RISC-V Eyes Mainstream With $175M SiFive Funding

RISC-V chipmaker SiFive last week scored $175 million in a Series F funding round led by Coatue Management. The funding round brings the company’s total raised to $350 million and puts it deep into double-unicorn territory with a valuation north of $2.5 billion.

As Vendors Ditch SASE For SSE, What’s Actually Changed?

Telefónica last week tapped cloud security vendor Zscaler to develop a new managed security service edge (SSE) platform in a bid to address changing workforce dynamics and cloud consumption. The announcement illustrated a growing trend around the Gartner-coined product category, in which cloud security and secure access service edge (SASE) vendors alike announce “new” products and services around the buzzword.

So much for the FTC’s trustbusting agenda

US trade regulator, the FTC, has allowed Amazon’s acquisition of MGM to proceed without so much as a whimper of dissent.

Investors reportedly bid $16 billion for Vodafone tower unit

MNO Vodafone has apparently been given a $16 billion offer for a majority stake in its Vantage Towers mast business by investor firms.

Pentagon goes all-IP as part of Verizon $1 billion deal

Verizon has won contracts from the US Department of Defense (DoD) worth a total of close to US$1 billion, including a deal to switch the Pentagon from copper to IP.

Ericsson hires a grizzled veteran as its new legal chief

Swedish kit maker Ericsson needs all the help it can get with its Iraq scandal, so it has hired a new legal chief.

Daily Roundup: Cisco Doggedly Dominates WLAN Dominion

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Trend Micro Blocked 42% More Threats in 2021

Trend Micro claimed its team blocked significantly more threats in 2021 than the year before, and it identified a shift that ransomware actors became more deliberate in targeting critical infrastructure.

DT Leads Telco Sustainability Pack as AT&T, Verizon Fall Behind

AT&T, Verizon, and Orange take a mainstream approach to sustainability, while Deutsche Telekom (DT) sits as the telecom market’s clear sustainability leader for its accelerated use of renewable energy, ABI Researcher analyst Kim Johnson told SDxCentral.

Cloudflare, CrowdStrike Commingle Endpoint Security With Zero Trust

Cloudflare and CrowdStrike announced an extended partnership to integrate their endpoint and zero-trust services to secure identity, devices, and applications. The collaboration comes on the heels of another project that saw the two vendors join forces with Ping Identity to provide free zero-trust security services to vulnerable industries. 

SDxCentral 2-Minute Weekly Wrap: AT&T Cements No. 3 Position in US Wireless Market

UK moves to grant Ofcom and Parliament sweeping online censorship powers

The Online Safety Bill is finally being introduced to Parliament and it seeks to make Ofcom the arbiter of online speech and activity in the UK.

5G phone sales overtake 4G, driven by Apple

In January 2022 sales penetration of 5G-capable smartphones reached 51% globally, which represented the first time it exceeded that of 4G smartphones, according to Counterpoint Research.

Malaysia wants telcos to buy into a single 5G network

Malaysia is standing by plans to operate a single, national 5G network. But in a new and unusual twist it will allow telcos to buy into the network operator.

UK 5G manufacturing trial showcases claimed benefits

Five organisations including Nokia and BT have collaborated on a 5G trial to demonstrate how 5G-connected robotics, computer vision and edge computing can boost UK manufacturing.

NTT bags US private 5G deal with Schneider

Schneider Electric is looking to private 5G to support new industry 4.0 use cases.

Cisco Doggedly Dominates WLAN Dominion

Cisco stood its ground last year as top dog in the worldwide WLAN market, staying comfortably ahead of rivals Hewlett Packard Enterprise–Aruba, Ubiquiti, and Huawei, according to a new report from IDC. 

Daily Roundup: Can Microsoft Circular Centers Quell Rising Supply Chain CO2?

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Private Network Complexities, Opportunities Abound

Private networks revenue will climb to $8.3 billion by 2026, $1.6 billion by 2027, or $109 billion by 2030, depending on who’s doing the projections and what’s being counted. 

Intel's European Expansion Depends on EU Funding

Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger’s vision to reinvent the company grew a little grander this week after the chipmaker announced a sweeping European expansion that includes an $18.6 billion mega site in Germany and a $13.2 billion foundry expansion in Ireland.

SentinelOne’s XDR Gains Identity Protection With $617M Attivo Buy

SentinelOne snapped up Attivo Networks in a $616.5 million deal to bring identity-based threat protection to its extended detection and response (XDR) platform.

Dorset is loving its 5G

5G RuralDorset – a programme led by Dorset Council and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport – has put out a video explaining some 5G use cases, and it doesn’t do a bad job of selling it.

EU gives green light to Amazon buyout of MGM

The European Commission has approved unconditionally Amazon’s acquisition of MGM, concluding it ‘would raise no competition concerns in the European Economic Area.’

Investor makes A$3 billion bid for Australia’s Uniti

Uniti Group has confirmed that a group of funds led by HRL Morrison & Co has tabled a takeover bid worth in excess of A$3 billion.

Ericsson and SmarTone unveil network slicing speed boost app

Network slicing is beginning to make waves in the consumer mobile market, courtesy of Hong Kong operator SmarTone and Ericsson.

Nokia wins Ethisphere ‘honor’ yet again

Finnish kit vendor Nokia has once more been declared one of the world’s most ethical companies.

Verizon attempts to muster up 5G buzz with an ‘AR thriller’

US operator Verizon has teamed up with a couple of firms called 30 Ninjas and Novelab to produce an ‘AR adventure thriller’ which is supposed to take full advantage of 5G.

Can Microsoft Circular Centers Quell Rising Supply Chain CO2?

Microsoft reported a surge 23% jump in scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions last year despite its ongoing efforts to reduce indirect supply chain emissions.

Daily Roundup: Illumio Rides Microsegmentation New Wave, No IPO Rush

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AT&T, DT, Verizon Led Carrier Capex Surge in 2021

Wireless carriers experienced a wild 2021 with revenue growth reaching a 10-year high and the ratio of capex to revenues surging to a six-year high, according to MTN Consulting.

Cisco, NetApp Focus FlexPod XCS Toward Hybrid Cloud

Cisco and NetApp updated their co-developed FlexPod converged infrastructure platform with more visibility and automation targeted at better support for enterprise hybrid-cloud deployments. The update also gains a new tri-letter appendage that would make any automaker envious.

Illumio Rides Microsegmentation New Wave, No IPO Rush

Illumio is riding a wave of market segment accolades and record revenue growth, but is in no hurry to move on a highly anticipated initial public offering, CEO and co-founder Andrew Rubin said.

India hit 31% growth in 4G mobile data in 2021 – Nokia

Nokia’s annual Mobile Broadband Index (MBiT) report claims 4G mobile data in India increased by 31% in 2021, while average monthly data traffic per user grew by 26.6%.

Turkey now has just one privately-owned operator

The stage is set for a dramatic reshaping of Turkey’s telecoms market.

Vocus and 2degrees merger to reshape NZ broadband market

New Zealand’s competition body has given the go-ahead for a merger between 2degrees and Vocus, creating a stronger third player in the country’s telecoms market.

Vodafone and Ericsson trial the best thing since sliced bread

Right now you only use networks in one big lump, but a collaboration between UK operator Vodafone and Swedish kit vendor Ericsson seeks to split it into manageable slices.

Research concludes UK youngsters are happy to socialise in the metaverse

New research from Zen Internet claims 18% of 16-24 year olds are already making friends in the metaverse, while 46% are considering doing so in the future.

Huawei still leads the telecoms kit market despite US sanctions

Despite being impacted by the US sanctions, Chinese vendor Huawei remains the market leader for telecoms equipment globally according to market analysis from Dell’Oro Group.

Daily Roundup: Juniper Apstra Addresses Edge, Zero-Trust Security

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Arm Slashes Jobs After Failed Nvidia Takeover

Arm Holdings plans to cut up to 15% of its workforce, about 1,000 jobs globally, less than two months after Nvidia’s $40 billion bid for the company collapsed. 

Huawei CTO: Energy Costs Drive Carrier Sustainability Goals

When carriers broached the subject of sustainability with Huawei at MWC Barcelona 2022, none asked about the use of fossil fuels or renewable resources, according to Huawei CTO Paul Scanlan.

Google Green Efforts Gain Hourly Granularity

Google touted progress on the global expansion of Time-based Energy Attribute Certificates (T-EACs), a tool that provides a more granular view of energy tracking than standard renewable energy credits (RECs).

Juniper Apstra Addresses Edge Migration, Zero-Trust Security Trends

Juniper Networks today introduced the latest ​​Apstra expansions that bring intent-based networking capabilities to edge data centers, along with new zero-trust security services.

Arm chops 1,000 jobs

Semiconductor-design specialist wants to trim workforce by 12% to 15% ahead of IPO.

Charter gives SMBs an ad-vantage

Charter's Spectrum Reach unit is giving $1,500 in free TV advertising to SMBs as they try to bounce back from the ongoing pandemic and associated inflation and supply chain issues.

Vodafone Germany nabs 5G+ branding for 5G SA

German operator says more than 10 million people can now use its 5G SA service at home.

What's the Story? The splinternet is coming

Mike Dano discusses his recent coverage of the 'splinternet' and what it means for the industry at large.

UScellular CTO updates on midband, standalone 5G

'Most of the applications on devices really can be served by 30, 50, 60 Mbit/s, no problem,' UScellular's Mike Irizarry said, noting that those are the speeds supported today by UScellular's 4G LTE network.

Vodafone UK proposes net neutrality fix for network slicing

The operator has carried out network slicing trials with Ericsson but says rules changes are needed before new services can be offered.

Eurobites: VEON sees credit ratings slide as Ukraine carnage hits home

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Telefonica pals up with Pente for enterprise cloud services; Nokia goes underground in Chile; companies get ready for the hybrid working era.

BSNL to launch 4G with 5G NSA network by August

India has been trying to promote the growth of indigenous technologies and products to reduce its dependency on international vendors.

The smartwatch market hit record levels in 2021

The highest ever quarterly global shipments for smartwatches was recorded in Q4 2021 driven partly by cheaper devices and growth in India, claims industry analyst Counterpoint Research.

AT&T to pump nearly $50 billion into its networks

Born-again telco AT&T plans to spend eye water-watering sums of money on fibre and 5G, as it prepares for life after WarnerMedia.

TIM to finally start takeover talks with KKR

TIM has instructed its chairman and chief exec to begin formal talks with KKR on the proposed takeover deal, but this story is a long way from its conclusion still.

Shenzhen forced into another Covid lockdown

The Chinese city of Shenzhen, home to much of the world’s technology manufacturing, is being locked down due to a surge in Covid cases.

UK government makes modest investment in space programmes

Science and Innovation Minister George Freeman has announced a £2 million investment across 13 space projects.

Daily Roundup: SSE Is Just SASE Without the SD-WAN Baggage

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Cisco Net-Zero Plan Hinges on Emissions Reductions, Not Offsets

Cisco said it still successfully avoids basing its net-zero strategy on offsetting its carbon emissions. Instead, it relies on energy efficiency progress and renewable energy procurement strategies to meet some of its emission reductions targets early, Cisco VP of Corporate Affairs Mary de Wysocki said during an ESG investor call.

AT&T Cements No. 3 Position in US Wireless Market

AT&T’s third-place position in the domestic wireless market could remain unchanged through the 5G era, as its failed efforts in media and entertainment continue to be a drag on the company.

CrowdStrike CEO Touts Success Beyond XDR

CrowdStrike’s extended detection and response (XDR) push has been on a tear in recent months, with CEO and co-founder George Kurtz touting the company’s recent success outside of its traditional endpoint security during a recent earnings call. 

Business is booming at China Unicom

China Unicom's industry Internet unit leads the way, overtaking fixed-line broadband to become its second-largest segment.

DDoS attacks up nearly 40%, mostly targeting gaming and retail, Radware reports

Between 2020 and 2021, the average DDoS volume per company was also up 26%, but attack vectors larger than 10 Gbit/s were down 5%.

TIM starts formal talks with KKR

The Italian operator also plans to explore a long-mooted merger with state-backed broadband operator Open Fiber.

Rakuten's Amin targets 25% of RAN market in bid to unseat giants

The Japanese vendor's Symphony business is championing openness as it goes after a market still dominated by Huawei, Ericsson and Nokia.

AWS opens the curtain on its 5G strategy for Dish

'By utilizing the AWS Cloud, Dish was able to architect, design, build and deliver a complete cloud-native 5G network with full operations and network deployment automation,' AWS engineers wrote.

AT&T hints at its 'Act 2'

'The AT&T story will be written in two acts. Today we'll focus on the first act, and that is taking our current asset base and delivering competitive returns," CEO John Stankey said.

AT&T's aggressive copper network retirement could be a mistake, analyst says

New Street Research believes AT&T should instead expand its fiber network buildout, holding that the company's large fixed footprint is the 'single biggest advantage' AT&T has over its wireless rivals.