Sierra Wireless (NASDAQ: SWIR) (TSX: SW), a world leading IoT solutions provider, today announced that it has launched a new global private access point name (APN) solution with simplified staging that provides seamless flexibility and security for customers, accelerating application deployment.

With Sierra Wireless’ new private APN, Sierra Wireless Smart Connectivity customers no longer need to make multiple SKU configurations on the edge, and can build devices with one single APN that is then translated into multiple private APN’s within Sierra’s core network. This is especially critical for companies with multiple independent subsidiaries who have different requirements, drastically reducing onboarding time.

Microsoft Azure EVP Jason Zander said Microsoft’s work with telecom operators is “part of the core strategy” for Azure, noting in an investor call that Microsoft has been “doing a lot of work around some of the telco communications operator space.” His comments echoed those made by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on the company’s most recent earnings call. In describing Azure’s vertical industry momentum, Nadella led with Deutsche Telekom, which is working with Microsoft to modernize its IT infrastructure by moving workloads to the Azure cloud.

A Taiwanese IT hardware manufacturer has deployed a virtualized private 5G network using its own servers along with core network software from Affirmed, which was recently acquired by Microsoft. The RAN software comes from ASOCS, an Israeli provider of on-premise cloud solutions. The network was deployed on government-allocated spectrum. Inventec is a $16 billion Taiwanese manufacturer of servers, laptops and wireless devices. The company says it ships 25% of the world’s servers, and manufactures 100 million devices each year. It wanted to connect its factories using 5G in order to improve automatic optical inspection and to connect automated guided vehicles and robots in the future.

Affirmed Networks announced that it has been selected by Inventec, a leading Taiwanese manufacturer of consumer technology solutions, to deliver secure, private 5G networks for their smart manufacturing. This selection is an important part of Inventec’s adoption of Industry 4.0 and their transformation towards digital operations and robotic automation for large-scale manufacturing. Affirmed’s 5G Standalone (SA) UnityCloud™ will drive the connectivity for Inventec’s Automatic Optical Inspection (AOI) systems.

Microsoft subsidiary Affirmed Networks is to build a private 5G network for Inventec, a Taiwanese technology maker. Affirmed Networks, which became part of Microsoft earlier in 2020, said it will supply a cloud-native 5G standalone network to the company to allow the use of internet of things (IoT) technology in its manufacturing of computers, telephones, notebooks and servers.

Microsoft hasn’t been shy about expanding its role in 5G networks, as it has worked for the last two years to expand Azure’s footprint to 5G carriers and enterprises alike. Today, its networking subsidiary Affirmed Networks announced a significant win in the growing private 5G space, as the companies are now supplying technology solutions manufacturer Inventec with secure private 5G networks — a deal characterized as critical in transforming Inventec’s business with digital operations and robotic automation.

A graphic in Microsoft’s latest blog about its 5G ambitions neatly illustrates the Windows inventor’s telecom sprawl. Cloud solutions? Goes without saying. Network functions? Check, after this year’s takeovers of Affirmed Networks and Metaswitch. Need an edge platform? Microsoft can bring that by simply extending the Azure cloud into new locations.

On Sept. 28, Microsoft is going public with its strategy to try to make Azure even more appealing to telecommunications partners. Officials are sharing more details about Microsoft’s “Azure for Operators” strategy, which is all about making Microsoft’s cloud more appealing to these customers.

Microsoft is taking direct aim at telcos by announcing Azure for Operators, which includes a carrier-grade cloud platform and edge compute capabilities as well as a developer ecosystem. While Microsoft has announced telco partnerships before, including last year’s announcement with AT&T, Azure for Operators will support operators as they evolve their infrastructures and operations to create service chains for programmable networks. Azure for Operators follows on the heels of last week’s introduction of Azure Orbital to connect satellites to the cloud.

Affirmed Networks, acquired by Microsoft earlier this year, will partner with Netmore Group, an IoT systems and services provider headquartered in Sweden, to deliver Private LTE enterprise networks and infrastructure, enabling Netmore to also deploy 5G enterprise services.

Netmore Group’s UK subsidiary (Netmore IoT Solutions Ltd) is taking a major step towards enabling the next generation of private mobile networks. We have selected Affirmed Networks new modern core network technology to be based in UK. The core is the “controlling brain” of a mobile network and the Affirmed Networks core has a fully modern and highly flexible software architecture that is well suited to the new world of private 5G mobile networks.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) unveiled the HPE 5G Lab, a test and development environment where telcos and partners can validate and integrate 5G network solutions. Using the HPE 5G Lab, telcos can speed up 5G adoption and access new revenues faster by getting hands-on experience with the latest 5G innovations in a live test environment. The HPE 5G Lab has already gained support from key industry leaders including Affirmed Networks, Casa Systems, Intel, JMA Wireless, Metaswitch, Nokia, Openet and Red Hat.

Most of the initial attention given to 5G and the deployment of the first 5G networks has focused on the new radio technologies that it uses, notably millimeter wave and what’s collectively referred to as sub-6. These new sets of frequencies, along with the 5G NR (New Radio) protocol standard are what’s allowing the latest batch of 5G modem-equipped devices to connect to these new networks.

Microsoft today announced that it has acquired Affirmed Networks, a company that specializes in fully virtualized, cloud-native networking solutions for telecom operators. With its focus on 5G and edge computing, Affirmed looks like the ideal acquisition target for a large cloud provider looking to get deeper into the telco business. According to Crunchbase, Affirmed raised a total of $155 million before this acquisition, and the company’s more than 100 enterprise customers include the likes of AT&T, Orange, Vodafone, Telus, Turkcell and STC.

Microsoft has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Affirmed Networks, which sells virtualized, cloud-native mobile network solutions to operators. Microsoft said the acquisition will allow it to evolve its work with the telecom industry, building on a secure and trusted cloud platform for operators.

As I embark on the role of President and CEO of Affirmed Networks, I am thrilled to share the news that Microsoft has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Affirmed Networks. Upon the close of this transaction, Affirmed Networks, the company that we built from the ground-up to become an industry-transforming leader in virtualization and 5G, will become part of Microsoft.

Affirmed Networks scored a pair of operator deals this week that will see its virtualized evolved packet core (vEPC) deployed to support 4G LTE and 5G networks in parts of Finland and Latin America.

DNA has launched the sales of DNA Home 5G, a new service based on 5G technology. DNA Home 5G will help many homes and businesses with challenges arising from inadequate data connections. DNA’s virtualized 5G core network is provided by Affirmed Networks…

The telecommunications company’s venture arm plans to invest in startups leveraging 5G for their businesses

This latest achievement allows Communications Service Providers (CSPs) to focus on delivering innovative services to their customers rather than on the operations of running a data center supporting a next-gen virtualized network.

Check out this SDxCentral interview with Affirmed’s very own senior director of product management, Seshadri Sathyanarayan.

Understanding NSA and SA—The path that mobile network operators (MNOs) follow to 5G will depend a lot on how they plan to pay for that journey.