Mobile infrastructure must catch up with user needs and demands. Ubiquitous mobile computing is all around us. Some time in the next six months, the number of smartphones on earth will pass the number of PCs. As the power and capability of many mobile devices increases, the increased demand on networks. We watch more videos, and listen to music on our phones. Mobile Data Traffic To Grow 300% Globally By 2017 Led By Video, Web Use. Mobile network operators would have had an easier life if it wasn’t for smartphones and the flood of data traffic they initiated, and soon there will be also very many Internet of Things devices. Businesses and consumers want more bandwidth for less money.
More and more network bandwidth is being used by video: Netflix And YouTube Account For Over 50% Of Peak Fixed Network Data In North America. Netflix remains the biggest pig in the broadband python, representing 31.6% of all downstream Internet traffic in North America during primetime. In other parts of the world, YouTube is the biggest consumer of bandwidth. In Europe, YouTube represented of 28.7% of downstream traffic.
Gartner: Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends For 2014 expects that Software Defined Anything is a new mega-trend in data centers. Software-defined anything (SDx) is defined by “improved standards for infrastructure programmability and data center interoperability driven by automation inherent to cloud computing, DevOps and fast infrastructure provisioning.” Dominant vendors in a given sector of an infrastructure-type may elect not to follow standards that increase competition and lower margins, but end-customer will benefit from simplicity, cost reduction opportunities, and the possibility for consolidation. More hype around Software-Defined-Everything will keep the marketeers and the marchitecture specialists well employed for the next twelve months but don’t expect anything radical.
Software defined technologies are coming quickly to telecom operator networks with Network Functions Virtualisation (NFV). Intel and rather a lot of telcos want networks to operate like data centres. Today’s networks are mostly based around proprietary boxes designed to do very specific jobs. It used to be that way in the server business too until cheap generic x86 boxes took most of the market. The idea in NFV is that low-cost x86 servers can successfully many of those those pricey proprietary boxes currently attached to base-stations and other parts of the network. This scents a shift in the mood of the telcos themselves. This change is one that they want, and rather a lot of them are working together to make it happen. So the future mobile network will have more and more x86 and ARM based generic computing boxes running on Linux.
With the introduction of Network Functions Virtualisation base stations will have new functions built into them. For example NSN has announced a mobile edge computing platform that enables mobile base stations to host data and run apps. Think of this as an internet cloud server that’s really close to the customer.
Hybrid Cloud and IT as Service Broker are talked about. Telecom companies and cloud service providers are selling together service packages that have both connectivity and cloud storage sold as single service. Gartner suggests that bringing together personal clouds and external private cloud services is essential.
The type of device one has will be less important, as the personal or public cloud takes over some of the role. The push for more personal cloud technologies will lead to a shift toward services and away from devices, but there are also cases where where there is a great incentive to exploit the intelligence and storage of the client device. Gartner suggests that now through 2018, a variety of devices, user contexts, and interaction paradigms will make “everything everywhere” strategies unachievable, although many would like to see this working.
“Internet of Things” gets more push. The Internet is expanding into enterprise assets and consumer items such as cars and televisions. The concept of “Internet of Things” will evolve a step toward The Internet of Everything. Gartner identifies four basic usage models that are emerging: Manage, Monetize, Operate, Extend. The Internet of Things (IoT) will evolve into the Web of Things, increasing the coordination between things in the real world and their counterparts on the Web. The Industrial Internet of Things will be talked about. IoT takes advantage of mobile devices’ and sensors’ ability to observe and monitor their environments
Car of the future is M2M-ready and has Ethernet. Many manufacturers taking an additional step to develop vehicle connectivity. One such example is the European Commission’s emergency eCall system, which is on target for installation in every new car by 2015.
Smart Home Systems Are on the Rise article tells that most automated technology is found in commercial buildings that feature automated lighting that changes in intensity depending on the amount of sunlight present. Some of these buildings have WiFi incorporated into their lighting systems. There will be new and affordable technology on the market, but people today are still reluctant to bring automation to their homes.
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Tomi Engdahl says:
Gotham, Valiant, Short Sellers, To Make $60 Million Off Lets Gowex Collapse
http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2014/07/07/gotham-valiant-short-sellers-to-make-60-million-off-lets-gowex-collapse/
The backstory is that Lets Gowex was one of the darlings of the Spanish secondary (or “growth”) stock markets. Don’t worry too much about it was doing (lots to do with WiFi and so on, all terribly sexy stuff to investors). Then Gotham City Capital came out last week with a report stating that up to 90% of recorded revenues were simply fictitious.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Cisco prepares to take $700m hit to make 6,000 layoffs
Fiscal 2015 pain includes severance pay and benefits
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/08/15/cisco_charges_for_layoffs/
Cisco has said that it will be hit with $700m in charges in fiscal 2015 in the restructuring plan that will see the firm axe 6,000 employees.
Cisco announced the latest round of layoffs as part of its financial results earlier this week.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Essentials of Carrier Ethernet
http://www.eeweb.com/company-blog/fujitsu_semiconductor/essentials-of-carrier-ethernet/
When most think of Ethernet, they think of Ethernet as a LAN technology. Three fundamental aspects differentiate Ethernet LANs from Carrier Ethernet:
• Each user connects to a dedicated Ethernet port on the LAN
• The LAN serves one organization
• The LAN is inside the building
Carrier Ethernet augments the original set of Ethernet LAN technologies with support for the new capabilities required to deliver services. Three fundamental aspects differentiate Carrier Ethernet networks from Ethernet LANs:
• An entire organization connects to a Carrier Ethernet “port” at a given subscriber location
• The Carrier Ethernet network serves many organizations
• The Carrier Ethernet network is outside the building across a wide area
MPLS brought a number of useful capabilities such as fast-reroute to significantly reduce network segment protection and restoration times, and VPLS to increase the scalability required in metro networks with large numbers of subscribers.
Carrier Ethernet technologies and standards have come a long way since those early days and can now provide the performance and scalability that were once only available through the use of MPLS technologies
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Cable Guys Have Become the Internet Guys
http://recode.net/2014/08/15/the-cable-guys-have-become-the-internet-guys/
The cable TV business hit an important milestone last month: It turned into the Internet business.
Last quarter, for the first time ever, the biggest cable TV providers started selling more broadband subscriptions than video subscriptions, according to a new tally from Leichtman Research Group.
Not by much. The top cable guys now have 49,915,000 Internet subscribers, compared to 49,910,000 TV subscribers. And to be sure, most cable customers are getting both services.
Still, this is directionally important. The future for the pay TV guys isn’t selling you pay TV — it’s selling you access to data pipes, and pay TV will be one of the things you use those pipes for.*
Tomi Engdahl says:
Adtran lays groundwork for superfast broadband over copper
The first commercial networks are expected next year
http://www.itworld.com/networking/431781/adtran-lays-groundwork-superfast-broadband-over-copper
Telecom equipment vendor Adtran has developed a technology that will make it easier for operators to roll out broadband speeds close to 500Mbps over copper lines.
The conventional wisdom is that copper is dying out and fiber is ascending. However, the cost of rolling out fiber is still too high for many operators, which instead want to upgrade their existing copper networks (and in some cases fiber simply can’t be installed).
Adtran has developed what is calls FDV (Frequency Division Vectoring), which enhances the capabilities of two of these technologies — VDSL2 with vectoring and G.fast — by enabling them to better coexist over a single subscriber line, the company said.
VDSL2 with vectoring, which improves speeds by reducing noise and can deliver up to 150Mbps, is currently being rolled out by operators, while G.fast, which is capable of 500Mbps, is still under development.
The higher speeds are needed for applications such as 4K video streaming, IPTV, cloud-based storage and communication via HD video.
The first G.fast deployments will happen in the middle of 2015
The technology increases the bandwidth by using more spectrum. G.fast will use 106MHz of spectrum, which compares to the 17MHz or 30MHz used by VDSL2.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Email Is Still the Best Thing on the Internet
The gentle, dependable workhorse that everyone relies on and nobody owns
http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/08/why-email-will-never-die/375973/?single_page=true
“E-mail is dead, or at least that’s what Silicon Valley is banking on,” wrote Businessweek tech reporter Ashlee Vance.
Getting an email address was once a nerdy right of passage for Gen-Xers arriving on college campuses. Now, the kids are waging a war of indifference on poor old email, culling the weak and infirm old-people technology.
You can’t kill email! It’s the cockroach of the Internet, and I mean that as a compliment. This resilience is a good thing.
Email is actually a tremendous open platform on which new, innovative things can and have been built. In that way, email represents a different model from the closed ecosystems we see proliferating across our computers and devices.
For all the changes occurring around email, the experience of email itself has been transformed, too. Email is not dying, but it is being unbundled.
Email was a newsfeed. With the proliferation of newsletters, email alerts, flash sale emails, and other email-delivered content, one’s email client became a major site of media consumption. It was a feed as much as an inbox.
Email was one’s passport and identity. Before Facebook became a true alternative for verifying one’s identity on the web, the email address was how one accomplished serious things on the Internet.
Email was the primary means of direct social communication on the Internet. Email was how to send a message to someone, period.
Email was a digital package-delivery service. After FTP faded from popularity, but before Dropbox and Google Drive, email was the primary way to ship heavy digital documents around the Internet.
Email was the primary mode of networked work communication. Most companies would have a hard time functioning without email, the French company Atos’s successful email ban notwithstanding.
Looking at this list of email’s many current uses, it is obvious that some of these tasks will leave its domain
While email’s continued evolution is significant, what it has retained from the old web sets it apart from the other pretty, convenient apps. Email is an open, interoperable protocol.
Last, Silicon Valley startups seem to be able to offer the great experiences that they do because they centralize our information within their server farms. But email proves that this is not necessarily the case. Progress can come from much more distributed decision-making processes.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Internet Is Officially More Popular Than Cable in the U.S.
http://www.wired.com/2014/08/the-internet-is-now-officially-more-popular-than-cable-in-the-u-s/
You can’t call them “cable companies” anymore.
For the first time, the number of broadband subscribers with the major U.S. cable companies exceeded the number of cable subscribers, the Leichtman Research Group reported today. Among other things, these figures suggest the industry is now misnamed. Evidently these are broadband companies that offer cable on the side.
To be sure, the difference is minimal: 49,915,000 broadband subscribers versus 49,910,000 cable subscribers. But even assuming a huge overlap in those numbers from customers who have both, the primacy of broadband demonstrates a shift in consumer priorities. Nearly all the major cable companies added broadband subscribers over the past quarter
Tomi Engdahl says:
Sharks Want to Bite Google’s Undersea Cables
http://www.wired.com/2014/08/shark_cable/
There are many, many things that can go wrong as you lay thousands of miles of fiber optic cable along the ocean’s floor. Earthquakes can rip things up, as can fishing hooks. But now we know of a new threat: Shark attacks.
According to Network World, Google Product Manager Dan Belcher told folks at a Google marketing event in Boston last week that Google ensures its cable is sheathed in a Kevlar-like protective coating to keep the sharks from chomping through the line. Turns out this is standard operating procedure among undersea cable-layers, who must take a number of steps to keep aquatic life from harming (or being harmed by) data cables.
We’ve long known squirrels are a major problem to anyone laying cable, but according to a report by the International Cable Protection Committee cable bites—by sharks and other fish—remain a surprisingly persistent problem. In the 1980s, a deep-ocean fiber-optic cable was cut four times. Researchers blame crocodile sharks for those attacks after finding teeth in the cable.
The cable protection folks really have no idea why sharks bite cables either, although some suggest it may be due to “electro magnetic fields from a suspended cable strumming in currents,” they say in their report.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google wraps its trans-Pacific fiber cables in Kevlar to prevent against shark attacks
Sharks have shown an appetite for fiber cables
http://www.networkworld.com/article/2464035/cloud-computing/google-wraps-its-trans-pacific-fiber-cables-in-kevlar-to-prevent-against-shark.html
Google wraps its underwater fiber cables in Kevlar material, at least in part to protect against shark attacks, an official with the company said recently.
The issue of sharks attacking underwater cables dates back decades. In 1989 the New York Times reported instances of sharks showing an “inexplicable taste” for the then-new fiber optic cables that lay between the U.S. and Europe.
“Since fiber is made of fragile glass, its casing is built to protect it from breaking. A fiber-optic cable often includes (listed from the outer layer inward): An outer polyurethane jacket, a protective layer (made from a material like kevlar), a plastic coating (in different colors, so technicians can follow the path of each strand), and enclosed in all of these, a glass fiber.”
“Unlike short-haul terrestrial fiber cables or old copper cables where the fiber did not emit noticeable fields, undersea cables must carry high voltage power to the undersea repeaters, which result in both electric and magnetic fields around and along the cable … Some sharks mistaken the electric fields for distressed fish and attempt to feed on the cable.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
ICANN Offers Fix For Domain Name Collisions
http://tech.slashdot.org/story/14/08/17/2318217/icann-offers-fix-for-domain-name-collisions
This kind of problem — when an internal server’s DNS name conflicts with one of the new Top Level Domain (TLD) names — is going to start happening more and more often. With over 300 new TLDs available to be used by August 2014 and 1,100 more to come, you can expect to see it a lot. Fortunately, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has a fix so you don’t have to go through all the hoops I did to find the problem
Tomi Engdahl says:
9 methods to identify, track and survey conduit
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/2014/08/conduit-id-methods.html
“The following nine methods, tools, and techniques are traditionally used to identify, track and survey new and existing conduits in the field.”
Electromagnetic underground object detectors
Ultrasonic conduit detectors
Electrical current-based tracers and detectors
Use of a fish tape
Use of a pulling string
Use of a vacuum machine and air blower
Shaking the existing cables or wires inside a conduit
Shouting toward a conduit opening
Knocking on a conduit with a hard object
Tomi Engdahl says:
Category 6A cable with 0.265-inch OD
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/2014/08/superioressex-10gainxp6a-reducedod.html
Superior Essex has decreased the diameter of its plenum-rated 10Gain XP CAT 6A cable to 0.265 inches, “making it the smallest Category 6A UTP cable available,” the company said
constructed with a non-conductive isolation wrap around the core that blocks alien crosstalk (AXT)
“AXT protection is essential to10-Gigabit Ethernet transmission performance,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Reference guide for testing and troubleshooting fiber-optic cabling
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/2014/08/fluke-fiber-guide.html
Fluke Networks’ “Optical Fiber Test and Troubleshooting Quick-Reference Guide” is a handy document for users of the company’s fiber-test tools; it walks users through the steps required to test and troubleshoot fiber links using Fluke Networks products.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Identifying fiber-optic cables by color
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/2014/08/leviton-violet.html
As part of its most recent “Crosstalk” newsletter, Leviton published a reminder of the commonly accepted outer-jacket colors of fiber-optic cables, and discussed this ‘color-coding’ convention with respect to OM4+ cables.
“Color-coding is an integral part of our industry, as it helps to identify individual fibers, cable, and connectors,” the company said in the newsletter.
For example, laser-optimized multimode OM3/OM4 is aqua
singlemode (yellow)
OM1/OM2 (orange)
Both multimode and singlemode cables designed for outdoor use will typically have a black jacket to protect the cable from damage due to solar exposure and UV light.
We have color-coded our OM4+ system components violet
Tomi Engdahl says:
Tester assesses copper and fiber cabling, network connections
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/2014/08/psiber-pingerpro.html
PingerPro is a new test tool available from Psiber,
One-button autotest—Quickly provides connectivity, device, port and security information
Link test—Check to see if a port is operational, and display speed and duplex
Ping test—Verify connectivity by sending a single, burst, or continuous ping.
MAC cloning (network device emulation)
LLDP/CDP protocol support—PingerPro uses IEEE Link Layer Discovery Protocol (LLDP) and Cisco Protocol (CDP) to display port speed, duplex and number.
Trace route—Perform this diagnostic by selecting one of the ping results
IPv6 capability
Tomi Engdahl says:
Cost-efficient mobile networks
DI Jussi Turkka to investigate his dissertation, methods for 3G and 4G mobile networks can solve independently the network maintenance and optimization problems. The results will help to develop smarter, more automated and more cost-effective radio networks.
Jussi Turkka (31) työskentelee vanhempana tutkijana Magister Solutions Oy:ssä. Jussi Turkka (31) works as a senior researcher at Magister Solutions Ltd.
The explosive growth of data rates requires large investments in mobile operators increasingly denser radio networks. In order for network maintenance would be cost-effective in the future, they shall be self-organizing, so to speak.
The self-organizing radio network base stations and servers to measure and process the network independently and the operating terminals, such as mobile phones, tablets and mobile broadband modems road collected by radio, location and device data.
Since the data can be collected in large quantities, requires the efficient processing of data mining.
In his dissertation, Turkka developed methods and practices to the terminals from collecting the massive measurement data can be classified, among other things, the network problem occurring cases in more detail, to find anomalies in network operation, such as “sleeping base stations”, and automatically optimize the network performance for fast-moving terminals.
Source: http://www.tut.fi/fi/tietoa-yliopistosta/uutiset-ja-tapahtumat/kustannustehokkuutta-matkapuhelinverkkoihin-p073422c2
Tomi Engdahl says:
Gartner: Internet of Things Has Reached Hype Peak
Big data and the cloud are becoming mainstream, market watcher says
http://www.cio.com/article/2464174/cloud-computing/gartner-internet-of-things-has-reached-hype-peak.html
The Internet of Things has reached the height of its hype, according to Gartner.
Each year the research firm puts out a Hype Cycle of emerging technologies, a sort of report card for various trends and buzzwords. This year, IoT tops the list
Along with IoT, wearable user interfaces and natural-language question answering (that’s the technology behind asking a device a question and having it speak the response) are also just about at the top of their hype. All three of those technologies are expected to be commonplace in the market within 5 to 10 years, Gartner predicts.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The FCC is investigating whether businesses are being overcharged for voice and data service
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2014/08/18/the-fcc-is-investigating-whether-businesses-are-being-overcharged-for-broadband/
Government bean counters have given the Federal Communications Commission the green light to find out whether big telecom companies are charging other businesses too much for connectivity. The FCC said Monday that the Office of Management and Budget has approved a long-awaited study of the issue, which concerns the dedicated voice and data connections that link together networks at banks, businesses, universities and even wireless carriers.
When you pick up a call on your cell phone, or use an ATM, or log onto a school network that connects different campuses, you’re taking advantage of a complex behind-the-scenes network that’s probably using dedicated voice and data lines at some part of the journey. Parts of this back-end infrastructure may be owned and operated by different telecom companies, which means that — unbeknownst to many of us — there’s also a huge commercial market for communications that you as a consumer may only experience indirectly.
“Special access service has become increasingly important in the digital economy, enabling businesses large and small to connect to their customers around the globe,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Competitive Issues in Special Access Markets
http://www.naruc.org/Publications/09%200121%20NARUC%20NRRI_spcl_access_mkts_jan09-02%20_2_.pdf
This report addresses whether ILECs have market power over wholesale special access services in some or all areas and, if they do, whether that market power harms customers or competition. The report also addresses whether the FCC’s current regulatory policies are effective at protecting consumers and sustaining a competitive market.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Netflix is now paying Time Warner Cable for direct access and faster streams
http://gigaom.com/2014/08/19/netflix-is-now-paying-time-warner-cable-for-direct-access-and-faster-streams/
Netflix, the online streaming giant, has signed a paid peering deal with Time Warner Cable, meaning that it now has deals with the four biggest U.S. ISPs.
Tomi Engdahl says:
How to Save the Net: Don’t Give In to Big ISPs
http://www.wired.com/2014/08/save-the-net-reed-hastings/
The Internet has already changed how we live and work, and we’re only just getting started. Who’d have thought even five years ago that people would be streaming Ultra HD 4K video over their home Internet connections?
Technological advances are driving this evolution and will continue to do so only if we make sure the companies controlling consumers’ access to the Internet don’t adopt business practices that stifle its revolutionary nature. The next Netflix won’t stand a chance if the largest US Internet service providers are allowed to merge or demand extra fees from content companies trying to reach their subscribers.
This year we reluctantly agreed to pay AT&T, Comcast, and Verizon for access to our mutual subscribers, who were seeing a rapid decline in their Netflix viewing experience because of congestion at the connection point where we transfer content to the ISP. The ISPs argue that our data-rich services take up limited capacity on their networks. But broadband is not a finite resource. Network limitations are largely the result of business decisions to not keep pace with subscriber demand in a world where the Internet increasingly is the main vehicle for all kinds of entertainment, from gaming to movies to video chats with loved ones.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Noke is a Bluetooth padlock you unlock with your phone
http://venturebeat.com/2014/08/18/noke-is-a-bluetooth-padlock-you-unlock-with-your-phone/
Pronounced “No-key,” Fuz Designs (or “FŪZ” as it likes to spell itself) claims it is the “world’s first Bluetooth padlock.”
That tingled my Spidey-sense; I had the nagging feeling I’d heard about another Kickstarter Bluetooth lock project a little while back. Sure enough, there was. It was the Teo
“Well, it may very well end up being the world’s first commercially available one,”
Fuz Designs’ Noke on the other hand, is a kindred spirit to the Nest Thermostat in the sense that it distills the classic combination lock down to its simplest elements: A round body and u-shaped shackle that latches vertically and swivels side-to-side.
$59 with shipping included is easier to swallow than $79+ $15 for shipping.
To unlock the Teo, you need to approach it with your Bluetooth enabled smartphone and trigger the lock by accessing the native app. The Noke simply requires that an authorized smartphone be within 10 feet of the lock and will release with a simple click-down movement on the shackle.
“Nothing is ever going to be 100 percent bullet-proof. We’re going to make it as secure as possible. But there are much easier ways to hack a lock,” Gibbs points out as we both start to list off the many low-tech methods for compromising a small padlock.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Believe It or Not, Dial-Up’s Not Dead (Yet)
The granddaddy of ISPs just keeps hangin’ on.
http://laptops.reviewed.com/features/believe-it-or-not-dial-ups-not-dead-yet
If you’re reading this, chances are good that you’re accessing the internet over a broadband connection. OECD figures show nearly 70% of U.S. households now have high-speed internet access.
But ages ago (about two decades), you would have had to dial in to a service provider with your modem first
Back then, AOL Inc. (née America Online) was the leading internet service provider, with over 126 million subscribers at its peak. As technology advanced, however, most of those customers left for the greener pastures of DSL, Cable, FiOS, or their neighbors’ unprotected wireless routers.
So it might come as a surprise to hear that AOL still has 2.3 million dial-up subscribers, and that those users are still a huge source of revenue for the company.
Subscribers are paying an average of $20.86 each month for the old-school dial-up service, and in this day and age, it’s hard to fathom why.
According to The Independent, some subscribers might not be aware they’re still paying for the service, or mistakenly believe they need it in order for their broadband service to work.
Some users may be paying simply to keep their email addresses, which they’d lose if they unsubscribed. Switching away from an address you’ve used for 15 years is no trivial task.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Asus is bringing to market the world’s fastest-wlan router. RT-AC87U router supports multi-user MIMO links.
Asus router is the first new assays supporting 802.11ac router which acts as both a 5 and a frequency of 2.4 gigahertz.
Router uses 4×4 channel MIMO (previous routers used 3×3). In addition, the router supports the Broadcom developed TurboQAM modulation at 2.4 GHz in the area. All in all, the router bandwidth increase by more than 2.3 gigabit per seconds.
Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1670:wlan-reititin-kiihtyi-gigabittiluokkaan&catid=13&Itemid=101
Tomi Engdahl says:
UK.gov sinks another £1.6m into Internet of Stuff spec HyperCat
Blighty consortium gets additional funding
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/08/20/uk_gov_hypercat_funding/
Blighty has announced another £1.6m in funding for its Internet of Stuff standard HyperCat, courtesy of the government’s Technology Strategy Board.
In a bid to go all Tim Berners-Lee on the much-hyped Internet of Things, UK.gov has teamed up with tech heavyweights like IBM and ARM to deliver an interoperability standard for devices that will allow them to discover each other. The so-called HyperCat specification can browse machines and search by metadata using standards like HTTPS, Restful APIs and JSON as data formats.
“In the same way that Sir Tim Berners-Lee’s world wide web specification unlocked the potential of the internet, the HyperCat specification will unlock the full potential of the internet of things by creating a world wide web for machines,” enthused IoT firm and consortium member Flexeye in a canned statement today.
“The UK has an opportunity now, through HyperCat, to be central to the IoT revolution”
The consortium expects to publish the HyperCat specification as an independent and publicly available standard through the British Standards Institute sometime next year.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Intel IoT Gateway Solutions
http://ocs.arrow.com/promotions/promotions-americas/intel-gateway-solutions/
Tap Into the Potential of IoT with Your Next Design
Connected devices are expected to number 200 billion by 2020. But since more than 85% of today’s devices are based on legacy systems, taking advantage of this exponential growth opportunity can be a challenge. Fortunately, innovative Intel® Gateway Solutions for the Internet of Things (loT) and Arrow OCS expertise
Simplified Connectivity. Streamlined Deployment
Extreme Connectivity — Collects, analyzes, and shares data from edge devices to the cloud
Open Architecture — Speeds time to market and facilitates interoperability with legacy systems
Today’s Hottest Applications — Streamlines the building environment, manufacturing floor, governmental infrastructure services and more
Integrated. Pre-Validated. Complete Solution
Choice of Intel® processors for the development kit — Supports Intel® Quark™ SoC X1000, Intel® Quark™ SoC X1020D and Intel® Atom™ processor E3826
Wind River* Intelligent Device Platform XT — Speeds up designs with a proven development environment
McAfee* Embedded Control — Maximizes security by dynamically managing whitelists
Tomi Engdahl says:
AT&T to deliver 1Gbps broadband to Silicon Valley
http://www.cnet.com/news/at-t-to-deliver-1gbps-broadband-to-silicon-valley/
AT&T announced Wednesday that Cupertino will be the first community in Silicon Valley that will get its U-verse with GigaPower 1Gbps broadband service.
AT&T is already offering the broadband service, which delivers 1Gbps downloads as well as 1Gbps uploads
And it has confirmed plans to deploy the service in 11 additional cities
In total, AT&T has said it plans to expand the 1Gbps GigaPower service in up to 100 candidate cities and municipalities across 25 markets nationwide.
Even though most communities in the US could benefit from a super high-speed network, such as AT&T’s, delivering this kind of speed to residents and startups in the nation’s technology and innovation hub is likely to be a guaranteed hit. And it could spawn new ideas, technologies and businesses that will benefit the entire technology ecosystem as residents and startups in the area put the high-capacity network to the test.
“Cupertino is leading the way in creating an environment that fosters innovation,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Skype now lets you receive chat notifications only on the device you are currently using
http://thenextweb.com/microsoft/2014/08/20/skype-now-lets-receive-chat-notifications-device-currently-using/
Skype today announced a new feature called active endpoint that ensures you only receive chat notifications on the device that you are currently using. The Microsoft-owned company says the new functionality is rolling out “over the next few weeks,” and all you have to do is make sure that your devices have the latest versions of Skype.
In other words, if you’ve ever used the communication app on multiple devices and been frustrated by getting multiple sounds and vibrations for every single message, you’ll be happy to learn that will soon be an annoyance of the past.
Tomi Engdahl says:
SmartThings Review: Living in the Smart Home
http://www.slashgear.com/smartthings-review-living-in-the-smart-home-17341453/
Prepare to hear a lot more about SmartThings. Kickstarter success turned Samsung acquisition, the smart home startup isn’t the only DIY approach to home automation and security out there, but it may well end up being one of the best funded. SmartThings’ mantra is one of openness, aiming to work with as many third-party components as possible rather than lock users into a closed platform. Admirable, but it could easily add up to confusion; I’ve been living the SmartThings life for the past six months to see whether it works.
We’ve come a long way in home automation. What once was solely the preserve of the rich, demanding expensive installation or – if foresight had been lacking during construction – even more expensive retrofitting, has transitioned to a new age of plug & play components, cross-platform connectivity, and the sort of DIY-friendliness that makes setting it up yourself straightforward.
That’s a marked difference from the attempts at consumer smart home tech that came in-between. X10 and other platforms were flexible but complex, and more frustratingly for everyday use they were often ugly in a bland, beige, unstyled way. All that changed with the advent of the smartphone.
SmartThings’ approach – like others we’ve seen in recent months, such as Revolv – has been to eschew clunky controllers and complicated dip-switches for setup, and instead turn the smartphone into a remote control. The company’s app handles not only installation but ongoing interaction, whether you’re home or away.
The $99 hub
There are five main pieces to the SmartThings range.
The Multi Sensor looks the most straightforward, a battery-powered door or window sensor that’s stuck in place with self-adhesive strips and triggered when the two parts are separated. However, inside it also has an accelerometer for reporting physical movement, and a thermometer for tracking temperature.
SmartSense Presence is a chunky white plastic fob which, thanks to a rubber loop, can be attached to your keys. It works as a notifier
The Motion sensor can run off an internal battery or with any microUSB power supply
SmartThings’ Moisture Sensor is about the size of a couple of matchboxes stacked up, and promises to report spills from under the sink or from your washing machine. Two contacts on the bottom
The last homegrown part is the SmartPower Outlet appliance module, which is the main output for the SmartThings system. Plugged in-between a regular AC socket and an appliance like a lamp, coffee brewer, or fan, you can remotely turn it on or off;
Any appliance that requires its own controls be operated when its power is connected is a no-go
If the hub is the heart of the SmartThings universe, the app is the brain. A free download for iPhone and Android
Alerts can be triggered at a variety of levels, depending on how visible you want them to be
Significant events can trigger text messages.
Broader Ecosystem
On its own, SmartThings could arguably be considered a fancier X10 with a more user-friendly interface. What makes it special is how it plays with a broader ecosystem of devices, which can be not only controlled from the SmartThings app but integrated into its macro recipes.
The compatibility list is growing, but already I’ve been able to pair my Philips hue color-changing bulbs, Sonos speakers, and Belkin WeMo motion sensor and appliance module with the SmartThings hub.
There’s support for motorized locks from Yale, Schlage, Kwikset, and others, as well as smart thermostats from Honeywell and RCS (no Nest at this stage, however)
Various third-party outlets and switches can be swapped in for their dumb counterparts and hooked up to the hub
Then there’s the potential of IFTTT. “If This Then That” opens the door to exponentially increasing the number of devices and services SmartThings can hook into, with the web platform acting as the cross-translating glue which links them all together.
The approachable smart home is still young.
If Samsung’s acquisition of SmartThings achieves anything, my hope is that it clarifies that uncertainty. That’s certainly what Apple’s approach with HomeKit looks set to do, but SmartThings’ cross-platform support and community flexibility may well give it an edge. Right now its capabilities are certainly broad
Tomi Engdahl says:
These giants are the pioneers in analytics
The new analytics torchbearers, among others, Cisco, Ford, General Electric, Merck, Monsanto, NCR’s, Procter & Gamble and Wells Fargo’s like a global operating companies.
These large companies are not using analytics to only the internal decision-making basis and director.
GE markets industrial customers view the Internet (industrial internet), in which the company built aircraft engines serviced predictive analytics using data collected through.
Well-known are the efforts of the Ford vehicles between post links and related cameras and sensors with.
Fertilizer manufacturer, Monsanto, in turn, is developing a technology that farmers are able to predict more accurately their sowing.
“We have raised the business intelligence (bi, business intelligence) to a new level.”
Source: http://www.tivi.fi/cio/nama+jatit+ovat+analytiikan+pioneereja/a1005338
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nonmetallic enclosure for wireless equipment
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/2014/08/oberon-1016-enclosure.html
Oberon has introduced an 18×12-inch wall-mount enclosure that is RF-transparent and is designed to accomplish the complicated task of organizing and securing network components. According to the company, its Model 1016 cabinet has “ample space and an RF-transparent polycarbonate cover, which is virtually transparent to wireless signals.”
“The locking wall enclosure allows network components to be secured away from signal-blocking furniture, dusty shelves, and unauthorized personnel. The unit can be placed horizontally or vertically.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
802.11ac taking bites out of bandwidth, market
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/print/volume-22/issue-8/features/wireless/802-11ac-taking-bites-out-of-bandwidth-market.html?cmpid=EnlContractorAugust212014
The enterprise market’s transition to multi-gigabit wireless networking will drive up demand for better cabling and eventually drive overall wireless-LAN spending.
While 802.11ac equipment is poised to take that proverbial “bite” out of a network’s bandwidth, reports from several research and analyst firms examining the enterprise networking market indicate that users’ current and, more significant, anticipated future transition from 802.11n to 802.11ac will take their own bites out of the total market for wireless local area network (LAN) equipment.
Tomi Engdahl says:
A comparison of conventional fiber and blown cable
August 1, 2014
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/print/volume-22/issue-8/features/installation/a-comparison-of-conventional-fiber-and-blown-cable.html
Evaluating installation characteristics, costs and maintenance shows blown fiber has advantages in every category.
Traditional papers about the pros and cons of fiber versus blown cable installation almost always say conventional fiber is more reliable and far less expensive to install. In this paper, we will first describe the background of both types of fiber, then address each type; finally we will show the most-efficient solution for a straight-line application is blown cable.
Blown fiber originated with British Telecom in 1982, developed to permit switching between fiber types as they evolved. British Telecom planned to accommodate unforeseen applications by laying cable with extra space for blowing in new types of fiber.
Years passed, and fiber evolved. No individual-application fiber was developed. Instead, singlemode and multimode fiber were developed. Unlike British Telecom, installers became as concerned with running fiber within buildings as they were with running it between them.
Singlemode and multimode fiber cables were designed as conventional cables, complying with existing cable standards for quality and performance. Existing conduits between and within buildings do not have much interior space, having been designed for earlier technology. In general, offices do not want to have work disrupted. Therefore, the goals for conventional fiber design were small-size and ease-of-installation, in addition to code compliance.
Blown fiber was still in its infancy while conventional fiber was becoming accepted. Comparisons were made between the two, and blown fiber was found to be not as small, less-easily installed, more disruptive in an office, and more expensive to install. Further criticism of blown fiber was that it needed special cabinetry, room for the blower and gas tank, and space for the fanning out of the individual fiber strands. The weightiest criticism was that blown fiber does not comply with existing cable codes because it is “manufactured in the field.” Furthermore, at the time, there was no waterproof material lining the microduct tube.
Nevertheless, manufacturers of blown fiber continued developing their products, and answered all the criticisms aimed at them by conventional fiber companies. Blown cable is currently installed in a smaller microduct, with more capacity, is less expensive to install, and is not necessarily more disruptive than any other installation type. Waterproof material now lines the inside of the microduct between the cover and the tubes.
Blown-fiber and blown-cable installation requires pairs of skilled workers, trained and certified in the use of the blower, cutting of the tube cable and testing the tubing.
Both conventional and blown fiber can be buried directly, or installed in a conduit. The cost for digging and laying the conduit is the same for either type of installation.
Blown cable has four components: 1) microduct, 2) the blowing apparatus, 3) the optical-fiber bundles, and 4) the connecting/terminating hardware. The microduct consists of multiple individual tubes, bundled into a single sheath.
If the blown cable is cut, repairing it is a matter of replacing the damaged section with new microduct, coupling it to the old undamaged microduct, testing the new tubing, and blowing new fiber in. This need not be a lengthy process to restore functionality.
Because blown cable is “manufactured in the field,” there are no standards governing it. Therefore, the warranty for it is very important.
Should a conventional cable be cut, new cable must be pulled, which is a more-time-consuming process than blowing fiber.
Because the conduit may be attractive to rodents, we recommend using armored microduct for a truly maintenance-free installation.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Video demonstration: Blown fiber into microducts
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/2014/08/hexatronic-blown-fiber.html
video handily demonstrates the installation process for Hexatronic’s Micronet micro cables and air blown fiber into microducts
Tomi Engdahl says:
Study: Ad-Free Internet Would Cost Everyone $230-a-Year
http://news.slashdot.org/story/14/08/21/1320251/study-ad-free-internet-would-cost-everyone-230-a-year
Several readers sent word of research into the cost of internet content without ads. They looked at the amount of money spent on internet advertising last year in the U.K., and compared it to the number of U.K. internet users. On average, each user would have to pay about £140 ($230) to make up for the lost revenue of an ad-free internet. In a survey, 98% of consumers said they wouldn’t be willing to pay that much for the ability to browse without advertisements.
Tomi Engdahl says:
News & Analysis
Mesh Network Key to Winning IoT Race
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1323606&
As competing wireless networking technology providers gun for the smart home market, many contenders believe that the heart of the matter for the Internet of Things is its protocol for mesh networking.
The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) is reviewing mesh technologies for Bluetooth Smart proposed by companies like CSR and Zuli. Google, which recently unveiled its own Thread mesh networking technology, claims that any 802.15.4 wireless-capable devices will need only a software update to use Thread. Nest already uses a version of Thread in its products, and ZigBee is already built on mesh technology.
In this competitive environment, CSR is ratcheting up efforts to evangelize the company-developed mesh technology, CSRmesh, a protocol running over Bluetooth Smart (formerly known as Bluetooth Low Energy).
The UK firm released its first CSRmesh development kit last month. On Wednesday, it posted an introductory video
CSRmesh will allow consumers to control any Bluetooth Smart-enabled device in the home from wherever they are, including lighting, heating, appliances, and security systems. One element critical to the consumer experience: Solutions based on the CSRmesh protocol don’t require the complex setup, pairing, or use of an access device such as a router.
At the moment, CSRmesh is not part of the Bluetooth Special Interest Group’s officially approved Bluetooth Smart profile, nor is it part of any other standards body’s specifications.
More importantly, CSR’s isn’t the only mesh technology proposed to the Bluetooth SIG.More importantly, CSR’s isn’t the only mesh technology proposed to the Bluetooth SIG.
Why mesh?
Devices that are part of a mesh network not only can signal information to other devices within the mesh network, but they can also receive such signals. Because the networks connects every device to every other device, any device within the network can receive all these messages, make inferences based on the content and timing of the messages, and send out additional messages. Presumably, somebody walking down a hall would trigger occupancy sensors in a sequence; lights would illuminate and doors would unlock and open accordingly.
When asked what the industry needs to get the IoT market started, Chapman mentioned four things: “Range, multiple nodes for [many] devices, low power, and smartphone connectivity.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Need help developing your IoT prototype with CSRmesh™?
http://www.csr.com/blog/2014/08/need-help-developing-your-iot-prototype-with-csrmesh/
Tomi Engdahl says:
ProbMe Streamlines IoT Device Installment
http://www.eeweb.com/blog/eeweb/probme-streamlines-iot-device-installment
User adoption of new wireless technologies presents several challenges. Three of the biggest challenges that hamper deployment and widespread use of new technologies are installing infrastructure, ease of use, and ease of installation and configuration.
Given the globally installed base and use of Wi-Fi for everything from smartphones, to tablets, to laptops and desktop computers, the first two items are taken for granted by most Wi-Fi wireless users. With the emergence of the global Internet of Things (IoT), however, the issues faced by a user trying to quickly, easily, and securely configure a new device to the home network had not been solved. ProbMe addresses simple and easy configuration of devices for the Internet of Things.
Most devices that users connect to a Wi-Fi network need a service set identifier (SSID) and a pass phrase, which is generally longer than a password.
Manufacturers of wireless routers initially supplied routers with a default and generic SSID and open settings that required no pass phrase to join the network.
Most router manufacturers are now providing more unique SSID’s and initial unique pass phrases that are printed on a sticker on the Wi-Fi router. This means that when the router is turned on, it comes on in a secure mode with a set SSID and pass phrase.
Most of the devices that consumers have connected to Wi-Fi wireless routers have rich computing resources, displays, keyboards, and other abilities that make entering the information for a secure connection relatively easy.
However, the “things” now being added to homes, offices, commercial spaces, industrial facilities are quite small and don’t have a display or convenient data entry capability to allow users to configure them. Thus, the devices need to be configured by a smarter device that is also on the network.
There are two likely approaches. The first is to use a Wi-Fi protected setup (WPS) button on the coffee maker and assume the user’s wireless router has a WPS button as well. This requires the user to simply press the button on the coffee pot and also press the button on the wireless router.
The advantage of this approach is that it is easy if both devices and both buttons are easy to access. However, if the wireless router doesn’t have a WPS button or if it isn’t easily accessible, this system won’t work at all. Also, if both buttons are pressed and the coffee maker doesn’t show up on the network, there’s no way to troubleshoot. Most importantly, the WPS push-button method has known security flaws.
Another common approach is to have the coffee maker come up as an access point with its own SSID and pass phrase, which is supplied by the manufacturer’s quick start card. This is a very straightforward approach whereby when the coffee maker is plugged in, powered on, and the SSID of the coffee maker is broadcast so that it is easily identified. The user disconnects from the wireless network, connects to the coffee maker, and navigates to an area to enter the SSID and network pass phrase. The device is then configured as a client on the user’s network.
The main disadvantage of this method is the required level of comfort with technology. Also, the process is quite time consuming, which is compounded if there are several devices to install, such as light switches, light bulbs, outlets, speakers, cameras, door locks, thermostats, alarms, and so on.
Now imagine an alternative scenario to the ones described above. In this scenario, the user brings home the coffee maker. After plugging it in, looks at the quick-start card, then using a smartphone enters the proper network SSID and pass phrase, and finally clicks, “Join,” “Save,” or “Submit.” The smartphone transmits the configuration information and automatically connects all the new ProbMe-enabled devices to the network.
ProbMe works by utilizing the discovery functionality of Wi-Fi networks, but instead of using the standard 802.11 management frames to simply interrogate the surrounding networks for their SSID information, the ProbMe method uses these frames as configuration carriers.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Microsoft Azure and IoT to modernise London Underground monitoring systems
Will make for ‘faster maintenance, better service and lower costs across the system’
By Lee Bell
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2361513/microsoft-azure-and-iot-to-modernise-london-underground-monitoring-systems
MICROSOFT HAS TEAMED with British internet systems installation company Telent and IT consulting company CGI in a bid to modernise London’s tube network using the Internet of Things (IoT).
Announced in a UK government blog post, the partnership will look to modernise the London Underground monitoring systems, which oversee critical rail assets with data from thousands of devices and sensors, by integrating Microsoft’s Azure Intelligent Systems Services software.
The software system will streamline manual monitoring processes, secure and integrate disconnected systems, and spot equipment issues in real-time, Microsoft said, making for “faster maintenance, better service and lower costs across the system”.
In a promotional video entitled “Bringing the Internet of Things to the London Underground”
“Meaningful data from sensors are on everything from temperature vibration and humidity, to fault warnings and system alerts are available securely in the cloud. Many manual monitoring processes can now be streamlined.”
Pears explained that disconnected systems will be securely integrated and automated with the use of IoT and, “most importantly”, equipment degradation can be spotted in real time based on live data and with new insights driven by data
Tomi Engdahl says:
Internet of Overwhelming Things
As the era of Internet of Things (IoT) dawned, the fridge got hacked. Well, maybe not.
http://www.networkworld.com/article/2457502/internet-of-things/internet-of-overwhelming-things.html
n early 2014, as many media outlets such as NPR reported, security services vendor Proofpoint claimed to have detected the first IoT-based cyber attack involving “more than 750,000 malicious email communications coming from more than 100,000 everyday consumer gadgets such as home-networking routers, connected multi-media centers, televisions and at least one refrigerator that had been compromised and used as a platform to launch attacks.”
Subsequently, Symantec rebutted that initial report, instead blaming that old bugaboo of infected Windows-based computers. Nonetheless Symantec said it really had “uncovered one of the first and most interesting IoT threats, Linux.Darlloz, which infects Linux-based IoT devices such as routers, cameras, and entertainment systems.”
Whether it’s your fridge or your DVR is probably irrelevant.
Market research firm IDC predicts we’ll see 212 billion of these thingies deployed by the end of 2020. That makes for one heck of a malevolent botnet, opening doors to disrupt Internet connected devices at home or perhaps even in not-so-secret nuclear weapons facilities. Or, maybe just provide the means to prank a colleague with the exploding desk lamp trick.
Let’s be real, none of us (well, almost none) want to tie into everything over the Internet, including the kitchen sink. But there’s no question the growing number of connected devices is going to bring a massive increase in traffic volumes
Without having the right network foundation in place, this brave new world could prove to be the Internet of Overwhelming Things (IoOT), leading to greater inefficiencies and growing security woes. To avoid this, data center networks must be more flexible, scalable, and efficient.
Tomi Engdahl says:
SDN? More like $$$DN: Sales to soar from $1bn today to $8bn by 2018
But bit-shuffling box sales will rise by even more, says IDC
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/08/22/sdn_sales_to_soar_from_960m_today_to_8bn_by_2018/
Analyst outfit IDC has gazed into its crystal balls and decided software-defined networking (SDN) will bring US$8bn through the door in 2018, a fund-manager-gratifying increase over the $960m it will account for in 2014.
The market-watcher says the $8bn will come as businesses buy more converged infrastructure, shift their workloads to the cloud, build the kit needed to cope with server virtualisation and operate at bigger scales to cope with the mobile/social/IoT hypegasm.
Selling $8bn of anything is impressive, but as SDN is potentially destructive it is worth exploring what that big pile of cash will mean in the context of the wider networking market.
IDC has put its name to a $50.14bn figure for networking kit sales in 2018, taking into account ethernet switches, routers, WLAN, WAN, enterprise video and telepresence kit, plus fibre channel and InfiniBand boxen.
Tomi Engdahl says:
M2M leave the GSM networks slowly
More and more of us are already using a 4G mobile phones, but between machines M2M traffic, the old GSM network is still going strong. Berg Insight estimates that 3G and 4G override the M2M traffic for GSM in 2017.
GSM has held up almost everywhere, where networks have been in use. Associated with the machine is switched to 3G connections in the countries where the GSM network has been shut down, such as Finland.
End of this year, however, less than 20 per cent of M2M data transferred to a 3G or 4G network. For example, in the United States is the only big change coming, when AT & T is closing the 2G network.
In Europe the trend is going to be even slower. In many countries, GSM networks will run well into the 2020s. In these countries, M2M traffic will remain in the GSM network for a long time.
M2M traffic to run towards 3G and 4G networks, but also application data growth
Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1685:m2m-jattaa-gsm-verkot-hitaasti&catid=13&Itemid=101
Tomi Engdahl says:
LTE in Wi-Fi spectrum shows great potential, says NTT DoCoMo
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2597400/lte-in-wifi-spectrum-shows-great-potential-says-ntt-docomo.html
In the hunt for new ways to handle growing data volumes, NTT DoCoMo and Huawei Technologies have demonstrated that LTE can be deployed over 5GHz, which today is used for Wi-Fi networks.
One of the ways mobile operators can boost capacity in their networks is to increase the amount of spectrum, which could be compared to adding more lanes to a highway. The 5GHz band is one alternative they and other vendors have started to look closer at.
The indoor test found that LTE can work in the 5GHz band at speeds of up to 100Mbps, DoCoMo said via email. The test showed so-called LAA (Licensed-Assisted Access) can be used to enhance current LTE networks, and also networks based on LTE-Advanced. The plan is to use LTE at 5GHz alongside Wi-Fi networks to improve capacity using small base stations or cells, a scenario where it shows “great potential,” according to DoCoMo.
Tomi Engdahl says:
You love Netflix
http://community.plus.net/blog/2014/08/21/you-love-netflix/
Netflix launched in the UK just over two years ago with quite a fanfare.
In that time we’ve seen Netflix traffic grow at an incredible rate. Netflix now battles it out with YouTube for most usage on our network. This isn’t surprising when you see that one in ten households have signed up to Netflix.
That’s more than 3 million UK households now subscribed to Netflix and puts it far ahead of their rival, Amazon.
Netflix and YouTube both use large amounts of bandwidth across our network, although their usage patterns differ.
Netflix peaks higher than YouTube and is watched later in the evening, whereas YouTube contributes more overall traffic without the significant peak
Tomi Engdahl says:
Securing Networks In the Internet of Things Era
http://beta.slashdot.org/story/206285
Tomi Engdahl says:
X-Ray Vision Robots Can See Through Walls Using Only WiFi
http://video.techbriefs.com/video/X-Ray-Vision-Robots-Can-See-Thr;RF-Microwave-Electronics
University of California Santa Barbara researchers have demonstrated a system for two unmanned vehicles to see through thick concrete walls using only WiFi signals – fully discovering what is on the other side with high accuracy. The objects on the other side don’t have to move to be detected.
Potential applications include search and rescue operations and surveillance. One robot measures the wireless transmissions of the other robot that is in the broadcast mode.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ixia expands 100GE test support
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/2014/08/ixia-100ge-test.html
Ixia (NASDAQ: XXIA) has added new 100 Gigabit Ethernet (100 GbE) transceiver interfaces to its Xcellon-Multis and Xcellon-Lava portfolio of test and measurement products. The new QSFP28 adapters and native QSFP28 and CFP4 load modules based on the 4×25-Gbps electrical interface are a first for the industry, the company claims. Network equipment manufacturers can now test their new 100GbE network devices prior to deployment.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Report: Telecom equipment sales to increase $30B by 2018
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/2014/08/delloro-wireline-telecom-boom.html
According to recently published reports by networking and telecommunications industries analyst Dell’Oro Group, the trends for the combined service provider telecom equipment market comprising the Access, Carrier IP Telephony, Microwave, Mobile RAN, Optical, SP Routers, SP WiFi, and Wireless Packet Core markets, are set to improve between 2013 and 2018 — by approximately $30 billion.
After recording a CAGR of -1% between 2008 and 2013, Dell’Oro Group forecasts the combined service provider equipment markets to grow at a CAGR of 2% between 2013 and 2018.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Analyst: LTE-Advanced network deployments gain in 2014
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/2014/08/abi-ltea-report.html
LTE-Advanced network deployments are becoming a tangible reality in 2014, according to the latest report from ABI Research.
As of the end of 1Q 2014, ABI Research estimates there were ~60 LTE-Advanced trials, commitments and commercial deployments worldwide, of which 22 commitments were from Western Europe, 16 from Asia-Pacific, and 5 from North America. In addition, Voice over LTE (VoLTE) is gaining market traction in 2014, reports the analyst, providing voice services alongside LTE mobile broadband in a reliable and profitable way.
“Carrier aggregation (CA) is the most important feature of LTE-Advanced, which helps mobile carriers to utilize all spectrum resources to increase data rates. In France, Bouygues Telecom first utilized CA to launch LTE-Advanced in six cities in mid-June, 2014, while Orange France and SFR also announced they will commercially deploy LTE-Advanced,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Report: Internet of Things will drive 40.9B wireless connected devices by 2020
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/2014/08/abi-iot-report.html
According to an updated market forecast from ABI Research, the installed base of active wireless connected devices will exceed 16 billion in 2014, about 20% more than in 2013. The analyst projects that the number of devices will more than double from the current level, with 40.9 billion forecasted for 2020.
ABI principal analyst Aapo Markkanen comments, “The driving force behind the surge in connections is that usual buzzword suspect, the Internet of Things (IoT). If we look at this year’s installed base, smartphones, PCs, and other ‘hub’ devices represent still 44% of the active total, but by end-2020 their share is set to drop to 32%. In other words, 75% of the growth between today and the end of the decade will come from non-hub devices: sensor nodes and accessories.”
The firm contends that, from every technology supplier’s strategic point of view, the critical question is how this plethora of IoT devices will ultimately be connected. Until recently, the choices that product OEMs have faced have been fairly straightforward, with cellular, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and others all generally addressing their relative comfort zones.