5G Strategies of T-Mobile US, Sprint Hinge on Merger

T-Mobile US and Sprint have spent the better part of the last two years hoping and planning to merge into a combined entity, but now that the outcome of that effort rests with a federal judge, the future of both companies is unclear. If the merger is blocked and the operators remain separate companies, their respective 5G plans are going to evolve considerably and quickly.

ExtraHop CEO: We’ve Doubling Down on Cloud

Two years after launching its first pure-play security product, ExtraHop CEO Arif Kareem says he’s doubling down on cloud, and he sees 5G security as an expansion opportunity for the company.

Genesys and Microsoft serve up new cloud service

Microsoft took the wraps off of a new cloud service for Azure via its partnership with Genesys. Scheduled for release later this year, Genesys Engage will run on Microsoft Azure to offer contact centers a unified customer experience solution. With Azure, Genesys Engage, which is an omnichannel customer experience solution, gives enterprises a streamlined buying process that puts them on the path to the cloud.

Windstream heralds last year's faster broadband speeds

Ahead of next month's fourth quarter earnings, Windstream touted its 2019 broadband achievements this week. Windstream announced it had delivered faster broadband connections to about 1.3 million locations last year. It also met its goal to expand its Kinetic Business 1-Gig Fiber Internet to 100,000 business locations while also deploying its fiber-based Kinetic Internet service to 100,000 locations.

5G NR drives huge growth for RAN market: report

Worldwide RAN revenues are projected to reach $200 billion over the 2019-2024 forecast period, driven by the surging demand for 5G, according to Dell’Oro Group.

C Spire upgrades Mississippi sites with more 2.5 GHz spectrum

C Spire said Thursday that it’s delivering mobile speeds up to 200 Mbps after upgrading more than 150 LTE sites across Mississippi as part of the carrier’s multi-year network investment initiative.

Cincinnati Bell garners unsolicited attention from new suitor

Cincinnati Bell announced on Friday that it has received an unsolicited buyout bid from an "infrastructure fund" for $12 a share in cash, which is a 14% increase above the buyout deal it made with Brookfield Infrastructure Partners in December.

Ericsson Q4 results hit by uncertainty of T-Mobile/Sprint deal

Uncertainty related to the proposed merger of T-Mobile and Sprint reduced sales in North America for Ericsson during the fourth quarter of 2019, but that was offset by demand in Japan and Saudi Arabia.

FCC Chairman Pai visits rural fixed wireless network in Ohio

This week FCC Chairman Ajit Pai visited a tower site of Intelliwave Broadband, a small fixed wireless broadband provider serving about 5,000 customers in rural Athens County, Ohio.

Vodafone ranks number one in the Ofcom competition no-one wants to win

Ofcom has released data detailing the complaints lodged for each telco in the UK, and Vodafone almost clean sweeps the awards.

Cisco and IBM partner on managed private cloud offering

Cisco and IBM are out of the starter blocks with new managed private cloud-as-a-service for x86 hardware that's powered by Cisco's Unified Computing System (UCS.)

Orange proves convergence should be telco business basics

A decade ago, Orange started trialling convergence in the Slovakian market, but today the success proves it should be the foundation of every successful business.

Intel sets new record with $72bn 2019 revenues

Chip giant Intel has set a new record for full-year revenues, collecting $72 billion across the course of 2019.

Facebook faces €5mn fine in Italy

The Italian competition authority, Autorita’ Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato (AGCM) is intending to fine Facebook €5 million for ignoring its previous ruling.

Healthy growth forecast for RAN market – Dell’Oro

Analyst firm Dell’Oro reckons the renewed growth being experienced by the global radio access network market has a few years left in it yet.

Ericsson shares drop on disappointing North America numbers

Sales at kit vendor Ericsson barely grew in Q4 2019, with most of the blame being pinned on the protracted merger of T-Mobile US and Sprint.

Daily Roundup: Microsoft Exposes 250M Customer Records

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Ericsson Returns to Profit Amid Rising 5G Costs

Ericsson swung back to a profit during the fourth quarter of 2019 despite a 4% year-over-year slowdown in 5G activity in North America.

Data Center Revenue Drives Intel to Record Q4

Riding on the back of record data center revenues, Intel exceeded expectations in the fourth quarter of 2019. The chipmaker reported $20.2 billion in revenue for the quarter, which exceeding guidance by $1 billion.

Cincinnati Bell Gets Bigger-Than-Brookfield Buyout Bid

The telecom firm's board said it is in talks, but still supports its original offer from Brookfield Infrastructure Partners.

Casa Boosts Revenue Guidance, Another CFO Quits

Shares are up 25% Friday after the cable and wireless tech vendor raises 2019 revenue guidance, but doesn't explain why.

DirecTV Satellite at Risk of Exploding in Orbit

AT&T/DirecTV pushing a plan to rapidly de-orbit Spaceway-1 after a 'major anomaly' crippled batteries on board a satellite that had provided backup service in Alaska.

Hengtong Set to Shape the Global Subsea Market

Recent takeover activity could shake up a market forecast to be worth $5.1 billion next year.

Pentagon Objects to New Huawei Sales Restrictions – WSJ Report

The WSJ details how a recently withdrawn regulation highlights the interagency disagreements on what the US should do about Huawei's 5G dominance.

Podcast: Don't Call Us an SD-WAN Provider – Cato Networks

Cato says simple SD-WAN doesn't cut it anymore for enterprise customers, who need SD-WAN combined with security, mobile and cloud connectivity, delivered over the cloud. It's all about a new industry buzzword: Secure Access Service Edge (SASE).

WiCipedia: Nature vs. Nurture & the Moms at Work Dilemma

This week in our WiC roundup: Men and women have the same brains; startups are less popular than you might think; flexibility for moms at work is not improving; and more.

DOCSIS 4.0 Specs Near the Finish Line

A draft of the new specs are expected to be done by the end of January, ahead of a public release that could occur by the end of March, industry sources say.

Ericsson Shares Hit by US Merger Uncertainty, Cost Challenges

Swedish kit vendor says business fundamentals remain strong but warns costs will rise this year.

Eurobites: Swisscom Climbs Aboard Private Networks Bandwagon

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Facebook faces €5 million fine in Italy; Telia selling location data; French hopeful of tech tax progress; Apple battles EU on phone ports.

Comcast adds 261,000 wireless subscribers in Q4

Comcast added 261,000 wireless subscribers in the fourth quarter, its largest gain yet in a single quarter, and putting it past the 2 million subscriber mark in total wireless customers.

U.K. poised to give Huawei limited role in 5G networks – report

British officials have formally recommended letting Huawei participate in certain portions of the country’s 5G networks, instead of an outright ban, sources told U.S. news outlets Thursday.

Indian government backpedals over operator fees

Indian officials have reportedly been told not to take ‘coercive action’ if Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel don’t pay their massive bills by today’s deadline.

Broadband growth once again highlights Comcast's earnings

Highlighted by growth in its number of broadband subscribers, Comcast's net profit in the fourth quarter increased by 26%.

Rakuten plans April launch with 4,400 base stations

Rakuten Mobile says it’s making steady progress deploying 4G base stations with more than 3,000 now on air and a target of 4,400 base stations by the time it makes its commercial launch as a mobile network operator in April.

Verizon nabs video, 4G availability wins

While Verizon didn’t shine in the popular download speed metric in Opensignal’s latest report, it nabbed top billing across the 4G Availability, Coverage and Video experience categories.

AT&T overtakes rivals for fastest download speeds – Opensignal

AT&T has climbed to the top spot for fastest average 3G and 4G LTE download speeds, overtaking T-Mobile and Verizon, according to new data from Opensignal.

Amazon files motion to stop Microsoft from working on JEDI

Amazon on Wednesday filed a motion that seeks to pause Microsoft's work on the Pentagon's $10 billion cloud contract until a court rules on its protest of how it was awarded.

Rift over 5.9 GHz grows as lawmakers express ‘alarm’

Lawmakers sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Wednesday saying they’re “alarmed” by the FCC’s proposal to reallocate more than half of the 5.9 GHz band to unlicensed operations such as Wi-Fi.

Vodafone and Sunrise ink enterprise services partnership

Vodafone Group and Sunrise announced a partnership on Thursday that allows Sunrise's enterprise customers to tap into Vodafone's business services.  

Dish issues an RFP related to fiber for its 5G network

It’s always important to remember: wireless needs wires. In that spirit, Dish today said it plans to issue another request for information and request for proposal (RFI/RFP) in the coming weeks as it prepares to build a 5G wireless network. The latest RFI/RFP will include requests for telecom transport service companies to facilitate lit and dark fiber connectivity to cell towers, buildings and data centers.

UK officials reportedly set to recommend a limited role for Huawei in UK 5G

Ahead of his final decision on whether to block Huawei from involvement in the UK 5G network, the PM is being advised that he should allow it to have a presence in the RAN.

Smartphone democracy precedent to be set in Seattle

A Washington State NGO is going to allow online voting in the election of its new board supervisor, which could set a precedent that will transform how democracy functions.

80% of Brits would support a regulated drone industry

Four in five UK residents would support the development of drone technology if the appropriate safeguards have been put in place.

One man now holds the cards in T-Mobile/Sprint deal

It has been almost 21 months since T-Mobile CEO John Legere first announced his company's intention to buy Sprint. Since then, the proposed merger has consumed hundreds of hours worked by dozens of people at T-Mobile, Sprint, SoftBank, Deutsche Telekom, the FCC, the DOJ, 16 state attorney general offices, and at least seven private law firms and investment banks. Now, the final decision about whether the merger can happen could rest with one judge, U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero of the Southern District of New York. 

Google Wants All of Your Secrets

The secret’s out — Google Cloud Secret Manager, that is. The cloud giant launched its Secrets Manager tool for Google Cloud service to help users securely store sensitive information like API keys, passwords, certificates, and other important data.

Daily Roundup: CloudGenix CEO Guns for Cisco

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250M Microsoft Customer Records Exposed; Cisco Prescribes Patches

It’s been a busy start to the new year as bug hunters and security teams have scrambled to patch a series of critical flaws and vulnerabilities.

Dish Casting Wide Net in Upcoming 5G Transport RFP

Dish says it is looking at a multitude of choices as it starts to prepare to build its greenfield 5G transport network in the US.

Rakuten Mobile Plans Commercial 4G LTE Launch in April

Rakuten Mobile today expanded the availability of its greenfield 4G LTE network to 25,000 customers and said it is on track to launch full commercial services in April.

TriggerMesh Lands $3M Investment to Bolster Serverless Interoperability

TriggerMesh raised $3 million in seed funding to back its plans of building a cloud native integration platform. The company has been working toward that goal since it burst onto the scene in late 2018 focused on a serverless management platform that runs on top of the Kubernetes-based Knative platform.

Amazon Asks Court to Stop Microsoft’s JEDI Work

Amazon said it filed a motion on Wednesday evening to stop Microsoft’s JEDI contract work with the Pentagon until a court rules on Amazon’s protest of the $10-billion-contract award.

Next-Generation Coherent Optics Lead to New Market Dynamics

As coherent optics development moves away from a one-size-fits-all approach, the market will favor vertically integrated suppliers and companies that were once suppliers will be competitors, writes industry veteran Serge Melle.

CloudGenix CEO: We’re Coming For Cisco’s Customers

The SD-WAN is a highly competitive one dominated by networking giants, but CloudGenix is on a mission to prove that a small scrappy company can, like David, chip away at a Cisco-size Goliath.

Pluribus Taps Red Hat OpenStack, Ansible For Edge Centers

Pluribus Networks introduced some updates to its software and support for a pair of new white-box switches aimed at reducing the amount of equipment required to automate the virtualization of network functions and workflows in a distributed cloud or edge data center.

Comcast Expects Steeper Pay-TV Losses as Broadband Growth Remains 'Top Priority'

Meanwhile, Xfinity Mobile adds 261,000 lines in Q4, ending 2019 with more than 2 million.

Brace Yourselves for a 5G Patents Punch-Up

InterDigital's 'transparency' move highlights battle for 5G bragging rights as China's IPR claims get louder.

China Targets Standalone 5G in Year of the Rat

Activity around 5G is set to occupy the attention of China's telecom executives this year. And research into 6G is already underway.

Shipping Giant UPS to Test Private Wireless Network in Montana

UPS said it plans to conduct a substantial test of private wireless networking technology in Billings, Montana. Company officials acknowledged their interest in private LTE and 5G networks.

MWC2020: What's Next for 5G

Ahead of MWC2020 in Barcelona, Heaving Reading Principal Analyst Gabriel Brown examines the state of the 5G market and talks about what to expect next from the mobile broadband market.

Eurobites: UK Officials Back Limited 5G Role for Huawei – Report

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Sunrise teams up with Vodafone for enterprise market; Swisscom joins FreeMove Alliance; UK holds firm on digital services tax.

CityFibre CEO: I'd Welcome BT as a Customer

Shifting some of its business from Openreach to CityFibre would be a 'super smart' move by BT's directors, says Greg Mesch, as he eyes a much bigger role in the UK's national broadband market.

Verizon teams up with Google's Stadia gaming platform for 1-Gig

Verizon and Google have teamed up for a symbiotic relationship that puts Google's Stadia gaming system into the hands of new Fios subscribers.

The hacking of Jeff Bezos’ phone should serve as a smartphone security wake-up call

The UN is calling for an investigation into reports that the owner of the Washington Post may have had his phone hacked by the Saudi Crown Prince.

Privafy debuts cloud-native security application

In order to combat "data-in-motion" security threats, Privafy announced its cloud-native security application to take on legacy security vendors.

CenturyLink wins U.S. Department of Defense contract

Score another government win for CenturyLink. Coming on the heels of last week's $1.6 billion contract with the U.S. Department of Interior, the telco announced it has won a task order to provide secure connectivity to the U.S. Department of Defense Education Activity's learning network.

Huawei issues don’t mean ‘free ride’ for Ericsson, CEO says

Ericsson CEO Börje Ekholm on Tuesday pushed back against the idea that U.S. pressure on Huawei gives the Swedish telecom equipment vendor a “free ride,” telling CNBC he doesn’t think so.

Vapor IO rakes in $90 million in Series C funding

Edge-computing startup Vapor IO announced it has completed a $90 million Series C round of funding, as well as a new agreement with Cloudflare. Austin-based Vapor IO has now raised a total of $100 million in funding, which it will use to build-out its nationwide Kinetic Edge platform. Crown Castle and Berkshire Partners provided the investments into Vapor IO after the Series C funding round started in 2018.

Qualcomm, Audi to conduct C-V2X pilot on Virginia roads

It’s not a commercial deployment by any means—that’s not allowed under current Federal Communication Commission (FCC) rules—but Qualcomm, Audi of America and the Virginia Department of Transportation are planning for initial C-V2X deployments on Virginia roadways.

Could Iliad Italia be a victim of Corporate Darwinism?

Iliad’s Italian business unit has lodged complaints with Italian and European regulators regarding network sharing deals, but could these objections be effectively ignored?

Vapor IO raises $90M for nationwide edge rollout

Vapor IO announced an additional investment by private equity firm Berkshire Partners and Crown Castle, bringing its aggregate Series C funding to $90 million and providing the means to accelerate its Kinetic Edge buildout.

Raynovich: VMware picks up Nyansa for AIOps smarts

Most things in networking these days are about building smarter, more automated systems. VMware announced on Tuesday its intent to purchase Nyansa, a Palo Alto, California-based startup that makes network analytics software designed to make enterprise networks smarter.

Netflix reports solid Q4 but braces for a challenging 2020

Video streaming giant Netflix reported revenue growth of 31% on the back of 21% subscriber growth, but it will face a lot more competition this year.

Vodafone snubs Libra in favour of M-Pesa

Vodafone has withdrawn from Facebook’s digital currency initiative Libra, as regulators and bureaucrats circle overhead.

Iliad calls on courts to block Wind Tre and Fastweb sharing deal

Wind Tre and Fastweb have been attempting to take network sharing in Italy to a new level in recent months, but once again, Iliad has its objections.

Telefónica reportedly receives €10 billion bid for 51% of its Hispanoamérica business

A group of Latin American oligarchs seem to have had a whip-round to buy a majority stake in all Telefónica operations in the continent, bar Brazil.

5G on the Menu at Davos

CEOs at Ericsson and Verizon talk 5G realities amidst a mass of marketing talk and techno-babble about the next-gen communications standard at The World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Daily Roundup: VMware Buys Nyansa

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Arista Networks Buys Big Switch

Arista Networks bought SDN vendor Big Switch Networks, according to sources familiar with the deal.

US Pledges $1B to Roast Huawei With Open RAN 5G

The U.S. government’s attempts to stymie Chinese vendors’ strength and ability to build radio access networks (RAN) and software for 5G is evolving. A group of U.S. senators last week introduced a bill that would funnel more than $1 billion into 5G-related research and development in open RAN technologies that could elevate U.S. companies as an alternative to Huawei and ZTE.

Red Hat, Cloud Save IBM

IBM investors latched onto a sliver of hope as flat — at best — fourth quarter and full-year 2019 results were bolstered by the promise of a better 2020 thanks to its Red Hat-infused cloud business.

Verizon Exec Launches Privafy, Challenges Firewall, SD-WAN, VPN Vendors

Privafy, a security startup founded by former Verizon executive Guru Pai and NXP Semiconductors CEO Rick Clemmer, launched today with $22 million in funding and nearly a dozen paying customers, according to Pai. Its platform integrates a host of security services as the company looks to win market share from firewall vendors like Palo Alto Networks and SD-WAN providers including VMware’s VeloCloud.

Verizon Teams With Google Stadia to Pump 1-Gig Fios

Partnership bundles 1-Gig Fios with the Stadia Premiere Edition package, with a focus on 4K resolution and plans for Verizon to pitch similar perks to new Verizon 5G Home customers.

Rogers Still Seeking Ignite TV Spark

Rogers' video sub losses moderated in Q4, but the big Canadian MSO continues to shed TV customers at a steady clip after completing its rollout of Ignite TV, a syndicated version of Comcast's X1 video platform.

Big Questions Ducked in Huawei CFO Extradition Case

Meng Wanzhou's defense rests mainly on the fact that Canada is on relatively good terms with Iran.

Vapor IO Raises $90M to Build ‘Nationwide’ Edge Computing Network

Vapor IO raised $90 million in a Series C funding round, bringing its total amount raised to more than $100 million, and reached an agreement for Cloudflare to deploy its cloud services on Vapor IO’s Kinetic Edge platform. The company’s Kinetic Edge platform is comprised of data center facilities, middle mile networking, and SDN.

Connected Car Industry Struggles With C-V2X vs. DSRC Questions

Momentum around C-V2X is growing as automakers such as Ford promise to equip all new cars with the technology by 2022.

VMware Extends Its SD-WAN Tentacles With Nyansa Acquisition

VMware will acquire networking startup to extend SD-WAN optimization to the LAN, helping service providers build enterprise business.

Vapor IO Nets $90M for Edge Computing Buildout

Funding from Berkshire Partners and Crown Castle will go to build mini data centers for edge computing around the US.

Eurobites: Deutsche Telekom Piggybacks Glasfaser's Fiber in Germany

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Portugal's MEO opts for Allot security; Vodafone pulls out of Libra digital currency project; robots in Davos.

MWC2020: Smart Biz Models & Edge in the Spotlight

Heavy Reading senior analyst James Crawshaw is heading to MWC and expects to be chatting about smart business models, Industry X.0, edge and more in Barcelona.

Telcos Might Get Payment Breather in AGR Case in India

India's government seems prepared to listen to the country's ailing service providers, but the future remains bleak for one of them.

Wave Business constructs new data center facility in Oregon

Wave Business is building a new fiber-optic data center in Oregon that's scheduled to be completed in the second quarter of this year. The Hillsboro, Oregon data center, which is called Ring II, will feature a mostly 3,456-strand fiber-optic network when it's completed.

Gap narrowing between Crown Castle, peers – analyst

Crown Castle could be poised to narrow the performance gap in coming years between itself and tower REIT peers as T-Mobile and AT&T use up certain capacity rights and the company pushes through its small cell backlog, according to a new report by Wall Street firm MoffettNathanson.

SK Telecom completes 5G standalone call

SK Telecom said that on January 16 it accomplished a standalone (SA) 5G data call on its commercial 5G network. The operator also said that it plans to launch SA 5G services in the first half of this year.

Netherlands named as Europe’s meanest GDPR henchman

The Netherlands has seen the most GDPR breach notifications reported to the regulator, but the spread of activity, or inactivity in some nations, is quite remarkable.

Trump’s tariff belligerence pays off once more as France capitulates over tech tax

After France unveiled plans to raise taxes on internet companies the US threatened to slap tariffs on French food. Now France is putting the new tax on hold.

Frontier spins towards a mid-March bankruptcy filing—report

Embattled Frontier Communications is working with its creditors to file for bankruptcy by the middle of March as part of its efforts to right the ship.

T-Mobile/Sprint decision unlikely to be appealed - analyst

While the world waits for a judge’s decision on whether the proposed merger of T-Mobile and Sprint will be allowed to go forward, analysts at New Street Research say the likelihood that either side ends end up appealing is low.

Canonical debuts Anbox Cloud to host Android apps in the cloud

Canonical announced its Anbox Cloud, which allows service providers and enterprises to distribute Android apps from the cloud by using containers. Offloading compute, storage and energy-intensive applications from hardware to the cloud allows end-users to stream applications to their devices using Android as a guest operating system. Use cases for Anbox Cloud include cloud gaming, enterprise workplace applications, software testing, and mobile device virtualization.

Windstream adds 1,000 long-haul fiber miles; bonus plan approved

Windstream Wholesale is teaming up with Infinera to add 1,000 miles of long-haul fiber for a route that serves the Pacific Northwest.

Top universities around the globe are looking beyond 5G

Back in 2015 and 2016 when 5G was still in its infancy, many top academic institutions around the globe developed initiatives devoted to 5G research. The University of Surrey in the U.K. has a 5G Innovation Centre that opened in September 2015. Technische Universität Dresden (TU Dresden) in Dresden, Germany opened a 5G Lab Germany in 2014. The Tokyo Institute of Technology worked closely with operator NTT DoCoMo on 5G networking. The University of Texas at Austin is home to the Wireless Networking and Communications Group. And New York University’s Brooklyn engineering school has NYU Wireless, which partners with companies like Nokia, Intel, AT&T and others for 5G research and recruitment.  

Disney+ to launch March 24 in Europe

Disney will be entering the European streaming wars on March 24 will an offer which undercuts industry leader Netflix.

4G roaming traffic doubles once more – BICS

Roaming platform provider BICS has revealed that 4G roaming traffic around the world doubled for the third year running in 2019.

CityFibre buys FibreNation from debt-laden TalkTalk for £200 million

CityFibre has announced it will acquire FibreNation from TalkTalk for £200 million, as the latter has struggled to source funds to help it meet the three million FTTH connections it targeted.

Huawei boss plays Pollyanna in Davos

In a live discussion at the World Economic Forum, Huawei CEO Ren Zhengfei insisted that his company is barely affected by US sanctions.

SK Telecom and Microsoft Expands Project xCloud Preview to Strengthen Leadership in Cloud Gaming Market

SK Telecom and Microsoft today announced that they will expand Project xCloud Preview in Korea, inviting more players to participate, adding new games, and delivering the Microsoft Game Streaming app via the One Store beginning Tuesday, January 21, 2020.

VMware Acquires AIOps Vendor Nyansa to Bolster SD-WAN

VMware today announced its intent to acquire AIOps provider Nyansa for an undisclosed sum, marking a sustained appetite for acquisitions following its $2.7 billion Pivotal purchase among others.

Daily Roundup: Cisco Advances Intent-Based Networking

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Netflix Adds 8.76M Subs Worldwide in Q4

Streaming giant sees subs slow in the US and Canada but remains confident of its 'big headstart' on new streaming rivals such as Disney+ and Apple TV+.

Startup Intros NB-IoT Cow Capsule, Inks Deal With TDC

South Korean startup intros digestible NB-IoT capsule for cows, links up with TDC, as carriers and startups look to agribusiness for more IoT revenue.

Telefónica Scores SD-WAN, Security Deal With Arlanxeo

Telefónica will head up a massive IT modernization effort for Netherlands-based synthetic elastomer company Arlanxeo. The five-year contract will span more than 20 production sites in 11 countries across four continents.

SK Telecom Boasts Standalone 5G ‘First,’ Readies Launch

There are many firsts to accomplish amid the advancement to 5G and SK Telecom has claimed a few, including another feat this week. The South Korean operator said it successfully initiated the “world’s first standalone (SA) 5G data session” using equipment from multiple vendors on a commercial 5G network.

Snyk Secures $150M, Snags $1B Valuation

Snyk, a developer-focused security startup that and identifies vulnerabilities in open source applications, announced a $150 million Series D funding round today. This brings the company’s total investment to $250 million alongside reports that put the company’s valuation at more than $1 billion.

Verizon Notches Connected Car Win Against AT&T

Verizon snatched some Audi business away from AT&T, partly thanks to its support of eSIM technology in connected cars. But it might be more of a moral victory for Verizon than a major shift.

Exclusive: Cisco Adds Network Insights to IBN

Cisco added new network insight capabilities to its data center portfolio that the vendor says makes networking operations proactive rather than reactive. It’s another step closer to a fully automated, self-correcting network, or what Cisco and others call intent-based networking.

Citrix Swats ADC, Gateway Bugs, SD-WAN Fix in the Wings

Citrix rolled out some fixes to close nasty vulnerabilities in certain versions of its Application Delivery Controller (ADC) and Gateway products that could impact more than 25,000 servers. However, fixes for its SD-WAN and other ADC iterations are not expected until the end of the week.

Podcast: The US Government's $1B Plans to Beat Huawei

The US government's push to invest in open radio access networks is part of a broader effort – and multiple $1B proposals – to beat the Chinese telecom industrial complex.

Frontier Preps for New Chapter

Unfortunately, that new chapter looks likely to be Chapter 11.

Disney+ Accelerates Its European Invasion

Disney's subscription VoD service sets March 24 debut in the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Austria and Switzerland, a week earlier than expected.

SmarTone Preps 5G Enterprise Apps as It Targets Mid-Year Launch

The Hong Kong operator is mainly excited about the enterprise opportunity as it rolls out its 5G network.

Skylo Ready to Launch Global NB-IoT Satellite-Based Network in Summer 2020

Startup Skylo says it is ready to bring NB-IoT to the world, using satellites and inexpensive hubs.

The Telecoms.com Podcast: Open RAN, Europe & US Convergence

Open RAN, Europe and Verizon feel the pod-love this week.

Eurobites: Vodafone Tweaks Wholesale Terms With CityFibre to Speed 'Gigafast' Rollout

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: A1 flips 5G switch in Austria; ADVA connects trains over 5G in Spain; handset sales slump at Dixons Carphone.

CityFibre Expands UK Empire With £200M Acquisition

Snaps up TalkTalk's FibreNation unit, a move that puts even greater pressure on national fixed access operator Openreach.

Deep dive: what’s the deal with network sharing?

Telcos are scrapping and scraping around to fuel the 5G euphoria which has gripped the industry, and any option to do it more cost effectively would be lovingly embraced.

Germany to wait until March for Huawei decision – report

German Chancellor Angela Merkel might ask German lawmakers to wait until the conclusion of the March EU Summit before making a Huawei decision, reports suggest.

UK government resists establishment appointment for Ofcom boss

The newly-elected Tory government is reportedly pushing back on Ofcom’s desire to give its top job to another member of the UK establishment.

Liquid targets early 2020 for South African 5G wholesale launch

Liquid Telecom has said it plans to launch a 5G wholesale network in all major South African cities in early 2020.

SK Telecom claims multi-vendor 5G transmission first with Ericsson and Samsung

Korean operator SK Telecom says it has managed the world’s first standalone 5G data session on a multi-vendor commercial 5G network.

TomTom to fill the Google mapping void for Huawei

Dutch navigation specialist TomTom has been announced as Huawei’s replacement for Google’s mapping expertise, following the firm’s entry on the US Entity List.

Cisco’s Internet for the Future Vision Redefines the Economics

Yesterday at a virtual event, Cisco discussed details about our breakthrough innovations in silicon, optics, software and systems that are so impactful that we'll be talking about them for decades to come, as the economics of the Internet will forever change.

KT and Samsung Medical Center to Build 5G Smart Hospital

KT Corporation, Korea’s largest telecommunications company, and the Samsung Medical Center (SMC) announced last week that they have jointly developed an innovative, 5G-powered medical service as an initial step to establishing a 5G smart hospital.

SK Telecom Achieves World’s First Standalone 5G Over-the-Air Data Transmission on Multi-Vendor Commercial 5G Network

SK Telecom today announced that it has successfully accomplished the world’s first standalone (SA) 5G data session on its multi-vendor commercial 5G network.

Germany Keeps World Guessing on Huawei

Policymakers in Europe's biggest economy are struggling to arrive at a decision about the controversial Chinese vendor.

After 10 Years and $34B, Australia's NBN Falls Short

Despite Australian ambitions to build a world-leading broadband network, the state-funded project has left the country trailing in broadband rankings.

CenturyLink Inks $1.6B Networking Deal With US Interior Department

SD-WAN, multicloud connectivity and security services are among the technologies CenturyLink will bring to bear for the agency's more than 65,000 employees, 280,000 volunteers and 2,400 operating locations.

Vietnam Makes Big Bet on Homegrown 5G

The country's biggest telecom operator is set to launch a 5G network based on technology it developed internally.

Eurobites: Huawei Takes TomTom Route to Plug Google Navigation Gap

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: EU bigwig plays down the Huawei-shaped hole in 5G rollout; Ericsson researches 5G in France; Telefónica's flexibility impresses rubber giant.

Meet the Biggest Private Wireless Network Operator You've Never Heard of

Infrastructure Networks covers 130,000 square miles of US territory with a high-speed 4G LTE network. But its services aren't designed for mobile phones.