Verizon tests optical sensing with NEC

Verizon conducted a proof-of-concept test to assess whether fiber optic cables laid in the ground can serve as distributed optical sensors to collect information on city traffic patterns, road conditions, road capacity, and vehicle classification information. The trial used new optical sensor technology developed by NEC with software underpinned by artificial intelligence (AI) for intelligent traffic monitoring including the measurement of vehicle...

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Vodafone kicks off OpenRAN trials

Vodafone Group has initiated trials of OpenRAN in the UK and may extend to more of its markets on the continent. Vodafone has also initiated OpenRAN trials in the DRC and Mozambique – which have largely rural communities and are near the bottom of the United Nations Human Development Index – to make mobile calls and to access data.  The trial sites across the three countries will provide 2G, 3G and 4G services, with 5G possible over OpenRAN...

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MEF and ONUG team up on Next Gen SD-WAN

MEF and ONUG are now collaborating to advance SD-WAN. Specifically, MEF will leverage ONUG’s hybrid multi-cloud enterprise end user requirements to accelerate development of MEF 3.0 SD-WAN managed services standards and related certification programs for services, technologies, and professionals. ONUG’s SD-WAN 2.0 Working Group is focused on addressing specific challenges in integrating SD-WAN connectivity into enterprise hybrid multi-cloud environments....

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Zain activates 5G on 2,000 towers across 20 Saudi cities

by James E. Carroll Zain Group activated commercial 5G services in Saudi Arabia. The first phase of the rollout covers a network of 2,000 towers in more than 20 cities in the Kingdom. Zain aims to cover a total of 26 Saudi cities utilizing 2,600 towers by the end of 2019. Zain describes the launch as the largest 5G network deployment in the region to date. The carrier already has 5G operational in Kuwait. Commenting on this significant milestone,...

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Seaborn partners with EdgeUno for managed cloud services

Seaborn Networks, the independent developer/owner/operator of submarine cable systems between the U.S. and Brazil, has partnered with EdgeUno to launch Latin American managed cloud and datacenter services. Seaborn launched IP and SD-WAN networks in Brazil in the past few months and, in partnership with EdgeUno as its managed cloud service provider. The two companies have deployed unique virtualized cloud infrastructure technology to provide clients...

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Deutsche Telekom boosts 734,000 lines to 250 Mbps

Over the last four weeks, Deutsche Telekom has been increasing connection speeds to up to 250 Mbps for 734,000 million lines across Germany. The number of lines with speeds of 250 Mbps has grown to its current total of nearly 25 million. Using other technologies, Deutsche Telekom has sped up lines of a further 24,000 households to up to 100 Mbps. The total number of households who can use a rate with up to 100 Mbps or more climbed on more than...

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du integrates Cisco Viptela SD-WAN

UAE-based du has integrated the Cisco Viptela SD-WAN platform into its telco cloud and will now offer SD-WAN service. du says that by structuring their network, applications, and cloud under a single management interface, clients can now experience an end-to-end unified cloud solution that provides complete application visibility and total control of their enterprise networks....

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