NTT Ltd. opens London 1 Data Center

 NTT Ltd. opened its new London 1 Data Center, more than tripling its data center footprint in the UK and making the company the third largest data center company globally. NTT also expects 100 people with technical and operational skills will be employed at London 1 Data Center when it is fully operational with clients. The new data center is located in Dagenham, East London. The location was chosen due to its proximity to the Docklands, which is established as the UK’s internet hub and backbone for the global internet network that facilitates the majority of the London Internet Exchange's (LINX) infrastructure. 

London 1 Data Center opens as part of NTT’s ongoing £500 million data center investment plan and highlights its commitment to the UK ICT industry. Further sites will include the opening of Hemel Hempstead 4 Data Center, NTT’s seventh data center in the UK.

Minister for Investment, Gerry Grimstone said: “World-class digital infrastructure projects are fundamental to our wider digital and investment strategies. Businesses are increasingly demanding infrastructure like this to operate innovatively, securely and efficiently. NTT’s continued commitment to the UK will help us to build and solidify our reputation as a leader in technological innovation in the industries of the future that will help us build back better.”

London 1 Data Center, when fully operational, will have 25,600 sqm of IT space and a maximum IT load of 64 MW. It will provide businesses with the best possible physical and technical infrastructure supported by N+1 UPS systems, generator backup, as well as highly redundant cooling systems. 

NTT Ltd. expects the new facility to have  power usage effectiveness of 1.2, which is aligned with industry best practice.

Masaaki Moribayashi, Senior Executive Vice President, Services for NTT Ltd. comments, “The London 1 Data Center is the latest addition to our NTT global portfolio. Offering flexible, scalable and secure infrastructure along with customizable solutions, London 1 Data Center has been designed to accommodate a wide range of NTT clients and partners, from large scale cloud/SaaS providers to enterprise clients who require full-stack services such as managed hybrid cloud solutions with global network services delivered from an industry leading and carrier-neutral colocation facility. It is a great advantage that we can provide a variety of cloud infrastructure services such as private cloud, public cloud, and colocation within the same data center.”

https://datacenter.hello.global.ntt/location/london/london-1-data-center

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Vector Photonics announces 1310nm/25G PCSEL chip

Vector Photonics, a spin-out from the University of Glasgow, is showcasing the development of its PCSEL-based, 1310nm / 25G chip at the virtual ECOC exhibition.

The semiconductor laser is based on PCSEL (Photonic Crystal Surface Emitting Lasers) technology.

Vector Photonics CEO, Neil Martin, said, “ECOC is Europe’s largest exhibition of fibre optic communications and photonics-related technologies. This makes it the ideal platform from which to announce our 1310nm / 25G PCSEL chip development and to state our intention to target datacentre applications as a priority. The datacentre market is rapidly growing, driven by the increasing use and demand for mobile devices, Internet of Things (IoT) and 5G. It is also a market where we can validate our technology against the IEEE 802.3 standard for datacoms chips, selling them through multiple, global, sales channels once successful.”

The data centre PCSEL project, known as LOCAL, has received a £280k, Innovate UK, Sustainable Innovation Fund government grant, in collaboration with the University of Glasgow.

https://www.vectorphotonics.co.uk/

Vector Photonics develops a new class of semiconductor lasers

Sunday, November 08, 2020    

Vector Photonics, a spin-out from the University of Glasgow, announced plans to commercialize a new class of Photonic Crystal Surface Emitting Lasers (PCSEL) technology for hyperscale data center applications. The technology uses a 2D grating structure to scatter light linearly and orthogonally.

Vector Photonics CEO, Neil Martin, said, “PCSELs are low cost, robust, have a broad wavelength range and high power. This combination of key characteristics gives them a huge advantage over most of the laser technologies used today. This includes VCSELs (Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers), which are robust, but compromise wavelength range and power, and EEL’s (Edge Emitting Lasers), which have broad wavelength range, but are expensive to make and are fragile to handle.

“PCSELs emit light from their top surface, like VCSELs, making them easy to package and incorporate into PCBs and electronic assemblies. They are also produced in a similar way to EELs, allowing us to draw on existing supply chain expertise and capacity as we grow.”

https://www.vectorphotonics.co.uk/

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UK researchers develop all-silicon optical transmitter at 100Gbps

Researchers from the University of Southampton's Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC) have demonstrated the first all-silicon optical transmitter at 100Gbps and beyond without the use of digital signal processing.

The new research was advanced within Southampton’s Silicon Photonics Group as part of the £6 million Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Programme Grant Silicon Photonics for Future Systems. The research team, led by Professor Graham Reed within the Zepler Institute for Photonics and Nanoelectronics, have published their findings in the Optical Society's prestigious journal Optica. 

The silicon modulator was fabricated through Southampton's CORNERSTONE research fabrication foundry service, and integrated with bespoke modulator drivers that are designed in-house and fabricated at the TSMC electronics foundry in Taiwan. Fabrication and integration work is carried out at the University of Southampton's Mountbatten cleanroom complex.

Professor Reed, Deputy Director of the ORC, says: "Our results are based upon a fully integrated electronic-photonic system, not a laboratory probed stand-alone silicon modulator. In all other work to date that does not rely on digital signal processing to recover signal integrity, integration of the electronics and photonics has resulted in an inferior system performance as compared to the performance of the individual components, resulting in a maximum data rate of approximately 56Gbps.

https://zepler.soton.ac.uk/news/6835

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BT picks Ericsson for 5G in London, Edinburgh, Belfast and Cardiff

Ericsson has been selected as BT’s 5G RAN provider in the UK capitals London, Edinburgh, Belfast and Cardiff and other major cities.

The announcement builds on BT’s selection of Ericsson to provide the company’s cloud-native dual-mode 5G Core earlier this year, making Ericsson the end-to-end 5G partner for BT. Once the deployment is completed, Ericsson will manage around 50 percent of BT’s 5G traffic.

Philip Jansen, CEO, BT, says: “Our customers deserve the best network and we are delivering. We’re the UK leader in 5G and are excited to be working with Ericsson as a key partner to maintain that market leadership. Through this deal, we will continue to drive the best mobile experiences for our customers. The lightning-fast speeds of 5G will help them to develop their businesses, stream a growing choice of content over our network, and stay in touch with colleagues and friends all over the world.”

Börje Ekholm, President and CEO, Ericsson, says: “BT has a clear direction in how it wants to drive its 5G ambitions in the UK and we are delighted to be their partner in delivering that. Having already been selected to partner in 5G Core, we are pleased to strengthen the relationship further with this deal that will deliver high performance and secure 5G to their customers across the UK’s major cities. By deploying 5G in these key areas, we are yet again demonstrating our technology leadership in population-dense and high traffic locations.“

BT confirms Ericsson for 5G core

Wednesday, April 15, 2020  BT, Ericsson, UK  

BT signed a deal to deploy Ericsson’s dual-mode 5G Core (Evolved Packet Core and 5G Core), a fully container-based, cloud native Mobile Packet Core for 4G, 5G Non-standalone and 5G Standalone services as a single fully integrated core. The solution, delivered on BT’s Network Cloud, will form a key component in BT’s move to a single converged IP network. It will incorporate network orchestration and automation, including continuous delivery and integration processes (CI/CD), and be integrated into BT’s existing customer experience management platforms using Ericsson Expert Analytics together with Ericsson’s built-in software probes. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Howard Watson, CTIO of BT, says: “Having evaluated different 5G Core vendors, we have selected Ericsson as the best option on the basis of both lab performance and future roadmap. We are looking forward to working together as we build out our converged 4G and 5G core network across the UK. An agile, cloud-native core infrastructure is at the heart of our ambition to enable the next generation of exciting 5G services for our customers and give the UK the world-class digital infrastructure it needs to win in the future global economy.”

Marielle Lindgren, Head of Ericsson UK and Ireland, says: “Ericsson and BT have a long history of working together and we are delighted to continue that relationship with this new dual-mode 5G Core deal. We, at Ericsson, have been in the UK for over a century and delivering the next generation of connectivity here is yet another proud part of our story”.

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Telefónica UK picks Nokia's cloud-native Subscriber Data Management

Telefónica UK has selected Nokia's cloud-native Subscriber Data Management (SDM) software. Nokia will also deploy Shared Data Layer, a cloud-native database accessible via industry standard protocols to enable an open ecosystem and the integration of third party applications.

As the heart of Telefónica UK’s converged mobile core, Nokia’s SDM will securely oversee pivotal functionality for all Telefónica UK networks and services, including 5G. By controlling network data in a centralized hub and utilizing containerized micro services that have only what is required by an application to efficiently and autonomously manage all subscriber data and services, SDM increases both reliability and operational efficiencies. 

Nokia’s SDM solution serves approximately 4.8 billion subscribers and devices around the world.

Bhaskar Gorti, President of Nokia Software and Nokia Chief Digital Officer, said: “As we drive cloud-native 5G innovation together, Nokia is pleased to be building on our existing relationship with Telefónica UK by further optimizing and securing the company’s networks with Nokia’s software portfolio, and enriching the customer experience.”

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UK's Defence Committee urges faster removal of Huawei kit

 There is clear evidence of collusion between Huawei and the Chinese state, according to a new report issued by the UK's Defence Select Committee, which states that the goal of removing Huawei from the UK’s 5G networks by 2027 may need to be moved forward. The Committee concludes that "developments could necessitate this date being moved forward, potentially to 2025 which could be considered economically feasible."

Chair of the Defence Committee, Tobias Ellwood MP, writes: "Protecting the public and preserving our nation’s security are amongst the principle responsibilities of Government. The decision to embed a technology that compromises this would constitute a gross dereliction of these duties.

"The West must urgently unite to advance a counterweight to China’s tech dominance. As every aspect of our lives becomes increasingly reliant on access to data movement we must develop a feasible, practical and cost-effective alternative to the cheap, high-tech solutions which can be preyed upon and which come stooped with conditions which ensnare a state into long-term allegiance to China.

"We must not surrender our national security for the sake of short-term technological development. This is a false and wholly unnecessary trade off. A new D10 alliance, that unites the world’s ten strongest democracies, would provide a viable alternative foundation to the technological might of authoritarian states, whose true motives are, at times, murky. Democracies the world over are waking up to the dangers of new technology from overseas, that could inadvertently provide hostile states access to sensitive information through the backdoor."

https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/24/defence-committee/news/119865/the-security-of-5g-we-must-not-surrender-our-national-security-for-the-sake-of-shortterm-technological-development/

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UK's Huawei Cyber Security Evaluation Centre cites flaws

 The UK's Huawei Cyber Security Evaluation Centre (HCSEC) Oversight Board issued its sixth annual report concerning risks arising from the involvement of Huawei in parts of the

United Kingdom’s critical national infrastructure. The report discusses a security flaw of "national significance" with currently deployed equipment and well as systemic problems in the way Huawei has mitigated previous problems.

The HCSEC report states it "has not yet seen anything to give it confidence in Huawei’s capacity to successfully complete the elements of its transformation programme that it has proposed as a means of addressing these underlying defects. The Board will require sustained evidence of better software engineering and cyber security quality verified by HCSEC and NCSC."

In addition, the Oversight Board stated it "can only provide limited assurance that all risks to UK national security from Huawei’s involvement in the UK’s critical networks can be sufficiently mitigated long-term."

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/huawei-cyber-security-evaluation-centre-oversight-board-annual-report-2020

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Vodafone activates first OpenRAN site in UK

Vodafone activated an Open Radio Access Network (OpenRAN) 4G site Powys, Wales - the first OpenRAN site to enter commercial service in the UK.

OpenRAN provides mobile network operators with greater flexibility in choosing infrastructure equipment providers.

Mavenir is supporting Vodafone with this deployment at the Royal Welsh Showground in Powys.

Scott Petty, CTO, Vodafone UK, said: “This is our first live OpenRAN site in the UK, and that’s an important milestone. This new approach has the ability to make us less dependent on current larger technology suppliers, and find ways to reduce the cost of rolling out mobile coverage. OpenRAN can also help close the digital divide between urban and rural Britain.”

Matt Warman, Digital Infrastructure Minister, said: “OpenRAN gives mobile companies the flexibility to use multiple suppliers in their 4G and 5G networks. This is vital to help the market grow, build resilience and give people fast, reliable and secure internet connections wherever they live and work.

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UK spectrum auction set for January 2021

Ofcom confirmed plans to auction 5G spectrum in January 2021. The auction will increase the total amount of spectrum available for mobile in the UK by nearly a fifth (18%).

Some mobile operators had argued for the spectrum to be allocated through an administrative process, instead of an open auction, in light of the coronavirus. However, Ofcom concludes that an open auction will be a more efficient means to make the spectrum available to mobile users without unnecessary delay.

Philip Marnick, Ofcom’s Spectrum Group Director, said: “Demand for getting online on the move is soaring, and the pandemic has only increased the importance of mobile services to people and businesses. Releasing these airwaves promptly will bring a much-needed capacity boost, helping mobile customers get a better service.”

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Community Fibre to invest up to £400 million across London

Community Fibre Limited, which offers full-fibre residential and business broadband in London, announced plans to invest up to £400 million in an accelerated expansion of full-fibre broadband to one million households and businesses across London

Community Fibre also confirmed that funds advised by Warburg Pincus LLC and DTCP will acquire a majority stake in the company. Existing investors include Amber Infrastructure and RPMI Railpen. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Graeme Oxby, CEO of Community Fibre, said: "This is an exciting deal for Community Fibre. Having Warburg Pincus and DTCP on board is a tremendous endorsement for our business. In a post COVID-19 world, digital connectivity will be more crucial than ever. With further new investment, we can work faster than ever to deliver 100% full-fibre broadband to social housing residents and to local communities and their businesses across London."

On completion of the transaction, expected within a few weeks, Olaf Swantee will join Community Fibre as Executive Chairman. Olaf was formerly CEO of Sunrise Communications, the second largest telecoms provider in Switzerland and CEO of EE.

Olaf Swantee, Incoming Executive Chairman at Community Fibre, said: “I am excited to be joining a business in a sector that I am passionate about, where there is a clear vision and purpose. Working alongside blue chip investors such as Warburg Pincus, DTCP, Amber Infrastructure, and RPMI Railpen, will also open up new and exciting growth opportunities.”

https://communityfibre.co.uk/

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SPIE and University of Glasgow announce quantum photonics program

SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, and the University of Glasgow announced the establishment of the SPIE Early Career Researcher Accelerator Fund in Quantum Photonics.

A $500,000 gift from the SPIE Endowment Matching Program will be matched 100% by the University. The program will support a diverse group of graduate students working in the field of quantum photonics and will be managed by Professor Daniele Faccio, Royal Academy of Engineering Chair in Emerging Technologies, and Kelvin Chair of Natural Philosophy Professor Miles Padgett.

The fund will create two new programs at the University: an annual SPIE Early Career Researcher in Quantum Photonics Scholarship will be awarded to an outstanding University of Glasgow graduate student who is in the process of completing their studies. In addition, the SPIE Global Early Career Research program will support outgoing and incoming placements at and from the University as part of its ongoing collaboration with leading quantum-photonics research groups across the globe. Each year, the program will pair several University early-career researchers with counterparts from outside laboratories for six-month-long shared projects.

“We are delighted to be participating in these exciting endeavors with the University of Glasgow,” said SPIE President John Greivenkamp. “The interactive placements will offer transformative opportunities the university’s academic and industry-based researchers, and, together with the annual scholarship, will develop well-prepared, knowledgeable early-career researchers who will drive the future of the quantum industry.”

“We’re pleased and proud to be establishing the Early Career Researcher Accelerator Fund in Quantum Photonics thanks to SPIE’s generous gift, which we’re very happy to match with our own funding,” said Professor Sir Anton Muscatelli, principal and vice-chancellor of the University of Glasgow:. “The University’s quantum photonics expertise is world-leading, and our researchers have found ways to see through walls, capture images at a trillion frames per second, and take the very first pictures of quantum entanglement in action. This additional funding will help the University train a new generation of graduate students to make valuable contributions to academia and industry and inspire them to make their own amazing research breakthroughs.”

https://www.spie.org/news/spie-and-university-of-glasgow-announce-one-million-dollar-quantum-photonics-program-

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Graphcore debuts 2nd gen AI processor, blade and data center fabric

Graphcore, a start-up based in the UK, introduced its second-generation Intelligence Processing Unit (IPU) platform with greater processing power, more memory and built-in scalability for handling extremely large Machine Intelligence workloads.

The IPU-Machine M2000 is a plug-and-play Machine Intelligence compute blade that delivers one PetaFlop of Machine Intelligence compute and includes integrated networking technology. Each blade is powered by four of Graphcore' new 7nm Colossus Mk2 GC200 IPU processors. Each chip contains more than 59.4 billion transistors on a single 823sqmm die. TSMC is Graphcore fab partner. Each IPU has 900MB of ultra-high-speed SRAM In-Processor Memory.

Multiple blades can work in unison in massive datacenter-scale systems of up to 64,000 IPUs - an "IPU-POD" that a maximum configuration would represent 16 ExaFlops of Machine Intelligence compute power.

Graphcore has developed its own low-latency IPU-Fabric technology to connects IPUs across the entire datacenter. A dedicated IPU-Gateway chip delivers 2.8 Tbps of bandwidth for each IPU-Machine M2000. The overall bandwidth grows to many Petabits/sec when multiple IPU-Machine M2000 systems are connected together.

https://www.graphcore.ai/posts/introducing-second-generation-ipu-systems-for-ai-at-scale

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UK confirms ban on Huawei in 5G and broadband infrastructure

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has deciced to ban the purchase of Huawei equipment in 5G infrastructure in the UK after December 2020 and that already deployed equipment must be removed by 2027. The decision follows a technical review by the National Cyber Security Centre in response to U.S. sanctions against Huawei, and strengthens the previous partial-ban announced in January.

The NCSC reasoned that due to the U.S. sanctions, Huawei will need to reconfigure its supply chain and that security confidence could not be established with this unknown factor. The government is urging all UK operators to stop buying Huawei equipment immediately ahead of the legal ban at the end of the year.

For the UK's fixed access networks, where Huawei has been a supplier since 2005, the government isd advising full fibre operators to transition away from purchasing new Huawei equipment. A technical consultation will determine the transition timetable, but this period is expected to last no longer than two years.

Digital Secretary Oliver Dowden states: "5G will be transformative for our country, but only if we have confidence in the security and resilience of the infrastructure it is built upon. Following US sanctions against Huawei and updated technical advice from our cyber experts, the government has decided it is necessary to ban Huawei from our 5G networks. No new kit is to be added from January 2021, and UK 5G networks will be Huawei free by the end of 2027. This decisive move provides the industry with the clarity and certainty it needs to get on with delivering 5G across the UK. By the time of the next election we will have implemented in law an irreversible path for the complete removal of Huawei equipment from our 5G networks."

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/huawei-to-be-removed-from-uk-5g-networks-by-2027

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Crosslake Fibre plans high-capacity cable across English Channel

Crosslake Fibre an international network provider and developer of unique subsea and terrestrial fibre networks, announced plans for a high-fibre count cable across the English Channel.

The non-repeatered, CrossChannel Fibre cable, which will connect Slough, United Kingdom and Paris, will contain 96 fibre pairs, each providing over 20 Tbps.  The system is expected be ready for service in the fall of 2021.

Crosslake Fibre has engaged EGS, a leading global provider of marine surveys and services, to undertake the marine and burial surveys for the project. Crosslake Fibre has placed the marine survey contract into force and survey activities have commenced.

“We are excited to launch this historic subsea project and deliver a new, much-needed connection across the English Channel connecting the critically important data hubs of Slough and Paris. This new fibre infrastructure has been optimized to create the shortest path between the two data hubs, providing users with an enhanced technical solution and materially lowering operating costs. With the continued increase in bandwidth demand further accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, subsea cables have never been more critical to the functioning of the backbone of the Internet,” comments Mike Cunningham, CEO for Crosslake Fibre. “The marine survey is an essential milestone in the development of subsea projects. That is why key partners such as EGS are important, as they have the expertise and knowledge to ensure a successful survey of the route and ultimately pave the way for an optimal deployment of the cable.”

In addition, Crosslake Fibre’s capital partner, Tiger Infrastructure Partners, has invested additional capital into the Crosslake platform to support the CrossChannel Fibre system and advance the growth and development of new projects.

Crosslake Fibre activates Toronto – New York network

Tuesday, October 22, 2019  Subsea  

Crosslake Fibre activated commercial services on the first submarine cable across Lake Ontario from Toronto, Canada to Buffalo, New York.

The diverse, ultra-low latency route connects Toronto’s largest carrier hotels, Equinix TR2 at 45 Parliament Street and 151 Front Street West, to Equinix NY4 in Secaucus, New Jersey with multiple extensions to various points-of-presence in both cities. Crosslake Fibre provides lit and dark fiber services interconnecting Toronto, Secaucus, NJ and Buffalo, NY using the route.

The historic cable traverses Lake Ontario from Toronto to New York State utilizing a specialized 192 fiber strand submarine cable that is 36 miles (58 km) in length.  Using current technology, the cable, which is less than 2 inches in diameter, can provide up to several thousand terabits per second of capacity throughput.

“The new network provides the lowest latency performance, physical geographic diversity, and ultra-high capacity throughput for customers,” states Mike Cunningham, CEO of Crosslake Fibre.  “This backbone Internet infrastructure benefits the financial markets, data centers, content delivery networks, the gaming eco-system, payment processing, and Internet download speeds, in addition to being a catalyst for economic development.”

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Vodafone UK powers on Standalone 5G at Coventry University

Vodafone UK has launched the first live Standalone 5G network in the UK at Coventry University. The Standalone 5G network will be used to trial virtual reality learning to support training for student nurses and allied health professionals.

Ericsson partnered with Qualcomm, MediaTek and OPPO to provide the network to Vodafone.

Ericsson 5G Radio Dot small cells have also been installed to provide speedy and high-capacity indoor coverage in the university’s Disruptive Media Learning Lab and National Transport Design Centre.

Arun Bansal, President and Head of Europe and Latin America, Ericsson, says: “Standalone networks are central to the promise of 5G to reimagine society, the economy and industries. We’re proud of what we’ve been able to achieve in partnership with Vodafone. This launch is another example of Ericsson’s 5G technology leadership.”

Professor John Latham CBE, Coventry University Vice-Chancellor, says: “This will help us continue to change and enhance the way students learn. Being the first university in the UK to have this next phase of 5G technology is the first step on our journey to creating a 5G campus.”

Scott Petty, Chief Technology Officer, Vodafone UK, says: “5G today is all about capacity and increased speeds. It’s giving people the best mobile experience ever, but it’s only the tip of the iceberg of what 5G can do.”

Vodafone’s announcement of the 5G Standalone network comes one year to the day after it launched commercial 5G in the UK.

Vodafone tests Metaswitch's 5G convergence Access Gateway Function

Wednesday, April 29, 2020  5G, Metaswitch, Vodafone  

Vodafone has successfully tested Metaswitch's Access Gateway Function (AGF) solution - the industry’s first implementation of the 5G Wireless Wireline Convergence (WWC) AGF standard. Metaswitch said its Access Gateway Function (AGF), which is part of its 5G Fusion Core, is a true cloud-native solution in which all functional elements, including User Plane Function (UPF) and Access Gateway Function (AGF), are deployed in containers and orchestrated...

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An update from the Telecom Infra Project (TIP)

Thursday, February 27, 2020  TIP  

To mark its fourth anniversary, the Telecom Infra Project (TIP) provided the following update on its activities: 1. Global expansion of TIP activities, progressing solutions such as OpenRAN, Disaggregated Cell Site Gateways (DCSG) and Cassini into a growing number of deployments and field trials. Specifically, Vodafone has now launched trials in Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of the Congo as anticipated, and is progressing with trials in...

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Vodafone to deactivate Huawei from its mobile core

Wednesday, February 05, 2020  Vodafone  

Vodafone will remove Huawei equipment from the core of its mobile networks across Europe. Following the release of its quarterly financial report, Nick Read, Vodafone's Chief Executive, said the cost of deactivating the Huawei gear will amount to EUR 200 million over 5 years. The company's UK operations are already compliant with the government's recently imposed 35% cap of infrastructure sourced from "high-risk vendors." For the quarter ended...

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Vodafone supports 5G 0-RAN as its restructures tower business

Monday, January 13, 2020  Vodafone  

by Benedict Chua Vodafone confirmed further activation of its 5G network in the UK, including in Belfast, Edinburgh and Leeds, plus the towns of Cheadle, Rochdale and Stockport in and around Greater Manchester. Vodafone is also now offering  5G roaming in five locations in the Republic of Ireland. 5G roaming already covers Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK as part of Vodafone’s 5G roll-out. Vodafone is the first UK company to introduce 5G...

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Global Environmental Monitoring and Measurement in Scotland

The network of 25 sensors will be installed in primary and secondary schools across Glasgow, Scotland to collect real-time information on emissions of CO2 and various noxious gases in the city’s air. The trial is part of the Global Environmental Monitoring and Measurement (GEMM) initiative, a collaboration between the University of Strathclyde; Stanford, the University of California at Berkeley, The Optical Society (OSA), the American Geophysical Union (AGU), the Met Office, and the National Physical Laboratory, UK.

“This project will deliver the type of data necessary to drive efforts in Glasgow and other cities to reduce emissions and greenhouse gases,” said Elizabeth Rogan, CEO, The Optical Society (OSA). “The GEMM initiative is developing measurement technologies to improve climate change models and inform decision-making in both the public and private sector.”

Professor Allister Ferguson, University of Strathclyde and co-lead of the project said, “As the climate changes rapidly, public and private decision-makers around the world are facing an ever-increasing need for more accurate environmental data, improved measurements, and forecasting models to predict the future course of the environment and, where possible, develop strategies to adapt to or mitigate these environmental and climate-change caused disruptions.

Co-lead Dr. Thomas Baer, Director of Stanford Photonics Research Center at Stanford University, USA and a Visiting Professor at Strathclyde said, “While efforts to reduce GHG emissions have made great strides, particularly when it comes to electricity generation, heating and transport remain two challenging areas. Being able to monitor in real-time the GHG emissions caused predominately by traffic, policymakers will be able to make informed decisions and see near-immediate results.”

https://www.osa.org/en-us/about_osa/newsroom/news_releases/2020/scientists_install_sensors_in_glasgow_scotland_sch/

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Huawei moves forward with Optoelectronics Centre in Cambridge, UK

Huawei confirmed plans to invest £1 billion in the first phase a new Optoelectornics RD & manufacturing centre in Cambridge, UK.

In 2018, Huawei acquired 500 acres of land at the former Spicers paper mill, located to the west of Sawston. The site includes over 50 acres of brownfield land.

This next phase of the project includes construction of 50,000 square meters of facilities across nine acres of land and will directly create around 400 local jobs.

Once fully operational, Huawei said this new facility will become the international headquarters of its optoelectronics business. The facility will ocus on the research, development, and manufacturing of optical devices and modules.

"The UK is home to a vibrant and open market, as well as some of the best talent the world has to offer," said Victor Zhang, Vice President of Huawei. "It's the perfect location for this integrated innovation campus. Through close collaboration with research institutes, universities, and local industry, we want to advance optical communications technology for the industry as a whole, while doing our part to support the UK's broader Industrial Strategy. Ultimately, we want to help enshrine the UK's leading position in optoelectronics and promote UK tech on a global scale.

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O2 UK deploys additional 5G RAN gear from Ericsson

O2 UK has selected Ericsson to deploy its 5G radio access network (RAN) in additional areas across the UK, upgrading the existing 2G/3G/4G sites as part of a substantial network modernization program. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Following the launch of O2’s 5G commercial network in October last year, the extended partnership with Ericsson includes hardware, software and service upgrades in the West of the UK, bringing greater coverage, voice and data capacity. The contract covers new multiband and wide-band 5G radios as well as new 5G-optimized basebands to build sustainable sites in preparation for future increases in 5G coverage and capacity.

Brendan O’Reilly, CTO, O2, says: “We are pleased to be moving forward with Ericsson as one of our primary vendors for our 5G rollout. Telecommunications has never been more important in keeping the country connected, and we look forward to bringing the enhanced capabilities of 5G to our customers.”

Arun Bansal, President of Europe and Latin America, Ericsson, said: “5G will be crucial for the UK’s economic recovery and underpin its digital future. We are committed to ensuring that the UK achieves its gigabit connectivity targets so that enterprises and society at large benefit from high quality connectivity. We are delighted to be continuing our long-term partnership with O2 with this 5G network evolution.

Liberty's Virgin Media to merge with Telefónica's O2

Thursday, May 07, 2020  Mergers And Acquisitions, O2, Service Providers, Telefonica, UK, Virgin  

Liberty Global plc and Telefónica SA will merge their operating businesses in the U.K. to form a 50:50 joint venture focused on broadband + mobile + video + entertainment consumer services. O2 is the largest mobile platform in the UK, while Virgin Media claims to be the nation's fastest broadband network.

The "fully-converged" JV is also expected to become a leading challenger in the B2B space as the combination will accelerate the adoption of converged fixed-mobile services to Virgin Media’s and O2’s existing business customers.

The JV will have an approximate annual turnover of £11 billion, and 46 million mobile, home, and business connections.

The companies cite significant operating benefits for the JV, with estimated run-rate cost, CAPEX and revenue synergies of £540 million on an annual basis by the fifth full year post closing, equivalent to a net present value of approximately £6.2 billion post tax and net of integration costs, as well as significant synergies from the accelerated usage of existing tax assets. The vast majority of the benefits relate to demonstrable cost and CAPEX synergies, with an annual run-rate of approximately £430 million out of which approximately 80% are expected to be achieved by the third full year after the closing.

CAPEX synergies:

• Use of existing infrastructure to provide services for each entity’s customers at lower cost compared to standalone / wholesale capabilities;
• Migration of Virgin Media mobile traffic to Telefonica UK’s network;
• Combination of regional and national network infrastructures and IT systems;
• Reduction in combined marketing expenditures;
• Potential to reduce general and administration costs; and 
• Site rationalization

O2 activates 5G across London and Slough with Nokia

Thursday, October 24, 2019    

O2 activated its 5G network in London and Slough.

Nokia serves as the sole RAN provider to O2 across London.

Nokia said it is working with O2 to execute its intelligence-led rollout strategy, which prioritizes connecting transport hubs, key business areas, and entertainment and sports venues to ensure superior customer experience for local and international visitors.

Brendan O’Reilly, O2’s Chief Technology Officer, said: “As we roll out 5G, our intelligence-led strategy is driven by data and insight to identify where customers will benefit from 5G the most – Nokia is helping us to deliver that in one of the most high-density subscriber areas in the world. The transformational power of 5G yields huge potential for businesses and consumers alike, allowing them to get a head start on competitors.”

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Huawei launches advertising campaign in UK

Huawei launched a major advertising campaign in the UK to respond to the rising calls by British politicians to ban it from a meaningful role in the nation's 5G and gigabit fiber projects.

Huawei Vice President Victor Zhang said: “Huawei grew up in the UK.  We’ve been here for 20 years and were integral in building the 3G and 4G networks we all use every day. Today’s letter underlines Huawei’s ongoing commitment to improving connectivity for everyone in the UK. As a private company, 100% owned by employees, our priority has been to help mobile and broadband companies build a better connected UK. Britain needs the best possible technologies, more choice, innovation and more suppliers, all of which means more secure and more resilient networks. This is fundamental to achieving the government’s Gigabit broadband target by 2025. This is our commitment to the UK.”

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Zayo gains UK government procurement status

Zayo has been placed on two of the UK Government’s key procurement mechanisms for the provision of fiber connectivity.

Zayo said these placements enable it to provide design, installation, testing and fiber installation for organisations across the UK public sector.

Derek Gillespie, Zayo’s global chief revenue officer, said, “I’m delighted that Zayo has been named as an approved supplier for the UK public sector. We have extensive experience in providing fiber connectivity to government and education across the United States, and we look forward to putting this expertise to work for more of the UK’s Public Sector.”

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