Gb segment, Cisco is the market leader with 35.7% of the market's revenue. Cisco's combined service provider and enterprise router revenue was down 9.6%, with enterprise router revenue decreasing 11.8% and SP revenues down 8.1% year over year. Cisco's combined SP and enterprise router market share stands at 33.2%.
• Huawei's Ethernet switch revenue rose 15.7% on an annualized basis, giving the company market share of 12.0%. The company's combined SP and enterprise router revenue increased 16.7% year over year, giving the company a market share of 36.3%.
• Arista Networks saw Ethernet switch revenues decline 17.9% in 2Q20, bringing its share to 6.4% of the total market. 100Gb revenues account for 72.4% of the company's total revenue, reflecting the company's longstanding presence at cloud providers and large enterprises.
• HPE's Ethernet switch revenue declined 17.3% year over year, giving the company a market share of 5.1%.
• Juniper's Ethernet switch revenue fell 8.2% in 2Q20, bringing its market share to 2.8%. Juniper saw a 3.3% decline in combined enterprise and SP router sales, bringing its market share in the router market to 10.2%.

https://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS46830820

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Ciena trims outlook on COVID-related market pressure

Ciena reported Q3 revenue of $976.7 million, increasing 1.7% year over year. Net income per share was $0.91 GAAP; $1.06 adjusted (non-GAAP), increasing 49% year over year.

Gary Smith, President and CEO, Ciena said: “We delivered outstanding financial results in the third quarter, reflecting our continued innovation, market leadership and strong competitive position in an uncertain macro environment. Although COVID-related market dynamics have resulted in an orders slowdown and are likely to adversely impact our revenue for a few quarters, we are confident in our ability to continue executing on our strategy and expanding our market leadership."

On an investor webcast, Ciena executives said:

• COVID-19 is having an adverse impact on the velocity of business in general and particularly new business initiatives, especially in August
• Service providers and MSOs are expressing greater caution with regard to spending.  They are also running their networks hotter.
• Optical spend growth by Webscale operators is now expected to be flat to low single-digits for this year versus the 7% to 10% that was expected at the beginning of the year. 
• This year, the company believes it captured an additional 1% plus of global market share
• Roughly 50 design wins for WaveLogic 5 Extreme
• More than a dozen customers for Adaptive IP solutions, including Telefónica UK and SK Telink

https://investor.ciena.com/news/press-release-details/2020/Ciena-Reports-Fiscal-Third-Quarter-2020-Financial-Results/default.aspx

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TELUS carries 800G wavelength for 970km with Ciena

TELUS carried an 800G wavelength from Toronto to Quebec City, a distance of 971.2km, using equipment from Ciena.

The record-setting link leveraged Ciena 6500 shelves equipped with WaveLogic5 Extreme (WL5e) technology.

https://www.ciena.com/insights/articles/ciena-and-telus-bring-800g-to-canada-break-worldwide-transmission-record.html

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Broadcom posts revenue of $5.8 billion, up 6%

Broadcom reported revenue of $5,821 million for its third quarter of fiscal year 2020, ended August 2, 2020, up 6% compared to a year earlier. GAAP net income was $688 million and adjusted EBITDA was $3,342 million.

"We delivered third quarter revenue results in-line with our expectations, driven by healthy demand from cloud and telecom customers, which more than offset the expected reset in wireless," said Hock Tan, President and CEO of Broadcom Inc. "Our outlook for the fourth quarter reflects a strong anticipated ramp in wireless, as well as the continuing surge in demand for networking from cloud and telecom customers, more than offsetting expected softness in enterprise."

"We generated record free cash flow of over $3 billion, which represented 33 percent growth on a year on year basis, and reduced total debt by $1.9 billion in the quarter," said Tom Krause, CFO of Broadcom Inc. "Looking ahead, our cash flow outlook remains robust and we plan to pay down an additional $3 billion in debt in the fourth quarter."

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