FortiGate-VM Next-Generation Firewall Extends Support for VMware NSX-T Data Center

Today, Fortinet is announcing more extensive interoperability between Fortinet’s FortiGate-VM and VMware’s NSX-T Data Center to provide organizations centralized visibility into all workload environments. Fortinet's FortiGate-VM Next-Generation Firewall is a virtual appliance, providing interoperability with NSX-T Data Center through service insertion as a third-party edge firewall. FortiGate-VM provides protection of North-South traffic flows inside the VMware NSX-T environment for advanced end-to-end security for multi-cloud and multi-hypervisor environments.

Spotlight

Webroot

Webroot delivers next-generation endpoint security and threat intelligence services to protect businesses and individuals around the globe. Our smarter approach harnesses the power of cloud-based collective threat intelligence derived from millions of real-world devices to stop threats in real time and help secure the connected world. Our award-winning SecureAnywhere® endpoint solutions and BrightCloud® Threat Intelligence Services protect tens of millions of devices across businesses, home users, and the Internet of Things. Trusted and integrated by market-leading companies, including Cisco, F5 Networks, Aruba, Palo Alto Networks, A10 Networks, and more, Webroot is headquartered in Colorado and operates globally across North America, Europe, and Asia.

OTHER ARTICLES
Data Center Networking

5G vs. Wi-Fi 6: How Two Wireless Technologies are Revolutionizing the Internet of Things

Article | July 5, 2023

The year 2020 was supposed to be a breakthrough year for many technologies but, most businesses have now been forced back into building an infrastructure to transit their workforce to work remotely and ensure continuity of workflow. Nevertheless, an unprecedented set of events have pushed several industries to accelerate the adoption of technologies as they continue to work from home. 5G and Wi-Fi 6 are two tech advancements that have been turning eyes around the world since their introduction. The two wireless technologies are well on their way to revolutionize the Internet of Things as businesses move fast towards digitization and the world is excited. Table of Contents: - Wi-Fi 6: A Breakthrough in Wireless Technology - 5G: For a Better Connected World - How are Wi-Fi 6 and 5G Transforming the IoT? - 5G and Wi-Fi 6: Rivals or Allies? Wi-Fi 6: A Breakthrough in Wireless Technology The next-generation Wi-Fi with boosted speed was introduced last year to meet the demand for faster internet amongst the rising internet users. But, Wi-Fi 6 is simply more than a tweak in the speed. Technically called 802.11ax, Wi-Fi 6 is the advancement in the wireless standard doing the same basic things but with greater efficiency in the device-dense areas, and offering much greater bandwidth than its predecessor 802.11ac or Wi-Fi 5. Wi-Fi 6 promises a speed up to 9.6 Gbps up four times than that of Wi-Fi 5 (3.5Gbps). In reality, this is just a theoretical maximum that one is not expected to reach. Even still, the 9.6Gbps is higher speed and doesn’t have to go to a single device but split up across a network of devices. A new technology in Wi-Fi 6 called the Target Wake Time (TWT) lets routers set check-in times with devices, allowing communications between the router and the devices. The TWT also reduces the time required to keep the antennas powered to search for signals, which in turn also improves battery life. Wi-Fi 6 also comes with a new security protocol called WPA3, making it difficult to hack the device passwords by simple guesswork. In short, Wi-Fi 6 means better speeds with optimized battery lives, and improved security. 5G: For a Better Connected World 5G is the next in line to replace 4G LTE. While Wi-Fi covers small scale internet requirements, cellular networks like 5G are here to connect everyone and everything virtually on a larger scale. The technology is based on the Orthogonal frequency-division Multiplexing (OFDM) that reduces interference by modulating a digital signal across several channels. Ability to operate in both lower bands (like sub-6 GHz) and mmWave (24 GHz and above), 5G promises increased network capacity, low latency and multi-Gbps throughput. 5G also uses the new 5G NR air interface to optimize OFDM to deliver not just better user experience but also a wider one extending to many industries, and mission-critical service areas. The 5G technology, in a nutshell, has brought with it ultra-high speeds, increased and scalable network capacity, and very low latency. How are Wi-Fi 6 and 5G Transforming the IoT? 5G and Wi-Fi 6 will fill up the speed gaps that our existing networks are not able to especially, in crowded homes or congested urban areas. It's not just about the speed. The two wireless technologies will increase network capacity and improve signal strengths. On the business front, 5G and Wi-Fi 6 are both living up to the hype they created since their introduction. Wi-Fi 6 has emerged, as the enabler of converged IoT at the edge. It has put IT into OT applications, connected devices and processed data from devices such as IP security cameras, LED lighting, and digital signage with touch screen or voice command. Wi-Fi 6 can now be used in office buildings for intelligent building management systems, occupancy sensors, access control (smart locks), smart parking, and fire detection and evacuation. It’s (Wi-Fi 6) built for IoT. It will connect many, many more people to mobile devices, household appliances, or public utilities, such as the power grid and traffic lights. The transfer rates with Wi-Fi 6 are expected to improve anywhere from four times to 10 times current speeds, with a lower power draw, i.e. while using less electricity. - Tom Soderstrom, IT Chief Technology and Innovation Officer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Similarly, 5G will open doors for more devices and data. It will increase the adoption of edge computing for faster data processing close to the point of action. The hype around 5G is because of the three key attributes it comes with: enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable low-latency (uRLLC), and massive IoT device connectivity (mMTC). But there is the fourth attribute that sets it apart from its predecessor: use of a spectrum that operates at the low-end frequency range (typically 600 MHz). Called as ‘low-band 5G’, it delivers high speeds with signals that go for miles without propagation losses and ability to penetrate obstacles. The 5G operates in the new millimetre-wave bands (24 to 86 GHz) delivering more capacity to enable many low-power IoT connections. If we were to point down the benefits, these two wireless technologies are bringing to the Internet of Things those would be: Increased Human-Device Interactions Increased Data and Devices More IoT investments Advancing to the Edge Acceleration towards Industrial IoT Enhanced use of IoT devices Better VUI 5G and Wi-Fi 6: Rivals or Allies? In February, Cisco estimated that by 2023 M2M communications will contribute to 50% or about 14.7 billion of all networked connections. Cisco’s Annual Internet Report reveals that 5G will enable new IoT applications with greater bandwidth and lower latencies and will accelerate innovations at scale. The same report estimates that 10.6% of global mobile connections in 2023 will be 5G, while Wi-Fi 6 hotspots will be 11.6% of all public Wi-Fi hotspots growing 13 times from 2020 through 2023. Wi-Fi6 will serve as a necessary complement to 5G. A significant portion of cellular traffic is offloaded to Wi-Fi networks to prevent congestion and degraded performance of cellular networks (due to demand). - Thomas Barnett, Director of Thought Leadership, Cisco Systems The two technologies are here to feed different data-hungry areas with gigabit speeds. With lower deployment costs, Wi-Fi 6 will be dominating the home and business environments where access points need to serve more users covering devices like smartphones, tablets, PCs, printers, TV sets, and streaming devices. With an unlicensed spectrum, the performance of Wi-Fi 6 depends on the number of users, that are using the network at the same time. 5G, with its longer range, will deliver mobile connections and accelerate smart city deployments and manufacturing operations. Like LTE, 5G speeds will depend upon users’ proximity to base stations and the number of people using that network. The performance of the two depends largely on the area where they are being deployed. For instance, Wi-Fi can very well handle machine-to-machine communications in a managed manufacturing unit, whereas 5G can enhance campus-wide manufacturing operations efficiently. Businesses will have a decision to make which among the two wireless networks fulfils their data appetite. In conclusion, the two wireless technologies continue to develop in parallel and causing the next big wave in the Internet of Things.

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Enterprise Mobility

Demand for compute remains strong in 1Q21

Article | June 15, 2023

Demand for data center compute continues to be strong and we believe 1Q21 would have been even stronger had it not been for the semiconductor supply shortage. We learned from vendors that the flow of server CPUs out of TSMC and Intel’s fabs was steady in 1Q21 but supply of other components necessary to build a server was tight, including power semis, BMC and PCB substrate.

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Unified Communications, Network Security

Connecting the Unconnected, RuralStar Brings Digital Life to Everyone

Article | July 10, 2023

When you're immersed in ultra-fast 5G amazing services, 600 million people around the world are still blocked from accessing mobile networks. When you experience seamless online shopping and online education, 3.4 billion people worldwide have not experienced mobile Internet services. On the road where connections are not connected, no one will be left behind. We can feel the life changes by RuralStar deployment.

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How to Increase Network Security with SD-WAN

Article | August 31, 2021

Network security today is losing the battle and a lot of it is blamed upon the traditional security devices. Imagine running next-gen IT Infrastructure secured by security tools made to secure legacy IT.Data breaches have increased substantially and IT professionals are continuously looking at new ways to improve their network security. In this scenario, SD-WAN emerges as one formidable option to implementthat will bolster your network security. Table of Contents: - What is SD-WAN? - How does SD-WAN work? - What are the main benefits of SD_WAN to network security? - What are the other advantages of SD-WAN? . Let’s dig into it. What is SD-WAN? SD-WAN stands for software-defined wide area network (or networking). A WAN is a connection between local area networks (LANs) separated by a substantial distance—anything from a few miles to thousands of miles. The term software-defined implies the WAN is programmatically configured and managed. So, it can be easily adapted quickly to meet changing needs. How does SD-WAN work? An SD-WAN connects end users to virtually any application, hosted at any location (e.g., in the public cloud or a company data center), via the best available or most feasible transport service, whether that’s an MPLS (Multiprotocol Label Switching), broadband, cellular or even satellite internet link. To deliver this level of flexibility and performance to users in digital workspaces, an SD-WAN utilizes a control function that continuously analyzes traffic flows across the WAN and intelligently directs traffic in accordance with current policies. Centralized control The primary means of control in an SD-WAN is centralized. It often resides in a SaaS application running on a public cloud. Control is decoupled from the hardware to simplify network management and improve the delivery of services. SD-WAN appliances (and virtual appliances) follow operational rules passed down from the central controller. This greatly reduces or eliminates the need to manage gateways and routers on an individual basis. Multi-connection, multi-transport SD-WAN gateways support hybrid WAN, which implies that each gateway can have multiple connections using different transports—MPLS, broadband Internet, LTE, etc. A virtual private network (VPN) is typically set up across each WAN connection for security. Consequently, the SD-WAN can be an overlay spanning a diverse communications infrastructure. Dynamic path selection Another feature of SD-WAN is dynamic path selection—the ability to automatically and selectively route traffic onto one WAN link or another depending on network conditions or traffic characteristics. Packets may be steered onto a particular link because another link is down or not working very well, or to balance network traffic across all available links. SD-WAN can also identify packets by application, user, source/destination, etc. and send them down one path or another based on those characteristics. Policy-based management Policy is what determines where dynamic path selection will steer traffic and what level of priority (quality of service, or QoS) it is given. Business intentions can be implemented as policies via the central management console. New and updated policies are translated into operational rules and downloaded to all SD-WAN gateways and routers under control. For example, to ensure the best performance for VoIP and interactive web conferences, a policy may be created by giving their packets transmission priority and routing them onto low-latency paths. Cost savings can be realized by sending file back-ups across a broadband Internet connection. WAN traffic that requires a high level of security can be restricted to private connections (e.g., MPLS) between sites and required to pass through a robust security stack when entering the enterprise. Service chaining SD-WAN has the ability chain itself together with other network services. WAN optimization (acceleration) is often combined with SD-WAN to improve network and application performance. Internet traffic leaving and entering a branch office may be routed across a VPN to a cloud-base security service to strike a balance between performance, security, and cost. Read more: GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR SD-WAN: FEATURES YOU NEED TO START USING TODAY What are the main benefits of SD_WAN to network security? Eliminate VPN concerns One of the first areas in which SD-WAN impacts security is when a company uses the internet as a method of transport. Before SD-WAN came along and companies were using internet as a backup or even a primary transport method, they would build a VPN or a DMVPN to ensure secure transport of their traffic. This introduces a couple of issues, the first of which is this proliferation of VPNs that has to be managed. The company must have firewalls sitting at their data center, along with a VPN device or firewall sitting in the remote locations to be able to do these VPNs. Every site is dependent on the effort to be up on the network. - Hamza Seqqat, Director of Solutions Architecture, Apcela Failover is an issue with this VPN approach, he said. Companies can’t seamlessly failover from a fiber-based type of transport without having to strike some keys in between. It's hard and expensive to do seamless failover. “Now you don't have to have firewalls for VPNs. You don't have to worry about building your own VPNs or encrypting your traffic,” Seqqat said. “Every SD-WAN product comes with a controller that takes care of things seamlessly. That means there is this smart software-defined engine that builds all these IPsec tunnels between all the locations as soon as you plug the device in. You're not actually having to build a VPN—the controller does it automatically for you, so all you have to do is give the device an IP address or enable DHCP and let it pick an IP address from the DHCP server. Suddenly it's on the network and its building tunnels to all the sites.” He added that the SD-WAN controller builds a full mesh, so it can talk to every one of the sites without having to go back to the data center. This feature alone can reduce a company’s security footprint significantly because the site-to-site traffic becomes secure, easy, and seamless. Reduce traffic going through security A second significant benefit of SD-WAN that impacts security strategy is that it reduces the amount of traffic that needs to go through security parameters because all site-to-site traffic is encrypted. This makes security a bit easier to manage.“For a lot of companies, when they do VPNs for site-to-site traffic, they have to go through firewalls or some kind of encryption mechanism, and that increases their security footprint. It increases the complexity and the cost of security,” Seqqat said. “SD-WAN changes how traffic is routed through security.” Seqqat gave an example of a site that has a gig worth of bandwidth, and out of that gig of bandwidth, some traffic goes to the internet and some goes to site-to-site. “Without SD-WAN, generally you would have to run that whole gig through a firewall, and the firewall will split the traffic into what goes to the data center and what goes to the internet,” he said. “When you do SD-WAN, you don't have to do that. You can separate the traffic at the SD-WAN with a split tunnel, so you take half of the traffic and push it through the firewall to go to the internet and the other half goes straight site-to-site without having to go through a security parameter. Now you have a firewall to handle 500 megs as opposed to a gig, and that makes a huge difference because most security products are based on throughput and utilization. So, that can bring some cost benefits and ease management as well.” Security inherent to SD-WAN A third area where SD-WAN changes security strategy is the fact that certain security features can be implemented directly through the SD-WAN platform, which reduces costs and complexity in the actual security platform. “This depends on what aspects of security you're talking about,” Seqqat said. “For example, security is included in the Silverpeak SD-WAN product, so the Silverpeak devices really do most of the security for you. You don't have to deploy another firewall on top of that. With Versa’s SD-WAN, you can virtualize the firewall, so there’s no need to deploy physical firewalls.” For sites that simply need very basic security, SD-WAN has some inherent security capabilities. It can do things such as allow and deny certain sites and limit traffic that goes to certain sites. When you look at most SD-WAN products, you can usually kind of steer toward one or another based on your security requirements. Deploying SD-WAN in itself can really eliminate the need for security at several locations or extend the security you have been using. - Hamza Seqqat, Director of Solutions Architecture, Apcela Simplify use of security platforms In his final point, Seqqat said SD-WAN providers are making a lot of progress in partnering with both cloud security providers and cloud service providers. By making traffic encrypted and secure via SD-WAN, security platforms will only have to deal with public internet traffic. “SD-WAN providers are really working towards partnering and certifying different security products,” he said. “Consider Zscaler as an example. Some SD-WAN products automatically route all your traffic through Zscalar, which does a cloud-based security parameter before it goes out to the internet or to cloud service providers.” Seqqat said the most important part comes in the fact that Zscalar is distributed across 35 or 40 data centers that are all security parameters. “Making that routing decision as to what data center your traffic goes through before it goes out to the Internet is extremely important to performance,” he said. “If your Office 365 instance is hosted in Seattle and your users in Europe are trying to reach that, which Zscalar data center the traffic is going to go through before it goes through the Seattle instance of O365 makes all the difference in what latency is going to be at round trip. “SD-WAN provides somewhat of an automation and optimization of how traffic goes through Zscalar data centers based on performance metrics. SD-WAN can pull latency and jitter and packet loss and all that kind of stuff, so there is some intelligence that happens when a routing decision is being made as to where user traffic is going to go for security scrubbing or security features before it goes out to the cloud provider or to the Internet. That’s a huge feature that comes into play whenever you deploy SD-WAN.” Read more: FOR SERVICE PROVIDERS SD-WAN IS A MIXED BLESSING What are the other advantages of SD-WAN? SD-WAN has many advantages when implemented well: More predictable and reliable application performance, which helps support users in any digital workspace, across all connections. Superior connection security for cloud applications, without the performance tradeoffs of MPLS backhauling. Congestion reduction due to lack of bandwidth or brownouts with aggregation of bandwidth via multiple bonded and disparate or redundant links. More reliable access to apps and fewer slowdowns due to congestion. Resiliency and redundancy with fast failover when outages impact WAN connections. Quality of service for prioritizing business-critical application traffic. Fast deployments that fuel business agility when bringing applications online at a branch office, or simply changing the configurations. Zero-touch provisioning allows fast set up of sites in minutes with local staff instead of hours or days. Reduced network transport costs and more flexibility through the use of MPLS-alternatives like broadband and cellular. Quick procurement of bandwidth from multiple transport services, contrast to the long lead times needed with legacy WAN carrier-based technologies. Simplified administration with a centralized console eliminates the complexity of configuring edge devices in the field. Deep SD-WAN analytics to monitor links for performance characteristics. Analytics benefit administrators who can use them when troubleshooting problems across the WAN. Simpler branch office infrastructure that doesn’t require management of as many single-function devices Intelligent traffic steering and dynamic path selection Integrated security with leading 3rd-party solutions, including those for SaaS security Conclusion Interest in SD-WAN among organizations is on the rise, and we hope to see a tremendous rise in its adoption in network security strategies over the next few years. Vendor selection will be one of the factor for successful implementation of SD-WAN, as many are quickly developing new and effective software-defined platforms. An ideal vendor would be the one who effectively addresses your specific pain points and is able to meet your current as well as future requirements. Read more: SD-WAN SECURITY: THE IMPACT OF ORCHESTRATED SERVICES MULTIPLICITY

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Spotlight

Webroot

Webroot delivers next-generation endpoint security and threat intelligence services to protect businesses and individuals around the globe. Our smarter approach harnesses the power of cloud-based collective threat intelligence derived from millions of real-world devices to stop threats in real time and help secure the connected world. Our award-winning SecureAnywhere® endpoint solutions and BrightCloud® Threat Intelligence Services protect tens of millions of devices across businesses, home users, and the Internet of Things. Trusted and integrated by market-leading companies, including Cisco, F5 Networks, Aruba, Palo Alto Networks, A10 Networks, and more, Webroot is headquartered in Colorado and operates globally across North America, Europe, and Asia.

Related News

Enterprise Mobility,Mobile OS

MATRIXX Software’s Digital Commerce Platform Available in Microsoft’s Azure Marketplace

MATRIXX | January 27, 2023

5G monetization solutions leader, MATRIXX software, yesterday announced that the MATRIXX Digital Commerce Platform (DCP) is now available on the Microsoft Azure Marketplace, an online store providing software and services to be used with the Azure cloud computing platform. MATRIXX DCP, a cloud native monetization platform gives Communications Services Providers (CSPs) a wide range of monetization options, making it simpler to take advantage of 5G revenue prospects. By installing MATRIXX DCP on Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS), CSPs may take full advantage of the reliable Azure cloud platform's benefits for the vital goal of monetizing new and cutting-edge services. With a no-code, cloud-native, real-time platform, MATRIXX DCP, a 3GPP-compliant converged charging solution, enables telcos to monetize at web scale. With MATRIXX DCP, operators can scale swiftly in the 5G era and beyond, create differentiated digital consumer experiences, and drive innovation. Marc Price, CTO at MATRIXX Software, said, “Multi-cloud deployments are increasingly important for operators around the world, and are defining the next era of telecommunications.” He further added, “MATRIXX empowers our customers to have access to advanced monetization capabilities, wherever they choose to deploy. Microsoft is a trusted cloud ecosystem partner for CSPs, and with MATRIXX DCP in the Microsoft Azure Marketplace, telcos can easily procure and deploy monetization capabilities for emerging services.” About MATRIXX Software Matrix Software provides converged charging and commerce solutions. It’s cloud-native Digital Commerce Platform offers mission-critical, network-grade software that opens new prospects for network monetization. MATRIXX gives service providers the agility they need to quickly build, deploy, and monetize new products and services because to its no-code configuration features. Many of the world’s top IoT players, network infrastructure providers, and communications firms run on the MATRIXX platform. Utilizing business innovation and on-demand customer experience through MATRIXX enables businesses to compete better, produce new revenue, and pursue growth possibilities across markets and verticals.

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Wan Technologies,Wireless,5G

AMD and Viettel Collaborate on 5G Mobile Network Expansion

AMD | December 05, 2022

AMD and Viettel High Tech (Member of Viettel Group) today announced the successful completion of a 5G mobile network field trial deployment conducted by Viettel and powered by AMD Xilinx Zynq™ UltraScale+™ MPSoC devices. As the largest telecom operator in Vietnam serving more than 130 million mobile customers, Viettel High Tech has a rich history of using AMD radio technology with prior 4G deployments and is now accelerating new networks via new 5G remote radio heads. Designed to meet the growing capacity and performance requirements of mobile users globally, the Viettel 5G mobile network is expected to be completed by the end of 2022. AMD is the exclusive radio unit silicon supplier for Viettel’s indigenous 5G radio development. After the successful completion of the first field trial, Zynq MPSoCs are now set to be extended to an additional 300 Macro 8T8R base stations and 900 5G 8T8R Macro radios. The Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC was also chosen by Viettel for its first-generation 64T64R Massive MIMO radio which is currently being optimized for field trials. Viettel is developing the next generation of radios to also include Zynq UltraScale+ RFSoC devices, to provide industry-leading integration and higher performance. “Viettel is committed to advancing mobile technology leadership by working closely with AMD to incorporate its adaptable SoC technology into our new generation of 5G networks. Going from VHT's history of making 4G BTS, this decision to scale for the growing demands of 5G was based on evaluating various factors including flexibility, simplification, design stability and the experience of engineers.” Nguyen Vu Ha, general director of Viettel High Tech “5G provides new opportunities to offer higher levels of performance, power efficiency and new services along with increased reliability required to meet the growing data demands of cellular networks,” said Yousef Khalilollahi, corporate vice president of APAC sales, Adaptive and Embedded Computing Group, AMD. “We are proud of our close collaboration with Viettel and remain focused on enabling its mobile network to deliver the optimal end-user experience as well as the flexibility to evolve and grow as Viettel’s user base and required bandwidth continue to increase globally.” About Viettel High Tech As the R&D arm of Viettel Group, Viettel High Tech develops full 5G network architecture including 5 layers: Service/App layers, Core layers, Transportation layers, Access layers, Devices; makes Vietnam one of the few countries that can produce 5G equipment. Collaboration with the leading partners is VHT’s strategy. With the desire to experiment, exchange knowledge, further develop diverse fields, VHT is moving to accompany the international high-tech community. About AMD For more than 50 years AMD has driven innovation in high-performance computing, graphics and visualization technologies. Billions of people, leading Fortune 500 businesses and cutting-edge scientific research institutions around the world rely on AMD technology daily to improve how they live, work and play. AMD employees are focused on building leadership high-performance and adaptive products that push the boundaries of what is possible.

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Network Infrastructure,Network Management,Wan Technologies

Verizon continues to deploy 5G Ultra Wideband faster than expected

Verizon | December 06, 2022

Verizon now covers more than 175 million people with their ultra fast, ultra reliable 5G Ultra Wideband service, and will offer nationwide 5G Ultra Wideband in Q1 2023. The ongoing C-Band rollout is a full 13 months ahead of the original schedule, and continues to accelerate. Less than 21 months after announcing the results of the FCC’s C-band auction and after securing early access to an additional 30 markets this year, Verizon accelerated its build plan and surpassed its goal of reaching 175 million people covered by the end of 2022, a month ahead of schedule. “Our customers don’t stand still and neither does our network. Today, more than one out of every two Americans now have access to 5G Ultra Wideband. We know our customers rely on our service every day and we work for them – continuously enhancing, expanding and improving our wireless network. And as proud as I am to have crossed this milestone, I am equally proud of the way we are building our network – with the most advanced technologies, industry leading security, a robust fiber underpinning and a robust and varied spectrum portfolio. We are building this right. We are building this as a platform for innovation for years to come.” Hans Vestberg, Chairman and CEO of Verizon. Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband brings power and performance comparable to a wired broadband internet connection to customers’ pockets. With download speeds up to one gigabit per second and the capacity to support data-heavy actions, 5G Ultra Wideband frees people up to do things on the go that many could only do before when connected to their home internet service. This includes everything from downloading huge documents and seamlessly streaming movies in HD audio and video, to playing console quality games and conducting video chats, video conferencing and FaceTime calls with clear sound and video. Verizon customers have much more to look forward to Verizon will continue to build out its 5G Ultra Wideband network using C-band spectrum providing service for millions more customers in the coming months, but Verizon’s engineers are not losing sight of the other critical components that will give customers the most reliable, secure, and robust experience possible on the Verizon network. In addition to providing greater coverage, especially in rural and suburban areas, Verizon will also enhance capacity by activating 100 MHz of C-Band spectrum in many markets, a significant step up from the 60 MHz of spectrum available when deployment first began. Once all of its licensed spectrum is made available, Verizon will have up to 200 MHz of C-Band spectrum deployed in many markets, which will provide exceptional speed and capacity. Complementing the wide coverage of Verizon’s premier C-Band spectrum, Verizon will continue deploying 5G on mmWave spectrum which provides for exponential capacity in areas with significantly dense populations such as venues, stadiums, arenas, airports, major metro areas, office complexes and more. mmWave will also continue to be used for private network deployments when enterprise customers need the fastest, most robust 5G service available for their enterprise applications from wireless manufacturing solutions to connected vehicles to remote healthcare and more. In addition to making 5G more accessible to more people, Verizon will continue focusing on building out the advanced technologies that provide increased security, reliability and customized experiences for customers. Those advancements include fully deploying the 5G core with Verizon’s proprietary cloud platform built specifically for telco workloads, advancing the fiber network to handle exponential increases in data traffic, continuing massive virtualization of the network to add programmability and flexibility into the network, using artificial intelligence to drive reliability and performance, continuing to develop edge computing capabilities to drive down latency, and continuing to advance antenna configurations to drive speed and efficiency.

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Enterprise Mobility,Mobile OS

MATRIXX Software’s Digital Commerce Platform Available in Microsoft’s Azure Marketplace

MATRIXX | January 27, 2023

5G monetization solutions leader, MATRIXX software, yesterday announced that the MATRIXX Digital Commerce Platform (DCP) is now available on the Microsoft Azure Marketplace, an online store providing software and services to be used with the Azure cloud computing platform. MATRIXX DCP, a cloud native monetization platform gives Communications Services Providers (CSPs) a wide range of monetization options, making it simpler to take advantage of 5G revenue prospects. By installing MATRIXX DCP on Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS), CSPs may take full advantage of the reliable Azure cloud platform's benefits for the vital goal of monetizing new and cutting-edge services. With a no-code, cloud-native, real-time platform, MATRIXX DCP, a 3GPP-compliant converged charging solution, enables telcos to monetize at web scale. With MATRIXX DCP, operators can scale swiftly in the 5G era and beyond, create differentiated digital consumer experiences, and drive innovation. Marc Price, CTO at MATRIXX Software, said, “Multi-cloud deployments are increasingly important for operators around the world, and are defining the next era of telecommunications.” He further added, “MATRIXX empowers our customers to have access to advanced monetization capabilities, wherever they choose to deploy. Microsoft is a trusted cloud ecosystem partner for CSPs, and with MATRIXX DCP in the Microsoft Azure Marketplace, telcos can easily procure and deploy monetization capabilities for emerging services.” About MATRIXX Software Matrix Software provides converged charging and commerce solutions. It’s cloud-native Digital Commerce Platform offers mission-critical, network-grade software that opens new prospects for network monetization. MATRIXX gives service providers the agility they need to quickly build, deploy, and monetize new products and services because to its no-code configuration features. Many of the world’s top IoT players, network infrastructure providers, and communications firms run on the MATRIXX platform. Utilizing business innovation and on-demand customer experience through MATRIXX enables businesses to compete better, produce new revenue, and pursue growth possibilities across markets and verticals.

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Wan Technologies,Wireless,5G

AMD and Viettel Collaborate on 5G Mobile Network Expansion

AMD | December 05, 2022

AMD and Viettel High Tech (Member of Viettel Group) today announced the successful completion of a 5G mobile network field trial deployment conducted by Viettel and powered by AMD Xilinx Zynq™ UltraScale+™ MPSoC devices. As the largest telecom operator in Vietnam serving more than 130 million mobile customers, Viettel High Tech has a rich history of using AMD radio technology with prior 4G deployments and is now accelerating new networks via new 5G remote radio heads. Designed to meet the growing capacity and performance requirements of mobile users globally, the Viettel 5G mobile network is expected to be completed by the end of 2022. AMD is the exclusive radio unit silicon supplier for Viettel’s indigenous 5G radio development. After the successful completion of the first field trial, Zynq MPSoCs are now set to be extended to an additional 300 Macro 8T8R base stations and 900 5G 8T8R Macro radios. The Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC was also chosen by Viettel for its first-generation 64T64R Massive MIMO radio which is currently being optimized for field trials. Viettel is developing the next generation of radios to also include Zynq UltraScale+ RFSoC devices, to provide industry-leading integration and higher performance. “Viettel is committed to advancing mobile technology leadership by working closely with AMD to incorporate its adaptable SoC technology into our new generation of 5G networks. Going from VHT's history of making 4G BTS, this decision to scale for the growing demands of 5G was based on evaluating various factors including flexibility, simplification, design stability and the experience of engineers.” Nguyen Vu Ha, general director of Viettel High Tech “5G provides new opportunities to offer higher levels of performance, power efficiency and new services along with increased reliability required to meet the growing data demands of cellular networks,” said Yousef Khalilollahi, corporate vice president of APAC sales, Adaptive and Embedded Computing Group, AMD. “We are proud of our close collaboration with Viettel and remain focused on enabling its mobile network to deliver the optimal end-user experience as well as the flexibility to evolve and grow as Viettel’s user base and required bandwidth continue to increase globally.” About Viettel High Tech As the R&D arm of Viettel Group, Viettel High Tech develops full 5G network architecture including 5 layers: Service/App layers, Core layers, Transportation layers, Access layers, Devices; makes Vietnam one of the few countries that can produce 5G equipment. Collaboration with the leading partners is VHT’s strategy. With the desire to experiment, exchange knowledge, further develop diverse fields, VHT is moving to accompany the international high-tech community. About AMD For more than 50 years AMD has driven innovation in high-performance computing, graphics and visualization technologies. Billions of people, leading Fortune 500 businesses and cutting-edge scientific research institutions around the world rely on AMD technology daily to improve how they live, work and play. AMD employees are focused on building leadership high-performance and adaptive products that push the boundaries of what is possible.

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Network Infrastructure,Network Management,Wan Technologies

Verizon continues to deploy 5G Ultra Wideband faster than expected

Verizon | December 06, 2022

Verizon now covers more than 175 million people with their ultra fast, ultra reliable 5G Ultra Wideband service, and will offer nationwide 5G Ultra Wideband in Q1 2023. The ongoing C-Band rollout is a full 13 months ahead of the original schedule, and continues to accelerate. Less than 21 months after announcing the results of the FCC’s C-band auction and after securing early access to an additional 30 markets this year, Verizon accelerated its build plan and surpassed its goal of reaching 175 million people covered by the end of 2022, a month ahead of schedule. “Our customers don’t stand still and neither does our network. Today, more than one out of every two Americans now have access to 5G Ultra Wideband. We know our customers rely on our service every day and we work for them – continuously enhancing, expanding and improving our wireless network. And as proud as I am to have crossed this milestone, I am equally proud of the way we are building our network – with the most advanced technologies, industry leading security, a robust fiber underpinning and a robust and varied spectrum portfolio. We are building this right. We are building this as a platform for innovation for years to come.” Hans Vestberg, Chairman and CEO of Verizon. Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband brings power and performance comparable to a wired broadband internet connection to customers’ pockets. With download speeds up to one gigabit per second and the capacity to support data-heavy actions, 5G Ultra Wideband frees people up to do things on the go that many could only do before when connected to their home internet service. This includes everything from downloading huge documents and seamlessly streaming movies in HD audio and video, to playing console quality games and conducting video chats, video conferencing and FaceTime calls with clear sound and video. Verizon customers have much more to look forward to Verizon will continue to build out its 5G Ultra Wideband network using C-band spectrum providing service for millions more customers in the coming months, but Verizon’s engineers are not losing sight of the other critical components that will give customers the most reliable, secure, and robust experience possible on the Verizon network. In addition to providing greater coverage, especially in rural and suburban areas, Verizon will also enhance capacity by activating 100 MHz of C-Band spectrum in many markets, a significant step up from the 60 MHz of spectrum available when deployment first began. Once all of its licensed spectrum is made available, Verizon will have up to 200 MHz of C-Band spectrum deployed in many markets, which will provide exceptional speed and capacity. Complementing the wide coverage of Verizon’s premier C-Band spectrum, Verizon will continue deploying 5G on mmWave spectrum which provides for exponential capacity in areas with significantly dense populations such as venues, stadiums, arenas, airports, major metro areas, office complexes and more. mmWave will also continue to be used for private network deployments when enterprise customers need the fastest, most robust 5G service available for their enterprise applications from wireless manufacturing solutions to connected vehicles to remote healthcare and more. In addition to making 5G more accessible to more people, Verizon will continue focusing on building out the advanced technologies that provide increased security, reliability and customized experiences for customers. Those advancements include fully deploying the 5G core with Verizon’s proprietary cloud platform built specifically for telco workloads, advancing the fiber network to handle exponential increases in data traffic, continuing massive virtualization of the network to add programmability and flexibility into the network, using artificial intelligence to drive reliability and performance, continuing to develop edge computing capabilities to drive down latency, and continuing to advance antenna configurations to drive speed and efficiency.

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