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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.

  • Nokia showcases LTE drones for public safety

    Nokia showcases LTE drones for public safety

    Nokia has conducted a demonstration showcasing the use of LTE-enabled drones to facilitate efficient rescue operations in disaster areas.

    The demonstration involved the creation of an instant LTE network using its Ultra Compact Network portable base stations to establish connectivity between camera-mounted drones and a control center.

    Nokia conducted the demonstration at the UAE Drones for Good Award event in Dubai. The company said the drones can be used to stream video and other sensor data in real time from the disaster site to a control center.

    At this control center, data is analyzed using Nokia’s video analytics technology to help emergency responders make informed decisions to ensure efficient and safe rescue operations.

    “Nokia always strives to expand the human possibilities of technologies for the benefit of mankind. We are committed to corporate social responsibility, and with ‘Nokia Saves Lives’ we want to use our technologies with drones to show efficient rescue operations in collaboration with NGOs and network operators,” Nokia head of Middle East Bernard Najm said.

    “The selection of this initiative by the UAE Drones for Good Award for a public demonstration in Dubai clearly shows usefulness of this innovative initiative for smart disaster recovery.”

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  • PLDT, Smart seal 5G partnership with Huawei

    PLDT, Smart seal 5G partnership with Huawei

    PLDT, together with its mobile arm Smart Communications, has signed a MoU with Huawei Technologies to jointly conduct research and development into 5G mobile technology.

    The goal of the partnership is to commercially launch 5G networks in in the Philippines by 2020, PLDT said in a statement released this week.

    Under the MoU, PLDT and Smart will work with Huawei to shape the strategic and commercial development of a 5G ecosystem in the country.

    The companies will identify and develop areas of technical innovation to deliver 5G. Plans include setting up a 5G innovation lab and the creation of a showcase network.

    Late last year, Smart and Huawei combined five frequencies through Carrier Aggregation (CA) to achieve data speeds of 1.4 Gbps. Smart also used CA in April 2016 to roll out a LTE-A service. Initially deployed in Boracay and soon in major urban areas such as Metro Davao, Metro Cebu, and Metro Manila, Smart’s LTE-A service delivers peak speeds of more than 100 Mbps to users with LTE-A capable devices.

    “Smart is focused on LTE, as it provides us the best platform to bring high-speed mobile internet throughout the country. LTE facilities, with strengthened transport links, can be quickly upgraded to LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), and will be an integral part of our future 5G network,” said Joachim Horn, chief technology and information advisor for PLDT and Smart.

    At present Smart is in the middle of a multi-year, multi-million dollar nationwide network expansion program to improve both coverage and quality of its 4G LTE service. A major leg of this network expansion was recently completed in Metro Davao, where Smart users are already reporting much improved mobile data experience, the operator said.

    The rollout is currently underway in Metro Manila and in Metro Cebu, and is expected to significantly boost Smart’s voice, SMS, and mobile data services – especially its indoor LTE coverage – in these urban centers. An upgrade of PLDT’s fixed access networks, part of the company’s transformation toward 5G-readiness, is also underway.

    “We are focused on ensuring that our current investments in network facilities will enable us to be ready with the necessary infrastructure foundation for 5G when it arrives sometime in 2020,” Horn noted.

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  • Ericsson launches its 5G platform

    Ericsson launches its 5G platform

    Ericsson has announced it has become first to market with its new 5G platform, comprising combined 5G core, radio and transport portfolios, as well as digital support systems, transformation services and security.

    The 5G portfolio supports federated network slicing for 5G roaming, network slice management, 5G policy and user data, distributed cloud architecture and 5G transformation services.

    “With this launch, we introduce our 5G platform to support the beginning of a huge change in network capabilities, allowing our customers to offer more advanced use cases and new business models to their customers. It is an important milestone enabling operators to continue their evolution journey to 5G,”

    SK Telecom and Ericsson separately revealed that they completed the first end-to-end demonstration of a 5G trial system at Ericsson’s lab in Kista, Sweden late last year.

    The live demonstration was based on joint development with SK Telecom. It used Ericsson’s Cloud Core, virtual RAN and over-the-air new radio/LTE interworking technologies.

    Nokia separately announced it has successfully conducted the first connection based on the pre-standard 5GTF interface.

    The trial at Oulo in Finland used commercially available 5G-ready Nokia AirScale radio access and AirFrame data center platforms. It used an Intel 5G mobile trial platform designed to support both sub 6-GHz and mmWave 5G bands.

    “This first 5G connection is a true landmark for the telecommunications industry, and yet another mark of Nokia’s capabilities in 5G,” Nokia head of 5G Harold Graham said.

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  • Digi.Com plans to raise $1.12b through Islamic bonds

    Digi.Com plans to raise $1.12b through Islamic bonds

    Malaysia’s Digi.Com has secured approval to raise 5 billion ringgit ($1.12 billion) through via sukuk (Islamic bond) programs.

    The company’s unit Digi Telecommunications will issue the bonds, and the proceeds will be used to finance the company’s capex, working capital and other funding requirements.

    In a statement to the local stock exchange, Digi said the company plans to use the funds to invest in data and digital growth opportunities, as well as expanding its LTE-Advanced network, the digitization of the core business as well as investments in spectrum and other strategic assets.

    The operator said the sukuk program will allow it to tap into opportunities in the debt capital market with a wider and more diverse base of investors.

    Malaysian bond market credit rating service provider RAM Holdings has assigned the sukuk programs a AAA/Stable rating.

    Digi.Com is 49% owned by Telenor Asia. The operator reported a net profit of 1.63 billion ringgit in 2016, down 5.2% from the previous year, and its total debt increased by 988 million ringgit to 2.3 billion ringgit, due largely to upfront spectrum costs.

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  • SmarTone 1H profit falls 2%

    SmarTone 1H profit falls 2%

    Hong Kong’s SmarTone has reported a 2% year-on-year decline in net profit for the six months ending in December to HK$393 million ($50.6 million).

    Group service revenue fell 4% over the same period to HK$2.67 billion. SmarTone blamed the decline in part on on customers continuing to migrate to SIM only plans. This led to a 64% decline in handset and accessory sales to HK$7.45 billion.

    Other factors contributing to the decline included well as weakness in the prepaid segment of the mobile market, as well as ongoing OTT substitution impacting voice roaming revenues.

    SmarTone’s Hong Kong customer base grew to 2 million, with mobile postpaid ARPU stable at HK$299.

    Announcing its results, the operator said a strong focus on efficiency during the period helped the operator control costs – operating costs grew just 1% year-on-year despite substantial growth in customers’ data consumption.

    Looking ahead, SmarTone said it expects the pressures on profitability – including rising specrtum costs – to continue in the second half of the financial year.

    The company also joined PCCW’s HKT in urging the government to accelerate the release of more spectrum to the industry and provide a clear spectrum supply roadmap.

    HKT has expressed concern over the fact that no new spectrum is expected to be allocated for mobile use for the next three years, and has urged the government to start preparing now for the arrival of 5G.

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  • SKT, DT, Ericsson demo 5G federated network slicing

    SKT, DT, Ericsson demo 5G federated network slicing

    SK Telecom, Ericsson and Deutsche Telekom have successfully built and demonstrated the world’s first intercontinental 5G trial network.

    The companies used federated network slicing for 5G roaming between trial networks in South Korea and Germany.

    The demonstration was hosted at SK Telecom’s 5G Testbed at the BMW driving center at Yeoungjong-do, as well as Deutsche Telekom’s corporate R&D center in Bonn, Germany.

    With 5G technology, network slicing will allow operators to configure end-to-end networks that provide the desired functionality and service parameters. Federated network slicing will extend this functionality to visited networks for roaming services.

    Implementing this will require enhanced cooperation between international operators, because it will require them to open their networks to host partner services.

    This will require pre-existing agreements covering aspects including network slice availability at the access layer, availability in the core network and connections to customer application services. The network slicing will be managed by edge cloud resources.

    “5G is not just a faster network. 5G will provide extreme user experience anywhere and anytime, even when the user roams across different operators globally,” SK Telecom CTO Alex Jinsung Choi  said.

    “Federated network slicing will enable seamless platform sharing among operators at a global scale for continuous and guaranteed user experience.”

    SK Telecom plans to show off federated network slicing functionality at Mobile World Congress 2017 in Barcelona later this month.

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  • 47% of mobile users still only call and text

    47% of mobile users still only call and text

    Despite the great strides being made to bring mobility services to the global population, recent research indicates that nearly half of mobile users worldwide still only use their devices to make calls and send SMS.

    The consumer research from GSMA Intelligence, covering 56 markets collectively representing 80% of the world’s population, found that 47% of adult mobile phone owners only make calls and send texts.

    But this segment is expected to shrink to 29% by 2030 as users across the developing world benefit from advances in mobile innovation, affordability and availability.

    The report ranked countries covered in terms of their citizens’ mobile engagement, or the frequency and diversity of use of mobile devices. South Korea and Qatar ranked equal first in terms of  engagement. The only other APAC nation to make it into the top 10 was Australia in seventh place.

    “In an era of mobile being near ubiquitous around the world and at the centre of people’s lifestyles, there is a growing need to measure mobile user engagement levels to identify future industry growth opportunities,” GSMA chief strategy officer Hyunmi Yang said.

    “Consumer behaviours are continuing to change as mobile devices get smarter, services grow richer and societies become more connected. The Global Mobile Engagement Index is a unique industry tool to help understand these shifting trends.”

    The research found that in some markets – such as Myanmar – smartphone ownership is relatively high but engagement remains low due to digital illiteracy and a lack of relevant local content.

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  • Telstra 1H profit falls 14.4% to $1.38b

    Telstra 1H profit falls 14.4% to $1.38b

    Australia’s largest operator Telstra has reported a 14.4% decline in net profit for the first half of its financial year to A$1.79 billion ($1.38 billion), as the company dealt with an increasingly competitive market.

    Revenue for the six months ended in December fell 6.4% to A$12.8 billion, with fixed line revenue down 4.7% to A$3.3 billion and mobile revenue falling 8.7% to A$5 billion.

    Telstra added 200,000 new mobile subscribers, including 79,000 postpaid customers. Postpaid ARPU declined 2.6% but is showing signs of stabilizing, the operator said.

    On the fixed line side, Telstra acts as one of numerous retail resellers of services over the national broadband network (NBN). Telstra’s NBN customers grew by 292,000 to 792,000 giving the company a market share – excluding the small number of customers serviced by the NBN’s satellite service – of around 51%.

    Network applications and services revenue meanwhile grew 18% to A$1.5 billion due to higher revenue from cloud services as well as services provided to industry, including Telstra’s share of revenue from NBN commercial works.

    Telstra CEO Andrew Penn said the results indicate that the company performed relatively well in a tightly competitive environment.

    “It is significant that we were able to increase subscriber numbers in mobiles and retail fixed plans despite the increased competition,” he said.

    “We have a clear strategy to differentiate our products through the speed, coverage and reliability of our networks, innovative product design and new customer experiences, including access to media content. We are committed to improve the experience we provide our customers and as announced last year, we are investing up to $3 billion incremental capital expenditure in networks for the future and digitisation of the business.”

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  • Alibaba Cloud boosts capacity of Hong Kong data center

    Alibaba Cloud boosts capacity of Hong Kong data center

    Alibaba Cloud has more than doubled the capacity of its data center in Hong Kong to help the company meet glowing demand for cloud services in Asia-Pacific.

    The expanded Hong Kong data center will be used to meet enterprises’ demand for high availability and data recovery and provide greater access to services such as data storage and analytics, enterprise-level middleware and cloud security services.

    The expansion forms part of Alibaba Cloud’s efforts to expand its global network coverage, and follows recent data center openings in Australia, Japan, Germany and the UAE.

    Alibaba Cloud said Hong Kong was selected due to its status as the gateway to China’s economy for international businesses and its region-leading role in terms of cloud adoption – the city scored the highest in the Asia Cloud Computing Association’s Cloud Readiness Index 2016.

    “Since our entry into Hong Kong in 2014, Alibaba Cloud has become one of the largest public cloud providers in the market in less than two years. More companies have come to realize the importance of changing their traditional IT mind-set to embrace the new data technology,” Alibaba Cloud Global general manager Ethan Yu said.

    “We are confident that the expanded data center facility, together with our scalable and secure cloud offering, will better meet the needs of the digital transformation in key local sectors such as hospitality and financial services.”

    Alibaba Cloud’s Hong Kong operations has customers in sectors including financial services, retail, hospitality and media. The company also recently launched anti-DDoS security products together with PCCW Global.

  • Nokia adds 10Gbps PON to mobile transport solution

    Nokia adds 10Gbps PON to mobile transport solution

    Nokia has added 10Gbps PON and point-to-point fiber to its access portfolio to help meet demand for high-capacity mobile transport in the 5G era.

    The mobile transport solution is designed to allow operators to use existing PONs used in FTTH deployments to gain the capacity and coverage 5G requires.

    The portfolio is also being used as part of a Bell Labs proof-of-concept to demonstrate the flexibility of 10G symmetrical PON networks for low latency applications such as mobile fronthaul.

    By adding gateway functionality, Nokia is able to convert mobile fronthaul CPRI signals to Ethernet, the company said.

    “The biggest opportunity on the horizon for fixed networks is the arrival of 5G. It’s clear that 5G will require very high capacity and low delay, but what is less certain is just how much capacity will be required for backhaul and what latency will be sufficient,” Nokia president of fixed networks Federico Guillen said.

    “We take the guesswork out of the equation. Our solution allows operators to access existing PON networks that have virtually unlimited capacity to meet their needs today, with the added flexibility to add 10G PON evolutions gradually as demand for more bandwidth and services increases. The massive throughput and cell densification strategy of 5G make it a perfect match for existing FTTH deployments.”

    Meanwhile Calix announced it has worked with New Zealand’s Northpower Fibre to complete the first demonstration of 10Gbps NG-PON2 technology in a live network.

    Northpower Fibre plans to deploy NG-PON2 technology based on Calix’s AXOS software-defined access architecture to help differentiate in New Zealand’s growing Ultra-Fast Broadband (UFB) marketplace stimulated by the government’s second phase of the UFB program.

    “New Zealand is undergoing a major broadband vitalization effort, and we see the emergence of NG-PON2 technology as a major enabler going forward,” Northpower Fibre CEO Darren Mason said.

    “As attention in the second phase of UFB shifts from the cities to bring fiber broadband to more rural areas, Northpower Fibre will be leading the way having committed to connect 12 new towns to fiber within the next four years.”

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  • Dialog Axiata lifts FY16 profit by 74%

    Dialog Axiata lifts FY16 profit by 74%

    Sri Lanka’s Dialog Axiata boosted its net profit for FY16 by 74% year-on-year to 9 billion rupees ($59.4 million), recording strong growth across all its business segments.

    The operator reported total revenue of 86.7 billion rupees, up 17% year-on-year, with revenue from its core business increasing 16% to 73 billion. Mobile customers increased to 11.8 million.

    Dialog Broadband Networks revenue grew 28% to 9.3 billion rupees, but the division’s net loss more than doubled to 385 million rupees due to higher depreciation and finance costs.

    Dialog Television revenue meanwhile grew 5% to 6.1 billion rupees, but its net loss also more than doubled to 644 million rupees.

    The group’s total capex for the year reached 23.2 billion rupees, representing a capex to revenue ratio of 27%. The bulk of spending went towards investments in high speed broadband infrastructure aimed at strengthening Dialog’s position in Sri Lanka’s broadband sector.

    For the fourth quarter, Dialog reported a 5% increase in revenue growth to 7.4 billion rupees. The company attributed the slower growth to the reintroduction of Sri Lanka’s value added tax at the start of November.

    Net profit for the quarter meanwhile declined 56% quarter-on-quarter to 1.3 billion rupees, due to lower pre-tax earnings, increased depreciation and higher non-cash forex losses.

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  • IBM extends Smarter Cities grant program

    IBM extends Smarter Cities grant program

    IBM is extending its annual Smarter Cities Challenge, a worldwide grant program that provides pro bono consulting to assist cities in improving the critical services they provide to citizens.

    For this next round, the company is seeking proposals from city leaders that could benefit greatly from IBM’s technology such as data analytics, cloud computing, cognitive computing, and comprehensive weather data.

    Leaders of cities or regional governments must submit brief statements of interest to IBM by February 24. Ten grant recipients for pro bono consulting engagements will be announced in late spring.

    Smarter Cities Challenge grant recipients receive a team of five or six IBM employees who are deployed to the country for three weeks to work closely with local government and community leaders.

    They analyze the data they gathered and use its insights to offer support that can take the form of strategic recommendations, data-driven tools, implementation roadmaps and workshops, and staff training.

    IBM’s Smarter Cities Challenge has deployed 800 of IBM’s top employee talent to more than 130 cities worldwide in the past six years to improve inequities and disparities.

    “Cities around the world are under enormous, daily pressure to tackle growing challenges with ever more limited resources,” said Jennifer Crozier, IBM’s vice president of Global Citizenship Initiatives.

    “Often, they lack access to the most innovative technology solutions and insights that could be applied to solve those problems and improve services. We look forward to sharing IBM’s data and analytics and cognitive computing expertise to help make meaningful and lasting improvements.”

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  • Thailand’s first 5G demo achieved 5.7Gbps speeds

    Thailand’s first 5G demo achieved 5.7Gbps speeds

    The first live 5G end-to-end demonstration in Thailand using Ericsson’s 5G test bed and 5G-ready core achieved 5.7Gbps throughput and 3 milliseconds latency.

    The three-day showcase was held in late January, and Ericsson said the demonstration marks a step towards realizing the Thai government’s vision of a Digital Thailand.

    “We expect to have broadband connectivity everywhere in Thailand, both big cities and over 75,000 villages nationwide by 2018,” commented Takorn Tantasith, secretary general of regulator NBTC.

    “Along with the fixed internet deployment, we plan to release more spectrum bandwidth of 380 MHz by 2020, which will add to the existing 420 MHz already allocated to the telecommunications industry.”

    Nadine Allen, Head of Ericsson Thailand, disclosed that according to Ericsson’s Digital Thailand report, Thai consumers are ahead of, or on par with, global peers when it comes to embracing ICT and they are ready for the Internet of Things.

    She said the multi-gigabit speeds afforded by 5G will ensure that the technology is a viable and cost-effective alternative to residential fiber connections.

    Other technology innovations presented in the showcase include advancements in Radio Network Evolution, Industrialized Cloud, Connected Industries, and Digital Business Solutions.

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  • Indonesia launches Telkom 3S satellite successfully

    Indonesia launches Telkom 3S satellite successfully

    The Indonesia’s biggest telecommunication company Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Telkom) has successfully launched its Telkom 3S satellite from Arianespace’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, at 6.39 p.m. on February 14 local time or Wednesday at 4.39 am Jakarta time.

    The US$215 million worth satellite carries 24 C-band, eight extended C-band, and 10 Ku-band transponders, which intends to provide high-definition television services, faster mobile communications and Internet applications across the sprawling archipelago of over than 17,000 islands.

    “With Telkom 3S, Telkom will have a total of three satellites. The launching intends to increase the coverage since Telkom 1 and Telkom 2 has the same coverage with Telkom 3S. The reason is that our capacity is not enough; we still rent [transponders] from other countries,” Telkom’s president director Alex J. Sinaga said.

    Telkom 3S will first travel to 135.5 degrees east for testing purposes; then it will reach the final orbital position at 118 degrees east. The US$215 billion worth satellite is fitted with 24 C-band, eight extended C-band and 10 Ku-band transponders.

    Alex said that it would take ten days from the satellite launched until it could reach 135.5 degrees orbital position for testing purposes. After that, the spacecraft would be moved one degree a day to reach its fixed orbital position at 118 degrees east, he added.

    Top executives from PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia including president director Alex J. Sinaga (center), chief technology officer Abdus Somad Arief (second from right) and satellite project head Tonda Priyanto (right) pose after the successful launch of Telkom 3S on Tuesday. The satellite was launched according to plan at 6.39 p.m. from Kourou, French Guiana.(JP/Winny Tang)

    Arianespace has successfully orbited two satellites: Telkom 3s for Telkom Indonesia, together with SKY Brasil-1 for the operator AT&T/ DirectTV.

    “Arianespace is delighted to announce that SKY Brasil-1 and Telkom 3s have been separated as planned on the targeted geostationary orbit,” Stéphane Israël is the Chairman and CEO of Arianespace said in the satellite viewing site named Jupiter control room on Tuesday night local time.

    Replacing the position of Telkom 2, the Telkom 3S, which has a lifespan of 15 years, will cover Indonesia and a part of neighboring Malaysia.

    Apart from Indonesia, other countries, such as Brazil, Mexico and other South American countries, have also launched their satellites from the country.

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  • Singapore CIOs taking action against BYOD threats

    Singapore CIOs taking action against BYOD threats

    CIOs in Singapore are stepping up their fight against the security risks posed by the widespread adoption of BYOD practices.

    More than one in three (36%) CIOs say a lack of employee knowledge and skills around data security is the most significant security risk their organisation will face in the next five years, according to a report from Robert Half.

    While traditionally, the response to IT security has been to find the optimum way to protect a business’ assets from external security attacks, a growing risk now faces organisations in the form of potential internal security threats.

    This threat is made evident by the fact that almost three in four (74%) CIOs allow their employees to access corporate data on their personal devices.

    Matthieu Imbert-Bouchard, managing director of Robert Half Singapore said that BYOD practices offer many advantages such as increased employee satisfaction, productivity and cost savings, so companies must take steps to balance both their employees’ needs and their security concerns.

    To combat the ongoing threat posed by BYOD, nearly all (97%) of CIOs are taking action to protect their company from potential data breaches.

    The most common response (58%) is to train personnel on cyber-security policies and corporate practices when using their personal devices. Signing an acceptable use policy also seems to be standard practice for more than half (57%) of the Singaporean companies.

    Technical applications are being implemented as 53% say they are deploying mobile device management technology and 52% are using authentication software.

    There is an increased demand for IT security specialists with the niche skills needed to protect companies against data security risks, including risks related to BYOD. But finding the right skillset is a challenge, with all of Singaporean CIOs saying it is difficult to source skilled technology professionals, with one in three (29%) saying professionals with mobile security skills are the most in demand.