Telecom equipment giant Ericsson bribed officials and paid protection money to grow its business in Iraq, according to new reporting from the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.

David Bachmann, CEO of ng-voice, talks about his company's technology and why he thinks startups have a better chance to work alongside telecom giants as 5G networks become more software-centric.

While wavelength technology is about 20 years old, it's experiencing a 'rebirth because of the demand for very high speeds,' said Vertical Systems Group's Rick Malone.

Elon Musk confirmed deployment of SpaceX's Starlink satellite Internet service in Ukraine this weekend - but security experts warn the uplink transmissions may increase the risk of airstrikes.

Rakuten said it purchased Silicon Valley-based startup Robin.io and, separately, it inked a collaboration with AT&T. Both deals are for Rakuten's Symphony business.

6G remains in danger of fragmentation, according to one of China Mobile's top researchers.

CEO Jerry Guo said supply chain issues are holding the company back. He billed 2022 as a 'transition year' as Casa focuses on cloud software and scales back lower-margin hardware products.

Moving to 5G makes it possible for wireless operators to reduce carbon emissions. But the technology may also require more power to make use of additional spectrum.

Marc Allera, CEO of BT's Consumer Division, said there's a lot yet to prove with 5G but the early experiments and network performance has been really encouraging. 5G standalone is the next big incremental step forward in the network's evolution.

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Nokia goes a-slicing; Huawei turns Giga Green; telecom does its bit for Ukraine.

Europe's biggest mast operator saw its revenue surge 58%, as it continues a multi-year towers spending spree, fending off American Tower Corp.

Tommi Uitto says challengers have resisted partnerships and 'need to get their act together.'

Light Reading's Fiona Graham hits the showfloor for an update as Mobile World Congress 2022 kicks off in Barcelona.

The next generation of mobile technology faces a hard job to survive a geopolitical arms race, industry hype and growing telco unhappiness about the standards process.

Azure Operator Distributed Services, Azure Operator 5G Core, Azure Private 5G Core and Azure public MEC solution are among the new offerings from Microsoft.

The Finnish mobile operator has made a name for itself in automation. Now it is turning to US Big Tech for the next chapter in the story.

It's back. Mobile World Congress Barcelona. So what should we expect? Light Reading asked the analysts at Omdia for their predictions.

Cable operator will likely see broadband ARPU rise again as it plans to push its base of 100-meg customers to its flagship 200-meg tier, for an additional $5 per month.

'There will be no Russian Pavilion at MWC22. Security for the event is constantly reviewed and adjusted as information emerges,' the GSMA said.

On Wednesday morning I got a surprise call from a Dish representative: Did I want to take a tour of a Dish 5G cell site in the next 15 minutes? I dropped everything and did. Here's what I learned.

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Ericsson and friends trial 5G interactive calling; Swisscom remains (climate) neutral; Telefonica and Amazon go to market.

Tareq Amin moves into the top job at the Japanese company's telecom unit, promising to launch an enterprise service this year as analysts fret about funds.

Dish chairman again calls a merger 'inevitable' as his company loses another 273,000 pay-TV customers in Q4 2021.

Declaring 2022 a 'year of execution' for its budding wireless business, Dish will shell out $2.5 billion in capex this year as it plans to meet a deadline to cover 20% of the US with 5G by June.

'Radios have traditionally needed to be physically connected to baseband equipment,' wrote AT&T's Gordon Mansfield. But that's no longer the case.

The $162 million acquisition comes on the heels of Cloudflare's purchase of CASB startup Vectrix earlier this month.

As Marvell and Qualcomm launch new 'inline' accelerators, Intel makes improvements to its Xeon processor range.

WOW will deploy FTTP networks reaching 40,000 homes in the Orlando suburb of Orange County, building on an earlier expansion targeting 60,000 homes in Seminole County. AT&T, Charter and Lumen are among the area incumbents.

Scrapping of scrip dividend reflects growing confidence at the Spanish group after Q4 and FY21 results exceed expectations.

TiVo's parent company plans to go through a long anticipated plan to separate its product business and its intellectual property and licensing business.

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Telecom Italia considers sale of Inwit stake; Orange bod joins TIP board; Transatel trumpets SIM advance.

Without a fast-growing US business and thousands of job cuts, Germany's incumbent would probably be investing far less in Europe.

French operator meets 2021 guidance figures and forecasts further growth for 2022.

The pandemic is weighing heavily on Hong Kong's telcos, with SmarTone's CEO Allen Fung describing it as 'a quite difficult period' as profits fall.

Providing 911 services 'turns out to be a little harder than we thought,' Dish Network's Charlie Ergen said during a keynote appearance here at the NATE Unite conference.

Mediacom Chairman and CEO Rocco Commisso also notes that the cable operator is gearing up to launch '10G' services across its footprint.

CEO Nick Jeffery says Frontier has 'good supply resilience' as the company reiterates a plan to expand its FTTP footprint by 1 million locations in 2022, and to cover about 10 million locations by 2025.

'We believe 5G SA [standalone] open RAN private networks will enable the DoD to achieve the balance of control, security and flexibility that they're looking for,' Dish said.

Claims Wi-Fi interworking, enterprise self-service capabilities and a pay-as-you-go business model are market differentiators.

Cloonan, who most recently served as interim CTO at CommScope, is a cable industry engineering exec who has played a key role in the evolution of DOCSIS – from 1.0 to 4.0.

Telcel launches services in 18 cities and targets 120 cities by the end of the year.

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Nokia offers more managed services; WHO gig for T-Systems; EU helps Ukraine against Russian cyberattacks.

More insight into Cato's financials could be coming soon - the company plans to go public in a few years, said Cato VP Eyal Webber-Zvik.

The mobile network does not expect to cover half the German population until the end of this year and its investments have chewed into profits.

KT Corp has copped a $6.3 million fine from the SEC for running a slush fund and paying bribes - the latest in a series of brushes with the law.

Activist investors got the knives out when the private networks startup, now valued at $288M, didn't haul in as much revenue last year as its chairman's investment company promised.

Spectrum Enterprise, Charter's business services unit, is using Cisco's Meraki platform to tack on critical support for remote workers and teleworkers and for secure connections to AWS, Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure.

AT&T is planning to shutter its 3G network today, February 22. But the company appears to have recently inked a 3G roaming deal with T-Mobile that could provide a lifeline to affected customers through July.

Competitive cable operator will offer discounted mobile services to broadband customers through a new partnership with Reach Mobile that will ride the T-Mobile network.

In a move that puts pressure on Comcast and Charter, the telco has made good on its promise to launch a symmetrical 2-Gig service across its expanding FTTP footprint. Frontier's 2-Gig tier starts at $149.99/month.

The FCC said the store owner 'offered to sell the signal jammer to the agent. The agent declined the offer and issued a Notice of Unlicensed Radio Operation ... that the operation of a signal jammer is illegal.'

It's finally happening - but only if the Telecom Regulatory Authority and the Department of Telecommunications get their ducks in a row by the end of March.

Also in twosday's EMEA regional roundup: Telekom tests GenCell's power backup; Movistar Plus+ integrates Twitter content; Colt chooses Infovista for VoIP service assurance.

Telstra has struck a network-sharing deal with TPG Telecom worth as much as A$1.8 billion (US$1.3 billion) in revenue over ten years.

British government tightens some of its restrictions on the Chinese vendor but gives operators more time to make changes after pandemic disruption.

The German telco says it has launched a request for quotation after being encouraged by lab progress on making open RAN more energy efficient.

Intel, Juniper and VMware are among the companies stumping up investment this time round.

T-Mobile's new T-IoT service, a joint venture with its German parent Deutsche Telekom, promises global connectivity and management for connected devices.

Finnish vendor expands its SaaS offering with new security and analytics services, with more to come in 2022 and 2023.

Roku's stock took a 22% haircut Friday, a day after the streaming platform giant missed target for Q4 and saw average streaming hours fall.

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Nokia's SaaS launches; TIM refutes press claims over FiberCop; South Africa spectrum bidders named.

Huawei in talks to sell smart driving business to VW - report.

SPONSORED: Omdia's Sarah McBride - Regulators will shift focus onto addressing areas where there is a conflict of interest between AI applications and existing regulation.

SPONSORED: Omdia's Ari Lopes - Several countries in the region delayed plans for 5G due to COVID-19, however, 2022 starts with operators in Chile and Brazil building new 5G networks and Omdia expects more countries to follow in 2022.

SPONSORED: Omdia's Thecla Mbongue - Omdia's forecast for mobile financial services (MFS) in Africa shows that the number of subscriptions will double within the next five years. Governments all over the continent are now acknowledging that financial technology (fintech) is at the center of Africa's digital transformation.

SPONSORED - Omdia's Nicole McCormick: As price competition creeps in, telcos will need to innovate on 5G pricing to avoid any race to the bottom scenario.

'In North America, we had several competitive wins aided by government funding,' said Cambium CEO Atul Bhatnagar this week during his company's quarterly earnings conference call.

Following the completion of a 50,000-home FTTP trial, 'we remain confident about the technology, our suppliers and the estimated cost of the project,' said Liberty Global Chief Mike Fries.

At issue is the ability for advertising companies to follow users from one app to another on their smartphones. After Apple removed that capability from its iPhone, Google wants to do the same with Android.

Talks have been initiated on a new venture that will focus on building a full fiber network for up to 7 million premises.

US wireless carriers collectively added 3 million net new postpaid phone subscribers in the fourth quarter of 2021, according to the financial analysts at Evercore. But they said that kind of growth likely won't continue.

'It is jarring, to say the least, to see a cable company that not only isn't growing broadband subscribers, but indeed isn't growing revenues or EBITDA,' noted MoffettNathanson's Craig Moffett.

The US chipmaker predicts annual revenues will be nearly $30 billion higher by 2026, but investors should be wary.

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Colt touts 800G tech; Ericsson expands RAN, edge prouct ranges; Proximus sees Q4 earnings fall.

Telstra CEO Andy Penn is adamant things are on the up at the Australian operator - whatever the numbers might appear to say.

Operator says it will splash out a multi-billion-dollar annual investment over the coming years to offer symmetrical multi-gigabit speeds over a mix of DOCSIS 4.0 and FTTP networks.

Equinix announced plans to expand in Africa with an agreement to acquire MainOne, a West African provider of data center and connectivity solutions.

Expectations for the technology dubbed 'real 5G' by parts of the industry are riding high, but the overhaul will not be easy.

'The Biden administration should make 5G a national priority,' writes Google's former CEO, Eric Schmidt, along with a Harvard professor. 'Otherwise, China will own the 5G future.'

Company is also reorganizing its remaining 'core' business into four divisions, including a new Access Network Solutions unit led by cable industry vet Guy Sucharczuk.

The outgoing CEO sees consolidation potential in Spain, and highlights the failed Bouygues Telecom merger as one of his biggest regrets.

A wide range of public and private companies are promising massive fiber network buildouts. Meanwhile, new federal regulations could require providers to use US fiber suppliers. And the only big one is Corning.

Ankit Agarwal, managing director at STL (aka, Sterlite Technologies Limited), joins the podcast to discuss STL's perspective on the digital divide based on its work delivering network solutions in over 100 countries, including what the ongoing connectivity challenges are worldwide and where government plans are making a difference.

Operator plans to deploy FTTP and multi-gigabit services to two-thirds of its footprint - about 6.5 million homes passed - by the end of 2025. Fiber buildout plan includes 2.5 million homes in rural Suddenlink areas.

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: ADVA advances its 400G credentials; BT spreads the green love; Deutsche Telekom tries some colors that aren't magenta.

Jio and SES will develop gateway infrastructure in India to provide satellite data and connectivity services to consumers and enterprise.

Juniper hasn't disclosed financial details of the deal nor WiteSand's head count but has shared plans to bring on WiteSand's engineering team in addition to its Network Access Control technology.

Study suggests Comcast's Xfinity Mobile service could offload a significant amount traffic on Wi-Fi and sidestep MVNO fees paid to Verizon.

The media giant, now called Paramount Global, expects its global streaming base to eclipse 100 million subs by 2024 as losses deepen. Some analysts aren't convinced investors are willing to underwrite the company's streaming business.

Huge chipmakers are spending heavily on new fabs and acquisitions in a sector previously characterized by cycles of shortage and oversupply.

Investors scrutinize sale after concerns raised by human rights groups that junta could access customer data.

Nsight has been offering telecom services throughout Wisconsin and upper Michigan for more than 100 years. This month, its Cellcom subsidiary entered the 5G era.

Cable Next-Gen is a free digital event that will focus on a range of cable tech topics, including 10G, DOCSIS 4.0, PON, DAA, 5G, the cloud, Wi-Fi 6 and related technologies, platforms and services, as well as COVID-19's impact on the broadband landscape.

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Zain KSA sells towers; Vodafone collaborates on open RAN use case; Telenor's Myanmar sale prompts investor unease.

Swedish vendor's share price falls a tenth in Stockholm after its suggestion that an Iraqi unit may have provided funding for terrorists.

NBCU says the average minute audience for the game live stream reached 6 million across Peacock, NBC Sports Digital platforms, NFL Digital platforms, Rams and Bengals mobile properties and Yahoo Sports mobile properties.

Just how many satellites are too many - and how close is that? What happens if there's more? Could space debris stop space exploration? The experts explain.

Jio's investment in Glance comes on the heels of its $15 million investment in Two Platforms for a 25% stake in the company.

The company has overtaken Qualcomm to lead the smartphone SOC market, with a 43% market share in Q3.

In addition to ransomware, hacking and supply chain attacks are the leading ways that bad actors obtain corporate data for exposure, the research group said.

Reflecting on Aereo's debut ten years ago, Chet Kanojia, the founder of the now-defunct streamer of local broadcast TV, says he would have engaged with broadcasters and let them take most of the money.

Nasdaq-listed operator, focused on Central and Latin America, outlines three-year FTTH expansion goals and carveout plan for tower assets and Tigo Money.

Alaskan operator is also deploying a distributed access architecture as GCI presses ahead with a plan to bring 2-Gig speeds to 77% of the state in 2022.

Severing of MVNO ties between the two UK companies has been on the cards since last June.

Adrian Calaza to take on CFO role from March, when a new strategic plan for the group should be revealed.

John Legere, the operator's former CEO, said a merger with Sprint would be 'jobs-positive' from day one, but 5,500 roles have gone and the cuts by rivals are even bigger.

From hardening cell site structures to clearing combustible materials away from towers, telecom companies are looking to minimize the impact of disasters on their networks.

The head of the government-funded Digital Nasional Berhad said the 5G wholesale network plan had been 'inordinately delayed' because of the operators' behavior.

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Rakuten Symphony wants to be a big noise in Europe; Telefonica validates open RAN 5G small cell; Ooredoo done good in Q4.

The FCC has signed up roughly 1 million households since the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) launched in January. That's in addition to the 9 million households enrolled in the program's predecessor, the Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) which ended on December 31, 2021.

NTT executives explain why nearly 25% of organizations are piloting private 5G networks.

The 'un-vendor' launched by Japan's Rakuten last year wants to unite the telecom world around its new Symworld platform.

Cable and fiber broadband hold clear performance advantages, but fixed wireless is expected to make up 45% of broadband adds in 2022, and up to 55% thereafter, ISI Evercore predicts.

It's unclear whether Dish's spectrum bands will be supported in the new Samsung Galaxy S22. But one firm may have shed some light on Dish's 3.45GHz and CBRS plans.

The Japanese operator is turning its attention to the newer generation of mobile technology and its costs look set to fall.

Three-year plans from AT&T and Verizon are likely designed to lock customers into longer-term relationships, thus reducing the number of customers who might 'churn,' or switch to another provider.

CEOs of Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefonica and Vodafone say the current situation with regard to network investments is unsustainable.

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Nokia signs LTE450 deal; Telefonica Tech uses drones for maintenance; Openreach automates testing with Viavi.

The biggest risk to Meta's metaverse plans is regulators with Zuckerberg's company in their crosshairs. We ask experts how new regulations might look.

The vast majority of unconnected people in India live in rural and remote areas - where satellite-based broadband can help bridge the digital divide.

SPONSORED Omdia's Sameer Malik: IP with enhanced network functionality will drive innovation and enable intelligent, agile and efficient digital transformation.

SPONSORED Omdia's Michael Philpott: 2022 will see new broadband pricing innovation, shifting from one size fits all to personalized tariffs using application prioritization.

SPONSORED Omdia's Cynthia Whelan: Wholesalers need to work together to innovate!

SPONSORED Omdia's Remy Pascal: vRAN solutions are getting stronger, and more operators will validate the technology, either in combination with open RAN or independently.

SPONSORED: Omdia's Hwee-Xian Tan: SME's race of adaptability to pivot operationally will set 2022 with a strong ICT growth. Service providers must get ready for a pandemic bounce.

SPONSORED Omdia's Mariana Zamoszczyk: Offering tighter integration between physical and digital security will be key to handle the smart home modern threats.

SPONSORED Omdia's Peter Boyland: The rollout of fiber networks will continue unabated in 2022, offering further options for connectivity and services.

SPONSORED Omdia's Ramona Zhao: 5G has the potential to address enterprises' digitalization demand, which will bring business opportunity to telcos.

SPONSORED Omdia's Matthew Reed: Omdia forecasts that 5G mobile subscriptions worldwide will pass the one billion mark during 2022, to reach 1.27 billion at year end.

SPONSORED Omdia's Kris Szaniawski: The hyperscaler relationship is becoming pivotal to telcos, not just to migrate IT workloads and enable edge services, but to transform their operations

SPONSORED Omdia's Stephanie Gibbons: Telcos that were once fiercely protecting their industry are now partnering with hyperscalers for 5G service delivery.

CrackBerry - whose origins trace to the early days of the BlackBerry and the gadget's enthusiasts - reported that 'OnwardMobility and their BlackBerry 5G keyboard phone dream are dead.'

Comcast has teamed with Echo Environmental on a proprietary process that breaks down coax cables into raw new materials and a 'purity level' that enables those materials to be reintroduced into the world.

Cory Davis provides an on-site video tour of Verizon's network-monitoring command center in SoFi Stadium at Super Bowl LVI.

Vodafone rejects euro 11.25 billion bid for its Italian unit but remains open to 'consolidation opportunities.'

India's telcos celebrate brighter days as government intervention and higher tariffs translate into more money for everyone.

Syniverse had hoped to become a publicly traded company - and raise more than $1 billion in funding - but that plan collapsed amid current market conditions.

Michael Philpott, research director at Omdia, joins the podcast to discuss Omdia's 2021 Global Fiber Development Index, including where fiber is being deployed the fastest and why speed inequalities are growing as countries work toward closing their connectivity divides.

The equipment firm is the only provider of the systems needed to produce the world's most advanced chips.

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: SA president finally pins down spectrum auction date; European publishers get the hump with Google; YouView exec heads to TalkTalk.

After Starlink loses 40 satellites to a geomagnetic storm, news that a severe solar storm could crash the entire global subsea cable network.

Revenues related to the distributed access architecture, a prerequisite for DOCSIS 4.0, stayed solid, but growth was constricted by ongoing supply chain issues.

Ofcom frets that a tie-up would not lead to improvements in service quality or any rise in investment as Vodafone and Three bat eyelids.

Assembler of iPhones reckons semiconductor crunch will ease in the next few months.

'The past few quarters have been relatively weak for broadband net additions for Lumen, even for its higher-speed fiber offering,' MoffettNathanson said of Lumen's consumer broadband business.

Streaming growth won't be linear, but ISI Evercore expects Disney's direct-to-consumer biz to draw 48 million subs in fiscal year 2022 as Disney+ ratchets up fresh content and broadens its global reach.

Edward Parkinson is celebrating a full decade of work on what is today FirstNet. Now he's leading the agency into the final year of the first phase of its agreement with AT&T.

Software company sets a confident note for the coming years after a strong performance in 2021.

Results from a fresh set of tests 'indicate that at a minimum the differences are moot in the real world where all things aren't equal,' SRG's Michael Thelander tells Light Reading.

Commercial deployments of 6G will begin in 2030, but it will take ten years to prepare for 6G, explains Nokia Bell Labs' Peter Vetter.

In a clear setback to Starlink's deployment plans, dozens of recently launched low-Earth orbit satellites have reentered or will soon reenter the Earth's atmosphere because of the storm.

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Telefonica Tech gets on Oracle's Cloud; Zain KSA picks Nokia for network expansion; Seacom bags Ugandan assets.

But there is cause for optimism with major exhibitors returning for the 2022 show after last year's cancellations.

As part of preparing for 5G, Indian telcos are trying to gain new capabilities by forming alliances and acquiring stakes in startups.

Focuses on developing basestation processors; TSMC helps out with chip manufacturing and packaging technology.

The Mouse saw gains across Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ in fiscal Q1 after a lackluster prior quarter. Disney's direct-to-consumer revenues surged in the quarter, but so did its losses.

The mobile industry has routinely overpromised and underdelivered on the Gs. A different model looks desirable.

Verizon is putting cable rivals on notice with the launch of a symmetrical 2-Gig service that starts at $119.99 per month and is being paired with a free year of Disney+ and AMC+ along with several other perks.

Federal indictment alleges Shenzhen firm conspired with former employees of Motorola Solutions to pilfer 'walkie-talkie' trade secrets from US company.

Some companies, like Inland Cellular, are only asking for a few hundred thousand dollars ($117,183 to be exact) in 'rip and replace' money. Others are asking for a lot more.

New European Chips Acts aims to 'mobilise' euro 43 billion in funding to drive Europe's digital sovereignty.

New-look SKT forecasts growth surge from cloud, media and AI.

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Iliad bid for Vodafone Italy is for real; TREX opts for Nokia routing platforms; RootMetrics' love-in with EE's 5G services continues.

The cybersecurity office recommends using 5G suppliers from only democratic countries, which is bad news for Huawei and its customers.

The nation's top wireless network operators routinely use the Super Bowl as a way to push their 5G marketing messages, and this year is no different.

The RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) market is gaining momentum and could grow steadily in the coming years.

Minim, a company that holds the Motorola branding license, expects to develop modems and gateways based on specifications that will enable cable operators to deliver multi-gigabit services on HFC.

SoftBank has scrapped the sale of UK-based ARM to Nvidia because of industry opposition and antitrust concerns.

Anterix had hoped to ink private wireless networking deals worth over $200 million in "contracted proceeds" by March 2022. Now, though, the company's isn't so sure.

Khurjekar works closely with small and midsized businesses with ten to 1,000 full-time employees on delivering communications, security and "other above the network services."

The France-based group is linked with Masmovil, although Vodafone speculation continues to bubble.

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Liberty Global spots EVs opportunity; MWingz gets airborne with Comarch software; Proximus tackles digital exclusion.

Proof-of-concept test with Bluepeak tapped the AWS cloud in Ohio to control a Vecima remote MACPHY node located about 1,000 miles away in South Dakota.

The enfant terrible of European telecom wants to swallow a rival with twice as many customers, say reports.

A Norwegian software startup with its own core stack is creating a few ripples in a sector that has not been known for innovation.

The company will embed up to 4.1 million SIMs into Intellihub's smart meters over the next decade to deliver real-time monitoring and data insights.

Decision to temporarily eliminate monthly plans for new subs could protect FuboTV against 'serial churners,' but the move could alienate certain consumers, analysts warn.

'Jim Carrey returns as "The Cable Guy" on 2.13.22. Your Internet will never be the same,' wrote Verizon's chief marketing officer, Diego Scotti, on LinkedIn. The Super Bowl is scheduled for February 13.

Engineers at work on building a temporary Starlink ground station on Fiji to act as an Internet gateway for Tonga.

As we have for the past two years, Light Reading will stage the Cable Next-Gen Technologies & Strategies conference as a free digital event over two half-days in mid-March.

AT&T plans to shut down 3G on February 22; T-Mobile plans to shut down 3G CDMA on March 31 and 3G UMTS on July 1; and Verizon plans to shut down 3G on January 1, 2023.

Plan to auction frequencies in the 600MHz, 3.3GHz, 3.5GHz and L bands included in 2022 work program.

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: STC launches MENA hub; Openreach looks east; Beyond.pl lands Hivelocity gig.

The Japanese cloud-native upstart hits 96% 4G target, but questions remain over its 5G deployment.

Remote work software company Citrix should have prospered during COVID but didn't. Will its merger with Tibco help it catch VMware and Microsoft?

The US and China are operating from a different set of telecom facts.

WideOpenWest says it will splash out at least $60 million for a fiber-to-the-premises deployment in a county near Orlando, which happens to be Charter territory.

This digest of recent optical networking news and notes covers Tonga's Internet outage, Japan's subsea cable plans, AT&T's fiber growth, Charter's rural plans and more.

We're probably in for more breathless warnings, political chaos and corporate gamesmanship for years to come. Also, there's a good chance AT&T and Verizon will seek legal recourse.

Secure Edge provides customers with the ability to access the security features available on Juniper's security, routing and switching hardware (SRX Series Service Gateways) in the cloud.

App for the Meta Quest 2 will deliver more than 150 hours of live and on-demand VR content in 8K resolution, including coverage of the Games' opening and closing ceremonies and select events such as figure staking and hockey.

New report commissioned by European telco lobby group calls on regulators (again) to make the region more investment friendly; bemoans Eureope's digital lag behind the US and South Korea.

The government will work with domestic startups and academia to develop an alternative to the two dominant OS, Google's Android and Apple's iOS.

The e-commerce giant reports a doubling in net profit thanks partly to a surge in cloud business as Zuckerberg's firm comes unstuck.

T-Mobile's stock popped 10% in the hours after the company reported its results, rising from around $109 per share to about $120 per share.

Meanwhile, the launch of the first satellite in the company's globally focused ViaSat-3 constellation has slipped to late summer 2022 because of supply chain issues.

UK incumbent in 'exclusive discussions' with Discovery to share financial burden of sports rights, while gloomy outlook blamed on 'ongoing impact of COVID-19 and supply chain issues.'

Swiss operator remains in talks with the regulator about the blocked expansion of its fiber-optic network.

An association featuring top companies, government agencies and researchers in the North American wireless industry released its first comprehensive white paper dealing with 6G.

Dell'Oro expects cumulative spending on PON and cable broadband equipment along with fixed wireless CPE to reach $95 billion between 2021 and 2026.

Cisco is selling private 5G to enterprises under a 'as-a-service' model, allowing enterprises that purchase the offering to pay for it only as they use it.

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: VEON plans holding company in UK; Nokia invests $400 million into new fund; BT in 'exclusive discussions' with Discovery over joint venture.

The Finnish equipment maker looks far more profitable after turnaround efforts by its latest boss, but sales improvements remain elusive.

'We're half the price of cable companies,' said Dow Draper, the T-Mobile executive in charge of the operator's FWA offering, during T-Mobile's quarterly conference call.

Despite ongoing Myanmar issue and a global pandemic, Norwegian group plans to pay a 3% higher dividend for 2021.

With business users among its new targets, Starlink's Premium satellite broadband tier touts speeds up to 500 Mbit/s, but customers will need to front $2,500 for the router and a new, higher-capacity antenna.

Lobbying has started in the US for a fully opened X2 interface, supporting handover between basestations, to be included in mobile network products for no extra charge.

The FAA also has yet to confirm any reports of C-band 5G interference. 'We are using our established safety-reporting systems to look into a handful of reports of possible 5G interference,' the agency said.

In addition to building out edge computing locations to 'cover 95% of enterprises in North America,' Lumen has invested in its network and compute layers and 'automated a lot of the network over the past three or four years for an SDN-enabled network,' said Lumen's Chris McReynolds.

Despite its bad rap in the mainstream media, the UK-based operator has outperformed other telco stocks, and its peers face most of the same challenges.

India will launch a production-linked incentive scheme for 5G equipment, according to India's Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her budget speech.

EarthLink and Ultra Mobile are MVNOs that are now moving into the market for fixed wireless access (FWA) services. T-Mobile is likely powering the effort.

New rules require the use of US-supplied telecom equipment. But they are worrying many in the 5G market, particularly at a time when US-based open RAN companies are being acquired by international providers.

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Vodacom teams up with Amdocs for African Centre of Excellence; MTN sells shares in Nigerian unit; Ericsson offers mentoring in Moroccan students.

Protection for cloud applications - run in data centers and public clouds - is increasingly critical as workers connect to business applications from anywhere.

Cisco introduces a new kind of private 5G network. The converged, integrated private network that can support 5G, 4G and Wi-Fi, while also integrating with existing enterprise networks.

Since its debut in 2019 it has been apparent that the 5G payday won't be anytime soon, if ever, and operators need to broaden their income streams.

AT&T recently launched its Unlimited MAX with 5G prepaid plan for $45 per month exclusively at Walmart. The move comes amid increased investments into prepaid by Verizon and T-Mobile.

Plan to spin out the media giant links to a proposed merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery, expected to close in the second quarter of 2022.

Supplier says deployments of its 'CableOS' virtualization platform have reached 73 service providers worldwide and now serve 4.8 million modems.

IBM acquired Sentaca, which provides telecom consulting services and solutions. The company hopes to benefit from the relationships Sentaca has developed with service providers throughout North America.

'Verizon's recent C-Band launch should help the company's competitive position,' wrote the analysts at Evercore. However, some regional airlines are warning of continued disruptions.

Lavelle Networks is a Bengaluru-based company specializing in software-defined wide-area networks (SD-WAN).

Light Reading's Mike Dano breaks down the bidding wars over 2.5GHz spectrum.

Kjell Johnsen was in a philosophical mood as the Sweden-based operator announced plans to pay a 12.5% higher dividend for 2021 compared to last year.

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Vantage Towers feels the supply chain crunch; HBO Max spreads its wings; Deutsche Telekom and Google extend their love-in.