Features

Top IT News of the Week (04/2022)

#ITnews

IT news #1: Vodafone rolls out first 5G open RAN UK site.

Topic: Connectivity, unified communications

British multinational telecommunications company, Vodafone, has announced plans for the first live 5G open RAN site in the UK. It was confirmed the operator plans to deploy 2,500 across 4G and 5G technologies by 2027. Vodafone has also claimed the deployment of the first time O-RAN technology on a macro site across the UK to carry live customer traffic. “This is the beginning of a new chapter for the mobile industry. Our team has been working tirelessly to take OpenRAN technology from a theory in our lab to our customers in the real world – it’s remarkable how much has been achieved in such a short period of time,” said Vodafone chief network officer Andrea Dona in a press release. “OpenRAN as a concept is only five years old, and we’re already fundamentally changing how we deploy connectivity infrastructure.” To commemorate this milestone, Dona performed a video call earlier this month with Julia Lopez, Minister of State at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, which said to be the first 5G video traffic delivered over open RAN infrastructure, with the site located in Bath, England.

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IT news #2: Corporate cyberattacks increased 50% in 2021.

Topic: Cybersecurity, disaster recovery

Research by Check Point revealed a 50% increase in cyberattacks on corporate networks in 2021.The data collected between mid-2020 and throughout 2021 shows a growing trend in cyberattacks, reaching an all-time high by the end of the year with a global peak of 925 a week per organisation. This increase follows the cybersecurity firm’s previous research that found a 40% increase in attacks globally. This means that every 61 companies worldwide were impacted by a ransomware attack every week. Education/research was the industry that experienced the highest numbers of attacks, recording an average of 1,605 attacks per organisation weekly – a 75% increase from the previous year. This was followed by the government/military sector’s 1,136 attacks per week (47%), with the communications industry recording 1,079 attacks (up to 51%).

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IT news #3: Microsoft Teams finally lets you disappear from meetings.

Topic: MS Teams, virtual contact centre

A new feature of Microsoft Teams is on the way, allowing users to hide their video feed while on a call.This means that meeting participants will no longer be confronted with the sight of their face (pretending) to pay attention or to lose focus. Instead, they can opt for viewing other co-workers instead. The feature is currently in the making, with an expected release date of January 2022. After its launch, it is available to all MS Teams users globally across web and desktop versions. This update is part of a series of features designed by Microsoft to help Team users to increase productivity and efficiency to confront the challenges brought on by hybrid working successfully. The series will also allow users to mute notifications whilst they are on a video conferencing meeting or prefer not to be disturbed, bringing an end to distracting notifications or alerts.

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IT news #4: Colt and Console Connect extend automated network coverage.

Topic: Network monitoring, IT support

Colt Technology Services, a leading provider of high bandwidth connectivity solutions and Console Connect, a software-defined interconnection provider, have completed the first stage of paramount API-led interoperability between their global on-demand SDN platforms. This platform enables organisations to benefit from on-demand, agile networking and interconnect directly to clouds, data centres and business clients across both private networks. The APIs will allow seamless quoting, ordering and provisioning of on-demand services between two high-performance networks in real-time. As a result of the initial integration of the two SDN-enabled platforms, Console Connect will be able to extend its automated platform reach into new data centres located in the UK with plans to expand to more locations and metro areas throughout Europe. Mr. Marc Halbfinger, CEO of Console Connect, said, “APIs are crucial for the advancement and settlement of automated network services and enable carriers to work together in new and innovative ways. We are honoured to work closely with Colt – a partner with whom we share a vision of a fully automated and on-demand future.”

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