Networking

prplMesh deployments for 'whole home' Wi-Fi networks

Homes and businesses are closer to enjoying robust, easily manageable ‘whole home’ Wi-Fi networks thanks to the first-ever prplMesh deployment by Sagemcom, the prpl Foundation has announced today. The first operator deployment of prplMesh - the open-source Wi-Fi mesh solution - reflects a significant step towards the concept of ‘services-led broadband’ and sees cutting-edge services and features provided to seven operators across Europe, Oceania, and the Middle East. Thanks to the integration of prplMesh Wi-Fi stack, smart Wi-Fi devices such as routers and extenders can be easily linked to a home network. “This is a major milestone for open-source innovation, bringing future-proof, open, and reliable interoperability to home networks,” says prpl Foundation President Dr. Len Dauphinee. “prplMesh makes it easy for operators to deploy customised Wi-Fi services, ensuring service differentiation and new revenue streams. On the consumer side, the whole Wi-Fi experience is improved; it is easy to add devices into the network and they can access smart Wi-Fi services through their home broadband at the touch of a button. We are proud to have contributed to the world’s first deployments with our valued member Sagemcom.” Based on the prpl Foundation open-source project, the prplMesh software stack is a platform-independent, multi-vendor, open-source implementation of EasyMesh. It includes a high-level Application Programming Interface (API) to offer carrier-grade management for both local and remote cloud applications and services. Through prplMesh, operators can enable the customisation of specific Wi-Fi services by delivering smart Wi-Fi applications. As a result, they can select only the most suitable options for their requirements, while delivering innovative services to end users. “The use and support of open-source software has been a key driver in our business strategies, and we are proud to be the first global manufacturer to deploy prplMesh,” comments Executive Vice President of Sagemcom, Boris Nabedryk. “By leveraging the collective expertise of the prpl Foundation’s diverse community, we have delivered a more secure, reliable, and adaptable solution to meet customer demands worldwide. Our ongoing work with the prpl Foundation continues to drive the broadband industry forward, and we look forward to future innovations to come.” The solution is compatible with multiple router software platforms such as prplOS and Sagemcom software, enabling greater portability for different service providers, while ensuring support for the latest smart Wi-Fi applications.

90% of cybersecurity incidents could be avoided, survey reveals

Organisations are navigating a landscape of mixed emotions as the Network and Information Security Directive 2022/2555 (NIS2) enforcement date approaches. A regulation that's aimed at strengthening cybersecurity across the EU by expanding the scope and increasing the rigour of security requirements, NIS2 goes into effect on 18 October 2024. Veeam Software, the data resilience expert, commissioned a new survey from Censuswide that revealed that only 43% of EMEA IT decision-makers believe NIS2 will significantly enhance EU cybersecurity. This is despite an overwhelming 90% of respondents reporting at least one security incident that the NIS2 directive could have prevented in the past 12 months. Alarmingly, 44% of respondents experienced more than three cyber incidents, with 65% of those categorised as “highly critical”. The survey results, which encompass the views of over 500 IT decision-makers from Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK, revealed the state of play less than a month before this directive takes effect. Although nearly 80% of businesses are confident in their ability to eventually comply with NIS2 guidelines, up to two-thirds state they will miss this imminent deadline. Barriers to NIS2 compliance Achieving NIS2 compliance requires businesses to implement essential measures, such as defining incident response plans, securing supply chains, assessing vulnerabilities, and evaluating overall security levels. This includes all affiliated organisations, partners, and supply chains. However, several barriers to compliance persist. Key challenges cited by IT decision-makers include technical debt (24%), lack of leadership understanding (23%), and insufficient budget/investments (21%). Notably, 40% of respondents reported decreased IT budgets since the political agreement for NIS2 was proclaimed effective in January 2023, despite its stringent penalties, which are comparable to those of the EU's flagship data privacy legislation, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). 63% of respondents view the GDPR as strict, and 62% express the same sentiment about NIS2. Competitive pressures amid cyberthreats The slow pace of NIS2 adoption is likely due to the multitude of competing priorities and business pressures that face these organisations. Respondents rank NIS2 lower in urgency than 10 other issues, including the skills gap, profitability, and digital transformation. Worryingly, 42% of respondents who consider NIS2 insignificant for EU cybersecurity improvements attribute this to inadequate consequences of non-compliance, which has led to widespread apathy towards the directive. Additional key findings from the survey include: 74% of respondents see NIS2 as beneficial, but 57% doubt it will have any substantial impact on overall EU cybersecurity posture. Sceptics cite additional concerns such as NIS2's lack of comprehensiveness (35%), belief that compliance doesn’t guarantee security (34%), and overlap with existing regulations (25%). Other barriers include a lack of focus on NIS2 compliance (20%), tight timelines (19%), cybersecurity skills shortage (19%), directive complexity (19%), and organisational silos (19%). Despite conflicting views, most respondents perceive NIS2 positively in the context of their organisation's regulatory obligations, feeling optimistic (33%), confident (32%), and encouraged (27%). Andre Troskie, EMEA Field CISO at Veeam, states, “NIS2 brings responsibility for cybersecurity beyond IT teams into the boardroom. While many businesses recognise the importance of this directive, the struggle to comply found in the survey highlights significant systemic issues. The combined pressures of other business priorities and IT challenges can explain the delays, but this does not lessen the urgency. “Given the rising frequency and severity of cyberthreats, the potential benefits of NIS2 in preventing critical incidents and bolstering data resilience can't be overstated. Leadership teams must act swiftly to bridge these gaps and ensure compliance, not just for regulatory sake but to genuinely enhance organisational robustness and safeguard critical data.” For more from Veeam, click here.

Efforts underway to deliver more energy-efficient fibre networks

Fibre service providers have been given a boost in their pursuit of more energy-efficient networks that can unlock significant power savings, thanks to a new project launched by Broadband Forum. Initially driven by BT Group, Orange, Calix, Futurewei, Huawei, and Nokia, the project will seek to lower energy consumption when accessing the internet. The project, titled ‘Energy Power Saving Requirements, Test Plan, and Data Model’ from the Broadband Forum’s Fibre Access Network (FAN) Work Area, will see a number of Broadband Forum’s standards and specifications incorporate these new energy saving requirements for the industry to adhere to. This builds on the ITU-T Supplement 45, G series which published recommendations and guidelines on power-saving in Passive Optical Networks (PON) equipment. Hugues Le Bras, Network Engineer in Fixed Access Networks at Orange and Editor of the project, explains, "Energy efficiency in fixed broadband equipment is essential for reducing power costs and CO2 emissions for operators and their customers. As the demand for high-speed connectivity continues to rise, it becomes crucial that FTTH networks operate sustainably, ensuring connectivity empowers the end user as well as nurturing the planet. To achieve this, the new project outlines power saving requirements, power measurement monitoring and testing methods that are needed to unlock greater energy efficiency. “We need service providers to commit to lower energy consumption, equipment and component vendors to comply to these targets, and test labs to test the interoperability and functionality of protocol specific power saving methodologies once agreed on.” The project, which is set to publish its specification in Summer 2025, will encourage the development of technologies that satisfy the power-saving requirements, test plan, and data model it sets out. A key focus is the development of power-saving functionality of Optical Network Units (ONUs) and Optical Line Terminals (OLTs). Even though FTTH networks offer improved energy efficiency compared to legacy copper networks, ONUs still typically consume a substantial amount of power, when active and even when idle, which can cause power leakages. ONU power shedding, which is the reduction of power for non-essential functions while ensuring an operational optical link, and watchful sleep modes which ensures only the relevant hardware remains on will be included in the scope of work. “The fibre industry continues to look at methods to become more energy-efficient and by incorporating these power-saving recommendations into our existing Broadband Forum specifications, service providers have the blueprint to tackle the issue head-on when it comes to lowering their carbon footprints,” says Marta Seda, Calix and FAN Work Area Director at Broadband Forum. For more from Broadband Forum, click here.

Veeam announces integration with Palo Alto Networks

Veeam Software, a data resilience expert, has announced a new integration with Palo Alto Networks, a global cybersecurity specialist, to simplify security operations and strengthen data resilience. This integration addresses the pressing need for organisations to take an integrated approach to protecting their data backups and proactively respond to cyber threats through the capabilities offered by Veeam’s new apps and Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSIAM and Cortex XSOAR. With this new integration, Veeam is the first Palo Alto Networks partner to independently design and develop a data collector, dashboards, and reports for Cortex XSIAM. Dave Russell, SVP of Strategy at Veeam, explains, "Cyber threats are a reality for every single organisation. It takes teamwork to fight this escalating battle against ransomware. We are excited to integrate with Palo Alto Networks to provide customers with capabilities to further strengthen their data resilience. This powerful integration enables our 550,000 customers to better protect their backups and respond to cyberattacks faster, tightening their security posture and helping to ensure reliable, rapid and trusted recovery.” In today's digital landscape, ransomware attacks are on the rise, with 96% specifically targeting an organisation's backups according to the Veeam 2024 Ransomware Trends Report. This alarming reality poses a significant challenge for IT and security leaders worldwide. Traditional tools struggle to scale for large enterprises, resulting in a high volume of alerts and overwhelming manual processes for security teams. To combat these challenges and fulfil customer demand, Veeam and Palo Alto Networks have integrated technology to centralise, scale, and automate data monitoring and incident response. By integrating Palo Alto Networks AI-driven security operations centre (SOC) platform with Veeam's recovery capabilities, organisations can identify and respond to cyberattacks faster, helping to ensure the resilience of their business-critical backup data. "We are thrilled to collaborate with Veeam, empowering organisations to respond and react more quickly to threats facing their critical data," says Pamela Cyr, VP of Technical Partnerships at Palo Alto Networks. "By combining the power of Palo Alto Networks' AI-driven SOC platform with data resilience capabilities from Veeam, we can help customers identify and respond to threats, ensuring the resilience of business-critical data. The new integration demonstrates our shared commitment to providing organisations with tools and technologies that help them proactively combat evolving cyber threats and strengthen their security posture." The integration introduces two new applications – the Veeam apps integrated with Cortex XSIAM and Cortex XSOAR that leverage a bi-directional API connection to monitor, detect, and respond to security incidents impacting critical business data and data backups. The Veeam app integrated with Cortex XSIAM brings data from Veeam Backup & Replication and VeeamONE environments into Cortex XSIAM, providing a centralised view of data and backup security-related activity. The Veeam app, integrated with Cortex XSOAR, enables regular API queries against Veeam Backup & Replication and Veeam ONE, monitoring for significant security events or alerts. Both applications are included at no charge to Veeam Data Platform Advanced and Premium customers. For more from Veeam, click here.

Nasuni integrates Microsoft 365 Copilot

Nasuni, an enterprise data platform for hybrid cloud environments, has announced its latest advancement in data intelligence by further integrating with Microsoft 365 Copilot. Through the Microsoft Graph Connector, Nasuni managed data is now fully accessible and operational with Microsoft Search and Microsoft 365 Copilot, significantly expanding data access for Microsoft's AI services.  AI requires AI-ready infrastructure, and today's legacy data storage infrastructure creates a challenge for forward-thinking enterprises. Legacy hardware-based storage generates silos of data, making it impossible to run AI and analytics against. Organisations, which can have billions of files and petabytes of data, need to break down these silos and consolidate their data into the cloud. The power to unlock this data is incredible, which is why the Nasuni File Data Platform enables this through data consolidation, protection and accessibility for anyone and anything (including AI).  The Graph Connector enables organisations to leverage Nasuni’s managed data repositories to harness the full potential of Microsoft 365 Copilot, aligning AI-powered experiences with specific business needs and workflows. Organisations can use the Graph Connector to leverage Nasuni data with Microsoft 365 semantic index to unlock AI-powered search, enhanced compliance, and advanced analytics through a unified interface.  Key benefits of this integration include:  · Unlocking greater value from data: Customers can now maximise the value of their Nasuni-managed data by making it accessible for personalised experiences via Microsoft 365 Copilot and Microsoft Search, enriching user interactions with relevant content.  · AI-powered search and insights: The Graph Connector enables Nasuni-managed files to be indexed into Microsoft's semantic index, which forms a key part of the Microsoft 365 AI infrastructure. This semantic index is utilised by Microsoft 365 Copilot and Microsoft Search to provide contextually relevant answers and insights across Microsoft 365 applications.  · A unified data interface: Customers benefit from single-pane-of-glass access to their Microsoft 365 data (including SharePoint and OneDrive) and Nasuni. This unified view allows for efficient searching and interaction with documents across the entire unstructured file stack, inclusive of Nasuni-managed data.  "By enabling Microsoft 365 Copilot through the use of the Microsoft Graph Connector, we're empowering our customers to get even more value out of their Nasuni-managed data," says Jim Liddle, Chief Innovation Officer of Data Intelligence and AI at Nasuni. "This solution integration will make it frictionless to use Microsoft 365 Copilot with Nasuni data in context with Microsoft 365 stored data sets, allowing for more informed decision-making and improved efficiency in our customers' day-to-day operations."  For more from Nasuni, click here.

Event to help bolster FTTH adoption in south-east Europe

The critical importance of FTTH networks in the ongoing digitalisation of south-eastern Europe will be one of the key topics discussed at the FTTH Congress Balkans (29-30 October in Dubrovnik, Croatia), with the full agenda having been announced for the first time. With approximately 3.827 million homes still awaiting fibre connectivity in South-Eastern Europe, the FTTH Council has invited a dynamic schedule of over 60 senior thought leaders to examine the critical driver of deployments and adoption within the region and share successes to make the most of a promising market. “We are delighted with the quality of the agenda for the upcoming FTTH Congress Balkans, which encompasses the many market dynamics we observe in the region, as well as the European perspective” says FTTH Council Europe Director General, Vincent Garnier. “The Balkans represents a fantastic opportunity for FTTH investment and rollouts. We hope our event provides the perfect forum to foster greater collaboration and to learn more about the latest FTTH products and services available to countries within the region.” Following opening remarks from FTTH Council President Roshene McCool, the event will kick-off with a keynote speech from a Croatian Government representative, which will explore how robust FTTH infrastructure holds the key to digital transformation, economic growth and social advancement. Attendees will discover how Croatia’s strategic initiatives can pave the way for improved connectivity, enhanced public services and increased competitiveness on the global state for the rest of the region. The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (DG CNECT) will then highlight the pivotal role of European Union (EU) policies in developing optimal infrastructure across member states, and the strategic importance of these in bridging the digital divide. Special attention will be given to the implications for Balkan countries aspiring to join the EU and how adherence to EU guidelines and its digital agenda can have a transformative impact on the region’s telecommunication landscape. BEREC Chair and President of the Croatian Regulatory Authority for Network Industries (HAKOM) Council, Tonko Obuljen, will also deliver a keynote session on the first day of the Congress, considering the role of telecom regulation for the development and adoption of FTTH networks. Following this, attendees can hear three panel sessions: A ‘Balkan Operators’ roundtable, one session on public policies for FTTH, and another on the innovative technologies available in the market. The second day of the Congress will see a number of panel sessions grouping senior operators and policymakers from major countries within the region, including North Macedonia, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, Greece, and Bulgaria. Experts found in each panel will provide a deep dive into the specifics of FTTH deployment and adoption within their respective countries from a variety of angles, including public policies, technologies and operational challenges both present and future. “We would like to thank all current sponsors and partners for recognising the importance of this event for south-eastern Europe,” Vincent continues. “With their support, we have been able to put together a stacked agenda of thought-leaders within the region, and we hope the insight they deliver to attendees will play a huge role in future deployments.” The full list of speakers, moderators and sponsors of the event, can be found on the FTTH Congress Balkans website.

Zayo introduces wavelength route between London and Paris

Zayo Europe, a leading telecom service and infrastructure provider, has introduced a new DWDM route connecting London to Paris, enhancing its diversity options between the two cities. This new route strengthens Zayo Europe’s already extensive network in both the UK and France, offering more destinations at either end of the service than other providers in the market. It will also provide a diverse alternative on Zayo Europe’s existing cable system, working alongside its other routes across the Channel. This new development also enables separate connections between other cities, such as Manchester to Frankfurt, with no overlap in networks. Zayo Europe expects around a 20% reduction in transit time or latency between points of presence (PoPs), like London and Paris. This route will improve network reliability and security for customers by removing the ‘single point of failure’ and providing reliable connections, lower latency and lower downtime risk. Zayo Europe’s new route is 400G ready, providing immediate scalability to meet customers’ bandwidth needs as they grow. In total, Zayo Europe now operates five subsea routes between the UK and continental Europe. This new CrossChannel route complements existing Circe South and Channel Tunnel routes between London and Paris, whilst Zeus and Circe North link London to Amsterdam. Michael Katz, VP for Product & Technology at Zayo Europe, says, “As the surge in adoption of cloud and AI technologies drives an increased demand on networks, the demand for reliable, low-latency connectivity has increased, while the tolerance for network outages has diminished. “Zayo Europe is committed to providing the best connectivity and reliability for our customers across the continent, and this new cross-Channel wavelength route marks a great improvement in the diversity we can offer between these two major hubs and beyond. This high-capacity, low-latency solution will significantly benefit those seeking a fast and secure connection between London and Paris, and will be crucial for those needing to build reliable and secure network solutions.” For more from Zayo Europe, click here.

Singtel and Ericsson to deploy a new 5G technology

Singtel today announced that it is the first in the world to commercially deploy a new 5G capability – Ericsson’s Automated Radio Resource Partitioning (ARRP). Unlike previous iterations of network slicing that require customers to pre-define their network needs, the new software solution intelligently allocates network resources to meet varying workloads of enterprises and consumer applications, thereby overcoming issues of over- or under-provisioning and eliminating the risk of compromising network performance. ARRP also simplifies the complexity of network management for enterprise customers and is particularly beneficial for mission-critical applications where demands on the network frequently changes abruptly. ARRP was deployed at the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix Formula 1 event, held over the weekend, as part of Singtel’s 5G Express Pass offering to consumers. This ensured subscribers enjoyed priority network resources and twice the speed, which enabled them to livestream the race and festivities, share content on social media in real-time, and call for ride-hailing services in a congested environment where total attendance exceeded 250,000 spectators. Ng Tian Chong, CEO, Singtel Singapore, says, “With ARRP, businesses only need to specify their desired outcomes and the software handles the rest. Even with no knowledge of network resourcing and management, businesses can tap on the new capabilities of 5G and network slicing. This paves the way for businesses to explore new use cases in dynamic environments like in homeland security, healthcare, smart manufacturing and even high traffic consumer events. We welcome enterprises to test the technology so they can experience the ease with which they can manage their network requirements to support their business needs.” Daniel Ode, Head of Ericsson Singapore, Philippines and Brunei, adds, “Ericsson’s Automated Radio Resource Partitioning solution enables Singtel to define and set measurable objectives or ‘intents’ for its enterprise customers, pertaining to uplink or downlink throughputs, along with a maximum resource utilisation in the network. Amidst challenges from increasing complexity, leveraging automation allows our customers to deliver scalable and sustainable service differentiation for superior network experiences." Singtel has been consistently unlocking new features from 5G technology to help businesses improve their business operations and enable the development of innovative applications. Since achieving nationwide 5G coverage in 2022, it has developed technologies like network slicing that dedicates network resources for specific uses, even up to the mobile application level. 5G is also the foundation for Singtel’s recently launched national quantum-safe network (QSN). Southeast Asia’s first, the QSN enables enterprises to secure their communications across the island and extends quantum-safe security to new use cases and applications such as identity, mobility and authentication services. The network is currently open for enterprises to learn more about quantum technology before adoption. For more from Singtel, click here.

Project to deliver low latency in home broadband networks

A new project to aid the delivery of low latency in home broadband networks to improve the user experience of interactive applications has been launched by Broadband Forum. The global standards body will show operators and service providers how to implement Low Latency, Low Loss and Scalable Throughput (L4S) technology, which was specified by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) last year, in response to demands of new applications that require low and predictable latency for the best user experience. L4S will enable service providers to offer services to subscribers that can support applications with latency and capacity demands at the same time and at the same network bottleneck. Offering network congestion control that was not previously available for latency sensitive applications, L4S can ensure better user experiences for cloud gaming, video conferencing, extended reality (XR) and more. Jonathan Newton, Vodafone and Access and Transport Architecture Work Area Director at Broadband Forum, comments, “We’re keenly aware that low and stable latency, along with high throughput, is fundamental to broadband performance for many interactive applications used in the home. This is especially true to ensure immersive experiences for applications like cloud gaming, and we’re confident this project will help providers deliver new benefits to pass onto their customers. “Broadband Forum is uniquely positioned to define how to implement L4S capability into a broadband network as a number of key congestion points are in our scope of work, and we look forward to supporting the industry tackle a key pain-point for modern network applications.” As L4S does not require implementation across the whole network to start to deliver benefits, Broadband Forum’s project will support phased implementations of the technology that focus on the most beneficial parts of the network first, on the journey to a full end-to-end support. “As trials and real-world implementations and deployments continue to ramp up in the likes of DOCSIS networks and a range of Apple operating software, Broadband Forum’s new project will build on the IETF standard to ensure ultra-low latency can be ensured in broadband networks,” says Craig Thomas, CEO at Broadband Forum. “In turn, software developers do not need to rewrite their own networking code to support L4S and application providers can continue to develop and introduce apps that require low latency in combination with high throughput.” L4S improves end-to-end performance by introducing immediate congestion feedback from network bottlenecks as soon as data packets begin to queue. This, combined with a scalable congestion control scheme on the sending hosts (the computers and devices sending the data), helps support high throughput and low latency even during network congestion. The Application of L4S to Broadband Networks project, from Broadband Forum’s Access and Transport Architecture (ATA) Work Area, will be responsible for defining how to apply L4S to a broadband network, with considerations on implementation and introduction strategies. For more from Broadband Forum, click here.

Spirent expands Wi-Fi testing solutions

Spirent Communications, a provider of test and assurance solutions for next-generation devices and networks, has announced significant enhancements to its Octobox Wi-Fi testing solutions, designed to address the evolving needs of Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and equipment manufacturers. As Wi-Fi continues its rapid evolution, driven by the increasing number of connected devices and the rollout of Wi-Fi 7, Spirent's advanced testing platforms are poised to ensure reliable and high-performance connectivity for consumers and enterprises alike. A key enhancement to the Octobox portfolio is the new pre-configured automated testbeds specifically designed to comprehensively test access points, devices, and mesh systems for Wi-Fi 7. Building upon earlier customisable configurations, Octobox has developed the world's first isolated-chamber testbed designed specifically for testing, validating, and optimising the performance of consumer endpoint devices connected to Wi-Fi 7, which revolutionises testing for a range of devices - from phones and VR goggles to refrigerators and drones. In addition, Spirent has designed a configuration specific to testing mesh networks, an important trend in Wi-Fi technology. Mesh backhaul testing is a specific area where the benefits of Wi-Fi 7, such as faster backhaul links, can be particularly advantageous. The testing solution ensures that as more devices connect and operate within a mesh network, the overall performance remains robust and reliable. This includes testing for throughput and resilience, which are critical for ensuring that mesh networks can handle the demands of multiple devices and provide seamless coverage. "With the rapid evolution of Wi-Fi technology, our advanced testing solutions ensure that ISPs can deliver robust, high-performance connectivity across complex mesh networks and a growing number of end devices,” says James Kimery, Vice President of Product Management with Spirent’s Test & Assurance business. “By addressing the unique challenges of Wi-Fi 7 for each key focus area, we empower ISPs to provide seamless, reliable service while reducing support costs and enhancing customer satisfaction." Spirent states that Octobox is the only platform that can comprehensively test stringent Wi-Fi 7 standards by characterising the unique capabilities of Wi-Fi 7 now and in the future as the requirements and related test cases evolve. With a modular design for easy upgrades and the ability emulate multiple devices or stations, Octobox provides a controlled environment to create real-world conditions in a repeatable manner, combining high performance instrumentation and analysis capabilities with the most sophisticated automation software. Octobox simplifies Wi-Fi 7 test set-up, reduces testing duration, and enhances repeatability, resulting in actionable business outcomes. For more from Spirent, click here.