Simon Stanley is Founder and Principal Consultant at Earlswood Marketing Ltd., an independent market analyst and consulting company based in the U.K.
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Articles by Simon Stanley
Cloud SP Data Center Network Optical Components Forecast 2025-31
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OFC 2026 Hot Topics
Simon Stanley Ian Redpath Follow Analyst Research Director, Transport Networks and Components Ian is the Research Director for Omdia’s, optical transport, components, routing, and networked edge services. He is responsible for strategy, client, product, and team development. Managing a team of communications technology professionals, he covers how communications and cloud service providers and enterprises utilize and deploy leading-edge optical networks, components, routing, and edge technologies.
Optimizing AI data center infrastructure
As the use of AI by businesses and individuals continues to grow exponentially, service providers are racing to supercharge their AI service offerings. AI technologies such as DeepSeek, agentic AI and xAI’s Grok 3 are developing quickly, bringing new challenges and opportunities. The processing demands for AI make AI data centers significantly more complex than conventional data centers.
Why operators are looking at AI-RAN for future RAN systems
The new Heavy Reading Platforms for Future RAN Systems Operator Survey highlights the benefits of shared infrastructure for RAN and AI workloads. The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into future RAN systems will be critical to delivering on the promise of future 5G and 6G networks. AI will also play an important role in the delivery of edge AI services that can unlock new monetization opportunities.
What impact will AI and RAN integration have on network TCO?
For new technologies to be adopted, they must provide tangible benefits like better performance, enhanced capabilities, cost savings or improved power efficiency. Ideally, new technologies should deliver some combination of all four benefits. The same is true as the industry seeks to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) processing into the RAN. The integration of AI into the RAN requires extra investment.
Dungarvan Rugby Club making positive strides
Dungarvan Rugby Club have been making waves in recent months. A number of players have been called on for provincial duty with Munster with Thomas Ahern and Aoibheann McGrath currently representing the province at Senior level. Aidan Corbett arrived at Ballyrandle to discuss what the club have been doing to see such recognition.
The Journey to the Next Wireless Frontier
As the demand for faster, more reliable wireless connectivity grows, Wi-Fi technology continues to evolve. Wi-Fi 7 represents a critical leap forward in the evolution of networking. Building on the foundation of Wi-Fi 6, this next-generation standard promises unprecedented speeds, lower latency, and greater capacity to meet the demands of an increasingly connected world.
Industry Innovations Drive Metro and Long-Haul Network Performance
After several years during which high speed coherent network deployments have been shifting from 100G/200G to 400G links using the C-band we are now seeing a significant move towards higher speeds and more use of multiband solutions.
First open RAN/vRAN installations expected to ramp up
As confidence in the readiness of the ecosystem develops, the number of service providers completing their first open RAN/virtualized RAN (vRAN) installations is growing quickly. vRAN allows service providers to disaggregate the software and hardware in their wireless infrastructure and benefit from the use of virtualized network functions and generic server hardware.
First open RAN / vRAN installations expected to ramp up
As confidence in the readiness of the ecosystem develops, the number of service providers completing their first open RAN / virtualized RAN (vRAN) installations is growing quickly. vRAN allows service providers to disaggregate the software and hardware in their wireless infrastructure and benefit from the use of virtualized network functions and generic server hardware.
Six benefits of virtualized RAN
The disaggregation of software and hardware via the deployment of a virtualized RAN (vRAN) can deliver significant benefits to both service providers and users. 5G has been designed to support vRAN, and the open RAN specifications are based on vRAN architectures. The use of vRAN and open interfaces enables a sustainable solution based on common server platforms with considerable deployment flexibility and scalability that can take advantage of the latest industry innovations.
Open RAN platforms to support far edge AI inference
A key benefit of using general-purpose processors to implement open RAN/vRAN is that the same platforms can be used to support AI inference and other applications at the far edge of the network, such as cell site routers (CSRs) and content delivery and hosting. These edge platforms can be used to host virtualized applications closer to the user, offering significant benefits in terms of lower latency and shared infrastructure.
Lessons from 400G ease 800G data center deployments
A staged upgrade to 800G made possible by developments for 400G enables service providers to quickly deliver higher bandwidths and network capacity in data centers. Many service providers successfully migrated data centers to 400G by taking advantage of double-density QSFP-DD optical modules that are backward-compatible with 100G QSFP and by using optical breakouts to support four 100G connections per switch port.
SmartNICs take center stage
SmartNICs, closely coupled with the latest server processors, are delivering the infrastructure processing performance and security needed for leading data center applications. An exclusive survey developed by Heavy Reading in collaboration with Intel and completed in January 2021 shows that many service providers are already deploying smartNICs. These solutions are set to have a big impact on the transition to cloud-native architectures and digital service platforms.
Fifth-generation fixed network initiative hits the ground running
Industry discussion around 5G has raised the profile of high-bandwidth and low-latency applications. These include high-definition and ultra-high definition video streaming, requiring network bandwidths up 300Mbps, and cloud gaming. Virtual reality and augmented reality gaming and other applications can require both high bandwidth and low latency.
800G rollout imminent following live trials | Light Reading
During the run-up to what was expected to be a busy OFC 2020 Conference and Exhibition over the past few months, optical equipment manufacturers have been preparing 800G single wavelength coherent solutions for production. Several companies have shared information on recent 800G trials in live carrier networks and have released details of their 800G solutions that are production-ready and will be deployed in carrier networks over the coming months.
A new approach to upgrading optical networking at the edge | Light Reading
In a world of 5G wireless networks and 400G Ethernet connections, it is easy to forget that other technologies can deliver significant benefits for users. Various technologies can drive enhanced services for carriers and their customers, thanks to some recent innovations.
Supersizing the C-Band
5/21/2019 Over the past seven years the optical transport industry has made huge strides in increasing the capacity of a single fiber using the C-band. The combination of higher order modulation, flex grid channel spacing, higher symbol rates and super channels has increased the spectral efficiency to deliver 32 Tbit/s per single fiber using the standard C-band or 38.4 Tbit/s in systems supporting the extended C-band.
Optical Networks for the Next Decade
The volume of user traffic on carrier networks is growing at between 20% and 40% per year and if this trend continues as expected then optical transport networks will become overstretched without a significant increase in capacity beyond that currently planned by operators. The solution to this problem is likely to include a mix of new technologies, expanded bandwidths, network autonomy and many more fiber links, up to 10x in the next ten years.
ECOC 2018 Optical Workshop Delivers Compelling Vision
Speakers at "The Evolution for Next-Generation Optical Networks" workshop session at ECOC 2018 in Rome delivered a compelling vision of next-generation optical networks and how they will support cloud and 5G services. The presentations from experts at operators, equipment suppliers and academic institutions based in the US, China and Europe were very well received by the audience in a packed room with more than 200 attendees.
ON2020 Readout Identifies New Optical Challenges | Light Reading
Using feedback from leading web-scale and telecom network operators, the ON2020 group has collated optical network requirements through 2020 and beyond, identifying new challenges and opportunities for network operators, equipment manufacturers and component suppliers. This information was presented at a readout meeting during the recent ECOC conference and exhibition in Gothenburg, Sweden.
ON2020 Looks to the Future at ECOC | Light Reading
Following a successful workshop at OFC in March this year, ON2020 has spent the summer surveying the network needs and evolution strategies of leading network operators and is ready to share the results during a focused session at ECOC 2017 in Gothenburg, Sweden. This will be a unique opportunity to better understand the long-term requirements for optical networking beyond 2020.
Technology is cropping up in our lettuce fields
Robert Glennon is a regents’ professor at the University of Arizona and author of Unquenchable: America’s Water Crisis and What To Do About It. Glennon is a contributor to Writers on the Range, the opinion service of High Country News. Simon Stanley is finishing a J.D. at the University of Arizona, where he is a Sol Resnick fellow. Stanley is a contributor to Writers on the Range, the opinion service of HCN.
ON2020: Driving Innovative Optical Network Solutions | Light Reading
As the optical networking community gathers at OFC’17 in Los Angeles, we are seeing an unprecedented number of new technologies and solutions being developed and there is a compelling need for companies to work together to ensure that the combination of these innovative optical network solutions meets network operator demands.
Multicore Processors Step Up to the Cloud | Light Reading
The approach taken by cloud service providers to hyper-scale data centers and virtual networking is driving the latest multicore processor developments. There are now more multicore processors available than ever before for cloud and networking applications, from the hyper-scale data center out to the network edge and the virtual customer premises equipment (vCPE).
Switching Redefined for the Virtual Network | Light Reading
The shift to cloud services and virtual networks has made data center switches -- and the switch devices used in them -- key to delivering maximum network performance and service flexibility. Maximum network performance requires low latency switches with 25Gbit/s serial interfaces and 25GE and 100GE ports.
400G Packet Processing Required
High-speed packet processing is a key requirement for the latest telecom systems based on network virtualization. A significant number of companies are already using 100G packet processors and many will require 400G packet processors within the next year or two. Software compatibility and low power consumption are also key requirements making this combination the challenge for multicore processor suppliers.
Data Center Drives 400G
Hyperscale and large data centers will need 400G connections to support rapidly growing server input/output (I/O) as the combination of higher server density and a shift to 25Gbit/s drives server I/O bandwidth per rack to 5 Tbit/s. Cloud service providers are already planning 400G deployments and expect widespread use of 400G within data centers by 2018.
OCP Drives Telco Data Centers & the New IP
The Open Compute Project (OCP) and the shift to virtualized functions using SDN and NFV is driving a complete change in the architecture of telecom data centers and telecom infrastructure. Rack-scale architectures, modular servers and rack-mount appliance platforms are the leading COTS solutions for the New IP infrastructure being developed today.
NFV Drives Shift to Open Platforms
Network functions virtualization (NFV) and software-defined networking (SDN) platforms are a key focus for telecom and network equipment suppliers, covered in a recent survey that also shows a significant shift toward open platforms and open software architectures. Many existing networking systems are built on commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) platforms, including rackmount servers, blade servers, ATCA, appliance platforms and micro servers.
LTE-A Components Deliver on Bandwidth, IoT
The latest LTE components support the LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) functions required to deliver high bandwidth up to 600 Mbit/s at one extreme and very low-power sub-1 Mbit/s for IoT/M2M applications at the other extreme. Highly integrated handset devices feature up to ten 64-bit processor cores and LTE-A modems, and the latest devices for LTE-A base stations integrate up to 64 64-bit cores with support for virtualized base stations and cloud RAM.
Need for Flexibility Helps FPGAs Forge Ahead
The rapidly growing use of field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) in networking and telecom systems is driven by shorter time to market, the introduction of very large devices using the latest silicon technology and the growing span of devices with a mix of integrated functions, including digital signal processor (DSP) blocks, memory blocks, security, external memory controllers, ARM processors and networking interfaces.
Latest Modules Drive Market Toward 400G
Third-generation optical modules and semiconductor components supporting 28Gbit/s interfaces have made 100G more attractive than 10G or 40G and open the door to 400G connectivity. QSFP28 and CFP4 modules support 100G ports at much higher densities, lower power and lower cost of ownership than previous generations. There are already 20 vendors developing or shipping these optical modules, including all the market leaders and several new entrants.
100G: Ready for Prime Time
User demand and the introduction of the latest 100G optical modules and related physical layer (PHY) devices have positioned 100G for significant growth through 2016/17. The majority of systems in many sectors of the long-haul, metro and enterprise markets are already shipping with 100G ports. Fifth-generation CFP4 and QSFP28 optical modules in the data center and enterprise enable greater port density, lower power consumption and significantly lower cost of ownership for 100G connectivity.
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