BBWN Bites: Mega IoT Security Breach, KCOM Jilted
Also today, KCOM's former suitors appear to have got cold feet, Orange's top boss finds out his fate on Tuesday, some Openreach customers discover fiber isn't always fastest, GPON grows and an ex-Sky exec takes off for a new role.
Researchers at web-privacy reviewer vpnMentor this week discovered more than 2 billion items of log data from Internet of Things device maker Orvibo. The China-based vendor -- which has been selling gear like connected security, energy-management and entertainment solutions for smart homes, businesses and hotels since 2011 -- seems to have had an open door policy to its data since Day One until July 2, 2019, vpnMentor wrote. "With over 2 billion records to search through, there was enough information to put together several threads and create a full picture of a user's identity," the report warned all Orvibo users and providers.
Once courted by two bidders, British operator KCOM now finds itself left at the altar and in the hands of the UK's Takeover Panel which will oversee an auction, starting July 7, after neither suitor submitted final offers for the provider. In April 2019, KCOM accepted an offer from Humber Bidco (a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of UK-based retirement fund Universities Superannuation Scheme Ltd., aka USSL) worth £504 million ($636 million). Then along came Macquarie subsidiary MEIF 6 Fibre, which proposed £563 million ($710 million). Not a storybook ending so far, but the story is not yet over. (See BBWN Bites: High-Speed Broadband May Help Cut Unemployment – Report.)
Day of Reckoning
On July 9, Orange CEO Stephane Richard and his family, as well as the company he leads, will discover his fate in a fraud case dating back to 2011 when a Parisian court discloses its verdict.
On July 9, Orange CEO Stephane Richard will discover his fate, when a Parisian court shares it verdict in a fraud case going back 11 years. If found guilty, Richard could face 18 months in jail for allegedly abetting businessman Bernard Tapie cheat the French government out of around €403 million ($455 million). If convicted, regardless of incarceration, Richard must resign, the French finance minister told Bloomberg.
About 50,000 homes on Openreach's fiber-to-the-premise (FTTP) network receive speeds of 330 Mbit/s, not the much-ballyhooed gigabit rate, The Register reported today. The issue? Legacy ECI headends can't handle 10Gbit/s speeds in affected areas whereas the rest of Openreach's network uses newer Huawei products that can, according to the story.
The global GPON chipset market will reach $3.1 billion by 2026, increasing from $1.75 billion in 2017 at CAGR of about 6.7% CAGR between 2018 and 2026, according to a new report by Transparency Market Research.
Onto a New Role
Former Sky C-level Mike Darcey this week joined MTM as senior strategy advisor.
Mike Darcey, former Sky chief operating officer and News UK CEO, is now senior strategy advisor at MTM. He'll "advise and support clients" across the consulting firm's telecom, media and sports industry clientele, according to MTM.
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— Alison Diana, Editor, Broadband World News. Follow us on Twitter or @alisoncdiana.
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Here's where you can find episode links for 'The Divide,' Light Reading's podcast series featuring conversations with broadband providers and policymakers working to close the digital divide.
As we have for the past two years, Light Reading will present our Cable Next-Gen Europe conference as a free digital symposium on June 21.
Charter has sparked RDOF work in all 24 states where it won bids. The cable op booked about $19 million in RDOF revenues in Q1, and expects to have about $9 million per month come in over the next ten years.
As we have for the past two years, Light Reading will stage the Cable Next-Gen Technologies & Strategies conference as a free digital event over two half-days in mid-March.
Launch of 2-Gig and 5-Gig FTTP tiers in 70-plus markets puts more pressure on cable ops to enhance their existing DOCSIS 3.1 network or accelerate their upgrade activity centered on the new DOCSIS 4.0 specs.
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