Day: July 22, 2021

25GS-PON Multi-Source Agreement (MSA) Group doubles in size with additions of new members including Proximus, OptiComm, INEA and CableLabs

• Over the past four months, the 25 Gigabit Symmetric PON Multi-Source Agreement (25GS-PON MSA) Group membership has doubled to 34
• Strong support of operators and leading cable industry organization highlights service provider demand for 25GS-PON technology
• Industry group brings together the complete industry ecosystem to define and promote next-generation 25GS-PON technology in support of emerging 5G and commercial requirements at cost-effective price targets
• Broad geographic representation of new members demonstrates global interest in and applicability of 25GS-PON

July 22, 2021

The 25GS-PON MSA Group today announced the addition of seventeen new member organizations, including service providers Proximus, OptiComm, and INEA, as well as CableLabs, the cable industry’s leading innovation and R&D lab. With this announcement, the 25GS-PON MSA now has 34 members, doubling in size in just four months.

The wide-reaching membership support for the 25GS-PON MSA shows a strong market and industry interest in 25GS-PON technology. Together, the 25GS-PON MSA Group members represent the complete industry ecosystem. In addition to the operators and service provider organizations, new members including ALPHA, Asia Optical, BFW, CZT, DZS, EXFO, EZconn, Gemtek, JPC, MT2, Pegatron, SiFotonics, and WNC comprise system, optical device, semiconductor, component, and test and measurement vendors, as well as design and manufacturing service companies.

“25G PON technology is arriving at just the right time,” said Chris DePuy, Technology Analyst at 650 Group. “The technology provides a path forward for operators seeking to leverage their existing fiber network to deliver the capacity and broadband speeds essential for cost-effective anyhaul support for 5G densification and enhanced services for large enterprises. It’s evident that the 25GS-PON MSA group’s ability to get in front of the market and establish specifications early for the technology is now leading to its rapid membership growth.”

Proximus, the leading provider of fixed broadband networks in Belgium, deployed the world’s first live 25G network on May 26, 2021.

The 25GS-PON MSA was first announced on October 8, 2020 with the goal of promoting and accelerating the development of 25GS-PON technology. Since its formation, the 25GS-PON MSA Group has published version 1.0 of the 25 Gigabit Symmetrical Passive Optical Network specification, providing the basis for how 25GS-PON should be implemented to ensure basic functionality and interoperability across different vendors.

Previously announced members include AOI, AT&T, Chorus, Chunghwa Telecom, Ciena, Commscope, Cortina Access, Feneck, HiLight Semiconductor, Hisense, MACOM, MaxLinear, NBN Co., Nokia, Semtech, Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd., and Tibit Communications.

Information regarding the 25GS-PON Group, including a copy of the 25GS-PON v1.0 specification, is published at www.25gspon-msa.org. The 25GS-PON MSA Group invites other industry leaders to join the group to advance the technology and market. To express interest, follow the link on the 25GS-PON MSA website or send an email to info@25gspon-msa.org.

About 25G PON

25G PON is considered to be the next step in PON evolution:

• Driven by concrete demand and use cases, including 5G transport, advanced enterprise applications, and wholesaling services
• Delivers a 250% increase in capacity over today’s 10 Gb/s XGS-PON and can deliver true 10 Gb/s symmetrical services
• Leverages mature, high-volume data center optical technology, enabling quick and cost-efficient implementation
• Simultaneously co-exists with GPON, XGS-PON, and both GPON and XGS-PON on the same fiber and existing outside plant
• All necessary components and technologies are in use and readily available

New Member Comments

Asia Optical: “We are excited to join the 25GS-PON MSA Group and look forward to cooperating with the other global partners. Our involvement with the MSA will allow us to participate in the evolving market for cost-effective, next-generation PON solutions. We are ready to serve our industry-leading customers as a one-stop source for high-performance, optical solutions.”

BFW: “BFW is very excited to join 25GS-PON MSA, working with partners to shape this next-generation PON technology. As a major provider for XGS-PON and GPON CPE devices, we are grateful to have the opportunity to be among the leaders of this evolution.”

CZT: “As a respected supplier of interconnects for many years, we are proud to join the 25GS-PON MSA, working with other industry leaders to define the next generation of PON. We look forward to leveraging our abilities and experience with XGS-PON as we seek to deliver optimized 25G PON solutions to our customers.”

DZS: “New services and applications, accelerating demand, emerging technologies, and network convergence continue to drive PON’s evolution, and 25 Gbps is the next natural stepping stone along this path. As a company, DZS is committed to industry standards and freedom of choice for our global customers, so it is extremely important for us to be present early in the process of bringing next generation technologies toward mass deployment. We are excited and proud to be a part of the 25GS-PON MSA Group and look forward to making our contributions to the ramp-up of this important technology.”

EXFO: “As a leader in transceiver testing, we are delighted to have EXFO join the 25GS-PON MSA Group. We are committed to sharing our technical expertise with this next generation of PON technology initiative. This organization fosters critical collaboration to provide the best guidance and practices, which are required to manufacture a solid solution that will allow faster worldwide FTTx communication.”

EZconn: “As a long time, leading component and module supplier in the PON market, EZconn looks forward to working with the other members in the 25GS-PON MSA to jointly drive PON technology to the next stage. With emerging applications requiring more than 10 gigabits per second, and building on our GPON and XGS-PON expertise, we plan to offer our market-leading customers standardized 25G symmetrical solutions to cost-effectively boost their fiber broadband capacity.”

JPC: “It is our honor to be part of 25GS-PON MSA. As a reputed company in providing interconnects to the industry. For decades, JPC has been committed to offering optimized optical solution to our customers. We look forward to cooperating with partners, customers and friends from the 25GS-PON MSA to explore new applications and opportunities in this field.”

MT2: “MT2 is thrilled to join with other experts from the industry in the 25GS-PON MSA to work together on the next PON evolution. MT2 plans to develop a new generation of PON analyzer and OLT/ONU emulator to support the development and deployment of 25GS-PON, the next step in PON fiber technology.”

SiFotonics: “We are happy to support 25GS-PON as a next-generation solution for applications including 5G xhaul. SiFotonics specializes in highly differentiated silicon photonic technologies for broad datacom and telecom applications, and we look forward to accelerating the deployment of 25GS-PON by providing technology and product support based on our proven, industry-leading, high-sensitivity Ge/Si APD.”

About the 25GS-PON MSA

The 25GS-PON Multi-Source Agreement (MSA) brings together major operators along with leading system and component vendors, to promote and accelerate the development and deployment of 25 Gigabit Symmetric Passive Optical Network (25GS-PON) technology. 25GS-PON meets the needs of the mobile 5G era and large-scale enterprises, providing communications service providers with the most cost-effective and timely evolution path for PON fiber technology. Current members include ALPHA, AOI, Asia Optical, AT&T, BFW, CableLabs, Chorus, Chunghwa Telecom, Ciena, CommScope, Cortina Access, CZT, DZS, EXFO, EZconn, Feneck, Gemtek, HiLight Semiconductor, Hisense Broadband, INEA, JPC, MACOM, MaxLinear, MT2, NBN Co., Nokia, OptiComm, Pegatron, Proximus, Semtech, SiFotonics, Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd, Tibit Communications, and WNC.

For more information, or to express interest in joining the 25GS-PON MSA, visit www.25gspon-msa.org and follow us on Twitter @25gspon_msa.

Media Inquiries:
Phone: +1 (858) 705-0319
Email: press@25gspon-msa.org

SOUTHBOROUGH, Mass., July 22, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Virtusa Corporation, a global provider of digital strategy, digital engineering, and IT services and solutions that help clients change and disrupt markets through innovation engineering, today announced that it has received the 2020 Google Cloud Specialization Partner of the Year for Cloud Migration award. Virtusa was recognized for the company’s unique expertise and success in migrating enterprise customers to Google Cloud.

Over the past year, Virtusa has consistently demonstrated excellence in building foundational architectures and then migrating thousands of customer workloads from either on-premises or other cloud providers to Google Cloud’s platform. To do so, Virtusa evaluated customers’ IT infrastructures through its industry expertise lens and the company’s Digital Transformation Studio. The proprietary platform and approach merge Virtusa’s engineering tools, reusable industry assets, and certified agile teams to increase the delivery speed and reduce the costs of business-critical digital transformation projects. Combined with its large-scale cloud migration implementation history for clients, Virtusa built a comprehensive roadmap to secure Google Cloud migration efforts while reducing the associated time and costs.

“We’re proud and excited to be named the Google Cloud Specialization Partner of the Year for Cloud Migration,” said Raymond Hennings, Executive Vice President, Virtusa. “This award recognizes our incredible achievement in providing exceptional service and enabling customer success by innovating and building infrastructure performance, agility, and cost optimization for Google Cloud solutions. Our team’s ability to migrate clients onto Google Cloud at a high pace and cost-effectively is second to none.”

“Google Cloud Specializations recognize partner excellence and proven customer success in a particular product area or industry,” said Carolee Gearhart, Global Channel Chief at Google Cloud. “Based on proven, repeatable customer success and strong technical capabilities, we’re delighted to recognize Virtusa as the Cloud Migration Specialization Partner of the Year.”
Other Virtusa cloud tools and services include technology consulting, Cloud Foundation, cloud platform migration, cloud-native application development, data modernization, workplace transformation and cloud managed services.

To learn more about Virtusa’s Cloud Migration expertise, please visit: virtusa.com/services/cloud/cloud-migration

About Virtusa
Virtusa Corporation is a global provider of digital business strategy, digital engineering, and information technology (IT) services and solutions that help clients change, disrupt, and unlock new value through innovative engineering. Virtusa serves Global 2000 companies in Banking, Financial Services, Insurance, Healthcare, Communications, Media, Entertainment, Travel, Manufacturing, and Technology industries.

Virtusa helps clients grow their business with innovative products and services that create operational efficiency using digital labor, future-proof operational and IT platforms, and rationalization and modernization of IT applications infrastructure. This is achieved through a unique approach blending deep contextual expertise, empowered agile teams, and measurably better engineering to create holistic solutions that drive the business forward at unparalleled velocity enabled by a culture of cooperative disruption.

Virtusa is a registered trademark of Virtusa Corporation.  All other company and brand names may be trademarks or service marks of their respective holders.

Media Contact:
Matt Berry
Conversion Marketing
(201) 370-9133
matt@conversionam.com

PRAIA, Cape Verde, July 22, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — In its decision of June 29, 2021 delivered via email to the defense on 20 July, 2021 the Constitutional Court of Cape Verde considered that “there is no international normative basis that would impose on the State of Cape Verde a duty to comply with a request for provisional measures made by the Human Rights Committee” (para 4.5.3.). The ruling was in response to a simple letter sent by Alex Saab to the Constitutional Court informing it that the United Nations Human Rights Committee had registered a complaint against Cape Verde and had sent Cape Verde a request for interim measures, including a request to suspend the extradition procedure. The Constitutional Court issued a lengthy ruling in which it attempted to justify its refusal to comply with the provisional measures ordered by the United Nations Human Rights Committee, inviting Cape Verde, among other things, to suspend Alex Saab’s extradition to the United States.

Alex Saab’s defense team regrets the position adopted by the Constitutional Court.

Firstly, the Court takes a strictly positivist and voluntarist approach to international law, with the sole purpose of justifying the violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). It does not take into consideration the practice of the vast majority of States parties to the ICCPR and the Optional Protocol, which usually comply with the Committee’s interim measures, with the exception of States such as Belarus.

Secondly, it is unfortunate that the Constitutional Court has not accepted its role as a guarantor of human rights. Rather than seeing the Committee’s interim measures as a form of interference, the Constitutional Court could have simply decided to take international human rights law and Cape Verde’s international human rights obligations seriously. The Committee was doing nothing more than requesting the adoption of measures to preserve the physical integrity and right to life of Alex Saab. This request was neither hostile nor illegitimate. On the other hand, to reject it with such force is disproportionate.

Thirdly, the Constitutional Court limits itself to a purely formalistic and basic reading of the binding nature of international law and the decisions of human rights bodies. It limits itself to an analysis of the legally binding or non-binding nature of the norms set out by the United Nations committees, taking the view that, since they are not jurisdictional bodies, their decisions are not binding. This position, which is totally anachronistic in public international law, reflects the obvious lack of experience of the Constitutional Court in the implementation of international human rights law. The Committee is not an enemy of the domestic courts; its sole purpose is to help States parties to the Covenant to comply with their obligations under the ICCPR. The Constitutional Court could have considered the UN Committee as an institutional ally, and agreed to implement the interim measures, not on the basis of compulsion, but simply because these measures were intended to contribute to the respect of the human rights of the ICCPR. In other words, just because the interim measures are not, in the Court’s view, legally binding, does not mean that they should not be implemented and respected. They must be implemented because they are tools for the protection of human rights and human dignity. This is the persuasive force of these measures, which the Constitutional Court was asked to take seriously.

Fourthly, the Constitutional Court oddly concludes that it cannot suspend the examination of the constitutional appeal because of the non-binding nature of the interim measures. On this last point, there is no disagreement, and the honourable Court has not been asked by the Human Rights Committee, or anyone else, to suspend the examination of Alex Saab’s constitutional appeal. On the other hand, all the actors concerned invite the Court, when it pronounces on the merits, to render a decision that respects human rights, the rule of law and the fundamental values of both the constitution and the treaties binding Cape Verde.

The Defense team repeats its previous calls for Cape Verde to comply with the 15 March 2021 ruling of the ECOWAS Court of Justice’s (which was reiterated on 24 June) declaring Alex Saab’s arrest and detention illegal, that he be released immediately and the extradition process be terminated.

MEDIA Contact:
Sara Flounders
International Action Center
https://www.iacenter.org
E-mail: iacenter@iacenter.org
Tel: +1 212-633-6646

Vincenzo Morabito Essay

MILAN, Italy, July 22, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Digital innovation has long been high on the political agenda and a subject of debate for many key sectors of the economy. But what could be the best approach? Professor Vincenzo Morabito answers this question in his new essay entitled “Digital Entrepreneurship, Management, Systems and Practice” (published by Cambridge University Press), coming out soon. “The idea” behind this book, explains Morabito to LaPresse, “is very simple: entrepreneurship is becoming more and more digital, and digitalisation is changing the way we do business. It is time to explain which trends should be followed and guide the new businesses.” This essay “responds to a need felt by both the younger generation and by those who want to change their life path thanks to digitalisation; it is a sort of guide and direction.”

While policy and decision-makers ask themselves how to include mobile devices, digital platforms, cloud, big data, cybersecurity and blockchain in their strategies, what is often missing is a broader awareness of the current mega-transition.

In the digital age, points out Morabito, professor at Bocconi University, entrepreneurship is now more demanded than ever. Nevertheless, it is not enough to hold online meetings, have paperless offices or be active on social media in order to be considered a digital entrepreneur. Instead, a systemic approach is needed.

The pandemic has accelerated the digitalisation process: “It was inevitable. But, of course, the pandemic has given an exponential acceleration. So today, more than ever, digitalisation is an unavoidable way of reinterpreting business models. It helps rethink business models: the traditional ones are still there, but they can be made more relevant.”

To do this, explains Morabito to LaPresse, “There are two ways: either we create completely digital businesses, with new jobs emerging thanks to digitalisation, or we reinterpret the existing models. Our country cannot be left out. It should stimulate the creation of global digital businesses: we need to encourage the creation of global businesses that will lead Italy worldwide, even in traditional sectors that are pillars of our country, such as fashion or tourism. This is the only way to make the Covid crisis an opportunity for rebirth.”

For more information:
LaPresse SpA Communication and Press Office Director
Barbara Sanicola – barbara.sanicola@lapresse.it +39 02 26305578 M +39 333 3905243

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/17409d9a-7799-4e33-8a87-b6fd86b63a4d

The photo is also available at Newscom, www.newscom.com, and via AP PhotoExpress.

Align has opened new facilities atop one of three high-rise buildings that make up the “Global Towers” in Petach Tikva, Israel.

• New office space comprises 14,140 square meters atop one of three high-rise buildings that make up the Global Towers in Petach Tikva, and includes modern facilities and amenities such as an experience center, dental clinic, dairy restaurant, fitness center, music room, and more.
• Reflects Align’s continued investment in the iTero systems and services business and overall growth strategy to drive adoption of digital orthodontics and restorative dentistry by furthering its industry-leading digital capabilities through iTero scanner innovation.

TEMPE, Ariz. and PETACH TIKVA, Israel, July 21, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Align Technology, Inc. (“Align”) (Nasdaq: ALGN) a leading global medical device company that designs, manufactures, and sells the Invisalign system of clear aligners, iTero intraoral scanners, and exocad CAD/CAM software for digital orthodontics and restorative dentistry, today announced that it has opened its new facilities atop one of the three high-rise buildings that make up the “Global Towers” in Petach Tikva, Israel. The Company will relocate employees from its current location in Or Yehuda. The move follows the purchase of the top nine floors of the building for $51.4 million, as previously disclosed in Align’s Form 10-Q for the first quarter ended March 30, 2020.

Founded in Israel over 25 years ago, Align’s iTero systems and services business (formerly Cadent Inc.) is responsible for the design and development of the iTero portfolio of intraoral scanners, imaging systems and services.

“Innovation is at the core of Align’s culture and who we are as an organization. The investment in the new building, expanded manufacturing capabilities and growing organization will afford opportunities for Align to further its industry-leading digital capabilities through continued scanner innovation and solutions, to help more dental professionals around the world to transform their practices with digital tools and technology,” said Yuval Shaked, Align SVP and MD, iTero systems and services business.

The new office space in Petach Tikva comprises 14,140 square meters and will seat approximately 700 employees on-site.

The new building has an experience center, training center, fitness center, music room, advanced digital dental clinic, full-service dairy restaurant, and more. As part of Align’s ongoing investment in the iTero systems and services business, Align also opened a 2,000 square meter production and logistics facility including supporting laboratories adjacent to the new building in Petach Tikva.

“We are excited to be moving into our new home in the Global Towers,” said Shani Tuvia, Align VP, Human Resources, iTero systems and services business. “When designing our new space, we focused on creating an employee centric environment that encourages collaboration and creativity, supports productivity, and features the latest in office design technology, lighting, and acoustics. We are also using the opportunity to reduce our environmental footprint by introducing sustainability and recycling programs for employees.”

Rami Grinberg, the Mayor of Petach Tikva added: “Petach Tikva is proud to welcome Align Technology, a global company, to our state-of-the-art business park in the growing high-tech center of Petach Tikva. We look forward to having Align join the many companies that have recently moved to our city to become part of our thriving community.”

About Align Technology, Inc.
Align Technology designs, manufactures and offers the Invisalign system, the most advanced clear aligner system in the world, iTero intraoral scanners and services, and exocad CAD/CAM software. These technology building blocks enable enhanced digital orthodontic and restorative workflows to improve patient outcomes and practice efficiencies for over 200 thousand doctor customers and is key to accessing Align’s 500 million consumer market opportunity worldwide. Align has helped doctors treat over 10.2 million patients with the Invisalign system and is driving the evolution in digital dentistry through the Align Digital Platform, our integrated suite of unique, proprietary technologies and services delivered as a seamless, end-to-end solution for patients and consumers, orthodontists and GP dentists, and lab/partners. Visit www.aligntech.com for more information.

For additional information about the Invisalign system or to find an Invisalign doctor in your area, please visit www.invisalign.com. For additional information about the iTero digital scanning system, please visit www.itero.com. For additional information about exocad dental CAD/CAM offerings and a list of exocad reseller partners, please visit www.exocad.com.

Align Technology Madelyn Homick (408) 470-1180 mhomick@aligntech.com		Zeno Group Sarah Johnson (828) 551-4201 sarah.johnson@zenogroup.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/c16698ff-b031-47b5-b3b7-979987e4acbe