Telecom and networking trends for 2016

820 Comments

1. August 9, 2016 at 12:11 pm

   Tomi Engdahl says:

   Enabling IoT capabilities through a single converged IP network
   http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/print/volume-24/issue-7/features/technology/enabling-iot-capabilities-through-a-single-converged-ip-network.html?cmpid=Enl_CIM_CablingNews_July182016&eid=289644432&bid=1466869

   Cisco Systems Inc. designs and sells broad lines of products, provides services, and delivers converged solutions to develop and connect networks globally. As the leader in communications and internet solutions and services, Cisco supplies the networking foundation for some of the largest service providers, commercial businesses, and enterprise customers in the world, including corporations, government agencies, utilities, and educational institutions.

   The company is dedicated to changing Canada’s innovation path by supporting research efforts with Canadian universities, investments in primary research, and establishing a world-class facility in Toronto to promote Internet of Things (IoT) innovation.

   The IoT connects people, processes, data, and things. It helps deliver better customer experiences and create new revenue streams and operating models to drive efficiency and produce value

   Cisco understands the importance of the Internet of Things (IoT) and shares a collective vision with many of its technology partners, focusing on solutions and outcomes when constructing a smart and connected and digitized building.

   The Cisco teams developed a plan to incorporate traditional and non-traditional technologies to greatly enhance the workplace experience for employees. Non-traditional technologies included IP Power over Ethernet (PoE) lighting; environmental monitoring; IP PoE heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) controls; automation; and energy management. Traditional technologies included Voice over IP (VoIP), IP security, IP door access control, and wireless access points (WAPs).

   Cisco required a robust physical infrastructure that enables all of these technologies and lowers capital expenses. In addition, Cisco required adequate space to keep pace with future growth of the company.

   In addition, Cisco needed to gain more visibility to its operations to streamline in-building and IT processes while controlling most IP-related utilities on each of the four floors.

   Another important goal for Cisco was to apply an expansive PoE system to deliver power to various devices in the space, including climate control and lighting.

   Panduit was instrumental in helping Cisco decide which technology components should be a part of the converged backbone.

   The company implemented several thousand Om4 and OS1/OS2 singlemode fiber connections for the converged backbone, including support for 40-Gbit applications. There are 2,500-plus PoE ports running on Category 6 cabling with some Category 6A copper cabling connecting several of Cisco’s higher band switches internally.

   The PanMPO connector attaches the connecting switch gear with fiber-optic transceivers to the server equipment. It easily converts between male and female gender, and polarity of the fiber connector in the field, improving operational efficiency, and saving time and costs. The small interconnect cables minimize waste, optimize cable management, speed deployment, and improve flexibility and manageability.

   The secure converged IP network also allows real-time monitoring of external daylight levels, temperature, and occupancy. All equipment operates on one network, allowing building tenants to easily connect devices such as lighting to access control to heating, which provides personal comfort control. This empowers tenants to be more innovative and achieve next-generation experiences within a comfortable setting.

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2. August 9, 2016 at 12:36 pm

   Tomi Engdahl says:

   Consider Composite Cables for Security Systems
   http://www.belden.com/blog/datacenters/consider-composite-cables-for-security-systems.cfm

   It’s no secret that analog-based surveillance systems supported by coaxial cabling are giving way to IP-based surveillance systems supported by twisted-pair copper and/or fiber optic cabling. Based on internet protocol, IP-based surveillance, security and life safety systems are considered IoT (Internet of Things) devices, meaning that they can communicate with each other and with the network.

   The Potential of Composite Cables

   During this transition, it’s not uncommon to find hybrid systems – a mix of analog and digital security devices.

   Even though IP-based systems are supported by category cable, they still often require some kind of junction box. Composite cables – a mixture of multimode/singlemode fiber or shielded and unshielded twisted-pair copper wires bundled together under one jacket – can achieve cost-effective security system installation in situations like these; composite cables offer several labor-saving and easy-identification features.

   Composite cables are easier and quicker to install as compared to bundling and pulling individual cables. With a Banana Peel feature, composite cables can improve installation speed even more. Banana Peel composite cables affix individual cables to a center spline. This eliminates the need for an overall jacket

   The current edition – ANSI/BICSI 005-2016, Electronic Safety and Security (ESS) System Design and Implementation Best Practices – applies to IT departments and facilities management teams. It covers requirements and recommendations for cabling, as well as the different elements within safety and security systems that affect infrastructure design.

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3. August 9, 2016 at 12:37 pm

   Tomi Engdahl says:

   Which Factors Impact Network Speed?
   http://www.belden.com/blog/datacenters/which-factors-impact-network-speed.cfm

   Cloud services, big data, streaming video, VoIP phones, IoT devices – businesses need network speed and bandwidth to handle the capacity requirements of new applications hitting the scene every day. As networks take on more, are you tracking the factors that could impact network speed?

   A survey conducted a few years ago by Sandisk tells us just how much of an effect slow networks can have. Based on the study, U.S. workers waste 4.9 days every year just waiting for their computers to respond.

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4. August 9, 2016 at 12:41 pm

   Tomi Engdahl says:

   What ANSI/TIA-1152 Says About Category 6A Testing
   http://www.belden.com/blog/datacenters/what-ansi-tia-1152-says-about-category-6a-testing.cfm

   Whether you’re installing a brand new cabling system or attempting to troubleshoot a problem with existing cabling, testing plays an important role in verifying overall cable performance.

   Networks are evolving to support more users and more devices, which also changes what is expected and required in terms of cabling performance. When cable has been properly tested, you can rest assured that it is providing the correct transmission capabilities to support users’ needs and applications.

   ANSI/TIA-1152 does provide methods in an annex that “can” be used to measure alien crosstalk in installed Category 6A cabling. Commercial Level IIIe testers from most major manufacturers can perform the tests if an end user, consultant or engineer requires it in the specifications. This requires two sets of testers with a communications link between them.

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5. August 9, 2016 at 4:12 pm

   Tomi Engdahl says:

   How low oil prices are depressing Houston’s data center market
   http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/pt/2016/08/how-low-oil-prices-are-depressing-houston-s-data-center-market.html?cmpid=Enl_CIM_DataCenters_August92016&eid=289644432&bid=1491747

   The Houston Business Journal’s Joe Martin reports that ” the Houston data center market has tempered off in the first half of 2016 as low oil prices continue to hamper sectors driven by the oil and gas industry.”

   According to JLL’s North American data center report, Houston has seen a slowdown in supply absorption for data centers. “We don’t have new companies, and we don’t have expansion of older entrenched companies (in the data center market),” said Bo Bond, central region lead for JLL’s data center solutions group.

   MIT: Scalable cloud infrastructure set to transform data center
   http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/pt/2016/07/mit-scalable-cloud-infrastructure-set-to-transform-data-center.html?cmpid=Enl_CIM_DataCenters_August92016&eid=289644432&bid=1491747

   “Software-defined convergence is analogous to the smartphone,” observes Don Frame, Data Center Group brand director, Lenovo North America. “Back in the day, we used to wear utility belts at work with a phone, PDA, pager, and calculator. Now all those devices are software defined and reside on one device, much like software-defined convergence has transformed the data center.”

   – “A scalable cloud infrastructure changes the way IT services are delivered to end users. The cloud deployment model provides an infrastructure that grows or recedes based on demand, opening the door for data center automation to automatically shift workloads from overburdened clusters to underutilized assets.”

   – “Today, IT teams need to break down the old ideologies of hardware and seize the opportunities offered by cloud deployment.”

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6. August 9, 2016 at 4:16 pm

   Tomi Engdahl says:

   World hyperscale data center market: Opportunities and forecasts to 2022
   http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/pt/2016/08/world-hyperscale-data-center-market-opportunities-and-forecasts-to-2022.html?cmpid=Enl_CIM_DataCenters_August92016&eid=289644432&bid=1491747

   Research and Markets has announced the addition of the “World Hyperscale Data Center Market – Opportunities and Forecasts, 2014 – 2022″ report to their offering.

   The main idea behind developing hyperscale architecture is to start with small infrastructure to keep the initial investments minimal. With increasing demand, new nodes can be added to the cluster to expand the initial infrastructure. Hyperscale data centers are largely adopted by key companies, such as Amazon and Google, thereby emerging as one of the fastest growing technology in the IT infrastructure world.

   Efficiency is one of the key factors to be considered in a hyperscale data center, in addition to the design and layout of the facility. Designing is a very important factor as it helps to minimize the inefficiency at the rack, node, and facility level.

   Hyperscale data centers usually have compute nodes ranging from thousands to tens of thousands.

   Data center architecture lessons per Isaac Newton
   http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/pt/2016/08/data-center-architecture-lessons-from-isaac-newton.html?cmpid=Enl_CIM_DataCenters_August92016&eid=289644432&bid=1491747

   Sir Isaac Newton remains our favorite source for axiomatic laws of physics, despite giving us the language of calculus. Particularly relevant for today’s discussion is Newton’s third law as formally stated: “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.”

   In the cosmology of the data center, this existentially proves itself in the network whenever there are significant changes in application infrastructure and architectures. As evidence, consider the reaction to first, virtualization, and now, containerization, APIs, and microservice architectures.

   These changes, while improving speed and agility of application development and delivery, have created greater mass in the data center, essentially changing the center of gravity and pulling many network services toward it.

   The result is a growing application network that is separate from “the network” in which developers and operations (DevOps) tends to provision, manage, and deploy not just the services and apps, but the network services necessary to support them.

   But the core network, and the need for it, has not diminished. Indeed, it has grown to epic importance to the business, as the core network becomes the primary lifeline through which all data flows, both inbound and out. Should that lifeline falter, or slow, business will be impaired. Productivity will plummet, and profit will plunge. Brand reputation will suffer

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7. August 10, 2016 at 7:24 am

   Tomi Engdahl says:

   Building communications networks in the stratosphere
   https://code.facebook.com/posts/993520160679028/building-communications-networks-in-the-stratosphere/

   Approximately 40 percent of the world is connected to the internet. Of those who aren’t, many are offline for one major reason: Connectivity is expensive.

   If you think about the traditional model of connectivity, it starts with a tower that propagates radio signals to people’s devices. To connect people this way, mobile operators have to build out an extensive infrastructure requiring land rights, equipment, fiber/microwave, and access to power to run it all. Using this model, connecting people in remote or low-population-density areas can be financially challenging — there are fewer potential customers, and you have to build more infrastructure to reach them. To make the problem even more challenging, one in five people globally lives in extreme poverty, existing on $1.25 per day or less. While tremendous progress has been made in connecting more than 90 percent of the world’s population to 2G networks, getting to 100 percent using conventional approaches is unlikely to happen in the near term, given how unlikely it would be that operators would be able to recoup their infrastructure investments.

   We started the Connectivity Lab at Facebook to see if we could change this paradigm. We are developing a range of new technologies — including high-altitude aircraft, satellites, free space optics, and terrestrial solutions — to help accelerate the process of bringing connectivity to the unserved and underserved.

   With Aquila, we’ve designed a new aircraft architecture, one that can support staying in the air for months at a time. Aquila is solar powered, and when launched, it will create a 50-km communications radius for up to 90 days, beaming a signal down to the people in that area. This signal will be received by small towers and dishes that will then convert it into a Wi-Fi or LTE network that people can connect to with their cellphones and smartphones.

   Aquila will fly at between 60,000 and 90,000 feet during the day — above commercial air traffic and above the weather.

   Test flights for the full-scale model should begin later this year, following the sub-scale flight tests from earlier in the year in the U.K.

   The second milestone is an advancement in using free space laser communications as a mechanism for communicating between aircraft. Our optics team has designed and lab-tested optical transceivers that improve upon the state-of-the-art by approximately 10x, to data rates in the tens of Gbps.

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8. August 10, 2016 at 7:27 am

   Tomi Engdahl says:

   Harnessing light for wireless communications
   https://code.facebook.com/posts/484014178459953/harnessing-light-for-wireless-communications/

   As part of our connectivity efforts, Internet.org is working on ways to connect the 4 billion people who are currently offline. Of those 4 billion, we know that 1.6 billion live in sparsely populated areas without broadband wireless infrastructure, and connecting them will require very different technologies than the solutions currently used. The Connectivity Lab team at Facebook is working to solve this problem, and has introduced a number of new technologies aimed at bringing better connectivity to these populations.

   In addition to building new technologies, we are also researching novel ideas to solve connectivity challenges at a more fundamental level. One of our recent efforts is a new type of optical detector that could simplify the technology behind free-space laser communication and enable high-speed connectivity in areas where traditional infrastructure is difficult to build. The results of our research have been published today in the journal Optica.

   Most wireless telecommunications use the radio frequency part of the electromagnetic spectrum. Free-space laser communication operates in the visible and infrared light range, where it benefits from less interference with neighboring communication systems and can potentially provide higher data transmission rates. In addition, this portion of the spectrum is not regulated, allowing for faster deployments and globally applicable solutions. Despite these advantages, however, there are still many challenges that prevent free-space optical (FSO) communications from being widely adopted.

   Achieving gigabit per second data rates requires a photodiode of about 1 mm2 or smaller.

   However, a laser beam expands the farther it travels through space and can often be much larger than 1 mm2 at the receiving end. This limits the range the beam can travel, as the photodiode would detect a smaller fraction of the signal over longer distances. A larger portion of the beam can be captured by using a lens to focus the light on the photodiode, but the larger the aperture of the lens, the more precisely it must be pointing at the laser beam.

   A luminescent detector

   To address these challenges, we developed a new type of optical detector that has both a large active area and a large field of view without sacrificing speed, enabling a much simpler design. We achieve this by using plastic optical fibers doped with organic dye molecules that absorb light at one wavelength (blue) and reemit it into the fiber at a different wavelength (green).

   The speed of the detector is determined by this absorption and re-emission process. It takes just over a nanosecond on average, but the use of tailored modulation techniques (such as orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing) allows us to exploit the faster time-scales of the luminescence process to achieve high data rates. In particular, we demonstrate a detector with an active area of 126 cm2 and a data rate of more than 2 Gbps.

   We are currently developing prototypes to demonstrate the advantages of this approach and study its performance in real-world settings. Replacing expensive optics and precise motorized alignment systems with our luminescent detector paves the way for low-cost, rapidly deployable optical point-to-point links.

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9. August 10, 2016 at 7:50 am

   Tomi Engdahl says:

   Wi-Fi Interference Hits Spotlight
   Performance is “all over the place”
   http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1330277&

   In the process of defining tests to make sure a new LTE specification fairly shares unlicensed spectrum with Wi-Fi networks, engineers at Qualcomm uncovered some interesting data: Wi-Fi access points are all over the board when it comes to how they share spectrum with each other.

   “We tried three brands of the best quality access points and found the sharing of the link varies from 10 to 90% — even when using access points from the same vendor coexistence is all over the place.” said Mingxi Fan, a vice president of engineering in Qualcomm’s R&D group.

   Ideally, devices should negotiate a 50/50 split of access time to spectrum, Fan said. The problem is vendors have a wide variety of parameters for how they configure their systems to dynamically negotiate spectrum sharing. Thus sometimes one access point has spectrum 90% of the time, and in another scenario it has it just 10%, he said.

   In its tests, Qualcomm found request-to-send messages from two Wi-Fi access point sometimes collided so end devices could not hear and respond.

   The reports come amid a heated controversy over a coexistence test plan emerging at the Wi-Fi Alliance. All sides agree new LTE-U systems should not interfere with Wi-Fi access points any more that the Wi-Fi devices interfere with each other, but opposing sides debate exactly what the baseline for Wi-Fi interference should be.

   “No one has ever looked closely at how [access points] impact each other, but now everything under a microscope because of the LTE-U discussions,” said Fanny Mlinarsky, a wireless specialist with testing company Octoscope who has been involved in the LTE-U process at the WFA.

   The impact of the Wi-Fi detection threshold “is surprising to a lot of people…the industry needs to come to grips with what it is and how it’s used,” Mlinarsky said. “The first step is to understand how bad it is and we don’t know, we don’t have enough data yet…”

   The uneven interference patterns are a largely ignored fact of life, said one Qualcomm executive.

   “Most people in their day-to-day use know this, they experience it all the time — whether something needs to be done about it or not is not our focus,”

   Reply
10. August 10, 2016 at 10:13 am

    Tomi Engdahl says:

    IoT, Security & Automotive
    Preparing For 5G
    http://semiengineering.com/preparing-for-5g/

    The fifth generation of wireless communications technology is proceeding without established standards and a lack of global consensus on spectrum use.

    If you like 4G LTE, you’re going to love 5G.

    The next-generation wireless communications technology will offer faster data transmission speeds and lower latency, providing the processing power to drive augmented-reality and virtual-reality applications for mobile devices and dedicated headsets.

    There is a caveat, though. The world needs to develop a consensus on what the 5G spectrum will be and agree on international standards.

    Asian carriers in particular are hotly pursuing 5G tech ahead of the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, and the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.

    The FCC last month unanimously voted to set aside 10.85 GHz of spectrum above 24 GHz for 5G

    Large-scale commercial deployments of 5G are expected to begin in 2020. Reportsnreports.com estimates that more than $6 billion will be spent on 5G R&D and technology trials between 2015 and 2020.

    Reply
11. August 10, 2016 at 10:33 am

    Tomi Engdahl says:

    Cisco and NI Collaborate to Introduce Early Access Technology Platform for Time Sensitive Networking
    http://www.ni.com/newsroom/release/cisco-and-ni-collaborate-to-introduce-early-access-technology-platform-for-time-sensitive-networking/en/

    NI and partners aim to fundamentally change system design through network convergence of IT and operational technology

    AUSTIN, Texas – August 3, 2016 – NIWeek – NI (Nasdaq: NATI), the provider of platform-based systems that enable engineers and scientists to solve the world’s greatest engineering challenges, announced today an early access technology platform for Time Sensitive Networking (TSN) as part of its continued commitment to support the development of new standard technologies for synchronization and communications. In coordination with Cisco and Intel, NI is pleased to empower customers to build distributed systems that perform synchronized I/O, code execution and deterministic communication for distributed control and measurement loops, all using standard Ethernet. Engineers are using this platform to help vet the technology in ecosystem activities including the Industrial Internet Consortium TSN Testbed for smart manufacturing.

    TSN delivers mechanisms to create distributed, synchronized, hard real-time systems over standard Ethernet. These systems use the same infrastructure to provide real-time control and communicate all standard IT data, powering convergence of control, measurement, configuration, UI and file exchange infrastructure. This is expected to fundamentally change system design and maintenance by offering network convergence, secure control traffic and high performance.

    The early access technology platform includes new CompactRIO controllers featuring Intel Atom processors and the Intel i210 TSN-enabled NIC for a faster, lower energy and more cost-effective solution. These controllers use LabVIEW system design software to maintain synchronized time to the network and expose that time to code running on the real-time processor, as well as the code running on the FPGA.

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12. August 10, 2016 at 10:33 am

    Tomi Engdahl says:

    NI Announces World’s First Application Framework for Massive MIMO to Speed Innovation in 5G Prototyping
    http://www.ni.com/newsroom/release/ni-announces-worlds-first-application-framework-for-massive-mimo-to-speed-innovation-in-5g-prototyping/en/

    Reply
13. August 10, 2016 at 11:03 am

    Tomi Engdahl says:

    Building fast.com
    http://techblog.netflix.com/2016/08/building-fastcom.html

    On our company blog in May, we introduced fast.com, our new internet speed test. The idea behind fast.com is to provide a quick and simple way for any internet user to test their current internet speed, whether they are a Netflix member or not. Since fast.com was released, millions of internet users around the world have run the test.

    But first, some news – we are happy to announce a new FAST mobile app, available now for Android or Apple mobile devices. Get the free app from the Apple App Store or Google Play.

    When designing the user experience for the fast.com application, we had several important goals in mind:

    Provide accurate, consistent results that reflect users’ real-life internet use case
    Load and run as quickly as possible
    Provide simple results that are easy to understand
    Work on most devices from the browser without requiring installation of a separate application

    Variables that are under our control, and which can influence the results of the test, include things like:

    Server location
    Load on the server
    Number of TCP connections used
    Size and type of download content used
    Methodology used to aggregate measurements

    One major advantage we have is our Open Connect CDN, a globally-distributed network of servers (Open Connect Appliances or OCAs) that store and serve Netflix content to our members – representing as much as 35% of last-mile internet peak traffic in some regions.

    We also decided on the following high-level technical approaches:

    To open several connections for the test, varying the number depending on the network conditions
    To run the test on several of our wide network of Netflix production OCAs, but only on servers that have enough capacity to serve test traffic while simultaneously operating within acceptable parameters to deliver optimal video quality to members
    To measure long running sessions – eliminating connection setup and ramp up time and short term variability from the result
    To dynamically determine when to end the test so that the final results are quick, stable, and accurate
    To run the test using HTTPS, supporting IPv4 and IPv6

    Architecture

    As mentioned above, fast.com downloads test files from our distributed network of Open Connect Appliances (OCAs). Each OCA server provides an endpoint with a 25MB video file. The endpoint supports a range parameter that allows requests for between a 1 byte to a 25MB chunk of content.

    In order to steer a user to an OCA server, fast.com provides an endpoint that returns a list of several URLs for different OCAs that are best suited to run the test. To determine the list, the endpoint uses logic that is similar to the logic that is used to steer netflix.com video delivery

    Estimating network speed

    The test engine uses heuristics to:

    Strip off measurements that are collected during connection setup/ramp up
    Aggregate the rest of the collected measurements
    Decide how many parallel connections to use during the test
    Try to separate processing overhead from network time – because fast.com runs in the browser, it has limited visibility into timing of network events like DNS resolution time, processing of packets on the client side and latency to test server
    Make a decision about when the client has collected enough measurements to confidently present the final network speed estimate

    We exclude initial connection ramp up, but we do take into account any performance drops during the test.

    Number of connections

    Depending on network throughput, the fast.com client runs the test using a variable number of parallel connections. For low throughput networks, running more connections might result in each connection competing for very limited bandwidth, causing more timeouts and resulting in a longer and less accurate test.

    When the bandwidth is high enough, however, running more parallel connections helps to saturate the network link faster and reduce test time.

    One of the primary challenges for the fast.com client is determining when the estimated speed measurements are ready to be presented as a final estimate. Due to the various environments and conditions that the fast.com test can be run under, the test duration needs to be dynamic.

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14. August 10, 2016 at 11:03 am

    Tomi Engdahl says:

    EU Bid to Protect Telecom Companies From Chinese Rivals Flounders
    Issue is compounding the European industry’s troubles amid weak demand for its wireless products
    http://www.wsj.com/articles/eu-bid-to-protect-telecom-companies-from-chinese-rivals-floundering-1470388349

    A European Union plan to help shield the bloc’s telecommunications-equipment companies from a rush of Chinese rivals is floundering, according to EU and industry officials, compounding the European industry’s troubles amid weak demand for its mainstay wireless products.

    Reply
15. August 10, 2016 at 12:45 pm

    Tomi Engdahl says:

    Leveraging Network Building Blocks and Cisco Validated Designs for Industrial Ethernet Deployment
    https://event.webcasts.com/starthere.jsp?ei=1112640

    Ethernet deployment has been exploding on the plant floor with the arrival of Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). This has driven a major shift from Industrial Automation Control System (IACS) to industrial Ethernet Switch (IES) architectures. As a result of this shift, new challenges and topologies are emerging.

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16. August 11, 2016 at 9:30 am

    Tomi Engdahl says:

    Jillian D’Onfro / Business Insider:
    FCC filing shows Google plans to test wireless network on newly available spectrum in 24 US locations

    Google is expanding its tests on the way to blanketing the US in super-fast wireless internet
    http://nordic.businessinsider.com/google-fiber-new-fcc-filing-expanding-wireless-tests-2016-8?op=1?r=US&IR=T

    A new filing with the Federal Communications Commission reveals how seriously Google is focusing on its plans for a wireless version of Fiber, its high-speed internet service.

    The company has been testing a new wireless-transmission technology using the 3.5-GHz band in Kansas City

    Google is requesting authorization to operate between the 3.4 and 3.8 GHz band.

    But since it announced the acquisition of point-to-point wireless-internet company Webpass earlier this summer, the Fiber team has started turning more of its attention to a using a new approach that will pair existing fiber with its own wireless technology.

    fiber-optic cable directly to each home
    as so far proved to be expensive and slow-moving

    Reply
17. August 11, 2016 at 9:33 am

    Tomi Engdahl says:

    Jon Brodkin / Ars Technica:
    States can limit municipal broadband despite FCC ruling, three-judge panel of appeals court decides — Major loss for Tom Wheeler in attempt to boost broadband competition. — The Federal Communications Commission has lost in an attempt to preempt state laws that restrict the growth of municipal broadband networks.

    States win the right to limit municipal broadband, beating FCC in court
    Major loss for Tom Wheeler in attempt to boost broadband competition.
    http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2016/08/in-blow-to-muni-broadband-fcc-loses-bid-to-overturn-state-laws/

    The Federal Communications Commission has lost in an attempt to preempt state laws that restrict the growth of municipal broadband networks.

    The FCC in February 2015 voted to block laws in North Carolina and Tennessee that prevent municipal broadband providers from expanding outside their territories. The FCC, led by Chairman Tom Wheeler, claimed it could preempt the laws because Congress authorizes the commission to promote telecom competition by removing barriers to investment.

    But this was a risky legal argument, as the FCC has no specific authority to overturn state laws.

    “The FCC order essentially serves to re-allocate decision-making power between the states and their municipalities,” judges wrote. “This is shown by the fact that no federal statute or FCC regulation requires the municipalities to expand or otherwise to act in contravention of the preempted state statutory provisions.”

    The decision was essentially unanimous, with judges John Rogers, Joseph Hood, and Helene White all voting to reverse the FCC’s order.

    The FCC could ask for an en banc review in front of all the Sixth Circuit judges, or appeal to the Supreme Court.

    “The FCC’s mandate is to make sure that Americans have access to the best possible broadband,” Wheeler said in a statement today. “We will consider all our legal and policy options to remove barriers to broadband deployment wherever they exist so that all Americans can have access to 21st Century communications.”

    Reply
18. August 11, 2016 at 12:21 pm

    Tomi Engdahl says:

    Ernesto / TorrentFreak:
    Court affirms $25M judgment against Cox, holding the ISP responsible for copyright infringement by customers — Last December a Virginia federal jury ruled that Internet provider Cox Communications was responsible for the copyright infringements of its subscribers.

    Court Affirms $25m Piracy Verdict Against Cox, Rejects Spying Request
    https://torrentfreak.com/court-affirms-25m-piracy-verdict-against-cox-rejects-spying-request-160810/

    Cox Communications is liable for the copyright infringements committed by its users and must pay $25 million in damages to music licensing outfit BMG. A federal court in Virginia has denied Cox’s request for judgment as a matter of law or a new trial. On the upside, Cox will not be required to spy on its users using deep packet inspection.

    “In reaching this conclusion, the Court acknowledges that the application of traditional contributory infringement to large intermediaries like Cox magnifies the uncertainties in this area of the law and raises the specter of undesirable consequences that may follow.

    While the ISP will be disappointed with this outcome, it will be pleased to see that BMG’s request for a permanent injunction was also denied.

    The music licensing group requested a permanent injunction against Cox, requiring the Internet provider to expose the personal details of pirating subscribers, and monitor their actions to limit or prevent further infringements.

    The court rules that the requested injunction is too vague. BMG failed to explain what actions the ISP would have to take, and Judge O’Grady notes that “limit” and “prevent” are two entirely different things.

    Among other things, BMG suggested that the ISP could ‘spy’ on its subscribers by using deep packet inspection, but it failed to provide more specifics.

    “Perhaps, as BMG suggests, Cox could require a subscriber to remove BitTorrent from their computers in order to remain on the network. Aside from the obvious point that this does not appear in the injunction, there was minimal testimony about deep packet inspection or its viability as a court-ordered solution here,” O’Grady writes.

    Reply
19. August 11, 2016 at 12:56 pm

    Tomi Engdahl says:

    Rapid Prototyping Is Critical to the Realization of 5G
    http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1386&doc_id=281241&

    As the world’s researchers race to define 5G, it’s clear that an increase in the spectral efficiency of a 4G network is not enough to deliver the step function in data rates, latency, and capacity needed for high-level 5G use cases.

    So how do we begin to solve these complex challenges? The answer lies in prototypes and, more specifically, the kind of 5G prototypes that enable wireless researchers to test experimental ideas using real systems in real-world scenarios. When done right, these 5G prototypes can lay the foundation for rapidly increasing an organization’s time-to-market schedule.

    Blazing a New Path Through Research

    To expedite the time it takes to produce a working prototype, many researchers have adopted a platform-based design approach that embraces a unified design flow. It starts with math and simulation and then maps the algorithm in a system and working hardware.

    Fundamentally, enhanced data rates and increased capacity are constrained by spectrum according to Shannon’s theory on channel capacity. More spectrum yields higher data rates, which help service operators accommodate more users. As such, service operators around the world have paid billions of dollars for spectrum to service their customers, yet the currently available spectrum below 6 GHz is almost tapped out. Researchers are now investigating the possibility of deploying cellular networks above 6 GHz, specifically in the millimeter wave (mmWave) bands.

    The Future is Here

    5G promises many exciting new developments to ultimately improve our lives through enhanced connectivity and unlock tremendous economic value. But for us to reap these benefits, researchers need a faster path to prototype. Traditional approaches have grown too expensive and time-consuming, and the world is growing impatient.

    Reply
20. August 11, 2016 at 1:14 pm

    Tomi Engdahl says:

    Instant Messaging takes SMS business from operators

    The Finns are in SOME an average of 4.5 hours a week, says media agency Vizeum and Dentsu Aegis Network’s latest consumer research. Post new channels WhatsApp has increased exponentially throughout the People’s big favorite. At the same time, telecom operators have lost their traditional SMS business.

    Facebook Messenger instant messaging application has been the popularity of young adults, as well as a very active Facebook groups and sites. The newest favorite Facebook is live video.

    WhatsApp now use 42 percent of all 15-74-year-old (up 133 percent). Also, more than 65-year-olds by 17 per cent “Whatsapp”. It is also the reason why last year, according to statistics by FICORA traditional text messages lost popularity. Last year still sent to the Finnish Communications Regulatory Authority by mobile phone text messages or MMS messages around three billion pieces. Sending text messages began to decline in 2013.

    Source: http://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2016/08/11/pikaviestit-veivat-operaattoreilta-tekstiviestit/

    Reply
21. August 11, 2016 at 1:51 pm

    Tomi Engdahl says:

    Firewall price is growing steadily

    The company’s connection was to be able to still more broadband traffic. As a result, the firewall solution for price increases to 2-3 per cent, says a recent report by Gartner.

    Cloud services and the increasing use of the number of devices connected to the network growth. Although companies are very cost-aware, firewall and other security-are willing to invest.

    According to Gartner, the security will be invested this year to $ 81.6 billion. The sum is 7.9 per cent higher than the previous year.

    By 2020, investments will grow the most in security testing, IT outsourcing and DLP technology (Data Loss Prevention).

    Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4812:palomuurin-hinta-kasvaa-tasaisesti&catid=13&Itemid=101

    Reply
22. August 12, 2016 at 6:46 am

    Tomi Engdahl says:

    100 Gbps Schroff AdvancedTCA Backplane
    https://www.eeweb.com/news/100-gbps-schroff-advancedtca-backplane

    At the end of 2014, the IEEE association adopted the IEEE802.3bj specification for 100 Gbps Ethernet. Among other things, the specification details the requirements for a 100 Gbps transmission path in printed circuit boards. Since its adoption, PICMG has defined the 100 Gbps requirements for AdvancedTCA backplanes and blades. Pentair introduces its first 100 Gbps Schroff AdvancedTCA backplane, verified according to the design requirements of the IEEE802.3bj specifications for 100 Gbps Ethernet.

    The high data transmission rates of 100 Gbps presented new challenges for connectors, printed circuit board material and backplane design.

    The IEEE802.3bj specification defines two encoding techniques for 100 Gbps: 100GBASE-KR4 (NRZ=PAM2 encoding) and 100GBASE-KP4 (PAM4 encoding). For both encoding techniques, the limit values had to be defined for substantially higher frequency ranges compared to existing 40G rates. For the backplane, this means that all components, connectors, PCB track structures and the PCB material must be properly designed to accomodate higher frequencies.

    As a result, two connector manufacturers have independently developed new ‘ZD-compatible’ connector types for use at 100 Gbps.

    Reply
23. August 12, 2016 at 7:59 am

    Tomi Engdahl says:

    A new kind of switch to revolutionize the electronics

    A new kind of switch is able to combine with each other to work with electricity and electronics to work with light transmission.

    Usually the information is processed electronically and transmitted optically. The processing takes place in the semiconductor chips and optical fiber transmission. This accounting change habits requires a change in the optical signal into an electrical and vice versa. Conversion is a modern data processing and data transmission weakest link, because it is relatively slow and requires a lot of energy.

    Cambridge University researchers have developed a new release, the way to combine the electrical and lighting. The switch is based on the only state with an identified polaritoni- Bose-Einstein condensate. It mixes electrical and optical signals and use very little energy.

    The prototype device has demonstrated the invention to work, but it works only at cryogenic temperatures, ie close to absolute zero. Scientists are working to get the switch to operate at room temperature.

    Light matter switch in the future mass production is possible because the prototype is manufactured in mass production based on a scalable method.

    Sources:
    http://www.tivi.fi/Kaikki_uutiset/uudenlainen-kytkin-mullistaa-elektroniikan-samaan-aikaan-seka-valoa-etta-nestetta-6572726
    http://www.tekniikkatalous.fi/tekniikka/ict/nestemainen-kytkin-poistaa-elektroniikan-pullonkaulan-valoaine-on-melkoinen-keksinto-6572410?_ga=1.30598970.424548409.1402643309

    Reply
24. August 12, 2016 at 8:36 am

    Tomi Engdahl says:

    und and the University of Bristol RF research groups have recently distinguished themselves 5G data records

    Latest high spectral efficiency are recognized in their opening 145.6 bits per second per hertz. The teams received a design award for their achievement last week NIWeek event.

    On realized was the so-called National Instruments platform. massive MIMO system, which was used by as much as 128 to the transmitting antenna.

    In any case, the 20 MHz channel was supercharged bits of hard-efficiency. Thanks to its 20 MHz channel reached 3.5 gigabit per second data rate.

    Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4824:uusi-5g-dataennatys-palkittiin&catid=13&Itemid=101

    Reply
25. August 12, 2016 at 11:46 am

    Tomi Engdahl says:

    Nokia small cell base stations to Flow Festival

    Sonera and Nokia to test major public events network capacity challenges in Helsinki Flow Festival. Sonera’s 4G network Nokia to install new base stations of small cells that provide many times the capacity compared to earlier solutions.

    Large-scale public events, mobile challenges have traditionally been resolved portable base stations, which can increase network capacity up to a point. Now, to be tested in small-cell network technology closer to users.

    “Small cells technology is ideal for mass events, where the network capacity will be temporarily added, says Ari Kynäslahti, Nokia’s Networks Business Group Mobile radio networks Sales

    Source: http://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2016/08/12/nokian-piensolutukiasemia-flow-festivaalille/

    More:
    Nokia
    High Capacity Mobile Broadband for Mass Events
    http://resources.alcatel-lucent.com/asset/200114

    The popularity of smartphones creates huge capacity requirements
    for networks during mass events in stadiums housing up to 100,000
    people or across larger urban areas with up to a million or more
    participants. At such events, large numbers of people use their
    smartphones to share pictures and experiences and download
    information. This behavior creates traffic profiles that differ from
    those typically seen in the network, with higher uplink traffic and more
    frequent packet transmission.
    Planning for these events must consider the uplink capacity and
    control plane dimensioning. Network RF planning in large open areas
    creates further challenges in terms of inter-cell interference.
    These challenges and the Nokia Networks solutions are discussed in
    this white paper.

    Reply
26. August 15, 2016 at 4:23 pm

    Tomi Engdahl says:

    Google Unveils Their Experimental Plan For Wireless Broadband Service
    http://hackaday.com/2016/08/15/google-unveils-their-experimental-plan-for-wireless-broadband-service/

    Two years ago, the FCC, with interested parties in Microsoft, Google, and many startups, created the Citizens Band Radio Service (CBRS), a rule that would open up the 3550-3650 MHz band to anyone, or any company, to create their own wireless backbone between WiFi access points. It is the wireless solution to the last-mile problem, and last year the FCC enthusiastically endorsed the creation of the CBRS.

    In a recently released FCC filing, Google has announced their experimental protocol for testing the new CBRS. This isn’t fast Internet to a lamp pole on the corner of the street yet, but it lays the groundwork for how the CBRS will function, and how well it will perform.

    Google’s FCC filing is just for testing propagation and interference, and we have yet to hear anything about how a network built on 3.5 GHz spectrum will be laid out.

    Proposes Creation of New Citizens Broadband Radio Service in 3.5 GHz
    https://www.fcc.gov/document/proposes-creation-new-citizens-broadband-radio-service-35-ghz

    Reply
27. August 15, 2016 at 4:32 pm

    Tomi Engdahl says:

    Jack Nicas / Wall Street Journal:
    After initial rollouts prove costly, Google Fiber looks for alternatives to deliver connectivity: wireless, leasing fiber, and asking cities to build networks — After initial rollouts prove costly, Google Fiber rethinks how to deliver connections in metro areas — Google’s high-speed-internet business is slowing down.

    Google’s High-Speed Web Plans Hit Snags
    After initial rollouts prove costly, Google Fiber rethinks how to deliver connections in metro areas
    http://www.wsj.com/article_email/googles-high-speed-web-plans-hit-snags-1471193165-lMyQjAxMTA2NjEwNDUxNDQ0Wj

    Google parent Alphabet Inc. is rethinking its high-speed internet business after initial rollouts proved more expensive and time consuming than anticipated, a stark contrast to the fanfare that greeted its launch six years ago.

    Alphabet’s internet provider, Google Fiber, has spent hundreds of millions dollars digging up streets and laying fiber-optic cables in a handful of cities to offer web connections roughly 30 times faster than the U.S. average.

    Now the company is hoping to use wireless technology to connect homes, rather than cables, in about a dozen new metro areas, including Los Angeles, Chicago and Dallas, according to people familiar with the company’s plans. As a result Alphabet has suspended projects in San Jose, Calif., and Portland, Ore.

    Reply
28. August 16, 2016 at 8:35 am

    Tomi Engdahl says:

    Julia Fioretti / Reuters:
    EU considers extending rules governing telecoms to apps like Skype and WhatsApp, mandating weakened encryption, limiting the data apps can collect about users

    EU plans to extend some telecom rules to web-based providers
    http://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-telecoms-idUSKCN10Q154

    The European Union is planning to extend telecom rules covering security and confidentiality of communications to web services such as Microsoft’s Skype and Facebook’s WhatsApp which could restrict how they use encryption.

    The rules currently only apply to telecoms providers such as Vodafone and Orange.

    According to an internal European Commission document seen by Reuters, the EU executive wants to extend some of the rules to web companies offering calls and messages over the Internet.

    Telecoms companies have long complained that web groups such as Alphabet Inc’s Google, Microsoft and Facebook are more lightly regulated despite offering similar services and have called for the EU’s telecoms-specific rules to be repealed.

    They have also said that companies such as Google and Facebook can make money from the use of customer data.

    Under the existing “ePrivacy Directive”, telecoms operators have to protect users’ communications and ensure the security of their networks and may not keep customers’ location and traffic data.

    The EU rules also allow national governments to restrict the right to confidentiality for national security and law enforcement purposes.

    Many tech companies such as Facebook and Google already offer end-to-end encryption on their messaging and email services.

    Reply
29. August 16, 2016 at 8:46 am

    Tomi Engdahl says:

    EU to propose minimum spectrum license duration of 25 years
    http://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-telecoms-license-idUSKCN10Q1M4

    The European Commission is to propose that telecom spectrum licenses are granted for a minimum of 25 years to increase investment certainty for operators, under a reform of the bloc’s telecoms rules, according to an EU document seen by Reuters.

    The European Union executive will publish its proposal next month and expects it to be endorsed in 2018. However, as it will need to be approved by member states and the European Parliament before becoming law, it may yet be revised as EU states could resist the plan.

    Member states would also be able to jointly organize spectrum auctions to award multi-country or pan-EU licenses, although this would be voluntary.

    “Long-term license durations of at least 25 years proposed in this option will increase stability and certainty of investments as well as innovation requirements,” the document says.

    Telecoms operators see a coordinated EU policy as a way to put Europe at the forefront of the drive to roll out the next generation of mobile broadband, 5G, which will underpin innovative services such as driverless cars, remote healthcare and connecting billions of everyday objects to the Internet.

    Reply
30. August 16, 2016 at 1:03 pm

    Tomi Engdahl says:

    4G will accelerate to gigabit this year

    4G networks based on LTE technology, which is the evolution version of the LTE-Advanced is starting to be mainstream. However, the GSA organization (Global mobile Suppliers Association) strongly believes that the next generation technology to move as early as this year. And then we talk about a gigabit network connections.

    It is LTE-Advanced Pro technology, which has been finalized in 3GPP Release 13 specification Organisation. The first LTE-A-Pro connections allow operators nominated for an Australian Telstra, which already announces agreement in February to be committed to bringing gigabit connections tilaajlleen already this year.

    The world currently has a total of 521 4G mobile phone network in 170 countries.
    Most of the networks based on the frequency division technique, in which the connection to the base station and the terminal is carried out by parallel channels.

    Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4843:4g-kiihtyy-gigabittiin-tana-vuonna&catid=13&Itemid=101

    Reply
31. August 16, 2016 at 1:08 pm

    Tomi Engdahl says:

    China Launches World’s First Quantum Communications Satellite
    https://news.slashdot.org/story/16/08/16/0335214/china-launches-worlds-first-quantum-communications-satellite

    China’s quantum network could soon span two continents, thanks to a satellite launched earlier today. Launched at 1:40pm ET, the Quantum Science Satellite is designed to distribute quantum-encrypted keys between relay stations in China and Europe. When working as planned, the result could enable unprecedented levels of security between parties on different continents. China’s new satellite would put that same fiber-based quantum communication system to work over the air, utilizing high-speed coherent lasers to connect with base stations on two different continents.

    The satellite will be the first device of its kind if the quantum equipment works as planned. According to the Wall Street Journal, the project was first proposed to the European Space Agency in 2001 but was unable to gain funding.

    China’s new satellite would create the world’s largest quantum network
    http://www.theverge.com/2016/8/15/12489914/china-satellite-quantum-encryption-network-launch

    China’s quantum network could soon span two continents, thanks to a satellite launched earlier today. Launched at 1:40PM ET, the Quantum Science Satellite is designed to distribute quantum-encrypted keys between relay stations in China and Europe. When working as planned, the result could enable unprecedented levels of security between parties on different continents.

    The satellite works by the principles of quantum cryptography, similar to existing fiber-based quantum key distribution networks in Europe, China, and the US. By monitoring noise on the network, the system allows distant parties to obtain identical random strings of data without being intercepted by outside parties, providing the raw material for future encrypted communications. Properly applied, the systems resist nearly all conventional forms of decryption, and can be installed by adding specialized routing equipment to existing fiber optic cable.

    China’s new satellite would put that same system to work over the air, utilizing high-speed coherent lasers to connect with base stations on two different continents. The experimental satellite’s payload also includes controllers and emitters related to quantum entanglement. Still, deploying such a system from space remains experimental

    If successful, the satellite will be the first device of its kind, enabling the world’s first trans-continental quantum key distribution network.

    Reply
32. August 16, 2016 at 2:10 pm

    Tomi Engdahl says:

    The path to 5G is getting a little clearer
    http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/test-cafe/4442535/The-path-to-5G-is-getting-a-little-clearer?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_today_20160816&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_today_20160816&elqTrackId=428f6c1f4b3c4086ba8d41720e74f346&elq=d734a017446b40b28f668bba0c641a49&elqaid=33478&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=29259

    Frequent readers of Test Cafe know that I am cautious about the 5G rollout. At the same time, I’ve predicted a pretty major disruption in the test equipment market when it occurs. All candidate technologies are pretty radical compared to today’s cellular technologies, and the test equipment must change accordingly.

    Fortunately, I spent my second afternoon at NIWeek attending the 5G Summit, sponsored by the IEEE Communications Society. This gave me a chance not only to listen to the speakers and panelists, but to also engage with them during the breaks.

    I’m convinced. “5G” mmWave is coming.

    I put “5G’ in quotes above, because it appears that the very first mmWave systems will deliver fixed point internet access. They will be a substitute for “last mile” fiber, though their expected range is closer to 200 meters. If the first applications are not applicable to a mobile phone, can you really call it 5G? (Answer: Apparently so!)

    Reply
33. August 16, 2016 at 8:44 pm

    Tomi Engdahl says:

    Google Unveils Their Experimental Plan For Wireless Broadband Service
    http://hackaday.com/2016/08/15/google-unveils-their-experimental-plan-for-wireless-broadband-service/

    Two years ago, the FCC, with interested parties in Microsoft, Google, and many startups, created the Citizens Band Radio Service (CBRS), a rule that would open up the 3550-3650 MHz band to anyone, or any company, to create their own wireless backbone between WiFi access points. It is the wireless solution to the last-mile problem, and last year the FCC enthusiastically endorsed the creation of the CBRS.

    In a recently released FCC filing, Google has announced their experimental protocol for testing the new CBRS. This isn’t fast Internet to a lamp pole on the corner of the street yet, but it lays the groundwork for how the CBRS will function, and how well it will perform.

    Google will be testing the propagation and interference of transmissions in the 3.5 GHz band in places around the US. Most of the Bay Area will be covered in the tests, as well as Boulder, CO, Kansas City, Omaha, Raleigh, NC, Provo, UT, and Reston, VA. Tests will consist of a simple CW tone broadcast in the 3.5 GHz band.

    The 3.5 GHz band is already allocated to shipborne navigation and military radar systems, posing an obvious problem to any wireless broadband system using this spectrum. To this end, the FCC is proposing a novel solution to the problem of coexistence between the CBRS and the military.

    Google’s FCC filing is just for testing propagation and interference

    https://apps.fcc.gov/els/GetAtt.html?id=180386&x=

    Reply
34. August 17, 2016 at 8:02 am

    Tomi Engdahl says:

    Elisa tested the Nokia 5G connections in Finland

    Elisa tested the first operator in Finland to develop technologies to be implemented for the future 5G network. 5G network will provide, among other things, the current 4G network 100 times faster connections and a very low delay.

    Elisa 5G test the testers were playing a virtual reality game in a wireless network. The network consisted of 5G base station, the terminal and the network core (Nokia’s technology). Network speed was approximately 5 Gbit / s. Link frequency of 4.5 gigahertz (200 megahertz channel), ie this time was used did not go for exotic millimeter-range frequencies, which we have studied frequently. 64 QAM modulation was used. And achieved according to the measurements 2-6 milliseconds, delay or latency is already a very good class.
    The aim of standardizing 5G is one millisecond latency, but by the year 2020, it is sure to be designated to.

    “The test is an excellent example of the fact that the development of 5G networks is progressing rapidly and we are a pioneer in the technology among the first to 5G to use,”

    Numerous operators around the world have tested a variety of presets on 5G technology, but in Finland the race started yesterday Elisa testing, together with Nokia’s 5G in the operator’s head office in Pasila. Users will get 5G-rate only in 2020.

    - The schedule will be specified yet, but it is currently still seems that 5G will be introduced in 2020 and beyond. Prior to that, globally regarding frequencies are required for agreements and standardization, as well as research and field testing, says director of Elisa’s mobile networks Sami Komulainen.

    Sources:
    http://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2016/08/16/elisa-testasi-nokian-5g-yhteyksia/
    http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4857:elisa-lupaa-5g-yhteyksia-vasta-2020&catid=13&Itemid=101

    Reply
35. August 17, 2016 at 9:41 am

    Tomi Engdahl says:

    Two standards milestones accomplished and many other TIA activities in process
    http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/print/volume-24/issue-8/features/standards/two-standards-milestones-accomplished-and-many-other-tia-activities-in-process.html?cmpid=Enl_CIM_CablingNews_August152016&eid=289644432&bid=1497159

    Two high-profile standards were just completed at the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) TR-42 Engineering plenary meeting: Specifications for 100Ω Category 8 cabling (ANSI/TIA-568-C.2-1 Addendum 1) and the specification for Wideband Multimode Fiber (ANSI/TIA-492AAAE).

    Some of the standards that the TR-42 subcommittees develop and update are for cabling and component specifications to support new IEEE application requirements. One such example of this is the completion and approval for publication of the Category 8 standard. The original catalyst for this cabling specification was the development of the 40GBase-T standard in IEEE that required a twisted-pair specification with better electrical performance, over a larger frequency range, than Category 6A and the ISO component Category 7 and Category 7A specifications.

    Reply
36. August 17, 2016 at 9:43 am

    Tomi Engdahl says:

    CommScope brief recaps Category 8 twisted-pair cabling use cases
    http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/2016/08/commscope-cat8-brief.html?cmpid=Enl_CIM_CablingNews_August152016&eid=289644432&bid=1497159

    BASE-T applications using balanced twisted pair structured cabling have been very popular in the past starting with 10BASE-T (10 MB) up to 10GBASE-T (10 GB) data throughput for both data center and enterprise networks. The 25GBASE-T and 40GBASE-T standards increase the data throughput capacity to 25 GB and 40 GB respectively, using Category 8 balanced twisted pair cabling.

    Category 8 cabling quadruples the specified bandwidth of balanced twisted pair cabling from 500 MHz to 2000 MHz. This quadrupling of cabling bandwidth is utilized by the 40GBASE-T application to quadruple the previous maximum BASE-T data rate of 10 GB to a new maximum of 40 GB. The higher data rate was achieved while preserving backward compatibility, standardized RJ45 interfaces and cabling that is very similar to previous categories in size and installation practices. These higher data rates are supported over a maximum reach of 30 meters of cabling with two connections sufficient to serve a row of 20 cabinets or racks in equipment rooms or data centers.

    – RJ45 backward compatible cabling interface connector: Category 8 uses the same RJ45 interface connector that has been standardized since 1987. It is the predominant connector for both cabling interfaces and equipment interfaces. This also allows “plug and play” backward compatibility of lower category components with Category 8 components as needed.

    – Auto-negotiation: IEEE 40GBASE-T and 25GBASE-T applications that use the higher bandwidth of Category 8, including the standardized RJ45 interface, can auto-negotiate to lower speeds up to and including 1000BASE-T. This allows cost-effective incremental upgrades of switches and servers in data centers, instead of forklift upgrades of entire racks of equipment.

    – Mid-span and end-span switches with structured cabling: Category 8 enables high speed applications to use mid-span and end-span switch placements with structured cabling between the switches and servers.

    Paper:
    http://www.commscope.com/Docs/Cat8_Cabling_supporting_applications_beyond_10Gb-s_WP-110474-EN.pdf?utm_source=blog&utm_medium=socialmedia&utm_campaign=blogging

    Reply
37. August 17, 2016 at 10:47 am

    Tomi Engdahl says:

    In Finland DNA announced in the spring start selling it’s cable customers Internet connection that achieves the speed of gigabit – Fibre Optic Plus interface.
    An interesting information is, of course, always the subscription price: DNA gigabit connection currently costs 50 euros a month.

    Now Sonera is responding for DNA’s challenge Nokia’s Bell Labs-developed technology XG.Fast.
    In practice, Sonera intends to bring its corporate customers and consumers available to Gigabit connections to the old copper connections.

    Developed by Nokia XG.Fast technology is the data obtained from the test run of more than 10 gigabits per second.
    International Telecommunication Union ITU ratified G.Fast the name of the new DSL technology in December 2015. As early as the autumn of Alcatel-Lucent tested in conjunction with BT’s new XG-Fast connections, which was already brought up to Gigabit old copper lines.

    Obtaining the high-speed broadband along the old copper wire is by far the fastest and cheapest way to get to Gigabit Internet connections. The fiber connection is potentially much faster, but expensive.

    Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4852:sonera-vastaa-dna-n-haasteeseen-nokian-tekniikalla&catid=13&Itemid=101

    Reply
38. August 17, 2016 at 11:39 am

    Tomi Engdahl says:

    5G technology test – a hundred times faster traffic than 4G network, a delay of less than 1 ms

    Currently, all of Elisa’s network data traffic is 74 percent of the 4G network. More than one million Elisa’s 4.1 million mobile subscriptions is a 4G subscriptions. Finns are avid users of the data, Tefficientin study shows that the world only Vodafone India and Brazil, Vivo cared more data than Elisa.

    5G network enables future compared to the 4G network one hundred times higher bandwidth and lower delay. A delay of up to less than one millisecond squeeze 5G network is expected to allow, among other things, intelligent transport, the use of robots in everyday life and remote medical operations.

    5G network operators requires more processing capability for better, more frequencies and wider bandwidths. As more and more services work over the mobile network, network reliability, reliability and completeness can not be stressed too much.

    5G network, one of the first places in the display are South Korea’s Winter Olympic Games in 2018 and Japan in the Summer Olympics in 2020.

    Source: http://www.tivi.fi/Kaikki_uutiset/5g-teknologia-testissa-sata-kertaa-nopeampaa-liikennetta-kuin-4g-verkko-viive-alle-1-ms-6574255

    Reply
39. August 17, 2016 at 5:31 pm

    Tomi Engdahl says:

    Mark Haranas / CRN:
    Sources: Cisco Systems to lay off between 9K and 14K employees, which would be the single largest layoff in its 32-year history — Cisco Systems is laying off upward of 14,000 employees, representing nearly 20 percent of the networking giant’s global workforce, according to multiple sources close to the company.

    Sources: Massive Layoffs Coming At Cisco
    http://www.crn.com/news/networking/300081750/sources-massive-layoffs-coming-at-cisco.htm

    San Jose, Calif.-based Cisco is expected to announce the cuts within the next few weeks, as many early retirement package plans have already been offered to employees, said sources. Cisco is set to announce its fourth fiscal quarter results after the market closes tomorrow.

    The heavy cuts, which sources said will range between 9,000 and 14,000 employees worldwide, stem from Cisco’s transition from its hardware roots into a software-centric organization.

    “They need different skill sets for the software-defined future than they used to have,” said one source familiar with the situation, who declined to be identified. “In theory the addressable market could be higher and margins richer, but it will take some time to make this transition.”

    Reply
40. August 17, 2016 at 9:39 pm

    Tomi Engdahl says:

    Cisco:
    Cisco announces it will eliminate 5,500 jobs, or 7% of its workforce, beginning this quarter, and reports quarterly revenue of $12.6B, up 2% YoY — Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) today reported fourth quarter and fiscal year results for the period ended July 30, 2016.

    Cisco Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2016 Earnings
    http://investor.cisco.com/investor-relations/news-and-events/news/news-details/2016/Cisco-Reports-Fourth-Quarter-and-Fiscal-Year-2016-Earnings/default.aspx

    Today’s market requires Cisco and our customers to be decisive, move with greater speed and drive more innovation than we’ve seen in our history. Today, we announced a restructuring enabling us to optimize our cost base in lower growth areas of our portfolio and further invest in key priority areas such as security, IoT, collaboration, next generation data center and cloud. We expect to reinvest substantially all of the cost savings from these actions back into these businesses and will continue to aggressively invest to focus on our areas of future growth. The restructuring will eliminate up to 5,500 positions, representing approximately 7 percent of our global workforce, and we will take action under this plan beginning in the first quarter of fiscal 2017.

    Reply
41. August 17, 2016 at 9:44 pm

    Tomi Engdahl says:

    Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat:
    Intel debuts a silicon photonics module for data centers, which uses a hybrid laser to beam info at 100Gbps across 2km; Microsoft’s Azure is an early adopter — Intel is launching a new silicon photonics product that will make it a lot easier to hurl data around data centers at tremendous speeds.

    Intel debuts silicon photonics module for lightning-fast connectivity in data centers
    http://venturebeat.com/2016/08/17/intels-silicon-photonics-for-data-centers-can-send-data-at-100-gigabits-per-second-over-two-kilometer/

    Intel is launching a new silicon photonics product that will make it a lot easier to hurl data around data centers at tremendous speeds.

    The Intel PSM4 silicon photonics module can deliver 100 gigabits per second across two kilometers, making it easier to share data at high speeds across the “spine” of a data center. The technology is the result of years-long efforts to bring both electronics and optical components onto a single piece of silicon, which is lower cost and easier to make.

    “Electrons running over network cables won’t cut it,” Bryant said. “Intel has been working on silicon photonics over 16 years. We are the first to light up silicon.”

    Other ways of delivering data often require optical technology, which is harder to manufacture and costs more than silicon-based products

    Microsoft is an early adopter of the silicon photonics technology for use in its Azure data centers. Microsoft is also starting to test field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) from Intel’s Altera business in its data centers.

    Reply
42. August 18, 2016 at 7:12 am

    Tomi Engdahl says:

    Focus Shifting To Photonics
    http://semiengineering.com/focus-shifting-to-photonics/

    Using light to move data will save power and improve performance; laser built into process technology overcomes huge hurdle.

    Silicon photonics finally appears ready for prime time, after years of unfulfilled expectations and a vision that stretches back at least a couple decades.

    The biggest challenge has been the ability to build a light source directly into the silicon process, rather than trying to add one onto a chip after manufacturing. Intel today said it has achieved that milestone, setting the stage for building economies of scale into the process. That may take several more years, but it nonetheless represents an important step for this technology.

    The first implementations of this technology will be between systems within a data center, where silicon photonics already is in widespread use. This is a relatively price-insensitive but fast-growing market, supported by improvements in performance and energy that are amortized across thousands of servers. But with a laser built into the semiconductor manufacturing process, the economics of photonics will change significantly.

    “The play for photonics is immense bandwidth with the scale of silicon and silicon manufacturability,” she said. “Right now we can drive a 3X per bit power reduction. So you have higher-rate switches, and you get an improvement in power consumption. The core differentiator there is the laser integrated on silicon.”

    “For about the next five years, you’ll see it confined to high-performance systems,” McGregor said. “After that, it will be used in more places. As we start seeing massive servers and enterprise neural networks, with machine learning and artificial intelligence, that will require next-generation processors. We’re already starting to see some of those next-generation processors being developed. Silicon photonics is likely to be one of the enablers.”

    Seeing the light
    There are a number of advantages to using silicon photonics. For one thing, light pulsing through a waveguide on a chip generates much less heat than electrons moving through copper wire—particularly a very skinny copper wire where resistance, as well as the power necessary to drive those electrons, generate heat. Light is also faster that electrons, less prone to cybersecurity issues, and there are fewer physical effects. Photons do not interact the way electrons do, which allows them to be bunched together much more tightly and to cross paths without affecting signal integrity.

    “This is a new way to multiplex signals,” said Chris Cone, product marketing manager at Mentor Graphics. “But it also will require new architectures. Topologically, you need to connect everything with wave guides. You etch, grow, and then anneal to smooth the sidewalls to allow light to bounce through them. One thing that helps, though, is that it’s possible to cross waveguides. It will not short out like electrical signals because photons don’t interact the way electrons do.”

    Cone said there are a number of emerging markets where this kind of technology will be useful, such as in the biomedical field where light can be used to interact with potential pathogens in body fluids run through a chip. “And you don’t need to use the most advanced process to make this work. It could be done at 350nm rather than 14nm.”

    In the short-term, the real target is cloud farms. “As we disaggregate processing from the memory, you need a high-bandwidth connection between the memory and where data is processed,” said Gilles Lamant, distinguished engineer at Cadence. “In the past, we saw this with network appliances connected to fiber. Now, it’s being used for cloud farm environments.”

    Reply
43. August 18, 2016 at 9:32 am

    Tomi Engdahl says:

    Cisco axes up to 5,500 workers in scramble to remain relevant
    Official cull figure not quite the 14,000 rumored
    http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/08/17/cisco_layoffs/

    Cisco will lay off up to 5,500 staff, or seven per cent of its worldwide workforce, from this month – the start of its 2017 financial year.

    That’s someway off earlier rumors of 9,000 to 14,000 redundancies, which would be about a fifth of the networking Borg’s global headcount.

    For what it’s worth, Cisco usually trims its staffing numbers in July and August each year, cutting 6,000 people in August 2014 and 4,000 in August 2013, for example.

    In a statement today, while announcing its full-year financial figures, Cisco said it will plough money into security, the Internet of Things, cloud, and so on, after shedding thousands of jobs:

    Today, we announced a restructuring enabling us to optimize our cost base in lower growth areas of our portfolio and further invest in key priority areas such as security, IoT, collaboration, next generation data center and cloud.

    Reply
44. August 18, 2016 at 9:46 am

    Tomi Engdahl says:

    Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat:
    Intel debuts silicon photonics module for data centers, using a hybrid laser to beam info at 100Gbps across 2 kilometers; Microsoft’s Azure is an early adopter — Intel is launching a new silicon photonics product that will make it a lot easier to hurl data around data centers at tremendous speeds.

    Intel debuts silicon photonics module for lightning-fast connectivity in data centers
    http://venturebeat.com/2016/08/17/intels-silicon-photonics-for-data-centers-can-send-data-at-100-gigabits-per-second-over-two-kilometer/

    The Intel PSM4 silicon photonics module can deliver 100 gigabits per second across two kilometers, making it easier to share data at high speeds across the “spine” of a data center. The technology is the result of years-long efforts to bring both electronics and optical components onto a single piece of silicon, which is lower cost and easier to make.

    Reply
45. August 18, 2016 at 2:50 pm

    Tomi Engdahl says:

    Todd Bishop / GeekWire:
    T-Mobile launches $70 plan with unlimited high-speed data, $25 for HD video, available starting September 6 — T-Mobile will shift to a single wireless plan offering unlimited data — a surprise move that the company’s CEO, John Legere, says he doesn’t believe rivals Verizon and AT&T will be able to match.

    T-Mobile shifting entirely to unlimited data in new bid to shake up industry
    http://www.geekwire.com/2016/t-mobile-shifting-entirely-unlimited-data-new-bid-shake-wireless-industry/

    T-Mobile will shift to a single wireless plan offering unlimited data — a surprise move that the company’s CEO, John Legere, says he doesn’t believe rivals Verizon and AT&T will be able to match.

    Legere announced the new plan, “T-Mobile One,” in a video this morning. Under the new plan, the Bellevue, Wash.-based wireless company will charge $70/month for the first line, $50/month for the second, and $20/month for additional lines

    The plan includes unlimited talk, texting and 4G LTE smartphone data.

    “I declare that the era of the data plan is over,” says Legere in the video announcing the “Un-carrier 12” initiative. “We are completely destroying the whole concept of a data plan, it’s gone. We have one single offer that banishes data buckets forever.”

    Reply
46. August 19, 2016 at 7:12 am

    Tomi Engdahl says:

    Internet: Cable’s Up in a Down Quarter
    http://www.btreport.net/articles/2016/08/internet-cable-s-up-in-a-down-quarter.html?cmpid=enlmobile08182016&eid=289644432&bid=1501075

    The second quarter of 2016 was weak for high-speed Internet subscriber additions, with the fewest net adds in 15 years. Cable operators added about 550,000 Internet subs in the quarter, while telcos lost some 360,000.

    According to the Leichtman Research Group, the 14 largest cable and telephone providers in the United States – representing about 95% of the market – acquired about 190,000 net additional high-speed Internet subscribers in 2Q 2016. The top broadband providers now account for 91.9 million subscribers, with top cable companies having 57 million broadband subscribers and top phone companies having 34.9 million subscribers.

    “While telcos lost more broadband subscribers in 2Q 2016 than in any previous quarter, cable companies added over 550,000 subscribers in the traditionally weak second quarter,”

    Reply
47. August 19, 2016 at 7:13 am

    Tomi Engdahl says:

    Comcast Starts DOCSIS 3.1 Trial in Chicago
    http://www.btreport.net/articles/2016/08/comcast-starts-docsis-3-1-trial-in-chicago.html?cmpid=enlmobile08182016&eid=289644432&bid=1501075

    Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) has launched the Chicago area trial of gigabit Internet service based on DOCSIS 3.1. The price of the new service with no contract is $139.95 plus taxes and fees.

    Comcast currently offers its fiber-based symmetrical 2 Gbps Gigabit Pro service in the Chicago region

    Reply
48. August 19, 2016 at 10:12 am

    Tomi Engdahl says:

    Sonera promises gigabit along the telephone line

    Nokia unveiled yesterday Sonera’s head office developed at Bell Labs Research Unit XG-FAST technology, which provides up to 10 Gigabit fixed connections along the old copper lines. Sonera promising technology for commercial use in about four years, that is, around the same time with the 5G mobile networks.

    XG-FAST connection task is to act as link from fiber optic fiber to the user.

    XG-FAST is basically straightforward technique. 0.6 millimeter standard phone line formed by the width of 500 megahertz channel, wherein the bits move 10 gigabits per second to about 30 meters distance double pair cable. One cable end into two gigabits hundred meters.

    The figures show that the XG-FAST is an excellent candidate for covering the core network and the home last tens of meters. The signal quality is determined really just a distance, which increases the attenuation is increased.

    Parallel is a signal crosstalk can be handled with vectorisation (familiar from VDSL connections). In practice requires that one operator manages the entire XG-FAST connection after the center.

    The demonstration of XG-FAST calculation was carried out in routers FPGA. Uses three lines in which data is transferred over a 30 meter cable. The figures were impressive, as all links was reached 3.4-3.8 gigabit speed. Total cable passed the data of 10.9 Gbps.

    Sonera plans XG-FAST links to connect to come 5G-name cells in the core network, but yes, the operator permission to contact the households.

    Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4873:sonera-lupaa-gigabitin-puhelinlinjaa-pitkin&catid=13&Itemid=101

    Reply
49. August 19, 2016 at 10:14 am

    Tomi Engdahl says:

    5G brings smaller cells

    Sonera and Nokia demosivat yesterday 5G connections to the operator’s head office. Commercial use is still a long way to go, but many things are already clear. Frequencies needed and desired data rates mean that the size of the cells decreases the current LTE cells significantly.

    Nokia Ari Kynäslahden, the tests are carried out as early as last weekend, the Flow Festival show that the cell size decreases. – 5G is carried out first at higher frequencies, up to 30 gigahertz. In the cell radius is going to be up to one hundred meters.

    Kynäslahden of the hardest 5G technology is the development of latency, or delay, pressing objective in one millisecond. – It means that a large part of the radio network calculation must be brought to the base station.

    Sonera’s head office was created to 4.5 GHz 200 MHz wide channel with 64 QAM modulation and 8 x 8 MIMO antenna connection data was transferred at its best by nearly five gigabits per second.

    The demo is fine, but similar controlled conditions may not exercise the pitch. responsible for Sonera network architectures

    FCC took a few weeks ago a very active role in practice by releasing the 28 gigahertz range 5G technology use. It is not necessarily in the global 5G-frequency, because the area may not be released for mobile use in Europe and the International Telecommunications Union, ITU is not even proposed area of ​​5G introduction of WRC-radio meeting.

    - 24.5 and 32 gigahertz are possible 5G areas. 3.5 gigahertz could also act globally, but from there, it is difficult to remove the 200 MHz frequency bands for each operator, Nokia’s assesses Kynäslahti.

    Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4872:5g-tuo-pienemmat-solut&catid=13&Itemid=101

    Reply
50. August 19, 2016 at 11:32 am

    Tomi Engdahl says:

    US Air Force Wants To Plasma Bomb The Sky To Improve Radio Communication
    https://news.slashdot.org/story/16/08/19/0716234/us-air-force-wants-to-plasma-bomb-the-sky-to-improve-radio-communication

    [The U.S. Air Force has plans to improve radio communication over long distances by detonating plasma bombs in the upper atmosphere using a fleet of micro satellites. Itâ(TM)s not the first time weâ(TM)ve tried to improve radio communication by tinkering with the ionosphere. HAARP, the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program in Alaska, stimulates the ionosphere with radiation from ground-based antennas to produce radio-reflecting plasma.] Now the USAF wants to do this more efficiently, with tiny satellites — such as CubeSats — carrying large volumes of ionized gas directly into the ionosphere.

    US Air Force wants to plasma bomb the sky using tiny satellites
    https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg23130871-000-us-air-force-wants-to-plasma-bomb-the-sky-using-tiny-satellites/

    Three teams are competing in a US Air Force project to improve radio communication by directly seeding the ionosphere with plasma

    “It’s not the first time we’ve tried to improve radio signal by tinkering with the ionosphere“

    Reply