Zayo upgrades its fiber network in Vancouver

Zayo announced a significant expansion to its infrastructure in Vancouver, British Columbia with two key projects: a network upgrade to 100G and an increase in the fiber capacity to its existing terrestrial route between Vancouver and Seattle, scheduled for completion by mid-year of 2022.

The upgraded network in the Vancouver area will enable Zayo to support 100G services, including IP Transit and Dedicated Internet Access (DIA) services. 

The increased fiber capacity Vancouver - Seattle route will better support the region’s growing commercial marketplace, meeting demands for higher speed and increasing volume. 

“Our delivery of 100G enabled service capabilities to the Vancouver market and increased capacity for the Vancouver-Seattle technology corridor reflects Zayo’s commitment to building our network based on customer needs,” stated Dennis Kyle, SVP of Zayo Networks, Mountain Region. “We look forward to collaborating with innovative businesses and organizations in the region, helping them drive transformative changes that disrupt the way we live and work.”

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II-VI again raises its bid for Coherent

II-VI increased its offer to acquire Coherent Inc. to top the revised proposal from Lumentum on March 17th.

Under the terms of the revised II-VI proposal, Coherent’s shareholders would receive $220.00 in cash and 0.91 of a share of II-VI common stock for each Coherent share, which implies a total per share value of $287.18 based on the 10-day volume weighted average price (VWAP) of II-VI common stock, ending March 16, 2021. II-VI continues to expect the transaction to be accretive to non-GAAP EPS in the second year following closing.

II-VI’s revised proposal includes $5.4 billion of fully committed debt financing from J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and a $1.5 billion equity investment from Bain Capital. Bain has expressed an interest in making an additional equity investment of up to $650 million on the same terms to reduce leverage. The conversion price of Bain’s entire equity investment is $85.00 per share.

https://ii-vi.com/ii-vi-incorporated-confirms-revised-proposal-to-acquire-coherent-2/

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II-VI opens industrial laser lab in Suzhou, China

II-VI opened a new applications laboratory in Suzhou, China, to support the growing industrial laser market in the region. 

II-VI said its new applications laboratory provides close customer support on state-of-the-art laser materials processing with practical hands-on training, in-depth applications consulting, and detailed feasibility studies based on the expertise of II-VI’s applications engineers and the advanced capabilities of II-VI’s laser processing heads.

The company highlighted new opportunities for industrial lasers in the automotive sector as as manufacturers retool their production lines for the unique welding requirements of electric vehicles and their batteries. 

“In our new applications laboratory in Suzhou, customers can directly experience our high-performing and intelligent laser processing heads,” said Dr. Karlheinz Gulden, Senior Vice President, Laser Devices and Systems Business Unit. “This product application facility, together with our labs in Berlin, Germany, and Detroit, U.S., enhances our global ability to demonstrate manufacturing feasibility and develop optimized processes for our customers.”

 

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Confluence-1 cable to link U.S. East coast with 500 Tbps capacity

Confluence Networks, a Florida-based developer of undersea fibre-optic communications systems, announced an equity investment from Mastec that will enable it to complete development and construction of Confluence-1, the first undersea cable system dedicated to linking strategic global communications nodes on the East Coast of the United States.  

Confluence-1 will have landings in New York, NY; Miami, FL; Virginia Beach, VA; and Jacksonville, FL; as well as a strategic node in Myrtle Beach, SC.

MasTec is an infrastructure construction company operating mainly throughout North America across a range of industries. 

The companies said Confluence-1 will provide direct, reliable, low-latency undersea connections among the major cable landings on the East Coast of the US, thus facilitating the interconnection of many intercontinental cable routes within the Americas, and between the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia. The network specifically addresses the lack of availability of continuous dark fiber and truly diverse routing on the North-South route between New York and Miami.

Confluence-1 will have 24 fiber pairs providing over 500 Tbps of capacity on the new route. 

Jose Mas, MasTec’s Chief Executive Officer, commented, “We are delighted to play a significant role in this important new development as now is the perfect time to focus on true redundancy. We look forward to a long and fruitful relationship with Confluence Networks, and to the future developments that will ensue as we deepen our involvement in the global communications community.”

Paul Scott, CEO of Confluence Networks, added, “We are fortunate to have MasTec as a partner in this enterprise, and excited to be working with them in realization of Confluence-1. We see Confluence-1 as an opportunity to make a game-changing addition to both the US domestic network and the intercontinental network on the East Coast, and look toward many more such opportunities as the global network evolves.” Confluence-1 is expected to be in service 2H-2023.

https://confluencenetworks.net/mastec-and-confluence-join-forces-in-undersea-network-construction/

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Windstream and Colt test 400G open line system interoperability

Windstream Wholesale and Colt Technology Services recently conducted a 400G managed spectrum trial over an open line system.

During the trial, leveraged the Windstream Flex grid open line system between Chicago and Ashburn, Va., to build a 600G wavelength using their own coherent transmission system. Colt leveraged the Windstream-provided managed spectrum to deliver multiple 100GE and 400GE services, traversing nearly 1800 Kms between the business hubs.

Windtream said its Intelligent Converged Optical Network (ICON) demonstrated the advantages of its disaggregated network architecture, multi-vendor open line system scalability, and alien wave support. As part of the ICON functionality, Windstream also presented key performance metrics of the transmission network, a concept known as Layer Zero Analytics, through Windstream Wholesale’s customer portal. By providing these kinds of self-diagnostic metrics, customers are able to independently plan coherent wavelength deployments, self-diagnose service performance and assess the health of the network 24 x 7, as if they were the owner/operator of the open optical line system.

“This trial between Colt and Windstream saw Colt being able to deliver 400G and multiple 100G services over a 600G wavelength using our next-gen transmission system and Windstream’s spectrum offering in a fully integrated way,” said Vivek Gaur, Vice President - Network Engineering for Colt. “Colt has been investing in its high bandwidth, agile, on-demand network – the Colt IQ Network – for many years. We have extensive experience in successfully delivering spectrum solutions for our customers in Europe - however, this successful trial using Windstream spectrum opens the possibility of building out a 100G capable US backbone network. We are also excited for what this trial means for our future collaboration with Windstream, as Colt actively pursues innovation and investment in technology trials to drive potential partnerships – so, we look forward to working together more.”

“This first foray into managed spectrum by Windstream Wholesale demonstrates the flexibility of our ICON network and the technology’s exciting potential for domestic terrestrial networks,” said Buddy Bayer, chief network officer for Windstream. “It’s another step in Windstream’s ongoing and carefully planned network architectural strategy that leverages the benefits of fundamental design principles of disaggregation, openness, flexibility and network intelligence. As always, the ultimate goal is to meet our customers’ expanding need for high-capacity bandwidth in the most efficient manner for years to come.

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

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Telxius' Mistral cable lands in Peru

Telxius confirmed that its South Pacific Submarine Cable (SPSC) or ‘Mistral’ cable has landed in Peru.

The Mistral project, carried out jointly by Claro and Telxius and supplied by Subcom, has required a significant investment for the deployment of approximately 7,300 kilometers of state-of-the-art  fiber optic submarine cable, which provides greater transmission capacity (72 Tbps) and redundancy to Peru. This is the first new submarine cable to Peru in nearly 20 years.

The cable is expected to be ready for service by mid-2021.

José Luis Díaz Ramírez, General Manager of Telxius Cable in Peru, highlighted the boost that this project will give to communications in Peru and in the Pacific coast countries of Latin America, as well as enabling us to continue offering our customers the highest levels of service, reliability and security. “With the Mistral, the first submarine cable to reach Peru since 2001, the country’s communications will be ready to handle the explosion of data traffic expected as a result of the development of new technologies such as 5G.”

Additionally, Telxius has six more cables connecting Latin America, three of them new generation cables: SAm-1, a 25,000 km fiber-optic cable ring circumnavigating Latin America; and on the Atlantic coast, Brusa, a 11,000-km submarine cable system linking Virginia Beach (USA) with San Juan (Puerto Rico), Fortaleza (Brazil) and Rio de Janeiro (Brazil); Junior, which takes over from Brusa in Rio de Janeiro and connects with Santos (Brazil), and Tannat, linking Santos with Las Toninas (Argentina). Also, the Pacific Caribbean Cable System (PCCS), which runs from Ecuador to Jacksonville (Florida) and lastly, Unisur, which links Las Toninas (Argentina) with Maldonado (Uruguay). 

https://telxius.com/en/claro-and-telxius-deploy-a-new-submarine-cable-in-the-pacific-to-improve-connectivity-for-millions-of-peruvians/

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Lumentum again raises its bid for Coherent to $6.9 billion

Lumentum Holdings delivered a higher acquisition offer to Coherent's Board of Directors. The new cash and stock offer is valued at $6.9 billion. 

Under the terms of the revised proposal, Coherent stockholders would receive $220.00 per share in cash and 0.6100 shares of Lumentum common stock for each Coherent share they own. Using Lumentum's closing stock price as of March 16, 2021, this equates to a consideration of $275.00 per Coherent share. As part of Lumentum's revised proposal, Silver Lake, the global leader in technology investing, will make a $1 billion equity investment in the combined company.

"Our Board of Directors remains steadfast in our belief that the combination of Lumentum and Coherent will create a diversified industry leader best positioned to accelerate the future of photonics," said Alan Lowe, Lumentum President and CEO. "Based on additional work, we are confident that we can meaningfully exceed our prior synergy estimates and have identified an estimated $219 million to $244 million of annual run-rate synergies. We are pleased to now pursue this combination with the support of Silver Lake, whose investment is a compelling indicator of the power of this transformative opportunity. We look forward to combining the talented teams at Coherent and Lumentum at a time when global markets are increasingly relying on photonics products and technologies."

"We are very familiar with Lumentum and Coherent and have a clear line of sight into the unique breadth of opportunity created by this combination," said Ken Hao, Chairman and Managing Partner, Silver Lake. "We believe strongly in the potential of the increased scale, expanded portfolio, and bolstered capabilities of the proposed combination and look forward to supporting Alan and the management team as investors and a member of the Board."

https://www.lumentum.com/en/media-room/news-releases/lumentum-announces-revised-proposal-coherent-0

Coherent receives a higher offer from II-VI

Friday, March 12, 2021  Coherent, II-VI, Lumentum, Mergers And Acquisitions  

On Friday, March 12, Coherent's board of directors once again determined that a revised acquisition proposal from II-VI Incorporated was a superior acquisition proposal. On Thursday, March 10, Coherent had announced a revised acquisition agreement with Lumentum.  Under the new deal with II-VI, each share of Coherent common stock would be exchanged for $195.00 in cash and 1.0 share of II-VI common stock at the completion of the transaction. ​

Coherent said it has notifed Lumentum that it intends to terminate their amended merger agreement unless Coherent receives a revised proposal from Lumentum by 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time on March 17, 2021.

Lumentum to acquire Coherent for it photonics and laser expertise

Tuesday, January 19, 2021  Lumentum, Mergers And Acquisitions  

 Lumentum agreed to acquire Coherent in a cash and stock transaction valued at $5.7 billion, with Coherent stockholders receiving $100.00 per share in cash and 1.1851 shares of Lumentum common stock for each Coherent share they own. The combination will create a leading photonics company with significant positions in the growing market for photonics, an expansive global customer base and a well-diversified revenue mix. The transaction value...

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UK completes 5G spectrum auction

Ofcom, the official telecoms regulator for the UK,, completed an auction of 200 MHz of spectrum split across two bands:

• 80 MHz of spectrum in the 700 MHz band. These airwaves consist of 2x30 MHz of paired frequency spectrum, and 20 MHz of supplementary downlink spectrum. The 700 MHz airwaves are ideal for providing wide area coverage – including in the countryside.
• 120 MHz of spectrum in 3.6-3.8 GHz band. These important airwaves are part of the primary band for 5G and capable of boosting mobile data capacity, carrying lots of data-hungry connections.

Four companies – EE Limited, Hutchison 3G UK Limited, Telefónica UK Limited and Vodafone Limited – took part in the principal stage of the auction, which involved them bidding for airwaves in 34 ‘lots’ to determine how much of the available spectrum they each secured. Principal stage bidding has now ended and Ofcom has published the results.

Results of the principal stage

• EE Limited has won 2x10 MHz of paired frequency spectrum in the 700 MHz band at a cost of £280,000,000; 20 MHz of supplementary downlink spectrum in the 700 MHz band at a cost of £4,000,000; and 40 MHz in the 3.6-3.8 GHz band at a cost of £168,000,000.
• Hutchison 3G UK Limited has won 2x10 MHz of paired frequency spectrum in the 700 MHz band at a cost of £280,000,000.
• Telefónica UK Limited has won 2x10 MHz of paired frequency spectrum in the 700 MHz band at a cost of £280,000,000; and 40 MHz in the 3.6-3.8 GHz band at a cost of £168,000,000.
• Vodafone Limited has won 40 MHz in the 3.6-3.8 GHz band at a cost of £176,400,000.

The total revenue raised from the principal stage is £1,356,400,000. The money raised by this auction will be passed on to HM Treasury.

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/about-ofcom/latest/features-and-news/spectrum-auction-principal-stage-results

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FCC to auction 3.45-3.55 GHz for 5G

The FCC adopted rules to reallocate 100 megahertz of spectrum in the 3.45 GHz band for flexible use wireless services.  The FCC's action also establishes a framework for the 3.45 GHz band that will enable robust commercial use by an array of service providers, while also ensuring that federal incumbents are still protected from harmful interference where and when they require continued access to the band. 

Collectively, the 3.45 GHz band and the neighboring 3.5 GHz and 3.7 GHz bands represent 530 megahertz of contiguous mid-band spectrum for 5G, the next generation of wireless services.  5G networks will kickstart the next big digital transformation and connect more people and more things in more places.

Last year’s Consolidated Appropriations Act required the Commission to commence a system of competitive bidding for licenses in the 3.45-3.55 GHz band by the end of this year.  The action taken today positions the agency to meet this obligation, and it marks progress towards fulfilling Congress’s directive in the MOBILE NOW Act for the FCC to work with NTIA to evaluate the feasibility of allowing commercial use in the 3.1-3.55 GHz band.  

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FCC seeks input on O-RAN

The FCC has opened a formal discussion on the opportunities and potential challenges presented by open and virtualized radio access networks, and how the FCC might leverage these concepts to support network security and 5G leadership.  The FCC seeks comment on the current status of development and deployment, whether and how the FCC might foster the success of these technologies, and how to support competitiveness and new entrant access to this emerging market.

The FCC is now seeking comment on the current status of Open RAN development and deployment in networks in the US and abroad.  It asks about the role of established large manufacturers and new entrants in setting standards for this new network architecture.  It seeks input on what steps should be taken by the FCC, federal partners, industry, academia, and others to accelerate the timeline for Open RAN standards development.  Further, it seeks comment on any challenges or other considerations related to the deployment, integration, and testing of systems based on Open RAN specifications.  

The NOI also requests comment on the costs and benefits associated with Open RAN development and deployment.   

https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-seeks-comment-open-radio-access-networksx

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DE-CIX interconnects with Vapor IO’s Kinetic Edge platform

DE-CIX has established interconnections with Vapor IO’s Kinetic Edge platform. 

The interconnections give edge applications global reach via thousands of networks that interconnect through DE-CIX Dallas and DE-CIX Chicago, as well as via extended reach to DE-CIX New York, where those same applications can access efficient network routes through DE-CIX’s GlobePEER Remote service. DE-CIX’s global neutral interconnection ecosystem reaches all the way from the DE-CIX IXs in North America, to Europe, the Middle East, and India, and on to Southeast Asia, connecting close to 2200 networks overall. DE-CIX interconnection services are available today from Vapor IO’s Kinetic Edge locations in Dallas and Chicago using Vapor IO’s web portal and its software-controlled Kinetic Edge Exchange platform.

“Edge applications aren’t just for local processing. They are often dependent on national and global reach, which is why our customers are excited to enrich their edge connectivity via access to thousands of networks on the DE-CIX platform,” said Cole Crawford, founder & CEO of Vapor IO. “DE-CIX is an exceptional addition to our service offering. Customers can leverage DE-CIX interconnection capabilities through our SDN platform, enabling autonomous, software defined interconnection that enables best-in-class data delivery to content, high-volume networks, and service providers in local, national and international markets via a single Kinetic Edge port connection to DE-CIX.”

“We’re excited to offer DE-CIX Chicago’s and DE-CIX Dallas’s local and remote peering capabilities through the Kinetic Edge platform. Accessibility on the Kinetic Edge platform provides SDN access to DE-CIX IXs, enabling Vapor’s edge data center and network customers the ability to reach our ecosystem of networks,” adds Ed d’Agostino, General Manager of DE-CIX North America. “Through the established NNIs with Vapor’s network in Chicago and Dallas, in conjunction with their SDN capabilities, DE-CIX’s 2021 goal of enabling greater edge access to DE-CIX’s North American exchanges is firmly in motion. Vapor’s Kinetic Edge is an ideal platform to enable connectivity from the edge to our core IX infrastructure.

https://www.de-cix.net

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FCC to revoke licenses for China Unicom Americas, Pacific Networks, and ComNet.

The FCC has begun revocation proceedings against China Unicom Americas, Pacific Networks, and ComNet on national security grounds. The process could prohibit these carriers from continued operation in the U.S.  

Commissioner Carr issued the following statement:

“In 2019, when we blocked China Mobile USA from entering the U.S. market based on national security concerns, I said it was time for a top to bottom review of every telecom carrier with ties to the communist regime in China.  Many of these firms were authorized to operate in the U.S. decades ago and the security threats have evolved substantially in the intervening years.  With that type of review in mind, the FCC opened investigations into several carriers—including the carriers at issue here, China Unicom Americas, Pacific Networks, and ComNet.  We have provided them with the process necessary for the FCC to identify and eliminate any threats they may pose to America’s national security.  

“These three carriers provided incomplete and inconsistent responses that failed to address these threats and in turn raised fresh concerns about their ability to follow FCC rules.  The Executive Branch agencies with responsibility for national security reviews have echoed these concerns and advise that traffic on these networks ‘remains subject to exploitation, influence, and control by the Chinese government.’  I therefore agree with the Commission’s determination today.  The potential national security threats posed by these carriers requires the FCC to initiate revocation proceedings.

“The threat to our networks from entities aligned with Communist China is one that we must address head on, and I am pleased that the FCC continues to show the strength and resolve necessary to meet this menace.  When it comes to Communist China, we have set a high bar for action over the last few years, and I look forward to continuing to work with my FCC colleagues on ways to protect America’s communications networks and in turn our national security.”  

https://www.fcc.gov/document/carr-statement-carriers-ties-communist-china-0

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Crehan: 100GbE shipments surpass 10GbE

Total shipments of 100 gigabit Ethernet (GbE) data center switch ports increased more than 20% during full-year 2020, according to a recent report from Crehan Research Inc. The robust increase, combined with a continuing decline in 10GbE shipments, resulted in 100GbE surpassing 10GbE to become the most widely deployed data center Ethernet switch connection speed.

Crehan’s data center Ethernet switch report further shows that this speed transition has occurred very rapidly, with 100GbE becoming a majority of shipments approximately just five years after initial 32*100GbE port (3.2Tbps) switch deployments. The hyperscale cloud service provider customer segment has been a key driver of the transition, accounting for the majority of cumulative 100GbE data center switch shipments to date.

“The data center Ethernet switch market’s transition to 100GbE as the most popular network connection speed is a reflection of the strong customer adoption of public data center networking: statistics analysis insights cloud services,” said Seamus Crehan, president of Crehan Research. “100GbE has been the de facto switch port speed in some of the largest hyperscale cloud service provider data center networks for over four years. Furthermore, this rapid migration to 100GbE has brought some significant market share shifts within the data center switch supplier ecosystem, and these shares are now in play again as the transition to 200GbE and 400GbE gains traction.”

Other noteworthy results from Crehan’s data center switch report include:

• Arista accounted for close to 40% of cumulative 100GbE branded data center switch shipments.
• Cisco accounted for over 40% of cumulative 100GbE branded data center switch revenue.
• H3C, Huawei, and Juniper each shipped more than two million cumulative 100GbE data center switch ports since product introductions.
• Nvidia’s 100GbE data center switch shipments more than doubled in 2020.
• 25GbE data center switching also had very strong annual growth in 2020, with shipments increasing more than 30%.
• Although data center Ethernet switch revenues declined slightly for the full year, there was a general progression of improvement from a steep year-over-year decrease in 1Q20 to moderate year-over-year growth by 4Q20.

"The robust 2020 growth for 100GbE shipments was impressive, given that two of the largest data center switch customers – Amazon and Google – have been ramping 400GbE deployments strongly," Crehan said.

https://www.crehanresearch.com/

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Nokia confirms major job cuts

Nokia announced plans to reduce its employee headcount from 90,000 today to 80,000 to 85,000 range over an 18–24-month period.  This is expected to lower the company’s cost base by approximately EUR 600 million by the end of 2023.

Nokia said the action was necessary to offset increased investments in R&D, future capabilities and costs related to salary inflation. 

“Nokia now has four fully accountable business groups. Each of them has identified a clear path to sustainable, profitable growth and they are resetting their cost bases to invest in their future,” said Pekka Lundmark, President and CEO.

“Each business group will aim for technology leadership. In those areas where we choose to compete, we will play to win. We are therefore enhancing product quality and cost competitiveness, and investing in the right skills and capabilities,” Lundmark continued.

More details:

• Mobile Networks will further invest in 5G R&D and accelerate efforts to digitalize processes and tools across the value chain. It will streamline its portfolio and reduce investment levels in mature or declining parts of the portfolio; continue to reduce site fragmentation; reduce overlapping activities and drive further cost efficiencies.
• Cloud and Network Services’ customers are shifting away from owning products to consuming outcomes, delivered as-a-service from the cloud. The business group’s priorities and how it operates must align with this shift. The group will align portfolios and streamline service models; strengthen technology leadership by refocusing R&D resources to emerging growth opportunities; streamline operations and support functions and increase productivity through reduced site fragmentation.
• Network Infrastructure will remain largely unchanged although it will increase its R&D investments and plan for new capabilities in order to meet customer demand and support portfolio innovation. Additionally, by fully realizing the cost efficiencies offered by Nokia’s new operating model it anticipates streamlining SG&A costs as a percentage of sales.

Nokia Technologies will remain largely unchanged.

https://www.nokia.com/about-us/news/releases/2021/03/16/nokia-announces-plans-to-reset-its-cost-base-to-invest-in-future-capabilities/

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Rockley employs Synopsys for its silicon photonics designs

Rockley Photonics has adopted Synopsys solutions to accelerate the design and verification of silicon photonics for sensing and datacom applications. 

Specifically, Rockley is using tools from Synopsys' Photonic Solutions platform, including OptoCompiler, OptoDesigner, OptSim Circuit, RSoft Photonic Device Tools and IC Validator. Rockley plans to use Synopsys solutions to design and optimize photonic devices, create process design kits (PDKs) and tape out photonic ICs.

Rockley was an early adopter of Synopsys' OptoCompiler tool following its commercial launch in September 2020. OptoCompiler is the industry's first unified electronic and photonic design platform, combining mature and dedicated photonic technology with Synopsys' industry-proven custom and analog-mixed signal tools to enable engineers to produce and verify complex photonic IC designs quickly and accurately.

"Rockley's unique photonic chipset technology with silicon photonics at its core is driving the growth of integrated optical components in healthcare, machine vision and data communications," said Andrew Rickman, chief executive at Rockley. "The PDA platform Rockley has created by utilizing OptoCompiler allows our engineers to define, simulate, lay out and verify Photonic ICs quickly and efficiently to meet our quality and schedule goals. Synopsys' technical support has been instrumental in ensuring Rockley met its tape-out goals. We look forward to additional efficiency gains by expanding our use of Synopsys' Photonic Solutions tools."

https://www.synopsys.com/

Rockley Photonics secures $50 million in funding

Monday, October 12, 2020  Rockley, Silicon Photonics, Start-Ups  

 Rockley Photonics, a start-up specializing in integrated optical chips and modules, has closed an additional $50 million of growth funding from leading deep-tech VCs, strategic investors, and institutional funds including Credit Suisse backed SIG-i Capital and Applied Ventures, the venture capital arm of Applied Materials, as well as existing shareholders. To date, Rockley has raised over $225 million of financing to develop its unique silicon photonics platform.

“It is testament to the strength of our technology and emerging market opportunities that we have attracted such a preeminent list of new investors to join many of our existing shareholders in this funding round,” said Andrew Rickman, chief executive officer, Rockley Photonics. “This round provides the funding for Rockley as it moves into the next exciting growth phase and develops next generation disruptive silicon photonics powered healthcare and wellness sensors and communications products for its Tier-1 customers.”

Rockley Photonics was founded by Dr. Andrew Rickman in 2013. The company has offices in Pasadena, San Jose, Oxford, Cardiff, Cork, and Helsinki.

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Huawei looks to license its 5G patents

Huawei announced plans to license its patent portfolio especially in the area of 5G, where it is looking for a royalty rate of US$2.50 per multi-mode 5G handset.

Huawei currently holds over 100,000 active patents in more than 40,000 patent families worldwide.

Jason Ding, Head of Huawei's Intellectual Property Rights Department, said, "Innovation has been at the core of Huawei's business since the company was founded. Our 2020 white paper lists the number of patent applications Huawei filed, or our R&D and innovation activities, in the late 90s and early 2000s." He also stated, "Huawei's worldwide patent applications were on par with other industry leaders in the early 2000s, and Huawei's success today is a result of its long-term investment in innovation and R&D."

Huawei estimates it will receive about US$1.2 to 1.3 billion from patent licensing between 2019 and 2021. 

"Huawei has been the largest technical contributor to 5G standards, and follows fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) principles when it comes to patent licensing," added Ding, "we hope that the royalty rate we announced today will increase 5G adoption by giving 5G implementers a more transparent cost structure that will inform their investment decisions moving forward."

Huawei also launched a new patent mini-site on its website, with patents organized into different portfolios. 

Huawei's patent mini-site here: https://patents.huawei.com

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Teramount raises $8 million for silicon photonics

Teramount, a start-up based in Jerusalem announced $8 million in series A funding. 

Teramount is developing a Photonic-Plug for connecting optics to silicon using standard semiconductor manufacturing processes and packaging. The company says its technology offers high assembly tolerances that allow for passive alignment processes and enables high volume packaging through standard CMOS assembly lines.

The funding was led by Grove Ventures with participation from Amelia Investments and former executive VP of Intel and company Chairman, David (Dadi) Perlmutter, along with additional private investors. 

http://www.teramount.com/ 

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ZTE posts 11.8% growth as infrastructure investments in China surge

 ZTE reported operating revenue of RMB101.45 billion (about US$15.6 billion) for 2020, representing a year-on-year increase of 11.8%. Net profit amounted to RMB4.26 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 17.3%, attributable mainly to the relatively substantial growth in net profit for 2019 comprising a one-off income before taxation of RMB2.66 billion from asset disposal during the third quarter of 2019. Basic earnings per share was RMB0.92.

In 2020, ZTE's operating revenue in both domestic and international markets increased year-on-year, with operating revenue in domestic and international markets increased by 16.9% to RMB68.05 billion and 2.7% to RMB33.40 billion respectively.  

In 2020, ZTE's operating revenue in both domestic and international markets increased year-on-year, with operating revenue in domestic and international markets increased by 16.9% to RMB68.05 billion and 2.7% to RMB33.40 billion respectively.  

Some highlights for 2020:

• Year-on-year growth in all its three major businesses:  operator networks, government and enterprise services and consumer services grew by 11.2% to RMB74.02 billion, 23.1% to RMB11.27 billion and 7.8% to RMB16.16 billion respectively. 
• Net cash flows from operating activities for 2020 rose to RMB10.23 billion, a year-on-year increase of 37.4%, setting a new record again. 
• R&D spending amounted to RMB14.80 billion with a year-on-year growth of 17.9%, which was 14.6% as a percentage of operating revenue, 0.8 percentage point higher than that in 2019. 

https://www.zte.com.cn/global/about/news/20210316e1.html

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Qualcomm completes $1.4 billion acquisition of NUVIA

Qualcomm completed its previously announced acquisition of NUVIA for $1.4 billion before working capital and other adjustments.

“The world-class NUVIA team enhances our CPU roadmap, extending Qualcomm’s leading technology position with the Windows, Android and Chrome ecosystems,” said Cristiano Amon, President and CEO-Elect, Qualcomm Incorporated. “The broad support of this acquisition from across industries validates the opportunity we have to provide differentiated products with leading CPU performance and power efficiency, as on-demand computing increases in the 5G era.”

Qualcomm Technologies expects to integrate next generation CPUs across a wide portfolio of products, including powering flagship smartphones, laptops, and digital cockpits, as well as Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, extended reality, and infrastructure networking solutions. The first Qualcomm Snapdragon platforms to feature the new internally designed CPUs are expected to sample in the second half of 2022 and will be designed for high performance ultraportable laptops.  

“We are excited to join the leading wireless innovator in the industry, driven by a common mission of inventing breakthrough technologies. Together, we will create a new class of high-performance computing platforms that set the bar for the industry,” said Gerard Williams former CEO of NUVIA, who now is SVP of Engineering at Qualcomm Technologies.

https://www.qualcomm.com/news/releases/2021/03/16/qualcomm-completes-acquisition-nuvia

• In September 2020, NUVIA, which is headquartered in Santa Clara, California, announced a $240 million funding round led by Mithril Capital in partnership with Sehat Sutardja and Weili Dai (founders of Marvell Technology Group), funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC., and Temasek, with additional participation from Atlantic Bridge, Redline Capital, Capricorn Investment Group, Dell Technologies Capital, Mayfield, Nepenthe LLC and WRVI Capital. The closure of NUVIA’s Series B round builds on a $53M Series A round, raised in November 2019. 
•  NUVIA was founded in February 2019 by John Bruno, Manu Gulati and Gerard Williams, with the vision to create the world’s leading server processor in terms of performance per watt.

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AMD sees wide partner support for new EPYC server chips

AMD unveiled its EPYC 7003 Series CPUs, claiming the highest performance benchmark for a server processor with up to 19% more instructions per clock. 

The AMD EPYC 7003 Series Processors have up to 64 “Zen 3” cores per processor and introduce new levels of per-core cache memory, while continuing to offer the PCIe 4 connectivity and class-leading memory bandwidth. 3rd Gen AMD EPYC processors also include modern security features through AMD Infinity Guard, supporting a new feature called Secure Encrypted Virtualization-Secure Nested Paging (SEV-SNP). SEV-SNP expands the existing SEV features on EPYC processors, adding strong memory integrity protection capabilities to help prevent malicious hypervisor-based attacks by creating an isolated execution environment. 

“With the launch of our 3rd Gen AMD EPYC processors, we are incredibly excited to deliver the fastest server CPU in the world. These processors extend our data center leadership and help customers solve today’s most complex IT challenges, while substantially growing our ecosystem,” said Forrest Norrod, senior vice president and general manager, Data Center and Embedded Solutions Business Group. “We not only double the performance over the competition in HPC, cloud and enterprise workloads with our newest server CPUs, but together with the AMD Instinct GPUs, we are breaking the exascale barrier in supercomputing and helping to tackle problems that have previously been beyond humanity’s reach.”

AMD also cited broad industry support, including:

• AWS – will add the AMD EPYC 7003 series processors to its core Amazon EC2 instance families later this year.
• Cisco – introduced new Cisco Unified Computing System (Cisco UCS) rack server models with AMD EPYC 7003 Series Processors designed to support modern hybrid cloud workloads.   
• Dell Technologies – announced the all new PowerEdge XE8545 server with AMD EPYC 7003 series CPUs, and the company will support the new processors within its PowerEdge server portfolio.
• Google Cloud – announced AMD EPYC 7003 series processors will power a new compute optimized VM, C2D, and an expansion of the existing general purpose N2D VM later this year. Google Cloud Confidential Computing will be available on both C2D and N2D.
• HPE – announced it will double the lineup of AMD EPYC processor powered solutions, using the AMD EPYC 7003 series processors in new HPE ProLiant servers, HPE Apollo systems and HPE Cray EX supercomputers.
• Lenovo – added ten Lenovo ThinkSystem Servers and ThinkAgile HCI solutions built on 3rd Gen EPYC processors, and achieved more than 25 new world records across a broad set of industry-standard benchmarks in workload areas.
• Microsoft Azure  – announced multiple new virtual machine offerings powered by AMD EPYC 7003 series processors. Azure HBv3 virtual machines for HPC applications are generally available today, and Confidential Computing virtual machines that utilize the full security features of the new AMD EPYC 7003 series processors are in private preview.
• Oracle Cloud Infrastructure – announced it is extending its flexible virtual machine and bare metal compute offerings with the new E4 platform based on 3rd Generation AMD EPYC Processors.
• Supermicro – introduced the AMD EPYC 7003 series processor in its Supermicro A+ single and dual socket family of Ultra, Twin, SuperBlade, Storage and GPU Optimized Systems.
• Tencent Cloud – announced the new Tencent Cloud SA3 server instance, powered by the 3rd Gen AMD EPYC processors.  
• VMware – announced its latest release of VMware vSphere 7 which is optimized to take advantage of AMD EPYC processors virtualization performance, while supporting the processors’ advanced security features, including SEV-ES for both virtual machine based and containerized applications.

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