Page 22 - SAMENA Trends - April 2020

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in May “gives us the right management HBO Max to be a “big positive for our their total monthly bill may be $15 to $20
team to strategically position our leading wireless business,” allowing the operator higher than the base unlimited package…
portfolio of brands, world-class talent and to bundle popular content as an incentive that ability to generate that additional
rich library of intellectual property for future for users to upgrade to its highest-priced revenue is significant”.
growth.” Strategy CFO John Stephens, at unlimited tariff. “They may not pay for a
an investor conference in March, tipped separate line item for that HBO Max, but

AT&T Tops US Carrier Managed AT&T has achieved the top spot carrier managed SD-WAN sites.
SD-WAN Leaderboard in the 2019 US carrier managed All remaining service providers
services
SD-WAN
are grouped in the Market Players
leaderboard
benchmark. The annual listing from classification and have a site
Vertical Systems Group named share below 1%, this includes
AT&T, Hughes, Verizon, CenturyLink, global network providers that
Windstream, Aryaka and Comcast, manage US customer sites. In
as the top seven SD-WAN service alphabetical order, the 2019 list
providers in the US. Each company includes: AireSpring, Bigleaf, BT,
holds 2% or more of installed and CBTS, Cincinnati Bell, Cogent, Colt,
billable carrier managed SD-WAN Consolidated Communications, Cox,
customer sites, which the ranking DQE Communications, FirstLight,
is based on. "The US managed SD- Frontier, Intelsat, MetTel, Neutrona,
WAN market expanded rapidly in NTT, Orange Business, PCCW Global,
2019 as backlogged orders from PS Lightwave, RCN Business, SES,
the prior year were fulfilled by key SDN Communications, Segra,
service providers," said Rick Malone, SingTel, Spectrum Enterprise,
principal of Vertical Systems Group. Sprint, Syringa, T-Systems, Tata,
"While the duration and depth of Telefonica, Telia Carrier, Veracity
the coronavirus economic collapse Networks, Virgin Media Business,
is unknown, we expect resiliency Vodafone, Zayo among others. Key
across bandwidth intensive VPN findings from the 2019 full year
markets, but acute vulnerability for research show that billable US
the SD-WAN networks supporting installations of carrier managed
the retail and travel verticals." SD-WAN services increased 89% in
Following the aforementioned top 2019 as well a number of position
seven, the listing includes a further changes from 2018. CenturyLink
five companies that achieved a moved up to fourth position, which
Challenge Tier citation, these are dropped Windstream from fourth to
Fusion, GTT, Masergy, Meriplex fifth position. Comcast moved up
and TPx – listed in alphabetical to seventh position from eighth in
order. Service providers included 2018, while Fusion dropped off the
in the Challenge Tier citation hold leaderboard into the Challenge Tier
between a 1% and 2% share of US for 2019.

AT&T Talks Up 39GHz Spectrum Position

US telecoms giant AT&T Communications spent around USD2.4 billion in the auction mmWave spectrum AT&T already holds in
has confirmed that it now holds more than – or USD1.2 billion net of its vouchers. the 24GHz band, AT&T’s average spectrum
1,040MHz of nationwide millimeter wave The value of the FCC-issued vouchers was depth in the mmWave range increased
(mmWave) spectrum, after participating determined by the auction price for the to more than 1,040MHz nationwide.
in the Federal Communications Partial Economic Areas (PEAs) in which TeleGeography notes that Auction 103,
Commission’s (FCC’s) latest frequency the pre-auction licenses were held. The which comprised spectrum in the upper
sale. Prior to Auction 103, AT&T acquired licenses AT&T won cover 411 PEAs and 37GHz, 39GHz and 47GHz bands, got
379MHz of 39GHz spectrum when it the voucher exchange process allowed underway on 10 December 2019 and
purchased FiberTower for USD207 million AT&T to secure a ‘large, contiguous block concluded on 5 March 2020. The auction
in early 2018. All 39GHz licenses held by of spectrum’. Indeed, AT&T improved its generated gross proceeds of USD7.6
AT&T prior to the auction were exchanged 39GHz spectrum position to 786MHz, billion.
for vouchers. The company subsequently an increase of 102%. When added to the

22 APRIL 2020