Cisco to acquire Broadsoft for collaboration software

Cisco agreed to acquire BroadSoft $55 per share, in cash, for an aggregate price of $1.9 billion. The companies said the deal is driven by the opportunities presented for business collaboration tools, especially integrated experiences across meetings, calling and contact centers, both on-premise and in the cloud. Broadsoft, which is based in Gaithersburg, Maryland, is a leading provider of unified communications (UC) software and services. It Broadsoft...

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T-Mobile U.S. revenues rise 7% as it adds subscribers

T-Mobile U.S. reported record service revenues of $7.6 billion, up 7% year-over-year, and net income of $550 million, up 50% yoy. The carrier is expected to lead its peers on both metrics. In a pre-recorded video statement, John Legere, President and CEO of T-Mobile, said "Just step back and look at these financial results - they’re incredible! Record service revenues, record free cash flow, record Q3 Adjusted EBITDA - and that’s on top of 18 quarters...

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ZTE wins 100G backbone project in India

ZTE has been awarded a 100G WDM Backbone Network Project and metro area network (MAN) construction contract with Idea Cellular, the third largest mobile operator in India with 189 million subscribers. ZTE’s optical transport key product, ZXONE 9700, obtained 95% market share in the MAN project. Financial terms were not disclosed. The ZXONE 9700 is an OTN device with ultra-large cross-connect capacity. It supports up to 64T cross-connect capacity...

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SK Telecom tests 802.11ax at 4.8 Gbps

SK Telecom has demonstrated a next gen wireless system based on IEEE 802.11ax operating at up to 4.8 Gbps at its Bundang Center lab in South Korea. The technology uses four antennas to transmit data and uses 160 MHz bandwidth, twice wider than the gigabit Wi-Fi service, and operates in the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz spectrums. It leverages OFDMA, Multi-user MIMO as well as the Dynamic Sensitivity Control (DSC) technology. Once the technology is commercially...

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GSMA calls for 5G spectrum reform in EU

It is essential that EU institutions reform Europe’s spectrum management if the region is to regain its leadership in mobile techonologies in the 5G era, according to an open letter to EU telecom ministers that was written by Mats Granryd, Director General, GSMA. Granryd expresses grave concerns "on the current state of discussions on the proposed European Electronic Communication Code (the Code)", arguing that the EU must put aside "long antiquated...

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SES provides satellite connectivity for Loon balloons over P.R.

SES Networks confirmed that it is providing high throughput and fibre-like satellite connectivity service to Project Loon, the stratospheric balloons that are aiming to deliver 4G/LTE connectivity in disaster-affected Puerto Rico. The connectivity is provided by SES Networks' O3b FastConnect, a rapidly deployable satellite terminal delivering fibre-like performance. SES said this effort could not have happened with traditional satellites and could...

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Microsoft to add 37 MW of wind power in Ireland

Microsoft has signed a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with GE to purchase 100% of the wind energy from a new, 37-megawatt Tullahennel wind farm in County Kerry, Ireland. The clean power will be used to support Microsoft cloud services from Ireland. Microsoft is also working with ElectroRoute, a Dublin-based subsidiary of Mitsubishi, that trades energy across nine European countrie...

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Zayo diversifies fibre routes from Marseille

Zayo will diversify its fibre infrastucture in the south of France and will offer three fully diverse network routes out of Marseille. Marseille serves as a strategic gateway and key aggregation point between Europe, Africa and Asia as well as connectivity for subsea cables AAE-1, SEA-ME-WE-5 and several others. The first route, a low-latency route via Lyon that is fully operational and was announced last year, is available for both dark fiber...

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