Money Moves: March 2021

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).

Will VMware Set M&A Sights on 5G Open RAN?

VMware’s current playbook for wireless infrastructure is purely software focused but that might change as the company eyes broader opportunities in radio access networks (RAN).

Charter to pay $19M to Windstream in false advertising suit

A federal judge has ordered Charter Communications to pay $19 million in a lawsuit filed by Windstream related to false advertising.

SureCall: Repeaters give 5G mmWave a much-needed boost

Like a lot of smaller upstart vendors, SureCall knows what it’s like to work with wireless carriers. It can be a long, arduous process. Relationships typically don’t move at the speed of lightning, and landing a contract takes time.

Verizon recalls 2.5 million mobile hotspots for fire hazard

Ellipsis Jetpack mobile hotspot devices sold by Verizon have been recalled after it was determined the lithium-ion battery could overheat, creating a fire and burn hazard.

HMD Global teams with EE for MVNO play

HMD Global expanded its ambitions beyond the release of Nokia-branded handsets, partnering with U.K. operator EE to launch a new MVNO service.

Verizon punches back in debate over TracFone

Opponents to Verizon’s planned acquisition of prepaid MVNO TracFone often cite the negative impacts they believe it will have on Lifeline subscribers and the prepaid market overall. But Verizon is pitching the transaction as a means of improving TracFone’s ability to provide Lifeline-supported services and better serve the prepaid sector.  

Verizon CTO compares fiber to fixed wireless access

Both Verizon and T-Mobile have been touting fixed wireless access (FWA) of late as a way to help close the digital divide, take market share from cable companies and reap new revenues.

Consolidated spotlights 5G, public-private partnership potential

Consolidated Communications CEO Bob Udell highlighted 5G and public-private partnerships as two key opportunities for ISPs to close the broadband gap in the rural U.S., but warned state-level restrictions could hamper the latter’s potential.

UK consumers go crazy for cryptocurrency apps in third lockdown

Conferencing, cryptocurrency and greetings cards were among the biggest growing apps in the first quarter of this year in the UK as consumers grappled with another period of lockdown.

US export ban metastasizes to Chinese supercomputing companies

Not content with blacklisting Huawei, ZTE and a few other tech players, the US has decided the Chinese supercomputing sector is also in league with its military.

Daily Roundup: AWS, Alibaba, Microsoft FaaS and Furious

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Omnispace's tests hint at discussions with Dish, Verizon, US Space Force

Fresh off its deal with Lockheed Martin, Omnispace appears to be busy. The company has hinted at potential discussions with players ranging from Dish Network to Verizon to the US Space Force.

Biden's budget highlights interest in spectrum sharing for 5G

The White House has requested $39 million in 2022 for the NTIA to research 'innovative approaches to spectrum sharing.' That could pave the way for IIC technology to go live for 5G.

Oracle Gets SASE With Check Point Security

Oracle jumped into the secure access service edge (SASE) market today with a Check Point partnership. The deal merges Oracle SD-WAN and Session Border Controller (SBC) with Check Point’s Quantum Edge virtual security gateway and its Harmony Connect cloud-based firewall service.

21Vianet Taps Juniper Routing Prowess

Data center operator 21Vianet this week announced plans to deploy Juniper Networks’ MX-series Universal Routing Platform to support growing internet traffic demands in the Chinese market.

Verizon: Global chip shortage shouldn't slow 5G

Following warnings from the likes of T-Mobile, Gogo and Infinera, Verizon said that it does not expect the global chip shortage to affect its C-band buildout plans.

Amazon, Alibaba, Microsoft Forge FaaS Supremacy

Amazon Web Services (AWS), Alibaba, and Microsoft were all judged to have industry leading function-as-a-service (FaaS) platforms in Forrester Research’s latest ranking of popular offerings.

Dell Builds STEMinists With Girls Who Game

When it comes to a student’s interest in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) there’s no “math gene” or the “science gene” that gets bestowed on the fortunate few, like the tooth fairy leaving a quarter under their pillow. There’s just gender norms and mindsets that need changing. A Dell Technologies’ program called Girls Who Game aims to help that change happen faster.

Eurobites: Ericsson, TDC Net pump 5G into Grundfos plant

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Telefónica Tech opts for quantum randomness; STC teams up with Dizmo for smart homes; HMD Global unveils more Nokia phones.

WiCipedia: What makes a good company for female employees?

This week in our WiC roundup: How trans people in tech are faring; the best places for women to work; 'tech-bro gender-blindness'; and more.

NCTC pitches plan to keep MobiTV alive

NCTC, which represents dozens of operators that use MobiTV, has asked members to put up at least $1 million toward potential MobiTV buyers.

Biden targets supercomputers in first move against China tech

New president signals that he, too, plans to take a tough line over technologies regarded as a potential threat.

Indian telcos want a share of the growing IoT business

The Internet of Things (IoT) seems to be the flavor of the month as far as Indian service providers' enterprise offerings are concerned.

Nokia, Lenovo shake hands on patent deal

Companies put their patent‑infringement battles behind them, but only after Lenovo agrees to make a net balancing payment to Nokia.

China's five-year plan bigs up 5G

Beijing's 14th five-year plan calls for building on China's 5G advantage to maintain its status as the world's factory floor, but it's less ambitious than previous plans.

FWA is boosting RAN — Industry Voices: Pongratz

With so much focus on 5G Mobile Broadband (MBB), it is sometimes easy to forget that Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) Radio Access Network (RAN) investments are projected to comprise a growing share of the overall RAN capex, reflecting the size of the potential upside, continuous technology advancements, new spectrum, and improving market sentiment for both basic and high performance wireless broadband connectivity.

AT&T launches 5G Innovation Studio with Ericsson, Nokia

AT&T hopes to kickstart 5G innovation with the launch of a lab in Plano, Texas, where the carrier will explore and test 5G applications to bring to market more quickly.

Odds improving on latest $15 billion KPN takeover bid

KPN has been the subject of a number of takeover bids over the past few years, so Thursday’s report that there is yet another offer on the table, and a sizeable one at that, can come as little surprise.

HMD Global launches a bunch more Nokia phones and an MVNO

Six new Nokia-branded smartphones have been unveiled by manufacturer HMD Global, which target the mid-to-low tiers.

Verizon’s ‘fastest 5G’ claim stands up in NAD ruling

Verizon can continue using the slogan “fastest 5G in the world” in TV commercials, but it needs to make clear that it only pertains to its millimeter wave (mmWave) network, according to the National Advertising Division (NAD) of BBB National Programs.

Nokia juices 5G microwave portfolio

Nokia took the wraps off a new range of 5G microwave transport products for its Wavence portfolio, targeting communications service providers and enterprises with both indoor and outdoor options.

CommScope lops off Home Networks unit

CommScope revealed plans to spin off its Home Networks business into an independent company as part of a previously announced initiative aimed at cutting costs and refocusing investment on core markets.

AT&T sues Pittsburgh over small cell fees, permit delays

AT&T is suing the city of Pittsburgh, alleging it asked for excessive small cell fees and failed to process permit applications within the FCC’s 90-day shot clock window.  

Spain taps loophole to entice attendees to MWC21 in Barcelona

The government of Spain is trying to help GSMA pull off its in-person Mobile World Congress event this summer. The event is an important contributor to the economy of Barcelona.

LG enlivened the phone industry — Industry Voices: Baker

LG's announcement on April 5th that it was withdrawing from the production of mobile phones was widely expected as a badly kept industry secret. The company's demise in phones had been evident for several years.

Juniper fuels 21Vianet’s data center expansion in China

Juniper Networks touted a major deal with China’s largest carrier-neutral data center service provider, revealing 21Vianet used its MX series of routers for a recent expansion of its operation.

Does Verizon have the fastest 5G in the world?

Verizon really does have the fastest 5G in the world, or at least it is allowed to make that claim through its advertising, according to an advertising standards ruling this week.

T-Mobile raises the stakes in the US 5G market

TMUS has unveiled its latest attempt at disrupting the US telecoms market with a launch dubbed ‘5G for all’.

Telenor and Axiata have another bash at a Malaysia merger

Telenor and Axiata have shared in-depth details of a plan to merge their Malaysian mobile operations, but it’s important to note that we have been here before.

Daily Roundup: VMware Shelters Telco, Edge, SASE Under One Big Umbrella

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The billion dollar fight to cross the digital divide gets dirty

Some of the companies that won money in the FCC's RDOF program are facing a growing, noisy chorus of critics that argue they won't be able to meet their obligations.

Charter wants to start mapping out its mobile network

After spending around $500 million on CBRS spectrum licenses, Charter is now asking the FCC for permission to conduct drive tests of transmissions in the band in around a dozen cities.

Verizon Signals Shift in 5G Edge Emphasis to AWS

Verizon this week expanded its 5G mobile edge computing (MEC) offering with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to target both a public edge for consumers and private edge for enterprises. The move signals a growing preference for AWS, but Verizon isn’t admitting as much at this juncture.

Discovery+ adds to Comcast's streaming mix

Discovery's new premium streaming service has launched on Flex, and will be rolled out to Comcast's X1 pay-TV platform in the coming weeks.

WhiteSource Scores $75M in White-Hot Open Source Security Market

Open source security startup WhiteSource raised $75 million in Series D funding that its CEO says will allow it to acquire other companies and expand its application security platform.

Dish's 5G sales pitch thickens around security

Dish Network is now promising 'a cloud-native solution that integrates network security from the foundation up.' Nokia, Allot and Palo Alto Networks are providing the details.

Podcast: The Divide – Scott Willis and Bruce Garrison on the 'collective ecosystem' required to reach the underserved

This week, Scott Willis, CEO of DartPoints; and Bruce Garrison, chief revenue officer of Bluebird Network, on their connectivity work in rural Iowa and the collaboration required to tackle the digital divide.

Fujitsu: Cyber cretins are casing out private 5G

When private 5G meets factories it brings cybercriminals to the yard. Fujitsu partners up with Trend Micro to eyeball if they can cook up a solution.

Supporting cable technicians today and tomorrow

The past year has taught us many lessons. Among them is the critical role of the cable network in our homes and our daily lives.

CommScope open to other alternatives for Home Networks unit

Board would consider other options if they created value that extends beyond the current plan to spin off a Home Business unit that will be led by cable and telecom industry veteran Joe Chow.

Axiata, Telenor to merge Malaysian operations

Axiata and Telenor are close to agreeing a merger of their Malaysian operations, the two companies have announced.

Cisco Nabs NEC to Expand 5G Reach

Cisco and NEC expanded their long-standing integrator partnership to now include the deployment of 5G IP transport network equipment. The move could prove to be a boost for Cisco, which continues to struggle in gaining a wider hold of the 5G equipment market.

India's Jio acquires 800MHz spectrum from arch-rival Airtel

In a first-of-its-kind deal in India, Reliance Jio will buy 800MHz spectrum from arch-rival Bharti Airtel.

KPN takeover rumors broaden to new players

Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners is said to have teamed up with EQT on a possible takeover bid valuing the Dutch telco at over $15bn.

CommScope to spin off Home Networks unit

Company expects to complete the spin-off of a unit that makes set-tops and other consumer premises equipment by the end of Q1 2022. It represents one move of several aimed at cutting operating costs.

Fujitsu Taps Trend Micro’s Private 5G Network Security for Smart Factories

Fujitsu and Trend Micro today announced a partnership around security for private 5G networks.

Eurobites: MWC does deal with Spanish government to allow non-EU visitors

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Telenor considers Malaysia merger; Nokia expands Wavence microwave range; EE makes progress on 5G rollout.

Four ways to unlock more B2B opportunities and 5G value

For B2B success, CSPs should be open to more collaboration and double down on building an agile network infrastructure that scales, according to CSG.

Beyond connectivity – quantifying and monetizing the 5G effect

SPONSORED: 5G monetization will be more profound than 2G, 3G and even 4G network monetization. 5G will fuel the adoption of a multi-vendor, end-to-end programmable and automated service delivery model that will transform how CSPs deliver high-value services to their customers.

CEO, CFO named for O2 and Virgin Media UK joint venture

About a year ago, Liberty Global and Telefonica announced they planned to merge two UK businesses — Liberty’s Virgin Media and Telefonica’s O2 — in a $38.55 billion joint venture. That deal is expected to be approved soon by the Competition and Markets Authority in the UK.

T-Mobile entices with ‘free’ 5G phone trade-in offer

T-Mobile is looking to get more consumers outfitted with 5G phones, on Wednesday unveiling a new promotion that offers a free Samsung 5G device to anyone that trades in any working mobile phone.  

Lumen brags its Quantum Fiber is better than wireless or cable

If there was one takeaway from today’s Lumen Technologies analyst event it was that the company is bullish about its Quantum Fiber business.

T-Mobile launches commercial 5G Home Internet

T-Mobile announced its Home Internet service as a replacement for cable, moving it out of the pilot phase and emphasizing rural and small town areas that are in dire need of new choices.

Virgin Media CEO to head up joint venture with O2

Lutz Schüler has been announced as the head of the combined VM and O2 UK, when it completes, with O2 boss apparently stepping aside.

OneWeb aims to capitalize on telco, government connections

OneWeb CEO Neil Masterson expressed confidence its ability to tap the expertise of a high-profile group of investors would give it a leg up in an increasingly competitive satellite market, smoothing the company’s path as it pursues commercial deals with operators and governments.

Dish looks to serve up secure 5G slicing with Nokia software

Dish Network plans to use Nokia software to deliver secure so-called network “slices” for enterprise and wholesale customers on its forthcoming 5G network.

Arista targets the enterprise in a bigger way with CloudVision

This week network vendor Arista Networks announced a major update to its network management and automation suite, CloudVision. While the company is best known for its high-performance network infrastructure, its enterprise strategy has revolved around CloudVision.  Historically, the company marketed a bunch of geeky stuff like deep buffers, elephant flows, programmability and its operating system EOS. While those things still matter to webscale companies, they matter a lot less to your typical enterprise that is using the network to deliver mission critical enterprise apps.

Spain approves entry for all MWC registrants

The organizers of Mobile World Congress 2021, due to take place in Barcelona this Summer, have received some much-needed good news from the Spanish government.

KKR boosts European fibre footprint with T-Mobile deal

Investment group KKR has agreed to plough cash into another European fibre initiative, this time partnering up with T-Mobile in the Netherlands, in a roundabout sort of a way.

UK reveals its strategy for taking on the US tech giants

The UK government has created the Digital Markets Unit to tackle the growing problem of US tech giants using their size to stifle competition.

Equinix' Tinkerbell is a bare metal provisioning pixie

Equinix announced that Tinkerbell, an open source bare metal provisioning platform that the company released last year, has accumulated new features since being placed in the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) Sandbox program.

If you’re not living on the edge you’re probably not a major international telco

Nascent Multi-access Edge Computing industry body the 5G Future Forum is recruiting at a time when most telcos are already affiliated to a MEC grouping of some sort.

CommScope nearing transaction centered on CPE biz – sources

But the form of such a transaction remains hazy, as it could involve an outright sale or the formation of a joint venture designed to improve product margins and get the CPE business off of CommScope's books.

Four questions dogging T-Mobile's 5G fixed wireless ambitions

T-Mobile plans to sell 100Mbit/s connections to up to 30 million US households for $60 per month. However, there remain a number of questions surrounding the effort.

Starlink delivering sporadic speeds – study

The satellite broadband service, still in beta, has seen median speeds fluctuate in recent months even as users report a rise in burst speeds, according to new Ookla Speedtest data.

VMware Shelters Telco, Edge, SASE Under One Big Umbrella

VMware this week formed a larger business unit that spans across network infrastructure for service providers, secure access service edge (SASE), and edge computing. 

Daily Roundup: Palo Alto Networks: Automation Is a Security Salvation

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Arista Automates CloudVision, Adds Streaming Telemetry

Arista Networks today announced CloudVision 2021, an expansion of its network management portal that promises to automate time-consuming and error-prone tasks and improve network visibility across LAN and wireless networks.

HashiCorp Vault Soars Into GA, AWS Environments

HashiCorp announced the general availability of its Vault secrets security management tool as a fully managed service for Amazon Web Services (AWS) environments on the HashiCorp Cloud Platform (HCP). The move is the latest from the vendor to streamline its entire platform and tool portfolio.

Palo Alto Networks: As Cloud Security Threats Skyrocket, Automation Can Help

Palo Alto Networks’ biannual Unit 42 Cloud Threat Report found that the COVID-19 pandemic, and related shift to remote work, sent cloud security risks through the roof. While that’s become a common theme among recent reports, the numbers still shock, especially among those industries that faced the greatest pressures to adapt and move to the cloud because of the pandemic.

Afghanistan gets Open RAN – Africa, Asia eye it

Open RAN comes to Afghanistan, as Etisalat partners with Parallel Wireless – and operators eye the developing world as prime networks to open up.

Under-cooked Dito Telecom fails early tests

Philippines' newest operator, Dito Telecom, has stumbled at the first hurdle in its mission to break the local duopoly.

T-Mobile puts the finishing touches on its 5G growth engine

T-Mobile is now offering a free 5G phone alongside promises of cheaper 5G services than the competition. The operator's announcement may represent the final piece of its 5G puzzle.

Ex-Viptela Execs Launch Prosimo, Tackle Multi-Cloud Headaches

Multi-cloud networking and security startup Prosimo emerged from stealth mode this week with $25 million in funding, led by General Catalyst and WRVI Capital.

Bharti Enterprises, Dixon form JV for India's PLI scheme

Bharti Enterprises and Dixon Technologies have agreed to form a joint venture to produce telecom and networking products.

Afghanistan gets Open RAN, Africa, Asia eye it

Open RAN comes to Afghanistan, as Etisalat partners with Parallel Wireless – and operators eye the developing world as prime networks to open up.

Is Wi-Fi 6 enough? The need for intelligent management

Improving the customer experience while achieving the full promise of Wi-Fi 6.

Eurobites: T-Mobile Netherlands goes Dutch on fiber venture

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Lutz Schüler named as boss of post-merger Virgin Media/O2 entity; Ericsson does 5G in Malta; UK sets up new regulatory unit to tame tech titans.

VMware Snaps Container Images Into Carbon Black Cloud

VMware extended its Carbon Black Cloud platform for endpoint and workload security to support container image scanning and hardening.

Podcast: Microsoft Azure's Khalidi curates carrier clouds

Yousef Khalidi discusses the economic benefits operators can experience by partnering with a cloud provider.

Privacy activist takes on Google over Android tracker

After making a similar complaint against Apple, the noyb pressure group has now launched action against the Android Advertising Identifier.

The 'undecideds' could shape MWC Barcelona this year

Our short, informal survey revealed that nearly one in every five people who went to MWC Barcelona in 2019 are still not sure about whether they'll attend #MWC21.

Verizon adds more repeaters to its 5G repertoire

Verizon is adding signal repeaters from FRTek and SureCall to give a boost to its 5G Ultra Wideband service, which uses the millimeter wave (mmWave) frequencies to deliver super-fast speeds.

Nextlink leverages Alpha Wireless for rural CBRS deployments

Nextlink Internet has tapped Alpha Wireless for CBRS-capable antennas as the rural-focused internet and phone service provider works to extend broadband in the Midwestern U.S.

Lumen strikes edge compute deal with T-Mobile

Lumen Technologies (formerly CenturyLink) made a major move to boost its fledgling edge compute service, striking a fresh deal with T-Mobile US that will allow it to tap the operator’s 5G network to reach more enterprise customers.

Deutsche Telekom boosts it fiber build-outs

Deutsche Telekom’s fiber build-outs have lagged behind other European operators. But DT recently set a goal to serve 10 million households with fiber-to-the-home by 2024.

LG is out of smartphones but not connectivity

As anticipated Korean tech giant LG has decided to throw in the towel on smartphones, having failed to find a way to make a profit out of them.

OneWeb taps former Ericsson exec as CCO

Satellite broadband company OneWeb appointed former Ericsson executive Per Borgklint its new chief commercial officer, tapping the telecom industry veteran to provide a strategic boost as it works to move past a recent bankruptcy proceeding.

Ericsson tests W-band for 5G, 6G backhaul

In a joint field trial involving Ericsson, Greek operator Cosmote and Deutsche Telekom’s Mobile Backhaul Service Center, engineers determined that frequency bands beyond 100 GHz, such as W-band, are just as good for wireless backhaul as the E-band, which is 70/80 GHz.

Verizon seeks more operator muscle for 5G Future Forum

The Verizon-led 5G Future Forum (5GFF) is looking to expand the group’s member base, with an eye on more mobile operators to help drive adoption of 5G and its multi-access edge computing (MEC) specifications.

A New T-Mobile report card 1 year after the Sprint deal

Last week marked the one-year anniversary of the close of the T-Mobile/Sprint merger. The deal itself has had important ramifications for the industry: entry of DISH as a fourth facilities-based player; a recasting of the MVNO/prepaid competitive landscape; and undoubtedly influencing all operators’ CBRS and C-band auction strategies. How should we grade New T-Mobile so far? What have been some of its key successes? Disappointments? Areas for Improvement? Here’s my report card on New T-Mobile’s first year, concluding with a list of what I believe its priorities should be for Year Two.

Comcast teams with Versa to give SD-WAN new smarts

Comcast Business rolled out a new artificial intelligence (AI) feature for its SD-WAN offering that will allow networks to more proactively respond to service degradation, taking what one operator executive described as a significant step toward self-healing technology.

71% of Americans want cloud giants to help pay for broadband

Americans overwhelmingly think that broadband should be available to every American and that the funding base to achieve that should be broadened to every company that makes money through the internet, according to a new survey from Recon Analytics.

Dish does another 5G network deal and calls T-Mobile anti-competitive

Dish Network on Monday trumpeted the signing of a 5G security deal with Palo Alto Networks, but it has more than just its own infrastructure to worry about at present. The TV provider-turned-mobile operator is all bent out of shape about rival T-Mobile USA’s plans to shut down its CDMA network at the start of […]

Google wins legal duel with Oracle over Android’s use of Java code

The US Supreme Court ruled in favour of Google in the decade-long litigation brought by Oracle, granting the Android owner “fair use” of Java API code it copied in developing the mobile operating system.

US inches towards regulating social media platforms as utilities

American Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has publicly questioned the contradictions presented by the current legal status of social media platforms.

Deutsche Telekom uses W-band for 10 Gbps 5G backhaul in Greece

Deutsche Telekom has proven that frequency bands beyond 100 GHz can be just as effective as lower bands for high-speed mobile backhaul.

Verizon report spotlights mobile device threat to businesses

Nearly half of businesses surveyed for a fresh report from Verizon admitted to cutting corners on mobile security, a practice one of the operator's executives warned could leave them vulnerable to data leakage, financial damage or worse if not swiftly rectified.

No magic spectrum sharing solutions: Rysavy

In February 2021, the Department of Defense (DoD) released the responses to a request for information (RFI) on dynamic spectrum sharing that it had issued in October 2020. The RFI asked specific questions about how dynamic spectrum sharing (DSS) between industry and DoD might operate in the future. The frequency range DoD targeted, 3100–3550 MHz, comprises critical mid-band frequencies for expansion of 5G networks. The responses are informative and provide a crystal ball for spectrum policy for the rest of the decade.

Fortinet Container Guardian Protects Registries, Kubernetes Workloads

Fortinet extended its cloud security and posture management capabilities to containers, Kubernetes, and continuous integration, continuous development (CI/CD) pipelines. The new product, FortiCWP Container Guardian, secures container registries from vulnerabilities and scans for misconfigurations to protect Kubernetes workloads.

MobiTV bids due on May 7

If multiple qualified bids are received, May 12 has been set for an auction, according to revised bid procedures that tie into MobiTV's voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding.

SuperMicro, Lenovo: Intel Ice Lake Is About More Than Performance

Like clockwork, the major data center original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) announced a torrent of new server chassis built around Intel’s Ice Lake Xeon Scalable processors. The new processors, announced this morning, deliver a 20% uplift in instructions per clock over the previous generation, but for OEMs, Intel’s new third-gen Xeons deliver more than a performance boost.

Daily Roundup: Intel Chief Plots Revival

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Lumen Lands T-Mobile’s First 5G Edge Contract

T-Mobile US today made its first formal foray into mobile edge computing that posits Lumen Technologies as its initial preferred vendor.

Will Charlie Ergen outwit Hans Vestberg and John Stankey in midband 5G?

The FCC plans to auction off 100MHz of prime midband spectrum between 3.45GHz and 3.55GHz in October. It could be just the event that Dish Network's Charlie Ergen has been waiting for.

Intel Chief Gelsinger Plots Revival Amid Tech Convergence

Intel’s executive team today showcased its vision for the next wave of technology, and framed its strategy around a series of converging trends.

Minim first to get CableLabs stamp for low-latency DOCSIS 3.1 device

The Motorola MG8725 gateway is also the first in an anticipated lineup of Minim products to be outfitted with Wi-Fi 6 technology.

So long LG and thanks for the vision

LG's departure is a loss of sorely-needed device innovation – it may not be a big deal for the handset business, but it is something of a blow to operators.

Shentel to cut 30% of workforce after T-Mobile deal

Shentel is cutting roughly 340 employees from its payroll as it moves ahead with the sale of its wireless business to T-Mobile.

Google wins ten-year copyright battle with Oracle

US Supreme Court ruled that the use of Oracle software code to build the Android operating system did not violate federal copyright law.

Google Scores Java Court Victory Over Oracle

Google scored a major victory over Oracle this week as the United States Supreme Court ruled the search giant did not violate an Oracle patent over the use of the Java SE programming language to construct its Android operating system. More importantly, the ruling indicated that copyright law could be applied differently to software code.

WOW to unleash data caps in June, starting in Chicago

WOW's new policy, which includes a $30 unlimited option for 1-Gig customers, arrives amid a 'broadband-first' posture and a steering of high-speed Internet customers to OTT-TV options such as YouTube TV and Philo.

Intel’s Ice Lake Xeons Deliver 20% Performance Uplift

Intel delivered its rebuttal to AMD’s EPYC 3 data center chips today with the launch of the long-awaited 10-nanometer Ice Lake Xeon family.

Intel Fuses Telco-Centric Traits Into New Silicon

Intel’s third-generation Xeon Scalable processors position the vendor to better target 5G network transformation efforts with a more flexible infrastructure on various fronts, according to Dan Rodriguez, VP and GM of the Network Platforms Group at Intel.

Cable Next-Gen returns online

Like we did last August, Light Reading will stage our Cable Next-Gen Technologies & Strategies conference as a free digital event over two half days in late April.

Eurobites: Ericsson and friends try W-band for 5G backhaul

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Nokia puts charging system on AWS cloud; fiber discussions in the UK; A1 cracks cloud gaming with Blacknut.

Viptela founders launch multicloud management startup with $25M in funding

Prosimo's AXI service addresses several challenges enterprises face in cloud application delivery, including managing operating costs, meeting application SLAs and 'fragmented security.'

Verizon Finds COVID-19 Made Mobile Security Worse

Almost half (49%) of all businesses said COVID-19-related remote work worsened their mobile security efforts, and 40% list mobile devices as their No. 1 IT security threat, according to this year’s Verizon Mobile Security Index.

Dell PowerProtect Gets SaaS-y Backup Protection

Dell Technologies two-year-old PowerProtect data protection platform continues to evolve with the debuted of a cloud-based data protection offering powered by Druva called Dell EMC PowerProtect Backup Service.

LG’s exit spells upheaval for prepaid

LG Electronics' exit out of the mobile phone business is going to be felt across postpaid and prepaid sectors, but prepaid may be especially hard hit. Of course, if rivals have their way, it won’t be for long.

Biden’s $2T plan looks bright for Casa, Corning, Cisco

The White House made a splash in the broadband world last week with its announced $2 trillion infrastructure plan, which included $100 billion for broadband.

Dish taps Palo Alto Networks for 5G security assist

Dish Network has added Palo Alto Networks to its list of 5G partners, tapping the company’s cloud-native security platform.

Lumen’s Black Lotus Labs flags ‘watering hole’ cyber threat

Lumen Technologies runs a cool organization called Black Lotus Labs that focuses on identifying malware and cybersecurity threats. Its mission is to leverage Lumen’s visibility into its own global network to help “keep the internet clean,” according to the Black Lotus website. Lumen’s networks comprise about 450,000 route-miles of fiber and serve customers in more than 60 countries.

Is Verizon looking to offload LMDS spectrum holdings?

Verizon looks like it could be selling of the remainder of its LMDS millimeter wave licenses to fixed wireless service provider Etheric Networks.

Verizon bolsters private 5G MEC position with AWS

Verizon beefed up its private 5G mobile edge compute (MEC) capabilities through an expanded partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS), targeting gains in the enterprise segment after spending much of 2020 building up its public MEC muscle.

CBRS and open source software power wireless networks in parks

A company that has built dozens of CBRS networks is now working with FreedomFi to deploy private LTE using open source software. AccessParks says it has already established almost 100 CBRS LTE networks, and by the end of this year it expects to have 200 live sites at national parks and private RV parks around the country. The company has worked with a number of radio and core network vendors, but going forward AccessParks will standardize on FreedomFi's core network solution while continuing to use multiple radio vendors.

Infographic: Dell Technologies Solution for Red Hat OpenStack

As the Telecom industry rushes to deploy 5G, it needs integrated solutions that enable 5G from the cloud to the telecom core to the edge. Dell Technologies has these solutions, thanks to longtime, deep partnerships and significant investment in automation and open source. Download the infographic. 

Daily Roundup: Verizon 5G Edge Adds AWS Outposts

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.

Biden's $100B broadband plan raises four big questions

Who will benefit from Biden's broadband plan? Should broadband be considered a utility? And what even is broadband? The answers to these questions could have major implications.

Canada plots Quebec broadband stimulus

Federal and provincial governments plan to spend C$826.3 million to extend broadband to nearly 150,000 unserved Quebec households by September 2022.

Starlink's threat to wired broadband 'minimal' – analyst

But SpaceX's satellite broadband service is poised to be a 'game-changer' for rural US coverage and in position to pursue a much larger global market, according to MoffettNathanson's Craig Moffett.

LG's phone business exit a boon to Samsung, Motorola, TCL

Fully half of LG's phone business was based in the US. As the company walks away from its 10% share in the US market, analysts expect Samsung, Motorola and TCL to capture that business.

Reimagining the Internet for the future

Discover how new innovations can fundamentally change the economics of the Internet and help close the digital divide.

Prepping for PON and puns at Cable Next-Gen

Alan Breznick and Tien Fu trade their absolutely worst puns about cable as Light Reading gears up for our 14th edition of Cable Next-Gen Technologies & Strategies later this month.

Samsung, TSMC $130B plunge underlines the great chip divide

The global chip war is framed usually as a rivalry between the US and China, but in reality the two superpowers are not even in the race.

Gluware Deepens Ties With AWS, Cisco SD-WAN

Gluware today rolled out tighter integrations with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Cisco’s SD-WAN in an update to its network automation platform. The company claims the updates will allow organizations to automate both traditional and modern API-based networks using network controllers or public clouds.

An IP over DWDM renaissance at 400G

The new routed optical network is not your father's IP over DWDM, writes Heavy Reading's Sterling Perrin.

Verizon Adds AWS Outposts to 5G Edge Plan

Verizon Business is adding Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) Outposts on-premises data center platform to its 5G and private edge computing option list. The move builds on what has been a growing collaboration between the two organizations.