Money Moves: July 2021

Here are some of the most prominent venture capital and merger and acquisition news items from June. 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 Emma Chervek (echervek@sdxcentral.com).

VMware’s VeloCloud Scores GE Healthcare SD-WAN Integration

VMware’s VeloCloud SD-WAN platform scored another customer win as GE Healthcare tapped the vendor to provide its customers with low-latency access to its cloud-based health care services.

Amazon, Google, Alibaba Drive Data Center Market to the Edge

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the cloud service market due to a shift in enterprise and consumer behaviors. This has led to hyperscalers like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google, and Alibaba to start building and designing their own equipment and forcing traditional data-center vendors out to the edge to reclaim market share, according to a recent Dell’Oro Group report. 

Jio makes quick use of its new spectrum to boost speeds on 4G

In March 2021 India’s newest mobile network operator, Reliance Jio, acquired more spectrum, and it quickly resulted in increased performance on its 4G LTE network. 

MTA: Broadband in Alaska is a whole different game

It’s no secret that operators face a number of challenges when deploying fiber and other broadband technologies. But Wanda Tankersley, COO of Alaskan operator MTA, told Fierce providing internet service in the state comes with a unique set of hurdles.

The U.S. wireless business is in a funk — Lowenstein

Is it just me, or are we in a bit of a funk in the U.S. wireless business? Yes, the first half performance numbers from the MNOs and cable were pretty solid, but 2021 has been pretty lacking in major new service announcements, pricing moves, or competitive drama. This thought, which has been brewing in my mind for a while, was reinforced during the recent Tokyo Olympics where we were treated to a copious number of ads from Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile. And I have to say that these commercials were uniformly bland and boring. Seriously, watch them. They made me almost pine for the return of John Legere or the Fake News days of "5G Evolution."

Anterix, Federated Wireless pair 900 MHz with CBRS for utilities

Anterix and Federated Wireless are teaming up on private cellular networks for utilities, with work on a multi-band offering that combines dedicated 900 MHz spectrum and spectrum sharing expertise and services for licensed and unlicensed CBRS.

DT CEO calls Dish ‘fantastic dealmakers,’ questions execution

Germany’s Deutsche Telekom (DT) reported a strong second quarter, raising its guidance yet again for the remainder of 2021, but the majority owner of T-Mobile in the U.S. isn’t too worked up about Dish’s new 10-year network services agreement with AT&T.  

FCC data shows some surprising leaders among U.S. ISPs

Fresh data released by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) about the country’s internet service providers packed some surprises, with perhaps unexpected candidates taking top honors for broadest coverage and greatest fiber access within their footprint.

The industry is largely happy with how 5G has come about

Eight out of ten telecoms professionals participating in a recent Telecoms.com survey said 5G has either met or exceeded their expectations.

Croatia reels in $56.2M from 5G-friendly spectrum

Hrvatski Telekom biggest spender ($20.4 million) in auction of 700MHz, 3.6GHz and 26GHz frequencies (and Croatia says hello to EOLO).

What telcos may learn from banks when migrating to cloud

Findings from a recent Google survey of the financial institutions’ cloudification experience may serve as a mirror held up to the telecoms industry.

Eurobites: MegaFon extends VoLTE services across Russia

Also in today’s EMEA regional round-up: Inmarsat accelerates the L-band; Finnfund boosts connectivity in Africa; it’s time we took a ‘woliday’.

Multi-gig PON 101: Q&A with CableLabs

Fierce’s Multi-gig PON 101 Q&A series digs deep into the high-speed future, aiming to help readers build in-depth knowledge about key technologies and the overall market landscape through progressive interviews with industry experts. This collection will delve into the forces driving operators toward multi-gig PON technology; how XGS-PON and other 10G technologies are helping deliver a new breed of ultra-fast broadband; and what’s coming down the pipe with 25G and beyond.

Daily Roundup: Orange, AT&T, Verizon Top Global SD-WAN Leaderboard

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.

Amazon, Microsoft, Google Control Gartner’s Cloud Rankings

The staying power of Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud remains unchanged in Gartner’s latest Magic Quadrant report for cloud infrastructure and platform services (CIPS).

China Deemed ‘Epicenter’ of Global 5G Innovation

China commands a global lead on 5G as the country’s mobile network operators approach 1 million 5G base stations combined. 

Cisco Folds Epsagon Into Full-Stack Observability Play

Cisco today announced its intent to acquire Epsagon, a startup specializing in distributed application tracing in containerized and serverless environments.

Zayo plans to 'get more active' selling lit fiber to buildings

Zayo CEO Steve Smith has been with the company since October 2020, and in those 10 months he’s been busy simplifying operations.

NIST model targets Wi-Fi, Bluetooth sharing

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have come up with a new technique designed to make it easier to share spectrum.

Frontier, Lumen, Windstream: supply chain isn’t an issue for us

AT&T revealed earlier this week it expects to miss its fiber deployment target for 2021 due to supply chain issues, but other operators thus far appear to be unafflicted by similar problems. 

Kajeet buys Red Rover's private network expertise

In another sign that schools will represent an important market for private wireless networks, a leading provider of K-12 connectivity solutions has purchased the LTE unit of network design consultant Red Rover, a specialist in designing private networks. 

LEO satellite ventures OneWeb, Lightspeed score new investments

OneWeb and Telesat’s Lightspeed, two low Earth-orbit (LEO) satellite broadband ventures, each announced significant new investments Thursday.

CWA gets Verizon commitments in TracFone deal

The Communications Workers of America (CWA) declared a victory today, saying Verizon has made critical commitments to the Lifeline program as part of its acquisition of TracFone, and CWA is now on board with the deal.

Verizon, Equinix expand software-defined interconnect

Verizon Business is working with Equinix to expand the Software-Defined Interconnect (SDI) capabilities available to the carrier’s enterprise and public sector customers. The companies said those customers can now take advantage of quicker activation of network services, lower access costs and increased networking agility. 

SpaceX, Kuiper, OneWeb head to India to close digital divide

Lately, several satellite firms, including Elon Musk's SpaceX, Amazon's Project Kuiper and Bharti Airtel and the British Government's OneWeb, have made a beeline for the Indian market. There are also media reports of Canada's Telesat collaborating with the Tata Group to enter the Indian market, but this is yet to be confirmed. 

Industry group formed to advance 6 GHz Wi-Fi

Facebook, Broadcom, and Cisco have created a software group under the aegis of Telecom Infra Project (TIP) to accelerate the commercialization of 6 GHz Wi-Fi devices.

Qualcomm teams with Spoke on C-V2X for bicycle road safety

Qualcomm and mobility safety platform Spoke are working together to bring Cellular vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X) tech to bicyclists and other “light” road users, like scooters – to receive and send information and alerts with connected vehicles and infrastructure on the road.

USDA dishes out $167M for rural broadband

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) awarded $167 million in grants to fuel rural broadband projects across 12 states as part of the second round of funding for its Broadband ReConnect Program.

US Senators out to tear down the app store walls

A bipartisan Senate bill is introduced to boost competition in the mobile apps market with rules to restrict what Apple and Google can impose on developers and users.

NTT unveils “global” private 5G network

Japanese telecoms group offers cross-border 5G network-as-a-service platform but keeps schtum on ecosystem partners.

Eurobites: Deutsche Telekom raises full-year guidance on back of Q2 uplift

Also in today’s EMEA regional round-up: Eir plans gigabit expansion in Ireland; MTN enjoys mixed H1; Nokia in smart grid trials.

T-Mobile CFO touts low Magenta churn rate

For years, one of the criticisms that dogged T-Mobile’s network was the voice quality/coverage that users didn’t think was as good as its peers. There was a reason for that. Back then, T-Mobile didn’t have the network resources to meet or beat its rivals, and calls suffered.

Arctic Wolf’s New CEO Eyes $150.4B InfoSec Market, IPO

In a series of big moves for the security operations startup, Arctic Wolf elevated its president, Nick Schneider, to CEO less than a month after closing a $150 million Series F funding round that boosted its valuation to $4.3 billion.

Verizon, IBM Hunt 5G Industrial Applications

IBM and Verizon today announced plans to create a testbed in Texas to develop and trial 5G applications for industrialized environments. 

Daily Roundup: Verizon, IBM Hunt 5G Industrial Applications

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.

Orange, AT&T, Verizon Top Global SD-WAN Leaderboard

Orange Business Services, AT&T, and Verizon topped Vertical Systems Group’s latest leaderboard for global carrier-managed SD-WAN. The three are joined by NTT, BT, Telefonica, and Vodafone.

Rakuten Gazes $150B Global Open RAN Play

Losses are compounding at Rakuten Mobile, and the operator doesn’t expect to turn a profit until 2023. But it’s also eyeing a bigger piece of a much larger pie. 

Sony, Mitsui test spectrum sharing in a 5G SA environment

Two Japanese companies, Sony and Mitsui, say they have achieved the successful operation of Sony's Dynamic Spectrum Access (DSA) technology in a standalone 5G environment. The parties used Airspan 5G standalone base stations, which coordinate with independent 5G core networks. Sony’s DSA technology assigns available frequency bands in real time while suppressing radio interference.

Virgin Media O2 rolls out gigabit broadband to 1.5M more homes

U.K. operator Virgin Media O2 staked a claim as the country’s largest gigabit broadband provider after extending its top tier service to an additional 1.5 million homes.

Does 'emerging market' mean anything in global mobile? — Baker

In my most recent article I looked at how mobile communications is becoming a mature business globally in terms of its user base. It is only its soaring usage rates that are really dynamic. What then now is an "emerging" mobile market?

Samsung unveils snazzy new foldable phones

Samsung today unveiled two new foldable 5G smartphones at its Galaxy Unpacked event. One is a flat smartphone that opens into a 7.6-inch screen. The other is a smaller flip phone that opens into a 6.7-inch screen. The Z Fold3 with the 7.6-inch screen includes a stylus. The Z Flip3 is suited for customers looking for a smaller size phone to fit in pockets.

Rakuten Mobile racks up another quarter of losses

Rakuten Group’s mobile ambitions are big, but the Japanese company is not yet seeing the full financial benefits of its strategy.

NTT launches private 5G platform aimed at CIOs

NTT, a technology services arm related to mobile operator NTT Docomo, has launched a private LTE/5G Network-as-a-Service platform for enterprise that comes pre-integrated with network and software partners.

TIM and Vodafone allegedly settled decade-long disputes

An Italian newspaper reported the two telco giants reached an out-of-court agreement to settle all disputes running back to 2012.

Lumen isn’t interested in an MVNO play – at least not yet

Cable operators including Comcast and Charter Communications have found success with mobile MVNO offerings, touting them as a boon for broadband churn reduction. But Lumen Technologies isn’t keen to follow in their footsteps, citing a lack of demand.

The curious case of T-Mobile’s 3G shutdown date

UMTS network closure data was originally October 2021, then it was April 2022, and now it’s back to October.  

Rakuten Mobile loss almost doubled in Q2

Operating loss incurred at Japan’s challenger operator increased by 85% in Q2 to reach $900 million, which the company attributed to aggressive investment in network rollout and rising roaming cost.

Eurobites: Netmore plans LoRaWAN IoT network in UK

Also in today’s EMEA regional round-up: Nokia lands core gig at United Group; Arm sees sales soar; Community Fibre takes majority stake in Box Broadband.

BAI CEO says Mobilitie buy is one of a kind opportunity

BAI Communications is making progress on its growth, neutral host and geographic expansion strategy, pushing harder into the U.S. and U.K. with an M&A announcement and major project win in June.   

Ziply zooms ahead with fiber, adding 14 more markets

Kirkland, Washington-based Ziply Fiber is adding 14 more communities in Washington and Oregon to the list of markets where it will expand fiber broadband services this year as it continues its $500 million investment to upgrade properties it acquired from Frontier Communications.

Consolidated says its costs to deploy fiber are lower than peers

Consolidated Communications' leadership believes that its costs to deploy fiber, or cost per build for each home passed, is significantly lower than its peers. Speaking at the Cowen Communications Infrastructure Summit today, Consolidated’s President and CEO Bob Udell said that it costs the company between $450 to $500 per home passed to deploy fiber. That figure is low, Udell said, because the company has a strong core network, which it inherited as part of its purchase of FairPoint Communications for $1.5 billion in 2016, and its proximity to its customers. But perhaps the biggest reason it is able to keep its costs lower than other fiber providers is that currently 80% of its fiber network in New Hampshire uses aerial fiber, which is installed on poles instead of underground.

Palo Alto Networks: Ransomware Demands Rocket 518%

The average ransomware payment demanded by cybercriminals now tops $5.3 million, a 518% increase from last year, according to a new report from Palo Alto Networks’ Unit 42 consultants that investigated ransomware attacks in the first half of 2021.

Daily Roundup: Hyperscalers Fuel 400ZR Optical Buzz

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.

Extreme Roots SASE Strategy in Ipanema Buy

Extreme Networks’ $73 million acquisition of InfoVista’s Ipanema business is all about SD-WAN on the surface, but that’s not the end game. Ipanema is part of a much bigger puzzle for Extreme as it folds secure access service edge (SASE) into its Infinite Enterprise strategy, according to Nabil Bukhari, chief product officer at Extreme.

Aligned Energy Secures $1.25B for Waterless Data Center

Aligned Energy plans to construct a waterless data center before the end of the year that will use its proprietary cooling technology and a $1.25 billion senior secured credit facility. 

Extreme Networks buys Infovista's SD-WAN business for $73M

Extreme Networks announced plans to acquire the software-defined wide area networking (SD-WAN) division of Infovista in an all-cash deal valued at $73 million. The deal, expected to close in October 2021, will generate new revenue for Extreme Networks and expand its portfolio by offering cloud-managed SD-WAN and security solutions.

T-Mobile debuts gigabit fiber pilot in NYC

T-Mobile US dipped its toes into the fiber broadband market, piloting a symmetrical gigabit fiber service in New York City.

Facebook leads push for AFC targeting 6 GHz Wi-Fi

Facebook, Cisco and Broadcom announced the creation of a new group aimed at Automated Frequency Coordination (AFC) software for 6 GHz Wi-Fi devices.

Telecom groups hail Senate passage of U.S. infrastructure deal

The U.S. Senate approved a sprawling $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure deal which includes $65 billion in funding for broadband after months of wrangling over terms, earning praise from voices across the telecommunications industry.

Cox fights municipal private wireless in Tucson

The city of Tucson, Arizona, has built a private wireless network to provide broadband to low-income households for free. But Cox Communications regularly sends emails to Tucson city council members, challenging the network and trying to persuade them to hire Cox for broadband expansion in the city.

Cable One scores Q2 ARPU bump from broadband step ups

Cable One posted a $4.54 jump in residential broadband average revenue per user (ARPU) in Q2, citing increased take rates of higher service tiers.

AT&T will miss fiber target by 500k due to supply chain issues

AT&T CFO Pascal Desroches warned investors supply chain issues would likely prevent the operator from reaching its goal of delivering fiber to 3 million new locations in 2021.

Exfo founder boosts offer to take company private

Germain Lamonde, who founded Canada’s communications-sector test, monitoring, and analytics equipment maker Exfo and is its majority shareholder, has boosted his offer to take the company private.

Number of announced 5G devices tops 900 — report

The Global mobile Suppliers Association’s latest tracking shows 938 5G devices have been announced, including more than 600 commercially available. The majority are smartphones and CPEs.

AT&T CFO: Network deal with Dish a win-win

AT&T recently finished a stellar second quarter where it smashed Wall Street expectations and racked up 789,000 postpaid phone net adds, and last month it announced a $5 billion network service deal with Dish Network.

Dish MVNO deal with AT&T could be start of something new

It’s quite possible that Dish Network could strike a network service agreement with a rural or regional U.S. operator, along the same lines as it did with AT&T. Granted, the deal with AT&T is on a bigger scale, but the same principles apply.

T-Mobile’s 5G off to the drone races

In a new partnership with The Drone Racing League (DRL), T-Mobile today unveiled a 5G-enabled drone that will take flight during the professional drone racing season to deliver HD video-focused experiences for sports fans.

Apple defends new device-scanning tech as criticisms grow

Apple has launched a defence of its controversial new system to scan users’ devices for child sexual material after over 5,000 people and organizations signed an open letter against it.

Eurobites: Poland’s Nexera bags €73 million EU loan for fiber rollout

Also in today’s EMEA regional round-up: Virgin Media O2 grows its gigabit network, recruits field engineers; Spain’s La Liga may stream itself; Telefónica combines with STC on cybersecurity.

Vodafone UK, BT reinstate European roaming charges

Everyone hates roaming charges, which feel like a “gotcha” when the monthly mobile bill arrives. Nevertheless, two U.K. wireless providers — BT and Vodafone UK — have decided to reinstate roaming charges for their customers who visit European Union countries.

PowerEdge XR11/XR12: Designed for Challenges of O-RAN Deployment

O-RAN Edge Cloud deployments present some unique challenges for Server Manufacturers. The O-RAN Alliance has studied the requirements of Edge Deployments and has published their recommendations in a Working Group 6 (WG6) Technical Specification¹, which includes the difference between Regional Clouds and Edge Clouds, in terms of physical and environmental requirements.Click here to read the full blog post.

Extreme Networks Gobbles Ipanema SD-WAN for $73M

Extreme Networks today acquired Infovista’s Ipanema SD-WAN division in an all-cash deal valued at $73 million. The acquisition bolsters Extreme’s product portfolio beyond wireless and LAN switching and extends its reach to the European market.

Mobile Edge Investment Forecast Slashed 39%

The mobile edge computing market lacks vigor, with sluggish adoption of 5G standalone network cores by operators prompting analysts at Dell’Oro Group to slash the cumulative projected investment in multi-access edge computing (MEC) by nearly 39% through 2025.

Daily Roundup: Cloudflare Sets Sights On Carbon-Free Legacy

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.

Hyperscalers Fuel 400ZR Optical Buzz

Dell’Oro Group forecasts the ZR pluggable optics market will surpass $500 million in annual sales by 2025, building first on 400ZR modules and later on faster 800ZR products. And that initial success is being led by hyperscale providers like Microsoft that are pushing for higher line rates.

T-Mobile CDMA shutdown sparks ‘grave concerns’ at DoJ

The dispute between Dish Network and T-Mobile triggered images of the “magenta Grinch” for Dish Chairman Charlie Ergen and it’s creating a nightmare of sorts for Boost Mobile management – in addition to headaches for T-Mobile’s senior management.

Verizon says no thanks to using the public cloud for its core

AT&T made headlines in June when it announced plans move its core network to Microsoft's Azure hybrid cloud, but Verizon’s CFO said it isn’t looking to do anything of the sort.

Verizon CFO: 60% of new accounts take pricier unlimited plans

Around 27% of Verizon’s consumer base is on premium unlimited plans, and with strong uptake in the second quarter, CFO Matt Ellis sees a lot of room to continue moving customers into higher-priced tiers and growing revenue per account.

Consolidated poised to dodge strike with union deals

Consolidated Communications reached tentative agreements with two labor unions representing approximately 900 workers in New England, putting it in position to avoid a strike as its fiber deployment effort gains steam.

Jay Y. Lee out of jail, but Samsung still saddled with uncertainty

Samsung’s heir apparent has been granted a parole, but when and how he could take the reins at Korea’s biggest chaebol is still not clear.

Great Plains Communications preps for a 10-gig future

Regional broadband provider Great Plains Communications is hoping to stay ahead of the rising traffic curve, leveraging a mix of government and internal funding to upgrade and expand its network with 10-gig capable fiber.

Will Apple child safety gift governments the keys to comms?

Apple has caused a stir with its new child safety measures, which other tech firms and privacy advocates say could unwittingly open the door to let governments spy on their citizens.

Huawei revenues dip 29% in third straight quarter of decline

Huawei has had its biggest-ever dip in revenue, from two years into Washington’s sanctions which battered both its network infrastructure and smartphone sales and the company’s crucial access to semiconductors.

Eurobites: Iliad gets on board with FiberCop in Italy

Also in today’s EMEA regional roundup: former Royal Mail boss in line for BT chairman role; Nokia wins at Delta Fiber; Brexit’s roaming ramifications.

StarHub the latest to suffer customer data breach

The Singapore telco detected a data dump on a third-party site containing personal information of more than 57,000 of its customers.

Telesat wins $86M investment from Ontario government

The government in Ontario, Canada, is investing more than $86.7 million (U.S.) in Telesat’s next-generation low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite network, Telesat Lightspeed.

Dish Pushes 5G Network Availability to Early 2022

Dish Network is running out of runway as it continues delaying deployment of its 5G open radio access network (RAN). The aspiring greenfield operator today pushed back, once again, on its plan to activate service in a single U.S. city.

Cloudflare Sets Sights On Carbon-Free Legacy

Cloudflare updated its environmental sustainability targets including commitments to be carbon neutral by 2022 and eliminate its legacy footprint by 2025. The content delivery network provider also announced improved servers with higher energy efficiency and various B2B programs to help its customers achieve their sustainability goals. 

SASE Hits Teen Years in Gartner Hype Cycle

Catapulted to the forefront of the security and networking conversation, SASE has officially reached “adolescence” according to Garter’s 2021 Hype Cycle report for network security.

Daily Roundup: Cybersecurity Is the New ‘Great Game’

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.