Mobile performance is increasingly better than wifi – OpenSignal

Mobile analytics company OpenSignal has had a look mobile and wifi performance around the world and concluded mobile is catching up fast.

Apple is said to offer discount on iPhone in Japan

The Wall Street Journal has reported Apple is subsidising operators in Japan to offer discounts on its phones because they’re not shifting as quickly as it would like.

US pressuring allies to veto Huawei – report

The US government is reportedly lobbying its international allies to pressure their telecoms companies not to do business with Huawei.

President Xi doesn’t love the private sector, but he needs friends with benefits

Beijing has issued a new policy to encourage entrepreneurship, but it will comes with some pretty major strings attached.

Huawei Faces Further Heat From US Administration – Report

US government is seeking persuade friendly international countries to shun Huawei communications networking technology, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

WiCipedia: Gen Z Changemakers, MotherCoders & Keeping Women in Tech

This week in our WiC roundup: UK to reach 1 million women in STEM; Gen Z brings change; how to keep women in tech; and more.

Eurobites: O2 Launches Massive MIMO Trials in London

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Vodafone tracks drones; TIM's spin-off puts 20,000 jobs at risk, says trade union official; Orange and MTN join forces on mobile money.

Exponential-e CEO on Cloud, Security & Coffee

Lee Wade, CEO at UK cloud and data network operator Exponential-e, talks cloud and network evolution, automation, security and why he has two baristas at the company's London HQ.

China’s social credit system set to kick off in Beijing in 2020

The Chinese state wants to control its citizens via a system of social scoring that punishes behaviour it doesn’t approve of.

Nokia loses its mobile network head Marc Rouanne

Finnish kit vendor Nokia has had an executive reshuffle that resulted in yet another head of its mobile networks business group calling it a day.

Huawei: Building 5G Minimalist Core Network to Overcome the Challenges for 5G Evolution

Overcoming three challenges for the 5G evolution: Slow service rollout; high operating expense (OPEX); and high single-bit cost.

Airspan Buys Mimosa to Add More Next-Gen Wireless Chops

Magic Box small cell maker Airspan buys fixed wireless vendor Mimosa.

Nokia Mobile Boss Rouanne Is Out in Latest Shake-Up

Finnish vendor is merging its mobile and fixed access divisions but has yet to say who will take charge of the new unit.

BT Hopes to Score With 5G Broadcasting Push

The UK's biggest telco is prioritizing 5G technology as way to film sports content in remote locations.

Huawei ramps up the 5G chest beating

Huawei’s 2018 Mobile Broadband Forum has been all about bigging up 5G and the host hasn’t been shy about banging its own drum.

EE does a 5G broadcast

In the latest installment of its snowballing 5G marketing drive, UK MNO EE claimed to have conducted a live 5G broadcast between Wembley Stadium and the Excel Exhibition Centre.

Genish and Elliott embark on inevitable war of words

The only surprising thing about ousted TIM CEO Genish publicly attacking Elliott was that it took so long.

Brits can’t be bothered with Black Friday

Americans like to spend a whole day giving thanks for stuff and then spend the next day buying loads more of it. Over here, not so much.

Cisco buys U.K.-based software specialist Ensoft

Cisco is adding more software engineers to its roster with today's news that it is buying U.K.-based Ensoft for an undisclosed sum.

TalkTalk launches subsidiary devoted to fibre roll out

UK ISP TalkTalk is so devoted to rolling out fibre that it has launched a new company – FibreNation – devoted entirely to that.

Telcos unprepared for cyberattacks: report

According to a report commissioned by EfficientIP, the telecommunications industry is among the worst in regards to responding to DNS attacks.

Airspan Networks acquires Mimosa

Airspan Networks—provider of the Magic Box for Sprint—has acquired Mimosa Networks for an undisclosed sum.

28 GHz auction pauses for holiday

The FCC has temporarily paused bidding in its 28 GHz spectrum auction to give interested parties a break over the Thanksgiving holiday.

Big Cloud Players, Other Hyperscalers Spend $26B on Capex in Q3 2018

Beyond the usual suspects, Alibaba's capex leapt in the quarter putting it ahead of many other hyperscale operators.

GSMA Launches Edge Cloud Initiative for Operators

Huawei is a key player in the group, which might explain why no U.S. operators are members.

Black Friday 2018 deals at AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon

The big four U.S. wireless carriers are gearing up for the holidays, starting with Black Friday and extending into Cyber Monday and beyond.

Pivot3 HCI Beats Dell EMC, HPE for Airport Data Center Modernization

The vendor’s resiliency also improved airport security. “With security you can’t afford any downtime,” said the director of IT and security at Charleston International Airport.

Microsoft Spreads Open Enclave SDK, Integrates With Azure IoT Edge

The SDK abstracts the developer away from having to deal with hardware security.

SDxCentral's Weekly Roundup — November 21, 2018

Cisco acquires software provider Ensoft; AWS expands language processing service and Snowball; and the LF Network Fund grows its membership.

Virtualization 101 brought to you by Comcast's Bob Gaydos

A lot of terms and buzzwords are being thrown around these days in regards to virtualization, and Comcast Fellow Bob Gaydos defines some of them.

FCC set to deny Twilio petition on texting

The FCC at its December meeting will consider formally ruling text messaging services are information services, not telecommunications services.

Cisco to Acquire UK Networking Software Specialist

Cisco is to acquire small British outfit Ensoft, which develops software that supports routing, switching, carrier Ethernet and much more.

Eurobites: Genish Versus Elliott Gets Personal

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Alfa deploys Nokia's 4.5G tech; TalkTalk ups sticks, sets up fiber rollout arm; Deutsche Telekom and Ericsson provide campus network for Osram.

Comcast Business: Taking New Angles

Cable's business services are still growing, but MSOs aren't standing pat as they pursue new areas and lines of business. Jeff Lewis discusses how Comcast is homing in on new opportunities such as SD-WAN, managed security services and the delivery of faster and faster speeds.

The Future Could Be Bright for 5G Operators – Northstream CEO

Bengt Nordström, CEO and co-founder at industry consultancy Northstream, shares his views on the 5G business case for mobile operators but he warns that expectations need to be tempered.

BT's McRae: Huawei Is 'The Only True 5G Supplier Right Now'

Huawei gets the BT man's praise as he urges the other main mobile network vendors to shake off their legacy telco thinking.

What Is Zun? A Typical Component of Openstack to Provide Container Management Service

Zun allows users to rapidly start and operate the management container without the participation of a management server or cluster.

China Telecom & Huawei Jointly Completed the Industry's First PCS-based 200G/400G Ultra-Long-Haul Field Trial in a Commercial WDM Network

China Telecom and Huawei recently completed the first 200G/400G ultra-long-haul field trial to be performed on a commercial WDM network, putting probabilistic constellation shaping (PCS) to good use and revealing nearly 1200 km of un-regenerated transmission on the live network.

Podcast: CenturyLink's CxO Moves & Do We Really Need RFPs?

On this podcast, we discussed CenturyLink new CTO, why Dull But Critical (DBC) is our favorite category of telecom infrastructure and how cable companies are warming up to the cloud. We also ask a critical question: Does the telecom industry need RFPs?

Cable's Move Upmarket With Biz Services Still an Uphill Battle

Filled with special challenges, tackling the large enterprise market 'a long, slow slog' for cable operators, analyst says.

Nan Chen Reveals Secret to MEF's Staying Power

MEF President Nan Chen, also its founder, says the organization's staying power is based on an early decision to focus on defining services and not how they are transported.

FCC OKs SpaceX to Launch 7,518 More Broadband Satellites

With the unprecedented number of low-earth orbit satellites on the way, FCC also pursues new rules designed to mitigate a growing space junk problem.

AT&T Says First 5G Sites Are Live in Texas

AT&T has its Dallas site live, but no device to sell to consumers yet.

Three UK and Ovum reckon 5G FWA is a great idea

Research from Ovum, commissioned by Three UK, has concluded 5G-powered fixed wireless access could replace fixed connections for most UK households.

37, 39, 47 GHz auction on FCC’s December meeting agenda

The FCC has another jam-packed meeting teed up for Dec. 12, when it’s set to make more millimeter wave spectrum available for 5G.

AWS continues dominance in public cloud market: report

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is still far and away the top dog when it comes to the global public cloud services market, says a new Synergy report.

Verizon angling for exclusive to sell Samsung’s 5G-capable Galaxy S10

Samsung is reportedly in discussions with Verizon about a possible exclusive agreement for Galaxy S10 distribution in the United States.

T-Mobile, Nokia complete 5G data transmission at 600 MHz

T-Mobile and Nokia just completed a 5G data transmission on T-Mobile’s 600 MHz commercial network in Spokane, Washington.

40% of the world’s population on 5G by 2025, says GSMA

GSMA’s Director General spoke at Huawei MBB event, talking up the prospect and promises of 5G and artificial intelligence

Operators stress the need to collaborate over 5G

At Huawei’s MBBF 2018 event some of its operator partners talked up the need for greater collaboration, including among themselves, to make a success of 5G.

T-Mobile breaks ground on $160M headquarters renovation

T-Mobile is breaking ground on a $160 million renovation that aims to transform its headquarters.

Netsurion goes its own way with SD-WAN

While there may be further consolidation afoot in the SD-WAN sector, managed services provider Netsurion feels safely ensconced in its own niche.

Cisco Files SEC Documents Revealing Its Top Executive Salaries

Cisco’s CEO Chuck Robbins earned $21.28 million in fiscal 2018.

Verizon gives some hints about how 5G Home is selling and performing

Verizon and others have provided a few insights into how 5G Home is performing both from a technical standpoint and a business standpoint.

Economic Recession Could Drive Serverless Standardization, Consolidation

“When there is an economic recession that is when people pull in their horns," says Forrester VP John Rymer.

Huawei hyperbolises about 5G at its 2018 mobile broadband fest

At its Global MBB Forum 2018 event in London, Huawei hoped to whip up the large audience into a frenzy of 5G anticipation.

Extreme Networks Hires Former CA Technologies Exec Rémi Thomas as CFO

Earlier this month, Broadcom slashed over 400 jobs from CA Technologies’ offices, just days after it bought the company for $18.9 billion.

Schneider Electric Takes Data Center Device Management to the Cloud

The vendor-agnostic software collects 300 million data points daily, analyzes the data, consolidates alarm notifications, and makes recommendations from a centralized console.

Why T-Mobile Is Touting Its 5G Connection in the 600 MHz Spectrum

T-Mobile plans to launch its 5G network in lower band spectrum so it can blanket the country with 5G service.

Pure Storage Moves Into Cloud Storage With AWS

NetApp has been pitching a similar story as it pivots from a traditional storage vendor to a cloud data services company. But Pure Storage says its approach is unique.

Update – FCC 5G Day 5, Bids Reach $145.1M

Auction rounds end at 5PM today, and will restart on Monday.

Huawei Has Shipped 10K 5G Basestations Outside China

Chinese equipment vendor is now selling 5G network equipment in Europe, the Middle East and South Korea, says its rotating chairman.

The Telecoms.com Podcast: Africa, Italia, UK & US

This week, it's an intimate telecom tête-à-tête for two. Let's listen in...

Swiss Sunrise to Sunset Copper Broadband in Huawei-Led 5G Plan

Swiss telco led by Olaf Swantee plans to substitute 5G for copper-based broadband services in suburban and rural areas.

When Will AT&T First Launch 5G?

Any day now, according to recent statements by the company's executives. Try not to get too excited!

Choosing the Unified Fiber & Coaxial Access Strategy

Many cable operators have already started to deploy FTTH when expanding their network footprint, and even more are preparing to do so.

Huawei Has Shipped 10K 5G Base Stations Outside China

Chinese equipment vendor is now selling 5G network equipment in Europe, the Middle East and South Korea, says its rotating chairman.

FCC 5G Day 5, Bids Reach $113.9M

Auction rounds end at 5PM today, and will restart on Monday.

MEF SVP Dan Pitt: We're Ready for 5G

MEF is already at work on 5G transport and its service enablement capabilities will also help in both fixed and mobile environments, says Dan Pitt, MEF senior vice president.

The Future of Cable Business Services: Covering the Bases

After getting some baseball news out of the way, Light Reading's Alan Breznick and Jeff Baumgartner sum up their findings and observations from the recent 'The Future of Cable Business Services' event in NYC.

Is 5G Really 'Now' in Europe?

If 'now' means it's almost with us, then yes.

Eurobites: Orange Targets SMEs With XGS-PON in Poland

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Telia gets industrial with 5G in Oulu; Ovum and Three UK sing praises of 5G fixed wireless; Sky clinches second-tier soccer deal, but some clubs aren't happy.

The 5G Enterprise Conversation

For enterprises, 5G opens up a new conversation with carriers – not just about what's possible on their new networks, but what they can do now to help businesses beyond providing connectivity.

Cisco Renews Service Provider Focus at Partner Summit 2018

Light Reading's Mitch Wagner filed this report from Las Vegas, where he spoke to enterprise partners, telco CTOs and Cisco executives about the emergence of IoT, AI and 5G – and how those technologies are reshaping networking.

Apple iPhone sales are reportedly flagging

Gadget giant Apple has apparently cut its orders with suppliers in response to lower-than-expected demand for its latest iPhones.

Datadog Monitors Serverless Applications in AWS With New Integration

In addition to integrating with AWS’ distributed tracking system X-Ray, the monitoring company also launched a synthetic monitoring tool.

Xiaomi apologises for misleading UK consumers

Chinese smartphone vendor Xiaomi says an apparent £1 smartphone offer was meant as a raffle, blaming marketing message lost in translation.

Investigation claims most mobile VPN apps are run by dodgy companies

An investigation by Top10VPN.com has concluded more than half of the most popular VPN apps are run by ‘secretive companies with Chinese ownership’.

Microsoft No. 1 for blockchain-as-a-service—report

Microsoft edged out IBM as the top blockchain-as-a-service platform, according to a competitive assessment by ABI Research.

Zayo reportedly targeted for takeover

The biggest independent owner of fiber in North America is reportedly attracting suitors from private equity funds and investment firms.

Action slows in 28 GHz spectrum auction, but bids pass $85M mark

Bidding in the FCC's 28 GHz spectrum auction continues to cool, with the total amount of bids placed rising to $85.4 million at the end of round eight.

TIM announces Elliot-proposed board member Gubitosi as new CEO

As anticipated by Telecoms.com last week, Telecom Italia (TIM) has appointed current board member Luigi Gubitosi as its new CEO.

U.S. mobile broadband is among the most expensive: report

The price U.S. residents pay for mobile broadband on their smartphones is among the highest in the world, according to a new report.

Verizon snaps up security tools from Vidder

Verizon announced that it was buying a set of security tools from partner Vidder to enhance the telco's Software Defined Perimeter (SDP) service.

Report: Verizon to launch RCS messaging in early 2019

Verizon is finally catching up with other major U.S. carriers in supporting RCS messaging early next year.

AT&T Likes That the ONF Brings Original Design Manufacturers to the Table

AT&T is at 63 percent of its goal to bring 75 percent of its networks under SDN control by 2020, according to AT&T CTO Andre Fuetsch.

Is China’s AI industry much ado about nothing?

Investment in China’s AI companies has plummeted after hitting a high in 2017, amid inflated valuation and unfulfilled promises.

Citrix Buys Sapho for $200M to Grow Its Digital Workspace Tech

Sapho develops micro-applications that help connect modern workplace collaboration tools with legacy SaaS products.

CSPs need to blend CIO and CTO functions—TM Forum

The transformational changes in how telecom networks and services operate are leading to an equally radical change in CSPs' structure.

Microsoft, IBM Top ABI’s Blockchain Platform Provider List

The research firm evaluated 11 blockchain-as-a-service platforms. It looked at the different features they offered as well as their involvement in trials and pilots.

ZTE Flips the RAN Script on Samsung in Q3, Says Dell’Oro

The Chinese vendor managed to shrug off procurement challenges during the first half of the year tied to a U.S. government ban on ZTE acquiring components from U.S. manufacturers.

Report: IBM Taps TSMC for 7nm Data Center Server Chips

The deal would be a major win for TSMC as it challenges Intel’s dominance in the data center.

FCC 5G Auction Day 4, Bids Approach $100M – Update

Updated 4:30PM -- Bids top $94.7M for the 28GHz 5G auction, as the US enters Thanksgiving week.

FCC 5G Auction Day 4, Bids Approach $1B – Update

Updated 4:30PM -- Bids top $94.7M for the 28GHz 5G auction, as the US enters Thanksgiving week.

Podcast: CommScope & Arris Tie the Knot, but Why?

CommScope and Arris are merging. Though they frame this as a complementary deal, there's some lingering about the broader strategic rationale of the deal and if this is, indeed, a marriage made in technology heaven.

LinkNYC Kiosks Could Become a Launch Pad for City 5G

Link's president gives an indication of a 5G future for the WiFi kiosk company.

Technicolor Eyes Options, Including Sale of Set-Top Biz – Report

Will only confirm that Technicolor 'regularly reviews and evaluates strategic alternatives for its assets' and that no decisions have been made.

FCC 5G Auction Day 4, Bids Hit $85.5M

Bids top $85.5M for the 28GHz 5G auction, as the US enters Thanksgiving week.

Altice One Levels Up

2.0 upgrades to Altice USA's tack on cloud DVR capabilities, integration of YouTube Kids app, ability to restart shows from more networks.

Operator-Supplied Boxes Still Have Role in Video Streaming Era

AT&T gets ready to test Android TV-powered box with DirecTV Now subs.

ZTE, Samsung Battle for Wireless Market Share

As operators start to invest in 5G networks, the Chinese and South Korean equipment vendors are eyeing a much bigger market presence.

Eurobites: Nokia, Telefónica Put 5G to Work on the Assembly Line

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Eutelsat does deal with Airbus; Hagberg joins top team at Tele2; CityFibre does Stirling work; UK's cybersecurity strategy slammed.

Verizon Acquires Security Tools From Vidder

Verizon liked Vidder's technology so much it bought the company.

Telecom Italia Caught in Clash of Clans While Rome Burns

The Italian incumbent's fifth boss in the past six years will have one of the hardest jobs in the global telecom industry.

Telecom Italia Appoints New CEO

There's another new name at the helm of Telecom Italia (TIM) -- the appointment could herald an access network spin-off.