Ericsson made headlines with a rash of 5G-related announcements. In Chile, Telefónica is evolving its network to roll out its 5G-ready core by Q2 2018. Telefónica Chile selected Ericsson to help them with the transformation, leveraging its Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) solution, including virtual EPC, virtual IMS, virtual AAA and NFVi. This month Ericsson also announced that it has been selected to help with the evolution to 5G by Entel in Chile in addition to VodafoneZiggo in the Netherlands, MTS in Russia, Smartone in Hong Kong, and Swisscom in Switzerland.

Orange and BlueTide join forces to deliver maritime communications leveraging Ku band VSAT capacity, with the ability to switch to alternative satellite beams for seamless global coverage. The collaboration provides connectivity for voice, video, and data, and provides real-time connectivity for navigation, security, weather, and corporate applications. It also opens the door to future maritime applications and innovations. Under the sea, NJFX announced it now provides connection between the United States, Europe, and Latin America, bypassing the Atlantic hurricane zones, and traditional choke points.

Overhead, AT&T deployed its "flying COW", or "Cell on Wings", a drone-based connectivity solution, to restore service in Puerto Rico in the wake of Hurricane Maria. While state-side, AT&T announced that it will help modernize communications for the US Army, connecting nearly 1 million users. AT&T, Verizon, and Tillman also announced they have joined forces to build hundreds of additional cell towers to add to coverage in the US and under-served areas.

Regulatory News

ETSI released a report this month, providing advice on implementing the NIS Directive for standard security measures for networks and information systems in the European Union. 

The CWA provided a report to the FCC indicating the mobile is not an adequate substitute for robust, wireline broadband services. The report was provided as part of a response to the commissions annual inquiry on the timeliness of broadband deployments. The report infers 5G is "hypothetical" and should not be considered as part of the near or mid-term broadband discussion.

The FCC announced it will adopt rules that allow phone companies to block robocalls from numbers that are likely to be fraudulent. These new rules allow voice providers to side step call completion regulation to thwart the estimated 2.4 billion robocalls in the US.

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