DC Blox plans data center campus in Douglasville, Georgia

DC BLOX unveiled plans for a new 180MW data center campus in Douglasville, Georgia, in close proximity to Atlanta. The 55-acre campus will directly connect to DC BLOX’s dark fiber network and its new cable landing station in Myrtle Beach, SC.

With an expected capital investment of over $1.2 billion, the site is supported by robust tax incentives coordinated by Elevate Douglas Economic Partnership. Construction of the new data center campus is now underway. The dark fiber route is expected to be completed in Q4 2023.

“We are thrilled to bring our vision to life to serve hyperscale needs for powerful, reliable digital infrastructure in Douglasville, Georgia,” says Mark Masi, EVP of Data Center Development at DC BLOX. “We are partnering with the best in the industry to ensure our state-of-the-art data centers meet the most stringent hyperscale needs by leveraging the most advanced construction, sustainability and power capabilities available in the industry. Moreover, we pride ourselves on providing tailored and flexible design configurations, ensuring that our tenants can customize their space to meet the most advanced AI/ML applications as well as any specific requirements they may have.”

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AWS adds EC2 Capacity Blocks for ML Workloads

Amazon Web Services announced the general availability of Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) Capacity Blocks for ML, a new consumption model providing access highly sought-after GPU compute capacity for short duration machine learning (ML) workloads. 

The service enables customers to reserve hundreds of NVIDIA GPUs colocated in Amazon EC2 UltraClusters designed for high-performance ML workloads. Customers can use EC2 Capacity Blocks with P5 instances, powered by the latest NVIDIA H100 Tensor Core GPUs, by specifying their cluster size, future start date, and duration. 

AWS EC2 Capacity Blocks help ensure customers have reliable, predictable, and uninterrupted access to the GPU compute capacity required for their critical ML projects. 

“AWS and NVIDIA have collaborated for more than 12 years to deliver scalable, high-performance GPU solutions, and we are seeing our customers build incredible generative AI applications that are transforming industries,” said David Brown, vice president of Compute and Networking at AWS. “AWS has unmatched experience delivering NVIDIA GPU-based compute in the cloud, in addition to offering our own Trainium and Inferentia chips. With Amazon EC2 Capacity Blocks, we are adding a new way for enterprises and startups to predictably acquire NVIDIA GPU capacity to build, train, and deploy their generative AI applications—without making long-term capital commitments. It’s one of the latest ways AWS is innovating to broaden access to generative AI capabilities.”

https://aws.amazon.com/ec2/capacityblocks

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Intel schedules "AI Everywhere" event for Dec 14th

Intel announced plans for an “AI Everywhere” event in December 14th. 

Intel will accelerate its execution engine and power AI workloads across the data center, the cloud and the edge with the launch of 5th Gen Intel Xeon processors and Intel Core Ultra processors.

The event will be hosted on the Intel website.

https://newsroom.intel.com

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Lumen integrates Network-as-a-Service with Equinix Fabric

 Lumen is integrating its Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) platform with Equinix Fabric, enabling  Equinix's 10,000 customers to instantly buy, use, and manage Lumen Internet On-Demand and future Lumen NaaS services.

How it Works

• An Equinix customer orders Lumen Internet On-Demand using Lumen's digital portal or API.
• The customer provisions a virtual connection in Equinix Fabric and connects it to the Lumen port.
• After the customer is connected to Lumen's NaaS platform, Lumen Internet On-Demand service activates in minutes, instead of months.
• Customers are in control of their service and can increase or decrease bandwidth as needed.

"Our customers rely on us to offer a premier interconnection experience that's made possible with the combined capabilities of Equinix Fabric and the service providers that make up our digital ecosystem," said Arun Dev, Vice President of Digital Interconnection at Equinix. "I'm thrilled with the work our teams are doing to integrate Lumen NaaS with Equinix Fabric so that our customers can have even more choice for on-demand Internet connectivity to support their hybrid infrastructure."

"Offering businesses a quick and easy network buying experience is what makes our collaboration with Equinix so valuable," said Andrew Dugan, CTO for Lumen. "Lumen is bringing its NaaS platform to Equinix, giving their customers access to quick bandwidth boosts and personalized on-demand services. Together, we are solving business challenges so our customers can focus on innovation."

https://news.lumen.com/2023-10-31-Lumen-takes-Network-as-a-Service-to-the-next-level-with-Equinix

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Lumen reaches agreement with creditors to extend financing

Lumen Technologies reached an agreement with a group of creditors holding over $7 billion of the outstanding indebtedness of the company and its subsidiaries to, among other things, extend maturities of the debt instruments of the Company and Level 3 Financing, Inc. 

In addition, the creditors have committed to provide $1.2 billion of financing to the company through new long-term debt. 

"After several months of constructive discussions, we are pleased to have reached this agreement. This transaction will position the Company to better align our balance sheet with our current business needs," said Kate Johnson, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company. "As we move forward, we remain focused on executing our strategic transformation and delivering excellent value to our customers."

https://news.lumen.com/2023-10-31-Lumen-Announces-Broad-Agreement-With-Creditors-That-Will-Provide-The-Company-with-Significant-Flexibility-to-Execute-Its-Transformation-Strategy

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O2 Telefónica Germany tests Open RAN with Samsung

Samsung Electronics and O2 Telefónica today announced that the companies will test advanced cloud-native vRAN and Open RAN technologies in Germany.  This will include several tests in both lab and field. 

O2 Telefónica and Samsung will begin conducting initial tests of 4G and 5G vRAN and Open RAN technologies in a lab located at Munich, Germany. The companies will then carry out field tests in a commercial 5G network in Landsberg am Lech, with the goal to achieve technical and operational readiness. O2 Telefónica, one of the leading mobile telecommunications providers in Germany, is transforming its network architecture towards one of the most efficient and future-proof networks built on modern RAN technologies, open interfaces and automation features.

“We believe cloud-native and autonomous architecture is a central pillar of network transformation to accelerate the adoption of innovative services, and O2 Telefónica is working with the best players in the field,” said Mallik Rao, Chief Technology & Information Officer at O2 Telefónica in Germany. “We are delighted to team up with Samsung as one of the first telecommunications providers in the European Union to test new networking solutions. We look forward to delivering the best-in-class connectivity to bring a host of new benefits to customers in the future.”

“Samsung is leading the charge in advancing vRAN and Open RAN with its proven expertise in large-scale commercial networks across multiple continents,” said Junehee Lee, Executive Vice President, Head of Global Sales & Marketing, Networks Business at Samsung Electronics. “This collaboration with O2 Telefónica in Germany represents Samsung’s ongoing commitment to forging new pathways in vRAN and Open RAN, bringing the next-generation networks one step closer.”

 

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Lumentum to acquire Cloud Light for 800G+ modules and AOCs

Lumentum agreed to acquire Cloud Light, a supplier of fiber optic transceivers and active optical cables for intra-datacenter optical interconnect, in a transaction valued of approximately $750 million.

Lumentum said the acquisition will accelerated its push into the fastest growing segments of the multibillion-dollar opportunity for optical modules used in cloud computing data center infrastructure. 

Cloud Light, which is based in Hong Kong, said nearly all of its $200M revenue in the last 12 months was derived from 400G or higher speed transceiver sales. In the most recent quarter, over half of Cloud Light’s optical transceiver revenue was derived from 800G modules.

“With Cloud Light, we are making a strategic investment to significantly expand our opportunities in the cloud data center and networking infrastructure space,” said Alan Lowe, Lumentum president and CEO. “Cloud Light provides us with the highest speed transceiver solutions at scale and complements our advanced component capabilities. This results in a broad product and technology portfolio that addresses a wide range of cloud operator needs.”

“We are confident that this transaction will deliver substantial, long-term value to our stockholders, with immediate earnings accretion and accelerated revenue growth. We look forward to welcoming Cloud Light’s very talented team to Lumentum,” concluded Mr. Lowe.

“Today’s announcement is a pivotal milestone in the history of Cloud Light, and a testament to the hard work and dedication of our employees,” said Dr. Dennis Tong, Cloud Light Founder and CEO. “We founded the company with a vision that our deep expertise in high-volume precision manufacturing would result in a superior value proposition for cloud data center customers. Having worked closely with the technology teams within leading cloud operators, we believe we can build upon our success to date and further accelerate cloud data center growth by combining Lumentum’s advanced photonic integration and transmission technologies with our highly automated packaging and manufacturing processes. We look forward to joining the Lumentum team and beginning an exciting new chapter.”

https://www.cloudlight.com.hk/products/

https://investor.lumentum.com/events-and-presentations/events/default.aspx

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Jabil to take over Intel's Silicon Photonics transceiver business

Jabil will take over the manufacture and sale of Intel’s current Silicon Photonics-based pluggable optical transceiver product lines and the development of future generations of such modules.

"This deal better positions Jabil to cater to the needs of our valued customers in the data center industry, including hyperscale, next-wave clouds, and AI cloud data centers. These complex environments present unique challenges, and we are committed to tackling them head-on and delivering innovative solutions to support the evolving demands of the data center ecosystem," stated Matt Crowley, Senior Vice President of Cloud and Enterprise Infrastructure at Jabil. "This deal enables Jabil to expand its presence in the data center value chain."

Through its photonics business unit, Jabil empowers organizations to reduce the complexities of developing and deploying enhanced optical networking solutions by offering complete photonics capabilities, including component design, system assembly, and streamlined supply chain management.

“We are pleased to reach this agreement with a world-class supplier like Jabil. We look forward to working closely with Jabil, our customers, and our suppliers to enable a seamless transition as Intel shifts its focus to silicon photonics components for existing markets and emerging applications,” said Safroadu Yeboah-Amankwah, Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer of Intel Corporation.

“Our Design-to-Dust™ capabilities continue to resonate with customers and we are investing in the areas of data center infrastructure services, liquid cooling, and silicon photonics to help our customers solve their challenges. Jabil is extremely well positioned to support customers as they incorporate innovative technologies into their data centers to navigate the increasing requirements around power and cooling being driven by artificial intelligence,” concluded Crowley.

https://www.jabil.com/news/jabil-invests-future-ai-intel-silicon-photonics-transceiver.html

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STL develops 160-micron fibre

STL announced a 160-micron optical fiber developed in India. This product meets telecom-grade optical performance standards and complies with the ITU G.657A2 standard.

STL said its 160-micron fibre packs more capacity in limited duct space with a reduced diameter cable of 6.4mm (~32% reduction compared to 250-micron fibre). 

The new fibre is expected to have a major impact on India's broadband landscape. For example - In a large-scale project like Bharatnet, where India needs to deploy ~20 Million fibre km cable by 2025, using 160-micron fibre instead of the standard 250-micron fibre can potentially reduce the deployment time by ~15%. This enables the use of ducts with a smaller diameter, thereby reducing the plastic footprint in the ground by ~30%.

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Vantage Data Centers completes €2.5 billion financing

Vantage Data Centers completed a previously announced investment partnership in certain Vantage European data center assets backed by a consortium of investors led by MEAG and Infranity, along with funds affiliated with the investment management platform of DigitalBridge.

The Investment Partnership initially consists of six stabilized data centers in strategic locations across Europe and is valued at approximately €2.5 billion (approximately $2.7 billion), including Vantage’s stake. The data centers span more than 1.8 million gross square feet and 177MW of IT capacity and are located in key strategic markets.

Vantage’s management team, led by President and CEO Sureel Choksi, will continue to manage and operate these assets as part of its global data center portfolio. The additional capital raised from the Investor Consortium will be used to support the continued growth of Vantage’s EMEA data center platform.

“This Investment Partnership provides Vantage with multiple partners with deep expertise in digital infrastructure,” said Choksi. “This transaction provides Vantage with additional capital to continue our expansion in new and existing markets across EMEA, capitalizing on the extraordinary growth opportunities, driving innovation and delivering state-of-the-art sustainable data centers for our customers.”

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Arista posts Q3 sales of $1.509 billion, up 28% yoy

Arista Networks reported Q3 revenue of $1.509 billion, an increase of 3.5% compared to the second quarter of 2023, and an increase of 28.3% from the third quarter of 2022. Non-GAAP gross margin six 63.1%, compared to non-GAAP gross margin of 61.3% in the second quarter of 2023 and 61.2% in the third quarter of 2022.  Non-GAAP net income amounted $581.4 million, or $1.83 per diluted share, compared to non-GAAP net income of $391.9 million, or $1.25 per diluted share in the third quarter of 2022. 

Some notes:

• Supply chain and lead time is improving
• International sales amounted to 21.5%, with the Americas at 78.5%. 
• Services and subscription software contributed approximately 16.8% of revenues in the third quarter, up from 15.2% in Q2. 

“Arista once again delivered strong financial results in the third quarter,” says Jayshree Ullal, President and CEO of Arista Networks. “Customer momentum remained strong in both enterprise and cloud/AI sectors.”

Commenting on the company's financial results, Ita Brennan, Arista’s CFO said, “The team continues to demonstrate strong discipline, working to normalize supply chain metrics while delivering incremental improvements to our 2023 outlook, which now calls for year-over-year revenue growth in excess of 33%.”

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KMR confirms $400M investment in OMS for subsea cables

KKR, a leading global investment firm, agreed to invest $400 million in OMS Group, a leading telecom infrastructure company and provider of subsea cable services.

Founded in 1988, OMS Group is a neutral provider of integrated solutions for subsea telecommunications cable services, including installation and maintenance projects. The company's clients include major subsea equipment providers, large-scale cloud service providers, and telecom companies. OMS Group is one of the largest independent operators in this sector, with a diverse fleet including cable ships and cable barges, as well as cable landing stations serving the global telecommunications market.

KKR said this investment positions OMS Group well to accelerate its growth, including through expanding its fleet size and capabilities and investing in cable landing stations and subsea cable routes to serve global fast-growing cross-border data transmission trends and the demand for comprehensive subsea cable services.

Mr Projesh Banerjea, Director, Infrastructure at KKR, said, “OMS Group has established itself as a market leader with a longstanding track record of success and growth in Southeast Asia. As demand for greater connectivity across the region continues to grow, we are delighted to work closely with Datuk Lim, Mr Ronnie Lim, and the highly rated OMS Group team to meet this critical need.”

Datuk Soon Foo Lim, OMS Group’s Chairman, said, “OMS Group and KKR share the same vision and appreciation of the critical data infrastructure OMS Group builds and maintain for its clients. We look forward to working with Mr David Luboff, Mr Projesh Banerjea and the world-class KKR team in advancing OMS Group’s growth plans.”

Past KKR investments in Southeast Asia digital infrastructure have included the regional data center platform of Singtel, a leading Asian communications technology group headquartered in Singapore, and Pinnacle Towers, a digital infrastructure platform in Asia with a strong focus on the Philippines. Globally, KKR’s investments in digital infrastructure have included CyrusOne, a global leader in the development and operation of sustainable, scalable, high-availability and flexible data center solutions, and Global Technical Realty, a build-to-suit and roll-up acquisition data center platform in Europe.

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Windstream appoints Paul H. Sunu as CEO

Windstream named Paul H. Sunu has its new President and CEO, effective immediately, replacing Tony Thomas, who has decided to depart the Company and step down from the Board, following a distinguished 17 years at Windstream. 

Mr. Sunu has served as Chairman of the Board since 2020 and will retain his position. 

Mr. Sunu brings 27 years of telecom industry experience. During his tenure as CEO of FairPoint Communications, he helped improve service quality, develop an 18K-mile fiber network and served over 300 health care facilities and 1,600 fiber-to-the-tower connections, leading to a merger with Consolidated Communications. He was a co-founder of Madison River Communications, where he was instrumental in acquiring and integrating five RLEC operations, resulting in a merger with CenturyLink (now Lumen). He has served on numerous boards, including as Chairman and Vice Chairman of Electric Lightwave, where he helped guide the transformation of the company’s business model into a fiber-centric operation, resulting in a merger with Zayo.

“Over the past three years as Chairman, I have come to appreciate the caliber of the management team and the determination, dedication and talent within Windstream. I look forward to working with them to serve our customers with excellence as we continue to expand our fiber network,” said Mr. Sunu.

During Mr. Thomas’ tenure, Windstream acquired, merged and integrated several companies, successfully restructured under Chapter 11 and launched its fiber transformation. Mr. Thomas also held several leadership positions, including CFO of Windstream.

“I am proud of what we have achieved at Windstream,” said Mr. Thomas. “I thank the Board for their support and remain confident that the Company is on the right course.”

Windstream is owned by Elliott Investment Management, OakTree Capital Management, PIMCO and other principal investors.

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Hawaiki Nui subsea cable system expands its Pacific reach

The Australian Government awarded contracts to Hawaiki Nui Submarine Cable, which is a division of BW Digital, to enhance international connectivity throughout the Pacific region via additional branches.

Hawaiki Nui is a new Spatial Division Multiplexing (SDM) fibre optic cable linking South-East Asia, Australasia and North America. Construction of the system is due to start in 2024, with an expected cable ready for service (RFS) date in 2026.

The contracts, comprising agreements to supply and install branching units and an indefeasible right of use for capacity on the Hawaiki Nui submarine cable, will be funded by the Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific (AIFFP). 

“The contracts between the Australian Government and BW Digital demonstrate our joint commitment to bridge the digital divide and provide secure, high-speed connectivity to Pacific island countries,” said Ludovic Hutier, chief executive officer of BW Digital.

“This agreement also reflects BW Digital’s strategy to build a trusted ecosystem of digital infrastructure servicing the needs of governments, businesses and communities throughout the Asia-Pacific region” he added.

Hawaiki plans transpacific SDM cable with 240 Gbps design capacity

Sunday, November 07, 2021    

Hawaiki Submarine Cable Limited Partnership (Hawaiki) announced plans for a new spatial division multiplexing (SDM) cable linking South-East Asia, Australasia and North America. 

The Hawaiki Nui system, which will span an estimated 22,000 km, will have a design capacity of 240Tbps and provide end-to-end connectivity between the three main hubs of the Pacific region: Singapore, Sydney and Los Angeles. The company plans to begin construction next year, with an expected cable ready for service (RFS) date in 2025.

Hawaiki has selected PT Mora Telematika Indonesia (Moratelindo) as its strategic partner for Indonesia, where it will have landings in Jakarta and Batam.

In Australia, Hawaiki Nui will serve both international and domestic capacity requirements, linking Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Darwin, while providing them with direct access to Singapore and Los Angeles.

Hawaiki Nui will also be the first international cable to land in the South Island of New Zealand, linking Christchurch, Dunedin and Invercargill directly to Australia via a new and fully diverse subsea route. In addition, two branches will be built to connect Oahu and Big Island in Hawaii.

• In 2021, Hawaiki announced the sale of 100 per cent of the shares of the company to BW Digital, an affiliate of Singapore-based global maritime conglomerate BW Group. 

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Tech Update: Silicon Building Blocks for Quantum Computing

Infineon is taking a pioneering role in the development of core technologies for quantum computing. Sebastian Luber, Senior Director of Technology and Innovation, explains:

- Infineon's approach to building quantum computers, utilizing three different technologies: superconductors, semiconductors, and ions. 

- The unique properties and applications of these technologies, from amplifying extremely small signals with superconductors, confining single electrons with semiconductors, to capturing ions with ion trap chips.

- The immense potential of quantum computing, especially when combined with quantum sensors to build quantum networks, opening up a whole new range of applications.

https://youtu.be/GtXe7HR0OxE

Filmed at Infineon's #Oktobertech event in Silicon Valley.

Have a tech update that you want to brief us on? Contact info@nextgeninfra.io!

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Tech Update: Opening the Window to Physical AI

Imagine being able to ask AI about what's happening right now in your physical environment. Jaime Lien, Founder & Head of Hardware and Signal Processing from Archetype AI, explains:

- Archetype AI is developing a generative AI foundational model that translates sensor data into a semantic and natural language format. This allows anyone to understand and interact with complex sensor data.

- Their demo showcases how their model can interpret data from a radar sensor developed by Infineon, providing insights about the physical world around it. Users can ask high-level questions and receive responses about detected objects, their locations, and movement patterns.

- The model is multimodal, meaning it can handle data from various sensors like radar, camera, audio, etc. It maps these different modalities to a common embedding space, allowing for data fusion and providing insights that humans can easily understand. 

https://youtu.be/VR8rNxEsvl8

This innovative approach to sensor data interpretation opens up new possibilities for monitoring and alerting systems, making them instantly accessible and available to anyone without any coding or programming knowledge.

Filmed at Infineon's #Oktobertech event in Silicon Valley.

Have a tech update that you want to brief us on? Contact info@nextgeninfra.io!

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STL launched a range of Eco-labelled Certified Optical Products

The range of optical products is recognised by US-based Sphera, an ESG performance consulting services company, and verified by Metsims Sustainability Consulting, a global sustainability consulting firm.

These ISO 14024 and EU guidelines compliant Ecolabels granted to STL's products are multi-attribute in nature, which means they cover many distinct environmental parameters such as energy use, chemical use, recycling, and more. 

STL says that when compared to standard products, these Eco-labelled products:

* Utilise ~52% less energy

* Carry ~75% less global warming potential

* Use ~18% more recycled content and ~25% more recycled packaging material and water

* Reuse and recover ~20% more waste

* Enhance the longevity of the network by nearly 13 years.

"As we announce this groundbreaking development today, I couldn't have been prouder. Our Eco-labelled products represent a monumental step forward for our customers' green journeys and put India at the forefront of concrete sustainability action. I'm sure it would create ripple effects of sustainable development in the entire digital networks industry across the world," said Ankit Agarwal, Managing Director, STL.

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Qualcomm targets cross-platform device connectivity

Qualcomm introduced Snapdragon Seamless, a cross-platform technology that enables Android, Windows and Snapdragon devices using other operating systems to discover each other and share information to work as one integrated system.

For example:

* Mice and keyboards can work seamlessly across PCs, phones and tablets.

* Files and windows can be dragged and dropped across different types of devices.

* Earbuds can switch intelligently based on the priority of an audio source.

* XR can extend the abilities of smartphones.

https://www.qualcomm.com/news/releases/2023/10/qualcomm-unveils-snapdragon-seamless-to-allow-your-devices-to-wo

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SpaceX completes 50th Starlink launch of 2023

On Sunday morning, SpaceX successfully launched 22 Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit from  Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California..

This marks the 50st Starlink launch of 2023. And the seventh flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched Space Development Agency’s Tranche 0 mission and now six Starlink missions.

https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=sl-7-6

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Huawei cites 2.4% sales growth through Q3

During the first nine months of 2023, Huawei generated CNY456.6 billion in revenue, with a year-on-year increase of 2.4% and a net profit margin of 16.0%.

"The company's performance is in line with forecast," said Ken Hu, Huawei's Rotating Chairman. "I'd like to thank our customers and partners for their ongoing trust and support. Moving forward, we will continue to increase our investment in R&D to make the most of our business portfolio and take the competitiveness of our products and services to new heights. As always, our goal is to create greater value for our customers, partners, and society."

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