Five Eyes warn of Russian cyberattacks on critical infrastructure

A joint cybersecurity advisory issued by members of the Five Eyes alliance warns of increased attacks on critical infrastructure from Russia.

The Five Eyes alliance consists of the US, UK, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. Members cooperate in signals intelligence.

Canadian academic Srdjan Vucetic believes the Five Eyes’ originated from Winston Churchill's Iron Curtain speech in 1946, in which the British PM warned of open conflict with the Soviet Union unless the...

21 April 2022 | Legislation & Government

SaaS can slash telcos’ costs by 25% over 5 years 

Research from Analysys Mason suggests that communication service providers (CSPs) can achieve cost savings of around 25 percent over five years by adopting SaaS.

The research – commissioned by Nokia – makes the projection based on comparing the cost of CSPs buying, managing, and maintaining their own hardware and software infrastructure.

Justin van der Lande, Research Director at Analysys Mason, said:

“As this research shows, there are many factors that...

19 April 2022 | Networks

Huawei reportedly halts Russian sales and furloughs staff

Chinese telecoms giant Huawei has reportedly halted sales in Russia and furloughed some of its staff in the country.

Following the decisions this week by Ericsson and Nokia to cease operating in Russia, the country was expected to turn to Chinese vendors like Huawei for network equipment.

Huawei has regularly been accused of having close ties with Beijing, a close ally of Moscow. Beijing has refused to condemn the Kremlin not just for its illegal invasion of Ukraine but...

13 April 2022 | Networks

Ericsson announces ‘indefinite suspension’ of its Russian business

Ericsson has announced an “indefinite suspension” of its business in Russia following the country’s invasion of Ukraine.

The uncovering of further war crimes by Russian forces in areas like Bucha and Irpin has led to additional sanctions from much of the international community. Sweden-based Ericsson says the EU’s increased sanctions played a part in its decision.

In a statement, Ericsson wrote:

“In the light of recent events and of European Union...

11 April 2022 | Networks

CityFibre attracts over £1.4B in ‘largest-ever’ raise for UK full-fibre

CityFibre has attracted over £1.4 billion in the “largest-ever capital raise” for a UK full-fibre deployment.

The milestone was reached following a further equity commitment of £300m from its existing shareholder, Mubadala Investment Company.

Greg Mesch, Chief Executive at CityFibre, said:

“Mubadala’s confidence in our business is testament to our growing momentum and progress.

The need and appetite for carrier-neutral wholesale network...

21 March 2022 | Broadband

To win at 5G, signalling must be a top priority

We are a few years into the 5G era, and all eyes are on the immense benefits and new service opportunities 5G will bring to Communication Service Providers (CSPs). These are the direct result of standards organizations evolving the role of mobile networks beyond just voice, text and data.

5G represents a new way of designing communication networks and opens the door to completely new services that include location services, low latency, ultra-reliability and high bandwidth for...

16 March 2022 | 5G

European operators want platforms to contribute towards infrastructure

A number of large European operators are calling for content platforms to contribute towards the cost of infrastructure.

In a joint statement, the CEOs of Vodafone, Telefónica, Deutsche Telekom, and Orange have expressed their opinion that content platforms should contribute towards building the connectivity infrastructure they rely on.

“The current situation is simply not sustainable. The investment burden must be shared in a more proportionate way,” claim the...

15 February 2022 | 5G

Vodafone opens R&D centre to design its own Open RAN chips

Vodafone has opened Europe’s first dedicated R&D centre to help the operator design its own Open RAN chips.

Open RAN helps to break up the relative monopoly held by a handful of telecoms equipment vendors and provide greater diversity in national infrastructure.

An increasing number of governments and operators are supportive of Open RAN for its benefits of helping to lower costs, prevent vendor lock-in, and lessen the impact of decisions like banning Huawei from...

31 January 2022 | Networks

Three and EE to provide Tube-wide connectivity

Three and EE have agreed a deal to join the BAI Communications (BAI) network that will provide 4G (and later 5G) connectivity across the London Tube.

Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, said: “I’m delighted to see Three and EE sign up as the first operators to provide full high-speed 4G access across the tube network. This will make a huge difference to passengers, allowing them to make calls, read emails and check travel information while on the move.

“Investing in...

21 December 2021 | Networks

Germany warns that Open RAN poses a security risk

Germany doesn’t agree with the assessment that Open RAN (O-RAN) provides a more secure alternative to certain vendors.

A US-led campaign warning that Chinese vendors such as Huawei pose a security risk led many governments to ban or restrict the use of such equipment in national infrastructure. The exile of vendors that have provided equipment for multiple generations of networks has been costly for operators and set back their rollouts.

O-RAN has been hailed as the...

24 November 2021 | 5G