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SoftBank upgrades White Cloud SmartVPN platform with NFV, SDN technology Japanese telecom giant SoftBank said it plans to upgrade its White Cloud SmartVPN architecture using Cisco System’s Evolved Services Platform Orchestration, software-defined networking and network functions virtualization technologies. SoftBank, which …

Following its $48.5 billion acquisition of DirecTV, telecom giant AT&T is now telling federal regulators a pending combination of Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks and Charter Communications will serve to decrease competition in the lucrative industry. In an Oct. …

Paraguayan regulator Conatel released the final bidding terms and conditions for the country’s planned 1700 MHz/2100 MHz spectrum auction in support of LTE services. Interested companies have until Dec. 3 to send in applications. The maximum spectrum each carrier can …

ETSI NFV work targets lawful interception, open source software, cloud-based reliability The European Telecommunications Standards Institute’s Network Functions Virtualization Industry Specification Group this week released three new specifications targeting security and reliability for NFV deployments. ETSI said the new specifications …

Emphasizes the importance of providing customers with time-shifted content NEW ORLEANS – As cable and telecommunications companies continue to look increasingly alike, Ericsson has plans to capitalize with a new access point unveiled this week at the SCTE Cable-Tec Expo. …

Remote radio heads, better antennas, digital DAS and shared baseband resources help operators reduce the cost of ODAS Outdoor distributed antenna system solutions enable operators to offer coverage and support capacity requirements in places that the macro network cannot reach. In dense …

Nokia signs LTE-A deal with China Mobile LTE-Advanced is coming to China as Nokia prepares to roll out the technology it demonstrated this summer in partnership with China Mobile. LTE-A is part of the third phase of the carrier’s LTE …

Agreement covers joint work between SK Telecom and China Unicom on 5G development SK Telecom and China Unicom signed a memorandum of understanding focused on working together to develop a range of mobile and enterprise technologies. The MoU, signed this …

1. Dell has agreed to buy EMC in what could be the biggest tech takeover in history. The size of the buyout will depend on the value of EMC’s interest in VMWare, but Dell and EMC estimate that the deal …

AT&T Mobility announced the Federal Communications Commission has given it approval to offer Wi-Fi calling to customers on smartphones. This will start with the iPhone 6 and 6s, and I expect it to spread to other devices as well. While …

This report reviews trends in network densification both indoors and outdoors. Key focus areas include cost control through new network architectures and intelligent optimization, small cells as a service, and new business models for small cells and DAS. In addition, …

Digital DAS is a way to cut costs by eliminating headend equipment Many wireless deployments seek to minimize attenuation, or loss of signal strength, but for in-building systems operators actually invest in dedicated equipment to attenuate the signal from the …

Microsoft is facing reality in the smartphone world even as it launches another high-end device. Priced at $549, the new 5.2-inch Lumia 950 is powered by Qualcomm’s top-of-the-line Snapdragon 808 processor and sports a 20-megapixel PureView camera. For Microsoft, the …

Hello! And welcome to our Friday column, Worst of the Week. There’s a lot of nutty stuff that goes on in this industry, so this column is a chance for us at RCRWireless.com to rant and rave about whatever rubs …

Intelligent Energy, a U.K.-based power technology company, signed a 1.2 billion pound ($1.8 billion) deal to convert 27,400 Indian telecom towers to use hydrogen fuel cell technology. The deal looks to strengthen the unreliable Indian power grid while at the same time reduce carbon …

In a new promotion, mobile virtual network operator and Sprint subsidiary Boost Mobile is rewarding customers who pay their bill on time with access to more mobile data for free. Subscribers can get up to 3 gigabytes of additional mobile …

Xiaomi changes device sales strategy Less than three months after launching in Brazil, Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi tapped carrier Vivo to sell its Redmi 2 device. The move represents a change in Xiaomi’s strategy; initially the manufacturer said it would only …

As service providers seek to better understand their networks, operations and customers through the use of analytics, a number of factors are driving the desire to distill information into intelligence. Five forces driving the use of mobile network analytics include: …

Fiber networks to support gigabit Internet services are major trend in telecom space Service providers are working to extend fiber networks to support ever-faster Internet speeds to meet the booming demand for mobile and streaming video applications. In its latest …

With nearly a thousand jobs currently listed for telecom data analysts on Indeed and companies scrambling to design and implement big data strategies at telecom companies, a polished resume is a strong step toward a position in telecom’s big data …

ONOS project’s fourth release adds security, configuration and application-level updates The Open Network Lab’s Open Network Operating System project recently released its fourth open source software-defined networking platform under the Drake name, which the ONOS project said is focused on …

Small cells deployment would be key part of potential new mobile network Singapore-based Internet service provider MyRepublic has completed a funding round for a total of SG$23 million ($16.1 million) in a move to finance the launch of mobile services …

This week, we will examine five of the top 10 developments for the third quarter and determine their short- and long-term effects on the telecommunications industry. These events are in no particular order and several of them have been suggested …

5 things to know today this Monday … 1. The scramble for unlicensed spectrum is turning enemies into allies, as carriers team up to promote LTE in the 5 GHz spectrum band currently used by Wi-Fi. Today, Verizon, AT&T and …

Google over the weekend confirmed speculation that its launching a public Wi-Fi project, in cooperation with Indian Railways and RailTel, to bring public Wi-Fi to 400 train stations across India. The company announced the project via a corporate blog post …