In the end of 2015 there were 3.2 billion people online. 67% of Americans now have broadband at home, compared to 70% in 2013, and 13% connect via smartphone only vs 8% in 2013; smartphone penetration in US at 68%. The share of Americans with broadband at home has plateaued, and more rely only on their smartphones for online access. We can see downtick in home high-speed adoption has taken place at the same time there has been an increase in “smartphone-only” adults – those who own a smartphone that they can use to access the internet, but do not have traditional broadband service at home. The American broadband market is notoriously oligopolistic with the majority of citizens offered limited choice, especially at the high-speed end, complete with high monthly fees.
Fixed Internet speeds increase – even without fiber to every house. We will start to see more 1Gbps Internet connections – and not all of them need fiber (2014 was the year of “fiber everywhere”). For example Comcast ‘rolls out’ ‘world’s first’ DOCSIS 3.1 modem, pumping 1Gbps over existing cable. It should, in theory, be quick and easy to get 1Gbps broadband to your home using DOCSIS 3.1, but I expect we will see only very few experimental roll-outs of the service in 2016. The beauty of DOCSIS 3.1 is that it is backwards compatible.
Mobile networks continue to lead the way when it comes to connecting people for the next generation of communications: Mobile subscriptions are now at 7.1 billion globally, and more than 95% of the world’s population are now within reach of a mobile network signal. Mobile cellular subscriptions have overtaken fixed phone subs, mobile broadband subscriptions and households with Internet access. This development most probably causes expectations that Network jobs are hot so salaries are expected to rise in 2016 as especially wireless network engineers, network admins, and network security pros are needed.
There are still some 350 million people globally who have no way of Internet access, mobile or otherwise, and there will be some race to get connections to at least some of those people. High stakes in broadband satellites race as building a satellite network and associated ground-based facilities and user terminals to provide Internet access to even the remotest and poorest parts of the world will be a huge technical, regulatory, and business challenge. Data versions of low Earth orbiting (LEO) satellite networks started appearing in the late 1990’s, followed with mobile telephony via LEO satellites, but never managed to deliver on the hype—partly because of technology constraints or poor business models. Over years there have been huge technology advances in satellites: they can now be made much smaller and lighter, so launch costs are significantly lower. Also component costs associated with the different terminals and handsets have plummeted. These factors have clearly helped the business proposition, but there are still challenges.
There will be new radio frequencies available for wireless communications thanks to WRC-15 Spectrum Decisions: In addition to confirming the use of the 700 MHz band (technically 694 to 790 MHz) for mobile broadband services in ITU Region 1, which includes Europe, Africa, the Middle east and Central Asia, delegates also agreed to harmonize 200 MHz of the C-band (3.4 to 3.6 GHz) to improve capacity in urban areas and used in small cells, and the L-band (1427-1518 MHz) to improve overall coverage and better capacity. So the mobile broadband sector now has, at least in the short to medium term, three globally harmonized bands. There was also decision for spectrum to be used for wireless avionics intra-communications (WAIC).
5G gets started. Just five years after the first 4G smartphone hit the market, the wireless industry is already preparing for 5G: cell phone carriers, smartphone chip makers and the major network equipment companies are working on developing 5G network technology for their customers. There are still many challenges as 5G infrastructure must be able to serve the billions of internet-connected objects of small appliances in addition to large consumers of information.700MHz harmonization is a key feature in operators’ plans to begin rolling out 5G services and C-band is also likely to be used for 5G. After 2016 to get the fastest promised 5G speeds very high frequency bands that will need to be deployed for 5G services, mainly above 24 GHz.
5G will not only be about a new air interface with faster speeds, but it will also address network congestion, energy efficiency, cost, reliability, and connection to billions of people and devices. Many believe that a critical success factor for 5G will be a fully revamped TCP/IP stack and a group of major vendors has put forward an open source TCP/IP stack OpenFastPath they say is designed to reinvigorate the ancient and rather crusty protocol. Cyber security research will be important important in 2016 as 5G networks will be critical infrastructure, on top of which for example. transport, industry, health and the new operators set up their business around 2020. Growing network virtualization functionality and programmability are both an opportunity and a threat to security. Keep in mind that everything connected to the Internet can, and will be hacked.
Heightened interest in the Internet of Things (IoT) and of Everything (IoE) will continue in 2016. IoT networks heat up in 2016 as low-power wide area networks for the Internet of Things have been attracting new entrants and investors at a heady pace with unannounced offerings still in the pipeline for 2016 trying to enable new IoT apps by undercutting costs and battery life for cellular and WiFi. There are many competing technologies in this field, and some will turn out to be winners and some losers. Remember that IoT is forecasted to be 50 billion connections by 2020, so there is lots of business opportunities for many IoT technologies.
2016 will be another booming year for Ethernet. Wi-Fi is obviously more convenient than wired Ethernet cables for average mobile user. But Ethernet still offers advantages — faster speeds, lower latency, and no wireless interference problems. Ethernet matters a lot with desktop PCs, laptops at desks, game consoles, TV-streaming boxes, and other devices – like when building backbone networks and data centers. Assuming it’s easy enough to plug the devices in with an Ethernet cable, you’ll get a more consistently solid connection. Yes, Ethernet is better.
The augmented global demand for data centers is the key driver for the growth in Global Ethernet Switch and Router Market 2016-2020.25G, 50G and 100G Ethernet is finding it’s place in in the Data Center. Experts predict that the largest cloud operators will shift to 100G Ethernet fabrics while cost-efficient 25G and 50G will remain the workhorses for most of the other well-known data-center companies.The increasing usage of advanced technologies, such as 10GbE ports, by enterprises and universities for educational and official purposes, is a significant factor in the enterprise and campus segment. The key players in this segment will be Arista Network, Brocade Communications, Cisco, Dell, HP, Huawei and Juniper Network. The 2015 Ethernet Roadmap shows a roadmap for physical links through 2020 and looks into the future terabit speeds as well.
I expect 2016 will be a year of widespread product adoption around 2.5 and 5 Gigabit Ethernet (GE) bandwidth over twisted-pair copper cabling (2.5GBASE-T and 5GBASE-T) as transition to next generation 802.11ac Wave 2 access points will drive significant demand for 2.5G ports. Enterprise operators are looking to fill the gap between 1G and 10G over this legacy unshielded twisted-pair copper cabling (Category 5e/Category 6) that is installed all over. IEEE 802.11ac is 3x faster and 6x more power efficient than its predecessor, 802.11n, while remaining interoperable with 802.11n. Rapid adoption of 802.11ac is run by fact that tablets and smartphones are becoming ubiquitous in the workplace.
Driven by IEEE standards, Ethernet hits the road in 2016: A new trend emerging in the automotive market in 2016 is the migration of Ethernet, a tried-and-true computer network technology, into connected cars. The proliferation of advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) features in many vehicles is also expected to expand Ethernet use. The completion of IEEE 100BASE-T1 and 1000BASE-T1 standards are both expected. The emergence of the 1000BASE-T1 standard in mid-2016 provides a roadmap for automotive Ethernet evolution. Ethernet, starting in 2016, will be seen as the dominant in-vehicle network backbone.
Prepare for the PAM4 phase shift. PAM4 (four-level pulse-amplitude modulation) will be coming to wider use in 2016 because we all the time need faster communications links between ICs inside devices. NRZ won’t work at 56 Gbps and it seems that PAM-4 is the way to go as PAM4 doubles the bit rate for a given baud rate over NRZ. At 56 Gbps, 400 Gbps Ethernet can be realized with four lanes of PAM4 but might require eight 28 Gbps lanes with NRZ. PAM-4 is also gaining traction in 28 Gbps links. The bad news is that PAM4 trades off bandwidth for SNR (signal-to-noise ratio) meaning it is more sensitive to noise and timing skew than NRZ. PAM4 does bring SNR (signal-to-noise ratio) to the forefront of design issues. With four voltage level and three eyes, PAM4 requires new design techniques for recovering embedded clocks and for identifying bits in symbols. PAM4 will be used mainly on copper links, but it can be also used with fiber optic links, which has it’s own set of challenges. These and other issues are forging new techniques for how to measure and simulate PAM4 signals.
Cloud Scale Networking term will be seen. The virtualization of networks, storage, and servers is reshaping the way organizations use IT. Cloud computing plays an essential role in this process as cloud delivers the additional capacity required to satisfy growing demand to an enterprise or small business from a third party. The amount of data volume carried by networks has exploded. Cisco estimated last year that by 2017, data centers will handle some 7.7 zetabytes of IP traffic, two thirds of which would be on account of cloud computing. Total global data centre traffic is projected to triple by the end of 2019 (from 3.4 to 10.4 Zettabytes). Legacy, tiered, network designs can be replaced with scalable flat network topologies. They can be future-proofed using open, scalable SDN and NFV platforms. The network is cloud computing’s final frontier, at technology, people and process levels. Service providers seek to reduce costs, create new business opportunities, and introduce new services more quickly.
The “software-ization” of Telco and increasing use of pen-Source Networking will continue in 2016. In 2015, the adoption of OpenStack, OpenDaylight, OpNFV for software and services, and Open Compute for hardware will supported more virtualized, more open source network computing platforms and architecture. The trend will continue. SDN provides control to the enterprises and carriers on the complete network through a single logical point, thereby simplifying the network design and operation. The traditional, one-vendor, proprietary solution is transitioning to solutions involving many suppliers – and this offers customers with significant cost savings and performance optimization. Growing network virtualization functionality and programmability are both an opportunity and a threat to security. Keep in mind that everything connected to the Internet can, and will be hacked.
After COP21 climate change summit reaches deal in Paris there will be also interest in thinking how clean our networking is. It is being reported that communications technologies are responsible for about 2-4% of all of carbon footprint generated by human activity. The needs for communications and faster speeds is increasing in this every day more and more connected world – penetration of smart devices there was a tremendous increase in the amount of mobile data traffic from 2010 to 2014. When IoT is forecasted to be 50 billion connections by 2020, with the current technologies this would increase power consumption considerably. The trend to look for greener technologies is tackling first mobile networks because of their high energy use. Base stations and switching centers could count for between 60% and 85% of the energy used by an entire communication system. More and more facilities, especially big names like Google, Amazon and Microsoft, have looked to renewable energy.
820 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
The year that cable changed forever?
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/print/volume-24/issue-12/departments/editorial/the-year-that-cable-changed-forever.html?cmpid=enl_CIM_CablingInstallationMaintenanceDataCenterNewsletter_2016-12-15
Twisted-pair cable has become a building system. I’m talking mostly about the cabling’s ability to deliver direct current power. Sure, it has been doing so for more than a decade. But 2016 has been the year in which this capability took on critical importance. With Type 3 and Type 4 powering soon to be finalized via the IEEE’s 802.3bt spec, combined with other standardized and some proprietary powering technologies, twisted-pair cabling can do a lot more for building owners and tenants.
The ability to send more and more wattage over twisted-pair cabling brought with it significant scrutiny over what happens to the cable, in the way of heat rise, under numerous conditions. Table 725.144 in the 2017 National Electrical Code has become the embodiment of this scrutiny.
Fiber-optic cabling had an interesting year too. Om5, wideband multimode fiber (WBMMF), achieved standardization in 2016. This technology can change the game, if users want it to.
even though the IEEE chose not to include a WBMMF/short-wave WDM option for 100G in the 802.3cd effort, we’re likely to see the market develop an end-to-end 100G system on duplex WBMMF
And singlemode
long-wavelength optical systems supported by singlemode fiber have been deployed more frequently in “enterprise-class” data centers
Tomi Engdahl says:
Politico:
Democratic FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler says he will resign on January 20, which will allow a new Republican majority to begin dismantling Obama-era regulations — Democratic FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said today he would resign, ending months of will-he or won’t-he speculation about his plans.
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler to resign
http://www.politico.com/story/2016/12/fcc-chairman-tom-wheeler-to-resign-232676
Democratic FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said Thursday he will leave the agency Jan. 20, ending months of will-he or won’t-he speculation about his plans.
“Sitting in this chair has been the greatest privilege of my professional career,” Wheeler said at a FCC meeting today. “When you put five Type A personalities together, lots of interesting things happen, including you will not always see eye to eye. The headlines got built around our differences, but the facts are that together we accomplished a lot.”
His departure means the FCC will start the Trump administration with a 2-1 Republican majority, allowing the GOP to immediately begin dismantling Obama-era regulations.
Tomi Engdahl says:
April Glaser / Recode:NEW
The departure of FCC chairman Tom Wheeler likely signals the end of net neutrality, as Donald Trump has publicly opposed the rules
FCC chairman Tom Wheeler’s departure is the death knell for net neutrality
The FCC will now have a Republican majority.
http://www.recode.net/2016/12/15/13971502/fcc-tom-wheeler-departure-net-neutrality-death-trump-layton
Tomi Engdahl says:
83% of U.S. Homes Have Internet
http://www.btreport.net/articles/2016/12/83-of-u-s-homes-have-internet.html?cmpid=enl_BTR_Weekly_2016-12-15
According to the Leichtman Research Group, 83% of U.S. households get an Internet service at home today, compared to 82% in 2010 and 69% in 2006. Broadband accounts for 97% of households with Internet service at home, and 81% of all households get a broadband Internet service, an increase from 74% in 2010 and 42% in 2006.
Those who do not get an Internet service at home tend to be older (36% of ages 65+ are not online at home) and lower income (40% with annual household incomes of less than $30,000 are not online at home). Yet, possibly the most common characteristic of those not online at home is that 60% do not use a laptop or desktop computer at home.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Akamai: Global Average Internet Speed Up 21% YoY
http://www.btreport.net/articles/2016/12/akamai-global-average-internet-speed-up-21-yoy.html?cmpid=enl_BTR_Weekly_2016-12-15
According to Akamai Technologies’ (NASDAQ:AKAM) “Third Quarter, 2016 State of the Internet Report,” global average Internet speeds increased 21% year over year during the quarter, and peak speeds increased 16% year over year.
The report includes data gathered from across the Akamai Intelligent Platform about connection speeds, broadband adoption metrics, notable Internet disruptions, IPv4 exhaustion and IPv6 implementation, and other relevant topics concerning the Internet and its usage, as well as trends seen in the data over time.
Global Average Connection Speeds and Global Broadband Adoption
Global average connection speed increased 2.3% to 6.3 Mbps in the third quarter, a 21% increase year over year.
South Korea had the highest average connection speed at 26.3 Mbps in the third quarter.
Global average peak connection speed increased 3.4% to 37.2 Mbps in the third quarter, rising 16% year over year.
Singapore had the highest average peak connection speed at 162 Mbps in the third quarter.
Global 10 Mbps broadband adoption rate rose 5.4% quarter over quarter, and 15 Mbps and 25 Mbps broadband adoption rates increased 6.5% and 5.3%, respectively.
IPv4 and IPv6
The number of unique IPv4 addresses connecting to the Akamai Intelligent Platform was just over 806 million, which is 0.7% more than the second quarter of 2016.
Belgium remained the clear global leader in IPv6 adoption with 39% of its connections to Akamai occurring over IPv6, up 3.3% from the previous quarter.
Cable and wireless/mobile providers continued to drive the largest volumes of IPv6 requests, with Comcast, AT&T and Verizon Wireless topping the list with 44%, 43% and 80% of their requests to Akamai being made over IPv6 in their regions, respectively.
Mobile
Average mobile connection speeds ranged from a high of 23.7 Mbps in the United Kingdom to a low of 2.2 Mbps in Venezuela.
Tomi Engdahl says:
DOCSIS 3.1 Gear Up 22% YoY
http://www.btreport.net/articles/2016/12/docsis-3-1-gear-up-22-yoy.html?cmpid=enl_BTR_Weekly_2016-12-15
According to the Dell’Oro Group, 3Q16 was a big quarter for DOCSIS 3.1, as cable operators built out their infrastructure and invested rapidly in pursuit of gigabit Internet speeds. The third quarter of 2016 was the third consecutive quarter of strong double-digit year-over-year growth for cable infrastructure equipment such as CMTSs. 2016 has been a good year for infrastructure investments, while 2017 is expected to be good for customer premises equipment (CPE) investments.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Durga Malladi Explains: What Is 5G and the Future of Mobile Broadband?
https://www.qualcomm.com/news/onq/2016/11/29/durga-malladi-explains-what-5g-and-future-mobile-broadband
The next generation of wireless broadband is going to forever change the way we communicate and connect. With the emergence of 5G, mobile bandwidth will expand, bringing to life a new era of immersive experiences and connectivity.
Take AR and VR, for example. The two will merge, and headsets will be able to support either, depending on what’s needed. Smartphones will become more powerful and engaging. Data speeds will increase dramatically, allowing us to stream 8K video with surround sound to create the ultimate on-the-go entertainment.
This level of technological progress won’t happen in an instant. Incremental development and careful planning will pave the way for us to take advantage of innovations that were years in the making. And Qualcomm is there as it has been with previous generations of wireless.
Tomi Engdahl says:
How has Qualcomm been preparing for 5G?
This is one of the things that excites me about working at Qualcomm. We knew this next big transformation was coming because we’ve seen — and done — this before. We’ve been connecting people around the globe for 30 years, working with the standards bodies and deploying next-gen networks with the rollout of 3G and 4G.
A few years back, as we started looking at use cases beyond licensed spectrum-based 4G cellular mobile broadband, we analyzed the requirements of spectrum sharing, aggregation of multiple radio technologies, IoE, direct communication between devices (D2D) leading to vehicular communication (V2X), low latency and reliable communication links, usage of small cells, self-organizing networks (SON), integrated backhaul and access relays, etc. This laid the groundwork for fundamental research in these areas, along with standardizing some of it in 4G domain.
Today, we’re creating 5G as a system that enables enhanced mobile broadband, mission critical and IoE services at a broad level. 5G will encompass all of these technologies (and unforeseen ones) in a forward compatible manner
Source: https://www.qualcomm.com/news/onq/2016/11/29/durga-malladi-explains-what-5g-and-future-mobile-broadband
Tomi Engdahl says:
NB-IoT is Dead. Long Live NB-IoT.
We’re at the point where IoT battery life is greater than the comms network life.
http://www.nickhunn.com/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2016/12/NB-IoT-is-Dead.pdf
As the old adage goes, “whilethe cat’s away, the mice will play”. In the case of NB-IOT, “when the
spec’s delayed, LPWAN will play”, which is exactly what’s happening in the Internet of Things
market today.
The problemis that 3GPP (the 3rdGeneration Partnership Project), the standards body which
has been responsible for the 3G, 4G and 5G mobile standards, dropped the ball as far as the Internet of Things is concerned.
Whether they believed the LPWAN story, or just hoped it would fill a hole is difficult to ascertain,
but no-one can deny that LPWAN is now firmly on the map , in the form of
Sigfox, LoRa, Ingenu and a raft of others.
To address that challenge to their hegemony, the GSM Association (GSMA) directed the
3GPP to assemble their own suit of imperial clothing which would be called the
Narrow Band Internet of Things, or NB-IoT.
This is the story of why NB-IOT was too late, why it will fail in the short term, why it will win in the
long term, and why the industry will struggle to make any money from it.
What happened is that the industry became fixated with the concept of revenue today, rather than
revenue tomorrow.
Developing a wireless standard is a slow business. Back in 2010 I tried to estimate
the time and cost involved and came to the conclusion that it costs around a billion dollars
and takes 8 – 10 years before the standard is robust and getting traction in the market.
That was for personal area networks like Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and ZigBee.
Cellular networks are more complex, so cost more and take longer.
In a recent Mobile Broadband Forum meeting, the GSMA and other operators kept on implying that IoT devices need data rates of tens or hundreds of kilobits per second.
That is definitely what network operators want to sell, but it’s not what IoT devices need.
Trying to make NB-IoT more complex than GPRS is not going to kickstart the IoT era.
Over time, the GPRS modules which are used in most current IoT devices have fallen in price
to around $7. However, as the desire for more bandwidth has grown, 3G and 4G chips have become much more complex.
As a result, 3G modules cost around $20 and 4G modules $35.
It would be nice to think that the specification group had realised that this first release was just a PR exercise and were working on harmonising the two conflicting proposals, but it seems they’re
ignoring that and looking at adding location features instead, presumably because LoRa is offering that, and they don’t want to be left behind again. In other words, bells and whistles are more important to them than making NB-IoT work.
Making it work appears to be left to market forces.
Vodafone is using Huawei’s NB-IoT, which is totally different for the Nokia NB-IoT which Sonera is using.
Sigfox is being aggressive in pricing, both for module s and data contracts. They recently
announced that modules will be available for just $3 in 2017 and already have data plans with charges as low as $1.50 per year.
LoRa is a more distributed community, with multiple vendors providing parts of the ecosystem.
However, LoRa has a significant difference from other LPWAN offerings, which
could be important. It is the fact that anyone can buy a gateway and set up their own network. A crowdfunded initiative – the Things Network, has designed modules and gateways and persuaded the electronics distributor Farnell / Element14 to sell them in the same way they sell Raspberry Pis.
The Things Network / Farnell initiative is relevant, as they will be selling LoRa gateways for €250. In
other words, for €250, anyone can become an Internet of Things network operator covering a radius of around 5km. The Things Network-a development community attempting to build a global LoRa network
Costs will probably be slightly higher than Sigfox, but this will appeal to an open source
community, with the innovation benefits that brings to an emerging technology.
SK telecom is down to $0.30 per month and Sigfox’s pricing will probably push that down to
below$2 a year in the near future. That’s a long way away from the $50-$200 that
operators get from their current M2M contracts.
At $2 a year, 20 billion devices will contribute around 4% of current global mobile subscription revenues. That is probably less than network operators currently make from their GPRS subscriptions
Tomi Engdahl says:
Aquantia is presented to the driver circuit by means of buildings existing Gigabit Ethernet networks can be upgraded to 2.5, 5 and 10 gigabit speeds. This can be done inexpensively, without the need to replace old cabling.
AQtion help control a typical CAT5 cable can be IEEE802.3bz a new standard to support the 2.5 and 5 Gigabit Ethernet speeds.
Cat6 cable for AQC107 controller is capable of 10 Gbps data rate, ie it complies with the requirements 802.3an standard.
The market for routers and even laptops already support usually multi-gigabit data rates, so “the other end of the pipe” is already in good shape. Aqauntia says AQC107- and AQC108 drivers now in sample delivery. The volume of integrated circuits will be available as during the January-March period.
Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5603:lisaa-vauhtia-vanhoilla-kaapeleilla&catid=13&Itemid=101
Tomi Engdahl says:
High Efficiency Wireless: 802.11ax
http://electronicdesign.com/white-paper/high-efficiency-wireless-80211ax?utm_source=ED&utm_campaign=NI&utm_medium=email&utm_term=semiconductor&utm_content=button
The upcoming IEEE 802.11ax High-Efficiency Wireless (HEW) standard promises to deliver four times greater data throughput per user. It relies on multiuser technologies to make better use of the available Wi-Fi channels and serve more devices in dense user environments.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Real-time analyzer captures pulsed and modulated signals
http://www.edn.com/electronics-products/electronic-product-reviews/other/4443144/Real-time-analyzer-captures-pulsed-and-modulated-signals?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_productsandtools_20161219&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_productsandtools_20161219&elqTrackId=3f35482ab68649dbbcfff090e531da1f&elq=0f267f912c8e4c56a9d53f6d5cb26031&elqaid=35223&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=30773
Like its USB-connected cousins, the Tektronix RSA7100A real-time spectrum analyzer operates with the help of a PC, but this one comes with its own dedicated PC, requiring higher-speed connections than the company’s USB models.
Targeted at military, spectrum surveillance, wireless transmitter, and other high-end applications, the RSA7100A has optional RAID storage for the host PC (monitor not included) that lets you record up to two hours of data in real time. The base model is available with 14 GHz bandwidth, with 26.5 GHz optional and has real-time capture bandwidth of 320 MHz (800 MHz optional). The 320 MHz capture bandwidth is sufficient for analyzing LTE-Advanced and IEEE 802.11ac signals
Tomi Engdahl says:
High-Speed Fiber Optics Connect Smart Factories
http://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1331041&
As M2M and IoT shape business and operations strategies, influence product design and compel companies to re-examine how suppler and customer data is collected and used, a question begs: How will companies pool together all their internal factory.
Machine-to-machine (M2M) connectivity and the Internet of Things (IoT) have risen to the forefront of many strategic technology conversations.
Companies are revamping product designs and component capabilities to allow for seamless, real-time communication flows between devices.
As M2M and IoT shape business and operations strategies, influence product design and compel companies to re-examine how suppler and customer data is collected and used, a question begs: How will companies pool together all their internal factory and supply chain data in a way that matches the speed, consistency and reliability of what IoT promises? The factory, after all, is the heartbeat that keeps many companies operating, and a data bottleneck there comes with a costly implication.
A New Use for High-Speed Fiber Optics: Connecting Smart Factories
http://www.ebnonline.com/author.asp?section_id=1061&doc_id=282239&%22target=%22_blank%22
Many in the industry in have started to realize that, and it’s resulting in a deeper conversation around industrial IoT, or IIoT.
To keep factories up to pace, some of the conversation is moving around the idea of wiring up manufacturing facilities with high-speed fiber optics.
And, the Industrial Internet Consortium is taking a lead on that. The group, led by GE and supported by Cisco, Accenture and Bayshore Networks, has created a new high-speed networking testbed. The new fiber optic technology is capable of reaching speeds of 100-gigabit per second–the equivalent of downloading 6,000 high-definition movies simultaneously, the GE press release noted.)
The 100 gigabit capability extends to the wireless edge, allowing the testbed leaders to provide more data and analytical results to mobile users through advanced communication techniques, according to the consortium’s website. GE is installing the networking lines at its Global Research Center; Cisco provided the infrastructure needed to give the network its national reach, Accenture and Bayshore Networks are demonstrating the application of the High-Speed Network Infrastructure for power generation, the group said
“A software research focus for GE has been to advance the real-time connections between large scale systems and to develop sophisticated control systems that increase the performance and efficiency of our products,” said Colin Parris, vice president of GE Software Research, in a statement. “These high-speed networking lines enable accelerated data movement and an increase in data volumes within Industrial Internet products and services. This ability will greatly accelerate needed advancements in these areas, and in collaboration with the Industrial Internet Consortium, help advance industry standards.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
EtherCAT P | The new one cable solution – One step closer to automation without control cabinets
https://www.beckhoff.com/english/ethercat/ethercat-p.htm
With EtherCAT P, Beckhoff combines communication and power in a single 4-wire standard Ethernet cable. With this ground-breaking solution, the direct supply of both the EtherCAT P slaves and the connected sensors and actuators with two voltages is possible. The voltages US (system and sensor supply) and UP (peripheral voltage for actuators) are electrically isolated from each other and can each supply a current of up to 3 A to the connected components.
With EtherCAT P technology, the currents are coupled directly into the wires of the 100 Mbit line, enabling the realisation of a highly cost-effective and compact connection. In order to rule out the possibility of incorrect connections to standard EtherCAT slaves and, thus possible defects, a new plug family has been specially developed for EtherCAT P. The plug family covers all applications from the 24 V I/O level up to drives with 400 V AC or 600 V DC and a current of up to 64 A.
Unlike the traditional Power over Ethernet (PoE), devices can also be cascaded using EtherCAT P and supplied with power from one power supply unit.
https://www.beckhoff.com/english/press/pr1915.htm
EtherCAT P highlights:
EtherCAT plus 2 x 24 V DC (UP, US) in one 4-wire Ethernet cable
daisy-chained power supply through EtherCAT P devices
reduced material and assembly costs
minimised installation space for drag chains, control cabinets and machine footprint
scalable connector family from 24 V to 600 V, 64 A
lower connection costs with outstanding EtherCAT performance
flexible EtherCAT network topology is retained
EtherCAT P: Ultra-fast communication and power in one cable
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPrBb6cIjtA
EtherCAT P integrates the EtherCAT Industrial Ethernet protocol and peripheral voltage into one cable. In addition, EtherCAT P enables the direct forwarding of a power supply via the devices.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Emily Jackson / Financial Post:
Canada’s telecom regulator CRTC declares internet an essential service, mandates 50Mbps down, 10Mbps up for all, creates $750M fund to subsidize rural rollout — With its declaration that high-speed Internet a basic service, Canada’s telecom regulator is shifting its regulatory focus from voice to broadband.
CRTC declares high-speed Internet a basic service, creates $750-million fund
http://business.financialpost.com/fp-tech-desk/crtc-declares-high-speed-internet-a-basic-service-creates-750-million-fund?__lsa=add6-f025
the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission declared that all residents are entitled to access voice and broadband Internet services on fixed and mobile wireless networks.
The CRTC will mandate Internet speeds of 50 megabits per second (Mbps) download and 10 Mbps upload
Tomi Engdahl says:
Rohde & Schwarz helped NB-IoT tests
China Mobile, and Rohde & Schwarz received in October the end of the first tests NB-IoT-acting base stations. Huawei has also tested the NB-IoT act on the German company’s testers. Also Nokia has tested NB-IoT.
Rohde & Schwarz offers test solutions (SMW200A, FSW, R & S VSE software) for base stations in order to create and analyze NB-IoT signals.
The first 3GPP standard, the NB-IoT based on the 4G technology. It meets the general requirements of cellular phone network that rely on IoT networks such as wide coverage, better indoor coverage, low power consumption, small equipment costs and support a large number of devices.
Source: http://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2016/12/23/rohde-schwarz-auttoi-nb-iot-testeissa/
Tomi Engdahl says:
The top 20 cabling news stories of 2016
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/2016/12/top20-cabling-stories.html
With 2016 almost in the books, here are CablingInstall.com’s top 20 most-viewed cabling news stories from the past year, listed for your perusal. Enjoy, and best wishes for a happy 2017!
Tomi Engdahl says:
Lyndal Rowlands / Inter Press Service:
Governments around the world shut down the internet more than 50 times in 2016 — Governments around the world shut down the internet more than 50 times in 2016 – suppressing elections, slowing economies and limiting free speech. — In the worst cases internet shutdowns have been associated …
More Than 50 Internet Shutdowns in 2016
http://www.ipsnews.net/2016/12/more-than-50-internet-shutdowns-in-2016/
UNITED NATIONS, Dec 30 2016 (IPS) – Governments around the world shut down the internet more than 50 times in 2016 – suppressing elections, slowing economies and limiting free speech.
In the worst cases internet shutdowns have been associated with human rights violations, Deji Olukotun, Senior Global Advocacy Manager at digital rights organisation Access Now told IPS.
“What we have found is that internet shutdowns go hand in hand with atrocities” said Olukotun.
“On the whole most governments want to expand internet access,”
“It’s important that the internet that people do get online to gives them access to the whole internet and it’s not just a walled garden,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Report: WLAN equipment sales up 8% to USD $1.4B in Q3
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/pt/2016/12/report-wlan-equipment-sales-up-8-to-usd-1-4b-in-q3.html?cmpid=enl_CIM_CIMDataCenterNewsletter_2017-01-03
However, for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), IHS researchers expect a lower growth rate in 2017 due to Brexit.
WLAN equipment sales totaled USD 1.4 billion globally in Q3 2016, up by over 8 percent year-on-year due to strong growth in access point shipments, which are up 21 percent year-on-year, according to a report by IHS.
A total of 6 million access points shipped in Q3, including over 500,000 802.11ac wave 2 units. Wave 2 accounted for 10 percent of all units in Q3, nearly double Q2’s rate. Despite strong adoption of 802.11ac and wave 2 products, average selling prices have not increased and are in fact down more than 10 percent year-over-year.
Demand for WLAN is strong, but monetising that demand has been a challenge for the last two years as organisations chose lower-cost approaches.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Legacy compatibility vs. improved performance
https://www.edn.com/5G/4458966/SFP-optical-modules–Legacy-compatibility-vs–thermal-management?utm_content=buffer85127&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
Communication and datacenter equipment manufacturers are looking to deploy 50 Gbps or 100 Gbps data links. These links, based on high-density connections with single or double 50 Gbps electrical channels, need I/O connections that go beyond the traditional small form-factor pluggable (SFP) port. Two new approaches have emerged that enhance SFP: micro quad SFP (microQSFP) and SFP-double density (SFP-DD