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

Adtran Inc. (Nasdaq: ADTN)
NetVanta 160 and 161
These are wireless access points (AP) supporting dual 802.11n radios up to 600Mbit/s and are the first NetVanta products to be integrated with Bluesocket technology. Bluesocket technology allows small to medium enterprises (SMEs) to deliver a converged wired and wireless network solution from a single Adtran operating system (AOS) based device, while simplifying network management and providing a scalability path as their networks grow, according to the company.

Aurora Networks Inc.
Digital BK Transceiver
Billed as a first to be specifically designed for Germany's unique BK technology and to provide cost-effective network segmentation to accommodate growth of EuroDocsis services. The new technology combines both digital return transmitters and forward receiver functions into a single module. This provides operators with the ability to transition to a 4x4 upgrade for the price of a 2x2 traditional BK node upgrade, all within the existing BK node platform, according to the company. With up to two unique RF input segments per digital return transmitter wavelength, up to 15 wavelengths with CWDM, and up to 40 wavelengths with DWDM, the digital return technology provides the flexibility for fiber-efficient solutions to segment BK Fiber Nodes. In addition, through cable's first SFP-based digital return technology, the process of wavelength selection, sparing and service restoration is simplified. When set up with the recommended installation practices, the digital return technology will fully support EuroDocsis 3.0 services with both 64-QAM and four or more bonded channels. In addition, it will also support future upgrades to 256-QAM, and up to 1024-QAM, return technology.

Broadcom Corp. (Nasdaq: BRCM)
BCM43242 and BCM43236
This is a combo chip optimized for CE video and Wi-Fi display dongles. The BDM43242 uses dual-band multiple input, multiple output (MIMO) Wi-Fi technology to enable integrated videostreaming and over-the-top capabilities in CE devices. It also includes dual-stream technology, supporting features such as advanced error correction and the capability to support simultaneous Wi-Fi connections to two devices, allowing a smart TV to simultaneously access Internet content and stream high-bandwidth video from a smart phone, tablet or PC. The chip can also enable peer-to-peer transmissions in the 5GHz band. The BCM43236 wireless dongle design features the capabilities of the BCM43236 dual-band Wi-Fi chip and the low-power, high-performance BCM2835 VideoCore media processor, enabling cost-effective adapter products that easily add Wi-Fi display capabilities to existing CE devices with an HDMI port, the company says.

StrataGX BCM5301x and BCM4708x series
These 5G Wi-Fi integrated SoCs for home and SMB networks are billed as the industry's first to combine high-performance processor, Gigabit Ethernet switch and physical-layer transceivers, USB 3.0 and traffic accelerators on a single chip. The company says that the StrataGX series for SMB routers and network attached storage (NAS) devices and the BCM4708x series for home routers and gateways offer a complete end-to-end solution to enable standalone platforms to achieve the Gigabit wireless rates that 5G Wi-Fi can deliver. The resulting connectivity will enable multiple users in the home or office to simultaneously stream video content and high-bandwidth application downloads ten times faster without the buffering and interruptions associated with current networks.

Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO)
Linksys Smart Wi-Fi Router EA6500 and Universal Media Connector
The Linksys Smart Wi-Fi Router with 802.11ac technology is backwards compatible with prior wireless networks and devices using 802.11a/b/g/n. It contains six internal 3-D antennas that are designed to provide the same performance whether placed on a desktop or mounted against the wall, the company says. The Linksys Universal Media Connector enables consumers to connect wired devices such as smart TVs and game consoles to their Wi-Fi network and stream HD or even 3-D HD video content wirelessly; it has been optimized to work with the Linksys Smart Wi-Fi Router EA6500. The connector operates in the 5GHz band and has four Gigabit Ethernet ports.

Cortina Systems Inc.
Family of EPON/GPON OLTs and ONUs
Billed as including the industry's first quad 10G EPON OLT, flexible EPON/GPON and MDU optimized 10G EPON ONU solutions, the family comprises the CS8124 Quad 10G EPON OLT with integrated advance traffic management, the CS8160 10G EPON ONU for MDU deployments, and the CS8232 Dual Mode EPON/GPON ONU with home-gateway capabilities. For the central office, the CS8124 10G EPON OLT is presented as the industry’s first high-density 10G EPON OLT with cost-effective linecard designs with support for the latest SIEPON and DPoE standards. For MDU applications, the CS8160 10G EPON ONU SoC device has an architecture optimized for high-density subscriber traffic management. For fiber to the home gateways, the CS8232 Dual Mode EPON/GPON ONU has the company's Packet Express architecture whose flexibility allows it to be configured as a full-feature, high-end ONU or as a cost-effective low-end ONU.

Emcore Corp. (Nasdaq: EMKR)
NV Series JPEG 2000 products
These distribute high-resolution 3G HD, HDMI or DVI signals to HD monitors in one or multiple locations by using IP infrastructures. HD video and audio signals are received by the encoder, compressed using JPEG 2000, and transmitted with a latency of less than 50 milliseconds. When the NV Series is combined with a compatible managed Ethernet switch setup, a flexible HD matrix switching distribution system can be created. The series also allows customers to move from a matrix switch to managed-Ethernet switch by cascading multiple switches, so that displays may be located long distances from their sources while sustaining consistent 1080p video and sound quality, according to the company.

Hitron Technologies Inc.
CDA-32372 and CDE-32372
These are the first products of a new range of Puma-6mg-based cable modems and gateways. The Puma-6mg supports 24x8 channel bonding with which EuroDocsis 3.0 provides speeds to over 1Gbit/s, with an upstream rate of 320Mbit/s. With the additional network processor (1.2GHz Atom) and increased memory capabilities, the puma-6mg-based products allow new applications and services, according to the company.

Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (Nasdaq: MRVL)
Avastar 88W8897
This is presented as the industry's first 802.11ac 2x2 combination radio chip with NFC, Bluetooth 4.0 and mobile MIMO, transmit beamforming and support for Wi-Fi certified Miracast (when available). The company says that the Miracast capability, expected to be certified later in 2012, will allow consumers to stream video from their ultrabook or tablet to a larger display via the 5GHz band while simultaneously surfing the Internet without losing the connection in the 2.4GHz band.

Qualcomm Atheros
QCA9005AP
This is a 802.11ac reference design for wireless routers, gateways and enterprise access points. Using an on-board processor and power efficient radio architecture, the 802.11ac platform can accelerate mainstream adoption of Gigabit wireless products for home and business networks, the company says. The new reference platform features the QCA9558 dual-band, three-stream 802.11n system-on-chip (SoC), the QCA9880 three-stream 802.11ac radio solution, and the AR8327 Gigabit Ethernet switch.

Skifta Engine software application
This is an OEM software solution for media shifting to and from DLNA-certified and UPnP devices inside and outside the home. It can either be preloaded or added on to devices and works with the Skifta Android application and enables users of network attached storage (NAS) drives, storage-based smart routers and set-top box devices to access, manage and shift media from their smartphones, tablets, Internet-connected channels and local media sources, and then to stream content to any DLNA or UPnP device. The Java-based Skifta Engine provides manufacturers with an always-on DLNA software suite comprising a Digital Media Controller (DMC), Digital Media Server (DMS) and, when paired with compatible hardware, a Digital Media Renderer (DMR). The Skifta Engine software runs on network attached storage drives or storage-based smart router/gateways and set-top boxes with an embedded Java Virtual Machine, and it serves as a central control point for media access, management and shifting. It also serves as the primary DMC for any number of DLNA and UPnP clients on a network, allowing multi-user controls and shifting of local, remote or cloud content sources like Flickr, TED Talks, SHOUTcast, Revision 3 and Facebook.

Next Page: Carrier Transport & Optical Networking

PMC-Sierra Inc. (Nasdaq: PMCS)
PM5450 HyPHY 20Gflex and PM5456 HyPHY 10Gflex
These are new Metro OTN processors to enable packet-optimized metro optical networks. The HyPHY Flex devices are ODU0-channelized Metro OTN processors that support the newly approved OIF-compliant OTN-over-Packet Fabric system interface. They are based on a set of client-agnostic and rate-agile SERDES for both Small Form Factor Pluggable (SFP) and 10 Gigabit Pluggable (XFP/SFP+) optics, the PM5450 HyPHY 20Gflex delivers, the company says, the industry's highest density with 16xSFP and 2x10G XFP/SFP+ interfaces along with any-port, any-rate, and any-service flexibility for the transport of carrier Ethernet, IP/MPLS, Sonet/SDH, SAN, and video over an OTN infrastructure. A PM5456 HyPHY 10Gflex version is available for lower-density applications.

Transmode Systems AB
Intelligent Sync (iSync)
Enhancements have been made to the packet-optical networking sync performance, monitoring and management capabilities. These cover an number of areas. For example, the iSync solution now provides users with new Sync management maps and full sync source protection switching. Additionally, Chronos Technology's industry independent SyncWatch probes and associated SyncWatch NetSMART software are fully integrated into Transmode's Enlighten multilayer management suite.

Xilinx Inc. (Nasdaq: XLNX)
Forward Error Correction (FEC) Intellectual Property (IP) Core
The expanded offering includes GFEC, EFEC and high-gain FEC (xFEC) solutions used to obtain error control in signal transmission and to extend transmission distance. According to the company, the cores offer network operators lower operational and capital network costs, and it designed these FEC IP cores with a common interface to accelerate product development, minimize system level integration time, maximize design reuse and reduce time-to-market. The ultracompact, high-performance FEC cores -- which include GFEC IP cores for 2.5G, 10G, 40G, 100G applications, legacy 10G EFECs and an extended FEC (xFEC) IP core for 100G applications -- were optimized specifically to minimize silicon area. Combined with partial reconfiguration, these IP cores optimized for Xilinx FPGAs enable customers to integrate multiple FEC standards on multiple interfaces, while reducing product costs, power consumption and maximize network interoperability, the company says.

Next Page: Components & Devices

Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW)
Willow Glass
This is presented as an ultraslim flexible glass, which could revolutionize the shape and form of next-generation consumer electronic technologies. The thinness, strength, and flexibility of the glass have the potential to enable displays to be wrapped around a device or structure, the company says, and the glass can be processed at temperatures up to 500 C -- and high temperature processing capability is essential for today’s high-end displays, and is a processing condition that cannot be supported with polymer films. The glass will support thinner backplanes and color filters for both organic light emitting diodes (OLED) and liquid crystal displays (LCD) in high-performance, portable devices such as smart phones, tablets, and notebook computers. This new glass will also help to develop conformable (curved) displays for immersive viewing or mounting on nonflat surfaces.

Kontron AG
AM4022
This is a quad-core AdvancedMCprocessor module with the third-generation Intel Core i7 processor. With up to 4 x 2. GHz, the new module offers more than twice the processing performance, and up to four times the 3-D graphics performance, of its predecessor, and is suitable for applications based on MicroTCA and AdvancedTCA integrated platforms that require high-end computing performance -- such as IPTV, media servers and media gateways, video data processing and in test solutions for networking equipment. It features up to 8GB of soldered DDR3 1600 MHz ECC-protected memory for increased data integrity and system stability, the company says. Additionally, up to 64 GB of SLC NAND Flash can be integrated to host a complete operating system and application code which increases overall system speed and availability. It offers eight PCI Express Gen3 lanes to the backplane, configurable as 2 x PCIe x 4 or 1 x PCIe x 8. There are also four GbE ports; two on the front and two 1000BASE-BX (SerDes) on the backplane as well as two 6Gbit/s SATA ports.

Xilinx Inc. (Nasdaq: XLNX)
Virtex-7 H580T
Presented as the world's first 3-D heterogeneous all-programmable FPGA, the device uses the company's stacked silicon interconnect (SSI) technology to deliver high-bandwidth FPGAs, featuring up to 16 28Gbit/s and 72 13.1Gbit/s transceivers, making them suitable as single-chip solutions for addressing Nx100Gbit/s and 400Gbit/s linecard applications and functions. Virtex-7 HT devices with their 28Gbit/s transceivers allow support for up to four IEEE 100GE gearboxes in a single device with the option of integrating advanced debug capabilities, OTN, MAC or Interlaken IP within the same FPGA, eliminating the need for separate gearbox and ASSP devices. The forthcoming Virtex-7 H870T device is also 400GE ready and will be able to support future 400GE modules that require16x25Gbit/s interfaces. The result is reduced overall power and BOM cost and a more flexible solution in the midst of changing protocols, the company says.

Yenista Optics SA
WSM-160 BP
Addition of a PMF option to the manual optical tunable bandpass filter offers an optimized wavelength range over the C-band from 1525 to 1570nm and passband adjustment from 0.25 to 45nm. The standard WSM-160 was designed to enable engineers to extract channels with low insertion loss and no signal distortion thanks to its flat-top shape, and, the company says, is particularly suited for studying new modulation formats, cascaded ROADMs, high bit rate transmission, pulse shaping, and optical parametric amplification. The PMF option addresses specific needs in new modulation formats where polarization multiplexing is utilized.

Next Page: Mobile Devices & Software

Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL)
iOS 6
The beta version to iOS Developer Program members of latest iteration of mobile operating system introduces over 200 new features, including: (a) New Maps app with Apple-designed cartography, turn-by-turn navigation and a new Flyover view; (b) New Siri features, including support for more languages, easy access to sports scores, restaurant recommendations and movie listings; (c) Facebook integration for Contacts and Calendar, with the ability to post directly from Notification Center, Siri and Facebook-enabled apps like Photos, Safari and Maps; (d) Shared Photo Streams via iCloud; and (e) Passbook to put all passes in one place.

BroadVision Inc.
Clearvale for Android
The new app gives Android users access to the Clearvale enterprise social networking solution on their handsets and tablets for the first time. Clearvale for Android is a native app that connects users across geographic regions, timezones, and work shifts and is displayed in real time with communication and collaboration capabilities.

Nuance Communications Inc. (Nasdaq: NUAN)
Dragon ID
The voice biometrics system for mobile devices allows users to unlock consumer mobile devices with the sound of their voice, and provides personalized access to phones, tablets, PCs and other such devices. The initial release supports English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese and Korean for Android and other platforms, with additional language availability later in 2012.

Next-generation Swype keyboard
Enhancements include provision of four input modalities in one keyboard. Users can swype from letter to letter; type rapidly with predictive text input powered by the company's XT9 system; speak their text naturally through a fully integrated Dragon button; or, write letters, words and symbols by using their fingertip. Users can also switch back and forth between modalities on the fly to provide keyboard personalization.

Qualcomm Inc. (Nasdaq: QCOM)
Gimbal
A mobile context SDK for Android and iOS operating systems, Gimbal enables content providers and developers to make applications smarter and deliver a more personal experience to end users in real time, based on their location, interests and situational context. The SDK includes: (a) Gimbal Geofence, designed to provide low-power, geofence-based location awareness. This enables applications to be contextually aware. Applications are able to adapt to what makes sense to the user based on where they are. (b) Gimbal Interest Sensing enables applications to adapt based on the end user’s profile/learned interests. This allows the application to be tailored to specific audiences. (c) Gimbal Image Recognition enables end users to trigger interactive experiences through their smart-phone camera. (d) Gimbal Communicate allows for personalized communication via push notification and/or show custom content within an application. (e) Gimbal Manager is a Web-based tool to manage geofences, profile rules, image targets, content, distribution and analytics. (f) Gimbal Privacy allows end users to manage Gimbal and its features. Gimbal is designed to protect the user’s personal information while putting the end user in command over what and when they share their contexts and interests, the company says.

ZTE Corp. (Shenzhen: 000063; Hong Kong: 0763)
1.4GHz TD-LTE terminals
This is presented as the world's first such range of devices, and includes modules, USB cards, indoor CPE and outdoor CPE devices. The terminals are intended for a wide range of machine-based applications such as road surveillance, medical and health service systems, intelligent transportation systems and environmental protection.

Grand X LTE (T82)
The single-chip LTE smart phone is the first from the company and is Wi-Fi capable and uses Android 4.0. It has a 1.5GHz dual-core CPU, an 8Mpixel main camera that supports 1080p HD video shooting and playback and a front camera that supports 720p HD videocalls. The phone has a maximum download rate of 100Mbit/s, and a 1900mAh large-capacity battery. The Grand X LTE (T82) also has a buttonless design resembling a minitablet PC.

Next Page: Switching, Routing & Network Platforms

6WIND
6WINDGate packet-processing software
Addition of support for VMware vSphere allows developers to implement high-performance VMware-based virtual network appliances running on low-cost commodity hardware platforms such as Intel Xeon platforms that use the Intel Data Plane Development Kit (Intel DPDK) software library. These virtual appliances deliver significant cost/performance benefits compared to traditional physical network appliances, according to the company.

Genband Inc.
A2 Intelligent Messaging Manager (IMM)
The unified messaging platform offering a suite of advanced, integrated voice and messaging applications. It allows service providers and enterprises to deploy a broad range of carrier-grade, fully integrated unified messaging services such as voicemail, voicemail-to-text, video mail, visual messaging, fax messaging and automated attendant services. Through premium videomail features, end users can record and customize their video greetings and access/retrieve video messages via the Web from their computer, mobile phone or tablet. The Automated Attendant service allows service providers and enterprises to administer incoming call routing via Web-based provisioning and routing options, such as dial by extension, dial by department, dial by name, external routing, time-of-day routing, and general delivery mailbox and live operator.

S3 1000 Session Border Controller (SBC)
In a 1 RU form factor this provides a cost-effective solution for smaller deployments supporting highly distributed or low-density specifications, according to the company. Aimed at smaller carriers, large carriers with remote points of presence, and enterprise SBC market, the S3 is an advanced, software-based SBC with the intelligence to deliver adaptive security, insightful policy enforcement, any-to-any interworking and advanced session routing for IP Interconnect, IPX, hosted unified communications, SIP business trunking, access deployments, voice over LTE (VoLTE) and Rich Communications Suite (RCS) services across next-generation and IMS networks. The intelligent security framework of the S3 incorporates a pluggable, dynamic policy model that establishes a policy binding for each application and device. Real-time session monitoring and analysis enable the S3 to issue corrective actions dynamically.

S3 2000 Session Border Controller (SBC)
In a 2RU form factor and using latest Intel computing and Cavium network processing chipsets and providing high scalability with the price/performance advantages of standard COTS components, according to the company.

Ixia (Nasdaq: XXIA)
Anue Net Tool Optimizer (NTO) 5293
Presented as the industry’s first carrier-grade, high-density, 40Gbit/s network monitoring switch, the Anue NTO 5293 is intended to help telecom providers improve data-center productivity by connecting multiple network monitoring tools to a large number of 40GbE, 10GbE, and 1GbE interfaces, facilitating end-to-end visibility into the packet network. It provides a solution for access to intelligence in complex and mission-critical networks, including the 4G LTE packet core, according to the company. Features and capabilities include: (a) 640Gbit/s, nonblocking backplane for up to 16 40GbE ports or up to 64 10GbE ports in a 2RU chassis. (b) Redundant features to ensure uninterrupted network visibility where high availability is required. (c) Drag-and-drop control panel allows users to aggregate, filter and distribute network traffic to monitoring tools with a few mouse clicks. (d) NEBS Level 1 certified and NEBS Level 3 certification in progress.

Juniper Networks Inc. (NYSE: JNPR)
QFX3000-M QFabric System
This switching fabric is designed for midtier data centers, satellite data centers and 10GbE data center pods, as well as space-constrained environments. A QFX3000-M QFabric System comprises QFabric Nodes, which provide entry into the fabric; QFabric Interconnects, which connect the Node devices in a flat, any-to-any architecture; and QFabric Directors, which provide management and control services, enabling the entire system to be managed as a single switch. Core to the QFX3000-M, the company is introducing a new fixed form-factor interconnect, the QFX3600-I, which allows customers to incrementally scale, from 48 10GbE ports and up to 6,144 10GbE ports using the QFX3000-G QFabric System. The QFX3000-M enables server-to-server traffic speed with three microseconds latency. The QFX3600 node, like the previously announced QFX3500, provides entry into both QFabric Systems, and is a 40GbE top-of-rack switch.

Netronome
NFP-­6xxx
Presented as the industry’s first programmable 200Gbit/s flow processor, the device is designed for high-performance networking applications that require programmable linerate stateful processing on millions of simultaneous, complex flows, and is suited for intelligent line cards, service blades and PCIe cards in applications such as carrier networking, cyber security, software defined networking including OpenFlow, mobile networking, virtualized datacenters and cloud computing.

Procera Networks
PacketLogic Carrier-Grade Network Address Translation (CGN) and Advanced Traffic Steering
Addressing the application delivery market, the company says that the PacketLogic CGN solution is the first to offer asymmetric traffic handling using FlowSync, providing operators with more flexibility in CGN deployments and maintaining flow state, even in geographically diverse deployments. It ensures that an operator maintains complete capability to leverage 3GPP policy and charging as well as full analytics and network visibility, which can be lost when deploying CGN solutions not based on IPE. The PacketLogic Advanced Traffic Steering can steer traffic at any point in the flow setup process, giving flexibility for value-added services that require full TCP-state visibility, such as video optimization or parental control, and saving capital and operational expense by reducing the amount of hardware needed to offer VAS. According to the company cloud operators can take advantage of the traffic steering capabilities while providing detailed charging and analytics to their customers using a single system.

Syniverse Technologies LLC
LTE Hub
This is a one-stop solution for LTE and IMS interoperability and interworking, 4G clearing and settlement, next-generation customer-care solutions, and advanced messaging gateway capabilities. It is based on the company's PRIME IP Packet eXchange Network Solution (IPX), which provides a carrier-grade, five-nines connection to Syniverse via a global all-IP network that is fully enabled to deliver the quality and class of service required for LTE. With this single connection operators can access a suite of 4G solutions: (a) Diameter and SIP signaling for full LTE and IMS interoperability and interworking; (b) Customer experience protection; (c) Next-generation clearing and settlement, including a full suite of 4G clearing and settlement solutions that ensure compatibility with existing file types and billing procedures; and (d) Advanced video and messaging support, including interworking between mobile ecosystem players for the exchange of data, IM, SMS and MMS across networks, protocols and message types, bridging Rich Communications Suite (RCS) and legacy services.

VSS Monitoring Inc.
Packet broker appliances
Addition of support for virtual network tag (VN-Tag) stripping and filtering allows enterprises to have dynamic access, selective visibility, and management of all packets across physical and virtual environments, according to the company. Thus enterprises offloading virtual traffic switching to their existing physical switching infrastructure can now access this virtual network traffic for monitoring, analysis and security with VSS Monitoring VN-Tag stripping functionality without changing their existing tools.

Next Page: Telecom Software & Service Provider IT

Arieso Ltd.
ariesoGEO
The new release of performance engineering solution supports GSM, UMTS and LTE technologies within a single platform and automates optimization between these layers. Designed to help mobile network operators solve performance challenges, ariesoGEO provides insights into the network as experienced by customers, allowing operators to manage network planning and performance more cost effectively, while delivering previously unobtainable insights into customer experience, according to the company. The new release also includes a package of advanced automated optimization features, such as automatically detecting configuration clashes and recommending appropriate changes.

Cariden Technologies Inc.
MATE Live
This is a software solution combining predictive network analytics with access to current and historical data for use in network operational applications, such as maintenance and congestion mitigation. According to the company, MATE Live also provides the following groups with additional services: (a) Planners -- develops trending reports used by the companion MATE Design for determining future needs, such as site-to-site traffic trends per class of service. (b) Designers and engineers -- determines whether MPLS paths are routed optimally over time and which events cause them to reroute. (c) Peering co-ordinators -- monitors priority peers and their growth, while verifying traffic is balanced. (d) Business managers -- determines the impact of new services per market or per site. The company has also announced the 5.2 release of the MATE portfolio, with new features for MATE Design and MATE Collector.

Clarity International Pty Ltd.
Convergent Billing Solution (CBS) R5, Telco Cloud, and Value Growth Solution (VGS)
Convergent Billing Solution R5 features a system architecture that enables carriers to enhance flexibility and support different business models, satisfy new and dynamic market requirements, and expand their businesses with increased agility, according to the company. Telco Cloud offers a full range of cloud components, including facilities and infrastructure, such as storage and servers. The company has built an XaaS (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS) ecosystem in co-operation with various ISVs (independent software vendors), and says that Telco Cloud helps carriers migrate to the cloud, meeting market demand for consulting services, management services, smart pipes, and strong service-level agreement guarantees. VGS focuses on traffic management and enhancing bandwidth revenues and is intended to aid carriers in their transformation from voice operators to bandwidth traffic management operators.

Juniper Networks Inc. (NYSE: JNPR)
Mykonos Web Security Software
The new release provides 30 new features and enhancements that strengthen protection against a wider range of attackers and hacking techniques, simplify configuration for security administrators, and boost scalability. New countermeasures include: (a) Preventing brute-force authentication attacks that rapidly guess combinations of usernames and passwords to gain access to systems. (b) Defending against directory traversal attempts that are used to map websites to gain additional information on how to attack them. (c) Integrating third-party software vulnerability protection into Mykonos Web Security, which helps prevent against known software vulnerabilities typically targeted by automated attack scripts.

Nokia Networks
Operations on Demand
This is presented as a portal simplifying the process of managing networks and optimizing network performance by giving a single entry point to network data. It provides content packs for specific workflows such as site creation, network optimization and network health. The company says that this provides the business benefits such as improving network quality through automation of network optimization processes; reduction of operations cost by reducing the time spent on manual tasks; and giving a multilanguage interface for operations. It is part of the company's operations support systems (OSS) offering that brings together pre-integrated software and related professional services across the network, IT and the customer lifecycle.

Transmode Systems AB
Enlighten
This is a multilayer management suite and accompanying ecosystem. The company has extended its existing transport, Ethernet and MPLS-TP services network management capabilities to include fully integrated network planning and design tools. This, it says, is to provide a full life-cycle solution that enables operators to move seamlessly between network planning, deployment and operation phases of the life-cycle, via the Enlighten management suite. To further enhance Enlighten, Transmode has also developed an ecosystem of third-party software solutions that further extends the network and service management capabilities available to network operators. The first such partner is Chronos Technology, a UK-based provider of network synchronization solutions and services.

Next Page: Test & Measurement

Aeroflex Inc. (Nasdaq: ARXX)
S-Series RF signal generators and analyzers
Designed for use by engineers in wireless local area network (WLAN) research, design, and manufacturing, a new 802.11ac capability is available for the SGD RF digital signal generators (Option 119) and the SVA vector signal analyzers (Option 110). The company says that the S-Series product line’s standard features include the industry’s widest bandwidth at 200MHz; level and frequency settling times that are 5-times faster than competitors at 100µs; and very low phase noise performance (-135dB/Hz at 1 GHz, 20kHz offset).

Anite plc
Nemo Autonomous system for automated large-scale air-interface measurements
An extension with Android-based Nemo Wanderer-A field measurement probes enables a single user to monitor and control hundreds, even thousands, of fixed and mobile probes from a centralized location, enabling rapid response to network problems and improvements in network service, according to the company. Nemo Wanderer-A for HTC Sensation supports measurements on the air interface of GSM, WCDMA, and HSPA wireless networks with a wide range of radio and application metrics. The following application testing options are available: voice calls, FTP, HTTP, Ping and SMS.

Anritsu Corp.
MD8475A Signaling Tester enhancement
Addition of integrated IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) functionality xtends the capabilities of the MD8475A's SmartStudio graphical network simulation environment to include Call Session Control Function (CSCF), Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP), and Domain Name System (DNS) servers, using either IPv4, IPv6, or dual-stack addressing. The MD8475A now provides device and UE developers with a complete state-based network simulation environment in one instrument, including simulated servers, the company says, and enables such applications as VoLTE and SMS-over-IMS device testing. Extended IMS functionality to simulate aberrant behavior, including CSCF errors and busy UAs, can be added through the CSCF Extended option (MX847570-080). Using the MD8475A, IMS logs can be analyzed using on-board Wireshark IP log analysis.

Site Master S331L Cable and Antenna Analyzer
Presented as new generation of rugged handheld field instrumentation to provide high-performance cable and antenna analysis quickly and accurately, the S331L, which covers 2MHz to 4GHz, brings a high level of performance to return loss, cable loss, and distance-to-fault (DTF) measurements, the company says, and has the highest RF immunity of any Site Master. A sweep speed per data point of 1.5 ms (typical) saves technicians time and enables easier identification of intermittent problems in real time. The standard built-in InstaCal provides fast one-connection calibration. The S331L also features a standard built-in powermeter, for easy, and, with 8h of continuous battery life, the S331L allows field technicians to conduct a full day's testing on a single charge. Intelligent power-saving features, such as sleep mode and auto-display brightness that automatically reduces the screen's backlight when the analyzer is not in use, can extend battery life beyond the continuous 8h rating.

Metrico Wireless Inc.
Datum measurement system for mobile network operators and device OEMs
The company has made enhancements introducing quality-of-experience measurement of simultaneous voice and data services and using cloud to enable large-scale, centralized testing of LTE, HSPA+ and 3G devices and networks. Datum includes: (a) Centralized or distributed test administration and data warehousing, providing flexibility in the design of: large-scale device acceptance testing; friendly user testing; and crowdsourcing, benchmarking and troubleshooting projects. (b) High-capacity content servers distributed globally, permitting testing of devices and networks anywhere in the world. (c) On-device clients for every major operating system, including Android 4, iOS 5 and Windows Phone 7, downloaded from the respective application stores by field engineers to conduct localized testing. Datum measures: (i) Data performance, including HTTP, FTP, UDP and Web browsing performance and reliability. (ii Voice call performance during a data session, including call setup rate, call setup time, call drop rate and call duration. (iii) Data throughputs before, during and after a voice call.

Spirent Communications plc
GSS6300M
This is a multi-GNSS simulator designed for integration, verification and production testing where a quick and accurate functional test is needed. The platform supports simulation of signals from individual or combined GPS/SBAS, GLONASS and Galileo constellations, with eight satellites per constellation. It supports two modes of operation -- integrated into an automated test equipment (ATE) environment or using the company's SimCHAN software. For automated operation, the GSS6300M can be synchronized with other equipment and controlled remotely over Ethernet, IEEE-488 (GPIB) or RS232 interfaces. The SimCHAN software interface supplied with the GSS6300M enables the user to create unlimited scenarios and specify parameters such as user position, date and time. Both modes support precise user control over power level and atmospheric-effect selection.

TestCenter C100
This is a next-generation test appliance platform that enables carriers, enterprises and equipment manufacturers to validate that their terabit, application-aware networks deliver the required performance, availability and security at scale. It offers a broad test coverage on a single test platform, including testing of application-aware carrier Ethernet devices, next-generation firewalls, mobile and Wi-Fi networks, and video and content delivery networks (CDN) with deep packet inspection (DPI) and application-aware policy controls. According to the company, when testing application security, the C100 can generate over 80Gbit/s of real application traffic and 90 million simultaneous TCP connections. For mobility testing, it emulates millions of subscribers with realistic busy-hour call/data models combining application traffic and complex 2G/3G/LTE and Wi-Fi mobility scenarios. For security application performance, the solution realistically emulates thousands of vulnerabilities and attacks, as well as thousands of IPsec tunnels and multi-10Gbit/s of encrypted traffic, to determine the impact of smart-phone applications on the network and whether the threat exposes secure business services.

Next Page: Wireless Infrastructure

Adtran Inc. (Nasdaq: ADTN)
Cloud-based Mobile Data Offload solution for carriers
Billed as first of its type, using the Wi-Fi Alliance’s Hotspot 2.0 standard, the virtualized approach eliminates, according to the company, the need for hardware-based controllers in the network, thus reducing the cost, complexity and management overhead associated with traditional approaches to scaling network access. Features and capabilities include: (a) Scalability -- Distributed data plane and centralized control plane allow thousands of access points to be managed by a single software-based controller. (b) High availability -- Geographically-separated controllers that offer zero packet-loss during controller failover. (c) Single solution for multiple services -- Hosted/managed enterprise Wi-Fi, mobile offload, smart metering and other Wi-Fi-enabled services can be offered from a single architecture. (d) EAP-SIM/AKA with integrated AAA support -- Ability for access points to communicate directly with AAA systems for user authentication, either fully integrated or via certified partnerships.

Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A)
Advanced Design System 2012
The new release of the system for RF power-amplifier design includes: (a) Side-by-side finite element method electromagnetic simulation of different technologies to analyze electromagnetic interactions between ICs and interconnects, wire bond and flip-chip solder bumps in typical multichip RF power amplifier modules. (b) Model support for the new artificial neural network-based Agilent NeuroFET model, extracted by Agilent EEsof's IC-CAP device modeling software, which enables more accurate FET modeling and simulation results (for high-power GaN FET amplifiers, for example). (c) Improved integration with Electromagnetic Professional software. Three-dimensional EM components from EMPro can now be saved as database cells for use directly in ADS. (d) The immediate beta release of the new ADS electro-thermal simulator to select customers. Based on a full 3-D thermal solver natively integrated into ADS, this new capability incorporates dynamic temperature effects to improve accuracy in thermally aware circuit simulation results. (e) Enhancements to the ADS Load Pull DesignGuide, such as adding mismatch simulation to indicate device or amplifier sensitivity to load VSWR or phase angle. (f) Enhancements to the Amplifier DesignGuide, including extensive updates that make it easy to see amplifier performance at a specific output power or a specific amount of gain compression.

Alvarion Technologies Ltd. (Nasdaq: ALVR)
WBSn-2450-I
The indoor carrier-grade Wi-Fi access point is suited for large, crowded, indoor venues where data consumption on laptops, smart phones and tablets is in high demand, such as inside malls, hotels, airports, campuses, large retail stores and other public venues. It is based on the company's two-way spatially adaptive beamforming 802.11n, 3x3 MIMO with three spatial data streams and support for 2.4 and 5GHz radios, allowing access to existing Wi-Fi devices as well as to new devices being released with 5GHz support such as Blackberry, iPads and new laptop models. The WBSn-2450-I includes an interference-immunity suite, and simultaneous radios give operators the flexibility to use both frequency bands for customer access and the 5 GHz radio for backhauling the large amounts of data that cause network congestion, according to the company. The WBSn-2450-I includes a set of networking features for core integration into fixed and cellular networks, such as the Radius interface and the built-in access controller.

Cambium Networks Ltd.
PTP 810
This is a point-to-point wireless backhaul solution supporting native E1/T1 and native Ethernet with high capabilities and optimal performance in a single configurable software system. The company says that the PTP 810 is designed to meet current and future needs of network communications by providing support for native TDM and Ethernet in a single platform, and enabling carriers, utility, public safety and enterprise operators to migrate existing TDM traffic to an IP-based Ethernet network. Features and capabilities include: (a) Native TDM and Ethernet, software configurable channel bandwidth and modulation. (b) Operates in the 6 to 38GHz RF bands and with user-configured channel bandwidths from 7 to 80MHz. (c) Supports ACM, crosspolarization interference cancellation (XPIC) and Ethernet link aggregation. (d) Scalable throughput to 700Mbit/s full duplex. (e) Supports T1/E1 and STM-1/OC-3 interfaces. (f) Supports protected PDH ring with built in T1/E1 crosspoint switch. (g) Supports both split-mount and all-indoor architectures.

Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd.
End-to-end TDFi solution
This allows end users to access LTE TDD networks with any Wi-Fi-enabled device to obtain high-speed mobile data services. The TDFi solution adopts LTE TDD wireless backhaul instead of wired backhaul to solve the last-mile problem of WLAN deployment, the company says, and helps operators achieve rapid, low-cost deployment and supports Wi-Fi user authentication and billing.

eRelay
Billed as the industry’s first LTE TDD wireless-backhaul solution to meet small-cell transmission challenges, it utilizes the company's SingleRAN unified hardware platform, advanced LTE technology, 256 high-order QAM and MIMO technology, and provides wide bandwidth and high transmission capacity. According to the company it is a more cost-efficient solution that works in the same way as microwave transmissions but uses non-line-of-sight transmission and supports PtMP (point-to-multipoint) transmission.

NEC Corp. (Tokyo: 6701)
Small cell solutions
These cover the range of small cell applications in the home, small, medium, and large enterprises, public spaces, as well as outdoor applications. They include advanced plug-and-play functionality to enable end users to install the small cells quickly and easily, with no need for professional field engineers, planning or optimization, according to the company. The FP813 is optimized for the mass market and suited to homes and small offices, while the more powerful FP1624 is for medium-size enterprise and public access premises, typically spanning around 5,000m2 over several stories. The outdoor FMA1630, provides mobile operators with a cost-effective way of increasing the network coverage and capacity in outdoor environments. It also offloads data traffic from the macro network to reduce capital and operational expenditure, and allows operators to bring 3G to smaller rural and suburban communities that could not be viably addressed by costlier macrocell solutions. The new Enterprise Radio Access Network (E-RAN) technology, comprising an Enterprise Service Node and up to 75 Enterprise Radio Nodes, offers an alternative to traditional distributed antenna systems (DAS). It enables mobile network operators to deliver scalable indoor mobile access and application services to their large enterprise customers rapidly and cost-effectively, according to the company, and can typically serve buildings of up to 50,000m2.

PMC-Sierra Inc. (Nasdaq: PMCS)
UniTRX
This is billed as the industry's lowest power and most integrated radio transceiver chipset for macro base station designs. According to the company the chipset replaces up to 14 discrete devices and reduces both board space and power by more than 50 per cent for equivalent multistandard base station radio designs. It addresses multistandard macro base station performance requirements and simplifies the design of dense MIMO (multiple input, multiple output) radio units, such as active antenna systems. The chipset includes three integrated monolithic CMOS devices: (a) UniTX -- a dual-transmitter RFIC for multistandard, wideband radio designs. It supports the JESD204B interface, includes high-performance data converters and small-signal RF functions, such as analog quadrature modulators and local oscillators. The device also integrates feedback sampling channels to support digital predistortion (DPD) and an embedded processor for control and calibration. (b) UniRX -- a dual-receiver RFIC for multistandard, wideband radio designs. It supports the JESD204B interface, includes high-precision analog-to-digital converters, and small-signal RF functions, such as mixers and local oscillators. An embedded processor is included for control and calibration. (c) SyntheCLK -- a low-phase-noise clock synthesizer with an integrated jitter attenuator. It integrates high-performance PLLs and VCO to condition and regenerate precision system clocks, and configurable low-noise outputs to distribute the clocks throughout the radio module.

ZTE Corp. (Shenzhen: 000063; Hong Kong: 0763)
LTE A8808 Active Antenna System (AAS)
Presented as the industry’s first LTE BeamHop solution, and billed as a major breakthrough particularly for the high-end European and US wireless markets, giving operators the ability to quickly and easily benefit from LTE by leveraging their existing 2G and 3G base stations. The A8808 consists of both active and passive antennas. The passive part replaces an operator's existing 2G and 3G antennas, while the active part is used for the newly added LTE network. Since the LTE radio unit is integrated into the existing antenna, the new LTE network can be deployed without purchasing any additional antenna site space, reducing installation costs and maximizing existing resources, the company says.

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

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