Author: Alan Weissberger
U.S. Tech Trade Groups call for industry-led telecom security standards
A coalition of nine telecom industry trade groups have called on the U.S. government to avoid imposing new security standards on the sector. While acknowledging the growing number of security threats, they said the government should uphold the history of industry-led technical standards in order to best address the issue.
The letter to the secretaries of Homeland Security (Alejandro Mayorkas) and Department of Commerce (Gina Raimond0) was signed by the Telecom Industry Association (TIA), Competitive Carriers Association (CCA), Consumer Technology Association (CTA), CTIA, ITI, National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), NTCA, USTelecom, and Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA).
“Of critical importance now is maintaining the United States’ longstanding commitment to industry-led technical standards and best practices to address cybersecurity, supply chain, and other global challenges. Such standards are a bedrock of federal trade, technology, and security policy, so it is imperative that your respective Departments champion them. The federal government should not attempt to create its own technical demands, nor should it try to supplant private sector leadership in standards bodies.”
“In the wake of recently revealed, widespread compromises through software vectors like SolarWinds, government and industry face a renewed call to arms to address threats from foreign adversaries. The government has a vital interest in preventing suppliers that pose a national security threat from exploiting U.S. networks or undermining critical functions. However, policymakers should reconsider which tools are best suited to address particular aspects of this challenge and which kinds of approaches will deliver optimal security outcomes. Some recent policies deserve special review.”
The coalition is urging the Biden Administration to refrain from attempting to create its own technical demands or trying to supplant private sector leadership in standards bodies. As the recently released Interim Final Rules that implement aspects of E.O. 13873 are refined, the Commerce Department has the opportunity to take a more effective approach to supply chain security by placing greater focus on industry-led best practices as they represent a proven and positive model for nations working to build a secure, resilient and innovative connected ecosystem.
They are concerned about the Commerce Department’s implementation of an executive order passed in May 2019 by the Trump administration. This laid the groundwork for banning U.S. companies from doing business with Chinese suppliers Huawei and ZTE. It gives the Commerce secretary broad discretion to prohibit working with certain foreign companies in the name of national security.
The industry groups said in the letter that they are keen to work with the new government on efforts to “enhance the security of the ICT ecosystem and maintain US private sector leadership in international standards development”. They underlined their existing record on setting industry standards and work already underway to improve supply chain security. For example, the TIA is developing a standard to verify supply-chain security compliance.
Blanket measures like the Trump executive order should be avoided and more tailored solutions developed to address specific problems, the groups said. “The federal government should not attempt to create its own technical demands, nor should it try to supplant private sector leadership in standards bodies,” the letter said.
Further review of the rules implementing the Trump order is expected to include more input from the industry. The letter called on the Commerce department to work with the Department of Homeland Security and the private sector-led ICT Supply Chain Risk Management Task force “to tailor intervention actions to where they are most necessary, and place greater focus on industry-led standards and best practices that provide a positive model for nations working to build a secure, resilient, and innovative connected ecosystem now and in the future”.
The statement comes as several European countries have approved or are considering laws allowing greater controls on the telecom networks supply chain. The legislation is based on recommendations from the European Commission, which proposed in early 2020 a ‘tool box‘ to help ensure 5G networks are protected from potential security threats. The EU’s cybersecurity agency Enisa started last month at the Commission’s request developing a certification scheme, specifically for 5G equipment.
References:
ITU-R WP 5D new reports on IMT for PPDR applications, Terrestrial IMT for Cellular-Vehicle-to-Everything, 6G Vision & more
At its March 2021 virtual meeting, ITU-R WP5D completed a revision of the report ITU-R M.2291-1 – The use of International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) for broadband Public Protection and Disaster Relief (PPDR) applications includes the IMT-2020 and 5G aspects in this public safety focused report to update the current report which was only based on IMT-Advanced 3GPP LTE technology. This revision was completed by ITU-R WP 5D and forwarded to Study Group 5 for action when they next meet in November 2021.
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ITU-R M.[IMT.C-V2X] – The use of the terrestrial component of IMT systems for Cellular-Vehicle-to-Everything
WP 5D is also developing a draft new report ITU-R M.[IMT.C-V2X] – The use of the terrestrial component of IMT systems for Cellular-Vehicle-to-Everything is intended to addresses the mutual relationship between IMT technologies and Cellular-Vehicle-to-Everything (C-V2X) as a specific application and elements of functions in IMT technologies that are used to realize C-V2X application.
Further, the report provides details on Overview on Usage of IMT technology, use cases, relationship between IMT and C-V2X, characteristics and capabilities supported by IMT, and case studies associated with C-V2X for the various scenarios including eMBB, mMTC, and URLLC of terrestrial component of IMT.
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Development of draft new report ITU-R M.[IMT.FUTURE TECHNOLOGY TRENDS TOWARDS 2030 AND BEYOND]
The draft new Report ITU-R M.[IMT.FUTURE TECHNOLOGY TRENDS TOWARDS 2030 AND BEYOND] is intended as a precursor to a “beyond IMT-2020” vision document for 6G that ITU-R WP 5D intends to produce in 2022. This trends report will assess where the technology is, and the current uses are for IMT-2020/5G and seek to identify the gaps and technical enablers anticipated to be necessary in the 2030 timeframe.
Furthermore, the expectation is that this Report will energize the academic and technology community to engage in the research and developments necessary to underpin a “beyond IMT-2020 and 6G view) as just focusing on new uses cases is insufficient to build such a future and the technology evolution requires a long lead time to fruition.
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Development of draft new report ITU-R M.[IMT TERRESTRIAL BROADBAND REMOTE COVERAGE]
The draft new Report ITU-R M.[IMT TERRESTRIAL BROADBAND REMOTE COVERAGE] – Terrestrial IMT for remote sparsely populated areas providing high data rate coverage is intended to provide details on scenarios associated with the provisioning of enhanced mobile broadband services to remote sparsely populated and underserved areas with a discussion on enhancements of user and network equipment.
It will distinguish between extending coverage on already deployed network and defining a use/case for deployment environment and is meant to meant to evaluate technical solutions required to extend the coverage of IMT system rather than discussing deployment layout for rural environments. The completion dates have been extended to the 39th WP 5D meeting (October 2021).
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Development of a draft new report ITU-R M.[IMT 2020.TDD.SYNCHRONIZATION]
The draft new report ITU-R [IMT2020.TDD.SYNCHRONIZATION] is intended to address the study of the aspects of synchronization operations of multiple IMT-2020 TDD networks in close proximity using the same frequency band, including analyses of coexistence issues when IMT operators utilize different synchronization modes, performance evaluation under different synchronization modes, and coexistence mitigation strategies.
The Report considers the further impacts of the introduction of technical advancement such as active antenna systems, etc. The completion dates were extended to the 41st WP 5D meeting (June 2022).
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Source: Chairman’s Report 37th e-meeting of Working Party 5D (1-12 March 2021 – Virtual), April 13, 2021
Mavenir and Xilinx Collaborate on Massive MIMO for Open RAN
Mavenir, an upstart end-to-end cloud-native network software provider and Xilinx, a leader in adaptive computing, announced today the companies are collaborating to bring to market a unified 4G/5G O-RAN massive MIMO (mMIMO) portfolio to enable Open RAN deployments. The first mMIMO 64TRX joint solution is expected to be available in Q4 2021.
Working together, the two companies have successfully completed end-to-end integration of a first-generation mMIMO solution using Open RAN principles. Held at the Mavenir Lab in Bangalore, India, the integration covered multiple deployment scenarios and was evaluated by six CSPs, all leading global operators. Mavenir delivered the Virtualized RAN (vRAN) support for mMIMO, including Core Network, CU and DU, with Xilinx providing the Category B O-RAN Radio Unit.
“This integration demonstrates an efficient Open RAN massive MIMO solution to achieve diversification of the telecommunications supply chain,” says Pardeep Kohli, President and CEO, Mavenir. “This is an important milestone in the delivery of open and interoperable interfaces enabling the deployment of mMIMO in high density, high mobile traffic metro areas.”
“We were early proponents of Open RAN technology along with Mavenir and actively led in standards development in the industry through many field trials around the world,” said Liam Madden, executive vice president and general manager, Wired and Wireless Group at Xilinx. “With the investment we have done on our market-leading wireless radio technology and massive MIMO R&D, we are excited to collaborate with Mavenir to bring our collective technology and radio system expertise together that will accelerate the deployment of market leading 5G O-RAN massive MIMO radio solutions.”
With history of leadership success in various 4G and 5G network deployments worldwide, the companies are jointly developing the next generation of mMIMO products which will bring the world’s first O-RAN compliant 64TRX mMIMO products that support up to 400MHz instantaneous bandwidth in a compact form factor. Mavenir’s vRAN software supports Multi-User MIMO with up to 16 layers, advanced receiver algorithms, full digital beamforming – all running on Mavenir’s open and flexible cloud-native platform, as well as on other cloud platforms.
These products will leverage Xilinx’s technology platform including RFSoC DFE and Versal AI for advanced beamforming, delivering a fully integrated hardware and software O-RAN compliant mMIMO solution.
The wireless industry’s focus is squarely set on massive MIMO as mid-band spectrum 5G deployments continue, particularly following the record high mid-band 5G spectrum auction that concluded in the U.S. earlier this year. Massive MIMO is especially important in mid-band 5G networks because it allows operators to densify network coverage, increase capacity and coverage, and reduce the need for incremental outdoor sites, all of which translates to less labor and lower costs.
Mavenir and Xilinx have not yet disclosed the specifications for the equipment, but claim the equipment at the top of the portfolio will feature a 64-antenna array for transmitting and receiving signals and support up to 400 megahertz of bandwidth. The initial supply of radios will support C-band spectrum in the U.S., and the companies plan to later support mid-band spectrum for 5G deployments in Europe, the Middle East, and India.
The vendors are coming together to prove that “open RAN massive MIMO radios are a reality, and we will deliver that to the market. Our first open RAN massive MIMO radio will be labs ready by early Q4 and field-trial ready by the end of the year,” said Gilles Garcia, a senior director at Xilinx.
“5G Open RAN has significant momentum in the market with ABI Research forecasting network vendor spending to reach $10 billion by 2026-27 and then surpass traditional RAN at $30 billion by 2030,” said Dimitris Mavrakis, senior research director of 5G at ABI Research.
“As Mavenir and Xilinx continue to work together to accelerate O-RAN-based massive MIMO adoption, their solutions will be well-timed to serve this high-growth market with the higher spectral efficiency, performance, power efficiency and cost needed as 5G demand intensifies.”
Telco Systems and albis-elcon Partner for Service Virtualization of Telecom Networks
BATM Advanced Communications subsidiary Telco Systems, a leading provider of innovative Network Edge solutions for communications infrastructure and service management, and albis-elcon, a leading supplier of gigabit switching and routing systems for optical and mobile telecommunication networks, today jointly announced that albis-elcon has integrated Telco Systems’ virtualization technology into its recently launched uSphir solution.
uSphir is a service platform for telcos and managed service providers (MSPs) to create next generation network solutions with simplified logistics, flexible automation and continuous innovation, to transform business services operations.
By adding Telco Systems’ software virtualization technology to albis-elcon’s new service platform, uSphir now enables third party VNFs and new white box devices to be configured and fully operational within minutes. This software virtualization technology enables telcos and MSPs using uSphir to quickly deploy new VNF-based business services with centralized management and ongoing orchestration. Telco Systems’ Edge compute technology also allows uSphir to run on either Intel or Arm based devices and leverage native Cloud environments for network management and operations.
This strategic partnership between Telco Systems and albis-elcon was established as an outcome of extensive joint testing of this integrated solution according to specific market requirements and will benefit customers with the latest cutting edge Cloud Computing technologies.
“The transition towards next generation architectures with dynamic service offerings based on virtualized functions requires a network- and solution-oriented approach for which Telco Systems’ innovative virtualization technology is delivering significant value in the Cloud Computing domain,” said Werner Neubauer, CEO of albis-elcon. “Telco Systems is a world leader in its market and large vendors like ARM and CheckPoint have been using its technology insider their products for many years. Our partnership with Telco Systems accelerates the availability of new technologies, new service models for our customers.”
“The Network Edge is clearly the future of virtualized business services and we are already pursuing joint opportunities with albis-elcon at several tier 1 operators in Europe and Latin America,” stated Ariel Efrati, CEO of Telco Systems. “Our collaboration with albis-elcon will greatly expand the market footprint for both companies with stronger market presence and wider global coverage as well as empower telcos and MSPs to leverage the vast networking experience of our two companies and quickly benefit from offering new virtualized business services.”
albis-elcon “has a strong position among tier one operators in Europe and Latin America and this partnership will expand our reach into those markets. This constitutes a key aspect of our growth strategy across our business, which is to form collaborations that will accelerate the adoption of our solutions,” said BATM Chief Executive Zvi Marom.
About Telco Systems
Telco Systems is a leading provider of innovative Cloud Computing and Network Edge solutions for managing communications infrastructure and services. The company’s Cloud Edge Computing industry-leading product portfolio includes carrier Ethernet, MPLS-based demarcation and aggregation, NFV, uCPE, 5G and IoT solutions. Managed service providers and enterprises worldwide are relying on Telco Systems for networking technologies and innovations to expand the capacity of their network infrastructures and generate revenue from new connectivity services. Telco Systems is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BATM Advanced Communications (LSE: BVC) (TASE: BVC). To learn more, visit Telco Systems at www.telco.com.
About albis-elcon
albis-elcon delivers products, solutions and services that help companies, primarily communication service providers to build and operate better networks and reduce the energy needed. With 15 million installed devices in more than 40 countries, the company is well-positioned to deliver software-defined and virtualization enabling gigabit networking for Cloud computing, enterprise access, mobile backhaul and 5G Campus networks. Superior-engineered hardware, software, network management, and implementation services manage complexity and provide sustainable, secure communication. albis-elcon — power to complete networks. To learn more, visit albis-elcon at www.albis-elcon.com.
References:
AT&T Lab to research 5G use cases, 5G+ available in Houston, TX
AT&T is opening a lab in Plano, Texas, to research 5G use cases with help from Nokia and Ericsson. AT&T says the 5G Innovation Studio will provide a venue for developing next-generation products, such as holographic communications and drone services, and cutting down on their time to market.
The studio is outfitted with AT&T 5G connectivity, using its millimeter wave and sub-6 GHz spectrum. It also boasts standalone 5G core network (5G SA) and edge capabilities, along with network KPIs to enable creation, testing and validation of new 5G experiences.
AT&T VP of 5G Product and Innovation Jay Cary disclosed the Lab in this video. The goal of the Lab is to help bring products to market faster, providing a space where customers can explore and try out tech using advanced network capabilities. Along with current and potential customers, and Ericsson and Nokia, industry players like Microsoft will be involved, as well as smaller companies according to Raj Savoor, VP of Network Analytics and Automation at AT&T (formerly with AT&T Labs in Pleasanton, CA).
“Startups are a big part of the innovation ecosystem, and in fact, one of the first use cases was in collaboration with the drone infrastructure startup, EVA,” Savoor wrote in an email.
“We deployed a test environment representative of our Microsoft Azure Edge Zone with AT&T, which provided a low-latency path between the drone and the compute environment. This allowed much more responsive control over the drone’s flight path and is just one example of what’s possible when you combine 5G with edge computing,” Raj added.
“To really bring to life the unforeseen possibilities of 5G, we’ve partnered with Ericsson and Nokia who are helping us build out the technology and really the environment we need to be able to deliver those end-to-end consumer experiences that are really going to wow you and me when we see them on our phones,” Cary said.
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Separately, AT&T’s 5G+ [1.] will be available for customers to experience during Houston Rockets games and other events at the Houston Toyota Center.
First responders in Houston will also gain access to 5G+ on FirstNet®, America’s public safety network. They will maintain voice communication through always-on priority and preemption on 4G-LTE and the intuitive FirstNet network will determine the best route for data traffic, whether that’s 5G+ or 4G-LTE spectrum.
Note 1. AT&T’s 5G+ is the version of its 5G that uses millimeter wave (mmWave) spectrum. A 5G capable device that supports mmWave frequencies is needed to get access. [Note that the mmWave frequencies for IMT/5G have not yet been standardized in ITU-R M.1036 Recommendation.]
AT&T stipulates that it may temporarily slow data speeds if the network is busy. The move falls in line with AT&T’s strategy of treating existing customers similarly to new ones.
AT&T 5G+ is available in parts of 38 cities and more than 20 venues across the U.S. Learn more about AT&T’s 5G network at att.com/5gforyou and check out AT&T’s 5G coverage in the Houston area and across the Gulf coast of Texas here.
References:
https://www.fiercewireless.com/5g/at-t-launches-5g-innovation-studio-ericsson-nokia
https://www.att.com/maps/wireless-coverage.html
https://about.att.com/newsroom/2021/5g_plus.html
NEC and Cisco in Global Systems Integrator Agreement for 5G IP Transport
NEC Corp and Cisco today announced they have entered into a Global System Integrator Agreement (GSIA) to expand their partnership for accelerating the deployment of innovative 5G IP transport network solutions worldwide.
[Will any other protocol besides IP operate over 5G data plane?]
Under the agreement, the companies will jointly drive new business opportunities for 5G. NEC group companies will work closely with Cisco to complement NEC’s ecosystem with optimized IP metro/access transport and edge cloud computing solutions. Cisco will support NEC’s customer engagements by offering best-in-class products, proposals and execution support.
The new agreement underlines NEC’s successful track record as a Cisco Gold Partner over two decades, and its proven engineering capabilities to provide Cisco products to its global customer base across multiple regions.
“We believe 5G is fueling the internet for the future, and accelerating our customers’ digital transformations,” said Jonathan Davidson, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Mass-Scale Infrastructure Group, Cisco. “Together with NEC, we are creating a powerful force to drive the critical changes needed in networking infrastructure to carry the internet into the next decade.”
“Collaboration across the network solution ecosystem is essential for continued success in meeting diversified customer requirements and establishing a win-win relationship,” said Mayuko Tatewaki, General Manager, Service Provider Solutions Division, NEC Corporation. “This powerful partnership strengthens our global competitiveness as a network integrator that drives the customer journey with innovative solutions.”
NEC and Cisco say they will make collaborative efforts to further enhance their joint solution portfolio and to optimize regional activities for advancing the digital transformation of customers across the globe. Indeed, NEC has a long history of working with Cisco stretching back more than two decades. This includes the two working together on 4G LTE equipment that combined NEC’s RAN and backhaul assets with Cisco’s network equipment.
The two firms last year bolstered efforts in ensuring the security of their networking equipment. This involved using NEC’s blockchain technologies and Cisco’s fraud detection technologies to confirm the authenticity of network equipment used for security and critical industrial infrastructure before it was shipped to a customer, during the construction of those networks, and during operation.
NEC also participated in Rakuten Mobile’s 4G-LTE network deployment in Japan. NEC has so far gained the most from that deployment as it’s been tapped to provide a standalone (SA) 5G core network based on the specification it wrote with Rakuten Mobile.
NEC recently established an Global Open RAN Center of Excellence in the UK, which aims “to accelerate the global adoption of Open RAN and to further strengthen its structure for accelerating the global deployment of 5G.”
The company also developed (with Samsung) and demonstrated an O-RAN Alliance compliant 5G base station baseband unit (5G-CU/DU) on NTT DOCOMO’s commercial 5G network.
Source: NEC Corp.
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Cisco was initially part of Rakuten Mobile’s 4G-LTE deployment, but has been conspicuously absent from the Japanese carrier’s more recent 5G plans. Cisco has been steadily bolstering its 5G focus with updates to its routing and networking equipment. This includes updates earlier this year to its router portfolio, and scoring a deal late last year with AT&T to assist with disaggregated IP routing technology for an edge routing platform.
Cisco has also been working with Japanese carrier KDDI on its 5G and network virtualization efforts. This included a proof-of-concept (PoC) last year that demonstrated cloud-native software with Cisco’s Ultra Packet Core platform.
Nonetheless, Cisco continues to lag behind the more established telecom vendors in providing 5G equipment. They don’t make cellular base stations which limits their offerings to routers with 5G interfaces.
A recent Dell’Oro Group report placed Cisco a distant No. 5 among overall telecom equipment vendors, with its market share having shrunk by 1% from 2019 to 2020 to only 6%.
| Top 7 Suppliers | Year 2019 | Year 2020 |
| Huawei | 28% | 31% |
| Nokia | 16% | 15% |
| Ericsson | 14% | 15% |
| ZTE | 9% | 10% |
| Cisco | 7% | 6% |
| Ciena | 3% | 3% |
| Samsung | 3% | 2% |
Source: Dell’Oro Group
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References:
https://www.nec.com/en/press/202104/global_20210408_01.html
https://www.sdxcentral.com/articles/news/cisco-nabs-nec-to-expand-5g-reach/2021/04/
https://www.delloro.com/key-takeaways-total-telecom-equipment-market-2020/
Coherent WDM shipments surged in 4Q20 with Ciena in the lead; 400 ZR explained
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Note 1. What is 400ZR?
Aimed predominantly at short-reach, single-span fiber optic links for Data Center Interconnect (DCI), 400ZR is an interoperable networking Implementation Agreement (IA) released by the OIF (Optical Internetworking Forum) in March 2020. It defines a footprint-optimized solution for transporting 400Gb Ethernet over DCI (Data Center Interconnect) links targeting a minimum of 80 km. Enabled by advanced coherent optical technology design targeting small, pluggable form factor modules such as QSFP-DD and OSFP, 400ZR supports high capacity data transport, matched to 400GE switch port market introduction.
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Comments on 400ZR:
The main driver for 400ZR were the cloud giants (AKA hyperscalers) who needed to upgrade their DCI links to 400G b/sec to carry ever increasing data and video traffic. Yet they were very slow to do so, despite IEEE 802.3bs 200/400G b/sec Ethernet standard and 40G b/sec ITU-T OTN recommendations (Optical Physical Interfaces G.959.1, G.695, G.698.x) in place for many years. Up until last year, Ciena was the only optical networking equipment vendor that offered production ready 400G b/sec DWDM gear.
Light Reading’s Sterling Perrin wrote: “Although 400ZR work within the OIF began with hyperscalers, there is already evidence that the architecture also appeals to CSPs (communications service providers).”
“Sweden’s Telia Carrier, Ethiopian internet service provider WebSprix and Windstream in the US have all announced plans to commercial deploy routed optical networks using 400G pluggable coherent optics beginning this year.”
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References:
https://cignal.ai/free-articles/
https://www.ciena.com/insights/what-is/What-is-400ZR.html
https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-T/studygroups/2017-2020/15/Documents/OFC2018-1-SG15-Hot-topics-OTN.pdf
https://www.lightreading.com/opticalip/routing/an-ip-over-dwdm-renaissance-at-400g/a/d-id/768513
Lumen Technologies and T-Mobile collaborate on edge compute for enterprise customers
Following this week’s Verizon-AWS announcement on Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC), T-Mobile US has entered the mobile edge computing business using wireline carrier Lumen Technologies (formerly CenturyLink) as its initial preferred vendor.
T-Mobile US has taken a decidedly different MEC approach compared to its two domestic rivals (Verizon and AT&T). The U.S.’s #2 wireless network operator effectively views the edge as a latter opportunity that doesn’t merit a large initial investment. Its edge computing initiatives are exclusively focused on businesses and government agencies that fall under Lumen’s enterprise unit and T-Mobile for business.
“By pairing America’s largest and fastest 5G network with Lumen’s enterprise solutions, we can break down industry barriers and deliver unparalleled network reach to enterprise and government organizations looking to optimize their applications across networks,” Mike Katz, EVP for T-Mobile for Business, said in a prepared statement. “With our leading 5G network, Lumen and T-Mobile have the opportunity to accelerate business innovation in an era where the network is more critical than ever,” Katz added,
Enterprise applications will likely benefit from Lumen’s hundreds of thousands of fiber connected enterprise locations paired with T-Mobile’s “largest and fastest 5G network.”
“The Lumen platform, with 60 plus planned edge market nodes distributed on our high-capacity global fiber network enables application designs with latency of 5 milliseconds or less between the workload and the endpoint device,” wrote David Shacochis, VP of enterprise technology and field CTO at Lumen.
“Lumen’s fiber reach and edge computing resources can augment business solutions for T-Mobile customers, and private wireless solutions can augment business solutions for Lumen customers,” Shacochis added.
“The companies envision starting with metropolitan areas where they are already well connected, and expanding their joint go-to-market over time,” Shacochis wrote, adding that more details about commercial availability and services will be shared throughout 2021.
These efforts aim to address the pressing needs of enterprises to transform their networks to meet the data-intensive challenges across a variety of industries and use cases. Both companies will also continue to drive innovation in this space through T-Mobile’s labs and Tech Experience Center and the Lumen Edge Experience Center.
“Our relationship with T-Mobile aims to introduce a powerful trifecta – access to national 5G wireless and fiber connectivity, managed services across a range of technologies and edge computing resources,” said Shaun Andrews, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Lumen Technologies. “T-Mobile’s expansive 5G footprint coupled with our extensive edge computing platform would provide enterprise developers with the best of both worlds to power the next wave of digital business.”
- For a current list of Lumen live and planned edge locations, visit: https://www.lumen.com/en-us/solutions/edge-computing.html#edge-computing-map
- The Lumen low latency network is comprised of approximately 450,000 global route miles of fiber and more than 180,000 on-net buildings, seamlessly connected to:
- 2,200 public and private third-party data centers in North America, Europe & Middle East, Latin America, and Asia Pacific
- Leading public cloud service providers including Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure ExpressRoute & Azure Government, Google Cloud, IBM Cloud and Oracle Cloud
T-Mobile’s partnership with Lumen is likely just the beginning. “As in all things with 5G, I think a lot of our efforts have to be done through partnerships,” said John Saw, EVP of advanced and emerging technologies at T-Mobile. Apparently, the network operator will form partnerships with many of the big vendors in the space, including hyperscalers (Google, Amazon, Microsoft), and other specialized mobile edge computing vendors.
Similarly, Shacochis said Lumen is also “open to and looking at” other partnerships in the wireless space. Lumen executives outlined a plan to offer edge compute services in August 2019. The company deployed its first block of edge nodes and obtained its first customer in Q3-2020, before formally launching its edge platform in December 2020.
Building on cloud partnerships with Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud and Amazon Web Services (AWS), Lumen bolstered its edge capabilities through additional deals with VMware and IBM.
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References:
https://www.sdxcentral.com/articles/news/lumen-lands-t-mobiles-first-5g-edge-contract/2021/04/
https://www.fiercetelecom.com/telecom/lumen-strikes-edge-compute-deal-t-mobile
https://www.sdxcentral.com/edge/definitions/multi-access-edge-computing-vendors/
IBM and Verizon Business Collaborate on 5G, Edge Computing and AI Solutions for Enterprise Customers
Amazon AWS and Verizon Business Expand 5G Collaboration with Private MEC Solution
AWS and Verizon Business have expanded their 5G collaboration to provide private multi-access edge computing (Private MEC) for enterprises. Private MEC integrates edge computing infrastructure with private networks deployed on or near the customer’s premises. AWS and Verizon have integrated Verizon’s 5G Edge MEC platform with AWS Outposts [1.], a fully managed service that offers the same AWS Infrastructure, AWS services, APIs, and tools to virtually any data center, colocation space, or on-premises facility for a consistent, hybrid experience.
Note 1. Outposts is AWS’ on-premises option that involves data center equipment being installed at an enterprise facility. It uses AWS infrastructure, services, APIs, and tools to support a hybrid cloud service. Verizon is offering several form factor options of Outposts, include 1U and 2U deployments.
AWS initially launched Outposts in late 2019. “Instead of building this funky bridge between two things,” on-premises data centers and the cloud, Outposts brings native AWS services into on-premises data centers while “seamlessly connecting to AWS’s broad array of services in the cloud,” AWS CEO Andy Jassy explained at the time.
Outposts is similar to competing offers like Microsoft’s Azure Arc, Google’s Anthos, and IBM’s Cloud Satellite. AWS last month also struck a deal with Nokia to combine Outposts with the telecom vendor’s RAN and edge equipment to target the enterprise space.
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Verizon Business customers will be able to tap into the combination to deploy a fully managed private mobile edge compute network within their on-premises environment that can handle low-latency applications like intelligent logistics, robotics, and factory automation.
MEC deployment across different enterprise networks. Source: ETSI
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According to Amazon, cloud migrations are often inhibited by residency or privacy constraints that prevent data from leaving the premises, strict compute latency requirements, or the need for cloud infrastructure to connect directly to onsite equipment. Similarly, many workloads involve huge volume of data, making transfers to the cloud infeasible due to limited available network bandwidth and timing constraints.
Furthermore, enterprise applications commonly depend on local wired or Wi-Fi networks to transport data locally. While wired networks can provide acceptable performance, they are expensive to upgrade, reroute, and extend. On the other hand, enterprise Wi-Fi offers simplicity and cost-effectiveness, but offers less manageability and suffers from coverage, capacity, reliability, security, and handoff issues.
The Private MEC solution deployed on AWS Outposts addresses these challenges by providing a secure, dedicated cloud computing platform and reliable on-premises wireless networking based on 5G, all using a single infrastructure deployment. The private 5G network offers better performance, control, reliability, and density than existing options. Combined with the AWS services brought by AWS Outposts, we are enabling Enterprise customers to deploy low latency, high-performance applications on their premises, leveraging both the benefits of 5G and the cloud, locally. By leveraging Private MEC enterprises can host workloads in emerging areas such as Industry 4.0; for example, Private MEC and private 5G can facilitate deeper integration between IT and operational technology (OT) systems in manufacturing facilities.
Private MEC also supports many use cases beyond the factory. Events and venues, such as sports, concerts, and theme parks can use Private MEC to provide enhanced experiences with AR/VR, live information overlays, multi-camera, multiple angle views, and personalized instant replays. Healthcare providers use Private MEC for real-time diagnostics over 5G for rapid access to radiological scans on-site and local processing of sensitive patient data. Schools and universities can benefit from Private MEC by servicing students in rural areas without adequate broadband coverage to run applications like virtual desktops. We are excited about the innovations that Private MEC solutions can unlock across industries, and continue to work with customers to power their innovation with edge computing.
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Amazon AWS is also working with Corning Incorporated, a leading materials science and advanced manufacturing innovator, and Verizon to deploy a Private MEC solution on AWS Outposts at the Corning factory in Hickory, North Carolina. Corning uses AWS Outposts to run computer vision software from Gestalt Robotics that provides autonomous navigation and advanced environmental sensing. Corning recently installed an AWS Outposts rack that places the power of the AWS cloud within the four walls of its optical cable plant in Hickory, North Carolina.
The AWS capabilities that Outposts delivers, combined with the ultra-low latency, high throughput of the private 5G network, provide a powerful platform upon which Corning will innovate with applications never before possible, such as real-time analysis of large volumes of high-resolution video streams from across the factory and integration of high-data-rate automation systems. In factory environments like this, Amazon EC2 instances with GPU acceleration provide the necessary computing power to run Computer Vision (CV) and AI/ML workloads efficiently, enabling real-time control of Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) that roam the factory floors.
The software running on the Private MEC service can guide the AMRs safely and speedily through a factory, avoiding people and obstacles while ferrying their payloads from point to point. The Private 5G network enables reliable, low-latency transmission of rich sensor data (lidar, vibration, temperature, audio) from these AMRs and other industrial devices located throughout the factory. Importantly, this enables operators to observe a live stream of video in near real-time and intervene when necessary.
The same computer vision technology used by the AMRs for navigation and safety can also be used to detect and inventory raw material and finished goods in a factory. Mobile video streams from the AMRs can be combined with feeds from cameras installed in the factory and onsite sensor inputs and RFIDs for accurate counting and tracking. In addition, integration with Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) running on Outposts enables real-time monitoring, automation, and optimization, as raw material is turned into the final product.
This opens up possibilities such as performing predictive maintenance and servicing of onsite machinery without the need to ship massive amounts of sensor data over network links into the cloud. Private MEC solutions like this enable factories to become even smarter and leverage the power of innovation that AWS brings to the cloud, while simplifying the deployment and management of on-premise networking with the latest 5G technologies.
References:
https://aws.amazon.com/outposts/
https://www.sdxcentral.com/articles/news/verizon-adds-aws-outposts-to-5g-edge-plan/2021/04/
https://www.etsi.org/images/files/ETSITechnologyLeaflets/MultiAccessEdgeComputing.pdf
Spain’s Government tests 5G at 700 MHz for potential interference with Digital TV
5G in 700 MHz Interference Tests:
The Spanish government has begun a series of trials to ensure that the country’s forthcoming 5G services in the 700 MHz band will not interfere with DTT (Digital Terrestrial Television) transmissions, reports website Voz Populi.
The tests are being conducted on Movistar (Telefonica), Vodafone and Orange infrastructure in the Ciudad Real in the central Castilla La Mancha region, with Huawei, Nokia and Ericsson as the 5G network equipment suppliers.
Image Credit: Europress
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Spain’s government is finally prepared to auction frequencies in the 700 MHz band [1.] before the end of May, having delayed the tender several times due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The eight blocks of 20-year frequencies will have a starting price of EUR 1.17 billion and the ministry said it was looking to raise at least EUR 2 billion, although operators have called on the government to cut the price due to already high tax burdens and with a view to boosting investment.
Note 1. Before the auction of the 700 MHz band takes place (it has been delayed again for the third time due to the COVID-19 pandemic), it is necessary to know that the technology does not interfere with other bands and services, as is the case with the TDT.
–>Please see section below on 5G Auction Delay.
Spain finally completed its second digital dividend plan to free up the 700 MHz band for 5G services at the end of last year after it was suspended in mid-March due to the first coronavirus lockdown.
Anonymous sources involved in the test told Vozpópuli:
“This is what the protocol dictates. First, the 700 MHz band of television channels has been cleaned up, something that happened in October last year, and the spectrum blocks occupied by the Ministry of Defense in the 3.5 GHz band. Now the procedure to follow is to carry out tests to see the behavior of 5G technology with others that also use radioelectric spectrum. This is precisely what is being done now.”
The same sources explained that the tests are currently being carried out with total normality. Furthermore, the coexistence between 5G and digital television does not seem to present problems, i.e. there has been no interference detected to date.
Implications of the 5G Auction Delay:
The delay in the 5G auction is good news for some, and bad for others. For network operators it is a breath of oxygen due to their financial and market situation. The billing of the telecommunications majors is frozen. The 5G auction supposes, from the outset, the payment of billions of euros. The bid is set, according to the General State Budgets, at 2,000 million euros, although operators suspect that this amount will rise by 10% more.
Deployment cost must be added to this spectrum auction investment. Once the specific spectrum blocks that each operator are determined, the infrastructure can be deployed. That will likely be in billions of Euros.
Vozpópuli Editorial Comment:
“The development of 5G does not seem peremptory in need. The reality is that there are no services to be delivered with this (5G) technology that the user can exploit with a connection up to 100 times faster than that offered by 4G.”
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References:
https://www.vozpopuli.com/economia_y_finanzas/5g-pruebas-tdt-television.html
https://www.telecompaper.com/news/spain-conducting-5g-dtt-interference-tests-on-700-mhz-band–1378248
https://techblog.comsoc.org/2020/12/02/spains-plan-to-bring-ftth-and-5g-to-its-entire-population/