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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.

  • Workz launches new eSIM operating system

    Workz launches new eSIM operating system

    UAE-based mobile solutions vendor Workz Group has entered into a value-added reseller agreement with UK telecoms software company Simulty Labs covering the provision of commercial and technical support for Workz’s eSIM operating system and remote provisioning server.

    The agreement will pave the way for distribution of eSIM across the MEA and Southeast Asia, the companies said.

    With the agreement, Workz will be able to provide regional customers with remote management capabilities of mobile connected devices through eSIM technology.

    The company is targeting the product at device manufacturers, technology enablers, mobile network operators and other businesses in the M2M, automotive, mobile devices and medical fields.

    “Our eSIM, OTA, and remote provisioning solutions allow customers to realize their IoT development strategy whether it be competitively-priced multi-IMSI SIMs, roaming data, device management, big data management or automation,” Workz CEO Brad Taylor said.

    “For rapid deployment and cost-savings, we will provide a fully secure online SaaS connected management solution. We are currently in the final stage of becoming certified under the GSMA Security Accreditation Scheme for traditional UICC SIM cards and will shortly be applying for its eSIM (embedded SIM) counterpart, in order, to give customers full confidence in our secure data management systems.”

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  • South Korea to raise subscription discount to 25%

    South Korea to raise subscription discount to 25%

    The South Korean government plans to increase the mandated monthly telecoms subscription fee discount to 25% from 20% as part of a plan to reduce total household expenses by 4.6 trillion won ($4.03 billion) annually.

    Customers signing up for one or two year subscriptions will be able to choose to apply the discount as either a monthly rte cut or a one-time discount on a new smartphone purchase.

    The market’s operators will also be required to provide an extra 11,000 won discount on monthly fees for elderly and low-income Koreans.

    A plan unveiled by the government will also involve the establishment of more Wi-Fi access points at schools, public buildings and public transport lines.

    But the plan has excluded an earlier proposal to abolish the 11,000 won basic mobile service fee to further reduce costs for consumers, due to strong opposition to the plan from the industry.

    According to the report, the economic committee of the nation’s State Affairs Planning Advisory Committee believes that increasing the discount rate for subscription services and low-income customers has the same effect as the proposed abolition of the fee.

    The mandated increased discount rate is expected be introduced in September, but could face legal and other challenges from operators.

    The government reportedly also intends to reduce mobile network lease rates for MVNOs and abolish the current cap on handset subsidies to make purchasing smartphones more affordable.

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  • Tata Comm launches IZO cloud node in Malaysia

    Tata Comm launches IZO cloud node in Malaysia

    India’s Tata Communications has launched three new nodes for its IZO Private Cloud service designed to support enterprises’ hybrid cloud adoption while ensuring regulatory compliance.

    The new private cloud nodes in Germany, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Malaysia aim to enable CIOs to gain more control over all their applications by creating a hybrid, high-performance IT infrastructure where different cloud, colocation and managed hosting environments work together.

    Today, different clouds often operate in silos, resulting in a complex environment which can hold back enterprises’ digital transformation. The fully-managed IZO Private Cloud service seeks to address this complexity by enabling CIOs to create a hybrid IT environment that combines the flexibility of public cloud with enterprise-grade security.

    It also gives CIOs complete control of the residency of their data, while keeping up with employees’ demands for mobile, collaborative and social ways of working.

    IZO Private Cloud now spans across 13 locations. In addition to Germany, UAE and Malaysia, Tata Communications has private cloud nodes in India, Singapore, Hong Kong and the UK.

    The new private cloud nodes address the needs of enterprises in industries with stringent regulatory requirements, including aviation, healthcare, manufacturing, media, banking, IT, financial services and insurance, retail and e-commerce.

    “In today’s digital economy, enterprises’ growth is fuelled by cloud-based applications and data,”  Tata Communications SVP of global product management and data center services Srinivasan CR said.

    “Yet, the sovereignty and security of these critical assets is a major concern for CIOs. As a global cloud provider with a local presence, we address these concerns by giving CIOs complete visibility and control over their entire IT estate, across all networks and devices, and empower them to drive organisation-wide digital transformation with maximum agility.”

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  • Australia plans to mandate 25Mbps broadband speeds

    Australia plans to mandate 25Mbps broadband speeds

    The Australian government has introduced new legislation that would mandate the supply of broadband services with peak speeds of at least 25Mbps to all premises in the country.

    The proposed Telecommunications Reform Package would require that services provided over the in-construction National Broadband Network (NBN) – even the fixed-wireless and satellite services – would need to be capable of broadband speeds of at least 25Mbps downlink and 5Mbps uplink.

    A draft version of the reforms published last December excluded the fixed wireless and satellite components of the network from this obligation.

    The legislation would also introduce the government’s planned A$7.10 ($5.36) per connection Regional Broadband Scheme, a levy that operators will pay to nbn for each connection capable of download speeds of 25Mbps.

    The levy will be used to defray the expected A$9.8 billion in losses over 30 years that are expected to be accrued by the fixed wireless and satellite components of the network due to the shortage of customers.

    In a concession for smaller players, the first 25,000 connections serviced by a broadband provider will not be subject to the levy for the first five years.

    The new reform package will also mandate the delivery of voice capability over the nbn in fixed line and fixed wireless areas.

    The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN)  has welcomed the consumer protection measures of the proposed legislation.
    “The legislation includes big wins for all consumers, especially for regional, rural and remote consumers,” ACCAN CEO Teresa Corbin said.

    “Broadband services are essential for consumers, yet currently, there is no requirement on nbn to connect and provide ongoing services to all premises. We are pleased that consumers can now be reassured that under the proposed legislation all premises must be able to access a broadband network capable of a minimum peak speed of 25Mbps download and 5Mbps upload.”

    But she said ACCAN will also be pushing to ensure that public phones will be provided where they are needed and consumers relying on satellite services have access to reliable telephony and broadband services.

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  • Hong Kong ranked third worldwide for broadband speeds

    Hong Kong ranked third worldwide for broadband speeds

    Hong Kong has been ranked third worldwide for broadband download speeds, with HKBN named the market’s fastest provider, according to Speedtest results from Ookla.

    Between the fourth quarter of 2016 and the first quarter of 2017, Hong Kong achieved an average download speed of 142.65Mbps. This speed represents the experience of a typical consumer in the market.

    The fastest broadband speeds were recorded by subscribers to HKBN at 544.18Mbps, followed by Netvigator at 470.43Mbps, 3 Hong Kong at 290.17Mbps and i-Cable Communications at 141.5Mbps.

    Top upload speeds were meanwhile recorded at 544.07Mbps for HKBN, 460.63Mbps for Netvigator, 201.15Mbps for 3 Hong Kong and 27.89Mbps for i-Cable.

    To determine this metric, Speedtest compares the top 10% of each ISP’s speed results to provide an accurate view of their top-end performance.

    “We are proud to know that our outstanding network performance has been duly recognized by independent global leader Speedtest. Our top-notch fiber network, advanced facilities and round-the-clock network operation management ensures that our customers enjoy the best internet experience in this data hungry era,” HKBN CTO Gary McLaren said.

    “Currently, with about one-third of all households in Hong Kong connected to HKBN broadband, we look forward to bringing more top-value services to more people across Hong Kong.”

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  • MPT upgrading new LTE network to 4×4 MIMO

    MPT upgrading new LTE network to 4×4 MIMO

    Myanmar Post and Telecom (MPT) has adopted 4×4 multiple input multiple output (MIMO) technology for its recently-launched 4G network covering Yangon, Mandalay and Nay Pyi Taw.

    The operator is using LTE-Advanced technology capable of internet speeds of up to 150Mbps in 47 townships across the three cities.

    MPT meanwhile plans to extend its LTE-Advanced network to Bago, Taunggyi, Mawlamyine, Monywa, and Patheingyi in July and to 20 other major cities the following month, the report states. The deployment is expected to cover all 30 major cities in the nation by November.

    MPT announced the commencement of its LTE rollout last month after securing approval along with the market’s other operators to use 1800-MHz spectrum for 4G. The state-owned operator has partnered with Japan’s KDDI and Sumitomo for its mobile operations.

    As part of its deployment, the operator is offering customers the ability to swap their existing 3G SIMs for a 4G SIM while maintaining their current phone number.

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  • Experts concerned over NBTC’s plan to control OTTs

    Experts concerned over NBTC’s plan to control OTTs

    Thai regulator NBTC could be on shaky legal ground with its plan to control overseas OTT service providers by requiring them to set up local entities, legal experts have warned.

    Lawyers stating that if the NBTC goes ahead with the plan, Thailand would be the first country to require OTT providers to set up local entities to make them easier to regulate.

    A key challenge in regulating OTT services is that the internet is borderless and service providers can set up entities anywhere in the world, the experts added. The NBTC lacks the jurisdiction to force foreign players to set up local entities.

    Such a move would also raise concerns over extra-territorial jurisdiction and international free trade arrangements.

    The time-consuming requirements for establishing a local entity could also discourage foreign players from entering the market, the report adds.

    The Thai government aims to level the playing field between operators and international OTT communications service providers. In April, the NBTC floated a plan to require OTT providers that utilize existing mobile networks to secure an operating license and pay internet bandwidth fees or value-added taxes to operate in the country.

  • IoT spend on pace to $800b in 2017

    IoT spend on pace to $800b in 2017

    Worldwide spending on the Internet of Things (IoT) to grow 17% year over year in 2017, and to be near $1.4 trillion by 2021, according to IDC.

    “The discussion about IoT has shifted away from the number of devices connected,” said Carrie MacGillivray, VP for Internet of Things and mobility at IDC. “The true value of IoT is being realized when the software and services come together to enable the capture, interpretation, and action on data produced by IoT endpoints.”

    The IoT use cases that are expected to attract the largest investments in 2017 include manufacturing operations ($105 billion), freight monitoring ($50 billion), and production asset management ($45 billion).

    Smart grid technologies for electricity, gas and water and smart building technologies are also forecast to see significant investments this year ($56 billion and $40 billion, respectively).

    While these use cases will remain the largest areas of IoT spending in 2021, smart home technologies are forecast to experience strong growth (20% CAGR) over the five-year forecast. The use cases that will see the fastest spending growth are airport facilities automation (33% CAGR), electric vehicle charging (21% CAGR), and in-store contextual marketing (20% CAGR).

    The industries making the largest IoT investments in 2017 are manufacturing ($183 billion), transportation ($85 billion), and utilities ($66 billion).

    From a technology perspective, hardware will be the largest spending category until the last year of the forecast when it will be overtaken by the faster growing services category. Hardware spending will be dominated by modules and sensors that connect end points to networks, while software spending will be similarly dominated by applications software. Services spending will be about evenly split between ongoing and content services and IT and installation services.

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  • Thailand to link 3,920 villages with fiber by mid-2018

    Thailand to link 3,920 villages with fiber by mid-2018

    Thailand’s first state-provided high speed fixed broadband services for rural areas are on track to launch by mid-2018, according to reports.

    The fiber-based service will be offered to 3,920 border villages across 62 provinces by this time, providing broadband at speeds of at least 10Mbps.

    The low cost services will start at just 50 baht ($1.47) per month for a 10Mbps connection with unlimited data, 150 baht or less for a 15Mbps connection and 200Mbps or less for a 20Mbps connection.

    An initiative of regulator NBTC, construction of the network will be funded as part of the 14 billion baht Universal Service Obligation (USO). It will also involve the construction of 5,229 free Wi-Fi hotspots, as well as 763 public internet centers that will fuction as community centers for 2-4 villages.

    The NBTC has just launched a tender process to select the project’s contractor, and plans to hold an online auction to choose a winning bidder in July. Networks must be capable of a minimum 30Mbps connection speed, and the service packages must be offered for at least five years.

    The NBTC is also finalizing the details of construction of a broadband network for an additional 15,732 villages, as part of its plan to deploy a low-cost broadband infrastructure spanning 40,432 underserved villages nationwide to help bridge the digital divide between urban and rural Thailand.

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  • Mobile users cringe at new photo ID requirements in Vietnam

    Mobile users cringe at new photo ID requirements in Vietnam

    Many subscribers say they have already provided copies of their ID cards, so why is the new regulation necessary? Mobile subscribers in Vietnam are objecting to a government regulation which requires them to provide a portrait photo of themselves when they register with a provider to clarify their personal information in an effort to get rid of spam messages.

    Under the amended telecommunications law, existing subscribers will have until next April to furnish network providers with photos.

    After the deadline, networks will be fined if they are caught offering services to users who provide false information.

    MobiFone and VinaPhone, two of the biggest mobile service providers in Vietnam, have already started taking photos of new subscribers. Viettel, the country’s largest provider, said it will start taking photos of new users from next month.

    A VinaPhone representative told that the company has faced strong opposition from customers, with many refusing to provide a photo.

    A MobileFone staff member in Hanoi also said that customers simply don’t want to sit down for a photo.

    Registering new customers is already a headache, and obtaining photos from existing users will be a much bigger problem.

    VinaPhone said it is planning to offer incentives to current customers who provide the company with photos, while Viettel said it is still working on a solution to deal with existing customers.

    Last week, Duong, the owner of a mobile subscription service run by MobiFone in Hanoi, received a text from the company asking her for a photo.

    Duong said she was surprised as she has been using MobiFone for nearly 20 years and has already provided the company with her personal information.

    “I have already submitted a copy of my ID with a photo on it but the staff at MobiFone said the photo isn’t clear enough and they need a new one,” she said.

    When she learned that operators will bar outgoing calls after 15 days and disconnect after 30 days if subscribers refuse to submit their photos, Duong’s first reaction was that it could be a breach of contract. She was also concerned about the security of her personal information.

    Many people echo Duong’s opinion.

    Others simply said the whole idea is a waste of time, and questioned whether mobile operators will be able to protect their personal information.

    The regulation, which is aimed at eliminating spam messages, states that telecom companies will be fined VND30 million ($1.320) to VND50 million for leaking customers’ personal information, and VND50-70 million for trading that information, according to the Ministry of Information and Communications.

    Nguyen Chien, vice chairman of the Vietnam Bar Association, said the regulation risking breaking contracts signed by existing subscribers if they are cut off for not providing a photo.

    This requirement should only be applied for new subscribers and existing subscribers who have not provided enough personal information, he suggested.

    Official data show millions of spam messages are sent in Vietnam every day. Most of them come from prepaid phone accounts that are unregistered or registered with false information.

    The messages are not only annoying but dangerous as they can be used by criminals and terrorists, according to the ministry.

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  • IoT standardization picks up pace in Taiwan

    IoT standardization picks up pace in Taiwan

    IoT interoperability and standardization has moved forward in Taiwan after oneM2M, the global standards initiative for M2M and the IoT, held its fourth interoperability testing event in Taipei.

    Interop 4 gave organizations implementing oneM2M standards the opportunity to check end-to-end functionality via oneM2M interfaces and validate interoperability, with a total of 13 companies taking part.

    A conference held the day before the event featured presentations from leading companies and members of oneM2M’s leadership team to promote oneM2M to Taiwanese businesses in the IoT sector.

    The event was held as the Asian Silicon Valley Development Agency (ASVDA) works to transform and upgrade Taiwan’s industrial infrastructure with IoT technology. The agency aims to have a 5% stake in the global IoT market by 2025.

    “Taiwan is looking to become a major player in the IoT and Interop 4 helped drive this goal by giving organisations in the country and the wider Asia region the opportunity to test and improve their deployments,” said JaeSeung Song, Associate Professor at Sejong University and Test Working Group Chair at oneM2M.

    “Interop 4 was our second interoperability event of the year and its success highlights the continuous growth of oneM2M’s standards.”

    Hosted by TTA and ETSI – two of oneM2M’s founding partners – along with the Taiwan-based Institute for Information Industry (III), Interop 4 allowed participants to take part in interoperability scenarios from TS-0013 – oneM2M’s testing specification.

    Testing at the event was based on oneM2M’s set of standards, Release 1 and Release 2 and covered functional architecture, service layer core protocol and Constrained Application Protocol (CoAP), HTTP, Message Queue Telemetry Transport (MQTT) and WebSocket protocol binding.

    The event allowed companies to check interoperability levels of their implementations and ensure they had interpreted oneM2M’s standards correctly. Conformance Testing to help debug products was also available.

    Organisations which participated in this event include: Spirent Technologies, Institute For Information Industry, NTT, TTA, Sporton, DEKRA, KETI, C-DOT, ETRI, Sejong University, Easy Global Market, nTels and Sensinov.

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  • DoCoMo adopts SAP HANA to boost customer service

    DoCoMo adopts SAP HANA to boost customer service

    Japan’s NTT DoCoMo will adopt the SAP HANA platform as the foundation of its data needs to improve customer service.

    Large volumes of data, as large as 18TB, will be collected from various touch points, including nationwide DoCoMo Shops, for processing and analysis.

    The new platform will initiate better customer services by helping to identify areas of operational improvement at the storefronts and uncover best practices for applying insights and lessons from other stores.

    The implementation took eight months to complete and officially went live in March 2017.

    DoCoMo needed a new IT platform system to meet three key objectives – strengthen its competitive edge, propose and deliver services that meet customer needs, and enhance data utilization efficacy and operational efficiency of the sales team.

    “Before we implemented the new system, we lacked the capability to deliver information to the sales force. It took the backend office at least a week or two to generate and deliver information” stated Taku Hasegawa, GM of DoCoMo’s Information Systems Department.

    “Now with SAP HANA, users can pull out the latest data whenever they need to. An increase in performance has also helped individual storefronts to monitor status of sales promotions. Moving forward, we expect to see an improvement in service at docomo Shops.”

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  • Juniper Networks unveils Cloud-Grade Networking

    Juniper Networks unveils Cloud-Grade Networking

    Juniper Networks has launched a new Cloud-Grade Networking portfolio to help operators and enterprises more rapidly build and deploy cloud networks.

    Cloud-Grade Networking introduces a new set of principles for the way applications and services are designed and delivered, utilizing telemetry, automation and machine learning capabilities.

    The paradigm comprises four principles –  a platform-first approach, disaggregation, the concept of a self-driving network and software-defined security.

    As part of the platform-first approach, Juniper Networks has introduced a new Junos Node Slicing service model to enable operators to  run multiple services or instances on the same router but use a separate administrative design for each.

    A new Universal Chassis is meanwhile designed to disaggregate the network so operators can standardise all routing and switching deployments across data center and the WAN in a unified platform.

    Juniper Networks said these new approaches can reduce the operational complexity of managing end-users’ application needs by up to 60% and reduce platform qualification requirements by up to 50%.

    The company has also introduced two new professional services offerings to advance the concept of the self-driving network, which combines telemetry, workflow automation, DevOps, and machine learning in a single infrastructure.

    “The demand for cloud-based services continues to create disruption, resulting in complexity for operators and enterprises that need to pivot quickly. In order to establish a foundation to innovate across IT layers, organizations need to rethink the network,” Juniper Networks VP of marketing Paul Obsitnik said.

    “This is the next wave of cloud transformation, and Juniper is delivering it with Cloud-Grade Networking. We have been on this journey for a number of years and we believe Cloud-Grade Networking encapsulates the key tenets that organizations need to follow in order to reimagine how networks ultimately enable them to drive business success.”

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  • Google launches first SEA Cloud Platform region

    Google launches first SEA Cloud Platform region

    Google has launched its first Google Cloud Platform (GCP) region in Southeast Asia. Named “asia-southeast1”, the region, located in Singapore, has been established in a bid to improve latency for both GCP customers and end users in or near Singapore.

    The Singapore region is GCP’s third in Asia and primarily caters to customers in Singapore, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok. GCP’s other two Asian regions are located in Taiwan and Tokyo. Google had initially intended to open a data center in Hong Kong but plans were abandoned in 2013 due to land availability issues.

    According to a blog post by Dave Stiver, a product manager at GCP, customers in Southeast Asia can expect to enjoy between 51% and 98% improvements in round-trip time (RTT) latency, compared to using other GCP regions such as Taiwan and Tokyo.

    Google already runs a data center in Singapore, and the addition of a second facility next to the first is expected to cater to an expanded customer base across all company sizes as GCP widens its footprint in the region.

    Current GCP customers in the region include Blackberry Messenger (BM), Carousell and Go-Jek.

    BM has selected IT services firm Pythian to assist in migrating its mission-critical infrastructure from Blackberry’s on-premise data centers in Canada to GCP in Asia. The move is aimed at catering to a significant increase in media consumption by its users worldwide, as the messaging platform seeks to move into the commerce and services space.

    “We are excited to be able to deploy into the GCP Singapore region, as it will allow us to offer our services closer to BBM Messenger key markets. Coupled with Google’s global load balancers and extensive global network, we expect to be able to provide a low latency, high-speed experience for our users globally,” said Matthew Talbot, CEO of Creative Media Works, the company that runs the BBM Messenger Consumer service globally.

    GCP also counts Carousell, Indonesia’s Go-Jek, Avaya, Adidas, Deloitte, HSBC and Netflix as customers.

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  • Nokia demonstrates XGS-PON for mobile fronthaul

    Nokia demonstrates XGS-PON for mobile fronthaul

    Nokia Bell Labs has announced the first successful demonstration of ultra-low latency 10G passive optical networks (PON) for mobile fronthaul.

    In the demonstration, Nokia Bell Labs showed how it is possible to use a commercial next-generation PON to transport ultra-low latency CPRI streams via a standard single fiber running between the Baseband Unit (BBU) and the Remote Radio Head (RRH).

    The proof-of-concept demonstration indicates how existing fiber networks can be used to cost-effectively transport mobile traffic, which could accelerate the transition to 5G.

    The trial used XGS-PON technology that runs on existing fiber access networks and allows operators to use GPON platforms to deliver high-capacity services.

    “This is an important milestone in the industry and in the advancement of 5G, showing for the first time how a PON network can effectively be used to support very high capacity, low latency applications,” Nokia Bell Labs head of access research Peter Vetter said.

    “It demonstrates the flexibility of PON to support traditional CPRI and evolving mobile specifications, such as fronthaul over simpler native Ethernets, and validates the readiness of PON for the 5G era.”

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