Saturday, February 27, 2021

Friday, February 26, 2021

Will AT&T’s DirecTV Spin-Off Engender Greater Focus on Mobile?

AT&T this week distanced itself from its ill-advised DirecTV acquisition in a move that will likely impact its core mobile business. The declining satellite TV business, and AT&T’s other paid TV services, are being spun off into a separate, standalone company that will be partially owned and controlled by private equity firm TPG.

Private network could give MediaTek's 5G modem an edge

5G chipmaker MediaTek is testing its products on a live network, using spectrum supplied by Far EasTone and Ericsson radio equipment. The companies worked together to create a private network that connects MediaTek's three manufacturing partner sites and its headquarters in Taiwan's HsinChu Science Park. 

Thursday, February 25, 2021

The skinny on the top 5 C-Band winners

The C-band auction smashed all expectations, hitting over $81.2 billion in bids. And yesterday the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released the names of the Auction 107 C-band winners and how much they bid. Not surprisingly, the big wireless carriers spent the biggest bucks, with Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile contributing about 96% of the total auction spend.

KDDI America taps Cisco for managed SD-WAN

KDDI America, the U.S.-based subsidiary of Japan's KDDI, announced this week that it teamed up with Cisco Systems on a new managed SD-WAN service for the Americas region, based on the Cisco SD-WAN powered by Viptela infrastructure and offered by KDDI America through Cisco’s global Managed Services Partner Program.

Wednesday, February 24, 2021

Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile Confront ‘Lasting Damage’ From Mid-Band Auction

The final numbers are in and, as expected, Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile US won the lion’s share of mid-band spectrum in the 3.7 GHz-3.98 GHz band that was up for auction. The trio of nationwide operators are on the hook for nearly 96% of all spending in the C-band auction that ended last month at a record high of $81.17 billion.

Vecima scoops up ATX's 'GAP' node tech

Aim is to accelerate the development of the Generic Access Platform, an emerging node standard for HFC networks that can slot in service modules for DOCSIS, PON, mobile/wireless and, potentially, edge compute.

Different strokes for different (chip) folks: Entner

In recent years, the FTC raised concerns that Qualcomm’s patent portfolio and unbiased licensing scheme would prevent other companies from manufacturing and selling 5G chipsets, leading to an anti-trust lawsuit that concluded in November 2019. However, the prediction has not borne out.

Juniper brings 128 Technology under Mist AI umbrella

Juniper Networks didn’t take long to integrate 128 Technology’s capabilities with its Mist AI platform. About four months after announcing its acquisition of 128 Technology and less than two months after closing the deal, Juniper today said it has added WAN Assurance and the Marvis Virtual Network Assistant to 128’s Session Smart network portfolio.

Tuesday, February 23, 2021

Google’s Kubernetes Efforts Gain Autopilot Control

Google has taken another step in streamlining enterprise use of Kubernetes in a production environment by launching a fully automated pilot to steer those efforts. The next move may need to be a way to steer customers through Google’s various Kubernetes options.

Chip shortages spread into telecom

Vendor Infinera expects up to $340 million in revenue in its upcoming quarter, but that figure includes a $10 million risk due to 'semiconductor shortages that are not unique to our industry.'

HPE Debuts Open RAN Stack Under New Telco Group

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) today revealed a stack of software and hardware for 5G open radio access networks (RAN) that it plans to make commercially available before July. The HPE Open RAN Solution Stack features the vendor’s orchestration and automation software, RAN infrastructure blueprints, and a server it claims to be optimized for 5G workloads in an open RAN environment.

FCC’s Rosenworcel circulates draft order on 3.45-3.55 GHz

FCC Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel aims to make some moves on the 5G mid-band spectrum front, circulating a draft order that would make 100 megahertz of spectrum in the 3.45-3.55 GHz band available for auction and 5G deployment. The commission is to vote on the proposal at its March 17 meeting.

Google Cloud, Intel target 5G, edge strategies for telcos

Today, Google Cloud made an announcement that indicates it’s advancing its goal to work with telcos on their 5G and edge strategies. It said it was working with Intel to jointly develop telco cloud reference architectures for wireless carriers to deploy 5G across multiple clouds and edge locations.

Verizon adds Genesys Cloud to its contact center portfolio

Verizon Business added another tool to its customer experience and contact center toolkit. The company has teamed with Genesys to offer a cloud-based contact center solution to its enterprise customers. In addition, the deal will provide an on-ramp to Genesys customers that want to take advantage of Verizon’s network connectivity.

Bellweather Cato's roaring 2020 signals breakout for SASE — Chua

Israeli-based unicorn Cato Networks revealed details of its 2020 business performance today. Cato grew bookings by over 200% for the fourth consecutive year, expanded its number of channel partners by 2.5 times, and added multiple 1000+-site large enterprises to its 800-strong customer list. Last year, Cato raised an additional $207 million in two rounds, with the latter round valuing the company at over $1 billion post-money.

Monday, February 22, 2021

Ericsson Nips Huawei, Nokia in Gartner’s 5G Vendor Ranking

Ericsson came out on top of Huawei and Nokia in Gartner’s latest magic quadrant for 5G network infrastructure and communications service providers. The Swedish vendor earned the highest marks for its ability to execute and landed just slightly behind Huawei on Gartner’s completeness of vision grade. 

Is Istio Key to Solving the 5G Edge Challenge?

Kubernetes has quickly become a major player in the containerization of 5G network deployments, but the Istio service mesh project initially designed to help micromanage those containers is gaining ground as the real driver of those efforts toward the network edge.

Wi-Fi gets a dose of QoS

Spanning all flavors of Wi-Fi, new Wi-Fi Alliance certification program brings standardized approach to traffic prioritization, with focus on apps such as AR/VR, videoconferencing and online gaming.

Ex-CISA Chief Warns Cybercriminals: We’re Coming For You

Former Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) director Chris Krebs sounded an ominous warning to hackers and would-be cybercriminals during his keynote at Check Point’s virtual event Tuesday. As ransomware groups focused their attacks on hospitals and health care during the COVID-19 pandemic, CISA, working with law enforcement and intelligence agencies, channeled Liam Neeson’s character in the movie “Taken” with an effort they also called Project Taken.

Aviatrix Scores $75M Series D Funding Boost

If you ask Aviatrix CEO Steve Mullaney, SD-WAN is dead, the sun has set on the private data center, and the cloud is now the center of the networking universe. And it would seem the company’s investors would agree.

Dish’s Ergen reflects on transitions

Just after Dish Network’s CFO said it expects cap ex to increase substantially in 2021 as it ramps up its 5G network deployment – it invested over $50 million in op ex and cap ex during the fourth quarter – Dish Chairman Charlie Ergen spoke about 2020 as a year of transition.

T-Mobile’s new MAX plan showcases 2.5 GHz

T-Mobile has enough 2.5 GHz spectrum deployed that it’s ready to roll with a new price plan that takes advantage of all that extra capacity. It’s called Magenta MAX, a 5G smartphone plan designed to show off what 5G can do for consumers.

Sunday, February 21, 2021

Dish Lowers Early 5G Expectations to a Crawl

Dish Network today held firm to its previously delayed goal of activating 5G service in a single U.S. market by October. In doing so, however, the aspiring greenfield operator significantly lowered expectations for what that service will deliver in its early days. 

Palo Alto Networks CEO: XDR Protected Us From SolarWinds Attack

In a sign of just how big of an impact the SolarWinds breach had across the security industry, Palo Alto Networks CEO Nikesh Arora kicked off his company’s second fiscal quarter 2021 earning call by discussing the massive attack, which compromised at least 100 U.S. corporations’ networks.

Daily Roundup: VMware Loses Another Exec

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.

VMware Telecom, 5G, Edge Cloud Exec to Exit

VMware is losing a telecom and edge cloud executive to a new “special purpose acquisition company” that plans to invest in telecom, 5G, and edge business that could help VMware’s telecom and edge plans. The move comes as the virtualization giant searches for a new CEO to replace long-time captain Pat Gelsinger.

Kong Captures Coveted Unicorn Status

Kong’s battle to position Kuma as the service mesh of choice received a $100 million funding boost that could come in handy as the Google-based Istio service mesh platform struggles to find its footing. 

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