PacketLight enhances its PL-4000M Muxponder/ADM

PacketLight Networks has upgraded its PL-4000M muxponder to support the transport of 600 Gbps in the current 1U device. 

This enables providers to increase network backbone capacity cost-effectively and speed the introduction of new services.

The PL-4000M aggregates a mix of Ethernet, Fibre Channel, and OTN services into uplinks of 200/300/400 Gbps capacity. In addition, the device now also supports 25 GbE service type, leveraging existing 10 GbE fiber optic cables.

 

It delivers cost-effective, high-capacity transport of 10/25/100 GbE, 16G FC, and OTU2/2e/4 services over 200/300/400 Gbps wavelengths with enhanced spectral efficiency. The device expedites the implementation of new services and increases the capacity of existing DCI, metro, short-haul, and long-haul network backbones. It achieves this by utilizing alien wavelengths without requiring the replacement of existing infrastructure.

 

The PL-4000M supports 25 GbE client service over existing 10 GbE cables, using fewer optical modules to deliver double the density, and saving and simplifying network upgrades. The integrated 1U footprint saves rack space, and low power consumption per transmitted bit, all of which reduce the overall cost of the transport solution. It offers high levels of security with embedded Layer-1 GCM-AES-256 optical encryption using elliptic curve Diffie-Hellman key exchange, FIPS-140-3 level 2 compliant.

 

"This latest upgrade to the PL-4000M represents a leap forward in performance and functionality, and that benefits both current and future deployments, and 5G front-haul applications,” said Koby Reshef, CEO of PacketLight. “With this upgrade, we continue our commitment to delivering cutting-edge technology that exceeds our customers' expectations and sets new standards in the industry."

 

www.packetlight.com

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Brazil’s Solução Network lights up DWDM in three states with Padtec

Solução Network, a Brazilian telecommunications service provider, is expanding the coverage and transmission capacity of its DWDM networks in Paraná, Mato Grosso do Sul and São Paulo using Padtec’s 800 Gbps transponders.

In total, there will be more than 3,000 kilometers of lit networks on three new routes. Two of them connect the municipality of Maringá, in Paraná, to the city of São Paulo, passing through the capital Curitiba and key cities in the interior of São Paulo. The third route also departs from Maringá and extends to Campo Grande, in Mato Grosso do Sul, passing through the cities of Bauru (SP) and Três Lagoas (MS).

https://www.padtec.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/2023.07.17-Solucao-Network-ING.pdf

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Nokia and Brazil’s SC CapRock to implement LTE private with Starlink

SC CapRock, a Brazilian subsidiary of Speedcast, signed an agreement with Starlink to sell Starlink's corporate internet services.

SC CapRock has an existing agreement with Nokia to deploy Nokia's 4.9G/LTE and 5G private wireless network solutions.

The company said its new agreement with Starlink will enable an expansion of private wireless network coverage to remote areas using Starlink's satellite network as a backhaul link.

SC CapRock and Nokia have already deployed an LTE private network for a customer in Brazil using Nokia's solution. The Starlink integration will make it easier to extend coverage to remote sites without needing to deploy new infrastructure.

By integrating Nokia Digital Automation Cloud (DAC) with Starlink, the solution:

• Offers up to 100ms latency possible between the 4G/LTE radio base stations and the private wireless core, significantly expanding coverage and creating 4G coverage bubbles in remote areas.
• Provides high-speed, low-latency connectivity to enterprise customers with high levels of performance and operational efficiency.
• Reduces complexity for small remote sites by eliminating the need for new private wireless cores, towers, and energy systems.

“There is growing demand from the agribusiness, energy and mining sectors for private wireless networks, and the recent global agreement with Starlink will help us provide high-speed, low-latency connectivity to these customers, with high levels of performance and operational efficiency,” said André Gustavo Sant’Anna, country manager for SC CapRock in Brazil.

Marcelo Entreconti, Head of Enterprise for Latin America at Nokia, said: “We’re happy to partner with SC CapRock in this initiative, providing Nokia’s leading-edge private wireless solutions to accelerate digital transformation throughout enterprises in Brazil, enhancing productivity, safety, and efficiency with secure and reliable connectivity.”

• Nokia has deployed over 2,600 mission-critical networks globally.

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Philippines’ InfiniVAN picks Ribbon for backbone

InfiniVAN, a leading provider of business Internet in the Philippines, selected Ribbon Communications to modernize its nationwide network backbone. using solutions from Ribbon.

The deployment will use Ribbon's NPT IP Routing and Apollo Optical Transport solutions, part of the company's comprehensive IP Wave portfolio. 

"Businesses turn to us for high availability, fully redundant, high-capacity connectivity that is on par with the highest global standards," said Mr. Koji Miyashita, Chairman, InfiniVAN. "Working with Ribbon enabled us to achieve the dual goal of upgrading our network to the newest standards of security, availability and capacity while also gaining a lower Total Cost of Ownership."

"InfiniVAN is a key leader in advancing the communications infrastructure throughout the Philippines. This high performance nationwide backbone will significantly improve connectivity and digitization in the region, and enable InfiniVAN to offer its customers access to the latest connectivity services," said Mickey Wilf, Managing Director APAC and Africa, Ribbon. 

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RAD appoints Avi Levin as CFO

RAD announce the appointment of Avi Levin as its new Chief Financial Officer (CFO), replacing Nitza Lifshitz, who has retired after serving as RAD’s CFO for 15 years. Levin took office during the first quarter of this year.

 

Levin started his career at PwC and then held corporate finance positions in New York at Broadridge (NYSE: BR), at International Seaways (NYSE: INSW), and at Credit Suisse as associate investment banker. Later, Levin served as CFO for both public and private companies.

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Ericsson’s Q2 revenue drops 9% on weak N America sales

Citing a sharp decline in sales in North America, Ericsson reported Q2 revenue SEK 64.4 billion (US$6.286 billion), down 9% compared to a year earlier. Segment Networks sales declined by -13%, while segment Enterprise sales grew by 20%. 

Gross income excluding restructuring charges decreased to SEK 24.7 (26.3) b. as a result of lower sales and margins in Networks. Gross income increased in Enterprise, mainly driven by the consolidation of Vonage. Reported gross income was SEK 24.1 (26.3) b.  Gross margin excluding restructuring charges was 38.3% (42.2%) primarily impacted by changed business mix in Networks. Reported gross margin was 37.4% (42.1%). 

A summary of commentary provided by Börje Ekholm, President and CEO of Ericsson, in the Q2 investor brief: 

• Q2 performance was in line with expectations despite market changes and macro uncertainty.
• Networks had a gross margin of over 39% with strong execution in India, offsetting softening in other markets.
• Cloud Software and Services are on track for at least break-even EBITA for the full year 2023.
• Enterprise saw strong growth in Enterprise Wireless Solutions and positive EBITA in the Global Communications Platform business.
• Another 5G licensing agreement was secured with a device vendor, strengthening the IPR portfolio.
• Plans to reduce annual run rate by at least SEK 11 billion by year-end to positively impact the P&L.
• Free cash flow before M&A was SEK -5.0 billion primarily due to lower EBIT and increased working capital.
• The focus remains on bolstering leadership in mobile networks, growing the enterprise business, and driving cultural transformation.
• Ericsson's market-leading position in mobile networks enables expansion into the enterprise segment through 5G capabilities and network APIs.
• Ethical and compliance programs have been enhanced, and testing ensures effectiveness across the company.
• Q3 is expected to have a similar market mix as Q2, with the EBITA margin in line with or slightly higher than Q2.
• Continued rapid data traffic growth, 5G subscriptions, and migration to 5G standalone drive investments and market recovery.
• Average smartphone usage is expected to exceed 20 GB/month in 2023 with strong growth. 
• 240 operators have launched 5G, bringing new revenue growth with pricing model innovation. 
• 5G subscriptions are expected to top 1.5 billion by end-2023 and reach 4.6 billion by 2028. 
• Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) also grows quickly, driving further traffic growth. 
• An estimated 75% of all base station sites outside China are not yet updated with 5G mid-band, and migration to 5G standalone will continue in order to deliver on 5G’s full potential. 

https://www.ericsson.com/en/press-releases/2023/7/ericsson-reports-second-quarter-2023

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Citing lower demand, Nokia lowers net sales outlook

Citing weaker demand due tp both the macro-economic environment and customers’ inventory digestion, Nokia lowered its financial outlook based on preliminary Q2 results, saying its now expects to report net sales of approximately EUR 5.7 billion, flat year-on-year on a constant currency basis with a comparable operating margin of approximately 11%. Nokia’s operating profit in Q2 benefitted from approximately EUR 80 million related to catch-up net sales in Nokia Technologies.

Nokia is lowering its full year net sales outlook to a range of EUR 23.2 billion to EUR 24.6 billion (previously EUR 24.6 billion to 26.2 billion) and narrowing its comparable operating margin range outlook to 11.5% to 13% (previously 11.5% to 14%). The changes are related to Nokia’s Network Infrastructure and Mobile Networks business groups.

Nokia said its customer spending plans are increasingly impacted by high inflation and rising interest rates along with some projects now slipping to 2024 – notably in North America. There is also inventory normalization happening at customers after the supply chain challenges of the past two years.

Nokia will release its second quarter and half year 2023 financial results on Thursday 20 July 2023.

https://www.nokia.com/about-us/news/releases/2023/07/14/inside-information-nokia-lowers-net-sales-and-narrows-operating-margin-outlook-for-2023/

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Dell'Oro: RAN market is done expanding

The Radio Access Network (RAN) market is done expanding for now and will enter a period of slow contractions, according to Dell'Oro Group. Following the 40 percent to 50 percent ascent between 2017 and 2021, RAN revenues flattened out in 2022 and these trends extended to 1Q 2023.

“Even if it is early days in the broader 5G journey, the challenge now is the comparisons are becoming more challenging in the more mature 5G markets and the upside with the slower-to-adopt 5G regions is not enough to extend the growth streak,” said Stefan Pongratz, Vice President at Dell’Oro Group. “Meanwhile, growth from new revenue streams including Fixed Wireless Access and enterprise LTE/5G is not ramping fast enough to change the trajectory. With 5G-Advanced not expected to trigger a new capex cycle, the question now is no longer whether RAN will grow. The question now is, rather, how much will the RAN market decline before 6G comes along?” continued Pongratz.

Additional highlights from the Mobile RAN 5-Year July 2023 Forecast Report:

• Global RAN is projected to decline at a 1 percent CAGR over the next five years.
• The less advanced 5G regions are expected to perform better while the more developed 5G regions, such as North America and China, are projected to record steeper declines.
• LTE is still handling the majority of the mobile data traffic, but the focus when it comes to new RAN investments is clearly on 5G. Even with the more challenging comparisons, 5G is projected to grow another 20 percent to 30 percent by 2027, which will not be enough to offset steep declines in LTE.
• With mmWave comprising a low single-digit share of the RAN market and skepticism growing about the MBB business case, it is worth noting that our position has not changed. We still envision that the mmWave spectrum will play a pivotal role in the long-term capacity roadmap.

https://www.delloro.com/news/ran-market-to-decline-at-a-1-percent-cagr-through-2027/ 

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Ericsson and MediaTek hit 565 Mbps with SU-MIMO + Aggregation

Ericsson and MediaTek achieved 565 Mbps performance by combining two Ericsson software features – uplink single user multiple input multiple output (SU-MIMO) and Uplink Carrier Aggregation – on MediaTek T830 CPE platform with three transmit (3Tx) antennas.  The test focused on optimizations for fixed wireless access applications (FWA).

For this demo, a 2.1GHz FDD (frequency division duplex) band was combined with a 3.5GHz TDD (time division duplex) band.

Ericsson said FWA would benefit greatly from combining Uplink SU-MIMO with Uplink Carrier Aggregation in FR1 spectrum, where FR1 stands for Frequency Range 1, the most commonly deployed 5G spectrum globally.

Dr Sibel Tombaz, Head of Product Line 5G RAN, Ericsson, says: “This latest milestone with MediaTek proves that we at Ericsson are continuously innovating and leveraging new technologies to deliver the best possible 5G user experience. With this latest solution offering, fixed wireless access subscribers, consumers and businesses alike, can benefit from higher upload speeds for data-heavy applications such as cloud gaming and extended reality. We are offering high-performing solutions for the evolving fixed wireless access market.”

HC Hwang, General Manager of Wireless Communication System and Partnership at MediaTek, says: “Enhancing uplink performance is an essential advantage for 5G FWA devices used by businesses, and this technology breakthrough will further extend the advantage of 5G CPE versus line-based broadband services.

Ericsson predicts FWA connections will reach 300 million in 2028 from 107 million in 2022. By 2028, 5G is estimated to account for almost 80 percent of all FWA connections.

https://www.ericsson.com/en/news/2023/7/er

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BAE Systems tests PHASA-35 drone in the stratosphere

BAE Systems conducted a successful trial of its High Altitude Pseudo Satellite (HAPS) Uncrewed Aerial System (UAS), called PHASA-35, reaching an altitude of over 20,000 meters (66,000 feet) during a 24-hour flight over White Sands, New Mexico.  

Designed by BAE Systems' subsidiary Prismatic Ltd, the PHASA-35 drone operates above weather and air traffic, offering potential applications in intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, disaster relief, border protection, and the delivery of communication networks including 4G and 5G. 

With a 35-meter wingspan and a 15kg payload, PHASA-35 utilizes advanced technologies such as solar electric cells, composites, and energy management systems. The recent trial was sponsored by the US Army Space and Missile Defense Command Technical Center.

https://www.baesystems.com/en/article/phasa-35--completes-first-successful-stratospheric-flight

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PAWR testbeds get rolling with O-RAN

The Platforms for Advanced Wireless Research (PAWR) program of large-scale wireless testbeds, which was created and initially funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation, have gained O-RAN ALLIANCE approval as Open Testing and Integration Centers (OTICs). These include: 

• 
  POWDER at the University of Utah – POWDER supports end-to-end Open RAN testing in lab and field scenarios and has developed a Testing Orchestration and Testing Automation (TOTA) framework to provide streamlined, on-demand testing capabilities. O-RAN ALLIANCE defined OTIC services provided by POWDER will include interoperability and end-to-end testing, badging and certification. POWDER will offer additional Open RAN related services including use case and proof-of-concept development and evaluation, functional testing in lab and field environments, and Open RAN intelligent ecosystem research, testing and development.
• ARA at Iowa State University – ARA enables research into connectivity solutions for rural environments, including offering a heterogeneous set of access network technologies to support innovative Open RAN testing and development for digital agriculture, rural education, and more. As an OTIC, ARA will support Open RAN R&D, device-level and end-to-end testing of performance, interoperability, and conformance in both sandbox and at-scale field settings.
• Colosseum as part of the Institute for the WIoT at Northeastern University – The Northeastern team is using the Colosseum infrastructure, which is affiliated with the PAWR program, and other assets of the Institute’s Open 6G Hub to provide testing capabilities for end-to-end AI and ML solutions that will enable new Open RAN use cases. Through its OTIC, Northeastern will provide testing, certification, and badging capabilities.

“By becoming OTICs, the PAWR testbeds are advancing important innovations in wireless research from the academic community and beyond and helping to bridge the gap between government investment and industry-driven change,” said Margaret Martonosi, NSF Assistant Director for Computer and information Science and Engineering. “Wireless communications are vital to both the public and private sectors, and through the services these platforms will provide as OTICs, the PAWR testbeds will accelerate the timeline that begins with cutting-edge research and leads to successful deployment of new wireless technologies.”

https://advancedwireless.org/

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Nokia deploys 400GE IP for Budapest Internet Exchange

BIX (Budapest Internet Exchange) has deployed Nokia’s 7750 SR IP edge routing platforms for a spine router network modernization.

The Nokia SR platforms, with FP5 silicon and future-ready 800GE capability, will support the seamless upgrade from 400GE interfaces.

Attila Miszori, President of the Board, Council of Hungarian Internet Providers (owner and operator of BIX), said: “Nokia and its IP solutions were the natural choice to help us modernize our spine router platform, enabling us to address the growing demand for capacity and provide an improved experience to our members in a very sustainable way. BIX members will benefit from significantly higher speed interconnection with low latency and high reliability at the main BIX locations.”

Ivo Lansky, Senior Director for IP Business at Nokia, said: “We are pleased that BIX has chosen Nokia’s IP routing technology to enhance their interconnection capabilities to support the needs of their service provider members in the region. Nokia’s FP5, a key part of BIX’s selection of Nokia, is not only an enabler for building higher-capacity IP networks, but its future-ready 800GE capability will also accelerate BIX’s ability to meet future traffic growth sustainably and at lower cost.”

https://www.Nokia.com

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Panama Digital Gateway opens as a carrier-neutral hub for the Americas

Sparkle, in collaboration with Trans Ocean Network, inaugurated the Panama Digital Gateway (PDG), a next generation, carrier-neutral, open landing station, data center and connectivity hub.

Panama Digital Gateway is the landing point of Curie, the cable system connecting California to Chile with a branching unit into Panama developed by Google and Sparkle, and of new upcoming submarine cables looking for a diversified entry way to Central America.

The new building, which is located in Corazal (Panama City), offers 5,500 square meters of space for up to 650 equivalent racks and 3.5 MW of scalable power.

The gateway is integrated with Sparkle’s global backbone - more than 600,000 km of fiber spanning from Europe to Africa, the Americas and Asia.

Trans Ocean Network is a Panamanian telecommunications operator that owns, operates and maintains a terrestrial network of fiber optic cables in Panama, including rights of way, ducts, beach manholes, bore pipes, and cable landing stations.

The opening ceremony was attended by Laurentino Cortizo Cohen, President of Panama, and attended by Fabrizio Nicoletti, Ambassador of the Italian Republic in Panama, David Gonzalez Solis, CEO and founder of TON, and Enrico Maria Bagnasco, CEO of Sparkle.

Fabrizio Nicoletti, Ambassador of the Republic of Italy in Panama, said: “Panama and Italy have a historic relationship working closely in collaboration and coordination programs of different disciplines, fostering international cooperation between the two countries. We are very proud to have a first level Italian enterprise as Sparkle making possible this data center, a tangible demonstration of Italy's growing interest in Panama and in the Region”.

“Panama Digital Gateway consolidates and positions Panama as the digital hub of the region, strengthening the connectivity of our Country, and becoming a strategic interconnection offer for OTTs, carriers and enterprises”, stated David Gonzalez Solis, CEO of Trans Ocean Network. “We are very pleased to be participating in the construction and operation of this open hub in conjunction with a partner of experience and global scale such as Sparkle.” 

“The development of infrastructures in the Americas represents a pillar of Sparkle's plan to consolidate its positioning in the telecommunications wholesale market while reinforcing its offering of digital solutions”, explained Enrico Maria Bagnasco, CEO of Sparkle. “Panama is a natural crossroad of Central America and a bridge between the Atlantic and the Pacific as well as a strategic cross-point between North and South America, and our Panama Digital Gateway aims to be the reference landing hub of new submarine cables and the centre of choice to develop an ecosystem of interconnected players.”

https://www.tisparkle.com/media/press-release/sparkle-launches-panama-digital-gateway

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Microsoft expands SSE platform aiming to replace legacy VPNs

Microsoft expanded its Security Service Edge (SSE) platform with the introduction of two new services:

• Microsoft Entra Internet Access — an identity-centric Secure Web Gateway that protects access to internet, software as a service (SaaS), and Microsoft 365 apps and resources. It extends Conditional Access policies with network conditions to protect against malicious internet traffic and other threats from the open internet. 
• Microsoft Entra Private Access — an identity-centric Zero Trust Network Access that secures access to private apps and resources. The service promises to enable users “to quickly and easily connect to private apps—across hybrid and multicloud environments, private networks, and data centers—from any device and any network.” The service, which is now in preview, aims to replace legacy VPNs.  Users can apply Conditional Access to individual applications, and enforce multifactor authentication, device compliance, and other controls to any legacy application without changing those applications.

Microsoft Entra suite, which was introduced in May 2022, initially included three products: Microsoft Azure Active Directory (Azure AD), Microsoft Entra Permissions Management, and Microsoft Entra Verified ID. The suite was later expanded with Microsoft Entra ID Governance and Microsoft Entra Workload ID. To simplify its marketing, the company is now changing the name of Azure AD to Microsoft Intra ID.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2023/07/11/microsoft-entra-expands-into-security-service-edge-and-azure-ad-becomes-microsoft-entra-id/

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UPN expands fiber infrastructure in Arizona

Unite Private Networks (UPN) announced a network expansion into Yuma, Arizona, adding 70 miles of new, high-count fiber-optic infrastructure.

The company estimates over 2,450 serviceable buildings in Yuma, which is located on the border with California, overlooking the Colorado river, and which has a population of about 97,000.

UPN will also establish a network hub in Yuma and deploy diverse connectivity to UPN's network in Denver for enhanced network resiliency. Carrier customers in the area will now have access to Optical Ethernet and Internet Access powered by a low-latency, carrier-grade, 100 percent fiber-optic network.

Jeremy Andrews, Group Vice President of Strategic Networks, states: “We are delighted to introduce our high-capacity fiber-optic network to Yuma. Our goal is to provide local carriers with reliable and efficient high-speed fiber services, and we look forward to partnering with the community to ensure their connectivity needs are met with utmost satisfaction."

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TELUS trims outlook citing reduced service demand and global pressure

Citing unexpected reductions in service demand, TELUS International released a preliminary summary of financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2023, and revised downward its full-year 2023 outlook.

TELUS now expects revenue in the range of $660 to $668 million, reflecting year-over-year growth of 6% to 7% on a reported basis and 6% to 7% on a constant currency basis, and a decline of approximately 1% when excluding revenue earned from WillowTree. These year-over-year revenue growth rates are lower due to lower than expected business volumes primarily within its technology vertical. Net loss is now expected to be in the range of $7 to 10 million, reflecting a year-over-year decline of 113% to 118%, and net loss margin in the range of 1.0% to 1.5%. 

During the second quarter, as a result of persistent global macroeconomic pressures, TELUS International experienced more pronounced and unexpected reductions in service demand from some of our larger clients, particularly within the technology vertical. We also experienced delays and lower than expected activity in converting opportunities into spend commitments, as clients continue to address their own cost structures, including successive employee downsizing. These issues have in turn impacted TELUS International’s overall revenue and profitability to a larger extent than previously anticipated, contributing to a more cautious outlook for the balance of 2023,” said Jeff Puritt, President and CEO of TELUS International.

Vanessa Kanu, CFO said, “The magnitude of the headwinds we’re experiencing and our preview of second quarter performance data prompted a revision to the full-year outlook for 2023 to better reflect our updated expectations for the remainder of the year. We’ve actioned significant cost efficiency programs, including staff reductions to address lower service volumes in the technology vertical. Additionally, we are driving further automation and generative AI enabled solutions to further optimize our cost structure."

https://www.telusinternational.com/investors/news-events

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Dell’Oro: Mobile core network market growth slows

Dell’Oro Group trimmed its forecast for the mobile core network (MCN) market, citing slower subscriber growth. Worldwide MCN 5-year growth is now forecasted at a 1 percent compounded annual growth rate (CAGR), compared to our January 2023 forecast of 2 percent CAGR.

“We have reduced our forecast for the third consecutive time, primarily caused, this time, by an expected slowdown in subscriber growth,” said Dave Bolan, Research Director at Dell’Oro Group. “Also, we reduced our projections for the Multi-Access Edge Computing (MEC) market to a 31 percent CAGR as commercially viable enterprise applications are taking much longer to realize than earlier hoped.

“Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) are concerned about inflation, a possible recession, and political conflicts. They are therefore being restrained in their capital expenditures, another factor weighing in on a more conservative forecast. As we continue refining our count of MNOs that have launched 5G Standalone (5G SA) eMMB networks, we note that only 4 MNOs have commercially deployed new 5G SA networks compared to six in the first half of 2022,” Bolan added.

Additional highlights from the Mobile Core Network & Multi-Access Edge Computing 5-Year July 2023 Forecast Report:

* Year-over-year MCN revenue growth rates are projected to be flat in 2026 and turn negative in 2027.

* The North America and China regions are expected to have negative CAGRs, while Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), and Asia Pacific excluding China regions are expected to have the highest positive CAGRs.

https://www.delloro.com/news/slower-subscriber-growth-to-cut-mobile-core-network-market-growth/

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Render and VEA Connect deliver visibility and automation for FTTX

VEA Connect selected Render’s network construction technology for OpenFiber FTTX project in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. 

The fiber network will be built and managed for VEA’s customer OpenFiber and will serve the suburbs of Charlotte–N.C.’s largest city. 

Render’s solution will enable VEA to drive efficiency across the planned 321,000-premise network build and connect locations faster with end-to-end automation from construction to operations.

VEA Connect is a subsidiary of the VEA Group, a global investment company with a diversified portfolio of independently-managed telecommunications businesses and operations across South Africa, the UK, and the U.S. 

“We’re growing quickly. In our first six months of operations in the U.S., we passed 22,000 homes with fiber. We plan to increase another 443,000 homes passed over the next three years, and Render will allow us to accomplish–even exceed–that goal,” said Louis Bester, CTO at VEA. “Render can streamline our tools and processes with automated work scope creation, real-time performance insights across the portfolio, and change management functionality. We now have unmatched visibility, improved productivity, and aligned stakeholders.”

https://www.rendernetworks.com 

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Former president of AT&T Networks Eng and Ops joins Fortress’ board

Fortress Solutions, a provider of critical infrastructure management and support services, announced the appointment Scott Mair to its Board of Directors.

Recently retiring after a 37-year career at telecom giant AT&T, most notably as the President of AT&T Networks Engineering and Operations, Mr. Mair was responsible for launching the first standards-based mobile 5G network, running AT&T’s next-generation wireless and wireless networks, as well as launching the first secure communications platform used nationwide for U.S. Public Safety workers, including EMS, police, firefighters and first responders. Mr. Mair is an established figure in this field and an extremely well-respected industry professional.

https://www.fortsol.com 

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Casa appoints Michael Glickman as CEO

Casa Systems named Michael Glickman as its new President and Chief Executive Officer, succeeding interim CEO and current CFO Ed Durkin, and former CEO and company founder Jerry Guo, who retired earlier this year.

Glickman most recently served as the President of PacketFabric, where he scaled Operations and drove double digit growth through innovative joint ventures. Prior to that, Glickman held senior executive positions at Cisco, including Senior Vice President for the Global Service Provider unit, where he led sustainable growth in a multi-billion-dollar business. Glickman’s tenure at Cisco also included leadership roles in its Cloud & Managed Services and Channels businesses worldwide. He has also held executive positions at Fujitsu Americas and Amdahl Corporation. 

"Casa Systems has a very strong heritage and cutting-edge technologies. I look forward to building upon what Jerry Guo, visionary founder and former CEO and this talented team have created over the past twenty years, and I am committed to our collective vision of re-establishing Casa Systems as an industry disruptor for the benefit of our global customers. I am excited and committed to moving the Company forward with the speed required to capitalize on the significant opportunities in front of us. We will work together to deliver our innovative solutions to the market, address the evolving needs of our global customers, and achieve sustainable growth and profitability.”

https://www.casa-systems.com

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