On December 18th, 2020, SMIC (Semiconductor Manufacturing International Company), China’s largest foundry, was added to the Bureau of Industry and Security’s (BIS) Entity List. This was not a surprising move by the US Department of Commerce given the increasing stringency and aggressiveness of the Trump Administration’s tech trade policy toward China over the last couple of years, especially with the advent of the Coronavirus Pandemic. Besides, Secretary Wilbur Ross indicated in September that SMIC would likely join Huawei on the BIS’s Entity List. What are the implications on the semiconductor industry and the future of 5G?
Category: IT Services
Industry Insight: Democratizing the Digital Twin – The Moab Foundation
The Digital Twin is considered by some the next big thing since network slicing. Rob Tiffany, renowned IoT pioneer established the non-profit Moab Foundation to bring the bigness of digital twins to do good in the world. The charter of the foundation aims to bring the benefits and enablement of IoT to bear in furthering the UN’s 17 SDG (Sustainable Development Goals).
Industry Insight: The Intersection of Space & Tech
The space industry is undergoing a great shift with some winners, some losers and significant change in the landscape. While billionaire-funded entrants like SpaceX, Blue Origin, Amazon, Virgin Galactic are shaking things up with the incumbent space industry leaders, there are many other advances being made by smaller angel and venture-funded space startups with promising potential.
Tech Insight: Converged IT/CT Service Placement
With the advent of Release 16 of 3GPP’s 5G technical specification and the introduction of SA (Standalone) 5G NR, operators can now explore the benefits of E2E network slicing. It will be critical in enabling dynamic placement of network functions across mobile network edge. But 5G is also about MEC which will converge the pipe with compute.
Industry Insight: Rakuten Rolls Out 5G
Rakuten recently launched their long-waited and highly-anticipated 5G network service. Despite a Covid-19 induced delay, Rakuten has managed to put up a 5G network in a very short time. The jury is out as to whether they have succeeded but one thing is for certain, Rakuten has proven that an industry outsider can put up a compelling offering with the help of new cloud-based and open technologies.
Tech Insight: 5G Edge Computing
Arguably, edge computing is nothing new. Depending on your domain, you are familiar with the idea of edge computing. You might say you have been doing it forever. But what makes edge computing different in the era of 5G? What is the industry getting excited about? What are the novel aspects of edge computing that will make 5G transformative.
Industry Insight: The IoT Pandemic Pivot
In the modern digital age, there has been no moment that has been as disruptive as what humanity is experiencing today amid the novel coronavirus pandemic. The IoT world has been shocked as the promise has been stripped away as enterprise budgets have withered as have their IoT ambitions. Yet, now more than ever, we need innovation. The IoT industry must adapt and rethink how they approach a very different market in a highly abnormal reality that may be with us for a while.
Tech Insight: Trust Platforms & Solutions
We are in a race against fake and the ever expanding cyber attack surface that is the Internet of pretty much everything. With the advent of DeepFakes and other artificial challenges to reality and truth, the fundamental fabric that binds our societies, our economies and our business and personal relationships is fast fraying be becoming undone. Trust will become a valuable commodity as we seek to de-risk ourselves from contrived data, dubious transactions, and questionable parties. The emergence of trust platforms are inevitable and essential for restoring and sustaining the fabrics of trust that underpin our lives and make our civilization viable.
Industry Insight: Microsoft’s Flight to the Hyper-converged Edge Cloud
In the last three months, Microsoft has been on a tear building out its portfolio of 5G core and virtualized network service management technologies having acquired Affirmed Networks, and most recently, Metaswitch. The acquisition of these telecom tech companies by the leading enterprise IT technology company and cloud service provider may seem curious at first, but these transactions highlight the acceleration of a transformative trend that we at neXt Curve dubbed Under-the-Bottom (UTB) in our 2019 technology horizon study for Ofcom, the United Kingdom’s communications and media sector regulator.
Industry Insight: Three’s Company – T-Mobile and Sprint Merger Approved
The approval of the $26.5 billion T-Mobile and Sprint merger by a federal court in New York opens the gates for a long awaited deal close. Contested by thirteen US states as a marriage that would water down competition and cause harm to the consumer, the transaction is expect to create a formidable third telecommunications player in the US market. The hopes and fears associated with the combined company will depend on thoughtful integration and realization of compelling synergies that could substantially change the competitive dynamic of the US telecommunications industry.