Dell'Oro: Wireless LAN market impacted by backlogs

The overall market for enterprise wireless LAN equipment is expected to exceed $10 billion by 2026, and see a healthy CAGR over the next five years, according to Dell'Oro Group.  However, enterprise Wireless LAN backlogs will balloon to over 100 percent of revenues in 2022, leaving companies to get inventive in their search for Wi-Fi coverage.  A boost in unit shipments is not expected until late 2023, with a return to normal unit growth still two years away.

“Wireless LAN market sales are being dragged down by manufacturers’ record-breaking backlogs,” said Siân Morgan, Wireless LAN Research Director.  “Our recent interviews have revealed that the lead time for receiving Wireless LAN Access Points has stretched to between six months and a year – a significant change from the ‘weeks-to-months’ that enterprises were waiting at the end of 2021. Supply constraints have shifted, including not just the main Wi-Fi chips but also secondary or even tertiary components.  With a limited ability to fulfill the orders flooding in, manufacturers will focus their late 2022 and early 2023 shipments on working down outstanding backlogs:  mainly orders for Wi-Fi 6.  Unit shipments should start to loosen up later in 2023, about the time Wi-Fi 7 appears on the market.

“Enterprises are going to creative lengths to procure Wi-Fi solutions, such as prolonging existing support contracts, using older equipment or even repurposing consumer-grade routers. Systems integrators are recommending ways to enable more applications, squeezing more value from the existing network infrastructure. In sum, now is a time characterized by invention,” added Morgan.Additional highlights from the Wireless LAN July 2022 5-Year Forecast Report:

• A calculation on published backlog levels of manufacturers outside China reveals order books swell to over ten times their normal level, exceeding the size of their annual revenues.
• This year’s market growth of nine percent will be mainly fueled by price increases, with unit shipments remaining constrained. Increased prices will boost 2023 revenues as manufacturers pass on higher costs, but price erosion will begin to take hold in 2024 and beyond.
• The first enterprise-class Wi-Fi 7 shipments in the fourth quarter of 2023 are predicted to dampen the take-up of Wi-Fi 6E.
• While the adoption of public cloud-managed Wireless LAN will expand, a substantial portion of customers will prefer private cloud and on-premises solutions as enterprises reevaluate their cloud strategy.

https://www.delloro.com/news/wireless-lan-backlogs-pile-up-to-10x-normal-levels/

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Biden signs CHIPS and Science Act

by James E. Carroll

President Biden signed the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, which aims to onshore domestic manufacturing of semiconductors and to substantially increase government funding for science and technology development programs, including the networking and telecommunications fields. 

The legislation provides $54.2 billion in total appropriations for CHIPS and Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation (also known as ORAN), and $82.5 billion in additional appropriations for research programs through the National Science Foundation, the Department of Commerce, NIST, NASA, and the Department of Energy.

“Today, we’re sending a clear signal to the world that we are serious about rebuilding our domestic manufacturing industry and leading the world in science and innovation for decades to come. I’m excited to get to work doing exactly that,” stated U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo. 

Key provisions of the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022

Thursday, July 28, 2022  CHIPs, Gov  

The U.S. House of Representatives voted 243-187 to pass the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022. The legislation was approved by the U.S. Senate last week. President Biden is now expected to sign it into law.The principal aim of the CHIPS Act is to onshore domestic manufacturing of semiconductors. It will also substantially increase government funding for science and technology development programs impacting the networking and telecommunications fields. The...

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América Móvil spins off its towers business

by James E. Carroll

América Móvil completed the spin-off of its telecommunications towers and other associated infrastructure in certain Latin America countries into a new, independent company called Sitios Latinoamérica, S.A.B. de C.V. 

Sitios Latam is a Mexican company, independent from AMX’s management and capital structure. Its business focuses on the construction, operation and marketing of towers and other structures for the installation of telecommunications equipment. 

Sitios Latam's towers are located in the following countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panamá, Paraguay, Puerto Rico and Uruguay. 

In addition, as of today, Sitios Latam has started the construction of towers in Peru. Sitios Latam has an inventory of 29,090, on an aggregate basis, 39% of which are in Brazil. Sitios Latam will continue to evaluate growth opportunities in the region.

https://www.americamovil.com/English/overview/default.aspx

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Türk Telekom maintains balance amidst inflation and other pressures

Citing inflation and other macroeconomic and societal pressure, Türk Telekom Group reported a balanced financial performance in the second quarter, with consolidated revenues increasing by 31.2% YoY to TL 10.7 billion. EBITDA rose to TL 4.4 billion with an EBITDA margin of 41.0%. Net income of TL 1.4 billion grew by 9.4% YoY. Net Debt/EBITDA increased to 1.54x from the previous quarter as the upward trend in FX rates continued.

Türk Telekom CEO Ümit Önal said: “Q2’22 has clearly demonstrated a fresh set of adversities. Inflation has proven to be an even bigger problem to tackle with for individuals, corporates, governments and central banks alike across the globe. Consumers were highly challenged by the pricing environment in general which has dictated more scrutiny on typical baskets. In this backdrop, we implemented our plans to weather the storm with highest focus on mitigating risks while generating healthy growth on a sustainable basis. Managing our subscriber base was an uneasy task but our steadfast priority for quality services, customer experience and value maximisation has lent great support to our satisfying operational and financial performance. The second half of 2022 will continue to be tough, we think. Therefore, we maintain caution and keep ourselves fit to remain resilient and financially sound."

2nd Quarter 2022 Operational Highlights

• Total number of Türk Telekom subscribers remained flat at 52.2 mn with 53K net subscriber additions in Q2’22. The increase in fixed broadband and mobile bases was largely offset by the decline in fixed voice. Net subscriber additions were 1.5 mn during the last twelve months.
• Fixed broadband subscribers inched up to 14.6 mn with slower quarterly net additions of 87K amid normalisation and price revisions. Broadband ARPU growth of 19.1% YoY was visibly higher compared to both Q1’22 and Q2’21 levels.
• Fibre subscribers reached 10.7 mn with 387K quarterly net additions. The number of FTTC subscribers reached 7.6 mn, while the number of FTTH/B subscribers increased to 3.1 mn. The share of fibre subscribers in our fixed broadband base increased to 73.5% from 58.5% a year ago.
• Fibre cable network length increased to 381K km as of Q2’22 from 372K km as of Q1’22 and 345K km as of Q2’21. Fibre network covers 30.8 mn households as of Q2’22 compared to 30.6 mn as of Q1’22, reflecting the continued focus on fibre rollouts. FTTC homepass made it to 21.4 mn while FTTH/B homepass increased to 9.4 mn.
• Mobile subscriber portfolio reached 24.6 mn with 246K of net additions during the quarter.
• Postpaid segment grew by 338K while prepaid contracted by 92K.
• Share of LTE subscribers3 in mobile subscriber base increased to 69% in Q2’22 from 62% in Q2’21. Average monthly data usage per LTE user increased by 20.6% to 11.5GB in Q2’22 from 9.5GB in Q2’21.
• Number of fixed voice subscribers declined by 264K during the quarter in line with the strategy focusing on naked-DSL sales in new acquisitions, rather than WLR. Including nDSL, the number of total fixed access lines increased to 17.1 mn.
• In Q2’22, the number of TV Home subscribers remained flat QoQ at 1.5 mn.

https://www.turktelekom.com.tr/en/pages/default.aspx

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Dell'Oro: Hyperscalers to lift data center Capex to $377B in 2026

Global data center capex is on track to reach $377 billion by 2026, with the hyperscale cloud service providers accounting for more than half the market total, according to a new report from Dell'Oro Group. 

“The data center of the future will continue to evolve, with new accelerated computing architectures on the horizon enabling AI applications that are more automated, intelligent, and immersive for end-users,” said Baron Fung, Research Director at Dell’Oro Group. “The hyperscale service providers will lead the market in investing in new accelerated computing technologies, with an emphasis on the cutting-edge server and network architectures, as well as enhanced thermal management solutions. However, there is much uncertainty in the near term for the overall market. Lingering supply chain challenges, persistent inflationary pressures, and declining economic growth could weigh down on enterprise data center spending in the near term. Despite these near-term uncertainties, our long-term outlook is optimistic, as enterprises undergo digital transformation initiatives, deploying new hybrid cloud workloads, and with the cloud service providers and telecom operators extending their infrastructure to the network edge,” explained Fung.

Additional highlights from the July 2022 Data Center IT Capex 5-Year Forecast Report:

• Worldwide data center capex is forecast to grow 13 percent by 2026.
• Adoption in new server CPU platforms and accelerated computing will be primary capex growth drivers in the data center.
• Edge computing is forecast to comprise 8 percent of total data center infrastructure spending by 2026.

https://www.delloro.com/news/hyperscalers-to-lift-data-center-capex-to-377-billion-in-2026/ 

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Kajeet and Samsung collaborate on Private 5G

Kajeet, which specializes in private wireless and managed IoT connectivity solutions, will become an authorized distributor of Samsung’s private RAN solutions in the U.S.

The collaboration matches Kajeet’s Smart Private 5G Platform with Samsung’s Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) solutions. 

Samsung’s CBRS products to be deployed by Kajeet include its Massive MIMO 64T64R macro cell and 4T4R 4G/5G radio. Certified by the OnGo® Alliance, these products support a variety of use cases requiring campus-wide connectivity with massive data capacity. This includes enabling FWA for underserved rural areas and industrial IoT applications connecting thousands of sensors to analyze data.

Kajeet builds and manages private 5G networks on behalf of school districts, smart cities, municipalities, universities and community colleges, utilities, libraries, healthcare organizations, and other enterprises in key vertical markets.

"Samsung has been a pioneer in RAN innovation, and we are excited to be collaborating with them to address the needs of our expanding array of customers that want robust, reliable and affordable carrier-class private wireless networks,” said Derrick Frost, SVP and GM of Private Wireless Networks at Kajeet. “Kajeet’s open innovation in 5G edge & core, paired with Samsung’s CBRS solutions that enable seamless migration to 5G and suit any vertical use case, provides enhanced connectivity experiences both today and tomorrow.”

“Samsung is committed to advancing private network innovation and putting this technology into action for various enterprises and organizations today,” said Imran Akbar, Vice President and Head of New Business Team, Networks Business, Samsung Electronics America. “Kajeet has extensive experience in deploying and managing end-to-end private and public networks, and we look forward to collaborating with them to accelerate deployment of Samsung’s industry leading private 5G solutions to help lead digital transformation for enterprises.”

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Airspan adds 60 Private 4G/5G networks in Q2

Airspan Networks reported revenue of $46.9 million for the second quarter ended June 30, 2022, up 25% sequentially from first quarter 2022, and up 12% year-over-year. Gross margin was 40.1% compared to 32.1% in first quarter 2022, and 45.7% in second quarter 2021. There was a net loss of $21.0 million, compared to a net loss of $29.7 million in first quarter 2022, and a net loss of $10.4 million for second quarter 2021.

“We continue to execute our growth plan and see healthy demand for our innovative products and solutions,” said Airspan Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Eric Stonestrom. “Furthermore, we are encouraged by concrete government action on the CHIPS Act, which currently allocates $1.5B for Open RAN technology development, an area of Airspan focus and differentiation. However, the supply chain environment continues to impact sales and margin as seen in the near-term outlook.”

“Four of our largest customers signed new purchase orders during the quarter. We continue to see growing demand in the core markets we serve, namely mobile networks, private networks and fixed wireless,” said Airspan President and Chief Operating Officer Glenn Laxdal.

Some highlights:

• Strong performance in a challenging supply chain environment.
• Continued momentum in private network deployments:
• Added over 60 Private 4G/5G Networks in second quarter 2022 bringing the total number of Private Networks design wins to more than 300.
• Signed Global Purchase Agreements with two additional web scale cloud providers.
• Signed agreement with a leading global Private Networks managed service provider.
• New milestone reached with a Tier 1 US Cable MSO with a Purchase Order in second quarter 2022, and a significant deployment throughout 2022.
• Airspan Networks Named Winner of Three Small Cell Forum Innovation Awards, Demonstrating Solution Scalability for Both Public and Private Networks. Fifth year in a row Airspan has been honored by the Forum (link).
• Demonstrated a fiber equivalent 4+ Gbps Fixed Wireless Access point to multi-point connection speed with one of Asia’s largest carriers and made substantial inroads with US Rural Digital Opportunity Fund recipients.

https://www.airspan.com

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SpaceX launches 52 more Starlinks from Florida

SpaceX launched 52 Starlink satellites from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The Falcon 9 first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched SES-22 and now two Starlink missions.

The mission was SpaceX’s 55th Starlink mission to date. It was SpaceX's first Starlink mission in August and 21st Starlink mission this year.

http://www.spacex.com

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GlobalFoundries signs Qualcomm for FinFET fab in New York

by James E. Carroll

GlobalFoundries and Qualcomm Technologies announced a semiconductor manufacturing deal that extends through 2028.

Specifically, the manufacturing agreement extends QGT's U.S. based collaboration with GF in FinFET for 5G transceivers, Wi-Fi, Automotive and IoT connectivity.

The companies said their partnership secures wafer supply and commitments to support U.S.-based manufacturing through capacity expansion at GF's most advanced semiconductor manufacturing facility, in Malta, New York.

"With accelerating demand for 5G, Automotive and IoT applications, a robust supply chain is critical for ensuring innovation in these areas remains uninterrupted," said Dr. Roawen Chen, Senior Vice President and Chief Supply Chain and Operations Officer, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. "Our continued collaboration with GF helps us to expand the next generation of wireless innovation as we move toward a world where everyone and everything can be intelligently connected."

"GF's global manufacturing footprint enables us to partner with our customers to meet their capacity needs, where they need it," said Dr. Thomas Caulfield, president and CEO of GF. "Our collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies delivers differentiation and innovation in mobile and IoT spanning three continents, and this long-term agreement extension provides Qualcomm Technologies with additional U.S. based manufacturing for a more resilient supply chain."

GF has been manufacturing Qualcomm Technologies' feature rich, high-performance chips for many years, reaching across its global footprint. In 2021, Qualcomm Global Trading Pte. Ltd (QGT), a subsidiary of Qualcomm Technologies, was one of GF's first customers to secure their supply with a long-term agreement covering multiple geographies and technologies. That agreement secured 22FDX capacity at GF's Dresden facility and will now include capacity at GF's recently announced facility in Crolles, France, making QGT an anchor customer in GF's leading European proprietary technology. QGT has also secured capacity in GF's market leading 8SW radio-frequency silicon-on-insulator (RFSOI) technologies for Sub 6GHz 5G front-end module (FEM) which will be primarily manufactured in GF's Singapore facilities, where site expansion plans are well underway with full ramp expected in early 2023.

https://www.investors.gf.com

ST and GlobalFoundries target 300mm fab in France

Monday, July 11, 2022  France, GlobalFoundries, Silicon, ST  

STMicroelectronics and GlobalFoundries agreed to create a new, jointly-operated 300mm semiconductor manufacturing facility adjacent to ST’s existing 300mm facility in Crolles, France. This facility is targeted to ramp at full capacity by 2026, with up to 620,000 300mm wafer per year production at full build-out (~42% ST and ~58% GF).The new facility will support several technologies, in particular FD-SOI-based technologies, and will cover multiple...

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Motorola Solutions signs GlobalFoundries to secure radio chip supply

Thursday, May 19, 2022  GlobalFoundries, Motorola Solutions  

Motorola Solutions, which supplies two-way radios for public safety, critical infrastructure and enterprise organizations, signed a long-term agreement with GlobalFoundries to supply chip solutions.The companies point out that several critical chips the company designs for its public safety, professional and commercial radios are manufactured by GF in Vermont. GF's SiGe process technology enables the highly reliable, long-range, secure and clear...

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BT tests 5G carrier aggregation with Nokia

by James E. Carroll

BT is testing the aggregation of four carrier components (4CC) in a 5G Standalone (SA) live network in collaboration with Nokia. 

BT’s Networks team have successfully combined four low-band and mid-band radio channels, (2.1, 2.6, 3.4, 3.6 GHz), using Nokia’s 5G Radio Access Network technology in EE’s live network spectrum.

The trial was conducted in two stages; it was first performed in BT’s Radio Lab in Bristol, and then moved outdoors, onto a radio mast at BT’s Adastral Park in Suffolk, where the team successfully achieved 4CC on 5G SA radiating in EE’s regular radio spectrum. Not only is it the first time in Europe that a network operator has achieved 4CC on 5G SA using commercial spectrum, but it is also the first time it has been achieved outside of a lab in Europe.

Greg McCall, Managing Director Service Platforms BT, commented: “Our trial with Nokia is another demonstration of building the most advanced network for our customers. 5G Standalone, coupled with edge compute, will unlock new opportunities for customers looking to develop new services. Furthermore, this technology showcases what’s possible for devices in the future in terms of supporting carrier aggregation, which is an important part of customer experience.”

https://newsroom.bt.com/bt-and-nokia-claim-european-first-by-combining-four-channels-of-spectrum-on-a-5g-standalone-network/

BT conducts Open RAN trial with Nokia

Wednesday, January 26, 2022  BT, Nokia, O-RAN  

BT will install Nokia’s RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) for Open RAN, across a number of sites, to optimise network performance for customers of its mobile network, EE. The Open RAN trial is taking place in the city of Hull. BT said it is supporting Open RAN, with its vendor partners, to ensure it becomes a viable, mature, scale option for network optimisation as soon as possible. In addition to this trial, BT will also open a dedicated Open...

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BT trials new hyper-sensitive quantum radio receiver

Sunday, May 22, 2022  BT  

BT is testing a new hyper-sensitive quantum antenna technology uses ‘excited atoms’ to deliver over 100x greater sensitivity than traditional receivers.BT says Atomic Radio Frequency (RF) receiver technology represents a revolutionary new way of detecting radio waves that could find much weaker signals than conventional receivers. The receiver works by using a quantum effect called “electromagnetically induced transparency” to form a highly sensitive...

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VMware observes a big uptake in cyberattacks

 In the past few months, there has been a significant uptick in cyberattacks, such as deepfakes, attacks on APIs, and cybercriminals targeting incident responders, according to VMware's newly released its eighth annual Global Incident Response Threat Report

“Cybercriminals are now incorporating deepfakes into their attack methods to evade security controls,” said Rick McElroy, principal cybersecurity strategist at VMware. “Two out of three respondents in our report saw malicious deepfakes used as part of an attack, a 13% increase from last year, with email as the top delivery method. Cybercriminals have evolved beyond using synthetic video and audio simply for influence operations or disinformation campaigns. Their new goal is to use deepfake technology to compromise organizations and gain access to their environment.”

Additional key findings from the report include:

• Cyber pro burnout remains a critical issue. Forty-seven percent of incident responders said they experienced burnout or extreme stress in the past 12 months, down slightly from 51% last year. Of this group, 69% (versus 65% in 2021) of respondents have considered leaving their job as a result. Organizations are working to combat this, however, with more than two-thirds of respondents stating their workplaces have implemented wellness programs to address burnout.
• Ransomware actors incorporate cyber extortion strategies. The predominance of ransomware attacks, often buttressed by e-crime groups’ collaborations on the dark web, has yet to let up. Fifty-seven percent of respondents have encountered such attacks in the past 12 months, and two-thirds (66%) have encountered affiliate programs and/or partnerships between ransomware groups as prominent cyber cartels continue to extort organizations through double extortion techniques, data auctions, and blackmail.
• APIs are the new endpoint, representing the next frontier for attackers. As workloads and applications proliferate, 23% of attacks now compromise API security. The top types of API attacks include data exposure (encountered by 42% of respondents in the past year), SQL and API injection attacks (37% and 34%, respectively), and distributed Denial-of-Service attacks (33%).
• Lateral movement is the new battleground. Lateral movement was seen in 25% of all attacks, with cybercriminals leveraging everything from script hosts (49%) and file storage (46%) to PowerShell (45%), business communications platforms (41%), and .NET (39%) to rummage around inside networks. An analysis of the telemetry within VMware Contexa, a full-fidelity threat intelligence cloud that’s built into VMware security products, discovered that in April and May of 2022 alone, nearly half of intrusions contained a lateral movement event.

https://www.vmware.com/content/microsites/learn/en/1553238_REG.html

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NVIDIA trims outlook on lower gaming sales and supply disruptions

Citing macroeconomic headwins and lower gaming sales, NVIDIA trimmed its financial outlook for the second quarter ended July 31, 2022.

Second quarter revenue is expected to be approximately $6.70 billion, down 19% sequentially and up 3% from the prior year, primarily reflecting weaker than forecasted Gaming revenue. Gaming revenue was $2.04 billion, down 44% sequentially and down 33% from the prior year. Data Center revenue was $3.81 billion, up 1% sequentially and up 61% from the prior year.

The shortfall relative to the May revenue outlook of $8.10 billion was primarily attributable to lower sell-in of Gaming products reflecting a reduction in channel partner sales likely due to macdroeconomic headwinds. In addition to reducing sell-in, the company implemented pricing programs with channel partners to reflect challenging market conditions that are expected to persist into the third quarter.

Data Center revenue, though a record, was somewhat short of the company’s expectations, as it was impacted by supply chain disruptions.

Second quarter results are expected to include approximately $1.32 billion of charges, primarily for inventory and related reserves, based on revised expectations of future demand.

“Our gaming product sell-through projections declined significantly as the quarter progressed,” said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA. “As we expect the macroeconomic conditions affecting sell-through to continue, we took actions with our Gaming partners to adjust channel prices and inventory.

https://nvidianews.nvidia.com/news/nvidia-announces-preliminary-financial-resultsfor-second-quarter-fiscal-2023

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Nokia supplies private wireless and IP/MPLS to Western Australia

 The Public Transport Authority of Western Australia (PTA) selected Nokia to design, build and maintain a next generation railway communications system over the next decade in Perth.

METRONET infrastructure and public transport program is the long-term blueprint for Perth's future. As a critical element of the METRONET program and as part of the agreement, more than 160 LTE/4.9G radio sites will be built to modernize the railway communication system that includes additional METRONET track and tunnels with a total of 250km of railway. The solution will be based on Nokia private 4.9G/LTE mission-critical IP/MPLS, Data Center Fabric and microwave backhaul solutions, to support a Communications Based Train Control (CBTC) High Capacity Signalling system for greater accuracy and efficiency compared to traditional signalling systems.

Rob McCabe, Head of Enterprise for Oceania at Nokia, said: “We are thrilled to partner with PTA for this prestigious project to design, build and maintain the next-generation railway communications network. Powered by Nokia’s private wireless network solution, the new railway communication system will help enhance the accuracy of the system leading to improved experience and safety. Nokia is at the forefront of supporting railway networks accelerate digital transformation for more efficient operations while delivering greater value to the passengers.”

Nokia has deployed mission-critical networks to more than 2,200 leading enterprise customers in the transport, energy, large enterprise, manufacturing, webscale, and public sector segments around the globe. It has also extended its expertise to more than 485 large private wireless customers worldwide across an array of sectors.

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Arm partners shipped 7.4 billion chips in latest quarter, up 7% yoy

Arm reported record revenue of $719 million for the first quarter of its fiscal 2022, up 6% year-over-year. Adjusted EBITDA was $414 million, up 31% year-over-year and with a 58% margin.

“Arm continues to enable our ecosystem with compute performance and efficiency leadership through a transformed strategy. Together, we are meeting the insatiable demand for compute and defining the future of computing that will power the next great technology revolutions on Arm,” states Rene Haas, CEO, Arm.

https://www.arm.com/company/news/2022/08/arm-achieves-record-revenue-and-shipments-in-q1-fy-2022

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Pakistan's Jazz picks Juniper for data center

Jazz, Pakistan’s number one 4G operator and the largest internet and leading digital service provider, has selected Juniper Networks to create a transformative, expanded and upgraded data center network to underpin Jazz’s services delivery platform for its 74.9 million subscribers.

The new network will support a wide range of customer-facing service, including cloud-based enterprise data services, mobile banking, music and video download/streaming services, as well as professional services such as an agricultural application for four million farmers who rely on it for information, advice and guidance in remote areas. Jazz will also use the network to power key internal workloads such as CRM and billing.

Jazz will deploy the Juniper Apstra System to deliver true intent-based networking (IBN) capabilities. This enables Jazz to design and operate its data center network based on outcomes, with the entire data center lifecycle automated, from Day 0 (design) through Day 1 (configuration and deployment) to Day 2+ (ongoing operations). The network’s initial design is tied to day-to-day operations, enabling a single source of truth throughout its lifecycle. Automation provides a continuous feedback loop of real-time data insights, validation and root cause identification to minimize mean-time-to-repair (MTTR).

This approach will enable Jazz to operate a much more efficient, reliable and agile network. It will help to deploy new service features, optimizing user experience for both network teams and customers. The new data center infrastructure includes a spine-and-leaf architecture built with the Juniper Networks QFX Series Switches and fully integrated with the Juniper Apstra System.

Jazz has previously deployed MX Series Universal Routing Platforms from Juniper for 400G-ready connectivity for its metro and internet gateway infrastructure. The new QFXs leverage the same Junos OS operating system, providing a consistent networking estate for Jazz to manage and operate.

“The power of automation, bound within a single operational framework thanks to intent-based networking, enables Jazz to address the relevant operational questions, find the right answers quickly and make the best decisions” states Mike Bushong, Vice President, Cloud Ready Data Center at Juniper Networks.

https://newsroom.juniper.net/news/news-details/2022/Juniper-Networks-Chosen-by-Jazz-to-Build-Fully-Automated-Data-Center-Infrastructure-to-Support-Data-Music-and-Video-Services/default.aspx

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Video: Standardizing SD-WAN and (soon) SASE

SD-WAN evolved independently with a number of big players and, as a result, all of their solutions are different, notes Dave Larson, GM and CTO of Spirent.

SASE, as an extension of SD-WAN, brings a new set of monetization possibilities.

MEF is about using standards and APIs to level of playing field.

https://youtu.be/wwWMah7yeBE

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Dell'Oro: Data center physical infrastructure market on 8% CAGR

Data center physical infrastructure (DCPI) revenues are forecast to grow at an 8 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2021 to 2026 to above $31 billion, according to a new study from Dell'Oro Group. Growth is forecast to remain resilient, driven by sustainability-minded data center expansion from cloud and colocation service providers, despite near-term supply chain constraints persisting and macroeconomic headwinds forming.

“Demand for data center physical infrastructure remains resilient, despite the developing macroeconomic uncertainties,” said Lucas Beran, Principal Analyst at Dell’Oro Group. “Most importantly, data center sustainability has risen to the top of decision making criteria in the industry, opening the door for significant technology transitions during this forecast period.  The most exciting is the acceleration of data center liquid cooling, as both direct liquid cooling (DLC) and immersion cooling (single-phase and two-phase) are forecast to grow significantly and surpass $1 billion in market revenue by 2026,” added Beran.

Additional highlights from the Data Center Physical Infrastructure 5-Year July 2022 Report:

• DCPI revenue growth is forecast to slow to 6 percent in 2023, driven by continued cloud and colocation service provider growth and marginal enterprise growth.
• China is forecast to grow at the fastest CAGR during the forecast period, followed by APAC (Excluding China) and EMEA.
• Data Center Thermal Management is forecast to grow the fastest rate of any market segment during the forecast period, surpassing $6 B in vendor revenues in 2026.
• The Service Providers (Top 10 Cloud, Rest-of-Cloud, Colocation, and Telco) customer segment is forecast to grow at a double-digit CAGR during the forecast period, while the Enterprise customer segment (Large Enterprise, Rest-of-Enterprise) is forecast to grow at a much lower rate.

https://www.delloro.com/news/sustainability-initiatives-to-drive-data-center-physical-infrastructure-to-31-billion-in-2026/

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Western Digital sees growth in HDDs for cloud players

Western Digital reported revenue of $4.53 billion for the fourth quarter of its fiscal 2022, down 8% year-over-year (YoY). Fourth quarter GAAP earnings per share (EPS) was $0.95 and Non-GAAP EPS was $1.78. 

Fiscal year 2022 revenue was $18.79 billion, up 11% YoY. Fiscal year 2022 GAAP EPS was $4.75 and non-GAAP EPS was $8.22.

For Q4:

• Cloud revenue increased 5%. Cloud represented 46% of total revenue. Within Cloud, the continued ramp of 18-terabyte and 20-terabyte drives drove a 7% year-over-year increase in nearline HDD revenue. In Flash, enterprise SSD revenue more than doubled sequentially and was up 38% year-over-year. There was strong demand from  cloud customers for the latest generation energy assisted drives driving a near record nearline shipment of 111 exabytes.
• Client revenue declined 14%. Client represented 36% of total revenue. On both a sequential and year-over-year basis, client HDD led the revenue decline while Flash was roughly flat.
• Consumer revenue declined 23% YoY. Consumer represented 18% of revenue. On a sequential basis, the revenue decline was primarily due to lower retail HDD shipments. The year-over-year decrease was due to broad-based decline in retail products across HDD and Flash.

"I am proud of our team for driving strong fiscal year 2022 performance, during which revenue grew 11% and non-GAAP EPS increased 81%, demonstrating progress in unlocking the earnings potential of our business,” said David Goeckeler, Western Digital CEO. “In addition to strong financial performance, fiscal year 2022 was a hallmark year for Western Digital from an innovation, product development and execution perspective. The combination of our innovation engine and the multiple channels to deliver our products to the market puts Western Digital in a great position to capitalize on the large and growing opportunities in storage ahead even in the midst of macro dynamics weighing on near-term demand.”

https://investor.wdc.com/static-files/7a02a646-b769-442b-885c-c62cf97ced6e

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D-Wave completes SPAC IPO

D-Wave, which offers quantum computing systems, software and services, was acquired by DPCM Capital, Inc., a special purpupose acquisition company. 

Pursuant to the deal, D-Wave Quantum Inc. became the parent company of DPCM Capital and D-Wave, and its shares of common stock and warrants are expected to commence trading, on Monday, August 8, 2022 on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbols “QBTS” and “QBTS WS,” respectively.

From its inception more than 20 years ago, D-Wave has focused on delivering quantum computing products and services that provide the fastest path to practical, real-world applications with customer value,” said Alan Baratz, CEO, D-Wave Quantum. “Today marks a significant milestone in our journey, as we embark on our next phase as a publicly-traded company. Through this Business Combination, we are well-positioned to accelerate our growth strategy, using capital raised through the Business Combination along with our new access to the public markets to advance the production of our quantum computing solutions and continue to unlock the power of quantum computing to benefit business and society. The era of commercial quantum computing is here.”

D-Wave's end-to-end quantum solution encompasses hardware, software, real-time quantum cloud service, developer tools and powerful quantum hybrid solvers. The company has brought to market five generations of quantum computers to date and, in June 2022, launched an experimental prototype of its sixth-generation machine, Advantage2. D-Wave also holds a broad portfolio of 200+ patents applicable to both annealing and gate-based quantum computing.

D-Wave’s commercial customers include nearly two dozen Forbes Global 2000 companies and industry leaders like Volkswagen, Accenture, BBVA, NEC Corporation, Save-On-Foods, DENSO, and Lockheed Martin, which are exploring quantum hybrid applications. 

https://www.dwavesys.com

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Singtel plows additional US$100 million into its venture arm

Singtel is to invest a further US$100 million into Singtel Innov8, its corporate venture arm, raising its total capital commitment to US$350 million. 

Innov8 invests in start-ups that align with Singtel Group businesses in the areas of 5G, Artificial Intelligence, the digital economy, sustainability, cyber security and emerging technologies. It operates on an evergreen fund model, re-investing returns from portfolio exits into new investments. With the capital injection, Innov8 will further expand its portfolio of investments in Southeast Asia, United States, China, Israel and Australia.

Innov8 has invested in over 95 start-ups since its inception in 2010 and has had over 35 exits. Four of the exits were unicorns – Arista, Ruckus, Jasper, and Shape – start-ups that achieved a valuation in excess of US$1 billion. Innov8’s portfolio also includes a number of companies that have demonstrated scale – BitSight, Carro, Cato, FinAccel, SenseTime, Shopback, and Sygnum amongst others. S

“This capital infusion is meant for identifying and growing innovative start-ups with new technologies and capabilities that are synergistic and in lockstep with Singtel’s strategic reset to drive greater improvements in our core operations, accelerate our new growth engines, and place us at the forefront of new and fast-evolving areas,” said Mr Yuen Kuan Moon, Group Chief Executive Officer of Singtel and Chairman of Singtel Innov8. “As we sharpen our business focus, we will recycle our assets and capital into selected growth areas, reshaping our portfolio to better serve our stakeholders and build momentum for the longer term.”

https://innov8.singtel.com

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