Telecom Ramblings

The pace of technological change affects everyone and keeping up with it is not just an issue for the rest of us.  Even those helping to drive that change have to work at it.  Ciena has been rapidly shifting its business model and workforce towards software and support for the technology revolutions on the horizon.  With us today to talk about how they are achieving this is Joe Marsella, VP of Global Sales Engineering. Joe leads a team of ~350 sales engineers that must keep up with the pace of change so that they can help customers stay ahead.  [Read more →]

This Industry Viewpoint was authored by Nick Dmitry of Infinera.

Our world is getting smaller and more connected, and the thread stitching us together is lying on the ocean floor. [Read more →]

As new technology uptake goes, SD-WAN has caught on really quickly. At least it sure seems like everyone has an SD-WAN offering of some sort in place. And now we have a standard to measure those services up to, as yesterday MEF formally announced the publication of its global standard defining SD-WAN, MEF 70. [Read more →]

The private equity company Grain Management has been rather busy this month in the infrastructure space. Last week they took out Ritter Communications, but apparently they were still really hungry.  So this week they took out two more regional pockets of fiber and infrastructure announcing definitive agreements to acquire both Summit Broadband and a majority interest in Hunter Communications. [Read more →]

A few expansions and enhancements to note at midweek: [Read more →]

Four items from three continents worth keeping an eye on: [Read more →]

Another managed services provider is going to be changing hands. The private equity firm Siris says it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire TPx Communications, taking over from Investcorp and Clarity Partners. TPx had earlier this year made and canceled plans to go public via a merger with Pensare Acquisition Corp. [Read more →]

Another public internet infrastructure company may go private before long. The data center REIT CyrusOne said late last week that it is considering a sale after receiving interest from multiple parties. [Read more →]

I’ll be back from my road trip with the start of next week, but in the meantime here’s some jobs news from a heavyweight and a couple of quick takes from the data center and interconnection space to end the week: [Read more →]

This Tale from the Field was authored by Ilissa Miller, founder and CEO of iMiller Public Relations and President of NEDAS

AUSTIN, TEXAS –The honeybee population may be declining throughout the United States, but one telecommunications crew recently found a huge hive thriving in a surprise spot. [Read more →]

A few bits of interesting news worth keeping an eye on: [Read more →]

This Industry Viewpoint was authored by Rajan R N, Sumit Thakur, and Pratik Tidke of Prodapt

As the digital service providers’ (DSPs) ecosystem keeps evolving, the virtual network function (VNF) testing is getting more complex, costlier and time-consuming. Testing activities today consume more than 40% of DSP’s time and efforts in bringing new services online. [Read more →]

This Industry Viewpoint was contributed by Jerzy Szlosarek, CEO of Epsilon

In a rapidly changing global ICT landscape, players in the wholesale market need a new way to collaborate. Application Programming Interface (API) has been around for a long time, but only recently with Software-Defined Networking (SDN), carriers are looking to use it to accelerate [Read more →]

I’m on the road this week, but still trying to keep up. Here’s three bits of acquisition news and a contract win: [Read more →]

With all the M&A going on, all the new automation capabilities, and new  technologies like 5G, AI, and more on the horizon, the telecommunications and internet infrastructure sector is never sitting still.  Companies in any sector must manage change, but in this sector keeping up is a never-ending project with no vacations.  With us today to talk about handling the next wave of challenges wrought by digital transformation is Jason Serotta, Media, Entertainment, & Communications Global Thought Leader at the management consulting firm North Highland. [Read more →]

The rise of the edge has been with us for a while, and CenturyLink has until now let others do something about it. But this morning the company announced a significant new plan to invest in its own edge infrastructure. [Read more →]

This Industry Viewpoint was authored by Sharif Fotouh, CEO of Compass EdgePoint

When a new concept or technology is introduced in the marketplace, it’s often difficult to cut through the hype to get the information you need to know. If you’re thinking about implementing an edge computing solution, you know what I’m talking about. Too often, the industry’s discussion about the edge is focused on questions that seem highly philosophical, leading to debates that tend to go in circles [Read more →]

Two bits of international news and one federal contract: [Read more →]

An organization gets a new member, some AI tech gets bought, and a vendor wins the favor of two mobile operators and one satellite TV provider: [Read more →]

Zayo has begun construction on a new, unique intercity fiber route. The path will stretch from Zayo’s home turf in the Denver metro area, up into and through the Rockies, and over to Salt Lake City. [Read more →]

Four items of metro and regional infrastructure news from midweek, three customer wins and one M&A closing: [Read more →]

Macquarie Group has found some new infrastructure to invest capital in. The investment company’s Macquarie Capital group will be putting £10m now and up to £30m over time into the UK fixed wireless provider Voneus. [Read more →]

Some news from different corners of the industry to start the week: [Read more →]