3.7 GHz spectrum auction tops $80 billion

The FCC's Aution 107 for flexible‐use overlay licenses for spectrum in the 3.7–3.98 GHz band concluded with a record $80.9 billion in bids after 97 rounds.The auction made available licenses for 280 megahertz of spectrum in the the so-called C-band.  FCC Chairman Ajit Pai made the following statement:“This historic FCC auction is already a record-breaking success.  Bidders have won all of the 5,684 spectrum blocks that were up for bid. ...

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Cisco and Inphi seek open ecosystem for Co-packaged Optics (CPO)

Cisco and Inphi have agreed to cooperate on the definition of a Co-packaged switch/optics (CPO) solution to drive the industry forward and ensuring interoperability between silicon and optical engines from multiple different companies.In a blog posting, Rakesh Chopra, Cisco Fellow, makes the case that a CPO-based switch design is significantly more power-efficient than a traditional 51.2 Tbps design with pluggable optics, and that the future switch...

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Barcelona Cable Landing Station offers alternative to Marseille

A new Barcelona Cable Landing Station is expected to come into operation the first quarter of 2022 with the aim of being the digital port of reference in the Mediterranean. The facility, which is an initiative of AFR-IX Telecom, is the first international submarine cable landing station in Catalonia. Currently, Marseille is the primary landing point for most submarine fibre-optic cables of the Mediterranean. Organizers of the Barcelona Cable...

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SubOptic Association Launches the SubOptic Foundation

The SubOptic Association announced the foundation of the SubOptic Foundation, a new charitable organization with legal entities in the USA and UK, focused on supporting education and research initiatives designed to lay the groundwork for a better future for the subsea cable industry and the global communications fabric as a whole.The primary purpose of the Foundation will be to enhance SubOptic's support of programs focused on education and outreach,...

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NTIA publishes "National Strategy to Secure 5G Implementation Plan"

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) published its National Strategy to Secure 5G Implementation Plan for how the United States should lead global development, deployment, and management of secure and reliable 5G infrastructure. The 40-page plan, which will be managed by the National Security Council and the National Economic Council, supported by NTIA, has the following key elements:Line of Effort One - Facilitate...

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APT picks Ericsson for 5G multi-operator core in Taiwan

Asia-Pacific Telecom Co Ltd (APT) selected Ericsson to modernize its nationwide LTE network in Taiwan with 5G-ready equipment and services. This includes integration with Far EasTone Telecommunications (FET) on the 3.5GHz frequency band in Taiwan.Under the terms of the agreement, Ericsson will provide high-performing radio access network (RAN) solutions from its 5G-ready Ericsson Radio System portfolio as well as 5G NSA licenses to do 5G Multi-Operator...

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FCC considers revamping the 12 GHz Band currently used by DBS

 The FCC is seeking comment on how to maximize efficient use of the 500 megahertz of mid-band spectrum in the 12.2-12.7 GHz band.  An open question is whether terrestrial mobile wireless service could coexist with existing operations in the band without causing harmful interference to incumbent licensees. In the United States, the 12 GHz band is currently licensed to Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS) operators, non-geostationary orbit...

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Frontier advances its Chapter 11 case

Frontier Communicationssecured approval from the FCC for its Chapter 11 restructuring. Frontier now has regulatory approvals, or favorable determinations, for its required change-in-control applications related to its court-supervised restructuring from the FCC and 13 states: Arizona, Georgia, Illinois, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas, Utah and Virginia.Frontier expects to promptly consummate the transactions...

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