#TBT: Telecom M&A: NetScout, MasTec and extra; Cellular broadband use rises; Hype and hope for good grids … this week in 2014

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Editor’s Be aware: RCR Wi-fi Information goes all in for “Throwback Thursdays,” tapping into our archives to resuscitate the highest headlines from the previous. Hearth up the time machine, placed on these sepia-tinted shades, set the date for #TBT and benefit from the recollections!

NetScout makes main community monitoring acquisition of Danaher property

The information that community efficiency monitoring firm NetScout is shopping for $2.6 billion price of community testing, monitoring and safety property from worldwide tech and science conglomerate Danaher units the network-monitoring ecosystem up for substantial change. The transfer primarily triples NetScout’s workforce, and is being completed by way of a swap of $2.6 billion in NetScout widespread inventory that will probably be prolonged to Danaher to be able to pay for the property of Tektronix Communications, elements of Fluke Networks, and community safety firm Arbor Networks, which had been all working as entities below the umbrella of Danaher’s communications enterprise. NetScout’s most up-to-date fiscal 12 months revenues had been $397 million, in comparison with the Danaher operations’ $836 million. Though the acquisition performs into present developments in community evaluation and the will for end-to-end capabilities, that is additionally in some methods a case of deja vu. This isn’t NetScout’s first acquisition of a a lot bigger entity than itself by way of a significant stock-based buy. Some historical past: In 2007, the corporate made a really related transaction with Community Normal. The privately held firm with a concentrate on deep-packet inspection for community evaluation and knowledge mining had about 4,000 clients, in comparison with about 1,000 clients for NetScout on the time. … Learn extra

MasTec buys WesTower

Consolidation within the wi-fi infrastructure providers house continued this week with MasTec’s buy of WesTower Communications. Florida-based MasTec stated it paid $199 million in money, or about .45-times projected 2014 income, for 100% of WesTower’s fairness. Since 2011, WesTower had been owned by Canada’s Trade Revenue Company. WesTower and MasTec each construct and keep towers and deploy infrastructure for wi-fi carriers, and are a part of AT&T’s turf vendor program. WesTower not too long ago introduced that its contract with AT&T had been renewed for 3 years beginning Sept. 1. The corporate is lively within the northwestern a part of america, in addition to in Alaska. MasTec has labored intently with AT&T for a lot of years, and is a companion in AT&T’s Tower Crew Augmentation Program, by way of which contractors keep devoted tower crews for AT&T. MasTec, a public firm, is concerned in development tasks outdoors the wi-fi business, additionally serving the electrical utility and vitality pipeline industries, reporting whole income of $1.2 billion final 12 months. … Learn extra

Dash cuts jobs at Kansas HQ

Dash is reportedly transferring ahead on plans to chop jobs at its Overland Park, Kan., headquarters, based on printed studies. The Kansas Metropolis Star reported late final week that the nation’s No. 3 wi-fi provider was set to chop 452 jobs this month, which might carry whole cuts for the 12 months at its headquarters to greater than 900 jobs. In response to the report, which was based mostly on a submitting with the Kansas Division of Commerce, the most recent cuts can be everlasting and that extra had been deliberate. In a Securities and Trade Fee submitting late final month, Dash introduced plans to chop an undisclosed variety of jobs all through the month. Dash stated the strikes and would “cut back prices,” serving to Dash “turn into extra aggressive within the market.” “The plan is predicted to incorporate steps to, amongst different issues, enhance operational efficiencies and cut back prices, on account of which the corporate expects to incur materials expenses below usually accepted accounting ideas,” Dash famous within the submitting. The fabric expenses will embrace recognizing an roughly $160 million cost for its second fiscal quarter, which ended Sept. 30, including “nonetheless, extra materials expenses related to future labor reductions could happen in future durations.” … Learn extra

Cellular broadband use rises

A brand new report from the Nationwide Telecommunications and Info Administration displays the actual fact that People have been quickly adopting cell broadband use. NTIA’s report “confirms skyrocketing demand for gadgets that enable customers to entry Web functions practically wherever,” based on Lawrence Strickling, who’s assistant secretary of commerce for communications and knowledge at NTIA. The report is predicated on knowledge from the U.S. Census Bureau collected in late 2012, and includes greater than 53,000 U.S. households. The info itself isn’t any shock to the cell business, which has seen exploding knowledge use for years now, but it surely does put some official census numbers to cell utilization and in addition has some stats to mirror cell expertise’s function in narrowing the so-called “digital divide” between well-off households and people of decrease socio-economic standing. As an example, the report discovered that amongst households with household incomes beneath $25,000 per 12 months, cell phone use grew from 73% to 77% and amongst disabled Americas, cell phone use elevated from 68% to 72% – each reflecting will increase of 4%. The census knowledge noticed the identical quantity of improve of cell phone use by senior 65 and older, from 68% to 72%. … Learn extra

FCC appears to be like at 600 MHz bidding guidelines

The Federal Communications Fee late final week rolled out a discover of proposed rulemaking related to bidding plans for the deliberate spectrum public sale of 600 MHz licenses. The NPRM consists of the potential to alter guidelines tied to the FCC’s controversial designated entity program, which presents bidding credit to pick out entities based mostly on their dimension and possession construction. A part of the proposal appears to be like to take away obstacles stopping DEs from leasing spectrum to different non-DE operators. The FCC can also be seeking to re-classify the monetary threshold on potential DEs to offer a 35% bidding credit score for enterprise with common annual gross revenues not exceeding $4 million for the previous three years; a 25% bidding credit score for common annual gross revenues not exceeding $20 million for the previous three years; and a 15% bidding credit score for companies with lower than $55 million in common annual gross revenues for the previous three years. As well as, the FCC will look to re-visit the “defaulter rule” that requires larger up-front down funds from firms with a historical past of defaulting on funds to the federal government company tied to earlier spectrum auctions. The FCC not too long ago introduced plans to chill out the defaulter guidelines for the upcoming AWS-3 public sale scheduled to start Nov. 13. The FCC can also be transferring ahead with plans to look into the present allowance of joint bidding in spectrum auctions, one thing that was not too long ago introduced up as a part of the FCC’s seeming makes an attempt to dissuade an try by Dash to accumulate smaller rival T-Cellular US. … Learn extra

Hype and hope for good grids

CHICAGO – Cisco Methods tackled head on the notion that some elements of the much-hyped “Web of Issues” had been certainly over-hyped, internet hosting a panel session at this week’s Web of Issues World Discussion board asking if the “good grid bubble” was extra hype or hope. The panel, which was moderated by Cisco’s RJ Mahadev, who’s enterprise improvement lead for the corporate’s IoT providers, appeared to conclude that the market was maybe a little bit of each. Don Stucket, who’s VP of expertise at Canada’s BC Hydro, indicated that from his standpoint as a public utility, “there’s a whole lot of hype in a few of the segments,” although what he termed “maturity” in others. “This can be a very complicated enterprise with a whole lot of algorithms with a whole lot of hype round totally different expertise and providers that may assist in determining these points,” Stucket defined. BC Hydro has dipped its toe into the good grid house having rolled out 1.8 million good readers throughout its service footprint. Scott Harden, who’s VP of consulting at BitStew Methods, stated he thought utilities had been principally by way of the hype cycle and are trying on the good grid alternatives extra pragmatically. Harden defined that many utilities are coping with getting old infrastructure that’s arising for substitute, and that utilities want to see if it made sense to spend the funding {dollars} on plugging in new gear that would function in a wise grid setting. … Learn extra

Take a look at the RCR Wi-fi Information Archives for extra tales from the previous.

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