This report, as you've come to expect, is a recap of the month's biggest product announcements in communications, organized into the following broad categories for your convenience:

For a quick view of what we have included from your favorite vendors, glance at Table 1; and if you want to see quickly what we have included under each product category, look at Table 2.

Enjoy! And don't forget that you can click here to see our list of previous long-form features and New Product Recaps.

Table 1: Vendors and products included in this Recap

Table 2: Contents of product categories in this Recap

— Tim Hills is a freelance telecommunications writer and journalist. He's a regular author of Light Reading reports.

Next Page: Broadband/Cable Access & Applications

Ipitek Inc.
MSP-300
This HD video and Ethernet multiplexer allows video-transport users to optimize their regional/national SD/HD/3G-SDI circuits by utilizing their capacities in carrying lower-speed video services such as ASI, SD, HD, 3G video and 10Mbit/s to 1,000Mbit/s Ethernet services. Depending on the rate of the network side video rate (trunk video), users of the MSP-300 can provide Ethernet as well as video services to their customers. Applications and customers include television and cable, service providers, studios and video postproduction, government and producers of live events who require private data connectivity services, typically in the form of Ethernet.

TeliSwitch Solutions Ltd.
PON Automated Optical Distribution Frame (PON-AODF)
According to the company, implementing the PON-AODF saves operators up to 50 percent on OLT ports as they are able to remotely adapt PON splitting ratios to growth, allowing the connection of more homes without compromising on future bandwidth demand. In addition, the PON-AODF reduces overall operation expenditure by making optical infrastructure remotely manageable, thereby minimizing human interventions and errors.

Thomson Video Networks
Flextream 2.0
The upgrade is presented as the industry's first to achieve greater efficiency by integrating ancillary services within the multiplexing pool, thereby freeing bandwidth provisioned for the processing of service components such as audio, teletext, subtitling, and closed-captioning, allowing it to be re-allocated to improve video quality. Flextream 2.0 is available as a software upgrade to operators of Thomson ViBE encoders, NetProcessors, and XMS management systems, configured as a comprehensive statistical multiplexing system.

NetProcessor 9030/40 upgrade
This adds a DVB-T2 MI reverse gateway -- the industry's first to be integrated into a remultiplexer/scrambler, according to the company. The NetProcessor 9030/40's new DVB-T2 features enable the ingest of DVB-T2 MI streams from an ASI or IP inputs, and the de-encapsulation of up to 15 physical-layer pipes (PLPs) per stream. The resulting multiplexes are then available within the NetProcessor for reprocessing operations, which may include regionalization, scrambling, and remultiplexing. The multiplexes can also be re-encapsulated by the NetProcessor into DVB-T2 MI streams.

ViBE EM4000 MPEG broadcast encoder enhancement
This is a quad-channel multistandard version for HD, SD, MPEG-4 AVC, and MPEG-2 encoding. Developed for satellite, terrestrial, cable and IPTV applications, it provides the capacity for four channels within a single 1RU chassis and allows each channel to consume only 70W of energy. Using the latest generation of the company's Mustang compression technology, the ViBE EM4000 can deliver efficiency improvement of 15 percent or more when encoding in MPEG-4 AVC, freeing bandwidth that enables broadcasters to run an extra channel per multiplex or transponder.

ViBE VS7000 multiscreen video platform enhancement
In addition to its support for existing streaming formats from Apple and Microsoft, the ViBE VS7000 now offers the MPEG-DASH format, and its value for live IPTV and WebTV/OTT applications is also extended by its new capacity for ingest and other file-based workflows. Allowing live and file applications to run concurrently on a single system, the ViBE VS7000 provides high operational convenience through a common, intuitive graphical interface, according to the company.

T-VIPS AS
CP524 TS Adapter
This supports multistream (any input to any output), remultiplexing and flexible format conversion for video service distribution. It has been designed to meet the requirements of operators and service providers for flexible repacking and delivery of content for multiple endpoints. The filtering and remultiplexing features enable operators to save bandwidth, the company says. Additional features include interface conversion, advanced IP processing, redundancy, monitoring and PSI/SI/PSIP handling.

TNS460 HD/SD-SDI Monitor
This delivers efficient, continuous monitoring of HD and SD-SDI signals. It provides central headend input monitoring and is suitable for monitoring at handover points where signals may be delivered from one party to another. The TNS460 provides the data to monitor SLA adherence and also offers standalone monitoring for temporary contribution links such as services delivered for a one-off sporting event. It delivers monitoring of video format information, uncompressed audio bitrates and number of channels, but it also offers an advanced mode for extended monitoring and error detection where required. It features a thumbnail view of the video being transmitted and also offers template monitoring, which lets users set predefined parameters for monitoring, according to their individual services.

Next Page: Carrier Transport & Optical Networking

Adtran Inc. (Nasdaq: ADTN)
Compact Reconfigurable Optical Add/Drop Multiplexer (mini-ROADM)
The company says that the flexibility of the four-degree, gridless mini-ROADM design reduces complexity in the network compared to alternative ROADM architectures that typically require a multiblade implementation and a separate service-delivery platform. The mini-ROADM design also simplifies agile optical network deployments by integrating into a single card the typical distributed and oversized ROADM sub-elements, such as the amplifiers required to adjust for optical losses.

Next Page: Components & Devices

Kotura Inc.
Ultra Variable Optical Attenuator Module in a Pluggable Small Form Package (SFP-VOA)
The new product integrates an optical-power monitoring function to provide feedback to the Ultra VOA in a control-loop design. Based on silicon photonics, the Ultra VOAs have very fast response times, typically less than one microsecond. The high-speed performance enables functions such as signal modulation, transient suppression and fast power control in agile WDM networks.

M/A-COM Technology Solutions Inc.
MAAM-010144
This is a GaAs MESFET MMIC push-pull amplifier for CATV, FTTX, DBS, and HDTV applications where low noise figure and low distortion are required. Packaged in a TSSOP 16-lead exposed-paddle package, the MAAM-010144 provides a high gain of 20.5dB and +8 V DC bias. The CATV amplifier operates from 50 to 1000MHz and exhibits a gain flatness of 0.6dB and low noise figure of 5.5dB. The MAAM-010144 is optimized at 75 ohms with an input return loss of 18dB and an output return loss of 15dB.

XX1010-QT
The XX1010-QT is an active doubler in a RoHS compliant 3x3mm plastic QFN package that delivers +20dBm output saturated power (Pout) and 35dBc fundamental suppression. Built on a GaAs pHEMT process, the XX1010-QT covers the 14.625-15.0GHz and 29.25-30.0GHz frequency bands and integrates a gain stage, doubler, and driver amplifier into a single device. The doubler is suited for SATCOM, millimeter-wave point-to-point radio applications. It integrates DC blocking and bypassing capacitors, eliminating the need for any external components. The device has a self-bias configuration, requiring only a positive 5V supply.

Vitesse Semiconductor Corp. (Nasdaq: VTSS)
SynchroPHY portfolio of 1 Gigabit Ethernet (GE), 10GE and 10GE OTN PHYs
Presented as delivering the industry's most accurate IEEE1588v2 timing for IP edge networks, the portfolio includes: (a) 1Gbit/s Ethernet PHYs: VSC8572/VSC8574 Dual/Quad Gigabit Ethernet PHYs; (b) 10Gbit/s PHYs: VSC8487-15/VSC8488-15 Single/Dual 10Gbit/s Ethernet PHYs; and (c) 10Gbit/s Ethernet OTN PHYs: VSC8492/VSC8494 Dual/Quad Universal or 10Gbit/s Ethernet PHYs. The carrier-specific Ethernet IC portfolio is fully standards-compliant and interoperable with other solutions such as boundary clocks or software filtering solutions.

VSC7227
The signal conditioner supports data rates from 155 Mbit/s to 14.1 Gbit/s and adaptive equalization on each channel with no requirement for firmware. The company says that it is the lowest-power 12-channel offering available, dissipating 150mW per channel and providing average power savings of 25 percent over its rivals. It is for use in network equipment supporting next-generation protocols such as 10Gbit/s, 40Gbit/s and 100Gbit/s Ethernet, InfiniBand FDR and 16Gbit/s Fibre Channel.

Next Page: Mobile Devices & Software

ARM Ltd.
Second-generation Mali T600 Series graphics processing units (GPUs)
These provide improved user experience for tablets, smartphones and smart-TVs, according to the company. The series comprises three GPUs -- the Mali T624, T628 and T678 -- each tuned to provide optimal performance and energy efficiency for different end devices. The Mali T624 and T628 are aimed at smartphones and smart TVs, while the T678 has been optimized for tablets. The new GPUs give a 50 percent performance increase compared to first-generation Mali-T600 products (based on industry standard benchmarks), on the same silicon process.

Fujitsu Ltd. (Tokyo: 6702; London: FUJ; OTC: FJTSY)
Interstage Application Server V11
This is an updated version of an application server that provides support for smart device development frameworks. The new application server will also be offered through the company's FGCP/S5 public cloud service and FGCP/A5, powered by Windows Azure. It incorporates the latest jQuery Mobile 1.1.1 development framework for smart devices, thereby making it easy to develop user-friendly applications for smartphones and tablet devices, according to the company. In addition, with support for the latest version of Java, Java SE 7, the new application server enables a 30 percent improvement in Java application development productivity. Moreover, the company says that Interstage Application Server V11 is the only application server that can simultaneously run business applications developed by using multiple generations of Java, COBOL, and C.

Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd.
Apps Insider
This provides a series of digital tools that automatically analyze mobile applications to ensure user experience and reassign network resources. Apps Insider analyzes, evaluates and ranks mobile applications according to how they affect network performance and user experience, providing suggestions for overall optimization. As a result, operators are able to reassign network resources for applications, and developers can improve the efficiency of their applications to reduce their impact on network performance and user experience, according to the company.

Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (Nasdaq: MRVL)
PXA988 and PXA986
These are systems-on-chip (SoCs) for a unified dual-core 3G platform. They integrate high-performance, 1.2GHz dual-core processors with advanced cellular modems to support advanced multimedia capabilities. Designed specifically for the China 3G TD-SCDMA market, the new PXA988 is the next generation of the PXA920 family of mobile processors and features high performance Cortex A9 1.2GHz processors and full 1080p encode/decode capability, with an integrated image signal processor (ISP), advanced graphics processing unit (GPU) that can achieve 192 million triangles per second and a 533MHz LPDDR2 memory architecture for enhanced CPU and system performance. The new PXA986 single-chip, dual-core mobile processor was designed for WCDMA markets and is pin-to-pin compatible with the PXA988. It features an HSPA+ R7 modem, which supports 21.1Mbit/s download data rate and 5.76Mbit/s upload data rate, making it a viable solution for 4G smartphones, the company says. The PXA986 modem also supports features such as Dual SIM Dual Talk.

Qualcomm Inc. (Nasdaq: QCOM)
2net App Software Development Kit (SDK)
Produced by a subsidiary called Qualcomm Life, this SDK provides a consolidated data stream via 2net Connect Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) from the 2net Ecosystem. The 2net Ecosystem is, according to the company, one of the most comprehensive and non-exclusive wireless health ecosystems in the world, and data is thus made available across different radio technologies, device types, applications and services. The APIs are available to developers on multiple data-enabled platforms, including Android, iOS and Microsoft platforms.

BlackBerry
4G LTE BlackBerry PlayBook
The tablet device features the latest BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2 software, and supports LTE and HSPA+. The company says that it supports more HTML5 functionality than any other native tablet browser on the market.

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (Korea: SEC)
Galaxy Note 10.1
This is a tablet device with multiscreen feature, which allows users to operate two different apps side-by-side, simultaneously, on the same screen. It combines the company's S Pen with a 10.1-inch display and has a 1.4GHz quad-core processor and 2GB RAM.

ZTE Corp. (Shenzhen: 000063; Hong Kong: 0763)
MF820S2 and MF91S
These are presented as the first multistandard USB modem and uFi which support LTE FDD/LTE TDD/TD-SCDMA/EDGE. The MF820S2 has LTE TDD 68Mbit/s download speed, LTE FDD 100Mbit/s download speed, a USB Rotator (270 degrees rotation) and an internal antenna. It is compatible with major operators and network systems around the world. The MF91S portable uFi weighs 105g and runs on Li-ion 2300mAh batteries, and is suitable for PC laptops, Macbooks or travelling multidevice users.

Next Page: Switching, Routing & Network Platforms

Riverbed Technology Inc. (Nasdaq: RVBD)
Riverbed Optimization System (RiOS)
This has been enhanced by the addition of a new inbound quality of service (QoS) feature to the WAN optimization system. The company says that inbound QoS ensures the performance of business applications across these networks by absorbing the impact of applications such as video, voice, software-as-a-service (SaaS) and unified communication and collaboration (UCC), while at the same time giving latency-sensitive applications the prioritization and bandwidth they need. The addition of inbound QoS to the existing advanced traffic classification and outbound QoS capabilities in RiOS creates a classification and control policy engine that ensures business applications perform predictably in the face of new application delivery models and traffic types.

VSS Monitoring Inc.
vBroker
This suite of network packet broker appliances and software capabilities is presented as offering the industry's only fabric-system approach for enhancing global visibility and operational performance for network monitoring and security systems. The new vBroker 200 and vBroker 300 appliances expand the capacity and interface flexibility of VSS Monitoring's packet broker solutions and offer features such as traffic filtering/grooming and offloading of packet processing to increase tool system capacity and efficiency. The vBroker 300 Series provides high capacity (560Gbit/s) in a 1RU format and up to 56 ports per appliance, while the vBroker 200 Series provides the flexibility of a modular chassis in compact 1RU or 2RU form factors. vMesh is a mesh architecture to interconnect up to 256 VSS Monitoring NPBs and more than 10,000 ports. A new management console -- vMC -- allows customers to manage all or multiple VSS Monitoring NPBs using a single pane of glass to deploy, provision, and make drag-and-drop configuration changes for the full topology and perform bulk software updates. Customers can also create advanced charts and graphs at a group or network-wide level.

Next Page: Telecom Software & Service Provider IT

Calix Inc. (NYSE: CALX)
Consumer Connect
This is a cloud-based, software-as-a-service (SaaS) application that virtually extends the access network beyond the traditional demarcation point and all the way to consumer devices. The company says that this lets communication service providers strengthen their broadband connections in entirely new ways -- from offering new information technology services to subscribers, to greatly simplifying the basic service-delivery operations, allowing service providers to cost effectively become the virtual IT technician to the consumer.

Great Lakes Data Systems Inc.
WinCAP
Presented as the first integrated, real-time content authorization service for TV Everywhere, WinCAP lets subscribers manage TV Everywhere access for all content providers from one centralized customer self-care portal, hosted by GLDS. WinCAP's real-time authorization gives subscribers access to multiscreen content instantly with no waiting, unlike other offline, standalone authentication systems that can take hours to process, according to the company. WinCAP is integrated with CableAnytime, the company's self-care portal, so subscribers are able to do TV Everywhere account management using the same credentials they use to view and pay their bill, order pay-per-view and view VoIP usage and upgrade services.

JiWire Inc.
Location Graph
This is a mobile-audience targeting system based on analysis of large-scale consumer location and behavior data. JiWire's data is fed by a large pure latitude and longitude network that includes more than 3 billion location tags and continues to grow by more than 16 million per day, allowing the company to build an anonymous profile of a person based on their past and present locations. A third-party machine-learning algorithm continually refines and improves the profile (currently over 500 million devices across its network have been profiled). The goal, the company says, is to connect advertisers to the right audience with the right message, and to deliver more relevant ads to consumers.

NEC Corp. (Tokyo: 6701)
ProgrammableFlow 3.0
Enhancements to the software-defined networking (SDN) product family allow enterprises and cloud operators to automate the provisioning of high-performance network services. Included is the release of the UNIVERGE PF Series ProgrammableFlow Controller 3.0, which, according to the company, is the industry's only OpenFlow controller that enables end-to-end quality of service (QoS) design and network management capabilities that support multiple software-defined networks from a single console or application programming interface (API). The API framework allows third-party applications, such as network management or orchestration systems, to directly interact with the network through a well-defined functional approach. Third-party systems can make on-demand calls to the API to create, edit, and delete virtual networks, as well as to add and remove policies.

Nexus Telecom AG
NexusNETVIEW Release 7.1
The new release focuses on upgrading the core network protocol libraries with Diameter and improving SIP. Also, among other new features, the Gx/Gy and the SIP-I/T reports can be searched by new filters in the Full Session Analyzer (FSA). Customer location information including Cell LAC/SAC/CI is also displayed in the FSA fields. Together with improved call-clearing fields, users are able to easily configure filter settings and determine the cells where customer dropped calls are more frequent.

The Nielsen Co.
Online Audience Segments - TV Viewing
This links online and offline consumer behaviors by providing marketers with the ability to connect with TV audiences online. The service operates by using the company's data assets and TV knowledge and by correlating how people watch TV with how they behave online, with the aim of allowing marketers to more strategically align their TV and online ad campaigns.

Next Page: Test & Measurement

Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A)
E6607B EXT wireless communications test set and companion E6617A multiport adapter
Optimized for non-signaling testing, the EXT/MPA combination increases test throughput and reduces the cost of test in the manufacturing of current- and next-generation smartphones and tablets that contain multiformat and multiband technologies. The EXT is an integrated one-box tester that includes a vector signal analyzer, vector signal generator, high-speed sequence analyzer and multiformat hardware. It offers, the company says, future-ready capabilities such as full cellular-band coverage up to 3.8GHz (including LTE TDD Band 43) and support for the fast-sequenced test modes implemented in the latest chipsets.

Anritsu Corp.
MT8820C Radio Communication Analyzer software options
These allow the one-box tester to perform testing of LTE FDD Band 22 and LTE TDD Band 42/43 LTE smartphones and mobile terminals. With this new capability, the MT8820C supports new LTE FDD Band 22 (3.4 to 3.6GHz) and LTE TDD Band 42/43 (3.4 to 3.8GHz) frequencies, as well as all previous mobile technologies. The new capability adds to the standard 30MHz to 2700MHz frequency coverage of the MT8820C.

Broadcom Corp. (Nasdaq: BRCM)
Full-Band Capture Remote Diagnostic Tools for Cable Operators
These continuously monitor the entire 1GHz cable connection to all data and video channels, and can be implemented on the company's range of cable set-top box, gateway and modem platforms using Full-Band Capture digital tuning technology chipsets. Operators can gather troubleshooting information without affecting customer video or data service, according to the company. Remote diagnostics features include: (a) Advanced capabilities including demodulator statistics and RF spectrum analyzer functions. (b) Active nonintrusive monitoring to provide continual checks without impacting user viewing or broadband experience. (c) Integration with the TR-69 protocol, Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) or other web server-based protocols to provide both remote and home access to real-time RF diagnostics data.

Empirix Inc.
Empirix Testing as a Service (ETaaS)
This is expanded for voice biometrics to provide pre-deployment assessment of authentication and enrollment solutions for contact centers and mobile app developers. Key features include: (a) Needs assessment and test design; (b) Voice file creation and analysis; (c) Automated, predictable and repeatable test scripts; (d) Media and voice quality analysis; (e) Baseline, soak, load and stress test execution; and (f) Reports detailing issues for rapid correction.

EXFO (Nasdaq: EXFO; Toronto: EXF)
FTB/IQS-85100G Packet Blazer 100G/40G Ethernet Test Modules enhancement
The addition of OTU3 overclocked optical rates testing capabilities includes OTU3e1 (44.57Gbit/s) and OTU3e2 (44.58Gbit/s) full-line-rate testing with framing structure and forward error correction (FEC) testing. These capabilities are designed to qualify 40Gbit/s circuits that support OTU3 in the system manufacturers' labs as well as for carriers who have made extensive use of 10Gbit/s Ethernet over ODU2e and have since upgraded to 40Gbit/s. In addition, EXFO is offering OTU3/OTU4 service disruption time (SDT) measurements enabling qualification of 40Gbit/s and 100Gbit/s optical transport network (OTN) systems' switching and recovery mechanisms, in both system manufacturer and carrier labs. These added capabilities are available through a software upgrade for existing 85100G Packet Blazer Modules, requiring no additional hardware.

JDSU (Nasdaq: JDSU; Toronto: JDU)
OneCheck application for SmartClass Triple-Play Services (TPS)
Presented as halving test times for xDSL and triple-play services, the application's single-button push reduces the complexity for technicians testing and troubleshooting triple-play and broadband ADSL/VDSL services, the company says. The application also instantly reports all key quality metrics and automates xDSL, data, VoIP, and video testing with clear pass/fail results.

Lanode Ltd.
Optical Monitoring range
The range comprises four pieces: (a) The OM1 Optical Power Meter constantly monitors the optical power level in a live optical network. It is inserted between the link receiver, or the input of a WDM system, and the dark fiber. (b) The OM2 Optical Spectrum Analyzer is used to measure and visualize the wavelength within a DWDM cable and may generate network alarms depending on a number of wavelength-related issues. The OM2 is used in combination with the OM3 Optical Tap Coupler module. The passive coupler is inserted into the data path and extracts 1 percent of the light to its monitor port. (c) The FM100 Fibre Monitor is a real-time optical-fiber-network monitoring and testing system that is able to detect fiber damage, cuts and degradation over time. The system performs active (live) monitoring by using WDM couplers to separate measurement data from live data traffic. (d) The LP1 Line Protection device constantly monitors the optical power levels of two separate optical cables. When the power levels drop below a user-defined threshold, the internal optical switch reroutes the data to the alternative backup fiber.

LeCroy Corp.
10GBase-R and 40/100GBase-R Electrical and Optical Full Test Tool Lineup
According to the company, the full lineup includes the LabMaster 10 Zi real-time oscilloscopes with 4 channels at up to 36GHz bandwidth (expandable to 80 channels), the industry's first 10Gbit/s optical-to-electrical (O/E) converter for use with real-time oscilloscopes, automated compliance software packages for SFI/SFP+ and 10GBase-KR, new SDAIII-CompleteLinQ multilane serial data and crosstalk analysis toolsets, and the SierraNet M408 protocol test system -- all providing the most complete compliance, debug and analysis capability from single-lane electrical Ethernet through multilane optical signaling.