Communication and datacenter equipment manufacturers are looking to deploy 50 Gbps or 100 Gbps data links. These links, based on high-density connections with single or double 50 Gbps electrical channels, need I/O connections that go beyond the traditional small form-factor pluggable (SFP) port. Two new approaches have emerged that enhance SFP: micro quad SFP (microQSFP) and SFP-double density (SFP-DD

However, for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), IHS researchers expect a lower growth rate in 2017 due to Brexit.

WLAN equipment sales totaled USD 1.4 billion globally in Q3 2016, up by over 8 percent year-on-year due to strong growth in access point shipments, which are up 21 percent year-on-year, according to a report by IHS.

A total of 6 million access points shipped in Q3, including over 500,000 802.11ac wave 2 units. Wave 2 accounted for 10 percent of all units in Q3, nearly double Q2’s rate. Despite strong adoption of 802.11ac and wave 2 products, average selling prices have not increased and are in fact down more than 10 percent year-over-year.

Demand for WLAN is strong, but monetising that demand has been a challenge for the last two years as organisations chose lower-cost approaches.

More Than 50 Internet Shutdowns in 2016
http://www.ipsnews.net/2016/12/more-than-50-internet-shutdowns-in-2016/

UNITED NATIONS, Dec 30 2016 (IPS) – Governments around the world shut down the internet more than 50 times in 2016 – suppressing elections, slowing economies and limiting free speech.

In the worst cases internet shutdowns have been associated with human rights violations, Deji Olukotun, Senior Global Advocacy Manager at digital rights organisation Access Now told IPS.

“What we have found is that internet shutdowns go hand in hand with atrocities” said Olukotun.

“On the whole most governments want to expand internet access,”

“It’s important that the internet that people do get online to gives them access to the whole internet and it’s not just a walled garden,”

With 2016 almost in the books, here are CablingInstall.com’s top 20 most-viewed cabling news stories from the past year, listed for your perusal. Enjoy, and best wishes for a happy 2017!

China Mobile, and Rohde & Schwarz received in October the end of the first tests NB-IoT-acting base stations. Huawei has also tested the NB-IoT act on the German company’s testers. Also Nokia has tested NB-IoT.

Rohde & Schwarz offers test solutions (SMW200A, FSW, R & S VSE software) for base stations in order to create and analyze NB-IoT signals.

The first 3GPP standard, the NB-IoT based on the 4G technology. It meets the general requirements of cellular phone network that rely on IoT networks such as wide coverage, better indoor coverage, low power consumption, small equipment costs and support a large number of devices.

Source: http://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2016/12/23/rohde-schwarz-auttoi-nb-iot-testeissa/

CRTC declares high-speed Internet a basic service, creates $750-million fund
http://business.financialpost.com/fp-tech-desk/crtc-declares-high-speed-internet-a-basic-service-creates-750-million-fund?__lsa=add6-f025

the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission declared that all residents are entitled to access voice and broadband Internet services on fixed and mobile wireless networks.

The CRTC will mandate Internet speeds of 50 megabits per second (Mbps) download and 10 Mbps upload

With EtherCAT P, Beckhoff combines communication and power in a single 4-wire standard Ethernet cable. With this ground-breaking solution, the direct supply of both the EtherCAT P slaves and the connected sensors and actuators with two voltages is possible. The voltages US (system and sensor supply) and UP (peripheral voltage for actuators) are electrically isolated from each other and can each supply a current of up to 3 A to the connected components.

With EtherCAT P technology, the currents are coupled directly into the wires of the 100 Mbit line, enabling the realisation of a highly cost-effective and compact connection. In order to rule out the possibility of incorrect connections to standard EtherCAT slaves and, thus possible defects, a new plug family has been specially developed for EtherCAT P. The plug family covers all applications from the 24 V I/O level up to drives with 400 V AC or 600 V DC and a current of up to 64 A.

Unlike the traditional Power over Ethernet (PoE), devices can also be cascaded using EtherCAT P and supplied with power from one power supply unit.

https://www.beckhoff.com/english/press/pr1915.htm

EtherCAT P highlights:

EtherCAT plus 2 x 24 V DC (UP, US) in one 4-wire Ethernet cable
daisy-chained power supply through EtherCAT P devices
reduced material and assembly costs
minimised installation space for drag chains, control cabinets and machine footprint
scalable connector family from 24 V to 600 V, 64 A
lower connection costs with outstanding EtherCAT performance
flexible EtherCAT network topology is retained

EtherCAT P: Ultra-fast communication and power in one cable
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPrBb6cIjtA

EtherCAT P integrates the EtherCAT Industrial Ethernet protocol and peripheral voltage into one cable. In addition, EtherCAT P enables the direct forwarding of a power supply via the devices.

As M2M and IoT shape business and operations strategies, influence product design and compel companies to re-examine how suppler and customer data is collected and used, a question begs: How will companies pool together all their internal factory.

Machine-to-machine (M2M) connectivity and the Internet of Things (IoT) have risen to the forefront of many strategic technology conversations.

Companies are revamping product designs and component capabilities to allow for seamless, real-time communication flows between devices.

As M2M and IoT shape business and operations strategies, influence product design and compel companies to re-examine how suppler and customer data is collected and used, a question begs: How will companies pool together all their internal factory and supply chain data in a way that matches the speed, consistency and reliability of what IoT promises? The factory, after all, is the heartbeat that keeps many companies operating, and a data bottleneck there comes with a costly implication.

A New Use for High-Speed Fiber Optics: Connecting Smart Factories
http://www.ebnonline.com/author.asp?section_id=1061&doc_id=282239&%22target=%22_blank%22

Many in the industry in have started to realize that, and it’s resulting in a deeper conversation around industrial IoT, or IIoT.

To keep factories up to pace, some of the conversation is moving around the idea of wiring up manufacturing facilities with high-speed fiber optics.

And, the Industrial Internet Consortium is taking a lead on that. The group, led by GE and supported by Cisco, Accenture and Bayshore Networks, has created a new high-speed networking testbed. The new fiber optic technology is capable of reaching speeds of 100-gigabit per second–the equivalent of downloading 6,000 high-definition movies simultaneously, the GE press release noted.)

The 100 gigabit capability extends to the wireless edge, allowing the testbed leaders to provide more data and analytical results to mobile users through advanced communication techniques, according to the consortium’s website. GE is installing the networking lines at its Global Research Center; Cisco provided the infrastructure needed to give the network its national reach, Accenture and Bayshore Networks are demonstrating the application of the High-Speed Network Infrastructure for power generation, the group said

“A software research focus for GE has been to advance the real-time connections between large scale systems and to develop sophisticated control systems that increase the performance and efficiency of our products,” said Colin Parris, vice president of GE Software Research, in a statement. “These high-speed networking lines enable accelerated data movement and an increase in data volumes within Industrial Internet products and services. This ability will greatly accelerate needed advancements in these areas, and in collaboration with the Industrial Internet Consortium, help advance industry standards.”

Like its USB-connected cousins, the Tektronix RSA7100A real-time spectrum analyzer operates with the help of a PC, but this one comes with its own dedicated PC, requiring higher-speed connections than the company’s USB models.

Targeted at military, spectrum surveillance, wireless transmitter, and other high-end applications, the RSA7100A has optional RAID storage for the host PC (monitor not included) that lets you record up to two hours of data in real time. The base model is available with 14 GHz bandwidth, with 26.5 GHz optional and has real-time capture bandwidth of 320 MHz (800 MHz optional). The 320 MHz capture bandwidth is sufficient for analyzing LTE-Advanced and IEEE 802.11ac signals

The upcoming IEEE 802.11ax High-Efficiency Wireless (HEW) standard promises to deliver four times greater data throughput per user. It relies on multiuser technologies to make better use of the available Wi-Fi channels and serve more devices in dense user environments.