Headcount: Firings, Hirings, and Retirings — June 2021

Here are some of the latest executive hirings, promotions, and staff changes that happened in June. 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 Emma Chervek (echervek@sdxcentral.com) for inclusion in the monthly headcount column.

Cisco, Kenna Security Execs Talk Post-Acquisition Plans

Cisco closed its Kenna Security acquisition this week, and the networking and security giant will “immediately” begin integrating Kenna’s risk-based vulnerability management technology with its SecureX platform, according to Gee Rittenhouse, SVP and GM of Cisco’s Security Business Group.

WISPA, Charter urge against higher-power CBRS rules

A coalition including Charter Communications, WISPA and public interest groups are urging the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to reject proposals to increase power limits in the shared CBRS band, saying it would favor macro cell deployments only and jeopardize existing deployments.

Not all open RAN is the same — Industry Voices: Pongratz

“We want to introduce the term True Open RAN.” That is what Mavenir said during a recent analyst update. With open RAN revenues accelerating at a much faster pace than initially expected, the timing is right to start separating all the various open RAN flavors so we can better assess the progress toward realizing the full open RAN vision. Because at the end of the day, not all open RAN is the same, and capturing the share of the overall RAN market is only part of the story. This high level metric without context will not suffice to communicate the complete picture. 

OQ Technology launches first satellite for LEO NB-IoT service

Luxemburg-based OQ Technology had a successful launch of its first low earth orbit (LEO) satellite Wednesday, as the company targets narrow band IoT connectivity for verticals, and could potentially augment private cellular networks.

Versa scores $84M in new funding for SASE, SD-WAN

Versa Networks raised $84 million in a Series D funding round, bringing the company’s total amount raised to $196 million. The round was co-led by investors Princeville Capital and RPS Ventures, with additional participation from existing investors, including Sequoia Capital.

Gogo turns to Airspan for 5G MIMO

Gogo is marking several milestones on its way to delivering 5G services to private jets thanks to its partnership with Airspan Networks.

Carriers shift marketing focus to their own customers — Moore

Wireless competition is not what it used to be. There’s a timeline. Sprint was acquired by T-Mobile in April 2020. In October 2020, AT&T began providing its best deals for all customers, basically providing flagship smartphones in return for signing up for years of unlimited data.

Ericsson bags Malaysia’s only national 5G network deal ahead of Huawei

Ericsson has won a major 5G contract in Malaysia ahead of Huawei, which could represent a major strategic shift by the country.

FRANC-ly my dear, the UK government does give an OpenRAN

The UK government has launched an initiative designed to speed up the adoption of OpenRAN as part of its quest to erase Huawei from the country’s mobile networks.

Three UK has a sort of rebrand

UK MNO Three has decided it has ‘come of age’ now that it’s 18 years old and is celebrating with a new ad campaign showing some of the stuff you can do with a phone.

Daily Roundup: Microsoft’s Environmental Chief Calls for Carbon Regulations

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.

MWC Barcelona Showcases Open RAN

Operators, equipment makers, and software vendors made a lot of noise about open radio access network (RAN) technology at MWC Barcelona. Some at the event and others during the event from afar. 

IBM President Jim Whitehurst Exits as Part of Exec Team Shakeup

IBM President Jim Whitehurst is stepping down 18 months after the former Red Hat CEO took the position, which came in the wake of IBM’s $34 billion acquisition of his former firm.

Intel, Apple Tap TSMC's 3nm Chip Tech

Intel and Apple will be the first chipmakers to use Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s (TSMC) 3-nanometer manufacturing process, Nikkei Asia reported Friday.

HPE Pays $374M for Zerto, Battles Dell for Cloud Data Services Dominance

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) said it reached a $374 million deal to acquire Zerto, a cloud-based data management and protection company, and plans to add these services to its GreenLake as-a-service portfolio.

Facebook Exec: Open RAN Talk Now Commitment in Action

Much has changed in the five years since Facebook pushed into wireless infrastructure with the Telecom Infra Project (TIP), and yet much remains the same. 

Microsoft’s Environmental Chief Calls For Carbon Regulations

The lack of carbon regulations represents a “fundamental market failure,” according to Microsoft’s Chief Environmental Officer Lucas Joppa. 

Nokia fires up private LTE in 5 GHz spectrum

Nokia is adding a MulteFire router series to its Digital Automation Cloud private wireless solution. MulteFire uses the unlicensed 5 GHz spectrum band for LTE and 4.9G, and supports listen-before-talk in order to minimize interference with Wi-Fi in the same band.

South Korea kickstarts 6G plans

South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT this week established a 6G R&D implementation plan that calls for investing around $194 million by 2025 in six focus areas.

BT’s Openreach pushes fiber adoption with wholesale discounts

BT subsidiary Openreach offered a long-term discount on its wholesale broadband service for communications provider customers which pledge to use fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP), aiming to boost adoption of the technology as it undertakes a nationwide buildout.

Financial firm leverages Citrix SD-WAN, SASE — Kerravala

Earlier this year, Citrix launched a new cloud-delivered Secure Internet Access (SIA) service, which protects users and infrastructure from threats coming from internet and SaaS app access. Citrix SIA has become a key component of Citrix’s solution for Secure Access Service Edge (SASE), a technology that enables the convergence of wide area networking (WAN) and cloud-delivered security services.

Telefonica beefs up cloud cred with Altostratus acquisition

Telefonica sought to bolster its cloud position, announcing its Telefonica Tech division inked a deal to acquire Spain-based migration and multi-cloud specialist Altostratus Cloud Consulting.

HPE to buy Zerto for $374M in data protection-as-a-service push

HPE has agreed to acquire Zerto, a cloud data management and protection company, in a $374 million cash deal that expands the HPE GreenLake edge-to-cloud platform and fits with HPE Storage’s ongoing migration to become a cloud-native, software-defined data services business.

Verizon’s Dunne argues for TracFone purchase to FCC

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is still reviewing Verizon’s proposed purchase of TracFone Wireless from América Móvil. Recently, Verizon CEO of the Consumer Group Ronan Dunne and TracFone CEO Eduardo Diaz Corona met via teleconference with Acting FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel to try and convince her that the transaction is in the public interest.

Orange to launch cloud-native standalone 5G pilot network

A focus on cloud and open RAN continues this week alongside Mobile World Congress 2021, as mobile operator Orange announced plans to launch a pilot standalone 5G network in France that is cloud-native end-to-end.

AT&T strikes RCS deal with Google

Google and AT&T announced Wednesday that they’re working to establish Messages by Google as the default messaging application for all AT&T customers in the U.S. using Android phones.

Nokia fuels Lightspeed’s push to bring 10 Gbps fiber to 1M homes

Newly formed U.K. operator Lightspeed Broadband tapped Nokia to supply 10 Gbps passive optical networking (PON) technology for an ambitious project which aims to pass 1 million locations with fiber by 2025.

Openreach, BT move to cut cost of FTTP in the UK

The cost of fibre broadband is coming down in the UK, or so we’re led to believe.

Cellnex answers regulatory questions to close Italy towers deal

Cellnex has closed the Italian portion of its European towers mega-deal, adding over 9,000 sites to its growing European footprint.

AT&T is the latest US operator to hand over its messaging to Google

Messages by Google will soon be the default messaging app for all AT&T Android customers in the US, effectively killing attempts by operators to establish their own RCS platform.

Thinking Of Moving OSS To The Public Cloud?

Reap the full benefits of automation, flexibility, elasticity, and scalability with strategic migration. Learn how.

Daily Roundup: AT&T Abandons 5G Cloud Stack, Microsoft Picks Up Pieces

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.

Ransomware Task Forces Scores $450K, So What’s Next?

The Ransomware Task Force, when it released its April report, said world leaders needed to shift their approach to ransomware and prioritize it as a matter of national security. “This needs to be, even at the head of state level, something that’s brought up in every conversation between presidents and prime ministers as a problem that can no longer be treated as status quo,” said Philip Reiner, CEO of the Institute for Security and Technology (IST).

Intel Next-Gen Data Center Chips Delayed

Intel has a lot riding on the success of its next-generation Xeon Scalable processor family codenamed Sapphire Rapids. The chips are the company’s first with support for DDR5, high bandwidth memory (HBM), PCIe Gen. 5.0, and the Compute Express Link (CXL) standards. And like so many recent Intel products, it’s already delayed.

SDxCentral’s Top 10 ‒ June 2021

Check out our top 10 articles for June 2021 covering the SDxCentral universe of cloud, telecom, security, and networking. Rankings are based on unique visitors aggregated during the month.

T-Mobile snubs Dish again

When SpaceX CEO Elon Musk gave his keynote for the Mobile World Congress audience in Barcelona this week, he did not specifically mention the 12 GHz band, even though it happens to be at the heart of a big fight between his Starlink business and 5G service providers in the U.S.

WOW!’s $1.8B asset sale could fuel more fiber investment

U.S. broadband provider WideOpenWest (WOW!) inked a pair of deals to sell off five service areas for a combined $1.79 billion, a move company executives said could accelerate its investments in greenfield fiber.  

DT, Ericsson carve a 5G slice for VR gaming in lab trial

Deutsche Telekom completed end-to-end 5G network slicing with Ericsson and Samsung in a lab trial that carved out specific resources to deliver performance needed to support cloud virtual reality gaming.

AT&T sells its cloud soul to Microsoft

US communications group AT&T has thrown in the towel, selling its Network Cloud technology to Microsoft and moving its 5G stuff onto Azure.

Microsoft makes big 5G play as AT&T moves core to Azure cloud

In a major move, AT&T is shifting its existing 5G mobile core network to Microsoft Azure’s hybrid cloud. And the hyperscaler is scooping up intellectual property and engineering expertise to bolster its telco offering — Azure for Operators. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Boingo hops on private networking train

Boingo Wireless, which has had plenty of time to hone is private networking skills, last week announced the commercial availability of Boingo Private Networks, its network-as-a-service model for all enterprises.

Comcast wins $102M Defense contract for Ethernet services

Comcast Business beat four other bidders to win a 10-year, $102.8 million contract with the U.S. Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) to provide Ethernet for the agency’s Defense Information Systems Network. The network includes sites in Maryland, Washington, D.C, Virginia, Ohio, West Virginia and Kentucky.

TelcoDR chief sees ‘seismic shift’ on public cloud at MWC

Will it or won’t it work? That was the question hovering in the air after TelcoDR founder Danielle Royston announced in March she was buying Ericsson’s abandoned booth space at Mobile World Congress (MWC) and installing a shrine to the public cloud. Many believed talking cloud at a major mobile event was a gamble. But three days into the conference, the verdict is in: “What I’ve heard is we saved MWC,” Royston told Fierce.

AT&T moves 5G software to Microsoft Azure cloud: Entner

We’ve talked about it, we’ve seen greenfield providers like Dish Network do it, now a Tier 1 operator like AT&T with almost 175 million connections is moving its 5G core to the cloud. This is a logical continuation of AT&T’s leadership in virtualizing and disaggregating telecom network workloads. It also makes Microsoft the leader in cloud services for telecom providers.

Bharti ploughs $500m into OneWeb as Musk eyes $30bn satellite spend

OneWeb this week declared itself “financially secure” after receiving a further $500 million investment from shareholder Bharti Global, while arch-rival Starlink’s founder Elon Musk shared figures that suggest his company is far from it.

Orange assembles magnificent seven for fully automated network trial

French operator group Orange got some of its mates together to build what it claims is Europe’s first 5G SA fully end-to-end experimental cloud network.

Global mobile subscriber adds are slowing — Baker

With few major country exceptions, the number of mobile users isn't growing very fast anymore despite huge network coverage, and the transition to mobile broadband has slowed. Industry dynamism is focused on burgeoning traffic by existing users.

5G Messaging Insights from ZTE

Recently, ZTE’s Executive Director of 5G Messaging, Mr. Zhou Xiaojun provided some important insights on the topic.Q. What is 5G messaging? A. 5G Messaging is constructed based on the GSMA RCS UP standard. It enables multimedia and lightweight messages and achieves the interaction of industry messages by introducing the MaaP technology. 5G Messaging brings brand-new man-machine interaction modes. Users can enjoy one-stop service experience such as service search, discovery, interaction, and payment in the message window. 5G Messaging builds a new information service entrance.Q. What is the difference between 5G Messaging and OTT apps? And what new capabilities or features does 5G messaging offer versus current SMS or OTT apps? A. Compared with OTT messages, 5G Messaging brings differentiated functions and advantages, and is a better channel for providing business messages.

Telstra and Telia join tower sale trend, brokering highly similar deals

It’s all go in the telecoms towers space, with two remarkably similar deals worth billions of dollars coming on both sides of the planet.

Daily Roundup: IBM Open Sources Kestrel for Threat Hunting

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.

AT&T Abandons 5G Cloud Stack, Microsoft Picks Up Pieces

AT&T today sold its Network Cloud technology to Microsoft and shifted gears to move its 5G network core, workloads, and services to Microsoft’s Azure for Operators platform.

Versa Networks Nabs $84 Million Series D

SD-WAN and secure access service edge (SASE) vendor Versa Networks received an $84 million cash infusion as part of a Series D funding round led by Princeville Capital, RPS Ventures, and Sequoia Capital, among others. Versa has raised $196 million in venture capital since it was founded in 2012.

AWS struts and preens for telcos this week

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is courting telcos at this week’s MWC 2021 event, explaining all the services that it can offer to service providers.

Here's where the FCC's $3.2B in EBB funding is going

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) shed light on where funding from its Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) program is flowing, providing a state-by-state breakdown of its enrollment numbers.

FCC deadline for STIR/SHAKEN caller ID authentication nears

The wireless industry is working to combat robocalls and Wednesday, June 30, marks the FCC deadline for carriers and other voice providers to implement STIR/SHAKEN caller ID authentication technology.

Pew data shows 33 states now have a broadband task force

Fresh data from the Pew Charitable Trusts shows U.S. states are ramping efforts to expand high-speed internet, with more organizing their initiatives through dedicated broadband agencies and task forces.

UK tries to breathe fresh life into its shared rural network

The UK government issued a press release detailing how great everything will be when the shared rural network is finished.

Musk says Starlink is a complement to fiber, 5G

Elon Musk sees Starlink, the SpaceX low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite broadband venture, as a complement to terrestrial 5G and fiber, as the service works to connect remote and hard-to-reach places around the globe.

MWC21 roundup: Open RAN unfurls with Google, DT deals

The deals around open Radio Access Network, or open RAN, are fast and furious, as they say, coinciding with Mobile World Congress (MWC21) in Barcelona this week. Here’s a rundown of some of the top items, from Deutsche Telekom’s official opening of its O-RAN town in Germany to Google’s participation in the O-RAN Alliance.

New AWS CEO: we're talking to ‘virtually every telecom operator'

In case there was any doubt that Amazon Web Services (AWS) is making its presence known in the telecom world, AWS’ incoming CEO Adam Selipsky name-dropped a bunch of major telcos that the company is working with, during an MWC 2021 presentation.

Ericsson backs Google to give it an edge in the cloud market

Swedish kit vendor Ericsson and US internet giant Google have decided to help each other out when it comes to flogging mobile edge stuff.

Google Cloud, Ericsson team to serve up new 5G, edge cloud apps

Google Cloud sought to cement its place in the telco ecosystem, teaming with top vendor Ericsson to develop new cloud-native, container-based 5G and edge applications for enterprises and consumers.

Netflix ordered to pay for network usage in Korea

A South Korean court has ruled against Netflix in a case over its payment – or lack thereof – of network usage fees.

British luvvies want a new smartphone tax to fund the arts

UK Parliament is apparently considering a new tax on any device that can store digital content with a view to handing the cash over to the arts sector.

BAI on the M&A train, next stop California

BAI Communications has announced the acquisition of Mobilitie, a move that boosts its presence in the US, particularly on the West Coast.

Incoming AWS CEO Makes Debut on Virtual MWC Stage

Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) incoming CEO Adam Selipsky this week made his big-screen debut at MWC Barcelona, underlining the telecom industry’s growing importance to the world’s largest cloud provider.

Daily Roundup: Palo Alto Networks, AT&T, Dish Boost SASE 5G 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.

IBM Open Sources Kestrel for Threat Hunting

IBM contributed Kestrel, an open-source programming language for threat hunting, to the Open Cybersecurity Alliance (OCA) today in a move that Big Blue says marks a major milestone in OCA’s mission to drive greater interoperability across the security industry.

Nvidia, Google Open 5G AI Lab, Unveil New Supercomputer

Nvidia’s AI-on-5G Innovation Lab, announced this week with Google Cloud, promises to jumpstart the development of artificial intelligence (AI) workloads for 5G networks.

Amazon Rivals Eat Into Its IaaS Dominance

Amazon Web Services (AWS) remained the largest infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) provider in 2020, though its overall dominance dropped as rivals Microsoft, Alibaba, Google, and Huawei ate into its share of the growing market. 

Ericsson Hitches 5G Cloud Ambitions to Google Cloud

Ericsson today anchored its burgeoning cloud and edge ambitions to Google Cloud, tapping the world’s third-largest hyperscaler to assist network operators’ shift to cloud-native infrastructure.

Kaspersky at MWC: Industrial Cyberattacks Are Coming

The rapidly approaching cyber age — this is the futuristic, sci-fi world of fully autonomous cars, robotic personal assistants, and smart, connected coffeemakers — requires a shift from cybersecurity to cyber immunity, said Kaspersky CEO Eugene Kaspersky during an MWC Barcelona keynote.

IBM CEO Surveys ‘Tectonic Forces’ Shaping Telco Future

A quartet of “tectonic forces” — 5G, edge, hybrid cloud, and artificial intelligence (AI) — are converging and shaping the future of telecom, but operators need open technologies to thrive, IBM CEO Arvind Krishna said today during a MWC Barcelona keynote. 

Qualcomm: 35+ commit to mmWave – and counting

Qualcomm released a long list of mobile industry leaders throwing their support behind 5G millimeter wave (mmWave) technology, including AT&T, UScellular and T-Mobile parent Deutsche Telekom. But one U.S. carrier is noticeably absent, and it’s one of Qualcomm’s longest running customers: Verizon.

FCC opens floodgates for $7.2B Emergency Connectivity Fund

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) prepared to distribute another wave of broadband subsidies, this week opening applications for its $7.17 billion Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF) program.

BAI eyes North American expansion with Mobilitie acquisition

BAI Communications is beefing up growth in North America, announcing plans to acquire U.S. neutral host provider Mobilitie.

Verizon CEO tips C-band to boost its MEC play

Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg predicted its forthcoming rollout of C-band spectrum would help speed adoption of mobile edge compute (MEC) capabilities, aiding the operator’s efforts to tap a multi-billion market.

Ericsson, Spirent join 5G Open Innovation Lab

Ericsson and Spirent Communications are the latest ones to join the 5G Open Innovation Lab as corporate partners while Accenture and Avanade joined as founding partners.

Qualcomm’s Amon talks up diversifying with 5G, edge, cloud

During a keynote presentation at the start of MWC 2021, Qualcomm’s Cristiano Amon pointed to intelligent devices and the network edge, coupled with 5G and the cloud, as driving a decade of opportunity.

Verizon Cloud Platform gets update from IBM’s Red Hat

Verizon has chosen IBM as an integrator and IBM’s subsidiary Red Hat as the prime supplier for the “Webscale” flavor of its Verizon Cloud Platform (VCP).

Facebook VP on open RAN, digital divide

Facebook traditionally uses Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona to provide an update on its efforts to connect the unconnected, and 2021 is no different. This week, however, it’s got something to share about Magma and Amazon Web Services (AWS).

BT eyes OneWeb’s satellite service for rural broadband

U.K. operator BT teamed with satellite company OneWeb to explore how the latter’s service could help close broadband gaps in areas beyond the reach of its mobile and fiber networks.

Marek’s Take: The telecom industry needs more qualified workers

Much ado is being made about how 5G networks will deliver greater bandwidth, faster download speeds and lower latency and what 5G will mean for consumers and enterprises in terms of great new applications and services. But it really doesn’t matter how much better 5G networks are if the industry can’t find enough workers to build the networks and sell the services.

Dixons Carphone goes steady with Vodafone

UK electronics retailer Dixons Carphone has decided to be monogamous with Vodafone and make it the only MNO it offers its customers.

Telefonica CEO kicks off MWC 2021 with call to AI

It wouldn’t be Mobile World Congress if the opening keynote session did not feature at least one high-profile telecoms executive seeking to reshape the regulatory landscape.

GSMA blockchain ready for roaming

Mobile industry body the GSMA has announced that a private telecoms industry blockchain network designed to simplify wholesale roaming is ready for commercial use.

Mavenir and NEC help DT crate ‘O-RAN Town’

German operator group Deutsche Telekom has laid claim to Europe’s first OpenRAN deployment in Neubrandenburg.

Unlocking 5G MEC’s Full Potential With Location Intelligence

In no generation of mobile technology has location intelligence been more critical or precise than in 5G, and in no business is it more critical than one that is inherently mobile. Consumers, enterprises and governments will benefit greatly as 5G networks and Multi-Access Edge Computing (MEC) capabilities get deployed over the next decade.

Superior SA Network

Today in many countries, SA network has shown its value in both enhancing user experience and enabling digital transformation of various industries. In China, other parts of Asia and Europe, ZTE has partnered with local operators exploring full 5G potential with 5G SA network. 5G SA ecosystem is mature for scale deployment. As a pioneer in SA, ZTE can help operators build cutting-edge SA networks in three critical aspects: fast launch; superior experience; and vertical capabilities. Firstly, ZTE’s mature end-to-end solutions enable fast SA launch with great cost efficiency.

European Operators Plot Survival Amid Industry Upheavel

The leaders running three of Europe’s largest mobile network operators kicked off MWC Barcelona today with almost equal measures of optimism and gloom.

Palo Alto Networks, AT&T, Dish Boost SASE 5G Security

Secure access service edge (SASE) and 5G are two of the biggest buzzwords in the network world, and according to Palo Alto Networks, the technologies represent an opportunity for managed service providers to drive revenues and combat a vastly expanded security perimeter.

Daily Roundup: Vodafone Verifies 100% Renewable Energy in Europe

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.

Forward Networks Expands Into Security With Zero-Trust Verification

Forward Networks moved into the security space today with three new features to help security teams contain and prevent incidents.

Marvell Looks Beyond Data Center With Octeon 10 DPU

Marvell’s Octeon 10 data processing unit (DPU) isn’t limited to cloud and data center applications, it’s designed to accelerate security, networking, and storage workloads anywhere in the network.

Qualcomm Parades 5G Open RAN Components

Qualcomm today announced broader operator support for millimeter-wave (mmWave) technology and revealed 5G open radio access network (RAN) small cells and a 5G distributed unit accelerator card.