Carl Weinschenk

Mobile World Congress (MWC) is being held this week in Barcelona. The big news, not surprisingly, centers on 5G. The question is whether the announcements are more hype, more substance, or an equal measure of each. Nokia unveiled an end-to-end 5G system, according to WirelessWeek. The 5G FIRST platform includes its AirScale and AirFrame technology, […]

The Carrier Ethernet (CE) market is either doing well or undergoing challenges. It all depends on who you talk to. The category has been hot for several years, taking advantage of the same basic Ethernet protocols that dominate home and business local-area networks (LANs). There are many differences between the Ethernet used inside homes and […]

It is not surprising that the race to 5G is accelerating: A tremendous amount of money is on the table and very powerful and smart players are lining up to try to win it. The latest sign that the progress is being made is the announcement this week that Verizon, in conjunction with Samsung and […]

A relatively new field, Robotic Process Automation (RPA), is best thought of as robotics. The key difference is that the thing being manipulated at lightning fast speeds is data, not automobiles or electronics. RPA is the performance by bots of repetitive rules-based processes that involve databases and other forms of structured data (such as data […]

ARRIS announced yesterday that it is acquiring Brocade Communications Systems’ Ruckus Wireless and ICX switch business for $800 million and other considerations related to Broadcom’s acquisition of Brocade. An important rationale for the deal, according to the press release, is the expansion of ARRIS’ converged wired and wireless network offerings. The specific goal of ARRIS […]

The transition of cellular networks from primarily serving people to linking billions of Internet of Things (IoT) sensors and associated gear is complicated because the needs of each differs. A container reporting in from a ship in the middle of the ocean has little in common with smart city traffic lights that must be automatically […]

Cellular carriers no doubt are working hard at developing their 5G systems. There is, after all, plenty of money on the table. There is also plenty to do: The new standard, which promises to just about wipe away the gap between wireless and wired connections, will be a huge step forward. It is a very […]

Look! Up in the Sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s a stationary balloon or drone capable of providing low-cost and backup voice and data services! A post credited to Google’s “Astro Teller,” actually, Eric Teller, explains a breakthrough by Project Loon, which is an initiative from Google’s “X” division that aims to use […]

Charter Communications said this week that it is considering use of fixed wireless to buttress its business services. During its fourth quarter earnings call, CEO Tom Rutledge said that the MSO could use the technology in malls or business parks, according to FierceTelecom. The story does not specify that 5G would be the foundation of […]

A fear of just about everyone, from local municipalities to the federal government to private citizens, is cyberattacks on critical infrastructure. Trend Micro this week released a report touching on the topic that came to a somewhat surprising conclusion. Smaller municipalities are leaving themselves more vulnerable than larger ones. Network World’s report on the study […]

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers’ (IEEE) ongoing 802.11 program, Wi-Fi, is one of the most successful and impressive long-term development cycles in the annals of technology. Wi-Fi has made so much possible that it is hard to even create a list. And the hits keep coming. 802.11ax, which has been under development for […]

AT&T said today that it will launch networks capable of providing 1 gigabit per second (Gbps) connectivity in Columbia, SC; Jackson, MS; Knoxville, TN; Milwaukee and Shreveport. By the end of February, it will provide all-fiber networks in 51 metro areas across the country. AT&T claims that its all-fiber networks now pass almost 4 million […]