Arm debuts Neural Processing Unit and Cortex-M55

Arm introduced its first microNPU (Neural Processing Unit) for delivering machine learning for its Cortex-M processor line. The company also introduced its Cortex-M55, its most AI-capable Cortex-M processor to date and the first based on the Armv8.1-M architecture with Arm Helium vector processing technology for significantly enhanced, energy-efficient DSP and ML performance. Cortex-M55 delivers up to a 15x uplift in ML performance and a 5x uplift in DSP performance, with greater efficiency, compared to previous Cortex-M generations. Arm claims a combined 480x leap in ML performance to microcontrollers.

“Enabling AI everywhere requires device makers and developers to deliver machine learning locally on billions, and ultimately trillions of devices,” said Dipti Vachani, senior vice president and general manager, Automotive and IoT Line of Business, Arm.

“Google and Arm have been collaborating to fully optimize TensorFlow on Arm’s architecture, enabling machine learning on embedded devices for very power-constrained and cost-sensitive applications, often deployed without network connectivity. This new IP from Arm furthers our shared vision of billions of TensorFlow-enabled devices using ML at the endpoint. These devices can run neural network models on batteries for years, and deliver low-latency inference directly on the device,” states Ian Nappier, Product Manager, TensorFlow Lite for Microcontrollers, Google.

https://www.arm.com/company/news/2020/02/new-ai-technology-from-arm

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Aqua Comms expands submarine system presence at 1025Connect

Aqua Comms, which operates subsea cable connecting the U.S. and Europe, is expanding its presence at 1025Connect, a 200,000-square-foot Technology Center and colocation facility located at 1025 Old Country Road in Westbury, New York. This provides 1025Connect customers with access to the North Atlantic Loop, a resilient dual-path network across the Atlantic.

1025Connect is a premier colocation interconnection facility on Long Island with more than 15 carriers and service providers available in the building, now including Aqua Comms’ North Atlantic Loop dual-path transAtlantic subsea cable system, along with Altice/Lightpath, CenturyLink, Crown Castle, DE-CIX Internet Exchange, Epsilon, OCG, RCN and Verizon. 1025Connect delivers direct access to multiple submarine cable systems connecting North America, Europe and Latin America, with the ability to bypass Manhattan fiber routes for greater network redundancy and diversity.

“Aqua Comms' expansion within 1025Connect is a boon for operators and businesses on Long Island who are looking for cost-effective, resilient and reliable infrastructure for their global communication requirements,” comments John Danko, Director of Business Development for 1025Connect. “Along with a number of other subsea cable systems, terrestrial networks and the world’s leading Internet exchange, having Aqua Comms now directly available at 1025Connect’s colocation facility, customers gain more control and access than ever before, offering a truly viable option for domestic and international companies seeking affordable and manageable connectivity solutions.”

Aqua Comm's AEC-2 subsea cable to tie into Interxion Copenhagen

Sunday, June 23, 2019  Aqua Comms, Interxion, Subsea  

Aqua Comms will interconnect its America Europe Connect-2 (AEC-2) subsea cable system at Interxion’s data center in Copenhagen.

AEC-2 is Aqua Comms’s portion of the Havfrue subsea cable project, connecting New Jersey, U.S.A., to Ireland, and Denmark. The America Europe Connect-2 cable is scheduled to land in Blaabjerg, near Esbjerg in September 2019 and will be the first new cable connecting Denmark to the U.S. in nearly two decades.

Aqua Comms supplies fiber pairs, spectrum and capacity networking solutions to the global media, content and carrier markets.

“The large number of networks and content platforms present at Interxion’s Copenhagen campus makes it an efficient location for AEC-2 to interconnect with our target customers,” said Nigel Bayliff, CEO of Aqua Comms. “The investment Interxion is making to develop its campus in Copenhagen aligns with the growth in demand we are seeing for highly resilient network capacity between northern Europe and the U.S”.

AEC-2 will complement Aqua Comms’ existing transatlantic cable, AEC-1, and deliver on its vision of creating a “North Atlantic Loop”, a resilient dual-path network across the Atlantic. This will be further enhanced by North Sea Connect (NSC) from Denmark to the UK and Celtix-Connect-2 (CC-2) as a second Irish Sea cable crossing from the UK to Ireland, both of which will follow shortly after AEC-2.

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MWC20 cancellation updates

Accedian: “After careful consideration, we have taken the decision to withdraw from MWC 2020. This was not a decision taken lightly. We’ve been extensively following the development of the virus and the recommendations of the WHO, and we have come to the conclusion that we must take the necessary precautions to protect our most cherished and valued assets: our employees,” said Dion Joannou, CEO, Accedian.

Amdocs statement: "In the face of the public health concern from the novel coronavirus, we are placing the highest priority on protecting the health of our employees, customers and partners. While we appreciate the precautionary measures put into place by the GSMA, we believe the safest option is not to attend MWC 2020 in Barcelona," said Shuky Sheffer, president and chief executive officer, Amdocs.

CommScope statement: "This is not a decision our executive team took lightly, and although the likelihood of contracting the virus is low, we will not risk the health of our employees, nor the business impact that would result if a quarantine were ordered. The team is currently exploring virtual trade show and meeting options to showcase the new CommScope portfolio."

Dali Wireless: “This was not a decision we took lightly, but ultimately, it’s not worth us potentially exposing our employees to health and safety risks, or propagating the spread of the virus with international travel,” said Dr. Albert Lee, CEO. iconectiv

InterDigital: "“InterDigital has a very proud history at Mobile World Congress: over the years we’ve taken advantage of the event to unveil numerous world’s firsts in communications technology, and this year we were excited to show some groundbreaking demos including a working 6G platform. However, nothing is more important to us than the health and welfare of our employees. We’ll be reaching out to our various stakeholders to discuss better means of bringing our new technologies to them and engaging in the important discussions that always take place in Barcelona,” said William J. Merritt, President and CEO."

NTT

Sony

Previously announced cancellations: Amazon, Ericsson, LG, NVIDIA, Viavi Solutions

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Verizon opens 5G Lab & Studio in London

Verizon has opened a new 5G Lab and production studio in central London – the company’s first 5G-enabled facility outside the United States – to support its international business and media customers. Verizon already operates 5G Labs in New York, Washington D.C., Cambridge, MA, San Jose, CA and Los Angeles. The company also opened a 5G First Responder Lab within its Washington DC facility, and a 5G esports training facility within its Los Angeles facility.

The London Lab showcases a selection of 5G-enabled use cases across a number of different verticals, including advertising and entertainment, education, manufacturing, medical, retail, utilities and venues. These include a mobile command center, an augmented shopping experience and smart retail shelving, intelligent asset management and AR-enabled workspace reimagining.

In addition, Verizon will open a 5G-enabled production studio in London in April 2020 to complement the 5G Lab facility. The studio will offer a space where Verizon Media’s owned and operated brands, as well as its partners and customers, can produce premium quality, 3D content including virtual and augmented reality experiences using state-of-the-art facilities like volumetric capture, motion capture and AR broadcast. It is also 5G-enabled, providing an incubator space for innovative creative companies to test and learn about how they can build content in the future that benefits from its capabilities to transmit massive amounts of data almost instantaneously.

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China warns regarding Ericsson and Nokia

The government of China has warned that France or other EU nations should not place restrictions or bans on Huawei equipment in 5G rollouts, as China has treated Ericsson and Nokia fairly in its domestic market.  The statement was posted online by the Embassy of China in France.

http://www.amb-chine.fr/chn/ttxw/t1742544.htm

Orange picks Nokia and Ericsson for 5G in mainland France

Sunday, February 02, 2020  5G, Ericsson, France, Nokia, Orange  

Orange officially named Nokia and Ericsson as its vendors for 5G in mainland France. The companies will provide a package of products and services that will enable the deployment of 5G across the country. The agreement includes antennas and associated professional services. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The decision follows pressure from the U.S. government and contentious debate over the security of the critical infrastructure. Orange had taken the position that vendors should not be excluded without due cause. The EU then issued a set of 5G network security recommendations that stopped short of banning any vendors.

In a press statement, Orange said its decision follows a year-long RFP process and extensive testing. Both Ericsson and Nokia "demonstrated the quality of their products, their support and commitment to a high-quality customer experience on the mobile network for many years."

The partnership with Nokia is focused on the West and South-East regions of France, zones where Nokia already supplies 2G/3G/4G on the mobile network (RAN). Nokia will initially support Orange’s 5G commercial launch by enabling the rollout of its state-of-the-art SRAN network to 5G through software upgrades, streamlining the initial steps to build 5G. It will also introduce 5G New Radio (5G NR)-based AirScale hardware, and software for the new 5G frequency bands.

Ericsson confirmed that it was selected by Orange France to deploy 5G radio access network (RAN) in three major French regions, including the capital Paris, and modernize its existing 2G/3G/4G radio access network. Ericsson 5G RAN products and solutions from the Ericsson Radio System portfolio will be deployed in the Orange network in the North-East, South-West and Ile de France/Paris regions of France. The five-year deal will make Ericsson the major RAN provider to Orange France. The partnership also includes maintenance and deployment services. Deployment will begin as soon as possible so that the Orange France 5G network will be ready to launch 5G services when the frequencies are made available during 2020.

Fabienne Dulac, Deputy Chief Executive Officer and CEO of Orange France, stated: “For Orange, the deployment of 5G represents a huge challenge and is one of the main priorities of our Engage 2025 strategic plan. We are delighted to be pursuing our partnerships with both Nokia and Ericsson, two key long-term partners, in order to develop a powerful and innovative 5G network. 5G will enable the development of new use-cases and new services, and will provide an enriched experience for our customers - both in the consumer and business segments. Through these agreements, Orange reaffirms its ambition to being network leader.”

Ericsson notes that it now has 80 commercial 5G agreements and contracts with unique operators, of which 34 are publicly announced 5G deals, including 24 live 5G networks on four continents.

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NFV for Rapid Service Activation

State of NFV Resource Site and Report: https://ngi.how/nfv-20

Spectrum Enterprise sees a great role for NFV for rapid turnup of services for enterprise customers across all sizes. Satya Parimi, Group Vice President, Enterprise Data and Smart City at Spectrum Enterprise, discusses how NFV opens the door to deliver new and innovative services to enterprises.

https://youtu.be/WMZDy0oOmdk

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Ericsson pulls out of Mobile World Congress 2020

Citing concerns about the spread of the novel coronavirus, Ericsson has decided to pull out of MWC Barcelona 2020.

Börje Ekholm, President and CEO, Ericsson, says: “The health and safety of our employees, customers and other stakeholders are our highest priority. This is not a decision we have taken lightly. We were looking forward to showcasing our latest innovations at MWC in Barcelona. It is very unfortunate, but we strongly believe the most responsible business decision is to withdraw our participation from this year’s event.”

MWC19 Barcelona attendance hits record 109,000

Friday, March 01, 2019  #MWC19  

Attendance at MWC19 Barcelona was 109,000, up slightly from recent years:

2019 - 109,000
2018 - 107,000
2017 - 108,000
2016 - 101,000

Visitors came from 198 countries and territories, and more than 55 percent of this year’s MWC attendees held senior-level positions, including 7,900 CEOs.

More than 2,400 companies participated at MWC19 across more than 120,000 net square meters of exhibition and hospitality space at Fira Gran Via.

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Amazon, NVIDIA, Viavi also withdraw from MWC

Amazon.com statement: ""Due to the outbreak and continued concerns about the new coronavirus, Amazon will withdraw from exhibiting and participating in Mobile World Congress 2020."

NVIDIA's statement: "Given public health risks around the coronavirus, ensuring the safety of our colleagues, partners and customers is our highest concern. MWC Barcelona is one of the world’s most important technology conferences. We’ve been looking forward to sharing our work in AI, 5G and vRAN with the industry. We regret not attending, but believe this is the right decision."

Viavi Solutions's statement: "After reviewing all available data, VIAVI has chosen to cancel participation in this year’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona out of an abundance of caution and concern for our employees, customers and partners. VIAVI remains excited about its powerful suite of 5G solutions."

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GSMA offers more safety assurances

Following news of additional exhibitor withdrawals from Mobile World Congress, GSMA confirmed that the event will occur as scheduled 24-27 February 2020.

The GSMA is seeking to reassure attendees and exhibitors that their health and safety are our paramount concern, by the following additional measures being put in place:

• All travellers from the Hubei province will not be permitted access to the event*
• All travellers who have been in China will need to demonstrate proof they have been outside of China 14 days prior to the event (passport stamp, health certificate)
• Temperature screening will be implemented
• Attendees will need to self-certify they have not been in contact with anyone infected.
• While further planning is underway, we will continue to monitor the situation and will adapt our plans according to developments and advice we receive. We are contending with a constantly evolving situation, that will require fast adaptability.
• Increased cleaning and disinfection programme across all high-volume touchpoints, e.g. catering areas, surfaces, handrails, WCs, entrances/exits, public touch-screens, etc. along with the use of correct cleaning/sanitising materials and products
• Increased onsite medical support – doubled over last year
• Awareness campaign via online and onsite info-share and signage
• Availability of sanitising and disinfection materials for public use
• Awareness and training to all staff on standard personal preventative measures, e.g. personal hygiene, frequency of use of sanitising/disinfection products, etc.
• Advice to exhibitors on implementing effective cleaning and disinfection of stands, offices along with guidance on personal hygiene measures and common preventive behaviour 
• Public health guidelines and advice communication to Barcelona hotels, public and private transport, restaurants and catering outlets, retail, etc. 
• Installing new signage onsite reminding attendees of hygiene recommendations Implementing a microphone disinfecting and change protocol for all speakers 
• Communicating advice to all attendees to adopt a ‘no-handshake policy’ 
• A 24-hour telephone Security and Medical service for all attendees, operational from 12th to 29th February 2020. This number appears on the back of badge holders, in the event App and on signage around the venue.

https://www.mwcbarcelona.com/

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Netskope raises a whopping $340M for its Secure Access Server Edge

Netskope, a start-up based in Santa Clara, California, raised $340 million in a new funding for its secure access server edge (SASE) and cloud security solutions.

The funding round led by new investor Sequoia Capital Global Equities. New investors Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and PSP Investments participated, as well as all existing investors including Lightspeed Venture Partners, Accel, Base Partners, ICONIQ Capital, Sapphire Ventures, Geodesic Capital and Social Capital. Following this investment, the company has achieved a valuation of nearly $3 billion.

The Netskope Security Cloud Platform provides visibility and real-time data and threat protection when accessing cloud services, websites, and private apps from anywhere, on any device. The solution combines next-generation secure web gateway (SWG) capabilities, zero trust secure access, advanced machine learning to detect unauthorized data exfiltration, and advanced threat protection to prevent cloud-based attacks that often evade legacy defenses.

“When we started Netskope in 2012, it was clear that the cloud was changing everything, but few saw how it would disrupt security,” said Sanjay Beri, CEO of Netskope. “Since inception, we have always focused on architecting a true cloud platform that, over time, will secure and govern all of an enterprise’s traffic as the perimeter evolves into a new high-performance worldwide cloud edge. This latest investment from the top enterprise and security investors in the world is proof of not only our enormous success in establishing Netskope as the new gold standard for cloud-delivered security, but also that the astounding level of global demand we’re seeing today is just the tip of the iceberg.”

“Netskope has become the unrivaled leader driving innovation across cloud, data and network security, which makes up the largest part of today's security market,” said Patrick Fu, managing partner at Sequoia Capital Global Equities. “Netskope is raising the bar for game changers who are successfully pushing beyond the limitations of existing technology to reshape a market. Sanjay and the entire Netskope team are on an incredible trajectory, and we are thrilled to partner with this talented team for the long term.”

Netskope 2019 Momentum Highlights

• 80 percent year-over-year growth in number of customers, which includes 25 percent of the Fortune 100
• Nearly 50 percent growth in employee headcount, with significant investments in engineering and sales
• Expanded executive bench to include CFO Drew Del Matto, Chief Development Officer David Wu, and SVP Platform Engineering Joe DePalo
• Opened new worldwide offices in Paris, São Paulo, Seattle, New York, St. Louis, San Francisco, Tokyo and a new headquarters in Santa Clara
• Expanded internationally in Australia, Singapore, Chile, Columbia, Brazil, Mexico, Italy, Spain, and Germany
• Named a Leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASBs) for the third year in a row
• Ranked among the Forbes Cloud 100 for the third year in a row, rising 25 spots from last year’s placement to #64
• Launched NewEdge, the globally distributed network that enables the Netskope cloud-native security platform to deliver real-time security without compromising performance
• Released the industry’s only next-generation SWG solution that seamlessly consolidates inline cloud-native SWG, inline cloud-native CASB and Cloud DLP capabilities
• Unveiled Netskope Private Access, a cloud-based service for secure access to private enterprise applications in both the public cloud and the data center
• Opened 26 new data centers to allow Netskope to run on one of the world’s largest and fastest security networks NewEdge, enabling the Netskope cloud-native security platform to deliver real-time security without compromising performance

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U.S. Cellular launches LTE-M

U.S. Cellular launched its LTE-M network on more than 90% of its cell sites nationwide. The carrier aims to have LTE-M running on 100% of its cell sites in the second quarter of 2020.

U.S. Cellular’s said its LTE-M network is ideal for IoT solutions such as fleet and asset management, tank monitoring, smart meters and other applications because of its low power wide area technology (LPWAN) that provides extended coverage at a lower cost. Low power or battery-limited LTE-M devices can be less complex, lower cost and built for mass adoption of IoT applications and deployment.

“Our LTE-M network brings our business and government customers capabilities and features that will enable an entirely new set of use cases to help them improve their operations and grow their business,” said Jim Anetsberger, vice president of business sales at U.S. Cellular. “We want to set our IoT customers up for future success with solutions that are designed to meet their specific needs. Working together with our vendors and customers, we can unleash the potential of our LTE-M network.”

U.S. Cellular currently supports several LTE-M modules, including the Telit ME910C1-WW and ME910C1-NA, Quectel BG96 and u-blox SARA-R410M, with additional vendors coming soon. As the company continues to build out and evolve its LTE-M network, new features and capabilities will be added.

https://business.uscellular.com

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DOCOMO invests in Wiliot for Bluetooth sensors

NTT DOCOMO Ventures made an equity investment in Wiliot Ltd., a start-up based in Caesarea, Israel, that has developed sticker-sized, always-on Bluetooth sensor tags that can operate without battery and can be used for object tracking solutions.

Wiliot's cloud-connected sensor, which is the size of a postage stamp, offers Bluetooth and RFID. It can operate battery-free by capturing the electric power of radio waves from Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, etc. In addition to transmitting encrypted ID information, the product is able to detect temperature levels and product pickup movements without special sensor devices. Any Bluetooth Low Energy communication device such as a phone, smart speaker and many Wi-Fi access points can receive information from the product. Later this year Wiliot expects to announce mass production of its product.

https://www.wiliot.com/

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Facebook activates data center in New Albany, Ohio

Facebook activated a new hyperscale data center in New Albany, Ohio. Facebook broke ground on this data center in August 2017.


Facebook also announced plans to expand the New Albany Data Center facility by adding two more buildings, makig this a nearly 2.5 million square foot campus. Once completed, this facility will represent an investment of more than $1 billion and support over 150 jobs.

https://www.facebook.com/NewAlbanyDataCenter/

New Albany is a town of about 8,500 people located in the geographic center of Ohio, about 20 miles to the northeast of Columbus, and at an elevation of 1,000 feet.

Like Facebook's other recent data center projects, this new facility will be powered 100% by renewable energy and it will used Open Compute Project architecture and principles, including direct evaporative cooling by outdoor air.

The New Albany data center will be 900,000 square feet in size and located on a 22 acre parcel.

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State of NFV: The Next Phase of Virtualization - Cisco

State of NFV Resource Site and Report: https://ngi.how/nfv-20

The key challenge for NFV is the operationalization, the automation, and the management that will be required for organizations to succeed. JL Valente, VP/GM Service Provider Solutions, Cloud Platform and Solutions Group at Cisco, takes a look at what’s coming to NFV in 2020 and beyond.

https://youtu.be/OS2f4PSrWKk

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FCC Chairman proposes accelerated timeline for opening C-band

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai circulated draft rules with his fellow Commissioners that would reform the use of the C-band and make a large amount of spectrum available for 5G.

The C-band is a 500 megahertz segment of spectrum from 3.7 to 4.2 GHz, which is now mostly used by fixed satellite companies to beam content to video and audio broadcasters, cable systems, and other content distributors.

Under the proposed rules, the lower 280 megahertz of the C-band would be available for flexible use, including 5G, through a public auction.  Existing satellite operations would be repacked into the upper 200 megahertz of the band with relocation costs covered by the winning bidders of the auctioned spectrum.

Chairman Pai argues that his proposal would quickly free up a significant amount of spectrum for next-generation wireless services, and it would generate significant revenue for the U.S. Treasury. The plans calls for an accelerated timeline, with the auction occurring in December 2020. 5G deployments could happen in the lower 100 megahertz of the C-band in 46 of the nation’s top 50 Partial Economic Areas by September 2021 and in the remaining spectrum by September 2023.

https://www.fcc.gov/document/summary-chairman-pais-c-band-proposal

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T-Mobile US posts its strongest quarterly and yearly financials to date

T-Mobile US reported 1.9 million total net customer additions for the fourth quarter of 2019, bringing its total customer count to 86.0 million, and marking the 27th straight quarter in which T-Mobile generated more than 1 million total net customer additions. For full-year 2019, total net customer additions were 7.0 million.

Total service revenues increased 6% to a record-high of $8.7 billion in Q4 2019 and 6% to a record-high of $34.0 billion in full-year 2019. These results represent the best quarterly and full-year performance for the company.

“T-Mobile continues to deliver incredible results quarter after quarter! In Q4 we set new financial records across the board and recorded our 27th consecutive quarter with over 1 million total net customer additions,” said John Legere, CEO of T-Mobile. “We achieved these spectacular results all while launching the first and only nationwide 5G network, announcing Un-carrier 1.0 for New T-Mobile, and delivering a compelling and fact-based argument in court to support our pending merger. Our results continue to show that the Un-carrier strategy works, and it delivers for both customers and shareholders. I couldn’t be more confident and excited about our future and We Won’t Stop!”

Branded postpaid phone Average Revenue per User (ARPU) decreased 1.1% to $45.79 in Q4 2019 and decreased 0.8% to $46.04 in full-year 2019.
Branded prepaid ARPU was essentially flat at $38.54 in Q4 2019 and down 1.5% to $37.95 in full-year 2019.
 In December 2019, T-Mobile launched its nationwide 5G network, including prepaid 5G with Metro by T-Mobile, covering more than 200 million people and more than 5,000 cities and towns across the United States with 5G.
At the end of Q4 2019, T-Mobile owned a nationwide average of 31 MHz of 600 MHz low-band spectrum.
As of December 31, 2019, T-Mobile  had cleared 275 million POPs and the company expects to clear the remaining 600 MHz POPs in 2020.
T-Mobile continues its deployment of 4G LTE on 600 MHz spectrum, using 5G-ready equipment, with 1.5 million square miles already lit up, covering 248 million POPs in nearly 8,900 cities and towns in 49 states and Puerto Rico.

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CoreSite data centers added 224,000 net rentable square feet in 2019

CoreSite reported operating revenues of $146.0 million for Q4 2019, an increase of 5.0% year over year and 0.8% sequentially. For the quarter, the company elivered net income of $0.51 per common diluted share, a decrease of $0.03 year over year and an increase of $0.04 sequentially.

Some operational highlights:

• Commenced 130 new and expansion leases for 86,187 net rentable square feet (“NRSF”), representing $16.6 million of annualized GAAP rent, for an average rate of $193 per square foot
• Signed 129 new and expansion leases for 30,770 NRSF and $6.6 million of annualized GAAP rent, for an average rate of $216 per square foot
• Renewed 323 leases for 151,057 NRSF and $21.9 million of annualized GAAP rent, for an average rate of $145 per square foot, reflecting a decrease of 0.8% in cash rent, an increase of 0.1% in GAAP rent, and 2.9% churn
• Placed into Service Data Center Expansions of approximately 74,000 square feet
• Delivered into service SV8 Phase 2 for 54,000 NRSF with 100% occupancy, and BO for 20,000 NRSF
• For 2019, CoreSite achieved an “eight 9’s” level of reliability, or 99.999999% uptime for power and cooling across its portfolio of data centers, which exceeded the Company’s target of “six 9s” and the industry standard of “five 9s”.
• Also in 2019, the Company delivered an approximate 4.8% improvement in PUE on a same-store basis compared to 2018. 

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Mavenir deploys cloud-native IMS for T-Mobile CZ and Slovak Telecom

Mavenir has deployed its cloud-native, converged IMS solution for both T-Mobile Czech Republic (TMCZ) and Slovak Telekom (ST).

T-Mobile CZ, which is an existing Mavenir customer, has moved its multi-million VoLTE subscribers (prepaid, postpaid, VoWiFi, fixed) to an NFV-based, software infrastructure solution, while continuing to support the same features and functions.

Slovak Telekom has moved to the same solution but is replacing a legacy vendor proprietary hardware 1st generation IMS implementation to an open NFV-based solution. Slovak Telekom started recently to migrate its current VoLTE subscribers from legacy IMS, add new VoLTE subscribers and migrate its fixed subscribers.

Mavenir said both operating companies intend to leverage shared data centers in 2 locations across two countries, and the common implementation to improve operational effectiveness and reduce complexity in the networks.

“We continue with the transformation of our leading networks for our Czech and Slovak customer base, where the convergent Mavenir IMS Voice solution perfectly fits our demand and serves our future technology and cost reduction strategy,” said Branimir Maric, CTIO at T-Mobile CZ and Slovak Telekom. “We selected Mavenir for their ability to solve and overcome IMS deployment challenges quickly, as well as their proven NFV and system integration expertise.”

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GSMA's 3rd Coronavirus update: MWC remains on track

On Thursday, GSMA issued its 3rd bulletin in a week concerning the coronavirus, saying that it continues to monitor the situation and there remains minimal impact on MWC Barcelona 2020 thus far.

MWC Barcelona 24-27 February 2020, will proceed as planned, across all venues at Fira Gran Via Fira Montjuïc and La Farga L’Hospitalet, including YoMo and Four Years From Now (4YFN).

https://www.gsma.com/newsroom/statement/gsma-update-information-on-coronavirus/

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Clearfield's fiber-optimized outdoor cabinet adds air conditioning option

Clearfield has added an air conditioner option to its FieldSmart Fiber Active Cabinet (FAC) product line for outdoor enclosures.

The air conditioner option enables the deployment of routers, switches and other non-hardened devices in fiber-fed, outdoor cabinets closer to the end customer.

The FieldSmart FAC sizes that accommodate the air conditioner option also include the following elements:

• FieldSmart FAC 3200 features two front and rear 16RU 23” frames that can accommodate up to 32RU of active electronics while providing up to 576 internal fiber distribution ports for deployments.
• FieldSmart FAC 5400 features two swing frame front and rear 27RU 23” frames that can accommodate up to 54RU of active electronics and provides up to 1,152 internal fiber distribution ports for deployments.
• FieldSmart Fiber Active Cabinets are designed to accommodate the variety of standard options expected in remote cabinets, such as the rectifier system, battery warmers and field upgradeable fiber bulkheads. 

“Customers are telling us they need to place non-hardened active equipment deeper in the network requiring climate-controlled air conditioners that maintain operating temperature inside the cabinet,” said Johnny Hill, Clearfield’s chief operating officer. “The challenge our customers face is that the development times to engineer these devices so that they can be deployed in the outside plant isn’t feasible if they want to take early advantage of market demand. By adding this feature to our FACs, we’re solving that problem for them, with the added benefit of having one partner that’s able to work with them on any deployment.”

https://www.seeclearfield.com/products/category/cabinets-powered.html

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