AWS hits sales of $10.219 billion, up 33% yoy

Amazon Web Services (AWS) generated Q1 sales of $10.219 billion, up 33% from a year ago. Operating income was $3.075 billion, up 38% YoY.

Trailing 12 months (TTM) revenue was $37.5 billion.

AWS now represents 13% of Amazon.com overall business.

During the quarter, the company opened AWS Europe (Milan) and AWS Africa (Cape Town) Regions.

AWS now spans 76 Availability Zones within 24 geographic regions, with announced plans for nine more Availability Zones and three more AWS Regions in Indonesia, Japan, and Spain.

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Comcast sees 33% rise in upstream traffic

Comcast reported revenue of $26.6 billion for the first quarter of 2020, a decrease of 0.9%. Adjusted EBITDA decreased 4.9% to $8.1 billion. Earnings per Share (EPS) for the first quarter of 2020 was $0.46, a decrease of 40.3% compared to the first quarter of 2019. Adjusted EPS decreased 6.6% to $0.71.

For the company's Cable Communications division, it was the best first quarter on record for total customer relationships, with an increase of 371,000. Total high-speed Internet customer net additions were 477,000 (Not Including 32,000 Free Internet Essentials Customers), representing Comcast's best quarterly result in 12 years. Total video customer net losses were 409,000 and total voice customer net losses were 89,000. In addition, Cable Communications added 216,000 wireless lines in the quarter.

Since March 1, Cable Communications has seen a 33% increase in upstream traffic and a 40% increase in wireless data usage over WiFi.

"Now more than ever the world needs to stay connected, and we’re extremely pleased that our investments in our network continue to pay off as we are handling significant increases in traffic and meeting our customers’ needs. While parts of our business have been more impacted by COVID-19 than others, we have continued to innovate. We are distributing our content in new ways, as evidenced by the recent launch of Peacock on X1 and Flex," commented Brian L. Roberts, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Comcast Corporation.

• Capital Expenditures decreased 10.1% to $1.9 billion in the first quarter of 2020. 
• Cable Communications’ capital expenditures decreased 6.9% to $1.3 billion in the first quarter of 2020. 
• NBCUniversal’s capital expenditures decreased 16.7% to $377 million. Sky's capital expenditures decreased 24.1% to $197 million.

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CoreSite signed 112 new and expansion leases in Q1, avg $214 per sqr foot

CoreSite Realty reported Q1 revenues of $147.4 million, an increase of 6.1% year over year and 0.9% sequentially. Net income was $0.48 per common diluted share, a decrease of $0.06 year over year and $0.03 sequentially.

Key metrics

• Commenced 112 new and expansion leases for 45,322 net rentable square feet (“NRSF”), representing $9.7 million of annualized GAAP rent, for an average rate of $214 per square foot
• Signed 117 new and expansion leases for 59,354 NRSF and $12.0 million of annualized GAAP rent, for an average rate of $202 per square foot
• Renewed 280 leases for 120,943 NRSF and $17.3 million of annualized GAAP rent, for an average rate of $143 per square foot, reflecting an increase of 1.4% in cash rent and 7.2% in GAAP rent, and 3.3% churn
• Placed into service approximately 35,000 square feet at NY2, a data center expansion in New Jersey
• Pre-leased approximately 11% of SV8, Phase 3, a data center expansion in Santa Clara

“We delivered strong sales, placed into service new data center capacity, advanced our two major ground-up developments and other capacity projects, while continuing to deliver exceptional customer service,” said Paul Szurek, CoreSite’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “Our preparations over the years and agile responses enabled us to safely maintain operations in a challenging pandemic environment while continuing to support customer success. We turned up services quickly, solved for rapidly emerging customer needs, demonstrated the value and effectiveness of our remote capabilities for customers, and continued to meet their mission critical needs.

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Kaloom’s Cloud Edge Fabric integrates with Red Hat OpenShift for unified edge

Kaloom is collaborating with Red Hat to provide a unified solution for distributed edge computing.

The solution integrates Red Hat OpenShift and Red Hat Enterprise Linux with Kaloom’s Cloud Edge Fabric, which supports sophisticated services chaining to improve overall networking efficiency. Hybrid 4G and 5G infrastructures can be supported with cloud native network function (CNF) fabric architecture

“We are excited to announce our jointly developed solution with Red Hat which solidifies the Kaloom Cloud Edge Fabric for edge data centers based on open networking principles with Red Hat OpenShift as the basis of a unified solution for network, compute and storage,” said Suresh Krishnan, Chief Technology Officer at Kaloom.

“We are pleased to work with Kaloom to announce a solution designed to deliver production-ready Linux containers and Kubernetes to service providers with Red Hat OpenShift, specifically for edge computing. Our extended collaboration in open source communities shows our shared commitment in moving networking capabilities in cloud native technologies towards an automated, unified approach based on open standards,” said Chris Wright, Chief Technology Officer at Red Hat.

“Edgecore is pleased to collaborate with Kaloom and Red Hat in support of their innovative Cloud Edge Fabric integrated with Red Hat OpenShift. The combined solution running on our open network switches deliver the performance and flexibility required to support complex next generation networks,” said Loren Staley, Chief Technology Officer at Edgecore Networks.

“We see tremendous value in collaborating with Kaloom and Red Hat, as we work together to reduce operational challenges associated with the deployment of edge computing at scale. Our fully integrated, optimized, deployment and management solution, called Lenovo Open Cloud Automation, enables our joint customers to accelerate the implementation of infrastructure, including compute, storage, networking, firmware and software, from days to hours, resulting in up to 5x improvement in deployment times,” said Charles Ferland, Vice President and General Manager, Networking and Communication Service Providers at Lenovo.

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Keysight validates O-RAN compliant radio units

Keysight Technologies introduced O-RAN distributed unit (O-DU) emulation software for validating O-RAN compliant radio units (O-RUs).

Keysight’s Open RAN Studio software combines visibility, validation and performance test capabilities across radio frequency (RF) and protocol measurement domains, to accelerate development and integration of O-RAN compliant equipment.

Keysight said its early engagement as the editor of the O-RAN fronthaul interface conformance test specification in the O-RAN Alliance is helping to speed development of conformance validation and verify interoperability between O-RUs and O-DUs. O-RAN members also benefit from Keysight’s unique cross-domain test and measurement expertise, in both digital and radio frequency (RF). When combined, Keysight’s Open RAN Studio and signal sources and analyzers create a complete test environment, including 5G new radio (NR) modulation analysis.

“Keysight’s Open RAN Studio enables a vibrant network infrastructure ecosystem to unlock the full potential of an open RAN architecture,” said Giampaolo Tardioli, vice president of Keysight and general manager of Keysight’s Network Access Group. “Our test suite for end-to-end performance verification of any 5G network element – from the physical layer to the application layer – accelerates the delivery of innovative connectivity services for both consumers and vertical industries.”

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Nokia's Q1 sales dip 3%, COVID-19 impact seen easing is 2H2020

Nokia reported Q1 2020 sales of EUR 4.913 billion, down 3% (constant currency) from EUR 5.032 billion a year ago. Net loss amounted to EUR 100 million, compared to EUR 442 million a year ago.

Some highlights:

• 5G deal momentum continues, with 70 commercial deals and 21 live networks
• Strong growth in Nokia Software and Nokia Enterprise
• Majority of COVID-19 impact expected in Q2; continue to expect a seasonally strong second half
• 5G Win Rate (measurement of converting end-of-2018 4G footprint into 5G, factoring in customer size, as well as new 5G footprint where Nokia did not previously have a 4G installed base) was over 100% outside of China and in the mid 90% range including China.

Rajeev Suri, President and CEO, Nokia:

"As I noted last quarter, we continue to have a sharp focus on Mobile Access and cash generation and saw good progress in both areas in the first quarter. “5G powered by ReefShark” shipments continue to increase and product cost reductions are proceeding well. We also announced some leading new solutions in the quarter, including a unique approach to dynamic spectrum sharing that is in test mode with select major customers today, and is expected to be available in volume over the summer, in line with the availability of DSS-capable mobile devices. On the services side, ongoing execution improvements drove improved year-on-year profitability. We also enhanced our total cash position to €6.3 billion, while net cash showed an expected seasonal decline to €1.3 billion."

"These improvements are, of course, coming at a time of unprecedented change, given the impact of COVID-19. Our top focus areas are protecting our employees, maintaining critical network infrastructure for customers, and ensuring we have a strong cash position. In Q1, we saw a top line impact from COVID-19 issues of approximately €200 million, largely the result of supply issues associated with disruptions in China."

https://www.nokia.com/system/files/2020-04/nokia_slides_2020_q1.pdf

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Crown Castle's Q1 site rental revenues grew 5.5% yoy

Crown Castle's mobile tower site rental revenues grew approximately 5.5% to $1.310 billion, from first quarter 2019 to first quarter 2020. There was a net loss of $185 million, down 4% from a year earlier.

Capital expenditures during the quarter were $447 million, comprised of $13 million of discretionary land purchases, $21 million of sustaining capital expenditures and $413 million of discretionary capital expenditures. The discretionary capital expenditures included approximately $319 million attributable to Fiber and approximately $87 million attributable to Towers.

Jay Brown, Crown Castle’s Chief Executive Officer: "We believe our ability to offer towers, small cells and fiber solutions, which are all integral components of communications networks and are shared among multiple tenants, provides us the best opportunity to generate significant growth while delivering high returns for our shareholders. We believe that the U.S. represents the best market in the world for communications infrastructure ownership, and we are pursuing that compelling opportunity with our comprehensive offering. As we look forward to what will likely be another decade-long investment cycle for our customers with the deployment of 5G, I am excited about the opportunity we see for Crown Castle to deliver long-term value to our shareholders."

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NeoPhotonics posts Q1 sales of $97.4 million

NeoPhotonics reported Q1 2020 revenue of $97.4 million, down 6% quarter-over-quarter and up 23% year-over-year. Gross margin was 30.5%, up from 30.2% in the prior quarter and from 19.8% in the prior year. Diluted net income per share was $0.12, in comparison to a net income per share of $0.04 in the prior quarter and to a net loss per share of $0.30 in the same period last year. Non-GAAP diluted net income per share was $0.17, up from $0.10 in the prior quarter and up from a net loss of $0.19 in the same period last year

“We are pleased to deliver another profitable quarter, notably through our seasonally low first quarter, in spite of supply chain risks related to the pandemic,” said Tim Jenks, Chairman and CEO of NeoPhotonics. “As we look forward, the industry continues to move in our direction with higher and higher speed over distance requirements, which are satisfied by our ultra-narrow linewidth lasers, high baud rate coherent components and our Coherent pluggable DCO modules utilizing these leading optical components. Needless to say, we are optimistic about our future,” concluded Mr. Jenks.

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ZTE and Qualcomm complete Voice Over NR Call in the 700 MHz band

ZTE and Qualcomm achieved the first 5G-enabled Voice over New Radio (5G VoNR) call over the 700 MHz band.

The call was performed in compliance with 3GPP Release 15 specifications over the 700 MHz spectrum band (n28) by utilizing ZTE’s 5G NR base station and a 5G smartphone form factor test device powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon™ 5G Modem-RF System. The test validated the full functionality and high quality of the end-to-end VoNR services.

To fully support the commercial rollouts of 700 MHz in China, ZTE has stepped up its research and development efforts related to the 700 MHz band, and introduced a full range of end-to-end products, while working in tandem with Qualcomm Technologies in device development and interoperability tests of 700 MHz services to meet early demand for its commercialization in China.

“We at Qualcomm Technologies have achieved a series of milestones with industry leaders to support the progression of 5G, and this collaboration with ZTE showcases the Snapdragon 5G Modem-RF System’s leadership in supporting all key 5G spectrum bands as specified by 3GPP, a landmark in the evolution of 5G,” said Durga Malladi, senior vice president and general manager, 4G/5G, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. “The success of VoNR over 700MHz shows how we can enable global OEMs and operators to deliver high-quality voice services without having to rely on VoLTE (Voice over LTE) or an LTE anchor, unlocking 5G’s ability to power worldwide connectivity capabilities.”

“We have been working closely with Qualcomm Technologies to drive the technical verification and commercialization in the development of 5G for a long term,” said Bai Yanmin, vice president and general manager of RAN products, ZTE. “ZTE has always maintained an industry-leading position in 5G networking solution. “The success of the 5G VoNR call over the 700MHz band has removed a key barrier to its full-scale commercialization and thus strongly supports the construction of 5G 700 MHz SA networks and helps offer more comprehensive 5G capabilities to more service providers, enterprise users and consumers.”

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Keep Americans Connected Pledge extended through June 30

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai announced an extension of the Keep Americans Connected Pledge through June 30.

The Keep Americans Connected Pledge includes:

• not terminate service to any residential or small business customers because of their inability to pay their bills due to the disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic;
• waive any late fees that any residential or small business customers incur because of their economic circumstances related to the coronavirus pandemic; and
• open its Wi-Fi hotspots to any American who needs them.

“Hundreds of providers have stepped up to the plate to keep Americans connected to communications services in this time of need,” said Chairman Pai. “This includes the largest and some of the smallest providers across the country. I salute them for making broadband available to Americans who increasingly rely on it for work, school, healthcare, and communicating with loved ones. And given our nation’s current situation, I’m urging these companies to extend these important offerings—uninterrupted service, waiving of late fees, and continued availability of Wi-Fi hotspots—until June 30. Companies representing the vast majority of broadband and telephone subscriptions have already agreed to this extension. I thank them for stepping up to the plate once again during this national emergency, and I encourage others to do so as well.”

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OIF publishes 400ZR implementation agreeement

OIF published the Implementation Agreement (IA) for a low-cost, 400ZR coherent optical interface.

OIF launched the 400ZR project in response to requests from large-scale data center operators and their suppliers for an interoperable coherent interface that transports 400 Gigabit Ethernet over longer distances. Traditional network operators also became interested in 400ZR for their metro needs. Based on their different requirements, OIF developed specs and tweaked the channel requirements so the IA would benefit both data center and network operators. While developing the IA, OIF collaborated closely with other standards bodies.

The 400ZR IA addresses two applications:

• Amplified, point-to-point DWDM links with reaches of 120 km or less
• Unamplified, single wavelength links with a loss budget of 11dB

The IA aims to enable interoperable, cost-effective, 400Gbps implementations based on single-carrier coherent DP-16QAM modulation, low-power DSPs supporting absolute (Non-Differential) phase encoding/decoding, and a Concatenated FEC (C-FEC) with a post-FEC error floor <1 .0e-15.="" 400gbase-r="" 400zr="" a="" as="" operates="" p="" phy.="">

No restriction on the physical form factor is implied by the IA (QSFP-DD, OSFP, COBO, CFP2, CFP8), but the specifications target a pluggable DCO architecture with port densities equivalent to grey client optics.

“As a member driven organization, OIF’s work toward the 400ZR IA was the combination of significant interest from network operator members and component supplier members responding to that demand,” said Karl Gass, OIF Physical and Link Layer (PLL) Working Group – Optical Vice Chair. “The 400ZR IA is the culmination of this significant effort by OIF member companies and is critical for managing cost and driving interoperability for the industry.”

“400ZR is a key enabler of Microsoft’s regional architecture for the 400G generation,” said Mark Filer, Principal Optical Engineer in Microsoft Azure. “The creation of a multi-vendor, interoperable coherent interface to meet these needs would not have been possible without the extensive work and cooperation of OIF members and leadership.”

“The 400ZR IA is an example of OIF’s ability to quickly and effectively mobilize opinion and to bring interoperability to a rapidly evolving world,” said Andrew Schmitt, Directing Analyst at Cignal AI. “The 400ZR specification is the organization’s first step to establish broader interoperability among coherent transport interfaces.”

http://www.oiforum.com

II-VI launches pluggable Optical Line Subsystem for 400ZR

Tuesday, March 10, 2020  400ZR, Finisar, II-VI  

II‐VI introduced a pluggable optical line subsystem (POLS) platform to enable the 400ZR coherent transceivesr ecosystem for next-generation datacenter interconnects (DCIs). II-VI’s initial product from the POLS platform is the OSFP-LS, designed in the very compact OSFP form factor, that plugs directly into a datacenter interconnect (DCI) switch port and enables full-duplex multi-channel 400ZR transport, including multiplexing, demultiplexing, and...

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Acacia samples 400ZR, OpenZR+, Open ROADM MSA

Thursday, March 05, 2020  400G, 400ZR, Acacia, Silicon Photonics  

Acacia Communications has begun sampling multiple variants in its family of 400G pluggable optical transceiver modules, including 400ZR, OpenZR+, and Open ROADM MSA. Volume production is expected in the second half of 2020. Acacia’s 400G pluggable module family features an expansive list of interoperability solutions in QSFP-DD, OSFP and CFP2-DCO pluggable form factors for cloud data center interconnects (DCIs) and service provider networks. The...

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OIF's Coherent Common Management Interface Spec supports 400ZR

Tuesday, March 03, 2020  OIF, Standards  

OIF has completed the Coherent Common Management Interface Specification (C-CMIS) Implementation Agreement (IA), which serves as an extension to the CMIS (QSFP-DD/OSFP/COBO) management specification, specifically targeting DCO modules. “The C-CMIS IA is an important part of the developing 400ZR ecosystem,” said Ian Betty, Ciena and OIF Board Member. “It defines additional management registers, and monitors, together with new functionality, mechanisms,...

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NeoPhotonics samples 400ZR OSFP coherent transceiver

Monday, January 13, 2020  400G, Neophotonics  

NeoPhotonics began sampling its new 400ZR ClearLight OSFP transceiver to a leading cloud -related customer. The new transceiver utilizes NeoPhotonics Silicon Photonics Coherent Optical Subassembly (COSA) and low power consumption, ultra-narrow linewidth Nano-ITLA tunable laser, combined with the latest generation of 7 nm DSP, to provide full 400ZR transmission in a standard data center OSFP form factor. NeoPhotonics said its new 400ZR ClearLight...

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Inphi samples first 400ZR QSFP-DD transceiver

Thursday, December 19, 2019  400G, Inphi  

Inphi has begun sampling its COLORZ II 400ZR QSFP-DD pluggable coherent transceiver for cloud data center interconnects (DCIs) to major cloud operators and OEMs. Inphi cites several industry firsts for its COLORZ II 400ZR QSFP-DD: 400G single-chip, coherent Silicon Photonics Integrated Circuit (PIC) that includes all transmit and receive functions  Innovative, low cost, passive alignment of fiber to the PIC that eliminates the complicated...

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Deutsche Telekom selects ADTRAN's OLT for Access 4.0 network

Deutsche Telekom has selected ADTRAN’s SDX OLT solutions for deployment as part of its new Access 4.0 network, as well as to be deployed in its existing architectures along with ADTRAN’s SDN-enabled management system, Mosaic Cloud Platform.

As part of this partnership, Deutsche Telekom and ADTRAN have aligned joint developments for the Access 4.0 project, based on principles defined by the Open Networking Foundation’s SDN-Enabled Broadband Access (SEBA) reference architecture.

DT's Access 4.0 network is integrating SDN, disaggregated hardware components and network functions virtualization (NFV) technologies in an open ecosystem to gain flexibility while lowering overall deployment costs. In the first phase, Access 4.0 will focus on DT’s fiber access network that can scale to support a mix of residential, enterprise and backhaul services.

ADTRAN’s SDX OLT solutions integrate into Access 4.0’s SEBA-based architecture to provide carrier-grade GPON and XGS-PON service delivery in an open ecosystem.

“The Access 4.0 program constitutes a true paradigm shift, not only in terms of technology, but also ecosystem, collaboration and agility, through its ability to break vendor lock-in and reduce time-to-market,” said Robert Soukup, Deutsche Telekom Senior Program Manager. “A key to our success will be ADTRAN’s domain experience, their history of working with DT on its large-scale access initiatives and their commitment to delivering an open, scalable and disaggregated solution.”

“DT’s Access 4.0 network is changing the way access networks and services will be designed, developed and deployed for the next several decades,” said Dr. Eduard Scheiterer, ADTRAN Senior Vice President, Research and Development. “ADTRAN shares DT’s vision for creating more advanced fiber access architectures that provide the network economies of data centers and the service agility of cloud providers. We believe this is how networks should be built and look forward to helping DT achieve its network and market goals today, as well as support future planned network expansion.”

https://www.adtran.com/sd-access

ADTRAN adds ONTs to 10G PON Portfolio

Tuesday, August 13, 2019  ADTRAN  

ADTRAN introduced its new 600-Series of 10G PON ONTs, which serve all business and residential broadband applications. The line-up now includes the: SDX 602x 10G SME ONU Delivers high-bandwidth SLA-based, enterprise-grade services by integrating Carrier Ethernet network interface device functionality. The SDX 620s & 640s XGS-PON and 10G EPON SFP+ ONUs Simplifies service delivery and enables flexible WAN technology options for SFP-based...

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ONF publishes SEBA, Trellis and ODTN reference designs

Thursday, April 04, 2019  ONF  

The Open Networking Foundation (ONF) released its first three Reference Designs (RD’s): SEBA, Trellis and ODTN. Each of these reference designs are backed by network operators and supported by supply chain partners. The reference designs are paired with an open source Exemplar Platform (EP).  Both the RD and EP proceed in parallel, and RDs are not released unless a paired EP is available to prove out the architecture and accelerate adoption.  Virtualized...

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Deutsche Telekom's Access 4.0 rethinks broadband access

Sunday, December 09, 2018  Deutsche Telekom, ONF  

Deutsche Telekom's Access 4.0 program rethinks broadband access in the context of the ONF's SEBA project, edge clouds, and FTTH/B. Presented by Robert Soukup, Program Manager. The project aims to lower OPEX by reaping the benefits of automation, breaking vendor lock-in, and accelerating time to market. 2019 will be decisive for Access 4.0, as the company plans limited field trials. https://youtu.be/9HpWuPg_...

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Vodafone tests Metaswitch's 5G convergence Access Gateway Function

Vodafone has successfully tested Metaswitch's Access Gateway Function (AGF) solution - the industry’s first implementation of the 5G Wireless Wireline Convergence (WWC) AGF standard.

Metaswitch said its Access Gateway Function (AGF), which is part of its 5G Fusion Core, is a true cloud-native solution in which all functional elements, including User Plane Function (UPF) and Access Gateway Function (AGF), are deployed in containers and orchestrated by Kubernetes to ensure strong performance and network deployment flexibility for service providers.

5G Wireless Wireline Convergence offers a path to a fully converged broadband access network that serves both wireline and mobile subscribers from a single technology stack. This facilitates the use of common credentials, authentication and a unified approach to applying network policy.  When fully implemented, WWC seamlessly integrates fixed and wireless services, simplifying service provider offerings, reducing the overall complexity of subscriber and service management, and promoting always-on services through converged connectivity.

The Metaswitch Fusion Core 5G WWC solution includes an Access Gateway Function built to align with the new Broadband Forum TR-456 specification, in addition to other 5G packet core functions including the world’s highest-performance software UPF. The Fusion Core UPF and AGF are both powered by Metaswitch’s Composable Network Application Processor (CNAP) software packet processing technology, which in recent tests conducted with Intel demonstrated 500 Gbps UPF throughput on a single two-socket industry-standard server.

The trial system was deployed remotely at Vodafone Labs in the UK, taking advantage of the automation capabilities of Kubernetes and Helm, and has successfully demonstrated the attachment of standard fixed network residential gateways (FN-RG) to the 5G packet core, with mapping between wireline broadband and 5G authentication, authorization and session establishment procedures performed in the AGF.

“We have been very active in supporting the Wireless Wireline Convergence activity in the Broadband Forum,” said Gavin Young, Head of Fixed Access Centre of Excellence at Vodafone Group, “and we are proud to be hosting the world’s first operator test of this technology. Working with Metaswitch, we have been able to prove that the technology works in practice, and we have been very impressed both by the performance of the AGF in Metaswitch’s 5G Fusion Core solution and its cloud native architecture. This trial more than justifies our faith in the value and the practicality of broadband convergence.”

https://www.metaswitch.com/vodafone-5g-wwc-agf-test

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TI Sparkle activates POP in Casablanca

Sparkle has activated a new Point of Presence (PoP) in Casablanca, Morocco.

The new POP is located at the Orange Maroc open data center.

With this new opening, Sparkle offers to Italian and European multinationals Ethernet and virtual private IP-VPN networks to connect their headquarters with their branches in Morocco and thus enable intracompany communication. Carrier MPLS, that extends connectivity services to other operators, and Cloud Connect, which offers private and secure connection to global cloud environments, complete Sparkle’s portfolio of services offered via the new PoP.

Sparkle's presence in North Africa now stretches from Egypt to Morocco.

https://www.tisparkle.com/NewPoPinCasablanca

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Microsoft's commercial cloud revenue hits $13.3 billion, up 39%

Microsoft reported quarterly revenue of $35.0 billion, up 15% YoY, with net income of $10.8 billion, up 22% YoY.  Diluted earnings per share was $1.40, an increase of 23%.

The company said COVID-19 was inconsequential to its financial performance.

“We’ve seen two years’ worth of digital transformation in two months. From remote teamwork and learning, to sales and customer service, to critical cloud infrastructure and security – we are working alongside customers every day to help them adapt and stay open for business in a world of remote everything,” said Satya Nadella, chief executive officer of Microsoft. “Our durable business model, diversified portfolio, and differentiated technology stack position us well for what’s ahead.”

“In this dynamic environment, our sales teams and partners executed a solid third quarter, with Commercial Cloud revenue generating $13.3 billion, up 39% year over year,” said Amy Hood, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Microsoft. “We remain committed to balancing operational discipline with continued investments in key strategic areas to drive future growth.”

Segment Highlights

Revenue in Productivity and Business Processes was $11.7 billion and increased 15% (up 16% in constant currency), with the following business highlights:

• Office Commercial products and cloud services revenue increased 13% (up 15% in constant currency) driven by Office 365 Commercial revenue growth of 25% (up 27% in constant currency)
• Office Consumer products and cloud services revenue increased 15% (up 17% in constant currency) with continued growth in Office 365 Consumer subscribers to 39.6 million
• LinkedIn revenue increased 21% (up 22% in constant currency)
• Dynamics products and cloud services revenue increased 17% (up 20% in constant currency) driven by Dynamics 365 revenue growth of 47% (up 49% in constant currency)

Revenue in Intelligent Cloud was $12.3 billion and increased 27% (up 29% in constant currency), with the following business highlights:

• Server products and cloud services revenue increased 30% (up 32% in constant currency) driven by Azure revenue growth of 59% (up 61% in constant currency)
• Enterprise Services revenue increased 6% (up 7% in constant currency)

Revenue in More Personal Computing was $11.0 billion and increased 3% (up 4% in constant currency), with the following business highlights:

• Windows OEM revenue was relatively unchanged year over year
• Windows Commercial products and cloud services revenue increased 17% (up 18% in constant currency)
• Search advertising revenue excluding traffic acquisition costs increased 1%
• Xbox content and services revenue increased 2%
• Surface revenue increased 1% (up 2% in constant currency)

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/Investor/earnings/FY-2020-Q3/press-release-webcast

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Qualcomm saw a 21% drop in handset shipments in Q1

Citing negative impacts by the global COVID-19 pandemic, Qualcomm reported quarterly revenue of $5,216 billion, up 5% from the $4,982 billion reported a year ago.

Qualcomm saw a reduction in demand of 3G/4G/5G handsets of approximately 21%.

GAAP net income was $468 million, down 29% from $663 million a year earlier. GAAP results were also negatively impacted by $265 million, or ($0.21) per share, in non-marketable investment impairments, resulting in part from the impacts of COVID-19.

“We executed extremely well in the second fiscal quarter, with strong Non-GAAP results in line with our guidance, demonstrating the strength of our business model and the resilience of our team to respond quickly to the unique challenges presented by the global pandemic,” said Steve Mollenkopf, CEO of Qualcomm.

For Q2, Qualcomm is expecting a 30% drop in demand of 3G/4G/5G handsets due to COVID-19.

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Huawei signs patent agreement with InterDigital

InterDigital has signed a multi-year, worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-bearing patent license agreement with Huawei.

The agreement covers certain of Huawei’s products and certain of InterDigital’s essential patents. InterDigital and Huawei have also agreed to dismiss all pending litigation between the companies.

“This agreement, reached amid challenging circumstances given the current economic downturn, highlights the strength of our business and the value of InterDigital’s contributions to multiple generations of wireless and video standards,” said William J. Merritt, President and CEO. “The agreement also underscores the fairness and flexibility of our licensing approach, including our rate and portfolio transparency, which set an industry standard.”

InterDigital files 3/4/5G patent lawsuit against Huawei

Wednesday, December 04, 2019  Huawei, InterDigital, Legal, Patents, UK  

InterDigital filed a patent infringement action in the United Kingdom against Huawei seeking, among other things, a determination of fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms for a license to InterDigital’s portfolio of 3G, 4G and 5G standards-essential patents (SEPs).

The InterDigital patents asserted are:

• European Patent (UK) 2 363 008 – Enables the efficient control of carrier aggregation in 4G (LTE). In advanced mobile phones, carrier aggregation is key to achieving high data rates.
• European Patent (UK) 2 557 714 – Supports the use of multiple antennae transmissions in 4G (LTE). The patent enables the use of flexible levels of error protection for reporting by the handset, increasing the reliability of the signaling.
• European Patent (UK) 2 485 558 – Allows mobile phone users quick and efficient access to 4G (LTE) networks. One of the main technological challenges of developing LTE networks was efficient bandwidth usage for various traffic types such as VoIP, FTP and HTTP. This patent relates to inventions for quickly and efficiently requesting shared uplink resources — for example, reducing lag when requesting a webpage on a smartphone on LTE networks.
• European Patent (UK) 2 421 318 – Relates to an enhancement to 3G known as High Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA), where efficient, fast scheduling of resources is key to optimizing the user’s experience. The patented invention decreases latency during HSUPA transmission by eliminating certain scenarios in HSUPA where scheduling requests may be blocked. A blocked scheduling request may prevent a smartphone from sending data. 
• European Patent (UK) 3 355 537 – Also relates to HSUPA. The patented invention increases efficiency of bandwidth usage during HSUPA transmission by ensuring that mobile phones do not utilize resources allocated to them for HSUPA transmission in an inefficient manner.

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CyrusOne reports strong data center leasing trends, especially in Europe

CyrusOne reported revenue of $245.9 million for the first quarter, compared to $225.0 million for the same period in 2019, an increase of 9%. The increase in revenue was driven primarily by a 5% increase in occupied CSF and additional interconnection services. Net income was $14.7 million for the first quarter, compared to net income of $89.4 million in the same period in 2019. Net income for the first quarter included a $14.7 million gain on the Company’s equity investment in GDS, a leading data center provider in China, compared to a $101.2 million gain in the first quarter of 2019.

“We had very strong financial and operational performance in the quarter, with high growth across key metrics and the second highest leasing total in the company’s history, including a significant contribution from Europe as demand for larger deployments there continues to accelerate. The nearly $90 million revenue backlog enhances our growth profile, and the company is very well positioned with a strong balance sheet, substantial liquidity including available forward equity, and capacity throughout our markets,” stated Tesh Durvasula, interim president and chief executive officer of CyrusOne.

Some highlights:

• Leased 44 megawatts (“MW”) and 289,000 colocation square feet (“CSF”) in the first quarter, totaling $60 million in annualized GAAP revenue, the second-highest quarterly total in the company’s history
• Leased 31.5 MW totaling $38 million in annualized GAAP revenue across European locations, with 9 MW totaling $12.5 million in annualized GAAP revenue expected to commence this year, reflecting continued strong demand growth in these markets from U.S. hyperscale companies
• Backlog of $88 million in annualized GAAP revenue as of the end of the first quarter, the highest quarter-end backlog in the company’s history, representing approximately $610 million in total contract value

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MACOM reports sales of $126.4 million, down 1.6% YoY

MACOM Technology Solutions reported sales of  $126.4 million for its fiscal second quarter ended April 3, 2020, a decrease of 1.6% compared to $128.5 million in the previous year fiscal second quarter and an increase of 6.2% compared to $119.1 million in the prior fiscal quarter. Gross margin was 50.1%, compared to 44.6% in the previous year fiscal second quarter and 48.9% in the prior fiscal quarter. Operating loss was $5.3 million, compared to a loss of $30.2 million in the previous year fiscal second quarter and a loss of $10.5 million in the prior fiscal quarter; and net loss was $10.2 million, or $0.28 loss per diluted share.

"We are focused on the health and safety of our employees, while continuing to deliver on customer commitments and accelerating new product introductions,” said Stephen G. Daly, President and Chief Executive Officer. “Our dedicated employees continue to make steady progress on improving our profitability.”

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Ericsson confirms role with China Mobile

Ericsson released more details on its recent selection to supply 5G solutions to China Mobile.

Under the terms of this new deal, China Mobile extends its 5G RAN partnership with Ericsson to 17 provinces, with the deployment of Ericsson Radio System products and solutions.

In addition, Ericsson will provide 5G core network equipment in two major regions, covering five provinces. The 5G Core network will be deployed on NFVI along with Ericsson Dynamic Orchestration. As part of a previous agreement, Ericsson is also providing Cloud VoLTE, Cloud Unified Data Management (UDM) and Policy.

China Mobile picks Huawei and ZTE for 5G base stations

Wednesday, April 01, 2020  China, China Mobile  

China Mobile has selected Huawei and ZTE as the primary suppliers in the latest tender for its nationwide 5G rollout. This phase of the rollout calls for 232,143 5G base stations to be deployed in 28 provincial-level regions.

Huawei Technologies will build 57.2% of the base stations,
ZTE Corp. will build 28.7% of the base stations
Ericsson will build 11.4% of the base stations
China Information Communication Technologies (FiberHome + Datang) will build 2.6%.

Nokia was not selected for the contract, although it has played a role in previous parts of the 5G rollout.

China Mobile officially launched its 5G commercial service in 50 cities across the country.

China Mobile has deployed 40,000 5G base stations in the first batch of 50 key cities.  5G network construction is underway in more than 300 cities across the country.

The carrier is offering a number of 5G subscriptions starting with a Personal Plan priced at RMB 128 per month (~US$18). Family plans and business plans are also available. Downlink speed caps and data caps apply.

China Mobile initially has ten 5G smartphones available, along with 3 hotspot devices.

Cities with 5G coverage include: Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Chongqing, Shijiazhuang, Xiong'an, Taiyuan, Jincheng, Hohhot, Shenyang, Dalian, Changchun, Harbin, Nanjing, Wuxi, Suzhou, Hangzhou , Ningbo, Wenzhou, Jiaxing, Hefei, Wuhu, Fuzhou, Xiamen, Quanzhou, Nanchang, Yingtan, Jinan, Qingdao, Zhengzhou, Nanyang, Wuhan, Changsha, Zhuzhou, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Foshan, Dongguan, Liuzhou, Nanning, Haikou, Qiong, Hai, Chengdu, Guiyang, Kunming, Xi'an, Lanzhou, Xining, Yinchuan and Urumqi.

http://www.10086.cn/aboutus/news/groupnews/index_detail_34938.html

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MaxLinear posts Q1 sales of $62 million, down 27% YoY

MaxLinear reported Q1 2020 revenue of $62.0 million, down 11% sequentially, and down 27% year-on-year. GAAP gross margin was 49.6%, compared to 52.3% in the prior quarter, and 53.3% in the year-ago quarter. There was a GAAP diluted loss per share of $0.21, and non-GAAP diluted earnings per share of $0.07.

“In the first quarter, revenue results were in line with our recent preliminary revenue guidance, gross margin was strong, and operating expenses declined on continued operating discipline. We continue to execute well on our 400 and 100Gbps PAM4 fiber optic data center products, which are expected to ramp this year in an expanding work-from-home market environment that is straining data center capacity. In the 5G wireless access market, which is a focus area for us, our new RF transceiver product introductions are particularly suited for the early stage 5G network rollout. We feel very encouraged by these new product areas of growth and the stabilization of our connected home broadband data market due to much needed bandwidth upgrades inside homes and the network itself,” commented Kishore Seendripu, Ph.D., Chairman and CEO.

“We also recently announced plans to acquire Intel’s Home Gateway Platform Division in the third quarter of this year. These assets add significant scale to our entire business while enabling us to provide compelling WiFi products and expanded broadband product offerings with tremendous growth opportunities that we will discuss in the near future,” Dr. Seendripu continued

MaxLinear to acquire Intel’s Home Gateway Platform Division

Monday, April 06, 2020  Intel, MaxLinear, Mergers And Acquisitions  

MaxLinear agreed to acquire Intel’s Home Gateway Platform Division assets in an all-cash, asset transaction valued at $150 million. The Home Gateway Platform Division comprises Wi-Fi Access Points, Ethernet and Home Gateway SoC products deployed across operator and retail markets. MaxLinear said the acquisition will complement its existing portfolio, bringing together a complete and scalable platform of connectivity and access solutions for

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