The modern world runs on microchips. They drive our cars, run our smart homes, and allow us to communicate at lightning speed. 2020 to 2021 has seen a two-sided squeeze on the global chip market as the Covid-19 Global Pandemic accelerated already unprecedented demand and supply was restricted by extreme weather events, trade wars, and a global slowdown. How can service providers maintain access to supply chains while not compromising on security and quality on their networks?
Head of Sales in North America for EPS, Alan Fagan, is joined by Pica8 CMO Kelly LeBlanc to talk about the alternatives to legacy network equipment and how service providers can make the shift in the midst of a supply chain crisis.

Open Networking and the Global Chip Shortage | Kelly LeBlanc - Pica8

Demand for cloud services is growing and with that is the need for more infrastructure to support this growth in traffic. For every blog post, photo and tweet there is a physical manifestation somewhere in the world. These manifestations are data centers. The carbon footprint of data centers and their energy usage has come into sharp focus, as climate targets loom, and the climate crisis intensifies. How can open networking meet this challenge and bridge this gap? 

Senior Systems Engineer for EPS Global, Barry McGinley, is joined by Open Compute Project board member John Laban to talk about how the switch to open networking can reduce emissions and energy usage in data centers.

Cutting Carbon Emissions in Data Centers. The Role for Open Networking | John Laban - OCP

Access to high speed networks has long been a priority for governments and enterprises alike. The UK Government has set ambitious targets to have gigabit-capable broadband coverage to 85% of the UK by 2025. In the US, $60 billion has been pledged to help bring broadband to rural regions and to “rip and replace” unsecure equipment. In Germany, the federal government has committed €12 Billion for fiber projects through its Grey Spots funding programme.
So with the intent clear from governments around the world, how can service providers harness open networking to speed up deployments and cut costs?



The ambitious target of 85% gigabit coverage in the UK has drawn a lot of entrants to the market. One of the companies in the UK that are helping the UK government to achieve their ambitious goal is Netomnia, who along with their ISP partner, YouFibre, has seen a lot of investment recently, raising over £400m in the last year.


Our head of Sales in Northern Europe and Africa, Mark Downey, sat down with Netomnia’s Director of Networks, Feka Samakuva as part of a discussion with the Internet Service Providers Association in the UK to discuss their success in partnering with EPS Global, and how it all went from a plan drawn on a napkin to 1 million premises connected to 10gig networks.

Harnessing the Power of Open Networking to Speed up Broadband Rollout | Feka Samakuva - Netomnia

5G is the new global wireless standard enabling a new kind of network that is designed to connect virtually everyone and everything together including machines, objects, and devices. As of February 2022, 209 commercial networks launched 5G coverage, with as many as 429 operators in 137 countries investing in 5G, including trials, acquisition of licences, planning, network deployments and launches.

While most of the industry focuses on 5G new radio, or 5G NR, the transport network has a critical role to play in 5G by providing the fronthaul, midhaul, and backhaul infrastructure – collectively known as “crosshaul (or x-haul)”.

5G crosshaul is radically different from the common 4G mobile backhaul. New requirements include lower latency, higher data rates, hard isolation of network slices, and dynamic connectivity for on-demand services encompassing multiple physical and virtual components at the RAN. The present infrastructure is not fit for purpose and Edgecore Networks is leading the way in this network transformation.

Our Senior Systems Engineer, Barry McGinley, sat down with Edgecore Network's VP of Product Management, Nanda Ravindran, to discuss why service providers should consider 5G backhaul/x-haul network deployments, and what role is there for open networking.

5G Crosshaul - Meeting Network Demands With Open Networking | Nanda Ravindran - Edgecore Networks

We rely heavily on electronics to power the products we use on a daily basis from our phones, TVs, laptops, home appliances, and especially our cars. The rapid evolution of connectivity in the automotive industry has led to a fundamental shift in the way we build and buy vehicles.

Where once there was steel and pistons, we now have carbon fiber and electronic chips connected to the IoT. We expect that our car will sync seamlessly with our phone, and give us directions to our destinations.

The intelligent source behind all of this is electronic devices or chips that are placed onto circuit boards on assembly lines across the globe in the manufacture of these products we all know and love. Most of us know little about what goes on behind the scenes.

How do electronics get packaged for efficient assembly into our most coveted devices?

Ciara McCarthy talks to Carlos Rodriguez from EPS Programming to find out how this packaging technique can save you time and money on your assembly line.

How do Electronics get Packaged Efficiently? Tape & Reeling Explained

The Internet of Things is one of the world’s fastest evolving technologies. There is 22 billion devices in circulation around the globe, with that number set to increase by 15 billion in the next 3 years. However, as the number of these connected devices surge so do the attack surfaces for potential bad actors.
Over the next two episodes of The Critical Lowdown we are going to ask, “With increased connectivity in consumer, medical, industrial, and critical infrastructure domains, just how do we guarantee trust and privacy in a hyper-connected world of devices, and how can manufacturers ensure the Internet of Things does not become the Internet of Trouble.
CEO of EPS Global, Colin Lynch sat down with Haydn Povey, founder and CEO of Secure Thingz and the Chief Strategy Officer at IAR Systems, to discuss the topic of IOT security. Haydn has just returned from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where he has been acting in an advisory role on the key requirements for security of connected devices, and on the future minimum standards.

How do we Guarantee Trust & Privacy in a Hyper-Connected World of Devices? Part 1

The Internet of Things is one of the world’s fastest evolving technologies. There is 22 billion devices in circulation around the globe, with that number set to increase by 15 billion in the next 3 years. However, as the number of these connected devices surge so do the attack surfaces for potential bad actors.

Over the next two episodes of The Critical Lowdown we are going to ask, “With increased connectivity in consumer, medical, industrial, and critical infrastructure domains, just how do we guarantee trust and privacy in a hyper-connected world of devices, and how can manufacturers ensure the Internet of Things does not become the Internet of Trouble.

CEO of EPS Global, Colin Lynch sat down with Haydn Povey, founder and CEO of Secure Thingz and the Chief Strategy Officer at IAR Systems, to discuss the topic of IOT security. Haydn has just returned from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where he has been acting in an advisory role on the key requirements for security of connected devices, and on the future minimum standards.

How do we Guarantee Trust & Privacy in a Hyper-Connected World of Devices? Part 2

As 5G networks and 5G-enabled technologies become more prevalent, experts expect the sustainability opportunity of 5G to be high on the agenda for service providers this year and next. How can we drive sustainable network innovation to keep pace with the exponential growth in network traffic, and can open telecom technology bring more people better internet access across all 4 corners of the globe?

We asked this very question at the Internet Service Providers Business Model Summit in London this month, where our Head of Sales for Northern Europe & Africa, Mark Downey, sat down with Bhartendu Chaurasia, the Head of Telecom Infra Project Technologies for EMEA at META/Facebook.

The Telecom Infra Project was formed in 2016 as an engineering-focused, collaborative methodology to accelerate the development and deployment of global telecom network infrastructure. This innovative, shared approach addresses challenges such as scalability, fast convergence, and ease of configuration to deliver high-quality connectivity, even to remote areas. By simplifying the network architecture, they can improve flexibility and efficiency which reduces the most significant costs of keeping a network up and running, which are ongoing operations and maintenance.

EPS Global has been working with TIP for the past few years, both directly with Service Providers opting for TIP-based solutions and also as TIP’s fulfilment partner, getting open hardware and software into the hands of their end customers.

Driving Sustainable Network Innovation with Open Telecom Technology | Bhartendu Chaurasia

Dependemos en gran medida de la electrónica para alimentar los productos que utilizamos a diario, desde nuestros teléfonos, televisores, ordenadores portátiles, electrodomésticos y, sobre todo, nuestros coches. La rápida evolución de la conectividad en la industria del automóvil ha provocado un cambio fundamental en la forma de construir y comprar vehículos.
 
Donde antes había acero y pistones, ahora tenemos fibra de carbono y chips electrónicos conectados al IoT (internet de las cosas).  Esperamos que nuestro coche se sincronice perfectamente con nuestro teléfono y nos dé indicaciones para llegar a nuestros destinos.
 
La fuente inteligente que está detrás de todo esto son los dispositivos electrónicos o chips que se colocan en tablillas de circuitos en las líneas de montaje superficial de todo el mundo en la fabricación de estos productos que todos conocemos y amamos.  La mayoría de nosotros sabe poco sobre lo que ocurre detrás de bastidores.
 
¿Cómo se encintan  los productos electrónicos para su montaje eficiente en nuestros dispositivos más codiciados?
 
Ciara McCarthy habla con Carlos Rodríguez, de EPS Programming, para descubrir cómo esta técnica de empaque  puede ahorrarle tiempo y dinero en su línea de montaje.

Cómo se encintan los componentes electrónicos de forma eficiente?

The further adoption of cloud computing, advancements in IoT technologies, big data, AI and the deployment of 5G is accelerating the demand for cloud services. As the demand grows, so too does the need for Data Center infrastructure to house and transport the data. The efficiencies and sustainability of data centers has come into sharp focus as businesses and governments attempt to tackle the looming climate crisis. One possible solution has emerged - P4 programmable switches.

P4 switching is open networking extended all the way down to the switch ASIC level, and while it will not solve all data center’s problems, when properly used will provide increased resource efficiencies to better handle the data, greater visibility and monitoring of traffic to screen and block attacks at the network edge, and enhance congestion control. All of this without significantly sacrificing on performance, or increasing the need for power, or adding to costs.

Leading the charge in P4 switching is Edgecore Networks, and we had the opportunity to sit down with Nanda Ravindran, their VP of Product Management to ask what is P4 Switching, and what are the real benefits for hyperscale data centers?

Following on from their previous discussion on 5G Disaggregation, Barry McGinley, sat down with Edgecore Network's VP of Product Management, Nanda Ravindran, to discuss P4 Switching, and what the benefits are for hyperscale data centers.

What are P4 Switches and how do they solve Data Center Challenges? | Nanda Ravindran

The Critical Lowdown is a technology podcast from the team at EPS Global. Each episode will give you access to industry experts, and step beyond the anecdotes to see how new technologies, chip shortages, and an ever-changing security landscape affects you and the projects you're rolling out. Over the course of this series, we are going to bring you interviews, explainers, and valuable insights on topics ranging from traditional and open networking, to electronics manufacturing and IoT security.

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