Networking

Last year engineers were surveying a part of London’s Victorian sewer network and made a surprising discovery when they were confronted with a vast concrete blockage that was rapidly nicknamed the ‘Concreteberg’.

Networking

Nearly 105 tonnes of concrete had inadvertently been dumped into the sewer network to create a 100 metre-long mass, which then took several weeks to excavate.
SEE: 5G smartphones: A cheat sheet (free PDF) (TechRepublic)
While the Concreteberg was remarkable for its whale-like scale, there have been other grim blockages in the London sewer network – most famously the ‘Fatberg’ made up of cooking fat and baby wipes, dubbed the ‘Monster of Whitechapel’, which became enough of a celebrity that part of it ended up in the Museum of London.
Somewhat fittingly, the engineers who found the Concreteberg were actually surveying the network for telecoms company SSE Enterprise Telecoms before installing new technology which could not only deliver 5G and broadband, but also create a fibre-optic monitoring network to help spot such blockages in the future.
Image: SSE Enterprise Telecoms

London’s Victorian sewers have served as a route for broadband cables for a couple of decades. Using the sewers rather than digging up the road is a much more efficient way of extending broadband services, and as much as ten times cheaper than digging up the road.
SSE Enterprise Telecoms has a 131km London network and recently rolled out a 20km fibre network in the London sewer to support 5G trials. “Previously you’d have had to close all the roads down and dig up the roads,” said Paul Clark, director for the utility sector at the company. “In our 20km, we had about 1km that required traditional digging and road closures – everything else was done within the sewers.”
But what’s newer is using those fibres to make it easier to monitor what’s going on underground, which makes being involved with these projects more attractive to water companies. “The benefit we can add is that it helps them and helps us run fibre across areas that are very costly,” Clark said.
The telecoms fibres monitor the sewer network using acoustic technology that listens for changes in sound, while thermal monitoring technology picks up temperature changes – the sort that might happen if a tunnel was filing up with water due to a new blockage.
“The fibre is the monitoring device,” Clark explained. “If there is damage in the pipe, that will change the sound in that particular point in the network and that’s picked up by these devices so it helps pinpoint where the damage is.”
If the technology had been in place at the time of the Concreteberg, it could have picked up the sound as the concrete was poured into the sewer and indicated that something was going on.
“Without the sensing technology there could be a lot of this happening,” Clark said. “If we’d had the sensing technology in there already it would have picked up that something was happening at the time it was happening.”
SEE: After Huawei, what’s next for 5G in the UK?
The Concreteberg wasn’t the company’s only discovery; later in the year a telecoms chamber installation dig uncovered human remains dating from the 1600s beneath a church near St Mary Axe, in the heart of the City of London; after the authorities established there was no foul play, the bones were re-interred close to where they were discovered.
While it’s easy to visualise the cables in London’s massive Victorian sewers, cabling can also be run through much smaller pipes using robots.
“Once you’ve got the technology in there you don’t have to send people down in an environment that is really hostile, and with the smaller pipes you can’t send people in anyway, so there’s no way they can tell if the pipe is damaged,” said Clark.
Last month, the government said it is looking for new ways of getting high-speed broadband delivered as widely as it can across the country, and is exploring ways to make it easier to run cables through the electricity, gas, water and sewer networks that span the UK, or along road or rail networks. All of this means that getting your broadband out of the sewer pipe might become a lot more common in future.  More

Image: Aussie Broadband
At the present time, the retailers of the National Broadband Network (NBN) are enjoying a 40% capacity boost at no charge, but that boost is set to end next month.
Once the boost is lifted, Aussie Broadband said retailers will need to pay for the extra bandwidth now consumed, since users have embraced the internet for more things than they did at the start of the year, such as working from home.
“NBN’s extra 40% CVC bandwidth to cope with peak demand during COVID certainly cushioned the impact, but once it’s gone, we don’t believe traffic levels will return to original forecasts,” Aussie Broadband managing director Phil Britt said. “Given that telcos pay overage for CVC usage above the amount bundled into their NBN wholesale products, this puts them in a difficult situation.
“They will either need to raise retail prices to keep the service levels the same in peak time speeds, or lower peak time speeds to maintain at least some level of margin — which is almost non-existent as is.”
Britt said the past few months have shown the NBN can handle the lift in traffic, and without the CVC holiday introduced in March, network speeds would have been “significantly impacted”.

The solution, according to Britt, is not to extend the holiday, but to bin the CVC capacity charge since the bandwidth consumed is now outstripping bundled predictions when NBN changed its pricing last year. “While usage continues to rise every year, and NBN still charges for bandwidth volume in the form of CVC, providers have little choice but to raise retail prices or reduce service levels,” he said.
“I believe that we need to scrap CVC and move to a single access charge based on the speed tier chosen, with no usage or CVC component. Not only does it simplify everything, but it also gives telcos more certainty in how they can set prices.
“Many other countries operate this way, including New Zealand. CVC is something that appears to be unique to the Australian market.”
A recent report from the ACCC showed as of the end of March, total capacity purchased on the network grew 40% to 17.8Tbps, while the average capacity per user grew 31% to 2.5Mbps.
Looking at traffic and capacity graphs and history from Aussie Broadband — which is one of the few to publicly disclose capacity and usage at each NBN point of interconnect — the retailer did not jump all-in as soon as the offer came into force. Instead, it steadily ramped up throughout April, a period the ACCC report did not capture.
A 40% jump in CVC is the sort of growth the network normally experiences across a full year, but it happened in the March quarter alone, with more capacity to be expected next time.
Shadow Communications Minister Michelle Rowland previously raised the prospect of what happens once the CVC boost is taken away.
“The question from here is how do we transition CVC pricing to a new normal in a fair and economically responsible way?” she said. “Hastily undoing the capacity boost would be problematic given this could force up prices or lead to congestion.
“For this reason, Labor would prefer to see a considered transition of NBN capacity pricing in consultation with retail providers, informed by traffic trends as COVID-19 restrictions wind down.”
Britt warned that if the CVC remains in place, retailers will have to push customers onto alternative services, such as a mobile network.
“If it remains, I strongly believe we will soon be back to the early days of NBN when providers either skimped on CVC so customers experienced woeful peak hour speeds, or they had to charge prices higher than many customers were willing to pay, or they concentrated on customers who were not large users of bandwidth,” he said.  
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SpaceX’s satellite broadband arm, Starlink, has emailed fans to get their home addresses in readiness for this year’s beta test. 
In an email, Starlink asks users to visit its website and input details about the service address, as opposed to just their ZIP code. It also informs fans that the “Starlink private beta begins this summer with public beta to follow”.
Reddit users have been digging around Starlink’s website and have found some extra details about the beta trials. 

Networking

Until now, it’s been expected that people selected for the beta will receive a user terminal with a flat disc antenna with a half-meter diameter. Musk says they look like a “little UFO on a stick”, which will be dead simple to install and has motors that direct itself for the best satellite signals.
Musk detailed user terminal features on Twitter in response to leaked images of the user terminals. 

“Starlink terminal has motors to self-orient for optimal view angle,” wrote Musk. “No expert installer required. Just plug in & give it a clear view of the sky. Can be in garden, on roof, table, pretty much anywhere, so long as it has a wide view of the sky.”
As of the mid-June launch, SpaceX had about 540 Starlink satellites orbiting the Earth, which is when it started inviting people to join its beta program.
According to an FAQ on the beta published on Reddit, SpaceX will kick off the beta with users in the “northern United States and lower Canada, with those living in rural and/or remote communities in the Washington State area”. 
Participants also need a clear view of the northern sky because Starlink’s system of satellites can only provide internet service between 44 degrees and 52 degrees north latitude.
“Without the clear view, the Starlink dish cannot make a good connection and your service will be extremely poor,” warns SpaceX.  
Interestingly, the Starlink Kit for beta testers includes more than the UFO on the stick. It also has a router, which has been approved by the FCC, a power supply and mount.  
Beta testers will be required to sign a non-disclosure agreement, so participants won’t legally be allowed to share their experience online. 
It also warns users that the service quality will be high when connected, but the connection “will not be consistent”. It “may support streaming video with some buffering, but likely is not suitable for gaming or work purposes”. 
Starlink warns beta participants against hiring anyone to install the end-user terminal and accepts no responsibility for damages caused or any rules broken. 
“You are responsible for installing the Starlink Kit. Do not allow third parties, or those not associated with SpaceX, to access or install the Starlink Kit unless you obtain approval from SpaceX,” Starlink says. 
“Do not install the Starlink Kit at your home if you do not have the authority to do so. It is your responsibility to ensure compliance with all applicable zoning, ordinances, covenants, conditions, restrictions, lease obligations and landlord/owner approvals related to the installation location.” 
More on SpaceX’s Starlink and internet-beaming satellites More

National Narrowband Network Co (NNNCo) has been enlisted by TasNetworks, Tasmania’s energy distribution utility, to help roll out an enterprise-grade Internet of Things (IoT) network across the state.
“Any digital innovation that boosts safety, control, and efficiency is good for us, and good for Tasmanians,” said TasNetworks CEO Lance Balcombe. 
“TasNetworks is determined to help Tasmanians recover strongly from the COVID-19 crisis and lockdown. Smart technology that helps us boost efficiency, and helps customers save time and money, can be a crucial part of that mission,” he said. 
Balcombe added that the network, once completed, would allow the state to connect IoT devices for various use cases, such as grid safety, street lighting, and digital metering. 
The deal will see NNNCo, TasNetworks, and 42-24 — a subsidiary of the utility service — build an IoT network that uses LoRaWAN gateways. 

NNNCo will be responsible for the actual network build, which is set to begin in the second half of 2020. Meanwhile, 42-24 will be tasked with selling connectivity to third parties including local councils, enterprise, agriculture, and other utilities to allow them to also use the network. 
“Having access to enterprise-grade connectivity across Tasmania will bring significant opportunities to our cities, farms, and enterprises deploying their own IoT solutions,” 42-24 spokesperson Kelly Walker said.  
NNNCo has similarly built out IoT networks across Newcastle and the Gold Coast to enable smart city applications, such as smart street lighting, waste management, and water meters.
It also previously provided IoT sensors to government utility service Hunter Water for a 12-month trial in detecting leaks and predicting water main bursts before they occur. The network provider also built a private carrier-grade LoRaWAN network and provided its N2N-DL data platform for the trial.
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UK mobile networks have been told they cannot buy any more 5G equipment from Huawei after the end of this year, and that they must remove the Chinese networking company’s technology from their 5G networks by the end of 2027.
The decision is a significant u-turn by the UK government, which only six months ago gave Huawei the green light to play a role in the country’s 5G network.
Culture secretary Oliver Dowden said: “Following US sanctions against Huawei and updated technical advice from our cyber experts, the government has decided it is necessary to ban Huawei from our 5G networks.”
He added: “No new kit is to be added from January 2021, and UK 5G networks will be Huawei free by the end of 2027.”
However, Dowden also revealed the decision will also have an impact on the roll out of 5G in the UK. “This will delay our rollout of 5G,” he told Parliament. “This means a cumulative delay to 5G rollout of two to three years and costs of up to £2 billion. This will have real consequences for the connections on which all our constituents rely.”

The government said the decision was taken today in a meeting of the National Security Council, chaired by the Prime Minister, in response to US sanctions against the Chinese company imposed in May, which limited the company’s access to products built on US semiconductor technology.
Following a review of these sanctions, the UK’s cyber security agency the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) concluded that as a result Huawei will need to do a “major reconfiguration” of its supply chain.
NCSC decided the new restrictions therefore “make it impossible” to continue to guarantee the security of Huawei equipment in the future. 
Huawei said in a statement: “This disappointing decision is bad news for anyone in the UK with a mobile phone. It threatens to move Britain into the digital slow lane, push up bills and deepen the digital divide. Instead of ‘levelling up’ the government is levelling down and we urge them to reconsider. We remain confident that the new US restrictions would not have affected the resilience or security of the products we supply to the UK.” It added: “Regrettably our future in the UK has become politicized, this is about US trade policy and not security.”
The row over the Chinese technology company’s involvement in the UK’s 5G networks has been long and complicated.
The US administration has argued for several years that the use of Huawei equipment in sensitive networks could leave countries at risk of being spied on by the Chinese state, and has lobbied its allies hard to not use Huawei products. Huawei has consistently denied that its equipment could be used by the Chinese government for spying. 
The US has not provided evidence to back up its claims. Caught between two superpowers, the UK has been looking for a solution that manages to keep both the US and China relatively happy.
In January it looked as though the UK had found a way to manage that. After a long review process, in January the UK government said it would allow Huawei to provide some equipment for the country’s 5G networks, although not in the core of the network, and only up to 35% of the non-core network.
But since then Conservative backbench MPs have been pushing for a harder line on China. Then the US further tightened its restrictions on Huawei, which led to the NCSC review and ultimately to today’s decision.
Huawei’s technology has been used in many of the UK’s networks for many years. And the UK’s mobile networks have warned that removing that equipment could take years and cost vast sums — and create outages and security issues along the way. More

KT has wrapped up the development and verification for its 5G network slicing service aimed at the enterprise, the company said on Tuesday.
It will allow customers to optimise their networks to meet their specific requirements, the South Korean telco said.
5G network slicing divides a single physical 5G network into multiple virtual networks. KT’s service applies this to the core network.
Customers will be able to divide the network to prioritise certain virtual networks to a specific workforce or application so that there is no interruption in data transfers.
For example, in a factory setting, the customer can divide the 5G network for wireless CCTVs with those used by the workers. Data transfers on the cameras would not be impacted by smartphone use by employees, which will allow uninterrupted monitoring of the sites, KT said.

It will also allow networks to be set so that some of them can only be accessed by designated Internet of Things (IoT) devices near the worksite, the telco said, which will increase security.
5G network slicing will significantly help applications such as smart factory, smart city, logistics, emergency service networks, and others, KT added.
The South Korean telco is looking to find various enterprise application for 5G networks. In May, it launched autonomous carts with 5G connectivity at its smartphone warehouses.
In December, in collaboration with the National Fire Agency, the telco launched 5G emergency video call service.
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Image: Facebook Connectivity
Facebook Connectivity, in league with ULC Robotics, has developed a robot capable of winding optical fibre on live medium voltage (MV) power lines that typically serve residential areas in much of the world, at a claimed cost three to five times cheaper than traditional aerial fibre construction.
Karthik Yogeeswaran, wireless systems engineer at Facebook Connectivity, said in a blog post the idea for the project came after travelling through rural Africa and noticing the ubiquity of power line infrastructure, which is far “more pervasive than the total fibre footprint of the country”.
In order to keep costs down, Facebook needed to lower the preparatory and manual work needed to wind fibre around power lines, and to minimise disruption of electrical services, the robot needed to able to do its job on a live line and be able to avoid and cross obstacles it encountered.
Keeping the weight of the robot within the limits that a medium voltage power line could handle was a key challenge because it would limit the amount of fibre it could carry, so the size of the cable needed to be reduced.
“Using the MV power line as a support adds a number of additional challenges. The first is the voltage stress. MV conductors can have a voltage as high as 35kV which can cause degradation phenomena such as tracking, partial discharge, and dry band arcing,” Yogeeswaran said.

“The power line can also see elevated temperatures far above the melting point of typical fibre-optic jackets, and the stretching of the power line due to thermal changes and wind-induced aeolian vibration can induce strain on the fibres.”
The end result was a cable using G.657-compliant 200-micron fibres with a special jacket weighing 28 pounds for a 1km span.
To be able to navigate obstacles, the robot can lift its middle section that contains the fibre and rotation systems, before passing it and lowering its middle to continue wrapping. The robot has a vision system to identify obstacles and adjust its movements.
“To account for the human interaction steps such as setup, loading and unloading the robot, installing transitions, etc., we have been conservatively estimating an overall build speed of 1.5km to 2km per robot per day on average,” Yogeeswaran said.
“While traditional aerial fibre deployment involves heavy machinery, reel carts, large spools, and large crew sizes, a fibre deployment crew deploying our solution, will comprise two or three electric utility linemen and a pickup truck with a few kilometre spools of fibre, a robot, and a few accessories, allowing many crews to work in parallel.”
In developing countries, Yogeeswaran said the total cost including labour of running the robot would be between $2 and $3 per metre.
“By lowering the total cost of aerial fibre deployment, we expect that our system will have a significant impact on internet penetration, especially among the half of the world earning less than $5.50 per day,” he said.
“While we still have a number of steps to complete before our first deployment, we have confidence that this approach will yield a substantial improvement to both the cost and speed of fibre deployments.”
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Hewlett Packard Enterprise on Monday announced that it plans to acquire SD-WAN player Silver Peak for $925 million. HPE said Silver Peak will be combined with its Aruba business unit to bolster its position in the software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) market. 

Silver Peak’s SD-WAN products aim to help enterprises and service providers migrate to SD-WAN connectivity, improve application performance and lower costs. 
HPE posits that demand for SD-WAN services will continue to rise with the ongoing remote work trend and influx of IoT devices on enterprise networks. HPE said integrating Silver Peak’s capabilities with Aruba’s edge services platform will help the company ramp up its edge-to-cloud strategy and its focus on a distributed cloud model. 
“HPE was an early mover in identifying the opportunity at the edge and that trend is accelerating in a post-COVID world,” said HPE chief executive Antonio Neri. “With this acquisition we are accelerating our edge-to-cloud strategy to provide a true distributed cloud model and cloud experience for all apps and data wherever they live. Silver Peak’s innovative team and technology bring critical capabilities that will help our customers modernize and transform their networks to securely connect any edge to any cloud.”
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