Here are the top stories SDxCentral wrangled this week related to SDN, NFV, 5G, IoT, cloud, and more:

AT&T's Stephens: 47% of Network Functions Are Virtualized — AT&T credits SDN and NFV with helping it lower its costs.

What Does Cisco's Intent-Based Networking Actually Do? — Cisco stole some marketing thunder from MEF, which is taking over some of ONF's work on the technology.

Serverless Computing May Offer Better Economics Than Virtual Machines — IBM is less expensive than rivals Microsoft, Google, or AWS.

Here are the week’s strays and stragglers we roped for you:

The FCC approved Apple's application for an experimental license to test millimeter wave technology in two locations near the company's offices in Milpitas, California, reported DSL Reports.

The State of Louisiana Office of Technology Services is using VMware's Cross-Cloud Architecture and NSX to modernize data center operations as part of a statewide cloud transformation initiative.

Microsoft released Azure Container Instances (ACI) to deliver containers without having any virtual machine infrastructure to manage.

Adlink and netElastic partnered to build pre-integrated network functions virtualization (NFV) hardware and software products for service providers.

ZTE and Intel released a white paper covering designs for a containerized vEPC application as part of the two companies' joint research into virtualization of telecoms networks.

Mirantis released NFV-focused updates to it cloud platform.

ECI launched its Hybrid Virtualization Platform designed to support multiple NFV-based use cases to help service providers simplify operations.

6WIND and NEC Corporation expanded their 10-year partnership to build evolved packet core (EPC) equipment for mobile network infrastructure.

NTT Communications launched international data network services in India through its affiliate NTT Communications India Network Services. This follows the construction of the company's two new data centers in Mumbai and Bangalore.

Tricentis acquired load testing company Flood IO, which helps development and testing teams understand how their applications scale.

EdgeConneX is participating as a founding partner of Infrastructure Masons, a non-profit professional association for the digital infrastructure industry.

Neustar introduced its new Integrated Security Platform to help enterprises defend and monitor their sites through its security cloud.

IEEE launched a collaborative effort with NIST to meet the growing demand for standards that address intercloud interoperability.

Hologram's LTE software-defined cellular network is now available for connecting Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Hologram is best known for developing software products for IoT developers and built a cellular network for connected devices.

Console Connect made its CloudNexus generally available. CloudNexus is an automated cloud-to-cloud connection system for the enterprise.

Bell Canada joined as Cengn’s newest consortium member. The partnership will focus on collaboration between Cengn's lab infrastructure and Bell’s expertise in providing broadband fiber and wireless networks.

Level 3 Communications unveiled a new communications offering called Amazon Chime to support technology for the mobile workforce in the cloud.

Fujitsu America released a range of server systems designed for Intel's Xeon processors.

Security startup Bricata raised an $8 million Series A to continue its investment in research and development.

Omnicom Group picked AT&T's FlexWare, NetBond for Cloud, and threat manager to build security into its network capabilities.

Troy, Alabama selected Extreme Networks' networking technology to provide connectivity across 70 locations.

Here are the other stories SDxCentral covered this week:

  • Are Hosted Orchestration Platforms More Secure Than Going it Alone?
  • Bare Metal Cloud Startup Packet Builds Edge Compute Footprint
  • Big Switch Networks Closes $30.7M in Funding
  • Nokia Profits Jump in 2Q Thanks to Apple Deal, Market Share Gains
  • Huawei's AR Series Routers Support its SD-WAN
  • Latest OpenFlow Combo with Open vSwitch Shows Security Chops
  • Oracle Cloud Push Takes on Enterprise Monetization Efforts
  • Facebook CSO Lobbies for InfoSec Compassion, Diversity at Black Hat
  • Bigleaf Focuses on Channel Resellers to Tackle SD-WAN
  • WiFi Startup Mist Uses Machine Learning to Improve Connectivity
  • Juniper CEO Hints at Acquisition Prospects During Q2 2017 Earnings Call
  • Cisco Goes for Premier Membership in Blockchain Project
  • Cavium Programmable Switch Family Reaches for Hybrid Cloud Market
  • CenturyLink Releases New Flavors of SD-WAN Connectivity
  • Performance Monitoring Companies Attracting Private Equity Investment
  • Lacework Bolsters Cloud Security Platform, Adds Docker Support
  • Israeli Startup Iguazio Attracts $33M Series B
  • Google CEO 'Surprised' at Cloud Uptake, Use Cases
  • SK Telecom Develops Quantum Cryptography Chip for IoT
  • Big Data Provider Cloudwick Launches Security Analytics Platform
  • Fiber Pays Off for Carriers, SD-WAN Not So Much, Yet
  • Cisco to Add Automation, SDN Control to TIM's Optical Network
  • AT&T's Gordon Mansfield: No Surprises Yet in 5G Trials
  • Top Players in the Container Ecosystem You Should Know