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JDSU ‘Small Cells’ Video Offers Candid View - New from JDSU’s “Now Trending” Series

5/15/2013 · Posted by Bernie Tylor
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What's the big deal about small cells, you might ask?  Well, if you are asking that, chances are you have not seen the latest JDSU "Now Trending" video just released.

The JDSU video series called “Now Trending” is out with its next installment video-brief - this time, it takes on small cells that examines the fast-paced and popular mobile industry movement of small cells technology deployment. 

JDSU has been versed and vocal on the topic of small cells that is taking hold and building strong momentum worldwide.  Now, this forceful new video presented by JDSU concisely spotlights the ins and outs of a critical technology trend - all in the words of one of our resident small cells experts, Tara Van Unen, who supports strategic marketing at JDSU.

“Right now. . . service providers are looking to lower the cost of their infrastructure while at the same time identify and enable those premium services that customers really want,” says Tara Van Unen in the newly released “Now Tending” video.  “To meet these expectations, service providers are installing small cells into their network. The size and cost make it feasible to extend those services into locations that can’t be reached by these large expensive cell towers.”
 

Be sure to view the short clip below.  Beyond a technical explanation of small cells, the authentic content includes the benefits of the technology that everyday users of mobile communications apps, video and data will readily appreciate!    

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Categories:JDSU People, LTE, Small Cells, The Future

 

Hot Mobile Industry Topics as CTIA Approaches

5/14/2013 · Posted by Bernie Tylor
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The Spring season has its share of industry events - in many ways, it can be referred to as event season.  As we have covered on this blog page, JDSU supports mobile operators worldwide on the pressing issues they face to handle next generation networks and services.  One key industry event for our mobile test and measurement solutions is CTIA which kicks off next week in Las Vegas. For some insight on the key issues as we near the event, I got caught up with Paul Gowans at JDSU who provides a quick overview of some of the mobile sector's hottest topics.  Here are highlights from our exchange.

What to look for:

Small Cells: While we have had indoor femto cells for many years, the mobile industry is turning its attention to outdoor metro cells in order to alleviate the capacity and coverage of the mobile networks deployed today. The benefits are significant to the end customer-- better coverage and a much improved user experience—but challenges remain. Small cells translate into additional network elements to be commissioned, deployed, maintained and managed. There is also the question of getting the backhaul to the cell; the question of visibility at the network edge to potentially thousands more sites could be problematic. Being able to address the lifecycle and scale of small cells within a cost window will be crucial.

Big Data: Managing the ever-increasing volume of data to address high priority network and service-affecting issues is an everyday challenge for many mobile operators. Both signaling and content data continue to escalate the need for being able to capture and analyze in real-time, personalized data and turn this into actionable intelligence. We will continue to see the three dimensions of big data being discussed at CTIA: volume, velocity, and variety.

Customer Experience: With the mobile app explosion, the customer touch point to the network is now via apps, and it is this that defines the customer experience. Being able to evaluate the customer experience end to end (E2E) through the RAN, edge and core requires new ways of doing things.  JDSU’s PacketPortal and PacketInsight deliver significant business and end-customer benefits to resolve this complex equation.

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Small cells are a hot topic at CTIA, for the mobile sector, as well as JDSU's communications test and measurment business segment
 
But, why, for example, are small cells in such high demand? What is JDSU’s role?
 
§  Small Cells must be viewed by way of an “E2E and the lifecycle” viewpoint. By E2E, we mean being able to address the RAN, edge, backhaul and core elements of delivering a service to an end customer and addressing the scale of small cells. JDSU’s Mobility portfolio  offers a unique perspective on this. The lifecycle addresses the challenges from pre-deployment testing to turn-up and eventually, to full-scale deployment. Network operators and network equipment manufacturers (NEMs) require both simple one touch tools that can provide “go/no go” verification, but also the ability to drill into engineering mode when they need to. In addition with the scale and deployment of small cells, never has it been so important to obtain intelligence visibility at the network edge.
 
In fact, JDSU is active in the small cells community, including the following:
 
§  The International Wireless Industry consortium (IWPC) supports the focus on small cells. The mission of the IWPC is to facilitate global knowledge and capital collaboration, delivering unfiltered real-time insight into vital technology, market and ecosystem evolution. JDSU is proud to be contributing by chairing the Small Cells & Backhaul Assurance sub-committee, the goal of which is to investigate and document best practices for small cell installations, both indoor and outdoor. Areas of study include reliability, backhaul assurance, passive  location Intelligence and active monitoring.
                 -   JDSU is also a member of the Small Cell Forum, a not-for-profit organization which seeks to enable and promote small cell technology worldwide.

 

What's more, JDSU is proud to be a panel member at the Tower and Small Cell Summit which will be held at CTIA this year. The panel will address “The Network Impact of Small Cells” and it will be chaired by Berge Ayvazian, Senior Analyst with Heavy Reading.  Looking forward to a great show!   Be sure to stop by booth #4639.  
 
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Paul Gowans focuses on small cells and wireless technology in JDSU’s Communications Test and Measurement business segment
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Categories:Events - Test and Measurement, LTE, Mobility

 

Proactive Customer Care - It's Easier Than You Think

5/6/2013 · Posted by Bernie Tylor
0  Comments · Permalink

The following blog post is by Ronnie Neil of JDSU.

Yesterday, I had a call from my mobile service provider.  Well, to be more accurate, I made three calls to them and they made one call back to me.  In total, the calls consumed 30-minutes of my time and covered a period of four hours.   Four hours over which my frustration level grew increasingly higher until on the final call my temper got the best of me and I ended up ranting at the customer care operator.   And the poor guy had only phoned up to explain that my problem was fixed!   Before you leap to the conclusion that I am just a “grumpy old man,” let me briefly run through the whole painful scenario – which may be too familiar for many of us.

I’m the proud owner of a 4G smartphone, and absolutely love its download speed.  On this particular day I tried to start watching a film but could not connect.   Over the next ten minutes I tried on multiple occasions to start the film, and other downloads, without success.  That led to my first call to customer care.  I was on hold for ten minutes before giving up.  As I correctly guessed lots of people were suffering the same issue as me.   Tried again 15-minutes later – same outcome.  Finally, nearly an hour after my problem first started, I got through to customer care, spent ten minutes answering all their questions and was told that a trouble ticket had been raised.   Hours later, customer care called back - turns out they (at least network operations) had known about the problem since early that morning and had now resolved it.   In the end, my provider had known about the problem for four hours before I encountered it, and for five hours before I first spoke to customer care.  Hence the reason for my frustration.

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With the explosive growth in smartphones and downloaded applications, use and experience of mobile networks and services are becoming “individualized.”  In these circumstances, the ability of service providers to deliver effective customer experience management, by tracking the usage and experience of individual subscribers, will become a must-have for ongoing business success.  The reality is that it’s not that difficult to significantly improve customer experience.  It just takes the right solution.   One example is JDSU InTouch.   Solutions like InTouch can identify customers impacted by known network faults and enable fast sharing of information across functions such as network operations and customer care.  To tie it to the experience I had with my provider, InTouch could have enabled my customer care operator to explain the situation when I first called, or even better, proactively text me to let me know that I was already dealing with a data service problem.  

Customer experience management will be a big driver next week - JDSU will be again exhibiting at TM Forum’s Management World in Nice, May 13-16, booth 42.  As the organizers state, “whether you’re focused on capturing your slice of the growing cloud and M2M markets through business and IT agility , innovation and partnering; expanding your market share through exploiting data analytics and delivering a great customer experience; or continuously improving your operational effectiveness, now is the time to think differently.”  JDSU looks forward to exhibiting InTouch and other customer experience management-driven products to share at this widely respected industry event. 

 
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Ronnie Neil is a Product Marketing Manager in JDSU's Communications Test and Measurement business segment.  Ronnie’s experience spans management positions in R&D, strategic portfolio management and marketing for wireline and wireless network test solutions.

 

 

Categories:Events - Test and Measurement, LTE, Mobility

 

Next-Gen 100G, LTE and Capacity – JDSU Goes on Camera

4/26/2013 · Posted by Bernie Tylor
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As the communications industry continues to hit its stride, many of the technologies that are enabling fast and reliable communications and entertainment through mobile devices continue to stay strong. And they still contribute to shaping the overall success of enjoying robust, fast and dependable mobile apps and video downloads.

Let’s take 100G, for example.  Where is that today?  In a recently posted video, Brandon Collings, CTO of the communications and commercial optical products group at JDSU, discusses the next generation of 100G, emphasizing how key it is to "make 100G much more economical to deploy, to bring costs down, and size down.”   Click here for more from Brandon.
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Brandon Collings (left) of JDSU takes on next-gen 100G.
 
That's not all. 4G and LTE are still a driving force behind making future mobile communications speeds a reality.  But, as Per Kangru of JDSU observes, capacity explosion leads to business problems. And operators are focused on monetizing the network, managing app space and the load on network elements.   Examples include the ‘Gangnam Style’ popularity that drove immense data but virtually no money was made off of it.   Hey, how about ‘Harlem Shake’?    Click on the video below. 
  
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Per Kangru, LTE business development manager in JDSU’s communications test and measurement business unit.
 
As you can see and hear, 100G and LTE are still cornerstone technologies that will play a large role in communications – industry perspective helps to shine a light on where we are now, and what challenges remain.    
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Categories:Optical Communications, LTE, Mobility, Small Cells

 

JDSU Kicks Off “Now Trending” Video Series with 'Signaling'

4/15/2013 · Posted by Bernie Tylor
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In the first installment of a video series released today by JDSU, viewers are treated to a brief, compelling view on the increasing complexities dominating the massive mobile communications world.  And the role JDSU plays.  With the surge in mobile application downloads, big data and connected devices these days, Signaling is a timely dive into the sweeping trend of mobile device use.

“Estimates are there will be 50 billion devices connected to the internet by 2015 – the iPads, the iPhones, the Androids…they are pinging the network a hundred times in 5-minutes,” said CJ Meurell of JDSU in Signaling.  “That generates a tremendous amount of traffic on the network.”  CJ goes on to pinpoint the impact on mobile operators and how JDSU collaborates with its customers to enable a great mobile consumer experience.  Check out the new video below!

This is just the start. JDSU’s enlightening Now Trending program plans to take on more significant and topical technology trends defining the industry that impact how we work, are entertained, and communicate with added insight on what JDSU does to enable the major technologies making headlines.   
 
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Categories:2013 Trends, LTE, Mobility

 

Customer Experience Management: Life Lessons from my 84-year-old Mother

3/27/2013 · Posted by Bernie Tylor
0  Comments · Permalink

By Rob Marson, Strategic Marketing Manager at  JDSU

It seems like everyone I know has purchased or received some sort of tablet as a gift, including my 84-year-old mother. It’s staggering to me to think of the experiences she’s lived through in her lifetime. I vividly recall her yelling into the handset of the rotary phone when making long distance calls (of course that was only last week because while voice quality has improved her hearing has not). Now she’s playing card games on her new tablet and video calling my kids using Skype. In my opinion I have Google to thank.

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Google (specifically, its Android operating system) has dramatically increased the accessibility of new types of tablets and devices. Android tackles what is usually the most daunting aspect of any new and sophisticated product – the software. This has allowed more device manufacturers to enter the market with affordable, yet feature-rich solutions.  During the last three months of 2012 - the time period including U.S. Thanksgiving and Christmas - the total Android units sold (smartphones, tablets, etc.) easily surpassed 50 million per month. Judging by the reports of number of devices activated per day (here’s one, here’s a different one – from Eric Schmidt), the widely accepted number is that Android will hit two billion active devices by 2015.  For perspective, Visa has over two billion cards in use. It took Visa 32 years to reach that level. It will take Google seven years (Android was launched in 2008).

This brings me back to my mother who, despite having a tablet, still pays for everything in cash. I have only recently realized that my mom is not unique – there are others like her out there. It all comes back to her questions, and really her experience:  what happens when something inevitably does not work? What happens when her video calls to her granddaughters don’t connect?  Who will she call, and how does she begin to explain what the symptoms are? As these questions begin to race through my head, a cold sweat develops and I realize she’s likely going to call me. Now I curse Google.
 
The networks that carry the services that my mother uses need to become smarter. They need to proactively understand how they’re performing and self-adjust themselves before people like my mother run into issues and call them, or me. And when they do call, they need to be able to report what the customer is experiencing, without needing the customer to explain it in detail to them, because trust me that’s not going to happen. At this point, intelligent probing solutions and customer experience management systems take on a personal significance to me.
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Rob Marson is Strategic Marketing Manager in the JDSU CommTest division. Rob's career experience spans sales, marketing and portfolio management with expertise in service provider, enterprise and datacenter networking.

Categories:LTE, Mobility, The Cloud, The Future

 

A New Era for the Networking Industry

3/12/2013 · Posted by Bernie Tylor
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By Rob Marson, Strategic Marketing Manager, JDSU
 
To many, Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2013 seemed quiet. Because the latest new smartphone or tablet introduction typically garners the majority of press coverage and hype, the lack of such a major unveiling created the perception that nothing really significant was announced.   In my opinion, nothing could be further from the truth. MWC 2013 was significant in many ways, namely because the focus was back on the network and the amazing innovations that are occurring around areas such as small cells, software defined networks, cloud networking, and big data.   Here are highlights I observed.
 

NSN Announced its Liquid Applications - This brings applications, services, and content close to the user at the edge of the network, right to the base station. Traditionally these functionalities have been located at a centralized location, which could cause latency and jitter issues depending on traffic congestion and backhaul bottlenecks.  By bringing these functionalities close to the user, operators can service a user’s application and service demands more effectively. Liquid Applications also allows for radio data to be exported and contextualized, but at the same time allow third party applications to connect and use data. As part of this, NSN announced a collaboration with IBM around Big Data analytics.  The objective is to create new revenue streams for operators on low-latency services such as mobile gaming, augmented reality, traffic management, public safety, and other applications.

Source: http://www.nokiasiemensnetworks.com/sites/default/files/portfolio/nsn_la_plain.jpg

Ericsson Unveiled its Service Provider Software Defined Network (SDN) vision at MWC 2012
Ericsson demonstrated SDN control from the data center into the wide area network, all the way to the radio access network. Ericsson’s strategy includes: Integrated network control, Orchestrated Network and Cloud management and Service Exposure.

 

Huawei Announced Its SDN Strategy: Softcom - It is based on OpenFlow (separation of control and data plane for network switching) and Network Function Virtualization (NFV) which implements network capabilities in software rather than proprietary hardware platforms. Huawei expects that IP-RAN and cloud EPC will be the first components to benefit from SDN and virtualization.

Additional noteworthy headlines include:
  • Juniper announced virtualization of LTE Evolved Packet Core (EPC) using its JunosV App Engine.
  • F5 Networks and Tekelec announced the virtualization of signaling controllers while Amdocs announced the implementation of billing and PCRF equipment in virtualized environment.
  • Others like Alcatel Lucent, Cisco, Samsung and ZTE are expected to announce SDN strategies soon.
In many ways, MWC 2013 was one of the more significant events in recent memory as it confirmed some fundamental and consistent industry shifts are occurring. The network is again recognized as playing a vital role – its scalability, cost effectiveness, and flexibility to enable new services has a direct impact on service provider profitability. As a result it is not surprising that many of the techniques being applied to cloud and datacenter networking are finding their way into operator networks.  
 
As for JDSU, at the event among other mobile test and measurement highlights we demonstrated how PacketPortal – a distributed data intelligence collection solution which leverages a cloud-inspired architecture to enable scale and performance – can be used to monetize the valuable insight  inherent in modern networks. By exposing real time analytics from the network, operators can make informed decisions about network policies, optimize application performance, and monetize new services.  A joint demo with Hitachi data systems underscored the power of PacketPortal - click here for more.
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Rob Marson is a Strategic Marketing Manager in the JDSU CommTest division. Rob has experience in sales, marketing and portfolio management with expertise in service provider, enterprise and datacenter networking.

 

Categories:2013 Trends, Events - Test and Measurement, LTE, Mobility, Small Cells, The Cloud

 

What Would Gaudi Think?

3/12/2013 · Posted by Bernie Tylor
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By Tara Van Unen, Senior Manager of Strategic Marketing, JDSU
Recently I attended Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona where JDSU exhibited February 25-28.  As expected, small cells were all the buzz at the show. What I didn’t expect was to see a small cell mounted on the lamp post outside Gaudí’s infamous Casa Batlló. I guess the contrast between old and new took me a little off guard, but I quickly got over the surprise as I took advantage of the higher data capacity rates to send a short video of the tiled masterpiece to my three sons back home in Vancouver. (Perhaps Gaudi will inspire their next lego creation?)
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Photo of Casa Batlló - note the small cell on the lamp post! (taken by Tara Van Unen)
In my venture through the more than 1,200 booths at MWC, I discovered that the small cell I saw in front of Casa Batlló was actually part of Vodafone’s MetroZone ‘SmartCity’ deployment across Barcelona.  Vodafone’s MWC demonstration was designed to measure the impact of small cell deployment on mobile data capacity and performance.
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Vodafone deploys small cells in popular tourist areas across Barcelona
As highlighted in Vodafone’s booth, the small cell implementation increased the number of high speed packet access (HSPA, a 3G/4G mobile broadband technology protocol) users by an average of 24%, and improved average HSPA traffic by 44% over a 24 hour period. The daily TDD wireless backhaul traffic exceeded 80 GBytes.  Given the onslaught of 72,000 bandwidth-hungry visitors to the city over the course of MWC, the exercise was a timely example of how small cells can improve customer experience and give operators an opportunity to differentiate themselves.  According to the Small Cell Forum, deploying just four small cells within a macro cell area can increase data rates by 250%. With 60% of smartphone users willing to consider a premium service for a better quality of experience, it is no wonder that small cells are attracting so much attention. (Cha-Ching!)
To help service providers accelerate and optimize small cell deployment, JDSU introduced its Small Cell Assurance Solution (SCAS) at MWC, the first comprehensive portfolio specifically designed to perform critical testing and monitoring for small cell networks.
 
What would Gaudi think about these grey boxes popping up across his city? Given his passion for innovation, I think Gaudi would approve of the technical merits; however, he would surely feel compelled to embellish the façade with something a little more inspiring… dragon scales Vodafone?
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For more information about JDSU small cell solutions, please visit www.jdsu.com/go/smallcells
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Tara Van Unen is the Senior Manager of Strategic Marketing for JDSU. She specializes in developing and driving strategic marketing plans for JDSU's Communications Test & Measurement business segment, a leading provider of test products and services to service providers, network equipment manufacturers, application and content providers, utilities, and governments. Tara has over thirteen years of experience in the network communications test industry, with senior positions in product management, strategic marketing and business development. She is an expert on wireline and wireless network technologies and has managed several ground-breaking projects with global network equipment manufacturers and service providers. Her white papers have been featured in industry publications worldwide and presented at key industry events, including Next Generation Networks, Broadband World Forum, Data Center World, Interop, IPv6 World Congress, Ethernet Technology Summit and Light Reading Ethernet Expo. Tara was a contributing advisor to the Telecom Dictionary, is a member of the TM Forum, Metro Ethernet Forum and Broadband Forum, and serves on the conference advisory board for the Ethernet Technology Summit and Server Design Summit. She holds a MBA degree from Simon Fraser University and a Marketing Management Diploma from British Columbia's Institute of Technology. ​
Categories:LTE, Mobility, Events - Test and Measurement, Small Cells

 

The Reality of Small Cells and LTE Growth: Interviews from MWC 2013

3/7/2013 · Posted by Bernie Tylor
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Included in the strong showing at Mobile World Congress were thousands of media and analysts.  JDSU stays in regular contact with members of the industry analyst community who follow the technologies and latest developments in the mobile communications market.  In the video interviews below taken from Barcelona I was able to get a high level view of what was top of mind, including:

  • “Small cells is closer to becoming a reality – the ecosystem around it is getting more mature,” said Daryl Shooler, whose focus is on Infrastructure at Ovum.  He added he is keeping a close eye on mobile operators’ “network data – the tools to harvest the data to optimize their network.”
  • Olga Yashkova from Frost & Sullivan, who specializes in test and measurement, released new data, stating “[our research shows] currently there are there are 150 LTE networks globally; that number will almost double by 2013.”   Olga went on to reveal her one big take away at the event.
For more, click on the videos below!   
  
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Daryl Schooler of Ovum discusses how small cell is “becoming a reality” and the importance of mobile operators to harvest big data as among the key trends for the mobile industry today. He talks to JDSU video blogger Bernie Tylor.
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Frost & Sullivan’s Olga Yashkova provides insight on the mobile industry and releases new data from the global research firm. Interviewed by JDSU video blogger Bernie Tylor, LTE network growth and customer experience management are the major trends discussed.

 

Categories:2013 Trends, Events - Test and Measurement, LTE, Mobility, Small Cells

 

Analysys Mason & Dropbox Interviews at Mobile World Congress 2013

3/6/2013 · Posted by Bernie Tylor
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With a steady stream of thousands representing the mobile industry walking the vast exhibit halls at this year's Mobile World Congress, there were many stories, opinions and viewpoints to capture for snapshots of what mattered the most to industry observers.

The interviews below provide insight into top industry analyst firm Analysys Mason and what they see as top trending mobile themes.  In addition, Samsung application partner Dropbox details how its more than 100 million users share files to communicate and work more efficiently from their mobile devices.  All a part of the Mobile World Congress buzz!

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Larry Goldman, lead industry analyst with Analysys Mason covering the communications industry, talks to Bernie Tylor, video blogger for JDSU.  Larry sees big data, customer experience management, and software defined networks among the critical areas for mobile operators this year.  

 

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With over 100 million users, the story of Dropbox illustrates the wide range of smart applications and features using a mobile device that transform and simplify the way we communicate. JDSU video blogger Bernie Tylor talks to Ryan Morehouse of Dropbox, an application partner with Samsung at Mobile World Congress 2013.

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Categories:2013 Trends, Events - Test and Measurement, LTE, Mobility

 

Mobile World Congress 2013 Breaks Records

3/5/2013 · Posted by Bernie Tylor
0  Comments · Permalink

It turns out, JDSU exhibited at a record-breaking Mobile World Congress 2013 (February 24-28)! The GSMA just released that it broke attendance records with more than 72,000 visitors from over 200 countries!

According to a post-event announcement by the GSMA:

  • The four-day conference and exhibition attracted executives from the world's largest and most influential mobile operators, software companies, equipment providers, Internet companies and companies, including more than 4,300 CEOs
  • There were more than 1,700 exhibiting companies showcasing cutting-edge products and services
  • More than 3,400 international media and industry analysts
 
What was the big buzz? I was fortunate to find out in a series of interviews with mobile experts from the showroom floor in Barcelona.  In the brief videos below, Hitachi and JDSU take on the mobile network “big data” problem with a joint offering that redefines test (real time, granular view into the network). And JDSU’s CJ Meurell simplifies small cells and why they are all the rage in the mobile industry.

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 At Mobile World Congress 2013, JDSU and Hitachi demonstrated a joint solution for mobile operators to better manage the network big data explosion. Here, video blogger Bernie Tylor talks to Hitachi Data Systems and JDSU for more on this solution.

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JDSU’s CJ Meurell is interviewed by video blogger Bernie Tylor on why small cells are in such high demand in the mobile industry and the role JDSU communications test and measurement solutions play to ensure reliable and effective small cells deployment for mobile operators.

 

 
 
 

 

 

Categories:2013 Trends, Events - Test and Measurement, JDSU People, LTE, Mobility, Small Cells

 

What's on the Mobile Horizon? More Video from Mobile World Congress 2013

3/4/2013 · Posted by Bernie Tylor
0  Comments · Permalink

While reporting for JDSU as the Mobile World Congress 2013 video blogger in Barcelona, I came across some interesting statistics that made news during the week: 

  • Facebook remarked it has "become a mobile company" (mobile users a significant source of revenue; 660 million of its users access Facebook via a mobile device)
  • Global operators estimate that data revenue will exceed voice by 2018
  • Half of the earth's population use a mobile device - 3.2 billion people!

And that's not all.  For more on big data, software defined networks, and small cell from Barcelona, see new videos below .  Also, check out JDSU's web pages - www.jdsu.com/go/smallcells and www.jdsu.com/go/mobility.

Be sure to visit again - more  postings of video and observations from the mobile industry's biggest global event are ahead!
 

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One of JDSU's newest team members, Tara Van Unen, talks to video blogger Bernie Tylor about her role at JDSU, small cells, big data, software defined networks (SDN) and other major mobile service provider challenges and opportunities.
 
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Jeff Mucci of RCR Wireless News is interviewed by JDSU video blogger Bernie Tylor on the top trends shaping the priorities of mobile communications service providers.

  

Categories:2013 Trends, LTE, Mobility, JDSU People, Small Cells, Events - Test and Measurement

 

HOLA from Barcelona – It’s Mobile World Congress 2013!

3/1/2013 · Posted by Bernie Tylor
0  Comments · Permalink

JDSU was on site at Mobile World Congress again this year in Barcelona.  The mobile industry’s biggest worldwide themes were front and center – JDSU’s mobile communications test and measurement solutions support global operators worldwide as they face an onslaught of networks and services demands driven by the explosive use of mobile devices. 

As a three year observer of the event for JDSU, I can say that the liveliness of the event, the constant state of buzz and the big claims made about the mobile industry by global industry leaders validated that the mobile sector, as the show’s theme states, is on a new horizon.

I was able to make the rounds and capture voices on key trends – JDSU experts, partners, members of the media and analyst communities.  Whether it be the app explosion, small cells, cloud, software defined networks, LTE/4G or big data and more, there are tremendous opportunities to increase speed, reach, reliability and quality up ahead for the enjoyment of mobile entertainment, business applications and every day communications.
 
To kick off my video series, below is my first installation of short snippets from JDSU's David Heard and Larry Desjardin from Test & Measurement World. Be sure to check back as I post various opinions, insights and observations from other experts over the next week. 
 
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David Heard, president of JDSU's Communications Test and Measurement business segment, provides insight on trends among global mobile communications service providers. 
 
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Larry Desjardin, journalist for Test & Measurement World, discusses mobile service provider trends defining the industry in 2013.
 
Categories:2013 Trends, Events - Test and Measurement, JDSU People, LTE, Mobility, Small Cells, The Cloud

 

Will Small Cells Be the Cure for Mobile Dead Zones?

2/21/2013 · Posted by Noël Bilodeau
0  Comments · Permalink

By Assaji Aluwihare

I was on my way to the airport when I got a call from Noel about getting this blog posted.  While I was driving through one of the largest metro areas in the world, on one of the busiest highways in the US, my call kept dropping. I would keep talking for three minutes and then realize that there was no one on the other end.

I then redialed and my call would come right back. It did not appear that I was ever losing bars, but the call was dropping - clearly my hand overs were failing. The thing with Southern California is that there are lots of hills.  Even though I was on a highway, every time I drove through a valley or canyon my calls would fail.

I decided to hold off until I got to the airport.  There I tried my phone, and every time I connected, I would get a fast busy.  I tried multiple times but I could not get a call through.  The capacity had been exceeded by everyone in the terminal and I could not get a connection.

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So I tried my third solution.  I connected my phone to the local airport WiFi, and I placed my call over VOIP. My call kept up and and I completed my conversation.
 
Amazingly, this is probably the customer experience that most people go through in the huge metropolis where I live. People suffer through poor mobile connectivity, not connecting with loved ones, failing to complete business transactions, losing money.
 
My experience is a great example where small cells can help change the customer experience of the future. The current buzz about the deployment of small cells is that they are supposed to solve these problems. 
 
Ninety-eight percent of mobile providers recently surveyed by the Small Cell Forum have confirmed that they plan to deploy small cells. But many questions still remain. Would subscribers barreling down the highway at 70 miles an hour handing off between cells cause new complexities, with more frequent handoffs at the X2 interface?
 
When in an airport, if I was moving between a cell with available capacity to one which is congested, will the hand-off work? Surely dynamic quality of experience (QoE) and policy management will be needed. 
 
In order to answer these questions, operators will need visibility deep into their network. This is where JDSU comes in. JDSU solutions will not only be used in the deployment of small cells, they will enable operators to have unprecedented visibility all the way to the edge of the network to address network optimization, and user and application level QoE management.
 
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Assaji Aluwihare is Director of Marketing at JDSU.  He is a 20 year communications veteran with broad experience that includes leadership in R&D, product line management, general management and marketing.  He has experience in communications test and measurement and assurance applications working with service providers and contractors in copper and fiber infrastructure, triple play broadband, wireless and Ethernet networks. 
 
Assaji holds a degree in Electrical Engineering from Cornell University. He lives in Southern California with his family, his dog, 3 mobile phones, 3 tablets and 12 other WiFi devices.
Categories:2013 Trends, Small Cells, LTE, Mobility, The Future

 

JDSU Holds 3rd Annual Analyst Day

2/19/2013 · Posted by Noël Bilodeau
1  Comment · Permalink

JDSU held its third annual Analyst Day in San Francisco last week. The event was well attended by financial analysts, many of whom who wrote encouraging reports about what they heard from a very confident senior management team.

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 JDSU leaders took questions from the audience during Analyst Day 2013
After CEO Tom Waechter kicked off the meeting by emphasizing our strategic initiatives and summarizing the core markets that we serve, he handed it over to the segment leaders for more insight.
CCOP – New Products Are Gaining Traction
JDSU president Alan Lowe exuded confidence about opportunities for CCOP in 2013, not only because the June quarter will see improvements as telecom budgets are finalized and pent up demand is released, but also because new CCOP products are gaining traction. Highlights from Lowe’s presentation include:
-CCOP currently has its largest ROADM design pipeline in the company’s history with 18 customer engagements (compared to 6 in 2012).
-NEMs & carriers want to customize products like TrueFlex 1X20 ROADM and Super Transport Blades to add agility to their network infrastructures.
-CCOP is excited about opportunities it is seeing in the $1.9 billion datacom market that grows at a slightly faster rate (10-15%/year) than the telecom market (9-12%/year).
-JDSU gesture recognition solutions will be in a next generation gaming platform that will generate double the value to JDSU compared to its first solution. Its  gesture recognition technology will also be incorporated into consumer electronics, PCs and tablets  that have much larger shipment potential (250-300M units/year) compared to gaming consoles (10-20M units/year).
-Commercial lasers continue to be driven by lasers for both macro and micro machining. Amada is exploring new uses for macro lasers with JDSU and micro machining is driven by the need for precision and accuracy in the manufacturing of small consumer devices.
CommTest – Growth in Mobility & Software
CommTest leader David Heard emphasized how CommTest not only test and measures networks, but is an end-to-end network and service enablement partner for service providers. Highlights from Heard’s presentation include:
-Solutions for the Mobility area are currently CommTest’s largest driver with 40 percent of sales; this is expected to increase to 60 percent over the next two years as more people use mobile devices and new services like 4G LTE. JDSU is also gaining traction from the recent wireless test acquisitions of GenComm and Dyaptive.
-CommTest expects long-term improvement to its business model as it moves to more software-based solutions that provide recurring revenue from subscriptions used by service providers and NEMs.
-JDSU intelligence-gathering solutions PacketPortal & PacketInsight are seeing early stage success. PacketInsight now has 10 customers and 14 trials while PacketPortal has 14 customers and 36 trials.
-The new StrataSync solution introduced last month will also help with network visibility issues and will drive incremental demand as another subscription-based service.
-Heard indicated that the JDSU CommTest division has a #1 position in Ethernet, fiber, CaTV, xDSL, IPTV, Storage and IP/Router transmission.
-New solutions to support small cells are also on their way from JDSU.
Optical Security Products – Cash is Still King
OSP executive Luke Scrivanich discussed how the world is still a cash-driven society and the anti-counterfeiting features that JDSU provides to help protect currency.
-China and India are important regions for OSP due to the high use of paper currency and somewhat sophisticated counterfeiting attempts in these areas.
-JDSU currency pigments and threads are expected to grow beyond the 5% long-term CAGR as they are used to support cash-centric regions and as they are integrated into new banknote redesigns.
JDSU CFO – The Sails Are Up
Our new CFO Rex Jackson closed out the meeting by emphasizing how JDSU is well positioned with a strong financial model and great operating leverage.
As Rex put it “The boat’s in great shape, the sales are up, when we catch wind we’ll be in really great shape.”
One of the financial analyst firms included this quote in their report the following day but it was so good that I had to also share it in my blog post.
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   JDSU CFO Rex Jackson
Categories:2013 Trends, JDSU Analyst Day, JDSU People, LTE, Mobility, Optical Communications, Quarterly Roundup, ROADMs, The Cloud, The Future, Broadband