It’s always interesting (and dangerous) to lay out some predictions for the future of technology, so here are a few visions:
The exponential growth of broadband data is driving wireless (and wired) communications systems to more effectively use existing bandwidth. Mobile data traffic continues to grow, driven both by increased smartphone subscriptions and a continued increase in average data volume per subscription, fueled primarily by more viewing of video content. Ericsson forecasts mobile video traffic to grow by around 50% annually through 2022, to account for nearly 75% of all mobile data traffic. Social networking is the second biggest data traffic type. To make effective use of the wireless channel, system operators are moving toward massive-MIMO, multi-antenna systems that transmit multiple wide-bandwidth data streams—geometrically adding to system complexity and power consumption. Total mobile data traffic is expected to grow at 45% CAGR to 2020.
5G cellular technology is still in development, and is far from ready in 2017. As international groups set 2020 deadline to agree on frequencies and standards for the new equipment, anything before that is pre-standard. Expect to see many 5G announcements that might not be what 5G will actually be when standard is ready. The boldest statement is that Nokia & KT plan 2017 launch of world’s first mobile 5G network in South Korea in 2017: commercial trial system to operate in the 28GHz band. Wireless spectrum above 5 GHz will generate solutions for a massive increase in bandwidth and also for a latency of less than 1 ms.
CableLabs is working toward standardization of an AP Coordination protocol to improve In-Home WiFi as one access point (AP) for WiFi often is not enough to allow for reliable connection and ubiquitous speed to multiple devices throughout a large home. The hope is that something will be seen mid-2017. A mesh AP network is a self-healing, self-forming, self-optimizing network of mesh access points (MAPs).
There will be more and more Gigabit Internet connections in 2017. Gigabit Internet is Accelerating on All Fronts. Until recently, FTTH has been the dominant technology for gigabit. Some of the common options available now include fiber-to-the-home (FTTH), DOCSIS 3.0 and 3.1 over cable’s HFC plant, G.Fast over telco DSL networks, 5G cellular, and fiber-to-the-building coupled with point-to-point wireless. AT&T recently launched its AT&T Fiber gigabit service. Cable’s DOCSIS 3.0 and 3.1 are cheaper and less disruptive than FTTH in that they do not require a rip-and-replace of the existing outside plant. DOCSIS 3.1, which has just begun to be deployed at scale, is designed to deliver up to 10 Gbps downstream Internet speeds over existing HFC networks (most deployments to date have featured 1 Gbps speeds). G.Fast is just beginning to come online with a few deployments (typically 500 meters or less distance at MDU). 5G cellular technology is still in development, and standards for it do not yet exist. Another promising wireless technology for delivering gigabit speeds is point-to-point millimeter wave, which uses spectrum between 30 GHz and 300 GHz.
There are also some trials for 10 Gbit/s: For example Altice USA (Euronext:ATC) announced plans to build a fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) network capable of delivering broadband speeds of up to 10 Gbps across its U.S. footprint. The five-year deployment plan is scheduled to begin in 2017.
Interest to use TV white space increases in 2017 in USA. The major factors driving the growth of the market include providing low-cost broadband to remote and non-line-of-sight regions. Rural Internet access market is expected to grow at a significant rate between 2016 and 2022. According to MarketsandMarkets, the global TV white space market was valued at $1.2 million in 2015 and is expected to reach approximately $53.1 million by 2022, at a CAGR of 74.30% during the forecast period.
The rapid growth of the internet and cloud computing has resulted in bandwidth requirements for data center network. This is in turn expected to increase the demand for optical interconnects in the next-generation data center networks.
Open Ethernet networking platforms will make a noticeable impact in 2017. The availability of full featured, high performance and cost effective open switching platforms combined with open network operating systems such as Cumulus Networks, Microsoft SoNIC, and OpenSwitch will finally see significant volume uptake in 2017.
Network becomes more and more software controlled in 2017.NFV and SDN Will Mature as Automated Networks will become Production systems. Over the next five years, nearly 60 percent of hyperscale facilities are expected to deploy SDN and/or NFV solutions. IoT will force SDN adoption into Campus Networks.
SDN implementations are increasingly taking a platform approach with plug and play support for any VNF, topology, and analytics that are instrumented and automated. Some companies are discovering the security benefits of SDN – virtual segmentation and automation. The importance of specific SDN protocols (OpenFlow, OVSDB, NetConf, etc.) will diminish as many universes of SDN/NFV will solidify into standard models. More vendors are opening up their SDN platforms to third-party VNFs. In Linux based systems eBPF and XDP are delivering flexibility, scale, security, and performance for a broad set of functions beyond networking without bypassing the kernel.
For year 2016 it was predicted that gigabit ethernet sales start to decline as the needle moving away from 1 Gigabit Ethernet towards faster standards (2.5 or 5.0 or 10Gbps; Nbase-T is basically underclocked 10Gbase-T running at 2.5 or 5.0Gbps instead of 10Gbps). I have not yet seen the result from this prediction, but that does not stop from making new ones. So I expect that 10GbE sales will peak in 2017 and start a steady decline after 2017 as it is starts being pushed aside by 25, 50, and 100GbE in data center applications. 25Gbit/s Ethernet is available now from all of the major server vendors. 25 can start to become the new 10 as it offers 2.5x the throughput and only a modest price premium over 10Gbit/s.
100G and 400G Ethernet will still have some implementation challenges in 2017. Data-center customers are demanding a steep downward trajectory in the cost of 100G pluggable transceivers, but existing 100G module multi-source agreements (MSAs) such as PSM4 and CWDM4 have limited capacity for cost reduction due to the cost of the fiber (PSM4) and the large number of components (both PSM4 and CWDM4). It seems that dual-lambda PAM4 and existing 100G Ethernet (100GE) solutions such as PSM4 and CWDM4 will not be able to achieve the overall cost reductions demanded by data-center customers. At OFC 2016, AppliedMicro showcased the world’s first 100G PAM4 single-wavelength solution for 100G and 400G Ethernet. We might be able to see see 400GE in the second half of 2017 or the early part of 2018.
As the shift to the cloud is accelerating in 2017, the traffic routed through cloud-based data centers is expected to quadruple in the next four years according to the results of the sixth annual Global Cloud Index published by Cisco. Public cloud is growing faster than private cloud. An estimated 68 percent of cloud workloads will be deployed in public cloud data centers by 2020, up from 49 percent in 2015. According to Cisco, hyperscale data centers will account for 47 percent of global server fleet and support 53 percent of all data center traffic by 2020.
The modular data center market has experienced a high growth and adoption rate in the last few years, and is anticipated to experience more of this trend in years to come. Those data centers are typically built using standard 20 ft. container module or standard 40 ft. container module. Modular data center market is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 24.1% during period 2016 – 2025, to account for US$ 22.41 billion in 2025. Also in 2017 the first cracks will start to appear in Intel’s vaunted CPU dominance.
The future of network neutrality is unsure in 2017 as the Senate failed to reconfirm Democratic pro-net neutrality FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, portending new Trump era leadership and agenda Net neutrality faces extinction under Trump. Also one of Trump’s advisers on FCC, Mark Jamison, argued last month that the agency should only regulate radio spectrum licenses, scale back all other functions. When Chairman Tom Wheeler, the current head of the FCC, steps down, Republicans will hold a majority.
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Tomi Engdahl says:
What’s the Difference Between IEEE 802.11af and 802.11ah?
http://www.mwrf.com/active-components/what-s-difference-between-ieee-80211af-and-80211ah?code=UM_Classics07217&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=12261&utm_medium=email&elq2=aceed5ee370749c1b840af54c0abd0db
Although IEEE 802.11af and 802.11ah are both sub-1-GHz standards, they are designed to fill different niches in upcoming IoT and wireless-backhaul applications.
The emerging Internet of Things (IoT) and machine-to-machine (M2M) communication markets demand wireless networking standards that operate in the sub-1 GHz spectrum, providing long-range and low-power operation. There also is a need to offload the data demands of smartphones and portable electronics from the cellular network.
The IEEE 802.11af and 802.11ah standards aim to solve these challenges by offering a Wi-Fi-like experience with reasonable data rates up to and beyond a kilometer. To do so, they occupy different parts of the 1-GHz spectrum and exhibit numerous other differences
Dynamic range has a fluid definition that depends on the method of noise-floor description.
What is IEEE 802.11ah?
Making use of the 900-MHz licensed exempt bands could enable long-range and low-power wireless sensor networks (WSNs) and other massive, multiple-node wireless networks based on stations and relays. With IEEE 802.11ah, the concept of a Wi-Fi-like wireless station can be realized. It promises range to 1 km at 1-, 2-, 4-, 8-, and 16-MHz channels with a minimum of 100-kbps throughput.
Maximum throughput for IEEE 802.11ah may reach as high as 40 Mbps.
This low-power and low-throughput mode enables short bursty data packets, which enable a very short on-time for remote or battery-powered sensors.
It is likely that IEEE 802.11ah will use a downsampled version of the IEEE 802.11a/g specifications to service the 26 channels around 900 MHz
To increase energy efficiency and power savings, the target-wake-time (TWT) function in IEEE 802.11ah permits a routine and scheduled sleep time for each access point and station.
In the United States, up to 26 MHz of spectrum is available at 900 MHz, enabling up to 16 MHz of bandwidth for the standard.
Given these factors, IEEE 802.11ah can provide an IP-based Wi-Fi-like system for M2M applications with much longer range and better material penetrating frequencies over earlier versions of Wi-Fi.
IEEE 802.11ah is now included as part of an amendment to the 802.11REVmc standard with working group approval planned for January 2016.
The IEEE 802.11 working group has already formed standards targeting the television white space (TVWS) in the very-high-frequency (VHF) band and lower end of the ultra-high-frequency (UHF) band from 54 to 790 MHz. In February 2014, the IEEE Std 802.11af -2013 amendment was approved, enabling wireless-local-area-network (WLAN) operation in TVWS
In addition, IEEE 802.11af uses many of the recent operational enhancement techniques adopted by the most recent IEEE 802.11 standards, such as multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), and channel bonding. Specifically, IEEE 802.11af offers the ability to bond up to four of the 6-to-8-MHz-wide channels (the channel bandwidth depends upon the regulatory domain), which can be blocked into either one or two contiguous blocks
In terms of data rates, the maximum available data rate per spatial stream for IEEE 802.11af is 35.6 Mbps at an 8-MHz channel bandwidth.
Because IEEE 802.11af channels operate over a wide frequency range, propagation characteristics differ for the various channels. IEEE 802.11af may reach up to 1 km in range at maximum power with a single stream and channel and a lower data rate.
In the United States, only 6-MHz channel bandwidths are permitted in TV channels 2, 5, 6, 14-35, and 38-51 for a maximum of 48 hours of continuous use
IEEE 802.11af vs. IEEE 802.1ah
When it comes to the MAC and physical layer (PHY) for IEEE 802.11af and 802.11ah, the most significant differences are derived from a divergence in functional intent and spectrum. IEEE 802.11ah occupies a contiguous block of spectrum in the 900-MHz licensed exempt band. In contrast, IEEE 802.11af occupies many various channels of TVWS in pre-licensed bands. Its operation is limited based on potential regional interference.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Red Lion RAM Industrial Connectivity Products add SDN Functionality with Distrix
Enables more secure communications to IIoT cloud platforms and remote access applications
http://www.redlion.net/about-us/press-releases/red-lion-ram-industrial-connectivity-products-add-sdn-functionality-distrix?mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiWVdZeU16bG1OMlJpWmpsaiIsInQiOiJleWxrR0RTeHNNVFwvSWd6dUxkbDVLQzFqZVwvbnFMR0I5YllVaTVzaEFxOEZPaktMaDBxME4yRUxPc0F3NWNHcHpobnhueVRaREZnMnFEbm9nSmI4NUYxOG42dEFjWUs5SWEyXC9mWkpyUWJDcmEwUXJpZHRSTlJRQlJ3MFRROWpJUiJ9
Sixnet® series RAM® industrial cellular RTUs and wired routers now offer enhanced communication security using Distrix® Networks’ software-defined networking (SDN) technology. Distrix’s SDN technology, running on RAM devices, speeds and simplifies deployment of communication networks between industrial devices and IIoT cloud platforms, and delivers unsurpassed security for remote machine access. Using this solution, organizations can quickly and easily establish secure communications regardless of whether the backhaul medium is cellular or wired.
This enhancement to Red Lion’s RAM products results in industry-leading security and redundancy, improving on traditional VPN communications that rely on point-to-point tunnels that can be difficult to manage. The addition of SDN technology brings flexibility, scalability and resiliency to legacy serial-based infrastructures as well as present-day IP-based networks.
Distrix software embeds directly on RAM devices, allowing customers to quickly deploy and manage a secure software-defined industrial network. Capabilities include highly secure end-to-end tunnel connections without common network security risks and complexity, improved network redundancy, sensor data enhancement for analytics as well as simplified machine-to-machine process automation.
http://www.redlion.net/product-spotlight-ram-industrial-cellular-rtus
Tomi Engdahl says:
News & Analysis
Optical Transceiver Modules to Double in Density
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1332080&
An announcement this week involving some 14 companies will result in specifications that double the data rates for small form-factor pluggable (SFP) modules used in many datacenters. The SFP-DD Multisource Agreement (MSA) Group has set out to develop the electrical, optical and mechanical specifications to double today’s top data rate without increasing size.
Currently, SFP modules can handle data rates of 25 Gbps using non-return-to-zero (NRZ) modulation or 56 Gbps using four-level pulse-amplitude modulation (PAM4). Now that PAM4 is well into deployment, it’s no longer fast enough. To further increase speeds while we wait for the next technology (possibly PAM8), the double-density SFP modules will use two lanes instead of one. That will increase throughput to 50 Gbps and 112 Gbps, respectively. SFP-DD should double data rates without consuming more precious front-panel space on server blades, routers and switches.
To accommodate the new row of contacts and retain backward compatibility, the SFP-DD plug and receptable will be longer than the current SFP configuration. That’s so the existing row of connections will make contact first, followed by the additional row. Existing SFP plug won’t make contact the the additional connector row.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Global metallic cables market 2017-2021 report says key vendors include Prysmian Group, Nexans, General Cable, NKT, Sumitomo
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/2017/07/metallic-cables-report.html?cmpid=enl_cim_cimdatacenternewsletter_2017-07-31
The “Global Metallic Cables Market 2017-2021″ report has been added to Research and Markets’ offering. The analysts forecast the global metallic cables market to grow at a CAGR of 3.01% during the period 2017-2021.
– One key trend in the market is expansion of railway network. Power and communication metallic cables are used for power transmission and signaling in rail systems. The global railway industry has undergone changes in the recent past mainly due to technological innovations.
– One key driver in the market is strong demand for communications cable systems. The remarkable upsurge in the IT and telecommunications sector has led to the demand for high-performance cabling. This, in turn, is propelling the demand for metallic communication cables for data and communication applications.
– The metallic communication cables market is expected to garner the highest growth rate from the IT and telecommunications sector applications during the forecast period.
Tomi Engdahl says:
http://www.ethernet-powerlink.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Dokumente/Industrial_Ethernet_Facts/EPSG_IEF3rdEdition_en.pdf
Tomi Engdahl says:
Zayo to provide wavelength services to global cloud service company for U.S. data centers
http://www.lightwaveonline.com/articles/2017/07/zayo-to-provide-wavelength-services-to-global-cloud-service-company-for-u-s-data-centers.html?cmpid=enl_lightwave_lightwave_datacom_2017-08-01
Zayo Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: ZAYO) says it will provide wavelength services to a global cloud service provider. The wavelength services will provide route diversity for a portion of the provider’s backbone network. Zayo declined to name the global cloud service provider, but reveals that they have data centers in four of the top markets in the U.S.
Zayo will provide three 100 Gbps wavelengths on four routes connecting the provider’s data centers in these top U.S. markets. Capital will be required only for equipment, as the service will use a route that leverages Zayo’s existing fiber-optic network, including a network acquired from Electric Lightwave (see “Zayo to expand Western U.S. fiber footprint via Electric Lightwave buy”).
Tomi Engdahl says:
Enterprise branch networking demands to drive SD-WAN market to $8 billion in 2021: IDC
http://www.lightwaveonline.com/articles/2017/07/enterprise-branch-networking-demands-to-drive-sd-wan-market-to-8-billion-in-2021-idc.html?cmpid=enl_lightwave_lightwave_datacom_2017-08-01
In its recent report, “Worldwide SD-WAN Forecast: 2017-2021,” International Data Corp. (IDC) forecasts that global software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) technology’s ability to meet enterprise branch networking demands will drive growth of SD-WAN infrastructure and services revenues over the next five years. According to the IDC report, the market will experience a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 69.6 percent and reach $8.05 billion in 2021.
The most influential factor behind SD-WAN growth will be digital transformation (DX) in which enterprises deploy “3rd Platform” technologies to tap into innovation sources such as cloud, big data and analytics, mobility, and social business. IDC identified these sources as key to improved customer experiences and financial performance, as DX maximizes the network’s end-to-end importance to business operation, and network workloads.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Widely Used Fiber Optical Transceivers
https://fiberopticsof.wordpress.com/tag/optical-transceiver/
Fiber transceiver is widely used in Ethernet network, but how much do you know about it?
A fiber optic transceiver is a device comprising both a transmitter and a receiver which are combined and share common circuitry or a single housing. When no circuitry is common between transmit and receive functions, the device is a transmitter-receiver. Technically, transceivers must combine a significant amount of the transmitter and receiver handling circuitry. Similar devices include transponders, transverters, and repeaters. It interfaces a network device motherboard (for a switch, router, fiber media converter or similar device) to a fiber optic or copper networking cable.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ixia and TE Connectivity to Give Industry’s First Demo of 400 GE over an Octal Small Form Factor Pluggable (OSFP) at Interop Tokyo
https://www.ixiacom.com/ko/company/newsroom/press-releases/ixia-and-te-connectivity-give-industrys-first-demo-400-gbe-over
Posted 06/06/2017
OSFP direct-attach cable boasts 8 high-speed PAM4 electrical lanes
CALABASAS, CA— June 7, 2017— Ixia, a leading provider of network testing, visibility, and security solutions, announced today a collaboration with TE Connectivity Ltd (TE) (NYSE: TEL), a world leader in connectivity and sensors, to deliver a live demonstration of 400 Gigabit Ethernet (GE) traffic with an Octal Small Form Factor Pluggable (OSFP) solution, reflecting that this technology is available for adoption.
OSFP is a new pluggable form factor with eight high speed electrical lanes that supports 400 Gbps (8x50G) data rates while allowing up to 32 OSFP ports per 1RU front panel, enabling 12.8 Tbps per 1U. It is expected that 400G optics will require more power than 100G optics, and OSFP addresses this reality by using an integrated heat-sink that significantly improves the thermal performance and enables modules with up to 16W power in a switch chassis with conventional airflow. In addition, the form factor volume (LxHxW) supports packaging of both client side and line side optical solutions (DWDM and/or coherent), as well as supporting 26 AWG direct attach copper cable assemblies for maximum reach. OSFP is the only optimal 400 Gbps form factor solution to demonstrate this combination of features and enhanced performance.
Tomi Engdahl says:
England is already testing fixed 5G connections
In Finland, operators have introduced 5G technology in very small, closed demos. In England, we go straight away. The device manufacturer Arqiva fielded together with Samsung the so-called ” Fixed 5G connections at 28 gigahertz frequencies.
Arqiva installs six routers in the central London area. For four months, willing users can test their gigabit wireless connection at home with their own terminal.
Source: http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/6618-englannissa-testataan-jo-kiinteita-5g-yhteyksia
Tomi Engdahl says:
The SIM card is a great technology for authenticating users, but even better, it would be equipment-integrated device-based implementation. The smart card maker, Gemalto, now says that its embedded eSIM card solution is fully in line with GSMA’s security requirements.
Compliance with the SAS Configuration (Security Accreditation Scheme) means that the eSIM card stores and handles sensitive user data with absolute certainty. Of course, the advantage of an ESIM card is that the same solution also applies to M2M connections and telematics solutions.
The embedded SIM card is soldered directly to the device during production. It is managed remotely throughout the life of the device. This facilitates production and device logistics and also prevents manipulation of card data.
Source: http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/6621-sim-kortista-paastaan-nyt-eroon
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ultrawideband digital predistortion implementation in cable distribution systems
http://www.edn.com/design/analog/4458680/Ultrawideband-digital-predistortion-implementation-in-cable-distribution-systems
The first cable systems in the U.S. started to appear in the early ’50s. Even with the rapid changes in technology and distribution methods, cable has maintained a prominent position as a conduit for the distribution of data. New technologies have layered themselves on the existing cable network. This article focuses on one aspect of that evolution—power amplifier (PA) digital predistortion (DPD). It’s a term that many involved in cellular system networks will be familiar with. Transitioning the technology to cable brings substantial benefits in terms of power efficiency and performance. With these benefits come substantial challenges; this article dives deep into some of these challenges and provides an overview as to how they may be solved.
Understanding the requirements
When power amplifiers are operated in their nonlinear region, their output becomes distorted. The distortion can affect the in-band performance and may also result in unwanted signal spilling over into adjacent channels. The spill-over effect is particularly important in wireless cellular applications, and adjacent channel leakage ratio—or ACLR, as it is termed—is tightly specified and controlled. One of the prominent control techniques is digitally shaping or predistorting the signal before it gets to the power amplifier so that the nonlinearities in the PA are cancelled.
The cable environment is very different. Firstly, it can be regarded as a closed environment; what happens in the cable stays in the cable! The operator owns and controls the complete spectrum. Out-of-band (OOB) distortions are not a major concern. In-band distortions are, however, of critical importance. The service providers have to ensure the highest quality in-band transmission conduit so that they can leverage the maximum data throughputs. One of the ways that they ensure this is by running the cable power amplifier strictly within its linear region. The trade-off for this mode of operation is very poor power efficiencies.
Figure 1 provides an overview of a typical cable application. Although the system consumes nearly 80 W of power, just 2.8 W of signal power is delivered. The power amplifiers are very low efficiency Class A architectures.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Why now with white spaces?
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/5g-waves/4458676/Why-now-with-white-spaces–
Microsoft has finally, squarely kicked the hornet’s nest it’s been poking at for years with its Rural Broadband Initiative, a proposal for bringing broadband to underserved and unserved areas using white band spectrum.
The estimate of Americans lacking a broadband connection is 34 million, or just about 10 percent of the population. Of those, 24 million are in rural areas considered too remote for it to be economically practical to get wireline broadband to them.
Microsoft is petitioning the FCC to set aside at least three channels below 700 MHz in each US market, and is advocating that Federal and state governments set aside matching funds for white space broadband investments.
Both broadcasters and rival communications service providers would have found the request irritating, but were particularly outraged by the specifics and the timing. “Below 700 MHz” means in the unlicensed 600 MHz band, where the FCC just auctioned off spectrum.
That was insult to injury, as far as broadcasters were concerned. The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), said “It’s the height of arrogance for Microsoft – a $540 billion company – to demand free, unlicensed spectrum after refusing to bid on broadcast TV airwaves in the recent FCC incentive auction. Microsoft’s white space device development has been a well-documented, unmitigated failure.”
Wired, meanwhile, called Microsoft’s proposal a “hustle” – albeit a brilliant and not necessarily malign one. The magazine charges that Microsoft wants broadband network connectivity it doesn’t have to pay for in areas that will support agricultural Internet of Things (IoT) applications.
Microsoft most certainly is keen on commercializing IoT applications. It is already deeply involved in using white space networks to support agricultural IoT, and, yes, it would probably save money if it didn’t have to pay AT&T or Verizon for IoT network connectivity.
TV channels have always been spaced so that any two channels in the same market are not adjacent to avoid having their signals interfere with each other. The unused bands of spectrum, still there, are the “white spaces.” In recent years, some US broadcasters gave up spectrum in the 600 MHz band, which the FCC auctioned off to be used for wireless telephony and broadband. The white spaces are still there; if used, their use would be unlicensed.
To get broadband to almost all of the 24 million rural dwellers, Microsoft believes it will cost $10 billion to $15 billion to do it entirely with a wireless network using white space technology. The cost of doing it using LTE networks exclusively is estimated at $15 billion to $25 billion. Every other single option is even more expensive.
Microsoft allows that if white space technology is the cheapest single way to roll out rural broadband, it’s not the most cost-efficient way to do it in all instances. It is the most cost-efficient, Microsoft calculates, for areas with a population density of 3 to 200 people per square mile. That would cover roughly 19 million people, or 80 percent of rural unserved total.
Satellite would be the most cost-efficient means to get broadband to areas with 1-2 people per square mile, however, while LTE fixed wireless would be the most cost-efficient way to reach areas with population densities in excess of 200 people per square mile, Microsoft said in its 54-page white paper explaining its plan
That’s why Microsoft is proposing a mix of white spaces, satellite, and LTE, which would drop total cost down to the $8 billion to $12 billion range.
A rural broadband strategy: connecting rural America to new opportunities
https://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2017/07/10/rural-broadband-strategy-connecting-rural-america-new-opportunities/#UhltWPJdtsrePHbI.99
Tomi Engdahl says:
Room-temp Laser-on-CMOS Achieved
ASU-Tsinghua team demonstrates non-III-V optical comms
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1332128&
The Nanophotonics Lab at Arizona State University (Tempe), working with Tsinghua University (Beijing), has demonstrated an on-chip CMOS communications laser that the researchers say is the first to lase at room temperature. The team built the proof-of-concept device without III-V compounds by placing a monolayer of molybdenum ditelluride over a nanobeam silicon cavity. Others have achieved monolayer lasing with similar techniques, but only at cryogenic temperatures.
Molybdenum ditelluride (MoTe2) — a compound of molybdenum and tellurium called a transition-metal dichalcogenide — is a semiconductor that can fluoresce with a bandgap in a region enabling infrared lasing at industry-standard communications wavelengths. When crystallized into atomically thin monolayers, it is flexible, crack-resistant, nearly transparent, and CMOS-compatible.
“Our nanobeam cavity is fabricated from a standard CMOS silicon-on-insulator wafer,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Single molecular layer and thin silicon beam enable nanolaser operation at room temperature
https://asunow.asu.edu/content/single-molecular-layer-and-thin-silicon-beam-enable-nanolaser-operation-room-temperature
For the first time, researchers have built a nanolaser that uses only a single molecular layer, placed on a thin silicon beam, which operates at room temperature. The new device, developed by a team of researchers from Arizona State University and Tsinghua University, Beijing, China, could potentially be used to send information between different points on a single computer chip. The lasers also may be useful for other sensing applications in a compact, integrated format.
“This is the first demonstration of room-temperature operation of a nanolaser made of the single-layer material,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Verizon, Ericsson, Qualcomm notch superfast 953 Mbps wireless speed in real-world 4G LTE demo
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/2017/08/superfast-4g-demo.html?cmpid=enl_cim_cim_data_center_newsletter_2017-08-07
Claiming a U.S. wireless industry first, Verizon, Ericsson, and Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, on Aug. 2 announced that the companies jointly reached an astounding 953 Mbps (just under 1 gigabyte per second) in a joint commercial network deployment in Boca Raton, Florida. While lab tests have shown comparable speeds in recent months, this is the fastest announced speed achieved in a real-world, dynamic network environment leveraging Licensed Assisted Access (LAA) technologym, say the companies.
To reach gigabit class speeds, for the demo Verizon used a combination of licensed and unlicensed spectrum for the first time. This four carrier aggregation uses LAA (License Assisted Access) to combine Verizon’s spectrum holdings with unlicensed spectrum, which takes advantage of spectrum where home and commercial Wi-Fi technologies exist. In addition to four channel carrier aggregation, other technological advancements include: 4×4 MIMO (multiple in, multiple out) which uses multiple antennae at the cell tower and on consumers’ devices to optimize data speeds; 256 QAM which enables customer devices and the network to exchange information in large amounts, delivering more bits of data in each transmission, significantly enhancing data speeds.
Tomi Engdahl says:
How to ensure your internet connection and home network are primed for cord cutting
Cutting the cable cord can save you a lot of cash. We’ll show you how to make sure your home is ready for it.
https://www.techhive.com/article/3187758/streaming-media/how-to-ensure-your-internet-connection-and-home-network-are-primed-for-cord-cutting.html
Should you cut the cable-TV cord in 2017? Our guide will help you decide
Streaming video isn’t a magical replacement for cable, but cord cutting no longer entails making so many trade-offs.
https://www.techhive.com/article/3154345/streaming-hardware/should-you-cut-the-cable-tv-cord-in-2017-our-guide-will-help-you-decide.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
What a twisted pair
July 1, 2017
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/print/volume-25/issue-7/departments/editorial/what-a-twisted-pair.html?cmpid=enl_cim_cim_data_center_newsletter_2017-08-07&[email protected]&eid=289644432&bid=1830990
In this space last month I opined about the many places and environments in which cabling infrastructure could, can, and will provide needed connectivity (“The places it will go,” June 2017 page 3). That column briefly mentioned single-pair Ethernet applications including 100Base-T1 and 1000Base-T1.
Shortly after I made that observation, the Telecommunications Industry Association’s TR-42 Engineering Committee met for a week, as it does three times per year. During its June 12-16 meetings, TR-42 initiated four new projects related to single-pair twisted-pair cabling infrastructure. Among those projects is the effort that ultimately will result in the publication of ANSI/TIA-568.5, specifying single twisted-pair cabling and components. The standard will provide specifications for cables, connectors, cords, links and channels using one-pair connectivity in non-industrial networks, according to a working statement of the standard’s scope. The standard will be geared toward what are called “MICE1″ environments. MICE is an acronym for mechanical, ingress, climatic, and electromagnetic. The TIA-1005 standard series include MICE tables, which numerically characterize the network environment’s severity for each of the four conditions. The higher the number, the more severe the environment. In practical application, a MICE1 environment is a commercial office space.
Also on TR-42′s docket, Addendum 2 to the ANSI/TIA-862-B Structured Cabling Infrastructure Standard for Intelligent Building Systems. Like the addendum to the 568.0-D spec, this one will add uses cases, topology, and architecture for single-pair cabling. Additionally, this document will provide single-twisted-pair cabling guidelines for emerging Internet of Things and machine-to-machine (m2M) applications that will require higher density, reduced size, and greater flexibility than can be provided by existing technology.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Email ‘most common internet activity’ in Britain
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-40812692
Emailing has held on to the top spot as the most common internet activity in Britain, despite the continued rise of social media, a survey has found.
Some 82% of adults say they most often use the web for email, the Office for National Statistics reported – a rise of three percentage points since 2016.
Finding information on goods and services came second, at 71%, followed by social networking at 66%.
Internet use on mobile devices also continues to rise, the ONS said.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Room-temp Laser-on-CMOS Achieved
ASU-Tsinghua team demonstrates non-III-V optical comms
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1332128&
The Nanophotonics Lab at Arizona State University (Tempe), working with Tsinghua University (Beijing), has demonstrated an on-chip CMOS communications laser that the researchers say is the first to lase at room temperature. The team built the proof-of-concept device without III-V compounds by placing a monolayer of molybdenum ditelluride over a nanobeam silicon cavity. Others have achieved monolayer lasing with similar techniques, but only at cryogenic temperatures.
Molybdenum ditelluride (MoTe2) — a compound of molybdenum and tellurium called a transition-metal dichalcogenide — is a semiconductor that can fluoresce with a bandgap in a region enabling infrared lasing at industry-standard communications wavelengths. When crystallized into atomically thin monolayers, it is flexible, crack-resistant, nearly transparent, and CMOS-compatible.
As is the usual practice, the proof-of-concept chip used a very low-power conventional laser to pump the molybdenum ditelluride CMOS laser. “Today it is pumped by a continuous-wave helium–neon laser emitting at a 633-nanometer wavelength,” Ning told EE Times, adding that the required threshold for pumping was “much less than that from a red laser pointer.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Next Big Thing in Wi-Fi? Multiple access points in every home
It’s all a bit of a mesh. Oh and expect a patent battle
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/08/07/multiple_access_wi_fi_points_in_every_home/
Faultline suspects there is going to be a patents battle in Wi‑Fi mesh software. The reason this is important is because of a second suspicion: that operators around the world will move lock, stock and barrel to multiple Wi-Fi Access Points in each home, potentially doubling or even trebling the number of devices in next generation Wi‑Fi.
A side-effect of this is likely to be more robust in‑home Wi‑Fi, a dramatic reduction in retail Wi‑Fi devices and a reducing need for wired backhaul in most homes. And it all comes down to technical improvements we have been writing about at Faultline for the past six or seven years.
Faultline managed to conclude all of this from one telephone conversation this week with Irvind Ghai, the Qualcomm Atheros VP Product Management, in charge of Wi‑Fi mesh.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Is this the End of Typing? The Internet’s Next Billion Users Want Video and Voice
https://tech.slashdot.org/story/17/08/08/1722255/is-this-the-end-of-typing-the-internets-next-billion-users-want-video-and-voice
The internet’s global expansion is entering a new phase, and it looks decidedly unlike the last one. Instead of typing searches and emails, a wave of newcomers — “the next billion,” the tech industry calls them — is avoiding text, using voice activation and communicating with images. They are a swath of the world’s less-educated, online for the first time thanks to low-end smartphones, cheap data plans and intuitive apps that let them navigate despite poor literacy. Incumbent tech companies are finding they must rethink their products for these newcomers and face local competitors that have been quicker to figure them out. “We are seeing a new kind of internet user,”
Is this the end of typing? The internet’s next billion users want video and voice
http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2017/08/07/is-this-end-typing-internets-next-billion-users-want-video-and-voice.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
1&1 Versatel chooses Coriant mTera switching and transport platform for German backbone network
http://www.lightwaveonline.com/articles/2017/08/1-1-versatel-chooses-coriant-mtera-switching-and-transport-platform-for-german-backbone-network.html?cmpid=enl_lightwave_lightwave_datacom_2017-08-08
Optical transport systems provider Coriant says it has supplied its mTera universal switching and transport platform to 1&1 Versatel to enhance German service provider’s fiber-optic backbone network. Encompassing more than 42,000 km, the 1&1 Versatel nationwide fiber-optic network is the second largest in Germany, and supports business and residential communications services, including data transfer of speeds up to 100G, upgradable to 200G.
A data, internet, and voice services provider, 1&1 Versatel has already deployed the mTera platform in major German backbone sites, according to Coriant. The provider also plans to deploy it to regional fiber optic networks to increase its fiber-optic assets use, and to provide more scalable, flexible broadband services.
According to Coriant, the mTera’s compact form factor supports 7 Tbps of universal switching capacity per shelf, with up to 12 Tbps of total, and will provide 1&1 Versatel a scalable foundation.
1&1 Versatel will use the mTera platform to aggregate, groom, and route a variety of traffic types, while supporting migration of legacy traffic, including SDH, Coriant says. Coriant’s management platform, the Transport Network Management System (TNMS), will provide service capacity provisioning and management in 1&1 Versatel’s backbone.
Tomi Engdahl says:
400-Gbps switch ports to ramp strongly by 2019: Analyst
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/2017/07/delloro-400g-strong.html?cmpid=enl_cim_cim_data_center_newsletter_2017-08-08
Dell’Oro Group predicts in its recently released “Ethernet Switch & Data Center Five Year Forecast Report” that 400-Gbps switch ports will begin to ramp strongly in 2019. Meanwhile, more than half of data center switch ports will operate at either 25 Gbps or 100 Gbps by 2020, the market research firm believes.
According to Dell’Oro’s analysis, the groundwork for the new generation of data center switch port speeds began last year, when a major data center speed upgrade cycle based on 25 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) serializer/deserializer (SerDes) chips began. This move also launched demand for 100-Gbps optical transceivers; while supply of such optical modules didn’t always keep up with demand, shipments of 25-Gbps and 100-Gbps interfaces reached hundreds of thousands of ports per quarter.
“We expect 25/100 Gbps adoption to accelerate in 2017 and to comprise over half of data center switching ports within only four years of initial shipments,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
America’s hottest properties? Data centers and cell towers: WSJ
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/pt/2017/07/america-s-hottest-properties-data-centers-and-cell-towers-wsj.html?cmpid=enl_cim_cim_data_center_newsletter_2017-08-08
E-commerce has been blamed for the struggles of retail real estate, but is proving to be a boon for owners of data centers and cell towers. As more people consume digital content and make purchases online, landlords and owners of data centers and cell towers that house cables and beam data to smartphones are looking to expand faster.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Cisco Nexus 9516 data center switch: High-density stress test
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/pt/2017/08/cisco-nexus-9516-data-center-switch-high-density-stress-test.html?cmpid=enl_cim_cim_data_center_newsletter_2017-08-08
A recent test of a Cisco Nexus 9516 with 1,024 fully loaded 50G Ethernet ports — the highest density core-switch test ever done by Network World magazine — reportedly found it “capable of handling the strain without dropping a packet.”
Cisco Nexus 9516 data center switch aces a grueling high-density stress test
http://www.itworld.com/article/3211356/lan-wan/cisco-nexus-9516-data-center-switch-aces-a-grueling-high-density-stress-test.html
Our test of a Cisco Nexus 9516 with 1,024 fully loaded 50G Ethernet ports – the highest density core-switch test ever done by Network World – found it capable of handling the strain without dropping a packet.
How many ports are enough at the core of the data center? How does 1,024 sound?
That’s the configuration we used to assess Cisco Systems’ Nexus 9516 data center core switch. In this exclusive Clear Choice test, we assessed the Cisco data center core switch with more than 1,000 50G Ethernet ports. That makes this by far the largest 50G test, and for that matter the highest-density switch test, Network World has ever published.
As its name suggests, the Nexus 9516 accepts up to 16 N9K-X9732C-EX line cards, built around Cisco’s CloudScale ASICs. These multi-speed chips can run at 100G rates, for up to 512 ports per chassis and either 25G or 50G rates for up to 1,024 ports. We picked the 50G rate, and partnered with test and measurement vendor Spirent Communications to fully load the switch’s control and data planes.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Greenlee upgrades DataScout test system
http://www.lightwaveonline.com/articles/2017/08/greenlee-upgrades-datascout-test-system.html?cmpid=enl_lightwave_lightwave_datacom_2017-08-08
Textron Company (NYSE: TXT) Greenlee has announced the addition of ITU-T Y.1564, multi-stream BERT and improved loopback capability to its DataScout 10G line. The company says that the enhanced Ethernet test option enables certifying up to 16 unique Ethernet services per the ITU-T Y.1564 standard or in express multi-stream BERT mode.
The upgraded DataScout can support up to eight stacked VLAN and MPLS tags for each service, in addition to a loopback feature which can detect and control up to six remote devices simultaneously
The DataScout 10G has reconfigurable, but non-removable interfaces that protect modules from being damaged or lost on the job, Greenlee says.
Greenlee says the DataScout 10G supports the following testing needs:
Dual 10/100/1G Ethernet
10G Ethernet
DS3
Dual DS1
PRI-ISDN
DS0-TIMS
2/4 Wire SIGNALING with E&M
DDS
DATACOM
Wi-Fi
Tomi Engdahl says:
MDU Broadband: How to Reach Both Renters and Owners
http://www.broadbandtechreport.com/articles/2017/08/mdu-broadband-how-to-reach-both-renters-and-owners.html?cmpid=enl_btr_weekly_2017-08-08
Broadband Technology Report recently reported on the WiFi Alliance’s effort to ensure excellent WiFi in new home builds by creating specifications. But admittedly that effort addresses the issue in only one type of residence. The industry also is working on solving issues in existing single-family homes and in multiple dwelling units (MDUs), where renters are free to seek more technologically friendly waters at the end of their rental agreement.
“Property owners are more focused than ever on technology decisions. How can they stay competitive with other properties in the market?” said Mike Slovin, VP of Xfinity Communities at Comcast
Comcast recently conducted a survey indicating that 87% of renters listed technology as playing an extremely or very important role in satisfaction. As property managers weigh competing options, parts of the equation need to be infrastructure investment, ROI and network disruption, Slovin said. DOCSIS 3.1, therefore, provides cable operators with an inherent advantage.
Cable is able to provide MDUs with gigabit speeds without having to change the existing infrastructure.
Another piece to the puzzle is meeting the demand for WiFi access around the property in common areas. Residents increasingly are asking property owners and developers to have an always on, property-wide approach.
Tomi Engdahl says:
600% Growth Forecast for G.fast
http://www.broadbandtechreport.com/articles/2017/08/600-growth-forecast-for-g-fast.html?cmpid=enl_btr_weekly_2017-08-08
According to the Dell’Oro Group, G.fast revenue growth is forecast to grow almost 600% in 2019 as operators complete testing and trialing G.fast amendment 3 chipsets and systems. The research house believes 2019 will be the year of G.fast, significantly impacting the future worldwide broadband access market, which includes PON, DSL and cable. G.fast is a twisted-pair telco technology designed to support near-gigabit Internet throughput. Its range is somewhat short at 300 yards or so, and it seems best-suited to fiber-to-the-building (FTTB) and multiple dwelling unit (MDU) applications.
“G.fast is off to a slow start so far, but we think it will ramp in 2019,” said Alam Tamboli, senior analyst at Dell’Oro. “Operators are holding off on massive deployments throughout their networks until they have more hands-on time with amendment 3 chipsets and systems, which will be available in early 2018
we anticipate that G.fast revenue will account for over a third of the overall DSL market by 2021.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Cable in 2020: Agile and Closer to the User
http://www.broadbandtechreport.com/whitepapers/2017/03/cable-in-2020-agile-and-closer-to-the-user.html?cmpid=enl_btr_weekly_2017-08-08
Cable Multiple System Operators (MSOs) are content-driven businesses currently seeing new and broad opportunities for expansion, especially in provisioning enterprise business services.
Tomi Engdahl says:
People are ready to pay for 5G
5G brings significantly faster data connections and, above all, a lot of shorter-time delay connectivity. According to Gartner’s survey, we are ready to pay for 5G benefits.
As many as 75% of organizations using 5G connections are willing to pay for more connections. Only 24 per cent said directly that 5G would not want to pay any more than 4G.
Of all the more expensive to pay for 5G connections are telecom companies. There is less willingness in the service sector. There is no desire to pay more for the authorities.
While many are willing to pay more for faster connections, few believe 5G connectivity will bring cost savings or revenue growth. 5G is seen above all as the evolution of mobile technology (59 percent of respondents). Only 37 percent believe that 5G enables new forms of digital business.
Gartner’s research also states that it is commonly thought that 5G services will be widely available in 2020. In fact, the technology is largely available in 2022 at the earliest.
Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6647&via=n&datum=2017-08-09_14:50:46&mottagare=30929
Tomi Engdahl says:
As net neutrality dies, one man wants to make Verizon pay for its sins
Alex Nguyen filed the only formal net neutrality complaint, and he’s still waiting for an answer
https://www.theverge.com/2017/8/9/16114530/net-neutrality-crusade-against-verizon-alex-nguyen-fcc
Imagine if you took every single gripe you’ve had with Verizon over the past five years — the time it blocked Nexus 7 tablets for five months; the time it forced you to pay $20 per month for tethering; the time it tried to make you use a mobile wallet app called “ISIS” — and finally put your foot down. For a year, you spend free moments holed up in library stacks, speaking with experts, and researching and writing a sprawling legal complaint about the company’s many, many misdeeds. And then you file it all with the FCC, hoping to get some payback.
That’s exactly what Alex Nguyen did. And one day very soon, Verizon may have to answer for it.
Nguyen is a recent college graduate living in Santa Clara, California. And for much of 2015, he spent his time digging through years of Verizon’s public statements and actions, assembling more than 300 citations into a 112-page document that could well have been his master’s thesis. (In fact, he studied computer science.) The document catalogs a dozen questionable actions Verizon has taken since 2012, assembling a body of evidence in an attempt to prove that the carrier has violated a number of open internet protections.
Finally, when he wrapped up in the middle of last year, Nguyen paid a $225 filing fee and handed his complaint over to the FCC. It would end up being the only formal complaint filed under the net neutrality rules.
The complaint kicked off a back-and-forth process of objections, evidence discovery, and failed mediation to reach a resolution.
long the way, there have been some hilariously petty digressions, which Nguyen, untrained in the law, has handled patiently.
Nguyen’s complaints are comprehensive and wide-ranging.
He brings up Verizon charging people more for bringing their own phones to the network. He argues Verizon compelled phone providers to disable FM radios. He also mentions Verizon blocking PayPal, OneDrive, Samsung Pay, and other built-in apps.
Altogether, he alleges, Verizon has violated openness rules in six different ways, ranging from discriminatory pricing, to limiting customer choice, to simply lying about its network.
“Carriers have been doing this forever,” Nguyen said. “Verizon, in particular, has been one of most brazen.”
“With Verizon it’s always, ‘We’re blocking these features as a fraud prevention tactic,’ or ‘It didn’t pass our certification requirement that we’re not gonna talk about,’ or ‘It didn’t pass these requirements that were never specified,’” he said. “There’s always this pattern of deception with Verizon.”
Though Nguyen isn’t a lawyer — he currently works in law enforcement — he speaks with the care and precision of one, unwilling to say anything that might be used against him in the proceeding. “I think they’re gonna make a case based on the record and the facts,”
He loves gadgets, he says, and wants to be able to use them to their fullest extent. In the complaint, Nguyen appears to have used over two dozen phones and tablets on Verizon’s network over the past several years. In another one of those petty retorts, however, he refused to confirm exactly which phones he used after being asked by Verizon, saying that the company ought to just look through its own records.
In April, when the commission released the first draft of its proposal to strike down its latest net neutrality rules, the text said that “since these rules were formally codified in 2010, no formal complaints have been filed under them.”
It turns out, there was one, and only one: Nguyen’s. And the commission had to correct for that in the finalized proposal it released a month later. The Verge caught the error and pointed it out in an article the next day.
In the proposal, the FCC questions whether open internet rules are even needed since only a single complaint has been filed under them. “Does the lack of formal complaints indicate that dedicated, formal enforcement procedures are unwarranted?” the proposal asks.
The FCC also has an informal complaint system, which doesn’t require the months of leg work that can go into a filing like Nguyen’s. There’s a big difference between the two of them: informal complaints may end with something as simple as an emailed response from the FCC or the ISP, trying to offer help or claiming that nothing’s wrong. Formal complaints, on the other hand, are “similar to court proceedings” and are usually argued by lawyers, according to the FCC. And critically, they end with a ruling from the commission’s Enforcement Bureau.
Nguyen says his filing, even if it’s the only one, is proof that open internet rules and a complaint process are much needed.
Nguyen’s filing was started long before the election and the seemingly imminent repeal of net neutrality, but it’s come to feel like a last-ditch effort to get something out of the policy before it’s gone
But the longer the commission goes without ruling on Nguyen’s complaint, the bigger the risk that net neutrality will be over before it happens.
If that happens, Nguyen has a plan to keep his fight alive. It relies on something called the C Block rules. Verizon is bound to a secondary set of openness rules that it had to accept in order to license a certain slice of wireless spectrum. Because of that, Verizon could still be on the hook for a lot of his complaints, even if the net neutrality order goes down.
The commission is now months past its self-imposed deadline for ruling on Nguyen’s complaint.
It’s easy to see why the commission might be dallying on this. The 2015 Open Internet Order is likely to be shot down in the next few months, which would change the facts of this proceeding.
Nguyen says he’s not that worried about his complaint being delayed for political reasons.
Tomi Engdahl says:
UPC or APC?
http://www.belden.com/blog/datacenters/UPC-or-APC.cfm
Ever wonder what the difference is between ultra physical contact (UPC) and angled physical contact (APC) singlemode fiber connectors and which one to use? As usual, the answer is, “It depends.”
Let’s take a closer look.
The main difference between APC and UPC connectors is the fiber endface. APC connectors feature a fiber endface that is polished at an 8-degree angle, while UPC connectors are polished with no angle. UPC connectors are not exactly flat however; they have a slight curvature for better core alignment. Another more obvious difference is color. UPC adapters are blue while APC adapters are green.
What does the difference mean? With UPC connectors, any reflected light is reflected straight back towards the light source. The angled endface of the APC connector causes reflected light to reflect at an angle into the cladding versus straight back toward the source. This causes some differences in return loss, which is a measurement of reflected light that is expressed as a negative dB value (the higher the value, the better). Industry standards recommend that UPC connector return loss should be -50dB or greater, while APC connector return loss should be -60dB or greater.
There are some applications that are more sensitive to return loss than others that call for APC connectors. For example, in higher optical wavelength ranges (above 1500 nanometers) like those use for RF video signals, reflected light can adversely impact the signal. That is why we see APC connectors being used by most cable companies and other FTTX providers in outside plant applications.
APC connectors are also commonly used in passive optical applications (both GPONs and passive optical LANs) due to the fact that many of these systems also use RF signals to deliver video
Future higher-speed passive optical networks and other WDM applications that will use higher wavelengths via singlemode fiber will also likely require the reduced return loss of APC connectors.
One thing that should be noted is that APC and UPC connectors cannot and should not be mated.
Not only does it cause poor performance since the fiber cores will not touch, but it can also destroy both connectors.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nokia’s Vision: The 5G network could be purchased as a service
The consortium, led by the Nokia Bell Labs Research Center, is developing a solution in which the 5G network could roughly be purchased as a ready-made service. Included in the NGPaaS project are, for example, BT and Orange posters.
The NGPaaS consortium (Next Generation Platform-as-a-Service) aims to work on a completed solution over the next two years. The goal is a service that can drive clouded operator-level virtualized networking features. These services would respond to the reliability, capacity and latency expectations of the 5G network.
Bell Labs co-ordinates the project with Nokia, the Spanish Atom, the BT and Orange operators, the French Open Virtualisation Systems, Vertical M2M, B-COM, English ONAPP and the University of Milan, the Danish Technical University and the Belgian Microelectronics Research Institute IMEC.
It would be possible to combine virtual network functions (NVFs) developed by third parties for the service to be developed.
Source: http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/6653-nokian-visio-5g-verkon-voisi-ostaa-palveluna
Tomi Engdahl says:
20% of Broadband Homes Subscribe to Tech Support
http://www.broadbandtechreport.com/articles/2017/08/20-of-broadband-homes-subscribe-to-tech-support.html?cmpid=enl_btr_weekly_2017-08-10
According to Parks Associates, more than one-fifth of U.S. broadband households have a technical support subscription. The research house says Best Buy is currently the leading provider of technical support subscriptions for many connected devices, including desktops, laptops and tablets. However, the firm notes that Amazon’s recent decision to offer an in-home tech support service is a notable threat to Best Buy’s market dominance.
“The market for support subscriptions is fragmented, with no single player having more than one-third of support subscribers for any device,” said Patrice Samuels, Parks senior analyst. “Best Buy has its strongest lead in the support subscription market for flat-panel TVs, with 29% of this market. Among laptop owners with a support subscription, 22% these subscribers chose Best Buy over similar services offered by Dell, HP, AT&T, Norton and Verizon.”
Other findings indicate:
A reliance on retailers for professional smart home support has increased 50% since 2015.
More consumers contact the device manufacturer for help with resolving technical problems than any other support provider type.
The percentage of consumers who report a preference for setting up their devices themselves increased from 33% in 2015 to 49% in 2017.
Tomi Engdahl says:
ANSI/TIA-5017: Telecommunications Physical Network Security Standard
http://blog.siemon.com/standards/ansitia-5017-telecommunications-physical-network-security-standard
Properly planned and installed physical network security systems can protect critical telecommunications infrastructure and components from theft, vandalism, intrusions, and unauthorized modifications. It is significantly less expensive and less disruptive to install physical network security systems during the building construction or renovation phase than during the building occupancy phase.
ANSI/TIA-5017 “Telecommunications Physical Network Security Standard” was developed by the TIA TR-42.1 Commercial Building Cabling Subcommittee and published in February, 2016. This Standard specifies requirements and guidelines to protect and secure the telecommunications infrastructure (e.g. telecommunications cables, pathways, spaces, and other elements of the physical infrastructure) in customer owned premises. It establishes three levels of physical infrastructure security and provides design guidelines, installation practices, administration, management, and other additional considerations to enhance the physical security of the telecommunications infrastructure.
ANSI/TIA-5017 Improves Physical Security for Buildings and Infrastructure
http://www.belden.com/blog/datacenters/ANSI-TIA-5017-Improves-Physical-Security-for-Buildings-and-Infrastructure.cfm
ANSI/TIA-5017 will provide specific requirements for protecting cabling infrastructure to prevent theft, sabotage and terrorism. But not only will ANSI/TIA-5017 provide guidance about guarding your telecommunications infrastructure – it can also be used to leverage infrastructure to protect other assets (people, property or premises) as a part of your overall security plan.
The document delves into areas like risk assessment, design, installation, leveraging intelligent building systems (IBSs) and administration. Although many standard documents are prescriptive, ANSI/TIA-5017 is much more descriptive. This allows each facility to develop its own security implementations that will fit current and anticipated security needs while staying within budget.
The standard maps three security levels (SL1 through SL3) you can select from to best describe the requirements of your particular installation:
SL1: Basic security
SL2: Tamper resistant
SL3: Critical security
From there, the document provides a solid framework and foundation for the thought processes, procedures and actions that will help you develop a specific security plan for either your telecommunications infrastructure itself or as part of the overall security plan for the facility – or both.
The first section of ANSI/TIA-5017 covers guidelines for risk assessments and creating a security plan relevant to your specific situation. The security plan is, or should be, a living process and approach to deal with risk management. As part of your security plan, you must:
Identify the potential for negative events and their causes
Reduce (and ideally eliminate) negative events
Limit the impacts of these events
Provide recovery from the events
Review the events and subsequent activities (whether or not there are impacts) to evolve the security plan
ANSI/TIA-5017 also includes:
Security requirements for telecommunications elements based on the appropriate security level
Security requirements for installations with protected distribution systems (PDSs)
Requirements for intrusion detection and surveillance
Use of AIM (automated infrastructure management) systems to enhance overall security
Tomi Engdahl says:
10/08/2017
Apple should integrate AML in iPhone for the safety of their customers
http://www.eena.org/press-releases/apple-aml#.WY3aJulLe70
In June 2016, Google updated all Android smartphones in the world with Advanced Mobile Location (AML), a technology that allows emergency services to accurately locate a caller in danger. Fast forward a year later, the service has been activated in many countries with many lives saved as a result
Tomi Engdahl says:
Jacob Kastrenakes / The Verge:
Behind the only formal net neutrality complaint, filed by one man, Alex Nguyen, whose 112-page document catalogs dozens of questionable actions from Verizon
As net neutrality dies, one man wants to make Verizon pay for its sins
Alex Nguyen filed the only formal net neutrality complaint, and he’s still waiting for an answer
https://www.theverge.com/2017/8/9/16114530/net-neutrality-crusade-against-verizon-alex-nguyen-fcc
Tomi Engdahl says:
Jacob Kastrenakes / The Verge:
FCC extends the comment response period for its net neutrality proposal by two weeks, with deadline now August 30
FCC extends net neutrality comment period by two weeks
It now ends August 30th
https://www.theverge.com/2017/8/11/16135708/fcc-net-neutrality-comment-period-extended-two-weeks
You’ll have two extra weeks to file your thoughts with the FCC on its plan to get rid of net neutrality. The proposal’s comment period was originally scheduled to end next week, on August 16th, but the commission just pushed the date out to August 30th.
The extension was granted in response to 10 groups asking for more time to respond. They had been looking for an additional eight weeks, but the commission said an additional two weeks would be more in line with the type of extensions granted in the past.
The commission didn’t signal that disruptions to its filing system, caused by an apparent DDOS attack, factored into the decision at all.
Granting a two week extension gives people more time to file “reply comments,”
Even without these two extra weeks, the proposal to end Title II net neutrality was already the most-commented item in the FCC’s history: there are currently close to 20 million filings. For comparison, the last net neutrality debate — the proposal to create net neutrality rules and enact Title II — had just 3.7 million replies.
Tomi Engdahl says:
WiFi Deauthentication VS WiFi Jamming: What is the difference?
http://hackaday.com/2017/08/13/wifi-deauthentication-vs-wifi-jamming-what-is-the-difference/
Terminology is something that gets us all mixed up at some point. [Seytonic] does a great job of explaining the difference between WiFi jammers and deauthenticators in the video embedded below. A lot of you will already know the difference however it is useful to point out the difference since so many people call deauth devices “WiFi Jammers”.
In their YouTube video they go on to explain that jammers basically throw out a load of noise on all WiFi channels making the frequencies unusable in a given distance from the jammer.
WiFi deauthentication on the other hand works in a very different way. WiFi sends unencrypted packets of data called management frames. Because these are unencrypted, even if the network is using WPA2, malicious parties can send deauthentication commands which boot users off of an access point. There is hope though with 802.11w which encrypts management frames.
WiFi Jammers vs Deauthers | What’s The Difference?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6m2vY2HXU60
Tomi Engdahl says:
RS Components – Easy to install wireless module enables Ethernet communication across range of applications (Phoenix Contact 1864024)
http://www.electropages.com/2017/08/rs-components-easy-install-wireless-module-enables-ethernet-communication-range-applications/?utm_campaign=2017-08-11-Electropages&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=article&utm_content=RS+Components+%E2%80%93+Easy+to+install+wireless+module+enables+Ethernet+…
RS Components has announced availability of an innovative Industrial Ethernet access point from Phoenix Contact. Quick and easy installation, the new WLAN1100 wireless LAN module offers a reliable, rugged and safe device that combines access point and antenna technology in a single unit.
The module is ideal for use with machinery, mobile vehicles and control cabinets, enabling easy integration of industrial Ethernet technology to new and existing applications, helping to link smart devices to machines across a range of industry sectors and applications such as machine building, industrial automation, maintenance engineering, and the Industrial IoT and the Industry 4.0 smart factory concept.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Extending the Range of Ultra-High Data-Rate WLANs
https://www.eeweb.com/company-blog/microchip/extending-the-range-of-ultra-high-data-rate-wlans
Microchip Technology introduces SST12CP21 high power amplifier which combines ultra-low error vector magnitude and ultra-low current consumption. It paves the way to significantly extending the range of 802.11 wireless networks and MIMO systems while still consuming extremely low current
Power Amplifiers
http://www.microchip.com/design-centers/power-amplifiers?utm_source=eeweb&utm_medium=tech_community&utm_term=news&utm_content=microchip&utm_campaign=source
Microchip RF Division (RFD) offers a broad range of RF front-end products for 1.9 to 6 GHz applications. We offer high-performance Power Amplifier (PA), Front-End Modules (FEM), and Low-Noise Amplifier (LNA) supporting all Wi-Fi® standards, including the new 5 GHz 11ac and 2.4 GHz 256 QAM, as well as ZigBee®, Bluetooth®, and DECT applications.
Tomi Engdahl says:
nbn™ cracks the $1bn revenue barrier, cracks whip on tardy retailers
Customer service problems are everyone’s problem, by design, says CEO Bill Morrow
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/08/15/nbn_fy_2017_results/
nbn™, the organisation building and operating Australia’s National Broadband Network (NBN), has reported annual revenues of AU$1,001m for the year ending June 30, 2017, and says it’s ahead of target for construction and uptake.
The company says that as of June 30th it had 5, 713,350 premises ready for service, of which 2,443,133 had activated services. When the company looks at the takeup rate over the 18 months that elapse between NBN connections becoming available and ye olde PSTN-based internet access being switched off, 75 per cent of premises make an NBN connection. That’s one point ahead of its 74 per cent target.
But CEO Bill Morrow acknowledged that not all customers are happy, a problem he mostly laid at the door of retailers who he said have varying processes for connecting customers and are only just starting to explain to customers that peak speeds won’t be available 24 hours a day.
The CEO also attributed recent restiveness among users to problems bedding in new carriage technologies. Morrow said this happens each time nbn™ adopts a new technology and that with hybrid fibre-coax (HFC) and fibre-to-the-curb (FTTC) builds now accelerating he hopes to learn from the glitch period on other builds to smooth things out this time around.
Tomi Engdahl says:
the Terahertz region has only recently begun to be investigated in the past few years, and for example, basic components are not yet in existence.
At the American Brown University, the first multiplexer in the terahertz area is developing wireless connections.
The average data went through the demonstration at 50 gigabits per second. The results of the researchers have been published in the recent Nature Communications magazine.
- We showed that we can send separate data streams at teraherts waves at very high speed and very low bit error rates. This is the first time anyone has deferred multiplexing in the terahertz region on the right date, says Kim Brown’s professor of information technology Daniel Mittleman.
Teraherts waves radiate in one direction
At Demo at Lille, France, Mittleman’s team sent television signals at 264.7 and 322.5 gigahertz frequencies. Both the channels and the moving data were detected by the receiver.
Source: http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/6660-dataa-sata-kertaa-4g-verkkoja-nopeammin
Tomi Engdahl says:
Quantum Internet Is 13 Years Away. Wait, What’s Quantum Internet?
https://www.wired.com/story/quantum-internet-is-13-years-away-wait-whats-quantum-internet
A year ago this week, Chinese physicists launched the world’s first quantum satellite. Unlike the dishes that deliver your Howard Stern and cricket tournaments, this 1,400-pound behemoth doesn’t beam radio waves. Instead, the physicists designed it to send and receive bits of information encoded in delicate photons of infrared light. It’s a test of a budding technology known as quantum communications, which experts say could be far more secure than any existing info relay system.
They’ve kept the satellite busy. This summer, the group has published several papers in Science and Nature in which they sent so-called entangled photons between the satellite—nicknamed Micius, after an ancient Chinese philosopher—and multiple ground stations. If quantum communications were like mailing a letter, entangled photons are kind of like the envelope: They carry the message and keep it secure.
Tomi Engdahl says:
4k videos are eating the internet
“Does it matter to the whole thing, it’s just another thing. Generally, the traffic generated by small embedded devices is very small and has no major impact on the whole. The 4k video is something completely different, “the Mainland ponders and goes on to say:” [4k videos] are either killing or already killing mobile networks, “the mainland throws.
According to him, the current web pages generate similar traffic as iot.
“The average net page today consists of about a hundred objects that can be accessed from anywhere in the network. The worst pages may have several hundreds of http queries per page. It’s the same kind of traffic as iot, “Mainland packed a big snapshot.
he total IP traffic is predicted to be around 278 EXPs in 2021 (2016: 96 EXPs, plus this undercut below).
During the period under review, ip traffic is still dominated by 80% of its video traffic. The number of traffic and personal live TVs on streaming media such as the Internet live streams will be 15 times higher by 2021, according to Cisco.
Cisco estimates that the number of live video games in the year 2021 will account for about 13 percent of all videos.
For their part in the growth of IP traffic, they bring new augmented reality and virtual reality solutions. These are estimated to be about thirty-fold in the RIP.
For the time being, the virtual reality of mobile phones is just in the infancy.
Cisco predicts that the number of Internet users will grow from 3.3 billion to 4.6 billion in 2016-2021, which would be as high as 58 percent of the world’s population.
The share of fixed broadband devices in IP traffic shrinks to 37%, while wlan and mobile network equipment will grow to 63% in 2021 (2016: 41%).
Wlan and Mobile connections dominated by 73% (2016: 62%) internet traffic at that time. The share of fixed broadband in Internet traffic shrinks to 27% (2016: 38%), Cisco estimates.
Traffic generated by healthcare equipment is the most important provider of internet access for objects over the next five years.
The number of health monitored devices and networked drug dispensers will increase worldwide by 30% per annum until 2021. Views are apparent from the annual Visual Networking Index forecast by the telecommunications company Cisco.
According to Cisco’s report, half of the on-line devices are available for the Internet of Things by 2021.
Iot is kind of almost everywhere and is at least coming to everywhere.
“If there are tens or hundreds of billions of connections, they are forced to do so somehow,” commented Aalto University Professor Jukka Manner of Computer Networking.
“Does it matter to the whole thing, it’s just another thing. Generally, the traffic generated by small embedded devices is very small and has no major impact on the whole. The 4k video is something completely different, ”
In Helsinki and Uudenmaan sairaanhoitopiiri, the impact of the use of iot on networks is reflected in the major expansion of the wireless network as well as in the accurate design of radio data.
“So far, the use of iot devices has not been significantly affected by HUS’s other network design,” says Pertti Mäkelä , Director of Data Administration Balance Unit.
According to Cisco , with intelligence and intelligent cities, healthcare is about the same growth rate (29%).
For example, in Sweden, the number of iot devices is estimated to be about ten to increase from 1.2 million to nearly 12 million in 2016-2021. Iot’s growth accelerates the pace of global ip traffic, but still iot connections are only about 5 percent of IP traffic.
The total IP traffic is predicted to be around 278 EXPs in 2021 (2016: 96 EXPs, plus this undercut below).
Source: http://www.tivi.fi/Kaikki_uutiset/4k-videot-syovat-internetin-6669089
Tomi Engdahl says:
Public Internet is not enough for everyone
In 2020, private networking between businesses is about six times more data than public Internet, according to a report published by Equinix. The growth rate of direct connections is nearly double that of public data traffic.
The Global Interconnection Index published by Equinix estimates that the average annual growth rate of private-network traffic between companies is 45 percent (CAGR).
The traffic bandwidth will reach 5000 terabytes per second by 2020. The figure is also covered by the network engineering company Cisco’s estimate of growth in global internet traffic (24 percent) and volume (855 Tbps).
The strongest growth in the Equinix report is predicted for direct access to cloud and IT service providers. This confirms the company’s view of the transition of IT infrastructure from centralized and enterprise-owned data centers to distributed multi-platform environments.
The index predicts that the banking and insurance sector will grow into the largest direct-access user. The second largest user in 2020 would be the world’s No. 1 telecommunications, whose growth sensors and IoT solutions. Thirdly, the report will include cloud and IT services.
Source: https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2017/08/16/julkinen-internet-ei-riita-enaa-kaikille/
More: https://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=1&hl=fi&ie=UTF8&prev=_t&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=fi&sp=nmt4&tl=en&u=http://www.equinix.com/resources/whitepapers/global-interconnection-index/&usg=ALkJrhi04ISNaYPxfaE1Zp37ZymssKDBAA
Tomi Engdahl says:
Jordan Novet / CNBC:
Cisco narrowly beats Q4 estimates with $12.1B revenue, vs. $12.06B est., down 4% YoY, as service revenue rose 1% YoY to $3.1B
Cisco slides after revenue beat
https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/16/cisco-earnings-q4-2017.html
Cisco revenue is down year over year for the seventh consecutive quarter.
The company beat analysts’ estimates for earnings per share once again and met expectations on revenue.
EPS: Excluding certain items, 61 cents in earnings per share vs. 61 cents in earnings per share as expected by analysts, according to Thomson Reuters.
Revenue: $12.1 billion vs. $12.06 billion as expected by analysts, according to Thomson Reuters.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Spectrum Apocalypse: The Coming Death of Wireless
The day of reckoning may be inevitable, but that doesn’t mean we can’t put it off for a while.
http://www.mwrf.com/systems/spectrum-apocalypse-coming-death-wireless?NL=MWRF-001&Issue=MWRF-001_20170817_MWRF-001_448&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_2_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=12517&utm_medium=email&elq2=1d61badbbe2f4171a1ec5457851ab09e
Uh-oh! What happens to the future of wireless when we run out of spectrum space? That may seem impossible, but let me tell you something: We are already well along that path.
Practically speaking, all of the spectrum from DC to visible light has already been used, allocated, or assigned in some way. If you don’t believe this, take a look at NTIA’s famous spectrum chart.
If you look closely, you’ll see how the various segments of spectrum are assigned from 0 to 300 GHz. Some of them may not actually be in use, true, but they are spoken for and cannot be used. Since the electromagnetic spectrum is our playground, how do we implement our wireless application or product when we cannot find a piece of bandwidth to use? Is this our spectrum apocalypse?
As it turns out, we are already dealing with this problem. The Internet of Things (IoT) vendors are hell-bent on putting radios on practically everyone and everything. If the lack of spectrum doesn’t kill us, the massive cloud of interference and noise will. I am not anti-IoT, by the way, but I do worry about the unmitigated use of the spectrum with little thought or concern for the future.
Nor are the IoT designers the only culprits: The cellular operators are also spectrum hogs. As rich as they are, they can easily pay billions of dollars for prime spectrum. Yet it never seems to be enough. This quest for more space will continue as more smartphone users whine for faster video and other high-speed data applications.
Who decides the use of spectrum? The government, of course. They decide things like trading off better video baby monitors for improved electronic-warfare (EW) gear, or vice-versa.
Most of the spectrum is licensed—that is, designated for a specific use. There is some assigned unlicensed spectrum that anyone can use if they meet the regulatory guidelines.
However, this spectrum is heavily used and users often suffer interference problems. The best example is the unlicensed band from 2,400 to 2,483.5 MHz used by Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, ZigBee, cordless phones, drone camera links, and a half dozen or more radio technologies, not to mention your microwave oven.
Here is a list of techniques that make our use of the spectrum more efficient.
Go higher in frequency.
There is obviously more bandwidth at the higher frequencies, but that is being rapidly consumed as the demand for high speed data and video grows.
Go optical.
Keep going higher in frequency by using the optical spectrum.
Share the space.
That is being done right now with the industrial-scientific-medical (ISM) unlicensed bands. Examples are the 902-928 MHz, 2.4 to 2.483 GHz, and 5.8 GHz bands. Billions of devices share these frequencies.
Frequency Reuse.
Different radios or applications can use the same frequency if we keep them apart.
Reassignment.
While most spectrum chunks are spoken for, some are not actively used.
Multiplex.
Multiplexing, or multiple access methods, let multiple users share a spectrum band. FDMA, TDMA, and OFDMA are all examples.
Cognitive radio.
A cognitive radio (CR) is a software-defined radio (SDR) where most of the radio functions are implemented in software. SDRs are already a reality, but there is more to come.
CRs are adaptive radios that automatically adjust frequency, power, or other factors to optimize their operation.
One example is the CRs used in white space applications where unused TV channels can be accessed.
https://www.ntia.doc.gov/files/ntia/publications/january_2016_spectrum_wall_chart.pdf
Tomi Engdahl says:
Multislot Ethernet chassis for enhancing TSN
http://www.controleng.com/single-article/multislot-ethernet-chassis-for-enhancing-tsn/6eb8c0596306137f7034dc9fe5683f4e.html
National Instruments’ (NI) cDAQ-9185 and cDAQ-9189 multislot Ethernet chassis feature are designed to enhance time sensitive networking (TSN) and rugged CompactDAQ hardware for distributed measurements