Telecom Ramblings

Global Capacity has followed through with its transformational purchase of MegaPath’s Network Services business unit, closing the deal this morning. With a $300M revenue base and assets reaching deep into some 2000+ central offices around the country, the company has come a long, long way since its acquisition by Pivotal Group three and a half years ago. [Read more →]

The word from Bloomberg this morning is that Verizon is kicking the tires over at AOL.  They’re thinking about either an actual buyout or some sort of joint venture, although there is no actual proposal on the table yet. [Read more →]

Just before the Christmas break, Kentucky got some interesting bandwidth news. As a state that gets far less fiber attention from the industry as a whole than most, it’s a natural for some sort of government supported infrastructure buildout. And indeed, Democratic governor Steve Beshear and Republican representative Hal Rogers have now announced a public/private partnership to build a statewide network. [Read more →]

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

White-hat hackers at the 31st Chaos Computer Congress have demonstrated fundamental flaws in the underlying infrastructure of 2G and 3G mobile phone networks. The flaws allow attackers to covertly track the location of a phone number as well as intercept calls and SMS – all at the network level. [Read more →]

Every year we ask this question.  Ramblings readers are drawn from the most informed in the sector, and it’s always interesting to see what you all are thinking about industry consolidation.  2014 saw less action than in recent years, and 2015 may be similar, but the needle will surely not remain at zero.  Which US-based network operators are most likely to get purchased this year?  Cast your vote: [Read more →]

The great thing about New Year’s predictions is that it doesn’t matter how badly our prior predictions turned out. At least I hope so, because one year ago today I predicted that Level 3 wouldn’t make any substantial M&A moves, that Windstream would buy a fiber operator, and that Dish would somehow win T-Mobile USA’s hand. All in all, I got one out of seven, the one being that Euro alternative network operators would take consolidation into their own hands – thank you Interoute and euNetworks. [Read more →]

This Industry Viewpoint was authored by Gal Ofel, Head of Software Solution Product Line Management at Telco Systems

Each generation of new communications infrastructure and networking technology brings with it the promise of increased bandwidth and lower service delivery and network management costs. Network Function Virtualization (NFV) technology is a clear example of this. [Read more →]

And now the final installment of my review of M&A in the sector this year, taking a look at the data center and the more significant cloud-related deals.  Note that I won’t be able to delve into many of the smaller players, not because I’m not interested but because one person can only keep up with so much.  But should I miss one that you think I shouldn’t, feel free to leave a comment with a link! [Read more →]

Ok, it’s taken a couple of weeks following the US edition, but it’s time to take a look back at the global telecom and internet infrastructure consolidation we’ve seen in 2014. Much of this year’s consolidation waltz has been in Europe, although there’s been some very interesting and complementary notes coming out of Latin America. [Read more →]

This article was authored by the CFO Innovation staff, and was originally posted on telecomasia.net.

China’s move to require banks, the military, state-owned enterprises and key government agencies to shift to Chinese technology suppliers could have lasting consequences for foreign suppliers including Cisco Systems, IBM, and Intel. [Read more →]

Contributed by Jay Borer, marketing development manager for 3M’s Communication Markets Division

2014 was a big year for communication service providers and the manufacturers that support them, as we worked together to continue to look for ways to extend services and increase speed and bandwidth to the growing base of subscribers. As we move into 2015, whether a service provider is looking to upgrade to a fiber infrastructure or extend the life of an existing copper network, everyone is looking to balance bandwidth and cost. [Read more →]

It’s official. When New Year’s Day rolls around, Equinix will be a REIT. The company’s board of directors voted on the subject yesterday before heading home for Christmas, unanimously approving the conversion it began working on a couple years ago. [Read more →]

The rumors from last week turned out to be true.  Telstra has agreed to acquire Pacnet in a deal worth some $697M, including some $400M in debt.  The deal includes both Pacnet’s submarine cables spanning the Asia-Pacific theater and also the company’s joint venture in China.   [Read more →]

As Christmas looms and the schools let out, here’s a quick rundown of some news from the network side of things so far this week: [Read more →]

All this North Korea and Sony hacking stuff has been taking a dark turn of late.  Yesterday, North Korea was apparently vanished from the global internet by circumstances unknown.  I say unknown in the sense that the hackers who invaded Sony Pictures over the film “The Interview” remain unknown.   [Read more →]

The data center marketplace has been evolving rapidly lately.  Those data center alleys aren’t going away, but there’s unprecedented action at the network edge.  Driven by the need to put content closer to eyeballs, data centers are springing up in places they’ve never been before.  One of the biggest builders at the edge, and until now one of the most secretive, is EdgeConneX, which has dozens of facilities already either in service or under construction already.  With us today to shed some light on EdgeConneX’s activities and plans at the edge is industry veteran Clint Heiden, Chief Commercial Officer. [Read more →]

Windstream is upgrading its metro and regional fiber networks this winter with some help from Cyan. The hybrid CLEC/ILEC will be using Cyan’s Z-Series packet-optical hardware to move up to 100G across its major markets, with initial deployments underway. [Read more →]

This article was authored by Stefan Hammond, and was originally posted on telecomasia.net.

As a cranky journalist, I have my vision of The Way The World Should Be. As a tech-geek, I have some understanding of personal data security policies. So hang on tight and grab your asbestos helmet while I blast some steam, because here’s five things. [Read more →]

This morning Hibernia Networks is supplying an update on the new transatlantic cable it has been building, and adding a new landing station to it as well. The Express cable will now have a branch come ashore in southwestern Ireland, bringing direct connectivity to both the UK and the US to the city of Cork. [Read more →]

Just a week after taking the helm of Windstream, newly minted CEO Tony Thomas has moved to put the companies network REIT spinoff back in the spotlight.  The company is providing an update today on the transaction and what they hope it to accomplish. [Read more →]

Equinix has been rolling out new partners for its Cloud Exchange all year, or at least all three quarters since it was introduced.  But for the holiday season they saved the announcement that key player in the world of cloud computing has signed on: IBM. [Read more →]

There’s M&A in the wind in the Pacific region today, as Pacnet has apparently attracted some attention from down under. Australia’s Telstra has confirmed that it is in duscussions to acquire the company. That’s all they said though, responding to speculation from Bloomberg today in a three sentence letter to the Australian Securities Exchange.  [Read more →]

Time for a quick mid-week survey of news from around the world: [Read more →]