Level 3 Partners with Digital Realty for Direct Connects to AWS, Microsoft Azure

Level 3 and Digital Realty, which owns 131 data centers in major cities worldwide, announced a partnership to deliver direct cloud services to co-location customers.  The initial rollout targets 14 markets in the U.S. and Europe and will include Amazon Web Services (AWS Direct Connect) and Microsoft Azure (ExpressRoute).

Digital Realty said a hybrid cloud environment offers its customers the ability to centralize IT management and also gain the flexibility to respond to changing business needs as a result of data and storage growth. For example, leveraging Level 3's virtual private network services, Digital Realty customers can dynamically scale their bandwidth and only pay for what they consume as demand for computing capacity spikes, say during the holiday shopping season. In a hybrid environment, transferring large data sets is expedited with greater bandwidth capacity, which also improves the performance of real-time voice and data feeds.

"This relationship with Level 3 enables us to facilitate connections for our clients to AWS or Azure globally with Level 3 Cloud Connect Solutions in a seamless and highly secure manner," said Digital Realty Interim CEO, Bill Stein. "As our clients' capacity and connectivity needs grow, it's our goal to facilitate their easy access to a broad range of solution providers. Our alliance with Level 3 and their growing cloud ecosystem play a key role in the breadth of support we can extend to our clients."

http://www.level3.com/en/products-and-services/cloud-and-it/cloud-services/

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Zayo to Acquire Neo Telecoms for Paris Fiber Network

Zayo agreed to acquire Neo Telecoms (Neo) for its fiber network in Paris.  Financial terms were not disclosed.

The acquisition adds 350 metro route miles in Paris and more than 500 on-net buildings to Zayo’s network. Neo also operates 9 colocation centers across France, offering more than 36,000 square feet of data center space. The Paris and regional network throughout France will be integrated into Zayo’s existing European network connecting London, Frankfurt and Amsterdam and the U.S.

Neo, which was founded in 2003, provides dark fiber, IP, Ethernet, wavelength and colocation services to high-bandwidth companies in continental Europe and serves more than 600 carrier and enterprise customers, primarily concentrated in the technology, media, telecom, and finance sectors.

“Neo has established a strong Bandwidth Infrastructure presence in France and we believe this acquisition will enable growth through our combined fiber footprint for end-to-end solutions,” said Dan Caruso, President and CEO of Zayo Group. “While we will bring a much expanded capability to the table, we also respect the importance of local relationships and expertise. The two principal founders of Neo, Didier Soucheyre and Florian du Boys, will stay with the combined companies and lead Zayo France, a new business unit focused on that market.”

http://www.zayo.com
http://www.neotelecoms.com/

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365 DataCenters: Co-location and Cloud Services for SMBs

365 DataCenters, which was previously known as 365 Main, announced a corporate rebranding as it focuses on colocation services for small and medium enterprises.  The company operates in sixteen markets across the U.S.

In this video interview, John Scanlon looks at the colocation opportunity with small to medium-sized businesses especially as they make the transition from on-premise infrastructure to hybrid cloud solutions. The company's goal is to make data centers more accessible to small customers by eliminating long-term commitments.


See video:  http://youtu.be/p_E1AhL4iRE

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CableWiFi Alliance Tops 250,000 WiFi Hotspots

The CableWiFi Alliance hit a significant milestone:  more than 250,000 hotspots are now available at no additional charge to qualified customers of participating companies including Cablevision, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications and Bright House Networks. Major areas of deployment include New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Orlando, Tampa, Kansas City, Austin, and Charlotte.

"In today's hyper-connected world, WiFi hotspots have become one of the most important and fastest growing technologies of the Internet era," said Michael Powell, National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) President & CEO. "With 250,000 WiFi hotspots now available to millions of cable broadband customers at no additional charge, the value and reach of cable's robust Internet service increases significantly. The cable industry is committed to providing American consumers with the best Internet experience and the growth of the CableWiFi Alliance is delivering on that promise."

http://www.comcast.com

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Infonetics: Small Cell Market to Hit $2.5 Billion in 2018

The small cell market saw significant growth in 2013 as the total number of small cell units shipped hit 642,000, a 143% spike from 2012, according to a new report from Infonetics Research.  Over half of these units are of the 3G variety, and Infonetics predicts that 4G metrocells will close the gap with 3G this year, becoming the main growth engine.

“As we anticipated, the great small cell ramp did not happen in 2013 as many in the industry had hoped. Testing activity remained solid, but actual deployments were modest. Small cell revenue was just $771 million last year, a sharp contrast to the $24 billion 2G/3G RAN market,” reports Stéphane Téral, principal analyst for mobile infrastructure and carrier economics at Infonetics Research.

Some additional highlights:

• As mobile operators have to approach a “critical mass” of data traffic before small cells even become a consideration, it is the developed countries (Japan, South Korea, the UK and US) that are driving early adoption
• Backhaul is no longer a major inhibitor to small cell deployment, but it will remain an issue for some mobile operators due to the locations in which they operate
• 5G is coming, fully loaded with small cells: NTT DOCOMO in Japan plans to have 5G commercially available in 2020, in time for the Tokyo Olympics.

http://www.infonetics.com

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Orange LTE Rollout Reaches 58% Population Coverage in France

As of the end of Q1 2014, Orange was serving over 239.4 million customer accesses across all of its global properties, up 4% from a year ago.  During Q1, Orange added 84,000 fixed line broadband customer in Spain and 31,000 in France. In terms of post-paid wireless customers, Orange added 114K in Poland, 86K in France and 73K in Spain.

Consolidated revenues were 9.804 billion euros, a 3.8% decrease on a comparable basis. Excluding the impact of regulatory measures, the decrease was 3.0%, an improvement of 0.8 percentage points compared to the 4th quarter 2013 figure, which primarily related to France and the Enterprise segment. In France, the revenue decline slowed to 4.9% after falling 6.2% in the 4th quarter of 2013 (+1.3 percentage points). The improvement was related to both fixed and mobile services.

“Orange’s first quarter 2014 performance was very satisfactory, aided in large part by the continued strong commercial momentum in our core countries. Orange benefits from the efficient segmentation of its offers as well as its investment in very high-speed broadband – fibre and 4G – which enable the Group to differentiate itself from the competition," stated Stéphane Richard, Chairman and CEO of the Orange Group.

Some other indicators:

• In France, the FTTH network added 47K customers.  The 4G network now cover 58% of the population with 5,400 LTE-enabled base stations.  A total of 1,180 4G sites were activated in Q1.  There are 1.4 million LTE subscribers.
• In Spain, the 4G network now has over 2,400 base stations enabled, covering 50% of the population.

http://www.orange.com/en/finance/nbsp2/investors-and-analysts/latest-consolidated-results

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Sprint's LTE Footprint Now Covers 225 Million POPs

Sprint's LTE network now covers more than 225 million people and remains on track to cover 250 million by mid-year.

The company also announced availability of Sprint Spark, its enhanced LTE service delivering peak wireless speeds of 60 Mbps on capable devices, in six new cities:  Newark, N.J.; Oakland, California; Orlando, Florida; Tacoma, Washington; Waukegan, Illinois; and West Palm Beach, Florida.

Sprint Spark is expected to cover 100 million people by year-end.

In its quarterly financial report report released on Tuesday, Sprint noted a loss of a net loss of 231,000 Sprint platform postpaid customers during the quarter largely due to expected elevated churn levels related to service disruption associated with the company’s ongoing network overhaul. Sprint platform prepaid net loss of 364,000 customers was primarily caused by changes in the Lifeline program recertification process that impacted its "Assurance Wireless" subscriber base. Sprint added 212,000 wholesale and affiliate customers during the quarter. At the end of the quarter, Sprint was serving a total of about 54 million subscribers.

 “In the quarter, operating revenue and Adjusted EBITDA* both grew year-over-year even as investments in our network improvements continued,” said Dan Hesse, Sprint CEO. “With the expected mid-year completion of the rip and replacement of our core 3G and voice network, the ongoing roll-out of Sprint SparkTM, and the evolution of Sprint FramilySM, we plan to build the best customer experience in the industry,” stated Dan Hesse, Sprint CEO.

http://www.sprint.com

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Apigee Raises $60 Million for Predictive Analytics

Apigee, a start-up based in San Jose, California, raised $60 million in venture financing for its API platform for enabling predictive analytics in digital interactions.

The company's Apigee Edge API platform helps enterprises to build mobile and digital initiatives using APIs, apps and data. Apigee Insights delivers big data predictive analytics. Apigee says that when used together, its APIs and predictive analytics can create an adaptive cycle of continuous improvement – and the faster an enterprise goes through this cycle, the faster it can innovate, adapt and accelerate its digital business.

Pine River Capital Management and Wellington Management Company participated as new investors in this round, along with current Apigee investors Norwest Venture Partners (NVP), Bay Partners, Third Point LLC, SAP Ventures, funds managed by BlackRock, Focus Ventures, and Accenture. With this financing, Apigee has raised $171 million to date.

Apigee will use the funds to accelerate across all areas of its business to keep up with demand for APIs and big data analytics, as enterprises increasingly embrace these technologies for digital business.

http://apigee.com/

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Nokia appoints Rajeev Suri as President and CEO

Following the completion of the sale of its Devices & Services business to Microsoft, Nokia unveiled its new corporate strategy and named Rajeev Suri as President and CEO.

Nokia's overall vision is to leverage its three strong businesses in networks, location and technologies to be a leader in technologies important in a connected world.

• Through its Networks business (formerly Nokia Solutions and Networks, or NSN), Nokia will invest in the innovative products and services needed by telecoms operators to manage the increase in wireless data traffic which is more than doubling every year.
  
• Through its HERE business, Nokia will invest to further develop its location cloud to make it the leading source of location intelligence and experiences across many different operating systems, platforms and screens. Three target areas: 1) technology for smart, connected cars; 2) cloud-based services for personal mobility and location intelligence, including for the growing segment of wearables and special purpose devices; and 3) location-based analytics for better business decisions.
  
• Through its Technologies business, Nokia will invest in the further development of its industry-leading innovation portfolio. This will include 1) expanding the company's intellectual property licensing program; 2) helping other companies and organizations benefit from breakthrough innovations through technology licensing; and 3) exploring new technologies for use in potential future products and services.

"As Nokia opens this new chapter, the Nokia Board and I are confident that Rajeev is the right person to lead the company forward," said Risto Siilasmaa, Chairman of the Nokia Board of Directors. "He has a proven ability to create strategic clarity, drive innovation and growth, ensure disciplined execution, and deliver results. We believe that his passion for technology will help ensure that Nokia continues to deliver innovations that have a positive impact on people's lives."

Suri joined Nokia in 1995 and has held a wide range of leadership positions in the company. Since October of 2009, he has served as CEO of NSN.  Risto Siilasmaa, who has also been serving as an interim CEO of Nokia, will return to focusing exclusively on his role as Chairman of Nokia's Board of Directors as of May 1, 2014.

Nokia also announced its dividend schedule for distributing capital from the Microsoft deal to its shareholders.

http://www.nokia.com

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Riverbed Posts 8% YoY Growth for Q1

Riverbed reported Q1 2014 revenue of $265 million, up 8% compared to the first quarter of 2013 (Q1’13). GAAP net income for Q1’14 was $3.3 million, or $0.02 per diluted share. This compares to a net loss of $8.1 million, or ($0.05) per diluted share, in Q1’13.

“Our first quarter results are a strong proof point supporting our strategy to bring value to our customers by optimizing the delivery of applications and data on a global scale and to deliver profitable returns to our shareholders,” said Jerry M. Kennelly, chairman and CEO. “Year-over-year revenue growth was led by WAN optimization and strength in enterprise and international sales. We are also very encouraged by our performance management business with increasing revenue from channel partners and significant growth in Europe.”

http://www.riverbed.com

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