Headcount: Firings, Hirings, and Retirings — November 2020

Here are some of the latest executive hirings, promotions, and staff changes that happened in November. 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.

Cisco Eyes Growth in 400G, 5G Transitions

Cisco operates a deeply entrenched business that targets many layers of IT, but it’s making considerable investments of late to capture market-wide transitions to 400 Gb/s infrastructure and 5G, according to Jonathan Davidson, SVP and GM of Cisco’s Mass-Scale Infrastructure unit.

Verizon’s DSS performance ‘disappointing,’ says SRG

Dynamic spectrum sharing (DSS) garnered a lot of attention this year, underscoring its complexities and a bit of mystery. 

Cisco strikes a deal to buy software company IMImobile for $730M

Cisco kicked off Monday with the news that it's buying London-based cloud communications software company IMImobile for $730 million, including debt.

90% of smartphones to support CBRS by 2023, says SNS Telecom

SNS Telecom & IT predicts that by 2023, about 90% of all smartphone shipments in the United States will incorporate support for the 3.5 GHz CBRS band – specifically, 3GPP bands 48 and 49 for LTE and n48 for 5G NR connectivity. The research firm estimates total smartphone shipments in the U.S. at about 130 million.

Report: Facebook, Microsoft drag down data center switch market

Thanks to the European and Asia-Pacific regions, global data center switch revenue bounced back year-over-year in Q3 after two consecutive quarters of mid to high single-digit declines. By contrast, revenue in the North American data switch market decreased for the fourth consecutive quarter due in part to a capex slowdown by some of the hyperscale cloud providers.

Crown Castle could be first to see fruits from C-band – analyst

The anticipated C-band auction is set to kick off next week, and looking ahead MoffettNathanson thinks Crown Castle could be positioned to see the fruits of the new spectrum faster and at higher levels than its tower company peers.

TIM, Ericsson, Qualcomm achieve 1 Gbps on 5G mmWave FWA

Italy’s Telecom Italia (TIM), Ericsson and Qualcomm worked together to use 5G technology on a fixed wireless access (FWA) deployment to get a speed of 1 Gbps on the downlink and 700 Mbps on the uplink. The demonstration took place in Rome on 26 GHz millimeter wave spectrum at a distance of 6.5 kilometers between the 5G mmWave device and the base station.

Lumen gives automation a turbo boost with Itential

Lumen Technologies has teamed up with Itential to boost automation across multi-domain networks for service providers, enterprises and cloud providers.

ONF's Aether project gets its wings with $30M 5G DARPA project

The Open Networking Foundation's Aether platform, which includes 5G, edge and cloud, has taken flight with a $30 million contract funded by the Defense Advanced Projects Agency (DARPA.)

Moore: Holiday wireless competition is very different in 2020

Wireless competition for the 2020 holiday season is different. Really different, for so many reasons.

Siemens deploys private wireless network to support microgrid

The U.S. Department of Energy defines a microgrid as a group of interconnected components and distributed energy resources within clearly defined electrical boundaries. Microgrids can operate independently of the larger grid, and if connected to the grid they act as a single controllable entity. A microgrid is one way for a large user of power to take control of its energy use and focus on renewables. 

Ericsson, Qualcomm and TIM claim new FWA speed record

Fixed Wireless Access is one of the best hopes operators have of making money from their 5G investments, so there’s a strong incentive to claim to be the best at it.

Vodafone launches smartwatch, AR glasses as wearables market kicks up a gear

The global wearables market had a buoyant third quarter, and with big names like Vodafone championing the latest devices this week, the outlook appears rosy going into the festive season.

CityFibre customers keep coming

CityFibre has signed up another four retail ISPs to its fibre network, more than doubling its wholesale customer base.

Mavenir begins dabbling in open RAN hardware

Mavenir is pinning its hopes on an open RAN trend separating hardware from software. At the same time, the company is working to tightly integrate its own hardware and software.

Juniper Plans to Mist-ify 128 Technology’s SD-WAN

128 Technologies will play a key role in the next phase of Juniper’s artificial intelligence (AI)-driven WAN, said Sudheer Matta, VP of product management at Juniper Networks, during Thursday’s AI for the enterprise virtual summit.

Snowflake Surges on Strong Earnings, Expectations

Snowflake’s first quarter as a public company got off on uneven footing with the data warehousing vendor posting strong revenue growth and a hefty financial loss for the quarter. But that awkwardness was expected as investors piled heavily onto the vendor.

What to expect from the C-band auction for 5G spectrum

Who's bidding? When will the auction end? And what will the winners get? Some expect the C-band auction to be America's biggest-ever spectrum sale.

WarnerMedia's bold movie move will help HBO Max… at a price

Decision to distribute Warner Bros movies simultaneously in theaters and HBO Max is risky even if it accelerates growth for WarnerMedia's new premium SVoD service, analyst says.

Daily Roundup: Fortinet, AWS Add Fuel to Fire(walls)

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 newsletters to get these stories in your inbox.

North Dakota telco lights up 5-Gig residential broadband service

Delivered on XGS-PON gear from Calix, MLGC's speedy new offering sells for $199 per month.

What Cybersecurity Tech Will VCs Throw Money at in 2021?

COVID-19 affected every sector during 2020, and cybersecurity’s no different. Some of the pandemic-related changes proved beneficial as companies realized overnight the necessity of securing a now-perimeter-less workforce. As a result, security budgets were the one area that typically didn’t see any cuts — and in some cases even increased — during the economic downturn. But will that cybersecurity spending continue in 2021?

Open RAN will be a $3.2B market in 2024, says Omdia

Forecast is raised as service providers commit to both greenfield and brownfield deployments worldwide.

Facebook tests tech to provide data to rural world

Facebook releases first results for its prototype SuperCell, a tech to provide mobile network coverage from existing towers to rural communities.

Comcast inches toward HBO Max integration

A tile for HBO Max and other HBO Max branding have surfaced on X1. However, when the tile is launched, it directs viewers to the regular HBO network page rather than the fuller, OTT-delivered HBO Max app.

FTTH/B in Europe? Massive growth surge on its way – report

IDATE forecasts a near tripling of FTTH/B subscribers in EU member states (plus UK) between 2020 and 2026. UK and Germany no longer full-fiber laggards.

WiCipedia: Is there an alternative to imposter syndrome?

This week in our WiC roundup: How to avoid imposter syndrome; fundraising for good; what it takes to build a diverse team; and more.

China's 5G newcomer pins its hopes on untried mobile broadcast

CBN has a mountain to climb as it tries to establish broadcast technology as a 5G challenger.

Fortinet, AWS Blaze Virtual Firewall, WAF Integrations

Fortinet added security integrations with Amazon Web Services (AWS) including its virtual firewall FortiGate-VM and web application firewall FortiWeb to boost workload protection across hybrid environments.

Eurobites: Tele2 sells small German unit

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: more on Vodafone's edge deal with AWS; better times lie ahead, says Analysys Mason; blockchain gets a telecom workout.

VMware, Micro Focus Top Forrester’s Hybrid Cloud Management Wave

VMware and Micro Focus led a strong field of rivals in Forrester’s latest ranking of hybrid cloud management platforms that noted real differentiation in the market is driven by the depth of support rather than the breadth of that support.

Ofcom plans no fiber pricing controls for 11 years

Move by regulator signals support for BT's FTTP rollout, but TalkTalk challenges 'multibillion-pound giveaway' to the former incumbent.

Zoom tops the 2020 mobile app charts

In a year that saw leaving the house become criminalised in much of the world, it comes as little surprise to see video conferencing service Zoom become top of the mobile pops.

Facebook aims high with SuperCell for rural coverage

Engineers at Facebook Connectivity have been quietly working for the past two and a half years on a solution to economically provide coverage in rural areas, and what they’ve come up with is SuperCell, an alternative to macrocell sites.

Vodafone, AWS tee up 5G mobile edge compute in London

Vodafone Business is building on its edge compute partnership with AWS, launching its its first commercial 5G MEC center in London next spring, alongside with a wider MEC innovation program starting in early 2021.

VMware, Cisco garner top-2 spots for SD-WAN market share—report

The battle for SD-WAN supremacy remains fierce among vendors with VMware, Cisco and Fortinet holding down the top-three spots in Q3 market share. At various times this year, Cisco and VMware have both claimed to be the top SD-WAN vendor.

Report: Broadband access gear spending remains strong in Q3

Broadband remains a key asset as the coronavirus surges across the globe, which has led to a speedier transition to 1-Gig services.

FierceWireless 2020 Most Powerful People in Wireless

For several years FierceWireless has published our signature “Most Powerful People” contest, where we pit top wireless executives against each other in a March Madness-style voting bracket. It’s a fun, community building feature to get employees at top companies in the wireless ecosystem to rally around their leaders.

Lumen CTO: Why edge compute is crucial to enterprise CIOs

Lumen Technologies CTO Andrew Dugan believes enterprise CIOs are turning to edge compute because it provides better performance for their applications versus the centralized cloud.

DT and Orange try to improve IPX services with blockchain

Major telco groups Deutsche Telekom and Orange claim to have successfully tested a proof-of-concept (PoC) whereby blockchains are used to offer enhanced IPX services.

Chinese telecoms kit vendors gained global market share this year

You might think, with all the drama surrounding Huawei this year, that it would have lot market share. But, according to market tracker Dell’Oro, the opposite is true.

UK set to join Europe’s big guns on full fibre rollout

The UK is one of a number of major economies forecast to rise up the European rankings for full fibre rollout thanks to a prediction of significant growth over the next five years.

Orange set for spending spree following €2.2bn tax refund

Dividends, an employee shareholding scheme and improvements in networks and IT. These are just some of the items on Orange’s shopping list after it received a whopping €2.2 billion tax refund.

Discovery+ could add 15M subs in 2021 – analyst

But industry watchers expect the new, premium streaming service to face challenges as it will likely face a harder sell in the US compared to Europe and other international markets.

Brewing Japanese price war could spell trouble for AT&T, Verizon

Docomo in Japan is now selling 5G for around half of what its fellow incumbents charge. If Dish enters the 5G market in the US, AT&T and Verizon might be forced into a similar position.

EXFO checks OTT's heartbeat

New video monitoring tool is designed to help service providers auto-detect and diagnose the root cause of video streaming issues and impairments.

Ciena, Cisco could acquire NeoPhotonics – analysts

'We see a very high likelihood of NeoPhotonics being acquired by a larger optical component supplier or even by Ciena or Cisco,' wrote the financial analysts at MKM Partners.

Daily Roundup: Dell Deepens Hardware, Supply Chain Security

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 newsletters to get these stories in your inbox.

Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile are neck and neck in 5G speeds – report

New findings from OpenSignal show a surprising parity in 5G download speeds among AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile. But, as always, the devil is in the details.

Huawei Dominates Nokia, Ericsson, Dell’Oro Says

The telecommunications equipment market remains Huawei’s to lose. The Chinese vendor, despite a years-long effort by the U.S. government and some of its allies to cripple its business, continued to rise and gain share through the first three quarters of 2020, according to Dell’Oro Group.

AWS Expand EKS, ECS ‘Anywhere,’ Proffers Proton Platform

Amazon Web Services (AWS) fleshed out its container support plans by expanding the reach of a pair of its current bread-and-butter offerings and throwing out its new Proton platform as a new way for organizations to construct microservices. The moves also play on the cloud giant’s dominate position in the broader ecosystem.

AT&T nears deal for You.i TV

Acquisition of Canada-based You.i TV will bring key technologies in-house that enable AT&T and its WarnerMedia unit to build apps for an array of mobile and TV-based streaming devices from a single codebase.

Huawei can expect more European hardship in the Biden era

As opinion swings against China, Huawei's regional difficulties could mount when Joe Biden enters the White House.

Arm: Regulators to take 'good look' at Nvidia sale

Nvidia's $40 billion purchase of UK chipmaker Arm may not be a done deal, with Arm's CEO saying he expects regulators 'to take a good look.'

Huawei, ZTE cushioned by China

Dell'Oro Group finds the two Chinese suppliers making revenue-share inroads in the worldwide telecoms equipment market, thanks to heavy domestic spending.

US cable network peak usage is surging again

Following a summer of stability, upstream and downstream traffic has been rising steadily in recent weeks. Cable operator network spending in Q3 indicates that MSOs were preparing for this latest surge.

Cohesity DataProtect Gets a SaaS-y Sibling

Cohesity delivered its cloud-based data management-as-a-service (DMaaS) offering today, as promised, betting its money – and Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) – on enterprises that don’t want to manage their own data. And it’s a lot of money – the data management startup is backed by more than $650 million in venture capital.

ONF’s Aether Cast For $30M 5G Defense Research Project

The Open Networking Foundation’s (ONF) Aether platform designed for 5G edge cloud capabilities has been selected as the software layer for a new $30 million project funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

Fixed wireless access is 5G's first killer app

5G has found a hit with fixed wireless access, which is taking off in some regions.

Eurobites: Eutelsat beams Konnect broadband to Brits

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Vodafone hopes for AR specs appeal; Nokia knocks up more private networks; Slovenian winemaker toasts 10G XGS-PON.

Dell Hardens Hardware, Supply Chain Security

Dell Technologies announced a slew of security updates today that span hardware, supply chain, and data security services.

Standalone security: The impact of slicing and total cost of ownership

SPONSORED: Many enterprise customers expect that 5G security slices will be fully hardened and automated as 5G cores (5GC) are commercialized.

Orange plans spending splurge after tax bonanza

France-based operator considers buying out majority shareholders in Orange Belgium.

T-Mobile exec touts massive MIMO for both TDD and FDD bands

Massive multiple-input, multiple-output (Massive MIMO) antennas were first developed for mmWave when operators began eyeing that high-band spectrum for 5G networks.  

Nokia affirms 5G energy efficiency, cautions of rising traffic

Nokia on Wednesday touted joint research with Telefónica, saying a new study confirms that 5G networks are up to 90% more energy efficient than 4G networks on a per traffic unit basis.  

Trump’s pick for FCC seat moves forward

The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on Wednesday voted 14-12 along party lines to move forward on President Trump’s nomination of Nathan Simington to the FCC.

Raynovich: Alkira builds the path to IP backbone as-a-service

Alkira, one of the more interesting companies emerging in the rapidly accelerating multi-cloud networking (MCN) and network as-as-service (NaaS) market, announced today that it's expanding the functionality of its Cloud Services Exchange (CSX) to provide a full, global network backbone on demand. 

Latency, reliability underpin changes for 5G transport

With new network architectures, applications, and more capacity, 5G also means multiple changes for transport, including the need to support more stringent latency and reliability requirements.

AT&T hardens supply chain in face of Covid-19 pandemic

In the face of Covid-19, global tariffs and trade restrictions, AT&T's supply chain has weathered the storm over the past several years.

HPE pulls up Silicon Valley HQ stakes to move to Houston

Hewlett Packard Enterprise is the latest high-profile tech company to exit the Silicon Valley area for greener pastures elsewhere.

President Trump resorts to nuclear option over Section 230

As social media platforms exercise increasing editorial control over their users, the protections granted to them in US become increasingly obsolete.

Nokia talks up 5G energy efficiency but power consumption is only going one way

Nokia is bigging up the energy-efficiency credentials of 5G technology, but it’s pretty clear that 5G will still use more power than previous generations of mobile technology.

Softbank spends $700m to fund Sinch’s M&A ambitions

Softbank has made a hefty investment in Swedish software company Sinch, which says it will use the proceeds of the sale to fund further M&A.

AWS brings 1984 to the edge

The adjective ‘Orwellian’ is overused, not least by this publication, but what do you expect when you launch industrial IoT services with names like ‘Monitron’?

Discovery+ preps for January 4 US debut, starting at $4.99

Programmer's new premium streaming service will try to accelerate subscriber growth through a partnership with Verizon focused on the carrier's mobile, 5G Home and Fios customer base.

Sharing is hard: Debate builds over ESC in 3.5GHz spectrum

Environmental Sensing Capability (ESC) networks are a cornerstone of spectrum sharing in the 3.5GHz band. But there's a growing debate about whether they are effective.

Fortinet Introduces Ruggedized Gear for OT Enterprise

Fortinet today announced a new line of SD-WAN appliances targeted at operational technology (OT) environments. The FortiGate Rugged 60F is designed to operate in remote locations that are not environmentally controlled.

Daily Roundup: AWS’ Jassy Breaks Down Hybrid Cloud

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 newsletters to get these stories in your inbox.

Viaero, Airspan hint at fixed wireless C-band ambitions

A testing request from wireless network operator Viaero hints at fixed wireless services in the C-band using equipment from Airspan and BEC Technologies.

Amazon Detonates Sonic Boom of Storage Updates

Amazon’s AWS Re:invent conference could be described as overwhelming – even without a physical audience of 60,000 people swarming across a venue that spans six different hotels. To kick off this year’s virtual event, AWS CEO Andy Jassy gave a three-hour keynote during which he announced 24 new products and updates, and this includes four additions to its storage services that could easily be mistaken for a family of Star Wars droids.

Broadcom Sharpens Tomahawk Switch Chips, Versatile SmartToR

Broadcom today announced the general availability of its Tomahawk 4 series switch chips alongside new Trident series silicon designed for use in top of rack (ToR) switches.

Vietnam says good morning to 5G

Viettel launches country's first commercial 5G trial using a mixture of imported and homegrown kit.

SoftBank's $690M Sinch stake a customer service bet

Japan's SoftBank Group grabs a tenth of Sinch, as Facebook and Salesforce also make acquisitions in the booming customer engagement industry.

Cable drove 33% of US mobile subscriber growth in Q3 – analyst

US cable operators ended the period with 4.8 million mobile lines and remain a significant source of share growth even as all industry players continue to chase after T-Mobile.

Nokia Confirms C-Suite Exits

Multiple senior executives at Nokia are heading for the exits prior to the formalization of CEO Pekka Lundmark’s company-wide restructuring. 

Eurobites: Openreach goes after TalkTalk for missing millions

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: no more copper in Salisbury; Orange builds new cable repair ship; Enea gets it on with Matrixx.

Will Alkira's CBaaS shine in a sea of SASE suppliers?

Alkira's goal is that CBaaS will assist enterprises in connecting their business applications wherever they're housed – connecting sites together such as data centers or branches on a global scale.

AWS Jams Daylight Between Outposts, Local Zones, Wavelength

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is a massive operation and as it continues to expand beyond the confines of its regional data centers, the world’s largest cloud provider has taken flight into some of the more convoluted shadows of cloud computing.

Nokia hails 'native' green credentials of 5G networks

5G may be more energy efficient in terms of watts per bit, but rising data traffic and hardware power consumption remain a challenge.

India's Vodafone Idea goes for a tariff hike

The decision looks risky in a market where market leader Reliance Jio still offers rock-bottom rates.

Why 2021 should be the year uCPE (finally) makes its mark

Omdia expects uCPE revenues to more than triple to reach $93.5 million in 2021 and then $1.78 billion by 2024. Enterprise SD-WAN is a key driver of all that growth.

Alkira Rolls Software-Defined Underlay Into Multi-Cloud Offering

While software-defined overlays like SD-WAN have been around for years, distributed enterprises still had to wrangle complex underlay contracts or work with a managed service provider to physically bridge the distance from one branch to the next. Today, multi-cloud vendor Alkira is making the software-defined underlay a reality with the launch of its cloud backbone-as-a-service offering.

Vodafone touts UK's first 5G 'edge' service with AWS

Forthcoming soft launch will deliver sub-10-millisecond connections from a center in London, say the companies.

AT&T’s 5G strategy is a little like Verizon, a little like T-Mo

While AT&T was one of the early proponents of mmWave spectrum for 5G, the company has been rather quiet about its 5G spectrum strategy this year.

Verizon CTO sees CBRS deployments as mix of outdoor, indoor

Verizon EVP and CTO Kyle Malady couldn’t talk about C-band spectrum during the Wells Fargo TMT Summit 2020 on Tuesday, but he was able to share a few details about some other mid-band spectrum: the 3.5 GHz Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) band.

Colt launches SD-WAN 2.0 to meet enterprises' evolving needs

Colt Technology Services has beefed up its SD-WAN service to offer enterprises more capabilities across their evolving network landscapes.

Qualcomm unveils its latest flagship Snapdragon SoC

US mobile chip giant Qualcomm has had another of its summits, remotely of course, and the highlight was the launch of the Snapdragon 888 chip.

CyrusOne builds five direct on-ramps to Google Cloud

CyrusOne announced five new on-ramps to Google Cloud in order to provision direct connectivity for hybrid cloud deployments.

U.K. sets timeline for Huawei ban, embraces open RAN

The U.K. government on Monday set out a roadmap for removing Huawei equipment from 5G networks and outlined a new strategy to diversify the country’s telecom supply chain.

Verizon's CTO: Despite Covid, fiber build is ahead of schedule

Verizon has bold ambitions to have its 5G Ultra Wideband enabled in 60 cities by the end of this year, but to do that it needs more fiber in those urban areas.

Ericsson, Huawei, Nokia, 20 others sign on to GSA FWA Forum

Leading telecom equipment vendors Ericsson, Huawei and Nokia are among 23 members that have signed on as part of a new forum to advocate for global 4G and 5G fixed wireless access uptake and development.

Ajit Pai quietly changes landscape for low-income mobile subs

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has been extremely popular with the telecom companies he’s regulated for the last four years, but one corner of the industry will not be sad to see the chairman step down. The carriers that provide mobile service to the nation’s neediest citizens say Pai is trampling them on his way out the door while pulling critical service away from those hit hardest by this year’s economic downturn.

Blaber: Qualcomm's Snapdragon 888 raises bar for rivals

Today's fifth annual Snapdragon Tech Summit may not have had the same allure of a beach-side location in Maui, Hawaii, as it has in previous years, but it did underline why Qualcomm is the industry leader in premium-tier chipsets. The launch of Snapdragon 888 once again raises the bar for rival platforms, and the breadth of industry support illustrates the company's pivotal role in delivering next-generation connectivity, graphics, computing and artificial intelligence to enable an ever-increasing range of experiences.

Baker: A look at the progress of 5G rollouts across Europe

If the Federal Communications Commission had not been founded in the 1930s and control of the United States’ airwaves had been vested at the state level instead, imagine how the development of 5G would be going in the United States right now. Chances are it would be a whole lot slower than it has been and full of differing approaches and timetables.

Cisco's Davidson: Despite AT&T, no major move to disaggregation

While Cisco has long dabbled in white box deployments as part of its network disaggregation efforts, it's not quite ready to jump in with both feet.

Three UK switches on first Ericsson 5G sites

UK MNO Three has been busy rolling out its 5G network, which as of now reaches 154 towns and cities.

Gartner downgrades global smartphone market

Giant analyst firm Gartner likes to take its sweet time about publishing smartphone numbers and has eventually come up with a more pessimistic view than its quicker peers.

NEC announces exec shake-up in wonderfully sterile fashion

What better way to mark the end of one’s tenure as CEO of a company you have served for 43 years than with a table formatted in HTML?

Telecoms industry not expected to fully recover until 2023

Analyst firm Analysys Mason reckons the telecoms industry will return to modest growth from 2021, but it will take three years for the industry revenue to come back to the pre-COVID-19 level. 

Bouygues switches on 5G, squeezing ahead of Orange

French operator Bouygues has pipped Orange at the post, launching 5G just days before the incumbent.

FuboTV buys Balto Sports for move into online sports wagering

Timing of launch hasn't been announced, but FuboTV said last month that new sports wagering service would complement its 'sports-first' focus by driving higher subscriber engagement and improving churn.

Open RAN might not save you much after all

The hyped technology is unlikely to make a huge difference in what telcos invest and even threatens to run up a bigger opex bill.

HPE Moves HQ From Silicon Valley to Houston

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) said it will move its headquarters from San Jose, California, to Houston, leaving its storied Silicon Valley roots where founders Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard started the company in a Palo Alto garage in 1939.

Verizon's DSS comes up short in new 5G tests

Signals Research Group used high-end testing equipment to check out Verizon's new Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS) technology. 'We can't help but be disappointed,' the firm concluded.

Amazon ECR Public Puts Name to Docker Hub Rival

Amazon Web Services (AWS) launched its Amazon Elastic Container Registry Public (ECR Public) that allows developers to share and deploy container images publicly to construct their applications. The launch, which was part of this week’s virtual AWS re:Invent, also provides an avenue to bypass a recently instituted fee structure put in place by Docker Inc. for its widely used Docker Hub platform.

Pluto TV tunes in free Showtime channel

The ad-free streaming service debuts Showtime Selects, a digital channel featuring Showtime originals. ViacomCBS's move expands Pluto TV's lineup and provides upgrade opportunities for Showtime.

AWS Bets Big on Custom Silicon

The future of Amazon Web Services (AWS) will be built on custom silicon, AWS CEO Andy Jassy said during the AWS re:Invent 2020 virtual conference. AWS today unveiled new Graviton2-based instances alongside a partnership with Intel’s Habana Labs and its own machine learning training chip called Trainium.

Cisco Maps Security Success Steps

Less than half of organizations say their security program is successfully achieving their desired outcomes, according to a new Cisco study.

Daily Roundup: Amazon Allies With Apple

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Ting Internet's top priority: Boost 'build velocity'

Jill Szuchmacher, an exec late of Google Fiber, is Ting Internet's new chief strategy officer. One of her key aims is to accelerate the company's ability to deploy FTTP networks.

Qualcomm hopes Snapdragon 888 will widen its 5G lead

Qualcomm released a new top-tier Snapdragon applications processor for smartphones, a move that could help the company solidify its leading position in 5G silicon.

AWS Chief Clarifies Hybrid Cloud Vision

Hybrid and hybrid infrastructure are not defined in stone, but rather the meaning of these terms and the cloud services that bear their name are being innovated upon and reinvented quickly, according to Amazon Web Services (AWS) CEO Andy Jassy. 

Omdia's Pablo Tomasi on the 2021 outlook for private networks

Light Reading's Phil Harvey and Omdia's Pablo Tomasi recap the latest Informa Tech event, Private Networks in a 5G World.

Zoom booms, but share price gloom looms

Zoom sees 367% year-on-year revenue growth in the third quarter, but a jump in free user numbers causes profit margins to dip 14.7%.

Eurobites: Ericsson's 5G blows into Greece with WIND Hellas

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Ziggo adds probes to boost network performance; Colt upgrades its SD-WAN offering; Iskratel touts new OLT for easier virtualization.

Amazon Drives Direct Cloud Link Into Apple MacOS

Amazon Web Services (AWS) became the first hyperscaler to directly link its cloud to Apple’s macOS environment, to the rejoicing sounds of Apple-based developers everywhere. The announcement comes just ahead of AWS’ annual re:Invent show.

Podcast: SASE glues together security and networking

Dell'Oro's Mauricio Sanchez joins the podcast to explain how SASE brings together networking and security technologies, and what this new trend means for service providers and enterprises.

Google Anthos Gets Edgy on Bare Metal Servers

Google’s Anthos hybrid cloud platform now runs on bare metal servers. The move targets enterprise workloads running in on-premises data centers or edge locations, and the announcement preempts a ton of new products and capabilities that rival Amazon Web Services (AWS) will undoubtedly rollout at its annual re:Invent, which kicks off today.

Bouygues Telecom gets the 5G ball rolling

Nationwide coverage targeted for the end of next year, but Huawei replacement strategy still unclear.

Telia Lithuania adds to Huawei's European pain

Mobile operator has already signed up Ericsson as its network partner for 5G.

The vendor business suddenly looks very different

Geopolitics is having a major impact on the vendor landscape in telecom.

SDxCentral’s Top 10 Articles — November 2020

Check out our top 10 articles for November 2020 covering the SDxCentral universe of SDN, NFV, and related topics. Rankings are based on unique visitors aggregated during the month.

Telcos, vendors back new TMF test platform for interoperable IT

The TM Forum's much-publicized Open Digital Architecture could enjoy a boost from the latest move.

Dish signs fiber deals with Zayo, Uniti and others

Dish Network secured fiber deals for backhaul and fronthaul transport to support its planned nationwide 5G network, inking agreements with Everstream, Segra, Uniti, and Zayo.

Chairman Pai announces he will leave FCC on January 20

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai announced he plans to leave the FCC on Inauguration Day, January 20, 2021, allowing the Biden administration to appoint a Democratic majority.

ServiceNow snags Canadian startup Element AI

ServiceNow is boosting the artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities in its applications for enterprises with a deal to buy Canadian startup Element AI.

5G indoor will require multi-stakeholder investments: Mun

With well over 100 5G networks launched worldwide, the multi-year 5G infrastructure cycle is well underway beyond the initial early markets in Korea and China. We are beginning to hear the familiar marketing claims along the lines of, “our 5G covers X millions of people.” 

UK to build satellite 5G research hub

The UK government is chipping in £3 million to help build a new lab that will research satellite-based 5G services.

Italy fines Apple for making misleading iPhone claims

Apple made a bunch of claims about the water resistance of some iPhones, but the Italian Antitrust Authority didn’t like them and has fined Apple €10 million accordingly.

UK goes big on OpenRAN as it tightens Huawei sanctions further

In keeping with the current political climes, the UK government has decided to unilaterally impose further constraints on what mobile operators can do with their own networks.

Ericsson raises 2020 5G subscriptions outlook again

Despite Huawei’s well-documented travails, China’s 5G market is a runaway train, leading Ericsson to once again raise its 2020 forecast for global 5G subscriptions.

Why NaaS now?

NaaS gives CSPs automated control over their networks, cost savings, speed to market, and a better customer experience. Read more.

Dish puts fiber into its 5G diet

Dish inked fiber agreements with Everstream, Segra, Uniti and Zayo in order to connect its planned 5G cell towers with the country's wider Internet backbone.

TV retrans battles heat up for the holidays

AT&T, Dish are duking it out with broadcasters as carriage contracts near their end and potential TV blackouts loom.

Cisco: COVID-19 Causing Year-Long 5G Delays

Mobile network operators that didn’t make 5G technology decisions before 2020 have effectively lost an entire year’s worth of progress due to COVID-19, according to Cisco’s Jonathan Davidson.

Pai preps to say bye-bye to FCC

Ajit Pai will step down from the FCC on January 20, paving the way for an incoming Biden administration to rework the US government agency in charge of the telecom industry.

Fortinet, Check Point, Palo Alto Networks Top Gartner Firewall Report

Palo Alto Networks, Fortinet, and Check Point topped Gartner’s latest Magic Quadrant for Network Firewalls report this month. The four vendors were classified as leaders in the market.

Daily Roundup: Nvidia, AMD Aim for Intel

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 newsletters to get these stories in your inbox.

Japan and India join forces over 5G to combat China

Japan and India are set to sign a memorandum of understanding to offset the growing influence of China in the country, according to media reports.

Trump moves to blacklist Chinese chipmaker SMIC

The Trump administration appears poised to add Shanghai's Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp to a list of companies linked to China's military.

Ericsson cranks up 5G forecast (again)

Due to higher-than-expected 5G take-up in China, Ericsson raises its global 5G subscription forecast from 190 million to 220 million by the end of the year.

Comcast: Cybersecurity system has blocked 6 billion threats in 2020

Cable op started offering its xFi Advanced Security product as a free add-on to millions of customers using eligible gateways back in January.

China Mobile set to launch 5G messaging by year-end

RCS-based platform 5G messaging, developed by the three big Chinese operators, looks set to make its commercial debut.

Three UK hits reset on IT and 5G overhaul

COVID-19, an IT overhaul and the swap-out of Huawei equipment are all consuming the attention of Susan Buttsworth, Three's chief operating officer.

Drahi faces opposition over Altice buyout offer

Lucerne Capital Management outlines its objections in a hard-hitting letter to the Altice Europe board.

Open RAN's a winner, UK decides, as it closes door on Huawei

The UK government is intervening in its telecom sector to a dangerous degree as it backs specific firms and technologies.

Managed Wi-Fi: The Tier 2-3 MSO story

To gain a deeper understanding of the managed Wi-Fi actions and attitudes of small and mid-sized cable operators, we interviewed 11 cable executives during Q4 2020.

Eurobites: Nokia doubles down in Africa

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: UK explores satellite/5G combo; Apple fined by Italian regulator over iPhone claims; Saudi Telecom's CEO to step down.

IBM Cloud Claims Quantum-Safe Cryptography Firsts

IBM researchers say they have unlocked the key to keep data safe from quantum computing attacks, and the vendor now offers quantum-safe cryptography support for key management and application transactions in IBM Cloud.