Telecom Ramblings

Well, at least they didn’t wait for the holidays like always seems to be the case. Today TeliaSonera’s rather dismal earnings report was accompanied by news of its plans to lay off 2,000 jobs over the next several years, or 7% of the company’s workforce. At least that’s the [Read more →]

For those who thought Zayo Group (news, filings) was done shopping for the year, the word is ‘nope’. This morning the rapidly expanding fiber phenomenon announced an agreement to buy First Telecom Services for [Read more →]

In case you haven’t noticed, Level 3 Communications (NYSE:LVLT, news, filings) likes Latin America a lot at the moment. Today the long-embattled network operator announced the expansion of the company’s data center in Quito, the capital of Ecuador. The extra space and service capability will help the company [Read more →]

Deutsche Telekom ICCS, the international wholesale arm of the German incumbent, has made a move deeper into the CDN market. Today they unveiled an Application Delivery Network based on EdgeCast’s CDN technology.  The service is aimed at [Read more →]

Some quick-takes on news from the content delivery segment: [Read more →]

Here are a few quick takes from the international front, with items from Liquid Telecom, du, Gulf Bridge International, and AT&T: [Read more →]

Infinera and Interoute this morning announced the rollout of 100 Gigabit Ethernet services across Europe. The bigger pipes will be offered to carriers and enterprises now using multiple 10G services to both increase bandwidth and decrease operational complexity. [Read more →]

One immediate response to yesterday’s blockbuster $20.1B deal between Softbank and Sprint has been speculation that Clearwire might be next. Indeed, Clearwire’s has gotten a gigantic boost lately, gaining 100% since the middle of last week as traders try to forecast the next move. But there are reasons why nothing is likely to be imminent, foremost of which is the simple question [Read more →]

This morning Softbank and Sprint did the deed, announcing a series of definitive agreements in which Softbank will invest $20.1B in Sprint while taking a 70% stake in the company. Current shareholders will own 30% of the new entity, but with some shares being bought in cash for $7.30. The deal will give Sprint’s balance sheet a major boost, giving it a much easier path forward with its current LTE buildout plans and more options when it comes to deciding how to handle [Read more →]

Pacnet has lifted the curtain on the next stage of its existence with a new strategic plan. They’re refocusing their business while streamlining operations, the latter of which will be a painful workforce reduction that will save $30M annually while seeing headcount reduced by as much as [Read more →]

Ok, enough people have asked me my thoughts on this subject that I will chime in. US lawmakers last week released a report recommending that Huawei and ZTE be banned from the market, which was quickly supported by Canada and a few others. I’m rather skeptical of the whole thing for the following reasons: [Read more →]

Another job was posted on the Ramblings’ Jobs board this weekend from a different sector of the economy than usual: the University of Connecticut. [Read more →]

TGIF, here’s some quick takes from Cologix, Cross River, and Integra before the weekend starts: [Read more →]

Yesterday’s news that Sprint is talking to Softbank about selling a majority (70%) stake seems to have teeth. At least Japanese investors think so, else Softbank’s stock wouldn’t have dropped 17% on the news. It’s risky of course, but bold if they can pull it off. But as a reader asked here yesterday, what happens to the non-mobile side of Sprint? [Read more →]

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

Over on Network World Asia, there’s an interesting thought exercise from Jim Duffy – supposing Ethernet had lost the LAN wars?  It’s an interesting question – not least because Ethernet has evolved way beyond its original mission as [Read more →]

So today’s news is that Sprint Nextel (NYSE:S, news, filings) says it is in talks with Softbank for a ‘substantial investment’, which could be as much as 75%. Yes, Japan’s third largest wireless carrier likes that status so much that it would like to be the third largest in the US as well. [Read more →]

This morning, Zayo says it is taking customer orders for low latency connectivity from Seattle and both Chicago and the NY Metro area, which they’ve been working on since May. Zayo believes its routes now offer the lowest latency on both rates currently available. They’re also in the process of upgrading the route to native 100G. [Read more →]

Today we’re going to take a break from the national scene and focus in on a regional metro fiber builder and operator down in Southwest Florida, US Metropolitan Telecom. With us today is the company’s founder and CEO, Frank Mambuca. Frank worked for the likes of Nynex, XCOM, and Level 3 before eventually setting out on his own in 2006 to build a brand new fiber network in Lee and Collier Counties, which house the Naples and Fort Myers metro areas. The company has thrived and become an integral [Read more →]

Here’s a quick look at some other news from the European telecommunications front: [Read more →]

Fresh on the heels of its major win at Goldman Sachs, Phoenix-based IO has raised a bundle of cash to drive its modular data center plans forward globally. Moreso than just about anyone in the sector, IO has put major effort into the modular movement and has been gaining traction steadily.  A $90M war chest will give them some firepower to keep pushing. [Read more →]

The German financial marketplace Deutsche Börse is upgrading its network again, getting some help from independent European fiber operator euNetworks. They’re adding capacity for future growth with a focus on high system stability. [Read more →]

There has been interesting news lately on two fronts from the undersea routes between North and South America. [Read more →]

There has been a lot of network expansion news in recent days. Here’s some quick takes on some interesting ones from within the US that I hadn’t managed to get to: [Read more →]