The Global Semiconductor Alliance (GSA), whom many consider to be the voice of the global semiconductor industry, held its annual Silicon Summit on April 18, 2013 at the Computer History Museum in Mt View, CA.  We report on the first two sessions (see below).  They were related to new silicon solutions that address the exponential growth of… Read more →

The Feb 2013 ITU-T SG 13 Plenary meeting report lists Question 13 as having primary responsibility for investigating Software Defined Networking and Network Virtualization.  Here is a cut and paste of the pertinent ITU-T SG13 Plenary report: TD 26 (PLEN/13) Software Defined Networking (SDN) and network virtualization are among promising technologies because they enable network operators to… Read more →

Introduction:One consistent theme during the Cloud Connect 2013 conference was the cloud as a disrupter of IT organizations.  During the Cloud Executive Summit workshop, Avery Lyford of LEAP Commerce said that there were three huge areas of disruption: the mobile cloud, big data (analytics) and Software Defined Networking (SDN).  Each of these areas were then… Read more →

Introduction: The four-year-old Cloud Connect conference, sponsored by United Business Media, was held   April 2 to 5th in Santa Clara, CA.   Having attended all four Cloud Connect’s, this one was by far the most in depth and comprehensive treatment of Cloud Computing. At last, no more defining terms and debating methods of cloud computing, this… Read more →

Introduction: The use of over-the-top (OTT) solutions to deliver streaming video to the TV and second screen devices is now a reality.  Almost all Internet-connected devices (WiFi, Ethernet, 3G/4G) are capable of receiving multiple sources of OTT video- both free and subscription fee based. Though streaming video services are at the center of OTT, there … Read more →

Summary: FBR CAPITAL MARKETS & CO sees Software Defined Networking (SDN) adoption driving sales of commodity, low-margin switches at the expense of Cisco/Juniper’s conventional switch/routers. SDN separates the data (packet/frame) forwarding “switch engine” from the control plane “server” and uses the Open Flow protocol to communicate between them. SDN revolutionizes networking implementation by using commodity hardware in both the switch/data forwarding engine (data plane) and centralized… Read more →

Steady growth in broadband revenue has helped cable operators offset a stagnant pay-TV market in recent years. But now, the industry is resisting pressure from local governments, businesses and universities to offer ultrafast Internet service, opening the door to new competitors. Google Inc. and a host of smaller companies working in partnership with cities like… Read more →

By 2015, the worldwide market for cloud products and services is estimated to reach between €50bn and €80bn. Already there are numerous cloud services on offer, presenting radical new business opportunities which are both disruptive and beneficial at once. In order to address the specific challenges of cloud computing, in September 2012 the European Commission… Read more →

Mobile subscribers’ increased use of smartphones and tablets has caused exponential growth of data and video traffic, which has caused a huge capacity problem for wireless network operators.  Small cells (for spectrum re-use) and heterogeneous networks is one way they are coping capacity constraints on access networks.  WiFi offload is another.  But independent of the mobile… Read more →

Overview: The IEEE 802.16 Working Group’s Session #81 took place on 17-20 September 2012 in Indian Wells, CA, USA in conjunction with the IEEE 802 Wireless Interim meeting.  IEEE Std 802.16-2012, the new revision of the base IEEE 802.16 standard, was pubished on 2012-08-17. IEEE Std 802.16.1-2012, which specifies the IMT-Advanced air interface known as… Read more →