Kokthansogreta.nu - Nyhetssök / News Search ! » Mobile World Live (5364 unread)

« Expand/Collapse

Mobile World Live (75 unread)

Skip to page: 1 2 3 ... 72

March 16, 2020
9:00
TRAI moves to widen scope for tower companies
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) recommended allowing tower companies to share active infrastructure including RAN, but not licensed spectrum, in a move to encourage sharing of network resources which can reduce capex and opex. In a statement, TRAI said it aims to enable active infrastructure sharing by enhancing the scope of providers and incentivising the deployment of common sharable, passive and active, equipment. Currently, the country only permits passive sharing of wireless equipment. Active sharing means multiple operators can share RAN gear at base stations, leading to cost reductions and faster deployments. The recommendation would allow tower companies to own, set up and maintain all the infrastructure required for establishing RANs, wireline access networks and transmission links. But TRAI said they cannot own or deploy core network elements, or acquire licensed spectrum. TRAI opened a consultation seeking comments from stakeholders in August 2019: the regulator said it received 29 submissions. The regulator also recommended tower companies be barred from giving non-telecoms companies access to their infrastructure.
March 13, 2020
19:02
Apple virtualises annual WWDC meet
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

Apple shifted its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) to an online-only format, making it the latest technology giant to scrap a major in-person gathering due to concerns about Covid-19 (coronavirus). Phil Schiller, SVP of worldwide marketing, said in a statement “the current health situation has required that we create a new WWDC 2020 format that delivers a full programme with an online keynote and sessions”. Additional details about the event, set to be held sometime in June, will be released “in the weeks ahead,” he added. WWDC typically serves as a showcase of new software features [1] for Apple’s range of products, drawing thousands of developers from around the globe. Google [2] and Facebook [3] recently also moved key annual events to an online format. In a nod to local businesses, Apple said it would donate $1 million to organisations in San Jose to help offset the impact of its decision. The move comes as Apple continues to grapple with the impact of Covid-19, with the vendor expecting disruption in manufacturing and retail operations to deal a blow to its revenue targets [4]. [1] [https:] [2] [https:] [3] [https:] [4] [https:]
18:40
Xiaomi takes wraps off latest Redmi Note models
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

Xiaomi lined up two new smartphones for its Redmi range in India, a move designed to continue its market leading momentum [1] in the country. [2]In a statement, Xiaomi India chief marketing officer Anuj Sharma (pictured, left) said the Redmi Note 9 Pro Max and Note 9 Pro continue the brand’s reputation as “torch bearer of innovation”, highlighting a partnership with the Indian Space Research Organisation to install The Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (NavIC) onto both. Xiaomi said this provides more accurate location tracking and mapping in the country. The smartphones feature the largest screens in the Redmi portfolio at 6.67-inches, up from 6.53-inches on the Note 8 Pro. Resolution is FHD+ (1080x2400-pixels) with a 20:9 aspect ratio. They feature Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 720 processor with the Adreno 618 GPU, 5020mAh battery, with the Pro Max offering a 33W charger. Note 9 Pro Max offers a quad rear camera arrangement with 64MP main, 8MP ultra-wide, 5MP macro and 2MP depth lenses. Xiaomi said the macro module offers 1080-pixel video recording. The 32MP front camera offers night mode, a first in a Redmi device. The Note 9 Pro replaces the 64MP main lens with a 48MP unit, with the remaining trio the same and a 16MP unit on the front. It will be available on 17 March, priced INR12,999 ($175.74) with 4GB of RAM and 64GB storage; or INR15,999 in 6GB/128GB format. The Max version will be on shelves in India from 25 March for INR14,999 with 6GB RAM and 64GB storage; INR16,999 (6GB/128GB) and INR18,999 (8GB/128GB). [1] [https:] [2] [https:]
17:58
Telenor seizes domestic 5G initiative
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

Telenor Group launched what it said was the first commercial 5G network in Norway, offering service in nine different locations across the country. Customers with 5G-capable devices will be able to tap into the next generation network in Kongsberg, Elverum, Bodo, Askvoll, Fornebu, Kvitfjell, Longyearbyen, Trondheim, and the Spikersuppa neighbourhood in capital city Oslo. Additional rollouts in Bergen, Stavanger and Sandnes, along with broader availability in Oslo will follow later this year, the operator said. A company representative told Mobile World Live customers will not pay an additional fee for 5G access for the time being, but added "development of new subscriptions, prices, et cetera...is something that we will get back to in due course". Petter-Borre Furberg, Telenor Norway CEO, said in a statement the operator plans to upgrade nearly 2,000 base stations to 5G in 2021 as it continues to expand coverage. All told, it expects to convert a total of 8,500 base stations to the technology within the next four-to-five years, he noted. Telenor Group president and CEO Sigve Brekke added it expects 5G "to be the key driver of transformation in this decade, and we are very much looking forward to continuing the roll-out of 5G to our customers”. The launch comes just a few months after Telenor tapped Ericsson to deploy its 5G RAN [1] in the country, in a move to scale-back its work with Chinese vendor Huawei. [1] [https:]
17:51
Partner Interview: Nokia
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

Phil Twist, VP, Networks Marketing & Communications, Nokia, discusses the importance, the potential and the challenges of 5G.
17:47
Partner Interview: Thales Group
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

Antoine Thomas, Head of eSim Solutions, reveals how Thales Group is seeing successes in the eSim market.
17:29
Web companies pressed to clamp-down on child abuse
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) urged internet companies to step-up efforts to combat posts featuring child abuse material by screening images and videos prior to publication. In a report, IICSA acknowledged there were “significant efforts by internet companies to detect indecent images of children on their platforms and services”, but argued preventing access to such material was a necessary step in the fight against possession and distribution of such imagery. IICSA also noted there was a rapid increase in cases of online child grooming, especially on social media platforms. Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat were found to be the most frequently cited apps in this regard. Despite the fact most companies ban children aged under 13-years from accessing their platforms, the inquiry gathered evidence showing younger users were easily able to access the services. It also stated internet companies “failed to demonstrate that they were fully aware of the scale of underage use” and lacked a plan to combat the problem. IICSA highlighted encryption as a risk to detection and investigation of child sexual abuse online and suggested companies to do more than “simply deploying existing technologies”. It also suggested the use of human moderators to monitor live streaming in order to combat child offending.
17:09
Partner Interview: Tania Aidrus, Chief Digital Officer, Pakistan
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

Tania Aidrus, Chief Digital Officer, Pakistan, talks about the challenges and opportunities arising from digitizing the country’s economy.
13:32
Ofcom clears path for 5G spectrum auction
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

UK regulator Ofcom finalised rules for an upcoming auction of spectrum in the 700MHz and 3.6GHz to 3.8GHz bands, in an effort to boost the rollout of 5G networks and enhance mobile broadband in the country. Ofcom announced it will release 80MHz of spectrum in the 700MHz band, and 120MHz in the 3.6GHz to 3.8GHz range, increasing the total amount of available mobile airwaves in the UK by 18 per cent. The auction will involve two stages: a principal one which will see operators placing offers for airwaves separately to determine the amount of spectrum they get; and an assignment phase involving a round of bidding to decide on the specific frequencies which will be allocated. Ofcom said it will let winners of 3.6GHz to 3.8GHz spectrum negotiate their placements within the band between themselves, to “give mobile operators the opportunity to create more continuous blocks of 5G-ready spectrum”. The regulator stated it was looking to maintain strong competition in the market by imposing a 37 per cent cap on the overall spectrum available to any one company. Spectrum Group Director at Ofcom Philip Marnick said the move would bring “a much-needed capacity boost”, as demand for data was continuously soaring, and argued the step would help “cement the UK’s place as a world leader in 5G”. The authority’s initial plan from December 2018 was to impose binding coverage obligations [1], which would have forced up to two UK operators to increase coverage in rural areas. However, Ofcom decided to cancel this as the four major operators in the country reached an agreement earlier this month [2] over a £1 billion Shared Rural Network (SRN) plan for sealing coverage gaps across the UK. [1] [https:] [2] [https:]
13:12
T-Mobile US names new leadership team
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

T-Mobile US finalised its management team and reporting structure ahead of its proposed merger with Sprint, which is edging closer to completion [1]. Along with previously-announced moves [2] which will see current COO Mike Sievert (pictured, left) head up the new T-Mobile, replacing John Legere (pictured, right), a few more management positions were confirmed, with certain Sprint executives coming on board. John Saw, most recently CTO at Sprint, was named EVP of advanced and emerging technologies, reporting to Neville Ray, who was promoted to president of technology in November 2019. Deeanne King, chief human resources officer at Sprint, takes on the same position at the new T-Mobile and Brandon Draper, CCO at Sprint, was named EVP of emerging products. Nestor Cano, Sprint’s former COO will serve as EVP of integration and transformation and strategic adviser. Other management team additions saw Abdul Saad, who has been at T-Mobile for 19 years, named EVP and CTO, while Cody Sanford, a 20-year T-Mobile veteran, will serve as EVP and chief information and product officer. Both will report to Ray. Jon Freier and Mike Katz will retain their respective positions as T-Mobile’s heads of consumer and business/wholesale units. There was, however, no room for former CenturyLink executive Sunit Patel, who will leave the company once the Sprint deal completes. He joined T-Mobile in 2018 [3], to lead the pre-merger integration programme. [1] [https:] [2] [https:] [3] [https:]
12:54
Alphabet Loon project yet to fly in Kenya
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

Kenyan Information and Communications minister Joseph Mucheru slated bureaucracy for delaying the take-off of Alphabet's Loon service, which is yet to begin operations some 18 months after agreeing a rural connectivity deal with Telkom Kenya, Financial Times (FT) reported. Loon and Telkom Kenya agreed the deal in mid-2018 [1] with the goal of launching commercial services during 2019. However, FT wrote the service is yet to get off the ground due to what Mucheru said was a sluggish response from the government around granting permits. Telkom Kenya told the newspaper it is waiting for approval to fly the systems' high-altitude balloons from the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority and the Ministry of Transport. The operator explained the service is ready to roll, with ground stations already established, and it is working with authorities to gain the necessary approvals. Mucheru said he still fully backs Loon, which aims to beam 4G connectivity to remote parts of the country and is seen as something of a poster-child for High Altitude Platform Stations (HAPS) technology. Loon and SoftBank subsidiary HAPSMobile recently formed the HAPS Alliance [2] to speed adoption of high-altitude network infrastructure, which received backing from major operators and vendors including Deutsche Telekom, China Telecom, Ericsson and Nokia. [1] [https:] [2] [https:]
12:46
Mobile Mix: We’re not talking about cat videos
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

Justin is joined by GSMA Intelligence head Peter Jarich to highlight his top five stats from the GSMA's latest Mobile Economy report. Meanwhile Yanitsa is with Hewlett Packard Enterprises, as the company tries to muscle in on the 5G opportunity, and Manny rounds up all the week's other headlines.
11:53
BT head runs business remotely after virus infection
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

BT Group CEO Philip Jansen (pictured) offered assurances there would be no disruption to the operator's business after the company revealed he had self-isolated at home following a positive diagnosis for Covid-19 (coronavirus). In a statement issued late yesterday (12 March), Jansen explained he followed quarantine protocols issued by Public Health England after contracting the virus. “I’ve met several industry partners this week so felt it was the responsible thing to do to alert them to this fact as soon as I could”, BT’s chief stated. He added he would continue leading the company by working remotely in the upcoming week. The operator announced it took action by working with Public Health England to undertake “a full deep clean of relevant parts of its group headquarters and will ensure those employees who have had contact with Philip are appropriately advised”. The World Health Organization characterised Covid-19 as a pandemic on 11 March, with BBC News reporting 596 confirmed cases in the UK as of 12 March. Public Health England’s guidelines require people with confirmed or possible Covid-19 infection to self-isolate and not leave their home for seven days from the start of showing symptoms.
11:17
WTTx Suite Empowers Smart Axiata to Achieve Home Broadband Success
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

PRESS RELEASE: The number of Smart @Home users in Cambodia has increased significantly by the end of 2019. One of the contributing factors to this success is the WTTx Suite by Huawei, the industry’s first AI-based solution that enables end-to-end (E2E) service automation, which was deployed in Smart’s network at the end of 2018. Due to the dynamic-nature of the telecommunication wireless environment, it is normally difficult to accurately predict which areas have demand for WTTx services and the associated throughput the network may be able to provide. The traditional solution is very time consuming, resource intensive and is lower in accuracy, as everything is normally done manually. Using AI technology, the WTTx Suite is able to provide highly reliable pre-sale evaluation in terms of the location, service package and CPE customer requirements based on the coverage, throughput and resources of the network. The integration of this Huawei module with Smart’s ePOS system and mobile app enables E2E workflow automation. It also identifies network as well as CPE issues in a faster way, improves customer satisfaction rate as well as reduces churn rate. To date, the WTTx Suite has been deployed in more than 60 networks in 35 countries worldwide. The 5G WTTx Suite 2.0 solution, which will be made available in Q1 2020, is expected to provide improved integration between the service provisioning and management workflows of service providers. The upgraded version of the current WTTx Suite will facilitate rapid development as well as efficient management of wireless broadband services in the 5G-era and comprehensively promote the development of the broadband industry. This not only meets the requirements for rapid home broadband (HBB) in developed countries but also accelerates the penetration of affordable HBB services in developing countries. This year, Smart and Huawei are committed to collaborate further to bring exceptional broadband services and experiences to more unconnected homes as well as people in Cambodia.
10:59
Orange va diffuser la smartwatch Summit 2+ de Montblanc
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

Le fabricant de produits de luxe Montblanc a choisi Orange comme partenaire privilégié en vue du lancement en Europe de la Summit 2+, présentée comme la première smartwatch dotée d’une solution eSIM appuyée sur le WearOS de Google. Dans un communiqué, l’opérateur explique que l’accord fait de lui le premier au monde « à déployer cette technologie dans le respect du nouveau standard GSMA ». Grâce à la nouvelle montre, les clients d’Orange pourront profiter d’une « connexion au réseau mobile transparente et d’une expérience entièrement digitalisée. Cette initiative renforce le leadership d’Orange dans l’adoption de la connectivité eSIM qui, combinée à Wear OS de Google pour une mise en œuvre standardisée, permettra d’étendre l’activation à distance et la connectivité cellulaire à d’autres catégories de montres intelligentes. » L’appellation eSIM couvre un standard proposé par la GSMA qui permet l’installation à distance de SIMs sur des appareils, évitant ainsi une installation physique à partir de cartes en plastique. L’opérateur précise que la montre ne sera pas proposée isolément, mais comme une extension de son approche de facturation multi-SIMs : les clients pourront ajouter la Summit 2+ à leur forfait smartphone en partageant numéro d’appel et allocation de données. La smartwatch fonctionnera cependant de façon autonome, sans nécessiter la proximité d’un smartphone. La Summit 2+ est basées sur la Summit 2 lancée en janvier 2019. Elle propose un GPS, une batterie plus endurante de 440 mAh et la plate-forme Snapdragon Wear 3100 de Qualcomm. « Il s’agit tout simplement de la première montre intelligente directement connectée au réseau cellulaire à intégrer cette plate-forme », selon le communiqué. La montre offre en outre diverses fonctions de surveillance de la forme (suivi de l’activité, des calories brûlées, de la distance parcourue, de la fréquence cardiaque…) en plus d’applications propriétaires signées Montblanc. Orange va commercialiser la Summit 2+ au 2e trimestre en France et en Espagne. Bien qu’aucun prix n’ait été communiqué, la Summit 2 coûte actuellement aux alentours de 900 euros et plus selon les versions.
10:57
Orange étend ses services financiers sur mobile au Maroc
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

Orange lance Orange Money au Maroc, qui devient ainsi le 18e pays de la région Afrique et Moyen-Orient à proposer la plate-forme de services financiers sur mobile de l’opérateur français. Le lancement intervient un an après que l’opérateur ait obtenu l’accord de la banque centrale marocaine. Orange Money permettra aux Marocains d’utiliser leurs mobiles pour effectuer des paiements, transférer de l’argent dans le pays et retirer du liquide dans des points de vente agréés. Le service ne sera pas réservé aux seuls clients d’Orange : il sera accessible à tous les utilisateurs de smartphones en téléchargeant une application. Selon l’opérateur, Orange Money totaliserait aujourd’hui 45 millions de clients et aurait permis de réaliser 2,6 milliards d’euros de transactions en 2019.
10:23
Telenor names new chief for Myanmar
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

Telenor Group appointed a new head at its mobile unit in Myanmar, two months after previous CEO Sharad Mehrotra was transferred to take over dtac [1], the company’s subsidiary in Thailand. Jon Omund Revhaug, currently chief of Telenor Procurement, will become CEO of the Myanmar unit on 1 April. Thomas Skjelbred, COO and deputy chief at the buying unit, will replace Revhaug. Hans Martin Hoegh Henrichsen, chief corporate affairs officer at Telenor Myanmar, is the interim leader in Myanmar after Mehrotra replaced Alexandra Reich as head of dtac on 1 February. Reich stepped down after less than two years [2] in the role. In a statement, Irfan Wahab Khan, EVP of Telenor’s Emerging Asia Cluster and chair at Telenor Myanmar, said Revhaug had played an instrumental role in the development, growth and success of the procurement organisation since 2008. “His extensive experience from our industry, including several positions in Telenor, makes him the right candidate to lead Telenor Myanmar going forward." The top-level management changes earlier in the year also saw the chief of Grameenphone in Bangladesh, Michael Foley, relocate to Africa and be replaced by deputy CEO and CMO Yasir Azman. [1] [https:] [2] [https:]
10:12
India to reassess operator AGR liabilities
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

India’s Department of Telecommunications (DoT) advised parliament it will recalculate the outstanding dues operators owe based on self-assessments they submitted, possibly opening the door for significantly lower liabilities for the debt-laden companies, The Economic Times (ET) reported. Minister of State for Communications Sanjay Dhotre said in a letter to the upper house of parliament the DoT would use the documents from the operators to reassess the dues and send revised demand notices, the newspaper wrote. Last month, the DoT asked operators to calculate their liabilities to the government following a Supreme Court ruling over the definition of adjusted gross revenue (AGR). Vodafone Idea last week submitted a self-assessment [1] of its liabilities, claiming it owes just INR215 billion ($2.9 billion), while the DoT ordered it to pay INR530 billion. The operator paid an initial INR35 billion [2] on 20 February. Bharti Airtel said it owes INR130 billion and paid this along with an “extra” payment of INR50 billion. DoT estimates its liability at INR356 billion. Despite reports the government is exploring relief measures for the troubled telecoms sector, which surfaced after Vodafone Group CEO Nick Read met with officials, Dhotre said such a proposal is not under consideration, ET reported. [1] [https:] [2] [https:]
10:01
Q&A: Matrixx CTO backs 5G as virtualisation driver
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

[1]Marc Price, CTO of digital customer experience platform provider Matrixx Software (pictured, right), talked to Mobile World Live about how 5G is opening the door to a new approach to network design and operation in the form of virtualisation and open architectures, though noted the shift is not without its challenges. Can software do it all or will operators need some physical infrastructure in the 5G era? What’s important and impressive about the strides our industry is taking is that decisions regarding software and hardware can increasingly be made independently. While software may be chosen for its market agility, architecture, and performance, hardware decisions may focus more specifically on commercial terms. Does one wish to buy, rent, or pay for use of the commodity assets needed to run one’s business? Software will always need some sort of physical infrastructure, but modern cloud-native software increasingly enables platform independence and more options than ever before. Why is 5G opening the door to virtual or software-based networks when other generations have not? 5G alone is not the catalyst. However, 5G design principles incorporate modern best practices. This includes aspects of web-scale design from companies like Amazon and Google, and cloud-native design principles from the Linux Foundation’s Cloud Native Computing Foundation. Previous attempts at virtualising network applications and isolating infrastructure decisions haven’t been very successful because of fragmented views as to how achieve this, and mixed success in realising the performance and agility needed. Our industry is unifying around architecture patterns and a set of tools we can agree upon and breaking out of a telco-only mindset. As the tools improve, this makes these decisions easier. While Rakuten Mobile is deploying a 4G network with virtualised cloud-native network elements, we’ll see many more deployments of 5G core network elements in 2020 that use these design patterns to achieve success. What key elements are required in software for virtualised networks, and are we there with this today or is there work to do? Software in the 5G era must support distributed architectures well. This is the biggest challenge to achieving the scale and scope of ambition required. The variety of 5G deployments is staggering. It encompasses solutions for massive IoT, densification of networks, and ultra-low latency. It involves isolation of network slices as well as edge-based components. Microservices based functions must be independently scalable, and API first design should eliminate vendor lock-in. Software application vendors have a lot of work to do to design and develop solutions to support these needs. At the same time, agility and performance remain paramount while addressing these goals. Lastly, the technology is nascent from the Cloud Native Computing Foundation industry. While platform independence is paramount, we must have more mature solutions and support from the tools vendors to achieve success at scale. Will virtualisation shake-up the traditional equipment vendor market, or are they well prepared for any shift in business model? There’s a big shake up underway. The largest network equipment manufacturers were partly responsible for stifling success in the previous era, where proprietary NFV solutions didn’t provide operators the cost reductions, efficiency, or vendor independence that was promised. The industry as a community has finally made some tough decisions with 5G, and in the Linux Foundation. Our challenge is to innovate or become the dumb pipe that’s been feared. Open architectures and increased use of web-scale principles mean that the opportunity is there for the next tier of network software application vendors to thrive. It also means greater opportunities for vendors like AWS, Microsoft, Google, Dell, and VMware. Ultimately, it improves the competitiveness of the operator community and enables 5G to become a commercial success with new business models that will differ greatly from those that came before. What does 2020 hold for the industry? IoT and Mixed Reality (MR) have been on the rise, along with improved opportunities for service providers to collaborate with enterprises. With the 5G packet core finally becoming a reality in 2020, this is the time for a pivot towards services like these, and a dizzying array of other services and business models yet to emerge. I look forward to seeing an expanded maturity as new emerging devices become more mainstream, networks become more like services, and lines blur further between telco and other industries. This article was originally due to appear in the MWC20 Barcelona Show Daily newspapers as part of our conference speaker coverage. Due to the cancellation of the event we are instead publishing them online. [1] [https:]
9:56
Singapore suspends MVNO Zero Mobile licence
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) suspended MVNO Zero Mobile’s licence for failing to resolve outstanding billing disputes with ex-subscribers despite warnings from the regulator. Zero Mobile, which used market leader Singtel's network, stopped offering mobile plans to customers in December 2019. The regulator, which also blacklisted the company and its directors, is investigating it for breaching consumer protection requirements and will take enforcement action if there are violations, it said in a statement. IMDA also directed the operator to resolve billing issues with ex-subscribers. If it fails to comply with the directives, IMDA will cancel its licence on 18 March. Australia-based Zero Mobile introduced MVNO service in Singapore in December 2017, offering low-cost unlimited data plans. The company reportedly is looking to introduce a new offering after facing fierce competition in the city state, which at its peak had seven MVNOs along with four MNOs: Singtel, StarHub, M1 and TGP Telecoms. Zero Mobile has not terminated its mobile service as it plans to reposition its service offering, which doesn't require approval from IMDA. Singapore, with a population of 5.8 million people, has 8.6 million mobile connections, data from GSMA Intelligence covering Q4 2019 showed.
9:40
Verizon boosts network spend
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

Verizon increased its capex guidance for 2020, outlining plans to spend an extra $500 million to speed its transition to 5G and prepare for a potential surge in data traffic related to the spread of Covid-19 (coronavirus). It now expects capex of between $17.5 billion and $18.5 billion, up from an original range of $17 billion to $18 billion. The move comes as the operator prepares for potential stress on its network, as companies and schools in the US increasingly adopt online work models to help prevent the spread of Covid-19. CTO Kyle Malady said in a statement Verizon is yet to see a significant change in data usage, but is “monitoring the situation closely”. He added it is “not clear yet how having millions of additional people working from home will impact usage patterns”, but said the operator is prepared to meet the challenge. “While this is an unprecedented situation, we know things are changing, and we are ready to adjust network resources as we better understand any shifts in demand.” The operator noted it will priortise the needs of hospitals, emergency services and government agencies, and stands ready to deploy assets including portable cell sites and mobile charging stations as necessary. Earlier this month, CFO Matt Ellis said the virus was not expected to weigh heavily [1] on Q1 results, but warned extended supply chain disruptions could dent future equipment revenue. [1] [https:]
0:34
US politicians seek to put Huawei deals on ice
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

US politicians again escalated efforts to keep Huawei from doing business in the country, introducing new legislation which would ban domestic companies from transacting with certain 5G vendors. Specifically, the measure would require the President to place telecommunications companies which have committed sanctions violations or “economic espionage” (such as stealing trade secrets) on the Treasury Department’s Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list. US companies are generally prohibited from transacting with businesses on the list, meaning the move would effectively sever access to the US financial system by blocking banks from processing payments to or from an SDN. The legislation specifically targets transactions related to 5G, carving out exceptions for deals related to 3G and 4G. While Huawei was not named in the bill, the Department of Justice previously accused the company [1] of stealing trade secrets and violating trade sanctions against Iran. Huawei strongly denied the allegations. The company was added to the Department of Commerce's trade blacklist [2] in May 2019. Mike Gallagher, who backed the latest measure in the House of Representatives, in a statement cited the need for a “full court press against malevolent actors like Huawei” to protect against security threats in the 5G era. “It’s time to go on the offensive by cutting Huawei out of the US banking system,” he said. In order to become law, the bill must be approved by both chambers of congress and signed by the President. [1] [https:] [2] [https:]
0:20
Verizon, AT&T dominate latest US 5G auction
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

Verizon and AT&T emerged the winners in a key auction of 5G spectrum, with the pair committing to spend close to $3 billion in total to secure thousands of new licences covering mmWave bands. Bidding in the auction of spectrum in the 37GHz, 39GHz and 47GHz bands officially closed 5 March, with winners revealed today (12 March). The sale tallied $7.558 billion, nearly tripling the combined total raised by two prior mmWave auctions [1], which generated bids of $2 billion for 24GHz spectrum and $700 million for 28GHz. Breakdown Officials said 28 participants claimed a total of 14,142 licences in the latest auction. All told, 3,400MHz of spectrum was on offer, the largest amount ever sold at one time in the nation’s history. Verizon and AT&T moved decisively to bolster their already substantial mmWave holdings, with the former shelling out $1.624 billion for 4,940 licences. AT&T, bidding through its FiberTower Spectrum Holdings subsidiary, was close behind, spending $1.185 billion on 3,267 licences. The operators similarly led in the earlier mmWave spectrum auctions, with AT&T emerging the winner in the sale of 24GHz licences and Verizon in the 28GHz proceeding. T-Mobile US sought to close the gap in the latest proceeding, spending $872.7 million on 2,384 licences to complement some 1,346 licences it won in the 24GHz auction. Dish Network, which is poised to make its entrance in the US wireless market once a proposed merger between T-Mobile and Sprint is finalised, snagged 2,651 licences for $202.5 million through subsidiary Window Wireless. US Cellular, the nation’s fifth-largest operator, and Sprint (bidding as ATI Sub) also took part, with the former grabbing 237 licences for $146.3 million and the latter taking 127 licences for $113.9 million. The auction will allow operators to press ahead with targeted 5G deployments using mmWave spectrum in more locations while they wait for an auction of mid-band airwaves which will allow them to offer broader coverage. FCC chairman Ajit Pai in a statement called the auction a “tremendous success,” adding “we look forward to building on this positive result” in upcoming mid-band spectrum sales scheduled for June [2] and December [3]. [1] [https:] [2] [https:] [3] [https:]
March 12, 2020
17:06
OnePlus makes major commitment to 5G research
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

OnePlus committed $30 million to strengthen its 5G R&D capabilities, in a bid become one of the first manufacturers to offer the technology across a full line of flagship smartphones. Pete Lau, OnePlus founder and CEO, explained in a statement the technology is “top priority in our product strategy,” adding the company plans to “further develop application scenarios based on the daily usage habits of users", citing cloud gaming, videos and storage services as examples. Money will go toward expanding and upgrading existing 5G labs in Shenzhen and Taipei focused on developing RF circuits, antennas, camera, audio and display technologies. It will also target software improvements covering data throughput, performance and power. The move comes as the vendor looks to expand its selection of 5G devices, following the launch of its first compatible smartphone, the OnePlus 7 Pro 5G [1], in 2019. Earlier this week, Lau told CNET a forthcoming range of smartphones under the OnePlus 8 moniker would be 5G compatible. [1] [https:]
13:58
Ericsson compra la empresa española de PTT Genaker
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

Ericsson ha firmado un acuerdo para adquirir la firma Genaker de sistemas push-to-talk (MC-PTT) para aplicaciones de misión crítica, destacando el acuerdo como un elemento fundamental para un nuevo enfoque del proveedor en el sector junto con las redes privadas. En un comunicado, Ericsson ha indicado que está reforzando su división de MC-PTT, un sector que "atraviesa un cambio tecnológico significativo" a medida que la demanda de acceso a imágenes y videos tensa las antiguas infraestructuras de PTT orientadas a la voz. Monica Zethzon, directora del área de soluciones Communication Services de Ericsson, ha declarado que: "llevamos muchos años colaborando con Genaker como socio en aplicaciones de misión crítica; si damos ahora este paso es para reforzar aún más nuestra oferta integral". Ericsson indica que las comunicaciones de misión crítica en torno a la seguridad pública utilizan hasta ahora las redes móviles privadas de radio terrestres ya existentes para proporcionar comunicación PTT básica, pero argumentó que la infraestructura móvil moderna es la mejor manera de expandir las capacidades más allá de estos simples servicios de tipo walkie-talkie. El suministrador sueco adquirirá el 100 por ciento de las acciones de Genaker, con sede en Barcelona, y conservará a los 30 empleados de la empresa. También se ha comprometido a invertir en las aplicaciones y los clientes MC-PTT de Genaker.
13:49
Magic Leap eyes potential sale
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

Mixed reality (MR) headset maker Magic Leap reportedly began discussing its future strategy with an unnamed adviser, with a full or partial sale among the options being considered, Bloomberg stated. The news outlet explained the company commenced talks after consumer demand fell short of the anticipated level, which had resulted in Magic Leap refocusing on the healthcare sector. In addition to selling, the company may sell some parts of its business, which Bloomberg noted could net it more than $10 billion. Magic Leap was established in 2011 and had raised investment of more than $2.3 billion by April 2019 from big names including NTT Docomo [1], Google and Alibaba. Bloomberg speculated Johnson & Johnson as a potential acquirer, but stated Facebook, which offers Oculus VR headsets, had already declined to pursue a deal following talks with Magic Leap. US operator AT&T partnered [2] with Magic Leap in 2018, becoming the only operator in the country to offer its AR headset at its launch. Last month, Magic Leap detailed a series of moves to attract more app developers to its platform, including a priority publishing programme; projects for companies building "custom applications for enterprise customers or brands"; and an updated funding scheme. The company noted its previous grant programme, offered in 2018, had delivered funding of $10 million to 33 developers globally. [1] [https:] [2] [https:]
13:08
PTT company Genaker set for Ericsson sale
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

Ericsson inked an agreement to acquire mission-critical push-to-talk (MC-PTT) systems provider Genaker, highlighting the deal as a building block to a fresh focus by the vendor on the sector along with private networks. In a statement, Ericsson said it is bolstering its MC-PTT arm, with the sector “going through a significant technology shift” as demand for access to images and videos strains legacy voice-oriented PTT infrastructure. Monica Zethzon, Ericsson head of solution area Communication Services said: “We have worked with Genaker as a partner in Mission Critical Applications for many years and we are now taking this step to further strengthen our end-to-end offering.” Ericsson explained mission critical communications around public safety have relied on legacy private land mobile radio networks to deliver basic PTT communication, but argued modern mobile infrastructure is the best way to expand the capabilities beyond these simple walkie-talkie type services. The vendor will acquire 100 per cent of Spain-based Genaker's shares, with all 30 of the company's staff to be retained. It also pledged to invest in Genaker MC-PTT applications and clients.
12:40
Independent scientific body issues 5G safety ruling
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

The International Commission on Non‐Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) found no evidence suggesting 5G technologies pose a risk to human health, following a seven-year-long scientific study into the field. In an update of guidelines last issued in 1998, the body detailed research covering 5G, AM and DAB radio, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and 3G and 4G phones. In a statement, ICNIRP chair Eric van Rongen said the most important outcome from its studies was "that 5G technologies will not be able to cause harm when these new guidelines are adhered to”. He added the suggestions were more appropriate than its prior guidelines, which were “conservative in most cases”. The body based its guidance on scientific reports prepared for the World Health Organisation, the European Commission, national expert groups and continuous monitoring of new research. Van Rongen claimed the new principles offered “better and more detailed exposure guidance in particular for the higher frequency range, above 6GHz, which is of importance to 5G and future technologies using these higher frequencies”. ICNIRP outlined restrictions for frequencies above 6GHz, which include limiting whole-body exposure, a restriction on exposure to small regions of the body of less than six minutes, and a reduction of the maximum permitted exposure over a small body area. Mobile industry association GSMA said the updated guidelines retained “a high level of protection, with limits set well below the thresholds for established hazards for all radio frequencies from 2G to 5G”. The Association noted the refresh would not alter the global rollout of the next-generation networks, as measurements today showed “total exposure from all 5G mobile communication signals remains similar to existing mobile networks and well below the updated international safety guidelines”.
11:47
AT&T boss cashes in on Elliott spat
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson’s (pictured) total compensation for 2019 reportedly increased by 10 per cent, as the executive benefitted from a spat between the operator and activist investor Elliott Management which caused a significant boost in share price. The Wall Street Journal reported Stephenson received a package of $32 million in 2019, a 10 per cent increase, based on appreciation in the value of AT&T’s stock. Along with Stephenson, John Stankey, head of AT&T’s WarnerMedia business, was also left better off, with his pay increasing to $22.5 million, from $16.6 million in 2018. John Donovan, who stepped down [1] as chief of the Communications business in October 2019, took home $27 million, although $10 million was from other pay, including a retirement bonus. Elliott effect AT&T share price spiked after Elliott Management, which owns a stake in the company worth $3.2 billion, criticised AT&T’s [2] merger and acquisitions strategy, and overall management. AT&T later responded [3] by promising not to make any headline buys for three years and detailed plans to generate up to $10 billion from non-core assets. Elliott Management has built a reputation [4] in the technology industry for taking significant stakes in the companies and then pushing for change, typically resulting in a boost in share price. Already in 2020, it took aim at SoftBank while also pushing for change at Twitter [5]. [1] [https:] [2] [https:] [3] [https:] [4] [https:] [5] [https:]
10:54
ZTE is Bringing Spectrum Migration Solution to a Next Level
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

PARTNER FEATURE: Year 2020 marks the acceleration of 5G rollout on much larger scales in many more countries, more and more operators are sought for the fastest way of 5G deployment based on spectrum used by legacy technologies. Operators want to make the best use of the performance characteristics of each band to attune with their business strategy while coexistence with all the technologies of legacy spectrum deployed in the network. 5G can definitely benefit from leveraging much higher frequency bands with larger bandwidth, like band n78 or even mmWave bands, than 4G, but it is not always necessarily the fastest way and/or the most cost-efficient way to deploy 5G in the initial stage on a large scale. It is therefore reasonable and sometimes optimal for 5G to utilize sub3GHz bands which are already in use by 2G, 3G and 4G. Spectrum re-farming from FDD to 5G is obvious an easy option but not the best option due to the light load of 5G initial stage. To ensure legacy users’ voice service experience, a dedicated bandwidth is required to be reserved for 2G or 3G, which will not make the best use of spectrum. How to make full use of spectrum with fast 5G deployment and offer legacy UE’s voice service experience in an efficient way is a challenge posed to global operators, and that’s exactly why ZTE SuperDSS comes into being, which enables triple-RAT dynamic spectrum sharing within a carrier within limited FDD spectrum. What’s SuperDSS? SuperDSS is the industry unique 2G/4G/5G and 3G/4G/5G DSS (Dynamic Spectrum Sharing) solution, enabling quick 5G roll-out while offering smooth transition of legacy voice service over one same carrier, maximizing the spectrum return on investment. It is also the unique innovative spectrum sharing solution of Magic Radio Pro in 5G era when enabling 5G with legacy FDD spectrum. Taking 20MHz bandwidth at 2.1GHz band as an example, without SuperDSS, the operator would have to allocate 5MHz for UMTS to provide legacy 3G voice service, 10MHz for FDD LTE and another 5MHz spectrum to 5G as there will only be a minimal number of 5G users at the initial stage of 5G. Even 4/5G DSS is introduced, 4G/5G DSS can only be performed in 15MHz bandwidth rather than 20MHz as 5MHz is used to meet the requirement of 3G users’ voice service. While with ZTE SuperDSS, 3G, 4G and 5G can share all of the 20MHz bandwidth dynamically, and the UMTS bandwidth can be adjusted according to service requirements, which helps operator to deploy 5G and maintain legacy UE’s voice service experience in a fast and agile way. SuperDSS implements simultaneous 2G or 3G, 4G and 5G dynamic sharing in the same band, that is, 2G or 3G occupies bandwidth based on traffic load, the left bandwidth can be shared by 4G and 5G with delicate scheduling algorithm to avoid clashing of each other. In each millisecond, based on the understanding and analysis of 4G and 5G control channels characteristic, these control channels can be scheduled in such a smart way to achieve minimum interference to each other, whereas 4G and 5G service channels are allocated based on frequency division method, consequently, 4G and 5G required resource will be adjusted to adapt an optimal performance with less spectrum waste, higher ROI of spectrum and better user experience with available 5G services and legacy UE’s voice service experience. Why SuperDSS? The first 5G launch in market is with no doubt important for operators as first launch means first wave 5G users market share and higher user stickiness while involving in the first round competition and maintaining legacy UE’s voice service experience simultaneously are also of great importance, as there are still a lot of subscribers who use voice services with legacy GSM and/or UMTS terminals. This is what is going on in the field network every day. It requires the operators to keep at least one UMTS carrier or GSM frequency to guarantee legacy service user experience, so it would not be an optimal way of spectrum utilization to enable just 4G and 5G DSS without any offering of capacity for 2G and/or 3G. ZTE's unique SuperDSS supports 2G/4G/5G or 3G/4G/5G full dynamic sharing at the same time over 1800MHz or 2100MHz band, for use of spectrum also by 2G or 3G on demand while giving as many spectrum resources as possible for LTE and NR, which offers both legacy UE’s voice service and 5G service with optimal balance. In Asia market, the auction of new spectrum, such as n78 just started in some areas. The fastest and best way to have the first 5G launch is to take use of legacy FDD spectrum, while these bands are generally carrying 2G or 3G voice service. With SuperDSS, 5G can be enabled on legacy FDD spectrum without additional spectrum introduction cost, and simultaneously legacy UE’s voice services experience are guaranteed. In Europe market, 5G network coverage is operators’ common concern as it is hard to provide a continuous coverage at the initial 5G deployment stage, and in some markets, 2G or 3G is difficult to be shut down due to legacy voice service, so SuperDSS can not only empower 5G users a continuous user experience based on legacy FDD network but also taking care of legacy UE’s voice service experience. Powerful SuperDSS Shaping Future Network ZTE Magic Radio Pro solution is the industry's most comprehensive multi-RAT dynamic spectrum sharing solution, supporting up to seven scenarios with five radio technologies (GSM, UMTS, LTE, NB-IoT and NR). As a leader of innovation in this field, ZTE has accumulated rich experiences in multi-RAT dynamic spectrum sharing since 2014, with the development of 5G, ZTE further explores the spectrum sharing possibilities and capabilities with SuperDSS. Based on global success cases of spectrum sharing among FDD modes, ZTE is able to help operators to improve user experience and market competitiveness, offer a fast transition solution from 4G to 5G with guaranteed legacy UE’s voice service experience and optimize TCO with improved spectrum ROI. With AI technology on the way, AI based scheduling mechanism can further facilitate network performance and user experience together with SuperDSS dynamic spectrum sharing scenario in the future.
10:48
La Côte d’Ivoire pousse les services financiers sur mobile
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

Le gouvernement ivoirien vient de publier des plans détaillés visant à instaurer dès cette année dans le pays l’interopérabilité des services financiers numériques dans le but de développer l’utilisation de la monétique et de la banque sur mobile, rapporte l’agence Ecofin. L’interopérabilité permettra aux consommateurs d’envoyer de l’argent aux abonnés d’un autre service financier. Selon Ecofin, le gouvernement espère que l’augmentation du nombre des utilisateurs grossira le volume des transactions. Afin de multiplier les fournisseurs de services financiers, le gouvernement veut en outre ouvrir l’accès à une technologie clé pour les services numériques, l’USSD (unstructured supplementary service data), au-delà du monde fermé des opérateurs, qui s’en réservaient jusqu’à présent le bénéfice. En plus de pousser les services entre consommateurs, le gouvernement ivoirien chercherait en outre à numériser les démarches financières officielles. Selon Ecofin, le but est de fournir un accès par mobile à 80 % des services de l’État. Le plan de développement ivoirien est entrepris dans le cadre de la stratégie d’inclusion financière développée par la Banque Centrale des États de l’Afrique de l’Ouest. Selon Abidjan, environ 44 % de la population ivoirienne n’a pas d’accès à des services financiers numériques.
March 06, 2020
18:41
Oppo boosts 5G play with Find X2 flagships
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

Chinese manufacturer Oppo unveiled its lastest flagship 5G smartphones, and signalled its entry into the smart watch sector with a device due to hit stores in its home market by the end of the month. At a launch event, Michael Tran, head of strategy and product marketing for Western Europe, said the Oppo Find X2 and Oppo Find X2 Pro smartphones were bringing a “smooth and professional display”, which he asserted would set a new standard in the market. Both feature a QHD+ AMOLED screen with 120Hz refresh rate, and are powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 865 chipset with 5G modems. Oppo claimed the smartphones offered the quickest and safest fast charging technology to date, with the Pro version being capable of being fully charged in around 38 minutes. Both run on ColorOS 7.1, the latest version of the company’s customised operating system based on Android 10. Other features include an image-enhancing processor covering stills and videos, along with an AI-powered system to reduce eye strain by modifying the display's brightness and colour palette. Oppo Find X2 Pro comes with a triple-camera setup and supports 4K, 60fps video along with HDR recording. The company said it features All Pixel Omni-directional PDAF, making it the first smartphone to offer full focus functionality around these areas. The Find X2 is priced £899 with 12GB RAM and 256GB ROM, while the Pro version ups the latter to 512GB for £1,099. Both devices will hit the shelves in the UK in the beginning of May. The manufacturer also unveiled its first smart watch series, using 3D flexible hyperboloid display. Oppo Watch will be made available globally, starting with sales in China from 24 March.
17:58
Ivory Coast makes digital financial services push
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

The Ivory Coast government detailed plans to begin offering interoperability in digital financial services this year, in a bid to boost the number of citizens using mobile money and banking services, Ecofin Agency reported. Interoperability will enable consumers to send money to those using financial services from another provider. Ecofin Agency stated the government expects an uplift in transaction volumes fuelled by an increase in users. In a move to increase the number of financial services providers, unstructured supplementary service data (USSD), a key mobile technology for digital services, will be open to companies beyond mobile operators. The news agency asserted operators held a monopoly in the use of USSD technology. Along with seeking to boost consumer-to-consumer services, the government is reportedly seeking to digitalise its own financial processes to boost people's access. Ecofin Agency wrote the goal is to enable access to 80 per cent of its services using mobile. The measures are part of the regional financial inclusion strategy led by the Central Bank of West African States, it added, noting the government estimated 44 per cent of the nation's population do not have access to digital financial services.
16:23
Partner Interview: Singtel
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

Arthur Lang, CEO International, talks about Singtel’s strategies to maintain its leadership throughout industry changes and increased demands, and gives an insight on its new services.
16:16
Partner Interview: ZTE
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

Xiao Ming, President, Global Sales, talks about ZTE’s growth in the industry and its efforts towards expanding to the global market.
16:09
Partner Interview: CalAmp
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

Michael Burdiek, CEO, CalAmp, provides an insight of the company’s portfolio of initiatives and discloses new announcements and demonstrations previously planned for MWC Barcelona.
16:02
Partner Interview: Intel
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

Dan Rodriguez, Corporate Vice President Data Platforms Group, GM Network Platforms Group, Intel Corporation, reflects on the company’s strategy towards operators’ investments and on how the industry needs to work collectively for 5G to hit its full potential.
15:52
Partner Interview: EY
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

Adrian Baschnonga, Global Telecoms Lead Analyst and Tom Loozen, Global Telecoms Leader, share EY’s current efforts and plans to expand 5G to a wider range of enterprises.
15:44
Partner Interview: Red Hat
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

Joe Fernandes, VP Cloud Platform Business Unit, discusses Red Hat’s moves to create and adapt its platforms and initiatives to keep up with market themes and technology trends and also shares a few of the company’s recent announcements.
15:34
Partner Interview: Grammeenphone
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

Solaiman Alam, Chief Digital Strategy Officer, talks about Grameenphone’s efforts to progress in the IoT market.
13:34
Authorities expected to clear Vodafone, TIM tower deal
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

Reuters tipped European officials to approve a merger of tower assets by Vodafone Italy and Telecom Italia, a move designed to boost deployment of 5G among other benefits. The European Commission (EC) will make its decision on the merger today (6 March). Reuters explained concessions offered by the operators [1] last month were likely to sway competition authorities to approve the tie-up. The operators offered rivals access to 630 sites for six- to nine-years in cities with populations of more than 35,000. The operators announced the plan in July 2019 [2], following a broader industry trend to share the burden of network construction and maintenance. If approved Vodafone Italia will transfer its mobile masts to Inwit, a tower business in which Telecom Italia holds a 60 per cent stake. The operators would take a 37.5 per cent stakes in the infrastructure company, which would become the largest in Italy and second-largest in Europe with control of 22,000 towers. The agreement would deliver synergeries worth more than €800 million for both operators: Vodafone would receive an initial cash injection of €2.1 billion and incremental proceeds of more than €1 billion, with Telecom Italia set to leverage it to cut €1.4 billion in debt over time. However, the plan faced opposition from Iliad Italia, with CEO Benedetto Levi expressing concerns over the impact on competition [3]. [1] [https:] [2] [https:] [3] [https:]
13:07
Vodafone ups diversity efforts
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

Vodafone Group took steps towards increasing diversity in the technology sector by introducing an industry-wide initiative focused on addressing inequalities and unveiling a strategy to boost women’s access to jobs in the field. In a statement, the operator stated its #ChangeTheFace initiative looked to create a community which could drive positive change in the industry by committing to inclusion and diversity expansion goals, adding the move was already backed by vendors Ericsson and Nokia. Vodafone CEO Nick Read said the company was “urging the technology industry to act now so we build a digital future that reflects society and works for everyone”. As part of the programme, the operator plans to introduce industry-wide awards in 2021, to grace individuals and organisations for their inclusion efforts in the sector. The operator also announced a revised version of its Future Jobs Finder tool, aiming to encourage women to explore a career in technology. It plans a marketing campaign targeting 100 million women in 20 countries to boost use of the set-up. Vodafone also pledged to enhance diversity and inclusion within its supply chain, exploring options to use blockchain to promote and verify diverse providers through Trust Your Supplier, an IBM initiative to simplify the process of adding and managing companies to the chain. The operator’s move follows international studies showing the share of women working in the digital industry was declining, with the majority believing most jobs in the sector were unsuitable.
12:37
Nokia expects limited impact from Alcatel probe
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

Nokia reiterated a belief an investigation into potential compliance issues at Alcatel-Lucent, which it acquired in 2016 [1], would not lead to criminal penalties as the vendor continues an internal probe into the matter. In a report filed with US authorities, Nokia provided an update on the case a year on from revealing potential issues [2] had been uncovered. As in its original statement, the company downplayed any impact. Although the probe is still ongoing, it so far uncovered no evidence suggesting criminal action would be taken and it was “highly likely” any penalties would be “limited and immaterial”. “As previously disclosed, we were made aware of certain practices relating to compliance practices at the former Alcatel-Lucent business that have raised concerns”. “We voluntarily reported the matter to the relevant regulatory authorities and have continued to work on our internal investigation and cooperate with the relevant authorities with a view to resolving the matter.” On initially making the admission the company’s share price took a hit, though few further comments have been made on it since. [1] [https:] [2] [https:]
11:50
Mobile Mix: Rakuten rocks up in Japan
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

Joseph has all the action from Rakuten’s network launch in Tokyo, as the disruptive operator with a unique approach to deployment outlined its strategy. In London, Manny has the headlines, including big news at the top for Nokia.
11:36
Q&A: Infobip hails chatbots role in customer care
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

Mobile World Live spoke to Kreso Zmak, director products at omnichannel communication platform Infobip (pictured), about the role of chatbots in the customer service industry and the possibility for AI-driven experiences to win people’s trust in the future. What are the benefits of using chatbots instead of real people in the customer service industry? Chatbots can have many benefits for companies. For example, a single chatbot can handle hundreds of conversations simultaneously, and all at the same quality standard. In addition to that, chatbots are available 24/7, 365 days a year. There is no need for people to cover night shifts because chatbots can handle these more awkward times. In that way, it’s easier for companies to scale and grow internationally. What are the concerns of entirely replacing humans with AI when providing customer care? We think chatbots will never entirely replace humans in providing customer care. No matter how strong the AI engine in the backend is, a chatbot will never be able to understand 100 per cent of human conversation. Because of that, a chatbot is a great supplement to modern contact centres, able to handle basic and most common customers’ queries while live agents can focus on more complex problems, which eventually can bring more revenue to the company. Should certain aspects of a company’s operations be handled only by a chatbot and others only by a person to provide appropriate assistance? Yes, definitely. Basic customer support issues can be handled exclusively via chatbots. Issues like a refund status in retail or balance enquiry in banking industries can be easily solved by chatbots. Live agents are then freed up to handle more complex issues. An important thing to mention here is that in the conversational design there should always be an option to transfer the conversation from chatbot to a live agent to maintain a customer’s trust and satisfaction levels if they do not feel comfortable engaging with a bot or if the bot appears not to be performing well. That’s why we offer this integration within our own contact centre solution: conversations. Why do people still prefer getting their questions or concerns addressed by a real person rather than a chatbot? We think it’s a matter of not having enough trust in chatbots and AI. There are plenty of different bots in the market and some of them are not properly designed, thereby not able to do things they are supposed to be able to do. That is when bad user experience happens, and it lowers credibility for chatbots in general. That’s why we would like to help our clients with the design of their chatbots via professional bot building services, where our experts are helping clients to build customised solutions. Where do you see the future of customer assistance – will AI and chatbots win people’s trust? Definitely. Chatbots will significantly help businesses around the globe in optimising their operational costs and in winning their customers’ trust. It’s important that chatbots are properly built and trained, and that businesses don’t overpromise on the capabilities. Nowadays, there are often mistakes where companies are trying to create a chatbot that pretends to be a human, and then humans are trying to trick them and intentionally ruin the experience. The key to this problem is an exceptional UX design of the chatbot with the possibility of switching to a live agent who can jump-in and help customers seamlessly, as and when needed. How much will businesses save from delegating all customer service operations to a bot? We studied many reports and did some internal calculations on this. We think that chatbots are easily able to save up to 30 per cent of operational costs. Of course, if they are properly trained and backed by data. This article was originally due to appear in the MWC20 Barcelona Show Daily newspapers as part of our conference speaker coverage. Due to the cancellation of the event we are instead publishing them online.
11:32
Partner Interview: GSMA
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

Steve Martineau, Chief of Staff at GSMA discusses ways to tackle climate change in the mobile industry.
10:58
5G FWA: Game Changer for Fixed Broadband
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

PARTNER FEATURE: In 5G's first year of commercial adoption in 2019, fixed wireless access (FWA) was launched as the first batch of services on more than 30 5G commercial networks. In particular in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia Pacific, FWA has become a standard practice. UK renowned investment banks and consulting firms have released their industry reports, elaborating and highlighting the significance 5G FWA will create for operators, equipment vendors, and industry chain players. On February 21, 2019, Wang Zhongtao, President, Huawei's Wireless & Cloud Core Network Marketing and Solution Sales, joined Professor Sally Eaves and Principal Analyst Kyung Mun from Mobile Experts for an in-depth discussion about 5G FWA in London. Will 5G FWA evolve into a game changer or simply be a supplementary option in the home broadband market? Will the spectrum and CPE prices continue to be a big obstacle to the growth of 5G FWA services? Watch the video below to find out the answers. [https:] Groundbreaking Innovation Brings New Opportunities Why is FWA still required even when wired broadband access is available for the majority of homes to use? This is a question that has been widely discussed. According to Mr. Wang quoting a recent report by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), this is inaccurate. There are still more than 800 million households with no broadband access. Moreover, with 75% of fiber-optical broadband concentrated in the US, Japan, South Korea, and China, the majority of households having a broadband connection still heavily rely on the existing copper-line and cable networks. This creates a huge demand for broadband upgrade, and is the exact reason behind the common FWA deployment on the majority of 5G commercial networks. 5G has reinvented FWA by increasing cell capacity multiple times and enabling services that are prohibited with previous generations of mobile network technology. These services include ultra-high speed broadband access (100 Mbps for homes and Gbps for enterprises), 4K video, video upload, and 5G B2B private line. Above all, FWA now can provide a similar performance that was only possible with fiber-optical transmission. More importantly, FWA does not require cable trenches or civil construction in network deployment. This means that operators are able to provide broadband connections in an extremely short period of time, yet with reduced capital expenditure (CAPEX) and simplified processes of number allocation, equipment installation, and operation and maintenance (O&M). As a result, cross-industry innovation can be implemented, bringing new growth opportunities for operators. Commercial Progress Is Far Beyond Expectations 5G is the fastest developing mobile network technology in terms of commercial popularity. In the second year of commercial adoption, 4G gained only seven million users worldwide. For 5G, this figure is expected to increase enormously to 300 million. Based on a recent report by Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA), in the first year of 5G commercial adoption by the end of December, 2019, more than 60 customer-premises equipment (CPE) products had been released into the global market. In comparison to 4G, it took three years to reach a similar scale. According to Kyung Mun, Principal Analyst of Mobile Experts, since the release of the FWA report by his company in August, 2019, FWA has exceeded expectations in three areas. Firstly, more than 60 operators acquired 5G spectrum and licenses by January 2020. The spectrum for 5G predominantly includes C-band, millimeter wave (mmWave), and 700 MHz. Secondly, the industry chain is developing far quicker compared to 3G and 4G, in terms of both the terminal diversity and price. Lastly, there is still strong demand for both mobile and fixed broadband connections. Overall, these three factors represent the main driving force behind the accelerated FWA development. 5G Huge Capacity Fosters Massive Innovation Higher spectral bandwidth combined with Massive MIMO and other leading technologies enables 5G cells to provide significantly increased capacity for innovative commercial services of a greater diversity. Kyung Mun believes this high level of 5G network capacity makes innovations possible. In some networks, operators are able to provide a perceived rate exceeding 500 Mbps to both home and enterprise users and launch 4K video as a value-added service of FWA. In the Middle East, operators started to offer enterprise users 5G B2B private line featuring high reliability and DL-UL symmetry. This is just the beginning. We have noticed operators developing stronger interest in innovative services. VR + FWA is an ideal combination in the home broadband market. Thanks to improved throughput and latency performance, 5G PC and cloud gaming are becoming a reality. Recognizing the enormous potential of CPE as an ideal portal for smart home, many vendors, including Huawei, have developed a wide category of smart home functions and successfully integrated them onto the CPE. Examples are typically related to home safety, smart appliance, and e-Health. mmWave or Sub-6 GHz? Both bands have their own distinctive advantages. mmWave provides a high bandwidth, allowing 5G cells to have up to 100 times higher capacity. This makes it comparable to fiber to the home (FTTH) in terms of speed and throughput. As a result, traffic-hungry services, including 4K video, 8K video, Gigabit access for homes and enterprises, video surveillance, and B2B private lines, can be implemented more efficiently. Furthermore, it does not allow for a large coverage radius and therefore is suited in urban areas where long-distance coverage is not required. Additionally, backhaul resources and power supply are easily available, and poles are easier to obtain for site deployment. Notably, strong progress has already been achieved in addressing coverage drawbacks. Huawei's latest macro base stations were used on an Italian trial network. A CPE with a high antenna gain was used, significantly expanding the coverage radius. Provided that the industry's standard networks and terminals are used, the area with downlink speed exceeding 1 Gbps increased from 26% to 79% on the network. This shows that the improvement is indeed significant. The sub-6 GHz spectrum, mainly C-band, allows performance to be well balanced between huge throughput and good coverage. This is the advantages over low-band and mmWave resources. In a typical network with a 100 MHz bandwidth, it supports a maximum throughput of above 5 Gbps, and, when combined with outdoor CPEs, extends the coverage radius to more than 5 km. Owing to this level of comprehensive advantages in coverage, capacity, and spectrum availability, C-band is the mostly used spectrum among the 5G commercial networks in urban, suburban, and rural areas all over the world. Major Challenges Facing FWA Business Though 5G FWA has been commercially launched on more than 30 commercial networks, the user scale is still small. High CPE prices represent a huge barrier in delivering economic benefits. Indoor coverage as a result of using high-band spectrum remains a large stumbling block to achieving service deployment. The spectrum of 5G rests on higher bands, for example, C-band and even mmWave, than 3G and 4G, leading to weaker coverage and diffraction capabilities. The solution is not complex, as outdoor CPEs can be used to increase coverage radius by several times while also ensuring better coverage than low-band 3G and 4G. Though outdoor CPEs are already commercially available, the dimensions are still not satisfactory and need to be further reduced to simplify installation. With regard to high CPE prices, President Wang believes that, with an increasing number of 5G chipsets arriving in the market, the CPE products will be more diversified. According to his forecast, the CPE prices will decrease to below USD 150 on average by the second half of 2020. Coincidentally, on February 26, 2019 one week later, China Unicom announced the release of the first 5G CPE that uses the Unisoc module. This product supports NSA/SA modes and VoNR services. It will be launched in China in H2 2019, with the price expected to below CNY 1000. The accelerated advancement of the global 5G industry will resolve all challenges and obstacles, promoting the scaled development of 5G FWA worldwide. FWA is a cross-industry innovative product expected to provide better broadband and ICT services for homes and enterprises in a cost-effective and efficient way, helping deliver technological benefits to all of society.
10:34
PLDT network investment reaps continued dividends
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

Philippines operator PLDT credited brisk profit and revenue growth, along with steady mobile subscriber gains in 2019 to its sustained level of investment over the past five years. Manuel Pangilinan, chairman and CEO (pictured), said 2019 was a productive year despite continuing challenges, with revenue reaching record levels on the back of growth in its mobile consumer business. “This was achieved in large part by making the needed investments in our data and IT networks. We must continue investing in our networks and transforming our processes and our people. Through this, we should be able to sustain the strong growth of our consumer wireless business.” The operator raised its capex budget for 2020 by 14 per cent year-on-year to PHP83 billion ($1.63 billion). Pangilinan said PHP64.6 billion of the total is earmarked for network and IT projects, mainly to support explosive growth in data traffic. Data surge Consolidated service revenue in Q4 2019 increased 9 per cent to PHP42.3 billion, with the mobile figure up 16 per cent to PHP24.3 billion and fixed-line 6 per cent higher at PHP22.5 billion. Mobile data revenue jumped 35 per cent to PHP14.98 billion, while SMS turnover was down 8 per cent to PHP2.4 billion. Voice inched up 1 per cent to PHP5.6 billon. PLDT’s mobile unit Smart Communications' subscriber base rose 21 per cent to 73.1 million, with prepaid up 5.34 million to 25.87 million. Prepaid ARPU fell 7.3 per cent to PHP114 and post-paid by 4.4 per cent to PHP843. Net income for the full year soared to PHP22.5 billion from PHP3.6 billion in 2018, attributed to higher core telecoms income and a PHP1.2 billion lower loss from its fintech arm Voyager Innovation. The company increased 4G base station numbers 51 per cent to about 24,600 and 3G by 19 per cent to 13,800, expanding mobile coverage to 94 per cent of the population. Pangilinan said current uncertainties due to the Covid-19 (coronavirus) outbreak made it difficult to provide specific earnings guidance for 2020, with firm numbers to be provided when it has a better view of developments in the coming months. As for its 5G plans, he said it will begin to make a more meaningful investment this year, noting several pilot deployments with Huawei, Nokia, Ericsson and Samsung.
9:29
Taiwan Mobile 5G capex splurge to hit profit
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

Taiwan Mobile forecast continued pressure on its bottom-line in 2020 as it plans to double network capex year-on-year to fuel its 5G deployment. The operator expects its profit to decline 11 per cent to TWD11.2 billion ($374 million), with revenue growth tipped at 8 per cent. In an earnings call, Taiwan Mobile president Jamie Lin said profitability from investments in 5G, cloud gaming and streaming content will take time to kick in. The board approved a 2020 capex budget of TWD14.5 billion. For 2019, capex dropped to TWD7.14 billion from TWD8.49 billion in 2018, as 4G approached the tail-end of the investment cycle, the company said. “We are in an operating environment where customers continue to seek lower rate plans, delay their device upgrades in anticipation of 5G, as well as use fewer paid voice minutes,” Lin explained. Despite the headwinds the entire telecoms industry faces, he said the company managed to move telecoms EBIT into positive territory in Q4 2019 for the first time since Q2 2018. Net profit for 2019 fell 9 per cent to TWD12.5 billion, with revenue rising 5 per cent to TWD124 billion. Mobile service revenue fell 11 per cent to TWD51.2 billion, with blended ARPU down 8 per cent to TWD574. Top-line growth was driven by a 45.5 per cent jump in its e-commerce business to TWD51.8 billion. Its subscriber base was stable at 7.18 million, with post-paid accounting for 70.2 per cent. In a 5G auction [1]which ended in January, the operator acquired 60MHz of 3.5GHz spectrum and 200MHz in the 28GHz band for TWD30.66 billion. Late last month, rival Far EasTone also warned its heavy investment in 5G services would hit its 2020 bottom-line [2], but expects the rollout to drive revenue growth as ARPU climbs. [1] [https:] [2] [https:]
March 05, 2020
21:19
Nokia, CCA warn US against open RAN mandate
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

Mike Murphy, CTO, Americas at Nokia, urged members of the US Congress to change proposed legislation which would require operators to use open RAN equipment, arguing the technology is still immature. The executive was referencing a bill introduced in January [1] aimed at establishing a $750 million fund to support open RAN research and development. Among other things, the measure would force operators to commit to transition to open RAN equipment within seven years if they want to receive reimbursement for the cost of replacing kit from vendors deemed a threat to national security [2]. The condition would likely apply mainly to small and rural operators in the country, which are the primary users of Huawei and ZTE equipment (though the vendors are not explicity named in any of the proposed legislation). Murphy spoke out against the rule at a Senate hearing, arguing there is a paucity of products fully complying with O-RAN Alliance specifications. Imposing such a requirement on some of “the least capable early adopters is perhaps unreasonable”, he said, instead advocating for adoption of a “technology neutral” approach. In the same hearing, Competitive Carriers Association CEO Steven Berry suggested open RAN providers including Mavenir and Parallel Wireless could offer cost-effective replacement kit for rural operators with limited resources. But, like Murphy, he urged politicians not to mandate use of certain network technologies. He elaborated in written testimony, explaining small operators do not have the resources to readily test new network elements, and may not be prepared for interoperability requirements and system integration costs involved with using multiple vendors. Berry added small operators depend on shared economies of scale with their larger competitors for equipment, and “are not in a position to drive the ecosystem”. “If new technologies deliver on their promise, they will compete successfully in the marketplace”. [1] [https:] [2] [https:]
18:19
La GSMA estime à 1 000 milliards de dollars l’apport de la 5G d’ici 2025
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

Dans son dernier rapport annuel sur l’économie des télécoms mobiles, Mobile Economy, la GSMA prédit que les opérateurs vont dépenser 1,1 trillion – 1 100 milliards - de dollars en investissements de 2020 à 2025, dont 80 % dans les réseaux 5G. Pour Mats Granryd, directeur général de l’association, l’engouement mondial autour de la 5G est devenu réalité, alors que « des millions de consommateurs migrent déjà » vers les réseaux de nouvelle génération et que les « entreprises commencent à adopter » des innovations comme « le network slicing, l’edge computing et les services à faible latence ». La GSMA prévoit que les activités liées à la fabrication industrielle ainsi que les services publics, les services aux entreprises et les services financiers seront les plus grands bénéficiaires de la 5G, apportant potentiellement 2,2 trillions de dollars à l’économie mondiale d’ici la fin 2034. Fin janvier, 46 opérateurs dans 24 pays avaient démarré un service commercial 5G, suite à une série de lancements en 2019. Selon le rapport, une connexion mobile sur cinq passera par la 5G fin 2025. En dépit des progrès de la 5G, la 4G restait tout de même la technologie la plus populaire avec 52 % des connexions dans le monde fin 2019. Il lui reste même une marge de progression puisque la technologie représentera 56 % des connexions fin 2025. Booster de PIB Selon la GSMA, les technologies et les services mobiles pesaient 4,1 trillions de dollars, soit 4,7 % du PIB mondial, fin 2019. Ce poids économique devrait atteindre 4,9 trillions (4,9 %) fin 2024, la productivité et l’efficacité économique bénéficiant de l’essor des services services. L’écosystème mobile représentait plus de 30 millions d’emplois directs et indirects en 2019, et contribue substantiellement au secteur public en lui apportant 490 milliards de dollars sous forme de taxes. Les dernières statistiques de la GSMA révèlent par ailleurs que 5,2 milliards de personnes disposaient d’un abonnement mobile fin 2019 (soit 67 % de la population mondiale). Ce chiffre devrait être porté à 5,8 milliards fin 2025, ce qui représentera 70 % de la population. Plus de la moitié des habitants de la planète (3,8 milliards de personnes) accèdent par leur mobile à des services internet. La proportion frisera les 61 % (5 milliards) fin 2025.
18:17
NSO Group ne se présente pas au procès lancé par WhatsApp
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

WhatsApp semble bien placé pour remporter son procès contre la société israélienne NSO Group. Cette dernière, soupçonnée d’espionnage, a en effet omis de se présenter à l’audience aux États-Unis, selon Reuters. WhatsApp s’est attaqué en justice à NSO Group en octobre 2019, accusée d’utiliser des malwares pour surveiller des utilisateurs de la messagerie à leur insu. Les responsables de la sécurité de WhatsApp ont découvert les activités incriminées en mai 2019. Selon Reuters, WhatsApp a réclamé un jugement par défaut à la cour le 2 mars, les représentant de NSO Group ayant décidé de ne pas comparaître à l’audience. Une telle décision pourrait entraîner des pénalités et des mises en demeure pour la société condamnée. La direction de WhatsApp a précisé qu’elle persisterait à forcer la société israélienne à rendre des comptes devant les tribunaux américains. WhatsApp affirme avoir redoublé d’efforts pour communiquer des documents légaux à NSO Group, en envoyant en particulier des courriels aux cadres dirigeants de la société et en postant des courriers aux membres du directoire, explique la dépêche de Reuters. NSO Group rétorque pour sa part que la procédure est nulle et non avenue, expliquant à Reuters que WhatsApp a manqué à fournir les documents requis dans les règles.
18:15
Apple va payer pour mettre fin à l’affaire du ralentissement des iPhones
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

Apple accepte de payer jusqu’à 500 millions de dollars pour mettre fin à la bataille légale liée à une décision de ralentir intentionnellement les performances d’iPhones anciens afin d’étendre la durée de vie de leurs batteries. L’accord, qui doit encore être soumis à l’approbation d’un juge lors d’une audience fixée au 3 avril, prévoit qu’Apple va payer aux consommateurs entre 25 et 500 dollars pour chaque appareil affecté. Compte tenu du nombre des plaintes considérées comme recevables, Apple devrait donc payer entre 310 et 500 millions de dollars. Les compensations seront offertes à tous les possesseurs présents et passés d’iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6s, 6s Plus, 7, 7 Plus ou SE sous iOS 10.2.1 ou une version postérieure. Certaines versions de la série 7 sous iOS 11.2 ou une version postérieure sont également inclus. Dans tous les cas, l’offre de compensation s’applique aux modèles tournant sous ces versions d’iOS avant la date du 21 décembre 2017. S’il est approuvé par le juge, le règlement proposé par Cupertino devrait mettre fin au conflit qui a débuté fin 2017. Apple avait alors reconnu qu’une fonction de gestion de l’alimentation électrique implémentée dans l’OS ralentissait la vitesse du processeur dans les anciens iPhones afin de prolonger la batterie. Apple avait au début répondu aux protestations des consommateurs en abaissant le coût de remplacement des batteries destinées aux appareils incriminés, sans pour autant mettre fin aux multiples procès intentés par les utilisateurs et aux enquêtes lancées par les régulateurs aux États-Unis et en France. Toutes les procès intentés outre-Atlantique ont été rassemblés dans le cadre d’une procédure unique en 2018. Le mois dernier, Apple a accepté de payer une amende de 25 millions d’euros à l’autorité française de la concurrence afin de mettre fin à l’enquête en cours.
18:13
Les livraisons de smartphones sont malades du coronavirus
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

Le cabinet d’études IDC a décidé de réviser ses prévisions concernant les livraisons mondiales annuelles de smartphones. Selon les analystes, l’épidémie causée par le coronavirus va causer une baisse de 2,3 % par rapport à 2019, correspondant à 1,3 milliards d’appareils livrés. L’an passé, IDC avait prévu que le marché mondial augmenterait de 1,5 % (chiffre correspondant à 1,4 milliards d’appareils) en 2020, grâce à la forte demande d’appareils 5G en Chine. Mais dans une mise à jour, IDC indique que l’on assistera au premier semestre 2020 à une baisse de 10,6 % par rapport à la même période de 2019. Sangeetika Srivastava, analyste senior, prédit que les livraisons se stabiliseront au 3e trimestre, avec un retour à la croissance en 2021 emmené par la demande de modèles 5G. Selon Sangeetika Srivastava, environ 1,43 milliard de smartphones devraient être livrés en 2021, à condition toutefois que l’épidémie soit sous contrôle et que les « plans 5G » soient accélérés. « Si la Chine, le plus gros marché pour les smartphones, va encaisser les plus gros dégâts, d’autres grandes régions du monde vont ressentir les effets de la perturbation des canaux de distribution », précise l’analyste. Il faudra attendre plusieurs trimestre avant de voir les secteurs de la fabrication et de la logistique récupérer, alors que les problèmes de transport gênent le retour des travailleurs chinois à leur poste. La Chine va subir un « choc de la demande » pendant plusieurs trimestres, mais il sera mitigé vers la fin de l’année par des aides gouvernementales et des subventions. Will Wong, directeur des recherches Asie-Pacifique d’IDC, prévient cependant que le marché chinois va enregistrer un effondrement de 40 % des livraisons pour le trimestre en cours par rapport à la même période de 2019. « Les consommateurs vont opter pour des commandes en ligne, qui représenteront une part en croissance significative des téléphones vendus au premier semestre 2020 et pourraient indiquer un changement permanent dans le comportement d’achat », ajoute Will Wong.
18:12
Huawei va construire une usine 5G en France
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

Huawei annonce son intention de construire en France une usine destinée à la production de produits sans fils 4G et 5G dans le cadre d’un plan déjà annoncé visant à renforcer la position de l’équipementier chinois en Europe. Huawei explique dans un communiqué qu’il va investir plus de 200 millions d’euros dans le nouveau centre industriel, dont la production doit être écoulée pour l’essentiel en Europe. En plus des ateliers de fabrication, l’usine disposera d’un centre de démonstration destiné à présenter la production de stations de base, le chargement des logiciels et les procédures de test. L’équipementier indique son intention de laisser ouvertes les portes du centre afin de démontrer « l’attitude positive d’Huawei vis-à-vis des revendications de souveraineté européennes ». L’usine, qui devrait produire pour un milliard d’euros de produits chaque année, fera partie des « premières implémentations de technologies de fabrication avancées d’Huawei en Europe ». Selon Huawei, la France est particulièrement indiquée pour démarrer cette politique d’expansion : le pays profite « d’une infrastructure industrielle mature ainsi que d’un vivier de travailleurs de haut niveau, et sa position géographique est idéale ».
17:58
Google targets operators with new cloud strategy
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

Google sought to capitalise on operator interest in edge computing, unveiling a telecom-specific platform it billed as the cloud equivalent of its Android mobile operating system. Anthos for Telecom expands on Google's existing enterprise cloud platform, pushing it to the network edge to let operators run applications from any location necessary to serve customers best. Google said Anthos for Telecom acts as an open cloud platform for network applications, just as Android does for mobile. The goal is to help operators avoid vendor lock-in, accelerate development of new applications and make these easier to deploy across multiple clouds, it added. The platform is a key component of Google’s new Global Mobile Edge Cloud strategy, as part of which, the company aims to deliver a marketplace of 5G products built in collaboration with telecommunications companies. Google named AT&T as one of its first partners, announcing the pair will work together to develop edge computing solutions for multiple industries including manufacturing, retail, transportation, enterprise 5G and gaming. The solutions will run on AT&T’s network and use Google Cloud edge compute capabilities including AI, machine learning and analytics. Mo Katibeh, EVP and CMO of AT&T Business, said in a statement the combination of its 5G service with Google Cloud brings “us closer to a reality where cloud and edge technologies give businesses the tools to create a whole new world of experiences for their customers”. The operator focus comes as Google targets continued growth in its cloud business. Last month, the company provided financial details [1] for its cloud business for the first time, showing revenue grew from $5.8 billion in 2018 to $8.9 billion in 2019. [1] [https:]
17:11
TCL unveils rollable smartphone prototype
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

TCL Communication showcased its latest screen technology through a rollable smartphone prototype and provided an update on a tri-fold tablet concept unveiled earlier this year, as the company builds on past innovations to set the trend for future device features. In a statement, TCL Communication claimed its prototype was the first in the world to feature a rollable display. It is 9mm thick and was created with a flexible AMOLED display which uses internal motors to extend from 6.75-inches to 7.8-inches with the press of a button. The vendor said this will enable enables multi-tasking and split-screen features. TCL Communication explained the rolled display offers benefits over foldable screens, eliminating the creases "commonly found" with the latter. The tri-fold tablet was revealed at CES this year, but is now in an operational state. The company said it aims to spearhead a new product category with the tablet: it uses the company’s Dragon Hinge and Butterfly Hinge [1] to unfold from 6.65-inches to 10-inches, with a 20.8:9 aspect ratio and 3K resolution. Shane Lee, TCL Communication global product centre general manager said both concepts demonstrate “there is still plenty of room for new ideas when it comes to flexible and foldable display technologies, and it’s critical for us to think outside the box and lead with innovation”. [1] [https:]
16:48
Samsung Pay launches in Kazakhstan
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

Samsung announced the commercial launch of its mobile wallet service in Kazakhstan, the service's first new market in almost a year as the initial pace of global rollout significantly slowed. Availability follows a six week beta test. It offers compatibility with Visa and Mastercard-issued cards from the country’s largest banks. Kazakhstan is Samsung’s first new mobile payments market since Indonesia in late March 2019 and only the third since August 2018. Its fallow period followed an initial spate of launches with more than 20 markets added in the first three years [1] since its debut in 2015. While Samsung drastically slowed global spread of its service, Apple continued to press on over the last two years [2] adding 24 new areas to its footprint during 2019 alone. As of 5 March, Apple’s service was available in roughly double the number of territories, countries and regions of Samsung’s version. In 2019 rival Google Pay also only added one new market, but thanks to a spate of launches in 2017 and 2018 is also more widely available than Samsung Pay. [1] [https:] [2] [https:]
14:45
Spark taps Samsung for 5G RAN
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

Spark New Zealand selected Samsung to build part of its 5G RAN this year, after authorities turned down a previous move by the operator to use Huawei gear due to security concerns. The South Korean vendor announced it signed a commercial agreement with New Zealand’s second-largest operator by subscribers, which also uses 5G gear from Nokia. In November 2018, the government rejected Spark's application [1] to deploy Huawei 5G infrastructure, citing significant national security risks. Its selection of Samsung comes less than a month after the head of New Zealand’s Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) reiterated the country had not banned any equipment vendors [2]. In preparation to move ahead with its 5G deployment, Spark announced in November 2019 it shifted to a multi-vendor RAN strategy [3] and confirmed Nokia, Samsung and Huawei as preferred equipment suppliers. The operator said at the time it withdrew its original GCSB application, which proposed a single-vendor, adding it would work through the approval process with its other RAN suppliers. In a statement, Samsung said its networks division will deploy its New Radio (NR) systems, which include Massive MIMO radios. The two companies started 5G trials in 2019. Spark in September 2019 turned on 5G service in Alexandra for a limited number of enterprise and consumer customers, expanding it in November 2019 [4] to five additional South Island towns and communities, using the 2600MHz band and Nokia gear. [1] [https:] [2] [https:] [3] [https:] [4] [https:]
14:07
SoftBank lays down mobile 5G marker
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

SoftBank Corp outlined its 5G pricing strategy, as it moves to take a leading role in the next-generation technology by launching a commercial mobile service by the close of the month. The operator announced it would begin offering consumer services on 27 March, initially in Tokyo, Osaka, Hiroshima City and the broader prefecture, and some areas in Chiba and Aichi Prefectures. Customers on the Marihari Plan, Mini Fit Plan, Smartphone Debut Plan and Data Share Plan, can purchase 5G as an add-on for JPY1,000 ($9.36) per month, however in a push to encourage customers to make the switch, the operator said the add-on will be free for two years for customers who sign up before 31 August. SoftBank lined up four compatible smartphones: Sharp Aquos R5G and ZTE Axon 10 Pro 5G will be available from launch; while the LG V60 ThinQ 5G and Oppo Reno3 5G added in April and July respectively. Rivals KDDI [1] and NTT Docomo are also preparing commercial launches this month, but are yet to set dates. New entrant Rakuten Mobile is set to enter the fray in April, with reports stating it will initially offer 4G before lighting a 5G service in June. Earlier this week it detailed plans to offer service for free [2] in a bid to swiftly build its user base. [1] [https:] [2] [https:]
12:59
ZTE and China Unicom build an AI-powered Low Carbon Mobile Network
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

Carbon emission is a top concern of people around the world. Countries and corporations are all motivated to reduce Carbon emissions. Power saving has long been a tough challenge since 2G era and becoming even tougher with upcoming 5G, as 5G brings up massive MIMO and large output power requirements, power consumption of 5G based station can be up to three times of 4G base stations, while over 70% of the total power consumption comes from RAN. Take China’s mobile network as an example, over four million radio sites are in service, with 80 million tons of carbon emission per year, accounting for nearly 1% of China’s annual emission. The traditional energy-saving scheme lacks effective coordination within 2G/3G/4G/5G and between adjacent sites, and lacks timely adaptive energy-saving strategy according to network traffic load, which sometimes results in negative effect on network performance. On average, only 5% power would be saved with traditional energy saving solution, which is far from enough for operators to reduce OPEX. Therefore a smarter and more efficient solution is in desperate need to address the fore-mentioned and ever-increasing challenges of climate change. That’s why ZTE’s AI-based power saving solution comes into play, by leveraging the latest development of AI, big data and radio access technologies. Intelligent network Q&M became reality through ZTE AI Engine Platform For more sustainable development, operators and equipment manufacturers have launched energy saving and carbon emission reduction plans. However, as Shandong consumes the most power in China and the number of thermal power plants outrun all the other provinces, China Unicom Shandong branch feels the urge to go further on reducing carbon emissions with the advantages of AI. With the help of three AI capabilities (data perception capability, AI analysis capability, and intent insight capability), AI accelerators are introduced to provide rapid AI training for intelligent network equipment operation and maintenance. Network load prediction, strategy adjustment and optimization, real-time KPI & performance monitoring would form a closed loop in AI based power saving solution, which is helpful for operators to find a balance between power saving and network performance with much less CAPEX. The solution can intelligently self-identifies the real customer usage to reduce the power emission, with the precise insight of network behaviors as well as customer behaviors. Successful Commercialization with Excellent Results ZTE and China Unicom have deployed AI-based intelligent power saving in Shandong Province, China since June, 2019. After three phases’ commercial trial, it was verified that effective activation time of power saving has been increased by 150% to 300%, around 2.5 times power has been saved compared to that of non-AI power saving solutions. With rapid AI learning capability, it only takes one week to achieve the balance of power saving and network performance with AI-based power saving solution, which usually costs half a year through conventional power saving solutions, significantly reduces labor cost. More than 21,000Kwh per week have been saved for the whole network (10,000+ cells) with AI-based power saving solution, which translates into 8% to 15% power saving in average and great labor-cost saving, without significant degradation of network performance. In rural area, up to 4 times power saving has been achieved. If 60% of all the 4 million sites in China enable AI-based power saving, $1.1 billion USD and nearly 50 billion tons of carbon emissions would be saved each year. China Unicom Shandong Branch is delighted with both the live network performance and the power saving results, suggesting further deployment in more locations. Maximize power saving with less impact on network performance The innovation is based on big data analysis of historic and real time traffic and AI self- learning, with the accumulated knowledge of power saving solution experiences since 2G era, including valuable and comprehensive schemes and algorithms verified in live networks in the last ten years. The power saving management granularity is refined to cell level, matching differentiated traffic models based on AI self-learning and accurate traffic prediction. Power saving optimization is conducted in a timely and self-adaptable manner to respond to changing network performances. Several AI algorithms are comprehensively involved with telecommunication architecture adaptation: ARIMA (Auto-regressive Integrated Moving Average Model), LSTM (Long Short-Term Memory), GBDT (Gradient Boosting Decision Tree) and FNNM (Feed-forward Neural Network Model), i.e. advanced deep learning theory in AI. Scenario recognized, cell differentiated strategy: different threshold trigger points are trained for corresponding scenarios through traffic prediction (RRC connection, PRB utilization and data throughput). The accuracy of predicted traffic matching with real-time traffic exceeds 90%. The precise cell-level scenario-based triggering and parameters setting replaced traditional inflexible parameter sets for the whole network, which significantly prolongs the applied time of power saving. KPI ensured optimization strategy: the network KPIs are monitored in real-time. Power saving strategy is performed in every 15 minutes and real-time roll-back is allowed to ensure power saving gain without impacting network performance. The solution is applicable in 2G/3G/4G as well as 5G with only software upgrade required. Since ZTE and China Unicom had conducted the whole network verification in Shandong province for 3 months, abundant data was accumulated and the results had become a reference for other provinces. In the meantime, more applications have been undergoing with China Unicom Chongqing branch, China Telecom Chengdu branch and China Mobile Henan branch since 2019Q4. Ultimate target: closed-loop of fully self-adaptive capability Whole network intelligence is difficult to be achieved overnight, a long-term development is required. However, with the continuous accumulation of data from commercial networks, AI-based power saving solution will improve gradually with the help of machine-learning algorithms, while the AI algorithms themselves will evolve iteratively to realize higher efficiency and accurate strategy adaption with changing network topology and traffic model. Along with the speed-up of 5G commercialization in all regions, AI-based power saving solution for 5G will be imperative for operators. 4G/5G collaboration will also become a challenge for AI-based power saving strategy. ZTE sees the need of more power saving strategies in terms of scenarios recognition, service differentiation and collaboration among technologies and grabs the opportunity. A sustainable and booming deployments of the AI-powered solution can be expected in the near future.
January 17, 2020
18:35
Microsoft taps T-Mobile to test connected PCs
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

Microsoft prepared to launch a new connected PC pilot programme next month, teaming with T-Mobile US to provide internet access to students in rural and underserved areas of the country. The company said the programme will offer participating schools the chance to test two newly announced Windows 10 PCs, JP.IK's Turn T101 and the Positivo Wise N1212S, both of which are expected become available later this year. T-Mobile will provide SIM cards and free 4G service to power the devices. In a statement, Microsoft noted the goal of the pilot is to “learn how these new devices and alliances could reshape the education landscape and reduce the broadband gap”. T-Mobile previously announced plans to offer home broadband and hotspot access [1] to 10 million households with school-aged children, to help close a so-called homework gap if its proposed merger with Sprint is approved. A 2018 study by Pew Research Center found 17 per cent of US teens said they were often or sometimes unable to complete homework assignments due to a lack of reliable broadband connectivity at home. [1] [https:]
17:43
Xiaomi settles future of Poco sub-brand
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

Chinese smartphone vendor Xiaomi announced the spin off of its Poco smartphone sub-brand into a separate business, rebutting speculation in 2019 it was preparing to axe the range. Xiaomi VP Manu Jain revealed the move in a tweet, noting the first device from the brand, the Pocophone F1, had proven "incredibly popular". Excited to share: #POCO [1] will now be an independent brand! What started as a sub-brand within Xiaomi, has grown into its own identity. POCO F1 was an incredibly popular phone. We feel the time is right to let POCO operate on its own. Join me in wishing @IndiaPOCO [2] all the best. — Manu Kumar Jain (@manukumarjain) January 17, 2020 [3] The announcement lays to rest speculation the smartphone range could be ditched, [4] which arose following the departure of Poco project manager Jai Mani in July 2019. Xiaomi established the brand [5] to buck the trend of slowing innovation and rising prices in smartphones. It released Pocophone F1 in August 2018, first in the Indian market for INR20,999 ($295) in base spec with 6GB of RAM and 64GB storage, before expanding availability [6] to more than 60 markets globally. In January 2019, Xiaomi spun off its Redmi sub-brand [7] to focus on global expansion. Months later, the company also unveiled its CC range [8] of smartphones, targeting younger user with a focus on design and camera capabilities. [1] [https:] [2] [https:] [3] [https:] [4] [https:] [5] [https:] [6] [https:] [7] [https:] [8] [https:]
17:07
Des politiciens américains veulent financer une riposte à Huawei
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

Un groupe de sénateurs américains veut faire voter un nouveau texte qui permettrait à Washington d’injecter plus d’un milliard de dollars dans le développement de matériel occidental afin de lutter contre la domination perçue d’Huawei sur le marché 5G. Dans un communiqué, le sénateur Mark Warner, un des parrains de la proposition, souligne les objectifs principaux du texte intitulé Strategic Allied Telecommunications Act (SATA), affirmant que le pays doit « réaffirmer le leadership américain et occidental en encourageant une concurrence avec Huawei qui capitalise sur les avantages des logiciels développés aux États-Unis. » Les sénateurs affirment qu’Huawei a été « richement subventionné par le gouvernement chinois », ce qui a aidé l’équipementier à devenir un leader commercial du secteur 5G. Le SATA propose que la Federal Communication Commission, le régulateur américain, provisionne au moins 750 millions de dollars, soit 5 % des revenus annuels tirés de la vente de spectre aux enchères, pour créer un fonds de R&D, appuyant des technologies logicielles de type O-RAN (Open-Radio Access Network) basées des architectures ouvertes. Le SATA permettrait en outre de mobiliser 500 millions de dollars sur 10 ans afin de travailler avec des partenaires étrangers pour « accélérer l’adoption à l’échelle mondiale d’équipements sûrs et dignes de confiance ». Parmi les autres propositions figure un plan de transition qui permettrait aux opérateurs d’acquérir de nouveaux équipements compatibles O-RAN, étendrait l’influence américaine dans la définition de standards internationaux et offrirait de nouveaux débouchés aux équipementiers en favorisant l’harmonisation des nouvelles allocations de spectre avec des partenaires partout où cela serait possible. « Chaque mois d’inaction des États-Unis contribue à faire d’Huawei le fournisseur mondial de 5G le moins cher, le plus réactif et le plus présent, tandis qu’entreprises et travailleurs américains et occidentaux perdent parts de marché et emplois, assure Mark Warner. Il est impératif que le Congrès relève les défis complexes de sécurité et de compétitivité posés par les sociétés de télécommunications chinoises. »
16:08
Ant Financial IPO rumours resurface
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

Alipay parent Ant Financial began consulting financial services companies on a potential IPO, Financial Times (FT) reported, a move which would see the company revisit plans postponed in 2018. The company, one of the two dominant mobile payment companies in China, is said to be in talks with both Credit Suisse and China International Capital Corporation over a dual listing in Hong Kong and the mainland. An IPO of Ant Financial has long been mooted, with rumours throughout 2018 [1] predicting the process would take place that year. However, an FT report at the time reported the flotation had been delayed due to concerns about the company’s profitability and worries it may run into regulatory issues. Should it take place, the listing is expected to be one of the biggest for a company based in Asia. It previously raised capital through a number of domestic and international funding rounds, with the latest securing $14 billion in June 2018. In addition to running Alipay, the company offers a range of credit and financial services in its home market, along with a range of related investments in markets outside of China, including India-based mobile wallet company Paytm [2]. [1] [https:] [2] [https:]
13:43
Mobile Mix: Huawei apps push hots up
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

This week Kavit pays a visit to Huawei’s first developer conference in the UK, as the company attempted to prove to the world that it can cope without Android by pushing its credentials as the world’s third largest mobile ecosystem. Meanwhile Michael has the news, as the O-RAN hype continues to ramp.
13:11
Microsoft pours $1B into carbon-curbing tech
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

Microsoft committed to remove all of the carbon generated in its history by 2050, and to invest $1 billion into a new climate fund to develop carbon reduction, capture and removal technologies. In a blog, president Brad Smith outlined a set of goals to reduce the company's carbon footprint, including a pledge to become carbon negative by 2030. As part of its programme, Smith said Microsoft will shift to 100 per cent renewable energy in the next five years. The company also vowed to reduce its carbon emissions by more than half and switch its global operations vehicle fleet to electric by 2030. By 2050, Smith explained, Microsoft plans to remove all the carbon emitted since its foundation in 1975, through negative emission technologies potentially including forestation, removing carbon from soil, bioenergy with carbon capture and storage, and direct air capture. From July, Microsoft will require its business divisions to pay an internal carbon fee for indirect emissions produced from its supply and value chains. Over the next four years, the company's Climate Innovation Fund will invest $1 billion into new technologies for reducing and removing carbon from the environment. “We understand that this is just a fraction of the investment needed, but our hope is that it spurs more governments and companies to invest in new ways as well”, Smith commented. He added the company will continue investing in carbon monitoring and modelling projects through its AI for Earth programme. Smith described the company’s plan to reduce its carbon footprint as a “moonshot” for Microsoft. “And it will need to become a moonshot for the world”, he stated.
12:58
EU pushes Apple to ditch Lightning cable
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

European Union (EU) authorities added to Apple's woes by threatening to outlaw its lightning cables, piling pressure on the vendor at a time of increased scrutiny of iPhone encryption [1] by US authorities. Members of the European Parliament called for the European Commission to enforce use of a single universal charger for all mobile devices. This is to reduce electronic waste and increase convenience for consumers. The EU estimated old mobile phone chargers generate around 51,000 metric tonnes of electronic waste per year. A vote will be held on the proposal, with a date yet to be determined. Apple said the regulation would stifle innovation and be disruptive to customers, BBC News reported. Currently there are three charging cables adopted by mobile phone manufacturers: microUSB, USB-C and Apple's Lightning cables. Apple ditched the Lightning connector for USB-C on the iPad Pro released in late 2018, making it likely the manufacturer would adopt the port or push wireless charging if forced to ditch its cable from other products, BBC News stated. [1] [https:]
12:28
Telenor rumoured to be in fresh Axiata talks
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

Telenor opened early stage talks with Axiata Group’s largest shareholder on the potential acquisition of a minority stake in the Malaysia-based operator group, Bloomberg reported, reigniting the possibility of a wide-reaching tie-up between the two. The news publication’s sources claimed Telenor was in talks with Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Berhad on a number of options related to Axiata, months after discussions [1] on a merger between Axiata and Telenor collapsed. Potential arrangements include buying part of Khazanah Nasional Berhad's 37 per cent stake in Axiata, or specific deals related to individual countries or infrastructure assets. In September 2019 [2] Axiata and Telenor mutually agreed to end talks over a potential merger of their businesses in Asia, having first announced the proposed tie-up in May. The original plan would have involved the companies combinng their operations in the area, with Telenor taking a majority stake. On announcing the abandonment of the original proposal, Telenor said it did not rule out a future transaction related to Axiata. Earlier this week Telenor announced a revamp of its management team [3] in three of its Asian units, as it aims to refocus its operation in the region. [1] [https:] [2] [https:] [3] [https:]
9:07
NYC opens door for 5G expansion
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

US operators appeared set to gain access to potentially thousands of new sites for 5G in one of the country’s largest markets, after regulators in New York City authorised ten infrastructure providers to install kit on city-owned traffic and street lights. The agreements with companies including Crown Castle, ExteNet Systems, Transit Wireless and ZenFi Networks also include the option to mount 4G and 5G equipment on bus shelters, public toilets and information kiosks. The deals cover a ten year period. Previous deals focused on 3G and 4G deployments resulted in installations on nearly 6,000 poles, city officials said. The news comes as operators continue to spar with municipalities and utility companies across the country over small cell siting. Federal Communications Commission chairman Ajit Pai recently highlighted the issue [1] as a key roadblock to widespread 5G deployments. US operators are particularly reliant on small cells for 5G deployments due to the country’s focus on mmWave spectrum, which offers massive capacity, but has an extremely limited reach. Industry group CTIA previously tipped the number of US small cells to skyrocket from around 86,000 in 2018 to more than 800,000 by 2026 as operators densify their networks for 5G. [1] [https:]
8:47
FCC commissioner slams WRC-19 opposition
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

A member of the Federal Communications Commission blasted perceived efforts by other governments to stymie US interests at the ITU’s recent World Radiocommuncation Conference [1] (WRC-19), arguing the country should consider creating an alternative coalition of nations to set mobile priorities going forward. Commissioner Michael O’Rielly (pictured) acknowledged the US achieved some of its objectives [2] at WRC-19, but told a Senate committee “it was very evident that certain foreign delegations were sent with clear directions to oppose the United States and other forward-thinking nations”. He added the conduct “went far beyond normal negotiation strategy” and appeared to be motivated by geopolitical purposes. O’Rielly said the behaviour raised questions about the value of future conferences, but suggested nations at the forefront of mobile development could form a new “G7-like organisation” to ensure continued progress on shared objectives. “We should not let ourselves be obstructed by rogue nations that have little interest in global wireless development or are willing to undermine progress for purposes of a larger self-interested agenda…Near-global harmonisation could be achieved through agreement of the largest, leading wireless nations of the world”. [1] [https:] [2] [https:]
8:26
Optus tests Ericsson DSS tech
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

Optus, the second largest operator in Australia, employed Ericsson spectrum sharing technology to simultaneously make a 5G video call while streaming video content on a 4G device connected to the same spectrum. In a statement, the operator said the test demonstrates the benefits of dynamic spectrum sharing (DSS) which, rather than dedicating spectrum to a single technology, allows it to be used at the same time for both 4G and 5G. An international video call between Optus’s 5G network and Singtel’s pilot 5G network in Singapore was made with a pre-commercial Oppo device equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon X55 modem. At the same time, video was streamed to a 4G device. Optus said its network was able to assign spectrum resources on both 4G and 5G, switching between them in milliseconds to support the different service demands from both users. Kent Wu, head of access network planning and quality at Optus, said DSS will enable it to efficiently manage its spectrum assets to address the needs of existing 4G customers, while also helping widen its 5G coverage and unlock “new video experience services on 5G”. “Spectrum sharing is an important next step in our strategy to focus on video experience for our customers and this will play a key role in enabling us to deliver an incredible 4K ultra-HD live streaming sports and 4K SVOD entertainment content experience.”
8:10
Taiwan 5G auction raises $4.6B
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

All five mobile operators in Taiwan spent a total of TWD138 billion ($4.6 billion) securing 5G spectrum, with the protracted sale registering as the third-priciest auction for the technology in the world, Taipei Times reported, citing figures from the regulator. Taiwan's government forecast the sale to generate about TWD44 billion. The price per 10MHz block of 3.5GHz spectrum reached TWD5.075 billion, which the National Communications Commission (NCC) said was a world record. The auction started on 10 December and ended yesterday (16 January) after 261 rounds. On offer was 270MHz in the 3.5GHz band, 2,500MHz of 28GHz airwaves and 20MHz in the 1.8GHz band. Market leader Chunghwa Telecom paid TWD45.7 billion for 90MHz in the 3.5GHz band and TWD618 million for 600MHz of 28GHz spectrum. It plans to launch 5G services in July, the newspaper wrote. Far EasTone acquired 80MHz of 3.5GHz spectrum for TWD40.6 billion and 400MHz in the 28GHz band for TWD412 million, while Taiwan Mobile spent TWD30.4 billion on 60MHz in the 3.5GHz band and TWD206 million for 200MHz of 28GHz airwaves. Taiwan Star Telecom secured 40MHz in the 3.5GHz band for TWD19.7 billion. Asia Pacific Telecom, the smallest operator with a 7 per cent market share by subscribers, pulled out of the 3.5GHz sale after initially bidding, but paid TWD412 million for 40MHz of 28GHz spectrum. It said it would look to cooperate with other operators. The NCC introduced regulations requiring operators to share 5G spectrum with rivals. Only 1,600MHz of the 28GHz spectrum was sold.
January 16, 2020
18:31
Veon mulls Armenia exit
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

Veon revealed it entered into discussions regarding a sale of its Armenian unit to rival Ucom, a move the latter stated would boost efforts to transform itself into a digital company. While noting talks are underway, in a statement Veon emphasised the discussions may not result in a sale. The company operates its service in the country under the Beeline brand. Ucom said in its own statement a potential transaction would lead to more services for customers and improve its infrastructure: “As the global mobile market is transformed from voice services to data service providers, and the Armenian mobile market is no exception to global trends, Ucom is constantly transforming into a digital company, aiming to provide a wider range of services to maximise its network coverage and quality”. The Armenian unit is one of Veon’s smaller arms. It also has operations in Russia, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, Algeria, Georgia and Bangladesh Veon reported its combined subscriber base [1] as 211.7 million at end Q3 2019. [1] [https:]
15:41
Orange expands money service into Jordan
» ‎ Mobile World Live

Tags: [edit]

Orange launched its mobile money service in Jordan, as it continues to progress a group-wide plan to increase the scope and scale of its financial services play. In a statement, the company confirmed it received a licence from the country’s central bank late in 2019 and would operate the product through Petra Mobile Payment Services Company. Continuing to grow its financial services footprint in the MEA region is one of the key initiatives set out by Orange CEO Stephane Richard [1] as part of its Engage2025 strategy, alongside expanding Orange Bank in Europe. Jordan is the operator's 18th mobile money launch in MEA, with all but one using its core brand. Although Orange Money is still available in Niger, the company quit the mobile market there in November 2019 [2]. In its Q3 2019 results, the operator estimated Orange Money had 44 million registered users in MEA, with a third classified as active. [1] [https:] [2] [https:]

Skip to page: 1 2 3 ... 72

← mirror - Home Mon ami Mió →

Kokthansogreta.nu - Nyhetssök / News Search ! » Mobile World Live

Feeds

Mobile World Live (75 unread)

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]

Tags: [edit]