What’s up with… Comcast & DriveNets, Swisscom, Softbank & NewPhotonics

• Comcast taps DriveNets and UfiSpace virtualised core, Qwilt for CDN
• EC approves Swisscom’s acquisition of Vodafone Italia 
• SoftBank and NewPhotonics team up on optical R&D for AI-RAN architectures

In today’s industry news roundup: US cable giant Comcast is virtualising its core platform, starting in the Atlanta region using technology from virtual routing specialist Drivenets and white box server vendor UfiSpace, while also deploying CDN technology from Qwilt at the edge of its network; Swisscom has taken a step closer to acquiring Vodafone Italia for €8bn; Japanese operator SoftBank is working with Israeli vendor NewPhotonics on ways to improve the latency, reach and energy efficiency of optical connectivity in AI datacentres and mobile fronthaul connections; and more!

US cable operator giant Comcast has unveiled an initiative, dubbed Janus (the Roman god of transitions), to use the latest cloud, virtualisation and AI technologies to deploy a new core platform that will “deliver next-generation internet experiences to customers today, and into the future.” According to Comcast, “Janus will transform the way the nation’s largest network, accessible to more than 63 million locations nationwide, manages the flow of internet traffic to and from customers by shifting management and control of its core routing, switching and transport network functions to its edge cloud platforms. Traditionally, these functions have been managed by proprietary hardware systems in facilities across the country and now they will leverage the latest innovation in cloud, edge compute, AI/ML, virtualisation, and digital optics.” The cable operator hammers home the point by adding: “Janus eliminates the proprietary bookended hardware components and embedded software in Comcast’s network that configures and manages the routing and transport of data to and from customers and the internet, and replaces them with white box hardware and with software that can perform those functions seamlessly. It also incorporates next-generation, AI-powered self-healing functions based on real-time telemetry and analytics, removing the opportunity for human error in core network operations.” Widespread rollout of Janus is expected in 2025, but an initial deployment is happening now in the operator’s Atlanta network hub, where Comcast is deploying technology from virtualised routing platform specialist DriveNets and white box server specialist UfiSpace. The operator is also “leveraging a new generation of disaggregated, pluggable optics from multiple vendors enabling greater performance and optionality across its core network. This combination allows Comcast to use the best-in-class vendors for hardware, software, and optics and for its core network, innovate faster and reduce its overall costs.” Elad Nafshi, chief network officer at Comcast, noted: “Data usage continues to skyrocket at unprecedented rates, primarily due to the rapid increase in streaming high-quality live sports. Janus builds upon years of investment and innovation to maximise our network performance and will be a gamechanger for our customers, our business, and the environment.” This is transport network disaggregation in action…

Comcast isn’t stopping its network transformation at the core: In a separate announcement, the US cable operator said it is deploying Qwilt’s open edge and edge compute infrastructure to create “the most distributed content delivery network (CDN) in the US”. Comcast’s chief network officer, Elad Nafshi, noted: “We’re tapping into the incredible power of edge compute to build a leading content delivery network that provides incredible benefits to our customers and to the providers who distribute content across our network. By deploying distributed access architecture and virtualisation, we are putting the brains of our network closer to customers and paving the way for opportunities like this deployment with Qwilt. Alon Maor, the CEO at Qwilt, added: “We’re incredibly excited to collaborate with Comcast, a pioneer of technology innovation in the industry. By leveraging open caching, Comcast utilises its strengths as a major network operator, actively shaping efficient content delivery and broadening avenues for new opportunities within this value chain. This initiative enhances our expansive global edge network, a pivotal stride towards our aim of delivering top-notch digital experiences to every corner of the world, meeting the high expectations of consumers,” he added.

The European Commission has cleared Swisscom’s planned acquisition of Vodafone Italia under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation. Swisscom announced an agreement to acquire Vodafone Italy for €8bn in March, having signalled its intention to do so in February, and plans to merge the mobile operator with its existing Italian fixed line operation, Fastweb. “The approval is another important step on the way to securing the regulatory approvals needed to finalise the transaction,” noted the Swiss operator in this announcement. The telco believes the deal is on track to close in the first quarter of 2025, though it still has to pass an in-depth ‘Phase II’ investigation by the the Italian Competition Authority, which was announced earlier this month.

SoftBank has teamed up with Petah Tikva, Israel-based integrated photonics developer NewPhotonics to jointly develop advanced photonics technologies for linear-drive pluggable optics (LPO), co-packaged optics (CPO) and an all-optics switch fabric that will enable low latency and low power consumption in AI datacentres and mobile fronthaul infrastructure, developments that tie in with the Japanese operator’s efforts to deploy an AI-RAN architecture. “We believe this partnership with NewPhotonics is necessary for our next-generation infrastructure,” stated Ryuji Wakikawa, head of the Research Institute of Advanced Technology at SoftBank. “By collaborating, we envision a transformation in AI datacentre and mobile fronthaul infrastructure with optical-electronics convergence technologies that enhance speed, distance limits, capacity and, most importantly, increase sustainability, giving SoftBank a significant advantage and market leadership,” added Wakikawa. SoftBank is one of the founders of the AI-RAN Alliance and has been working closely with AI chip giant Nvidia on AI-RAN architecture developments. NewPhotonics CEO Yaniv Ben Haim added: “Our new collaboration agreement with SoftBank marks a significant milestone for our company and the industry to advance optical interconnect technology in CPO and pluggable that address the needs of modern compute and AI infrastructure. We remain committed to breaking the limits of optical communication with lowered latency and power at scalable distances. This partnership exemplifies our confidence in the impact of all-optical connectivity on the future of AI and 6G with our patented photonics innovations.” Read more. 

– The staff, TelecomTV