In network innovation news, CloudSmartz and Seaborn Networks are redefining how network capacity can be purchased with a completely automated portal that allows for a one-stop shopping experience along with real-time clarity into service delivery functions. CloudSmartz will enable Seaborn’s digital transformation strategy and deployment over the coming months and together the companies will offer an end-to-end automation platform enabling services to be delivered by SDN technology.

Global network evolution news came in from Canada, Europe, and Asia. To our north, MobiledgeX and TELUS will work together to trial Canada’s first mobile edge network, which will enable next-generation technology and experiences, including Industry 4.0, real-time multiplayer gaming and AR. In Frankfurt, DE-CIX and data center operator maincubes have entered into a collaboration designed to create a new “DE-CIX Enabled Site,” boosting redundancy and strengthening DE-CIX’s position as the largest Internet Exchange in the world. And Riedel Communications supplied a comprehensive integrated communications infrastructure for May’s Special Olympics World Games in Abu Dhabi, spanning more than 30 venues and locations and including managed IT network services.

5G News

This month, 5G industry news included technical breakthroughs and highly anticipated ‘switch-on’ dates.

Sprint launched mobile 5G in Houston, Atlanta, Dallas-Ft. Worth and Kansas City, with service expected to launch in areas of Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, Phoenix, and Washington, DC in the coming weeks. Once all nine markets go live, Sprint mobile 5G will cover nearly 2,200 square miles and serve 11.5 million people total, giving it the largest initial 5G coverage footprint in the US.

Ericsson and Deutsche Telekom achieved a technical breakthrough with the landmark transmission rate of 100 Gpbs in a trial microwave link over 1.5km at DT’s Service Center in Athens. 

Vodafone has announced it will switch on its 5G network for consumers and business customers in seven cities across the UK on July 3, with 12 other cities to go live by the end of 2019. Vodafone will also offer 5G roaming in the UK, Germany, Italy and Spain over the summer. Four 5G smartphones and a 5G home router will debut soon. Vodafone is the first to announce a set switch-on date. In other 5G-related news, Vodafone and ESL launched the world’s first international 5G mobile Esports tournament this month. Slated to run until September 29, 2019, the tournament is open to players from 17 countries where Vodafone is present. The competition features two popular online mobile games: arcade racer Asphalt 9: Legends; and multiplayer battle royale title, PUBG MOBILE.

HUBER+SUHNER introduced its outdoor MIMO antennas, intended for use within existing city infrastructure such as street fixtures to provide increased capacity and coverage for 4G and 5G deployments. The SENCITY urban antenna are the first of their kind, and they give operators cost-effective options for new cellular sites in urban areas with limited available space for installation.

Cloud News

This month, Bluebird Network announced its partnership with Megaport Limited, a global leading Network as a Service (NaaS) provider, to enable private access to cloud providers such as AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, Oracle Cloud, Alibaba Cloud, IBM Cloud, Nutanix, and Salesforce.

Industry analyst firm Ovum has released new research predicting public cloud usage by CSPs to double in 2019. Touting the report, Optiva led a summit on cloud migration at this month’s TM Forum Digital Transformation World emphasizing OSS/BSS savings of up to 80 percent for those telcos that have migrated to the cloud.

Customer Experience News

Calix announced enhancements to its AXOS platform that continue to simplify operational infrastructure, capabilities, and processes for CSPs—driving toward the elimination of up to 75 percent of process steps to help advance focus on customer experience.