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Category: Telecom

Retail News Asia is committed to providing both local and global retailers with the latest Telecom & Telco news throughout the Asian market. This on a daily base.

  • NTT Docomo trials 5G at 305km/hr

    NTT Docomo trials 5G at 305km/hr

    Japan’s NTT Docomo, parent company NTT and vendor NEC have jointly achieved the first 5G transmission between a 28-GHz base station and a 5G mobile station in a car moving at 305km/hr.

    The trial also achieved a 1.1Gbps high-speed data transmission to a 5G mobile station moving at 293km/hr as well as fast handover between 5G  base stations and a 5G mobile station moving at 290km/hr.

    During the trial at the Japan Automobile Research Institute, a test environment was created using a car traveling at speeds similar to that of Japan’s bullet train high-speed railways.

    To overcome the challenges associated with long-range transmission of 28-GHz radio waves, the base and mobile stations were both equipped with beamforming and beam tracking technology.

    The 5G base station also used massive MIMO antennas with 96 elements and supporting up to two beams, and two antenna units per base station.

    Docomo also succeeded in a wireless live transmission of 4K, 120 frame per second video from a car moving at speeds of 200km/hr using NTT’s real-time 4K high frame rate HEVC codec.

    Sony Business Solutions Corporation provided the 4K camera for the trial, while Docomo Team Dandelion Racing manager Dandelion Limited tuned the trial car for an ultra-high-mobility environment and operated the car on the test course.

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  • Expats confused over Vietnam’s profile picture requirement for phone users

    Expats confused over Vietnam’s profile picture requirement for phone users

    Some have no idea about the requirement, others find it invasive while network providers can’t guarantee help in English. Expats are having issues with Vietnam’s new regulation which asks phone users to submit a profile picture to their network provider.

    The Ministry of Information and Communications requires mobile subscribers to provide photographic proof of their identities before April 24, or they will be locked out of their network.

    Ryan, 28, is a Briton working in Hanoi. He had no ideas about the new regulation until we contacted him because the profile photo request was sent to his phone in Vietnamese.

    “I’ve never had to do this in the U.K. or in any other countries I’ve travelled through,” Ryan said, adding that he finds the requirement “invasive”.

    In light of recent data breaches by companies as large as Facebook, Ryan is concerned that his information could fall into the wrong hands. “I don’t know if I could trust my network provider with my information,” he said.

    The government claims the requirement will result in better control of network subscribers and prevent spam accounts.

    But while network providers claim user data will only be used to manage subscribers as stated by law, experts believe the regulation has loopholes that could be taken advantage of.

    The images could slip through the network security holes, a scenario in which the responsibility of the network provider has not yet been clearly defined, said lawyer Vu Tien Vinh.

    A photo taken by a customer and sent to a network provider cannot be authenticated, Vinh added.

    Having been to many Asian countries, Mark from Canada finds the regulation odd. “Why would a phone company need my photo?” he said.

    Ryan and Mark are not the only expats who are having issues with the regulation. Many foreigners are also confused as local mobile operators don’t seem to provide the assistance they need.

    On Saturday, customer service centers of all major network providers were packed with customers coming in to have their photos taken.

    Amid the chaos, employees at the centers suggested that foreigners could bring in their passport, or take a photo of their passport and submit it to the companies’ websites. But, they could not guarantee there would be anyone who speaks English available to help.

    Vietnam has 118.7 million mobile subscriptions, according to official data and there are 82,000 foreigners living and working in the country. As of last week, at least 38 million mobile phone users have not provided adequate personal information to network providers, said Nguyen Duc Trung, a senior telecommunications official at the Ministry of Information and Communications.

    Mark is one of them. The 35-year-old is not planning to do anything yet. “I’ll see if they actually lock my account,” he said.

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  • CMHK signs NB-IoT agreement with Sino Group

    CMHK signs NB-IoT agreement with Sino Group

    China Mobile Hong Kong (CMHK) and property developer Sino Group have signed an agreement to deploy a narrowband IoT network across Sino Group’s residential and commercial properties.

    The partnership aims to develop pre-5G infrastructure initially focused on the provision of smart home, smart shopping mall and smart property management solutions.

    The deployment will support Hong Kong’s transformation into a smart city and help accelerate social development, the companies said.

    Under the partnership, IoT and big data technologies will be applied to enhance the agreement of Sino Group’s commercial tenants, improve the group’s property management efficiency and facilitate environmental protection.

    “The 5G evolution is crucial to shaping Hong Kong into a smart city, and CMHK is imperative to proactively develop 5G mobile service applications towards advancing the development of Hong Kong’s 5G mobile communication network,” CMHK director and CEO Sean Lee said.

    “With plans to upgrade our existing base station equipment, we are well poised for the arrival of 5G and the future Internet of Things. We are extremely excited about our partnership with Sino Group to further its property network coverage, and support its future development.”

    CMHK was awarded the first trial permit for 5G tests among Hong Kong operators by the Office of the Communications Authority in March. The operator plans to commence lab tests with 5G commercial equipment using the assigned 5G trial spectrum later this quarter.

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  • ZTE on life support after US export ban

    ZTE on life support after US export ban

    ZTE has been forced to cease its global operations as a result of the crippling sanctions imposed on the company by the US government.

    In an announcement to shareholders, ZTE said [PDF] that the major operating activities of the company have ceased due to the activation of the denial order from the US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry (BIS).

    This order prohibits US companies, including ZTE’s major suppliers such as Qualcomm and Google (for Android), from exporting their products to ZTE for a period of seven years.

    The denial order was initially imposed but automatically suspended in March last year on the condition that ZTE adhere to a settlement agreement which included penalizing the senior officials responsible for the decision to contravene the Iran sanctions.

    But the BIS activated the denial order last month after accusing ZTE of violating these conditions by offering full bonuses to executives implicated in the case and failing to issue letters of reprimand in a timely manner.

    The sanction relates to an investigation into ZTE’s alleged sale of telecommunications equipment containing US components to Iran in violation of US sanctions imposed on the country.

    ZTE’s announcement states that the company has sufficient cash to remain in business “as of now”, and is actively seeking a modification or reversal of the denial order from various US government departments.

    But in light of the ongoing trade war between the US and China, the Trump administration may not back down so easily, which would threaten ZTE’s ongoing existence.

  • GCX to upgrade HAWK cable

    GCX to upgrade HAWK cable

    Reliance Communications’ Global Cloud Xchange (GCX) has announced plans to upgrade a branch of the HAWK subsea cable to meet growing demand for bandwidth between Europe and emerging Asia and the Middle East.

    The company will work with Cyprus’ incumbent operator PrimeTel to upgrade the HAWK branch into Cyprus to 100Gbps.

    The HAWK cable system links Marseille and Paris in France, London in the UK, Frankfurt in Germany, Yeroskipos in Cyprus, and Alexandria in Egypt, and connects to GCX’ global subsea and European backhaul network.

    The cable is integrated with PrimeTel’s Cyprus gateway and hub, which was activated in 2011 to enable ultra-high bandwidth services across the Emerging Markets corridor.

    “With the recent upgrade, we have now broadened our reach into PrimeTel’s Cyprus Hub in Yeroskipos, providing enhanced coverage to meet the growing demand for high-performance, low-latency connectivity across the emerging markets in the Middle East and Asia,” GCX COO Wilfred Kwan said.

    “The network enhancement has already started to attract interest across key growth markets and we are pleased that the first 100Gbps wavelength connection for a major carrier is already in the process of being activated.”

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  • EllaLink gets anchor customer for trans-Atlantic cable

    EllaLink gets anchor customer for trans-Atlantic cable

    The Atlantic will be getting yet another subsea cable system it seems, but this time it’s on a route rarely travelled.

    EllaLink has won a key anchor customer for a cable system connecting Portugal with Brazil. The research and education networks GEANT and RedCLARA are putting €25 million ($29.6 million) up for direct capacity between Europe and South America.

    As currently planned, EllaLink will bring some 72Tbps of connectivity between the two continents. In South America it will land at both Fortaleza and at Praia Grande near Sao Paolo, two popular cable destinations with plenty of interconnection options.

    In Portugal the system will come ashore at Sines, not far from Lisbon and at a new location distinct from other cables landing in the region and with terrestrial access over to Madrid of course. In between are several islands that will probably see branches, such as Madeira and Cabo Verde.

    We haven’t seen a cable on this route since ATLANTIS-2, and unlike most new builds it doesn’t seem to be on the radar of the big cloud/content guys. That may change as interest in the nearby interconnection market of Madrid continues its rapid growth.

    EllaLink offers a bypass route between Europe and Latin America that doesn’t land first in the eastern US. By taking the direct route and avoiding North America, latency will be substantially reduced, probably by about half or more.

    Alcatel Submarine Networks will be handling the installation, which is envisioned to be complete sometime in 2020.  With much of its funding in place, it looks as if this cable system is ready to move onto the marine survey and construction.

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  • Sigma Systems Supports Telkomsel in Building a Digital Indonesia

    Sigma Systems Supports Telkomsel in Building a Digital Indonesia

    With more than 190 million customers, Telkomsel is currently the largest mobile operator in Indonesia. Telkomsel has consistently implemented the latest mobile technology and was the first to commercially launch 4G LTE mobile services in the country. Entering the digital era, Telkomsel continues to expand its digital business to incorporate advertising, lifestyle, mobile financial services, and Internet of Things.

    In support of their digital mandate, Telkomsel has selected Sigma Systems as a partner, establishing Sigma Catalog as the central enterprise catalog to underpin their evolving business.

    “We are pleased to partner with Sigma to deploy a B/OSS platform that enables the rapid creation of personalized, micro-segmented offers to our customers. Sigma’s agile delivery methodology and product-centric approach ultimately supports Telkomsel’s mission of building a Digital Indonesia,” said Montgomery Hong, CIO at Telkomsel.

    Sigma Systems CEO, Tim Spencer, commented: “Telkomsel is at the forefront of digital transformation in the region, and recognizes the critical role a catalog-driven solution plays in accelerating the creation, selling and delivery of innovative and deeply personalized market offerings. Sigma is honored to work with Indonesia’s leading mobile operator as they transition into a truly digital business.”

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  • China Telecom signs interconnect deal with HGC

    China Telecom signs interconnect deal with HGC

    China Telecom and Hong Kong based fixed line operator HGC Global Communications (HGC) have signed an agreement to build a network interconnection system via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge.

    Once completed later this year, the HZM Bridge will be the longest cross-ocean bridge in the world, spanning 55km and directly connecting mainland China to Hong Kong and Macau.

    The two operators plan to deploy a fiber connection along the HZM Bridge to meet anticipated growth in cross-border network traffic and demand for low-latency connectivity across the Greater Bay Area region.

    China, Hong Kong and Macau are involved in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Bay Area initiative to enhance economic activity in the area and improve the level of co-operation within the region. The project aims to help put the telecoms infrastructure in place to support this increased activity.

    “China Telecom is pleased to establish an interconnection with HGC at the HZM Bridge,” China Telecom managing director of global business Deng Xiaofeng said.

    “With both parties’ diverse network connection routes and our history of close cooperation, the new fiber connection will provide customers of both parties with stable and reliable service, meeting the ever-increasing demand in the Greater Bay Area and neighboring countries and regions.”

    China Telecom has established cross-border links with ten operators in Hong Kong and Macau across five ports since 1998, helping boost total traffic capacity in the region to 17Tbps.

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  • HKT becomes a Carbon Black MSSP partner

    HKT becomes a Carbon Black MSSP partner

    HKT has arranged to become a managed security services provider (MSSP) partner of endpoint security company Carbon Black.

    As an MSSP partner, HKT will offer a suite of managed security services based on Carbon Black’s Cb Defense and Cb Response security solutions.

    These will include managed endpoint detection and response (EDR) services to help customers detect, prevent, predict and respond to advanced cyberattacks.

    Cb Defense is a cloud-based next generation antivirus and EDR solution for desktops, laptops and services. It is powered by Carbon Black’s Cb Predictive Security Cloud, which collects and analyzes unfiltered endpoint data to protect customers against future and unknown attacks.

    HKT will meanwhile use Cb Response to allow its security operations center team to identify malicious files used to execute an attack, pinpoint which endpoints and services are being attacked, diagnose the root cause, and provide actionable recommendations.

    “HKT is the largest telecommunications service providers in Hong Kong and the collaboration with Carbon Black will enable more enterprises and consumers to access next-generation security technology designed to thwart the sophisticated cyberattacks prevalent today,” Carbon Black VP and managing director for Asia-Pacific and Japan Matt Bennett said.

    “With Carbon Black’s market-leading cybersecurity solutions, HKT’s customers will be protected from advanced threats better than ever before.”

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  • More wholesale operators join blockchain trial

    More wholesale operators join blockchain trial

    More operators have joined the joint blockchain trial being conducted by HKT’s PCCW Global and telecoms and data center services company Colt.

    Members of the ITW Global Leaders’ Forum (GLF), including Australia’s Telstra, Hong Kong based HGC Global Communications, Spain’s Telefónica and the UK’s BT, are now getting involved in the initiative.

    The trial involves the use of blockchain to automate the inter-carrier settlement of wholesale international services.

    During a proof of concept trial in March, conducted with blockchain startup Clear, the companies demonstrated how blockchain can reduce the labor-intensive process of inter-carrier settlements from hours to mere minutes.

    Now the solution developed for the trial is being utilized in real time, with PCCW Global and Colt now using live data to settle and verify traffic, PCCW Global said.

    The companies aim to expand the bilateral testing to encompass multilateral relationships within the wholesale telecommunications industry.

    “We are very pleased that this PoC is expanding to include more carriers. A lot of the conversations at the GLF have been around how innovative technologies such as blockchain can be used to improve the overall efficiency of the industry,” PCCW Global CEO and GLF chairman Marc Halbfinger said.

    “With the PoC expanding to include more carriers, it is clear that the industry is seeing the benefit of becoming further aligned. Industry cooperation in this area will be incredibly powerful for the whole sector.”

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  • SK Telecom, Macquarie to buy security firm ADT Caps for $1.2b

    SK Telecom, Macquarie to buy security firm ADT Caps for $1.2b

    SK Telecom has partnered with Macquarie to fully acquire domestic security service firm ADT Caps for 1.276 trillion won ($1.18 billion), the South Korean mobile giant announced.

    SK Telecom will buy 55% stake in Siren Holdings Korea, the company that holds 100% stake in ADT Caps, for 702 billion won ($650.7 million), while Macquarie will buy 45% stake for 574 billion won ($532 million).

    The pair plans to sign a deal with seller Carlyle Group and complete the transaction as early as in the third quarter of this year, SK Telecom said in a statement.

    Through the acquisition, SK Telecom aims to build new business models by introducing technologies such as AI, IoT and big data to the country’s fast-growing security services industry and turns ADT Caps into “a next-generation security services provider” with these technologies.

    ADT Caps is the country’s second-largest security services provider with 570,000 subscribers. The company mainly provides physical security services, including access control and facilities management, and accounts for roughly 30% of the local physical security services market.

    In 2017, ADT Caps recorded revenue of 721.7 billion won and operating income of 143.5 billion won.

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  • Virtutel to use PCCW Global’s nTwine platform

    Virtutel to use PCCW Global’s nTwine platform

    Australia-based wholesale and enterprise communications services provider Virtutel has contracted PCCW Global to bring hosted unified voice services to Australia and New Zealand using PCCW Global’s nTwine platform.

    Virtutel will use the platform to support its expansion plans in the Australian and new Zealand markets.

    The nTwine multi-tenant unified communications as a service (UCaaS) platform includes the provision of a white label hosted platform as well as automated orchestration operation and management.

    It uses PCCW Global’s fiber network spanning 3,000 cities in 150 countries as well as network partnerships with more than 200 global operators to provide international voice and VoIPX services.

    Gartner projects that the global market for cloud based telephony and messaging will grow at a 14.4% CAGR through to 2022, reaching $22 billion.

    “The PCCW Global team has been extremely committed to our partnership and the nTwine uCaaS solution is a perfect fit for our business growth in the coming years,” Virtutel managing director David Allen said.

    “Thanks in large part to the transformative power of cloud computing, in most markets the idea of what makes an office is rapidly changing. We expect that the technologically savvy and forward-thinking business leaders in Australia and New Zealand will appreciate the advantages the nTwine service provides.”

  • Ooredoo Myanmar enters eSports tie-up with HOG

    Ooredoo Myanmar enters eSports tie-up with HOG

    Ooredoo Myanmar has entered a partnership with Myanmar’s first eSports center Halls of Gamers (HOG) to provide high-speed connectivity for competitors.

    Under the agreement, Ooredoo will provide high-bandwidth fiber broadband services to HOG at a special rate to support HOG’s eSports tournaments.

    The operator will also set up a booth at the HOG eSports Center to provide product sales and technical support.

    HOG opened in 2017 in Yangon as the first LAN gaming center in Myanmar to promote the local eSports industry with activities including tournaments, festivals and contests. The center has the space and facilities available to host international eSports tournaments.

    “We are very glad to our partnership with HOG eSports Center to support together with HOG for the development of eSports among the youths in Myanmar to reach to international level,” Ooredoo Myanmar CEO Vikram Sinha said.

    “We believe that with our reliable speed though Ooredoo B2B dedicated fiber internet access, all eSport gamers can enjoy the internet to gain their achievement.”

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  • Nokia buys SpaceTime to bloster IoT offerings

    Nokia buys SpaceTime to bloster IoT offerings

    Nokia has acquired US-based software supplier SpaceTime Insight in its latest push to expand its Internet of Things (IoT) portfolio and IoT analytics capabilities beyond the telecoms sector.

    The company did not reveal the financial terms of the deal.

    Based in San Mateo, California, SpaceTime Insight provides machine learning-powered analytics and IoT applications for asset-intensive industries like transportation, energy and utilities. Its clients include Entergy, FedEx, NextEra Energy, Singapore Power and Union Pacific Railroad.

    Nokia said SpaceTime Insight’s machine learning models and other advanced analytics predict asset health with a high degree of accuracy and optimize related operations, helping customers reduce cost and risk, increase operational efficiencies, reduce service outages and more.

    SpaceTime Insight and its CEO Rob Schilling will join the IoT product unit within the Nokia Software business group. The company has offices in US, Canada, UK, India and Japan.

    The acquisition will strengthen Nokia’s IoT software portfolio and IoT analytics capabilities as well as speed up the development of Nokia’s IoT offerings to deliver IoT solutions and services to new and existing customers.

    It will also broaden the company’s ability to deliver new, advanced applications for key vertical markets, including energy, logistics, transportation and utilities, Nokia added.

    Commenting on the acquisition, Bhaskar Gorti, president of Nokia Software, said “the addition of SpaceTime to Nokia Software is a strong step forward in our strategy, and will help us deliver a new class of intelligent solutions to meet the demands of an increasingly interconnected world.”

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  • Telstra expands availability on key APAC routes

    Telstra expands availability on key APAC routes

    Australia’s Telstra has expanded its Always On guaranteed connectivity service for enterprises to provide more bandwidth options on the Hong Kong to Singapore and Hong Kong to Japan subsea cable routes.

    The service uses Telstra’s extensive cable network in the Asia-Pacific region to reroute traffic to another path in the event of a cable cut or damage due to a natural disaster.

    The enhancement of the service will reduce latency and add more resiliency to two of Asia’s busiest subsea cable routes.

    According to Telstra director for international Paul Abfalter, Telstra’s subsea cable network is the largest and most diverse in APAC, accounting for up to 30% of active intra-regional capacity.

    “We now have average speeds of 28.8m/s between the Singapore (SGX) and Hong Kong (HKEX) Exchanges, 177.8m/s between the Australian (ASX) and Chicago (CME) Exchanges, 178.2m/s between Equinix/CERMAK (EQCH) in Chicago and the ASX, and 41.9m/s and 13.9m/s respectively between Singapore to Taiwan and Hong Kong to Taiwan,” he said.

    “We were first in the region to develop ‘resilience as a service’ across the busy Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan triangle so customer services are restored within hours for their subscribed bandwidth, using one primary path and two protection paths over different cable systems along the same route.”

    The Always On service guarantee was initially targeted at customers with capacity requirements of between 10GB and 1TB, but with the expansion the company has introduced lower bandwidth options starting at 1GB, Abfalter added.