5G is rolling out faster than previous wireless generations and will have a much bigger impact on telecoms infrastructure and the supply chain. As mentioned in my previous post, 5G introduces a new radio specification (5G NR), a next generation wireless core network (NGC) and a modular RAN architecture that directly supports disaggregation and open solutions. […]
Opening Up 5G RAN Development
Behind the headline grabbing transition from 4G to 5G wireless networks there is a significant shift in the radio access network (RAN) from a centralised architecture to a virtualized/cloud (vRAN) architecture. This shift in architecture enables the opening up of the RAN and associated infrastructure solutions, including xHaul networks and edge computing, through public and […]
Supersizing the C-Band
Over the past seven years the optical transport industry has made huge strides in increasing the capacity of a single fiber using the C-band. The combination of higher order modulation, flex grid channel spacing, higher symbol rates and super channels has increased the spectral efficiency to deliver 32 Tbit/s per single fiber using the standard […]
Optical Networks for the Next Decade
The volume of user traffic on carrier networks is growing at between 20% and 40% per year and if this trend continues as expected then optical transport networks will become overstretched without a significant increase in capacity beyond that currently planned by operators. The solution to this problem is likely to include a mix of […]
New Open Workgroup to Accelerate Edge Computing
Edge computing, artificial intelligence, machine learning and security are all applications that are important for cloud and networking service providers and can benefit from domain-specific accelerators. Domain-specific accelerators are silicon-on-chip (SoC) devices that are optimized to deliver cost-effective acceleration of specific applications and networking functions. The Open Domain-Specific Accelerator (ODSA) Workgroup is an industry initiative […]
Data Center Switching Enters the 400G Era
The first 400G data center switches have been announced as the Broadcom 12.8Tbit/s and 8Tbit/s Tomahawk 3 switch chips start mass production. Tomahawk 3 switch chips are used in the Arista 7060X4 Series and in new systems from Celestica, Delta Networks, Edgecore Networks and Quanta. Innovium is planning production shipments of TERALYNX switch chips before […]
ECOC 2018 Optical Workshop Delivers Compelling Vision
Speakers at “The Evolution for Next-Generation Optical Networks” workshop session at ECOC 2018 in Rome delivered a compelling vision of next-generation optical networks and how they will support cloud and 5G services. The presentations from experts at operators, equipment suppliers and academic institutions based in the US, China and Europe were very well received by the audience […]
Look Into the Future of Optical Networks at ECOC 2018
Key developments and research for future optical networks will be discussed during a workshop at ECOC 2018 in Rome, Italy, presented by experts from operators, equipment suppliers and academic institutions based in the US, China and Europe. The future bandwidth available through 5G mobile and fixed line networks depends heavily on the development and deployment of advanced […]
ON2020 Looks to the Future at ECOC
Following a successful workshop at OFC in March this year, ON2020 has spent the summer surveying the network needs and evolution strategies of leading network operators and is ready to share the results during a focused session at ECOC 2017 in Gothenburg, Sweden. This will be a unique opportunity to better understand the long-term requirements for optical networking beyond […]
ON2020: Driving Innovative Optical Network Solutions
As the optical networking community gathers at OFC’17 in Los Angeles, we are seeing an unprecedented number of new technologies and solutions being developed and there is a compelling need for companies to work together to ensure that the combination of these innovative optical network solutions meets network operator demands. Optical Network 2020 has recently […]