Networking

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Australia’s two largest mobile network operators want the Australian government to take into account in-building mobile coverage when selecting sites for future rounds of the mobile blackspot program (MBSP).
The Commonwealth is currently consulting on the design of round 5A of the program, having released submissions and a set of draft guidelines on Wednesday, to which interested parties have 14 days to respond.
In its submission, Optus said an issue with the program is that coverage is compared to public maps from telcos, which are measured when a device is outdoors or has an external antenna. Offering an alternative in its submission, the telco suggested a new measurement at -90dBm be used instead.
“[Public coverage maps] should not be used as a means of assessment, since we note that overwhelming feedback during varying Regional Telecommunications Reviews clearly shows a desire for enhanced in-building and in-vehicle (including in-paddock) coverage,” Optus said.
“MBSP design should use as part of its criteria ‘new handheld coverage at -90dBm’ which is an in-building level of radio coverage and addresses the feedback from residents in regional areas.
This view was echoed by Telstra, which said a large percentage of complaints were due to in-building coverage rather than a wider blackspot.
“Around half of the blackspots logged by communities on the government website are either mainly or solely due to poor or absent indoor coverage,” the telco said.
“These sites are more spread-out and hence more distant from the homes they’re serving than in the metropolitan suburbs and the presence of intervening terrain and trees is more common, all of which reduces the signal that can reach indoors.”
An example of how poor in-building coverage can affect one town was submitted by the Guyra and District Chamber of Commerce, a town in the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales. The Chamber said businesses on the main street of the town typically currently only receive one bar or no coverage from Telstra.
“Guyra Pharmacy is an essential service for health and wellbeing in the district. Pharmacy staff frequently have to walk their Eftpos machine to their shop front door or onto the footpath to access the mobile network,” it said.
“Other Guyra main street businesses, such as the two supermarkets, a number of cafes, accountants, fuel station, bread shop, hotels, and sundry other businesses are disadvantaged by weak mobile coverage.”
Beyond indoor coverage, one of the issues tackled in the submissions was the potential of infrastructure sharing.
Unsurprisingly, Vodafone remains a fan of the idea, but it pointed out there was little value in sharing infrastructure if a gap remained between the new MSBP coverage and the telco’s existing footprint.
“Telstra’s regional mobile monopoly coverage footprint means there are invariably gaps of potentially hundreds of kilometres between new unique coverage areas and the other operators’ own networks,” the telco now sitting under TPG Telecom banner said.
“Well-intentioned initiatives to provide new unique coverage under shared RAN [radio access network] models are likely to be substantially undermined unless solutions to the isolated versus contiguous coverage issue are in place.”
Equally unsurprising, Telstra was not a fan of sharing infrastructure, saying it was against mandated RAN sharing.
“Active RAN sharing would require all operators to agree to a common network design — adding unnecessary complexity that could halt or delay a site build or lead to a lower level of service quality for rural and regional customers when compared to urban customers,” it said.
“Telstra builds its network to provide industry-leading reliability, speed and performance for our customers and we could not deliver this where other operators must agree to equipment specifications and network design.”
The incumbent telco further said shared sites would lag on upgrades and the act of sharing has upfront costs that would offset any savings it could provide. However, the telco said it thought a new sharing model for round 5A where the telcos engaged with each other or third party builders of towers could be used.
“This will allow the sharing of infrastructure costs, lowering the cost to build for each operator, rather than an individual operator having to fully fund each site,” the telco said.
“Additionally, it will allow carriers to determine the most efficient method of sharing infrastructure at each site, minimising cost to government whilst encouraging innovation by operators through efficient market driven sharing outcomes.
“In addition to the accelerated facilities access sharing, Telstra also supports increased passive infrastructure sharing (potentially including huts, power and backhaul where feasible) to improve the economics of site deployments for both carriers and government.”
Optus put forward a number of options, including having a third party own the infrastructure and equipment.
“The three carriers would have the opportunity of connecting to sites owned and run by the neutral host supplier independently,” it said.
“To practically implement this approach, Optus recommends that the government should release a list of all coverage locations it wants in future rounds rather than having an open ended process as in the current program.”
The telco also pointed to the model used by the Victorian Regional Rail Connectivity Project, which involved Optus, Telstra, and Vodafone working together to build towers.
“This state-based project should be considered by the federal government for delivery of a more effective operating model for its MBSP that would encourage greater co-building and collaboration involving carriers in areas where they are keen to invest,” it said.
Optus added that once a carrier has a contract to build a tower, other telcos do not automatically look to collocate since they likely need a similar level of funding to use the new site.
Adding a further way to lower costs, Vocus said the cost of backhaul from new towers back to telco’s core networks was prohibitive in regional areas, particularly fibre backhaul needed for 5G and therefore, a third party could provide open-access backhaul — something the company said it could offer.
“The deployment of new fibre backhaul constitutes a much higher proportion of the cost of a new mobile tower than RAN equipment, so the economic benefits of fibre backhaul sharing are likely to promote competition outcomes to a greater degree than RAN sharing alone,” it said.
“As well as improving the investment case for new base stations in non-commercial areas, backhaul sharing could also deliver auxiliary benefits by driving fibre deeper into regional Australia, improving the business case for further fixed-line and fixed-wireless network deployments to nearby communities.”
In Senate Estimates on Wednesday, representatives from the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications said infrastructure sharing during the first four rounds of the MBSP sat at around 22% for some form of sharing.
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Netgear reported better-than-expected third quarter earnings as home offices were upgraded with the latest Wifi routers, workers built out home audio and visual systems for video conferencing and small businesses became more savvy about networks.
The company reported third quarter revenue of $378.1 million, up 42.2% from a year ago. Net income for the third quarter was 83 cents a share with non-GAAP earnings of $1.13 a share.
Wall Street analysts were modeling non-GAAP earnings of 66 cents a share on revenue of $313.5 billion.
Also: Working from home 101: Every remote worker’s guide to the essential tools for telecommuting | Netgear’s BR200 small-business router offers built-in site-to-site VPN | Here’s what remote workers need for their home offices

Home Office Tours

Netgear is benefiting from the remote work trend amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Logitech also posted strong results due to home office upgrades. And Zoom, the poster child of the work-from-home movement, delivered strong growth and outlined plans to expand its ecosystem with native third-party apps.
Patrick Lo, CEO of Netgear, said demand was “robust” for gear that provides Wifi that covers the entire house. Lo added:

As the pandemic persists, it is clear that families are adapting their lives to accommodate the need to pursue more of their daily activities virtually from home. This “more from home” transition is stretching well beyond work and school to include movie premieres, doctor visits, grocery shopping, fitness classes and visiting loved ones, and they now all require a whole home, fast and reliable WiFi connection.

Meanwhile, SMBs are upgrading with low port count switches and commercial grade Wifi.
Netgear noted that it may face supply chain issues as the COVID-19 pandemic persists, but strong demand is likely to continue well into 2021.

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After failing to kill off its 40% capacity boost to retailers in September, NBN has unveiled a new plan to dial the boost down over two months.
Using a new baseline that is calculated as the difference between a retailer’s capacity usage at the beginning of the September billing period compared to that in February, the company responsible for the National Broadband Network (NBN) will offer retailers 75% of that difference in December, and 50% in January next year.
“NBN Co’s tapering of COVID-19 CVC Credit offer to internet retailers recognises that peak data demand is returning to normal forecast levels of growth,” the company said.
Meanwhile, the company said it would keep its 45GB boost for satellite users until the end of March 2021.
“This offer, which came into effect at the end of March, added 45GB to the applicable fair use rolling four-week threshold for each standard Sky Muster service,” NBN said.
“From 1 April 2021, the Sky Muster satellite service will revert to the standard fair use policy threshold of 45 GB of wholesale download data on average per service across a rolling four-week period.”
The changes were detailed as NBN announced it would offer retailers a new set of discounts to get users onto higher speed tiers, with hopes it is as successful as its previous Focus on 50 discounts that helped shift users up to the speed tiers on offer.
Reusing its campaign titles, the Focus on Fast discounts will look to get users onto its 100/40Mbps plan and the new Home-labelled 100/20, 250/25, and 500-1,000/50Mbps speed tiers. As of August, it has 45,000 premises on its new Home plans.
To encourage a shift, NBN will offer increased capacity inclusions from December, and six-month pricing rebates from February.
Across the 100/20 Home Fast, 100/40Mbps, 250/25 Home Superfast, and 50-1000/50Mbps Home Ultrafast tiers, NBN will provide an extra 0.5Mbps of capacity, while the discounts will be AU$2, AU$9, AU$12, and AU$24 each month for half a year, respectively, when a user is upsold or connected for the first time.
For the 50/20Mbps plan, NBN will offer an AU$8 a month rebate for six months when a customer is upsold.
According to an Essential poll released this week with 1,082 respondents, the percentage of respondents connected to the network increased from 59% in January 2019 to 76% in October.
In answering the question whether the NBN service was better than previous services, the percentage of people who said it was better remained at 51%.
When respondents were asked whether they approved of the eventual privatisation of the NBN, which has been planned from its inception, 33% said they approved and 38% said they did not. Broken down by party voting intention, Coalition and Greens voters were the most enthusiastic of selling it at 38%, while supporters of the party that designed the NBN to be sold, the ALP, disagreed the most that it should be sold, with 48% of ALP respondents disapproving a sale.
In age terms, 18-34 year-olds supported the selling off by 45% for and 29% against, with support trending down across the age bands until those aged over 55 who disapproved by a majority of 52%, with only 19% supporting its sale.
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Verizon has reported relatively strong Q3 2020 results — considering the disruption caused by COVID-19 — and has increased its annual outlook and guidance for the full financial year.

On Wednesday, the telecoms giant posted third-quarter financial results (statement) reporting consolidated revenues of $31.5 billion, down 4.1% in comparison to Q3 2019, and $1.05 earnings per share (EPS). Excluding special items — namely, a pension charge — adjusted EPS is recorded as $1.25.  
Wall Street analysts expected $1.22 earnings per share at a revenue of $31.6 billion, versus $32.9 billion in Q3 2020.
Verizon says overall operating revenue is down due to “lower customer activity and the timing of certain device launches.”
Verizon added, “the company estimates that third-quarter 2020 EPS and adjusted EPS included approximately negative 5 cents of COVID-19-related net impacts,” and also included a “net pre-tax charge of about $1.1 billion related to a mark-to-market adjustment for pension liabilities.”
Year-to-date cash flow is recorded as $32.5 billion, an increase of $5.7 billion year-over-year, and year-to-date expenditure reached $14.2 billion, with investment pouring into supporting traffic on existing 4G infrastructure; building and launching 5G networks, deploying new fiber systems, and upgrading the firm’s Intelligent Edge Network. 
Verizon’s net income in Q3 2020 was $4.5 billion. Adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP) was $11.9 billion.
In the consumer sector, Verizon reported revenues of $21.7 billion, a decrease of 4.3% compared to Q3 2019. The company added 136,000 postpaid retail net additions, including 142,000 net phone additions and 258,000 postpaid smartphone net additions. 
Fios Internet consumer services are improving with the net addition of 139,000 in comparison to 30,000 new signups in Q3 2019. Verizon also says that an additional 144,000 Fios Internet (net) have been added across the Consumer and Business segments, the most recorded since 2014.
TechRepublic: Verizon develops 5G-enabled EMS solutions with its fourth First Responder Lab The Verizon Business unit, however, is not performing quite as well, on the whole. Total revenue is reported as $7.7 billion over the third quarter, a decrease of 1.7% year-over-year. 417,000 wireless retail postpaid net additions are reported, consisting of 141,000 phone, 86,000 tablet, and 190,000 other connected device net additions. 
Business wireless service revenues were $3 billion in Q3 2020, rising by 4.9% year-over-year. Verizon says this increase is primarily due to signups within the public sector and SMB markets. 
Total wireless service revenues were $16.4 billion, a 0.3% increase year-over-year. In total, Verizon recorded 553,000 retail postpaid net additions, including 283,000 phone net additions and 428,000 postpaid smartphone net additions.  
CNET: Verizon to buy Bluegrass Cellular in continued push into rural service areas
Verizon Media revenues accounted for $1.7 billion of the total over Q3 2020, down 7.4% in comparison to Q3 2019. 
“We continue to demonstrate our strength and resilience by delivering very strong third-quarter financial results,” said Verizon Chairman and CEO Hans Vestberg in a prepared statement. “We are energized by the transformational technology that our 5G Ultra Wideband and 5G nationwide bring. Our purpose-driven culture paired with our network leadership will shape the future, for the better.”
Verizon has also updated the firm’s financial guidance and outlook for the full 2020 fiscal year. The company now projects adjusted EPS growth of 0% to 2%, rather than -2% to 2%. In addition, Verizon predicts total wireless service revenue growth of at least 2% in Q4 2020, and capital spending is expected to hit between $17.5 billion to $18.5 billion.
Update 14.09 BST: 
Speaking to investors on a conference call discussing the Q3 2020 results, Vestberg said that while we are in the midst of a “crisis” due to COVID-19, “the executive team is working with business as usual to see that we continue to move this company forward” — with a focus on monetizing 5G networks. 
The executive said the launch of the next-generation wireless technology infrastructure “commercially made sense” with the launch of the Apple iPhone 12 and the 5G/ultra-wideband ecosystem that Verizon is creating will go beyond consumer applications in order to tap into the commercial sector. 
Verizon has three main business cases for 5G: consumer, 5G Home, and mobile edge compute — the latter of which is a corporate application of the technology on the same infrastructure. 
“We now have five mobile edge compute centers together with Amazon,” Vestberg commented. “We also announced that Microsoft is now joining us on the mobile edge compute as well, focused on the private side of the 5G mobile edge compute. So we are actually gathering in some of the most important partners in the ecosystem to see that we can actually monetize this investment work done in the Network-as-a-Service [market].”

See also: Samsung to supply Verizon with $6.6 billion worth of network equipment
In related news earlier this month, Verizon announced the acquisition of Bluegrass Cellular, a rural wireless operator serving roughly 210,000 customers in Kentucky. The deal also builds upon the recent $7 billion purchase of mobile carrier Tracfone.
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The Australian Labor Party has latched onto admissions from representatives of the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications that AU$51 billion plus AU$6 billion does indeed equal AU$57 billion.
As mentioned in NBN’s latest corporate plan released last month, the initial rollout of the NBN has a cost of AU$51 billion, and when topped up with AU$6 billion in bank credit announced in May, the total is AU$57 billion.
Of the bank credit, AU$4.5 billion has been allocated to upgrading the fibre-to-the node network, and AU$1.5 billion has been set aside to simplify NBN’s IT setup, provide CVC boosts and financial assistance during the pandemic, provide extra regional capacity, and connect 300,000 new premises.
Under questioning from ALP Senator Nita Green, the department strove to avoid mentioning the number.
“I think there’s a couple of different concepts caught up here,” Secretary of the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications Simon Atkinson said.
“The peak funding related to the initial rollout, which is almost complete now … In terms of investment decisions post-initial rollout of the NBN, they’re a different consideration … these investments are being funded from public debt markets.”
Senator Green further asked why the price of the multi-technology mix NBN kept going up, something that was repeated later in the day by Shadow Communications Minister Michelle Rowland.
“In 2013, the Liberals promised their inferior multi-technology mix would cost AU$29.5 billion. That increased to AU$41 billion in 2014, to AU$49 billion in 2016, to AU$51 billion in 2018,” Rowland said.
“Under the watchful eyes of Turnbull, Fifield and Fletcher, Australians have been saddled with an inferior NBN that costs more and does less than the original fibre plan.”
Department representatives further added the AU$6 billion credit facility taken on by NBN would increase “outcomes for consumers”, jobs, and the national gross domestic product.
Earlier on Tuesday, Telstra had its own idea for how to increase GDP, as it released a report it commissioned from PwC which claimed digitising the economy could “unlock” AU$90 billion for the economy and create 250,000 new jobs.
“Running a business in a post-COVID world is very different to how we did things pre-pandemic. How we work, shop and interact with our customers has fundamentally changed,” Telstra enterprise group executive Michael Ebeid said.
“The jobs created in a digital Australia aren’t just roles you need an engineering or IT degree for either. Accelerating the digital economy will create a ripple effect across industries, creating jobs in all sectors from customer service, logistics, design and professional services.”
The report simultaneously says that digitisation is more efficient, yet will also create jobs in sectors such as education and healthcare, supply chains, and government itself.
“Warehouse workers can better prepare for deliveries using blockchain technology and smart tracking solutions, to add security and transparency over their supply chain, and reduce work-related injuries through artificial intelligence, smart video analytics and IoT,” the report describes one job-creating scenario that would total 15,000 new roles.
Quite how the education sector will create the report’s claimed 30,000 jobs, while funding to universities is reduced and the institutions undergo massive layoffs, remains to be seen.
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Sweden has banned telcos from using Huawei or ZTE network equipment for their 5G rollouts as the nation joins a growing list of western countries that have restricted the Chinese companies’ involvement due to security concerns. 
The Swedish Post and Telecom Authority (PTS), the country’s telecommunications agency, made the decision after conducting a security assessment that found the companies’ kits could potentially harm Sweden’s security.
The security assessment was made in consultation with the Swedish Armed Forces and the Swedish Security Service, the PTS said. 
The decision comes a few weeks ahead of the nation’s 2.3GHz and 3.5GHz 5G spectrum auction that has been set for November 10. 
Sweden’s four main telcos, Hi3G Access, Net4Mobility, Telia Sverige, and Teracom have already gained approval to participate in the auction. 
320 MHz in the 3.5GHz band and 80MHz in the 2.3 GHz band will be available during the auction. To partake in the auction, telcos will have to provide a minimum bid of SEK 1.5 billion for spectrum in the 3.5Ghz band — SEK 100 million per licence of 20 MHz — and SEK 160 million — SEK 20 million per licence of 10 MHz — for the 2.3 GHz band.
The ban issued on Tuesday also mandates that telcos must phase out any Huawei and ZTE products currently being used in existing infrastructure for the radio access network, the transmission network, the core network, and the service and maintenance network by the end of 2024. 
Last week, two of Belgium’s major telcos chose to use Nokia and Ericsson equipment for their 5G networks while also dropping Huawei gear in the process.
Meanwhile, the UK’s largest telco, BT, also picked Nokia to build more of its 5G networks across the country as part of plans to move away from its partnership with the Chinese telecommunications giant. The country itself has also set a timeline of removing all Huawei equipment by 2027. 
All of Canada’s major telcos have also gone elsewhere for their 5G rollouts and, although not officially banned, Huawei has not made any inroads in New Zealand after GCSB prevented Spark from using Huawei kit in November 2018.   In the United States and Australia, Huawei and ZTE are banned from supplying 5G equipment for any 5G rollouts.
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Credit: Microsoft
Microsoft is launching its Azure Space initiative on October 20. Azure Space is a set of products, plus newly announced partnerships designed to position Azure as a key player in the space- and satellite-related connectivity/compute part of the cloud market.Azure Space isn’t just for companies in the space industry. It’s meant to appeal to companies in public and private industry customers in the agriculture, energy, telecommunications, and government markets. It’s also meant for any customer with remote-access and bandwidth needs.Microsoft’s main cloud rival, AWS, announced its own space-industry strategy and space unit called Aerospace and Satellite Solutions, in June 2020. It also has created its own satellite connection service, AWS Ground Station, and a satellite venture called Project Kuiper which competes with SpaceX’s Starlink and other satellite networking providers.As it has done in other areas where AWS has its own products and services that could potentially compete with those from customers, Microsoft is playing up the fact that it isn’t trying to be a satellite provider itself. Instead, will continue to partner with satellite companies with its Azure Space effort.To hammer home this message, Microsoft is touting Elon Musk’s Space X as one of its marquee Azure Space partners. Microsoft is working with SpaceX to provide satellite-powered Internet connectivity on Azure. The pair plan to deliver the option to connect SpaceX’s Starlink satellite broadband to Microsoft’s new Azure Modular Datacenter. SpaceX just announced this week that it has launched 60 more Starlink satellites for low-Earth orbit deployment as part of its gearing up for a public beta of its satellite-broadband service.The Azure Modular Datacenter (MDC), also announced today, October 20, is Azure in a shipping container (a k a, a “field-transportable” solution”). The MDC — which includes its own HVAC system, server racks, networking and security capabilities — is meant to give customers a ruggedized option for setting up an Azure datacenter in remote locations. The MDC can run connected or disconnected. For now, MDC runs Azure Stack Hub, but a Microsoft spokesperson said this might not be the case in the future, as MDC is a self-contained datacenter. (Maybe that’s a nod to Azure Stack Fiji, Microsoft’s still non-officially-announced competitor to AWS Outposts? Not sure.) Microsoft and SpaceX also plan, in the future, to offer connections between Starlink and Microsoft’s global network, including Azure edge-computing devices. The idea is to integrate SpaceX’s ground stations with Azure networking capabilities, giving customers access to all kinds of Microsoft services, ranging from machine-learning and visualization, to productivity services.Other partners Microsoft is touting as participating in its Azure Space initiative include satellite operator SES, KSAT, Viasat, Kratos, Amergint, KubOS and US Electrodynamics. Microsoft announced a partnership with SES for Azure Orbital last month at its Ignite conference; the pair also plan to do more work together to expand satellite connectivity with the MDC and other cloud datacenter regions and devices.Azure Orbital is a new service that will provide access to physical satellite communications capabilities to satellite operators. Via private preview, Orbital will enable satellite operators to process and analyze data in Azure and schedule access to Azure Orbital ground station antennas. Last year at Ignite, Microsoft announced a related service called ExpressRoute for Satellite. This service, aimed at enterprise customers, not satellite operators, enabled users to communicate from a remote site to Azure locations over private and dedicated connections. Both of these services are now part of the Azure Space portfolio. 
Microsoft also announced today a new related service called Azure Orbital Emulator. Azure Orbital Emulator is an emulation environment that conducts massive satellite constellation simulations with software and hardware. It’s for satellite developers who need to evaluate and train AI algorithms involving satellite networking before launching satellites. Azure Orbital Emulator is already being used by customers in Microsoft’s Azure Government cloud, officials said. More

Cisco on Tuesday rolled out updates to its software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) portfolio, including the launch of new edge platforms that the company said represent the first enterprise routing platform of this caliber from Cisco in nearly a decade.

Cisco said the platforms aim to meld SD-WAN with cloud security, providing better integration and more secure access to cloud applications. 
According to Cisco, the new Catalyst 8000 Edge Platforms are built to manage cloud adoption, offering flexible options for secure connectivity and visibility to applications across cloud, data center and edge.
Cisco said the Catalyst 8000 Edge family is foundational to its intent-based networking portfolio. The family includes the Catalyst 8500 Series Edge Platform, which Cisco said is designed for data center, colocation, and aggregation sites. The Catalyst 8300 Series Edge Platforms are meant to handle edge connectivity at branch sites, while the Catalyst 8000v Edge Software delivers all the same capabilities in software form.
Cisco notes that it’s calling these devices “edge platforms” versus “routers” because the definition of a router has evolved over recent years to be more of a WAN edge device; providing connectivity from distributed locations to both data centers and the cloud, acting as more of an edge of the network. 
Cisco also introduced Catalyst Cellular Gateways that support connecting remote sites via wireless WAN technologies. The networking giant said the gateways will pave the way for 5G connectivity in the branch office.
“With the proliferation of applications, workloads and services becoming more distributed across the edge-cloud continuum, organizations are facing new realities at the WAN edge,” said JL Valente, VP of product management for Cisco’s Intent-Based Networking Group. “The Cisco Catalyst 8000 Edge Platforms bridge the WAN edge and the cloud edge, providing secure, high-performance connectivity for distributed users to any cloud while delivering IT visibility and business agility.”
The Cisco Catalyst 8300 and 8500 models and Cisco Cellular Catalyst Gateways are available today, while the Cisco Catalyst 8000v is planned for availability in December. More