Telecom Ramblings

The M&A talk over in Europe today is focused on the UK, where BT and Telefonica are dancing around a possible transaction. While described by BT as ‘highly preliminary’, the idea would be for BT to get back into the wireless game by reacquiring O2, which it spun off over a decade ago. Telefonica would likely then own a significant minority chunk of BT. [Read more →]

As the holidays loom large, so does the urge to look ahead and speculate on what will come in 2015 and beyond.  With us today to opine about where the internet infrastructure industry is headed and why is Gillis Cashman, Managing Partner at the private equity firm M/C Partners.  M/C Partners is very tightly focused on communications services and infrastructure, and Gillis [Read more →]

This week we got two new listings from down south to take a look at. [Read more →]

This Industry Viewpoint was authored by Max Silber, executive director of mobility, MetTel

Mobile devices in the workforce are nothing new – since the invasion of Palm Pilots and Blackberry phones in the late 1990s, these devices have become as common in a cubicle or office as a desk phone and computer monitor.

What wasn’t expected at the dawn of the mobile era was the extent to which users would [Read more →]

With the travel, I have been playing catch-up all week on other news. Here’s another roundup, this time of network operator news: [Read more →]

Windstream is sending out some cards just in time for the holiday season, but they aren’t of the festive variety. The hybrid ILEC/CLEC is planning to slim down its workforce by 2.7% by December 1 in an effort to improve its cost structure and efficiency. [Read more →]

Lots of news from the vendors this week, especially around Ethernet, SDN, and NFV given GEN14. Here’s a quick look a few items I learned about at and around the event: [Read more →]

One of the more interesting and colorful items I ran into at the GEN14 conference this week was the unveiling of the Clouded Leopard’s Den. It’s not a new product or service, but rather an effort by the Cloud Ethernet Forum to bring the popular Shark Tank concept to the cloud, where the teeth this time belong to the endangered Himalayan big cat. [Read more →]

Virginia has been getting some fiber attention lately, and it got another key intercity piece this week while I was off traveling this week.  Dulles-based SummitIG has completed the construction of its brand new dark fiber route between Richmond and the key data center hubs of northern Virginia. [Read more →]

One of the biggest deals in internet infrastructure this year was the combination of Level 3 and tw telecom, which just closed a couple weeks ago.  Both companies had strong momentum in the enterprise markets, and once integrated the combined network and on-net building footprints will be quite formidable by any measure.  The key, therefore, is to make that happen.  With us today to talk about the integration ahead and the road beyond is Level 3’s longtime Chief Technology Officer, Jack Waters. [Read more →]

Here’s a quick rundown of news from around the world worth a quick look: [Read more →]

I’m on the road this week, but here’s a quick rundown of some of the news out there: [Read more →]

A week after taking another swing at buying ShoreTel, Mitel has backed off — at least for now — and has publicly withdrawn the offer.  ShoreTel seems happy with that. They had raised their earlier bid up to $8.50 per share, but ShoreTel’s board continued to be unimpressed and had described the offer as ‘highly inadequate’.  [Read more →]

The northeastern fiber operator Lightower Fiber Networks is now not properly called northeastern, having brought fiber to a piece of Dixie. Lightower has completed its 1,100 route mile fiber buildout throughout Virginia and now reaching down into North Carolina. [Read more →]

After every acquisition, Level 3 goes to work on that complicated balance sheet, and this morning they are doing so again.  Although actually this one was probably in the works regardless.  [Read more →]

On Friday, the FCC took AT&T’s show of displeasure toward President Obama’s net neutrality stance and turned it around. After AT&T’s CEO Randall Stephenson publicly pulled the emergency brake on its fiber network rollouts, the FCC wants to know just what it is they are pausing. [Read more →]

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

Smart cities start with smart citizens, but many of those same citizens will expect the city, not operators, to provide smart-city services. [Read more →]

This week we got a new listing to look at on the Ramblings Jobs board to look at from down south to go with an existing one from up north. [Read more →]

Here’s a quick Friday rundown of the news ending the week: [Read more →]

Ok, yesterday’s poll wasn’t terribly seriously composed of course, and was designed to express exasperation in its many forms.  This one is about the actual issue.  After six years of debate, where do you all come down on network neutrality?   [Read more →]

Obama wants Title II and he wants it now, AT&T is taking its ball and going home, and Tom Wheeler has no friends.  What’s your reaction to it all?  Here’s a quick, completely scientific poll to find out what Ramblings’ readers think. [Read more →]

Time for a quick look at news from around the world: [Read more →]

This Industry Viewpoint roundtable summary was authored by the MEF.  

An older carrier network can be deceptive. It often is perfectly suited for today’s business needs, solid, predictable and reliable. It may be largely paid for, or at least depreciating on schedule, with minimal need for significant CapEx outlays. Yet that trusted technology can fall flat when faced with [Read more →]