Finley Engineering Blog

Researchers at Germany's Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Solid State Physics and the Karlsruhe Institute for Technology (KIT) have pushed out the speed envelope for wireless data transmissions, wirelessly transmitting data at 40 gigabits per second (Gbps)  at 240 gigahertz (GHz) over a distance of one kilometer, a new world record.

At this speed, the new wireless data transmission record would enable transmission of an entire DVD in less than one second. Wireless transmission of data at this rate also “ties in seamlessly with the capacity of optical fiber transmission,” the research partners note in a press release. “In the future, such radio links will be able to close gaps in providing broadband Internet by supplementing the network in rural areas and places which are difficult to access.”

One goal of the test is to get to a point where seamlessly handing off fiber transmissions to a wireless data link is possible. As the researchers explain, “Such a high performance system would also have the advantage of the so-called bit transparency, i.e. the signal of a glass fiber could be fed directly and without energy-consuming transcoding into a radio link. It could then be transmitted and redirected into a glass fiber.”

Increasing the data carrying capacity and geographical reach of wireless transmission could help carriers keep the cost of extending optical fiber infrastructure down as they continue to extend infrastructure and cope with surging Internet and IP-based data traffic, according to the research partners.

Germany, for instance, lags behind its European neighbors in terms of fiber optic networks, according to the FTTH (Fiber to the Home) Council Europe. “Broadband radio links can help to overcome such critical areas, thereby facilitating the expansion of the network infrastructures. In rural areas they can be a cost-effective and flexible alternative to 'Fiber to the Home,'” they state.

In addition to rapid transmission of large volumes of data, using the high-frequency band between 200 and 280 GHz enabled the research team to incorporate all the necessary integrated electronic circuitry into a compact unit, measuring just 4 x 15 mm².

Basing its transistors on high carrier mobility (HEMT), “makes our radio link easier to install compared to free-space optical systems for data transmission. It also shows better robustness in poor weather conditions such as fog or rain”, KIT's Jochen Antes explained.

The researchers say setting the world record is only the beginning. “Improving the spectral efficiency by using more complex modulation formats or a combination of several channels, i.e. multiplexing, will help to achieve even higher data rates,” Antes elaborated. “This could give new impetus to the expansion of the broadband network.”

Verizon and NEC Corporation of America recently announced they set an industry record by “sending the highest-capacity transmissions for regional and long-haul distances over field fiber,” the third consecutive year the two have been able to do accomplish this feat.

Packing optical channels in two bands of the optical fiber spectrum – the C-band and L-band – enabled Verizon and NEC to transmit 40.5 terabits per second (Tbps), or 40,500 gigabits per second over a long-haul distance of more than 1,800 kilometers (1,118 miles) and 54.2 Tbps over a regional distance of over 630 kilometers (391 miles). This was accomplished using Verizon's fiber loop outside Dallas, according to an NEC America press release.

The growing demand for WiFi in the home, driven in large part by the proliferation of connected devices, is creating significant momentum for WiFi enabled broadband customer premises equipment (CPE). Nearly half of all DSL based CPE sold last year was WiFi-enabled CPE, and Infonetics forecasts the trend will only strengthen, increasing to 74% by 2017. This, according to Infonetics' directing analyst for broadband access and Pay-TV Jeff Heynen “is proof positive that service providers are quickly moving to more integrated devices to control the user experience in the home.”

Canada's Shaw Communications is the first network provider in North America to complete a successful 400 gigabits per second (Gbps) field test , employing Alcatel-Lucent Bell Labs' 400-Gbps technology. The field trial doubled the transmission speed over an existing Shaw optical link, carrying live network traffic.

In the field trial, Shaw's existing 100 Gbps high-capacity network was used to carry 17.6 terabits per second (Tbps) of live network traffic over a 400-kilometer (240-mile) span between Calgary and Edmonton, Alberta. According to Alcatel-Lucent, that's equivalent to 266 million voice calls or transmission of 88 Blu-ray Discs in one second.

Residents of Santa Clara, California have free access to the Internet outdoors thanks to a new, city-wide Wi-Fi network launched by municipal utility Silicon Valley Power (SVP). SVP commissioned the system March 27 as part of its SmartConnect smart grid program. SVP anticipates the city-wide outdoor Wi-Fi network will see over 5,000 outdoor connections per day. 

“This is just one of the major benefits our community will enjoy as a result of our advanced metering technology,” SVP director John Roukema was quoted in a press release. “Now our residents, visitors and local workforce can get Internet access while waiting for a train, shopping downtown, getting their car washed or relaxing in their yard.”

Coincident with the 40th anniversary of the now ubiquitous Ethernet networking standard, the International Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) recently announced the launch of the IEEE 802.3 Standard for Ethernet study group, a nascent industry-wide initiative that aims “to explore development of a 400 Gb/s (Gigabit per second) Ethernet standard to efficiently support ever-increasing, exponential network bandwidth growth.”

“Traffic is growing everywhere—more Internet users, more ways to access the Internet more quickly, higher-bandwidth content, new applications enabled, etc.—and it’s critical that we move now to create a plan for the Ethernet ecosystem to evolve beyond today’s capabilities, in order to accommodate the burgeoning bandwidth tsunami,” John D’Ambrosia, chair of the new IEEE 802.3 400 Gb/s Ethernet Study Group and chief Ethernet evangelist, CTO office, Dell, was quoted in a press release.

New optical fibers developed at the U.K.'s University of Southampton can transfer data at an amazing 73.7 terabits per second  (Tbps) – 99.7% of the speed of light, according to an ExtremeTech report.  This speed is some 1,000 times faster than the “state-of-the-art 40-gigabit (Gb) fiber optic links,” and delivers data “at much lower latency,” according to ExtremeTech's report.

Light carried by optical fiber typically travels 31% slower than the speed of light – 186,282 miles per second. It travels faster through air than glass, however, a characteristic exploited by Francesco Poletti and other members of the University Southamption research team. They developed a hollow optical fiber mostly made of air.

Software-defined networks (SDN) and large-scale network virtualization will drive a transformation and have a sustained impact on communication service providers and the way they do business, according to a new report from IDC. Telecom networks will become more software-centric and adaptable as a result.

"IDC believes that the rapid global growth of data and video traffic across all networks, the increasing use of public and private cloud services, and the desire from consumers and enterprises for faster, more agile service and application delivery are driving the telecom markets toward an inevitable era of network virtualization," IDC research manager, telecom services and network infrastructure Nav Chander was quoted in a press release. "SDN and large-scale network virtualization will become a game shifter, providing important building blocks for delivering future enterprise and hybrid, private, and public cloud services." 

The Piedmont Municipal Power Agency (PMPA) has chosen Tantalus to implement a new smart grid network. Raleigh, North Carolina-based Tantalus will provide its TUNet (Tantalus Utility Network) to PMPA, a consortium of ten municipal electric utilities in northwest South Carolina. 

Looking to leverage and expand on the functionality of its existing smart meter network and advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), PMPA's TUNet implementation is to include load management tools and an AMI overlay that will enable the power utilities “to remotely read existing Itron electric, water, and gas ERT (electronic receiver/transmitter) meter deployments.” 

The first phase of the TUNet deployment will “extend a robust, two-way AMI network to selected members during an initial deployment phase,” Tantalus explains in a press release. A second phase is to include all PMPA's member utilities, a total of more than 100,000 endpoints. 

Spending on wireless data exceeded that for wireless voice in the U.S. for the first time in 2012, while U.S. wireless population surpassed 100% of the adult population, according to The Telecommunications Industry Association's (TIA) “2013 ICT Market Review & Forecast (MR&F).”  

Some $94.8 billion was spent on mobile data services in the U.S. as compared to $92.4 billion spent on wireless voice communications. TIA expects the gap will widen in this and coming years, forecasting that mobile data spending will total $118.6 billion in 2013 versus $86.4 billion for wireless voice. The divergence will continue out to 2016, when $184 billion will be spent on mobile data in the U.S. versus $70.1 billion for mobile voice. 

(NOTE: If you've never experienced a problem at work, this isn't for you.) In a time where we must focus on key drivers of performance and revenue, Finley is pleased to work with NTCA to offering a free Webinar session focusing on a simple tool you can use to drill down and determine the root cause of a problem. This method works particularly well to look at drivers of financial shortfalls, missed deadlines and internal performance issues. Why only address the symptom of a problem when you can discover the root causes and prevent it from happening again? Join us on March 21^st at 1:00 CST. Watch the NTCA Webcasts website to registerhttp://www.ntca.org/webcasts/ntca-webcasts.html.

Ericsson on February 25 announced it’s launching the world’s first broadcast video-over-LTE networks solution, aiming to deliver on the promise of mobile video afforded by 4G LTE mobile broadband networks. Both Verizon Wireless and Australia’s Telstra have both already signed on, indicating growing interest from 4G LTE carriers to introduce more mobile video options into the market

TV and video traffic is forecast to continue growing rapidly, increasing from 40% to 90% of mobile broadband bandwidth, dominating mobile network traffic over the next three to four years, Ericsson predicts.

Utilities worldwide spent $23.68 billion in making the transition to smart grids in 2012, an amount that represents 48% of their total smart grid spending to date, according to a new report from ABI Research. Investment in power transmission and distribution capabilities exceeded that for smart meters in 2012, as utilities aimed to reap the benefits and return on investments made previously to deploy smart meters and Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), according to ABI’s Smart Grids and Smart Cities Research Services.

New research from iGR outlines and validates the continuing opportunity for wireless backhaul for Finley clients. Mobile data traffic – excluding Wi-Fi offload – will grow 11-fold over the current five-year period according to a  Austin, Texas-based iGR.

Including 3G and 4G LTE networks, mobile data traffic will increase from 2012′s 889,000 terabytes per month to 10.3 million in 2017, according to iGR’s “Global Mobile Data Forecast, 2012-2017: The Rise Continues.”

“In more mature markets the growth is driven by network upgrades to LTE, multiple devices per user, increasing mobile device and data usage, and a trend toward consuming content stored in the cloud via mobile devices.”

Pay-TV market revenue grew at a steady 6.7% pace in 2012, generating $238 billion by the end of the year, up from $223 billion in 2011, according to a new report from ABI Research. Looking out to 2018, ABI forecasts worldwide pay-TV market revenue will increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4% to reach $304 billion.

Revenue for North America’s cable TV operators has declined amid a shrinking subscriber base, even with the introduction of innovations such as DVR and HDTV, according to ABI Research’s “Pay-TV ARPU and Revenues” Market Data service.

IPTV platforms are steadily gaining market share globally while other pay-TV platforms are seeing their market shares slowly decline. IPTV service revenue market share increased from 10% in 2011 to 11.5% in 2012, ABI analysts found, while cable TV market share fell to 47% in 2012 from 48.5% in 2011. The pay-TV market share of satellite TV providers fell around 1%.

“Availability of super-fast broadband networks and bundle offers from telcos over high-speed networks are driving the growth of IPTV adoption. IPTV market share is expected to increase to 18% in 2018, to generate $53 billion in revenue,” elaborated Jake Saunders, VP and practice director of core forecasting.

“Based on ABI Research’s global Pay-TV market share analysis, satellite giant DirecTV ranks top in terms of Pay-TV service revenue across all platforms. In the global IPTV sector, Verizon is the top ranked IPTV operator with the highest service revenue,” said Khin Sandi Lynn, research analyst.

A key component of emerging smart grids, the market for smart, connected appliances will grow from $613 million in 2012 to $34.9 billion in 2020, according to new report from Boulder, Colorado-based Pike Research.

“The market for smart appliances has not developed as quickly as anticipated, due primarily to the fact that there are very few smart appliances commercially available,” senior research analyst Bob Lockhart was quoted in a Pike Research press release.

“In order for this market to flourish, there needs to be a wider selection of appliances by type, by brand, and by price range. In addition, it will take time and education to bring smart appliance awareness and interest to the forefront of consumers’ minds.”

With their availability limited and consumers just beginning to become familiar with them, smart plugs – sensors that track electricity consumption of conventional appliances and electronic devices – may serve a bridging function to wider adoption of smart appliances, according to Pike’s analysis.

The rise of smart appliances will help fuel the emerging smart home trend, which is enabled by broadband and may offer a growing number of opportunities for Finley clients.

Finley Engineering Company congratulates Brian Burch on the achievement of receiving his Professional Engineer License from the State of Kentucky.  Brian joined Finley in April 2008.  He worked the requisite four years as an Engineer in Training and qualified to sit for the PE exam in October 2012. Brian passed the PE exam on his first attempt. As a result of this achievement, Brian has been promoted to Senior Project Engineer. Brian is currently working on getting registered in other states in addition to Kentucky.

Steve Leek, Broadband Network Manager with Finley Engineering’s Slayton, Minn. office will be presenting on the shift from TDM to Ethernet Circuits at the Nebraska Telecommunications Association Technology Day on February 20th in Grand Island, Nebraska. His presentation will cover PWE3 – a brief overview what it is and definitions; PWE3 – Circuit timing methods and issues and Ethernet  circuits replacing 4WTO, FXS etc.

Finley Engineering Inc. has named Mike Boehne President and Chief Executive Officer of the company. Mike brings over 30 years of experience to the position having most recently served as President and Chief Operating Officer of the company and Vice President of Business Development. In the 10 years Mike has been with Finley, he has worked on acquisitions, major fiber to the home build-outs, rebranding the company and implementing key programs and processes to continually better serve clients and support employees.Mike is a seasoned veteran of the telecommunications business, working in the financial and management sectors. Prior to joining Finley, he was the vice president of engineering, technology and architecture for McLeod USA.  At McLeod, he helped launch the Ovation executive team, was vice president of the technology services group and was responsible for all engineering, operations and system support and a founding member of the Onvoy telecommunications company in Minnesota.

Mike Boehne replaces Rod Christianson who recently celebrated his retirement. Mike is based in Minneapolis, Minn.