Quantenna Collaborates with Samsung Electronics on 4x4 MIMO Wi-Fi

Quantenna Communications, a start-up based in Fremont, California, announced a partnership with Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. to develop products based on Quantenna's 4x4 MIMO Wi-Fi technology.


"We believe that Samsung will impact the industry in a number of important ways,�? said Sam Heidari, chief executive officer for Quantenna. “Combining our expertise in high performance 4x4 MIMO Wi-Fi with Samsung's products enhances Quantenna's leadership in whole-home wireless video distribution."http://www.quantenna.com

• Quantenna's current family of Full-11n chipsets uses the company's cost-optimized, third-generation 4x4 MIMO technology to deliver up to 600 Mbps of bandwidth. The chipsets enable manufacturers to build products for delivering IPTV and other video streaming and data distribution services throughout the home over an ultra-reliable, high-performance Wi-Fi connection.



• In September 2010, Quantenna Communications, a start-up based in Fremont, California, raised $21 million in a Series E round of financing for its 4X4 MIMO 802.11n chipsets designed for next gen home networking applications. The funding was led by new investor DAG Ventures, with participation by each of the company's largest investors including Sequoia Capital, Sigma Partners, Southern Cross, and Venrock Associates.



• Quantenna leverages dynamic digital beamforming to deliver very high-speed wireless coverage throughout the whole home for sharing high definition (HD) video and multimedia content between home gateways and TVs. Quantenna's silicon is targeted at devices such as home residential gateways, set-top boxes, routers, HDTVs and consumer electronic devices, which all require high bandwidth and reliability to support whole home HD video distribution and networking over standard Wi-Fi networks.

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India's BSNL Disconnects Rivals

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), the largest telecom operator in India, disconnected lines serving mobile rivals Airtel, Vodafone and Idea in Haryana circle, leading to disruption in landline and mobile services, according to Press Trust of India. The disconnections, which affect other areas across the country, has resulted in landlines customers being up able to complete calls to the mobile operators. BSNL has cited unpaid dues from other operations as the reason for its actions.


State-owned BSNL has over 90 million mobile customers of its own, and is the largest land line telephone provider in India.
http://www.bsnl.co.inhttp://www.hindustantimes.com

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HP Names Bethany Mayer to Lead Networking Business

HP appointed Bethany Mayer to serve as senior vice president and general manager of the HP Networking business unit. She has served as the unit's interim leader for the past four months, overseeing HP Networking's worldwide operations, reporting to Dave Donatelli, executive vice president and general manager of Enterprise Servers, Storage, Networking and Technology Services at HP. Previously, Mayer was vice president of Marketing for Enterprise Servers, Storage and Networking at HP.
http://www.hp.com

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Apple's iPhone 4s -- iMessage Eats into SMS/MMS Revenues

Here is a wrap-up of network related news from Apple's big iPhone event:

• iPhone 5 was not introduced.



• Sprint is a confirmed carrier for the iPhone.



• iPhone 4S uses the dual-core A5 chip for faster processing and 7X faster graphics than predecessor.



• iPhone 4S supports both CDMA and GSM in same device. It does not offer LTE.



• iPhone 4S supports 14.4 Mbps HSPA downlinks, versus 7.2 Mbps in the iPhone 4. In the U.S. market, this provides a speed boost for AT&T, but not for Verizon or Sprint



• iPhone 4S intelligently switches between two antennas for transmit and receive.



• The new Siri personal assistant is a major selling point and will require 3G or Wi-Fi network connectivity. Siri is not supported on earlier iPhones, nor on iPads or iTouches.



• In the U.S.., iPhone 4s is priced at $199 for a 16GB version, $299 for a 32 GB version and $399 for a 64 GB version -- 2 year contract required with AT&T, Verizon Wireless or Sprint.



• iOS 5 is coming October 12



• iOS 5 introduces iMessage, which is a free and unlimited service delivering text messages, photos, videos and contacts between fellow iPhone, iPad and iTouch users with iOS 5. Group messaging is supported. Delivery receipts are provided. It shows when the other party is typing a message to you. iMessages are encrypted. iMessage can reach non iOS 5 users via standard MMS.



• iOS 5 offers integration with Twitter



• Apple will offer a free Find My Friends services for iOS users. This is in addition to Find My Devices.



• iPod Touch is positioned as a communications device with free and unlimited messaging over Wi-Fi



• iCloud launches October 12 with 5GB of free storage, with the option to buy more (pricing not yet disclosed).

http://www.apple.com

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Level 3 Completes Acquisition of Global Crossing

Level 3 Communications completed its previously announced acquisition of Global Crossing Limited. The merger combines Level 3's U.S. and European footprint with Global Crossing's extensive international, intercity network.


Level 3 now will operate a services platform for medium to large enterprise, wholesale, content and government customers, anchored by extensive owned fiber networks on three continents in more than 45 countries as well as substantial undersea facilities. The combined business had pro forma 2010 revenues of $6.2 billion and pro forma 2010 Adjusted EBITDA of $1.3 billion before synergies and $1.6 billion after expected synergies. Corporate headquarters will remain in Broomfield, Colorado. James Q. Crowe is CEO of the company.


The deal was structured as a tax-free, stock-for-stock exchange. The combined business had pro forma 2010 revenues of $6.2 billion and pro forma 2010 Adjusted EBITDA of $1.3 billion before synergies and $1.6 billion after expected synergies. Total synergies are expected to be approximately $300 million of run-rate EBITDA, of which the company expects to realize the substantial majority within 18 months.


The company also announced plans to transfer the listing of its common stock to the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), and expects to begin trading on the NYSE on Oct. 20, 2011, under its current ticker symbol "LVLT". The company will continue to trade on the NASDAQ Global Select Market until the transfer is completed. In conjunction with listing on NYSE, the company will affect a 1-for-15 reverse stock split of the Level 3 common stock.


"The integration planning effort has been very productive, and we are ready to begin integrating our operations today," said Jeff Storey, president and chief operating officer of Level 3. "Business remains strong, and we continue to feel confident about the synergy targets we identified when we announced this transaction. Our number one objective is to maintain our focus on providing an industry-leading customer experience, while also achieving our expected synergies."http://www.level3.com/

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Avaya Acquires Sipera for Securing Unified Communications

Avaya has acquired Sipera Systems, a privately-held supplier of Unified Communications (UC) enablement and security solutions, for an undisclosed sum.


Sipera supplies set of fit-for-purpose, enterprise-class SBC capabilities for Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) trunking that offers customers and channel partners flexibility, security and value. Sipera provides application-layer security. Security features include a patent-pending remote worker solution that helps deploy VPN-less solutions and advanced toll fraud protection.


"Sipera's broad portfolio of open, enterprise-focused security technologies strongly align with our own Avaya Aura unified communications architecture. Together, we will help customers simplify deployment, management and maintenance of secure, multi-vendor UC and contact center environments while providing them with greater flexibility to support remote and mobile employees using the device that best suits their needs," stated Dr. Alan Baratz, Senior Vice President and President, Global Communications Solutions, Avaya. http://www.avaya.com http://www.sipera.com

• In May 2010, Sipera Systems raised $10 million in venture funding for its real-time Unified Communications (UC) enablement and security solutions. he new funding was led by S3 Ventures, and includes participation by prior investors Austin Ventures, Duchossois Technology Partners (DTEC), Sequoia Capital, and STAR Ventures. This brings Sipera's total funding to $48 million. The company was founded in 2003.
  
  
  Sipera's "Borderless UC" architecture enables enterprise managers to safely extend UC over any network to any device, including office phones, home office phones, remote call center agents, video devices, soft-phones, collaboration tools, and smartphones. The company's portfolio includes its smartphone UC security solutions and UC-Sec enterprise UC security product family. Its UC security appliance protects against signaling and media vulnerabilities while maintaining the highest quality of service (QoS). It terminates encrypted UC traffic, offers fine-grained policy enforcement to apply different security and call routing rules, and solves firewall/NAT traversal among other UC deployment issues.

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AiNET Builds High-Density Fiber Net in Washington D.C.

AiNET has begun constructions of a new state-of-the-art 3-ring, 9,600 fiber-route mile DWDM fiber in Washington, D.C. Areas served by this extensive fiber rollout include: Georgetown, the lower Wisconsin Avenue district, the West End, Foggy Bottom, Dupont Circle, the K Street corridor, Penn Quarter, and the Central Business District (CBD) – with special focus on high concentrations of Federal office buildings, surrounding the Capital, and south of the National Mall. Notably, the network will be completed underground and offer a high degree of diversity from the fiber routes already in place. http://www.ai.net/

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UNH-IOL Offers Data Center Bridging (DCB) Testing

The University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory (UNH-IOL) is now offering testing of Data Center Bridging (DCB) in accordance with the finalization of all IEEE Data Center Bridging (DCB) standards.


The UNH-IOL notes that membership in its DCB Consortium has doubled over the past 12 months. By providing members with access to the latest DCB testing services, the UNH-IOL is helping members prepare for the next-generation of data center networks.


"UNH-IOL's knowledge of both of the Ethernet and Fibre Channel technologies and how they relate to each other makes UNH-IOL an ideal lab for Fibre Channel plugfests. As noted this is our 7th FCoE plugfest, but UNH-IOL has been handling our Fibre Channel plugfests for years now." http://www.iol.unh.edu/services/testing/dcb

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McAfee to Acquire NitroSecurity for Cyber Situational Awareness

Intel's McAfee division plans to acquire NitroSecurity, a privately-held company focused on security information and event management (SIEM) solutions that provide visibility and situational awareness to protect critical information and infrastructure. Financial terms were not disclosed.


NitroSecurity identifies, correlates and remediates threats to the network. NitroSecurity's SIEM management, which has already passed integration testing with McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator (ePO), gives customers a single security platform for event analysis and management across the environment. The integration expands the capability of the McAfee ePO platform to view events, activity and logs created by networks, databases and applications.


McAfee said NitroSecurity's technology, combined with its own security management capabilities, will give organizations greater visibility into their endpoint assets, underlying network infrastructure, specific security threats and risks and system vulnerabilities across their entire IT environment. http://www.mcafee.com

• NitroSecurity was founded in 1999 and based in Portsmouth, NH.

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IBM Acquires Q1 Labs for Security Analytics

IBM agreed to acquire privately held Q1 Labs, a developer of security intelligence software, for an undisclosed sum.


Q1 Labs, which is based in Waltham, Massachusetts, provides software that collects and analyzes information from hundreds of sources across an organization, such as the network, applications, user activity, mobile endpoints, and physical security devices such as badge readers - including both cloud-based and on-premise sources. Its security information and event management (SIEM) software also helps IT staff and auditors manage the tracking of security incidents and model risk to better protect customers, while giving executives insight into the security and risk posture of the organization. The company cites more than 1,800 clients globally, including healthcare providers, energy firms, retail organizations, utility companies, financial institutions, government agencies, educational institutions, and wireless service providers.


Q1 Labs' advanced analytics and correlation capabilities can automatically detect and flag actions across an enterprise that deviate from prescribed policies and typical behavior to help prevent breaches, such as an employee accessing unauthorized information.


IBM Managed Security Services is already making available to clients a cloud-based service of Q1 Labs' security information and event management offering.


IBM said the acquisition accelerates its efforts to help clients more intelligently secure their enterprises by applying analytics to correlate information from key security domains and creating security dashboards for their organizations. Following the close of the acquisition, Q1 Labs will join the newly-formed IBM Security Systems division. The new division will be led by Brendan Hannigan, the current CEO of Q1 Labs.


IBM sees a $94 billion opportunity in security software and services with a nearly 12 percent compound annual growth rate. Q1 Labs will join the more than 10 strategic security acquisitions IBM has made in the last decade and the more than 25 analytics-related purchases, including the recently announced acquisition of security analytics software firm, i2.


"Since perimeter defense alone is no longer capable of thwarting all threats, IBM is in a unique position to shift security thinking to an integrated, predictive approach," said Brendan Hannigan , CEO of Q1 Labs. "Q1 Labs' security analytics will add greater intelligence to IBM's security portfolio and continue to distinguish IBM from competitors."


IBM's new Security Systems division integrates IBM's Tivoli, Rational and Information Management security software, appliances, lab offerings and services. IBM plans to apply Q1 Labs' analytics to drive greater security intelligence capabilities across its security products and services such as identity and access management, database security, application security, enterprise risk management, intrusion prevention, endpoint management and network security. http://www.ibm.com/securityhttp://q1labs.com/

• Q1 Labs has significant, strategic OEM partnerships with a number of network infrastructure companies, including Juniper Networks and Enterasys.
• In February 2008, Q1 Labs announced $9 million in Series D funding, bringing total equity investment in the company to $43 million. The funding round was led by Globespan Capital Partners and included other existing investors Menlo Ventures, BDC Venture Capital, Polaris Venture Partners, New Brunswick Investment Management Corporation as well as individual investors.
• Q1 Labs was founded in 2001.



• Last year, HP acquired ArcSight, a provider of network security and compliance management company, in a deal valued at $1.5 billion. ArcSight, which is based in Cupertino, California, provides a platform for gaining visibility and critical insights into IT infrastructure across all users, networks, data centers and applications. The company has over 1,000 corporate and government customers.

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Juniper Offers Cloud-based Network Simulation with Junosphere

Juniper Networks introduced a cloud-based, virtual network simulation laboratory that enables service providers and large enterprises to accurately model their networks prior to real-world changes or deployments.


Junosphere Lab is a virtual environment that allows network operators to create and run networks on-demand, enabling network modeling, testing and planning at a scale that is practically impossible to achieve with physical equipment. Network operators can use Junosphere to speed service introduction, plan more effectively and reduce the risk of network changes.


Using Junosphere Lab, network personnel can create and model virtual networks running the Junos operating system as a substitute for or supplement to physical test labs, eliminating significant power, cooling and space requirements. Companies can upload an existing network topology to Junosphere and then simulate traffic and applications.


"Junosphere Lab leverages the power of cloud networking to help customers plan and operate their networks more efficiently," said Manoj Leelanivas, executive vice president, Junos Application Software Business Group, Juniper Networks. "The economic and operational benefits of cloud-based network modeling are astounding, and the innovation of Junosphere Lab brings these benefits to our customers so they can shape and scale their next generation networks with agility."http://www.juniper.net

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BroadLight Releases its XGPON Silicon

BroadLight announced commercial availability of standard compliant ITU-T G.987 XGPON OLT and ONT silicon.


XGPON supports 10Gbps downstream and 2.5Gbps upstream rates. Broadlight is the first in the market with a commercial standard compliant (ITU-T G.987) XGPON OLT and ONT solution.


“XGPON enables carriers a robust continuity of their ITU-T PON networks, meeting their evolving service deployments demands by scaling bandwidth, subscriber count and lowering power consumption profiles,�? says Doron Tal, BroadLight's VP of Business Development and Product Marketing. “We continue executing on our commitment to lead the PON processors market through enabling our customers with XGPON solutions."http://www.broadlight.com

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Sharp to Build Smartphones and Tablets for Lightsquared

LightSquared has selected Sharp as its first manufacturer to provide advanced smartphones and tablets which will operate on its 4G-LTE network. The devices will leverage Sharp's extensive selection of unique device components, such as Sharp's advanced LCD panel and camera module. LightSquared said the agreement underscores how its open network and growing ecosystem can help manufacturers expand their wireless offerings and develop innovative products without restrictions.
http://www.lightsquared.com

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XO to Launch as MVNO on Sprint's Network

Sprint will deliver MVNO wireless services to XO Communications, a provider of advanced communications solutions for businesses and service providers.


XO will leverage Sprint's Wholesale Mobile Integration (WMI) services to converge wireline and wireless services into one conjoined solution. Pricing and provisions are also included in the deal that would enable XO Communications to deploy 4G products and services for its small- and medium-sized business (SMB) customers.


XO Communications plans to offer a fixed mobile convergence (FMC) solution that enables businesses to integrate mobile access with VoIP, SIP trunking and in-building Wi-Fi networks.


"We are excited to enter this relationship with XO Communications and arm them with an attractive mobility solution as part of their services portfolio,�? said Matt Carter, president-Sprint Wholesale Solutions and New Ventures. “Sprint will help XO Communications eliminate the line between wireline and wireless to efficiently deliver on both, allowing their customers to reduce costs and increase productivity and reliability. We are enabling improved business flexibility and worker mobility."http://www.sprint.com
http://www.xo.com

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European Commission Looks into Wholesale Broadband Access

The European Commission has launched two public consultations related to access for alternative operators to the fixed telephone and broadband networks of established operators.


"We need regulatory consistency in all Member States to ensure a level playing field for telecoms across the whole EU, in which competition and investment can thrive. This will reassure markets that putting money into fibre networks is a safe and profitable investment," stated Neelie Kroes, European Commission Vice President for the Digital Agenda.


The first consultation concerns non-discriminatory access for alternative operators to the infrastructure and services of dominant telecom operators.


The second concerns the way national regulators calculate prices that operators have to pay for this wholesale access (cost-orientation remedies). The results will help the Commission to draft Recommendations for a consistent, investment-friendly application of non-discrimination and price control remedies.
http://www.europa.eu

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WSJ: Sprint Bets Big -- 30 Million iPhones

The Wall Street Journal reports that Sprint is ready to "bet the company" on the new iPhone, reportedly committing up to $20 billion over four years to purchase 30.5 million of the devices from Apple.


Sprint is expected to discuss its next generation, "Vision" network architecture on October 7.
http://www.wsj.com

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Intel Acquires TelMap for Location-based Services

Intel has acquired TelMap, a provider of location based services, in a deal reportedly valued at $300 - 350 million dollars.


TelMap, which is based in Israel, provides mobile operators with white label, hosted and managed location-based services. Telmap's flagship product is a personalized Mobile Location Companion that runs on mobile devices and caters to the users' needs .

TelMap also encompasses the Location Platform on the server side. Telmap's content technology allows adding new content on the server side and exposing it to users without requiring any upgrade on the mobile client. The company features an open architecture with extensive APIs both on the client side and on the server side for third party developers.


TelMap has announced deployments with O2 Germany, Orange France, SFR and other major carriers.
http://www.telmap.com
http://www.intel.com

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Cavium's OCTEON Fusion Puts Small Cell Base Station on a Chip

Cavium introduced its small cell "Base Station-on-a-chip" family for LTE and 3G networks.


The new OCTEON Fusion series, which builds on the company's established L2-L7 presence in existing wireless infrastructure, combines Octeon's MIPS64 based multi-core architecture with purpose-built Baseband DSP cores, extensive LTE/3G hardware accelerators and digital front end (DFE) functionality into a single chip. This enables very small footprint designs, including picocell and micro base stations, with a minimal bill-of-materials (BOM) and power envelopes.


Significantly, the new OCTEON Fusion can be used for small cell LTE base stations scaling from 32 users to 300+ users and up to dual 20MHz carriers, making it a more powerful small cell base station solution than its competitors.


Cavium currently supplies its Octeon processors for 3G/4G platforms used by 8 out of the top ten telecom equipment manufacturers (TEM). The new OCTEON Fusion uses the same FusionStack L1-L3 software used in these systems. OCTEON Fusion and FusionStack Software have been developed in close partnership with a Tier-1 TEM and have been designed into their next gen LTE small cell base stations. PHY (L1) layer software includes complete user-plane and control plane components for FDD-LTE, TDD-LTE and 3G, along with protocol processing libraries that take advantage of the in-built hardware acceleration.


The OCTEON Fusion packs from two to six 64 bit cnMIPS cores operating at up to 2GHz with up to two to eight highly optimized baseband DSPs operating up to 1GHz and several carefully designed hardware accelerator blocks for security, packet processing and scheduling. Octeon uses a proprietary high-speed interconnect between cores, accelerators and memory for ultra low latency. Cavium also supports full C-programmability, Authentik secure boot functionality to eliminate the possibility of cloned or grey market base stations, and the ability to use portions of the LTE spectrum for the base stations own wireless backhaul.


Sampling is expected in Q1 2012. http://www.cavium.com

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White Paper on Session Border Controllers: Addressing Tomorrow's Requirements

Although the session border controller has established itself as a critical component of next generation fixed and mobile networks, future growth will require innovations in scalability and security, according a whitepaper by Jim Hodges, Senior Analyst at Heavy Reading. The 14-page paper, which was commissioned by Metaswitch, examines six use case scenarios for session-border controller: IP peering, Hosted VoIP, IPv6 interworking, VoLTE, RSCe, and third-party applications.


Free download, no registration required (14-page PDF). http://www.convergedigest.com/whitepapers/Hrmetaswitch.pdf

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Verizon Wireless Deploys First 4G LTE C.O.W.

Verizon Wireless has accepted delivery of its first 4G LTE C.O.W. (Cell On Wheels) at its "super-switch" facility in Pembroke Pines, Florida.


The new 4G LTE C.O.W. weighs in at a healthy 24,000 pounds and measures 1,080 inches, including its telescoping antenna tower. The mobile unit will be deployed to targeted locations across the state when demand for wireless coverage and services spikes, including championship sports events, tourist destinations or large festivals. It also will be available to reinforce the most advanced 4G LTE wireless services for emergency responders and to the public in areas hit hard by a hurricane or other crisis.


"With so many 4G LTE markets here in Florida, and with the frequent special events we have here, it's natural that we deliver the first 4G LTE C.O.W.," said Frank Wise, executive network director for Verizon Wireless. "We're very proud of this new baby, and glowing about our 4G LTE services around the state."


Verizon Wireless already has launched 4G LTE high-speed services in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Tampa Bay, Orlando, Jacksonville, Tallahassee, Gainesville, Sarasota-Bradenton, Daytona Beach and Lakeland. Fort Myers will initiate the service later this month, and Verizon Wireless plans to upgrade 100 percent of its wireless network to 4G LTE by the end of 2013.
http://www.verizonwireless.com

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