Amazon Web Services (AWS) has announced the general availability of a new GPU-powered instance called Amazon P4d that is based on Nvidia’s new Ampere architecture, and the two firms are making big performance claims. AWS has offered GPU-powered instances for a decade now, the most current generation called P3. AWS and Nvidia are both claiming that P4d instances offer three times faster performance, up to 60% lower cost, and 2.5 times more GPU memory for…

Have you heard the one about 5G? Wait, which one? You know. The one about 5G where it replaces 4G and makes all our phones amazingly fast all the time? Or the one where the FCC is going to finally deliver ultrafast internet to rural communities using 5G? Or maybe you live in shady Facebook groups, and have heard the one about how 5G is making everyone sick? Just about every curious reader of current…

The reliability of services delivered by ISPs, cloud providers and conferencing services (a.k.a. unified communications-as-a-service (UCaaS)) is an indication of how well served businesses are via the internet. ThousandEyes is monitoring how these providers are handling the performance challenges they face. It will provide Network World a roundup of interesting events of the week in the delivery of these services, and Network World will provide a summary here. Stop back next week for another update,…

A Pentagon request for information that led to speculation about a nationwide 5G network created by a partnership between the mobile carriers and the government has provoked the wrath of Congressional leaders. The controversy started with an official request for information from the Pentagon, which asks for guidance about the Department of Defense owning and operating 5G networks for domestic operations. Per Forrester vice president and research director Glenn O’Donnell, the plan as discussed would…