AT&T and Orange Reach SDN + NFV Agreement

AT&T and Orange agreed to collaborate on open source and standardization initiatives that will accelerate the standardization of software-defined networking (SDN) and network function virtualization (NFV). Specifically, the two companies agreed to collaborate in the following areas: Make customer premises equipment (CPE) and services truly universal by creating common specifications for premise-based devices, allowing them to work in different...

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Google Activates Oregon Cloud Data Center

Google announced the activation of its Oregon Cloud Region (us-west1) data center.  The region initially includes three offerings: Google Compute Engine, Google Cloud Storage and Google Container Engine, and features two Compute Engine zones to support high availability applications. The company said initial testing shows that users in cities such as Vancouver, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco and Los Angeles can expect to see a 30-80% reduction...

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Verizon Launches NG-PON2 Lab Tests

Verizon is set to begin testing NG-PON2 (next generation passive optical network) equipment at its Innovation Lab in Waltham, Mass. Starting this month, Verizon will begin initial testing with equipment from Ericsson (in partnership with Calix) and ADTRAN. Testing will focus on several features of NG-PON2, including tuning performance, ability to carry residential and business services on the same platform, and interoperability and conformance testing...

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Intel's Data Center Revenues up 5% YoY

Intel reported second-quarter GAAP revenue of $13.5 billion (up 3% YoY), operating income of $1.3 billion, net income of $1.3 billion and EPS of 27 cents. “Second-quarter revenue matched our outlook and profitability was better than we expected," said Brian Krzanich, Intel CEO. "In addition, our restructuring initiative to accelerate Intel’s transformation is solidly on-track. We're gaining momentum heading into the second half. While we remain...

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Qualcomm Posts Revenues of $6 Billion, up 4% YoY

Qualcomm reported revenue of $6.0 billion for its fiscal third quarter ended June 26, 2016, up 4% YoY and up 9% sequentially. Net income (GAAP) was $1.4 billion, up 22% YoY. EPS came in at $0.97. “We delivered strong results this quarter, with EPS well ahead of our guidance based on meaningful progress with licensees in China,” said Steve Mollenkopf, CEO of Qualcomm Incorporated. “Our chipset business is also benefiting from a strong new product...

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Why did SoftBank offer £24.3 billion (US$32.4 billion) in cash to acquire ARM Holdings? - Part 2

 In part 1 of this article we considered some of the given reasons for the ARM bid and whether the new ownership would be positive, neutral or negative for ARM given Softbank’s record at Sprint.  Here we look at recent M&A activity in semiconductors and consider some salient points concerning SoftBank’s charismatic Chairman Masoyoshi Son. For comparison - A String of Recent Mergers for Semiconductor Companies SoftBank's acquisition...

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Verizon Lands GSA Networx Contract Extensions

The U.S. General Services Administration awarded extensions to Verizon for contracts held by the company under the agency’s Networx program, which U.S. federal agencies can use to procure network and communications services from Verizon until the government transitions to a new, comprehensive solution-based contract, Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions, or EIS. The Networx contract extensions feature a one-year base period and two one-year options....

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Etisalat Deploys Affirmed for Mobile Core

Etisalat has successfully on-boarded its first virtualised telecom function using Affirmed Networks' virtualised Evolved Packet Core (vEPC) solution. UAE-based Etisalat made its first live LTE data and voice calls on its NFV telco cloud platform in April this year. The vEPC will be used to deliver broadband and voice services for both mobile and fixed users, in addition to providing advanced connected car and Machine-to-Machine (M2M) services....

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F5 hits Revenue of $497 Million, up 3%

F5 Networks reported revenue of $496.5 million, up 3 percent from $483.7 million in the prior quarter and 3 percent from $483.6 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2015. “During the third quarter, F5 delivered solid revenue growth and strong earnings despite a relatively challenging spending environment,” said John McAdam, F5 President and Chief Executive Officer. “The Americas and Asia Pacific both contributed strong sequential revenue growth,...

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F5 Names Ben Gibson as Chief Marketing Officer

F5 Networks named Ben Gibson as its new Chief Marketing Officer and Executive Vice President, reporting to the CEO. Gibson most recently was Chief Marketing Officer at Veritas, where he led a global team of marketing professionals and spearheaded that company’s rebranding efforts following a spin-off from Symantec. Prior to Veritas, Gibson spent five years as Chief Marketing Officer at Aruba Networks. Before joining Aruba, Gibson spent five years...

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Riverbed Expands R&D in Bangalore

Riverbed Technology opened a new global Research and Development facility in Bangalore, India. The new center will be the largest Riverbed R&D facility outside the U.S.. The company said it intends to expand its engineering team in the region three-fold over the next several years. The Riverbed India R&D Center will be led by Kartik Subbanna, Vice President of Engineering, reporting to US-based Vineet Abraham, Riverbed’s Senior Vice President...

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