Headcount: Firings, Hirings, and Retirings — October 2019

Here are some of the latest executive hirings, promotions, and staff changes. If you’d like SDxCentral to report on your company’s movers and shakers, or if you’ve got a tip about layoffs and restructuring, please send the information to Sydney Sawaya (ssawaya@sdxcentral.com).

Analysts Debate SASE's Merits as Vendors Board Hype Train

In its 2019 Hype Cycle report, Gartner called the secure access service edge (SASE) a transformational technology and made big claims about its potential to upend the security and SD-WAN markets. Despite these claims, not everyone is convinced.

FTC forcing through rethink on data throttling

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has come to a settlement with AT&T over a 2014 lawsuit on data throttling in unlimited tariffs.

Images from the 2019 Glotel Awards

For those who weren’t able to attend a great night out at the 2019 Global Telecoms Awards evening, here are some photographic highlights.

T-Mobile US promises nationwide 5G before Christmas

T-Mobile US has made the very bold statement that it will switch on a nationwide 5G network on December 6.

Android beat Windows mobile because of antitrust distraction – Bill Gates

Bill Gates has suggested if it wasn’t for the costly and prolonged antitrust lawsuit in 1998, Microsoft would be the dominant player in the mobile OS world not Google.

Disney revenues surge as world waits for streaming service

Revenues at ‘The House of Mouse’ have surged more than 34% for its final quarter of 2019, collecting more than £69.5 billion for the full year.

SK Telecom wins big at the 2019 Global Telecoms Awards

In the year that 5G finally made its commercial debut, Korean operator SK Telecom’s fast start helped it win three awards at the 2019 Glotels.

Rakuten: We Have More Edge Locations Than Amazon

Rakuten Mobile’s dream of becoming the world’s first end-to-end cloud native network operator has been realized, company executives claimed during its third quarter earnings presentation.

Google Killed Chronicle, Report Claims

Chronicle, Alphabet’s security startup that sister company Google Cloud gobbled up earlier this year “is dead,” according to a Motherboard report. “Stephen [Gillett] and Google killed it.”

Analysts: T-Mobile's 'Uncarrier' News Didn't Sway Sprint Merger Critics

T-Mobile's 'Uncarrier' announcements didn't sway Sprint merger opponents, according to Wall Street analysts.

Cable One Racks Up Record Margins Again

US cableco reports industry-best profit margins again after wrapping up its $526 million acquisition of Fidelity Communications last month.

Kasten K10 v2.0 Targets Security and Simplicity

Cloud-native data management startup Kasten this week released version 2.0 of its K10 data protection software that is purpose-built for Kubernetes clusters, and the timing couldn’t be better. With an increasing number of cloud-native applications being deployed in Kubernetes environments, the demand for “day two” services such as backup and mobility is only going to increase.

Disney+ Gets Ready for Its Close-Up

The new OTT service, set to debut on November 12, represents a key piece of the puzzle as Disney plows ahead with a plan to transform itself into a direct-to-consumer streaming giant.

Telecom Italia Strikes Edge Alliance With Google as Sales Slide

The Italian phone incumbent announced a strategic alliance with Google on the development of edge computing services as it reported a further dip in sales.

WiCipedia: Tech Falls High in Happiness Index & the Blue Collar-AI Struggle

This week in our WiC roundup: Techies are pretty dang happy at work; AI's effect on female blue-collar workers; college students are majority female though tech workforce lags; and more.

ZTE Says Its China Experience Makes It a 5G Leader

Slamming Nokia's 5G lag, the Chinese vendor is in a bullish mood about its own 5G opportunity.

Eurobites: United Group Agrees to Buy Bulgaria's Vivacom for €1.2B

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Netnod pushes 400GE ports; EU Google-taming isn't working; C-V2X Plugtest revs up in Malaga.

Edge Computing Mini Data Centers Are Rolling Out for Real. What's Next?

Companies including EdgeMicro and Vapor IO have are building real, live, commercial mini data centers for edge computing. But what happens next is anyone's guess.

China joins the race to 6G

Days after 5G was switched on by the three telecom operators in China, the Chinese government officially launched a 6G R&D programme.

T-Mobile Makes Moves to Help Get Sprint Merger Done

A $15 phone plan and free 5G access for first responders are among T-Mobile's latest sweeteners to help get its Sprint merger closed.

TiVo Predicts Spring 2020 Split

Ahead of plan to separate its products and intellectual property/licensing business by April 2020, TiVo expects to announce some leadership slots post-split in the coming weeks.

Qualcomm Bolsters 5G Outlook on Silicon Demand

Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf says 5G represents the single biggest opportunity in Qualcomm’s history. And to that end, the 34-year-old company already appears to have some wind in its sails.

Dish's Charlie Ergen: We Have No 'Plan B'

Dish makes key hires and proposes a $1 billion capital raise as company looks to push ahead on a wireless and mobile future that hinges on the T-Mobile/Sprint merger.

Dish's Pay-TV Biz Returns From the Dead

Led by gains at Sling TV, Dish added 148,000 net video subs in Q3, the first time the company has posted a positive pay-TV number in almost two years.

Infoblox Snaps Up SnapRoute, Eyes SASE Market

Infoblox today announced the acquisition of network operating system (NOS) developer SnapRoute — for an undisclosed amount — in a bid to fill out the last remaining pieces of its emerging secure access service edge (SASE) platform.

Digital Realty’s Plan to Overthrow Equinix Hinges On Data Gravity

Digital Realty wants to unseat data center heavyweight Equinix. And it plans to do this by solving what it calls “the data gravity problem.”

CommScope's Virtual CCAP Creeps Toward Reality

As it continues to play catch-up with Harmonic, CommScope says its virtual CCAP is in trials with cable ops and is slated for a commercial launch by the end of the year.

Liberty Global Revenue Slump Deepens

Europe's largest cable operator suffers continued revenue declines, largely due to steep video subscriber losses in its UK home market and Belgium.

Survey: Security Tops Benefits of SD-WAN Managed Services

Over 60% of 121 survey respondents listed 'better security' as a primary driver for managed SD-WAN services.

T-Mobile Sets 5G Launch Date for Dec. 6

The 600MHz 5G launch will cover 200 million people in the US.

T-Mobile’s ‘Nationwide’ 5G Goes Live Dec. 6

T-Mobile US will have the nation’s largest and most broad 5G network within a month. The operator today announced it’s “nationwide” 5G network running on 600 MHz spectrum will go live on Dec. 6.

Eurobites: Virgin Media Gets Picky, Loses 53,000 RGUs in Q3

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: BritBox launches in the UK; Intracom lands last-mile connectivity deal in South Africa; ARM still plans growth, despite quarterly loss.

How AI Will Impact Employment

Should people be worried about the impact that artificial intelligence deployments will have on the jobs market? Tractica Principal Analyst Mark Beccue shares his views.

Digital Realty Defies Data Gravity

Digital Realty is launching a global data center architecture to help enterprises move data anywhere in the world.

DT Cuts Dividend on Spectrum Splurge but Lifts Outlook

The German operator recorded sales growth at all its operating units bar the ailing T-Systems business but blamed Germany's spectrum auction for its decision to cut dividends.

Google forms alliance with some Android security specialists

The App Defense Alliance brings together Google, ESET, Lookout, and Zimperium to combat baddies on Android.

Vivo introduces FTTH franchising model in Brazil

Telefonica’s Brazilian brands Vivo and Terra have launched a franchise model for its fibre rollout plans seemingly to ease the financial demands of the digital economy.

Biometric authentication gathers momentum in the UK

The introduction of biometric authentication might have been met with some scepticism, and the technology still has its critics, but it does seem to be gaining traction in the UK.

Ofcom reported to have picked another civil servant as new boss

There was a time when some degree of telecoms expertise was considered a desirable quality in a prospective head of Ofcom, but that is long gone.

Virgin Media enters the 5G fight with Vodafone MVNO switch

Virgin Media has announced it will move its MVNO wholesale agreement from BT Enterprise to Vodafone, as the 5G engines start to rev.

T-Mobile US merger with Sprint one step closer after FCC sign-off

Having secured a bunch of 5G network commitments, the US telecoms regulator has given its seal of approval to the merger of TMUS and Sprint.

Public cloud gathering momentum in India – Gartner

Few countries are speeding towards the digital economy as quickly as India, and it seems the bug is catching as enterprise organizations start to surge spending on the public cloud.

Verizon Opens SD-WAN Policy Management

Verizon opened up more control of its managed SD-WAN service offerings with a new co-management tier announced today.

AT&T's FirstNet Buildout Includes Viaero, a Rural Huawei Customer

Viaero has stepped forward as another rural provider that will build AT&T's FirstNet network in rural parts of the US. The only problem is that Viaero currently uses a lot of equipment from China's Huawei.

Looker 7 Looks Away From Traditional Business Intelligence

Things continue looking up for data analytics provider Looker. Today it announced version 7 of its namesake platform in what is the first major release since Google announced plans to buy the startup for $2.6 billion in cash in June. Looker 7 aims to provide organizations more data value beyond simply putting it in a report or on a dashboard. It’s an attempt to change how the industry approaches business intelligence, the vendor claims. 

Roku Q3 Revenues Top Expectations but Losses Widen

Stock drops as losses accelerate, streaming player revenues dip versus Q2 and Roku sees a $5 million 'headwind' coming from expenses linked to its acquisition of ad-tech company dataxu.

'Real AI' & Racist Robots Preoccupy Telco Tech Heads

Operators need to tread carefully amid widespread suspicion and warnings that more advanced AI systems will trigger upheaval.

Sprint's Roaming Fight With Shentel Heads to Arbitration

Shentel, a Sprint affiliate, said it can't agree to new roaming terms with the operator, so they're heading into arbitration instead. According to analysts, $5 million hangs in the balance.

Comcast Extends 'Flex' to Customer-Purchased Modems & Gateways

Move allows Xfinity Flex customers to connect to the operator's new streaming service with retail-bought devices and sidestep additional fees for Comcast-supplied gateways.

Microsoft Smears Premium Shine on Azure Functions

ORLANDO, Florida – Microsoft launched general availability of its Azure Functions Premium product that tackles a handful of ongoing serverless challenges like cold start, network isolation, secrets management, and monitoring. It also unveiled an update to its Durable Functions platform that is targeted at managing remote sensors and IoT devices.

VMware, Menlo Security Unite, Safeguard SD-WAN Stronghold

A collaboration between Menlo Security and VMware announced today promises to shore up the security of VMware’s VeloCloud SD-WAN platform.

Dish Gets Deadline Reprieve in FCC Merger Approval

T-Mobile US and Sprint are one step closer to becoming one. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released its full report on the deal it formally approved by a 3-2 vote three weeks ago and outlined some changes it made regarding deadlines for Dish Network’s spectrum licenses.

Fortinet Locks SD-WAN, WAF Into Azure

ORLANDO, Florida – Fortinet deepened its ties into Microsoft’s Azure platform to provide a consistent operational security model for customers running applications on Azure. This runs on top of the embedded Azure infrastructure security that isolates tenants running in the cloud.

What Europe's Top Telcos Are Doing with AI

At the Telco AI Summit Europe event in London, Tractica Principal Analyst Mark Beccue talks about how some of Europe's largest telecom operators, including BT, Orange and Telecom Italia, are using AI tools to optimize network processes – and how it isn't all tied to 5G.

Huawei Denies Holding 5G Licensing Talks

The Chinese equipment giant has not held direct talks with any US company about the licensing of its 5G technology, says the company's founder.

Vitess Earns Vernerable CNCF’s Graduate Distinction

Queue Third Eye Blind’s, “Graduate” because the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) has announced its eighth distinguished graduate: Vitess.

Eurobites: Virgin Gives BT the Heave-Ho, Goes With Vodafone for Mobile

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Germany wavers on Huawei; Ofcom appoints interim boss; Jurassic Fibre lumbers into action; Zen gets £20 million to take on the big boys.

BT's Domingos on the Evolution of Network Monitoring

At the Software-Driven Operations event in London, BT's OSS Senior Solution Architect Manager José Domingos talks to Heavy Reading's James Crawshaw about the use of open source code to develop the UK operator's latest network monitoring tools.

Meet SARA, the AI That May Be a Big Deal for Austria's Main Telco

A1 has developed an AI tool that could reduce the bill for 5G network deployment, ease planning and even lead to commercial opportunities with other service providers.

Altice USA Adds a Mere 14K Mobile Lines in Q3

Company expects mobile sales volumes to ramp up as it extends sales of its new mobile product beyond brick-and-mortar stores to online and digital distribution channels.

Nokia and Microsoft bundle their cloud offerings

A strategic collaboration between Nokia and Microsoft is banking on companies wanting to buy their cloud hardware and software together.

Is AI over hyped in the telecoms space?

At an industry event today, a panel of experts revealed the level of artificial unintelligence the industry has to offer. Is AI just a buzz word? Is it a trend that doesn’t live up to its punchy abbreviation? The topic came up during an executive panel with the theme: Assessing AI’s application in the telecommunications […]

O2 UK reports steady customer and revenue growth

The UK bit of Telefónica has reported healthy Q3 2019 numbers, with all the key metrics headed in the right direction.

Türk Telekom and Huawei claim new 5G speed record

Huawei decided it was time to break some records so it set up a test network that seems to have been designed solely to do that.

Orange goes live with 5G in Romania

Orange has joined the 5G fracas, launching the connectivity euphoria in Romania with a very attractive exclusive partnership with Samsung.

Facebook rebrands as Facebook

Facebook is worried people might get confused between the service and the company because they’ve both got the same name.

DT in legal battle over ownership of the colour magenta

Deutsche Telekom is testing out the resourcefulness of its lawyers in an attempt to own the colour magenta as it battles with Israeli insurance start-up Lemonade.

Sprint/T-Mobile Merger a Step Closer to Early 2020 Completion

The deal, now approved by the FCC, commits the duo to covering 97% of US citizens with 5G within three years.

Cisco Boosts SD-WAN With Microsoft Azure vWAN Support

It’s been a busy week for Microsoft, and Cisco isn’t missing out on the action. The networking giant today announced new integrations with Microsoft Azure aimed at improving application performance.

AT&T Slapped With $60M Fine Over 'Unlimited' Practices

AT&T agreed to pay $60 million for throttling its unlimited data customers in 2014 without telling them about it.

Cisco SVP: Security’s Worst Enemy Is Complexity

Cisco integrated Stealthwatch, is network traffic analytics tool, across its security portfolio and added cloud security capabilities to its secure internet gateway today at its partner summit event. This, and a bunch of other new proactive and defensive capabilities are part of the vendor’s ongoing push to reduce complexity, help customers move to the cloud, and implement a zero-trust approach, Jeff Reed, SVP of product for Cisco’s Security Business, told SDxCentral in an exclusive interview.

Pica8’s Threshold Guns for Cisco, Legacy Vendors

Pica8 asks: why does hardware have to be so hard, especially in managing its relationship to software? 

Huawei to Developers: Innovate, Make Money on 5G

5G represents a “golden opportunity,” and when its capabilities are combined with artificial intelligence (AI), big data, cloud computing, or mixed reality, it could create entirely new industries and services, Huawei’s Rotating Chairman Guo Ping said during his keynote at Web Summit. The blending of 5G and other technology breakthroughs will drive innovation on a scale the world hasn’t experienced since electricity reached widespread adoption a century ago, he said.

VMware Project Maestro Orchestrates Telco Cloud

VMware added security services, unveiled a beta program for two of its new Kubernetes products, and previewed Project Maestro, a telco cloud orchestrator, today at VMworld Europe.

Private LTE Networks Headed to the Slammer? GTL to Test CBRS

One of the biggest providers of telecommunications services to inmates in prisons is preparing to test a private LTE network in 3.5GHz CBRS spectrum. But for what?

China Tariffs Take Toll on Zoom in Q3

But cable modem and router supplier sees brighter days ahead as manufacturing shifts to Vietnam and as Zoom prepares to refresh its product lineup in 2020 and open up direct sales channels with MSOs.

For BT Bosses, AI Brings Good News & Bad

Artificial intelligence has helped BT to speed up its fiber deployment and spot cyberattacks. Just don't expect too much.

Vodafone Idea Readies NB-IoT Services in India

Vodafone Idea is the third major carrier in India to plan an NB-IoT network.

Barracuda WAF-as-a-Service Hits Microsoft Azure

ORLANDO, Florida – Barracuda is packaging its increasingly diverse security platforms into an easier-to-digest bite, which is probably good because it’s also adding a new platform option for customers.

Amdocs: Redefining & Accelerating 5G Rollouts

Amdocs' 5G Fast portfolio accelerates efficient and scalable 5G deployments with software-driven automation, innovative analytics tools, and cross-equipment-vendor solutions for planning, design, integration, acceptance and optimization. We provide solutions that redefine how service providers approach 5G rollouts.

VMware Unveils 'Project Maestro' to Speed Network Virtualization

VMware wants to help telcos launch services faster in multi-cloud environments.

Verizon's Cantor on Multi-Tenant uCPE

Verizon's Oliver Cantor says enterprise customers are looking to run their own applications on the universal CPE servers that house the operator's virtual network functions.

After Past Blunders, VEON Bets Big on Network and Digital Reset

The Frankenstein's monster of the telco world hopes fresh investments and an overhaul of its digitalization strategy will make it more attractive to investors.

Microsoft, Nokia Link SD-WAN, IoT, 5G Into Azure

Nokia scored a deal with Microsoft that has its sites set on bringing about the next industrial revolution by driving the adoption of cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and IoT.

Google’s OpenTitan Tackles Silicon Root of Trust

Google and partners including Western Digital today announced a first-of-its-kind open source project, called OpenTitan, that tackles silicon root of trust (RoT). The new group says it will produce a RoT silicon reference design and integration guidelines for use in data center servers, storage, and other devices.

CenturyLink, West Safety Agree to Pay Up for 911 Outage

The $575,000 in total fees levied for a single August 2018 outage that lasted more than an hour and affected six states is aimed at CenturyLink and a contractor, West Safety Services

Arista Tackles Cloud Networking

Arista takes its turn trying to make deploying networks as fast and easy as rolling out cloud applications.

Eurobites: Telefónica's Transformation Costs Tarnish Its Q3

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Orange launches commercial 5G in Romania; Colt extends relationship with Microsoft; Hungary has no beef with Huawei.

China Mobile Hits Pause on Silicon Valley Data Center

The Chinese operator has encountered new roadblocks in the US market.

Arista Strives to Ease Networking, Development With CloudEOS

Arista Networks today revealed a pair of cloud networking capabilities that aim to streamline operations for virtual machines and Kubernetes containers in multi-cloud environments and on-premises data centers.

US on the verge of signing some kind of trade deal with China

US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has said his country is close to signing a deal with China that could lead to an easing of some trade restrictions.

UK’s Zen Internet gets a £20 million overdraft to take on the incumbents

Independent UK ISP Zen Internet wants to take on the big operators and has secured £20 million in credit from the NatWest bank to help with that.

UK Government delays Huawei 5G decision once again

The UK Government has announced the decision on whether Chinese vendor Huawei has a place in the UK digital economy will be delayed until after the General Election in December 12.

Verizon Projected To Lose a Brewing 5G Pricing Battle

A price war in the wireless industry could be brewing, and some analysts think that Verizon could suffer the most.

This Year's 5G Phones Will Be Next Year's 5G Orphans

Today's 5G customers can boast of having the latest and greatest, but next year their phones are going to be rendered obsolete by the launch of 5G in lowband spectrum.

CEO McCollum: SVoD Surge Could Be Boon for Philo

Philo's low-cost, entertainment-focused OTT-TV offering should fit well with consumers who are creating their own video streaming bundles that don't rely on traditional pay-TV, Andrew McCollum says.

Microsoft Azure Arc Arcs Data Across AWS, Google Cloud

ORLANDO, Florida – Microsoft tightened its embrace of the hybrid cloud world with its new Azure Arc platform that extends its Azure control plane across rival cloud provider and on-premises locations. The preview launch continues the broader industry push to help enterprises deal with “cloud sprawl.”

Sprint Losses Widen as Future Hangs on Merger

Sprint hasn’t hit rock bottom, but the operator’s downward spiral continued unabated during the third quarter of 2019. The nation’s fourth-largest carrier was in dire straits when T-Mobile US pitched yet another attempt to acquire the company and its financial performance has declined during the 18 months since.

Former Contrail CEO Launches Volterra With $50M, 30 Customers

Former Contrail Systems CEO Ankur Singla’s new startup Volterra officially launched today with more than $50 million in funding and over 30 customers including Softbank using its distributed cloud platform.

Silver Peak Puts Office 365, Azure on The Fast Lane

SD-WAN vendor Silver Peak got cozy by the campfire with Microsoft this week announcing new integrations with Office 365 and Azure Virtual WAN.

Startup Volterra Takes On VMware, Red Hat With Its Multi-Cloud Pitch

Volterra has $50 million funding in its pocket and a platform designed to enable operators and enterprises to deploy applications and network services across multi-cloud environments.

Here's Why Seattle's Fire Department Is Using AT&T's FirstNet

Seattle Fire is one of 9,000 public safety agencies that have signed up to use FirstNet, the First Responder Network platform that AT&T is building.

CenturyLink's McBride on Developing Edge Computing Service Alongside Customers

Kevin McBride explains advancements the service provider has made in its automation, back office and orchestration systems.

Huawei Bosses Slap Down 'Immature' Staff Whining About Café Food

Under attack by US authorities and facing supply chain constraints, the Chinese equipment giant is worried about kitchen affairs.

Sprint Posts Net Loss of $274M, Expects Merger to Close in Early 2020

Sprint touts 16 million people covered by its 5G network, as it hopes T-Mobile merger will close early in fiscal 2020.

Keeping the Fiber Lines Running Smoothly

With service providers installing so much fiber in their plant right now and seemingly no end in sight, the need for automated test solutions will only keep growing.

WOW's Network 'Edge-Outs' Spur Sub Growth in Q3

Led by broadband adds, WideOpenWest sees best sub growth in six quarters. Competitive cabler also getting some operational benefits from its whole-home WiFi offering with eero.

SDxCentral’s Top 10 Articles — October 2019

Check out our top 10 articles for October 2019, covering the SDxCentral universe of SDN, NFV, and related topics. Rankings are based on unique visitors aggregated during the month.

VEON Comes Unstuck in Russia

The long-suffering emerging-markets giant has warned investors that a turnaround at its ailing Russian business will take some time.

Eurobites: Vodafone Names Its Towers Boss

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Sky creates 1,000 new jobs in UK; Europe lags North America in smart-home race; UK delays decision on Huawei until after general election.