Loodse Steers Telco 5G Plans Toward Kubernetes

Loodse demonstrated that building a cloud-native 5G network is possible on open architecture using its Kubermatic Kubernetes platform during a live demo at the recent KubeCon + CloudNativeCon North America event. For the demo, Loodse’s Kubermatic platform served as a standardized base compute infrastructure across different cloud providers, delivering consistency from cloud to core to edge. And while the live demonstration was a success on stage, perhaps the real excitement was happening behind the scenes.

LF Edge serves up second helping of Arkraino Edge Stack

LF Edge, an umbrella organization that's part of the Linux Foundation, announced the second release of its Akraino Edge Stack, which is a framework to address 5G, IoT, AI and a range of edge use cases.

CBA seeks 'fair' financial incentives in C-band move for 5G

The C-Band Alliance (CBA) spent many months lobbying for a private auction of C-band spectrum that it would control, but now that the spectrum is headed for public auction, it wants to make sure its members get properly compensated, and that means more than just the costs of relocation.

Sprint’s Curiosity IoT networks resemble private LTE networks

Sprint has named three locations where it has put up Curiosity IoT networks near where it has IoT customers: Greenville, South Carolina; Peachtree Corners, Georgia; and Phoenix, Arizona. And the IoT networks that it’s able to offer to customers bear a strong resemblance to private LTE networks.

McAfee replaces CEO ahead of possible IPO

Chris Young is leaving his role as CEO of cybersecurity firm McAfee to become a senior advisor with TPG Capital, which has a majority stake in McAfee.

FCC’s O’Rielly suggests ‘G7-like’ alternative to ITU

FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly this week called into question the value of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and suggested a “G7-like” alternative may be needed to ensure global spectrum harmonization efforts are not sidelined by certain nations’ geopolitics.

Pelosi rips into Facebook for ‘shameful’ behaviour

Democrat Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi has sent a tsunami of abuse towards Facebook, suggesting the social media giant has zero interest in serving its users.

BT and Vodafone set to moan to PM about Huawei

The CEOs of BT, Philip Jansen, and Vodafone, Nick Read, are working on a letter they will sent to the UK Prime Minister, begging him not to ban Huawei.

Operators fear eSIM, but Ericsson says it’s coming

Ericsson has developed software to automate provisioning and other back-office systems for devices with eSIM. The Swedish vendor acknowledges that there is fear among some service providers about eSIM because it will allow consumers to easily switch carriers whenever they want. Ericsson is spinning its new eSIM offering as a way for service providers to improve their top-line growth.

CenturyLink lands $1.6B Department of Interior contract

CenturyLink has landed a $1.6 billion contract with the U.S. Department of Interior (DoI) through the General Services Administration's Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions (EIS) program.

Europe urges UK to call Trump’s bluff on Huawei

EU Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan doesn’t reckon US President Trump will follow through on threats to suspend intelligence cooperation with the UK.

Verizon’s 5G in US Bank Stadium ‘near ubiquitous,' says SRG

Plenty of skeptics question whether Verizon’s bet on millimeter wave for 5G will pay off and time will tell on that score, but one thing is for sure: Deploying mmWave indoors in a venue such as US Bank Stadium is a “no brainer,” according to Signals Research Group (SRG).

Will telcos follow Big Tech in pursuit of a greener life?

Microsoft has stated its green ambitions, delivering a plan to be carbon neutral by 2030, halving the carbon emissions of the business.

BT seeks stickiness and diversification through Google Stadia partnership

UK ISP BT says it’s the first European network to partner with Google over its Stadia cloud gaming service, which it will bundle with some broadband offers.

25% of Europeans hold back personal information due to security concerns

For years, the tech industry has under-invested in security and now it might be about to hit executives in the place it hurts; the wallet.

Akraino Edge Stack Gains NFV, Mixed Reality Blueprints

LF Edge released the second version of the Akraino Edge Stack, an open source edge computing project that was originally launched in early 2018, and saw its first version released in June 2019. Akraino Edge Stack Release 2 (Akraino R2) includes six blueprint families and a total of 14 blueprints that have been tested and validated on hardware running in labs, according to the group which operates under the umbrella of the Linux Foundation.

Charter Gets Noisy About Owning Spectrum for 4G, 5G

Charter is looking to test big mobile networks in New York City and Los Angeles, a further indication of the company's interest in 'owner's economics' in the mobile industry.

DoCoMo Claims It Can Smash the 5G Glass Barrier

NTT shows off a new window that millimeter wave 5G signals can be transmitted through.

Daily Roundup: DigitalOcean Drowns Jobs

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IBM Secures $1.1B Contract With Banco Sabadell

IBM this week scored a 10-year, $1.1 billion contract to help Banco Sabadell, Spain’s fourth-largest private bank, modernize its IT infrastructure, and migrate its applications to the cloud.

Data Tsunami Is Environmental Disaster in the Making

Some of the world's biggest tech companies are jumping on the green bandwagon, but their efforts are unlikely to be enough.

Oracle Fixes 334 Bugs in Record-Breaking Critical Patch Update

Oracle released a record-breaking 334 security fixes in its first critical patch update of the year. Attackers may have successfully exploited some of these bugs, according to Oracle, but a spokesperson would not provide additional information about which vulnerabilities, if any, resulted in security breaches.

Verizon Expands 4G LTE Small Cell Navy Base Footprint

Verizon recently installed an array of small cells at Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego. The deployment marks the operator’s third 4G LTE small cell installation at Navy bases in the region last year, and lays the foundation for an eventual 5G deployment.

DigitalOcean Slashes Jobs as Part of Restructure

DigitalOcean is laying off dozens of people as part of a broader restructuring effort targeted at bolstering the cloud platform provider’s financial position in an extremely competitive environment.

'Streaming Wars' Haven't Seized Much Ground From Netflix & Amazon – Study

Recent debuts by Disney+ and Apple TV+ have attracted subs, but they have not inflicted many wounds upon top incumbent OTTs, serving more as a complement than a direct competitor, new research finds.

Taiwan Calls Temporary Halt on $4.6B Auction

Taiwan's regulator has put its 5G spectrum auction on hold following the withdrawal of one bidder.

Eurobites: Trump's Huawei Threats Are Nothing but Bluster, Says EU Bigwig

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: South Africa's broadband slowed by subsea cable faults; BT boss says PM's fiber plan won't happen unless rollout rules change; mental health experts demand social media data from tech giants.

Australia Ponders Fire-Proof Networks

As the fires rage, Australia's telcos consider the nature of their future networks.

WiCipedia: CES Recap, Salary Reveals & Outdated Advertising

This week in our WiC roundup: Ivanka's CES keynote goes off 'without a hitch'; sharing salary info is the new talking about sex; advertisers keep tripping over their own shoelaces; and more.

Microsoft pledges to be carbon negative by 2030

Microsoft announced on Thursday that it is committing to becoming carbon negative by 2030 and that it will eliminate all past carbon emissions by 2050.  In addition, Microsoft also announced it's creating a $1 billion Climate Innovation Fund to accelerate the development of carbon reduction, capture and removal technologies.

Rogers begins 5G rollout in Canada

A bit late to the party, Rogers announced it is starting to roll out Canada’s first 5G network. The company will begin its 5G deployment in downtown Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal with plans to expand to over 20 more markets by the end of the year. Rogers also plans to turn on 5G in the Rogers Centre, Scotiabank Arena and Rogers Arena. 

UK’s O2 taps non-traditional vendors for O-RAN project

O2, the Telefonica-owned U.K. mobile operator, on Thursday announced plans to introduce Open RAN technology into its network using smaller non-traditional vendors including Mavenir, DenseAir and WaveMobile.

WSJ: Amazon wanted additional $1B in incentives for HQ2 deal

During its search for a second headquarter location, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and his leadership team were seeking $1 billion in additional economic incentives to be used in other real estate projects around the county, according to a story by The Wall Street Journal.

Europe wants to force all mobile phones to use the same charger port

Six years ago the European Union started ‘encouraging’ mobile phone makers to unite around a common charger format, but they didn’t take the hint.

UK stumbles to 13th in Digital Readiness rankings as Singapore leads

Cisco has unveiled its Global Digital Readiness Index to rank the efforts of 141 countries around the world in pursuit of the digital economy.

AT&T gets ready for 5G football demos

AT&T filed for a one-month Special Temporary Authority (STA) with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to demonstrate 5G leading up to, during and after the Super Bowl, which will be February 2 in Miami.

Colt hires former Adva exec as VP of new business development

Colt Technology Services announced on Thursday that it has hired Annette Geuther as its vice president of new business development. In her new role at Colt, Geuther reports to Keri Gilder, Colt’s chief commercial officer.

Verizon and 5 other carriers form 5G Future Forum

Six carriers have come together to create the 5G Future Forum with the aim of developing interoperable 5G specifications across the globe. The founding carriers are América Móvil, KT, Rogers, Telstra, Verizon and Vodafone.

T-Mobile/Sprint case boils down to Dish fix - analyst

Now that lawyers for both sides in the T-Mobile/Sprint merger trial have given their closing arguments, the decision will ultimately depend on how the judge views the Dish Network fix, according to analysts who have been following the trial. 

Former CenturyLink CTO Hussain resurfaces at Verizon Business

Former CenturyLink CTO Aamir Hussain has landed at Verizon Business as its senior vice president and chief product officer, and re-gained a seat on MEF's board of directors.

Indian Supreme Court rejects telcos appeal over government bill

The billions owed by Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel for historic license fees must be paid after the Indian Supreme Court rejected their appeal.

O2 joins the OpenRAN movement

O2 is the latest telco to join the increasingly popular OpenRAN cause, suggesting the technology could better serve customers in the hard to reach and heavily-populated areas.

Mobile games account for the majority of all global gaming software spend

Mobile analytics firm App Annie has published its latest annual state of the market, which reveals the mobile gaming market is going from strength to strength.

Phase One is window dressing, the US-China trade war is just on pause

It has taken a month of negotiations, but Phase One of the US-Chinese trade deal has finally been signed. However, this was the easy part.

NBCU's Peacock to Stream Free Tier, 2 Premium Tiers

Service set to launch on April 15 to Comcast X1 and Flex customers, roll out nationally on July 15. Peacock expects to have 30-35 million domestic accounts and $2.5 billion in annual revenues by end of 2024.

McAfee Hires New CEO, Mulls Sale or IPO

McAfee today said it hired Peter Leav, former CEO of BMC Software, to replace its CEO Chris Young who has led the security software firm since it spun out of Intel in 2016.

Daily Roundup: CenturyLink Nabs $1.6B IT Win

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Spectrum Shift: Anterix Says It's Not Another Ligado

Anterix is asking the FCC to issue new rules that would allow 4G in its spectrum holdings. In that respect Anterix is like Ligado -- except Ligado is reportedly nearing bankruptcy.

Sensors Move to the Fore in the Internet of Bins

Berg Insight says 1.5 million smart waste sensors will be installed worldwide by 2023, as NB-IoT and LoRa start to come to the fore in the smart waste sensor market.

Podcast: NTT CTO Ettienne Reinecke on the Edge Evolution

NTT's CTO Ettienne Reinecke joins the podcast to shine a light on the most disruptive tech trends he sees for enterprises in the coming year. Many of them are closely linked to a surge in computing capacity and tech development at the network's edge.

NBCU's Peacock to Stream Free Tier, Two Premium Tiers

Service set to launch on April 15 to Comcast X1 and Flex customers, roll out nationally on July 15. Peacock expects to have 30-35 million domestic accounts and $2.5 billion in annual revenues by end of 2024.

CenturyLink Nabs Interior Department’s $1.6B IT Contract

CenturyLink secured a contract worth up to $1.6 billion to provide core networking and managed access services to the U.S. Department of the Interior.

Rogers Breaks Ice on Canada’s First 5G Deployment

Canadian telecom giant Rogers launched that country’s first 5G network in a handful of markets, though consumer access to that network will have to wait until devices are available.

Google Cloud Woos Enterprises With Premium Support

Like a peacock attracting a mate, Google Cloud Platform fanned its colorful customer support feathers with new a premium support tier aimed at wooing enterprise suitors.

ZTE Aims to Raise $1.66B to Fund 5G R&D

Chinese vendor looks to issue new shares to ten institutional investors to raise funds for 5G research and development and general 'working capital.'

Introducing the Latest 5G Trend: Hiding It

As the wireless industry gears up to deploy hundreds of thousands of small cells in the US over the coming years, a cottage industry is developing around the need to hide all this equipment.

Eurobites: O2 Turns to Open RAN to Boost UK Coverage

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Sky Mobile sets out its 5G stall; Ericsson pushes eSIM offering; SFR's mission-critical push-to-talk service rides the rails.

Comcast to Pay Out $1.14M in Settlement With Minnesota AG

Settlement includes refunds and debt relief for more than 30,000 Comcast customers stemming from complaint focused on overcharging, hidden fees and early termination fees.

Telstra extends global reach with Equinix tie-up

Australia-based Telstra is expanding its global reach to more than 170 cloud providers in 38 global markets by strengthening its ties with Equinix.

Huawei builds the case for its own OS ecosystem

If US-Chinese tensions continue to remain as they are today, a separate Huawei mobile operating system looks to be a certainty but being competitive with Android is not a simple task.

Britain hedges on Huawei, US senators suggest O-RAN as option

The Trump administration wants the U.K. to officially ban Huawei equipment from its networks, but British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, like his predecessor Theresa May, is hedging. Johnson said those opposed to the use of equipment made by China’s Huawei need to say what alternative technology should be used instead, according to Reuters.

Is Apple/Samsung duopoly poised to continue with 5G?

The Samsung/Apple handset duopoly remains strong in the U.S., and the leading smartphone makers look poised to retain their crowns as the next wave of 5G devices are expected to come to market this year.

A bunch of operators get together to push 5G and MEC interoperability

América Móvil, KT Corp., Rogers, Telstra, Verizon and Vodafone have formed a new gang called the 5G Future Forum.

Global IT spending to hit $3.9 trillion this year—Gartner

Political uncertainties aside, worldwide IT spending is projected to hit $3.9 trillion this year, which would be a 3.4% increase over 2019, according to Gartner. Gartner predicts that global IT spending will cross the $4 trillion threshold in 2021.

5 prepaid carriers cited as vulnerable to SIM swap fraud

Researchers at Princeton University evaluated the SIM authentication procedures at five prepaid U.S. wireless carriers, and found that they all used insecure authentication challenges that could easily be subverted by attackers.

Deutsche Telekom partners with utility company for fiber build

Deutsche Telekom has formed a joint venture with utility company EWE to build out a fiber infrastructure that will serve up to 1.5 million homes and businesses.

Industry Voices—Walker: What will drive network change in 2020?

Twenty years ago, telecom was riding high on a surge of telco capital investment and influx of cash from venture capitalists eager to ride the dotcom boom. There were already signs that market hype wouldn’t last, and indeed it didn’t – valuations and growth outlooks came crashing down a year later.

Nokia axes 180 jobs in Finland to keep up with Ericsson and Huawei in 5G

The Finnish telecom equipment maker Nokia has announced that up to 180 jobs will be reduced in Finland, as part of its on-going cost-saving programme.

Verizon attempts to muscle in on Google’s search quasi-monopoly

Verizon has announced the launch of OneSearch, a privacy-focused search engine which promises not to share user data with third-parties.

China Telecom celebrates the state surveillance potential of 5G

A new ad campaign by Chinese operator China Telecom promotes the enhanced snitching capabilities that 5G will bring.

UK MP lets rip on Huawei as US Senator wants to fund ‘alternative’

Tom Tugendhat, the MP for Tonbridge and Malling, has become on of the few UK politicians to publicly state an opinion on Huawei, condemning the firm though tweets and interviews.

ETSI Drops 2 MEC Reports Into a Red-Hot Market

The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) dropped a pair of multi-access edge computing (MEC) reports providing insight into the impact of “alternative virtualization technologies” and a deeper look into network slicing and edge computing systems. All three topics are core to the ongoing roll out of 5G networks.

NYC OKs 9 Providers to Expand 5G Coverage

Deal will allow providers to install more 5G equipment on street lamps and traffic lights.

Will SD-WAN Solve IoT’s Toughest Questions?

IoT and SD-WAN might not sound like they belong together, but ask VMware’s VeloCloud or managed service provider Apcela and you might be surprised by what they have to say. The two companies see SD-WAN as the key to making large IoT deployments manageable at a human scale.

Comcast Tries to Squash Altitude TV's Antitrust Lawsuit

Calls regional sport net's suit a 'transparent maneuver to gain negotiating leverage,' and says complaint falls well short of a valid antitrust claim.

Daily Roundup: Verizon Leads New 5G Group

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Red Hat OpenShift Updates Hit Multi-Cloud, Security

Red Hat rolled out a fresh round of OpenShift updates, folding a multi-cloud gateway into OpenShift Container Storage 4 and additional security enhancements across its storage and broader OpenShift platform. 

Verizon Launches (Yet Another) 5G Forum

Verizon, with an assist from América Móvil, KT, Rogers, Telstra, and Vodafone, has established another 5G specifications body. The goal this time around is for the operators to collaborate and “accelerate the delivery of 5G and mobile edge computing” on a global basis.

Telstra Deepens Equinix Ties, Adds 110 Cloud Interconnects

Australian operator Telstra deepened its integration with Equinix to give its enterprise customers direct connections to more than 100 additional cloud service providers and expand its reach into North America and Europe.

US Senators Propose More Than $1B for Open RAN to Fight Huawei

US politicians from across the political divide want to spend hundreds of millions to shore up US alternatives to the controversial Chinese vendor.

Verizon, Vodafone, Others Team Up for 'Interoperable' 5G Specs

América Móvil, KT, Rogers, Telstra, Verizon and Vodafone announced the formation of the new 5G Future Forum to 'collaborate to develop interoperable 5G specifications.' Details, though, are scarce.

US Pay-TV Losses to Improve Slightly in 2020, Remain Ugly – Analyst

Decline of traditional pay-TV will continue this year as virtual MVPDs raise prices and as viewing continues to shift away from live TV amid the rise of OTT-delivered on-demand services.

Eurobites: France to Force VoD Giants to Fund Local Productions

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Deutsche Telekom forms fiber joint venture; Belgian fraud detection startup raises €1.5 million; Liberty Global reshuffles in Europe.

AI Automation Startup Zinier Raises $90M

Zinier, a company that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to automate field work, has raised $90 million in a Series C funding round, bringing its total amount raised to $120 million.

UK PM Is Right: Where Is Huawei Alternative?

Boris Johnson raises an important question about the structure of the telecom industry as the UK comes under Chinese and US pressure over its imminent decision on whether to ban Huawei from Britain's 5G market.

Quibi Faces Struggle Against Free Social Media

Quibi's stated purpose – filling in short gaps in the day – means the new phone-focused short video service won't necessarily compete with the likes of Netflix, Hulu and other OTTs, analyst says.

Equinix Expands to 'Emerging True Edge' With Packet Acquisition

Packet will enable Equinix to go beyond its traditional data center footprint to put compute in central offices, tower basestations and other edge locations.

Huawei Sets Up New Cloud & AI Unit

The Chinese equipment giant has set up a new business unit that is says marks a big shift in its ICT strategy.

GTT expands its SD-WAN portfolio by adding Fortinet

GTT Communications is branching out its SD-WAN options with the addition of Fortinet Secure SD-WAN. Dating back to 2007, GTT has been a Fortinet customer, but Tuesday's announcement gives it a third-option for offering GTT's network-based, managed SD-WAN services.

Nokia to cut 180 jobs in Finland

Nokia plans to cut about 180 jobs in Finland this year, and while the cuts will apply to all Nokia locations in Finland, the company said the biggest impact will be in Espoo.

Visa drops $5.3 billion on Plaid in bid to future proof itself

Financial services giant Visa is acquiring fintech app enabler Plaid in an apparent bid to ensure it doesn’t get left behind in the app economy.

U.S. mmWave auction reaches more than $7B

Gross proceeds in the third U.S. millimeter wave spectrum auction topped $7 billion this week, as competition continues to cool.

5G Action Now aims to win 5G race against China

A new advocacy organization called 5G Action Now is sounding the alarm about how the U.S. needs to act fast in order to win the 5G race against China. The group, which yesterday announced former U.S. Representative Mike Rogers of Michigan as its chairman, said what’s at issue today is whether China or the United States takes the lead in deploying the technology and, therefore, reaps the economic rewards derived from dominance in 5G. Top of mind for the organization: The C-band, which was embroiled in debate much of last year. In November, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai announced the FCC is committed a public auction of 280 MHz of C-band spectrum, and the agency intends to get the spectrum teed up for auction by the end of this year.  Rogers told FierceWireless that seeing that spectrum through to the auction is something 5G Action Now will be focused on. Besides satellite companies and the FCC, it will work with policy makers and the general public to make them aware of what’s at stake. The reason there’s a sense of urgency is “if we wait and 2020 passes us and we haven’t gotten to opening up that C-band spectrum, it gets exponentially harder for us to win this race on the 5G infrastructure,” he said.

Colt aids SAP migration with Microsoft Azure Express Route PoP

Colt Technology Services has added support for Microsoft Azure ExpressRoute connectivity capabilities at Interxion's data center in The Netherlands.

2019 app economy: TikTok ran riot as Disney got off to a flier

The older characters in the room might not get the appeal of small(est) screen entertainment, but the app economy is real and generating some serious revenues today.

Aviatrix notches a customer win with CUJO AI

Cloud-native networking vendor Aviatrix announced on Tuesday that CUJO AI is deploying its software across its global cloud network. It's a big customer win for Aviatrix, which supplies its customers with an architecture to provide a common set of networking, security and operational services across one or more public clouds.

Equinix buys bare metal data center company Packet

The co-location and interconnection behemoth Equinix is buying the bare metal data center company Packet. The parties expect the transaction to close in the first quarter of 2020. Equinix says it will disclose some details of the deal upon completion of the acquisition.

Masergy deploys shadow IT discovery service on its SD-WAN portal

Masergy is offering its managed SD-WAN customers a free shadow IT discovery solution that can pinpoint cybersecurity risks such as malware. Shadow IT threats are applications that have been downloaded by enterprise employees, unknowingly posing a risk to their organizations.

US Government and Big tech on collision course over backdoor entry

Attorney General William Barr has suggested Apple has not offered ‘material’ assistance as authorities investigate the deadly shooting which took place at a Pensacola naval base last month.

Openreach decides to connect more new builds on the house

UK fixed line infrastructure provider Openreach will now offer to connect new houses to full fibre for free on developments of 20 plots or more.

LG drives towards connected car market with Cerence tie-up

LG has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Cerence to make a play for the emerging connected car market.

PC shipments back into growth, but can connectivity make it sustainable?

PCs are often seen as the forgotten child of the technology family, though new estimates suggest there is life left in the segment.

Vodafone kicks off UK 5G multi-operator RAN era

UK operator Vodafone wants everyone to know how much it’s ramping 5G, but the big news was the hard launch of 5G RAN sharing.

Samsung's TeleWorld Acquisition Signals Broader US Ambitions

Samsung's purchase of TeleWorld Solutions this week likely reflects the company's desire to both sell to additional North American operators while re-igniting its growth in the region.

Microsoft Patches Critical Windows Security Flaw

Microsoft today patched an extremely serious vulnerability discovered by the National Security Agency that affects Windows 10, which is the most widely used operating system in enterprises and government.

Google Absorbs AppSheet to Automate Code

Google acquired no-/low-code application development platform provider AppSheet in a move that fills in a growing segment of the market focused on democratizing the developer space. The new purchase will slide into Google’s Cloud division.

Daily Roundup: Nokia Slashes Jobs

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Foreign Providers Play China Card in US 5G Gambit

The 'race to 5G' between the US and China is now at the heart of a renewed effort by a group of European and Canadian satellite companies to get money from the sale of C-Band spectrum for 5G in the US.

Pivotal Starts Shipping 5G Repeater to Verizon

Pivotal claims it can shoot 5G signals into a living room with its Echo unit.

Nokia Cuts 180 Jobs With More to Come

Nokia’s sagging financial performance is resulting in more job losses in Finland this year. The vendor today announced plans to cut about 180 jobs in its home country beginning next week and hinted at more to come.

AT&T Wins 5G Contract for Nellis Air Force Base

AT&T today announced it has reached an agreement to provide 5G services to the Nellis Air Force Base in southern Nevada. The compound is about a 20-minute drive from the hustle and bustle of the Las Vegas Strip.

Packet Acquisition Pushes Equinix to the Edge

Colocation giant Equinix will acquire bare-metal cloud startup Packet in a deal that reflects the growing importance of edge computing. Equinix plans to combine its interconnection technologies with Packet’s developer-focused bare metal service to allow customers to more quickly deploy computing resources in edge locations close to the end user.

Google Partners With CNCF, HackerOne on Kubernetes Bug Bounty

Much like the Western frontier where lawmen circulated “wanted” posters offering monetary bounties for outlaws, a handful of Kubernetes folks have put up funds for a Kubernetes bug bounty program. This group of lawmen include the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) and its Kubernetes Product Security Committee, HackerOne, and Google.

Google Cloud Powers Up on IBM Power Systems

Google has linked with IBM’s Power Systems to allow enterprises to more easily migrate workloads from their IBM-powered on-premises environments into Google’s Cloud. The move also furthers Google’s increasingly frantic push into the enterprise space.

The Telecoms.com Podcast: CES, Huawei & Farmers

The core podding crew returns from festive sloth to talk CES, Huawei and, erm, Northern Irish farmers.

What Are the Biggest Threats to Today's Major Telecom Vendors?

We asked the industry about the biggest threats to the major vendors and the answer was loud and clear – open source.

European Providers Play China Card in US 5G Gambit

The 'race to 5G' between the US and China is now at the heart of a renewed effort by a group of European satellite companies to get money from the sale of C-Band spectrum for 5G in the US.

Embattled GTT Fortifies Its SD-WAN With Fortinet

In its first contract win of the new year, Fortinet‘s SD-WAN is now available from managed service provider GTT Communications.

Equinix Acquires Packet for Bare Metal Edge Automation

Packet provides Equinix with beefed up multicloud and edge services for enterprise customers.

TiVo Seeks 'Win' in the Streaming Wars With New OTT Device

But embedding TiVo's software, interface and recommendations engines inside smart TVs will play a critical role in TiVo's post-merger future with Xperi, CEO David Shull says.

flexiWAN Offers Escape From SD-WAN Black Box

Startup flexiWAN debuts customizable, open source SD-WAN software, to give service providers an alternative to reselling the same SD-WAN services as everybody else.

Nokia to Cut 180 Finnish Jobs in 2020

The giant equipment vendor is cutting 3% of jobs in Finland this year as it tries to restore profitability.

Kaltura's Nuno Sanches: TV Undergoing a 'Generational Transformation'

Former Vodafone exec aims to broaden Kaltura's technology and influence around the globe as new and legacy video and TV services head into the cloud.

Masergy Hunts for Shadow IT

Masergy has taken up hunting but, unlike the cartoon character Elmer Fudd, it’s not “wabbits” the SD-WAN service provider is after. Instead the company is on the lookout for shadow IT, and its new Shadow IT Discovery feature aims to be much more successful at capturing its quarry than Fudd.

Eurobites: EE Tops UK Mobile Test, but Vodafone Snaps at Its Heels

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Vodacom in talks with Cell C over prepaid customers; Openreach lowers free FTTP threshold for housebuilders; Boris Johnson talks Huawei.

Masergy Shines a Light on Shadow IT Security Threats

Masergy's Shadow IT Discovery service tracks 4,300 SaaS applications and provides insight into the risk level these applications present to customers' network security.

Who Rules 5G Patents? It Depends How You Ask

There are patents and then there are standards-essential patents…

Letting Huawei Into 5G is 'Madness,' US Warns UK – Reports

A delegation of US officials is said to have presented the UK government with new evidence about the risks the Chinese vendor poses.

Wireless Capex to Increase in 2020, but Don't Expect a 5G Windfall – Analysts

ROI with 5G capex is poor for at least two years until business models develop, says Jefferies.

T-Mobile/Sprint deal faces another setback - analysts

T-Mobile’s attempt to buy Sprint and close the deal faced another setback on Friday when a federal judge extended his Tunney Act review of the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) settlement into mid-February, according to analysts.

Amazon names new head of sales for cloud unit - Bloomberg

Amazon is girding its loins to combat Microsoft and Google by naming one of its engineering executives as the head of sales and marketing for its cloud unit.

Huawei conundrum starts heating up (again)

In among the trade war rhetoric, 5G launch announcements, privacy scandals and smartphone rumours, the UK is also supposed to be making a decision on the fate of Huawei.

Samsung to bolster network services with TeleWorld acquisition

Samsung is aiming to address end-to-end network support needs and accelerate 5G rollouts in the U.S. with its acquisition of network services provider TeleWorld Solutions (TWS).

Charter tees up Spectrum Total Connect internet tiers

National organizations that do business across multiple states can tap into Charter Communications' Spectrum Total Connect for their internet needs.

Software-defined data center market to hit $235B by 2026—report

The ongoing shift to virtualized data centers will drive the software-defined data center market to $235 billion by 2026, according to a report. The software-defined data center (SDDC) market value currently sits at $40 billion, according to research by Global Market Insights.

TracFone prepares a nationwide SmartSIM program

The mobile virtual network operator TracFone is in the early stages of offering a SmartSIM program in the United States. TracFone subscribers will be able to insert a SIM card into their mobile phones, and then they will automatically be connected to the best wireless service wherever they are without any interruption.

Privacy International leads revolt over Android ‘bloatware’

Privacy International is leading a coalition of more than 50 organisations demanding Android owner Google offers users the opportunity to delete any and every app from their device.

The internet could be set for a fresh GDPR nightmare

A new academic study into online consent management platforms has concluded many of them could be flouting GDPR rules.

Belgian watchdog puts the brakes on Orange and Proximus JV

The proposed network sharing joint venture between Orange and Proximus has been slowed as the Belgian Competition Authority (BCA) launches an investigation.

It’s déjà vu all over again as Vivendi suffers another Italian defeat

Italian Media company Mediaset wants to merge its Italian and Spanish businesses, something that significant shareholder Vivendi opposes.

Philips files wearables patent complaint against Fitbit and Garmin

The US International Trade Commission (USITC) has said it will formally kick-off an investigation into Fitbit, Garmin and other parties, following a patent complaint from Philips.

Verizon shakes things up with ‘Mix and Match’ bundling options

US operator group Verizon has unveiled a ‘Mix and Match’ offering as part of its drive towards service bundling.

Samsung Acquires Network Services Provider TeleWorld Solutions to Accelerate U.S. 5G Network Expansion

Samsung Electronics today announced the completion of an agreement to acquire TeleWorld Solutions (TWS), a network services provider headquartered in Chantilly, VA. TWS provides network design, testing and optimization services to mobile service and cable operators, equipment OEMs and other companies across the U.S. With network builds associated with 5G and 4G LTE enhancements advancing in the U.S, the acquisition will address the need for end-to-end support in delivering network solutions.

SK Telecom Joins Forces with Bridge Alliance Members for Cooperation in 5G MEC

SK Telecom today announced the launch of the ‘Global MEC Task Force’ with Bridge Alliance member operators, including Singtel, Globe, Taiwan Mobile and PCCW Global, for cooperation in 5G mobile edge computing (MEC).

Vodafone UK Activates 5G Multi-Operator RAN

Vodafone today said it is the first mobile network operator to deploy 5G multi-operator radio access network (MORAN) technology in the United Kingdom. The country’s four largest operators, including Vodafone UK, originally announced last year plans to share access to each others cell towers in rural areas on a reciprocal basis.

New SIM Swap Hacks Highlight Carriers' Wobbly Security

A new study highlights just how easy it is for hackers to gain access into consumers' wireless accounts. It's called 'SIM swapping,' and it's a potentially dire security issue for the wireless industry.

Charter Goes Out-of-Footprint With New Internet Service for Large Businesses

Spectrum Total Connect focused on large, national business customers that require connectivity inside and out of Charter's 41-state footprint.

Daily Roundup: Citrix Bug Gets Uglier

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Samsung Taps TeleWorld Solutions to Elevate US 5G RAN

Samsung is bolstering its ability to serve U.S. carriers like Verizon Wireless, AT&T, and Sprint as the operators roll out 5G services through the acquisition of Virginia-based vendor TeleWorld Solutions (TWS) for an undisclosed sum. The move could make Samsung a more compelling vendor alternative to rivals Nokia and Ericsson, and help alleviate some of the pressure domestic operators are facing because the government has banned the use of equipment and services from China-based vendors Huawei and ZTE.

Citrix ACD, Gateway Bug Gets Even Uglier

Citrix today said it doesn’t expect to patch a particularly nasty bug that could hit more than 25,000 servers until later this month.

SK Telecom Launches APAC-Focused MEC Task Force

SK Telecom is bridging its mobile edge computing (MEC) reach with the launch of a new organization targeted at sharing what it has learned in 5G and MEC across the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region.

LogicMonitor Gobbles Up AIOps Provider Unomaly

Performance monitoring company LogicMonitor updated its AIOps roadmap with the acquisition of Swedish AIOps company Unomaly. The company said the deal will provide a more robust artificial intelligence (AI) base for IT teams.

Charter to Exit the Home Security Biz

Charter will soon halt support for a home security service inherited from the Time Warner Cable acquisition, and is directing existing customers to DIY options offered in partnership with Ring and Abode.

Anticipation Mounts for 3.5GHz Midband Spectrum Auction

The FCC's auction of 3.5GHz licenses represents the agency's first big midband spectrum offering. However, no one expects that auction to generate the kind of interest that a C-Band auction will produce.

China Mobile Has 3.8M 5G Subs, Targeting 100M This Year

The world's biggest operator has an ambitious goal for its 5G business and plans to have a fully standalone 5G network in place before year end.

Time to Enter the Leading Lights Awards 2020!

Never mind the Oscars! The awards season is now properly underway with the launch of the Leading Lights 2020 program, so get cracking on your submission for Light Reading's annual awards before you get swallowed up by MWC madness.

Vodafone Deploys 5G Multi-Operator RAN Gear

UK operator becomes the first to roll out 5G radio access network equipment that can be used by more than one service provider as it continues to work on slashing costs.

Eurobites: UK's Spook-in-Chief Isn't Frightened of Huawei Effect

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: MTN Nigeria breathes a sigh of tax relief; BT bets on e-esports; Proximus-Orange tie-up put on hold.

LR & SCTE Expand Partnership on Tech Webinars

Following a successful inaugural year, Light Reading and SCTE•ISBE will team up again in 2020 to produce monthly 'LiveLearnings for Professionals' webinars on cable tech topics, starting with a Jan. 16 session on cable's fiber progress.

CES 2020: 8K Won't Be a World-Beater Anytime Soon

Analyst a 'little bit cautious' about 8K given applicability to larger screens and anticipated smaller addressable market than predecessor technologies such as 4K/Ultra HD and HD.

Reports of NFV's Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated

While critics threw shade on NFV last year, support grows for the virtualization technology.