AT&T Expects 2024 CAPEX in the $21-22 billion range

AT&T expects 2024 capital investment in the $21-22 billion range as it remains focused on building vital digital infrastructure for both mobile and fiber networks.  The company believes it was at “peak capital investment” in 2022 and 2023, and now expects to decrease investments in the year ahead, inclusive of the recently announced deal with Ericsson.

Speaking at the Oppenheimer 4th Annual 5G Summit, Pascal Desroches, chief financial officer of AT&T, provided the following updates:

• AT&T is on track to generate full-year free cash flow of about $16.5 billion, grow adjusted EBITDA by 4%-plus and achieve an adjusted EPS at the higher end of the previously shared $2.35-to-$2.45 range or in the low $2.40’s range.
• AT&T expects to pass 30 million-plus consumer and business fiber locations by the end of 2025. Based on returns from fiber coming in better than initial assumptions, AT&T sees an opportunity to potentially pass an incremental 10 to 15 million consumer and business fiber locations within its existing footprint – assuming similar build parameters and a regulatory environment that remains attractive to building infrastructure.
• AT&T remains on track to reduce net debt and to achieve a leverage target of 2.5x net-debt to adjusted EBITDA in the first half of 2025.
• AT&T’s fixed wireless access (FWA) product – AT&T Internet Air – which is now available in parts of 34 locations. The company remains measured in where and how it offers AT&T Internet Air, and as a result, it expects FWA subscriber growth to vary from quarter to quarter.

https://investors.att.com/news-and-events/events-and-presentations

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Finland's DNA deploys Juniper QFX switches and Apstra software

DNA, a prominent mobile and fixed communications service provider in Finland and a member of the Telenor Group, has implemented an advanced data center network built on Juniper’s Apstra automation software, bolstered by high-performance hardware, and integrated by NEC. 

The new infrastructure in DNA’s data center supports both the services provided to business clients and the company's internal IT operations. 

Furthermore, DNA has selected Juniper Networks QFX Series Switches to drive the operations of its Telco Cloud locations throughout Finland.

Apstra is a turnkey multi-vendor automation solution (both hardware- and OS-agnostic), that provides DNA with a unified, real-time view of millions of data center elements, plus their dynamic performance, relationships and interdependencies. Its capabilities bring agility and more reliability to DNA’s network design, build and operations. The entire network management operations will be streamlined, and IT teams will be able to focus more on other priorities. It also enables DNA to create a set of templates for its data center network built on its desired intent and required business outcomes. Apstra automatically converts this intent into the network configurations and policies necessary to consistently achieve DNA’s defined outcomes.

“Apstra helps to de-risk data center networking significantly but also streamlines the operational overhead, making life much easier for pressured operators. Automation drives down the total cost of ownership in DNA’s data centers and frees up talent, all the while enabling it to open up rich new revenue streams via services which can be taken to market quickly and more reliably,” stated Mansour Karam, Group Vice President Products, Cloud Ready Data Center, Juniper Networks.

https://newsroom.juniper.net/news/news-details/2023/DNA-Plc-Automates-New-Data-Centers-with-Juniper-Networks-and-NEC/default.aspx

https://youtu.be/28oXvpXJ_3A

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Cloudflare: Global Internet traffic continues to grow 25% yoy

Global Internet traffic grew 25% in 2023, in line with peak 2022 growth, according to Cloudflare's Year in Review. 

Some of the biggest highlights of 2023 include:

• Most Popular Internet Service: Google came in first for the second year in a row, followed by Facebook (#2), Apple (#3), and TikTok (#4).
• Most Popular Social Media Platform: Facebook came in first, beating out 2022 leader TikTok (#2), followed up by Instagram (#3) and Twitter/X (#4).
• Most Popular Generative AI Service: OpenAI came in first for this emerging category, followed by Character AI (#2), Quillbot (#3), and Hugging Face (#4).
• Most Targeted Industry: Threat actors most commonly launched attacks on Financial organizations, globally.
• Most Common Cyberthreats: Deceptive links and extortion attempts found in malicious email messages were the top two most leveraged attack types.
• Internet Outages Observed: There were more than 180 Internet outages around the world in 2023 – compared to over 150 in 2022 – with many due to government-directed regional and national shutdowns of Internet connectivity.
• Globally, over two-thirds of mobile device traffic was from Android devices. Android had a >90% share of mobile device traffic in over 25 countries/regions; peak iOS mobile device traffic share was 66%. 
• Global traffic from Starlink nearly tripled in 2023. After initiating service in Brazil in mid-2022, Starlink traffic from that country was up over 17x in 2023. 

“We all depend on the Internet, and Cloudflare’s global network – one of the largest in the world – has evolved into a pillar of the critical infrastructure the digital world relies on,” said Matthew Prince, CEO and co-founder at Cloudflare. “Our unique role on the Internet allows us to see the ebbs and flows of online popularity and emerging technology trends in real-time – such as the boom in AI and accelerated global use of Starlink. It is our responsibility to be transparent and share the data and perspectives from reports like our Year in Review to help keep the online world more informed, resilient, and secure.”

This data comes from Cloudflare Radar, a free tool that lets anyone view global trends and insights across the Internet. Radar is powered by data from Cloudflare’s global network (one of the world’s largest, spanning 300+ cities in 100+ countries), and aggregated and anonymized data from Cloudflare’s 1.1.1.1 public DNS Resolver, widely used as a fast and private way to browse the Internet.

https://blog.cloudflare.com/radar-2023-year-in-review/

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Oracle opens cloud region in Valparaíso, Chile

Oracle activated a cloud region data center in Valparaíso, Chile. 

The new public cloud region is Oracle’s 2nd in Chile, after Santiago, and its 48th worldwide. It will offer Oracle Cloud’s full capabilities across more than 100 Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) services and cloud applications, including Oracle Autonomous Database, MySQL HeatWave Database Service, Oracle Container Engine for Kubernetes, Oracle Cloud VMware Solution, and AI infrastructure. 

Oracle Cloud Valparaíso Region underscores the company's significant investment across Chile and the broader Latin America region. Oracle now operates seven public cloud regions across Chile, Colombia, Brazil, and Mexico—more than triple that of any other major hyperscaler.

“The arrival of the second Oracle Cloud Region in Chile is a significant milestone as it allows our customers to gain the benefits of OCI’s services, while leveraging best practices for business continuity and disaster recovery,” said Joaquin Ma-Shichoy, managing director, Oracle Chile. “With the opening of the Oracle Cloud Valparaíso Region, we’re strengthening our commitment to Chile’s technological development by enabling organizations—including those in highly regulated industries and with in-country data residency requirements—to accelerate their journeys to the cloud.”

“Given that in Chile the rise of cloud infrastructure is a reality, the arrival of Oracle’s second region not only marks a technological milestone, but it will also help drive digital transformation and new cloud architectures that are more resilient and secure for industries across the country,” said Helder Branco, head of IT operations, Entel. “In addition, the opening of this new region demonstrates Oracle’s commitment to the country and continues to enable local companies to use world-class solutions recognized for their stability and high performance.”

https://www.oracle.com/news/announcement/oracle-becomes-the-first-hyperscaler-with-two-cloud-regions-in-chile-2023-12-12/

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Raytheon pursues Persistent Optical Wireless Energy Relay

Raytheon has received a $10 million contract from DARPA for the Persistent Optical Wireless Energy Relay (POWER) program, which aims to revolutionize energy distribution by leveraging power beaming for near-instantaneous energy transport in a resilient, multi-path network.

Under the two-year contract, Raytheon will create an airborne relay design to enable "webs" capable of harvesting, transmitting and redirecting optical beams. These "webs" will transmit energy from ground sources to high altitude for the precision, long-range operation of unmanned systems, sensors and effectors. Harvesting energy will ultimately reduce the military's dependence on fuel as well as its delivery and storage.

"Energy is essential in the modern battlespace, and it is critical to achieving military objectives," said Colin Whelan, president of Advanced Technology at Raytheon. "When operating in contested environments, energy may not always be available or abundant, making the need to generate, store and re-distribute it vital. This technology seeks to enable our military to generate power where it is safe and efficient to do so and easily distribute it to other platforms."

https://raytheon.mediaroom.com/2023-12-12-RTX-to-create-network-of-energy-webs-for-DARPA

https://www.darpa.mil/news-events/2022-10-05b

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DC BLOX plans new 216MW data center campus in Georgia

DC BLOX has acquired 72 acres of land in Conyers, Georgia, for a new hyperscale-ready data center campus.

The new campus will span 750,000 square feet of space with 216MW of total power committed by Georgia Power.

The first phase of the project will deliver 160,000 square feet of space to additional tenants, with an expected delivery date in Q4 2025.

DC BLOX is also building a dark fiber ring around the Atlanta metropolitan area, providing significant new fiber capacity for campus tenants and a resilient connection to its dark fiber route.

The facility will be developed with DC BLOX's design and construction partners: Evans General Contractors, DLB Associates, Corgan, Thomas & Hutton, and Bennett & Pless.

"DC BLOX’s ability to build vertically integrated infrastructure solutions including data centers and dark fiber networks is proving to be an important differentiator for our customers," said Jeff Uphues, CEO of DC BLOX.

https://www.dcblox.com/dc-blox-to-build-hyperscale-ready-data-center-campus-rockdale-county-ga/

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CoreSite Expands in New York and Denver

CoreSite expands data center campuses in New York and Denver to fulfill rising capacity and power needs.

• In New York, the new NY3 data center will add 85,000 square feet and 15 critical megawatts of capacity. Construction of the NY3 data center is set to complete in Q4 2024.
• In Denver, CoreSite plans to build a three-building data center campus spanning 600,000 square feet with 60 critical megawatts of capacity. The development is anticipated to have an on-site substation and expand CoreSite’s Denver market footprint, which today includes DE1 (910 15th Street, Denver) and DE2 (639 East 18th Avenue, Denver). The new campus will be constructed on 15 acres, and the first of three facilities will be built with three floors and offer 18 CMW of capacity.

CoreSite says these latest expansions are aimed at public and private cloud providers, enterprises, and network and service providers.

"Our approach to data center design and construction incorporates best practices from ideation to execution. CoreSite’s campus model is driven by customer demand and requirements that have seen a surge with the increased adoption of artificial intelligence and other high-density, high performance computing applications. The New York and Denver market expansions exemplify the need for purpose-built, modern and efficient data centers that can provide native access to the leading cloud providers and a comprehensive interconnection ecosystem." - Brian Warren 

https://www.coresite.com/

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Aliro Quantum develops simulation software for quantum networking

Aliro Quantum has developed simulation software for designing and building quantum networks.

The company's Aliro Simulator allows users to evaluate, fine-tune, and optimize quantum networks before deployment. The simulator models key aspects of a quantum network, from individual optical components to complex heterogeneous networks. The goal is to allow users to assess the accuracy, flexibility, and scalability of their quantum network designs without investing in hardware or software.

"Being able to easily design and simulate quantum network infrastructures will be key to quantum's success," said Jim Ricotta, CEO of Aliro Quantum.

https://www.aliroquantum.com

• Aliro Quantum was founded in 2019 and is based in Brighton, Massachusetts. The company was spun out of NarangLab at Harvard University. In terms of funding, Aliro Technologies (the parent or associated entity of Aliro Quantum) has raised a total of $3 million over three funding rounds, with the latest funding secured on October 10, 2023

Cisco makes an investment in Aliro Quantum 

Wednesday, October 25, 2023    

Aliro Quantum, a start-up based in Boston, announced that Cisco Investments participated in its recently announced round of funding, joining Accenture Ventures and lead investor Flybridge Leaders Fund.Aliro Quantum is developing foundational technologies needed for quantum networks and has filed ten patents that include 124 claims. The company has launched AliroNet, a non-QKD multipurpose entanglement-based secure network solution. Aliro is also...

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Aliro Quantum attracts investment from Accenture

Tuesday, October 10, 2023  Aliro  

Aliro Quantum, a start-up based in Boston developing entanglement-based secure quantum networks, has attracted an equity investment from Accenture. Financial terms were not disclosed.Aliro, spun out of NarangLab at Harvard University, includes world-class experts in quantum and classical networking and is leading the charge in quantum network development by offering the foundational technologies needed for organizations around the world to build...

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Aliro introduces end-to-end entanglement-based Quantum Network 

Wednesday, October 26, 2022  Aliro, Quantum, Start-Ups  

Aliro Quantum, a quantum networking start-up that spun out of NarangLab at Harvard University, introduced its end-to-end entanglement-based Quantum Network solution. AliroNet is hardware vendor agnostic and is licensed in three modes of operation. These three modes of operation align with the genuine quantum network rollout stages. Each mode of operation includes Aliro technical support services with the option to purchase additional services...

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