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/
Verizon Business wins Private 5G contract in the UK
Verizon Communications Inc. won a contract to erect and operate a private 5G network in Southampton, England (United Kingdom), for Associated British Ports Holdings, its first industrial 5G award in Europe. The #1 U.S. wireless telco beat out local telecommunications companies and is jump starts a push to sell the wireless systems to global businesses.
- Verizon teams up with Nokia to offer private 5G capabilities to enterprises in Europe and Asia-Pacific
- Private 5G will enable organizations to deliver mission critical and real-time capabilities
- Announcement marks Verizon’s continued investment in 5G and network-as-a-service strategy
A private 5G network is a self-contained network whose components all reside in a single facility, consisting of micro towers and small cells and connects to an organization’s Local Area Network (LAN) and enterprise applications. It will utilize Nokia’s Digital Automation Cloud, a private wireless network solution with automation enablers that will allow for application deployment through a web-based interface.
New York-based Verizon opened a showroom in London last year and spoke about its hopes to muscle in on 5G enterprise deals beyond the U.S. It’s a sign competition is heating up in the segment, seen as a key way to fuel growth in the otherwise stagnant telecommunications sector for local carriers like Newbury, England-based Vodafone Group Plc.
“We chose Verizon simply just due to the track record within setting up private 5G networks,” said Henrik Pedersen, chief executive officer of ABP, in a video call with Bloomberg. “Regional or local, I don’t see it like this. I see 5G as a global thing.”
Southampton is a crucial British terminal which usually handles about 900,000 cars and sees millions of cruise ship passengers per year. It’s upgrading its network as the port adapts to its new status as a freeport, one of several low-tariff business zones on the British coast that U.K. chancellor Rishi Sunak unveiled last month as part of his plans to stimulate post-Brexit trade.
Verizon’s 5G network will remove dead spots and increase bandwidth at the port, ultimately enabling new systems, such as using drones that can transmit high-definition video for maintenance checks, and sending live shipping data, Pedersen said.
“There’ll be a lot of need for data transfer in the future in the freeport zone, and especially when you start to move goods in and out of the customs zones,” said Pedersen. He said he wants the system up and running by July, and added that more of ABP’s 21 ports are likely to get 5G networks in the future.
“Today, we’ve announced the next phase of Verizon’s global 5G vision with the launch of private 5G for our international customers,” said Tami Erwin, CEO, Verizon Business. “If the past few months have taught us anything, it’s that there’s never been a more critical time for mobility, broadband and cloud products and services. Private 5G networks will be a transformative technology that will drive the new era of disruption and innovation for enterprises around the world.”
“Private wireless connectivity has become central to many industries in realizing their long-term digital transformation goals. By delivering private 5G together with Verizon, we’re paving the way to accelerate digitalization for the most demanding industries who crave reliable wireless connectivity,” said Brian R. Fitzgerald, SVP Global Solutions at Nokia.
“We’re seeing international markets moving rapidly to deploy 5G Private Networks, which appears as a major use case for the uptake of 5G, particularly in order to capitalize on 5G investments in the enterprise market. With the ingredients of an early mover go-to-market 5G-know-how, foundational enterprise networking and innovative 5G enabled services Verizon’s go-to-market recipe with Nokia will be an attractive solution to the broader market,” said Martina Kurth, associate vice president of IDC’s European Telco Research practice.
Today’s announcement follows recent MEC partnership announcements with Microsoft, Cisco, IBM and AWS. In August, Verizon recently announced its successful completion of lab trials with Corning and Samsung on its new 5G mmWave in-building solutions.
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References:
https://www.verizon.com/about/news/verizon-business-takes-private-5g-global
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/verizon-beats-out-european-carriers-to-run-5g-at-u-k-freeport-1.1585233
LightCounting: the rise of disaggregated white box routers for wireless infrastructure
LightCounting’s new report explores the emergence of the Disaggregated Open Routers (DOR) [1.] market in wireless infrastructure. DOR are white-box cell site, aggregation and core routers based on an open and disaggregated architecture for existing 2G/3G/4G and future 5G network architectures.
Note 1. A disaggregated router is an open approach to routing where the customer can choose hardware and software from a range of vendors that best meets their needs. This open approach enables innovation, avoids vendor lock-in, and drives cost down. The hardware is provided by a whitebox vendor while the software is mostly proprietary from vendors like Israel’s Drivenets.
“Still incipient, the DOR market is just about to take off and is here to stay but requires more CSPs (Communications Service Providers) to take the plunge and drive volumes. And with China’s lack of appetite for DOR, North America is taking the lead,” said Stéphane Téral, Chief Analyst at LightCounting Market Research.
SOURCE: LightCounting
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The major findings in the report are:
- The Open RAN ascension brought router disaggregation to the spotlight and paved the way to 4 fundamental routes. This phenomenon would have never happened without TIP’s DOR initiative [2].
- Although NOS software vendors are mushrooming and by far outnumbering the white box hardware suppliers, one vendor dominates the networking silicon domain.
- Communications service providers (CSPs) remain cautiously optimistic about router disaggregation but have yet to see more maturity and the full benefits because an onslaught of software can boost OPEX.
- With all inputs from all vendors and CSPs with DOR rollout plans taken into consideration, our cell site-based model produced a forecast showing a slow start that reflects the early stage of this market and an uptick at the end of the 2021-2026 forecast period marked by a double digit CAGR.
Note 2. Telecom Infra Project (TIP)’s Disaggregated Open Routers (DOR) group is led by KDDI and Vodafone. The DOR project group is part of TIP’s Open Optical & Packet Transport (OOPT) Group. The DOR group will focus on open and disaggregated routing platforms for transport networks and will drive technological development toward white box solutions for backbone networks including aggregation routers and open BNGs.
The Telecom Infra Project (TIP) is a global community of companies and organizations working together to accelerate the development and deployment of open, disaggregated, and standards-based solutions that deliver the high-quality connectivity that the world needs – now and in the decades to come. Founded in 2016 by Deutsche Telekom, Intel, Facebook, Nokia and SK Telecom, TIP has grown into a diverse membership that includes hundreds of member companies – from service providers and technology partners, to system integrators and other connectivity stakeholders.
LightCounting’s Disaggregated Open Routers report explores the emergence of the Disaggregated Open Routers (DOR) market. Disaggregated open routers are white-box routers based on separated white box hardware and software with cloud enabled software functions for existing 2G/3G/4G and future 5G network architectures. The report analyzes the disaggregated open routers’ (aggregation and core) architectures and implementations in wireless infrastructure, including the emerging vendor ecosystem, and tracks white box hardware units and sales, and software sales, all broken down by region including North America, Europe Middle East Africa, Asia Pacific, and Caribbean Latin America. It includes the total number of cell sites worldwide and a 5-year market forecast. As this market is just emerging, it is too early to publish vendor market shares.
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More information on the report is available at: https://www.lightcounting.com/products/DOR/
Cisco Plus: Network as a Service includes computing and storage too
Cisco Systems is extending the concept of software-as-a-service (SaaS) technology with the introduction of Cisco Plus, which is a network-as-a-service (NaaS) offering focused on cybersecurity and hybrid cloud services. The new service offering can also provide computing-as-a-service and data-storage-as-a-service.
- Cisco announcing plans to lead the industry with new Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) solutions to deliver simpler IT and flexible procurement for customers looking for greater speed, agility and scale
- Cisco also reveals plans to help customers build a SASE foundation today (with Cisco SD-WAN and security) with as-a-service offer coming soon
- Cisco Plus offers include flexible consumption for data center networking, compute and storage now, and commits to delivering the majority of its portfolio as-a-service over time
“I believe every organization would benefit from simplifying powerful technology,” said Todd Nightingale, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Enterprise Networking and Cloud, Cisco. “Network-as-a-service is a great option for businesses wanting to shift to a cloud operating model without a heavy lift. Cisco is leading the industry in its approach with Cisco Plus. Together with our partners, we intend to offer the majority of our technology portfolio in the simplest, most flexible way: cloud-driven, cloud-delivered, cloud-managed and as-a-service.”
“Network-as-a-service delivery is a great option for businesses wanting to shift to a cloud operating model that makes its easy and simple to buy and consume the necessary components to improve and grow their businesses,” said James Mobley, senior vice president and general manager of Cisco’s Network Services Business Unit.
Cisco Plus NaaS solutions will provide:
- Seamless and secure onramps to applications and cloud providers
- Flexible delivery models, including pay-per-use or pay-as-you-grow options
- End-to-end visibility from the client to the application to the ISP
- Unified policy engine to ensure the right users have access
- Security across everything, not bolted on as another point solution
- Real-time analytics providing AI/ML-driven insights for cost and performance tracking
- API extensibility across the technology stack
- Partners layering additional value and delivering their services faster
The NaaS rollout will first focus on a cloud-based solution as-a-service for secure access service edge (SASE). The Cisco SASE offer currently available enables customers to easily leverage future services with investment protection. Cisco is planning limited release NaaS solutions later this calendar year that will unify networking, security and visibility services across access, WAN and cloud domains.
While Cisco plans in the next few years to introduce what will likely be many service options under Cisco Plus, for now it is introducing two flavors. The first, Cisco Plus Hybrid Cloud, includes the company’s data-center compute, networking, and storage portfolio in addition to third-party software and storage components all controlled by the company’s Intersight cloud management package. Customers can choose the level of services they want for planning, design and installation Mobley said.
Cisco Plus Hybrid Cloud, which will be available mid-year, offers pay-as-you-go with delivery of orders within 14 days, Mobley said.
“As enterprises recommit to their digital transformation strategies, they are increasingly looking for more cloud-like, flexible consumption models for procuring and managing their IT, cloud and network infrastructure. These “as-a-service” deployment options provide much needed flexibility and scalability, along with a simplification of network deployments and ongoing operations. Cisco’s transition to as-a-service via Cisco Plus shows the company is committed to meeting customer needs for predictable costs, cloud-like agility, first-class security, and more.
“With Cisco Plus, it’s taking NaaS and its hybrid cloud offerings to the next level by including hardware and the full portfolio into this as-a-service offer, that provides cloud-like simplicity and flexibility of consumption on one end, and on the other, it provides a rich set of intelligent operational enhancements that go a long way to deliver enhanced IT experiences and outcomes. This has also been made possible by increased embedded intelligence now available in network and IT hardware and software, coupled with advanced telemetry options in many of these platforms.”
— Rohit Mehra, Vice President of Network Infrastructure, IDC.
“With Cisco Plus, we couldn’t be more excited that Cisco is diving deeper into the as-a-service era, helping us in our transformation to deliver IT as a service to our customers. In this way, we are better equipped to help our customers simplify their IT operations, and free up resources to invest in innovation of their core business.” — Jeffrey den Oudsten, CTO Office Solutions Director, Conscia Nederland
“There’s always been a push and pull in how to operationalize and finance IT infrastructure. Cisco Plus is the matching pair to a cloud operating model. Delivering Cisco Plus across the majority of Cisco’s portfolio helps us at Insight to further deliver the transformation to a cloud operating model our clients want. With Cisco Plus, organizations can not only operate their infrastructure as a cloud, but also consume it in a similar fashion, enabling a true hybrid, multi-cloud.” — Juan Orlandini, Chief Architect Cloud + Data Center Transformation, Insight
“At Presidio, we have seen this shift coming for a long time. Our customers are very clear: They want to consume reliable, best of breed infrastructure with consumption-based financial models. And with the launch of Cisco Plus, Presidio and Cisco in partnership are doing just that.” — Raphael Meyerowitz, Engineering VP, Office of the CTO, Data Center, Presidio
The second Cisco Plus service, which did not have an availability timeframe, will feature the company’s secure access services edge (SASE) components, such as Cisco’s SD-WAN and cloud-based Umbrella security software.
Security-as-a-service models offer many advantages for organizations including offloading the maintenance of hundreds or thousands of firewalls and other security appliances, said Neil Anderson, senior director of network solutions at World Wide Technology, a technology and supply-chain services provider.
“With SASE, enterprises can consume that from the cloud and let someone else take care of the toil, which frees up their security team to focus on threat vectors and prevention,” he said.
While the strategy behind delivering network components as a cloud-based service has been around for a few years, it is not a widely used enterprise-customer strategy. Cisco’s entry into NaaS is likely to change that notion significantly.
“Cisco has been on this journey for a few years now—starting with providing subscription-based offers for many of its software solutions—while working on simplifying and enriching the licensing and consumption experience,” Mehra said. “Customers understand and have embraced cloud-like IT-consumption models that are typically subscription-based and provide scalability and other on-demand capabilities,” Mehra said.
Terms such as NaaS are still largely new in an enterprise context to most IT practitioners, although they do understand that operational simplicity and flexibility will be crucial to their success in digital transformation, Mehra said.
While NaaS might be relatively new to some customers, others are already utilizing it, other experts said. For remote-access, customers are more than ready, and it’s starting to go mainstream, Anderson said.
“For connectivity to the cloud edge, it’s coming very soon, and the adoption of SASE models for security will accelerate the demand for NaaS services,” he said. “NaaS in the campus will probably take a bit longer, but we see that coming. Some customer segments, like retail, are probably ready today, while others like global financials will take longer to adopt.”
Networking is no longer just about connecting things within private networks because there is a world of networking to and between clouds to account for, Anderson said. “For example, with private WANs, I typically networked my sites to my other sites like a private data center. Now, I need to network my sites to cloud services, and I may be doing so with public-internet services,” Anderson said.
NaaS for the campus network is another use case on the horizon, he said. “To build campus networks in the past, we had access, distribution, and core layers, and the core spanned my campus and sometimes private data center. It was designed to aggregate traffic from users into my private data center,” Anderson said. “Today, much of the traffic is heading to the cloud—Office 365 is the tipping point for many organizations—so building a core network may not be necessary. I see a new architecture emerging where the goal is to tie each site, including each building of a campus, to the internet directly to connect users to cloud and enable traffic to [reach] the cloud sooner, ultimately improving the user experience.”
Naas is by no means a slam dunk, and there will be challenges for enterprises that use it. “For medium to large organizations with significant investments in existing remote, branch, campus and data-center networking network-security infrastructure, migrating to NaaS will be difficult and time consuming. Multi-vendor environments will further complicate the matter,” stated principal analyst at Doyle Research, Lee Doyle.
Widespread adoption of enterprise NaaS will occur slowly over the next five to 10 years Doyle stated. The best fits for adoption now are greenfield sites, temporary locations, and small branch offices. NaaS offerings will also be attractive to network remote, home and mobile workers who need secure, reliable application performance. Enterprise networks with the requirement to move traffic at high speeds on-site would be more difficult to deliver as a service, Doyle stated.
Key challenges, besides understanding of what NaaS will help deliver, face IT practitioners who are the potential customers as well as vendors and service providers, Mehra said.
“On the customer aspects, what we’ll need to watch will be the changing role of IT and how it can optimally consume these technologies as a service while retaining overall control of its IT environment,” Mehra said. “On the provider side, visibility across issues such as operational flexibility and simplicity will be one area to consider, while another will be the direction the industry takes on what metered-service options it makes available for its clients.”
The challenges depend on the industry and security requirements, WWT’s Anderson said. “If the organization is in a heavily regulated industry like financial, healthcare, or federal [government], one challenge will be trusting the integrated security needed,” Anderson said. “For example, there would be fewer challenges to enable everyone to connect to the internet, akin to a giant hotspot, but to adopt more of a zero-trust model, where you may need to securely isolate sessions and devices from one another, will require building trust in some integrated security technologies.”
“What Cisco is doing is very interesting because what NaaS is out there has been limited to mostly the WAN world but once you start targeting the enterprise that’s where the challenges are because customers still have to move bits and everything can’t be in the cloud,” Doyle said. “Instead of being in the first inning of a game we are really just now defining the rules of the game, so there’s a long way to go.”
References:
https://www.zdnet.com/article/cisco-launches-cisco-plus-a-step-toward-network-as-a-service/