Germany to retire its 3G network Deutsche Telekom, Telefonica Deutschland and Vodafone Germany have announced the dates of their 3G network service withdrawal. Deutsche Telekom announced that it will aim to shut down 3G networks by the summer of 2021, while the Vodafone Germany target date was announced to be a few months earlier. Similarly, Telefonica Deutschland has stated that it would like to switch off its 3G technology by the end of 2021. This means that Germany will be essentially dependent on LTE and 5G in just over a year. Deutsche Telekom says the coverage gaps left after the 3G shutdown will be filled by 4G. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/y48ot9p5 Rogers Communications expanding 5G services On September 22, the Canadian communications and media company Rogers Communications announced the launch of 5G technology in five new cities. The Ericsson-powered operator has the largest 5G network in Canada. According to the…
Ribbon announces hybrid slicing for 5G Ribbon Communications, a provider of real time IP-based communications and software solutions, announced that it has partnered with Xilinx Inc. to develop a 5G hybrid slicing solution for next-generation networks. Slicing is important in 5G, as it enables the separate 5G integral service classes. Hard slicing is necessary to meet the strict requirements for availability, bandwidth and security of highly sensitive services, while soft slicing provides benign insulation for services with a lower critical limit value. Ribbon will highlight its 5G solutions, including hybrid slicing, during its 5G Perspectives virtual event on September 14, 2020. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/y6tm8bqa Oi sells its mobile assets to Claro, Telefónica and TIM Three operators, Claro, Telefónica and TIM, formerly known as Telecom Italia, have won the bid for the Brazilian operator Oi’s mobile assets valued at more than $3 billion. In the past, these operators had a…
The South Korean tech giant Samsung has announced that it has signed a contract to supply network equipment to Verizon in the US. Samsung and Verizon’s wireless telecommunications solutions contract is worth about $ 6.6 billion according to information released on Monday, ensuring a great triumph for the South Korean seller against established competitors. Samsung Networks will supply network equipment and solutions, including 5G, to their American partner for the next five years, until December 2025. This new contract with Verizon is the largest that Samsung has ever received in its history. Samsung’s network business was one of the first to offer 5G network equipment to South Korean telecommunications companies when they launched their 5G networks in 2019. “We are pleased to expand our long-standing partnership with Verizon to advance their next-generation network evolution. With this latest long-term strategic contract, we will continue to push the boundaries of…
Telefonica acquires Govertis Advisory Services The Spanish international telecommunications company, Telefonica, has announced the acquisition of the Valencia-based consulting company Govertis Advisory Services. The procurement was made through its subsidiary the cybersecurity company ElevenPaths. According to Telefonica, Govertis offers solutions that combine both legal and technological aspects of cybersecurity. The purchase of Govertis is related to Telefonica‘s ongoing investments in security through the development of proprietary solutions, the implementation of technologies in the global SOC network, and the acquisition of and investment in new companies. Eduard Chaveli, CEO and founder of Govertis, commented that this deal was a “natural next step in a long-standing relationship”. Read more at https://tinyurl.com/y2lr9pl7 Argentinian government freezes Telco prices Argentina‘s government has extended a ruling applicable to Internet, mobile and pay-TV providers, preventing them from raising their prices until the end of 2020. These measurements were first implemented in May of this year to combat…
The GSMA, an industry organization representing the interests of global mobile network operators, has announced that major vendors ZTE, Ericsson, Huawei and Nokia have passed an independent security audit of product development and lifecycle management processes and intend to submit a network kit for evaluation in the second test round. This testing system is called the Network Equipment Security Scheme (NESAS) and claims to have been designed to increase industry confidence in telecommunications network equipment while promoting a more coordinated mobile market. NESAS was jointly established by GSMA and 3GPP. NESAS provides an industry-wide security assurance framework to improve the level of security throughout the mobile industry. The scheme defines security requirements and an assessment system for secure product development and product life cycle processes, and uses 3GPP-defined security test cases to assess the security of network equipment. The audits are conducted by world-class security auditing companies on…
DartPoints collaborates with LOGIX for interconnection services in Texas DartPoints and LOGIX are partnering to provide Texas with interconnection. LOGIX’s network will interconnect with DartPoints’ facilities throughout Texas, resulting in enhanced regional connectivity between each endpoint, and providing one-stop access to more than 150 regional, national and international data centers and global websites. With this collaboration between the two companies, DartPoints’ customers will gain access to LOGIX’s extensive fibre network, and get greater access to edge interconnection points. Read more at https://tinyurl.com/y6gy8xwh Voxox and Passage Telecom are launching a cloud phone Voxox, an innovator in cloud communications solutions, and Passage Telecom, Nigeria’s leading ISP, have announced their partnership. Passage Telecom will now offer Voxox Cloud Phone services in Nigeria, which will be hosted from Voxox’s US and European data centers. This is the first deployment of Voxox Cloud Phone on the African continent, while Passage Telecom currently only serves Nigerian…
Pentagon will allow telecoms to use military airwaves for 5G networks On Monday, the Pentagon and the White House announced plans to issue a permit for telecommunication service providers to use air waves that were previously reserved for military radar, to build new high speed 5G networks. This initiative is in response to wireless service providers, who say they need more airwaves to support growing demand for 5G signals. Sales of the 3450-3550 megahertz bands are scheduled to begin in December of 2021. According to Dana Deasy, chief information officer for the Department of Defense, the Pentagon will continue to use this bandwidth for military purposes. Read more at https://tinyurl.com/yy4k4nhb HMD gets $230 million funding from Google, Qualcomm and Nokia HMD Global, Nokia’s brand marketing agency, announced to have secured a $230 million investment from Google, Qualcomm, Nokia and other undisclosed investors. As stated by HMD Global, the funds will…
European telcos: We’re ready to “lift the continent out of this recession” The European Telecommunications Network Operators’ Association (ETNO) has released a joint statement calling on EU institutions and national governments to support 5G and fiber rollout, stimulate the uptake of technology, fight misinformation, and focus on digital skills and education. According to ETNO, a new approach is needed to ensure that spectrum auctions are timely and conditions for spectrum assignment support network deployment. Sharing agreements for Radio Access Network (RAN) should be supported and incentivized, as well as all fiber investment models should be adequately encouraged. Moreover, future EU initiatives should dramatically reduce roll-out costs for both mobile and fixed networks. Read more at https://tinyurl.com/yadrfxfg Microsoft’s new Teams features fight video conferencing fatigue Microsoft Team’s brand seeks to fight “Zoom fatigue” and exhaustion of physical isolation with its new updates and features. The news includes a shared background to make participants…
Salt Security raises $20 million to protect APIs with AI US-based Salt Security, a cybersecurity startup that helps companies protect APIs, has closed a USD 20 million Series A round. The company plans to use the new capital to renew its investments in product development and expand its sales and marketing teams. Salt’s platform aims to prevent cyber attacks with a combination of AI and machine learning techniques. It analyzes a copy of the traffic from web, software-as-a-service, mobile, microservice, and the Internet of Things (IoT) app APIs. Salt uses this process to understand each API and creates the basis for normal behavior tailored to customers and their applications. After that, Salt reveals anomalies that are identified as indicators of an attack during reconnaissance. Read more at https://tinyurl.com/y88n2l7r Lenovo delivers world’s first 5G laptop with Verizon, EE, Sunrise and CMCC Lenovo, one of the world’s leading personal technology companies producing innovative PCs and mobile…
Google rolls out BeyondCorp for secure remote network access without a VPN Google has launched BeyondCorp Remote Access, a new security service designed to provide remote access to internal systems without using a virtual private network (VPN). This new cloud-native security product is based on a “zero-trust approach” and is founded on a system that Google originally built for internal use almost a decade ago. Google said that when the number of remote connections suddenly increases, the VPN architecture may not be able to handle the load. BeyondCorp Remote Access includes a database of every device authorized to connect, a security certificate installed on that device, and integration with a human resources database containing information about usernames and group memberships. Read more at https://tinyurl.com/ya4hhtsk Zoom adds encryption as it passes 300 million daily users Zoom Video Communications has launched an update of its virtual meetings software, adding encryption and new…


