Zayo completes sale of US and UK data centers

Zayo Group Holdings completed the previously announced sale of the its zColo data center assets in the U.S. and U.K. to DataBank. A second closing for zColo’s data centers in France is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2021.

“With the close of the zColo-DataBank transaction, Zayo is able to focus 100% of its attention on its core Network business and customers,” said Steve Smith, CEO of Zayo. “Today, Zayo has an unparalleled depth and breadth of fiber assets across the U.S., Canada and Western Europe through which it serves many of the world’s most impactful companies. The close of this transaction will allow us to take Zayo to the next level - better aligning our resources around network quality, customer service, innovative solutions and expanded reach.”

http://www.zayo.com

DataBank to acquire Zayo's zColo data centers

Tuesday, September 29, 2020  Data Centers, Mergers And Acquisitions, Zayo  

DataBank agreed to acquire Zayo Group's zColo business, including 44 data centers across 23 markets in the U.S. and Europe. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The deal will make DataBank one of the largest privately-held data center operators in the U.S. and a leading provider of edge colocation and connectivity solutions to hyperscale, technology, and content customers across the U.S. Zayo Group will become a significant customer and continue to be an anchor tenant within the zColo facilities. Following completion of the deal, DataBank's assets will include:

• 64 data centers in 29 markets (up from 20 data centers and 9 markets)
• Over 3,000 customers including many Fortune 100 and leading cloud and content providers
• Pro forma annual revenue of over $450M
• 1.1M raised square feet of data center space
• 141 MW of installed UPS capacity
• Over 30,000 network cross connects
• 18 major network interconnection points
• 12 cloud nodes

DataBank said the acquisition also significantly accelerates its edge and hybrid cloud strategies. The expanded data center footprint provides DataBank’s customers with new geographic options for colocating their mission-critical content, data, and workloads closer to end-user populations in key markets like Los Angeles, Denver, Chicago, Miami, Boston, and New York City. With double the number of private cloud nodes and public-cloud on-ramps, DataBank customers will have more flexibility to design hybrid IT solutions that adapt as their infrastructure needs evolve.

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MWC Shanghai will be in person, 23 to 25 February 2021

 The GSMA confirmed that MWC Shanghai will be an in-person event, taking place 23 to 25 February 2021 at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre (SNIEC).

Keynotes include:

• Dr Zina Jarrahi Cinker, Director General, AMPT
• Yang Jie, Chairman, China Mobile
• Ke Ruiwen, Chairman, China Telecom
• Ken Hu, Rotating Chairman, Huawei
• Yang Yuanqing, Chairman & CEO, Lenovo
• Xu Chi, Founder & CEO, Nreal
• Xu Ziyang, CEO, ZTE

“MWC21 Shanghai is far more than just an event,” said John Hoffman, CEO, GSMA Ltd. “It’s a celebration of the power of intelligent connectivity and provides a platform for people to come together and push the industry and society forward. Bringing the MWC series of events back for 2021 has taken a superhuman effort, and we are looking forward to welcoming the mobile ecosystem back to Shanghai in February.”

GSMA also notes that China has now installed 150,000 5G base stations and more that 150 million 5G handsets have been sold in the country.

https://www.mwcshanghai.com/

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ADVA launches edge and access clocks for 5G

ADVA launched its latest Oscilloquartz edge and access network synchronization devices with enhanced capabilities for next-generation applications such as 5G. 

The new OSA 5412 and 5422 offer precise phase, frequency and time-of-day synchronization and can be used for time-as-a-service applications. 

The OSA 5412 is a highly flexible access network synchronization solution that offers compact and cost-effective timing distribution and assurance. The OSA 5422 is engineered for the most extreme conditions. It meets stringent frequency and phase synchronization requirements, delivers the best holdover performance of any edge device on the market, and supports multiple legacy interfaces such BITS and IRIG. Both solutions address new ITU-T specifications, including for class A and B PRTCs, ePRTCs with strict holdover requirements, and the newly improved class C and D boundary clocks. They also feature onboard multi-band, multi-constellation GNSS receivers that overcome ionospheric delay variation far more cost-efficiently than rival solutions using high-end rubidium oscillators. The OSA 5412 and 5422 support multiple PTP profiles, NTP and SyncE with the highest number of 1/10GbE ports on the market. What’s more, both devices are engineered with optional OLED display and with hot-swappable modules and power supplies to be easily upgraded in the field.

“Our latest solutions build on the great success we’ve had with our access synchronization product line. Now operators can harness the power of multi-band GNSS receivers to deliver highly accurate, UTC-traceable timing at the network edge. That enables the availability and precision that will be essential for tomorrow’s services,” said Nir Laufer, senior director, product line management, Oscilloquartz, ADVA. “By extending the feature set of our edge technology, we’re empowering CSPs to smoothly transition to the reliability and accuracy required for 5G and, at the same time, enabling our unique innovation to be used across a wide range of verticals. With support for 10Gbit/s and 1Gbit/s interfaces as well as hardware timestamping, our access timing products are the ultimate in future-proof, space-efficient synchronization.”

“Access grandmaster clocks need to meet stricter demands for accuracy and reliability than ever before, and many industries have their own specific set of stringent timing requirements. That’s why we’ve evolved our portfolio of edge and access network synchronization solutions for the specific challenges of the 5G era,” commented Gil Biran, general manager, Oscilloquartz, ADVA. 

https://www.adva.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/20201215-adva-launches-new-generation-of-edge-and-access-clocks-for-5g-network-timing

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BroadBand Tower deploys Infinera for DCI

 BroadBand Tower, a Tokyo-based data center and cloud services provider, has deployed Infinera’s GX Series Compact Modular Platform to expand high-capacity, ultra-low-latency connectivity between its data centers across the Tokyo metropolitan area. 

Infinera said its GX solution enables BroadBand Tower to leverage a network transport solution that scales to terabit capacity in an easy-to-operate, highly compact form factor to deliver high optical performance on demand.

“Infinera’s GX solution has become a leading solution for data center interconnect around the world, and it continues to gain momentum as operators like BroadBand Tower look for ways to meet the increasing demands of their customers,” said Nick Walden, Senior Vice President, Sales at Infinera. “Infinera is delighted to support BroadBand Tower in its expansion and provide the company with a state-of-the-art optical transport solution that it can trust as it expands its network.”

https://www.infinera.com/press-release/broadband-tower-deploys-infineras-groove-gx-series-to-expand-data-center-connectivity-across-tokyo

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Telefónica Germany tests Open RAN with NEC

NEC has been selected by Telefónica Germany / O2 as its favored full-service system integrator for the first Open RAN pilot system in Germany. The system has already completed a first call via Open RAN on a live O2 mobile network in the Bavarian city of Landsberg am Lech.

During the pilot, NEC will help to define a customized Open RAN architecture, optimized and adapted to the requirements of the mobile network of Telefónica Germany. As the system integrator for this pilot, NEC coordinates the overall design of the Open RAN system and ensures the delivery of a solid end-to-end solution. This is being carried out in collaboration with industry leaders that include ADVA, Altiostar, GigaTera Communications, Intel, Red Hat, Supermicro and Xilinx.

“The key to success in implementing a first Open RAN pilot lies in the knowledge of an experienced system integrator,” said Mallik Rao, CTIO of Telefónica Germany. “NEC and its subsidiary Netcracker have proven their expertise through multiple project engagements within the Telefónica Group. We believe NEC is a reliable partner that is capable of bringing together an innovative network that can dramatically improve customer experience and enable faster time to market in the future.”

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Cosemi raises $8 million for its hybrid active optical interconnects

Cosemi Technologies, a developer of hybrid active optical interconnect solutions closed an $8 million strategic funding round led by Nitto Denko Corporation of Osaka, Japan.

Cosemi designs and develops high-volume, high-performance, plug-and-play HDMI, DisplayPort and USB active optical cables (AOCs) that provide the performance and speed of fiber optics, along with the legacy support of control and power delivery over copper wire, in cost-effective hybrid cable assemblies. Cosemi is a pioneer in the development of hybrid active cables that are suited for many market segments including 4K/8K displays, video collaboration platforms, machine vision, universal personal computing connectivity for enterprise and work-from-home applications, automotive, AR/VR, e-sport gaming and entertainment. 

https://www.nitto.com/us/en

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CenturyLink to pay $500K for Dec 2018 outage

The FCC and CenturyLink agreed to settle a case involving a multistate outage on one of CenturyLink’s transport networks that occurred on December 27-28, 2018. The outage impacted CenturyLink’s delivery of some 911 calls.

To settle this matter, CenturyLink will pay $500,000.

https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-20-1469A1.pdf

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SiTime's MEMS milestone: 2 billion units shipped

SiTime marked a big milestone: the cumulative shipment of 2 billion units of its silicon MEMS timing solutions.

“I’m very proud of the SiTime team that has dedicated years of focus, passion, and commitment to success to deliver this significant milestone,” said Rajesh Vashist, CEO of SiTime. “As the world becomes more connected, precision timing will play a critical role in 5G, cloud, automotive, and IoT applications. SiTime will continue to provide differentiated timing solutions for these applications and deliver value to our customers.”

The company also announced the following additions to its executive team:

• Vince Pangrazio – EVP, Chief Legal Officer, and Corporate Secretary. Previously, Pangrazio was an executive at Cavium, Inc., where he was responsible for the legal, compliance, IT, and facilities functions and was part of the senior management team that sold it to Marvell for $6 billion. 
• Atul Shingal – EVP of Operations. Previously, Shingal joins SiTime from Qorvo and Cavendish Kinetics, where he was EVP of Operations since 2011. Prior to Qorvo, Atul was VP of Operations at Inphi Corporation.
• Fari Assaderaghi – EVP, Technology and Engineering. Previously, Assaderaghi was Senior VP of Engineering and Operations from 2008 to 2012. Between 2012 and 2020, Fari was Vice President, Advanced Technology Development at TDK Invensense and SVP of Innovation and Advanced Technologies at NXP.

https://www.sitime.com/

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Frontier picks Nick Jeffery as new CEO

Frontier Communications named Nick Jeffery as the Company’s next President and Chief Executive Officer, effective March 1, 2021, following the expiration of his notice period with Vodafone UK. Jeffery will succeed Bernie Han, who will step down as President and Chief Executive Officer on March 1, 2021. Mr. Han will remain on the Company’s Board of Directors (the “Board”) and guide the CEO transition until emergence from Chapter 11, at which point Mr. Jeffery will join the Board.

Jeffery was appointed CEO of Vodafone UK in September 2016 and has held numerous positions at Vodafone Group, the world’s second largest international cellular operator, the largest home broadband operator in Europe and the second largest TV distributor in Europe, since joining the company in 2004. Notably, Mr. Jeffery served on Vodafone Group’s Executive Committee since 2013, as CEO of Vodafone Group Enterprise from 2013 to 2016 and as CEO of Vodafone Group’s acquired Cable & Wireless Worldwide operations from 2012 to 2013.

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MaxLinear supplies wireless transceiver chipsets to MTI

MaxLinear confirmed that its wireless transceiver chipsets to Taiwan-based Microelectronics Technology Inc. (MTI) for use in Remote Radio Units (RRUs) targeting specific greenfield Open RAN deployments for 4G and 5G applications.

MTI’s Open RAN radios support new 5G Open RAN network deployments with the O-RAN 7.2x interface. These new 5G radios utilize MaxLinear RF transceiver chipsets. Additionally, MTI is delivering their MaxLinear-powered Evenstar Radio as part of the innovative OpenRAN ecosystem that fully supports the OpenRAN Reference Architecture including a fronthaul interface compliant with the O-RAN Alliance Split 7.2x.

“Mobile operators are pulling Open RAN into the market rapidly because the cost savings and flexibility of Open RAN enable them to address opportunities that were previously unaffordable,” said Joe Madden, Founder and President of Mobile Experts, a leading wireless technology market research firm. “By 2025, roughly 7 million radios will be sold annually, independent of the baseband processors. As a result, we expect the market share of smaller suppliers to quadruple over the next five years, opening up new opportunities for innovative semiconductor suppliers.”

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Gigaphoton ships new light source for

Gigaphoton announced mass production and shipment of its ArF immersion "GT66A" light source, which is based on its state-of-the-art semiconductor lithography manufacturing.

The new ArF immersion "GT66A" light source is equipped with a newly developed optical module that  improves the beam uniformity on the exposed surface and reduces the roughness by increasing the temporal coherence length by at least 3 times that of the existing model. The maintenance cycle of the module has been extended by 30% with the introduction of the latest components with high durability.

GT66A is now certified as a light source for the latest ArF immersion lithography equipment NXT:2050i by ASML, the leading Dutch company, and mass production and shipment of the light source to end-users will now commence.

Katsumi Uranaka, President and CEO of GIGAPHOTON, said: "In recent years, semiconductor chips are required to support even faster communication speeds and process larger amounts of data. This is mainly supported by the miniaturization of logic and memory semiconductors and requires higher productivity through further innovation of lithography technology. GIGAPHOTON will continue its contribution to the development of the next generation of industries by improving the imaging performance through technological innovation and increasing the availability of light sources."

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Huawei announces 220 GBaud symbol rate test

Huawei has successfully tested a 220 GBaud ultra-high-speed optical signal transmission, breaking the previous record of 192 GBaud. The highest symbol rate in a commercial product is around 95 GBaud for an 800G single wavelength transmission.

The achievement, which was performed by Huawei's Munich optical network R&D team, is described in a post-deadline paper (PDP) by Huawei at last week's virtual European Conference on Optical Communications (ECOC) 2020.

"Our experiment marks a significant milestone in fiber optical communication research. 10 years after the first generation of coherent optical products based on 28 Giga symbols per second, we were able to scale up the symbol rate by a factor of almost 8, using AI-powered advanced signal processing and the latest high bandwidth components. This will pave the way for future multi-Terabit interfaces for metro and backbone networks," said Dr. Maxim Kuschnerov, director of the Optical & Quantum Laboratory in Munich.

https://www.huawei.com/en/news/2020/12/ecoc2020-pdp-200gbaud-optixtrans-f5g

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Breach of U.S. government agencies linked to SolarWinds

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issued an Emergency Directive confirming that SolarWinds Orion products (affected versions are 2019.4 through 2020.2.1 HF1) are currently being exploited by malicious actors  to gain access to network traffic management systems. The warning advises U.S. government agencies to take immediate action due to a high potential for a compromise of agency information systems.

Media reports indicate that the Commerce and Treasury departments have already suffered significant breaches.

For its part, SolarWinds issued a statement indicating that it believes a cyberattack inserted a vulnerability within its Orion monitoring products, potentially allowing an attacker to compromise the server on which the Orion products run. The vulnerability is believed to been inserted in Orion software updates released between March and June 2020.  

SolarWinds said it has been advised that the intrusion was a targeted attack by a nation-state, however, the company has not been able to confirm the identity of the attacker.

On Sunday, SolarWinds reached out to its approximately 33,000 Orion product customers to inform them of the vulnerability.

https://cyber.dhs.gov/ed/21-01/

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Star Alliance to migrate all data, platforms, apps to AWS

The Star Alliance network, which serves 26 of the leading airlines worldwide, is going all-in on AWS, moving all of its IT infrastructure to the AWS cloud.

Star Alliance is working with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) – an AWS Partner Network Premier Consulting Partner – to migrate all of its data, platforms, and business-critical applications to AWS and close its data centers, which will reduce its infrastructure total cost of ownership by 25%. 

“We decided to go all-in on AWS to gain the reliability and scalability we needed to support the increasing number of global travelers joining the alliance each year, but the pandemic also proved how valuable it is to have a flexible and agile infrastructure in the cloud. No one could have predicted what has happened so far in 2020, but because of our collaboration with AWS, we were able to quickly adjust our goals and scale back our expenses,” said Jeremy Drury, Head of Digital & Technology at Star Alliance. “In addition to cost savings and elasticity, AWS gives us the most comprehensive set of cloud services to innovate rapidly, introduce new services to keep travelers safe, and continuously reinvent the global travel experience.”

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Windstream Wholesale completes PNW fiber route

Windstream Wholesale completed a new high-capacity fiber route from Salt Lake City to Portland and Seattle.

The route from Portland to Seattle sets the foundation for Windstream Wholesale’s expansion into the Hillsboro, Ore., landing station, expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2021. 

Windstream Wholesale said this network expansion is part of an overall project to increase capacity to several major long haul routes which leverages flexible grid compliant open optical line systems featuring C+L band support and colorless, directionless, contentionless (CDC) ROADMs.

“This new high-capacity route to Portland and Seattle was built in response to booming customer demand for bandwidth,” said Joe Scattareggia, executive vice president of Windstream Wholesale. “Along with the network overlay, it will help ensure that Windstream Wholesale is positioned to meet our customers’ needs for high-quality, low-latency services across our most popular routes for years to come.”

"Our Data Gravity Index suggests the Pacific Northwest, and Seattle in particular, is expected to experience sustained growth in data gravity intensity through 2024,” said Tony Bishop, Digital Realty senior vice president of platform, growth and marketing. “The Westin Building Exchange is ideally placed to remove data gravity barriers, serving as the strategic regional interconnection hub linking the U.S. and Canada with Asia on PlatformDIGITAL®. We are excited by the new possibilities that the combination of Windstream Wholesale’s Network Hub deployment with us in Seattle and the new routes announced today will open up for customers looking to scale their digital business.”

https://www.windstreamenterprise.com/wholesale/interactive-map

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CommScope readies 204MHz digital return transceiver

CommScope is shipping a 204MHz digital return transceiver, enabling operators to deploy a high split in their upstream band and deliver new gigabit speeds. 

The digital return solution is comprised of the CommScope DT4600N node transmitter and DR3600N headend receiver. Together, they establish an optical link that delivers consistent performance across all link distances between CommScope’s widely deployed NC4000, NC2000 and OM41x0 node platforms and its CH3000 headend optics platform.

CommScope said its 204MHz digital return technology extends its unique “multiple-mode“ philosophy, providing operators with a seamless upgrade path from mid-split (85MHz) to high-split mode and either a single- (“1-fer”) or dual-return (“2-fer”) operation on a single wavelength; a single model supports multiple bandwidths and single/two-return operation with a simple “push-button” to switch between modes, facilitating a smooth network evolution.

“Our new 204MHz digital return is the first of its kind, and one of the most highly anticipated solutions to support upstream bandwidth expansion,” said Guy Sucharczuk, senior vice president, Access Technologies, Broadband Networks, CommScope. “With a high-split network, operators can address the tremendous bandwidth demands and the need for 1 Gbps upstream speed to meet the new global environment head-on. The new DT4600N and DR3600N build on CommScope’s proven digital return platform, offering operators a simple path to additional capacity and their network of the future.” 

http://www.commscope.com

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NEC spins out NanoBridge Semiconductor

 NanoBridge Semiconductor, a start-up based in Tsukuba, Japan, issued series A preferred stock to Japan Industrial Partners, Inc., NEC Corporation (NEC; TSE: 6701), and other companies to raise approximately 130 million yen.

NanoBridge was established by NEC researchers in September 2019 to commercialize a technology to control the creation or destruction of nanometer sized metal bridges in a solid electrolyte through the application of voltage, thereby realizing on and off-switch status.  NanoBridge does not require power to maintain an on or off status, and is highly resistant to both radiation and extreme temperatures. NEC has transferred related intellectual property to the new spin-out company.

Potential applications for the nanobridge technology include FPGAs and memories that repeatedly rewrite circuits. 

"The discovery of the atomic switch, based on the movement of atoms rather than electrons, was a major breakthrough in basic science," said Richard E. Dyck, Director, Japan Industrial Partners, Inc. "The team at NanoBridge, after two decades of skilled and focused engineering, has transformed this breakthrough into the realm of practical application. It is exciting to see the NanoBridge atomic switch can now be manufactured economically and in volume, on standard production equipment."

https://nanobridgesemi.com/

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Orange Marine builds its latest cable ship

Orange Marine recently confirmed plans to build a next gen cable ship specially designed for the maintenance of submarine cables, both fiber optic telecommunication cables and inter-array power cables used in offshore windfarms. 

The new ship, which promises to be more efficient and environmentally friendly, will replace C/S Raymond Croze, launched in 1983 and which carried out more than one hundred cable repairs, mostly in Mediterranean, Black Sea and Red Sea. It will fly the French flag.

Orange Marine said the ship will be equipped with the latest state of the art equipment, in particular:

• Her streamlined hull is designed to reduce fuel consumption, 25% lower than average existing cable ships, and will be optimized for cable repairs,
• Her Azipod marine propulsion thrusters will give her unmatched maneuverability and reliability,
• The ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle) used for cutting, inspecting and burying cables will be stored onboard in a dedicated hangar,
• The hybrid energy management system based on fuel production and electrical storage back-up using batteries will reduce her fuel consumption during cable works and will prevent any unexpected shutdown of a generator,
• Her capability to be connected through onshore power supply will enable her to reduce her carbon emissions when berthed.
• Everything has been carefully designed to reduce her environmental footprint, which will lead to a reduction of 20% in CO2 emissions and an 80% reduction in nitrogen oxide emissions. 

Didier Dillard, CEO of Orange Marine, commented: “The decision to build this vessel is very good news for Orange Marine, its employees and its customers. We will have a new and high-performance tool, with a low environmental footprint, which will allow us to offer high-quality services for several decades to our customers, not only owners of submarine telecommunications cables but also operators of  offshore wind farms.”

Jean-Luc Vuillemin, Executive Vice President of Orange in charge of international networks, and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Orange Marine, added: “The decision to build the latest generation cable vessel shows how much Orange believes in the future of the submarine cables market. Repair vessels are of strategic importance in maintaining global internet connectivity which relies over 80% on submarine cables. This new vessel allows us to be part of a long-term strategy to ensure that our network is well maintained and that Orange Marine continues to have the means to carry out its missions with state-of-the-art tools."

https://www.orange.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2020/orange-strengthens-its-commitment-its-submarine-cable-business-and

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FCC looks to revoke China Telecom America's license

The FCC launched a proceeding to determine whether to end China Telecom (Americas) Corporation’s authority to provide domestic interstate and international telecommunications services within the United States under section 214 of the Communications Act.  

http://www.fcc.gov

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Google suffers widespread outage

Google was hit by a widespread outage impacting Gmail, YouTube, and other services. The problem began on 14-Dec-2020 at 3:55 AM (Pacific). The company said that service was restored for the majority of users by 4:52 AM.

https://www.google.com/appsstatus#hl=en&v=status

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