Iskratel, a leading European ICT provider, together with PJSC Ukrtelecom and SID Bank, have signed an agreement to build a fiber-optic Internet network (GPON) to connect the rural areas of Ukraine and close the digital divide. In rural Slovenia and Croatia, Iskratel will provide active and passive telecommunications equipment for the construction of an ultra-fast fiber-optic broadband network in 210 municipalities as part of the RUNE (Rural Network) project with its partners Rune Enia in Slovenia and Rune Crow in Croatia.

Nokia announced it has achieved the world’s fastest 5G speeds in its Over-the-Air (OTA) network in Dallas, Texas. Utilizing 800 MHz of commercial millimeter wave 5G spectrum and Dual Connectivity (EN-DC) functionality, Nokia achieved 5G speeds of up to 4.7 Gbps in tests performed on base station equipment being deployed in major U.S. carriers' commercial networks. It has also expanded its AirScale portfolio with a number of new product innovations designed to fulfill the evolving needs of 5G networks and help mobile operators realize the full potential of 5G. Also, Nokia and Bharti Airtel (“Airtel”) announced a multiyear agreement to deploy Nokia’s SRAN solution across 9 circles1 in India, helping Airtel to enhance the network capacity of its networks, in particular 4G, and improve customer experience. The rollout will also lay the foundation for providing 5G connectivity in the future. In the land down under, Nokia and Vodafone Hutchison Australia (VHA) announced that they are complementing their 3.5Ghz 5G rollout, with the first deployment of low-band NR700Mhz spectrum in a field test environment in a 5G network in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region. 

Leaderboard News

News related to the coronavirus pandemic came from all corners of the industry. A new analysis from Juniper Research found that the coronavirus pandemic could cause around a $42 billion revenue gap over the next 9 months for smart device vendors. The analysis examined a number of key device verticals including smartphones, tablets, consumer robotics, smart speakers and smart wearables. DetectaChem Inc. announced that it will launch a ground-breaking new smartphone-based COVID-19 testing solution for its popular MobileDetect App for Apple and Android platforms. The FCC launched a portal to begin accepting applications for the COVID-19 Telehealth Program this month. Over $200 million in funding has been approved to help fight the coronavirus pandemic.

A new study from Juniper Research found that global spending on digital commerce will fall by 14 percent in 2020 as lockdowns and reductions in consumer spending are felt. Spending will fall from $11.2 trillion in 2019 to $9.7 trillion. Recovery and an additional shift to online spending will occur in 2021. A new report from OpsRamp on IT spending during the coronavirus pandemic reveals that most spending is focused on minimizing business risk: 73 percent of IT operations and DevOps leaders expect to either accelerate or maintain digital transformation initiatives through the global pandemic.

Microsoft Corp. announced key deals and partnerships. The Coca-Cola Company announced a five-year agreement with Microsoft Corp. for a new strategic partnership to standardize its business operations on Microsoft's cloud and deliver rich new digital experiences that will provide innovative solutions to modernize how the company engages with employees and customers. The National Basketball Association (NBA) and Microsoft Corp. announced a new multiyear alliance, which will transform the way fans experience the NBA. As part of this collaboration, Microsoft will become the Official Artificial Intelligence Partner and an Official Cloud and Laptop Partner for the NBA, Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), NBA G League, and USA Basketball beginning with the 2020-21 NBA season. 

Nokia also announced its collaboration with Microsoft as part of the SONiC initiative, an open source network operating system based on Linux that has been production-hardened in the data centers of some of the largest cloud-service providers. And C3.ai, which focuses on enterprise AI software for accelerating digital transformation, announced plans to collaborate with Microsoft Corp. to enhance C3.ai's global customer experience and elevate sales performance using intelligent cloud technology. FedEx Corp. and Microsoft Corp. announced a new multiyear collaboration to help transform commerce by combining the global digital and logistics network of FedEx with the power of Microsoft’s intelligent cloud. In another partnership announcement, Sony Semiconductor Solutions (Sony) and Microsoft announced they are partnering to create solutions that make AI-powered smart cameras and video analytics easier to access and deploy for their mutual customers.