AT&T’s decision to buy NextWave is clearly a gamble, though insiders tell me that it’s not as much a wing and a prayer as it might seem. NextWave has a bunch of 2.3GHz spectrum (WCS or Wireless Communications Services) that was never certified for mobile use, and the payoff for the deal seems linked to…
How NSN Can Get Bought
There’s been a lot of speculation on “who will buy NSN” these days, with candidates all over the map. If you look at the mix who have been suggested or who might be logical, you see that there’s an issue in the marketplace that would have to be handicapped before you could pick from them,…
Alcatel-Lucent Eats Crow, Yahoo Eats Free, Microsoft Eats Google’s Dust
Ben Verwaayen, in an interview with the Financial Times, took responsibility for Alcatel-Lucent’s problems, which is fair given that he’s the CEO. My only issue is that I think he’s looking at the WRONG issues. Ben seems to think the problem was too much optimism two months ago. I think it was too much inertia…
Analyzing SDN’s Potential Links to Security and Management
The whole topic of SDNs has been fuzzy almost from the onset. Hopefully by now you know my own view is that SDN is a transformation of networks whose value is largely created by the transition of IT to a cloud model. In short, SDN is the network side of the cloud revolution. Because “cloud”…
Looking Beyond the Xsigo Hype
According to the running commentary after the announcement, Oracle’s purchase of Xsigo is a step toward SDNs, or maybe it’s to go after VMware in network virtualization, or to boost its cloud credentials. And I thought coverage of the Nicira deal was vacuous! Of course, the Xsigo probably doesn’t do any of these things, and…
Why Google Won’t be Lighting Up Your Ground
Google’s 1Gbps FTTH Internet service is getting ready to roll out in Kansas City (MO and KS), and of course the hype is high on this one. The idea that people could be getting Internet “twenty times” or “a hundred times” faster has obviously captivated journalists, but the truth of the deal is a LOT…
Facebook’s Cloudy, Amazon’s Clear, Juniper’s Clearing (SDN-wise)
It’s still earnings season and so we’re getting fewer product announcements and more financial ones. You can still learn a lot from the numbers, obviously, so we’ll look today at the latest revelations and what they might mean. Facebook surprised the Street with a loss, due to employee stock compensation costs. Revenue and profit ex…
Earnings from A to Z
Alcatel-Lucent reported its numbers, and as was expected based on their earlier profit warning, the results were disappointing, with the company experiencing a revenue loss and swinging to a loss on the bottom line. “…we must embark on a more aggressive transformation,” according to CEO Ben Verwaayen, referring to a restructuring plan that would cut…
Two Whiffs and a Bunt in Earnings
Earnings reports always give you something, but they don’t always give you conclusive answers. So it was yesterday with three tech companies, Apple, Netflix, and Juniper. These three players epitomize the new network ecosystem and its confusion. Apple missed, no question about it, but there is a significant question on whether the miss really means…
New Cloud Video Tutorial Series
We’re happy to announce that we have released three new video tutorials, a series on cloud computing. These are available on YouTube as follows: The Cloud Revolution Part One — http://youtu.be/cD75sF9z2FU The Cloud Revolution Part Two – http://youtu.be/VYq0s5wZdWY The Cloud Revolution Part Three – http://youtu.be/0uEK2GdvLAg You can also find the links for these videos on our new video…