News

Networking and communication

• July 30, 2021 30 Jul'21

  Hospitality firms must accelerate digital transformation to secure long-term recovery

  Key retail sector must respond quickly to new post-pandemic digital-first demands and consumer behaviours to regain competitive edge, says study

• July 30, 2021 30 Jul'21

  IDC: Double-digit global smartphone growth in second quarter

  Analyst finds global consumers around the world continue to show the need for mobile devices, and a particular increasing willingness to buy 5G devices as price points go down

• July 30, 2021 30 Jul'21

  Community Fibre hits milestone of 300,000 homes passed

  Community-focused altnet adds 100,000 London homes passed in six months to drive the growing reach of its full-fibre network

• July 30, 2021 30 Jul'21

  Fibre to the fore as OECD countries add 21 million fixed broadband connections

  The future is arriving fast in the broadband industry in developed nations, as OECD research finds fibre deployment is gaining traction at the expense of traditional copper-wire connections in a post-Covid environment

• July 29, 2021 29 Jul'21

  Virgin Media O2 unveils UK fibre upgrade plan

  Newly merged operator announces FTTP upgrade of fixed network starting this year with completion in 2028, taking advantage of what it says is efficient fibre deployment with ‘value accretive roll-out economics’

• July 29, 2021 29 Jul'21

  Accelerating UK full-fibre sees altnet association register record membership growth

  Independent Networks Cooperative Association enjoys membership boom as altnets build momentum in UK and take on comms big guns in dash for fibre to the home and premises

• July 29, 2021 29 Jul'21

  Profits, revenues fall but BT expands 5G, fibre in first quarter

  UK incumbent telco sees profits and revenues fall, but increases capital investments in next-generation wireless and extends Microsoft strategic partnership

• July 29, 2021 29 Jul'21

  Investigatory Powers Tribunal finds UK spy agencies unlawfully collected personal data

  Campaign groups Privacy International and Liberty are gearing up to bring further legal action after a court found that UK spy agencies unlawfully collected phone and internet records

• July 29, 2021 29 Jul'21

  Verizon, Samsung complete fully virtualised C-band 5G data session

  Tech giant and US operator announce C-band trial that they say paves the way for a more programmable, efficient and scalable 5G network

• July 28, 2021 28 Jul'21

  5G adoption ‘purposely delayed’ by European network strategy decision-makers

  Aiming to gain a deeper understanding of user perspectives on 5G, including adoption plans and implementation obstacles, research from IoT and wireless solutions provider claims to have found alarming lack of purpose to explore next-gen networks

• July 28, 2021 28 Jul'21

  Apple posts all-time high for Q3 revenues

  Global tech giant continues storming the consumer electronics industry, reporting record revenues for its June quarter featuring double-digit growth in each of its product categories and significant improvements in its services segment

• July 28, 2021 28 Jul'21

  5G offers potential £6.3bn boost to UK manufacturing by 2030

  In addition to outlining the potential of adding multi billions to the value of the UK manufacturing industry by the end of the decade, the UK operator recommends support for manufacturers to invest in 5G mobile private networks, and the creation of...

• July 27, 2021 27 Jul'21

  5G roamers to surpass 200 million by 2026

  With travel restrictions around the world being slowly phased out, analyst predicts 4,500% growth in 5G roaming subscribers over the next five years

• July 27, 2021 27 Jul'21

  Some 15 million UK consumers suffered major broadband outage in past year

  Study covering first full year of lockdown reveals how millions of home-workers and home-schoolers experienced internet outages when they would usually have been at their workplaces or in school

• July 27, 2021 27 Jul'21

  Content providers and Covid drive US, Canada bandwidth boom

  Globally, total international bandwidth more than quadrupled between 2016 and 2020 to exceed 2Pbps, report shows

• July 27, 2021 27 Jul'21

  Virgin Media O2 goes with Ericsson for 5G standalone core

  Leading 5G infrastructure technology provider selected by newly merged UK operator to deploy its cloud-native, container-based, dual-mode 5G standalone core to pave the way to deliver connectivity to enable what are claimed to be the ‘most advanced’...

• July 27, 2021 27 Jul'21

  Three UK calls for policy reform to supercharge rural gigabit broadband

  Operator says 5G-based wireless internet could deliver gigabit broadband access to rural areas more quickly and cheaply than with standard fixed-line technology

• July 26, 2021 26 Jul'21

  Qualcomm claims world first for 5G mmWave data connection

  Showcasing what it believes will be features required in anticipated 5G mmWave roll-outs in China, mobile comms tech provider unveils mmWave capabilities for global expansion with support for 200MHz carrier bandwidth

• July 23, 2021 23 Jul'21

  Plume surpasses a billion connected devices on software-defined network

  Research from SaaS experience platform provider finds consumers have accelerated investment in smart home devices during the pandemic

• July 23, 2021 23 Jul'21

  Vodafone widens reach with UK narrowband IoT coverage

  UK mobile network operator announces NB-IoT infrastructure expansion to support ongoing investments in platforms and services that will support the growing number of businesses implementing such technology to increase operational efficiency and grow...

• July 22, 2021 22 Jul'21

  Connectivity bottlenecks put $182bn in SME digital transformations at risk

  Research finds ‘alarming’ gap between the approaches small businesses are taking in their post-pandemic digital transformations

• July 22, 2021 22 Jul'21

  Dynamic UK mobile landscape continues to evolve and improve

  BT-owned network, EE, comes to the fore as competition drives 5G roll-outs, and leading operators show marked performance improvements across first half of 2021

• July 22, 2021 22 Jul'21

  Satellite and 5G firms announce ubiquitous UK communications trial

  Space agencies and leading technology businesses test ubiquitous UK communications coverage for transportation market in region of south-west England notorious for poor communications

• July 21, 2021 21 Jul'21

  Ericsson, MediaTek claim 5G mmWave milestone

  Swedish comms tech giant and Taiwanese fabless semiconductor company team up to double current millimetre wave uplink speed ceiling to almost 500Mbps

• July 21, 2021 21 Jul'21

  Nokia and Xantaro eye up UK broadband altnet full-fibre opportunity

  Leading comms equipment provider teams with channel partner and service integrator to fuel the UK altnet boom which has seen independent firms connecting more than two million homes with full-fibre gigabit connectivity

• July 21, 2021 21 Jul'21

  How IoT and machine learning are automating agriculture

  A new generation of farmers is tapping the internet of things and machine learning to operate self-sustaining urban farms with minimal supervision

• July 19, 2021 19 Jul'21

  Zoom expands into contact centre market

  Zoom is steadily expanding its enterprise offering and has now spent $14.5bn on an acquisition to fill a gap in its product portfolio

• July 19, 2021 19 Jul'21

  Openreach and Nokia test 25G PON full-fibre

  Trials of next-generation full-fibre broadband will be based on passive optical network technology

• July 16, 2021 16 Jul'21

  Legacy SonicWall kit exploited in ransom campaign

  Users of older versions of SonicWall Secure Mobile Access 100 and Secure Remote Access products are at risk from a new ransomware campaign

• July 16, 2021 16 Jul'21

  Ericsson lands landmark Verizon 5G deal as it reports strong Q2

  Just as it was announcing a robust end to its first half, global comms tech provider reveals massive contract with US communications giant to deliver 5G solutions

• July 15, 2021 15 Jul'21

  Virgin Media outage: Electrical explosion takes down network in south-east London

  Underground electrical network explosion causes ‘significant collateral damage’ to cabling infrastructure, with users in south-east London told to brace themselves for ‘at least’ 24 hours of disruption

• July 15, 2021 15 Jul'21

  ODA reaches milestone as TM Forum calls on telcos to grab cloud opportunity

  Industry association set up for driving digital transformation through collaboration calls on comms providers to take advantage of industry-defining cloud native standards

• July 15, 2021 15 Jul'21

  3G net to be retired in 2023 as BT promises 5G across entire UK by 2028

  UK’s incumbent telco unveils new mobile and convergence ambitions with almost universal next-generation wireless over next seven years

• July 14, 2021 14 Jul'21

  Mastercard, Verizon Business team to bring 5G to global payments industry

  Global payments company harnesses comms provider’s 5G network to innovate in payments and commerce sector, delivering solutions to support immersive retail technology and point-of-sale

• July 14, 2021 14 Jul'21

  O2 Business improves in-store customer experiences with advanced connectivity-based AI technology

  Technology uses artificial intelligence and video analytics to help retail businesses improve the in-store experience, with processes boosted by 5G

• July 14, 2021 14 Jul'21

  Vodafone Spain deploys Ericsson 5G Core Standalone for pre-commercial operation

  Spanish subsidiary of Vodafone follows UK and German counterparts in selecting Ericsson for core standalone solution to unlock the full potential of next-generation networks

• July 13, 2021 13 Jul'21

  More women in South Asia using mobile internet

  A GSMA study found that the gender gap is closing for mobile internet usage in South Asia, along with higher smartphone ownership fuelled by the falling cost of handsets and data

• July 13, 2021 13 Jul'21

  BMW launches quantum challenge for automotive sector

  Car maker is encouraging researchers and startups to submit industry-specific algorithms that take advantage of quantum computing

• July 13, 2021 13 Jul'21

  Buoyant Nokia expects to raise 2021 guidance

  Comms tech provider says positive news likely in forthcoming Q2 results and despite some headwinds in the second half, it has good foundation for the full year

• July 13, 2021 13 Jul'21

  SNCF on track for industrial 5G in France

  French train operator and technical partners unveil 5G Living Lab devoted to industrial practices, designed to extend 5G tests in local station and support modernisation of the group’s industrial entities

• July 13, 2021 13 Jul'21

  GSMA calls for 2GHz of mid-band spectrum to meet UN targets

  Starting from the position that meeting mid-band spectrum needs is vital to the future of 5G and requires forward-planning from policy-makers, mobile industry trade association warns that without additional spectrum, it will be impossible to realise...

• July 12, 2021 12 Jul'21

  KUKA taps Nokia to facilitate industrial 5G SA private wireless network

  German industrial robot manufacturer turns to comms technology provider for 5G private wireless for reliable connectivity in the development of intelligent automation

• July 12, 2021 12 Jul'21

  Liverpool 5G Create, Blu Wireless develop industry-boosting IP

  5G mmWave networking equipment provider teams with Liverpool-based part of 5G Testbeds and Trials Programme to develop new multi-sector intellectual property

• July 12, 2021 12 Jul'21

  CMA consults on market investigation into emergency services’ mobile radio network

  Competition watchdog considers whether to launch market investigation into role played by Motorola’s mobile radio network used by all emergency services in UK

• July 12, 2021 12 Jul'21

  Enterprise 5G, cloud and IoT disrupting the comms service provider market

  Research predicts major uptick in enterprise IT spending, spurred by edge, 5G and private network investments, representing significant opportunity for communications service providers in 2022 and beyond

• July 12, 2021 12 Jul'21

  IoT at tipping point but multi-region connectivity, device deployment hinder UK adoption

  Research from connectivity specialist finds three-quarters of UK respondents say their internet-of-things project is at best only somewhat successful in meeting expectations and realising benefits, but 91% still plan increased investment

• July 11, 2021 11 Jul'21

  Ransomware and botnets among top cyber threats in Singapore

  The city-state saw more ransomware threats and command-and-control servers hosted out of its highly connected network infrastructure last year, as threat actors capitalised on the pandemic

• July 09, 2021 09 Jul'21

  Enterprise private LTE, 5G networks projected to realise more than $7bn in annual spend by 2026

  Study finds mission-critical use cases in manufacturing and energy/utilities driving demand for dedicated comms networks, but ecosystem remains challenging

• July 08, 2021 08 Jul'21

  Vodafone creating indoor OpenRAN solution for business customers

  UK operator Vodafone continues its momentum in developing OpenRAN solutions by partnering with Mavenir to create an indoor small cell solution for business customers

• July 08, 2021 08 Jul'21

  Virgin Media O2 unveils ‘significant’ 4G and 5G boost

  Ahead of the summer holidays, newly merged communications company announces what it says is a significant 4G and 5G boost to holiday hotspots

• July 08, 2021 08 Jul'21

  CSP share of enterprise 5G deals falls 5% in 2021

  Study shows that while the number of enterprise 5G projects doubled over the past year, competition from alternative service providers has significantly impacted CSPs’ share of the market

• July 08, 2021 08 Jul'21

  CityFibre embarks on gigabit broadband roll-out in Sussex

  Rapidly growing infrastructure provider spreads full-fibre connectivity in county’s key inland and coastal areas

• July 07, 2021 07 Jul'21

  Social robots on the rise in the Netherlands

  The acceptance of robots being used in everyday life is making significant strides, but this is just the beginning

• July 07, 2021 07 Jul'21

  Hybrid working model significantly affects helpdesk and support

  SASE provider’s survey finds that the IT challenge with deployed remote access technology is failing to meet enterprise requirements, forcing support and helpdesk to compensate

• July 07, 2021 07 Jul'21

  UK 5G availability and speeds progressing at steady clip

  Analyst’s latest monthly snapshot of next-generation mobile network development shows steady progress of 5G in Leicester, Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle

• July 07, 2021 07 Jul'21

  Remote workers feel disconnected from company IT departments

  As hybrid working becomes the norm, study advises that now is the time to invest in more robust technology to support remote workforces for the long term, and to fend off lingering feeling of resentment over lack of support

• July 06, 2021 06 Jul'21

  Google Cloud ties up with AI Singapore on skills training

  Google Cloud is working with Singapore’s national AI programme to build up the country’s talent pool in machine learning and AI

• July 06, 2021 06 Jul'21

  Colt enhances IBM partnership to gain 5G edge

  Connectivity solutions provider joins IBM’s partner ecosystem to collaborate on 5G and edge technology for enterprise customers, simplifying distributed infrastructure operations

• July 06, 2021 06 Jul'21

  Pharrowtech claims first viable fibre alternative with wireless

  Launch of 60GHz high-speed board designed to allow manufacturers and service providers to test broadband capabilities and support high-speed internet roll-out

• July 06, 2021 06 Jul'21

  OneWeb confirms successful launch and contact with 36 new satellites

  Controversial satellite operator OneWeb completes its ‘Five to 50’ mission to cover regions north of 50 degrees latitude, including UK, Canada, Alaska and Arctic region

• July 06, 2021 06 Jul'21

  TPG Telecom taps Nokia to launch world’s first live 5G standalone 700MHz service

  Leading Australian telco unveils low-band 5G standalone service to cover wide outdoor areas, as well as deep indoor urban environments using Nokia’s triple-band remote radio unit

• July 05, 2021 05 Jul'21

  Quarter of UK financial services staff want to continue working from home

  Working from home looks set to stay in the finance sector after Covid-19 restrictions are lifted, as staff express their preferences for remote working

• July 05, 2021 05 Jul'21

  Port of Ipswich trials IoT system to digitise operations

  BT and ABP deploy intelligent asset platform across East Anglian maritime commercial hub to help its voyage towards smart port status

• July 05, 2021 05 Jul'21

  UnaBiz makes foray into Japan

  The Singapore-based IoT technology provider has opened an office in Tokyo to tap the groundswell of IoT deployments in utilities and other sectors

• July 05, 2021 05 Jul'21

  Aurrigo gets into autonomous gear through Vodafone, AWS partnership

  Autonomous vehicle specialist becomes one of the first UK companies to benefit from a new technology partnership between UK comms operator and leading cloud provider

• July 05, 2021 05 Jul'21

  Ascendas India Trust to build datacentre near Mumbai

  New datacentre campus near Mumbai will deliver 90MW of power to host technology and cloud suppliers as well as large Indian companies in a fast-growing market

• July 03, 2021 03 Jul'21

  Berlin court finds EncroChat intercept evidence cannot be used in criminal trials

  In a major setback for police hacking operations, Berlin’s regional court has decided that intercepted data from the EncroChat phone network should not be used in criminal prosecutions

• July 02, 2021 02 Jul'21

  Qualcomm, Capgemini collaborate to boost 5G private network implementations for industries

  Partnership between 5G comms tech provider and leading business management firm looks to improve interoperability, provide proven performance and ease deployment for clients looking to unlock benefits of 5G private networks

• July 02, 2021 02 Jul'21

  UK government launches 5G network building competition

  Latest part of UK government’s 5G diversification strategy sees launch of competition to put UK at the cutting edge of developing tech for 5G mobile networks

• July 02, 2021 02 Jul'21

  Lightspeed taps Nokia to bring 10Gbps broadband to East of England

  Strengthening its market position as it expands across the East of England, Lincolnshire-based broadband provider Lightspeed makes strategic investment in gigabit technology to support the roll-out of full-fibre multi-gigabit network

• July 02, 2021 02 Jul'21

  Ericsson, Huawei claim 5G core tech lead with Mavenir, Affirmed Networks leading challengers

  Research reveals 5G core dominance is contingent on supplier positioning and strategy, but also that hungry pure-play software suppliers were already offering disruptive innovation and agility

• July 02, 2021 02 Jul'21

  AT&T to move 5G mobile network to Microsoft Azure

  Leading US operator to run its mobility network on leading cloud platform as it aims to deliver cost-efficient 5G services at scale, while network cloud technology will be deployed to gain competitive advantage through streamlined operations and ...

• July 02, 2021 02 Jul'21

  Ericsson, Deutsche Telekom, Samsung claim world first in 5G network slicing trial

  Global operator joins leading tech firms in test showcasing the benefits of 5G end-to-end network slicing optimised for cloud virtual reality game streaming, while also allowing service providers to offer customer-focused service assurance

• July 01, 2021 01 Jul'21

  Openreach warns UK firms to check comms CPE ahead of analogue switch-off

  Ahead of current analogue phone network reaching the end of its life by December 2025, UK broadband provider advises firms to start checking digital compatibility of CPE such as alarm services, lifts, payment card readers and medical equipment

• June 30, 2021 30 Jun'21

  Orange unveils Europe’s first 5G SA fully end-to-end experimental cloud network

  Global operator to launch region’s first standalone fully end-to-end cloud network from devices to IS in a cloud-native mode

• June 30, 2021 30 Jun'21

  Incoherent technology investment saps motivation at mid-size businesses

  Research suggests that mid-size businesses are falling into the trap of investing in technology for technology’s sake, rather than identifying what the business actually needs, with stress especially acute supporting remote working

• June 30, 2021 30 Jun'21

  Cops seize criminal VPN used by ransomware gangs

  A coordinated sting has ended the operations of the DoubleVPN service, the owners of which are accused of harbouring cyber criminal activity

• June 30, 2021 30 Jun'21

  Post-pandemic recovery drives NHS digitisation

  NHS staff see a role for remote healthcare to enable the health service to keep up with increased demands, according to iGov survey

• June 30, 2021 30 Jun'21

  Google Cloud, Ericsson target telcos with 5G, edge cloud solutions

  Google Cloud and Ericsson form partnership based on respective compute platform and 5G technology portfolios to help comms service providers deliver capabilities to the edge to unlock new possibilities for enterprises

• June 29, 2021 29 Jun'21

  Productivity apps here to stay as quarterly mobile app spending hits all-time high

  Research from leading mobile data and analytics company App Annie finds $7bn jump in app spending year on year, suggesting the start of a global economic rebound

• June 29, 2021 29 Jun'21

  UK government reveals full extent of benefits of mobile, fibre development schemes

  Scotland, Wales and North East England set to benefit most from mobile coverage boost under £1bn scheme with more than 230,000 Welsh homes and businesses to get access to faster broadband through Project Gigabit, and nearly 1,000 public buildings ...

• June 29, 2021 29 Jun'21

  MWC 2021: Global mobile industry leaders show commitment to 5G mmWave

  Mobile industry leaders unite as key 5G business segment expands its momentum across multiple regions, aiming to allow operators and OEMs to meet rising demand for data and expand into new service opportunities

• June 29, 2021 29 Jun'21

  MWC 2021: Totogi aims to ‘do for telcos what Salesforce did for CRM’

  Public cloud telco software launches charging engine to achieve what it says is the world’s best performance benchmark of one million transactions per second with usage-based pricing with free tier option for CSPs

• June 28, 2021 28 Jun'21

  OneWeb, BT sign agreement to explore rural satellite connectivity solutions

  Low Earth orbit satellite constellation provider OneWeb announces agreement with BT to discover how satellite technology might support improved capacity, mobile resilience, backhaul and coverage in challenging geographic locations

• June 28, 2021 28 Jun'21

  Virgin Media O2 uses gigabit voucher scheme to connect rural Sussex homes

  Recently merged communications provider announces that it will, for the first time, make use of government’s Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme to help residents in West Sussex benefit from next-generation connectivity

• June 28, 2021 28 Jun'21

  Swisscom embarks on public cloud migration with AWS to power 5G innovation

  Switzerland-based telco Swisscom has named AWS its preferred public cloud partner to power its digital transformation plans

• June 28, 2021 28 Jun'21

  UK government announces high-tech lab to boost 5G diversification strategy

  As a central pillar of strategy to build a more secure and innovative 5G supply chain, Sonic Labs test facility opens to explore ways of building 5G networks in a ‘simulated’ real-world environment

• June 28, 2021 28 Jun'21

  5G yet to take off as UK households demand more than broadband speed promise

  Study from leading management consultant finds that despite not unrealistic worries about domestic network reliability, UK householders feel networks have dealt with extra strain from mass home working

• June 25, 2021 25 Jun'21

  Vodafone launches 5G standalone commercial pilots in UK cities

  Operator launches commercial pilot of 5G standalone service in London, Manchester and Cardiff as it continues development of cutting-edge mobile technologies

• June 25, 2021 25 Jun'21

  Reliance Jio teams up with Google on 5G and retail

  India’s biggest telco will use Google Cloud to manage its 5G network and grow its commerce business

• June 24, 2021 24 Jun'21

  UK workers demand economic recovery to be built on better internet access

  Cisco announces index of broadband services in the UK and reveals lead role in government’s levelling-up initiative designed to help close the digital divide

• June 24, 2021 24 Jun'21

  NTT saddles up for Tour de France digital twin

  World-famous cycling event to see ‘unique’ concept in communications designed to bring together people, processes and technology over 3,400km, ensuring the continuity and resilience of the race

• June 24, 2021 24 Jun'21

  Nokia deploys AI services to cut complexity of network support and maintenance

  Comms tech provider launches advanced suite of support services using artificial intelligence and automation to simplify network operations and maintenance

• June 24, 2021 24 Jun'21

  Extreme Networks taps up Microsoft Azure to provide UK customers with locally hosted cloud service

  Extreme Networks will draw on Microsoft Azure's UK datacentre region to provide its customers with locally hosted versions of its flagship cloud management platform

• June 23, 2021 23 Jun'21

  Two-thirds of SMEs yet to consider impact of Openreach analogue and ISDN switch-off

  Survey by network services provider reveals worrying lack of preparedness amongst SMEs regarding support for remote workers ahead of the end of analogue copper services form BT broadband provision division

• June 23, 2021 23 Jun'21

  WD-40 eases network friction with SD-WAN, SASE

  Manufacturer of so-called ‘miracle spray’ overhauls inflexible, decades-old MPLS infrastructure with managed networking and security

• June 23, 2021 23 Jun'21

  Mavenir, MobiledgeX enable global edge connectivity with Deutsche Telekom

  Network software provider teams with multicloud edge deployment tech firm to bring cloud-native dynamic deployment of 5G core for leading global operator

• June 23, 2021 23 Jun'21

  Majority of global knowledge workers will be remote by the end of 2021

  Leading research firm predicts remote work will drive PC and tablet shipments to over 500 million units for the first time ever by the end of 2021

• June 23, 2021 23 Jun'21

  Openreach calls on CommScope to deliver full-fibre broadband network across UK

  BT broadband provision division and wired and wireless network technology provider enter into partnership to accelerate pace of gigabit network roll-out

• June 22, 2021 22 Jun'21

  Users’ network expectations change in new normal

  Ciena study reveals how sustainability, connected industries and always-on connectivity are shaping the UK’s digital post-Covid landscape