SDxCentral 2-Minute Weekly Wrap for May 13, 2022 Plus, Vodafone released its cloud-native Unified Performance Management platform, and Dish is closer to hitting its 5G spectrum license deadline. Google, Microsoft, Apple Move One-Step Toward Passwordless Vodafone Grabs Google Cloud For AI-Powered 5G Data Hub Dish 5G Launch Races Against Time, Complexity SDxCentral 2-Minute Weekly Wrap Podcast Full Transcript Today is May 13, 2022, and this is the SDxCentral 2-Minute Weekly Wrap where we cover the week’s top stories on next-generation IT infrastructure. On World Password Day, Apple, Google, and Microsoft teamed up to expand support for a passwordless sign-in standard built by the FIDO (Fi-Doh) Alliance and the World Wide Web Consortium. The parties and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency called this move a “milestone” on the passwordless journey. FIDO argues that password-only authentication is one of the biggest security issues on the web, leading to customer frustration, account takeovers, data breaches, or even stolen identities.  The passwordless standard-based capabilities allow users to sign in through the same actions as unlocking their devices via biometric verification or a device pin. FIDO claims this approach is more secure than traditional passwords or legacy multi-factor technologies using one-time, SMS (s-m-s) passcodes. Vodafone this week released its cloud-native Unified Performance Management platform that the operator claims will provide a more reliable mobile experience to Vodafone’s European customers. The platform taps Google Cloud’s smart analytics portfolio, artificial intelligence, and machine learning tools, along with Cardinality.io’s (Car-di-nal-i-ti-dot-i-o) cloud-native DataOps and analytics platform to update Vodafone’s pan-European networks more quickly and efficiently via hybrid cloud architecture. The unified performance management platform, which is being launched in 11 European countries, will allow operating companies to gather billions of network performance data points, effectively replacing more than 100 distinct network performance applications used today. This will provide a single source of clean data located in the cloud that companies can analyze and optimize for using artificial intelligence. Dish Network remains steadfast that it will hit looming 5G spectrum license coverage requirements despite admitted past technical snags in launching its cloud-native network. The mobile virtual network operator controls a host of wireless spectrum licenses. Some of those licenses are tagged with very specific coverage requirements. The most pressing is that Dish must cover 20% of the population encompassed within those licensed areas by June. Dish CEO Erik Carlson previously stated that the company had more than 25 major metro markets ready to be deployed before the deadline, including around 100 smaller cities across the country. The company did take its first steps toward that goal this week by launching commercial operations on its own network in Las Vegas. However, it admits there is still work to be done. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices