If the term Network Packet Broker (NPB) is not familiar, now is the time to get acquainted with this invaluable and frequently overlooked device. Think of NPBs as helpful middlemen that sort, distribute, and optimize the flow of network data going to your monitoring and security tools. By receiving only the data they need and eliminating irrelevant...

Canadian fixed and mobile operator Telus has selected DZS' Cloud End-to-End Orchestration & Automation (E2EO) solution, described as a carrier-grade, cloud native platform designed to simplify and automate the deployment of any network slice and any service on any cloud. The deployment of the DZS Cloud platform will deliver automated life cycle...

Canada's largest mobile operator Rogers Communications announced that it is helping northern Quebec start-up Eeyou Mobility launch its network, by providing wireless spectrum to enable connectivity for more residents in rural, remote and Indigenous communities in the region. Eeyou Mobility's website says it is deploying a 4G LTE mobile network thro...

Canadian regional full-service operator SaskTel has selected South Korea's Samsung Electronics as its sole supplier of 4G/5G radio access and core networks. Samsung has agreed to provide an end-to-end 5G deployment solution including all hardware, software and associated expertise for the Saskatchewan-based telco. SaskTel CEO Doug Burnett announced...

Cloud by definition, tend to obscure things. As companies continue to move business-critical applications to the cloud, you may lose visibility into cloud traffic. A recent survey of cloud operations professionals revealed: 87 percent feared the cloud was obscuring security threats95 percent believed the cloud delayed the identification and resolut...

Canada's Telus Corporation announced its results for the fourth quarter of 2020, with consolidated revenues increasing by 5.2% year-on-year to CAD4.06 billion (USD3.20 billion). Wireless segment turnover decreased by 1.9% y-o-y in October-December 2020 on lower network (service) revenue and lower equipment/other revenue, but wireline division sales...

Canadian rural-focused broadband operator Xplornet has announced its latest batch of network tower deployments, noting that between its last tower update (in late December – reporting twelve new towers) and early February, it built and switched on 70 additional towers across rural areas. The new towers are located across nine Canadian provinces fro...

Canada's Telus announced the expansion of its 5G network to several smaller communities, including Chilliwack in British Columbia, plus Fairview, Greenview, Smoky River and Wabasca in Alberta, enabling businesses and residents to access what the operator claims is 'the fastest 5G network in Canada'. Telus' 5G coverage map currently shows a presence...

Unmask Bandwidth Bandits The term bandwidth hog makes most network managers consider the usual suspects - from ill-timed backups to illicit P2P use. But bandwidth-stealing applications can be difficult to unmask and simply increasing network capacity won’t solve the problem. So let's discuss three commonly overlooked strategies and scenarios to identify bandits and avoid performance interruptions. Prioritized Video Push  Network teams assume video conferencing will consume significant bandw...

Bell Canada reported a 3.8% drop in annual revenues in 2020 to CAD22.883 billion (USD17.861 billion) with declines of 3.6% in service revenue and 5.5% in product revenue. The group posted a 2.8% y-o-y fall in Q4 revenues to CAD6.102 billion, as COVID-19 continued to impact consumer and commercial activity, including wireless product sales and roami...

Canadian cableco and mobile operator Rogers Communications reported that its total revenue decreased by 7% year-on-year to CAD3.680 billion (USD2.869 billion) in the fourth quarter of 2020, largely driven by an 8% decrease in wireless service revenue – mainly a result of lower roaming revenue due to global travel restrictions during COVID-19, and l...

Canadian telco Distributel Communications has acquired fellow independent operator Primus Telecommunications (Canada), which it announced will create a stronger brand offering residential, business and wholesale telecommunications services nationwide. Primus, founded in 1997, had been owned by US-based Birch Communications since 2016, whilst Distri...

If you are an existing SolarWinds user and concerned About how the recent hack might affect you and your organization's ability to monitor your network? Considering replacing SolarWinds as your primary monitoring tool? Join us on January 28Th. for this 30 minute webinar, as we compare the comprehensive NMSaaS cloud-based network management solution...

Canadian cableco Cogeco Connexion has announced the full commercial launch of its 'EPICO' IPTV service based on a technology platform integrated with Google's Android TV ecosystem, available now for 'the majority' of its customers across its Quebec/Ontario network footprint. Cogeco says the new service allows users to take advantage of the latest t...

By Joel Rudman - Director of Finance and Capital Markets at Keysight Technologies I recently read the Gartner Market Guide for Network Performance Monitoring and Diagnostics (NPMD). Within the report it states that "Network Packets are Becoming Increasing Difficult to Collect" the reasons detailed were: Increased Virtualisation within the Data Cent...

As a member of the network team, your day is often consumed by rushing from one network fire to the next. What if you could anticipate fires before they fanned out of control? By baselining your service activity and component health you can identify hotspots on your network before they go ablaze. Understanding Baselining There's no need to arbitrar...

Canadian cableco Cogeco Connexion reported that its revenues in the three months to end-November 2020 – its first fiscal quarter – climbed 2.2% year-on-year to CAD328.0 million (USD258.9 million), citing sustained demand for residential high speed internet since the beginning of the pandemic due to customers spending more time at home for work, edu...

The annual update to StableNet® has been released. Version 10.0 offers important usability and performance enhancements. Within the GUI, the search menu has been improved and it is possible to specify multiple ranges per monitor to define the monitor status. Besides the possibility to set up StableNet® without root access, they have also improved t...

A high profile attack is not the way to end 2020, but if you are an existing user of SolarWinds you may be one of the 18,000 potential customers breached by the recent hack using FireEye and SolarWinds, and affect your organizations ability to monitor the network. IMPACT On December 13th, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA) issued direct...

Canadian rural fixed-wireless/fibre broadband specialist Xplornet Communications has announced the acquisition of Ocdotus, a fibre-based service provider in southern Ontario operating under the name Metro Loop. Headquartered in Hamilton, Ontario, Metro Loop provides fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) services in Hamilton and Haldimand County. Xplornet is...