UK to examine NVIDIA’s takeover of ARM

The U.K.'s Digital Secretary, Oliver Dowden, instructed the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to begin an investigation into the proposed sale of ARM to NVIDIA.

ARM, which is headquartered in Cambridge, is a major global player in the semiconductor industry. 

Digital Secretary Oliver Dowden states: “Following careful consideration of the proposed takeover of ARM, I have today issued an intervention notice on national security grounds.

“As a next step and to help me gather the relevant information, the UK’s independent competition authority will now prepare a report on the implications of the transaction, which will help inform any further decisions.

“We want to support our thriving UK tech industry and welcome foreign investment, but it is appropriate that we properly consider the national security implications of a transaction like this.”

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/digital-secretary-instructs-cma-to-look-into-nvidias-takeover-of-arm

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euNetworks connects LSE with hollowcore fibre from Lumenisity

Lumenisity Limited, a start-up based in Romsey, United Kingdom, supplied its ultra low latency CoreSmart cable solution based on "NANF" hollowcore fibres, to euNetworks Fiber UK. The fibre route connects an Interxion data center with the London Stock Exchange.

Lumenisity Limited, which was formed in early 2017 as a spin out from the University of Southampton, said data travels 50% faster in hollowcore cable, reducing latency by 1/3, and providing a round trip saving of 3μs per km. These latency savings are very significant in financial trading applications. 

euNetworks offers a fibre-based, dedicated network platform supporting the bandwidth needs of the financial services community. 

“We’re very pleased to partner with euNetworks to enable them to provide the lowest latency performance to a major trading exchange using our CoreSmart cable,” said Tony Pearson, Business

Development Director at Lumenisity. “We are excited to be collaborating with such an established Carrier and to already have hollowcore deployed, carrying traffic as part of this development.”

“We continue to focus on delivering lowest latency services for our customers. We focus on identifying new and innovative technologies that can be deployed on our network to provide the best possible bandwidth solutions,” said Brady Rafuse, Chief Executive Officer of euNetworks. “We’re excited to be working with Lumenisity, helping to develop and deploy hollowcore fibre. We’re confident that with this technology we can achieve market leading fibre-based latencies much closer to radio frequency systems, without the constraints that are inherently present with those radio frequency solutions.”

https://lumenisity.com/

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Vector Photonics secures funding for PCSEL-based semiconductor laser

Vector Photonics, a spin-out from the University of Glasgow, announced a £1.6m equity investment to commercialise its PCSEL-based, semiconductor laser technology. 

The company’s PCSELs (Photonic Crystal Surface Emitting Lasers) is based on semiconductor research led by Professor Richard Hogg. The company said its technology has applications in data communications, additive manufacturing, including metal and plastic printing, LiDAR, and optical sensing.

Neil Martin, CEO of Vector Photonics, said, “We are pleased to announce the £1.6m equity investment for Vector Photonics, which comes from a consortium of three specialist funding companies – Foresight, the UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund (UKI2S) and Equity Gap. This is in addition to three government grants worth £2.4m and takes our seed funding round to more than £4m – a fantastic achievement for a one-year-old, Covid era, University of Glasgow start-up.

“Each investment company adds its own unique value to our business and will have board representation. Foresight invests in high growth-potential companies with innovative and transformational technologies via the Foresight Scottish Growth Fund and Foresight Williams, a joint venture with Williams Advanced Engineering. UKI2S is a specialist deep-tech seed fund focused on spin outs from the UK’s research base. Equity Gap is an angel investment syndicate, investing early in new technology businesses throughout Scotland.”

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

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Openreach selects STL to supply millions of km of fibre

Openreach has selected Sterlite Technologies Ltd (STL) as a key partner to provide optical cable solutions for its 'Full Fibre' broadband network.

Under the partnership, STL will be responsible for delivering millions of kilometres of optical fibre cable to support the build over the next three years. Financial terms were not disclosed.

STL said it will supply its Opticonn solution – a specialised set of fibre, cable and interconnect offerings designed to drive significant performance improvements, including up to 30 per cent faster installation. Openreach will also have access to STL's Celesta – a high-density optical fibre cable with a capacity of up to 6,912 optical fibres. This compact design is 26 per cent slimmer compared to traditional loose tube cables, allowing 2000 metres of cable to be installed in under an hour. The high density super-slim cable will also help minimise the use of plastic across Openreach's new network.

Kevin Murphy, MD for Fibre and Network Delivery at Openreach, said: "Our Full Fibre network build is going faster than ever. We need partners like STL on board to not only help sustain that momentum, but also to provide the skills and innovation to help us go even further. We know the network we're building can deliver a host of social and economic benefits – from boosting UK productivity to enabling more home working and fewer commuting trips – but we're also trying to make this one of the greenest network builds in the world. So, it's good to know that STL's compact and efficient designs will contribute to this in a significant way."

Commenting on the collaboration, Ankit Agarwal, CEO Connectivity Solutions Business, STL, said: "We are extremely excited to join hands with Openreach as a key optical solutions partner to build Full Fibre broadband networks for millions in the UK. Our customised, 5G-ready optical solutions are ideally suited for Openreach's future-proof network requirements and we believe they will enable next-gen digital experiences for homes and businesses across UK. This partnership will be a major step towards our mission of transforming billions of lives through digital networks."

http://www.stl.tech 

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OneWeb launches 36 satellites, bringing its constellation to 146

OneWeb confirmed the successful launch of all 36 satellites by Arianespace from the Vostochny Cosmodrome, bringing the company's in-orbit constellation to 146 satellites. 

OneWeb said this is the second in a five-launch programme that will enable OneWeb’s connectivity solution to reach all regions north of 50 degrees latitude by the middle of 2021, with service ready to start by year's end, giving OneWeb the ability to connect millions of consumers in the northern hemisphere. These services will cover the United Kingdom, Alaska, Northern Europe, Greenland, Iceland, the Arctic Seas and Canada, and will be switched on before the end of the year. 

OneWeb anticipates launching global services in 2022. The company plans to have a fleet of 648 LEO satellites.

Neil Masterson, OneWeb CEO commented: “This is the second of our ‘Five to 50’ launch series and represents a key moment in OneWeb’s return. The next launch in the series is scheduled for the end of April, as we continue our drive towards commercial service this year. OneWeb is rising to the challenge of our mission to provide connectivity to everyone, everywhere, all the time. Backed by exemplary shareholders, we are connecting the world.”

https://www.oneweb.world/media-center/successful-launch-marks-key-milestone-for-onewebs-five-to-50-ambition

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UK completes 5G spectrum auction

Ofcom, the official telecoms regulator for the UK,, completed an auction of 200 MHz of spectrum split across two bands:

• 80 MHz of spectrum in the 700 MHz band. These airwaves consist of 2x30 MHz of paired frequency spectrum, and 20 MHz of supplementary downlink spectrum. The 700 MHz airwaves are ideal for providing wide area coverage – including in the countryside.
• 120 MHz of spectrum in 3.6-3.8 GHz band. These important airwaves are part of the primary band for 5G and capable of boosting mobile data capacity, carrying lots of data-hungry connections.

Four companies – EE Limited, Hutchison 3G UK Limited, Telefónica UK Limited and Vodafone Limited – took part in the principal stage of the auction, which involved them bidding for airwaves in 34 ‘lots’ to determine how much of the available spectrum they each secured. Principal stage bidding has now ended and Ofcom has published the results.

Results of the principal stage

• EE Limited has won 2x10 MHz of paired frequency spectrum in the 700 MHz band at a cost of £280,000,000; 20 MHz of supplementary downlink spectrum in the 700 MHz band at a cost of £4,000,000; and 40 MHz in the 3.6-3.8 GHz band at a cost of £168,000,000.
• Hutchison 3G UK Limited has won 2x10 MHz of paired frequency spectrum in the 700 MHz band at a cost of £280,000,000.
• Telefónica UK Limited has won 2x10 MHz of paired frequency spectrum in the 700 MHz band at a cost of £280,000,000; and 40 MHz in the 3.6-3.8 GHz band at a cost of £168,000,000.
• Vodafone Limited has won 40 MHz in the 3.6-3.8 GHz band at a cost of £176,400,000.

The total revenue raised from the principal stage is £1,356,400,000. The money raised by this auction will be passed on to HM Treasury.

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/about-ofcom/latest/features-and-news/spectrum-auction-principal-stage-results

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Virgin Media tests Infinera XR optics - coherent optical subcarrier aggregation

Virgin Media has trialed prototype Infinera XR optics technology in its network in Reading, UK to send and receive data at up to 400Gbps in a single fiber.

In 2019, Virgin Media trialed 10Gbps symmetric full fiber home broadband technology in Papworth, Cambridgeshire. 

Infinera said this new trial goes a step beyond that, demonstrating that the operator’s passive fiber optic access network (PON) – which provides multiple premises with full fiber connections – could deliver 400Gbps symmetrical services.

In the trial, the traditional network transceivers were replaced with Infinera XR optics technology, splitting a single fiber optic cable into many connections.

Jeanie York, Chief Technology and Information Officer, Virgin Media, said: “Our next-generation network already offers gigabit connectivity to more than 7 million homes, but with data use and demand for hyperfast speeds surging, we’re continually investing in our network to prepare for whatever the future brings.

“The trial with Virgin Media provides a solid proof point that Infinera’s XR optics technology can be seamlessly applied to existing networks,” said Dave Welch, Infinera Chief Innovation Officer and Co-founder. “This represents a radical shift in the way networks can be built, promising a more flexible and sustainable way to meet the ever increasing need to transmit more data at higher speeds.”

https://www.infinera.com/press-release/virgin-media-trials-infineras-cutting-edge-multi-gigabit-network-technology

Infinera announces XR optics partnerships with II-IV and Lumentum

Tuesday, February 18, 2020  Infinera  

Infinera announced a collaboration with II-VI, a global leader in optical communications modules, to bring to market XR optics-based networking solutions. The companies said the partnership will result in the introduction of a family of easily deployable, pluggable XR optics offerings applicable across a wide variety of market applications.

Infinera said XR optics enables radically more efficient and cost-effective solutions for the transport networking challenges operators face in delivering new 5G, enhanced broadband, and cloud-based business services. Infinera's XR optics technology, which is optimized for hub-and-spoke traffic patterns, is powered by independently routable Nyquist subcarriers and coherent optical aggregation capabilities. XR optics technology enables a single high-speed transceiver to simultaneously send and receive independent data streams to/from numerous low-speed transceivers.

In addition, Infinera announced a separate partnership with Lumentum to bring to market XR optics-based networking solutions. The partnership will result in the introduction of a family of easily deployable, pluggable XR optics offerings applicable across a wide variety of market applications.

Infinera's XR Optics delivers coherent optical subcarrier aggregation

Monday, September 23, 2019  100G, ECOC, Infinera  

Infinera introduced a point-to-multipoint coherent optical subcarrier aggregation technology with the potential to significantly reduce the number of transceivers required in an access network while eliminating intermediate aggregation.

Infinera's XR optics technology, which is optimized for hub-and-spoke traffic patterns, is powered by independently routable Nyquist subcarriers and coherent optical aggregation capabilities. With coherent subcarrier aggregation (CSA) capabilities, XR optics technology enables a single high-speed transceiver to simultaneously send and receive independent data streams to/from numerous low-speed transceivers.

Subcarriers can be flexibly sized. For example, 4 X 25G subcarriers defined in a 100G QSFP-28 transcrivers; or 16 X 25G subcarriers defined in a 400G QSFP-DD transceiver.

The company says that by leveraging these capabilities, network operators will be positioned to significantly reduce the number of transceivers in the network, eliminate the need for costly intermediate aggregation devices, and more efficiently optimize transport infrastructure for hub-and-spoke end-user traffic flows.

Initial areas of focus include DAA fiber deep networks, 5G X-haul, DSL/PON backhaul, and fiber-enabled business services.

XR optics is designed to be integrated into a variety of form factors, including industry-standard pluggables, from low-speed interfaces with a single subcarrier to high-speed (400G+) interfaces with numerous subcarriers.
https://www.infinera.com/innovation/xr-optics

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Openreach activates first customer on ADTRAN’s GPON

Openreach has activated its first live subscriber with the ADTRAN SDX series fibre access platform and the Mosaic Cloud network automation platform.

This announcement comes as Openreach continues its record build rates for its Full Fibre broadband programme. With Openreach engineers now delivering faster, more reliable connectivity to 42,000 homes and businesses every week.  ADTRAN said its SD-Access portfolio will be instrumental in expanding delivery of the Full Fibre programme to UK homes and businesses.

Peter Bell, Director, Network Technology, Openreach said: “We’re fully committed to building the UK’s leading ultrafast, ultra-reliable Full Fibre broadband network and to reinforce our vital role in keeping the nation connected. We’re confident that our new network will help deliver a host of social and economic benefits to the UK – from boosting productivity to enabling more home working and fewer commuting trips."

Stuart Broome, Vice President of EMEA Sales, ADTRAN said: “ADTRAN is dedicated to delivering the products, technology and services required to support Openreach in its highly ambitious nationwide deployment goals. We are completely committed to the goal of making multi-gigabit services available across the UK to every home and business. We’re excited to see the network capability advancing so rapidly and look forward to expanding the deployment as part of this partnership.”

Openreach picks ADTRAN's OLTs and Cloud Platform

Thursday, May 14, 2020  ADTRAN, Openreach, UK  

Openreach, the wholesale infrastructure arm of BT, has selected ADTRAN’s SDX Series of OLTs and Mosaic Cloud Platform to help it achieve its ambition of making gigabit and multi-gigabit services available to 20 million homes across the UK by the mid-to-late 2020s with its Full Fibre network. ADTRAN said its SDX platform will enable Openreach to economically scale its GPON and XGS-PON network with a level of flexibility that could not be realized...

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Renesas to acquire Dialog for EUR 4.9B for mixed-signal ICs

Renesas Electronics agreed to acquire Dialog Semiconductor Plc for EUR 4.9 billion (approximately 615.7 billion yen). 

Dialog, which is based in Reading, UK, is provider of highly-integrated and power-efficient mixed-signal ICs used in IoT, consumer electronics and high-growth segments of automotive and industrial end-markets. Dialog brings a wide range of product offerings including battery and power management, power conversion, configurable mixed-signal (CMIC), LED drivers, custom mixed-signal ICs (ASICs), and automotive power management ICs (PMICs), wireless charging technology, and more. Dialog also offers broad and differentiated BLE, WiFi and audio system-on-chips (SoCs) that deliver advanced connectivity for a wide range of applications; from smart home/building automation, wearables, to connected medical. All these systems complement and expand Renesas’ leadership portfolio in delivering comprehensive solutions to improve performance and efficiency in high-computing electronic systems. Dialog was founded in 1981 and has 2,300 employees.

“The transaction we announced today represents our next important step in catapulting Renesas’ growth plan to achieve substantial strategic and financial benefits, following our previous acquisitions,” said Hidetoshi Shibata, President and CEO of Renesas. “Dialog has a strong culture of innovation along with excellent customer relationships and serves fast growing areas including IoT, industrial and automotive. By bringing Dialog’s talented team and expertise into Renesas, together, we will accelerate innovation for customers and create sustainable value for our shareholders.”

“For several years, we have successfully executed on a diversification strategy that positions Dialog for high-growth,” said Dr. Jalal Bagherli, CEO of Dialog. “We have built a strong foundation of high-performance analog and power efficient mixed-signal expertise, extended our product portfolio and applied our technologies into markets including 5G, wearables, automotive, smart home, connected medical and industrial IoT. This compelling platform – combined with Renesas’ leading embedded compute, analog and power portfolio – creates even greater growth opportunities in today’s increasingly connected world. The Dialog team is excited to join forces with Renesas. The combined company will be in an even stronger position to provide innovative products for these markets, building on Renesas’ extensive sales, distribution and customer support capabilities.”

https://www.renesas.com/br/en/document/ppt/renesas-and-dialog-zoom-webinar-presentation-material

Renesas to acquire Integrated Device Technology for $6.7 billion

Tuesday, September 11, 2018  IDT, Japan, Mergers And Acquisitions, Renesa, Silicon Valley  

Renesas Electronics Corporation of Japan has agreed to acquire Integrated Device Technology (IDT, NASDAQ: IDTI) for approximately US$6.7 billion (approximately 733.0 billion yen at an exchange rate of 110 yen to the dollar), combing two recognized leaders in embedded processors and analog mixed-signal semiconductors. IDT shares are to be acquired at a price of US$49.00 per share. IDT, which is based in San Jose, California, is a leading supplier...

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Renesas to Acquire Intersil for $3.2 Billion

Monday, September 12, 2016  Mergers And Acquisitions, Silicon  

Renesas Electronics Corporation agreed to acquire Intersil for US$22.50 per share in cash, representing an aggregate equity value of approximately US$3.2 billion (approximately 321.9 billion yen at an exchange rate of 100 yen to the dollar). Renesas supplies microcontroller (MCU) and system-on-chip (SoC) products and technologies.  Intersil specializes in power management and precision analog capabilities. The acquisition is also expected...

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Isotropic raises $40 million for multi-beam satellite antenna

Isotropic Systems, a start-up based in Reading, UK, announced over $40 million in funding to develop its multi-beam antennas. Isotropic's patented radio frequency optics technology enables the high-performance multi-beam antenna to simultaneously link with multiple satellites in multiple orbits without any compromise in the performance of each link. 

Isotropic recently signed development contracts for its phase one terminal expected early 2022.  The company says it plans to support new constellations and satellites launching in all satellite orbits from 2022 onwards. Isotropic will also open a 20,000 sq. ft. technology and testing facility near the company headquarters in Reading, UK, and will see the company create an additional 150 highly skilled engineering roles to the UK over the next two years.

The funding round was led by SES with participation from specialised space investors Orbital Ventures, UK government's Future Fund and existing investors Boeing HorizonX Global Ventures, Space Angels and Firmament Ventures.  

"Isotropic Systems is extremely well positioned to unlock a new age of high-powered, multi-orbit connectivity with our next-gen multi-beam antenna," said John Finney, Isotropic Systems Founder and CEO. "As one satellite constellation after another is announced for launch in future years, our technology is unique in that it allows service providers and end users to take the best of the many thousands of satellites going into orbit using a single

www.isotropicsystems.com 

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Cambridge Science Park activates private 5G with Huawei

Cambridge Wireless and Huawei have launched a 5G mobile private network located within the Cambridge Science Park.

The 5G testbed will help innovators to develop and test 5G applications.

The first phase of the Accelerator will run until March 2021 and CW is calling for companies to apply for access. The successful applicants are able to use the indoor 5G private network, the latest 5G enabled devices and a brand-new innovation lab within Cambridge Science Park.

CW will also provide successful applicants with free access to master classes run by industry experts, project coaching and support, and networking opportunities with others in the 5G tech sector.

 “We are delighted to see this pioneering project being launched in Cambridge to help companies evaluate and enhance value added 5G capabilities into their products, services and environment,” said Abhi Naha, Chief Commercial Officer at CW.

Huawei Vice-President Victor Zhang said, “Openness and collaboration drives innovation. Huawei is working with Cambridge Wireless and innovation partners to incubate new ideas and applications to accelerate the building of a 5G ecosystem in the UK. The technology being developed in Cambridge has the potential to make significant advances in the fields of healthcare, transport and environmental protection and we are excited to see what progress is made over the coming months.”

https://www.huawei.com/uk/news/uk/2021/cambridge%20wireless%205g%20testbed

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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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