Communications

ETSI has identified problems arising from pervasive encrypted traffic in communications networks as part of a programme to integrate encrypted traffic. At issue is end-to-end encryption, which can hamper network management, anti-fraud operations, cybersecurity and regulatory monitoring. ETSI’s Industry Specification Group on Encrypted Traffic Integration (ISG ETI) is looking into the problem, and has made public an ‘Encrypted traffic integration problem statement’, ...

Lockheed Martin has created a novel millimetre-wave dish antenna for satellites and ground terminals, particularly for space-based 5G communication. Called ‘wide angle ESA fed reflector’ (Waefr), it is a hybrid of a phased array electronically steerable antenna (ESA) and a parabolic dish, and is claimed to increases coverage area by 190% compared to traditional phased array antennas, at lower cost. ...

Chinese scientists have revealed details of Queqiao, the lunar communications satellite that relays data between the Chang’e-4 moon lander and Earth. Needed because the lander is on a part of the Moon which does not have direct line-of-sight with the Earth, Queqiao has been placed in orbit around the second Lagrange point in the Earth-Moon system. Lagrange points are gravitational coincidences ...

A prototype Pye telephone exchange from the 1950s is to be exhibited at the Cambridge Museum of Technology. It is an example of the world’s first electronic private branch telephone exchange (PBX), designed by Don Delanoy at Pye Telecommunications in 1956. This particular one is thought to be one of the five original field trial models, donated to the trust by James ...

The DALI Alliance has specified wireless-to-DALI gateways to link existing DALI wired products with Bluetooth mesh or Zigbee wireless ecosystems. “Wireless to DALI gateways provide the flexibility to incorporate DALI luminaires and other DALI devices into the control network, so it becomes straightforward to add lighting capabilities alongside the other features of the wireless ecosystem,” according to the Alliance. “Existing ...

For USB Type-C with Power Delivery, Microchip has created a framework allowing designers to add their code to the its Power Delivery software stack. “With our Power Delivery software framework, all Microchip MCUs and standalone controllers that support USB-C now share the same PD code base,” said Microchip v-p Charles Forni. “This code is provided free to customers and is easy ...

Inmarsat has launched civil court proceedings in the Netherlands over 5G spectrum allocation. It is looking to protect its provision of maritime and aviation safety services from its ground station in Borum. The UK satellite operator says it is seeking a judge’s ruling on potential illegality of the country’s proposed National Frequency Plan. Basically, it is seeking an injunction to ...

Cambridge-based flexible electronics company PragmatIC has been awarded a £1.3m by the UK Government Sustainable Innovation Fund for a recycling scheme based on NFC tags. “PragmatIC consider this to be a commercial pilot, with the next step being commercial rollouts with global partners,” company chief commercial officer Alastair Hanlon told Electronics Weekly. In the year-long scheme, called Sprite (sustainable plastics recycling ...

ETSI’s international emergency communications interoperability plugfest revealed that 87% of 285 test pairings were interoperable. The remote event was a cooperation between ETSI, EENA (European emergency number association) and NENA (9-1-1 association) – this was the first time the European event partnered with NENA’s US ICE 9 event. “Crossing borders and oceans, the event helped to ensure efficient, interoperable emergency communications for ...

In a silicon-compatible parallel to fibre optics, MIT is using polymer-based ribbon waveguides to carry data between chips at 105Gbit/s – waveguide dimensions and material are chosen so that it propagates electromagnetic radiation between 200 and 335GHz, over 300mm of waveguide. To handle suitable sub-Thz frequencies, transmitter and receiver were made on a 130nm SiGe BiCMOS process using largely bipolar transistors in ...