AvidThink

Research and Analysis

AvidThink 2024 April Newsletter

We wrapped up three shows in April — MPLS SD & AI Net World Congress (aka MPLS World Congress) 25th Anniversary Edition in Paris, FutureNet World 2024 in London, and are fresh from two days at Linux Foundation ONE Summit 2024 in San Jose.

MPLS WC Showcase

MPLS World Congress attracted a respectable 1,000+ attendees. Kudos to Upperside Conferences for keeping the show going for a quarter of a century. Instead of MPLS, the show was dominated by SRv6/IPv6, converged IP-optical, and hot topics like Quantum Networks. We didn’t mind the return to entanglement with French food again weeks after KubeCon Paris.

Check out our MPLS World Congress 2024 showcase. Thanks to all who recorded with us!

FutureNet World 2024 Thoughts

FutureNet World showcased senior telco leadership having open discussions around the current state of telco. Roy moderated the opening keynote panel on redefining the telco with Howard Watson, Group CTO / Chief Security & Networks Officer, BT Group, Laurent Leboucher, Group CTO & SVP Innovation Networks, Orange, Andrea Donà, Chief Network Officer, Vodafone UK, and Joe Cumello, Senior Vice President, GM, Blue Planet, a division of Ciena. You can check out the recording here.

We appreciated the intimacy of the show and the candor in hallway discussions. Despite the telcos admitting that the industry is going through a tough time, there was a positive energy and vibe.

Linux Foundation ONE Summit

Linux Foundation’s ONE Summit has been running for over a decade. Originally named Open Networking Summit, it was established in 2011 by the Open Networking Foundation (ONF). ONF has since merged into the Linux Foundation. Peaking at 1500+ attendees during its heyday (2014-2015), it’s now a gathering of under 500 core believers representing the who’s who in open networking. Occupying a small part of the San Jose McEnery Convention Center that hosted Nvidia’s overflowing and oversubscribed GTC show barely weeks ago; it’s clear where the buzz, hype, and interest are — GenAI wins for now. Nonetheless, Roy enjoyed seeing Martin Casado, Radia Perlman, and Jan Uddenfeldt joining Linux Foundation Networking’s Arpit Joshipura on stage for an excellent keynote panel. He also caught up with friends and veterans from the decade-old SDN and controller wars, which are always pleasant experiences.

ONUG Spring 2024 Coming Right Up

Our media partner Jim Carroll, and Roy, will be at ONUG Spring in Dallas, TX, checking out the latest in enterprise networking (and AI in networking — you knew that was coming, right?). Reach out if you’ll be there and want to be featured on our ONUG Spring showcase on nextgeninfra.io. Peruse last year’s ONUG Spring 2023 showcase here.

Other Resource Sites

  • OFC 2024 — Optically inclined readers should check it out! Optical’s the rage, given the more extensive datasets we’re trying to transfer for Gen AI.
  • Predictions 2024 — We’re getting close to mid-year. Time travel back to January and see if any of the 2024 predictions panned out. We know no one predicted IBM would buy Hashicorp!
  • Coming soon! Campus Network-as-a-Service — watch out for it in the next few weeks.

Upcoming Events

Events that AvidThink and Converge Digest will be at in May and June include:

News

Here is our rundown of the top news in April, lovingly hand-curated by an experienced human editor-in-chief.

5G

AT&T’s 5G FWA Service Adds 110K Subscribers in Q1 2024
AT&T’s 5G fixed wireless access (FWA) service, Internet Air, added 110,000 subscribers in Q1 2024, bringing the total to over 200,000. The service, launched in August 2023, is available in parts of 95 markets at $55 per month.

T-Mobile Leads in Customer, Service Revenue, and Profitability Growth in Q1 2024
T-Mobile added 532,000 net postpaid phone customers and 405,000 FWA customers in Q1 2024, now having over 5 million home internet customers. The company expects to add around 400,000 new 5G FWA customers per quarter and reach 7-8 million FWA customers by the end of 2025.

Verizon Begins 2024 with Strong Wireless Service Revenue Growth and Solid Cash Flow
Verizon added 354,000 new 5G FWA subscribers (residential and business) in Q1 2024, bringing its total to 3.42 million. However, the company lost 158,000 wireless retail postpaid phone customers, an improvement over the same quarter in 2023.

5G Struggling to Gain Momentum in India Due to Limited Devices and High Costs
India’s top telcos, Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, have deployed 5G but are struggling to monetize the technology due to the lack of 5G devices and the high cost of 5G smartphones. Enterprises are reluctant to deploy 5G private networks because of these limitations.

Intel Faces Challenges in 5G Market, Impacting Its Network and Edge Division
Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger attributed the company’s troubles in its network and edge division to “5G inventory headwinds,” resulting in an 8% decline in revenues to $1.4 billion. The slow transition from purpose-built to virtual or cloud radio access network technologies has impacted Intel’s performance.

Swisscom Partners with Ericsson for 5G Standalone Transition and Network Modernization
Swisscom extended its 2021 agreement with Ericsson to transition its 5G network to 5G standalone (SA) (to 2024), focusing on network modernization through automation, AI, and customer experience innovation. The company is working with AWS to build its 5G core in the cloud but has yet to provide a timeline.

6G

Docomo, NEC, NTT, and Fujitsu Test Wireless Device with 100 Gbps Speeds in Sub-Terahertz Spectrum
The Japanese companies tested a wireless device capable of 100 Gbps speeds in the 100 GHz and 300 GHz spectrum bands, which they consider a precursor to 6G. However, the 6G standard has yet to be defined, and the 3GPP standards group is expected to work on 6G once its Release 20 specifications in the 2030 timeframe.

ETSI Releases Reports on 6G Development and Terahertz Spectrum Use Cases
The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) released two reports on the potential development of 6G technology and its use of terahertz (THz) spectrum bands. The reports highlight new use cases such as remote surgery, medical robots, wireless data centers, mission-critical extended reality, and simultaneous imaging and mapping.

Cloud

Rakuten Symphony Offers Telcos a Single Horizontal Platform for Workloads
Rakuten Symphony is pitching Rakuten Cloud (powered by its 2022 Robin.io acquisition), a single horizontal platform to host telco workloads. The company aims to be multi-vendor and vendor-agnostic.

Microsoft and Google Cloud Invest in Cloud Infrastructure to Support AI Demand
Microsoft and Alphabet’s Google Cloud plan to invest heavily in their cloud infrastructure to support the growing demand for artificial intelligence (AI). Microsoft spent around $14 billion on capex in its fiscal Q3 2024, while Google Cloud spent $12 billion on capex in Q1, predominantly on servers and data centers.

IBM Acquires HashiCorp for $6.4 Billion to Enhance Hybrid Cloud Capabilities
IBM acquired HashiCorp for $6.4 billion to increase its hybrid cloud capabilities offered through Red Hat. The deal will help IBM expand its market reach with new customers from HashiCorp and sell HashiCorp’s technology, such as Terraform, Vault, Nomad, and Waypoint, to its enterprise customer base.

Virtual Machine Migration Crucial for Enterprises Migrating to Cloud Environments
Virtual machine (VM) migration, which involves moving VMs from one host server to another, is a crucial step for enterprises migrating their IT infrastructure to a cloud environment. It can help free up space for emerging technologies like AI/ML.

Deutsche Telekom and Verizon Explore Cloud Gaming Opportunities with 5G Standalone and Network Slicing
Representatives from Deutsche Telekom and Verizon believe that 5G standalone (SA) technology and network slicing could support cloud gaming. Both companies have experimented with cloud gaming services and continue to explore opportunities in this area.

Google Announces AI Integration Across its Portfolio and Unveils Axion ARM-Based CPU
At its Google Cloud Next event, Google announced the integration of AI into various products, including Google Gemini, Chronicle security telemetry service, BigQuery, and Looker. The company also unveiled its Axion processor, an ARM-based CPU that offers up to 50% better performance and 60% better energy efficiency than comparable x86-based instances.

Amazon Web Services Cuts Several Hundred Jobs Across Various Departments
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is cutting several hundred jobs across its sales, marketing, global services, and physical stores’ technology teams. These layoffs come on top of the 27,000 job cuts Amazon made in 2023, while Microsoft and Alphabet also made significant workforce reductions last year.

Open RAN

Airspan to Become Privately Held Company Through Chapter 11 Bankruptcy
Equipment vendor Airspan reached an agreement with its creditors to become a privately held company after exiting Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company will receive $95 million in new equity financing and believes there are opportunities in 5G, open RAN, private networks, and air-to-ground connectivity products.

Smaller Open RAN Vendors Claim Market Momentum Despite Skepticism
Although analysts are skeptical about the ability of smaller open RAN vendors to compete against more prominent players like Ericsson, Nokia, and Samsung, vendors such as Mavenir and Airspan claim the market is gaining momentum. Dell’Oro Group recently revised its open RAN projections upward to reflect the improved US pipeline.

AI

Blue Planet Launches Cloud Native Platform for OSS with AI Integration
Blue Planet launched a cloud-native platform for telco back offices that allows the integration of AI to improve business agility. The platform supports Kubernetes for cross-cloud portability and scalability, and customers can use Blue Planet’s AI engine or a third-party AI solution.

Nvidia to Acquire AI Edge Cloud Management Platform Run: AI
Nvidia will acquire Israel-based Run:ai, a Kubernetes-based compute management and orchestration software provider, to help customers make more efficient use of their AI resources across cloud and edge compute engines. Nvidia plans to continue offering Run: AI’s products using the same business model and invest in the product roadmap.

Private Wireless

Skyvera and Lumine Group Prepare for Bidding War Over Casa Systems’ Wireless Business
Skyvera and Lumine Group competed for Casa Systems’ wireless business, with bidding starting at $20 million. Verizon, which accounts for 80% of Casa’s wireless business revenue, is comfortable with Lumine winning the auction. However, Skyvera’s surprise $18 million bid put the initial bankruptcy plan in turmoil. Ed’s note: Lumine beat out Skyvera with an increased $32.3 million bid for Casa’s cloud and radio assets.

UScellular Adds Private Wireless Networks to Its Business Services Portfolio
UScellular is adding private wireless networks to its business services, partnering with Rockwell Automation to build the Connected Enterprise Lab as a testbed for potential customers. The company is initially focused on utilities, manufacturing, logistics, and warehouses and has a handful of private wireless networking deals in place.

Openvia Mobility and NTT Data Develop Neutral Host Network for Smart and Connected Roads
Openvia Mobility and NTT Data are developing a proof of concept for a neutral host network using CBRS spectrum to provide a private 5G network for US roads. The NeoRoads program aims to digitalize roads and incorporate cloud and edge computing, with the first test site on Pocahontas Parkway in Richmond, Virginia.

Hughes Network Systems Opens Private 5G Incubation Center in Maryland
EchoStar subsidiary Hughes Network Systems is opening a manufacturing facility and private 5G incubation center in Germantown, Maryland, to serve as a testing ground for private 5G networking solutions for enterprises and the US Department of Defense. The facility will produce satellite modems and low-earth orbit satellite terminals.

SD-WAN

Cradlepoint Launches 5G-Based SASE Platform for Mobile and Distributed Environments
Cradlepoint launched a 5G-based secure access service edge (SASE) platform, NetCloud SASE, that integrates its SD-WAN platform with security features like zero trust and remote browser isolation. The platform protects and secures dynamic environments, such as shifting locations, roaming vehicles, and IoT devices.

Verizon Deploys Managed SD-WAN for Commonwealth of Virginia
Verizon deployed about 1,000 managed SD-WAN sites using Cisco gear for the Commonwealth of Virginia. The deployment will allow government agencies to offload Internet-bound traffic, add flexibility, improve traffic flow, and prioritize critical applications.

Zscaler Acquires Airgap Networks to Enhance Zero Trust Security and Eliminate Firewall-Based Segmentation
Zscaler is acquiring Airgap Networks to enhance its zero trust security model and eliminate the need for firewall-based segmentation. The acquisition will combine Zscaler’s SD-WAN platform with Airgap’s agentless segmentation.

And we’re done! We’ll be back in early June with our May roundup. In the meantime, feel free to contact us at [email protected].