Saturday, July 03, 2021

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.

Friday, July 02, 2021

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. 

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.

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.

Thursday, July 01, 2021

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. 

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.

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.

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.

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.

Wednesday, June 30, 2021

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.

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.

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.

Tuesday, June 29, 2021

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.

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.

Monday, June 28, 2021

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

Sunday, June 27, 2021

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.

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.

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