Telecom Reseller / Technology Reseller News

Publisher’s Note: I recently attended a 5G conference. Historically, we have reported on UC and UC related news. Over the past decade, mobility has made for itself a major presence in the workplace. The advent of the iPhone, the rise of inexpensive ubiquitous devices, the acceptance of SMS as an acceptable and even desirable form of business communications and the integration of mobility apps with enterprise operations, has made the phone in your pocket an extended part of the office. What happens when 5G increases the capacity of exiting mobile carrier networks by tenfold? Just as the iPhone was much more than a variance of the Blackberry, does 5G disrupt more than just how we make mobile calls or access the mobile date network? In this podcast I interview Solomon Zhangxiongfei, Marketing Director of Latin America from Multimedia Productline about a device from ZTE called ZXV10 S200. The S2000 is primarily a consumer device, basically offering the possibility of taking 5G from the carrier and delivering TV and other services, right over the 5G wireless network. The S2000 is what we might be expecting as the next step towards the what ZTE calls “Smart Life”. I decided to bring TR readers this podcast because I think this device, or something like it, could also be rolled out to change how we communicate on an enterprise campus. How far will 5G change the enterprise in the new 2020s?

Telia Carrier is a global operator with over 2,000 customers in over 120 countries. Mattias Fridström, vice president and chief evangelist at Telia Carrier goes on to tell Don Witt of The Channel Daily News, a TR publication, how Telia Carrier, having started in the 90s, was a pioneer of the internet.

Mattias Fridström

Mattias continues by explaining what big challenges Telia Carrier is currently seeing in the industry as well as some of the emerging trends Telia Carrier is expecting to see in 2020?

Mattias provides an excellent overview of the Proof of Concept demonstration Telia Carrier was participating in alongside Infinera and CenturyLink at MEF19.

Lastly, Mattias comments on the intercarrier standard being worked on by MEF and how it will impact the efficiencies of the internet and intercarrier cooperation.

Inter-dependence defines the global Internet. Content needs an audience and vice-versa. The Telia Carrier job is to bring them together. They let the world’s largest operators, content providers and organizations access-all-areas with their IP transit services. They transport 12 billion minutes of voice per year.  They let people roam like they never left home thanks to their global IPX backbone. They connect high-volume, business-critical content and applications to media-hungry audiences all over the world.

Their network now stretches 65,000 kms, linking 300+ PoPs. Plugging into their global backbone connects you directly to more than 2,000 Wholesale customers in 120 countries. And their transit customers announce more than half the routes in the global routing table, advertising more address space than any other carrier. Telia Carrier has always ranked among the top carriers in the world, and in recent years they've grabbed the top ranking.

For more information, go to: https://www.teliacarrier.com/

Rob Shore of Infinera identifies to Don Witt of The Channel Daily News, a TR publication, what are the big challenges in optical networking space that Infinera is trying to solve. Rob also discusses some of the big innovations that we can expect from Infinera in the coming months.

With the magnitude of changes occurring in today’s communications, it is hard for carriers to stay ahead of the curve. Rob provides some insight on how global networks will behave in a 5G-driven data era and how Infinera solutions can optimize network performance.

Rob continues with some of the important technology trends in the optical connectivity space that are shaping business dynamics for tomorrow's telecoms and CSPs.

Rob Shore

Infinera Participates in the Proof of Concept demonstration with CenturyLink and Telia Carrier at MEF by adding artificial intelligence and machine learning to assist the currently automated establishment of connectivity and restoration activities.

Infinera is a global supplier of solutions that provide the resilient foundation for the largest and most demanding Tier 1 carrier, internet content provider, cable operator, government, and enterprise networks worldwide. With a distinguished heritage of technology innovation, their end-to-end, multi-layer packet optical and IP transport solutions enable network operators to scale network bandwidth on demand, accelerate service provisioning, and automate operational tasks.

Their solutions portfolio includes optical line systems, packet optical transport systems, compact modular platforms, carrier-grade routers, and management and automation solutions.

For more information, go to: https://www.infinera.com/

What is Virtual LAN segmentation and how does it compare with physical segmentation? As customers modernize from analog/digital to IP voice, whether in the Cloud or on-premise, voice is being layered on to a network not designed for voice. The result can be a set of challenges: QoS issues, poor performance and reliability, more complex network management, and voice and data teams at odds with one another. In this podcast John Croce, CEO of NVT Phybridge takes a look at these issues and then explores options. Croce quotes Albert Einstein, saying that “you cannot solve a problem using the same kind of thinking that was used to create it”. Croce challenges the notion that VLAN is it the most effective strategy, since VLAN's are using the same thinking to solve a problem that created the problem. Physically separate networks may provide a better alternative. Croce outlines the NVT Phybridge approach that has provided a more robust option but also significant savings, since it leverages existing infrastructure and is compatible with major voice platforms, such as Cisco, Avaya, and Mitel. To learn more, visit www.nvtphybridge.com.

“We really get to know our customers,” says David Boyd, Owner of InBound. Boyd says that InBound takes a fresh look at customer need by looking at business communications from a business process point of view. Indeed, Boyd brings a background in process engineering to UC, plus a background in business. “I grew up in corporate America,” says Boyd where he learned process engineering while working at GE. Since venturing out on his own, Boyd looks at the simple phone call and other business communications as a process and has designed his company to do much more than provide a communications system to customers. In this podcast, we hear about Boyd’s background and work experiences and how he built a new approach to UC. Boyd listens for the words, “that’s the way we’ve always done it” as a sort of map to find what’s broken and then works to build a customized solution that takes his customer to another place. We also learn how Boyd company leverages their SkySwitch partnership as a way to offer customized tools.

Visit http://www.callinbound.net

Based in the UK, Colt was started about 27 years ago. During that time, it has grown to become a global carrier and a provider of quality solutions. Mirko Voltolini, Global Head of Network on Demand, goes on to explain to Don Witt of The Channel Daily News, a TR publication, how they have established over 900 datacenters servicing over 212 major cities with 50 being dense metro areas. With their entry into the United States, they have turned up over 30 datacenters during the past year.

Mirko Voltolini

Fiber and their worldwide network provide key advantages for service providers looking to improve performance and expand operations.  The Network On Demand component and the ease with which providers can expand their network when a new customer is added in a different part of the world, without first spending capital and significant lead time, is a true added value to a providers current network portfolio.

If you are a provider or an agent, Colt is looking to expand its channel in the United States.

Colt is a strong supported of MEF and has been enjoying the show in LA this week while helping MEF to develop and maintain standards.

Cloud computing is fast becoming a significant part of your global IT strategy to get well known benefits: flexibility, scalability and cost efficiency. However, your IT is only as good as the quality of its connections and you know that a re-architected network is slow, costly and complex. Colt has changed that with Colt On Demand Services.  Colt gives you control over your network and enables you to provision the connections you need in real-time.

Colt is the first carrier in Europe to disrupt today’s network services at this scale. This innovation is now possible by leveraging SDN (Software Defined Networking) and NFV (Network Function Virtualization) technologies.

For more information, go to: https://www.colt.net/

“I think it’s a boon to everyone,” says David Portnowitz, Chief Marketing Officer at Star2Star. In this podcast we learn how Portnowitz sees the recent Avaya-RingCentral announcement marks a critical milestone in the development of the cloud market. Portnowitz discusses how UCaaS is now ascendant and what that means to the partner, MSP and end user UC communities. We learn about the new opportunities available to the Avaya partner community and also the importance of going beyond traditional sales habits. On the one hand, Portnowitz says dealers need to know that the “adopt or die” moment may have come, but at the same time the triumph of the UCaaS model is transformative for everyone in the UC market.

David Portnowitz

 

Visit www.star2star.com/ringcentral-avaya

According to Ian Kieninger, CEO of AVANT Communications, the Avaya and RingCentral agreement marks a milestone moment in the transformation of the UC market. In this podcast, Kieninger makes the case that UCaaS has entered a new era, marked by a more rapid adoption of cloud services by end users. He also points out that that the Avaya and RingCentral agreement amounts to a master agreement, with Avaya playing the role of agent, offering their massive installed based as potential new customers for RingCentral. Kieninger discusses how the modern Master Agent offers the channel and the end user certain advantage, and we learn about AVANT Communications specific value proposition.

Visit https://goavant.net/

“Our target audience for our newest software packages are in the wheelhouse of the CCA (Cloud Communications Alliance),” says Alan Percy, CMO of TelcoBridges. “They’re mostly being deployed either in virtualized or in full cloud environments,” says Percy. In this podcast, Percy discusses TelcoBridges FreeSBC and ProSBC offerings and what these approaches to cloud communications hold as solutions for the CCA and CCA’s constituent community of service provider companies. Percy looks forward to contributing to the alliance, share use cases, and develop content, all while “rubbing elbows” with some of the most outstanding companies in the field. Percy also discusses how he sees CCA as a resource to building channel relationships. Percy applauds the CCA’s efforts to bring best practices to the industry, and its leadership in challenges such as the robocall issue.

https://www.telcobridges.com/

“You simply look up the call”

At last week’s Microsoft Ignite, Nectar announced their Diagnostics for Teams Direct Routing, providing IT administrators complete visibility into critical factors that impact the health of the communications network and ultimately end-user experiences. The solution offers advanced support for Microsoft Phone System Direct Routing associated with Microsoft Teams, and is Nectar’s first step in a comprehensive Microsoft Teams support strategy to be expanded in the coming months.

In this podcast Tim Armstrong, VP of Product Marketing at Nectar outlines the issues surrounding Microsoft Teams Direct and how Nectar Diagnostics for Teams Direct Routing meets an urgent need. Armstrong discusses what the service delivers and explains what life with Teams, without Nectar Diagnostics for Teams Direct Routing might look like. “It’s a very long process to go back and try and capture and troubleshoot some of these issues,” is how Armstrong describes the diagnostic process without Nectar’s new product. Armstrong points out that with Nectar Diagnostics,”… you simply look up the call”.

Visit Nectar Services Corp.