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Mobile World Live
Microsoft opened the door to the launch of its own mobile gaming app store if its $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard is given the go-ahead by regulators, Financial Times (FT) reported. Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft Gaming, told FT it wanted to be ready to offer content from its Xbox console and third-party partners across multiple screens and locations. "Today, we can't do that on mobile devices but we want to build toward a world that we think will be coming where those devices are opened up." Spencer was referring to a pending update to the European Union's (EU) Digital Markets Act, with new rules expected to come into force in March 2024 requiring Apple and Google to open up their devices to allow access to app stores beyond their own He added Microsoft is “working towards a world” where its customers are not limited to a few app stores to be able to install its gaming services. Key to its app store plans will also be the clearance of its deal to acquire Activision Blizzard. Spencer said mobile gaming was an “obvious hole in our capability” and the acquisition of the game publisher can help fill this gap. He also noted hit titles such as Call of Duty and Candy Crush Saga would be crucial to gaining users on its app store. The Activision Blizzard deal is facing ongoing regulatory scrutiny i [1]n the US, Europe and the UK. [1]
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Mobile World Live
Virgin Media O2 reportedly turned its attentions to a possible take over of broadband provider Cityfibre around four months after dropping its interest in buying rival company TalkTalk for £3 billion. The Telegraph reported Mike Fries, CEO of Virgin Media O2 parent company Liberty Global, held talks with Cityfibre boss Greg Mesch and the operator has also employed the services of bankers from US-based LionTree to explore a deal. Cityfibre is currently in the process of expanding its reach from covering 2 million homes to 8 million by 2025, and notably half of its network overlaps with Virgin Media O2’s infrastructure. The Telegraph sources estimate the deal for Cityfibre could reach £3 billion, the same price Virgin Media O2 was discussing with regards to buying UK-based fixed player TalkTalk in 2022. However, it dropped the plans [1] due to market and economic conditions. It had also faced competition to secure a deal for TalkTalk from Vodafone Group and Sky. A tie-up with Virgin Media O2 could prove an attractive proposition for Cityfibre. The company is shedding around 400 jobs, a fifth of its workforce, due to rising costs. It also raised £4.9 billion in debt financing in 2022. Both TalkTalk and Cityfibre are facing higher costs in building their broadband networks due to inflation, making it more difficult to compete with BT's wholesale unit Openreach. [1]
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Mobile World Live
Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei (pictured) revealed the company redesigned more than 4,000 circuit boards and replaced more than 13,000 components from across its range since the US imposed restrictions on the company, [1] South China Morning Post reported. The newspaper detailed the contents of a speech by the executive published on 17 March but made last month, outlining its response to strict sanctions placed on the company. This included the sourcing and development of Chinese alternatives to components it was no longer able to buy from US companies. As part of a continued push to develop its own products, Zhengfei noted the company had spent around $23.8 billion on R&D in 2022. Executives from Huawei and Chinese officials have been scathing of restrictions [2] placed on US companies selling certain products to the company. The policy was imposed alongside a prolonged political campaign which saw some countries [3] ban 5G network equipment on alleged security grounds. However, Huawei claims to now be out of what rotating chairman Eric Xu described at the turn of 2023 as “crisis mode”. In his new year message Xu noted the company would keep R&D investments high [4] and cited growth areas including its cloud division, and other products and services aiding digital transformation of industries. [1]
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Mobile World Live
Fintech was clearly a hot topic at MWC23: there were 90 exhibitors in the fintech category, numerous keynotes and side sessions as part of one of the conference’s five themes. There was even a 4YFN winner. Fintech has become more prominent in recent years, partly due to the impact of the Covid-19 (coronavirus) pandemic on digital services. As more consumers take a digital-first approach to many lifestyle services (for example shopping and entertainment), and new services and applications become mainstream (for example the metaverse and Web3), fintech will be an important tool for people and businesses to fulfil transactions in a digital environment. This reality, unsurprisingly, is attracting innovation and significant amounts of investment into the fintech space. For example, 2021 was a bumper year for fintech companies, with KPMG figures placing total investments at $225 billion. Although investor sentiment fell in 2022, mainly due to the deteriorating global political and macroeconomic environment, the fundamentals of growth including high demand, digital-centric lifestyles and enabling regulations remain strong. In this context, mobile operators around the world are waking up to the fintech opportunity, as well as the challenge from the growing number of fintech start-ups pouring into the space (it is estimated that there are now more than 26,000 fintech companies around the world). In many ways, the fintech opportunity today mirrors the digital content opportunity a decade ago. As then, the argument now is whether operators should bother to compete with more nimble start-ups. Unlike a decade ago, however, operators no longer have the luxury of strong revenue growth from core services and largely underpenetrated markets. Consequently, the imperative to diversify service offerings is now stronger than ever and fintech represents low-hanging fruit for operators to capitalise on. Of course, operators are not entirely new players in the fintech ecosystem. Several operators in Africa and other developing regions have been offering a variety of mobile financial services (MFS) through mobile money for the better part of the last two decades. The latest GSMA Mobile Money State of the Industry Report [1] shows total transactions value reached $1 trillion in 2021, with Africa accounting for more than 70 per cent of the figure. However, a question which often arises, and for which there are different views, is whether mobile money can be competitive with other fintech services, and drive profitability for providers and impact for consumers. The GSMA Intelligence team at MWC23 explored this topic extensively in meetings, keynote sessions and other forums with various industry stakeholders. In all conversations, one recurring theme stood out: mobile money is no longer just about providing basic financial services to the underserved, it is now a mainstream financial service in markets where it is offered. For example, Chris Meng, VP of Huawei’s Northern Africa Carrier Business, talked about the vendor’s one-stop platform, which powers Ethio Telecom’s Telebirr and Safaricom’s m-Pesa, and provides flexibility for operators to add new applications and services on a mobile wallet base. Frehiwot Tamru, CEO of Ethio Telecom, disclosed that Telebirr reached 29 million customers in less than two years after launch, with products such as merchant payments and micro-credit, and Sitoyo Lopokoiyit, MD of m-Pesa Africa, highlighted his company’s consumer products for 59 million users, as well as its solutions for 730,000 businesses and 59,000 developers. So, what did we learn at MWC23? A lot. Here are a few takeaways: The MFS landscape is evolving – MFS has been through three phases. The first, which started before 2010, was characterised by basic money transfer and cash-in cash-out (CICO) services. Here, mobile money helped to reduce the financial exclusion gap in low- and middle-income countries. The second phase between 2010 and 2020 saw fintech start-ups come up with solutions to integrate MFS into peoples’ lives, enabling digital payments for a wide of range of digital services including e-commerce and online gaming. The third phase, which picked up at the start of this decade, is underpinned by the inclusion of credit services into MFS offerings. This has the potential to open new opportunities in the consumer and SME markets for operators going forward. Regulation is a key enabler – The success of MFS to date, along with its future growth, is a function of the policy and regulatory environment. MFS has taken root in markets where operators have been allowed to lead the deployment of services, for example Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Egypt, Morocco and more recently Ethiopia, while discussions are ongoing in several others, notably Algeria, Libya and Tunisia. Enabling regulations go beyond just permitting operators to play in this space, they enable collaborations with other ecosystem players and partners including banks, existing fintech players, and various public and private institutions to implement mobile payment and credit solutions. Diversification and innovation will drive future growth - There is a strong argument that mobile money service diversification and innovation, based on a business model that is agile, adaptable and collaborative, will be critical for success. To this end, the concept of the super app, where an operator uses a one-stop app to provide access to multiple services through a single interface to create new financial solutions, is being talked about a lot more, following a number of deployments. For example, m-Pesa’s super app enables customers to download mini-apps within the app to complete tasks like ticket booking, deliveries, shopping, licence applications, insurance et cetera with businesses, government agencies, utilities and other companies. For operators, especially in developing regions, fintech is a matter of how, not if, considering the growing opportunity and the need to create new revenue streams in an increasingly-challenging competitive environment. As I highlighted in my keynote on this topic at the North Africa Operations Transformation Forum (OTF), held at MWC23, critical success factors include having the right solution and building the partnerships with relevant ecosystem players. The number of fintech exhibitors and suppliers at the event, including Evina, Huawei and MobiFin, to name a few, certainly point to the potential for the mobile industry in the fintech space. - Kenechi Okeleke - director of regional, social and policy research, GSMA Intelligence The editorial views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and will not necessarily reflect the views of the GSMA, its Members or Associate Members. [1]
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Mobile World Live
Dish Network stated it reinstated the ability customers of its Boost Mobile brand to access account information as it provided an update on its bid to recover from a cyberattack [1] in February. The operator last week explained Boost Mobile subscribers can pay their bills online, at stores and through apps. Dish Network remains tight-lipped on the details of the attack: Brett Callow, a threat analyst at anti-virus software company Emsisoft, told Mobile World Live (MWL) a lack of detail from Dish Network about the attack makes it hard to interpret what happened. “It could mean that it impacted multiple systems and so far they’ve only been able to rebuild that one,” he said of the Boost Mobile update. A Dish Network representative told MWL restoring all of its “customer experiences” was a top priority: “our teams are making progress on the customer service front every day, but it will take a little time before all of our systems are fully restored”. Dish Network also increased its call centre capacity and social media response capabilities to help customers, the representative stated. [1]
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Mobile World Live
Meta Platforms brought a paid subscription option for Facebook and Instagram home, offering features including a user verification sign in the US following trials [1] in Australia and New Zealand. The Meta Verified service costs $14.99 per month for iOS and Android app users, or $11.99 on the web. Along with the badge, subscriptions offer improved and protections from online impersonation. The company stated it is exploring additional items for the service as it adds more markets. Meta Platforms stated an increased visibility and reach element had been “removed for now” for the US launch. The company is keen to find additional revenue streams as it struggles to implement a metaverse strategy and economic uncertainties contribute to ongoing lay offs [2]. Twitter implemented a paid-for option [3] in 2022, though it initially faced user discontent. [1]
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Mobile World Live
IDC forecast smartphone shipments in Thailand to be flat in 2023, as continued inflationary pressure and rising interest rates heap pressure on a market which declined in the closing quarter of 2022. Apirat Ratanavichit, market analyst at IDC Thailand, stated overall consumer spending is unlikely to rebound in the short term, impacting shipments of low-tier devices which account for the bulk of the market. IDC noted higher ASPs contributed to a 23 per cent year-on-year drop in shipments to 4.2 million units in Q4 2022. Samsung maintained its top position with shipments down 20.1 per cent at 841.8 million units. Apple moved from third to second with shipments 6.8 per cent lower at 793.8 million. Oppo took third on flat shipments of 746.2 million. Vivo's shipments fell 17.7 per cent to 579.8 million. Xiaomi fell from second to fifth, with shipments 48.1 per cent lower at 499.8 million. Full year shipments fell 21 per cent to 16.6 million, with entry-level models (below $200) accounting for 59 per cent compared with 64 per cent in 2021. The ASP increased 15 per cent to $329. Shipments of 5G smartphones rose 14 per cent to 5.7 million units, comprising 35 per cent of the total compared with 24 per cent in 2021. IDC stated the premium segment (more than $800) grew 17 per cent, with Apple's 79 per cent share down from 82 per cent in 2021 as Samsung gained ground with the Galaxy S and Galaxy Fold series.
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Mobile World Live
Government data showed mobile subscriber numbers in Bangladesh grew for the second consecutive month in February after falling by more than 4 million in H2 2022 due to market leader Grameenphone facing a ban [1] on selling SIMs. The four operators in the nation added 1.8 million subscribers in February for a total of 182.6 million, following a gain of 600,000 in January, data from the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission showed. Subscriber numbers in 2022 peaked at 184.5 million in in June. Grameenphone was barred from selling SIMs the following month, with the restriction lifted at the beginning of 2023. The operator's subscriber base declined by 5.5 million in H2 2022. During the period, only Banglalink managed to add users (1.4 million), with Robi Axiata losing 130,000 and Teletalk about 60,000 compared with H1 2022. The full-year tally was down by nearly 1 million. Grameenphone added 660,000 subscribers in January and February for a total of 80 million; Robi tallied 55.1 million after adding 740,000; Banglalink added nearly 1.1 million for 40.9 million total; and Teletalk was flat at 6.7 million. Following a spectrum auction [2] in April 2022, Grameenphone's 4G customers grew 23.6 per cent year-on-year to 34.2 million across the full year, with Robi's up 5.1 million [3] to 29.9 million. [1]
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Mobile World Live
MWC Barcelona 2023 played host to another successful 5G mmWave Summit, featuring leading operators and vendors in the ecosystem. Mobile World Live has all the highlights from an event that included industry progress from Qualcomm, Ericsson, GSMA, GSMA Intelligence, Immersive.io, NTT Docomo, Telefonica, Verizon and more.
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Mobile World Live
Japan-based Fujitsu teamed with a local women's university to jointly work on AI ethics to promote gender equality, the vendor's latest move under its small research lab programme. Fujitsu's move with the Ochanomizu University brings the number of institutions involved in the research scheme to 12. It expanded the programme by eight universities in 2022. Its international presence includes facilities at Ben-Gurion University in Israel and the University of Toronto. The vendor plans to add more overseas institutions to drive global R&D cooperation. In a statement, Fujitsu explained the initiative embeds its researchers at technology incubators at universities in Japan and overseas to conduct joint research across five disciplines: AI; computing; converging technologies; data and security; and the fusion of high-performance computing and AI. Fujitsu CTO Vivek Mahajan stated it believes the programme will "position us to remain one of the world’s best technology providers and contribute to the solution of many challenges facing our customers as well as society at large”.
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Mobile World Live
INTERVIEW: InterDigital CEO Liren Chen (pictured) voiced confidence 6G would deliver significantly different use cases to current technology, with the generation tipped to be the first to have compatibility with AI and machine learning (ML) built-in from the start. Speaking to Mobile World Live at MWC23, Chen explained the next generation would bring new thinking, even though he acknowledged it is still early days in terms of the specifics of what 6G will be. Alongside benefits historically associated with new generations of wireless technology, such as increased reliability, better data speeds and improved latency performance, he indicated there would likely be significant advances elsewhere. The next generation “will probably be the first" to include AI and ML "from the ground up", along with being a pioneer in terms of providing an "immersive user experience...a 3D user experience”. He also indicated the future network protocols were expected to provide much more precise positioning for a range of applications. Chen added InterDigital has been contributing to work with peers, universities and other industry players on aiding developments towards 6G, which is expected to be commercially deployed around 2030. To view the complete interview, where Chen also discusses InterDigital’s latest deals with big-name industry players including Amazon and Apple, click here [1]. [1]
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Mobile World Live
Qualcomm unveiled a mobile chipset bringing some of its high-end flagship features into its Snapdragon 7-series to make them more accessible to a broader range of consumers. Cindy Lei, director, of product management, told press the Snapdragon 7+ Gen 2 mobile platform runs an Adreno GPU delivering a two-times performance boost over its predecessor. She claimed this as the "biggest GPU performance leap in the 7-series history”. The chip runs a Kyro CPU which Qualcomm stated doubles peak speeds to 2.91GHz and the platform features an integrated AI engine tipped as delivering a 40 per cent improvement in performance per watt. Qualcomm touted better image capture from an 18-bit Triple ISP compatible with cameras of up to 200MP and HDR video captured from two modules simultaneously. The chip is compatible with mmWave and sub-6GHz bands, delivering peak data rates of 4.4Gb/s in the downlink. There is also compatibility for dual 5G SIMs, a feature Qualcomm introduced on its flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 [1] chipset in 2022. Lei noted variable rate shading was also a new feature for the 7-series which allocates resources to reduce GPU workloads without sacrificing graphical fidelity, a feature she cited as useful for gaming. Qualcomm stated Xiaomi Redmi and Realme are preparing to launch devices featuring the platform, with the first expected later this month. [1]
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Mobile World Live
CK Hutchison held talks with Telenor about combining their respective mobile operations in Denmark and Sweden, Financial Times reported, as the conglomerate eyes in-market consolidation opportunities for some of its 3-branded units. The rumours follow the release of CK Hutchison Holding’s 2022 earnings statement, which includes its various other business interests including ports, retail and infrastructure alongside its telecoms company [1]. In the filing, it noted its business which runs 3 Group Europe would be “exploring in-market consolidation opportunities, as well as pursuing initiatives to effect an asset-light strategy, including network sharing, in order to enhance profitability”. Telenor declined to comment on reports of its involvement in any discussions. Financial Times reported its sources said talks were in the early stages and CK Hutchison had also scoped out other options. GSMA Intelligence statistics for Q4 2022 place CK Hutchison’s 3 operation in Denmark as the third-largest by mobile connections, with 1.5 million. Telenor ranked second on 1.6 million, behind TDC (3.3 million). In Sweden the pair are third and fourth in the market by the same metric, with 3 Sweden on 2.4 million and Telenor almost 3 million. The top two are Tele2 (4 million) and Telia (4.7 million). Alongside the rumours about the future of CK Hutchison’s businesses in Sweden and Denmark, the company has been in talks for months with Vodafone Group about a potential tie-up in the UK [2]. [1]
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Mobile World Live
The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) moved to address what it branded a growing threat [1] of scam texts, issuing its first mandate requiring operators to block messages from invalid numbers and seeking feedback on potential further measures to protect consumers. In a statement, the regulator highlighted an increase in complaints about spoof messages or robotexts from 3,300 in 2015 to 18,900 in 2022. The rules require mobile operators to block messages from numbers deemed as unlikely senders. Operators are also tasked with working with aggregators to establish a system for valid senders to verify blocked messages. The mandate adds to the FCC’s efforts [2] to curb robocalls. It argued scam calls are easier to ignore because users can reject them or swiftly hang up. In contrast, robotexts can usually only be identified once opened, heightening the risk of phishing or malware attacks. The FCC stated it is seeking public comment on the regulation and “further proposals” to address the issue. [1]
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Mobile World Live
Japan-based rivals NTT and KDDI agreed to jointly develop next-generation optical networks to prepare for 6G, pledging to promote open innovation with partners and push standardisation to spread photonics technology globally. In a statement, KDDI explained the companies will research and develop high-capacity optical communication systems for domestic backbone transmission and submarine cable systems for long-distance transmission overseas. KDDI argued the spread of data across society will accelerate in the 6G era, requiring a huge amount of information processing and making it "necessary to further expand the transmission capacity of existing information communication systems, increase the processing speed and reduce power consumption required for carbon neutrality". The standardisation work will focus on transmission methods for all-photonics networks to deliver high-speed and -quality; and standards for all-photonics networks in mobile communications and orchestration technology in the beyond 5G and 6G era. Their activities will be based on the NTT-backed Innovative Optical and Wireless Network Global Forum, with the aim to standardise the technology in the ITU's Telecommunication Standardisation sector. KDDI is a major player in the global submarine cable sector.
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Mobile World Live
A Hon Hai Precision (Foxconn) subsidiary was tipped to start work on a $200 million factory in India, after winning an order from Apple to produce AirPods, Reuters reported. Foxconn Interconnect Technology will begin work on the facility in the state of Telangana in southern India in the second half of the year, with AirPods production to commence at the end of 2024 at the earliest, Reuters wrote. Reuters stated the contract is Foxconn's first for AirPods and comes with lower profit margins than its iPhone deals, likely an effort to win the deal. The manufacturer started to shift some production [1] of Apple products including its flagship smartphone from China to India in 2022, following pressure from the US vendor to diversify its supply chain. In December 2022, Kuo Ming-Chi, an Apple analyst with TF International Securities, stated the vendor aimed to shift up to 45 per cent of iPhone production [2] to India. [1]
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Mobile World Live
Australia's communications regulator penalised MVNO Circles Australia, which trades as Circles.Life, for breaching consumer regulations over an extended period, potentially putting customers’ safety at risk. The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) stated Circles.Life paid an AUD253,080 ($169,689) penalty issued after an investigation found it failed to provide customer information to the Integrated Public Number Database (IPND) more than 60,000 times between January 2022 and August 2022. ACMA explained the IPND is used to help locate people when they call the country's main emergency service number. It stated its probe found Circles.Life's IT systems had an error preventing IPND data from uploading and the company did not conduct required regular checks which would have uncovered the failure. Nerida O’Loughlin, ACMA's chair, stated it "is alarming" the operator had "no idea its customer information was not being uploaded until contacted by the" authority. Circles.Life committed to a court-enforceable undertaking requiring an independent review of its compliance practices for IPND obligations and to make any necessary improvements. The operator paid an AUD199,800 infringement and AUD100,000 in compensation in 2022 for failing to have adequate multi-factor ID checks in place.
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Mobile World Live
PRESS RELEASE: ZTE Corporation has announced that Andrew John Ovens, Chief Director of Global Services of ZTE Europe, has delivered a speech on "Digital Twin-Based Network Insights", sharing ZTE's innovative practices in intelligent network O&M and highly autonomous networks, at the "Shaping Digital Innovation Forum”, a part of Mobile World Congress 2023. At the forum, industry guests including telecom operators, analysts and partners have conducted in-depth discussions on the development trends and opportunities of future networks. According to Andrew John Ovens, intelligent networks have become an indispensable part of operators' digital transformation, which delivers zero-wait, zero-touch, and zero-failure customer experiences to vertical industries and consumer users through highly autonomous network and ICT intelligent infrastructure, agile and closed-loop operations, and service assurance. ZTE employs a 3-dimension digital twin model to present and predict the evolution of customer experiences for selected applications, services and areas. Coupled with an intent-based engine using natural language interface and AI-based close-loop service assurance, the solution delivers the next level of highly automated and intelligent O&M experience. Digital Twin-Based Network Insights The ZTE solution, uSmartNet, allows customers to deal with the growing network and services complexity with 5G deployments, significantly improving the use of valuable 5G payload and reducing OPEX by 30% or more. The solution uses industry specifications such as TM Forum and CCSA. The digital twin provides multi-dimensional and hierarchical 360-degree insights into network, services, and users, to systematically evaluate network performance, service quality, user experience, and investment costs. With accuracy of 90% or more, the solution provides scientific decision support for operators' network construction and optimization, service development, and user satisfaction improvement. Evolving to High-Level Intelligent O&M Timely and accurate predictions bring O&M to higher level of intelligence, moving from reactive problem handling to preventive and proactive identification and resolution, and from network-oriented to service-oriented and customer-centric O&M, specifically: Proactive Network Optimization: uSmartNet can predict service indicators and user experience trends, analyze return on investment for planned network expansion, compare network planning scenarios and deliver accurate expansion suggestions. Proactive Service Assurance: Using AI and machine learning, uSmartNet proactively monitors network and services indicators, automatically notifies on degrading trends, precisely analyses and demarcates the root cause(s) for possible failures, and automates fault resolution. Proactive Satisfaction Assurance: Integrating a wide range of network and service quality indicators for voice, data and applications, as well as user data such as crowd-based or complaints, uSmartNet generates precise models of the user satisfaction evolution, enabling customer-centric and proactive optimization of the network to enhance customer satisfaction. With 80+ projects already delivered, ZTE has been working with its partners for new use cases. Meanwhile, the company has been committed to maintaining an industry-leading position in big data, AI and general data processing capabilities, and assisting customers in their successful digital transformation journey.
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Mobile World Live
PRESS RELEASE: ZTE Corporation in partnership with China Mobile, has completed the world's first 400G QPSK (Quadrature Phase Shift Keying) pilot, accomplishing ultra-high-speed transmission over 2,808km on G.652.D optical fibers and the extreme transmission distance of 5,616km on land cables, making a new record of 400G QPSK transmission without electric regenerators in existing network. This pilot verifies that the 400G QPSK has become mature and commercially available, and will help China Mobile achieve high-speed 400G interconnection between eastern and western data centers. Optical networks as the basis of the national "East-data-west-computing" project, requires more bandwidth as the project goes on. Therefore, it is indispensable to upgrade them from 100G to 400G to support long-distance and high-speed interconnection between data centers. In this pilot, ZTE has supplied the ZXONE 19700, a flagship commercial product for large-capacity optical cross-connect transmission. Based on the industry's first 400G QPSK module that supports 130G baud rates, this device is equipped with 32-degree OXC and line/tributary-separated electrical cross-connect 400G boards to offer ultra-large-capacity and high-quality interconnection. China Mobile finally enabled all-optical high-speed interconnection and all-optical flexible scheduling over 2,808km across four provinces (Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hunan, and Guizhou), with a total of 45 OA sections, fully meeting China Mobile's requirements for ultra-broadband and long-distance transmission of backbone optical networks. ZTE has always been committed to technological innovation and practical exploration. Moving forward, ZTE will keep working with global operators to build the all-optical base of the computing power network, expecting to boost the evolution of the new-generation optical communications technologies and jointly drive the new growth of the digital economy.
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Mobile World Live
The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) moved ahead with plans to propose a regulatory framework covering satellite-to-phone offerings, seeking to tap growing availability of such services to tackle coverage gaps. Commissioners today (16 March) unanimously voted to approve proposals first discussed by chair Jessica Rosenworcel during MWC23 [1] seeking to boost collaboration between satellite and mobile operators. Key areas covered include developing a framework to enable satellite service providers working with land-based counterparts to gain FCC clearance to tap licensed spectrum, along with the potential to allocate specific frequencies. "A satellite operator could then serve a wireless provider’s customers" in remote areas, the regulator explained. The FCC is seeking comment on how any new rules could also enable access to emergency response systems for users of satellite-to-phone services. A further vote will be held to explore the potential for any framework to be extended to other bands, locations and applications. During MWC23, Rosenworcel highlighted the potential for satellite-to-phone services to make "mobile dead zones a thing of the past". T-Mobile US and SpaceX plan to beta test [2] satellite-based calls later this year, while Apple launched a limited emergency messaging [3] service in November 2022. [1]
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Mobile World Live
Sergio Cano, CEO, reveals new expansion plans of JSC Ingenium and what they can offer in comparison to their competitors.
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Mobile World Live
Microsoft made its latest move in an ongoing battle with Google for AI supremacy, previewing a new feature to integrate the technology with its Microsoft 365 Office suite. Dubbed Copilot, Microsoft stated the feature is currently being tested with select corporate customers and has been built on an AI software called large language models (LLMs), which has been developed in recent years to be capable of understanding and responding to text. Through Copilot, Microsoft said users of its popular business apps including Word, PowerPoint and Excel will benefit from “an entirely new experience”, using AI to generate drafts of documents, emails, presentations and even chats. For example, by using the feature on Microsoft Word, users communicate with Copilot on a sidebar and it will then write, edit, summarise and create a document based on text prompts. Naturally, users retain the ability to keep, modify or discard what is written. Microsoft claims this could save hours in “writing, sourcing and editing time”. Copilot is powered by GPT-4, the latest upgrade to ChatGPT by OpenAI, a developer Microsoft has invested billions in [1] to propel AI-based products into the mainstream. Ethics Interestingly, the company made a point of announcing Copilot had been built with existing commitments to data security and privacy, and was “grounded in AI principles and responsible" standards involving "decades of research". This comes in the same week the spotlight fell on Microsoft’s attitude towards ethical AI [2] after it emerged it had sacked its entire team focused on the field during a recent round of cuts. Also this week, Google, which is emerging as Microsoft’s main rival in the segment, launched AI assistant Claude [3], an apparent competitor to ChatGPT. Separately, it also announced the integration of AI features in its own suite of business offerings including Docs and Gmail. [1]
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Mobile World Live
Mike Finley, CEO, discusses Boingo’s role in the evolution of 5G connectivity and how this will transform cities and enterprises.
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Mobile World Live
Ericsson and MediaTek laid claim to having achieved a 5G downlink speed record for carrier aggregation (CA) comprising one FDD and three TDD channels, a combination promoted by the Swedish vendor as increasing 5G deployment options. In a statement, Ericsson noted in the interoperability development test achieved a downlink speed of 4.36Gb/s from four-component CA. The test employed the vendor's radios and a MediaTek 5G modem. The vendor added it had used one low-band and three mid-band channels in the sub-7GHz range, where most 5G data traffic is carried. Ericsson explained the band combination had the ability to offer end-users faster downloads and streaming for fixed wireless terminals and smartphones, while maximising the use of operator spectrum assets. Its head of product line 5G RAN Sibel Tombaz added Ericsson is “persistently exploring all possible frequency band combinations to boost capacity and coverage” adding CA “is a game changer when it comes to optimising the combined bandwidth of allocated spectrum assets to deliver higher date rates for a greater number of users”. The result of the test is the latest breakthrough claimed by the pair [1] and comes as Ericsson and its rivals continue to parade the improving capabilities [2] of their respective 5G equipment. [1]
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Mobile World Live
Nokia outlined an effort to deploy private wireless connectivity, edge equipment and software analytics for international NGO The Ocean Cleanup, as part of a drive to use technology to rid the world's oceans of plastics. The Ocean Cleanup is a Netherlands-based organisation which deploys emerging technologies including deep data analysis, AI, drones and satellite monitoring to dispose of plastics from the waters. Nokia stated its product portfolio and services will advance the NGO's operations. The vendor previously deployed a private wireless system using its Digital Automation Cloud for The Ocean Cleanup's operations in North Pacific and will deploy further systems at a later stage. Meanwhile, analytics software and Nokia MX industrial edge, a private wireless network designed for industrial use cases, will be used for navigation and “high-end video connectivity” on 4G. Nokia stated the collaboration is also in line with its “long-standing commitment” to advance the role of technology in combatting climate change and environmental issues. The vendor cited UNESCO research estimating plastic waste makes up 80 per cent of all marine pollution, with 8 million to 10 million metric tonnes of the material ending up in the sea every year. Subho Mukherjee, head of sustainability at Nokia, pointed to the vendor's subsea networks, acoustic sensing technology, remote environmental monitoring and private wireless capabilities as being key to the effort. “Nokia can, and will, continue to play an important role in the marine environment”, the executive said, adding it looks forward to seeing "how our technology can genuinely drive sustainable change and help protect critical natural resources and habitats".
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17:36
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Mobile World Live
Nvidia predicted developments in cloud and 5G to transform the mobile gaming sector, unlocking experiences on smartphones which were previously the domain of dedicated PCs and consoles. The company's director of global ecosystem and business development for AI, edge and accelerated computing Joao Kluck Gomes told Mobile World Live mobile is currently the largest segment of the gaming market, but titles available are typically simple and archaic due to the limitations of smartphones. He added cloud and 5G will bring “photorealistic 4K gameplay with fast responses” to mobile, along with laying a foundation for metaverse content. To capture the opportunity, operators will need to invest in “GPU-accelerated network edge computing” in addition to 5G, Gomes said. Gomes explained cloud streaming combines “AI and compute graphics to enable dynamic, interactive and immersive virtual spaces”, citing potential applications for operators beyond gaming, with automotive players including BMW and Mercedes-Benz among businesses employing the approach to create “real-time replicas of their factories to quickly train robots on new tasks and even create digital twins of 5G networks”. The expert believes cloud gaming is now on-par with dedicated gaming PCs or consoles, though conceded the experience on a large screen with a fibre connection “is different than playing with smartphones as some games do not suit small screens and limited touchscreen controls”. Dedicated gaming smartphones including those from Razer are helping address such lingering limitations and Gomes noted the idea of mobile gaming could ultimately become literal, with chips installed in autonomous vehicles to enable people to play while they travel.
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16:33
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Mobile World Live
Google halted sales of the enterprise edition of its smart glasses product [1] and indicated it would end support for the devices in September, years after discontinuing its much-maligned consumer-focused sibling. In a note on its website, Google said it had stopped selling the Glass Enterprise Edition yesterday (15 March). Support for the product until mid-September includes providing replacement devices, though there will be no further software updates provided. In a very brief statement on its Glass website, Google outlined its timeline and thanked supporters for “over a decade of innovation and partnership”. The company had released two iterations of the enterprise edition of the AR product, with the first being pushed to businesses in July 2017. An upgraded edition hit the market in 2019. At that time the first version was promoted by Google as being used [2] by a range of big players in the healthcare, logistics and manufacturing sectors, among others, including DHL and AGCO. Google’s consumer-focused Glass Explorer Edition received its last software update from the company in 2020, though had stopped being shipped to members of the “explorer programme” of early adopters in 2015. The initial device released in 2013 faced criticism about perceived issues with privacy, the style and usefulness. Despite Google’s experiences in the consumer segment other companies have made moves in this space [3] in the recent years including Xiaomi, Oppo and Facebook parent Meta Platforms [4], which partnered with spectacle specialist Luxottica. [1]
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13:53
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Mobile World Live
Veon CEO Kaan Terzioglu (pictured) highlighted local currency gains by its remaining operating units during Q4 2022, though the company noted the fluid nature of the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine continued to have an impact despite a move to exit [1] the former market. The company’s units in Ukraine, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan each made local currency gains in service revenue during Q4, with the Russian unit removed from its overall figures having been classed as held for sale and discontinued operations. In preliminary earnings documents, Terzioglu noted the figures showed Veon’s remaining businesses “achieved significant growth, both in terms of financial performance and the operational metrics that underpin our business”. He noted initial figures indicated continued growth in the opening months of 2023, with Veon’s “focus on operational performance as well as financial discipline” leaving it “well positioned to deliver growth while significantly deleveraging” its balance sheet and enhancing its credit profile. The company reiterated 90 per cent of Ukraine unit Kyivstar's network was operational by the close of 2022, with the figure having dropped to around 50 per cent at the height of Russia’s first onslaught [2]. But the ongoing conflict means Veon needs “more time” to finalise earnings data, it stated, explaining why figures remain preliminary for now. While the picture in local currencies was rosy, Veon’s reported numbers highlighted the impact of the war: Q4 revenue fell 4.9 per cent year-on-year to $940 million and profit attributable to shareholders was down 33.1 per cent to $200 million. It slipped to a full-year loss attributable to shareholders of $317 million compared with a $674 million profit in 2021, with revenue down 2.4 per cent to $3.8 billion. [1]
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13:07
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Mobile World Live
Vodafone Group announced the CEO of its business arm, Vinod Kumar (pictured), will leave the role in December 2023 to pursue other opportunities, ending a four-year tenure at the company. The operator stated Kumar will continue to focus on solidifying its IoT portfolio and leading client partnerships until his departure, with the process of finding a successor underway. Under Kumar, Vodafone stated its business unit had "consistently outperformed" its large telecoms peers and expanded its services across Europe and Africa, while launching platforms including VHub for SMEs and IoT platform Digital Asset Broker. Vodafone named Kumar [1] as the new CEO of its business arm in July 2019, around a week after he resigned as CEO and MD of Tata Communications for what he stated were "personal reasons". He assumed the job in September 2019, replacing Brian Humphries, who had stepped down in March. Kumar has also held senior roles at Pacnet, Global One and Sprint International. Vodafone interim CEO Margherita Della Valle thanked Kumar for his leadership of Vodafone Business and "his continued commitment" to keep the company "a strong competitor" in the coming months. Kumar's exit adds to a list of high-profile vacancies at the operator. Vodafone is yet to announce a permanent successor to former CEO Nick Read, [2] who left at the end of 2022. It is also searching for new boss in Spain, [3] with Colman Deegan to leave the role at the end of this month. [1]
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12:57
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Mobile World Live
Iliad Group CEO Thomas Reynaud asserted the telecoms outfit currently had the strongest growth momentum in Europe, as it ended 2022 with revenue uplift across all three of its markets. In a Q4 2022 and full year earnings statement, Reynaud noted Iliad's figures reflected strength in investment, innovation and commercial wins. “Amid hyperinflation and fierce competition, our financial performance is still very solid in our three countries. Iliad is the European group with the strongest growth momentum and these good results should spur us on to keep reinventing what we do, and to always look towards the future,” he said. Iliad reported revenue of €2.2 billion in Q4, up 12.3 per cent year-on-year. The company did not provide a net profit figure. In home market France, revenue was up 7 per cent to €1.4 billion, with growth across its fixed and mobile subscriber base. Iliad stated its Free mobile brand had delivered one of its best sales performances in ten years, ending 2022 as the country leader in terms of net additions. In Italy, revenue was up 16.3 per cent to €247 million, again on the strength in mobile, with Iliad Italia finishing the year “as the market-leading recruiter” of new subscriptions. After sealing a deal to acquire cable business UPC Poland [1] in April 2022 to merge it with mobile operator Play, Iliad said it was now beginning to see some success. Revenue in the country increased 30 per cent to €516 million and it expects further progress through the launch of a fibre company later this year. The group ended the year with 45.9 million subscribers, up by around 2.7 million, with full-year revenue up 10.3 per cent to €8.4 billion. [1]
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12:04
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Mobile World Live
CK Hutchison Group Telecom specified fixed wireless access (FWA) and expansion of data analytics projects as growth drivers for the business going forward, as its European 3-branded operations reported a mixed bag of results for 2022. In its annual earnings statement, the company outlined key growth areas which include drives to increase its customer base, push FWA across its markets and increase the scope of the data analytics applications it offers to industry. The group noted it had already developed applications for mobility, retail and tourism, digital advertising and utilities sectors using data analytics, and planned to target areas including electric vehicle charging infrastructure moving forward. Other growth areas identified were accessory sales and partnerships with third-parties to offer new products. For 2022, its 3 Europe operation reported mixed results from its two largest markets. Its UK business booked a 6 per cent year-on-year increase in its customer base and an associated 4 per cent increase in revenue, while Italian business WindTre suffered a 6 per cent revenue decline. The company also took another non-cash impairment on its Italian business of €1.3 billion, blamed on the “continuing challenging business environment” in the country. The hit was lower than the €1.7 billion write down in the market the previous year [1]. Across CK Hutchison Group Telecom, which comprises 3 Europe and its mobile unit in Hong Kong and Macau, it booked flat revenue of €10.1 billion. Net profit fell 55 per cent to €1.1 billion. The drop in its bottom line was attributed to higher one off gains in 2021 and deferred tax credits in the UK. [1]
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11:09
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Mobile World Live
INTERVIEW: Cohere Technologies chief Ray Dolan (pictured) told Mobile World Live Orthogonal Time Frequency Space (OTFS) is the mother of all waveforms, one which will ultimately engulf the mobile industry, lay the groundwork for 6G and, of course, propel his business. Following a keynote appearance at MWC23, Dolan explained OTFS essentially sits above channel access methods including TDMA, FDMA and CDMA which he conceded even he thought were the only real options available to the wireless industry when he started out in 1986. Now he believes “it’s just a matter of time” before OTFS becomes dominant. The software-based method “can be dimensioned” and has “the principles of radar so velocity is not an impairment”, allowing it to connect with space objects orbiting at up to 30,000mph, while also working underground: “it’s extremely robust”, meaning it could form a bedrock for 6G and beyond. It is also a key element in a partnership between Cohere Technologies and US aerospace and defence company Lockheed Martin [1] which Dolan believes highlights a massive opportunity for the mobile market in the global defence industry and other adjacent sectors. Dolan explained Lockheed Martin wants to enable all manner of things to communicate “whether it’s a tactical war fighter” or its back-office systems. The Cohere Technologies executive also had plenty to say about the financial backing his company has received from tier one operators, along with its moves in the broader open RAN sector: click here for more [2]. [1]
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11:03
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Mobile World Live
The US National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) began a process of identifying at least 1,500MHz of spectrum for potential new use cases, the first step in a strategy the government believes will spur fresh competition and innovation. It outlined a plan to seek input on highlighting frequencies which could be deployed as part of a National Spectrum Strategy covering the next ten years. US secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo stated the NTIA is tasked with identifying spectrum bands which could be repurposed to address current and future needs for fixed and mobile broadband, and satellite communications and other space-based systems. It will also look at uses in transportation, healthcare, IoT and smart cities, alongside government, and industrial and commercial applications. The NTIA and Federal Communications Commission committed to developing a national spectrum policy as part of a spectrum coordination initiative [1] formed in 2022. Responding to the NTIA's latest move, FCC chair Jessica Rosenworcel stated the US needed a "whole-of-government plan for managing" spectrum along with "short-term action to restore auction authority [2]”. Meredith Attwell Baker, president and CEO of trade group CTIA, argued a spectrum strategy is vital to the US economy and national security. And CCA president and CEO Tim Donovan stated the organisation looked forward to participating in the NTIA proceeding. [1]
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10:55
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Mobile World Live
PRESS RELEASE: ZTE Corporation has announced that it has received “A-” rating for its leading climate action from Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) and is rewarded Environment Leadership Award by CDP China in the year of 2022. Specifically, ZTE has scored “A” on Supplier Engagement Rating (SER), which places it on CDP’s 2022 Supplier Engagement Leaderboard, with the top 8% being named Supplier Engagement Leaders, in recognition of the Company’s efforts to measure and reduce climate risk within its supply chain. CDP is a not-for-profit charity that runs the global disclosure system for investors, companies, cities, states and regions to manage their environmental impacts. The world’s economy looks to CDP as the gold standard of environmental reporting with the richest and most comprehensive dataset on corporate and city action. This award fully demonstrates ZTE’s efforts and leadership in mitigating climate change and supply chain cooperation. ZTE, deeply understanding and highly embracing the profound significance of greenhouse gas emission reduction, has been dedicated to reducing the carbon footprint of its corporate operations and products for many years, with the goal to realize carbon peak and carbon neutrality ahead of 2030 and before 2060, respectively. In terms of corporate operations, ZTE is pushing forward its own low-carbon development with the Company's overall power consumption having saved around 57.56 million kWh in 2022. In the green supply chain sector, ZTE has taken multiple measures in its procurement management to lower carbon emission and coordinated with upstream and downstream partners to shape a "green supply chain". Thanks to various steps it has taken, the Company’s overall carbon emission reduction of raw material procurement reached 1.07 million tons in 2022. Meanwhile, ZTE carries out a comprehensive deployment of energy saving and consumption reduction for its high energy consumption products and solutions in green stations, green data center as well as low carbon energy usage. In 2022, the energy consumption per unit of sold products was reduced by 14% year-on-year. ZTE has explored over 100 innovative 5G application scenarios in 15 industries, boosting digital transformation and upgrading as well as energy conservation and carbon emission reduction for all walks of life. ZTE has always been committed to enabling carbon neutrality strategies to be implemented throughout the Company’s operation activities by employing the four key measures, namely, “aligning to regulations and norms”, “strengthening management and taking solid actions”, “embracing technologies and innovations” ,“enhancing coordination and collaboration”. Wang Xiang, Chief Strategy Officer, ZTE, said: “Moving forward, ZTE will step up efforts in basic research in new energy, new materials and new devices to make breakthroughs in key technologies, laying a solid technological foundation for green ICT infrastructure. The Company will integrate digital technologies and traditional industries with high energy consumption in greater depth and width, enabling industries to enjoy quality and efficiency improvement, energy conservation and consumption reduction, as well as contributing to the national goal of achieving carbon peak and carbon neutrality.”
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10:10
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Mobile World Live
SK Telecom (SKT) signed a deal to use security company Pindrop's AI-based voice authentication technology in its call centres to reduce customer consultation and wait times, with plans to commercialise the service by combining it with its own technology. The South Korea-based operator stated it began piloting the cloud-based service in 2021 and recently verified its effectiveness through evaluations with customers. SKT said the technology can "identify a user's unique voice and authenticate an individual" after a "simple" conversation "without additional authentication". It added the service can register voiceprints with a "maximum accuracy of 98 per cent" and is "widely used by many global companies" including Verizon and BT. In addition to its call centres, SKT will deploy the service on devices requiring personal authentication including access control and biometric security. SKT expects the voice recognition technology to be used for authentication across applications including vehicle access and online shopping.
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9:15
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Mobile World Live
Philippines-based PLDT agreed to acquire 100 per cent of Sky Cable for PHP6.8 billion ($123.9 million), the operator's third attempt to take control of a rival's broadband business. In a stock market filing, PLDT said its board approved the tie-up after reaching a deal with Sky Cable's three major shareholders: Sky Vision, ABS-CBN and Lopez. The transaction covers 1.38 billion common shares. PLDT's proposed acquisition of Sky Cable's broadband and related assets is subject to standard regulatory approvals and requires the company to shutdown pay-TV and cable business operations. Sky Cable's customer base comprised more than 300,000 cable users and nearly 350,000 broadband subscribers at end-June 2022, The Fast Mode reported. In its Q3 2022 earnings, PLDT indicated it had 3.2 million fixed-line broadband subscribers. PLDT subsidiary Cignal Cable entered into an agreement to take a near 39 per cent stake in Sky Cable in August 2022, but the deal fell apart within days after strong political opposition to the investment. The operator ended its first bid to acquire Sky Cable in late 2020 due to regulatory hurdles.
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9:05
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Mobile World Live
Voice and mobile data wholesaler BICS and cloud-native network software provider Mavenir moved to tackle a looming problem affecting roaming interoperability as operators shutdown 2G and 3G networks, developing a VoLTE product they claimed will ensure service continuity. The companies noted variances in operator schedules for sunsetting legacy mobile networks has the potential to create barriers to roaming services [1], prompting them to develop a set-up combining BICS’ expertise with Mavenir’s cloud-native IMS product to employ 4G and 5G technologies in place of 2G and 3G. Mikael Schachne, VP of telco market at BICS, branded the task of ensuring roaming service continuity as “crucial”. The companies noted a lack of planning could effectively shutdown service for customers still on legacy networks if they travel to a nation where these have been closed. Along with obvious safety issues in terms of removing even emergency calling services, Mavenir and BICS highlighted the potential loss of roaming revenue for operators. Ashok Khuntia, president of core networks at Mavenir, argued it is important to maintain a focus on existing technologies at a time of growing interest in 5G “or even 6G”. He argued such next-generation developments must be conducted “in a way that doesn’t create blind spots that could cost operators revenue and potentially widen the digital divide”. [1]
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17:38
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Mobile World Live
T-Mobile US inked a definitive agreement to acquire Ka’ena and its subsidiaries, prepaid brand Mint Mobile, international phone service Ultra Mobile and MVNA Plum, for a maximum of $1.4 billion, to expand its subscriber base and marketing efforts. The operator will pay 39 per cent of the purchase price in cash and 61 per cent through stock. It stated the final price will be based upon Ka’ena’s performance during certain periods before and after the deal closes, which T-Mobile expects later this year subject to customary conditions. A move for Mint Mobile was mooted earlier this year [1], with Bloomberg reporting the MVNO had long been on the block. Mint Mobile founders David Glickman and Rizwan Kassim will join T-Mobile to manage the brands, which "will generally operate as a separate business unit". Part-owner, actor Ryan Reynolds will continue to promote Mint Mobile. Mint Mobile uses T-Mobile's network under an MVNO arrangement and MVNA Plum expanded a wholesale agreement with it in 2022. Ultra Mobile is also on the operator’s 5G network. In addition to bringing Mint Mobile subscribers in-house, the deal covers the MVNO's sales, marketing, digital and service assets. T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert cited Mint Mobile's "incredibly successful digital direct-to-consumer" business as a key draw, adding the MVNO and Ultra Mobile will in turn benefit from its "scale and owner's economics". The operator aims to benefit from Mint Mobile's direct-to-consumer marketing expertise, adding the acquisition will in turn enable all the Ka’ena companies to offer competitive pricing and greater device inventory to consumers seeking low-cost tariffs. Although T-Mobile topped the tables [2] for post-paid net subscriber additions in Q4 2022, it sees prepaid services as a means to bolster its overall user numbers and potentially convert more to contracts. The operator stated Mint Mobile and Ultra Mobile complements its current prepaid brands [3]. [1]
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17:26
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Mobile World Live
Samsung Electronics ha presentado dos nuevos teléfonos inteligentes de su serie A de gama media, destacando sus pantallas más brillantes, sus cámaras mejoradas y una mayor duración de la batería en comparación con los modelos anteriores. Entre las características de los Galaxy A54 5G y A34 5G destacadas por la marca figuran las mejoras en las herramientas de mejora de imagen reservadas hasta ahora a los modelos de gama alta, como son la eliminación de sombras y la estabilización de imagen. El presidente y director de la división de experiencia móvil de Samsung Electronics, TM Roh, ha afirmado que mejorando su gama media, se "garantiza que más personas en todo el mundo puedan acceder a nuestras innovaciones transformadoras". [1]El A54 (en la foto, a la derecha) cuenta con una pantalla de 6,4 pulgadas, triple cámara trasera con captador principal de 50 mpx, cámara frontal de 32 mpx, batería de 5.000 mAh y un procesador de ocho núcleos no especificado. El A34 comparte la mayoría de las especificaciones pero la pantalla es de 6,6 pulgadas y la configuración de cámara es menos ambiciosa, con captador frontal de 13 mpx y captador principal de 48 mpx en la parte trasera. Ambos utilizan Android 13 y garantizan cuatro generaciones de actualizaciones del sistema operativo y cinco años de actualizaciones de seguridad. Los dos modelos saldrán a la venta a finales de este mes en algunos mercados de Europa- incluido el español- y el Sudeste Asiático, y posteriormente en otros países. El A54 tiene un precio de 499 euros con 128 GB de almacenamiento y el A34 costará 399 euros con la misma capacidad, si bien en la promoción de lanzamiento se entregarán las variantes con 256 GB de capacidad, que después pasarán a costar 549 y 469 euros, respectivamente. [1]
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13:24
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Mobile World Live
The European Union’s council of member states gave its final green light [1] to regulation paving the way for the launch of its own secure satellite-enabled communications services by 2027. In a statement, the European Council explained it had given its blessing to the Secure Connectivity Programme for 2023 to 2027, which sets goals for the deployment of the Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite (IRIS2) project. IRIS2 is a proposed satellite constellation designed to deliver highly-secure, low-latency communications services and carries a budget of €2.4 billion. Once complete it is set to cover the European Union and other areas deemed of strategic interest including the Arctic and parts of Africa. Use cases floated by European authorities include protection of critical infrastructure, surveillance, backing for “external action” and crisis management. The system will use quantum cryptography, a method claimed to be able to secure and transmit data “in a way that cannot be hacked”. The plan was drafted by the European Commission and has already been approved by the European Parliament. Following the decision by the European Council today (7 March), the final document needs to be signed-off by the presidents of the latter two bodies before being published in the Official Journal of the European Union. It will come into force three days later. [1]
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13:20
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Mobile World Live
Germany’s government reportedly set out plans to increase scrutiny on Huawei and ZTE by restricting operators from using certain components from the Chinese vendors, three years after the country stopped short of implementing outright bans. Local newspaper Zeit Online reported the country’s cybersecurity agency and interior ministry had been conducting tests for months to assess whether there were components in 5G networks that could compromise security, a review which had produced clear results. Along with banning new components, the government could also order operators to rip and replace existing equipment, the newspaper reported. Despite long-running pressure from the US, Germany opted not to follow [1] other countries in ordering a ban on Huawei 5G equipment in 2020. Instead, the country passed updated IT regulations into law which imposed stricter rules on vendors, requiring companies to guarantee their equipment could not be used for spying or terrorism. Reuters added the German government’s position has now somewhat shifted, as it also is in the middle of a broader evaluation of its trade links to China. Huawei and ZTE have always rejected claims their equipment is used for spying. In response to a possible Germany ban, a Huawei representative told Reuters it had a “very good security record” during its 20 years of delivering technology to Germany and the rest of the world. [1]
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13:14
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Mobile World Live
Group CEO of e& Hatem Dowidar (pictured) revealed it is assessing new opportunities across Africa, Europe and Asia, and had regulatory approval to slightly increase its stake in Vodafone Group, during an interview with Bloomberg TV to discuss its Q4 2022 results. The executive noted the company had the capability and finances to make investments this year on a global scale. Specifying the opportunity in Africa, Dowidar stated there were interesting and underserved markets with relatively young populations. Dowidar also addressed its growing stake in Vodafone [1], which was raised to 14 per cent last week: he said e& has regulatory approvals in place to up its holding to 15 per cent, which was the “point we intended to go”. The comments followed the release of e&'s Q4 results where it reported revenue down 4 per cent year-on-year to AED13.1 billion ($3.6 billion). It noted the quarter had seen “significant exchange rate volatility” in Egypt, Pakistan and Morocco, though it cited strong performance in its home market of the UAE. Net profit after federal royalty increased 25 per cent to AED2.7 billion, attributed partly to lower impairments, amortisation and depreciation-related expenses compared to Q4 2021. [1]
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13:01
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Mobile World Live
INTERVIEW: BT Group’s network and security chief Howard Watson (pictured) predicted deployment of open RAN in urban environments is still at least four years away from becoming a reality, as he highlighted broader moves by operators to evolve their infrastructure. During an interview at MWC23 last week, Watson told Mobile World Live BT’s focus is currently on the RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC), one of several elements forming part of the broader open movement. But he predicted the pay-off from internal and collaborative open RAN development in urban environments would only begin to take off in 2027 or 2028 “rather than 2025, 2026”. BT was not part of a major European operator initiative [1] launched in 2021 to advance open RAN, but Watson noted it works with industry groups including the Telecom Infra Project on what he believes are the three key opportunities presented by the approach. “There’s disaggregation, how do you layer your network, build APIs between them”. “There’s virtualisation or cloudification” and “then there’s diversification, how do we get more vendors into the mix”. Watson explained BT’s current open RAN focus is on how to employ the RIC to “get real smart networking capability”. The executive also discussed BT’s work to embed security into its 5G and fibre networks, which he noted are “increasingly more and more critical” to its customers lives. Click here to view the full interview [2], which includes updates on BT’s 5G deployment, potential uses of satellite connectivity and its ongoing efforts to reduce power consumption. [1]
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12:59
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Mobile World Live
Optus entered into a strategic partnership with ISP Pentanet to deliver cloud gaming services to customers, as the mobile operator targets an increased presence in the growing segment. In a statement, Optus explained the tie-up with Pentanet was driven by the fact it viewed cloud gaming as “an emerging segment of the multi-billion-dollar global gaming market” and a key consumer use case for 5G. Under the agreement, the companies will collaborate on improving user experience for Nvidia’s cloud gaming platform GeForce Now, of which Pentanet has been the sole provider in Australia since 2021. The partnership will also enable Optus customers to access the feature through its subscription platform and enable improved features through 5G. “Our mission is to break down the barriers to gaming and offer our customers the freedom to play anywhere and anytime”, said Matt Williams, MD of marketing and revenue at Optus. In-keeping with a strategy around gaming, the operator launched Game Path in 2020, a subscription service designed to reduce lag and stabilise connections for PC gamers.
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19:25
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Mobile World Live
PRESS RELEASE: ZTE Corporation has expanded the global frame agreement with Ooredoo Group for Ooredoo Algeria network modernization and related implementation and maintenance services as well as supply and delivery of Lithium Battery Products. ZTE and Ooredoo will expand cooperation in the transport network, which includes the large-scale commercial deployment of SRv6. The new solution will transform the traditional transport network architecture into a 5G-oriented programmable one. ZTE will partner with Ooredoo in the energy field. With ZTE's latest highly efficient power system and Smart-Li batteries, Ooredoo will improve energy utilization efficiency, increase battery life while protecting current battery investment, and realize its social commitment to building greener networks. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulla Bin Mohammed Al Thani, Deputy Group Chief Executive Officer, Ooredoo, said: "Our close collaboration with ZTE has been significant in taking the next step for technological innovation in many Ooredoo Business Units. In choosing to continue working with ZTE's leading solutions, we're able to address new and developing markets and transform business in different Ooredoo Business Units. Together, we're creating a new digital area for our customers." Christian Linhart, Group Chief Procurement Officer, Ooredoo, said: "The extension of the frame agreement with ZTE solidifies our partnership with them. With this mutually beneficial partnership, we are sure that it will add further value to our business and our customers." TIMOS Tsokanis, Group Chief Technology Information Officer, Ooredoo, said: "Ooredoo Group and ZTE have established a partnership during the past several years, and we are delighted to extend our cooperation in more fields. This will make it possible for our businesses to continue working together on cutting-edge networks provided by one of the world's leading providers of telecommunications and information technology to improve the digital lives of our customers. ZTE has proven its capabilities by providing end-to-end solutions, and now we would like to leverage it in more areas of cooperation. " Xie Junshi, Chief Operating Officer, ZTE, stated: "ZTE has a long-standing and collaborative partnership with Ooredoo. To accelerate Ooredoo's digital transformation, ZTE will continue offering state-of-the-art solutions to the Opcos of the Ooredoo Group. These innovative solutions will deliver high-performance networks and superior user experiences thanks to ZTE's cutting-edge, cost-effective technologies and solutions." Zhang Jianpeng, MTO & International Marketing President, ZTE, emphasized: "Ooredoo Group, one of ZTE's key MTO (Multinational Telecom Operator) customers, has shown tremendous growth in many markets in MENA (Middle Eastern & Northern Africa) and Asia Pacific regions despite many challenges. ZTE cherishes its strong partnership with Ooredoo Group, and we look forward to working closely with Ooredoo to fulfil their ambition of delivering new and exciting solutions to its consumers through more collaboration soon."
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19:12
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Mobile World Live
PRESS RELEASE: ZTE Corporation has announced that, its Vice President Mr. Song Shijie and Technical Spokesman Mr. Tu Jiashun, have shared ZTE's prospects of innovative practices in tourism field at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2023 in Barcelona, Spain. At the event, Mr. Song explored how to perceive the ancient cultural capital of Chang'An and even China through the metaverse. Mr. Song first introduced "previous life" of the Tang Dynasty Museum in his speech titled "Awakening Cultural Heritage". As a national museum, the Tang Dynasty Museum has a large collection of ceramics, bronzes, jades and other rare resources representing the East-West trade and cultural dissemination during the Tang Dynasty. Due to the limitation of geographical location and the capacity of the museum, the audience to the offline exhibition, cultural relics tour, cultural forum and other activities are very limited. According to Mr. Song, the new concept of "Culture Metaverse" cannot be separated from the strong support of video platform, and with the metaverse engine of ZTE and its ecosphere partners, the company quickly builds an online 3D virtual interactive space, moving cultural relics to the Tang Dynasty Museum, getting rid of the restrictions of geography and physical booths, and truly realizing the ultimate goal of "visiting the museum offline and seeing the world online". The ultra-high precision digital model can realize 360° online viewing of cultural relics. At the same time, the technology of 3D voice interaction helps achieve the collection of cultural relics players and Tang Dynasty Museum in the virtual space "face to face" interactive communication. This platform supports pan-terminal access, and users can access the metaverse by using 8K set-top boxes, VR headsets, smartphones, IPADs and other "meta" terminals, so that users can realize a strong interactive experience with low latency, and immersive audio and video while reducing the cost of accessing the artwork metaverse. During a panel discussion on the metaverse, Mr.Tu Jiashun highlighted that the metaverse is akin to the film, TV, and video game industries of the past, offering an easy entry point for ordinary people into a virtual world of unlimited imagination. As the digital world moves forward, the metaverse will inevitably become an integral component of our future digital society. However, the current main challenges of the metaverse are achieving fully immersive user experiences and creating advanced 3D digital content. One significant factor contributing to these challenges is the lack of strong enough digital infrastructure support. An ultra-low latency, ultra-high bandwidth network is essential to enable people to access the metaverse anytime and anywhere. Additionally, a cloud with advanced VR rendering capabilities can generate incredibly realistic VR digital content, while a ubiquitous internet of things can enable the real-time creation of digital twins of the physical world. To fully realize the potential of the metaverse, the next generation of digital infrastructure is urgently required. With metaverse emerging in different fields, ZTE will, according to Mr. Song Shijie, continue to innovate in the field of metaverse, join hands with partners across the industry to bring the most cutting-edge and realistic new experiences to users, develop and support the broad market space of meta-universe, and let the story of metaverse happen in every corner across the globe.
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19:08
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Mobile World Live
PRESS RELEASE: At the All Bands to 5G Summit held during the Mobile World Congress (MWC) Barcelona 2023, Huawei said that it will continue to innovate and help operators evolve all bands to 5G for maximized spectral efficiency as they strive to deliver more high-definition and immersive digital experiences to consumers and accelerate the digital transformation of various industries. Fang Xiang, Vice President of Huawei Wireless Product Line, stated in his keynote speech: "Ubiquitous 5G coverage and new high-value 5G services, such as HD live broadcasting, VoNR, XR, and cloud gaming, drive all bands to 5G. Huawei continues to innovate ultra-wideband, multi-antenna, green, and simplified solutions. This helps operators maximize spectral efficiency to build high-quality 5G networks that feature optimal performance, minimal energy consumption, premium experiences, and high adaptability." Guests from GSMA Intelligence, Coleago, and Ookla pointed out that as 5G services like New Video, VoNR, and New IoT are developing rapidly, all bands must be evolved to 5G. This will make multi-band deployment, multi-RAT coexistence, limited antenna space, and high network energy consumption common challenges in the industry. Network evaluation criteria need to be extended from just downlink speed to coverage, latency, and uplink experience, to ensure service experiences for UHD video, cloud gaming, 5GtoB, and 5G IoT. Global leading operators shared their practices in evolving all bands to 5G based on ultra-wideband and multi-antenna. In the first phase, they quickly rolled out 5G to attract more users. In the second phase, they delivered good service experiences based on 5G's wide and deep coverage. In the third phase, they deployed new bands such as mmWave in hotspots to achieve a superior experience. New 5G services drive the network architecture to evolve from NSA to SA, achieving wider and deeper coverage, lower latency, better experience, and higher energy efficiency and supporting the development of diverse 5G services. Huawei has been continuously innovating ultra-wideband and multi-antenna technologies, and launched a full range of new product portfolios. Ultra-wideband 4T4R RRU features the industry's lowest power consumption. It uses true wideband power amplifiers, real-time dynamic power sharing, and unique PIMC algorithm to enable simplified deployment of three bands. Compared with the industry average, 4T4R RRUs are 30% smaller in size and weight, 30% better in performance, and 30% lower in energy consumption. FDD 8T8R offers the highest performance in the industry. It uses high-precision beamforming to improve mid-band capacity and experience, making it the optimal choice for building 5G mid-band foundation networks. FDD M-MIMO is the only solution of its kind that has been put into commercial use at scale. It increases capacity by five times and has been commercially deployed across more than 70 networks worldwide. The industry's first FDD BladeAAU solution supports simplified deployment of all bands on a single pole.
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13:31
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Mobile World Live
A Huawei plan to build a £1 billion research campus in the UK was thrown in severe doubt as The Daily Telegraph reported work is yet to start on the site, despite the vendor setting a deadline to complete the first phase of construction two years ago. The newspaper claims the company has shelved plans to build the campus as no progress had been made and planning permission for the site is to expire in August. Huawei told The Daily Telegraph it was still “reviewing” the campus in Cambridge and declined to comment on if it will begin work in the next five months. Adding further weight to theory the plan is now abandoned, the UK newspaper reported Cambridge council requests for an update on the project has been met with silence from the Chinese vendor. First phase Huawei released a statement [1] in June 2020 announcing it had received planning permission from the local authority to build the facility, earmarked to focus on research, developing and manufacturing optoelectronics products. It said it would invest £1 billion on the first phase, which would see the construction of 50,000 square metres of facilities across nine acres of land which Huawei bought in 2018 for £37.5 million. However, Huawei’s position in the country dramatically deteriorated since the plan was first announced. In July 2020, the UK government banned the use [2] of Huawei 5G equipment and operators were set a deadline of until 2027 to rip out existing kit, due to ongoing security concerns about the vendor. Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, local councillor Brian Milnes added he had been met with no response from the company about the campus. “Unfortunately, political matters seem to have taken their toll. The whole project seems to have ground to a halt,” he said. [1]
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13:05
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Mobile World Live
A consortium including Italy’s state-owned investment company CDP Equity submitted an offer for Telecom Italia’s fixed infrastructure and wholesale operation Sparkle, which are already subject to interest from investment company KKR. In a statement, the operator noted the CDP Equity bid, which had been the subject of much media speculation, was as part of a consortium with Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (Europe). The non-binding offer is to buy all of the assets of Telecom Italia’s soon to be spun-off fixed company [1], including unit FiberCop and submarine cable unit Sparkle. It expires at the end of this month, with financial terms not disclosed. KKR competition Telecom Italia’s soon to be created business housing the assets is also subject of interest from investment company KKR, which submitted a non-binding offer for an undefined stake last month. In a statement released following a board meeting to assess it, the operator noted it “appreciated” the KKR offer but “improvement [was] needed” citing several issues including the valuation not meeting its expectation. Subsequently the company disclosed “certain specific information” and requested “further indications necessary to fully understand the assumptions and economics of the proposal” with a view to receiving a better offer by a new deadline of the end of March. [1]
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12:55
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Mobile World Live
Verizon announced CFO Matt Ellis (pictured) is to depart the company in May 2023 to pursue other opportunities, as part of a wider senior management reshuffle. Ellis, who joined Verizon in 2013 and was appointed to CFO in 2016, will be replaced by SVP and controller Tony Skiadas, the company stated. During his time at Verizon, Ellis also worked on mobile and fixed operations, including the operator’s business services, fibre broadband and TV footprint. Meanwhile, Skiadas, who headed multiple teams within Verizon’s finance organisation will be succeeded by current VP of accounting and external reporting Mary-Lee Stillwell. New consumer boss Transformations in senior leadership roles also include the appointment of Sowmyanarayan Sampath, currently head of Verizon Business Group, to EVP and CEO of Verizon Consumer Group, a move the company hopes will help attract new clients across its portfolio. The company named Kyle Malady, head of Global Networks and Technology, as Sampath's successor. SVP and chief network officer Joe Russo will take over Malady’s role, focusing on C-band and 5G deployments. Verizon CFO Hans Vestberg said the appointments would help to grow and develop "the next-generation of our leadership teams". "This is a significant step in the transformation we started four years ago to be customers' choice for the next generation of communications technology," he added.
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12:46
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Mobile World Live
SoftBank Group was tipped to generate a minimum of $8 billion in a US listing of its chip design business Arm, with various media reporting the Japanese giant planned to get the ball rolling on the process next month. Reuters reported SoftBank is gearing up to file paperwork for the long-awaited listing [1] in late April, with a quartet of investment banks already chosen to underwrite the move. Arm aims for a valuation of more than $50 billion, the news outlet added. SoftBank initially aimed to conduct an IPO in the opening months of this year, but the process was delayed [2] by an uncertain global economic outlook. Executives with the UK-based chip designer and its parent previously noted there was no rush to conduct an IPO despite their appetite to move as quickly as markets allowed. The decision to pursue the move solely in the US is a blow to UK government ambitions [3] to convince SoftBank to conduct a full or partial listing in the nation, an appetite reportedly diminished by upheaval [4] in the country’s ruling political party during 2022. Bloomberg reported the decision to list in the US does not preclude a separate move in the UK at a later date and indicated Arm remained committed to the nation, with plans to maintain its headquarters and open a new facility. [1]
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10:34
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Mobile World Live
El plan de Huawei para construir un campus de investigación de 1.000 millones de libras esterlinas (más de 1.100 millones de euros) en el Reino Unido se encuentra en entredicho. El diario The Daily Telegraph asegura que las obras todavía no han comenzado, pese a que el suministrador había previsto finalizar hace dos años la primera fase de la construcción. El periódico indica que la empresa ha aparcado sus planes de construir el campus, dado que no se ha producido avance alguno y el permiso urbanístico del emplazamiento vencerá en agosto. Huawei ha declarado a The Daily Telegraph que todavía está “revisando” su proyecto de campus en Cambridge y ha declinado comentar si las obras comenzarán dentro de los próximos cinco meses. Abundando en la teoría de que el proyecto ha sido abandonado, el periódico británico asegura que el proveedor chino no ha respondido a las solicitudes del ayuntamiento de Cambridge sobre la situación del proyecto. Primera fase Huawei emitió un comunicado en junio de 2020 anunciando que había recibido el permiso de urbanístico municipal para construir las instalaciones, que se dedicarían a la investigación, el desarrollo y la fabricación de productos optoelectrónicos. La firma indicó en aquel momento que invertiría mil millones de libras esterlinas en la primera fase, que comprendía la construcción de 50.000 metros cuadrados de instalaciones en un terreno de 36.000 metros cuadrados que Huawei adquirió en 2018 por 37,5 millones de libras esterlinas (algo más de 42 millones de euros). Sin embargo, la posición de Huawei en el país se ha deteriorado drásticamente desde que se anunció el plan por primera vez. En julio de 2020, el gobierno del Reino Unido prohibió el uso de equipos 5G de Huawei y se fijó a los operadores una fecha límite hasta 2027 para retirar los equipos existentes, debido a las dudas continuadas que afectan al proveedor en materia de seguridad. El concejal Brian Milnes ha declarado a The Daily Telegraph que no había recibido respuesta de la compañía sobre el campus. “Por desgracia, las cuestiones políticas han pasado factura. Todo el proyecto parece haberse detenido”, dijo.
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19:43
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Mobile World Live
PRESS RELEASE: At the Mobile World Congress (MWC) Barcelona 2023, GSMA hosted the "To Infinity and Beyond with 5G-Advanced" conference session as a part of the 5G Futures Summit. At the session, John Gao, President of Huawei 5.5G Domain, delivered a keynote speech titled "Bring 5.5G Into Reality, Build A Better Intelligent World". He discussed how the increasingly stronger network capabilities of 5.5G will protect operators' investments while creating business value. 10 Gbps downlink, 1 Gbps uplink, and deterministic experience will significantly improve user experience and network capabilities for use cases in the XR metaverse, FWA, and toB industry. Passive IoT and harmonized communication and sensing will also expand IoT and V2X market space to enable information-based services, facilitating operator success in toB and toV applications. As 5.5G gears up for commercial use, Huawei will continue conduct joint innovation with industry partners to promote the commercial use of 5.5G and build a better intelligent world. The maturing of 5G brings new changes to the communications industry. Multi-dimensional and guaranteed user experiences are becoming increasingly important for consumers. There are three key trends in consumer services: cloudification, 3D, and AI. 3D cloud-based videos and games, naked-eye 3D calling, holographic meeting, and the XR metaverse bring users multi-sensory and realistic immersive experiences, which will require ubiquitous 10 Gbps and deterministic latency. In addition, AI significantly boosts efficiency in content production. As more content is generated by machines, network transmission requirements will become more demanding. In the IoT field, all-scenario IoT is a basic demand. Diverse technical specifications in the fragmented IoT markets hinder the scaling up of IoT services. Industries such as warehousing, logistics, and electric power also have differentiated requirements on rates and costs. Therefore, scaling up markets and realizing business value are big challenges for the IoT industry. 5G has applied in some toB cases. In core production and automation processes, applications have higher requirements on rates, latency, reliability, and positioning precision, which calls for new technologies beyond 5G. For V2X, as the mobile Internet continues to grow, most of the current vehicle-mounted systems can access the Internet to provide services such as system update, log upload, and in-car entertainment. Unmanned delivery vehicles have been rolled out in China. Besides, L2 and L3 autonomous vehicles need higher speeds to upload and download in-vehicle information. In addition, long-distance security awareness recognition outside vehicles and intelligent transportation management create higher sensing technology requirements. New industry trends are powering upgrade of 5G. 5.5G has 10 times better network capabilities than 5G, with downlink rates improved from 1 Gbps to 10 Gbps and uplink rates improved from 100 Mbps to 1 Gbps. 5.5G delivers deterministic experiences and supports passive IoT and sensing on top of conventional communications capabilities. A number of key 5.5G technologies have already been fully verified: Ultra-large-bandwidth spectrum such as mmWave and the upper 6 GHz (U6 GHz) has achieved 10 Gbps in the downlink and 1 Gbps in the uplink. ELAA-MM is used to solve limited coverage of high bands. Key spectrum decoupling technologies such as Multiple Band Serving Cell (MB-SC) and Flexible Spectrum Access (FSA) are used with intelligent slicing and layered QoS to flexibly configure resources and create deterministic user experiences. As a low-cost IoT technology, passive IoT allows 100 billion connections. Field tests have shown that it can reach a coverage distance of more than 200 m, which is more than 10 times longer than that of RFID. Passive IoT technology is expected to create more business opportunities in scenarios such as warehouse stock taking, logistics tracking, and environmental monitoring. In transportation, mmWave can sense vehicles within 1 km, with a precision of 0.5 m/s for speed, and meter-level or higher precision for distance. This technology significantly improves detection for road security and urban transportation management. 2023 will be a pivotal year for 5.5G. Progress has been faster than predicted in standards, spectrum, industry chain, ecosystem, and applications. 5.5G standards will be delivered in 3GPP Releases 18, 19, and 20. Release 18 will be frozen in H1 of 2024. 5.5G 10 Gbps is approaching, and development is accelerating for IoT with 100 billion connections. Harmonized communication and sensing has been put into trial operation. As the saying goes, if you want to go fast, walk alone; and if you want to go far, walk together. John Gao concluded by stating that Huawei will continue to work with industry partners to conduct joint innovation and explore business scenarios, to fully prepare for the fast commercial rollout of 5.5G and build a better intelligent world.
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19:19
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Mobile World Live
PRESS RELEASE: ZTE Corporation with the theme of "Shaping Digital Innovation", has showcased an extensive lineup of simplified, highly efficient and energy-saving green solutions at MWC 2023. The company, focusing on business and social values, has shared its in-depth insights on the hot topics like green ICT, digital full connectivity and integration of real data with new scenarios, together with global operators, industry partners, and experts from the industry and academia, with great commitment to building a minimalist, efficient, green, and low-carbon telecommunication networks. At the "green island" of ZTE at MWC 2023, ZTE’s core energy-saving solution and products for ICT infrastructure such as wireless sites and data centers became one of the brilliant highlights of the event. ZTE's end-to-end green solution for wireless sites helps save energy throughout the entire process of energy generation, use and storage process. With smart photovoltaic technology (sPV), GaN technology, PowerPilot energy-saving solution, SmartLi smart lithium battery as well as smart peak load shifting solution, ZTE's end-to-end green solution enables the networks to realize energy saving, green, and low carbon. To date, ZTE’s PowerPilot energy-saving solution has been deployed by more than 900,000 sites across the globe, saving 1 billion kWh electricity every year. The company’s SmartLi intelligent lithium battery fully protects existing assets and effectively reduces TCOs through "intelligent mixing, intelligent parallel operation, intelligent boosting, intelligent anti-theft, and intelligent O&M". In 2022, ZTE shipped 320,000 sets of smart lithium batteries on global basis, and has become one of the top suppliers in the energy storage market. For data centers, ZTE has launched solutions and products for pre-fabricated high-power power modules, liquid cooling, and intelligent AI management this year to build a "new-generation data center" to provide customers with one-stop services. The comprehensive use of high-power pre-fabricated power modules, indirect evaporative cooling, full-link cold plate liquid cooling and intelligent AI management technologies enables the PUE of the data center to be as low as 1.15. At the data center side, ZTE has achieved a large-scale breakthrough in domestic operators and Internet market. Meanwhile, the company has successfully provided customized solutions for customers in the Philippines, Indonesia, Bangladesh and other countries. To date, ZTE has more than 380 successful data center cases globally, and has secured over 50 domestic and foreign awards.
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19:15
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Mobile World Live
PRESS RELEASE: ZTE Corporation in partnership with China Mobile, has jointly demonstrated the intelligent customer services of VoNR+ remote banking at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2023 in Barcelona, Spain. The in-depth integration of VoNR+ technologies with banking services can bring various interactive, visual and intelligent innovative service experiences to banking customers. As the target architecture and solution of China Mobile’s next-generation real-time communication services, VoNR+ introduces key solutions such as applet architecture of new calling, network capability micro-service and integrated media, enabling third parties to realize customized development and create a new 5G characteristic application ecosystem. VoNR+ will bring an all-round upgrade to real-time communication by upgrading audio and video to HD, trustworthy and interactive real-time communication. The terminals type is extended from a mobile phone to multiple types such as wearable devices, home appliances, automobiles, and robots. Real-time communication is a leap from audio-visual communication to full-sensing communication. In the ToC field, it has increased C-end traffic, including ultra-high-definition calls, AI fun calls and communication-free services. In the ToB field, it has enabled thousands of industries and typical scenarios including video customer service, visual menus, and remote guidance. At MWC 2023, China Mobile and ZTE have jointly demonstrated the intelligent banking customer services through VoNR+, integrating innovative services such as enterprise business card, visual menu, screen sharing, remote guidance, electronic whiteboard, and content sharing, with banking business processes. End-users and bank customer service personnel can interact various multimedia information in real time during the entire call process, so that the communication process can be multidimensional. During a call process, various banking services such as "reporting a lost card", "checking the balance " and "investment service" can be performed visually and conveniently. Various identity authentication methods during the process of banking service handling, such as fingerprint authentication, dynamic facial verification, and signature confirmation, can be implemented during the intelligent bank customer services of VoNR+, comprehensively promoting the overall personal service experience and greatly improving the efficiency of bank service processing. Moving forward, with the introduction of more AI and AR/VR technologies, VoNR+ will evolve from infrastructure communications to holographic communications, providing more intelligent and immersive interactive sensory experiences for individuals, and extending scenarios to broader industry applications such as distance education and telemedicine.
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19:15
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Mobile World Live
PRESS RELEASE: ZTE Corporation has announced that at the 5G New Calling Industry Development Forum jointly organized by GTI and China Mobile at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2023. Mr. Tu Jiashun, Technical Spokesperson of ZTE, shared his insights with guests around the world at a roundtable conference themed "The cooperation and business innovation of 5G New Calling". Mr. Chen Xinyu, Vice President of ZTE, joined the New Calling Industry Cooperation Initiative and called for more industry chain partners to build a new ecosystem for win-win cooperation. As a basic service of operators, the calling service plays an important bridge role in people's production activities and social communication. 5G New Calling is an upgrade of operators' basic calling services. Through technological innovation, it brings various interactive, intelligent and interesting new services to users. For individual users, New Calling can comprehensively improve service experiences, attract diversified people to return to secure and trustworthy operator networks, and lay a solid foundation for innovation in the industry. For industrial users, New Calling can be combined with industrial applications to reach users accurately, improve service efficiency, and meet remote and digital service development requirements of industries. China Mobile, together with ZTE and other strategic partners, has actively explored and practiced 5G New Calling in standard research, specification formulation, and pilot verification, and jointly promoted the maturity of the industry chain. In 2021, the Guangdong branch of China Mobile worked with ZTE to carry out the 5G New Calling pilot to verify the services such as "Calling Business Card", "Intelligent Customer Service", "Video Sharing", "Electronic Whiteboard", "Content Sharing", and "Simultaneous Interpretation". In May 2022, China Mobile, together with ZTE and other industry partners, released the 5G New Calling Technology White Paper to promote the collaboration and maturity of the New Calling industry chain. In November 2022, ZTE helped China Mobile Hebei Branch successfully complete the first call based on the 5G New Calling network architecture, and implemented the "Fun Calling" and "Barrier-Free Calling" services based on the 5G New Calling network architecture. In January 2023, the China Mobile Guangdong Branch and ZTE jointly completed end-to-end commercial 5G New Calling capability verification in Guangzhou, and started the first batch of friendly user recruitment. Building a win-win new ecosystem of 5G New Calling requires the joint participation of the end-to-end industry chain. In the future, ZTE will work with all parties in the industry to jointly formulate a blueprint for a 5G New Calling.
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18:58
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Mobile World Live
PRESS RELEASE: During MWC23 in Barcelona, Huawei and leading Saudi Arabian telecommunications operator Zain KSA signed a strategic cooperation Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for "5.5G City" joint innovation project. The MoU was signed during MWC23 held in Barcelona from February 27 to March 2. Under the MoU, both parties will work together to promote technological innovation for 5.5G evolution and expand scalable offerings to individual, enterprise, and government customers. Additionally, they will strengthen the digital infrastructure and build a global 5.5G evolution pioneer network, providing a strong engine to achieve the national digitalization goals outlined in Saudi Vision 2030. Zain KSA and Huawei will collaborate to enhance technological innovation, improve user experience, and develop new use cases. The collaboration will involve providing a seamless gigabit experience in both indoor and outdoor scenarios through the large-scale deployment of MetaAAU and 5G carrier aggregation, as well as LampSite digital indoor solutions. Additionally, initiatives will be taken to enhance the performance of Massive MIMO networks and to develop end-to-end autonomous network operation and optimization capabilities. Both parties will also work together to develop new use cases for the Internet of Things (IoT) and private network solutions. Finally, the partnership will explore innovative cooperation in areas such as ultra-compact site and green energy solutions, among others. Zain KSA's Chief Technology Officer, Eng. Abdulrahman Al-Mufadda, commented: "Our commitment to driving digital transformation in the Kingdom has been made possible by combining innovative technology investments with pioneering digital solutions across multiple fields, including cloud computing, fintech, business support, and drone technologies. Zain KSA is on a mission to empower a digital society and support the transition towards a digital economy, in line with Saudi Vision 2030 and the Kingdom's digital transformation strategy. By partnering with global ICT leaders, including Huawei, we are committed to enhancing Zain KSA's end-to-end network through our joint innovation on 5G-Advanced technology and by incubating a range of vertical services for industry digitalization." Ritchie Peng, President of Huawei's 5G Product Line, said, "We are committed to providing leading products and solutions for operators and helping them build high-quality mobile networks through continuous technical innovations. We are excited to work with Zain KSA on this 5.5G City project and hope that this cooperation will allow our innovative products and solutions to create business and social value. Our vision is to help Zain KSA build better 5G networks and more importantly, leading digital infrastructure."
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18:55
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Mobile World Live
PRESS RELEASE: Huawei launched its next-generation microwave MAGICSwave at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2023 Barcelona. MAGICSwave uses cross-generational innovations to help operators build simplified target networks that are better oriented to long-term 5G evolution as they optimize total cost of ownership (TCO) and smooth transport network evolution. MAGICSwave was designed for common microwave scenarios such as urban large capacity and suburban ultra-long-reach transmission. It incorporates a list of leading technologies, such as all-band new 2T, true wideband and ultra-long-reach transmission, and an ultra-highly integrated unified platform, to help operators build highly cost-effective 5G transport networks. - All-band new 2T is the industry's first 2T solution to cover all bands. It supports ultra-large bandwidth with 50% to 75% less hardware deployment. - True wideband: Next-generation common-band 2T2R 2CA (carrier aggregation) supports 800 MHz bandwidth. This enables operators to easily implement scaled carrier aggregation (CA) deployments based on their spectrum. A single hardware unit can support 5 Gbit/s of capacity, and when CA is used, a coverage gain of 4.5 dB. As a result, either the antenna installation space can be reduced by 50%, or the transmission distance can be increased by 30%, providing a solid support for smooth capacity expansion. - Ultra-long reach transmission: A single next-generation E-band 2T hardware module supports 25 Gbit/s of capacity, 150% higher than the industry's level. Powered by innovative Supper MIMO, it supports an air interface capacity of 50 Gbit/s. It also comes equipped with the industry's only commercial high-power transmitter module, which supports a transmit power of 26 dBm. When with working brand-new 2D high-gain intelligent beam tracking (IBT) antennas, it increases E-band's transmission distance by 50%, allowing E-band to fit in all environments. This will make it possible for operators to use E-band to replace common bands and reduce antennas diameters and spectrum expenditure, reducing TCO by 40%. - Ultra-high baseband integration helps address increasingly complex network O&M. Huawei provides next-generation baseband platform that supports all microwave bands. It is a 25GE indoor unit that provides 24 RF directions in a space of just 2U. With this level of doubled integration, it reduces the space of baseband units by half. With merely one box providing baseband for all microwave bands, cross-band capacity expansion is possible for operators looking for long-term smooth evolution to 5G. Perry Yang, President of Huawei's Microwave Product Line, explained: "As 5G deployment continues to accelerate, the resulting traffic demand growth requires operators to upgrade their transport networks. Huawei's MAGICSwave provides an air interface capacity of 50 Gbit/s and to-site capacity of 25 Gbit/s. Leading technologies enabling true wideband and ultra-long reach will make MAGICSwave better positioned to drive industry innovation and accelerate 5G development."
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18:41
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Mobile World Live
PRESS RELEASE: At the Mobile World Congress (MWC) Barcelona 2023, Huawei launched the Eco series antennas that reduce site power consumption, improve network energy efficiency, and save OPEX. These ultra-energy-efficient antennas reduce carbon emissions while benefiting the environment and society. Eco series antennas help operators build green, high-performance 5G networks without needing more energy, even during surges in network traffic. Higher network energy efficiency is the new norm, and is critical to both operator revenue and sustainable development of the communications industry. Antennas play a pivotal role in wireless networks as the medium of RF energy transmission to mobile devices. Therefore, the better the energy efficiency of the antenna, the better the efficiency across the whole network. Huawei Eco series antennas boost energy efficiency with innovations such as full-band signal direct injection feeding (SDIF) and Meta Lens. As tested on a Europe network, Huawei antennas help operators reduce site energy consumption by 15%, improving network-wide energy efficiency. Ultimate RF efficiency: Eco series antennas use Huawei's exclusive SDIF technology in all bands to slash RF energy loss in the feeding network for 15% higher efficiency. The required transmit power is also reduced without compromising coverage. In other words, the network coverage quality is improved with the same transmit power. Ultimate coverage efficiency: Eco series antennas use Meta Lens technology to optimize the electromagnetic beam direction and project more RF energy to the target area. Less electromagnetic noise and interference to neighboring cells further improves network coverage quality. Eric Zhao, President of Huawei Antenna BU, said: "For operators, building green networks to save energy and reduce carbon emissions is a global priority. As antennas play a dominant role in wireless networks, operators demand even higher antenna energy efficiency. Huawei will continue to innovate in this area, helping operators build high-performance, green 5G networks and promoting the industry's sustainable development."
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11:30
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Mobile World Live
In a blog for Mobile World Live last month, I highlighted the importance of 5G-Advanced [1] to the mobile ecosystem over the next few years and what I hoped to learn about it at MWC23 Barcelona, particularly at the 5G Futures Summit and it’s To Infinity and Beyond with 5G-Advanced session. Now, with the session just complete, I wanted to take some time to reflect on what we did, indeed, learn. But, first a recap of my message from the last blog. While we just reached the first billion 5G connections at the end of 2022, we know 5G-Advanced will be a major industry focus in 2023 given the confluency of multiple dynamics: 5G-Advanced standards getting frozen later this year, demand for network technology upgrades on the route to 6G, and the potential of 5G-Advanced to represent a network disruption that vendors and operators will want to drive forward. Against this backdrop, we had high hopes for what MWC23 would teach us. With that in mind, what were my top five takeaway from the session? 5G-Advanced and the 5G Evolution. It might be tempting to think of 6G as a long-term destination for mobile networks with 5G-Advanced a stop along the way. Session speakers, however, were keen to position 5G-Advanced as an integral part of the 5G evolution. You saw this in an Orange reference to its non-standalone (NSA) and standalone (SA) launches, with 5G-Advanced being a natural extension, along with Qualcomm’s positioning 5G Advanced on the Path to 6G. Summing this up was an observation by Huawei that “as 5G reaches maturity, new trends emerge.” While obvious on its face, it provides another reminder that 5G-Advanced is more than just a new technology, it’s part of the 5G story many operators have already embraced and central to executing on the broader 5G promise. Services, Trends and Experience. When GSMA Intelligence went out to operators in 2022 to understand how they think about their networks, user experience emerged as a top strategic priority with expectations around service reliability being the top customer demand shaping their network planning. It wasn’t particularly surprising, then, to hear experience factor into much of the 5G-Advanced discussion. Putting aside the title of Orange’s presentation (5G Advanced Experience) or a reference by Huawei to “multi-dimensional and deterministic services”, Zain captured the linkage best. With 5G-Advanced enabling new AI use cases, the Saudi operator argued a world of new experiences could be unleashed. Regardless of what those experiences are, it was another argument to look at 5G-Advanced as more than just a set of technologies but to see it as a tool for delivering end-user value. AI in Focus. Of course, no matter what we hope 5G-Advanced will deliver, it does represent a set of technologies, with two getting a lot of attention in the session. Let’s start with AI. To be sure, Zain’s argument 5G-Advanced will enable new AI-driven use cases was compelling. But the connection between AI and 5G-Advanced goes deeper. As Qualcomm explained, 5G-Advanced represents 5G and AI working together, supported by a Release-18 scope which includes AI/ML-enabled air interface design and an extension of ML to the RAN, device and air interface layers. Put simply, 5G-Advanced will support the rollout of new AI applications, but also will require AI for its own operation. IoT in Focus. Support for massive IoT was central to the original argument for 5G. But, expectations from Huawei, Orange and Qualcomm all serve to show there is more work to be done, and it’s not just about scaling or densifying deployments. Rather, the enhancements coming from 5G-Advanced promise new features and capabilities: Reduced Capability 5G IoT (RedCap) for cost and efficiency gains, new sensing and positioning capabilities, ambient power IoT. Together, the promise is to push IoT to support new use cases as well as extreme scale. Something for Everyone. While IoT and AI were broad, cross-cutting themes across many of the presentations during the session, many other specific aspects of what 5G-Advanced will bring got airtime as well. Non-terrestrial networks including drone and satellite integration. Improved uplink performance. Automation and power saving. Myriad new radio innovations. Linking up services, experience and technology, these represent more than a random assortment of standards and specification inclusions. They represent a broad set of capabilities aimed at enabling a broad set of new services. Encouragingly, if not surprisingly, the session provided a positive outlook for the prospects of what 5G-Advanced can deliver. Here, however, it’s important to commend Huawei for noting “further cooperation is needed” and to recognise the support of the 5G Futures Community in supporting the technology. After all, without continuing spectrum allocations, support for refarming, trials and interoperability testing, we won’t be able to execute on the 5G-Advanced promise. It’s one reason to look forward to the 2024 edition of the session and the progress we’ll (hopefully) see. – Peter Jarich – head, GSMA Intelligence The editorial views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and will not necessarily reflect the views of the GSMA, its Members or Associate Members. [1]
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Mobile World Live
Ericsson agreed to pay a $206.7 million penalty to the US Department of Justice (DoJ) as part of a guilty plea involving historic bribery charges [1] spanning several nations, a move the vendor stated closed the door on a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA). The vendor explained the plea related to non-criminal breaches of a DPA it entered into in 2019, following US probes into its dealings in Djibouti, China, Vietnam, Indonesia and Kuwait between 2010 and 2016. As part of the agreement, Ericsson agreed to pay a $1.1 billion penalty [2] to the US government. The company stated it wasn’t adjusting long-term financial targets following the latest development. “Taking this step today means that the matter of the breaches is now resolved. This allows us to focus on executing our strategy while driving continued cultural change across the company with integrity at the centre of everything we do,” Ericsson CEO Borje Ekholm stated. Ekholm added Ericsson's leadership "remain committed" to a cultural transformation sparked by the US incident, highlighting ongoing work to "implement stringent controls and improved governance, ethics and compliance" throughout the company. The DoJ took aim at Ericsson's efforts [3] to meet its DPA obligations in 2021, arguing it failed to provide certain documents and factual information. Leadership change The US announcement came two days after Ericsson announced chief compliance officer Laurie Waddy is stepping down after just shy of four years in the role, with its European and Latin America compliance head Jan Sprafke taking over on an interim basis. Ericsson stated Waddy "played an important role in strengthening the company's ethics and compliance function", with the executive highlighting "tremendous progress building toward a best-in-class compliance programme". [1]
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Mobile World Live
En el artículo que publiqué en febrero en Mobile World Live, destacaba la importancia que la 5G-Advanced tendrá durante los próximos años dentro del ecosistema móvil, así como lo que esperaba descubrir sobre la cuestión en el MWC23 de Barcelona, sobre todo en la 5G Futures Summit (Cumbre sobre los futuros de la 5G) y en la sesión To Infinity and Beyond with 5G-Advanced (Hasta el infinito y más allá con la 5G-Advanced). Ahora, una vez finalizada la sesión, quisiera reflexionar sobre lo aprendido. Pero, para empezar, recapitularé mi mensaje del último blog. Si bien a finales de 2022 alcanzamos los primeros 1.000 millones de conexiones 5G, sabemos que la 5G-Advanced será uno de los principales focos de atención del sector en 2023, dada la confluencia de múltiples dinámicas: la congelación de los estándares de 5G-Advanced durante el año en curso, la demanda de renovaciones tecnológicas de red de cara a la 6G y el potencial de la 5G-Advanced para provocar una transformación radical en las redes que fabricantes y operadoras querrán impulsar. Sobre dicho telón de fondo, habíamos cifrado muchas esperanzas en lo que nos enseñaría el MWC23. A la vista de todo ello, ¿cuáles han sido las cinco conclusiones principales de la sesión? 5G-Advanced y la evolución de la 5G. Tal vez nos tiente pensar que la 6G es un destino a largo plazo para las redes móviles y que la 5G-Advanced es una etapa en el camino. Sin embargo, los ponentes de la sesión han insistido en situar la 5G-Advanced como parte integral de la evolución de la 5G. Esto se ha visto cuando Orange ha hecho referencia a sus lanzamientos de tecnología no autónoma y autónoma, con 5G-Advanced como extensión natural, así como el posicionamiento de la 5G-Advanced en el camino hacia la 6G efectuado por Qualcomm. A modo de resumen, Huawei ha observado que “ahora que la 5G alcanza la madurez, surgen nuevas tendencias”. Si bien esto último puede parecer obvio, es un nuevo recordatorio de que la 5G-Advanced no es tan sólo una nueva tecnología, sino que forma parte de la 5G que numerosas operadoras han adoptado y es fundamental en la realización efectiva de las posibilidades más amplias de la 5G. Servicios, tendencias y experiencia. En 2022, GSMA Intelligence consultó a las operadoras sus opiniones sobre sus propias redes y la experiencia del usuario apareció como una de las principales prioridades estratégicas. La fiabilidad del servicio era la demanda principal de los clientes que determinaba la planificación de las redes. Por ello, no es de extrañar que la experiencia del usuario fuera uno de los principales temas de debate en torno a la 5G-Advanced. Aparte de la presentación de Orange (5G Advanced Experience) y de una referencia de Huawei a “servicios multidimensionales y deterministas”, ha sido Zain el que ha captado mejor la relación. La operadora saudita ha argumentado que la habilitación de nuevos casos de uso de la IA por la 5G-Advanced podría crear un mundo de nuevas experiencias. Independientemente de cuáles sean esas experiencias, es un nuevo argumento para considerar que la 5G-Advanced no es tan sólo un conjunto de tecnologías, sino también una herramienta que aporta valor al usuario final. La IA en el punto de mira. Por supuesto que, aparte de las expectativas que suscite la 5G-Advanced, es correcto verla como un conjunto de tecnologías, dos de las cuales han suscitado mucho interés durante la sesión. Empecemos por la IA. Sin duda, los argumentos con los que Zain sostiene que la 5G-Advanced hará posibles nuevos casos de uso impulsados por la IA es convincente. Pero la conexión entre la IA y la 5G-Advanced es más profunda. Según explica Qualcomm, la 5G-Advanced presupone la colaboración entre la 5G y la IA, respaldada por la Release-18, que abarca el diseño de interfaz aérea habilitado para IA/ML y una extensión de ML a los niveles de RAN, dispositivo e interfaz aérea. En pocas palabras, la 5G-Advanced apoyará el despliegue de nuevas aplicaciones de IA, pero también requerirá IA para su propio funcionamiento.Internet de las Cosas en el punto de mira. El soporte a gran escala para Internet de las Cosas fue una pieza fundamental de los argumentos originales en favor de la 5G. Pero las expectativas de Huawei, Orange y Qualcomm demuestran que aún queda trabajo por hacer, y no sólo porque haya que escalar o densificar los despliegues. Se trata más bien de que las mejoras aportadas por la 5G-Advanced ofrecen nuevas funcionalidades y capacidades: Internet de las Cosas 5G de capacidad reducida (RedCap) para ganar en costes y eficiencia, nuevas capacidades de detección y posicionamiento, Internet de las Cosas que capta su energía del ambiente. La perspectiva, tomada en conjunto, consiste en promover Internet de las Cosas para nuevos casos de uso, así como una escala extrema. De todo un poco. Si bien Internet de las Cosas y la IA han sido temas generales y transversales en muchas de las presentaciones de la sesión, también se han tratado otras aportaciones específicas de la 5G-Advanced. Redes no terrestres, que incluyen integrar drones y satélites. Mejora del rendimiento del enlace ascendente. Automatización y ahorro de energía. Infinidad de innovaciones radioeléctricas. Todo esto, que une servicios, experiencias y tecnología, no es un cúmulo aleatorio de estándares y especificaciones. Estamos hablando de un amplio conjunto de capacidades que podrían hacer realidad una variada gama de nuevos servicios. Resulta alentador, aunque no nos sorprenda, que la sesión nos haya brindado una perspectiva positiva de lo que se puede conseguir mediante la 5G-Advanced. De todos modos, Huawei merece elogios por haber señalado que “necesitamos una mayor cooperación” y por reconocer el apoyo de la Comunidad 5G Futures a dicha tecnología. Al fin y al cabo, si nos falta la asignación continua de espectro, el respaldo a la redistribución (refarming) de frecuencias y los ensayos y pruebas de interoperabilidad, la 5G-Advanced no dará los frutos previstos. Es un buen motivo para aguardar con impaciencia la edición 2024 de dicha sesión y los avances que (si se cumplen nuestros deseos) veremos entonces. - Peter Jarich - Director de GSMA Intelligence Las opiniones editoriales expresadas en este artículo son exclusivas del autor y no reflejan necesariamente los puntos de vista de la GSMA, sus Miembros o Miembros Asociados.
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Mobile World Live
Ericsson ha accedido a pagar una multa de 206,7 millones de dólares (unos 193 millones de euros) al Departamento de Justicia de Estados Unidos, en el marco de una declaración de culpabilidad que involucra a la firma en sobornos en diversos países. Según el fabricante, esto cierra la puerta a un Acuerdo de Enjuiciamiento Diferido. El fabricante ha explicado que la declaración de culpabilidad se refiere a infracciones no penales de un Acuerdo de Enjuiciamiento Diferido que firmó en 2019, tras las investigaciones estadounidenses sobre sus operaciones en Yibuti, China, Vietnam, Indonesia y Kuwait entre 2010 y 2016. En virtud de dicho acuerdo, Ericsson aceptó pagar una multa de 1.100 millones de dólares (unos 1.029 millones de euros) al gobierno estadounidense. La firma declara que no ha introducido modificaciones en sus objetivos financieros a largo plazo como resultado de esta última acción. Borje Ekholm, consejero delegado de Ericsson, ha afirmado que “el paso que hemos dado hoy implica que el asunto de los incumplimientos ha quedado resuelto. Así podremos centrarnos en la ejecución de nuestra estrategia, al tiempo que impulsamos un cambio cultural continuado en toda la empresa, con la integridad en el centro de todas nuestras actividades.” Ekholm ha añadido que la dirección de Ericsson “mantiene su compromiso” con dicha transformación cultural, impulsada por el incidente con Estados Unidos, y ha destacado el trabajo continuado con el que aspira a “aplicar controles estrictos y mejorar la gobernanza, la ética y el cumplimiento normativo” en toda la empresa. En 2021, el Departamento de Justicia estadounidense actuó contra Ericsson por incumplimiento de las obligaciones previstas en el Acuerdo de Enjuiciamiento Diferido, alegando que no había facilitado ciertos documentos, ni información factual. Cambios en la dirección La noticia se ha dado a conocer en Estados Unidos dos días después de que Ericsson anunciara que Laurie Waddy, directora de cumplimiento normativo, dejaba el cargo tras poco menos de cuatro años, y que Jan Sprafke, director de cumplimiento normativo en Europa y América Latina, la sustituiría de forma interina. Ericsson afirma que Waddy “ha desempeñado un papel importante al reforzar la ética y el cumplimiento de las normas en la empresa”, y la directiva ha resaltado “los enormes progresos realizados en el desarrollo de un programa de cumplimiento normativo de primera categoría”.
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Mobile World Live
PARTNER INTERVIEW: Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison laid out ambitious plans to connect a huge untapped segment of users and aid Indonesia’s Industry 4.0 programme by working with enterprises of all sizes to improve productivity and bring quality connectivity across the entire archipelago. The major force behind its growth blueprint is the merger of Ooredoo Group and CK Hutchison’s respective units in a $6 billion merger after receiving regulatory clearance for the transaction in January 2022. The merger created the second-largest provider in the market, and in December Indosat surpassed the 100 million mobile subscribers milestone. It closed 2022 with 102.2 million subscribers, behind market leader Telkomsel with 173.3 million. LTE users now account for nearly 75 per of its total. Following the tie-up with Hutchison Tri, the operator doubled its LTE base station count to 137,000, with about 25,000 sites across the island of Java putting it on par with market leader Telkomsel, said Indosat president director and CEO Vikram Sinha (pictured). The operator estimates over the next two years 21 million new first-time users will move from Google, which its research shows are so eager to adopt mobile service they are willing to pay a premium. During a media briefing at MWC Barcelona, Sinha said: “This is a big opportunity. We have to bring quality not only to major urban areas such as Jakarta, but to all villages.” Wider access Indonesia has the fourth largest population in the world with around 273 million people. Over the next five years, internet penetration is forecast to increase from 77 per cent to 86 per cent, with data users rising from 161 million to 190 million. Cellular spend as a percentage of GDP lags many countries in Southeast Asia, behind both Thailand and the Philippines by a significant margin. Sinha underscored the importance of giving every citizen access to data services. “For people to earn their livelihood, they need to be connected. The moment they get connected they get into the digital ecosystem.” Over his two decades working in the industry, he doesn’t think the sector has done a very good job of building trust with customers. “You have to build simple, transparent services.” Indosat, for example, offers 3GB for INR35,000 (about $2.30), with no added charges or conditions. New growth Singha noted the mobile market in Indonesia was mostly flat for the past five years, but started growing again in 2022, with Fitch Ratings forecasting 8 per cent 9 per cent revenue growth, up from 6 per cent. The operator predicts consolidated revenue will grow at above the overall market. When the merger was completed, the company outlined a two-year plan for full integration of the two networks, with equipment from Ericsson, Nokia and Huawei. The integration work with Ericsson was concluded. By March, it expects to complete the work with the other two vendors. “We are off to good start but still have a lot of work to do.” He noted cultural integration was a major focus, adding it’s important to “integrate your culture fast. If you don’t do it within one year, there is risk it will never happen”. In terms of corporate structure, he argued giving both partners joint control is its biggest advantage because one party doesn’t have absolute control. “That means management has to do what is right for the business and build credibility to ensure you can move fast. To execute, I need all my employees to galvanise under one purpose.” Waiting for spectrum Sinha explained with the government yet to reveal when it will release C-Band spectrum it is not waiting to move ahead with 5G. “The ecosystem needs to be ready. We started in 2019 and now have close to 400 5G sites in six cities. We're experimenting with 5G services until more dedicated spectrum comes,” arguing the next-generation networks are not just about speeds. He explained the company wants to be ready to monetise the technology, allowing “us to solve real challenges”. With home broadband penetration at just about 10 per cent, the CEO sees an opportunity for 5G as a substitute for fibre. When people move to 5G, he noted they consume more data, while the cost of delivering a megabyte is lower than 4G. “This is good news for me.” Network upgrade In mid-February the company reported 2022 financial results, with profit and revenue both jumping sharply, impacted by the tie-up. Mobile revenue was up 58.4 per cent year-on-year to IDR40.2 trillion. It shut down its 3G network at end-2022, freeing up spectrum in the 1800MHz and 2100MHz bands. It turned off 19,000 3G sites last year, with the last 3,000 to be decommissioned soon. To fund is continued network expansion, the operator is looking to sell more tower assets after closing a deal in March 2021 to offload some 4,200 towers to Digital Colony subsidiary EdgePoint Indonesia for $750 million. The operator’s total capex increased 74 per cent in 2022 to IDR12 trillion, raising the capex to revenue ratio to 25.7 per cent from 22 per cent in 2021. Sinha said the operator aims to reduce the capex-to-revenue ratio to below 20 per cent in 2023, even as the full-year outlay rises to IDR13 trillion. To learn more about Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison, please click [1] here. [1]
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Mobile World Live
PRESS RELEASE: ZTE Corporation has showcased its 5G private network product, dubbed Mini5GC at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2023 in Barcelona, Spain. The product was launched at ZTE 5G Summit and User Congress in November, 2022. Mr. Wang Quan, VP of ZTE, said: "ZTE’s Mini5GC is a 5G core network product with the smallest size in the world, the most complete functions and the fastest launch speed under the same performance. It is recognized as ‘the only suitcase-class 5GC in the industry’.” “Our Mini5GC, featuring A3 paper size and 1U height, can be deployed in more complicated scenarios such as mining areas, high-speed railway and planes, emergency rescue, flexible workstation and green power grids, helping fast service innovations in vertical industries,” added Mr. Wang. Ms. Yang Rui, a senior expert of ZTE, demonstrated this minimum 5G private network Mini5GC to VIPs and industry experts in the technical exchange activity. “Mini5GC, more than just being small and light, is also designed simple and easy to use. Once plugging in the power and the network, and pushing power on button, you will set all your private network,” said Ms. Yang. Moving forward, ZTE will cooperate with industry partners to make consistent innovations, helping operators empower digital and intelligent industry, explore potential markets, create new values and build a win-win 5G industrial ecosystem.
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Mobile World Live
Mobile World Live's Justin Springham rounds up the week's action from the big show.
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Mobile World Live
PRESS RELEASE: ZTE Corporation announced that it has, based on the accumulation of its research and experience in energy saving and consumption reduction technologies of networks, released the Green 5GC White Paper to help operators build green networks and empower low-carbon transformation in thousands of industries. With "low-carbon" becoming a new trend for sustainable development of the global economy, digitalization and technological innovation undertakes the new mission of low-carbon transformation in all industries. The rapid development of ICT technologies represented by 5G provides new ideas and methods for reaching the carbon peak and carbon neutralization goals. As the core brain of 5G network, core network has been facing challenges of energy conservation and emission reduction. It needs to act as the core brain and collaborate with other domains of the network to achieve end-to-end energy saving and consumption reduction. This white paper analyzes the key factors that affect the green transformation of the core network, identifies the direction and objectives of the transformation, describes the crucial energy-saving and efficiency-improving technologies and benefits at all levels such as infrastructure, network elements, and O&M. Also, the white paper focuses on industry practice cases to provide theoretical support and reference for telecom operators and industries for building green networks, and promote the research and innovation of network energy-saving technologies. At MWC 2023, ZTE has showcased its Turbo Core Solution and four types of function accelerator cards (FAC) to improve the resource efficiency of green 5GC and maximize energy efficiency per watt. ZTE adheres to the green and low-carbon development concept, continuously strengthens the research and application practices of energy saving, efficiency improvement, and empowerment technologies. Moving forward, ZTE will keep working with partners to build a "green ICT base" to contribute to the "low-carbon future". For the full version of Green 5GC White Paper, please download via the link below:
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Mobile World Live
PRESS RELEASE: ZTE Corporation has demonstrated its NEO (Native Enhanced-Cloud Orchestration) cloud card at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2023 in Barcelona, Spain. This cloud card has been successfully put into commercial use in early 2023. ZTE is the first partner stationed in China Mobile DPU Innovation & Open's open laboratory for DPU innovation. Both parties have carried out in-depth research on the key technology architecture of DPU, and jointly promoted the healthy development of the DPU industry chain from specification to all-round cooperation of the ecosystem. ZTE’s NEO cloud card can build a new DPU-centric computing architecture to implement unloading and acceleration of virtualization, network, storage, and security while reducing the burden of CPUs and improving overall system performance. The cloud card can be widely deployed in CT and IT scenarios. In the network cloud scenario, NEO is used to unload computing power and container management to meet the requirements of big flow tables and high forwarding of cloud native applications. In the edge scenario, the plug-and-play, high-integration, and high-security NEO cloud card-based MEC solution can provide diversified cloud resources with different specifications anywhere in the operator's network, thereby satisfying the requirements of enterprises for differentiated services, and empowering vertical industry applications. In private cloud and public cloud scenarios, cloud-based management of bare metals is implemented through NEO cloud cards, so that bare metals have both the performance of physical machines and the elasticity of virtual machines. As a leading provider of integrated communications solutions, ZTE has been actively practicing the position of “digital economy”. Aimed to efficiently respond to the diversified requirements of the digital economy for computing power, ZTE has been actively working with operators and partners to make breakthroughs, innovations, and practices in key technologies by focusing on the new DPU-centric computing architecture.
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Mobile World Live
PRESS RELEASE: ZTE Corporation has launched its latest generation of RIS (Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface) solution, Dynamic RIS at Mobile World Congress(MWC) Barcelona in 2023. RIS is a new generation of multi-antenna technology developed based on metamaterial technology. By adjusting the phase, amplitude, or polarization direction of the metasurface antenna unit, RIS can greatly improve the electromagnetic wave propagation environment, thereby expanding wireless signal coverage and improving cell throughput. Featuring capability of intelligently regulating large-scale and low-cost passive antenna units in a low-power way, it can reconfigure the wireless environment as one of the key technologies for the evolution of 5G-Advanced and 6G networks. ZTE’s Dynamic RIS is based on the base station's native intelligence. Through the 5G base station and RIS dynamic cooperative beamforming algorithm, it can realize RIS dynamic beam sweeping and user beam tracking, so as to achieve better coverage, superior user experience, and mobility support. ZTE started research on RIS technology in 2021, and launched the first-generation RIS solution at MWC Barcelona 2022. In August 2022, ZTE completed the Dynamic RIS field test in Shanghai, in terms of networking. In this test, one millimeter-wave AAU and one Dynamic RIS were used for the network, and a coverage area of 10,000 square meters was achieved by only one Dynamic RIS, a 30% increase on the basic coverage of the millimeter-wave AAU. In the coverage area, the average downlink user rate was increased by 6 times while the uplink was increased by 20 times. In terms of deployment, ZTE’s Dynamic RIS, unlike static RIS, which needs to be customized according to the environment, can adapt to various deployment environments. Once deployed, the RIS beam direction, leveraging the native intelligence of the base station, can be dynamically adjusted according to users' locations, thereby saving a lot of manual network optimization workload. In addition, the Dynamic RIS can also be deployed in camouflage, for example, as a billboard to perfectly blend with the environment. Moving forward, ZTE will stay committed to conducting R&D and commercial pilots of RIS technology. The company will keep carrying out the verification of multi-base stations and multi-RIS in comprehensive commercial networks, launching RIS automation planning tools and promoting the industry chain to reduce the cost and power consumption of RIS devices, expecting to lay a technical foundation for the commercial use of RIS technology.
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Mobile World Live
UAE-based e& continued to accumulate Vodafone Group shares [1], adding an additional percentage of the company’s issued share capital for the third consecutive month. In a stock market statement, e& noted it had reached a 13 per cent holding and reiterated the rationale for the investment was the same as when it paid $4.4 billion for a 9.8 per cent holding [2] in May 2022. When it first bought a stake, e& released a statement backing Vodafone, highlighting an aim to explore joint opportunities and increase its exposure to international markets. This has been referred back to in subsequent transactions. Even before the latest accumulation, e& was Vodafone's largest shareholder, data published on stock market data website MarketScreener showed. In its latest data, which still lists e& at 12 per cent, the next largest shareholders are Norges Bank Investment Management on 3.12 per cent and The Vanguard Group on 2.99 per cent. Statistics do not include Vodafone treasury shares. The latest buy comes the week Vodafone released its latest trading update [3], where interim CEO Margherita Della Valle acknowledged there was room for improvement in its performance in Europe with slowdown in a number of major markets. [1]
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Mobile World Live
Alphabet reported flat revenue in Q4 2022 as Google’s advertising business slowed, while CEO Sundar Pichai indicated a bigger focus on AI services going forward in light of increased competition from rival Microsoft. Net income fell from $20.6 billion in Q4 2021 to $13.6 billion, with revenue up 1 per cent to $76 billion, figures largely attributed to a 4 per cent decline in advertising sales to $59 billion. Pichai stated the advertising decline was due to more modest spending from bigger customers in response to the current economic situation, along with the impact of foreign exchange. YouTube revenue fell 8 per cent to $8 billion and its Google Network unit declined from $9.3 billion to $8.4 billion. Google Cloud revenue rose 32 per cent to $7.3 billion and Other Bets increased from $181 million to $226 million. In line with a recent plan to cut 12,000 jobs [1], the company expects to incur costs of $1.9 billion to $2.3 billion during the current quarter, along with $500 million from reducing office space. Pichai stated the company is on “an important journey to reengineer our cost structure in a durable way”. Alphabet placed a big focus on AI technology, as it faces up to an increased presence in the segment from Microsoft following its multi-billion dollar investment [2] in OpenAI, developer of generative AI app ChatGPT. Pichai stated Alphabet's long-term investments in deep computer science made it “extremely well-positioned as AI reaches an inflection point”. He also teased plans to unveil “AI-driven leaps” in search and beyond. CFO Ruth Porat revealed its AI research arm DeepMind would be taken out of its Other Bets division and reported under direct corporate expenses going forward, a move to integrate the unit with the wider Alphabet business. [1]
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Mobile World Live
Verizon signed up to trial an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) platform from Verana Networks [1] in the operator's latest move to bolster a 5G service running on mmWave spectrum. Verana Networks stated the field trial covers a platform which provides backhaul between mmWave and other 5G small cells while also delivering access to smartphones and fixed wireless access devices. It claimed its multi-hop IAB offering cuts the number of fibre backhaul links required to build a mmWave 5G network, citing potential in dense urban areas where it is expensive to deploy cable. Bill Stone, VP of technology and planning at Verizon, argued Verana Networks’ IAB platform will enhance the performance of its mmWave 5G network. Verizon completed a proof-of-concept trial in 2020 using Ericsson IAB technology. AvidThink analyst Roy Chua told Mobile World Live IAB could be used with sub-6GHz spectrum, but mmWave offered greater availability for backhaul. “It does allow for faster 5G deployments and with intelligent resource management across spectrum and scheduling, it could be a huge benefit to operators.” Chua noted the approach could remove the need for operators to deploy fibre to all network nodes. [1]
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Mobile World Live
Device manufacturers in Bangladesh called for more time to install controversial software enabling a local-language keyboard on Android smartphones, The Daily Star reported. The Mobile Phone Industry Owners' Association of Bangladesh reportedly wrote to the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) explaining they encountered difficulties installing the Bijoy Android package kit (APK). Manufacturers stated the APK is not used globally, meaning they need additional time for development and testing, which also requires investment, the newspaper wrote. The BTRC instructed local smartphone makers and importers to install the Bijoy APK before seeking approval for their devices last month, The Daily Star explained. Last week, Nikkei Asia reported Bijoy is made by Ananda Computer, which was founded by Bangladeshi Minister of Post and Telecommunications Mustafa Jabbar. At the same time, Jabbar told news outlet New Age consumers will retain control over the software installed on their devices and downplayed statements that installation was mandatory.
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10:44
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Mobile World Live
Qualcomm president and CEO Cristiano Amon (pictured) warned declines in revenue from devices would continue, as the company revealed a drop in earnings during its fiscal Q1 2023 (the period to 25 December 2022). On an earnings call, Amon noted Qualcomm was implementing further spending reductions and streamlining operations due to macroeconomic factors and an overall weakening in demand. "As the handset industry continues to experience reduced demand we are now expecting elevated channel inventory levels to persist at least to the first half of calendar 2023,” he stated. Amon added the same trends are evident in the IoT sector, though also noted this field was poised to become the company’s largest addressable market. The CEO highlighted Samsung’s decision to use Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset in its newest Galaxy 23 [1] smartphones. He also stated the company would see significant momentum in India for its fixed wireless access portfolio. Amon claimed the company’s strategy was working and it remained focused on expanding its addressable market to approximately $700 billion over the next decade. Net income fell 34 per cent year-on-year to $2.2 billion on revenue of $9.5 billion, down 12 per cent. Revenue at its QCT segment, which includes chips for smartphones, automotive and IoT devices along with RF front-end components, decreased 11 per cent to $7.9 billion. Within this, mobile handset sales of $5.8 billion were down 18 per cent and IoT revenue grew 7 per cent to $1.6 billion. QTL revenue of $1.5 billion was down 16 per cent. [1]
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9:56
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Mobile World Live
Apple CEO Tim Cook declared a challenging environment over the last three months of 2022 which included the shutdown of a key Chinese factory that makes iPhones [1] led to a decline in revenue. The company reported iPhone revenue fell more than 8 per cent year-on-year to $65.8 billion in its fiscal Q1 2023, the period from 25 September to 31 December. Cook cited foreign exchange headwinds, Covid-19 (coronavirus) issues in China which cut supply of iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max smartphones through most of December and a “challenging macro-economic environment” as challenges. “As a result of a challenging environment, our revenue was down 5 per cent year-over-year, but I'm proud of the way we have navigated circumstances seen and unforeseen over the past several years.” He noted production was back to where the company wants it to be, but stated the world continued to face unprecedented circumstances including inflation, war in Ukraine and the enduring impact of the pandemic. He stated Apple wasn’t immune to those circumstances. Cook noted Apple’s global installed base now reaches more than 2 billion devices, “a truly incredible milestone”. Net income fell 13.4 per cent to $30 billion. Overall revenue of $117.2 billion was 5.5 per cent lower, the first decline since 2019. The service division, which includes Apple TV+ and gaming, set a quarterly revenue record of $20.8 billion, up 6.4 per cent, which Cook said was better than expected. Mac revenue decreased 28.7 per cent to $7.7 billion and iPad grew 29.6 per cent to $9.4 billion. [1]
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