Verizon expanded its fixed 5G Home Internet service to more cities, including parts of Milwaukee and Tampa.
Verizon 5G Home Internet is now available in 30 markets.
The carrier says most customers can experience max download speeds up to 1 Gbps, with typical download speeds of 300 Mbps.
https://www.verizon.com/about/news/verizon-5G-home-internet-is-available-in-more-cities
The Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) added the following seven Chinese supercomputing sites to its Entity List for conducting activities that are contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States:
Tianjin Phytium Information Technology, Shanghai High-Performance Integrated Circuit Design Center, Sunway Microelectronics, the National Supercomputing Center Jinan, the National Supercomputing Center Shenzhen, the National Supercomputing Center Wuxi, and the National Supercomputing Center Zhengzhou.
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo released the following statement:
“Supercomputing capabilities are vital for the development of many – perhaps almost all – modern weapons and national security systems, such as nuclear weapons and hypersonic weapons. The Department of Commerce will use the full extent of its authorities to prevent China from leveraging U.S. technologies to support these destabilizing military modernization efforts.”
CommScope announced plans to spin-off its Home Networks business and other initiatives to reduce operating costs throughout the Company.
Upon completion of the separation, Joe Chow, Home Networks senior vice president, will become the chief executive officer of the stand-alone Home Networks company. The Board of Directors, management, company name and headquarters will be announced after they are finalized. The new, independent company is expected to be listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange upon completion of the separation.
CommScope said the spinoff will improve its own margins while allowing the new company to pursue its own strategic market opportunities.
Following the completion of the spin-off transaction, CommScope will be composed of the following three business segments:
“Since I joined CommScope last October, the Board and management team have been undertaking a comprehensive review of our portfolio of assets and how each contributes to our long-term growth strategy,” said Chuck Treadway, president and chief executive officer. “As we proceeded with this review, it became clear that the Home Networks business’ distinct strategy, growth characteristics, investment requirements and returns on invested capital are not aligned with the rest of our portfolio. We believe that Home Networks will be better positioned to deliver superior home and consumer-oriented products as an independent company. In addition, we are moving quickly to streamline costs to create greater financial flexibility to invest in our growth. We expect the cost reduction actions we are taking in core CommScope to, at a minimum, offset Home Networks’ adjusted EBITDA and create savings we can reinvest in our business, which should result in post-spin leverage within core CommScope at no more than current levels.”
Honda and Verizon, in partnership with the University of Michigan’s Mcity, a test bed for connected and autonomous vehicles, are testing how new connected safety technology using 5G and mobile edge computing (MEC) could ensure fast, reliable communication between road infrastructure, vehicles and pedestrians sharing the road thus reducing collisions and saving lives.
Since 2017, Honda has been developing a technology to realize a collision-free society called SAFE SWARM. Using Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything (C-V2X) communication, Honda SAFE SWARM enables vehicles to communicate with other road users and share key information such as location, speed, and vehicle sensor data. One limitation of this approach is the need to outfit each vehicle with onboard artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities. The use of 5G helps move the AI capabilities from the vehicle to the MEC, reducing the need for AI onboard each vehicle.
The partners highlighted three safety scenarios:
“Honda’s research collaboration with Verizon is an important step in our multi-year effort to develop connected vehicle safety technology to realize our vision for a collision-free society,” said Ehsan Moradi Pari, Ph.D, research group lead at Honda’s Advanced Technology Research Division. “While the research is preliminary and not intended as a product feature at this time, 5G-enabled vehicle communication and MEC have the potential to advance safety for everyone sharing the road.”
“The ability to move computing power to the edge of our 5G network is an essential building block for autonomous and connected vehicles, helping cars to communicate with each other in near real-time and with sensors and cameras installed in streets and traffic lights,” said Sanyogita Shamsunder, vice president of Technology Development and 5G Labs at Verizon. “When you consider that roughly 42,000 people were killed in car accidents last year and 94% of accidents are caused by human error, our new technologies including 5G and MEC can help drivers ‘see’ things before the human eye can register and react helping to prevent collisions and save lives.”
Axiata Group and Telenor Asia are planning to merge the telco operations of Celcom Axiata Berhad (Celcom) and Digi.com Berhad (Digi) into a new Malaysian Digital Champion.
The partners will have equal ownership in the venture estimated at 33.1 percent each. Axiata together with Malaysian institutional funds will own over 51% of the merged company, which will be considered a leading telecommunications service provider in Malaysia in terms of value, revenue and profit, with proforma revenue of about RM12.4 billion, pre-synergy EBITDA of the combined entity at approximately RM5.7 billion, and an estimated 19 million customers. The new company will be named Celcom Digi Berhad and will continue to be listed on Bursa Malaysia.
Chairman of the Axiata Board, Tan Sri Ghazzali Sheikh Abdul Khalid, said: “We are exceedingly pleased to have come this far in discussing the potential merger of our Malaysian operations. The joint creation of a true Malaysian Champion, this merger of Celcom and Digi will see the coming together of the largest mobile operator with the firepower to trigger tremendous opportunities in helping Malaysia leapfrog into the Fourth Industrial Revolution and fulfil our vision of a digitised nation.”
“As Malaysia charges ahead in new areas of 5G, cybersecurity, Artificial Intelligence and Internet-of-Things, the new entity will be positioned to compete amidst uncertainties and challenges in the post-pandemic world. As we face fierce competition from global internet based services and content providers, our stronger strategic position will allow for better negotiation levers in how we choose to compete and cooperate.”
Axiata’s President & Group Chief Executive Officer, Dato’ Izzaddin Idris, said: “It is no secret that the telecommunications industry continues to face long-term structural headwinds of slower growth, increased operating costs and lower profits. On one hand, we see prices of products and services continue to slide while capital expenditure especially on network, quality coverage and advanced technology continue to rise. Against that, data traffic has doubled every year pre-Covid and expected to accelerate even faster in the new norm. Digital aspirations and the ever-increasing demand for connectivity call for significant investments. In order to stay ahead of the curve, we must strengthen the foundation to offer continuous high-quality broadband, improve 4G connectivity and subsequently, support the acceleration of 5G rollout.”
https://www.axiata.com/investors/ir-presentations/
Cradlepoint introduced its new R1900 Ruggedized 5G Edge Router, powered by a Cradlepoint NetCloud subscription service that includes cloud-delivered software, endpoints, training, and support. The R1900 router, which is optimized for in-vehicle networks, is the first product to utilize Cradlepoint's second-generation 5G architecture. It supports nationwide coverage (low-band) and capacity (mid-band) networks at speeds up to 1Gbps as well as gigabit LTE.
The unit delivers full 5G performance, enterprise-class security and SASE support, IoT connectivity with Bluetooth, and edge computing for Microsoft Azure IoT Central or AWS Greengrass environments.
Highlights
The R1900 design will support all nationwide public safety networks on both LTE and 5G, such as AT&T FirstNet and Verizon Frontline in the US and the Emergency Services Network (ESN) in the UK.
T-Mobile U.S. officially launched its wireless Home Internet service with coverage to more than 30 million households, making T-Mobile one of the largest broadband providers in the entire country by service area — on its first day of service.
Nearly 10 million of the households eligible for T-Mobile Home Internet are in rural areas where often there is only one other broadband provider or none at all.
T-Mobile Home Internet access runs over the carrier's 4G and 5G network. Monthly service is priced at $60 with no data cap. T-Mobile says most users should experience download speeds of 100 Mbps. Availability is based on network capacity, which is increasing all the time, as well as Wi-Fi Gateway inventory, which is limited by global supply chain constraints at launch.
Nokia and Optus achieved a record-breaking aggregate site throughput of 10 Gbps during a downlink speed demonstration using 800 MHz of millimetre Wave (mmWave) spectrum at a live 5G site in Brisbane, Australia. The site is powered by Nokia AirScale Radio.
The recent demonstration showcased the capabilities of Nokia’s 5G mmWave technology and the benefits of adding it on top of an existing 5G/4G site.
Lambo Kanagaratnam, Managing Director of Networks at Optus, said: “We’re committed to keeping Australia connected and at the forefront of 5G. By partnering with global technology leaders like Nokia, we’ve taken an exciting step towards unlocking the massive potential that 5G mmWave will bring to the consumers, enterprises and industries in Australia. Reaching 10 Gbps per site is a crucial step in our 5G development and validates the progress we’ve made with the technology together with Nokia.”
Anna Wills, Head of Oceania at Nokia, said: “This is another milestone in the development of 5G services and demonstrates the confidence operators have in our 5G solutions. Today’s achievement with Optus shows the potential of mmWave deployments, particularly at a time when connectivity and capacity are so crucial. We’re proud of our long-standing relationship with Optus and the great strides we continue to make together in this new era of connectivity."
Semtech announced sampling of the newest member of its Tri-Edge CDR portfolio, the GN2256, an IC solution to enable 50Gbps PAM4 Fixed-WDM (Wavelength Division Multiplexing), Tunable WDM and Silicon Photonics optical modules.
The device integrates Semtech’s proven Tri-Edge CDR platform with a differential EML (Externally Modulated Laser) driver.
Semtech says the approach to expanding 5G wireless infrastructure bandwidth differs based on geographic region, deployment area considerations and carrier preferences. This often requires different types of optical modules in 5G wireless front haul links. In regions where it is typically difficult to install more fiber or reduce overhead costs, carriers utilize “colored” optical modules that send and receive multiple signals using differing wavelengths on a single fiber. These optical modules are also referred to as WDM optical modules and are critical for the 5G wireless infrastructure, especially for countries like Japan, Korea and the U.S.
The GN2256 combines Semtech’s proprietary analog Tri-Edge technology with enhanced laser driver compensation to enable IEEE and Open Eye MSA compliant optical modules over industrial temperature ranges. Semtech’s Tri-Edge 5G platform addresses the full range of optical modules needed for all regions by enabling multiple types of SFP56 optical modules operating at 50Gbps PAM4.
“With the introduction of the GN2256 Tri-Edge IC, Semtech has established itself as the leader in 5G wireless front haul deployments with a truly differentiated and comprehensive IC portfolio. Semtech is a one-stop shop for our optical module partners and system vendors to enable worldwide 5G wireless front haul deployments,” said Raza Khan, senior market manager for Semtech’s Signal Integrity Products Group.
Arista introduced its CloudVision 2021 software platform with new automation capabilities designed to improve network agility and streamline enterprise business outcomes.
Arista describes CloudVision as a multi-domain management plane that brings cloud network operations to enterprise customers through a network-wide suite of automation, telemetry, and analytics, bringing consistency across data center, campus wired and wireless, and public cloud use cases.
CloudVision’s existing network configuration management approach delivers streamlined network provisioning through a centralized ‘configlet’ model that leverages configuration inheritance and reuse principles. Building on this, Arista introduces CloudVision Studios: new capabilities for automating configuration workflows within CloudVision and providing a flexible abstraction between the business and the underlying network.
CloudVision 2021 cognitive capabilities include:
The new CloudVision 2021 feature sets are in customer trials now and will be generally available in Q2 2021.
Open Dutch Fiber, an independent platform majority owned by KKR and with DTCP as minority shareholder, will deploy Fiber-to-the-Home in the Netherlands across urban and higher population density areas.
The platform has an open architecture and will make wholesale fiber services available to all operators. Open Dutch Fiber will begin operations in Q2 2021 with a fully-funded commitment for an envisaged capital expenditure of approximately €700 million and construction agreements already in place.
Open Dutch Fiber has signed an agreement with T-Mobile Netherlands, the leading mobile operator and FMC challenger in the Netherlands. T-Mobile Netherlands, which currently has a mobile base of 6.8 million customers and a fixed base of 682,000, will be the anchor tenant for Open Dutch Fiber with a 20-year agreement.
Open Dutch Fiber will be led by Jordi Nieuwenhuis and Uwe Nickl, who previously were co-CEOs of Deutsche Glasfaser in Germany, which rolled out digital infrastructure to more than 1 million homes and 6,000 businesses. Prior to his role at Deutsche Glasfaser, Jordi co-founded Reggefiber in the Netherlands. They will be joined at Open Dutch Fiber by Michael Griffioen as CEO, who will oversee the company’s day-to-day operations.
Jordi Nieuwenhuis, co-founder of Open Dutch Fiber, said: "High-quality and reliable fiber connectivity is essential for the Netherlands and this has only been accelerated with the structural changes to working patterns of companies and citizens brought about by the COVID-19 crisis. We are building a digital infrastructure platform with open access to all operators, to ensure an efficient and rapid deployment of capital resources, while avoiding uneconomical overbuild. We look forward to making a significant contribution to the digitization of the Netherlands to benefit Dutch households and businesses.”
DISH has selected Nokia’s NetGuard solution to assist with securing its Open RAN-based 5G network. This partnership will enable DISH to safeguard 5G network slices, which will be provisioned to support enterprise and wholesale customers.
DISH is deploying NetGuard to support the security orchestration, automation and response capabilities needed to rapidly scale its network and intelligently assess and resolve cyber incidents with minimal manual intervention.
DISH will support new business models with network slicing for both enterprise and wholesale customers. Nokia’s NetGuard security operations enable DISH to efficiently and accurately respond to evolving security threats using automated tools, extended analytics, integrated collaboration processes and an optimized user experience.
Marc Rouanne, Chief Network Officer, DISH, said: “Secure network slicing is a key differentiator of DISH’s 5G network, and as we deliver these capabilities to our customers, we will provide a new level of security for their services. Nokia delivers a suite of security tools needed to help our customers unleash the power of network slicing, giving them the security, speed and control they require for their businesses.”
DISH Network has selected Allot Ltd. to provide end-to-end User Plane Protection (UPP) against DDoS and botnet attacks for its forthcoming cloud-native, OpenRAN-based 5G network.
In addition, DISH will partner with Allot to provide cybersecurity threat protection services for its consumer, MVNO and SMB customers. This protection will cover DISH’s 5G network and off-network activities against cyberattacks such as malware, viruses, ransomware and phishing attacks.
“We are thrilled that DISH chose to partner with Allot to help secure its innovative 5G network,” said Erez Antebi, CEO, Allot. “With a distributed core architecture, DISH’s 5G network will be able to rapidly respond and adapt to ever-evolving cybersecurity threats. We look forward to supporting DISH’s deployment of the most secure, open 5G network.”
“DISH is deploying a first-of-its-kind, standalone 5G network that is free from the security limitations of traditional 2G, 3G and 4G technologies,” said Marc Rouanne, Chief Network Officer, DISH. “As we develop our 5G network from the ground up, we need security partners to become ingrained in our network and secure us against attack well before a threat occurs. Allot brings the capabilities we need with solutions designed to protect our network and its customers from a wide range of cyberattacks.”
It was the 24th Starlink launch mission and the 10th mission of 2021 all of which used reflown boosters.
https://www.spacex.com/launches/
TELUS has selected EKINOPS to deploy network function virtualization (NFV) and SDN capabilities.
TELUS chose the OneAccess-branded ONE2501, which delivers a "one-box-fits-all" approach. The ONE2501 is based on OneOS6, the modular software solution enabling a full range of built-in software services that can be activated remotely and on-demand, equipping TELUS with a SD-WAN-ready, carrier-grade and multi-service business data router. The compact and power-efficient design of the ONE2501 also reduces TELUS' environmental footprint in the delivery of its enterprise services.
"Our work with TELUS illustrates Ekinops' value to service providers in giving them both freedom and control, together with a host of cost savings and operational efficiency gains," commented Kevin Antill, Ekinops' group vice president of sales for North America. "We are extremely pleased to be working alongside this major tier one operator in North America."
"Delivering the connectivity and quality network experience our customers have come to expect requires a SDN strategy that implements access and optical products that are both interoperable and open," said Walter Miron, Director, Technology Strategy, SDN and Business Solutions DevOps at TELUS. "Ekinops' collaboration and versatility allows us to enhance our networks in an innovative and scalable way that reduces our environmental footprint and scales our total cost of ownership."
Current COVID 19 travel restrictions prohibit entry to Spain for non EU citizens, with the exception of "highly qualified workers."
MWC Barcelona is slated for 28 JUNE – 01 JULY 2021.
John Hoffman, CEO GSMA Ltd, said: “The health and safety of everyone involved in MWC Barcelona, both in Spain and beyond, continues to be our utmost priority as we navigate rapidly shifting circumstances. This decision is a resounding vote of confidence in the careful planning undertaken to date, and our strong partnership with the Host City Parties. We will continue to work closely with our partners to deliver a safe and enjoyable experience.”
The GSMA will share details of MWC21 Barcelona registrants with Spanish authorities to facilitate entry into the country. This shift allows entry to those registrants who are currently denied entry, including those from China and the USA, to enter Spain for the purposes of attending and doing business at MWC21.
The University of Chicago’s Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation and the Chicago Quantum Exchange have launched a start-up accelerator program focused on quantum science and technology companies. The program, known as Duality, is also backed by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and private-sector-led non-profit P33 as founding partners.
The Chicago area is home to three of eight federally funded quantum information science research centers and institutes.
With a $20 million investment, Duality will help up to 10 quantum startups per year grow their businesses in the Chicago area. The program will be based within the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Chicago Booth is widely known for its thought leadership – with nine Nobel laureates – and its impact on the global business community.
“Argonne is excited to partner with our academic and industrial collaborators as we make the Chicago region a focal point of quantum innovation,” Argonne Laboratory Director Paul Kearns said. “Duality will provide inventors and entrepreneurs from across the U.S. the powerful facilities, tools, and talent that are needed to move transformative discoveries into applications. This will inspire an even more robust environment for future innovations, which will help maintain American scientific leadership in quantum science and technology.”
Redis Labs, the home of Redis and provider of Redis Enterprise, closed $110 million in financing led by a new investor, Tiger Global, which brings the company’s valuation to more than $2 billion. The company’s Series G round also includes participation from another new investor, SoftBank Vision Fund 2*, and existing Redis Labs investor TCV. Additionally, Tiger, SoftBank, and TCV acquired additional ownership as part of a $200 million secondary transaction.
Founded in 2011 by Ofer Bengal (CEO) and Yiftach Shoolman (CTO), Redis Labs has now raised a net amount of $347 million and will continue to invest in expanding the company’s global footprint, advancing its market-leading real-time data platform, and delivering world-class customer support. The company’s existing investors include Bain Capital Ventures, Francisco Partners, Goldman Sachs Growth, Viola Ventures, TCV, and Dell Technologies Capital.
"We founded Redis Labs with the idea that the future of the database market would be defined by performance, where Redis excels. Through the dedication of our team, Redis has become an enterprise-grade data platform to tackle nearly any real-time use case across every industry," said Ofer Bengal, Co-Founder and CEO at Redis Labs. "Partnering with exceptional new investors such as Tiger Global and SoftBank, in addition to the continued belief of our existing investors like TCV, validates our mission to make Redis the de facto real-time data platform companies choose to meet their customers’ expectations.”
Intel launched its 3rd Gen Xeon Scalable processors (code-named “Ice Lake”) featuring an average 46% improvement on popular data center workloads over the previous generation.
The new Xeon processors, which are the foundation of Intel’s data center platform, also add new and enhanced platform capabilities including Intel SGX for built-in security, and Intel Crypto Acceleration and Intel DL Boost for AI acceleration.
The processors use Intel 10 nanometer (nm) process technology and deliver up to 40 cores per processor and up to 2.65 times higher average performance gain compared with a 5-year-old system. The platform supports up to 6 terabytes of system memory per socket, up to 8 channels of DDR4-3200 memory per socket and up to 64 lanes of PCIe Gen4 per socket.
Intel is also offering network-optimized “N-SKUs” that are designed for diverse network environments for vRAN, NFVI, virtual CDN and more.
“Our 3rd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable platform is the most flexible and performant in our history, designed to handle the diversity of workloads from the cloud to the network to the edge,” said Navin Shenoy, executive vice president and general manager of the Data Platforms Group at Intel. “Intel is uniquely positioned with the architecture, design and manufacturing to deliver the breadth of intelligent silicon and solutions our customers demand.”
IRIS, a new six-fiber pair undersea cable system, will connect Iceland and Ireland with up to 108 Tbps of system capacity.
Farice, the international connectivity provider fully owned by the Icelandic Government, has selected Subcom as the primary contractor.
Currently, there are two other submarine cable systems that connect Iceland to Europe – FARICE-1 (2003) and DANICE (2009).
IRIS will be approximately 1,700 km in length and connect south west of Iceland to Ballyloughane Strand in Galway, Ireland. Farice has already finalized the DTS and
marine survey work on Ireland’s continental shelf and will complete the remaining survey works to Iceland in 2021. Manufacture of the cable and equipment will take place at SubCom’s manufacturing headquarters in Newington, NH, USA during 2021 and early 2022, with main lay installation operations scheduled for summer 2022. The system is expected to be ready for service by the end of 2022.
“We are pleased to announce the contract in force for the IRIS undersea cable system, which we believe is an essential step for both the safety and security of Iceland. The system will also provide a new low latency connection between Iceland and Dublin that will bring Iceland closer to one of the key network hubs in Europe. In essence, the system will be a digital bridge between Iceland and Ireland and could, as such, advance the use of green energy in Iceland for international digital processing needs,” said Thorvardur Sveinsson, CEO of Farice. “Through our new IRIS system and existing DANICE system, a new North Atlantic Network route connecting Ireland, Iceland and Denmark is open. Having worked in partnership with SubCom to deploy one of our existing cable systems, we are confident in their design, manufacturing and installation capabilities and look forward to completing this highly impactful project.”
Farice opted to land the IRIS cable in Ireland, a nexus of trans-Atlantic connections and a center of European operations for many international businesses. IRIS will directly connect to a new high-speed undersea cable system that will enable more diverse, secure, high-speed connectivity between Iceland and mainland Europe.
“It is an honor to once again partner with Farice to supply a high-speed, high-capacity undersea cable system on behalf of the government and citizenry of Iceland,” said David Coughlan, CEO of SubCom. “Our experience in the region and commitment to delivering advanced systems ontime and on-budget will continue to benefit Farice as we move forward.”
https://www.subcom.com/documents/2021/IRIS_CIF_SubCom_FARICE_Press_Release_5APRIL2021.pdf
