Network routing and switching

New contractors appointed to roll out fibre broadband across Devon and Somerset

Airband, Truespeed and Wessex Internet selected to roll out full-fibre networks on behalf of the Connecting Devon and Somerset (CDS) programme Continue Reading

Viasat announces $222m RigNet acquisition

Global communications company unveils plans to expand and diversify commercial connectivity portfolio, with purchase of intelligent networking solutions firm to add complementary technology Continue Reading

Gigabit proliferates as UK’s fixed and mobile networks take the strain from Covid

The UK’s fixed and mobile networks take the strain of remote working and increased online entertainment uptake Continue Reading

How Ethernet became the world’s networking standard

Ethernet pioneer Bob Metcalfe outlines the technology’s early history, including the rivalry with IBM and what he did to convince people of the value of networks Continue Reading

SSE strengthens Scotland’s digital infrastructure with next-generation connectivity

High-capacity 100Gbps connectivity services delivered into datacentre intended to future-proof Scotland’s businesses and public sector organisations Continue Reading

UK offering relatively poor value for broadband services

Low absolute pricing is among the region’s best, but lower average speeds compared with much of Europe makes the UK one of the continent’s laggards when it comes to broadband value for money Continue Reading

Ericsson sets sail with enhanced maritime connectivity

Swedish tech provider aims to rectify lack of options for at-sea communications where traditional satellite comms have seen high prices, high latency and low throughput Continue Reading

Optus teams up with VMware on SD-WAN

Australia’s second biggest telco, Optus, will offer VMware’s SD-WAN solution to enterprises in a highly fragmented market Continue Reading

How to calculate a subnet mask from hosts and subnets

IP addressing and subnetting are important and basic elements of networks. In this article, learn how to calculate a subnet mask based on the required number of subnets and hosts. Continue Reading

SMEs need to acknowledge remote working lessons to prosper post-Covid

Research from integrated cloud communications platform provider finds that over two-fifths of SME employees believe that, with effective communication tools, productivity would be the most improved business challenge in the “new normal” Continue Reading

Ericsson, TIM, Qualcomm, claim 5G FWA speed milestone

Although fixed wireless access has not yet gained as much publicity as other use cases for the next-generation infrastructure, its potential in connecting those in remote areas to 5G is vast and a consortium of technology vendors and leading Italian operators have established a new throughput benchmark Continue Reading

FTTH Council Europe slams misleading advertising for fibre networks

Fibre broadband trade body study shows consumers are confused about marketing and performance of broadband-access technologies, recommending a ‘fibre-ready’ label should be introduced for new buildings and major renovations Continue Reading

Nova casts light on streaming network issues as energy demands soar

So-called industry-first solution brings new revenue opportunities, reduces churn and differentiates offer for video providers as they struggle to cope with energy surge in providing services Continue Reading

Openreach claims UK first as it moves from copper to full-fibre in Salisbury

Salisbury takes a step closer to becoming the UK’s first ‘fully digital’ city with full-fibre deployment Continue Reading

IT teams’ challenges ramp up in maintaining high-quality network video experience

Companies providing streaming services have seen huge growth in demand, which has meant providing an optimal user experience while managing surging user traffic Continue Reading

Nokia deploys 5G private networking across five German research centres

Finnish comms tech giant continues roll-out of standalone private 5G network for large-scale implementation across renowned German research institutes Continue Reading

Zoom revenue bonanza continues into third quarter

Breakout video conferencing firm continues strong run and in third quarter shows ongoing influx of customers Continue Reading

UK government sets out 5G tech diversification strategy

Second reading of the Telecoms Security Bill outlines specific measures to restrict the use of Huawei’s goods, services and facilities in 5G networks and details of the new 5G Supply Chain Diversification Strategy designed to build a resilient, open and sustainable comms tech supply chain Continue Reading

Broadband access drives New Zealand remote working to be permanent fixture

Covid-19 crisis pushes Kiwis to do more online and the changes are sticking, according to research from ANZ telco and media research and consulting firm Continue Reading

UK broadband industry ‘confused’ by government funding claims

National broadband suppliers and trade bodies express surprise and lack of enthusiasm for Spending Review claims of providing positive outcome for gigabit roll-out across the country Continue Reading

UK telecoms industry gives guarded welcome to Telecommunications Bill proposal

New legislation aims to provide a basis to strengthen the security framework for technology used in 5G and full fibre networks, including the electronic equipment and software at phone mast sites and in telephone exchanges Continue Reading

Xbox Series X, PlayStation 5 launches unleash UK network traffic surge

Game console launches show network providers need to upgrade their infrastructure and invest in the latest networking technology to ensure reliable, resilient and robust performance Continue Reading

Zen to offer gigabit broadband over CityFibre networks

Zen Internet becomes former altnet’s third national consumer ISP to offer full-fibre services to consumers with gigabit-speed consumer broadband products Continue Reading

Pricing questions persist but Openreach overall observes Ofcom independence mandates

UK communications regulator notes real progress made in implementing its requirements, but more is needed to be done to strengthen broadband provision division independence and engagement Continue Reading

Global networks take the strain in roller-coaster 2020

Research from network tech provider reveals implications for service providers and internet service delivery chain, with significant growth in video streaming, gaming, video conferencing and DDoS Continue Reading

£165m gigabit broadband boost for Northern Ireland

NIE announces connectivity deployment scheme to deliver gigabit-capable broadband infrastructure to more than 76,000 premises in hard-to-reach places across province Continue Reading

Cato collects $130m investment to extend SASE proposition

New funding round for SASE pioneer Cato, the largest to date for the company, brings total financing to $332m, leading to what the company calls a unicorn valuation demonstrating leadership of SASE market Continue Reading

Masergy goes deeper with SASE to strengthen SD-WAN security

Supplier claims to offer the broadest choice in security solutions, best-of-breed technologies and a leading global network platform for businesses of all sizes Continue Reading

Huawei unveils solutions for 1+N target 5G networks

Chinese comms giant launches new network technology to enable operators to tap into what it says will be huge potential for delivering 5G at greatly reduced per-bit costs Continue Reading

IT Priorities 2020: ‘Benestrophe’ for networking as UK IT departments come to terms with new normal

As 2020 ends, all traditional bets are off as Covid-19 completely changes the landscape of IT, with secure connectivity and cloud emerging at the core of enterprises’ needs for the foreseeable future Continue Reading

SD-WAN keeps Darling Ingredients on the table through Covid-19 pandemic

For some businesses, the Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting need to support mass remote working will have accelerated something they began working on some time ago. Darling Ingredients is one such firm, whose SD-WAN roll-out puts it in good stead for the future Continue Reading

NTT DATA and Continual collaborate to deliver in-vehicle mobility experiences

Consulting and IT services and cloud-based analytics firms announce Tier 1 mobile operator is already implementing combined in-vehicle system Continue Reading

Cloud RANs offer promise in APAC, but not in near future

While there is growing interest in cloud-based radio access networks, experts argue that telcos will still cautiously approach the technology in a phased manner Continue Reading

SK Telecom furthers Deutsche Telekom partnership to advance in-building 5G

Latest cooperation between leading German and Korean operators aims to create what companies believe will be major innovations, starting with improving 5G experiences Continue Reading

Global telcos defy previous performance expectations

Better-performing Asia-Pacific operators lead charge driving analyst to adjust upwards previous forecast for worldwide connectivity services market Continue Reading

Virgin brings gigabit broadband to London and Northern Ireland

Nearly three million homes in UK capital and Ulster gain access to gigabit connections with the next-generation infrastructure now in 45% of Virgin’s network across the UK Continue Reading

Community Fibre claims fastest home broadband package in London

Altnet unveils what it says is a gigabit connectivity industry-first for homes in the UK capital Continue Reading

University of Warwick graduates to BT 5G to accelerate innovation

BT installs UK’s first dedicated public 5G network for the University of Warwick, aiming to bring new opportunities for research and further enhance students’ learning experience through its EE mobile network Continue Reading

Comms needs to take ‘giant leap forward’ to address new normal

Ericsson research finds Covid-19 pandemic has created a tipping point for what workers expect of the future digital office Continue Reading

Ericsson scoops urban part of BT 5G communications network

Building on the operator’s selection of the comms tech firm’s 5G core solutions earlier in 2020, Ericsson wins deal to upgrade BT’s existing radio access network infrastructure on EE mobile network. Continue Reading

Corporate WANs and their network providers not meeting new business needs

Global connectivity firm warns that network providers are letting down firms, with security and service flexibility cited as key issues Continue Reading

Ericsson looks to the cloud for increased RAN flexibility

Cloud-based radio access network for communications service providers regarded as offering more versatility to network buildouts as a complement to existing purpose-built 5G networks and addressing a variety of 5G use cases Continue Reading

In-building wireless infrastructure, 5G indoor revenues will exceed $16bn by 2025

Research predicts digital distributed radio systems will change the way traditional distributed antenna systems are designed and implemented due to their simplified and future-proofed architecture Continue Reading

What’s next for Wi-Fi?

New and emerging 802.11 wireless LAN technologies continue to develop. Users who need to replace routers have a decision to make: buy now or wait for the next upgrade cycle in 2021? Continue Reading

Scotland gets gigabit broadband funding boost

Agreement will help rural areas get gigabit-capable broadband connections, with first tranche of £6m to connect hundreds of public sector buildings across Angus, Dundee, and Perth & Kinross Continue Reading

Maturing O-RAN set to have 75% market share by 2030

Analyst confident of prospects for comms technology enabling multi-supplier interoperability for innovations and reducing time to market for deploying new network functionality Continue Reading

Iron Mountain scales global connectivity collaboration with Telia Carrier

Enhanced global network in APAC, EMEA and North America aims to deliver increased high-performance network diversity for datacentre customers Continue Reading

UK government hits superfast target but many still experience poor broadband

National Audit Office report says government’s target to roll out faster gigabit coverage nationwide by 2025 will be difficult to achieve for the hardest-to-reach premises Continue Reading

Small businesses’ remote working frustrations threaten exodus of best talent

While large firms mull massive investment to return to offices, over a quarter of European small business workers would switch jobs to somewhere better equipped for remote working Continue Reading

UK firms find obstacles to unlocking full potential of Edge

Survey finds almost of half of UK IT leaders in the UK are already actively using Edge technologies to deliver new outcomes and business value, but 87% of ITDMs are missing key skills to unlock the value of data Continue Reading

How to build a resilient network design

Everything fails eventually, even in networking. Enterprises can prepare for network failure by building resilience and redundancy into their network infrastructure design. Continue Reading

Dryad Networks gains funding for large-scale wildfire detection IoT network

Forest management startup gains seed fund to develop internet of things technology for what it says is the dawn of the digital forest Continue Reading

Colt gallops to bring high-capacity bandwidth to UK’s major cities

Provider deploys network-to-network interfaces acquired via Livequote pricing portal to support UK broadband network to satisfy the increasing demand for high-bandwidth connectivity services Continue Reading

How Ethernet became the world’s networking standard

Ethernet pioneer Bob Metcalfe outlines the technology’s early history, including the rivalry with IBM and what he did to convince people of the value of networks Continue Reading

Norway leaves door open to Huawei

Government gives telecoms companies responsibility to choose their equipment suppliers, which could include Huawei Continue Reading

Skoda Auto transforms network infrastructure to accelerate business growth

Car manufacturer upgrades network with campus networking systems as part of its 2025 digital transformation strategy Continue Reading

VMware wants to decouple the telco technology stack

VMware is trying to break the stranglehold of integrated technology stacks on telcos, but network equipment suppliers are not ceding ground Continue Reading

BT: UK government’s national fibre target could be missed by eight years

Government is in danger of not realising its full-fibre coverage broadband ambitions, says telco, which had identified seven key policy, legislative and fiscal enablers to get the plan back on track Continue Reading

SSE Enterprise Telecoms makes further investment in UK business connectivity, 5G

UK telco unbundles further 259 BT exchanges by the end of 2021 to significantly grow network, bringing total unbundled exchanges to 550 Continue Reading

Government remains in orbit to develop UK sat nav

Despite experts’ doubts, government confirms it will continue to look at a wider range of options for a sovereign satellite navigation and timing capability Continue Reading

Virgin hits 2.2Gbps broadband speeds in innovation trial

UK cable network reveals proof-of-concept trial to showcase multi-gigabit broadband speeds delivered without the need for additional infrastructure or civil engineering works Continue Reading

NBN Co pumps in A$700m to shore up business connectivity

Australia’s national wholesale broadband provider is creating up to 240 business fibre zones across the country to provide businesses with access to its enterprise ethernet service Continue Reading

Current IT infrastructures not prepared for incoming strain of fourth industrial revolution

With the future of business increasingly driven by smart things, applications and digital services that use data for transformational purposes, CenturyLink is undergoing its own transformation Continue Reading

Independent wholesale broadband market could connect 11 million more premises by 2025

Research from Independent Networks Cooperative Association reveals surge in demand from members to provide wholesale broadband services across the UK Continue Reading

UK government furthers investment in rural broadband

Quarter of a million rural homes and businesses across England have been given access to more financial help to get super-fast and above broadband speeds up to gigabit Continue Reading

Mobile stable as UK full-fibre broadband increases significantly over first half of 2020

Second interim 2020 update to UK comms regulator’s examination of connectivity shows fibre and superfast broadband proliferate since March as millions remain at home to work, learn and be entertained during the pandemic Continue Reading

5G roll-out delay could see £18.2bn hit to UK economy

Huawei publishes research showing the huge potential financial cost of removing its 5G products and services from the UK’s next generation Continue Reading

Aberla Utilities forges UK fibre partnership with Gabitel Ingenieros

Spanish telecommunications expert digs out deal with Cheshire-based telecoms, energy management, renewables and engineering services to provide fibre communications Continue Reading

Adtran eyes IoT scale opportunities and enhances gigabit switch portfolio

As part of a sweep of moves to help service providers grow IoT applications, services and revenue, business connectivity solutions provider announces new gateways and brings carrier-class feature set to gigabit switch portfolio. Continue Reading

Enterprise WLAN market takes a tumble

Quarantines and lockdowns due to pandemic are presenting a headwind for the enterprise WLAN market, with falls in first quarter persisting over the next three months of the year Continue Reading

Businesses go all in on wireless WAN for post-pandemic recovery

Report reveals extent of wireless WAN use, demand for 5G and how wireless connectivity will play a big part in businesses’ efforts to recover from the economic damage of Covid-19 Continue Reading

Scottish government reveals broadband voucher scheme to make up project shortfall

Government reveals details of funding for Scottish residents who fall outside reach of its primary broadband project Continue Reading

Bayer taps Verizon for global network infrastructure

Pharmaceutical giant chooses Verizon to provide software-defined infrastructure to support its future cloud-based business needs Continue Reading

UK government redesigns contact-tracing app and begins new trial phase

No official launch, but app is upgraded to offer alerts based on postcode, QR check-in at venues, symptom checker and test booking in conjunction with the official Test and Trace programme Continue Reading

CIOs raise IT budgets as increased remote working drives security concerns

Research finds that as the pandemic forces companies to accept the idea of permanent massed remote working, CIOs are waking up to the threat of increased cyber attacks Continue Reading

SD-WAN revealed as key enabler for ‘new normal’ remote workforces

Research from software-defined network and cloud platform provider shows the increased importance of software-defined infrastructure to the new work environment Continue Reading

UK government gigabit broadband scheme nears half a million new premises benchmark

UK government celebrates reaching gigabit broadband services deployment milestone as part of its ambitious target over the lifetime of parliament Continue Reading

Bandwidth Inc wraps up Ribbon deal to boost home network capacity for AWS

Session border controller software edition deployed on AWS to enable enterprise communications company’s customers to improve home working with no disruptions to network performance Continue Reading

Virgin brings gigabit speeds to Glasgow, Leeds and Bradford

Cable provider extends gigabit broadband footprint to more than 12 million homes with coverage in Scotland’s largest urban conurbation and West Yorkshire twin cities Continue Reading

Inside Juniper’s radical IT transformation

Western Australia’s aged care provider Juniper embarked on an aggressive strategy to completely transform its IT operations in just two years Continue Reading

Tata Communications unveils new secure digital experience

Global digital ecosystem enabler Tata aims to allow businesses to adapt to the realities of enterprise transformation, workforce mobility and consumer experience in the new digital-first environment Continue Reading

Liverpool scores win with 5G health and social care project

Quality of Mersey is not strained in mobile health communications solutions, with a further £4.3m for 5G-based health and social care innovation to provide safe, free and accessible connectivity to services including health, social care and education Continue Reading

Application monitoring, video games dominate internet traffic in first half of 2020

Increased focus on digital presence during lockdown likely to have prompted companies to invest more in ensuring and measuring application uptime and enhancing customer experience Continue Reading

BT takes Covid-19 hit but claims strong first quarter

Comms provider warns of further impact from pandemic in future quarters as a result of insolvency, slower decision-making by larger customers and lower usage across businesses Continue Reading

UK households suffer as online problems disrupt work during lockdown

Quadient urges broadband and mobile providers to focus on customer service as UK ranks connectivity as more essential than gas, banking or council services Continue Reading

UK rural full-fibre broadband network expanded further

Over three million more homes and businesses in rural areas of the UK given the opportunity to get ultra-reliable, gigabit-ready, full-fibre broadband by mid-2020s Continue Reading

£400m full-fibre broadband expansion as Warburg Pincus, DTCP take control of Community Fibre

Expansion of full-fibre network across London will deliver up to 10Gbps of broadband to a million households and businesses Continue Reading

US Cellular taps Nokia, Ericsson to build out 5G infrastructure

Scandinavian comms tech suppliers on board to support US’s fourth largest telco’s journey to next-generation services Continue Reading

Google Cloud announces Grace Hopper subsea cable

IT giant connects up first new undersea cable of its kind since 2003 to connect UK, US and Spain Continue Reading

Meet the CIO connecting IT in the most inhospitable environments

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we discuss the challenges of running global IT in the world of copper mining. We look at how tech suppliers are adapting their products to meet the lockdown demands of working from home. And we exam-ine how zero-trust methods can help secure container tech-nology. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

MainOne West African submarine cable implements Infinera to boost spectrum capacity

Comms tech provider works with global operator to optimise performance on undersea cable serving as West African backbone network for Orange’s international connectivity in Africa Continue Reading

Telekom Slovenije introduces 5G

Slovenia’s leading telco unveils the first in a number of phases in its evolution towards next-gen communications Continue Reading

Aryaka, Check Point announce global managed security partnership

Cloud-first-managed wide area network provider and threat prevention specialist collaborate to produce integrated security and SD-WAN-as-a-service solution Continue Reading

Verizon completes long-haul 800Gbps single-wavelength fibre data session

US comms giant sends 800Gbps across long-distance fibre in preparation for significant increase in amount of data from enterprise and consumer 5G applications Continue Reading

Masergy expands SD-WAN portfolio with SASE, added analytics

With the addition of SD-WAN Secure, software-defined network and cloud platform claims to be the sole source of a single, unified SD-WAN solution Continue Reading

A1, Telstra tap Nokia to enhance 5G evolution and pilot network slicing

Self-organising network software deployed to boost automation of leading Australian comms operator’s wide radio access networks as it continues its evolution towards 5G services Continue Reading

Cloudflare apologises for major net outage

Incident from network engineering team’s routine router configuration update work sees major outage on backbone leading to drops in internet services in Europe, US and Latin America Continue Reading

Global business leaders comfortable if not fully prepared for large-scale shift to remote work

Riverbed survey shows new technology investments are expected to enhance corporate performance and wellness as employees increasingly work from anywhere and employers adopt hybrid working models Continue Reading

More than 90% of UK’s fixed lines meet the challenges of working from home

Study from network benchmarking firm Umlaut reveals that despite fears over whether UK networks could cope with mass remote working, only very few fixed-connection users faced limitations Continue Reading

NS1 closes $40m series D round to fund connected economy tech

Multimillion-dollar funding round set to accelerate innovation in modern application and access network solutions that power the connected economy Continue Reading