The Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute presents the latest developments on Visible Light Communication (VLC) at CeBiT 2012, using standard off-the-shelf LEDs to provide broadband data streams to connected devices.

The Fraunhofer system reaches maximum speeds of up 800 Mbit/s under laboratory conditions. In comparison, current broadband capacity reaces 100 Mbit/s.

As an optical technology it is also ideal for places where WLAN is not desirable (such as hospitals), and can handle all sorts of applications-- from video conferencing to general internet Read more...

Cisco acquires optical networking technology maker Lightwire for $271M, saying the future of high-speed networking lies in the use of Silicon-based (CMOS) photonics technology. 

Lightwire integrates multiple high-speed optical functions onto small silicon chips-- creating low-power solutions with higher-density optical connectivity, ideal for data centre components such as switches and routers. 

Cisco says the purchase will create “an integrated technology platform that supports our customers' burgeoning need for cost-effective high-speed networks." Read more...

According to Dell'Oro Group, more 10 Gbps ethernet port shipments are going towards cloud customers, even as shipments to traditional servers are actually declining. 

The analyst says Q4 2011 10 Gbps ethernet controller and adapter shipments show "modest" 3% Q-o-Q growth, reaching 1.3M units-- but shipments to cloud customers are growing "about 10 times faster" than the overall market. 

Mellanox managed to double Q4 adapter shipments thanks to one large cloud customer, while Intel LOM shipments are heading towards stand-alone cloud servers. 

Dell' Read more...

Newnex reveals what it say is the first USB 3.0 active repeater-- the FireNEX-uLINK-D, capable of repeating a USB 3.0 signal for over 14 metres of standard USB cable.

Shown at a press event at CES 2012, the FireNEX-uLINK-D is bus powered (needing no external power or drivers) and plug and play.

Also seen at CES is the FireNEX-5000-- the first USB 3.0 optical repeater according to Newnex. Using fibre it sends USB signals for over 100m, far beyond the standards of regular USB cable.

The company says the repeater can find many applications, including Read more...