Reflections and predictions: 2011 & 2012 - Part 1

Gazettabyte has asked industry analysts, CEOs, executives and commentators to reflect on the last year and comment on developments they most anticipate for 2012.

"For 2012, the macroeconomy is likely to dominate any other developments"

Martin Geddes, telecom consultant @martingeddes

Sometimes the important stuff is slow-burning: we're seeing a continued decline in the traditional network equipment providers, and the rise in Genband, Acme, Sonus and Metaswitch in their place. Smaller, leaner, and more used to serving Tier 2 and Tier 3 operators and enterprise players and their lower cost structures. 

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ROADMs: core role, modest return for component players

Next-generation reconfigurable optical add/ drop multiplexers (ROADMs) will perform an important role in simplifying network operation but optical component vendors making the core component  - the wavelength-selective switch (WSS) - on which such ROADMs will be based should expect a limited return for their efforts.

"[Component suppliers] are going to be under extreme constraints on pricing and cost"

Sterling Perrin, Heavy Reading

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New editorial calendar for 2012

Gazettabyte has posted the in-depth briefing features planned for 2012.  

Please click here for details. 

Boosting the 100 Gigabit addressable market

Alcatel-Lucent has enhanced the optical performance of its 100 Gigabit technology with the launch of its extended reach (100G XR) line card. Extending the reach of 100 Gigabit systems helps makes the technology more attractive when compared to existing 40 Gigabit optical transport. 

"We have built some rather large [data centre to data centre] networks with spans larger that 1,000km in totality"  

Sam Bucci, Alcatel-Lucent

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2012: The year of 100 Gigabit transponders

Oclaro has detailed its 100 Gigabit coherent optical module that will be available from the second quarter of 2012. The MI 8000XM, a 5x7-inch 100 Gigabit-per-second (Gbps) transponder, uses NTT Electronics' (NEL) analogue-to-digital converter/ digital signal processor (DSP) ASIC at the receiver that compensates for transmission impairments.

“The world is moving to coherent, there is no question about that”

Per Hansen, Oclaro

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Alcatel-Lucent adds networking to enhance the cloud

Alcatel-Lucent has developed an architecture that addresses the networking aspects of cloud computing. Dubbed CloudBand, the system will enable operators to deliver network-enhanced cloud services to enterprise customers. Operators can also use CloudBand to deliver their own telecom services.  

“As far as we know there is no other system that bridges the gap between the network and the cloud"

Dor Skuler, Alcatel-Lucent

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Next-gen 100 Gigabit short reach optics starts to take shape

The latest options for 100 Gigabit-per-second (Gbps) interfaces are beginning to take shape following a meeting of the IEEE 802.3 Next Generation 100Gb/s Optical Ethernet Study Group.  

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