Ericsson: Limited impact from Covid-19 on Q2 sales

Ericsson reported Q2 2020 sales of SEK 55.6 (54.8) billion (approximately US$6.12 billion) - flat YoY for comparable units and currency. The company said the Covid-19 pandemic had a limited impact on operating income and cash flow in the quarter. There was continued momentum for 5G, especially in North America and Northeast Asia.

Börje Ekholm, President and CEO of Ericsson, states:

"The human toll caused by Covid-19, directly and indirectly through a weak economy, is increasingly clear. We continue to put safety of our people as first priority, and more than 80% of our employees are currently working from home. Despite the difficult environment we delivered a solid result. Q2 organic[1] sales were flat and gross margin[2] improved to 38.2% (36.7%) YoY, including negative effects from strategic contracts. Free cash flow before M&A improved to SEK 3.2 (1.6) b. While the effects of Covid-19 create uncertainties, with current visibility we maintain the full-year targets for the Group."

"Networks grew by 4% organically[1] and the gross margin[2] was 40.5% (41.4%), absorbing a larger share of strategic contracts including 5G volumes in Mainland China where we also took an inventory write-down. The strengthened market position in Mainland China is strategically important as this market is expected to be a driver of critical future requirements and provide us with important scale. The Chinese 5G contracts are expected to be profitable over the life cycle, but had a negative contribution to gross margin in Q2."  

"Investments in R&D have established us as a leader in 5G, with proven performance and cost of ownership benefits for our customers. We have continued to increase our market share in several markets by leveraging our competitive product portfolio. Profitability in earlier awarded strategic contracts has improved according to plan. We consider strategic contracts to be a natural part of the business and we will stop our forward looking commentary unless there is an extraordinary impact. "

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MEF Infinite Edge Series planned for November

MEF is pleased to announce its new MEF Infinite Edge Series, which will showcase industry luminaries, executives, and subject matter experts from across the world who will share their vision, experience, and expertise on digital services, networking, automation, and the edge. This multi-month, 10-part series of immersive, half-day digital events, beginning in November 2020, will be hosted on a new, intelligent web platform, delivering a unique and interactive attendee experience.

The MEF Infinite Edge Series will enable cloud and networking executives and professionals to efficiently engage on the latest innovations in the hottest topic areas, including:

• SD-WAN services & technologies
• SD-WAN security & SASE
• Dynamic services & federated networks
• Inter-provider & intra-provider service automation
• Edge computing and virtualization
• 5G & end-to-end network slicing
• Distributed ledger technology / blockchain
• Automated Carrier Ethernet
• Programmable optical networks
• and more.

“We are thrilled to announce the MEF Infinite Edge Series. Feedback on our innovative program approach, digital platform, and marketing initiatives has been overwhelmingly positive,” said Kevin Vachon, COO, MEF. “The series will provide an excellent opportunity to network with peers, keep up-to-date on the latest trends, and ultimately accelerate development and adoption of services and technologies supporting digital transformation.”

http://www.MEFInfiniteEdge.com

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Facebook builds a robot for aerial fiber deployment

Facebook, in collaboration with industry partners, is developing an aerial fiber deployment robot for installing a specialized fiber-optic cable on medium-voltage (MV) power lines.

Conventional aerial fiber deployment methods require existing infrastructure must be modified to support the new fiber cable attachment. The helical wrap method, which uses a machine to wind a fiber-optic cable around an existing power-line conductor, often requires cranes to lift the machine past obstacles on the line. Another constraining factor is the size/weight of the fiber cable.

Facebook said it is working on several innovations to address these issues, including a spool-free cable coil geometry that meets clearance requirements around the conductor to allow passing obstacles, all while maintaining a center of mass aligned within 2 mm of the center of the power line. The robot, which is designed to allow installation of fiber while the conductors are energized, comprises a pair of drive subsystems, a lift subsystem, and a rotation subsystem. This enables the robot to pass obstacles.

https://engineering.fb.com/connectivity/aerial-fiber-deployment/

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Windstream adds fiber locations in 1H2020

Windstream's Kinetic business enabled approximately 100,000 new fiber-connected locations with gigabit-capable services during the first six months of 2020 as part of its multi-year program to invest billions of dollars to bring gigabit services to millions of households across its footprint. As a result of these investments and recent additional network enhancements, Kinetic added over 40,000 net new broadband subscribers in the first six months of the year and completed its ninth consecutive quarter of broadband subscriber growth.

“Kinetic by Windstream is stronger than ever,” said Jeff Small, president of the company’s consumer and small and midsize business segment. “Our fiber investments are accelerating Kinetic’s broadband subscriber growth and equipping our rural communities to take advantage of greater opportunities to work from home, experience virtual learning and enjoy premium entertainment.”

http://www.windstream.com

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HPE GreenLake Cloud is now hosted by Interxion in Europe

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) confirmed that its GreenLake cloud services will be hosted by Interxion in 13 European countries.

HPE Greenlake Cloud provides companies with the benefits of a managed cloud experience without the complexity of managing data centers, while maintaining ownership and control of their data and workloads.

The new offer is being piloted with Interxion in Ireland, with the intention to quickly expand to the UK, Germany, France and The Netherlands.

“At Interxion, we’ve been listening to our customers who have told us that they want to tap into the flexibility and convenience of the cloud, while alleviating the operational burden on IT systems,” said Séamus Dunne, Managing Director, Interxion Ireland. “Our agreement to launch HPE GreenLake cloud services hosted in our data centers improves speed and agility by increasing customers’ connectivity to public clouds while staying in control of cost, security and compliance without the need to invest in an on-premise data center, as they can deploy HPE GreenLake solutions in Interxion’s colocation data centers. ”

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FCC to build a list of equipment seen to pose national security risk

The FCC began integrating portions of the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act, which was enacted in March 2020, into its existing supply chain rulemaking proceeding. 

The FCC has already acted to ban USF support for equipment and services produced or provided by companies that pose a national security threat, namely Huawei and ZTE. 

The accompanying Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeks public comment on implementing various aspects of the Secure Networks Act, including proposals to: (1) create and maintain the list of covered communications equipment and services required by the statute; (2) ban the use of federal subsidies, including USF funding, for any communications equipment or services placed on this list; (3) require all providers of advanced communications services to report on whether they use any covered communications equipment or services; and (4) prevent waste, fraud, and abuse in the reimbursement program that is required by the statute to remove and replace insecure equipment. 

Last month, the FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau formally designated Huawei Technologies Company and ZTE Corporation and their parents, affiliates, and subsidiaries as covered companies for purposes of the agency’s November 2019 ban.  As a result of those designations, money from the FCC’s $8.3 billion a year USF may no longer be used to purchase, obtain, maintain, improve, modify, or otherwise support any equipment or services produced or provided by these two suppliers.

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FCC expands rules for Z-axis location data in emergency calls

The FCC is expanding its efforts to help first responders quickly locate people who call 911 from wireless phones in multi-story buildings.

The Commission’s Enhanced 911 rules require wireless providers to transmit to 911 call centers information on the location of wireless 911 calls.  And they obligate wireless providers to meet an increasingly stringent series of location accuracy benchmarks in accordance with a timetable, including providing the caller’s dispatchable location (such as the street address and apartment number) or coordinate-based vertical (“z-axis”) location. 

In November 2019, the Commission established the z-axis location accuracy metric as plus or minus three meters relative to the handset for 80 percent of indoor wireless 911 calls.  Nationwide wireless providers must meet April 2021 and April 2023 deadlines for deploying z-axis technology, which must comply with the metric for accuracy, in the top 25 and 50 markets, respectively. 

In this action, the FCC affirmed the 2021 and 2023 z-axis requirements, rejecting a proposal to weaken them.  The Commission added a new requirement that nationwide wireless providers deploy z-axis technology nationwide by April 2025, while affording non-nationwide wireless providers an additional year (i.e., until April 2026) to do so within their service areas.  To give wireless providers additional flexibility in meeting these requirements while still advancing critical public safety objectives, the Commission allowed providers to deploy technologies that focus on multi-story buildings, where vertical location information is most vital to first responders.  The Commission also required wireless providers, beginning in January 2022, to provide dispatchable location with wireless 911 calls when it is technically feasible and cost-effective to do so, which will promote consistency in the Commission’s 911 rules across technology platforms. 

https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-helps-first-responders-find-911-callers-multi-story-buildings

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ADVA's Q2 preliminary results exceed expectations, up 8.9% YoY

ADVA Optical Networking announced the following preliminary financial key figures of the second quarter:

• Preliminary revenues were EUR 145.0 million and increased by 8.9% compared to the year-ago quarter (Q2 2019: EUR 133.2 million)
• The preliminary pro forma operating income was EUR 10.1 million and increased significantly by 133.0% compared to Q2 2019 (Q2 2019: EUR 4.3 million)
• The preliminary pro forma operating income margin was 7.0% and thus 3.7 percentage points up from the year-ago quarter (Q2 2019: 3.3%)
• Preliminary net debt was EUR 44.9 million and improved substantially by 34.0% (Q2 2019: 68.1 million)
• Revenues and profitability increased substantially, both sequentially and year over year. In addition, cash and cash equivalents significantly increased and net debt improved, compared to the previous quarter of 2020 and the year-ago quarter. This is mainly due to the cost improvement measures introduced in 2019.

The figures significantly overperform both the previous year’s figures and the available financial analyst estimates.

ADVA said that despite the very positive second quarter, there is still high uncertainty about the further course of the Covid-19 crisis and its impact on ADVA’s business. For this reason, the management board will not issue new guidance for the entire year 2020.

https://www.adva.com/en/about-us/investors/financial-results

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Blackmagic intros digital cinema camera with 12K sensor

Blackmagic Design introduced a digital film camera with an advanced 12,288 x 6,480 12K Super 35 image sensor, 14 stops of dynamic range and high frame rate shooting at up to 60 frames per second in 12K at 80 megapixels per frame.

The Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro 12K camera will go on the market this month at a retail price of US$9,995.

"With Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro 12K we have advanced imaging technology into a new generation where new styles of shooting will be possible", said Grant Petty, CEO, Blackmagic Design. “It's not just the 12K sensor, but there are so many other innovations in this camera. From the Generation 5 Color Science, the in sensor scaling, new symmetrical color pattern, full RGB quality and of course the 12K resolution, it's going to be exciting to see what DOPs do creatively with this technology!"

Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro 12K Features

12,288 x 6480 12K Super 35 sensor.
Use for feature films, VFX and high end TVC's.
14 stops of dynamic range and native 800 ISO.
New Blackmagic RAW for real time 12K editing.
Blackmagic RAW optimized for Metal, CUDA and OpenCL.
Generation 5 Color Science with new film curve.
Shoot up to 60 fps in 12K, 110 fps at 8K and 220 fps at 4K.
Dual card CFast recording at up to 900MB/s.
PL mount included, EF and F mounts available.
SuperSpeed USB-C for recording to external disks.
Includes DaVinci Resolve Studio for post production.
Compatible with new Blackmagic URSA Mini Recorder.

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Telia Carrier adds key routes to U.S. network

Telia Carrier announced the addition of diverse and latency-optimized routes on its North American network to meet significant customer demand for additional diversity and capacity, especially for businesses that need a direct local connection to cloud providers. Specifically, Telia Carrier has expanded its fiber backbone to connect Dallas on a new diverse east-west route via Memphis to Nashville.

In combination with the previously announced new route (from Ashburn via Chattanooga to Atlanta) this route addition provides three new meshing options available to Telia Carrier customers in the Southeast for high availability and terabit scale capacity:

• Dallas to Ashburn (via Nashville/Chattanooga)
• Dallas to Chicago (via Nashville/Indianapolis)
• Dallas to Atlanta (via Nashville/Chattanooga)

“We consistently hear from our customers that they need more diversity in routes between major markets. This protects against interruptions in service, which is essential to customer experience in today’s competitive markets. This new expansion offers flexibility on several levels and lays the groundwork for future route investments in North America,” said Art Kazmierczak, Telia Carrier’s Director of Business and Network Development. “We’re committed to the needs of our customers, so continuing our program of adding new routes between Tier 1 cities and providing connectivity at scale in Tier 2-3 edge markets along those routes is key to that strategy.”

The new route uses the latest generation of high-capacity enhanced-reach coherent DWDM technology and an open photonic layer to increase the local availability of high-speed Wavelength, IP Transit, Cloud Connect, Ethernet and IPX services for operators, content providers and enterprises alike.

Telia Carrier has also invested in metro network infrastructure to provide seamless access to additional data centers in the dynamic growth area of Dallas. With more than 2,000 customers worldwide, the investment is a continuation of the carrier’s organic growth story and geographic expansion to better serve existing markets and reach new ones.
https://www.teliacarrier.com

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AWS intros interactive video service based on Twitch technology

Amazon Web Services (AWS) introduced a new fully managed service that makes it easy to set up live, interactive video streams for a web or mobile application .

Amazon Interactive Video Service (Amazon IVS) uses the same technology that powers Twitch, one of the most popular live streaming services in the world with nearly 10 billion hours of video watched in 2019.

AWS says its service will deliver live content with latency that can be less than three seconds (significantly lower than the 20-30 second latencies common with other online streaming services).

Customers can configure and stream live video through their own website or mobile application, with scalable delivery that supports millions of concurrent viewers globally.

With the Amazon IVS SDK and APIs, customers can also build interactive features into their live streams like virtual chat spaces, votes and polls, moderated question and answer sessions, and synchronized promotional elements. There are no additional charges or upfront commitments required to use Amazon IVS, and customers pay only for video input to Amazon IVS and video output delivered to viewers.

"Customers have been asking to use Twitch's video streaming technology on their own platforms for a range of use cases like education, retail, sports, fitness, and more,” said Martin Hess, GM, Amazon IVS. “Now with Amazon IVS, customers can leverage the same innovative technology that has taken Twitch over a decade to build and refine. Any developer can build an interactive live streaming experience into their own application without having to manage the underlying video infrastructure.”

https://aws.amazon.com/ivs

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Twitter suffers major security breach

Twitter suffered a major security breach impacting the verified accounts of Joe Biden, former President Barack Obama, Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Michael Bloomberg, Apple and many other high-profile users.

The hackers apparently were able to breach the two-factor authentication of multiple users simultaneously, raising the possibility that Twitter's own systems were compromised. An investigation is underway.

 

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AWS wins long-term strategic cloud contract with HSBC

HSBC Holdings, one of the world’s largest banking and financial services organisations, has selected AWS as a key, long-term strategic cloud provider to drive their digital transformation and deliver new and personalized banking services.

As part of a multi-year, global agreement, HSBC will make AWS technology available across the bank’s lines of business, starting with customer-facing applications and application modernization in its Global Wealth & Personal Banking business.

AWS said its global infrastructure will enable HSBC to run and scale applications around the world with the highest availability and reliability. HSBC will use AWS’s extensive portfolio of cloud services, including compute, containers, storage, database, analytics, machine learning, and security.

“Our work with AWS is an example of how HSBC continues to invest in secure and advanced technologies to make our digital banking experience even better for customers,” said Dinesh Keswani, Chief Technology Officer and CIO for Digital, HSBC. “Our ambition is to make it easy, safe, and reliable for customers to bank with us, whenever and wherever they are. HSBC’s collaboration with AWS helps us to deliver innovative banking solutions to customers at a faster rate, starting with our Wealth & Personal Banking business.”

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Omantel picks Ericsson for 5G

Omantel has selected Ericsson to support the Sultanate’s ongoing 5G radio access network (RAN) deployment plans in a multi-year partnership. Specifically, Ericsson will support Omantel’s commercial 5G deployment at key locations across Oman, including Salalah, Nizwa and Sur. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The contract covers hardware and software products and solutions from the Ericsson Radio System portfolio, including Advanced Antenna Systems and 3GPP standards-based 5G New Radio (NR).

Fadi Pharaon, President of Ericsson Middle East and Africa, says: “We are delighted to further strengthen our relationship with Omantel to bring the best possible commercial 5G experience to their customers. Ericsson is leading the way in terms of 5G deployments across the globe and we look forward to making 5G experiences a reality in the Sultanate.

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Corning and EnerSys simplify fiber and electrical power to small cells

Corning and EnerSys are collaborating to speed 5G deployment by simplifying the delivery of fiber and electrical power to small-cell wireless sites.

The collaboration will leverage Corning's fiber, cable, and connectivity expertise and EnerSys’ technology leadership in remote powering solutions. The companies are working to solve infrastructure challenges in the deployment of 5G and small cells in outside plant networks.

“The deployment scale of 5G small cells is placing significant pressure on utilities to provide power at each location, delaying service availability,” said Michael O’Day, vice president, Corning Optical Communications. “Corning and EnerSys will focus on simplifying deployment by bringing together the delivery of optical connectivity and power distribution – making installation faster and less costly and providing much lower operational costs over time. Corning continues to view 5G as a major driver of long-term growth in the Optical Communications business, so we’re proud to continue co-innovating with industry leaders to help accelerate 5G deployment.”

“To realize its full potential, 5G deployment needs to become efficient and predictable. Our collaboration with Corning is aimed at simplifying the powering process and fiber connectivity to fast-forward deployment,” said Drew Zogby, president, EnerSys Energy Systems Global. “The output of this collaboration will minimize logistics with power utilities, reduce the amount of time for permitting and siting, simplify fiber connectivity, and lower the overall cost of installation and deployment.”

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Sri Lanka Telecom picks Nokia for next generation fiber network

Sri Lanka Telecom has selected Nokia for its fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) network. The carrier aims to bring new, high-speed broadband services to more than 200,000 enterprise and residential users across the country.

Kiththi Perera, Chief Executive Officer at Sri Lanka Telecom PLC, said: “We are pleased to partner with Nokia to bring unparalleled data speeds to our enterprise and residential users. By fully utilizing the fiber-technology, we are looking to expand our customer offerings and provide access to a platitude of broadband-based services. Together SLT and Nokia will continue working towards the ultimate goal of improving broadband connectivity in Sri Lanka."

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Global Cloud Xchange appoints Carl Grivner as CEO

Global Cloud Xchange (GCX) has appointed Carl Grivner as Chief Executive Officer.

Grivner previously was the CEO of Colt Technology Services. Before joining Colt, he served three years in Singapore as CEO of Pacnet, directing the global strategy of one of Asia's leading end-to-end communications service providers. Previously, Mr. Grivner held leadership positions for numerous companies, including Cable & Wireless plc, Ameritech, and IBM.

"It is an exciting time to get back into submarine networks, as the demand for global bandwidth is multiplying, and there is an increasing need for fiber optic interconnectivity to support the rising global data traffic," said Carl Grivner. "GCX is in a unique position to support the escalating bandwidth consumption across emerging markets as it owns and operates one of the world's largest private submarine cable systems, which sets the foundation for a robust global service delivery platform."

Global Cloud Xchange emerges from Chapter 11

Wednesday, April 15, 2020  Chapter 11, Global Cloud Xchange  

Global Cloud Xchange's non-regulated businesses, representing a vast majority of the global network and operations, emerged from the Chapter 11 process. The company said its regulated businesses are expected to emerge from bankruptcy later this year following receipt of regulatory approval. Following the Chapter 11 process, GCX will have a stronger capital structure with reduced debt, and access to new working capital that can support its long-term growth. The company will also be moving forward under new ownership of its senior secured noteholders with the commitment and capital to support GCX and its investment in the future.

“I, along with the rest of the GCX management team, am looking forward to the completion of our financial restructuring process so we can fully focus on our strategic direction and future opportunities,” said Rory Cole, Interim CEO of GCX. “We are completing this process having achieved all of the objectives we set out, well positioned to build on our strategic plan and become even more competitive in our industry. GCX is emerging as a leading provider of network services in one of the fastest growing markets in the world that is seeing significant growth in the demand for data services. We are emerging with a strong business, ready to capitalize on this growth and the exciting opportunities ahead.”

 GCX owns one of the world’s largest private undersea cable system spanning more than 68,000 route kms.

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UK confirms ban on Huawei in 5G and broadband infrastructure

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has deciced to ban the purchase of Huawei equipment in 5G infrastructure in the UK after December 2020 and that already deployed equipment must be removed by 2027. The decision follows a technical review by the National Cyber Security Centre in response to U.S. sanctions against Huawei, and strengthens the previous partial-ban announced in January.

The NCSC reasoned that due to the U.S. sanctions, Huawei will need to reconfigure its supply chain and that security confidence could not be established with this unknown factor. The government is urging all UK operators to stop buying Huawei equipment immediately ahead of the legal ban at the end of the year.

For the UK's fixed access networks, where Huawei has been a supplier since 2005, the government isd advising full fibre operators to transition away from purchasing new Huawei equipment. A technical consultation will determine the transition timetable, but this period is expected to last no longer than two years.

Digital Secretary Oliver Dowden states: "5G will be transformative for our country, but only if we have confidence in the security and resilience of the infrastructure it is built upon. Following US sanctions against Huawei and updated technical advice from our cyber experts, the government has decided it is necessary to ban Huawei from our 5G networks. No new kit is to be added from January 2021, and UK 5G networks will be Huawei free by the end of 2027. This decisive move provides the industry with the clarity and certainty it needs to get on with delivering 5G across the UK. By the time of the next election we will have implemented in law an irreversible path for the complete removal of Huawei equipment from our 5G networks."

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/huawei-to-be-removed-from-uk-5g-networks-by-2027

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GÉANT picks Infinera's 600G for pan-European backbone

GÉANT will deploy Infinera’s 600G per wavelength transmission technology on its next-generation pan-European network, which interconnects Europe’s National Research and Education Networks (NRENs) and supports over 50 million users at 10,000 institutions across the continent.

GÉANT is undertaking the most significant refresh of its network in a decade as part of a major EU-funded project designed to support the needs of Europe’s research and education community for the next 15 years. The upgrade uses Infinera’s Groove (GX) Series Compact Modular Platform, FlexILS Open Optical Line System, and professional services.

“The success of the GÉANT (GN4-3N) project is essential for Europe’s research and education communities and will ensure GÉANT and our NREN partners continue to enable scientific discoveries, remote learning for millions of students, and the realization of open science,” said Erik Huizer, Chief Executive Officer, GÉANT. “Infinera continues to be one of our trusted technology partners and we value their expertise in deploying optical networks and providing the best solutions to meet and exceed our extremely demanding requirements.”

“We are excited to partner with GÉANT to meet some of the most stringent network requirements for high-capacity research and education networks,” said Nick Walden, Senior Vice President, Worldwide Sales at Infinera. “GÉANT provides network and collaboration services that facilitate important international cooperation between researchers and educators, and we are proud to support their efforts with cutting-edge optical technology that delivers what they need and provides peace of mind.”

https://www.geant.org/
http://www.infinera.com

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Samsung’s 6G White Paper

Samsung published a whitepaper outlining its vision for 6G, including technical and societal megatrends, new services, requirements, candidate technologies and an expected timeline of standardization.

Samsung is predicting that the completion of the 6G standard and its earliest commercialization date could be as early as 2028, while mass commercialization may occur around 2030. Both humans and machines will be the main users of 6G, and 6G will be characterized by provision of advanced services such as truly immersive extended reality (XR), high-fidelity mobile hologram and digital replica.

“While 5G commercialization is still in its initial stage, it’s never too early to start preparing for 6G because it typically takes around 10 years from the start of research to commercialization of a new generation of communications technology,” explained Sunghyun Choi, Head of the Advanced Communications Research Center. “We’ve already launched the research and development of 6G technologies by building upon the experience and ability we have accumulated from working on multiple generations of communications technology, including 5G. Going forward, we are committed to leading the standardization of 6G in collaboration with various stakeholders across industry, academia and government fields.”

Candidate technologies under the 6G umbrellas could include the use of the terahertz (THz) frequency band, novel antenna technologies to enhance the coverage of high frequency band signals, advanced duplex technologies, the evolution of network topology, spectrum sharing to increase the efficiency of frequency utilization and the use of AI in wireless communications.

The whitepaper can be downloaded here: https://cdn.codeground.org/nsr/downloads/researchareas/6G%20Vision.pdf

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