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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