Zayo boosts its IP transit capacity in key metro markets

Citing increased demand to 100G ports, Zayo announced a significant boost to its IP Transit capacity in key metro markets across the United States.

Zayo recently completed upgrades to support 100G IP Transit in Phoenix, San Jose and Denver. These three metro areas join Atlanta, Boston, New York, Miami, San Francisco and Seattle in benefiting from Zayo’s 100G enabled services.

“We're also meeting requests from higher bandwidth consumers as they work to support the major increase in traffic on their own platforms. In many cases, the requests are for significant increases in bandwidth, even doubling capacity.”

http://www.zayo.com

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Australia's NEXTDC implements Ciena for DCI

Australia's NEXTDC Limited, a leading data center colocation provider, will deploy Ciena's Data Center Interconnect (DCI) platform.

NEXTDC operates data centers in Brisbane, Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne, and Perth. The facilities support more than 600 clouds, carrier networks and ICT service providers.

To support this deployment, IT solutions provider Over The Wire will simplify management and integration of Ciena into NEXTDC. Ciena Professional Services will provide end-to-end network design and a customised delivery model to ensure rapid deployment while adhering to pandemic guidelines.

“NEXTDC plays a critical role in today’s climate where data centers support Australia’s economy by accelerating digital-first strategies. Ciena’s DCI platform will enable us to provide the agile foundation our customers need to thrive in a competitive marketplace and COVID-19 environment,”­ Sean Rinas, Head of Network Operations, NEXTDC Limited.

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SpaceX launches its 11th Starlink mission

SpaceX successfully completed its 11th Starlink mission, adding a further 58 satellites to its growing broadband constellation.  Starlink now has over 600 satellites in orbit.

The launch was also notable because it used a Falcon 9 first-stage booster for the sixth time. The booster was recovered on the remote drone ship. The rocket fairing was also successfully recovered.

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ESnet6 makes progress toward 400G upgrade

The Energy Sciences Network (ESnet) is making great progress with the rollout of ESnet6, its next-generation network dedicated to serving the Department of Energy (DOE) national lab complex and overseas collaborators. ESnet6, which is expected to be complete in 2023, will see the deployment of next gen optical, core and service edge equipment on ESnet’s dedicated fiber optic cable backbone.

“We’ve had some delays, but our first priority is making sure the work is being done safely,” states ESnet6 Project Director Kate Mace, on the project's blog.

“We’re almost done with the optical layer, which is a big deal,” Mace said. “It’s been a major procurement of new optical line equipment from Infinera to light up the new optical footprint.”

https://esnetupdates.wordpress.com/

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Lightmatter is developing a photonic processor

Lightmatter, a start-up based in Boston, will unveil plans for an artificial intelligence (AI) photonic processor.

Lightmatter said its general-purpose AI inference accelerator will use light to compute and transport data. The 3D-stacked chip package contains over a billion FinFET transistors, tens of thousands of photonic arithmetic units, and hundreds of record-setting data converters. Lightmatter’s photonic processor runs standard machine learning frameworks including PyTorch and TensorFlow, enabling state-of-the-art AI algorithms.

“The Department of Energy estimates that by 2030, computing and communications technology will consume more than 8 percent of the world’s power. Transistors, the workhorse of traditional processors, aren’t improving; they’re simply too hot. Building larger and larger datacenters is a dead end path along the road of computational progress,” said Nicholas Harris, PhD, founder and CEO at Lightmatter. “We need a new computing paradigm. Lightmatter’s optical processors are dramatically faster and more energy efficient than traditional processors. We’re simultaneously enabling the growth of computing and reducing its impact on our planet.”

On August 18th, Lightmatter’s VP of Engineering, Carl Ramey, will present their photonic processor architecture at HotChips32.

https://lightmatter.co/

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Megaport Virtual Edge leverages SD-WAN

Megaport introduced a Virtual Edge service that enables the hosting of Network Function Virtualization (NFV), such as SD-WAN capabilities, directly on the Megaport global Software Defined Network (SDN).

The Megaport Virtual Edge (MVE) allows customers will tap into Megaport’s extensive platform reach to deploy and extend their network functions closer to the edge, in real time, and without the need to deploy hardware. MVE includes gateway functionality to connect with Megaport’s SDN in a platform-neutral and technology-agnostic manner. Once connected, SD-WAN enabled locations can provision on demand connections to Megaport’s ecosystem of cloud, IT service providers, and more than 700 enabled data centers.

Cisco SD-WAN is the first use case on MVE.

“As enterprises and service providers begin to fully understand the benefits of SD-WAN, the ability for Megaport customers to easily, and in minutes, ‘spin up’ SD-WAN virtual appliances around the world on our platform is a big enabler for global organisations,” said Vincent English, CEO of Megaport. “Having these virtual appliances fully integrated into the Megaport Interconnection Platform leveraging our multicloud connectivity takes this to another level.”

SD-WAN on MVE Highlights:

• IP-enabled connections to Megaport’s industry-first elastic interconnection platform.
• Bring your own SD-WAN license.
• Highly-distributed for localized connections.
• Point-and-click network provisioning to support interconnection between branch locations, data centers, cloud providers, and IT services.
• Real-time provisioning of virtual network infrastructure and interconnections.
• No hardware to ship, install, or manage.
• Pay-as-you-go (PAYG) consumption model.
• Unified end-to-end network provisioning and management to transform legacy networks.
• Secure, multicloud connections to more than 360 service providers and 700+ enabled data centers.

“The development of Megaport Virtual Edge marks a transformation point for Megaport,” said Bevan Slattery, Founder and Chairman of Megaport. “By creating a platform that will bridge various network access types directly to Megaport’s SDN, we have effectively made it possible to connect to our leading ecosystem of service providers and data centres from anywhere in the world. This will  put the power of elastic interconnection in the hands of more businesses around the globe. We are excited to work with Cisco to integrate their SD-WAN services on MVE so customers can gain full control over how they connect to the vital services that power their business.”

http://megaport.com/mve

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Brazil's Vogel Telecom deploys Infinera’s Groove (GX)

Vogel Telecom, a leading wholesale carrier in Brazil, deployed Infinera’s Groove (GX) Series G30 Compact Modular Platform to double capacity on its network, which includes Brazil’s route with the highest bandwidth demand, between São Paulo and Belo Horizonte.

Vogel Telecom deployed Infinera’s compact modular solution to upgrade its national fiber network infrastructure, which spans over 26,000 kilometers and supports high-capacity connectivity services across more than 600 cities in 13 Brazilian states.

“Infinera’s solutions enabled us to quickly enhance our network to deliver higher bandwidth capacity to meet the needs of our customers during the pandemic,” said Daniel Cardoso, Vogel Telecom COO. “The COVID-19 pandemic caused businesses and families to adapt to the changing environment, which contributed to a significant spike in bandwidth needs for Brazil’s largest internet service providers. Infinera responded quickly to our needs and provided the right solutions to scale our network. Deploying Infinera’s compact modular solution will also provide Vogel with the ability to seamlessly evolve our network to higher bandwidth capacity with Infinera’s ICE6 technology in the future.”

“Wholesale carriers like Vogel are experiencing unprecedented growth in network capacity requirements from service provider customers due to the increased use of bandwidth stemming from the rise in remote workers and distance learning,” said Alexandre Salomao, Infinera Country Manager for Brazil. “The deployment with Vogel underscores the ease of deploying Infinera’s solutions while quickly and cost-effectively helping our customers scale their bandwidth to keep pace with increasing bandwidth demands.”

https://www.infinera.com/

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U.S. further restricts Huawei's access to components

The U.S. Department of Commerce added further restrictions on Huawei Technologies (Huawei) and its non-U.S. affiliates to prevent access to electronic components and other U.S. developed technologies.

Specifically, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) in the Department of Commerce added another 38 Huawei affiliates to the Entity List, which imposes a license requirement for all items subject to the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) and modified four existing Huawei Entity List entries. BIS also imposed license requirements on any transaction involving items subject to Commerce export control jurisdiction where a party on the Entity List is involved, such as when Huawei (or other Entity List entities) acts as a purchaser, intermediate, or end user.

The restrictions have immediate effect. The Department of Commerce said this amendment further restricts Huawei from obtaining foreign made chips developed or produced from U.S. software or technology to the same degree as comparable U.S. chips.

“Huawei and its foreign affiliates have extended their efforts to obtain advanced semiconductors developed or produced from U.S. software and technology in order to fulfill the policy objectives of the Chinese Communist Party,” said Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. “As we have restricted its access to U.S. technology, Huawei and its affiliates have worked through third parties to harness U.S. technology in a manner that undermines U.S. national security and foreign policy interests. This multi-pronged action demonstrates our continuing commitment to impede Huawei’s ability to do so.”

https://www.commerce.gov/news/press-releases/2020/08/commerce-department-further-restricts-huawei-access-us-technology-and

U.S. tightens semiconductor restrictions on Huawei

Friday, May 15, 2020  China, DOJ, Huawei, Silicon  

U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued new rules aimed at cutting off Huawei's access to advanced semiconductors designed or fabricated using U.S. technology or software in other countries.

Specifically, BIS is amending its longstanding foreign-produced direct product rule and the Entity List to narrowly and strategically target Huawei’s acquisition of semiconductors that are the direct product of certain U.S. software and technology.

The following foreign-produced items will now be subject to the Export Administration Regulations (EAR):

• Items, such as semiconductor designs, when produced by Huawei and its affiliates on the Entity List (e.g., HiSilicon), that are the direct product of certain U.S. Commerce Control List (CCL) software and technology; and
• Items, such as chipsets, when produced from the design specifications of Huawei or an affiliate on the Entity List (e.g., HiSilicon), that are the direct product of certain CCL semiconductor manufacturing equipment located outside the United States.  Such foreign-produced items will only require a license when there is knowledge that they are destined for reexport, export from abroad, or transfer (in-country) to Huawei or any of its affiliates on the Entity List.

To prevent immediate adverse economic impacts on foreign foundries utilizing U.S. semiconductor manufacturing equipment that have initiated any production step for items based on Huawei design specifications as of May 15, 2020, such foreign-produced items are not subject to these new licensing requirements so long as they are reexported, exported from abroad, or transferred (in-country) by 120 days from the effective date.

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Red Hat builds edge use cases with new Kubernetes capabilities

Red Hat unveiled new products and capabilities aimed at helping enterprises launch edge computing strategies built on an open hybrid cloud backbone, including new features in Red Hat OpenShift and Red Hat Advanced Cluster Management for Kubernetes.

Red Hat said it believes that Kubernetes and its supporting technologies provide a perfect blend of power, reliability and innovation for edge computing, highlighted by the latest enhancements to Red Hat OpenShift and the newly-launched Red Hat Advanced Cluster Management for Kubernetes.

Red Hat’s new capabilities intended for edge use cases include:

• 3-node cluster support within Red Hat OpenShift 4.5, bringing the full capabilities of enterprise Kubernetes to bear at the network’s edge in a smaller footprint. Combining supervisor and worker nodes, 3-node clusters scale down the size of a Kubernetes deployment without compromising on capabilities, making it ideal for edge sites that are space-constrained while still needing the breadth of Kubernetes features.
• Management of thousands of edge sites with Red Hat Advanced Cluster Management for Kubernetes along with core sites via a single consistent view across the hybrid cloud making highly scaled-out edge architectures as manageable, consistent, compliant and secure as standard datacenter deployments.
• Evolving the operating system to meet the demands of the edge with the continued leadership and innovation of Red Hat Enterprise Linux, backed by the platform’s long history of running remote workloads.

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IBM's 7nm POWER10 processor optimized for cloud computing

IBM unveiled its POWER10 CPU for enterprise hybrid cloud computing.

The IBM POWER10 processor uses a design focused on energy efficiency and performance in a 7nm form factor with an expected improvement of up to 3x greater processor energy efficiency, workload capacity, and container density than the IBM POWER9 processor.

IBM said its POWER10 chip includes breakthrough new security features including, memory inception to improve cloud capacity and delivers faster with 4x additional encryption engines for today’s toughest standards and future encryption standards like quantum-safe cryptography, and new enhancements to container security.

It also features a new technologycalled Memory Inception that brings support for multi-petabyte memory clusters, which will improve cloud capacity and economics for memory-intensive workloads from ISVs like SAP, the SAS Institute, and others as well as large-model AI inference.

New processor core architectures in the IBM POWER10 processor with an embedded Matrix Math Accelerator which is extrapolated to provide 10x, 15x and 20x faster AI inference for FP32, BFloat16 and INT8 calculations per socket respectively than the IBM POWER9 processor to infuse AI into business applications and drive greater insights.

"Enterprise-grade hybrid clouds require a robust on-premises and off-site architecture inclusive of hardware and co-optimized software," said Stephen Leonard, GM of IBM Cognitive Systems. "With IBM POWER10 we've designed the premier processor for enterprise hybrid cloud, delivering the performance and security that clients expect from IBM. With our stated goal of making Red Hat OpenShift the default choice for hybrid cloud, IBM POWER10 brings hardware-based capacity and security enhancements for containers to the IT infrastructure level."

The company notes that IBM POWER10 is its first commercialized processor built using 7nm process technology. IBM Research has been partnering with Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. on research and development for more than a decade, including demonstration of the semiconductor industry's first 7nm test chips through IBM's Research Alliance.

https://newsroom.ibm.com/Stephen-Leonard-POWER10

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China Mobile on track for 300,000 5G base stations this year

China Mobile had 188,000 5G base stations in service as of mid-year and is on track to build 300,000 new 5G bases tations this year. The company will have commercial 5G services in the urban areas of cities at prefecture level and above across China this year.

In its recently filed financial report, China Mobile disclosed first half 2020 revenue of RMB 389.86 billion (approximately US$56.2 billion), relatively flat compared with the first half of 2019. Service revenue rose by nearly 2% while equipment sales declined. Net profit also dipped -0.5%.

CAPEX for 2020 is now expected to be RMB 179.8 billion, compared with RMB 165.9 billion last year. Nevertheless, CAPEX for second half of the year will be lower than in the first half of the year.

Some highlights:

China Mobile now has 947 million mobile customers, including 70.2 million on 5G plans.

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Claro Brasil implements Ericsson Spectrum Sharing

Claro Brasil is the first 5G network in Latin America using Ericsson’s dynamic spectrum sharing technology.

Ericsson’s dynamic spectrum sharing solution gives Claro a head-start in rolling out initial 5G services while waiting for the 3.5GHz and the 26GHz bands. In addition to these bands, Brazil’s National Telecommunications Agency is expected to award frequencies in the 700MHz and 2.3GHz bands during the 5G auction expected to happen in 2021.

Claro's 5G services are being rolled out initially across 12 areas in Brazil in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.

Ericsson said its Spectrum Sharing will enable Claro to deliver data speeds reaching 400Mbps. 

José Félix, President of Claro, says: “Ericsson Spectrum Sharing allows us to offer the first 5G network in Latin America. Claro has state-of-the-art infrastructure, which already offers the fastest 4.5G in the country, and now we take the lead by offering migration to 5G, even before the new frequencies dedicated to this new technology have been granted in Brazil. We have unique conditions to offer the best 5G experience and this reinforces our commitment to Brazil and to innovation. Despite the difficult times we have all been experiencing, we will continue to evolve and invest in order to always offer the best to our clients.” 

Arun Bansal, President of Europe and Latin America, Ericsson, says: “Claro’s customers in Brazil will soon be able to tap into the incredible power of 5G. This next generation network has far-reaching potential to transform the country, from agriculture to smart cities.

With Ericsson Spectrum Sharing, 5G can be activated through a software update on any of the five million 5G-ready radios that Ericsson has delivered to the world market since 2015, with more than 400,000 in Brazil.

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ZTE demos 3 energy saving technologies for 5G

ZTE has demonstrated three energy saving technologies suitable for the existing 5G wireless network: DTX shutdown (inclusive of timeslot shutdown and symbol shutdown), channel shutdown, and deep sleep.

The technologies have been tested by the Liaoning branch of China Unicom in Dalian, China.

ZTE said the trial results show that the power consumption can be reduced by 10% to 20% with DTX shutdown technology, 15% to 25% with channel shutdown technology, and 60% to 80% with deep sleep technology. When the energy saving technologies combination is enabled, a single 5G base station with S111 configuration can save 10 to 12 KWh per day on average, with network KPIs remaining stable.

To address 5G challenges of larger bandwidth, more channels, higher frequency bands, and denser sites, ZTE has also introduced a 7nm high-integration chip, a new-generation GaN high-efficiency power amplifier, and a V-tooth heat dissipation technique that uses a bionic leaf vein design.

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NTT launches Private Cloud in Hong Kong and Singapore

NTT Ltd. has launched a Private Cloud for Enterprise service in Hong Kong and Singapore.

NTT provides the infrastructure where clients can optimally deploy their workloads on NTT's private cloud, data center and network or as part of their own IT service and public cloud services.  The hybrid offer incorporates robust managed services which offer a simple user experience, orchestration, management and support across the data center, cloud environment including hyperscale offerings, up to the application layer.  NTT also provides consulting services to help clients navigate to the cloud.

"NTT Ltd.’s cloud solutions continue to evolve to meet the demands of a dynamically changing landscape. We are proactive in our development of high-performance software solutions and with Private Cloud for Enterprise, we are able to leverage the most up-to-date technology to deliver enhanced network economics to our customers. With leading SLAs, security and compliance features, this cloud solution helps us meet our customers’ business imperatives and rapidly expand into new markets, on a global scale," said Ramnik Kamo, EVP, Global Operations and CIO, Mavenir.

Masaaki Moribayashi, Senior Executive Vice President, Services for NTT Ltd, said, “Enterprises today are using various applications with a large amount of data stored in various platforms and they want to manage their hybrid IT securely. Our Private Cloud service will specifically target these high growth sectors supporting clients to manage their critical applications, including SAP, to enhance the agility and flexibility in securely managing large volumes of data in the cloud. Our top tier infrastructure, managed and professional services will respond to the strong and growing digital transformation demands in Asia. Financial clients, for example, can quickly develop new businesses by incorporating the latest technologies while complying with security regulation in each country. Manufacturers, for example, can fuel growth of their business leveraging private cloud to power critical and time-sensitive business operations.”

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Arianespace completes triple mission with Ariane 5 rocket

Arianespace successfully orbited two telecommunications satellites and one satellite servicing vehicle for Intelsat, B-SAT and Northrop Grumman using an Ariane 5 rocket launched from the Guiana Space Center.

The Galaxy 30 UHD video distribution/broadcast and broadband satellite, built for global network operator Intelsat, will cover North America. It is the first satellite in Intelsat’s Galaxy fleet refresh plan and will replace Galaxy 14 at 125 degrees west once it is in service in early 2021.

Intelsat also said Galaxy 30 will play an important role in its U.S. C-band spectrum transition plan, which is accelerating America’s path to 5G. Intelsat is facilitating the work of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in transitioning and safeguarding media services currently utilizing the lower portion of the band to make way for 5G wireless services. Intelsat is not seeking any reimbursement costs from the FCC’s public auction proceeds for any aspect of the Galaxy 30 launch or relocation.

BSAT-4b will be used for Ultra-High-Definition (UHD, 4K and 8K) direct-to-home television broadcasting across Japan, in conjunction with its twin, BSAT-4a, launched by Arianespace in 2017.

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MEF targets Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) definitiions

Building on its existing SD-WAN and MEF 3.0 network services standardization work, MEF has announced plans to define Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) services.

SASE is a developing market that combines network connectivity and security functions with subscriber policies to meet a higher level of performance and assurance required by the modern enterprise.

MEF said its work in the SASE domain extends its mission to achieve industry consensus on a standardized, converged software-defined networking, security, and policy framework that can be used by enterprises and service providers to transform consumption of cloud services and applications in the form of SASE services.

MEF's framework to standardize SASE services will be based on existing SD-WAN, security, automation, and other standardization work within MEF. The new SASE Services Definition (MEF W117) project that will leverage this standardization work, including:

• SD-WAN Service Attributes & Service Framework (MEF 70 and MEF W70.1)
• Application Security for SD-WAN Services (MEF W88)
• Zero Trust Framework and Service Attributes (MEF W118) - new
• Universal SD-WAN Edge (MEF W119) - new
• Performance Monitoring and Service Readiness Testing for SD-WAN Services (MEF W105)
• MEF Services Model: Information Model for SD-WAN Services (MEF 82)
• LSO Legato Service Specification - SD-WAN (MEF W100)
• Intent Based Orchestration (MEF W71)
• Policy Driven Orchestration (MEF W95)

“MEF has a proven track record of standardizing abstract constructs, attributes, and architectures for network services such as SD-WAN, Carrier Ethernet, Optical Transport, and IP,” said Nan Chen, President, MEF. “By achieving consensus on what a converged networking and security framework and associated SASE services should look like, MEF can empower technology and service providers to focus on providing a core set of common capabilities and then building their own innovative, differentiated offerings beyond those core features.”


“The SASE concept adjusts for a fundamental change in how enterprise users access business systems and the associated increased demand for lower-latency edge compute capabilities closer to the user,” said Pascal Menezes, CTO, MEF. “The well-defined and static network edge of the past is being replaced by more users working outside corporate walls and accessing business systems beyond corporate data centers. SASE shifts the focus from site-centric to user-centric security. The user can be anything (human, IoT, etc.) and anywhere, and security and network functions can be distributed away from the enterprise data center to maximize the availability of high performance edges (e.g. PoPs) and security clouds.”

MEF SASE Services Framework white paper - http://www.mef.net/resources/download?id=57&fileid=file1

http://www.mef.net/Press-Releases/MEF-Expands-MEF-3-0-to-Define-SASE-Services

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AWS intros "Braket" access to quantum hardware

AWS introduced a fully managed service that provides a development environment and access to quantum processors from multiple vendors, including systems from D-Wave, IonQ, and Rigetti.

The new Amazon Braket service lets users test and troubleshoot quantum algorithms on simulated quantum computers running on computing resources in AWS. When ready, customers can use Amazon Braket to run their quantum algorithms on their choice of quantum hardware from D-Wave, IonQ, and Rigetti. Both simulated and quantum hardware jobs are managed through a unified development experience, and customers pay only for the compute resources used.

“As we see quantum computing technologies make more meaningful progress, thousands of customers are asking for ways to experiment with quantum computers to explore the technology’s potential and contribute to its development,” said Bill Vass, Vice President, Technology, at AWS. “The cloud will be the main way that customers access quantum computers and combine those systems with high-performance classical computing for certain types of computationally-intensive research. Amazon Braket makes it easy for organizations to begin experimenting with quantum computing today—from those just beginning to explore the possibilities to those that are already familiar with different quantum technologies and are ready to use it as a research tool. Our goal for Amazon Braket is to be a catalyst for innovation across the quantum community, bringing together hardware and software developers, researchers, and end users.”

Amazon Braket is available today in US East (N. Virginia), US West (N. California), and US West (Oregon) AWS Regions, with more regions planned for the future.

https://aws.amazon.com/braket

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Facebook plans next data center in Gallatin, Tennessee

Facebook plans to build its next data center in Gallatin, Tennessee, which is located about 30 miles northeast of Nashville in Sumner county.

The 982,000 square foot campus is expected to use 80% less water than the average data center, be LEED Gold certified, and be supported by 100% renewable energy.

Facebook estimates its total investment in the project at $800 million.

https://www.facebook.com/notes/gallatin-data-center/hello-gallatin/10159281329678115

Facebook switches on Henrico Data Center in Virginia

Thursday, August 06, 2020    

Facebook’s Henrico Data Center in Virginia is now serving traffic.

Construction of the new 2.5 million-square-foot campus first began in 2017. Once fully built-out, the campus will represent an investment of $1 billion. The facility is supported by 100% solar energy from projects in Virginia.

https://www.facebook.com/notes/henrico-data-center/henrico-county-we-are-online/10106657488671209/

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Deutsche Telekom posts flat Q2 revenue at home, some COVID impact

Deutsche Telekom reported Q2 revenue of 27.0 billion euros, up 37% yoy after the inclusion of Sprint but down 0.6 percent in organic terms as the coronavirus pandemic impacted Systems Solutions and roaming revenues.

"The merger in the United States is a historic step for the Group”, said Tim Höttges, CEO of Deutsche Telekom. “Our figures are formidable and our strong business operations in Germany and the rest of Europe also play a part in this."

Some highlights:

• In Germany, Deutsche Telekom recorded its most successful quarter in broadband business in two years, measured in terms of net customer additions. 
• Between April and June, the number of broadband customers increased by 87,000, thus outperforming all competitors. 
• 386,000 customers switched to fiber-optic-based lines (FTTH, FTTC/vectoring). A total of 15.2 million of these lines now exist, which is 1.8 million more than a year earlier.
• In mobile business, roaming revenues lost on account of the travel restrictions had an impact. As a result, mobile service revenues were down 1.1 percent year-on-year in the second quarter. 
• Excluding the negative effects of the coronavirus restrictions, mobile service revenues increased by around 2 percent.
• Despite the negative effect of the pandemic on roaming revenues, total mobile revenue in the Germany operating segment increased by 1.1 percent in the second quarter compared with the prior-year period to 5.4 billion euros. 
• At the same time, adjusted EBITDA AL grew 3.0 percent to 2.2 billion euros. 
• In Europe, total mobile revenue decreased by 2.0 percent in the second quarter in organic terms to 2.8 billion euros. Strict cost discipline helped to prevent this trend being reflected in earnings. Adjusted EBITDA AL increased by 1.1 percent year-on-year in organic terms to 1.0 billion euros, marking the tenth quarter of growth in succession. DT's national companies recorded 174,000 mobile contract net additions. The broadband customer base grew by 69,000 between April and June. In addition, the companies gained 265,000 new users of converged fixed-mobile products, a year-on-year increase of more than 30 percent in the FMC customer base.
• As a result of the pandemic, T-Systems saw a slowdown in new deals closed with corporate customers. Many new IT projects were suspended or stopped. Customers are focusing on securing the continuity of their business and preparing for the period after the pandemic. Below the line, order entry declined by 24.0 percent year-on-year in the second quarter to 1.4 billion euros. The growth areas public cloud and security each recorded substantial double-digit growth.

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Telstra hit by bushfires and COVID-19 pulls forward 5G spending

Citing difficulties stemming from the Australian bushfires and the COVID-19 pandemic, Telstra a 5.9 percent drop in FY20 income to AUS$26.2 billion. NPAT decreased 14.4 percent to $1.8 billion. Reported EBITDA was $8.9 billion. After adjusting for lease accounting on a like-for-like basis, EBITDA decreased 0.3 percent to $8.4 billion.

CEO Andrew Penn said: "2020 is proving to be an enormously challenging year for everyone – for governments, businesses, communities, and for all of us as individuals. The emotional, mental, and economic stresses as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and necessary restrictions are profound. Through this extraordinary disruption – both the COVID-19 and bushfire crises, Telstra was challenged to adapt, to find new ways of supporting our customers, our people and the country in a time of need. I am very proud of the way our team responded, while dealing with the implications on themselves personally. The COVID-19 period has also highlighted that connectivity has never been more critical. We have witnessed a huge acceleration in the digital economy, an area now critical to a fast economic recovery where Telstra has a key role to play."

“nbn wholesale pricing remains the largest negative impact on our fixed business. Without some sort of longterm change leading to improvement in RSP economics, the risk of retail price increases, reduced customer experience or customers moving onto other networks such as 5G will increase. In Telstra’s case the profitability of reselling the nbn is negligible at best – that is not sustainable,” said Mr Penn.

“Earlier this year we decided to bring forward $500 million of capital expenditure planned for the second-half of FY21 into calendar year 2020. This is enabling us to accelerate our 5G rollout further while injecting much-needed investment into the economy. As a result, late last month I announced that we have increased our ambition and plan to cover 75 percent of the population with our 5G network by June next year.”

Some highlights:

• Telstra’s multi-brand strategy continued to deliver subscriber growth, particularly in mobile where it added 240,000 retail postpaid handheld mobile services, including 154,000 from Belong. It also added 171,000 retail prepaid handheld unique users, 347,000 Wholesale services and 652,000 IoT services.
• Overall mobile revenue declined $461 million in FY20. Reported postpaid handheld ARPU declined 8.2 percent or 6.8 percent excluding the impact of COVID-19 on international roaming.
• In the fixed business, revenue continued to be impacted by nbn migration, alongside the continued decline of voice and legacy services and operational issues. Through a focus on differentiated customer experiences including the Telstra Smart Modem, the company continued to have a market-leading share with 46 percent of the estimated nbn market (excluding satellite).
• During the year Telstra reduced underlying fixed costs5 by $615 million, or 9.2 percent. This brought underlying fixed cost reductions achieved since FY16 to $1.8 billion and put Telstra on track to achieve its $2.5 billion net cost reduction target in FY22.

• Telstra has announced 12,000 indirect role reductions and 7,300 direct workforce role reductions since it launched T22 in June 2018. As at the end of June 2020, the direct workforce was around 5,700 lower than two years ago. This figure includes 1,600 new roles recruited like software engineering and cyber security – and some additional roles brought on board in response to COVID-19 to mitigate workforce offshore capacity issues.

https://www.telstra.com.au/aboutus/investors/financial-information/financial-results

lstra  

Telstra plans to expand its network infrastructure in the U.S. by increasing bandwidth capa

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