ZTE begins recovery, posts huge 1H loss

ZTE confirmed that it has resumed business operations following the lifting of the export ban of U.S. components and technology to the company imposed by the U.S. Department of Commerce. ZTE paid US$1.0 billion in civil monetary penalties to the U.S. and placed an additional US$0.4 billion in escrow as a suspended penalty. ZTE reported a preliminary loss of between RMB 7 billion (US$1.06 billion) to RMB 9 billion (US$1.345 billion) for the first...

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Microsoft Azure adds Virtual WAN and Firewall capabilities

Microsoft is introducing two new services that significantly increase the reach and security of its cloud service:  Azure Virtual WAN (wide-area network) and Azure Firewall. Azure Virtual WAN is a networking service providing optimized and automated branch to branch connectivity for connecting to and through Azure using a distributed connectivity model. It provides mechanisms to connect traditional customer routers on-premises as well as an...

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Facebook to open source eXecutable ARchives (XARs)

Facebook has decided to pursue an open source path for its eXecutable ARchives (XARs), which is a way to create self-contained executables. XARs, which are already being used at scale  at Facebook, are described as "a system for distributing self-contained executables that encapsulate both data and code dependencies." Facebook says XARs are the fastest way to distribute and execute large Python applications. https://code.fb.com/data-infr...

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Ericsson to divest its field services in Sweden

Ericsson will sell off its business providing field service operations and maintenance of fixed and mobile networks in Sweden. Under the deal, the Swedish company Transtema Group AB will Ericsson Local Services AB (LSS), a subsidiary of Ericsson. All operations and assets of LSS will be transferred to Transtema ownership. Financial terms were not disclosed, but Ericsson did say the transaction will make it a minority shareholder and represented...

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Spectrum auctions to top FCC's August meeting

The Federal Communications Commission's open meeting scheduled for Thursday, August 2, 2018, is expected to clear up key spectrum issues: On the agenda: Spectrum Frontiers Auction Procedures – setting the rules for auctioning Upper Microwave Flexible Use Licenses in the 28 GHz (Auction 101) and 24 GHz (Auction 102) bands. The auction of the 28 GHz band (Auction 101) would employ the FCC's standard simultaneous multiple round (SMR) auction format,...

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Compliance testing begins for Citizen’s Broadband Radio Service

The Wireless Innovation Forum (WInnForum) has approved the first six test labs for Citizen’s Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) device testing: Bureau Veritas Consumer Products Services (Hong Kong) Ltd., Taoyuan Branch, Mobile Communications DEKRA Certification, Inc. Nemko (multiple approved locations) Nokia Global Product Compliance Laboratory Sporton International Inc. TUV SUD Canada “WInnForum is excited to have approved the first six labs for...

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Fujitsu builds its role as global systems integrator for multicloud

Following on from its recent cloud partnerships announcements with Microsoft and VMware, Fujitsu announced new collaborations with SAP and Oracle. The offerings will include a new "SAP on Microsoft Azure from Fujitsu" managed service that leverages the Fujitsu end-to-end hybrid IT capabilities and global partnerships with both Microsoft and SAP. A separate global Managed Services Provider (MSP) agreement with Oracle enables Fujitsu to provide and...

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Oasis Labs plans cloud platform based on blockchain

Oasis Labs, a start-up based in Berkeley, California, is reported to have raised $45 million in a private token sale for its "privacy-first public cloud platform based on blockchain. The idea is to ensure that privacy is built into each layer of the stack, from the application all the way down to hardware.  The system promises codified and self-enforceable privacy protection without relying on any central party. Oasis Labs is headed by Dr....

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