JDSU’s Mobile Team Showcases Arieso & New Mobile Product (Videos)

6/7/2013 · Posted by Bernie Tylor
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At a major US-based trade show recently (CTIA), JDSU highlighted a number of innovation updates to its mobile test and measurement portfolio. Each illustrates how JDSU continues to break ground so mobile operators worldwide can ensure service quality as small cells, big data, LTE/4G and other major trends permeate the industry.   Mobile publication RCR Wireless News made the rounds on-site to capture mobile trends on video camera  that were posted to YouTube … including the latest from JDSU.

I found these clips to be insightful. The first shines light on Arieso, and how the company acquired by JDSU is a terrific fit for our current mobile test technology.  Next up, we get a first-hand look at CellAdvisor. The solution arms technicians with what it takes to ensure quality for LTE/4G networks.   Take a look when you have a chance.  The mobile sector is one of fast paced change – it’s nice to see recent contributions to help mobile operators on display!

“The Arieso solutions change the game in terms of how operators can view their radio access networks,” says Barry Graham, part of the Arieso team that recently joined JDSU.  “Instead of viewing the network as the cells see it – ie., looking out from the network…we view things from the customer’s point of view.”
 
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About the JDSU CellAdvisor's powerful ability to enable cell technicians to troubleshoot, Eduardo Inzunza remarked that this helps “to maximize and truly utilize one hundred percent of LTE.” Eduardo, a mobile expert in JDSU’s communications test and measurement business segment, added, “Otherwise, the use of LTE will just go back to 3G technology, which is not going to monetize the whole investment that has been made in LTE.”
 
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New Report Indicates Dramatic Growth in Mobility, Wearables & More

6/3/2013 · Posted by Noël Bilodeau
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Internet analyst and venture capitalist Mary Meeker recently shared the latest version of her influential ‘Internet Trends Report’ at the All Things D conference in California. Not that we didn’t already know this already, but her findings reinforce how much the Internet and mobile devices continue to change how we live our lives.

The latest report highlights impressive growth stats that include:

-There are 2.4 billion Internet users worldwide, up 8 percent from 2012.

-Global mobile subscribers are up to 1.5 billion, about a 30 percent increase over last year.
-Mobile activity now makes up 15 percent of Internet traffic compared to 10 percent in 2012.
-The next few decades will be about wearable computing (think fitness bands and Google glass).
-The amount of personal data we share online – such as photos, videos and status updates - will accelerate dramatically driven by use of new mobile devices like wearables.
-More than 500 million photos are shared every day. Meeker predicts this to double year over year, driven by social media platforms like Snapchat, Facebook and Instagram.
-24 percent of the world says they share “most or everything” that they do online - but only 15 percent of Americans admitted to the same.
You can check out Mary Meeker’s entire slide show presentation at the bottom of a recent blog post on AllThingsD.

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Mary Meeker at the All Things D conference last week.

 

Where is Reliable IPTV Troubleshooting When You Need It?

5/31/2013 · Posted by Bernie Tylor
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This blog post is by JDSU's Tara Van Unen.

Recently my family hosted our son's 10-year birthday party in our home. We had purchased a 60" 3D plasma TV and our son had his heart set on sharing the exciting in-home 3D movie experience with his friends. Hey, eight cake-hyped 10-year old boys on a Friday night... what could go wrong?  Well, when your main source of entertainment goes down the tube, a lot.

About 30 minutes into our video-on-demand purchase of "3D Wreck-it Ralph," we starting encountering excessive blockiness ... and then a full blown frame freeze at 0:45.  Gasp!  I made a frantic call to our IPTV service provider as the restless group broke out in a sofa-pillow fight.  Twenty minutes into the call with customer service agent trying to troubleshoot the problem, I found myself thinking "where is network and service enablement when you need it?!"  My home was quickly becoming a real-life 4D Wreck-it Ralph movie set.

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It's desperate times like this when reliable IPTV test and assurance solutions can really save the day. The best solutions available, such as PacketPortal from JDSU, enable customer service agents to remotely see the video screen of each IPTV subscriber and immediately identify exactly what the problem is and where it's located.
 
Unfortunately, my IPTV operator did not have these tools at their disposal, and by the time we got the movie back on track, the party (and my sanity) was nearly non-existent. My top three takeaways from this experience:
 
1.       Contrary to some scientific evidence, chocolate DOES stimulate hyperactivity in children.
2.       Somehow, though also undocumented, there is a connection between happy 10-year-old 3D movie birthday parties and good IPTV service.
3.       For the connected media home of tomorrow, customer loyalty is tied to reliable service…  Even for 10-year-old customers.
 
Next week, the Connected Media Home of Tomorrow will be on full display at ANGA COM in Cologne, Germany, June 4-6.  The show organizers plan to host 440 exhibitors from 30 countries that include network operators, manufacturers, service providers, content providers, and other organizations in the telecommunications and media industry.  JDSU will exhibit solutions for Enabling Service Expansion and Network Evolution, including broadband, cable, 40/100G, and PacketPortal, at booth #H28 in Hall 10, level 2.  In addition Don Chappel from JDSU will present on New Techniques for Upstream Troubleshooting as part of the More Performance with New Measurement Concepts panel on Tuesday, June 4 from 12:00 – 13:15 (Technology Panel, Room B). 
 
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Tara Van Unen is senior manager of strategic marketing for JDSU in the company's Communications Test and Measurement business segment.
   
Categories:Broadband

 

WIRED premiers demo of new Xbox One with Kinect

5/28/2013 · Posted by Noël Bilodeau
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Last week, Microsoft shared a preview of the upcoming Xbox One entertainment and communications console that will replace its eight-year-old Xbox 360 device. No longer just for gaming, the new system will be able to run multiple apps at once and display them via a split screen – this could include watching TV, participating in a video chat, surfing the web or playing a game. Many of these applications will be activated or controlled by the user with either a body gesture or voice command.

At the heart of the new console is Kinect. WIRED Magazine was granted an exclusive demo of Kinect that you can check out below. Some of the new improvements include:
-New ‘active IR’ capability that resolves problems that used to occur when room lighting would change. Now the system can see and track everything even when the lights are out.
-3D map sensor will be high definition and high fidelity so it can track even small changes in depth. The sensor can see details like buttons on a shirt.
-Skeletal tracking will be in both 3D and HD and can identify more joints and subtle movements. The physics model within Kinect also better understands a person’s musculature and movements such as weight shift or the exertion of force. As the Wired reporter says in the video, no more cheating at “Dance Central!”
-New biometric capabilities. It will be able to track your heart rate by looking for fluctuations to the blood circulating under your skin. It will also identify a range of expressions to reflect how you are responding to a particular application, including whether you are happy, sad, neutral or not paying attention to the screen.
 
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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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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

 

JDSU’s Exciting Fiber Laser News: Behind the Scenes

5/13/2013 · Posted by Bernie Tylor
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Today, JDSU made an exciting product announcement from our Communications and Commercial Optical Products (CCOP) business unit. JDSU introduced its ST Series Fiber Laser Pump that features the brightest fiber-coupled diode laser performance available in the industry today. It will be showcased at a key event for the industrial laser community this week: Laser World of Photonics in Munich, Germany where we are exhibiting at Hall C1, Booth #301.
 
Core aspects of JDSU’s culture − innovation expertise and close collaboration – are a big part of how this solution was developed and the important role it plays in the industry.
 
For a closer look at how this product came together and its impact, Jay Skidmore, a director in the CCOP business unit who is very close to this solution and the team behind it, provides interesting insight in the Q&A below.   Congratulations to the group!
 
Jay, please provide a quick summary of your role here at JDSU?  How long have you been with the company?
I lead a research and development (R&D) team that develops a wide variety of fiber-coupled packages. Our High Power Laser (HPL) group supports three diverse applications under CCOP: Telecommunications, Industrial lasers and Consumer products (i.e., Gesture Recognition).  I joined SDL in 2000 that was acquired only a few months later by JDSU.
 
How does today’s announcement ultimately impact consumers? What high-profile, high-growth technologies does it enhance or enable?
Fiber lasers are quickly becoming the welding-cutting tool of choice due to numerous advantages that provide strong traction for high-brightness pumps, such as the ST Series. The ST pump provides the right combination of brightness, size, reliability and $/Watt (i.e., the ratio of product cost to output power) to enable fiber laser suppliers to simplify and cost reduce their designs.
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The JDSU ST Series pump laser was announced today
 

What is a key driver of developing this new product and delivering these new, innovative technology capabilities? In other words, what problem does it solve?

Today, pump lasers contribute the lion’s share of the total cost of the fiber laser system (~50%). As such, lower $/W is the loudest metric voiced by our customers. However, we should really be thinking in terms of bright and reliable $/W. Pump brightness, roughly speaking the total number of optical Watts divided by the core diameter of the pump fiber output, translates into greatly simplified fiber laser designs comprised of fewer components, which operate at higher efficiency. Pump reliability provides fiber lasers with a relatively lower cost of ownership (service free, up to ~ 30kh field deployment). So our goal is to produce more reliable semiconductor lasers that extract as much light into the smallest fiber diameter, while preserving the inherent high-reliability of laser diodes. These advancements translate to a more rapid adoption of fiber lasers that are scalable to even higher power levels.
 
How bright is this new laser compared to what’s on the market, and what does this technology enable for its end users (the manufacturer) that they couldn’t do before?
The ST pump offers up to 40% higher power and brightness coupled into the same fiber output (106.5um core) and foot print as that offered by our competitors. This additional brightness can then be exploited by the fiber laser designer to simplify their designs, increase brightness, power, and efficiency of the fiber laser itself, and reduce cost. 
 
How long has JDSU served in this space?
SDL pioneered the adoption of laser diodes for industrial products; so in this sense, SDL/JDSU were first on the scene (their credibility in reliable laser diode products was also what attracted me to work here).  For the past ~15 years, those high-power semiconductor lasers became the engine for many laser systems, such as solid-state, fiber-laser, and/or more recently, direct-diode lasers.
 
I am hearing how this particular product is the result of solid collaboration within JDSU – can you elaborate on some highlights that make it such a powerful collaboration story?
Collaboration begins by forging a strong partnership with our primary customer, a leading manufacturer of machine tools for metal fabrication. To support them, an internal team we named Project Stingray was quickly formed with daily interaction to figure out how to supply pumps to our Commercial Lasers development team while simultaneously not slipping development of the ST pump!  The HPL team always put our internal customer first to ensure all of their milestones were met punctually. The ST pump was designed from scratch, and when I consider the final, released product, I can point to at least one or more members of the team that contributed to each element in making this product a real success. This product is the most ambitious in HPL history and as such also required close collaboration and trust from our Operations and Shenzhen, China R&D teams to provide a smooth transition into the factory.
 
What were some keys to the success of developing this solution?
Technical innovations vital to the success of the pump include: (1) the new “Sirius” laser diode, named after the bright star, that sets the benchmark for high brightness/reliability in a broad-area diode. The primary focus of the Chip Development team (led by JDSU’s Victor Rossin) was to increase the catastrophic optical damage (COD) limit that represents the fundamental barrier to reliable, high power operation for all edge-emitting diodes. (2) Optical alignment. HPL/JDSU has very tight control over the Numerical Aperture (NA) of the output, and also ensures that the fiber-coupling components remain extremely stable over life. Naturally, this is a critical concern to our customers because if the fiber coupling fails, then the field reliability will be dominated by the package, not the diodes. At such high power levels, thermo-optical management becomes a vexing design challenge.  Notably, our ST pump passes the most rigorous GR-468 Telcordia standard intended for Telecommunications products. To our knowledge, competitive offerings cannot pass such high reliability standards and that contributes to JDSU being able to differentiate and establish credibility in the market place.
 
I understand that it will be demonstrated at Laser World of Photonics in Munich this week – what is the significance of the event as it relates to JDSU and the launch this week?
This is one of the largest and most influential shows for the industrial laser community, so it’s a perfect opportunity for JDSU to showcase our achievements for both ST-Series high-brightness pump and Fiber laser products. This is our first product announcement for the ST-series and we expect it will evoke an enthusiastic response by our customers and more work for my team!
 

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Jay Skidmore is a director in JDSU's Communications and Commercial Optical Products (CCOP) business unit

 

Proactive Customer Care - It's Easier Than You Think

5/6/2013 · Posted by Bernie Tylor
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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.

 

 

 

The Network Makes the Cloud

4/30/2013 · Posted by Bernie Tylor
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The following blog post is by Rob Marson of JDSU.
 
The industry analyst firm Gartner recently predicted in its report, Plan Now for the Hyperconverged Enterprise Network, that 80% of most enterprise data will traverse a wide area network by 2015Others agree, in their own ways.  This underscores that the shift to the cloud for all types of solutions and services, by all types of users including enterprises, is already in progress and expected to grow significantly over the next few years. The current advances in server and storage virtualization, Network Function Virtualization (NFV), and Software Defined Networking (SDN) are merely techniques and approaches to improve the economics, efficiency, and scalability of cloud delivered services. Collectively, these technologies will only accelerate this transition.
 
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Optimizing and assuring application performance even in a controlled, single-datacenter environment is challenging enough, but the effects of packet loss, latency, and jitter introduced in wide area networks magnifies complexities. Because the performance of a cloud service is only as good as the performance of the underlying network, cloud-delivered services require a more holistic perspective, originating from the datacenter infrastructure through the wide area delivery network (which itself can be a combination of Internet, wireless, and virtual private networks) all the way to the user.
 
The network makes the cloud, and the “Network Enabled Cloud” requires a new approach to extract the intelligence buried deep within networks in order to understand the performance of cloud delivered services. Intelligence for the Network Enabled Cloud requires a combination of strategies spanning computer, storage and wide area networks to extract insight about the interactions of data and infrastructure, to remove visibility blind spots, and ultimately deliver seamless  end-to-end assurance for cloud delivered services.
 
JDSU is proud to be a resource to this industry, and a close collaborator with customers as a test and measurement solutions provider to help optimize performance of these applications and technologies.  Next week (May 7-9), we are again exhibiting at Interop, a longstanding IT trade show that convenes leaders on hot topics in 2013 such as Big Data, mobility, cloud, and advanced networking products and solutions. As announced by Interop organizers, JDSU will be at booth 739 showcasing the latest solutions for the Network Enabled Cloud and taking part in lively exchanges about the future of the industry at this extraordinary time.
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Rob Marson is Strategic Marketing Manager in the JDSU CommTest division.
 

 

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.    

 

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

 

Why Use of Paper Currency Continues to Grow in the Digital Age

4/11/2013 · Posted by Noël Bilodeau
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By Adam Scheer

Vice President of Marketing, Optical Security & Performance Products, JDSU
 
In a world where it seems everything from our entertainment to our information are processed and delivered digitally, the paper currency in our wallets is still a necessity that we cannot and will not live without. In fact, the volume of currency in circulation backed by central governments continues to grow consistently year on year, which means that older currency is being replaced and more new currency is being printed.  The resilience of cash in our digital age is a function of many factors including: it is a well-understood mechanism, it is ubiquitous, it is anonymous, and it is still the cheapest, easiest medium for small value transactions.
 
Financial Systems
 
A significant portion of the world’s growing population is considered to be under-banked or unbanked. Hundreds of millions of people use cash to meet their daily obligations and do not participate in formal financial systems. In many cases the unbanked live in regions where there is no adequate financial infrastructure, and cash’s universality and security make it an ideal medium of exchange. In other cases, the unbanked simply prefer the ease, speed and anonymity afforded by cash transactions.
 
In the U.S., for example, a recent survey by the FDIC indicated that as many as 34 million American households use minimal bank services or no bank at all. Citizens might not feel they have enough money to open an account, enjoy the anonymity of living outside the financial system, or find bank fees too high.
 
Digital Payments
 
Electronic payment systems in the form of card-based technologies and pre-charged software have been projected to expand for decades, but those projections continue to fall short. Electronic payment systems were seen to be a way to save on the social costs of issuing and managing cash, while contactless technologies were expected to help consumers pay for purchases at a fraction of the cost of credit and debit cards. Newer smart phones are emerging as an important platform in the development of digital payments, but secure digital vehicles are still in their infancy.
 
It is worth noting here that as high tech as we think we are and as willing as we may be to embrace digital technologies, those technologies are dependent on access to a power system and sometimes power systems fail.  This author lived through Hurricane Sandy and its aftermath in New Jersey and for eight days, while living without power, the only financial transactions possible for those impacted were transactions involving paper bills.   Thus, while digital payment technologies are expanding, the end of cash is not in sight, because it still serves as the safest, most portable and most reliable means to buy goods and services.
 
Anti-Counterfeiting Technology is Working
 
The forces of digitalization actually pose a threat in another way with the evolution of cheap, powerful desktop scanning, design and printing technologies. But while criminals may have access to more computerized tools, counterfeiting of major currencies such as the dollar and the Euro is declining. This is due in large part to evolving anti-counterfeiting technologies used to create banknotes. These technologies are easy for consumers, merchants and investigators to identify by eye but difficult for counterfeiters to simulate. JDSU is a leader is one such technology: optically variable pigments deployed by SICPA, the leading global provider of inks for banknotes and documents of value, into color-shifting inks (also known as an ‘overt’ feature) for banknotes.
 
Overt features on currency include images or symbols that change color when a bill is tilted, windowed threads that incorporate unique effects or information in high resolution text directly into the currency paper. Other effects also provide the impression of motion or depth. These features are very difficult for counterfeiters to replicate because they require very specialized expertise and technology to create them, and they cannot be simulated by commonly available imaging and printing technologies. Today JDSU technology is found on over 105 of the world’s currencies, and we are proud to enable our partners to help ensure that the banknotes we continue to use every day are secured with the latest in cutting edge optical technology.

 

JDSU & PPG Offer Luxurious Paint Pigments for High-End Autos & Motorcylces

4/2/2013 · Posted by Noël Bilodeau
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By John Book, Custom Color Solutions, JDSU
JDSU and PPG Industries have a long history of collaboration and have worked together again on a new generation of products. PPG has introduced Prizmatique® II paints as part of its Vibrance Collection® refinish paint offering. Utilizing JDSU’s SpectraFlair® 1500-20 pigment, the product provides a rainbow look over a silver metallic base, making it a good option for luxury automobiles and high-end motorcycles.

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The JDSU pigment flakes utilized in the new family are thinner, allowing standard application processes to be utilized, which saves money for manufacturers and jobbers. The material is suitable for both exterior and interior applications.

 
The Vibrance Collection line of finishes from PPG offers the latest in hot colors, unique micas, innovative pigments and special effects to create an unlimited choice of custom finishes for those who want their prized vehicle to stand out from the crowd.
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The Vibrance Collection line recently re-launched Harlequin® paint colors in their Envirobase® waterborne lineup, which features six color-shifting pigment options such as cyan to purple and gold to silver. Harlequin tints can create great special effects because the colors change completely when viewed from different angles, thanks to JDSU technology.
 
The Ditzler® Big Flake® product line is another PPG offering under the Vibrance Collection brand, and it utilizes ChromaFlair Glitter with very large metallic flakes. The flakes add intense color and sparkle to custom car, truck or motorcycle finishes and are frequently found on award-winning show vehicles.
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Images courtesy of PPG
Big Flake, Ditzler, Harlequin, Prizmatique and Vibrance Collection are registered trademarks of PPG Industries Ohio, Inc.
Categories:Coatings, Color

 

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

3/27/2013 · Posted by Bernie Tylor
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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.

 

JDSU Update with Tom Waechter – March 2013

3/21/2013 · Posted by Noël Bilodeau
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In his latest update, CEO Tom Waechter shares his thoughts on recent developments, including:

- The value of JDSU's annual Analyst Day (recently held in San Francisco).

- The connection between JDSU and anti-counterfeiting.
- Tom's reaction to estimates that mobile devices will outnumber humans this year.
- How JDSU listens and responds to customers and employees through annual survey programs.
Enjoy!
 
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