Next Generation Communications Blog

Next Generation Communications

IP Routing and Transport

Alcatel-Lucent Explains the Importance of CDC-F Optical Networks

Edited By Peter Bernstein on April 27, 2015

By: Paula Bernier, TMC Executive Editor

Today’s technology now allows a single fiber strand to carry up to 17.6 terabits per second of traffic. That’s the equivalent of transmitting 88 Blu-ray discs in a second. This ultra-broadband capability, and the new software-defined networks that service providers are embracing, have important impacts on optical networks further upstream.

“…we need to stay in the light/photonic domain as long as possible in order to reduce the cost associated with repeatedly converting wavelength photonic signals to electrical,” notes Scott Larrigan, senior marketing manager of IPR&T product and solution marketing at Alcatel-Lucent, in a recent TechZine posting, CDC-F optical networks propel us forward, and in the podcast embedded below.

Posted in Alcatel-Lucent Technology News, Broadband, Fiber Optics, IP Routing and Transport, Next-Generation Communications, SDN

vEPC in LTE networks: Time to move ahead

Edited By Peter Bernstein on March 17, 2015

By: Keith Allan, Director IP Mobile Core Product Strategy, Alcatel-Lucent

From original TechZine article

Can the virtualized evolved packet core (vEPC) be deployed today in large scale, LTE networks? Mobile network operators (MNOs) are increasingly convinced that the vEPC has become viable both financially and technically. And I think so, too, based upon the advances made over the past year that I’ll discuss in this blog.

Posted in Alcatel-Lucent Technology News, IP Routing and Transport, LTE, NFV, Network Functions Virtualization, Network Management, Next-Generation Communications, TechZine

Transportation communication networks: Combating the cyber terrorist threat

Edited By Peter Bernstein on February 16, 2015

By: Thierry Sens, Marketing Director Transportation Segment, Alcatel-Lucent

Originally posted on Alcatel-Lucent Blog February 3, 2015

Talk of “cyber armies” working on behalf of nations might once have been the work of Hollywood, but recent events have demonstrated the opening of a new front in the global war on terror: cyber security.

Posted in Alcatel-Lucent Technology News, Broadband, Fiber Optics, Fixed Networks, IP Platforms, IP Routing and Transport, IP/MPLS, Next-Generation Communications, Security

On the Road to IP and Optics Convergence

Edited By Peter Bernstein on February 10, 2015

By: Peter Bernstein, Senior Editor

For what seems like ages now the communications industry has been talking about convergence. We have already gone through many phases as networks move from TDM to being end-to-end Internet Protocol (IP) with voice traffic increasingly being carried on converged networks. Indeed, the popularity of Voice-over-IP (VoIP) and the coming of Voice-over-LTE (VoLTE) on mobile networks is the future.

That said, convergence is not just about IP but is also about the transformation of global network infrastructures in the wired world, with legs into the wireless one as well, of IP and Optics. And, as Steve Vogelsang, VP Strategy and CTO, IP Routing and Transport Business Division, Alcatel-Lucent noted in a recent TechZine blog, IP and optics: Time to make nice, “Let’s face it. The future of the communications industry requires a convergence of IP and optics. So maybe it’s time to give each other some overdue respect."

Posted in Alcatel-Lucent Technology News, Broadband, IP Platforms, IP Routing and Transport, Next-Generation Communications, Optical Networking, TechZine

The Need for Smart Cities is Obvious

Edited By Peter Bernstein on January 27, 2015

By: Mae Kowalke, TMCnet Contributor

It goes without saying anymore that people and businesses in an increasingly connected world rely on the Internet for personal and commercial communication. We are also in the midst of a continuing migration of people are increasingly moving to cities as the world is becoming more urbanized. What has also become clear is that cities with a smart grid and a solid IP infrastructure thrive more than cities that do not. The case for the smart city has never been stronger.

Posted in Alcatel-Lucent Technology News, Broadband, Fiber Optics, IP Platforms, IP Routing and Transport, IP/MPLS, Next-Generation Communications, Optical Networking, Smart Grid

Railway Operators Moving to IP/MPLS for many Good Reasons

Edited By Peter Bernstein on January 19, 2015

By: Mae Kowalke, TMCnet Contributor

As greater demand is being placed on Railway operators to deliver services that are more bandwidth hungry, many are starting to make the switch away from the SONET/SDH architectures that have traditional run their communications network and move toward the more robust IP/MPLS architecture. In fact, Europe is illustrative of this with rail transportation systems in Milan, Paris and Portugal already enjoying the operational and customer experience benefits of making the move.

There are many reasons why railways are using IP/MPLS for their communications networks but two major ones are:

IP/MPLS offers high network availability and resiliency through “Non-Stop” technologies such as Non-Stop Routing (NSR), Non-Stop Services (NSS), Link Aggregation Group (LAG) and Fast ReRoute (FRR).
IP/MPLS enables traffic engineering and isolation, since railway communications cannot afford to fail.

Posted in Alcatel-Lucent Technology News, Broadband, IP Platforms, IP Routing and Transport, IP/MPLS, Next-Generation Communications

Columbian Broadband Provider Brings 100G Rollout in Time for World Cup Action

Edited By Peter Bernstein on January 5, 2015

By Mae Kowalke, TMCnet Contributor

Anyone who knows “futbol” (aka “soccer” in the U.S. and “football” elsewhere) knows how enormously popular it is in Latin America. Hence, being able to provide as many fans as possible great inside and particularly remote from stadium user experiences has become something of an obsession. Illustrative of this is that thanks to its newly installed 100G ultra-broadband network, Colombia’s mobile provider, UNE, was able to debut widespread streaming video services in time for the recent 2014 FIFA World Cup. This meant its subscribers could have quality viewing experiences over their smart TVs, tablets and smartphones.

Posted in Alcatel-Lucent Technology News, Broadband, Fiber Optics, IP Platforms, IP Routing and Transport, IP/MPLS, Next-Generation Communications, Optical Networking

Why Carriers Are Embracing NFV, and What They Should Demand of These New, More Agile Environments

Edited By Peter Bernstein on December 16, 2014

By: Paula Bernier, Executive Editor, TMC

Service providers are undergoing a sea change.

Their networks, which traditionally have been based on turnkey network elements running software on purpose-built hardware, are moving to a software-centric model. In this model the true value lies in the software, while the hardware is typically of the commercial-off-the-shelf variety.

Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) is the name of this new architecture, which not only embraces the model of instituting network functionality in software and running it on industry-servers, but also allows applications and services to leverage those resources whenever and wherever they are.

Posted in Alcatel-Lucent Technology News, Cloud, IP Platforms, IP Routing and Transport, IP/MPLS, NFV, Network Functions Virtualization, Next-Generation Communications, SDN

Partnering to Meet the Challenges and Opportunities in Building Smart Cities

Edited By Peter Bernstein on December 1, 2014

The dynamics of this global change are fairly well known, although how to address the challenges isn’t so obvious. For example, cities consume three quarters of energy and contribute 80 percent of CO2 emissions globally, according to a recent report in The Guardian. How can that energy be most effciently delivered, with minimal environmental impact?

Consensus is emerging that what’s needed are smarter, safer, greener cities. Governments and municipalities are under pressure to invest in sustainable infrastructure capable of efficiently delivering services to citizens and workers.

There’s a pretty compelling smart grid transformation opportunity for public-private partnerships embedded in this evolution. Together, telecom service providers and information and communication technology (ICT) providers can bring in their assets, expertise and experience to help power utilities meet goals for smart grid applications.

Posted in Alcatel-Lucent Technology News, Big Data, Broadband, IP Platforms, IP Routing and Transport, IP/MPLS, M2M, Next-Generation Communications, SDN, Smart Grid

German Internet Exchange Shows its Support for Alcatel-Lucent's IP Core Routing Solution

Edited By Peter Bernstein on November 3, 2014

By: Mae Kowalke, TMCnet Contributor

The routers and infrastructure that lay at the foundation of Internet service provider (ISP) networks rarely are named; which service routers that ISPs use are not often openly discussed.

But sometimes the veil does get pulled back, as was the case recently with the announcement that the world’s largest ISP, Germany’s DE-CIX, has leveraged the Alcatel-Lucent 7950 XRS Extensible Routing System (XRS) for its newly deployed DE-CIX Apollon German Internet exchange.

Posted in Alcatel-Lucent Technology News, Broadband, IP Platforms, IP Routing and Transport, Next-Generation Communications

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