https://urgentcomm.com/wp-content/themes/ucm_child/assets/images/logo/footer-new-logo.png
  • Home
  • News
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Multimedia
    • Video
    • Podcasts
    • Galleries
    • IWCE’s Video Showcase
    • IWCE 2022 Winter Showcase
    • IWCE 2023 Pre-event Guide
  • Commentary
    • Back
    • Commentary
    • Urgent Matters
    • View From The Top
    • All Things IWCE
    • Legal Matters
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Resources
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Reprints & Reuse
  • IWCE
    • Back
    • IWCE
    • Conference
    • Special Events
    • Exhibitor Listings
    • Premier Partners
    • Floor Plan
    • Exhibiting Information
    • Register for IWCE
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Statement
    • Cookie Policy
  • Related Sites
    • Back
    • American City & County
    • IWCE
    • Light Reading
    • IOT World Today
    • Mission Critical Technologies
    • TU-Auto
  • In the field
    • Back
    • In the field
    • Broadband Push-to-X
    • Internet of Things
    • Project 25
    • Public-Safety Broadband/FirstNet
    • Virtual/Augmented Reality
    • Land Mobile Radio
    • Long Term Evolution (LTE)
    • Applications
    • Drones/Robots
    • IoT/Smart X
    • Software
    • Subscriber Devices
    • Video
  • Call Center/Command
    • Back
    • Call Center/Command
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • NG911
    • Alerting Systems
    • Analytics
    • Dispatch/Call-taking
    • Incident Command/Situational Awareness
    • Tracking, Monitoring & Control
  • Network Tech
    • Back
    • Network Tech
    • Interoperability
    • LMR 100
    • LMR 200
    • Backhaul
    • Deployables
    • Power
    • Tower & Site
    • Wireless Networks
    • Coverage/Interference
    • Security
    • System Design
    • System Installation
    • System Operation
    • Test & Measurement
  • Operations
    • Back
    • Operations
    • Critical Infrastructure
    • Enterprise
    • Federal Government/Military
    • Public Safety
    • State & Local Government
    • Training
  • Regulations
    • Back
    • Regulations
    • Narrowbanding
    • T-Band
    • Rebanding
    • TV White Spaces
    • None
    • Funding
    • Policy
    • Regional Coordination
    • Standards
  • Organizations
    • Back
    • Organizations
    • AASHTO
    • APCO
    • DHS
    • DMR Association
    • ETA
    • EWA
    • FCC
    • IWCE
    • NASEMSO
    • NATE
    • NXDN Forum
    • NENA
    • NIST/PSCR
    • NPSTC
    • NTIA/FirstNet
    • P25 TIG
    • TETRA + CCA
    • UTC
Urgent Communications
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • News
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Video
    • Podcasts
    • Omdia Crit Comms Circle Podcast
    • Galleries
    • IWCE’s Video Showcase
    • IWCE 2023 Pre-event Guide
    • IWCE 2022 Winter Showcase
  • Commentary
    • Back
    • All Things IWCE
    • Urgent Matters
    • View From The Top
    • Legal Matters
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Reprints & Reuse
    • UC eZines
    • Sponsored content
  • IWCE
    • Back
    • Conference
    • Why Attend
    • Exhibitor Listing
    • Floor Plan
    • Exhibiting Information
    • Join the Event Mailing List
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Cookie Policy
    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Statement
  • Related Sites
    • Back
    • American City & County
    • IWCE
    • Light Reading
    • IOT World Today
    • TU-Auto
  • newsletter
  • In the field
    • Back
    • Internet of Things
    • Broadband Push-to-X
    • Project 25
    • Public-Safety Broadband/FirstNet
    • Virtual/Augmented Reality
    • Land Mobile Radio
    • Long Term Evolution (LTE)
    • Applications
    • Drones/Robots
    • IoT/Smart X
    • Software
    • Subscriber Devices
    • Video
  • Call Center/Command
    • Back
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • NG911
    • Alerting Systems
    • Analytics
    • Dispatch/Call-taking
    • Incident Command/Situational Awareness
    • Tracking, Monitoring & Control
  • Network Tech
    • Back
    • Cybersecurity
    • Interoperability
    • LMR 100
    • LMR 200
    • Backhaul
    • Deployables
    • Power
    • Tower & Site
    • Wireless Networks
    • Coverage/Interference
    • Security
    • System Design
    • System Installation
    • System Operation
    • Test & Measurement
  • Operations
    • Back
    • Critical Infrastructure
    • Enterprise
    • Federal Government/Military
    • Public Safety
    • State & Local Government
    • Training
  • Regulations
    • Back
    • Narrowbanding
    • T-Band
    • Rebanding
    • TV White Spaces
    • None
    • Funding
    • Policy
    • Regional Coordination
    • Standards
  • Organizations
    • Back
    • AASHTO
    • APCO
    • DHS
    • DMR Association
    • ETA
    • EWA
    • FCC
    • IWCE
    • NASEMSO
    • NATE
    • NXDN Forum
    • NENA
    • NIST/PSCR
    • NPSTC
    • NTIA/FirstNet
    • P25 TIG
    • TETRA + CCA
    • UTC
acc.com

System Operation


Partner content

Microsoft aims to dislodge AWS as ‘preferred provider’ to telcos

Microsoft aims to dislodge AWS as ‘preferred provider’ to telcos

  • Written by Iain Morris / Light Reading
  • 4th October 2022

Two years ago, Microsoft did something that left executives at Ericsson and Nokia sweating like soldiers before battle.

Within the space of a few weeks, Seattle’s biggest export besides coffee had bought two small but irksome rivals to the Nordic vendors in the market for core network software.

The takeovers of Affirmed Networks and Metaswitch appeared to signal Microsoft’s ambitions in the telecom sector. Fortified by Microsoft’s money, the two companies threatened to be a lot more dangerous.

Taking the industry by surprise, the moves generated some awkwardness between Microsoft and the Nordic firms, both of which had been used to regarding the US software giant as more of a partner than a foe. This vision of Microsoft as a rival to traditional telecom vendors is one it has been subsequently trying to dispel.

“Ericsson and Nokia were very concerned, but at the end of the day what market share does Affirmed have?” said Rick Lievano, the chief technology officer of Microsoft’s telecom business, during an interview at the recent Digital Transformation World event in Copenhagen.

“We didn’t buy them because they have huge market share. We bought their expertise.”

Yet what Microsoft did next was an even bigger shock to the industry. In June 2021, AT&T announced plans to run its entire 5G network on Azure, the name given to Microsoft’s public cloud. As part of that arrangement, staff and assets would change hands, moving from AT&T to Microsoft.

Financial terms were not disclosed, and the deal was not even mentioned in AT&T’s annual filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. But Microsoft had effectively bought the control center of the AT&T network and the expertise needed to run it.

These separate but related moves laid the foundations for what Microsoft now calls Azure Operator Distributed Services (AODS). The goal, as described in a blog earlier this year, is to give operators a “carrier-grade” cloud platform where they can feasibly run most of their workloads, including their core, radio access network (RAN) functions and business and operational support systems.

Microsoft is now in discussions with several operators about this yet-to-launch commercial AODS offer. Ultimately, Lievano talks about capturing at least 60% of the overall telecom market for public cloud services.

Different strokes

It is a markedly different strategy from the one AWS is pursuing, insists Lievano.

The world’s largest public cloud has been far more visible in the telecom sector globally, signing up numerous operators as tenants and dozens of software companies as partners.

Dish Network, its flagship customer, has opted to run nearly all its workloads on AWS. Just last week, Japan’s Rakuten revealed that its Symware app store of network goodies would become available through AWS, without even acknowledging the existence of Azure or Google Cloud, the distant number three.

“They have chosen to learn with their customer projects,” said Lievano.

“AWS is going to learn a lot from Dish. Dish is going to pay a lot for AWS learning their business. We made a conscious decision not to do that. We are not going to charge customers for learning and becoming telco experts. We are ultimately going to acquire the right level of expertise.”

That is necessary, according to Lievano, because the telecom sector cannot be treated like retail or hospitality.

To read the complete article, visit Light Reading.

 

 

Tags: Tracking, Monitoring & Control Applications Critical Infrastructure Enterprise Federal Government/Military Funding Incident Command/Situational Awareness Interoperability News Policy Public Safety Software State & Local Government System Design System Installation System Operation Test & Measurement Wireless Networks Partner content

Most Recent


  • CMA plans to release Airwave price-control order by end of July, impacting Motorola Solutions
    An order that would set price controls on the Airwave TETRA network that would cost Motorola Solutions more than $1 billion is expected to take effect within the next two month, although Motorola Solutions has indicated that its appeals likely will delay the effective date until next year. Last month, the UK Competition and Markets […]
  • Why antivirus cannot protect your car
    In July last year, BMW announced its intention to make heated seats an $18-per-month subscription service. A week later, a group of hackers called Easy Bimmer Coding claimed they were prepared to help any BMW owner to unlock the subscription-only feature. The majority of today’s cyber-threats are more like the one described above, relatively low-profile […]
  • ChatGPT hallucinations open developers to supply-chain malware attacks
    Attackers can exploit ChatGPT’s penchant for returning false information to spread malicious code packages, researchers have found. This poses a significant risk for the software supply chain, as it can allow malicious code and trojans to slide into legitimate applications and code repositories like npm, PyPI, GitHub and others. By leveraging so-called “AI package hallucinations,” threat actors can create ChatGPT-recommended, […]
  • What Amazon’s privacy breaches say about smart-device cybersecurity
    Amazon was recently fined more than $30 million for customer privacy breaches, demonstrating the rising need for cybersecurity and data protection at a time where smart devices are becoming increasingly common. While there is some legislation in place accommodating smart devices, the sheer volume of devices coming online is still proving an industry bottleneck, and a […]

Leave a comment Cancel reply

To leave a comment login with your Urgent Comms account:

Log in with your Urgent Comms account

Or alternatively provide your name, email address below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • Federal judge in Hytera-Motorola case retires with contempt question pending
  • Ubicquia’s UbiHub leverages streetlights to support video, broadband, IoT-based initiatives 
  • Building 100% digital state and local governments
  • Is network slicing toast?

Commentary


Updated: How ‘sidelink’ peer-to-peer communications can enhance public-safety operations

  • 1
27th February 2023

NG911 needed to secure our communities and nation

24th February 2023

How 5G is making cities safer, smarter, and more efficient

26th January 2023
view all

Events


UC Ezines


IWCE 2019 Wrap Up

13th May 2019
view all

Twitter


Newsletter

Sign up for UrgentComm’s newsletters to receive regular news and information updates about Communications and Technology.

Expert Commentary

Learn from experts about the latest technology in automation, machine-learning, big data and cybersecurity.

Business Media

Find the latest videos and media from the market leaders.

Media Kit and Advertising

Want to reach our digital and print audiences? Learn more here.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • American City & County
  • IWCE
  • Light Reading
  • IOT World Today
  • Mission Critical Technologies
  • TU-Auto

WORKING WITH US

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Events
  • Careers

FOLLOW Urgent Comms ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2023 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.