Retail News CRM

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.

  • StarHub and Software AG partner for new 5G IoT platform service

    StarHub and Software AG partner for new 5G IoT platform service

    As Internet of Things (IoT) plays an increasingly important role in driving digital economies and business success, Singapore’s StarHub and Germany-based Software AG have teamed up to offer an end-to-end 5G-ready IoT service to help organizations in Singapore accelerate IoT implementations on a massive scale.

    Through this partnership, StarHub is proud to offer 5G IoT platform service, a new one-stop solution that provides IoT connectivity including StarHub’s 5G, device management, professional services to integrate existing or new systems, and managed services to run the entire IoT environment for any organization.

    As a comprehensive platform, the 5G IoT platform service intelligently connects, manages, and monitors millions of IoT devices deployed for different applications, creates customizable analytics, and provides APIs to integrate with existing and new systems. This will help organizations to accelerate their IoT implementations. It is offered to companies as a service on a subscription model, allowing full flexibility, instant scalability, and financial prudence.

    Charlie Chan, Chief of Enterprise Business Group at StarHub, said: “Amid digital disruption and rapid changes in the economy, StarHub’s call remains the same – Our customers are transforming to remain globally competitive, and we want to be our customers’ enabling partner of choice when it comes to both core connectivity and innovative managed solutions. We are pleased to collaborate with Software AG to provide an advanced, 5G-ready IoT solution that helps our customers across multiple industries including property, retail, and transport, speed up or scale IoT implementations to boost productivity and innovation as well as realize cost-saving.”

    Bernd Gross, CTO of Software AG added: “Data is so fundamentally important for businesses to succeed in the future that they must master how to collect and analyze it if they are to be competitive. 5G brings more speed, lower latency, and support for a massive amount of endpoints, which means that data can flow between the edge and the core of any organization. Once you know what’s happening in every part of your business, you can understand how to make it better – and that is the opportunity we will bring to customers alongside StarHub.”

    StarHub’s 5G IoT platform service allows organizations to aggregate all of its existing IoT applications and connected devices for a real-time, clear overview on a single aggregator platform, without a need for platform migration. New IoT applications and connected devices can also be integrated easily with this aggregator platform. With that, enterprise customers can acquire and analyze massive volumes of data from its existing independent IoT systems to gain new, accurate, in-depth understanding of how well their assets operate, in a consolidated manner.

    In the case of a public transport operator, StarHub’s 5G IoT platform service can provide real-time vehicle tracking, automated inspection of the vehicle condition and predict potential issues of the vehicles to take precautionary measures, improve fleet operational efficiency and reduce downtime. With additional data such as weather, traffic conditions, the operations director can view and analyze these insights from the same dashboard and act accordingly to optimize the fleet.

    For a facility management company, it can use StarHub’s 5G IoT platform service to develop smart building maintenance strategies to serve building owners better, differentiate their services from competition or improves operational efficiencies. This is because the service can bring together separate IoT systems that manage different areas of the facility – electricity consumption, rubbish bin usage, washroom cleanliness, footfall, and more, presenting a complete picture of all IoT data. With the right information and context about what is going on in the building, the facility manager can pinpoint issues and trace faults quickly or carry out preventive maintenance responsibly.

  • Looking to replace lost smartphone sales, Huawei turns to pig farming

    Looking to replace lost smartphone sales, Huawei turns to pig farming

    Huawei should have been the top smartphone manufacturer in the world last year. The company had a plan in place to take over the top spot by 2021 and despite losing access to its U.S. suppliers (including Google) in 2019, by early 2020 the company had topped Samsung and Apple to become the largest smartphone manufacturer in the world. But then the other shoe dropped. Exactly one year to the day that the U.S. Commerce Department put Huawei on the entity list forcing the Chinese firm to stop doing business with Google, the U.S. made an export rule change. All of a sudden, foundries using American sourced tech were no longer allowed to ship to Huawei without a license.

    Obtaining the most cutting-edge chipsets for its phones and 5G base stations became impossible. In an ironic twist, even chips designed by Huawei were off-limits to it and the firm’s smartphone sales plunged 42% during the fourth quarter when the ban started. The U.S. considered Huawei, ZTE, and some other Chinese firms to be national security threats due to its alleged ties with the Communist Chinese government.

    In November, Huawei sold its Honor sub brand so that the latter would not be banned from obtaining chips and U.S. components because of its association with Huawei. The $15 billion that Huawei received in the sale was certainly needed and now the company could end up the seventh-largest smartphone manufacturer this year. Huawei’s smartphone production could drop by 60% this year although the company could not confirm the figure. A Huawei spokesman said, “The issue here is not like there’s any problems with our quality or experiences of the Huawei products. It’s not a level playing field for Huawei as Huawei is caught in between the geopolitical tensions.”

    The company has been looking for other sources of income which has led it to the pig farming industry. That’s right, Huawei, the company behind one of the most technologically advanced smartphone lines in the world, is in the business of farming pigs. This is a major industry in China where 50% of the world’s live hogs are located. Huawei is actually bringing tech to the industry with facial recognition used to identify individual pigs. Farms are using other technology to monitor pigs’ diet, weight and exercise. A Huawei spokesman, discussing the tech firm’s entry into pig farming, said, “The pig farming is yet another example of how we try to revitalize some traditional industries with ICT (Information and Communications Technology) technologies to create more value for the industries in the 5G era.”

    Besides pig farming, Huawei wants to branch out into the mining industry. Company founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei introduced a mining lab earlier this month. Using Huawei technology, Ren wants to turn miners into white collar workers allowing them to wear suits and ties to work. With the company’s technology, the mining industry will see “fewer workers, greater safety, and higher efficiency.” The executive added that Huawei will continue expanding its television, tablet, and computer lines.

    This is important because Ren doesn’t see the U.S. removing his company from the entity list. Even so, he states that “We can still survive even without relying on phone sales.” And even though the company is looking at new sources to bring in revenue, it hasn’t given up on the phone business. Huawei is still expected to release its two flagship models this year, the P50 and the Mate 50 lines. The company is expected to use its home-grown HarmonyOS for both models.

    While Huawei might be losing market share in smartphones, it still remains the top provider of networking equipment in the world. Still, Huawei needs to be careful with how it proceeds. After all, there is a long-time saying on Wall Street: “Bears make money, bulls make money and pigs get slaughtered.”

    Lees ook:

  • Infinet Wireless expands footprint with new regional office in Delhi

    Infinet Wireless expands footprint with new regional office in Delhi

    Infinet Wireless, the global leader in fixed wireless broadband connectivity, has opened a new regional office in India in line with the company’s growth strategy of accessing emerging markets. This new presence will be managed by Hari Shanker Pandey, a Regional Director. Mr. Pandey has considerable experience in the telecom and high-tech industry has been in charge of business development and sales growth in various companies. He will steer the strategic growth directions of Infinet Wireless by applying his knowledge and skills to work on expanding Infinet Wireless’ presence in India and nearby countries.

    Infinet Wireless’ office in this region was opened at the beginning of 2021. At the moment, the company is actively preparing the ground for testing deployment of its equipment and dealing with local partners and integrators. Infinet Wireless’ goals in the market are to reach out to local telecom segment, including connection provision to corporate and municipal clients, as well as middle-scale and large-scale operators; organizing radio links with mobile objects in the mining industry and deployment of technological lines for customers of different types.

    Infinet Wireless is planning the launch of its innovative solutions to a completely new market for the company, starting with its Quanta 5 / Quanta 6 product family aimed at organizing PtP radio links. In addition, Infinet Wireless can offer base stations and subscriber terminals of InfiMAN Evolution product family. These provide excellent throughput for PtMP radio links, and are compatible with Infinet Wireless products of previous generation, enabling operators to both deploy new infrastructures and expand coverage of existing networks in the 4.9–6.5 GHz range.

    One of the most outstanding features of Infinet Wireless devices is that it can work in the harshest weather conditions, as are typical for India, which is famous for its extremely high humidity and heavy rains, while in the highlands, low temperatures and strong winds can be a feature as well.

    Infinet Wireless products are also well-known for having one of the world’s longest mean times between failures, which is almost 10 years. It can be said that Infinet Wireless solutions represent carrier-grade products, whose quality is assured by Service Level Agreement (SLA).

    ‘India is a very prominent market for Russia, and we’re proud of the fact that Infinet Wireless, being a company of Russian origin, has an opportunity to enter this market and open a regional office there. Taking into account the close and cordial relationship between Russia and India, we count on a warm welcome for our solutions. India is a huge market with a developing infrastructure, and we’re sure that our products will be integrated perfectly into this strategically important sector for country’s economy ‘, said Roman Smirnov, Commercial Director at Infinet Wireless.

    Currently the company’s representatives are actively negotiating a certification of Infinet Wireless solutions and building the first testing zones.

    Established in 1993, Infinet Wireless is the global developer and manufacturer of reliable Broadband Wireless Access solutions used to create carrier-grade wireless backbones and access networks for service providers. The products are also a natural choice for global communication providers, corporations and municipalities who require uncompromised connectivity.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Viettel leaps 32 places in global brand ranking

    Viettel leaps 32 places in global brand ranking

    Vietnam’s largest telecommunication service provider Viettel has climbed 32 positions to rank 325th most valuable brand in the world in 2021.

    Currently valued at $6.01 billion, up 3.4 percent from the previous year, Viettel is the only telecom brand in Southeast Asia to break into the global ranking compiled by Brand Finance, a London-based branded business valuation consultancy.

    The military-owned firm reported revenues of VND264 trillion ($11.47 billion) last year, up 4.4 percent from 2019, and a pre-tax profit of VND39.8 trillion, up 4.1 percent.

    Viettel attributed the results to digital transformation and its switch from being a telecom services provider to a digital services provider. In 2020, the platforms it developed included digital infrastructure, solutions, content, finance, and cybersecurity.

    By manufacturing 5G equipment and trialing 5G services, the company made Vietnam one of only six countries in the world to master the technology.

    The Brand Finance Global 500 list covers 20 sectors in 29 markets, using a sample size of 55,000 adults over 18 years old.

    There are just 34 telecom companies in the 2021 listing of the world’s top 500 brands by value. Most of them saw their values fall last year.

  • Nepal selects frequency to embark on 5G services

    Nepal selects frequency to embark on 5G services

    Nepal’s National Telecommunication Authority (NTA) has determined its 5G frequency as the country prepares to deploy 5G service. NTA will follow the recommendations set out by the National Frequency Management Forum, a body initiated by the NTA, the Ministry of Communications & Information Technology (MoCIT) and telecommunications operators.

    According to NTA’s spokesperson, Meen Prasad Aryal, the National Radio Frequency Policy Determination Committee has received a proposal with recommendations using 700 MHz, 900 MHz, 2300 MHz and 2600 MHz for the low-band spectrum, 3300 MHz, 3400 MHz, 3600 MHz and 4100 MHz for the mid-band spectrum, and 26 GHz for the high-band spectrum.

    Established to manage existing and new spectrums, the National Frequency Management Forum performed studies for 5G spectrums before recommending a suitable spectrum for allocation. The National Radio Frequency Policy Determination Committee must now approve NTA’s proposed frequencies before spectrums will be allocated to operators.

    Lees ook:

  • High band 5G mmWave takes 5G to the next level

    High band 5G mmWave takes 5G to the next level

    As 5G technology becomes increasingly widespread, attention is veering towards high band 5G mmWave spectrum to deliver greater capacity and faster performance levels for data-intensive 5G mobile communications such as video communications, as well as virtual and augmented reality.

    With mobile experiences become more sophisticated, networks are pressured to expand wireless spectrums to support large bandwidths and high data rates for 5G systems to drive technology evolution. For mobile operators, 5G mmWave presents an opportunity to deliver unparalleled performance benefits for fixed wireless, enterprises and industrial applications for a broad set of use cases such as smart factories, supply chain visibility and indoor navigation.

    Even though high band mmWave is not new, it fell short previously owing to challenges such as high propagation losses and sensitivity to blockages by human bodies and buildings. But these issues can be resolved as mmWave combines line-of-sight (LOS) and non-line-of-sight (NLOS) signals with distributed antenna designs and advanced beamformers to expand a network’s coverage.

    While 5G low bands deliver 5G coverage over long distances, 5G high bands or mmWave deliver optimal coverage over short distances, and best complemented with low and mid bands for improved capacity and coverage. The earliest adopter of 5G mmWave is the US, which opted for high band spectrum first in its 5G strategy. This is contrary to most countries, which opted for mid-band spectrums first, before pursuing high band mmWave.

    For mmWave to pick further momentum now, stakeholders such as regulators, mobile operators and vendors must come together. For regulators, it means embracing 5G and freeing up mmWave bands to mobile operators to grow their coverage beyond low- and mid-band spectrums, and hence enable high capacity delivery and enhanced handling of peak rates. By fuelling 5G performance levels, countries that make digital transformation a priority can yield greater economic benefits in the long run. Likewise, vendors must support this evolution by continuing to roll out suitable and even improved mobile devices and customer premises equipment (CPE) that are accessible and affordable.

    According to GSA, about 106 operators in 20 countries and/or territories hold public licenses of 5G networks utilizing mmWave spectrum. Of which, only about 24 operators in 15 countries and/or territories are using mmWave to power deployed 5G networks. In November 2019, World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-19) identified new frequencies for IMT. While 5G mmWave is more predominant in the US and Europe, Asia Pacific is slowly coming into the picture, with Japan being the earliest adopter, followed by South Korea.

    Other countries such as Singapore and Thailand have just awarded mmWave allocations last year. Of which, Singapore Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) awarded three mobile operators 800 MHz of 26 GHz and 28 GHz mmWave. One of the operators, Singtel, has switched on mmWave in certain areas in the city, with dedicated experiences zones to provide users 3.2 Gbps streamed content powered by 5G mmWave. The mobile operator will also be working with enterprise customers to develop autonomous guided vehicles and mixed reality.

    Meanwhile, Thailand’s National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) auctioned 26 GHz to three mobile operators, namely AIS, Dtac and TrueMove H. In the region, Australia is the latest to open applications for auction of 26 GHz and 28 GHz mmWave spectrums. India is very likely to carry out 5G spectrum auctions soon.

    On the other hand, in anticipation of the rise of mmWave in the region, Taiwan-based semiconductor firm MediaTek recently unveiled M80, its first mmWave-capable modem. Launched in the same month, M80 will be in direct competition with Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 5G modem.

    Also competing in the emerging mmWave space, NEC leverages on its expertise in digital beamforming technology and Massive-MIMO in launching a distributed-MIMO technology that delivers three times the number of simultaneous connections and transmission capacity in the 28 GHz mmWave frequency band – using a large number of distributed antennas rather than in a single tray.

    It also helps that there are new technologies to support a denser and more cost-effective 5G mmWave network to deliver the desired low latency and high speed. Using integrated access and backhaul (IAB), base stations not only provide wireless access for users, but also wirelessly backhaul from nearby base stations using the same mmWave spectrum. This results in improved performance, greater efficiency of spectrum resources and lower costs, thereby allowing operators to expand their mmWave networks readily and more affordably.

    Even though APAC is behind in terms of mmWave adoption, when compared to the US, some countries are quick in catching up. Taiwan, for instance, claims the first spot in launching a smart factory powered by a private 5G mmWave network.

    According to Research and Markets, the global mmWave technology market is predicted to grow from US$1 billion in 2020 to US$3.4 billion by 2025. During this time, APAC is projected to grow at the fastest rate. Clearly, 5G mmWave is an important criterion worldwide, and particularly in APAC as countries grow their network bandwidth and capacity to enable full-fledge 5G services and experiences.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Tata Communications partners Google Cloud India for public cloud services

    Tata Communications partners Google Cloud India for public cloud services

    Tata Communications, a global digital ecosystem enabler, announced its partnership with Google Cloud to drive cloud adoption and transform Indian businesses. With this partnership, Tata Communications has further expanded its managed public cloud services portfolio to include capabilities for Google Cloud.

    The partnership between Tata Communications and Google Cloud India will enable organizations to deploy and access Google Cloud services through Tata Communications’ IZO™ Managed Cloud while providing them ease-of-use coupled with end-to-end services, including cloud architecture planning, workload migration and ongoing operational support.

    As a Google Cloud India Partner, Tata Communications will support organizations with services across infrastructure modernization, data center transformation, application modernization, smart analytics, multi-cloud deployments and more.

    Tata Communications IZO™ Managed Cloud provides the right expertise, infrastructure, and support services to drive business growth and improve performance. Tata Communications’ IZO™ Cloud Command portal offers a single-pane-of-glass orchestration tool that integrates different enterprise IT environments into a single dashboard and simplifies the management and orchestration of the IT estate, offering a unified cloud experience. It provides a comprehensive view of IT resource utilization (across on-premise, private, Google Cloud), thus enabling greater control for the customer, resulting in cost efficiencies and improved productivity.

    With the current global scenario, there is wider recognition for business resilience and agility that cloud enables; most businesses are now beginning to explore a cloud-first model. DevOps, a set of practices that combine software development and IT operations, has become an important requirement for enterprises. To make applications future-ready, businesses are modernizing them by leveraging Containers and Kubernetes (an open-source platform for container orchestration), as they offer businesses the scalability and portability they need to be agile and build a competitive edge, enabling self-service provisioning and capacity-on-demand with ease.

    Tata Communications’ services can manage Kubernetes on Google Cloud platform that can enable application modernization seamlessly, which is an essential need as enterprises graduate in the hybrid multi-cloud environments.

    According to an IDC survey, more than 60 percent of Indian organizations plan to leverage cloud platforms for digital innovation, as they re-strategize their IT spending plans. Tata Communications and Google Cloud India together have market-leading capabilities across a spectrum of services for customers looking to reframe their business blueprint.

    “The current demands on enterprises to manage and optimize their cloud solutions has never been more important, especially in the wake of COVID-19 and our increasing reliance on cloud infrastructure,” says Rajesh Awasthi, Global Head of Cloud and Managed Hosting Services at Tata Communications. “As organizations migrate to Google Cloud, they need a partner that will support them across their entire IT ecosystem and deliver a unified cloud management platform that offers greater transparency, control and security of their data and applications.”

    “The true test of 2021 will be how organizations adopt a cloud-first approach. Through our partnership with Tata Communications, we will be able to provide our customers with a unified, end-to-end experience that will remove the complexity in cloud management and help them transform at speed and scale”, said Amitabh Jacob, Head of Partners and Alliances at Google Cloud India.

    Lees ook:

  • Huawei and China Mobile deploy world’s first 4.9 Ghz 5G indoor network with peak rate exceeding 3Gbps

    Huawei and China Mobile deploy world’s first 4.9 Ghz 5G indoor network with peak rate exceeding 3Gbps

    Huawei and China Mobile Shanghai deployed the world’s first 4.9 GHz commercial LampSite network in Shanghai, China. This is the first time that an aggregate bandwidth of 200 MHz on the 2.6 and 4.9 GHz bands and distributed Massive MIMO have been simultaneously implemented in digital indoor networks. With the peak rate exceeding 3 Gbps, the performance is comparable to that of an active antenna unit (AAU), satisfying the network requirements to provide premium service experience at large stadiums where the traffic demand and user density are high.

    This deployment was completed at the Shanghai New International Expo Center (SNIEC) where Mobile World Congress (MWC) Shanghai, an annual telecom industry event, is hosted. In 2019, nearly 60,000 people attended this event. The latest 4.9 GHz LampSite units supporting a bandwidth of 100 MHz were adopted to work together with the incumbent 2.6 GHz band to ensure a bandwidth of 200 MHz through carrier aggregation. This enhances the coverage of indoor networks at capacity-demanding indoor hotspots, including stadiums, airports, and railway stations, to deliver premium experience to mobile users.

    China Mobile Shanghai has been a leading telecom carrier in developing 5G networks. To date, it has constructed more than 13,000 5G sites, basically achieving continuous coverage in the city.

    This telecom carrier boasts leading networks and evident technological advantages. It has been working with Huawei to explore innovative solutions to guarantee mobile excellent user experience in various scenarios. 4.9 GHz is an ideal option for telecom carriers to enhance coverage in indoor hotspots, ensuring premium indoor experience for toC services. This band is also important to ensure 5G coverage in high-quality toB applications.

    China Mobile Shanghai will continue to work with Huawei to accelerate the deployment of 5G sites to deliver the continuous coverage required to ensure premium service experience across the city. It will also continue to promote the collaboration of the telecom industry with other industries, such as finance, shipping, and trade to cement Shanghai’s leadership in applying 5G to vertical industries by leveraging their respective leading advantages.

    Lees ook:

  • ZTE partners China Telecom and MediaTek to complete industry’s first E2E commercial verification of FAST

    ZTE partners China Telecom and MediaTek to complete industry’s first E2E commercial verification of FAST

    ZTE Corporation, a major international provider of telecommunications, enterprise and consumer technology solutions for the Mobile Internet, announced that the Sichuan Branch of China Telecom, ZTE and MediaTek have jointly completed the industry’s first end-to-end commercial verification of FAST in Chengdu.

    Based on ZTE’s 5G-NR system and MediaTek’s UE imbedded with Dimensity chipsets, the Sichuan Branch of China Telecom has conducted the verification of FAST in commercial network of 2.1GHz and 3.5GHz. According to the verification result, FAST, compared to 3.5 GHz single carrier, increases the speed rate of uplink about 3 times for a single user at the cell edge.

    FAST, as the main solution of uplink enhancement technology, can deeply and effectively take full advantages of TDD-NR and FDD-NR to boost the 5G uplink performance. With FAST, uplink timeslot availability can be enhanced up to 100% under the condition of the dual-stream capability of UE, realizing the maximum spectrum utilization in both time domain and frequency domain.

    In 5G network commercialization and innovations, China Telecom, ZTE and MediaTek will continue to deepen their cooperation to explore new features and applications of 5G, so as to provide better services for their customers.

  • Growing 5G demand will drive major 2021 smartphone market recovery

    Growing 5G demand will drive major 2021 smartphone market recovery

    The global smartphone market was only one of the major industries to suffer a big and largely unexpected decline in 2020 as a direct consequence of the coronavirus pandemic, but while the COVID-19 threat is projected to linger this year and potentially even beyond that, 2021 should mark the beginning of a beautiful rebound.

    The first signs of an imminent recovery showed up during last year’s third calendar quarter, when shipments were down around the world by a measly four percent compared to the same period of 2019, becoming evident in the final three months of 2020, as the year-on-year sales decline further contracted to one percent according to Counterpoint Research. In contrast, the same market intelligence firm estimated the mobile industry’s Q1 and Q2 slumps at 13 and a record 26 percent respectively.

    Clearly, there’s no way to go but up now that people are slowly regaining their appetite for both mid-range and high-end handsets pretty much in all key regions, and according to a hot new report published by Gartner, worldwide sales could register a healthy total increase of 11 percent in 2021.

    While that’s unlikely to be enough to boost the market to its pre-pandemic levels, this year’s forecasted 1.53 billion units would come incredibly close to the 1.54 billion smartphones sold in 2019. The aforementioned 11 percent growth is expected to be mainly driven by “mature” markets across Western Europe, Asia Pacific, and Latin America on a regional level, as well as rising demand for 5G-enabled devices essentially everywhere.

    Affordable 5G models starting as low as $200 could be particularly successful in 2021, especially in emerging European and Asian countries. Overall, 5G smartphones are likely to exceed 500 million unit sales, accounting for around 35 percent of the entire market. In comparison, 2019 saw less than 20 million 5G-capable handsets reach the hands of their owners, with said number growing to more than 200 million last year.

    Unfortunately, Gartner’s latest report doesn’t go into any detail regarding the prospective evolution of the world’s top mobile device vendors this year, so it’s not entirely clear yet who will drive the 11 percent global hike from that perspective.

    Lees ook:

  • Chinese Telcom Giants Review New York Delisting

    Chinese Telcom Giants Review New York Delisting

    In the latest on U.S. delistings of Chinese firms, the three largest mainland telecommunications firms have requested for a review of the New York Stock Exchange’s decision to remove their shares from the bourse.

    In a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange yesterday where they are also listed, China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom said that written requests have been filed with NYSE. The three telecom giants said they also asked for trading suspensions to be maintained during the review.

    The review will be scheduled at least 25 days from when the request was filed, the statement added, with no assurance for success.

    Near the end of the Trump administration, the New York bourse had already once reversed a decision to delist the stocks, deemed by the U.S. to be linked to China’s military, only to ultimately comply following an alleged phone call from U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin.

    But now, the three telecom giants will seek to push for a second reversal under a Joe Biden administration. Biden recently nominated ex-Fed chair Janet Yellen as the new incoming Treasury secretary.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Trump takes one last shot at maiming Huawei before he leaves the White House this week

    Trump takes one last shot at maiming Huawei before he leaves the White House this week

    Even though President Donald Trump will be leaving the White House this coming Wednesday, he took the time to spank the Chinese phone and networking equipment manufacturer Huawei one last time. In May 2019, Trump cited security issues for his decision to put Huawei on the Entity List. This move prevented the firm from accessing its U.S. suppliers without permission from the Commerce Department. Despite this move which resulted in the loss of Google as a supplier, Huawei persevered; for a brief period of time this year, it was the top phone manufacturer on the planet in terms of shipments.

    Exactly one year to the day that it was placed on the Entity List, Huawei received another big blow from the Trump administration. Starting last September, any foundry manufacturing chips using American-sourced technology needs a license from the U.S. to ship to Huawei. The latter was the second-largest customer of the world’s largest foundry, TSMC, and was blocked from receiving cutting-edge chips that it had designed itself. The U.S. also browbeat its allies over the last few years in an attempt to prevent them from using Huawei’s networking equipment on their 5G networks.

    American lawmakers were quick to call Huawei a national security risk because of the company’s alleged tie to the Communist Chinese government. Concerns that Huawei’s phones and base stations contain backdoors used to spy on U.S. consumers and corporations have never been proven. The U.S. also banned rural carriers from using the Universal Service Fund (managed by the FCC) to purchase networking gear from Huawei and is forcing these firms to remove any Huawei equipment used in their networks.

    In the final days of the Trump administration, licenses allowing U.S. firms to sell to the Chinese manufacturer are being revoked and applications from U.S. suppliers to obtain such licenses are being rejected. Reuters has seen an email sent from the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) that documents the Commerce Department’s recent actions. In the email, the SIA notes that the Commerce Department had released “intents to deny a significant number of license requests for exports to Huawei and a revocation of at least one previously issued license.” The SIA email stated that a broad range of products was included in the latest action and many U.S. companies have been waiting months to hear whether they would be allowed to sell to Huawei. More than 150 license requests were pending amounting to $120 billion worth of goods and technology.

    Just last week, the Trump administration blacklisted Chinese phone manufacturer Xiaomi by demanding that U.S. investors divest themselves from any investments made in the company by November 11th, 2021.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • FCC sets record with auction of key spectrum for 5G use

    FCC sets record with auction of key spectrum for 5G use

    During 2021, U.S. carriers will take another huge step toward completing the build-out of their 5G networks. The FCC last week wrapped up an auction of mid-band spectrum in the C-band. These airwaves lie in the range of 3.7GHz-3.98GHz and heavy demand for the rare mid-band spectrum helped generate a record $80.9 billion in proceeds related to the auction. There were 57 bidders vying for a total of 5,684 licenses. Mid-band spectrum is very much in demand by U.S. carriers and T-Mobile has made these airwaves the key part of its layer-cake approach to 5G. The previous record for money generated by an FCC auction for spectrum was the $44.9 billion generated by the FCC’s 2014 AWS-3 auction.

    T-Mobile, the first U.S. carrier to launch nationwide 5G in the states, used its 600MHz low-band spectrum as the foundation for its nationwide 5G service. These signals travel great distances making them the perfect foundation for its network. But what they don’t do is deliver download data speeds much faster than 4G LTE. High-band spectrum can only travel short distances making them perfect for urban areas where the population is densely packed. While these signals do not easily penetrate buildings, they do deliver fast 5G download data speeds often hitting 1Gbps and faster.

    In between the two extremes is mid-band spectrum. Sprint’s mid-band holdings were exactly what T-Mobile was targeting when it offered $26.5 billion to buy its fellow wireless provider back in April 2018. The deal closed this past April giving T-Mobile control over Sprint’s 2.5GHz mid-band spectrum. These signals travel further than those of the high-band variety and are faster than low-band 5G. Many analysts expect T-Mobile to become the fastest 5G provider in the states thanks to its mid-band holdings once all the work is done.

    Other carriers wanted the opportunity to purchase mid-band spectrum for themselves. In November 2019, U.S. Cellular, Verizon, AT&T, Bluegrass Cellular, Pine Belt Wireless and the C-Band Alliance sent an electronic letter to the FCC requesting an auction of mid-band airwaves in the C-Band (3.7GHz-4.2GHz). At the time, U.S. Cellular President and CEO Ken Meyers says that it is “critical” for U.S. carriers to obtain as much mid-band spectrum as they can find. The executive made it clear that the FCC had to take action ASAP to make sure that there would be enough mid-band spectrum to go around.

    FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, who is leaving the regulatory agency this Wednesday afternoon when the transition to the Biden administration takes place, said, “These results represent a strong endorsement by the private sector of the service rules and transition plan put in place by the FCC to quickly make the C-band a critical part of 5G rollout in the United States. And they vindicate the hard choices the FCC made during the C-band proceeding—and that we made them. The FCC confronted a host of technical, legal, practical, and political challenges in structuring this auction. It would have been easy to delay. But we rightly pushed ahead and overcame every one of those obstacles. As a result, we significantly advanced United States leadership in 5G and have enabled America’s wireless consumers to more quickly benefit from 5G services.”

    Satellite owners who are giving up their spectrum in the auction are being transitioned to the upper 4.0-4.2 GHz range. To prevent interference from the satellite transmissions to impact the wireless providers, a 20MHz band will be used as a “guard band.”

    The next step in the process requires the auction winners to bid for licenses related to specific frequencies. The FCC will release a notice to the public containing the date and time when this assignment phase will take place.

  • Viettel profits grow despite pandemic

    Viettel profits grow despite pandemic

    Telecom giant Viettel managed to shrug off the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and achieve its revenue and profit targets in 2020.

    The military-owned firm reported revenues of VND264 trillion ($11.47 billion), up 4.4 percent from 2019, and pre-tax profit of VND39.8 trillion, up 4.1 percent.

    Viettel attributed the results to its digital transformation and switch from being a telecom services provider to a digital services provider. In 2020, the platforms it developed included digital infrastructure, solutions, content, and finance, and cybersecurity.

    Its 10 overseas markets reported a 25 percent increase in profits to VND5.6 trillion in the first nine months of 2020, while at home it remained the leader in mobile services and fixed broadband with a 54.2 percent market share.

    By manufacturing 5G equipment and trialing 5G services, the company made Vietnam one of only six countries in the world to master the technology.

    Lees ook:

  • Samsung files with ITC to ban U.S. imports of Ericsson’s 5G base stations

    Samsung files with ITC to ban U.S. imports of Ericsson’s 5G base stations

    Samsung on Thursday filed a complaint with the International Trade Commission (ITC) demanding that U.S. imports of Ericsson’s 5G base stations be blocked. Just the week before, Ericsson had filed its own case with the ITC seeking to block U.S. imports of Samsung phones, tablets, and televisions. At the heart of this matter is a battle over a patent-licensing agreement that needs to be renewed. Cases are often filed with the ITC because, at an average of 15 months, final decisions are reached more quickly.

    Sammy’s argument is that Ericsson’s base stations, which connect mobile phone users to a network, employ equipment patented by Samsung. Both companies are arguing over whether a court in Texas or one in Wuhan will decide the royalties paid by Samsung for using Ericsson’s 4G and 5G inventions covered by the standard-essential patents. The latter are patents that a manufacturer must license in order for a product to comply with a technical standard. Rates charged for using these patents must be determined on a Fair, Reasonable, And Non-Discriminatory (FRAND) basis.

    Both companies have patents that the other one needs. Ericsson says that on balance it is owed money because it has more telecom patents than Samsung and the latter has more devices that require the licensing of Ericsson’s patents. If both firms can’t reach an agreement on a new licensing pact, Ericsson could end up taking something of a hit to its bottom line. After all, Samsung is the world’s largest shipper of smartphones.

    Samsung says that it is unfair to allow Ericsson to use its patents since the latter does business in the states and Samsung has yet to establish its base station business in the U.S. Ericsson filed a new lawsuit against Samsung on January 1st and Samsung filed a patent infringement suit against Ericsson in response. Ericsson spokeswoman Mikaela Idermark said the company is aware of Samsung’s new complaint and “willfully review what has been filed before deciding on any further comment.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook: