Southern Cross targets 800G wavelengths across the Pacific

Southern Cross is looking to leverage Ciena's WaveLogic 6 Extreme (WL6e) technology to enable 800 Gb/s wavelengths across the single 12,500+km span of its Southern Cross (SX) cable from Sydney to Los Angeles.

Ciena says its WL6e, which operates at 200GBaud, supports 1.6 Tb/s single-carrier wavelengths for metro networks, 800 Gb/s services across the longest links, a 50% reduction in watts per bit, and requires less space compared to the previous generation for similar capacities.

“We have a long-standing history with Ciena, and their strong history of innovation and deep understanding of our business needs have continued to be instrumental to our success. SX NEXT cable is a high-performance system and the first phase of the replacement of the original systems by 2030. Today, we’re once again announcing what is expected to be another networking world first, implementing Ciena WaveLogic 6 on SX NEXT to help us push the envelope in terms of high-speed bandwidth connectivity and energy efficiency,” said Laurie Miller, President and CEO, Southern Cross.

“The Southern Cross NEXT cable is key to the transpacific cable ecosystem, contributing to improved network performance across the Pacific region – all on top of Ciena GeoMesh Extreme technology. Southern Cross has always looked to Ciena for the latest innovations to gain a competitive advantage. With this upgrade to WL6, Southern Cross will be able to provide customers with unrivalled connectivity, allowing them to enjoy applications and services of up to 800GbE,” said Dino DiPerna, Senior Vice President, Global Research and Development, Ciena.

https://www.ciena.com/about/newsroom/press-releases/southern-cross-targets-pacific-record-with-cienas-wavelogic-6

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Te Waipounamu subsea cable to link NZ and Australia

Plans for a new 3,000 km submarine cable project linking New Zealand and Sydney and Melbourne in Australia have been announced by Intelia New Zealand.

TE WAIPOUNAMU, named in reference to the Maori name of the South Island of New Zealand, will include a total of 16 fiber pairs broken down as follow:

• 4 fiber pairs from Invercargill to Australia offering a total capacity of 120 Tbps
• 12 fiber pairs between Sydney and Melbourne allowing an alternative and very competitive backhauling option between the two largest cities of Australia with a total capacity of 35 Tbps per fiber pair.

“Te Waipounamu cable is going to be a game changer for the connectivity of NZ South Island. It will also unlock the huge potential of Southland in term of sustainable data storage. It’s a fantastic challenge for our team and we are proud to continue contributing to New Zealand digital development” declared Rémi Galasso, founder of Intelia NZ.

“Te Waipounamu cable represent a significant investment of NZD 160 million that will be funded by a mix of equity, debt and capacity contract commitments from major industry players both in Australia and New Zealand” added Perrine DHALLUIN, Director at Intelia NZ.

“Our plan is to finalize a supplier contract by April 2024 and start in parallel the permitting process in order to target a system commissioning by 2026” added Georges Krebs, Chief Technical Officer at Intelia NZ.

https://www.linkedin.com/search/results/content/?keywords=New%20Zealand%20Remi%20Galasso

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T-Mobile US picks Nokia’s Multi-Access Gateway for FWA

T-Mobile has selected Nokia’s Multi-Access Gateway, which supports LTE, 5G NSA, and 5G SA technologies, for the service provider’s nationwide, fixed-wireless High-Speed Internet (HSI) traffic. 

Nokia says its MAG solution will allow T-Mobile to deliver an affordable, reliable and seamless broadband experience to every customer. The Nokia platform can incrementally scale the bandwidth for HSI traffic to multiple Terabits-per-second, while providing significant power and space efficiency. As T-Mobile expands its HSI service to more homes, it will benefit from higher bandwidth with lower space and power.

The Nokia MAG leverages the 7750 Service Routers (SR) to efficiently deliver broadband services over fixed-wireless access technologies. The Nokia MAG solution combines the throughput and power savings of an NPU-assisted user-plane architecture on 7750 SR systems, while providing the flexibility of the 3GPP control-plane architecture.

John Saw, EVP Chief Technology Officer for T-Mobile, said: “T-Mobile is one of the fastest growing broadband providers in the country and we are committed to expanding our High-Speed Internet service nationwide. The Nokia MAG solution will allow us to simplify our architecture and reduce operational life cycle management and our energy footprint. We are excited to partner with Nokia and leverage their innovative technology.”

Federico Guillén, President of Network Infrastructure, Nokia, said: “We are pleased to work with T-Mobile to provide a highly scalable and energy-efficient user plane for their fixed-wireless High Speed Internet service. Our MAG solution, which uses our advanced FP5 IP routing silicon, will help T-Mobile to effectively enhance service capacity, scalability, and speed to market.”

https://www.nokia.com/about-us/news/releases/2024/01/23/t-mobile-selects-nokia-to-improve-scalability-and-efficiency-for-5g-high-speed-internet-service/

The Nokia Multi-Access Gateway (MAG) is a high-performance and versatile subscriber management solution that supports the full range of wireline and fixed-wireless broadband services. It can be deployed as a broadband network gateway (BNG), fixed-wireless access gateway, or converged multi- access gateway on a wide range of Nokia’s Service Routing platforms to efficiently address the scaling needs of any network. Standards-based Control and User Plane Separation (CUPS) enables to deploy MAG control plane functions on virtual servers and to seamlessly interwork with LTE/5G core systems.

• https://onestore.nokia.com/asset/210510?_ga=2.39623395.1354112000.1706053590-1759890601.1705378645

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Verizon seeks to balance growth and profitability

Verizon reported Q4 2023 total operating revenue of $35.1 billion, a decrease of 0.3 percent from fourth-quarter 2022. Earnings per share was $(0.64), compared with earnings per share of $1.56 in fourth-quarter 2022; adjusted EPS, excluding special items, of $1.08, compared with $1.19 in fourth-quarter 2022. The decrease can be attributed to wireless equipment revenue, which was 2.0 percent lower than 2022, as total postpaid upgrades declined by 17.9 percent. 

Full-year 2023 consolidated operating revenue was $134.0 billion, down 2.1 percent year over year.

"After delivering continuous improvement throughout 2023, we ended the year strong and continue to pursue the right balance of growth and profitability," said Verizon Chairman and CEO Hans Vestberg. "2023 was a year of change. We have the right assets and the best team in place and are well-positioned for growth in 2024." 

Total Broadband:

• Total broadband net additions of 413,000, represented the fifth consecutive quarter that Verizon reported more than 400,000 broadband net additions. 
• Total broadband net additions included 375,000 fixed wireless net additions, bringing the subscriber base to over 3 million.
•  In fourth-quarter 2023, more than 80 percent of Consumer fixed wireless gross additions were in Verizon's first 76 C-Band markets. Verizon is ahead of schedule to achieve its goal of 4 to 5 million subscribers by the end of 2025. 
• 55,000 Fios Internet net additions, down 4,000 from the fourth-quarter 2022. 
• 10.7 million total broadband subscribers as of the end of fourth-quarter 2023. 

Total Wireless: 

• Total wireless service revenue2 of $19.4 billion, a 3.2 percent increase year over year.
• Retail postpaid phone net additions of 449,000, and retail postpaid net additions of 1,460,000.
• Retail postpaid churn of 1.18 percent, and retail postpaid phone churn of 0.93 percent.
• Consumer wireless service revenue in fourth-quarter 2023 increased 3.2 percent year over year driven primarily by growth in Consumer wireless postpaid Average Revenue Per Account (ARPA) resulting from pricing actions implemented in recent quarters, the larger allocation of  administrative and telco recovery fees from other revenue into wireless service revenue, higher premium price plan adoption, and growth from fixed wireless access offerings. 
• For full-year 2023, total Consumer wireless service revenue was $63.4 billion, an increase of 3.0 percent from full-year 2022. 

Verizon Business results

• Total Verizon Business revenue was $7.6 billion in fourth-quarter 2023, a decrease of 3.6 percent year over year as lower wireline revenue and lower wireless equipment revenue was partially offset by higher wireless service revenue. 
• For full-year 2023, total Business revenue was $30.1 billion, a 3.1 percent decrease year over year. 
• Business wireless service revenue in fourth-quarter 2023 was $3.4 billion, an increase of 3.0 percent year over year. This was driven by the larger allocation of  administration and telco recovery fees from other revenue into wireless service revenue, continued strong net additions and the benefit of pricing actions implemented earlier in the year. Full-year 2023 Business wireless service revenue was $13.4 billion, an increase of 4.1 percent compared to full-year 2022. 
• Business reported 292,000 wireless retail postpaid net additions in fourth-quarter 2023, including 131,000 postpaid phone net additions. This was the 10th consecutive quarter that Business reported more than 125,000 postpaid phone net additions. Business continues to grow volumes and expand its relationships with customers strengthening its position as a wireless market share leader.
• https://www.verizon.com/about/news/verizon-finishes-2023-strong-cash-flow-and-wireless-customer-growth

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Ericsson's Q4 sales dropped 17% YoY

Due to a -23% decline in its Networks business, Ericsson's Q4 reported sales were down by -16% to SEK 71.9 billion. Gross income excluding restructuring charges decreased to SEK 29.6 (35.7) billion. Gross margin excluding restructuring charges was 41.1% (41.5%). 

"Despite headwinds and a very weak mobile networks market, we were able to generate a full-year EBITA[2] of SEK 21.4 b. While the actions we have taken to improve performance are paying off, we are not satisfied with our profitability and there is more work to do. As we look to 2024, we expect the market outside China to further decline, with similar uncertainties as experienced in 2023. In this environment, we remain laser focused on managing elements within our control, including operational efficiency and tight cost management. We are confident in our strategy and are committed to driving long-term value for our shareholders," stated Börje Ekholm, President and CEO of Ericsson.

"The mobile network industry remains challenging. We expect the current market uncertainties to prevail into 2024 with a further decline of the RAN market outside China as our customers remain cautious and the investment pace is normalizing in India. The new US contract will start to ramp up in the second half of 2024."   

"Underlying demand from growing data traffic and 5G only being in the early stages of build-out will require additional network investments. In our view, the current investment levels are unsustainably low for many operators. We are therefore confident that a market recovery should materialize. However, the timing of market recovery is ultimately in the hands of our customers."

Highlights:

• Q4 Networks sales decreased organically by -23% YoY as customers continued to focus on cash flow. Sales in India declined QoQ as the market started its transition to normalized investment levels following an unprecedented roll-out pace. Q4 gross margin grew QoQ to 43.2%.  
• In Cloud Software and Services, Ericsson delivered on its EBITA target to reach at least breakeven in 2023 with an EBITA of SEK 2.0 billion in Q4 and SEK 1.7 billion for the full year. 
• Enterprise sales[ grew by 7% organically YoY mainly driven by Enterprise Wireless Solutions. EBITA (loss) was stable YoY, negatively impacted by an inventory write-off in Enterprise Wireless Solutions.  
• Full year 2023 sales declined organically by -10% to SEK 263.4 (271.5) billion, impacted by a -15% decrease in Networks, partly offset by an 11% growth in Enterprise. 

https://www.ericsson.com/en/press-releases/2024/1/ericsson-reports-fourth-quarter-and-full-year-results-2023

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Nokia Bell Labs joins DARPA’s LunA-10 Capability Study

The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA)selected Nokia Bell Labs to participate in the 10-Year Lunar Architecture (LunA-10) program, which will design an integrated multi-service architecture to support a thriving economy on the Moon in the next decade and beyond. LunA-10 will design the essential infrastructure framework capable of supporting industrial activities, as well as scientific discovery.

Nokia will collaborate with the 13 other companies specializing in areas critical to establishing an integrated commercial economy on the Moon, such as energy, transport and construction. For instance, Nokia Bell Labs will be responsible for recommending a reliable, high-performance communications infrastructure, and it will also work closely with other LunA-10 companies to ensure that infrastructure may be efficiently transported and built on the lunar surface and that it would have reliable power sources once installed.

Thierry E. Klein, President of Nokia Bell Labs Solutions Research, said: “DARPA has had a direct hand in some of the most significant technology advancements of the last fifty years – the foundation of the Internet, the creation of GPS, and the rapid development of the COVID-19 vaccine. Nokia Bell Labs is thrilled to play a key role in DARPA’s next game-changing endeavor and help shape the infrastructure architecture for the lunar economy. Pushing the frontiers of technology is in Bell Labs’ DNA, and by creating the communication solutions blueprint for the Moon, we will help establish the foundations of a permanent human presence on the lunar surface.” 

https://www.bell-labs.com/research-innovation/network-fundamentals/first-cellular-network-on-the-moon/#gref

• As part of NASA’s Tipping Point initiative, Nokia is deploying the first cellular network on the Moon in 2024 to prove that 3GPP-based technology can meet the critical communications needs of future lunar and Martian missions.

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HPE appoints Neil MacDonald to head HPC & AI

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) appointed Neil MacDonald to lead the company’s HPC & AI business segment in addition to leading its Compute business.

Notably, under MacDonald’s leadership, the Compute business recently expanded its strategic collaboration with NVIDIA to enhance HPE’s Compute portfolio and build a turnkey enterprise computing solution for GenAI to target a growing market.

In his new role as the executive vice president and general manager of both Compute and HPC & AI, MacDonald will lead the team in accelerating HPE’s AI strategy by scaling cloud and software solutions with strong integration of HPE GreenLake. Additionally, the company announced that Hewlett Packard Labs will now move to reporting to Fidelma Russo, HPE’s Chief Technology Officer.

“The HPC and AI business is critical to our ongoing strategy. Neil’s engineering background and expertise in silicon and AI, combined with his decades of proven leadership experience and passion for customer-driven innovation make him uniquely suited to lead this team,” said Neri. “Neil’s technical acumen, vision and passion for advancing HPE’s unique IP in supercomputing, AI infrastructure technologies, and our AI software platform will strengthen the role we can play in our customers’ most critical transformations.”

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Telstra and Trans Pacific Networks partner on Echo cable

Telstra International and Trans Pacific Networks (TPN) have partnered on the Echo cable, the first subsea cable to directly connect the US to Singapore.

 Echo’s subsea system is a unique express route connecting California, Jakarta, Singapore, and Guam. The system creates a new path and offers low latency, high-speed, resilient network infrastructure connecting South Asia to the US.

The first Echo segments (Guam-US) will launch in mid-2024, with the remaining segments in 2025. Telstra will become TPN’s operating partner to provide secure, long-term stability on an efficient route. In addition, Telstra will be delivering cable landing station services for Echo in Singapore and the Network Operations Centre services. XL Axiata is landing the cable in Indonesia and our partner for delivering services into Indonesia.

Telstra International CEO said the geographical area the new cable would be built in was one of the more challenging regions globally in terms of regulation as well as subsea cable cuts.

“Our subsea network scale makes Telstra International uniquely placed to successfully navigate the complexity of these environments to ensure the stability of the world’s digital connectivity,” said Roary Stasko, CEO Telstra International. "We’re accelerating growth in our international digital infrastructure with investments in subsea fibre capacity on unique, diverse routes - helping to move more traffic around the world and strengthening connections from Asia to the US. Echo’s cable system has the ability to allow other countries to take advantage of its redundancy. In addition, we’ve recently added 3Tbps of capacity through the SEA-US cable connecting US mainland to Hawaii, Guam and Philippines which complements our existing Trans-Pacific cables like AAG, UNITY, FASTER, NCP and JUPITER."

• The Echo system will have 12 fiber pairs with a capacity of 12 terabits per second (Tbps) each. Ownership and Services: Facebook and Google share ownership interests in the cable system, with Facebook owning 8 of the 12 fiber pairs landing at Piti and Google owning 8 of the 12 fiber pairs landing at Agat. 
• Telstra International and TPN are responsible for co-building and operating the cable, with Telstra also providing cable landing station services in Singapore and network operations center services.
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Facebook and Google collaborate on U.S.-Guam-Singapore cable

Monday, March 29, 2021  Facebook, Google, Singapore, Subsea  

Facebook and Google are lead investors in a new subsea cable from Eureka, California to Singapore, with a stop-over in Guam.

The Echo subsea cable will be the first to directly connect the U.S. to Singapore with direct fiber pairs over an express route. The cable is expected to have landings in Indonesia and possibly other locations. 

In a blog posting, Google said Echo's unique route to Southeast Asia will avoid the crowded, traditional paths to the north. The cable is expected to be ready for service in 2023.

https://cloud.google.com/blog/products/infrastructure/introducing-the-echo-subsea-cable

https://engineering.fb.com/2021/03/28/connectivity/echo-bifrost/

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Telstra extends network capabilities into Latin America

In a significant move to broaden its global reach, Telstra International has embarked on an expansion into Latin America beginning with the establishment of a new dedicated point-of-presence (PoP) located at Stemmons Towers in Dallas, Texas. The new Dallas PoP will serve as a critical hub for Telstra's operations in Latin America, providing a gateway for enhanced communication and technology services.

Telstra International also announced collaborations with leading Mexican telecommunications providers, Axtel and Vivaro. These partnerships are expected to enhance the company's service offerings and connectivity in Latin America, signifying a new era of telecommunications synergy between these regions. Throughout Mexico, Telstra International now offers global internet, IP transit, and virtual private networks. Telstra International also provides access to more than 10 carrier-neutral data centers in cities such as Mexico City, Monterrey, Queretaro, and Guadalajara, and delivers endpoint termination services for ethernet private lines and MPLS in all of Mexico’s major data centers, enterprise buildings and business parks. These network enhancements facilitate low-latency connectivity into the Mexican Stock Exchange as well, which is important for serving customers in the financial services industry, a key growth area for Telstra globally.

“We’re focused on Latin America as a key growth market as we expect to see increased demand for connectivity from enterprises, hyperscalers and wholesale customers between APAC and the region driven by a technology boom and growing economies. Our official expansion and continued investments in digital infrastructure position us well to offer customers simple and secure options to connect to this dynamic region and leverage our global network,” said Roary Stasko, CEO of Telstra International.

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Bandwidth IG builds dark fiber across San Francisco Bay Area

Bandwidth IG, a metro dark fiber provider, announced plans to add over 310 route miles across the San Francisco Bay Area.  The rollout will exceed 2 million fiber miles, adding significant capacity to a region with a high density of data centers and high-bandwidth users.

The latest addition to Bandwidth IG's fiber network is noteworthy, as it includes the first submarine cable installed beneath the San Francisco Bay in over two decades. 

"With unprecedented demand for data center space and power, providing the San Francisco Bay Area with new purpose-built, mission-critical infrastructure becomes a market necessity," said Patton Lochridge, Chief Commercial Officer for Bandwidth IG. "Dark fiber is the foundation of data transmission but many incumbent networks in the Bay Area lack capacity or are not capable of meeting the needs of the world's largest consumers of data. By continuing our focus on new fiber infrastructure, we're creating a path for connectivity in critical areas of the market that will allow hyperscalers and data centers to fully leverage AI and other society-changing technologies."

https://bandwidthig.com/

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Fiber Broadband Study breaks down deployment costs

On average, labor contributed to 73% of underground build costs and 67% of aerial costs for fiber rollouts, according the Fiber Broadband Association's 2023 Fiber Deployment Cost Study, conducted by Cartesian. The study also provides regional cost variations, along with the cost differential between deployment methods.

The 2023 Fiber Deployment Study survey respondents spanned across the U.S. and the fiber deployment ecosystem to include network operators, municipal broadband providers, utility/electric cooperatives, prime contractors, and subcontractors. The study explored many factors that influence cost but often make it challenging to compare costs across deployments. This includes cost components like labor, materials, build scenarios, and the choice of construction method.

“As broadband providers across the country look to leverage public and private funding to connect communities to high-quality broadband services, understanding the cost variables of deployment remains a vital component to broadband plans and proposals,” said Deborah Kish, Vice President of Research and Workforce Development at the Fiber Broadband Association. “Our annual Fiber Deployment Survey uncovers fiber cost benchmarks and how costs change over time—information that is critical for broadband providers and state broadband offices as they prepare competitive applications for NTIA BEAD funding to connect their communities to reliable fiber broadband services.”

https://fiberbroadband.org

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Digital Realty sees rapid growth in its ServiceFabric

Digital Realty reported growing traction for ServiceFabric, its service orchestration platform that seamlessly interconnects workflow participants, applications, clouds and ecosystems on PlatformDIGITAL, its global data center platform.

Following the recent introduction of Service Directory, a central marketplace that allows Digital Realty partners to highlight their offerings, over 70 members have joined the directory and listed more than 100 services, including secure and direct connections to over 200 global cloud on-ramps, creating a vibrant ecosystem for seamless interconnection and collaboration.

Digital Realty sees its open interconnection and orchestration platform as a critical enabler for artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance compute (HPC), especially as enterprises increasingly deploy private AI applications, which rely on the low latency, private exchange of data between many members of an ecosystem. 

Chris Sharp, Chief Technology Officer, Digital Realty, said: "ServiceFabric is redefining the way customers and partners interact with our global data center platform. By fostering an open and collaborative environment, we're empowering businesses to build and orchestrate their ideal solutions with unparalleled ease and efficiency."

https://www.digitalrealty.com/platform-digital/connectivity/service-fabric

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maincubes plans 40MW data center near Frankfurt

maincubes, a European data center owner and operator, is planning its newest data center, FRA04, in the Frankfurt area.

 FRA04 is located in the Rhine-Main Metropolitan Area, south of Frankfurt in Dietzenbach, and will provide approximately 134,548 square feet/12,500 square meters of whitespace and 40MW of IT capacity. maincubes has acquired the site with a committed power of 60MW, making FRA04 the largest data center development for maincubes to date. This facility will support the growing high-performance computing and AI needs of hyperscalers.

"maincubes stands out from other providers for several reasons," explains Oliver Menzel, CEO of maincubes. "First, as a European company, we are independent and capable of offering the best solutions for data protection and data sovereignty. Second, we understand that efficiency and sustainability are crucial factors for organizations in the hyperscaler and artificial intelligence sectors when selecting a data center. With our successful Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) registration and the implementation of the ESG framework according to GRESB, we not only meet current customer requirements but are also prepared for future EU regulatory requirements for data center operators."

 Patrick Schütz, CRO of maincubes, adds, "AI and the advancing digitization in the global economy demand significant data center capacities within a short period. Due to its central location in Europe, robust infrastructure, existing internet exchange points, and considerations of data protection, Frankfurt and the Rhine-Main region are highly sought-after locations. Here, hyperscalers and AI companies are competing for the limited available capacities in the data center market."

maincubes FRA04 is expected to be operational in 2027 and marks the first of several hyperscale developments on maincubes' growth trajectory. 

 https://www.maincubes.com/en/data-centers/frankfurt-04/

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Dell'Oro: RAN market in downward trajectory

 The Radio Access Network (RAN) market is now in a downward trajectory, according to a new report from Dell'Oro Group. Following the >40 percent ascent between 2017 and 2021, RAN revenues stabilized in 2022, and are on target to decline sharply in 2023. Market conditions are expected to remain challenging in 2024 as the Indian RAN market pulls back, though the pace of the global decline this year and for the remainder of the forecast period should be more moderate.

 

“The big picture has not changed. MBB-based investments are now slowing and the upside with new growth areas including FWA and private wireless is still too small to change the trajectory,” said Stefan Pongratz, Vice President at Dell’Oro Group. “Also weighing on the MBB market is the fact that the upper mid-band capacity boost is rather significant relative to current data traffic growth rates in some markets, which could impact the timing for capacity upgrades,” continued Pongratz. 

Additional highlights from the Mobile RAN 5-Year January 2024 Forecast Report:

• Worldwide RAN revenues are projected to decline at a 1 percent CAGR over the next five years.
• The Asia Pacific region is expected to lead the decline, while easier comparisons following steep contractions in 2023 will improve the growth prospects in the North America region.
• 5G-Advanced is expected to play an important role in the broader 5G journey, however, it is not expected to fuel another major capex growth cycle.
• RAN segments that are expected to grow over the next five years include: 5G NR, FWA, mmWave, Massive MIMO, Open RAN, private wireless, small cells, and Virtualized RAN.

https://www.delloro.com

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Boigo builds neutral-host cellular towers for U.S. Army

Boingo Wireless launched a new, neutral-host cellular tower at U.S. Army Garrison Hawaii’s Helemano Military Reservation (HMR). 

The tower infrastructure designed, constructed and managed by Boingo Wireless enhances wireless service for military families, personnel and visitors—a significant improvement for quality-of-life and mission critical efforts. 

The project includes 5G coverage for AT&T and Verizon and brings robust wireless coverage to a more remote location that had struggled with inadequate connectivity. Additional improvements for T-Mobile customers will be completed by the end of the year.

Located approximately five miles north above Wahiawa, HMR offers military housing for approximately 2,000 service members and families stationed at Schofield Barracks and Wheeler Army Airfield. Boingo’s cellular tower is on the grounds of the Exchange’s HMR Express store in the center of the reservation and nicknamed “Dragon” for the 307th ESB-E, which is headquartered on HMR.

“Nothing is more fulfilling than serving military communities with wireless coverage that enhances daily quality of life and enables Soldiers to communicate with loved ones. We’re extremely proud to work with the Exchange and base leaders to simplify complex tower deployments and build a remarkable 13 new cell towers in Hawaii. These towers, all with Tier One carrier service, will dramatically enhance much-needed cellular connectivity for base operations, and all those working and living on base,” said Rebecca Gray, senior vice president and general manager, military at Boingo Wireless.

The Dragon tower is one of 13 new or in-progress cell towers from Boingo to expand connectivity and reliability to military communities throughout USAG Hawaii.

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Crehan: Rapid growth ahead for 800GbE

According to the most recent Data Center Switch Long-Range Forecast Report from Crehan Research, 800 gigabit Ethernet (GbE) switches will see rapid customer adoption and will surpass 20 million ports in annual shipments within four years – equating to the fastest ever data center Ethernet switch speed ramp (see accompanying chart). 

An expected key driver of the fast adoption is generative AI, which requires much higher networking bandwidth than other workloads.

“Generative AI is potentially the biggest killer application to emerge in decades," said Seamus Crehan, president of Crehan Research. "As the de facto data center networking technology, with an installed base of over 400 million switch ports as well as the proven ability to incorporate additional features to handle the requirements of new applications, we expect Ethernet to be the main enabler of these workloads,” he said. “Already, Ethernet networking is seeing generative AI enabling deployments in five of the top seven hyperscale cloud service providers, as well as the world’s fastest supercomputers including the Frontier exascale system and the Aurora system.”

In conjunction with strong adoption of high-speed Ethernet switches to handle generative AI applications, Crehan’s report also predicts rapid growth in 100-Gbps SerDes shipments. The company expects this technology to surpass 50-Gbps SerDes shipments to become the most-deployed data center Ethernet switch SerDes speed within three years.

https://crehanresearch.com/

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NTT & Nokia demo Dynamic Rerouting in Mobile Fronthaul

NTT and Nokia demonstrated mobile fronthaul between the antenna unit (Radio Unit/RU) and the control unit (Distributed Unit/DU) of a 5G RAN base station using the IOWN All Photonics Network (APN) architecture.

The demonstration showed that latency remains within established mobile backhaul parameters even when the distance between RU and DU is about 25 km. It was confirmed that the RU and DU of 5G operate normally. 

This achievement will contribute to reducing the number of DUs and their power consumption by enabling long-distance transmission between RU and DU and wide-range base station operation.

The IOWN APN enables dynamic re-routing between RUs and DUs. If a failure occurs between an RU and a DU, the IOWN APN can bypass the failure, allowing the service to continue in the

area covered by the RU. There is currently a strict industry standard3 for mobile fronthaul with a delay time of 160 μs or less4, and 5G RUs and DUs are designed to operate under this standard. 

The companies also confirmed that, in theory that, with the delay time of 133 μs, the maximum distance of long-distance transmission is approximately 30 km.

https://group.ntt/en/newsrelease/2024/01/18/pdf/240118aa.pdf 

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EU's Nostradamus targets quantum communications

The European Commission has tasked a group led by Deutsche Telekom, called "Nostradamus," with creating a quantum key distribution (QKD) test infrastructure. This project will assess QKD devices from European manufacturers. The consortium includes Thales, a leader in advanced technologies, and the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, along with other industry and academic experts. Their work supports the development of EuroQCI, a secure, quantum-based, pan-European communication network. This network will enhance the security of critical infrastructures for all EU member states and their citizens.

The initiative aims to build the European Quantum Communication Infrastructure (EuroQCI), enhancing security for data centers, communication networks, and vital services like hospitals and power grids. It will utilize fiber optics and satellite technology, reinforced by quantum physics for added defense against new cyber threats. This quantum technology application is central to the EU's cyber security strategy for the future.

Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) uses quantum mechanics principles to secure communication, with keys for decoding information sent using single photons. 

The upcoming EU satellite network, IRIS2 (Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite), will be encrypted and dependent on EuroQCI. Its primary role is to deliver communication services and support critical network infrastructure for governments. Additionally, IRIS2 will offer rapid satellite internet to businesses and organizations. As the third key component of the EU's space infrastructure, following Galileo (navigation) and Copernicus (earth observation), IRIS2 received EU approval last year. Its initial services are set to start this year, with complete operational capability targeted for 2027.

https://www.telekom.com/en/media/media-information/archive/eu-launches-nostradamus-prepares-europe-for-a-quantum-world-1056746

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EllaLink to connect French Guiana and continental Europe

A new 2,100km cable extension to the existing EllaLink cable will provide a direct fiber connection  between French Guiana, home of the European Space Centre, and continental Europe.

This new submarine branch will land in Cayenne, French Guiana, and include 2 fibre pairs. The system will be built by Alcatel Submarine Networks and use state-of-the-art optical technologies such as a ROADM WSS branching unit, allowing direct connectivity without regeneration from French Guiana to continental Europe with an RTD latency of less than 80ms. The new infrastructure will also enable direct connections from French Guiana to Fortaleza, Brazil.

https://ella.link/2024/01/18/splang-ellalink-branch-to-french-guiana/

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Singtel adds Starlink connectivity to its maritime portfolio

Singtel is adding Starlink service to its portfolion of maritime digital offerings for ship owners and operators so they can innovate and tap into advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), 5G, edge computing, as well as access cloud-based solutions to improve safety, operational efficiencies, and crew well-being. 

Starlink is the first low Earth orbit (LEO) broadband service to be added to Singtel’s  portfolio of digital smart solutions for vessels known as iSHIP, which also includes Paragon - the telco’s an all-in-one orchestration platform for 5G edge computing and cloud services. The platform will manage and automate the smart switching between satellite communication services ensuring uninterrupted, high quality network coverage as ships traverse long distances, including the most remote locations and under severe conditions. It will also enable ships to leverage edge computing, host mission critical applications either on-premises or at shore - freeing up valuable bandwidth and improving reliability.

“The maritime industry is a complex, interconnected environment involving large volumes of data being transmitted between thousands of terminals, ships, and ports across the world. We have seen growing demands for faster, more resilient, and low latency connectivity as the industry starts to embrace digital transformation. The addition of Starlink to our existing suite of satellite communications solutions, orchestrated by our patented Paragon platform, is part of our multi-orbit strategy to increase the resilience of satellite connectivity in the industry and to enable the rapid adoption of digital technologies and solutions. As the first telco in Singapore to offer Starlink, we are confident that this offering will further facilitate the development of smart, secure, and sustainable solutions that will positively impact the industry,” said Mr Bill Chang, Chief Executive Officer, Digital InfraCo, Singtel.  

https://www.singtel.com/about-us/media-centre/news-releases/singtel-adds-starlink-connectivity-to-its-maritime-portfolio-of-

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