Wednesday, July 27, 2022

NETGEAR reports solid demand and improving supply chain

NETGEAR reported Q2 2022 revenue of $223.2 million, a decrease of 27.7% from the comparable prior year quarter. Second quarter 2022 non-GAAP net loss per diluted share of $0.19, as compared to net income per diluted share of $0.66 in the comparable prior year quarter.

Patrick Lo, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NETGEAR, commented, “In the second quarter, we delivered both revenue and non-GAAP operating margin above the high end of our guidance range. Strong execution by our team in navigating supply chain headwinds drove the outperformance, most notably for our ProAV managed switch, super premium WiFi mesh and 5G mobile hotspot products, and, as a result, each of these categories delivered double-digit year over year growth. This improved supply picture fueled strength in our SMB business, which delivered record quarterly revenue, and sales to our service provider customers, and we expect this momentum to continue into the second half as demand remains robust and our supply situation continues to improve.”

Mr. Lo continued, “Within our CHP business, we are pleased with our progress in growing the super-premium mesh market. This once again reinforces our strategy of focusing primarily on the premium, higher margin segments of the market and targeting those consumers with the highest propensity to subscribe to our service offerings. Accordingly, we continue to make progress growing our services business, ending the quarter with 654,000 paid subscribers, and remain on track towards our end of the year target of 750,000 subscribers.”

Bryan Murray, Chief Financial Officer of NETGEAR, added, “During the second quarter of 2022, we repurchased approximately 678,000 shares of common stock for $15.0 million. Preserving strong liquidity and generating cash remain paramount as the pandemic and its related supply chain challenges continue to persist. We expect to continue to opportunistically repurchase shares in future periods.”

Mr. Murray continued, “With solid demand and improving supply, we expect SMB and the service provider channel to continue to gain momentum in the back half of the year. We expect third quarter revenue from the service provider channel will be approximately $40 million, and SMB revenue to grow sequentially. With some of our US retail customers intending to shrink their inventory positions further, we expect to continue working with them in the coming quarter to optimize their inventory levels. Together, these factors lead us to expect our third quarter net revenue to be in the range of $240 million to $255 million. While the supply picture continues to improve, we still expect to spend on airfreight to maximize our SMB revenue. As a result of these factors, our GAAP operating margin for the third quarter is expected to be in the range of (1.0)% to 0.0%, and non-GAAP operating margin is expected to be in the range of 1.5% to 2.5%. Our GAAP tax rate is expected to be approximately 22.0%, and our non-GAAP tax rate is expected to be 15.0% for the third quarter of 2022.

https://investor.netgear.com/releases/press-release-details/2022/Netgear-Reports-Second-Quarter-2022-Results/default.aspx

Tuesday, July 26, 2022

Video: Traction for MEF LSO Sonata

MEF LSO Sonata APIs address the business-to-business layer of inter-provider buying and selling at the commercial level. So what market traction are we seeing in mid-2022?

Here is an update from Stan Hubbard, Principal Research Analyst, MEF.


https://youtu.be/WQ0RUC018_0

Juniper beats forecast with revenues of $1.27 billion, up 8% yoy

Juniper Networks reported Q2 2022 ret revenues of $1,269.6 million, an increase of 8% year-over-year and an increase of 9% sequentially. GAAP operating margin was 8.5%, an increase from 7.3% in the second quarter of 2021, and an increase from 5.0% in the first quarter of 2022.

GAAP net income was $113.4 million, an increase of 83% year-over-year, and an increase of 104% sequentially, resulting in diluted net income per share of $0.35. Non-GAAP net income was $136.4 million, a decrease of 3% year-over-year, and an increase of 34% sequentially, resulting in non-GAAP diluted net income per share of $0.42.

“We exceeded our revenue forecast during the June quarter and delivered a second consecutive quarter of double-digit year-over-year product revenue growth,” said Juniper’s CEO, Rami Rahim. “Demand signals remain healthy and we are seeing attractive opportunities across our enterprise, cloud and service provider markets. Based on this momentum, the backlog we have built, and our latest expectations regarding supply, I am increasingly optimistic regarding our revenue growth prospects for the year.”

“Our teams executed well against the backdrop of an extremely challenged supply chain environment in the June quarter,” said Juniper’s CFO, Ken Miller. “We have taken actions to improve delivery of our products to customers. While some of these actions are likely to impact profitability over the next few quarters, they are enabling us to better meet customer demand, which should have positive long-term implications for our business. We remain focused on driving improved profitability and expect margins to improve in 2023.”

Juniper also noted ongoing supply chain challenges, which have resulted in extended lead times, as well as elevated logistics and component costs. 

For the third quarter, Juniper expects to see solid revenue growth driven by the strength of ots backlog, strong demand and an improved supply outlook. 

https://newsroom.juniper.net/news/news-details/2022/Juniper-Networks-Reports-Preliminary-Second-Quarter-2022-Financial-Results/default.aspx

Microsoft misses some expectations but Azure revenue up 40%

Citing evolving macroeconomic conditions and other unforeseen items, Microsoft reported revenue and earnings below its previously-provided financial guidance.

Revenue was $51.9 billion, an increase of 12% (up 16% in constant currency). Operating income was $20.5 billion and increased 8% (up 14% in constant currency). Net income was $16.7 billion and increased 2% (up 7% in constant currency). Diluted earnings per share was $2.23 and increased 3% (up 8% in constant currency)

“We see real opportunity to help every customer in every industry use digital technology to overcome today’s challenges and emerge stronger,” said Satya Nadella, chairman and chief executive officer of Microsoft. “No company is better positioned than Microsoft to help organizations deliver on their digital imperative – so they can do more with less.”

 “In a dynamic environment we saw strong demand, took share, and increased customer commitment to our cloud platform. Commercial bookings grew 25% and Microsoft Cloud revenue was $25 billion, up 28% year over year,” said Amy Hood, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Microsoft. “As we begin a new fiscal year, we remain committed to balancing operational discipline with continued investments in key strategic areas to drive future growth.”

Unfavorable items included:

Unfavorable foreign exchange rate movement within the quarter negatively impacted revenue and diluted earnings per share $(595) million and $(0.04), respectively. 

Extended production shutdowns in China that continued through May and a deteriorating PC market in June contributed to a negative impact on Windows OEM revenue of over $(300) million

Reductions in advertising spend contributed to a negative impact on LinkedIn as well as Search and news advertising revenue of over $(100) million

Employee severance costs.

Some business highlights for the quarter:

Revenue in Productivity and Business Processes was $16.6 billion and increased 13% (up 17% in constant currency), with the following business highlights:

  • Office Commercial products and cloud services revenue increased 9% (up 13% in constant currency) driven by Office 365 Commercial revenue growth of 15% (up 19% in constant currency)
  • Office Consumer products and cloud services revenue increased 9% (up 12% in constant currency) and Microsoft 365 Consumer subscribers grew to 59.7 million
  • LinkedIn revenue increased 26% (up 29% in constant currency)
  • Dynamics products and cloud services revenue increased 19% (up 24% in constant currency) driven by Dynamics 365 revenue growth of 31% (up 36% in constant currency)

Revenue in Intelligent Cloud was $20.9 billion and increased 20% (up 25% in constant currency), with the following business highlights:

  • Server products and cloud services revenue increased 22% (up 26% in constant currency) driven by Azure and other cloud services revenue growth of 40% (up 46% in constant currency)


Revenue in More Personal Computing was $14.4 billion and increased 2% (up 5% in constant currency), with the following business highlights:

  • Windows OEM revenue decreased 2%
  • Windows Commercial products and cloud services revenue increased 6% (up 12% in constant currency)
  • Xbox content and services revenue decreased 6% (down 4% in constant currency)
  • Search and news advertising revenue excluding traffic acquisition costs increased 18% (up 21% in constant currency)
  • Surface revenue increased 10% (up 15% in constant currency)


https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/investor/earnings/fy-2022-q4/press-release-webcast

Google Cloud revenue hit $6.276 billion in Q2, up 35.6%

Alphabet reported Google Cloud revenue of $6.276 billion in the quarter ending 30-June-2022, up 36.5% from the same period last year. The company cited continued demand across all geographies and market segments.

Google Cloud Public Sector was launched in June.

The operating loss for Google Cloud increased to ($858 million) compared to ($591 million) a year earlier.

https://abc.xyz/investor/#numbers

Verizon Business enhances its BlueJeans meeting service

Verizon Business announced several improvements to its BlueJeans meeting service aimed at making calls more engaging and immersive. These include:

  • Multi-Language Closed Captioning and Transcripts: More language options to better support diverse, dispersed teams
  • Hide Self View: The ability to hide one's own video, while still allowing others to see you, reduces video fatigue caused from constant hair checks
  • Binge Meetings (iOS and iPadOS): Gives users the flexibility to easily get notified and jump into their next call
  • CallKit Support (iOS and iPadOS): Providing assistance for remote worker time management, Call Kit Support for iOS and iPadOS allows users to better manage incoming phone calls while on a BlueJeans Meeting by switching over without dropping either call
  • Breakout Sessions: The ability to ‘Ask for Help’ with broadcasting a message creates better communication across dispersed breakout participants
  • Virtual Backgrounds: Virtual backgrounds available on iOS, iPadOS and Android devices means more options to personalize or minimize unwanted backgrounds distractions
  • RTMP Streaming: On the Desktop, Stream your Meeting to any feed with a URL and Streaming Key (previously only available in BlueJeans Events)

Additionally, updates to the BlueJeans app on Meta Portal can help to account for different working patterns and preferences. These include Collab Board Support and a Share Screen Link for fast second Screen Login access/share.

https://www.verizon.com/about/news/verizon-business-drives-inclusive-engagement-new-bluejeans-meetings-features

Dell'Oro: 5G rollouts to drive demand for microwave transmission

Demand for Microwave Transmission equipment is set to increase for the next few years due to future 5G deployments, according to a recent forecast report by Dell’Oro Group. This growth will be driven by new 5G markets that rely more on wireless backhaul.

“Microwave Transmission equipment demand is on the rise,” said Jimmy Yu, Vice President of Dell’Oro Group. “Demand for Microwave Transmission equipment for mobile backhaul is already off to a good start, growing 11 percent in 2021. We expect future 5G installations will drive this market’s growth for a few more years.

“Although 5G deployments started a few years ago, most of those were rolled out in areas with high fiber availability. We are now seeing the 5G spectrum auctions and new roll outs in markets that rely more on wireless backhaul. This bodes well for point-to-point Microwave Transmission equipment,” added Yu.

Additional highlights from the Microwave Transmission & Mobile Backhaul 5-Year Forecast Report:

  • For the cumulative period that includes the years 2022 through 2026, Microwave Transmission equipment revenue is projected to approach $18 billion.
  • Approximately 70 percent of the Microwave Transmission market will be driven by mobile backhaul. The remainder will be from sales into vertical markets such as enterprises and government.
  • The technology segment with the highest five year growth will be E-band. The E/V Band market is forecast to grow at a 25 percent compounded annual growth rate.

https://www.delloro.com/news/future-5g-roll-outs-to-drive-demand-for-microwave-transmission-equipment/

Botswana's BoFiNet picks Ribbon for transport upgrade

BoFiNet, a wholesale provider of national and international telecommunications infrastructure in Botswana, selected Ribbon Communications to upgrade its national backbone.

BoFiNet's backbone network, Botswana's largest, supports the company's mandate to provide a world-class telecommunications infrastructure to help drive connectivity and economic growth. More than 75 of the country's service providers connect to and rely on BoFiNet's network, which includes 10,600 kilometers (6,500 miles) of fibre covering more than 200 towns and villages.

Ribbon provided BoFiNet with a multi-terabit optical network that combines DWDM transport and OTN switching. Based on Ribbon's Apollo optical networking products, the solution gives BoFiNet a fully programmable optical network that supports multiple-routing resiliency and dynamic restoration across its pan-national optical transit network. The network boasts a capacity of 48 channels at 200G per channel with an easy path to upgrade to 400G as traffic demand increases.

"We've worked closely with BoFiNet to create the advanced solution that leverages the best of DWDM transport and OTN switching to meet their requirements," said Lior Tourgeman, Ribbon's VP Sales, Africa. "The enhanced capacity, flexibility and resiliency enables BoFiNet to support service providers with a broad variety of needs, as it continues to realize its vision to be a leader in the continent's digital transformation." 


Ribbon supplies optical transport for Blueline Madagascar

Blueline, a provider of internet, voice and television services throughout Madagascar, has selected Ribbon's Apollo Optical Networking solution to upgrade the bandwidth capacity of its communications network.The Apollo 9600 Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) and Optical Transport solution provides Blueline multi-service transport capabilities on an energy-efficient multi-wavelength 100 Gigabit (100G) backbone that can be seamlessly upgraded...

Colt Japan deploys Ribbon's Session Border Controllers 

Colt Technology Services has deployed Ribbon's Microsoft-certified Session Border Controllers (SBCs) as part of its new Colt Intelligent Communications (CIC) with Cloud Session Border Controller offering across Japan.CIC is an enterprise solution integrating Microsoft's cloud productivity applications with Colt's voice and data networks to securely deliver superior collaboration experiences and business communications services. With CIC, phone calls...

France's SNCF picks Kontron and Ribbon for optical upgrade

Kontron Transportation has been awarded the Transilien SNCF Voyageurs Optical Transport Network (OTN) project to upgrade SNCF's communications network. The project involves replacing obsolete WDM  equipment in the Paris region with Ribbon's WDM, including OTN switching technology, part of its IP Wave portfolio.The project includes:A multi-tier core-aggregation-access OTN switching architecture, based on Ribbon's 9904X Metro OTN and 9901X Access...


Monday, July 25, 2022

Nokia boosts its fiber access with XGS-PON and 25G PON

Nokia introduced its Lightspan SF-8M optical line terminal (OLT) with support both GPON and XGS-PON and future support for 25G PON. The sealed remote OLT comes with flexible powering options, including power-over-coax making the unit particularly suitable for cable operators.

Based on the Nokia Quillion chipset, the Lightspan SF-8M will support eight GPON, XGS-PON, or multi-PON ports, or four 25G PON ports. It will also come with flexible powering options including power-over-coax, AC, DC, or RFT-V. The new addition enhances the current SDAN-based portfolio including the Lightspan FX family (for centralized deployments), MF-2 (for distributed deployments), and DF-16GM (for low density deployments), along with an extensive range of ONTs, and professional services.

Mark Klimek, Business Center Lead for North America, Nokia Fixed Networks said: “In a highly competitive world, cable operators need to find cost-effective solutions to increase speed and performance. Next-generation fiber upgrades are happening three years sooner than expected. The Lightspan SF-8M provides the perfect solution for cable operators that want to quickly increase capacity and flexibly migrate to fiber-to-the-home.”

http://www.nokia.com

Nokia milestone: 1.5 millionth Quillion-powered PON port shipments

Nokia has reached the 1.5 million port milestone for its Quillion chipset-based broadband solutions, potentially reaching 50 million subscribers.500K of the ports are 25G PON-ready.The Quillion chipset now has more than160 operator customers around the world. Designed to offer multi-PON capabilities with GPON, XGS-PON and 25G PON all running on the same fiber, Quillion also reduces energy consumption, with 50% less power needed in fiber installations...

Nokia Bell Labs demos 100G PON over a single wavelength

At Fiber Connect 2022 in Nashville, Nokia Bell Labs showed the first proof-of-concept demonstration of 100G PON. The prototype delivers 100Gbps downstream on a single PON wavelength.  The performance is achieved using digital signal processing as well optimizations of the modulation.Nokia is also introducing the concept of a "flexible PON", where the downstream performance can be adjusted in software based on the quality of the channel.Stefaan...

Nokia expands fiber access portfolio with Lightspan MF-2 node

Nokia is expanding its fiber access portfolio with a new Lightspan MF access node designed for the 5G era, a new Beacon 6 in-home gateway that supports 5G mobile data offloading and several Nokia Bell Labs innovations that reduce latency. Nokia’s new Lightspan MF-2 fiber access node is based on its Quillion chipset family. Some details: High capacity, small form factor access node fit for distributed deployments 10G PON today, and ready for evolution...




CityFibre picks Nokia's XGS-PON for UK broadband network

CityFibre awarded a 10-year contract to Nokia to supply its XGS-PON broadband equipment for its nationwide network of purpose-built Fibre Exchanges. Nokia will also supply fiber modems for customer homes and IP aggregation switches. Shipments will begin in Q4 2022.

CityFibre is building an open access network which will connect up to 8 million premises in 285 cities, towns and villages, reaching a third of the country. 

The Lightspan access nodes being supplied by Nokia as part of this solution will be used by CityFibre to offer its wholesale customers multigig residential broadband (up to 10Gb/s in both directions) and higher bandwidth services such as connecting Enterprises and providing backhaul for mobile networks.

John Franklin, Chief Technology and Information Officer at CityFibre said: “CityFibre is committed to building a Full Fibre network that is ”Better By Design”, providing our partners and their customers with the fastest and most reliable services at the best value. By partnering with Nokia we have enlisted a trusted and market-leading technology vendor to help support a nationwide 10Gbps XGS-PON technology deployment programme.”

Sandy Motley, President, Fixed Networks at Nokia, said: “The demand for ever-faster speeds continues and we’re delighted that our 25G ready solution has been chosen by CityFibre to enable their GPON to 10G XGS-PON national network upgrade program, supporting their mission to offer the highest capacity wholesale services into the UK market”.

http://www.nokia.com

CityFibre secures £4.9bn in financing

CityFibre announced a debt package totalling £4.9bn for underwriting its rollout to a third of the UK market by 2025.The debt raise is underwritten by NatWest, Société Générale, Crédit Agricole CIB, BBVA, Intesa Sanpaolo, ING and SEB; with ABN AMRO, Lloyds Bank and the pensions and M&G Investments, the international asset manager, joining as core lenders.Also participating as a core lender is the recently established UK Infrastructure Bank (UKIB),...

Colt looks to City Fibre to expand its UK metro networks

Colt Technology Services is extending the reach of its UK metro network through a partnership with City Fibre.  The arrangment enables Colt to connect commercial buildings as on net locations in eight regional cities across the UK; Leeds, Bristol, Slough, Bracknell, Reading, Milton Keynes, Edinburgh and Glasgow. The deal also establishes Edinburgh and Glasgow as the 53rd and 54th Colt Metro Cities.The intelligent Colt IQ Network comprises of...

CityFibre milestone: 1 million homes passed

CityFibre reached a big milestone in its Full Fibre rollout across the UK: one million homes passed and "Ready For Service".Residents served by the CityFibre network can now place an order with one of 30 of its consumer Internet Service Provider (ISP) partners and receive Gigabit-capable, symmetrical services in a matter of days.The company said it is on track with its £4bn investment programme to reach up to 8 million homes by 2025 – approximately...


Eutelsat and OneWeb merger looks to GEO + LEO satellite opportunities

 Eutelsat Communications and OneWeb agreed to merge.  The deal combines Eutelsat's fleet of 36 GEO satellites with OneWeb’s constellation of 648 Low Earth Orbit satellites, of which 428 are currently in orbit.

The companies say their operations are highly complementary and that a clear roadmap has been designed to develop over time a complementary GEO/LEO service including a common platform, hybrid terminals and a fully mutualized network creating a one-stop shop solution for customers, providing them with a unique offering and a seamless user experience.

The transaction would be structured as an exchange of OneWeb shares by its shareholders (other than Eutelsat) with new shares issued by Eutelsat, such that, at closing, Eutelsat would own 100% of OneWeb (excluding the ‘Special Share’ of the UK Government). OneWeb shareholders would receive 230 million newly issued Eutelsat shares representing 50% of the enlarged share capital4.

The potential transaction builds on the deepening collaboration between Eutelsat and OneWeb, begun with the equity stake acquired by Eutelsat in OneWeb in April 2021, the global distribution agreement between Eutelsat and OneWeb announced in March 2022, and the new exclusive commercial partnership5, addressing mainly the European and global cruise markets, signed today.

Commenting on the combination, Dominique D’Hinnin, Eutelsat’s Chairman said “I am delighted to announce this new and significant step in the collaboration between Eutelsat and OneWeb. Bringing together our two businesses will deliver a global first, combining LEO constellations and GEO assets to seize the significant growth opportunity in Connectivity, and deliver to our customers solutions to their needs across an even wider range of applications. This combination will accelerate the commercialisation of OneWeb’s fleet, while enhancing the attractiveness of Eutelsat’s growth profile. In addition, the combination carries significant value creation potential, anchored on a balanced mix of revenue, cost and capex synergies. The strong support of strategic shareholders of both parties is a testament to the huge opportunity that this combination offers and the value that will be created for all its stakeholders. This is truly a game changer for our industry.”

Sunil Bharti Mittal, OneWeb’s Executive Chairman said “Having played a pioneering role in providing connectivity in the emerging world, I am excited about the possibilities of connecting the unconnected. The combination of Eutelsat and OneWeb represents a significant development in that direction as well as a unique GEO/LEO combination. The positive early results of our service together with our strong pipeline represent a very exciting opportunity in the fast-growing satellite connectivity segment, especially for customers requiring a high speed, low latency experience. Our customers are actively seeking a combined GEO/LEO offering leading us towards this important step. Bharti, as the lead shareholder of OneWeb, along with other key shareholders, is looking forward to playing a meaningful role in providing expanded connectivity through the combination of OneWeb and Eutelsat.”

https://www.eutelsat.com/en/investors.html

OneWeb signs Gogo Business Aviation 

OneWeb confirmed a long-term distribution partnership agreement with Gogo Business Aviation, whereby the inflight connectivity solutions provider will market and sell OneWeb’s high-speed, low latency inflight broadband services to business aviation users globally.  The agreement, OneWeb’s first announced distribution partner for the business aviation market, was signed at EBACE between Ben Griffin Vice President Mobility at OneWeb and, Jim MacDougall...

OneWeb reaches deal with Telefónica

OneWeb and Telefónica Global Solutions (TGS), the subsidiary of global telecommunications company Telefónica that manages the international Wholesale, Global Roaming, Multinationals and USA businesses, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to improve connectivity services across Europe and Latin America. OneWeb’s low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite service will complement Telefónica’s existing offering in Europe and Latin America, enabling...

Eutelsat signs with OneWeb

Eutelsat Communications signed a global, multi-year Distribution Partnership Agreement (DPA) for OneWeb capacity. The agreement paves the way for Eutelsat to commercialise OneWeb services across key verticals including Maritime, Aviation, Enterprise, Telcos and Government.Eutelsat Chief Executive Officer Eva Berneke said: "As a shareholder in OneWeb, we are excited to play a role in the success of this new constellation by incorporating OneWeb's...


Orange and MASMOVIL to combine their operations in Spain

ORANGE Spain and MASMOVIL agreed to combine their operations in the form of a 50-50 joint venture co-controlled by both companies with equal governance rights.

The deal includes a right to trigger an IPO under certain conditions for both parties after a defined period and, in such a scenario, an option for ORANGE to take control of the combined entity at IPO price.

The companies said the merger will lead to significant efficiency gains, allowing the combined company to accelerate investments in FTTH and 5G that will benefit Spanish customers.

As part of the final agreement, ORANGE Spain’s enterprise value is set at €7.8 billion (7.2x 2022E EBITDAaL and 37.1x 2022E EBITDAaL – eCapex) and MASMOVIL’s (which includes the acquisition of EUSKALTEL) at €10.9 billion (8.7x 2022E EBITDAaL and 14.9x 2022E EBITDAaL – eCapex).

Christel Heydemann, CEO of ORANGE, commented: “I am very happy to announce the conclusion of these negotiations today. This deal paves the way for the creation of a joint company that combines the forces of ORANGE and MASMOVIL into a single, stronger operator that will enable investments in 5G and Fiber, benefiting customers across Spain. I strongly believe that the creation of this new company is of fundamental importance for the Group, the Spanish telecoms market and for our customers.”

Meinrad Spenger, CEO of MASMOVIL, commented: “This is a great day for Spanish consumers as well as for our stakeholders. Together with ORANGE, we plan to form a strong operator with a sustainable business model and the capacity to invest in world-class infrastructure, technology and talent. We anticipate this will drive competition, digitization and innovation in the Spanish market.”

https://newsroom.orange.com/orange-and-masmovil-sign-an-agreement-to-combine-their-operations-in-spain/?lang=en

Intel signs MediaTek for its foundry business

Taiwan-based MediaTek announced a strategic partnership to manufacture chips using Intel Foundry Services’ (IFS) advanced process technologies. 

MediaTek plans to use Intel process technologies to manufacture multiple chips for a range of smart edge devices. 

MediaTek said the agreement will provide it with a more balanced, resilient supply chain through the addition of a new foundry partner with significant capacity in the United States and Europe.

NS Tsai, corporate senior vice president of Platform Technology & Manufacturing Operations at MediaTek, said, “MediaTek has long adopted a multi-sourcing strategy. We have an existing 5G data card business partnership with Intel, and now extend our relationship to manufacturing smart edge devices through Intel Foundry Services. With its commitment to major capacity expansions, IFS provides value to MediaTek as we seek to create a more diversified supply chain. We look forward to building a long-term partnership to serve the fast-growing demand for our products from customers across the globe.”

“As one of the world’s leading fabless chip designers powering more than 2 billion devices a year, MediaTek is a terrific partner for IFS as we enter our next phase of growth,” said IFS President Randhir Thakur. “We have the right combination of advanced process technology and geographically diverse capacity to help MediaTek deliver the next billion connected devices across a range of applications.”

httpw://www.intel.com


Intel picks Germany for its next European fab 

Intel announced plans to invest an initial 17 billion euros into a leading-edge semiconductor fab mega-site in Magdeburg, Germany, the capital of Saxony-Anhalt.  Construction is expected to begin in the first half of 2023 and production planned to come online in 2027.The new facility will use Intel’s most advanced, Angstrom-era transistor technologies, serving the needs of both foundry customers and Intel for Europe and globally as part of the...

Intel to acquire Tower Semi, expanding its foundry footprint

Intel agreed to acquire Tower Semiconductor for $53 per share in cash, representing a total enterprise value of approximately $5.4 billion. Tower Semiconductor, which is based in Migdal Haemek, Israel, offers expertise is in specialty technologies, such as radio frequency (RF), power, silicon-germanium (SiGe) and industrial sensors, extensive IP and electronic design automation (EDA) partnerships, and an established foundry footprint. It operates...


Kioxia intros enterprise NVMe SSDs with PCIe 5.0

Kioxia is now shipping new CM7 series NVMe SSDs designed with PCIe 5.0 technology in Enterprise and Datacenter Standard Form Factor (EDSFF) E3.S and 2.5-inch form factors.

The EDSFF E3 family enables the next generation of SSDs with PCIe 5.0 technology and beyond to address future data center architectures, while supporting a variety of new devices and applications. It provides improved airflow and thermals, signal integrity benefits, eliminates the need for LEDs on the drive carriers, and gives options for larger SSD capacity points.

KIOXIA CM7 Series highlights include:

  • EDSFF E3.S and 2.5-inch 15mm Z-height form factors
  • Designed to the NVMe 2.0 and PCIe 5.0 specifications
  • SFF-TA-1001 capable to support Universal Backplane Management enabled systems (also known as U.3)
  • Read-intensive (1 DWPD) capacities up to 30.72 TB
  • Mixed-use (3 DWPD) capacities up to 12.80 TB
  • Dual-port design for high availability applications
  • Flash Die Failure Protection maintains full reliability in case of a die failure
  • Support for SR-IOV, CMB, Multistream writes

https://www.kioxia.com/en-jp/top.html

Nanosys raises over $50M for its quantum dot and MicroLED tech

Nanosys, a start-up based in Milpitas, California, raised more than $50 million in Series B equity and debt financing for its quantum dot and microLED technologies for advanced displays. 

The initial close of this round includes as new investors funds managed by affiliates of Fortress Investment Group, Centerbridge Partners and Kilonova Capital.

“This is a major milestone for Nanosys, adding capital and resources needed to enable us to expand our development of industry-leading innovative technologies, including quantum dots, microLEDs and nanoLEDs, which will be rapid growth drivers for 2023 and beyond,” said Jason Hartlove, President and Chief Executive Officer of Nanosys. “We are pleased to partner with Fortress, Centerbridge and Kilonova. The commitment from these respected institutions provides strong validation of our business model, team, intellectual property and market opportunity.”

http://www.nanosys.com

Sunday, July 24, 2022

Google announces cloud region for Mexico

Google announced plans to open a new cloud region in Mexico, its first in the country and third in Latin America, joining Santiago, Chile, and São Paulo, Brazil.

This will bring the total to 34 regions and 103 zones currently in operation around the world.

In the last year, Google has opened a support center in Mexico to boost local companies, as well as global companies with operations in Mexico. Google also opened a delivery center and grew its team in Monterrey to support the local ecosystem.

"We are very excited about the announcement of a new cloud region in Mexico. It shows the commitment that Google Cloud has with its customers," said Antonio Guichard Gonzalez, Liverpool’s Digital Executive Director. "In Liverpool, we will continue to work with Google Cloud to find solutions to our biggest challenges and accelerate our digital capabilities."

https://cloud.google.com/blog/products/infrastructure/announcing-a-new-google-cloud-region-in-mexico

Google Cloud Region opens in Milan with TIM

A new Google Cloud region has opened in Milan, in partnership with TIM. The new Milan region (europe-west8) is now part of the Google Cloud global network of 34 regions and 103 zones, bringing Google Cloud services to users in over 200 countries and territories worldwide. It is the first of two regions that are opening in Italy,  the second will launch in Turin in the coming months.“The partnership between TIM and Google Cloud will accelerate...

Google Cloud launches Private 5G for enterprises

Google Cloud launched a private 5G solution for enterprises looking to expand wireless performance and security across their campuses.The service leverages Google Distributed Cloud Edge and technology from a number of partners, including Betacom, Boingo, Celona, Crown Castle, and Kajeet.Google Distributed Cloud Edge provides a centralized control and management plane for secure networks, scaling from one to thousands of locations.  GDC Edge...

Google Cloud region opens in Madrid in partnership with Telefónica

Google opened a new cloud region in Madrid, Spain. The new Madrid region (europe-southwest1) provides low-latency, highly available cloud services with high international security and data protection standards. The Madrid region is launching with three cloud zones to prevent service interruptions, and our standard set of products, including Compute Engine, Google Kubernetes Engine, Cloud Storage, Persistent Disk, CloudSQL, and Cloud Identity.The...