Happy New Year!

We hope you and your loved ones had a good holiday break and are recharged, refreshed, and ready to kick off 2025. We look forward to an exciting year ahead as AI and GenAI continue advancing, data center buildouts accelerate, fiber routes get extended, and the search for more energy drives innovation. We’re also hoping for concurrent infrastructure investments by telcos and enterprises into connectivity and security, driving more activity than we saw in 2024.

2025 Predictions Launch

In any case, we’re coming out of the gate with not one but two site launches on NextGenInfra.io! Every new year brings two sets of activities — setting resolutions (that seldom persist) and making predictions (which sometimes come true). We’ve embraced annual predictions here and are delighted to announce our Predictions 2025 showcase. We’ve put up 40 so far, with more coming. Want to guess the one theme that many people covered? Regardless, you should take a quick stroll over to our site and check them out. We thank all of you who submitted predictions!

BTW, it’s still not too late if you didn’t get to record your predictions during the break — just get it to Jim Carroll, our media partner, right away at [email protected], and we’ll evaluate it for inclusion.

2025 SASE and SD-WAN Report Launch

Next up, you’re amongst the first to learn about our latest report. Hurry and download your free copy of our 2025 SASE and SDWAN Report — you could be the first! While you’re there, check out the videos from thought leaders at VeloCloud (Broadcom), Aryaka, Ericsson, BT, Kyndryl, and more.

Read below for more details on the report. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to our sponsors who enable our readers to access the reports for free.

Check out the rest of our newsletter for updates from the AvidThink team:

Roy’s NoTravel-ogue — Refreshing change of pace
Latest Reports — SASE and SD-WAN, 2024 Select Report Bundle
Recent Articles— AI Engineering (The New Stack), NaaS Evolution (MEF Blog)
NextGenInfra — Predictions 2025 and SASE and SD-WAN
December News Roundup — OpenRAN struggles, Microsoft telco assets find new home, news from AWS re:Invent
Other Content — AvidThink in the News, Webinars, Meet Us Live!

Roy’s NoTravel-ogue

Finally, a couple of weeks with no travel! After wrapping up AWS re:Invent 2024 in Las Vegas, I was done with travel for 2024. At re:Invent, AWS had a significant number of announcements: many valuable database and S3 features, general availability of Trainium 2, pre-announcement for Trainium 3, and after a year of hearing about Amazon’s foundation model (FM) project codenamed “Olympus,” we had the Nova family of FMs unleashed on us.

No one expected a family of six foundation models with varying capabilities, including multi-modal and image and video creation. I’ve tested some of them (Nova Micro, Pro, Canvas, Reel), and they are decent, though I’m not sure if they beat the latest offerings from Google, OpenAI, or Anthropic (benchmarks aside). The biggest surprise was that they managed to keep these models a secret from most people. Even most AWS employees didn’t know about it. I’m sure we’ll hear plenty more this year on the AI front — especially now that they’ve announced a multiple 100Ks Trainium 2 cluster (Project Rainier) that Anthropic will use.

As we enter 2025, I’m gearing up for conference galore again, but I will ease into things with the local Chiplet Summit in Santa Clara the 3rd week of January and then MWC Barcelona 2025 the 1st week of March. I hope this year sees some return to investment for the telco ecosystem beyond AI and GenAI experiments. 2024 wasn’t a good year for private wireless, open RAN, or 5G NSA to SA transition. SASE and SD-WAN continued to grow, but markets are plateauing (especially on the SD-WAN side). If you download our SASE 2025 report, you can see what else we have to say.

Meanwhile, there are still plenty of opportunities for telcos to modernize their infrastructure, embrace cloud architectures, rejuvenate their culture, change their mindset, and update their OSS/BSS — any of these efforts, done right, are proven to add value. Plus, they put telcos in a better position to succeed as they chase the shiny new object, GenAI. Let’s get that horse in shape before putting the AI cart before it! How’s that for a New Year’s resolution to get fitter?

Finally, this is a gentle reminder that NextGenInfra.io is starting to take reservations for our MWC 2025 Showcase. If interested, drop [email protected] a line.

— Roy for the AvidThink Team

2024 December News Roundup

6G

Nokia kicks off 6G testing at Dallas HQ
Nokia filed an FCC application to test 6G at its Dallas headquarters using prototype wireless equipment in the 7125–7525 MHz band. The network will include four base stations, ten mobile devices, and massive MIMO radios with a 2 km range, aligning with 3GPP’s 6G standardization roadmap (Release 21) for 2029.

NTT Docomo advances 6G RAN study item
NTT Docomo gained 3GPP approval for a 6G RAN study item co-signed by 56 global companies. The study focuses on technical performance requirements in collaboration with ITU, marking a significant step in 6G standardization.

5G

T-Mobile bolsters its 2.5 GHz spectrum portfolio
T-Mobile has acquired over 8,000 2.5 GHz spectrum licenses, mainly in rural areas, spending an estimated $1.6 billion. The spectrum enhances its mid-band network capabilities, with limited competition from AT&T and Verizon.

5G standalone networks unlock slicing potential
T-Mobile’s launch of “T-Priority” for first responders marks another industry milestone in network slicing implementation. The technology enables customized, software-defined virtual networks optimized for specific applications, though monetization strategies remain unclear.

Verizon shifts 5G strategy to densification and revenue growth
Verizon is prioritizing densification and revenue generation over coverage, deploying C-band radios to 70% of existing AWS-band sites by 2024. The company is enhancing its network with small cells for urban areas.

T-Mobile introduces tiered pricing for 5G FWA
T-Mobile launched three FWA broadband plans ranging from $35 to $70 per month, offering security features and streaming perks in higher tiers. The plans include price lock incentives.

Analysts forecast 2025 as a turning point for 5G slicing
Industry analysts predict more 5G slicing deployments as standalone networks grow. Use cases include QoS for live events and privacy-focused applications, but slicing competes with private networks and Wi-Fi in some scenarios.

KDDI and Kyocera extend mmWave coverage with relay tech
KDDI and Kyocera have developed mesh-based relay technology to expand mmWave coverage. Testing in Tokyo’s Nishi-Shinjuku district showed coverage improvement from 33% to 99% using 22 repeaters across 600 square meters. Commercial rollout is planned for 2025.

Open RAN

Mavenir loses open RAN advocate John Baker amid job cuts
John Baker, Mavenir’s SVP of business development and open RAN pioneer, has exited amid broader RAN job cuts in US and India. Mavenir states it remains committed to open RAN as part of long-term strategy shifts.

Open RAN sales dip 30% year-over-year
Dell’Oro Group reports a 30% decline in open RAN sales for 2024, underperforming the broader RAN market as telcos favor established vendors over smaller, open RAN players.

Mavenir to supply 5G radios for AT&T
AT&T selected Mavenir as a 5G radio vendor alongside Ericsson and Fujitsu, with deployment focused on urban small cells. Mavenir’s radios will integrate with Ericsson’s automation platform.

Yago Tenorio joins Verizon as CTO, focuses on tech roadmaps
Telecom exec Yago Tenorio leave Vodafone after 25 years and joins Verizon as CTO to drive OSS evolution, security, and standards work. Tenorio emphasizes use case-driven open RAN adoption.

NTIA awards $273M in Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund NOFO#2
US Department of Commerce’s NTIA awarded more than $273M from the Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund’s second Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), with another $146M to come shortly. Recipients include Nokia ($45M), JMA Wireless ($44M), Abside Networks ($47), Battelle ($38M), Microelectronics Tech ($35M), Eridan ($37M), and Solid Gear ($28M).

AI

AI boosts telco edge efforts
Verizon integrates Nvidia AI in its private 5G edge offering, aiming to expand beyond connectivity. The recent AI-RAN Alliance formation signals growing interest in AI integration with mobile networks, while companies like Fastly develop edge-based AI accelerators.

Orange Business debuts multi-LLM SaaS for SMBs
Orange introduces a multi-LLM GenAI SaaS solution targeting small businesses, based on its internal AI platform serving 50,000 employees. The service includes pre-defined prompts for various use cases and secure data handling.

SK Telecom sunsets metaverse to focus on AI
SK Telecom will discontinue its Ifland metaverse by March 2025, pivoting resources to AI initiatives. Launched in 2020, Ifland expanded to 49 markets before its closure.

Cloud

Microsoft pivots away from network functions to AI
Microsoft is scaling back its telecom functions business, including selling Metaswitch to Alianza, while refocusing on AI and platform services in telecom partnerships.

AWS accelerates VMware migration with AI
AWS’ Amazon Q Developer tool leverages AI to shorten VMware and mainframe migration timelines from months to days. The AI supports code updates and task automation.

Alianza acquires Metaswitch from Microsoft
Alianza purchased Microsoft’s Metaswitch assets (expected closing in Q1 2025), excluding Nexus, positioning itself as a leader in telco cloud migration. Microsoft retains Nexus for AT&T’s mobile core.

AWS Reports Success in Telecom Sector
AWS secured multiple mobile core deals in 2024, including O2 Telefonica and Comcast. VP Jan Hofmeyr notes increased interest in infrastructure refreshes, particularly due to U.S. mandates requiring Huawei equipment replacement.

Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger Steps Down
Intel names David Zinsner and Michelle Johnston Holthaus as interim co-CEOs following Gelsinger’s unexpected retirement. Frank Yeary becomes interim executive chair during the leadership transition.

Boost Mobile Switches from VMware to Wind River
Boost Mobile transitions its containers-as-service vendor from Broadcom’s VMware to Wind River. The change demonstrates open RAN’s component interchangeability and may be influenced by VMware’s pricing under Broadcom ownership.

Private Wireless

Highway 9 simplifies private 4G/5G networks
Highway 9’s AI-enabled platform automates 4G/5G private network deployment, recently demonstrated at MIT’s Schwarzman College of Computing. The solution tackles the complexity of private network setups.

Vodafone Portugal launches 5G SA private network with Ericsson
Vodafone Portugal and Ericsson deployed the country’s first 5G SA private network at Cimpor, enhancing automation, enabling monitoring with HD wireless cameras, and powering digital twins for operational efficiency.

SASE

Global SASE market reaches $2.4B
Dell’Oro Group reports six vendors controlling 72% market share, led by Zscaler at 21%. Growth slows to single digits, while Cisco maintains SD-WAN leadership with 31% market share.

Aryaka sales head departs
Craig Patterson exits Aryaka after serving as channel chief and global sales lead since 2021. He plans to transition to a new role in the cybersecurity sector.

Cato Networks enhances SASE with IoT/OT security
Cato’s new features include device discovery, policy enforcement, and threat detection, addressing vulnerabilities in IoT/OT devices lacking integrated security and running on outdated operating systems.