Page 154 - Light Reading News Today

Off Topic: Gary Smith on blending photography, philanthropy 12/24/2020 The Light Reading podcast is going off-topic. As folks are winding down for the holiday weekend, weve recorded an episode featuring a noted telecom luminary talking about a bunch of stuff that has nothing at all to do with broadband, open RAN or SD-WAN. Ciena CEO Gary B. Smith joins the podcast to discuss his journey as a photographer – how he got started, his 20-year photography drought and the hows and whys b...

So says Stephanie Gibbons, principal analyst for carrier network software at Light Reading sister company Omdia. Despite the concerns over COVID-19, Gibbons said operators must continue 5G investments, including in SDN and NFV implementations. Outlook cloudy: Cloud native network infrastructure continues to be vital to 5G. (Source: Unsplash) In the report "2021 Trends to Watch: Carrier Network Software," Gibbons said operators are continuing to deploy carrier network software for network autom...

New leaders often bring a management refresh but rarely as much upheaval as the latest regime change at Nokia. Including erstwhile CEO Rajeev Suri, seven top executives have now either fallen on their swords or been dismissed from their posts in recent months (the full list is shown below). For Pekka Lundmark, Nokias latest boss, the mission is to reduce the pool of decision makers with seats on the global leadership team to just 11, from the 17 Nokia had under Suri. This cull, it is hoped, wi...

New leaders often bring a management refresh but rarely as much upheaval as the latest regime change at Nokia. Including erstwhile CEO Rajeev Suri, seven top executives have now either fallen on their swords or been dismissed from their posts in recent months (the full list is shown below). For Pekka Lundmark, Nokias latest boss, the mission is to reduce the pool of decision makers with seats on the global leadership team to just 11, from the 17 Nokia had under Suri. This cull, it is hoped, wi...

Today on the show, Phil Harvey returns with an update on Huawei bans. Phil was on the podcast this summer talking about how US- and UK-imposed bans and sanctions on Huawei were causing upheaval for the industry. On this episode, he gives an update on the latest developments with these bans, and how he expects this will all play out in 2021. The "Whats the Story?" podcast is a Light Reading production. You can find all of Light Readings editorial and custom audio programs on Apple Podcasts, Goog...

The Open RAN Policy Coalition looks about as Chinese as ranch dressing or rodeo. A campaign group that urges governments to back the hyped network technology, it lists some of the worlds best-known service providers and technology companies on its membership page. Not a single one hails from China. Contrast that with the O-RAN Alliance, the group that develops open RAN specifications. The US has the most representation, with 82 members, according to research carried out by Strand Consult, a Da...

Verizon Business has mixed in a new flavor of SD-WAN with the addition of Silver Peaks Unity EdgeConnect platform. Amit Kapoor, director of Virtual Network Services for Verizon Business, says the service provider initially launched SD-WAN services with Cisco IWAN in 2015, and later added Cisco Viptela and Versa SD-WAN services as options for enterprise customers. Kapoor says whats appealing about Silver Peak is that it "delivers an integrated SD-WAN and WAN optimization solution," and has maint...

Startup SpaceMobile said Wednesday it inked commercial agreements with Vodafone and AT&T to deliver 4G and 5G connections from its satellites to the operators existing mobile customers via their regular, unmodified cell phones. The startup, which also announced it will go public through a "special purpose acquisition" transaction, said it expects to begin delivering commercial services to Vodafones customers in Africa starting in 2023. Vodafones customers across the Democratic Republic of Congo...

"We will do whatever it takes to lead in 5G," said Pekka Lundmark, Nokias new boss, as he outlined his vision to reporters several weeks ago. Today, his strategy became a bit clearer. Determined to revitalize the mobile business after mishaps under previous management, Lundmark has named open RAN, a new-fangled technology that delights some of Nokias big customers, as one of his priorities. It works by allowing products from different suppliers to be used interchangeably and in parallel. Mains...

Fronthaul transport has been a central topic at Light Readings 5G Transport & Networking Strategies event since 2017. So it is not surprising that fronthaul transport was, once again, a central theme during the virtual iteration of Light Readings flagship transport event in November. Yet, 2020 marked a distinct change in tenor from definitions and theory to more practical considerations. Heavy Reading research shows that operator interest in fronthaul is increasing and solidifying. In a global ...