Cyan Supplies SDN-enabled Packet-Optical in Auckland

Vocus Communications, which provides telecommunications and data center services to ISPs in Australia and New Zealand, is deploying the Cyan Z-Series packet-optical transport platforms and the Cyan 360 software-defined network (SDN) operations system for its newly constructed network in Auckland.

The initial deployment consists of Cyan Z-Series packet-optical transport platforms configured with wavelength selectable switch (WSS) reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexer (ROADM) and 10G service modules. Vocus will employ Cyan 360 SDN operations systems to facilitate multi-layer planning, management and performance verification of the network. Cyan's metro SDN solution also supports multi-vendor integration to maintain operational simplicity while using best-in-class ecosystem components. Financial terms were not disclosed.

http://www.cyaninc.com


 

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XO First to Implement 100G on Nationwide Long-haul Network

XO Communications has become the first service provider in the U.S. to deploy 100 Gbps across its long-haul fiber network on a nationwide basis.

XO is using Nokia Siemens Networks' hiT7300 DWDM optical transmission platform, which is capable of carrying 96 100G wavelengths simultaneously for a maximum capacity of 9.6 terabits per second per fiber. Coherent technology enables transmission over existing fiber. The system can scale to 400G and beyond. In addition, Nokia Siemens Networks said that by offering DCM-free transmission, its solution enables lower latency (less delay) in data transmission. It supports colorless, directionless ROADM functionality.

XO said the increased capacity gives it the flexibility to more efficiently manage the increasing data traffic across its network from enterprise and wholesale customers’ Internet, video, mobile data and cloud-based enterprise applications. The carrier plans to offer 100 Gbps optical network services to cable companies, mobile wireless service providers, and domestic and international telecommunications companies.

"While other telecommunications companies have deployed or tested 100G optical systems across portions of their networks, XO Communications is the first service provider to deploy 100G technology on an operational basis coast-to-coast across its nationwide fiber network,” said Randy Nicklas, senior vice president and chief technology officer for XO Communications. “By making this leap to 100G, XO Communications is taking a leadership role in utilization of optical networking and offering customers the network infrastructure and services needed in order to deliver today’s cloud computing, mobile wireless and Internet video delivery platforms and services."

"We are happy to play a key role in enabling XO Communications to reach this important industry milestone," said Jim Benson, head of Optical Networks for the Americas at Nokia Siemens Networks. “With the use of our high performance 100G coherent technology, XO Communications has built an automated, high capacity, state of the art network that will allow it to provide end customers with very low latency service connections coast-to-coast."

http://www.xo.com
http://www.nokiasiemensnetworks.com

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JDSU to Acquire Korea's GenComm for Wireless Testing

JDSU agreed to acquire GenComm, a provider of wireless test and measurement solutions based in Seoul, South Korea.    Financial terms were not disclosed.


GenComm’s solutions, which are currently distributed by JDSU under an OEM relationship, are used to provision wireless services. Revenue from GenComm products was more than $7.5 million of JDSU’s Communications Test and Measurement business segment revenue in fiscal year 2012.

"The GenComm acquisition will be a great strategic fit for JDSU, allowing us to leverage strong engineering wireless expertise and technology that will help us innovate new ways to support 2G, 3G and emerging 4G networks,” said David Heard, president of JDSU’s Communications Test and Measurement business segment. "Adding the expertise of GenComm’s team in South Korea also expands JDSU’s presence in the fast-growing Asia-Pacific region."

http://www.jdsu.com

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Poland's Netia Extends Managed Services with Ericsson

Netia, one of Poland's largest providers of fixed-line telecommunications services, has renewed its Managed Services Agreement with Ericsson. Under the four-year contract, Ericsson is responsible for the maintenance and management of Netia's networks, as well as supporting the provision of services to Netia Group's residential and business users. The renewed and expanded contract covers the same range of cooperation as the previous agreement, while expanding its geographical reachto include the Telefonia Dialog and Crowley telecommunication networks acquired by Netia Group in December 2011.

The agreement covers two main areas: services provision, and the transfer of contracts concerning employees, assets and agreements of Netia Group. About 190 additional Netia Group employees will be transferred to Ericsson Poland.
http://www.ericsson.com

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JDSU's Quarterly Revenue Rises to $439 Million

JDSU reported net revenue of $439.3 million and net loss was $(24.3) million, or $(0.10) per share.  This compares to net revenue of $409.2 million and net loss of $(17.4) million, or $ (0.08) per share for the prior quarter, and net revenue of $471.8 million and net income of $9.3 million, or $0.04 per share for the fourth fiscal quarter of 2011 (ended June 30, 2011). The GAAP net loss for the fourth fiscal quarter is inclusive of a $23.7 million impairment charge of certain long-lived assets and $10.5 million of insurance proceeds associated with the Thailand flood.


For fiscal 2012, net revenue of $1,682.1 million decreased 6.8% from $1,804.5 million for fiscal 2011. The net loss for fiscal 2012 of $(57.7) million, or $(0.25) per share, compared to a net income of $71.6 million, or $0.31 per share, for fiscal 2011.

Some highlights:

• Communications Test and Measurement revenue of $196.2 million increased by 10.3% compared to the prior quarter and decreased 7.1% compared to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011. Revenue from this segment represented 44.7% of total net revenue.
  
• Communications and Commercial Optical Products revenue of $185.0 million increased 6.9% compared to the prior quarter and decreased 8.6% compared to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011.  Revenue from this segment represented 42.1% of total net revenue.
  
• Advanced Optical Technologies revenue of $58.1 million decreased less than 1% compared to the prior quarter and decreased 1% compared to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011.  Revenue from this segment represented 13.2% of total net revenue.

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Marvell Unveils 3G Platform for both TD-SCDMA and WCDMA

Marvell announced a single unified 3G platform featuring its next-generation single-chip application and communications processor System-on-Chips (SoCs) combined with its Wi-Fi + Bluetooth + FM radio + Near Field Communications (NFC) + GPS chips, RF transceivers and integrated PMIC solutions.  The unified 3G platform supports both Time Division Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access (TD-SCDMA) and Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) markets.

With pin-to-pin compatibility, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) can leverage the same printed circuit board (PCB) and ID designs, and operating system, application and multimedia software to address both the WCDMA and TD-SCDMA markets, which is expected to greatly simplify design cycles and reduce unnecessary cost. Engineering samples for the unified platform are available now.

"I believe Marvell's advanced, single unified dual-core 3G platform will deliver high-performance, affordable smartphones and tablets to the global mass market. In the new era of the 'Connected Lifestyle,' I believe it is important for mobile devices, such as tablets, to have a highly integrated single-chip solution, combining a high-performance application processor and an always connected modem with high-end graphics and HD video capabilities," said Weili Dai, Co-founder of Marvell. "I am very proud and thankful for Marvell's global team of talented engineers, partners and Tier-1 customers in the mobile ecosystem, for their hard work, innovation and dedication to move the industry forward faster."

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Ericsson Selected for WCDMA/LTE in Poland

Polkomtel and Aero2 have chosen Ericsson to supply WCDMA and LTE infrastructure in northern and western Poland. The project includes design, deployment, integration and support for the upgraded mobile broadband network for a period of three years, followed by an automatic extension for an indefinite period. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Ericsson has been a partner of Polkomtel's since 2002, providing and implementing GSM and WCDMA networks, as well as microwave transmission, IP and packet core solutions.
http://www.ericsson.com

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Procera Appoints VP of Global Support

Procera Networks appointed Trevis Schuh as vice president of Global Support and Quality. Most recently he was the vice president of Worldwide Support and Services at Meru Networks and, before that, he was vice president of Worldwide Customer Service for Trapeze Networks.  He also held management roles at Spectralink, Global Crossing and Frontier Communications.

http://www.proceranetworks.com

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Colt Acquires ThinkGrid for Cloud Hosting Tools

Colt Technology Services has acquired ThinkGrid, a start-up offering tools for enabling cloud services with turnkey management, for an undisclosed sum.

ThinkGrid's three key component offering consists of a state of the art self-service and billing platform, productized cloud services (including Hosted Virtual Desktop, Virtual Server, Unified Communications, Hosted Email) and an enablement and go-to-market program to help partners achieve success.

The tools will allow Colt's channel partners to become cloud providers in their own right.

Colt said the acquisition increases its strength in cloud-based services for the indirect channel and adds approximately 200 resellers and ISV's to its partner community in the UK. ThinkGrid's training programme to facilitate the development of resellers' cloud capabilities will be rolled out to Colt's indirect sales team and channel partners.

"The SME market for managed services is set to grow at 15% annually during the coming years. Colt is well positioned to penetrate this market through our indirect channels. The acquisition of ThinkGrid further strengthens our position with the addition of a complementary range of cloud-based services. We also gain a reseller-oriented management platform and portal which will reduce our time to market across our European markets. This acquisition allows us to extend our channel community to include skilled managed services resellers who will help us to accelerate our growth," stated François Eloy, Executive Vice President at Colt.

"Becoming part of Colt Technology Services supports ThinkGrid's vision to become the world's leading cloud services enablement platform, offering great product and market development opportunities. ThinkGrid will gain access to Colt's 20 state-of-the-art data centre facilities, extended research and development and support resources as well as an opportunity to expand into 22 European countries," said Rob Lovell, CEO of ThinkGrid.
http://www.colt.net
http://www.thinkgrid.com

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Level 3 and Time Warner Cable Sign Network Expansion Contract

Communications announced a multi-year agreement to expand Time Warner Cable's national network. The deal, which builds upon an existing relationship between the companies, also includes the delivery of additional core infrastructure services that will enhance the redundancy and reliability of the Time Warner Cable network.


Level 3 and Time Warner Cable also have agreed on terms and conditions under which they will exchange IP traffic between their respective backbone networks.


"The strength of our Network is at the center of all the services we provide our more than 15 million customers and we continue to expand the reach and capacity, as well as improve the reliability of that network to best serve our customers today and in the future," said Mike LaJoie, executive vice president and CTO for Time Warner Cable. "Through these agreements, Level 3 continues to be a valuable partner in the growth of our Network's capacity and strength."
http://www.level3.com

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Google Cuts Staff at Motorola Mobility

Google will cut headcount at Motorola Mobility, its newly acquired subsidiary, by approximately 4,000 out of a total of about 20,000 employees. Two-thirds of the job cuts will occur outside of the U.S. The layoffs are expected to hit about 700 employees in the Chicago area.



In addition, Motorola Mobility plans to close or consolidate about one-third of its 90 facilities, as well as simplify its mobile product portfolio-shifting the emphasis away from feature phones.
http://www.motorola.com http://www.google.com

• In July 2012, Motorola Mobility will relocate its headquarters in Libertyville, Illinois to downtown Chicago's Merchandise Mart in summer 2013. Motorola Mobility will become the landmark building's largest tenant and will occupy nearly 600,000 square feet on the top four floors and the rooftop.

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ONF's Technical Work Advances with New Initiatives

The Open Networking Foundation (ONF), whose mission is to advance software defined networking (SDN), has begun work on four new initiatives focused on new network orchestration interfaces, OpenFlow beyond Ethernet connections for optical networks, northbound APIs for management and billing, and future forwarding plane models. The efforts include Architecture and Framework, Northbound API, Forwarding Abstractions, and New Transport.


The ONF said these new efforts will focus on applications and behaviors of the technology areas of SDN beyond the OpenFlow protocol with the goal of accelerating the transition from legacy architectures.


The specific focus of these efforts will be:

Architecture and Framework: this new effort will look at upper layer orchestration of the network in order to expose the various interfaces and elements of SDN, how they relate to each other and legacy networking, and what ends they need to serve in a wide-variety of networks.

New Transport: this initiative will investigate how to use OpenFlow and switches not just between Ethernet ports, but between fibers, wavelengths, wireless channels and circuits. Physical transports will benefit from network virtualization and the use of OpenFlow in a variety of physical infrastructures beyond the data center in carrier, optical, and wireless networks.


Northbound API: this initiative will help move from a patchwork of different APIs to a standard method of interfacing between OpenFlow and the control plane. The effort will heighten the understanding and define what software layers should be above and below OpenFlow within the networking infrastructure, and in particular how the capabilities of the network match the requirements of the applications. Creators of network-control applications are eager to write for the northbound edge of an OpenFlow controller. Therefore the initiative will survey and catalog the APIs that exist, define how to characterize them, outline what they are intended to be used for, and how they interact with the network. Cataloging and characterizing the APIs will offer a clear understanding of what functions the market views as important and the common thread for application scenarios. This work will aid software developers to better program and virtualize the network, and enable network operators to translate network capabilities into lucrative services.

Forwarding Abstractions: this initiative will focus on the development of next generation forwarding plane models, with a particular interest in how to exploit and differentiate the capabilities of OpenFlow based hardware switches.

"ONF is taking on myriad opportunities inherent to the growth of the SDN marketplace," said Scott Shenker, member of the ONF Board of Directors and Professor of Computer Science at UC Berkeley. "With these efforts in the Foundation, member companies will be able to further refine SDN technologies and their capabilities to continue driving commercialization of the standard. Recognizing the increasingly diverse scenarios where OpenFlow-based SDN can add value for customers, ONF stays at the forefront of network innovation. Like the OpenFlow protocol itself, these efforts are evidence that ONF – designed to be agile – is evolving with the market and technology to ensure that user demands are met rapidly and efficiently."

http://www.opennetworking.org

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Qatar Plans National Fiber Network

Qatar National Broadband Network Company (Q.NBN), which was established last year by the government of Qatar, has received a 25 year license to provide fiber optic broadband throughout the country.

The license will see Q.NBN offering wholesale broadband fiber optics infrastructure services to licensed network service providers and operators. As such, Q,NBN serve as the fiber optic broadband infrastructure provider for Qatar.

"We are delighted to receive our official license to operate from ictQATAR which will mark the start of a new era of high speed communication in Qatar. Receiving this license is an acknowledgement of Q.NBN’s vision aligned with 2030 to provide Qatar with the very latest technology platform to help achieve a knowledge-based sustainable economy." stated Mohamad Al-Mannai, Q.NBN Chief Executive Officer. http://www.qnbn.qa

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ARM and GLOBALFOUNDRIES Target 20nm Mobile Chips

GLOBALFOUNDRIES and ARM announced a multi-year agreement to jointly deliver optimized system-on-chip (SoC) solutions using GLOBALFOUNDRIES’ 20-nanometer (nm) and FinFET process technologies. The new agreement also extends the long-standing collaboration to include graphics processors in mobile devices.



ARM plans to develop a full platform of ARM Artisan Physical IP, including standard cell libraries, memory compilers and POP IP solutions for a range of mobile applications, from smartphones to tablets to ultra-thin notebooks. Timelines were not disclosed.

The companies have been collaborating for several years to jointly optimize ARM Cortex-A series processors, including multiple demonstrations of performance and power-efficiency benefits on 28nm as well as a 20nm test-chip implementation currently running through GLOBALFOUNDRIES fab in Malta, N.Y.


"This early engagement promotes the rapid adoption of ARM and GLOBALFOUNDRIES technologies in future SoCs for several important markets," said Simon Segars, executive vice president and general manager, Processor and Physical IP Divisions at ARM. “Customers designing for mobile, tablet and computing applications will benefit extensively from the energy-efficient ARM processor and graphics processor included in this collaboration. By proactively working together to enable next-generation 20nm-LPM and FinFET process technologies, our mutual customers can be assured a range of implementation options that will enable two more generations of advanced semiconductor devices."
http://www.arm.com

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Huawei Employs Spreadtrum's Chip for Flagship TD-SCDMA Smartphone

Huawei is using Spreadtrum's baseband modem for its flagship TD-SCDMA smartphone, the Huawei Ascend P1 TD-SCDMA on China Mobile's network.


Huawei Ascend P1 is an Android 4.0 ICS device with a dual core 1.5GHz CPU, 1GB of RAM, a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED qHD display, 4GB of built-in storage and an 8 megapixel BSI camera with AF.



Spreadtrum's SC8803G is a high performance and, highly integrated baseband modem implemented in 40nm CMOS and supporting TD-SCDMA, EDGE, GPRS and GSM operation . It supports TD-HSDPA at 2.8Mbps and TD-HSUPA at 2.2Mbps. http://www.spreadtrum.com
 http://www.huawei.com

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Elektrobit Demos LTE Band 14 Functionality

Elektrobit Corp. will be demonstrating LTE Band 14 functionality and other updates on the EB Specialized Device Platform, which is the company's Android-based mobile device platform that enables vertical markets such as public safety to test customized mobile devices that meet specific industry functional or performance requirements.


Other updates to the EB Specialized Device Platform include the OMAP 4460 dual-core chipset application processor, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich integration and more robust support for 2G, 3G and up to five LTE frequency bands, including the public safety-specific Band 14.


"Over the past several years we have seen an increasing change in the direction from which technology innovations previously occurred, and now more than ever, consumer technology has a significant influence on the way government and public safety officials use and consume this technology in the field," said Jani Lyrintzis, vice president and general manager, EB. "With the EB Specialized Device Platform, EB provides specialized markets with a unique solution that already has most of the features necessary to build a multipurpose product that meets their needs and also complies with government and public safety requirements."
http://www.elektrobit.com

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Vertical Systems Group: Mid-2012 U.S. Business Ethernet LEADERBOARD

Vertical Systems Group's Mid-2012 results for the U.S. Business Ethernet Leaderboard are as follows (in rank order based on port share): AT&T, Verizon, tw telecom, CenturyLink, Cox, XO, Time Warner Cable, and Level 3.


The ranking is based on billable enterprise port installations.


Other providers selling Ethernet services in the U.S. are segmented into two tiers as measured by share of ports installed. The first or "Challenge" tier for Mid-2012 includes the following seven Ethernet Service Providers (in alphabetical order): Charter Business, Cogent, Comcast Business, Optimum Lightpath, Reliance Globalcom, Windstream (includes Paetec), and Zayo Group (includes AboveNet).


The second or "Market Player" tier covers all other providers offering U.S. Ethernet services. The Market Player tier includes the following companies (in alphabetical order): Alpheus Communications, American Telesis, Bright House Networks, Canby, Cincinnati Bell, Consolidated Communications (includes Surewest), Expedient, FiberLight, Frontier, Integra, IP Networks, Lightower, Litecast, LS Networks, Masergy, Megapath, Met-Net, NTT America, Orange Business, Sidera Networks, Spirit, Sprint, SuddenLink, US Signal, Virtela and others.


Market shares for the Mid-2012 U.S. Ethernet Leaderboard were calculated using Vertical's base of enterprise installations, plus direct input and other data from surveys of Ethernet Service Providers.


"New value-added service enhancements and improved network quality fueled the solid growth many Ethernet providers experienced in the first half of this year," said Rick Malone, principal at Vertical Systems Group. "Additionally, our research clearly indicates rising demand for Ethernet access focused on connectivity to private Clouds for data center hosting. We expect to see increased deployments of these configurations, which could have an impact on Ethernet share results as early as year-end 2012."
http://www.verticalsystems.com

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Huawei Offers UMTS Small Data Packet Storm Solution

Huawei introduced a UMTS Small Data Packet Storm solution that can double the number of mobile broadband users with smartphones that can access the network simultaneously.


Huawei calculates that 80% of UMTS usage lasts less than 10 seconds and 60% require less than 1kbit.
However, the use of smartphones is creating "small data packet storms", which are different than traditional voice services and high data rate downloads. When a smartphone user frequently refreshes pages on a site being browsed, the total amount of consumed traffic is very low. In scenarios where smartphone penetration is high, with many simultaneously connected users, air interface efficiency decreases greatly leading to decreases in capacity, user experience and total connected number of users. This is a "small data packet storm."

Huawei said its Small Data Packet Storm solution has been deployed commercially in Canada, Europe, Hong Kong and other regions.

http://www.huawei.com

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Mavenir Enables MetroPCS' Pace Setting VoLTE

Mavenir Systems confirmed that its mOne Convergence Platform is powering MetroPCS' new Voice over LTE (VoLTE) service, which was announced last week.


"We are excited to be part of this historic moment by providing a superior solution to MetroPCS that enables a sustainable business model on mobile broadband, both as a vendor partner and systems integrator," said Pardeep Kohli, president & chief executive officer of Mavenir Systems. "The mOne™ Convergence Platform is designed to simplify carriers' network transformations to support LTE and rapidly roll out VoLTE services."
"VoLTE provides MetroPCS and our customers a foundation for the future and we are glad to have Mavenir as a key partner in achieving this significant milestone," said Ed Chao, senior vice president of corporate engineering & network operations. "This initial launch allows us to achieve feature parity with our circuit-switched network thus further enabling the migration of our CDMA base to our more spectrally efficient 4G LTE network."

http://www.mavenir.com

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Dialogic Appoints Kevin Cook as President and CEO

Dialogic has appointed current President and COO Kevin Cook as President and CEO, replacing Nick Jensen who resigned last week but remains as a member of the Dialogic Board and will assume the role of non-executive Vice Chairman.

Cook became President and COO of Dialogic in December 2011. In this capacity, he has directed global operations for more than 700 employees in 30 countries. Previously, he served as Executive Vice President of Worldwide Field Operations from 2010 until 2011, responsible for sales, marketing, services and our global go-to-market strategy. Cook joined Dialogic as Senior Vice President of Worldwide Sales and Support in 2008.

http://www.dialogic.com

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