Windstream Enterprise has upgraded its Mitel 4.1-powered XCaaS -- "any communications as a service" -- offering, which gives midsize and large companies greater customer contact abilities across voice, digital and open-media channels. The company is seeking to differentiate its service from those of other Mitel providers.
Nokia has added new application-specific integrated circuits to its portfolio of G.fast and VDSL2 offerings. The second-generation ASIC chips are said to provide greater vectoring processing power to eliminate cross-talk interference and to improve data transmission speeds.
Officials in Austin, Texas, concede the city has fallen behind others in the state in approving licenses to carriers to provide 5G service, acknowledging they have lagged federal and state guidelines. Telecoms say the bureaucratic slowdown has affected small-cell installations.
Join USTelecom and honored guests Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and Federal Communications Commission Commissioner Brendan Carr to hear about the significant opportunities supported by broadband through continued investment, partnerships and innovation. Attend in-person or online. Thursday, Oct. 18 at 12:00 p.m. Eastern. Register now.
Walmart reportedly is exploring the potential of using its Vudu video service as a reseller for other companies' channels, offering customers the chance to pay for add-on services such as Starz or HBO Now. The retailer is seeking ways to steer customers who traditionally bought DVDs at Walmart stores toward online purchases.
Qualcomm has developed its first 802.11ay 60GHz Wi-Fi chipsets for WiGig devices, allowing for speeds of up to 10 Gbps and latency under a millisecond. The standard, which requires line-of-sight between transmitter and receiver, can reach top speed at up to 100 meters away, per Qualcomm's Dino Bekis.
Because Transport Layer Security 1.0 and TLS 1.1 have gone unmodified for 20 years, the top four web browsers will disable the technology in 2020. While specific security threats have not been detected, "[t]wo decades is a long time for a security technology to stand unmodified," says Kyle Pflug of Microsoft.
School districts are experimenting with various ways to provide broadband access for students who lack service at home, a problem that particularly affects rural and minority children, the Department of Education says. One solution to the "homework gap" problem: mapping out areas where students can gain access to free Wi-Fi.
