U.S. Cellular demos 5G mmWave over 5km at over 100 Mbps

U.S. Cellular, in partnership with Ericsson and Qualcomm, demonstrated an extended range 5G NR millimeter Wave (mmWave) data call over a distance of more than 5 km and with speeds greather than 100 Mbps.

The data call occurred over U.S. Cellular's commercial network in Janesville, Wisconsin. The milestone was achieved by applying extended-range software to commercial Ericsson hardware – including AIR 5121 and Baseband 6630 – and a 5G CPE device powered by the Snapdragon X55 5G Modem-RF System with the Qualcomm QTM527 mmWave antenna module.

The companies said this achievement redefines the perception of 5G mmWave spectrum as an urban- or high-density-only deployment technology and offers new opportunities to use current infrastructure for broader 5G coverage.

Mike Irizarry, Chief Technology Officer, U.S. Cellular, says: “This is a key strategic milestone in our 5G evolution. Expanding 5G mmWave coverage enables us to offer high-speed broadband services to consumers and businesses in rural areas and underserved communities and reinforces our commitment to technological leadership for rural America. It is a concrete example where U.S. Cellular is driving innovation leadership in extended range technology from Ericsson and promoting the high-power device ecosystem enabled by Qualcomm Technologies.”

Per Narvinger, Head of Product Area Networks, Ericsson, says: “Ericsson is constantly pushing the boundaries of 5G technology to bring its benefits everywhere across the globe. Ericsson has a long and successful track record in extending coverage across generations of mobile technologies. Working with our partners, Ericsson has now demonstrated the commercial viability of long-range 5G radio capability for mmWave spectrum.”

Alejandro Holcman, Senior Vice President, Engineering, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. says: “This major milestone of using mmWave for an extended-range 5G data transfer is paving the way to implement fixed broadband services for broad coverage in urban, suburban and rural environments. With the introduction of the Qualcomm® QTM527 mmWave antenna module as part of the Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ X55 5G Modem-RF System, we are empowering operators and OEMs to offer high-performance, extended-range multi-gigabit 5G broadband to their customers – which is both flexible and cost-effective, as they can leverage existing 5G network infrastructure.”  

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Vantage Data Centers adds capacity in No. Virginia and Silicon Valley

 Citing a substantial increase in customer demand for premiere hyperscale data center space in recent months, Vantage Data Centers has begun construction on additional data center facilities at its growing Northern Virginia campus and its second Silicon Valley campus.

In Northern Virginia’s Data Center Alley, Vantage started construction on the next facility on its Ashburn campus. VA12 is the second of five planned facilities on the 42-acre campus, which will include more than 1 million square feet and 146MW of IT capacity once fully developed. Upon completion, VA12 will consist of 36MW of IT capacity and more than 250,000 square feet. Phase 1 is expected to be operational in Q1 2021.

In Silicon Valley, Vantage has begun construction of CA23 on its second Santa Clara campus, which will include a total of three facilities and 77MW of IT capacity upon completion. This newest facility will consist of more than 200,000 square feet, providing customers with 32MW of IT capacity. It is slated for completion in the second half of 2021.

CA23 is located on a nine-acre site less than two miles from Vantage’s flagship campus, the largest LEED certified campus in North America with a total of 77MW and six facilities. Combined, Vantage’s two Santa Clara campuses will provide customers with a total of nine facilities and 154MW of capacity in the heart of Silicon Valley.

“Vantage continues to experience a heightened global demand for hyperscale data center services,” said Sureel Choksi, president and CEO of Vantage Data Centers. “Because our customers want to grow with us across multiple markets, we continue to develop sustainable, state-of-the-art facilities across our portfolio, including in the world’s top data center markets.”

https://vantage-dc.com/data-centers

Vantage Data Centers gains strategic backing from Colony Capital

Tuesday, July 07, 2020  Data Centers, Vantage  

Vantage Data Centers announced a strategic partnership valued at $3.5 billion to accelerate the expansion of its wholesale data centers throughout North America and Europe.

Specifically, the Colony-led investor group will invest $1.2 billion in Vantage’s diversified portfolio, including 12 stabilized North American data centers, which span more than 1.4 million gross square feet and 150MW of IT capacity across key strategic markets in Santa Clara, California; Quincy, Washington; Montreal and Quebec City, Canada.

Vantage’s management team, led by Sureel Choksi, president and CEO, will continue to manage and operate these assets as part of its global data center footprint. Vantage will maintain the same level of superior service to its valued customers in each market, while simultaneously developing and operating additional data centers throughout North America and Europe. The capital provided by this transaction will support Vantage’s strategy to expand and enhance its global footprint.

http://www.vantage-dc.com

Vantage Data Centers to acquire data center campus in Wales

Tuesday, April 07, 2020  Data Centers, Mergers And Acquisitions, UK, Vantage  

Vantage Data Centers  signed a definitive agreement with InfraVia Capital Partners, along with the two founders of the business, to acquire Next Generation Data (NGD), which operates a data center campus located on 50-acres in the Cardiff Capital Region in South Wales, UK.


The existing NGD data center campus is a Tier III 180MW facility, including an existing 72MW capacity and 108MW of expansion capacity. It uses 100% renewable energy and is rich in fiber delivered by many Tier 1 service providers. Latency between Wales and London is less than 1.5 milliseconds. In addition, NGD Cloud Gateway provides multiple access services, including Express Route and Connect, and NGD recently became a new hosting facility for LINX Wales. The highly secure site meets the U.K. government’s highest standards, and is one of many reasons that multiple blue-chip, high growth companies currently house their IT infrastructure within NGD’s 750,000 square foot facility.

Upon closing, Wales will mark Vantage’s sixth strategic market in Europe following its entrance into five markets (Berlin, Frankfurt, Milan, Warsaw and Zurich) announced in February 2020, including the acquisition of Etix Everywhere.

The transaction will be funded with equity commitments from Digital Colony Partners and other investors in Vantage, as well as acquisition debt financing.

Vantage Data Centers launch $2 billion European expansion strategy

Monday, February 10, 2020  Data Centers, Vantage  

Vantage Data Centers has launched a $2 billion expansion into Europe with the aim of establishing itself in the hyperscale market.

As part of its expansion strategy, Vantage has acquired Etix Everywhere, which has 50MW of built data center capacity across its footprint and is building a 55MW hyperscale data center campus in Frankfurt, Germany. Financial terms were not disclosed. In conjunction with the Etix acquisition, Antoine Boniface, former CEO of Etix, has joined the Vantage executive team to serve as president, Europe.

In addition, Vantage Europe has secured land and is planning to develop hyperscale data center campuses in Berlin, Milan, Warsaw and Zurich. The facilities, which are currently underway, are in the following European markets:

• Berlin: 64MW campus on 13 acres (5 hectares)
• Milan: 32MW campus on 17 acres (7 hectares)
• Warsaw: 64MW campus 12 acres (5 hectares)
• Zurich: 40MW campus on 7 acres (3 hectares)

Vantage said intends to invest USD $2 billion in its planned European expansion, including more than USD $800 million in new equity capital provided by Vantage’s current investors and a new commitment from Digital Colony Partners.

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Accenture launches $3 billion plan to spur cloud migrations

 Accenture announced a $3 billion investment over three years to help clients across all industries rapidly become “cloud first” businesses and accelerate their digital transformation to realize greater value at speed and scale. 

Accenture, which is recognized as a leading partner to the world’s major cloud providers, reported approximately $11 billion in cloud revenue in its fiscal year 2019.

The new Accenture Cloud First will be a multi-service group of 70,000 cloud professionals that brings together Accenture’s industry and technology capabilities, ecosystem partnerships, and deep commitment to learning and upskilling clients’ employees and to responsible business, with the singular focus of enabling organizations to move to the cloud with greater speed and achieve greater value for all their stakeholders at this critical time. Specifically, this new group integrates the company’s wide-ranging cloud expertise, including cloud migration, infrastructure, and application services and ecosystem partnerships; deep industry and cross-industry insights, data and Applied Intelligence capabilities; Accenture Interactive’s leading experience design skills; and insights from the company’s unmatched experience in modernizing and operating large IT estates and key business processes across finance, HR, marketing, supply chain and specific industries for leading global companies.

The "Accenture Cloud First" initiative will be led by Karthik Narain.

“COVID-19 has created a new inflection point that requires every company to dramatically accelerate the move to the cloud as a foundation for digital transformation to build the resilience, new experiences and products, trust, speed and structural cost reduction that the ongoing health, economic and societal crisis demands — and that a better future for all requires,” said Julie Sweet, chief executive officer, Accenture. “Accenture Cloud First and our substantial investment demonstrate our commitment to delivering greater value to our clients when they need it most. Digital transformation requires cloud at scale, and post-COVID leadership requires that every business become a ‘cloud first’ business.”

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Altitude Infrastructure plans EUR 2.5 billion investment in FTTH for France

 Altitude Infrastructure announced plans to invest more than UER 2.5 billion to accelerate the rollout of fiber in France. The company raised EUR 500 million in new equity to help fund the initiative. The equity was raised through a pension fund managed by the Real Assets and Private Markets division of UBS Asset Management.

Altitude Infrastructure said this initiative will bolster its market position as one of the leading operators of optical networks in France.

http://www.altitudeinfrastructure.fr/actualites/53-altitude-infrastructure/908-altitude-infrastructure-leve-plus-de-500m-et-prevoit-2-5-mds-d-investissements-sur-la-fibre

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A10 updates its positive financial forecast

 A10 Networks updated its forecast of expected third-quarter financial results, announced a significant share repurchase program, and announced a transition in its senior leadership team.

The company now expects Q3 results to show:

• Revenue in the range of $53 to $56 million, representing a sequential and year-over-year improvement
• Non-GAAP Operating expenses in the range of $34 to $35 million

Dhrupad Trivedi, President and Chief Executive Officer of A10 Networks, commented, “A10 has continued to drive organic growth in a challenging environment, while reducing operating expenses, enabling us to generate sustainable cash flow. The transition to 5-G continues to represent an important catalyst to our business, and to date, we believe we have successfully navigated COVID-19-related challenges. We are confident that we can generate continued improvements in our operating results as we accelerate our business transformation, and as a result, the board has authorized a buyback program.”

A10 Networks also announced a share repurchase program under which the company may repurchase up to $50 million of its outstanding common shares during the next 12 months. 

In addition, Tom Constantino, CFO, will be stepping down from the company.

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Intelsat signs Maxar, SpaceX and Arianespace for C-band plan

 Intelsat finalized all of its required contracts with satellite manufacturers and launch-vehicle providers to meet the accelerated C-band spectrum clearing timelines established by the FCC.

Intelsat selected U.S.-based Maxar Technologies to build the final satellite required to support its C-band transition and maintain the FCC’s post-transition, “same or better” quality-of-service standard. Earlier this summer, Intelsat announced manufacturing contracts with Maxar and U.S.-based Northrop Grumman for six satellites.

Intelsat has contracted with SpaceX and Arianespace to launch these satellites on four separate launch vehicles, beginning in 2022. The diversity of manufacturers and launch-vehicle providers will lower transition program costs and help Intelsat mitigate potential launch-delay risks that could prevent the company from meeting the FCC’s accelerated clearing deadlines.

“We have made exceptional progress to date in executing our transition plan,” said Intelsat Chief Services Officer Mike DeMarco. “We’re moving forward at an accelerated pace to clear portions of the C-band spectrum and help cement America’s leadership in 5G.”

“We’re committed to maintaining this momentum, and we look forward to collaborating with our longstanding partners, Maxar, Northrop Grumman, SpaceX and Arianespace, on these important contracts to ensure we can continue to provide the high-quality, uninterrupted television, radio and data services that more than 100 million American homes and businesses have come to rely upon,” continued DeMarco.

Intelsat files C-band spectrum transition plan with FCC

Sunday, June 21, 2020  Satellite  

Intelsat filed its C-band spectrum transition plan with the FCC, detailing how it will:

• Migrate 80-plus broadcast, cable, radio, religious and government customers to the upper 200 megahertz (MHz) of the C-band, including the corresponding changes required at 3,500 cable head-ends and 13,500 affiliate earth stations
• Install 60,000 5G signal-blocking filters across the U.S. in order to mitigate post-transition interference
• Consolidate multiple telemetry, tracking and control (TT&C)/Gateway antennas into two locations on the East and West Coasts of the U.S.
• Contract with U.S.-based companies USSI Global, WESCO, ATCi and Convergent to perform aspects of the transition and installation work required on the ground at thousands of earth stations and cable television head-ends throughout the U.S.
• Intelsat and other satellite operators participating in the FCC’s accelerated C-band clearing plan are responsible for incurring the upfront costs associated with clearing 300 MHz of the spectrum and moving their existing services to the upper portion of the band. Intelsat estimates these upfront investments will cost the company $1.6 to $1.7 billion.

In addition to receiving reimbursement for reasonable upfront costs associated with clearing the spectrum and transitioning incumbent services to the upper portion of the band, Intelsat said it is eligible to receive up to $4.87 billion in incentive payments for successfully meeting the Commission’s accelerated deadlines of clearing 120 MHz of spectrum (3.7 to 3.82 GHz) by December 5, 2021, and the remaining 180 MHz (3.82 to 4.0 GHz) by December 5, 2023. Reimbursements will be funded by the winning bidders of the FCC’s public C-band auction, in line with the FCC’s emerging technologies framework.

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