TECHBYTES:- Microsoft acquires startup developing high-speed cables for transmitting data

TECHBYTES 

Microsoft today announced that it has acquired Lumenisity, a U.K.-based startup developing “hollow core fiber (HCF)” technologies primarily for data centers and ISPs. Microsoft says that the purchase, the terms of which weren’t disclosed, will “expand [its] ability to further optimize its global cloud infrastructure” and “serve Microsoft’s cloud platform and services customers with strict latency and security requirements.” HCF cables fundamentally combine optical fiber and coaxial cable. They’ve been around since the ’90s, but what Lumenisity brings to the table is a proprietary design with an air-filled center channel surrounded by a ring of glass tubes. The idea is that light can travel faster through air than glass; in a trial with Comcast in April, a single strand of Lumenisity HCF was reportedly able to deliver traffic rates ranging from 10 Gbps to 400 Gbps. “HCF can provide benefits across a broad range of industries including healthcare, financial services, manufacturing, retail and government,” Girish Bablani, CVP of Microsoft’s Azure Core business, wrote in a blog post. “For the public sector, HCF could provide enhanced security and intrusion detection for federal and local governments across the globe. HCF can handle the size and volume of large datasets in healthcare, speeding up medical image searches and enabling providers to easily ingest, store, and share medical image data in the cloud. Also, with the rise of the digital economy, HCF could help international financial institutions seek fast and secure transactions across wide geographic regions. HCF research for commercialization. Prior to the acquisition, the startup has raised £12.5m (around $15.35m) from investors including the Business Growth Fund and Parkwalk Advisors in multiple funding rounds.Microsoft today announced that it has acquired Lumenisity, a U.K.-based startup developing “hollow core fiber (HCF)” technologies primarily for data centers and ISPs. Microsoft says that the purchase, the terms of which weren’t disclosed, will “expand [its] ability to further optimize its global cloud infrastructure” and “serve Microsoft’s cloud platform and services customers with strict latency and security requirements.” HCF cables fundamentally combine optical fiber and coaxial cable. They’ve been around since the ’90s, but what Lumenisity brings to the table is a proprietary design with an air-filled center channel surrounded by a ring of glass tubes. The idea is that light can travel faster through air than glass; in a trial with Comcast in April, a single strand of Lumenisity HCF was reportedly able to deliver traffic rates ranging from 10 Gbps to 400 Gbps. “HCF can provide benefits across a broad range of industries including healthcare, financial services, manufacturing, retail and government,” Girish Bablani, CVP of Microsoft’s Azure Core business, wrote in a blog post. “For the public sector, HCF could provide enhanced security and intrusion detection for federal and local governments across the globe. HCF can handle the size and volume of large datasets in healthcare, speeding up medical image retrieval and enabling providers to easily ingest, store, and share medical image data in the cloud. Also, with the rise of the digital economy, HCF could help international financial institutions seek fast and secure transactions across wide geographic regions. HCF research for commercialization. Prior to the acquisition, the startup had raised £12.5m (around $15.35m) from investors including the Business Growth Fund and Parkwalk Advisors in multiple funding rounds.Lumenisity claims its fiber has been deployed in customer networks "at the longest span ever reported using HCF technology." Alongside Comcast, UK operator BT recently tested Lumenisity's technology. BT claimed at the time that it could reduce latency by up to 50% compared to conventional fiber. Infrastructure company euNetworks Fiber UK Limited is also testing Lumenisity cables to serve the London Stock Exchange. Earlier this month, Lumenisity completed construction of his 40,000 square foot HCF manufacturing facility in Romsey, UK. The company says that in the future he will be able to produce "large scale" production of HCF technology. "This is the end of the beginning and we are excited to begin a new chapter as part of Microsoft to continue our quest to realize the full potential of this technology and unlock new possibilities for communications networks." I'm looking forward to it," he wrote in the Lumenisity description. website. “We are proud to be acquired by a company with a shared vision to accelerate the advancement of hollow cores.”