Telecom

XBox Live goes down globally: The game streaming service and games on devices were inaccessible as its cloud service went down. The trend of outages for high-bandwidth, high-traffic services continues.

Lower internet costs, faster speed could propel broadband adoption: The White House, members of Congress, and 20 ISPs are on board to connect low-income households, but ongoing fiber shortages could delay efforts.

omcast’s faster-than-fiber hollowcore tech could accelerate 10G adoption: Higher speed and low-latency upsides over legacy glass fiber networks could spur adoption in data center, financial services, and edge computing.

Telecom equipment facing supply scarcity, price increases: COVID closures in China, inflation, and supply chain hiccups mean ongoing uncertainty and likely delays for broadband and wireless projects waiting on materials.

Are recent video and gaming outages a sign of an overburdened infrastructure? The increase in high-resolution 4K video and demanding multiplayer games could be bogging down network connections.

Google Fi and other prepaid carriers can offer more-affordable 5G subscriptions using T-Mobile’s spectrum. Partnerships can drive down connectivity costs while ramping up 5G adoption.

Lockheed Martin becomes the DOD’s 5G integrator: 5G development can push the military’s digital transformation while partner companies build more secure solutions for consumer and private 5G applications.

Broadband funding is key focus of Biden budget: States will have funding sources even Congress challenges the proposal, but broadband infrastructure will likely continue to receive bipartisan support.

Secure private 5G networks could transform industrial communications: As more private 5G deployments in stadiums and in offices gain adoption, network-as-a-service installations can maximize what the technology has to offer.

Future Wi-Fi routers will sense movement: Smarter hotspots could find a niche in healthcare and patient-monitoring applications, but creating standards for different manufacturers’ devices to communicate will be a challenge.

AT&T’s 2.6M fiber locations boost fiber-to-the-premises growth: Government infrastructure subsidies could further accelerate the industry’s transition away from copper if funding becomes available sooner, rather than later.

Ukraine’s internet access suffering outages from Russian bombardment: Internet companies scramble to restore services but have to limit bandwidth. Skylink’s internet is helping fill gaps but could also be targeted.

US consumer data consumption is up to half a terabyte per month: Accelerating consumption is becoming unmanageable. Operators are pressured to find solutions while they scramble to improve the infrastructure.

Verizon banks on private 5G for business: The carrier’s service in BlackRock’s offices will showcase an opportunity for 5G to shine while challenging Wi-Fi’s dominance in office, enterprise, and government use.

Microsoft ramps up Azure Cloud with 5G connectivity: Last-mile edge-computing solutions can be accelerated by 5G partnerships, giving even remote Azure customers the advantage of fast access speeds.

T-Mobile expands broadband to 5 million more households, boosting access in under-tapped markets: With millions of rural Americans lacking internet access, T-Mobile and other providers are competing to expand availability.

Smartphones continue to dominate W-Fi consumption in Comcast homes: Development in Wi-Fi technologies could go a longer way than 5G investment for home broadband access.

Cloud consolidation continues with Akamai’s $900M acquisition of Linode: Can compressing cloud behemoths become unmanageable?

10M US households sign up for affordable broadband: Tens of millions of eligible households could be left behind due to service providers failing to cooperate, digital discrimination, and lack of awareness.