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…
T-Mobile US is experimenting with fiber broadband by launching a symmetrical gigabit fiber service in New York City. The service is offered for a fixed monthly fee, but the prices have not yet been announced. This service, which offers 940Mbps upload and download rates as well as a WiFi 6 router, is now being tested in selected Manhattan apartment buildings. The company is undertaking a very restricted trial with a third-party supplier to offer residential internet using fiber-optic lines from that partner rather than deploying its own lines. T-Mobile did not reveal the identity of its local partner. The decision to collaborate with a local broadband provider is consistent with T-Mobile’s well-known practice of leasing rather than constructing fiber for its cell sites. Because T-Mobile is not installing new fiber connections but rather utilizing those that are already in place, initial expenses are kept low, and T-Mobile is…
Telecom Italia (TIM) has inked a deal with the Italian branch of Xavier Niel’s Iliad to co-invest in TIM’s last-mile grid firm FiberCop in order to accelerate the deployment of fiber broadband lines in Italy. Under the terms of the agreement with TIM, Iliad will co-invest in FiberCop to assist in the development of the network that connects street cabinets to people’s houses. Iliad will receive access to Telecom Italia’s core fiber network, allowing it to provide ultrafast fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) connections to clients. According to TIM, the agreement validated FiberCop’s investment strategy, which aims to link 75 percent of Italy’s so-called grey and black zones, including cities and industrial districts, with FTTH connections at speeds of more than 1 gigabyte per second by 2025. The agreement’s financial terms were not disclosed. According to analysts, the FiberCop agreement might help TIM counter some of the heightened competitive pressure…
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…
On July 30, 2021, Ariane 5, a European heavy-lift space launch vehicle developed and operated by Arianespace for the European Space Agency, successfully launched its first flight in nearly a year. The aim of the mission is to deploy a pair of geostationary communications satellites for commercial operators in Brazil and France. One of the satellites, called the Star One D2, will be operated by Embratel, a Brazilian telecommunications company. The Star One D2 will give Embratel the ability to expand its broadband coverage to new regions in Central and South America, supply Internet access to those in under-serviced areas, and increase X-band payload for government use in the Atlantic region. The second satellite, named Eutelsat Quantum, which was developed as part of an ESA partnership with satellite operator Eutelsat and major manufacturer Airbus, has an active antenna, a first for the European commercial telecommunications industry. This revolutionary…
Over the past few decades, technology has improved the overall standard of living for many people. These advancements affect an individuals ’ways of communication, learning and thinking, and help society to interact with each other on a daily basis. Altogether, technology plays an important role in the life of society. Without it, people would still live within their traditional geographical boundaries. Technology has evolved incredibly quickly. Today, it’s hard to imagine life without technology, including the Internet, phones and computers. As these forms of communication become increasingly ubiquitous, it is important to examine their impact on people’s lives, well-being and relationships. The positives Communication technology has given people tools to not only keep in touch with each other, but also express their feelings and opinions to a broader audience than would otherwise have been possible. Such innovations have made life easier for many and provided resources and tools to lead…
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…
The United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has announced that it will fund new broadband rollouts across the country through the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF). The FCC has announced its readiness to give the green light to more than $311 million in funding for the provision of broadband in 36 states. A total of 48 providers have been authorized for funding, and the FCC has noted that this financing will help nearly 200,000 homes and businesses in 36 states get access to gigabit speeds over the next ten years. Companies on that list include 3E8 Broadband Solutions, 4-County Fiber LLC, Aeneas Communications, Allen’s TV Cable Service Inc., Cincinnati Bell, Consolidated Communications, Cox Communications and more. Additionally, the FCC has issued a statement about its steps to increase oversight in the RDOF program. The Commission has stated that it will not approve of any service provider participating in…
Swedish vendor Ericsson has signed an agreement to provide a 5G “core” to Virgin Media O2, a new company established by a merger between Virgin Media and the mobile operator O2. Ericsson will build a VMO2 standalone 5G core, that will incorporate 4G and non-standalone 5G cores, to create dual-mode 5G core, as referred to by Ericsson. The vendor has been a supplier to mobile operator O2 UK for quite some time now. The previous deal between the two companies focused on an ongoing “network modernization program” that was introduced in June 2020. Since the older core used by O2 was also that of Ericsson, it was appropriate to continue with the same technology vendor. Moreover, the new agreement also allows Virgin Media O2 to provide a standalone 5G service. UK operators have based their 5G launches on a “non-standalone” architecture that allows the 5G RAN to revert…
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…