It’s always interesting (and dangerous) to lay out some predictions for the future of technology, so here are a few visions:
The exponential growth of broadband data is driving wireless (and wired) communications systems to more effectively use existing bandwidth. Mobile data traffic continues to grow, driven both by increased smartphone subscriptions and a continued increase in average data volume per subscription, fueled primarily by more viewing of video content. Ericsson forecasts mobile video traffic to grow by around 50% annually through 2022, to account for nearly 75% of all mobile data traffic. Social networking is the second biggest data traffic type. To make effective use of the wireless channel, system operators are moving toward massive-MIMO, multi-antenna systems that transmit multiple wide-bandwidth data streams—geometrically adding to system complexity and power consumption. Total mobile data traffic is expected to grow at 45% CAGR to 2020.
5G cellular technology is still in development, and is far from ready in 2017. As international groups set 2020 deadline to agree on frequencies and standards for the new equipment, anything before that is pre-standard. Expect to see many 5G announcements that might not be what 5G will actually be when standard is ready. The boldest statement is that Nokia & KT plan 2017 launch of world’s first mobile 5G network in South Korea in 2017: commercial trial system to operate in the 28GHz band. Wireless spectrum above 5 GHz will generate solutions for a massive increase in bandwidth and also for a latency of less than 1 ms.
CableLabs is working toward standardization of an AP Coordination protocol to improve In-Home WiFi as one access point (AP) for WiFi often is not enough to allow for reliable connection and ubiquitous speed to multiple devices throughout a large home. The hope is that something will be seen mid-2017. A mesh AP network is a self-healing, self-forming, self-optimizing network of mesh access points (MAPs).
There will be more and more Gigabit Internet connections in 2017. Gigabit Internet is Accelerating on All Fronts. Until recently, FTTH has been the dominant technology for gigabit. Some of the common options available now include fiber-to-the-home (FTTH), DOCSIS 3.0 and 3.1 over cable’s HFC plant, G.Fast over telco DSL networks, 5G cellular, and fiber-to-the-building coupled with point-to-point wireless. AT&T recently launched its AT&T Fiber gigabit service. Cable’s DOCSIS 3.0 and 3.1 are cheaper and less disruptive than FTTH in that they do not require a rip-and-replace of the existing outside plant. DOCSIS 3.1, which has just begun to be deployed at scale, is designed to deliver up to 10 Gbps downstream Internet speeds over existing HFC networks (most deployments to date have featured 1 Gbps speeds). G.Fast is just beginning to come online with a few deployments (typically 500 meters or less distance at MDU). 5G cellular technology is still in development, and standards for it do not yet exist. Another promising wireless technology for delivering gigabit speeds is point-to-point millimeter wave, which uses spectrum between 30 GHz and 300 GHz.
There are also some trials for 10 Gbit/s: For example Altice USA (Euronext:ATC) announced plans to build a fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) network capable of delivering broadband speeds of up to 10 Gbps across its U.S. footprint. The five-year deployment plan is scheduled to begin in 2017.
Interest to use TV white space increases in 2017 in USA. The major factors driving the growth of the market include providing low-cost broadband to remote and non-line-of-sight regions. Rural Internet access market is expected to grow at a significant rate between 2016 and 2022. According to MarketsandMarkets, the global TV white space market was valued at $1.2 million in 2015 and is expected to reach approximately $53.1 million by 2022, at a CAGR of 74.30% during the forecast period.
The rapid growth of the internet and cloud computing has resulted in bandwidth requirements for data center network. This is in turn expected to increase the demand for optical interconnects in the next-generation data center networks.
Open Ethernet networking platforms will make a noticeable impact in 2017. The availability of full featured, high performance and cost effective open switching platforms combined with open network operating systems such as Cumulus Networks, Microsoft SoNIC, and OpenSwitch will finally see significant volume uptake in 2017.
Network becomes more and more software controlled in 2017.NFV and SDN Will Mature as Automated Networks will become Production systems. Over the next five years, nearly 60 percent of hyperscale facilities are expected to deploy SDN and/or NFV solutions. IoT will force SDN adoption into Campus Networks.
SDN implementations are increasingly taking a platform approach with plug and play support for any VNF, topology, and analytics that are instrumented and automated. Some companies are discovering the security benefits of SDN – virtual segmentation and automation. The importance of specific SDN protocols (OpenFlow, OVSDB, NetConf, etc.) will diminish as many universes of SDN/NFV will solidify into standard models. More vendors are opening up their SDN platforms to third-party VNFs. In Linux based systems eBPF and XDP are delivering flexibility, scale, security, and performance for a broad set of functions beyond networking without bypassing the kernel.
For year 2016 it was predicted that gigabit ethernet sales start to decline as the needle moving away from 1 Gigabit Ethernet towards faster standards (2.5 or 5.0 or 10Gbps; Nbase-T is basically underclocked 10Gbase-T running at 2.5 or 5.0Gbps instead of 10Gbps). I have not yet seen the result from this prediction, but that does not stop from making new ones. So I expect that 10GbE sales will peak in 2017 and start a steady decline after 2017 as it is starts being pushed aside by 25, 50, and 100GbE in data center applications. 25Gbit/s Ethernet is available now from all of the major server vendors. 25 can start to become the new 10 as it offers 2.5x the throughput and only a modest price premium over 10Gbit/s.
100G and 400G Ethernet will still have some implementation challenges in 2017. Data-center customers are demanding a steep downward trajectory in the cost of 100G pluggable transceivers, but existing 100G module multi-source agreements (MSAs) such as PSM4 and CWDM4 have limited capacity for cost reduction due to the cost of the fiber (PSM4) and the large number of components (both PSM4 and CWDM4). It seems that dual-lambda PAM4 and existing 100G Ethernet (100GE) solutions such as PSM4 and CWDM4 will not be able to achieve the overall cost reductions demanded by data-center customers. At OFC 2016, AppliedMicro showcased the world’s first 100G PAM4 single-wavelength solution for 100G and 400G Ethernet. We might be able to see see 400GE in the second half of 2017 or the early part of 2018.
As the shift to the cloud is accelerating in 2017, the traffic routed through cloud-based data centers is expected to quadruple in the next four years according to the results of the sixth annual Global Cloud Index published by Cisco. Public cloud is growing faster than private cloud. An estimated 68 percent of cloud workloads will be deployed in public cloud data centers by 2020, up from 49 percent in 2015. According to Cisco, hyperscale data centers will account for 47 percent of global server fleet and support 53 percent of all data center traffic by 2020.
The modular data center market has experienced a high growth and adoption rate in the last few years, and is anticipated to experience more of this trend in years to come. Those data centers are typically built using standard 20 ft. container module or standard 40 ft. container module. Modular data center market is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 24.1% during period 2016 – 2025, to account for US$ 22.41 billion in 2025. Also in 2017 the first cracks will start to appear in Intel’s vaunted CPU dominance.
The future of network neutrality is unsure in 2017 as the Senate failed to reconfirm Democratic pro-net neutrality FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, portending new Trump era leadership and agenda Net neutrality faces extinction under Trump. Also one of Trump’s advisers on FCC, Mark Jamison, argued last month that the agency should only regulate radio spectrum licenses, scale back all other functions. When Chairman Tom Wheeler, the current head of the FCC, steps down, Republicans will hold a majority.
1,115 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
This Is the Year Donald Trump Kills Net Neutrality
https://www.wired.com/2017/01/year-donald-trump-kills-net-neutrality/
2015 was the year the Federal Communications Commission grew a spine. And 2017 could be the year that spine gets ripped out.
Over the past two years, the FCC has passed new regulations to protect net neutrality by banning so-called “slow lanes” on the internet, created new rules to protect internet subscriber privacy, and levied record fines against companies like AT&T and Comcast. But this more aggressive FCC has never sat well with Republican lawmakers.
Soon, these lawmakers may not only repeal the FCC’s recent decisions, but effectively neuter the agency as well.
Predicting exactly what sort of telecommunications policy the next administration will pursue is tricky.
The good news is that Comcast is required to honor net neutrality until 2018 under the terms of its merger with NBC Universal acquisition in 2011, and Charter is bound by a similar obligation until 2023 under the terms of its acquisition of Time-Warner Cable this year.
The End of the FCC?
Last October, one of Trump’s FCC transition team members, former Sprint regulatory policy manager Mark Jamison, wrote an essay arguing that the FCC should be stripped of almost its authority other than managing radio spectrum licenses.
Protecting net neutrality, internet privacy, and free speech will require similar push-back in the era of Donald Trump.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Wi-Fi Expands with .11ax at CES
http://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1331076&
A new revision of the standard focused on supporting greater client density should begin to roll out in 2017 – 802.11ax. At CES 2017, we expect to hear about silicon support for 802.11ax and maybe see a few access points supporting it.
Current state-of-the-art wireless routers are based on the 802.11ac Wave-2 standard with multi user (MU) MIMO and 4×4 antenna arrays.
802.11ax will address increasing congestion and will bring better bandwidth management. While the 802.11ax standard may not be ratified until as late as 2019, we do expect to see early silicon in 2017.
The new standard extends MU-MIMO to 8×8 antenna arrays for both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands.
Specifically, the addition of the Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) protocol brings scheduled resource allocation to Wi-Fi.
For the consumer market, the challenge will be communicating these density advantages as opposed to theoretical peak data speeds
Tomi Engdahl says:
Steve Dent / Engadget:
AT&T will conduct 5G technology trials by streaming DirecTV Now service over fixed wireless to some customers in Austin, Texas later this yearFind
AT&T to conduct 5G streaming tests with DirecTV Now
The goal is to see how millimeter wave tech handles heavy video traffic.
https://www.engadget.com/2017/01/04/atandt-to-conduct-5g-streaming-tests-with-directv-now/
In a simultaneous test of wireless broadband and net neutrality, AT&T will test its upcoming 5G tech with DirecTV Now video streaming. Trial customers in Austin, Texas will be able to stream the services on a variety of devices over fixed 5G connections at several sites. The goal, the carrier said in a press release, is to see how “wireless millimeter wave technology handles heavy video traffic.
AT&T has already done 5G tests in Austin with partners Intel and Ericsson
AT&T Details 5G Evolution
5G Evolution, AT&T Fiber, and Trials Advance Network Built for Video and Data
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/att-details-5g-evolution-300385196.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
Silicon Photonics Merging Ahead
http://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1331087&
Silicon photonics has made considerable progress in a relatively short time to emerge as an important systems technology whose time has come.
Just over a decade ago the likes of Intel and IBM were announcing performance records for the basic silicon photonics building blocks — modulators and detectors — used to make optical devices. Now, companies are shipping complex silicon photonics-based integrated circuits as part of their products.
For now, chip and optical component design are distinct cultures. But the semiconductor and photonics worlds are merging, and once they do change will be rapid. The chip industry will start driving silicon photonics.
The Telecom Infra Project is an example of the two industries merging. TIP is an industry initiative that includes Facebook and ten telecom operators. At its first summit last November the Voyager packet-optical platform was announced. The one rack-unit white box includes a Broadcom Tomahawk 3.2Tbits/s switch chip and two Acacia 400-gigabit coherent optical transceivers.
https://telecominfraproject.com/
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.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Watch out, Wi-Fi systems! Comcast is transforming its Xfinity gateway to a smart digital home platform
https://www.cnet.com/news/ces-2017-watch-out-wi-fi-systems-comcast-is-transforming-its-xfinity-gateway-to-a-smart-digital-home/
Comcast’s new cloud-based platform will bring ease of use, whole home Wi-Fi coverage and useful features to its broadband customers.
Today at CES 2017 Comcast is demoing an all-new cloud-based platform for digital home that’s slated to make life better for some 10 million customers that are currently using the broadband Xfinity gateways
On the surface, this is Comcast’s effort to transform the existing gateways into a smarter a Wi-Fi solution to address the rise in popularity of cool solutions like the Google Wifi, the Eero or the Starry. Deep down, however, this shows the company’s ambition to dominate the Wi-Fi system market. It has been working on a completely new and more capable gateway, called Advanced Gateway, that’s due out in a few months. Powered by Intel Puma 7 SoC this new gateway is a full home mesh Wi-Fi system that will eventually replace all existing Comcast gateways.
The end result is similar to having a Wi-Fi system, like Google Wifi or the Eero
Easy setup: Customers can use the mobile app to scan a QR code on the gateway device and finish the initial setup process, including the device activation process, within a few minutes.
Better connectivity: Comcast says its new Advanced Gateway, apart from being a powerful Wi-Fi router itself, will support compact, zero-configuration Wi-Fi extenders that users can place around the home to automatically increase Wi-Fi coverage when necessary. This resembles the new Covr Wi-Fi system that D-Link announced yesterday
More features: Users can manage their home network with lots of practical features, including parental control, monitoring, scheduling, internet pause and so on.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nokia boosted 4G high-speed in Las Vegas
Las Vegas CES consumer electronics trade fair has become an important place to monitor the network equipment manufacturers. Nokia demoed trade fairs connected with T-Mobile’s LTE network data rates, which have already reached close to one gigabit per second.
Currently, T-Mobile’s network in the United States offered its best 400-megabit data connections
256 QAM modulated signal technology and data sent on a radio channel 4×4 in two different frequency bands (bands 2 and 66).
4.5g Pro platform, the Nokia launched in early September.
Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5643:nokia-kiihdytti-4g-huippuvauhtiin-vegasissa&catid=13&Itemid=101
Tomi Engdahl says:
Wifi will accelerate to 10 gigabit
Wi-Fi chipsets have always been so, that the future standard for getting boards on the market long before the standard is completed. So it is now. New 802.11ax is nearing perhaps only in 2018, but Quanten already introduced new routers in last week’s CES show in Las Vegas.
802.11ax is a technique that combines a 4×4 MIMO-type link signal prior to more efficient modulation (1024-QAM). The result is theoretically more than 10 Gbps link, or about three times today’s fastest ac-type devices faster WLAN connection.
Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5646:wifi-kiihdyttaa-10-gigabittiin&catid=13&Itemid=101
Tomi Engdahl says:
Christopher Zara / Backchannel:
How the “safe harbor” provision of the 1996 Telecommunications Act allowed the modern internet to flourish, and why it’s under attack — How “safe harbor” turned into a protector of privilege. — For Airbnb, suing American cities had become something of a monthly ritual.
The Most Important Law in Tech Has a Problem
How “safe harbor” turned into a protector of privilege.
https://backchannel.com/the-most-important-law-in-tech-has-a-problem-64f5464128b6#.bx9uji34c
Tomi Engdahl says:
Happy 20th birthday to the RADIUS RFC
In January 1997, the Internet learned to count
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/01/10/happy_20th_birthday_radius/
January 2017 marks the twentieth year since the birth of an important Internet Request for Comment – a then-new way to account for customer’s use of their then dial-up services.
It’s been around for so long, El Reg would bet most people would need Google to tell them what RADIUS stands for – Remote Authentication Dial-in User Service, RFC 2058, here, and its accompanying RADIUS Accounting, RFC 2059, here.
At the time, something was desperately needed: the most popular authentication protocol then was PAP (Password Authentication Protocol), which transmitted credentials in the clear; or CHAP (Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol), which at least used MD5 hashes. The latter eventually evolved into EAP, the Extensible Authentication Protocol – and RADIUS’s authors realised from the start that interop with its predecessors would be a good idea.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Retiring IETF veteran warns: Stop adding so many damn protocols
Ross Callon provides departing KISS (keep it simple, stupid)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/11/08/retiring_ietf_veteran_warns_stop_adding_so_many_damn_protocols/
A retiring veteran of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) has left the organization with a departing piece of advice: stop creating so many protocols.
He took the opportunity of his retirement at the recent IETF meeting in Berlin to give a speech to attendees entitled “Keep it Simple. The Cost of (too many) Standards.”
His main point: the IETF is developing too many protocols that basically do the same thing. As a result, the open standards body is creating unnecessary complexity and confusion and could undermine its biggest goal: an interoperable internet.
“While diversity in approaches is inevitable and valuable, too many options damages interoperability,”
A good example is VPNs. You can encapsulate comms for a VPN in one or two ways: with or without connections. But from there the options keep growing.
Taken together there are between 20 and 40 different ways to do comms encapsulation – something that Callon notes are never all going to be added to one integrated circuit. “You run the risk that in some places in the world one gets implemented, and then somewhere else another gets implemented. You can end up with a loss of interoperability.”
Of course, the IETF has always dealt with multiple proposed protocols for the same task, although it could be argued that in the past the organization was a little better at boiling them down. For example there were five different proposals for chat protocols, but ultimately Jabber won out.
There has also been persistent tension between the IETF’s open protocols and the proprietary efforts pushed by particular companies. In the ongoing tug-of-war between corporate interests and interoperability goals, the industry approach has often won in recent years, perhaps putting pressure on the IETF to be more flexible on approving new protocols as a way of staying relevant.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Verizon is gonna axe its ‘unlimited’ data hogs
When is unlimited not unlimited? When you use 200GB a month
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/01/09/verizon_axing_200mb_unlimited_data_hogs/
Verizon is kicking heavy downloaders and streamers off their “unlimited” not-actually-unlimited mobile plans.
Subscribers who average more than 200GB of data downloaded per month have been told they have until February 16 to either move to a different plan or find a new carrier.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Future Optics: Optics and photonics move remotely piloted aircraft forward – an interview with Michael D. Perry
http://www.laserfocusworld.com/articles/print/volume-52/issue-12/columns/future-optics/future-optics-optics-and-photonics-move-remotely-piloted-aircraft-forward-an-interview-with-michael-d-perry.html?cmpid=enl_LFW_LFWeNewsletter_2017-01-05
MDP: The principal focus of GA-ASI is the development and production of remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) systems, along with electro-optical and infrared systems for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance. Our synthetic electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) capability is in greatest demand. The EO/IR system on our RPA goes far beyond GoPros—it is a sophisticated system with capabilities including multispectral imaging and laser designation. Hyperspectral and wide-field imaging, as well as lidar, also are growing interests.
OSA: What about non-imaging optics on UAVs?
MDP: One of interest right now is laser communications. The big advantage of laser systems is gigabit data rates, compared to tens of megabits with radio-frequency systems. The challenges are avoiding interference from the weather and keeping beams pointed to high accuracy to and from the aircraft, but those issues can be overcome. The technology is very sound and can easily get to 2 Gbit/s. The European Alphasat includes a laser communications terminal, and we’re working with the Alphasat partners to demonstrate a link between it and our RPA lasercom unit.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Wi-Fi Providing Precision Time Synchronization
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1331108&
At CES today the WiFi Alliance unveiled a new feature for the popular wireless networking standard: precision time synchronization. This feature, which the Alliance is calling Wi-Fi Certified TimeSync, is the ability to engage in sub-microsecond coordination of operations among multiple wireless devices. The “killer app” for this capability is expected to lie in the audio/video market, where it will allow multiple wireless audio/video devices, such as smart TVs and speaker systems, to remain in sync during media playback. But the technology holds promise for industrial, automotive, healthcare, and IoT applications, as well.
In its explanatory materials on Wi-Fi TimeSync, the Alliance points out several industrial examples of this new feature. Distributed process control, for instance, can use TimeSync to synchronize the operation of motion-control systems in a production line so that all controllers work from the same clock. Similarly, widely-separated sensor systems can provide data collected to the same time base, simplifying analysis and diagnostics.
Wi-Fi CERTIFIED TimeSync™ brings precise synchronization to Wi-Fi® devices
New Wi-Fi capability enables accurately timed audio, video, and data output across Wi-Fi networks
http://www.wi-fi.org/news-events/newsroom/wi-fi-certified-timesync-brings-precise-synchronization-to-wi-fi-devices
“Time synchronized Wi-Fi connectivity will help drive the audio/video technology market by enabling unrestricted mobility with high-quality performance.” Mobile devices have reinvigorated the wireless audio market, which is forecast to reach 267 million units in 2018. With an average of nearly eight connected devices per home, there is increasing demand for whole-home networked audio and video systems. Forthcoming Wi-Fi Alliance programs in 2017 will deliver an elevated experience in home networks to provide a high-performance foundation for scalable, whole-home networked audio solutions. Wi-Fi TimeSync will build on the latest Wi-Fi Alliance technologies, bringing enhanced capabilities to the Wi-Fi Alliance portfolio.
Tomi Engdahl says:
2G Sunset a Slow Burn
http://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1331112&
Subscribers around the world rely on 2G cellular, a still-vital technology for machine-to-machine (M2M) communications and network availability in rural parts of many countries–and that won’t change for some time.
In the U.S., all three major carriers have announced dates and plans to shut off 2G. But there are surprising differences in their strategies.
turning an unidentified amount of spectrum to the needs of 2G M2M connections. This, it stressed, “would allow older GSM devices to work alongside more advanced LTE devices on America’s most advanced network,” through at least 2020.
For new customers seeking longer network support, T-Mobile added it will support 2G via its newly approved Category 1 LTE modules.
While it realizes that the writing is on the wall for 2G, T-Mobile at least is trying to ensure customers can keep doing business on 2G while giving them plenty of time to come up with their migration strategy.
The carrier provided a detailed document and a thorough Q&A list for subscribers “to ensure their mobile communications needs are met throughout the process.” But it suggested that, “ultimately, customers are responsible for planning hardware upgrades ahead of network shutdowns.”
Carriers face two other issues as they retire 2G — the impacts on their rural customers, and on the myriad of smaller, local carriers in the U.S. who rely on the big three via complex roaming agreements.
Carriers around the world, of course, face similar challenges, and are, in some cases, responding surprisingly differently.
Singapore’s three operators, Singtel Mobile, M1 and StarHub Mobile all plan to close 2G down in April. Many of the carriers in Japan and South Korea have already switched off the majority their legacy 2G networks. Australian carriers Telstra and Optus 2G also shut down 2G at the end of 2016. They and other Australian carriers announced plans to migrate M2M customers to LTE-based networks as soon as possible.
However, European countries seem to be dragging their feet, and many even suggest that their 3G networks will be shut off before 2G. Indeed a recent study by the GSM Association predicts in 2020 15% of cellular connections, excluding M2M, will still be on 2G in Europe, compared to just 5% in the U.S.
According to an operator survey by the Association, over half of the European carriers said they planned to shutter 3G networks ahead of 2G.
Tomi Engdahl says:
How A Complete IP Solution Speeds Time-to-Market And Reduces Risk For 10 Gigabit Ethernet Applications
http://semiengineering.com/how-a-complete-ip-solution-speeds-time-to-market-and-reduces-risk-for-10-gigabit-ethernet-applications/
The merits of IP in the growing 10G Ethernet market.
This paper discusses the merits of IP for the growing 10G Ethernet market and introduces Synopsys’ complete DesignWare 10G Ethernet IP solution in the context of the technology and the target market.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Optical Fiber Amplifiers: Bismuth-doped fiber-optic amplifier operates in the 1700 nm window
http://www.laserfocusworld.com/articles/print/volume-52/issue-11/world-news/optical-fiber-amplifiers-bismuth-doped-fiber-optic-amplifier-operates-in-the-1700-nm-window.html?cmpid=enl_LFW_Newsletter_2017-01-11
Today’s fiber-optic communications networks typically operate in the 1550 nm spectral window and use erbium-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs) to extend communication distances or boost power for wavelength-division multiplexed (WDM) technology.
But to take advantage of new spectral windows for future communications bandwidth needs and amplify signals from hollow-core photonic bandgap fibers in the 1600–1750 nm spectral region not served by EDFA technology, scientists in the Fiber Optics Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Moscow, Russia) have developed a bismuth (Bi)-doped optical fiber amplifier pumped by commercially available 1550 nm laser diodes that operates from 1640 to 1770 nm.
Although thulium (Tm)-doped fiber amplifiers (TDFAs) can operate in the 1700 nm (and up to 1900 nm) window, low efficiency and intense amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) must be suppressed through a variety of special co-doping and home-built ASE filter technologies, making it difficult to use TDFAs for the 1700 nm window.
Alternatively, Bi-doped germanosilicate fibers provide amplification in the 1700 nm band
The Bi-doped fiber amplifier (BDFA) has 125-μm cladding, 2-μm-core-diameter Bi-doped fibers of varying dopant concentration, and is core-pumped bidirectionally by two 150 mW, 1550 nm laser diodes
Based on measurements of various BDFA performance parameters, a Bi concentration of 0.015–0.02 weight % was the optimal value for maximum optical gain. The optical amplifier with a 50 m Bi-doped fiber provided a maximum gain of 23 dB at 1710 nm with a 3 dB bandwidth of 40 nm, a gain efficiency of 0.1 dB/mW, and a minimum noise figure of approximately 7 dB. The 3 dB gain bandwidth and efficiency of BDFA were better when compared to the TDFA.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Optical fibers made solely of water can sense minute forces
http://www.laserfocusworld.com/articles/print/volume-52/issue-11/newsbreaks/optical-fibers-made-solely-of-water-can-sense-minute-forces.html?cmpid=enl_LFW_Newsletter_2017-01-11
Researchers at Technion Israel Institute of Technology (Haifa, Israel) have created something unusual in the field of photonics—an optical fiber that is entirely liquid. The water-based fiber, which can be longer than a millimeter while having a diameter of only around 5 μm, could be useful in sensing minute forces. In particular, the researchers say that, in comparison to microelectromechanical-systems (MEMS) sensing devices, the microelectrocapillary-systems (MECS) fiber is a million times softer, greatly improving its sensitivity.
The creation and sustaining of such an optical fiber is based on a phenomenon that has been known for more than a century, but has never before been used for guiding light.
Applying a 3 kV voltage across the two couplers causes the water fiber to form. In one example, input light at a 770 nm wavelength is transmitted at a 54% efficiency through a 0.83-mm-long water fiber.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Seth Weintraub / 9to5Google:
Alphabet’s Titan high-altitude drone program has been shut down after being rolled into X in late 2015; 50+ employees disperse to other units
Alphabet cuts former Titan drone program from X division, employees dispersing to other units
https://9to5google.com/2017/01/11/alphabet-titan-cut/
In 2014, Google bought Titan Aerospace, maker of high altitude, solar-powered drone aircraft. At the time Google noted, “It’s still early days, but atmospheric satellites could help bring internet access to millions of people, and help solve other problems, including disaster relief and environmental damage like deforestation.”
The Titan division was absorbed into X in late 2015 from the Access and Energy division during the Alphabet re-shuffle.
In mid-2015 Titan team experienced a crash in the Arizona desert which was in 2016 revealed to be a wing fault. Later last year, under the moniker ‘Skybender’ reports surfaced from Spaceport America in New Mexico that Google planned to use 5G technology to provide wide area internet, but the team there seemed to be experiencing significant problems.
We’ve now heard and Alphabet has confirmed, that the Titan group was shut down and engineers were told to look for other jobs within Alphabet/Google in the coming months.
As far as “Internet from the sky”, Google also heavily invested in SpaceX in 2015
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Challenges Of Designing 28G And 56G SerDes IP
Identifying the most important aspects of SerDes IP design.
http://semiengineering.com/the-challenges-of-designing-28g-and-56g-serdes-ip/
The industry move to 56 Gbps PAM4 is undoubtedly one of the greatest challenges currently facing SerDes IP designers and their customers. To begin with, shifting to 56 Gbps PAM4 immediately causes a loss of 9 dB. While the baud rate is 28 Gbaud, there are now three eyes stacked on top of each other. Nevertheless, there is still demand for 35+ dB reach. This is a significant challenge which requires adopting an ADC based architecture for next-generation SerDes IP.
Of course, even 28 Gbps NRZ signaling poses significant challenges for customers integrating SerDes IP. Firstly, the PCB material requires an upgrade. Secondly, careful analysis needs to be performed on the package and PCB to ensure there is adequate isolation to minimize crosstalk.
This is precisely why it is critical for IP vendors to offer IBIS AMI simulation models, which allows customers to understand the results of their specific package and board design choices. The s-parameter models are typically made available by cable and connector vendors. The s-parameters for the package and PCB can be extracted or measured with a VNA. In addition to IBIS AMI simulation models, piecewise linear current models (PWL) are needed for simulation of the analog power rails.
Beyond simulations, SerDes IP should provide highly programmable circuits and contain debug interfaces to easily gather important analog and digital information, i.e., an ATEST pin that allows measuring various analog voltages and currents
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Diverse Paths toward Network Deployment Cost Reduction
http://www.btreport.net/whitepapers/2016/11/the-diverse-paths-toward-network-deployment-cost-reduction.html?cmpid=enl_btr_weekly_2017-01-12
Many cable operators find themselves in the midst of significant network overhauls. All of these network projects have two things in common: 1) They’re expensive and 2) operators therefore would like to decrease that expense.
some system and architecture options promise capex declines. Meanwhile, advances in test and measurement and deployment planning tools
Tomi Engdahl says:
Verizon Demonstrates NG-PON2 OLT Interoperability
http://www.btreport.net/articles/2017/01/verizon-demonstrates-ng-pon2-olt-interoperability.html?cmpid=enl_btr_weekly_2017-01-12
Verizon, which is currently deciding whether to buy NG-PON2 optical line terminal (OLT) equipment from ADTRAN, an Ericsson/Calix team or both (see “Verizon narrows NG-PON2 vendor list ahead of 2017 deployments”), says it has successfully demonstrated that it can get equipment from the two competitors, as well as customer premises equipment in reference design form, to interoperate.
Verizon, in evaluating the technology ADTRAN and Ericsson/Calix have supplied, wants to be sure that it can deploy whichever OLT it wants, wherever it wants, including mixing OLTs from different suppliers in the same market if necessary.
Deployment plans are thought to focus initially on business services support. However, NG-PON2 also can support residential services.
Verizon narrows NG-PON2 vendor list ahead of 2017 deployments
http://www.btreport.net/articles/2016/07/verizon-narrows-ng-pon2-vendor-list-ahead-of-2017-deployments.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
PPC Broadband, Corning Optical Communications RF to Collaborate on Broadband Connectivity
http://www.btreport.net/articles/2017/01/ppc-broadband-corning-optical-communications-rf-to-collaborate-on-broadband-connectivity.html?cmpid=enl_btr_weekly_2017-01-12
PPC Broadband Inc., a Belden brand (NYSE:BDC), and Corning Optical Communications RF LLC, a subsidiary of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW), have decided to put aside their previous patent disputes and collaborate on broadband connectivity. The collaboration includes work in coaxial cable connectors, the focus of the litigation.
“This technical collaboration recognizes the value of intellectual property covering our innovative connectivity technology and expands our commitment to the industry as our customers build advanced networks to meet the future needs of broadband,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Telecom operators are prepared to 5G-business
Telecom operators are seeking network manufacturer Ericsson survey, 5G technology contribute to the growth of IoT through and new cooperation models. Responded to the survey of 50 decision-makers from 29 to 5G networks are preparing for the company around the world.
Although traditionally cell phone consumer has been the subject of mobile operators’ attention, the vast majority of respondents said that 5G’s commercialization need to be developed for corporate services and revenue models. At that operators need new partnerships.
Source: http://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2017/01/13/teleoperaattorit-varautuvat-5g-bisneksiin/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Thousands Of Cubans Now Have Internet Access
https://tech.slashdot.org/story/17/01/15/0015221/thousands-of-cubans-now-have-internet-access?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Slashdot%2Fslashdot%2Fto+%28%28Title%29Slashdot+%28rdf%29%29
Since the summer of 2015, the Cuban government has opened 240 public Wi-Fi spots in parks and on street corners across the country… The government estimates that 100,000 Cubans connect to the internet daily.
Cuba sees explosion in internet access as ties with US grow
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/a1f6c14607304b398d82a47464dd43d1/cuba-sees-explosion-internet-access-ties-us-grow
Tomi Engdahl says:
QAM Is Rising: 1024QAM And Beyond
http://mwrf.com/systems/qam-rising-1024qam-and-beyond?code=UM_Classics01117&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=9275&utm_medium=email&elq2=0bb93884f1c44979aab5bb1a62e736fd
As demands for more voice, data, and video services rise, wireless communications networks must be configured to handle more complex levels of modulation.
Microwave backhaul systems now call for modulation levels to 1024-state quadrature amplitude modulation (1024QAM) and beyond. Such complex modulation schemes impose increased challenges at the system levels, both for transmitters and receivers. Due to the increased number of symbols, the systems require higher signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) along with better linearity.
Cellular technologies and applications have grown steadily from the basic analog systems of First-Generation (1G) cellular standards to the high-speed and highly efficient 4G Third-Generation-Partnership-Program (3GPP) and LTE digital cellular standards. Many cellular markets are already eying the use of Fifth-Generation (5G) cellular systems and technologies.
Microwave backhaul links commonly use quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) digital modulation.1 QAM is a highly developed digital modulation scheme where both the amplitude and phase of a high-frequency signal are modulated.
Quite simply, higher QAM levels deliver higher capacity.
As the number of amplitude levels is increased, the signals with larger modulation levels are more susceptible to noise. Thus, a system with higher SNR or better noise floor is desired and an oscillator with superior phase noise is required to achieve low system noise levels and minimum signal degradation.
These higher modulation rates grow in importance as wireless communications users increase their use of wireless services for voice, data, and video. To keep pace, wireless systems must use higher QAM levels in base-station backhaul networks operating at microwave frequencies. Higher modulation levels impose increased system challenges, since they are more susceptible to the effects of noise.
Tomi Engdahl says:
What’s the Difference Between Broadband and Narrowband RF Communications?
http://mwrf.com/systems/what-s-difference-between-broadband-and-narrowband-rf-communications?code=UM_Classics01117&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=9275&utm_medium=email&elq2=0bb93884f1c44979aab5bb1a62e736fd
The debate between broadband and narrowband communication techniques is leaving many engineers and radio-deployment specialists debating the benefits of enhanced data rates and long-range reliable communication links.
Although the wired-internet communications industry is currently at the center of the broadband-versus-narrowband debate, similar discussions are happening in the RF communications industry. Increased data rates—the obvious benefit of broadband communications—are enticing investments in broadband technologies. For the wired-internet communication industry, the chief challenges being faced are laying broadband-capable data pipes and switching networks.
Outside of that industry, however, there are many more physical factors that limit the implementation of broadband systems. These issues are prompting the debate over narrowband or broadband solutions.
These tradeoffs comprise the critical differences between broadband and narrowband RF communications. For most applications requiring long-range, low-power, and reliable communications, narrowband tends to be the dominant choice. If high data rates are necessary, techniques like cellularization, coding gain, and others are used to mitigate the decreased range and resistance to interference. But this is done at the cost of power.
According to Bruce Collins, product manager for Cambium Networks, “In narrowband solutions (channels below 500 kHz), the smaller channel bandwidths have lower thermal noise. So in order to achieve a similar signal-to-noise ratio, a lower receive level is needed. Thus, a lower transmit power is required. This lower transmit power leads to reduced power consumption, enabling solar-powered solutions and/or extremely long battery life.
“Additionally, the lower frequency bands used by narrowband systems (sub-1-GHz) propagate much further, due to physics,” he continues. “Again, this reduces power requirements for the same distance or increases the range for the same power consumption.”
Many applications—such as military radios, smart metering, oil/gas monitoring, and public safety—have historically used narrowband communications for their increased range and reliability. With the growing demand for advanced surveillance and more data-heavy applications like video streaming, however, public-safety and other industries are looking into the benefits of broadband technologies.
IoT/IoE applications are unique in that they call for millions of interactions for low-power sensors, which will be distributed throughout the environment. Those sensors will need to be developed alongside data-hungry machines with extremely fast data pipes.
“With IoT/IoE applications, there will really be an explosion of volume with low-data-rate devices,” notes Collins. “These devices need less power and don’t even need a constant connection. Some data may need to be pulled or it may need to send small amounts of information, which means narrowband.”
Keep in mind that not all IoT/IoE applications will just be machine-to-machine remote data reporters.
Invariably, many of the latest applications will need both narrowband and broadband systems. The question is how to merge the two technologies on a standards and device-infrastructure backbone.
“Many application operators will likely go with configurable hybrid systems, which combine the best aspects of narrowband solutions for long range and lower power and broadband solutions for high-capacity video surveillance and remote-office applications,” says Collins. “From one standpoint, the networks will be hybrid—narrowband plus broadband, still based on a common IP backhaul utilizing a common management infrastructure and secure access.
Tomi Engdahl says:
http://hackaday.com/2017/01/15/hackaday-links-january-15-2017/
For the last few years, Google has been experimenting with high altitude balloons delivering Internet to remote populations. This is Project Loon, and simply by the fact that Google hasn’t shuttered this Alpha-bit, we can assume the project is a success. A Project Loon balloon recently crashed in Panama, which means we can get an up-close look at the hardware. These balloon base stations are a lot bigger than you would think.
https://x.company/loon/
http://www.prensa.com/in_english/Investigan-satelite-comunidad-Bocas-Toro_21_4663993563.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
Singtel announces eSIM availability across 4G network
http://www.zdnet.com/article/singtel-announces-esim-availability-across-4g-network/
Wearables with eSIMs will no longer need to pair via Bluetooth with phones to use data, SMS, and call capabilities on Singtel’s 4G network.
Singaporean telecommunications provider Singtel has announced that the embedded SIM (eSIM) is now usable across its 4G network, allowing customers to connect their smart wearables without needing to pair with a smartphone via Bluetooth.
The “SIM-less” technology involves a permanently fitted SIM, around 10 times smaller than a nano SIM, being pre-installed in wearables. The Samsung Gear S3 Frontier LTE is thus far the only compatible device within Singapore, although the telco expects more compatible devices and wearables to become available in future.
The eSIM is activated with a QR code, with Singtel’s eSIM profile needing to be downloaded to the wearable before mobile connectivity can be achieved. Those using a non-Samsung smartphone alongside their Gear S3 frontier LTE may have to install additional apps, however.
The eSIM specification has been backed by Apple, Samsung, Microsoft, Huawei, Sony, and LG, along with chip makers, SIM makers, and telecommunications carriers.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Fiber-optic connectors stakes soaring in telecom sector: Analyst
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/pt/2017/01/fiber-optic-connectors-stakes-soaring-in-telecom-sector-analyst.html?cmpid=enl_cim_cimdatacenternewsletter_2017-01-16
The report’s executive summary notes that factors primarily driving the growth of global fiber-optic connectors market include increasing demand for high bandwidth in the telecommunications industry, paired with increasing demand for transmission speed and data volume in data centers. “Key features of fiber-optic connectors such as low power consumption, cost-effectiveness, and high data throughput are expected to fuel the growth of these connectors in next-generation warehouse-scale data center networks,” adds the summary.
Tomi Engdahl says:
This is how corporate networks will change this year
1. Clouds merge
Companies increasingly rely on cloud infrastructure, and they are already using fluent in several different clouds. In 2017 the practices of individuals and businesses are changing fundamentally, when various clouds begin to blend together.
2. The importance of digital edge rises
Business models are changing, forcing the companies to change their conduct. In a multi-cloud convergence means in today’s digital business frontiers natural enlargement towards the edges of the network, where users and data are located.
3. The interconnection traffic comes from the digital business with central nervous system
Companies seeking to combine physical and digital operations, because it supports global business. However, the management of different cloud environments with many suppliers and solutions can cause administrators of gray hair.
4. Information security is acquired as a service
The authorities requirements, such as the EU’s new Data Protection Regulation, and Running a successful business are forcing companies to think about solutions for distributed environments security. Hybrid cloud growing popularity makes companies realize that the cloud service providers do not offer comprehensive security solutions.
5. E-commerce interconnected era begins
The payment of the world is changing more and more quickly than ever since the Phoenicians invented money. Trading becomes global and mobile
6. A software-based infrastructure is progressing
the massive growth of telecommunications has paved the way for global backbone network era, consisting of underwater cables, wireless 5G networks and satellites. Talking about the software-guided networks (software defined networking, SDN) and network functions virtualization (network virtualization functions, NFV).
7. The IoT will be working days
So far, the Internet of Things applications consists of individual applications, but the situation is changing. Applications begin to talk to each other using the same data.
Source: http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/5677-naein-yritysverkot-muuttuvat-taenae-vuonna
Tomi Engdahl says:
Report: Active optical cabling market to reach $8.9B by 2022
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/2016/12/cir-aoc-report.html?cmpid=enl_cim_cimdatacenternewsletter_2017-01-17&[email protected]&eid=289644432&bid=1637501
In its new report, Markets for Active Optical Cables: 2017 – 2026, Communications Industry Researchers (CIR) claims revenues from AOCs will reach $8.9 billion by 2022, compared with $1.1 billion in 2017.
Much of this growth will come from a rush to install 100 Gbps links and the growth of hyperscale data centers, notes the technology analyst. CIR says it is also seeing important new opportunities emerge for AOCs in 25 GigE, digital signage and personal computing.
The report focuses on the changes occurring as western AOC suppliers merge and Chinese suppliers grow market share. It also discusses applications for AOCs in data centers (Ethernet, InfiniBand and storage networks); digital signage; consumer electronics/personal computing (USB, HDMI, DisplayPort, Thunderbolt, PCIe, etc.); military networks; and campuses.
* 25 GigE AOCs represent an opportunity that did not exist when CIR produced its previous AOC report in 2015 — revenues from such AOCs will exceed $500 million by 2022.
* Digital signage AOCs are expectedc to reach $1.1 billion by 2022 as signage adopts UHD video.
* Personal computing AOCs are expected to take off in 2017 as 40 Gbps Thunderbolt 3 products are deployed.
The market for Thunderbolt AOCs will reach $600 million by 2022.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Verizon Debuts Symmetrical 750 Mbps Internet
http://www.btreport.net/articles/2017/01/verizon-debuts-symmetrical-750-mbps-internet.html?cmpid=enl_btr_weekly_2017-01-17
On January 14th, Verizon (NYSE:VZ) plans to roll out Fios Instant Internet, a new broadband service with symmetrical speeds of 750 Mbps. The fiber-to-the-home (FTTH)-based Internet service will be available to nearly 7 million homes and businesses in greater New York City/northern New Jersey, Philadelphia and Richmond, with more markets scheduled to follow in 2017.
Prices for consumers start at $149.99 a month
Tomi Engdahl says:
The first new Iridium satellites in the sky
Iridium is a project that was once close to even crash Motorola with huge losses.
Now Iridium Communications has entered a new era, when the new generation of the NEXT system satellites, the first installment is launched into the sky.
In the first stage Vanderberg base in California went SpaceX’s Falcon9 Carrying on board 10 new NEXT satellites in the sky. The next year and a half to send more Iridium satellites in several installments. In the summer of 2018. The system should cover the whole world, the company promises.
Over time, the new NEXT satellites replaced with old satellites.
Iridium consists of a total of 66 satellites, six of which get around the track as a spare and nine are in reserve on the ground.
Source: http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/5685-uuden-iridiumin-ensimmaeiset-satelliitit-taivaalle
Tomi Engdahl says:
Watch this time-lapse untangling of a data center rack
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/2017/01/timelapse-rack-untangling.html?cmpid=enl_cim_cimdatacenternewsletter_2017-01-17
Tomi Engdahl says:
5G Report Gauges Trillion-Dollar Impacts
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1331192&
5G cellular could have a bigger economic impact than expected, according to an IHS study sponsored by Qualcomm. The report comes at a time when carriers are racing to test 5G prototype products and standards are still in development.
5G could enable as much as $12.3 trillion in goods and services in 2035 when its full effects are realized, the 5G Economy report said. By that time, companies developing 5G products and services could generate $3.5 trillion in revenue and 22 million jobs. The so-called 5G value chain will spend as much as $200 billion a year building 5G products and services, it estimated.
In a separate poll also sponsored by Qualcomm, more than 90% of 3,500 business people surveyed agreed that 5G will enable new products, services and use cases that have not been invented yet.
5G will lift mobile into a technology that changes the world.
https://www.qualcomm.com/invention/5g/economy
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ericsson 5G tests – Qualcomm and AT & T included
Network Manufacturer Ericsson intends to make the emerging 3GPP standards based on the 5G New Radio (NR) compliance testing chip maker Qualcomm and telecom operator AT & T’s with. Tests are carried out in the United States millimeter radio waves.
Tests carried out in millimeter radio waves (mmWave). The aim is to promote the 28 GHz commercial deployment of frequencies and 39 GHz.
The tests used in the 3GPP 5G NR Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO)
Source: http://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2017/01/16/ericsson-5g-testeihin-qualcomm-ja-att-mukana/
Tomi Engdahl says:
India’s richest man is looking at loopholes to keep giving everyone 4G data for free
http://mashable.com/2017/01/19/reliance-jio-free-plan-after-march-2017/#0Dqlp8nNR5qR
The free data charm of India’s Reliance Jio, which helped the new telecom operator win over 72 million subscribers in four months, will end in little over two months. But the company may have plans to keep its data tariffs as good as free to retain users.
Reliance Jio plans to offer data at Rs 100 ($1.5) once its current New Year offer ends on March 31, according to the Economic Times. It’s unclear at this time how much data Jio plans to offer for Rs 100, or the duration of this data plan.
Part of India’s largest industrial house RIL owned by India’s richest man Mukesh Ambani, Jio launched its 4G only network in the country in September. For the first three months, the company offered 4GB of 4G data every day to all its subscribers at no charge.
The move to charge a nominal fee could be simply a ploy to ward off rivals and steer clear of the country’s laws.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Huawei boosted 5G to 35 gigabits
5G rates seem to increase the tests all the time. Singapore’s M1-operator has tested the 5G link millimeter waves, together with Huawei, and reached as early as 35 gigabit per second data rate.
M1 and Huawei test was carried out 73 GHz frequency range. Huawei commercial test was used for the base station equipment and combined with three carriers at the same 256QAM modulated link.
Source: http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/5693-huawei-kiihdytti-5g-datan-35-gigabittiin
Tomi Engdahl says:
Politico:
Sources: President Trump will tap sitting GOP FCC commissioner Ajit Pai, a fierce critic of net neutrality, to lead the agency — President Donald Trump will tap Ajit Pai to lead the FCC in the new administration, elevating the sitting GOP commissioner to the top spot overseein
Trump said to elevate Ajit Pai to FCC chairman
http://www.politico.com/blogs/donald-trump-administration/2017/01/ajit-pai-fcc-chairman-233905
Tomi Engdahl says:
What is mesh, exactly?
Learn what makes eero’s TrueMesh different
https://blog.eero.com/what-is-mesh-exactly-6532470af0d8#.kkh0qdgeq
eero launched last February into a complicated networking world: routers that look like giant spiders, daisy-chained range extenders, and MacGyvered custom setups. As the first self-configuring, mesh WiFi system available to the home, we proved the single-router model is fundamentally flawed for the way we use WiFi today. Now, almost a year later, we’re no longer the only ones that believe this — since we shipped our first eero, a host of companies both big and small have launched mesh-like WiFi products. Unfortunately, many of these companies use the mesh label without actually providing the full benefits of a true mesh network.
The fundamental difference between a mesh network and a multi-router setup (which is many of our competitors) is the number of connections between access points and the number of possible paths for traffic to travel through the network. In a traditional range extender or multi-router setup, each device can only connect directly to one other device — like a gateway to an extender or an extender to another extender. This creates a tree-like structure and restricts all traffic to flow in a single path, regardless of congestion or wireless interference degrading the link quality.
A tree-like structure made sense for Ethernet-only networks. When information travels over wires, distance doesn’t affect throughput and path selection has minimal effect on latency.
In a tree network, traffic can only take a single route through the network, and this route is usually designed to get to-and-from the wide area network (WAN) quickly.
For users who rely on a fast and robust LAN, a mesh network provides many more benefits. In a mesh network, there’s no limit to possible connections, and traffic can flow from any device to any other device based on the fastest path between them.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The new technique takes LTE to Wi-Fi frequencies
MulteFire name refers to a technique in which the LTE standards familiar technique is used for unlicensed frequencies. MulteFire Alliance is now formed and now it has received the first pre-standard version of the technology.
The alliance is involved in base station equipment manufacturers Nokia, Ericsson and Huawei’s leadership, circuit manufacturers, the measuring device companies, as well as new types of operators that challenge the traditional technology, the mobile operators.
Users want to LTE standard data rates of the network, the erection of which is as easy as a Wi-Fi network has been erected (frequencies used freely).
LTE and the construction of a Wi-Fi network, however, overlap means big compatibility problems. In order to networks do not interfere with each other, defined in the 3GPP LTE technology U (Unlicensed LTE), in which disturbances have been eliminated.
MulteFiren 1.0-assays are based on the 3GPP Release 13 and 14 assays. It ensures that MulteFire interfere with other radio links operating in the same frequencies, such as WiFi.
Nokia has developed MulteFire – that is, the LTE-U-technique – for a long time.
MulteFire range is about 50 percent better than wifi and has reached 120 megabit data speed.
Source: http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/5704-uusi-tekniikka-vie-lte-n-wifi-taajuuksille
More:
http://www.multefire.org/
LTE-based technology for small cells operating in unlicensed & shared spectrum
The MulteFire Alliance is an independent, diverse, and international member-driven consortium defining and promoting MulteFire – an LTE-based technology for small cells operating solely in unlicensed spectrum.
Our purpose is to support the common interests of members, developers and users in the application of LTE and next generation mobile cellular technology in configurations that use only unlicensed radio spectrum.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Connector Manufacturer Innovative Integration within the Molexiin has introduced PXIe-based programmable module, which can be sent to 3 gigahertz signal plates. The card is intended for 5G- and the development and testing of Wi-Fi connections.
XU-TX XMC module is a 5.6 gigahertz vektorisignaaligeneraattori, which can be programmed in C ++ – the desired language signaaia test. Programmability brings Xilinx Kintex UltraScale FPGA circuit.
Source: http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/5701-pxie-llae-5g-n-ja-wifin-kimppuun
Tomi Engdahl says:
Intel discusses 5G on the road to WRC-19
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/anablog/4443303/Intel-discusses–5G–On-the-road-to-WRC-19–at-Radio—Wireless-Week-2017
Two major efforts are presently underway in the International Telecommunication Union – Radiocommunication Sector (ITU-R). First, ITU-R Working Party 5D (WP 5D) is undertaking a wide range of tasks culminating in the development of the specification(s) for IMT-2020. The second major effort revolves around spectrum access. Demand for mobile broadband spectrum continues to grow due to an increasing number of users (approximately 3.6 billion mobile broadband subscriptions in 2016) and more bandwidth-intensive traffic such as video.
ITU-R sector development of a specification for IMT-2020 which will be the ‘sandbox,’ as Stancavage calls it, for the industry in which they can create a successful 5G system.
Here is what the ITU is prioritizing:
Specification development
The technical basis for radio communication conferences
A handbook
We were told that WP 5D studies are due in March 2017. WP 5D is responsible for the overall radio system aspects of International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) systems, comprising the IMT-2000, IMT-Advanced, and IMT for 2020 and beyond. It is the job of WRC to review, and, if necessary, revise the Radio Regulations, the international treaty governing the use of the radio-frequency spectrum.
Stancavage’s company, Intel, has an interesting end-to-end 5G plan. 5G will transform the way we think of communications and the way we live. The world around us will be seamlessly interconnected via 50 billion devices.
Tomi Engdahl says:
VoIP phone teardown
http://www.edn.com/design/systems-design/4443302/VoIP-phone-teardown
Look inside a ShoreTel 230 VoIP telephone from 2011
Tomi Engdahl says:
IoT technology market expected to take over M2M
http://www.controleng.com/single-article/iot-technology-market-expected-to-take-over-m2m/ca0c0ad7085af2f23f5b0ba9983ba141.html
Mobile Experts released a report that analyzed the migration of the M2M market to the Internet of Things (IoT) technology market with device shipments expected to increase to more than 450 million devices by 2021.
Mobile Experts released a report that analyzed the migration of the machine-to-machine (M2M) market to the Internet of Things (IoT) technology market. In other words, 2G, 3G, and LTE are migrating to narrowband-IoT (NB-IoT) and 5G IoT.
“The change from M2M to IoT is more than just a name change,” said Joe Madden, founder and principal analyst, Mobile Experts. “New standards are far better optimized for battery-based devices. In addition, the prior history of reusing semiconductor parts for M2M will change-in the future we will see more customized IoT semiconductors.”
The report noted that the shift to the IoT market represents a shift to the enterprise market, which is large enough now to support specialized products at multiple levels of the supply chain unlike the previous M2M devices which simply took advantage of the existing mobile network. For example, NB-IoT has inspired operators to invest in specialized infrastructure
“The changes represent a break in our approach to connected devices. We are beginning to set new standards that will support the rise of new applications. This report includes analysis of growth from 2014-2021 in the transition from M2M to C-IoT, and from these predictions we anticipate device shipments will grow from about 120 million in 2016 to more than 450 million devices in 2021,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
TE, Molex to dual-source high-speed connectivity products
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/designcon-central-/4443180/TE–Molex-to-dual-source-high-speed-connectivity-products
Connector giants TE Connectivity and Molex have signed a dual-source agreement where the companies will both source connectors, modules, and other products designed for high-speed serial applications. Having two sources for these products means that engineers can specify both companies into designs and purchasing people won’t be locked into one source, which mitigates potential delivery problems for production.
The product lines cover high-speed I/O such as pluggable modules, and backplane products such as connectors for datacenters. Specifically, the agreement covers zSFP+ interconnects, zQSFP+ interconnects, CDFP interconnects, microQSFP interconnects, and Nano-Pitch I/O interconnects.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nokia boss: first 5G network already starts in September 2017
okia’s Chief Technology Officer in North America is Michael Murphy. SDxCentralin interview, he says that this year the 5G networks lab go to the airport. functioning as a network in Korea must be up and running by some time in September.
Michael Murphy refers to Korea in 2018 organized the Winter Olympics. Since the World Championships begin as early as February, Korea Telecom’s network to get to work in time.
Currently, there are presented two public 5G assay. The second comes from Korea Telecom, another Verizon. Murphy does not believe that the final 3GPP standard as such is neither of these. Elements of both the final 5G technology included.
Source: http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/5744-nokia-pomo-ensimmaeinen-5g-verkko-starttaa-jo-syyskuussa
Tomi Engdahl says:
Which frequencies for 5G?
At the moment, the most likely seems to be 28 gigahertz and 39 gigahertz. – But it may be that the LTE in the 3.5 gigahertz will be distributed to the 5G-use.
Source: http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/5744-nokia-pomo-ensimmaeinen-5g-verkko-starttaa-jo-syyskuussa
Tomi Engdahl says:
Understanding the Ethernet Nomenclature – Data Rates, Interconnect Mediums and Physical Layer
https://www.synopsys.com/designware-ip/newsletters/technical-bulletin/ethernet-dwtb-q117.html?elq_mid=8709&elq_cid=303473
Utilization of the Ethernet protocol for connectivity is widespread in a broad range of things or devices around us. Historically, Ethernet has been used in local area networks (LANs) and metropolitan area networks (MANs), and now markets such as storage and automotive are adopting it due to its popularity and numerous benefits like its massive ecosystem and growing economies of scale. Integrated circuit (IC) designers are looking to integrate Ethernet functionality into their designs with an Ethernet IP solution that best serves their target applications.
However, because of its unique nomenclature, Ethernet may be a confusing standard to decipher.
Ethernet has many different specifications for the same data rate.
As of 2016, there are at least twenty different types of one Gigabit Ethernet or Gigabit Ethernet and close to 30 different 10 Gigabit Ethernet specifications that have been defined by the IEEE 802.3 standard.
This article uses the Gigabit and 10 Gigabit references to define Ethernet nomenclature and help designers select the right specification for their target application.
Summary
1000BASE-X or 10GBASE-R are names that only provide information on the data rate and the coding scheme without specifying the interface medium. By knowing how to decipher the Ethernet nomenclature by using the full name (10GBASE-KR or 10GBASE-ER), there is less ambiguity for IC designers to select the applicable medium.