AWS launches EC2 instances powered by its own Graviton2 processor

Amazon Web Services announced the general availability of its sixth generation of Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) instances with three new instances powered by AWS-designed, Arm-based Graviton2 processors.

Graviton2 is a custom AWS design that is built using a 7nm manufacturing process and based on 64-bit Arm Neoverse cores. AWS says it can deliver up to 7x the performance of the A1 instances, including twice the floating point performance. Additional memory channels and double-sized per-core caches speed memory access by up to 5x.

The new general purpose (M6g), compute-optimized (C6g), and memory-optimized (R6g) instances deliver up to 40% better price/performance over comparable current generation x86-based instances. These sixth generation Amazon EC2 instances include:

• M6g instances: designed for general-purpose workloads with balanced compute, memory, and networking, such as application servers, mid-size databases, microservices, and caching fleets.
• C6g instances: designed for compute-intensive workloads, such as high performance computing, batch processing, video encoding, gaming, scientific modeling, distributed analytics, ad-serving, and CPU-based machine learning inference.
• R6g instances: designed for workloads that process large data sets in memory, such as open source databases (MySQL, MariaDB, and PostgreSQL) or in-memory caches (Redis, Memcached, and KeyDB), and real-time big data analytics.

AWS said its Arm-based Amazon EC2 instances powered by Graviton processors are optimized for running scale-out workloads (e.g. containerized microservices and web tier applications).

“Today more than ever, customers are looking for innovative ways to increase performance and reduce cost, and Arm processors have emerged as an exciting and mainstream alternative to x86 processors for a wide variety of existing and emerging workloads,” said David Brown, Vice President, Amazon EC2, at AWS. “The new Amazon EC2 instances powered by AWS-designed, Arm-based, Graviton2 processors represent a significant generational leap for customers, delivering 40% better price/performance over comparable x86-based instances, and already we’ve seen a broad set of customers embrace them across a wide variety of general purpose, compute optimized, and memory optimized workloads.”

• Netflix is using Amazon EC2 M instance types for a number of workloads, including streaming, encoding, data processing, and monitoring applications.

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Google Cloud and Telefónica form partnership

Google Cloud and Telefónica announced a strategic partnership to foster Spain's digital transformation and advance 5G mobile edge computing. The companies said their partnership marks the significance and relevance of cloud computing for the future of the telecommunications industry.

Under the arrangement:

• Google Cloud will launch a cloud region in Spain using Telefonica's Madrid region infrastructure.
• Telefónica will use Google Cloud services to boost its own digital capabilities—in areas such as machine learning, artificial intelligence (AI), data analytics, and application development—to continue to provide new services and tools to its global customer base. 
• Telefónica and Google will jointly develop a portfolio of solutions for 5G using Google Cloud's Mobile Edge Computing platform.
• Telefónica Tech’s cloud business will reinforce its multi-cloud strategy worldwide with joint marketing plans in order to offer its customers a comprehensive solution, which, together with security and communications, will allow companies to enjoy a unique and comprehensive experience. 

"The unusual situation that we have had to live in, marked by the confinement of the world's population and the exponential increase in remote work and online education and entertainment, has highlighted the key role that connectivity and digitalization play in society to create a more inclusive and sustainable future," says José María Álvarez-Pallete, Chairman  & CEO Telefónica. "With our alliance with Google Cloud we want to fulfil our social commitment and foster the recovery of the economy helping companies, the public administration and all types of organizations not only to not only recover the ground lost by the crisis but also to accelerate their digital transformation and strengthen themselves for the future".

“Helping businesses adapt to our changing world has been a big focus for Google, before and during the COVID-19 crisis,” said Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet. “We’re excited to be partnering with Telefónica to launch a new cloud region in Spain and help Spanish businesses big and small find new ways to innovate and contribute to the country’s economic recovery.”

https://cloud.google.com/press-releases/2020/0611/google-cloud-telefonica-partnership

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Altiostar and Mavenir team on OpenRAN

Altiostar and Mavenir are teaming up to deliver a portfolio of radios based on OpenRAN principles for the U.S. market. Both companies will be supporting the development of radios through third party OEM’s that will be based on O-RAN open interfaces and will address the frequencies of Tier-1 and Regional/Rural operators in the U.S. The radios support the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act that was signed into law on March 12, 2020.

“Altiostar has been at the forefront of the OpenRAN movement that is now being embraced by mobile operators around the world,” said Ashraf Dahod, CEO of Altiostar Networks. “Our collaboration with Mavenir on OpenRAN radios will ensure operators in the US have a truly open end-to-end infrastructure that will be cost effective and allows them to grow their business.”

“We are collaborating with Altiostar to realize the full promise of OpenRAN. Our Radios will have O-RAN compliant interfaces and will interwork with other vendors’ solutions,” said Pardeep Kohli, President and CEO of Mavenir. “I encourage other companies in the OpenRAN Policy Coalition to open their radios and ensure a broad supply of radios with open interfaces that are interoperable with third party equipment.”

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Nokia says 5G fixed wireless access is a top use case

Consumers across the world see 5G Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) as the most desirable 5G use case, according to a new study commissioned by Nokia and conducted by Parks Associates.

The study, which was conducted by Parks Associates, surveyed 3,000 people in the UK, US and South Korea and examined consumer understanding and demand for 5G services across six different use cases including autonomous vehicles, video surveillance and immersive technologies. The research was conducted prior to the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Some highlights:

• 76 percent of all respondents regard FWA as the most appealing use case overall, with 66 percent claiming they would subscribe to 5G FWA if it cost the same as their current broadband service and delivers the same or better performance. 
• 90 percent rated high-quality, uninterrupted video streams a “very valuable” aspect of 5G. 
• A majority of consumers find 5G video use cases attractive, with 66 percent rating video capture and streaming applications appealing, and 69 percent rating video detection and alerting appealing. More than one-third of consumers found AR experiences for remote commerce appealing even before the COVID-19 crisis. The need and appeal has likely increased with social distancing.
• Nearly half of those who work remotely indicate a strong willingness to switch providers for 5G service and more likely to intend to purchase a 5G phone. Greatly expanded remote work experience may drive plan and phone upgrades.
• Nearly two-thirds of early 5G users are highly satisfied with the speeds they experience on 5G networks, compared with less than half of 4G users.
• 45 percent of all consumers find connected car concepts appealing with navigation and safety capabilities seen as most valuable, but this jumps to 73 percent amongst vehicle owners. 53 percent of vehicle owners said they would be interested in bundling car connectivity with a 5G data plan.
• Two-thirds of consumers find 5G-enabled Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality services appealing and 56 percent were drawn to cloud gaming.

https://www.nokia.com/networks/research/5g-consumer-market-research/

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Telstra: 93% of businesses shift IT priorities due to COVID-19

Enterprises are rapidly adapting their IT priorities in response to the global pandemic, according to a new study commissioned by Telstra and conducted by GlobalData.

The research, Business Continuity, Flexible Working and Adaptive Infrastructure: Five Actions for When the Economy Reopens Following COVID-19, gathered data from 120+ business leaders across Asia Pacific, Europe and the United States to provide insights on how to recalibrate IT strategies. The research was conducted together with GlobalData to survey C-suites and IT decision-makers to understand organizations’ responses to the pandemic.

Some highlights:

• 93% of businesses state they have changed their IT priorities either incrementally, significantly, or dramatically. Businesses are updating their overall IT strategy, with the top priority for respondents across all regions to set up policies for their remote workforce. This includes areas such as ensuring employees can connect securely and access their applications and data.
• Nearly one in ten enterprises did not have a business continuity plan (BCP) pre-COVID-19. Of those organizations that did have a BCP in place, almost a third (29%) did not have plans in place to respond to an unexpected global event such as a pandemic. In the United States, only 14% - the lowest among the regions - claimed to have a full BCP, which included major events and pandemics, in place.
• Video conferencing and cloud-based contact center solutions are some of the most transformative technologies to the enterprise. Video is the new voice in collaboration. 98% of respondents believe there will be an increased reliance on video conferencing to replace face-to-face meetings post-COVID-19 recovery.

Dustin Kehoe, Services Director from GlobalData shared, “It was interesting to see the overwhelmingly positive response for video conferencing. While the technology has always been available, we are seeing a generational shift in perception from pre-and post-COVID-19 eras.”

https://forms.telstraglobal.com/BusinessContinuityReport

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Nokia appoints new CFO

Nokia has appointed Marco Wirén as CFO of the company, replacing current CFO Kristian Pullola.

 Wirén, who will be based at the company’s headquarters in Espoo, Finland, is currently President of Wärtsilä Energy and Executive Vice President of Wärtsilä Group, a global leader in smart technologies and lifecycle solutions for the marine and energy markets. Wirén has held a number of CFO and other senior financial roles, including CFO of Wärtsilä Group; CFO of SSAB Group, a global specialized steel company; and CFO of Eltel Networks, a provider of technical services to the electrical and telecommunications industries. Wirén will join Nokia on September 1, 2020.

“I am pleased that Marco will be joining us to take the reins of Nokia along with our future CEO, Pekka Lundmark,” said Rajeev Suri, Nokia President and CEO.  “I initiated the succession planning with the Board’s support and, as Nokia’s next CEO, Pekka led the effort to its completion with the selection of Marco.”

“Marco has deep financial and leadership experience, a sharp focus on driving operational excellence, and a demonstrated record of success,” said future CEO Lundmark.  “He also brings an extensive background in business-to-business and technology companies. I am looking forward to working closely with him and am fully confident he will be a terrific member of the Nokia team.”

Kristian Pullola, who has served as Chief Financial Officer since January 2017, will step down as CFO and leave the Group Leadership Team on August 31, 2020.  He will remain with the company until around the end of the year to ensure a smooth transition.

Rajeev Suri steps down as CEO of Nokia, Pekka Lundmar to take over

Monday, March 02, 2020  Nokia, People  

Rajeev Suri will step down as President and CEO of Nokia and Nokia Siemens Networks.

Pekka Lundmark has been appointed as President and Chief Executive Officer of Nokia, and is expected to start in his new role on September 1, 2020. Lundmark is currently President and CEO of Fortum, a leading energy company based in Espoo, Finland,. Previously, he served as President and CEO of Konecranes, a global material-handling technology company, and from 1990-2000 held multiple executive positions at Nokia, including Vice President of Strategy and Business Development at Nokia Networks. Lundmark holds a Master of Science degree from Helsinki University of Technology. He will be based in Espoo, Finland.

Suri has appointed CEO of Nokia in 2014.  Previously, he was appointed CEO of NSN in 2009. He joined the company in 1995.

“I am honored to have the opportunity to lead Nokia, an extraordinary company that has so much potential and so many talented people,” said Lundmark. “Together we can create shareholder value by delivering on Nokia’s mission to create the technology to connect the world. I am confident that the company is well-positioned for the 5G era and it is my goal to ensure that we meet our commitments to our customers, employees, shareholders and other stakeholders. Strong values, leading innovation and unflinching commitment to our customers have always been core to Nokia and I want to put this even more at our center as we move forward.”

“After 25 years at Nokia, I have wanted to do something different,” said Suri. “Nokia will always be part of me, and I want to thank everyone that I have worked with over the years for helping make Nokia a better place and me a better leader. I leave the company with a belief that a return to better performance is on the horizon and with pride for what we have accomplished over time. Pekka is an excellent choice for Nokia. I look forward to working with him on a smooth transition and wish him the best success in his new role.”

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CommScope has shipped over 1M DOCSIS 3.1 gateways to Vodafone Germany

CommScope has now supplied over 1 million of its DOCSIS 3.1 Touchstone TG3442 Gateways to Vodafone Germany. The gateways are capable of download speeds of up to 1 Gbps.

Vodafone Germany is using CommScope’s DOCSIS 3.1 system, supported by its E6000 converged cable access platform (CCAP). This means Vodafone Germany can deliver the high speeds its customers require, with intelligent software-driven orchestration to manage capacity and connectivity, as well as providing best-in-class analytics on network performance.

“Today, more than ever, people expect their connectivity to be there no matter if they are working from home, the kids are playing games or if they are finishing their eLearning assignments,” said Phil Sorsky, senior vice president of Service Providers for EMEA, CommScope. “Vodafone Germany is laying the framework for a new connected world as we see how crucial the Internet is in keeping our society functioning in the face of rapid and unpredictable change.”

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