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Content by iainmorris
iainmorris
Member Since: August 8, 2014
Blog Posts: 2992
Posts: 386

Most Recently Posted

100 items
AWS is on a mission to port open RAN to Arm and end x86 monopoly
News Analysis  | 
5/31/2023  |  Post a comment
With its Graviton processors, AWS is working with Nokia and other software companies to provide an architectural choice for telcos.
Nvidia 'superchip' for Softbank strikes at Intel, boosts Arm in open RAN
News Analysis  | 
5/30/2023  |  Post a comment
The hottest chipmaker in the world right now has a product for managing radio access network and AI workloads and one of Japan's biggest telcos has bitten.
Eurobites: Sky to cut hundreds of jobs – report
News Analysis  | 
5/30/2023  |  Post a comment
Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Portuguese authorities round on Huawei; Nokia unveils new core software; Arm touts new chip designs.
Marvell and Nvidia ride the AI and custom-silicon waves
News Analysis  | 
5/26/2023  |  Post a comment
Shares in both chipmakers are up as they predict untold riches thanks to a surge of interest in AI, but some are warning of a bubble.
BT's Division X bets on giant touchscreen in a container
News Analysis  | 
5/25/2023  |  Post a comment
Still alive and kicking, the special ops bit of UK telecom incumbent BT is launching a set of immersive experiences for schools and businesses.
HPE and Ampere take aim at Intel with vision of Arm-based open RAN server
News Analysis  | 
5/25/2023  |  Post a comment
US server maker HPE is teaming up with one of the hottest chip startups on a product that could provide much needed competition to Intel.
Ofcom backs BT over altnets in broadband pricing dispute
News Analysis  | 
5/24/2023  |  Post a comment
The UK telecom regulator has blessed BT's controversial Equinox 2 plans to lower the wholesale price of full-fiber lines.
BT's downsizing plan looks more realistic than Vodafone's
Morris Lore  | 
5/23/2023  |  Post a comment
BT has more to gain from slashing up to 55,000 jobs than Vodafone has from cutting 11,000, and BT's plan looks more feasible.
Dish's networks boss on Intel alternatives and why SI is a breeze
News Analysis  | 
5/22/2023  |  Post a comment
Marc Rouanne defends his technology choices and eyes an operationally efficient network future once Dish Network's buildout is complete.
BT boss prophesies jobs carnage in AIpocalypse
Morris Lore  | 
5/18/2023  |  Post a comment
CEO Philip Jansen expects up to 42% of existing BT roles to have disappeared by the end of the decade, thanks partly to generative AI.
Ericsson faces new charges of trying to thwart open RAN
News Analysis  | 
5/17/2023  |  Post a comment
Swedish vendor Ericsson's proposal for a new lower layer split is a delaying tactic or attempt to seize control of specifications, according to sources.
Dish eyes major energy savings thanks to RIC
News Analysis  | 
5/16/2023  |  Post a comment
Chief Network Officer Marc Rouanne said the company will initially focus on energy and spectrum efficiency starting in the second half.
Vodafone job cuts throw 'tech co' strategy into doubt
Morris Lore  | 
5/16/2023  |  Post a comment
Vodafone's new boss Margherita Della Valle plans to cut 11,000 jobs in three years, raising questions about the European operator's direction.
Sources: Mavenir lands 5G open RAN deal with India's Airtel
News Analysis  | 
5/16/2023  |  Post a comment
The US supplier has been selected to provide technology for up to 10,000 rural sites for one of India's biggest operators.
Open RAN players race to fill their 'brownfield' gaps
News Analysis  | 
5/15/2023  |  Post a comment
Rakuten and Mavenir aim to provide feature parity with traditional RAN suppliers in the coming months.
Loss-making Rakuten Mobile banks on new KDDI deal for revival
News Analysis  | 
5/12/2023  |  Post a comment
With customers complaining they cannot use services at home or on subways, Rakuten hopes access to KDDI's 'platinum' spectrum will turn around its fortunes.
US slowdown, tower sales and Huawei pose big questions for DT
News Analysis  | 
5/11/2023  |  Post a comment
The days when rampant growth in the US could be taken for granted seem to be over for Deutsche Telekom, and Europe remains a concern.
1&1 costs are starting to mount, and it only has 20 sites
News Analysis  | 
5/10/2023  |  Post a comment
One of the world's three big greenfield open RAN projects, 1&1 has been hurt by rollout delays it blames on Vantage Towers.
Intel's CPU decline may portend its RAN fate
News Analysis  | 
5/10/2023  |  Post a comment
Big drops in Intel's share of core markets could presage similar problems in virtual radio access networks as the industry looks for alternatives.
Ericsson and Nokia go opposite ways on open RAN
News Analysis  | 
5/5/2023  |  Post a comment
The big Scandi equipment makers agree on lots of things when it comes to 4G and 5G networks, but on virtualization choices they are poles apart.
VEON boss stays positive despite blizzard of challenges
News Analysis  | 
5/4/2023  |  Post a comment
Import restrictions in Pakistan and the ongoing war in Ukraine are among various challenges confronting VEON CEO Kaan Terzioğlu.
After hefty cuts, AI puts thousands more telco jobs on the line
Morris Lore  | 
5/3/2023  |  Post a comment
Operators tracked by Light Reading cut nearly 58,000 jobs last year, and many roles in the telco sector could be in the crosshairs of AI.
Mavenir raises $100M for brownfield open RAN amid China backlash
News Analysis  | 
5/2/2023  |  Post a comment
Funds bring total raised to $350 million in less than a year and could support expansion in Europe, where Huawei is under further pressure.
Intel serves up a $2.8B loss but hails quarter as 'turning point'
News Analysis  | 
4/28/2023  |  Post a comment
Weak demand tore into sales as Intel's customers used up existing stock, and the chipmaker is spending heavily to realize its strategic ambitions.
Rakuten's Tareq Amin: RAN chips biz needs a massive shake-up
News Analysis  | 
4/28/2023  |  Post a comment
The boss of Rakuten's telecom subsidiaries calls for a rethink of chip designs and insists he can deliver portability – provided someone is prepared to invest.
Ericsson boasts 'open' portable RAN, adding AMD next to Intel
News Analysis  | 
4/27/2023  |  Post a comment
The same virtual RAN software deployed on Intel chips can now be used on AMD silicon as well, says Ericsson.
After 5G hangover, there's not much telco love for 6G
News Analysis  | 
4/26/2023  |  Post a comment
Telcos yet to make a decent return on their 5G investments are in no mood for a big splurge on the next generation.
Open RAN must do a better job of facing its critics
Morris Lore  | 
4/24/2023  |  Post a comment
Swathes of the industry remain unconvinced open RAN is a fix for the big problems it originally identified.
AT&T job cuts continue as headcount drops by 5,100 since January
Morris Lore  | 
4/21/2023  |  Post a comment
Tens of thousands of jobs have disappeared at AT&T since it first made its bid for Time Warner and the cuts go on.
Nokia hurt by US slowdown but outperforms Ericsson
News Analysis  | 
4/20/2023  |  Post a comment
Sales and profits grew at double-digit rates for the first quarter despite inventory adjustments in North America that affected Nokia's mobile networks unit.
Intel chip costs are holding up open RAN, says newly funded EdgeQ
News Analysis  | 
4/19/2023  |  Post a comment
Servers based on Intel's technology cost more than twice as much as proprietary kit from Ericsson and Nokia, according to EdgeQ's CEO.
India helps Ericsson avoid worse dip as US spending sinks
News Analysis  | 
4/18/2023  |  Post a comment
Ericsson saw profits tumble on 'inventory adjustments' in North America and the costs of integrating its recent acquisitions.
Virgin Media O2 pairs Mavenir with Mavenir on open RAN
News Analysis  | 
4/17/2023  |  Post a comment
After running trials with Rakuten and NEC last year, the UK operator has picked Mavenir to supply both software and radios.
HPE juggling private 5G, Wi-Fi and even Dell after Athonet buy
News Analysis  | 
4/14/2023  |  Post a comment
The takeover of Italian developer Athonet added 5G core expertise to HPE's product line-up but raises questions about its future strategy.
Traffic surge is a red herring in the 'fair share' debate
Morris Lore  | 
4/13/2023  |  Post a comment
Vodafone's claim about 'decoupling' traffic growth from energy use and evidence of falling consumption by other telcos will not help those arguing Big Tech should pay network fees.
BT Division X boss says he's fighting an 'existential threat'
News Analysis  | 
4/13/2023  |  Post a comment
Tasked with finding new growth opportunities, Marc Overton arguably has the hardest job at the UK telecom incumbent.
UK govt identifies big reason to bless Vodafone-Three merger
Morris Lore  | 
4/11/2023  |  Post a comment
A monster report from the newly formed DSIT says neither telco covers its cost of capital while ruminating on standalone 5G, 6G and the old favorite of open RAN.
Deutsche Telekom performs CO2 vanishing act
Morris Lore  | 
4/6/2023  |  Post a comment
The German telecom incumbent claims to have reduced its carbon emissions by 94% since 2017, but it depends how you measure it.
Vodafone UK sets sights on cutting energy use amid data tsunami
News Analysis  | 
4/5/2023  |  Post a comment
The UK arm of the telco is fighting to keep energy consumption flat, and even lower it, as data traffic mounts.
Intel bets on outmuscling Arm in the RAN
News Analysis  | 
4/4/2023  |  Post a comment
The US chipmaker reckons the RAN industry is too small to keep pace with design changes that will benefit its general-purpose processors, but not everyone is convinced.
Huawei gained 12K employees last year in R&D splurge
News Analysis  | 
4/3/2023  |  Post a comment
The Chinese equipment giant hired 7,000 R&D professionals last year as it fought back against US sanctions.
Germany's 1&1 must spend billions to match rivals
News Analysis  | 
3/31/2023  |  Post a comment
After badly missing its rollout targets last year, the United Internet mobile subsidiary is under pressure.
Intelsat and SES are on a $10B collision course
News Analysis  | 
3/30/2023  |  Post a comment
Two antiquities of the satellite industry hope to survive the launch of newer and more sophisticated technologies by teaming up.
Rakuten's open RAN diversity claims ring hollow
News Analysis  | 
3/29/2023  |  Post a comment
Open interfaces will certainly aid specialists but it's hard to see how they will necessarily bring diversity, despite what proponents and government figures say.
BT would be nuts to replace Jansen now
Morris Lore  | 
3/27/2023  |  Post a comment
The UK telecom incumbent is reportedly searching for a new boss, but it will have trouble finding one who can do any better.
Fair share or net neutrality? Cakeist EC thinks it can have both
Morris Lore  | 
3/27/2023  |  Post a comment
The European Union seems to be approaching the subject the way Boris Johnson approached Brexit.
US chip exposure to China grew even more last year
News Analysis  | 
3/24/2023  |  Post a comment
After a two-year surge in sales to China, US semiconductor companies stand to lose billions in revenues as export controls are tightened.
Telcos coo as Nvidia pumps up the dirty Gen AI bubble
Morris Lore  | 
3/23/2023  |  Post a comment
Lift-off for generative AI would entail huge costs and have possible ramifications for climate change.
1&1, Dish and Rakuten add up to 'greenfield' misery
News Analysis  | 
3/22/2023  |  Post a comment
State-of-the-art technologies have not lowered the considerable barriers to entry in the telecom sector.
The virtual RAN benefits are as clear as mud, unless you're Intel
News Analysis  | 
3/21/2023  |  Post a comment
Facing so many options and trade-offs, and alert to the danger of supplier lock-in, many operators have yet to be convinced about RAN virtualization.
Whatever BT boss thinks, his fiber rivals are going nowhere fast
Morris Lore  | 
3/20/2023  |  Post a comment
As Ofcom weighs intervention on BT's latest pricing plans, its own data shows that BT's rivals have made scant progress in the UK's full-fiber market.
Vodafone and Three merger needs officials to ditch the dogma
Morris Lore  | 
3/17/2023  |  Post a comment
Allowing the Vodafone and Three merger to happen will show authorities have abandoned the 'four networks good, three networks bad' credo.
Investors remain cool on open RAN, and it's no wonder
News Analysis  | 
3/16/2023  |  Post a comment
The telco championing of open RAN has not been matched by support for new entrants.
Replacing Huawei's 80,000 5G antennas would cost Germany billions
News Analysis  | 
3/15/2023  |  Post a comment
Europe's biggest economy has installed a huge amount of Chinese network equipment and dismantling it to address security concerns will not be easy.
6G is shaping up to disappoint, and the industry can blame itself
Morris Lore  | 
3/15/2023  |  Post a comment
Marketers have already run out of road on 5G and the next generation of mobile will not do anything radically different.
Good luck building a virtual, open RAN – there's no such thing
News Analysis  | 
3/14/2023  |  Post a comment
Whether using Intel or rival silicon, operators face lock-in and awkward compromises everywhere they turn.
Vonage boss is paid 550 times as much as average Ericsson worker
Morris Lore  | 
3/10/2023  |  Post a comment
Rory Read would have to perform miracles at Ericsson to justify another $32.76 million this year.
How AI is taking center stage at SK Telecom
News Analysis  | 
3/9/2023  |  Post a comment
SK Telecom says it is trying to build an AI ecosystem in the global market, working with startups such as Phantom AI.
VEON is stepping into the Big Tech vacuum in emerging markets
News Analysis  | 
3/8/2023  |  Post a comment
As it quits Russia, VEON is focused on hiring software talent and addressing 'digital' opportunities in emerging markets.
A Huawei ban in Germany could be nasty for open RAN
Morris Lore  | 
3/7/2023  |  Post a comment
Open RAN is not ready for widespread commercial deployment, Deutsche Telekom recently said, just as Germany weighs a Huawei ban.
Ericsson's Vonage outlines plan to share revenues with telcos
News Analysis  | 
3/7/2023  |  Post a comment
Executives from US platform provider Vonage have been defending the APIs logic of Swedish vendor Ericsson's $6 billion takeover.
Ciena starts chipping away at $4B backlog as sales surge
News Analysis  | 
3/6/2023  |  Post a comment
Optical equipment maker Ciena's order backlog is nearly four times what it was pre-pandemic, and that is neither sustainable nor desirable, says its CEO.
Telcos risk paying a heavy price for the cloud
News Analysis  | 
3/6/2023  |  Post a comment
As public-cloud giants advance into the world of network functions, operators face some difficult choices about which hosts to use.
MWC party goes on amid the rubble of telecom
Morris Lore  | 
3/3/2023  |  Post a comment
The show goes on, attracting its highest number of visitors since before the pandemic, but the industry is in bad shape.
Huawei suspected of tracking MWC23 visitors
News Analysis  | 
3/2/2023  |  Post a comment
The mysterious case of the chips inside Huawei's lanyards could be an embarrassment for MWC organizers.
Orange confident about open RAN's role in network transformation
LRTV Interviews  | 
3/1/2023  |  Post a comment
Orange's Michaël Trabbia says the company remains confident about open RAN, which it sees as part of an overall cloud transformation of the network.
BT's Howard Watson addresses net neutrality and 5G during MWC
LRTV Interviews  | 
3/1/2023  |  Post a comment
BT's chief security and networks officer, Howard Watson, spoke to Light Reading about ongoing conversations around net neutrality and fair contribution, saying he welcomes Ofcom's consultation on the subject. He also addressed 5G rollout, saying it is on track.
BT's chief tech exec is growing tired of the Gs
News Analysis  | 
3/1/2023  |  Post a comment
Howard Watson dismisses talk of a 6G network overhaul and chips in on the 'fair share' debate here in Barcelona.
APIs hog limelight at MWC, and Microsoft is all over them
Morris Lore  | 
2/28/2023  |  Post a comment
The talking points on Day One of this year's MWC included a logo makeover by Nokia, APIs and the growing presence of Big Tech.
DT picks Nokia and Fujitsu for limited open RAN rollout in Germany, Mavenir for Europe
News Analysis  | 
2/27/2023  |  Post a comment
The Finnish vendor was evidently preferred over Mavenir, which figured prominently in trials, but there is a role for the US company outside Germany.
Nokia mobile boss says rival denied chips is 'going backward'
News Analysis  | 
2/27/2023  |  Post a comment
'High-risk vendors' cut off from state-of-the-art silicon will end up with network products that are bulkier and more expensive, Tommi Uitto tells Light Reading.
API days: GSMA plans may challenge Ericsson's $6B Vonage deal
News Analysis  | 
2/27/2023  |  Post a comment
The industry association is unveiling its Open Gateway initiative at this year's MWC, hoping it will spur the development of new applications for telco networks.
Intel boasts open RAN monopoly as Nokia turns to others
News Analysis  | 
2/27/2023  |  Post a comment
The US chipmaker's dominant position in the nascent open and virtualized radio access network sector is under attack from some big players.
Microsoft dangles generative AI for telcos and slams 'DIY' clouds
News Analysis  | 
2/26/2023  |  Post a comment
The US software giant is preparing a code-writing GPT for network operations while taking aim at the cloud platforms built by VMware and Red Hat.
Ericsson confirms 8,500 job cuts in latest reorg
News Analysis  | 
2/24/2023  |  Post a comment
Swedish equipment maker says most cuts will happen in the first half of this year as it aims to reduce costs and protect margins.
Germany's 1&1 slams Vodafone for obstructing its network rollout
News Analysis  | 
2/24/2023  |  Post a comment
The company building Germany's fourth mobile network says Vodafone-owned Vantage Towers is holding up its plans.
Telefónica's results jollity jars with Big Tech bashing
News Analysis  | 
2/23/2023  |  Post a comment
The Spanish incumbent will undoubtedly grumble at MWC about the unfairness of life, and yet its boss is well satisfied with the latest numbers.
Be afraid – ChatGPT has caught the eye of telecom
Morris Lore  | 
2/22/2023  |  Post a comment
The chatbot that has taken the world by storm is now being assessed for use in a range of telco operations.
DT says open RAN is not good enough for wide-area use
News Analysis  | 
2/21/2023  |  Post a comment
The German incumbent is not giving up on open RAN, but it has now comprehensively ruled out any chance of a major investment this year.
Nokia was the big 5G winner in 2022, research shows
News Analysis  | 
2/21/2023  |  Post a comment
The Finnish vendor beat other RAN vendors on market share gains last year despite the emergence of several new rivals.
Post-merger T-Mobile US is 9,501 employees short of its pledge
Morris Lore  | 
2/20/2023  |  Post a comment
The headcount reduction of 12% comes after T-Mobile's former CEO promised the deal would be 'jobs-positive' from the outset.
MWC is not the best look for an industry that says it's going green
Morris Lore  | 
2/20/2023  |  Post a comment
Energy efficiency and environmentalism are expected to be major themes at this year's show, but swaths of the industry look dirtier than ever.
Mavenir adds Cohere turbocharge to its growing open RAN lineup
News Analysis  | 
2/15/2023  |  Post a comment
The performance-boosting technology developed by Cohere is to be made available as an app on Mavenir's RIC.
Ericsson says 5G is spurring telco sales, but its case is weak
Morris Lore  | 
2/14/2023  |  Post a comment
The failure of 5G to lift telco revenues puts a company that depends on 5G network equipment sales in a very awkward position.
Europe's big four telcos get EU blessing for ad tech venture
News Analysis  | 
2/13/2023  |  Post a comment
Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefónica and Vodafone spy an opportunity to usurp disreputable Big Tech players in the advertising ecosystem.
Ericsson networks boss shares open RAN hopes and fears
News Analysis  | 
2/13/2023  |  Post a comment
Fredrik Jejdling worries about technology 'bifurcation' and acknowledges that Intel's chips have narrowed the performance gap with his own silicon.
BT takes 5G into the back of beyond
News Analysis  | 
2/9/2023  |  Post a comment
With the mobile technology now available to 60% of the UK population, BT is turning its attention to rural coverage.
EU bigwigs gibber about M&A and fume about Huawei
Morris Lore  | 
2/8/2023  |  Post a comment
Officials come out with some meaningless comments about the single telecom market and realize national governments have been ignoring them about China.
Cohere's next moves could add some G-force to mobile
News Analysis  | 
2/7/2023  |  Post a comment
A new waveform backed by the software company could take 6G to a hypersonic level.
Vodafone UK starts 'risky' shift to 5G standalone
News Analysis  | 
2/7/2023  |  Post a comment
The UK operator cannot afford to sit back and wait, says its chief network officer, but the technical challenges are considerable.
Mavenir hails open RAN progress as sales hit $100M
News Analysis  | 
2/6/2023  |  Post a comment
The US software company has seen revenues grow from just $7 million in 2020 and now boasts 30 customers worldwide, according to CEO Pardeep Kohli.
Amid altnet woes, BT eyes dominance of full-fiber future
News Analysis  | 
2/2/2023  |  Post a comment
The UK telecom incumbent says it is now building and connecting full-fiber customers 'like fury' and the signs are not promising for many infrastructure rivals.
Vodafone boss bashes Big Tech after 'not good enough' sales
News Analysis  | 
2/1/2023  |  Post a comment
Margherita della Valle joins European telco bosses demanding a 'fair contribution' from Internet giants after saying her company can do better.
T-Mobile takes greenwashing to a new high
Morris Lore  | 
1/31/2023  |  Post a comment
The US operator sets a net-zero target for 2040 but the emissions over which it has most control rose sharply in 2021.
NEC posts networks loss amid 5G slowdown and open RAN 'caution'
News Analysis  | 
1/30/2023  |  Post a comment
Months after complaining about open RAN wariness among brownfield operators, the Japanese company reports losses at its networks division.
Bell joins Telstra as second 'big telco' investor in Cohere
News Analysis  | 
1/30/2023  |  Post a comment
The Canadian operator is stumping up funds for trials of Cohere's capacity-boosting network software and 6G candidate.
Intel is 'losing market share left, right and center'
News Analysis  | 
1/27/2023  |  Post a comment
A leading analyst says the US chipmaker faces an existential threat from Arm after it reports another shocking set of results.
Nokia targets 5G market share gains after ending 2022 on a high
News Analysis  | 
1/26/2023  |  Post a comment
The Finnish equipment maker reports sales growth and profitability at all its major business units and now aims to build on a 5G turnaround.
AT&T and Verizon cut 9,400 jobs last quarter
News Analysis  | 
1/25/2023  |  Post a comment
AT&T and Verizon have now cut nearly 170,000 jobs in the last seven years and they are apparently not done yet.
Qualcomm tries to put some spring in millimeter wave's step
News Analysis  | 
1/25/2023  |  Post a comment
The high-band spectrum can provide a capacity boost in hotspots and support an array of new applications, but the business case remains unclear.


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