Networking

AWS announces new data centre components

Amazon Web Services (AWS) has announced new data centre components designed to support the next generation of artificial intelligence innovation and customers’ evolving needs. These capabilities combine innovations in power, cooling, and hardware design to create a more energy efficient data centre that will underpin further customer innovation. These new capabilities will be implemented globally in AWS’s new data centres, and many components are already deployed in its existing data centres. “AWS continues to relentlessly innovate its infrastructure to build the most performant, resilient, secure, and sustainable cloud for customers worldwide,” says Prasad Kalyanaraman, Vice President of Infrastructure Services at AWS. “These data centre capabilities represent an important step forward with increased energy efficiency and flexible support for emerging workloads. But what is even more exciting is that they are designed to be modular, so that we are able to retrofit our existing infrastructure for liquid cooling and energy efficiency to power generative AI applications and lower our carbon footprint.” AWS has been building large-scale data centres for 18 years and GPU-based servers for AI workloads for 13 years. Today, AWS’s data centres support millions of active customers worldwide, including hundreds of thousands of customers using AWS AI and machine learning services, and tens of thousands of global customers using Amazon Bedrock to build their generative AI applications. As use of generative AI continues to grow and GPU capacity demands increase, AWS data centres are adapting to support increasingly higher power densities. Key improvements include: 1. Simplified electrical and mechanical design for high availability AWS continuously focuses on offering customers the most reliable infrastructure. Simplified electrical and mechanical designs are more reliable and easier to maintain, ensuring that customers enjoy the benefits of high reliability that AWS has offered from the beginning. AWS’s latest data centre design improvements include simplified electrical distribution and mechanical systems, which enable infrastructure availability of 99.9999%. The simplified systems also reduce the potential number of racks that can be impacted by electrical issues by 89%. In a data centre, electricity goes through multiple conversion and distribution systems before reaching the IT equipment. Each step naturally introduces inefficiency, energy loss, and potential failure points. As one new design example, AWS simplified the electrical distribution and in doing so, reduced the number of potential failure points by 20%. Other examples of simplifications include bringing backup power closer to the rack and reducing the number of fans that are used to exhaust hot air. AWS is using the natural pressure differential to exhaust hot air, which improves the amount of electricity available for servers. All of these changes help reduce overall energy consumption while minimising the risk of failures. 2. Innovations in cooling, rack design, and control systems AWS has built a number of new and enhanced capabilities to offer customers the most performant, highly available, and energy efficient infrastructure possible. New data centre innovations include: Liquid cooling: Newer AI servers benefit from liquid cooling to more efficiently cool high density compute chips. AWS has developed novel mechanical cooling solutions providing configurable liquid-to-chip cooling in both its new and existing data centres. Some AWS technologies utilise network and storage infrastructure that does not require liquid cooling, so updated cooling systems will seamlessly integrate air and liquid cooling capabilities for the most powerful AI chipsets, like AWS Trainium2 and rack-scale AI supercomputing solutions like NVIDIA GB200 NVL72 - as well as AWS’s network switches and storage servers. This flexible, multimodal cooling design allows AWS to provide maximum performance and efficiency at the lowest cost, whether running traditional workloads or AI models. The unique liquid cooling rack design was developed in collaboration with leading chip manufacturers to accelerate time to market for AI workloads.   Support for high-density AI workloads: AWS is maximising how power is used by optimising how it positions racks in a data centre. This was achieved through software, powered by data and generative AI, that predicts the most efficient way to land servers. AWS will now reduce the amount of stranded power – energy that is available but unused or underutilised – and make more efficient use of the energy available.   This design will support the next generation of hardware and high-density racks required for AI workloads, but is flexible enough to accommodate a wide range of other hardware types. AWS infrastructure offers the broadest and deepest compute platform with more than 750 Amazon Elastic Cloud Compute (Amazon EC2) instances, giving customers the choice of the latest processor, storage, networking, operating system, and purchase model for any workload. In addition to the flexible multimodal cooling design, AWS has developed engineering innovations in its power delivery systems, which enable AWS to support a six-times increase in rack power density over the next two years, and another three-times increase in the future. This is delivered in part by a new power shelf, which efficiently delivers data centre power throughout the rack, reducing electrical conversion losses. Taken together, these innovations enable AWS to deliver 12% more compute power per site for customer workloads. These changes will reduce the overall number of data centres needed to deliver the same amount of compute capacity. Updated control systems: The rollout of an Amazon-owned control system across AWS’s electrical and mechanical devices provides the ability to standardise monitoring, alarming, and operational sequences. For example, AWS’s internally built telemetry tools use AWS technologies to provide real-time diagnostics and troubleshooting services, both of which enable AWS to maintain optimal operating conditions on behalf of customers. In addition, AWS has increased the redundancy in its controls systems, while reducing complexity. These benefits result in AWS designing for infrastructure availability of 99.9999%.   3. Increased energy efficiency and sustainability, including 46% reduction in mechanical energy consumption and 35% reduction in embodied carbon in the concrete used For many years, AWS has been a pioneer in improving energy efficiency and sustainability across its infrastructure. Research estimates AWS’s infrastructure is currently up to 4.1 times more efficient than on-premises infrastructure, and when workloads are optimised on AWS, the associated carbon footprint can be reduced by up to 99%. In 2023, Amazon achieved its goal to match all of the electricity consumed by its operations with 100% renewable energy – seven years ahead of its 2030 goal. AWS continuously reevaluates how its data centres operate and determines ways to help its infrastructure use energy more efficiently through ongoing innovation. The new components include the following upgrades for energy efficiency and sustainability: • A more efficient cooling system that is expected to reduce mechanical energy consumption by up to 46% compared to its previous design during peak cooling conditions, without increasing water usage on a per-megawatt basis. Design changes include a new single-sided cooling system, reduction in cooling equipment, and introduction of liquid cooling capabilities. • Reduction of embodied carbon in the concrete of the data centre building shell by up to 35%, compared to industry average. AWS is adopting specifications for lower-carbon steel and concrete, and optimising the structural design to use less steel overall. • Backup generators will be able to run on renewable diesel, a biodegradable and non-toxic fuel that can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 90% over the fuel’s lifecycle when compared to fossil diesel. AWS has already started transitioning to renewable diesel to power backup generators at existing data centres in Europe and in America. For more from AWS, click here.

DE-CIX announces new record for data throughput

DE-CIX Frankfurt has announced that it has set a new record for data throughput. At 8.11pm CET on 20 November, more than 18 Terabits per second of data traffic flowed over Europe’s largest Internet Exchange for the first time (exactly 18.11 terabits per second). In parallel to the new record, there were several gaming releases and updates from a range of providers. In the last 12 months, the traffic at one of the largest data hubs in the world has grown by almost 10%. In the past five years, the data throughput at DE-CIX Frankfurt has more than doubled (+118%). 18 Terabits corresponds to around 10 million TikTok videos streamed simultaneously, or – if one bit were equal to one millilitre of water – the volume of around 90 million bathtubs filled every second. “Digital and high-bandwidth data-based services are driving the growth in traffic at DE-CIX Frankfurt,” says Ivo Ivanov, CEO at DE-CIX. “Internet Exchanges are not only at the heart of all online offers for end-users when it comes to streaming and gaming, but also for industry, which can use them to open up new intelligent, data-driven business models. To interconnect the value chain holistically and capitalise on economic opportunities collaboratively, DE-CIX provides the necessary infrastructure to enable data to be utilised on an industry-wide scale in a controlled, secure, and low-latency manner.” DE-CIX is a leading operator of Internet Exchanges and offers its peering, cloud connectivity, and other enterprise-grade interconnection services in close to 60 locations in Europe, Africa, North and South America, the Middle East, and Asia. Accessible from data centres in over 600 cities worldwide, DE-CIX interconnects thousands of network operators (carriers), Internet service providers (ISPs), content providers and enterprise networks from more than 100 countries, and offers peering, cloud, and other interconnection services. DE-CIX in Frankfurt, Germany, is one of the largest Internet Exchanges in the world, with a data volume of almost 40 Exabytes per year (as of 2023) and close to 1,100 connected networks. As the operator of critical IT infrastructure, DE-CIX bears a great responsibility for the seamless, fast, and secure data exchange between people, enterprises, and organisations at its locations around the globe. For more from DE-CIX, click here.

Singtel and Ericsson to develop fully automated 5G port

Singtel and Ericsson have announced a partnership to deploy 5G advanced connectivity solutions at Tuas Port in Singapore. This is in support of PSA Singapore’s (PSA) plans to build the world’s largest fully automated port by the 2040s to meet the rapidly rising demand for global trans-shipment. Existing automated vehicles deployed at the port, such as Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) will be upgraded to 5G to enhance real-time shipment tracking and further streamline crane operations to enable seamless transportation of cargo from berth to ships and vice versa. To support these enhancements, Singtel will activate a network slice from its 5G network to provide the dedicated resources, like high speeds, high bandwidth, and low latency, needed for mission-critical applications to run smoothly around the clock. It will also create secure private networks tailored to the port’s specific security needs, to help mitigate the risk of data breaches and unauthorised access. 5G will be an enabler for PSA to achieve an annual handling capacity of 65 million, 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) - almost double current demand - when Tuas Port is fully completed. Ng Tian Chong, CEO Singtel Singapore, says, “5G’s high speeds and low latency help to improve real-time communication and data transfer which enables highly efficient port operations. With network slicing, these capabilities are augmented with increased security features and higher performance assurance. As a homegrown technology company, we are proud to help PSA scale its operations, boost trade in the region, and further strengthen Singapore’s position as a leading port globally.” Nelson Quek, Regional CEO, Southeast Asia, PSA International, adds, “As a forward-thinking organisation and early adopter of innovative solutions and digitalisation, PSA continuously seeks and embraces cutting-edge technologies to advance our port operations. We are pleased to be working with Singtel and Ericsson to deploy a 5G network at Tuas Port to support our growing fleet of Automated Guided Vehicles. Leveraging 5G’s rapid data transmission and connectivity capabilities, PSA aims to further streamline operations and optimise resource utilisation through real-time monitoring, enabling us to respond agilely to the evolving needs of our customers and stakeholders.” Daniel Ode, Head of Singapore, Philippines and Brunei, Ericsson, notes, “5G has been enabling the digital transformation of various industries, from manufacturing, power and utilities, mining, to airports and seaports. The seaport sector, with its complex operations and reliance on real-time data, is benefiting significantly from 5G capabilities. At PSA, automated vehicles moving cargo seamlessly across the port will enable PSA to scale its operations, eliminate human errors and increase efficiency.” Over the next three years, PSA will also be exploring 5G applications in areas such as predictive maintenance, which involves drone-based surveillance and extended reality applications, to detect potential issues early and pre-empt equipment failure, thereby improving efficiency and reducing costly downtime.Container throughput at ports worldwide is estimated to total 906 million TEUs by the end of 2024. As of October 2024, PSA Singapore had handled 34.1 million – one of the busiest in the world. Singapore’s seaport, one of the most efficient globally, leverages automated cranes and vehicles, and smart logistics systems to enable faster, more precise handling of cargo. Tuas Port is currently fully covered with triple-band 5G, 3.5GHz, 2.1GHz and newly available low band 700MHz. From 2025, guided by Singtel’s 5G network slicing capabilities, the PSA’s driverless AGVs will be capable of independently transporting containers, thereby optimising yard operations and reducing labour costs. The ultra-reliable and low-latency communication enables operators to manoeuvre massive cargo with precision from a safe distance, using remote-controlled cranes with the fastest response time. PSA will also be able to better process real-time shipment tracking data so berth planners can optimise scheduling and traffic flow for greater operational efficiency, even during high congestion periods.Singtel has been at the forefront of investing in advanced technologies to deliver cutting-edge solutions that help enterprises accelerate digital transformation and streamline operations. In 2022, it achieved nationwide 5G standalone coverage and held 30 trials at Sentosa demonstrating viable 5G use cases for industries that require fast speeds and low latency for mission critical applications, such as homeland security. Over the years, Singtel has unlocked advanced 5G features like network slicing, paving the way for widespread enterprise adoption and unlocking new possibilities for innovation. For more from Singtel, click here.

Nationwide migrates IT estate to HPE GreenLake cloud

Hewlett Packard Enterprise today announced that Nationwide Building Society has selected HPE GreenLake cloud for its private cloud deployment, enabling it to accelerate its hybrid cloud journey. With the addition of HPE GreenLake Management Services as a strategic cloud services provider, Nationwide is now using the power of cloud technology to support the evolving needs of its customers. In 2018, Nationwide kick-started an ambitious journey to ensure it was primed for the next generation of digital innovation, with its hybrid cloud strategy being driven by the need for different cloud environments for various types of data and workloads. Leveraging the comprehensive capabilities of HPE GreenLake, Nationwide is creating an agile, scalable, secure, resilient, and efficient technology platform. “In today’s world our customers expect us to deliver an always-on service whilst providing new, innovative features that help them better manage their finances,” says Paul Walsh, Director of Infrastructure & Service Delivery, at Nationwide Building Society. “Nationwide’s hybrid cloud strategy is vital to our ability to compete and means we can continue to meet the needs and expectations of our customers. HPE GreenLake cloud is a core component of our hybrid cloud strategy. With them we’re building a cloud platform that will further improve our resilience and agility, enabling us to provide even better levels of service and deliver new capabilities to our developers faster than ever before.” With HPE GreenLake Management Services, Nationwide’s IT team will automate and orchestrate infrastructure management and deliver infrastructure as code. This enables them to focus on innovation, value-add activities and gain better control over application builds and security. Faster release cycles will accelerate the time to market, providing consistent customer experiences across all digital platforms. At the same time, Nationwide can ensure that sufficient controls are in place to manage risk, protect their customers and meet the demands of regulators, while unlocking the value of cloud technology. Nationwide’s hybrid cloud strategy fully embraces cloud economics, enabling efficient monitoring and management of consumption. HPE GreenLake's consumption-based model prevents overprovisioning and allows Nationwide to only pay for capacity that it is using. This is expected to support Nationwide in reducing its IT cost base by at least 30%. Furthermore, a dedicated service within HPE GreenLake cloud gives the building society a clear overview of their energy consumption and emissions, enabling Nationwide to manage its infrastructure more efficiently and reduce the environmental impact. The impact will be further reduced by upcycling and recycling of decommissioned assets, such as the end-of-use compute and storage infrastructure that GreenLake has replaced. “We are proud to support Nationwide with their cloud vision, providing them with enhanced control and security and the reliability and flexibility for growth,” says Matt Harris, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, UK, Ireland, Middle East and Africa at HPE. “Nationwide’s modernisation journey showcases the effectiveness of HPE GreenLake cloud, with the storied institution transitioning from complex, legacy technology to a modern, future-proofed hybrid cloud operating model, where a one-size-fits all public cloud could never be the only answer." For more from HPE, click here.

DE-CIX establishes sixth US Internet Exchange

Internet Exchange (IX) operator, DE-CIX, has announced the establishment and commissioning of its sixth and southern-most US IX, DE-CIX Houston. The IX will be housed in Databank’s Westway Park campus in Houston, accessible from HOU1, HOU2 and HOU3, as well as the Galleria (HOU5) facility. DE-CIX Houston is uniquely positioned to provide local networks with access to networks that are not currently available in Houston, with low latency connectivity to the vibrant ecosystem of DE-CIX Dallas, connecting more than 150 networks, as well as to further national and international DE-CIX locations. Houston has a strong economy, a large presence of content networks, and more than 40 data centres, but remains the largest US city not to have an IX of substantial size relative to its market size. DE-CIX Houston’s IX infrastructure will launch with 100G ports and provide a range of services, including remote peering to all DE-CIX locations in North America, Europe, and beyond, direct connectivity to cloud service providers that are not present in Houston, and the Microsoft Azure Peering Service for low-latency access to the MS365 cloud. With direct connectivity to DE-CIX Dallas from day one, and to DE-CIX Mexico in due course, this move also expands what is already the largest neutral interconnection ecosystem in North America. “With our expansion into Houston, we continue to build on our commitment to bring seamless connectivity to underserved markets,” explains Ed d’Agostino, Vice President of DE-CIX North America. “This move strengthens our market position in Texas and marks our sixth IX in the US, serving not only East Texas but also Southern Louisiana from a latency perspective. We are delighted to be working with our valued partner DataBank in Houston, as well as in New York and Dallas. Partnerships of this kind are central to expanding interconnectivity options to other key geographical locations across the US, helping to reduce connectivity gaps.” Raul K. Martynek, DataBank CEO, adds, “Our partnership with DE-CIX marks a pivotal step in delivering best-in-class interconnection services for our customers in Houston. By integrating DE-CIX’s high-performance Internet Exchange capabilities into our data centre ecosystem, we’re enhancing connectivity, reducing latency, and providing our clients with seamless access to a global network of cloud and content providers. This transition reflects our commitment to delivering innovative, scalable, and resilient solutions that meet the evolving needs of enterprises in the region and beyond.” Via diverse connectivity to Dallas, the new IX is also connected to all other DE-CIX locations in the US, including New York, Chicago, Phoenix, Richmond, and the Cloud Exchange in Seattle. For more from DE-CIX, click here.

LINX to expand interconnection service into West Africa

The London Internet Exchange (LINX) will be expanding its interconnection footprint in Africa with LINX Accra, a new Internet Exchange Point (IXP) for Ghana. LINX Accra will be a neutral, multi-site interconnection fabric providing peering services and more for networks to improve performance, keep local traffic local and lower network latency. Set to go live in early Q1 of 2025, the new IXP will follow the LINX design of a resilient, interconnected, multi-site fabric to grow with the predicted demand for the region, future-proofing digital services and further enhancing Ghana’s connectivity ecosystem. Driven by the presence of six subsea cable systems, Ghana is one of the most internationally connected countries in Africa, witnessing remarkable growth in its digital landscape in recent years. Investments in cable systems and data centres have put Ghana on the map, accelerating the country’s digital transformation and establishing it as a key global hub for network interconnection. These advancements are strengthening Ghana’s digital ecosystem, enabling faster, more reliable connectivity while fostering a thriving environment for tech innovation and investment. With improved infrastructure and data sovereignty, Ghana is well-positioned to support local businesses, attract global digital services, and drive economic growth across West Africa. Head of Global Engagement for LINX, Nurani Nimpuno, comments, “We are delighted to be launching in Ghana. The LINX Accra IXP will bring robust, distributed interconnection services across several data centres in Accra. The state-of-the-art LINX interconnection hub ensures that as demand for connectivity grows, the infrastructure in Accra is ready to support it. LINX Accra will not only support the growth of the strong local ISP community, but with several key Internet submarine cables landing in Accra, it is uniquely positioned to become a central gateway for Internet traffic in West Africa.” LINX prides itself on a strong commitment to collaboration and looks forward to working together with local partners to meet the growing demand for capacity in the region, advancing the digital landscape to the next level. LINX Accra will initially launch from Onix and PAIX data centres as part of phase one. This setup will provide redundancy and interconnectivity, allowing networks at either location to meet at LINX Accra via a single cross-connect to access peering services and more. For more from LINX, click here.

Red Hat and SoftBank collaborate on AI-RAN development

Red Hat, a provider of open source solutions, and SoftBank, an investment holding company, today announced a collaboration on joint research and development of artificial intelligence radio access network (AI-RAN) technologies. The resulting solutions will be intended to help maximise the use of AI for enhanced network orchestration and optimisation, and aim to deliver intelligent, autonomous networks with improved performance, higher resource efficiency and a better user experience. These are particularly critical in supporting 5G and future 6G network use cases where AI-enabled applications can leverage these solutions for differentiated service offerings and new revenue streams. Red Hat and SoftBank are advancing the integration of high performing AI technology, running on Red Hat OpenShift, within the radio access network (RAN) infrastructure to enable faster data processing and resource optimisation for service providers to achieve enhanced performance, intelligent automation and enhanced multi-layer security. This approach helps service providers redefine network operations and unlock new revenue opportunities with scalable, secure management of both virtualised RAN and AI applications on a single, unified platform. As part of this collaboration, Red Hat and SoftBank are focused on the following: • Support for AI and RAN functions on Arm architecture for better optimisation, compatibility and performance of a flexible RAN solution built on Red Hat OpenShift, the hybrid cloud application platform powered by Kubernetes;• Performance optimisation of distributed units (DU) on hardware accelerated Arm architecture for low latency and high-throughput communication, helping to address the evolving needs of future networks;• Development of an orchestrator, in collaboration with NVIDIA, for intelligent and autonomous network operations that can enhance service availability, agility and quality of experience. According to a Red Hat-sponsored sustainability study, RAN is responsible for 75% of a service provider’s total power consumption. By adopting better resource optimisation and power use, service providers can reduce their energy consumption and advance their sustainability goals. Lastly, in order to make this technology available to the broader telecom industry, SoftBank and Red Hat will work together to help deliver new AI use cases through the development of an open and interoperable RAN ecosystem. Through their membership in the AI-RAN Alliance, both companies will have the opportunity to collaborate with industry ecosystem partners and research institutions to help advance research and conduct additional proof-of-concept testing for new AI-RAN technologies and solutions. Chris Wright, Senior Vice President of Global Engineering and Chief Technology Officer, Red Hat, says, “AI has the potential to revolutionise how service providers operate, and a standardised platform is crucial for cost-effective, efficient and automated operations. Through collaborations like this one, Red Hat and SoftBank are able to help service providers navigate this terrain by making AI easier to develop and deploy from the edge to core to hybrid cloud and back, all on the trusted foundation of Red Hat OpenShift. This joint effort will help service providers leverage AI models in the RAN for streamlined operations, new and exciting applications and more automation than ever before. Ryuji Wakikawa, Vice President, Head of Research Institute of Advanced Technology, SoftBank, adds, "AI-RAN's software foundation serves as a robust RAN platform that not only meets the stringent performance requirements of RAN but also enables seamless AI application integration. We have newly designed and developed the orchestrator specific to the AI-RAN, showcasing our ability to operate this essential component. Our collaboration with Red Hat will accelerate the ongoing evolution of our platform, ensuring rapid advancements and contributing this innovation not just within SoftBank, but to the entire telecom industry." For more from Red Hat, click here.

CtrlS Datacenters announces direct access to Oracle Cloud

CtrlS Datacenters, Asia’s largest Rated-4 data centre operator and a member of Oracle PartnerNetwork (OPN), today announced it will offer its customers direct high-speed connectivity to Oracle’s cloud and AI services through Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) FastConnect. Organisations can harness the power of AI and a full suite of over 150 cloud services, including Oracle Autonomous Database, using the Oracle Cloud Mumbai Region and the Oracle Cloud Hyderabad Region to unlock innovation and drive business growth. Through dedicated 2x100G Partner ports, CtrlS Datacenters offers customers both shared and dedicated access to OCI FastConnect. This enables organisations to: • Reduce latency and improve performance: experience faster data transfer, minimising lags and disruptions for optimal application performance• Enhance security: dedicated network paths and robust encryption help ensure secure migration and management of workloads in OCI• Increase agility and scalability: scale cloud resources to support evolving business needs, fostering greater flexibility and adaptability This collaboration with Oracle is designed to empower organisations in key markets, such as Hyderabad and Mumbai, to access OCI services with enhanced speed, security, and reliability. Customers across all CtrlS data centres will be able to get the OCI FastConnect nodes in Hyderabad and Mumbai. With OCI, customers can benefit from best-in-class security, consistent high-performance, simple and predictable pricing, and the tools and expertise needed to bring enterprise workloads to cloud quickly and efficiently. Beyond Mumbai and Hyderabad, enterprise customers of CtrlS Datacenters across all markets (Bangalore, Noida, Lucknow, and Patna) can benefit from OCI FastConnect through their Cloud Connect portfolio. Chennai and Kolkata will follow soon. This solution leverages diverse connectivity options to deliver secure and reliable access to OCI, regardless of physical location. Sridhar Pinnapureddy, Founder & Chairman, CtrlS Datacenters & Cloud4C, comments, "Our unwavering commitment lies in being a market leader, not just in Rated-4 data centres, but also in building a comprehensive interconnection ecosystem that empowers businesses across India. Partnering with Oracle to provide direct access connectivity options to OCI marks a significant step towards this vision. “It's not just about offering services; it's about equipping organisations with the agility and security they need to thrive in the cloud-driven era. This expansion reinforces our dedication to bridging the gap between ambition and achievement, propelling organisations toward a brighter future." OCI’s extensive network of more than 100 FastConnect global and regional partners offers customers dedicated connectivity to Oracle Cloud regions, providing customers with optimal cloud deployment options anywhere in the world. For more from CtrlS Datacenters, click here.

Singtel expands its suite of quantum-safe offerings

Singtel today announced that it will be enhancing its suite of quantum-safe offerings to help enterprises fortify their defences against cyber threats and scale more securely in the quantum age. This involves integrating Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) technology, which is algorithms engineered to resist the computational power of attacks from quantum computers, from leading cybersecurity solutions providers, Palo Alto Networks and Fortinet, into Singtel’s nationwide Quantum Safe Network (QSN). As part of the collaboration, Palo Alto Networks will protect against quantum threats with a PQC IPSec (Internet Protocol Security) virtual private network (VPN), using the new post-quantum encryption standards established by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology for secure data transmission and authentication. Fortinet’s quantum-compatible solutions will integrate PQC and Quantum Key Distribution (QKD), which is a secure method for distributing encryption keys only known between shared parties, to support the development of a secure, scalable, and commercially viable QSN for Singtel. Singtel will leverage Fortinet’s quantum-resistant PQC software, hardware encryptors, and advanced platforms to build robust quantum-safe architectures and solutions tailored for enterprise needs. Together, these partnerships will ensure that encryption keys remain secure across diverse applications, including identity, mobility, and authentication services – creating a more resilient defence for enterprises against cyber threats. Keith Leong, Managing Director, Enterprise, Singtel Singapore, says, “Quantum computing presents a significant threat to traditional encryption methods, and has the potential to disrupt our digital economy by potentially decrypting sensitive data, exposing businesses to significant risks. The addition of Palo Alto Network and Fortinet’s enhanced software solutions to our QSN ensures our enterprise customers get more industry-leading choices to secure their business against both current and future quantum threats, regardless of their hardware requirements. We encourage enterprises to take the necessary steps to secure their critical assets sooner rather than later.” Steven Scheurmann, Regional Vice President of Palo Alto Networks in ASEAN, adds, “Quantum computing represents a revolutionary technology that promises tremendous advancements but also introduces potential risks, especially for data security. At Palo Alto Networks, we are committed to helping enterprises prepare for this future. By integrating our quantum-resistant VPN solutions with Singtel's Quantum-Safe Network, we're ensuring that customers can safeguard critical data against both current threats and encryption-breaking capabilities of future quantum computers. It's essential to take action today to secure tomorrow's digital landscape and we are proud to be part of Singtel's efforts to lead in this space.” Jess Ng, Country Head, Singapore and Brunei, Fortinet, remarks, “As quantum computing evolves, so must our approach to cybersecurity. Fortinet is proud to collaborate with Singtel to strengthen the nation’s defences against emerging threats. By integrating Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) and Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) into Singtel’s Quantum-Safe Network, building hybrid architecture, and leveraging quantum-safe solutions, we are helping enterprises stay ahead of future risks. Through the development of industrial and government use cases, we are committed to building a foundation for a more resilient and secure digital future.” Following the Infocomm Media Development Authority’s appointment last year to develop a nationwide QSN to fortify Singapore’s resilience against quantum threats, Singtel launched the nation’s first QSN with global leader in quantum-safe cryptographic solutions, ID Quantique (IDQ). IDQ recently released a comprehensive and field-proven quantum-safe key exchange platform, Clarion KX, to manage hybrid cryptography on the network and facilitate large scale deployments of integrated quantum-safe networks. By hybridising PQC algorithm-based encryption and quantum physics-based communication security, Clarion KX ensures a highly secure quantum key distribution across Singtel’s QSN locations and provides enterprises with a cost-effective solution for long-term quantum-resilience of their core networks. Earlier this year, Singtel also signed three Memoranda of Understanding with industry leaders, Cisco, Fortinet, and Nokia, so enterprises can easily deploy Cisco's routing platform, Fortinet's firewalls and Nokia's optical devices to boost their defences against advanced cyber threats. Singtel’s QSN is part of its domestic network offerings which are built and engineered to secure business-critical data and provide enhanced security for the data network and flexibility as a managed service. For more from Singtel, click here.

Matter and USP to simplify and unify the smart home

The combination of two smart home connectivity standards promises to unlock value-added services for network operators and broadband service providers (BSPs) and deliver on the potential of the smart home, Broadband Forum has announced today. When integrated with the Broadband Forum’s flagship User Services Platform (USP), the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA)’s Matter protocol will enable BSPs to deploy compatible devices in the smart home faster and to manage them more easily. Today Matter networks and devices, such as a TV or speaker, are managed, monitored, and controlled via a smartphone, hub, or smart display application. USP will allow all supported devices to be controlled by a standards-driven cloud-based controller regardless of the brand in use. “As the application space is currently fragmented by the big smart home players, this project will level the playing field,” says Broadband Forum’s Broadband User Services (BUS) Work Area Co-Director and QA Cafe Director of Technical Marketing, Jason Walls. “BSPs will be able to simplify and unify the end-user experience in the smart home using a single managed Matter-enabled gateway in the home. Industry-wide collaboration across the smart home is paramount in unleashing the full potential of Matter and we look forward to driving this project forward in the months ahead.” The specification ‘MatterService Data Model for USP-enabled Devices (WT-517)’ from Broadband Forum is set to be completed by Summer 2025. “As the owners of home connectivity, network operators play a crucial role in the end-user experience in the smart home,” remarks Orange Senior VP Home Services Innovation Chem Assayag. “Orange is a member of both CSA and Broadband Forum and we recognise that embracing standardised protocols is essential in establishing a holistic understanding of the entire home network. By incorporating Matter into the USP data model and exposing Matter device capabilities, network operators and BSPs can streamline the deployment and monitoring of new services, making it easier than ever to enhance user experiences. “This is not just a technical upgrade; it is a strategic opportunity to drive widespread adoption of the Matter standard, preparing the entire home ecosystem for the smart home revolution.” Not only does the USP present network operators with greater connected device management in the smart home, but it is also a suitable platform for enabling communications between the application layer and control layer, with the latter orchestrating how resources are allocated to applications. With USP, the broadband network is made up of USP Agents (which expose the data) and USP Controllers (which retrieve and consume the data). The project defines how the MatterService data model can be incorporated into USP Agents, which typically reside in CPE (like routers and gateways) and provide services, such as a firewall or speed test, and are manipulated by the USP Controller. The MatterService data model will work within the Broadband Forum’s TR-181 specification and Device:2 data model for USP Agents framework. For more from Broadband Forum, click here.