The Committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the U.S. Telecom Services Sector didn't object to Intermountain Infrastructure Group's transfer of control request to WRA II-Pioneer, NTIA said Thursday in docket 23-85.

Japanese provider NTT Docomo said it fully launched its open radio access network ecosystem experience (OREX) portfolio. Docomo said Wednesday it’s leveraging its experience in ORAN. OREX was “developed in collaboration with multiple global vendors,” the company said: “It can be customized to address the unique challenges of each customer” and “is expected to reduce clients' total cost of ownership by up to 30% when the costs of initial setup and ongoing maintenance are taken into account. It can also reduce the time required for network design by up to 50%.”

Samsung Electronics announced a collaboration with AMD on 5G virtualized radio access networks. “The two companies have completed several rounds of tests at Samsung’s lab to verify high-capacity and telco-grade performance using [frequency division duplex] bands and [time division duplex] Massive MIMO wide-bands, while significantly reducing power consumption,” Samsung said Monday. “Samsung has been at the forefront of unleashing the full potential of 5G vRAN technology to meet rising demands, and we look forward to collaborating with industry leaders like AMD to provide operators the capabilities to transform their networks,” said Henrik Jansson. Samsung corporate vice president.

An agreement between Netflix and two South Korean telcos won't end the debate over whether content providers should compensate networks for transmitting their data but is relevant to the discussion, emailed Alessandro Gropelli, director-general, European Telecommunications and Network Operators Association. Monday's announcement by Netflix, SKBroadband and SKTelecom outlined a "strategic partnership to provide better entertainment experiences to their customers." The telcos said they want to help customers access Netflix shows and films on mobile devices and IP TV more easily and with payment options. They will offer various price plans and products, including bundled packages, and all the companies will explore opportunities to leverage AI technologies to create better offerings. The agreement ends three years of feuding between SKBroadband and Netflix, which began when Netflix's traffic on the network ballooned and Netflix refused to negotiate with the operator for cost recovery, wrote telecom consultant John Strand. Netflix then sued SKBroadband, claiming it had no obligation to pay or make a deal for network usage. When a court disagreed, Netflix appealed, and the litigation continued through 10 court hearings, Strand wrote. The new deal is a mutual decision that the companies said "stems from both parties' shared foundational principle that prioritizes customers." "Ostensibly this means that in future, Netflix users of SK networks would purchase Netflix through their broadband subscription," Strand said. "This would appear to be the way to ensure that the usage cost of Netflix on SK's network is covered," suggesting a revenue share between Netflix and the network operator. Nevertheless, Strand said, the debate over how to recover costs for continued investment in next-generation networks continues in South Korea. Asked whether the agreement has implications for efforts by European telcos to win network usage costs from content providers, ETNO's Gropelli said it "shows that a regulatory and legal nudge is necessary to achieve successful agreements." The arrangement is "interesting and relevant also for us" despite the different market and policy contexts in Europe, he said. Gropelli predicted the policy debates "will remain separate, but it definitely proves that better commercial deals are possible in environments in which network investment is prioritised."

The U.S. and Vietnam are exploring ways to collaborate on semiconductor production and investment, the State Department announced Monday. The Biden administration is partnering with the Vietnamese government through the Chips Act’s International Technology Security and Innovation Fund. The department was granted $500 million through the fund to promote the development of telecommunications networks and semiconductor supply chain security. President Joe Biden wrapped up his visit to Vietnam on Monday. "This collaboration strives to identify new opportunities that attract industry investments and expand the technical workforces in both countries," the department said.

Deutsche Telekom opened a “Quantum Lab” in Berlin, dedicated to exploring the use of quantum technology in commercial telecom networks. “Research at the Quantum Lab will focus on the use of quantum entanglement,” DT said Thursday: “This physical phenomenon promises a profound change in telecommunications. This includes quantum cryptography for ultra-secure communication as well as communication networks with improved latency, throughput and resilience.” DT said it has been a leader in the European Commission’s Petrus project, aimed at building a trans-European quantum communications infrastructure. "The opening of our Quantum Lab is a clear signal that we are serious about bringing quantum technology to the commercial networks of telecommunications providers," said Claudia Nemat, DT chief technology and innovation officer.

Vodafone completed the testing phase of its open radio access network program and is rolling out ORAN in South West England and Wales, it said Thursday. “Vodafone will now begin installing OpenRAN technology at scale starting in Devon,” it said. “This is the first phase of Vodafone’s commitment to use OpenRAN technology in at least 2,500 sites by the end of 2027,” it said. “Vodafone has been at the forefront of the OpenRAN ecosystem since Day One,” said Andrea Dona, chief network officer at Vodafone UK: “OpenRAN is a central pillar to our network strategy for numerous reasons.”

Wi-Fi technology company Edgewater Wireless said Tuesday it will delay filing its annual consolidated financial statements for the year that ended April 30, plus “related management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations” and other documents. During an audit, KPMG identified a potential adjustment to the accounting treatment of $528,000 worth of convertible debentures issued by the Canadian company Sept. 1, 2022, said a news release: “The Company is currently working diligently to complete the convertible debentures related analysis and facilitate the completion of the audit of the annual consolidated financial statements by KPMG at the earliest possible date. It expects to be able to file the Required Documents by September 8 … or sooner.”

Vodafone UK cut the amount of carbon emissions from its operations by 92% from March 2020 to March 2023, it said. “The amount of emissions created by Vodafone in the UK annually has been reduced by 86,360 tonnes of CO2, to only 7,154 tonnes a year,” Vodafone said Thursday: “The main way this has been achieved is through various different programmes to ensure 100% of all electricity consumption is generated via renewable sources.” The provider noted it’s working with energy companies that rely on renewable sources, and invested in solar and wind farms in the U.K.

Radisys said Friday it had completed its $60 million acquisition of Mimosa Networks from Airspan Networks Holdings. The deal was announced in March. “Mimosa brings a diverse portfolio of point-to-point and point-to-multi-point connectivity products leveraging unlicensed spectrum bands,” said a news release: “These products enable the rapid rollout of multi-gigabit-per-second Fixed Wireless Access networks and wireless backhaul connectivity" for telecom networks. Radisys is a subsidiary of India’s Jio Platforms.