Data centre provider Interxion has launched its LON2 carrier-neutral data centre, located on London’s Brick Lane. LON2 provides over 1,700 square metres of floor space and is powered by 100% renewable energy. Features include an 8MVA redundant power grid supply, advanced fire detection and suppression systems and N+1 cooling. The data centre offers access to over 50 carriers/ISPs and direct access to the LINX and LONAP internet exchanges.
Network vendor Ciena has announced Samsung is to deploy its solutions to create a private network and connect its offices and employees globally. Technology service provider Samsung has deployed Ciena’s full portfolio of Packet-Optical Switching, Packet-Optical Transport and Carrier Ethernet solutions. The partnership is expected to provide Samsung with an enhanced IT infrastructure, in addition to unified network and service management solutions. Samsung cited its reliance on an ageing ATM and MPLS-based network, which was being significantly challenged to deliver optimal network availability in the face of natural disasters as a further driver for Samsung to deploy intelligent technology.
BT has announced that it has launched its BT Radianz Venue suite in São Paulo, Brazil providing optimised latency between the city and other financial centres. The company claims that the expansion will allow improved access to liquidity in the Latin American region, where over 450 institutions are already part of the BT Radianz Cloud. BT Radianz is targeted at local and international companies active in financial markets.
UK operator Everything Everywhere could be bought out by a group of private equity companies headed by the company’s former CEO, Tom Alexander. In a surprising development, Alexander, who left the company last summer, has held discussions with leading private equity companies including Apax and KKR to join the bid, rumoured to be valued at just over €8 billion. Alexander has headed both Virgin Media and Orange before his stint at Everything Everywhere and has amassed a personal wealth to help contribute to the acquisition.
Omani telecoms operator Nawras has completed the first stage of a core network upgrade, enabling it to serve 30% more customers with mobile broadband. Nawras CEO Ross Cormack said that the company will shortly be starting the major work of “turbocharging” the entire network, extending 3G+ coverage and introducing 4G LTE services. Nawras will introduce a new mobile site across the country and extend its WiMAX home broadband network.
Telekom Austria Group’s wholesale division has announced the launch of three independent fibre routes linking Frankfurt and Turkey. The routes, which travel through Belgrade, Serbia, and Timisoara and Bucharest, Romania, are part of the carrier’s triple protection solution, extending across Telekom Austria’s CEE footprint. Among the services offered on the routes are automatic switchover, protected wavelengths, 24/7 network monitoring and end-to-end maintenance. Telekom Austria is offering an SLA which guarantees 99.9% availability for those using the system. In a separate announcement the carrier also announced the launch of a PoP in Skopje, Macedonia.
Telecoms equipment vendor Huawei and Dutch carrier KPN International have completed a pan-European 400G field trial. The trial, which is claimed to be a world first, was conducted on a section of KPN International’s WDM backbone network, spanning 540km between Amsterdam, The Netherlands and Dusseldorf, Germany. Huawei said that the next step after the successful trial is to continue testing with onboard digital signal processor functionality.
US technology service provider Syniverse has announced the launch of its LTE hub to cope with increasing end user demands for bandwidth and next-generation services. Syniverse claims its LTE hub will give operators rapid access to LTE and IP multimedia interoperability required for 4G voice and data roaming. The LTE hub is designed to tap into the company’s IPX solution and provides carrier connection via a global all-IP network, enabling specifications required for LTE connection. The network connection is expected to link over 80 operators worldwide, giving operators access to Syniverse’s other 4G capabilities.
Thai state-owned telco TOT has reportedly agreed to partner with China Telecom to build two internet land links, which will serve as a backup gateway for the country. Local newspaper the Bangkok Post reports that one of the links will run from Nong Khai province to Laos, China and Russia with the second connecting Thailand with Cambodia and Vietnam. China Telecom and AT&T joint venture Shanghai Symphony Telecom will reportedly be responsible for the Laos route, while TOT will be responsible for the Nong Khai link. One of the goals of the project is to reduce traffic congestion on sister company CAT Telecom’s submarine cable network which connects Thailand to Malaysia and Singapore.
Spanish carrier Telefónica plans to deploy Alcatel-Lucent’s 3G femtocells to enhance its indoor mobile broadband services in Europe and South America. The deployment is being conducted in anticipation of dramatically increasing demand on Telefónica’s networks in the coming years, especially at major sporting events. The femtocells will provide capacity in hard to reach indoor locations and reduce congestion on the company’s macro network. Alcatel-Lucent claims the deployment will have the double benefit of greater speed and consistency in the delivery of voice and multi-media content indoors, while also extending battery life by reducing transmission distances for devices.
Level 3 has enhanced its data centre capabilities with the deployment of an enterprise-grade facility located in the Scott Data Centre complex, in Omaha, US. The Tier 3 facility is designed to support the requirements of enterprise and government agency IT applications. It also offers direct connectivity to Level 3’s global IP network with carrier-neutral interconnections. Part of the reason for Level 3’s selection of Omaha was the city’s ranking as one of the least at risk of natural disaster in the US in a study by research company SustainableCircles Corporation. The city also benefits from some of the lowest power costs in the country.
Telefónica is claiming to be the first mobile operator to launch 4G LTE services in the Czech Republic through its local mobile subsidiary, which operates under the O2 brand. At launch, the LTE network covers the municipality of Jesenice, in the west of Prague, and its surroundings, serving approximately 10,000 people. LTE signal is also available in half of Prague’s Chodov shopping mall, where O2’s experience centre store is based. Telefónica has utilised network neutrality for the launch operating services on the 1800MHz spectrum band. Equipment for the LTE launch was provided by Huawei.
