Page 22 - SAMENA Trends - May 2020

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Mobility, AT&T Business, in a statement. E300 (5G Ready) and E3000 (5G Optimized) will enable an enterprise customer to
"This surge in demand underscores wireless routers. The new E3000 Series is upgrade to AT&T 5G by adding a 5G
the agility, flexibility, and speed of the latest Cradlepoint solution to target Wideband Adapter to any Cradlepoint 5G
deployment that only wireless can deliver. the LTE-based WAN market. The new Ready or 5G Optimized wireless router
It also provides validation of our expanded design provides a “branch-in-a-box” via an Ethernet connection. Cradlepoint
relationship with Cradlepoint that will solution in a compact footprint; the router doesn’t sell direct to the enterprises but
make it easier for customers to acquire is available starting at $2,023 with a one- goes to market through wireless carriers,
end-to-end wireless WAN solutions from year subscription. The company also is resellers, managed service providers and
AT&T." Under the expanded relationship, working with AT&T on 5G and providing vendors that integrate its technology into
AT&T will continue to add newly released customers a path to get there, so that their products and services. The company
Cradlepoint solutions over time, including they don’t have to rip out existing gear has about 600 employees, with about 350
the company’s recently announced 5G to get to the next-generation equipment. of them based out of its headquarters in
Wideband Adapters and next-generation In the future, the expanded collaboration Boise, Idaho.

AT&T Drops 5G Evolution Branding

AT&T bowed to pressure from advertising watchdogs around operator faced a backlash after introducing the branding in 2018,
branding its LTE-A network as 5G Evolution, following concerns with competitors accusing it of false advertising. Sprint filed a
the naming could mislead consumers. An operator representative lawsuit in February 2019 to stop AT&T using the term, but later
told Mobile World Live it “respectfully disagrees” with National settled the case.
Advertising Review Board (NARB) conclusion, but will comply with
its direction to drop the term from TV, radio and online adverts.
NARB is the appeals division of the advertising industry’s system
of self-regulation, which is run by the Better Business Bureau
(BBB). The bureau investigated after T-Mobile US complained
about the moniker, deciding the 5G Evolution name was
“misleading” because it implied “a level of technology that AT&T’s
service does not deliver”. This view was upheld by NARB on 20
May, because the naming was “not likely to alert consumers to the
fact that the service is not 5G”. AT&T did not respond to questions
about whether the logo would be removed from phones. The

AT&T: Full Speed Ahead for 2020's Goals Despite COVID-19

AT&T has not only weathered the networking storm of the called the Open COVID Pledge to make its patents available free
coronavirus pandemic, it has also stayed on track for some of this of charge to help fight the coronavirus. Mair said AT&T generates
year's biggest goals. AT&T's Scott Mair, president of technology roughly five patents on every business day. "With the Open COVID
and operations, said in a Tuesday blog that 2020 has demonstrated Pledge, we’re also committing our patents to the world, doing
the resilience of the network that the telco first drew up over a what we can to accelerate work on medical equipment, network
half decade ago. AT&T first outlined its virtualization project back products, software and other technology that might be useful,"
in 2013 as part of its Domain 2.0 initiative. The following year it Mair said. Mair also recapped AT&T's network efforts during the
announced its goal of having 75% of its core network functions COVID-19 crisis, which have been largely successful due to its SDN
virtualized by 2020. Despite the extra work involved with enabling network. During an average business day in the pre-COVID-19
millions of employees to work from home—as well students' fourth quarter, AT&T's network carried 335 petabytes of data. With
remote learning from home—during the coronavirus pandemic, shelter in place policies across the nation, millions of employees
Mair said AT&T was still on track to hit its 75% software-defined started to work from home, which sent AT&T's core network traffic
networking (SDN) and automation goal this year. After firing up levels up by 20% "almost overnight," according to Mair. Wireless
a 400G connection between Dallas and Atlanta late last year, voice usage and video streaming usage have also soared during
Mair said AT&T was also making strides on its 400G deployment, the coronavirus pandemic, as well as the need for businesses to
which was also on top of the telco's to-do list this year. And AT&T enable more robust VPNs for their home bound employees. "In
is still planning to deliver its 5G service across the nation this the face of that historic demand, though, our network teams both
summer. "Addressing the COVID-19 surge while staying on track kept the current systems running smoothly and have continued
with our long-term goals is only possible because we’ve spent to deliver on our long-term innovation strategy," Mair said. Mair
years putting in place people and plans that can adapt, improvise, also called out AT&T's FirstNet network, which was built for first
and overcome any obstacle," Mair said in his blog. Mair also responders, and AT&T Fiber hitting its availability goal of more
announced on Tuesday that AT&T has joined a global initiative than 14 million locations.

22 MAY 2020