With direct access to a secure and reliable backbone network, Exchange Hosting customers–including members of London Stock Exchange Group, non-member firms, vendors, and service providers–can leverage fast connectivity and network reach over diverse high-speed fiber links on Level 3′s network. The Exchange Hosting Service provides access to the London Stock Exchange, Borsa Italiana, Turquoise, and Oslo Bors trading venues.

“We can now provide secure connectivity to key participants trading on London Stock Exchange Group’s markets,” says James Heard, president of European Markets for Level 3.

“We are pleased to welcome Level 3 into our collocation facility to provide an increased choice of connectivity to our clients who are hosted within our Primary Data Centre,” explains Nigel Harold, head of business development for London Stock Exchange Group’s Technology division. “Hosting clients will now be able to connect Level 3′s low-latency metro, European and transatlantic routes to their own hubs and other business centers and trading venues worldwide.”

The Level 3 network spans more than 20 countries with presence in approximately 190 markets in Europe and North America. Level 3 manages 57,000 intercity fiber miles and 27,000 metro fiber miles, providing a size and depth of connectivity on a broad scale.

Omnitron Systems, a provider of fiber optic access systems for next-generation Ethernet networks, announced the launch of the miConverter S-Series, the smallest media converters available, according to Omnitron. The miConverter S-Series weighs less than 2.5 oz. (72g) and is about the length of a standard house key. It provides Gigabit and Fast Ethernet fiber to 10/100/1000BASE-T media conversion, and is designed for lightweight and compact mobile applications.

These media converters can be USB powered, and facilitate fiber connectivity in locations where AC or DC power is inaccessible, such as field-deployed fiber-to-the-laptop and military applications. Fiber is run directly to the laptop, where it is converted to copper UTP and connected to a laptop RJ-45 port with an Ethernet patch cable. Power is supplied to the media converter by the laptop’s USB port using a standard USB cable, which eliminates the need for an electrical outlet.

The miConverter S-Series has the following features:

• 100BASE-FX or 1000BASE-X fixed fiber transceivers (SC or ST connectors)

• Multi-mode, single-mode, and single-fiber options

• Small Form Pluggable (SFP) transceivers for adaptability to different fiber types, speeds, distances, and wavelengths

• A temperature range of -40 to 65°C for deployments in harsh environments

For applications not using USB power, the S-series is also available with a country specific AC/DC power adapter, providing compatibility with electrical outlet types found around the world.

“When PSC initially formed a partnership with NOAA, it was clear the existing bandwidth capacity options weren’t sufficient for this project and we needed to partner with a major infrastructure provider,” said Wendy Huntoon, director of networking for PSC. “Zayo’s high-bandwidth capabilities can support our intense data collection and delivery processes, and they met our need to get the NOAA project up and running as quickly as possible.”

The government and education sector’s scalable bandwidth needs are in tune with Zayo’s commitment to developing its fiber network to maintain high bandwidth applications.

PSC can support centers like the NOAA and the Environmental Security Computing Center (ESCC), a computing tool for studying and predicting major weather events such as hurricanes and tsunamis.