Aug 17, 2023

These Two Regions Account For About 65% of the World’s Cloud Data Centers

Cloud services have become a critical component of many enterprises' data management. And how enterprises reach the cloud service providers' data centers has become an important issue.

Traditionally, the plain old internet sufficed. But there's more than one way to skin a cat.

Aug 15, 2023

Target Acquired: e& Sets Its Sights on Europe

United Arab Emirates (UAE) telco e&—formerly known as Etisalat Group—is slowly but surely building a presence in Europe.

Aug 8, 2023

How the Cost of Network Ownership Can Change Over Time, Part 2

In case you missed it, we’re looking back at some previous hypothetical network scenarios to see how the cost of network ownership can change over time.

In last week’s blog, Senior Research Manager Brianna Boudreau explored our first tiered scenario, which takes a conservative approach to integrating internet services and SD-WAN into the WAN.

If you haven’t read it yet, I encourage you to start there. Brianna’s post also provides important context about our hypothetical network and baseline dual MPLS network.

For Part 2 of this analysis, I'll map out a second, less conservative tiered approach, then switch gears to our Remote Hybrid Network.

Let’s dive in.

Aug 3, 2023

How the Cost of Network Ownership Can Change Over Time

Enterprise customers have embraced hybrid networks that employ multiple underlay technologies combined with an SD-WAN overlay. And for good reason.

Many SaaS applications and cloud services have been optimized to work over local internet connections rather than through central internet breakouts. The integration of an SD-WAN overlay addresses many of the concerns about network performance and security that come along with incorporating internet into the WAN.

And as we detailed in our recent blog series, the DIA and broadband services included in these hybrid networks are often cheaper than MPLS–sometimes considerably so. This allows WAN managers to reduce network spend or increase their capacity while staying within the same budget.

But even after enterprise customers have undergone a network transformation, it is still imperative for them to keep tabs on the market and assess what their network should cost. Particularly if their network contract includes a benchmarking clause.

With the latest update of our enterprise port pricing, we looked back at some previous hypothetical network scenarios to see how the cost of network ownership can change over time.

Jul 26, 2023

Deal or No Deal? Meet the Regional ISPs Driving M&A in Brazil

Earlier this month, Brazilian regional ISPs Vero Internet and AmericaNet agreed to merge their respective operations.

Vero currently ranks as the seventh-largest ISP in Brazil; AmericaNet is eleventh. The enlarged entity will jump to fifth place in the fixed broadband market.

The deal seems highly likely to spark further consolidation. Regional fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) players have flourished in recent years, with a number of fast-growing ISPs snapping up operations in and around their regional strongholds.

As of May 2023 (most recent official data), 16 Brazilian ISPs served more than 250,000 subscriptions, suggesting the time is right for a sustained period of M&A activity.

Let’s take a look at the companies that have been driving M&A in Brazil in recent years.

Jul 20, 2023

Content Providers Are Still Hungry for Bandwidth

Earlier this week, I joined Ciena and Telstra for a live webinar highlighting Asia-Pacific market drivers, trends, and new cable builds.

During my session, which focused on Trans-Pacific submarine cable trends, content providers came up quite a bit.

These companies prioritize the need to link their data centers and major interconnection points. As such, they often deploy massive amounts of capacity on core routes.

The Trans-Pacific and Intra-Asia routes are two great examples.

Jul 13, 2023

How Telefonica Embraced Strategic Alliances To Boost Fiber Coverage in Latin America

Earlier this month, international telecom group Telefonica entered into its fourth Latin American fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) joint venture (JV).

The deal was sealed in Peru after Telefonica agreed to terms with investment firm KKR and Peruvian telco Entel.

This new fiber-based JV follows earlier agreements in Brazil, Chile, and Colombia. Let’s take a closer look at Telefonica’s strategy and examine the scope of the networks in question.

WAN
Jul 12, 2023

SD-What? A Quick Explanation of What SD-WAN Is and How It’s Deployed

Corporate traffic patterns continue to change. And static, single technology transport networks designed to secure internal corporate communications no longer meet network requirements.

Today they are being replaced by dynamic, hybrid, application-aware networks.

These new WANs are intelligent at the edge. They are able to categorize data and route it over a variety of transport types based on policy or application performance requirements. And they ensure a high-quality, secure experience to users regardless of their physical location, access device, or application location.

One innovation assisting WAN managers in deploying hybrid networks—while also ensuring the security and performance of their network—is SD-WAN.

Jul 6, 2023

What’s the Difference Between FTTC, FTTN, and FTTP?

There are a lot of acronyms used in the telecommunications space, and it can be tough to keep them straight.

Thanks to TeleGeography's new acronym cheatsheet, you don't have to.

Mixing up FTTC, FTTN, and FTTP, for example? NBD, we've got you covered.

Jun 28, 2023

Chinese Checkers: Will the EU Block Huawei and ZTE From 5G Rollouts?

In the last few years, Huawei, ZTE, and other Chinese equipment suppliers have come under increasing scrutiny due to alleged links with the Beijing government, raising serious security concerns for Western powers.

Following the U.S. government's ban on Chinese 5G technology, China-based vendors now face problems elsewhere.

The European Union (EU) is considering an outright ban of Chinese equipment across Europe’s 5G networks.