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WELCOME
Welcome to the first edition of TheLink, ZenFi Networks’ monthly newsletter. Each month, we’ll bring to your inbox industry topics and trends we find interesting as well as news, educational articles and upcoming industry events. We’ll also shine the spotlight on some of our industry’s premier thought-leaders.

IN THIS EDITION...
Acronyms Worth Knowing (AWK)   Who’s on Tap? Enzo Clemente, Cross River Fiber
The Classroom: Fronthaul Fiber   News, news, news!
Acronyms Worth Knowing (AWK)
BBU – Base Band Unit:
Unit that processes baseband signals. Still scratching your head? It is a unit that processes forward voice signals for transmission to a mobile unit and to process reverse voice signals between it and the RRH (more on this awesome acronym below).

RRH – Remote Radio Head:
Contains a base station’s Radio Frequency (RF) and digital circuitry, performing operation and management processing actions with a standardized optical interface to connect to the base station.

CPRI – Common Public Radio Interface:
Standardized protocol used to transport a digitized baseband signal between the RRH and BBU.
The Classroom: Fronthaul Fiber
Fronthaul: That’s A New One to Me - You Mean Backhaul? What???
So, what actually is “fronthaul”? The short answer is that fronthaul is essentially a fiber distribution network that provides connectivity between RRHs (See? The acronym section really does come in handy) in the field to the BBUs through a protocol known as CPRI. Neutral hosts are excited because it provides connectivity to more locations; carriers are excited because it lowers CapEx on the base station; network operators are excited because it increases leased lines; end-users are pumped because it enables more Shark Tank episodes while waiting for the bus.

Who’s On Tap?
Enzo Clemente President & CEO, Cross River Fiber
Read up on colleagues and industry leaders. Have a suggestion for the next Who’s On Tap? Let us know! We’ll reach out for an interview.

- What was the most exciting Cross River announcement in 2014?
- What’s new and exciting on the horizon?
- What’s the latest chatter in the industry?
- Who is an important player in the space according to you?
- Who should we tap into for our next issue and why?

News, news, news!

Google Confirms Plan to Offer Wireless Service
Google Inc. said it plans to launch a U.S. wireless service, raising a new risk of tension between the Internet company and the wireless carriers that support its Android mobile-operating system.
Source: Wall Street Journal
   



 
Google Continues Gigabit Expansion
Drones, self-driving cars, and now fiber. Google Fiber is expanding its city-by-city rollout of gigabit services this week, announcing plans to launch service in Atlanta, GA, Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham, NC, and Nashville, TN.
Source: Light Reading



The 'connected car' is creating a massive new business opportunity for auto, tech, and telecom companies
Self-driving cars generate a lot of headlines. But there's already a new kind of car on the road that's completely changing the vehicle market. The connected car is equipped with internet connections and software that allow people to stream music, look up movie times, be alerted of traffic and weather conditions, and even power driving-assistance services such as self-parking.
Source: Business Insider



 
This is Your FCC On Drugs: FCC Pushes for Net Neutrality
Tom Wheeler retreats in to la-la land about his surrender to the Obama political agenda. One thing the Federal Communications Commission’s latest effort will not supply is a resolution of the net-neutrality debate, which will go on and on at much higher cost to all involved. Telecom lawyers will be eyeing bigger yachts.

Another thing it won’t accomplish is faster broadband speeds. The share prices of the alleged broadband “monopolists” Comcast and Verizon rose this week, seemingly untroubled by the prospect of utility regulation. That should surprise no one. Regulatory uncertainty tends to freeze industry structure in place, helping the currently dominant to remain dominant.
Source: Wall Street Journal (opinion, Holman Jenkins, 2-6-14)



Forget Net Neutrality, Focus on Fiber
Thanks to regulation, we basically have an Internet duct-taped to infrastructure from the 1970s and ’80s. All eyes are on the Federal Communications Commission, as the agency will vote on Feb. 26 to reclassify the Internet under Title II of the 1934 Communications Act. But in a less noticed, more amusing vote on Jan. 29 the FCC declared that a “high-speed” Internet connection is defined as 25 megabits a second or faster—up from four megabits a second. What’s so funny? The commissioners are lowballing it, and they know it.
Source: WSJ (opinion), Andy Kessler, 2/12/15



 
Zayo to buy Latisys for $675 million
Zayo Group Holdings Inc. agreed to buy Latisys Holdings LLC for $675 million, the telecom operator’s second-largest acquisition and its biggest move yet into data centers. Zayo specializes in leasing so-called dark, or unused, fiber-optic cables to companies that want to expand their networks to cellphone towers and data centers such as those owned by Latisys.
Source: Wall Street Journal



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industry events

Don’t miss these upcoming conferences and events!

NEDAS NYC In-Building Wireless Summit, New York March 31
COMPTEL Spring, Orlando
April 12-15
PCIA Spring, Hollywood, FL April 27-30
ITW 2015,
Chicago
May 10- 13
NANOG 64,
San Francisco June 1-3
About ZenFi Networks, Inc.

Our Team….

Ray La Chance
(President and CEO)

Victoria O’Kane
(COO)

Doug Haluza
(CTO)

Pat O’Hare
(SVP of Operations)

Walter Cannon
(VP, Sales and Marketing)

Tell Us How You Really Feel…

ZenFi appreciates your feedback. Let us know what you like, what you don’t, and what you’d be interested in reading about in future issues. Email ZenFi@imillerpr.com with your feedback.

What we really do…
ZenFi Networks, Inc. is a leading dark fiber provider specializing in connectivity and colocation for wireless providers, delivered over a private dedicated dark fiber optic network. The ZenFi network provides wireless solutions throughout the New York metropolitan area including the five boroughs, Northern New Jersey and Southern Connecticut. Aggregated to our widespread colocation facilities, ZenFi’s fronthaul fiber provides customers with high-bandwidth connectivity and backhaul fiber interconnected to core carrier Points of Presence (PoPs). ZenFi’s distributed colocation facilities allow customers the enhanced flexibility to customize deployment based on individual needs, while maintaining the extensive benefits achieved through our advanced network. For more information, visit www.ZenFi.com
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