Tata Communications Transformation Services and Smart Africa Alliance set to bridge the skills gap for next-generation technologies in Africa
Ranplan recognised for world-leading 5G NR planning capability
Smarsh and CellTrust Team to offer API-Driven Voice Capture and Archiving
Energy scavenging technology wins funding to help power imminent 5G and IoT generation
ProLabs to launch its innovative solutions at NGON Europe 2019
InfiNet Wireless solutions deployed to create digital oilfield
SK Telecom unveils ‘5G Smart Office’ at press conference
‘One-size-fits-all’ doesn’t fit the mobile network of the future, experts insist
Prysmian secures a project for a turnkey submarine telecom cable system in Chile
Continual and HERE Technologies collaborate to improve connected mobility
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Next Generation of Inflight Connectivity Ever Closer as Seamless Air Alliance Announces Major Progress
Next week at Mobile World Congress, the Seamless Air Alliance will reveal progress on its mission towards enabling the next generation of inflight connectivity. This follows a significant start for the Alliance, which has seen membership increase five-fold since the first meeting in June of last year. The Alliance has a new research laboratory setup and continues progress through its three working groups, writing specifications for the technology, requirements, and operations. These developments represent a huge leap towards the goal of making connectivity as easy and enjoyable in the skies as it is on the ground. Appearing as part of the Airbus stand (Hall 6, stand 6G34), the Seamless Air Alliance will reveal specification topics that have been completed and published to its membership. “The passenger experience with inflight connectivity remains one of the great technology challenges. From Day One we have been determined to deliver on our mission to bring industries and technologies together to make the inflight internet experience simple to access and a delight to use,” said the Alliance’s Chief Executive Officer, Jack Mandala. “I have been tremendously encouraged by the enthusiastic and committed response we have seen and the widening areas of expertise we can call upon as more and more companies and organisations continue to join us,” he added. Announced during MWC 2018, the Seamless Air Alliance has since grown to twenty-three member companies with more than one-hundred key personnel from across the membership participating in its three working groups, with numbers continuing to increase. The Seamless Air Alliance was created by founding members Airbus, Airtel, Delta Air Lines, OneWeb and Sprint, and quickly joined by Air France KLM, Aeromexico, and GOL Linhas Aereas Inteligentes and global technology leaders including Astronics, Collins Aerospace, Comtech, Cyient, iDirect, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Latecoere, Nokia, and Panasonic. Today, the Alliance is pleased to announce five additional new members: Adaptive Channel, Etihad Airways, GlobalReach Technology, Safran, and SITAONAIR. “We are extremely pleased to have these companies join and be a part of the companies driving the next generation of connectivity.” said Mr Mandala. The Seamless Air Alliance will enable travelers boarding any flight, on any airline, anywhere in the world, to use their own devices to automatically connect to the Internet with no complicated login process nor paywall to scramble over. The Alliance is also announcing the release of a new research study on the economic benefit of standardization on the inflight connectivity market at Mobile World Congress. This report is available for download at https://www.seamlessalliance.com/publications/ The Alliance is moving rapidly towards an expected demonstration of the technology later in 2019 and anticipates massive interest in Barcelona from the whole communications eco-system.
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KT ‘5G Era KT VR/AR Business Direction’ Press Conference
On the morning of February 20, 2018, KT held a press conference on the business direction of 5G era KT VR/AR at KT Square located in Jongno-gu, Seoul. As entering 5G era, KT held the press conference to introduce how to develop VR and AR business, one of KT's flagship business fields, with the attendance of the officials including Kyeong-lim Yoon, head of KT’s Future Convergence Business Office, and Yoon-jeon Koh, head of KT’s Future Business Development Unit. Yoon Kyeong-lim, VP of KT’s Future Convergence Business Office, said, “KT is creating an edge cloud environment for leading the VR/AR ecosystem, and I think that it will soon be able to provide services that link content, devices, and solution providers.” She also said, “We have set up a small but meaningful start of the new business in the VR experience space in Sinchon, Seoul, and will continue to invest in core technologies to lead the ecosystem. I would like a lot of attention.” ▲ KT held ‘5G Era KT VR/AR Business Direction’ press conference. KT has developed technologies of immersive media business by operating a hologram exclusive 'K-live' and a immersive media convergence experience center 'K-live X', and presenting ‘360 degrees VR’ and ‘Interactive TimeSlice’ through VR live broadcast with 5G testbed network at Jeonju/Suwon World Cup Stadium. Based on these efforts, KT set a vision of expanding the domestic immersive media market to around KRW 200 billion to KRW 1 trillion by 2020, which is three years later. Therefore, KT announced its ‘VR/AR ecosystem activation plan’ at the press conference in order to realize the vision. According to the announcement, KT will jointly invest with GS Retail based on its 5G network technology and ICT capabilities and will open ‘VRIGHT’, an urban VR theme park in Sinchon, Seoul in early March. 'VRIGHT' will show about 50 kinds of VR contents including ‘Flying Jet’ and 'Special Force VR: UNIVERSAL WAR', which revived DragonFly's FPS game 'Special Force', as a VR game. By 2020, it plans to expand its immersive media experience space business to 200 locations, in the form of headquarters and franchises. In addition, KT plans to promote a win-win strategy with existing VR game rooms through the development of immersive media platform and content provision. To this end, it will also prepare a plan to offer content and platform that solve the problems of excessive deliberation needed to set up a VR game room at an appropriate price. Besides, ‘Personal VR Theater’ service including Head Mounted Display(HMD) will be released within the year so that consumers can conveniently watch a VR video at home and enjoy a differentiated customer experience. KT stated that it plans to achieve annual sales of KRW 100 billion by 2020 through its own platforms such as aforementioned 'VRIGHT' as well as other businesses such as content and personal VR theaters. ▲ KT presents an urban VR theme park, ‘VRIGHT’ business. Meanwhile, KT will also invest in contents such as the creation of VR/AR dedicated funds to expand the base of immersive media content that is lacking in Korea. By securing copyright of well-known global content as well as cooperation with domestic operators for creating immersive media contents of various genres such as video, game, and webtoon, KT will contribute to the activation of the ecosystem. KT plans to launch VR Alliance, in which terminal makers, game and content companies, and IT enterprises participate, for constructing ecosystem across the immersive media value-chain. Moreover, it will collaborate with KT’s media companies SkyLife and KTH to actively invest for upgrading content platform infrastructure. In the second half of the year, it will also establish a cooperative relationship with related organizations such as government and associations in order to revitalize the market through deregulation of VR-related regulations and restrictions. Yoon-jeon Koh, head of KT’s Future Business Development Unit, emphasized, “We will continue to promote the VR/AR service and content business, which is considered to be one of the core technologies of the 5G era, to expand the domestic immersive media market to over KRW 1 trillion by 2020 and foster it as a 5G killer content that customers can enjoy.”
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ProLabs presents roadmap to 400G at LINX 103
The road to 200G and 400G is set to become clearer after LINX103 in London today, as Ambroise Thirion, Technology Solutions Specialist at ProLabs presents the company’s roadmap towards achieving 400G. The past few years has seen ProLabs, industry leader in compatible optical transceivers, support its customers in data centres with bitrates of 25G, 50G and 100G. This trend of expansion to meet consumer demands is set to extend throughout 2019 and early 2020, with the recent development of form factor specific technologies to enable up to 400G. This need for higher bitrate is being driven by the growing demand for bandwidth, the increased need for density and high-volume capabilities, all while minimising power consumption and power dissipation. With VOD and 5G, the number of connected devices worldwide set to increase markedly by 2020 and this demand is being felt industry wide. “Upgrading and future-proofing networks can be daunting and costly, which is why it is so important organisations take the time to understand; why they are moving to 200G or 400G, how these bitrates can be achieved using the right technology and when the preferred solution can be expected to hit the market,” said Thirion. “Some of the larger data centres are putting plans in place to upgrade to 200G as soon as its available, while another scenario we are seeing is that organisations are opting to wait for a more mature technology and looking for a direct and complete deployment with 400G. It is ultimately up to the organisation on which route to take and when to take it. This is where our roadmap to 400G, presented at LINX 103 today, can help,” 200G and 400G are achievable thanks to a number of technologies including; PAM4 modulation, GEARBOX for 400G and a set of new form factors such as QSFP-DD, OSFP and CFP8. As compared to the previous binary mechanism NRZ, PAM4 enabled transceivers offer customers double the transmission bitrate by increasing the levels of transmission of pulse-amplitude modulation. For 400G specifically, the initial form factors will include eight lanes of 50G PAM4, while other versions will utilise the latest GEARBOX technology to facilitate four lanes of 100G PAM4. The GEARBOX component combines the power of numerous PAM4 modules to achieve the speed desired, in this case, 200G or 400G. Currently under development, ProLabs customers can expect solutions for up to 200G to be available from 2019 and 400G to be available from end of 2019. Thirion added: “While there is no single best way to combine solutions for the ideal network, ProLabs have products available across a variety of form factors to suit specific applications. We have a proven track record in keeping our customers ahead of the curve, and the impending 200G/400G upgrade is no different. We are already supporting our customers in up to 100G networking and look forward to enabling 400G in the near future,” For more information on ProLabs and the roadmap to 400G, please visit: https://www.prolabs.com/solutions/new-products/fast-forward-400g
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HUBER+SUHNER joins NGMN Alliance as partner to meet the challenges of the impending 5G future
HUBER+SUHNER, a leading manufacturer of components and systems for electrical and optical connectivity, has announced it has joined the industry body the Next Generation Mobile Networks (NGMN) Alliance. The NGMN Alliance advocates and seeks to encourage expansion of the communications experience by providing an integrated and cohesively-managed delivery platform that brings affordable mobile broadband services to the end user. The Alliance has a particular focus on 5G, while accelerating the development of LTE-Advanced and its ecosystem. CEO of NGMN, Dr Peter Meissner, said: “We are delighted to welcome HUBER+SUHNER as our new industry partner. The work they carry out is incredibly valuable and covers important parts of the 5G ecosystem. HUBER+SUHNER produces innovations that are advancing the capabilities of their customers worldwide. We are excited to jointly embark on projects which will contribute to or even extend our existing work programme and by doing so demonstrate our on-going commitment of contributing to the industry”. Gianna Terenghi, Head of Market Unit Communication at HUBER+SUHNER, said: “We are widely involved in 5G developments, from connectivity solutions, to wavelength-division multiplexing and optical switching. It makes perfect sense to join NGMN at this time, to not only learn from and work with other organisations in the 5G eco-system collaboratively, but to also share our participation in the development and delivery of 5G and associated technology in the future. The contributions delivered by our experts to the NGMN work programme support standards development with a future-thinking outlook, while guiding the industry towards the successful deployment of 5G, benefiting end users in a range of locations, including high density urban and underserved rural areas.” The announcement came as the NGMN Industry Conference & Exhibition opened in Vancouver, Canada. As well as the announcement of a new Board and Chairman for the Alliance, the exhibition and conference hosted the world’s top Operator CTOs, who came together to discuss the future of mobile broadband. Sponsored by Canadian operator TELUS, the conference featured more than 60 speakers across two days.
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Fasttrack brings NetFoundry technology to the Philippines
NetFoundry and Fasttrack Solutions have teamed up to help Filipino businesses achieve agility by creating their own application-specific networks in the cloud, on any device. The NetFoundry Multi-Cloud Connect solution provides application-specific networks (ASNs) on-demand, over the public internet that enables ultra-secure, high-performance edge-to-cloud and cloud-to-cloud connections with Azure, Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, IBM, Bluemix and many others. “This partnership with Fasttrack is a step in the right direction,” said Dipesh Ranjan, NetFoundry’s Head of Asia Pacific operations. “Filipino companies are poised to take advantage of this new software-only connectivity solution. It builds a momentum that they can ride in order to achieve better, even exponential, business results.” “We are thrilled to join forces with NetFoundry,” said Kerwin Malabanan, Managing Director of Fasttrack, a 100% Filipino company. “It embodies our core philosophy of enabling businesses to acquire cutting edge technologies in the most economic and cost-effective way possible. Netfoundry does not just provide companies with an alternative to costly VPNs but it also provides them with faster and more secure connectivity.” Fasttrack, known as the first and only Platinum Partner of SAP in the Philippines through United VARs, prides themselves as being 100% dedicated to SAP products and technologies. With Netfoundry technology, Fasttrack can now offer a solution to migrate SAP on-premise to cloud in minutes. The more common WAN and IP VPNs, Ranjan said, are no longer able to meet current challenges because they are specific to the location, the hardware and the service provider. “Thriving in a world of constant digital transformation requires application-centric networking,” he said. “The network should be an integral component of application development and operation life cycles, alongside databases and other related components.” “Today’s businesses have a far greater need to be mobile and agile,” added Malabanan. “Fasttrack’s intimate knowledge of the workings of Filipino companies and NetFoundry’s expertise in connectivity solutions make this partnership timely and ideal.”
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Emtelle Introduces 24 FIBRE Bundel to Double Operators’ Capacity
Emtelle, today launched its 24 fibre bundle solution at Broadband World Forum, presenting significant cost savings and operational benefits for telecom operators. The new 24 fibre bundle solution forms part of Emtelle’s FibreFlow microduct system and has been launched in response to the growing pressure on operators to provide greater capacity over fibre. The solution adds extra capacity for up to 288 fibres in a 24-way tube bundle and doubles the capacity of 3.5 and 4.0mm microducts, reducing the need for so many feeder cables. “FTTx is growing rapidly around the world and more and more fibre is needed in networks which is exactly why we have launched the 24 fibre solution,” said Colin Kirkpatrick, European Business Development at Emtelle. “The new 24 fibre bundle solution is going to be a game-changer for the blown fibre industry. It is going to enable operators to install a 24 fibre bundle into their existing infrastructure to feed the wider areas of their FTTH deployments. In other words, existing operators using Emtelle microducts can double their capacity overnight and halve the blowing cost per fibre.” Emtelle’s 24 fibre bundle can be blown up to 600 metres into existing networks of underground tube bundles when using Emtelle’s GS150 blowing machine. It can be blown in either 3.5mm, 5mm or larger tubes while its low friction outer jacket allows fibre to be blown around bends effectively. This will open up further opportunities for the solution to be deployed in locations where fibre installations were previously limited due to physically challenging terrain. For more information on Emtelle’s new 24 fibre bundle or its full portfolio of blown fibre and ducted solutions, visit Emtelle representatives this week at Stand F111 at Broadband World Forum 2018, which is taking place at Messe, Berlin, Germany, until Thursday, 25 October.
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China Mobile selects InfiNet Wireless solution to connect remote 4G base-stations to its core network
InfiNet Wireless, the global leader in fixed broadband wireless connectivity, has been selected by China Mobile to overhaul its network used to connect its remote 4G base stations across the Xinjiang province. To help the world’s largest mobile phone operator deliver optimum capacity over long distances, InfiNet Wireless has deployed its industry-leading XG 1000 Point-to-Point (PTP) solution to ensure seamless connectivity between base stations spread across the country. With zero downtime reported to date and no disruptions due to adverse climate changes, the XG 1000 infrastructure has already provided China Mobile with the flexibility to operate multiple services simultaneously, including voice and data transfers across its legacy 2G and 3G networks, as well as its newer 4G platform. Featuring two Gigabit Ethernet ports and an SFP fibre interface as standard, coupled with the support of multiple standard and bespoke data transfer protocols, the selected solution is able to provide major cost savings to China Mobile by eliminating the need for additional converters and third party interfaces. After successfully conducting a number of Proof of Concept trials (PoC's) in various challenging environments, China Mobile worked closely with Xinjiang Yingsheng Information, InfiNet's partner and a key Chinese integrator, to ultimately select the InfiNet Wireless XG 1000 solution due to the solution's greater performance, immunity to radio interferences and very low latency. It has since deployed the XG 1000 across 16 major cities in the Xinjiang province, including its capital, Urumqi, and a number of more rural areas. Future plans are already currently being defined between all parties to integrate the new PTP solution across the entire infrastructure. “The InfiLINK XG 1000 is the most powerful PTP solution available on the wireless market today, and was found to be far superior to competitor's offerings during benchmarking activities undertaken by China Mobile,” said Kamal Mokrani, Global Vice President at InfiNet Wireless. “Specifically designed by our R&D teams to deliver high-capacity performance over long distances in both LOS and NLOS conditions, whilst maintaining the extremely low latency figures, the XG 1000 family was perfect for this project and this is further demonstrated by the service provider ordering even more links from us to plug a major gap in its backhauling network layer. The vast mountainous areas of the Xinjiang province were also an ideal setting for an entirely wireless platform based on our solutions - a satellite-based alternative would simply not have been able to meet China Mobile's requirements, whilst a fibre-based solution would have been extremely expensive to deploy, if at all possible." With its proven best in class spectral efficiency of up to 14bps/Hz, its consistent performance, high processing power and ability to seamlessly deliver connectivity across distances of over 100 km, the InfiLINK XG 1000 offers a high capacity of up to 1Gb/s, is highly reliable and meets and exceeds all mission-critical expectations of even the most demanding service providers. “We are always ready to implement the most complex of solutions and we have continued to prove this through our latest project with InfiNet Wireless. Working very closely with China Mobile, we selected the industry-leading XG 1000 solution after intensive cooperation with InfiNet to find the best solution. Easy to install, configure and manage, the wireless PTP solution was a major technology upgrade from the previously installed microwave technology and was a cut above the competitors who also took part in the PoC phase of the project. We are delighted to be working with InfiNet and to provide a solution to enable China Mobile, offering them the best connectivity they can possibly have access to today. We look forward to working on the future plans to continue expanding and maintain connectivity across China,” added Mr Wang Songtao, General Manager at Xinjiang Yingsheng Information.
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Fixed Wireless is going from Rural to Urban with Netcomm's new indoor 4G LTE Regidential Gateway
NetComm has today launched a new self-install CAT 18 - 4G LTE Residential Gateway that will allow network operators to activate more Fixed Wireless customers faster and more cost-effectively. Fixed Wireless uses the mobile network to offer Fixed Broadband services and can be offered everywhere an operator has coverage, but the cost of supplying and installing an outdoor antenna can make delivering the service uneconomical in some cases. To solve this problem, NetComm has created a new indoor Fixed Wireless CAT 18 - 4G LTE Residential Gateway that is easy for the customer to install and yet still ensures optimal performance in locations with good signal reception. Having both the option to install an indoor or outdoor device will significantly increase the potential market opportunity for operators. In remote locations, where the distance between the base station and end-user equipment is large, outdoor antennas are needed to ensure optimal link budgets. In locations closer to the base station, the indoor device can offer a very effective alternative. “The biggest challenge when rolling out a Fixed Wireless network is making sure the solution can be deployed cost-effectively at scale,” said Els Baert, Director of Marketing and Communications at NetComm. “We have spent a lot of time and effort working towards solutions that don’t only give operators the best performance but can easily be installed. This results in lower activation costs for operators and the ability to get customers connected faster.” The CAT 18 - 4G LTE Residential Gateway uses the same technology as its outdoor counterpart. This results in a reduced number of qualification and testing cycles for the introduction of this new device given that the outdoor version has already been approved in the network. The CAT 18 - 4G LTE Residential Gateway looks like a standard residential gateway, providing Wi-Fi, voice and Ethernet connectivity in the home, but instead of having a wired input, it uses a SIM card to connect to the 4G LTE network. It has a powerful dual-band 11ac Wi-Fi network allowing end-users to connect to multiple Wi-Fi devices, such as tablets and notebooks, simultaneously. The device also features voice capability, making it the ideal all-in-one device for homes and small businesses. With Fixed Wireless looming as a major use case for 5G, NetComm’s new self-install technology could help operators connect a very significant number of new customers to Fixed Wireless services faster and more cost-effectively. “There are millions of customers around the world who still don’t have access to fast, reliable broadband,” says Baert. “By making a Fixed Wireless connection much easier and more cost-effective, we are really opening up the Fixed Wireless market for operators and the arrival of 5G will add further exciting opportunities for these operators in the Fixed Wireless space.” The CAT 18 - 4G LTE Residential Gateway will be ready for testing Q1 2019 and will be presented at the Broadband World Forum in Berlin, October 23 – 25, 2018.
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Vancouver Conference to Deliver Global Perspective on the Future of the 5G Ecosystem
The Next Generation Mobile Networks (NGMN) Alliance - which drives and guides the development of all future mobile broadband technology with a focus on 5G – is bringing together the mobile industry to discuss the future of this emerging ecosystem to a global audience at its 7th Industry Conference & Exhibition 2018. Taking place at the JW Marriott Parq in Vancouver, Canada from November 6 – 8, the conference, supported by TELUS, will gather some of the world’s top operator and industry CTO’s to gain a perspective on the future of mobile broadband. The conference also offers a unique networking platform and world premier demonstrations of 5G systems and solutions. Peter Meissner, CEO of NGMN, said: “We are excited to be coming to Canada to further uncover the future of 5G connectivity and what it means for the world’s networks. We have a fantastic line-up of speakers and many opportunities to network with industry professionals. The conference will offer viewpoints, insights and an outlook from Telco, IT and Vertical Industry executives and thought-leaders. This is a must-attend event for anyone interested in the future of 5G. The 2 days are set to be some of the most informative for the industry this year.” The event will begin on the evening of the 6th with a welcome reception hosted by TELUS. The next morning will offer an introductory pre-conference session on highly relevant and challenging topics led by NGMN’s cooperation partners. This will be followed by keynotes, including speeches on the future of 5G standards, value propositions, 5G architecture, field deployments and user experience. Our opening speakers for the following sessions are: 5G Value Proposition: Darren Entwistle, CEO, TELUS 5G Platform Delivery: Stephen Howe, CTO, Bell Canada 5G Applications for Vertical Industries: Andrea Calvi, SVP Technology Evolution & Innovation, TIM Building Blocks for 5G Architecture: Mike Irizzary, EVP&CTO Engineering & Information Services, US Cellular Key 5G Component Security: Ibrahim Gedeon, CTO, TELUS A highlight at the end of the second day will be 5G Tests, Trials and Experiences from First Deployments presented by NGMN Board members.
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Continual and Vodafone collaborate to research and improve mobility experience
Continual, today announced that it has been collaborating for the past two years with Vodafone Ireland (Ireland’s total communications provider), and Vodafone Group (Vodafone’s international division), in a far-reaching project to analyze and improve the experience of subscribers travelling on roads. Vodafone Ireland identified road experience as one of the first areas where optimization solutions using big data and machine learning techniques would yield very noticeable improvements for its customers, and hence became an area of focus for Vodafone Ireland. Vodafone is also actively preparing for the launch of 5G services internationally, and this connected mobility intelligence is helping Vodafone to prove the feasibility of accurately controlling the quality of service for Connected Cars, a pre-requisite towards the journey of Autonomous Cars. The research program has yielded a unique set of predictions relating to the numbers of customers using particular routes in Ireland, along with a measure of the data volumes and call minutes they consume, and accurate quality of experience metrics. The technology has been validated using extensive lab and field testing in Ireland with the backing of Vodafone Group internationally, and has proven the improvement in voice and data performance delivered in the roads where applied. “Vodafone’s success has been built on its forward thinking and willingness to explore technology innovations,” said Max Gasparroni, Head of Networks, Vodafone Ireland. “Collaborating with Continual to exploit cutting-edge technologies such as AI, Big Data, and Machine Learning has enabled us to take a further step forward on the journey towards 5G and associated compelling use cases. In addition, it reinforces our market leadership in delivering high quality communication experience for driving- and passenger-subscribers”. “Vodafone Ireland continuously invests and researches technologies to perfect the experiences of its subscribers under mobility conditions,” said Omer Geva, President of Continual. “We have been able to provide them with a powerful and innovative tool that not only measures network experiences and demonstrates real and dramatic improvements, but also predicts subscriber communication patterns in mobility”. Continual will be presenting highlights of the collaborative research with Vodafone at Telco Data Analytics & AI Europe on 30 October –1 November 2018, and at Telco Data Analytics & AI USA on 28 –29 November in San Francisco.
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Amdocs partners with Fortinet and Versa Networks to deploy pre-integrated, extensible orchestration solution
Amdocs (NASDAQ: DOX), today announced its collaboration with Fortinet, a global leader in broad, integrated and automated cybersecurity solutions, and Versa Networks, innovator of a next-generation software platform that integrates cloud, networking and security services, to launch a new multi-domain, service provider SD-WAN, SDN and NFV orchestration packaged solution. Amdocs NFV orchestration is integrated with Fortinet’s advanced security services, the Fortinet Security Fabric and Versa Networks’ SD-WAN platform to empower service providers to securely offer their business customers the ability to rapidly and efficiently spin up and spin down virtual network functions (VNFs) across customer premises, data centers and the cloud. The solution can be easily integrated with any operations and business support systems (OSS/BSS), enabling service providers to quickly deploy and monetize their managed SD-WAN and security services, while reducing deployment and operational costs. The packaged solution enables service providers to offer their customers Fortinet’s full range of advanced security services and deliver comprehensive threat protection by leveraging the capabilities of the Fortinet Security Fabric, which provides broad visibility, integrated threat detection and automated response to address today’s sophisticated cyberthreats. Fortinet VNF, which can be deployed at customer premises, data centers or public cloud, allows service providers the scalability to offer new revenue-generating services to enterprises of any size, small or large. Service providers can provide a flexible range of advanced security services, including application control, intrusion prevention, anti-virus, web filtering, mobile security, industrial control and sandbox services. The Versa Networks’ Cloud IP platform enables partners and customers to deliver managed SD-WAN and SD-Branch service offerings for the WAN Edge. Versa’s SD-WAN integrates networking with full contextual policy management, analytics and infrastructure automation in a single software platform that can be deployed as a uCPE, bare metal or virtual, on-premises or in the cloud. “Amdocs and its Open Network ecosystem partners, Fortinet and Versa Networks, are transforming service providers from the proprietary hardware networks of today to open software-centric networks that leverage cloud and IT technologies,” said Angela Logothetis, CTO of Amdocs Open Network. “Our SD-WAN solution reduces the time and risk of launching SD-WAN services, and delivers agility, automation and scale in SD-WAN operations, ensuring faster time-to-market, quick monetization, and differentiated customer experience. Together, Amdocs, Fortinet, and Versa Networks enable service providers to enhance their competitive positioning by transforming the business WAN-edge with software-defined networking, advanced security services and end-to-end orchestration, offering scalability and flexibility through managed SD-WAN and value-added services. The solution embraces Amdocs’ microservices architecture and is delivered under best practices such as DevOps and CI/CD for faster and continual enhancements of the services.” “As service providers look to transform their networks to satisfy evolving customer requirements and demand, they’ve also come to expect their vendors to deliver flexibility and to seamlessly work with best-of-breed solutions,” said John Maddison, SVP of products and solutions at Fortinet. “The Fortinet Security Fabric’s open ecosystem and ease of integration with complementary technologies and services helps meet the most demanding customer requirements while providing better security and lower total cost of ownership. We’re pleased to work closely with Amdocs as a Fabric-Ready Partner to offer our joint customers the option to leverage Fortinet’s broad portfolio of advanced security and networking solutions, including Fortinet SD-WAN.” “Refreshing the legacy WAN router estate at scale requires a seamless, automated platform for accelerating multiple deployments of a managed SD-WAN service, while lowering the total cost of ownership, simplifying implementation and enabling enterprise WAN-edge transformation,” said Atchison Frazer, Chief Marketing Officer for Versa Networks. “Our partnership with Amdocs delivers these benefits and more by enabling our service provider partners to provision on the fly, from one console, the full stack of Versa VNF services spanning cloud connectivity to network security to SD-WAN.” Please visit Amdocs stand #A10+A13, at SDN-NFV World Congress 2018, The Hague, Netherlands, from October 8-12.
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InfiNet Wireless to introduce Record-Breaking Spectral Efficiency solution for IoT applications
InfiNet Wireless, the global leader in fixed broadband wireless connectivity, will showcase its record-breaking spectral efficiency solution at GITEX Technology Week, Dubai, UAE to be held from October 14th to 18th. Addressing the increase in Internet of Things (IoT) applications and the rising number of connected devices requiring more reliable bandwidth, InfiNet's brand new 5 GHz Point-to-Point (PTP) solution, the Quanta 5, has been specifically designed to offer the highest spectral efficiency available in today’s wireless marketplace. Overcoming many challenges such as eliminating interference in noisy radio environments and delivering more Mb/s in less radio spectrum, the Quanta 5 is able to operate in sub-zero temperatures as well as extremely hot conditions, ensuring at all times, that the data is transmitted reliably and delivered across large distances. On display on stand Z2-C8, the solution is based on the latest Software Defined Radio (SDR) technology designed entirely by InfiNet's R&D teams and is ideal for the transmission of high-resolution video streams, the provision of Internet and Intranet access, and for backhauling all types of traffics whether generated by a Wi-Fi access point or a service provider's 4G/LTE base station. “We’re already deploying IoT solutions in both industrial and consumic markets worldwide, as well as relieving many bottlenecks caused by a huge surge in demand for fast, high-quality mobile data connectivity. All these new and extra gadgets, devices and applications adopted by consumers and businesses alike are simply of no use to anyone without the behind-the-scenes infrastructure to provide them with the desired connectivity. This is where we come in,” said Kamal Mokrani, Global Vice President at InfiNet Wireless. “Based on valuable feedback we gathered from our customers across the globe, we have identified a niche for a cost-effective and high-capacity PTP solution to operate in licence-exempt frequency bands. People should no longer have to make compromises between data quality, speed and cost. Leveraging our advanced SDR wireless breakthroughs, we are now able to deliver a range of carrier-grade and even quicker to deploy and install solutions, like the Quanta 5.” The Quanta 5 boasts a considerably higher performance compared to previous platforms, making it ideal for any service provider considering the launch of new applications and services aimed at catering for current and future 5G / IoT requirements. An all-in-one package to enable operators of all sizes to quickly deliver high-capacity premium services to their corporate clients, to interconnect their network nodes wherever they are located, or simply to provide internet connectivity to end users, the Quanta 5 can also be deployed as part of a wide area network (WAN) to connect remote locations to the main control and operations centres. Other solutions on display alongside the Quanta 5 will include the latest generation of the field-proven InfiLINK XG product family. Available in new frequency bands, the InfiLINK XG is the ideal solution for unlicensed and licensed backhauling in multiple bands such as 2 GHz and 3 GHz for legacy WiFi/WiMAX replacements, or 4 GHz and 6 GHz which are licensed frequencies depending on specific countries. Building on these capabilities, the InfiLINK XG 1000 doubles the capacity of the previous XG platform up to 1 Gbps. By supporting two non-adjacent 40 MHz channels instead of a single 80 MHz channel, the XG 1000 can provide connectivity over distances in excess of 60 km, delivering unparalleled reliability and scalability to meet both current and future demands. Mokrani added: “With the launch of Quanta 5, and many other innovative solutions which we will be launching very soon, we are pushing the industry to its limits and can now offer an even more unique and stronger value proposition for our customers and partners. My team and I look forward to sharing our expertise and discussing our latest innovations and success stories from around the world with visitors at GITEX.” Visitors of GITEX 2018 can find InfiNet Wireless in Zabeel Hall, Stand Z2-C8
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Broadband World Forum 2018: Zyxel to unveil next-generation broadband solutions
Zyxel Communications will host the worldwide debut of its brand new next-generation solutions at this year’s Broadband World Forum – empowering service providers to meet the demands of security-conscious, WiFi-demanding and bandwidth-hungry customers, while minimizing costs and churn. Zyxel’s new Home Cybersecurity solution enables leading expertise from the security industry to be combined with Zyxel’s Customer Premises Equipment (CPE), providing protection for all connected devices within the home. At the event, Zyxel will demonstrate how the solution uses enhanced features such as safe browsing, anti-tracking, content filtering and parental control protections for homes to eliminate online threats. Also new to Zyxel’s portfolio is its latest 11ax WiFi portfolio – providing 4-8 times faster WiFi speeds – and its AI-powered WiFi analytics solution which eliminates WiFi glitches and increases customer satisfaction by helping service providers find and fix network issues remotely. “As technology continues to advance and more bandwidth-hungry devices and applications find their way into the hands of subscribers, service providers can no longer provide basic connectivity,” said Allen Lin, Vice President at Zyxel Broadband EMEA Business Unit. “With our brand-new offering, we are empowering service providers to go beyond broadband and deliver the secure, exceptional user experience consumers crave, whether they are in the home, a business or on the move.” Designed to deliver true 10 Gigabit services to the home, Zyxel’s new 10G PON end-to-end solution will also be showcased at Broadband World Forum. This overcomes challenges in delivering increased bandwidth services such as 4K streaming, HD TV and Virtual and Augmented Reality. The Optical Network Terminals (ONT) are highly interoperable with third-party Optical Line Terminals (OLT), offering service providers more flexibility in choice. Solidifying its role as an LTE expert, Zyxel will also exhibit its comprehensive portfolio of LTE products for indoors, outdoors and on-the-move. Zyxel will exhibit at D107, Hall 21b, at Broadband World Forum 2018, which takes place at the Messe, Berlin, Germany, from Tuesday, October 23 to Thursday, October 25.
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New Deliverables From NGMN Suggest Principles to Build End-to-End Solutions for A Connected 5G Future
The Next Generation Mobile Networks (NGMN) Alliance - which drives and guides the development of all future mobile broadband technology with a focus on 5G - has published its three deliverables on 5G Extreme Requirements entitled “Operators’ views on fundamental trade-offs”, “RAN Solutions”, and “End-to-End considerations”, respectively. Compiled by the Alliance’s 5G Extreme Requirements task force, the papers aim to highlight what implications and trade-offs related to the delivery of new 5G services are relevant for mobile network operators. Ilaria Thibault, task force lead and Principal Researcher at Vodafone commented: “We are very excited to reveal the findings of the outcome of the Extreme Requirements task force, which was to really strike at the heart of what needs to be assessed before the world embarks on advanced 5G services. This work quantifies and analyses the coverage impact of delivering new extreme 5G services (Ultra-reliable and Low-latency – URLLC) for the radio access network with a theoretical analysis, system-level simulations, and field trials. End-to-end deployment guidelines for meeting extreme requirements at a service level are also provided. Among these guidelines, techniques such as path redundancy and new transport-layer protocols are discussed to improve end-to-end latency and reliability. For latency-critical services, interworking between the Non-3GPP processing delays and 3GPP processing delays has been assessed.” CEO of the NGMN Alliance Peter Meissner added: “Our task force has highlighted several key challenges that are crucial to the future of 5G connectivity and how the industry needs to adequately deal with these. Consequently, this year’s NGMN Conference & Exhibition will see us run a special session where operators are set to share results from their 5G tests, trials and first user experience. Our aim is to uncover the new use cases of 5G and how they will be leveraged in the next few years.”
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Interworking Between LTE & LMR Systems is Essential For Critical Communications, Says ETELM
As demand for high speed mobile broadband and smart data services is rapidly increasing, interworking between new broadband services and traditional mission critical radio systems is essential to ensure equivalent or better services are provided in terms of mission critical performance and coverage. Improved data services must be in addition to traditional mission critical voice, not a replacement. Speaking on the opening day of Critical Communications World MENA – the largest Middle East and North Africa event dedicated to critical communications – ETELM’s International Sales Director, Paul Ward, emphasised the importance of merging the benefits of LTE with traditional mission critical technologies, so that the users can be assured of enhanced performance by retaining current mission critical features with additional high speed data services. 3GPP and TCCA are doing some excellent work introducing mission critical standards into LTE, and also providing inter-working standards for gateways to legacy systems. It is essential that full mission critical voice functionality is retained as users start to introduce LTE broadband data services. However, gateways will always have limitations in terms of inter system functionality and support, so ETELM have overcome this by fully integrating it’s TETRA system to the standard LTE Core network – recently we have successfully tested our TETRA basestation at ETSI/3GPP’s plugtests and have demonstrated our TETRA eNodeB connected to different LTE Core networks and to different eNodeB equipment vendors. Our 4GLinked system provides a single network solution for LTE and TETRA. There are many advantages in using both LTE and TETRA technology together, said Ward. “TETRA is widely deployed and has been a proven technology for 20 years with millions of subscribers in operation globally in public safety, transportation, oil & gas, and many other mission critical applications. It works in lower bands so has good coverage and networks cost less to deploy. However, LTE allows much more data bandwidth and opens a new world for applications. Ward also highlighted that traditional UHF technologies have a much wider footprint than LTE – vitally important in terms of availability for emergency services. Coverage improvement techniques commonly used within LTE, such as beam forming, are not suitable for group calls as used in mission critical situations so the costs of providing equivalent coverage to meet these needs would be a serious challenge for any private LTE network. So for many users it is essential to have the possibility of full integration to different technologies to provide more cost efficient, wide area coverage in less populated areas in addition to broadband services. He continued: “An integrated solution is a new approach to interconnection. By allowing TETRA and LTE to interwork in a unified way, the integration is not limited to the application layer and for optimum performances and maintainability, base stations from both technologies are connected to a single core and a single database. All the switching intelligence is centralised and both technologies appear at the radio level. In addition, all interfaces such as MCPTT are standardised applications over LTE.” Ward summarised the benefits of this approach, including how it provides financial benefits of one single network, an optimised solution for technical performances, an answer to operational challenges, and is operationally fit for hybrid solutions. He then described the results achieved following deployments of ETELM’s 4GLinked solution, which was designed to integrate TETRA and LTE in a single core, single database solution. “Following our drive to fully integrate broadband and narrowband technologies, ETELM developed our own range of LTE basestations. Our LTE eNodeB and PicoCell are developed for mission critical users and optimised to maximise coverage. Ward summarised how mission critical users can realise an enormous amount of benefits should they adopt an integrated solution as opposed to an interconnected solution. Benefits included “centralised management, improved PTT set-up times, reduced recurring costs, interoperability and compliance, improved network performance compared to multiple networks, unlimited inter-technology communications, extended life of legacy user equipment and network security.”
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The Fast-Paced Communication Needs Of The Rail Industry Require An Integrated Approach To Be Applied, Says ETELM
New LTE mission critical standards, established by 3GPP, are providing a major opportunity for the rail industry to benefit from the latest secure broadband voice and data services, says Nicolas Hauswald, Sales & Marketing Director for ETELM. Speaking on the first day of Innotrans, the largest event in the world dedicated to the rail transport industry, Hauswald explained how LTE provides an exciting opportunity for railway operators to provide a single unified network for operational and maintenance services. This single solution would include passenger information applications, CCTV, traffic management, ticketing and other services. Hauswald described how this will help railway operators to optimize services, reduce infrastructure costs and provide new revenue streams. Hauswald said: “It is crucial that communications within the transport sector involve advanced mission critical voice and data services along with the integration of other applications including signalling, dispatching and passenger information. This is where mission critical LTE becomes so important in meeting these communication requirements, as it provides the perfect solution for transport communications as LTE offers higher speed mobile data services and mission critical voice services. “Whilst traditional narrowband services offer a secure network solution for voice and data, the capacity of the data is limited and the integration to high bandwidth services is a challenge for traditional narrowband LMR systems,” he continued. The solution, explained Hauswald, is both broadband and narrowband connecting on a single LTE EPC core. “New LTE standards for mission critical voice, data and video have now been internationally approved, so the timing for mission critical LTE is perfect. LTE is great as it offers a single network solution, allowing integration with advanced broadband data services.” Hauwald described how a single, secure communications backbone, for both trackside and station communications, is a suitable approach for railway systems. LTE allows all systems to be integrated into a single eco-system capable of supporting communications now and in the future, rather than having numerous systems that require individual maintenance and support methodologies. He added: “A new model for railway operators needs to be implemented, this could be a model to provide a private solution with additional consumer services or to outsource the mission critical operational services to a mobile network operator that will benefit from the additional consumer services onboard and in stations.” ETELM developed their 4GLinked, the most advanced hybrid solution based on LTE and TETRA communications services, to meet the communications needs of the transport sector. The solution is based on international standards for transmission networks based on the LTE core. 4GLinked provides seamless communications between both technologies, allowing them to operate over a single, fully distributed network. ETELM is also following the definition of Future Railway Mission Critical Standards (FRMCS). FRMCS is based on LTE and will be an improved, next generation standard after GSM-R. Nicolaus Hauswald of ETELM will be available for interviews at Booth 418, Hall 4.1 at Innotrans on 18 September 2018 in Berlin, Germany.
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InfiNet Wireless makes outdoor broadcast breakthrough in Estonia with ‘pay as you grow’ offering for live events
The screening of live and non-interrupted high-profile events on communal screens in Estonia has been made possible thanks to InfiNet Wireless’ brand new and cost-effective wireless infrastructure for STV. STV is a telecommunication company based in Tallinn and operates in large Estonian cities, delivering advanced broadband services to hotel chains, shipping companies and other enterprises of all sizes. To help with demands for faster connectivity at live events, InfiNet Wireless has deployed a major broadcasting platform, designed mostly on its InfiLINK 2x2 Point-to-Point solutions, to transmit live data streams between Rakvere, in Northern Estonia, and two other nearby towns. The solution deployed was designed in such a way as to mitigate known high levels of interference and deliver high-quality video feeds to a number of remote and strategic locations. STV's customers are now able to upgrade their viewing packages and pay only for their selected services, thanks to the company's ‘pay as you grow’ approach which is designed to cater for ever-changing consumer demands, ultimately avoiding locking them for services they do not necessarily need nor require. Today, STV is able to offer a number of additional revenue-generating services, such as customised video streaming for all types of events as well as video-on-demand. The success of this new wireless platform was once again demonstrated during the FIFA World Cup 2018 Final when STV organized a special broadcast of the match between Croatia and France in the Pae park, Lasnamäe, using the latest InfiNet Wireless technology to deliver live and high definition video streams. This event was broadcast live, with zero downtime, ensuring an enjoyable sporting experience for the hundreds of football fans who gathered to watch the final game of the tournament. "Sports events are essential communal viewing and activity for families and friends, and this project has delivered invaluable outdoor entertainment to Estonia. The new delivery platform we have selected and deployed will provide us with the means to strengthen our presence as a solid and reliable service provider with a clear focus on broadcasting future outdoor events,” said Alexey Belkin, Chief Network Administrator at STV. “Thanks to the reliability and high performance of InfiNet's solutions, we can now avoid interruptions and disruptions that cause headaches to viewers and operators and focus our efforts on meeting and exceeding the demands of our growing customer base.” Along with its well-proven scalability benefits, the InfiLINK 2x2 Point-to-Point (PTP) family of solutions guarantees a throughput of up to 300 Mbps, features the very latest in MIMO technologies (Multiple Input – Multiple Output) and boasts advanced dynamic frequency selection algorithms (known as Instant-DFS) to mitigate radio interference and ensure zero downtime in the delivery of any data or video services. In addition to the PTP units deployed, a number of Qmxb base stations have also been used in the new network, offering STV the latest in beam-steering technology to ensure an error-free solution when operating in unlicensed frequency bands and reaching a capacity of up to 240 Mpbs per sector. The relationship between InfiNet Wireless and STV only started earlier this year when STV faced a number of unforeseen challenges in delivering full customer satisfaction due to increasing demands for its premium services in densely populated areas. The overlay infrastructure deployed by InfiNet Wireless has ensured that STV can indeed continue to deliver all its current as well as new services via its new broadband wireless platform, reliably and without any delay. “The deployment of this new broadcast platform based on our InfiLINK 2x2 family of wireless solutions means that STV is now able to deliver highly reliable broadband connectivity to viewing customers, no matter where they are located in the country,” said Kamal Mokrani, Global VP at InfiNet Wireless. “The overall experience has proved so successful to all parties involved that a number of our latest Qmxb base stations have been subsequently deployed across many hotels in Estonia to keep travelling fans up to date on the progress of sporting events of all types.”
