What’s up with… Telefónica, the FCC, Telia Carrier

• Telefónica buys another security specialist 
• Still plenty of US operators using Chinese tech, finds the FCC
• Telia Carrier touts benefits of open optical line technology

Another strategic security acquisition by Telefónica and the cost of ridding US networks of Huawei and ZTE gear are at the head of this news pack.

Telefónica’s Tech division has added to its growing portfolio of network security services and capabilities with the acquisition of iHackLabs, which specializes in cybersecurity training. Industry analyst Patrick Donegan, Founder & Principal Analyst at telecom and IT security research specialist HardenStance, noted in this tweet that it’s smart of Telefónica “to invest in leading edge ‪#cyberattack simulation training resources & make it available to customers as well as internally.” The Spanish operator, which is making the acquisition through its ElevenPaths security unit, made its previous security acquisition only weeks ago when it bought Govertis, a specialist in governance and compliance. 

The FCC has identified more than 50 US network operators that still have network equipment from either Huawei or ZTE, which are deemed a national security threat by the US authorities, in their networks, and the cost of ripping and replacing that equipment would be more than $1.8 billion. Most of the network operators that responded to an FCC supply chain data request to say they were using technology from either (or both) of the much maligned Chinese vendors are local carriers such as Hiawatha Communications, Mark Twain Rural Telephone Company and the Panhandle Telephone Cooperative, but Verizon, CenturyLink and Windstream are also in the list. For more on why the FCC was seeking this information from the operators, read this.  

Telia Carrier, one of the world’s largest international network operators, has been introducing cutting edge open optical line technologies into its global transport network and claims the move has “transformed how customers can extract value from their networks.” Find out more in this Telia Carrier blog.

Ericsson’s technology is underpinning two new European 5G service launches, by Orange Spain (RAN and core) and TDC Denmark respectively.

Still in Denmark: Telia and Telenor, which share mobile network infrastructure in the country, say they will launch 5G services later this month.

Italian national operator TIM (Telecom Italia) is claiming a European 5G speed record after it set up a connection “capable of permanently exceeding a downlink speed of 4 Gbps on a 5G live network” using mmWave spectrum in the 26 GHz band. Read more.

After a year of investigation, the US Justice Department is reported to be preparing to file an antitrust case against Google as early as this month, despite pleas from its own lawyers that it hasn’t had time to properly prepare a case.  

According to UK weekend newspaper reports, the UK civil service has been advertising working from home jobs, thus undermining the government’s pleas to ‘get back to the office’. The government believes remote working is damaging to the economy. For more on this topic, see our analysis, Out to lunch: At first working from home was good; then it wasn’t. Why?

MediaTek has launched two new 5G products: The T750 is for fixed wireless access routers and mobile hotspot devices; while the Dimensity 1000C is a smartphone chip that features in the LG VELVET phone that works on the T-Mobile US 5G network. 

Industry bodies ETNO and the GSMA have issued a joint paper that lays out their support for the European Commission’s Digital Services Act.

- The staff, TelecomTV