Saturday, October 10, 2020

Money Moves: September 2020

Here are some of the most prominent venture capital and merger and acquisition news items from the past month. If you’d like SDxCentral to report on your company’s VC or M&A activity in our monthly Money Moves section, or if you have any tips on that activity, please send the information to Sydney Sawaya (ssawaya@sdxcentral.com).

Friday, October 09, 2020

Loon, HAPSMobile deliver LTE from stratosphere

It’s not every day you get Vint Cerf, known as one of the “Fathers of the Internet,” to join your video call. But when you’re affiliated with Google and doing experimental tests in the stratosphere, maybe that’s par for the course.

Windstream Enterprise gives voice to its SD-WAN service

Windstream Enterprise is providing its SD-WAN users voice command features by adding Google Assistant and Amazon's Alexa to its OfficeSuite UC portfolio. By using Alexa and Google Assistant, Windstream Enterprise said network administrators would be able to work more efficiently.

Thursday, October 08, 2020

Facebook goes to space

Facebook confirmed that it launched an 'experimental satellite designed to test ways to improve broadband connectivity,' but said it has no desire to provide services.

Daily Roundup: Cisco Slashes Workforce

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.

Kubernetes Security Gains Reach Nuclear Levels

Rancher Labs and its Rancher Federal division this week unveiled a Kubernetes-based open source project targeted at allowing container deployments to meet the increased security requirements of government organizations. The move continues what has been a growing push by different branches of the government to use cloud native architectures to modernize their IT infrastructure.

Vodafone names top radio companies in its open RAN RFI

Vodafone has been on a roll issuing requests for quotes (RFQs) and requests for information (RFIs) as it strives to expand the ecosystem for open radio access network (RAN) equipment. At this week’s Telecom Infra Project (TIP) virtual conference, Vodafone’s head of group network architecture Santiago Tenorio announced the results of an RFI for open RAN radio hardware.

Colt lassos a fiber backhaul deal with Three UK

Colt Technology Services has landed a deal to be mobile provider Three UK's preferred provider of fiber backhaul connectivity. The deal with Colt is part of Three  UK's $2.6 billion investment to upgrade its network, which it said would include increasing 4G speeds by up to 150% as well as "delivering the U.K.'s fastest 5G network."

Wednesday, October 07, 2020

Trump's big 5G plan still MIA

President Trump was required to submit 'an implementation plan to the 5G national strategy' by Sept. 23. However, NTIA officials now say it won't be ready until the end of October 2020.

Daily Roundup: IBM Slashes Legacy Biz

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.

Nokia Envisions Ethical, Sustainable 5G-Enabled World

Nokia pleaded its case to put the world on a path to recovery in a paper released today outlining the company’s commitment to realizing its vision of an ethical and sustainable 5G world and calling on global, local, and individual collaborative action to make it happen.

Are VMware, Amazon on the Same Wavelengths?

VMware and Amazon Web Services celebrated their third anniversary at VMworld this year since launching VMware Cloud on AWS. At that event in 2017, AWS CEO Andy Jassy joined VMware CEO Pat Gelsinger on stage to launch VMware Cloud on AWS, which Gelsinger called “the ultimate hybrid solution.”

Open RAN Poised to Surpass Proprietary RAN by 2028

The market for open radio access network (RAN) radio units is growing, but the grade of that incline is scattered. ABI Research predicts the total capex spent on open RAN radios for public outdoor networks will reach $40.7 billion in 2026.

Trump's chaos spills into 5G

A disagreement among Trump appointees over 5G has engulfed everyone from the FCC to the DoD. 'Our government is a mess,' concludes one financial analyst firm.

Mavenir files for proposed IPO

Mavenir filed a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) form today for a proposed initial public offering (IPO). If approved, the company would list its shares on the Nasdaq exchange. The SEC Form S-1 includes a $100 million placeholder, meaning the company would seek funding in the low nine-figure range.

Rivada: We’re not interested in nationalized 5G

It’s not exactly new – Rivada Networks shut down claims last summer about its intentions around 5G and nationalization, something it also did the previous year when confusion reigned. But given its prominence in the story line, it’s probably worth repeating: The company says it’s not interested in a nationalized 5G network.

AT&T’s Fuetsch: cloud, telco networks complementary for 5G apps

When it comes to future 5G applications that require low latency, like AR/VR, autonomous vehicles, or drones, AT&T’s Andre Fuetsch says telecom networks and cloud data centers are complementary. Fuetsch, president of AT&T Labs and chief technology officer, spoke Wednesday at the virtual TM Forum Digital Transformation event, about accelerating the move to the cloud. Over the last several years AT&T’s considered where its own IT and network workloads would be best served, he noted, whether that is in-house on the carrier’s own private cloud or on the public cloud. “As we’ve watched the public cloud grow, and they’ve been growing leaps and bounds, these clouds are not just scaling, they’re also getting much much more capable,” Fuestsch said.

Tuesday, October 06, 2020

Oracle Observability, Management Spreads Everywhere

Oracle launched an observability and management platform that can conduct those deeds across virtually any infrastructure construct and tackle what has been an ongoing challenge for organizations in attempting to see what is exactly happening within their dispersed workloads.

Farmers use private LTE in CBRS spectrum to increase yields

The words industrial automation bring to mind factory floors for many people, but for Trilogy Networks automation is all about the farm, not the factory. The Colorado company is keeping a close eye on agtech developments such as soil sensors and wearables for livestock, which COO Nancy Shemwell describes as "Fitbits for pigs."

Telia Company sells off Telia Carrier for $1.1 billion

Sweden's Telia Commpay announced on Tuesday that it was selling off its international carrier business to Swedish pension funds for $1.1 billion. The deal for Polhem Infra to buy Telia Carrier is expected to close in the first half of 2021 once it passes regulatory approvals.

Monday, October 05, 2020

Microsoft Diversity Pledge Draws Labor Department Contact

The United States Labor Department is looking into a pledge made earlier this year by Microsoft to increase the hiring of Black employees as being unlawful discrimination based on race and a violation of the Civil Rights Act. The contact is tied to Microsoft’s growing role as a federal contractor, which includes it potentially securing a U.S. Department of Defense contract.

Daily Roundup: VMware Takes Aim at XDR

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.

How VMware Plans to Win the XDR Security Market

VMware rolled out its extended detection and response (XDR) strategy at VMworld, and joined security vendors including Cisco, Microsoft, McAfee, and Palo Alto Networks in jumping on the latest buzzy acronym bandwagon. But it’s been laying the foundation for XDR for more than a year, said Tom Corn, SVP of VMware’s Security Business Unit.

TIP Pitches Bigger Open RAN Tent

The Telecom Infra Project (TIP) is reorganizing a pair of groups focusing on open radio access networks (RAN) into a more comprehensive effort simply titled “OpenRAN Project Group.”

Pret a open RAN

The radio access network is nothing like lasagne or spaghetti but exactly like the sandwich business. Obviously.

CWA calls out AT&T's lack of fiber in its DSL footprint

On the heels of AT&T saying it will no longer take new orders for its DSL service, the Communications Workers of America (CWA) criticized its lack of fiber on Monday.  According to the report, which CWA did in conjunction with the National Inclusion Alliance (NDIA), AT&T has deployed fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) to 28% of the households in its footprint as of the end of June.

AT&T pulls plug on new DSL accounts

With its increased focus on fiber-fed speeds, AT&T is no longer selling DSL to new customers. According to a post on DSL Reports, AT&T notified customers on billing statements in August that effective Oct. 1 it would no longer accept new orders for its copper-based DSL service.

Microsoft announces it will build data centers in Greece

Microsoft has turned its eye towards Greece with an announcement on Monday that it will build a series of data centers there as part of a new data region. Microsoft President Brad Smith said in a press release that his company's ongoing investment in Greece would be the biggest in its 28 years of doing business there.

Huawei’s tough choice: base stations or handsets?

The U.S.-imposed deadline on Huawei for the more restrictive trade policy took effect on September 15, 2020. By all accounts, Huawei has been expediting parts from all suppliers for some time. Two of the most critical components are the leading-edge semiconductors from TSMC, specifically modems used for smartphone modems and ASICs for radio units (RRUs) mounted on cell towers. Both the smartphone and infrastructure markets require leading edge semiconductors, but smartphone quantities are about 10x that needed for base stations and drive more revenue. However, the choice of what market to support going forward is not so obvious. Given the short time to stockpile, what parts would Huawei prioritize from TSMC?

FierceWireless presents its 2020 class of Rising Stars

2020 has been a strange year, but that hasn’t stopped the wireless industry from forging ahead with its 5G build-outs. And if anything, the Covid-19 crisis has spurred operators to acquire more spectrum and make their networks more robust to meet the demands of mobile broadband in a year when internet connectivity is vital.

Networks Keep Us Going

With COVID-19 catapulting an already rapid worldwide digital transformation ahead by years,  Nokia’s IP and optical networks provide the world’s most critical networks with innovation, scalability, reliability, and security.

Sunday, October 04, 2020

AT&T stops DSL sales

Along with an ongoing de-emphasis of other older technologies, AT&T's DSL sale stoppage enters the picture as AT&T amplifies its focus on fiber-fed and wireless broadband services.

Cable Next-Gen Preview: From Broadway to your basement

Light Reading Cable/Video Practice Leader Alan Breznick and Light Reading Senior Editor Jeff Baumgartner preview two cable-related symposiums happening this week, on Tuesday, October 6 and Thursday, October 8. They're all digital this year, as we've had to say goodbye to Broadway while staying safe during the pandemic. Tuesday's program will focus on cable business services and Thursday's program's focus shifts to emerging cable network architectures.

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