Networking

There are few places in the country changing at the speed of Seattle. According to The Seattle Times, its population grew 18.7% from 2010 – 2018, making it the fastest-growing city in the U.S. over that time. Along with the growth, the city wants to ensure that technology and infrastructure can keep up.Several internet providers serve the Seattle area to provide connectivity to everyone. The city of Seattle wants to make technology accessible to all as well, offering programs that provide discounted smartphones and free computer access. And residents who cannot afford home broadband service may qualify for low-cost internet access for as little as $10 per month through a city program. Take a closer look at the best Seattle internet providers.Let’s see how the top contenders in Seattle compare:CenturyLinkFrontier FiberWave BroadbandXfinityDefining traitBest Long-Term DealBest Speed OptionsBest Local ProviderBest BundlesConnection typeFiber and DSLFiberFiberBroadband CableDownload speeds (Mbps)100Mbps940Mbps50Mbps500Mbps940Mbps100Mbps1000Mbps (1GB)25Mbps300Mbps600Mbps1000Mbps (1GB)Prices starting at$49 per month for life$29.99 per month$69.95 per month*$29.99 per monthContract lengthNone24 monthsNone12 monthsData capNoneNone100Mbps plan, limited to 400GB data cap1000Mbps plan, unlimited data, although speed is throttled after 2TB1TB per month to unlimited, depending on the internet service plan

Best long-term deal

CenturyLink Internet

CenturyLink offers unique internet services to Seattle customers. When you sign up for a plan, they’ll guarantee the same price “for life.” The Price For Life plan locks in your monthly price as long as you keep your plan current. Here’s more of what CenturyLink has to offer in Seattle.Features:Price: Two high-speed internet plans of $49 and $65 per month are available. Either are guaranteed for as long as you keep the plan through the Price For Life offer.Speed and data: CenturyLink’s $49 internet service plan provides speeds of up to 100Mbps. Or you can opt for 940Mbps download and upload speeds in the higher-priced plan.Plans/ packages: Add unlimited local and nationwide calling to the 100Mbps internet plan for $85 per month.Contract options: CenturyLink won’t require you to sign a long-term contract, but they do guarantee the price of your service plan as long as you keep it.

Best speed options

Frontier Communications

Frontier Fiber is available in downtown Seattle and Bellevue, Edmonds, Kirkland, Bothell, Lynnwood, Shoreline, Mountlake Terrace, and Redmond.Features:Price: Frontier has three pricing tiers of $29.99, $39.99 and $74.99 per month.Speed and data: Frontier doesn’t cap data in any of its three internet plans, which come with 50Mbps for the $29.99 per month plan, followed by 500Mbps and 1000Mbps (1GB) speeds.Plans/ packages: The Double Plan includes 500/500Mbps Internet and FiOS TV (Basic) for $64.98 per month and the Triple Plan with Voice, Gig Connection internet and FiOS TV (Basic) for $109.98 per month.Contract options: To lock in the best price, Frontier FiOS requires a 24-month contract.

Best local provider

Wave Broadband

For an internet provider that knows all about the Seattle neighborhood you live in, Wave Broadband is a great choice. Wave offers local customer support 24/7 to provide help anytime you need. Wave also has a 30-day money-back guarantee. If you’re not happy, you can cancel the service and receive a refund within the 30-day limit with no obligations.Features:Price: Wave offers two service plans — High Speed 100 Internet is regularly $69.95 per month, and GigaBit Internet is $99.95 per month. The internet provider has specials as low as $19.95 per month for the first six months for new subscribers.Speed and data: Expect speeds of 100 Mbps when you sign up for the High Speed 100 Internet plan and 1000Mbps with the GigaBit Internet plan.Plans/ packages: You can create a TV bundle starting at $19.95/mo for six months besides the two internet plans. Add equipment, such as TiVo Streaming DVR to personalize your TV bundle.Contract options: Wave doesn’t lock customers into contracts. You can cancel at any time.

Best options

Shutterstock

Xfinity Comcast delivers cable internet to much of the Greater Seattle area, including downtown Seattle, Bainbridge Island, Renton, Vashon and Kent.Features:Price: Internet prices start at $29.99 per month for the Performance Starter Plus plan. You’ll get 25Mbps download speeds and can add a Flex 4K streaming device for free.Speed and data: Xfinity claims the Performance Starter Plus plan’s 25Mbps is enough for one to two individuals online at once. Data is capped to 1TB per month.Plans/ packages: Xfinity bundles high-speed Internet at various speeds from 25Mbps to 1000Mbps with phone service and cable TV for $34.99 to $159.99 per month, depending on the cable channels.Contract options: Internet service comes with a 12-month contract, while cable TV requires a 24-month commitment.

How we found the best internet provider in SeattleWe analyzed several companies to find the best internet companies in Seattle. Some of the key features we examined are:Coverage: Seattle and its suburbs are growing every day. We focused on internet providers with a wide coverage area to ensure that the plans and offers reviewed are available to most Seattle residents.Value: We weighed features such as speeds, data caps, bundles available and contract lengths to determine which internet providers in Seattle provide customers with the most value for the monthly price.Customer Satisfaction. Consumer satisfaction ratings from the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) and J.D. Power are an important part of the decision-making process on which services and products are the best. While internet service provider ratings are mediocre across the board, we analyzed each internet provider individually by comparing the company to industry averages.Seattle Internet FAQ

How much download speed do I need to stream music and movies?

The speed you need for streaming depends on how many people will be streaming at once in your household. A service plan of 1000Mbps would be ideal to avoid lag times, although 100Mbps could work if more than one device isn’t streaming high-definition movies.

How fast is internet service in Seattle?

Seattle residents are in luck — fiber is available in most neighborhoods. Many in the area are likely to have access to high-speed internet service as fast as 1000 Mbps (1Gbps).

Is fiber internet faster than broadband cable?

Yes, fiber is faster than broadband cable. Fiber-optic cable can carry more data faster and straight to your home. Broadband cable is shared with your neighbors — the more neighbors online, the slower your speed is likely to be. More

DISH Network Internet offers consumers the ability to bundle their TV package with high-speed internet plans from one of their partners. As a satellite company, it made sure to include a satellite internet option, which caters to those who live in more remote areas that do not have access to DSL, cable or fiber. Not sure what to expect? Let us break it down for you with our DISH internet review. The ClaimDISH promises the best satellite TV and internet package in the industry, saying, “Not only do we have great internet available where you live, but we also have the best TV in the industry — all at a price the competition can’t touch.” On its internet performance specifically, DISH claims, “Connections are reliable, installation is professional, and customer support is available 24/7.”Is it true?Sort of.DISH’s internet performance is tough to gauge because your location will determine whether you’re connected with Frontier or Viasat. DISH claims that up to 100+ Mbps is available with these options, but again, that is entirely dependent on location. While Frontier offers DSL and fiber-optic service and claims to offer high speeds, reliable network, and the capability to support multiple devices, it is less available and less reliable depending on where you are located. For those in the right spot, it’s a great option. For more remote areas, Viasat’s satellite internet may be the best option. It may be slower than DSL or fiber, but Viasat’s unlimited rural internet data plans are a good deal.DISH’s internet partners scored high in our lists of the best high-speed internet providers and the best cheap internet service.DISH does have a reputable installation service. Customers are given a 75-minute window for when your technician will arrive, and you can track the exact time on DISH’s website. The provider’s customer support is indeed some of the best in the business, as well: Support is available 24/7, and DISH was the only internet provider to receive a five-star rating from J.D. Power in customer service.Product OverviewBest for

People who require higher speeds (DISH via HughesNet) or higher data limits (DISH via Viasat)Not forHigh volume data users as well as users who prefer multiple HD or 4K streamsDISH via HughesNetDISH via ViasatPrice per monthStarts at $27.99Starts at $50Standout featuresHigh speedsHigh data limitsStates served29 states50 statesData plansUnlimitedUnlimitedAverage download speedsUp to 940 MbpsUp to 100 MbpsContract length2 years2 yearsCustomer ServiceInternet service providers are some of the least-liked companies globally, and their customer satisfaction is notoriously low. Surprisingly, DISH bucks this trend. In 2019, J.D. Power awarded DISH Network the highest in overall customer satisfaction. And DISH Network reviews tend to be positive. But your experience with the internet customer service may be different since Frontier has some of the lowest scores in J.D. Power’s customer satisfaction study, and Viasat’s users are not particularly happy with their service either.No overage feesBoth Frontier and Viasat offer unlimited data in their DISH Network plans. This is good news for those not wanting to get caught with an unexpected overage fee at the end of the month.Possible DrawbacksSlowing satellite speedsIn general, satellite speeds are slowing down significantly. In a 2016 study (the most recent available), the FCC collected nationwide information on internet service provider speeds. It found that satellite speeds over the past years took a huge hit, while almost all other internet service options remained flat. The report states that Viasat’s went down from 107% to 71%.” The FCC concluded that this was the result of more homes using satellite internet, thus slowing down speeds nationwide.The Competition   The Competition:DISH via HughesNetDISH via ViasatVerizon 4G LTEFixed wirelessPrice per monthStarts at $27.99Starts at $50Starts at $60Starts at $60Data plansUnlimited10 GB20 GB30 GB50 GBUnlimited500 MB2 GB4 GB5 GB8 GBGo UnlimitedBeyond UnlimitedAbove UnlimitedUnlimitedMaximum speeds940 Mbps100 Mbps12 Mbps1-1,000 MbpsStates served29505050DISH vs Verizon 4G LTEA cell carrier is an unlikely challenger to satellite or fixed internet. For those willing to get creative and opt for a hotspot, this is undoubtedly an option. Verizon leads the pack of 4G LTE providers, and, like satellite internet, its coverage can reach almost every corner of the country. Verizon offers two ways to use its 4G LTE service on non-mobile devices: You can designate your cell phone as a hotspot and tether your other devices to it (like gaming systems, tablets, and laptops), or you can buy a mobile hotspot from Verizon, which costs anywhere between $20 and $100. The benefit of this is that you won’t have to pay for the additional TV service that you would with DISH.Unfortunately, speeds and data limits for 4G Mobile Broadband providers are generally on the lower end. Verizon offers anywhere between 5 and 12 Mbps on its 4G LTE plan, slower than Frontier and roughly on par with Viasat. Users will find themselves feeling less frustrated opting for a more traditional internet option.DISH vs Fixed wirelessAnother popular option for homes in rural areas is fixed wireless internet, which beams data from an access point, like a mounted tower, to a reception device. These are usually small dishes or antennas installed on the outside of your home. The primary benefit to fixed wireless internet is that data caps tend to be much higher than with satellite internet, with many plans offering truly unlimited service. Activities like streaming HD video and online gaming tend to eat up the most data, so fixed wireless may be the best option for you if these are some of your primary activities.Speed is dependent on which internet partner you choose and where you are located. The speeds will vary, but overall, if Frontier is in a viable area for you, that seems to be the option with the fastest response and download speed. If you want to learn more about service options available, check out our article about the different types of internet connections. DISH Network Satellite Internet FAQ

Should I go with DISH for satellite TV?

Whether you get service from HughesNet or Viasat ultimately depends on where you live, but either one means bundling with a DISH TV plan. If you’re more interested in satellite TV than the internet, it’s worth noting that there are better options out there. While DIRECTV — the other major satellite TV company — has better packages and channel offerings, DISH stands out with unique features. DISH offers users access to over 80 000 on-demand titles at no extra charge, and its DVR capabilities are premium by being able to hold 2000 hours of content at a time.

What should I know about the two-year contract?

It is essential to understand what you are signing up for when you opt for a contract. Users who sign the contract ensure that they have a lower promotional price in exchange for agreeing to be with that package for two years — similar to a contracted phone plan.  Once the contract ends, the price will go up, and should you want to end your contract early; there are charges involved with doing so. While not ideal, this is on par with other internet providers: Both Viasat and Frontier require two-year minimum contracts.

Should I choose Frontier or Viasat?

Which provider DISH partners with depends on your location, so you won’t have a choice which provider you get if you opt to bundle with DISH’s satellite TV. But if you’re only after internet service and either of these providers is sold independently in your area, it’s worth checking out. If Frontier is available in your area, we recommend it because of the significantly higher average download speeds they have over Viasat. Otherwise, their packages offer similar perks. 

The Bottom LineWith its slower speeds and data limits, satellite internet should really only be considered if you live in a rural area without broadband access. DISH is best for customers looking for a complete internet and TV package (since you can only access DISH’s satellite internet by bundling it with a TV package). Suppose you’re only after basic web browsing and occasional video streaming. In that case, you’re unlikely to be disappointed with DISH’s top-notch customer service ratings, fairly reliable speeds, and unique TV bundling options. More

(Image: Shutterstock)We rarely think about keeping time. As Chicago sang in the 60s, “Does anyone really know what time it is? Does anyone really care?” But, technically, we care a lot. 

Open Source

Our technology can’t work worth a darn if the Network Time Protocol (NTP) isn’t keeping our servers and PCs coordinated with one another. Without it, backups would fail, financial transactions would go awry, and many fundamental network services wouldn’t work. To help with these issues, Facebook started making its internet clocks more accurate in 2020. Now, the social media giant is open-sourcing its technology, Time Appliances Project (TAP), and enabling anyone to turn a commodity server into a reliable NTP time appliance.Today, Facebook uses a multi-layered time server architecture to keep time. It’s made up of satellites with precise atomic clocks at the top. Facebook’s own atomic clocks sync with one of these, forming the second layer. These atomic clocks and their brethren make up the internet’s primary time-keepers: Stratum-0 devices. Below those are the stratum-1 timekeepers, which bridge the gap between atomic clocks and networked computer clocks. These then connect with everything else needing accurate timekeeping using NTP.Facebook — instead of relying on ntpd, NTP’s widely used reference implementation — to synchronize clocks, it uses chrony another NTP implementation of the NTP, and Extended NTP. To be exact, Facebook is using the IEEE 1588 Precision Timing Protocol (PTP) to create a PTP profile for data center applications and network infrastructure. The bottom line is that Facebook times are in the more accurate microseconds instead of the more commonly used milliseconds. Now, you may think: “Who cares?” Cue that song again. But, actually, you should care. As Oleg Obleukhov, Facebook’s TAP overseer, pointed out: “For your microwave, really, it doesn’t matter that much. But time precision, on a day-to-day basis, is extremely important for other services. A one-second difference doesn’t make much of a difference for a human, but imagine all the transactions that can happen in a data center in the same amount of time.”

Today, most companies rely on public NTP pools such as time.facebook.com to act as their stratum clocks. But, when your internet connection goes down, so does your ability to keep time with all your other remote servers and services. To remove these dependencies, Facebook is releasing a new dedicated piece of Open Compute Project hardware: The Time Appliance. This consists of a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receiver and a miniaturized atomic clock. With this, even without the internet or a reliable GNSS connection, your machines will keep accurate time. Now, there’s nothing new about this idea. There have been many proprietary time appliances. But they are “proprietary.” They have tended to be expensive, hard to maintain, and even harder to keep secure. By open-sourcing TAP, the new Facebook board avoids these problems.With the Time Appliance card, Facebook has found it can, even without a GNSS connection, keep accurate time within 1 microsecond per 24 hours. So, all you need do is install its time card on any ordinary x86 computer with a free PCIe slot running Linux kernel 5.15 or newer since it includes a time card driver. You can also build it from code with the Linux kernel 5.12 or newer.The Time Appliance Project GitHub repository includes the specs, schematics, mechanics, bill of materials (BoM), and the source code. In short, if you can deal with printing the printed circuit board (PCB) and soldering teeny-tiny components, you can build your own time card for a fraction of the cost of a regular-time appliance. Or, if you’re a bit of a klutz — guilty — Facebook has worked with Orolia to offer pre-made time cards, as well as NVIDIA, which is selling the precision timing-capable ConnectX-6 Dx and the precision timing-capable BlueField-2 DPU.The Open Time Server specification gives you all the information you need on how to combine the hardware and software into your own Time Appliance. Enjoy!Related Stories: More

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I recently moved and along the way my faithful 2016 Sony XBR-75X850D, as such things do, suffered a fatal screen crack. It was time for something bigger and better. I’d long used smaller LG TVs, but since my new place also included a home theater it was time to think big. So, after much research, I got LG’s newest 77″ 4K TV: the 2021 LG OLED77C 3,299.99TV. In a word, it’s impressive.

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Why? Well, let me start with the basics. LG uses organic light-emitting diodes (OLED) for its high-end 4 and 8K TVs. Unlike the more common, and less expensive LEDs, these carbon-based diodes can be adjusted pixel by pixel in luminance from a perfect back to a bright white. The result is you get more contrast from an OLED screen than from any other. And, yes, I include yesteryear’s top plasma TV, the Panasonic TC-P60ZT60 plasma.OK, that’s technically what’s going on. What’s going on when I sitting in front of it watching The Suicide Squad is the best TV display I’ve ever seen. And, my friends, I’ve seen a lot of TVs in my day. Sure, it’s possible that there are better TVs out there that I haven’t seen. For example, the LG 8K OLED88Z1PVA with its 8K resolution isn’t currently available in the States. And, the new LG OLEDG1 series, which is designed to be wall-mounted, and with its cutting edge OLED evo panels may be a bit better, but I couldn’t see it.Besides being great for 4K movies with High-Dynamic Range (HDR), I found the screen to also be great with sports and games. The video response time has to be seen to be believed.  Some of that is the outstanding screen, but it’s also LG’s Alpha a9 Gen 4 processor for better upscaling and video rendering. It uses deep learning (ML) in AI Picture Pro to analyze and optimize your video. Besides doing an excellent job of upscaling video from old-school 480i it also removes noise and optimizes picture quality. In concert with the new Scene Detection, the TV analyzes what’s being shown in real-time to improve the video. You can adjust the video manually but left to its own devices the 77C1 does a good job of improving your video on the fly.Gamers will like the new Game Optimiser menu. This enables you to easily and quickly tune your brightness, contrast, and variable refresh rate (VRR) on the fly. Combine this with its automatic low latency mode (ALLM), aka auto game mode, and you’ve got a wonderful gaming display. 

A serious gamer who’s managed to get his or her hands on a PlayStation 5 will be also pleased to find that the 77C1 comes with four HDMI 2.1 ports. HDMI 2.1 is the latest HDMI standard. The connector itself hasn’t changed. Your current cables and gear will still work just fine on the 77C1. But, with newer cables and devices you can play games with frame rates of up to 120 frames per second. Personally, I like all the connections I can get on my TVs. Besides the HDMI ports and the usual RF CoAx port, it also comes with three USB 2.0 ports, a Gigabit Ethernet port, Bluetooth 5.0, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, and an Optical Digital Audio Output.Besides the display, the TV also comes with outstanding 2.2 Channel front-facing speakers. Now usually when you’re talking about TVs at this level, you skip this because it’s assumed you’ll be using a sound system with it. That’s a safe assumption. I use a Bose TV Speaker with a Bose Bass Module 500 subwoofer. But, to my surprise, the LG’s sound was excellent even without an external speaker. 

I credit some of that outstanding audio to the hardware design, but I quickly found out a lot of that is due to the 77C1’s ML/AI software. The AI Sound Pro does an outstanding job up-mixing with the TV’s built-in speakers while Auto Volume Leveling 3 maintains a consistent level of volume when switching between channels or streaming apps. I was honestly startled at how good the system was in dealing with audio changes. There is a moment when it switches over from ordinary to enhanced sound, but it was worth the momentary pause. I also really liked the updated webOS 5 interface. WebOS is a Linux-based system that could have been a smartphone and tablet contender, but its original creator, HP, gave up on it. Fortunately, LG saw its potential. Today, webOS is my favorite smart TV interface over both Android and Roku. Combined with the newest LG Magic remote, it’s a pleasure to use. In addition, the remote supports both Google Assistant and Amazon’s Alexa.Previously I’ve always recommended you add a Roku Ultra or other top streaming device to your smart TV. I did that because smart TV OEMs did a poor job of the more obscure online streaming services. Now, LG is giving Roku a run for your money. I have a Roku Ultra working with my new TV, but for the first time ever with a smart TV, I don’t feel like I need to have it. Besides the usual top streaming TV suspects — Amazon Prime Video, Disney Plus, Netflix, and Hulu — it supports many more obscure streaming channels.The TV itself is a pleasure to watch. It is seriously thin. Chances are your smartphone is thicker than it is. I’m not kidding. Simultaneously, if you use the LG stand as I do, it feels rock-solid on my home theater credenza.There’s only one thing about this TV I regret: The list price of $3,299.99. But, as the saying goes, you get what you pay for. And, in this case, I got the best TV I’ve ever had.If you want even more TV for your money, the 83″ model will cost you $5,499.99. For me, the few more inches weren’t worth the extra two grand plus. For those of you on a tighter budget, the 65-inch version is $2,099.99; 55-inch is $1,499.99; and the 48-inch model is $1,299.99. I recommend that if you’re looking for a new high-end TV, you buy the one that best matches your finances. You won’t be sorry.Related Stories: More

SK Telecom posted double-digit growth in its operating income during the second quarter, thanks to an influx of new 5G subscribers that boosted profitability.The South Korean telco said on Wednesday it recorded 4.81 trillion won in sales and 397 billion won in operating income during the second quarter, an increase of 4.7% and 10.8%, respectively, from the previous year.Its main mobile network operator business contributed 328 billion won in operating income, which was over 80% of the company’s total income for the quarter. Compared to its performance last year, this was an increase of 21.7%.As of the end of June, SK Telecom said it accrued a total of 7.7 million 5G subscribers, with nearly a million of those subscribers joining during the second quarter.The telco, together with its subsidiary SK Broadband, spent 849 billion won to build up its 5G networks and fixed internet infrastructure during the quarter, triple that of the first quarter, it added.Like its compatriot telcos KT and LG Uplus, SK Telecom also saw its content services perform solidly during the quarter. The telco’s IPTV service business saw operating income increase 4.9% year-on-year, contributing 64.2 billion won.Meanwhile, in April, the telco announced that it would split into two companies. The surviving company plans to keep existing telco assets, while the spin-off company will take over operations of SK Telecom’s various tech subsidiaries, such as the chip giant SK Hynix, e-commerce company 11th Street, and ride-sharing app T Map Mobility, among others. 

The split was approved by the company’s board in June and will go through shareholders’ approval in October.SK Telecom said it intends for the surviving company to continue to focus on 5G, home media, and other core services for growth for the remainder of the year, much like it did for the second quarter.RELATED COVERAGE More

Image: Chris Duckett/ZDNet
Earlier this week, Telstra was among the trio of telcos hauled into Federal Court by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) over allegations of making misleading NBN FttN speed claims. The consumer watchdog alleges the trio made false representations to consumers over being able to: Test lines to determine the maximum speed on fibre-to-the-node connections, notify the customer of test results, and offer remedies if a line was performing below the speed the telco sold it as. The ACCC also alleges that the trio “wrongly accepted payments” from customers for NBN plans when they could not receive promised speeds. It has put the number of impacted customers in the “hundreds of thousands” range. Taking to Twitter on Wednesday morning, Telstra CEO Andy Penn laid blame for the issue at the feet of NBN Co. “When you sign up for the NBN you tell us what speed you want. However, when we connect you for the first time, NBN can’t tell us what speeds you’ll get. Despite this, we still have an obligation to provide you the speed you’ve chosen,” Penn said. “The root cause is at the beginning. We need NBN to tell us what its network is capable of for customers upfront, before we connect and for regulators to impose on NBN the same obligations we have to meet. That’s how we’ll get this right for customers once and for all.” Penn said the telco did not deliberately set out to mislead its customers, and apologised for not fixing it sooner.

“When we identified issues, we reported them to the ACCC and ACMA and started a process to make it right by customers impacted. And let me be clear: It’s our accountability to fix it and we should have been on top of it sooner. That responsibility is with us and for that I’m sorry,” he said. On Monday, TPG said it would be “making things right” with its impacted customers who never received a maximum attainable speed notice. “For the oversight, we are sorry,” a company spokesperson said at the time. “There were two key contributing factors to this issue. The first was failure by NBN Co to provide timely and accurate speed information to TPG Internet. The second was anomalies in TPG Internet’s legacy processes in place since 2017, and these have been fixed post-merger.” TPG added its intent was not to avoid obligations, and of its two million customers, “only a small percentage” did not receive information. Elsewhere on Wednesday, Aussie Broadband announced it signed a five-year deal with Telstra Wholesale to hook up 42 NBN points of interconnect (POI) not covered by its existing fibre footprint. Aussie Broadband said it would save AU$1 million this fiscal year, and AU$15 million per year thereafter. “The deal comprises both inter-capital and NBN POI capacity through the use of dark fibre and wavelengths and allows for significant capacity increases across the network,” the company said. “Upgrades will be rolled out over the next nine months and are expected to be completed by April 2022.” “All 121 NBN Points of Interconnect, through both Aussie Broadband’s own fibre and through Telstra Wholesale fibre, will be upgraded from current 10G or 20G connections to 100G minimum capacity at each POI.” Each POI would be connected to two separate capital city data centres, with Aussie Broadband adding it would be upgrading its inter-capital links with 400G, and have 100G paths to other capital cities. Related Coverage More

Extreme Networks has announced its intent to acquire Ipanema Technologies, the SD-WAN (software-defined wide area network) and SASE (secure-access service edge) division of Infovista. France-based Infovista, which had already had a major stake in the ground as a service assurance company, acquired Ipanema in 2015, well before SD-WAN went mainstream a couple of years ago. Extreme will purchase Ipanema for 60 million Euros (approximately $73 million) in an all-cash transaction. The deal is expected to close in October, pending regulatory approval. Since Infovista is privately held, revenue numbers for the Infovista division are not readily known. I know that pre-pandemic, Ipanema revenue was about 40 million Euros annually but had fallen to 30 million and was probably sliding to the 20 million level. If that’s the case, the 60 million Euro purchase price is a steal and fits the mold of other Extreme acquisitions, because it is a top-tier technology that’s effectively a stranded asset inside a larger organization where it doesn’t fit. Extreme makes another strategic acquisition to fuel its businessExtreme’s addition of the WiFi business at Motorola, Avaya’s network business, and Brocade’s Ethernet products, are other examples of how the company rolls. COO Norman Rice has a knack of finding these diamonds in the rough and has used acquisitions like these to fuel the resurgence of the company. The network vendor is now past $1 billion in revenue and has become a Gartner Magic Quadrant Leader, which is impressive given the company’s bumpy past. The purchase of Ipanema is yet another example of how the company will use a modest investment to fuel another wave of growth. Ipanema isn’t the most well-known SD-WAN company, but its technology is very good. However, Infovista was not willing to make investments in the areas of sales and marketing. The company was founded in 1999 as a WAN optimization vendor, which competed with the likes of Riverbed and Packeteer. I had many engagements with Ipanema customers, and they raved about how good the tech was. Evidence of this? The company was a perennial Gartner MQ Leader for years, and this solid foundation is what it used to build its SD-WAN portfolio. More recently, the company partnered with Equinix and CheckPoint to develop a full cloud-native SD-WAN and SASE platform. This new product shifts SD-WAN to an on-demand service that can be scaled up and down like other cloud services. Ipanema has solid SD-WAN and SASE technology With this big product investment, one might wonder why sell Ipanema? The answer is focus. In a media advisory, Infovista stated: “The planned transaction is part of Infovista’s strategic transformation as it sharpens its focus on delivering its cloud-native lifecycle automation platform.” SD-WAN and SASE do not fit into that strategy. From my dealings with Infovista, this is the right move, because they should focus on service providers. The company doesn’t understand how to sell to businesses or the importance of investing in sales and marketing. Despite having a strong product, they were getting drowned in an ocean of other companies that were far better in those areas. Thus Infovista fell behind.

I expect Extreme to do big things with the Ipanema product. The investments that Infovista made in developing the cloud-native platform align nicely to Extreme’s cloud-first approach. In the short term, it’s strong enough for Extreme to sell as a standalone product, but the company does expect to have the technology integrated into its ExtremeCloud platform within a year. This also will enable Extreme to bring its AI capabilities to SD-WAN and SASE, which should add significant value to Ipanema customers. This also boosts Extreme’s total addressable market, because the combined SASE-plus-SD-WAN market could be as big as $20 billion in five years. Ipanema is well aligned with Extreme’s Infinite Enterprise VisionThe acquisition is also well aligned with Extreme’s strategy of the Infinite Enterprise, where connectivity needs to reach anywhere a worker is located. Before Ipanema, Extreme didn’t have the products to reach branch offices and home workers at scale. While there were other SD-WAN and/or SASE vendors Extreme could have purchased, I believe it was the strong cloud back end that made Ipanema so attractive. Its cloud-native software delivery platform now makes this possible and gives Extreme products that span WAN, LAN, data center, and campus–all of which can be managed via the cloud. Extreme will use Ipanema to establish a second technology innovation center in Europe. This will strengthen Extreme’s European footprint and bring into the company several service providers and managed service partners–including a couple of behemoths such as British Telecom and Orange, the enterprise division of France Telecom. More

Credit: Microsoft
Microsoft has acquired Peer5, a WebRTC-based electronic content-delivery-network (eCDN) vendor, for an undisclosed amount. Microsoft announced the Peer5 purchase on August 10. Peer5’s technology will be used to enhance live video streaming in Microsoft Teams, Microsoft officials said. Peer5’s current product runs in browsers to optimize bandwidth usage for line-of-business applications, Microsoft officials said, and its mesh networks can automatically scale as the number of viewers increases. Peer5’s technology doesn’t require additional installation on user endpoints or any changes to physical network infrastructure, officials added. While the addition of the Peer5 solution will give Microsoft its own, first-party product in this space, Microsoft will continue to support other eCDN solutions from Microsoft certified partners, officials said. Current Peer5 customers will be able to continue using their existing Peer5 services, they said.Peer5 has been touting its “seamless integration” with Microsoft’s Teams, Stream and Yammer products on its site. It also has offered legacy support for IE and live and video-on-demand support for Office 365.  Peer5, founded in 2012, has offices in Palo Alto, Calif. and Tel Aviv. According to its web site, the company’s staff has experience in big-data analytics, virtualization and networking. The company is active in the WebRTC space and a member of the W3C steering committee. More