New Stuff 09/13/12

Israeli companies CPqD, Padtec and its subsidiary Civcom wrapped the R&D for their soon-to-be-launched 100 Gbps DP-QPSK Coherent tunable transponder. The low-power-consumption module comes with an advanced Digital Signal Processing (DSP) unit the team says eliminates the need for optical compensation in chromatic dispersion…Fixed wireless voice and data provider Airband Communications is upgrading its network to include next-gen radio technologies, better national backhaul circuit capacities and expanded use of high-capacity network equipment. The company also is adding a voice-services hub in Scottsdale, Ariz…The Mentum Ellipse Express, a free edition of the company’s popular enterprise-grade wireless backhaul planning and optimization software solution, offers Microwave Link Design functionality in the same ways as the Mentum Ellipse Basic Edition, analyzing link performance and interference one by one. There are four enterprise-grade Mentum Ellipse software editions in total, suited for planning larger and more complex wireless backhaul networks…ADVA Optical Networking joined the Optical Networking Foundation, a group “committed to the development and standardization of Software-Defined Networking (SDN) and OpenFlow protocols”…Business Class Signature Support is Comcast’s 24/7 technical support and equipment protection program for small business customers. Initially, small business customers in Comcast’s Northeast Division will have access to IT specialists who can provide advanced technical support online, over the phone or in person; they can choose from several monthly packages that include round-the-clock remote support, onsite assistance and extended warranties. In addition, there are such one-time services as virus removal, system set-up, and wired and wireless network connectivity…As a result of a $4.8 million upgrade to Cox’s fiber-based network in Acadiana using DOCSIS 3.0-enabled technology, Cox Business launched two new Internet tiers at 80 Mbps and 100 Mbps, targeting small businesses with high-speed requirements.  Coupled with Cox’s industry-leading IP backbone and award-winning customer experience, small businesses throughout Acadiana can leverage enterprise-grade technology services from Cox Business. Other markets will continue to roll out this service…Altera Corporation is marketing single-chip, multi-rate optical transport network (OTN) muxponder solution for 100G network aggregation, based on the company’s 28-nm, high-performance Stratix V FPGA. The solution is an integrated digital core providing client adaptation with forward error correction, ODUTG4 multiplexing of as much as 100 G of client traffic, OTU4 mapping and framing, and line-side FEC…The uTune Director from optical transceiver company Champion One can tune tunable dense wave division multiplexing (DWDM) XFP pluggable transceivers and then lock the channel so the transceiver can be used as a fixed-channel DWDM solution. According to the manufacturer, its patent-pending technology “creates the ability for network operators to reduce their investment in sparing requirements for fixed channel DWDM networks and instantly turn up a new DWDM circuit, potentially saving millions of dollars for network operators while increasing network responsiveness.” It adds, “Replacing 80 fixed-channel XFP DWDM spares with a single uTune Director and one Champion One tunable DWDM XFP for less than $7,000 allows for immediate, measurable savings”…The Jonard Industries CST-1i Cyclops UTP/STP Cable Stripper removes the outer insulation from all unshielded twisted pair, shielded twisted pair and multicore cables…The Bourns TCS DL-Series of ultra-fast reacting devices “negligibly affect the signal performance of high-speed communication ports unlike typical high capacitance protectors,” it says. The new devices also help to reduce field failures and help end users decrease maintenance, repair and system downtime costs. The dual devices are available now;  as a pricing reference, a 2.3 Ohm dual TCSTM (TCS-DL004-250-WH) is priced at $0.42 each in 1,000-piece quantities.