Sprint charts journey to NFV Openstack Cloud

Sprint announced several milestones for its nationwide Network Function Virtualization OpenStack cloud deployment. In a blog post, Günther Ottendorfer, Sprint's Chief Operating Officer, Technology, described a multi-pronged approach to address both the operational and the technological components of NFV, including the deployment of a common infrastructure in more than 30 data centers around the network. This deployment, started two years ago, coincides...

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Sprint selects Metaswitch to accelerate mobile innovation

Metaswitch confirmed that Sprint is deploying its products and technologies to enable the accelerated development and deployment of advanced mobile communication services for businesses and consumers. Metaswitch said its cloud technology portfolio provides an extremely agile and cost-efficient innovation platform for LTE and 5G networks, extending beyond person-to-person communications and into the real time connectivity and control of the Internet...

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Ericsson broadens 5G with massive MIMO radio

Ericsson expanded its 5G portfolio, which comprises the 5G core, radio and transport platforms, together with OSS, BSS, network services and security. The broadened portfolio now includes a new radio product, AIR 3246, for Massive Multiple Input Multiple Output (Massive MIMO), which is a complement to Ericsson’s global 5G radio offering. AIR 3246 supports both 4G/LTE and 5G NR (New Radio) technologies. It is Ericsson’s first 5G NR radio for frequency...

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SoftBank tests 5G in 4.5GHz band with Ericsson

SoftBank is working with Ericsson to conduct an end-to-end trial of 5G in the 4.5GHz band in the urban areas of Japan. Ericsson said this will be the first end-to-end 5G trial including two 5G New Radios, virtual RAN, virtual EPC, beamforming, Massive MIMO functionalities and test support services. SoftBank is currently awaiting an experimental license to conduct the trial. The companies have been conducting 5G lab trials using 4.5GHz spectrum...

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OIF Updates Micro Intradyne Coherent Receiver IA for 400G

Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF) announced updates to its Micro Intradyne Coherent Receiver implementation agreement. The IA introduces three classes of receivers, distinguished by their RF frequency response, to support Flex Coherent DWDM transmission to 400G and beyond. The OIF said it continues its efforts to look beyond 100G by selecting a 400G implementation technology option. The newly published Flex Coherent DWDM Transmission framework...

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MTN South Africa looks to Cat-M1 for IoT

MTN South Africa has completed lab trials of Cat-M1 in support of its Internet of Things (IoT) ambitions. The Cat-M1 trial uses IoT devices integrated with a Qualcomm MDM9206 global multimode LTE IoT modem and the Ericsson Massive IoT Radio Access Network product. Giovanni Chiarelli, CTIO, MTN South Africa, says: “Cat-M1 provides key advantages of low-cost devices, long battery life, extended coverage and supports a wide range of use cases. The...

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New spectrum will shake up the mobile market

We will be hearing a lot about extending 4G LTE into new spectrum bands in the coming year even as 5G trials and pre-standard commercial deployments get underway in 2018. Repurposing the 600 MHz band. In August 2016, T-Mobile US lit up the first base stations using its newly acquired 600 MHz spectrum become the first mobile operator worldwide to activate commercial LTE service using this frequency band. A second 600 MHz location was activated in...

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Anuta Supports Remote Deployment of Tata Communications’ IZO SDWAN

Anuta Networks announced that its NCX orchestrator has been successfully deployed by the global managed services provider Tata Communications for automating the roll-out of the company’s IZO SDWAN offering across 130 countries. NCX delivers configuration and policy management for multi-vendor network devices using extensible device and service models. For Tata Communications’ IZO SDWAN, NCX automates Cisco Integrated Services Routers, Cisco Aggregation...

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HPE announces intent to acquire Cloud Technology Partners

HPE agreed to acquire Cloud Technology Partners (CTP), a consulting company that helps enterprises migrate to hybrid IT capabilities. Financial terms were not disclosed. CTP is cloud agnostic, with extensive experience on multiple platforms, such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google and OpenStack. Cloud Technology Partners (CTP) describes itself as a born-in-the-cloud services with the following expertise: Move to the cloud – CTP...

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China Unicom's US$11.7 billion strategic investment brings advantages

China United Network Communications Group (China Unicom or 中国联通), the fourth largest mobile operator with over 270 million subscribers, recently closed a deal that will bring in US$11.68 billion in cash from top Chinese tech companies. Under the deal, the Shanghai-based holding company of China Unicom, will sell a 35.2% stake worth RMB 78 billion to 14 strategic investors, including the following. The deal is backed by the Chinese government, which...

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