T-Mobile weighs which stores stay closed post-merger

U.S. operators across the board reported net losses in prepaid subscribers in the first quarter of 2020, but checks by Wave7 Research show prepaid sales were up modestly in April – likely with the help of stimulus checks.

US targets Huawei semiconductor supply chain as 5G battle continues

With muted success in combating the sustained success of the Huawei juggernaut, the US has revealed its latest offensive play; attack the vendors semiconductor supply chain.

VMware SVP Patrick Morley Talks Top 3 Security Priorities

VMware Carbon Black kicked off its Connect 2020 virtual event with a bang as SVP and GM Patrick Morley announced a strategic security acquisition (Octarine) and a coalition that includes all of the leading security information and event management (SIEM) and security orchestration, automation, and response (SOAR) players. The vendor also detailed deeper integrations between its Carbon Black Cloud security platform, acquired when it bought that company for $2.1 billion last year, and its device management products. And it plans to add new integrations with other VMware products this year.

Deutsche Telekom steady in Q1 despite pandemic

Deutsche Telekom (DT), the largest shareholder of T-Mobile US, reported a strong start to the 2020 financial year despite the COVID-19 crisis.

Report: Telecom services sector resilient in face of COVID-19

Due to its ability to provide critical services, COVID-19 is having a limited impact on the worldwide telecommunications sector, according to a report. International Data Corporation (IDC) said worldwide spending on telecommunications and pay TV services will reach almost $1.6 trillion this year, which would be down by 0.8% from last year.

AT&T expands relationship with Cradlepoint

AT&T and Cradlepoint are trying to make it easier for first responders and enterprises to get end-to-end wireless wide area network (WAN) solutions from AT&T.

Rakuten delays 5G launch by three months

Rakuten Mobile has pushed back its timeline to launch 5G service in Japan by three months until the fall, citing impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Raynovich: The real story behind Microsoft's Metaswitch buy

Oh dear. The trade press is at it again. Microsoft jumps on Metaswitch, which it announced it's acquiring, and everybody takes things at face value rather than seeing the forest through the trees. The consensus story is that Microsoft is buying Metaswitch Networks —after it bought Affirmed Networks—because it wants to be a service provider supplier. Bwahahahahah!

Intelsat files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

Intelsat has announced it will restructure its finances as it files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

TSMC to build new fab in the US – your move China

The mobile industry’s default semiconductor manufacturer is building its next fab in the US, a move that could have major geopolitical implications.

Reports suggest the BT empire is beginning to crumble

No-one in the UK should be in the same league as BT, but poorly executed strategy has kept rivals within touching distance and now the foundations are reportedly being sold off.

US Senate blurs democratic principles with OK for warrantless searches

In a move which is more suited to an authoritarian state, the US Senate has voted to extend the powers of intelligence authorities to search browser history without a court warrant.

Microsoft doubles down on the telco cloud with Metaswitch acquisition

Don’t say you weren’t warned, telecoms industry. The tech big guns are trained on your home turf and they’re not afraid to splash the cash.

TSMC Tosses Trump a Bone, Builds $12B US Chip Fab

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) today announced plans to build an advanced chip fab in Arizona with the support of the U.S. government.

Cradlepoint Partners With AT&T, Puts the ‘Branch in a Box’

Cradlepoint today launched a new WAN edge router for enterprise branch deployments alongside an agreement with AT&T to resell the vendor’s networking equipment.

Daily Roundup: Oracle Challenges AWS

In case you’ve been stuck in video conference meetings all day, here are today’s top stories from SDxCentral. Also, make sure to subscribe to our daily newsletter to get these stories in your inbox.

HBO Max might have Friends, but Amazon and Roku aren't yet among them

Roku and Amazon – two of the biggest video providers in the market – do not have agreements to distribute AT&T's HBO Max, a situation that clearly casts a shadow over the operator's video ambitions.

US broadcasters plow ahead with 'NextGen TV'

Despite some launch delays caused by COVID-19, broadcasters intend to light up ATSC 3.0 signals in several markets this year as new 3.0-capable TV sets arrive on the scene.

WiCipedia: Making diversity a priority in job searches

This week in our WiC roundup: How to tell if your future employer is focused on diversity; YouTube's policies leave room for error; women take the lead in cybersecurity practices; and more.

DigitalOcean Inhales Another $50M Toward Profit Quest

DigitalOcean scored another $50 million in Series C financing just months after closing a precarious $320 million debt financing that the cloud provider claimed would set it on a course toward profitability.

5G gives RAN market a Q1 boost – Dell'Oro

Research firm maintains overall RAN growth outlook for 2020, despite COVID-19 uncertainty.

Eurobites: French regulator reconnoitres multi-network mobile market

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Telia does remote healthcare monitoring with Capio; media network home run for Net Insight; 5G not imminent in Africa.

Could 2020 be cable's break-out year in mobile?

Cable providers like Comcast and Charter have already outstripped AT&T and Verizon in terms of quarterly postpaid mobile customer additions. What they do next could cement their mobile ambitions.

Rakuten delays 5G launch by three months on COVID-19 disruption

Japanese disruptor's plans are dealt a blow by the virus, but a spokesperson insists there will be minimal impact on business performance.

Rakuten Mobile Abruptly Delays 5G Timeline

Rakuten Mobile completely changed its 5G tune in the span of four weeks. The operator today said its 5G network will be delayed about three months due to some supply chain issues related to the COVID-19 crisis.

TSMC to build second US-based chip plant in Arizona

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. is to begin construction of new $12B facility in 2021, with production slated to start in 2024.

Illumio Pushes Segmentation, Zero-Trust to App Teams

Illumio added a feature to its segmentation software that lets application teams build software-defined perimeters around individual application instances.

Oracle Challenges AWS to Cloud Calculator Duel

Oracle this week put its money – and yours – where its mouth is by launching the Oracle Cloud Workload Cost Estimator as a direct challenge to Amazon Web Service (AWS) to prove the claim that its own cloud is cheaper. 

Virus-linked cell tower attacks threaten NZ services

Arsonists in New Zealand have carried out 14 attacks on cell towers in the past six weeks alone, causing damage and disruption at a time when people are relying on connectivity the most.

Openreach may soon practice social distancing from BT

UK telecom giant BT is in talks about a partial divestment of Openreach that would value the network's business at £20 billion (US$24.4 billion), according to a Financial Times report.

Ciena tunes up first 800G network in Europe for Deutsche Telekom

Working with Ciena, Deutsche Telekom Global Carrier is laying claim to the first European 800G transmission, which connected its data centers in Vienna. The 800 Gbps transmission was successfully validated for stability and error rates in a live environment.

Microsoft buys Metaswitch, advancing its telecom ambitions

Microsoft is buying Metaswitch Networks, a U.K. company that develops software for both fixed and wireless telecommunications networks. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The acquisition follows quickly on the heels of Microsoft’s recent purchase of Affirmed Networks, which closed on April 23, 2020.

Huawei and ZTE banned from doing business in the US for another year

US President Donald trump has extended his executive order that prohibits US companies from doing business with companies from certain countries.

ISPs seek compensation to Keep Americans Connected

The nation’s internet service providers, both for fixed and mobile services, are beginning to see the economic impacts from their pledge to not disconnect customers during the COVID-19 crisis.

Adtran scores a big deal with Openreach for fiber deployment

In order to achieve its goal of having multi-gigabit services to 4.5 million premises across the U.K. by March of next year, Openreach is now working with Adtran.

Trump extends telecom order targeting Huawei gear by one year

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday extended an executive order signed last year until May 2021, prohibiting American companies from using telecom gear and services supplied by entities that pose a threat to national security.

Intelsat files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

Satellite operator Intelsat filed for Chapter 11 restructuring, saying the move is intended in part to position the company to participate in clearing of C-band spectrum under an FCC order that will provide that spectrum for 5G.

Industry Voices—Raynovich: Why are Cisco shares rising, you ask?

Cisco shares rose Thursday morning on less-than-terrible earnings news, providing a counterpoint to the general malaise in the economy and the overall stock market, which has suffered steep losses this week on deteriorating sentiment about the economy. 

VMware to buy Kubernetes security startup Octarine

VMware announced it was buying Kubernetes security vendor Octarine to simplify DevSecOps and enable cloud-native environments to be intrinsically secure from development through runtime. Financial terms of the deal weren't disclosed.

France imposes 1-hour deadline on some social media censorship on pain of massive fines

A new law has been passed in France that allows it to impose draconian punishments on social media companies that fail to take down some content within 60 minutes.

Brits have the lowest mobile download speed among G7 users

New report on mobile experience from Opensignal shows the UK has the lowest average download speed among the G7 countries, and it has barely improved since a year ago. Canada and South Korea top the table.

Huawei threatened to pull investment from Denmark in response to new screening law

The head of Huawei Denmark sent a letter to the Danish Prime Minister indicating it would rethink its involvement with the country if special security requirements were imposed on it.

Finland joins the quest for quantum computing strengths

The Technical Research Centre of Finland is going to build the country’s first quantum computer, joining a growing European contingent to compete at the front of next generation computing technology.

Intelsat's bankruptcy could throw wrench into Verizon's 5G plans

Intelsat is one of the primary users of C-Band spectrum, which the FCC wants to auction for 5G. Now the company's future is in the hands of a bankruptcy judge.

Nvidia Pulls Piping Hot AI Chip Straight From the Oven

Hefting a massive 50 pound GPU from his oven, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang unveiled the company’s first AI accelerator based on the all-new Ampere architecture during Thursday’s virtual Nvidia GTC event.

Slow Drip to Service Mesh With HashiCorp Consul 1.8

Success doesn’t happen overnight, nor does migrating from a legacy environment to a service mesh platform, that’s why HashiCorp today announced the beta availability of its service networking platform. Consul 1.8 includes features that enable incremental migration towards a service mesh in heterogeneous environments.

Microsoft Munches Metaswitch to Satiate 5G Craving

Microsoft’s appetite for 5G remains robust as the computing giant has acquired virtualized network software provider Metaswitch Networks in a move to further bolster its 5G-based networking portfolio. The deal comes less than two months after Microsoft acquired virtualized evolved packet core (vEPC) vendor Affirmed Networks.

Deutsche Telekom shrugs off virus, flexes pecs as sales, profits rise

Teutonic giant maintains outlook for €800 million in earnings growth this year, describing itself as an 'anchor of stability.'

Enterprise Job-Cut Plans Accelerating, Gartner Finds

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is quickly impacting enterprise workforce plans, according to a new finance executive survey conducted by Gartner. This despite the pledge by some in the software and cloud space to forgo such moves in light of the growing economic uncertainty.

AWS CEO Claims Cloud Benefits All Enterprises

“People are rethinking how they build in this unprecedented era of data growth,” Amazon Web Services (AWS) CEO Andy Jassy said during this week’s AWS Summit Online.

Microsoft gets serious about telecom with Metaswitch purchase

Although Metaswitch reported revenues of just $180 million in 2019, the company is viewed as a knowledgeable vendor of deep networking services, which signals Microsoft's ambitions in the space.

Deutsche Telekom job cuts hit 20K since 2015 as pace ratchets up

The German telecom incumbent has cut about 4,000 jobs from its payroll this year so far as it continues to pursue greater efficiency.

Red Hat Extends OpenShift Control Into AWS

Red Hat expanded managed support of its bread-and-butter OpenShift platform to Amazon Web Services (AWS) allowing for an enterprise-focused Kubernetes service that is jointly managed by both vendors. The move follows up on a similar launch last year with Microsoft’s Azure cloud.

Charter CFO: The 5G threat to wired home broadband has 'subsided'

But cable operator remains bullish on how 5G can be applied to other applications and portions of the market.

South Korea, Japan top 5G speed chart – report

But speed is not king when it comes to video experience.

Cisco takes a coronavirus beating as profits fall

The Internet equipment giant is suffering as supply chains are disrupted and business customers cancel projects.

China's 5G fever triggers 6G delirium as experts channel Dr. Dolittle

China's 5G dominance is causing some experts to blather about the possibilities for 6G, but the country's leadership in this space is brittle.

Gogo guards 5G plan despite downturn

COVID-19 sent Gogo's business into a tailspin, but the company still plans to build its planned 5G network – for the moment at least.

Eurobites: BT's Openreach adds Adtran to its fiber force

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Orange announces new subsea project; Bouygues' first quarter dinged by COVID-19; Germany's approach to coronavirus contact tracing.

Google Takes Aim at AWS With VMware Engine

Google Cloud’s new service aims at Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) partnership with VMware by making it easier to migrate and run VMware workloads on Google Cloud.

Daily Roundup: VMware, Google Deepen Ties

In case you’ve been stuck in video conference meetings all day, here are today’s top stories from SDxCentral. Also, make sure to subscribe to our daily newsletter to get these stories in your inbox.

Sunrise lowers 2020 revenue guidance over COVID-19

Swiss operator reports revenue growth for the first quarter of 2020 and said business remains robust, but coronavirus effects were evident in March and the outlook is less certain than before.

Loon strikes deal with Vodacom in Mozambique

Loon, the balloon-oriented business that started as a crazy experiment within Google, announced a deal with Vodacom, one of the biggest mobile network operators in Africa.

A variety of operators are likely to bid in the CBRS auction

The priority access license (PAL) Auction 105 for Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) spectrum will begin on July 23. FierceWireless will be exploring the topic Monday, May 18 during its free virtual panel: “Service Providers and CBRS: Where’s the opportunity?”

AT&T's Stankey: Expect a slow climb out from COVID-19 this year

AT&T's John Stankey doesn't think there will be a quick bounce back from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, but there are a few bright spots starting to emerge.

ZTE targets China Broadcasting Network with 4.9 GHz boast

Boasting about validation of the industry’s first 5G carrier aggregation on 700 MHz and 4.9 GHz might not be the biggest humblebrag but remember who has access to this spectrum.

Sprint consumer brand headed for summer sunset

The newly merged Sprint/T-Mobile entity already is presenting a unified strategy in the enterprise department, and this summer, it will do the same for the consumer segment.

Rakuten buys OSS startup Innoeye with more than 500 employees

Rakuten Mobile is acquiring the operations support system (OSS) startup Innoeye. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Rakuten is already using Innoeye’s software in its greenfield wireless network in Japan to support its 4G/5G cloud.

Colt drops latency on European routes with Arista's switches

Colt Technology Services has lowered the latency on its European PrizmNet routes that serve capital markets by deploying new switches from Arista Networks. Colt's PrizmNet was designed to meet the low latency, high-speed requirements of financial brokers, investment funds and foreign exchange-related applications.

Telia, Ericsson turn on 5G in Norway

Telia turned on its commercial 5G network in parts of Norway this week, alongside vendor Ericsson, with the aim of nationwide coverage by the end of 2023.  

US politicians want to use crisis to increase state influence over operators

Some Democrat Senators want to make it illegal for communications service providers to disconnect their customers during the coronavirus pandemic.

Adva, 6WIND provision WiTCOM's new edge cloud with uCPE and NFV

Adva and 6WIND were among the vendors to provision Germany-based WiTCOM's new edge cloud platform that will host smart city services.

Dispersive Networks takes aim at disrupting the SD-WAN sector

Self-proclaimed announcements of being a disruptor in the telecommunications industry have almost become table stakes for new entrants, but Dispersive Networks could live up to that billing.

UK broadband networks are standing up to coronavirus pressures – Ofcom

UK telecoms regulator Ofcom has suggested while there has been a very minor impact to broadband speeds during the COVID-19 pandemic, it isn’t enough for anyone to be concerned.

New Zealand sensibly abandons latest 5G auction and just hands the spectrum over

A chunk of mid-band spectrum was due to be auctioned-off in New Zealand around now, but COVID-19 has caused a change of plan.

Return to work messages start to appear as Twitter hands power to employees

One of the questions which has lingered over the last few weeks is whether the COVID-19 enforced digital transformation will persist in the long-term, though the answer is becoming a bit clearer.

T-Mobile Adds 1,000 Radios a Month, Eyes 30% Tower Increase

T-Mobile US is upgrading 1,000 existing sites per month and expanding its nationwide macro base station footprint by 30% during the “coming years,” according to Neville Ray, the operator’s president of technology.

Rakuten Mobile’s Ambitious 5G Plans Bleed Red

Rakuten Mobile’s entrance into the highly penetrated Japanese telecommunications market using a fully virtualized cloud-native network architecture to power its 4G LTE and 5G service is having a significant financial hit on its parent company’s overall operations, but that is not stopping the mobile unit from spending even more money to bolster its long-term telecom plans.

Harmonic takes aim at cable network capacity upgrades

New remote PHY 'shelf' running Harmonic's CableOS software enables MSOs to quickly add upstream and downstream capacity without the troubles typically associated with traditional node splits, company claims.

Cisco CEO: During Pandemic, Customers Want Vendors They Trust

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, and companies across sectors tighten their purse strings as the global economy worsens, customers prefer to stick with vendors they know, said Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins.

Daily Roundup: VMware Buys Security Startup

In case you’ve been stuck in video conference meetings all day, here are today’s top stories from SDxCentral. Also, make sure to subscribe to our daily newsletter to get these stories in your inbox.

AT&T's HBO Max is coming, but not via Amazon Fire app store

AT&T's CEO said HBO Max will be available across distributors like Charter Communications, Apple and Google. But Amazon will likely be missing from that mix.

United Internet sees 5G costs begin to mount despite COVID-19 delay

The parent company of 1&1 Drillisch reports only moderate growth in operating profits, although it hails the first quarter of 2020 as a good start to the year.

Fortinet CMO: Pandemic Puts SD-WAN, Security in the Spotlight

As the networking landscape evolves in the wake of the pandemic, security and SD-WAN are more important than ever, said Fortinet CMO John Maddison during this week’s Fortinet Accelerate virtual conference.

VMware Buys Kubernetes Security Startup Octarine

VMware Carbon Black kicked off its Connect 2020 virtual conference today announcing that it will acquire Kubernetes security startup Octarine. It also formed a coalition with leading security information and event management (SIEM) and security orchestration, automation, and response (SOAR) providers Splunk, IBM Security, Google Cloud’s Chronicle, Exabeam, and Sumo Logic.

Stored Data Doubling Every 4 Years, IDC Says

IDC is estimating that the worldwide installed base of data storage capacity will grow nearly 17% this year to 6.8 zettabytes (ZB), and grow at a compound annual growth rate of nearly 18% through 2024. The research firm noted that the rate of growth of what it terms the “Global StorageSphere” will be most visible in core and edge deployments.

ISPs ask Congress for a COVID-19 bailout

In what some analysts describe as a 'fatal flaw,' an FCC extension of a program designed to prevent network operators from canceling customers' service during the pandemic is driving certain ISPs to seek money from Congress.

Verizon’s Nationwide 5G Plan Remains Hazy

Verizon is on plan to deploy five times as many 5G radio base stations this year as it did last year, according to CEO Hans Vestberg. The operator is also, in some cases, ahead of plan but it is encountering permitting or other delays in some municipalities, he said at a digital investor conference.

COVID-19 traffic spikes haven't scared T-Mobile, Verizon away from fixed wireless

Verizon plans to eventually expand its 5G Home service to 30 million US households, while T-Mobile is targeting 10 million households by 2024. And neither company is changing those plans due to the pandemic.

Intel looks chipper with new tech investments

US tech giant ploughs $132M into 11 'disruptive' tech startups, two of which are Chinese semiconductor companies.

FCC activity has sped up during the pandemic, Chairman says

In addition to 'bread-and-butter' activity, the pandemic has likewise 'generated a huge amount of effort' at the Commission, Ajit Pai says during NAB Digital Express keynote.

KT profit slides 13% as it looks to B2B for growth

KT reports weak Q1 2020 results, with a 12.8% fall in net profit, a 4.7% decline in operating income and flat revenue.

Light Reading sets digital Cable Next-Gen Europe event

Instead of staging a live conference in London next month as previously planned, Light Reading will now run a free, digital event over two afternoons in mid-June because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pandemic Accelerates Amazon’s Vision for the Future

The last couple months have been difficult for many people, but some of the global pandemic’s impacts on technology have reinforced and accelerated Amazon’s vision for the future, said Amazon CTO Werner Vogels.

Microsoft Contributes Open Hardware Security Project to OCP

Microsoft moved its open hardware security initiative forward at this year’s Open Compute Project (OCP) Virtual Summit.

Eurobites: Orange reopens phone stores in France

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Telia Norway switches on 5G in Oslo; Nokia teams up with Microsoft on data center OS; UK broadband networks standing up to COVID-19, says Ofcom.

Trump extends Huawei ban to May 2021

Invoking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, President Trump is moving to extend a block on US business with China's Huawei until next year.

Rakuten Mobile launches assault on global telecom market

The world's most exciting network operator wants service providers in other markets to buy its cloud.

China 5G interest surges 17% smartphone growth in April

The rest of the world might be working its way through a smartphone slump, but 5G is providing the catalyst for growth in the Chinese markets.

Synchronoss reduces workforce by 10%

Synchronoss Technologies is taking steps in “unprecedented times” to shore up its cash position and reduce expenses, leading to a 10% reduction of its workforce.

Orange starts reopening its shops in France

French operator Orange has already opened 30% of its shops and expects to have the rest up and running by the end of the month.

Iliad revenue surges but device sales dampen the party

Disruptive French telco Iliad has reported 6.9% growth in consolidated revenues for the three months to March 31, but depressed device sales took some of the shine off.

Cogent hires Wallace as its new CFO and treasurer

Cogent Communications announced on Monday that it has hired Sean Wallace as its new vice president, CFO and treasurer. Also on Monday, Cogent said that Thaddeus G. Weed had stepped down from his role of chief financial officer, effective immediately, but will remain with Cogent as senior vice president for audit and operations.

AT&T stresses consistency amid CEO turnover

With a new CEO at its helm, AT&T is fundamentally staying course, the company’s finance chief said Tuesday.

Verizon CEO: COVID-19 crisis reinforces FWA strategy

Home broadband usage skyrocketed over the past couple months due to the COVID-19 crisis and that has only reinforced Verizon’s strategy for its fixed wireless access (FWA) offering, according to CEO Hans Vestberg.

Data center provider Aligned secures $575M in credit

Data center and colocation provider Aligned announced on Tuesday that it has increased its secured credit facility to $575 million. Aligned said it has seen increased customer demand for its adaptive infrastructure solutions across its facilities in Ashburn, Virginia, Dallas, Texas, Phoenix and Salt Lake City.

Dell, Nokia throw their support behind SONiC ecosystem

Dell Technologies and Nokia both announced on Tuesday that they were putting their considerable heft behind SONiC implementations.

To the Edge and Beyond

Just like Gene Roddenberry’s science fiction series “Star Trek” where the cyborg race the “Borg” subsumed all other races with the tag line “resistance is futile”, programmable fabrics are fast becoming the way of the future and whether we consume them underneath a more traditional full stack router or more directly using modern day programmable fabric controllers they are set to become a part of the networking fabric.

ETSI gets to work on new contact tracing app standard

With countries across Europe all trying to reinvent the wheel with their own contact tracing apps, standardization is long overdue.

ONF bows Continuous Certification Program, partners with OCP

Legacy certification in the era of open source is painfully slow, so the Open Networking Foundation is turbo-charging the process via a new program. The Open Networking Foundation (ONF) formally announced its Continuous Certification Program on Tuesday, but it's been in the works for a while, according to the ONF's Timon Sloane, vice president of market and ecosystem.

Latest Quibi damage limitation exercise does anything but

The CEO of new video streaming service Quibi has turned to the press once more to address its faltering launch, but he continues to score own-goals.

Lockdown Britain sitting on top of 165 million gigabytes of unused data

Being cooped up inside for seven weeks straight has resulted in a treasure trove of unused mobile data, valued in the region of £165 million.

Vodafone bucks the trend to grow revenues and hold onto dividends

Growing revenues and profits while maintaining the dividend are three things which are not supposed to happen together amid COVID-19, but Vodafone has done it.

Twitter tries a better alternative to censorship

Public tug-of-war platform Twitter is opting to label, rather than censor, tweets it considers misleading about the COVID-19 situation.

Rubrik Touts Data Leverage, Legacy Sucks

Multi-cloud data control company Rubrik this week announced expanded public cloud coverage to more workloads on Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP). The announcement was part of its first ever Forward Digital Summit. 

Here's why Verizon's CEO lowered the bar for nationwide 5G

Verizon's Hans Vestberg wants to take 5G nationwide, just in time for a 5G iPhone in the fall. But he's working to lower expectations for nationwide 5G working in lowband spectrum.

Daily Roundup: AT&T Warns 5G Impact From COVID-19

In case you’ve been stuck in video conference meetings all day, here are today’s top stories from SDxCentral. Also, make sure to subscribe to our daily newsletter to get these stories in your inbox.

OpenStack Ussuri Update Tackles Reliability, Security

The latest OpenStack Ussuri release drops May 13, bringing with it a focus on improving the reliability, security, and extending use case support for the software infrastructure platform. The update also highlights the ongoing activity behind the widely used software infrastructure layer that continues to trade on its robustness compared to newer options.

COVID-19 rages on, but service provider networks are still holding up well

Even though traffic patterns changed, new apps became necessities, and a year's worth of network growth happened in less than a week, the Nokia Deepfield team said the world's service providers were ready.

Nokia, Dell, Apstra Get SONiC With Microsoft

Nokia, Dell Technologies, and Apstra announced new open source SONiC operating system contributions today at the Open Compute Project (OCP) Virtual Summit.

Vodafone CEO sees no need for UK M&A after O2, Virgin unite

Nick Read says his company has the 'right formula' for success in a market where broadband wholesale partners are available and TV is heading online.

Inspur Pushes Enterprise ‘Adoptability’ With Software Certifications

Inspur is looking beyond hardware in its latest contributions to the Open Compute Project (OCP). Today at the OCP Virtual Summit, the company announced SONiC was coming to two white-box switches alongside SAP Hana certifications for its cloud-optimized rack hardware.

COVID-19 crashes into Canada's 5G launch plans

Although Rogers launched 5G in a few select locations earlier this year, BCE said that its planned 5G launch has been postponed while Canadians deal with the pandemic.

Zoom Telephonics CEO sets his exit

Joe Wytanis, an exec late of Cisco and Scientific-Atlanta, came on board in 2018 to help the cable modem vendor, which sells products under the Motorola brand, make some headway in the service provider market.

Altice USA CEO defends FTTP game plan

Cutting opex and goosing performance are driving forces for FTTP upgrades, but Altice USA believes the move will also enable it to lean more heavily on its HFC network to backhaul wireless traffic.

Iliad appears unfazed by COVID-19

Guidance unchanged, although Q2 promises to be a bumpier ride.

T-Mobile lays out $60B, five-year buildout plan for 5G

T-Mobile is working to build a 5G network spanning roughly 85,000 macro cell sites, and is already upgrading some sites at the rate of 1,000 towers a month.

India's Airtel looks to IBM for cloud help

The ailing Indian operator hopes a deal with IBM and its Red Hat subsidiary will reduce costs and boost competitiveness.

Trump Seeks to End US Reliance on Asian Chip Fabs

The Trump administration, seizing upon supply chain shortages resulting from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, has turned its sights to ending the United State’s reliance on Asia for the manufacture of semiconductor technologies, despite warnings that such action could damage U.S. leadership in the market.

The Telecoms.com Podcast: O2-Virgin, Huawei UK and contact tracing

This week the beer-soaked Brits have a rummage around in their own backyard.

ONF, OCP Join Forces, Add Certification to CI/CD

The Open Networking Foundation (ONF), working with the Open Compute Project (OCP), today launched a program that will continually test and certify compliance with ONF open source software projects and OCP-recognized open hardware.

Nutanix HCI Automates Disaster Recovery

Nutanix added capabilities to its hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) software that automates disaster recovery.

AT&T Warns COVID-19 May Slow 5G Pickup

AT&T tempered some expectations for 5G adoption this year due to the COVID-19 crisis. 

ETSI joins COVID-19 contact tracing app party

European standards body throws its hat into the ring with new specs group to build standardization framework.

Cable One splashes some cash on fixed wireless

Cable op has made 'small' investments in two yet-unnamed wireless ISPs to help the operator reach into adjacent areas and has signaled its interest in participating in upcoming spectrum auctions.

Vodafone seeks another €1B in cuts as it maintains dividend

UK-based operator is looking to protect margins and profitability with sales under pressure in the new normal of COVID-19.

Eurobites: Telekom Austria helps shoppers keep their distance

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: KCOM owner looks to break up the business; Ekinops secures first customer for OTN switch; ADVA braces for quantum attacks.

Synchronoss cuts 10% of workforce

CEO Glenn Lurie explained that the COVID-19 pandemic was the catalyst for the cost-cutting effort, but not necessarily the driving reason for it.

COVID-19 crisis is winning consumers over to 5G, says Ericsson

Despite a retail slowdown, Ericsson says that COVID-19 has accelerated the growth of 5G and that the company will eclipse its previous target of 100 million 5G subs this year.

T-Mobile boasts 2.5 GHz momentum right out of the gate

The new T-Mobile just closed the merger with Sprint on April 1, and it’s already put its hard-fought 2.5 GHz spectrum to work in two markets. In fact, it teases that it might deploy at a pace that surprises the competition.

Charter talks with AT&T about wholesale MVNO agreement

Charter has a wholesale agreement for its mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) traffic to ride on Verizon’s network. But speaking on a MoffettNathanson investor call today, Charter CEO Tom Rutledge said, “We have a good relationship with AT&T. We have had discussions about the MVNO. They’re interested in having a relationship with us, and we’re interested in having a relationship with them.”

What we learned about Dish during the earnings call

With Dish executives leading the company’s quarterly earnings call, details of the plan to crack into the US mobile market were revealed.

Verizon keeps close tabs on Dish promises to disrupt: CFO

On Verizon’s first-quarter earnings call, EVP and CFO Matt Ellis revealed that 800,000 customers had informed the company that they intended to avail themselves of the FCC’s Keep Americans Connected pledge, which, among other things, asks service providers to keep customers connected if they can’t pay their bills due to the COVID-19 crisis.

Industry Voices—Raynovich: What are the next great 5G edge apps?

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the evolution of the cloud edge, spurred by the deployment of 5G, as well as some of the things service providers need to do to avoid bungling this huge opportunity. One of the keys will be identifying new apps and services that can be deployed with 5G. 

Windstream targets late August for end of bankruptcy

If all goes according to plan, Windstream Holdings will emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in August, according to Tony Thomas, president and chief executive officer of Windstream. During Windstream's pre-recorded first quarter earnings call on Monday, Thomas said Windstream hoped to exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy in late August subject to regulatory approvals.

Pivotal takes ‘lemons’ out of mmWave to improve coverage

Pivotal Commware, a Kirkland, Washington-based startup backed by Bill Gates, released a new white paper and video to demonstrate how a Tier 1 mobile operator can use its Echo 5G and Pivot 5G repeaters to increase indoor 5G millimeter wave (mmWave) coverage while reducing deployment costs.

Walker: Due to COVID-19, 2020 a crisis year for telco vendors

The spread of COVID-19 across the world has caused a standstill in many sectors of the economy, as hundreds of millions shelter in place. Parts of the telecom supply chain benefit from this shift, but the net effect on the sector is a negative. Preliminary results from vendors selling to the telco sector verify this: First quarter revenues dropped 6% year over year, and the worst is yet to come.

Mobile operators shouldn’t underestimate their cable competitors

Mobile operators are no longer just battling their wireless peers for customers. The two largest cable mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) — Comcast’s Xfinity Mobile and Charter’s Spectrum Mobile — reported postpaid wireless net adds in the first quarter that surpassed both AT&T and Verizon’s postpaid net adds.  

Reliance Jio signs a third deal to add another $1.5bn to its bank account

Vista Equity Partners has become the third-largest investor in Reliance Platforms, purchasing a 2.32% equity stake in the disruptive business for $1.5 billion.

Industry Voices — Blaber: Separating vRAN fact from fiction

It’s hard to escape the hype around 5G but if there’s one area where industry attention is almost as palpable, it’s in the radio access network (RAN) itself. This is a considerable change given that the RAN has operated for years as a highly distributed and proprietary part of the network. However, the need for more flexibility, agility and lower costs is causing operators to think about new and different deployment options for the RAN.

US moves to expand domestic chip making capability

As global commercial Balkanisation ramps, countries are seeking to make themselves as self-sufficient as possible.

COVID-19 forces Alphabet to pull plug on Page’s pet project

Alphabet has decided to terminate a smart city project in Toronto’s waterfront, a 2.5-year old project undertaken by its subsidiary Sidewalk Labs and a favourite of Google’s co-founder Larry Page.

After 107 million downloads in April, TikTok faces a European privacy probe

Questions over the privacy of popular video-sharing application TikTok have been raised by Dutch authorities, but scepticism can’t slow the rapid expansion.

Ericsson Pins 5G Gains on Pandemic

Ericsson today, buoyed by a surge in mobile network traffic, said it expects the global pandemic to accelerate the adoption of 5G services beyond previous forecasts. The Swedish vendor raised its prediction for 5G subscriptions from 2.6 billion to 2.8 billion by 2025, adding that some gains will also occur before the end of 2020.

Royston resigns as Optiva CEO

Optiva said the board couldn't meet Ms. Royston's compensation requests.

Technetix sees demand for supplies surge as cable ops bulk up self-install kits

Along with a focus on near-term network and service needs, the pandemic is 'making every cable operator relook at their network,' says Technetix exec Sandy Howe.

Daily Roundup: Ericsson Says Pandemic to Drive 5G

In case you’ve been stuck in video conference meetings all day, here are today’s top stories from SDxCentral. Also, make sure to subscribe to our daily newsletter to get these stories in your inbox.

McAfee, CrowdStrike, Palo Alto Networks Track Evolving COVID-19 Cyberattacks

As cyberattacks and threats continue to grow and mutate along with the COVID-19 pandemic, three security reports from CrowdStrike, McAfee, and Palo Alto Networks shine a spotlight and how these attacks are evolving — and they indicate that businesses aren’t as prepared to secure their now-remote workforce as they think.

Wall Street traders fight over milliseconds in mmWave transmission battle

A new cell tower transmitting in millimeter wave (mmWave) spectrum has sparked a disagreement among Wall Street traders looking to shave a few extra milliseconds off their transactions.

Eurobites: Iliad's Niel opens his wallet for InfraVia security fund

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Sparkle enters SD-WAN partnership; call for new UK tech regulator; Isle of Wight app latest.

FirstNet, AT&T begin edging toward 5G

FirstNet, with partner AT&T, is looking at 5G technologies like Device to Device (D2D) and enhanced Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Services (MBMS). But it has no 5G launch date yet.

SoftBank's telco and e-commerce unit doing OK (pity about the parent company)

SoftBank Corp claims COVID-19 has had 'immaterial impact' on fixed and mobile operations.

Intel and TSMC reportedly in government talks over US-based chip plants

Reports over the weekend claim that Trump administration is seeking to reduce reliance on Asian factories.

Comcast 'Flex' device deployments hit 1M, cable CEO says

The main focus for Flex is on broadband service and improving broadband churn, but Comcast hopes to further monetize the platform with advanced advertising and by reaping app sales revenues.

The outlook for 5G open vRAN

With around 7 million macro cell sites deployed worldwide, the Radio Access Network (RAN) is critical global infrastructure.

Equinix eyes purchase of BCE's data centers – report

BCE may follow Verizon's move to sell its data centers to Equinix. But how this could affect the wider move toward edge computing remains to be seen.

India's Jio welcomes Vista as latest investor

US private equity firm follows Facebook and Silver Lake into the Indian telecom market.

BT still stands for bloated telecom

Two years after announcing plans for 13,000 job cuts, the UK telecom operator looks as flabby and legacy-burdened as ever.

Innovium Unveils 'First' 25.6 Tb/s Programmable Switch Chips

Innovium unveiled a new programmable switch chip that it claims is the highest performing platform targeted at data center networks. That performance claim is becoming increasingly important as the broader market continues to shift workloads to the cloud.

Will coronavirus compound the concentration of cloud computing champions?

With COVID-19 forcing more people to work and entertain themselves at home, the cloud segment has been profiting. But it is debatable as to whether these riches are being evenly spread.