Headcount: Firings, Hirings, and Retirings — July 2020

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

Dish Bats Away Network Strategy Skepticism

Dish Network, having cumulatively invested or financed at least $26 billion in wireless-related assets during the last 12 years, is under mounting pressure to squeeze revenue out of its mobile aspirations.

Dish eyes changes in ‘backwards’ prepaid business

Dish Network executives apparently are discovering some of the head-scratching practices of the U.S. prepaid business.

Dish marks progress on 5G network build

Dish Network is making progress on its one-of-a-kind open radio access network (RAN) in the U.S., and Dish Chairman Charlie Ergen said “we’re just going to go do it,” rather than try to convince skeptics about what they’re doing.

Sievert: T-Mobile 'running really fast' on network build

T-Mobile is indeed moving rapidly on its post-merger network integration and build, executives said Thursday, dismissing comments from three public tower companies that implied T-Mobile was off to a slow start.  

Comcast kicks in $7M to support K-12 internet access in Philly

Comcast stepped up to the plate in its hometown of Philadelphia by contributing $7 million over two years to help provide free internet access to low-income families.

Oracle's Cloud VMware Solution hits general availability

Oracle announced its Oracle Cloud VMware Solution is now available across all of its public cloud regions, and in its Dedicated Region Cloud@Customer cloud instances.

T-Mobile claims victory over AT&T but numbers muddy the waters

T-Mobile has stated it is now targeting Verizon’s crown with AT&T in the rear-view mirror, but the subscriber statistics don’t necessarily support the boasting.

T-Mobile claims title as No. 2 wireless provider in U.S.

T-Mobile US used its second-quarter earnings release to declare the title of the No. 2 wireless provider in the U.S., overtaking AT&T in total branded customers for postpaid and prepaid.

Falling demand for office space and less VPN concerns for Cogent

Cogent Communications could be adversely impacted by falling demand for commercial office space, which would mean less demand for corporate VPNs.

White House formally bans TikTok and WeChat in US

President Trump issued two executive orders on Thursday to prohibit all transactions with TikTok and WeChat in 45 days’ time.

AWS follows up India edge push with Verizon 5G plug

Following up the beginning of a new partnership between AWS and Bharti Airtel in India, the cloud giant and Verizon have announced 5G mobile edge compute is live in Boston, USA.

Union talks of strike action as redundancies loom at BT

The Communication Workers Union has suggested strike action could be on the horizon if BT continues down its current path of restructuring.

Daily Roundup: McAfee Scopes Threat Landscape, Sees Deep Fakes, Zombies

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Dish pivots Boost biz to focus on profitability, not big sub counts

Meanwhile, chairman Charlie Ergen says the 5G buildout is making 'steady progress' and that Dish hasn't given up on wanting to launch a 5G network core in one market in 2020.

Verizon keeps snapping up spectrum and small carriers

Verizon is expected to spend big money in the FCC's spectrum auctions. But it is also acquiring spectrum from a variety of smaller license holders around the country.

Crisis? What Crisis? PLDT steers solid H1 course

Unlike many operators in other parts of the world, the Philippine telco has not been derailed by COVID-19.

Rural focus keeps Dish satellite TV losses in check

But Dish's advantage in some areas could be fleeting as rural broadband funding initiatives gain steam. Meanwhile, Sling TV, Dish's OTT-TV option, sheds another 56,000 subs in Q2.

Fortinet’s Q2 Earnings Remain Strong Despite Pandemic

Fortinet posted robust second-quarter 2020 earnings Thursday after shrugging off an uncertain market fueled by the ongoing pandemic.

WiCipedia: Diversity is about more than checking boxes

This week in our WiC roundup: Snap announces hiring goals; diversity isn't just checking boxes; COVID-19 affects salary negotiations; and more.

T-Mobile Taunts AT&T, Verizon With Industry-Leading Claims

T-Mobile US, in closing its first quarter as a larger operator following its acquisition of Sprint, signaled nothing but upside as it undertakes multiple network transformation efforts at increasing volume.

India's Airtel and AWS tie-up to take on Jio's cloud behemoth

Together, Airtel and AWS will sell a range of AWS products as part of Airtel Cloud, to enterprises large and small.

Microsoft Open Service Mesh Targets Market Mess

Microsoft pushed further into the increasingly entertaining service mesh space with its Open Service Mesh (OSM) project that builds on its already established Service Mesh Interface (SMI) initiative. The launch comes just weeks after Google made a controversial hosting decision for its Istio service mesh platform.

Wind Tre: The merger that went rotten

The Italian phone operator eyed a leading role in the market on its creation but since then it has lost millions of customers and seen revenues plummet.

StarHub reveals cost of COVID-19 lockdown in Q2 results

Singapore-based operator sees pandemic hit business operations with 15% slump in Q2 service revenue and expects dip to persist while continuing transformation.

Eurobites: UK is (almost) totally wired, finds ONS Internet study

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Telkom/Airtel merger in Kenya is off; Sparkle's shiny new CEO; Call of Duty update puts strain on UK networks.

5G transport: Putting networks to the test

Heavy Reading's Operator Strategies for 5G Transport Market Leadership Study explores how transport networks will evolve to support 5G services.

U.S. hyperscale revenue grew 11% year over year in Q2—report

While U.S. hyperscale revenue grew 11% year over year, the supply chain for data center equipment used by hyperscalers had a rocky quarter, according to a report. The supply chain for hyperscale data center equipment was disrupted by shifting lead times and trade war headwinds, according to a report by 650 Group.

Verizon, AWS bring 5G MEC to Boston, Bay Area

Verizon and Amazon Web Services (AWS) are bringing 5G mobile edge compute (MEC) to Boston and the Bay Area. Verizon also announced San Jose as its 36th 5G Ultra Wideband city.

3 Europe blames churn not COVID-19 for revenue decline

3 Europe’s parent company CK Hutchison has stated lower subscriber numbers in the UK and Italy is the cause of revenue decline in the European business, not the coronavirus pandemic.

Vodafone claims UK first with live 4G OpenRAN site

Vodafone marked a milestone on Thursday as the first mobile operator to turn on a live Open Radio Access Network (OpenRAN) 4G site in the U.K., with help from U.S.-based vendor Mavenir.  

Equinix garners Google Cloud Premier Partner status

Data center and colocation giant Equinix announced on Thursday that it has achieved Google Cloud Premier Partner status, which enables both companies' customers to more easily move and connect their workloads in to Google Cloud.

FCC approves C-band auction procedures

The FCC today approved a Public Notice that outlines details for bidders in the C-band auction, aka as Auction 107, which is scheduled to start December 8.

TikTok plans European data centre as heat rises

TikTok has seemingly taken Huawei’s position as the primary focus of US aggression in recent weeks, though the social media app is planning a data centre investment to ease European concerns.

BT gets a GRIP on key coronavirus issues with workshop

In order to better help its customer deal with Covid-19 related issues, BT altered the course of its Global Research and Innovation Programme.

CenturyLink CEO: Don't expect a return to normal anytime soon

On Wednesday, CenturyLink CEO and President Jeff Storey said on the company's Q2 earnings call that he doesn't think things will return to pre-COVID 19 days, but there are now new opportunities.

WISPs and schools take a fresh look at 2.5 GHz spectrum

It’s been just over a year since the Federal Communications Commission dropped the educational use requirement for the Educational Broadband Service (EBS) spectrum, saying most licensees weren’t deploying the spectrum for its intended use. Now, with thousands of students facing the possibility of another semester outside the classroom, schools that hold spectrum in the 2.5 GHz band are reconsidering its value.

SK Telecom and Microsoft to offer cloud gaming experience to Xbox Pass holders

South Korean operator SK Telecom will officially launch cloud gaming for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate users on its networks, riding on the operator’s 5G cloud infrastructure.

Vodafone switches on UK’s first OpenRAN site

With Huawei effectively banned in the UK, Vodafone’s slow and steady progress with OpenRAN will be an encouraging sight to the industry.

Washington steps up anti-China campaign with ‘Clean Network’ project

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has launched the ‘Clean Network’ initiative which aims to effectively sever all connections between China and the US in the telecoms and tech world.

Daily Roundup: Verizon Edge Parks AWS Wavelength in Bay Area, Boston

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Cable One invests in two fixed wireless ISPs

Cable One has acquired stakes in Whisper and NextLink as it aims to reach more homes and businesses in areas near its wireline footprint.

T-Mobile CEO blasts towercos' 'disinformation' on 5G buildout

Executives from American Tower, Crown Castle and SBA Communications all suggested T-Mobile is dragging its feet in its 5G buildout. Not so, says T-Mobile's Mike Sievert. 'We're going like crazy.'

It looks like Trump is beating Huawei

Infinera's outgoing CEO described the situation as a 'once-in-a-lifetime opportunity' for companies that compete against the Chinese vendor.

Trump lays out 'Clean Network' agenda against China

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo outlined the government's new 'Clean Network' effort that targets everything from Chinese apps to undersea cables.

ViacomCBS's 'super' streaming service set for early 2021 debut

To keep churn in check and keep pace with the competition, ViacomCBS's new deluxe-sized OTT offering will need to up the tempo on new original content, analyst says.

Leading Lights 2020 Finalists: Most Innovative Telecom Product (Optical/IP/Carrier Ethernet/FTTH)

Seven companies, with six offerings – AT&T and Colt Technology Services; Cisco, Ericsson, Infinera, Microchip and RtBrick – made the cut in a highly competitive category.

Verizon Edge Parks AWS Wavelength in Bay Area, Boston

Verizon 5G Edge paired with Amazon Web Services’ (AWS’) Wavelength edge compute service is now live for developers in Boston and the San Francisco Bay Area.

Cable spending sparks broadband network sales at CommScope

CommScope's CPE business continued to struggle in Q2, but vendor says sales at T-Mobile are 'ramping' in the wake of the recently completed Sprint merger.

Are telcos and hyperscalers destined to be frenemies?

Telcos and cloud providers are both customers and competitors. The move to 5G commercialization and private networks could deepen all sides of these complicated relationships.

Politics Muddies Open RAN Vision

The long and winding road to open, unencumbered radio access networks (RAN) gained some vocal support from key members of Congress this week during an event sponsored by the recently formed Open RAN Policy Coalition. The prepared remarks also, however, underlined the morass of global politics that routinely bubble up around open RAN discussions and sometimes muddy the technological benefits of open, disaggregated, software-driven networks. 

Amdocs boasts record managed services revenue in fiscal Q3

BSS specialist also shows off strong order book and ups fiscal-year revenue guidance.

SKT grows operating income 11% thanks to media, commerce units

Forget 5G: media and commerce are making the gains for Asian operators right now.

Three UK serves up a first-half shocker

Customer losses and rising costs blight financials for the first six months of the year amid questions about IT transformation and Huawei replacement.

Cloudy outlook as Rackspace shares plunge on first day of trading

The cloud and server technology company raised $704 million from initial public offering, but investors seem unimpressed with the 'disappointing' IPO.

Windstream Firewalls VMware-Based SD-WAN

Windstream Enterprise added next-generation firewall capabilities to is VMware VeloCloud-based SD-WAN service today. The new offering aims to fortify customers’ WANs from increasingly sophisticated security threats.

VMware Reports Destructive Attacks Surge During COVID-19

COVID-19 brought with it a surge in cyberattacks, and this included a huge rise in destructive attacks and counter incident response, according to VMware Carbon Black’s annual threat report.

Windstream soups up security for SD-WAN

The VNF Firewall will be hosted on the existing devices Windstream's customers use for the SD-WAN service, which is VMware SD-WAN by VeloCloud hardware.

Oracle Claims VMware Support Not a ‘Shortcut’

Oracle expanded its Oracle Cloud VMware Solution to all of its commercial cloud regions, putting into place a VMware integration that Oracle claims is superior to other “shortcut” implementations offered by its cloud rivals.

Eurobites: Vodafone launches first live open RAN site in UK

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: TikTok plans data center in Ireland; MTN has a decent first half; Ericsson takes 5G to Latin America.

Sickly VEON laid low by coronavirus

Perceptions it lags rivals in the important Russian market had already led to a loss of market share. Then the pandemic struck.

Boingo's global Wi-Fi connections decline nearly 80% in Q2

Boingo executives cited pronounced COVID-19 impacts on retail and advertising segments during their second-quarter earnings call on Tuesday as locations it serves, like large venues and airports, saw significantly limited traffic.

Streaming looks good but Disney has to deal with 42% revenue decline

Disney’s streaming service and media networks held together the spreadsheets as COVID-19 ravaged the company’s financial results.

Intel, VMware collaborate on vRAN

Intel and VMware are working together on an integrated software platform for virtualized Radio Access Networks (RAN). Their collaboration seeks to simplify the steps and reduce the integration effort involved in creating virtualized RAN solutions.

Qualcomm supplies C-V2X tech for deployment in Hawaii

Applied Information will bring Cellular Vehicle to Everything (C-V2X) technology to Honolulu using technologies developed by Qualcomm Technologies. They’re also working with the Hawaii Department of Transportation (HDOT) and the University of Hawaii College of Engineering to extend the deployment across the entire state.

TierPoint hooks up with Megaport across seven more data centers

TierPoint announced that customers in seven of its data centers now have access to Megaport's network-as-a-service (NaaS) offering, bringing its total to 15 data centers.

NTT expands its SD-WAN portfolio with Cisco's Viptela and Meraki

NTT Communications has expanded its SD-WAN arsenal by adopting Cisco's Viptela and Meraki offerings, as well as Meraki Wi-Fi and LAN connectivity.

Consumer spending via operator billing will triple to top $100bn in 2025 – research

A study by Juniper Research projects the global consumer spending through direct carrier billing will grow from $33 billion in 2019 to $100 billion in 2025, with a key driver being the shift to subscription-based monetisation model of digital services.

Activision Blizzard sees revenues leap 38% as gaming replaces the pub

Activision Blizzard is the latest company to report healthy financial growth through the coronavirus period as revenues jump 38%.

Comcast, Charter, Altice gain wireless subs in Q2 — so what?

The cable companies—Comcast, Charter Communications, Altice Mobile—continue to gain wireless subscribers, per their second-quarter results. Should wireless carriers be worried?

Verizon Ventures leads $4.5M investment round in optics vendor

Verizon Ventures is strengthening its NG-PON2 hand by leading a $4.5 million financing round in PICadvanced, which has been supplying Verizon with tunable lasers for its NG-PON2 deployments.

UK broadband gets a boost in £900mn Government project

Local authorities have been told about their share of the £900 million Getting Building Fund, with some directing funds to connectivity even if it has not been mentioned by the Government.

T-Mobile US claims world first for 5G standalone deployment

T-Mobile US has said its 5G coverage has increased by 30% thanks to its standalone deployment, though it is still only using low-band spectrum for this upgrade.

Rackspace to IPO for $21 per share

As investors continue to warm to the cloud computing market, Rackspace has announced details of its Initial Public Offering (IPO) coming in at the low-end of the target range.

TikTok ban could violate First Amendment – EFF

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has suggested banning the controversial social media app TikTok would violate the First Amendment of the US Constitution.

NTT Fields Cisco for Managed SD-WAN

NTT Communications today announced Cisco’s Viptela and Meraki SD-WAN platforms will power its Managed SDx portfolio.

Extreme Beats Q4 Expectations on Road to Recovery

Extreme Networks posted better than expected fourth-quarter 2020 earnings today with revenues up 3% quarter over quarter to $215.5 million. While the company’s revenues are still down 14% year over year, the company’s Q4 performance had CEO Edward Meyercord sounding optimistic for the company’s future.

Daily Roundup: VMware, Intel Formalize Open vRAN Plan

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Why Cisco Duo’s on a Quest to Kill the Password

Things to know about passwordless security: no, criminals will not cut off your thumb or peel the skin off your face to steal your biometrics and hack your network. And yes, C-suite executives always ask Wolfgang Goerlich, advisory CISO at Cisco Duo, this question.

Arista Hits Campus Revenue Target, Investors Don’t Care

Arista Networks managed to beat earnings forecasts for its second fiscal quarter of 2020, but those results showed a continued year-over-year drop in revenues and earnings, which drew the wrath of Wall Street.

T-Mobile's standalone 5G proves sporadic in initial tests

Mike Thelander of Signals Research Group bought a Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra to test T-Mobile's new standalone 5G network. However, 'the phone is not staying in standalone mode.'

Roku revenues, active accounts climb in COVID-marked Q2

Streaming hours jumped to 14.6 billion amid pandemic-fueled stay-at-home orders, but Roku warns that the performance of its ad biz will be murky through the rest of 2020.

Discovery puts 'finishing touches' on new OTT service

New SVoD streaming service will help Discovery build on its base by reaching broadband-only customers and viewers who remain outside the traditional video ecosystem, CEO says.

Google's MVNO to test Wi-Fi offloading with Boingo

Google's Fi MVNO is testing Passpoint technology with Boingo that will allow its customers to automatically connect to Boingo's Wi-Fi hotspots. The impetus for the action is unclear.

Huawei's inventory buildup may have peaked

NeoPhotonics expects revenues from Huawei to decline from 50% of its total to much lower levels, a development the company said indicates that the Chinese vendor has met its inventory stockpile goal.

Leading Lights 2020 Finalists: Private Wireless Networks Strategy

Five companies – Boingo Wireless, Celona, Federated Wireless, Mavenir and Nokia – made the cut in the Most Innovative Private Wireless Networks Strategy.

Ofcom: UK adults spent 40% of lockdown in front of a screen

During the COVID-19 lockdown, UK adults spent a staggering 40% of waking hours watching TV and streaming services, according to a report by Ofcom.

Podcast: What's the story with open RAN?

On this episode of 'What's the Story?' – a new series from the Light Reading Podcast – Iain Morris talks with pod host Nicole Ferraro about open RAN: the latest news, why it matters and what's likely to happen next.

Philo tops 750,000 subs

The low-cost, entertainment-focused OTT-TV service provider says subscriber growth has rocketed 300% in the past year.

Telecom Italia desperate to control Italy's only fiber network

If the Italian phone incumbent cannot negotiate a majority stake, its outlook will suffer.

SoftBank Corp. gets to work on mixed bag in fiscal Q1

SoftBank's telco and e-commerce unit benefits from a surge in teleworking demand amid the coronavirus pandemic, despite a drop in mobile sales.

Disney+ smashes subscriber targets in fiscal Q3

Disney's streaming service proves a hit amid an otherwise challenging period, thanks in part to the COVID-19 pandemic and standout shows like The Mandalorian.

SK Telecom and Microsoft to launch Xbox 5G cloud gaming

SK Telecom and Microsoft will launch the Xbox cloud gaming streaming service in South Korea in September, the only Asian country joining the global launch.

Telstra speeds up 5G rollout and raises prices

Australian operator Telstra is speeding up 5G rollout – and raising prices – while in New Zealand, the platform has only just arrived via local telco Spark.

VMware Embraces Intel for vRAN Integration

Intel and VMware today formalized a collaborative effort that’s already in full swing to develop a more integrated and interoperable platform for open and virtualized radio access networks (RAN). 

Eurobites: EU steps up probe into Google's Fitbit deal

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Vodafone and Ericsson build private network for Centrica; uCPE testing calls on Arm technology; Salt tastes success in Swiss broadband comparison.

European Commission probes Google’s Fitbit acquisition

The European Commission has opened an investigation to see whether Google’s $2.1 billion acquisition of Fitbit is fair game under competition and merger rules.

Trump withdraws Commissioner O’Rielly’s renomination to FCC

U.S. President Trump on Monday withdrew the nomination of Commissioner Michael O’Rielly to serve another term as a member of the FCC, an abrupt move after Senate committee voted in favor of the appointment last month.

Vodafone takes uCPE on a trial run with Arm and Telco Systems

Vodafone Group recently teed up a proof-of-concept trial of universal customer premises equipment (uCPE) by working with Arm, Telco Systems and NXP Semiconductors.

Nokia, Ericsson and Huawei dominance beginning to fade – analyst

Market share estimates from TrendForce suggest the tradition trio of network infrastructure vendors are losing their vice-like grip on the market as rivals gain traction.

AT&T: Remote working a cybersecurity concern for businesses

According to new research from AT&T, businesses are understandably skittish in regards to remote workers being exposed to more cyberattacks.

Comcast Business extends free trial of AWS' video conferencing

Comcast Business has sweetened the pot for its customers to use Amazon Web Services' video conferencing capabilities by extending a free trial.

T-Mobile launches nationwide 5G standalone network

Nothing says “nationwide” coverage like launching your 5G in a town like Lisbon, North Dakota, population of about 2,000. That’s where T-Mobile staged a drone show on Sunday night to let folks know its standalone (SA) version of 5G is available nationwide.

Telstra promises 75% 5G population coverage by June 2021

With the Australian telco claiming to have already delivered 5G to a third of the population already, it has just under a year to hit the 75% milestone.

Google readies its assault on 5G smartphone market

Google has announced it will launch the Pixel 4a later this month, with the 5G-compatible devices prepped for the autumn months.

Trump expects Microsoft to pay Treasury for privilege of buying TikTok

President Donald Trump has often shown a tenuous grasp of how the economy works, but this is an interesting statement.

Liberty Global wears the bruises of COVID-19 in Q2 results

It could have certainly been worse, but it is impossible to avoid the lost revenues due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Industry Voices — Entner: Mobile is colorblind

Stay-at-home orders, school closings, and social distancing have raised the issue of the digital divide in the United States. While the availability and affordability of connectivity is important, owning a device to access the internet is equally important. Broadband without a device is even less useful than a device without a network. A government program that tries to close the digital divide needs to pay attention to where a digital device gap does and does not exist. 

SK Telecom and Woowa Brothers Join Hands for Robot Delivery Service Powered by 5G Edge Cloud

SK Telecom and Woowa Brothers today announced that they signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for technology and business collaboration to gain leadership in 5G edge cloud-based delivery robot services.

Daily Roundup: T-Mobile Lights Up 5G

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AT&T Cybersecurity: Do Secure VPNs, Don’t Pay Ransoms

AT&T research suggests that the vast majority of large businesses believe widespread remote working because of the COVID-19 pandemic makes their companies less secure and more vulnerable to cyberattacks.

Arm Trials uCPE With Telco Systems, Vodafone Collab

Arm continued its quest to become the dominant computing platform across the board today announcing the successful trial of Arm-based universal CPE (uCPE) appliances in collaboration with NXP Semiconductors, Telco Systems, and Vodafone in the United Kingdom.

SBA, American Tower double down on edge computing opportunity

SBA Communications and American Tower are investing millions of dollars into open datacenters around the country, both big and small. Their goal is to compete with the likes of Amazon and Akamai.

5G could make wireless time-sensitive networking a possibility

Companies including Intel, Keysight Technologies, General Electric and Extreme Networks have teamed in the Avnu Alliance to make time-sensitive networking (TSN) in 5G a reality.

Broadband-only signups surge at WOW in Q2

Now a 'broadband first' company, WOW is migrating subs off its legacy pay-TV platform and encouraging them to explore OTT options or its new Android TV-based IPTV offering.

Podcast: Omdia on HPE's $925M acquisition of Silver Peak

Omdia's Cliff Grossner explains how this acquisition may impact the industry at large and shares his predictions for the SD-WAN market in the coming months.

Wrong and stupid: Trump's Twitter tiff ends O'Rielly's wireless run

FCC Commissioner Michael O'Rielly has worked to free up critical midband spectrum for 5G. Now he doesn't have a job, reportedly because he disagreed with Trump's campaign against Twitter.

Hands off Arm, Nvidia

The sale of the UK's only major technology player in the open RAN ecosystem would hardly support efforts to rekindle the domestic telecom supply chain.

Jio’s dream of a 2G-free India is a nightmare for telcos

Reliance Jio Infocomm wants to move India's 2G subscribers to 4G – causing headaches for rival operators like Vodafone Idea and Airtel, and industrial IoT.

Palo Alto Networks SOAR Marketplace Open for Business

Palo Alto Networks added a marketplace to its security orchestration, automation, and response (SOAR) platform where customers can browse product integrations, security playbooks, and reports among other “content packs” to help them solve security use cases and protect against threats.

T-Mobile Sparks World’s First Standalone 5G Network

T-Mobile US’ network engineering prowess reached new heights today as the operator activated the world’s first standalone (SA) 5G network operating on a 5G core. The achievement expands the reach of its 5G network by 30% with a footprint that now covers nearly 250 million people in more than 7,500 markets across 1.3 million square miles, according to the operator.

T-Mobile promises faster speeds, lower latency with standalone 5G launch

T-Mobile says benefits of standalone 5G include a 40% improvement to latency, a 20-30% boost in download speeds and a 30% increase in its nationwide 5G coverage area.

TriggerMesh Links Up With AWS EventBridge

TriggerMesh announced it has integrated with Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) EventBridge to allow users to connect existing on-premises applications or non-AWS software-as-a-service (SaaS) offerings with cloud infrastructure from AWS. This plays into the broader serverless standoff between vendor-specific platforms and options like the Knative project, which has made waves as a possible singularized platform to provide a Kubernetes-based interoperability layer across different serverless computing technologies.

IBM, Microsoft, VMware Hunt Open Source Software Security Bugs

GitHub, Google, IBM, Red Hat, Microsoft, and VMware are just a few founding members of the Linux Foundation’s latest initiative that aims to smash open source software security bugs.

128 Technology Scales SD-WAN to Demand

128 Technology set its sights on helping service providers scale to meet customer demand with the launch of its Flexible Service Edge (FSE) platform. The vendor claims the platform will enable service providers to realize new revenues by making it easier to transition customers onto high-margin services like SD-WAN.

UK's 5G auction sequel is a £1.1B farce

Ofcom says no to operators calling for an administrative award of spectrum instead of a competitive auction. Its logic makes little sense.

Liberty Global boasts biggest net customer adds in over two years

CEO Fries upbeat on Q2 results. Claims to be making 'great progress' on the proposed merger of Virgin Media and Telefónica UK.

Eurobites: Arm co-founder warns against Nvidia sale

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Ukrtelecom rolls out broadband to rural notspots; Seacom boosts capacity on African subsea cable; UK politicians sounds TikTok alarm.

Leading Lights 2020 Finalists: Most Innovative Mobile/Wireless Product or Service

Amdocs; Cohere Technologies; Rakuten, Intel and Altiostar Networks are in the running for the 'Most Innovative Mobile/Wireless Product or Service' award.

Leading Lights 2020 Finalists: Most Innovative Cable/Video Product or Service

Five companies – Amdocs, CommScope, Promptlink, Synamedia and ZTE – made the cut in the Most Innovative Cable/Video Product or Service category.

CBRS auction surpasses $1B threshold

The FCC's auction for licenses in the shared Citizens Broadband Radio Services (CBRS) band surpassed the $1 billion mark last week, with high demand not isolated to only large market counties.

Dish scoops up 270K Ting Mobile subscribers in deal with Tucows

Dish Network is tapping Tucows’ technology platform for its newly acquired wireless retail business and has added more subscribers with the purchase of Ting Mobile assets as part of the deal.

Ligado joins Open RAN Policy Coalition

Ligado Networks is joining the likes of Verizon and AT&T in hooking up with the Open RAN Policy Coalition, an organization launched in May to advocate for government policy that helps drive open RAN adoption. The Open RAN Policy Coalition now boasts more than 50 members.

Google bolsters security credentials with $450mn ADT investment

If you ever wanted to prove to customers that you take security seriously, a $450 million investment in one of the worlds’ most recognisable security brands is a good start.

Windstream sparks a fiber deployment with electric co-op

Windstream has struck its first partnership with an electric co-op to expand the footprint of its fiber broadband service into rural areas of Georgia.

Charter tops 30 million customers in first half of 2020

Charter Communications has hit the high-water mark of 30 million customers during the first half of this year. With its new record number of subscribers, Charter laid claim to being the nation's fastest growing internet, voice, TV, and mobile provider.

Three joins Vodafone in auction resistance, but falling on deaf ears

Three and Vodafone are both calling for the spectrum auction at the beginning of 2021 to be scrapped, but Ofcom has stated there are no plans to make alterations.

MEF wraps up service model standard for SD-WAN

MEF moved the SD-WAN ball down the field last month by finishing up an information service model that can be used to build open APIs for SD-WAN.

Blaber: ‘Cloudification’ of core network well underway

I recently wrote about the evolution of the radio access network (RAN) as it becomes increasingly virtualized and cloud-like in order to fulfil the promise of 5G (see Virtual RAN: Separating Fact from Fiction). In this follow-up, I look at the parallel transformation of the core network.

China’s tech business to face expanded ban by the US beyond TikTok

After seemingly forcing TikTok owner to divest its business in the US, the Trump administration is prepared to address “a broad array of national security risks” presented by Chinese internet and software companies.

FCC greenlights Amazon’s $10bn satellite project

With all five votes in favour of Amazon’s low-earth orbit satellite project, the firm has now got the relevant approvals to deliver satellite-based broadband services in the US.

VMware bags Dish cloud platform gig

VMware has been selected to supply the cloud platform for Dish’s OpenRAN, cloud-native network, a mark of credibility in the firm.

Strategy divergence appears at Microsoft with TikTok acquisition talks

Microsoft has confirmed it is currently in discussions with ByteDance to acquire TikTok operations in the US, Canada, New Zealand and Australia.

Research : 3000 consumers reveal how they feel about 5G

When you build it, will they want it?  The resounding answer is yes – consumers want 5G when they understand what it is and what it can do for them. 

California school district builds its own LTE network for online learning

The Patterson (Calif.) Unified School District has built a small, private wireless LTE network in the unlicensed 3.5GHz CBRS spectrum band. The pandemic-inspired project could become a trend around the US.

Charlie Vogt heads back to the future

As the new CEO of Dasan Zhone, Vogt returns to his telecom roots as the supplier seeks to expand in North America.

Daily Roundup: Cisco Dishes on Diversity

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.

Dish buys Ting, scores mobile management deal with Tucows

Dish Network said it will purchase Ting's retail business. But hiding behind that transaction is the bigger move by Dish to offload the management of its MVNO business to Ting's owner, Tucows.

Has Nokia stopped the 5G rot?

The Finnish equipment vendor may have turned an important corner at a very opportune geopolitical moment.

Leading Lights 2020 Finalists: Most Innovative Telco Cloud Strategy

Three companies – Colt Technology Services, HGC and PCCW Global – made the cut in the Most Innovative Telco Cloud Strategy.

Fortinet’s Latest SD-WAN Appliance Targets Fortune 1000

Fortinet unveiled a new SD-WAN appliance aimed at Fortune 1000 companies’ branch deployments. The FortiGate 80F is the company’s latest CPE appliance and slots in above Fortinet’s home-office- and small-branch-focused FortiGate 40F and 60F appliances announced earlier this year.

Huawei, Apple buck Q2 smartphone trends – report

Both OEMs have reason to cheer, despite overall smartphone shipment volumes decreasing 16% year-on-year. Samsung? Look away now.

Cisco’s 5 Cybersecurity Diversity Lessons Learned

Just like cybersecurity, diversity and inclusion is everyone’s problem to solve.

ATX fills a gap as it takes over Cisco's cable amp biz

Digicomm deal provides continuity as ATX prepares to sell GainMaker-compatible products along with a mix of its own next-gen cable access network products.

Trump call reboots Microsoft's TikTok buyout talks

US software giant continues talks with parent company ByteDance over TikTok in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand after White House intervention.

NTT DoCoMo's non-telecom services rescue Q2 result

NTT DoCoMo's Smart Life services save Q2 bottom line.

Nokia’s New CEO Confronts Complacency

Nokia’s new CEO Pekka Lundmark is settling into his role this week confronting multiple challenges, including a double-digit decline in sales, underperforming and high-cost 5G equipment, the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, and lingering questions about one of its flagship operator accounts in the U.S. market.

Kubernetes Updates Hit by COVID-19, BLM Recognition

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and recent social strife has pushed the Kubernetes project to alter its quarterly update schedule through the end of the year, though it’s looking to get back in track (like the rest of the world) in 2021.

Huawei customer working on AT&T's FirstNet buildout

AT&T confirmed it will partner with Union Wireless to construct a FirstNet network across rural Wyoming. Union is one of the many small wireless network operators that uses Huawei equipment.

Eurobites: Does Drahi have his eye on Openreach?

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Stirling work from CityFibre; Telia sells Afghan stake; new boss at Olivetti; 5G – The Movie.