• T-Mobile US hangs its telco cloud on Red Hat
• Infinera’s sale to Nokia is about to close
• Zayo hits a high note with Infinera
• 6G is popular today

In today’s industry news roundup: Red Hat lands cloud platform gig at T-Mobile US; Nokia is set to close its acquisition of Infinera before the end of this month; Zayo hits 1 Tbit/s per wavelength with Infinera’s help; 6G is hot; and much more!

T-Mobile US has selected Red Hat as its preferred common telco cloud technology partner. The US operator will use Red Hat OpenShift across its core and edge infrastructure. “T-Mobile’s multipurpose cloud will bridge us from a traditional telco to a dynamic techco, exposing previously untapped innovation while enhancing operational efficiencies,” noted Lori Ames, senior VP of cloud, IP & transport technology at T-Mobile US. “By partnering with best-in-class providers like Red Hat to leverage cloud-native agility, automation and AI-driven insights, we’re redefining connectivity for the digital economy by meeting our customers where they need us.” Fran Heeran, VP of Global Telecommunications at Red Hat, stated: “As telecommunications service providers face increasing demands for cloud flexibility, consistency and cost optimisation, Red Hat OpenShift provides a standardised, scalable foundation to drive efficiency and innovation. By collaborating with T-Mobile to power its common telco cloud, Red Hat will help unlock new opportunities for streamlined operations, faster service delivery and a simplified approach to managing diverse workloads across the core network. Together, we’re enabling a flexible, carrier-grade platform that not only meets today’s needs but lays the groundwork for tomorrow’s advancements.” The engagement is a significant feather in Red Hat’s cap (yes, I went there!) as telcos the world over are currently making very key decisions about their future cloud architectures and, right now, the two leading non-traditional telco infrastructure vendor contenders to pick up this business are Red Hat and Wind River: Until recently, VMware was a contender too but it has now abandoned its telco-specific business, a decision that in part led to its replacement by Wind River at Boost Mobile (Dish Wireless). 

Infinera believes its acquisition by Nokia will be completed on, or by, 28 February (so expect some sort of hastily-created banners on the show floor at MWC25… I think it would be wise to call the merged company Nokinera). But seriously, folks… Nokia first announced its plan to acquire Infinera for $2.3bn in June 2024, so that would be a very quick ‘closure’. Since then we’ve heard quite a bit about how Infinera is going to help Nokia in its quest to mine some sales growth from the datacentre infrastructure ‘fabric’ market and, right now, that is looking like a good place to go hunting for new sales because it seems nearly every investor these days is pumping their funds into AI development and infrastructure, so there’s going to be a lot of intra-datacentre networking to be deployed and optical technology is looking like a very decent fit. For more on how Infinera fits into Nokia’s strategy, and how the vendor is benefitting from its broad product portfolio (especially in fixed data networking), see Nokia propped up by its portfolio play.

Speaking of Infinera… It’s not only hot on intra-datacentre optical systems but has long been a significant player in long-haul optical transport infrastructure too: That is also a growth sector, as existing and new datacentres are in need of fatter and fatter pipes running in and out of their buildings. The vendor’s long-haul prowess has been on show with US long-distance data network operator Zayo, which has just completed a live network trial using Infinera’s ICE7 technology to enable “1 Tbit/s single 150GHz wavelength transmission over 1,391 kilometres (km) on a major North American route between Sacramento, California and Salt Lake City.” That’s just the capacity on a single wavelength, of which there are many running along each optical fibre line thanks to the technical wonders of dense wave division multiplexing (DWDM). As Infinera notes, Zayo now has the ability to achieve network capacity of 32 Tbit/s in the C band (the conventional band, 1530-1565nm, which is the primary wavelength band for optical communications) and the ability to double that to 64TBit/s in the L band (long band, 1565-1625nm). “With the rapid growth in capacity needs due to high-bandwidth applications like AI, Zayo actively seeks innovative solutions to deliver superior performance of our network by increasing capacity, capability and reach,” said Aaron Werley, SVP of engineering at Zayo. “This successful test highlights how Zayo’s network is, and will continue to be, well positioned to easily meet increasing customer demands. We are pleased with the performance of Infinera’s ICE7 optical engine. Technology like this that can easily integrate into our existing infrastructure is critical to Zayo’s mission to expand and create capacity across North America in support of our customers’ critical connectivity needs,” added Werley. Just a few weeks ago, Zayo unveiled plans to build more than 5,000 fibre route miles in the US “to meet the growing demands of AI workloads”. 

It’s a big day for the industry sharing its thoughts on 6G… Just as the NGMN issued its latest paper, and TelecomTV revealed the schism amongst its DSP Leaders Council members on the topic of 6G R&D commitments, the European Union’s Radio Spectrum Policy Group (RSPG) published a 49-page report outlining its 6G strategic vision. “The RSPG work programme 2024-2025 recognises that a proactive position is essential for supporting the development and deployment of 6G in Europe,” stated the group, which comprises representatives from EU nation telecom regulators and policymakers. “Early recognition of spectrum needs will facilitate the initial launch and operation of 6G networks/services from 2030,” it added. So, currently, 2030 is still seen as the year when commercial 6G services might hit the mainstream. Why the current flood of 6G activity? Well, we’re less than two weeks away from MWC25 in Barcelona, where 6G is set to be one of the major talking points, and we’re also less than three weeks away from the 3GPP’s 6G Workshop, where key discussions will begin on what exactly should be included in the specifications body’s work over the next five years in Release 20 and 21. And just weeks ago, European specifications body ETSI established a new Industry Specification Group (ISG) focused on Multiple Access Techniques (MAT) for 6G mobile systems in an effort to “build industry consensus on innovative multiple access techniques, based on 3GPP specifications.” 

The industry isn’t only getting its head around 6G, of course – there’s also the non-trivial matter of how to source, store, use and share data, especially in light of the increasing use of AI and the importance of automation. With that in mind, ETSI has established a new Technical Committee on Data Solutions (TC DATA) “aimed at advancing data-driven technologies and supporting the development of new industry standards. TC DATA will provide a centre of expertise in data infrastructures, services, and applications, developing data solutions specifically designed to support services for IoT, telecommunications systems and networks, as well as human services and other industries,” noted ETSI in this announcement. “The widespread adoption of artificial intelligence and machine learning means we have reached a tipping point where data access through open and transparent frameworks is now more important than ever before,” stated David Boswarthick, director of strategy and innovation at ETSI. “The TC DATA is an important initiative designed to balance the technical needs of data interactions in a way that is also respectful of legal, ethical, and individual rights. Global collaboration is critical to develop standards that will enable data sharing that has reliability, privacy and security at its core,” he added. 

 – The staff, TelecomTV