Telecom Ramblings

According to reports, the European Commission has launched a series of ‘unannounced inspections’ on some of the continent’s largest providers. Orange, Deutsche Telekom, and Telefonica have had regulators show up to comb through their offices, while BT and KPN have apparently not – yet at least. [Read more →]

This article was authored by John C. Tanner, and was originally posted on telecomasia.net.

ITEM: The Washington Post has published an extensive piece on what Singapore Technologies Telemedia had to do to satisfy national security concerns by the US government over its planned buyout of Global Crossing ten years ago – namely, hire a secretive [Read more →]

As expected, both Sprint’s deal for Clearwire and its merger with Softbank are now complete. The soap opera is finally over and the #3 wireless carrier in the US and all that valuable spectrum are now 78% Japanese-owned and operated. And the first order of business: no more Nextel. [Read more →]

As promised earlier this year, the northwestern metro fiber builder Fatbeam is taking its case across the border from its home turf in northern Idaho and into western Montana.  Today they announced the start of construction on their metro fiber network in the mining town of Butte. [Read more →]

Hurricane Sandy did more than just tear up the shoreline and all the infrastructure on it, lately it has become clear that it also stripped the fig leaves off of a few illusions we have about that infrastructure. And nowhere has that been more painful than with Verizon’s plans out on Fire Island, one of the largest barriers island off the shore of New York’s Long Island. [Read more →]

Ok, at long last I have updated my metro fiber and on-net buildings statistics.  There is a bit more data out there that may roll in in the next few weeks, but that’s always the case.  In the meantime, you can check out the full list in the usual location or take a look at the abbreviated update below. [Read more →]

Four quick updates from regional providers, three from the US and one from Europe: [Read more →]

Here’s a quick rundown on some news from data centers and the cloud: [Read more →]

The Japanese data center market must be going well for Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX, news, filings), as today they announced plans to move beyond Tokyo.  They’re planning a new IBX in Osaka, with the help of K-Opticom and Kanden Energy Solutions. [Read more →]

We have a new job listing this week from PEG Bandwidth over in the world of wireless backhaul. [Read more →]

There was a bit of consolidation in the cloud today, as Momentum announced the acquisition of the assets of Twist Networks from its parent Communications Technologies, Inc. The deal will boost the Birmingham-based cloud provider’s presence in St. Louis. [Read more →]

It appears that the fat lady is indeed warming up, and both Sprint and Clearwire shall soon be in the hands of Softbank. On the lightly attended workday of July 5, the FCC announced its unanimous approval of both Sprint’s purchase of Clearwire, and Softbank’s transaction to take control of Sprint, checking the final regulatory box. [Read more →]

Much has been made about the opportunities of ‘Big Data’, and telcos are amongst those who supposedly have vast reservoirs of this unmined resource.  Just how valuable is this information and who it is valuable to remains unquantifiable, especially in light of privacy equally unquantifiable concerns.  What do you think?  Is there really gold in them thar hills, as Yosemite Sam would say? [Read more →]

The Philippine’s PLDT has tapped Teliasonera International Carrier for a substantial chunk of IP transit, boosting the company’s international reach. They’ve signed on for multiple 10Gbps ports across three continents with the Swedish carrier’s backbone. [Read more →]

This article was authored by Don Sambandaraksa, and was originally posted on telecomasia.net.

The responses by the US and UK governments to the revelations made by Edward Snowden have been aimed solely at their electorate. If you are not a US or UK citizen, it would seem that the NSA and GCHQ can conduct their business on you as they please. [Read more →]

As the US moves into a July 4th weekend, here’s a quick rundown on items from the cloud and managed services with a new service at Tata, new customers for CyrusOne and Unitas Global, and a deal closing for EarthLink. [Read more →]

Africa’s Liquid Telecom has tapped Ekinops for DWDM transport gear to power its backbone across South Afria, Zimbabe, and Zambia. The deployment covers some 2,500km of terrestrial fiber and includes some of the longest uninterrupted fiber spans on the continent. [Read more →]

While the last stages of the Softbank buyout of Sprint play their way out, the company’s network is continuing on with business as usual. Today that meant a service expansion on the wireline front, unveiling SIP trunking services across much of Western Europe. [Read more →]

Time for a quick roundup of news from overseas, with items from euNetworks, TI Sparkle, Epsilon, Alcatel-Lucent, and CDNetworks. [Read more →]

Tech Valley Communications cemented its position as the main alternative fiber footprint in upstate NY and northern New England this morning by closing the acquisition of TelJet.  The deal gives Tech Valley fiber that helps connect its Albany metro area base with the SegTel assets it acquired two years ago, and boosts its asset base to 190K fiber miles and 1,300 on-net buildings across the region. [Read more →]

This morning Hurricane Electric added some Spanish connectivity to its international network, bringing a new point of presence online at Interxion Madrid.  The new node will offer 100Mbps, GigE, and 10GE pipes to Interxion customers, giving them more options and lower latency to the HE backbone. [Read more →]

Rochester-based Fibertech says it has finished a major new expansion in Connecticut, which has long been one of its deepest markets. They’ve added another 850 route miles of fiber in the state, extending their footprint to 3,500 route miles in all. [Read more →]

We have two new job listings this week from the newly combined northeastern fiber juggernaut Lightower Fiber Networks. [Read more →]