Thursday Bytes: Verizon, DE-CIX, GNM, Motorola Solutions, MCG

A few bits of news from around the world to catch up with:

Verizon is ramping up for this summer’s FIFA World Cup, for which they are the official telecommunications services sponsor. They are rolling out infrastructure across stadiums, FIFA Fan Festival locations, and additional ‘operational aspects’ to support fans, officals, broadcasters, and communities. That includes more 5G spectrum, more antennas, and as many as 140 small cells and temporary cell sites. Verizon will also be leveraging private 5G networks in host stadiums and 5G FWA and network slicing where needed.  

DE-CIX and Ooredoo have teamed up to bring the Middle East closer to Europe, at least in terms of connectivity. They have connected Doha IX in Qatar directly to DE-CIX Marseille, and thereby also remotely to the mothership at DE-CIX Frankfurt. Doha IX was launched 6 months ago by in Ooredoo’s data center under the DE-CIX as a Service model. 

GNM has tapped Ciena for an upgrade of its backgone infrastructure. They are moving from 800G to 1.6T on high capacity routes, enabling greater scale without new fiber and improving cost efficiency per bit. The project was completed in a production environment and will help GNM scale their infrastructure to keep up with demand from AI workloads, cloud platforms, and content-heavy applications. 

PSA Singapore has tapped Motorola Solutions to help update its network infrastructure. PSA Singapore is building the Tuas Mega Port, a fully automated container terminal that will handle as many as 65M TEU shipping containers per year when it’s complete sometime in the 2040s. They will use Motorola Solusions’ TETRA digital radio communications across the project’s operations. 

And Mission Critical Group is bringing some more energy and power expertise under its umbrella. They have announced a strategic investment in WattEV, which focuses on on-grid and off-grid multi-megawatt charging stations. MCG will be leveraging their power conversion technology in support of AI factories. They hope to leverage next-generation 800 VDC architectures to better meet the power demands of AI. 

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Categories: Artificial Intelligence · Energy · Interconnection · Internet Backbones · Telecom Equipment · Wireless