Month: April 2021

T-Mobile US–Lumen Alliance Combines 5G and Edge: Is a Merger the Next Logical Step?

by , posted in Net Transformation
John Byrne – Service Director, Global Technology Telecom and Software

Summary Bullets:

• T-Mobile US and Lumen announced an alliance in April to sell packages of edge computing services and 5G wireless to enterprises in the U.S.

• The venture leverages the strengths and blunts the weaknesses of both companies. Longer-term, it could lead to a merger that would enable both companies to compete more effectively against AT&T and Verizon.

T-Mobile US and Lumen Technologies announced in April that they will embark on a strategic alliance to help business customers build, manage, and scale applications across distributed environments. The partners note that enterprise applications would benefit from Lumen’s hundreds of thousands of fiber-connected enterprise locations paired with T-Mobile’s large and fast 5G network. T-Mobile will also become a preferred wireless connectivity partner for Lumen, allowing for a more flexible and reliable connectivity solution for all enterprises. Continue reading “T-Mobile US–Lumen Alliance Combines 5G and Edge: Is a Merger the Next Logical Step?” →

Why It’s Already Time to Start Talking About 5.5G

by , posted in Net Transformation, Ultra Broadband, Vendor Transformation
Ed Gubbins, Principal Analyst

Summary Bullets:

• Huawei has begun promoting “5.5G,” assigning it three new capabilities related to faster uplink, real-time broadband, and harmonization

• 5G is already evolving faster than 4G; going forward, the conventions of technology branding may change

For much of the previous decade, the mobile telecom industry promised that 5G would arrive in 2020. Now we’re only a few months past 2020, and we’re starting to hear more about the next steps: 6G won’t arrive until 2030, but in 2025, there’s 5.5G. Continue reading “Why It’s Already Time to Start Talking About 5.5G” →

Huawei Annual Report Shows Increasing Reliance on Home Market in Response to Geopolitical Challenges

by , posted in Vendor Transformation
John Byrne, Service Director

Summary Bullets:

  • Huawei posted modest growth in 2020 despite pandemic-related challenges; however, the company relied heavily on its domestic market while revenue outside China declined significantly.
  • The Chinese market alone makes Huawei one of the largest ICT providers in the world; however, the company’s global supply chain will continue to pose significant challenges.

The 2020 annual report released by Chinese telecommunications vendor Huawei Technologies shows the company’s share of revenue coming from its home market rose sharply in 2020, increasing to nearly two-thirds of total revenue. In total, Huawei reported revenue of CNY 891.4 billion, or $136.7 billion, in 2020. The company managed to increase revenue nearly 4% compared to the prior year – an impressive feat in the midst of a global pandemic. Continue reading “Huawei Annual Report Shows Increasing Reliance on Home Market in Response to Geopolitical Challenges” →