Wednesday, August 4, 2021

Lumen to sell ILEC operations in 20 states for $7.5 billion

Lumen Technologies (formerly CenturyLink) agreed to sell its ILEC (incumbent local exchange carrier) business, including its consumer, small business, wholesale and mostly copper-served enterprise customers and assets, in 20 states to funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management for $7.5 billion, including debt assumption of approximately $1.4 billion. 


Lumen will retain its ILEC assets in 16 states, as well as its national fiber routes and CLEC (competitive local exchange carrier) networks.

Assets in the 20 states being acquired include:

  • Local fiber and copper network
  • Broadband and voice for consumer, enterprise and wholesale customers
  • Fiber and copper connectivity to enabled buildings
  • Connectivity to tower sites
  • Central offices

"This transaction is an important step in our continued efforts to transform Lumen and drive future growth for our company," said Jeff Storey, Lumen president and CEO. "We are pleased with the attractive valuation we received for these assets, which highlights the overall value of Lumen's extensive asset portfolio. Apollo Funds will receive a great business with a strong customer base, dedicated employees, and a platform for future growth."

"The team at Lumen has built a great business and we see an incredible opportunity to provide leading edge, fiber-to-the-home broadband technology to millions of its business and residential customers," said Aaron Sobel, Private Equity Partner at Apollo. "Our investment will help accelerate the upgrade to fiber optic technologies, and we are excited to have such a high-caliber management team ready to bring faster and more reliable internet service to many rural markets traditionally underserved by broadband providers."

https://news.lumen.com/

CenturyLink is now Lumen

CenturyLink changed its name to Lumen Technologies.The company's mission statement is "to help lead enterprises through the challenges and opportunities of the 4th Industrial Revolution – a time when smart, connective devices are everywhere.""Our people are dedicated to furthering human progress through technology. Lumen is all about enabling the amazing potential of our customers, by utilizing our technology platform, our people, and our relationships...




  • On July 25, 2021, Lumen reached a definitive agreement to sell its Latin American business to Stonepeak for $2.7 billion
  • In 2017, CenturyLink acquired Level 3 Communications in a deal valued at over  $34 billion.  Previously, CenturyLink has acquired Qwest Communications, Savvis and Embarq (formerly Sprint's Local Telecommunications Division).
  • In 2014, Level 3 acquired tw telecom in a $5.7 billion deal that combined its global fiber network and international data centers with tw telecom's extensive metro footprint in major U.S. Time Warner Communications was founded in 1993 as a joint venture between US West and Time Warner Communications. The company completed an IPO in 1999. It acquired Xspedius in 2006. 
  • Level 3's prior acquisitions include WilTel (2005), Progress Telecom (2006), ICG(2006), Telcove (2006), Looking Glass Networks (2006), Broadwing (2007), SAVVIS' content delivery network (2007), Servecast (2007), and Global Crossing (2011).

Sparkle upgrades its Nibble optical backbone with Infinera

Sparkle, the international service provider of TIM Group and among the top 10 global operators, selected Infinera’s ICE6 800G-capable coherent technology to enhance its new Mediterranean and European Optical Backbone, Nibble. Infinera’s ICE6 solution will enable Sparkle to launch new 400 GbE services over its existing infrastructure while boosting its network capacity by up to 54%.

Sparkle successfully completed a trial deploying Infinera’s ICE6 technology on live links from Catania to Milan and from Rome to Milan, achieving wavelength speeds of 500 Gbps across 2,136 kilometers and 700 Gbps over 858 kilometers, respectively, setting a milestone for European long-distance data transmission. 

The companies plan to deploy 800G channels along other routes on the Sparkle network.

“Infinera’s innovative ICE6 optical networking solution supports the evolution of our network, enabling us to deliver spectral efficiency and high-capacity services to meet customer expectations,” said Enrico Bagnasco, CTO at Sparkle.

“Infinera looks forward to working with Sparkle to enhance the capabilities of its pan-Mediterranean optical network with ICE6 and enabling Sparkle to offer new high-speed services to its customers,” said Nick Walden, Senior Vice President, Worldwide Sales, Infinera.

https://www.tisparkle.com/sparkle-boosts-nibble-infinera



Rakuten acquires Altiostar for Open VRAN solutions

 Rakuten Group has acquired Altiostar Networks at a total valuation of US$1 billion.

Altiostar’s 4G and 5G open virtual Radio Access Network (Open vRAN) solutions are being used by Rakuten Mobile in its new 5G network in Japan. Altiostar's suite of Open vRAN network functions are running on the Rakuten Communications Platform (RCP), which is a fully virtualized, cloud-native telco platform.

Altiostar Networks CEO, Ashraf Dahod commented: “Open RAN architecture and virtualization are key to building software-centric networks that can scale and adapt to meet an explosion of devices and applications driving service velocity and profits. Becoming a Rakuten Group company will allow us to build on our foundation and accelerate our technology development to help operators to innovate, explore new business models and bring affordable broadband to the masses through web-scale mobile networks.”


“We’re entering a new era where mobile network operators can choose how to build and deploy a network by working with the world’s most innovative software companies to create open and interoperable solutions,” commented Rakuten Group CEO, Mickey Mikitani. “We’re delighted to welcome the Altiostar team to the Rakuten family as we share a common passion for empowering mobile networks through disruptive innovation, offering mobile operators around the world secure, cost-effective and highly agile technology.”

After the successful launch of Rakuten Mobile’s 4G network in April 2020, Altiostar and Rakuten launched the world’s first container-based, cloud-native 5G radio access network (RAN) in September 2020. Altiostar is also growing its global operations with the expansion of its Indian R&D center and UK-based open vRAN engineering lab, as well as the opening of regional hubs close to its customers. 

In addition to Rakuten Mobile, Altiostar has been selected by multiple Mobile Network Operators among which Airtel in India, Dish in the United States and Telefonica in Europe and Latam. Altiostar has key partner relationships in place with RCP, Cisco, VMware, Dell, Fujitsu, IBM/Red Hat, Intel, NEC, Qualcomm, Sterlite, Tech Mahindra, Facebook Connectivity and public cloud providers. Altiostar is a member of the O-RAN ALLIANCE, the Telecom Infra Project (TIP), and a board member of the Open RAN Policy Coalition.

Rakuten tests O-RAN 5G Massive MIMO with Altiostar and NEC

Altiostar confirmed that its O-RAN Alliance-compliant multi-vendor massive-multi-input, multi-output (mMIMO) 5G solution is in now in testing with with NEC Corporation and Rakuten Mobile. Specifically, Altiostar is integrating the O-RAN distributed unit (O-DU) functionality of its virtual radio access network (vRAN) software with NEC's O-RAN Radio Unit (O-RU) using fully compliant control, user, synchronization and management (C/U/S/M) plane protocols...

Altiostar raises $114 million for its open vRAN

Altiostar, a start-up based in  Tewksbury, Mass., closed a $114 million Series C round of financing for its open virtualized RAN (open vRAN) technology. Rakuten, which is preparing to launch a greenfield mobile network in Japan later this year, is coming on board as an investor. Rakuten is deploying the Altiostar solution in their mobile network and the companies are collaborating on the development of 5G solutions. In early 2018, Qualcomm...

Rakuten invests in Altiostar for virtual RAN

Rakuten, the Japanese e-commerce and fintech company and soon to be the operator of Japan’s newest mobile network, will make a strategic investment in Altiostar Networks, a start-up based in Tewksbury, Mass. The investment is subject to approval by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. Altiostar provides a 5G-ready virtualized RAN software solution that supports open interfaces and disaggregates the hardware from the software...


Mavenir supplies O-RAN for Montana's Triangle under Rip-n-Replace

Mavenir has been selected by Triangle Communications, a telecommunications service provider for the state of Montana, to deliver a fully virtualized Open RAN and Evolved Packet Core (EPC) network.

Triangle Communications is undergoing a full network transformation, removing untrusted network providers equipment using funding from the FCC provided under the Secure and Trusted Telecommunications act.

The Rip and Replace project and will include:

  • Mavenir’s fully containerized Evolved Packet Core (vEPC) as part of MAVcore, cloud-native, fully virtualized and fully containerized mobile core.
  • Open virtualized RAN (Open vRAN) designed with cloud-native virtualization techniques, enabling the RAN to flex and adapt based on usage and coverage. Delivering O-RAN compliant elements as part of the MAVair Open RAN solutions.
  • Mavenir Webscale Platform (MWP) enabling Triangle to run applications on any cloud – Private, Public or Hybrid clouds. MWP is part of the Mavenir MAVscale product portfolio.


“We are very pleased with this contract award from Triangle and the confidence placed in virtualized networks, including the commercial readiness of Open RAN. This Rip and Replace has been a topic of discussion in the USA for quite some time and this announcement showcases the current state of the market and the trust that is returning to US headquartered telecommunication vendors as part of the global move to diversify the supply chain and future proof networks to avoid future Rip and Replace scenarios that are caused by using proprietary vendor locked solutions,” says Mavenir President and Chief Executive Officer Pardeep Kohli.

FIBERSTAMP intros 200G QSFP56 ER4 transceiver

Taiwan-based FIBERSTAMP recently introduced a 200G QSFP56 ER4 optical transceiver with a 40km reach.

FIBERSTAMP says its new product uses a 4-lane WDM optical engine architecture, which integrates 4-lane cooled EML TOSA, APD ROSA and 50G PAM4 CDR based on DSP technology. The transceiver complies with the QSFP MSA standard, supports IEEE 802.3cn 200GBASE-ER4 Ethernet and OTN protocols, and supports a maximum transmission distance of 40km, well applicable for 200G long-distance metro DCI and 5G backhaul.

https://www.fiberstamp.com/

Lumen's Q2 sales dip to $4.9 billion

 Lumen Technologies reported total Q2 revenue $4.924 billion, compared to $5.192 billion for the second quarter 2020. Reported net income was $506 million for the second quarter 2021, compared to $377 million for the second quarter 2020.

"Lumen delivered solid Adjusted EBITDA and Free Cash Flow in the second quarter, and we are executing on our strategy to optimize the Lumen asset portfolio, positioning the company for future growth," said Jeff Storey, president and CEO of Lumen. "We are well positioned strategically with our significant and accelerating fiber investments across both Business and Mass Markets."



Anritsu intros Dual Connectivity test for 5G SA

Anritsu introduced a Dual Connectivity Protocol Conformance test for 5G New Radio (NR) Standalone (SA) has been verified on the 5G NR Mobile Device Test Platform ME7834NR powered by the Snapdragon X65 5G Modem-RF System.

NR Dual Connectivity (NR DC) allows a device to connect to two 5G NR serving nodes concurrently, enabling higher throughput, better coverage, and improved latency and reliability.

The first Dual Connectivity Protocol Conformance test for 5G NR Standalone (SA) has been verified on the Anritsu 5G NR Mobile Device Test Platform ME7834NR powered by the Snapdragon® X65 5G Modem-RF System.

Anritsu said this is the first test where NR SA is operated over millimeter Wave (mmWave), and sub-6 GHz frequencies simultaneously. 5G devices can now take advantage of the wider reach of mid-band sub-6 GHz frequencies, along with the high data rates supported by mmWave.

"Our collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies continues to grow stronger with a focus on leading-edge features like NR DC," said Hideharu Tsukamoto, Director of 1st Solution Marketing Dept. at Anritsu.

www.anritsu.com 

Juniper joins Softbank’s 5G Consortium

Juniper Networks has joined the Softbank 5G Consortium established by Softbank Corp. as a founding member, having been named as a 5G-related partner.


Juniper’s automated and secure IP networking solutions, including its flagship MX Series Universal Routing Platforms, play a crucial role in the development of Softbank’s 5G infrastructure. This solution offers strong scalability, reliability and flexibility, which are all key to Softbank’s 5G networking demands and requirements such as Network Slicing with SRv6.

The Softbank 5G Consortium brings together partners, operators, industry experts and companies in 5G-related fields, to collaborate alongside Softbank on proof-of-concept demonstrations aimed at addressing the commercialization and adoption of 5G solutions across various industry verticals.


ADTRAN posts Q2 revenues of $143.2 million

ADTRAN reported Q2 revenues of $143.2 million compared to $128.7 million a year ago. Net income for the second quarter of 2021 was $5.1 million and earnings per share, assuming dilution, was $0.10 per share. Non-GAAP net income was $8.1 million and non-GAAP earnings per share, assuming dilution, was $0.16 per share.


ADTRAN Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Tom Stanton stated, “Strong demand for fiber access continued to drive multiple segments of our business including infrastructure, in-home premises equipment and our SaaS platforms. Tier 3 regional operators, both in the U.S and Europe, showed exceptional strength with growth over 50% on a year-over-year basis. Demand continues to be strong and we believe we are in the early phases of this growth cycle.”


https://investors.adtran.com/Interactive-Financials/default.aspx