Amphenol Corporation to Acquire Connectivity and Cable Solutions Business From CommScope for $10.5 Billion

Amphenol Corporation announced a definitive agreement to acquire CommScope's Connectivity and Cable Solutions (CCS) business for $10.5 billion in cash, subject to customary post-closing adjustments. A company with a long history of mergers and acquisitions, Amphenol expands even further its portfolio with significant fiber optic interconnect capabilities for IT and communications networks, as well as a diverse range of industrial interconnect products for building infrastructure.

New short-range wireless point-to-point transceiver ICs from STMicroelectronics remove the need for cables and connectors in consumer-friendly accessories, wearables, and personal electronics. The new ST60A3H0 and ST60A3H contactless connectivity transceivers with eUSB2, UART, GPIO or I2C tunneling address all data-transfer challenges in a cost-effective way. Perfect for personal audio, headphone stands and charging docks.

The USB Implementers Forum announced the publication of the USB4 Version 2.0 specification, a major update to enable USB 80Gbps performance over the USB Type-C cable and connector. The updated USB4 specification doubles the maximum aggregate bandwidth of USB to the benefit of higher-performance displays, storage, and USB-based hubs and docks. The USB Type-C and USB Power Delivery (USB PD) specifications have also been updated to support this higher level of data performance.

With competition in the studio recording and particularly in the music production market segments heating up while computer interfaces and network technologies continue to evolve at a fast pace, Avid finds itself increasingly in a hot spot. The industry standard Pro Tools software is facing aggressive competition from all directions, while Avid's hardware days are now long gone. The company needed to do something for the project/small studio market, which they are loosing fast, and so they launched Pro Tools Carbon, a new audio interface.

Intel revealed new details about Thunderbolt 4, the next generation of its universal cable connectivity solution. delivering increased minimum performance requirements, expanded capabilities, and USB4 specification compliance. This means that even though USB4 remains the good-enough universal solution for all consumer devices, Intel intends to ensure Thunderbolt will remain on its own path to offer the most powerful and reliable alternative for power users - professional users, corporate and media applications. And that enables Intel to sell hardware, while keeping control of at least the certification processes.

With the audio market increasingly using digital data interfaces for the most demanding applications, Wireworld Cable Technology, one of the world's most respected brands of high performance audio and video cables, announced the release of their second generation Ethernet patch cables. The new “Series 8” patented flat design uses higher density triple-layer shields and quieter Composilex 3 insulation to maximize audible and visible performance.