Verizon launches Verizon 5G Edge with Microsoft Verizon has partnered with Microsoft to introduce the aptly named Verizon 5G Edge with Microsoft Azure Stack Edge cloud computing platform, fulfilling their stated commitment when they announced their cooperation last October. The platform can provide corporate clients with an on-premises, private edge compute solution that supports the ultra-low latency necessary for real-time enterprise applications. The collaboration with Microsoft provides 5G Edge to companies, lowering latency at the edge and allowing important, performance-sensitive applications to respond more rapidly and effectively. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/8bz3rwdf FCC warns about fake broadband subsidy website The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) alerted the public about the discovery of a website that fraudulently promised to enroll customers in the agency’s Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) Program and encouraged individuals who visited the site to take precautions against fraud. A website named WiFi Freedom USA mimicked the government’s sign-up page, offering…
OneWeb launches 34 more broadband satellites OneWeb has reported the successful launch of 34 additional low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, increasing the total deployment to 288. The company plans to grow its fleet to 648 satellites by the end of next year in order to provide worldwide coverage. The rollout comes after the conclusion of OneWeb’s Five to 50 mission, and it bodes well for the promise of a commercial service later this year, followed by a worldwide service in 2022. The forthcoming 648-strong LEO fleet claims data speed of up to 195mbps, with latency as low as 50ms. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/cnpshnse Comcast acquires Masergy Comcast Business has agreed to purchase Masergy, a cloud and software-defined networking business that provides a portfolio of managed services such as SD-WAN, unified communications-as-a-service, call center-as-a-service and security. The purchase price was not revealed. Comcast’s goal with this acquisition is to enhance its…
Telefónica, Aerial launch Remote Care project pilot The first pilot project regarding “Remote Care” for elders was initiated by Telefónica, the Canadian firm Aerial and the municipality of Luciana. This solution does not require new devices nor wearable equipment, but includes a movement detector interface for the home WiFi, which utilizes existing wireless signals combined with artificial intelligence and contextual analysis to detect presence and motion. The cloud-based AI engine is intended to share data about a senior’s behaviors with their family members. In order to facilitate remote monitoring of elders, this technology also compares the data to normal behavioral patterns. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/4ae6w5j9 T-Mobile experiences data breach In a recent cyber assault on T-Mobile, over 40 million individuals’ information was exposed, including names, birthdays and social security numbers. The business claimed that the stolen files contained data from over 7.8 million current T-Mobile accounts as well as data…
Virgin Media expands its gigabit network Virgin Media has successfully upgraded 1.5 million additional premises to DOCSIS 3.1, allowing users to achieve internet speeds exceeding one gigabit per second. Over half of the 15.5 million subscriber homes in the UK may now get gigabit services thanks to this latest initiative. The network improvements were made at a variety of sites around the United Kingdom, including cities such as Bournemouth, Bristol, Northampton, Southampton, Wolverhampton, Wigan, and York. VMO2 will continue to roll out DOCSIS 3.1 improvements throughout the rest of its network, after earlier stating that they will have updated their whole footprint by the end of 2021. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/hj4emdmf Avature in partnership with DIDWW Avature has teamed up with DIDWW, an international telecom operator that offers high quality VoIP services. By using DIDWW’s two-way SIP services, Avature will be able to maintain continuous communications and worldwide connection across…
Google to use its own chips for the new Pixel phones Google has announced that its next Pixel smartphones will be available in the fall, powered for the first time by an in-house developed chip. Tensor, Google’s first mobile system on a chip, will be used in the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. Tensor is a single chip that integrates a set of processing units and enhances computational capacity in an energy-efficient manner. Google has not revealed who will manufacture the chips for the new Pixel phones. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/xsprb7ap Lumen to sell its ILEC assets Lumen Technologies announced that it has entered an agreement to sell its Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier (ILEC) business in 20 states, including its consumers, small business, wholesale, and mostly copper-served enterprise customers and assets, to funds managed by Apollo Global Management affiliates for $7.5 billion. Lumen will maintain its ILEC assets in…
Lumen to sell its Latin American business Lumen Technologies has signed an agreement to sell its Latin American business to infrastructure investment company Stonepeak for $2.7 billion. This deal comes from Lumen’s goal of freeing up more cash for its future growth plan. This transaction is expected to be completed in the first half of 2022. After the sale has been completed, Lumen’s Latin American division will become an independent subsidiary of Stonepeak, continuing with the current management team. Despite the sale, Lumen will not sever ties with the subsidiary, as the operator plans to maintain a strategic relationship with the new company. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/4728y9f Verizon signs a deal with US Air National Guard Verizon’s Public Sector business entered into a second agreement with the US Department of Defense (DoD). The latest $78.8 million contract is to help the Air National Guard (ANG) modernize their network services. Under…
Dish and AT&T strike a $5 billion network deal Dish has signed a mobile network services agreement with AT&T worth more than $5 billion over the next ten years. In accordance with the MVNO and the national roaming agreement, Dish’s mobile phone brands will use the AT&T network. When the operator’s 5G service commences, the mobile brands will use AT&T’s infrastructure for roaming in areas where it does not currently have coverage. With this deal, Dish replaces T-Mobile US as a partner in the wholesale network, and it is likely that the network operator will not suffer significant financial losses due to one of its competitors. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/3fuxje7k Cox Business launches Net Assurance to help small businesses Cox Business has released Net Assurance, a new service aimed at small businesses to protect them from losing their Internet connection during outages. If the Internet loses its wired and private…
GCI to expand capacity for rural areas GCI, an Alaskan service provider, has signed a $150 million contract with Intelsat to increase the telecommunications service capacity in rural areas. GCI has been providing geosynchronous (GEO) satellite communications for 35 years to supply the state with data, video and voice services. The latest transaction gives GCI continued access to C-band and Ku-band capacities, which are already a part of GCI’s satellite services portfolio, and also provides new access to state-wide Ka-band capacity. Furthermore, Intelsat will provide the multi-satellite solution through a new and improved managed station platform and C- Ku- and Ka-bands networks. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/w52yht6u South Sudan launches Digitel Network South Sudan has announced the launch of Digitel Network, the country’s first telecommunications company, which was introduced to celebrate 10 years of independence of the country. South Sudan has so far had the services of only two international mobile…
Nokia launches iSIM Secure Connect Nokia has released new software to help operators cope with the provisioning of cellular IoT devices and subscription management. The software, called iSIM Secure Connect, relies on embedded SIM (eSIM) and integrated SIM (iSIM) technologies combined with reliable digital identification, allowing telecom service providers to quickly and securely authenticate and manage cellular IoT devices. The software is vendor agnostic and can be installed in a variety of network and cloud environments, providing a myriad of IoT use cases and business models. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/42kf2tu8 Lumen strikes a deal with Microsoft Lumen Technologies has announced that it has entered a long-term partnership with Microsoft to take advantage of the Azure cloud platform. The duo plans to integrate Microsoft’s Azure stack with Lumen’s bare metal edge computing service, allowing customers to run Azure-based applications wherever the edge network can reach. Lumen will also use the cloud…
Google Cloud and Ericsson team up to deliver 5G and Edge cloud solutions for telcos The two tech giants – Google Cloud and Ericsson – have come together to jointly develop 5G and edge cloud solutions to help communications service providers (CSPs) digitally transform and unlock new enterprise and consumer use cases. Google Cloud and Ericsson are developing new solutions at Ericsson’s Silicon Valley D15 Labs, a state-of-the-art innovation center where advanced solutions and technologies can be developed and tested on a live, multi-layer 5G platform. Thomas Kurian, CEO at Google Cloud, said that organizations have a tremendous opportunity to digitally transform their businesses with 5G, using cloud capabilities like artificial intelligence and machine learning at the edge. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/2c5sez86 DIDWW implements the STIR/SHAKEN technology The global telecommunication services provider, DIDWW, has implemented caller ID authentication through the STIR/SHAKEN set of standards. These standards act as the framework…